Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. A relative news lull — compared to a few months now of a consistently busy newsflow — continues, with the earnings season continuing to dominate, alongside a healthy dose of M&A.

A big M&A story to keep an eye on this morning: RedBird IMI’s sale of British publications the Telegraph and Spectator, following months of controversy and opposition from UK government officials. We have more in the news well, below.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-

#1- Dubai’s private schools, nurseries, and universities are back to distance learning tomorrow and after as the country braces for another storm, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said in a statement on X yesterday.

The storm is not expected to be as bad as the last one, National Center of Meteorology weather specialist Ahmed Habib told Khaleej Times. Tomorrow and after will likely be the “peak,” with rainfall expected to begin from the west tonight, extending over most areas of the country tomorrow and after. Expect moderate to heavy rainfall, thunder and lightning, and a probability of hail.

The weather is still warm today, with a high of 39°C in Dubai and 40°C in Abu Dhabi, and overnight lows of 29-30°C. Temperatures will cool down significantly to 28°C tomorrow in both emirates.

#2- You’ll be paying more at the pump this month: Fuel prices climbed for the fourth consecutive month, marking a seven-month high for May, the Emirates General Petroleum Company (Emarat) said in a post on X. Diesel prices will be lower for the month.

The breakdown: Super 98 is now AED 3.34 per liter, Special 95 is now AED 3.22, and E-Plus 91 now costs AED 3.15. Diesel is now AED 3.07 per liter, down from AED 3.09 last month.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Abu Dhabi-based carrier e& is mulling a potential acquisition of Eastern European telecom provider United Group BV, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. United Group’s private equity owner BC Partner is eying a valuation target of around EUR 8 bn (AED 31.4 bn), according to one of the sources. Discussions are still ongoing with no conclusive agreement. e& has not submitted a formal bid for the Eastern European company.

United Group will go through a formal sale process next month, with the possibility of multiple buyers acquiring parts of the business.

#2- UAE banks are expected to maintain robust performance throughout 2024, buoyed by the prevailing interest rate levels observed thus far, S&P analysts said during a GCC credit rating trends meeting, Wam reports. UAE banks’ asset quality remains strong, with low levels of non-performing loans as well as a 100% coverage ratio, “which is more than adequate,” according to S&P financial institution ratings analyst Mohamed Damak.

S&P predicts three interest rate cuts in 2H 2024, “totaling 75 basis points,” followed by further cuts of 125 basis points in 2025, Damak said.

The UAE's ins. sector will likely see continued profitability and premium growth, fueled by regional development projects, according to S&P director and senior analyst of ins. ratings, Emir Mujkic.

The Maktoum Airport expansion plans are also expected to vitalize the economy and Dubai’s real estate sector in particular, according to S&P corporate ratings analyst Tatiana Liskova. “The workforce at the airport itself and in the surrounding projects will create significant demand for housing in the areas nearby the airport,” Liskova said.

#2- The design plan for the USD 35 bn newpassengerterminal at Al Maktoum International Airport includes a “massive leap” in aviation technology, including AI and electric aircraft to cut down on travel time, plus investments in solar power, waste treatment, and biofuels, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told The National on Monday. Investment in advanced technology solutions come as air travel demand puts “extraordinary pressure” on existing infrastructure and airline resources, with the number of air travelers set to double to 8 bn annually by 2040.

REFRESHER- The expanded airport is set to be the world’s largest, hosting over 260 mn passengers, handling 12 mn tons of annual cargo, accommodating around 400 aircraft gates, and featuring five parallel runways. It will be five times larger than Dubai International Airport (DXB), with plans to transfer all operations from DXB within 10 years.

#3- Expansion plans for Zayed International Airport: Around 174 operational units in the Zayed International Airport’s dutyfree market, including restaurants, cafés, and shops, are expected to open by the end of 2024, Abu Dhabi Airports CEO Elena Sorlini told Al Etihad. The Abu Dhabi airport will also grow its network of airline partners in 2024.

#4- The Loss and Damage Fund kickstarted its first board meeting in Abu Dhabi: COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber kicked off the inaugural board meeting of the Loss and Damage Fund yesterday in a speech calling for urgent and efficient progress on the Fund's financing operations, Wam reports. Al Jaber stated that the initial USD 792 mn in funding arrangements pledged to the fund in last year’s COP “was a good start” but “is not enough,” the news outlet writes. The meeting will wrap tomorrow.

#5- Energy company Dana Gas has taken steps to resume operations at its Khor Mor gas field in Iraq, after suspending operations following a drone attack that killed at least four Yemeni workers, Reuters reports, citing a statement. Local officials told Reuters that resumption could take place within hours, but the statement did not clarify an exact time. The company said the Baghdad and Erbil governments “significantly” strengthened defenses at the gas field, and will resume operations in phases.

FACT CHECK-

Our friends at Mashreq have not received banking licenses in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Pakistan, the lender said in a DFM disclosure (pdf), denying recent media reports suggesting it had earned these licenses. Mashreq also confirmed in the disclosure that it is in preliminary stages to expand the lender’s activities in the aforementioned countries.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Spinneys is set to price its IPO today, following a book building process that saw “significant” oversubscription over the past week. The final pricing for the IPO is expected to be at the top end of the indicative price range at AED 1.53, which would see the company raising AED 1.38 bn (USD 375 mn), according to the terms of the transaction seen by Bloomberg.

