UAE Weekly Business News 17/08/2026
- Jenny Hunt
- 24 minutes ago
- 4 min read

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UAE Weekly Business News: Issue 300 published 17th August 2026.
UAE FREE ZONE NEWS
ADGM's FSRA, GCGRA partner to strengthen regulatory cooperation (WAM 14/08/2026)
UAE VISA NEWS (inc. employment, Emiratisation, human resources, jobs, training and women)
UAE Gender Balance Council launches national survey as part of development of 2027–2031 strategy (WAM 14/08/2026)
UAE tourism sector set to create over 250,000 new jobs by 2036 (Arabian Business 14/08/2026)
UAE records outstanding achievements in workers' Social Protection System during H1 2026 (WAM 11/08/2026)
UAE BUSINESS NEWS
Dubai Customs turns operations into competitive advantage (WAM 16/08/2026)
UAE announces public, private sector holiday for Prophet's birthday (Khaleej Times 16/08/2026)
Abu Dhabi issues new healthy food law for hotels, restaurants (Khaleej times 15/08/2026)
Hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai expand AI use in patient care (Arabian Business 15/08/2026)
Abu Dhabi temporarily closes Indian beverage shop for posing risk to public health (Khaleej Times 14/08/2026)
‘Let them talk’: Sheikh Mohammed shares lesson on handling criticism (Khaleej Times 14/08/2026)
Abu Dhabi bans 50-passenger worker buses from using Muroor Bridge exit (Khaleej Times 14/08/2026)
No junk food at checkouts: Abu Dhabi supermarket retailers explain new rules (Khaleej Times 14/08/2026)
Emirates SkyCargo transports Altair-1 satellite from Dubai to US (WAM 13/08/2026)
AIREV, Qualcomm to advance autonomous AI across enterprise, government environments (WAM 13/08/2026)
Dubai proptech firms bet on broker networks as real estate market expands (Khaleej Times 13/08/2026)
New annual fees for businesses playing copyrighted music from AED1,500 - AED50,000 (Khaleej Times 13/08/2026)
UAE to expand organ transplants to include face, hand, uterus, intestine (Khaleej Times 13/08/2026)
Abu Dhabi's 5GW UAE-US AI Campus stays on track despite regional conflict (Khaleej Times 13/08/2026)
Abu Dhabi Customs warns of fraudulent messages (WAM 12/08/2026)
Gothenburg welcomes Etihad Airways this December (WAM 12/08/2026)
TDRA Board renews telecom operators' licences for 20 years (WAM 12/08/2026)
RTA achieves global leadership in Road Network Asset Condition Index across five key areas (WAM 12/08/2026)
Emirates Franchise Association reviews H1 2026 progress (WAM 12/08/2026)
ITC (Abu Dhabi Mobility) conducts 2nd field trial of autonomous patrol boat (Abu Dhabi Media Office 12/08/2026)
Dubai population growth fuels property market, but price gains may take time to emerge (Khaleej Times 12/08/2026)
Oil caught between falling demand and a tightening Hormuz squeeze (Khaleej Times 12/08/2026)
Burjeel Holdings launches BEACON to integrate emergency, acute care (WAM 11/08/2026)
Dubai Chambers’ Service Excellence Programme issues 3,223 mystery shopper reports in H1 2026 (WAM 11/08/2026)
UAE announces fee for cafes, hotels, malls for playing music from December (Khaleej Times 11/08/2026)
UAE FINANCE AND ECONOMY NEWS
UAE bank deposits rise as credit grows AED24.7b in June (Khaleej Times 16/08/2026)
UAE businesses face payment delays as 40% of B2B invoices are paid late (Arabian Business 15/08/2026)
Parkin Q2 net profit rises 12% to AED166.2m (WAM 14/08/2026)
Amanat posts AED153.3m H1 2026 profit, up 46% (WAM 14/08/2026)
AD Ports Group reports Q2 2026 net profit of AED836m (WAM 14/08/2026)
Al Ansari H1 2026 operating income reaches AED635m (Khaleej Times 14/08/2026)
UAE targets $697b Islamic finance sector by 2031 under global hub strategy (Arabian Business 14/08/2026)
Julphar reports strong H1 2026 revenue of AED 573.7m (WAM 13/08/2026)
With AED1.4t in assets, 43 institutions, UAE solidifies its position as global hub for Islamic finance and Halal industry (WAM 13/08/2026)
ADX becomes 1st MENA exchange to open 'Live' market data directly to ChatGPT, Claude, other AI platforms (WAM 13/08/2026)
Coinbase establishes tokenisation hub in Abu Dhabi (WAM 13/08/2026)
DP World revenue rises 13.1% to $12.7b during H1 2026 (WAM 13/08/2026)
TAQA reports net income of AED4.1b for H1 2026 (WAM 13/08/2026)
Abu Dhabi's Mair Group's H1 profit rises 14.8% to AED93.9m on retail, real estate growth (Khaleej Times 13/08/2026)
UAE's du joins MSCI Emerging Markets Index, boosting investor visibility (Khaleej Times 13/08/2026)
DEWA reports AED3.3b net profit in H1 2026 (WAM 12/08/2026)
ADNIC reports H1 2026 net profit before tax of AED225.1m (WAM 12/08/2026)
EGA net profit reaches AED2.4b in H1 2026 (WAM 12/08/2026)
Presight reports AED713.2m in Q2 2026 revenue (WAM 12/08/2026)
ADNOC's listed companies deliver $25.3b in H1 2026 revenue as major growth projects advance (WAM 12/08/2026)
GCC insurers have no significant exposure to war-related claims (Khaleej Times 12/08/2026)
FTA conducts 103,680 inspection visits in six months, up 21% (WAM 11/08/2026)
Tabreed reports AED1.13b in revenues in H1 2026 (WAM 11/08/2026)
ADNOC L&S posts Q2 2026 net profit of US$951m (WAM 11/08/2026)
Spinneys H1 2026 profit rises 2.5% to AED175m (Khaleej Times 11/08/2026)
New agreement allows use of UAE's Jaywan cards in over 183 countries (Khaleej Times 11/08/2026)
UAE M&A NEWS
UAE BILATERAL TRADE NEWS
50MW UAE solar plant raises Central African Republic’s power capacity by 60% (Khaleej Times 16/08/2026)
President of Ecuador, Omar Al Olama discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation (WAM 14/08/2026)
XRG advances global gas strategy with entry into Venezuela (WAM 13/08/2026)
UAE, Korea explore joint cooperation in libraries (WAM 13/08/2026)
ICBA, Uzbekistan’s Agency for Innovative Development launch Farmers’ and Agro-Entrepreneurs Accelerator in Karakalpakstan (WAM 11/08/2026)
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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


