Good morning, wonderful people. It’s shaping up to be a busy news week, as LuLu Retail kicks off its book building period with a bang, selling out orders within an hour, and Vietnam and the UAE ink an economic partnership agreement during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to the country. We also have several M&A updates and fresh data on Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s real estate sectors. Let’s dive in.

WEATHER- Expect a high of 34°C and a low of 27°C in Dubai, while over in Abu Dhabi, the mercury peaks at 30°C before cooling to an overnight low of 29°C.

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- NMDC plans to introduce new units and expand operations: The National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) aims to develop new business units, including NMDC Construction and NMDC LNS, the company’s CEO Yasser Zaghloul told CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime: 8:11). He also said that the company is allocating proceeds from NMDC Energy AED 3.22 bn IPO to geographical expansion, including acquiring a GCC-based company in a transaction that will soon be announced.

#2- Barclays eyes Middle East expansion: Barclays is looking to deepen its presence in the Middle East with plans to expand teams in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said on the sidelines of Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, Bloomberg reports. The bank is also considering a re-entry into Saudi Arabia to tap into the kingdom’s increasing need for global capital market access.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

#1- The General Pension and Social Security Authority launched a new digital pension platform, Ma’ashi, allowing employers to access the authority’s services 24/7, track the status of services or support requests submitted to the authority, and interact directly with beneficiaries, Wam reports. The platform also allows insured civilians and military personnel to directly apply for various services, including end-of-service requests and modifications to employment periods.

#2- The E304 bus route, which runs from Sharjah’s Rolla Station to Dubai’s Satwa Station, was reinstated into service yesterday, the Sharjah Road and Transport Authority announced in a post on X. The route will operate at 30-minute intervals.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The number of bank branches in the UAE dropped to 482 in 1H 2024, compared to 493 in the same period last year, as banks look to cut operating costs and shift towards digitalization, Al Khaleej reports, citing central bank figures.

#2- The UAE attracted USD 16 bn in greenfield FDI capital inflows in 2023, marking a 37% y-o-y increase, mainly driven by investments from the US, India, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and France, Wam reports, citing Under-secretary of the Investment Ministry Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Hawi.

Five sectors accounted for 86% of FDI stock as a whole, namely wholesale and retail trade (26%), real estate (24%), finance and ins. (21%), mining and quarrying (8%), and manufacturing (7%), Al Hawi said.

HAPPENING TODAY-

wwtt5] #1- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince heads to Singapore: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is set to visit Singapore today, where he is scheduled to meet with the country’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Wam reports. He is also set to explore potential cooperation with senior officials and executives from the tech, AI, and urban planning sectors.

#2- The MENA Climate Proof Forum kicks off today and runs until tomorrow in Dubai. The event will address regional-specific climate challenges, with the aim of accelerating action and readiness for climate-related disasters.

#3- OneConnect Dubai 2024 will take place today at the Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, according to a press release. The event will bring together global cybersecurity experts and local thought leaders, featuring keynote sessions by industry leaders, a CISO panel discussion, and discussions with professionals from the UAE and the wider Middle East.

#4- The Sharjah International Conference in Biotechnology (SICBiotech) will take place today and tomorrow at the University of Sharjah. The event will bring together leading scientists in biotechnology.

#5- TheHealthcare Future Summit is set to take place at the Dubai World Trade Center today and tomorrow, according to a statement. The summit will discuss advances in disease management, AI integration to streamline vaccine distribution, and resource management, with a focus on vaccine policies in the GCC.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Dubai will host the World Cities Cultural Summit from tomorrow to 1 November. The summit probes how cities can create a fostering environment for artists and entrepreneurs, while addressing global challenges, such as the climate crisis and AI.

#2- The Connected Construction Conference will kick off tomorrow at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, welcoming leaders, decision-makers, and BIM specialists from the construction industry to showcase new technological advancements and address challenges facing the sector.

#3- The Binance Blockchain Week will take place tomorrow and after in Dubai. The conference will welcome traders, builders, founders, institutional investors, regulators, global officials, and innovators to discuss the future of blockchain and Web3 technology.

#4- The Annual Islamic Finance Conference will take place tomorrow at the DIFC Atrium in Dubai. The conference will host experts from the Islamic financial services sector and senior analysts to discuss the industry’s global outlook and growth potential.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a busy morning in the foreign press today, as the situation in Gaza looks increasingly dire and the US elections race continues to heat up.

Israel has moved to ban UNRWA from the country, effectively barring humanitarian aid from the largest aid provider to Gaza and the Palestinians. Several countries — including Germany, the UK, and Belgium — condemned the move. (The Guardian | CNN | Reuters | AP)

Uncertainty over the prospects of a ceasefire continues: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is open to a short truce in Gaza if they could agree on a small hostage swap agreement, though he also denied having received a proposal from Egypt, saying if he had, he would have accepted it on the spot. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had said a day earlier that he had proposed a two-day ceasefire to exchange hostages, ahead of a 10-day stretch of negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. (Bloomberg | Reuters)

Meanwhile, Netanyahu is pledging to strike more peace agreements with Arab countries in the “day after” the war, Reuters reports.

The situation on the ground: Palestine’s emergency services have warned of 100k Palestinians trapped in Jabalia without food or medical supplies, while in Lebanon, at least 60 were killed in the eastern Bekaa valley yesterday.

The Donald is appealing to religious voters in swing state Georgia as early votes kick off, while Kamala Harris doubled down on her criticism of Trump following a rally of his that saw speakers make racist remarks against Puerto Rico. (Reuters)

IN BUSINESS NEWS- Rivalry between Big Tech heats up: Microsoft is accusing Google of backing a lobbying group designed to undermine its position with competition authorities and that it runs shadow campaigns against Microsoft, while the coalition — the Open Cloud Coalition — claimed it was focus on openness in cloud services, and Google claimed Microsoft is engaging in anti-competitive practices. (Financial Times)

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