Finance UAE detains Khashoggi lawyer on money laundering charges UAE authorities have detained Asim Ghafoor, a US citizen and civil rights attorney who previously served as a lawyer for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said US-based rights group DAWN of whose board Ghafoor is a member. A UAE government official confirmed Ghafoor was arrested while transiting through Dubai International Airport on July 14 on charges […] July 18, 2022
Energy UAE to guarantee diesel supplies to France, says Macron source France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to sign an agreement on Monday whereby the UAE will guarantee diesel supplies to France, said a source at President Emmanuel Macron’s Elysee department. The deal, which will coincide with the visit to Paris of the UAE President, will also see the two countries agree on […] July 18, 2022
Economy UAE defends stance on Russian individuals, talking to US The UAE is consulting with the US on sanctions targeting Russian individuals, but does not want to “lump together” all Russians into one category as some seek safe havens amid the Ukraine war, an Emirati official said on Friday. Dubai, the Gulf’s financial and business centre, has emerged as a refuge for Russian wealth as […] July 18, 2022
UAE establishes $817m fund to support space sector The UAE on Sunday launched a three billion UAE dirham ($816.84 million) fund to support its space programme and a new initiative to develop radar satellites, the Gulf country’s president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan said on Twitter. Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed, meanwhile, said the fund aims to supporting the establishment of national […] July 18, 2022
Analysis Food & Drink UAE restaurants bite back against Covid Most restaurants in the UAE are in a better financial position this year than they were before the pandemic, according to new data. Local eateries have bounced back with aplomb despite rising inflationary costs, a survey from the UAE Restaurant Group (URG) has revealed. URG, a trade body which represents around 15,000 outlets, said 69 percent […] July 18, 2022
How I got to the top Retail Nidhima Kohli, CEO, Beauty Tribe What does your company do? Beauty Tribe is the first regional beauty pure play e-commerce site offering customers a curated shopping experience provided by beauty professionals – with a unique three-hour delivery time. It improves on the experiences shoppers are having elsewhere online: struggling with many counterfeit products, long delivery times, or lacking information on […] July 15, 2022
Real Estate Dubai rents soar by over 20% as inflation bites Dubai residential rents rocketed by 21.7 percent on average in the 12 months to June 2022, more than double the mean growth in sales prices. The total volume of transactions in Dubai’s residential market reached 7,941 in June 2022, up 33.3 percent year-on-year, said research from real estate consultancy firm CBRE released today. In the […] July 15, 2022
Opinion Real Estate UAE real estate is a good inflation bet While interest rates rise and house prices fall globally, the Emirates is bucking the trend July 15, 2022
Finance JPMorgan appoints co-heads of Mideast investment banking JPMorgan has appointed Hani Deaibes and Ahmed Salem as co-heads of its Middle East and North Africa investment banking business, the US bank said in a statement on Thursday. Deaibes, at JPM since 2007, was head of the bank’s debt capital markets (DCM) business for the Middle East. He was previously at Merrill Lynch in […] July 15, 2022
Analysis Development I2U2: America’s answer to curbing China and upping food security Israel, India, the US and the United Arab Emirates came together on Thursday for an historic meeting as the “I2U2” collective. The futuristic name refers to the first letters of the four countries. US president Joe Biden and Israel’s prime minister, Yair Lapid, lent the initiative a maiden boost, joining a four-way call in Jerusalem […] July 14, 2022
Analysis Biden Middle East Biden’s ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ could slash UAE-Iran trade The US and Israel pledged today to deny Iran nuclear weapons – a move that could dissuade global trade partners from dealing with Tehran, experts have said. The freshly united stance from US president Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid represents a rare show of unity by allies long divided over Iran diplomacy. The […] July 14, 2022
Tourism Heathrow ‘incompetence’: Emirates defies capacity cut Emirates airline said on Thursday it had rejected demands by London’s Heathrow Airport to cut capacity despite being threatened with legal action, and intended to continue operating its six daily flights to Britain’s busiest airport. Heathrow this week asked airlines to stop selling some tickets for summer flights, limiting the number of passengers flying from […] July 14, 2022
Finance Dubai gives crypto firm OKX provisional licence Crypto trading app OKX said on Thursday it had been given a provisional virtual assets licence by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which was set up earlier this year to regulate the industry. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been pushing to develop virtual asset regulation to attract new forms of business as […] July 14, 2022
Energy UAE president stresses support for global energy security The president of the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday the Gulf OPEC producer would continue to support global energy security as a main driver of global economic growth, ahead of a US-Arab summit in neighbouring Saudi Arabia this week. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in his first televised address since becoming president in May, […] July 14, 2022
Exclusive Finance The Gulf is going cashless – and sooner than you think Hany Fekry has been living in the UAE for about six months. In that time he says he has spent a grand total of AED40 in cash transactions. It’s why the group MD (Processing) of regional payments giant Network International is so certain that the UAE will effectively be a cashless society within three years. […] July 14, 2022
Finance Mubadala in talks to buy asset manager Fortress from SoftBank Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co is in talks to acquire asset manager Fortress Investment Group from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund is discussing a deal that would value Fortress at more than $1 billion, said Bloomberg News, which first reported […] July 13, 2022
Markets Emaar, Aldar help push UAE bourses to post-Eid gains Stock markets in United Arab Emirates closed higher on Tuesday, as they reopened after Eid holidays, with Abu Dhabi index snapping losses in straight seven sessions. Dubai’s benchmark index rose 0.6 percent, buoyed by a 1.5 percent jump in sharia lender Dubai Islamic Bank and a 1.2 percent gain in Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties. In […] July 13, 2022
Analysis Economy 60% of UAE firms to hike prices as costs surge Nearly two-thirds of UAE businesses are planning to increase the price on their goods and services as costs in the non-oil sector climb at the fastest pace for 11 years. The latest S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), issued last week, found that rising energy costs and higher wage bills were biting into profit […] July 13, 2022
Mubadala leads $400m funding for German ‘insurtech’ Wefox Digital insurance startup Wefox said on Tuesday it had raised $400 million from investors, valuing the “insurtech” business at $4.5 billion. Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala Investment Company led the investment in the Series D round, which will be used to expand into more countries and to develop its platform, Wefox said. A year ago […] July 12, 2022
Tourism UAE’s flydubai suspends operations to Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates carrier flydubai has suspended operations to Colombo in Sri Lanka until further notice, a spokesperson for the budget airline said on Monday. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka. Passengers who have booked to travel on these flights will be contacted and offered a refund,” […] July 12, 2022
