Tokenization trend

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: FAB taps the INR trade + Abu Dhabi preps for AI judicial platform

Good morning, everyone. Sovereign wealth funds are dipping their toes into tokenization, and FAB is having quite the week on the financing front.

Mubadala Capital’s tokenization of a private market fund is looking more like the start of a trend rather than a one-off, with our big story today diving into the draws and challenges of tokenization for GCC SWFs portfolios.

FAB, meanwhile, is putting capital to work on two fronts: it's taking a nearly USD 1 bn slice of SoftBank's USD 40 bn bridge loan backing its OpenAI investment, while also gearing up to offer USD 1.5 bn in financing to non-resident Indians investing in India's foreign-currency deposit program.

Elsewhere, ADGM wants to cut back on how often business transfers need to go through the courts, proposing a lighter-touch scheme for most cases, and BlueFive Capital has named a new President for MENA.

WEATHER- Temperatures will hit highs of 37°C in Dubai today and 40°C in Abu Dhabi, before dipping to lows of 30°C and 31°C, according to our favorite weather app.

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is back — and this year, we're giving the full day to the one question on every business leader's mind: What does AI actually mean for your company, your people, and your own job?

Leaders in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore are asking the same things, and nobody has built a playbook that works yet. We're all figuring it out in real time — and for Egypt, the stakes are unusually high.

Egypt could leapfrog a generation on the back of this technology — or watch AI hollow out the industries and jobs we can't afford to lose. The leaders who get literate early will be the ones who get to decide which road we take.

Every session on stage answers one question: "So, what do I actually do about it?"

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Seats are limited and attendance is by invitation only. Request your invitation here.

FAB taps the INR trade

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is preparing to offer up to USD 1.5 bn in financing to non-resident Indians investing in India’s foreign-currency deposit program, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. The UAE’s largest lender is targeting Middle East-based customers and is in talks with Indian banks that could provide standby letters of credit to back the financing.

How it works: FAB would let non-resident Indian customers borrow against their foreign-currency deposits in India, where some banks are offering five-year deposit rates of up to 7.75%. The leverage is chunky: a customer putting USD 1 mn into a deposit plan could borrow USD 9 mn from FAB, lifting the total deposit amount to USD 10 mn.

Why the UAE matters: India is leaning on its 35 mn-strong diaspora, an estimated 4.3 mn of whom are in the UAE, to rebuild foreign-exchange reserves and slow the INR’s decline, with analysts estimating the program could attract around USD 50 bn in deposits. The UAE is a key hunting ground because the region accounts for about one-fifth of India’s remittances.

The UAE is also becoming part of India’s currency-defense toolkit. Officials from the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of the UAE met in Dubai earlier this month to iron out the issues holding back the deposit push, Bloomberg reports. If those frictions ease, UAE lenders could get a bigger role in routing diaspora liquidity back into India — and into an INR-stabilization trade.

AIQ goes global

Abu Dhabi’s AIQ is taking its energy-focused AI software global, launching pilot programs and commercial outreach in Colombia, Kazakhstan, Oman, and Indonesia while also targeting North America, Europe, and Australia, CEO Dennis Jol told CNBC. The company was originally built inside state oil giant Adnoc as a joint venture with Presight, and now it is ready to move from an in-house enabler into an exporter of specialized energy software.

The expansion signals a clear trend: UAE tech giants are increasingly pivoting from domestic enablers to global players by exporting their models. We are seeing this play out across sectors, from Abu Dhabi’s M42 — which recently grew its Latin American footprint with Diaverum’s acquisition of four clinics in São Paulo — to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), whose new international arm is currently courting London investors for cross-border infrastructure projects.

Speaking of… AI joins Abu Dhabi’s case file

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department is preparing to roll out an AI judicial platform across its courts, with the first phase expected in September, according to a press release. Developed with the Department of Government Enablement, the platform will support judicial decision-making across the case workflow — with human supervision and validation kept in the loop.

