UAE Weekly Business News 08/12/2025
- Jenny Hunt
- Dec 8
- 7 min read

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UAE Weekly Business News: Issue 266 published 08 December 2025.
UAE FREE ZONE NEWS
ADGM posts 48% AUM surge and strong Q3 growth as entities pass 11,900 licences (Arabian Business 05/12/2025)
Masdar City Free Zone opens 1st representative office in China (WAM 03/12/2025)
Family businesses in Dubai: DIFC and Emirates NBD sign strategic partnership to support UHNWIs (Arabian Business 03/12/2025)
UAE VISA NEWS (inc. employment, Emiratisation, human resources, training and women)
Nearly half of UAE workforce needs upskilling; employees turn to Gen AI courses (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
Human and AI workforce takes shape as firms rethink hiring (Arabian Business 02/12/2025)
Volunteering in UAE can get you a Golden Visa; here's where to apply (Khaleej Times 01/12/2025)
UAE BUSINESS NEWS
Nakheel awards AED400m construction contract for Palm Crown development Government of Dubai Media Office 08/12/2025)
Dubai Municipality, Shamal Holding to enhance community engagement, enrich experiences in public spaces (Government of Dubai Media Office 08/12/2025)
Dubai Chambers, Ahya Technologies to support companies in adopting ESG standards (Government of Dubai Media Office 08/12/2025)
Etihad Airways to invest $10b in new aircraft, hiring 2,500 staff annually (Khaleej Times 08/12/2025)
Mubadala, Aldar to invest over AED60b in Al Maryah Island expansion (Khaleej Times 08/12/2025)
UAE real estate market set to skyrocket to AED486b by 2030 (Arabian Business 08/12/2025)
Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed meets Bill Gates (WAM 07/12/2025)
Population surge spurs UAE realty boom as record-breaking 2025 ends (Khaleej Times 07/12/2025)
Inside UAE’s most ambitious AI model: Teaching robots how to think (Khaleej Times 07/12/2025)
Emaar unveils Dubai Square, the world’s first drive-through mall (Arabian Business 06/12/2025)
31st edition of Dubai Shopping Festival kicks off (WAM 05/12/2025)
MENA Biofuels, ‘Saybolt’ to establish UAE’s first SAF testing, certification laboratory in Fujairah (WAM 05/12/2025)
UAE's sustainable real estate boom: Why green properties offer higher ROI, long-term value (Khaleej Times 05/12/2025)
UAE launches nationwide crackdown on medicine safety (Arabian Business 05/12/2025)
Etihad launches three weekly flights to Kazan (WAM 04/12/2025)
Emirates Drug Establishment launches national programme for inspecting pharmacovigilance practices (WAM 04/12/2025)
Khalifa University, EPRI sign strategic agreement to advance nuclear reactor safety through AI innovation (WAM 04/12/2025)
NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop low-cost technology to store tumor models for drug testing (WAM 04/12/2025)
Ammar bin Humaid receives Meta delegation (WAM 04/12/2025)
Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed meets McLaren Racing CEO (WAM 04/12/2025)
Creators HQ, X platform launch X Creators Lab (WAM 04/12/2025)
Dubai SME, Google to empower Emirati businesses (WAM 04/12/2025)
GCC Interconnection Authority, EPRI to collaborate (WAM 04/12/2025)
Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed meets Chairman of Milken Institute (Abu Dhabi Media Office 04/12/2025)
The hidden risks UAE property buyers still overlook — even in a strong market (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
Global commerce trends drive VTEX’s expansion into Dubai (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
SONAX accelerates double-digit growth across GCC and Middle East (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
Abu Dhabi waterfront homes record 69% price surge (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
Dubai’s ultra-luxury property deals surge tenfold in five years (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
Dubai real estate sees boom of new small developers, but not all will survive (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
New dining concept set for Mama Shelter Dubai (Arabian Business 04/12/2025)

BPGIC signs agreement with PEG to commence FEED for first gasoline production refinery in Fujairah (WAM 03/12/2025)
UAE President receives Amazon Founder & Executive Chairman (WAM 03/12/2025)
Emirates activates interline partnership with Bahamasair (WAM 03/12/2025)
GCC drives comprehensive growth shaping regional, global future (WAM 03/12/2025)
UAE marks 54th Eid Al Etihad with women, space advances (WAM 03/12/2025)
Dubai’s property sales in November jump 30.9% year on year (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
44% of property investors say their Dubai investments outperform their overseas portfolios (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
Dubai rent growth slows as supply narrows gap between renewals and new leases (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
Dubai property prices have more than doubled per square foot in 5 years (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
UAE marks 54th Eid Al Etihad with broad national progress, strengthened global standing (WAM 02/12/2025)
220,000 new companies entered the UAE market this year (Khaleej Times 02/12/2025)
UAE marks 54th Eid Al Etihad with developmental achievements (WAM 01/12/2025)
Fatima bint Mubarak: UAE people turn ambition into reality (WAM 01/12/2025)
DMT launches new professional grades for engineers in Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Media Office 01/12/2025)
UAE FINANCE AND ECONOMY NEWS
UAE leads as more countries add cryptocurrency to national portfolio (Khaleej Times 08/12/2025)
Binance secures ADGM approval to offer global services from Abu Dhabi (Khaleej Times 08/12/2025)
Record gold prices in Dubai: Will shoppers prefer 14K jewellery over 22K in UAE? (Khaleej Times 08/12/2025)WAM 08/12/2025)
Nasdaq Dubai Welcomes $500m Bond Listing by Bank of China Dubai Branch (Government of Dubai Media Office 08/12/2025)
UAE sets fines for e-invoicing failures ahead of 2026 rollout (Arabian Business 08/12/2025)
Dubai leads job revival as UAE non-oil economy expands (Khaleej Times 06/12/2025)
Peel Hunt goes global with Abu Dhabi push (Arabian Business 05/12/2025)
World Bank forecasts UAE economy to grow by 4.8% (WAM 04/12/2025)
UAE e-Invoicing should move from back office to boardroom (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
Mbank and 7X unlock digital payments with AE Coin in UAE logistics, ecommerce & digital ecosystems (Khaleej Times 04/12/2025)
Mashreq Capital launches BITMAC fund with Bitcoin allocation for retail investors (Arabian Business 04/12/2025)
MoF to implement VAT law amendments starting January 2026 (WAM 03/12/2025)
Dubai Duty Free achieves monthly sales of AED876m in November (Government of Dubai Media Office 03/12/2025)
Awqaf Abu Dhabi, ADIB to empower endowment entities with innovative banking solutions (Abu Dhabi Media Office 03/12/2025)
Emirati stocks dominate 2025 with record market returns (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
White Friday 2025 sees UAE shopping app installs jump 38% (Khaleej Times 03/12/2025)
77.5% non-oil share of real GDP; AED36b hotel revenues mark exceptional growth on 54th Eid Al Etihad (WAM 02/12/2025)
du Pay tops AED1.5b in digital transactions as UAE pushes towards cashless future (Arabian Business 02/12/2025)
GCC-STAT highlights UAE’s social, economic gains in special 54th Eid Al Etihad report (WAM 01/12/2025)
Dubai court freezes $456m linked to alleged cryptocurrency reserve theft (Khaleej Times 01/12/2025)
MERGER & AQUISITION NEWS
Paribu acquires VARA-authorised CoinMENA at $240m valuation (Arabian Business 06/12/2025)
e& stake in Vodafone rises to 16.61% after buyback (Arabian Business 05/12/2025)
Mubadala, Glenwood Private Equity complete co-investment in NanoH2O (WAM 03/12/2025)
UAE BILATERAL TRADE NEWS
UAE, Ecuador issue joint statement on official visit of President Daniel Noboa to UAE (WAM 08/12/2025)
Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed meets President of Ecuador (WAM 07/12/2025)
Mohammed bin Rashid, Ecuador’s President discusses enhancing cooperation, bilateral ties (WAM 07/12/2025)
UAE President meets President of Seychelles (WAM 07/12/2025)
President of Ecuador inaugurates embassy in Abu Dhabi (WAM 07/12/2025)
President of Uzbekistan receives Minister of Energy (WAM 07/12/2025)
IHC advances cross-sector collaboration with Azerbaijan (WAM 07/12/2025)
Zayed bin Hamdan meets Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy (WAM 06/12/2025)
Latifa bint Mohammed meets with Ecuador’s First Lady (WAM 06/12/2025)
President of Azerbaijan receives Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed (WAM 06/12/2025)
Presidents of UAE and Ecuador discuss bilateral cooperation, witness signing of agreements (WAM 06/12/2025)
DP World breaks ground on critical Fremantle rail project in Western Australia (Arabian Business 06/12/2025)
UAE President receives Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region of Iraq (WAM 05/12/2025)
MENA of Mercantile & Maritime Group signs MoU with Indonesia’s Ministry of Cooperatives (WAM 05/12/2025)
DEWA, Italian Embassy in UAE discuss cooperation (WAM 05/12/2025)
Karachi Gateway, Louis Dreyfus Company sign agreement to develop clean bulk handling, storage facility (WAM 05/12/2025)
Third UAE-Netherlands Joint Economic Committee meeting discusses ways to enhance cooperation (WAM 04/12/2025)
Abu Dhabi, Latvian chambers to strengthen economic, investment ties (WAM 03/12/2025)
Dubai Chamber of Commerce launches Cyprus Business Council (WAM 03/12/2025)
UAE, Kuwait explore enhanced space cooperation (WAM 02/12/2025)
Mubadala Energy, PLN Energi Primer Indonesia to strengthen Indonesia’s energy resilience (WAM 01/12/2025)
UAE, Azerbaijan hold inaugural meeting of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Cooperation Committee (WAM 01/12/2025)
UAE’s $1b Yemen investment will deliver clean power to millions (WAM 01/12/2025)
UAE allocates $1b to support energy sector in Yemen (WAM 01/12/2025)
Noura Al Kaabi meets Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Minister to strengthen bilateral ties (WAM 01/12/2025)
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Written by Jenny Hunt
Founder, Gateway Group, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates
FORBES' Top 100 Most Influential Women in the Middle East


