Good morning, lovely people. It’s another busy day of news with fresh data on the commercial real estate market in the first half of the year, an AED 1.8 bn investment from Aldar in Dubai’s commercial sector, and plenty of other investment news.

WEATHER- Dubai will see the mercury peak at 41°C before cooling to an overnight low of 36°C. Abu Dhabi will see highs of 38°C and a low of 35°C.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

#1- Public buses in Dubai will soon be able to detect if passengers have not paid for their fares, as the Roads and Transport Authority plans to roll out an automated passenger counting system that matches the number of passengers against the fare collected on new buses it will deploy this year, Wam reports. Passengers caught dodging fares will be fined AED 200, according to Khaleej Times.

#2- If you see drones hovering in the skies over you, don’t panic: Dubai Police is using blue-marked drones to scan for emergencies and boost emergency response times, it said in an X post.

#3- Newly married Abu Dhabi citizens are now eligible for a zero-interest loan of up to AED 150k, as part of the new Marriage Loan initiative launched by the Abu Dhabi Social Support Authority earlier this month, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. Applications can be submitted by the husband through the Medeem Digital Platform from early September 2024, with eligibility requirements including holding an Abu Dhabi family book and a monthly income of no more than AED 60k.

#4- Businesses can now pay their taxes at any of Al Ansari Exchange’s branches, after the firm launched corporate tax collection services across its UAE branches, according to a press release.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Flydubai is mulling its biggest aircraft purchase in 15 years, which could support its growth into the next decade, the carrier’s CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith told Bloomberg at the Farnborough International Air Show. The airline is reevaluating its all-Boeing fleet, exploring options from both Boeing and Airbus due to significant delivery delays. Al Ghaith mentioned that Flydubai’s next major order would exceed its 2017 order of 175 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Remember: UAE’s budget carrier flydubai said last week that its expansion plans will be significantly hampered by delays in Boeing’s delivery schedule. The airline is now working on “evaluating its route development plans and potential frequency revision across the network due to a lack of new aircraft deliveries over the next few months.” Fourteen 737 MAX aircraft, originally slated for delivery this year, will not be handed over to Flydubai due to Boeing’s revised schedule.

#2- Ewec launches tender for power turbine project: Abu Dhabi’s utilities provider, Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec), has issued a request for proposals for the development, operation, and maintenance of a combined-cycle gas turbine in the Al Taweelah power and desalination complex, according to a statement. Ewec expects to receive bids by 4Q 2024 and will grant the successful developer an ownership stake of up to 40% in the plant.

About the project: The Taweelah power plant will have a generation capacity of up to 2.5 GW and is slated to commence commercial operations by 3Q 2028. The carbon capture-ready plant will focus on providing transitional capacity to support large-scale renewable energy and provide flexibility during periods of peak demand.

#3- Climate-focused Princeville Capital to set up shop in Hub71: California-based VC Princeville Capital is planning to launch an office in Abu Dhabi’s startup incubator Hub71, with plans to commit “multi-mn USD” in funding for climate tech startups in the hub, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing a Hub71 statement. The VC will act as the first international anchor for Hub71, the hub said in a video (watch, runtime: 1:42).

#4- Expo City Dubai has launched land sales for its Expo Valley residential project, offering plots ranging between 7.5-12.5k sqft, with the option for buyers to combine plots, according to a press release. The developer has also awarded four construction contracts for the project, with three going to UAE-based firms, without disclosing the chosen developers.

DATA POINT-

#1- Investors like the UAE for IPOs: Some 84% of UAE-based investors said they are willing to invest in future IPOs, surpassing interest levels in 2023 and 2022, and signaling a “strong investor appetite for UAE IPOs for 2024,” according to an Edelman Smithfield’s UAE investor survey picked up by Zawya. Some 71% of investors said they trust the local book building process.

Real estate IPOs were favored by over half of investors, while technology sparked interest from 41% of investors, followed by the healthcare sector, which attracted interest from 33% of respondents.

#2- The UAE’s passport was ranked the ninth most powerful passport in the world on the Henley & Partners Passport Index, climbing 53 places to rank among the top ten passports for the first time since the launch of the index in 2006. The passport offers its holders entry to 185 countries without visas, a “result of deliberate and concerted efforts by the Emirati government to position the UAE as a global hub for business, tourism, and investment,” Henley & Partners CEO, Dr Juerg Steffen said.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The foreign business press is focused squarely on the Nasdaq’s worst day since 2022. The index saw some USD 1 tn in outflows as Big Tech stocks, including Tesla and Alphabet, plunged, Bloomberg reports, saying the rout was the result of doubts about potential returns on costly investments in AI. The trigger: massive spending on the still commercially unproven technology made clear by Alphabet’s earnings.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 3% at close, while the Dow was off 1.3% and the S&P 500 fell 2.3%.

Concerns that AI’s commercial hype may be overblown have grown louder as companies continue to spend big on AI infrastructure with little financial payoff, some pundits say.

Expect plenty of quarterly results from tech players next week: Microsoft is due out on Tuesday, followed by Meta, Apple, and Amazon. Nvidia will be the final one to report on 28 August.

MEANWHILE- Ether ETFs attracted inflows of USD 108 mn on the first day they went live, the Financial Times reports.

PLUS- Crowdstrike blamed the global tech outage on Friday on a bug in the test software it uses to validate content updates, according to a blog post yesterday.

Over in the world of politics, US President Joe Biden delivered a speech explaining his decision to withdraw from the presidential race, saying he is ready to “pass the torch” to the next generation as he continues his “defense of democracy.” CNN has the story, or you can catch it here on the White House’s Youtube channel (watch, runtime: 11:02).

AND- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress last night, doubling down on his justification for Israel’s war on Gaza. Though Netanyahu received copious applause, particularly from the red side of the aisle, dozens of Congress Democrats did not attend, including Vice President and projected Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. She is set to meet Netanyahu today.

US officials are saying ceasefire negotiations are “in closing stages,” with Reuters reporting that Netanyahu and Biden are set to iron out the gaps today. How many times have we heard that in the past six months?

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The annual jiu-jitsu tournament, the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship, is returning to Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala Arena on 2 August, Wam reports.

Abu Dhabi will play host to a big night for mixed martial arts fans on 3 August at Etihad arena. The UFC Fight Night will see the return of MMA champion Nick Diaz, who has been out of the limelight since 2021, as he goes head to head with Tony Ferguson.

Also set to clash: Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will face bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera, while world number 2 bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen will headline against Umar Nurmagomedov.

The World ESG Summit is scheduled to take place on 20-21 August at Dusit Thani in Dubai. The two-day business conference will gather public and private sector players from key sectors like energy, utilities finance, and manufacturing to explore ESG integration across all industries.

The Dubai PodFest kicks off on 30 September at Dubai World Trade Centre in Za’abeel Hall 5, according to a press release. Organized by the Dubai Press Club, the event will bring together top podcasters and media professionals in the Arab world to discuss the future of the industry.

Sharjah will host the 2024 International Government Communication Forum on 4-5 September at the Expo Centre Sharjah, Wam reports. Organized by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, the event aims to promote innovative government communication strategies and tools across social, economic, cultural, and tourism domains.

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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