Is monthly rent going mainstream?

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: War wipes third of DXB’s passenger traffic in 1H + Adnoc vessels on Iran’s blacklist

Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the final days of August — which around here means the unofficial start of the fall events calendar. The Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) kicks things off in two days, with Middle East Energy landing in Dubai next week.

Even with the delays and cancellations that have thinned out parts of the calendar this year, the season is still shaping up to be a busy one. That, plus kids heading back to school next week, means the traffic is about to be back in full force.

Our Big Story Today looks at the rise of monthly rent payments and more flexible payment terms for rentals — a trend being driven both by a maturing market and by government policy.

The timing isn't a coincidence: With record handovers flooding the market and rents down 8-10% in some communities since February, landlords are losing pricing power just as tenants gain a new lever to negotiate with. The catch is that flexibility isn't free — somebody has to front the cash, and that somebody is increasingly a third party underwriting the tenant. We look at who's carrying the risk, and what happens when rent starts to look like credit.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR- Taqa is heading for the exit at the ADX, delisting after L'imad's squeeze-out left it with no freefloat. We flagged this as inevitable back in June — and with L'imad already moving on AD Ports' minorities, it's looking less like a one-off and more like a pattern.

And before the long weekend, we have our eyes on the Strait of Hormuz still, where Iran is tightening its grip on the shuttle trade that has kept Gulf crude moving over the past few weeks, adding dozens of vessels — including some of Adnoc’s — on its blacklist, which could result in fines, detentions, and cargo confiscations.

**A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE: EnterpriseAM UAE is off tomorrow as we mark the Prophet’s Birthday (Mawlid Nabawy). Enjoy the long weekend — we’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday morning.

Comeback runway

Dubai International Airport (DXB) is looking for a second-half rebound after the Iran war wiped out almost a third of its first-half passenger traffic. DXB handled 31.5 mn passengers in 1H 2026, down 31.3% y-o-y, as regional airspace restrictions and flight disruptions hit the hub, according to a Dubai Media Office statement. Aircraft movements fell 32.1% to 150.6k, while air freight volumes dropped 28.7% to around 751k tons. The statement refers to it as “one of the most challenging operating environments in the airport's history.”

The recovery has started, but from a low base: Passenger numbers rose from 3.5 mn in April to 5 mn in June as flights gradually resumed. By end-June, nearly 50 international airlines were serving DXB, connecting it to 217 destinations in 99 countries.

What to watch: Dubai Airports expects stronger momentum in 2H as airline networks recover, transit traffic rises, travel advisories ease, and the winter schedule kicks in. Emirates was flying at 90% capacity in July, with premium cabins full, airline president Tim Clark told Reuters, and ranked first globally for international capacity in August despite a 5.4% y-o-y capacity drop.

Mubadala in for a Shein haul

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala is one of the investors in line for a payout from Shein, after investor protection clauses were triggered by its Hong Kong IPO, which values the fast-fashion giant below the price paid in earlier-stage funding rounds, according to its prospectus (pdf). The IPO values the fast-fashion giant at up to USD 27 bn — less than half the USD 60-98 bn valuations Mubadala and others paid into back in 2022-23.

Shein is now on the hook for up to USD 3.5 bn in cash and bonus shares to cover that gap across all eligible holders — nearly double the fresh capital it's raising in the offering itself, which is set to be USD 1.8 bn at the top of the pricing range. The prospectus does not disclose how much each investor will receive.

In context: Shein's road to this listing has been a four-year retreat. It first flirted with a US listing at a USD 100 bn valuation in 2022, before regulatory and political pressure over trade practices, labor sourcing, and its Chinese roots pushed it to try London instead — a plan that also stalled amid more regulatory hurdles from Chinese regulators, who still needed to give them the green light. It's landing in Hong Kong at roughly a quarter of that original valuation, squeezed by the end of the de minimis tariff exemption — which Shein used in the past to avoid paying duties — new regulatory probes, and slowing growth. Mubadala backed the company during the 2022-23 window when it was still being priced as a global consumer champion.

