Good morning, folks. Our first issue in March is packed with regional and global EV updates and a healthy helping of investment and debt updates from the UAE. There’s also some news on the green hydrogen front emerging from Egypt. Let’s dive right in.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING REGIONALLY-

#1- Qatar’s JTA Investment explores possible USD 1 bn investment in VinFast: Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup has signed an MoU with private equity (PE) fund JTA Investment Qatar to explore an equity investment of at least USD 1 bn in its Nasdaq-listed EV subsidiary VinFast, according to a statement released on Tuesday. No final investment decisions, however, have been made, Reuters reported citing a Vingroup spokesperson. The MoU will also see both players “engage in discussions” on possible collaborations, including on how the Qatari PE fund can leverage its “extensive partner network to facilitate capital deployment” for VinFast.

Not VinFast’s first USD 1 bn pledge: Emirates Driving Company (EDC) was reported in October to be leading a consortium of investors to provide VinFast with at least USD 1 bn in funding, according to news outlets reporting last October. The agreement also lacked a firm timeline, with the company’s statement at the time only confirming EDC’s role in leading the consortium without mentioning the investment size.

IN OTHER EV UPDATES FROM TURKEY- Hyundai Motor is planning to begin Turkish EV production in 2026 in a bid to expand its European market share, according to a press release published on Monday. The company aims to sell only zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles in Europe by 2035. Over 55% of the components will be produced domestically in a bid to support Turkey’s manufacturing sector.

Turkey’s EV industry is booming: China’s Ganfeng Lithium Group signed a USD 500 mn jointventure agreement last August with Turkish battery producer YİĞİT AKÜ to establish a 5 GWh lithium battery production plant in Turkey. The month prior, Chinese EV maker BYD signed an agreement with the Turkish government to build a USD 1 bn EV and hybrids production plant in the country. Turkey Automobile Joint Venture Group (Togg) — a JV of local auto players — also launched the country’s first locally-producedEV back in October 2022, with plans to release five more locally-made models by the end of the decade.

AND- China eyes Algeria for EV production: China’s SFE GROUP has pitched to the Algerian government a plan to set up an EV production facility in the 150-hectare Horchaa Industrial Zone in Naama Province, Algeria, according to a statement issued last week. The project’s plan is still in a preliminary phase, with final approvals and procedural sign-offs still pending. We still don’t have a timeline or an investment ticket.

The plant’s production will target both domestic sales and exports to African and European markets, with an annual production ranging between 50k and 200k EVs per year.

#2- Egypt wants to attract more WtE investments: Egypt is trying to boost investments in waste to energy (WtE) projects by expanding public-private partnerships and preparing a more attractive feed-in-tariff rate for the projects, according to a statement released on Tuesday. Land for WtE projects has already been allocated across eight governorates for completion over the next three or four years, according to the statement.

REMEMBER- The country has been considering raising the feed-in-tariff rate to around EGP 2.35/Kwh — up from EGP 1.40/Kwh to attract investments in the sector.

WtE has been picking up in the country: The government was set to sign contracts with eight local-foreign consortiums for possible projects that could produce as much as 1.7 TWh of electricity annually from municipal solid waste across a number of governorates, at a total cost of USD 900 mn - 1.2 bn in August. Cemex also signed an agreement with Egypt’s Minya Governorate for the management and operation of an EGP 90 mn WtE facility in Tuna El Gabal in Minya and Nahdet Misr Environmental Services said in September it was looking to set up two WtE projects in Alexandria with initial investments of USD 100 mn.

#3- The sixth phase of the 1.8 GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is now 53% complete, with about 600 MW of capacity now operational, according to a statement released on Tuesday. The sixth phase will bring the park’s total production output to 4.66 GW by 2026.

REMEMBER- Dewa and Masdar reached financial close on the sixth phase of the project in February 2024. The pair is operating through the Shuaa Energy 4 JV and has so far allocated some AED 5.5 bn to develop the project under an independent power producer model.

#4- Egypt is targeting the mobilization of EGP 100 bn in private investments in renewable energy projects over the next two years, a government official told Asharq Business on Monday. The planned projects will be under a build-operate-own system, in which the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company acts as the sole buyer of the energy produced. The government will target both Egyptian and foreign investors.

