UAE Eid Al Adha expected dates; Dubai real estate top areas; New Saudi commercial law; Trump plans Gulf visit – 10 things you missed this week

Also in the news this week has been Dubai real estate analysis of upcoming and best-performing areas for Dubai real estate, new commercial laws in Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump’s plans to visit the Gulf and more.

Catch up with 10 of the biggest stories this week as selected by Arabian Business editors.

UAE Eid Al Adha 2025 expected dates

People in the UAE have just enjoyed an Eid Al Fitr holiday and are already looking forward to the next Eid break.

The UAE has already announced dates for the Eid Al Adha and Arafat Day holidays in 2025, with a total of four days of for the public and private sector. Commonly known as the Feast of Sacrifice, this period is one of the holiest in the Islamic calendar. Special prayers, feasts and charity acts are observed.

Find out the expected dates for the Eid Al Adha 2025 holiday in the UAE

Dubai Loop to trigger new wave of real estate investment demand, experts say

Developers and market experts are betting on the Dubai Loop project, a major infrastructure initiative to create seamless connectivity between key business and residential hubs in the city, to drive a new wave of demand for well-connected properties, triggering another round of long-term investment cycle in the emirate.

The introduction of the high-speed, underground transit network is expected to enhance accessibility across key districts, making previously underutilised locations more attractive for residential investment, they said. Besides higher demand on account of easy accessibility, areas surrounding the Dubai Loop are also projected to benefit from increased rental yields and long-term capital appreciation.

Property prices near the Dubai Metro’s Red Line increased by close to 27 per cent, while homes within a 10–15-minute radius saw about a 44 per cent surge between 2010 and 2022, and the Dubai Loop is also expected to follow a similar pattern, reinforcing the value of transit-connected properties.

Dubai real estate sector sees $38.9bn of sales in Q1; top-performing areas, most expensive properties and average price rise revealed

Dubai’s real estate market has continued its buoyant start to 2025, recording total sales worth AED142.7bn ($38.9bn) in Q1, the second highest quarterly figure on record.

This represented a 30.3 per cent year-on-year leap in value, while the 45,485 overall sales transactions also meant a 22.8 per cent year-on-year increase.

A market update issued by fäm Properties revealed that the Q1 results were only fractionally down on the all-time quarterly sales record of AED147.2bn ($40.1bn) from 50,218 transactions in Q4 2024. The first quarter of 2025 saw significant year-on-year increases in all real estate sectors, led by a 193.8 per cent jump in plot sales worth AED35.5bn ($9.7bn) from 2,926 transactions.

Saudi Arabia announces major new commercial laws

Saudi Arabia introduced major new commercial and trade name laws this week.

New laws will allow simplified commercial registrations and registration of trade names in English for the first time. Ministry of Commerce official spokesperson Abdulrahman Al Hussein said that next Thursday, Shawwal 5 (corresponding to April 3), will be a significant day in the commercial landscape as the Kingdom’s new Law of Commercial Register and Law of Trade Names come into effect.

The new Law of Commercial Register introduces major changes, Al Hussein remarked. Among the key changes are the elimination of subsidiary registers, with a single commercial register now being sufficient. Additionally, the law removes the requirement to specify the city of registration, allowing one commercial registration to apply across all regions of the Kingdom.

Donald Trump to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar

US President Donald Trump has revealed plans to visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar as early as next month.

The proposed May trip would represent Donald Trump’s first foreign visit during his second spell as US President. The President has previously said he will visit Saudi Arabia to secure a $1tn investment deal.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “It could be next month, maybe a little later. And we’re going to Qatar, also, and also we’re going to possibly a couple of other countries. UAE is very important … so we’ll probably stop at UAE and Qatar”.

UAE petrol prices to drop sharply in April 2025

The UAE has announced petrol prices for April 2025, with a sharp drop revealed across all categories.

It is welcome news for customers, following a slight fall in March, and means it is cheaper to fill up on Super 98, Special 95, E-Plus 91 and diesel than at any point in the past three years.

From April 1, the cost of filling up vehicles in the UAE has been:

• E-Plus: AED2.38 a litre from AED2.54 in March
• Special 95: AED2.46 a litre from AED2.61 in March
• Super 98: AED2.57 a litre from AED2.73 in March
• Diesel: AED2.63 a litre from AED2.77 in March

Dubai self-driving taxis to launch in 2026

Dubai will launch self-driving taxi trials next year as it targets 25 per cent of all journeys in the city to be autonomous by 2030.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has expanded its global partnerships with leading autonomous driving technology providers to deploy autonomous taxis in Dubai .

The collaboration includes a strategic partnership with Uber Technologies and WeRide, who will launch AVs in Dubai through the Uber platform.

Dubai real estate: Property market records 35.5% surge transactions as off-plan market draws global investors

The Dubai real estate sector maintained its growth trajectory through 2024, with a 35.5 percent increase in property transactions compared to the previous year, according to a statement by Betterhomes.

The emirate’s off-plan market continues to perform strongly in early 2025, attracting a more diverse range of international investors.

Data comparing January-February 2024 with the same period in 2025 shows Indian investors strengthening their market position, increasing their share from 19 percent to 28 percent. The most notable is the emergence of Mexican investors, who were not present in early 2024 but now account for 11 percent of transactions.

Sheikh Hamdan launches MyDubai Communities platform

A new Dubai community platform has been launched to give city residents the opportunity to join a range of organisations and activity groups in the city.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has launched the “MyDubai Communities” platform.

The community-based digital platform gives citizens, residents and visitors alike the opportunity to explore and participate in the diverse range of activities that the city has to offer. Accessible through mydubaicommunities.com as the main platform and highlighted through @mydubaicommunities on Instagram and TikTok, the centralised MyDubai Communities platform is designed to unite diverse communities.

Gulf nations largely sheltered from Trump’s tariff storm, experts say

While US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs have sent shockwaves through global markets and prompted retaliatory threats from major economies, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, including the United Arab Emirates, appear likely to escape the worst direct impacts, analysts said on Thursday.

The tariffs, which impose a baseline 10 per cent duty on all imports to the United States and higher “reciprocal” rates of up to 54 per cent on countries with significant trade surpluses with the US, have largely spared Middle Eastern nations from the higher tier of charges.

Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial, said: “The GCC region, particularly the UAE, is likely to remain relatively insulated from these tariffs.

“In 2024, the US enjoyed a substantial trade surplus with the UAE, exporting $27bn while only importing $7.5bn”.