Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has unveiled a package of temporary relief measures aimed at supporting businesses and retailers as the region navigates ongoing economic pressures.

The measures, effective immediately, are designed to ease short-term financial and operational strain across the centre’s ecosystem, which is home to thousands of firms spanning banking, asset management, insurance and professional services.

Arif Amiri, CEO of the DIFC Authority, said the initiative reflects a proactive approach to stabilising the business environment while reinforcing long-term confidence.

“We stand alongside our clients, partners and employees with a clear commitment to provide support and reassurance when it is needed most,” he said.

“The package of temporary relief measures we are introducing reflects a thoughtful and proactive approach to easing immediate pressures, while reinforcing the strength, resilience and long-term sustainability of the DIFC ecosystem.”

Flexible payments, fee support

The relief package includes flexible payment plans for both commercial and retail tenants, as well as instalment options for licence renewal fees.

Businesses will also benefit from grace periods on a range of administrative payments, including those linked to lease contracts, the Registrar of Companies, data protection filings and employee enrolment into the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS) scheme.

In parallel, the Dubai Financial Services Authority is introducing temporary regulatory relief measures aimed at supporting both new firms seeking authorisation and existing regulated entities within the centre.

Read more: Dubai regulator steps up support for financial firms

Confidence in long-term fundamentals

DIFC said the measures are part of a broader effort to support its business community as the region emerges from a challenging period marked by heightened geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

Despite short-term pressures, Amiri reaffirmed confidence in the centre’s long-term outlook, noting that the resilience of its ecosystem will continue to underpin Dubai’s position as a leading global financial hub.

DIFC is currently home to 8,844 active companies, including more than 1,052 regulated firms across sectors such as banking, wealth management, insurance and brokerage.

Mubadala Capital, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, has closed its third Brazil-focused fund at approximately $900m, exceeding its $750m target. This marks the continuing expansion of its Brazil investment strategy despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, according to Global SWF.

The new vehicle, Brazil Special Opportunities Fund III, received $250m in anchor capital from Mubadala Capital, with the remaining commitments primarily from international pensions, family offices, and private capital funds, Global SWF reported.

About one-third of the fund has already been deployed into sectors including fitness, transportation, toll roads, and education.

The closing marks a continuation of the firm’s sequential growth in Brazil: Fund I closed at $322m in February 2022, Fund II raised over $710m in October 2023, and Fund III at $900m.

Mubadala Capital’s manages more than $7.3bn in AUM in Brazil

The Brazil platform now manages more than $7.3bn in assets across multiple sectors, including energy, infrastructure, education, consumer, and sports, with holdings such as Acelen, Acelen Renewables, Atvos, Bluefit, Clariens Educação, LAMSA, MetrôRio, Rota das Bandeiras, the São Paulo Grand Prix, and Zamp, according to Global SWF.

The fund strategy remains focused on controlling or restructuring assets and scaling multi-sector platforms. Past investments include the acquisition of a controlling stake in LAMSA toll roads (October 2025), two medical universities in Bahia (June 2022), and a majority stake in Zamp as part of a delisting process (September 2025).

The platform also includes the forthcoming Base Exchange, a Rio de Janeiro stock exchange expected to begin operations by the end of April 2026.

Brazil’s market conditions continue to support the strategy. In March, the central bank lowered the Selic rate to 14.75 per cent while maintaining high real interest rates above 10 per cent, and ongoing corporate restructurings, such as Raizen’s out-of-court agreement on BRL65.1bn ($12.61bn) of debt, provide opportunities for investment in distressed or complex assets.

Fund III builds on existing investments in the country, allowing capital to be deployed into known assets with established regulatory and operating frameworks. The structure maintains openness to third-party investors, reinforcing Mubadala Capital’s Brazil strategy as a multi-sector platform for growth and follow-on deployment.

The Ministry of Defence in UAE confirmed on April 9, 2026, that the UAE’s air defence systems detected no ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, or UAVs launched from Iran in the past several hours.

Officials said the country’s airspace remains secure following a period of heightened regional tensions. “Air defence systems are fully operational and continue to monitor the situation closely,” the ministry said in a statement.

