Good morning, lovely people. We have another busy issue for you this morning, with plenty of M&A updates and more data on the UAE’s construction and real estate sectors in 2024. Let’s dive in.

WEATHER- Expect sunshine today across the country, the National Center of Meteorology(pdf) says. Dubai will see the mercury hit 23°C today, with an overnight low of 14°C, while temperatures will hit 22°C in Abu Dhabi, with an overnight low of 15°C.

You can now use Meta’s AI assistant, Meta AI, in the UAE and the wider MENA region, after the company rolled out the tool in the region in Arabic, Gulf News reports. You can access the tool through your Facebook or Instagram account, and you can also use it in group chats by tagging Meta in the chat. The tool was created with the open-source language model LIama 3.2 to generate text and create and animate images directly across Meta applications, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Permira to open Dubai office in 2025: UK-based private equity firm Permira will open an office at Dubai International Financial Center this year, the company said in a statement. The move aims to strengthen Permira’s presence in the Middle East and to work “closely with existing local and regional investors and [develop] new strategic partnerships,” the statement said. The PE firm tapped Nader Salman (LinkedIn) as managing director and head of Middle East in its Capital Formation team.

Permira manages USD 81.8 bn in private equity and private credit, according to Bloomberg. The new office is awaiting approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, according to the statement.

#2- UAE eyed for Trump-Putin summit: The UAE and Saudi Arabia are being considered as potential venues for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin later this year, Reuters reports, citing Russian sources familiar with the discussions. Senior Russian officials have visited both Gulf nations in recent weeks. Trump has previously indicated that he is willing to sit down with Putin to seek an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Neutrality is a key factor: “Almost the entire West is involved on the side of Ukraine. Therefore, all the traditional venues where such things used to take place, like Helsinki, Geneva, and Vienna, are not suitable,” Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov previously told Russian news agency TASS. However, some in Moscow remain cautious due to the UAE’s and Saudi Arabia’s close military and security ties with Washington, the sources added.

REMEMBER- The UAE has played a key mediating role in the Russia-Ukraine war. The country mediated the first prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in 2025 in January, with each side swapping 25 prisoners. To date, more than 2.4k prisoners have been exchanged through UAE-brokered deals.

#3- British beverage company Diageo is eyeing a local alcohol production facility — potentially including distilleries or breweries — as part of its 5-year expansion plan in the Mena region, Khaleej times reports. Diageo is already producing under license in other parts of Mena and expects local production in the UAE is “not [a question of] if but when,” according to the company’s managing director, Antoinette Drumm.

REMEMBER- We might be getting another local brewery in Dubai: In November 2024, Sirocco — a joint venture between Heineken and Dubai Maritime Mercantile International — revealed plans to establish the Gulf’s first large-scale commercial brewery in Dubai, set to launch by late 2027.

PSAs-

#1- Parking tariffs in Al Sufouh 2’s Zone F have increased nearly two-fold, impacting motorists in Barsha Heights, Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, and Knowledge Village, Gulf News reports. The new rates are:

  • AED 2 for 30 minutes
  • AED 4 for 1 hour
  • AED 4 extra for each additional hour, topping out at AED 32 for 24 hours.

#2- You can now pay electricity and water bills, telecom fees, and Salik and parking charges with monthly installments through Tabby, after the Dubai government integrated the buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform into payment gateway DubaiPay, Gulf News reports.

DATA POINT-

Dubai South welcomed 415 new companies in 2024, bringing the total number of companies operating in the aviation and logistics development district to 4k with a retention rate of 94% for existing companies, according to a Dubai Media Office statement.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- The UAE-Kuwait Week will wrap up today in Dubai, featuring investment conferences, panel discussions on economic development, and B2B meetings. Attendees will explore opportunities for collaboration in emerging industries, state news agency Wam reports.

#2- The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open’s round of 32 continues today at Zayed Sports City. The big games to watch out for today:

  • Starting 11am: Renata Zarazúa vs. Magda Linette; Belinda Bencic vs. Rebecca Šramková; and Leylah Fernandez vs. Moyuka Uchijima;
  • After 5pm: Ons Jabeur vs. Jelena Ostapenko, and Markéta Vondroušová vs. Emma Raducanu

You can still buy tickets for the tournament, which ends on 8 February, here.

#3- MedlabMiddle East is in full swing until 6 February at Dubai World Trade Center. The event is a platform for attendees to explore the latest innovations in medical lab technologies, diagnostics, and research. It features the participation of laboratory manufacturers, healthcare experts, procurement professionals, suppliers, and distributors from across the region.

#4- AIEverythingGlobal kicks off today at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi, and will continue on 5 and 6 February at the Dubai Exhibition Center. The event brings together policymakers, industry leaders, and tech pioneers to explore AI’s transformative role across many industries.

#5- The International Dental Conference and Arab Dental Exhibitionkicks off today and will wrap up on Thursday at the Dubai World Trade Center. The event hosts visitors, brands, companies, speakers, lectures, seminars, scientific discussions, and country pavilions showcasing dental innovations.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Trump’s flurry of executive orders is still the primary focus of international news headlines this morning, from delaying tariffs to creating a new US sovereign fund, to latest updates on the campaign targeting US foreign aid.

Crisis averted (for now): North American leaders managed to reach last-minute agreements with Trump, postponing tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, pending negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country will deploy technology and manpower to curb the flow of immigration and fentanyl across the border, while Mexico’s Sheinbaum is deploying 10k National Guard troops to “stop drug trafficking from Mexico.” Meanwhile, the US committed to curbing the flow of high-powered weaponry to Mexico.

China is still in the fray, however, as 10% tariffs are still set to take effect within a few hours. Trump is to speak with China’s Xi Jinping this week to reach an agreement, otherwise “tariffs are going to go substantially higher,” Trump said yesterday. (NYTimes | FT | Reuters | The Guardian)

Trump also signed an executive order yesterday to establish a sovereign wealth fund, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying we could see the US fund created within a year. The proposed fund could strike partnerships with “very wealthy people” and help finance the purchase of TikTok from China’s ByteDance, with an eventual target to rival investments deployed by big players like Saudi Arabia. (Bloomberg | BBC | Associated Press)

MEANWHILE- The embattled US Agency for International Development (USAID) seems to be rapidly approaching a reckoning. The agency’s website has gone down, with some of its top officials put on leave. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appointed himself acting director of the agency, and confirmed earlier reports that USAID will be absorbed by the State Department.

The attack on USAID is part of a wider campaign on federal government in the US helmed by Trump’s efficiency tsar Elon Musk, who referred to the agency as a “criminal organization” and a “radical-left political psy op.” (CNN | FT | NY Times)

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MARKET WATCH-

Opec+ sticks to its guns: Opec+ decided to maintain its policy of capping oil supply in 1Q before starting to ramp up output in April, according to an Opec statement issued following the conclusion of yesterday’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting. The meeting also handled members’ compliance as well as compensation plans for past overproduction.

The group is so far not heeding Trump’s calls to increase output and lower prices toUSD 60-70 per barrel, Bloomberg reports. “I don’t expect OPEC+ to heed Trump’s demands, or requests — whichever way you want to see it,” Vanda Insights founder Vandana Hari told the business information service.

Background: Opec+ initially planned to begin phasing out production cuts in October, but later pushed the plans back as oil prices fell. Production increases are now slated tobegin in April 2025 and to be gradually implemented until the end of 2026.

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