Happy Thursday everyone!

Dubai Residential REIT made a strong debut, surging 15.5% after a $584 million IPO, signaling continued investor confidence in the emirate’s red-hot property sector. In Saudi Arabia, autonomous driving firm WeRide plans to launch driverless taxis before year-end, marking another leap in the Kingdom’s AV ambitions. Meanwhile, Telegram has struck a $300 million deal with Elon Musk’s xAI to distribute the Grok chatbot across its platform, pushing deeper into the AI space.

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Dubai Residential REIT Soars on Stock Market Debut, Signaling Investor Confidence in Real Estate Sector

🔹 What’s Happening

• Dubai Residential REIT surged 15.5% to AED1.27 on its debut Wednesday, following a highly successful $584 million IPO that was 26 times oversubscribed.

• The REIT is backed by Dubai Holding, which initially planned to float 12.5%, but raised that to 15% due to overwhelming demand.

• The IPO valued the trust at $3.9 billion, with a projected dividend yield of 7.7%, and promised AED1.1 billion payoutsin both September 2025 and April 2026.

🔹 Why It Matters

• The strong debut reflects robust investor confidence in Dubai's booming real estate market, even as other local REITs like Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT continue to underperform.

• Dubai Residential REIT’s large portfolio of 35,700 residential and 1,731 retail units is a key differentiator from smaller, struggling REITs.

• Its success also aligns with broader property sector strength: Emaar Properties and Emaar Development posted Q1 profit jumps of 27% and 48% respectively.

• The ValuStrat Dubai Price Index hit a record 214 in April, more than doubling since January 2021, underlining a sustained boom in property prices.

🔹 What’s Next

• With AED21.6 billion ($5.9B) in assets, Dubai Residential REIT is now positioned as the largest and most prominent REIT in the region.

• Investor focus will shift to whether the REIT can maintain its yield promises and deliver long-term returns, distinguishing itself from past underperformers.

• The listing is likely to renew interest in REIT structures across the GCC, potentially encouraging more public offerings amid favorable market conditions.

Markets

WeRide to Launch Driverless Taxis in Saudi Arabia by Year-End, Expanding Kingdom’s AV Ambitions

🔹 What’s Happening

• WeRide, a Chinese-headquartered autonomous driving company, has announced plans to roll out driverless Robotaxis in Saudi Arabia before the end of 2025.

• The company is already testing Robotaxis in Riyadh and AlUla, along with other core AV products, including Robobus and Robosweeper.

• WeRide is partnering with Uber, the Transport General Authority, and local firm AI Driver, which will serve as its representative in the Kingdom.

🔹 Why It Matters

• The move underscores Saudi Arabia’s rapid push into autonomous mobility, aligning with its Vision 2030 goals to embrace advanced technology and reduce reliance on human drivers.

• Uber is also preparing to launch driverless services in Riyadh, making the city a hotbed for AV innovation in the region.

• WeRide’s operations in medical campuses, residential compounds, and luxury resorts show broad testing across diverse environments—essential for real-world readiness.

• The Robosweeper being trialed in King Fahad Medical City is billed as the first Level 4 autonomous sanitation vehicle, showing how AV tech is expanding beyond transport.

🔹 What’s Next

• Driverless taxi services are expected to go live in select Saudi cities before the end of 2025, pending final regulatory approvals and testing milestones.

• Saudi Arabia’s autonomous ambitions are growing beyond passenger transport, with projects like Neom’s Pony.ai Robotaxi initiative and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City AV tests pointing to a regional AV race.

• WeRide’s success in Saudi Arabia could set a precedent for scaling autonomous vehicle deployments across the Gulf. All eyes will be on how these systems perform in real-world conditions.

Telegram Strikes $300 Million Deal With Elon Musk’s xAI To Distribute Grok Chatbot

🔹 What It’s About

• Telegram has signed a one-year agreement with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, to integrate and distribute the Grok chatbot across its platform.

• The deal, valued at $300 million in a mix of cash and equity, includes a 50% revenue share from Grok subscriptions sold via Telegram.

• Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the partnership in a post on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the platform's plans to expand its AI capabilities to its 1 billion+ user base.

🔹 Why It Matters

• The partnership positions Telegram as a major player in the AI chatbot space, providing a massive user distribution channel for xAI’s Grok.

• It reflects Elon Musk’s strategy to broaden Grok’s availability beyond his social platform X, where the bot has had limited user exposure so far.

• Telegram’s decision comes amid mounting regulatory pressure. Authorities in the EU and Iran have criticized the platform for its content moderation policies, and Durov currently faces charges in France related to alleged criminal activity on the app—accusations he denies.

🔹 What’s Next

• Telegram is expected to begin rolling out Grok access to users, potentially via premium subscriptions, in the coming months.

• xAI has not yet issued a statement on the deal, and further details on Grok’s integration timeline and functionalities are awaited.

• The partnership will likely face close scrutiny given Grok’s past controversies, including promoting conspiracy theories, raising concerns about content control and algorithmic accountability on Telegram.

🔍From Smashi Business’ Desk

• At the #ArabMediaSummit in Dubai, Piers Morgan spoke candidly about how his Gaza coverage evolved from fiery debates to a platform for global voices — and why he now believes Israel’s actions have gone too far.

🔍In other news…

• Syria to reopen stock market early next month.

• Abu Dhabi’s Market Watchdog Launches “Finfluencer” License To Enhance Investor Protection.

• United Carton’s shares fall on Tadawul first day.

• Dubai Aerospace to sell 75 aircraft to realign portfolio.

• Globalpharma, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Investments, is laying the groundwork to manufacture generic versions of blockbuster drugs such as Ozempic.

• Israeli credit rating unlikely to get upgrade during Gaza war, S&P official says.

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