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Dubai Business Events secured the Association Development Award at the ICCA Middle East Summit, recognising its leadership in fortifying association capacity and fostering knowledge exchange across the region. The accolade was conferred by Fatima Bint Jaafar Al Sairafi, Bahrain’s Minister of Tourism, at Exhibition World Bahrain in partnership with the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority.

At the summit, attended by more than 100 destination leaders and industry stakeholders from the region, the bureau’s commitment to advancing collaboration and sustainable development in the meetings industry was spotlighted. This recognition reflects its alignment with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and its mission to enhance the region’s global competitiveness in business events.

Dubai Business Events—part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism—participated in a high-level panel discussion titled “The Future of Destination Leadership: Unlocking Regional Potential through Innovation, Inclusivity, and Sustainability,” alongside counterparts from Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Jordan. The session highlighted how destinations across the Gulf are leveraging innovation, inclusivity and sustainable practices to shape the future of association meetings.

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, hailed the accolade as evidence of their strategic foresight. He emphasised that associations—regardless of scale or sector—play a pivotal role in Dubai’s growth by facilitating knowledge exchange, industry development and economic impact.

NMDC Group PJSC and ADNOC Logistics and Services Plc forged a three-year agreement today to assess joint delivery of maritime services for offshore projects, reinforcing their partnership in Abu Dhabi’s energy infrastructure.

The agreement, signed by Engineer Yasser Zaghloul, Group Chief Executive of NMDC Group, and Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi, Chief Executive of ADNOC L&S, at NMDC’s headquarters, lays the groundwork for a stronger framework for offshore EPC collaboration. It covers marine services and integrated logistics, signalling both organisations’ dedication to supporting the emirate’s offshore energy operations. This expanded collaboration reaffirms the offshore maritime services pact strengthening cooperation between the two groups.

Zaghloul highlighted NMDC Group’s five decades of expertise in multi-sector marine engineering, procurement, construction delivery and complex project logistics. He underscored that the launch of NMDC LTS, the group’s latest business unit, allows the market to leverage these capabilities. He praised ADNOC L&S for its leadership in offshore energy support and hydrocarbon logistics, pointing out that both entities operate some of the region’s largest marine fleets. He said the pact would “ensure a robust framework between our two powerhouse organisations” to drive synergies, market differentiation and value growth, ultimately fortifying the industrial marine sector in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Captain Al Masabi said the collaboration aligns with ADNOC L&S’s long-term ambition to deliver top-tier, integrated logistics that underpin the UAE’s offshore energy expansion. He commented that combining strengths with NMDC would unlock new opportunities, deliver value to ADNOC, its shareholders and clients, and support the UAE’s broader economic development.

Splash247 noted that the pact establishes an “expanded framework for continued collaboration on offshore EPC projects in Abu Dhabi,” emphasising its role in promoting synergies and value growth. It also highlighted ADNOC L&S’s aim to enhance performance through such partnerships.

This development follows earlier significant milestones and investments by NMDC that demonstrate its pivotal role in regional marine and energy infrastructure. In 2024, NMDC secured a contract worth more than US$200 million from ADNOC for marine dredging works in the Ruwais LNG Project, involving removal of approximately 15 million cubic-metres across a five-kilometre channel and installation of navigational aids. NMDC also launched the NMDC LTS unit as part of efforts to diversify into logistics and technical services, reinforcing its leadership in the UAE’s marine EPC, dredging, and logistics sectors.

PubMatic has taken legal action against Google, not merely to secure compensation but to affirm that bold vision for digital advertising’s open, idea-driven future depends on innovation and trust, not coercion. The company’s co-founder and chief executive, Rajeev Goel, emphasised that the industry’s direction should be determined by the strength of ideas and the trust earned—not by dominance or pressure, as articulated in its lawsuit filed on 8 September. This step comes in response to a US District Court decision earlier this year that found Google guilty of maintaining monopolistic control over ad exchanges and ad servers. PubMatic claims that Google’s “First Look” and “Last Look” mechanisms, along with unified pricing rules, have systematically disadvantaged competitors and undermined fair competition in the digital ad space.

