Good morning, everyone. We have a brisk issue to start the week, with a lot of M&A updates, some debt news, and more on the UAE’s chipmaking ambitions.

BUT FIRST- We’ve got just one more sleep left before this year’s EnterpriseAM Finance Forum, which takes place tomorrow (Tuesday, 24 September) at the St. Regis on the banks of the Nile.

TWO IMPORTANT PROGRAMMING NOTES-

FIRST- We are full to capacity and cannot accept new requests for invitations. We’ve been honored and delighted by the extent of interest and regret that we simply have no more seats available.

SECOND- Please be ready to show your personal PIN code to be admitted to the venue. These PIN codes are non-transferrable and admit only one guest. Approved guests received their codes yesterday. If you received an invitation and can’t find your PIN code, please check to make sure it didn’t go into your spam folder.

Taking the stage at the EnterpriseAM Finance Forum this year is Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib, who’s joining us to outline a vision for where we’re going as a community and as an economy.

The keynote interview will get underway at 9am sharp, and you won’t want to miss our exclusive networking breakfast from 8am. We’ll also have an extended coffee break and additional networking session immediately after our final panel.

You can tap or click here to view the agenda and full list of speakers.

WEATHER- Temperatures will hit 40°C in Dubai today, before cooling to an overnight low of 31°C. Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, the mercury will peak at 37°C, with an overnight low of 32°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Two chip giants are planning megafactories in the UAE: Chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) and Samsung are in talks with UAE officials to set up chipmaking operations here, with TSMC considering a plant complex on par with the size of its facilities in Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources it says are familiar with the matter. While talks remain in early stages, wealth fund Mubadala is said to be in talks to bankroll the projects.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of chipmaking ambitions in the UAE: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was said to be in talks earlier this year with UAE investors, including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to launch a chip venture addressing OpenAI’s semiconductor needs and decreasing reliance on semiconductor chip giant Nvidia, with TSMC name-checked as a potential partner.

Some caveats will need to be addressed: Chip manufacturing requires large amounts of highly purified water, which is lacking in the UAE considering most of the country’s water is produced through desalination, sources said. It will also be difficult to find large amounts of engineering talent with experience in the industry to staff the factories, they added.

The two companies are also sorting out how to provide the US visibility over their potential operations in the UAE, due to concerns over connections with China, the sources added. The companies are both investing in their operations in the US after the country began to offer some USD 39 bn in grants and incentives to grow the industry.

#2- Masdar poised to acquire Saeta Yield from Brookfield: Renewables giant Masdar is reportedly finalizing its acquisition of Spanish renewable energy firm Saeta Yield from Canada-based investment firm Brookfield, with the acquisition expected this month, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. This follows earlier reports from Spanish outlet Expansion, which indicated that the transaction could be valued at over EUR 1.5 bn.

#3- Adia, Mubadala will soon become shareholders in Dalian Wanda’s mall unit: Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda is close to bringing in new shareholders for its mall operating unit, with disclosures of the matter expected “as soon as the coming weeks,” Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the subject.

REFRESHER- In April, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority joined a consortium to invest USD 8.3 bn for a 60% stake in Dalian Wanda’s mall unit. Ares Management also bought shares.

#4- MGM casinos to come to the UAE? Las Vegas entertainment giant MGM Resorts applied for a license to run casino operations in Abu Dhabi with the UAE federal government, CEO Bill Hornbuckle said at the Skift Global Forum, Zawya reports.

Background: In a February earnings call, Hornbuckle indicated that Abu Dhabi, specifically Yas Island, is MGM’s preferred site for a gaming resort. MGM’s upcoming USD 2.5 bn hotel project in Dubai will not include a casino.

REMEMBER- The UAE issued a regulatory framework for the gaming sector last July as the country makes a push in the sector, with Ras Al Khaimah is set to welcome the region’s first gaming resort, the USD 3.9 bn Wynn Al Marjan Island Resort, by 2027.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

#1- Etihad Airways and flydubai are operating flights to Lebanon as scheduled while following directives from authorities regarding pagers and walkie-talkies, Khaleej Times reports. The clarification comes after last week’s attacks on Hezbollah members’ hand-held radios in Beirut, which killed dozens and injured thousands of others, and which led to a ban on such devices on flights to and from Lebanon.

#2- ADX-listed companies are required to disclose the agenda and schedule of their board meetings at least two business days prior, whenever topics that could impact stock prices are on the table, according to an Abu Dhabi bourse circular (pdf) published on Friday. Decisions passed during these meetings should be disclosed immediately after the meeting, excluding the meeting day itself.

Companies are also required to submit comparative quarterly reports with audited financials and a BoD’s report or management discussion and analysis, within 45 days of the quarter’s end, and in both Arabic and English, the circular said.

The penalties: Companies’ shares will be suspended from trading as of 9:00am if they fail to submit their statements on time, and will resume trading by 9:30am once they are submitted.

#3- ADGM warns against NFT’s false claims: The Abu Dhabi Global Markets’ Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) issued a warning about New Financial Technology (NFT) and its NFT Fund, stating they falsely claimed to have secured financial services permission from the FSRA and establishment in ADGM. The FSRA confirmed NFT is not authorized for any regulated activities in or from ADGM and that the NFT Fund is not recognized as an investment fund in ADGM.

Wondering how to avoid similar scams? You can check FSRA’s Public Register to verify the regulated status of any entity claiming to be licensed by the FSRA.

