Good morning, and happy FRIDAY. We close out the week with a packed issue, led by Abu Dhabi’s most recent critical minerals push, as ADQ joins the US in investing some USD 600 mn in global critical minerals projects. Meanwhile, joining its peers in upgrading the UAE’s GDP growth forecast this morning is Fitch Solutions’ BMI, which now sees the country’s GDP growing at 5% this year.

ALSO- Emaar is investing AED 100 bn in its latest Emaar Hills project, which will feature an ultra-luxury community named Dubai Mansions.

PLUS- Emirates NBD, du, and more are out out with its 3Q earnings; Mashreq facilitated a USD 1 bn syndicated loan for Energy Development Oman; and Property Finder invests in Stake.

WEATHER- Dubai will see a high of 35°C today, and an overnight low of 26°C, while the mercury in Abu Dhabi peaks at 36°C, with a low of 24°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Bankers are eyeing the Gulf as the next testing ground for private equity-backed listings, marking a shift that could reshape how buyout firms exit their regional investments, Bloomberg reports. Barclays and Emirates NBD Capital say early discussions are already underway with private equity owners exploring exits through the UAE and Saudi markets, as IPO markets deepen beyond state-linked and family-run firms into sectors such as healthcare, retail and services, though limited liquidity and valuation discipline still pose a threat.

What the pundits are saying: “There are now more discussions happening with a broader range of owners who see the region, especially the United Arab Emirates, as a viable listing destination […]. While the number of private equity-owned businesses here is still smaller than in more mature markets, activity has clearly increased,” said Nikita Turkin, head of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa equity capital markets at Barclays.

Yes, but: One anticipated IPO was recently delayed, underscoring challenges for PE investors. Dubizzle’s IPO was meant to allow Bain Capital and Kingsway Capital to offload their stakes, but was delayed earlier this week. IPOs here also usually offer smaller 20-30% stakes, which compared to private equity firms’ controlling stakes of 50-57% limit how much they’ll be able to lock in from the exit, Emirates NBD Capital’s Hitesh Asarpota — who is less convinced a major wave of PE-backed IPOs is likely in the next 12-18 months — said. As a result, many funds are assessing alternative exit routes — such as accelerated book-builds — to unlock liquidity and reduce exposure.

#2- Emirates NBD’s play for RBL gets neutral verdict from Fitch: Emirates NBD’s planned acquisition of India’s RBL won’t affect the Dubai lender’s credit rating, according to a Fitch Ratings commentary. The agency said ENBD’s A+ long term issuer default rating remains supported by its “systemic importance” and close state ties, and added that it would retain its bbb- capitalization and leverage score even after the acquisition wraps, based off of the bank’s 1H 2025 financials.

REFRESHER- Earlier this week, ENBD agreed to acquire between 51-74% ofMumbai-listed RBL Bank through a USD 3 bn preferential share issuance. The Reserve Bank of India indicated it may greenlight the acquisition, which requires overriding the current cap on foreign ownership.

Its operating environment score of bbb will likewise not be impacted negatively, given the limited exposure to India, representing only 6% of the bank’s assets, and the Indian banking sector’s already solid score of bb+. The bank’s exposure to Turkey means it already carries a lower rating compared to its UAE peers, which mostly carry a bbb+ rating.

Higher offshore exposure: The RBL purchase, which marks the largest foreign investment in India’s financial sector and its biggest-ever bank equity raise, would raise ENBD’s overseas exposure to around 30% of its total assets, up from 25% now.

#3- Habibi, invest in Andhra Pradesh: N. Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, invited investments from UAE-based companies including Sharaf Group, Transworld Group, Burjeel Holdings, and Sobha Group during his visit to Dubai, The Times of India reports. The highlights of the visit:

  • Naidu invited Sobha Realty founder PNC Menon to invest in Amravati, the greenfield capital city of Andhra Pradesh, and to explore investments in real estate, tourism and hospitality, after Sobha invested some USD 11 mn in a library in the city;
  • Sharaf Group, through its subsidiary Hind Terminals, is exploring logistics and warehousing projects near Andhra Pradesh’s industrial parks, seeking locations with rail, road, and port connectivity;
  • Transworld Group expressed interest in partnering with the state government to set up a shipbuilding facility;
  • and Burjeel Holdings discussed establishing a cancer-speciality center in Tirupati city.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Chinese firms are continuing to flock to Dubai, with the Dubai Multi Commodities Center reporting a 16% y-o-y increase in Chinese company registrations over the past 12 months, bringing the total to more than 1k, according to a press release. The district has now seen five consecutive years of double-digit growth in Chinese companies, with businesses from emerging sectors like blockchain, AI, and digital infrastructure leading the drive.

#2- Rak’s active business licenses rose 5.7% in 3Q 2025: Ras Al Khaimah’s active business licenses surged to 21.5k in 3Q 2025, up 5.7% from the previous year, state news agency Wam reports. Some 24.6% came from recently-established licenses, up 17.5% from the previous year, while licenses issued three to five years ago rose by 20.6%. Licenses operating for over 10 years in the emirate accounted for 53.5% of total active permits.

PSAs-

#1- UAE content creators now have until 31 January 2026 to obtain mandatory permit: The UAE Media Council has extended the deadline for content creators to secure the mandatory advertising license to 31 January 2026, the Council announced. Introduced in July with the initial deadline set for 31 October, the permit applies to all individuals — citizens, residents, or visitors — generating paid or unpaid promotional content online.

For citizens and residents, the permit is valid for one year at no-charge for the first three years, with renewals available thereafter. Meanwhile, visitors can obtain a renewable three-month permit.

#2- Dubai eases self-build permits for Emirati villas: Dubai Municipality gave the green light to some engineering consultancy offices to issue self-build permits for Emirati villas, allowing them to issue approvals without prior municipal review, according to a statement. More offices will be added to the approved list later on.

How it works: Accredited offices will verify compliance with the Dubai Building Code and planning regulations — including land use, height, and parking — before submitting applications via the Dubai Building Platform to receive the permit.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

The World Investment Conference and Sharjah Investment Forum continue today at the Jawaher Reception and Convention Center in Sharjah, bringing together policymakers, investors, and multilateral institutions for over 60 workshops and conference sessions to discuss investment solutions, with this year focusing on SMEs, AI, and youth entrepreneurship.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

#1- The FutureHospitality Summit (FHS) will run from Monday, 27 October until Wednesday, 29 October at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The summit brings together global hospitality leaders, investors, and industry leaders to explore investments to scale their businesses across key sectors, from hospitality to sustainability, technology, startups, talent, education, and branded residences.

#2- The UAE Africa Tourism Investment Summit is taking place this Monday, 27 October, in Dubai. Part of the FHS, the summit will convene over 250 senior officials, policymakers, and investors from 53 African countries to explore investments and foster cross-collaboration between government entities and private sectors in tourism, investment, infrastructure, and hospitality sectors in the UAE and Africa.

#3- The annual Network Forum Middle East opens on Monday, 27 October at the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, bringing together over 100 regional capital market leaders from asset management, post-trade, investment banking, and custody sectors. This year’s event will spotlight Abu Dhabi’s evolving market infrastructure, including the ADX Group’s new platform, and its subsidiaries Abu Dhabi Clear and Abu Dhabi Central Securities Depository.

#4-The Emirati Media Forum (EMF) will take place on Tuesday, 28 October at the Museum of the Future, organized by the Dubai Press Club. The annual event will gather senior UAE media executives, editors, and content creators to discuss the sector’s digital transformation and strategies to strengthen trust and counter misinformation.

#5-The Annual Gulf Ins. Forum will take place on Tuesday, 28 and Wednesday, 29 October at the Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel, Dubai. The event will gather insurers, brokers, and regulators from across the region to discuss reins. capacity, pricing, solvency, and risk management in GCC markets, with sessions focusing on resilience, catastrophe response, and financial strength.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Another big AI transaction is dominating headlines: Google agreed to supply AI startup Anthropic with some 1 mn specialized AI chips in a transaction worth tens of bns of USD. The tensor processing units — TPUs, which power machine learning workloads — would be deployed in 2026, and would bring 1 GW in AI compute capacity online. Google is already among Anthropic’s backers, and the startup was recently in talks with Abu Dhabi investor MGX for potential funding. (Bloomberg | Reuters | CNBC)

ALSO GETTING ATTENTION- Data centers tied to Oracle could be in line for a massive USD 38 bn debt facility in what would be the largest such transaction for AI infrastructure ever, with JPMorgan and Mitsubishi Financial Group set to be among the banks leading the transaction. (Bloomberg)

PLUS- Intel’s shares rallied yesterday after the chipmaker returned to profitability in 3Q 2025 following six quarters of losses, and gave an upbeat forecast for revenues and sales. This was the company’s first earnings after the US government took a stake in the firm, Softbank invested in it, and Abu Dhabi investor MGX and Silver Lake took control of its programmable chip unit Altera. (Bloomberg | Reuters)

OIL WATCH-

Spot crude premiums jump as US sanctions hit Russian oil: Spot premiums for Middle Eastern crude climbed after fresh US sanctions on Russian producers Rosneft and Lukoil drove expectations that China and India will be seeking alternative supplies, Reuters reports. CashDubai rose to a three-week high of USD 2.71/bbl, while Oman climbed to USD 3.12 and Murban USD 2.86, as trading surged on tighter supply.

Driving the move: The sanctions disrupted flows of Russian grades such as Urals and ESPO, which typically supply more than 3 mn bbl/d to India and China. Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries and state-run firms, have recently been cutting Russian purchases and turning to Middle Eastern, West African, and Brazilian crude to avoid breaching restrictions.

REMEMBER- Washington’s push against Russian oil has already narrowed the Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps to USD 0.6/bbl from USD 3.9 in June, as Indian refiners pivot to Gulf and Atlantic Basin grades.

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