M2S News Radar
MacroScope Strategies (M2S)
Navigating the New World of Government Affairs
Trade & Investment
UAE Investment Strategy: The UAE is developing a unified investment strategy, the UAE’s Investment Minister Mohamed Al Suwaidi said. The strategy will strive to bring the investment policies of the individual Emirates together and boost inward and outward investment flows.
Aldar-London Square: Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties?has bought developer London Square for an enterprise value of $291 million in its first acquisition outside the Middle East. Aldar intends to bolster London Square's ability to develop prime central London sites.
Ethiopia-Wind Power: Ethiopia has signed an agreement with the UAE's AMEA Power for the construction of a 300 MW wind farm. The $600 million project will be Ethiopia's biggest wind power generation plant when completed, according to Ethiopia’s finance ministry.
Angola-Solar Power: Masdar is planning to develop a 150 MW solar power project in Angola. The project is part of a wider commitment made by Masdar this year to develop 5 GW of renewable energy projects across Angola, Uganda and Zambia.
Masdar-RWE: Masdar is taking a 49% stake in RWE AG’s?$13.9 billion UK Dogger Bank South offshore 3 GW wind farm. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and expected in the first quarter of 2024.
Masdar-Poland: Masdar said it had, along with Finland-based renewable energy developer and fund manager Taaleri Energia, acquired eight hybrid renewable energy projects in Poland. The projects, when finished, will have a combined capacity of more than 1 GW.
Masdar-Iberdrola: Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola?and Masdar have formed a $16.2 billion alliance to invest in offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in various countries. Masdar will for example acquire up to a 49 percent stake in the East Anglia Three wind farm that Iberdrola is developing.?
Columbia Trade Deal: The UAE said it had concluded the terms of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Colombia. According to the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani Al-Zeyoudi, it is the first bilateral trade deal between the Gulf and South America.
ADQ-QIC Kazakhstan: ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment company, and Qazaqstan Investment Corporation (QIC) have set up a co-investment platform that will focus on food, agriculture, mobility, healthcare, energy transformation and clean technology.
Carbon Credits: Abu Dhabi-based Neovision Wealth Management is setting up a $250 million fund to invest in the development of carbon credits in frontier markets. The Global Carbon Credit Development Fund will focus on projects managed by investment firm Global Frontier Capital.
Battery Storage: Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has announced a strategic investment of ￡270 million in UK-headquartered battery energy storage and EV fleet solutions provider Zenobē. US-listed private equity firm KKR also announced a ￡600 million investment.
Zambia Mines: Zambia has selected International Resources Holdings (IRH) as the new strategic equity partner in Mopani Copper Mines. IRH is linked to Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company and will help finance the completion of the mine development.
Finland-UAE: The Federation of Emirates Chambers has signed an MoU with the Finnish Chamber of Commerce to establish a joint Emirati-Finnish Business Council. The focus will be, amongst others, on digitization, energy, circular economy, mining and health care.
Costa Rican Business: Dubai Chamber of Commerce has announced the formation of a Costa Rican Business Council in Dubai. Earlier this year, Costa Rica also entered into preliminary negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE.
UAE-Vietnam: AD Ports Group partnered with the Vietnam Maritime Administration to bolster maritime operations and strengthen bilateral ties between the UAE and Vietnam. The two parties signed an MoU stressing a focus on dry ports and inland containers.
Relocating Billionaire: Nassef Sawiris?is moving his family office to Abu Dhabi. Egypt’s wealthiest man, with a net worth of $7.6 billion, intends to re-domicile NNS Group in Abu Dhabi Global Market, subject to regulatory approval.
Environment & Energy
Ongoing COP28: After a “day of rest”, COP28 UAE continues its work on Friday as talks on an outcome text kick into high gear. Negotiators are aiming to agree on how to bolster emissions-cutting targets set by the Paris Agreement and on the future of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal.?
ALTéRRA: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed announced a $30 billion climate fund that aims to attract $250 billion of investment by the end of the decade. ALTéRRA will allocate $25 billion to climate strategies and $5 billion to incentivize investment flows into the Global South.
Advanced Nuclear: Bill Gates' advanced nuclear reactor company TerraPower LLC and the UAE’s state owned nuclear company ENEC have agreed to study the potential development of advanced reactors in the UAE and abroad.