The goal: Faster case handling, fewer procedural bottlenecks, and more consistent judicial work. The rollout is expected to take place in phases over 18 months.

There’s some irony here: Abu Dhabi is moving AI deeper into the courts less than a year after ADGM issued the UAE’s first ruling squarely addressing AI misuse in court filings, ordering AED 282.5k in wasted costs over fabricated citations. At the time, experts told us the ruling could become a key reference for courts and regulators across the UAE as well as the wider region on AI use. The test now is whether Abu Dhabi’s validation layer can keep AI useful without importing the hallucination risks courts are already policing.

UAE space-tech firms get 90-day licensing ultimatum

Space-tech and satellite operators in the UAE have 90 days to regularize their status and secure official permits, the UAE Space Agency said in a press release. The three-month grace period requires all companies, organizations, and individuals conducting space-related activities to obtain licensing or face statutory and supervisory sanctions once the deadline passes in late October.

Why it matters: The enforcement push marks a shift to formal oversight as the Emirates seeks to institutionalize its commercial space ecosystem.

REMEMBER- The UAE is focusing on reforming its space sector while looking to double its space economy revenues and infrastructure investments, as well as the number of export markets, as it moves to localize its defense stack. The Emirates also invested some AED 1 bn in the space sector as part of an R&D-focused space program in May to advance technologies in the country and build up Emirati talent in the sector.

Extended cancellations

Emirates and Air Arabia have extended cancellations on select Kuwait and Bahrain routes for a second straight week while keeping other services running. Flydubai continues to operate selected flights to both destinations, alongside Kuwait Airways and Gulf Air. Separately, Emirates has also canceled select flights to Dammam and Amman, while Air Arabia suspended additional services to both destinations earlier this week.

BACKGROUND- Regional flight disruptions have continued since hostilities intensified, with several UAE and international airlines extending cancellations or delaying the resumption of Gulf services. The EU Aviation Safety Agency has also advised covered carriers to avoid airspace over parts of the Gulf until at least 29 July.

Data point

50.6% — that’s how big of a share UAE investors took up of Sharjah's real estate transaction value in 1H 2026, totaling AED 14.9 bn, state news agency Wam reports. Some 9.7k Emirati investors invested in 22.6k properties during the period, pushing Sharjah’s total real estate trading value to AED 29.5 bn, according to the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department.

The department attributed the performance to investor confidence in Sharjah’s real estate market, supported by updated legislation, ongoing urban development, and a steady project pipeline.

The big story abroad

As the lull in direct US-Iran hostilities continues, US President Donald Trump said that both sides are engaged in "good talks" and a pact remains within reach, though he warned that military strikes will resume if negotiations falter. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks yesterday.

Big Tech’s lenders are sweating: Credit risk for Big Tech appears to have inclined, as prices for credit default swaps — used to wager against corporate debt — have recently hit record highs for the likes of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Oracle, and others, LSEG data shows. Credit markets dislike instability, with the unpredictability surrounding the speed and cost of funding AI straining investor confidence, Sona Asset Management’s John Aylward said.

Asset management giant BlackRock closed a USD 12.5 bn bond sale, the proceeds of which will fund a Meta data center campus in Texas. The loan’s structure enables the Facebook parent to secure off-balance-sheet funding, alleviating concerns over excessive leverage and reassuring investors.

And in the fashion world: IPO hopeful Shein may face a battle in its planned Hong Kong listing, as its prospectus indicated tapering growth and a sudden drop in popularity. Although the fast fashion player saw topline rise 8% in 2025, its net income dropped 39% in the same period, recent US tariff developments and new EU import fees are weighing on sales and costs.

Destination Sahel is back for a second edition — and this year, it's not just about the beach.

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are pouring billions into the North Coast, Gulf buyers keep showing up despite regional headwinds, and a new 400km master plan could reshape the whole coastline before summer’s out.

Over this season’s series, stay tuned to see who's really buying Sahel, where the money's coming from, and what could still go wrong.

Plus, the hotels, restaurants, and openings worth checking out this summer.

Tap or click here to subscribe to the Egypt edition, coming out in your inbox, tomorrow, Wednesday, July 29.

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GCC SWFs explore tokenization for smarter capital management

The trend of bringing real-world assets on-chain is reaching sovereign wealth funds, and we’ve already seen evidence of this in action. Mubadala Capital tokenized one of its private market funds through its tie-up with blockchain infrastructure provider Kaio. The development opened up a fund previously reserved to select institutional investors to a much wider pool.

Elsewhere in the GCC, Saudi Arabia executed its first sovereign-native tokenized title deed transfer in early 2026. Meanwhile, the Qatar Financial Center (QFC) will introduce real estate tokenization, enhancing access and liquidity in the sector.

Rather than a one-off, the development lands as GCC SWFs are eyeing tokenization to boost portfolio flexibility, as part of broader digital transformation agendas, Deloitte’s Sovereign Wealth Fund leader Julie Kassab previously told EnterpriseAM. Funds are examining and testing out infrastructure readiness, regulatory clarity, and governance before full-scale rollout within their frameworks.

A long-term play rather than a quick fix

The funds are viewing tokenization as an add-on tool to complement the disciplined capital management strategies typical of sovereign wealth funds, Kassab told us. The upside of tokenization comes through the possibility of widening its investor base and offering more granular liquidity options, she added.

There’s also a strategic control draw as funds will be able to preserve governance and overall long-term ownership structures while also bringing in new capital into cashflow layers and specific assets, Kassab says. In short, it’ll allow for more international participation without compromising strategic control over national assets.

The efficiency upside: In addition to retaining strategic control over the assets and allowing for more portfolio scalability, thanks to external capital, the instrument can help boost operational efficiency, including through automating payouts and streamlining investor onboarding and capital deployment, FTI Consulting’s Managing Director Jorge Carrasco told EnterpriseAM.

The who and where

Who is expected to pitch in? Institutional investors with existing digital-asset mandates, especially Asian and European players experienced in tokenized infrastructure or real estate, are currently the most likely to engage with tokenized GCC assets, Kassab said.

Family offices are also showing early interest, but broader adoption hinges on regulatory harmonization and greater asset-level transparency, she told us.

Sector-wise, tokenization could play a key role in large-scale infrastructure, real estate projects, and private market funds, allowing sovereign investors to access global capital while maintaining long-term control, Carrasco told us.

Real estate tokenization has taken off in the UAE in particular, with the sector seeing much of the momentum after the Dubai Land Department launched the first phase of its tokenization initiative last year. The program has since moved into its next stage, allowing secondary-market trading of tokenized property interests.

Now, that momentum is spilling over into other areas, including tokenized deposits and gold.

Regulation is key for a wider roll-out

Tokenization deployment depends on statutory certainty, clear regulations, cross-border standards, and investor confidence, Kassab noted. GCC SWFs will need valuation frameworks and independent verification, integrated with custodial and reporting systems, to ensure tokens reflect the real-time value of assets.

When it comes to tokens accurately reflecting the real-time value of assets, Carrasco points to processes combining net asset value calculations, data fees, and controlled mint and redemption mechanisms as helping to value a token accurately.

The international issue: Coordination between regulators and central banks in different jurisdictions is critical for cross-border scaling and wider deployment, Kassab adds, flagging the need for setting common rules on custody, disclosure, settlement, and investor protection. Having the regulatory frameworks in place is especially important to cross-border transactions for sovereign wealth funds, Carrasco added.

Ahead of the curve: GCC central banks have already either defined or are actively developing licensing regimes for tokenized securities, Carrasco added.

The challenges remaining

The upcoming challenges in a nutshell: Scaling challenges stem mainly from regulatory limits on which assets can be offered, especially to retail investors, Carrasco said. Widespread participation from retail investors hinges mainly on accessibility, and on regulated distribution platforms maturing to open up participation options for individuals.

