Global investment company IHC has announced a strategic framework with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to mobilise private-sector investment across priority sectors and high-growth markets of mutual interest.

The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of IHC, with IHC CEO Syed Basar Shueb and DFC CEO Ben Black.

Under the framework, IHC and DFC will co-identify, underwrite, and execute investments across sectors, including critical minerals and mining, energy and infrastructure, logistics and maritime operations, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, ICT and data-centre connectivity, food security and advanced agriculture, and other enabling infrastructure.

Projects will target emerging and frontier markets, aligned with major global trade and connectivity corridors.

The collaboration will be overseen by a senior-level joint committee to accelerate transaction execution and deploy capital at scale.

IHC, US DFC strategic investment framework to promote investment flows between regions

The framework aims to align long-term commercial returns with shared strategic outcomes while strengthening resilient supply chains and promoting high-standard investment flows between regions.

“This strategic framework with DFC represents a powerful alignment of capital, capability and conviction,” Shueb said. “By combining IHC’s global platform and sectoral leadership with DFC’s financial expertise, we are creating a scalable mechanism to deliver transformational investments across critical industries. Together, we aim to unlock long-term value, strengthen resilient supply chains, and drive sustainable economic growth across key markets that matter to both our nations.”

Black said: “DFC’s work with IHC is a crucial step in executing President Trump’s foreign policy vision and deepens the US-UAE bilateral relationship. Together, IHC and DFC will focus on investments that strengthen and expand economic opportunity and advance shared US-UAE strategic goals – all while making a return for the US taxpayer. By leveraging IHC’s and DFC’s global reach and investment expertise, both nations will be positioned to deliver high-return projects and promote world-class investment standards.”

The framework will pursue opportunities that generate measurable economic impact, expand workforce capabilities, support innovation in advanced technologies, and reinforce long-term development and security objectives across partner economies.

The 37th edition of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic returns to Emirates Golf Club from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 January 2026, reinforcing its position as one of Dubai’s most established global sporting events while continuing to evolve into a broader lifestyle and entertainment platform.

A flagship Rolex Series tournament, the 2026 edition builds on its golfing heritage with expanded interactive family zones, new live entertainment programming, the launch of Eat Street as a dedicated culinary destination, and enhanced wellness and sustainability initiatives. The expanded format positions the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as more than a sporting event, aligning elite competition with experiential offerings designed to attract families, corporates, hospitality partners and a wider consumer audience.

World-class golf remains the cornerstone

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic retains its status as the oldest professional golf tournament in the Middle East, with a 2026 field featuring many of the sport’s biggest names.

Rory McIlroy headlines the tournament as he pursues a record fifth Dallah Trophy, marking 20 years since his debut at the event as a 16-year-old. He is joined by defending champion Tyrrell Hatton, former world number one Dustin Johnson, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Nicolai Højgaard, Ryan Fox, and rising star Tom McKibbin.

The field is further strengthened by the return of former world number one and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, Major champion Patrick Reed, current Race to Dubai leader Jayden Schaper, and UAE national golfer Ahmed Skaik, who will compete as a professional for the first time, underlining the tournament’s continued support for regional talent.

General admission remains free on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 January. Weekend tickets for adults are priced at Dhs100 in advance or Dhs125 at the gate, while children under 17 enter free across all four days when registered and accompanied by an adult. With last year’s event reaching capacity across ticket categories, early registration is recommended.

Enhanced viewing and social spectator experiences

Spectators will once again have access to multiple public viewing areas across the Majlis Course, including the 1st Tee Grandstand and 15th Green Grandstand.

For 2026, new and refreshed viewing options add a more social dimension. The 18th Green now features a public viewing deck with an integrated bar, while the Public Bar & Viewing Deck offers a two-tier terrace overlooking the 6th, 12th and 14th tees. Additional perspectives are available from the Emirates Deck overlooking the 11th green and The Social on Sixteen, which continues to blend live golf with food, beverages and a lively atmosphere.

Eat Street also introduces new public bar spaces, including a rooftop terrace bar at the Driving Range by Callaway, further expanding spectator choice and dwell time.

Tournament Town expands as a family-focused hub

One of the most notable developments for 2026 is the expansion of Tournament Town, where the outdoor Kids Zone has doubled in size. Positioned as the social heart of the event, the area integrates children’s activities with broader festival entertainment.

Family offerings include arts and crafts, seed-bomb making, soil painting, DIY workshops, playdough sessions, Fluid Bear painting, Build-a-Bear activities, and roaming performers such as The Tee Time Troupe, The Par-tee Players and The Garden Floaters. New attractions include a 2-in-1 bungee trampoline, expanded soft-play zones, an enhanced VR corner, the Big Red Slide and lawn games.

Family Friday and live entertainment programme

The FamilyBeatz concept returns on Family Friday from 3pm to 6pm, transforming Tournament Town into Dubai’s first family-friendly rave, led by teenage DJ Julie alongside live performers.

From 5:30pm onwards, Tournament Town transitions into evening entertainment mode, with live bands and DJs including Skyline, Speed Wagon, Sweet Chilli Jam, Charley, and DJ Rainier, delivering an open-air festival atmosphere that appeals to after-work and weekend audiences.

