Good morning, friends, and happy hump day. We have another busy issue for you this morning, led with not-so-good news about the non-oil sector in July, as activity took another hit amid mounting competitive pressures and weakened demand following the escalation of regional tensions.

In investment-related news, Abu Dhabi’s MGX is reportedly eyeing USD 25 bn in investments through a fund — marking a shift from a capital-exporting-only strategy for Abu Dhabi investors. Plus: Fintech Alaan raised USD 48 mn in its series A round; and Dubai Residential REIT is out with its first earnings after listing.

WEATHER- Cloud build-up could bring showers to the east and south by afternoon, with light to moderate winds stirring up dust, according to the National Center of Meteorology (pdf). The mercury in Dubai is expected to reach a high of 42°C, before cooling to 34°C overnight. In Abu Dhabi, daytime highs will reach 45°C, with evening lows of 34°C.

UPDATE-

DFM-listed asset manager Al Mal Capital REIT wrapped up its follow-on public offering, raising some AED 210 mn, it said in a filing (pdf) to the bourse. This is AED 10 mn short of its initial target, and brings its total capital to AED 703.9 mn. The issuance, priced at AED 1.125 per unit, drew both existing and new unitholders, underlining growing interest in income-focused real estate plays. Proceeds will be deployed into high-yield assets across education, healthcare, and industrials. Trading of the new units is expected to begin between 8-15 August, pending regulatory approvals.

ADVISORS- Al Mal Capital is acting as both fund and issue manager. FAB is the lead receiving bank. Legal advisory is being handled by Al Tamimi & Company, KPMG is the auditor, Standard Chartered is the custodian and admin provider, and CBRE is on real estate valuation.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Emirates Global Aluminum’s subsidiary in Guinea is now seeking redress after the country transferred its bauxite mining lease and concession to a newly created state-backed firm, Nimba Mining Company, EGA said in a statement. This comes after Guinea’s government terminated its concession agreement earlier this month, citing a failure to deliver on its commitment to build an alumina refinery in the country. The termination will lead to approximately 3k job losses, and is a “flagrant violation of GAC’s contractual and legal rights,” EGA said in the statement.

Background: The government first suspended bauxite exports from EGA in October 2024 as part of a wider push to gain more control over the country’s natural and mineral resources.

#2- Dubai Investments plans to list a stake of up to 25% in one of its portfolio companies on the DFM before year-end, CEO Khalid bin Kalban told CNBC Arabia in an interview (watch, runtime: 02:55). The firm is considering both a real estate company and a services company for the offering, with banks expected to be invited to participate after the summer.

We knew this was coming: Bin Kalban previously said that Dubai Investments aims to float four subsidiaries over the next few years, one per year. The firm has already completed evaluations and pitched its portfolio to advisors, with candidates including Dubai Investments Park, Properties Investment, Al Mal Capital, Dubai Investment Real Estate, Globalpharma, Emirates Building Systems, and Emicool.

On the ground: Dubai Investments is gearing up to launch a new multi-emirate Dubai Investments Park project, starting in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, with final agreements likely to be signed after the summer, bin Kalban added. The model mirrors its USD 500 mn Dubai Investments Park Angola project, which is being rolled out over 12-15 years and includes industrial, residential, and commercial zones. The company broke ground on the project in 2024, working with the China Harbour Engineering Company on development works.

#3- Masdar in line for a stake in Inerdrola’s solar portfolio in Spain: State-owned renewables firm Masdar is among several bidders shortlisted to acquire a 49% stake in Iberdrola’s Proyecto Julieta solar portfolio in Spain, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management and Australia’s Fortescue are also in the running to snap up the portfolio, which has a total capacity of around 1 GW. Iberdrola is reportedly seeking a valuation of at least EUR 900 mn (USD 1 bn).

IN CONTEXT- Iberdrola has been offloading minority stakes in key assets as part of its asset rotation strategy, freeing up capital to cut debt and ramp up its investments in power networks in different countries. Masdar is already a familiar partner, having recently co-invested in Iberdrola’s 476 MW Baltic Eagle wind farm in Germany through a minority stake acquisition, and the 1.4 GW East Anglia Three project in the UK, which secured funding last month in what was Masdar’s largest financing to date.

#4- Another hedge fund is set to land in Abu Dhabi: British alternative investment firm and hedge fund, Rokos Capital Management, is set to open its fourth global outpost in Abu Dhabi in 1Q 2026, Bloomberg reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. The USD 22 bn hedge fund is aiming to use its new Abu Dhabi office to take advantage of trading across global markets, attract top talent, who are increasingly being lured to financial hubs in the Middle East region and the UAE due to the favorable tax environment and lifestyle perks, and be closer to strategic investors. The firm also has outposts in New York and Singapore.

Moves: The firm’s head of finance, Chris Irish (LinkedIn), will move to the Abu Dhabi office from London and head the Middle East business, the source said.

#5- India’s Titan eyes Gulf shift amid US trade tensions: Indian jeweler Titan, part of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, is considering shifting some of its jewelry manufacturing to the Gulf to sidestep rising US tariffs on Indian exports, managing director C.K. Venkataraman told Reuters. The firm is exploring the region as a lower tariff export base for Titan’s expanding US footprint, including its Tanishq and CaratLane brands, he said. The UAE and most of the Gulf region is subject to the baseline 10% tariff on US imports, while India was recently slapped with a much higher 25% tariff.

Titan is no stranger to the UAE, with the conglomerate set to acquire a 67% stake for USD 283 mn in Dubai-based luxury retail Damas from Qatar’s Mannai Corporation. The AED 1.04 bn transaction would see it secure a majority stake in the firm, which operates 146 stores across the region, and would see Damas folded into a new DIFC-based entity, Signature Jewellery Holding.

It also has big plans to expand its footprint across the region: Titan plans to open up 75 new outlets across the GCC over the next five years, Venkataraman told Khaleej Times. Between 40 and 50 will be under the Damas brand, with a particular focus on expansion in Saudi Arabia, and the rest under Tanishq, he added.

#6- Alpha Dhabi eyes data center builds via Trojan: Alpha Dhabi Holding is exploring windows to tap into the UAE’s growing data center market through its construction arm, Trojan Group, Chief Strategy Officer Derek Nicholson told The National. While the ADX-listed firm has no direct investment plans, it’s weighing indirect exposure by building infrastructure for the increasingly in-demand sector. “[They are] going to be the construction projects of the future,” he said, adding, “We’re actively exploring opportunities.”

IPO watch: Nicholson also said Alpha Dhabi is considering listing some of its portfolio companies, though no timeline or specific entities have been confirmed. “When we think [our companies] reach the right level, then they’re ready to go on the stock market,” Nicholson said.

PSA-

Dubai launches new services for family business governance: The Dubai Center for Family Businesses introduced three advisory services operating under Dubai Chambers to support family-owned firms, according to Dubai Media Office. The services will provide tailored evaluations of existing governance structures, assist in creating formal family constitutions, and guide wealth management strategies. The center also recently launched a family business advisors directory.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a busy day in the international press this morning, from big plays in the sports streaming world, to AI developments, to the usual flavor of disruption from Trump’s executive orders.

A big play in sports: Disney’s ESPN will acquire NFL Network and other media assets from the National Football League, in exchange for the NFL taking a 10% equity stake in the sports network. Disney did not disclose the values of the sale, analysts estimate it lands in the ballpark of USD 2-3 bn.

ALSO- AMD’s data center performance causes investor concerns: The US chipmaking giant’s share price fell some 6% after hours, after reporting lower-than-expected quarterly earnings. Muted data center revenue growth in 2Q — just 14% y-o-y to USD 3.2 bn — was a far cry from top dog Nvidia’s 73% growth in data center business over the first quarter.

Earnings season continues: Expect giants including McDonald’s, Disney, and Uber to report their quarterly earnings later today.

OVER IN TECH- OpenAI lives up to its name: ChatGPT’s maker decided to enter the open-source competition with DeepSeek and Meta head-on, releasing its first two “open-weight” models gpt-oss 120b and gpt-oss 20b. The new models are claimed to perform close to GPT’s smaller closed models.

AND- Trump cracks down on “de-banking”: US President Trump is about to issue an executive order that would crack down on “politicized or unlawful banking”, punishing US lenders who cut off accounts for political or religious reasons. The order — accompanied with claims of discrimination against conservatives — would extend to clients of “risky industries,” which translates into crypto users and traders.

Also worth reading this morning:

  • The US trade deficit narrowed in June due to a substantial decrease in imports, as the trade gap with China reached its lowest level in 21 years.
  • Norway ordered the world’s largest sovereign fund to review investments in Israelicompanies, after reports showed it financed businesses linked to the Gaza war.
  • Elon Musk and Tesla are being sued for fraud, following claims that the world’s richest man concealed the risks of Tesla’s Robotaxi and self-driving vehicles.

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