Tourism Abu Dhabi’s Adia buys stake in European Camping Group The UAE’s sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) has agreed to buy a significant minority stake in European Camping Group (ECG), a key player in the European outdoor hospitality sector, from private equity company PAI Partners. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of this year, is subject to regulatory approvals, ECG […] March 25, 2025
Markets Cerebras IPO still in limbo over US fears on Abu Dhabi stake Worries in the United States over a stake by an Abu Dhabi company in Cerebras Systems, the US chipmaker, are continuing to leave its IPO in limbo, five sources familiar with the matter said. The sticking point for California-based Cerebras is the review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) of […] March 25, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Abu Dhabi tenders AI project to analyse genetic data The Abu Dhabi government has invited companies to bid for the development of an artificial intelligence system that would help doctors and researchers better interpret genetic data. The project calls for a large language model (LLM), the same type of AI technology that powers tools such as ChatGPT, to be trained on the Abu Dhabi […] March 24, 2025
Oil & Gas UAE loses out as India opts for cheaper Russian naphtha The UAE, led by Abu Dhabi, has lost its position as India’s biggest supplier of the refined crude oil product naphtha as discounted Russian cargoes flood the market. Naphtha has many uses including as a precursor to gasoline and other liquid fuels, and as solvents or diluents for paints and the rubber industry. India is […] March 24, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar in talks on $200m solar power deal in Spain Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is nearing a deal that would see it pay around $200 million for a 49.9 percent stake in a solar portfolio controlled by Spanish power utility Endesa, according to two sources familiar with the deal and a document seen by Reuters. The deal for the roughly 450-megawatt portfolio builds […] March 19, 2025
Manufacturing US maker of ‘flying ferries’ builds on UAE backing A US developer of electric passenger sea planes backed by UAE defence company Edge Group expects to secure more orders for its prototype from the UAE and Egypt before the end of May. Rhode Island-based Regent has developed an all-electric sea plane prototype, which the company calls a seaglider, capable of carrying 12 people at […] March 18, 2025
Markets Mubadala seeks liquidity partners for new Brazil bourse Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, is in talks to form a consortium with up to 10 partners providing liquidity for a new stock exchange in Rio de Janeiro, two people familiar with the matter said. In return, those partners would receive equity that would modestly dilute Mubadala’s current 73 percent stake in […] March 18, 2025
Petrochemicals Borouge proposes share buyback after merger stock slide Abu Dhabi petrochemicals company Borouge will seek shareholder approval to buy back up to 2.5 percent of its shares, it said on Monday, after its share price plunged on this month’s news of its merger deal with Austria’s Borealis. Borouge’s majority shareholder Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austria’s OMV said they had agreed to merge […] March 17, 2025
Oil & Gas Adnoc targets Mubadala’s energy assets State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is reportedly considering acquiring the energy assets of Mubadala Investment Company, one of the emirate’s sovereign wealth funds. Talks between the two companies, which stalled over valuation, are expected to resume soon, possibly after the end of Ramadan, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. The deal was previously valued […] March 17, 2025
Real Estate High demand drives gains in Abu Dhabi real estate Rental and sale prices in Abu Dhabi grew strongly in 2024, driven by tight supply and intense competition in the property market, according to a market survey. Residential rents grew 20 percent in 2024, while sales prices climbed by 11 percent, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Core. Prices for homes in Khalifa […] March 17, 2025
Banking & Finance Aldar’s green sukuk seven times oversubscribed Aldar Properties said the $500 million sukuk (Islamic bond) issued by its subsidiary was oversubscribed more than seven times. The sukuk order book of Aldar Investment Properties reached $3.6 billion, with regional and global investors making up 61 percent and 39 percent of the requests, the developer said in a statement. Sukuk are sharia-compliant bonds […] March 13, 2025
Banking & Finance First Abu Dhabi Bank to pay highest-ever dividend First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the biggest lender by assets in the UAE, has announced the highest-ever cash dividend on higher annual revenues in 2024, the company said in a statement. The lender will pay AED8.3 billion ($2.3 billion) in cash dividends for 2024, at 75 fils per share, equivalent to 51 percent of group net […] March 12, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Adnoc signs $340m AI contract with Abu Dhabi’s AIQ Adnoc, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, has awarded a $340 million contract to AIQ, a joint venture with Presight, a data analytics company based in Abu Ahabi, to introduce autonomous artificial intelligence, or agentic AI, across its upstream operations. The three-year agreement involves deploying EnergyAI, software that uses agentic AI to analyse large amounts […] March 11, 2025
Markets Alpha Data listing brightens up gloomy ADX Shares in Abu Dhabi’s Alpha Data surged on the company’s bourse debut, outperforming a subdued main market index. The first-day performance of the IT services provider contrasts with the struggles of several companies to list on UAE stock exchanges following initial public offerings in the past 12 months. Alpha Data ended 7 percent higher at […] March 11, 2025
Logistics ADQ takes majority stake in Dubai-listed Aramex ADQ, the third-largest of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, has become a majority shareholder in Dubai-listed logistics company Aramex. The fund now owns 58 percent in Aramex following a voluntary tender offer, which includes 23 percent owned by its subsidiary, AD Ports Group, and 35 percent bought from previous shareholders, ADQ said in a statement on Tuesday. […] March 11, 2025
Finance Mubadala sells stake in UK smart meter provider Calisen Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company has completed the sale of its indirect stake in Calisen, a UK supplier of energy smart meters. Private equity infrastructure investors EQT and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC will buy Calisen in a deal that values the company at around $5 billion. Mubadala, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs […] March 10, 2025
Oil & Gas Adnoc targets foreign listing of investment arm XRG Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is considering listing its international investment arm XRG on an exchange outside of the UAE, three people with knowledge of the matter said. This could potentially create one of the largest listed energy companies in the world. The discussions to list a minority stake of XRG, which was established late […] March 10, 2025
Aviation Qatar Airways strives to avoid Etihad’s mistakes Like Etihad before it, Qatar Airways is expanding by buying stakes in other airlines. The Abu Dhabi carrier’s acquisition strategy ended badly, however. Three airlines in which it invested went bust and it lost $1.87 billion in one year alone in 2016. Qatar Airways may have better luck, analysts say. The state-owned carrier, which started […] March 10, 2025
Telecoms Abu Dhabi’s Thuraya enters satellite smartphone market Thuraya Mobile Satellite Communications Company, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s Space42, is moving into the smartphone market, hoping to access a global satellite-capable smartphone business that could be worth as much as $15 billion within a decade. Led by the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the UAE federation is investing in its capabilities in space. Combined, […] March 7, 2025
Banking & Finance First Abu Dhabi Bank plans major restructuring First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is planning to split its operations into four new divisions in a bid to strengthen its business in the Gulf and boost shareholder returns, two sources familiar with the matter said. As part of the reorganisation, FAB is to hire Citi dealmaking veteran Linos Lekkas as its new head of […] March 6, 2025
Analysis Banking & Finance Mashreq and First Abu Dhabi winning bank efficiency race Dubai’s Mashreq bank, the UAE’s fifth-largest by assets, slashed its cost-to-income ratio, an important banking metric, last year thanks to the partial sale of a subsidiary and more customers switching to non-interest-bearing accounts. The cost-to-income ratio shows the relation between income and the cost of acquiring that income. A declining ratio suggests that a bank […] March 5, 2025
Aviation Etihad Airways delays $1bn IPO launch to next month Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways will push back its planned $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) until at least next month, after the Eid Al Fitr holiday, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Etihad had not officially announced a date for its IPO, but sources had told Reuters that the airline would make an announcement […] March 5, 2025
