Good morning, lovely people, and welcome to the start of a new workweek. It’s a quiet morning on the news front, but a big (positive) update on Abu Dhabi’s XRG and ADQ-led consortium’s USD 18.7 bn bid to acquire Australian natural gas producer Santos came in overnight. While the consortium is getting another two weeks for due diligence, it has already said it’s nearly finished with the process and has found nothing to deter it from its plans.

Plus: On the capital markets front, MSCI’s latest rebalancing brought Dubai Residential REIT and Union Properties to its Emerging Markets Small-Cap Index, while Aramex was removed. Meanwhile, Azimut Group’s Managing Director Marwan Haddad is bullish on UAE equities through 2H 2025 as valuations remain attractive and local dynamics continue to trump global headwinds.

And our latest batch of earnings show the UAE’s population growth is still continuing to spur demand for property, electricity, water, and district cooling, with Dewa, Tabreed, and Sobha Realty all posting strong results.

WEATHER- Temperatures are set to reach 41°C in Dubai, with an overnight low of 32°C, and 44°C in Abu Dhabi, with an overnight low of 34°C. The National Center of Meteorology forecasts (pdf) fair to partly cloudy skies, especially in eastern areas, with light to moderate winds.

MORNING MUST-READS-

#1- Wall Street candidates are coming to the UAE — and so are Wall Street’s perks. As Gulf sovereign wealth funds step up their poaching of top Wall Street candidates, many are facing increased pressure to match the types of rewards offered by Wall Street, including carried interest awards, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. These are usually offered by private equity firms, offering small stakes in the firms with the carry being a share of the gains made when a successful exit is made.

Middle Eastern funds are now offering them, with a twist: Mubadala Capital and Lunate have both been able to attract some employees from the likes of Apollo and other private equity giants by offering this reward to the most high-level executives, though without giving them actual stakes in the funds. This is all the more important for Mubadala as it rejigs its investment strategy to target larger positions in big firms, sources are quoted as saying.

This comes as competition becomes more cut-throat in the region. Sovereign wealth funds across the region are all competing for top candidates as the region becomes a hotspot for IPOs and capital flows while dealmaking and exits take a hit elsewhere in the world. While lifestyle perks are being offered alongside attractions like low taxes, relatively low salaries offered to executives when compared to effectively uncapped carry rewards at global PE firms means local funds need to become more creative, and carry rewards are becoming crucial.

#2- We have the Middle East’s top attractions, according to TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor’s 2025Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best awards ranked Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque first in the region and eighth globally. The rankings are based on the quality and quantity of visitor reviews over the past year.

Other UAE sites making the regional top five include Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (#2 regionally, #20 globally), Dubai Frame (#3), Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi (#4), and The Dubai Fountain (#5).

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Adnoc’s fuel retail arm Adnoc Distribution plans to add 160 new fuel stations in Saudi Arabia by 2026, bringing the total to 300, CEO Bader Al Lamki told Asharq Business on Thursday (watch, runtime: 8:42). This expansion, which has already seen its Saudi network double to 140 stations this year, is being achieved through a dealer-owned station model.

REMEMBER- Back in May, Adnoc Distribution said it plans to open 40-50 new fuel stations in the Kingdom this year, having already secured contracts for 15 stations in 1Q 2025.

#2- Applications are now open for the 100 Companies of the Future: The Economy Ministry and the Government Development and the Future Office are now accepting applications for the 100 Companies of the Future initiative, state news agency Wam reports. Benefits for startups and SMEs chosen for the initiative include mentorship, potential funding and investment, competitive financing solutions, and AI services. UAE-based companies can apply here through October 2025.

Target sectors: Advanced industries, agri-tech, biotech, creative industries, cybersecurity, edtech, foodtech, healthcare, HR tech, smart mobility, legaltech, proptech, renewable energy, space, sustainability, environmental solutions, and fintech.

#3- Dubaiopens applications for second AI in gov’t services accelerator: The Dubai Center for Artificial Intelligence is launching a second cycle of its Future of AI in Government Services Accelerator in partnership with Dubai Future Accelerators, which invites local and international AI firms to co-develop solutions with more than 20 government entities, Wam reports. The partnerships also allow them to retain full ownership over their solutions.

The program targets four areas: Improving personalization and efficiency of existing services, creating AI-powered services, embedding AI to boost operational efficiency, and enhancing accessibility.

