UAE wins BAU Sweepstakes

Good morning, wonderful people. It’s been an eventful week, capped off with an Iranian attack on the UAE this morning — the second this week — and American strikes on Iranian targets. Trump insists the ceasefire is still in effect and that an end to the war is near, but…

More certain: The UAE won the Business As Usual Sweepstakes this week, and we have a UAE-heavy Friday issue to show for it. From big wins for ADGM to bns of USD pledged at Make it in the Emirates, MbZ taking a walk through an Abu Dhabi mall with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and Youssef Al Otaiba’s bold piece in the FT on why the UAE left OPEC, Abu Dhabi’s PR machine was matched only by concrete delivery of agreements on the ground.

Riyadh can take solace that investors had heavy appetite for PIF’s first venture into the global debt market since the start of the war, but that’s about it. –Patrick