Good morning, friends, and welcome to the slowest start to a week since we can remember. We expect the news to pick up pace slightly as companies wrap up their to-do lists ahead of the upcoming Eid holiday.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

CLARIFICATION- Federal government employees and private sector workers are getting Saturday, 15 June, to Tuesday, 18 June, off for Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha. EnterpriseAM UAE had gotten the four-day weekend right last week, but misreported the exact days that will be off.

WEATHER- More heat, humidity, and some dust: Expect partly cloudy, humid conditions across the country, with a chance of more blowing winds and more rain in the east. Dubai will see the mercury hit 43°C, with an overnight low of 32°C, while temperatures will hit 44°C in Abu Dhabi, with an overnight low of 31°C.

SPEAKING OF THE WEATHER- The UAE is set for an early summer solstice on 20 June, marking the earliest since 1796 and bringing 13 hours and 48 minutes of daylight, Wam writes. Temperatures will range from 41-43°C during the day and 26-29°C at night through mid-summer, with a shift to high humidity and thunderstorms from 11 August to 23 September.

#1- Health Ministry announces new abortion regulations in permissible cases: The Health and Prevention Ministry has outlined new abortion regulations in an X post by the Emirates State Media Office. Requests for abortion will be assessed by a committee consisting of three UAE doctors, including an obstetrician-gynecologist and a psychiatrist, along with a representative from the prosecution.

When can abortion take place? If there’s a threat on the pregnant woman’s life or a severe deformation has been identified, provided that the gestational age is under 120 days.

AND- The Dubai Health Authority, in partnership with the United Network for Organ Sharing, has launched new health standards for organ donation and transplantation, Wam reports. The new regulations cover services spanning liver, pancreas, heart, lung, and limb transplants.

#2- Applications for the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and Zayed National Museum’s latest Zayed National Museum Research Fund are open until 20 July, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. The fund provides AED 1 mn annually for research on Emirati culture, heritage, history, archaeology, and intangible heritage — including oral traditions, stories, and songs. Offers are open to both established and early-career researchers globally, with criteria based on methodology, experience, outcomes, and alignment with the Zayed National Museum’s mandate.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

e& faces EU probe over PPF takeover -report: The European Commission is set to launch a probe into telecom giant e&’s acquisition of Czech PPF Telecom Group’s assets in Eastern Europe, in a case that will mark the “first anti-subsidy probe into foreign buyers of EU assets,” the Financial Times reports, citing three people in the know, who revealed that the investigation could be formally announced today.

The commission is reportedly concerned that the telco received “unfair subsidies” from the state to acquire PPF’s assets, potentially impeding market competition. The commission will have to receive concrete evidence that the subsidies could skew the market to initiate an in-depth investigation into the acquisition, according to the sources.

BACKGROUND- Bulgaria’s Competition Protection Commission greenlit e&’s acquisition of Bulgarian mobile operator Yettel Bulgaria and telecoms infrastructure provider Cetin Bulgaria from PPF Group. e& had agreed to acquire a 50% stake plus one share in PPF Group’s telecoms units in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia for EUR 2.5 bn (AED 9.9) last August. CEO Hatem Dowidar had expected In February to close the acquisition a few weeks later, following the receipt of final regulatory approvals.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Spinneys’ shares will join the DFM General Index, as well as the Consumer Staples Sector Index today under the ticker SPINNEYS, according to a DFM disclosure. The company’s shares debuted on the DFM in May, following a successful AED 1.38 bn IPO.

#2- The AI Retreat is set to take place tomorrow at Dubai’s Museum of the Future, according to a Dubai Media Office statement. Organized by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the event will gather over 1k AI experts, policymakers and business leaders to explore the potential and challenges of AI at both local and global levels.

#3- Maritime and shipping company GulfNAv is set to discuss the acquisition of oil storage outfit Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company tomorrow, a DFM filing (pdf) reads. Gulfnav submitted a proposal earlier in the year for the structure of the acquisition of oil storage outfit Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company to the Securities and Commodities Authority, after submitting a proposal to fully acquire the company from Nasdaq-listed Brooge Energy back in October 2023. The acquisition was initially expected to close in 4Q 2023.

Remember: GulfNav confirmed that its advisors are still assessing the Brooge Energy acquisition in February, saying it aims to complete the evaluation within the coming weeks.

#4- The UAE and Azerbaijan will host the Ministerial Experience Exchange Forum tomorrow through Wednesday in Baku, Azerbaijan, as part of a strategic partnership inked in November 2022 to advance government knowledge exchange, Wam reports. The two-day forum will look to ramp up UAE-Azerbaijan relations in economic diversification and investment, environmental protection and green energy, education, health, social quality of life, and public service and innovation. State Minister for Government Development and Future Ohoud Al Roumi will be in attendance, alongside several other ministry officials.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Dubai is expected to add some 4.6k hotel room keys to its inventory in 2024, bringing its inventory to more than 154k rooms in 2024, according to the Dubai Economy and Tourism Department’s annual visitor report (pdf). Of the upcoming capacity, 2.3k are set to be four-star hotel rooms.

#2- Abu Dhabi Real Estate sees record AED 1.81 bn FDI in 1Q 2024: Abu Dhabi saw a record AED 1.81 bn of foreign direct investment (FDI) into its real estate sector in 1Q 2024, according to The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (Adrec), Wam reports. Some 487 individual investors poured investments into the emirate from India, Russia, Canada, the UK, Jordan, and China, significantly ramping up investments from last year.

Real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi pooled some AED 19.4 bn during the quarter, AED 12.8 bn of which was attributed to sales and purchases and AED 6.6 bn of which was through mortgage transactions.

#3- The Emirati Human Resources Development Council in Dubai offered 100 jobs up to Emirati citizens at an open day event across a number of sectors in a bid to meet Emiratization goals, Wam reports. Companies participating in the initiative include DMCC, Takaful, KPMG, Neuron, Ghabash Group, Union Coop, Azadea, Apex, Al Gurg Group, Al Batha Group, and Innoventures Education.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

With little to no business news in sight, the world’s business press is zeroing in on Macron’s call for a snap election to be held in the next 30 days, after the far-right National Rally swamped his centrist Renaissance party in the 2024 EU parliamentary elections and sent alarm bells running through the halls of the Élysée. “I have confidence in our democracy, in letting the sovereign people have their say. I’ve heard your message, your concerns, and I won’t leave them unanswered,” Macron said in a presidential address announcing the surprise election (watch, runtime: 5:05).

Also grabbing the headlines is news that “centrist” Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and his party has left Netanyahu’s emergency government, leaving Netanyahu ever more reliant on far-right and ultranationalist parties to keep his slim coalition majority in the Knesset.

WHILE IN TRADE WAR NEWS- Swedish auto giant Volvo is moving its EV manufacturing out of China to Belgium as the EU gears up to follow the US in imposing harsher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

AND IN TECH NEWS- Siri may soon finally be useful, with Apple rumored to announce a new and improved version of the virtual assistant this week at its annual WWDC conference, writes The Verge.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Sharjah to host EV show next year: Expo Centre Sharjah will partner with Dubai-based event organizer Mie Events to host the Middle East Electric Vehicle Show (MEEVS) at the center in Sharjah in 2025, according to a press release. The event will gather over 100 international EV brands, alongside investors, component manufacturers and charging services providers, aiming to accelerate the adoption of EVs to help cut the transport sector’s carbon footprint.

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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