Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. We have a busy, M&A-heavy issue for you this morning, so let’s jump right in.

THE BIG STORY here at home is Borse Dubai’s plans to sell a third of its stake in Nasdaq for USD 1.6 bn. Also worth your time:

  • Masdar is planning to acquire 50% of US renewables producer Terra-Gen;
  • Mubadala made a follow-on investment in Moove’s USD 100 mn series B round.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib is at 6:33pm in Dubai, and 6:36pm in Abu Dhabi. Fajr prayers are at 5:05am in Dubai and 5:08am in Abu Dhabi.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-

Hello, spring: Today is the first official day of springas the vernal equinox will occur a few minutes after we hit “send” on this morning’s issue at 7:07am, signaling the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season in the UAE, Wam reports. Expect equal days and nights as the equinox will bring almost 12 hours of daylight everywhere on earth.

But, not really: We’re still in for some rain and strong winds starting Sunday, along with a chance of lightning and thunder, the National Center of Meteorology said. Weather conditions are expected to stabilize as of Tuesday.

HAPPENING TODAY-

S&P Global’s CERAWeek resumes in Houston, Texas, until Friday. Adnoc CEO, Industry and Advanced Technology Minister, and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber will be on stage along with the chiefs of ExxonMobil and BP. Al Jaber is joined by a who’s who of senior US and international policymakers, global energy and services executives, leaders of national oil companies.

Al Jaber received a leadership award for his work as COP28 president, Wam reports.

Houston, we don’t have a problem: Al Jaber referenced his statements from last year’s CERAWeek event that cautioned oil and gas to step up in the energy transition — adding that “in Dubai at COP28, this industry proved that they are essential to the solution, and can actually drive it.”

ALSO TODAY- The US Federal Reserve wraps its two-day meeting. Nobody expects it to announce a rate cut this evening, but pundits will be scouring its statement for hints of when it might start. A Moody’s analyst tells CNBC that “I expect them to reaffirm three rate cuts this year, so that would suggest the first rate cut would be in June.”

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- ADIA wants to double down on investments in China as the West withdraws –report: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is looking to take advantage of the withdrawal of Western investors — particularly from the US — from China by snapping up stakes in funds managed by Hong Kong-based private equity giant PAG, the Financial Times reports, citing four people with knowledge of the matter. “It’s a transition from US investors who [previously] favored China, towards Middle Eastern investors that don’t have the same concerns they do,” a source told the salmon-colored paper.

The details: Adia could offer to buy the stakes at a reduced price through a transaction facilitated by PAG, sources said.

REMEMBER- Adia was reported to be in talks for a minority stake in Chinese mall operator Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group, in which Pag holds a 60% stake. The company operates nearly 500 malls for Dalian Wanda Group.

#2- RedBird IMI’s Telegraph takeover is likely to face a months-long in-depth probe from UK regulators, UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said in a statement to parliament, according to Bloomberg. Media regulator Ofcom said that IMI could have an “incentive” to “influence” coverage by Telegraph, potentially impacting what Ofcom explained as the “accurate presentation of news and freedom of expression.”

Background: The acquisition has been facing a lot of heat from UAE regulators and lawmakers, with the Rushi Sunak government working on legislation to effectively block foreign state ownership of media platforms in the country. RedBird IMI is considering a sale of the magazine, or a dilution of its stake, in response.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Cryptocurrency revenues in the UAE are predicted to hit AED 1.65 bn in 2024 as the sector continues to grow this year, particularly in Dubai, Al Bayan quotes Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority CEO Matthew White as saying. Adoption of virtual asset technology in the country has been rising steadily, White said, noting that the adoption rate is predicted to climb to nearly 30% in 2028 from 27% in 2024. The market is expected to grow at an 8% clip annually, leading revenues to hit AED 2.26 bn by 2028.

#2- Emirati investments overseas reached an estimated USD 2.5 tn at the beginning of 2024, UAE International Investors Council Secretary-General Jamal bin Saif Al Jarwan said, according to Wam. One of the UAE’s “landmark” investments overseas is ADQ’s USD 35 bn investment to develop Egypt’s Ras Al Hekma, which is expected to drive the UAE’s total investments in Egypt to around USD 65 bn, according to Al Jarwan.

#3- Power outages hit Abu Dhabi factories in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD) and Khalifa A industrial areas once every 20 years on average, lasting less than four minutes in ICAD and over 10 minutes annually in the Khalifa A industrial zone, according to the emirate’s Department of Energy 2023 report, the Abu Dhabi Media Office reports. Meanwhile, customers in the Khalifa B Industrial Areas could experience one 10-minute power outage every 10 years.

#4- The value of real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi rose 159% y-o-y in 2023 to AED 61 bn, the Abu Dhabi Media Office reports, citing data from the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre. Buying, selling, and mortgage transactions grew 12.2% y-o-y in 2023, according to the center. The emirate recorded over 15.6k sale and purchase transactions during the year worth around AED 87.1 bn, marking a 73.7% y-o-y increase.

#5- Investment app downloads in the UAE have climbed 691% since 2021 to some 533k downloads in 2023, with the number of active users also increasing by 549% during the period to to over 19k users, global fintech company UnaFinancial said in a statement (pdf). Some 62% of the most downloaded financial apps on Google Play in the UAE target money management and investment, followed by budget management tools (30%), and investment tips and services (32%).

The number of investment app users in the UAE could exceed 1 mn by 2028 if activity continues to grow at the same pace, while investment app downloads could hit 47.2 mn, according to UnaFinancial analysts.

#6- Dubai issued some 5.5k ATA carnets — temporary import-export documents offering exemptions from tax and customs duties for one year — for goods worth AED 5 bn in 2023, marking a 47% y-o-y increase, Wam reports, citing the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. This came on the back of an increase in the emirate’s exhibitions, events and conferences.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Leading the front pages this morning:

  • In Gaza, starving children fill hospital wards as famine looms (Reuters)
  • The dilemma impeding an Israel-Hamas ceasefire (Wall Street Journal)
  • Israel’s ban on Palestinian workers is hurting both economies (Bloomberg)
  • In Hong Kong, China’s grip can feel like ‘death by a thousand cuts’ (New York Times)

Private is the new public — again? Calpers, the biggest pension fund in the United States, wants to see private equity and credit investments account for 40% of its AUM, up from 33% now. The move will see it pour some USD 30 bn or more into private equity after the fund said it thinks it cost up to USD 18 bn in returns by not piling into PE earlier.

Reports of the death of EV manufacturing are greatly exaggerated, if you’ll allow us to quote Mr. Twain this morning. German carmaker Audi is looking into the possibility of manufacturing EVs in the US of A, piggybacking on unused space at a plant owned by parent company Volkswagen.

From Planet AI: Google is talking to Apple about becoming the baked-in provider of generative AI services on iPhones (it already has an agreement that makes it the default search engine of Safari) and Microsoft just hired the founder of DeepMind to run its consumer AI unit.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Abu Dhabi’s industrialists career expo set for April: The Industry and Advanced Technology Ministry and Adnoc are teaming up to host the second edition of the Industrialists’ Career Exhibition set to take place between April 22 and 23 at the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre, Wam reports.

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

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *