ABU DHABI, 2nd April, 2024 (WAM) — First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Microsoft will collaborate in developing new AI-based banking capabilities under a strategic business partnership signed today, with the UAE’s largest bank and the global technology leader to cooperate on the launch of an ‘AI Innovation Hub’ for financial services.

The new AI Innovation Hub will focus on innovation, sustainability, and customer experience. The hub will drive partnership under three main thematic areas for collaboration – innovation through AI, driving global growth, and shaping the future of financial market ecosystems. The hub will accelerate the adoption of new innovations and AI technology into financial services to provide product enhancement, personalisation, unique AI risk models, new solutions, and other advances.

The initiative extends FAB’s previous work in AI, including its long-standing partnership with G42. FAB recently joined forces with Core42 – a G42 company and full-spectrum AI enablement solutions provider – to accelerate the migration of FAB’s data centre and workload to Microsoft Azure, including access to the Azure platform’s pioneering cloud and AI solutions.

FAB has led significant advances in technology innovation for the banking sector, fully integrating its comprehensive suite of products and services into a market-leading, digitally driven service model. The bank is already incorporating advances in AI and blockchain into its platform, providing customers with a seamless, fully digital banking experience from account opening and onboarding, through to a full range of everyday service requests.

The initiative closely aligns with the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, which aims to establish the UAE as a world leader in AI by 2031 with policies to create an AI-friendly ecosystem, encourage advanced research in the sector, and promote collaboration to accelerate the adoption of AI.

Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer at FAB, said, “The AI Innovation Hub marks another milestone for the bank in setting a bold agenda for innovation. In partnering with Microsoft, a recognised global leader in AI, we are demonstrating our ambition to accelerate advances in generative AI, intelligent automation, and machine learning.”

Naim Yazbeck, UAE General Manager at Microsoft Gulf, said, “We are excited to partner with FAB on this strategic initiative that is a testimonial of FAB’s aspiration to leverage the power of generative AI as a platform for innovation and industry disruption. Together with FAB, we are set to build ground-breaking capabilities that will translate FAB’s leadership and vision as a market innovator and trendsetter both regionally and globally.”

The AI Innovation Hub will further enhance FAB’s competitive leadership as an innovative, AI-enabled, sustainable, and secure bank. It will allow FAB to use Microsoft’s Azure AI services, including Azure Generative AI capabilities, to cultivate novel, innovative capabilities to automate and revolutionise operations throughout the FAB Group. Potential areas of collaboration include Banking-as-a-Service and Risk-as-Service, which could be further categorised across digital services, lending, and payments within consumer, corporate, and investment banking.

ABU DHABI, 2nd April, 2024 (WAM) — Borouge Plc, a leading petrochemicals company that provides innovative and differentiated polyolefins solutions, has committed to achieving net zero across its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2045.

The commitment is an extension of the Company’s best practice approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, supporting the UAE’s sustainability goals. The UAE was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to commit to net zero and has launched a national Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, setting out a clear pathway for achieving its objective.

To achieve net-zero emissions in its operations, Borouge has set intermediate targets for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity and a 30 percent reduction in energy intensity by 2030. The company will continue its energy efficiency programme and explore new technology and decarbonisation levers, including advancements in the areas of electrification and carbon capture.

Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, CEO of Borouge, said, “As an industrial champion of the UAE with an extensive international footprint, Borouge embraces the significant role that it can play in providing mitigating solutions to climate change. Our differentiated products are increasingly deployed in renewable energy infrastructure, sustainable mobility, agriculture, and advanced packaging. We are taking strong strides in promoting a circular economy. Inspired by the UAE’s climate ambition, Borouge is resolutely pursuing net zero in its own operations, aiming for an accelerated timeframe of 2045. This marks a substantial step forward in our sustainability journey and we are committed to tracking our progress through a robust governance framework that includes best practice measurement and disclosure.”

In Borouge’s case, scope 1 includes GHG emissions from the manufacture and processing of its high-quality polyethylene and polypropylene. Meanwhile, Borouge’s scope 2 emissions are attributed to energy consumption, including those from the electricity, heating, and cooling used during production.

Borouge has set interim 2030 goals to achieve its ambitions and will continue to pursue resource efficiency alongside decarbonising its operations. The Company’s commitment to successful energy-saving initiatives achieved a 30 percent reduction in emission intensity in 2023 compared to the 2018 baseline, which surpassed the Company’s 25 percent reduction goal for 2030 seven years ahead of schedule.

ABU DHABI, 2nd April, 2024 (WAM) — The AIM (Annual Investment Meeting) Congress renewed its strategic partnership with the UAE International Investors Council, by signing a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) for coordination and joint work between them towards enhancing the global investment environment and supporting the global economy. The agreement reflects the great success achieved by the partnership during the past years, which contributed to strengthening the UAE’s position as a global investment centre and an attractive destination for foreign investments.

The MoU was signed by Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary-General of the UAE International Investors Council (UAEIIC), and Dawood Al Shezawi, President of the AIM Congress, in the presence of a number of representatives of both parties, at the AIM Global Foundation headquarters in Dubai.

The memorandum aims to enhance ways of joint work, as the AIM Congress provides an ideal platform that brings together investors, decision-makers, startups and innovators from around the world. It contributes to exchanging experiences and ideas and stimulating global economic growth to provide the best investment opportunities to the global business community.

The two parties agreed to enhance endeavours and efforts by developing a comprehensive cooperation plan, which includes organising an integrated set of activities and events to collect and exchange information related to national investments abroad and evaluate the effects of economic measures imposed by the countries hosting those investments. This contributes to building a database of foreign investment opportunities and viewpoints related to various foreign markets, as well as analysing the investment environment in those global markets.

Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary-General of the UAE International Investors Council, expressed his happiness with this cooperation, saying, “Cooperation has always been an essential factor for the success of our work at the UAE International Investors Council, and today’s renewal of the partnership with the AIM Congress reaffirms our belief in the importance of strengthening the strategic partnerships. It will enable us to explore and cover a wide range of investment sectors, and in parallel, the UAE International Investors Council has witnessed great achievements, specifically in building new partnerships that have contributed to strengthening economic and investment ties with other markets globally.”

For his part, Dawood Al Shezawi, President of the AIM Global Foundation, stressed the importance of the partnership between the AIM Congress and the UAE International Investors Council, and its important role in supporting the event’s objectives of enhancing dialogue and cooperation between investors from different parts of the world.

Al Shezawi said, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with the UAE International Investors Council, which has played a prominent role in enhancing cooperation between various stakeholders, and which shares our vision of stimulating growth in the investment sector. Through this renewed partnership, we will be able to continue our joint endeavours to facilitate transactions across borders with the aim of providing new opportunities for companies and investors. We are eagerly looking forward to continuing this fruitful cooperation that contributes to stimulating growth, economic and investment development between the UAE and all countries of the world, to create a brighter future.”

The activities of the 13th session of the 2024 AIM Congress will be organised from 7th-9th May, 2024 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi, under the theme of “Adapting to the Shifting Investment Landscape: Harnessing New Potentials for Global Economic Development.”

The 2024 AIM Congress includes an exhibition, conference, forums, dialogue sessions, workshops, startup competitions under its various tracks, including the investment track, the innovation and technology track, the startups and unicorns track, the SMEs track, the future finance forum track, the regional focus forum track, to discuss various sectors such as agriculture, energy, technology, industry, tourism, hospitality, transportation and shipping, financial services, health and education, and foreign direct investment. Some of the events at AIM Congress are organised in cooperation with a number of international bodies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Tourism Organisation, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and others.

ABU DHABI, 2nd April, 2024 (WAM) — The value of real estate transactions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi reached AED15.9 billion during the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024), recording 5,127 sales and mortgage transactions on various types of real estate units.

According to data from the DARI platform of the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) in Abu Dhabi, the emirate logged 2,919 sales and purchases transactions in Q1 2024 totalling over AED9.6 billion. This includes 1,167 ready-made real estate units and 1,752 off-plan units.

DARI data showed that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi recorded about 2,208 mortgage deals during Q1, with a total value of AED6.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the top three real estate transactions logged in Abu Dhabi during the past week, with Al Saadiyat Island and Yas Island topping the list of the largest transactions for Aldar Properties projects. The total value of transactions on Yas Island amounted to AED23.5 million, while the one on Al Saadiyat Island totalled AED14.3 million.