Good morning, friends. We have a brisk issue for you this morning, with positive news on the IPO front as NMDC Energy debuted on the ADX with a bang, and more healthy M&A action.

WEATHER- Be careful out there — it’s a particularly foggy week in Abu Dhabi and some parts of Dubai, with the fog expected to make way for clear, sunny skies later on Saturday, according to the National Center of Meteorology. Temperatures will reach 43°C today and cool to an overnight low of 34°C in Dubai. Over in Abu Dhabi, temperatures will hit 42°C, with an overnight low of 31°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Adnoc edges closer to Covestro takeover: State-run oil giant Adnoc is expected to file a formal bid of around EUR 14.4 bn, including debt, to acquire German chemicals company Covestro, the Financial Times reported. Adnoc’s CEO Sultan Al Jaber reportedly touched down in Germany in August to wrap up negotiations.

Remember: Adnoc said in June that it was ready to raise its takeover bid to EUR 62 per share, giving Covestro a potential valuation of EUR 11.7 bn. This came after revising its offer three times during the talks, which have been ongoing for over a year. Adnoc was reportedly nearly done with due diligence last month.

Analysts think the acquisition is a shoo-in: Kepler Cheuvreux Analyst Christian Faitz told the FT that the transaction is a “perfect fit” for Adnoc’s strategy to tap into sustainable technologies, while providing Covestro with the financial backing it needs to weather the industry’s cyclical nature.

#2- Hong Kong mulls trade agreements with the UAE + GCC: Hong Kong probes potential trade agreements with the UAE and the wider GCC region to boost its trade and investment ties in the region, Deputy Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council Patrick Lau told The National. Investment protection and double-taxation avoidance agreements are also on the table, he added.

The UAE has been on a roll with trade agreements: The UAE has signed comprehensive economic partnership agreements with several nations including India, Turkey, Israel, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Georgia. It is currently negotiating similar agreements with Serbia, Vietnam, and others. The GCC is also pursuing trade agreements with major economies, including the UK and Turkey.

#3- Emirati flag carrier Etihad Airways’s IPO will likely take place no sooner than in 2025, Reuters says, citing two sources it says are familiar with the matter. The ADQ-owned airline looks to demonstrate a strong performance to its investors in its 2024 financial results before making moves, one source was quoted as saying. Regional geopolitical tensions and uncertainty are weighing on timing, Reuters said, citing the second source.

Gearing up: Etihad Airways reportedly tapped Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, and Morgan Stanley in May as joint bookrunners for its upcoming initial public offering. The wealth fund previously chose Citigroup, HSBC, First Abu Dhabi Bank as advisors for the IPO, and appointed Rothschild & Co. as independent financial advisor.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- The UAE is participating in the two-day Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summit, which kicked off yesterday and wraps today in Hong Kong, state news agency Wam reports. The UAE has invested some USD 10 bn in BRI projects to date.

Around 19 MoUs were signed during the Summit: Four agreements were inked between governments, and 15 MoUs were signed between state-owned enterprises from the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Australia, Wam writes, without disclosing further details. The agreements span infrastructure, energy, and sustainable development sectors.

#2- The inaugural Dubai AI and Web3 Festival kicked off yesterday and runs until today at Madinat Jumeirah. The Dubai International Financial Centre event will host over 100 exhibitors and will welcome some 5k tech industry experts and entrepreneurs to explore and discuss investment, collaboration and innovation in the tech sector.

#3- EFG Hermes’ annual conference is on its final day in London, giving investors “unique and unparalleled access to leading equities in MENA and key frontier emerging markets.” 

#4- Chinese Premier Li Qiang landed in Abu Dhabi last night and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Xinhua and Reuters report. Li is in town after making a stop in Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-

#1- Update on the visa overstay amnesty program: The visa overstay amnesty program, which gives residents until 1 November to get their paperwork in order or to leave the country without fines, does not apply to violations committed after its launch on 1 September, Khaleej Times reported. If the resident’s status is not regularized by the end of the amnesty period, all applicable fines and penalties will be enforced.

The beneficiaries include individuals with expired residency permits, expired visas, those in work discontinuation reports, and unregistered foreign-born individuals. Individuals exiting the country under the amnesty will not face a re-entry ban.

#2- The Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority revised its Statutory Auditor Appointment Rules, raising the minimum auditing hours requirement for UAE national professionals to 40% and extending their appointment term to six years, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Gross bank assets rose 0.5% m-o-m to AED 4.310 tn at the end of June, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s (CBUAE) latest monetary and banking developments report (pdf). Gross credit grew 1.1% m-o-m to AED 2.101 tn, driven by a 0.8% increase in domestic credit and a 2.9% rise in foreign credit.

