THIS MORNING: L’imad eyes stake in cargo giant + UAE, Oman eye Hafeet Rail trials in 4Q 2027

Good morning, everyone. As UAE investors continue to pour bns into Syria’s reconstruction, we’re asking whether the country has capacity to absorb them all. Experts tell us that, realistically, it could end up being a question of one or two megaprojects at a time, with power grid issues, thin contractor depth, and continued banking friction all weighing on actual capacity.

Fresh off its AD Ports push, L’imad is now weighing a bid for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide in an agreement that could be worth over USD 10 bn and open up another logistics and transport route bypassing Hormuz. Elsewhere on the investment front, Adia has invested more in India, locking in an anchor stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India’s IPO, as well as a stake in Neogen Chemicals.

Dubai's inflation picture is heating up again too: consumer prices rose 5.54% y-o-y in August, up from 5.3% in July, driven by a jump in fuel and airfare costs — prompting Emirates NBD to nearly double its year-end inflation forecast to 5.6%.

On track for 2027

We have a date on Hafeet: The rail link between the UAE and Oman will begin trial runs in 4Q 2027, Trade Arabia reports, citing Omani Transport Minister Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali. The 238-km line will carry both freight and passenger traffic between Sohar Port and the UAE’s national rail network via Al Buraimi and Al Ain.

REMEMBER- Oman ratified its railway agreement with the UAE just last week, clearing a key government step for a project we’ve tracked since 2024. Construction was around 40% complete in April, with USD 1.5 bn in debt financing secured and Noatum Logistics already lined up to run a daily container service once trains start moving.

Why it matters: The GCC still lacks a continuous, high-capacity rail corridor that can bypass the Strait of Hormuz. There are no railways yet connecting Omani ports outside the strait directly to UAE markets. This makes Hafeet Rail the clearest test case yet for Gulf rail as a way to avoid the maritime chokepoint.

L’imad eyes stake in cargo giant

Abu Dhabi's L’imad Holding is weighing a bid for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide, the Apollo-controlled air cargo giant that could be valued north of USD 10 bn, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks are early, and it's competing against other strategics and PE firms who’ve been circling since Apollo was first reported to be weighing a sale of the closely held company back in December.

Why it matters: This would be the latest move in Abu Dhabi’s push to build logistics and transport routes that help it circumvent the Strait of Hormuz. L'imad — overseen by Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled — has been explicit about wanting to rejig UAE supply chains and open new export corridors, and a big air-cargo platform fits that thesis neatly alongside its ports and maritime holdings via AD Ports — over which it has just tightened control, acquiring an additional 23.08% stake, on top of the 75.42% it already held, pushing its stake past 98.5% and allowing it to squeeze out remaining shareholders and take it private.

The bigger picture — L'imad has been on a roll:

• Absorbed sovereign investor ADQ in January, inheriting stakes from Sotheby’s to Etihad;
• Joined GIP, Temasek, and Adnoc in a USD 30 bn infrastructure investment venture in May;
• Backed Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery;
• and tightened control of its two biggest domestic assets, Taqa and AD Ports.

Retail sukuk goes long

The UAE is launching a second sovereign retail T-sukuk with a five-year tenor, up from two years in the debut issuance, according to a press release. The AED 1k minimum remains unchanged, while the coupon rate will be announced on 22 September ahead of listing on Nasdaq Dubai after settlement.

The debut set a high bar: The first sale drew AED 445 mn in orders — nearly 9x the original AED 50 mn target — prompting the Finance Ministry to double the issuance to AED 100 mn. It offered a 4.30% annual coupon rate, while UAE nationals made up 72% of investors and 76% of demand came in tickets of AED 10k or less. The test now is whether that appetite holds over five years.

IN CONTEXT- The Finance Ministry first opened T-sukuk to retail investors last October, giving UAE citizens and residents access to AED-denominated, shariah-compliant government debt previously limited to institutions. The original AED 4k minimum was cut to AED 1k ahead of the first issuance in June.

Dubai puts cyber compliance on the dashboard

Dubai authorities are getting more visibility into their own cybersecurity posture, after the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) and Microsoft launched a real-time dashboard to manage Dubai’s Information Security Regulation (ISR), according to a press release.

