THIS MORNING: DFSA clarifies Islamic finance rules + Standard Chartered eyes UAE expansion

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. It was a (thankfully) quieter day on the alerts front yesterday, though the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) did warn on X later in the afternoon that it was responding to missile threats.

Precautions have been taken: Schools, universities, and many offices went back to being remote, only a week or so after returning to normal operations. The UAE’s airspace also came under new restrictions, with only specific routes approved for flights until 11 May, only a couple of days after Dubai Airports had said wartime restrictions were lifted.

Aside from the NCEMA post and slightly less traffic, it was still BAU, with Make It in the Emirates continuing for its second day in Abu Dhabi, with plenty more localization agreements for the pharma, defense, and energy sectors.

The Big Story Today, however, is the drop in the Purchasing Managers’ Index for April, with the non-oil sector seeing its weakest performance in more than five years on the back of mounting cost pressures and slowing demand.

PLUS- We’re seeing more cooperation to boost inland logistics as aviation and shipping continue to see disruptions, as well as more investments from Mubadala and more regulatory updates from DIFC.

WEATHER- We’re breaching the 40°C mark yet again, and it’s only the first week of May. Dubai is set to see a sweltering high of 42°C and a low of 30°C, while Abu Dhabi will see a high of 40°C and a low of 26°C.

Riyadh to Mumbai. Abu Dhabi to Singapore. Dubai to London. Cairo to Shenzhen.

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FINANCE — Standard Chartered is planning on bulking out its UAE offices as part of a wider push in the Gulf, the lender’s head of private and affluent banking Raymond Ang told Reuters. The war’s impact on its operations has been “negligible,” Ang said, pointing to a recent normalization of inflows following outflows earlier during the war.

The firm is looking to add more relationship managers for its HNWI clients in Dubai, adding to more than 100 bankers and managers already stationed there, as it doubles down on HNWI Indian and Pakistani nationals in the Emirates. It’s also considering an expansion in Abu Dhabi.

REGULATION — The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is looking to draw clearer lines on how firms market Islamic finance in the Dubai International Financial Center. The authority launched a consultation (pdf) on rulebook updates, with the “Islamic endorsement” front and center, after more firms have been wanting to offer Islamic finance options. The paper is open for comments until 19 June.

What’s changing? The DFSA wants to codify when that label kicks in. Firms would need an endorsement if they market products as shariah-compliant, run Islamic windows, or manage Islamic funds — essentially, if they “hold [themselves] out” as operating in line with shariah. Execution-only distribution without branding or advice wouldn’t trigger the requirement.

Takaful rules are also being tightened, with all providers required to disclose key contract mechanics — including how contributions are calculated, how surpluses are shared, and when additional payments may arise — under broader conduct rules that standardize disclosures.

DESALINATION — NMDC puts its desalination wager to work: NMDC subsidiary NMDC Infra has landed an AED 1.0 bn EPC contract to build a 60 MIGD seawater desalination plant in Fujairah in partnership with Spain’s Lantania, according to a statement (pdf). The two sides inked the contract with the investment arm of Etihad Water and Electricity.

What we know: The reverse osmosis facility will include storage covering 18 hours of output and is set for delivery over roughly 30 months, with phased commissioning to full capacity. It will sit within the Port of Fujairah, leveraging existing infrastructure as the UAE scales up water security.

The Fujairah contract draws directly on NMDC’s tie-up with Lantania, following its acquisition of a 51% stake in Lantania Aguas, now Lantania NMDC Water — the same partner on the project. The firm ranks among the top global desalination EPC players, with a backlog of around AED 2 bn and experience with large-scale projects like Saudi Arabia’s Jubail and Ras Mohaisen plants, giving NMDC a ready-made platform to scale in the sector.

LOGISTICS — UAE players look to boost cargo flows: Some of the Emirates’ logistics heavyweights are teaming up to improve intermodal logistics flows in the emirates. AD Ports, CMA Terminals Khalifa Port, and shipping giant CMA CGM Group inked an MoU to streamline movement between rail depots, dry ports, and cargo depots.

Target areas: The cooperation between the three sides aims to boost movement through the northern Emirates, as well as into Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE and Oman are already teaming up on a USD 2.5 bn rail project, which is set to include a freight service. Earlier in the war, the two countries also teamed up in a temporary joint corridor to expedite procedures for sea and air cargo via Oman, which is located outside of Hormuz.

PHARMA — Dubai Investments’ pharma subsidiary Globalpharma is moving ahead with its manufacturing push in Angola, with production at the planned facility in Dubai Investments Park Angola slated to begin in 2027, state news agency Wam reports. The update confirms progress on earlier plans announced last year, when the company signed an MoU with Angola’s Health Ministry to develop a plant focused on producing essential meds locally, with government support for licensing and approvals.

The move points to the company looking to scale demand for Emirati-made pharma beyond the GCC, building on a portfolio of more than 100 meds exported to around 15 countries.

M&A Watch — FCC commissioner raises alarm bells over L’imad-backed Warner Bros. merger: US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) official Anna Gomez has identified Paramount’s L’imad-backed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery as a potential national security risk as it would constitute foreign investment in US broadcasting, Reuters reports.

ICYMI: Paramount submitted a request to the regulator last week to bypass statutory limits on foreign ownership of US broadcasting assets, as foreign entities would own slightly less than 50% of the merged entity. The merger is backed by some USD 24 bn in commitments from Abu Dhabi government-owned firm L’imad and other GCC sovereign wealth funds.

The big story abroad

The wavering ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict is in the headlines this morning. Despite Iran's strikes on the UAE, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has maintained that the truce still holds. President Donald Trump announced a “short” pause on US efforts to escort ships out of the Strait of Hormuz “to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed.” Echoing sentiments of deescalation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the offensive stage of Washington’s campaign is over.

Could we bid farewell to quarterly earnings? The Securities and Exchange Commission isconsidering dropping the mandatory requirement of quarterly reporting, opting to keep disclosures a semi-annual occasion. The move by the US regulator coincides with Trump’s call for deregulation for Wall Street.

Meanwhile, in the world of AI: Meta is developing a personalized AI assistant designed to streamline daily tasks for its global user base. Sources with knowledge of the matter compared the initiative to services offered by OpenClaw, which enables users to deploy autonomous agents capable of executing complex tasks independently.

But is AI a bubble waiting to pop? JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink say no. They have argued, in separate comments, that Wall Street’s massive investments in AI tech and infrastructure are justified. Fink argues that AI spending is the “opposite” of a bubble, saying that “we have supply shortages; demand is growing much faster than anyone has anticipated.”

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