Network International + Magnati inch closer to wrapping merger. PLUS: Hiring rises in 2Q

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: FAB’s digital bond lists on the ADX + UAE firms in talks with Morocco over USD 10 bn wind projects

Good morning, lovely people, and happy FRIDAY. We close out the week with yet another busy issue, with more investment and M&A news. Topping our coverage this morning is Magnati and Network International’s merger, which is inching closer to completion after receiving regulatory clearance. Plus: BlueFive Capital has closed its debut USD 2 bn equity fund, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is selling its stake in IFCO.

Also: Hiring rose 4% in the UAE in 2Q 2025, the fastest pace in the GCC.

PLUS- First Abu Dhabi Bank’s USD 100 mn digital bond has listed on the ADX, marking the first ever digital bond to trade on the exchange, the ADX said yesterday. The issuance received a credit rating of AA- from S&P Global. There was no information on the pricing of the issuance.

REMEMBER- FAB issued the three-year, USD 100 mn floating rate digital bond, the first of its kind in the Middle East, with the help of lead manager and arranger HSBC. The bond will be accessible through HSBC’s digital assets platform Orion.

AND- Armenia and Azerbaijan hold peace talks in Abu Dhabi: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Abu Dhabi for negotiations on border disputes and potential peace terms, which were described as constructive, Reuters reports. The talks marked their first formal meeting since agreeing to a draft peace agreement. Ahead of the peace talks they met with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the negotiations, as well as economic cooperation.

WEATHER- It’s going to be another partly cloudy day, with Dubai seeing temperatures rise to 41°C before cooling to an overnight low of 32°C. Over in Abu Dhabi, the mercury peaks at 42°C, with an overnight low of 31°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- UAE firms in talks with Morocco over USD 10 bn wind projects: Morocco is engaged in advanced discussions with three major Emirati energy companies — Masdar, Amea Power, and Taqa — over large-scale wind projects in the Sahara Desert, Attaqa quotes sources as saying. The proposed projects could see up to USD 10 bn in investments and would deliver a combined generation capacity of up to 5 GW.

Background: Emirati firms are already investing heavily in the renewables sector in Morocco. In May, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company’s (Taqa) Moroccan arm Taqa Morocco agreed to explore AED 52 bn worth of projects ranging from desalination and water transmission infrastructure to renewable energy and power transmission lines as part of a consortium with Moroccan energy firm Nareva.

#2- Is G42 planning a hyperscale data center in Vietnam? Abu Dhabi state-backed AI firm G42 is reportedly in discussions to establish a hyperscale data center project valued at USD 2 bn, according to an investment proposal sent by local authorities to Vietnam’s prime minister that was picked up by Reuters, Forbes, and the Vietnamese press, citing state media. The project, which would be like an “AI factory” will include data centers and advanced infrastructure for cloud computing and processing.

The who and where: G42 will be part of a consortium of Vietnamese companies — FPT Corporation, VinaCapital Investment Fund, and Viet Thai Investment Group — planning to build the centers in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s main economic hub.

The caveat: Ho Chi Minh City’s local authorities are asking Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to issue a special mechanism for international projects to override legislative and policy hurdles faced by investors.

Not the first Emirati AI venture in Vietnam: Last year, the UAE’s Benya Group and Vietnam’s Vingroup earmarked USD 3.5 bn to develop a hyperscale data center in the Southeast Asian country. The move also comes as part of G42’s domestic and international expansion drive, which is seeing it commit tens of bns USD in the US — as well as develop a 5 GW US-UAE data center complex in Abu Dhabi.

#3- The Zayed National Museum will open its doors to the public this December, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. Built in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District in honor of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the museum will feature six permanent galleries, a temporary exhibition space, and a collection spanning 300k years of human history.

#4- An AI chef is coming to a restaurant near you: Woohoo, a new restaurant opening near Burj Khalifa, is putting a large-language model in the kitchen, Reuters reports. Chef Aiman — a model trained on food science data, molecular flavor profiles, and more than 1k global recipes — will design menus which will then be tested and redefined by human chefs before hitting diners’ plates. The restaurant is aiming to open this September and the owners say the model could be licensed and rolled out to other establishments in the future.

#5- The recently inked UAE-Azerbaijan comprehensive economic partnership agreement will reap benefits for the manufacturing, automotive, agriculture, logistics, and financial services sectors, Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi told state news agency Wam. It will also lay the groundwork for joint logistics infrastructure and upping investments in Azerbaijan’s energy and renewables sectors through Adnoc and Masdar, he added.

Background: The UAE and Azerbaijan inked the agreement — which is expected to contribute USD 680 mn to the Emirates’ GDP by 2031 — two days ago Bilateral non-oil trade between the two countries reached USD 2.2 bn in 2024, up 36.2% y-o-y and accounting for half of Azerbaijan's total trade with the GCC.

#6- DLD sells first tokenized villa in five minutes: The Dubai Land Department (DLD) sold a two-bedroom villa in Dubailand for AED 1.7 mn through the Prypco Mint platform, with the transaction completed within five minutes of listing, Albayan reports. The sale involved 169 investors from 40 nationalities, each investing an average of AED 10.4k.

ICYMI- This transaction represents the third coded property sale since Dubai launched its real estate tokenization initiative in May. A Damac Maison Prive unit was Dubai's first tokenized real estate asset that was fully funded within 24 hours of launch.

DATA POINT-

The UAE was the top global sukuk issuer in 1H 2025, bucking the overall market slowdown, with total volumes rising to USD 12.4 bn, up from around USD 9.6 bn a year earlier, Al Etihad reports citing S&P Global Ratings data. Foreign currency-denominated sukuk from the UAE hit USD 9.3 bn, a 29% y-o-y increase, as “banks and corporates tapped the market to finance growth amid a still-supportive economy,” S&P Global said. Green and sustainable sukuk made up USD 1.7 bn of the UAE’s total issuances.

REFRESHER- Global sukuk issuance fell 15% y-o-y to USD 101.3 bn in 1H 2025 as local currency volumes dropped 26%. Foreign currency sukuk rose 9% to USD 41.4 bn, and sustainable sukuk issuance climbed 27% to USD 9.3 bn. S&P expects full-year foreign currency sukuk issuance to reach USD 70-80 bn and sustainable sukuk issuance to hit USD 14-16 bn.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Despite US President Donald Trump’s hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza this week, an agreement is nowhere in sight and more violence ripples across the strip. Some 15 people were killed yesterday as they queued outside of a medical point in Central Gaza, including 10 children. 67 others were killed in airstrikes over the past day.

Trump was still hopeful that a ceasefire agreement is within reach this week or the next, while Qatari officials have cautioned that it could take time as they work through key stumbling blocks. (Guardian | BBC | Reuters)

Over in tariff land, the US has now threatened a 35% tariff on Canada as of next month — up from the initially announced 25% tariff — and a blanket 15-20% tariff on most other trading partners, he told NBC. This would also be a hike from a 10% blanket tariff earlier. He floated a potential agreement with Canada provided it works to stop Fentanyl flows across the border. (CNBC | Reuters | Financial Times)

The US is also now being threatened by Brazil with a reciprocal 50% tariff, threatening another tit-for-tat that could lead to a bigger trade war. This came a day after Trump sent a letter to Brazil saying it intends to apply a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports and criticizing the “witch hunt” against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. (Guardian | NPR)

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MARKET WATCH-

Opec sees oil demand climbing through to 2050: Global oil demand will average 105 mn bbl/d this year, according to Opec’s 2025 World Oil Outlook (pdf). The oil cartel expects demand to grow to 106.3 mn bbl/d in 2026 and then to 111.6 mn bbl/d in 2029, Demand will continue to grow through the mid-century, led by rising use in road transportation, aviation, and petrochemicals.

Demand is set to rise to almost 123 mn bbl/d by 2050, around 3 mn bbl.d higher than the group’s previous forecast. Consumption will increase roughly 9% from 2024 to 2030 — unchanged from last year’s forecast. India alone is expected to contribute an additional 8.2 mn bbl/d in demand by 2050.

Driving the growth: India, the Middle East, and Africa will drive the bulk of the demand growth, while Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement and a slower EV penetration rate in Europe are seen as buoying demand.

Opec+ will capture a larger share of the global oil market by 2050, expanding from around 47% this decade to 52%, as rival producers see growth weaken. The sector needs USD 18.2 tn to be spent by 2050, compared with USD 17.4 tn estimated last year, the group said.

BUT- the cartel’s outlook is contradicting: BP, Bank of America, the International Energy Agency, and Wood Mackenzie, all expect oil demand to peak within the next decade, Bloomberg reports. Many of these them point to slowing consumption in China and accelerating clean energy transitions as key turning points.

Taps at the ready: The UAE could raise its oil production capacity beyond 5 mn bbl/d after 2027 if market conditions warrant it, Reuters quotes Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei as saying. “We can go to 6 mn if the market requires,” he said, though clarified it is not an official target.

REMEMBER- Al Mazrouei said earlier this week that current demand is strong, brushing off surplus concerns. Opec+ raised the UAE’s production quota this year to 3.5 mn barrels per day in 2025, up from the current 2.9 mn, following major capacity investments. The country is aiming to hit 5 mn bbl/d by 2027, up from around 3 mn in recent years. Reaching 6 mn bbl/d would place the UAE just behind the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia in terms of global oil output.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The International Glass Manufacturing Show will be held in Dubai on 13-15 April 2026, according to a press release. Key glass industry stakeholders attending the event — covering the entire value chain from raw materials to finishing technology — will participate in high-level panel discussions. The event will feature a buy-seller meet for B2B transactions and an awards ceremony to honor industry innovations.

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

Network International and Magnati clear regulatory hurdle for upcoming merger

Network International and Magnati get the greenlight for upcoming merger: Dubai-based payments provider Network International and First Abu Dhabi Bank's (FAB) payment arm Magnati, alongside co-investors, received regulatory clearance to merge into a single entity owned by a Brookfield-led consortium, according to a press release. The merger, slated to be finalized in 3Q 2025, will see both firms integrate their operations in phases.

A long time coming: In March 2024, the Central Bank of the UAE greenlit Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management’s USD 2.76 bn acquisition of Network International, which was later finalized in September. Brookfield and FAB then said that they planned to merge Network International with FAB’s Magnati — a year after Brookfield had acquired a 60% stake in Magnati.

MEA’s largest fintech incoming: The merged companies will operate across more than 50 markets in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and are set to be the region’s biggest fintech platform, according to the statement. The merger will see the two offer digital payments, fraud prevention, small business lending, and data services to SMEs, larger firms, and government agencies.

ADVISORS- PJT Partners is the financial adviser to Network for the transaction, while Citi and JP Morgan acted as both financial advisers and corporate brokers. Morgan Stanley is the financial adviser for Bidco and Brookfield.

Masdar + Iberdrola to co-invest in UK wind project

Renewables firm Masdar has signed an agreement with Spanish energy firm Iberdrola to jointly invest in the 1.4 GW East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the UK, according to a press release (pdf). The project is expected to begin initial operations in 4Q next year.

The breakdown: Masdar and Iberdrola will each hold a 50% stake in the EUR 5.2 bn (c. AED 22.4 bn) project. Some GBP 3.5 bn (around EUR 4.1 bn) in project financing has already been secured from 24 international banks.

Background: East Anglia Three is being developed by ScottishPower Renewables, the UK arm of Iberdrola, under the larger East Anglia Hub program. Siemens Gamesa was awarded the GBP 1.3 bn turbine supply contract for the project to deliver 95 of its 14.7 MW offshore turbines.

Masdar and Iberdrola are doing a lot together: The two firms also worked on completing and operating the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea as part of a broader partnership.

Masdar is active in the UK: Last year, Masdar finalized the acquisition of a 49% stake in the UK’s 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm from German energy giant RWE as part of a larger GBP 11 bn joint investment ticket into UK renewables. Masdar and RWE are also operating the 630 MW London Array offshore wind farm.

…and in Europe: Earlier in March, Masdar inked an agreement to acquire a strategic minority stake of 49.99% in four solar assets owned by Spanish utility firm Endesa for EUR 184 mn. The state-owned firm also acquired Spanish renewables firm Saeta Yield from Brookfield Renewable last year for EUR 1.2 bn. Last year also saw it acquire a 70% stake in Greece’s Terna Energy, and it is also said to be eyeing an undisclosed stake in the Portuguese renewable assets of TotalEnergies.

BlueFive closes USD 2 bn debut equity fund

BlueFive’s debut fund hauls in bns: Abu Dhabi-based investment platform BlueFive Capital closed its debut private equity fund — The BlueFive Reef Private Equity Fund I — raising USD 2 bn, it said in a press release. This puts the fund within the ranks of the largest PE funds ever launched in the GCC, according to Bloomberg. The story was also picked up by Reuters.

The fund closed at double its original target: The initial plan was for a USD 1 bn financial services-focused fund, but the statement says BlueFive Reef Private Equity Fund I will invest in healthcare, technology, hospitality, aviation, and industrials through majority and minority stakes in large, high-growth companies across the UAE and broader GCC.

ICYMI- The move comes on the heels of the firm’s oversubscribed founding round earlier this week, which valued the firm at USD 120 mn.

About BlueFive: Launched in November 2024 by former Investcorp co-CEO Ben-Gacem, BlueFive Capital currently manages over USD 650 mn in assets, with offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, London, Bahrain, Singapore, and Beijing. The firm is targeting a USD 25 bn platform within five years, with investments across the Gulf, Asia, and Latin America.

IN CONTEXT- The UAE is drawing a growing roster of global asset managers and hedge funds looking to tap into the region’s capital flows, with private equity heavyweights including Permira and General Atlantic having recently set up shop here.

Adia to sell 50% stake in IFCO to Stonepeak

Adia to offload 50% stake in IFCO to Stonepeak: A subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) inked an agreement to sell its approximately 50% stake in IFCO Group, a provider of reusable packaging solutions for fresh food, to Stonepeak, a US-based alt-investment firm focused on infrastructure and real assets, according to a press release. The transaction — for which the financial terms were not disclosed — is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 4Q 2025.

The details: Triton, a European mid-market investment firm and current shareholder in IFCO, will retain its stake in the company. Following the transaction, Triton and Stonepeak will share equal ownership and joint governance of IFCO.

We knew this was coming: Back in April, Bloomberg reported that ADIA was weighing a sale of its 50% stake in IFCO, with the potential transaction valued at over USD 2.3 bn.

About IFCO: IFCO, established in 1992, operates a global logistics network that supplies reusable containers for transporting fresh produce and other perishables. The company handles more than 2.5 bn shipments annually using over 400 mn containers in a closed-loop system between producers and retailers.

Advisors: Citi acted as financial advisor, while Kirkland & Ellis acted as counsel to Stonepeak. Adia and Triton were advised by Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, with counsel from Latham & Watkins. Freshfields is also serving as counsel to Adia.

Adia has been adjusting its investment portfolio: The fund is reportedly considering a sale of its controlling stake in Singapore-based Equis Development alongside Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). In a separate move, ADIA recently exited a USD 1.5 bn position in Shanghai’s One Museum Place, selling to a buyer linked to China Post Life. The fund is also planning to exit its 19.99% stake in Australian power grid operator Transgrid, Financial Review reports.

Hiring in the UAE rises 4% in 2Q, leading GCC

UAE leads GCC in 2Q hiring growth: Hiring in the UAE rose 4% in 2Q 2025, the fastest pace in the Gulf, The National reports, citing a report from recruitment firm Cooper Fitch. Employer confidence, the rollout of the digital work permit service, and a surge of high-net-worth expats helped accelerate recruitment, the report said.

Leading the rally: The recruitment uptick was driven mainly by robust demand in the real estate, financial services, and technology sectors. Senior roles across law, public sector, infrastructure, tourism, and education sectors also saw healthy demand. Notably, the Dubai International Financial Center and ADGM each posted a 2% increase in investment-related hiring, fueled by rising global fund inflows and demand for compliance and risk specialists.

The hiring boom brings its own challenges, with the influx of skilled professionals starting to outpace jobs, particularly at the mid- and senior-management level, leading many candidates to accept lowball offers. Employers are starting to place more weight on local experience, cultural fit, and soft skills.

The rebound comes after a slow 1Q, which saw hiring rise just 1.25% in 1Q as most firms focused on internal restructuring and cost efficiency as new corporate taxes, rising commercial rents, and salary inflation weighed on margins. Once again, recruitment was strongest in the technology, real estate, and law services sectors, and supply outweighed demand.

Elsewhere in the GCC, momentum was mixed: Hiring in Saudi Arabia slowed to 2% from 3.5% in the previous quarter as budgets for mega projects were reassessed, while Oman saw 2% growth after posting a dip in 1Q. Bahrain saw an uptick of just 1%, while Qatar and Kuwait posted declines of 3% and 4%.

Festivities also pushed hiring back, with the Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha holidays, along with the early summer window, contributing to delayed hiring decisions into 3Q in countries with large public or family-run sectors.

Across the region, senior finance roles led job creation with an 8% rise. In-house counsel roles followed with a 7% uptick, while sales and marketing rose 6% and HR roles posted a 4% increase. Digital and AI-related hiring also climbed 4%, but demand for software and cloud engineers dipped slightly.

Adnoc Gas to supply Germany's SEFE with LNG in three-year agreement

Adnoc inks LNG agreement with SEFE: Adnoc Gas will supply Germany’s state-owned energy firm Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) with liquified natural gas (LNG) under a three-year USD 400 mn agreement, according to a press release (pdf). The natural gas will be sourced from the Adnoc's Das Island liquefaction facility, with delivery of 0.7 mn tonnes of LNG set to begin this year.

This isn't Adnoc and Sefe's first rodeo: The oil giant inked a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) last November to supply SEFE with 1 mn tonnes of LNG a year from its Ruwais LNG project. The agreements come as SEFE looks to diversify its supply agreements away from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Adnoc Gas has been ramping up LNG agreements, having inked agreements with German energy infrastructure firm EnBW, Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas firm Petronas, as well as a USD 450 mn agreement with Japan’s Jera. Meanwhile, its USD 19 bn takeover offer for Australian gas player Santos would add 7.5 mn of annual LNG capacity to its roster.

Earnings season is coming, and the outlook is positive for UAE banks

Strong earnings growth for UAE banks in 2Q -CI Capital: Earnings season is quickly approaching, and analysts are weighing in on expected earnings growth for 2Q 2025. Top UAE banks are expected to see a 1.3% y-o-y increase in earning growth for 2Q 2025, CI Capital wrote in a recent report seen by EnterpriseAM UAE. Saudi banks are expected to top their Gulf counterparts for 2Q in terms of earning growth, with a 14% y-o-y increase.

What are the UAE banks covered? The top five Emirati banks covered in CI Capital’s report are First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) which emerges as the potential leader among local peers, followed by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB).

FAB is flagged potential outperformer for the quarter: FAB, the country's biggest lender by assets, is foreseen to be “the potential outperformer for the quarter on higher than peers’ non-interest-income, compensating for the expected NIM compression,” according to the report.

Loan growth is also anticipated to increase by 2.8% q-o-q in the UAE during 2Q, according to the report. “UAE loan growth is gradually picking up, gaining momentum towards the double-digit territory, boosted by increased investor and consumer confidence as well as high population growth,” the report said. Government-related lending and a strong real estate market are expected to remain key pillars for loan growth through next year, the report read.

Some downside risks remain: CI Capital cautions that the new regulations imposed in the UAE banking sector could increase the cost of risk (CoR) and tax headwinds, which in turn could limit its forecasted income growth figures for 2025.

From an investment perspective, CI Capital sees the Emirati market as a more compelling destination, shifting its position from an earlier preference for Saudi Arabia, due to “its lower vulnerability to volatility in oil prices.”

REMEMBER- UAE-listed banks saw their net income increase by 11.8% (USD 639.6 mn) in 1Q 2025, marking “the biggest absolute growth” among banks in the region, according to Kamco Invest’s banking sector quarterly report published in May . S&P Global also noted in April that the country’s banks have “the strongest net external asset position” among GCC countries, giving them the highest resilience to any potential capital outflows resulting from current volatility in the market.

Dubai developers go global as local market peaks

Dubai-based developers are investing in international markets to diversify their portfolios and hedge against potential slowdowns in the UAE property market, Bloomberg reports. Sobha Realty plans to build 800 homes in Dallas and is exploring projects in Australia and the UK. Developers like Damac Properties and Samana Developers are also expanding to Miami, the Maldives, and Australia.

But expansions abroad do not come without challenges: These include longer approval processes and stricter regulations in Western markets. Some firms, including Innovo Group, are seeing slow demand as foreign buyer taxes in Canada hit activity in the sector.

The move follows Dubai's four-year property boom, which has seen home values rising over 70%, and comes ahead of an expected correction in prices starting later this year. Fitch Ratings expects a moderate correction in Dubai home prices beginning in 2H 2025, while Moody’s and Deloitte also forecast a slowdown or stabilization in price and rent growth

Wafa, China’s Hytera partner on comms for oil and gas

TELECOMS-

Wafa + Hytera ink multi-mn USD comms contract for energy sector: UAE-based telco system integrator Al Wafa Technical Systems Services (Wafa) secured a multi-mn USD agreement with China's communications technologies and solutions provider Hytera to supply mission-critical communication systems for the energy sector, according to a press release.

The details: The agreement appoints Wafa as Hytera’s communications partner for energy projects across the UAE. Hytera will provide ratios certified by the EU’s Atex standards, Tetra and LTE base stations, dispatch systems, and integrated communication platforms. The equipment is designed for oil and gas operations in high-risk environments.

M&A WATCH-

UAE-based trade credit insurer Coface has completed the acquisition of Cedar Rose, a MENA-focused business intelligence firm, according to a press release. Once completed, Cedar Rose will serve as Coface’s regional data provider for credit ins. and information services. The agreement was inked earlier in February.

LOGISTICS-

Dubai launches business group to regulate delivery sector: Dubai Commerce Chamber set up the Dubai Delivery Business Group to represent delivery service companies in the emirate, according to the Dubai Media Office. The group will work with government and private-sector entities to address sector challenges and opportunities.

The mandate: The group will develop policy recommendations to support long-term sector growth and competitiveness. It will focus on regulatory improvements, technology adoption, and professional standards and workforce conditions, as well as examine AI, electric vehicles, and sustainable delivery solutions.

DEVELOPMENT FINANCE-

ADFD to provide USD 20 mn for Laos road development: The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) inked a USD 20 mn financing agreement with Laos’ government to upgrade a 50 km section of road in the Southeast Asian country, state news agency Wam reports. Works include improving roads along a key route for farmers to improve logistics operations in the agricultural and trade sectors.

It’s been a busy week for the ADFD, after it inaugurated Maafaru International Airport in the Maldives, an AED 367 mn infrastructure project which included a 2.8 km runway facility to accommodate wide-body aircraft including Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s.

Fed officials see rate cuts ahead, but disagree on timing and scale

Doves circling, but no consensus just yet: Most Federal Reserve officials see interest rate cuts coming this year, but remain divided on when and by how much, minutes (pdf) from the Fed’s 17-18 June meeting show. While “most participants assessed that some reduction […] would likely be appropriate,” others cautioned against moving too soon, citing a still-resilient economy and inflation that remains above target.

The keyword is tariffs: The divide is mostly due to a lack of certainty around the impact of tariffs on inflation. “While a few participants noted that tariffs would lead to a one-time increase in prices and would not affect longer-term inflation expectations, most participants noted the risk that tariffs could have more persistent effects on inflation,” the minutes said. Some also said inflationary effects could be “more limited” if firms adapt or trade agreements are struck.

REMEMBER- The majority of Fed policymakers expect two or more rate cuts this year, after they held benchmark rates steady in June at 4.25-4.50% for the fourth consecutive meeting.

Views are diverging on the next meeting: Some policymakers floated a cut “as soon as the next meeting” at the end of the month, while others saw no need for reductions at all this year. On the question of how much, several said the current rate “may not be far” from neutral, implying limited room for easing. Others pointed to softening inflation and labor market cooling, warning of “difficult tradeoffs” if inflation proves sticky while employment weakens.

The data sends mixed signals…: June job growth surprised to the upside with 147k new payrolls and a drop in unemployment to 4.1%, CNBC reports. Still, consumers are pulling back, with May retail sales falling 0.9% and personal spending dipping 0.1%.

…and Trump applies pressure: President Donald Trump continues to publicly lash out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, demanding deep cuts and even calling for his resignation. Powell has pushed back, stressing the Fed will base its decisions on data, not politics.

ALSO FROM PLANET FINANCE-

ALSO- BTC hit another record yesterday, reaching a peak of USD 116,046 and surpassing an earlier record this week as it continues to rally off the back of increased demand from institutional investors and Trump’s crypto-friendly policies. (Reuters)

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed following news of the US’ larger-than-expected tariffs on Canada and other trading partners. While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and mainland China’s CSI 300 opened higher, and South Korea’s Kospi is up, Japan’s Nikkei is trading down after opening in the green. Over on Wall Street, futures opened flat after another day in the green for the S&P 500.

ADX	10,048	-0.0% (YTD: +6.7%)
DFM	5,830	-0.1% (YTD: +13.0%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,811	-0.1% (YTD: +15.5%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	4.2% o/n	4.4% 1 yr
TASI	11,277	-0.0% (YTD: -6.4%)
EGX30	33,324	+0.5% (YTD: +12.0%)
S&P 500	6,280	+0.3% (YTD: +6.8%)
FTSE 100	8,976	+1.2% (YTD: +9.8%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,438	-0.1% (YTD: +11.1%)
Brent crude	USD 68.91	+0.4%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.37	+0.8%
Gold	USD 3,335.70	+0.3%
BTC	USD 113,620	+2.3% (YTD: +20.3%)
Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.51	0.0% (YTD: -1.6%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	145.84	0.2% (YTD: +4.2%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	15.78	-1% (YTD: -9.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM fell 0.1% yesterday on turnover of AED 818.4 mn. The index is up 13.0% YTD.

In the green: Emirates Investment Bank (+11.0%), Dubai Refreshment Company (+10.8%) and Drake and Scull International (+8.3%).

In the red: Deyaar Development (-3.8%), Orascom Construction (-3.7%) and Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (-2.3%).

Over on the ADX, the index remained flat on turnover of AED 1.3 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 0.1%.

