Royal seal of approval for Polish firm to solve Gulf’s tech issue A member of the royal family in the UAE is backing a Polish firm’s entry to the Gulf as it aims to address the severe skill shortage in the region’s technology sector. Future Collars is a digital IT training company that has worked with Amazon, Accenture and BNP Paribas to train highly skilled workers. Headquartered […] October 19, 2022
Real Estate Arab buyers eye prime New York properties as Russians exit market The wealthiest city in the world has seen a sharp rise in interest from Middle Eastern property buyers, replacing the void left from the exodus of super-rich Russians. A spokesperson for real estate firm Knight Frank told AGBI that the number of enquiries for New York property from Middle Eastern customers had increased by 50 […] October 19, 2022
Analysis MENA startup valuations take a hit as funding tightens Funding for startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has continued to decline this year, in line with global trends, but industry experts remain optimistic that the end of the year will see a resurgence. The tightening of cash has also meant investors are looking for increasingly bigger stakes, resulting in startup valuations […] October 18, 2022
Exclusive Lifestyle UAE hybrid working leads to 90% rise in demand for home cleaners The rise of hybrid working during the coronavirus pandemic has seen Gulf residents spending more time at home, leading to a surge in demand for domestic cleaning services. This has spurred growth in the wider on-demand home services industry, but investments in technology and manpower and rising business costs in the UAE has resulted in […] October 16, 2022
Transport UK firm in talks in Dubai to launch high-speed, electric ferries Belfast-based Artemis Technologies is in talks to with Dubai authorities to launch its electric, high-speed passenger ferries in the emirate, part of the UAE government’s AED600 billion ($163bn) Net Zero 2050 Strategy. The Northern Irish company’s marine vehicles, which are 24 metres in length and accommodate up to 150 passengers, can achieve a top speed […] October 16, 2022
Tech Gulf investors back $20m funding for ‘YouTube of the metaverse’ Los Angeles-headquartered social media startup VUZ, which describes itself as ‘the YouTube of the metaverse’ has raised $20 million from a range of Gulf-based investors and aims to use the new funding to expand into Asia. Founded in 2017, VUZ also has offices in Dubai and Riyadh, and is a social app which allows users […] October 14, 2022
Retail Amazon among brands using DIFC Courts to resolve disputes E-commerce giant Amazon is one of a growing number of major companies citing the DIFC Courts in its sales terms and conditions as the venue to resolve disputes with customers and third party resellers. Established in 2004 as the English-language, independent, common law legal system for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) free zone, the […] October 13, 2022
Weekend read Saudi Arabia invests in art to create ‘the Arab Damien Hirst’ Saudi Arabia is using some of its huge oil profits to invest in local artists, in a bid to create an internationally renowned Arab art superstar on a par with the likes of Damien Hirst, according to a senior executive at leading art auction houses Christie’s. “What is happening in Saudi Arabia right now is […] October 7, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia reports 195% rise in crypto trading The Middle East and North Africa region saw $566 billion in cryptocurrency trading between July 2021 and June 2022, a year-on-year increase of 48 percent, making it the fastest growing region in the world. The 2022 Geography of Cryptocurrency report, by New York-based blockchain data platform Chainalysis, found that Saudi Arabia was one of the […] October 6, 2022
Economy UAE businesses see new orders grow at fastest rate since 2009 The UAE’s non-oil private sector saw new orders grow in September at the fastest rate since records began 13 years ago, as costs and inflationary pressures eased. The monthly S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped slightly to 56.1 in September from 56.7 in August, when it hit a 38-month high. A score of […] October 5, 2022
Analysis Development 2,000 Kuwaitis applied for EU asylum in last five years The European Union has received almost 2,000 asylum applications from Kuwait over the last five years, with academics speculating the majority of the applicants are from the Gulf state’s Bidoon tribes. The EU Agency for Asylum reported that 1,925 Kuwaitis applied for asylum between 2017 and 2021, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the 2,630 nationals […] October 4, 2022
