It’s the last day of Davos + Saudi Tadawul Group snaps stake in Dubai Mercantile Exchange

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to a rather busy (and investment-heavy) news morning with which to round out the week.

THE BIG STORY here at home is Saudi Tadawul Group’s acquisition of a stake in Dubai Mercantile Exchange, which is now rebranding as the Gulf Mercantile Exchange. We have the full story in this morning’s news well, below.

It’s the final day of the World Economic Forum at Davos, following a busy few days that saw many regional heavyweights take to the stage to discuss the state global economy today and the road ahead. You can find the full program of the final day here.

FROM DAY FOUR-

We’re eyeing infrastructure investments in Brics nations: Joining Brics will bring us a lot of investments, Economy Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said during a panel (watch, runtime: 39:04) on the Brics’ expansion at the World Economic Forum yesterday. The UAE has committed “a sum of money” into the Brics’ New Development Bank. Al Marri said, without clarifying the exact amount, adding that we’ll be looking at working on infrastructure developments for Brics countries.

“Joining Brics is not a political stance; it’s an economic stance,” Al Marri said. The UAE’s focus is to ramp up supply of essential products and services, and it will do so by putting a “South-South” agenda alongside the Brics nations, and continuing to engage with the West, Al Marri said.

ALSO- The UAE has the most resilient labor market in the Middle East region, with a ranking of 33 out of 126 countries on Whiteshield’s Global Labor Resilience Index (pdf) unveiled during the World Economic Forum.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Some oil tanker traffic is creeping back towards the Red Sea, with two Aframax tankers that had initially diverted away from the waterway turning back and passing through Bab Al Mandab on Wednesday, Reuters reports, citing tracking data from LSEG and Kepler. The two tankers — one flying the Marshall Islands’ flag and the other with the Indonesian flag — last called at Fujairah, although their final destination remains unclear.

Oil markets can endure Red Sea disruptions in the short term but there could be tanker shortages if the situation persists, as tanker fleets contend with longer voyages and delays, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told Reuters at Davos. Demand growth and tighter stocks — after consumers used up 400 mn barrels of reserves in the past two years — are expected to further tighten markets, Nasser said. Nevertheless, spare capacity in OPEC could fill shortfalls in the market, he added.

#2- We’re going to see 300 cloud seeding missions this year from the Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science to address water scarcity and boost rainfall, Al Arabiya reports, citing an official from the National Center of Meteorology, which manages the research program. The country deploys around the same number of missions annually depending on the availability of “amenable clouds.” Scientists use several methods for the seeding process and use unmanned aerial vehicles and AI for experiments.

Cloud seeding has been a big thing in the UAE for nearly a decade: The country set up a research centre in 2015 to support new tech developments in the field, which has funded 11 projects, including one focused on the use of nanotechnology to develop cloud seeding materials.

MARKET WATCH-

E7 Group has successfully de-SPACed: Abu Dhabi-based E7 Group — a security solutions, commercial printing, distribution, and sustainable packaging company — is now trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange under the ticker E7, following a successful listing through its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with ADC Acquisition Corporation, according to a press release.

ICYMI- E7, formerly known as United Printing & Publishing Sole Proprietorship and part of the ADQ holding company, became a public company after it listed its shares on ADX in November via the inaugural SPAC in the MENA region, which raised AED 1.1 bn.

FAST FACT- ADX is the first MENA market with comprehensive SPAC listing rules under the new UAE regulatory framework.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

US Congress signed off yesterday on a short-term spending bill that will stave off a partial government shutdown, after the bill earned approval from the Senate earlier in the day. The bill will now make its way to US President Joe Biden for approval and will allow for the extension of government spending on federal agencies at their current level until early March. (Financial Times | Reuters | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal)

DATA POINTS-

#1-A record 15.37 mn tourists visited Dubai in the first 11 months of 2023, up 20% y-o-y, according to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. The bulk of tourists (c.19%) came from Western Europe, followed by 13% from Russia and Eastern Europe, according to the data.

#2- Dewa saved nearly 920 mn liters of water since the launch of Smart Ball: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has caught 81 leaks in Dubai’s water transmission network since installing its Smart Ball technology in April 2021, saving close to 920 mn liters of water (equivalent to AED 9.66 mn) in a little over a year and a half, reports state news agency Wam. The authority cut water network losses to 4.5% by the end of 2022, beating comparable North American figures, which recorded 15%.

SOUND SMART- Smart Ball technology employs sensitive acoustic sensors to screen over 35 km of underground water transmission pipelines per day for leaks and anomalies — all without disrupting water flow. The devices catch nicks before they escalate, reducing operational costs.

#3-Individuals without access to government aid have received AED 17.8 mn worth of assistance from Sharjah Charity International (SCI) over the past year,reports Sharjah 24. The aid, which benefited 11.3k people, was sourced from SCI’s Zakat fundand dispersed monthly to HQs and subsidiary departments in Al Madam, Al Dhaid, Kalba, Khorfakkan, and Dibba Al Hisn.

#4-The UAE’s laboratory equipment market is expected to reach USD 1.5 bn by 2027, growing 7% annually in the next three years on the back of an influx of new residents, the prevalence of chronic disease, and ongoing investments in healthcare, according to a Grand View Research report. The local clinical diagnostic market will also expand to USD 592 mn by 2030, up from its current value of USD 345 mn.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Empower is heading to Chicago: District cooling firm Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) will attend the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers conference in Chicago, tomorrow through to next Wednesday, 24 January, according to a DFM disclosure (pdf). The company plans to finalize an agreement related to refining the district cooling guide that the two sides initiated at the COP28.

World of Coffee Dubai kicks off on Sunday, 21 January at the Dubai World Trade Center, bringing together stakeholders in the UAE’s coffee industry, including producers, retailers and traders. The event — which includes lectures and workshops, as well as a barista championship — runs until Tuesday, 23 January.

The IAAPA Middle East Trade Summit is set to take place from next Monday-Wednesday (22-24 January) on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The event will feature a trade connections area with 41 companies as well as sessions, events and tours.

Abu Dhabi will host Transport Middle East from next Tuesday through to Thursday, 25 January at the InterContinental. The event will see more than 30 speakers come together to tackle the current challenges in global transportation and logistics.

Young entrepreneurs can pitch their early education startup ideas at the Abu Dhabi Youth Challenge: Techstars Startup Weekend, running for three days from Friday, 2 February, to Sunday, 4 February at Cloud Spaces ADGM in Abu Dhabi. Participants get 54 hours to develop startup ideas under the mentorship of founders and investors, form teams with which they can develop a demo or prototype, and then present their ideas to a panel of judges. The top three teams will get AED 30k.

The Middle East Bunkering Convention will take place from Monday, 5 February through to Wednesday, 7 February at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. The event will bring together industry experts to tap into issues affecting the global marine fuel sector, including supply chains, decarbonization, and new fuels.

The UAE Tour Women will take place from 8-11 February starting in Dubai and ending in Abu Dhabi. The event will feature three sprint stages and a mountain climb up Jebel Hafeet, spanning 468 km from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. Riders will compete for the competition’s Red, Green, White and Black jerseys.

The Sustainable Aviation Futures MENA will kick off on Monday, 12 February through to Wednesday, 14 February at Kempinski Central Avenue. The event will see 80 expert speakers and upwards of 200 high level attendants and will handle topics pertaining to regulation, financing, and investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in MENA.

The UAE will host the Future Warehouse & Logistics 2024 Conference from Monday, 12 February to Wednesday, 14 February in Dubai. The event will handle means for supply chain leaders to boost resilience and overcome challenges, with discussions on disruptions, sustainability, Internet of Things (IoT), automation, workplace management and other topics.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Do you want to send us a press release, pitch us a story, or send in comments, criticism, or suggestions? Email us on uae@enterprise.news and we’ll be in touch directly. Feel free to pass this email on to your comms professionals or agency and ask them to reach out to us or put us on their distribution list.

AND- We’re open to interview pitches, so do get in touch.

ALSO- We’re happy to let you know that the EnterpriseAM UAE website is up and running with all of our back issues online.

Having trouble getting the website to open or clicking through to a page? Hit CMD-shift-R in your browser on a Mac or Ctrl-F5 on a PC. Do that a couple of times and you should be good to go.

*** Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to subscribe and receive you own copy of EnterpriseAM UAE at 7am UAE time — available without charge thanks to the support of our friends at Mashreq.

*** Do you want to be among the first readers of our upcoming KSA edition? Tap or click here to get EnterpriseAM Saudi on our first day later this month.