My Morning Routine: Shehab Abdelwahab, regional director for the Middle East at Sensei Labs

Shehab Abdelwahab, regional director for the Middle East at Sensei Labs: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the business community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of business questions for fun. Speaking to us this week is Shehab Abdelwahab (LinkedIn), regional director for the Middle East at Sensei Labs. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

I'm Shehab Abdelwahab and I'm a professional in digital transformation IT services. I've been working in this sector for around 10 years now. I started off in Cairo; had a small stint trying to work in politics, but that didn't really work out. I later moved to the family business, working with software localization. I spent well over four years there, developing digital solutions for banks, then I moved to consulting with global system integrator Capgemini as a consultant mainly for digital transformation of financial services, and then I ended up getting approached by Sensei Labs to spearhead their growth in the region.

Sensei Labs originated as a product within a company called Klick Health in Canada. It was a product management and workflow platform, and after a couple of years, it was spun out as its own thing.

The business problem that it tries to solve is the challenge many organizations face in orchestrating large-scale, complex transformation initiatives, like M&As, cost transformations, procurement programs, and enterprise-wide transformations. Many organizations struggle with fragmented tools, manual processes (often Excel-based), limited visibility, and ineffective reporting. They run in a siloed manner with different platforms and teams. But Conductor by Sensei Labs — our flagship product — offers a central source of truth for programs and projects, as well as collaboration tools and real-time reporting.

Regionally, the companies and institutions that we align with the most are either semi-governmental or utility companies, like water and electricity companies that are focused on growing their core business. State-owned or semi-governmental entities are very mission-oriented, and I think it’s a very untapped sector here, because most of them are looking to IPO, and are trying to become more corporatized (take Salik or Dewa, for example). For them, it’s not about margins but about scaling the service, and this is the sweet spot for us, because we're about long-term sustainable impact.

There’s a big push towards what we call “fail fast and fail forward” in the tech world right now. It means that we have to try a lot of different things, and we have to have the agility to release a feature, test it in the market and see the response to it, and then come back to tweak it. This year, we’ve rolled out a project manager experience that we’ve already received a lot of good feedback on. It stems from a lot of requests for our Conductor product to have some project manager-specific functionality.

One key element is Harmony AI, which is our homegrown AI component. It trains on your own data as a customer with our own best practices and intellectual property, and it becomes like a coach for you that advises on where you should spend your time, and helps you identify inconsistencies in your projects.

Working at a startup — we’re 10 years old — means that despite the titles, I sometimes work as a solutions engineer, sometimes as an account executive or as a finance person. The main goal is I need to grow the book of business that I have here, and to do that, I need to constantly be providing value.

Every day, I block some time to think about how I can unlock more value for my customers. I think through new use cases, extra sets of features that could work for them, or new dashboards. With my prospective customers, it’s more about using my experience in transformation and transformation management to provide what we call thought leadership. The other part is prospecting for new customers, checking out market news and trends or acquisitions that are happening.

I try to be an early riser, but I'm not. I like to get my eight hours of sleep, so I usually start my day around 8am. I like my first 30-40 minutes to be quiet — I don’t touch my phone, I go make coffee and turn on some music.

The first thing I do after that is I read EnterpriseAM. I also check my emails quickly to see if there's any escalations or something that needs to be addressed right away. Because we’re a remote company, my office is at home, so I usually try to leave my apartment and get some sunlight and around the block a bit before getting back on my laptop and starting the day.

We’re actually a 4-day workweek company, so I would say Sensei Labs manages the work-life balance piece very well. Of course, some weeks require that I work on a Friday or a Sunday for a client depending on where they are in the region, but it’s always flexible.

I like to play football three times a week. That’s something that I dropped for a while in my life but have picked up again ever since I moved to Dubai. There’s apps here that you can use to just find a team and go play, which is really nice. I also usually spend 30 minutes in the morning reading.

The latest book that I read is actually an old one, but it’s been on my list for a while. It's called Range. It’s one of several books that Bill Gates had recommended a few years ago, and it talks about why the world needs more generalists than specialists now. The idea is: you can get so much out of AI now in terms of specialized knowledge, but it takes a lot of brain capacity to be able to connect the dots together and to think of the big picture. Then my favorite book of all time is called The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett. He's a neuroscientist and he talks about how the brain operates, how it collects information and builds memory, and how it responds to certain things.

One thing I try to instill in my daily habits is helping other people by being a soundboard that people can bounce ideas off of. I have a problem-solving brain, so these conversations really help stimulate it.

There’s two pieces of advice that have stuck with me. One was from one of my closest friends, who told me — in the context of a story he was telling — that the biggest lie is that life gets easier, and if you grasp that, you’ll be able to keep on going. What actually happens is you grow thicker skin and learn how to handle the difficult stuff.

