UAE investors are pouring bns in Syria — but the bottlenecks aren't far behind

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: L’imad eyes stake in cargo giant + UAE, Oman eye Hafeet Rail trials in 4Q 2027

Good morning, everyone. As UAE investors continue to pour bns into Syria’s reconstruction, we’re asking whether the country has capacity to absorb them all. Experts tell us that, realistically, it could end up being a question of one or two megaprojects at a time, with power grid issues, thin contractor depth, and continued banking friction all weighing on actual capacity.

Fresh off its AD Ports push, L’imad is now weighing a bid for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide in an agreement that could be worth over USD 10 bn and open up another logistics and transport route bypassing Hormuz. Elsewhere on the investment front, Adia has invested more in India, locking in an anchor stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India’s IPO, as well as a stake in Neogen Chemicals.

Dubai's inflation picture is heating up again too: consumer prices rose 5.54% y-o-y in August, up from 5.3% in July, driven by a jump in fuel and airfare costs — prompting Emirates NBD to nearly double its year-end inflation forecast to 5.6%.

On track for 2027

We have a date on Hafeet: The rail link between the UAE and Oman will begin trial runs in 4Q 2027, Trade Arabia reports, citing Omani Transport Minister Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali. The 238-km line will carry both freight and passenger traffic between Sohar Port and the UAE’s national rail network via Al Buraimi and Al Ain.

REMEMBER- Oman ratified its railway agreement with the UAE just last week, clearing a key government step for a project we’ve tracked since 2024. Construction was around 40% complete in April, with USD 1.5 bn in debt financing secured and Noatum Logistics already lined up to run a daily container service once trains start moving.

Why it matters: The GCC still lacks a continuous, high-capacity rail corridor that can bypass the Strait of Hormuz. There are no railways yet connecting Omani ports outside the strait directly to UAE markets. This makes Hafeet Rail the clearest test case yet for Gulf rail as a way to avoid the maritime chokepoint.

L’imad eyes stake in cargo giant

Abu Dhabi's L’imad Holding is weighing a bid for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide, the Apollo-controlled air cargo giant that could be valued north of USD 10 bn, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks are early, and it's competing against other strategics and PE firms who’ve been circling since Apollo was first reported to be weighing a sale of the closely held company back in December.

Why it matters: This would be the latest move in Abu Dhabi’s push to build logistics and transport routes that help it circumvent the Strait of Hormuz. L'imad — overseen by Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled — has been explicit about wanting to rejig UAE supply chains and open new export corridors, and a big air-cargo platform fits that thesis neatly alongside its ports and maritime holdings via AD Ports — over which it has just tightened control, acquiring an additional 23.08% stake, on top of the 75.42% it already held, pushing its stake past 98.5% and allowing it to squeeze out remaining shareholders and take it private.

The bigger picture — L'imad has been on a roll:

Absorbed sovereign investor ADQ in January, inheriting stakes from Sotheby’s to Etihad;
Joined GIP, Temasek, and Adnoc in a USD 30 bn infrastructure investment venture in May;
Backed Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery;
and tightened control of its two biggest domestic assets, Taqa and AD Ports.

Retail sukuk goes long

The UAE is launching a second sovereign retail T-sukuk with a five-year tenor, up from two years in the debut issuance, according to a press release. The AED 1k minimum remains unchanged, while the coupon rate will be announced on 22 September ahead of listing on Nasdaq Dubai after settlement.

The debut set a high bar: The first sale drew AED 445 mn in orders — nearly 9x the original AED 50 mn target — prompting the Finance Ministry to double the issuance to AED 100 mn. It offered a 4.30% annual coupon rate, while UAE nationals made up 72% of investors and 76% of demand came in tickets of AED 10k or less. The test now is whether that appetite holds over five years.

IN CONTEXT- The Finance Ministry first opened T-sukuk to retail investors last October, giving UAE citizens and residents access to AED-denominated, shariah-compliant government debt previously limited to institutions. The original AED 4k minimum was cut to AED 1k ahead of the first issuance in June.

Dubai puts cyber compliance on the dashboard

Dubai authorities are getting more visibility into their own cybersecurity posture, after the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) and Microsoft launched a real-time dashboard to manage Dubai’s Information Security Regulation (ISR), according to a press release.

