Proptechs have arrived, but have the savings?

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: L’imad opens an Azerbaijan investment lane + Khazna teams up with Siemens for AI infrastructure

Good morning, everyone. We’re looking at the burgeoning proptech sector in the UAE today. The sector could reach AED 53 bn in economic value, but adoption across its offerings is so far outpacing any agreed ways to measure whether they’re actually saving money.

On the ground, Dubai's retail and warehousing property market is turning more selective: new retail and warehouse leases both fell sharply in 1H, even as renewals and rents climbed — landlords with good stock keep their pricing power, but appetite to relocate or expand has cooled.

Elsewhere, XRG has acquired a stake in the Southern Gas Corridor, and Masdar is boosting its presence in Serbia's wind corridor.

What we’re watching for: AD Ports’ minority buyout hit decision day yesterday, with L’imad’s tender offer for the remaining 24.58% of the group closing and results set to come out sometime today. We’re also on the lookout for the US Federal Reserve’s rate decision later today, and the rate moves that will follow here and in the rest of the Gulf.

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is less than a month away — and here's some of what’s shaping up on the agenda:

Where AI fits on the list of topics keeping CEOs awake at night
What AI means for your company, your team, your job, and your family
What's the AI opportunity for Egypt
Building the AI infrastructure

And more panels to come.

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Attendance is by invitation only, and seats are filling up quickly.

Request your invitation here.

Dubai Etihad Rail station opens soon

Dubai’s first Etihad Rail passenger station is set to open at Al Yalayis, next to Jumeirah Golf Estates, on 30 September, adding a new option for commuters traveling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The wider service initially kicked off at the end of June with travel between Mohamed bin Zayed City Passenger Train Station in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. A further seven stations will eventually be added to the first 11 that were planned.

Getting the last mile right: The journey to Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed City Station will take 57 minutes — a welcome alternative to a drive that can stretch to significantly longer during peak times. However, much still depends on the accessibility of stations themselves.

PLUS- Dubai is set to get a second Etihad Rail passenger station in Meydan, integrated with the planned Dubai Metro Gold Line, a Dubai Roads and Transport Authority official told The National.

REMEMBER- The metro’s Gold Line is due to open in 2032 with the prequalification deadline for contractors pushed to 9 October, while the Blue Line is scheduled for a 2029 debut.

L’imad opens an Azerbaijan investment lane

Abu Dhabi sovereign investor L’imad is partnering with Azerbaijan Investment Holding to pursue joint investments across Azerbaijan and Central Asia, targeting industrials, critical minerals and supply chains, transport infrastructure, energy, and digital connectivity, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. No investment size or timeline was disclosed.

This looks like a new deployment lane for the young sovereign fund: L’imad was expanded earlier this year when Abu Dhabi folded ADQ into the platform, bringing a large portfolio of domestic and overseas assets under one roof. Since then, much of its activity has focused on tightening control at home, including moves to take Taqa and AD Ports fully in-house.

Azerbaijan already fits the portfolio: AD Ports signed an MoU with Azerbaijan’s Azcon Holding in May to explore potential joint investments in ports, shipping, and digital trade hubs along the Middle Corridor. The UAE-Azerbaijan CEPA also entered into force in April, while non-oil trade more than doubled from USD 980 mn in 2022 to USD 2.16 bn in 2025. L’imad says it sees Azerbaijan as a gateway into Central Asia.

Yas Island gets another AED 12 bn growth spurt

Leisure and entertainment developer Miral is committing over AED 12 bn over the next five years to expand and upgrade Yas Island, adding new attractions, rides, experiences, and hotel capacity as Abu Dhabi pushes to deepen its global tourism footprint, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement.

The investment is separate from the previously announced Disney project and will fund a pipeline spanning existing theme park and attraction expansions, alongside new experiences tailored to shifting visitor demand.

IN CONTEXT- Miral has also recently announced plans to add three new Harry Potter-themed lands to Yas Island across c. 63k sqm, with construction targeted for completion in 2029. They join two previously announced DC attractions in an expansion that will grow Warner Bros. World’s footprint by more than 50%. Yas is also home to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, Topgolf Yas Island, and Ferrari World.