The second was from my mother, who’s my idol, and she told me when I was working with her and found it challenging to sometimes have to do other people’s work, and she said everything that you get in life is a result of something you’ve done before, without thinking of the return you’ll get from it.

CALENDAR

JULY

7-25 July (Monday-Friday): Subscription window for Al Mal Capital REIT’s follow-on offering on the DFM.

29-30 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

AUGUST

8-15 August (Friday-Friday) Expected trading window for Al Mal Capital REIT’s new units on the DFM.

SEPTEMBER

1-6 September (Monday-Saturday): Dubai Fashion Week, Dubai Design District.

8-10 September (Monday-Wednesday): DigiHealth exhibition, World Trade Center, Dubai.

8-19 September (Monday-Wednesday): WHX-Tech Expo, Dubai World Trade Center.

10-11 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Mena Public-Private Partnership Forum ,Dubai.

12-14 September (Friday-Sunday): The International Real Estate and Investment Show, Abu Dhabi.

16-17 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

24-25 September (Wednesday-Thursday): The KT UniExpo, The H Dubai.

24-25 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Mohammed Bin Rashid Leadership Forum, Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development, Dubai.

24-25 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport, Dubai.

OCTOBER

1-2 October (Thursday-Friday):World Green Economy Summit (WGES), Dubai World Trade Center.

30 September - 2 October (Tuesday-Thursday): The Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), Dubai World Trade Center.

3-16 October (Friday-Thursday): Dubai Home Festival.

7-9 October (Tuesday-Thursday): The International Symposium on the System of Radiological Protection, the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal.

9 October (Thursday): Family Office Summit, Park Hyatt, Dubai.

9-15 October (Thursday-Wednesday): IUCN World Conservation Congress, Abu Dhabi.

14-16 October (Wednesday-Friday): Global Future Councils, Dubai.

22-24 October (Wednesday-Friday): World Investment Conference, Expo Center Sharjah.

27-29 October (Monday-Wednesday): Future Hospitality Summit, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

27-29 October (Monday-Wednesday): Asia Pacific Cities Summit, Dubai Exhibition Center.

28-29 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

NOVEMBER

11-17 November (Tuesday-Monday): International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference, Dubai

12-17 November (Wednesday-Monday): RoboCup Asia-Pacific, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi.

15-17 November (Saturday-Monday): Myplant & Garden Middle East Green Expo, Dubai Exhibition Center, Expo City.

17-21 November (Monday-Friday): Dubai Airshow 2025, Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai.

18-19 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Dubai Future Forum, Museum of the Future, Dubai.

DECEMBER

1-3 December (Monday-Wednesday): Eid Al Etihad (UAE National Day).

1-5 December (Monday-Friday): The World Congress of Neurosurgery, Dubai World Trade Center.

7-14 December (Sunday-Sunday): Asian Youth Para Games, APC headquarters, Dubai.

8-9 December (Monday-Tuesday): BTC Mena Conference, Adnec, Abu Dhabi.

8-10 December (Monday-Wednesday): BRIDGE media summit, Abu Dhabi.

9-10 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

18-23 December (Thursday-Tuesday): Games of the Future, Adnec, Abu Dhabi.

29-30 December (Monday-Tuesday): World Sports Summit, Dubai.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2025:

The Middle East Electric Vehicle Show, Expo Center Sharjah.
e& will complete Adnoc’s private 5G network.
Executive Committee Meeting (EXCOM 2025) conference of the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation (WeGO)
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s Global Implementation Support Symposium, Abu Dhabi.
Universal Postal Congress 2025, Dubai.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2H 2025:

Closing of XRG's acquisition of Covestro

Signposted to happen sometime in 2026:

1 January: Client asset regime changes in Dubai International Financial Center take effect.
9-11 January (Friday-Sunday): 1 Bn Followers Summit’s fourth edition, UAE.
28-29 January (Wednesday-Thursday): IBA Arbitration Day Conference, Abu Dhabi.
3-5 February (Tuesday-Thursday): The World Governments Summit.
12-15 February (Thursday-Sunday): The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence Global Conference, Abu Dhabi.
13-15 April ( Monday-Wednesday) : The International Glass Manufacturing Show, Dubai.
11-13 May (Monday-Wednesday): AI Everything Global, Adnec Center.
The UAE to host the Arab Competition Forum
Dubai to host the Arab Actuarial Conference
United Nations Water Conference 2026, UAE
The first edition of Dubai Future Finance Week
Investopia Global Talks, Tashkent

Signposted to happen sometime in October 2026:

Abu Dhabi Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

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 between 2027 and 2029:

Sibos 2029 organized by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Dubai.
The commissioning of the seventh phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

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