Eat Street launches as a dedicated food destination

A major addition for 2026 is Eat Street, a curated food hub featuring 12 food trucks, central seating and a large LED screen streaming live tournament action.

Participating brands include MrBeast Burger, Salt, Topgolf, Yalla Mahalla, Vietnamese Foodies, Hangry Joe’s, PizzaExpress, La Morita, Pret A Manger, BŌTA, and Costa Coffee, positioning Eat Street as a casual dining destination that complements the sporting programme.

Premium hospitality offerings

Premium hospitality remains a core pillar of the event. The Social on Sixteen returns in an expanded format, offering four hours of free-flowing beverages and premium casual dining. Ticket pricing is Dhs695 on Friday and Dhs790 on Saturday and Sunday.

The Dallah Lounge continues to offer refined hospitality with gourmet dining, premium beverages, live cooking stations and Sky Deck access, with limited tickets available for Thursday at Dhs2,100.

The Emirates Golf Club Clubhouse provides a relaxed premium option, combining dining, lounges and course views, priced at Dhs250 on Thursday and Friday and Dhs350 on Saturday and Sunday.

Sustainability, wellness and activity initiatives

Sustainability remains central to the tournament, which is the first Middle Eastern golf event and the first DP World Tour Rolex Series event to achieve GEO Certified® Tournament status for three consecutive years.

Interactive sustainability workshops will take place on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January, alongside refillable water stations across the venue. The Step Fore It Challenge, presented by Mediclinic, returns to encourage spectator activity, with research showing golf spectators average more than 11,500 steps per day. Prizes include health packages, leisure passes, golf lessons and Topgolf sessions.

Read: Mental fitness takes centre stage at 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic

Creators Dubai Desert Classic returns

The Creators Dubai Desert Classic returns for its second edition on 17–18 January 2026, leveraging digital storytelling to reach a younger, global audience. The initiative brings together 16 international golf content creators, including Mac Boucher and The Fore Brothers, following strong online engagement in its debut year.

Access and transport

As part of its ‘Go for the Green’ initiative, visitors are encouraged to use public transport as there will be no public parking at Emirates Golf Club during the tournament. Al Fardan Exchange Metro Station on the Red Line is located directly outside Emirates Golf Club, with strong connectivity across Dubai. Free parking is available at selected metro stations, with onward travel by train.

Taxi services and bus route 83 also serve the venue. Visitors can plan routes using the Journey Planner on the Hero Dubai Desert Classic app or website.

With expanded family experiences, enhanced hospitality, a new food destination, wellness initiatives and elite competition, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic 2026 continues to strengthen its role as a cornerstone of Dubai’s winter events calendar, blending sport, lifestyle and business-friendly entertainment.

Tickets and full details are available at www.dubaidesertclassic.com.

The escalating friction between the Trump administration and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has moved beyond political theater into a genuine market risk event. For policymakers and investors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), this “battle for the boardroom” in Washington is not a distant spectacle, it is a direct variable in domestic monetary policy. The saying ‘when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold’ still runs true, and with the UAE Dirham and Saudi Riyal pegged to the Dollar, the region effectively imports its interest rate decisions from the US. If political pressure forces the Fed into a deeper or faster cutting cycle than the economic data warrants, the transmission mechanism to the Gulf will be immediate, bringing a mixed bag of liquidity boosts and inflationary risks.

Read: Markets look through Trump-Powell drama as momentum favours risk assets

The primary implication of a “dovish-by-force” Fed is that the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and its regional peers will likely follow suit, cutting benchmark rates in lockstep. In a vacuum, this is broadly positive for the region’s non-oil economy. We have already seen the CBUAE mirror recent moves, and a more aggressive descent in borrowing costs would act as a tailwind for credit growth.

For the UAE, particularly Dubai’s real estate sector, lower mortgage rates could sustain demand just as supply pipelines begin to swell. Cheaper liquidity is also a critical enabler for the region’s ambitious “giga-projects” and the burgeoning IPO pipeline. If the Fed cuts rates to 3 per cent or lower in 2026 to appease the White House, it reduces the cost of capital for GCC governments and corporates leveraging balance sheets to diversify away from hydrocarbons. In short: if Washington prints money, the Gulf gets a discount on its diversification bill.

Currency weakness

The risk, however, lies in the dollar. A Fed that is perceived to have lost its independence often leads to currency weakness. For the GCC, a weaker dollar is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it makes the region’s dollar-denominated assets (real estate and equities) cheaper for foreign buyers holding euros, pounds, or yuan, potentially spurring a fresh wave of inward investment.

On the other hand, it imports inflation. Since the GCC imports the vast majority of its consumer goods, a sliding greenback diminishes local purchasing power relative to Europe and Asia. While inflation in the UAE has remained relatively benign (hovering around 2 per cent), a sustained devaluation of the dollar could push import costs higher, squeezing margins for retailers and potentially forcing a rise in the cost of living that fiscal policy would need to address.

