The Daily Circuit
đź‘‹ Hello from the Middle East!
Today in The Daily Circuit, we’re looking at the MENA financial leaders headed to the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington, a cautious return to normal among Mideast airlines, French bank Société Générale’s divestment of its Moroccan subsidiary and Tiger Woods’ first public comments on his golf summit last month with Saudi PIF head Yasir Al-Rumayyan. But first, the UAE looks to keep the conversation going on energy transition months after COP28.
We are back to business as usual here in the Gulf following the Eid Al Fitr break and energy is the focus in the UAE — even more than usual. Executives and investors are gathering this week for the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President of COP28, called the summit a “crucial platform” for governments and the private sector. Dr. Al Jaber, who is also Chairman of Masdar and CEO of ADNOC, said he hopes the conference will drive investments into the world energy transition.
The UAE is set to put its green bona fides forward as it aims to triple its renewable energy capacity to 30% by 2030 and establish a hub for hydrogen production and distribution in the coming decades. The ADQ-backed energy company TAQA is an anchor partner of the Abu Dhabi summit and will be joined by speakers including Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminum; Ali Tahir Jaffery, Director of Standard Chartered Bank; and Amy Lehoczky, Director of ESG at Abu Dhabi’s AI firm G42. Also appearing will be executives from German giant Siemens and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power.
Abu Dhabi’s alternative energy company Masdar, which last month bought a 50% stake in Terra-Gen, one of the largest private renewable energy producers in the U.S., is also set to host a parallel conference focused on hydrogen. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to address the conference amid increasing cooperation between the UAE and the UK on developing alternative energies. Masdar is looking to develop or acquire an energy portfolio of at least 100 GW capacity by 2030.
đź“° Developing Stories
CLEARING THE AIR
Airlines across the Middle East are resuming operations after canceling or rerouting some flights because of the Iranian missile assault against Israel over the weekend. Emirates, Etihad, Flydubai, El Al and Qatar Airways were among the carriers that took action as several nations closed their airspaces because of the attack, which caused only limited damage. Oil prices, which rose to a six-month high last week on concerns about the widely anticipated attack, retreated in early trading today. Analysts said indications that the conflict won’t escalate regionally and affect oil supplies kept prices from rising. Brent futures for June delivery, the global benchmark, fell 50 cents, or 0.5%, to $89.95 a barrel.
SPRING MEETINGS
Finance ministers and central bankers from around the world are descending on Washington today as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings get underway. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned ahead of the gathering that this decade risks being remembered as the “Tepid Twenties” unless leaders can address policies that spur growth – a tall order amid geopolitical tensions, stalling inflation and ballooning debt. Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan is leading the Kingdom’s delegation that also includes Central Bank Governor Ayman Alsayari. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, is heading the UAE delegation. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to make remarks on Tuesday and the IMF will release its updated economic outlook for the MENA region on Thursday.
đź’˛ Sovereign Circuit
Public Investment Fund: A month after his Bahamas golfing summit with PIF head Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Tiger Woods spoke publicly for the first time about the encounter in which they discussed the pending deal to unite the PGA Tour with Saudi-backed LIV Golf. “I don’t know if we’re closer, but certainly we’re headed in the right direction,” said Woods, a PGA player-director. “I think both sides came away from the meeting feeling positive.” Meanwhile, the sale of a $7.5 billion stake in London’s Heathrow Airport to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and other investors is at risk of collapse after Australia’s Macquarie Group ruled out its participation, The Telegraph reports.
Mubadala: Atvos, a Brazilian producer of biofuels that is 31.5% owned by Mubadala, signed an agreement last week to build a $69 million biomethane factory in the country based on sugar cane waste. Mubadala’s Sanad Group signed a $145 million five-year contract extension to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services in Abu Dhabi for South Korea’s Asiana Airlines. Mubadala’s Dolphin Energy gas company and NYU Abu Dhabi awarded the inaugural Dolphin Energy Fellowship to Maryam Al-Memari to conduct climate change research at the university.
Temesek: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund opened a regional office in Paris last week that will oversee investments in the Middle East and Africa.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
🇲🇦 Banking Sale: Société Générale, the French banking group, signed contracts with Morocco’s Saham Group, to sell control of its Moroccan subsidiary, Société Générale Marocaine de Banques, and insurance firm La Marocaine Vie for 745 million euros ($794 million).
💰 Asia Buildup: Apollo Global Management has raised $35 billion from Asia since the start of 2022 to bolster its expansion, Bloomberg reports. Apollo’s deal to refinance OQ Chemicals’ $1 billion debt may be dropped after its Omani shareholder decided against participating, according to the news agency.
🛢️ Drilling Rig: Saudi drilling firm ADES won a $93 million contract from France’s TotalEnergies to operate an offshore jack-up rig in Qatar.
đź”’ Cyber Deal: Noname Security, an Israeli-founded cybersecurity startup, is in advanced talks with Akamai Technologies to be acquired for $500 million, TechCrunch reports.
đź—Ł Circuit Chatter
🚉 City of Dreams: Saudi Arabia has scaled back the pace for building the futuristic megaproject NEOM, now projecting one planned city, called The Line, will be home to 300,000 people in 2030, down from 1.5 million, Bloomberg reports. Ultimately the 170-kilometer desert metropolis is planned to house 9 million people.
🇶🇦 Royal Family: The $150 billion fortune held by Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family is explored in a Bloomberg Markets feature story.
đź©ş Medical Tourism: A heavy boost in national health spending has helped the UAE become one of the fastest-growing destinations for medical tourism, particularly for procedures in gynecology, dermatology and dentistry.
🤖 Data Centers: A growing rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE to build up infrastructure to support AI applications is the subject of a Bloomberg feature.
📺 Happy TV: Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group plans to launch a new television channel dedicated to “spreading positivity” and countering the media’s focus on bad news.
⛏️ Digging Deep: Jordan unveiled plans to triple the size of its mining industry with the goal of contributing $2.9 billion to GDP by 2033.
🌍 Power Circuit
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed held a round of telephone conversations with Arab leaders on Sunday, talking with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan starts a two-day visit to Pakistan today to follow up on last week’s economic cooperation discussions between Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House today, the first day of a week-long visit to Washington.
âžż On the Circuit
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a quiet trip last week to the UAE, where he met with investors and government officials about building a global coalition to boost the supply of chips, energy and data center capacity needed for developing artificial intelligence technology, Bloomberg reports.
Ibrahim Ajami, Mubadala Capital’s Head of Venture Investments, told The Information’s Private Capital Summit in New York last week that the sovereign wealth fund is “moving into offense” and away from passive investments such as its participation in SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Sandra Dewey, a former executive at Turner Broadcasting, has been tapped to become chief operating officer of Media Res, a production company backed by RedBird IMI known for “The Morning Show.”
Kevin O’Leary, the Canadian investor and panelist on ABC’s Shark Tank, told his 1.3 million Instagram followers that he likes to wear watches on both wrists worth as much as $3 million, but the only city in which he feels safe walking around that way is Abu Dhabi.
Mohammad Al Bulooki is stepping down as COO of Etihad Airways after six years in the job. John Wright will serve as interim COO as the airline conducts a global search for a replacement.
Former Formula One champion Nico Rosberg is launching a 30 million euro ($32 million) venture capital fund called Rosberg Ventures which will target tech-focused VC firms on behalf of family offices across Europe. It is seeking to raise 75 million euro ($80 million) by year-end.
🎶 Culture Circuit
🎨 Art Start: Three emerging artists based in the UAE will have their work showcased at the Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious arts event, which takes place from April 20 to November 24. Almaha Jaralla, Latifa Saeed and Samo Shalaby are taking part through Abu Dhabi Art’s Beyond Emerging Artists initiative.
🤼 Ring Side: WWE is returning to Saudi Arabia, bringing SmackDown and King and Queen of the Ring to the Jeddah Superdome on May 24 and 25. The wrestling extravaganza is the latest in a string of high-profile WWE events hosted by the kingdom, which has long been enthralled by the televised franchise.
đź“· Photo of The Day
đź“… Circuit Calendar
Apr. 16-17, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Green Hydrogen Summit 2024. Bringing together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore opportunities and the industry’s future. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.
Apr. 16-17, Dubai, UAE: Global AI Show. A two-day expo for AI startups and executives under the patronage of UAE Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Remote Work Applications Omar Al Olama. Grand Hyatt.
Apr. 16-18, Abu Dhabi, UAE: World Future Energy Summit 2024. A platform to showcase the solutions to some of the most critical challenges identified at COP28. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.
Apr. 16-18, Dubai, UAE. Middle East Energy. Energy leaders gather to debate and shape the future. Dubai World Trade Center.
Apr. 23-25, Dubai, UAE: GISEC Global. A forum for furthering the key discussions that are helping to define cyber resilience and connecting the global cybersecurity community. Dubai World Trade Center.
Apr. 25-26, Abu Dhabi, UAE: DriftX. An event for smart, autonomous and sustainable urban mobility across air, land, and sea organized in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Abu Dhabi’s Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry (SAVI) cluster and Bayanat. Yas Marina.
Apr. 28-29, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: World Economic Forum Special Meeting. A gathering of investors, politicians and experts on topics of collaboration, growth and energy for economic development. TBC.
Apr. 29-May 1, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Future Hospitality Summit. An international gathering hosted in cities around the world bringing together the most influential hospitality investors and developers. Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah.
Apr. 29 – May 5, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. A key event for the publishing industry in the Middle East and North Africa. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.
Apr. 30-May 1, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Mobility Live. A conference and exhibition sponsored by the Abu Dhabi transport regulators, gathering disruptive technology developers in transportation and the public sector. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.
Apr. 30-May 1, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Middle East Rail. The leading conference in the region for rail innovation, technology and strategy. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.
May 5-8, Los Angeles: Milken Institute Global Conference. Politicians, financiers, media and philanthropists convene to discuss challenges across themes like innovation and technology, health and medical research, diversity and inclusion. The Beverly Hilton.
May 13-15, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week. A conference focusing on investments, and innovation to solve the most important global health challenges. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center and Abu Dhabi City.
May 14-15, Abu Dhabi, UAE: J.P. Morgan Asset Management: Life Sciences Innovation Summit. A gathering aimed at drawing startups and investors from the life sciences sector to Abu Dhabi. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
May. 14-16, Doha, Qatar: Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg. A news-driven event dedicated to global business and investment. This year’s theme is “A World Remade: Navigating the Year of Uncertainty.” Request your invite here. Fairmont & Raffles, Doha.
May 29-31, Marrakech, Morocco: GITEX Africa. The second edition of the biggest tech and startup gathering in Africa. Place Bab Jdid.