REMEMBER- The Madbouly government put forward an urgent plan last year to add 4 GW ofrenewables to Egypt’s national grid to secure the country’s energy needs by summer 2025. Beyond that, there’s a plan to launch renewables projects with a combined capacity of 10 GW and combined investments of USD 10 bn from 2023-2028 under the government’s Nexus for Food, Water, and Energy initiative.

ALSO- Egypt-Greece interconnection project close to securing EUR 1 bn funding: Egypt and Greece are reportedly close to securing EUR 1 bn in grant and concessional financing from European financing institutions for the development of the 3 GW electricity interconnector (Gregy) project, Al Arabiya reported on Sunday, citing unnamed government sources. Three European financial institutions have expressed interest in financing the project, with negotiations expected to conclude next month.

How will the electricity be portioned out? Greece is reportedly set to receive 1 GW of the project’s output, while the remaining capacity will be exported to other EU countries, primarily Germany and Italy.

REMEMBER- The projects’ feasibility studies are set to wrap this year, with required approvals and permits slated to be secured in 2026. If the project moves as planned, construction is set to be completed in September 2029, with commissioning targeted to begin in January 2030. In January, Greece was reported to be negotiating a EUR 20 mn loan to fund its side of the feasibility and FEED studies

#5- Amea Power’s 100 MW PV solar plant in Tunisia’s Kairouan is expected to kick off operations in October 2025, according to a statement released last week. The USD 86 mn project is part of a larger plan to add 500 MW in solar power across Tunisian cities — 200 MW in Tataouine, 100 MW in Gafsa, 50 MW in Tozeur, and 50 MW in Sidi Bouzid. The project — which achieved financial close in 2023 — would power some 43k households and offset an estimated 100k tons of CO2 annually once fully operational.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING GLOBALLY-

#1- Tesla’s EV sales lag in China: Tesla’s sales in China slumped by 49% y-o-y to some 30.7k in February, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing data from China’s Passenger Car Association. The drop is attributed to local competition and slipping global demand. Another contributor to Tesla’s drop-off may have been the autopilot upgrades of the Model Y — Tesla’s best selling EV in China — which necessitated a production pause, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Chinese EV competitor BYD sold upwards of 318k electric and hybrid vehicles in the same period, a 161% y-o-y increase for its China-based operations.

#2- A US-Ukraine agreement that would have seen Ukraine hand over minerals revenues to the US collapsed in a dramatic way last Friday, after a tense Oval Office meeting saw US’ Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky clash in front of reporters, The New York Times reported on Friday. The agreement would have given the US expanded access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, but the confrontation derailed both the signing and a planned joint presser. Zelensky left the White House without commenting, leaving the future of the agreement uncertain.

#3- COP16 finalizes USD 200 bn financing agreement: The resumed COP16 on biodiversity ended on Thursday with delegates from over 140 countries agreeing to a USD 200 financing framework (pdf) for biodiversity conservation efforts until 2030. The framework “urges” developed countries to “enhance their efforts” to mobilize USD 20 bn annually for less developed countries by the end of the year and USD 30 bn per year by 2030, and calls for reducing industrial incentives harmful for biodiversity by at least USD 500 bn per year.

The delegates, however, failed to reach a decision on creating a dedicated nature fund, postponing a decision to COP17 in 2028, The Guardian reported. The dedicated fund was a sticking point for small island nations and developing countries throughout COP16, which has repeatedly lamented the use of international lending institutions as hosts of nature funds.

REMEMBER- COP16 initially wrapped without a finance agreement: Countries were unableto come to a consensus on biodiversity funding mechanisms and commitments at COP16 in Cali, with the EU, Switzerland, and other developed countries coming in with objections in the 11th hour. Developing nations entered COP16 wanting more grants and fewer loans and establishing a new fund under the UN instead of the World Bank-linked Global Environment Facility’s Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which they believe is hard to access and too “controlled by wealthy nations.” Meanwhile, developed countries wanted to stick to the current funding mechanism and resisted committing to debt-sensitive funding mechanisms.

