The Daily Circuit: Davos draws Gulf CEOs + UAE-India gas deal
In today’s Daily Circuit, we’re reporting on the UAE’s $3 billion LNG deal with India, ACWA Power’s acquisition of a stake in Kuwait’s Az Zour project, private equity firm Alta Semper taking control of UAE-based sports nutrition company Nature’s Rule, and a joint defense venture between the UAE’s EDGE and Qatar’s Barzan Holdings. But first, Gulf executives navigate Switzerland’s frigid terrain at the World Economic Forum.
Davos is once again pulling the Gulf’s top business leaders to Switzerland’s snow-capped ski resort, where executives from the Middle East are mingling at the World Economic Forum with global corporate heavyweights including Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio, BlackRock’s Larry Fink and Palantir’s Alex Karp.
From Saudi Arabia, the delegation includes Talal Al Maiman, CEO of Kingdom Holding, Tareq Al Sadhan, CEO of Saudi National Bank, Abdullah Aladel, managing director and CEO of Alkhair Capital, Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, and Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company.
The UAE contingent includes Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and CEO of Mubadala Investment Co., and Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of ADNOC and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, alongside private-sector leaders such as Peng Xiao, CEO of G42, and Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises.
Qatar is represented by Mansoor Al-Mahmoud, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority, and Saad Al-Kaabi, president and CEO of QatarEnergy. Bahrain’s presence includes Abdulla Al Khalifa, CEO of Mumtalakat, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, and Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH Financial Group.
Several of the execs were making the rounds at the TV networks that give Davos wall-to-wall coverage. Al Mubarak, for one, annually uses the Swiss conference as a pulpit to raise Mubadala’s international visibility.
“Leaving the noise and the hype aside, I think we have a very clear view of what we think are the investable spaces,” Al Mubarak said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Particularly when it comes to AI enablement, there are a lot of aspects that I think we believe in.”
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📰 Developing Stories
GAS DIPLOMACY
India has signed a $3 billion deal to buy liquefied natural gas from the United Arab Emirates, making it the UAE’s largest LNG customer, as the two countries moved to deepen trade and defense ties. The agreement was struck during a working visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, with both sides pledging to double bilateral trade to $200 billion within six years and pursue a strategic defense partnership, Reuters reports. As per the agreement, Abu Dhabi state firm ADNOC Gas will supply half a million tons of LNG a year to Hindustan Petroleum over 10 years, taking ADNOC’s total contracts with India to more than $20 billion. Indian officials said the defense cooperation would not draw New Delhi into regional conflicts, despite shifting alliances in the Gulf.
TRADE BOT
Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm Presight will develop a platform to boost the UAE’s foreign trade capabilities by analyzing real-time data from sources including ports, shipping routes and customs records. The G42 company signed an agreement with the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Trade, announced on Monday, to create a series of AI-powered tools that will support its mission to be the world’s first AI-driven trade ministry. “The future of trade belongs to economies that can see early and move fast, Mansoor Al Mansoori, Vice Chairman of Presight, said. “By putting real-time insight into the hands of decision-makers, we reduce friction, compress timelines, and help governments and businesses operate with confidence.”
💲 Sovereign Circuit
Mubadala: Mubadala Bio’s subsidiary Bioventure Healthcare secured the European Union’s Good Manufacturing Practice certification, a key requirement for enabling pharmaceutical product export to the EU.
Public Investment Fund: ACWA Power, the PIF-owned Saudi energy utility, bought Engie’s 17.5% stake in Kuwait’s Az Zour independent water and power project, consolidating its ownership in one of the country’s largest utility facilities.
ADQ: AD Ports Group, majority owned by ADQ, signed an agreement with Nigeria to explore collaboration opportunities across ports, logistics, maritime services and digital trade infrastructure.
ADQ: Safeen Drydocks, part of Noatum Maritime, which is owned by ADQ’s AD Ports Group, fully acquired Balenciaga Astilleros Shipyard, one of Spain’s most established shipbuilding and repair facilities, for $13 million.
EDGE Group: UAE defense group EDGE and Qatar’s Barzan Holdings have agreed to form a joint venture to co-develop advanced defense technologies.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
🍎 Nutrition Bet: Private equity firm Alta Semper agreed to acquire a majority stake in UAE-based sports nutrition company Nature’s Rule, describing the deal as a step toward scaling the business through a more institutional growth strategy.
💻 Blockchain Bonds: Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, issued the region’s first Dirham-denominated digital bond, raising $272.3 million.
🏢 Office Expansion: Egyptian developer Marakez secured $63 million from Kuwait Finance House – Egypt to expand the commercial Mindhaus Campus at its District 5 project in New Cairo.
🗣 Circuit Chatter
🌱 Charging ahead: Dubai has expanded its EV Green Charger network to 1,860 points across the emirate.
🚇 Metro Link: Dubai’s RTA has invited consultants to bid for designing a 3km Route 2020 metro extension from the Expo 2020 station to Al Maktoum International Airport’s West Terminal.
