The Daily Circuit: U.S. UAE chip deals expected + Qatar-Boeing pact
👋 Hello from the Middle East!
In the Daily Circuit today, we’re reporting on Day 3 of the Trump tour through the Gulf. We’re also looking at what the lifting of U.S. sanctions could mean to Syria’s war-scarred economy, the 38% natural gas stake ADNOC’S XRG unit bought in Turkmenistan, and the $8 billion boost that Jordan and the UAE expect from their new free-trade agreement. But first, Trump does Doha and Abu Dhabi.
Qatar got down to business after greeting U.S. President Donald Trump with sword dancers, parading camels and a royal honor guard mounted on Arabian stallions.
Waking up in the capital city of Doha today after Emir Sheikh Tamim hosted a lavish state dinner at Lusail Palace, Trump met with business leaders at the St. Regis Hotel and talked to U.S. soldiers at the Al Udeid U.S. Air Base, which has been an anchor for America’s security alliance in the Gulf.
The President took off in the afternoon for the UAE on the last leg of his regional tour, which started on Tuesday when he landed in Riyadh. There, Trump and close adviser Elon Musk spent two days in close contact with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and corporate leaders from such powerhouses as Aramco, the Public Investment Fund, Nvidia, OpenAI, BlackRock and Citigroup.
In Abu Dhabi, where main roads are decked out with neon signs welcoming Trump, the president is expected to announce a preliminary agreement to let the UAE import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips per year, starting in 2025, boosting the Emirates’ construction of data centers required for the highest level of AI development, Reuters reports.
Twenty percent of the chips will be allocated to UAE tech firm G42, and the remainder will be allocated to U.S. companies like Microsoft and Oracle that are building data centers in the UAE. The deal could potentially extend through 2027 or even 2030, according to the news agency.
The White House said President Donald Trump secured deals totaling more than $243 billion with Qatar after leaders from the Gulf peninsula state pledged some $1.2 trillion in American investment. The UAE has committed to investing $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next 10 years, while Saudi Arabia said it hopes to reach $1 trillion during Trump’s four-year term.
Among the largest deals was Qatar’s $96 billion plan to acquire as many as 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft. The U.S. and Qatari governments also signed off on a $1 billion agreement for Raytheon to provide counter-drone capabilities to Qatar. General Atomics also secured a nearly $2 billion agreement for Qatar to acquire MQ-9B drones.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, meanwhile, defended his country’s offer to Trump of a luxury jet to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, telling CNN it was not an influence-buying effort.
“It is government to government. The transaction has nothing to do with personnel, whether it’s on the U.S. side or on the Qatari side,” he said, adding that Qatar is ready to withdraw the plan if it’s found to be illegal.
Welcome to the Daily Circuit. Kindly let us know your thoughts and feedback by replying to this newsletter or emailing us at [email protected].
📰 Developing Stories
KINGDOM CARS
Lucid Motors would welcome tariffs on foreign cars in Saudi Arabia to support domestic manufacturing, Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said. The electric vehicle maker, which is majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has been talking with the government about potential tariffs, Winterhoff told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh. Without tariffs, the kingdom would “run the risk that you kill the industry in its infancy,” he said. Meanwhile, the PIF and South Korean automaker Hyundai have established a new plant, which is expected to produce 50,000 vehicles annually by late 2026.
BRAIN GAIN
Elon Musk’s Neuralink will team up with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to conduct the first clinical trials of its brain chip technology outside America. Neuralink’s futuristic chip is a brain-computer interface technology which is designed to improve the lives of paralysed patients by helping them control a computer by thought. So far, it has only been tested on three people in the U.S. The trial program, to be called UAE-PRIME, was announced by the Department of Health Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, ahead of the arrival in the UAE of U.S. President Donald Trump and his high-powered delegation, which includes billionaire Musk. Abu Dhabi is actively positioning itself as a launchpad for global health innovation and has been seeking further U.S. support for its newly announced $25.6 billion health cluster.
💲 Sovereign Circuit
Public Investment Fund: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has signed $500 million in new agreements with several U.S. firms, expanding joint energy projects to more than $6 billion between the two countries.
NEOM: Aiman al-Mudaifer has been confirmed as the CEO of NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund confirmed in a statement. Mudaifer has been acting in the role since November, succeeding Nadhmi al-Nasr.
ADNOC: XRG, an international investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, said it has taken a 38% stake in a natural gas block off the coast of Turkmenistan.
Kuwait Investment Authority: Airbus has delivered the first of nine A321neo jets to Kuwait Airways. The new jets aim to support the airline’s fleet modernization strategy and enhance operational efficiency with advanced cabin features.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
🌴 Agri-Power: Saudi Arabia and China have signed 57 agreements worth $3.7 billion to enhance trade ties, primarily focusing on agriculture.
🛢️ Oil Deals: Saudi energy giant Aramco signed 34 deals worth around $90 billion with major U.S. companies across LNG, chemicals, AI, and emissions tech sectors to advance its long-term strategy.
