Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. This week’s barrage of news has not let up since we last wrote to you, with fresh macro figures coming from Abu Dhabi, the first trickle of earnings reports, and a healthy dose of M&A and IPO news.

THE BIG STORY here at home is Abu Dhabi seeing GDP grow 3.3% in 1Q 2024 — with the non-oil economy continuing to be the star of the show.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

WEATHER- Dubai will see a high of 43°C today, with an overnight low of 35°C. Meanwhile, the mercury in Abu Dhabi is set to hit 38°C, with an overnight low of 34°C.

Citizens can now reclaim VAT paid on new home construction via Maskan, the Federal Tax Authority’s new application, Wam reports. The first phase of the rollout, already underway, allows citizens to create their accounts, input tax invoices for construction supplies, and submit refund requests. The second phase, slated to launch before the end of the month, will introduce additional features, such as a barcode scanner to upload tax invoices from registered outlets directly to accounts.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Goldman Sachs is jumping on the Middle East fund bandwagon: Goldman Sachs is reportedly hiring a “longtime JPMorgan Chase banker” to lead a new Middle East-focused investment fund it plans to launch, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it said have knowledge of the matter. Discussions are ongoing for an open-ended fund, with the final size of the fund not yet disclosed.

#2- We’re almost ready for Jaywan cards: Over 90% of point-of-sale terminals in the UAE will be able to process Jaywan card transactions by the end of August, up from 40% currently, Gulf News cites CEO of the Central Bank of the UAE’s digital payments arm Al Etihad Payments, Jan Pilbauer, as saying, adding that 95% of ATMs are now prepared to process the card. Banks will begin issuing Jaywan cards by the end of 3Q, with significant expansion expected in 4Q. The full rollout of Jaywan cards is expected to take a year or two, with over 8 mn cards to be issued.

Speaking of Jaywan: Emirati digital bank Al Maryah has finalized the digital infrastructure for the Jaywan card, and is ready to provide it to issuing banks, it said in a statement. The digital platform will allow funds to be transferred or received immediately through QR code, mobile number or email address, Wam reports.

AND- A Jaywan credit card in the future? There are no immediate plans, but it will depend on “how the market evolves around the Jaywan card services that are available at the time of launch,” Pilbauer said.

ICYMI- Jaywan cards are being rolled out in stages among local banks as policymakers plan to replace some 10 mn debit cards in circulation over the next two and a half years. The cards can be used as a standalone or co-badged with international card schemes such as Visa or Mastercard.

#3- Umm Al Quwain’s Real Estate Foundation will enforce set service fees and violation fines for the emirate’s property market, following the latest decision by Umm Al Quwain’s Ruler Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Wam reports.

#4- Space tourism is set to launch from Abu Dhabi next year, with space tourism firm EOS-X Space announcing flights starting from AED 600k, Khaleej Times reports. The Spanish firm plans to debut its space capsules, which will travel 40k meters into the stratosphere on a five-hour trip, in Abu Dhabi and Spain by 3Q 2025.

Space tourism? The space capsules will take eight people up to the edge of the Earth’s stratosphere, where they can catch a glimpse of space, the blue halo, and Earth’s curvature.

Abu Dhabi will host the flagship capsule complex on Yas Island, featuring the shuttle, spaceport, and a hotel. The Abu Dhabi and Spain complexes will be built with a combined investment of USD 230 mn (AED 844 mn).

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Amanat Holdings is holding a board meeting today to discuss the potential IPO of its education unit, it said in a bourse disclosure (pdf). The company said in May that it plans to carve out its education platform into its own holding company and tap advisors to list it on a GCC stock exchange, without identifying where it would list it or the size or value of the potential stake sale.

REMEMBER- Amanat had also reportedly tapped EFG Hermes and First Abu Dhabi Bank for a listing of its healthcare unit as soon as this year that could potentially raise some USD 200 mn.

#2- The 2024 USA Basketball Showcase Games in Abu Dhabi continue today with a game between Team USA — featuring LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, and Kevin Durant — and Serbia at the Etihad Arena or Ticketmaster.

#3- The Industry and Advanced Technology Ministry is hosting the Asia-Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) annual meetings in Dubai until 18 July. Held under the theme “Accreditation: Empowering Tomorrow and Shaping the Future,” the meetings bring together representatives from 65 national accreditation bodies across the Asia-Pacific region, alongside international experts in accreditation and conformity assessment, Wam reports.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) reported a 3% y-o-y increase in the number of business licenses issued and renewed in Sharjah to 34.7k in 1H 2024, Wam reports. Some 3.7k were newly issued licenses, while 30.9k were renewed.

#2- Property transactions in Ajman grew over 8% q-o-q in 2Q 2024, with over 3.2k transactions recorded at a total value surpassing AED 4.56 bn, according to a statement. Sales hit AED 3.1 bn from some 2.6k transactions, with the Al Jurf Industrial 2 area logging the highest sale during the quarter at AED 157 mn. Mortgages also climbed 14% q-o-q to more than AED 867 mn.

#3- Sharjah Airport received over 8.3 mn passengers in 1H 2024, up 12.4% y-o-y compared to 1H 2023, Wam reports. Flight movement rose 12% y-o-y, reaching more than 52k flights between January and June. Cargo handling operations jumped 41% y-o-y to 97.2k tons, while sea-cargo operations amounted to 7.4k tons, increasing 17.5% y-o-y from last year.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Surprising absolutely no one, Donald Trump is still plastered across the foreign press’ front pages. Today, it’s a mixed bag of news around his assassination attempt around his presidential campaign. The highlights:

#1- Trump would give Jay Powell a second term, telling Bloomberg in a sweeping interview that he would allow the US Federal Reserve boss to serve out his current term, which ends in 2026. He also discussed tariffs (he loves them), Tiktok (he doesn’t want to ban it), and taxes (he wants to slash the corporate tax to 15%), among other things.

#2- A Trump presidency could spell a rise in global inflation as a result of his US-first policies like tax cuts and high tariffs, CNBC reports.

#3- The US allegedly received intelligence of an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump weeks before the shooting, which is why the Secret Service ramped up security around him, CNN reported yesterday.

#4- Trump is lining up new supporters, including former critics from the Republican party and Big Tech.

THE LATEST IN FRANCE- President Macron’s government handed in its resignation yesterday amid a wider political gridlock that has seen the newly elected NFP fail to reach a decision on the next prime minister. The move allows former cabinet members who have secured seats as lawmakers in the National Assembly to vote on the next house speaker tomorrow. (WSJ)

It’s similarly a mixed bag in the business press, with no dominant them running across front pages:

  • Chinese businessman Guo Wengui — a Chinese Communist party critic and Trump ally — was convicted of conducting a USD 1 bn fraud scheme on his online followers. (FT)
  • Elon Musk is moving Tesla and SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas, in response to a new gender identity law he’s opposing in the western state. (FT)
  • Turkey is proposing a bill to implement a corporate tax on large multinationals and hike pensions as the country looks to shore up its coffers and boost its economy. (Reuters)

MARKET WATCH-

Gold prices in the UAE surged yesterday, surpassing AED 295 per gram as global prices surge on the back of anticipated US Federal Reserve rate cuts and heightened demand amid political uncertainty in the US, head of risk at APM Capital Marc Pussard told Khaleej Times. By Tuesday afternoon, 24k gold was up to AED 295.5 per gram, up AED 2.75 from the morning. Globally, spot gold traded at USD 2.4k per ounce, climbing 0.46% during the day.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Energy and Infrastructure Ministry is currently accepting nominations for the Research and Innovation Award, which aims to foster and recognize innovative solutions addressing challenges across key sectors such as energy, water, infrastructure, transport, and housing. Registration closes on 30 August. You can learn more about the awards and eligibility criteria here.

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 *