Retail India’s Ferns N Petals blossoms in the Middle East Indian flower and gifting company Ferns N Petals is forecasting 50 percent annual growth in the Middle East as it expands into more markets including Saudi Arabia, ahead of a potential stock market listing within three years. Established in New Delhi in 1994, Ferns N Petals is one of the largest floral retail chains in […] October 3, 2022
Real Estate Dubai’s latest property craze: luxury underground bunkers A Swiss design firm is tapping into the latest must-have property desire for the UAE’s super rich – luxury underground bunkers. Prices start from $10 million and the developments are used for everything from pools and garages to panic rooms and secure meeting rooms. Oppidum, a design firm established in 2015 in Lucerne by entrepreneur […] October 2, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey adds another 9 tonnes of gold, retaining its top buyer spot Turkey added another nine tonnes of gold to its central bank reserves in August, building on the fact that it has been the biggest buyer of the precious metal this year, boosting its reserves by 83.8 percent in 2022. “Gold-related activity among central banks was muted in August; only a handful of banks meaningfully contributed […] September 30, 2022
Construction Nakheel sold 29 homes on stalled Palm Jebel Ali, official data shows Palm Jebel Ali, the Dubai mega project set to be relaunched soon by developer Nakheel, sold a total of 29 homes before work on the project was halted in 2009. State-owned developer Nakheel has confirmed it was set to relaunch the manmade, palm-shaped, island project, which is said to be one-and-a-half times the size of […] September 28, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Construction Nakheel confirms relaunch of Palm Jebel Ali Dubai state-owned developer Nakheel has confirmed it is planning to relaunch the Palm Jebel Ali master project, as it looked to take advantage of record demand for real estate in the emirate. Palm Jebel Ali is one of a series of manmade, palm-shaped island projects off the coast of Dubai. Launched in 2002, it stalled […] September 28, 2022
Energy Dutch engineer’s remote-control craft to monitor Gulf oil and gas Dutch civil engineer Fugro is launching uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) to monitor oil and gas infrastructure in the waters off the UAE. The 12-metre-long vessels are controlled from the shore without the need for any crew. Conventional craft that inspect offshore assets have six to seven crew members and operate on shift patterns; the USVs […] September 27, 2022
Analysis Economy UAE staff told to wait until next year for salary increases The majority of UAE companies are resisting giving staff a boost in their salaries to help compensate for the rising cost of living, with most putting any increases off until next year. Reuters reported in August that Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, had given its staff a pay rise of up to eight percent to […] September 26, 2022
Banking and Finance More UAE banks must sign up for true benefits of instant payments The Central Bank of the UAE needs to mandate more banks and financial institutions to sign up be ready for the roll out of its new instant payments system. The Emirates will soon join its neighbours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman in offering the Instant Payments Platform (IPP), a new and more comprehensive real-time payments […] September 23, 2022
Manufacturing Aviation and fintech help Irish exports soar to record $532m Ireland reported record levels of exports to the Middle East last year, with aviation and financial technology (fintech) among the standout sectors that helped Irish companies to achieve over half a billion dollars in sales in the region. Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Government’s trade agency, said the companies it supports in India, the Middle East […] September 23, 2022
Analysis Real Estate ‘Jury’s still out’ on hybrid working, says top fund manager “The jury’s still out” on the post-pandemic model of working partly in the office and partly at home, according to a leading UAE real estate investment trust (REIT) manager. Thierry Leleu, CEO of Equitativa, told AGBI that the “office sector is a sector that we are confident in here in the UAE.” Equitativa is manager […] September 21, 2022
Exclusive Aviation Private jets face backlog during World Cup Qatar authorities are putting restrictions in place to manage the expected surge in demand for landing slots from private jets flying to Doha for the World Cup. Operators have warned that wealthy football fans will need to be flexible with their plans, especially around the later stages of the tournament which takes place from November […] September 19, 2022