How it works: The dashboard draws on Microsoft security signals entities already generate, converting them into evidence mapped against ISR controls. It tracks risky identities, multi-factor authentication, Conditional Access policies, privileged access, device compliance, active incidents, and vulnerabilities — replacing periodic, self-reported assessments with continuous oversight.

IN CONTEXT- The country’s cyber threat is getting frequent and more expensive. The UAE fended off organized cyberattacks targeting the aviation, energy, and education sectors in August, following another series of attacks in July. These attacks are increasingly involving AI, making them harder to detect as well as more complex.

What’s next: Following an initial pilot with two entities, DESC is expanding the system across more than 80 Dubai government bodies. As the emirate automates oversight, neighboring GCC cyber authorities are likely to evaluate similar vendor-integrated compliance models.

New 80 km Fourth Corridor gets the green light

A new road corridor linking Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah has been approved, running roughly 80 km from Al Faya Road in Abu Dhabi to Al Shanouf Road in Sharjah, according to the Dubai Media Office. It will be built in two phases: phase one covering about 30 km from Al Shanouf Road to Dubai-Al Ain Road, will cost about AED 3.5 bn, and includes widening Dubai-Al Ain Road from three to four lanes each way, while phase two carries the remaining c. 50 km through to Al Faya Road. The finished corridor will run 12 lanes in each direction with 72 bridges, 17 tunnels, and 45 stormwater drainage culverts, cutting journey times by up to 60%.

Why it matters: It routes past Al Maktoum International Airport and the Al Marmoom and Al Wohoosh desert reserves and ties into the Etihad Rail line, and it’s being framed explicitly around logistics and commercial transport rather than just commuter traffic.

PSA

British Airways finally sets a return date for Dubai: British Airways will resume Dubai flights on 3 November, starting with a single daily service from London before expanding to two flights a day, the airline confirmed. It’s a major milestone for a route that’s been dark since the Iran war grounded most of the sector’s Gulf capacity in late February — but it’s also another setback. The British flag carrier had previously targeted a 25 October comeback since mid-year, following earlier pushbacks from May and July targets.

That puts it ahead of other international airlines: United has pushed its Newark-Dubai restart to 27 March 2027. Luxair, Air Canada, and Virgin Atlantic are all holding out for 2027 rather than committing to dates this year.

Not so good news if you’re a Brit in Abu Dhabi, though: The airline said it will not be resuming Abu Dhabi flights before the 2027/28 season.

WEATHER- The mercury rises to 40°C today in Dubai and 41°C in Abu Dhabi, with lows ranging between 29-30°C, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

Two stories are making the rounds across the business press’ front pages this morning: Turkey’s rush to contain a fund-market meltdown overseeing USD 29 bn in assets and Washington’s plans to sell Saudi Arabia the world's most advanced fighter jet.

Turkey liquidated 130 investment funds and eased central bank liquidity rules after a run on Pusula, Tera, and Atlas Portföy — three groups that together manage roughly USD 29 bn — sent the BIST 100 down 8% over two days before it clawed back 3% yesterday. Four senior fund executives were arrested or detained as Istanbul prosecutors opened a market-manipulation probe.

What happened: The funds had built what the Financial Times says were concentrated stakes in thinly-traded related companies, inflating their net asset values and pulling in fresh money to buy more of the same stock — a cycle that briefly made Hedef Holding Turkey's second-largest listed company. MSCI flagged “co-ordinated trading behaviour” in June; Pusula Portföy's missed redemption payments triggered the run.

Meanwhile, the US notified Congress of a planned USD 24.3 bn sale of up to 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom continues to exchange strikes with the Houthis. The sale of the Lockheed Martin fighter jet to Saudi Arabia has been in the works for a number of years, and comes ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House later this month.

The sale — if approved by congress – would mark the first time the US sells these specific jets, known to be the world’s most advanced, to a country in the Middle East other than Israel, making it a contested move for Israel, which is guaranteed a "qualitative military advantage” over the Middle East under American law.

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