THIS MORNING: Mubadala eyes stake in Italian telecom giant + Softbank’s Masayoshi Son sounds out GCC investors for AI fund

Good morning, everyone. We have an investment-heavy issue for you today as everyone from Mubadala, Oraseya Capital, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son eye new ways to deploy their funds.

But first, we start with sobering news that the UAE economy contracted 2.1% y-o-y in 2Q to AED 476.9 bn, with non-oil activity down 1.1% as the war hit the tourism sector. Diversification cushioned the blow somewhat, with financing leading 1H growth and non-oil’s share of GDP still rising.

Despite that, Abu Dhabi’s capital is still making tracks: Mubadala is reportedly in talks to take a stake in Italy’s biggest mobile tower firm INWIT, as part of a wider take-private, and

Adia is weighing up adding another element of India exposure to its portfolio by backing manufacturing platform Zetwerk.

PLUS- DIEZ has doubled the venture capital fund run by its investment arm Oraseya Capital to AED 1 bn in a move that gives it more space to follow high-growth startups rather than hand them off as they scale up.

The Gulf’s sovereign funds and largest companies are committing billions to AI infrastructure at home and to AI companies in the US and beyond. EnterpriseAM AI + Innovation reports on where that capital goes, who controls it and what it is actually buying.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we also cover the startups and established firms across MENA putting AI to work, and how it is changing jobs, education and the way business runs.

It’s sharp, analytical and skeptical journalism that ignores hype and is laser-focused on informing our readers, not pleasing our sources.

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PSAs

#1- Flying to Saudi Arabia this week? Check your booking. UAE carriers have extended cancellations to Riyadh following Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport. Etihad Airways has canceled its Abu Dhabi-Riyadh flights through tomorrow, while flydubai has suspended flights to Riyadh and Abha up to and including Wednesday, 14 October. Others, including Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways, have also canceled or diverted services to Saudi’s capital through early next week. All the airlines say the situation is fluid and further changes are possible.

IN CONTEXT- A missile hit King Khalid International on Saturday, killing 12 and injuring more than 300 in the third strike on the airport in a week.

#2- The UAE scrapped the pre-approval stage for e-invoicing service providers and moved to direct accreditation, under a new Finance Ministry decision effective 1 October, state news agency Wam reports. Providers now have to complete the required assessment and testing before they can be accredited as the program shifts from a pilot stage into a live operating system.

BACKGROUND- We reported in June that the pilot phase was underway, with businesses beginning to onboard ahead of mandatory adoption. Providers that received preliminary approval under the old system now have 30 days from 1 October to complete the new requirements or lose that status.

The framework also gets permanent from here. It now sets out renewal, ongoing evaluation, termination, and objection procedures while keeping the flexibility for providers to use third-party Peppol products or outsource parts of their service — so long as they remain responsible for compliance. We’ve explained previously that mandatory adoption begins in 2027.

Prosecutors say flydubai co-pilot planned to crash jet

UAE prosecutors say the co-pilot aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 intended to seize the aircraft and crash it into a terminal at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack, Wam reports. Prosecutors say the perpetrator attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe before being overpowered, after which two other pilots on board — serving as the return flight crew — took control and landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.

What we already knew: We reported on 1 October that the flight diverted to Tabuk after transmitting an unlawful-interference code, while flydubai described the event as an “altercation” on the flight deck. UAE authorities opened a formal investigation the following day, which later determined that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out an act of terrorism.

The investigation findings indicate that the alleged plot was inspired by the 11 September attacks and that the co-pilot had flown the Tel Aviv route twice beforehand to familiarize himself with the route and airport. Investigators found that, after working for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, he had passed flydubai’s professional and security checks, none of which revealed that he had been drifting toward extremist views since 2017.

The next thing to watch is whether that changes airline safeguards. Saudi Arabia has opened a separate safety investigation into FZ1073, while the UAE findings put fresh scrutiny on crew vetting and cockpit security after investigators said existing recruitment checks raised no red flags.

Mubadala eyes stake in Italian telecom giant

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is reportedly in talks to take a stake in Italy’s biggest mobile telecoms tower firm, Reuters reports, citing sources it says are familiar with the matter. Any stake acquisition would come as part of a wider take-private transaction for Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane (INWIT).

For now, discussions are still ongoing. However, a possible structure would see French private equity player Ardian, which has a 32% stake in INWIT, and Oak Holdings — an investment vehicle backed by KKR, Vodafone, and GIP — which holds 39%, buy out minority shareholders, with financing being arranged through banks.

The target: Over the last year, INWIT’s market value has dipped by 27% and its two primary clients, Telecom Italia and Fastweb, are looking to end their contracts. However, the firm still brought in EUR 1.1 bn in revenue and EUR 785 mn in EBITDAaL last year. Mubadala’s investments in the telecom sector include UK telco CityFibre, Indian telecoms giant Jio, and Northern Europe’s GlobalConnect, as well as du on home turf.

Airtel Money slips below IPO price on London debut

Dubai-based Airtel Money hit an early speed bump on its London debut, with its shares falling below the offer price despite a heavily oversubscribed IPO that valued it around USD 7 bn, Reuters reports. The fintech initially rose to GBP 2 per share before slipping to GBP 1.93, below its GBP 1.96 offer price. The secondary sale raised approximately USD 703 mn for existing shareholders selling 270 mn shares, making it London’s largest listing since last September.

Strong demand, weak market: The muted debut comes with a broader selloff in telecom stocks. Shares in parent Airtel Africa, which owned nearly 78% of Airtel Money before the IPO and will remain its majority shareholder, fell about 6% in London.

