GCC-UK trade agreement finalized

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: Europe’s aerospace startup in talks with UAE investors + Fujairah looks to secure more logistics integration

Good morning, friends. Today’s issue has a strong UK flavor to it, with the long-awaited GCC-UK trade agreement finally over the line after years of negotiations. We've also got Select Group snapping up golf resorts across the pond, and RemotePass raising fresh capital to take its MENA payroll playbook to Europe and the US.

Also overseas, Averi Finance is looking to execute a reverse takeover to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, potentially making it the second UAE firm on the exchange.

A quick update

A Foreign Ministry statement has called on the Iraqi government to take steps to prevent hostile acts originating from its territory “without conditions or restrictions,” after it identified Iraq as the source of the drone that hit the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant earlier this week. The statement stressed the importance of Iraq playing a stabilizing role in the region.

The statement condemned the “terrorist drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory against critical civilian institutions,” calling them a violation of sovereignty, airspace, and international law. Power has since been restored at the power plant.

WEATHER- The mercury reaches a high of 41°C in Abu Dhabi today, and a much kinder 35°C in Dubai, with both emirates seeing a low of 28°C.

Watch this space

BANKING — SMEs can now open a bank account in one day through our friends at Mashreq — a first in the UAE banking industry, according to a press release (pdf). The bank is also offering up a AED 1k cashback guarantee in case of delays.

This compares with an average of up to 2-3 weeks to open a current account in the rest of the UAE, with a few digitally oriented banks taking 2-3 days to open accounts for SMEs, head of business banking and Neo Biz at Mashreq Rajeev Chalisgaonkar tells EnterpriseAM. The lender is leaning on AI for document recognition and extraction to absorb the expected added volumes “without creating new bottlenecks,” Chalisgaonkar tells us. “We are expecting a 20-25% uptick from the current volumes,” he adds.

Most SMEs are eligible if they’re incorporated in the UAE and have a license issued by UAE trade licensing authorities, Chalisgaonkar says. Exceptions include entities with “complex and layered shareholdings,” firms dealing with high-risk countries as per Central Bank of the UAE guidelines, or entities with high-risk business, such as those with a heavy component of banknote deposits and withdrawals, which might require further due diligence, he adds.

INVESTMENT — European aerospace startup The Exploration Company is in talks with UAE investors, and said it’s looking to engage the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Lunate for its planned USD 200 mn fundraise, co-founder and CEO Helene Huby told The National. The company aims to use the funds to develop what it says will be Europe’s largest rocket engine.

The Exploration Company? The startup already has a presence at Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, where it is working on a lunar lander demonstrator. It has raised USD 335 mn to date, with previous rounds oversubscribed. The firm’s longer-term play centers on reusable spacecraft and cargo transport infrastructure.

REMEMBER- The UAE has space ambitions of its own, including building capabilities and localizing space manufacturing here. Just this week, the UAE launched an AED 1 bn R&D-focused space program to bring in advanced tech and build up Emirati talent in the sector. The move comes as the UAE looks to double its space economy revenues and infrastructure investments and localize its space stack — from launching its first locally powered sounding rocket through TII to building sovereign infrastructure like the Eshara ground segment and a national Earth-observation hub.

DISPUTE WATCH — Abu Dhabi is opening another lane for dispute resolution: A new mediation center for commercial disputes will be set up at the Abu Dhabi Chamber, with settlement agreements ratified there directly enforceable under federal civil procedure law, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement.

The center will be overseen by the Judicial Department and will handle local and international commercial disputes through mediation, including judicial referrals, contractual mediation, and other consensual settlement routes.

The center is part of a broader push to create faster off-court routes for commercial disputes. That includes dedicated committees for family business disputes in Abu Dhabi and specialized inheritance courts at a federal level. Ajman separately launched a Rental Dispute Resolution Center as the emirates push to move commercial and civil disputes through faster, clearer channels.

LOGISTICS — Fujairah is tightening the links between its ports, freezones, and logistics ecosystem, with AD Ports subsidiary Fujairah Terminals signing three land agreements with Fujairah International Airport, Fujairah Freezone Authority, and Al Dahra Agriculture Trading, state news agency Wam reports.

The details: The combined 130k sqm footprint is aimed at expanding logistics capacity and creating more integrated movement between port, industrial, and adjacent infrastructure.

Why now? The agreements are aimed at unlocking new trade windows with regional and international markets and come amid a wider drive to make use of Fujairah’s Hormuz-bypassing eastern corridor. Borouge and AD Ports are looking at exporting petrochemicals via Fujairah, and Adnoc is speeding up plans to develop its West-East pipeline.

DEFENSE — State-owned defense firm Edge’s Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) inked an EUR 320 mn contract with Italy-based defense and security player Leonardo to provide next-gen combat systems for Kuwait’s navy, according to a statement. The systems will be used on the Falaj 3 missile boats.

IN CONTEXT- ADSB and Kuwait inked an AED 6.6 bn contract last year for the Edge subsidiary to build eight Falaj missile boats for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, as part of a wider contract with its parent group, agreed upon last summer.

Two birds with one stone: The agreement speaks to two of the UAE’s biggest priorities at the moment, as a result of the regional war, defense and localization, as Iranian drone attacks trigger a defense rethink and disruption through the Strait of Hormuz throws supply chains into chaos. Leonardo itself recently said it was studying plans to launch full manufacturing operations in Dubai.

ENERGY — Pipeline bypassing Hormuz halfway ready: The UAE is edging closer to boosting its bypass infrastructure, with construction on Adnoc’s upcoming pipeline passing the halfway point, Reuters reports, citing comments by the oil giant’s CEO Sultan Al Jaber. Global flows will take at least four months to reach 80% of pre-war levels, he said.

REMEMBER- We knew Adnoc was accelerating plans to increase the amount of crude it can export from Fujairah outside Hormuz, as it plans to finish the USD 3 bn, 1.5 mn bbl / d crude oil pipeline by 2027. The infrastructure will link Adnoc’s Ruwais Jebel Dhanna terminal with Fujairah.

M&A WATCH — Bidders line up for Mubadala’s Brazil port: Bidding has advanced for Mubadala Capital and Trafigura Group’s Porto Sudeste — valued at USD 5 bn — with Infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital among those interested, Bloomberg reports. The bidding process has now moved on to the second phase, with iron ore producer Vale SA, steel manufacturer Gerdau SA, and Australia’s M Resources joining I Squared in the running.

REMEMBER: Mubadala Capital and Trafigura Group began talks with banks for the potential sale of the Brazilian iron-ore port terminal operator in 2024.

Data point

8.2k — that’s how many residential units are set to be handed over in Abu Dhabi by the end of the year, according to Colliers’ 1Q market report. So far, 1.2k units came online during the first quarter, with another 7k set for completion by the end of the year.

Over in Dubai, 65k apartments and 12.5k villas are on track to be handed over by the end of the year. In 1Q, 1.9k villas and over 10k apartments were delivered.

ICYMI- We recently reported that the war-induced shock to Dubai’s real estate market in March has shown signs of fading slowly, with the dip in capital value tapering out. Market activity was robust in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai for 1Q. Historically, delivery targets have often slipped, keeping supply tight, especially in Dubai.

The big story abroad

We’re inching closer to what will be the largest IPO ever after SpaceX filed publicly late last night. Now the world is sitting tight in anticipation of the rocket maker’s imminent Nasdaq debut. We dive into the full story and what it means for the Gulf in this morning’s Planet Finance, below.

The return of monetary tightening? The latest meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve indicate the central bank’s willingness to raise interest rates if inflation maintains its growth trajectory above 2%. Prior to this development, CME Group data showed interest rate futures markets pricing in a nearly 50% chance of at least one quarter point rate hike in 2026.

Meanwhile, in the tech world: Nvidia announced USD 80 bn in stock buybacks and an increase in its dividend payout yesterday, after 1Q sales grew 85% y-o-y to USD 81.6 bn, surpassing expectations.

More on the Warner Bros. buyout: To finance Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, Bank of America and Citigroup are gauging investor appetite for a massive debt package. Early talks indicate a mix of around USD 30 bn in high-grade bonds, USD 12 bn in junk bonds, and USD 7.5 bn in loans.

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Circle your calendar

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

Signed, sealed, and delivered

GCC, UK ink landmark trade pact: The GCC and UK have reached a trade agreement, according to a statement from the GCC and another from the UK government, bringing to an end negotiations that have stretched for years across multiple administrations. The pact makes the UK the first G7 country to ink such an agreement with the bloc.

Inside the agreement: The two sides agreed to remove duties on roughly GBP 580 mn worth of UK exports to the GCC annually, to speed up customs procedures (48 hours and six hours for perishables), and facilitate business activity between the two sides. The statement also pointed to more investment and industrial collaboration.

Why it matters: The agreement is welcome news for a struggling UK economy — adding around GBP 3.7 bn a year to its economy — while for the GCC it’s another notch in the region’s economic and trade diversification belt.

The agreement spans “trade in goods and services, financial services, digital trade, investment protection, government procurement, telecommunications, and the movement of natural persons,” Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi said.

AND- Data is a big part of it: In a first, UK firms will be able to store and process data outside the region, with the statement saying that the move will “save businesses money on setting up costly data centres in the Gulf.”

That’s good news for us: The move is a vote of confidence for our data center sector — a key pillar of our economic diversification drive, which took a hit (literally) when an Iranian drone struck a data center facility, leading to a prolonged outage and months-long repairs. At the time, experts told us that the strikes could challenge the Gulf’s image as a secure hub for AI investment.

BACKGROUND- Talks have been ongoing for around four years now, with reports of an imminent agreement going as far back as 2024.

In other trade news

Austrian Economy and Energy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer has called on the EU to expedite its freetrade negotiations with the UAE, saying that “there is no [agreement] in sight,” Bloomberg reports. Vienna seeks to more than double its UAE-bound exports to EUR 1 bn by 2029 with a focus on AI, rail, hydrogen, and industrial engineering.

REMEMBER- In 2025, Adnoc and Austria’s OMV agreed to merge their polyolefins businesses into Borouge Group International.

Select buys resorts in the UK as more UAE developers look West

Dubai-based real estate developer Select Group is building a larger recurring-income real estate portfolio outside of the UAE with its latest UK hospitality wager. The firm acquired three Delta Hotels by Marriott golf and country club resorts in the UK, Trade Arabia reports.

What it bought: The transaction covers Delta Hotels Breadsall Priory in Derbyshire, St. Pierre Country Club in Chepstow, Wales, and Tudor Park Country Club in Kent, together bringing more than 900 acres of freehold countryside estate. The financial terms were not disclosed.

CEO Israr Liaqat called the UK “an important market,” saying investment in the assets would follow. The acquisition lifts Select’s UK golf resort portfolio to five properties and more than 530 keys after earlier buys, including The Mere Golf Resort & Spa in 2022 and Old Thorns Hotel & Resort last year — pointing to a longer-term hospitality platform rather than a one-off trophy buy.

Select isn’t alone: UAE investors have been investing deeper into yield-generating assets in the UK, including:

Arzan Wealth launching a UK industrial real estate platform targeting logistics-linked assets;
IHC’s Al Diafa buying into Richard Caring’s trophy hospitality portfolio;
Criterion Capital acquiring the 732-key St Giles London Hotel, expanding its central London hospitality footprint.

This is part of a wider UAE developer shift

UAE developers have been shifting toward recurring-income portfolios for a while now. The trend first showed up after the 2008 financial crisis exposed the risks of over-reliance on off-plan sales and leverage, Zawya reports. Post-Covid, that expanded deeper into yield-generating sectors like retail, logistics, hospitality, education, and commercial real estate.

Now, market uncertainty and geopolitical tensions are likely to reinforce demand for steadier cashflows beyond cyclical property sales, Moody’s Aziz Al Sammarai told Zawya. The conflict adds urgency, but the shift is better understood as a “long-term strategic evolution rather than a reactive pivot,” he says.

The listed giants have already gone big: Emaar’s recurring-income portfolio generated more than AED 8 bn in EBITDA in 2025, while Aldar has invested AED 4.9 bn into expanding its develop-to-hold portfolio, with another AED 20.1 bn still in the pipeline. Al Sammarai said these assets now act as a key “credit strength” during property-cycle volatility.

And Select fits a wider private-market trend: Its latest UK hospitality acquisition shows that privately held UAE developers are also leaning deeper into hold-to-yield strategies. Similar moves include Arada’s recent acquisition of a controlling stake in Reem Hospita l.

Family offices are getting involved as well, as Al Futtaim, Al Nabooda, and Al Tayer continue to build large yield-generating portfolios that help “fund new projects organically with little to no leverage,” Cushman & Wakefield Core’s David Abood told Zawya.

Averi heads south

Dubai-based investment firm Averi Finance is eyeing a Johannesburg listing through a reverse takeover of South African mining firm Mantengu, founder and CEO Gaspar Lino told Bloomberg. If completed, the combined entity could move to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) main board and undergo a name change.

SOUND SMART- A reverse merger allows a private firm to trade publicly by acquiring a controlling stake in an already-listed company — sidestepping the lengthy, costly process of a traditional IPO.

How it would work: Mantengu would issue 650 mn new shares, which would give Averi control of 66.7% of the enlarged group and leave Mantengu shareholders with the remaining balance. Averi would bring in a portfolio spanning oil and gas, renewables, and digital infrastructure to the combined entity. The implied enterprise value is about USD 179 mn, though talks are still at an early stage and an agreement has yet to close.

A timely pivot for Mantengu: The South African miner has been under pressure, recently starting consultations over potential job cuts at a unit after deciding not to restart silicon carbide production due to high electricity tariffs. Mantengu was hit by a public censure from the JSE in March for non-disclosure violations, shortly after a leadership overhaul in February saw its former CEO step down.

Why Johannesburg, why now? Lino said a listing would give Averi “better access to institutional investors and wider sources of capital” as it scales deeper into Africa. “We considered Mauritius, London, and the US to list, but decided the JSE is the right market for us as we continue our strategy to invest in Africa,” Lino said. Averi is targeting roughly USD 1 bn in revenues over the next three years, he added.

Africa is already central to the wager: Averi says it has invested across 10 African markets over the past decade and completed roughly USD 15 bn in transactions. It also joined the US-led Power Africa initiative alongside Amea Power, backing plans to help facilitate USD 5 bn in generation and power-distribution investments across the continent.

Why the JSE?

The JSE is Africa’s largest and most liquid exchange, with more than 400 listed companies and a market cap of over USD 1 tn. The All Share Index is up roughly 22.5% y-o-y despite being down about 1.1% YTD. It has continued attracting international firms this year, including Canada’s Aimia through a secondary listing and Dublin-based Greencoat Renewables, which shifted to a dual primary JSE listing to deepen access to South African institutional capital.

Averi wouldn’t be the first UAE firm to join the exchange: Dubai-based AI fintech Optasia IPO’d on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange last year, raising USD 375 mn in what was the JSE’s largest fintech IPO yet. The placement also helped it deepen local capital ties, with South Africa’s FirstRand taking a 20.1% stake in the firm ahead of the listing.

RemotePass secures USD 17.4 mn in Series B round

UAE-founded HR and payroll services platform RemotePass raised USD 17.4 mn in Series B funding, according to a press release. The round was led by EBRD Venture Capital, with participation from 500 Global and existing investors, including Oraseya Capital, 212 VC, Access Bridge Ventures, and Khwarizmi Ventures.

The capital will go toward expanding in Europe and the US, building out compliance coverage in existing markets, and investing further into its AI and financial services products. RemotePass previously raised USD 5.5 mn in a Series A round in 2024 to expand in Saudi Arabia.

