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Shruthi Nair

Multimedia Editor

Shruthi is an award-winning Dubai-based journalist with eight years of experience reporting across digital and print platforms including newspaper, radio, TV and magazines in the Middle East. After serving as a reporter and TV presenter for Times of Oman, she led the video content division of Arabian Business and ITP Media Group's other B2B titles. She was also editor of Retail Middle East

Shruthi Nair
Traffic in Dubai: most Middle East insurance premiums go towards motoring Video length: 04:44

EVs and air taxis will shake up Mena insurance industry

Motor insurance represents more than 50 percent of premiums in developing insurance markets such as the Middle East, says Vinay Surana, managing director for the region at Allianz Partners. The rapid development and introduction of electric vehicles, self-driving vehicles and air taxis will present new risks and demand new approaches and different ways of thinking, […]

Diago Lopez, Singapore-based managing director of Global SWF, says investment managers are increasingly exploring domestic markets as opportunities grow Video length: 04:13

Gulf sovereign wealth funds tilt towards emerging markets

In the past 12 months Gulf sovereign wealth funds invested almost $10 billion in China, the largest such volume in history, Diego Lopez, Singapore-based managing director of Global SWF tells AGBI. This reflected a growing bias among Gulf funds towards emerging markets and domestic economies. “Every time [investment managers] are coming across a good opportunity […]

Ben Powell, chief investment strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute, says 'mega-forces' will be tailwinds for the GCC Video length: 03:59

Investors wary of inflation as Trump pursues ‘America first’ policy

When Donald Trump returns to the White House his “America First” policy is likely to increase inflation and global economic fragmentation, according to analysts. “We [the Middle East] need to be much more picky about particular geographies, asset classes and even themes that we favour,” said Ben Powell, chief investment strategist at BlackRock’s Investment Institute, […]

Vero Video length: 04:08

Vero Labs taps into the fan-based asset economy

Vero Labs, the social networking company owned by the Lebanese billionaire Ayman Hariri, has partnered with the blockchain platform Avalanche to tap into the multi-trillion-dollar fan-based asset economy sector of the sports and entertainment industry.  Last year Vero Labs acquired Tokenise Stock Exchange, a regulated global marketplace where users can buy, sell and trade fan-based […]

Drone deliveries have their place but they may not yet be cost effective Video length: 03:19

Drone deliveries all about speed, not profit, says Careem

Drone deliveries across the Middle East are expected to grow significantly over the next decade. However, the commercial viability is up for debate, says a Careem executive. Mohamad Charafeddine, Careem’s vice president of product for data and AI, says that drone deliveries have their value in speed, such as for essential medical products. But the […]

Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement at the DFSA, says hedge funds bring associated companies with them when they join the DIFC Video length: 03:05

Hedge funds and wealth managers ‘are a boon’ for DIFC

The DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) the independent regulatory agency that oversees financial services in the Dubai International Financial Centre, approved more than 60 new companies in the first half of 2024. Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement at DFSA, says that many of them are wealth management companies or hedge funds, which is a “boon […]

Paul Gilbert of Alvarez & Marsal says that more predictable processes are positive for investors distressed investors debt distressed investment Saudi investors Video length: 03:17

Opportunities for ‘distressed investors’ as Saudi companies restructure

International and regional distressed investors looking at buying debt in Saudi businesses are becoming more active as new bankruptcy laws and reforms take shape in Saudi Arabia.  Paul Gilbert, Middle East managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, said bankruptcy processes were “being very predictable”, which was an “important factor for inward investment into the country”.  […]

Ed Rawles of Nybl says 'our region lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to committing actual cash to new technology' funding for AI Video length: 03:43

Funding squeeze stifles AI innovation in Mena

Emerging technology and AI startups in the Mena region are struggling to find investors. Industry experts say that the Middle East attracts less than 5 percent of global funding for AI because of the lack of specialised venture capital funds that are willing to take risks. “Our region lags behind the rest of the world […]

Adani Group's Gautam Adani has been accused of bribery payments to Indian government officials, something the group strongly denies

