A Bull In A China Shop!                                                                       16 May 2025

At a signing ceremony late last week, the Dubai investment firm, A.R.M. Holding, and the architecture studio BIG – the Bjarke Ingels Group – announced they were to design a massive five sq mt masterplan, surrounding the Jebel Ali Racecourse. The project, which is aligned with Dubai’s 2040 Urban Master Plan, will focus on sustainable growth, community connection and expanding green spaces. The development projects the racecourse area as a network of urban islands surrounded by greenery, anchored by a central park. Construction is to commence early next year. No further details were readily available, but it will probably follow the 82:18 rule – apartments:villas/townhouses.

Last week it was Jebel Ali Racecourse’s huge development announcement, this week sees Jumeirah Golf Estates declaring a 4.68 million sq mt expansion. The project comprises six distinctive districts supporting 12.35k residential units – 10.65k apartments, seven hundred and eighty luxury villas, seven hundred and fifty-two estate homes, ninety-seven branded residences and sixty-two ultra-luxury hilltop mansions. The six districts – Central Park, Village, Town Centre & Grand Lake, Golf Course North, Golf Course South and Equestrian – will be linked by green corridors and recreational trails. On completion, Wasl, the developer, expects it will be home for 51.7k residents, equating to 4.2 persons in each unit. The development will also have a five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel, 48k sq mt of retail space, a 46k sq mt campus for an international school, healthcare centres, religious facilities and other civic amenities. The location will have a 131.85k sq mt Central Park, as well as a new eighteen-hole golf course, a world-class equestrian centre and the emirate’s biggest tennis stadium.

Sobha Realty has launched Sobha Central, a six-tower, mixed-use development that will feature 1,225 residences in its first phase which will also include high-street retail, premium office spaces, and expansive green parks. The Horizon, which spans 250k sq ft of lush parks, 175k sq ft of leasable office space and 160k sq ft of retail including an integrated mall, will house one-to-two-bedroom apartments. Located on SZR, the first tower is slated for completion in Q4 2029. There will be an elevated circulation path linking residents to indoor amenities such as a gym, theatre, and clubhouse, as well as direct access to the retail podium, featuring a car-free shopping and dining experience. Outdoors, private courtyards and a central park offer serene spaces for recreation, complemented by sky-level amenities including infinity pools, wellness lounges, and landscaped terraces.

In addition, Meras launched a forty-five-storey waterfront residential tower, with two hundred and eighty units in Dubai’s Design District. Designed by SOM, the tower features petal-inspired balconies and is located on the Creekside shoreline.

To be found next to the upcoming Four Seasons Private Residences in DIFC, May sees one of its most interesting Dubai property launches which is aiming for Platinum LEED certification. The thirty-two storey Heights Tower offers three hundred and sixty-six luxury residences, with apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms. It aims to provide a sophisticated urban lifestyle, with amenities including a family lounge, temperature-controlled pool and a state-of-the-art fitness centre. Handover is expected by Q3 2029.

With its first foray into the Dubai residential property sector, KORO development has introduced KORO One, located in Jumeriah Garden City. The development will encompass studio to two-bedroom apartments, with three-bedroom duplexes. Facilities include an open atrium, internal gardens, a Technogym fitness floor and vibrant communal areas, all in a walkable neighbourhood. Handover is expected in 2027.

According to Mohamed Binghatti, Dubai property prices will see continuous steady growth, of up to 3% – 7% annually, for the next eight years, and is unlikely to see any ‘downturn’ in the near future. The chairman of Binghatti Developers added that “people are coming to Dubai because the emirate is open to the world, company and real estate ownership is easy, and legislation has become very straightforward”. This prediction comes after four years of double-digit growth in the Dubai residential market. Binghatti say that they are selling one hundred units a day, that their Aquarise project is almost 50% sold and that the construction of all of Binghatti’s projects is progressing well.

Yet again, the two hundred and fifteen key luxury Palazzo Versace Dubai is up for auction with the base bid price set at US$ 163 million. That is less than half the US$ 354 million bid level when the property was initially put up for sale last year. Since then, there had been several auction attempts and perhaps this price will finally bear success. The auction will open next week, but in line with all earlier efforts, the one hundred and sixty-nine residential units, forming part of the overall development, are not a part of the process.

