Media & Advertising More deals likely to follow OSN+ and Anghami merger The merger last week between OSN+ and Anghami will lead to more consolidation in the region’s streaming sector, industry experts have said. Kuwait’s Kipco-Panther Media Group, which operates as OSN, will combine its streaming service OSN+ with Anghami’s music and entertainment business to create one of the Middle East’s largest streaming platforms. The Europe, Middle […] November 27, 2023
INTERVIEW Real Estate UAE buyers help ex-England footballer hit property goals The former Manchester United and England footballer Gary Neville has revealed that one in five properties in his luxury residential development have been snapped up by UAE investors. Neville, a Champions League-winning defender turned entrepreneur, visited the Emirates this week to gauge Middle Eastern interest in his £400 million ($501 million) hotel and apartment project […] November 26, 2023
Media & Advertising OSN+ and Anghami merge in $50m streaming service deal Middle East streaming service OSN is set to invest $50 million in music streamer Anghami as part of a deal to merge the two companies. Kuwait’s Kipco-Panther Media Group, which operates as OSN, will combine its streaming service OSN+ with Anghami’s music and entertainment business to create one of the Middle East’s largest streaming platforms. […] November 21, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Cop28 brings big boost in occupancy for UAE hotels Hotels in the UAE are expected to see double-digit growth in occupancy rates over the next month as they prepare to welcome tens of thousands of Cop28 attendees. More than 70,000 participants, including world leaders, non-government organisations, private sector representatives, indigenous peoples and young people are scheduled to attend the 28th annual iteration of the […] November 21, 2023
Real Estate Turkish house sales drop 14% as prices double House sales in Turkey during the first 10 months of 2023 were down by 14.3 percent year on year to just under 1 million, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute. Pressure on Turkey’s housing market has been exacerbated by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, high inflation and an influx of displaced people from the […] November 21, 2023
Analysis Business of Sport Tourism up, growth down: a year on from the Qatar World Cup A year ago, the Al Bayt stadium, 35 kilometres outside Doha, hosted the opening game of the first World Cup ever held in the Middle East. More than 67,000 supporters thronged the giant complex to watch Qatar’s first game against Ecuador. The stadium will come into its own again in January when it hosts the […] November 20, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Passengers go premium as first class popularity wanes One of the key themes from this week’s Dubai Airshow was the fact that while first-class commercial travel will continue to be an option for Gulf carriers, its allure has waned, amidst an industry-wide shift towards premium economy. Emirates airline, the Dubai-based flag carrier, is spending significant resources on premium economy as part of a […] November 19, 2023
Health NMC Health censured by UK financial authority UAE healthcare operator NMC has been censured by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for misleading the market to the tune of $4 billion. Founded by Indian businessman BR Shetty in the mid-1970s, NMC ran into difficulties after short-seller Muddy Waters called into question its financial reporting and doubts emerged over the size of stakes […] November 17, 2023
Transport GCC railway sets 2030 operational target The long-awaited GCC railway network will be operational by December 2030, it has been announced. The target date was agreed by the Committee of GCC Ministers of Transport and Communications at a meeting in Muscat, Oman on Thursday. The 2,117km route will connect key cities in each of the six member states. The long-awaited GCC […] November 17, 2023
Business of Sport F1 promoter predicts strong turnout for Abu Dhabi GP The promoter of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is predicting strong attendance for this month’s race despite the continuing conflict in Israel and Gaza. Several events in the UAE and across the Middle East have been cancelled or postponed because of the war, but Formula One’s governing body has dismissed speculation that the final race […] November 17, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Emirates reaches deal with Airbus for 15 new aircraft Emirates Airline appears to have reached a compromise with French plane manufacturer Airbus over the latter’s Rolls-Royce engines after the Dubai-based carrier announced an order of 15 Trent XWB-84 powered A350-900 aircraft. The $6 billion deal was revealed at Dubai Airshow just days after both Emirates president Tim Clark and chairman and chief executive Sheikh […] November 16, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Aviation DXB to grow to ‘absolute maximum’ ahead of airlines’ move Dubai International Airport is to be expanded “to its absolute maximum” in the next few years, its operator has told AGBI, so there is time to prepare the city’s second airport for the arrival of Emirates’ and Flydubai’s entire fleets. Dubai Airports’ CEO, Paul Griffiths, added that the development plans for Al Maktoum International (DWC) […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Emirates chief bemoans Boeing and Airbus duopoly Emirates chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum has bemoaned the duopoly that exists between Boeing and Airbus Group when it comes to the production of wide-body aircraft. The Dubai flag carrier has experienced lengthy delivery delays stretching back five years for its Boeing 777X aircraft, while concerns were also raised this […] November 15, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Increase air fares to save planet, says Dubai Airports CEO Adding 20 percent to the price of an airline ticket to fuel the aviation industry’s sustainability charge will be money well spent in order to keep a “clear conscience” on the climate threat, according to the CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths. Giving a keynote address at Dubai Airshow on Tuesday morning, Griffiths said the […] November 15, 2023
Transport Abu Dhabi could be trailblazer for autonomous cars Abu Dhabi will be one of the first cities in the world to introduce autonomous vehicles en masse, according to the CEO of tech firm Bayanat. Bayanat uses artificial intelligence to provide geospatial data products and services. It is running a pilot scheme in the UAE capital, introducing eight autonomous vehicles, four minibuses and more […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Airbus chief defends Rolls-Royce engines French plane manufacturer Airbus has defended its Rolls-Royce engines following words of caution from Emirates president Tim Clark. The Dubai carrier’s chief told reporters on the second day of the Dubai Airshow that he wanted improvements on durability and maintenance costs before going ahead with any plans to buy Airbus A350 jets. His comments came […] November 14, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation EgyptAir needs 34 more aircraft to meet demand EgyptAir will need to increase its fleet size by more than a third to cope with demand, the airline’s group chairman and CEO, Yehia Zakaria, said at the Dubai Airshow on Monday. Zakaria was speaking as the state-owned carrier announced a lease agreement with the US-based Air Lease Corporation covering 18 Boeing 737-8s. Deliveries of […] November 14, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Flydubai announces $11bn wide-body Dreamliner deal Low-cost carrier Flydubai has announced the biggest change in its 15-year existence, with an order for 30 wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Flydubai’s chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said on Monday that the $11 billion order “signals a new chapter for the airline”. The airline is best known for its fleet of narrow-body […] November 13, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Gulf’s low-cost carriers fuel demand for smaller aircraft The number of single-aisle aircraft in the Middle East is expected to more than double in the next 20 years on the back of a predicted rapid expansion for low-cost carriers and short-haul networks. By 2042, nearly half of the planes operating in the region will be single-aisle jets, according to a commercial market outlook […] November 13, 2023
Aviation Emirates report record half-year profits Dubai’s Emirates airline has reported record profits for the first half of the financial year 2023-24, fuelled by strong passenger demand for international travel. Profits were up 134 percent from this time last year, to a high of AED9.4 billion ($2.6 billion). Revenue for the city’s flagship carrier was up 19 percent to AED59.5 billion. […] November 9, 2023
Aviation Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways’ profits slump 36.1% Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways has reported a 36.1 percent drop in profits for the first nine months of the year with a warning that over-capacity issues could further impact margins. The airline, which sits second in the country behind Kuwait Airways, saw revenues increase 12.8 percent year-on-year over the period and passenger numbers were […] November 8, 2023
Sustainability Droughts could cost Tunisia $1bn annually Water shortages in Tunisia could cost the North African country up to $1.3 billion annually by 2030, according to a report from the World Bank. For the sixth year in a row, below-average rainfall impacted the country’s agricultural production. The sector’s value fell 9 percent in real terms in the first half of this year […] November 7, 2023
