Good morning, everyone. Today’s issue has quite the range of stories — Abu Dhabi’s GDP hit a record quarterly high in 3Q, while industrial exports hit AED 262 bn last year.

It’s also a big day for UAE-Africa ties, the multi-continent 2Africa submarine cable just landed in the Emirates, and a Dubai-based player is pouring USD 1.6 bn into farmland and data centers in Africa.

Plus: Mubadala Capital acquires US billboard operator Clear Channel in USD 6.2 bn transaction. Mubadala is offloading another Getir stake. This time, it’s a controlling stake in the Turkish firm’s food delivery arm to Uber. Want to know about such SWF strategies? Read our deep-dive piece in the newswell below. Earnings season is also in full swing with the likes of Adnoc Gas, Aldar, and du lining up to turn in their results.

We’re also keeping our eye on a US delegation that’s coming to town today to talk AI, and more specifically, its application in sectors like energy, finance, and healthcare.

Happening today

The US Chamber of Commerce is bringing an AI Acceleration business delegation to the UAE for three days of talks starting today, US Chamber of Commerce’s VP of Middle East Affairs Steve Lutes tells EnterpriseAM UAE. The delegation will include some 35 companies and 45 delegates, comprising a range of multinational “giants” as well as smaller SMEs and startups with unique propositions, he added.

On the agenda: The talks are aimed at taking the US-UAE AI ties to the next level, with a focus on AI applications and the diffusion of AI across both economies, Lutes said. The goal is to facilitate conversations and partnerships between AI-adopting companies in sectors like healthcare, energy, and finance and the technology providers capable of driving greater efficiency and productivity across those industries, he added.

AI sits at the center of the US-UAE relationship, Lutes tells us, with the regulatory and policymaking framework serving as a crucial pillar, which is why conversations on that front will also feature during the delegation’s visit.

The US and the UAE’s AI ties were given a huge boost over the past year with projects like the planned 5 GW Stargate UAE AI campus, part of Washington’s USD 500 bn Stargate program. The project, expected to come online in 3Q 2026, is set to rank among the world’s largest AI-dedicated compute hubs. Export approvals for the project’s chips were greenlit in November, subject to specific security conditions. This was followed by the UAE joining the US’ critical minerals initiative Pax Silica, which is expected to boost cooperation between the two countries even further, both in AI and elsewhere.

Also happening today:

Later this week:

  • The Family Office Summit takes place tomorrow at Park Hyatt Dubai, bringing together principals, CIOs, and advisors to focus on governance, succession planning, alternative investments, and portfolio resilience.

WEATHER- It’s only getting warmer this week, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi both seeing a high of 29°C and an overnight low of 18°C today.

Watch this space

REAL ESTATE — Tokenized property hits the marketplace: The Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched the second phase of its real estate tokenization initiative, allowing secondary-market trading of tokenized property interests starting 20 February, Wam reports. Around 7.8 mn tokens are set to become tradeable under a tightly controlled pilot.

BACKGROUND- As we’ve previously reported, the first phase, launched in March under DLD’s REES innovation initiative, focused on tokenizing title deeds but barred resale. Since then, authorities have signaled plans to widen the model — including non-resident participation, off-plan assets, and digital-currency payments — positioning tokenization to scale beyond a sandbox.

What to watch for: DLD says the second phase will stress-test market plumbing, transparency, and investor safeguards before any broader rollout. Meanwhile, regulators, including the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, will continue working on participation rules and platform onboarding.

Data point

AED 262 bn — that was the value of the UAE’s industrial exports in 2025, marking a 25% increase y-o-y and double 2020’s output, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a post on X. The performance was spearheaded by tech industries, which generated AED 92 bn in exports, up 42% y-o-y, state news agency Wam reports. The UAE had previously set 2031 as its target date to pass the AED 90 bn threshold.

The big story abroad

No single story is capturing the attention of the foreign business pages this morning — among the few worth noting:
Google’s parent company Alphabet started shopping around a 100-year bond, which comes as part of a wider GBP-denominated issuance. We know the demand is there, with the tech giant wrapping up a 5x oversubscribed, USD 20 bn bond sale yesterday. It is also preparing a separate CHF offering, all in a bid to finance its AI ambitions.

Speaking of Big Tech, they might catch a break on tariffs, as US President Donald Trump plans to exempt companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from an upcoming streak of levies on chips. The move would spare imports from Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC, whose major clients include AI hyperscalers — a sector that Trump wants to protect while simultaneously remaining tough on imports.

The specter of AI haunts private credit: Private credit lenders remain rattled by potential disruption in the software sector — a favorite debtor among players — by advancements in AI. In light of Anthropic’s rollout of AI tools that automate tasks conventionally done via software products, shares of asset managers with large private credit activity saw a sharp drop.

The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.

Subscribe here

***

You’re reading EnterpriseAM UAE, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about the UAE, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Monday through Friday by 7am UAE time.

EnterpriseAM UAE is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Mashreq and Hassan Allam Properties.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on UAE@enterpriseAM.com .

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the MENA logistics industry?

***

Circle your calendar

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

Tags: