{"id":106526,"date":"2025-08-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/this-morning-ins-prices-are-down-uae-airport-passenger-volumes-up-in-1h-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T00:00:00","slug":"this-morning-ins-prices-are-down-uae-airport-passenger-volumes-up-in-1h-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2025\/08\/14\/this-morning-ins-prices-are-down-uae-airport-passenger-volumes-up-in-1h-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Ins. prices are down + UAE airport passenger volumes up in 1H 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, lovely people. <\/strong>It\u2019s still busy here at home this week, with plenty of earnings, real estate, and tech news topping headlines. <\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY here at home is<\/strong> fDI Intelligence\u2019s latest report showing the UAE coming out on top once again with the biggest FDI flows relative to its GDP in 2024<\/strong>. On the real estate front, Emaar is taking construction in-house<\/strong>, signaling a wider market trend as pressure to deliver on time builds up, while the office market in Dubai and Abu Dhabi remains stronger than ever in 1H 2025<\/strong>, according to Knight Frank. <\/p>\n

In tech news<\/strong>, Abu Dhabi\u2019s Technology Innovation Institute is getting access to quantum computing firm Quantinuum\u2019s hardware as it looks to expand quantum computing capabilities. <\/p>\n

WEATHER- Dubai <\/strong>will see highs of 39\u00b0C and overnight lows of 33\u00b0C today, while Abu <\/strong>Dhabi <\/strong>is set for a high of 41\u00b0C and a low of 33\u00b0C. The capital could feel hotter, with humidity expected to hit 78% overnight, possibly causing mist in some coastal areas, according to the National Center of Meteorology (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> The <\/strong>Norwegian<\/strong> sovereign wealth fund increased its holdings in listed UAE com<\/strong>panies to AED 12 bn in 1H 2025<\/strong>, up 7.3% from 2H 2024, according to its website<\/a>. The world\u2019s largest investment fund by assets under management holds stakes in 41 UAE companies across real estate, finance, energy, logistics, and consumer sectors.<\/p>\n

Top holdings: <\/strong>Emaar Properties topped the list (pdf)<\/a> with an AED 1.9 bn stake (equivalent to a 1.6% stake), followed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank with AED 970.8 mn, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority with AED 818.9 mn, Emirates NBD with AED 802.5 mn, Salik with AED 732.7 mn, and First Abu Dhabi Bank with AED 707.4 mn. <\/p>\n

DATA POINTS- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- <\/strong>Commercial <\/strong>ins. prices fell 5% in India, the Middle East, and Africa (IMEA) in 2Q 20<\/strong>25<\/strong>, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia seeing sharper drops on the back of strong reins. capacity, according to Marsh\u2019s 2Q 2025 IMEA Ins. Market Index<\/a>. Globally, commercial ins. prices fell 4% \u2014 the fourth straight quarterly drop. <\/p>\n

The breakdown: <\/strong>Property ins. rates in the UAE and Saudi saw the sharpest falls, supported by competition from regional players and multinational reinsurers. Casualty ins. rates were stable in the UAE, while financial and professional lines dropped 15-20% in both countries. Financial institutions in the Middle East saw reductions of 10-15% thanks to increased London and Dubai capacity. Cyber ins. fell 5% overall, with some Middle East clients seeing over 15% of declines on news excess and primary layer capacity. <\/p>\n

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#2-<\/strong> The Federal Tax Authority<\/strong> collected AED 357.22 mn in taxes and fines from <\/strong>inspections alone during the first half of the year<\/strong> \u2014 marking an 86.3% y-o-y increase, state news agency Wam<\/a> reports. It carried out a record 85.5k field inspections across UAE markets in 1H 2025, up 110.7% y-o-y. The campaigns also led to the seizure of more than 17.6 mn non-compliant excise goods, up 144.4% y-o-y. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #3-<\/strong> Airports across the UAE handled 75.4 mn passengers in 1H 2025<\/strong>, up 5% y-o-y, as national carriers added flights to 15 new destinations including cities in Russia, Poland, Vietnam, and Egypt, Wam<\/a> reports. Air traffic movements rose 6.2% y-o-y to 531k, with Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, Mumbai, and Bahrain ranked as the busiest routes by weekly flights.<\/p>\n

Air cargo volumes were also up: <\/strong>UAE airports processed over 2.2 mn tons of cargo in 1H 2025, up 4.7% y-o-y, with national carriers handling 67% of the total.<\/p>\n

PSAs- <\/p>\n

#1- New marine service fees in the capital:<\/strong> Abu Dhabi Maritime will implement updated fees (pdf)<\/a> for marine facility services starting 1 September, according to a post on X<\/a>. Affected services include: Wet and dry berthing, jet ski and boat launch\/recovery, engine flushing, and additional utilities (electricity\/water) as per consumption or fixed rates, with different fees for private and commercial boats depending on the service.<\/p>\n

Other key charges under the new decision include:<\/strong><\/p>\n