Good morning, everyone. We have another brisk issue for you today, with no single dominant theme driving the news.

There’s plenty of investments being made, though, with Adnoc Logistics and Services inking final contracts for up to 10 LNG carriers, and Emirati firms inking some USD 30 bn agreements for renewables projects in Egypt.

WEATHER- It’s another mainly sunny day today, with a daytime high of 42°C and an overnight low of 32°C in Dubai, and a high of 38°C in Abu Dhabi before the mercury dips to 33°C at night.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Sharjah is launching a five-year, AED 1 bn sukuk auction, Reuters reports, citing a document it had seen. The sukuk auction will open for orders tomorrow, with details on yield and final issuance size to follow on the same day.

ADVISORS- Standard Chartered will act as the sole auction coordinator and bookrunner. Our friends at Mashreq, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and HSBC, alongside Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Bank of Sharjah, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, Investbank, and Sharjah Islamic Bank will be the placement agents of the auction.

#2- CBUAE adopts zero bureaucracy initiative: The UAE central bank’s (CBUAE) finance sector is looking to slash red tape, and is kicking off dialogues between its departments to share proposals, it said in a press release (pdf). The CBUAE also urges all licensed financial institutions to join workshops to cut red tape, speed up processes, and enhance customer service.

Background: The government launched the Zero Government Bureaucracy program in November 2023, seeking to slash 2k government procedures and cutting service durations by 50% by the end of the year.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The number of active business license issuances in Dubai rose 15% y-o-y to 426k in 1H 2024, compared to 371k by the end of 2023, Alkhaleej reports, citing data from the National Economic Register. The amount of new licenses issued in Dubai stood at 55k during the period.

#2- Off-plan villa transactions in Dubai surged by 209% in May 2024 compared to April, a press release reads. Total property transactions for the month rose 47% to AED 20.6 bn, with sales values rising by 54%. Apartments also saw significant growth, with transactions up by 38.55% to over AED 16.8 bn, while villa transactions soared by 223% to AED 3.7 bn.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The Donald is once again dominating headlines after the US Supreme Court ruled that the former president has broad immunity for actions he took while in office — including charges made against him following his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.

Liberals were not happy with the ruling, crafting a strongly worded dissent that said Trump was now a “king above the law” and that it made a “mockery” of democratic law. Neither was Biden, who criticized the ruling in a White House speech.

What the ruling means in tangible terms: The former president is likely not going to trial for three of four of the criminal cases against him ahead of the elections later this year.

Meanwhile, all is not well in the Democratic party, where insiders are growing more panicked over the state of Biden following his disastrous debate performance. “People want to make sure that … the president and his team are being candid with us about his condition, that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,” one senator said.

Across the pond: Keir Starmer’s Labour party still leads Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives by 20 points or more in polls. And the horse-trading continues in France, as other parties look to block the far-right Rassemblement National from running away with parliament in second-phase voting due next week.

AND in other potential court case news: Boeing will need to either plead guilty to felony fraud or face a trial against the US government, and Nvidia is set to face French antitrust charges over anticompetitive practices.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Dubai Diamond Conference is set to take place on 11 November at Jafza One Convention Centre. Organized by DMCC, the forum will gather global diamond industry experts to discuss the latest developments influencing the diamond industry from tech innovations to market trends.

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

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