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The free trade agreement was signed in May 2022 by the two countries' economy ministers: Orna Barbivai of Israel and the UAE's Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri

Gem of a deal: how Accords unified UAE and Israel

It is almost three years since the Abraham Accords brought together the UAE and Israel in a partnership in which trade was always central to the proposition. Amir Hayek, a former president of Israel’s hotel association, was appointed Israel’s ambassador to the UAE in a nod to the importance of economic diplomacy. A free trade agreement […]

DMCC CEO Ahmed Bin Sulayem

DMCC ‘well placed’ for more trade with Ukraine and Iran

Trade and enterprise freezone the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre is looking to forge closer trade ties with both Ukraine and Iran to take advantage of the countries’ growing trade appetite.  “Dubai is well placed to benefit from Saudi and Iran’s recent decision to resume diplomatic relations given the large number of Iranians living in Dubai […]

Cryptocurrency US UAE

UAE to benefit from US cryptocurrency brain drain

Tightening regulations in the US to bring cryptocurrency and digital assets operators to heel could see talent and investment turn to the UAE. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been targeting the cryptocurrency industry, which its chair Gary Gensler referred to as a “Wild West”. At the same time the UAE is welcoming […]

Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of Nexo, says they manage $3 billion of transactions each day

UK crypto lender Nexo to set up in Emirates

UK-based crypto lender Nexo is opening offices in the UAE as it looks to grow its Middle East business to 30 percent of its total global operations. The company, which has five million users across 200 jurisdictions, is setting up in Dubai where a workforce of 150 will be recruited, according to MD and co-founder […]

The collapsed FTX exchange had secured approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority last July before it collapsed. Its former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried is now facing fraud charges

Expert calls for crypto regulatory loopholes to be tightened

The UAE must close potential loopholes between cryptocurrency regulations established by competing financial free zones, a senior industry figure has highlighted. Different rules in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and a lack of a single federal regulator pose challenges, said Wai Lum Kwok, senior executive director of authorisation at the Financial Services Regulatory Agency at the […]

ICD Brookfield Place opened in September 2020 at the DIFC

Dubai preps office projects to ease supply squeeze

Dubai needs a fresh wave of office development, analysts have said, to plug a shortage of prime space that could hinder the government’s efforts to attract more companies to the UAE.  “The big story in Dubai’s office market is the shortage of grade A office space,” said Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at […]

'We’re already working on a product paper looking at how to work with crypto and digital assets,' says Srinivasan Sampath, chief technology officer at FAB

First Abu Dhabi Bank to launch crypto services

First Abu Dhabi Bank plans to introduce cryptocurrency and digital asset offerings to its customers. The move is part of a plan by the UAE’s biggest lender to implement Web3 technologies in its services to gain competitive advantage. “We’re already working on a product paper looking at how to work with crypto and digital assets,” […]

Crypto exchange auBinance has held workshops with Dubai Police and authorities across the GCC to increase learnings around crypto crimedit and investigations departments are tackling crypto transaction crimes

Binance focuses on security as crypto crimes hit $20bn

Cryptocurrency crime reached a record $20.1 billion last year according to blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, but Binance’s security chief says this is still little compared to traditional financial scams. Nils Andersen-Röed, deputy head of financial crime compliance at Binance, argues the sum must be put into context. “There seems to be a misconception about the […]

man, stage, clapping
  • EXCLUSIVE

Bollywood filmmaker trains camera on Gulf locations

Shekhar Kapur, the filmmaker behind Elizabeth and Bandit Queen, has partly “shifted base” to Dubai and is scouting locations in the Gulf for future projects. The Indian director, who attended the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah last December, told AGBI that the nascent film industries of Saudi Arabia and the UAE had huge potential […]

Tech industries are growing swiftly across the Gulf, so coders and programmers are in high demand
  • Analysis

Mena tech firms can plug skills gap by scooping up global talent

Technology companies in the Middle East are in prime position to attract top talent from around the world as some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names make massive job cuts, according to recruitment consultants. Google’s parent company Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon have all unveiled large-scale redundancy programmes since the start of January. About 40,000 jobs will […]

People, Person, Crowd

Mena is Binance’s fastest growing region for institutional investors

Binance reported a 34 percent rise in the number of new Middle East and North Africa institutional investors adopting its cryptocurrency technology during the last quarter of 2022, the highest growth of all regions. The world’s largest crypto exchange attributed the results to strong appetite for digital banking and financial solutions in the region. This […]

Metaverse

The metaverse is alive and kicking

Just as online shopping drove internet penetration, the metaverse’s immersive interaction between physical and digital worlds will power its adoption 

Dubai VC

Dubai key as 30% of UK’s VC investors target Mena in 2023

Nearly one in three UK-based investors plan to look towards the Middle East and North Africa for venture capital deals next year, according to new research. The region is the third most popular destination for planned investments during 2023 by UK decision makers who invest in venture capital, after their home market and North America. […]

Time running out for Gulf’s luxury watch investors to cash in

After a boom in haute horology over the past few years, with reports of shortages that even put royals on the waiting lists, prices for Rolex watches have started to fall. But some coveted pieces will always command a premium, collectors have said. The value of Swiss watch exports to the Middle East in 2021 […]

IT talent

Middle East tech boom leads to high price of talent

The most significant barrier to technology adoption in the Gulf is a shortage of talent, according to Miriam Burt, managing vice president at Gartner. The latest forecast from the technological research and consulting firm revealed that IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will total $178.1 billion in 2023, an increase […]

Real Madrid, last season's LaLiga champions, are one of the biggest draws in football

LaLiga nets esports deal as Spain’s football league heads Mena’s way

Spain’s main football league, LaLiga, has signed a 15-year deal with Galaxy Racer, one of the world’s largest largest esports, gaming and lifestyle organisations, that they estimate will generate more than $3.16 billion. The home of Barcelona and Real Madrid say they expect the tie-up with the Dubai-based company to transform the league’s presence in […]

Dubai entrepreneur to launch crypto community for nickel

A prolific Dubai-based entrepreneur is set to launch a crypto token aimed at opening up the asset market and “shaping the future of nickel”. The Nikel token will launch in Dubai next week. Safi Qurashi, CEO of NewTek, told AGBI that it will “create a community that can help shape the future of nickel, and […]