US charges billionaire Gautam Adani in $265m bribery case

US prosecutors have indicted Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and seven others, including his nephew Sagar Adani, in connection with an alleged $265 million bribery scheme tied to India’s largest solar power project. Adani has extensive business interests in the Arabian Gulf. The indictment, unsealed in New York on Wednesday, accuses the Adanis and Vneet Jaain, […]

Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera, says many educational technology startups grew too quickly Video length: 03:19

A lesson in growth for educational technology

Funding value is down by 90 percent in the educational technology sector from global highs, forcing many companies out of business. In the first quarter of 2024 there were about 100 venture capital transactions in educational technology, or “edtech”, with a total value of about $580 million. Online course provider Coursera has more than 20 […]

Landmark Group chairwoman Renuka Jagtiani Video length: 03:36

Landmark Group expands into Asia

Landmark Group, based in Dubai and one of the biggest retail chains in the Gulf region with annual revenue of more than $7 billion, is investing $1 billion in its Asia expansion. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary, Renuka Jagtiani, chairwoman, and Landmark Retail CEO Kabir Lumba explain Landmark’s growth strategy and the challenges […]

Nio electric cars. Abu Dhabi's CYVN has invested in the company Video length: 04:21

Why Gulf governments keep investing in EVs

Oil-based economies need a Plan B – something they can turn to when crude markets are troubled. Gulf governments are using electric vehicles as that hedge, according to Kevin Chalhoub, CEO of EV Lab. “When oil won’t go well, probably electric cars will go well,” he says. “It’s a very exciting strategy. The Middle East […]

Investcorp's Saudi MD tells AGBI about the Bahrain investor's plans Video length: 03:54

Investcorp refocuses on inward GCC investment

Bahrain’s Investcorp is involved in investment-related initiatives worth $4 billion, the latest of which is a commercial partnership with Awaed, the first commission-free Saudi trading platform. After investing heavily in the US and Europe, it is now focusing more to GCC opportunities. AGBI spoke to Investcorp’s Saudi Arabia MD Mashaal AlJomaih in the video above.

Torbjorn Caesar of Actis says that 'we need to build another planet of power plants and associated infrastructure' Video length: 03:06

Time to shift the balance of power in renewable energy

Imbalances in capital investment in clean energy, plentiful sun and a doubling in global demand for electricity over the next 20 years mean that the renewable energy sector in the Middle East is a “fantastic investment opportunity”.  AGBI spoke to Torbjorn Caesar, chairman of Actis, a global investment company with a focus on sustainable infrastructure, […]

Egypt real estate investors. Luxury bungalows in the Red Sea lagoon in el Gouna. Developers are optimistic about foreign investors buying in waterfront communities at least for the next five to 10 years. Video length: 03:31

Egypt’s weaker currency attracting foreign real estate investors

Egypt’s economic recovery and currency devaluation has resulted in the “rediscovery of the real estate market by foreign investors”, according to the chief of the country’s largest waterfront developer, fuelling price rises in the secondary and tertiary segments. Population growth in the Arab world’s biggest country, and wealth creation in some socioeconomic segments, have also […]

A holographic avatar of HPE president Antonio Nearly at Gitex Global in Dubai Video length: 02:21

‘Holograms won’t replace Zoom and Teams… yet’

Star Wars depicted the use of holograms for video conferencing way back in the 1970s, but the technology has yet to move from science fiction to everyday life. This is mostly down to financial and logistical limitations – and an interview with the holographic avatar of HPE president Antonio Nearly has revealed that holograms are […]

Ahmed bin Sulayem told AGBI that AI impacts every sector within DMCC Video length: 03:30

Dubai AI leaders call for global regulations

Digital economy leaders in the UAE called for the global unification of artificial intelligence regulations at the launch of DMCC’s AI Centre last week.  Dubai issued a universal blueprint for AI earlier this year, but a unified framework governing the growing AI technology sector is still lacking.  “How can you disregard the artificial intelligence sector […]

Saudi esports Savvy Games Video length: 05:07

Saudi Arabia plays the long game in a high-stakes market

Saudi Arabia has so far channeled $38 billion into the esports sector through its Public Investment Fund subsidiary Savvy Games Group. This includes high-profile acquisitions such as the $4.9 billion purchase of the Monopoly Go developer Scopely and the $1.5 billion buyout of ESL FaceIt Group, one of the world’s largest esports companies. Critics have […]