How it works: The dashboard draws on Microsoft security signals entities already generate, converting them into evidence mapped against ISR controls. It tracks risky identities, multi-factor authentication, Conditional Access policies, privileged access, device compliance, active incidents, and vulnerabilities — replacing periodic, self-reported assessments with continuous oversight.

IN CONTEXT- The country’s cyber threat is getting frequent and more expensive. The UAE fended off organized cyberattacks targeting the aviation, energy, and education sectors in August, following another series of attacks in July. These attacks are increasingly involving AI, making them harder to detect as well as more complex.

What’s next: Following an initial pilot with two entities, DESC is expanding the system across more than 80 Dubai government bodies. As the emirate automates oversight, neighboring GCC cyber authorities are likely to evaluate similar vendor-integrated compliance models.

New 80 km Fourth Corridor gets the green light

A new road corridor linking Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah has been approved, running roughly 80 km from Al Faya Road in Abu Dhabi to Al Shanouf Road in Sharjah, according to the Dubai Media Office. It will be built in two phases: phase one covering about 30 km from Al Shanouf Road to Dubai-Al Ain Road, will cost about AED 3.5 bn, and includes widening Dubai-Al Ain Road from three to four lanes each way, while phase two carries the remaining c. 50 km through to Al Faya Road. The finished corridor will run 12 lanes in each direction with 72 bridges, 17 tunnels, and 45 stormwater drainage culverts, cutting journey times by up to 60%.

Why it matters: It routes past Al Maktoum International Airport and the Al Marmoom and Al Wohoosh desert reserves and ties into the Etihad Rail line, and it’s being framed explicitly around logistics and commercial transport rather than just commuter traffic.

PSA

British Airways finally sets a return date for Dubai: British Airways will resume Dubai flights on 3 November, starting with a single daily service from London before expanding to two flights a day, the airline confirmed. It’s a major milestone for a route that’s been dark since the Iran war grounded most of the sector’s Gulf capacity in late February — but it’s also another setback. The British flag carrier had previously targeted a 25 October comeback since mid-year, following earlier pushbacks from May and July targets.

That puts it ahead of other international airlines: United has pushed its Newark-Dubai restart to 27 March 2027. Luxair, Air Canada, and Virgin Atlantic are all holding out for 2027 rather than committing to dates this year.

Not so good news if you’re a Brit in Abu Dhabi, though: The airline said it will not be resuming Abu Dhabi flights before the 2027/28 season.

WEATHER- The mercury rises to 40°C today in Dubai and 41°C in Abu Dhabi, with lows ranging between 29-30°C, according to our favorite weather app.

The big story abroad

Two stories are making the rounds across the business press’ front pages this morning: Turkey’s rush to contain a fund-market meltdown overseeing USD 29 bn in assets and Washington’s plans to sell Saudi Arabia the world's most advanced fighter jet.

Turkey liquidated 130 investment funds and eased central bank liquidity rules after a run on Pusula, Tera, and Atlas Portföy — three groups that together manage roughly USD 29 bn — sent the BIST 100 down 8% over two days before it clawed back 3% yesterday. Four senior fund executives were arrested or detained as Istanbul prosecutors opened a market-manipulation probe.

What happened: The funds had built what the Financial Times says were concentrated stakes in thinly-traded related companies, inflating their net asset values and pulling in fresh money to buy more of the same stock — a cycle that briefly made Hedef Holding Turkey's second-largest listed company. MSCI flagged “co-ordinated trading behaviour” in June; Pusula Portföy's missed redemption payments triggered the run.

Meanwhile, the US notified Congress of a planned USD 24.3 bn sale of up to 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom continues to exchange strikes with the Houthis. The sale of the Lockheed Martin fighter jet to Saudi Arabia has been in the works for a number of years, and comes ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House later this month.

The sale — if approved by congress – would mark the first time the US sells these specific jets, known to be the world’s most advanced, to a country in the Middle East other than Israel, making it a contested move for Israel, which is guaranteed a "qualitative military advantage” over the Middle East under American law.

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UAE investors are pouring bns in Syria — but the bottlenecks aren’t far behind

UAE investors are lining up bns of USD for Syria, but the country may only be able to execute one or two megaprojects at a time. Analysts who spoke to EnterpriseAM say the bigger near-term constraint is shifting from investor appetite to execution: Syria still lacks the contractor depth, reliable power, financing capacity, and administrative bandwidth needed to run several large developments in parallel.

“Realistically, the system can carry one or two flagship projects at a time,” Benjamin Fève, senior consultant at Karam Shaar Advisory, tells us. Much of the current pipeline still consists of announcements, MoUs, and framework agreements rather than projects that have reached financial close and mobilized on site, he says — meaning Syria’s ability to absorb several megadevelopments at once is still largely untested.

And the UAE pipeline keeps getting bigger:

Arada signed a USD 7 bn agreement this month for its 4 mn sqm New Damascus development;
Mohamed Alabbar is planning up to USD 18 bn through Abu Dhabi-based Eagle Hills across Damascus and Latakia;
Majid Al Futtaim is keeping an eye on the market;
Abu Dhabi-based hotel operator Rotana, which was already talking to Syrian developers about potential projects last year, is now considering a return after nearly 12 years away and evaluating two to three prospects, Al Bayan reports.

The push has state backing: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and his Syrian counterpart Ahmad Al Sharaa have met several times since the latter took office last year — most recently just this week — as Syria continues to rebuild ties with the Gulf and seek investments.

What UAE investors have going for them

UAE developers are not new to building around thin public infrastructure: Large Gulf developers already have a “strong track record” of delivering master-planned communities with their own roads, power, water, and wastewater systems, Oxford Business Group Global Editor-in-Chief Oliver Cornock tells EnterpriseAM. “Bringing that playbook to Syria means projects like Arada’s and Eagle Hills’ schemes can move on their own timeline rather than being hostage to national grid upgrades,” he adds.

Even on the logistics front: “DP World and CMA CGM are already taking direct stakes in ports rather than waiting for state logistics to catch up,” Cornock says. DP World is already implementing its USD 800 mn Tartous Port overhaul, while AD Ports has agreed to take 20% of Latakia International Container Terminal}, and Abu Dhabi-based National Investment Corporation has lined up a USD 2 bn Damascus metro project. Together, these projects start to address the logistics and transport bottlenecks that larger developments will depend on.

Egypt offers a (partial) precedent: Alabbar’s Marassi developments bundle homes, hotels, retail, marinas, schools, hospitals, and leisure facilities into large integrated destinations, while major North Coast developers are already capable of providing electricity, water, and wastewater infrastructure themselves when public networks lag. But the comparison only goes so far — Egypt has a functional banking system and is not a country emerging from over a decade of war and sanctions.

Still, that playbook could let UAE projects move without waiting for Syria to fix everything first. Developers can internalize infrastructure and bring in foreign EPC firms, materials, specialist labor, and financing rather than relying entirely on thin domestic supply chains, Cornock says.

The trade-off is higher upfront costs — and the possibility that projects become very good at bypassing Syria’s constraints without strengthening the local construction ecosystem, Fève tells us. He added that foreign-backed developments are already arriving with their own contractors and banking support. “The local economy is excluded. Absorption is not improving, and it’s rather been bypassed.”

The developers say Syrians are supposed to be part of the model, not spectators: Alabbar has said Syrians would hold a majority stake in the company ultimately owning his two Eagle Hills developments, alongside the Syrian government and Gulf investors, according to our previous coverage. Arada has similarly said New Damascus is intended to create jobs, develop local skills, and support Syrian businesses.

That makes the real test whether local participation survives execution: If most of the financing, contractors, specialist labor, and key inputs still have to come from abroad, the question is how much of the investment boom actually expands Syria’s own ability to build.

What Syria’s doing (and what it needs to do) to catch up

Syria has activated or created new investment, sovereign, development, and economic policy bodies in an attempt to build absorption capacity, Cornock tells us. But “institutional capacity is understandably still catching up.”

Sanctions relief and restored SWIFT access have improved connectivity across the banking system, as EnterpriseAM Mena+ previously reported, but correspondent banks remain cautious, and constant Financial Action Task Force (FATF) monitoring continues to create compliance friction. Syria’s Finance Ministry is introducing a cross-agency committee to lead the effort to get off the world’s anti-money laundering watchdog’s gray list, with the country due for a review in October.