IN CONTEXT- A dual listing in Dubai is still on the table: The company is leaving the door open to a potential UAE dual listing later, according to the firm’s group CEO Ian Ferrao. Last November, Airtel Money secured a regulatory waiver to pursue a UAE listing, with the choice of exchange expected to hinge on landing a heavyweight Emirati cornerstone investor — it ended up with the World Bank’s IFC.

Back for another Gulf mega-check?

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is sounding out Gulf investors to raise up to USD 100 bn for a new AI-focused acquisition fund, the Financial Times reports, citing people it says are familiar with the discussions. Son has reportedly approached potential backers in the UAE for the fund, which would acquire companies and rebuild their operations around AI, with SoftBank’s robotics arm Roze — which Son wants to take public — likely to be involved. No commitments have been announced, and the fundraising could still fall through.

REMEMBER- There’s history here: Mubadala committed USD 15 bn to SoftBank’s first Vision Fund in 2017, alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Abu Dhabi’s ties with SoftBank have since expanded, with G42 partnering with the Japanese group and other US tech giants on Stargate UAE, while FAB took a nearly USD 1 bn share of SoftBank’s USD 40 bn OpenAI bridge loan in July.

Abu Dhabi has already demonstrated its appetite for mega AI funds. MGX closed a USD 49 bn fundraising round in July, beating its original USD 45 bn target with backing from investors across the Gulf, Europe, Asia, and North America.

What to watch out for: Whether Son can persuade Gulf investors to write another round of big checks, particularly with SoftBank already exposed to OpenAI to the tune of USD 65 bn and the ChatGPT maker’s postponed IPO adding uncertainty to its investment plans.

IPO rebound in sight

Morgan Stanley expects the UAE’s IPO market to bounce back once the regional conflict subsides, with the bank’s Co-President Dan Simkowitz telling The National that we “will definitely see a rebound in the IPO marketplace in the UAE.” The Emirates has seen no IPOs so far in 2026, after three offerings raised USD 1.1 bn last year, according to Dealogic data cited by the news outlet.

Simkowitz is also bullish on the UAE and broader Gulf credit markets, where regional issuers have raised more than USD 100 bn this year. His conversations with Gulf finance ministries and bourses are turning increasingly to bonds, he said, calling it the “natural progression” for exchanges like the ADX that have already grown their equity markets. Gulf debt capital markets stood at around USD 1.2 tn outstanding at the end of 1H 2026, against some USD 4 tn in listed equity, according to Fitch. As the region finances its growth and diversification ambitions, “it can’t all be done with equity,” Simkowitz argues.

REMEMBER- We reported in September that follow-on offerings and secondaries were expected to lead any reopening of the UAE’s capital markets ahead of fresh IPOs. The listing drought has pushed Gulf investment banks to chase agreements in Egypt, Turkey, and India. Debt markets face their own headwinds, with GCC bond and sukuk issuance falling 17.5% q-o-q in 3Q as higher borrowing costs encouraged issuers to hold off.

The tanker threat is spilling beyond Hormuz

A fully laden crude supertanker was struck by an unknown projectile 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera in the UAE over the weekend in what maritime security sources say could signal a widening of shipping risk beyond the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports. The Panama-flagged Gem No. 2 caught fire after the strike, though the blaze was extinguished; the crew’s status, damage, and any environmental impact remain unclear.

That shifts the geography of the problem: Last month, attacks were still concentrated around the strait itself, including one on the Adnoc-operated Al Maryah. The latest strike happened outside the Hormuz area and came days after another tanker was hit off Qatar, pointing to a broader threat across Gulf waters rather than just at the chokepoint.

ALSO- Dubai goes cashless

Dubai is now 90% cashless — hitting its 2026 digital payments target early, according to the Dubai Media Office. Government cashless collections reached 99.7% in 1H 2026, with nearly every government entity offering a digital payment option.

REMEMBER- Launched in October 2024, Dubai’s cashless push targets full digital enablement across government entities. The emirate is eyeing a spot among the top five cities worldwide for digital payments.

The gas crunch gave Egypt every reason to speed up its energy transition, and the question now is who builds it and who pays for it.

Power Trip, our four-part signature series, turns this week to the transition and the private developers now building much of Egypt’s new power.

Issue II looks at how the deals behind these projects work, who is lending to them, and why the country is building a nuclear plant at El Dabaa alongside its solar and wind farms. We also look at whether the regional crisis has finally pushed industry toward renewables, and at the factories Egypt is counting on to build its own panels, batteries, and turbines.

Tap here to subscribe to the Egypt edition and get Power Trip delivered straight to your inbox.

WEATHER- The mercury is dropping somewhat today in Abu Dhabi, with highs of 37°C and overnight lows of 29°C, and top temperatures of 38°C in Dubai before dropping to 29°C overnight, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

US President Donald Trump has announced an immediate Russia-Ukraine “energy ceasefire,” saying that both sides have agreed to it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was still awaiting the ceasefire’s specifics. The announcement follows days of pressure from Washington on Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries. Moscow has not confirmed the ceasefire.

US Central Command (Centcom) forces disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman for allegedly trying to run the US naval blockade on Iran, the first such attack in more than a month. The Panama-flagged vessel attempted to cross regional waters after departing an Iranian port and was fired upon after receiving warnings, Centcom said.

E-commerce giant Amazon is negotiating an acquisition of startup Decart AI in a transaction that could be worth roughly USD 7 bn. Decart AI — whose software simplifies switching between different AI chips for developers — raised more than USD 400 mn in venture capital funds and was valued at USD 4 bn in May.

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