AI-native banking could be on Islamic finance’s side.

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: Abu Dhabi puts OpenAI on the payroll + UAE looks to a rethink of oil storage and refining strategies

Good morning, everyone. We have a slew of energy news for you today. On the first day of the energy conference, UAE ministers stressed the importance of building more resilience when it comes to protecting energy infrastructure and supply chains, with Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber calling for more stockpiles and rethinking refinery strategy. Meanwhile, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said that the UAE was preparing contingency plans and alternative supply routes for worst-case scenarios in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Things are already moving ahead in that direction, with Adnoc taking a final investment decision on its first large-scale unconventional gas development to help it close a supply gap.

The mitigation mindset was to be found elsewhere. At the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, diplomatic advisor to the president Anwar Gargash said the UAE was “braced for the worst” as Gulf officials stressed the need for diplomatic efforts to avoid another round of confrontation.

There’s also a distinct AI theme to today’s issue, as UAE entities from Mubadala to Adnoc agree to bring OpenAI’s technology to their operations in another sign of ever-closer AI ties between the UAE and the US. We also spoke to experts about what an AI-native banking push would mean for Islamic finance.

PLUS- Adic is backing an Apollo-led European lending platform with over EUR 10 bn in financing capacity, and Adia is working with Avolon and I Squared Capital on an aircraft leasing platform.

Abu Dhabi is putting OpenAI on the payroll

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Mubadala, and the Abu Dhabi government are bringing OpenAI’s technology to oil operations, investment analysis, and regulatory approvals under four new agreements, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. The agreements were signed following a meeting between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with one government application already up and running.

Financial terms and most rollout timelines weren’t disclosed, but here’s what’s in the works:

AI heads to Adnoc’s operations: Adnoc will become the first in its sector to deploy OpenAI’s frontier technology, working with OpenAI and G42 subsidiary Inception42 to use GPT models running on UAE-based computing infrastructure to support operational, investment, and commercial decisions;
Government approvals get an AI assist: Abu Dhabi’s government is working with OpenAI to make regulations readable by AI systems, helping officials assess compliance and process permits and certificates. A food-import pilot is already running at the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, with officials retaining the final say;
Mubadala brings AI into the investment process: Sovereign investor Mubadala is partnering with OpenAI and Inception42 to analyze investments, identify prospects, and assess risks;
And the rollout goes beyond those three: OpenAI and Inception42 signed a five-year agreement to develop AI solutions for government entities, businesses, and educational institutions across the UAE.

REMEMBER- Abu Dhabi has been laying the groundwork for this: Adnoc signed a USD 340 mn AI deployment agreement with AIQ last year, while G42 is developing the 1 GW Stargate UAE computing cluster alongside OpenAI and other US tech firms. Abu Dhabi-backed MGX has also invested in OpenAI. The latest agreements bring that broader AI push closer to day-to-day operations, with the food-import pilot offering an early example of the technology already in use.

Plus: The agreements come ahead of OpenAI’s upcoming funding round that MGX is reportedly set to back once again. However, the AI giant’s original USD 30 bn target has been rolled back to USD 20 bn after AI concerns triggered a tech stock selloff, according to the Financial Times, which also reported that MGX would be the largest participant in the raise.

Power Trip’s final issue turns to the people paying the bill. We look at the cost of a backup generator or going solar, how your electricity bill is really calculated and whether the price is right, whether an EV pays off against a petrol car today, and why green energy keeps skipping the consumer.

Subscribe to the Egypt edition for Power Trip, out tomorrow, 4 November.

European Space Agency looks to UAE

The UAE’s space sector push seems to be paying off, drawing European names to the Emirates to scout for new partners, Reuters reports. European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher is coming to the UAE, hoping to ink a framework agreement with the country at some point, he told the newswire. He’ll visit Abu Dhabi-based Marlan and US-based startup Loft Orbital’s satellite-focused JV as part of the visit.

Both are eyeing diversification and resilience: For the ESA, it’s looking for partnerships outside the US to reduce European reliance on American tech and develop “more autonomy and strength.” ESA projects linked to the US account for 5% of its budget; however, the US has scaled back certain joint projects in recent years. For the UAE, its space sector buildout is a key part of its economic diversification agenda. And while the Emirates has been developing its satellite network, it still doesn’t have an independent navigation system or capacity to organize launches independently.