📈 Economy Performing: The IMF raised its 2026 growth forecast for Saudi Arabia to 4.5% citing higher oil output, strong domestic demand, and ongoing reforms.
💰 Dreaming Big: Northern Graphite’s plan to build a $200 million graphite battery anode plant in Saudi Arabia with Obeikan has fueled an eightfold revenue growth forecast and a sharp rise in its shares.
🍪 Snack Deal: Dubai-listed Unikai Foods received a $35 million cash takeover bid from a Kuwait’s Al Wafir for Marketing Services.
🌍 Power Circuit
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, visited the fifth edition of World of Coffee Dubai on Monday at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, reviewed the outcome of this year’s Liwa International Festival on Monday.
Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Health Board of Directors, attended the opening of the annual UAE International Dental Conference and Arab Dental Exhibition on Monday.
➿ On the Circuit
Faisal al-Ibrahim, Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister, said in an interview with Reuters in Davos that the kingdom’s private sector is taking on a larger role in delivering Vision 2030 projects as the government seeks to shift more execution and financing to companies outside the state.
Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, led a high-level government and business delegation to the Lualaba Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the UAE-DRC Trade and Investment day.
Nayef Nasser Alnasser was appointed Managing Director of Ithmaar Development Company, succeeding Mohammed Khalil Alsayed.
David Hadley, CEO of UAE-based NMC Healthcare, said that hospitals are increasingly under strain as profit margins shrink and may have to consolidate further to unlock economies of scale.
Rashid Al Dhaheri, an Emirati racing driver, won the opening round of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, held at Yas Marina Circuit.
🎶 Culture Circuit
📺 On the Box: Netflix has unveiled its line-up of Arabic releases for 2026, including new seasons of hit reality shows “Love is Blind, Habibi” and “Dubai Bling.” Season 2 of the streamer’s regional adaptation of the global matchmaking show introduces potential couples on either side of a wall to test if they can form a bond without seeing one-another. “Dubai Bling,” now in its fourth season, follows a cast of fashion-obsessed socialites who revel in delivering snappy one-liners like “I’m not playing hard to get, I am hard to get.”
📷 Photo of the Day
📅 Circuit Calendar
Jan. 18-21, Riyadh. Big5 Construct Saudi. Latest trends and opportunities among construction companies operating in KSA. Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center located at ROSHN Front.
Jan. 20-21, Dubai. 2026 BAFT MENA Forum. The event brings the region’s senior executives, influencers and industry experts to explore the forces redefining MENA’s financial ecosystem. Embassy Suites by Hilton Dubai Business Bay.
Jan. 20-22, Abu Dhabi. UMEX 2026. The Unmanned Systems Exhibitions and Conference showcases the latest advances in autonomous systems, robotics, artificial intelligence, and training simulation. ADNEC.
Jan. 26-27, Riyadh. Super Return. A major private equity & venture capital conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Fairmont Hotel.
Jan. 26-28, Riyadh. Saudi Franchise Expo. The exhibition brings local and international businesses that want to create franchising companies into the kingdom. The Arena Riyadh Venue for Exhibitions, Riyadh.
Jan. 26-30, Dubai. Gulf Food. The world’s largest food and beverage industry event. Dubai World Trade Centre & Dubai Exhibition Centre.
Jan. 29, Dubai. The Great Marketing & Business Minds. In this 4th edition, the event brings the most influential marketing and business leaders for a deep dive into performance-driven marketing, data integration, and the evolving accountability of brand leadership. Pullman Dubai Downtown.
Feb 1-6, Dubai. Dubai Fashion Week. The event showcases the latest collections by global and regional designers and positions Dubai as a major creative hub on the global fashion calendar alongside fashion capitals like New York, London, Milan and Paris. Dubai Design District.
Feb. 1-4, Doha. Web Summit Qatar. Connecting a new generation of founders in the Middle East to investors, journalists and more around the world. Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
Feb. 2-4, Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi AI Summit. The summit aims to strengthen collaboration between MBZUAI and the U.S. NSF Athena Institute to advance research, entrepreneurship and opportunities in Edge AI. Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.
Feb. 2-5, Doha. LNG2026. The 21st International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas. Qatar National Convention Center.
Feb. 3, Dubai. World Laureates Summit. Held alongside the World Government Summit, the inaugural event will bring 200 of the world’s top scientific researchers, marking a historic integration of science and government.
Feb. 3-5, Dubai. World Government Summit. Brings together heads of state, policy makers, top corporate executives to debate global priorities. Madinat Jumeirah.
Feb. 4-5, Dubai. PropTech Connect Middle East. The Dubai Land Department will host the first regional edition of the real estate technology event. Grand Hyatt Dubai.
Feb. 10-11, Abu Dhabi. Top Advisors & Investors Summit. The event will convene the region’s foremost advisors, financiers, and investors in the UAE capital. TBC
Feb.12-13, Riyadh. PIF Private Sector Forum. The event, in its third edition, aims to support the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s Private Sector Engagement Strategic Initiative. King AbdelAziz International Conference Center.