The increase in domestic credit was fueled by increased lending mostly to the public sector, which saw a 1.4% m-o-m increase, and a 1% increase in lending to the private sector. This growth offset the reductions of 1.1% in credit to the government and 0.6% to non-banking financial institutions.

Total bank deposits rose 0.5% m-o-m to AED 2.693 tn at the end of June, propelled by an 8.4% increase in non-resident deposits against a 0.1% m-o-m decrease in resident deposits, according to the report.

The CBUAE’s total foreign assets rose by AED 3.88 bn to AED 770.61 bn at the end of June, according to the bank’s latest data (pdf).

#2- UAE consumers spent USD 3.8 bn on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), and tech and durables in 2Q 2024, up 3.4% y-o-y, according to the NIQ Retail Spend Barometer

UAE. Some USD 2.3 bn were spent on FMCGs, up 4% y-o-y, and USD 1.5 bn were spent on tech and durable goods, up 2.6% y-o-y.

Breakdown of 1H spending activity: An increase in prices on the back of inflation and a drop in promotional activities from manufacturers drove spending to slow down in 1Q 2024. However, 2Q 2024 saw demand picking up, both in sales volume and value, as prices cooled down.

#3- Abu Dhabi logged a record 75.9% hotel occupancy rate in August, up 10.5% y-o-y, Zawya reports, citing preliminary data from CoStar. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) stood at AED 329.80, up 19.3% y-o-y, on the back of an average daily rate (ADR) of AED 434.30, up 8.0% y-o-y.

#4- Hotel revenues across the UAE soared to AED 24.6 bn in 1H 2024, marking a 7% increase y-o-y, Al Bayan reports citing the Economy Ministry. The number of hotel guests climbed 10.5% y-o-y to 15.3 mn, and room capacity grew 3% to 213k rooms. Airport passenger traffic increased 14.2% y-o-y to over 71.75 mn.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Two days on and the US presidential debate is still dominating the digital front pages of the international press, with just a spattering of business and tech news trying to fight for ink with an avalanche post-debate analysis and thought pieces from the commentariat.

Now the dust has settled, pundits are trying to figure out who came on top, with the consensus in the international media being that while Kamala Harris had largely come out on top, the debate had not substantially moved the needle in a very close race between the two candidates. Trump campaign donors and Republican strategists are reportedly frustrated with the former president’s “uneven performance,” with one strategist calling the debate “a missed opportunity.” The former president’s claim that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating residents’ pets was one of a number of diversions that drew hand-wringing from some Republican strategists and donors, who lamented the former president’s failure to double down on issues like inflation or the state of the US economy under Joe Biden.

WHILE IN GLOBAL INTEREST RATE SPECULATION- US inflation cooled to 2.5% in August, inching toward the 2% inflation rate targeted by the US Federal Reserve. The release of the new inflation data has seen analysts consolidate behind expectations that the Fed will make only a 25-basis point cut at the central bank’s rate-setting meeting next week.

OVER IN TECH NEWS- OpenAI wants to nearly double its valuation to USD 150 bn in new financing round to raise USD 5 bn from investors in order to fund AI development that it hopes will give it an edge over competitors including Google and Meta.

AND IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS- The prime minister of Libya’s Government of National Accord, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, has pledged to end the country’s central bank standoff that saw its oil output cut in half.

***

You’re reading EnterpriseAM UAE, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about the UAE, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Monday through Friday by 7am UAE time.

EnterpriseAM UAE is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Mashreq.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM UAE.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on UAE@enterpriseAM.com .

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the MENA climate and logistics industries?

***

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

TheArab Water Forum is coming to Abu Dhabi from 16-18 September at the ADNEC Abu Dhabi Center: The event will feature over 60 exhibitors from 24 countries, along with roundtables and speaker sessions, uniting water sector leaders to advance solutions for clean water and sanitation, with an emphasis on innovation and improving water security.

Gulfood Green takes place 24-26 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre: The event connects startups and investors in the FoodTech and AgriTech sectors, exploring new methods of food production, trade, and consumption. Register here.

TheSpartan World Championship will kick off 28 November until 1 December in the Al Wathba Desert in Abu Dhabi. Participants can also compete in the 21km Age Group World Championship, 21km Open Beast, 1km to 3km Open and Competitive Kids Races, 3km Elite Team Relay World Championship, 10km Super Open, and 5km Open Sprint.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) Youth Forum will be held 9-13 January, 2025 in Abu Dhabi. Individual applicants have until Tuesday, 24 September to apply here. Taking place alongside the Youth Forum will be the Irena Assembly (11-13 January) where energy transition will be discussed.

Dubai will host the 2026 Arab Actuarial Conference, according to a statement from organizers MenaMoney. The conference serves as a regional platform for actuaries and industries reliant on actuarial work, including insurance, finance, banking, healthcare, pension funds, asset management, and risk management.

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 *