RemotePass? Founded in 2021 by Kamal Reggad (LinkedIn) and Karim Nadi (LinkedIn), the platform provides recruitment and payroll services for companies with employees across multiple geographies, spanning contractor payments, expense cards, USD accounts, and debit cards. RemotePass says it supports more than 35k employees across over 150 countries and has processed over USD 800 mn in cross-border payments to date. The platform is used by the likes of Tata Group, InDrive, and Careem.

MGX makes another AI wager, another int’l player lands in DIFC, a cold chain hub for Abu Dhabi, Gallega adds capacity to Jafza, another real estate project with Bildco in tow, Adia subsidiary heads for another Medline share sale

MGX is making another major AI wager

Abu Dhabi AI investor MGX joined a USD 2.1 bn Series B funding round for UK-based Isomorphic Labs, a drug-design and development company using AI models to identify viable drug candidates and develop new meds, according to a press release (pdf). Fresh capital will go toward global expansion, hiring, and scaling the firm’s AI drug-design engine.

Also involved: Leading the funding round was Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, which MGX has invested alongside in the past. Existing backers Alphabet and Google Ventures also participated alongside Temasek, CapitalG, and the UK Sovereign AI Fund.

It’s been a busy year for MGX so far: This year alone, the state-backed investor has poured funds into three major AI rivals — OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic. It plans to accumulate over USD 100 bn in assets under management in a few years.

Another one for DIFC

Another fund-services player is planting deeper roots in Dubai International Financial Center. Gordian Capital, an institutional cross-border fund platform owned by investor-services group IQ-EQ, secured approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority to establish a presence in the emirate, according to a statement. The move gives the firm, which manages USD 17 bn in assets, a regulated base to manage funds and assets, structure products, and facilitate regional capital flows, adding Dubai to hubs in Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Melbourne.

It adds to a wider influx of firms deepening their Dubai footprint, including Century 21 and Chinese payments firm Lianlian DigiTech just this week.

A cold chain hub is coming to Abu Dhabi + Gallega adds capacity to Jafza

Axione to build a new cold chain hub: Abu Dhabi Food Hub signed an agreement with UAE-based Axione Development to build advanced cold chain infrastructure on a 37k sqm plot under a 50-year land lease. The facility will be operationally ready by 4Q this year.

The move comes as the UAE continues to shore up its food supply chain, especially against the backdrop of regional disruptions. NRTC recently partnered with Saudi’s Dava Agricultural to collaborate on GCC produce, agricultural, and supply chain operations, while UAE-based third-party logistics provider Gallega Global Logistics just inaugurated a 215k sq ft multi-user logistics hub at Jebel Ali Freezone, adding new warehousing and fulfilment capacity for distribution across the UAE and wider GCC.

Some of Medline’s biggest backers are heading for the exit window again

Abu Dhabi money is cashing out further from one of private equity’s biggest healthcare plays. An Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) subsidiary, alongside shareholders linked to Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman, are selling 60 mn shares in US-based public healthcare giant Medline through a secondary public offering, with underwriters holding the option to purchase another 9 mn shares, according to a press release.

The transaction will not raise fresh capital for Medline itself, with proceeds going entirely to the selling shareholders. The firm filed a registration statement (pdf) to the Securities and Exchange Commission but it is not yet effective.

Not the first: Earlier this year we reported that an Adia subsidiary and several international investment players sold USD 75 mn shares in Medline for a total of USD 3.1 bn, with the subsidiary accounting for 5.1 mn of the shares sold.

ADVISORS- Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, and JP Morgan are joint bookrunning managers and global coordinators for the offering. Blackstone Capital Markets is co-manager.

Another real estate project, with Bildco in tow

Abu Dhabi National Company for Building Materials (Bildco) and Dubai-based Wujod Real Estate Development signed an agreement to build an integrated sustainable mixed-use development in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement (pdf).

What we know: The project will span an initial 10 mn sqm (around 107 mn sq ft), with first-phase investments estimated at AED 2 bn, subject to approved development plans and regulatory requirements. The masterplan includes ecological estate living, wellness destinations, and tourism-linked assets such as equestrian and golf facilities.

IN CONTEXT- The latest move from Bildco comes just as the UAE construction stack is feeling the pressure, with building-material prices rising 1.5%-14% in just two weeks amid shipping disruption, tighter logistics, and strong infrastructure demand. Still, Bildco is pushing ahead, recently pledging to add 1 mcm of concrete capacity in Abu Dhabi as suppliers race to ease bottlenecks and expand local supply.

The Aramco-sized question

The largest IPO in history is here: SpaceX filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission last night setting the stage for it to kick off the global roadshow on 4 June. Pricing is expected as early as 11 June, with a listing on Nasdaq 12 June at a target valuation of USD 1.75 tn, targeting USD 70-75 bn in proceeds. The previous record was Saudi Aramco’s USD 29.4 bn listing in 2019, and SpaceX is on track to clear that by more than 2x.

The Gulf is positioned on every side of this trade — as investor, as competitor, and as the reference point against which SpaceX is being priced. Mubadala has historic exposure through the Vision Fund, and multiple GCC family offices have ridden the secondary market valuation ladder from USD 100 bn in 2021 to USD 1.25 tn after the February xAI merger to USD 1.75 tn at IPO. PIF has been a SpaceX equity holder since 2021.

What does the prospectus tell us? SpaceX incurred around USD 4.3 bn in losses in 1Q 2026, bringing in revenues of USD 4.7 bn in the same period. During 1Q 2025, net losses amounted to USD 528 mn along with revenues of around USD 4 bn. The filing also places the par value of Class A common stock at USD 0.001 per share.

Elon Musk remains comfortably in charge, with his ownership of some Class A shares and most Class B shares giving the world’s richest man 85.1% of the voting power. The filling clarifies that Musk will remain at the wheel following the IPO.

The Polymarket consensus puts the closing market cap above USD 2 tn at 47% probability. For the GCC LPs who entered at single-digit-bn valuations, the listing is a generational liquidity event — paper gains crystallize on Day One, and the secondary-sale lockup expires September or October.

PIF recently cut its international allocation target from 30% to 20% in April under its 2026/2030 strategy. If SpaceX IPOs with USD 70-75 bn in proceeds, this could give GCC SWFs a sudden distributable capital injection at exactly the moment the strategic direction is redirected home, instead of outward.

Aramco’s 2019 IPO was the largest in history because it was a sovereign listing — Saudi Arabia going public, in effect, with Aramco as the vehicle. SpaceX is the opposite: a private-sector listing whose physical infrastructure (Starlink ground stations, Starbase, defense contracts) is increasingly a foreign-policy instrument.

The comparison matters because every major US listing for the next 18 months — OpenAI at USD 852 bn, Anthropic at USD 900 bn+, the rest of the AI infrastructure pipeline — will be measured against SpaceX. The Gulf capital markets ecosystem that built itself around the 2019 listing now has to compete with a US ecosystem that has decisively reclaimed mega-cap listing primacy.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are up in early trading this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi rebounding strongly from earlier losses. Stronger-than-expected 1Q Nvidia earnings and vessels making their way through Hormuz fueled the rally.

ADX	9,598	-0.5% (YTD: -4.0%)
DFM	5,627	-0.6% (YTD: -7.0%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,459	-0.8% (YTD: -8.8%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.5% o/n	4.0% 1 yr
TASI	10,986	0.0% (YTD: +4.7%)
EGX30	51,937	-1.6% (YTD: +24.2%)
S&P 500	7,433	+1.1% (YTD: +8.6%)
FTSE 100	10,432	+1.0% (YTD: +5.0%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,976	+2.1% (YTD: +3.1%)
Brent crude	USD 105.78	+0.8%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.04	+1.0%
Gold	USD 4,551	+0.4%
BTC	USD 77,583	+1.1% (YTD: -11.4%)
Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.60	-3.5% (YTD: -4.0%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	149.64	-0.2% (YTD: -1.5%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	17.44	-3.4% (YTD: +16.7%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The ADX fell 0.5% yesterday on turnover of AED 950.6 mn. The index is down 4.0% YTD.

In the green: Fujairah Building Industries (+5.1%), Fujairah Cement Industries (+3.8%), and Space42 (+2.4%).

In the red: Al Dhafra Ins. Co. (-5.0%), Phoenix Group (-4.9%), and Al Buhaira National Ins. Company (-4.6%).

Over on the DFM, the index fell 0.6% on turnover of AED 768.2 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 0.8%.

CALENDAR

MAY

19-21 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Abu Dhabi Global Sustainable Security Summit, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

19-21 May (Tuesday-Thursday): International Exhibition for National Security & Resilience, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

19-22 May (Tuesday-Friday): Abu Dhabi Water and Energy Week, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

21 May (Thursday): Economy Middle East Summit, Rosewood, Abu Dhabi.

22 May-7 June (Friday-Sunday): Dubai Esports and Games Festival, Dubai.

JUNE

3-4 June (Wednesday-Thursday): MENA Investor Conference, Ritz-Carlton DIFC, Dubai.

3-4 June (Wednesday-Thursday): MENA Desalination Forum, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi.

15 June - 15 September (Monday-Thursday): Dubai Mallathon, Dubai.

17 June (Wednesday): Investopia Global Talks, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

22-24 June (Monday-Wednesday): The International Glass Manufacturing Show, Dubai.

AUGUST

17-20 August (Monday-Thursday): Arabian Travel Market, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

SEPTEMBER

1-3 September (Tuesday-Thursday: Middle East Energy, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

7-9 September (Monday-Wednesday): AIM Congress, Dubai World Trade Center.

7-9 September (Monday-Wednesday): International Property Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

12-13 September (Saturday-Sunday): Emirates International Congress on AI & Visionary Leadership in Transforming Healthcare, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

29-30 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): AFCM Annual Conference, Abu Dhabi.

OCTOBER

4-10 October (Sunday-Saturday): World Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

5-7 October (Monday-Wednesday): AI Everything Global, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

12-14 October (Monday-Wednesday: Airport Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

20-22 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Future Health Summit, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

27-28 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Arab Competition Forum, Dubai.

30 October (Friday): Large businesses achieving annual revenues equal to or above AED 50 mn must appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation.

Signposted to happen sometime in October 2026:

Abu Dhabi Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

NOVEMBER

2-6 November (Monday-Friday): Dubai Future Finance Week, Dubai.

4 November (Wednesday): Digital Transformation Summit, Sofitel, Abu Dhabi.

9-10 November (Monday-Tuesday): Annual government meetings, Abu Dhabi.

10-12 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Dubai International Electric Vehicle Exhibition & Conference, Dubai World Trade Center.

16-18 November (Monday-Wednesday): World Police Summit, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

DECEMBER

2-4 December (Wednesday-Friday): UN Water Conference, UAE.

8-9 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Capital Market Summit, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

1 January: Deadline for large businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1Q 2027: Completion of the first phase of Hassyan seawater desalination project;
1-3 February (Monday-Wednesday): World Governments Summit;
31 March: Small businesses with annual revenues of less than AED 50 mn are obliged to contract with an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
31 March: Government entities are required to appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
21-22 April (Wednesday-Thursday): Token2049, Dubai;
1 July: Deadline for small businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1 October: Deadline for governments to implement e-invoicing;
Abu Dhabi’s solar and battery energy facility, combining 5.2 GW of solar capacity and 19 GWh of battery storage, is set for commissioning.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2028:

Artificial Intelligence Summit.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2029:

Sibos 2029 organized by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Dubai;
Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi;
The commissioning of the seventh phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

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Today at a glance

THIS MORNING: Europe’s aerospace startup in talks with UAE investors + Fujairah looks to secure more logistics integration