Banking and Finance Dubai crypto regulator Vara monitoring Bybit hack Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Vara) has said it is “actively monitoring” the fallout from a $1.4 billion hack at Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange that has fallen victim to what it calls crypto’s largest heist. Dubai-based Bybit said hackers exploited a smart contract – a self-executing program that automates blockchain transactions – during a routine […] February 24, 2025
Infrastructure Abu Dhabi tenders more stormwater projects Abu Dhabi has again invited companies to bid for stormwater drainage and flood mitigation projects. Record rainfall last year caused more than $8.5 billion of physical and economic damage in the UAE and wider region. The neighbouring emirate of Dubai, which was also hard-hit by the April floods, subsequently approved drainage-improvement plans worth $8.2 billion. […] February 24, 2025
Construction Drake & Scull awarded contracts worth over $270m Shares in Drake & Scull International opened 2 percent up on Monday morning after the construction and engineering company announced two contract wins in Dubai worth in excess of AED1 billion ($270 million). DSI said in a stock exchange announcement that it has been awarded the deal at Arabian Hills, a 224 million square foot […] February 24, 2025
Renewable Energy Amea Power to build battery storage facilities in Egypt The UAE renewable energy company Amea Power has signed an agreement with the state-run Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company to develop two battery storage facilities with a total capacity of up to 1,500 megawatt-hours (MWh). The project involves a 1,000 MWh station at Benban in the far south of Egypt and a 500 MWh facility at […] February 24, 2025
Aviation Emirates explores more China destinations Emirates intends to fly to more cities in China this year. The airline plans to start daily flights to Shenzhen using Boeing’s widebody 777 jets by mid-year, Bloomberg said, citing informed sources. The launch date has been postponed multiple times due to delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus and a retrofit programme, the sources said. In addition, […] February 23, 2025
Banking and Finance UAE’s Mashreq to operate digital retail bank in Pakistan The Pakistani subsidiary of the UAE’s Mashreq, which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, has been granted a licence for a digital retail bank. This is the first restricted licence for pilot operations, which will allow Mashreq Bank Pakistan to use artificial intelligence and cloud computing to offer personalised banking services, the State Bank of Pakistan […] February 23, 2025
Logistics UAE tops list for ship abandonment The UAE ranked at the top of a global list last year of sea vessels abandoned by their owners as a result of there being limited regulations, according to a seaman’s union. Of 312 vessels abandoned in 2024, 42 – or 13 percent – were in the UAE, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said. […] February 23, 2025
Video length: 05:03 VIDEO EXCLUSIVE Tech Errol Musk: Tower will be a ‘truly international institute’ Errol Musk told AGBI in an exclusive video interview during his visit to Dubai that the Musk Tower that is to be built in the UAE will serve as an innovation centre. It will also foster developments in science “that are ignored”, including “space-time travel and gravity”, he said. Discussions are ongoing with Abu Dhabi-based […] February 21, 2025
Defence UAE agrees $6bn in military equipment contracts The UAE signed contracts worth more than AED23 billion ($6.3 billion) for military equipment and defence this week, wrapping up the Middle East’s largest defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi. It also further expanded its supplier base beyond its traditional US partners and encouraged local manufacturing. Though no contracts were signed with Israel – with which […] February 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Oversubscribed Adnoc Gas listing raises almost $3bn Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc has completed a secondary offering of its gas business unit, raising $2.84 billion, in the largest-ever placement of shares on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange ADX. The company said in a statement on Friday the sale of approximately 3.1 billion Adnoc Gas shares was 4.4 times oversubscribed. Adnoc announced […] February 21, 2025
Agriculture UAE’s Aqua Bridge to build aquaculture farm in India A UAE aquaculture company linked to the ruling Al-Maktoum family of Dubai has agreed to develop an aquaculture farm and research centre in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at an initial cost of $461 million. Aqua Bridge Group, whose chairman is Sheikh Ahmed bin Mana bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, said the partnership project in the […] February 21, 2025
Logistics Massive investment in cold storage needed in UAE The UAE is racing to meet a substantial shortfall in cold storage space that will be essential if the country’s food security goals are to be met, real estate analysts say. At least 125,000 square metres of additional space are needed to bring the country up to the required capacity, according to Harish Rajagopalan, director […] February 21, 2025
Logistics Turkey says talks with Abu Dhabi fail on port deal The Turkish government has confirmed that talks with Abu Dhabi Ports Group (AD Ports) over operating rights at the Alsancak freight and passenger port in Western Turkey have failed. “The aim there was to get a partner for the Alsancak port and adding capital to expand it,” Turkish transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told Bloomberg. No […] February 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Adnoc to sell 4% of its gas unit to raise up to $3bn Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is to offer approximately 3.1 billion shares in its subsidiary Adnoc Gas, in what will be the biggest share sale in the Middle East and North Africa since Saudi Aramco’s offering last June. The sale will represent 4 percent of Adnoc’s outstanding share capital and Reuters estimates that it could […] February 20, 2025
Banking and Finance Almost one year after floods, UAE insurance costs keep surging Property insurance rates in the UAE jumped by up to 15 percent in the final quarter of 2024 as insurers adjusted prices after last April’s flash floods. The rise, the largest quarterly increase on record, came as UAE insurers accelerated payouts for flood claims, according to the insurance broker Marsh. Omar Gemei, global head of […] February 20, 2025
Food & Drink Dubai company launches halal-brewed Arabian Ale A Dubai company has launched an ale which has been certified as halal since it contains no alcohol throughout the entire brewing process. Majlis Premium Arabian Ale, which is alcohol free, has been developed by a company called Midtown Factory, using many ingredients found in regular beer. Arabian Ale contains malted barley from Austria and […] February 20, 2025
Markets More dual listings expected as IPO trend continues Last year, eight companies launched initial public offerings (IPO) on the two main stock exchanges in the UAE, attracting more than $7 billion in investment. The same number could float this year and list in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, analysts say. UAE-based technology company Alpha Data has already announced plans to list 40 percent of its […] February 20, 2025
Transport Dubai Taxi plans $77m dividend payout after share price rise Dubai Taxi Company is to issue a total dividend payout of AED282 million ($77 million) for 2024, helping its share price increase by nearly half since it listed 14 months ago. Its 2024 revenue was up 12 percent year on year to AED2.2 billion, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The taxi operator’s […] February 20, 2025
Leisure & Hospitality Agthia’s stake in Egyptian snack group rises to 80% Agthia Group, a UAE-headquartered food and beverage company, has acquired an additional 10 percent stake in Abu Auf, an Egyptian healthy snacks retailer, increasing its ownership to 80 percent. The Auf family will continue to lead the business, the company said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Financial terms of the deal […] February 20, 2025
Health BR Shetty ordered to pay $106m to Indian bank BR Shetty, the founder of UAE company NMC Health, has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay $106 million to India’s Icici Bank over personal guarantees tied to the embattled hospital group. This marks a second court ruling made public so far this month. Earlier this month, Shetty was ordered to pay $33 million […] February 20, 2025