What’s next?

Tokenization could possibly become a mainstream tool for sovereign capital deployment by 2030, Carrasco said, enabling broader investor participation in sovereign mega projects while boosting capital velocity, allocation options, and transparency. As strategies adapt to a more digital economy, tokenization will join a larger toolkit to streamline deployment and widen international participation, Kassab added.

Will it replace existing structures? Tokenized assets can coexist with existing land registries and fund structures, serving different roles within investment ecosystems, Kassab told us. As regulatory frameworks evolve, registries may move on-chain, Carrasco said. In the GCC, early initiatives, such as updates to real estate registries, are already paving the way for tokenization to transform asset-ownership infrastructure.

In short, increased adoption by sovereign wealth funds would mirror the broader evolution of financial infrastructure and capital deployment models, Kassab says.

FAB backs SoftBank’s USD 40 bn loan to OpenAI

FAB is taking a nearly USD 1 bn share of Japanese bank SoftBank’s USD 40 bn bridge loan backing its OpenAI investment, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The UAE’s largest lender is joining 21 new lenders, who are allocated around USD 7 bn of the facility, alongside GIC and Standard Chartered, which also each took nearly USD 1 bn.

Why it matters: This gives FAB exposure to one of the biggest debt packages tied to the AI boom. The 12-month loan is one of its kind for the Asia-Pacific region and is likely to result in over USD 100 mn in fees for underwriters. SoftBank’s commitments to OpenAI now exceed USD 60 bn — OpenAI was valued at USD 852 bn in a March fundraising round.

ICYMI- UAE capital is already circling SoftBank’s wider portfolio: Adia is planning to invest in SoftBank subsidiary PayPay’s US listing alongside Qatar Holding and Visa, with the trio expected to put in more than USD 200 mn. SoftBank is also working alongside G42 on part of the planned 5 GW US-UAE data-center cluster, alongside Cisco, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Oracle.

Watch this space: The loan could still be syndicated further, with the remaining USD 33 bn held by underwriters and senior lenders. Nine lenders had already shown interest in the facility before broader syndication in May, though some bankers have raised concerns over SoftBank’s exposure to OpenAI as competition from rivals including Anthropic grows.

ADGM brings court efficiency push to business transfers

ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is looking to make business transfers less of a court-heavy exercise, it said in a statement. A new consultation paper (pdf) proposes cutting back the cases that automatically need court approval, with the consultation open until 21 September.

What changes: Mandatory court sanctioning would largely be limited to ins. business transfers. Most other transfers could move through a new “Modified Transfer Scheme” route under the General Rulebook — though firms could still go to court where they want added law-related certainty.

IN CONTEXT- The current process requires all transfer schemes to be court-sanctioned, which the regulator says can create disproportionate costs and delays, especially for smaller transfers. The lighter route would still come with guardrails: prior notice to the FSRA, direct client notification, and public notice of the transfer. Banks and some ins.-related transfers would also need an FSRA no-objection before proceeding.

Bigger picture: This fits Abu Dhabi’s wider push to unclog legal and dispute-resolution channels. The emirate is setting up a new mediation center for commercial disputes at the Abu Dhabi Chamber, with ratified settlement agreements directly enforceable under federal civil procedure law. That adds to other faster off-court routes, including dedicated committees for family business disputes in Abu Dhabi, specialized inheritance courts at the federal level, and a new Rental Dispute Resolution Center in Ajman.

Binghatti sees net income jump in 2Q

Strong project execution and robust demand pushed Binghatti Holding’s 2Q net income up 55.3% y-o-y to AED 1.54 bn. Revenue for the quarter rose 49% y-o-y to AED 5.11 bn, according to the group’s latest financials (pdf).

In 1H, net income jumped 63.5% y-o-y to almost AED 3 bn, and revenue rose 50.2% y-o-y to AED 9.6 bn, driven by eight new project launches, according to a separate earnings release.

