Banking & Finance Dubai launches Emirati savers programme for women In the run up to Emirati Women’s Day on August 28, National Bonds, which is owned by Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, has launched a new initiative designed for female Emirati investors and savers. This follows its survey findings that more than half of Emirati women do not invest any of their money and 30 percent […] August 27, 2022
Construction Emaar shares rise on plan to scrap limit on foreign ownership Emaar Properties, the developer behind the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa, saw its shares soar in early trading on Thursday after its announced plans to consider removing a limit on foreign ownership. The developer’s shares rose 4.7 percent to AED6.25 ($1.70), its highest level since early May. Foreigners invest $4.2bn in UAE stocks since start […] August 25, 2022
Analysis Real Estate ‘Cash is king’ as wealthy real estate investors target Dubai Cash is becoming king again for Dubai’s residential real estate as wealthy overseas investors continue to splash out on luxury homes. By value, mortgaged buyers for villas and apartments now account for just 18 percent of the market. Last year the figure was close to 40 percent while in 2007 just over 50 percent of […] August 24, 2022
Tech Dubai’s Damac to invest $990m in data centres in Germany Dubai-based conglomerate Damac Group is planning to invest $990 million in data centres and technology acquisitions in Germany. The company is currently on a fact-finding expedition in the European country to identify opportunities. “It’s a very interesting time now in Germany, especially for future-oriented industries and the country has a lot of opportunities in sectors […] August 23, 2022
Real Estate Nakheel’s islands plan set to ease ‘severe shortage’ of luxury homes Developer Nakheel unveils masterplan for Dubai Islands, as real estate experts point to 'voracious' demand from super-rich buyers August 23, 2022
Tourism UK rules out criminal action against DP World’s P&O Ferries The UK has announced it will not pursue criminal action against P&O Ferries over mass redundancies announced earlier this year. The company, owned by Dubai-based DP World, whose ships sail across the English Channel, North Sea and Irish Sea, laid off nearly 800 workers in March and then went on to hire cheaper agency staff, […] August 22, 2022
Opinion Own your hyper realistic penthouse in the virtual world Buying real estate in the metaverse illustrates the concept of the shifting value of digital ownership August 18, 2022
Dubai bank metaverse Banking & Finance Dubai bank enters metaverse to support $4bn tech push Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, today announced its first play in the metaverse as part of the emirate’s ambition to become one of the world’s top 10 virtual economies. Its global accelerator programme, in partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Hive and powered by Microsoft, is for metaverse startups and aims to […] August 17, 2022
Real Estate Dubai tenants consider ownership amid record rental surge Dubai tenants are considering a move into home ownership as residential rents surged by nearly 24 percent in the year to July, the highest annual rate of growth for more than eight years. Double-digit price rises for apartments was widespread across the city but were supercharged in Palm Jumeirah, Downtown and Dubai Marina which saw […] August 17, 2022
Real Estate Dubai Mall owner Emaar mulls sale of e-commerce business The board of Dubai’s Emaar Properties, which owns the Dubai Mall, will meet on Thursday to discuss the sale of its e-commerce fashion business, the company said today. The meeting, disclosed in a statement, will be held a week after Emaar announced a $2 billion cash and stock buyout of a joint venture partner in […] August 15, 2022
Dubai ranks as most expensive city for mobile data Dubai has taken the unenviable top spot as the most expensive city for affordability of mobile data, with the average cost of 1GB equating to 0.55 percent of personal disposable income, said a new study. In second place is Auckland with 0.37 percent, followed by Seoul (0.32 percent), Buenos Aires (0.32 percent) and Manila with 0.31 […] August 15, 2022
How I got to the top Manufacturing Sara Chemmaa, founder, Citron Founded in 2018, Dubai-based Citron creates sustainable lifestyle products for toddlers, children and adults. What do you look for when hiring talent? Having built Citron from the ground up, I know just how important it is to surround yourself with the right “village” to help things progress. My first priority when hiring is to find people […] August 12, 2022
Real Estate Dubai villa prices pass 2014 peak amid influx of overseas money Villa prices in many parts of Dubai have surpassed the previous peak of 2014, fuelled in large part by a “relentless” influx of capital from wealthy overseas investors. Real estate consultants ValuStrat reported that although villa price rises are slowing, average values are now at levels last seen in early 2014. Faisal Durrani, partner – […] August 11, 2022
Aviation Emirates ‘flies against grain’ with $2bn investment pledge Emirates president Sir Tim Clark has taken a swipe at his rivals, pledging to invest $2 billion while claiming others are cutting costs in response to industry pressures. The Dubai airline plans to enhance its inflight customer experience, including a programme to retrofit over 120 aircraft with the latest interiors, plus an array of other […] August 10, 2022
Economy Cause for cautious optimism: inflation eased in Dubai in July Price inflation eased slightly in Dubai in July for the first time in four months but remained among the fastest on record, according to new figures. The latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data from S&P Global showed that activity in the non-energy private sector continued to expand sharply to its highest level in three years […] August 9, 2022
Real Estate UAE’s property rules target money laundering via virtual assets The UAE has introduced new real estate reporting requirements as part of its fight against money laundering. The clampdown is primarily aimed at transactions involving virtual assets, and is a partnership between the Ministry of Economy (MoE), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The new rules will cover the […] August 9, 2022
Analysis Real Estate Dubai property market ranked among top 5 globally Prime residential property prices in Dubai rose by nearly five percent in the first half of the year, placing the emirate at number four in a new list of the world’s best performing markets. US cities including Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York dominated the leaderboard, with Dubai the only non-US city to […] August 8, 2022
Food & Drink Meet the Irishman selling ice in the desert In the ever-competitive Dubai bar and restaurant market, a new supplier has launched this week, aiming to offer venues another unique selling point: high quality, hand-cut ice. Since he officially launched on August 1, John Gillespie, founder of Artisan Ice Co., has been targeting the top 30 venues in the city and he said the […] August 6, 2022
How I got to the top Nadine Mezher, co-founder, Sarwa Dubai-based Sarwa is an online investing platform for young professionals. Founded in 2017 by a team with a background in banking, finance, and communications and marketing, today the business has more than 100,000 registered users. Its technology simplifies and makes affordable the process of investing in diversified portfolios of low-cost index funds. How I go […] August 5, 2022
Analysis Banking & Finance Consolidation coming to Gulf fintech, warns $40bn unicorn VP Consolidation is coming to the Gulf’s fintech sector, according to Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, senior vice president for MENA at global payments processor Checkout.com. The London-headquartered fintech, which offers a full-stack platform that simplifies payments processes for large global enterprise merchants, closed a $1 billion Series D funding round in January. “In my opinion, if you’re […] August 5, 2022