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PAYMENTS-
Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group’s fintech subsidiary Comera Financial Holding launched Comera Pay, a digital payment platform integrated into the Comera messaging app, according to a press release. The platform, licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, offers cashless payment services for both individuals and businesses.
For individuals, the platform offers digital wallets, peer-to-peer transfers, QR code payments, remittances, bill payments, mobile top-ups, and virtual accounts. For businesses, it provides POS systems, payment gateways, QR code acceptance, multi-currency wallets, cross-border remittances, corporate expense management, and merchant services.
INFRASTRUCTURE-
#1- The first floating smart police station in the Middle East will be operational in Dubai by the end of 2026, state news agency Wam reports. The unmanned facility — part of a AED 2 bn initiative aimed at revamping Dubai Police — will operate 24/7 without human intervention, relying on AI and robotics. It has a Guinness record title.
The details: The floating station will provide 27 primary services, including filing criminal and traffic reports, and 33 additional services, such as returning lost items and managing requests for certificates and permits.
#2- Ajman’s Municipality and Planning Department inaugurated the Envirol Grease Trap Waste Receiving Plant in the Al Jurf Industrial Area in partnership with Alserkal Group, state news agency Wam reports. The plant will collect waste from oil and grease traps, helping to protect drainage systems and mitigate environmental impacts.
The details: The facility has a capacity to receive up to 10k gallons of waste per day, with plans for future expansion. The plant uses smart technologies for waste collection and transportation, with the ability to convert waste into treated water and organic fertilizers for agriculture.
SUSTAINABILITY-
The first phase of the Dubai Reef project went online, following the fabrication of 1k out of 20k modules, Wam reports. The project, which aims to create the world’s largest single purpose-built reef development, will deploy 20k reef modules over 600k sq km during a three-year period.
M&A-
GFH Partners acquires US student housing assets: GFH Financial Group’s DIFC-based asset management arm GFH Partners acquired A-Class purpose-built student housing assets in the US worth USD 300 mn, it said in an ADX disclosure (pdf). The transactions bring its US student housing portfolio to over 5.5k beds, with total assets under management reaching USD 900 mn. The acquisition was executed in partnership with Atlanta-based SQ Asset Management, which manages over 15k beds, and New York-based Vesper Holdings, which manages 30k beds.
The details:The assets boast a 99% occupancy rate, supported by their location near major public universities with over 30k enrollments annually. They include…
- Two properties near the University of North Texas, offering 859 beds;
- One property near the University of Kentucky, offering 649 beds;
- A development project near the University of Tennessee, to deliver 605 beds by 2026.
MANUFACTURING-
Al Ghurair Foods broke ground on a new hatchery and poultry processing facility in Abu Dhabi’s Kezad Area A, which will feature the largest rendering plant in the UAE, according to a press release. The facility will include a hatchery, poultry processing plant, rendering plant, and effluent treatment plant. The project follows a 50-year land lease agreement signed with Kezad in April 2023 for three mega food processing projects with over AED 1 bn in estimated investments.
The details: The hatchery will have an initial capacity to hatch 10 mn day-old chicks and produce 10k tons of finished goods annually. The rendering plant will process 1.6k tons of high-protein meals and 400 tons of oil derived from poultry waste, which will be reused as animal feed and alternative fuel.
