Analysis Education Days of high returns numbered for investors in Dubai’s schools Dubai’s private school market, once a goldmine for investors, is no longer yielding the lucrative double-digit returns it used to, the chief executive of a leading school operator has said. Navin Valrani, CEO of The Arcadia School, told AGBI new investors considering the emirate must tackle significant entry barriers, escalating costs and an increasingly mature […] May 26, 2024
Video length: 08:25 exclusive Banking & Finance Rate of debt skipping falls 90% at Dubai’s biggest bank There has been a dramatic decline in the number of people leaving the country to avoid debt obligations to UAE banks. The fall in so-called “skips” is a result of the Gulf state’s introduction of legal reforms such as the decriminalisation of bounced cheques, and new insolvency and bankruptcy laws, experts said. In the past […] May 14, 2024
Analysis Tourism Why ‘over-tourism’ offers an opportunity for the GCC The GCC region and its North African neighbour Egypt can reap the rewards of over-tourism across the globe, according to industry experts, with affordability playing a key role in fuelling the sector’s growth. The number of hotel rooms in the six countries of the GCC – Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE […] May 6, 2024
Analysis Industry UAE considers R&D tax incentives to help SMEs The UAE is considering plans for a research and development tax incentive scheme to boost its ambitions to become a regional centre for homegrown innovation. The Ministry of Finance said it has launched an official consultation on the possible implementation of the tax incentive under the UAE corporate tax law. The consultation will be open […] May 2, 2024
Analysis Infrastructure Flooding puts spotlight on Dubai’s population growth Extensive flooding caused by the historic April 16 storm highlights the challenges the Dubai authorities face as they work on increasing the population by 2.5 million people by 2040. With an increasingly erratic climate, the key for local authorities will be managing that growth closely, industry professionals told AGBI. “The growth in itself is not […] April 26, 2024
Analysis Tech World Cup’s brimming prize pot to revive Saudi esports Saudi Arabia will offer a record-breaking $60 million prize pool for its upcoming Esports World Cup, at a time when the kingdom is facing challenges attracting foreign investments to the sector. The amount of prize money for this summer’s event breaks the previous record of $45 million set by esports festival Gamer8 in 2023. Saudi […] April 19, 2024
Analysis Economy Military’s role in economy muddies Egypt’s debt plan The military’s role in the Egyptian economy makes it unlikely the country will meet International Monetary Fund targets to increase tax revenue as a proportion of GDP, which could spell trouble for the hugely indebted nation. Egypt’s public external debt – money borrowed in foreign currencies – was $165 billion in September 2023, having more […] April 11, 2024
Analysis Economy Lebanon needs more than US rate cuts to turn its economy around Probable US interest rate cuts could help Jordan and Morocco attract additional foreign investments as well as easing their already manageable loan repayment commitments, experts predict, but Lebanon’s financial problems remain so acute that a reduced debt burden will make little difference. US 10-year treasury yields – the most important determinant of government borrowing conditions […] April 9, 2024
Finance UAE tourist tax refunds rise 14% to 4.2m in 2023 The UAE reported a 14.4 percent rise in tourist tax refund transactions, totalling 4.18 million in 2023. The average transaction processed reached 11,460 per day, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) said. No details were given on the total amount refunded. Tourists and visitors can claim refund on VAT paid on purchases they made during their […] March 19, 2024
Renewable Energy Morocco offers new incentives for green hydrogen investors Morocco has launched new incentives to attract investors in green hydrogen projects. The Rabat government has allotted 1 million hectares (almost 3,900 square miles) of land for new projects as part of its “hydrogen offer,” the office of Morocco’s prime minister, Aziz Akhannouch, said in a statement. The first phase involves making 300,000 hectares of […] March 17, 2024
People & Lifestyle UK’s non-dom shake-up to attract high earners to Gulf There is likely to be an influx of expats and returning nationals to the Gulf as a result of the UK’s abolition of non-domicile tax status from April 2025, experts told AGBI. ‘Non-doms’ live in the UK but claim to have a permanent residence in another country, so they do not pay tax on overseas […] March 15, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance UAE banks struggling to match 2023’s record profits Banks in the UAE will struggle to repeat last year’s record annual profits in 2024, after the introduction of corporate tax, expected US interest rate cuts and the likely absence of the bumper one-off gains that bolstered their bottom line in 2023. However, a slight decline in profitability would still represent a strong performance by […] March 15, 2024
Banking & Finance Dubai ends double taxation for foreign banks Foreign banks including HSBC, Banque Misr and Arab Bank operating in Dubai will no longer face double taxation after a change in the emirate’s banking laws. A 9 percent corporate tax, introduced in June last year for corporations and businesses that have a taxable profit above AED375,000 ($100,000) was being applied on top of the […] March 8, 2024
Opinion Finance Grey list removal is milestone for investor confidence Coming off the FATF list is testament to UAE's willingness to improve overall governance March 1, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Make it in the Emirates ‘needs more SMEs’ More than AED120 billion ($33 billion) has been invested by UAE-based companies to develop hundreds of new product lines under the country’s “Make it in the Emirates” (MIITE) campaign. As the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology prepares to host its third forum on local manufacturing, latest statistics show that the number of MIITE products […] February 29, 2024
Video length: 01:24 Analysis Banking & Finance UAE removed from FATF ‘grey list’ The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said on Friday that it had removed the UAE from its so-called grey list, in recognition of the Gulf state’s efforts to curb illicit financial flows. Experts told AGBI the cleared status is expected to restore the UAE’s correspondent banking ties with institutions which had withdrawn services over the […] February 25, 2024
Finance OECD rates UAE’s free zone corporate tax ‘non-harmful’ The UAE free zone corporate tax (CT) regime has been recognised as ‘non-harmful’ by the Paris-based policy forum Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Gulf state’s finance ministry said. The findings were disclosed in the results from an October 2023 meeting on harmful tax practices, the UAE state-owned Wam news agency reported. The […] February 11, 2024
Economy Lebanon switches to new exchange rate policy The Lebanese government is now using a dollar exchange rate closer to that of the parallel market when calculating taxes and fees for other administrative charges. The 2024 budget law, which was passed on January 26, ditches all references to the official LBP15,000 and LBP1,508 rates on which the bulk of government revenue was previously […] February 9, 2024
Economy Egypt ends tax privileges for state enterprises The Egyptian cabinet has approved regulations to eliminate various tax and fee exemptions for state-owned enterprises, aligning with a condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The cabinet approved the law in June but the executive regulations needed for implementation were recently formulated, Reuters reported. As part of a $3 billion financial support agreement signed in […] February 1, 2024
Aviation Saudi will top Gulf business travel chart, says Wego boss Business travel to and from Saudi Arabia is expected to surpass neighbouring UAE, according to the CEO and co-founder of online travel marketplace Wego. As of the start of this month, foreign companies hoping to gain access to billions of dollars worth of government contracts must have their regional headquarters in Riyadh. The regional HQ […] January 25, 2024
Finance No income tax on individuals, says Saudi finance minister Saudi Arabia has no plans to impose an income tax on individuals, the country’s finance minister has confirmed. “There is no intention at all in Saudi Arabia to impose income tax on individuals. That has been our position very clearly,” Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum held in Davos. The minister […] January 21, 2024
Analysis Finance Gulf investors expected to bet big on bitcoin ETFs Gulf sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors are expected to expand their portfolios to include cryptocurrencies, after spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were given the green light. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the trading of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs, issued by global asset management companies such as BlackRock, Invesco, Grayscale, Fidelity, and Franklin. […] January 16, 2024
