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Dubai’s dnata and DP World are expanding their overseas supply chain footprint through an air cargo terminal at Australia’s new Western Sydney International Airport and a temperature-controlled food hub near Bologna. Dnata has launched ground handling operations at the airport, while DP World has opened its first fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) contract logistics hub in Italy, according to a press release.
Dnata is investing about AUD 32 mn in a cargo terminal at Western Sydney International Airport. The company handled the airport’s first international flight on 26 October. The 5k sqm terminal sits in the airport’s 24-hour cargo precinct and will handle up to 60k tons a year at maturity, including temperature-sensitive shipments. That is about a fifth of the 300k tons dnata handles across Australia each year, by our math. Operations are due to start in December.
DP World has opened a 22k-sqm temperature-controlled hub near Bologna, with Alce Nero as its anchor customer. The site in Castel San Pietro Terme has around 30k pallet positions and offers warehousing, transport, and e-commerce fulfillment, according to a press release. DP World runs warehousing and distribution for Alce Nero, an Italian organic food company, and the hub has space for other food, beverage, and consumer goods businesses. It adds to DP World’s existing presence in Italy.
JPMorgan doubles down on Dubai’s wealth race
JPMorgan Private Bank opened a new branch in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) after more than tripling its Dubai-based private banking team over the past year, according to a company statement cited by Wam. The Dubai Financial Services Authority-regulated branch will serve wealthy clients across the UAE and, where permitted, the wider region, building on the bank’s existing corporate and investment banking presence in the DIFC.
REMEMBER- JPMorgan has been building toward this: JPMorgan began assembling its Dubai private banking team in 2024, recruiting bankers from Geneva and London to serve wealthy individuals and family offices. The new branch gives that growing team a dedicated, locally regulated platform, led by UAE market head Selim Elgen (LinkedIn).
And the competition for Gulf wealth isn’t letting up: Barclays has added senior private bankers in the region, while HSBC has appointed a new Middle East wealth chief and plans to open a wealth center in Abu Dhabi after launching one in Dubai last year. Deutsche Bank has also expanded its Dubai private banking team. The hiring spree points to growing competition for wealthy clients and family offices, even as the regional war complicates the business environment.
A hydrogen hunt in Ras Al Khaimah
French natural hydrogen explorer Mantle8 kicked off a 24-month exploration program in Ras Al Khaimah’s Hajar Mountains, launching the UAE’s first dedicated search for naturally occurring hydrogen, according to a press release (pdf). The company has secured exclusive rights to negotiate an exploration contract for Block 7 with RAK’s Energy Department.
The nitty-gritty: Mantle8 will combine seismic imaging, gas, water, and rock sampling, and existing subsurface data to identify potential hydrogen-generating and accumulation zones. The program is self-funded, with the company establishing a Dubai office and appointing a regional director. The first phase involves deploying more than 1k passive seismic sensors to map underground formations. While no drilling is planned at this stage, the plan is to see whether there’d be capacity for domestic hydrogen production to help with energy diversification efforts.
DP World opens direct China-Africa line
DP World is launching a shipping line between China and two of its own African ports: The Dubai-based operator’s Shipping Solutions business will start a weekly China Africa Link service in late November, connecting Shanghai, Ningbo, and Nansha with Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Maputo in Mozambique, via Port Klang in Malaysia and Singapore, according to a press release. The service will carry Chinese machinery, electronics, construction materials, and automotive components to Africa, and agricultural products, minerals, and other commodities back.