Iran comes for the shuttle trade

Iran has named Adnoc-linked vessels among 45 tankers it blacklisted for breaking its rules on crossing the Strait of Hormuz, warning it would act against any ship caught transferring cargo with them, Reuters reports. The list includes vessels owned by Adnoc L&S and its subsidiary, Navig8 Tankers, the unit in which Adnoc L&S took an 80% stake for USD 1.04 bn last year.

The blacklist has teeth: Named vessels risk fines, detention, and cargo confiscation. Any ship caught doing a ship-to-ship transfer with a blacklisted tanker can be added too. Vessels can petition for removal, though Iran hasn't spelled out its compliance rules. The warning landed days after the US threatened Iran with “the toughest sanctions in history,” and Iran said its response would be “devastating.”

This targets the workaround, not just the traffic. Adnoc has built its export strategy around a shuttle model since the war disrupted normal Hormuz transits: vessels move crude from inside the Gulf to transfer points like Fujairah, where buyers — including China's biggest state tanker operators, Cosco and CMES, which have avoided the strait entirely — collect it without having to send their own ships through the danger zone. That workaround let Adnoc sell more than 100 mn barrels via tenders even as chokepoint traffic collapsed.

MEANWHILE- Adnoc and Kuwait's KPC chartered four VLCCs on the spot market this week to load crude at Fujairah for Asia, according to Kpler data and a ship broker cited by Reuters. Adnoc took three of the very large crude carriers to load this week; KPC picked up at least one, due to load in early September, with the option to sail east or west. Each VLCC carries about 2 mn barrels, and the cargoes are expected to be sourced from within the Gulf.

Data point

AED 188.8 bn — that’s how much money flowed out of the UAE through exchange houses in 2025, up 27.8% y-o-y, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s Financial Stability Report 2025 (pdf). Personal transfers did the heavy lifting at AED 115.7 bn, followed by trade at AED 63.3 bn.

Inbound flows grew even faster: Inward transfers through exchange businesses jumped 53.6% y-o-y to AED 36 bn, led by trade at AED 22.8 bn and personal transfers at AED 8.1 bn.

Why it matters: Exchange houses remain a key channel for the UAE’s large expatriate workforce and trade-linked payments. Remittance operations were the sector’s top income source in 2025, accounting for 51.6% of core income, while income from those operations rose 12.7% to AED 1.7 bn.

PSA

#1- Good news for (some) parents: Emirates Transport, the government-owned operator that carries about 285k pupils on 11k buses across the UAE, says it's absorbing this year's fuel price increases rather than passing them on to parents, Tariq Al Awadhi, commercial lead for school transport at Emirates Transport, told the National.

REMEMBER- August saw Super 98 rise 5.9%, Special 95 up 6.1%, E-Plus 91 up 6.2%, and diesel up 5.6%, driven largely by the Iran war’s disruption to oil markets. The changes follow price cuts of up to 16.9% in July but come at a more modest rate than those seen after the outbreak of the war, when diesel spiked by 72.4% in April. The company says route optimization and fuel-efficiency measures are covering the gap.

In context: In Abu Dhabi, fees are fixed by Adek regardless of fuel costs, so parents there see no fuel-linked pass-through by regulation. In Dubai, meanwhile, transport fees are negotiated directly between individual schools and private operators, not regulated the way Abu Dhabi's are, so there's more room for those costs to move. Some private schools had already opted to raise transport fees 3-5% this year — GEMS Winchester School and Delhi Private School Dubai among them — so Emirates Transport’s decision only applies to the schools it works with.

#2- The UAE has clarified which multinationals must file under its Pillar Two top-up tax regime. The new rules cover UAE-based constituent entities — excluding investment entities — as well as local JVs, JV subsidiaries, and certain stateless reverse-hybrid entities, state news agency Wam reports. Filings can be made directly or through a designated local entity and apply to fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2025.

Background: The filing rules build on the UAE’s rollout of the OECD-backed 15% domestic minimum top-up tax for large multinationals, which took effect in 2025. The Finance Ministry has also paired the tougher regime with targeted incentives, including R&D tax credits introduced earlier this year.

