5 Trends to Watch in 2025: United Arab Emirates

1. Abu Dhabi Continues to Host International Sporting Events - For the third year in a row, the NBA came to Abu Dhabi in 2024. The 2024 showcase included the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets facing off in two pre-season games in October at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, bringing NBA excitement to the United Arab Emirates capital. In May 2025, Abu Dhabi will host the EuroLeague basketball's "Final Four" tournament-the first time the event has been staged outside of Europe. As with the NBA, EuroLeague is planting its footprints in the region, and they will likely take advantage of top-class infrastructure, professional support services, and a growing fan base, with festivities including dynamic fan engagement opportunities and multi-day matches.
   
   
2. M&A Trends in the UAE's Corporate Transactional Landscape and AI Advancements - In 2025, the UAE's corporate transactional landscape is expected to be driven by notable external and internal factors. A key trend will be the rise in outbound M&A activity, as UAE-based sovereign wealth funds and private investors look to deploy capital into international markets, particularly the United States. This trend is likely to be influenced by recent changes in the U.S. administration, which could present more favorable conditions for investment, particularly in technology, infrastructure, and health care sectors. As a result, UAE investors are expected to pursue strategic acquisitions to diversify their portfolios and gain access to high-growth sectors in developed markets. Simultaneously, the UAE is poised to emerge as a global leader in artificial intelligence innovation. The country's ongoing investments in AI infrastructure, research, and development, coupled with its commitment to fostering a business-friendly ecosystem, will likely accelerate its attraction of top-tier AI companies, startups, and talent from around the world. As a result, the UAE is positioned to become a key hub for AI technology development, contributing to both regional and global advancements in industries such as finance, health care, and manufacturing, while providing fertile ground for corporate ventures and strategic partnerships in this rapidly evolving field.
   
   
3. Capital Markets Trends in the UAE - Two major trends are expected to shape the UAE capital markets in 2025. Lower interest rates have resulted in a substantial increase in debt capital market offerings across the entire bond spectrum, including Sharia-compliant sukuk offerings. The trend is gaining momentum, and we expect the debt capital market to grow substantially in 2025. We expect the equity capital market to be shaped by the following trends: an increased number of IPOs by non-government-related entities, including a number of tech companies; secondary offerings by listed companies in the form of accelerated non-documented block trades as well as fully documented equity offerings; and an increased focused on dual listing structures between the UAE and other countries, driven in particular by regulatory efforts of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
   
   
4. The Growth of Private Credit and the Possible Impact of AAOIFI Standard 62 on the UAE Finance Market - As creditors continue to look across the global market for strategic opportunities, the UAE further developed as a hub for private credit providers in 2024 and we have seen an increased appetite for both international and regional credit funds to operate in the UAE and the wider Middle East, resulting in a number of high-profile private credit transactions closing during the year. Historically, the market has been dominated by local financial institutions offering relationship-based lending to local corporate entities, however the market terms that have evolved within the UAE as a result of regional bank market dominance have created a regime that has become of particular interest to a number of private credit providers. Given this, as banks and financial institutions continue to gain more share of the leveraged market in 2025 and private credit providers continue to search for opportunities, we expect the importance of private credit to continue to grow within the UAE (and the wider Middle East) in 2025 and beyond.
   
   The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), which sets the standards in the Islamic finance industry, is considering new guidelines on sukuk (fixed income instruments that comply with Sharia principles). Standard 62, if enacted, would transform how sukuk are structured and treated in accounting and financial reporting processes, and would bring with it significant implications for issuers and investors. As it stands, sukuk are asset-based, but not asset-backed, meaning that investors are notionally exposed to the assets' performance risk, but do not bear any direct financial or legal risk tied to those assets. Standard 62 would change this by transferring full ownership and risk of the underlying assets to the investors. Rather than resembling bonds (as they do currently), sukuk would be treated more like securitized assets, altering the risk dynamics for issuers and investors such that investors would bear the full risk of the underlying assets' performance and no longer be protected from the specific performance of those assets. This reclassification could deter issuers, potentially limiting the volume of capital raised in the sukuk market, although much will depend on how the new rules (if enacted) are interpreted and implemented in practice. Issuers and investors will need to closely monitor developments in the coming months.
   
   
5. The UAE Remains one of the Most Vibrant Markets for the Real Estate and Construction Industry - The future of the real estate and construction industry in the region is filled with opportunity, with the primary goal of establishing the region as the preeminent location for investment and growth. The UAE continues to invest heavily in tourism and hospitality, with significant developments in luxury hotels, resorts, and entertainment complexes. One of the largest growing areas in the development space is branded residences (of which there are over 700 projects globally), which command higher yields for both owners and operators and diversify the real estate market. This trend is expected to continue into 2025, with ongoing and upcoming projects totaling over U.S. $100 billion in value, including state-sponsored infrastructure projects and landmark real estate developments. As of 2024, the top three causes of disputes in the region remain design-related, with scope change at 52.9%, late design at 32.1% and incomplete design at 26.3% (versus 31.8%, 17.9% and 11.3%, respectively, in the rest of the world) according to the CRUX 2024 report. The technological advancements used in the UAE construction market (for instance, AI, robotics, wearable IoT trackers, and augmented reality outlays) are likely to have an impact on the labour market. A key trend seen in state-sponsored projects is the increasing demand by international contractors and investors for early advice on the structuring of their local construction arms to benefit from investment treaty protections. Careful (legal and technical) early assessments of the time, cost, and quality risks are increasingly adopted by key market players in the UAE.