Sales momentum drove 1H growth, with some 1.7k unit deliveries during the six-month period. Binghatti’s development backlog hit AED 44.2 bn by the end of June, while its revenue backlog came in at AED 17.3 bn.

BlueFive appoints president for MENA region

Alternative investment firm BlueFive Capital tapped Marwan Elaraby (LinkedIn) as President for MENA, according to a press release. Elaraby joins from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and his career also includes a tenure working with Adnoc.

The plan: Elaraby will be based in Abu Dhabi and report directly to Founder and CEO Hazem Ben Gacem (LinkedIn) when he joins on 1 September. With more than 30 years of experience spanning law, investment banking, and private equity, he will help drive BlueFive’s expansion across the Middle East as the investment firm, which manages more than USD 15 bn in assets under management, continues to grow its presence across the Global South.

CBUAE gives green light to Checkout.com and Yalla Financial Solutions + DIB launches Jaywan card

Checkout.com gets the green light for UAE card issuing

UK-based Checkout.com received an in-principle approval for a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), it said in a press release. The firm will be able to offer card-issuing services alongside its existing payment processing platform.

The rationale: By linking acquiring and issuing under a single backend, businesses will be able to fund corporate cards and payouts from their acquired balances, eliminating the cashdrag of pre-funding processes.

Checkout.com is delivering on its plans: Last year, the digital payments services provider announced plans to expand its card-issuing capabilities in the UAE, with a target launch by 2026. It aimed to issue branded physical or virtual cards, manage rewards, and simplify B2B payouts.

Dubai Islamic Bank launches a Jaywan debit card

Dubai Islamic Bank launched a Jaywan debit card, integrating the country’s national payment scheme into its banking infrastructure, according to a press release.

ICYMI- Earlier this month, the Central Bank of the UAE said that every licensed bank and financial institution in the country will start using Jaywan, which aims to cut process costs, keep payment data onshore, and reduce reliance on international card networks. Majid Al Futtaim recently started accepting payments made via the card across its physical network.

Yalla secures CBUAE nod for retail payments license

Yalla Financial Solutions is one step closer to launching regulated payment services in the UAE after securing in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for a retail payment services Category II license, according to a press release.

The approval clears the way for it to offer regulated payment services in the UAE once it meets the remaining licensing requirements and receives final authorization from the CBUAE. The firm plans to offer consumers, merchants, and businesses faster, more secure, and locally regulated payment services.

Aster to invest AED 100 mn to expand UAE clinic network

Aster Clinics plans to invest AED 100 mn to expand and upgrade more than 100 facilities across the UAE by 2030, doubling down on rising demand for outpatient care. The healthcare provider will grow its network from 85 clinics through a mix of new openings and expanded existing sites, introducing additional specialty centers, in-clinic diagnostics, homecare, and personalized care services.

The expansion comes after patient footfall across Aster’s clinic network rose 15% over the past year. The rollout is also expected to create some 4.1k jobs as the company grows its workforce.

Trump’s 2027 minerals deadline runs into US supply reality

US industry struggles to meet 2027 deadline: US President Donald Trump may struggle to end US reliance on Chinese critical minerals in just over five months, as domestic mining and processing companies remain far from meeting demand. That leaves his plan to ban federal purchases of rare earths, magnets, tungsten, molybdenum, and tantalum from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea facing a significant supply shortfall.

REMEMBER- Since returning to the White House, Trump has made critical minerals a priority, channeling tens of bns of USD into roughly 150 mining and processing companies to reduce China’s grip on supply chains for defense and other strategic industries, but he has repeatedly granted waivers because domestic supply has been unable to catch up with demand. Trump criticized those exemptions in a May 10 post on his Truth Social platform, insisting federal agencies should buy American-made products “with no exceptions,” and last week, he signed an executive order making it more difficult for defense contractors to obtain waivers.

