Author: Emirates Insight
The future may be electric, but that future is being postponed. The European Commission, citing the need for flexibility, has softened its ambitious plan to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. Instead of requiring 100% of new cars to be zero-emission vehicles by that date, the revised plan would allow 10% of new car sales to be hybrids or other vehicles as long as manufacturers purchase carbon offsets to compensate. This change is part of a broader ‘Automotive Package‘ designed to help the European car industry become both clean and competitive. If the European Parliament approves this shift,…
The United Arab Emirates has recorded exceptional strides in the tourism sector, both in terms of its growing appeal to visitors from around the world and its ability to attract investment drawn by strong returns supported by a highly competitive investment environment. These achievements form part of an integrated national strategy aimed at reinforcing the UAE’s position among the world’s leading tourist destinations. The UAE has introduced significant incentives to attract investment and stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in a sector experiencing sustained growth, underpinned by powerful tourism drivers. Chief among these are the country’s natural, social and legislative assets, which…
Expo City Dubai has launched a new graduate development programme for UAE Nationals, aimed at building future leaders in real estate and sustainable urban development. The Exposure programme, introduced by Expo City Dubai’s Real Estate and Development division, is a tailored, two-year initiative designed for fresh Emirati graduates. It is intended to equip participants with practical experience, technical skills and leadership capabilities across the full real estate value chain. The programme supports Expo City’s role as a master developer and aligns with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and the D33 Economic Agenda, both of which prioritise sustainable growth, innovation…
The Bitcoin Development Pledge aligns with the king’s vision of applying modern digital technologies to serve the people of Bhutan and future generations. The Kingdom of Bhutan has taken its adoption of bitcoin (BTC) a step further by allocating a portion of its reserves to the development of its new special administrative region, Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC). According to a press release sent to CryptoPotato, the country will channel 10,000 BTC, worth roughly $1 billion, to support the long-term development of GMC. GMC is a new economic hub designed for mindfulness, sustainability, and innovation. Bhutan Unveils Bitcoin Development Pledge…
The full program for the 2026 Growth Summit in Melbourne is now live, promising expert insights, powerful leadership lessons, and fearless conversations tailored to Australian startups, scaleups, and SMEs. Presented by SmartCompany and Startup Daily, in partnership with Xero, the Growth Summit will see the nation’s brightest entrepreneurs and innovators inspire a new generation of ambitious business leaders. Leigh Jasper, the serial founder and startup luminary behind $1.6 billion success story Aconex, will share an insider’s view of Australia’s innovation landscape in his opening keynote address. And Angad Soin, managing director AU/NZ and global chief strategy officer at Xero, will unpack what really makes…
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its partners have successfully secured a structured financing transaction of up to AED40.4 billion (US$11 billion) to monetise Hail and Ghasha’s midstream future gas production. The Ghasha concession, located offshore Abu Dhabi, is set to produce 1.8 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd) of gas. The non-recourse financing transaction, unique for an energy project of this scale and complexity, enables ADNOC to realise upfront value for its products at competitive rates. In addition to providing immediate access to capital, the financing structure introduces an innovative commercial model that ring-fences midstream facilities and…
XRP trades below $1.90, is there any hope for the next 10 days or so. Ripple and its native token had a big year. The former finally concluded the years-long lawsuit against the US SEC, made some big acquisitions and partnerships, and gained some traction in new regions worldwide. The latter matched its 2018 all-time high in January and finally managed to break it in July. It also saw the release of five spot ETFs tracking its performance in the US. However, it has been mostly downhill for its price movements since the July peak and is now struggling…
Renowned AI scientist Yann LeCun confirmed on Thursday that he had launched a new startup — the worst-kept secret in the tech world — though he said he will not be running the new company as its CEO. His startup is called Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI) and has hired Alex LeBrun, co-founder and CEO of medical transcription AI startup darling Nabla, as its CEO. Nabla disclosed LeBrun’s new job in a press release and LeCun confirmed it in a brief post on LinkedIn. “Yes, AMI Labs is my new startup. I’m the Executive Chairman. And Alex LeBrun is transitioning from…
The landscape of enterprise AI adoption is changing rapidly. Across regions, the Middle East stands out as one of the fastest-growing enterprise AI markets, underpinned by ambitious national AI strategies in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The region’s executives are highly bullish on GenAI: in the GCC, close to nine in ten CEOs report using GenAI in some form, and more than two-thirds of organisations expect to increase AI investment, seeing it as critical for productivity and new business models. HCLTech’s multi-year partnership with OpenAI is at the forefront of this transformation. This large-scale, multi-year initiative…
ADNOC has signed a US$2 billion green financing agreement to fund lower-carbon projects across its operations. Announced during the visit of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO to South Korea, the deal is backed by Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE). This marks ADNOC’s first green financing facility backed by a Korean export credit agency (ECA), following a US$3 billion (AED11 billion) transaction with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in 2024. Together, these deals bring ADNOC’s total green funding to US$5 billion in just 18 months, strengthening its…