WEATHER- It’s getting hotter and hotter in Abu Dhabi, with temperatures rising to 46°C before cooling to a low of 32°C. It’s less warm in Dubai, with the mercury topping out at 42°C before cooling to 33°C.

The big story abroad

Meta and Nvidia are taking up prime real estate on the business press’ front pages this morning, for two very different reasons. Facebook owner Meta is set to pay USD 18 bn in settlements to US states over the next decade to resolve lawsuits accusing it of designing Facebook and Instagram to to encourage compulsive use of social media among young users. Meanwhile, Nvidia forecasts a 70% y-o-y jump in sales of AI chips next year, after reporting USD 96.2 bn in revenues and USD 108 bn in sales for the quarter ending in July, beating Wall Street expectations.

On the geopolitical front, Iran and Oman are said to be finalizing an agreement on controlling movement in the Strait of Hormuz, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning an escalation of attacks on Ukraine as negotiations for a peace agreement reach a dead end.

Meanwhile, flash floods on the border of Nepal and China have killed at least 160 people and left hundreds missing, with search and rescue efforts still underway.

***

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Circle your calendar

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Dubai's rent cheque model is losing its grip

Flexible rental terms are becoming a staple of the market — and that comes with both upside and risk. Monthly rent payments at Betterhomes more than doubled between 1Q and 2Q this year, rising from 2% of tenancies to 5%, Director of Leasing Rupert Simmonds tells EnterpriseAM UAE. That's a small share of the market — but it's a clear signal of where things are headed: landlords competing on payment terms, not just headline rent.

The backdrop makes that competition sharper than usual. Dubai delivered a record ~27.3k residential units in 2Q, and Betterhomes has seen available rental stock more than double since the start of the year. Rents across a sample of major communities have already fallen 8-10% since February, with the steepest declines in supply-heavy areas where tenants have more choice and landlords face added competition from serviced apartments. Annual Ejari registrations are down around 22% q-o-q. Abu Dhabi's market is cooling too, if less sharply — price growth slowed to a two-year low in 2Q, with affordability constraints starting to bite. In both emirates, landlords are losing pricing power just as monthly-rent platforms are giving tenants a new lever to negotiate with.

Government policy is adding weight to the shift: Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched FlexiRent in June, allowing tenants to pay monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually instead of relying on the lump-sum cheque model that has long defined Dubai’s rental market. The first phase included participation from 12 real estate companies, with DLD saying it would expand the initiative in later phases. DLD is also developing a zero-interest “rent now, pay later” scheme with a local bank, expected to launch in September, where the bank would pay the landlord the full annual rent upfront, while tenants repay monthly over up to a year. The final details, including eligibility, fees, repayment terms, and bank-landlord arrangements, are still in the works.

Before that bank-backed model came into view, proptech players were already trying to make monthly rent work without asking landlords to wait for their money. Keyper is one example. Its model lets tenants split annual rent into monthly payments while landlords still receive upfront income. The company raised USD 11 mn in June to scale the product, after financing more than USD 44 mn in rent value since launch. Its co-founder and CEO, Omar Abu Innab, says DLD's push validates rather than competes with what Keyper is doing — though the bank-backed model still needs more detail, particularly on fees and costs.

Why now

Dubai’s old rent model was built for a more transient market. The one-to-four-cheque system made more sense when residents came for a couple of years and left, and landlords needed more security, Simmonds says. Now, people are staying longer, building credit histories, and accumulating rental track records. That gives landlords more confidence to accept flexible payment terms. “It’s more about actually taking control as a tenant,” he says.

With more supply comes more options: Over the next 12-18 months, landlords will likely have to compete not only on rent, but also on payment terms and incentives, Cavendish Maxwell’s Director and Head of Residential Valuation Ronan Arthur tells us. As rental supply increases, tenants will have more leverage to push for fewer cheques or more flexible terms — and more landlords willing to say yes, especially in apartment-heavy communities where new supply is entering the leasing market. “The increase in competing available stock gives tenants greater choice and is beginning to put pressure on both asking and achieved rents,” he explains.

Someone still has to front the rent

The key question is who carries the risk: Monthly rent is not automatically finance, Takeem CEO and Co-Founder Rakesh Mavath tells EnterpriseAM UAE. If a landlord accepts the same annual rent over 12 payments, that is payment flexibility. “It becomes finance when a third party pays the landlord upfront and the tenant repays that amount over time,” he says. “That distinction matters.”

Keyper sits closer to the finance side of that line — landlords get paid upfront while tenants repay monthly. Abu Innab says Keyper underwrites tenants primarily on income, checks AECB scores, caps rent at around 45% of monthly salary, and carries the default risk itself. Takeem's rental assurance is designed to absorb a different slice of that risk, protecting landlords if tenants default while also offering emergency maintenance cover and direct debit payments. “Risk does not disappear because you move rent to monthly,” Mavath says. “It simply moves somewhere else.”

Simmonds sees bank-backed models as the more consequential shift over the long term: Landlords are likely to trust bank-backed payment certainty more than smaller providers, and banks can probably offer better rates, Simmonds says.

That scale brings a regulatory question. Mavath notes that the Central Bank of the UAE already regulates BNPL-style products as short-term credit, and Etihad Credit Bureau has folded BNPL data into UAE credit reports. Rent accounts for 40-60% of income, he says — if it becomes debt at scale, weak risk management “could become a systemic risk, not just a consumer one.”

Flexibility has a price

Tenants using rent-now-pay-later products can end up paying a meaningful premium, Simmonds says — the risk sits with the landlord, the tenant, or a third-party provider, but it never disappears. Abu Innab argues the premium already existed: landlords have long priced payment schedules into rent, charging less for one cheque and more for multiple. Platforms just make that flexibility easier to access and digitize instead of leaving it to one-off negotiation.

Mavath flags a behavioral risk too: AED 10k a month can feel more manageable than AED 120k a year, even if the total commitment is identical. “Flexibility should make a sensible rent easier to manage, not make an unaffordable rent easier to accept,” Mavath says.

There’s another price for landlords: “Historically, landlords have been able to charge a premium for more frequent payments because of the perceived additional administration, cashflow implications, and risk,” Arthur tells us. “However, if monthly payments become standard across the market, that premium could be reduced.”

The outlook

Cheques aren't disappearing tomorrow. Matthew Green, CBRE’s head of research, expects a hybrid market rather than a wholesale replacement in the near term. Tenants willing to pay in fewer cheques will still exist; they’ll just push for reductions. The bigger shift comes once tenant screening, rental guarantees, digital collection, and ins. are trusted enough that landlords stop caring how rent arrives.

The market can scale, but only if the economics work: Abu Innab says monthly rents still account for around 1% of the residential rental market, but he sees digital payment infrastructure as the biggest unlock, alongside lower financing costs and regulatory support. Arthur also sees significant potential, particularly in the apartment sector, but says adoption will depend on landlord economics and the ability of platforms to manage collection and default risk.

Taqa to delist from the ADX after L’imad acquisition

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) is delisting from the ADX, following a vote from its board of directors and the completion of L’imad’s acquisition of full control of the firm earlier this month, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). The move is still pending regulatory approvals.

REMEMBER- We knew this would be happening as soon as the squeeze-out removed Taqa’s freefloat shares from the ADX. The move is also a precedent for L’imad’s second squeeze-out in as many months, this time of AD Ports’ minority shareholders, which the sovereign wealth fund explicitly said comes as AD Ports’ next phase of growth is set to be “complex, capital-intensive and long-term,” potentially requiring fresh equity or more borrowing. While L’imad didn’t give that same reasoning for Taqa’s acquisition, it’s safe to assume that beyond wanting strategic control over critical energy assets, L’imad is also giving itself greater flexibility over long-term capital allocation and investment strategy.

Some context: Taqa plans to deploy AED 75 bn in capex by 2030 — including AED 40 bn for transmission and distribution and AED 35 bn for power generation and water desalination — and has already deployed AED 27 bn of that figure by the end of 2024. It is eyeing upping its electricity generation capacity to 150 GW by 2030 as well. It also secured two power projects with a combined 3.6 GW capacity and an AED 1.5 bn water infrastructure contract in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah region in 2024, and expanded into the UK’s offshore electricity transmission sector through its acquisition of Transmission Investment, marking its entry into the sector. Its group CEO, Jasim Thabet, also previously described the US as a “key market” for future acquisitions.

Emirates REIT’s 1H earnings fall 71%, but rental growth boosts underlying performance

Emirates REIT’s headline earnings fell 71% y-o-y to USD 54.3 mn in 1H 2026, as unrealized valuation gains dropped 79% to USD 37.2 mn off a high base, according to its interim report (pdf) and 1H factsheet (pdf). Earnings before fair-value gains — a better read on recurring operations — more than doubled to USD 17.1 mn.

Strip out those valuation swings and the picture looks different: Property income rose 9.6% on a like-for-like basis to USD 42.3 mn, driven by higher rents and 96% occupancy, while net property income climbed 20% to USD 40.4 mn. Operating costs fell 16%, fund expenses dropped 21% to USD 11.9 mn, and operating income jumped 51% to USD 28.4 mn.

Dubai’s tight office market helped: Rental rates rose 15% at European Business Center, 11% at Index Tower, and 6% at Loft Offices. Emirates REIT also sold Indigo 7 for USD 10.1 mn in June, above its USD 7.4 mn March valuation, while net asset value reached a record USD 949.5 mn, up 7.4% y-o-y.

The balance sheet is still getting lighter: Finance-to-asset value fell to 19% from 20%, while net finance costs edged down 2.1% to USD 11.3 mn following last year’s refinancing.

Dividends: The REIT is planning a USD 7 mn interim payout in September — its first distribution in 2026 — as it shifts toward quarterly dividends.

More wheat for Egypt, India’s SEPC to acquire Wintality, Channel Capital backs SME lending platform, and GMNSM raises USD 2 mn

UAE wheat pipeline to Egypt goes live

Abu Dhabi-based Al Dahra has begun implementing a five-year wheat supply agreement with Egypt worth up to USD 500 mn, moving a 2023 framework into operation, state news agency Wam reports. The agreement will supply imported wheat to state commodities buyer GASC under financing backed by the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX).

REFRESHER- Egypt’s parliament approved the financing framework in late 2024, paving the way for ADEX to fund GASC’s wheat purchases from Al Dahra under a revolving program capped at USD 100 mn a year.

SEPC moves to acquire UAE-based Wintality Petroleum

India’s SEPC is looking to take full control of UAE-based refined petroleum trader Wintality Petroleum through its Sharjah subsidiary. SEPC's board has given in-principle approval for SEPC FZE to acquire 100% of Wintality Petroleum FZE, a UAE entity that imports, exports, and trades refined petroleum products globally, according to the Indian press. The agreement will be done entirely through noncash consideration.

Background: To fund the acquisition, SEPC restructured SEPC FZE's equity. Its single AED 150k share was subdivided into 1.5k shares, with a further 38.5k shares issued via capitalization of reserves — creating a 40k-share pool. Only 1.7k of those shares (4.25%) are earmarked as consideration for the Wintality swap; the rest goes to SEPC Limited itself, leaving the parent with 95.75% ownership of its Sharjah arm. Once complete, Wintality will become a step-down subsidiary of SEPC Limited.

Why this matters: The agreement gives SEPC a direct foothold in the UAE's refined petroleum trading market, extending it well beyond its core business as an engineering and infrastructure contractor.

Channel Capital backs UAE SME lending

UK private credit manager Channel Capital Advisors has acquired a minority interest in Magellan’s position in SME lending platform Beehive’s UAE SME funding program, joining Goldman Sachs and Magellan in supporting the facility, as per a press release. The program originally launched last year as an AED 500 mn facility, with Goldman Sachs providing senior funding and Magellan the mezzanine tranche. It has since expanded to AED 600 mn, with Channel now joining Goldman Sachs and Magellan in the structure — though the press release doesn't specify whether Channel's entry itself accounts for the increase.