A supply gap too large to close: US demand for the most widely used rare earth magnets reached about 48k metric tons in 2025, while domestic production totaled only 300 metric tons, according to Arthur D. Little consultancy. Even with new projects, US capacity is expected to reach just 5k metric tons by the end of this year. But US investment in rare earths has been hampered by persistently low Chinese mineral prices, which Washington says undermines the economic viability of domestic projects. Beijing maintains that it complies with WTO rules and is committed to market stability.

US projects still years away: Building a domestic critical minerals supply chain has proven more difficult than Washington anticipated, with technical hurdles and shifting Pentagon requirements delaying several flagship projects. Reuters reported that Pentagon-backed Ucore Rare Metals pushed back its RapidSX refining project following changes to Defense Department specifications. Some production is now expected no earlier than 2027.

Separately, MP Materials is still calibrating its refining equipment ahead of producing magnets for General Motors, while its Pentagon-dedicated magnet plant is due to open in 2028. MP Materials has spent years calibrating its solvent extraction processing equipment — what CEO Jim Litinsky called a “painstaking process.” Other companies — including ReElement Technologies, USA Rare Earth, and Energy Fuels — are also expanding processing capacity, though most projects are not expected to reach full scale until 2028-2030.

ALSO- The Trump administration launched the USD 12 bn Project Vault in February to build a strategic stockpile of critical minerals for US manufacturers. In April, officials acknowledged they will need to buy minerals from “anywhere in the world, including China”. Experts say partnerships with Japan, South Korea, and other allies could serve as a bridge until the domestic projects ramp up.

China’s dominance: While the US holds reserves of most critical minerals, it lacks sufficient mining and refining capacity — meaning it could take years to get the required infrastructure in the ground to compete, minerals industry analyst Chris Berry noted. Now, China controls more than 80% of the global minerals refining industry, giving Beijing influence over the supply chain. This month, the IEA warned that industries worth USD 6.5 tn could face disruption if China tightens rare earth exports, as it has done several times this year.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asia-Pacific markets opened lower this morning as Wall Street’s selloff in semiconductor and AI-infrastructure stocks spilled into Asian equities. South Korea’s Kospi led losses, dropping 8.0%, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.8%. “The latest selloff in chipmakers shows that doubts over spending, returns and valuations are still deepening rather than fading,” Vantage Global Prime’s Hebe Chen said.

ADX	9,845	+0.2% (YTD: -1.5%)
DFM	5,844	+1.0% (YTD: -3.4%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,707	+0.7% (YTD: -3.7%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.5% o/n	4.2% 1 yr
TASI	10,769	0.0% (YTD: +2.7%)
EGX30	53,634	+0.4% (YTD: +28.2%)
S&P 500	7,413	0.0% (YTD: +8.3%)
FTSE 100	10,782	+0.4% (YTD: +8.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,282	0.0% (YTD: +8.4%)
Brent crude	USD 88.36	-8.7%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.74	-0.9%
Gold	USD 4,135	0.0%
BTC	USD 63,851	-2.4% (YTD: -27.1%)
Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.65	0.0% (YTD: -2.7%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	150.20	+0.2% (YTD: -1.1%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	18.67	+0.5% (YTD: +24.9%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 1.0% yesterday on turnover of AED 459.3 mn. The index is down 3.4% YTD.

In the green: Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Co. (+7.4%), Takaful Emarat (+4.4%), and Drake & Scull International (+3.5%).

In the red: Emirates Investment Bank (-4.9%), BHM Capital Financial Services (-4.9%), and National Cement Company (-4.0%).

Over on the ADX, the index rose 0.2% on turnover of AED 1.0 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was up 0.7%.

CALENDAR

JULY

28-29 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

SEPTEMBER

1-3 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Middle East Energy, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

7-9 September (Monday-Wednesday): AIM Congress, Dubai World Trade Center.

7-9 September (Monday-Wednesday): International Property Show, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai.

12-13 September (Saturday-Sunday): Emirates International Congress on AI & Visionary Leadership in Transforming Healthcare, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

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

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

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

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

OCTOBER

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.

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.

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.

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

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;
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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