Good morning, lovely people, and happy FRIDAY. We have an energy-heavy issue for you this morning, led by Amea Power’s plans to invest in renewables projects in Egypt — including what’s planned to be the biggest solar plant in Africa.

Also worth your attention: Abu Dhabi just granted a production concession in Al Ruwais to Indian joint venture Urja Bharat, and Apex Energy formed a JV with renewables outfit Enercap for energy storage solutions.

Headlining the EnterpriseAM Finance Forum: We’ll be joined for the first time on stage by a senior government official, who’s joining us to outline a vision for where we’re going as a community and as an economy. The keynote interview will get underway at 9am sharp, and you won’t want to miss our exclusive networking breakfast from 8am.

Among the topics on the agenda:

  • Welcome to the hot seat — top industry CEOs set the tone by addressing the biggest (and toughest) questions of the day.
  • Looking from the outside in — what foreign investors and strategics think about Egypt right now.
  • The only asset class in town — It’s real estate or nothing. We’ll get into the ins and outs of the industry, how it’s financing itself, which areas (and price points) are next, and more.
  • Gazing into that crystal ball — The outlook for dealflow in 2025, from M&A and IPOs to securitization, FX and more.
  • A once in a generation opportunity? — A deep dive into the promise and pitfalls of the emerging energy economy.
  • Do we really love banking SMEs? — With NBFIs and fintech players staking their claims, banks are starting to take the SME market seriously.
  • The NBFI panel — The resilience of the Egyptian consumer is the business story of the decade. How are banks and NBFS players building sustainable businesses? What are the opportunities — and credit worries — in the B2B space?

Are you going to be in Egypt and haven’t requested an invitation yet? Do it today — space is limited. Tap or click here to let us know you’re interested.

** IMPORTANT NOTE — If you’ve already received your invitation on email, you *must* click through to confirm you’re attending.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Dubai International Financial Center’s AI Campus launched its own Dubai AI License on the sidelines of the Dubai AI & Web3 Festival, in a bid to attract more companies to the emirate, according to a DIFC statement. The 90% subsidized commercial license will offer holders cost benefits and growth opportunities. Companies can apply for the license here.

The campus also inaugurated an “AI as a Service” concept to support companies in assessing readiness for AI and identifying market windows during the event.

There’s more to come: DIFC’s Dubai AI Campus plans to secure USD 300 mn in investment and expand to 500 companies by 2028, up from 120 firms currently, the statement reads.

#2- A UAE-based bank is negotiating a major stake in an Indian bank, potentially worth bns, UAE ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali confirmed in an interview with CNBC TV18 (watch runtime: 6:49). Specific details are pending due to unresolved issues, but Alshaali is optimistic about resolution.

The ambassador could be talking about the Yes Bank acquisition: Emirates NBD is reportedly in advanced talks with the State Bank of India (SBI) to acquire its full 24% stake in Indian Yes Bank, a share holding valued at USD 2.2 bn. First Abu Dhabi Bank was also linked to talks with Yes Bank, but denied the reports earlier in July.

PSAs-

#1- Abu Dhabi will require Emirati couples planning to get married to undergo genetic testing as of 1 October to detect potential genetic disorders and compatibility as part of their premarital screening, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said. The testing has been rolled out as part of a pilot phase, and is now available across 22 primary care centers in the emirate. Results will take two weeks to be out.

#2- Dubai will get its own population registry on the Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment’s digital platform, according to a Dubai Media Office statement.

#3- All entities involved with the Energy and Infrastructure Ministry are now digitally connected through a new project called Data Bridge, state news agency Wam reports. The initiative will allow the ministry and the entities it works with to exchange documents in real-time, and request data just once. The project plans to integrate with 50 government entities by 2025, improve customer satisfaction by ensuring data is requested only once to 90% by the end of 2025, and reduce required documents by half by the end of next year.

DATA POINTS-

#1- AI could contribute USD 100 bn to the UAE’s GDP by 2030, AstraTech and Botim Founder and CEO Abdallah Abu-Sheikh was quoted as saying by state news agency Wam on the sidelines of the Dubai AI and Web3 Festival. The country’s AI market itself is on track to be valued at USD 50 bn by 2031, he added.

#2- UAE banks poured some AED 680.2 bn in investments this year as of June, up 18.4% y-o-y from June 2023, according to the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)’s banking indicators report (pdf). National banks accounted for AED 631.6 bn of total investments, while foreign banks made up 48.6 bn, according to separate CBUAE data (pdf).