The mezzanine investment will fund UAE small- and medium-sized businesses, supporting expansion and innovation while strengthening the flow of institutional capital into the country's SME ecosystem. The funding follows the first close of Channel’s Corniche Sharia fund, a shariah-compliant investment vehicle backed by the GCC, the UK, and international partners. Channel said it is deploying capital from the fund into Beehive and other innovation-economy companies.

GMNSM raises USD 2mn to expand into Riyadh and Monaco

Dubai-based martial arts and sports education network GMNSM has raised USD 2 mn from Veyra Capital and an unnamed private investor to open new academies in Riyadh and Monaco, according to a press release (pdf). The company currently has 11 academies across the UAE, Qatar and Cyprus, serving more than 700 children and adults.

MENA VC funds sit on USD 1.5 bn as deployment lags

MENA-focused venture funds are sitting on an estimated USD 1.45 bn in dry powder — capital committed but not yet deployed — according to a Magnitt report seen by EnterpriseAM. That's 88% of the USD 1.64 bn raised across 17 funds since 2024, or put another way, nearly nine of every ten USD committed to the funds raised since 2024 is still on the sidelines.

The pile reflects how early these funds are. Venture funds typically deploy over five to seven years, and 10 of the 17 identified funds have committed less than 10% of their target, leaving more than 90% available. Of the USD 1.64 bn committed, only USD 197 mn had been deployed by 1H 2026.

What has gone out has concentrated in the established markets. Saudi Arabia drew the largest share across all three launch years, ahead of the UAE and Egypt. Of the USD 60 mn that 2026-launched funds deployed in 1H, USD 33 mn went to Saudi startups and USD 7 mn to the UAE, with USD 20 mn spread across other MENA markets.

The largest funds skew toward the UAE. BECO Capital's Booster Growth Fund I leads at USD 250 mn in target size over the 2024-1H 2026 period, followed by Shorooq Partners' Late Stage Growth Fund at USD 200 mn and Oman's Jasoor Fund at USD 180 mn. Four of the 17 funds carry an explicit AI mandate.

The largest individual funds skew toward the UAE, however. BECO Capital's Booster Growth Fund I leads at USD 250 mn in target size across the 2024-1H 2026 period, followed by Shorooq Partners' Late Stage Growth Fund at USD 200 mn and Oman's Jasoor Fund at USD 180 mn. Four of the 17 funds carry an explicit AI mandate.

The pool has grown fast. Six active funds in 2024 held a combined USD 572 mn, only USD 42 mn of it deployed. By 2025, the cumulative count reached 14 funds targeting USD 1.28 bn, 89% still undeployed. Three more funds in 1H 2026 added USD 370 mn, all of it dry powder, taking the combined target above USD 1.6 bn.

Don’t read the 2026 funds as war-proof, though. Magnitt cautions that the three funds added this year, despite the US-Iran war and the Houthi threats, likely reflect fundraising processes started before the conflict. On its assumed six-to-nine-month transmission lag, Magnitt sees the war's real effect on new fund formation surfacing in 2H 2026 and early 2027.

Why it matters: A USD 1.45 bn pool sounds like a cushion, but dry powder only counts once it's deployed. Whether it meets the region's funding needs depends on pace, mandates, risk appetite, and how well the capital matches founders' stage and geography, and on whether the war chokes off the next wave of fundraising before this one is spent.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are trading mixed this morning, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei nearly flat, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 0.2%. Meanwhile, Wall Street futures are blinking green on positive earnings from Nvidia.

ADX	10,036	-0.3% (YTD: +0.4%)
DFM	5.867	+0.6% (YTD: -3%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,840	+0.1% (YTD: -1%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.4% o/n	4.2% 1 yr
TASI	11,260	+0.3% (YTD: +7.3%)
EGX30	55,107	-0.3% (YTD: +31.7%)
S&P 500	7,676	-0.0% (YTD: +12.1%)
FTSE 100	10,878	-0.1% (YTD: +9.5%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,471	+0.2% (YTD: +11.7%)
Brent crude	USD 87.69	-0.2%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.87	+1.1%
Gold	USD 4,679	+0.6%
BTC	USD 78,414	-0.3% (YTD: -11.6%)
Lunate JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.62	0.0% (YTD: +1%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	151.41	+0.1% (YTD: -0.3%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	15.2	-1.6% (YTD: +1.7%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 0.6% yesterday on turnover of AED 728.6 mn. The index is down 3% YTD.