Khazna teams up with Siemens for AI infrastructure

Khazna and Siemens signed an MoU in Munich to build out the technology stack for AI data centers — one of the more substantive partnerships to come out of this week’s German-Emirati Business Forum, part of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s state visit to Germany, according to a press release (pdf). The agreement pairs Khazna, the UAE’s largest data center operator, with Siemens’ electrification, automation, and digitalization expertise across four tracks: AI-ready infrastructure strategy, digital twin technology, next-generation power architecture, and Emirati engineering talent development.

The digital twin work is the most technically ambitious piece. The two will draw on Siemens’ expertise spanning simulation, design validation, system integration, commissioning, and operational optimization — building virtual models that let Khazna test and refine facility design. On the power side, they’ll keep developing 800V DC architecture, the power-delivery standard the industry is shifting toward to handle AI chips’ electricity draw more efficiently than legacy AC systems. Siemens will also sponsor internships in Germany for nominated Emirati engineers.

What’s next: The partnership will also explore applying Siemens technology across Khazna’s international footprint — which already spans Dammam and a 500 MW site in Italy with Eni — moving from technical dialogue toward specific projects.

MEANWHILE- The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative signed its own Munich MoU today with the German Water Partnership on desalination, water reuse, and digital water monitoring — its second partnership of the day after one with the World Economic Forum, state news agency Wam reports.

REMEMBER- Both MoUs land after the UAE pledged to invest some EUR 40 bn in Germany, with the two countries launching an investment council to help drive project execution.

One AWS facility is still down

Access is still down at one of AWS’ three data-hosting zones in the UAE after it was damaged in the early months of the regional conflict, Reuters reports, citing a status update. Access to AWS’ cloud computing facility in Bahrain is also not back online yet.

BACKGROUND- The UAE facility was struck in March, taking out its core S3 storage services alongside others that both small and large companies had relied on to run core operations, websites, and apps. AWS has described the operating environment as “unpredictable,” with experts telling us that events have added an element of risk and uncertainty to a region hosting significant AI infrastructure.

The current situation: AWS said the damage in Bahrain was beyond what its regional services were made to withstand, while in the UAE, it still can’t access the data and resources stored in the facility but has supported clients in restarting operations elsewhere. Another update should be coming in the next few months, while Bahrain will have to wait until next year.

The final count

AD Ports’ minority buyout hits decision day: L’imad’s tender offer for the 24.58% of AD Ports Group it does not already own closed at 3pm yesterday, with the result due today unless the offer is extended by 14 days. We’ve reported when the tender opened that the sovereign investor is offering AED 6.25 a share, valuing the minority buyout at around AED 7.8 bn.

One shareholder has already headed for the exit: IHC-controlled maritime company Al Seer Marine said yesterday that it completed the sale of AD Ports shares to L’imad subsidiary ADQ at the offer price, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). The shares have already been transferred, although Al Seer did not disclose how many it tendered or the total value of the sale.

That leaves the freefloat question: AD Ports’ 2025 annual report shows ADQ entered the year with 75.4% of the company and Al Seer held another 7.3%, with no other 5%+ shareholder disclosed. That left around 17.3% with other investors before accounting for Al Seer’s sale — but without knowing how much of its stake Al Seer tendered, the exact remaining float is still unclear.

Most of the deal risk is already out of the way: We reported last week that L’imad had cleared every substantive condition attached to the offer apart from routine regulatory notifications, with settlement due no later than 9 October.

What we’re watching today: The acceptance tally should tell us how many minority shareholders followed Al Seer through the door — and how close L’imad now is to full ownership of AD Ports. AD Ports’ published timetable has the result due today unless the tender period is extended.

Abu Dhabi-backed IPO coming?

MGX-backed chipmaker Altera has confidentially filed for an IPO, a move that a previous report said could potentially raise over USD 2 bn as early as this year, Reuters reports. The chipmaker is looking to capitalize on Wall Street’s growing hunger for AI investments, and it aims to frame its reconfigurable chips as a companion to GPUs, offering targeted support for data center networking and lightweight AI inference tasks. Altera did not specify the number of shares to be offered or the price range for the listing.

A brief on Altera: Abu Dhabi AI investment firm MGX joined private equity firm Silver Lake as a co-investor last year in its acquisition of a majority stake in Altera, formerly Intel’s programmable chip business, which dates back to 1983, according to its website.

Adnoc goes shopping for discounted Iraqi crude

Adnoc Trading has emerged as the biggest lifter of Iraqi crude in August and September, snapping up heavily discounted barrels as the Iran war reshapes regional oil flows, Reuters reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. Adnoc agreed to buy 32 mn barrels for August and another 40 mn for September, with discounts ranging from USD 18 to 27 a barrel, although export constraints meant it lifted less than the full August allocation.

The trade works both ways: Adnoc plans to process most of the imported Gulf crude at Ruwais, freeing more of its own barrels for sale internationally, one source said. That fits a broader wartime strategy we’ve been tracking: Adnoc has expanded its tanker fleet, leaned on Fujairah and ship-to-ship transfers, and used its east-coast pipeline to circumvent the Hormuz disruption.

IN CONTEXT- The UAE’s workaround has been getting more elaborate as the war drags on. Adnoc has chartered roughly 15 crude carriers and committed bns to new vessels, while the government is pushing toward “zero Hormuz dependency” with additional east-coast export infrastructure.

The Iraqi purchases add another lever to that strategy: buy cheaper Gulf crude for Ruwais, then push more UAE barrels into higher-value export channels. The question is how scalable that trade becomes if Iraqi export bottlenecks persist and whether Adnoc keeps using outside crude as a way to protect its own export volumes.

PSA

Emirates will begin accepting Jaywan cards starting today for flight bookings made in the UAE, adding a homegrown payment option to its digital and retail channels, state news agency Wam reports. Customers can use Jaywan cards on Emirates’ website and at Emirates Retail stores, with eligible cardholders also getting discounted fares across all cabin classes and most fare types on journeys originating from Dubai. The fare promotion covers bookings made from 16 September 2026 through 31 August 2027 for travel through 29 February 2028.

IN CONTEXT- For Emirates, the pact adds another piece to its expanding cashless payments pitch. The airline introduced Crypto.com Pay for eligible UAE residents in July, while an earlier agreement with Dubai Finance supported the emirate’s Cashless Strategy.

WEATHER- The mercury tops out at 40°C today in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with the two emirates seeing a low of 31**°**C, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

Global markets are bracing for an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike, as most economists surveyed by Reuters project a rate increase today, followed by at least one additional hike before April 2027. This will mark a sharp reversal from the earlier expectation of a rate pause, which crumbled once Friday's official figures revealed persistent inflation. We’ll be watching the impact of today's decision closely, given that policymakers in Egypt and the Gulf rely significantly on Federal Reserve action to guide their own monetary policy.

Prelude to a blockbuster IPO? OpenAI is courting top investors for a major capital raise that would boost the startup to a USD 1.2 tn valuation before its public debut, seeking to leverage the success of its newest AI model. These investor talks are preliminary, and the target valuation may evolve as negotiations progress over the coming months. CEO Sam Altman said last week that a listing is unlikely before next year.

On the regional war front, the US has run up a USD 38 bn bill in its six-month conflict with Iran, which is expected to balloon by USD 3 bn every month, according to data from the Congressional Budget Office. Rapidly depleted munitions drive most costs, with the budget office projecting five years to replenish stockpiles.

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UAE’s proptech surge faces its hardest test: ROI

The UAE’s property sector could see AED 53 bn a year in economic value from proptech, per a recent DIFC and Dubai Land Department (DLD) whitepaper (pdf) — but adoption is running well ahead of proof that any of it pays. That’s true across a category that spans CRM software, IoT-linked buildings, fintech tools, and — the newest and buzziest layer — AI. Each has a different claim to making money back, and the industry hasn’t agreed on how to measure any of them.

IN CONTEXT- The government wants to more than double the proptech sector’s value to AED 4.5 bn over the next five years — a 13.2% CAGR. The volumes make even small gains worth chasing: Dubai alone saw sales transaction value reach AED 225.7 bn in 1H 2026, while transaction volume reached nearly 82k, according to Reidin data. At such volumes, even relatively modest improvements in processing times or administrative efficiency can become financially significant when repeated thousands of times.

The buying pattern has shifted from “should we?” to “how fast?” “Does a real estate agency need software at all?” was the live question when PropSpace launched in 2012 — listings were still run through spreadsheets and filing cabinets, CEO Patrick Caulfield tells EnterpriseAM. Now, he says, brokers want faster lead routing, developers want tighter inventory control across channels, and landlords are using digital tools to protect income through better visibility over renewals and arrears.

Where the savings are already visible

Three categories account for most of the verifiable gains so far: cashflow certainty, building operations, and administrative load.

On cashflow: Rental guarantees and payment protection are the examples that Rakesh Mavath, co-founder and CEO of rental guarantee platform Takeem, points to. They offer predictable cashflow for owners and — because automation lets one team manage a larger portfolio — admin costs that don’t scale up in lockstep with portfolio size.

On building operations: One UAE developer runs more than 75 connected technologies across 2.5 mn project records a month, Sandeep Jadwani, head of investment advisory at H Capital Limited, tells us — cutting design errors and construction rework while monitoring energy use and equipment failure. Smart HVAC, leak detection, industrial IoT, and predictive maintenance lower energy consumption, emergency repairs, and downtime while also trimming admin load. Cooling, water, and maintenance are among the UAE’s steepest operating costs — which is where Jadwani sees the clearest opening for predictive maintenance.

And at the brokerage level: The clearest financial impact is in lead handling and rental operations, Caulfield argues. Faster responses improve the return on money already spent acquiring leads, and earlier visibility into arrears and renewals helps property managers protect income before it’s lost, he explains.

The larger problem for proptech is that the sector still lacks a common definition of success: Downloads, adoption rates, and dashboard activity say little about whether tech is actually improving property economics. Developers should be looking at rework, change orders, construction costs, and schedule variance, while landlords should measure energy consumption, reactive maintenance, occupancy, tenant retention, and net operating income, Jadwani says. The simplest test is also the most useful: “Not what the software does, but what this costs me today, done by hand,” Caulfield says.

AI may make brokers productive, not necessarily cheaper

Split proptech’s broader case from AI’s, and the picture gets less certain. The National Association of Realtors’ 2025 tech survey found 68% of members use AI in some form, though only 17% reported a significant positive impact and 46% cited no noticeable difference. While this is US data, it provides a useful benchmark given the absence of an equivalent UAE survey.

What it can replace: AI can handle lead qualification, customer responses, property matching, and other administrative tasks, allowing brokers to manage more business without increasing their workload. “The same agent handles more inquiries properly, and fewer leads die because nobody responded,” Caulfield says. The result is a lower cost per closed transaction — not necessarily a lower cost of acquiring the lead in the first place — particularly in Dubai, where brokers still rely heavily on paid property portals, he says.

The longer-term pressure lands on brokers whose value is mostly access to listings. As search and matching get automated, Jadwani expects human value to shift toward advice, negotiation, and specialist expertise. The broker of the future, in other words, may spend less time finding information and more time interpreting it, he predicts.

AI can sharpen valuations, not replace them

Automation has its limits: Dubai’s sophisticated transaction databases give AI a stronger foundation for property valuations than most global markets, but the city’s highly differentiated property stock limits how far automation can go. “Factors such as floor level, views, layouts, fit-outs, and payment plans can materially alter the value of two properties that might otherwise appear similar in a dataset,” Caulfield notes. Off-plan properties also often lack the transaction history required to generate reliable comparables.

A more realistic role for AI: “AI is improving price discovery by analyzing transaction, rental, location, and building-level data faster and more consistently,” says Jadwani. “But it should provide a valuation range, not false precision.”

Dubai is already catching up: The DLD incorporated its new Initial Registration platform this month — deploying AI to read documents, extract data, and support transaction processing.

What does the future hold?

As the market matures, the proptech businesses that make it will be those that become core infrastructure: digital payments, rental protection, financing, identity, transaction data, and property-management systems, Mavath says. Meanwhile, simpler tools such as AI-generated listings, chatbots, virtual staging, and basic analytics are likely to be absorbed into larger platforms, he adds.

The sharpest filter for what survives isn’t the tech itself, Caulfield says — it’s whether removing it would stop or materially impair the business. Most of the tools cited here haven’t been tested by a full market cycle yet. The next 12-18 months, as Dubai’s transaction volumes keep climbing, will be the first real stress test of which tools clear that bar and which get absorbed or dropped. “The real test is whether the technology produces repeatable savings across multiple assets and market cycles,” Jadwani says.

FMSi targets Saudi expansion, Gulf M&A following Shorooq and EGF investment

Shorooq and Emirates Growth Fund (EGF) invested an undisclosed sum in UAE fleet-tech firm FMSi to fund potential acquisitions and Gulf expansion, with Saudi Arabia first in line, according to a statement (pdf). Shorooq led and arranged the transaction through its private equity strategy with a group of co-investors, marking its first investment alongside EGF.

FMSi is not entering the Kingdom cold: More than 25 Saudi partners already use its technology to provide fleet-management services to their customers. The next step is building a stronger presence through organic expansion and selective consolidation, FMSi CEO Wissam Mourad tells EnterpriseAM. The company also operates across the UAE, Oman, and Iraq.

M&A is the accelerator, not the whole strategy. “Organic growth remains the foundation of FMSi,” Mourad tells us, but acquisitions could speed up geographic expansion, add technology and product capabilities, bring in complementary expertise, or build scale in priority markets.

Why buy rather than build everything from scratch? Fleet telematics is increasingly becoming compliance infrastructure rather than just an operational tool, with mandatory rules and more sophisticated fatigue and distraction monitoring raising the technical bar for operators, Shorooq says. The investor sees those regulatory tailwinds creating room for consolidation across the Gulf. Mourad, meanwhile, says “the challenge isn’t demand” but scaling consistently across markets with different regulations, customer needs, and operating dynamics — making acquisitions a potential shortcut to local capabilities, market access, or scale.

What FMSi does: The fleet-management provider, with over 20 years of operations, provides fleet tracking, AI video telematics, driver monitoring, fuel-control, and journey-management tools used by commercial fleets to manage safety, compliance, and operations. Mourad tells EnterpriseAM the platform serves more than 1.5k enterprise customers and is already profitable.

What's next: Over the coming 12-24 months, FMSi plans to deepen its Saudi presence, keep investing in technology, people, and customer capabilities, and pursue acquisitions where the right openings emerge.

For Shorooq, the investment adds another leg to its push beyond traditional venture capital. Shorooq’s private equity arm targets established regional businesses with room to consolidate their markets, and FMSi gives that strategy another platform to build around. The investor has also been moving up the capital stack this year, launching a USD 200 mn QIA-backed growth fund and taking on management of du’s USD 50 mn venture fund.

Dubai’s warehousing and retail property market turns more selective as rents rise and new leasing falls

Dubai’s retail and warehouse markets are rewarding anyone already in the right place: New retail leases fell 26.3% y-o-y in 1H 2026, while new warehouse contracts sank 51.8%, even as rents and renewals kept rising, according to Cavendish Maxwell’s new Dubai Retail and Warehouse Market Performance report (pdf). Retail renewals edged up 1.5%, warehouse renewals jumped a record 21.6%, retail rents rose 4.4%, and warehouse rents climbed 12.4%.

The split is straightforward: Investors are still buying, landlords with good stock still have pricing power, and existing occupiers are hanging onto locations that already work. What has weakened is the appetite to relocate or expand, with higher operating and occupancy costs and regional uncertainty pushing the market into what Cavendish Maxwell calls a “more selective phase.”

Retail buyers are still shopping — tenants, less so

The investment side had a very strong first half: Around 850 retail property sales were recorded in 1H, up 56% y-o-y, while transaction value jumped 176.7% to AED 3.8 bn. The much faster rise in value pushed the average transaction ticket up 77.3% y-o-y to AED 4.4 mn.

Off-plan did most of the lifting: Sales rose 109.6% y-o-y to around 500 transactions, accounting for 58.8% of transaction volume and 68.3% of value, while ready transactions grew a more modest 14.3%. The report cautions that registration lags can affect the timing of off-plan data.

But the headline growth is flattering the second quarter. Retail sales fell 25.4% q-o-q in 2Q to around 360 transactions from roughly 490 — still 61.1% above 2Q 2025, but a clear step down from the pace that made 1H look so strong.

Leasing tells the more cautious story: Around 33.3k retail contracts were signed in 1H, down 5.8% y-o-y, as renewals rose 1.5% even as new leases kept falling. Rents were up 4.4% y-o-y but slipped 0.8% q-o-q in 2Q — an early sign rental growth is losing momentum.

Prime malls have one big advantage: there’s barely any room left. “Occupancy at Dubai’s flagship malls and some community retail hubs is averaging around 98%,” Cavendish Maxwell commercial valuation head Vidhi Shah said. Shah expects those established destinations to remain relatively resilient as wider leasing becomes more selective.

