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ADQ and Azerbaijan Investment Holding have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue joint projects in the financial services sector, aiming to improve market connectivity and bolster the investment environment for sustainable economic growth.

The agreement follows their establishment of a joint investment platform in December 2023, under which both organisations committed equal capital to developing sectors such as agriculture, technology, pharmaceuticals and energy infrastructure across Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Central Asia—with possible expansion beyond those regions.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, said the deal exemplifies the strategy of deploying patient capital and leveraging investment know-how to stimulate economic diversification, foster industrial expansion, and enhance regional connectivity and competitiveness.

Ruslan Alikhanov, Chief Executive Officer of AIH, described the partnership as a key move to unlock new growth opportunities for Azerbaijan, emphasising that combining capital and expertise will support more diversified development and position Azerbaijan as a proactive actor in regional investment networks.

AIH, founded in 2020, manages strategic state-owned enterprises, enhancing governance, boosting operational efficiency and channeling investment into national priorities. ADQ is recognised for investing in critical infrastructure, global supply chains, and strategic sectors that align with broader national and regional economic transformation agendas.

Trade between the UAE and Azerbaijan has been strengthening, with non-oil trade rising 43 per cent year-on-year to reach about USD 2.4 billion in 2024. UAE investments into Azerbaijan have crossed USD 1 billion, reflecting the deepening economic partnership.

Abu Dhabi will become the base for a new production venture aiming to create large-scale action films, as Emirati actor-producer Mohamed F. Mostafa joins forces with British filmmakers Neil Marshall and Jadey Duffield.

The trio plan to produce under the UK company Art of Action, with two projects already in development: Marshall’s Skeleton Coast, a desert survival thriller, and Duffield’s Blackout, described as a whodunnit in the style of Knives Out crossed with The Raid. Mostafa is establishing a production company in Abu Dhabi to ensure that Emirati talent is deeply involved both in front of and behind the camera.

Abu Dhabi’s film incentive scheme is a cornerstone of the plan. Productions can receive up to 50% cashback on qualifying spend, provided they meet criteria including hiring local cast and crew and investing in local infrastructure. This enhanced rebate framework is intended to attract big-budget shoots while developing the skills of the domestic film workforce.

Marshall, known for directing episodes of Game of Thrones such as “Blackwater” and “The Watchers on the Wall”, described action as a genre with worldwide appeal. He and Duffield emphasise that their films will draw on regional fighting styles and action choreography seldom seen in global cinema, aiming to push what local crews can do alongside their work.

Mostafa said the timing is opportune, asserting that the Emirati entertainment sector has abundant talent that has so far lacked full exposure. He hopes this partnership will showcase that local crews and performers can deliver action content with international production values.

Abu Dhabi has over time hosted major international productions including Dune, Mission: Impossible, and Star Wars-related work. But Mostafa, Marshall and Duffield see potential beyond serving as a filming location: their goal is to make Abu Dhabi a creative base for action filmmaking with staying power.

Duffield emphasises translating external expertise into local growth, especially in areas like stunt and action design, with “knowledge transfer” baked into the structure of their planned films. The idea is not merely to import crews but to train and promote domestic specialists.

Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 has forged a strengthened alliance with the Japan External Trade Organization aimed at building deeper cross-border innovation, particularly in Web3, AI, spatial intelligence and sustainable tech sectors. Hub71 used its presence at Tokyo’s WebX and the Blockchain Leaders Summit to push forward new collaboration programmes and investment pathways.

At these events, Hub71 spotlighted a number of startups from Abu Dhabi—among them bitgrit, xMap, Aqua Development, Chainsight, Nodeshift, Bit2Me and 1Money—making connections with Japanese investors, corporate entities and ecosystem partners. The showcasing was closely aligned with Japan’s innovation priorities, including governance in blockchain and sustainable water solutions.