In the green: National International Holding (+9%), Alec Holdings (+7.9%), and Shuaa Capital (+3.8%).

In the red: National Cement Company (-5%), Dubai Refreshment (-5%), and BHM Capital (-4.7%).

Over on the ADX, the index fell 0.3% on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai rose 0.1%.

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

1-3 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Middle East Energy, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

7-9 September (Monday-Wednesday): AIM Congress, Dubai World Trade Center.

7-9 September (Monday-Wednesday): International Property Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

12-13 September (Saturday-Sunday): Emirates International Congress on AI & Visionary Leadership in Transforming Healthcare, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

14-17 September (Monday-Thursday): Arabian Travel Market, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

15-16 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

17-19 September (Thursday-Saturday): International Real Estate & Investment Show (IREIS), Adnec, Abu Dhabi.

18-19 September (Friday-Saturday): EuroLeague Basketball SuperCup, Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

29-30 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): AFCM Annual Conference, Abu Dhabi.

OCTOBER

1-2 October (Thursday-Friday): MEIRA Annual Conference, Atlantis the Royal, Dubai.

4-10 October (Sunday-Saturday): World Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

5-7 October (Monday-Wednesday): AI Everything Global, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

12-14 October (Monday-Wednesday): Airport Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

14-15 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Sharjah Investment Forum, Jawaher Reception and Convention Center, Sharjah.

13-15 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders, Dubai.

20-22 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Future Health Summit, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

21 October (Wednesday): Reuters NEXT Gulf, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi.

27-28 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Arab Competition Forum, Dubai.

27-28 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

30 October (Friday): Large businesses achieving annual revenues equal to or above AED 50 mn must appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation.

Signposted to happen sometime in October 2026:

Abu Dhabi Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

NOVEMBER

2-6 November (Monday-Friday): Dubai Future Finance Week, Dubai.

4 November (Wednesday): Digital Transformation Summit, Sofitel, Abu Dhabi.

9-10 November (Monday-Tuesday): Annual government meetings, Abu Dhabi.

9-12 November (Monday-Thursday): EMEA Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education Conference, Dubai College of Tourism, Dubai.

9-13 November (Monday-Friday): World Congress of Military Medicine, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

10-12 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Dubai International Electric Vehicle Exhibition & Conference, Dubai World Trade Center.

16-18 November (Monday-Wednesday): World Police Summit, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

18-19 November (Wednesday-Thursday): Touchdown Middle East 2026, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi.

25-26 November (Saturday-Sunday): Doers Summit, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai.

DECEMBER

2-4 December (Wednesday-Friday): UN Water Conference, UAE.

4-6 December (Friday-Sunday): Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi.

8-9 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Capital Market Summit, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

8-9 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

7-10 December (Monday-Thursday): Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.

8-10 December (Tuesday-Thursday): Abu Dhabi Water & Power Week, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

8-10 December (Tuesday-Thursday) Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association Show, DWC, Dubai Airshow Site.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

1 January: Deadline for large businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1Q 2027: Completion of the first phase of Hassyan seawater desalination project;
1-3 February (Monday-Wednesday): World Governments Summit;
31 March: Small businesses with annual revenues of less than AED 50 mn are obliged to contract with an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
31 March: Government entities are required to appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
21-22 April (Wednesday-Thursday): Token2049, Dubai;
1 July: Deadline for small businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1 October: Deadline for governments to implement e-invoicing;
Abu Dhabi’s solar and battery energy facility, combining 5.2 GW of solar capacity and 19 GWh of battery storage, is set for commissioning.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2028:

Artificial Intelligence Summit.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2029:

Sibos 2029 organized by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Dubai;
Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi;
The commissioning of the seventh phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

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