Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. The news cycle has gone quiet in the final days of August, before conference season returns with a vengeance in September.

ALSO- Happy Emirati women’s day — we hope you get the chance to celebrate.

THE BIG STORY here at home is BHM Capital’s general assembly greenlighting the firm’s acquisition of Al Waqan Capital, making way for its capital increase and a potential listing of its real estate segment on the ADX.

Our friends at Mashreq launched a graduate program offering specialized, industry-specific training on different business units within the bank, including retail banking, audit, compliance, technology, legal, operations, risk management, and customer experience, according to a press release (pdf). The program, dubbed Pathfinders, will kick off in September, with on-the-job training within graduates’ respective business units following after. Candidates will also participate in Mashreq’s Ethraa training program, designed in collaboration with the Emirates Institute of Finance.

How to apply: Mashreq recommends that graduates submit a minute-long video to nationalisation@mashreq.com outlining their educational history and career aspirations.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-

New extended maternity leave for Abu Dhabi mothers to kick in as of September: Working mothers in the private sector with children born on or after 1 September will be eligible for an extended maternity leave of 90 days under a new initiative by the Abu Dhabi Social Support Authority, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. Eligible Emirati mothers will also get the option of additional financial support, provided they apply within 30 days of delivery and hand over documentation, including a no-objection certificate from their employer. More details on application procedures will be revealed in September.

Background: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved last month extending maternity leave for women employees in the private sector to 90 days from 60 under the Emirati Family Growth Program. The scheme also includes annual rental assistance and loan repayment deductions.

🌫️WEATHER- It’s looking like another foggy day in Dubai, with the mercury peaking at 42°C before dropping to an overnight low of 32°C. It’s more of the same in Abu Dhabi, which will see temperatures rise to 39°C before cooling to 32°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Mubadala-backed Fortress is out of the race for Paramount: Veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. withdrew his Fortress-backed USD 6 bn bid to take over Paramount Global, clearing the way for the US media firm Skydance’s USD 8 bn merger proposal, Reuters reports, citing a statement by Bronfman. Despite raising his bid to USD 6 bn bid, up from an initial USD 4.3 bn, and securing financing from Mubadala-backed Fortress Investment Group, Bronfman’s acquisition attempt fell through as some of the investors in his consortium were unable to raise the necessary equity. With Bronfman out, Skydance is set to close its merger with Paramount in 1H 2025.

Background:Mubadala-backed Fortress Investment was among the 19 entities Bronfman tapped to back his bid to acquire Paramount Global through National Amusements, which owns a controlling stake in Paramount. The initial USD 4.3 bn offer included 2.4 bn in debt and equity for National Amusements, as well as a USD 1.5 bn pledge to improve Paramount’s balance sheet.

#2- Bank of Singapore is considering adding Dubai to its booking centers network, which currently includes Singapore and Hong Kong, Ranjit Khanna, head of private banking for Europe and the Middle East and CEO for Dubai hub at Bank of Singapore, told Reuters. The bank sees the Middle East making up 20% of its total revenue and private banking assets over the next three to five years.

What he said: Dubai has become a top destination for global m’naires post-covid on the back of favorable government policies, “ease of doing business, positive infrastructure, [and] golden visa regime,” Khanna noted.

The UAE saw an 8.9% jump as a booking center, posting the highest growth rate and ranking seventh largest booking center globally in 2023, according to Boston Consulting Group’s Global Wealth Report (pdf). The strong growth — driven by 40% of the total inflows coming from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East markets in 2023 — positioned the UAE as a cross-border hub for Asia and Africa, supported by its close ties with China and increased international investment in luxury real estate.

#3- Pakistan looks to the Middle East for more financing to plug funding gap: Pakistan is eyeing raising up to USD 4 bn from Middle Eastern commercial banks by 2025 to plug its external financing gap, Jameel Ahmad, told Reuters. Pakistan previously obtained assurances from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China to roll over debt, with the latest assurance granted to USD 12 bn in debt earlier this month.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- The UAE will attend Turkey’s Development Road Summit tomorrow to discuss the possible USD 20 bn project aimed at connecting the Iraqi port of Basra to the Persian Gulf to Turkey, Al Monitor reported, citing Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu’s Friday remarks. The quadripartite summit — which will also see the participation of Iraq and Qatar — will discuss the details of the project.

REMEMBER- The UAE, Iraq, Turkey, and Qatar signed a preliminary agreement back in April to work together on the Development Road project in Iraq, which aims to connect a significant commodities port on Iraq’s southern coast — the Grand Faw Port — to Turkey’s border via rail and road networks.

#2- Emirati cyclist Ahmed Al Badwawi and track and field athlete Maryam Al Zeyoudi will be among 14 athletes participating in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games taking place starting tomorrow, Al Etihad News reported. Al Badwawi will be participating for the first time, while 2023 Asian Games athletics champion Al Zeyoudi will make her second appearance. The UAE is participating with 14 athletes in shooting, athletics, weightlifting, judo and cycling.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Arab countries accounted for 20%, or AED 280 bn, of UAE’s foreign trade in 1H 2024 which stood at an all-time high of almost AED 1.4 tn, on the back of an increase in non-oil exports, Al Bayan reported, citing the assistant undersecretary for international trade affairs at the Economy Ministry Juma Al Kait.

#2- Businesswomen currently account for 18% of UAE entrepreneurs, with 77.6% of women-owned businesses being led by females under the age of 40, Wam reported, citing a report by the Emirates Businesswomen Council. Women currently account for 34.6% of the workforce, up from 32.5% last year.

Emirati female entrepreneurs registered over 2k new businesses in 1H 2024, amounting to 22% of all new businesses registered during that period. These firms operate in the sectors of renewable energy, e-commerce, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and human resources management.

#3- The UAE topped the Middle East’s aviation market by seat capacity in August, with 7.6 mn seats available, up 8.7% y-o-y, according to OAG International’s data (pdf). The UAE accounted for 31.7% of the region’s total seat capacity, according to our math.

#4- Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc)’s subsidiary Dragon Oil’s has invested over USD 10 bn in developing oil production at the Çeleken concession in Turkmenistan, Dragon Oil’s Chairman Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said during a meeting with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, according to a statement. Dragon’s investment in the field has boosted its production to a cumulative output of 447 mn barrels.

REMEMBER- Dragon Oil plans to develop three new offshore oil fields in Turkmenistan under an agreement signed with Turkmenistan’s national oil company Turkmennebit in January. The agreement will see the Emirati oil firm develop three fields within Block 19, near the Çeleken concession.

#5- The UAE ranked third globally for the adoption and integration of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, scoring 41.8 on British consultant company Henley and Partners’ Henley Crypto Adoption Index 2024. In a separate statement, the consultancy credited the country’s lack of capital gains tax or personal income tax on crypto holdings for individual investors as the reason for the high adoption.

#6- The Securities and Commodities Authority saw its assets under management rise to AED 35 bn, on the back of an 83% increase in licensed companies managing portfolios and investment funds this year, with 33 companies logged compared to 18 in January 2023, Wam reports. The authority has received 25 new applications from companies to start investment funds.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Trump gets indicted, again: Former President and current presidential nominee Donald Trump was hit with a fresh indictment yesterday in the 2020 election case, as special counsel Jack Smith submitted a revised indictment accusing Trump of election subversion.

The new indictment was revised to remove parts of the case that would conflict with a recent Supreme Court ruling granting presidents immunity for “official acts” while in office, including allegations “related to an effort … to make the Justice Department support his false claims of voter fraud.” The ruling, in effect, granted Trump immunity from being indicted over colluding with Justice Department officials because communicating with the Justice Department would count towards his “core official duties.”

The fresh indictment was filed at the eleventh hour before the start of a 60-day window before presidential elections, in which the Justice Department has a policy of avoiding prosecution-related work that could influence an election.

The story is topping the front pages everywhere this morning: Reuters | Politico | Financial Times | Washington Post | New York Times | Wall Street Journal

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MARKET WATCH-

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have cut their crude outlook for 2025 to below USD 80 due to expectations of an increase in supply, with Goldman revising its forecast for Brent to USD 77 and Morgan Stanley seeing futures in the range of USD 75-78, Bloomberg reports, citing notes from the two investment banks. Morgan Stanley analysts expect the crude oil balance, which is currently in a deficit, to return to equilibrium by the end of the year before turning to a surplus next year.

REMEMBER- Opec+ plans to reverse supply cuts that it had put in place to support oil prices by October.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

du’s annual tech event Envision will take place on 5 September at the Atlantis the Royal in Dubai, the Emirati telecom company said in a statement picked up by Zawya. The event will host policymakers and industry leaders to explore the use of 5G, cloud, AI, and data analytics across various sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, real estate, banking, transport, and agriculture.

The International Government Communication Forum is scheduled to take place on 4-5 September at the Expo Centre in Sharjah. Held under the theme “Agile Governments, Innovative Communication,” the two-day event will gather government officials, media experts and professionals, and industry players to discuss and showcase strategies and tools for innovative communication to advance media policies across various sectors, Wam reports.

The PPP MENA Forum will take place on 10-11 September at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai. Sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, the two-day event will bring together senior policymakers, investors, and business executives from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman to discuss the latest financial and regulatory developments in PPP frameworks and explore means to advance PPP initiatives in the region.

The inaugural Dubai AI & Web3 Festival will be held on 11-12 September at Madinat Jumeirah. Organized by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the event will host over 100 exhibitors and will welcome some 5k tech industry experts and entrepreneurs to explore and discuss investment, collaboration and innovation in the tech sector.

An inaugural Gitex Digi Health 5.0 conference will take place from 11 to 12 September in Singapore, under a new partnership between Dubai-based tech and startup event Gitex and Medical Fair Asia, which is similarly set to kick off from 11 to 13 September in Singapore, according to a press release picked up by Zawya. The conference aims to advance digital health across Asia, covering topics including AI, telemedicine, digital health solutions, and the impact of emerging technologies on healthcare.

Event speakers will include representatives from Dubai Health Authority, Singapore’s Health Ministry, UNICEF, and leading global health tech companies.

The Gulf-Azerbaijan Economic Forum will take place on 25-26 September at the Heydar Aliyev Exhibition Center in Baku, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The Federation of Gulf Chambers will host the event, which will be attended by government officials and politicians to discuss developing trade relations between the GCC countries and Azerbaijan. They will also delve into investment opportunities in food security and agriculture, renewable energy, logistics, and transportation.

The Connected Construction Conference will kick off on 30 October at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, welcoming leaders, decision-makers, and BIM specialists from the construction industry to spotlight new technological advancements. Conference host Trimble will reveal details on expanding its software portfolio for construction document management in the Middle East during the event, according to a press release picked up by Zawya.

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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