Good morning, wonderful people. It’s still relatively quiet on the news front as we approach the halfway mark of August, but we have a fresh batch of earnings and news of a big USD 1 bn wastewater treatment plant to be developed by Abu Dhabi’s Sustainable Water Solutions and other partners in Uzbekistan for you to look at.

PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterpriseAM UAE is off tomorrow. Longtime readers of our other publications know that we take occasional holidays during the dog days of summer and toward year’s end to recharge our batteries. We’re taking a day tomorrow to enjoy some time with family and friends — we’ll see all of you back here on Monday at our usual time.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-

Dubai Municipality has upgraded its Dubai Building Permits (Dubai BPs) app, according to the Dubai Media Office. The redesigned app now includes a dashboard for viewing land plot information, a search function for finding and evaluating consultants and contractors, the ability to request engineering plans, and an e-payment option via Dubai Pay.

More on Dubai BPs: The app simplifies the permit process and tracks permit status and requests additional services for building owners, contractors, and consultants.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Adia doubles down on India investments in 1H: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) has invested nearly USD 1 bn in India across five transactions in 1H 2024, encouraged by the country’s strong growth and investor-friendly policies, Zawya reports, citing experts.

ICYMI- The wealth fund entered a USD 240 mn quasi-equity agreement with Indian real estate development company Prestige to develop residential projects worth USD 2.16 bn in India. Additionally, Adia poured USD 1.5 bn, along with US private equity firm KKR, into Indian Reliance Retail’s warehousing assets, while backing Indian retailer Purplle in a USD 120 mn funding round.

Adia has its eyes on emerging markets: “For years, Adia has tried to increase its exposure in Asia and in emerging markets; however, it is a challenging task given their mandate and size of their portfolio, and because most sizable opportunities continue to arise in North America,” Diego López, founder and managing director of Global SWF, told Zawya. Currently, 23% of Adia’s USD 8.3 bn portfolio is in emerging markets, according to Global SWF’s 1H data.

What’s India’s share in Adia’s portfolio? In 2023, Adia’s investments in India reached USD 1.7 bn, making up 17% of its total portfolio. Despite dipping in value from USD 2.7 bn the previous year, the investment’s portfolio share rose from 11% in 2022.

REMEMBER- Adia has more in the pipeline: The sovereign wealth fund is set to boost its holdings in the South Asian country with two anticipated investments, a 51% stake in Indian food brand Haldiram, valued at USD 4.76 bn, and a 10% stake in education loan provider HDFC Credila Financial Services.

#2- Indian companies comprised the lion’s share of new non-Emirati companies joining the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 1H 2024, with nearly 7.9k new companies, Wam reports. Pakistan ranked second, with some 4k companies joining during the first half of the year, followed by Egypt (approximately 2.4k) and Syria (approximately 1.4k).

By the sector: Trade and repairing services accounted for 41.5% of new member companies, while real estate, renting, and business services made up 33.6%, representing a 9.5% y-o-y increase. The construction sector logged the highest growth rate in 1H, increasing 23.5% y-o-y, and comprising 9.4% of new companies.

#3- Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) saw a 31% y-o-y increase in new company registrations in 1H 2024, driven by an influx of hedge funds, VCs, crypto firms, and financial services firms, such as Morgan Stanley, the ADGM said (watch, runtime: 1:15). Over the first six months of 2024, ADGM saw its assets under management surge 226% y-o-y, while issuing 1.3k new licenses, marking a 20% y-o-y increase. Some 112 funds and asset managers now operate in ADGM.

WATCH THIS SPACE- More int’l firms will set up shop in ADGM: The financial hub noted that it has a robust pipeline of asset management firms, including hedge funds, private equity, institutional funds and VCs set to establish their presence in ADGM, without disclosing the specific number of incoming firms, in a separate statement.

