Good morning, friends, and happy FRIDAY. We’re wrapping what has been an exceptionally slow news week — characteristic of the July-August summer lull — with another short but interesting issue.

THE BIG STORY today is news of another potential IPO on the ADX, this time courtesy of Alpha Data, which is looking at potentially raising USD 200 mn and has tapped banks to pull the trigger.

WEATHER- We’re in for a sunny and warm couple of days, with the mercury hitting 40°C in Dubai today and 41°C tomorrow, with overnight lows of 32-33°C. Abu Dhabi will see the mercury peak at 36°C today and 38°C tomorrow, with an overnight low of 32°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Adia could join Advent to acquire Sanofi consumer health unit: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) has been approached by US-based private equity firm Advent International to back its bid for French pharma firm Sanofi’s USD 20 bn consumer health unit, anticipated to be among Europe’s largest transactions this year, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Other bidders, including American private equity firm Bain Capital and UK-based Cinven, are expected to submit initial offers by mid-July.

Adia and Advent are buddying up: The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund joined Advent in June to acquire a minority stake in Texas-based wealth management firm Fisher Investments, which valued the firm at USD 12.75 bn.

#2- UAE’s Alterra climate fund is actively pursuing more investments: The UAE’s USD 30 bn climate fund Alterra is gearing up for its next round of investments as it looks to make the UAE a “Silicon Valley” for innovation and investment in climate solutions, CEO Majid Al Suwaidi told Bloomberg in an interview. Having secured USD 6.5 bn in investments with BlackRock, TPG, and Brookfield Asset Management last year, Alterra is now planning further allocations, Al Suwaidi said, without naming any participants nor did he specify a date for future announcements.

About the fund: The USD 30 bn vehicle was launched last year to increase climate funding for the Global South, with an initial USD 1 bn investment from the UAE. Alterra recently said it will direct an extra USD 200 bn to investments over the next six years, after saying it aims to mobilize USD 250 bn in green investments by 2030.

#3- DP World will build a 20 mn sqft car market — set to be the largest in the world — in Dubai, Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed said in a post on X. The market will provide government and banking services for automotive players, connect to 77 global markets via DP World’s network, and host major automotive events and conferences.

MORE FROM DP WORLD- The logistics giant is eyeing investments in Thailand: DP World is considering investing in Thailand’s logistics sector, including the mega Land Bridge project currently under development, Al Bayan reported. The two sides discussed the potential investments during a visit by DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and an accompanying high-level delegation to the Southeast Asian country. The delegation met with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, according to bin Sulayem.

#4- More air travel with China? The UAE and China are exploring potentially ramping up bilateral air traffic after years of stagnation, Bloomberg reports. citing people familiar with the matter. Officials will meet in Beijing in the coming weeks to discuss increasing flights beyond the current 56 per week per country ceiling, although no specific increase has been determined yet.

Who benefits: Emirates, currently operating its maximum of 35 weekly flights to China, stands to benefit significantly, alongside China Southern Airlines, which flies to the UAE 20 times per week.

DATA POINT-

The Finance Ministry’s Treasury Sukuk auction for 3Q 2024 was oversubscribed 6.1x, with some AED 6.76 bn in bids received from eight local banks, the ministry said on X. The yield-to-maturity of the three-year tranche was set at 4.77%, and 4.43% on the five-year tranche, marking a tightening of 1-3 basis points over US treasuries from maturity at the time of auction.

OIL WATCH-

OPEC+ is urging its members to make up for breaching supply quotas in an effort to stabilize global oil markets, but there is little evidence that members are complying, Bloomberg reports, citing recent production data. Iraq and Kazakhstan are two countries that have yet to deliver on the promised additional cuts to offset their earlier overproduction, the data shows.

BACKGROUND- Introduced in 2020, the overproduction compensation scheme was put in place to pressure members that exceed their production quotas to make extra compensation cuts in subsequent months equivalent to the excess output.

REMEMBER– In June, Opec+ decided to extend most of their crude oil production cuts well into 3Q 2024. The alliance will keep in place current production cuts of 3.66 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) until the end of this September, before beginning to phase out the cuts of 2.2 mn bbl / d over the course of a year from October 2024 to September 2025.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

All eyes are on the UK elections, as the Labour party is set for a landslide victory while the Conservative party — in power for the past 14 years — is likely seeing the lowest number of seats in its history, according to the exit poll.

The Labour party’s victory would make 61-year old human rights lawyer Keir Starmer the country’s new prime minister. Analysts peg him as “relatively prime-ministerial” but lacking in charisma, though his pro-business, pro-reforms approach likely clinched his party’s victory. The Guardian has an in-depth profile of his life and career, while the Financial Times has a deep-dive on what’s on the party’s agenda once it is in power (chief among them is potentially the biggest government shake-up in decades).

OVER IN THE US- More names are being thrown in the ring by Democrats looking to push Joe Biden out of the race. Two top donors have suggested Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and California governor Gavin Newsom as front-runners, the Financial Times says, as pressure mounts for new candidates with strong backing to be at the ready to replace Biden, whose candidacy is seen as “doomed” even by his campaigners and friends.

CLOSER TO HOME- The US is saying there is a “significant opening” to secure a permanent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, with a senior official saying Biden had a “breakthrough on a critical impasse” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu during a 30-minute phone call yesterday, according to the FT.

Yes, but: The agreement will likely take longer than just a few days, and it wouldn’t be the first one to advance before getting stalled due to disputes on terms like hostage release and aid.

Other interesting reads this morning:

  • Microsoft Surface Pro claims to be “designed for AI” — but CNBC ’s Jordan Novet says it has a long way to go.
  • Short-traders lost some USD 3.5 bn in two days due to the rally in Tesla’s stocks following a better-than-expected deliveries report. (CNBC)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund is now accepting applications for the 9th cohort of its innovation accelerator, Wam reports. Startups with innovations in the tech, education, healthcare, space, water, clean energy, and transport can apply to gain access to a network of potential investors and entrepreneurs in the region, along with support packages and mentorship. Applications can be submitted online here.

The Alternative investment Summit is set to take place on 21-22 October in Jumeirah Emirates Towers. The event is organized by AIM summit global and will bring together key decision makers and professionals interested in the alternative investment space.

The World Green Economy Summit will be held on 2-3 October at the Dubai World Trade Center. The summit will bring together stakeholders and decision-makers in energy, economy, climate change, and green finance.

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

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