Warehouses have the same split — only sharper

Tenants are holding onto what they have: Roughly 10k rental contracts were recorded in 1H, down 4.5% y-o-y. New contracts dropped 51.8% y-o-y to around 1.8k, while renewals rose 21.6% to roughly 8.2k, their highest level in the report’s series. However, total rental value still increased 9.9% y-o-y to AED 1.8 bn.

Scarcity is keeping rents climbing everywhere Cavendish Maxwell tracks. Warehouse rents rose 12.4% y-o-y — every monitored location was higher than a year earlier — though quarterly momentum is beginning to soften.

Emirates NBD’s tracking points the same way: Established tenants are staying put while reassessing expansion plans, the bank says, as new-entrant take-up slows amid geopolitical uncertainty — even as inquiry levels hold stable. It still expects logistics growth, manufacturing, and supply-chain localization to support demand, with institutional investors continuing to chase warehouse transactions — several are already under due diligence.

More selective, not suddenly weak

REMEMBER- This squeeze predates the latest disruption. In January, we reported from earlier Cavendish Maxwell data that new retail leasing fell 32.2% y-o-y in 3Q 2025 and new warehouse leasing dropped 60.2%, while renewals were rising as quality space became harder to replace. The latest uncertainty looks more like an accelerant than the original cause.

What's next: Cavendish Maxwell expects occupier interest to hold up in the best-located retail destinations and warehouses even as the wider market stays cautious about relocating or expanding. The clearer test: whether the several warehouse transactions Emirates NBD says are under due diligence actually close in 2H and whether 2Q’s retail deceleration — the 25.4% q-o-q drop in sales and the 0.8% dip in rents — extends into 3Q or proves a one-quarter wobble within an otherwise strong year.

FAB taps Citi veteran Vitaly Vaganov to co-lead M&A advisory

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) named Citigroup veteran Vitaly Vaganov (LinkedIn) as managing director and co-head of M&A Advisory, he announced in a LinkedIn post. Vaganov joins FAB from Citigroup’s London-based EMEA Energy Investment Banking team, where he most recently worked on advisory mandates across the sector.

In his new role, Vaganov will focus on “the origination and execution of M&A transactions across the Energy and Natural Resources sectors, drawing on [his] experience advising clients across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and other emerging markets.”

More moves abroad from XRG, Emaar, PureHealth, and Masdar

XRG acquires Southern Gas Corridor stake

XRG closes its Southern Gas Corridor investment: Adnoc’s global investment arm XRG completed its acquisition of an undisclosed equity stake in Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) from the country’s Energy Ministry after securing the required regulatory approvals, according to a press release (pdf). The company didn’t disclose the size or value of the stake — though Trend.az and Egypt Oil & Gas reported it at 12.5%.

The stake buys XRG into the main route carrying Azerbaijani gas into Europe. The USD 40 bn project spans a 3.5k km network running through Georgia and Turkey into Southern Europe, with interests covering the Shah Deniz gas field, South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans Anatolian Pipeline, and Trans Adriatic Pipeline. The corridor can carry up to 26 bcm of gas annually.

XRG is building beyond the wellhead. It already holds 30% of Azerbaijan’s Absheron gas and condensate field and 38% of Turkmenistan’s offshore Block I concession, which produces around 400 mmcf of gas a day and sits on more than 7 tcf of gas resources. SGC gives it the infrastructure to move that production, plus future Caspian supply, into established regional and European markets, not just a claim on what comes out of the ground.

We knew this was coming: XRG signed the acquisition agreement in February, after reaching a preliminary agreement in November 2025.

Serbia’s wind corridor gets a Masdar boost

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and Finnish renewable energy fund manager Taaleri Energia inaugurated the 154 MW Čibuk 2 wind farm — which they describe as the largest wind power hub in Serbia and the Western Balkans, according to a press release. Together with Čibuk 1, the projects have 312 MW of installed capacity, enough to supply around 178.8k households, with combined foreign direct investment of more than EUR 500 mn in Serbia’s energy infrastructure.

Masdar wants a bigger footprint: Masdar has more than 200 MW of additional Serbian projects in development across solar, wind, and battery storage. Čibuk is one node in a much larger build-out — Masdar is chasing a 100 GW global capacity target by 2030, and Serbia is one of several markets carrying that weight.

IN CONTEXT- The wind farm, announced in September 2024, was developed under a JV named Masdar Taaleri Generation, acting as a development vehicle for renewable energy projects in Serbia and Montenegro.

UAE-made storage heads to Germany

Abu Dhabi-listed Apex Investment is taking UAE-built energy storage technology into Germany, with its energy subsidiary Apex Energy’s JV with Enercap inking a partnership agreement with German developer New Loaded Energy (NLE), it said in an ADX disclosure (pdf). The partnership begins with two grid-connected German projects totaling 100 MWh. The 30 MWh and 70 MWh systems will use Enercap’s supercapacitor storage technology, supplied by its manufacturing facility in Dubai.

The project is Enercap’s first grid-scale deployment in Germany and one of the largest exports of UAE-manufactured energy storage equipment to the EU to date. Apex Energy and NLE plan to roll out a pipeline of additional grid-scale projects across Germany and the rest of Europe through 2028 while working on grid-code certification and compliance, as well as local installation, commissioning, and maintenance capabilities.

Emaar hands out contracts in Egypt for Red Sea project

Emaar Misr handed EGP 14 bn in construction contracts to Rowad Modern Engineering and Innovo Group to build residential units under the first phase of its Marassi Red Sea project, according to a press release (pdf). Rowad will build 675 villas and townhouses across roughly 150k sqm in the Infinity Beach zone, while Innovo will take on around 220 villas across roughly 100k sqm for Island Living. Units in this first phase are set for handover in 2029.

What the first phase looks like: The two villa packages join an earlier EGP 5.7 bn contract (pdf) that Emaar already awarded to Arabian Construction Company for 32 residential buildings (750 units) around the project’s marina. That brings the tally of signed contracts for the first phase to around EGP 20 bn so far.

The project behind the numbers: Marassi Red Sea is a 2.4k-feddan integrated resort on the Red Sea coast, about 30 minutes from Hurghada International Airport. Emaar Misr and Saudi-owned Citystars Properties (via its Golden Coast affiliate) signed the EGP 900 bn development agreement in September 2025. The masterplan (pdf) calls for 12 luxury hotels, three marinas, 500-plus retail and dining outlets, swimmable lagoons, and the Marassi Wonders entertainment zone. Phase 1 sales have already topped EGP 80 bn, according to Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Alabbar, and Phase 2 is now on the market.

PureHealth builds out the UK stack

PureHealth is taking over selected Unilabs laboratory operations in the UK through subsidiary Circle Health Group, adding two London hub labs and a wider licensed network serving more than 90 external healthcare clients, according to a statement. The labs will support Circle’s more than 50 UK hospitals across pathology, blood sciences, microbiology, and other diagnostics.

The play is integration as well as footprint: PureHealth plans to fold the network into its PureLab platform, which runs more than 150 UAE labs and processes over 25 mn tests a year. Circle’s existing hospital volumes will feed into the network from day one, with more expected to shift over time.

IN CONTEXT- The move builds on PureHealth’s wider overseas expansion through Circle Health — which it acquired for USD 1.2 bn in 2024 — and Hellenic Healthcare Group. That push is already showing up in the numbers, with overseas healthcare revenue rising 56% y-o-y to AED 5 bn in 1H 2026.

Gulf banks that built out IPO teams for the boom are now chasing fees in Egypt, Turkey, and India as listings at home dry up

Gulf-based banks that built out capital markets teams for the region’s IPO boom are putting them to work elsewhere this year. Gulf IPO volumes have slid to under USD 1.1 bn so far this year — falling below sub-Saharan Africa’s USD 1.37 bn for the first time and set to drop further once Dangote Petroleum Refinery prices its USD 1.6 bn Lagos listing, the continent’s largest-ever IPO, Bloomberg reports. The reversal is sending Gulf-based banks hunting for fees elsewhere — from Cairo to Istanbul to Mumbai.

