Oman signed a free-trade agreement with India that represents the sultanate’s first bilateral economic partnership deal in nearly two decades.

The accord signed in Muscat on Thursday grants Indian goods zero-duty access on about 98% of Omani tariff lines while India offered liberalized tariffs on most Omani imports.

The pact is expected to boost sectors such as gems, textiles and services and may offer some help as India tries to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs, Reuters reports.

In August, Trump doubled U.S. duties on Indian goods to 50%, the highest in the world. The hike included a 25% levy that was in retaliation for India’s purchases of Russian oil.

Speaking in Muscat, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the agreement would “strengthen the India-Oman partnership in the 21st century by renewing confidence and momentum.”

The Qatar Investment Authority has increased its stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the owner of U.S. teams including the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, alongside private equity sports investor Arctos Partners.

The QIA and Arctos are purchasing the passive minority shares from Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire philanthropist and wife of the late Apple Founder Steve Jobs, at a reported enterprise value of $7.2 billion. While it is not clear how much equity each party is taking, Jobs bought about 20% of Monumental in 2017 and was the group’s second biggest shareholder after founder Ted Leonsis. She reportedly sold some of her holdings in a previous deal.

When the QIA purchased a 5% stake in Monumental in 2023 in a deal that valued the group at $4 billion, it marked the first time a sovereign wealth fund had invested in major U.S. sports teams. Along with the Wizards and Mystics, the group owns the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the G League’s Capital City Go-Go and Monumental Sports Network.

The deal comes as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reported to have made its first major investment move into padel, a fast-growing sport that has so far been largely bankrolled by the QIA, which owns the primary global padel tour, Premier Padel. PIF-backed sport and entertainment agency 54 has allied with the team-based Hexagon Cup tournament and the International Padel Federation to create a new global team circuit, the Hexagon World Series.

Meanwhile, Manchester City FC, the English Premier League soccer club owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister, has reported a loss of £9.9 million ($13 million) for 2024-25, after a lackluster season – the first time in eight years it finished without a trophy. 

“There is no doubt that last season’s football results were less than we had hoped for,” Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who is also Managing Director and Group CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, said. “Seasons like this are an inevitable part of the game”. 

Coming out on top after more than a year of scrutiny by European regulators, ADNOC has secured a 95% stake in Germany’s Covestro, completing the largest acquisition in the UAE energy firm’s history and deepening its push into chemicals.

The deal values the specialty materials maker at roughly $17 billion, and gives ADNOC control through its investment arm XRG and affiliated holding companies, Covestro said in a report to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Tuesday. 

Covestro produces polymers and advanced materials used in the automotive, construction and electronics industries. The acquisition strengthens Adnoc’s strategy to diversify beyond oil and gas, and build a global chemicals portfolio.

The transaction cleared 14 months of regulatory probes in Europe, including review under the European Union’s foreign subsidies rules. Germany’s Economic Ministry gave the deal its final approval on Nov. 5.

Covestro said earlier that upon closing of the deal, the company would proceed with a $1.4 billion capital increase for strategic investment and further execution of its sustainability program.

The UAE is preparing to impose a ban on most single-use plastics widely used in the food delivery industry, under a major push to reduce pollution.

From Jan. 1 it will be illegal to import, manufacture or trade a range of single-use plastic and styrofoam items, including cutlery, straws, beverage cups and lids, plates and food containers, The National reports.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment sent a reminder on Tuesday urging all businesses to comply with the laws, which were previously announced.

Rules around single-use plastic bags, which were banned in Abu Dhabi in 2022 and UAE-wide in 2024, will also be tightened.

Studies have found that nine out of 10 turtles and five out of 10 camels found dead in the UAE had plastic in their stomachs.

Hedge funds continue to pour into the bustling Dubai International Financial Centre, more than doubling in number from two years ago.

Close to 80% of the 102 funds now operating in the economic free zone manage at least $1 billion in assets, with global players like Oak Hill Advisors, Baron Capital, BlueCrest  and Silver Point among recent arrivals, Bloomberg reports, 

Beyond hedge funds, the DIFC contains nearly 500 wealth and asset management firms, the news agency said, up from about 350 at the start of last year.

The surge reflects the growing appeal of Dubai’s tax-free regime, its time zone aligned with Europe and access to deep pools of capital and talent.  Many of the new offices, though, consist of secondary branches rather than headquarters as the city competes with established global hubs such as New York and London, the news agency notes.

Growth is also attributed to more than 1,250 family-related business entities based in the free zone and the UAE’s rising appeal among relocating millionaires.

AD Ports, the maritime company owned by Abu Dhabi’s ADQ sovereign wealth fund, is seeking to increase its stake in Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling Co., and become the majority holder of Egypt’s largest publicly traded container terminal operator.

Cementing control over the Alexandria-based firm, which handles more than 1 million containers a year and plays a central role in trade flows linking Europe, Africa and Asia, deepens ADQ’s involvement in Egypt, where it has become a leading acquirer of state assets. AD Ports earlier bought a stake in the company from a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

ADQ is the lead investor in the $35 billion Ras El Hekma coastal development project, the largest foreign direct investment in Egyptian history, that grants it rights to develop a huge swath of Mediterranean coastline to create a new city, tourism hub and free zone.

Beyond Ras El Hekma, ADQ’s portfolio in Egypt includes stakes in Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries, one of the country’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, and Amoun Pharmaceutical Company, along with holdings in logistics, transportation and food supply chains.

AD Ports said it would buy the stake in Alexandria Container through a mandatory tender offer that requires a buyer taking control of a company to give all other shareholders a chance to sell as well.

Lucid Motors, the electric vehicle manufacturer based in California and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is teaming up with King Abdulaziz University for Science and Technology to establish a research facility promoting innovation in the EV industry.

The collaboration will focus on improving batteries, software and systems that help cars drive themselves or assist drivers.

Lucid will use KAUST’s research facilities and powerful computers to help design and test future vehicle components at the facility.

Lucid and Kaust said in a press release that the alliance strengthens the carmaker’s global R&D footprint and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s vision to become a global center for mobility innovation.

The UAE and the European Union have launched talks on formalizing a strategic economic partnership, aiming to deepen cooperation in such areas as green energy and artificial intelligence.

The negotiations build on earlier efforts this year to advance a free-trade pact, with multiple rounds of discussions already underway.

“This year marks an important inflection point,” UAE Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh said today at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs event in Abu Dhabi, The National reports. She described the parallel agreements as representing “a joint commitment to elevate our relationship to a new and more ambitious level.”

The EU is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner and a key investment destination, while the UAE is a major export and investment partner for Europe in the Middle East and North Africa.

Since 2022, the UAE has struck at least 20 trade agreements, known as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements, including with Israel, India, Indonesia, Turkey, New Zealand, Vietnam and Cambodia.