The lawsuit seeks substantial damages—potentially amounting to billions of dollars—and aims to restore fairness and transparency across the advertising ecosystem. PubMatic assures that this legal pursuit will not disrupt its daily operations or affect its clients’ experience; instead, it is designed to establish a more equitable long-term operating environment. This strategic move aligns with PubMatic’s broader mission to champion an open internet, where publishers and advertisers can thrive on merit and innovation rather than power imbalances.

PubMatic’s broader response builds on its narrative that competition—not coercion—should shape industry evolution. Goel’s message is deliberate: bold vision for digital advertising’s open, idea-driven future must be realised through trust and ingenuity. The company underscores its investment in private cloud infrastructure across 12 data centres, processing billions of ad impressions daily, as a foundation for transparent, high-performance systems. It also highlights its growing suite of solutions—including OpenWrap, Identity Hub, and header-bidding technologies—aimed at supporting omnichannel monetisation across mobile, OTT, and connected TV environments, and enabling publishers to manage identity and addressability in a privacy-safe manner.

Goel contextualised the firm’s challenge and growth: despite doubling its market share—from 2 per cent to 4 per cent over five years—PubMatic has achieved this only in a market tilted by Google’s dominance. This underscores the urgency behind its legal strategy and its long-term vision: an ad tech ecosystem driven by ideas and innovation.

This development echoes broader industry shifts. The Department of Justice’s antitrust ruling earlier in 2025 laid legal groundwork, but did not provide avenues for redress to harmed parties. PubMatic’s lawsuit now fills this gap, seeking tangible accountability and a fairer competitive landscape. As digital advertising increasingly depends on AI-powered tools, independent supply-side platforms like PubMatic are positioning themselves to lead innovation—provided they can operate on a level playing field.

Passenger traffic at airports across the UAE surpassed one billion between 2015 and 2024, with aircraft movements exceeding 6.4 million during the same interval, driven by strategic planning and expansion across the aviation sector, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre reported. The country also emerged as the global leader in air transport quality and ranked among the top ten worldwide across five additional air performance indicators, underlining its position as a premier aviation hub.

Data from the Centre reveal that annual passenger numbers climbed from 114.8 million in 2015 to 147.8 million in 2024, marking the underlying foundation for cumulative traffic exceeding one billion passengers. Meanwhile, aircraft movements rose sharply, culminating in more than 800,000 operations in 2024 and taking the ten-year total past 6.4 million flights.

These gains coincide with the UAE’s top global ranking in air transport quality and inclusion among the top ten in five further air-related indicators, as noted in the Centre’s analysis.

The escalation of aviation activity reflects the UAE’s broader aviation transformation. The General Civil Aviation Authority emphasises that the UAE now operates a dense, globally connected network, with twelve certified airports, 100 heliports, and a web of bilateral air agreements linking to over 300 destinations worldwide. In 2024 alone, the UAE recorded over one million air traffic movements and continued to lead globally in international passenger traffic and seat capacity.

Dubai International Airport remained the busiest airport globally for international passengers in 2024, registering more than 92 million passengers and 440,000 aircraft movements, and handling 2.2 million tonnes of cargo.

Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, renamed in February 2024, handled nearly 29.5 million passengers and recorded 249,747 aircraft movements, reinforcing the dominance of UAE airports in the regional aviation landscape.

These milestones underscore how UAE aviation achieves unprecedented growth, advancing capacity, connectivity and performance standards to global leadership.

The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre attributes these successes to forward-looking directives and investment, positioning the aviation sector as a cornerstone of economic sustainability. The enhancements bolster not only passenger and cargo mobility but also broader economic diversification goals, tourism development, and the UAE’s growing prominence as a global transport hub.

eToro Group Ltd is poised to pursue bolder acquisitions after securing a substantial liquidity base, according to one of its co-founders. At the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, Ronen Assia, executive director and co-founder, confirmed that the firm “has cash and cash equivalents of around $1.2 billion at the end of the first half of the year, with a cash position of $988 million, with no debt.” He added: “We’re looking to do more ambitious stuff involving acquisitions,” emphasising that eToro aims to broaden both asset classes and its geographic footprint.

eToro’s deliberate pivot into more aggressive mergers and acquisitions comes on the heels of its listing on Nasdaq in May 2025, where it raised $620 million in its initial public offering. The company’s robust cash war-chest endows it with flexibility to explore new verticals and markets in a dynamic fintech landscape.

