THIS MORNING: Worst tech rout in years reaches Asia + Adipec wraps with USD 67 bn in agreements, an Adnoc financing agreement, and a possible Abu Dhabi “virtual pipeline”

Good morning, lovely people, and a very happy FRIDAY. It’s been quite the week. Abroad, screens are a sea of red as markets face the worst tech rout in years following the Democrats’ sweep in the midterms earlier this week and concerns around the future of the data center buildout. Here at home, Adipec has wrapped with some USD 67 bn in agreements, even as it suffered from the absence of some top executives including from Exxon and Chevron.

Our Big Story Today looks at how Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s property sectors did, pricing-wise, in 3Q 2026. The takeaway: Fewer homes are selling in both emirates, but prices are moving in opposite directions: up 16.8% in the capital and down 4.5% in Dubai. ValuStrat’s Haider Tuaima tells us why.

Earnings season also continues to be in full swing: Fuel hedges kept Emirates in the black through its first full half-year of war costs; IHC’s quarterly income fell as last year’s one-off gain dropped out of the comparison; Emaar’s revenue growth slowed to 2.7%; and Empower got a lift from cheaper debt.

On deck: Next week brings the annual government meetings in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday, DIP Holding’s expected DFM debut on Wednesday, and Bloomberg Invest in Dubai on Thursday.

Guinea misses first payment in Axis arbitration

DISPUTE WATCH- Guinea missed its first payment in the World Bank arbitration over Axis International’s revoked bauxite permit, the Ras Al Khaimah-based miner said in a statement yesterday. Axis says Guinea failed to pay a USD 200k advance it owed the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for administrative and tribunal expenses, which was due on 1 September, after Axis filed its memorial in August. Axis paid the advance in Guinea’s place and said that Guinea’s failure to pay “raises questions about the Government’s fiscal governance, and the eventual destination of the significant sums previously paid into the State treasury from the same mine and the funds received by Guinea from the mine’s continued operations.”

BACKGROUND- Axis owns 85% of Axis Minerals Resources, which held the rights to a bauxite mine in Guinea’s Boffa region. The company says the mine produced 18 mn tons in 2024, making it Guinea’s second-largest source of bauxite exports. The permit was one of dozens Guinea’s military government revoked in May 2025 as it moved to take tighter state control of the mining sector.

It isn’t the only UAE company caught up in the crackdown: Guinea also seized a bauxite concession held by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) unit Guinea Alumina Corporation, which pursued arbitration in August 2025. EGA, however, opted for a negotiated settlement over arbitration in May 2026, securing a lump sum from Guinea for the assets, along with renewed bauxite supply agreements.

Adnoc taps USD 1 bn from credit line

Adnoc has secured c. USD 1 bn in green financing from a group of Japanese-led lenders headed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the company said on X on the sidelines of Adipec. The money is drawn from a USD 3 bn credit line Adnoc signed in 2024, of which it had already used USD 103 mn last year, IFR reports. That leaves c. USD 1.9 bn still undrawn, by our math. The funds will go toward cutting carbon emissions from LNG production and toward projects linked to solar and nuclear power generation.

The structure: The first USD 905 mn loan was made up of USD 543 mn from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), while Mizuho Bank, MUFG, and HSBC Tokyo provided the remaining financing. A second financing package included USD 58 mn from JIBC and USD 39 from HSBC and Mizuho.

IN CONTEXT- Adnoc isn’t the only Gulf borrower turning to Asian lenders. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and QatarEnergy have also gone to Asian banks for financing in recent months, attracted by larger loan sizes, competitive pricing, and longer repayment periods.

LNG by land or sea

Abu Dhabi wants to truck LNG to the factories its gas grid doesn’t reach. The Department of Energy signed a cooperation framework with H2G Green and its Singaporean subsidiary GasHubUnited, Sergas Group’s Muzn Energy, and CloudEnergi on the sidelines of Adipec to assess supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to industrial and commercial facilities that aren’t connected to existing gas networks, state news agency Wam reports.

The plan is to move the LNG by road or sea, an approach the industry calls a “virtual pipeline,” and use it to replace higher-emission fuels. The agreement could unlock up to AED 1 bn in investment. For now, it’s a framework to assess pilot projects, not a commitment to build anything.

PSA

WEATHER- It’s back up to 37°C in Dubai today before cooling to 25°C overnight, while Abu Dhabi will see a high of 35°C and an overnight low of 26°C, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

The worst US tech rout since 2020 is the one thing dominating business outlets’ front pages this morning. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% yesterday, its worst day since Liberation Day, and is now in correction territory. The selloff followed a Democratic sweep of Congress and wins in the Texas, Georgia, and Ohio governor races by candidates who promised to pause new data center permits. The rout spread to Asia this morning. We have more in Planet Finance, below.

The rout has already triggered a response from officials, investors, and AI firms alike:

• Trump blamed the Democrats for falling 401(k)s in a Truth Social post;
• OpenAI is trying to win voters over: It vowed to stop using non-disclosure agreements with public officials in future site talks and will share construction plans with residents;
• Anthropic could face a delay to its IPO or a lower valuation, with three major investors in the offering telling the Wall Street Journal that the USD 1.5 tn valuation will likely need to come down, one saying closer to USD 1 tn.

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