Decarbonizing Cement: Canada and the UAE launched the Cement and Concrete Breakthrough, an international initiative to accelerate investments in the decarbonization of the cement and concrete sector. The inaugural cohort of endorsing countries includes the UK, Ireland, Japan, and Germany.
Climate Finance: The UAE’s banking federation and its affiliated national financial institutions have pledged to mobilize over $270 billion for sustainable finance by 2030. Contributors include First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and Emirates NBD.
Hydrogen Feasibility Study: Masdar, the Port of Amsterdam, SkyNRG and Zenith Energy Terminals have signed a Joint Study Agreement to assess the feasibility of a dedicated liquefied green hydrogen supply chain for Masdar-produced hydrogen to the port of Amsterdam.
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Tech, Cyber & Space
Space Agencies: The UAE Space Agency organized a Space Agencies Leaders’ Summit during COP28 UAE. The summit brought key actors from global climate policy and space exploration sectors together to discuss climate programs and initiatives to expedite the pathway to 1.5C.
Rwanda Space Agency: During COP28 UAE, the Rwanda Space Agency has signed an MoU with the UAE Space Agency to establish collaboration frameworks in civil space activities, fostering research and development and initiating joint space sector projects.
ClimateTech: Hub71 has officially launched ‘Hub71+ ClimateTech’. ADNOC is the founding partner and the program will support startups worldwide that are advancing the development and deployment of sustainable decarbonization technologies.
Foreign Policy & Diplomacy
Putin Visit: Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the leaders of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as part of his first visit to the Gulf countries since the invasion of Ukraine. Trade and oil were on the agenda in the UAE, which a Kremlin statement said is "Russia's main economic partner in the Arab world".
Moroccan King: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed received Morocco’s King Mohammed VI with an official ceremony featuring a 21-gun artillery salute and a fly-past by the UAE Air Force aerobatics team Al Fursan, trailing smoke in the colors of the Morocco flag.
Lavrov Visit: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to take part in the 14th Sir Bani Yas International Forum on Peace and Security in Abu Dhabi (December 8-9), followed by participation in the 21st Doha Forum in Qatar (December 10).
Gaza-UNSC: The?UAE has asked for the UN Security Council to vote (Friday morning) on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza war. This comes after the UN Secretary-General formally warned the Council of a “global threat” from the war.
IMO Re-Election: The UAE has been re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the Category B membership for the fourth term. The election results were announced during the 33rd session of the IMO Assembly in London.
GCC Meeting: President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed led the UAE delegation to the 44th session of Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which took place in Qatar. The meeting greenlighted the unified Gulf tourist visa.
Tax Fraud Charges: British trader Sanjay Shah has landed in Denmark after being extradited from the UAE over tax fraud charges worth $1.7bn. Shah was arrested by Dubai police last year following a Danish investigation into Solo Capital, a hedge fund that he founded.
Defense & Security
Rocket Protection: The UAE has requested to purchase 18 man-portable AN/TPQ-50 Lightweight Counter Mortar Radars?from the US. The proposed sale is estimated to be valued at $85 million and is intended to bolster protection from rocket, artillery, and mortar fire.
Miscellaneous
Non-Oil Economy: Growth in non-oil business activity in the UAE eased in November from multi-year highs seen the previous month. The S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index retreated to 57.0 from 57.7 but remained well above the 50.0 mark signalling growth.
Emiratization Targets: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization has?notified more than 12,000 private companies with between 20 and 49 employees to hire one UAE national in 2024 and another one in 2025 as the government widens Emiratization targets.
Bankruptcy Law: The UAE is overhauling its bankruptcy and restructuring law, introducing a specialist court to oversee disputes. The bankruptcy court will have the authority to halt creditor actions from the start of proceedings until the approval of the restructuring plan.
Sharjah Industry: Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, has approved a budget of Dhs600 million for the Sharjah City Municipality for the development of industrial areas in cooperation with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
New legislation: Women in the UAE no longer require their husband's consent to undergo emergency abortions. Another legal amendment ensures that people can now opt for childbirth through surrogacy, meaning having someone else carry the pregnancy.
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M2S News Radar – UAE edition - is a curated weekly newsletter that provides a high-level overview of trade, investment, defense, environmental, and foreign policy developments in the UAE, as well as a weekly agenda of upcoming relevant events. All news items are carefully selected by our team of local experts from relevant and reputable original news sources to provide a concise summary of major news items for senior executives interested in the UAE. While we pay utmost attention to fact check all news items, M2S cannot be held liable for the accuracy of third-party reporting.