DATA POINTS-

#1- UAE economy to grow 4.8% says Oxford Economics: The UAE economy will expand by 4.8% in 2025, driven by a 4.6% growth in the non-oil sector this year, Wam quotes chief economist at Oxford Economics Middle East Scott Livermore as saying. Key sectors like travel and tourism are expected to thrive, with Dubai expected to see the number of visitors grow 20% this year. Government support and strategic initiatives are bolstering investment and attracting foreign talent despite the high-interest rate environment and other headwinds.

REMEMBER- Oxford Economics had previously revised its growth forecast downwards to 4.4%, down from 4.8%. The forecast is still more optimistic than the World Bank’s and the Central Bank of the UAE’s, both of which see growth coming in at a 3.9% clip this year.

A Bloomberg survey of economists was less bullish, with 13 economists expecting growth to come in at a 3.8% clip in 2024, Al Bayan reports. Pundits anticipate a further increase to 4.7% in 2025, driven by strong fundamentals, a vibrant non-oil sector, and solid fiscal and monetary policies.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is set to meet with US President Joe Biden as part of his first official visit to the US , which will see him prioritize discussions around economic ties and AI. Regional developments and conflicts will also feature in the discussions, with Al Nahyan also set to meet with Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as well as executives of large US-based firms, the business information service added.

#2- The World Freezones Organization’s Annual International Conference and Exhibition will kick off today and run until Wednesday in Dubai. The event will discuss zones and the shifting dynamics of global economic structures to open up new avenues for investment.

#3- The Freight Summit Global Conference will take place from today to Thursday. The conference is slated to bring together over 400 international freight forwarders to network and boost partnerships globally.

#4- The UAE National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organizations is hosting the 2024 Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) annual meeting, which kicked off yesterday and will run until 27 September, marking the first time the forum is held in the Middle East, state news agency Wam reports.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

#1- The Finance Ministry will hold its first dialogue with state-owned companies across the GCC tomorrow in Dubai, aiming to boost economic integration across the region and address key challenges in the GCC Common Market, Wam reports. With over 80 firms participating, the event will feature government presentations on the GCC customs union and the common market, while the private sector will present a working paper outlining strategies to boost exports.

#2- Gulfood Green kicks off tomorrow and runs until Thursday at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The event connects startups and investors in the FoodTech and AgriTech sectors, exploring new methods of food production, trade, and consumption. You can register here.

#3- The Global Aerospace Summit will kick off on Wednesday and run until Thursday in Abu Dhabi. The summit will gather key players in the global aerospace supply chain industry along with high level industry and government officials to discuss industry services, legal structure and resource sharing.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s little room for business news in the international press this morning with an uptick in violence in our part of the world once again sadly topping the headlines. Rockets, artillery shells, and explosive-laden drones were sent between Israel and Lebanon yesterday in a drastic escalation of cross border strikes that Hezbollah Deputy Chief Naim Qassem described as “a new phase — the title of which is the open-ended battle of reckoning.”

There seems little hope that fighting between the two will stop anytime soon, with Israel stating that it will continue fighting until it is deemed safe for Israeli residents on its northern border to return — a characteristically undefinable benchmark that gives the country the excuse to continue the war for as long as it likes. Hezbollah has pledged to carry on fighting until a ceasefire in Gaza is put in place.

Over in Gaza, Israel killed seven in an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families — it’s second such attack in only a 48-hour period.

The US is publicly pressuring Israel to avoid full-scale war with Hezbollah, with US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby telling ABC, “we’re saying this directly to our Israeli counterparts…we don’t believe that escalating this military conflict is in their best interest.”

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD- Sri Lankans have chosen a Marxist-leaning political outsider to fix their economy with the country electing Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their new president yesterday. The decision was seen as a sharp rebuke to incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, the architect of Sri Lanka’s tentative recovery from its 2022 economic meltdown after the crisis saw previous president Gotabya Rajapaksa ousted and the country take on a USD 2.9 bn IMF bailout.

AND IN BUSINESS NEWS- Trump’s new digital assets platform is drawing anxious glances from some crypto leaders, with some ringing the alarm bells about the potential consequences of a new decentralized finance (DeFi) platform — dubbed World Liberty Financial — being backed by former US president Donald Trump. Speaking to the FT, Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson said that Trump’s involvement in DeFi will lead the US Democratic Party “to weaponise the institutions of the United States” to derail the company with “a knock-on to the entire industry,” adding that “he’s taken a bipartisan thing and he’s making it partisan.

PLUS- Apollo jumps into the race for Intel: Asset manager Apollo Global Management has reportedly made a multi bn USDinvestment offer to struggling chip-maker Intel, just a few days after it was reported that Qualcomm had approached the firm about a friendly takeover agreement. The accord would see Apollo invest up to USD 5 bn in an “equity-like investment” — which Intel is reportedly now mulling.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Dubai World Trade Centre will host the Water, Energy and Environment Technology Exhibition 2024 from 1-3 October, organized by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. The event will focus on advancements in cybersecurity, digital transformation, and sustainability, showcasing the latest technologies and solutions to enhance digital and environmental security.

The Dubai World Trade Centre is set to host the Water, Energy, Technology andEnvironment Exhibition (WETEX) from October 1-3 2024. The annual event showcases the latest in technology and trends across energy, water, and environmental conservation.

The Dubai World Trade Centre will host the World Green Economy Summit from 2-3 October 2024, organized by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and the World Green Economy Organization. The event will focus on green finance and sustainable development, highlighting global efforts to increase climate resilience and bolster international cooperation.

Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre will host the inauguralRegional Data andCommunity Development Forumfrom 9 to 10 October. Organized by the Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD), the forum will focus on the role of data in economic growth, community development, and planning.

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