Good morning, friends. We have a big issue for you this morning, led by news of what could be the biggest IPO of the year, and an update on Adnoc’s blockbuster Covestro takeover bid.

WEATHER- The humidity is still fogging up our windows in Dubai, with the mercury set to peak at 42°C before cooling to an overnight low of 34°C. It’s a similar story in Abu Dhabi, where humidity levels are sky-high and temperatures will hit 37°C, before cooling to 33°C.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

CBUAE to auction AED 17.5 bn m-bills: The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) will offer up to AED 17.5 bn in four m-bills at an auction on Monday, 2 September, according to a statement (pdf) from the bank. Three of the m-bills are tap issuances, with the four having tenors ranging from 28 to 294 days.

Decoding central bank speak: M-bills are short-term securities issued in AED by the CBUAE at no interest. The bonds typically have maturity dates of one to 12 months and are not retrievable through any other listing. A tap issuance allows the CBUAE to more finely control money supply by allowing it the flexibility to continue selling bills past the initial auction date.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Electric and hydrogen-powered buses will join Abu Dhabi’s public bus fleet next month, with charging stations already placed at the bus depots, Head of Sustainable Mobility at the emirate’s Integrated Transport Centre Anan Alamri said at a Khaleej Times forum. The number of buses and their routes were not disclosed.

IN CONTEXT- The zero-emission buses are a part of Abu Dhabi’s target to convert 20% of public transportation to emission-free by 2030 and reach 100% by 2050.

#2- India plans to import 160 tons of gold from the UAE in FY 2024-25, up from 140 tons the previous year, Business Standard reported, citing an official. Under the two countries’ trade and economic partnership agreement, India had agreed to import up to 200 tons of gold annually from the UAE with a 1% tariff concession.

Remember: India requested a review meeting last week with the UAE to discuss key provisions of their trade agreement, following concerns around the potential revenue losses that India could incur once tariffs on silver and gold are eliminated under the current agreement.

#3- Dragon Oil is exploring new potential areas to ramp up production in Turkmenistan to boost production, Wam reports. This includes potentially acquiring additional offshore concessions, such as Dongolok and Block 20, as well as boosting production in the west of Zhdanov field and Block 19, during meetings with top Turkmen officials, including Deputy PM Batyr Amanov.

ICYMI- 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.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Dubai ranked ninth in Lloyd’s List’s 100 container ports ranking, outperforming Rotterdam and Hong Kong, and up two spots from last year’s ranking. Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa port came in 40th place this year compared to its previous ranking of 47 last year.

#2- Dubai and Abu Dhabi were named the best destinations for digital nomads, according to a Savills report seen by Bloomberg. The report included 25 residential markets, ranking them based on internet speed, quality of life, climate, air connectivity, and rental prices. “People want the best of both worlds — a seaside lifestyle with the city amenities,” research associate Kelcie Sellers said. “Most of the top 10 fall into that category, and the desire for this type of location has increased in recent years.”

#3- Dubai landed in the fourth spot globally among top destinations for vacation rentals in 2023, according to a Skift report cited by Emarat Al Youm. The emirate’s vacation rentals market grew 61% y-o-y last year, the report showed.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The international business press is uniformly leading its front pages this morning with Nvidia’s earnings, which we unpack in Planet Finance, below.

Also getting prominent coverage this morning: Telegram CEO and founder Pavel Durov was charged in France for being complicit in the spread of inappropriate images of children on the platform, in addition to complicity in illicit transactions, fraud, and drug trafficking. Durov was also charged with failure to comply with authorities on investigations into illegal activities happening on Telegram. French authorities ordered Durov to post EUR 5 mn bail and banned him from leaving the country. Durov was arrested on arrival in France earlier this week. (Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | Washington Post | New York Times)

PLUS- OpenAI is in talks for another funding round that would give the ChatGPT maker a valuation of more than USD 100 bn, the Wall Street Journal reported. OpenAI is currently valued at USD 86 bn. The company is in talks with Thrive Capital — which alone could invest USD 1 bn — and other investors for its first funding round since the release of ChatGPT in early 2023. CNBC and the Financial Times also have the story.

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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 World Air Taxi Congress will be held on 7-10 October at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s event will gather clean technology aircraft OEMs, start-up operators, buyers, investors and regulators, to discuss the future of air transport.

Tour de France is coming to town: Dubai will play host to the inaugural L’Etape Dubai cycling race as part of the global Tour de France series on 2 February 2025, Wam reports. The two-day event will welcome over 2k cyclists from around the world to participate across two main races (a 110 km race and 60 km ride), as well as a kids race and family ride. Registration for the races is open, with deadlines set for 30 September for the 60km race and 31 December for 110m.

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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