Trouble at the Copperbelt

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: L’imad wants to bring in outside capital + Luckin Coffee eyes a piece of the Gulf’s coffee habit

Good morning, everyone. DP World is preparing to pour bns into Nigeria, just as an older African bet is running into trouble.

Zambia's state-owned miner has accused Abu Dhabi's IRH of breaching the agreements behind its Mopani copper takeover, warning it may seek damages or arbitration — even as IRH maintains the two have “a strong and constructive relationship.”

Elsewhere, L'imad is laying the groundwork to raise third-party capital as early as next year, and building its new unit, L’Imad Capital, into a global platform that can back funds, make direct investments, and co-invest alongside partners. It's part of a broader shift, with Mubadala Capital and MGX having already pulled similar moves.

We’re delighted to welcome Todd Wilcox as a guest speaker at the 2026 EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum.

Todd Wilcox is the deputy chairman and CEO of HSBC Bank Egypt, bringing more than 30 years of international banking experience. He joined Egypt from HSBC China, where he served as Senior Executive Vice President, Deputy CEO, and Executive Director of the Board.

Todd has held a series of senior leadership roles across HSBC, including CEO of Brunei for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, CRO for Asia-Pacific overseeing 11 markets, and COO for Risk across all Asian markets. He also served as head of retail banking and marketing at HSBC Bermuda, and began his career with HSBC in Canada. Prior to HSBC, Todd worked at Royal Bank of Canada across a range of business and functional roles.

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Attendance is by invitation only, and we’ve reached full capacity.

Request your invitation here to join the waitlist.

Mubadala-backed Luckin eyes the Gulf

Luckin Coffee wants a piece of the Gulf's coffee habit: Mubadala-backed Chinese chain Luckin Coffee is considering expanding into Gulf markets, Chairman David Li told CNBC. The comments came weeks after Mubadala joined Li’s Centurium Capital in a USD 1 bn investment in the company. Li didn’t name a country, a partner, or a timeline.

This is Luckin’s second attempt at the region. A 2019 plan for Middle East shops fell apart when an accounting scandal pushed the company into US bankruptcy and off Nasdaq. Since then, Luckin Coffee has overtaken Starbucks as China’s biggest coffee chain by sales, with more than 36k stores in mainland China and Hong Kong. Its global footprint, however, is still small: 150 stores in Malaysia, 100 in Singapore, and 23 in New York.

Initial price thoughts out for Emirates NBD’s Swiss issuance

Emirates NBD has set initial price thoughts of 110-115 bps over the Swiss Average Overnight Rate on the green bond we reported on earlier this week, sizing the offering at CHF 150 mn over five years, Zawya reports. That puts the yield on the senior unsecured notes at 1.845-1.895%.

ADVISORS- BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, and UBS are bookrunners and joint lead managers for the offering.

The timeline: The bonds, which are part of Emirates NBD’s USD 20 bn EMTN program, are set to hit the SIX Swiss Exchange on 9 October. The move adds a third currency to the lender’s green debt market issuance drive so far this year, having already raised USD 1 bn in blue and green bonds in January and a EUR 500 mn green bond in February.

L’imad wants to bring outside capital into the fold

L’imad Holding is laying the groundwork to raise third-party capital through investment arm L’imad Capital as early as next year, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. L’Imad is building the unit into a global investment platform that can back private equity and other fuAI safety concerns take their tollnds, make direct investments, and co-invest alongside partners. It plans to build a track record first, with any external fundraising still under consideration and no final decision made.

The buyout-style arm is still taking shape: L’imad Capital is looking for a CEO with private equity, infrastructure, or private credit experience and is making other senior hires. Under the proposed structure, L’imad Holding would sit on top as the holding company, while L’imad Capital pursues return-driven investments and strategic support for portfolio companies.

The bigger shift: The plan would push Abu Dhabi further toward attracting institutional capital to its own investment platforms, rather than only deploying sovereign money. Mubadala Capital has already turned a USD 25 bn credit portfolio into a third-party asset management play, while MGX raised USD 49 bn from institutional and private investors for its AI investment vehicle.

