Good morning, wonderful people. We've finally come to the end of a short but eventful workweek — we hope you get to recover this long weekend with your friends and family. Today’s issue is brisk, with the big story of the day being ADQ’s potential acquisition of Limagrain’s vegetable seeds division, alongside the DIFC’s new proposal for a variable capital company regime.

***A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE: EnterpriseAM UAE will also be off tomorrow in observance of Islamic New Year. We’ll be back in your inboxes at the usual hour on Monday morning.

If you’re one of the thousands of people planning to travel this weekend, make sure to arrive at the airport early. Emirates expects one of its busiest travel periods from today until 30 June, with over 30k passengers scheduled to depart from Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 today alone, the airline said in a statement. Travellers are advised to arrive three hours before departure, clear immigration 1.5 hours before, and reach the gate one hour before.

But don’t worry, things should be running on schedule: Emirates said it resumed regular operations shortly after briefly halting some services earlier this week following Iran’s attack on the US military base in Qatar. Flights to Amman and Beirut, which were temporarily suspended, have also resumed.

If you’re planning a staycation or just planning to spend the long weekend somewhere in the city, this one’s for you: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority will waive parking fees at all public zones tomorrow for the for Hijri new year, according to a statement. The move excludes multi-level terminals, and normal parking charges will resume on Saturday, 28 June.

Metro times: The Dubai Metro will operate from 5am on Friday until 1am on Saturday, with tram services running from 6am on Friday to 1am on Saturday.

WEATHER- It's going to stay hot and humid across the country, with temperatures in Dubai set to peak at 41°C today, before cooling down slightly and reaching an overnight low of 32°C, along with humidity at night. Abu Dhabi will see a high of 34°C and an overnight low of 30°C, though it will feel much hotter due to the humidity.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Mubadala Capital is expected to be a cornerstone investor in the IPO of Hong Kong-based ins. firm FWD Group Holdings, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. FWD’s IPO is projected to raise around USD 500 mn, with expectations for the books to open as early as today. The firm may be valued at as much as USD 6 bn.

Who else is pitching in? Japan’s T&D Holding is also predicted to be a cornerstone contributor, with the existing preliminary interest from global investors being enough to cover the books about two times ahead of its launch, sources said.

ADVISORS- Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are joint sponsors for the IPO, with HSBC Holdings acting as the financial advisor.

Mubadala ❤️ Asia-Pacific (APAC): Mubadala has been ramping up its Asia-Pacific investments over the past couple of years, with a USD 1 bn partnership with Goldman Sachs to invest in private credit in the region. The fund also committed undisclosed amounts to PAG’s renewable energy fund PAG REN I, and Indian healthcare network Manipal Health Enterprises. These investments align with its plan to more than double its assets in Asia to 25% from the 12% currently under its management.

#2- Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) took part in Mumbai-based HDB Financial Services’ INR 3.4 bn (c. AED 1.4 bn) pre-IPO funding round, alongside 140 other anchor investors, The Times of India reports. The company sold over 45.5 mn equity shares at INR 740 apiece to domestic mutual funds, ins. companies, and foreign institutions.

The firm is launching a INR 1.2 bn IPO, open for public subscription until Friday, 27 June. The listing aims to boost the firm’s Tier 1 capital base to support its growth and lending capabilities, with the shares expected to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange on 2 July. The IPO was subscribed 37% on its first day, Mint reports.

This comes as Adia continues to capitalize on investments in the Asian country after spending nearly USD 1 bn on its Indian portfolio in 1H 2024. The fund participated in Ather Energy’s USD 156.9 mn pre-IPO funding round and invested some USD 750 mn in GMR Group. It was also reported to eye stakes in the education loan provider HDFC Credila Financial Services and Indian telco Vodafone Idea.

#3- Abu Dhabi trial runs new delivery drone: Homegrown aviation tech firm LODD and trade and logistics firm 7X launched Abu Dhabi’s first pilot flight for drone-based parcel delivery, according to a statement. The test flight was conducted in Khalifa City and saw an autonomous drone transport a simulated package from a local post office to a designated drop point, operating using a secure winch-based delivery arm. The pilot — conducted with supervision from the general civil aviation authority (GCAA) — is part of Abu Dhabi’s strategy to advance autonomous mobility and drone-based logistics in the Emirate.

What’s next? LODD and 7X will work with regulators and industry partners to hone in on procedures, consolidate regulatory compliance, and collect operational insights to support a wider rollout.

REMEMBER- Dubai also kicked off drone deliveries late last year in Dubai Silicon Oasis with the first order from the Rochester Institute of Technology-Dubai, one of the landing points within the drone delivery network.

#4- Yas Waterworld’s long-awaited expansion will open to the public on Tuesday 1 July, developer Miral said in a Facebook post. The 13.4k sqm extension on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island introduces 20 new rides and attractions under a new Lost City theme, and will bring the park’s total offerings to more than 60 experiences, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement.

The development is part of Miral’s drive to make the island a global leisure hub, with Disneyland being the latest project that is set to come to the island, joining the likes of Warner Bros. World, Ferrari World, and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi.

DATA POINT-

The Central Bank of the UAE’s (CBUAE) foreign assets rose 8.7% q-o-q to AED 935.2 bn in 1Q 2025, according to its latest Quarterly Monetary, Banking, & Financial Markets Developments Report (pdf). The increase was driven by a 94.7% surge in foreign investments, which offset declines in bank deposits abroad, current account balances, and other foreign assets. On an annual basis, foreign assets were up 27.8%.

Consumer lending surges: Personal loans to residents climbed 3.5% q-o-q to AED 505.9 bn, marking a 17.5% y-o-y increase — one of the sector’s strongest annual gains.

ICYMI- Total bank assets reached AED 4.7 tn at the end of March, up 3.5% from the previous quarter. Gross credit rose 2.7% q-o-q to AED 2.2 tn. Total deposits climbed 3.1% to AED 2.9 tn, with resident deposits rising 3.3% to AED 2.7 tn — up 10.3% y-o-y — and non-resident deposits up 1.2% to AED 248.0 bn — up 12.5% y-o-y.

Infrastructure and licensing tick up: The number of ATMs in the UAE rose by 24 during the quarter to 4.8k. The total number of licensed financial institutions stood at 173, including 11 wholesale banks, 68 representative offices, 18 finance companies, and 75 moneychangers.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Two big stories are getting plenty of ink in the foreign press this morning: Nato’s agreement to hike security spending, and the latest around Iran, from how much damage the US’ strikes on its nuclear facilities actually inflicted to what’s next for the nuclear agreement.

From the Hague, Nato agreed to increase spending to 5% of GDP — up from 2% as of this year — and renewed their “ironclad commitment” to security in a show of strength that pushes back against Russia. The move to hike spending is understood to be great news for US President Donald Trump, who has been calling on his European allies to increase spending on security. Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the summit, as he looks to secure more US weapons. (Bloomberg | Reuters | Financial Times | Guardian | New York Times)

Over in Iran, speculation continues around the extent of damage on its nuclear facilities following the US’ attacks on three of its sites, with Trump asserting that the intelligence report from a day earlier was inconclusive and that the damage was actually severe. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei later said the sites were “badly damaged” in a TV interview. It’s still unclear how badly they were hit, with some sources saying the nuclear program was set back only a few months’ time, and others — namely, Israel — saying it’s years. (Bloomberg | Reuters)

ALSO- Trump said Iran and the US will meet next week, saying a nuclear agreement could be on the table but that it might not be necessary given the damage that had already been inflicted on Iran’s nuclear program. (Bloomberg | NYT | Axios)

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