Key to the partnership is the launch of the J-StarX Programme, developed jointly by Hub71, JETRO and Elixir Capital, which will host seven Japanese Web3 startups in Abu Dhabi to facilitate scale-ups, market access, and ecosystem integration. Entrepreneurs in this programme will benefit from capital, mentoring, regulatory guidance and networking in the UAE’s tech environment.

Hub71 also assumed title-sponsorship of the Blockchain Leaders Summit in Tokyo, delivering the opening keynote. Executives emphasised the UAE’s position as an enabling region for innovators seeking overseas expansion, and positioned Abu Dhabi as a gateway for startups to penetrate Asia on one side and Middle East markets on the other.

Peter Abou Hachem, Head of Growth and Strategy at Hub71, stated that the collaboration underscores “the value of global connectivity”, and that Japan’s leadership in Web3 and innovation aligns with Hub71’s mission. He noted that through partners like JETRO, both ecosystems can unlock opportunities in market reach, talent exchange and frontier technologies.

HSBC has opened a dedicated wealth centre in Dubai aimed at serving affluent clients, stepping up efforts to capture a growing share of the UAE’s expanding wealth and asset management sector. It comes as the bank’s Swiss private arm moves to cut ties with over 1,000 wealthy clients from the Middle East under regulatory pressure.

The Dubai centre, housed in HSBC’s flagship Jumeirah branch, will offer Premier and high-net-worth clients access to relationship managers in a specialist space. Dinesh Sharma, HSBC’s head of International Wealth and Premier Banking for Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said the UAE is among HSBC’s top five global markets, and the investment in infrastructure, people, capabilities and marketing over the next three to four years represents its largest in two decades. Singapore is cited as a model for how the UAE could develop into a global wealth hub.

In parallel, HSBC Private Bank has informed more than 1,000 clients in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Qatar—many with assets exceeding US$100 million—that it will terminate its relationships with them. The bank is classifying these clients as high risk, following findings by Swiss regulator FINMA that it failed to meet anti-money laundering obligations in past transactions involving politically exposed persons.

HSBC has emphasised its continued commitment to both its Middle East and Swiss wealth business units. Barry O’Byrne, CEO of International Wealth and Premier Banking, maintains that Switzerland remains one of HSBC’s “core wealth hubs.” HSBC is structuring its strategy to grow where it has “a clear competitive advantage.”

The bank notes that personal financial assets in the UAE have surged over the past few years, exceeding US$700 billion, with more than 130,000 millionaires now in the country. Migrants of wealth are drawn by favourable investment policies, tax incentives and regulatory reforms. Regions contributing large shares of incoming wealth include India, other Middle Eastern markets, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and a growing number from the UK, Europe and China.

HSBC’s move to reduce exposure to high-risk clients comes after FINMA’s rulings in 2024, which identified breaches in anti-money laundering duties in connection with transactions involving politically exposed persons between 2002 and 2015. The regulator prohibited HSBC Private Bank from onboarding new relationships with such individuals until its compliance practices were overhauled. The bank is now working under those rules, winding down existing relationships judged to pose compliance risk.

Space42, listed in Abu Dhabi, and Viasat, a US communications company on Nasdaq, have joined forces to launch a new entity called Equatys to deliver Direct-to-Device and mobile satellite services worldwide leveraging 5G standards.

Equatys will combine satellite and terrestrial networks under a 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network architecture so that standard smartphones and IoT devices can connect even where ground-based networks cannot reach. It will use over 100 MHz of harmonized Mobile Satellite Services spectrum across more than 160 markets. The venture aims to begin commercial service within three years.

The “space tower” model at Equatys is built on shared multi-tenant infrastructure covering both space and ground components. This setup is designed to cut redundant investment, improve spectrum utilisation, and reduce overall capital costs for operators. Licensed terrestrial and satellite operators will be able to tap into this infrastructure for D2D and next-generation MSS offerings.