It’s also the latest sign of L’Imad’s widening mandate: After absorbing ADQ in February and most recently moving to take AD Ports private, L’Imad is now weighing a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide.

UAE, Egypt renew their local-currency backstop

The UAE and Egypt renewed their AED-EGP currency swap agreement for another five years, keeping a AED 5 bn facility in place to support bilateral trade and financial settlements, Wam reports. The facility is equivalent to EGP 69 bn and is intended to support greater use of the two countries’ currencies in cross-border transactions.

The bigger push: The renewal fits the Central Bank of the UAE’s broader effort to expand bilateral local-currency payment rails. We looked at that strategy last week, with Egypt among the markets where direct settlement could reduce reliance on third currencies. The UAE has also signed a AED 3 bn currency swap with Ethiopia, alongside agreements linking payment systems and promoting local-currency trade.

Mending fences, at last?

Abu Dhabi and Riyadh may be looking to put their differences aside to face the regional tensions. UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh yesterday in what was the first public visit to Saudi Arabia by a senior Emirati official since January. The two discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, the Saudi Press Agency reports.

Defense was a key part of talks between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi: Al Nahyan met separately with Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and discussed areas of “mutual interest” and boosting cooperation between the two countries, according to a Saudi Defense Ministry statement.

The elephant in the room: The talks follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sit-down with Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the UAE on Sunday, where discussions reportedly centered on Iran. Against that backdrop, the renewed Saudi-Emirati engagement could point to closer coordination as regional tensions mount.

The renewed Houthi offensive appears to have accelerated efforts to repair ties, as Riyadh seeks allied support for air defense and to manage the maritime threat. Saudi commentator Ali Shihabi said Prince Khalid’s invitation was “a big gesture” showing greater coordination on Yemen, while noting that the UAE was unlikely to return to the war. Riyadh instead wants Abu Dhabi to manage southern factions and prevent them from weakening the anti-Houthi front.

REMEMBER- The two countries experienced their biggest rift in many years, with disputes over Yemen escalating since December 2025, followed by the UAE’s withdrawal from Opec and reported delays and additional scrutiny on some bank transfers between the two countries. These disagreements made it difficult to arrange a unified GCC response to the regional conflict.

Biggest in history

The biggest case in Premier League history: The disciplinary case and decision by an independent commission against Manchester City are “the most significant in Premier League history,” Premier League CEO Richard Masters said in a statement. Masters said parts of the case are still open, most notably the penalty City will face, and the league plans to wrap up the remaining proceedings quickly to give clubs and fans certainty.

Man City found guilty. The commission has found Manchester City in breach of 114 of the 115 financial rule charges brought against it by the Premier League, a verdict against a club owned by one of Abu Dhabi's most senior royals, landing just as UK-UAE relations are back on firm footing.

Charges are false, Man City says: The club maintained that it is innocent of wrongdoing and that it is “disappointed and surprised” by the findings, it said in a statement. Manchester City will move to appeal the findings for which the Premier League has a deadline set at Friday, 2 October.

The Egyptian government locked in enough LNG and crude to carry the country through peak demand this summer, and the real question now is who pays for it and for the rebuild ahead.

PowerTrip, our new four-part signature series, follows the money behind an energy sector that went from exporting gas to importing it in just five years.

Over the four issues this autumn, we’ll look at how the lights stayed on and what that cost, who will own the next generation of power, how fast renewables can really scale, and whether Egypt’s claim to be the region’s energy hub still holds.

Issue I looks at how Egypt avoided rationing this summer, how the country went from gas exporter to importer in a decade, and what keeping the lights on actually cost us.

Tap here to subscribe to the Egypt edition, coming straight to your inbox today.

PSA

WEATHER- Temperatures will reach highs of 39°C today in Dubai before cooling to lows of 29°C overnight, while Abu Dhabi will see a marginally cooler high of 38°C with lows of 29°C as well, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

Some of the world’s most powerful tech CEOs met US President Donald Trump at the White House, where the executives signed the White House Accord on Super Intelligence, referring to AI, to adopt safety regulations. The agreement includes internal controls to monitor AI models during training and deployment in critical areas like cybersecurity, biosecurity and chemical threats, along with audits by external parties to conduct assessments. Among the signees are the chiefs of Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI, XAI, and Anthropic.

AI safety concerns take their toll: Open AI CEO Sam Altman said that the startup will not go ahead with its public listing until it can confidently guarantee its safety practices. This follows a lawsuit filed against OpenAI by a public interest law group over an incident in which the startup's AI agents allegedly went rogue and “knowingly” accessed tech company Hugging Face despite lacking permission.

Scaling back. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce a 20% reduction in general and admiral positions during an address to service members today. The cuts will double the 10% reduction ordered last year and must be completed by the start of next year, officials said.

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Zambia’s state miner accuses Abu Dhabi’s IRH of breaching Mopani deal, threatens arbitration

Lusaka turns up the pressure on IRH: Zambia’s state-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) accused Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding (IRH) of breaching the agreements behind its takeover of the Mopani copper complex, warning that it might seek damages or go to arbitration, Bloomberg reports, citing a copy of a letter from ZCCM-IH CEO Kakenenwa Muyangwa to IRH unit Delta Mining.

REFRESHER- IRH took control of Mopani in March 2024, completing its purchase of a 51% stake from ZCCM-IH, which kept the other 49%. It was IRH’s first investment. The Emirati firm agreed to pay USD 620 mn for the stake in installments. It also extended shareholder loans that let Mopani settle its debts to Glencore, which had run the mines until ZCCM-IH bought them for USD 1 in 2021. Glencore received more than USD 400 mn when the transaction closed.

The letter makes four charges, according to Bloomberg:

#1- Funding: Delta’s payments into Mopani in 2025 fell USD 61 mn short of the required minimum. ZCCM-IH says it knows of no transfers toward Delta’s USD 140 mn funding obligation for this year. The letter also objects to “unapproved (high cost)” debt taken on from related parties and third parties;
#2- Capex: By the end of March, Mopani has spent only USD 62.3 mn of its USD 308.1 mn project development budget, or c. 20%;
#3- Contractors: The letter says some contractors lack the expertise to do the work they were hired for;
#4- Output: Copper cathode output last year fell more than 50% short of the business plan. Mopani produced just over 5k tons in June. That is an annualized pace of c. 60k tons, a fifth of IRH’s target of 300k tons a year by 2029.

IRH denies there is a rift. A spokesperson said the two sides “maintain a strong and constructive relationship.” The spokesperson added that any partnership will have “shortcomings on either side” and that these would be handled through normal engagement between shareholders. ZCCM-IH has asked Delta to a consultation meeting and says it prefers an amicable resolution, but it added that it will “not hesitate to invoke the full range of contractual rights and remedies available to it” if needed.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s public line was warmer, but it came with conditions. Hichilema met IRH CEO Ali Rashed Alrashdi on the sidelines of a two-day working visit to Abu Dhabi on Monday, he said on Facebook. He called Mopani central to Zambia’s target of 3 mn tons of copper a year and pressed for a ramp-up of production, even as he expressed encouragement over Mopani’s progress.

Zoom out

Mopani was the first step in a wider IRH push into African critical minerals. A month after closing the Mopani transaction, IRH made a non-binding offer of more than USD 1 bn for Vedanta Resources’ 51% stake in Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). IRH was also reportedly looking at EMR Capital’s 80% stake in the nearby Lubambe Copper Mine, as we’ve noted, although neither acquisition materialized.

IRH has since moved beyond copper and beyond Zambia. In June 2025, it agreed to buy 56% of Alphamin Resources for c. USD 367 mn. Alphamin owns the Bisie tin complex in eastern DRC, which supplies around 6% of the world’s tin. Bisie sits in North Kivu, where advances by M23 rebels forced a temporary halt earlier that year. IRH has also signed a collaboration with South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation covering mining, green energy, and logistics.

