Good morning, lovely people. We kick off the new workweek with an unusually busy Monday issue, with fresh data on the UAE — and the region’s — M&A activity in the first nine months of the year, as well as inflation data for October, news from COP29, and more.

WEATHER- It’s a warm and sunny day in Dubai, with temperatures hitting 32°C before cooling to an overnight low of 24°C. Over in Abu Dhabi, the mercury is set to hit 28°C before cooling to 24°C.

UAE-listed stocks have topped a record USD 1 tn in market value, driven by a surge in companies linked to National Security Advisor Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, including his USD 250 bn conglomerate International Holding Company, Bloomberg reports. Accounting for over a third of the total value, these firms helped the UAE’s exchanges outpace most emerging markets.

REMEMBER- Last week, IHC said it would kick off its AED 5 bn share buyback program this week, leading to a 1.2% surge in IHC’s shares on Friday.

The USD 1 tn milestone was further fueled by an IPO boom in the UAE and the broader Gulf region that has been gaining momentum since 2021, with the latest IPO on the ADX — Lulu Retail’s — raising AED 6.3 bn, making it the largest yet this year. The rally is expected to continue, with the upcoming listings of Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier Etihad Airways and IT services provider Alpha Data on ADX. Meanwhile, the DFM is set to see the debut of Delivery Hero’s Middle East arm Talabat in December.

The ADX is set to see another listing this year, ADX’s CEO Abdullah Salem Al Nuaimi was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times, confirming statements to EnterpriseAM UAE earlier this year.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- NMDC Energy is scaling up its operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and Taiwan, with plans to enter new markets in Europe, North and West Africa, and Southeast Asia, CEO Ahmed Salem Al Dhaheri told Al Etihad. The company invested AED 200 mn to modernize its facilities and reduce its carbon footprint in the UAE.

Remember- CEO of the parent company NMDC Yasser Zaghloul has previously said that proceeds from NMDC Energy’s AED 3.22 bn IPO will be allocated to geographical expansion.

#2- Masdar eyes KSA for several renewables projects: Renewables giant Masdar is eyeing Saudi Arabia for battery storage, wind, and solar energy projects, COO Abdulaziz Alobaidli told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 15:29) on the sidelines of CO29 in Azerbaijan. The potential expansion comes as part of Masdar’s plan to meet the anticipated rise in energy needs of data centers, expected to reach 680 GW by 2030, Alobaidli added.

Masdar is all set to take part in Saudi Arabia’s sixth round of the National Renewable Energy Program, Alobaidli said, and intends to submit a bid for an independent battery storage project that the Saudi Power Procurement Company plans to launch.

Masdar will be on the lookout next year for more acquisitions in Europe and the US, as well as finalizing the acquisition transactions it inked this year, Alobaidi said.

REFRESHER- Masdar is looking to grow “beyond tenfold” in the US over the next three to seven years and wants to reach 100 GW of global energy capacity by 2030.

#3- Actis to funnel more into UAE investments? General Atlantic ’s London-based sustainable investment arm Actis mulls investing “many hundreds of [mn USD]” in growth capital behind its stakes in Yellow Door Energy and Emirates District Cooling (Emicool), the company’s Chairman and Senior Partner Torbjorn Caesar told The National. Actis’ investments in these companies are “not very large now,” Caesar said, adding that “there can be some growth stories there.”

Background: US private equity firm General Atlantic acquired longtime regional investor Actis earlier in January for an undisclosed amount. Actis had bought controlling stakes in local renewable energy developer Yellow Door Energy and Emicool back in 2022.

More acquisitions for Actis next year? Actis is also considering four transactions in the Middle East, expected to close next year, Caesar said, without disclosing the specific size and value of the agreements. The company has a growing pipeline of potential investments in the Middle East, particularly in power generation, district cooling, and solar rooftop assets, he added.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- The UAE’s imports of Iran’s condensate can shrink if the incoming Trump administration tightens sanctions on Tehran, Reuters reports, citing analysts at the consultancy firm FGE. Iran currently exports between 100-150k bpd of condensate which primarily goes to China, Venezuela, and the UAE. The reduction in supply, however, is expected to be compensated by an increase in condensate production levels in Qatar and Saudi Arabia starting in 2026.

#2- Gold prices have faced their worst drop in more than three years following the election of Donald Trump in the US election on 5 November, falling 2.7% on the day that the Republican contender for the White House declared victory. Throughout the whole month, gold prices are now down 5.5% to USD 2,584.80 per ounce.

The prospect of high interest rates for longer is helping drive the fall, with the US Federal Reserve signaling that its rate cut cycle may play out slower than initially forecasted — a problem for gold as a non-interest paying asset.

The move towards Trump trades is also contributing to the sell-off, as investors flock to the likes of BTC and Tesla shares, “attracting money from typical safe havens like gold,” the Financial Times quotes MKS Pamp’s Nicky Shiels as saying.