What cooperation could look like: Aschbacher refused to comment on whether the UAE could invest in projects with the ESA but said ESA’s funding gap could be up for discussion, although commitments from European governments would come first. The ESA currently uses US providers to send astronauts into space, but discussions with the UAE could include a lunar rover launch.

A refinery rethink

The UAE is arguing for a rethink of oil storage and refining after the war has depleted stockpiles and supplies, Reuters reports, citing Adnoc CEO and Industry and Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al Jaber. A key focus should be moving refining capacity and infrastructure closer to the end consumer market, he said.

We’ve already seen evidence of the approach to storage options changing recently, particularly when it comes to customers in Asia. The Philippines is in talks with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait about storing crude and refined fuels on its territory, and Indonesia has also recently turned to the UAE for fuel supply. In addition, Adnoc agreed in May to increase its crude storage presence in India, after Japan and South Korea secured similar stockpile agreements.

Equally important — holding more oil in reserves: Diesel stocks in some markets are at their lowest seasonal levels in 35 years, nearly 1 bn barrels have come out of global oil inventories, and LNG supplies have been disrupted, Al Jaber said. Shipping and logistics costs have risen from 5% to 30% of the cost of a barrel, he added.

Al Habtoor is closing the book on Lebanon

Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group is preparing to sell off its entire portfolio of Lebanese assets, taking its withdrawal from the country a step further after shutting down operations earlier this year, according to a company statement. The board-approved divestment covers the group’s hotels, commercial and residential properties, and other investments accumulated over more than two decades. Assets will be evaluated and sold individually according to market conditions, with no valuations, potential buyers, or sale timeline disclosed.

REMEMBER- This exit has been a long time coming: Al Habtoor announced plans to pursue arbitration against Lebanon in January, citing more than USD 1.7 bn in losses and restrictions that it said prevented access to funds held in Lebanese banks. The group subsequently shut down its Lebanese operations and terminated employees before formally initiating international arbitration in April under the UAE-Lebanon investment treaty.

PSA

WEATHER- Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi will see highs of 35°C today, with overnight temperatures reaching 27°C in Dubai and 26°C in Abu Dhabi, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

US voters are heading to the polls today in midterm elections that will determine whether President Donald Trump’s Republicans hold on to their majorities in Congress. Voters are focused on rising prices, which many attribute to Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war. The White House has reportedly been preparing for months for a Democratic victory, identifying ways Trump could keep pushing his agenda on immigration, tariffs, housing, and federal spending without Congress, while getting ready for potential investigations into his administration. Trump said that if Republicans lose, he could issue vetoes for “a month or two” before reaching common ground with Democrats.

Anthropic plans to spend more than USD 895 bn in the next few years, mostly on computing power and infrastructure. The Claude chatbot maker expects about USD 448 bn of that to come due by the end of 2030, including roughly USD 70 bn it must pay in the 12 months to September 2027. The company reported nearly USD 17 bn in revenue for the third quarter, up from USD 1.4 bn a year earlier, as it pitches investors ahead of an IPO that could break records.

Germany has warned that spyware may have compromised the iPhones of government officials and lawmakers. The Federal Office for Information Security issued an urgent notice over the weekend telling anyone who had recently received a security alert from Apple to treat their phone as no longer safe. The attack used a “zero-click” flaw, so the hackers needed only a target’s phone number and the owner didn’t have to click a link or open a file. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, said the government was taking the incident very seriously and that authorities were working “flat out” to investigate it and help those affected. He declined to say whether Merz himself was among the targets.

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Investors are backing AI-native UAE banks, and Islamic finance could gain the most

Capital is flowing into UAE banks designed around AI rather than retrofitted with it — and Islamic finance, where compliance paperwork drives up costs, may have the most to gain. Abu Dhabi-based Mal raised a USD 230 mn seed round to build what it bills as the world’s first AI-native Islamic digital bank. Synapse Analytics raised USD 13 mn for decisioning infrastructure that automates credit, onboarding, fraud, and anti-money laundering (AML) checks.

The difference is architectural. Most UAE banks have spent years adding AI to customer service, fraud detection, and credit assessment without changing how the bank actually runs. Some 44% of UAE financial institutions are already using AI to cut operating costs, according to banking software provider Finastra. This is different: it’s about changing the engine itself, not retrofitting with new features.