The Indian-born billionaire, Lakshmi Mittal, among UK’s richest residents, seems to have scooped a bargain when he bought a palatial home in Emirates Hills for a reported US$ 100 million; this residence had been on the market in 2023 for double that price. The Baroque style residence in the “Beverly Hills of Dubai”, has been lavishly decorated with gold leaf. Mittal is the executive chairman of steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal SA and has a net worth of more than US$ 23 billion. There are rumours that Mittal has been considering leaving the UK in the fallout of the recent tax changes, but no final decision has been made yet. Last October, UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, scrapped the country’s preferential tax regime for non-domiciled residents, that had been in existence since 1799, whereby so-called non-doms could avoid UK taxes on their overseas earnings for as long as fifteen years.  Over the past nine months, an increasing number of wealthy people have left the UK in droves, with Dubai being a popular destination. A wave of tax reforms has made the country a less attractive place for the global elite.

The developer and operator of UAE’s national railway network, Etihad Rail, has confirmed launch dates for the much-anticipated passenger train service, and that the line will start operations in 2026. In January, Etihad Rail unveiled details about a new high-speed train project linking Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The high-speed train will enable individuals to travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai in just thirty minutes, reaching speeds of up to 350 kph.

Emirates’ employees received a bonus equivalent to twenty-two weeks of salary to be paid from this month’s payroll. The airline’s chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid noted that “2024-25 was an incredible year, ending with a financial report card which will live long in our collective memory. For your extraordinary passion, for being the best in the business, and for your stellar role in delivering our record financial results, I declare a profit share of twenty-two weeks, which you will receive with your May salary”. Three years ago, the bonus was set at twenty-four weeks and for 2023-2024, twenty weeks. For employees working in the emirate, the Dubai-headquartered Group also awarded a 5% hike in basic salary and increases in accommodation and transport allowances.

An MoU has been signed between Dubai’s Department of Finance, with global cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com, which will enable the payment of government service fees using cryptocurrency. When the system is up and running, individuals and businesses will be able to use Crypto.com’s digital wallet to pay for government services, with the platform converting crypto payments into Emirati dirhams and securely transferring the funds to Dubai Finance accounts. This major step, to a fully digital, cashless government, should quieten those who had for too long been writing crypto’s epitaph and a possible wake up call for the banking sector. It will also support Dubai Cashless Strategy and the emirate’s place as a global leader in financial innovation and digital transformation.

In the IMD Smart City Index, Dubai has climbed four places, being ranked fourth behind Zurich, Oslo and Geneva and ahead of fifth place, Abu Dhabi. This major milestone in its digital transformation journey enhances the emirate’s position as a global leader in smart city development and innovation. The Index’s aim is to reflect residents’ satisfaction with city services, including internet speed meeting communication needs, online processing of identification documents and cultural activities – all scoring above 85%. Other scores of over 82% were registered for the quality of health services, access to green spaces, recycling services and for cultural activities. It also improved in sixteen out of twenty tech indicators and made progress across all four pillars of technology governance. The ranking aligns with the goals of the Dubai Digital Strategy, which aims to fully digitise life in the emirate.

For their failure to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, five unnamed insurance companies have been handed administrative and financial sanctions. The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed administrative and financial sanctions, under Article (14) of Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018. It is reported that two insurance brokers were given financial penalties, while three others received formal warnings following supervisory reviews that found deficiencies in their AML/CTF compliance frameworks and sanctions controls. This action is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity and transparency of the country’s financial system.

Q1 Dubai Electricity and Water Authority consolidated financials show revenue at US$ 1.62 billion, EBITDA – US$ 662 million, operating profit at US$ 228 million and a net profit of US$ 135 million. Furthermore, it also generated a record net cash from operations of US$ 1.05 billion – bringing its closing cash and cash equivalents to US$ 2.23 billion, 33.1% higher on the quarter. US$ 616 million was invested in infrastructure, mainly related to DEWA’s energy transition strategy which by, 2030 is expected to have installed generation capacity to reach 22 GW, out of which 7.5 GW, representing 34% of generation mix, will be sourced from clean energy sources.

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC, the world’s largest district cooling services provider, saw its Q1 revenue nudge 0.4% higher, to US$ 147 million, on the year, with Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation of US$ 81 million. Pre-tax net profit was US$ 43 million, and after tax amounted to almost US$ 40 million. Q1 witnessed a marked expansion in Empower’s operations, with the company signing forty-six new contracts to supply over 43k refrigeration tons to various projects and buildings across Dubai, whilst installing an extra 15k RT, bringing its total capacity to 1.58 million RT. The number of verified online registrations by new customers, from both the public and private sectors, rose by 22% on the year.

Empower added nineteen new buildings to its portfolio, with key agreements including:

• Wasl Group to provide district cooling for The Island Resort project, with a cooling capacity of 23.9k RT, expected to start in Q1 2028
• Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, to supply district cooling for the next phase of the Uptown Dubai development, with a capacity of 247k RT
• Palm Gateway project on Palm Jumeirah for cooling services, with a cooling capacity of 9.5k RT, scheduled to commence in Q2

As the UAE continues to boost local manufacturing and forging new global partnerships, (with twenty-one comprehensive economic partnership agreements already ‘in the bag’), the value of industrial exports rose 5%, on the year, and 68% since 2020, to US$ 53.68 billion (AED 197 billion). The UAE launched its industrial strategy, Operation 300bn, in 2021 to position the country as an industrial centre by 2031, with another aim that the sector reached its AED 300 billion, (AED 81.74 billion), target by 2031; by the end of last year, it has reached 65.7% of its total. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, commented that “industry is a key driver of economic diversification and a catalyst for building national capabilities and job creation,” and “it’s a cornerstone for enhancing economic competitiveness, regardless of fluctuations in geopolitical conditions, oil prices or other factors”.

Salik and ENOC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop smart payment solutions that enhance the customer experience at ENOC service stations. Under the agreement, Salik and ENOC customers will enjoy a completely seamless experience through the introduction of integrated payment options for fuelling and other services across ENOC Group’s network of service stations and retail locations, with the transaction value automatically being deducted from the customer’s balance in their Salik e-wallet. It aims to streamline the customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and reduce reliance on traditional payment methods.

Following last week’s announcement of a Dubai Residential REIT’s IPO, offering 12.5% of the company’s 1.625 billion shares, the offer price has been released, indicating a range of US$ 0.292 to US$ 0.300.

Amlak Finance posted a 3.7% annual increase in Q1 net profits, after income tax, of nearly US$ 8 million, as revenue climbed 15.1% to US$ 21 million. However, revenues from financing and investing business activities declined 35.3% to US$ 6 million. The finance company also announced that it had settled 91% of its Islamic deposits to date, including Mudaraba Instrument obligations related to financiers.

Driven by stronger demand, improved efficiency, and contributions from high-performing subsidiaries, Q1 saw Union Properties posting double-digit increases in both revenue, up 18.2% on the year to US$ 44 million, and profit by 25.3% to US$ 12 million. These figures indicate that the troubled developer is progressing well with its “repair strategy”. Q1 administrative expenses were higher, attributed to increased marketing and sales efforts, linked to upcoming project launches. Furthermore, this quarter, it repaid US$ 49 million of its legacy bank debt, with a further US$ 43 million due for repayment in Q2; last year, the repayment amounted to US$ 197 million. In recent months, UP sold off land parcels for US$ 354 million—part of its five-year strategy, first announced in April 2023 – financing debt settlement and covering upfront costs for new developments. It has also made its first launch – Takaya in Motor City – for several years, with two more on the horizon. It has a pipeline of about ten million sq ft of gross floor area in land for future development.

Salik posted robust Q1 figures including revenue, rising almost 34%, to US$ 205 million, EBITDA nearly 38% higher at US$ 142 million and net profit before tax up 33.6% to US$ 111 million. The revenue hike was mainly due to two factors – the introduction of two new toll gates in Q4 and the rollout of variable pricing earlier this year. Mattar Al Tayer, Salik’s Chairman called the performance “exceptional”, whilst crediting the emirate’s strong economic growth and strategic leadership; he expects revenue to grow by 29% and noted plans to expand out beyond Dubai. It was also noted that its parking partnerships with Dubai Mall and Parkonic, garnered a promising US$ 763k in Q1 revenue.

Q1 saw Spinneys register its highest-ever quarterly revenue, as income rose 11.3% on the year to US$ 247 million, attributable to new store openings, increased online sales, and stronger demand for fresh and private label products. Adjusted EBITDA, profit before tax and net profit all posted double-digit growth – 20.6% to US$ 50 million, 23.2% to US$ 28 million and 14% to US$ 23 million respectively. Over the past twelve months, Spinneys has opened ten stores, including three in Q1, and has plans to launch up to twelve more outlets in the UAE and Saudi this year.2.74 789 22.6

The DFM opened the week, on Monday 12 May, four hundred and fifty-nine points higher, (9.4%), the previous five weeks, gained one hundred and forty- two points (0.4%), to close the trading week on 5,455 points, by Friday 16 May 2025. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.01 lower the previous week, was flat, closing on US$ 3.64 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.73, US$ 5.74 US$ 2.06 and US$ 0.40 and closed on US$ 0.75, US$ 6.16, US$ 2.15 and US$ 0.41. On 16 May, trading was at two hundred and seventy-one million shares, with a value of US$ two hundred million dollars, compared to one hundred and twenty-one million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and sixteen million dollars on 09 May 2025.