Applications close on 28 August, with the selected cohort joining an eight-week program in Dubai from 6 October to 28 November.

#4- Presight AI + Dow Jones Factiva partner on AI risk tools: G42-backed data analytics firm Presight AI and business information and research tool Dow Jones Factiva signed an MoU to develop AI-powered risk and compliance solutions for financial institutions, regulators, and sovereign entities, according to a press release. Planned products include AI-native KYC, sanctions screening, adverse media monitoring, sustainability tracking, and risk analysis — operating in sovereign-grade environments that adhere to national data residency and security requirements.

The initial rollout would target sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and Tier 1 banks in the UAE and GCC — with potential expansion to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, the UK, and the US.

PSAs-

#1- Emirates passengers can no longer use power banks to charge their phones in-flight as of 1 October, according to new guidelines from Emirates. Travelers are still allowed to carry one power bank under 100 Wh capacity — which must be stored in the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat — provided its specifications are clearly labeled and it’s not being charged onboard the flight.

#2- Bigger housing loans for UAE nationals: The Abu Dhabi Housing Authority is now offering UAE nationals top-ups to their housing loans after inking agreements with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib), and Al Maryah Community Bank (Mbank), according to Abu Dhabi Media Office. The program aims to boost homeownership among UAE nationals while giving borrowers more flexibility to plan and complete residential projects.

The details: The sharia-compliant facilities will provide up to AED 500k in additional financing for Emiratis, repayable over up to 25 years, with the Abu Dhabi government covering 50% of interest or income rates.

Who’s eligible? Nationals with an existing AED 1.75 mn housing loan from Adha — including those who have activated but not yet disbursed funds — can apply through the Iskan Abu Dhabi app. They must also have monthly incomes above AED 30k.

#3- Kuwait to offer visas on arrival to GCC residents: Foreigners residing in any GCC country for at least six months can now get a tourist visa upon arrival in Kuwait, effective immediately, Gulf News reports, citing an announcement in Kuwait’s official gazette.

WATCH THIS SPACE- It’s going to get easier to travel between GCC countries soon anyway: A Schengen-style Gulf tourist visa is meant to be launched in a trial phase in the final quarter of this year before a full rollout at a later stage, Al Etihad reported in July.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are leading headlines in the global business press this morning, as the two tech firms reached an agreement with the US government to pay a 15% fee on their chip sales to China. Nvidia will pay the fee on its H20 chips, while AMD will pay the fee on revenues from its MI308 chips. The levy comes in exchange for the companies receiving licenses to export semiconductors to China, following reports over the weekend that the US Department of Commerce had begun issuing export licenses for Nvidia’s H20 chips. (Financial Times | Bloomberg | Axios | CNBC)

Elsewhere, Ukraine vs Russia continues to get play: EU foreign ministers are set to meet later today to discuss “next steps” ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The EU meeting comes as the bloc calls on Trump to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table. (Reuters | Wall Street Journal)

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OIL WATCH-

India’s Reliance will likely begin to rely more on MENA crude: India’s Reliance Industries is likely to revert to sourcing crude from its traditional Middle Eastern suppliers like the UAE and Saudi Arabia due to geographical proximity if India yields to US President Trump’s pressure to cut Russian oil imports, Reuters reports, citing trade sources. The Indian firm purchased 1 mn barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude last month through a series of futures contracts, to be loaded in September, and earlier made a Murban acquisition on the spot market, shortly after the European Union imposed fresh sanctions on Russian crude supplies.

This could raise prices on the spot market: “Any hit to Russian supplies will increase their participation (in the spot market) and that would tighten spot market and raise prices. They are a giant player,” said Tushar Tarun Bansal, senior director at oil consultancy Alvarez and Marsal.

It’s not just Reliance: Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum are planning to pause purchases of Russian crude on the spot market until the government’s stance is clear, Bloomberg reported, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. India is yet to give direction to halt Russian crude imports, though Trump is upping the pressure, recently hiking tariffs on the country to 50% due to its purchases of Russian oil.

REMEMBER- Traders are watching to see if Middle Eastern crude like Murban will increasingly replace sanctioned Russian grades like Urals. Murban contracts typically see less activity than Brent or West Texas Intermediate, but trading volumes of Murban futures have increased in recent weeks amid growing market interest in alternative crude sources as geopolitical tensions shift procurement patterns across Asia and Europe.

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