About the Authors:

Steven Bainbridge, Co-Managing Shareholder of the UAE office and Co-Chair of the Sports Business Industry Group, has deep experience in the sports sector, advising clients on matters including governance issues, athlete endorsement agreements, player contracts, regulatory issues, broadcasting, anti-ambush marketing strategies, merchandising and licensing regulations and agreements, disciplinary issues, and sports-specific venue management agreements. He advises clients, including foreign law firms, corporate entities, government bodies, individuals, and institutions related to sports including motorsports, horseracing, triathlons, mixed martial arts (MMA), rugby and football, cycling, golf, tennis, cricket, and others.

Chadi Salloum is actively involved in the Middle East Corporate Practice and heads the Corporate Practice for the UAE. Chadi is a senior transactional lawyer who focuses on mergers & acquisitions, complex corporate transactions and corporate commercial matters. With 25 years of legal experience, including 14 based in the Middle East, Chadi represents sovereign entities, financial institutions, multinational companies, family businesses, investors, and sponsors operating in the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and wider Middle East in a wide range of transactions such as joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, restructurings, private equity, venture capital and projects. He also advises clients on regulatory, governance, and policy matters, as well as reporting obligations applicable to companies headquartered or operating in the Middle East.

Krishen Patel is a senior transactional lawyer who focuses on mergers & acquisitions, complex corporate transactions and corporate commercial matters. With 14 years of legal experience, Krishen represents sovereign entities, financial institutions, multinational companies, family businesses, investors, and sponsors operating in the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and wider Middle East in a wide range of transactions such as joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, restructurings, private equity and venture capital.

Pawel J. Szaja focuses his practice on capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, utilizing experience gained from working in New York, London, Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt. He is qualified to practice law in New York, England & Wales, and Ireland (on the roll).

Sarah Mahood, Co-Managing Shareholder of the UAE office and Co-Head of the firm's Regional Real Estate and Hospitality Practice, has more than 22 years of experience in both London and the Middle East, advising master developers, sub-developers, hotel operators, landlords, tenants, lenders, and investors on a range of issues related to development, hospitality, and commercial real estate, including complex sale and purchase agreements and the structuring of mixed-use and hotel development projects involving strata titling and multiple ownership. She has advised leading master developers across the Middle East with respect to iconic flagship projects and has particular experience in structuring and documenting hotel and branded residential developments across the globe, having advised in relation to projects in the United States, Africa, Thailand and throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Sarah was recently recognized by Business Today in their Lawyer Awards 2023 as a pioneering real estate lawyer in the United Arab Emirates.

Stephen Kelly, Co-Head of the firm's Regional Real Estate and Hospitality Practice, focuses his practice on real estate, development, and hospitality matters across the Middle East and internationally. He is widely recognized in the industry and legal directories as a market leader for his deep experience in advising on complex real estate, development, and hospitality matters. He has shaped the legal landscape in the United Arab Emirates for over 15 years, having advised on some of the most prominent and iconic master planned communities, mixed-use developments, and branded residences. His wide-ranging experience includes advising developers, service providers, hotel operators, and others in the development and hospitality industries, with a particular focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he is involved in a number of strategically important giga projects. He advises on large-scale master planned communities, mixed-use developments, and branded residences. Stephen's experience includes advising regulators, master developers, developers, service providers, hotel operators, and others in the development and hospitality industries. He regularly advises on the title structuring of complex mixed-use hotel developments and master communities, including those governed by strata or common-hold title regimes.

Nassif BouMalhab focuses on complex business disputes in the Middle East. With over 20 years of experience, Nassif represents clients in international and domestic arbitration and mediation including under the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration), DIAC (Dubai International Arbitration Centre), ArbitrateAD (Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre), SCCA (Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration), AAA (American Arbitration Association), and UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) rules. He has advised investors on legal dispute resolution between investors and States under investment treaties, including under the arbitration rules of ICSID (the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes).

Leith Ben Ammar is a Fellow of CIArb, sits as an arbitrator and acts as counsel in some of the world's largest and most complex construction, energy, infrastructure, real estate and technology disputes in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. He is a member of the ICC UK Arbitration and ADR Committee and a former supporting expert at the University of Oxford. Leith's writing and speaking engagements on international arbitration include the University of Cambridge, Jus Mundi, Global Arbitration Review, LexisNexis, Practical Law, LIDW, DAW and LCAM.

Shibeer Ahmed focuses his practice on banking, Islamic finance and project finance/PPPs. He regularly works on major projects and financings in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region. He is recognized as a leading banking, Islamic finance and project finance practitioner by various industry publications, including Chambers Global, Legal 500, IFLR1000, and Who's Who Legal.

Luke Robinson acts for financial institutions and corporate borrowers on a wide range of transactions, including real estate finance, acquisitions finance, shipping finance, and corporate banking. He also advises on cross-border and domestic project finance and development as well as PPP transactions, mainly in energy and power, mining, oil and gas, and infrastructure. Luke has previously served as a secondee with HSBC (UK) and Standard Chartered Bank (UAE).

Greenberg Traurig's United Arab Emirates office links clients with one of the top global gateways of business connectivity, growth, technological innovation, and digital transformation. A financial hub that supports future-forward opportunities and investments, the United Arab Emirates is a key market for growth-oriented venture capitalists and investors across many industries including sports and entertainment, energy, aviation, ports and infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, engineering, real estate, and hospitality and leisure.