🛫 New Gulf visa

Good morning, ☀️

We’re pumped to report that a new collaboration will give UAE investors better access to real-time global market data and order entry. While speaking of collaboration, the Gulf Cooperation Council has approved a visa that allows travel across 6 states in the region with only 1 visa. 

Let’s dive in! 

Markets 📈 

Metal Moves: Gold prices rally to $1,982 in Friday's early Asian trading session, driven by declining US Treasury bond yields and anticipation of a rate cut by mid-2024, while traders await today's US housing data release.

Golden News 👑

Al Etihad Payments (AEP) launches Aani, a new instant payment platform that allows users to transfer money instantly using the recipient’s phone number.

• Why it matters: The launch of Aani boosts the UAE's reputation as a global digital payment hub. This government-backed innovation fosters market growth and strategic opportunities in the region.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchanges (ADX) and ICE Global Network collaborate to offer direct market access.

• Why it matters: The collaboration between ADX and ICE Global Network enhances global market connectivity, offering investors direct access to opportunities from more than 150 exchanges and marketplaces around the world.

The UAE government provides clarification on eligible and non-eligible activities included in the new corporate tax decisions reported last week.

• Why it matters: The latest news on the UAE corporate tax reform brings crucial clarity for free zone companies, outlining more clearly the scope of eligible activities and tax benefits. These decisions aim to position the emirate as an appealing location for businesses, aligning with the global trend toward a minimum corporate tax regime.

Bitcoin (BTC) can serve as a hedge against deflation, in addition to its potential in an inflationary environment, says founder of ARK Invest.

• Why it matters: Cathie Wood, founder of investment manager ARK Invest, spoke last week about how bitcoin serves as a hedge against both inflation and deflation, emphasizing its decentralization and transparency. Drawing parallels with the U.S. regional bank crisis, Wood emphasized bitcoin’s role in exposing centralization risks, similar to digital gold.

Expat Wallet 💸 

A new unified tourist visa for the region was approved by the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last week. It will allow for travel between all GCC member states – the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – on a single visa. 

This is similar to the European Schengen visa, which allows individuals from all 27 member states to stay in member countries for up to 90 days for tourism or business.

The GCC is hoping to foster a more integrated travel experience to residents and visitors across the 6 member states, streamlining travel logistics to provide a seamless experience within the region. It also aims to enhance trade in the region and positively impact all member economies.

Expect the visa to be operational sometime between 2024-25, with more details to come. (Source)

Money Brief 💰

A roundup of the biggest deals in the UAE this week.

Earnings:

• TAQA, a UAE energy company, reported 130% nine-month profit increase to AED 15B (GB)

• Emirates posts record half-year profit of AED 9.9B (CNBC)

• Emaar Development records 43% increase in net profit to AED 4.1B in first 9 months of 2023 (KJT)

• ADNOC Gas reports a lower third-quarter net income of AED 4B (TN)

• Air Arabia reported 53% nine-month profit increase to a record AED 1.32B (ZWY)

• Presight, a UAE AI company, clears AED 1B in 9-month revenues, while its stock is up 80% year-to-date (GN)

• Abu Dhabi Ports reports a 21% jump in third-quarter net profit, with its net profit attributable to the owners rising to AED 381M (TN)

• Shuaa Capital posted a higher profit during the first 9 months of this year, rising to AED 89M, up more than 39% on an annualised basis (TN)

M&A / Investments:

• Abu Dhabi Islamic Exchange listed AED 18.37B green sukuk on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market and Sustainable Bond Market. (WAM)

• Aliph Capital, an Abu Dhabi based private equity firm, invested AED 77.1M in Saudi pet products trading company PPTCO (WYM)

IPO:

• Phoenix Group, an Abu Dhabi crypto firm, opens with an AED 1.3B offer on 16 November, with the price set at AED 1.5/share (GN)

• Dubai Taxi Company launches an IPO with a 24.99% stake (INV)

VC:

• Wize, a UAE logistics startup, raised AED 58.8M in pre-Seed funding led by angel investors (WMD)

• Mafhoom, a UAE fintech raised AED 5M in pre-Seed funding led by Al-Wafra Al-Thanya for Investments (WMD)

Projects / Partnerships:

• Dubai Airports plans new mega-airport to replace Dubai International in the 2030s (F24)

• Emirates announced AED 191B billion order of 95 Boeing aircraft (CNBC)

• Flydubai signed AED 40.4B deal for 30 Boeing aircraft (GB)

• ADNOC Drilling and Alpha Dhabi partner to invest AED 5.5B in oilfield and energy firms (TNN)

• Masdar, a UAE renewable energy firm, leads consortium awarded AED 3.67B solar plant project in Saudi Arabia (WYM)

• Emirates to build AED 3.5B engineering facility in Dubai (GB)

• Standard Chartered’s investment arm to establish digital assets Joint Venture in UAE with 367M capitalization (WMD)

• Jetex partners with Shell Aviation to introduce sustainable fuel in the UAE (AIN)

• Crypto.com received virtual asset license in Dubai (CD)

Real Estate: 

• Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to sell a majority stake in its real estate subsidiary, for an expected gain of AED 400M (GN)

• Dubai real estate deals hit AED 10.3B in a week (INV)

• WATCH: Top 5 Areas To Invest In Dubai Real Estate

Dubai Snapshot: The average residential price in Dubai has increased by 19.1% in the year to October 2023. This is down slightly from a 19.6% increase in September. In the rental market, growth rates have slowed from 20.6% last month to 19.7% in the year to October 2023.

What You Get: AED 4,500,000 luxury 3-bedroom villa for sale in Nad Al Sheba, Dubai 🏡

Nestled in the gated community of Nad Al Sheba Gardens, this villa boasts 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms in a bright and airy interior (Source)

• Size: 1,883 square feet

• Asking price per square foot: AED 2,390

Crypto: 

• Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings will establish an AED 3.67M investment company in the UAE targeting crypto startups (CD)

• Crypto tycoon, Sam Bankman-Fried, is found guilty of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, triggering a crypto market downturn (GN)

AI Productivity Power-ups:

• Reclaim: An AI scheduling automation app that protects your time by predicting the best time to schedule your breaks, tasks, habits and meetings. 

• 3DFY.ai (in beta): Type in a prompt and 3DFY will generate a 3D model instantly, from furniture to swords for gaming.

• 10web AI: Create a website for your business 10x faster using this AI website builder tool. 

• Before Sunset: Plan your day with this AI tool that takes your to-do list and inputs it into your calendar.

Weekly Meme

That’s all for now! 

See you in your inbox with more updates next week 👋🏾