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FINANCE-
Nomura Holdings eyes expanding its Dubai team: Japan’s largest brokerage and investment bank, Nomura Holdings, plans to hire three to four relationship managers in Dubai as it seeks to expand its wealth management business in the emirate, along with Hong Kong, and Singapore, the bank’s Head of International Wealth Management Ravi Raju told Reuters. Nomura’s Dubai team currently has 10 employees.
Part of a bigger plan to boost offshore wealth assets: The expansion is part of the bank’s strategy to buff up its offshore wealth assets to USD 35 bn in 2025, 46% up from its current level of USD 24 bn.
INVESTMENT-
Adia-backed FirstCry’s board gives the nod to a AED 50 mn investment in UAE arm: Adia-backed Indian baby products retailer FirstCry received board approval for a AED 50 mn investment in its UAE subsidiary Firstcry Management, according to a disclosure to the Indian stock exchange (pdf). In turn, FirstCry will invest up to AED 31 mn in its Saudi subsidiary FirstCry Trading Company, KSA, and funnel the remainder into its Emirati subsidiary FirstCry Retail to meet working capital needs
REMEMBER- Adia invested USD 8 mn in FirstCry ahead of its USD 501 mn IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
TECH-
The UAE launches a platform for monitoring natural emergencies: The Foreign Affairs Ministry and the National Centre of Meteorology launched a digital platform for monitoring weather and natural disasters called Early Warning System for All, Wam reports. The platform facilitates the exchange of information and data, aiming to promote effective responses to emergencies and ramp up safety for UAE visitors.
ENERGY-
Dragon Oil established its largest regional office outside the UAE in Turkmenistan as the UAE’s state-run oil and gas company seeks to boost production capacity in the central Asian country, Wam reports. The new office, located in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat, will help accelerate the company’s plans to ramp up its output to 250k barrels per day by the end of 2025, up from its current level of 180k barrels, and tap the blue hydrogen sector by 2029, the company’s Chairman Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said.
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.
REAL ESTATE-
Dubai-based developer Damac Properties expanded into Ras Al Khaimah with a new residential project on Al Marjan Island, dubbed Shoreline by Damac, the company said in a statement. The 17-storey beachfront development will offer one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, along with duplexes. The company did not disclose details about the project’s value or timeline.
INFRASTRUCTURE-
The Al Ain Municipality launched a geospatial data management platform, which uses satellite imaging and AI to monitor changes to the urban landscape, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. The platform, dubbed Al Ain Geo, aims to boost the efficiency of urban planning.
