Finance Dubai’s economy expands to hit $30bn in first quarter Dubai’s real GDP rose 2.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, to reach AED111.3 billion ($30.3 billion), while inflationary pressures and costs eased for Dubai’s non-oil business sector in July. The latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data from S&P Global revealed another strong month of growth for the non-energy private sector, […] August 9, 2023
Video length: 02:36 VIDEO Real Estate Dubai office rents spike as employers vie for talent Office rents in Dubai rose sharply in the first half of this year as demand continues to grow, according to new research. Demand reached 580,000 sq ft in H1 2023, a 23 percent increase on the same period last year. Businesses are gravitating towards Grade A space, using the high-quality offices as a “showroom” to […] August 8, 2023
Finance Dubai laundry app seeks ‘deeper pockets’ for next step Dubai’s door-to-door laundry app Washmen plans to tap into private equity and funding from family investment groups, but has ruled out a public listing, CEO Rami Shaar has told AGBI. The company has gone through three rounds of fundraising since it was set up eight years ago, raising $11 million from seed, series A and […] August 8, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Tourist inflow to Dubai eclipses pre-pandemic levels Dubai received 8.55 million global tourist travellers between January and June 2023, recording a 20 percent year-on-year growth. The emirate exceeded the pre-pandemic figure of 8.36 million tourists in H1 2019, the state-run Dubai Media Office reported, citing data from the Department of Economy and Tourism. “The surge in international visitors witnessed by Dubai in the […] August 7, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Business of Sport Baseball ready to strike home run in the Middle East When the opening pitch is thrown at Dubai International Stadium in November it will signal the official start of the first ever professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia. And the power broker behind the ambitious project hopes the 25,000-seater venue will be at least a quarter full to mark the inaugural […] August 6, 2023
Analysis Logistics Call for shipping polluters to pay for their emissions UAE multinational logistics company DP World has called for a global taxation on polluters in the shipping industry to pay for their emissions. The maritime services giant says new targets revealed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in July do not go far enough. At the 80th meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee […] August 4, 2023
Opinion Lifestyle California and the Gulf: more unites than divides The UAE, Saudi Arabia and LA have a lot more in common than they might acknowledge August 4, 2023
Banking and Finance DIFC adds 3,000 jobs as worldwide appeal grows Over 3,000 new jobs were created at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) during the first half of 2023 as 661 companies joined. The total number of firms operating there rose from 4,031 to 4,949 at the end of June, a year-on-year increase of 23 percent. Its fintech and innovation sectors grew 35 percent from 599 […] August 1, 2023
Video length: 03:53 VIDEO Construction Dubai tests modular building to cut demand down to size Dubai Municipality has awarded Linq Modular a licence to start work on a pilot for a seven-storey modular building. Linq will design and build the pilot modules at its 300,000-sq-ft factory in Dubai Industrial City – which has the capacity to produce 1,900 units per year. The units could be used for a residential or a […] August 1, 2023
Construction Aldar Education expands into Bahrain and Dubai Aldar Properties has increased investment in its education business, with over AED350 million ($95 million) added to the initial AED1 billion commitment announced last year, it said on Monday. A filing to the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange notes that the company is expanding into Dubai and Bahrain, as well as adding a new acquisition in […] July 31, 2023
Exclusive Real Estate Dubai businessman ready to take on The World A Dubai businessman is in talks to try and launch a project on The World, as the emirate’s record-breaking real estate market revives interest in the manmade island development. The World was launched in 2003 by state-owned master developer Nakheel. Made up of 300 small manmade islands in the shape of the map of the […] July 31, 2023
Sustainability Al Jaber calls on G20 to double climate risk finance Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber and United Nations climate executive secretary Simon Stiell urged the G20 this week to increase funding known as “adaptation finance”, for communities at risk of facing climate change-related hazards. “The G20 must affirm its commitment to [mobilising] the fund and funding arrangements. Those at the frontline of climate change need […] July 28, 2023
Opinion Entrepreneurs In Dubai vs Riyadh, it’s the startups that win Competition between the two major business hubs is great for entrepreneurs July 27, 2023
Real Estate Russians bucking trend in Dubai with bigger, pricier homes Russian buyers are bucking the trend in Dubai real estate and buying bigger, more expensive houses as they make the emirate their new permanent home. Residential property prices in the emirate climbed at their fastest rate in almost a decade in the first half of this year. Villas topped previous records set in 2014. Property […] July 27, 2023
Opinion Sustainability Climate change is too serious to be left to environmentalists The debate is now about means, not ends July 25, 2023
Real Estate Norwegians return to Dubai commercial property sector Norwegian investors were the second-largest group active in Dubai’s commercial real estate in the second quarter of the year, marking a dramatic return after being largely absent since before the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of sales transactions in Dubai’s commercial sector reached 3,080 in the second quarter of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 22 percent, […] July 25, 2023
Real Estate Turkey island in Dubai set for $21m auction A manmade island on The World development off the coast of Dubai has been put up for auction, with the price tag starting at AED78 million ($21.24 million). Part of an archipelago built in the shape of the map of the world, the island – named Turkey – has had “many” potential buyers visit the 47,645 […] July 25, 2023
Trade Dubai on track to seize record number of counterfeit goods Dubai is likely to seize millions more counterfeit items in 2023 than in 2022, according to the latest data from Dubai Customs. The emirate’s customs agency has seized 10.7 million counterfeit items — worth AED 53.277 million ($14.5 million) — so far in 2023, compared with 15 million for the whole of 2022. Dubai Customs […] July 24, 2023
Trade Dubai opens Vietnam office as South East Asia trade grows Dubai International Chamber has opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, as analysts predict Vietnam will be one of the UAE’s fastest-growing trade corridors in the next few years. The office will support Dubai companies seeking to expand in the Southeast Asian country and create mechanisms to attract foreign direct investment from Vietnam, […] July 24, 2023
Video length: 2:58 VIDEO Lifestyle Private vaults fill the gap as banks abandon deposit boxes Private vaults in Dubai are emerging to take the place of the safety deposit boxes once provided by traditional banks. Costs, concerns over legal liability and the rise of online banking have made providing safety deposit boxes less appealing for banking giants. Capital One, HSBC, Barclays and JPMorgan Chase have all withdrawn from the market. […] July 24, 2023
