The Weekly Circuit
👋 Hello from the Middle East!
This week, we’re looking at JPMorgan’s new private banking team in Dubai, the Saudi PIF’s consolidation of its gaming stocks, Masdar’s closing of its $1.7 billion acquisition from Brookfield and Virgin Atlantic’s introduction of daily flights between Riyadh and Heathrow. But first, a snapshot of business sentiment in the Gulf.
Corporate decision makers across the GCC region are largely optimistic about growth prospects through the end of 2024 while expressing caution about lurking geopolitical risks and the threat of cyberattacks, according to a survey by the consulting firm Teneo.
Sentiment among the 450 executives polled from both public and private sector companies was brightest in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while more guarded in Oman and Kuwait. Overall, 65% of Gulf decision makers said they anticipate further improvements in the regional economy this year.
Among the biggest business challenges cited was cybersecurity, with widespread fears that computer networks are increasingly vulnerable to hackers. Some 82% said they expect positive impact from the integration of artificial intelligence in their business operations, though 41% said the AI’s costs would be a formidable barrier.
As the Middle East regional economy grows, one of the greatest concerns among corporate decision makers shown in the polling is recruiting skilled employees within their countries. Over the next 25 years, the survey indicated broad confidence that the Gulf will continue to be a leading global energy supplier while developing its resources as a world financial center.
With summer holidays fading into memory, conference season picked up this week across the region. In Saudi Arabia, more than 25,000 participants and 300 exhibitors signed up for the 24 Fintech extravaganza in Riyadh, which features three days of discussions on everything from reconfiguring financial services and government regulation to new sources for funding startups.
Egypt’s first international airshow is drawing aerospace executives and military contractors this week to the Al Alamein airport on the country’s Mediterranean Coast. Jordan, meanwhile, is playing host this week at its Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference, or SOFEX. The event opened on Tuesday with an address by King Abdullah II and more than 300 security companies from 73 countries displaying equipment and services.
Welcome to The Weekly Circuit. Read on for the stories, deals and players at the top of the news across the MENA business landscape. Please send comments and story tips to [email protected].
wealth squad
JPMorgan expands in Dubai to tap influx of millionaires
JPMorgan will expand its presence in Dubai with a new private banking team, joining a growing list of global financial giants bulking up in the UAE, The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie reports.
The firm is bringing bankers Sebastian Botana de Beauvau and Carol Mushriqui from Geneva and London to lead the team that will focus on winning business from affluent individuals, family offices, charities and foundations, according to Bloomberg.
With the expectation that 6,700 millionaires are moving to the UAE this year, JPMorgan is joining competitors like UBS, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC in increasing their footprint in the city.
Click here to read the full story.
C’MON VOGUE
Dubai Fashion Week highlights UAE ambitions on couture circuit
Dubai Fashion Week kicked off this week, offering a showcase for Emirati designers with runway shows, parties and public chats, The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger reports.
This year’s edition, which is taking place in the Dubai Design District, highlights Italian fashion houses, in line with the city’s aspirations to join the ranks of Paris, Milan and New York on the couture circuit.
Fausto Puglisi, who heads Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli and is a favorite of Madonna, Beyonce and Taylor Swift, will be the guest of honor at the closing reception on Sept. 7.
Click here to read the full story.
💲 Sovereign Circuit
Public Investment Fund: The Saudi sovereign wealth fund plans to transfer billions of dollars in gaming stocks to a subsidiary, Savvy Games Group, while remaining as a collaborative partner, Japan’s NikkeiAsia reports. The transfer, which is scheduled for 2025, will allow PIF to leverage intellectual property across the Middle East as part of a wider strategy to diversify the kingdom’s economy to include entertainment revenue from gaming and esports, the newspaper said. ACWA Power, the PIF-backed utility developer, signed financing agreements valued at $2.6 billion with a consortium of banks to develop three large solar projects.
Mubadala: Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s National Security Advisor, Chairman of International Holding Co. and Chairman of MGX, presided over the new investment firm’s second Board of Directors meeting on Monday. MGX was formed by Mubadala and G42 in March with $100 billion in assets and an investment focus on artificial intelligence. Among the participants in the meeting were Vice Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO of Mubadala, and board member Peng Xiao, CEO of G42.
ADQ: Silal, owned by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, said it will acquire a majority stake in fresh produce distributor Al Bakrawe Holding, making it the UAE’s biggest vegetable supplier.
Oman Investment Authority: The Omani sovereign wealth fund announced the merger of its Oman Food Investment Holding Co., known as Nitaj, and Fisheries Development Oman, turning them into a single entity.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
👃 Scent of an IPO: Saudi perfumer Al Majed for Oud set the final price for its IPO later this month at 94 riyals, the higher end of its price range. The share sale’s retail subscription period will last one day on Sept. 15 after the offering was oversubscribed by institutional investors.
🚆 Rail Link: Noatum Logistics, a unit of AD Ports, launched its new rail logistics system that is planned to operate across the Middle East. The rail link, which will have road, sea and air connections, is starting out with a train shuttle between Khalifa Port and Fujairah Terminals.
🚢 Supply Chain: DP World completed the acquisition of Cargo Services Far East, a Hong Kong-based global supply chain provider in a deal that Bloomberg said was worth as much as $800 million.
🌐 Help Wanted: Cercli, a Dubai-based software startup that helps businesses hire, manage and pay their global workforce, raised $4 million in seed funding from San Francisco-based Afore Capital, marking the fund’s first deal in the region.