#4- Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Abu Dhabi’s real estate market rose 225% y-o-y in 1H 2024, reeling in AED 3.28 bn from 971 investors across 75 countries, Wam reports, citing data from the emirate’s real estate center, Adrec. Abu Dhabi’s property market saw 12.4k transactions totaling valued at AED 36.2 bn, including AED 23.7 bn in sales and AED 12.5 bn in mortgages.

#5- UAE telecoms firms made up 42.6% of Gulf countries’ telecom sector’s net income in 2Q 2024, pooling USD 1.3 bn, up 25.2% y-o-y, Emarat Alyoum reports. Growth was driven by telecom company Du, which logged a y-o-y increase of 46.2% during the quarter, followed by e& (25.5%) and Yahsat (11.7%). Total net income in the Gulf telecom sector rose 18.7% y-o-y to USD 3.05 bn during the quarter.

UPDATE-

Adia-backed FirstCry’s IPO pop on the first day of trading: Indian baby products retailer FirstCry saw its shares rise 52% in their trading debut on the National Stock Exchange of India yesterday, Reuters reports. The company’s shares traded at INR 651, surpassing its offer price of INR 465.

REMEMBER- Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) invested USD 8 mn inFirstCry ahead of its USD 501 mn IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange. FirstCry raised a total of INR 18.86 bn (USD 224.5 mn) from institutional investors, and USD 3.36 bn total, with the IPO receiving bids for some 606.4 mn shares, approximately 12x the shares available.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

A handful of stories are vying for your attention in the foreign business press this morning. Getting top billing:

#1- Donald Trump promised to “make America affordable again” and to impose foreign tariffs on “countries that have been ripping us off,” as well as slash energy costs, if he’s elected, in a wide-ranging speech aimed at clarifying his economic policy ahead of debates with opponent Kamala Harris. (Wall Street Journal)

#2- Google will be required to make reforms to its Play Store on Android following a court ruling that accused it of being a “monopolist.” (Reuters)

#3- Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet confirmed the firm halved its stake in Apple, and cut stakes in Capital One, Chevron, and T-Mobile, and completely exited its stake in cloud computing software Snowflake and Paramount Global, in a shift towards cash and short-term Treasuries amid a wider sell-off on Wall Street in 2Q 2024. Hathaway dumped more than USD 77 bn shares in the quarter. (Financial Times)

#4- Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol will receive a pay package worth up to USD 113 mn, one of the largest in US corporate history. (FT)

ON THE AI FRONT- Apple is reportedly pushing ahead with a tabletop iPad-like device with a robotic limb, aimed at becoming a smart home command center, as it looks for new ways to boost its revenues. (Bloomberg)

ALSO- Gaza ceasefire talks in limbo: Ceasefire talks scheduled for today and set to be brokered by Qatar and Egypt should be moving forward despite Hamas’ refusal to participate following a series of Israeli attacks on Gaza and additional demands from the Israeli side, a US State Department spokesperson told the New York Times. Two officials briefed on the talks said that Hamas could still be willing to hear mediators out after the meeting if Israel put forward a “serious response” to Hamas’s latest offer, from early July.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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 Business Forum in Beijing, China is set to take place between 21-22 August. Hosted by Dubai Chambers, the event will gather over 50 Dubai-based companies and 350 Chinese firms to explore potential investments in sectors like green tech, AI, healthcare, and renewable energy, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah told the National.

Rex Fuels will host the Global Bitumen, Petrochemicals & Petroproducts Conference at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai on 21-22 August 2024. The conference will bring together bitumen and petroleum producers, suppliers, and traders, to network and discuss trends and challenges in the industry.

The Smart Cities Mena Summit is set to take place in Dubai on 14 October, gathering global policymakers, business leaders, and academics to discuss cross-sector cooperation aimed at enhancing capabilities and achieving economic goals, Wam reports.

The Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association Show is scheduled to take place at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai from 10-12 December, according to a statement. The three-day event will serve as a platform for aviation firms to network and showcase their latest offerings. Some regional operators that will be in attendance include Saudia Private, Qatar Executive, Mukamalah Aviation Company, and Jet Aviation.

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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