UAE Weekly Market Summary - March 11, 2024

Read time: 3.5 minutes

Good Morning, ☀️

Ramadan Kareem to all celebrants. Parkin's IPO rapidly oversubscribed, ADQ prepares Etihad Airways for IPO with top advisors, Burjeel and Yahsat profits increase, Deyaar and Yahsat announce dividends, UAE gold prices surge, major investment firms expand to Abu Dhabi, and Dubai real estate transactions just keep on growing.

Let’s dive in.

Markets 📈 

Money Brief 💰

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

IPOs

• Parkin's AED 1.57b IPO oversubscribed within minutes of opening on 5 March (BB)

• ADQ selects Citigroup, HSBC, and FAB as advisers for Etihad Airways' potential IPO (BB)

• EFG Hermes expects a surge in Gulf IPOs from the private sector in 2024, predicting smaller, frequent offerings (RT)

Earnings

• Etihad Airways reports 40% increase in passenger numbers and a net profit of AED 525m in 2023 (ET)

• Burjeel Holdings posts AED 540.41m net profit in 2023, up from AED 354.58m (AD)

• Yahsat announces 2023 net profit of AED 424m, a 9% increase from the previous year (AD)

Dividends

• Deyaar Development announces its first-ever dividend, distributing 4% of share capital or AED 174.65m (DF)

• Yahsat to distribute a final cash dividend of AED 60.35m, bringing the total for FY 2023 to AED 120.7m (AD)

• TECOM to distribute AED 400m cash dividend for H2 2023, marking continued financial growth (DF)

• First Abu Dhabi Bank announces 50% cash dividends, totaling AED 7.8b for 2023 (AD)

• Abu Dhabi Aviation to distribute a cash dividend of AED 111.2m for FY 2023 (AD)

• Mashreq Bank announces a cash dividend of AED 18.5 per share for 2023 (DF)

• National Bank of Fujairah approves 15% dividends, combining AED 212m cash and AED 106m in bonus shares (AD)

• Gulf Medical Projects to distribute a 10% cash dividend, totaling AED 69.9m for 2023 (AD)

• Salik's board recommends distributing a cash dividend of 7.33 fils per share to shareholders (DF)

Headline Roundup

• Gold prices in the UAE surpass AED 260/gram (KT)

• Infini Capital Management, a Hong Kong-based investment firm with over AED 74.19b in assets under management, opens an Abu Dhabi office (WA)

• Brevan Howard establishes an AED 36.73b investment hub in Abu Dhabi, signaling the emirate's growing financial clout (BB)

• Citigroup aims to deepen ties with the Middle East's richest families, targeting IPO and private deal participations (BB)

M&A / Investments

• Gulf Islamic Investments, a Dubai-based alternative investment company with over AED 16.53b of assets under management, expands in Saudi Arabia by acquiring a CMA-licensed entity (ZA)

• Mubadala Capital considers acquiring Outback Steakhouse’s operations in Brazil after successful expansion with Burger King and Popeyes (BB)

• GFH and Ithmaar Holding in talks for GFH to acquire Ithmaar’s financing and investment portfolios (AD)

• Sukoon Insurance plans to acquire up to 6.95% of Arabian Scandinavian Insurance shares (DF)

• PureHealth completes acquisition of Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City from SEHA (AD)

• GFH to sell a portion of its ownership in Khaleeji Bank’s Additional Tier 1 Certificates to Southern Star Investments for AED 271.76m (AD)

VC

• Hunch, a Dubai-based social discovery app allowing users to engage anonymously, secures AED 84.6m in Series A funding led by Alpha Wave and Hashed (VB)

• Oraseya Capital, a Dubai investment firm, lead an AED 20.2m Series A investment in Remote Pass, a US-based HR and fintech platform (RP)

• AUM Ventures, an Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) based India-focused VC fund invested an undisclosed sum in Azimuth AI, a silicon product startup (IN)

• UAE start-ups lead MENA with AED 238.65m raised in February, including a significant investment in Flare Network (ZA)

Partnerships / Projects

• ADNOC and Saudi Aramco discuss investing in US LNG projects, expanding their international energy footprint (RT)

• Direct Debit System partners with Keyper to launch the UAE’s first digital rental payments platform (KT)

• E& commits AED 22.04b to enhance connectivity across 16 countries (ZA)

• Presight and Nesma Injazat form strategic partnership to advance technological innovation in the UAE (AD)

• ADNOC and Saudi Aramco to explore lithium extraction from brine, marking a strategic pivot to battery materials (RT)

Fundraising

• DP World secures AED 1.6b loan for India’s mega-container terminal in Gujarat (ZA)

Debt

• Drake & Scull International to resume trading on DFM after writing off 90% of its debt (GN)

• Binghatti Holding lists an AED 1.1b sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, the first USD-denominated real estate sukuk from MENA in 2024 (ND)

Crypto / FX

• UAE to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for Ramadan charity donations (KT)

• Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority CEO forecasts growth in UAE's crypto market following FATF grey list exit (CN)

• RAK Digital Assets Oasis and China’s Tencent Cloud sign MoU to support crypto startups in Ras Al Khaimah (CT)

• Nexo, a digital asset service provider, won initial approval as a licensed entity in Dubai from VARA (CD)

Real Estate

• Dubai updates Rera calculator, potentially increasing rents by up to 20% (KT)

• Dubai's real estate transactions hit AED 36.7b in February, a 35% year-on-year increase (AB)

• MAG invites bids for the Keturah Reserve project, with a construction value of AED 2.8b (ZA)

• Stake partners to bring US investors to Dubai Real Estate, enhancing international investment flows (ADS)

• Arista Properties launches AED 500m Wadi Villas in MBR City, scheduled for 2026 completion (KT)

• Sobha Realty's sales reach an all-time high of AED 15.5b in 2023, underscoring strong market demand (GN)

• Standalone branded residences in Dubai projected to dominate the market, accounting for 54% of all sales (AB)

Personnel

• Pure Health appoints Rashed Saif Al Qubaisi as COO (AD)

• Commercial Bank International names Rajesh Arora as CFO (AD)

• Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank sees Nasser Alawadhi resign; Mohamed Abdelbary appointed as acting CEO (AD)

• United Arab Bank elects Mohammed Bin Faisal as Chairman and Omar Hussain Al Fardan as Vice Chairman (AD)

• Emirates' President Tim Clark endorses Boeing's leadership (BN)

Money Souk Picks

• Gilad Edelman wrote an interesting piece for The Atlantic on ‘why crypto just won’t die’ 

• With Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund hoping to allocate to private equity, FT examined whether PE investments truly outperform

• WSJ explained why any prevalent stock-market FOMO might actually be rational 

Meme Freshener

DISCLAIMER: This information is prepared by Money Souk and uses public and reliable sources. Money Souk nor any of its directors, isn't liable for its content or use. It's not intended as investment advice or a solicitation to trade financial products.