{"id":96863,"date":"2024-10-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/this-morning-masdar-dp-world-eye-projects-in-philippines-ewec-seeks-bids-to-develop-al-sila-wind-farm\/"},"modified":"2024-10-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T00:00:00","slug":"this-morning-masdar-dp-world-eye-projects-in-philippines-ewec-seeks-bids-to-develop-al-sila-wind-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2024\/10\/16\/this-morning-masdar-dp-world-eye-projects-in-philippines-ewec-seeks-bids-to-develop-al-sila-wind-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Masdar, DP World eye projects in Philippines + Ewec seeks bids to develop Al Sila wind farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. <\/strong>It's a busy news day once again, with two high-profile M&As leading the news well as Adnoc completes its acquisition of Fertiglobe and ADQ going after a 96% of Turkish lender Odeabank. <\/p>\n

We also have a ton of tech news <\/strong>from Gitex, not least of which is Khazna Data Centers\u2019 plan to build the largest data center in the country. <\/p>\n

^^ We have all of this and more in this morning\u2019s news well, below. <\/p>\n

BUT FIRST \u2014 your morning must-read: <\/strong>Should you be nice to your chatbot?<\/a> <\/p>\n

WEATHER- It\u2019s another hot day in Dubai<\/strong>, with the mercury hitting 37\u00b0C before cooling to an overnight low of 24\u00b0C. In Abu Dhabi, expect a high of 37\u00b0C and a low of 26\u00b0C overnight. <\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- UP FIRST- Masdar and DP World are eyeing infrastructure and energy projects in the <\/strong>Philippines<\/strong>, that country\u2019s Trade and Industry Department said in a statement<\/a> yesterday. <\/p>\n

DP World is reportedly looking to invest as much as AED 1.6 bn <\/strong>in ports across the Philippines (the Philippines\u2019 acting trade secretary suggested a number of ports could be up for grabs soon<\/a>), while Masdar is interested in solar, wind, and geothermal power generation. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- In other renewable energy news: <\/strong>The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) is open to expressions of interest<\/a> from bidders to develop the planned 150 MW Al Sila wind farm, which would generate enough energy to power 36k homes while offsetting some 190k tonnes of CO2 each year. The deadline for submissions is 5 November.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND- EWEC has been busy: <\/strong>The company invited developers and consortiums earlier this month to submit an EOI for the development of the 1.5 GW Zarraf solar PV IPP<\/a> in Abu Dhabi\u2019s Al Dhafra Region. Masdar is also developing a 27 MW wind farm<\/a> at Al Sila as part of the UAE's first wind program with a total capacity of 103.5 MW. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> #3- It\u2019s official: Sphere is coming to Abu Dhabi:<\/strong> Sphere Entertainment and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi are partnering to build a Sphere arena in the emirate, according to a statement<\/a>. The venue will match the 20k-seat capacity of the Las Vegas original, with DCT Abu Dhabi overseeing funding and construction. Sphere Entertainment will provide tech expertise, operational support, and creative content, earning annual fees once the arena opens.<\/p>\n

REFRESHER-<\/strong> New York Knicks and New York Rangers owner James Dolan was reportedly in \u201cserious\u201d discussions with Abu Dhabi investors in December<\/a> to build here. The move is part of the DCT Abu Dhabi\u2019s broader tourism push:<\/strong> The emirate set aside USD 10 bn<\/a> in April to nearly double its annual visitors to 39.3 mn and grow non-oil GDP contributions to AED 90 bn by 2030.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #4- UAE officials attended a high-level Brics meeting in Moscow even as a number of <\/strong>Brics <\/strong>finance ministers and central bank chiefs <\/strong>stayed home, sending senior staffers instead, Reuters<\/a> reports. In addition to the UAE, representatives from Egypt and Iran were present, while finance ministers from China, India, and South Africa were absent. <\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD- <\/p>\n

Nothing goes up and to the right forever. <\/strong>That\u2019s the key takeaway on a very busy morning for global business news as market watchers join an increasingly loud debate about how much gas is left in the tank for the global equities market. <\/p>\n

On the \u201cwe\u2019re worried\u201d side: <\/strong>Shars of the most important tech company you\u2019ve never heard of slumped the most in 26 years<\/a> after it booked not even 50% of the orders analysts expected. ASML Holding makes key equipment that chipmakers themselves use to make chips; the shortfall in orders has folks taking a deeper look at the chipmaking industry. Companies that sell chips with AI applications are doing really well \u2014 those that sell more workaday semiconductors for the auto, memory, and other industries? Not doing nearly as well<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Also on the worried side of the ledger: <\/strong>Luxury goods conglomerate LVMH saw sales slump<\/a> in 3Q and says the outlook is \u201cuncertain,\u201d thanks in large part to a pullback in spending by Chinese consumers. <\/p>\n

On the other side: US consumers look on track to spend about <\/strong>3.5% more<\/a><\/strong> during the upcoming holiday season, a business group representing American retailers said. And Goldman Sachs has just reported a <\/strong>\u201cmonster jump\u201d<\/a><\/strong> in 3Q earnings while Bank of America did a bit better than analysts had expected and Citi recorded 44% increase in fee income from<\/a> investment banking activities.<\/p>\n

The state of the debate (presented with no guidance\u2026): <\/strong>Can the stock market keep going<\/a>up? Market watchers think so.<\/a> <\/p>\n

ALSO IN THE BUSINESS PAGES <\/strong>on this fine fall morning:<\/p>\n