THIS MORNING: Adnoc resumes naphtha exports via Oman + eyes a multi-fuel pipeline bypassing Hormuz

Good morning, friends. Our Big Story Today will bring welcome relief to tenants in Abu Dhabi, as the emirate puts a blanket freeze on rent increases across residential, commercial, and industrial properties, in what experts told us is “one of the most significant real estate regulatory interventions in recent years.”

Meanwhile, some of the UAE’s biggest names are making expansion moves, with Core42 upping capacity at one of its US AI infrastructure sites and AD Ports expanding into Brazil with a USD 835 mn acquisition.

We also have more news of Adnoc hedging against future disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with plans for a multi-fuel pipeline to export gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. It’s also been restarting naphtha exports through Oman’s Sohar port to buyers in Asia.

Plus: ADCB is integrating its banking infrastructure with Binance, and BlueFive Capital has made another bumper investment, this time by leading a USD 250 mn funding round for autonomous delivery startup CargoX.

BUT FIRST- The latest war updates: Iran launched fresh attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain last night — some failed en route and others were intercepted. In response, US forces launched “self-defense” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island.

WEATHER- Look for highs of 39-40°C in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and a low of 31°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Earning well is not the same as investing well — and for most mid-level executives and entrepreneurs, the gap between the two is wider than they’d like to admit. The financial landscape has shifted. Regional markets are opening up, AI is rewriting how portfolios get managed, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are entering the conversation.

And the questions that used to feel straightforward — buy or rent, fund the startup or play it safe, finance the car now or wait it out — are harder to answer than ever.

In Issue 2 of EnterpriseAM Money Matters, we get into the decisions that don’t have easy answers, because at this stage, playing it safe is the riskiest move you can make.

Tap or click here to subscribe to the Egypt edition, delivered to your inbox today, 12pm UAE.

Adnoc is preparing for a tough landscape ahead for global flows

State oil giant Adnoc resumed naphtha exports using a different route through Oman’s Sohar port, driving prices down to their lowest levels since the start of the war, traders told Reuters. The alternative route opens up a way to ship exports to Asia and comes as Adnoc pushes to develop similar routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The route has eased price pressures as well: Prices for naphtha delivery in the second half of July dipped to USD 788 per ton in Asia, down from USD 1.3k in March for a region which is heavily dependent on Gulf imports. Adnoc had been holding on to around 1 mn tons per month of naphtha since April on account of the Hormuz disruption.

Adnoc is also offering up barrels in a spot tender, Reuters reports elsewhere. Up to 2 mn barrels of Upper Zakum, Das, and Umm Lulu crude are available per customer.

Our take: Spot tenders are usually used to clear surplus barrels, which are likely sitting due to the blockade. Still, some Adnoc LNG tankers have passed through the strait with their tracking systems off.

This comes as Philippe Khoury, Adnoc’s executive vice president for sales and trading, says he sees August as a potential tipping point for oil prices if demand increases and the Iran war keeps Hormuz flows below pre-war levels, Reuters reports. Economies have been absorbing the supply shock by reducing demand, keeping prices around USD 100 / bbl, but that buffer will be tested if demand rises in August with no resolution to the crisis, he said.

IN CONTEXT- Recovery has a long tail: Global oil flows could take at least four months after the war ends to recover to 80% of pre-conflict levels, while a full return to normal Hormuz volumes may not come before 1Q or 2Q 2027, Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber also stated.

It’s also planning another Hormuz bypass pipeline

Adnoc is also now planning on building a multi-fuel pipeline to hedge against future disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reports, citing comments Khoury made at a conference.

The plan: The pipeline will be able to export refined oil products, including gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. Khoury didn’t specify a timeline or an exact location for the pipeline, but Adnoc has increasingly been looking to the UAE’s east coast to develop export alternatives to complement its existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline.

More signs that the UAE is getting more serious about crypto

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) fully integrated its banking infrastructure with Binance, allowing UAE users to move between AED and crypto directly with zero deposit fees, according to a statement. The tie-up removes the foreign exchange conversions and third-party intermediaries that have historically made fiat-to-crypto friction a barrier for mainstream users.

The Binance side of the agreement is also going live separately: Binance Dubai is rolling out direct AED deposits and withdrawals platform-wide, sweetening adoption with USDT voucher incentives.

IN CONTEXT- Binance is not the first exchange to offer AED on/off-ramping — BitOasis has supported it for years, Crypto.com added it in April 2025, and Bybit launched it in February 2026. What's different here is the counterparty: ADCB is one of the UAE's largest retail banks, and a direct integration at the banking infrastructure level — rather than a third-party payment rail — signals something beyond a feature launch. It suggests incumbent UAE banks are now willing to treat crypto exchanges as peer financial infrastructure, not just a niche customer segment to accommodate at arm's length.

Barakah repairs are underway

Checking in on Barakah: Fully repairing the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant will take a “matter of weeks,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters yesterday, adding that the repairs have already kicked off. The nuclear energy watchdog has offered the UAE technical support in fixing the damage, which requires physical repair and maintenance to an external power line.

A recap: The site was targeted last month when drones — identified as coming from Iraqi territory — struck the facility and triggered a fire. Power was fully restored at the plant days after.

PSA

British Airways pushed back the return of its flights to Dubai — again — to the end of October, according to its website. It was initially set to resume flights to Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Tel Aviv, Jeddah, and Riyadh at the start of August. The airline noted that the “continuing situation in the Middle East remains worrying for many of our customers” and that its flights continue to be suspended amid ongoing uncertainty and airspace restrictions.

The big story abroad

No single story is dominating the global front pages this morning — but among the stories making headlines:

#1- SpaceX will reportedly raise USD 75 bn in its highly-anticipated IPO, selling 555.6 mn shares at USD 135 a pop, unnamed sources told Reuters. These figures put the firm’s valuation at USD 1.75 tn.

#2- Microsoft launched its own AI offerings at its Build conference to compete with proprietary models, including coding assistants and reasoning models, which would lower costs and reliance on OpenAI products. The tech giant also unveiled Project Solara, a family of prototype devices designed to host AI agents that carry out complex tasks autonomously.

#3- Investors seem bullish and unafraid: Concerns over inflation and elevated asset prices are trumped by optimistic sentiments, as financial markets currently exhibit “more greed than there is fear,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said. He added that so long as investors remain bullish, there is ample liquidity to absorb massive upcoming IPOs from companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI.

#4- The UN General Assembly has elected its next head. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman narrowly defeated Cyprus’ Andreas Kakouris to secure the presidency of the UN General Assembly.

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