Abu Dhabi’s other African mining wager went further before it was resolved. Guinea seized Emirates Global Aluminium’s (EGA) bauxite mining lease last year, accusing the firm of failing to build the alumina refinery it had promised. The two sides settled in May. Under the agreement, Guinea pays a lump sum, and EGA’s local assets go to state-linked Nimba Mining.

DP World and Ogun State eye new Nigeria deep-sea port

DP World is taking its Jebel Ali model to Nigeria: Dubai-based operator DP World and Nigeria’s Ogun State signed an MoU to build the Gateway Deep Sea Port alongside Blue Marine, a 10k-hectare industrial zone, with the two projects pegged at more than USD 7 bn in initial investment, Nigeria’s State House says. The port is planned with a 4-km berth and an 18-meter draft, deep enough to accommodate vessels that neighboring, congested ports around Lagos can’t handle.

Why it matters: The industrial land is what sets this apart from another port agreement. Blue Marine is meant for manufacturers and export businesses so that goods can be made right where they ship. Ogun says openly that it wants its own Jebel Ali, with deepwater access and industrial land built at the same time, Al Bayan reports.

The road that ties it together already has UAE money behind it: The 28-km Ogun stretch of the 700-km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will link the port and the zone to Lagos, the hinterland, and the wider region, alongside a planned airport and dry ports. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Afreximbank closed a USD 1.1 bn facility earlier this year for the highway — with USD 626 mn from FAB and USD 500 mn from Afreximbank — to connect the existing Lekki Deep Sea Port. If Gateway is built, the same corridor would serve both ports.

Ogun has watched a big project slip away before, so delivery is the test. A port and refinery project earmarked for the state was held up for c. 3.5 years before it went to Lagos instead, Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote told Business Insider Africa.

Nigeria is the latest stop in DP World’s Africa push: DP World said in 2024 it planned to put nearly USD 3 bn into African port infrastructure over three to five years. Since then, it has moved ahead with a 222-hectare industrial park near Mombasa and continued expanding its Dar es Salaam terminal.

Spotmix brings UAE’s first mobile concrete mixer — and a license Dubai didn’t have a year ago

The UAE just got its first mobile concrete mixer, courtesy of UK-founded Spotmix, and Dubai had to invent a new license to let it on the road. Dubai Municipality created a license category specifically for mobile concrete manufacturing and trading after spending close to 12 months working with the company on approvals, Spotmix partner John Connors tells EnterpriseAM. Until now, the city only licensed concrete manufacturing and concrete trading separately, both built around fixed batch plants.

The problem Spotmix wants to fix: Large batch plants, backed by mns of USD in machinery, mix concrete centrally and truck it to sites. Once it’s mixed, the concrete has a shelf life of about two hours. That model suits developers pouring towers, but it is less suited to a contractor who needs a few cubic meters (cbm), and those orders often get turned down or priced at a supplier’s minimum. Builders who are rejected often mix by hand, compromising the integrity of the concrete, Connors says.

The solution: Spotmix’s volumetric trucks carry the raw materials and mix on site so that a landscaper who needs 3 cbm for a swimming pool pays for 3, not the 10 a traditional concrete supplier might insist on. “We are basically the Cafu equivalent of concrete,” he tells us, referring to the Dubai app that delivers fuel to cars. “We are letting the big boys continue with huge pours and helping the smaller outfits who simply struggle to get concrete on time,” he says.

Spotmix’s target market is small, independent contractors and landscapers. Many new developments are handed over without swimming pools, and Connors says almost all landscapers need small-batch concrete for that work. The pitch to them is lower costs and the flexibility to order exactly what the job needs.

The model has worked at scale in the UK. Spotmix’s UK partner has more than 40 years of on-site mixing experience and runs a fleet of 2.5k machines there. The UAE business is self-funded.

In the UAE, it’s starting with two trucks and a storage site in Jebel Ali. Both are GCC-spec machines imported from Canada, and Spotmix plans to add two more within two months. Because the trucks are harder to operate than a standard mixer, the company is training its own crews and upskilling them. Funding is the constraint for now, he says, but he expects banks to extend financing after about three months of trading, which would allow the company to accelerate its fleet growth.