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Since the onset of what authorities described as “blatant Iranian attacks,” UAE air defences have intercepted 537 ballistic missiles, 26 cruise missiles, and 2,256 UAVs, according to a WAM report.

No injuries were recorded in the past hours, keeping the total at 224 individuals of various nationalities, including Emirati, Egyptian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Azerbaijani, Yemeni, Ugandan, Eritrean, Lebanese, Afghan, Bahraini, Comorian, Turkish, Iraqi, Nepalese, Nigerian, Omani, Jordanian, Palestinian, Ghanaian, Indonesian, Swedish, Tunisian, Moroccan, and Russian.

Authorities also confirmed that no fatalities were reported during the same period. Since the attacks began, two martyrs have been recorded, along with a Moroccan civilian contracted with the Armed Forces. Total civilian fatalities stand at 10, involving multiple nationalities.

Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has introduced a package of temporary regulatory relief measures to support financial firms operating within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) during the current operating environment.

The measures are designed to help regulated firms maintain business continuity and continue supporting clients and markets, while navigating ongoing operational challenges.

Mark Steward, chief executive of the DFSA, said: “DIFC firms have demonstrated great resilience and financial strength during this exceptional period. The DFSA wishes to provide assistance to firms, on request, as a bridge to the resumption of normal trading and has developed a framework to provide temporary regulatory flexibility across a range of areas for those seeking DFSA authorisation and for existing authorised firms. These measures will ease operational challenges while ensuring our high regulatory standards continue to be met. We will continue to review the situation, as it unfolds, and will provide additional measures to assist firms, if needed, including assistance in returning to normal trading conditions.”

Targeted regulatory flexibility

The relief package introduces temporary, risk-based flexibility across several areas, including authorisation and licensing processes, governance and staffing arrangements, and regulatory reporting requirements.

This includes adjustments to application and supervisory timelines, reflecting evolving workplace dynamics such as remote working, as well as extensions to reporting deadlines to allow firms to prioritise critical operations.

The DFSA has also indicated that implementation timelines for selected regulatory initiatives may be deferred where this does not compromise regulatory outcomes.

The regulator emphasised that core regulatory standards and supervisory expectations remain unchanged, with all relief measures being temporary, proportionate and subject to appropriate oversight.

The framework is intended to support firms in maintaining compliance and operational resilience rather than easing regulatory requirements.

Ongoing monitoring

The DFSA said it will continue to monitor financial and operational conditions closely, maintaining active engagement with firms and taking action where necessary to protect market integrity.

The regulator also reaffirmed its commitment to working with the DIFC financial community, UAE authorities and international partners to ensure the continued strength and global standing of the financial centre.

Earlier this month, Dubai unveiled a Dhs1bn economic incentives package aimed at cushioning businesses and individuals, with measures set to take effect from April 1 for a period of three to six months.

Read: How business leaders are reacting to Dubai’s Dhs1bn stimulus plan

Tesla is developing an all-new smaller, cheaper electric SUV, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The automaker has contacted suppliers in recent weeks to discuss details of the plan for the compact SUV, which would be a new vehicle and not a variant of Tesla’s current Model 3 or Y, the people said. The conversations involved the manufacturing process and specifications for various components, they said.

Three of the people said the compact SUV would be produced in China, and one said Tesla also aims to expand production to the US and Europe. The car would be 4.28 metres in length, or about 14 feet, two of the sources said. That’s significantly shorter than Tesla’s top-selling Model Y SUV, which is about 15.7 feet long.

The effort follows a decision by chief executive Elon Musk to scrap a highly anticipated low-cost EV project in 2024 and pivot the company to focus on robotaxis and humanoid robots. A key question is whether this latest effort to develop a smaller SUV signals a strategy shift back to mass-market human-driven EVs or whether the new model would align more with Tesla’s vision for fully autonomous vehicles.

Read more-Tesla enables free supercharging across UAE, select GCC markets

Such a model could potentially serve both purposes, according to one of the people familiar with the new-vehicle project and a Tesla employee with knowledge of its current product philosophy. The Tesla employee declined to confirm or deny details of any specific vehicle but said, in general, the automaker now aims to build models that would be driverless but offer a human-driven option.

