Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have a busy issue today, packed with plenty of investment and capital markets stories, leading with du’s follow-on offering kicking off yesterday. The secondary sale, which will entail Mubadala’s Mamoura selling down its stake, will see the new shares trading on the DFM next week.

ALSO- ADGM cemented its position as the region’s premier IFC on the back of surging AUM, while Modon is reportedly planning to invest some EGP 45 bn in infrastructure projects in Egypt’s Ras El Hekma.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Adnoc Gas will be added to the FTSE Emerging Index on Monday, 22 September — a move market analysts say could channel more than USD 250 mn in passive inflows into the stock, according to a press release (pdf). The upgrade comes a little under four months after Adnoc Gas was included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

REFRESHER- Adnoc Gas raised USD 2.5 bn in its ADX IPO in 2023 before its parent company Adnoc sold down an additional part of its interest in a USD 2.8 bn follow-on offering back in February.

#2- TAIC plots USD 1 bn asset shift: The Arab Investment Co. (TAIC) tapped Saudi Arabia’s Jadwa Investment to reallocate USD 1 bn from the sale of legacy holdings, CEO Abdullah Bakhraibah tells Bloomberg. The move is part of a turnaround plan that will see TAIC exit its entire USD 1.2 bn portfolio of bonds and letters of credit to focus on public equities, private markets, and venture capital.

REMEMBER- TAIC, backed by 17 governments, outlined plans last month to sell its legacy portfolio and pivot toward sectors such as healthcare, education, industrials, and technology — with 20 transactions targeted across shareholder nations. The UAE is its third-largest investor with a 13.5% stake, behind Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

What’s next? TAIC aims to redeploy as much as USD 800 mn by year-end, Bakhraibah said, in line with a broader shift among Gulf sovereign funds toward higher-yielding alternative assets.

#3- Cyprus eyes UAE role in EUR 1.9 bn subsea cable: Cyprus is talking to the UAE about possible cooperation on a power link — financially backed by the EU — connecting Greece, Cyprus, and eventually Israel, Reuters quotes Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides as saying. Christodoulides met with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss “the possibility of a joint partnership… to invest in other areas related to this project,” the Cypriot President said.

IN CONTEXT- The approach comes as the EUR 1.9 bn project faces repeated delays and is currently under investigation by European prosecutors for possible criminal offenses. Slated for completion by 2030, the fully extended 1.2k km-long, 3k meter-deep cable is set to be the world’s longest and deepest high-voltage direct current interconnector. Abu Dhabi’s Taqa expressed interest in participating in the project last year.

DATA POINTS-

Gross bank assets grew 1.9% m-o-m to AED 5 tn in June, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s latest monetary and banking developments report (pdf). Gross credit rose 1.8% to AED 2.3 tn, driven by AED 22.5 bn in domestic credit and an AED 18.4 bn growth in foreign credit. Within domestic credit, lending to non-banking financial institutions increased 4.6% and private sector credit went up 2.1%, while credit to government-related entities decreased by 2.3% and credit to the government sector went down 0.4%.

Total bank deposits increased 0.9% m-o-m to AED 3.0 tn, as resident deposits rose 1.7% to AED 2.8 tn, despite a 7.2% decrease in non-resident deposits to AED 257.2 bn. Among resident deposits, deposits from non-banking financial institutions increased by 26.7%, followed by government-related entities deposits (+2.3%), and private sector deposits (+1.7%), while government sector deposits declined 1.6%.

PSAs-

RTA to regulate tourist transport permits: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will now be responsible for issuing and renewing permits for tourist transport firms, registering and renewing vehicles, and licensing drivers, under new regulations enacted yesterday, according to a statement. Applications must be submitted through RTA’s approved service channels.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The DigiHealth WHX-Tech Expo is on until tomorrow at the World Trade Center in Dubai. The WHX event brings together C-suite executives, procurement heads, government officials, and investors for keynote addresses and exhibitions discussing new digital health solutions targeting global health obstacles.

The UAE’s Universal Postal Congress kicked off yesterday and will continue until Friday at the Dubai World Trade Center. The union’s 192 member countries will meet to set policies and strategy for the coming year, with this year’s congress looking to adopt advanced tech under the theme “Leading the Change, Creating the Future.”

Du’s tech event Envision is starting today at Atlantis, The Royal in Dubai. The event will bring together decisionmakers, tech partners and industry leaders for a conference and exhibition focusing on the digital transformation in areas like data centers, sovereign cloud, and cloud computing.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The International Government Communication Forum is happening tomorrow and on Thursday at Expo Centre Sharjah. Hosted by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, the two-day event will feature panel discussions, workshops, and keynote speeches focused on using strategic communication to develop five global priorities: food security, public health, education, environmental sustainability, and green economy.

TheInternational Real Estate and Investment Show Abu Dhabi is taking place from Friday until Sunday in Abu Dhabi. The conference brings together global developers and investors for insights into investment and market trends in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The front pages are shining the spotlight on US President Donald Trump and his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after House Democrats released — in a post on X — what they say is a handwritten birthday note from Trump to the convicted deceased fund manager. The message, allegedly referencing a “wonderful secret” the two shared, appears in a birthday book compiled for Epstein by his former accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump denied writing the note, and his chief of staff Taylor Budowich claimed the image is fake. (Bloomberg | CNBC | New York Times | BBC | The Guardian | Axios | Reuters)

AND IN US MARKETS- Nasdaq hits a fresh high ahead of key inflation data: The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at an all-time high yesterday as investors braced for fresh US inflation figures out later this week. Chipmakers Broadcom and Nvidia were up 3% and 1%, respectively, pushing the index up 0.45%. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones also closed in the green. Analysts say markets are pricing in a Fed rate cut this month, especially after last week’s underwhelming jobs report, CNBC reports.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC- France’s government collapses amid budget standoff: French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s nine-month-old government was toppled yesterday after losing a confidence vote in parliament, deepening France’s fiscal and political crisis. Bayrou’s unpopular austerity plan — including tax hikes, spending cuts, and scrapping two public holidays — was rejected by a wide opposition front. His ouster leaves President Emmanuel Macron scrambling to name his fifth prime minister in less than two years. (Financial Times | Reuters | BBC | New York Times)

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MARKET WATCH-

Goldman Sachs expects a slightly larger oil surplus in 2026, revising its estimate to 1.9 mn bbl/d, up from 1.7 mn bbl / d, with the change tied to faster expected OECD stock builds between late 2025 and late 2026, Reuters reports.

Price forecasts: The investment bank left its 2025 Brent and WTI price forecasts unchanged, and now sees 2026 averages at USD 56 and USD 52, Reuters said. Goldman linked Opec+’s decision to begin unwinding 1.65 mn bbl / d of cuts to still-low OECD commercial stocks, but stressed that the group is likely to retain flexibility and could pause quota increases from early 2026 if inventories begin to rise.

S&P Global is also projecting weaker crude prices by year-end, with dated Brent seen falling toward USD 55 a barrel as Opec+ continues to release additional supply, Reuters reports separately, citing co-president Dave Ernsberger of S&P Global Commodity Insights. Dated Brent under pins more than 60% of global oil trade and serves as a key benchmark for futures pricing.

Prices could dip below that level if surpluses deepen, Russian flows remain steady, and commercial stock-building slows, Ernesberger said. Under such conditions, futures markets could swing into wider contango, with prompt crude priced below forward contracts — a signal of ample supply.

ICYMI- Opec+ will raise output again next month, approving an additional 137k bbl/d from October as part of its accelerated rollback supply cuts. The cartel said that it will continue monthly hikes through September 2026, fast-tracking the return of 1.65 mn bbl/d that was previously set to stay offline until the end of 2026.

The Brent-Dubai spread is set to stay negative as demand for heavier Middle Eastern grades holds firm, even with rising Opec supply, Reuters reports, citing TotalEnergies trading chief Rahim Azouni. The tighter spread has made sweeter crudes more appealing for Asian refiners relative to Middle East sour grades, while also reopening the arbitrage for US barrels to move into Asia. On Monday, the Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) narrowed by USD 0.12 to USD 0.47 per barrel.

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