More retail shares will be on offer after Spinneys boosted the retail tranche to 7% of the offering from 5% originally, according to a statement (pdf) from the company. The institutional tranche has been nudged down to 93% of the offering to accommodate the increase.

Refresher: The company plans to offer a total of 900 mn of its shares — good for a 25% stake — on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), with shares expected to begin trading on 9 May. The IPO will be among the first by a family-owned business in the UAE.

#2- The two-day DFM’s Capital Market Summit kicks off today in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. The summit is set to bring together officials from regional stock exchanges, investment banks, and listed companies, to discuss capital markets trends, sustainable investing, as well as the impact of AI and crypto on the sector.

#3- The US Federal Reserve’s open markets committee wraps up a two-day meeting. Everyone and her cousin will be reading the sheep’s entrails afterward in search of clues as to its current thinking on when rate cuts might begin.

#4- A UAE-Iran joint economic commission is meeting today in Abu Dhabi, in a bid to strengthen economic ties between Gulf states amid US pressure, Reuters reports, citing the Iranian Labour News Agency. The meeting, which reportedly started yesterday, is the first of the bilateral joint economic cooperation commission in a decade.

What’s on the agenda? Economy Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri and Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Mehdi Bazrpash are set to discuss ramping up cooperation between the countries in international trade corridors, while private sector representatives will focus on trade and investment.

Fast facts: The UAE isIran’s top import source, with Iran importing USD 20.8 bn worth of goods from the Emirates in its last fiscal year, which ended in March 2024. The country is also Iran's third top export destination, with USD 6.6 bn worth of goods exported during the period.

OUR NEXT CONFERENCE IN CAIRO-

Foreign investors are falling in love with Egypt again… Foreign investors we speak with (debt, equity, and strategic alike) have growing appetite for Egypt. They’re buying into local debt, eyeing promising shares, and committing bns of USD to both new ventures here and the growth of their existing businesses. They like the Egypt story that’s taking shape after the float of the EGP, and its competitive advantages are clear to many of them: It’s a massive consumer opportunity and a regional export hub of tomorrow.

The Enterprise Optimism Forum 2024 will do exactly what it says on the tin: Spark conversations about a future that sees Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the the UAE at the heart of a more vital Middle East economy — and provide an early, actionable roadmap for those who are “long Egypt.”

We’ll be talking with you about the agenda over the coming couple of weeks. It features speakers from Egypt and abroad who are future-proofing their businesses and angling to capture tomorrow’s opportunities — and who aren’t afraid to answer some tough questions.

*** Interested in attending? Tap or click here to let us know. Seating is limited.

Get Enterprise daily

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Just a couple of stories are getting very wide play in the global business press on an otherwise very quiet Wednesday morning. It’s a national holiday today from much of Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden) to India, Korea, and Latin America in observance of labor day.

Here’s the rundown on what’s making headlines:

#1- BlackRock has landed a USD 5 bn commitment from the Public Investment Fund and will open a “multi-class investment firm” in Riyadh. A unit of the world’s largest asset manager will target investments in the Kingdom as well as across the Middle East and North Africa. We have more in Planet Finance, below, as do the Financial Times | Retuers | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal.

#1- Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling he will push ahead with a ground assault on Rafah “with or without a deal.” Speaking as Cairo-brokered ceasefire talks continued, Netanyahu said, “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’ battalions there — with or without a deal,”

We’ll know more tonight: Hamas is expected to reply later today to Israel’s latest proposal and Israel says it’s not talking until it does.

Netanyahu’s statement got a lot of attention on foreign press: Associated Press | Washington Post | Reuters | Politico | The Guardian | CNN

#2- Demand for artificial intelligence drove sales growth at Amazon’s cloud division in 1Q — a fact you now know because every single news outlet from the FT and Wall Street Journal to Bloomberg is leading with that story at the top of their homepages as we head to dispatch this morning. Germany’s Handelsblatt notes that both Google and Microsoft Azure (both admittedly smaller players) grew their AI cloud businesses twice as fast in the fourth quarter. Amazon’s profit more than tripled, comfortably ahead of analyst expectations.

#3- Pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses — and heavy-handed responses to them — are also getting plenty of ink. Columbia President Minouche Shafik is still under fire from both sides, New York City is massing police next to the campus after protesters “dramatically” took over a building, and those occupying the building have been threatened with expulsion.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Make it in the Emirates (MIITE) Start-up Pitch Competition application deadline has been extended until 5 May for local and international tech companies in AI, 3D printing, and decarbonization in the industrial sector, Wam reports. The competition aims to encourage technological innovation in the industrial sector, covering areas such as aviation, healthcare, automotive, electronics, energy, customized manufacturing, decarbonization, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and digitization, and carbon capture and storage.

The Arabian Travel Market is taking place from 6-9 May at DWTC Dubai under the theme Transforming Travel Through Entrepreneurship. The event will focus on issues relating to entrepreneurial strategies.

TheAnnual Investment Meeting (AIM) Congress is scheduled to be held on 7-9 May at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Gathering senior government officials and industry experts, the summit will focus on exploring means of strengthening the economy under the theme Resilient, Sustainable Economic Growth – Creating a Healthy and Prospective Investment through FDI and FPI.

The Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference is set to take place from 20-22 May in Dubai, hosted by the Emirates National Oil Company and under the organization of S&P Global Commodity Insights. The theme of the conference is “Evolving Core Energy Markets within a Sustainable Landscape.”

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