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Emirates Group reported AED 4.1 billion in half-year profit, navigating soaring fuel costs and operational disruptions while maintaining strong cash reserves. Dubai Investments Park Holding raised $529 million in an IPO backed by global investors, including Saudi Arabia’s PIF and a Blackstone unit, with demand four times exceeding shares on offer. Meanwhile, G42 subsidiary Inception42 is pushing ahead with AI deployment through partnerships with OpenAI, Adnoc and Mubadala, dismissing fears of an investment bubble and betting on growing commercial demand to justify the UAE’s expanding AI ambitions.

Markets

Emirates Group Delivers AED 4.1 Billion Profit Despite Gulf Conflict And Record Fuel Costs

What Happened

The Emirates Group reported a profit before tax of AED 4.1 billion for the first half of 2026-27, delivering a strong financial performance despite regional conflict, operational disruptions and soaring fuel prices. Revenue reached AED 66.2 billion, while the Group maintained a cash position of AED 54.1 billion. Emirates airline contributed AED 3.7 billion in profit, supported by resilient customer demand and strong cargo performance.

Why It Matters

The results demonstrate the resilience of one of the world's leading aviation groups during a challenging period for global travel. Emirates continued operating across its network despite airspace restrictions, while cargo operations benefited from disrupted maritime transport and increased demand for airfreight. The Group also maintained investments in aircraft, customer experience and infrastructure, highlighting its ability to navigate uncertainty while supporting long-term growth.

What's Next

The Emirates Group is entering the second half of the financial year with measured optimism, backed by strong cash reserves and continued investment. Emirates had restored 91% of its pre-disruption network by September 30, while fleet expansion, cabin upgrades and new engineering facilities remain priorities. Chairman and Chief Executive His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the Group would remain focused on safety, service quality and customer satisfaction while navigating regional volatility and high fuel prices.

Saudi PIF and Blackstone Back Dubai IPO As DIP Holding Raises $529 Million

What Happened

Dubai Investments Park Holding raised $529 million through its initial public offering, attracting global investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and a unit of Blackstone, per Bloomberg. The IPO was around four times oversubscribed, with strong demand from UAE investors and others across Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UK and Norway. The company sold a 20% stake at a valuation of AED 9.7 billion, with shares set to begin trading on November 11.

Why It Matters

The IPO marks a major milestone for Dubai’s capital markets, becoming the UAE’s first listing of 2026. Support from global investment giants Blackstone and PIF highlights continued international interest in the UAE’s real estate and infrastructure assets, despite regional conflict and market volatility. The strong demand also signals investor confidence in Dubai Investments Park, a 2,300-hectare mixed-use development spanning warehouses, hotels, retail, schools and healthcare facilities.

What's Next

DIP Holding is expected to begin trading on the Dubai Financial Market on November 11, following its successful IPO. The listing could help strengthen Dubai’s pipeline of public offerings amid a challenging regional market environment. The company’s performance will also put a spotlight on investor appetite for UAE property and infrastructure businesses, as global and regional investors continue to seek opportunities across the Gulf.

Doers Summit Dubai Opens Startup Program for Founders

Doers Summit Dubai is inviting founders to apply for its Startup Program, offering opportunities to pitch to investors and develop AI solutions. Taking place at Dubai Silicon Oasis on November 25 and 26, the summit will connect startups from Europe, the GCC and Asia with investors, corporates and potential partners.

In collaboration with Smashi Business, selected founders can receive free access to the summit and be considered for two programmes. Shark Island gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses live to investors, while Voice of the Oasis is a 24-hour voice AI hackathon held at Dtec, with ElevenLabs as technology partner.

The hackathon challenges teams to build multilingual voice AI agents for services used by more than 120,000 residents and entrepreneurs and 50,000 companies at Dubai Silicon Oasis. Participants will receive ElevenLabs credits and guidance from engineers and mentors, with the strongest solutions presented live on stage at the summit.

Applications are now open, with founder passes available through a selection process and places limited.

Apply For Your Founder Pass

G42’s Inception42 Dismisses AI Bubble Fears As UAE Doubles Down On Commercial Deployment

What Happened

Inception42, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based G42, has dismissed concerns about an artificial intelligence investment bubble, saying growing commercial demand will support the UAE’s expanding AI investments. CEO Ashish Koshy, in an interview with AGBI, highlighted new partnerships with OpenAI, Adnoc and Mubadala, including a five-year OpenAI deal to deploy AI in complex business workflows. He said the company has maintained its expansion plans despite regional conflict and remains focused on delivering real-world AI applications.

Why It Matters

The UAE is moving beyond AI experimentation towards commercial deployment, with major investments targeting productivity, efficiency and business transformation. Inception42’s partnership with Adnoc aims to build an AI-driven decision intelligence system for the energy giant. Koshy said the biggest opportunities lie in energy, oil and gas, and sovereign wealth investments. He also argued that data centre capacity should be driven by actual workloads and commercial demand, rather than infrastructure expansion alone.

What's Next

Al Habtoor Group will sell its Lebanese assets through a structured process, assessing each investment individually based on market conditions and valuations. The group says it will redirect resources towards markets offering greater stability, investment certainty and sustainable growth opportunities. Further details of the divestment process will be announced later.

👨‍💻From Smashi Business’ Desk

• Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) CEO Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi has publicly addressed the sovereign wealth fund’s participation in the $110 billion Skydance-Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal for the first time.⁠

• Egyptian-American creator Kareem, the man behind viral interview series @subwaytakes, has been named one of just 25 winners of the 2026 Instagram Rings Awards.

• A $12 chicken sandwich has sparked a debate over wealth and inequality in Lebanon.

• An Islamic brokerage founder says Anthropic wouldn’t make the cut on his app.

• An Emirati AI company has outperformed Microsoft, ElevenLabs, Google and OpenAI in Arabic speech recognition accuracy.

🔍In other news…

• GCC rejects US claim Hormuz could become ‘worthless’

• Aramco's Q3 profit rises by a third despite attacks

• Saudi Arabia Pushes Ahead With IPO Rule Changes Despite Banker Warnings

• Dubai's Emaar plans offer to buy out construction arm in $3.4 billion deal

• US President Donald Trump says Washington will stop giving Israel $4 billion annually after this year.

• UN shipping chief criticises huge payouts for crews risking Hormuz

• UAE Citizen CZ Says ‘I Don’t Make Threats’ After Musk Trolls Binance Hack

• Lebanese Dating App Taaruf Reaches 80,000 Monthly Users, Lands $400,000 Shark Tank Offer

🦄 World of Startups

• NoorNation: Egypt-based cleantech startup NoorNation raised $1.05 million in seed funding from Linah Farms, Catalyst Fund and KBW Ventures to expand its solar-powered irrigation and desalination solutions.

• Silkhaus: UAE-based short-term rental startup Silkhaus is winding down its holiday-home business in the country, with owner agreements set to end on November 11, 2026.

• MNT-Halan: Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan received a $71.2 million capital injection from its parent company, MNT Investments BV, increasing the parent’s stake to 80.47% shortly after the fintech’s $139.5 million IPO.

• Alpha Dhabi: UAE-based Alpha Dhabi Holding committed $1 billion to Alpha Wave III, a global investment fund managed by Alpha Wave Global that focuses on high-growth companies, with AI at its core.

• Mubadala Capital: UAE-based Mubadala Capital secured a minority equity investment from US asset manager Apollo Global Management, which manages $1.05 trillion in assets, with the investment value undisclosed.

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