By Friday, 09 May 2025, Brent, US$ 2.58 higher (4.2%) the previous week, gained US$ 1.51 (2.4%) to close on US$ 65.33. Gold, US$ 111 (3.4%) higher the previous week, shed US$ 154 (4.6%) to end the week’s trading at US$ 3,188 on 16 May. Has the gold run ended?

With President Trump seemingly indicating that a possible US-Iran nuclear deal was on the horizon, the oil market was spooked yesterday and dropped 3% in early trading. With Iran still claiming that its nuclear activities were fully peaceful and pointing that it would make a commitment not to have nuclear weapons; the US has insisted that Iran must scrap its uranium enrichment to prevent the country developing nuclear weapons. As Iran is the third-largest producer in Opec, pumping three million bpd, a lifting of sanctions would add more oil on an already flooded market

In February, any possible merger between Nissan and its larger rival Honda was scuttled as both parties could not agree to all the terms of a multi-billion combination, which would have seen the new entity in a better position to fight against the ever-increasing competition from specifically its Chinese rivals, but also European/US competition. (The US$ 60 billion merger would have created the fourth largest car manufacturer, by vehicle sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai). Nissan’s latest financials point to an annual loss of US$ 4.5 billion. This week Japan’s third biggest carmaker announced cuts of 11k jobs and the closure of seven global plants. Prior to this, Nissan had already reduced its payroll by 9k, so the latest cutbacks bring the total number of layoffs, over the past twelve months, to about 15%, (20k), of its workforce. The Japanese company employs 6k in Sunderland, but it is not known whether these cuts will apply there; with the Starmer government saying the plant was of “vital importance” to NE England, and that it would “engage closely” with Nissan over its restructuring plans, time will tell whether the PM will come to the party.

An Australian company, now in liquidation, and previously known as Equiti Financial Services Pty Ltd, has been fined more than US$ 7 million for breaching conflicted remuneration rules. The Federal Court found that twelve of its clients were given inappropriate “cookie cutter” advice by three financial advisers, who were paid US$ 84k, to recommend they purchase properties through a related entity. It was also found that the firm received US$ 193k, with ‘advice’ being given for three years from May 2015. It seemed that the clients bought property in a development, with a company, the founder of which was the Equiti Group chairman being the sole director, and him and his wife shareholders. The court observed that “little or no heed was paid to the particular circumstances of the clients”, who were not given sufficient time to understand the advice given to them with advice focussed on “manoeuvring the clients into property purchases through SMSFs”, (self-managed super funds), and that  “the contravening conduct was plainly deliberate and extended over a period of several years”. Australia cannot be the only place in the world that something like this happens! 

Not only Dubai is weighing in on the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies, as a digital derivatives trading platform has just opened in London. GFO-X, the UK’s first regulated and centrally cleared platform for crypto derivatives, is backed by fund manager M&G and has started operations with bitcoin index futures, with more expansion on the horizon. The UK’s first regulated platform for crypto derivatives is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, with several financial companies – including Virtu Financial and Standard Chartered – already using the platform.

Official figures show that, in Q1, the UK economy confounded critics in growing 0.7% – a marked improvement on the previous quarter’s growth figure of just 0.1%. GDP growth in March came in 0.2%, again beating expectations of zero. Three major drivers were increases of 1.1% in output in the production sector, of 4% in water supply and of 0.7% in the services industry. Other contributors included wholesale, retail, car leasing, advertising and computer programming services. Like the labour figures, this data points to a resilient UK economy. Meanwhile, the GDP per capita rose 0.5% – the highest figure in a year. Chancellor Reeves should take this as a temporary victory because indicators are that Q2 could be badly impacted by several factors – 01 April tax rises, increase in employers’ NI contribution, and raising the minimum wage, the introduction of Trump’s tariffs, along with energy water and council bills all heading north.

Rachel Reeves’ changes to non-dom tax rules, in her October budget, is probably one of the main reasons that the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List has seen a 5.5% dip in the number of UK billionaires to one hundred and fifty-six; this was the largest decline seen in its thirty-seven-year history. Furthermore, the combined wealth of the three hundred and fifty entries in the List also declined, by 3%, to US$ 1.029 trillion. As a matter of interest, King Charles and ex-PM Rishi Sunak/and wife are both included – with identical wealth of US$ 851 million.

