Good morning, everyone. Our big news today is all about Dubai’s state-linked giants’ shifting portfolios after an AED 5.2 bn agreement involving Dewa, Dubai Holding, and Empower. Moody’s has good news for our banks, whilst the latest from S&P Global seems to say the diversification drive is paying off. Also, Mubadala is upping its focus on pharma.

Plus: There’s a reshuffle on MSCI’s indexes, Emirates NBD priced its USD 500 mn green bond, and DXB was busy setting records last year. The DIFC has a new tenant, Jafza is getting a new spare-parts hub, Aster is expanding, and we have some fresh (capital for) produce. And of course — earnings. Many, many earnings.

Happening today

It’s the final day of the US Chamber of Commerce’s AI Acceleration business delegation’s visit to the UAE. The delegation includes some 35 companies and 45 delegates, comprising a range of multinational “giants” as well as smaller SMEs and startups with unique propositions, US Chamber of Commerce’s VP of Middle East Affairs Steve Lutes recently told EnterpriseAM UAE.

On the agenda: The talks are aimed at taking US-UAE AI ties to the next level, with a focus on AI applications and the diffusion of AI across both economies, Lutes said. The goal is to facilitate conversations and partnerships between AI-adopting companies — in sectors like healthcare, energy, and finance — and technology providers capable of driving greater efficiency and productivity across those industries, he added.

Also happening today:

WEATHER- The pleasant summer weather is here to stay, with the mercury in Abu Dhabi reaching a peak of 30°C today, before cooling to an overnight low of 17°C, while Dubai will see a high of 29°C and a low of 18°C.

Watch this space

In MSCI’s latest reshuffle — Air Arabia climbs, 2PointZero exits: MSCI’s latest emerging markets review upgraded Air Arabia to the Global Standard Index and removed 2PointZero from the benchmark. Lulu Retail and Alec Holding were newly added to the Small Cap Index, while Americana Restaurants was downgraded from Global Standard to Small Cap.

Mechanics explained: MSCI’s semi-annual reviews recalibrate constituents based on liquidity, market cap, and freefloat — technical filters that can reroute passive capital quickly. Upgrades often draw fresh inflows from index-tracking funds, while deletions and downgrades trigger automatic portfolio rebalancing.

DEBT — Emirates NBD priced its EUR 500 mn, five-year green bond at mid-swaps plus 77 bps after order books topped EUR 1.3 bn, tightening sharply from the mid-swaps plus 100-105 bps guidance at launch, Zawya reports. The Reg S-compliant notes, issued under the bank’s USD 20 bn EMTN program, will list on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai.

ADVISORS- Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, and ING served as joint lead managers and handled bookrunning duties.

ECONOMY — The UAE is entering 2026 with an AA/Stable/A-1+ credit rating, underpinned by a diversification drive that has effectively de-risked its economy from the whims of Brent crude, according to S&P Global. As 75% of its GDP now comes from non-oil sectors, the highest diversification level in the GCC — surpassing Saudi Arabia’s 71% — the UAE has reached a new milestone in economic decoupling.

The culprits: The UAE is emerging as a significant draw for talent, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi expected to see the region’s highest population growth due to an influx of expatriates. This is concurrently making the country a key location for substantial data center development. Consequently, telcos and digital infrastructure providers are seeing increased capital expenditure as they adjust their strategies to capitalize on rising demand driven by AI.

Dubai real estate is cooling off: While Dubai’s developers continue to benefit from an active market supported by both domestic and international investors, S&P forecasts a market slowdown over the next one to two years as property supply eventually meets the current demand.

CRYPTO — Say hello to the latest AED-backed stablecoin: The Central Bank of the UAE gave IHC, Sirius International Holding, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (Fab) the green light to launch DDSC — an AED-backed stablecoin that operates on the ADI blockchain. The move has been in the works since April 2025.

Entering its operational phase, DDSC will provide Fab customers with payments and collections services, high-value settlement and treasury operations, trade and supply-chain flows, and programmable financial services for regulated entities.

Data point

95.2 mn — that’s the number of travelers who came to Dubai International Airport (DXB) last year, up 3.1% y-o-y and setting an international record for passenger traffic, state news agency Wam reports. Consistently high year-round levels drove results, with December as usual the busiest month at 8.7 mn visitors, including both arrivals and transit passengers at DXB. This made last year’s 4Q the busiest on record. Overall, 19.6 mn tourists came to Dubai last year.

China saw a significant resurgence as a source of visitors, with some 16.6% y-o-y more passengers coming in at 2.5 mn. India continued to dominate as the airports’ top market leader with 11.9 mn guests, followed by Saudi Arabia closely at 7.5 mn.

This year, DXB expects to edge closer to the 100 mn milestone — with 99.5 mn passengers expected to come through its doors.

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We’re hiring a technology reporter: EnterpriseAM is looking for a tech reporter to own the beat across Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and beyond.

This is a reporting job — not a desk job. You’ll be working sources, breaking stories, and writing about trendlines (not just headlines) in our voice and with the authority our readers expect. AI and digital infrastructure are huge features of the beat, but our interests are broad: fintech, telecoms, regulation, SaaS, and the bajillion ways tech is reshaping how businesses operate across the region.

We want someone who can pick up the phone or WhatsApp, get people talking, and turn what they say into stories that senior decision-makers need to read. We also expect you to attend industry events and maintain relationships with PR folks across the industry without selling out. If you’ve got 2-3 years of experience and the hunger to build a beat from the ground up, we want to hear from you. We’re also interested in hearing from veteran reporters. Spoken Arabic is strongly preferred.

The role is based in Cairo, though we’re open to remote for the right candidate. If you’re reading EnterpriseAM, you know what we’re about: A no-BS daily news outlet that tells busy execs, investors, founders, and ambitious people what they need to know about the trends shaping business, economy, finance, regulation, and public policy across our region. We write stories that have impact — about issues that matter — for a global audience of decision-makers.

Do we sound like the type of place where you want work? Send your CV and three clips to jobs@enterpriseamea.com. Also enclose a great cover letter that tells us who you are, what you do, and why you’d be a great fit for this job.

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The big story abroad

Gold slipped as much as 0.6% in early trading today after surprisingly strong US labor data reduced the likelihood of imminent Fed rate cuts. January marked a sharp drop in US unemployment to 4.3% with the addition of 130k jobs. The precious metal — remaining above the USD 5k per ounce mark — is expected by many banks to rise in the coming months in light of continued geopolitical turmoil, threats to the Fed’s autonomy, and a pivot away from traditional assets.

The US and Israel are yet to adopt a unified strategy on Iran, after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemingly ended without an agreement. Trump affirmed his preference to continue negotiations with Tehran in a TruthSocial post yesterday, despite reports that the Pentagon has ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare before being deployed to the region.

MEANWHILE- Switzerland may cap its population: Switzerland is voting on a proposal to place limits on its population on June 14. Originally conceived by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the proposal could wind up leading to a blanket ban on arrivals if the population exceeds 10 mn. It stands today at roughly 9 mn.

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