Good morning, wonderful people. We’ve made it through another week together — we hope you’re looking forward to the weekend as much as we are.

This week has been particularly heavy on the M&A and debt news, and that theme continues this morning. Our fellow early-middle-aged folks — angling to preserve family time, fight the battle of the bulge, and grow businesses — will enjoy today’s My Morning Routine column, which features Issa Aghabi, managing partner and co-founder of Access Bridge Ventures.

DRIVING THE CONVERSATION THIS MORNING- It’s the most anticipated “Jobs Friday” in the US of A in recent memory. Investors and economists alike will be scrutinizing the report, which will set the tone for the 17-18 September meeting of the Federal Reserve (will it cut a quarter point? 50 bps?) and shed new light on the outlook for the world’s largest economy.

The big question: Was the July uptick in the unemployment rate a one-off, or the start of a trend? Expect the talking heads to be out with plenty of opinions in the days ahead.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- NMDC Energy closes AED 3.22 bn IPO: The National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) raised AED 3.22 bn from the Abu Dhabi Exchange IPO of NMDC Energy after receiving over AED 88 bn in orders from investors at the close of the offering period, state news agency Wam reports. The order book was 31x oversubscribed (excluding cornerstone investors).

Shares of NMDC Energy will start trading on the ADX on Wednesday, 11 September, under the ticker NMDCENR.

REMEMBER- NMDC is listing a 23% stake in the engineering, procurement, and construction unit on ADX. Offer shares were priced at AED 2.80 a piece. NMDC’s board approved the IPO last month.

ADVISORS- FAB acted as lead receiving bank and lead manager for the IPO. ADCB, WIO Bank, and Al Maryah Community Bank served as other receiving banks. International Securities acted as the placement agent and listing advisor. Hadef & Partners were the legal advisors.\

#2- Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black is setting up a branch of his family office in ADGM. Asad Hussaini will lead the office, called Scimitar.

For the record: “I’ve been coming here for more than 30 years and the growth and prosperity that has occurred under Abu Dhabi’s visionary leadership is truly remarkable. My family office wants to be a part of that transformation,” Black told Bloomberg in a written statement.

#3- The profitability of GCC banks looks set to stay strong this year thanks to “increasing lending volumes, higher fee income, stable margins, and strong cost efficiency,” according to an S&P Global report. The ratings agency forecasts the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 150 bps between September 2024 and the end of 2025.

How 1H 2024 went: GCC banks’ net income margins remained stable at 2.7% in 1H, driven by prolonged higher interest rates, while return on assets increased to 1.74% from 1.65% at the end of 2023. Non-oil sectors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia drove 10.4% annualized lending growth for the top 45 GCC banks during the period, up from 6.7% in 2023.

#4- Mubadala-backed data center developer Yondr is reportedly in the market for some USD 500 mn in debt to back a project based in Malaysia. Yondr raised USD 150 mn in May from the International Finance Corporation for a hyperscale facility in Johor, Malaysia. It’s not clear whether the new funds it is raising are for the same facility or another. Malaysia is emerging as an important base for data centers in Southeast Asia.

BACKGROUND- Mubadala said last month it had invested in London-based Yondr, coming in alongside US-based Apollo Management, we noted in August.

#5- India’s quasi-sovereign National Investment and Infrastructure Fund is looking to raise USD 4 bn as part of a drive to invest in infrastructure nationwide, Bloomberg reports. Helmed by a new CEO, the fund counts the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority among its LPs.

Other NIIF limited partners include Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, AustralianSuper, and Indian banks HDFC, ICICI, and Axis. NIIF expects to secure additional co-investments from its backers, one of the sources said.

Adia and NIIF go way back: The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund made the first investment in NIIF in 2017 (pdf) with a USD 1 bn commitment, becoming the first institutional investor in its master fund and a shareholder in NIIF’s investment management arm. In 2019, Adia and NIIF jointly acquired a 49% stake (pdf) in the airport division of Indian conglomerate GVK Power & Infrastructure.

#6- Abu Dhabi will update its rental index quarterly, with plans to offer rental values for individual buildings to “[give] more accurate readings into the rental index,” Rashed Al Omaira, acting director general of the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (Adrec) told The National. The individual rental values will be offered for major landmark residential buildings in the emirate, but the timeline for the initiative has not been disclosed.

BACKGROUND- Adrec rolled out its rental index last month, providing indicative quarterly rental pricing and data on residential, commercial, and industrial properties in the emirate.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a muted news morning on the global business front: Egypt’s central bank left interest rates unchanged. Donald Trump has said that if elected, he’ll appoint Elon Musk to run a government efficiency commission. The FT thinks investors need to be aware there are signs of a US recession in the cards. And surprising exactly nobody, Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel and Hamas are nowhere near a ceasefire.

In markets: The Dow was down 200 points yesterday and the S&P 500 posted its third day of losses in a row as investors worry about US growth prospects.

Next week is looking interesting:

And it’s a big weekend for tennis fans: The US Open women’s tennis final is tomorrow and the men’s final takes place on Sunday, both in New York.

MARKET WATCH-

Opec+ hits the brakes on oil production hike: OPEC+ has agreed to suspend its planned 180k bpd output hike for October and November, according to a statement. The move comes after prices fell to their lowest level in a year. While the group still intends to move forward with its plan to revive 2.2 mn bpd of idle supply over the year, the timeline for the process is now set to be complete by December 2025, two months later than originally planned.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-

ADIO, DMT launch Musataha community markets tender: The Abu Dhabi Investment Office and the Department of Municipalities and Transport Department have issued a request for proposals for the development of community markets in seven areas, including Al Sader, Al Adlah, Al Qattarah, Al Marfa, Al Sila, Madinat Zayed, and Ghayathi, Wam reports. The deadline for bids is 17 October.

The details: Projects include the design, construction, and maintenance of community market facilities including retail spaces, pharmacies, supermarkets, and restaurants. The tender is open for Emirati-owned businesses registered with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, with the RFP document available on the ADIO website.

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