Despite the recent dip, the metal is still up 29.2% over the last 12-month period — a decent notch above all of the world’s main indexes. Some think that the gold rally still has a lot of gas left in the tank, including Shiels, who think that the recent fall in value “is not a reversal of the bullish trend, gold simply rose too quickly, and now it is reverting to a less bullish trajectory.” StoneX’s Rhona O’Connell even expects the asset to soon recover and pass the USD 3k at some point next year.

DATA POINTS-

Emirates Global Aluminium plans to redirect AED 7 bn on average annually to the local economy through purchases of local goods and services, the company’s CEO Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif bin Kalban was quoted as saying by Wam. The company redirected some AED 8 bn to the local economy last year.

PSA-

Kezad is now Sdeira: Kezad Communities, a subsidiary of AD Ports Group's Economic Cities and Freezones Cluster, rebranded to Sdeira Group, according to a post on LinkedIn.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Apex Invest Abu Dhabi will take place today and tomorrow at The Hilton in Abu Dhabi. The event will feature senior representatives from major sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ADQ, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the Oman Investment Authority, along with a number of family offices. The agenda will focus on investment strategies in asset management, with a two-to-one investor-to-manager ratio to facilitate networking.

#2- The OECD MiddleEast and North Africa Senior Budget Officials Meeting will take place today and tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. The event will feature discussions among senior budget officials from across the MENA region on public financial management, covering public budget preparation, government spending trends, strategies for spending efficiency, public-private partnership financing, financial literacy initiatives, and the use of artificial intelligence in budget preparation and public spending.

#3- Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be attending the 19th G20 summit in Brazil today and tomorrow, after he arrived yesterday in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the event on behalf of the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Wam reports.

#4- The two-day Knowledge Summitkicks off today at the Dubai World Trade Center. The summit will see the announcements of the Global Knowledge Index results and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award winners. The summit will also feature discussions on digital transformation, AI dynamics, future education, and workforce competencies.

#5- The International Program for Civil Aviation Leaders kicks off today in Dubai, bringing together over 20 civil aviation ministers, as well as heads of civil aviation authorities from Arab countries to ramp up cooperation within the sector, state news agency Wam reports. The event wraps up on 21 November.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Dubai Future Solutions–Prototypes for Humanity will take place on 19-21 November at Emirates Towers in Dubai. The event will facilitate collaboration among graduates and professors from over 800 universities, focusing on innovation in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, energy, civil society, mobility, water, and the environment.

#2- Forbes Middle East Medical Tourism & Wellness Summit will take place on 23-24 Novemberat Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. The summit will gather leading health and wellness professionals, innovators, and industry leaders to discuss the Middle East's rise as a hub for healthcare and wellness solutions.

#3-Air Expo will take place on 19-21 November at the Adnec in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather over 20k aviation professionals and will feature keynote speakers and panel discussions from industry leaders focusing on advanced air mobility, among other topics in the aviation sector.

#4- The Adia Lab Symposium 2024 will be taking place on 19-21 November at the ADGM. The event will feature discussions by notable researchers and scientists on the topics of climate change and AI implementations.

#5-Dubai Future Forum is scheduled from 19-20 November at the Museum of the Future. Hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation, the event will bring together 150 global speakers, including government officials, CEOs, academics, and futurists, and spotlight 100 pilot projects to advance future-focused strategies for healthcare, nature, and other key topics.

#6- Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is organizing a Qatari trade mission to the UAE from 19-20 November in Dubai, featuring site visits and dedicated B2B meetings, QDB vice president of enterprise development Khalid Abdullah Al Mana told Khaleej Times. The mission will bring over 25 Qatari companies from various sectors — including construction, plastics, iron and steel, food and beverage, artificial intelligence, and sports technology — to explore investments in the UAE.

#7- Xpanse 2024is scheduled to take place at the Adnec Center in Abu Dhabi between 20-22 November, Wam reports. The event will focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, genomics, quantum computing, neuromorphic computing, and 6G connectivity. Some 3k decision-makers, technology innovators, Nobel Prize winners, industry executives, CEOs, government officials, and scientists are expected to attend.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Biden agrees to Ukraine hitting Russian targets with US long-range missiles: In a change of pace from the wall-to-wall coverage of US elections, the international press is focused this morning on reports that Washington agreed to let Ukraine use long-range US missiles to hit targets “deep” in Russian territory. The approval marks a change in Washington’s policy on Kyiv and Moscow’s ongoing war, which officials and other sources quoted in several newspapers say comes on the back of North Korea sending ground troops to support Russian forces. North Korea had sent 10k elite troops to Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s northern border last week to help Russia regain control of the territory. The story is getting play in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.

IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS- An Israeli airstrike on a building in central Beirut yesterday killed Hezbollah’s chief spokesperson, Mohammed Afif. Israel also attacked Mar Elias in the center of the Lebanese capital, killing at least two and wounding 22. Reuters and the Financial Times have coverage.

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