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The Gulf Tape

  1. L'IMAD's ADQ Offers AED6.25 a Share to Take AD Ports

    MarketsAD Ports Group's board has recommended shareholders accept a AED6.25 ($1.70) per-share cash offer from ADQ, the wholly owned subsidiary of sovereign investor L'IMAD Holding, to take full ownership of the Abu Dhabi-listed ports operator. ADQ already holds 75.42%; the tender for the remaining 24.58% closes 3pm September 15, 2026, unless extended, per AD Ports Group's ADX disclosure.

  2. MIS Confirms Humain Contract Expansion to 250MW

    Corporate & EarningsAl Moammar Information Systems Company (MIS) confirmed a Humain letter of award expanding its data-centre build from 50MW to 250MW, a deal AGBI reports quadruples the Public Investment Fund-owned AI company's total capacity. MIS says the expanded contract's value exceeds 689% of its 2025 revenue; contracts are expected to sign within two weeks.

  3. Al Dahra Starts $500m Egypt Wheat Deliveries

    Sovereign & Institutional FlowsAl Dahra Holding's trading unit has begun delivering wheat to Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) under a five-year, up-to-$500 million agreement first signed in August 2023 and now activated three years later, AGBI and TradeArabia reported in August 2026, with Abu Dhabi's export-credit arm ADEX financing the flow.

  4. Bayut Launches AI-Powered Conversational Search as Parent

    IPO PipelineBayut, the UAE property portal owned by Dubizzle Group, launched AI Search on 27 August 2026, letting users describe budget, location and lifestyle needs in natural language instead of dropdown filters. The launch extends product investment at a company that postponed its Dubai Financial Market IPO on 22 October 2025, a day before subscriptions were to open.

  5. stc Group Returns as LEAP's Strategic Partner

    Companiesstc group is returning as LEAP's strategic partner for a fifth consecutive year at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, August 31–September 3, 2026 (Economy Middle East). The Tadawul-listed operator (7010: SAR 44.66, Aug 27, 2026, stockanalysis.com) is showcasing sector-focused digital, cloud and secure-network offerings; no dollar deal value was disclosed alongside the announcement, unlike LEAP 2025's named multibillion-dollar agreements.

  6. Emirati Women Hold $10.6 Billion in ADX Shares

    Capital MarketsEmirati women held AED39 billion (about $10.6 billion) in Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) shares as of end-July 2026 — 94% of all female-held ADX value — according to ADX Group. Heriot-Watt University Dubai and Aurora50's GCC Board Gender Index puts UAE-listed women's board seats at just 15%, more than double the GCC's 7% average. Not investment advice.

  7. Iraq Targets 10GW of Solar as PM Pledges to Double Power

    Energy & UtilitiesIraq's electricity ministry says it plans to add 10GW of solar generation, per spokesman Ahmed Turki (AGBI, 27 August 2026). Only the TotalEnergies-QatarEnergy consortium's 1GW deal is a signed, awarded contract; Acwa Power and Masdar each hold a 1GW "initial agreement," not yet binding, while Norway's Scatec has withdrawn from its award. Not investment advice.

  8. AWS Confirms December 2026 Launch for Saudi Arabia's

    Macro & Sovereign FlowsAWS confirmed its first Saudi Arabia cloud infrastructure region will launch in December 2026, reiterating the $5.3 billion (SAR 19.88 billion) investment disclosed in March 2024. Alongside PIF-owned HUMAIN, AWS will scale a dedicated AI Zone to as much as 50 megawatts of Trainium- and Nvidia-based capacity by 2028, per AWS's own announcement.

  9. HUMAIN, DataVolt Break Ground on First 100MW of 360MW NEOM

    Sovereign FlowsHUMAIN, the PIF-owned AI company, and Saudi developer DataVolt broke ground on 100MW of a planned 360MW first-phase AI data center at Oxagon, NEOM, HUMAIN chief executive Tareq Amin said August 31, 2026 at LEAP in Riyadh; the first 100MW is targeted for operational readiness in 2028, according to AGBI and w.media reporting citing the companies.

  10. Saudi Data-Center Deals Hit $2.5 Billion on LEAP 2026's

    MarketsSaudi Arabia's LEAP 2026 conference logged roughly $2.5 billion in data-center, cloud and R&D pledges on its second day, per Economy Middle East, led by Tadawul-listed Al Moammar Information Systems' $1.2 billion push toward 192 megawatts of capacity. NHC Innovation, Vision Invest-Africa Finance Corporation and Mobily-BytePlus contributed the rest. Not investment advice.

