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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