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Good Morning, ☀️

UAE's economy to see 5.7% growth in 2024, Lulu's IPO aims for AED 3.68b, Mashreq Bank's net profit jumps 130%, FAB's profit reaches AED 16.4b, ADIA plans up to AED 18.4b investment in India, and Eisler Capital considers Dubai for new office.

Let’s dive in.

Markets 📈 

Money Brief 💰

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

Markets:

• UAE’s economy is expected to grow by 5.7% in 2024 according to the Ministry of Finance (WAM)

• Eisler Capital, a London-based AED 14.7b hedge fund, is preparing a Dubai office by Q3 (BBG)

• Shuaa Capital, an investment bank and asset manager, denied rumours that it will de-list from Dubai Financial Market (DFM)

• UAE sees growing interest from UK fintechs for dual listings (BBG)

IPOs:

• LuLu Group International, a leading Middle East hypermarket chain, is seeking bank pitches for a potential AED 3.68b IPO for dual listing in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi (BBG)

Earnings:

• First Abu Dhabi Bank reported a 22% year-over-year increase in 2023 net profit to AED 16.4b (ADX)

• Mashreq Bank's 2023 net profit rose by 130% to AED 8.59b (DFM) 

• RAKBANK's 2023 net profit surged by 53.4% to AED 1.78b (ADX)

• Borouge reported a 2023 net profit of AED 3.64b, up from AED 2.66b in 2022 (ADX)

• Commercial Bank of Dubai's 2023 net profit increased to AED 2.65b from AED 1.83b in 2022 (DFM)

• Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank announced a 4Q23 net profit of AED 2.45b, up from AED 1.78b in 2022 (ADX)

• Tecom's net profit for FY2023 rose by 49% to AED 1.1b (DFM)

• NBQ's 2023 net profit increased to AED 502.6m from AED 364.5m in 2022 (ADX)

• Q Holding reported a decrease in 2023 net profit to AED 461.3m from AED 899.7m in 2022, despite revenue growth to AED 994.3m from AED 720.3m in 2022 (ADX)

• Abu Dhabi National Hotels saw a 2023 net profit of AED 422m, up slightly from AED 415m in 2022 (ADX)

• Dubai Financial Market's net profit for 2023 jumped 124% to AED 329.4m from AED 147.1m in 2022, with the board proposing a cash dividend of 3.5 fils per share) for the year (DFM)

• Emirates Driving's 2023 net profit increased to AED 267.1m from AED 253.4m in 2022 (ADX)

• Invictus Investment's 2023 net profit decreased to AED 213.7m from AED 454.6m in 2022 (ADX)

• BHM Capital reported a 2023 net profit of AED 31.5m, up from AED 15.7m in 2022 (DFM)

• RAK Insurance's accumulated losses reached AED 28m, with the accumulated losses to capital ratio standing at 23% as of the end of December 2023 (ADX)

• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, investing for the Government of Abu Dhabi, recorded rolling returns of 17.3% in 2023 (ZWY)

• Earnings we’re watching this week: 

  • Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for Distribution

  • Al Dar Properties

  • Burjeel Holdings

  • Dana Gas

  • Aramex 

  • Multiply Group

  • RAK Ceramics

  • Shuaa Capital

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M&A / Investments:

• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority plans an AED 14.7b to 18.4b fund to invest in India's new finance hub (RTR)

• PureHealth subsidiary SEHA buys Mayo Clinic's 25% stake in Sheikh Shakbout Medical City for AED 550.5m (ADX)

• ADPorts Group subsidiary, Noatum, acquired 100% ownership of Sesé Auto Logistics for AED 323.19m (ADP) 

• Dubai Investments acquired a 34.3% stake in Global Fertility Partners, a network of fertility and reproductive genetics centers across the Middle East, in a deal worth AED 220.4m (DBI)

• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is considering buying a minority stake in Dalian Wanda Group’s mall operator (YHF)