🏭 Fertilizer Plant: QatarEnergy will build a urea production complex with three ammonia production lines that will more than double Qatar’s output of the agricultural fertilizer.
🗣 Circuit Chatter
🛫 London Calling: Virgin Atlantic said it will run daily direct flights between Riyadh and London starting in March as Saudi Arabia tries to attract business travelers and tourists to the kingdom.
🐪 Camel Fashion: A new report by the Saudi Fashion Commission pegs the
potential value of the country’s camel leather market at almost $100 million and said the kingdom earns $2 million from camel hair alone.
⚡ Blacked Out: Egypt’s dreams of energy self-sufficiency when its Zohr gas field was inaugurated in 2018 have since fizzled as the country continues to suffer from fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, the Financial Times reports.
🚙 Bigger and Better: Nissan introduced its new Patrol 2025 SUV, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre with enhanced features for both durability and power it describes as designed to meet the unique demands of the Middle East.
🌆 Urban Makeover: Oman’s $2.6 billion plan to turn its capital Muscat into a “smart city,” working at a more modest scale than neighboring Dubai, is explored in a video report by the Wall Street Journal.
🌍 Power Circuit
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed led a formal government discussion on national affairs on Sunday with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, at the Al Marmoom Palace in Dubai. Among others attending the meeting were Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Court; and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and Member of the Executive Council.
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council, attended the opening of the Indian Institute of Technology’s new UAE campus, citing the program’s establishment as a significant step in Abu Dhabi’s efforts to make itself a global hub for research and development. On Tuesday, Sheikh Khaled toured the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) on Tuesday, where he was briefed on new developments on falconry, hunting, shooting, camping and marine sports.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, receivedChen Miner, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and Communist Party Secretary of Tianjin, in Abu Dhabi. The delegation also met Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE; and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court in Abu Dhabi.
➿ On the Circuit
Dr. Amna bint Abdullah, UAE Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, delivered an address on the country’s net-zero emissions goal for 2050 at the BRICS High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change in Moscow on Friday.
Hazem Ben-Gacem resigned as co-CEO of Bahrain-based Investcorp, the Middle East’s largest alternative asset manager. Rishi Kapoor was appointed Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer.
Alex Trafton was named Senior Vice President for Technology Risk Management at Abu Dhabi-owned artificial intelligence company G42. He was previously Senior Managing Director at California-based Ankura.
Riad Salameh, Lebanon’s former central bank governor, was arrested in Beirut on Tuesday over alleged financial crimes linked to the Optimum Invest Lebanese brokerage company, Reuters reports.
Shaikha Al Marri has been appointed as Head of Global Banking Coverage at HSBC’s UAE branch. She’s been at HSBC for 10 years after working for NASDAQ Dubai and the Emirate’s Financial Audit Authority.
🎶 Culture Circuit
🎞️ Netflix Women: Netflix and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture will select two dozen women from the Middle East to receive funding for short fiction films. In a new program called “Women in Film – Bring Your Story to Life” program, participants will be given a budget of $25,000 each and receive guidance on scriptwriting, pre-shoot planning, editing and post-production.
🎙️ Popular Podcast: An episode of the Saudi-produced “Secrets to Thriving Relationships” was recognized by Guinness World Records on Tuesday as the most-watched podcast ever posted on Youtube. With 113 million views, it overtook the previous record held by Joe Rogan’s interview with Elon Musk, which racked up 45 million views. The Arab-language episode, which was aired in 2022 by Saudi Arabia’s Thamanyah production company, offers practical advice on relationship issues like toxic dynamics, bullying, and conflict resolution.
📷 Photo of the Day
🗓️ Ahead on The Circuit
Sept. 10-11, Dubai, UAE: Global Vertical Farming Show 2024. Annual event brings together investors, growers, and executives in the vertical farming industry from around the world. Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre.
Sept. 10-12, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Global Artificial Intelligence Summit. A leading platform for advancing the global discussion on AI. King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh.
Sept. 11-12, Dubai, UAE: Dubai AI & Web3 Festival. Bringing together the brightest minds to explore and expand the commercial possibilities of AI and Web3 technologies. Madinat Jumeirah.
Sept. 12, Dubai, UAE: U.S.-U.A.E. Space Relationship. U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosts luncheon featuring astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, Minister of Youth; Salem Al Marri, Director General of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre; and U.S. Ambassador Martina Strong. Ritz Carlton Hotel, DIFC.
Sept. 15-19, Abu Dhabi: Loop Beyond Borders. Luxury travel fair brings together hotel owners, tour operators, travel agents and government officials. Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas and Anantara Qasr Al Sarab.
Sept. 16-18, Abu Dhabi, UAE: World Utilities Congress. Ministers, policymakers and industry leaders discuss strategies for driving growth and innovation across the power & water utilities value chain. ADNEC.
Sept. 24-25, Dubai, UAE: ACT Middle East Treasurers Summit. Corporate treasurers and financial professionals from across the region gather for policy discussions on issues ranging from cash management to sustainability. Grand Hyatt Dubai.
Sep. 30-Oct. 2, Dubai, UAE: Future Hospitality Summit. The global conference for leaders in the hospitality industry expands this year at a new location with dedicated space for ESG planning, country pavilions and a larger exhibition area. Madinat Jumeirah.
