UAE Weekly Business News 24/08/2026

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UAE Weekly Business News: Issue 301 published 24th August 2026.

UAE FREE ZONE NEWS

Rakez business community reaches 50,000 companies (Khaleej Times 21/08/2026)

DIFC Courts draw parties from 22 overseas jurisdictions in H1 2026 (WAM 18/08/2026)

DIEZ posts exceptional growth in H1 2026 (WAM 17/08/2026)

UAE VISA NEWS (inc. employment, Emiratisation, human resources, jobs, training and women)

Can UAE employees combine compensatory leave with annual leave? (Khaleej Times 23/08/2026)

Hiring a maid from India? UAE employer rules and visa process explained (Khaleej Times 23/08/2026)

UAE pension scheme extends coverage to part-time Emirati employees (Khaleej Times 21/08/2026)

Official denies reports of widespread layoffs of Egyptians in UAE (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

UAE's Nafis salary rules to change in September (Khaleej Times 19/08/2026)

UAE BUSINESS NEWS

MoHESR approves updated fees, financial guarantees framework (WAM 24/08/2026)

UAE solidifies global standing by hosting international sports headquarters (WAM 24/08/2026)

Abu Dhabi Judicial Department processes 447,000 electronic requests in H1 2026 (WAM 24/08/2026)

Dubai Maritime City records 52 vessels in single day (WAM 24/08/2026)

DEWA saves AED40 million by re-engineering gas turbine maintenance (WAM 24/08/2026)

Dubai PropTech Hub, Innovo Group partner to accelerate construction innovation (WAM 24/08/2026)

Dubai Municipality introduces advanced technology to accelerate oil, fat quality testing, enhance food safety (WAM 24/08/2026)

Emirates restarts Dubai-Kuwait flights with one daily service (Arabian Business 24/08/2026)

Inside Airwallex’s $43m plan to enter the UAE payments market (Arabian Business 24/08/2026)

Population growth, visa reforms to drive Dubai property market in H2 2026 (Khaleej Times 23/08/2026)

Dubai’s new Flexi Rent scheme to narrow short-term, annual lease gap (Khaleej Times 23/08/2026)

UAE superyacht milestone as latest Majesty 120 enters the water (Arabian Business 23/08/2026)

Dubai advertising deals hit $408m as 683 assets tendered and Metro naming rights expand (Arabian Business 23/08/2026)

Air Arabia adds Katowice to its growing network in Poland (WAM 22/08/2026)

ICCMD unveils advanced digital monitoring system, launches International Charter for Media Integrity (WAM 22/08/2026)

UAE expands logistics network to boost supply chain resilience (WAM 21/08/2026)

DP World moves 500,000 containers across GCC by road and rail as inland network expands (Khaleej Times 21/08/2026)

Abu Dhabi unveils new specialised smart ambulances to bring advanced emergency care closer to community (WAM 20/08/2026)

Dubai’s real estate sector completes 104 projects valued at over AED111b in H1 2026 (WAM 20/08/2026)

Uber launches Baidu’s fully driverless Apollo Go in Dubai (WAM 20/08/2026)

Emarat, Dell Technologies to accelerate AI adoption (WAM 20/08/2026)

First six EV charging station sites approved across 7x's logistics network (WAM 20/08/2026)

Dubai set for highest annual home deliveries since 2008 (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

Dubai’s Al Maktoum Airport to have world's largest automated people mover system (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

Dubai Municipality develops integrated community markets for workers (WAM 19/08/2026)

Dubai Robotaxi surpasses 4 million kilometres, satisfaction reaches 97% (WAM 19/08/2026)

Dubai Chambers, NASSCOM to advance cooperation in Agentic AI (WAM 19/08/2026)

Dubai Taxi Company expands Bolt network through partnership with Arabia Taxi (WAM 19/08/2026)

ADREC releases Abu Dhabi Real Estate Market Report for H1 2026 (WAM 18/08/2026)

Dubai Chambers signs MoU with Trendyol to accelerate growth of SMEs (WAM 18/08/2026)

Expat residents, foreign investors top Abu Dhabi property buyers in 2026 (Khaleej Times 18/08/2026)

Dubai commercial property deals hit Dh65.2 billion in H1 as offices surge (Khaleej Times 18/08/2026)

Dubai hotel occupancy to recover in H2 2026 after sharp first-half decline (Khaleej Times 18/08/2026)

EMICOOL unveils roadmap to achieve net zero operations by 2050 (WAM 17/08/2026)

UAE shifts healthcare from traditional prevention to early risk detection (WAM 17/08/2026)

AI fluency becomes essential skill as UAE firms prepare workforce shift (Khaleej Times 17/08/2026)

UAE FINANCE AND ECONOMY NEWS

UAE insurance sector assets reach AED164.9b, up 6.1% (WAM 24/08/2026)

FAB launches fully automated, paperless loan journey (WAM 24/08/2026)

Mada Media secures AED1.5b in contracts in H1 2026 (WAM 23/08/2026)

ADX achieves 99% in disclosure compliance of financial statements of H1 2026 of listed companies (WAM 21/08/2026)

UAE introduces mandatory VAT supplier and supply verification checks, effective 01 October 2028 (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

Dubai rises to 7th global financial hub as UAE FDI hits record high (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

Dubai gold prices rise further, jump nearly AED60 per gram this month so far (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

ADQ appoints co-manager and lead receiving banks for AD Ports offer (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

UAE authority warns investors against dealing with unlicensed firm Zetta Capital (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

Oraseya Capital partners with NQubator to support early stage technology startups (WAM 19/08/2026)

UAE’s new pricing deals offer firms certainty on tax (Khaleej Times 19/08/2026)

Will the Middle East conflict knock oil back up to $100 a barrel? (Khaleej Times 19/08/2026)

UAE suspends all trade, financial transactions with Iran (Khaleej Times 19/08/2026)

UAE implements Trade embargo with Iran (Khaleej Times 19/08/2026)

UAE's Gargash denies labour residency cancellations, providing financial facilities to Iran (Khaleej Times 19/08/2026)

Yalla Group posts AED303.4m in revenue for Q2 2026 (WAM 18/08/2026)

Oil market starts pricing in a prolonged Hormuz crisis (Khaleej Times 18/08/2026)

From 3 days to 3 seconds: How UAE’s remittances industry has evolved (Khaleej Times 18/08/2026)

UAE AI spending doubles but execution gap threatens maturity gains (Khaleej Times 18/08/2026)

Emirates NBD launches UAE’s first dedicated Transition Finance Framework (WAM 17/08/2026)

SALAMA reports H1 2026 profit after tax of AED28.3m (WAM 17/08/2026)

CBUAE issues Financial Stability Report 2025 (WAM 17/08/2026)

Smaller UAE insurers are growing faster than the big players(Khaleej Times 17/08/2026)

UAE bank assets reach AED5.3t as domestic lending strengthens(Khaleej Times 17/08/2026)

Emirates NBD launches UAE’s first transition finance framework to support lower carbon investment (Khaleej Times 17/08/2026)

UAE M&A NEWS

Adnoc Distribution signs South Africa empowerment deal for Shell acquisition (Khaleej Times 23/08/2026)

AD Ports Group receives notification of voluntary conditional cash offer from L’IMAD through ADQ (WAM 17/08/2026)

UAE BILATERAL TRADE NEWS

Masdar begins commercial operations at second UK battery storage project (WAM 24/08/2026)

Dubai-India trade hits record $60.6b as 85,841 Indian companies establish presence in emirate  (Arabian Business 24/08/2026)

Dubai Chambers hosts roundtables in Bengaluru with 71 investors to showcase investment opportunities in Dubai (WAM 23/08/2026)

Dubai Chambers hosts roundtables in Bengaluru with 71 investors to showcase investment opportunities in Dubai (WAM 23/08/2026)

UAE, Rajasthan aim to develop tourist destinations, heritage sites and hotels (WAM 23/08/2026)

UAE, Egypt eye bigger push to boost oil, gas production (Khaleej Times 23/08/2026)

UAE-Russia Trade in Services and Investment Agreement enters into force (WAM 22/08/2026)

DoE Abu Dhabi advances strategic partnerships during US visit (WAM 22/08/2026)

UAE developer Arada unveils AED5b Australia project (Khaleej Times 20/08/2026)

Discover Abu Dhabi Festival to take place in Moscow (WAM 19/08/2026)

Parkin to explore parking, smart mobility solutions in Egypt (WAM 19/08/2026)

Menassah Distribution Company expands Emirati publishers’ reach in Türkiye (WAM 18/08/2026)

DP World advances Syria's economic recovery through Port of Tartous modernisation (WAM 17/08/2026)

UAE President and Sultan of Oman discuss bilateral ties (WAM 17/08/2026)

Masdar, ScottishPower Renewables mark major engineering milestone at East Anglia THREE windfarm (WAM 17/08/2026)

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Written by Jenny Hunt

Founder, Gateway Group, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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