Good morning, friends. We wrap the week with a packed issue, filled with a raft of updates on the debt and M&A front, and a big story in the world of renewables.

The big story? UAE-based urea and ammonia exporter Fertiglobe secured the first ever green ammonia tender to supply green ammonia to Germany from its plant in Egypt.

FACT CHECK-

First Abu Dhabi Bank “categorically” denied reports that it is pursuing the acquisition of a stake in India’s Yes Bank in an ADX disclosure (pdf) yesterday. Bloomberg had reported a day earlier that the lender is eyeing a USD 5 bn, 51% stake in the bank. Emirates NBD has also reportedly been vying for a stake in the Indian bank.

UPDATE-

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB)’s USD 500 mn sukuk issuance is now listed on Nasdaq Dubai, bringing the lender’s total sukuk listings on the bourse to USD 1.5 bn, according to the Dubai Media Office. The sukuk is the sixth issuance under SIB’s USD 3 bn Trust Certificate Issuance Program, launched in 2013.

ICYMI- SIB took a five-year USD 500 mn sukuk issuance to market last month, pricing it at a spread of 105 bps over US Treasuries on the back of robust investor demand. The issuance was 3x oversubscribed — drawing some USD 1.5 bn in orders from international investors — and features a 5.25% annual yield rate, with maturity set for 3 July 2029.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- US lawmakers are calling for a probe into Microsoft-G42 partnership: Republican lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to prepare a formal intelligence assessment of Microsoft’s USD 1.5 bn investment in state-owned AI firm G42 in a letter (pdf) addressed to the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, citing concerns over the IHC-backed AI outfit’s ties to China.

The letter referred to the investment as one of the most “consequential US investments in the Middle East in decades,” and urged the administration to implement national safety safeguards, highlighting risks posed by transferring “highly sensitive, US-origin technology” and “[the US’] most critical AI technology,” without a proper regulatory framework. The congressmen asked for the assessment to be conducted before the partnership enters its second phase, which will involve the export of US technologies.

REFRESHER- In February, G42 was reported to have already sold all its stakes in all its investments in China — including a USD 100 mn stake in ByteDance — in a bid to reportedly appease US partners, culminating in Microsoft investing some USD 1.5 mn in G42. The second phase of the agreement entails Microsoft exporting large-scale AI components to the UAE, which will require licenses from the US government. Concerns that the US might pull the plug on the partnership have been swirling for weeks now, with Bloomberg recently saying that Pentagon officials are doubting G42’s commitment to fully divest from China.

The story was picked up by Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Financial Times.

#2- Fujairah Port is set to receive its first gasoline shipment from Total Energies in the coming days, state news agency Wam reports. The move comes after the French oil and gas multinational company moved its operations and petroleum activities to the emirate.

#3- The Abu Dhabi Global Market is reviewing its license fees in a bid to attract more firms and help make the transition for companies in Al Reem Island to the financial center easier, CEO of ADGM’s Registration Authority Hamad Al Mazrouei told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 3:15). The new fees will come as part of a wider incentive package that the ADGM will make public “soon,” Al Mazrouei said.

REMEMBER- The ADGM already waived registration fees for Reem Island businesses until November of this year as part of an incentive package aiming to facilitate their transition to the hub after Al Reem Island became part of its jurisdiction in November 2023 as part of its expansion. It also inked an MoU with the Human Resources and Emiratization Ministry to streamline work permit and license transfers.

#4- Amea Power to expand its investments in Egypt: Amea Power Chairman Hussein Al Nowais met with Egyptian Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mahmoud Esmat yesterday to discuss expanding the renewable energy company’s investments in Egypt, Wam reports. They addressed establishing new solar and wind energy projects with a potential total capacity of 2.5 GW, in a bid to up the share of renewable energy in Egypt’s electricity mix to more than 42% by 2030 and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

Amea Power ❤️Egypt: Amea Power is currently working on 1 GW worth of projects in Egypt, including the 500 MW Abydos solar power plant — slated for completion in Aswan in September 2024 —- and a 500 MW Amotope wind power plant — scheduled to go live in Ras Ghareb by Summer 2025. Amea is also working on a 2.5 GW green hydrogen project in Egypt.