Space42 was formed in 2024 through a merger combining the operations of Bayanat and Yahsat. Its business units include upstream satellite operations and geospatial analytics/AI-powered smart solutions. Major shareholders include G42, Mubadala, and IHC. Viasat, having acquired Inmarsat in 2023, operates globally in secure satellite communications, for government, enterprise, and consumer markets.

While financial terms of the venture were not disclosed, Equatys is expected to issue equity in phases, opening opportunities for strategic and financial partners as the system scales. The model is pitched as infrastructure-grade, aiming to offer returns tied to long-term deployment and spectrum utilisation rather than short-term hardware sales.

The project is subject to regulatory and customary conditions. It follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2025 between Space42 and Viasat which moved from exploratory technical and commercial studies to forming a jointly owned infrastructure company.

Experts are watching closely how spectrum harmonisation will be maintained across the many markets Equatys aims to cover. Nation-level telecom regulators often impose latency, licensing or usage constraints on MSS and NTN services, which can complicate global rollout. Also, implementing a shared infrastructure model across multiple orbits of satellites presents technical and operational challenges, from latency and hand-off between orbits, to ground station coordination, spectrum interference and service reliability.

Dubai International Airport has deployed over 520 hearing loops across its three terminals to support passengers with hearing loss. The system, which allows travellers using hearing aids or cochlear implants to hear announcements clearly by switching to the ‘T’ setting, requires no pairing or extra equipment.

The devices are now installed at critical passenger touchpoints including check-in counters, immigration desks, boarding gates and information desks. The initiative is part of DXB’s broader accessibility drive under Dubai’s Universal Design Code, which mandates inclusive access in public facilities and transport infrastructure. Staff across frontline operations have also been trained to assist guests of determination.

Majed Al Joker, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Airports, said this move demonstrates a commitment to enabling every traveller to move through the airport “with ease, dignity, and confidence.” The rollout was supported by oneDXB partners including airlines, airport services, customs, police, and ground handling agencies.

Globally, about 1.5 billion people live with some degree of hearing loss, a figure projected by the World Health Organisation to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. Experts say transport hubs like airports are under increasing pressure to provide accessibility services that do not add friction for travellers. Implementation of hearing loops is among the measures considered most effective because of their unobtrusive nature and compatibility with existing devices.

Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has affirmed that OPEC will remain a pillar of market stability and a critical voice for oil’s role in the world for decades. Delivered to coincide with OPEC’s 65th anniversary, his remarks emphasised the organisation’s long‐standing mission and future direction.

OPEC projects oil demand to reach around 123 million barrels per day by 2050, driven by economic expansion and growing populations. Al Ghais warned that predictions of a near-term decline in relevance or “peak oil” should be viewed with scepticism in light of long‐term demand forecasts and OPEC’s historical resilience.

He noted that oil remains indispensable across many spheres of daily life: transportation, construction, food production and healthcare. Oils and petroleum derivatives, he said, are foundational not just for consumers but for societal and economic prosperity more broadly. Without them, critical infrastructure and supply chains could be severely disrupted.

Al Ghais described OPEC’s foundation in 1960 as a unifying vision for oil-producing nations, asserting sovereign control over production, supporting regular supply to consuming nations, and ensuring a fair return for investors. He reflected on the group’s evolution, including its expansion and the formation of the OPEC+ framework in 2016, which he said strengthened its ability to respond to global shocks such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 65-year mark, he argued, is not simply an anniversary but a reaffirmation of core objectives: balancing producer and consumer interests; dialogue and cooperation with non-OPEC producers; and emphasizing a holistic, multi-technology approach to energy security and poverty alleviation in developing regions.

He also stressed that energy security is “inconceivable without oil,” especially for societies coping with energy poverty. For OPEC, the challenge ahead involves ensuring that growth in demand is met “in a sustainable way” that incorporates environmental, social and economic considerations, while keeping market stabilisation efforts front and centre.