Interestingly, the weakness of the US Dollar since Trump took office again, correlates very positively to his first administration in 2016. If we are to continue to follow the trajectory of that 4-year period, we should expect to see some more Dollar weakness before things start to recover.

Can strong fiscal buffers offset these risks? Currently, yes. While a US economic slowdown, the very thing Trump is trying to avert (especially during the Midterms), typically dampens demand for crude, the GCC’s correlation to US GDP is evolving. The region’s economic pivots are increasingly oriented toward Asia, where demand dynamics differ. Furthermore, a weaker dollar historically supports nominal oil prices, which may provide a floor for crude even if physical demand softens.

However, the fiscal breakeven prices for some GCC states are creeping higher. If a US slowdown is severe enough to drag oil toward $60/bbl, the “cheap money” from Fed rate cuts becomes a necessity rather than a luxury, needed to plug deficits and keep non-oil growth engines firing.

For investors, this environment favors a tactical shift. In equities, sectors that benefit from yield compression, such as utilities, real estate, and high-dividend banking stocks, look more attractive. Fixed income within the GCC also becomes more compelling; as US yields fall, regional sukuk and bonds offering a spread over Treasuries will likely see capital appreciation.

There were reports that Treasury Secretary Bessent had told POTUS that the investigation is becoming a mess and a potential market negative, but it is worth saying that as of right now – US equities are the highest they have ever been, which indicates the overall sentiment of this market. Ultimately, the Gulf’s economic resilience in 2026 will depend on its ability to utilize looser US monetary policy to fuel domestic growth, while using its substantial fiscal buffers to smooth out the volatility arising from Washington’s political uncertainty.

Tech major Zoho Corporation has launched its first data centres in the UAE, part of a previously announced investment of Dhs100m to expand its cloud infrastructure in the Gulf region.

The new facilities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will host more than 100 cloud‑based solutions from Zoho’s two main brands, ManageEngine, which focuses on enterprise IT management, and Zoho, which offers cloud business applications.

“The opening of our data centres is part of our ongoing investment in the UAE, which remains one of the largest markets in the region for both ManageEngine and Zoho brands,” Zoho co‑founder and CEO Shailesh Davey said. “With this move, Zoho Corporation will be enabling businesses to store their data locally, strengthening data sovereignty, and supporting the National Cybersecurity Agenda. Furthermore, more than 100 solutions across Zoho and ManageEngine, will enable businesses of all sizes and government and semi‑government organisations adopt cloud technology for digital transformation in nearly every area of operation, and help Dubai become a digital economy in line with Dubai Vision 2030.”

The centres have received a CSP Security Standard Certificate from the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC), qualifying Zoho to serve government and semi‑government entities as well as local businesses.

They are also compliant with ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 27017 and hold the CSA STAR Level 2 Certificate for data centres, the company said. In addition, Zoho’s Dubai office has received an ISO 27001 certification.

Zoho’s growth trajectory is rising in the UAE

Zoho reported strong recent growth in the UAE, with revenue expanding 38.7 per cent in 2025, and its partner network growing 29 per cent over the same period.

The company also increased its local workforce by 35 per cent last year and expanded into a larger office to meet rising demand.

Key Zoho solutions driving growth include the Customer Experience platform (Zoho CRM, Desk and Zoho CRM Plus), Zoho Books accounting software, low‑code app platform Creator, collaboration suite Zoho Workplace, and unified business suite Zoho One, the company said.

Over the past five years, Zoho has invested about Dhs80m in enabling more than 7,000 businesses in digital transformation through partnerships such as those with DET and Dubai Culture, the company added.

It said its upmarket segment grew 48 per cent in 2025, fuelled by demand for scalable, cloud‑based solutions.

ManageEngine, Zoho’s enterprise IT brand, also reported robust growth in the UAE, increasing 20 per cent in 2025, led by demand from the financial services, government, public sector and manufacturing segments.

Key products cited by the company include Endpoint Central, ServiceDesk Plus and Site24x7. Cloud adoption for ManageEngine’s solutions in the region is growing at nearly 35 per cent, reflecting broader shifts toward cloud‑first strategies.

Zoho Corporation, founded in 1996 and privately held, employs more than 18,000 people worldwide and is the parent company of technology brands including ManageEngine, Zoho, TrainerCentral and Qntrl.

Read: UAE retailers embrace omnichannel as 70% integrate digital tools in-store, shows Zoho survey

The US will suspend immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting later this month, as part of a broader review of immigration screening and eligibility rules, according to the country’s State Department.

The pause will apply only to immigrant visas, which are used by individuals seeking permanent residence in the US.

Processing of non-immigrant visas, including tourist, student, and business visas, will continue.

The State Department announced the decision to pause visa processing on the social media platform X.

Another State Department post on X stated: “The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the US upon arrival.”

“President [Donald] Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans. The Department of State is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilise welfare in the US or become a public charge,” a statement by the department noted.

Countries impacted by the US immigrant visa suspension

The pause will be effective from January 21, on visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

The move follows a series of recent actions by the administration targeting asylum rules, refugee admissions, and legal immigration pathways, signalling a tougher overall stance on migration.

Read: Trump threatens 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran