Good morning, friends, and happy almost-FRIDAY. It’s another busy day as the UAE continues to buck the trend of a summer slowdown, with tons of M&A and investment news.

THE BIG STORY of the day is the EU greenlighting the UAE’s removal from its money laundering watchlist — a big boon for capital flows and business in the country. We also have another acquisition (and another potential divestment) from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, an Egyptian prototech expanding to the UAE through an acquisition of SmartCrowd, and DIFC’s first tokenized money market fund.

⛅WEATHER- It’s a mostly cloudy day today, with the mercury peaking at 40°C in Dubai before cooling to an overnight low of 31°C. Over in Abu Dhabi, temperatures will reach a high of 35°C before cooling to 29°C overnight.

Sequoia under fire after partner’s anti-Muslim remarks: Prominent investors and startup founders from the Middle East have joined a public petition against Shaun Maguire, a partner at

US-based venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, who is facing intense criticism after he posted on X that NYC politician Zohran Mamdani is promoting an “Islamist agenda” and comes from a “culture that lies about everything.” An open letter demanding his removal from client-facing roles and a zero-tolerance anti-discrimination policy has gathered almost 600 signatories from founders, investors, and operators across the tech world, including Tabby’s Hosam Arab, Lean Tech’s Hisham Al Falih, and Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha.

Wamda Capital’s CEO Fadi Ghandour also publicly criticized the tweet as “racist” and calling him out on his “total ignorance,” adding in comments to the National that anyone who is racist is “not welcome in the region.”

The post had drawn over 5.3 mn views as of Monday afternoon — and mounting outrage. Maguire later posted a 30-minute video attempting to clarify the comment, saying his critique was aimed at “political Islamism, not Islam.”

Where’s Sequoia in all this? So far, silent. The letter gives the firm until 14 July to issue a public response, or face broader public and media escalation.

The story has gotten attention from the foreign press: CNBC | WSJ

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- EGA to take action against Guinea over mining contract suspension? Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) will look to “defend its rights” ahead of international tribunals after concluding that Guinea's government wrongfully terminated a concession agreement for its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), Bloomberg and Reuters report citing a statement from the firm. The termination will lead to approximately 2k job losses and halts plans for a local alumina refinery, the statement read.

The background: The termination follows a dispute over export suspensions and refinery development requirements that began in October 2024 when the Guinean government suspended bauxite exports from EGA’s existing facilities as part of a wider push to gain more control over the country’s natural and mineral resources. Earlier this year, the government was also looking to revoke Emirates Global Aluminum’s mining license due to what it says is a failure to deliver on its commitment to develop an alumina refinery in the country. At the time, EGA had said it was working with the government to find a resolution.

#2- Capital Economics is the latest to forecast strong growth for the UAE’s non-oil sector this year, penciling in an expansion of 5.5%, up from 5% last year, on the back of strong retail and tourism growth, senior economist James Swanston said in a recent research note seen by EnterpriseAM. It also sees GDP growing 5.8% in 2025 and to 6.5% in 2026, putting it on track to maintain its spot as the top growing Gulf country for another year.

Credit growth is also a factor: Private credit growth saw a significant increase, hitting 8.0% y-o-y in March — its quickest pace since October. This rise has been partly driven by mortgage lending. “Admittedly, this only accounts for ~20% of all home sales, but the share has increased and could expand with a new initiative to help first-time buyers gain access to mortgages via banks,” the note read.

UAE oil output set for a significant increase: Despite production only rising by 0.1 mn barrels a day as OPEC+ began easing cuts in April, July’s meeting has paved the way for “a more aggressive second half of the year,” penciling in a 16% increase in oil output to 3.4 mn bbl / d by year-end and a further 7% in 2026.” This represents a greater relative increase than other Gulf states, Swanston noted.

PSAs-

#1- Shutting down the rumor mill: The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) has refuted recent reports about granting lifetime golden visas to Indian and Bangladeshi nationals on revised conditions, state news agency Wam reports. The authority added that action will be taken against entities making the offer and that golden visa applications are still handled exclusively by official government channels. The ICP also recently shut down reports of golden visas being offered to crypto investors.

ICYMI- Earlier this month, multiple media outletsreported that the UAE has relaxed eligibility criteria for Indian and Bangladeshi nationals, alleging that they can get lifetime residency for a fee of AED 100k on nomination-basis instead of existing rules that require a minimum investment of AED 2 mn.

#2- Senior citizens will get extended ins. coverage on housing loans: The UAE’s Energy and Infrastructure Ministry will extend loan coverage on housing loans for senior citizens up to 95 years of age, extending the age limit from just 70 years old, according to a press release.

The new program: The initiative aims to offer life ins. that fully covers housing loans, and includes cases of death or permanent disability. It will be implemented in partnership with key ins. industry and government stakeholders including the Central Bank of the UAE, and Takaful service providers like Sukoon Takaful, and Abu Dhabi National Ins. Company.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Another day, another tariff headline is dominating front pages. The US has now said it will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff — a large hike compared to the 10% reciprocal tariff announced earlier in April — as US President Donald Trump protested what he calls a “witch hunt” against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in his letter to the country. He criticized the current trial and charges against Bolsonaro and demanded that he be allowed to run in the next election. Not stopping there, he also ordered an unfair trade practices probe into Brazil’s policies that could lead to further tariffs later. (Bloomberg | Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Guardian | Financial Times)

Meanwhile, Trump says a Gaza ceasefire agreement is “very close,” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues talks with Trump in Washington and US, Qatari, and Israeli officials reportedly meet to discuss the agreement. (Bloomberg | Axios)

ALSO- Chipmaker Nvidia has just became the first company ever to hit a market cap of USD 4 tn, beating its rivals Apple and Microsoft to the milestone during trading yesterday. (Bloomberg | FT | WSJ | CNBC)

ALSO- X CEO Linda Yaccarino has stepped down from her position at the Elon Musk-owned platform after two years. The resignation comes just a day after X’s chatbot, Grok, went off on a tangent, praising Adolf Hitler and spewing anti-semitic comments. (Reuters | WSJ | FT)

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MARKET WATCH-

Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei brushed off concerns of a surplus in oil markets, saying that the fact that markets are absorbing additional Opec+ barrels without a notable buildup in inventories signals sustained demand, Reuters reports. “[Even] with the increases for several months we haven’t seen a major buildup in inventories, which means the market needed those barrels,” Al Mazrouei said.

REMEMBER- Recent days saw reports speculating that the latest output boost from Opec+ for August could tip oil markets into surplus later this year.

Al Mazrouei also stressed the importance of maintaining price levels that support long-term investment, warning that focusing only on short-term price movements undermines stability and noting that countries with significant reserves are still not investing enough to secure future supply.

Another hike incoming? Another hike of 550k barrels per day for September is looking likely for when the group meets on 3 August, sources told Reuters.

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