Distance is the other constraint. The trucks work best within a 30-40 mile radius of where they refill, Connors says. To serve jobs across the country, the firm is planning to add satellite storage units in Abu Dhabi, Umm Al Quwain, and Ras Al Khaimah.

What’s next: The target is a fleet of 20 machines operating in and out of Dubai, as well as across other emirates, with a support network behind it. Longer term, Spotmix wants to manufacture the machines in the UAE rather than import them, Connors tells us.

Majid Al Futtaim to invest USD 3.4 bn in Egypt over five years, marking its first move into housing and hotels

Majid Al Futtaim will invest around USD 3.4 bn in Egypt over the next five years, more than it has spent here in 27 years, Khalifa Bin Braik, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management, tells EnterpriseAM. The Emirati group’s cumulative investment in the market stands at some USD 2.8 bn. The new money goes into urban development, business complexes, and hospitality, taking the group past the four malls in Cairo and Alexandria, the Carrefour network, and the entertainment brands. “Egypt is an important, strategic market for the group,” Bin Braik says.

The money splits two ways. The larger share, close to USD 3 bn, goes to Mada City, the integrated city east of Cairo that the group is developing under its partnership with Midar. The remaining USD 400 mn funds developments adjacent to Mall of Egypt in west Cairo. The first is ELMNT33°, unveiled Monday with a EGP 457 mn price tag, spanning 5.3k sqm and combining dining, lifestyle, and flexible co-working, according to a statement (pdf). The second is Junction, the group’s first business complex in Egypt, carrying a total cost exceeding USD 386 mn (c. EGP 20 bn) for its first phase — likely an upward revision from the EGP 15 bn reported at launch in April 2025.

Mada City is the group’s first residential and hotel development in Egypt. “This is the first time we’ll go into residential,” Bin Braik says. “We decided to because we saw the demand is there, and investors and residents see big demand in this sector.” Preliminary works on Mada City will start within 12 to 18 months, kicking off a multi-year buildout spanning housing, office spaces, hotels, and a retail mall. The group is also partnering with Ennismore on a 25hours-branded property (pdf) at Junction, Bin Braik tells us, with operations expected to start within three years.

Why it matters: A Gulf mall operator turning residential developer is a wager on Egyptian housing demand at a point when the buyer base is thin and the market is going through a complete restructuring under a draft law governing who can build. Households that can carry current asking prices in the new cities start at a monthly income of EGP 150k and make up 6% of Greater Cairo’s population, industry insiders told EnterpriseAM earlier. More than 1k companies have entered development over the past decade without the pool of buyers widening to match.

Egypt helped prop up Majid Al Futtaim’s half-year numbers. The group posted record 1H EBITDA of AED 2.5 bn (c. USD 681 mn), up 11% y-o-y, on revenue of AED 17.5 bn (c. USD 4.77 bn), up 1.4%. Markets outside the GCC grew revenue 4% y-o-y, “supported by particularly strong growth in Egypt and Kenya,” the group said.

What’s next: The SHARE loyalty program, which has 14 mn customers across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, will launch in Egypt shortly, Bin Braik says. The group counts 600 mn visitors a year across its markets, 240 mn of them in its malls, and uses that data to set expansion strategy.

Edward Bell leaves ENBD for MUFG + Mohammed Al Shaibani leaves ICD board

Edward Bell (LinkedIn) is leaving Emirates NBD for MUFG, where he will head the Japanese bank’s research for the Middle East and North Africa, according to a statement (pdf). Bell spent more than a decade at Emirates NBD covering MENA macro, markets, commodities, rates, and FX and has been one of the Gulf's most-quoted voices on oil.

At MUFG, he will be based in Dubai and cover the Middle East, Turkey, and energy markets, with a focus on crude and natural gas. He reports locally to Wael Al Sharif, MUFG’s head of global corporate and investment banking for MENA, and to London-based Derek Halpenny, head of research for Global Markets EMEA and International Securities. Before Emirates NBD, Bell was a commodities and Middle East country analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Hong Kong and London.

Mohammed Al Shaibani is no longer on the board of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), following a decree Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued yesterday reconstituting the board of the emirate’s main investment arm, a Dubai Media Office statement showed. Shaibani sat on ICD’s board through at least three previous decrees, and he is still listed as its managing director on ICD’s website. The other seven members, led by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed as chairman, all keep their seats.

It’s Shaibani’s third exit from a top Dubai post this month. He resigned as chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank, effective 20 September, the bank said in a disclosure (pdf) last week. Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh has been named acting director general of the Dubai Ruler’s Court, a post Shaibani had held since 2008. No reason has been given for any of the changes, but Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum thanked him for his efforts in the announcement of his replacement at the Dubai Ruler’s Court.

No changes have been announced to his other posts. Sheikh Mohammed named him chairman of the Dubai Humanitarian Authority in July. As of DIB’s board filing in March, he also chaired Dubai Healthcare City Authority and Kerzner International, the Atlantis operator. The same filing lists him as vice chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee and a member of its Executive Council.

DP World’s Cochin terminal skips Hormuz with new service, CBD plugs into Europe’s digital payments experiment, ADX widens its regional trading web, Mubadala partners with Together AI, Abu Dhabi and Singapore widen dealmaking lane

Skip the strait

DP World’s Cochin terminal has a new direct service to the UAE and Oman that stays clear of the Strait of Hormuz. The fortnightly MGR IFR service runs from DP World’s International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) in Cochin to Nhava Sheva, Fujairah, Sohar, and Aden, Al Bayan reports. Two vessels work the loop, the Marsa Virgo and the Marsa Zenith, each with a capacity of more than 500 TEU. The first call at Cochin handled more than 1k TEUs.

Both Gulf stops sit outside the strait: Fujairah and Sohar are on the Gulf of Oman, so shippers routing around Hormuz now have another direct option. For DP World, the Fujairah call feeds its east-coast build-out. The company locked in a 50-year concession in July for the Al Rugaylat and Dibba terminals. Al Rugaylat alone will be able to handle up to 2.5 mn TEUs a year.

IN NUMBERS- ICCT handled around 381k TEUs between April and August, up 18.5% y-o-y, while August throughput jumped 51% to a record 98k TEUs.

CBD plugs into Europe’s digital payments experiment

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) became the first non-European lender to join the Commercial Bank Money Token (CBMT) network, adding a Gulf leg to a European experiment in tokenized bank money, according to a press release. The initiative brings together banks like Commerzbank, DZ Bank, BNP Paribas, and DNB.

Putting bank deposits on-chain: Led by the German Banking Commission, CBMT is exploring distributed ledger technology (DLT) to tokenize commercial bank funds — letting banks settle corporate payments digitally. Unlike stablecoins issued outside the banking system, the tokenized funds remain on the issuing bank’s balance sheet as regulated deposits. For CBD, that means faster and more transparent cross-border settlement without stepping outside the traditional banking framework.

Mubadala cuts USD 100 mn check and Together AI comes to Abu Dhabi

Mubadala is bringing San Francisco’s Together AI to the UAE, formalizing a strategic partnership after anchoring the AI cloud startup’s USD 100 mn Series C round in July, according to a press release. The sovereign wealth fund has already backed a number of AI startups this year, including eVoost AI, Applied AI, and Crusoe.

BACKGROUND- Founded in 2022, Together AI provides infrastructure for AI inference, model development, and accelerated compute, with a focus on open-source and custom models. Together AI will set up a local Abu Dhabi hub to deploy its open-source inference and model-shaping infrastructure.

ADX widens its regional trading web

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) is expanding its cross-border trading network on two fronts, with Iraq going live on Tabadul and Egypt and Syria lining up as potential additions, state news agency Wam reports (here and here). The Iraq Stock Exchange became the eighth market trading through the platform, giving Iraqi investors direct access to ADX-listed securities. Separately, the ADX signed MoUs with the Egyptian Exchange and the Damascus Securities Exchange to explore cross-border trading, investor access, and potential integration into Tabadul.