While aiming for full autonomy across its lineup, the person said, Tesla realises many global markets won’t see meaningful adoption, nor regulatory acceptance, of driverless vehicles for years. Preserving the option to build a particular model with or without driving controls could enable more sales and help ensure Tesla can keep its car factories running near capacity, the person said.

As Tesla chases a driverless future, some analysts predict a third-straight year of declining sales for the traditional EVs that provide the vast majority of its revenue. So far, Tesla operates a small number of robotaxis only in Austin, Texas, many with human safety monitors in the passenger seat.

Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment about plans for a new vehicle.

The four people familiar with the project said it remained in an early development stage. Reuters couldn’t determine whether Tesla has given the green light for the car’s production.

The automaker has a history of starting development on products that end up long delayed or canceled. Tesla showed off concept vehicles for a Roadster supercar and a Semi freight truck in 2017, for instance, but still hasn’t produced the sports car or mass-produced the Semi.

Two of the sources said Tesla aims to offer the new vehicle at a substantially lower price than its entry-level Model 3 sedan, which starts at $34,000 in China and about $37,000 in the US. They said Tesla planned to save costs in part by using a smaller battery, which would mean a shorter driving range compared with 306 to 327 miles for the Model Y.

One of the people added that the automaker would also offer a single electric motor instead of two, a performance option on current Tesla models. Tesla also wants to make the car much lighter, this person said, at about 1.5 metric tonnes compared with about two tons for the Model Y.

Three of the people said the new model would be produced at Tesla’s Shanghai factory. While the timing remained unclear, the car’s production is unlikely to begin this year, the people said.

Tesla’s start-and-stop history on affordable EVs

For years after Tesla started in 2008 producing luxury electric cars, Musk said the company’s real mission was to produce affordable, mass-market electric-vehicles that would be critical to fighting the climate crisis. But start-and-stop efforts to deliver on that goal have so far fallen short.

Beginning in 2020, Musk said Tesla aimed to sell 20 million vehicles annually by the end of the decade, nearly double that of Toyota 7203.T, the current global sales leader. A project Musk touted to produce a $25,000 EV, often called the “Model 2” by Tesla fans and investors, was expected to drive explosive vehicle-sales growth.

Then in 2024, Reuters reported that Tesla had abandoned plans for the Model 2, although it still planned a driverless robotaxi on the same platform. Tesla’s biggest EV rivals in China had already started producing much cheaper EVs. Later that year, Musk said it would be “pointless” and “silly” for Tesla to make a $25,000 EV for human drivers because the company would soon offer driverless vehicles.

A former Tesla manager said an all-new cheaper traditional car would represent a significant departure from the company’s philosophy through mid-2025. Until then, the manager said, Tesla had dropped the effort to mass-produce an entry-level car in favor of robotaxis as the key to lowering costs per mile for riders and the car owners charging them for trips.

After scrapping the Model 2, Musk and other Tesla executives described different plans for new, “more affordable” EVs in vague terms. When the vehicles arrived last fall, however, they were stripped-down versions of the current Model 3 and Y offered in new “standard” trim levels at only a modest discount.

U.S. prices of $36,990 for the Model 3 Standard and $39,990 for the Model Y struck some investors as too high to attract a new class of buyers and haven’t yet made a significant difference in Tesla’s overall sales.

Is the driverless cybercab on track?

Publicly, Musk and Tesla have continued to emphasise plans for robotaxis and humanoid robots, which has been effective in sustaining Tesla’s eye-popping stock-market value.

Tesla’s market capitalization is about $1.3trn, far outpacing its financial fundamentals, even when compared with high-flying tech peers. Investors last year approved a compensation package granting Musk up to $1trn in Tesla stock tied to a series of product and financial goals.

The automaker now says it plans to start production this month of a two-door Cybercab robotaxi, first unveiled as a concept vehicle in 2024, with no pedals or steering wheel. But it remains unclear when the car will go on sale or see use in a Tesla-operated robotaxi fleet. The automaker hasn’t sought a federal exemption required to sell a vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, a spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.