One of the biggest disgraces in the UK economy is the state and performances of its major water companies, with one MP commenting that they are a, “plaything of financial institutions looking for low risk and high reward. The last thing that anyone thinks about is the quality of water and sewerage services delivered to the public”. Thames Water, with sixteen million users, is a prime example.

In July 2023, before the October payment of a US$ 50 million dividend was paid, it so happened that Sir Adrian Montague was the chair of both Thames Water and its controlling company Kemble Water Holdings. Some government officials at the time pointed to a potentially “conflicted ­position” when his company made this “unjustified” dividend payment to its shareholders. Thames Water has long insisted that there had been conflict of interest. – no surprise there! As well as the October payment, a further intra-company dividend of US$ 210 million was paid in March 2024, which the water company claimed considered all regulatory obligations in making the payments, which were used to service debt and make pension contributions. In February 2024, Montague resigned from Kemble citing “personal” ­reasons. Thames Water is now facing a US$ 255 million penalty from the regulator Ofwat over the two ­dividends it paid out. Last week, it was in the high court seeking an emergency US$ 4.00 billion loan as it struggles to stay afloat under massive debts.

This week, the chairman addressed  MPs  on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, saying, “we know the supply interruptions cause inconvenience and sometimes real hardship, and so I think the right thing to do is to start the discussion of the [company’s] turnaround plan by acknowledging we haven’t always served our customers as well as we should, and through the committee, apologising to them.” Customers have had to face a 40% hike in sewage spills and a boil water notice in Bramley, along with a debt pile of some US$ 25.3 billion, as it continues to struggle to raise investments. Furthermore, the grovelling knight continued to defend his company paying staff bonus payments despite all its problems – many of which have been self-inflicted – adding that if bonuses were not paid, “people will come knocking, they’ll try to pick out of us the best staff we’ve got”. That is probably the best reason for not paying bonuses, but probably he would sing to a different tune if it were his personal company.

Royal Mail may have a large competitor to face if the tie-up between Evri and DHL’s UK parcel delivery service gets regulatory approval from the Competition and Markets Authority. The DHL Group will take a “significant minority stake” in Evri and will operate as Evri Group. A combination of Evri’s scale and innovation with DHL ecommerce’s best-in-class premium van network, will create a preeminent parcel delivery group in the UK that will give Royal Mail some concern. The planned combination will bring together more than 30k couriers and van drivers, and 12k further workers, handling more than one million parcels and one million letters per year at current levels.

For the past four weeks, Marks & Spencer has been bedevilled by a ‘sophisticated’ cyberattack that has left both its online operation and its supply chain in tatters. Earlier in the week, it finally admitted that some personal customer information was taken, but does not include passwords or personal information, and there was “no evidence that this data has been shared”. The ransomware attack has impacted its share price which has slumped 15% since Easter weekend – 18 -21 April.

In relation to the tariff agreement with the US, last week’s blog noted that:

‘Better news for the Starmer government came yesterday with the announcement that the US had agreed to reduce tariffs from 25% to 10% on 100k UK vehicles a year. It will also permit some steel and aluminium into the country tariff-free, but most of the other imports will be captured by the 10% levy set by Trump for most of his country’s imports on ‘Liberation Day’. Both countries also each agreed to allow the import of up to 13k metric tonnes of beef from the other country without tariffs – a major gain for the US which had previously faced 20% duties and were capped at 1k metric tonnes. Overall, the US said the deal would create a US$ 5.0 billion “opportunity” for exports, including US$ 700 million in ethanol and US$ 250 million in other agricultural products’.

Whilst the PM did manage to save hundreds of jobs for UK car industry, some of the concessions will probably see job losses. It appears that he was watching his team Arsenal playing, PSG, in the Champions League, when he took a call from Donald Trump to request tariff-free access for ethanol, which had been taxed at between 10% and 50%, depending on its use. He agreed to a 1.4 billion litre quota of tariff-free imports to the UK, a level which far outstrips the amount currently imported. This move has the potential to seriously damage the industry, and specifically ABF Sugar and Ensus, the two companies representing nearly all of the UK’s bioethanol production capacity, whilst operating the two largest facilities in the country. The bioethanol production process results in carbon dioxide and dried grains which are used in animal feed – so if there is no domestic bioethanol industry there could well be no domestic supply of those products too.

On his four-day visit to the Gulf, the US President has snared some mouth-watering deals from his hosts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. The former has committed some US$ 600 billion, in the US, through a series of deals in energy, defence, technology, infrastructure and critical minerals. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman added that “we will work in the next phase to complete additional agreements, reaching US$ 1 trillion.”  Nearly 25% of the agreements was “the largest defence sales agreement in history” worth nearly US$ 142 billion, providing Saudi Arabia with defence equipment and services from more than a dozen US firms. The deals covered a range of functions, including air force advancement/space capabilities, air/missile defence; maritime/coastal security border security and land forces modernisation. Other key deals included a US$ 20 billion investment by Saudi Arabian company DataVolt in AI data centres and energy infrastructure in the US, with Google, DataVolt, Oracle, Salesforce, AMD and Uber also investing US$ 80 billion in technology in both countries. Additionally, GE Vernova will supply gas turbines and energy solutions totalling US$ 14.2 billion, while Boeing has signed a US$ 4.8 billion deal with Saudi Arabia’s AviLease, owned by the Public Investment Fund, for thirty 737-8 passenger aircraft. Saudi’s Shamekh IV Solutions will spend US$ 5.8 billion to launch a high-capacity IV fluid facility in the US. There will be several investment partnerships including the US$ 4 billion Enfield Sports Global Sports Fund, the US$ 5 billion Energy Investment Fund and the US$ 5 billion New Era Aerospace and Defence Technology Fund.

Both nations will collaborate in critical sectors such as health, energy and science; both ministries of energy concluded an agreement for co-operation, focussing on collaboration across the development, financing and deployment of energy infrastructure. There were also collaboration agreements signed on mining and mineral resources, for a CubeSat to fly on Nasa’s Artemis II test flight, and to modernise the air transport agreement to allow US airlines to carry cargo between Saudi Arabia and third countries, without needing to stop in the US. They will also boost cultural, educational and scientific partnerships.

On his Wednesday arrival in Qatar, the local airline signed a US$ 96 billion agreement to buy up to two hundred and ten Boeing aircraft, (along with jet engines by US giant GE Aerospace), in a deal that US President Donald Trump said is the “largest” in the US plane maker’s history. It is estimated that this order will create 154k new jobs, totalling more than one million in the US during the course of production and delivery. The US President also announced economic deals totalling more than US$ 243.5 billion between the US and Qatar − including the deal with Boeing and GE Aerospace. The US President also signed an agreement with Qatar to generate an economic exchange worth at least US$ 1.2 trillion.

On the third and final leg of his Gulf tour, the US president pledged to strengthen bilateral ties and announced deals totalling over US$ 200 billion, with an agreement to deepen cooperation in AI. Before the trip, the UAE had already agreed to its commitment to invest US$ 1.4 trillion in US AI. During his visit, the White House announced a US$ 14.5 billion deal from Etihad Airways for twenty-eight 787 and 777 planes, powered by engines made by GE Aerospace. It said Emirates Global Aluminium would invest to develop a US$ 4 billion primary aluminium smelter project in Oklahoma, while ExxonMobil Corp Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources were partnering with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in expanded oil and natural gas production, valued at US$ 60 billion. The U.S. has a preliminary agreement with the UAE to allow it to import 500k of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips a year, starting this year. Both nations will jointly invest US$ 440 billion in the energy sector by 2035. An agreement was signed which would see the UAE build the world’s largest AI campus outside the US. The deal also “includes the UAE committing to invest in, build, or finance US data centres that are at least as large and as powerful as those in the UAE”.

Last year, US total trade with China was an estimated US$ 582.4 billion, split between exports of US$ 143.5 billion and imports of US$ 438.9 billion – a ratio of 24.6:75.4. Earlier in the week saw the US slash tariffs by 79.3% from 145% tariffs to 30% on Chinese imports in return for the promise of talks on the future of the two countries’ trade relationship; in return, China slashed its tariffs by 80.0% from 125% to 10%. The Chinese rate could have been 10% but the US President hit the country with a further 20% levy because of Beijing’s failure to stop the export of chemicals used to flood the US with the opioid drug fentanyl. There seems no doubt that the tariff had impacts for both economies but was more damaging for China. On Monday, the greenback strengthened against a basket of currencies, global bourses moved higher and safe haven assets headed south – with gold haemorrhaging 3.5% to US$ 3,211 in early trading.  There is no doubt that Donald Trump has rewritten the handbooks on political negotiations and trade agreements whilst going about his business rather likeA Bull In A China Shop!