The network is getting bigger — and busier: Tabadul now connects markets with more than USD 1 tn in combined market cap, 700+ listed companies, and over 11 mn registered investors. Trading value hit AED 13.5 bn in 2026, already surpassing all of 2025. The platform allows investors to trade across participating exchanges in local currencies without dual listings or separate custodians.

BACKGROUND- Iraq’s addition has been in the works since ADX signed an agreement with the Iraqi Securities Commission in January 2025, and Jordan’s Amman Stock Exchange joined in June. Egypt and Syria would widen that regional footprint further, with the EGX bringing 277 listed companies and USD 77 bn in market cap, while the DSE has 27 issuers worth USD 2.1 bn.

Abu Dhabi and Singapore widen the dealmaking lane

Abu Dhabi and Singapore are expanding their economic partnership with new agreements spanning investment and industry, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. The UAE’s Investment Ministry and Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry signed a three-year framework to promote investment, knowledge exchange, and joint projects, while Kezad, the Singapore Business Federation, and Singapore Manufacturing Federation agreed to explore an industrial corridor linking Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

There’s a sustainability play too: Kezad and Singapore’s Witthal Gulf Industries will mull the establishment of a sustainability hub aimed at attracting manufacturing, logistics, and clean-tech companies. The agreements came out of the 17th Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum, where both sides also flagged AI, energy, space, and healthcare as priority areas. They also come after UAE-Singapore non-oil trade reached USD 6.54 bn in 2025.

IN CONTEXT- The industrial corridor fits Kezad’s wider push to attract overseas manufacturers, including AED 1.1 bn of Indian manufacturing investments announced last year. Singapore ties are also deepening on the capital side, with Temasek-backed Seviora and FAB agreeing earlier this week to explore investment distribution and co-investment.

An FDI push coming our way

The Investment and Foreign Trade Ministry is preparing to launch a new FDI strategy targeting 16 industrial sectors, according to a ministry statement. The strategy, developed with the World Bank, shifts the ministry’s approach from general investment promotion to targeting investors directly, Minister Mohamed Farid said. The updated investment map lists some 1.3k investment prospects across multiple governorates.

Targeted sectors are expected to include garments and textiles, foodstuffs, automotive manufacturing, electrical equipment and engineering, electronics assembly, pharma, green and renewable energy, machinery, and chemicals, AGBI reports, citing a May report from the ministry.

REMEMBER- Egypt kept its place as Africa’s largest FDI recipient in 2025, pulling in some USD 15 bn, according to UNCTAD.

MEANWHILE- Farid took the direct approach to Paris earlier this week, meeting with France’s Meridiam, Casino Group, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE), and the UAE’s RMB Group to discuss expansion plans in Egypt on the sidelines of the Egyptian-French business forum, according to a separate statement. The talks focused on driving local manufacturing, sourcing, and exports across key priority sectors:

Garments, textiles, and food: Casino’s Monoprix discussed plans to launch its first two Egyptian branches and sourcing from local food, textile, and garment makers, without disclosing a timeline. The rollout was initially slated for 2025, with 15-20 stores targeted;
Renewables and desalination: Meridiam discussed expanding across renewables, healthcare, and manufacturing desalination components locally. As we reported last week, desalination makes up the bulk of Egypt’s USD 3.08 bn PPP pipeline;
Food processing: RMB followed up on its meat and poultry processing project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone;
Telecoms equipment + localization: ALE discussed possible local assembly down the line and said it is targeting an Egypt office by end-2026 to serve the wider region, pending approvals.

Gulf stock exchanges are growing in importance, but they’re still a long way from becoming capital market hubs -Fitch

Gulf exchanges are becoming a real alternative to bank lending, but they are still too concentrated and too thin to work as full capital market hubs, Fitch Ratings said in a note shared with EnterpriseAM. GCC stock markets had a combined market cap of c. USD 4 tn this month, while debt capital markets reached USD 1.2 tn outstanding at the end of 1H 2026, 42% of it in sukuk.

