China’s yuan held steady against the dollar on Monday, as markets await a political resolution to the Iran war, even as rising tensions over the weekend put the ceasefire in doubt.
The dollar recovered on growing uncertainty over potential talks between the US and Iran, but analysts said the yuan was set to strengthen over the long run supported by China’s economic resilience and wariness toward the greenback.
The onshore yuan changed hands at 6.8191 per dollar around midday, barely changed from the previous session’s close.
The dollar index rose slightly as concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.
Tehran also said it would not take part in a second round of negotiations that the US had hoped to kick off before its two-week ceasefire with Iran expires on Tuesday.
“The market appears unwilling to pay extra risk premiums for the US-Iran talks. Each dollar rebound triggered by geopolitical risks is becoming weaker and weaker,” Huatai Futures said in a report.
The brokerage said that the market is focused on whether the ceasefire will be extended beyond the April 22 deadline and the direction of US monetary policy.
“If the ceasefire holds, and oil prices fall back further, rate cut expectations could be revived,” a scenario bad for the dollar, Huatai Futures said.
Nanhua Futures said that geopolitical uncertainty around the Middle East conflict means the yuan will likely fluctuate between 6.78-6.85 per dollar.
“But the yuan’s long-term upward trend is certain,” supported by China’s robust exports and limited exposure to oil price shocks.
Huatai Futures agreed that China’s 5 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter reflects the country’s economic resilience, while US growth is losing momentum, so “economic expectations lean towards a stronger yuan.”
Dubai coffee chain links discounts to car plates in new campaign
The promotion ties discounts directly to customers’ vehicle license plates, with the last two digits determining the percentage discount applied to orders
Peet’s Coffee is rolling out the return of its “License Plate Discount” campaign across select drive-thru locations in Dubai, introducing a limited-time activation aimed at boosting footfall and customer engagement during the pre–back-to-school period.
Running from April 19 to April 23, 2026, the campaign will be available at Peet’s Coffee Furjan West Pavilion, Peet’s Coffee Al Wasl Road, and Peet’s Coffee Motor City.
The promotion ties discounts directly to customers’ vehicle license plates, with the last two digits determining the percentage discount applied to orders. For example, a plate ending in 56 qualifies for a 56 per cent discount, while higher numbers such as 95 unlock up to 95 per cent off, capped at Dhs75.
In addition, vehicles displaying the UAE country code “971” are eligible for a flat Dhs75 discount, aligning the campaign with national identity and community engagement themes.
The activation comes as Dubai enters a seasonal transition period, with schools set to resume shortly. By combining a gamified mechanic with a time-bound offer, the campaign is designed to increase repeat visits and drive incremental sales across drive-thru formats.
The initiative also reflects a broader trend among food and beverage (F&B) brands in the UAE, where experiential and locally relevant campaigns are being used to differentiate offerings and enhance customer interaction.
The offer is valid daily from 5:00 am to 1:00 am across participating drive-thru outlets for the five-day campaign window. Discounts are applied per transaction and subject to the AED 75 cap.
Electric bikes for delivery in UAE: What it means for the industry
The initiative comes as part of broader efforts led by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI) to advance green mobility and reduce emissions in high-impact industries
The UAE is taking another step toward cleaner transportation, as EMX and EMPALA have signed a new agreement to deploy electric bikes across delivery operations, targeting the fast-growing last-mile logistics sector.
The initiative comes as part of broader efforts led by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI) to advance green mobility and reduce emissions in high-impact industries. The ministry played a key role in facilitating the partnership between EMX, the logistics arm of 7X, and EMPALA, a joint venture between MoEI and PACT Carbon.
The agreement focuses on integrating electric bikes into delivery fleets, supporting the UAE’s long-term sustainability ambitions under the UAE Net Zero 2050 Strategy and the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, according to a WAM report.
Urban delivery services have seen rapid expansion in recent years, driven by the surge in e-commerce and logistics demand. This growth has also increased pressure on transportation systems to adopt cleaner and more efficient solutions.
Image credit: WAM/Website
Under the new agreement, EMPALA will supply a fleet of electric bikes specifically engineered for the UAE’s climate and operating conditions. These bikes are expected to improve efficiency while significantly reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions linked to daily delivery activities.
EMX will integrate the electric bikes into its logistics network, aiming to enhance operational performance while shifting toward more sustainable transportation methods.
Officials highlight impact on emissions and efficiency
Eng Sharif Al Olama, undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at MoEI, emphasised the importance of the initiative in addressing environmental challenges.
“This agreement is part of the ministry’s efforts to accelerate the transition to sustainable, low-emission transportation systems through practical initiatives that drive real transformation in sectors with a direct impact on the carbon footprint, particularly the delivery sector,” he said.
“Expanding the use of electric bikes represents a significant step toward reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency,” Al Olama added.
He further stressed the importance of collaboration between public and private sectors in achieving national goals.
“We believe that strategic partnerships with the private sector are a key pillar in achieving national strategic objectives. EMPALA represents a national model for enabling the transition to green mobility by providing integrated solutions, including electric vehicles, supporting infrastructure, and sustainable operating models,” he said.
Private sector sees logistics evolution
Industry leaders also pointed to the broader implications of the partnership for the future of logistics in the UAE.
Tariq Al Wahedi, group CEO of 7X, described the collaboration as a key milestone in building a more sustainable logistics ecosystem.
“This collaboration marks an important step in advancing more sustainable and efficient logistics solutions and highlights the importance of integrated national efforts to accelerate the adoption of low-emission operating models,” he said.
“Through EMX, 7X is supporting a more flexible and sustainable operating model that balances service efficiency with environmental responsibility,” Al Wahedi added. “This partnership reflects our belief that the future of logistics will be built on impactful partnerships, practical technologies, and the ability to translate national commitments into tangible outcomes.”
Innovation tailored for UAE conditions
EMPALA’s leadership highlighted the technological and economic benefits of the initiative, noting that the electric bikes were specifically designed to meet local requirements.
Dr Oleg Paltin, founder and CEO of EMPALA, said the company has invested heavily in developing solutions suited to the UAE market.
“We developed the company in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure from the outset to meet the needs of this market and support the UAE’s ambitions in the energy sector,” he said.
“We have invested significantly in designing an electric bike tailored to the country’s operating requirements, delivering a solution that creates direct economic value for our partners, alongside its positive environmental impact.”
The partnership underscores the UAE’s commitment to accelerating the adoption of clean transportation solutions, particularly in sectors with rapidly growing demand. By targeting last-mile delivery, the initiative aims to deliver measurable environmental benefits while supporting the country’s transition to a low-emission economy.
Arabian Sparta: The coming GCC defence industry boom
The Gulf’s air defences have done more than hold the line — they have shattered old assumptions about the region’s military readiness, writes missile response expert Eitan Charnoff
Pictured: Lockheed Martin's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD), which has become one of the cornerstones of GCC defence.
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Western analysts have spent a year debating whether the Gulf states could survive real military pressure.
Some think tanks, academics and thinkers were polite but skeptical. The posited assumptions included a perception of wealthy states, capable of procuring sophisticated hardware but not of fielding it under fire, underwritten by oil and gas revenues as well as American guarantees rather self sustaining models and strategic planning.
With the start and now potential end of Operation Epic Fury, that thesis has been proven unfounded in full and the implications for what is taking place across the gulf are immense and reassuring.
The air defence numbers tell the story plainly and dispel all myths. The UAE alone has engaged over 2,000 projectiles, recording interception rates above 90 percent for ballistic threats while keeping its airports, financial institutions, and government functioning throughout.
Defence procurement cycles do not move on the strength of exhibition halls or interoperability briefings. They move when buyers watch systems perform under live fire and stop having to imagine whether they work. The Gulf’s defence is a massive endorsement to systems that will further proliferate globally post conflict. Furthermore, urgency produces both innovation and development.
We will likely see a GCC transform into not just a far greater defence purchaser but a bastion of domestically produced defence systems. Much of that infrastructure is already in place.
The GCC entered this conflict better prepared to capitalise on that shift than most outside observers appreciated. The UAE’s EDGE Group reported revenue of approximately $4.9bn in 2024, expanded its product portfolio from 30 items in 2019 to 201 by last year, and carried an order backlog of $12.8bn before a single missile was fired in March.
A defence cooperation framework signed with South Korea’s procurement agency in late February was valued at roughly $35bn. At UMEX in Abu Dhabi in January, EDGE unveiled the VORTEX-E autonomous kinetic counter-drone interceptor, a system reported with speeds of up to 350 km/h.
Weeks later, that kind of capability stopped being a product demonstration and became an operational requirement across every GCC air defence cell.
Saudi Arabia’s trajectory is equally consequential. Through SAMI, the kingdom has driven domestic defence content from 4 per cent in 2018 to 25 per cent by end of 2024, with a stated target of 50 per cent by 2030 under Vision 2030.
At the World Defense Show in Riyadh in February which closed $8.8bn in contracts across 1,486 exhibitors from 89 countries just sixteen days before the conflict began SAMI inaugurated an 82,000 square meter land industrial complex capable of producing 1,500 military vehicles annually and launched autonomous systems and land vehicle subsidiaries.
An aerial view of the 2026 World Defense Show in Riyadh.
That show will look different when the next edition convenes. So will every defence conference on the GCC calendar.
The precedents for what follows are instructive.
Israel’s defence exports reached a record $14.7bn in 2024, with air defence systems making up nearly half the total, a direct consequence of decades of operational validation that transformed their platforms into products that buyers no longer needed to take on faith.
Combat credibility shrinks timelines and opens export markets that peacetime marketing cannot reach. The Gulf is now entering that phase, and across all six GCC members rather than in any single state.
There is a deeper dimension to this that the procurement figures alone do not capture. The region’s governments did not merely hold together under pressure. They governed with calm and confidence.
Emergency arms packages totaling $23bn were fast-tracked from Washington within weeks of hostilities beginning, reflecting not charity but confidence in partners who had demonstrated the institutional capacity to absorb and deploy advanced systems at scale.
The old characterisation of Gulf security, specifically that of so-called wealthy buyers of imported protection, dependent on foreign guarantees, functional only in benign conditions has been overtaken by events and a demonstration of Gulf-wide competent leadership and long-term planning.
The coming defence industrial boom across the GCC will be driven by something harder to manufacture than procurement budgets: the lived experience of being targeted and holding the line.
That kind of validation is the compound return on decades of investment in both hardware and institutional depth. The GCC will thrive through this conflict and perhaps be more attractive hubs than ever and could expect a global defence boom that draws even more capital, customers, and expats to one of the best protected economic hubs on earth.
Eitan Charnoff is Founder and CEO of Potomac Strategy, a GCC-based public affairs and geopolitical consultancy and an expert on drone and missile response and rescue operations.
Marvell Technology shares jump on Google AI chip talks
Big Tech such as Google and Facebook-parent Meta are moving fast to reduce dependence on external chip suppliers by expanding their custom chip efforts
Marvell Technology’s shares jumped 7 per cent in premarket trading on Monday following a report that Alphabet’s Google is in talks with the chip designer to develop two new chips aimed at running AI models more efficiently.
The potential deal could involve two distinct chips: a memory processing unit to complement Google’s tensor processing unit and a new TPU built for running AI models, The Information reported on Sunday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Big Tech such as Google and Facebook-parent Meta are moving fast to reduce dependence on external chip suppliers by expanding their custom chip efforts.
Google deploys TPUs for training AI models and to respond to user queries, a process known as inferencing, and works with Broadcom to design its chips.
The report signals that Google might be looking to diversify from Broadcom amid surging demand for its chips as businesses seek alternatives to Nvidia’s pricey chips.
Google and Marvell did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
AI lab Anthropic uses a range of chips, including TPUs designed by Google, to develop and run its AI software and chatbot Claude.
Last week, Meta extended its deal with Broadcom to produce several generations of custom AI processors. The social media giant paid Broadcom $2.3bn last year for AI chip design and related services.
Both Marvell and its larger rival Broadcom help clients with designing chips, as growing adoption of AI tools boost demand for specialized processors used in advanced data centers powering AI workloads.
Marvell trades at 33.35 times the estimates of its earnings for the next 12 months, compared with 27.84 for Broadcom.
Average stock rating of 44 analysts covering Marvell is “buy” and their median price target is $125, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Marvell is set to add more than $9bn in its market value of $122.15bn, if the premarket gains hold.
The launch builds on the firm’s long-term investment in digital infrastructure, including early adoption of a fully integrated client platform offering real-time access to private market investments
The Family Office has launched “Wealth Mermaid,” an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistant integrated into its client application, as the firm accelerates its push into AI-enabled wealth management amid rising market complexity and investor demand for real-time insights.
The assistant was unveiled at the ‘Investing is a Sea’ summit hosted by the firm at Shura Island, bringing together regional and international stakeholders to discuss macroeconomic trends, private markets and the role of AI in investment decision-making.
AI-driven portfolio intelligence
Developed within the firm’s fintech lab and reviewed by Microsoft for accuracy and security, Wealth Mermaid enables clients to access portfolio data through voice and text commands in both English and Arabic.
The tool provides real-time visibility into performance, private market exposure, risk metrics and financial goal tracking, translating complex investment data into simplified, actionable insights within a secure platform.
The assistant is designed to support decision-making by presenting concise responses based on portfolio analytics, helping reduce reliance on traditional, static reporting models.
The launch reflects a broader shift in wealth management, where clients increasingly expect digital-first, interactive experiences alongside institutional-grade investment access.
Wealth Mermaid introduces a conversational interface that allows users to engage directly with their portfolios, aiming to improve clarity and reduce friction in navigating complex financial data, particularly during periods of market volatility.
Abdulmohsin Al Omran, Founder and CEO of The Family Office, said: “In uncertain markets, clarity matters. Our goal is to help clients understand their portfolios more clearly and make decisions with confidence. Wealth Mermaid brings together years of data and experience to give them a clearer view of the waters ahead, so they can navigate with insight, not noise.”
Building on digital infrastructure investments
The launch builds on the firm’s long-term investment in digital infrastructure, including early adoption of a fully integrated client platform offering real-time access to private market investments.
By embedding AI capabilities into this ecosystem, The Family Office is positioning itself at the intersection of private markets and advanced financial technology.
The rollout also aligns with broader Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) trends, where financial institutions are increasingly deploying AI to enhance transparency, client engagement and operational efficiency.