2.5 GW? We only know of one green hydrogen project Amea Power had agreed to develop in Egypt during Cop27, with a capacity of 1 GW.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Central Bank’s monthly foreign assets increased in April to AED 750.29 bn, up from AED 731.62 bn in March, according to its April balance sheet (pdf). Gross bank assets inched up 1% to AED 4.3 tn, compared to AED 4.25 tn in March, the summary report stated (pdf). Gross credit also inched up 0.8% at the end of April to AED 2.06 tn.

#2- The Middle East is the new emerging market “favorite” for institutional investors, according to data gathered between 2022 and 2024 by investment data company Preqin, which showed interest from institutional investors in the region jumping to 65.5% in 2024 from 38.9% in 2022. The Middle East is outshining China and Southeast Asia as investors pivot towards regional diversification, according to Preqin’s findings.

Real estate and private equity are the alternative investments of choice: Nearly half of the surveyed investors this year allocated 20% or more of their assets under management to real estate — double the allocation in 2022. Investors are reducing their exposure to hedge funds and venture capital, which have both underperformed in the past few years.

Saudi Arabia is garnering a whopping 96.5% of interest from investors, with the UAE next in line at 41.4%, according to the survey.

#3- Dubai reduced the consumption of electricity 15.9% and water 12.4% in 2023, in comparison to a business-as-usual scenario where sustainable interventions are not implemented, Wam reports. Dubai’s green programs over the last five years helped achieve around AED 14.6 bn in financial savings. The emirate aims to achieve energy and water savings of at least 30% by 2030, and 50% by 2050.

#4- The number of m’naires in the UAE is expected to grow by 15% over the next five years, reaching 232.1k in 2028 from 202.2k today, according to investment banking company UBS’ 2024 Global Wealth Report (pdf). Some 6.7k m’naires are expected to move to the UAE this year, representing the highest net inflow of m’naires worldwide.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a mixed bag in the foreign press this morning, with most outlets leading with Joe Biden’s latest fumble as he plays host to the Nato summit amid widening concerns over his eligibility in the presidential race.

Biden mixed up Vice President Kamala Harris with Donald Trump, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy with Vladimir Putin, during the summit, dealing another blow to his candidacy, which is losing more ground among Democrats.

He brushed his slip-ups aside and defiantly proclaimed he is the most qualified candidate to beat Trump and that he’s “got to finish the job.” Reuters is liveblogging the news conference.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- A couple of AI news are making the rounds:

#1- Microsoft and Apple’s decision to give up seats on OpenAI’s board was “subterfuge” in a bid to quell regulatory concerns over relationships between AI and large tech firms, co-executive of non-profit AI Now Institute Amba Kak wrote in a message to CNBC. “AI companies have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight, and we do not believe bespoke structures of corporate governance are sufficient to change this,” employees of the agency wrote.

#2- SoftBank has acquired struggling UK semiconductor startup Graphcore, which was valued at about USD 2.8 bn but suffered financial losses upon lackluster demand. (Bloomberg)

AND- It’s looking more likely for the US to pull the trigger on its next rate cut in September, after inflation fell more than expected to 3% in June.

The news made way for a “historically strange” day for stocks, with investors moving out of rallying tech stocks and snapping up other, smaller cap stocks, leaving the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down at market close.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

AI office launches USD 150k challenge: The UAE is calling on Series A startups working in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, banking and financial services, customer services, financial technology, and environmental and social fields, to register for the newly launched AI Challenge.

The details: The challenge — which was created in partnership with the Office of AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Mastercard Global Center for Advanced AI and Cyber Technology, and FIrst Abu Dhabi Bank — will hand out a USD 150k check to the final candidate and a chance to participate in Mastercard’s global events, including a program that offers mentorship. You can register for the challenge before 25 August here.

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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