{"id":97195,"date":"2024-10-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/this-morning-masdar-vies-for-saudi-solar-projects-biometric-payments-coming-to-govt-service-centers\/"},"modified":"2024-10-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T00:00:00","slug":"this-morning-masdar-vies-for-saudi-solar-projects-biometric-payments-coming-to-govt-service-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2024\/10\/25\/this-morning-masdar-vies-for-saudi-solar-projects-biometric-payments-coming-to-govt-service-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Masdar vies for Saudi solar projects + Biometric payments coming to gov\u2019t service centers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, lovely people. <\/strong>It\u2019s finally the end of a long, busy week on many fronts. The dominant theme of today\u2019s issue is M&A, with e& (finally) completing its acquisition of a stake in PPF Telecom Group, and Shamal Holding snapping up a majority stake in The Espresso Lab. Plus: We have more real estate figures for 3Q 2024, news that Abu Dhabi is getting a copper trading hub, and a fresh batch of earnings. <\/p>\n

WEATHER- It\u2019s more of the same across the UAE today<\/strong>, with most areas seeing clouds with a chance of rain in western and eastern regions. Dubai will be mostly sunny with the mercury hitting 36\u00b0C, before cooling to an overnight low of 28\u00b0C. Over in Abu Dhabi, the mercury peaks at 32\u00b0C before cooling to 30\u00b0C. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> ADNH Catering\u2019s order book was 15x oversubscribed <\/strong>and was fully covered before the end of the first day of trading on the back of strong interest from foreign investors and local retail investors, the company\u2019s CEO Clive Cowley told CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime: 8:56)<\/a>. Cowley\u2019s comments came following ADNH Catering\u2019s tepid debut<\/a> on the ADX, which saw shares flat on the first day of trading. <\/p>\n

REFRESHER- <\/strong>ADNH Catering raised AED 864 mn<\/a> after taking a 40% stake to the market and pricing it at the upper end of the AED 0.91-0.96 range<\/a> on which it had guided.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/p>\n

#1- The International Renewable Energy Agency\u2019s (IRENA) <\/strong>council meeting<\/a><\/strong> is on its <\/strong>second and final day in Abu Dhabi<\/strong>. The meeting will see the agency discuss energy transition plans, reviewing their program and budget, and publishing their annual report of the director-general. <\/p>\n

#<\/strong>2- It\u2019s day four of the <\/strong>International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group<\/a><\/strong>Annual Meetings<\/a><\/strong>: <\/strong>The world\u2019s finance ministers, central bank governors, and other big names in finance and policy \u2014 including representatives from the UAE \u2014 are in Washington for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings. The meetings wrap up on Saturday. Check out the full meeting schedule on the event\u2019s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ICYMI- <\/strong>Our Planet Finance<\/a> from earlier this week laid out the big themes to look out for and the global challenges underpinning the conversation.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Masdar vies for Saudi solar projects: <\/strong>Masdar is among the shortlisted bidders chosen by the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for solar projects as part of its national renewables program, aiming to attract over SAR 8 bn (c. USD 2.1 bn) in investments, according to a SPPC statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Masdar is shortlisted for three projects:<\/strong> <\/p>\n