ALSO- The Cali Fund was launched: The Cali Fund — first announced in November during COP16 — was launched last week. So far, no companies have contributed to the voluntary fund, which is set up to gather either 1% of net income or 0.1% of revenues from large companies and organizations that commercially benefit from the DNA sequencing of different natural organisms.

#4- The EU to introduce amendments easing car emissions rules: The European Commission is planning to ease emissions criteria for the auto sector over the next three years but has said it would maintain its 2035 deadline for banning petrol cars, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The amendments: Automakers will have to reduce emissions from new passenger cars and vans by 15% from 2021 levels or face fines, but the added flexibility means fines will only be imposed in 2027 after the three-year emissions total is averaged out. The bloc will also incentivize deploying more local content in battery cells and car components, and will only support foreign manufacturers that cooperate with European partners.

A surprising turn: In December, the EU said it was sticking with its policies to limit CO2 emissions from cars despite major pushback from the bloc’s industry groups, its biggest political group the European People’s Party (EPP), and heavyweight members like France and Italy.

Good news for some, bad for others: The move was welcomed by the many carmakers expected to miss the 2025 targets, where the industry could have faced up to EUR 15 bn in fines. To avoid fines, companies — including Stellantis, Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Volvo, and Subaru — have turned to pooling their emissions. However, some industry players warned the move could set Europe further back in its competition with China. “Europe slowing down its transition will leave the door wide open for China to continue as an undisputed market leader,” said E-Mobility Europe Secretary-General Chris Heron. “Europe can’t afford electrification to fail, or to delay the transition,” chief executive of Volvo Cars Jim Rowan warned.

THE SCORECARD-

#1- Global sustainable finance issuance rebounded in 2024, reaching USD 1.7 tn, up from USD 1.5 tn in 2023, according to Dutch investment bank ING. Green bonds continued to dominate the market, hitting a record USD 688 bn last year, and are expected to hit USD 700 bn this year. Sustainability bonds and green loans both reached all-time highs at USD 252 bn and USD 192 bn respectively. Sustainability-linked loans contributed USD 278 bn, while sustainability-linked bonds fell to USD 39 bn this year.

#2- Green and sustainable sukuk issuances in the GCC region dropped 10.6% to USD 9.5 bn in 2024, Zawya reported on Wednesday, citing Moody’s. The decline came despite a surge in green sukuk activity across Saudi Arabia, where issuance nearly doubled y-o-y to account for 78% of the region’s total sustainable sukuk market.

Looking forward: S&P Global forecasts the region’s sustainable issuances to reach up to USD 18-23 bn in 2025, with sustainable sukuk representing 35% of the share of total sustainable bond issuances — up from 26% in 2023, according to its Sustainable outlook 2025 report.

The trendsetters: Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounted for 60% of sustainable bond issuances in 2024 and are expected to stay ahead as other MENA countries —particularly Qatar and Kuwait— catch up. The UAE led the region with USD 7.4 bn in sustainable bonds in 2024, despite a 28% y-o-y slowdown, while Saudi Arabia came second place in total sustainable bond issuance, with USD 5.6 bn — despite a 27% y-o-y decline.

#3- Long-term power purchase agreements for green energy saw a 35% rise y-o-y in 2024, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing data from BloombergNEF. This was driven by large corporations’ appetite for wind and solar energy. The US tech sector contributed notably to the trend, as companies — led by Amazon — secured climate-friendly power for data centers. Developing countries also reportedly played a large part, with chemicals, mining, and raw materials industries signing up for green energy.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Middle East Energy conference from Monday, 7 April until Wednesday, 9 April in Dubai. The event will target six product sectors, including smart solutions, transmissions and distribution, renewable and clean energy, critical and backup power, energy consumption and management, batteries, and eMobility.

The UAE will host theSolar Energy Storage Future MENA conference on Tuesday, 8 April in Dubai. The conference aims to empower solar energy and storage in the MENA region to align with net zero goals. Planned events include a panel on navigating competitive markets and financing energy efficiency upgrades.

Turkey will host the International SolarEX Istanbul Fair from Thursday, 10 April until Saturday, 12 April in Istanbul. The event will bring together investors from 125+ countries along with over 200 world-renowned companies and 500+ brands in the solar sector. The fair will feature firm conferences and seminars covering financing, investment, and production in the solar industry.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.