The concentration problem is sharpest in the region’s two biggest markets. Five companies account for c. 60% of the ADX’s market cap, while on the Saudi exchange (which holds 63% of total GCC market cap), Aramco alone accounts for c. 65% of market cap. The ADX has 18% of GCC market cap and the DFM 7%.

Most Gulf debt still lists abroad. The ADX and the DFM list mostly equities, and most GCC hard-currency sukuk and bonds are listed offshore. The London Stock Exchange lists more than half of global USD sukuk, and 95% of those come from the Middle East. The regional exception is Nasdaq Dubai, which lists more than 28% of global outstanding sukuk and over USD 140 bn in debt. Fitch puts the slow growth of domestic debt markets down to a corporate funding culture that leans on bank financing.

The one bright spot in local debt is Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Exchange has a more developed local-currency debt market than its GCC peers, Fitch says, built on SAR sovereign sukuk that the government is issuing to create a domestic yield curve. That market is about to widen: SAR government sukuk will join JPMorgan’s GBI-EM index from 2027, which will increase inflows into SAR paper issued in Riyadh. Foreign investors already took 15% of the kingdom’s primary sovereign debt issuance in 1H 2026, up from 12% in 2025. Elsewhere in the Gulf, local-currency debt markets are still nascent, and Nasdaq Dubai’s weight comes from hard-currency sukuk.

Why it matters: Fitch’s diagnosis comes after a rough year for UAE equity issuance. Dubai Holding, EGA, and Binghatti have all paused or shelved listings, as we reported earlier this year; Al Habtoor dropped its DFM plans entirely; and Airtel Money is taking its IPO to London instead of the UAE, citing regional unrest. In Saudi Arabia, the region closed 1Q 2026 with just four IPOs raising a combined USD 296.6 mn — the weakest first quarter since 2018, but the slowdown started before the war. Analysts told us that stretched valuations and weak post-IPO performance had already cooled the market before the first strikes.

What’s next: Bankers expect a recovery across the region later this year and into 2027, as we’ve reported. In the UAE, analysts see follow-on offerings leading any reopening, not fresh IPOs. In Saudi, the CMA’s consultation on bank-guaranteed IPOs is the near-term test of whether regulators can bring back buyers burned by the last crop of listings. Delivery app Ninja is also eyeing a Tadawul listing of up to USD 1 bn by late 2026 or early 2027.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets opened in the green earlier today, gaining for the first time in three sessions, with Japan’s Nikkei rising 1.2% and South Korea’s Kospi advancing 0.7%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4%, driven by tech stocks following a rally in US semiconductor shares.

ADX	10,132	-0.3% (YTD: -1.4%)
DFM	5,988	-0.2% (YTD: -1.0%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	5,004	+0.2% (YTD: +2.4%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.7% o/n	5.1% 1 yr
TASI	10,456	-1.2% (YTD: -0.3%)
EGX30	52,297	-0.3% (YTD: +25.0%)
S&P 500	7,671	-0.2% (YTD: +12.1%)
FTSE 100	10,637	-0.5% (YTD: +7.1%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,320	+0.3% (YTD: +9.0%)
Brent crude	USD 102.59	-2.6%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.02	+0.4%
Gold	USD 4,211	+0.7%
BTC	USD 83,747	+0.3% (YTD: -4.5%)
Lunate JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.57	-0.6% (YTD: -1.0%)
S&P MENA bond & sukuk	146.84	-0.5% (YTD: -3.3%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	16.04	-0.2% (YTD: +8.0%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM fell 0.2% yesterday on turnover of AED 591.7 mn. The index is down 1.0% YTD.

In the green: Dubai Islamic Ins. and Reinsurance Co. (+4.4%), Drake & Scull International (+3.7%), and Shuaa Capital (+1.9%).

In the red: Salik Company (-1.6%), GFH Bank (-1.6%), and Al Salam Bank (-1.4%).

Over on the ADX, the index fell 0.3% on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was up 0.2%.

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

26 September-1 October (Saturday–Thursday): UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Adnec Center, 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

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

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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