Where they’re redeploying: HSBC — usually near the top of Gulf ECM league tables — has instead led Turkish secondary offerings this year, raising USD 552 mn across seven transactions, nearly double 2025’s volume. It still has more than 50 active mandates across the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey but hasn’t closed a single Gulf IPO in 2026, according to regional capital markets co-head Mohammed Fannouch. EFG Hermes is leaning into Egypt instead — working with Citigroup on a Cairo listing for MNT-Halan’s local business, plus IPOs for Banque du Caire and Misr Life Ins. Emirates NBD has gone further afield still, taking a majority stake in India’s RBL Bank as it plans to expand its investment banking operations in the country and co-arranging Airtel Money’s London listing alongside First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Some state-backed lenders are taking a different route: leaning into government-to-government ties. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank recently ran the books for the London-Tashkent dual listing of Uzbekistan’s National Investment Fund — work that traces back to a string of Abu Dhabi-Tashkent investment partnerships over the past year.

REMEMBER- We reported in early September that the UAE’s IPO pipeline has screeched to a halt so far this year, with Dubai Holding, Emirates Global Aluminium, and Binghatti all pausing or shelving listings. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, owners aren’t willing to list at what the market will now pay, and after a year in which most new listings lost money, investors aren’t willing to pay more.

A recovery is expected later this year and in 2027, though in the UAE, any reopening will likely be led by follow-ons, not fresh IPOs, analysts have told us. Over in Saudi Arabia, EFG Hermes’ Christopher Laing says he’s inking “lots of new business” in the Kingdom but expects much of it to launch in 2027. In the pipeline: Humain is eyeing an IPO — though no timeline has been disclosed — while Tabreed and Richard Attias & Associates also planned 2026 listings earlier in the year.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed in early trading, with South Korea’s Kospi up around 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei flat. Meanwhile, Wall Street extended Monday’s losses, as broad risk-off sentiment weighed on almost all sectors.

ADX	10,136	+0.2% (YTD: +1.4%)
DFM	5,927	-0.8% (YTD: -2.0%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,925	-0.3% (YTD: -0.7%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.4% o/n	4.7% 1 yr
TASI	10,783	-0.9% (YTD: +2.8%)
EGX30	54,909	+0.2% (YTD: +31.3%)
S&P 500	7,586	-0.5% (YTD: +10.8%)
FTSE 100	10,658	-0.4% (YTD: +7.3%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,237	-0.4% (YTD: +7.6%)
Brent crude	USD 108.75	+2.9%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.94	+0.9%
Gold	USD 4,327	-0.1%
BTC	USD 75,921	-2.9% (YTD: -13.4%)
Lunate JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.59	+0.0% (YTD: -6.0%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	148.67	-0.4% (YTD: -2.1%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	17.20	+0.6% (YTD: +15.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM fell 0.8% yesterday on turnover of AED 921.7 mn. The index is down 0.2% YTD.

In the green: National Cement Company (+4.8%), Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Co. (+4.8%), and Lunate S&P UAE UCITS ETF - Share A - ACCUMLATING (+2.7%).

In the red: Sukoon Takaful (-4.9%), Al Mazaya Holding Company (-4.8%), and National General Ins. Company (-4.8%).

Over on the ADX, the index rose 0.2% on turnover of AED 974 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 0.3%.

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

14-17 September (Monday-Thursday): Arabian Travel Market, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

15-16 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

16 September (Wednesday): Altinvest, St. Regis, Downtown Dubai, Dubai.

17-19 September (Thursday-Saturday): International Real Estate & Investment Show (IREIS), Adnec, Abu Dhabi.

18-19 September (Friday-Saturday): EuroLeague Basketball SuperCup, Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

28-29 September (Monday-Tuesday): Al Ain Future Business Forum, Adnec, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi.

29-30 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): AFCM Annual Conference, Abu Dhabi.

OCTOBER

1-2 October (Thursday-Friday): MEIRA Annual Conference, Atlantis the Royal, Dubai.

4-10 October (Sunday-Saturday): World Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

5-7 October (Monday-Wednesday): AI Everything Global, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

12-14 October (Monday-Wednesday): Airport Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

14-15 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Sharjah Investment Forum, Jawaher Reception and Convention Center, Sharjah.

13-15 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders, Dubai.

20-22 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Future Health Summit, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

21 October (Wednesday): Reuters NEXT Gulf, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi.

27-28 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Arab Competition Forum, Dubai.

27-28 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

30 October (Friday): Large businesses achieving annual revenues equal to or above AED 50 mn must appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation.

Signposted to happen sometime in October 2026:

Abu Dhabi Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

NOVEMBER

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

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

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 Medicine, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

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

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

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

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;
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;
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;
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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