• Tamween, a subsidiary of Ghitha Holding, sold 106.6m shares of Apex Investment (ADX)

• Gulf Investment House's subsidiary bought 7% of the capital of an unlisted UAE real estate company for AED 4.5m (ADX)

• Serco acquired Dubai-based Climatize for an undisclosed sum (WYM)

VC:

• Velar, a developer of a Decentralized Perpetual Derivatives Exchange on Bitcoin, secured AED 12.9m in seed funding (BCR)

• The Digital Hotelier, a Dubai-based hospitality software solution, secured an AED 3.67m investment from Plug and Play, Hope Funds, and angel investors (WYM)

Partnerships / Projects:

• Wheely, luxury Uber rival, launches in Dubai to take on Careem (CNB)

• Vikas Lifecare, listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, plans to open a subsidiary in the UAE for commercial investments (ZWY)

• RTA unveils an AED 350m Nol card upgrade, adding facial recognition, AI, and smartphone payments for public transport (ARB)

• ADNOC Gas signed a 10-year agreement to supply 0.5m metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas to India's largest natural gas Company, GAIL (SPG)

• DTC has doubled its taxi fleet at Dubai Airports (TOD)

• Kezad, an Abu Dhabi Port’s subsidiary, to build 250k square metres of new warehousing capacity for AED 621m by the end of 2025 (APG)

• Dana Gas resumes operations at Iraqi Kurdistan’s Khor Mor gas field (NSD)

• Abu Dhabi Department of Health partners with Masdar City, Xlife Sciences, and Thermo Fisher Scientific to enhance clinical research in the UAE (ADH)

Crypto / FX: 

• UAE Central Bank and China's People's Bank conducted the first cross-border digital Dirham transfer of 50 million dirhams using the mBridge CBDC Platform (BIC)

• Dubai Road and Transport Authority licences DRIFE, the first Web3 Taxi platform in the UAE (ZWY)

• Zubair Al Zubair and Muzzammil Al Zubair impersonated UAE royalty to defraud investors in an AED 33m cryptocurrency scam (USJ)

Real Estate: 

• Aldar will invest AED 5.14b to build commercial, hospitality properties in Abu Dhabi (RTR)

• Abu Dhabi real estate transactions hit AED 4.99b in January 2024 (WAM)

• MAG awarded a AED 2.8b contract to Cecep Techand Middle East for building The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dubai (ZWY)

• Citi Developers' AED 300m Dubai project, Aveline Residences, has booked 70% of its apartments (KJT)

• Portugal's Swank Development plans to invest over AED 300m in a luxury residential project in Dubai's Meydan (GFN)

• Tecom Group, hosting tenants like Meta and Alphabet, plans to expand its office space in Dubai (BBG) 

• Marjan is set to develop RAK Central, a mixed-use project featuring a Class A office and commercial district by 2026 (ZWY)

• Ellington Properties and Dutco launch luxury residential development in Dubai (ZWY)

• DMCC initiated the second phase of Uptown Dubai to build two mid-rise commercial towers (ZWY)

• Select Group awarded a AED 655m construction contract to Engineering Contracting Company for The EDGE, a 1.4m square foot dual tower (ZWY)

• Dubai to open new cancer hospital in 2026 (ZWY)

• Sharjah reported a 13.1% increase in transaction volume, reaching AED 27.1b in 2023 (WAM)

People:

• Al Wathba National Insurance announced the resignation of CEO Mr. Frederik Bisbjerg (ADX)

• Azura, a wealth manager, appointed former Barclays executive Hazem Shish to expand its deal-making operations in Dubai (BBG)

• Apex disclosed that Vice Chairman Mrs. Elham Abdul Ghafoor, Board Member Mr. Mansour Ibrahim, and Board Member Mr. Issa Najib Mir Abdullah resigned for personal reasons (ADX)

Money Souk’s Picks:

• The Economist explained how social media dynamics have changed in the 20 years since Facebook’s founding.

Meme Freshener

That’s all for now! 

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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.