🐔 Feathered Growth: Jordan Capital and Investment Fund has acquired a 23.3% stake in Al Jazeera Agriculture, supporting the poultry firm’s expansion and bringing the fund’s total investments in Jordan to $140 million across six companies.⚕️ City Steel: Tsingshan Holding Group won a contract to build Iraq’s first industrial city that will be dedicated mainly to steel and construction materials.
📈 IPO Jump: eToro, an Israeli-founded stock and crypto trading platform, raised $620 million in an IPO on the Nasdaq, with the shares leaping 29%, giving the company a market value of $5.5 billion.
🗣 Circuit Chatter
💰 Back in Business: Syria expects an inflow of foreign investment following the lifting of U.S. sanctions and President Donald Trump’s meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday with Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
🇯🇴 Trade Pact: A free-trade agreement between the UAE and Jordan that takes effect today is expected to boost non-oil trade between the two countries to more than $8 billion by 2032.
🤝 Textile Rush: Egypt has invited 25 Chinese clothing firms to invest in its expanding textile sector and hosted 37 Chinese executives for talks on new projects as part of a major industry development push.
😴 Sleep Tight: Eight Sleep, a sleep tech company, has expanded into Saudi Arabia as part of its GCC growth strategy, positioning the kingdom alongside the UAE as a key market for its AI-powered sleep technology.
📈 Compliant Development: Qatar’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority has signed an agreement with Qetaifan Projects, a real estate company, making it one of the first developers to commit to complying with new real estate project regulations.
🌍 Power Circuit
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed received Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense, at Qasr Al Shati palace in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense; Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad, Adviser to the UAE President.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Wednesday with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on the sidelines of the Gulf–U.S. Summit in Riyadh.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi held a series of meetings on Wednesday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar to assess progress in Egypt’s human development strategy, including healthcare, population and education reform.
Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, met with Belarus Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Kubrakov.
➿ On the Circuit
Lakshmi Mittal, the India-born chairman of steelmaker ArcelorMittal, bought a palatial $200 million home in Dubai’s Emirates Hills community, Bloomberg reports.
Saad Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Energy Minister and CEO of Qatar Energy, told CNBC that while renewables are vital, the world still needs reliable energy sources like LNG to meet rising global demand and support economic growth.
Michael Katounas, Chief Investment Officer at Multiply Group, highlighted the UAE’s efforts in attracting international investments during a panel discussion at the Economy Middle East summit, adding that the country has attracted global companies to compete in different sectors.
🎶 Culture Circuit
🎞️ Film Launch: “Promised Sky,” a film backed by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival yesterday. Directed by French-Tunisian filmmaker Erige Sehiri, the film follows the fate of three Ivorian women making a fresh start in Tunisia, where they take in a four-year-old shipwreck survivor. Sehiri attended the screening, alongside cast members Deborah Naney, Aissa Maiga and Laetitia Ky.
📷 Photo of the Day
📅 Circuit Calendar
May 16, Milan. Investopia Europe 3rd Edition. Highlighting discussions around transforming the global economy. Featured speakers include Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, and UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship Alia Abdulla Al Mazrouei. Palazzo Mezzanotte.
May 16-17, Tirana, Albania. FII Priority Europe 2025. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund sponsors a regional business summit focused on Europe and is affiliated with the annual Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. National Theater of Opera and Ballet.
May 19-20, Abu Dhabi. Arqaam Capital 12th Annual MENA Investor Conference. The event will bring together 80+ MENA corporates with regional and international investors. Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island.
May 19-22, Abu Dhabi. Make it in the Emirates. The UAE’s premier manufacturing event, uniting innovators, investors, and policymakers to shape the future of industry. ADNEC.
May 20-22, Dubai. Seamless Middle East. The Middle East’s biggest fintech event, bringing together big tech, government, banks, financial institutions, fintech, investors and media. Dubai World Trade Center.
May 20-22, Doha, Qatar. Qatar Economic Forum. Annual conference bringing together Qatari government and business leaders with corporate executives, investors and policymakers from around the world. Media City Qatar.
May 21, Dubai. The AWS Summit. A one-day event to learn about Amazon Web Services, from new services and architecture to performance and operations. Dubai World Trade Center.
May 21-22, Dubai. CryptoExpo Dubai. Billed as the essential event for anyone in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Dubai World Trade Center.
May 23-25, Abu Dhabi. EuroLeague Final Four. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Euroleague Basketball, and Etihad Arena have partnered to host the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in the UAE for the first time. Etihad Arena.
May 26-27, Abu Dhabi. Building the Future Summit. This Forbes event serves as an exclusive platform for industry leaders, investors, architects, and innovators to explore the latest trends shaping the future of real estate. Louvre Abu Dhabi.
May 29-30, Tripoli, Libya. Building the Future Summit. A Forbes event that is designed to help delegates from Libya understand their investment opportunities, foster strategic partnerships, and showcase key reforms that will drive economic progress. Venue TBA.
June 12, Dubai. Dubai Family Office Investment Summit. An invitation-only event hosted by Epicon Capital Club, for Family Offices, Serial Entrepreneurs, Private Investors, Fund Managers and Government Entities. Unknown.