#3- The UAE ranked 17th in the US News’ Best Countries in the World index for 2024 out of 87 countries, with an overall score of 79.1. The country topped the list in the Movers category — analyzing how different, distinctive, dynamic, and unique countries are — with a score of 100. It also performed well in agility (69.4) and entrepreneurship (66.4). The UAE scored 61.3 in open for business, 58.6 in cultural influence, and 52.2 in power. Quality of life was rated at 46.9.

#4- The UAE achieved the highest labor force participation rate among G20 countries at 82%, with only 1% of workers classified as vulnerable, and a low unemployment rate of 2%, according to data from the Human Resources and Emiratization Ministry’s Labour Market Observatory.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The UAE is said to be taking part in the Beijing defense forum, which is on its second day and is set to wrap tomorrow, Reuters reports. The forum will also see participation from Belarus, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia, Chile and the Maldives’ defense ministers, as well as a deputy Russian defense minister and US deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, Michael Chase.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

#1- The Arab Water Forum is coming to Abu Dhabi from 16-18 September at Adnec Center in Abu Dhabi. The event will feature over 60 exhibitors from 24 countries, along with roundtables and speaker sessions, gathering water sector leaders to discuss solutions for clean water and sanitation, with an emphasis on innovation and improving water security.

#2- Our friends at HSBC, together with UK Export Finance and Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce, are hosting the Egypt-UK Investment and Opportunities Forum in London on Monday, 16 September. The conference will showcase investment opportunities in Egypt across different sectors — including renewable energy, water, automotive, food processing, IT, and AI — to potential investors from the UK. It will also facilitate matchmaking between institutions of both countries, bringing together government representatives, business leaders, and senior executives.

#3- The World Utilities Congress will take place from Monday, 16 September to Wednesday, 18 September in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather global energy leaders, policymakers, and other industry professionals from the power and water utilities value chain to discuss industry trends and challenges.

#4- The Dubai Financial Services Authority and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will be hosting their first climate finance conference in Hong Kong, where they will discuss opportunities and challenges in the transition finance space.

#5- The Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress 2024 will take place from Monday, 16 September to Friday, 20 September in Dubai. The Congress is expected to welcome 20k participants to explore innovations in smart mobility and transportation technology.

#6- The AI in Oil and Gas Midle East conference will take place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a focus on AI in exploration and production, supply chains, data analytics, and more. The event will feature speakers and AI experts from across the region’s oil firms.

#7- The Sharjah Investment Forum will kick off on Wednesday and run until Thursday at the Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre in Sharjah. Discussions will span across investments in emerging markets and in the UAE, smart cities and economies, and more.

#8- Forbes’ Healthcare Leaders Summit 2024 will take place on Thursday and Friday at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi. The event gathers healthcare leaders from across the region to discuss innovation in healthcare and sustainability in the industry.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s a lot to digest in the foreign press today, with plenty happening in US and foreign politics alongside a couple of notable updates on the business front.

#1- Former US President Donald Trump has sworn off of debates against his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, writing on his social media platform Truth Social that “there will be no third debate,” just a few days after his debate with Harris swayed public opinion against him. (Reuters | CNN | France24)

Case in point: Harris is currently leading by five percentage points in a Reuters poll, receiving 47% of votes against Trump’s 42%.

IN OTHER TRUMP NEWS- The presidential hopeful is planning to launch a digital assets project as he “[embraces] the future with crypto and [leaves] the slow and outdated big banks behind,” he said in a video on X.

#2- Russian President Vladimir Putin is threatening war against the West as the US and UK plan to discuss today allowing Kyiv to target Russia with deep strikes with the help of Western-supplied cruise missiles. “This will mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are fighting Russia,” he said. (Financial Times | Politico)

IN BUSINESS NEWS- Speculations over the US Federal Reserve’s moves next week continue, with the FT and WSJ weighing the options of a half-point or a quarter-point rate cut.

PLUS- Are we getting closer to a reckoning with AI? OpenAI says it has launched a preview of a product — known as o1 — that is “capable of reasoning” and can solve complex math and coding problems — the first in a planned series.

The caveat: The model is expensive — the o1 preview is USD 15 for every mn input tokens, equivalent to a chunk of text, and USD 60 for 1 mn output tokens.

Who can access it? ChatGPT Plus and Team users now have access to the preview and its cheaper, “mini” version starting today, while Enterprise and Edu users get access early next week.

***

You’re reading EnterpriseAM UAE, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about the UAE, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Monday through Friday by 7am UAE time.

EnterpriseAM UAE is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Mashreq.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM UAE.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on UAE@enterpriseAM.com .

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the MENA climate and logistics industries?

***

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *