Good morning, friends, and welcome to a quieter news cycle today. Dubai’s inflation has shown a slight dip for 2024, while DIB is increasing its stake in Turkey’s TOM Group to 25%. On the horizon, the UAE is aiming for 5% economic growth in 2025, focusing on non-oil sectors. But first…

IT’S A BIG DAY FOR our friends at Mashreq, who yesterday officially launched in Oman. We were on the ground in Muscat for the day to size up the opportunity and have a full report in this morning’s news well, below.

WEATHER- We’re in for a cloudy and windy day: The National Center of Meteorology forecasts partly cloudy conditions in northern areas today, with moderate to strong winds at times causing blowing dust and sand. Temperatures today will hit 23°C in Dubai, with an overnight low of 14°C, and 22°C in Abu Dhabi, before cooling to an overnight low of 15°C.

The UAE is targeting up to 5% economic growth in 2025, with a focus on expanding its non-oil economy, particularly in sectors such as artificial intelligence, data centers, and financial services, Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 09:29). Currently, the non-oil sector accounts for 75% of GDP, and the UAE aims for that share to hit 80% by 2030, Al Marri said.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

UAE banks’ total gross assets hit AED 4.46 tn by the end of October 2024, marking a 1.3% m-o-m rise, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s recently issued Monetary & Banking Developments report (pdf). Gross credit grew 0.6% m-o-m, reaching AED 2.17 tn, fueled by a 0.6% boost in domestic credit and a 0.7% uptick in external credit.

The domestic credit growth came from increases in government sector credit (up 0.2%), public sector entities (up 3%), and private sector credit (up 0.1%), though credit to non-banking financial institutions dipped 1.8%.

Bahrain’s PE firm Investcorp may be looking to IPO or strike a strategic partnership in the coming years to strengthen its liquidity, said CEO Mohammed Alardhi told Bloomberg (watch: runtime: 5:06) on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos. There’s no publicly available information about the avenue for the potential IPO. Alardhi emphasized the firm’s optimism about 2025, citing easing macroeconomic conditions, an uptick in private equity activity coupled with strong investor appetite. Investcorp has offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Ajman saw an uptick in business sentiment last year as it climbed on the Business Confidence Index to score 135 points, Wam reports, citing the emirate’s Department of Economic Development.

The emirate saw a 16% y-o-y rise in economic licenses issued last year, including 28% growth in industrial licenses, 25% in commercial licenses, and 9% in professional licenses. License renewals also rose by 10% y-o-y to 131,380 licenses during the year.

#2- Some 70.5k companies joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2024, up 3% y-o-y, bringing the chamber’s total active members to 258.3k, up 18% y-o-y, according to a statement. During the year, the chamber’s members saw their exports and re-exports jump 9.2% y-o-y to AED 309.6 bn.

PSAs-

#1- A section of Hazza bin Sultan Street in Al Ain will be closed from 19 January to 17 July, Abu Dhabi Mobility announced on X. Traffic will be redirected to a temporary road during the closure.

#2- The minimum monthly pension for retired federal employees in Sharjah will be raised to AED 17.5k, provided no other salaries, bonuses, or pensions are received on top of a pension below this rate, according to Sharjah Government Media Bureau statement. This comes under a new supplementary grant decree issued by Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi.

#3- Heavy trucks will be banned on Abu Dhabi roads Monday to Thursday between 6:30-9am and 3-7pm starting 27 January under a new schedule announced by Abu Dhabi Mobility, Wam reports. On Fridays, truck movements will be banned between 6:30-9am and 11am-1pm.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- World Economic Forum 2025 kicked off yesterday and will wrap up on Friday in Davos, Switzerland under the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,” Wam reports. The forum will gather 3k high-profile figures from over 130 countries, with 350 government leaders, including US President Donald Trump — joining via video — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. The participants will discuss global challenges, including geopolitical shocks, economic growth, and advancing an inclusive energy transition.

#2- The closed meeting of the World Bank Group’s Cloud Computing Working Group will wrap up Today at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, on the sidelines of the Global Government Cloud Forum which will kick off today, Wam reports.

#3- The Global Government Cloud Forum kicks off today in the Museum of the Future in Dubai. The forum will see participation from government representatives, private sector organizations, think tanks, and international organizations, including the World Bank’s Cloud Computing Working Group. It includes keynotes, panel discussions, and workshops to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange pertaining to cloud-enabled public administration.

#4- The International Conference on Pharma and Medicine begins today and runs through 23 January at the Sharjah Research, Technology, and Innovation Park. The event offers a platform for potential collaboration in the pharma manufacturing and healthcare sectors.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Nothing but The Donald on the front pages this morning, as he took the oath as the 47th US president last night. Donald Trump promised to bring back America’s “golden age” before a big crowd, with the world’s richest people taking front seats, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, Sergey Brin, and Miriam Adelson.

Trump stuck to his words to be a dictator on his first day in office, revoking some 80 of Biden’s policies, issuing executive orders left and right (mostly to the far-right), and sending warnings to neighbors and trade rivals.

  • On immigration: A national emergency has been declared along the country’s southern border as part of an executive order that opens the door for members of the armed forces to be sent to the US-Mexico border. Another executive order aims to end birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants starting 30 days from now.
  • On Gaza ceasefire: The US President doesn’t seem confident about the ceasefire in Gaza, saying “that’s not our war, it’s their war, but I’m not confident… Gaza is like a massive demolition site… it’s really got to be rebuilt in a different way.”
  • On climate: The world’s second largest polluter will soon be out of the Paris Climate Accords, leaving America among only a handful of nations not part of the worldwide effort to tackle climate change.
  • On AI: Trump rescinded a 2023 order by Biden that requires AI developers to share safety tests for systems that could pose risks on national security, economy, or public health.
  • On TikTok: Trump signed an order to suspend the ban on TikTok in the US for 75 days.

Meanwhile, the US Senate unanimously approved veteran Republican Marco Rubio as secretary of state to be the first pick in Trump’s new administration.

More on: New York Times | Reuters | Financial Times | NPR

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MARKET WATCH-

Indian state refiners, including Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum, are pushing Adnoc to offer Delivered at Port (DAP) pricing, alongside traditional FOB terms, Reuters reports. This comes as they face rising costs from US sanctions and higher freight rates. India typically obtains Russian crude on DAP terms, where sellers cover shipping and insurance costs, unlike the FOB model used by most Middle Eastern producers.

REMEMBER- With the US new sanctions tightening Russian and Iranian oil supplies, India and China are scrambling to secure alternative sources, pushing Middle East crude spot premiums to a two-year high.

It is unclear if Adnoc will accommodate the request, as the oil giant rarely offers DAP terms. Indian refiners are also planning to approach suppliers like Saudi Aramco with similar proposals and have started including DAP options in spot tenders to assess the most cost-effective pricing strategies.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The annual meeting of the Global Research and Expertise Network for Peste des Petits Ruminants will wrap up tomorrow, after it kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Wam reports. The event gathers over 80 experts and decision-makers from 30 countries to discuss strategies for controlling the viral disease affecting goats and sheep. It includes representatives from global reference centers, such as CIRAD (France), the Pirbright Institute (UK), and CAHEC (China), along with regional organizations like the EU, GCC, and African Union.

The Sharjah Real Estate Exhibition (Acres) will take place between 22-25 January at the Expo Center in Sharjah. The event features networking and business prospects in the property sector, face-to-face discussions with developers and industry experts, and exploration of the latest trends in real estate.

Nvidia RTX AI GameCraft will take place on 23 January at Emirates Towers Boulevard in Dubai. Hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation in collaboration with Nvidia GeForce Middle East, the event will gather game developers, students, and industry professionals to create innovative games using Nvidia’s RTX AI technology. Some 15 developers will make it to the finals to compete for the top three spots.

BreakBulk Middle East will take place between 10-11 February at the Dubai World Trade Center. The event will gather over 7.5k professionals from the manufacturing, EPCs, project ownership, and transport sectors, providing ample networking prospects and driving potential customer leads.

The World Local Production Forum will take place between 7-9 April at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center. The World Health Organization event will bring together global leaders to discuss sustainable local production and strategies to enhance access to quality health products.

The International Real Estate and Investment Show will take place between 17-19 October in Abu Dhabi. The event, organized by Dome Exhibitions, will bring together developers, brokers, and investors to discuss innovation and sustainability trends in the real estate sector, as well as investment prospects.

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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