As things currently stand, though, domestic banks may be able to lend only around USD 5 mn per contractor against projects where bonding requirements alone can reach USD 10-15 mn, Cornock says.

Even a financed project still has to get onto a site: Land ownership and valuations remain contested after years of displacement, some sites still require mine clearance, and Fève flags land titles, permitting, and an opaque tendering process as unresolved hurdles. Cornock says that is helping push investors toward sovereign partners, concessions, and phased delivery rather than assuming a clean path from agreement to groundbreaking.

Power may be the most immediate physical constraint: “Nothing at this scale operates on a grid supplying a few hours a day,” Fève says. Cornock puts current generation at around 1.6 GW versus roughly 9.5 GW before 2011 — and says generation alone will not solve the problem if transmission networks, substations, and grid management cannot keep up.

Contractors and skilled workers are similarly in short supply: Years of emigration have thinned Syria’s pool of engineers, project managers, welders, and other specialist trades, while local salaries struggle to compete with the Gulf, Fève says. Few Syrian contractors have recently delivered projects anywhere close to the scale now being proposed, making imported execution capacity difficult to avoid.

Whatever still has to be sourced locally could also get expensive fast: Fuel, cement, foreign currency, and skilled labor are exactly the inputs multiple megaprojects will compete for. Large foreign-backed developments can outbid Syrian businesses, Fève says, potentially raising wages and production costs for domestic manufacturers and builders.

What’s next

The number to watch is conversion, not headline investment: Cornock says the key test over the next year is how much of the announced pipeline turns into funded contracts and physical works. Airports, ports, power, and water are already showing some early movement, but the challenge is making that repeatable across multiple sectors.

Fève’s scorecard: How many MoUs reach financial close and mobilize on site; how many megawatts are actually commissioned rather than merely signed; whether transparent tendering emerges; and whether Syrian contractors, banks, and industrial companies start getting a meaningful share of the work. Those benchmarks will show whether UAE capital is finding a system that can actually execute at scale — or whether investors are simply getting better at building around the constraints.

Adia locks in USD 20.9 mn stake in NSE’s anchor book and another stake in Indian chemicals manufacturer

Adia invests more in India: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, through its India-focused unit Monsoon, was allocated 1.1 mn shares — 2.96% of the anchor book — in the National Stock Exchange of India’s (NSE) IPO at the anchor price of c.INR 1.8 per share, according to an NSE filing (pdf). That puts Adia’s stake at just under INR 2 bn (around USD 20.9 mn), tying it with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and placing it third among all 189 anchor investors, behind only Life Ins. Corporation of India (5.93%) and Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (3.71%).

The anchor book itself came in at INR 67.46 bn (USD 703 mn) as part of NSE’s broader USD 2.3 bn IPO, which opened Wednesday and closes Monday, with listing expected 24 September. Other anchor investors include GIC, Fidelity, and Goldman Sachs, alongside a long list of domestic mutual funds and pension schemes.

Worth noting: Lunate doesn’t appear in the anchor allocation list, despite previous reports that it was weighing a sizable allocation alongside Adia.

Adia also picked up a stake in another Indian listed company via a QIP: Neogen Chemicals disclosed in a filing (pdf) that Adia was allotted 5.33% of the specialty chemicals maker’s qualified institutional placement, or 141.9k shares, at INR 2.3 apiece — a stake worth roughly USD 3.3 mn in an issue that raised just under INR 600 crore (c. USD 62.6 mn) in total. Other anchors in that placement included ICICI Prudential, Invesco, Mirae Asset, and SBI Life Ins., each securing 13.33% (on a PAN-clubbed basis) of the issue.

BACKGROUND- Neogen makes bromine- and lithium-based specialty chemicals, historically for pharma and agrochemical clients, but it’s now pivoting toward battery-grade materials — electrolytes and lithium salts for EVs and energy storage — through a Mitsubishi-linked technology license and a new JV with Japan’s Morita Chemicals.

Adia has been investing in India for a while now — but recently it has also leaned more closely toward the physical supply chains behind electrification and AI infrastructure. This year, the fund backed Manipal Health Enterprises’ listing, anchored SBI Funds Management’s IPO, and took a stake in KRN Heat Exchangers’ INR 3.5 bn institutional placement.

Dubai inflation rises to 5.5% as transport costs force Emirates NBD to lift year-end forecast

Dubai inflation is climbing again — and Emirates NBD has nearly doubled its year-end call: Consumer prices rose 5.54% y-o-y in August, up from 5.3% in July, while monthly inflation accelerated to 0.31% from 0.1%, according to the latest data (pdf) from the Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment. Emirates NBD Research has raised its year-end inflation forecast to 5.6% from 2.9% earlier this summer, citing a longer-than-expected stretch of elevated oil prices.

Transport put its foot back on the accelerator: Prices in the category climbed 12.7% y-o-y, with fuel and lubricants up 31.3% and passenger airfares 23.2% higher. Fuel prices also rose 5.4% m-o-m, after the UAE Fuel Price Committee hiked prices following a cut in July, although airfares fell 9.8% from July.

Housing is still seeing prices rise. Housing, utilities, and fuel prices rose 6.7% y-o-y as residential rents continued to climb across much of Dubai, while food and beverages were up 7.4%, according to the statistics authority. Emirates NBD says housing remains the largest contributor to headline inflation, even as price growth in the category has slowed from earlier in the year.

The bigger change is how long Emirates NBD thinks the pressure will last. We reported in July that the bank thought inflation had peaked at 5.7% in June and would fall to 2.9% by year-end. July initially supported that view, although Emirates NBD warned that higher August petrol prices could produce a rebound. Pump prices then rose again in September, extending the energy pressure and prompting the bank to push its year-end call up to 5.6%.

So the disinflation story has been delayed, not derailed: August inflation remains below June’s 5.7% peak, but Emirates NBD now expects headline price growth to stay elevated through the rest of 2026 before easing in 2027.

Mashreq tightens pricing by 30bp on USD 500 mn bond

Mashreq tightened pricing by 30bps on a USD 500 mn, five-year bond last week — one of three UAE issuers to successfully tap international debt markets even as regional tension keeps investors more selective. The bond priced at 115bp over US Treasuries, down from initial guidance of +145bp, with an order book of USD 925 mn (including USD 50 mn of joint lead manager interest). The bond carries a 5.625% coupon, yields 5.736%, matures 16 September 2031, and carries an A rating from both Fitch and S&P, in line with the bank’s own rating.

Mashreq wasn’t alone. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) priced its own USD 500 mn, five-year note the same week, tightening to 90bp over Treasuries from +115bp initial guidance. DP World followed with a dual-tranche raise — EUR 750 mn of six-year green notes at 4.750% and USD 750 mn of 10-year notes at 6.250%, both roughly 25bp tighter than where they opened. All three issuances tightened from initial guidance — a signal that UAE issuers still have real access to international capital even in a market where investors are pricing in more regional risk than a year ago.

IN CONTEXT- Order books across the market are thinner than they were earlier in the cycle. A regional banker not involved in the transactions told Zawya that books across recent UAE issuance have run lighter than in prior rounds — part of why issuers have kept transaction sizes at USD 500 mn rather than stretching further.

ADVISORS- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD Bank, FAB, and Mashreq itself were bookrunners, alongside ANZ Group Holdings, BBVA, Barclays, BofA Securities, ICBC, Mizuho Financial Group, Societe Generale, and Standard Chartered.

Adnoc’s big gas plans seek Mark Taylor’s big-project experience

Adnoc Gas named Mark Taylor (LinkedIn) as chief projects and engineering officer, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). Taylor’s mandate will cover capital discipline and project delivery as Adnoc advances one of the world’s largest gas growth programs.

A USD 60 bn project CV: Taylor, an electrical engineer with 30 years of experience, has overseen capital project portfolios exceeding USD 60 bn across energy, infrastructure, and commodities. His background spans upstream and downstream operations across the Middle East, with tenures at Glencore, BP, Shell, and British Steel.

New organic-waste valorization pilot plant, Musafir acquires FLYCT, DFDF backs Nordstar’s AI-focused fund, and Nakheeel awards a Dubai Islands contract

Emirates Biotech, UAEU seek value from food waste

Emirates Biotech and UAE University (UAEU) have launched a two-year project to build the country’s first integrated organic-waste valorization pilot plant, turning mixed food waste and compostable packaging into renewable biogas and nutrient-rich compost, according to a press release. Located near the Al Ain campus, the plant will process up to 40 kg of organic waste daily, with installation and commissioning targeted for August 2027, with a full scaling of the plant potentially cutting carbon emissions by up to 89% compared to landfilling.

Making waste work harder. The project will evaluate the process’s technical, environmental, and economic performance through August 2028, creating a potential roadmap for wider deployment. For context: Food waste accounts for nearly 40% of daily municipal solid waste in the UAE.

Musafir moves to take full control of FLYCT

UAE-based travel management group Musafir Holdings is set to acquire full ownership of FLYCT MEA Holdings, the operator of consumer online travel platforms Cleartrip.ae and Saudi Arabia’s Flyin.com, Khaleej Times reports. Musafir currently owns 25% of FLYCT and will acquire the remaining 75% from the founding management team, subject to customary regulatory approvals. No transaction size was specified.

Two travel engines, one roof: The pact brings on FLYCT’s consumer-focused air-booking platforms and established regional customer base into Musafir’s broader regional ecosystem — spanning visa services, holiday packages, corporate travel, and B2B agency solutions.

DFDF backs Nordstar’s AI-focused fund

Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) is upping its exposure to AI-focused investments, backing UK-based Nordstar Partners’ growth fund, according to a press release. The investment manager’s fund will focus on AI, consumer technology, and fintech. Nordstar already backs Dubai-based rental platform Silkhaus and UAE-based cloud kitchen Kitopi.

The plan: DFDF and Nordstar will support UAE-based firms in their international expansion efforts, with Managing Director Nader Albastaki saying this commitment is about plugging the scale-up gap specifically. Regional late-stage funding is still lagging behind global markets, with more muted funding windows for Series B and beyond.

Nakheel moves Bay Grove into construction

Dubai state developer Nakheel has awarded an AED 800 mn+ construction contract for 537 homes at Bay Grove Residences on Dubai Islands, tapping Metac General Contracting for Phases 1 and 3 of the sold-out waterfront project, according to a press release. The seven buildings are due for completion in late 2028.

There’s still more to come: Bay Grove will eventually comprise 1,154 homes across 15 buildings, with contracts for the remaining 617 homes in Phases 2 and 4 still to be awarded. We covered the project’s launch with 296 homes in Phase 1, while Nakheel has also been pushing ahead elsewhere in its waterfront pipeline, including an AED 2.6 bn contract for 636 Bay Villas homes on Dubai Islands and AED 3.5 bn of Palm Jebel Ali villa contracts.

Middle East dividends hit USD 44.6 bn in 2Q as the region sits out the global buyback boom

Middle East dividends kept climbing in 2Q. Companies in the region distributed USD 44.6 bn, up 5.5% y-o-y on an underlying basis, according to Janus Henderson’s Global Dividends & Buybacks Index (pdf). Saudi Arabia supplied nearly two-thirds at USD 28.4 bn, up 2.4% y-o-y, followed by the UAE at USD 13.6 bn, up 7.3%. Kuwait was the fastest-growing market, with payouts jumping 45% y-o-y during the quarter to USD 1.8 bn.

Buybacks barely got a look-in: Middle Eastern companies repurchased just USD 600 mn of shares during the quarter — a fraction of the region’s dividend bill. The UAE accounted for USD 200 mn, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar each recorded just USD 100 mn.

Aramco explains much of Saudi’s dominance. The oil giant remained the world’s largest dividend payer, accounting for 3.1% of dividends among the 1.5k companies tracked and nearly half of the Middle East’s total. Aramco entered 2026 after distributing USD 85.5 bn in dividends last year, down from more than USD 120 bn in 2024, while launching its first-ever USD 3 bn share repurchase program.

Globally, the balance looks very different: Share repurchases jumped 26.8% y-o-y to an estimated USD 572 bn in 2Q, alongside USD 757.8 bn in dividends, which grew 7.3% on an underlying basis. Every region tracked by the index recorded dividend growth.

Tech is driving the buyback boom: The tech sector overtook financials as the world’s largest source of buybacks, repurchasing USD 121.1 bn of shares, with its dividends jumping 23.5% on an underlying basis to USD 70.5 bn — the fastest growth of any industry. Financials remained the dividend heavyweight, distributing USD 239.7 bn and repurchasing another USD 104 bn.

The catch? AI isn’t getting cheaper: Big tech is spending record sums on data centers and computing capacity — and are still buying back stocks at a rapid pace. Cash buffers are shrinking as a result, and some companies are turning to debt to keep funding both. Janus Henderson's read: if AI spending keeps climbing, buybacks — not dividends — are the more likely thing to get cut.

Why buybacks go first: Regular dividends are harder to cut once established, while repurchases let companies return surplus capital without committing to permanently higher payouts. Banks have increasingly leaned on that flexibility after rebuilding their dividend bases following the global financial crisis.

Not everyone has room to keep paying more: Consumer discretionary was the only major industry to record falling underlying dividends in 2Q, down 3%. German automakers were a particular weak spot, with softer demand and intensifying competition from Chinese EV makers contributing to per-share dividend cuts at Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz.

For now, payouts are still heading higher: Janus Henderson expects global dividends to grow another 5-6% in 2026 and buybacks to rise 7-8%. For tech, the question is how long companies can keep ramping up AI investment before buybacks — the more flexible half of shareholder returns — have to give.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets were mostly in the green as Brent Crude’s retreat helped ease inflation fears. Japan’s Nikkei added over 1% while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.7%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.6%. Wall Street futures, meanwhile, were mostly unchanged after a positive session for all three US indices following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike on Wednesday.

ADX	10,161	+0.5% (YTD: +1.7%)
DFM	5,987	+0.3% (YTD: -1.0%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,979	+0.6% (YTD: +1.8%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.7% o/n	5.0% 1 yr
TASI	10,778	-0.0% (YTD: +2.7%)
EGX30	55,499	+1.2% (YTD: +32.7%)
S&P 500	7,638	+1.1% (YTD: +11.6%)
FTSE 100	10,816	+1.2% (YTD: +8.9%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,323	+0.9% (YTD: +9.2%)
Brent crude	USD 104.08	-0.7%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.86	-1.6%
Gold	USD 4,397	-0.1%
BTC	USD 76,479	+0.7% (YTD: -13.8%)
Lunate JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.58	-0.3% (YTD: -0.2%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	149.25	+0.3% (YTD: -1.8%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	15.44	-12.8% (YTD: +3.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 0.3% yesterday on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. The index is down 1.0% YTD.

In the green: Sukoon Ins. (+15.0%), Islamic Arab Ins. Company (+3.7%), and Takaful Emarat (+3.5%).

In the red: Emirates Reem Investments Company (-3.6%), Ekttitab Holding Company (-2.5%), and Shuaa Capital (-2.2%).

Over on the ADX, the index rose 0.5% on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was up 0.6%.

CORPORATE ACTIONS

Empower’s board of directors is scheduled to approve a AED 437.5 mn dividend for 1H 2026, equal to AED 0.04375 per share, according to a filing (pdf). The payout represents 43.75% of Empower’s total paid-up share capital. Strong demand for district cooling helped boost the company’s 1H net income by 16.25% y-o-y to AED 467.9 mn.

The tech kid is now a VC veteran who has watched the ecosystem grow with her

Stephanie Nour Prince (LinkedIn) has spent over two decades inside MENA’s startup ecosystem, being part of almost every stage of its growth: working at an early-stage tech firm before the word “startup” caught on here, then at Wamda as the region’s venture scene began taking shape, and eventually co-founding Nuwa Capital.

Today, alongside her role as co-founder and partner at Nuwa Capital, she also chairs the Middle East Venture Capital Association (MEVCA), overseeing two distinct ends of that ecosystem: investing in early-stage companies while also working on the infrastructure needed to make the region’s VC market easier to understand, access, and navigate.

Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. This week, we spoke with Prince about how she grew up watching MENA’s startup ecosystem form and flourish, where venture capital goes from here, and why her mornings are strictly protected. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

EnterpriseAM: Take us back to the beginning. How did you get into venture capital?

Stephanie Nour Prince (SP): I was a kid who was geeking out on different types of tech and the interplay between hardware and software, so the natural evolution was to study computer science. But I quickly realized that building software wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to be. I was behind the screen, building features and solving bugs, and while it was interesting, I could see there were whole businesses being built around technology. I thought I might be better suited to looking at things from a different lens.

I joined a startup about 20 years ago, before we were really calling them startups. Because we

were a small team, I got exposure to product, business development, brand, community, and working with the board. We also made every mistake in the book, which was a great learning experience in understanding what leadership is and isn’t.

E: How did your foray into startups lead to Nuwa Capital?

SP: I joined Wamda in 2012, and I was extremely privileged to join at that time. The idea was to build an ecosystem development platform around entrepreneurship in the region. We had media, programs, research, and a fund, so we had a 360-degree view of the ecosystem.

By 2019, we could see that the market was at a major inflection point. Careem’s acquisition by Uber was one of the big signals. You had more capital coming into the asset class, including family offices, corporates, and government-linked pools of capital. At the same time, the caliber of founders was changing. You had repeat founders and people who had previously led products or businesses at scale deciding to build their own companies. That was the flywheel we were seeing in practice. We came together and launched Nuwa in early 2020.

E: Has the current regional conflict created another inflection point for venture capital?

SP: Perhaps. One thing we’ve seen over the past few months is foreign capital receding. Some foreign entities are pausing development in the region for now. I see this partly as a reset. There was some tourist capital in the market, and perhaps this is a necessary reset. But there is also a lot of capital within the region to sustain the ecosystem. Where it gets tricky is for later-stage companies. Early-stage capital is available, but when companies reach pre-Series B, Series B and beyond, they need larger rounds. If the tickets you’re getting don’t match the size of the round, it simply takes longer to raise.

E: What do the next five years of the ecosystem need to look like?

SP: Early-stage infrastructure has mostly been built out. What we need now are bridges. I would like to see more transparency in the ecosystem, an easier path to later-stage capital, and a much more developed secondary market. We talk a lot about exits, but not every company is destined to IPO, and that’s completely fine.

Historically, we’ve had acquisitions by global competitors, and that will continue. But we’ll also see more regional companies and traditional businesses acquiring startups, and, importantly, more secondary transactions. That last stitch between venture capital and private equity still needs to be built. If you have a great-performing asset but the whole company isn’t being sold, there should be a way to hand it over to the right investor to take it through its next phase.

E: Switching gears, please tell us what your mornings look like?

SP: I travel quite a bit, so I’m based between Riyadh and Dubai. Structure becomes paramount because otherwise you could easily lose yourself to doing a little bit of everything. I’m very protective of my mornings. Before I get to work, I speak with family and spend time with my dogs. When I’m at the office, I block time for myself and try to get the heavy lifting done. I usually have three or four things that absolutely need to get done that day, and I try to knock them out in one go.

The afternoons are much more people-facing. I work on capital formation at Nuwa, so that means fundraising and spending time with the people who trust us with their capital. I love that part of the job — grabbing coffee, meeting people, and catching up.

E: What is one constant ritual that keeps you grounded?

SP: I’m extremely routine-oriented. I find a lot of comfort in that. It could be the exact same breakfast every day, coffee, calling loved ones, driving to work. I also have morning briefs I’ve built on Claude. I’ll go through those, the news and EnterpriseAM, but I’ll also deliberately read things myself rather than have everything fed to me.

The other part is getting outside. People joke about the importance of “touching grass,” but there is something real in that. It can be such a fast-paced environment that it’s easy to lose touch with what makes us human. Since the pandemic, we’ve had dogs, and they’ve opened up a completely different side of the UAE for me. When the weather allows, we’ll hike, go to the islands, and spend time in nature.

E: How do you view work-life balance?

SP: I don’t know if you can ever really have work-life balance. That assumes you should have it all at all times, which is a crazy standard to hold yourself to. For me, it’s about knowing when to focus on what. There will always be more work to do in this industry, so you have to be disciplined about disconnecting. You’re not doing a service to anybody if you don’t.

After a certain time, only family has access to me on WhatsApp, unless there’s an emergency. Otherwise, it can wait until it makes sense for me to pay attention.

Stephanie’s favorites

What she’s listening to: Acquired, Capital Allocators, Superclusters, 20VC, The Mo Show.

What she’s reading: Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green.

Best advice she’s received: “Your plate’s always going to be full. What matters is what you pick first.” Prince says the advice, from her early days at Wamda, has stayed with her as her responsibilities have multiplied: get good at deciding where you spend your time, and who gets access to it.

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

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

22-23 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): ACT Middle East Treasury Summit, Grand Hyatt, Dubai.

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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