Good morning, friends. The news cycle has picked up from an earlier slump, and though many are beginning to flock back to the UAE after taking their summer vacations elsewhere, we don’t expect things to kick back into full gear until September.

It’s an investment-heavy morning, with news that Mubadala Capital is deploying bns of USD into luxury real estate in a partnership with London asset manager Cain International, ADQ’s Zero Two is acquiring a stake in Evolution Data Centers, and EV maker NWTN is expanding to Pakistan.

Plus: A CI Capital report puts UAE banks ahead of their GCC peers in 1H 2025, with a positive outlook through the rest of the year.

WEATHER- It’s another hot day in the capital and in Dubai, though temperatures in Dubai peak at a milder 38°C, before cooling to an overnight low of 32°C. Over in Abu Dhabi, the mercury peaks at 38°C. Humidity will push the heat index even higher, reaching around 71% in Dubai and 78% in Abu Dhabi.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Nasdaq Dubai and EGX-listed Orascom Construction’s shareholders approved its move from Nasdaq Dubai to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) during an extraordinary general meeting yesterday, according to a disclosure (pdf). The company will delist its shares from Nasdaq Dubai and list them on the ADX, while also transferring its incorporation from the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) to ADGM, subject to regulatory approvals. It is not yet clear when the transfer will take place.

REMEMBER- The move comes as the ADX continues to assert itself as one of the region’s capital markets heavyweights, offering deeper liquidity and stronger institutional flows via entities like sovereign wealth funds ADQ and Mubadala.

#2- DMCC drums up Indonesian business investments in first-ever Jakarta roadshow: Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC) wrapped its first Made for Trade live roadshow in the Indonesian capital, which looks to drum up investments from Indonesian businesses across the renewable energy, agrifood, tech, and Islamic economy sectors, according to Dubai Media Office. The roadshow gathered over 150 local business leaders and government stakeholders.

Indonesia is positioned as a hub for sharia-compliant trade and halal goods, and DMCC can use its commodities platforms and Islamic finance infrastructure to help “facilitate the flow of Halal products, Islamic financial instruments, and sharia-compliant investment across the GCC, Southeast Asia, and beyond,” DMCC executive chairman and CEO Ahmed Bin Sulayem said.

By the numbers: Home to over 25k firms, DMCC represents an estimated 20% of total Indonesian business presence in the UAE. Some 650 Southeast Asian companies — including over 30 from Indonesia — joined DMCC’s business district over the past year, a 13% growth y-o-y. Non-oil trade between the two countries nearly doubled to USD 5 bn in four years following the signing of the UAE–Indonesia economic partnership agreement.

#3- Key takeaways from India’s new tax bill for UAE-based expats: India’s parliament has passed its new income tax bill (pdf), replacing its six-decade-old predecessor and implementing changes that will impact Indian expats. The key changes, taking effect as of 1 April, 2026, include:

  • Income below INR 400k will not be taxed, while anything above that will be subject to tax ranging from 5% and 30% for those making above INR 2.4 mn;
  • Investments in offshore funds — even if managed by a fund manager in India — will not be classified as having business connection in India;
  • Income made through over-the-counter derivative transfers through an International Financial Services Center registered foreign portfolio investor (FPI) — as opposed to only off-shore banking units — will be exempt from tax;
  • Investors in pension plans — regardless of whether or not they were an employee in India — will also be exempt from tax on commuted pension from approved funds.

The bill also retains core concessions for expats, including preferential capital gain rates on foreign exchange assets, a two-year notional rent relief, and simpler filing rules for those whose sole income is from investments or long-term gains.

DATA POINTS-

#1- District cooling provider Empower’s consumption volume rose 7.1% y-o-y in 1H 2025, driven by high occupancy in existing projects and new portfolio additions, according to the Dubai Media Office. The company signed 86 contracts to supply over 99k refrigeration tons (RT), lifting total contracted capacity to 1.86 mn RT during the period and pushing revenues up 7.5% y-o-y to AED 1.5 bn in 1H 2025.

#2- The Dubai Chamber of Commerce welcomed 35.5k new companies in 1H 2025, a 4% increase y-o-y, as the value of members’ exports and re-exports climbed 18% y-o-y to AED 171.9 bn, state news agency Wam reports. The chamber issued 409k certificates of origin and set up five new business councils to represent investors from Brazil, Slovakia, Peru, Indonesia, and Hungary. It also helped 60 local companies expand into global markets in 1H — including through two trade missions to Southeast Asia and Africa — a 76% uptick from 34 last year.

#3- Branded residences come at a 40% premium in Dubai: Branded residences in Dubai now fetch an average price of AED 3.8k per sq ft — 40% higher than the AED 2.7k for non-branded properties, according to Morgan International Realty’s 1H Dubai branded residences report (pdf). Transaction values rose 37% y-o-y to USD 10.8 bn despite a 3% dip in transaction volumes, signaling a “shift toward ultra-prime real estate and larger ticket sizes,” the report said.

Some 12 new branded projects came to market in 1H 2025, while some 90 branded projects are currently under construction, adding more than 30k units to the pipeline. This growth builds on an existing inventory of 48k branded units.

#4- Dubai taxi trips, ridership up in 1H 2025: Dubai’s taxi sector recorded 59.5 mn trips in 1H 2025, up 7% y-o-y, according to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Passenger numbers rose 6.7% y-o-y to 103.5 mn, while the number of active drivers increased from around 13k to nearly 14k.

PSA-

If you thought Dubai streets were clean, they might get even cleaner: A new digital app — Eltizam — now allows authorized officials with judicial officer status to photograph, geo-tag, and log public cleanliness breaches in real time, according to a Dubai Media Office statement. The tool aims to streamline enforcement and improve monitoring.

The first phase targets eight violations: littering; spitting in public areas; improper disposal of chewing gum; dumping waste in the sea, beaches, creeks, or ports; draining vehicle wash water in undesignated areas; lighting fires or barbecuing in prohibited locations; posting flyers or ads that deface public areas; and failing to remove animal waste.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s no single story capturing the attention of the international business press, but there are a handful of business stories to sink your teeth into.

US stocks hit a record high after inflation data fueled market expectations that the Federal Reserve will move ahead with interest rate cuts when it meets again next month. US inflation remained steady at 2.7% in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, coming in just shy of economists’ expectations of 2.8%. The inflation data pushed futures market to price in a 94% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 25 bps in September, rising nine percentage points compared to before the inflation data was released. The S&P 500 closed up 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.4% at the close of trading. (Bloomberg | Financial Times)

AI startup Perplexity made an unsolicited USD 34.5 bn offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, in a bid that would see the startup pay more than its own valuation. The offer comes ahead of an expected antitrust ruling later this month that could require Google to sell its web browser. Perplexity spokespeople have said that the company has secured financial backing from “several investors, including large venture capital funds” to fully finance the transaction if it were to go through. The story is getting play in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Bloomberg.

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MARKET WATCH-

Opec has revised its forecast for oil demand in 2026 upwards to 1.4 mn bbl / d — 100k bbl / d higher than previously expected — on the back of strong economic activity, according to its monthly oil market report (pdf). It maintained its global oil demand growth forecast for 2025 at 1.3 mn bbl / d y-o-y.

Middle East oil demand is projected to grow by 160k bbl/d y-o-y in 2025 to 9 mn bbl/d, led mainly by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s crude output rose m-o-m in July, with Saudi’s producing rising to 9.526 mn bbl/d (+170k bbl/d) and the UAE’s output up to 3.169 mn bbl/d (+109k bbl/d), per secondary sources. Direct communication puts Saudi’s production figures at 9.2 mn bbl/d, down from 9.752 mn bbl/d in June.

Flagship grades firmed: Arab Light averaged USD 72.17/ bbl in July, up USD 1.34 m-o-m, while Murban averaged USD 71.12/ bbl, up USD 1.31.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Dubai takes gaming push to Gamescom: The Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 (DPG33) will host the Middle East’s first-ever government pavilion at Gamescom 2025 in Cologne, Germany, from 20-24 August, according to a Dubai Media Office statement. The pavilion will bring together the Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Culture, and the Dubai Multi Commodities Center to spotlight the emirate’s gaming sector, talent, and infrastructure.

DPG33? Launched in November 2023, DPG33 aims to make Dubai one of the world’s top 10 gaming hubs by 2033, targeting USD 1 bn in GDP contribution and 30k new jobs. Since its launch, more than 60 gaming companies have set up in the emirate, bringing the total to over 350.

Du’s technology event, Envision, will take place on Tuesday, 9 September at Atlantis, The Royal in Dubai, according to a press release. The event will bring together government officials, tech industry leaders, and tech partners to discuss AI innovation, digital infrastructure, and the UAE’s national AI strategy. Envision 2025 will focus on AI data centers, sovereign cloud, generative AI, advanced robotics, and smart community development.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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