A virtual real estate consultant powered by artificial intelligence has already closed $30 million in real estate transactions in Dubai three weeks after launching.

The AI agent, which goes by the name Jucica Brown, was launched by Realiste AI on messaging app Telegram and has so far closed 50 transactions, company founder Alex Galt told Arabian Business.

Jucica is designed to feel like interacting with a human agent, including small touches like showing when she is “typing” a reply.

“Many of the users interact with her posts unaware of her digital nature,” Galt said, adding that the company believes the technology will redefine property sales.

Companies and government agencies in the UAE have been quick to adopt AI.

Earlier this year, International Holding Co., the Abu Dhabi-owned industrial conglomerate, announced that it had created a new post on its Board for an AI observer developed by G42 in collaboration with Microsoft.

Saudi Arabia is starting from the ground up to make the kingdom “a welcoming and secure environment” for international business, in the words of Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

The government announced new regulations on Sunday that scrap the bureaucracy-heavy issuance of foreign investor licenses in favor of a streamlined registration process that aims to remove roadblocks to investment.

According to the Ministry of Investment, the measures will guarantee the rule of law, fair treatment and the freedom to transfer funds without delay.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has introduced a raft of measures to woo foreign investment, including issuing visas specifically for investors, creating special economic zones with lower tax rates, and overhauling money transfer and bankruptcy laws.

With ambitious building plans across the country, including the $1.5 trillion Neom mega-project along the Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia seeks to attract more than $100 billion in foreign direct investment a year by 2030 as part of an effort to shift the economy from dependence on oil.

Work has started on the first homes being built at the site of Dubai’s Expo City, which is expected to become the UAE’s first “15-minute city.”

The planning concept, which has become popular in global discussions about better urban design in recent years, essentially means all the amenities of daily life will be located in close enough proximity to be accessed on foot or by bicycle.

Expo City Dubai authorities say the first apartments, which will have views of Expo landmarks including Al Wasl Plaza, are expected to be handed over in Q1 2026.

The development, Mangrove Residences, has already sold out, with prices starting at AED 2 million ($544,590) for a one-bedroom apartment.

The manner in which government and corporate business mix in the UAE’s capital has earned it the name Abu Dhabi Inc. The latest example surfaced on Thursday with the appointment of Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, to serve as Executive Chairman of Rorix Holdings.

The Abu Dhabi-based company, a new subsidiary of state-owned International Holding Co., is being set up to capitalize on the series of free-trade agreements signed by the UAE with countries including India, Indonesia, Israel, Turkey, South Korea and Chile. More than a dozen others are in various stages of negotiation.

Over the past three years, Al Zeyoudi has been the chief negotiator and globe-trotting evangelist for the pacts, known as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements, which are designed to reduce or eliminate import fees and other tariffs between participating nations. Now he will formally steer the financial services company established to channel profits from the trade relationships into the UAE’s $500 billion economy.

Framing the company’s mission, Al Zeyoudi said in a statement that Rorix will seek to “accelerate trade volumes, attract foreign investment, and build economic partnerships that drive sustainable growth” for a range of industries across the UAE.

Saudi Arabia’s pressure on international companies to establish their regional headquarters in the kingdom has been so successful, it has eaten up virtually all the top commercial real estate in Riyadh.

Prime and Grade A office spaces are fully occupied while Grade B occupancy has hit 99.4%, according to a survey by international property firm CRBE cited by Daily News Egypt.

Jeddah and the Eastern Province cities of Dammam and Khobar have also recorded rental growth and increased occupancy rates.

“The lack of available quality stock is somewhat hampering the potential of the market,” said CRBE’s Taimur Khan, Head of MENA Research.

Dubai is taking advantage of the quieter summer time to experiment with a four-day work week and shorter office hours in an effort to promote better work-life balance.

“Our Summer is Flexible,” a pilot scheme at 15 Dubai government organizations, will see work suspended on Fridays and working days reduced to seven hours between Aug.12 – Sept. 30.

HR departments will gather feedback on the program and make recommendations on whether it should continue.

Dubai is not the first emirate to try out the idea, which is gaining popularity around the world.

Sharjah introduced a four-day work week in 2022 in order to maintain Friday, a holy day in Islam, as a full day off after the UAE government switched to a western weekend with a half-day on Fridays.

In a nod to Washington, Qatar has agreed to buy a $180 million stake in TechMet, an Irish mining investment firm backed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corp.

The move, carried out through the Qatar Investment Authority, is designed to loosen China’s dominance of minerals critical to generating sustainable energy and is the first such collaboration between a western and Gulf state, the Financial Times reports. 

The Biden administration has been trying to overtake China in the market for lithium, cobalt and other minerals used to power electric cars, making the objective a priority in its campaign to switch to renewable power, according to the newspaper.

Part of those efforts has been to persuade Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to invest in U.S. initiatives to extract and process critical minerals for industrial use, the FT said. It notes the Gulf states all seek to become players in the critical minerals market, using their neutrality in the U.S.-China standoff to their advantage.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has pumped another $1.5 billion into electric vehicle start-up Lucid Motors ahead of the launch of its first SUV later this year.

The PIF, which already has a 60% stake in California-based Lucid after investing about $8 billion over several years, will buy $750 million in convertible preferred stock and provide a $750 million loan facility through Ayar, an affiliate investment company.

Nasdaq-traded Lucid reported Q2 earnings yesterday, recording a $790 million net loss, but beating analyst expectations with $200 million revenue after delivering 2,394 cars in the quarter.

The EV maker expects to produce 9,000 cars for 2024, with the launch later this year of the Gravity SUV, priced at around $80,000, which is likely to diversify its potential customer base. 

Saudi Arabia has been scouring the globe for potential supplies of lithium, a critical mineral used in battery production, as it attempts to become a major regional EV manufacturer, with Lucid opening a factory in the kingdom last year. 

Bandar Alkhorayaf, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, toured Brazil and Chile over the past two weeks looking for mining investment opportunities.

As a result, the kingdom is eyeing a collaboration with Chilean state-owned miner Codelco to develop lithium deposits.