Good morning, everyone. The newsflow has slowed down with the start of Ramadan, but we still have a few things to see you through to the weekend. We’re taking a deep dive into why some of the world’s biggest crypto firms are flocking to the UAE, and Mantas’ Basil Mimi talks to us about insuring against cloud downtime.

Plus, our friends at Mashreq have priced a record-tight AT1 issuance, and Emirati players including Mubadala Energy and Arcius, XRG’s JV with BP, are looking to Egypt’s oil and gas sector.

Watch this space

The UAE will be committing USD 1.2 bn to support the reconstruction of Gaza as part of its membership in the US’ Board of Peace, adding to some USD 3 bn it has pledged in the past to Palestinians in Gaza, state news agency Wam reports. The board, which held its first meeting yesterday after its launch last month, saw a total of USD 7 bn in commitments to Gaza, while the US pledged USD 10 bn for the board, Reuters reports. The board was formed to address global conflicts, starting with a peace plan for Gaza.

XRG and BP’s JV Arcius Energy plans to invest USD 150 mn to drill an exploratory well in Egypt’s Mediterranean in 4Q this year, Asharq Business quotes a government official as saying. The planned well forms part of the company’s broader investment strategy to develop oil and gas concessions that the JV acquired from BP and Shell in the country.

The firm has been ramping up its Egyptian portfolio: Arcius finalized an agreement to acquire the Harmattan gas and condensate field in Egypt’s Eastern Mediterranean in November. The company holds former BP assets in two Egyptian development concessions, including a 10% stake in the Shorouk concession and full ownership of the North Damietta concession. It also holds exploration rights in North Tabya, Bellatrix City East, and North Fayrouz.

REMEMBER- Arcius is a joint venture set up last December between BP, which holds a 51% stake, and Adnoc’s investment arm XRG, which owns the remaining 49%.

What’s next? The investment comes as Arcius is preparing to invest USD 3.7 bn in Egypt over the next five years, according to statements by Egypt’s Oil Minister Karim Badawi.

Happening today

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has wrapped his visit to New Delhi for the India AI Impact Summit, according to Abu Dhabi Media Office. He met with several heads of states, including French President Emmanuel Macron and President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake to discuss bilateral cooperation, including in AI with France, and investment, trade, and tourism with Sri Lanka.

WEATHER- Expect another warm day in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with temperatures peaking at 30°C. Dubai will see an overnight low of 19°C and the capital will see a low of 17°C. The National Center of Meteorology also issued a notice for a fog early this morning, so drive safe.

The big story abroad

Attention is split between a selloff of private credit stocks and the US’ ticking time bomb in Iran — plus former Prince Andrew’s arrest on the back of more revelations tied to his relationship with [redacted] offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Shares of private investment managers on Wall Street took a tumble after Blue Owl sold USD 1.4 bn of loan assets held in three of its private debt funds, and said it would replace quarterly redemption with payouts weighed on the group’s shares. Blue Owl’s shares fell 6%, while Ares Management, Apollo Global Management, KKR, Blackstone, TPG all closed in the red.

The must-read on the topic: Private credit stocks slide after Blue Owl halts redemptions at fund

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has warned Iran it has 15 days to reach a nuclear agreement with the US before “bad things happen,” as it continues to amass its forces in the region. (Reuters)

Also getting attention: Former Prince Andrew was released after his arrest earlier in the day on the back of files that were released related to Epstein showing he shared classified information during his time as trade envoy.

AND- Nvidia looks to be backtracking on its planned USD 100 bn investment in OpenAI, which would have come in increments over several years and as the startup’s demand for compute grew, with plans to scrap it for a lumpsum USD 30 bn investment in exchange for equity. (Financial Times)

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