Construction Belgian company wins $220m Palm Jebel Ali dredging contract The AED 810 million ($220 million) contract to complete dredging, land reclamation, beach profiling and other work at Palm Jebel Ali has been awarded to a subsidiary of the Belgian-owned Jan De Nul Group. In May the Dubai state-owned developer Nakheel announced that local contractor DBB Contracting and Khansaheb Civil Engineering, a subsidiary of Khansaheb […] August 26, 2024
Opinion Aviation Emirates’ first Asian store is a sign of its wider ambition Airlines have been veering away from bricks-and-mortar but Emirates has bucked the trend August 26, 2024
Health Mubadala joins $680m acquisition of UCB’s Chinese business Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company and Singapore’s CBC Group have jointly acquired the neurology and allergy business of UCB, a Belgian biopharmaceutical company, for $680 million. The deal includes UCB’s neurology portfolio (Keppra, Vimpat and Neupro) and allergy portfolio (Zyrtec and Xyzal) in mainland China and its Zhuhai manufacturing site. The combined net sales for […] August 26, 2024
Tech Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in France Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of the Dubai-based Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Le Bourget airport, Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday, and placed in custody, three sources have told Reuters. Durov, 39, who has dual French and UAE citizenship, was arrested as part of a […] August 26, 2024
Trade UAE’s non-oil foreign trade closing in on 2024 target The UAE achieved a record-high non-oil foreign trade volume of AED1.4 trillion ($381 billion) in the first half of 2024, progressing steadily toward the year-end target of AED3 trillion ($817 billion). “A few years ago, we set ambitious national economic goals, aiming for AED4 trillion in foreign trade by 2031 – a goal that was […] August 26, 2024
Trade Gold exports from the UAE to Oman reach $433m The UAE emerged as the leading gold exporter to Oman in the first five months of 2024, with exports valued at OMR170 million ($443 million). Hong Kong followed with exports of OMR3.2 million and Turkey with OMR1.4 million, state-run Oman News Agency reported, citing data from the National Center for Statistics and Information. The total […] August 26, 2024
Finance NMDC Group to list energy unit on Abu Dhabi exchange The board of NMDC Group has confirmed a decision to list its energy subsidiary on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange. NMDC Energy will sell a portion through an initial public offering (IPO) after obtaining the green light from the Securities and Commodities Authority and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, according to Abu Dhabi-listed NMDC Group’s filing […] August 25, 2024
Analysis Retail Retailers rejoice as shoppers prepare for new school term An estimated 1.5 million students across the UAE are expected to enrol for the new term on Monday – and retailers are welcoming the traditional spending spree for everything from school uniforms to stationery. This year’s back-to-school shopping sales in the UAE are predicted to reach about AED3 billion ($820 million). “Overall, there is expected to […] August 25, 2024
Mining Diamond weighing 1lb cheers Mubadala-backed financier The discovery in Botswana of a rough diamond weighing more than a pound, the second largest ever found, is likely to prove timely for Apex Group, the global financial services provider, which counts the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala among its key backers. The huge gem’s discovery was announced on Thursday by Lucara Diamond Corp, […] August 23, 2024
Banking and Finance ADIA ‘in talks to join Sanofi bid consortium’ Abu Dhabi’s trillion-dollar investment fund is in talks to join a consortium to buy the French drugmaker Sanofi’s consumer health division, according to a report by Bloomberg. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have both been contacted by the French buyout firm PAI Partners with a view to joining […] August 23, 2024
Oil & Gas Dredging to start on Adnoc’s Ruwais LNG project State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has awarded a $200 million contract to Abu Dhabi-listed NMDC Group for marine dredging works on the Ruwais LNG project. The contract includes the removal of 15 million cubic metres of material across a 5-kilometre channel with a 245-metre width. In addition, the company will install navigational aids […] August 23, 2024
Manufacturing EGA to buy 80% of US aluminium recycler Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s biggest non-oil industrial company and one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, plans to acquire an 80 percent stake in US-based Spectro Alloys Corporation. The transaction will accelerate EGA’s global expansion into aluminium recycling and help grow its business in the United States. The acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals, is […] August 23, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Back-to-school season to kick off Dubai’s busy real estate market Expatriate families moving to Dubai for the start of the school year traditionally spur an increase in real estate transactions, while predictions of US interest rate cuts herald a lively property market in the emirate for the second half of 2024. More than 326,000 foreign and emirati students are slated to head back to Dubai […] August 23, 2024
Retail TJ Maxx owner takes stake in Dubai’s Brands for Less US discount retailer TJX Companies, owner of the TJ Maxx chain, has helped create the latest unicorn in the Middle East after taking a 35 percent stake in the Dubai-based Brands for Less (BFL). TJX agreed this week to invest $360 million in the privately held branded apparel and home fashions retailer. Both TJX and […] August 22, 2024
Aviation Emirates buys five A380 jets from London-listed lessor Dubai’s Emirates will buy five A380 jumbo jets leased from London Stock Exchange-listed Doric Nimrod Air Two Limited for $200 million. The leases on the five jumbo jets are expected to end between October 1 and November 30, 2024. Emirates will pay $40 million per jet under the new deal. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered […] August 22, 2024
Tech Mubadala grows data centre portfolio with Yondr deal Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has invested in Yondr Group, a London-headquartered data centre developer, amid rising global demand for such facilities. The investment, through US alternative asset manager Apollo, aims to support Yondr’s growth strategy, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement. No financial details were disclosed. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered […] August 22, 2024
Banking and Finance Bad loan provisions drop markedly at UAE banks Most of the UAE’s top banks have significantly reduced how much they put aside to cover bad loans, in an indication of a generally benign economy and expectations of growth stretching into next year. During April and June this year, banks set aside AED1.3 billion ($350 million) in net loan loss provisions (LLPs) – the […] August 22, 2024
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi-backed financier among bidders for Hollywood giant A New York investment company backed by Abu Dhabi is part of a group that has launched a bid to take over Paramount Global, one of Hollywood’s biggest entertainment companies. The conglomerate, led by the industry veteran Edgar Bronfman Jr, a former CEO of Warner Music Group, submitted a $4.3 billion bid on Monday to […] August 21, 2024
Real Estate Artificial lagoons making waves in Dubai Creating water features in the desert is expensive and ambitious, but they draw premium prices from residents seeking relief from the heat August 21, 2024
Aviation UAE airports post 14% rise in passenger traffic The UAE’s airports handled nearly 72 million passengers in the first half of 2024, a 14 percent increase from 63 million a year ago. The breakdown includes 20 million arrivals, 21 million departures, and 30 million transit passengers, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported The General Civil Aviation Authority director-general Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi […] August 21, 2024