Beyond financial strength, eToro is deepening its product offering. The platform recently rolled out tokenisation and artificial intelligence tools targeted at retail investors, along with expanding its global reach. Meanwhile, preliminary selected business metrics for July and August reveal continued operational momentum: assets under administration rose to $19.7 billion, funded accounts approached 3.69 million—both reflecting high year-on-year growth—while crypto trading volumes surged by nearly 50 percent.

The company’s healthy balance sheet is grounded in a successful IPO and product innovation. In Q1 2025, eToro reported $736 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, alongside growth in user accounts and assets under administration. The firm also expanded its trading products, launching options in the UK and futures in Europe, while diversifying geographic access to include exchanges in Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.

This marks a clear signal that bold acquisitions are on eToro’s horizon—a phrase that captures the firm’s evolving strategic ambition and its capacity to act decisively in a competitive market.

The timing of this announcement is significant. Mergers and acquisitions within fintech and crypto sectors have become tools for scale, innovation, and regulatory navigation. With its substantial liquidity and no leverage, eToro may look to acquire firms offering complementary capabilities—whether in tokenisation, AI-driven trading, wealth management, or regional expansion.

Ronen Assia’s stance highlights both intent and preparedness. The expressed goal to take on “more ambitious” deals indicates a readiness to move beyond smaller bolt-ins, aiming instead for transformative moves that could reshape the firm’s product and regional scope. The emphasis on adding asset classes and locales suggests potential targets might include firms with niche offerings or solid footprints in under-penetrated markets.

At a time when many fintech companies are consolidating or recalibrating amid macroeconomic shifts and evolving regulation, eToro’s proactive posture sets it apart. With backing of a strong balance sheet and public market credibility, the platform is well placed to capitalise on strategic M&A opportunities as they arise.

Net profits for banks listed across the Gulf Cooperation Council surged to an unprecedented $16.6 billion in the second quarter, marking the second straight quarter of gains and a sequential increase of roughly 3.7 %, with year-on-year growth at a robust 9.2 %, according to Kamco Invest. This performance was driven by broadly higher revenues and a lower cost-to-income ratio that more than compensated for a rise in impairments. Lending activity remained resilient, underpinned by strong economic fundamentals and a pipeline of projects in the region.

Banks across the GCC achieved strong growth, with net profits rising 10.3 % year-on-year to $16.6 billion in Q2 2025, according to the latest Kamco Invest analysis. The sequential increase of about 3.7 % was fuelled by a broad-based rise in revenues, while a leaner cost-to-income ratio offset the impact of elevated impairments. Lending growth persisted, reflecting healthy demand and continued economic momentum.

Abu Dhabi led regional outperformers as its banks posted aggregate Q2 earnings of $3.2 billion—a 23.1 % rise compared to the year before. First Abu Dhabi Bank stood out with a 29.4 % surge in quarterly net profits to $1.5 billion, supported by stronger non-interest income and lower impairment charges. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank also delivered solid gains, buoyed by elevated interest and fee income.

Dubai’s banks, by contrast, experienced a contraction: aggregate city-listed earnings fell by 6.4 % to $3.2 billion, weighed down by increased impairments at major lenders such as Emirates NBD. Some resilience came from Commercial Bank of Dubai, which posted a 15.4 % rise, alongside a surge in real-estate and utilities profits—Emaar Properties and DEWA among the top performers.

Among other GCC markets, Q2 net profits for Oman-listed banks were around $1 billion, while those in Qatar also posted gains, contributing to the overall strength in the banking sector.

The headline figure—$16.6 billion in quarterly profit for GCC banks—captures the scale of the region’s banking sector resilience. This strong performance highlights how GCC banks post record-high quarterly profits, powered by sustained credit growth and operational efficiencies even amid higher impairments.
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