THIS MORNING: Indian, Emirati regulators talk FX deposit friction + Dubai’s property market continued to soften in June

Good morning, friends. It’s been a turbulent few days, and we’re keeping an eye on the ongoing US-Iran tit-for-tat. The bad news for us is — Europe’s aviation safety regulator reinstated its warning on GCC airspace, including the UAE, less than a week after it had lifted the same advisory, feeding the jitters surrounding the region after they had finally subsided in the past couple of months.

PLUS- Dubai’s property market is still cooling, if more gently than it was in the spring. The UAE just lost its crown as the Gulf’s busiest projects market to Saudi Arabia, largely because regional tensions kept a lid on new contract awards.

Our Big Story today looks at another trend, one less-touched by the war, but still not exempt — a fast-growing market for making illiquid private assets tradable.

WEATHER- It’s still really hot no matter where you’re sitting. The mercury is reaching 45°C in Dubai and 44°C in Abu Dhabi, with both seeing lows of 32-33°C.

Indian, Emirati regulators talk FX deposit friction

The Central Bank of the UAE and India’s central bank met in Dubai last week to iron out friction over India’s moves to pull USD deposits out of non-resident Indians in the UAE, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the private talks. The UAE side flagged concern that freezone banks would prioritize India’s fundraising over their local customer base and has separately warned some smaller banks against extending aggressive leverage to Indian lenders, wary of outsized capital outflows.

Also on the table: Easing the due-diligence timeline that UAE-based banks run on wealthy customers, the people said.

REMEMBER- CBUAE recently tightened rep-office rules for foreign banks, restricting the onboarding support Indian lenders usually lean on, including documentation support, business facilitation, and cross-selling.

Why it matters: The Gulf is expected to supply more than 70% of India's targeted foreign-currency deposit inflows under RBI's rate-subsidized scheme.

Alabbar in Syria

Mohamed Alabbar has shared fresh details on his planned USD 20 bn investment in Syria, saying the two flagship developments will be spearheaded by Abu Dhabi-based Eagle Hills, with the projects ultimately owned by a new company bringing together the Syrian government, Gulf investors, and Syrians themselves, Bloomberg reports. The government is expected to contribute the land, while Alabbar said he wants Syrians to hold a majority stake in the company, with Eagle Hills acting as an anchor investor.

The developer also revealed the location of the second project, confirming it will be a large-scale beachfront development in Latakia alongside another mixed-use scheme in Damascus. Together, the developments will include tens of thousands of homes, hotels, retail, offices, schools, and hospitals.

Alabbar said construction could begin within months as funding arrangements are finalized. He also said he is considering setting aside part of the developments for affordable housing or contributing USD 5k-10k from every home sold toward rebuilding housing for lower-income Syrians.

BACKGROUND- In December 2025, DP World began implementing its USD 800 mn investment in Tartus port, while AD Ports Group announced acquiring a 20% stake in the Latakia International Container Terminal in November 2025.

Dubai holds its shipping lane

Dubai held on to its fifth-place global ranking in the 2026 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index, according to the report cited by The Maritime Executive. The emirate held a top-five spot for the eighth year running, scoring 77.13 behind Singapore, Shanghai, London, and Hong Kong.

Behind the ranking: Jebel Ali handled a record 15.6 mn TEUs in 2025, edging above its 2024 record of 15.5 mn and marking its highest throughput since 2015. Dubai’s import and export volumes rose around 9% y-o-y, while vehicle handling climbed 18% to around 1.5 mn vehicles, Al Bayan reports. The index also looks beyond port scale, factoring in maritime services, finance, ins., counsel services, logistics, digital government, and the business environment.

Data point

1% — that’s how much Dubai residential values fell m-o-m in June, a marginally softer decline than May’s 1.2% drop and well below March’s 5.9% correction, according to ValuStrat’s latest VPI report (pdf). The index slipped to 220 points, bringing the cumulative drop since 28 February to 10%, while annual growth was almost flat at 0.1%.

Where the pressure is: Apartments are doing more of the correcting, with values down 0.6% m-o-m and 3% y-o-y. Villas fell 1.2% m-o-m but are still up 2% annually, with older freehold villa communities still 188% above post-pandemic levels and 76% above the 2014 peak. Prime apartments remain under pressure: Burj Khalifa values are down 16.7% y-o-y and JBR is down 13%.

Sales bounced in June, but off a weak base: Ready-home transactions rose 46.8% m-o-m — the strongest monthly rise in three years — while off-plan registrations climbed 32% and still accounted for 75% of residential sales. On an annual basis, though, ready-home transactions were 23% lower y-o-y, while off-plan was 16% lower. ValuStrat notes official transactions likely reflect sales agreed upon from March onward.

Prime buyers aren't waiting for the correction to bottom out: 19 ready-home transactions topped AED 30 mn in June, including five above AED 50 mn, concentrated in Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Hills Estate, Emirates Hills, Al Barari, Jumeirah Islands, Downtown Dubai, and DIFC.

Meanwhile, over in Sharjah, transaction values climbed 9.3% y-o-y to AED 29.5 bn in 1H 2026, according to Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department data picked up by Sharjah24. The volume of transactions also grew 4.7% y-o-y.

PSA

The Museum of the Future is closing its doors mid-September ahead of a major relaunch scheduled for 1Q 2027. The overhaul of the Dubai landmark will replace all of its original exhibitions, marking the biggest refresh since its opening in February 2022, The National reports. The museum says the revamp was always part of its long-term plan to ensure experiences evolve rather than remain static. The exact closure and reopening dates have not been announced.

The big story abroad

The US continued to strike Iran yesterday in efforts to force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. US officials say that US President Donald Trump is considering a significant expansion of military operations in the Islamic Republic that could include escalating airstrikes, deploying ground forces to seize strategic Iranian islands near the strait, and bombing a heavily fortified site that could host covert nuclear development.

That being said, Trump said yesterday that Tehran wants to return to the negotiating table and make a deal. Trump claimed that Iranian leaders “want to settle so badly,” yet defense analysts speaking to CNBC say they see no realistic path toward settlement.

Oil markets are already reacting to the closure of Hormuz, with traders warning that the latest flare up threatens a fresh crude supply crunch. The market now lacks the reserves that helped absorb price shocks earlier in the war — “we’ve burned through all of the buffers we had. Everything,” the FT quotes one trader as saying. “All of that’s now gone.”

IN OTHER NEWS- Anthropic is moving ahead with its planned IPO and plans to begin meeting with prospective investors over the coming weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Claude developer is looking to make its market debut as soon as October, joining a growing list of AI players going public.

PLUS- Argentina and Spain will face off in the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday, after Argentina secured its spot following a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory against England last night. England will take on France hours earlier in the third place play-off.

***

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.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM UAE.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on [email protected].

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.