Video length: 03:08 Infrastructure UAE president orders review after flooding The UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered an urgent review of the country’s infrastructure after historic levels of rainfall brought the Gulf state to a standstill, with some areas seeing more than a year’s worth of rain in one day. The president has contacted authorities “to quickly work on studying the […] April 18, 2024
Real Estate Emirates REIT in profit after revaluation gain Dubai’s Emirates REIT reported a 55 percent rise in annual profit after making a nine-figure revaluation gain on its property portfolio. A REIT – a real estate investment trust – is a company that owns income-producing assets related to real estate such as buildings, land and real estate securities. Through REITs investors can have fractional […] April 17, 2024
Tech Telegram to hit 1bn users in a year, founder says Telegram, the messaging platform based in Dubai, will have one billion active monthly users within the next year, its founder Pavel Durov said on Tuesday. The app has 900 million active users at the moment. It aims to remain a “neutral platform” and not a “player in geopolitics,” Durov said during a recent video interview […] April 17, 2024
Analysis Infrastructure Gulf’s record floods highlight ‘balance between risk and investment’ Historic rainfall this week in the Gulf, particularly in the UAE, has raised serious questions about investment in infrastructure to prevent the widespread flooding that brought much of the region to a standstill. On Tuesday the UAE was hit by its heaviest rains in 75 years. The downpour turned main roads into waterways, particularly in […] April 17, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Rising prices risk making Dubai homes ‘unattainable’ Escalating home prices in Dubai’s affordable communities are making it even more difficult for residents to get on the property ladder, real estate experts have warned. February data from property consultancy ValuStrat shows the highest annual growth in apartment values was recorded in the emirate’s more budget-friendly neighbourhoods. Prices in Discovery Gardens and The Greens […] April 17, 2024
Exclusive Retail Spinneys bets big on sales growth for own-label goods Supermarket operator Spinneys is betting big on strong sales of its private-label products as it prepares to go public next month, CEO Sunil Kumar told AGBI on Tuesday. Its private label – or own-brand – ranges cover food, toiletries and household goods. The retailer also has exclusive rights to sell Waitrose-branded products from the UK […] April 17, 2024
Retail Spinneys to offer 900m shares in Dubai IPO Supermarket operator Spinneys will sell 25 percent of its business in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), according to an intention to float document released on Tuesday. The company’s offering will be open from April 23 to April 29 for retail investors, while institutional investors can subscribe until April 30, according […] April 16, 2024
Opinion Finance I have seen the future and it’s ICD Brookfield Place Abu Dhabi and Riyadh also know a good thing when they see it April 12, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising AI will free up local creatives for more award-winning campaigns Robots can help, but it's still humans who win the trophies April 12, 2024
Construction Delays keep property oversupply at bay in Dubai Dubai’s off-plan market is treading a delicate line between the risk of having too many properties and the threat of project delays, industry insiders have said. “There’s plenty of supply coming in,” Haider Tuaima, director of real estate research at consultancy Valustrat, told AGBI. “If everything is handed over on time, then we will have […] April 12, 2024
Construction Prompt payments prop up Dubai’s construction sector Dubai’s construction industry is at the healthiest it has been in almost 20 years, according to an executive from one of the city’s most established industrial groups. This resurgence is notable for its relative lack of payment delays – a common issue in construction projects globally and in the Gulf region. “Delayed payments are not […] April 10, 2024
Analysis Food & Drink Dubai restaurant scene ‘at risk of hitting saturation point’ Food and beverage operators in Dubai have warned that the emirate’s restaurant market is increasingly saturated as one company calls time on a prominent location. Gates Hospitality, which operates venues across the Middle East, announced this week that two of its restaurants in Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Folly and Publique, would close at the end of […] April 9, 2024
Analysis Retail The pros and pitfalls of pop-up shops Pop-up shops are appearing in more shopping malls, hotels and even beach clubs. Whether they are for new brands looking to build a name or more established companies opting for a more experiential way to market and test their products, pop-ups are largely temporary affairs designed to create a buzz. They are also considered a […] April 9, 2024
Real Estate Lunate and Olayan buy into Dubai’s ICD Brookfield Place Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai and Brookfield Corporation have sold a 49 percent stake in ICD Brookfield Place (ICDBP), the emirates’ largest office tower. Abu Dhabi alternative investment fund Lunate and Saudi Arabia-based Olayan will each own 24.5 percent equity interest in ICDBP. It is the largest institutional third-party single-asset real estate […] April 8, 2024
Trade Finance platform aims at $2.5trn trade funding hole A blockchain-based platform that lets institutions and wealthy individuals provide finance to importers and exporters for returns of up to 9 percent a year could help fill a multi-trillion-dollar hole in international trade, it says. In trade finance, the involvement of third-party financial companies removes payment and supply risks for sellers and buyers respectively. Historically, […] April 8, 2024
Education Mena reaches for tech to upgrade results in education Demand for education technology, or edtech, is growing in the Middle East and North Africa as countries seek to bolster learning to drive economic growth. However, experts warned against excessive use of technology in classrooms, saying it could affect the attainment of basic skills such as reading and writing. Examples of edtech include interactive whiteboards, […] April 8, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Dubai developers tempt off-plan buyers with 1% payment Dubai developers are offering 1 percent payment plans in an attempt to maintain interest in an increasingly crowded off-plan sales market and to delay an anticipated slowdown after years of record growth. Yet experts warn that this tactic carries significant risks, drawing parallels to the precedents set before the 2008 housing crash. Ziad Hinnawi, sales […] April 6, 2024
Opinion Lifestyle Emirates at its premium best When you’re paying for yourself, premium economy really is the only way to fly April 5, 2024
Opinion Retail UAE Ramadan shopping combines tech and tradition Consumers have been navigating a complex shopping landscape during the holy month April 5, 2024
Video length: 5:33 VIDEO Leisure & Hospitality Merex’s revival of ‘challenging’ City Walk and La Mer Merex Investment is redeveloping its lifestyle beachfront destination La Mer and using its successful transformation of City Walk in Dubai as a benchmark for the revival of its failing assets. La Mer is to be renamed J1 Beach, with 13 new dining and club venues due to open in September 2024. Occupancy rates at City […] April 4, 2024
Real Estate Union Properties to repay $263m debt in 2024 Union Properties plans to repay AED966 million ($263 million) to lenders in 2024 as part of its debt restructuring plan. The developer, which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, has repaid AED290 million ($78.96 million) worth of debts as a result of AED816 million generated from plot sales in the first quarter of 2024. The […] April 3, 2024
Infrastructure DP World teams up with Rumo for new Brazilian port terminal DP World and the Brazilian railway operator Rumo are to build a new terminal at the port of Santos in São Paulo, to handle 12.5 million tonnes of grain and fertiliser a year. The project is intended to make the port Brazil’s primary gateway, and central to trade for South America. Rumo estimates the total […] April 2, 2024