“AI-native can be a marketing term until the architecture is examined,” Ahmet Faruk Aysan, associate dean for research at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Islamic Studies, tells EnterpriseAM. In a truly AI-native bank, Aysan says, data is designed to be machine-readable in real time, while models function as shared services across products and departments. Agentic AI systems — which can plan and execute sequences of actions — become part of the workflow rather than an add-on. People move from processing-heavy roles to a more supervisory capacity, he says.

Why it matters: The economics of banking shift. “Banking starts to look like software: high fixed cost and very low marginal cost,” Aysan says. It raises the upfront investment required to build and govern models but reduces the marginal cost of processing an additional customer, transaction, or document, Aysan adds.

An underwriter who spent 30 minutes gathering information could instead spend five minutes reviewing cases AI has already assembled and scored, says L. Guru Raghavendran, SVP of AI and innovation at core-banking software provider Azentio. The near-term gain is a lower cost per approved application and more capacity, he says, rather than an immediate cut in headcount costs.

Paperwork goes first, credit calls last

Rule-heavy work is first in line for automation, and the savings could be large. AI could cut operating costs across the UAE’s banking and financial system by 30-50%, according to early estimates. KYC checks, AML reviews, document processing, reconciliation, collections, and regulatory reporting are the prime candidates, Aysan says.

Credit decisions are a different story: Dubai-based SME lender Beehive uses its own AI tools to review borrower data and flag anomalies but keeps its credit model in-house and a human on every final decision, CEO Pete Tavener tells us. Unsecured loans approaching USD 300k won’t be left to a black box, he says, while smaller AED 50-100k tickets or data-rich cases can be automated further.

The time savings are real all the same: Beehive spent 11.5 hours assessing a case at the start of 2026 and expects to be at five hours by year-end. “I want to be able to see how the decision is made, and I want to be able to have a full audit trail,” Tavener says.

Islamic banking has the most to gain

Shariah compliance is expensive, and that’s the opening. UAE Islamic banking assets stood at AED 1.4 tn in June, with a target of AED 2.5 tn by 2031. “Shariah-compliant structures carry a premium for documentation and review over conventional products. If AI brings that compliance cost premium down, Islamic products become cheaper to produce relative to conventional ones,” Aysan says.

It could also revive risk-sharing finance. “The part of the model that could change most is the one that has frustrated Islamic economists for forty years,” Aysan says. The industry leans heavily on murabaha, a sale-based structure, rather than profit-and-loss sharing contracts like mudaraba and musharaka. That’s partly because monitoring many small businesses’ cashflows has been too costly. “If monitoring becomes cheap and continuous, risk-sharing finance becomes commercially viable at scale for the first time,” he says.

Scholars aren’t going anywhere: AI can’t decide whether a structure reflects the intent of Islamic law, Aysan says. “Scholars will spend less time on repetitive ex-post review” and more time translating rulings into machine-readable rules and overseeing how systems apply them, which means shariah boards will need members or advisers who understand how the models work.

The central bank wants a human on the hook

The Central Bank of the UAE’s AI guidance note, issued in February, keeps boards and senior management responsible for AI systems and their outcomes. That is a big reason banks are slow to move agents from pilot into production, Raghavendran says. Lenders are comfortable automating tasks like sorting customer complaints, but not final credit decisions. “Accountability cannot be delegated to AI,” he says.

Data is the other brake: Banks remain wary of sending sensitive data to external large language models, even with in-country hosting, Raghavendran says. Azentio’s workaround is to put engineers inside bank premises to train models on the bank’s own data.

Where it can go wrong

Attackers are running agents too. AI-powered cyberattacks have climbed sharply in recent months, with financial services among the most targeted sectors. Synthetic identities and deepfakes can undermine authentication while prompt injection can manipulate systems into taking unauthorized actions, warns Aysan. “When both the attacker and the bank run agents, an error propagates in seconds rather than days, and a bank that has not defined limits, identity, and a kill switch for each agent will discover the problem from its losses,” he says.

Plus: old data carries old biases. In the Gulf, nationality, employer, visa type, and residential location can all correlate with repayment, but they can also act as proxies for traits that shouldn’t decide access to credit, Aysan says. Used carefully, transaction data could open credit to thin-file borrowers, migrant workers, and small businesses.

GO DEEPER- Our AI + Innovation desk looked at whether AI can make lending fairer across Egypt and the Gulf, including how UAE credit reports now factor in buy-now-pay-later repayments and why Emirates NBD is running ChatGPT on in-country infrastructure. Read it here.

Plenty of projects won’t make it: Gartner expects over 40% of agentic AI projects to be canceled by the end of 2027 over costs, unclear value, or weak risk controls. The fix, Aysan argues, is to build governance into the bank’s architecture through “audit trails, model inventories, independent validation and human escalation mechanisms,” rather than adding it after deployment.

The UAE offers AI-native banks a favorable test market: a sizable Islamic banking sector, centralized shariah governance, an established financial services ecosystem, and specific regulatory guidance on AI, according to Aysan. Its diverse population also presents a demanding test for models used in onboarding and credit assessment. Incumbent UAE banks that adapt proactively could ultimately be better positioned than challengers, Aysan believes.

Success, however, will depend on more than AI launches or partnerships. Cost-to-income ratios, independently validated AI decisions, customer complaints, and human-review reversals will offer better measures of progress, alongside shariah non-compliance incidents and growth in risk-sharing products for Islamic banks, according to Aysan.

For some, the change is inevitable: Banking software is set to become AI-first, reshaping not just how employees interact with systems but how banks process information and make decisions. “The underlying workflow itself will change with AI, and it’s not [taking] five years. Trust me, two years, two and a half years,” says Raghavendran.

Adic joins Apollo-backed European lending platform with EUR 10 bn+ capacity

Abu Dhabi Investment Council (Adic) is backing a new Apollo-led European lending platform with more than EUR 10 bn in financing capacity, adding to the emirate's growing exposure to European private credit. Adic is among a group of global investors in the European Credit Company (ECC), which will finance businesses and infrastructure projects across the continent, according to an Apollo statement. The size of Adic’s investment wasn’t disclosed.

REMEMBER- Apollo and Abu Dhabi have a long history: Mubadala and Apollo have worked together on private-market financing since 2020, starting with a USD 12 bn financing partnership and later launching a USD 2.5 bn private credit joint venture in 2023. Just last week, Apollo agreed to take a minority stake in Mubadala Capital, with incoming shareholders expected to commit a combined USD 5 bn to its investment strategies.

And there’s already a European credit connection: A private credit joint venture between Mubadala and Abu Dhabi investment firm Alpha Dhabi acquired a USD 600 mn portfolio of European loans managed by Apollo in December, bringing the venture’s deployed capital to USD 1.6 bn.

Why it matters: Apollo sees a growing financing potential in Europe as the continent invests in energy, defense, and digital infrastructure. The new platform gives Adic exposure to that demand through corporate and asset-backed lending rather than direct equity investments in the businesses and projects being financed.

What’s the plan? The ECC will lend to large and mid-sized European businesses, as well as infrastructure and real estate owners, sourcing prospects directly through partnerships with European financial institutions and via Apollo’s existing European credit platform.

Who’s behind it? Apollo funds and affiliates lead the investor group, alongside ins. investor Athora, Japan’s Norinchukin Bank, Standard Chartered, and Singapore-based Aranda Principal Strategies. The ECC is headed by CEO Giacomo Petrobelli and Chairman Christian Meissner, with a presence in Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, and Milan, and plans to expand further.

Adnoc is building more gas capacity, but demand is moving just as fast

Adnoc is turning to unconventional gas to help close the UAE’s supply gap. The state oil major has taken a final investment decision (FID) on Ruwais Diyab, its first large-scale unconventional gas development, which is projected to produce 345 mmcf / d of raw gas over 25 years, according to a press release. Output could eventually rise to 1 bcf / d, though Adnoc hasn’t committed to that level or disclosed the investment value.

Why it matters: The UAE still imports gas to meet domestic demand. Its supply deficit was an estimated 17.7 bn cbm last year, or about 1.7 bcf / d, based on its submissions to Opec, Kate Dourian, a board member at the Energy Institute’s Middle East branch, tells us. Qatari gas through the Dolphin pipeline and about 500k tons of LNG imported through Dubai covered part of that gap, with Ruwais Diyab’s first phase expected to cover about a fifth of that gap.

And demand may grow faster than planned: Adnoc Gas projects domestic gas demand growing 4-5% a year between 2023 and 2030. That forecast may be conservative because it excludes planned AI data centers, Dourian says. Recent awards, including the Bab and Umm Shaif gas caps, will help narrow the deficit, though more production will still be needed, she adds.

A third of the target

Ruwais Diyab has been producing on a small scale since 2020: Adnoc and TotalEnergies delivered first unconventional gas from the concession that year, with a target of 1 bcf / d before 2030. Output reached about 100 mmcf / d by February 2025, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné told the Middle East Economic Survey (Mees). TotalEnergies cut its stake to 10% from 40% in 2023, leaving Adnoc with 90% and operatorship.

The next phase starts in 2029 at about a third of that target. Adnoc Onshore will develop it under a design-build-operate model. The gas will be processed on site, then fed into the national network through new pipelines. That network is expanding too: the USD 2.4 bn Estidama project will extend it to more than 3.5k km from 3.2k km.

Paying for security

Unconventional gas costs more to produce. That raises questions about the returns from scaling it up, Dourian says, though the push to end imports is also about energy security and less exposure to swings in international gas prices. Foreign partners in several UAE gas developments also let Adnoc share capital requirements and development risk, she adds.

Adnoc is likely to sell the gas at home and abroad: “Ultimately, the stronger return will depend on production costs, domestic gas pricing, and the prices Adnoc can secure for LNG exports. LNG may offer greater commercial returns when international prices are high, but supplying the domestic market offers longer-term economic and strategic benefits. Adnoc is therefore likely to pursue both rather than favor one at the expense of the other,” Dourian says.

Most of its LNG is already spoken for: A wave of new global supply is due around 2028, when the Ruwais LNG plant goes online, which could mean lower international prices and tighter margins, Dourian says. Adnoc has already secured long-term sales for more than 90% of Ruwais LNG’s planned capacity, limiting its exposure to spot prices, she adds.

More gas coming

Ruwais Diyab is one of several projects aimed at the same goal: Adnoc has committed USD 6.2 bn to the Umm Shaif gas cap, which is expected to add more than 600 mmcf / d from 2030. Adnoc Gas is advancing its USD 13.2 bn Rich Gas Development program, including a new processing train at Habshan and an NGL fractionation train at Ruwais.

Dourian sees one target behind all of them. “I think all the gas developments in the UAE, including sour and unconventional gas, are about attaining self-sufficiency and ending reliance on imports by 2030,” she says.

What’s next: Ruwais LNG is due to start in 2028, Ruwais Diyab’s next phase comes online in 2029, and Umm Shaif adds gas from 2030.

Adia buys into USD 1.4 bn of Avolon’s leased jets through a new leasing platform with I Squared

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) is acquiring a stake in a USD 1.4 bn aircraft portfolio leased to international airlines. Adia, Irish lessor Avolon, and US infrastructure investor I Squared Capital are launching Constellation Aviation, which will start by buying 22 aircraft from Avolon, Avolon said in a statement. The jets average about five years old and are on lease to 17 airlines in 15 countries.

Why it matters: Adia is buying into a market where airlines want more planes than manufacturers can deliver. Airbus and Boeing’s combined order backlogs stretch beyond 11 years, pushing lease rates higher as airlines struggle to add capacity. Constellation’s investors get long-term contracted lease income, plus access to Avolon, which holds one of the largest order books with both planemakers, I Squared co-founder Gautam Bhandari said in the statement.

Avolon will still run the fleet: Avolon will keep a minority equity stake and stay on as Constellation’s exclusive manager and servicer. The partners plan to grow the platform to as much as USD 6 bn, Reuters reports, citing a source it says is familiar with the agreement. Six banks, including BNP Paribas and Mizuho, are leading a syndicated debt facility for the venture.

DAE has been building similar platforms: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) launched Mustang Aerospace with Neuberger Specialty Finance in July, targeting around USD 6 bn in aircraft investments, three months after setting up Equator with Blackstone to deploy roughly USD 1.6 bn a year. Qatar’s Lesha Bank also agreed in September to buy 33 leased aircraft from Avolon, a portfolio valued at c. USD 1.6 bn.

Alpha Dhabi’s portfolio pays off

Alpha Dhabi sees lower earnings in 3Q amid fatter checks

Higher direct costs and expenses weighed on Alpha Dhabi’s 3Q results, with net income dipping 20.7% y-o-y to AED 3 bn, according to the company’s financial statements (pdf). Meanwhile, revenue rose 8.4% to AED 20.7 bn during the quarter.

9M gives a different perspective: Alpha Dhabi’s bottom line rose 22.8% y-o-y to AED 12.8 bn in 9M 2026, and its revenue went up 6.1% to AED 58.3 bn. It closed out that period with assets of AED 236.4 bn, 10% higher than last year, the company said in its management discussion and analysis report (pdf).

Behind the earnings: The real estate (38%) and industry (37%) segments together accounted for 75% of total revenues. When it came to the bottom line, real estate did most of the heavy lifting, accounting for AED 5.4 bn (42%), while services brought in AED 4.7 bn (37%). Industrials provided 17% of the bottom line, followed by construction with 4%.

Aldar was the strongest performer within the company’s portfolio with AED 7.1 bn in net income, followed by NMDC Group with AED 2.4 bn, PureHealth with AED 1.8 bn, and Trojan with AED 500 mn.

REMEMBER- The conglomerate has been busy this quarter, all the way from Silicon Valley to Sharjah. It committed USD 1 bn to AI fund Alpha Wave III (deepening exposure to OpenAI and Anthropic), doubled its MICAD private credit vehicle with Mubadala to USD 1 bn (raising its ownership to 40%), and financed Aldar’s AED 1.1 bn residential expansion into Sharjah.

AD Ports + MultiBank appoint new CEOs

AD Ports appoints group CEO

AD Ports appointed Afif Saif Al Yafei (LinkedIn) as group CEO, according to a press release. He succeeds Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi (LinkedIn), who had led the group since 2014. The statement didn’t mention a reason for the new appointment but noted that the group had grown into a global business under Al Shamisi’s tenure.

About the new lead: Al Yafei brings over 20 years of experience in the ‎infrastructure, utilities, and industrial sectors and joins AD Ports from Taqa Transmission, where he previously served as CEO. He also held senior positions at Tabreed, including as VP of asset management, and Adnoc Gas.

MultiBank taps new vice chairman + CEO

Financial derivatives broker MultiBank Group tapped Mohammed Al Hakim (LinkedIn) as vice chairman and CEO, according to a press release. Al Hakim joins MultiBank following a tenure as CEO of Crypto.com — during which we interviewed him about his role — and at the Human Resources and Emiratization Ministry.

Next up: Al Hakim’s tenure at Crypto.com will come in useful in his new role, where, in addition to heading up expansion into new markets, he’ll also lead the expansion of MultiBank's exchange, which recently announced the first interbank trading platform globally to offer settlement in both fiat currencies and digital assets. It’s targeting banks and financial institutions in the GCC, Brics nations, and EMs.

Dnata + DP World look to Australia, JPMorgan doubles down on Dubai’s wealth race, a hydrogen hunt in RAK, DP World opens direct China-Africa line

Dubai’s dnata and DP World are expanding their overseas supply chain footprint through an air cargo terminal at Australia’s new Western Sydney International Airport and a temperature-controlled food hub near Bologna. Dnata has launched ground handling operations at the airport, while DP World has opened its first fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) contract logistics hub in Italy, according to a press release.

Dnata is investing about AUD 32 mn in a cargo terminal at Western Sydney International Airport. The company handled the airport’s first international flight on 26 October. The 5k sqm terminal sits in the airport’s 24-hour cargo precinct and will handle up to 60k tons a year at maturity, including temperature-sensitive shipments. That is about a fifth of the 300k tons dnata handles across Australia each year, by our math. Operations are due to start in December.

DP World has opened a 22k-sqm temperature-controlled hub near Bologna, with Alce Nero as its anchor customer. The site in Castel San Pietro Terme has around 30k pallet positions and offers warehousing, transport, and e-commerce fulfillment, according to a press release. DP World runs warehousing and distribution for Alce Nero, an Italian organic food company, and the hub has space for other food, beverage, and consumer goods businesses. It adds to DP World’s existing presence in Italy.

JPMorgan doubles down on Dubai’s wealth race

JPMorgan Private Bank opened a new branch in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) after more than tripling its Dubai-based private banking team over the past year, according to a company statement cited by Wam. The Dubai Financial Services Authority-regulated branch will serve wealthy clients across the UAE and, where permitted, the wider region, building on the bank’s existing corporate and investment banking presence in the DIFC.

REMEMBER- JPMorgan has been building toward this: JPMorgan began assembling its Dubai private banking team in 2024, recruiting bankers from Geneva and London to serve wealthy individuals and family offices. The new branch gives that growing team a dedicated, locally regulated platform, led by UAE market head Selim Elgen (LinkedIn).

And the competition for Gulf wealth isn’t letting up: Barclays has added senior private bankers in the region, while HSBC has appointed a new Middle East wealth chief and plans to open a wealth center in Abu Dhabi after launching one in Dubai last year. Deutsche Bank has also expanded its Dubai private banking team. The hiring spree points to growing competition for wealthy clients and family offices, even as the regional war complicates the business environment.

A hydrogen hunt in Ras Al Khaimah

French natural hydrogen explorer Mantle8 kicked off a 24-month exploration program in Ras Al Khaimah’s Hajar Mountains, launching the UAE’s first dedicated search for naturally occurring hydrogen, according to a press release (pdf). The company has secured exclusive rights to negotiate an exploration contract for Block 7 with RAK’s Energy Department.

The nitty-gritty: Mantle8 will combine seismic imaging, gas, water, and rock sampling, and existing subsurface data to identify potential hydrogen-generating and accumulation zones. The program is self-funded, with the company establishing a Dubai office and appointing a regional director. The first phase involves deploying more than 1k passive seismic sensors to map underground formations. While no drilling is planned at this stage, the plan is to see whether there’d be capacity for domestic hydrogen production to help with energy diversification efforts.

DP World opens direct China-Africa line

DP World is launching a shipping line between China and two of its own African ports: The Dubai-based operator’s Shipping Solutions business will start a weekly China Africa Link service in late November, connecting Shanghai, Ningbo, and Nansha with Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Maputo in Mozambique, via Port Klang in Malaysia and Singapore, according to a press release. The service will carry Chinese machinery, electronics, construction materials, and automotive components to Africa, and agricultural products, minerals, and other commodities back.

> Alphabet’s EUR bond drew EUR 17 bn in orders despite the stock rout

Nasdaq-listed tech conglomerate and Google’s parent company Alphabet raised EUR 6 bn (USD 6.7 bn) in a bond sale yesterday, drawing orders of about EUR 17 bn, just days after the stock market gave it the worst session in its history, Reuters reports, citing a memo from one of the managers. Shareholders had taken a very different view the Thursday before: the stock fell more than 12% after results showed AI spending eating into liquidity, and tech names went on to shed more than USD 1 tn in value on Friday, according to NBC News.

The order book held up: Yesterday’s transaction was covered roughly 2.8 times, by our math. That matches May, when Alphabet sold EUR 9 bn, according to Reuters, after bids passed EUR 25.2 bn, Bloomberg reported at the time. However, it falls well short of February, when a USD 20 bn sale closed on a USD 94.5 bn book, nearly five times covered, according to IFR. Alphabet came back for a roughly USD 25 bn, 10-tranche USD offering in August, the same publication noted.

The spending behind it hasn’t slowed. Alphabet guides capex of up to USD 205 bn this year. It also has USD 130.5 bn in signed data center leases that haven’t started and sit off its balance sheet, according to an SEC filing cited by Reuters.

SOUND SMART- Shareholders and bondholders are asking different questions. Equity investors want proof that USD 205 bn a year earns a return. Bondholders need the coupons paid, and S&P rates Alphabet AA+ with adjusted leverage of 0x. That’s why the book fills while the stock slides. The risk the bond price doesn’t reflect is the leases: USD 130.5 bn in commitments that will behave like debt once they start, without showing up in the leverage numbers creditors are underwriting.

The pattern goes beyond Alphabet: OpenAI cut its funding target to as much as USD 20 bn at a lower USD 1.25 tn valuation, and investors from the UAE are leading the round alongside Coatue, CNBC reported. The company had secured only about USD 11 bn by its deadline, according to The Wall Street Journal. As US equity investors retreat, the AI buildout is being funded more by creditors and by Gulf capital. Closer to home: Saudi Arabia’s Humain is taking a different approach to funding its AI buildout. The company plans to secure customers before borrowing against their contracts, CEO Tareq Amin told EnterpriseAM last month. That gives lenders contracts to lend against rather than demand that has yet to show up: “when you have bankable off-take [transactions], raising capital for me is not an issue,” Amin told us. The same week, Alphabet’s freecash flow went to negative USD 9.07 bn and search growth slowed to 12%, which is what actually sent the shares down 12.6% on Thursday.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

South Korea’s Kospi recovered from early losses to close 2.2% higher on Monday, driven by institutional buying, even though US chip stocks slumped on Friday. The bad news was reportedly already priced in, and strong October chip exports and signs of easing Middle East tensions lifted sentiment. In Japan, markets are closed on Tuesday for Culture Day, a national holiday, so the Nikkei 225, which fell 0.3% on Monday, will not trade.

ADX	9,491	+0.3% (YTD: -5.0%)
DFM	5,808	+0.6% (YTD: -4.0%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,720	-1.4% (YTD: -3.5%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.9% o/n	5.2% 1 yr
TASI	9,883	+0.5% (YTD: -5.8%)
EGX30	48,403	-0.7% (YTD: +15.7%)
S&P 500	7,541	-0.5% (YTD: +10.2%)
FTSE 100	10,761	+0.3% (YTD: +8.4%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,176	+0.7% (YTD: +6.6%)
Brent crude	USD 104.77	-7.6%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.86	+0.3%
Gold	USD 3,957	-0.3%
BTC	USD 77,944	-1.8% (YTD: -12.4%)
Lunate JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 6.74	-3.2% (YTD: -2.3%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	148.90	+0.1% (YTD: -2.0%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	21.15	+8.9% (YTD: +41.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 0.6% yesterday on turnover of AED 507.9 mn. The index is down 5% YTD.

In the green: Emirates Reem Investments Company (+7.8%), Talabat Holding (+4.1%), and Emaar Development (+3.6%).

In the red: Dubai National Ins. & Reinsurance (-4.7%), Lunate S&P UAE UCITS ETF - Share A - ACCUMLATING (-3.2%), and Aramex (-2.9%).

Over on the ADX, the index rose 0.3% on turnover of AED 763.8 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai down 1.4%.

CALENDAR

NOVEMBER

2-5 November (Monday-Thursday): Adipec, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

2-6 November (Monday-Friday): Dubai Future Finance Week, Dubai.

4 November (Wednesday): DIP Holding final offer price announcement.

4 November (Wednesday): Digital Transformation Summit, Sofitel, Abu Dhabi.

4-16 November (Wednesday-Monday): ADIB rights trading period.

9-10 November (Monday-Tuesday): Annual government meetings, Abu Dhabi.

9-12 November (Monday-Thursday): EMEA Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education Conference, Dubai College of Tourism, Dubai.

9-13 November (Monday-Friday): World Congress of Military Med, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

10-12 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Dubai International Electric Vehicle Exhibition & Conference, Dubai World Trade Center.

10-24 November (Tuesday-Tuesday): ADIB rights issue subscription period.

11 November (Wednesday): DIP Holding expected to begin trading on the DFM.

16-17 November (Monday-Tuesday): The Mining Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

16-18 November (Monday-Wednesday): World Police Summit, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

17-18 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Data Center World Middle East, Dusit Thani Hotel, Abu Dhabi.

18-19 November (Wednesday-Thursday): Touchdown Middle East 2026, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi.

19 November (Thursday): Middle East Defense Conference, Rabdan Academy Headquarters, Abu Dhabi.

23-26 November (Monday-Sunday): Big 5 Global, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

25-26 November (Saturday-Sunday): Doers Summit, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai.

DECEMBER

2-4 December (Wednesday-Friday): UN Water Conference, UAE.

4-6 December (Friday-Sunday): Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi.

8-9 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Capital Market Summit, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

8-9 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

7-10 December (Monday-Thursday): Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.

8-10 December (Tuesday-Thursday): Abu Dhabi Water & Power Week, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

8-10 December (Tuesday-Thursday): Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association Show, DWC, Dubai Airshow Site.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

1 January: Deadline for large businesses to implement e-invoicing;
14-17 January (Thursday-Sunday): MOC27 Motor, Outdoor & Camping Festival, Dubai Sevens Stadium, Dubai.
1Q 2027: Completion of the first phase of Hassyan seawater desalination project;
1-3 February (Monday-Wednesday): World Governments Summit;
31 March: Small businesses with annual revenues of less than AED 50 mn are obliged to contract with an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
31 March: Government entities are required to appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
21-22 April (Wednesday-Thursday): Token2049, Dubai;
11-13 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Middle East Energy, Expo City, Dubai.
31 May-2 June (Monday-Wednesday): RailX Dubai, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.
1 July: Deadline for small businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1 October: Deadline for governments to implement e-invoicing;
November: HR Tech, Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi’s solar and battery energy facility, combining 5.2 GW of solar capacity and 19 GWh of battery storage, is set for commissioning.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2028:

Artificial Intelligence Summit.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2029:

Sibos 2029 organized by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Dubai;
Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi;
The commissioning of the seventh phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

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