Analysis Infrastructure Flooding puts spotlight on Dubai’s population growth Extensive flooding caused by the historic April 16 storm highlights the challenges the Dubai authorities face as they work on increasing the population by 2.5 million people by 2040. With an increasingly erratic climate, the key for local authorities will be managing that growth closely, industry professionals told AGBI. “The growth in itself is not […] April 26, 2024
Opinion Infrastructure The Gulf must act now to protect against future floods Storm crates can offer fast, effective relief and are cost-efficient April 25, 2024
ANALYSIS Infrastructure Rain harvesting could help Dubai offset a stormy future If last week’s floods made improving drainage a necessity for Dubai, the reward might come in the form of more natural water resources, provided the emirate can boost rain harvesting efforts, industry observers tell AGBI. “The main idea for countries, especially in drier areas, is to try to reuse water as much as possible,” says […] April 26, 2024
Analysis Finance UAE insurers face ‘very severe’ impact from floods UAE insurers have been “badly hit” following April’s freak rains, a veteran industry executive warned on Tuesday, but the scale of companies’ losses from the floods will depend on their own reinsurance cover. The UAE experienced its heaviest rains in 75 years last week. The downpour turned main roads, particularly in Dubai, into waterways, leaving […] April 24, 2024
Real Estate UAE puts up 2 billion dirhams to pay for flood-damaged homes The UAE has pledged AED2 billion ($545 million) to help rebuild homes of citizens that were damaged in this month’s floods. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said on X (formerly Twitter) that the UAE’s cabinet of ministers had also formed a committee to assess the flood […] April 24, 2024
Opinion Banking & Finance Investigations business flourishes in Dubai’s safe haven Sanctions and disputes are driving a surge in professional services April 26, 2024
Aviation Abu Dhabi signs multiple deals to launch air taxi services in 2025 A commute from Abu Dhabi to Dubai could take only 30 minutes next year, with the introduction of air taxi services significantly slashing travel time between the emirates. The electric aircraft manufacturer Joby Aviation signed agreements this week with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport, Department of Economic Development and Department of Culture and […] April 26, 2024
Tech UAE merger creates world’s most valuable listed space company The world’s most valuable publicly listed space company has been created after shareholders of analytics provider Bayanat and “satellite solutions” company Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) agreed to a merger. The deal will help to further Abu Dhabi’s ambitions to be at the centre of the drive towards autonomous vehicles. The newly created Space42 […] April 26, 2024
Aviation London and India dominate airport traffic in Abu Dhabi London and Indian cities dominated traffic at Abu Dhabi’s airports during the first quarter with year-on-year visitor numbers up by more than a third. Close to 7 million passengers passed through the emirate’s five airports in the first three months of the year. Zayed International airport, formerly known as Abu Dhabi International airport, welcomed 6.8 […] April 26, 2024
Video length: 04:13 VIDEO Retail Dubai art dealer uses NFTs for fractional art ownership A Dubai tech startup is introducing tokenisation to the art world, after the NFT bubble burst spectacularly. 10101.art aims to make investing in art accessible to all by selling digitised fragments of works by artists including Andy Warhol, Banksy and Picasso, allowing for collective ownership of a masterpiece for as little as $100 a fragment. […] April 26, 2024
Analysis Trade Emirates in trade talks with South American quartet The UAE is talking to the four South American countries of the Mercosur bloc to deepen trade relations and boost two-way commerce currently worth almost $8 billion a year. The group, which consists of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is in the preliminary stages of negotiations “to define next steps” of a free trade deal […] April 26, 2024
Industry RAK free zone reports 61% surge in new companies Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (Rakez) reported a 61 percent year on year surge in new company registrations in the first quarter of 2024. Over the three months, 3,000 companies joined the economic zone, marking a solid start to the year. Rakez has attracted global investors, mostly from India, Pakistan, the UK and Egypt. Rakez […] April 26, 2024
Mining UAE and Kenya sign mining and technology deal The UAE and Kenya have signed an agreement to boost investment in the mining and technology sectors, as the Gulf state focuses on Africa to enhance its precious metals and minerals reserves. As part of the agreement, the UAE Ministry of Investment and the Republic of Kenya Ministry of Finance and National Treasury will work […] April 25, 2024
Banking & Finance Emirates NBD Q1 profit rises 12% on global income growth Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, said net profit rose 12 percent in the first quarter of 2024, thanks to income growth from its international network. Net profit for the first three months ended March 31 reached AED6.7 billion ($1.8 billion), up from AED6 billion a year ago. Total assets jumped to AED902 billion […] April 25, 2024
Analysis Finance More GCC insurance mergers likely after flooding impact Consolidation in the GCC’s insurance sector – already underway because of rising competition and stricter regulations on solvency capital requirements – could be accelerated by the impact of the flooding in the region last week. Ratings agency S&P Global said this week that many insurance companies – mainly in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia […] April 25, 2024
Tech Shareholders to vote on merger to create UAE space giant Shareholders of two Abu Dhabi technology companies will vote on Thursday on a proposed merger to create a $4 billion space organisation. Bayanat AI and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, better known as Yahsat, will hold their general assembly meetings simultaneously. The proposed merger will create Space42, an AI-powered space technology champion for the Middle […] April 24, 2024
Infrastructure AD Ports commits $250m to Angola port upgrade Abu Dhabi Ports Group is investing more than $250 million in a project to upgrade the port terminal at Luanda in Angola. The company said it hd secured a 20-year concession agreement, extendable by another 10 years, with the Luanda Port Authority for operating and modernising the terminal. In agreements with the Angolan logistics companies […] April 24, 2024
Infrastructure ADQ buys stake in Australian investment company The UAE’s investment fund ADQ has acquired a 49 percent stake in Australian infrastructure investor Plenary Group as part of its expansion drive. The Abu Dhabi state-backed company will acquire all shares currently owned by Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which will continue to invest in a range of Plenary’s […] April 24, 2024
Development UAE commits $50m to development fund The UAE has committed $50 million to the second phase of the Lives and Livelihoods Fund 2.0 (LLF 2.0), a multi-donor initiative targeting sustainable economic development in the Islamic Development Bank’s (ISDB) 57 member countries. The funding will be deployed by LLF 2.0 to support critical projects in health and infectious diseases, agriculture, and social infrastructure in low […] April 24, 2024
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi launches $5bn bond issue Abu Dhabi has initiated $5 billion in a three-tranche bond after a hiatus of three years, according to a media report. The $1.75 billion five-year bond, $1.5 billion 10-year tranche and $1.75 billion 30-year issue was priced at 35, 45 and 90 basis points, respectively, over US Treasuries, fixed income news service IFR reported. Abu Dhabi […] April 24, 2024
Finance Oman and UAE sign deals worth $35bn The UAE and Oman have announced a host of new commercial and business deals worth a total of AED129 billion ($35 billion). The partnerships were agreed during Monday’s state visit to the Emirates by the ruler of Oman, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al Said. Investment and collaboration agreements covered areas including renewable energy, green metals, […] April 23, 2024
Trade India’s silver imports from UAE on the rise Supplies of silver to India from the UAE have increased this year, as the Emirates’ exporters benefit from an agreement signed between the countries two years ago. The India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement signed in 2022 has significantly boosted imports, according to a report by Indian English-language business newspaper The Financial Express. The UAE route […] April 23, 2024
Transport Gulf to collaborate on $17bn Suez Canal road and rail rival The $17 billion “Development Road” project is moving ahead after the UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Turkey signed a quadrilateral cooperation agreement. The road and rail collaboration aims to tie the Al-Faw Grand Port in Iraq’s oil-rich south to Turkey, thereby shortening travel time between Asia and Europe in a bid to rival the Suez Canal. […] April 23, 2024
Infrastructure Concrete or sponge? Dubai’s post-flooding options In the wake of last week’s floods, retrofitting Dubai with traditional, concrete-based drainage systems would be expensive, time-consuming and complicated. As an alternative, authorities should look to nature-based solutions, industry professionals told AGBI. “Dubai should not repeat the mistakes that have been made in most of the Western world,” said Ronny Berndtsson, professor in water […] April 23, 2024
Agriculture Agricultural robotics centre planned for the UAE Khalifa University of Science and Technology and agri-food giant Silal plan to create a centre of excellence for farming robotics in the UAE. The proposed research centre, to be located at Silal’s Innovation Oasis site in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, will feature a dedicated autonomous greenhouse equipped with various robotic platforms, sensors and Internet of […] April 23, 2024
