Abu Dhabi’s surveillance and space technology company Bayanat is planning to provide internet services in India under a joint venture with Mountain View, Calif.-based UAVOS, a developer and manufacturer of advanced unmanned systems.

The JV, called Mira Aerospace, will partner with VEDA Aeronautics, an Indian aerospace and defense company to deliver High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS).

HAPS are a kind of high-flying drone and a relatively new competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for providing telecom services.

Bayanat is set to merge with Abu Dhabi’s Yahsat later this year, creating a $4 billion enterprise with Mubadala Investment Co, G42 and International Holding Co., its largest shareholders.

Parallel shareholder meetings are set for April 25 to vote on the proposed merger. 

Abu Dhabi’s largest listed company, International Holding Co., is planning to hold an IPO next year for its new 2PointZero subsidiary, IHC’s CEO Syed Basar Shuebis said in a Bloomberg interview.

Shuebis put the value of the firm, which has interests ranging from financial services to mining, at “north of 100 billion dirhams ($27 billion).”

IHC, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, a brother of the UAE’s President and the country’s National Security Adviser.

Mariam Almheiri, the UAE’s former Minister of Climate Change and Environment, was named as 2PointZero’s CEO earlier this year. 

True Gamers is looking to up the ante on the business of video games in the Gulf.

The UAE-based gaming lounge and arena developer announced plans today for a $280 million gaming island in the Al Seef area of Abu Dhabi, providing a first-of-its-kind destination for pros and hobbyists of Fortnite, Counter-Strike and League of Legends. 

The startup says it’s working with undisclosed investors for funding and discussions with developers are in the works.

True Gamers envisages a gaming-themed hotel, eSports camps for kids and a dedicated residence for professional players to prepare for major tournaments with healthy food, personal space and gaming equipment. 

True Gamers was founded in 2019 and has 124 gaming halls in the UAE and Eastern Europe. Earlier this year, the company signed an agreement to open 150 clubs in Saudi Arabia with an investment of $45 million and a franchise deal with Saudi entrepreneur Nawaf Al-Bishri.

The demographics in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are supportive of the gaming push, where people skew younger and the pastime is wildly popular. Nearly half of the people in the UAE are under 35 and in the kingdom, it’s 70%.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 38, is said to be a big Call of Duty fan. The Public Investment Fund, which he chairs, has earmarked $38 billion for an ambitious plan to attract 250 gaming companies and studios and create 39,000 video game-related jobs in the process, building its credentials in the e-arena with investments in the biggest players like Tencent, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft.

As Saudi Arabia seeks to reduce its economic dependence on oil, the kingdom has rolled out a $182 million package of grants aimed at encouraging mining companies to explore for new mineral resources.

The incentive program was announced on Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Investment.

Close to 50 minerals have been identified in the kingdom, including marble, granite and gold as well as ones crucial to the energy transition like copper and bauxite.

Saudi Arabia has an estimated mineral wealth of $2.5 trillion and is seeking to attract nearly $200 billion in investments in the mining sector by 2030.

As of this morning, Dubai has IPO’d six out of the 10 government entities it plans to take private as the emirate looks to boost trading volumes on its stock exchange and join the capital markets action picking up speed in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. 

The Dubai public parking company, Parkin, debuted on the DFM today with a 31% surge in its stock price. Parkin’s $429 million IPO was 165 times covered and attracted $71 billion in orders – a record for Dubai. The company pitched to shareholders a growth story on the back of Dubai’s population boom: it forecasts demand for public parking to grow by 60% by 2033, Bloomberg reports. 

Strong post-listing performance is becoming a signature of the region’s companies – returning an average of 40% to investors – and spurring international interest in IPOs here. Strong investor demand has been bolstered by government reforms, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, amid a privatization push. 

Nearly 30 IPOs are expected in the Gulf this year. Two of the region’s biggest grocers are in line: Lulu Group is reportedly eyeing a $1 billion dual listing in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Spinneys Dubai, the franchisee of the supermarket chain in the UAE and Oman, is also expected to go public in 2024. No word yet on what the Dubai government may sell off next.

Almarai Co., Saudi Arabia’s biggest dairy business, announced a $4.8 billion investment program to diversify production over the next five years and strengthen food security in the kingdom.

The Riyadh-based company which is 16%-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, will put money into its core dairy, juice and baked-good products while setting aside funds for technology development.

Almarai also plans to strengthen supply chain logistics, expand poultry sales and introduce new products, the company said in a report to the stock exchange on Monday.

While Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of oil, it depends on imports for some 80% of its food supply.

The company said its strategy is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil by investing in other industries and selling state assets. Saudi Arabia’s largest food products company Savola said last month it planned to distribute its entire 35% stake in Almarai to its eligible shareholders.

“Investment in the food industry contributes to achieving food security in the kingdom and the region while adding value to shareholders,” Almarai said in the statement.

Abu Dhabi’s alternative energy company Masdar has bought a 50% stake in Terra-Gen, one of the largest private renewable energy producers in the U.S., from Energy Capital Partners, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The move comes as Masdar looks to develop or acquire an energy portfolio of at least 100 GW capacity by 2030, with the U.S. a crucial market to achieve its target.

The world’s biggest economy is the second-largest renewable energy market. Solar power, wind and other alternatives to fossil fuels are on track to become the leading sources for electricity by the mid-2030s, according to government figures.

Under terms of the sale, ECP will fully exit its position in San Diego, Calif.-based Terra-Gen. Igneo Infrastructure Partners, an Australian global infrastructure investment manager, will retain its existing 50% stake in the company. Igneo made its initial investment in Terra-Gen in December 2020.

Further financial details were not disclosed and the transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals.

The deal “reinforces Masdar’s long-term commitment across our U.S. portfolio,” Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said in a statement.

Established in 2007, Terra-Gen is an independent provider of end-to-end renewable project development, financing and operations. Terra-Gen currently operates 2.4 GW of wind and solar, and 5.1 GWh of energy storage facilities across 32 renewable power sites throughout the U.S., predominantly in California and Texas.

Masdar, which is owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and state-owned energy companies ADNOC and TAQA, plans to support Terra-Gen’s U.S. expansion plans. The 18-year-old company first invested in the U.S. energy market in 2019. Its U.S. portfolio of utility-scale wind, solar and storage assets has a generating capacity of more than 1.4 GW. 

As Saudi Arabia’s new Riyadh Air prepares to start flying next year, the kingdom’s venerable carrier Saudia is being repositioned to fit into a new blueprint for boosting business and tourism.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund has started talks to acquire Jeddah-based Saudia, which flies to 90 destinations, in a step that may lead to the airline’s privatization, Bloomberg reports.

The two airlines will work in tandem to pursue the kingdom’s twin goals of bolstering access to Saudi Arabia as a regional finance hub while also turning it into a magnet for foreign tourists.

Under the plan, Riyadh Air pursues the business crowd and Saudia will focus more on the market for religious pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.