BlackRock joins Abu Dhabi’s IHC in $1 billion reinsurance venture

Wall Street titan BlackRock is teaming up with Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. to create a $1 billion reinsurance firm with its foundations in AI.

The venture announced Thursday is one of a cavalcade of deals that are being cooked up amid Trump’s tour of the Gulf next week, which will take him to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, followed by Qatar and the UAE.

BlackRock, the world’s largest alternative investment firm, and Abu Dhabi asset manager Lunate will join as minority partners, according to a statement issued by IHC.

The new company will be chaired by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of ADNOC. Mark Wilson, the former chief executive of Aviva and AIA Group, will serve as CEO.

Lunate, which was founded two years ago and manages $110 billion, will provide expertise in private and public markets to the reinsurance company, which will operate from the capital city’s free zone financial center, ADGM.

Also in the run-up to the Trump visit, the U.S. is developing a fast-track process for screening foreign investments, which could smooth the process for sovereign wealth funds such as the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the UAE’s Mubadala, and the Qatar Investment Authority to sign contracts next week, Bloomberg reports.

Eric Trump returns to UAE to pitch crypto at Dubai conference

Eric Trump, who drew enthusiastic hoots and hollers in Abu Dhabi last December when he told the Bitcoin MENA conference that his dad would unleash the power of cryptocurrencies, returns to the UAE this week to kick off Dubai’s TOKEN2049 summit.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s 41-year-old second son promises to deliver another rousing address at the gathering, which starts on Wednesday, as crypto fever builds with the imminent issue of the UAE’s own dirham-denominated stablecoin.

ADQ, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, together with First Abu Dhabi Bank and International Holding Co., announced on Monday that the digital currency will be fully regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE to build investor confidence and lessen the uncertainty inherent to bitcoins and other blockchain-based money. No date was given for the UAE coin’s debut.

“The launch of the stablecoin marks a pivotal step in our commitment to strengthening the UAE’s digital infrastructure ecosystem,” said Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADQ.

“As we move forward towards an increasingly digital and connected economy, the stablecoin will provide a solution that is secure, efficient and scalable, while creating new opportunities for growth and value creation,” he said.

Alongside Trump, the two-day TOKEN2049 event will draw top names in the crypto industry, including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao; OKX founder and CEO Star Xu; Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets; and Mathew McDermott, Head of Digital Assets for Goldman Sachs.

Abu Dhabi’s Multiply eyes $1B divestment from PAL Cooling

Abu Dhabi’s Multiply Group may be getting ready to divest from its PAL Cooling unit, which keeps the UAE capital’s skyscrapers at tolerable temperatures under the Gulf’s sizzling sun.

The firm, a unit of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed’s International Holding Co., could raise as much as $1 billion if it’s put up for sale, Bloomberg reports.

PAL’S cooling technology involves pumping chilled water into buildings from centralized plants.

Multiply is working with Standard Chartered on the sale, which is at an early stage and has drawn interest from both regional and international investors, the news agency said.

Multiply went public more than three years ago and has investments in companies ranging from Getty Images to Rihanna’s lingerie company.

G42 board plots AI strategy with Microsoft’s Smith at the table

G42, the Abu Dhabi technology firm backed by the emirate’s sovereign wealth and Microsoft, is cooking up plans for its new investments in artificial intelligence next year.

At a board meeting on Thursday led by G42 Chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, who is also the UAE’s Deputy Ruler and National Security Advisor as well as Chairman of ADIA and International Holding Co., the company worked out its growth strategy for 2025.

Among those around the board table were Mubadala CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak, G42 CEO Xiao Peng, G42 Group Counsel Marty Edelman, Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith, and Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio, Etisalat Chairman Jassem Al Zaabi and Silver Lake Technology CEO Egon Durban.

“We emphasized the Group’s crucial role in shaping the future of global technology and making innovation a cornerstone for a more prosperous future globally,” Sheikh Tahnoon said in an Instagram post.

As G42 grows, Saudi Arabia is planning a new AI initiative with as much as $100 billion in backing as it seeks to compete with the UAE, Bloomberg reports. A tech hub being built by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Google may serve as the starting point for the project, the news agency said.

Abu Dhabi’s IHC seeks to reward investors after surge putters out

International Holding Co., the $240 billion conglomerate that grew out of an obscure Emirati fish farming business, is seeking to reward shareholders as the company’s phenomenal growth spurt has stalled.

The Abu Dhabi-based firm, led by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed, brother of the UAE’s President, is making plans for a $1.4 billion buyback program aimed at reviving its stock price to “create significant value in the future,” CEO Syed Basar Shueb tells Bloomberg.

Between 2019 and 2022, IHC shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange rocketed 43,000%. Over the past two years, however, they’ve leveled off and hovered around the level of 400 dirhams.

IHC announced the buyback program May 6 and plans to execute the plan over a one-year period, pending approval from investors and regulators.

“This is our strategy for rewarding our shareholders,” Shueb said.