Weekly News · UAE & Qatar | International Version of ChinaJoy Makes Its Debut in UAE / Qatar Pavilion Appears at LPS Shanghai 2025
CMG and the International Edition of ChinaJoy Make Their Debut at the Abu Dhabi BRIDGE Summit
The 2025 BRIDGE Summit opened at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, where global media and technology institutions gathered to discuss digital content, technological integration, and future industrial trends. Chinese elements were prominently featured: China Media Group (CMG), as a key exhibitor, comprehensively presented innovative achievements in 8K ultra-high-definition production and broadcasting, AI-assisted editing, intelligent content production, and multilingual digital communication, demonstrating China's leading position in the field of international communication technology. Meanwhile, the international edition of ChinaJoy - the first "International Chinese Game Festival" - made its official debut. This is the first time that Asia's largest game and digital entertainment exhibition has gone global in the form of an international edition to the UAE. Under the theme of "Journey with AI", this year's exhibition area brought together more than 20 representative enterprises in the industry, including Tencent Games, Game Science, 505 Games, Beihong Art Museum, and Muyan Culture, covering the entire chain of R & D, distribution, IP operation, and technological application. (WAM)
Abu Dhabi Launches the FIDA Initiative to Boost GDP, Attract Investment, and Create High - Skilled Jobs
Abu Dhabi announced the launch of a new financial cluster - the Financial Technology, Insurance, Digital, and Alternative Assets (FIDA) cluster - to enhance its global competitiveness in the fields of fintech, insurance, digital assets, and alternative investments. The initiative was launched during the Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025 and approved by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council. It will be jointly promoted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. FIDA aims to transform Abu Dhabi into an advanced financial and investment center. It is expected to contribute more than 56 billion dirhams to the local GDP by 2045, create 8,000 high - skilled jobs, and attract at least 17 billion dirhams in investment, further promoting economic diversification. The new cluster will focus on building digital asset infrastructure and advanced fintech platforms, improving the regulatory system in line with international standards, and promoting the development of sustainable finance and ESG investment. In addition, FIDA will provide customized financial services for key industries such as agricultural food, smart cars, and healthcare, broaden the financing channels for small and medium - sized enterprises, and strengthen the insurance and long - term savings systems. (Arabian Business)
The UAE Allows Enterprises to Transfer Their Registered Addresses Among Emirates
The UAE has revised the Commercial Companies Law, allowing enterprises to transfer their registered addresses among the seven emirates and various financial free zones. The newly issued federal decree sets clear procedures for the "cross - zone transfer" of enterprises, which will significantly improve the convenience of cross - regional operations for enterprises. The new rule also allows unlisted private enterprises to sell shares to specific domestic investors, diversifying financing channels without the need for public listing. At the same time, the decree adds a new category of "non - profit enterprises", allowing companies to reinvest profits in operations to achieve public welfare goals instead of distributing dividends to shareholders. (AGBI)
The UAE Digital Dirham is about to be launched: Efficient Settlements for Enterprises and Convenient Payments for Tourists
Paul Kayrouz, the head of fintech at the Central Bank of the UAE, said at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week that the UAE digital dirham has completed its preparations and will be launched in phases "soon". The first batch of application scenarios will be free for consumers and small and medium - sized enterprises. According to the UAE's 2025 regulatory framework, the digital dirham has been officially included in the legal currency system, enjoying the same legal status as physical cash and traditional bank deposits. As a central bank - issued digital currency, it has the advantages of instant settlement, high availability, and the backing of central bank credit. Last month, the Central Bank of the UAE and the financial department completed the first national - level transaction based on the digital dirham. Through the mBridge digital currency settlement platform, the settlement was completed in less than two minutes. The regulatory authorities are also promoting projects such as biometric payments and Emirates ID payments to further optimize the national payment system. (Caixin)
The UAE Plans to Build a 60 - Trillion Token Factory to Provide Computing Power "Crude Oil" for Global AI
Omar Al Olama, the UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, recently announced at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi that the UAE will build a world - leading "AI factory" based on the "Stargate" data center, planning to produce 60 trillion AI tokens to provide key data processing capabilities for the global industry. Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, said that a Hopper GPU can generate about 100 tokens per second, and a megawatt - level AI factory can reach 100,000 tokens per second. The "Stargate" data center is planned to have a capacity of 1 gigawatt and will be put into operation with an initial capacity of 200 megawatts in 2026, providing core computing power for the 5 - gigawatt data park in Abu Dhabi. Al Olama said that AI has helped the UAE save about 500 million dirhams in energy costs, especially in energy companies such as ADNOC, where efficiency has been significantly improved. (Caixin)
The Qatari Delegation Debuts at LPS Shanghai 2025, Fully Promoting Investment Opportunities and Market Potential
Qatar participated in the LPS Shanghai 2025 high - end real estate exhibition for the second consecutive year and set up a "Qatar Pavilion" from December 5th to 7th to showcase the potential of its real estate market to global investors. Rashid Mubarak Al Khater, the Consul - General of Qatar in Shanghai, attended the opening ceremony. This exhibition was jointly hosted by the Qatar Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Aqarat) and the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency (Invest Qatar), with the participation of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, United Development Company (UDC), JMJ Group Holding (JMJ), and Qatar Sotheby’s International Realty. The exhibition attracted more than 12,000 high - net - worth investors. Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al - Thani, the CEO of Invest Qatar, pointed out that real estate is the second - largest industry in terms of capital expenditure in Qatar's non - oil and gas sectors, and the market size is expected to reach $45 billion by 2029. (The Peninsula)
Qatar Allocates 47.2 Billion Qatari Riyals for Healthcare and Education in the 2026 National Budget
Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, the Minister of Finance of Qatar, announced the 2026 national budget, with estimated total expenditures of 220.8 billion riyals and total revenues of 199 billion riyals. Both oil and gas revenues and non - oil revenues are expected to increase compared to 2025. The budget continues to use a conservative oil price benchmark of $55 per barrel to ensure fiscal stability. In the expenditure structure, salaries and wages account for 69.5 billion riyals, current expenditures for 81.5 billion riyals, and large - scale capital expenditures for 62.8 billion riyals. Education and health remain the priorities, receiving 21.8 billion riyals and 25.4 billion riyals respectively. The budget for municipal and environmental affairs is 22.2 billion riyals, for sports 7.6 billion riyals, and for commerce and transportation 4.1 billion riyals each. The government plans to launch tender projects worth about 70 billion riyals in 2026, with 49 billion riyals to be announced in Ashghal and 7.2 billion riyals in Kahramah. About 4,464 tenders will be open to the private sector to promote public - private cooperation. The Ministry of Finance will also promote a mandatory "national product list", covering more than 1,000 products in the first phase, and plans to increase the local content of government procurement by at least 10% annually. (The Peninsula)
The Central Bank of Qatar Launches the QA - RTGS System for Local and Foreign Currency Transfers
The Central Bank of Qatar (QCB) announced the official launch of the service for local inter - bank transfers of Qatari riyals and foreign currencies through the Real - Time Gross Settlement System (QA - RTGS). This initiative is in line with the third phase of Qatar's financial sector strategy and is an important step in building an advanced national payment system. The central bank said on the X platform that the new system will enable efficient processing and settlement of local and foreign currency transactions, significantly improving transaction speed, security, and flexibility. (The Peninsula)
Qatar Displays Three AI - Enabled Investor Service Projects at the World Artificial Intelligence Summit
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Qatar launched three innovative AI - based service tools at the second event of the "2025 Qatar World Artificial Intelligence Summit" to optimize the experience of investors and entrepreneurs and improve the efficiency of business services. The first project, the "Business Map Gateway", uses intelligent analysis tools to provide multi - dimensional data comparisons such as industry distribution and scale for decision - makers and entrepreneurs, and generates project suggestions based on official data. The second is the intelligent customer service robot "Saif", which can instantly respond to inquiries about business activities, trade name registration, and regulatory procedures and support online complaint submissions. The third is an AI assistant integrated into the Single Window platform, covering the entire process from enterprise preparation to business registration. It can recommend business activities according to regulatory requirements and market standards and guide the selection of compliant trade names. A representative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that AI solutions will significantly improve government service efficiency, enhance user experience, and speed up business processing. In the future, more digital innovation projects will be launched to support Qatar's digital transformation and the development of key industries. (The Peninsula)
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