  11. Xi's Cairo Visit: Egypt Pitches China on EVs

    Sovereign FlowsCairo is courting Chinese capital for EVs, batteries, renewables and advanced manufacturing as President Xi Jinping visited Egypt on September 1, 2026, marking 70 years of bilateral ties, Economy Middle East and Al Jazeera reported. The push comes as Gulf sovereign capital, led by ADQ's $35 billion Ras El-Hekma deal, already anchors Egypt's foreign investment base.

  12. FAB Becomes First Middle East and Africa Bank to Complete

    Banking & FinanceFirst Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is the first Middle East and Africa lender to complete live USD tokenized-deposit transactions with Citi on Swift's new Ledger platform, announced Sept. 2, 2026, per Swift, Citi and Economy Middle East. The pilot, part of a July-December 2026 proof-of-concept alongside OCBC, DBS and UOB, keeps final settlement in existing correspondent-banking rails.

  13. DLD's AI-Powered 'Initial Registration' Platform

    Policy & RegulationDubai Land Department launched its AI-powered 'Initial Registration' platform on September 3, 2026, at Grand Hyatt Dubai, unifying developer registration, transaction filing and escrow-account oversight into one system, DLD's Real Estate Regulatory Agency confirmed. For DFM-listed developers such as Emaar Properties and DAMAC Properties, tighter automated escrow monitoring narrows the disclosure gap investors have priced into project-delivery risk for years.

  14. stc Group's Oilfield Connectivity Push Carries No

    Companiesstc group, the Tadawul-listed operator behind Saudi Telecom, is bundling private 5G, satellite backhaul and edge computing for oil and gas sites, built on technology from partner Celona, according to Economy Middle East. Neither company has disclosed a contract value, customer name or revenue guidance, and no related Tadawul filing has surfaced, so the initiative's earnings impact remains unconfirmed.

  15. UAE Deepens Syria Reconstruction Push as Non-Oil Trade

    Sovereign & Institutional FlowsThe UAE's government-modernization program for Syrian officials is not aid — it is institution-building that precedes capital. Non-oil UAE-Syria trade hit $1.4 billion in 2025, up 132.4% year-on-year, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi told the first Syrian-Emirati Investment Forum in Damascus on May 11, 2026, alongside dozens of preliminary investment agreements.

  16. ACWA Power Consortium Reaches Commercial Operation on Red

    Earnings & CorporateACWA Power's consortium, Marafiq Red Sea for Energy Company, reached the Project Commercial Operation Date for Red Sea Global's Red Sea destination on September 7, 2026, per Arab News, activating a 340MWac solar array paired with a 1,227MWh battery — reported as the largest off-grid battery installation globally — under a 25-year concession with no link to the national grid.

  17. S&P Affirms UAE at AA/A-1+, Stable

    Macro & PolicyS&P Global Ratings affirmed the United Arab Emirates' long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings at AA/A-1+ with a stable outlook on September 5, 2026, citing a consolidated net government asset position near 147% of GDP. S&P projects UAE real GDP growth of 2.4% in 2026, accelerating to an average 6.2% in 2027-2029, with government debt held near 26% of GDP.

  18. ADQ's L'IMAD Clears Substantive Terms of AD Ports

    Sovereign FlowsADQ, folded into Abu Dhabi's L'IMAD Holding Company, has satisfied every condition of its AED6.25 ($1.70)-per-share tender for AD Ports Group's roughly 24.58% free float except routine regulatory notifications, AGBI reported September 8, 2026. Shareholders still have until September 15 to tender, with settlement targeted before October 9 — a sovereign consolidation, not a trading signal.

  19. PIF Launches Gulf Coast Development Company to Build

    Sovereign Funds & FlowsSaudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund launched Gulf Coast Development Company on September 7, 2026, to build a 20-square-kilometre coastal destination in Al-Khafji, Eastern Province, comprising more than 16,000 homes across eight neighborhoods, roughly 1,400 hotel keys, and a 10-kilometre waterfront, with the first three districts targeted for completion in 2030, per PIF and AGBI.

  20. Emirates NBD's Off-Plan Mortgage Tie-Up With Shamal

    Capital FlowsEmirates NBD, roughly 41% owned by Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai following a November 2023 share restructuring, has agreed to underwrite mortgages on off-plan Shamal Holding projects once buyers pay 50% of the purchase price. Shamal Holding invests on behalf of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, extending a financing model Emirates NBD already runs with Dubai Holding Real Estate.