Business of Sport Jack Nicklaus rejects $100m to be face of Saudi-backed golf tour American golf legend Jack Nicklaus turned down $100 million to become the face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, which debuts in London next month and is tipped as a controversial new rival to the PGA Tour, it was reported this week. “I was offered something in excess of $100 million by the Saudis,” […] May 18, 2022
Lifestyle A history of music streaming Napster and BitTorrent initially changed the way people thought about music in 1999 before being taken down for unauthorised use of copyright material. iPod launched in 2001 and by the mid-2000s, Pandora and Spotify had both launched. Make some noise for Anghami’s Elie Habib The music industry shunned the new platforms at the start, with […] May 18, 2022
Energy US private equity group buys UK power plant giant for £1.75bn ContourGlobal, the UK power plant owner, has agreed to be taken over by KKR, the New York-based private equity giant, for £1.75 billion after an underwhelming four-and-a-half-year stint on the public markets. The FTSE 250 company said its board intended to recommend the “fair and reasonable” all-cash acquisition at 263.6p a share, a 36 percent […] May 18, 2022
Energy Borouge to sell 10% of shares in IPO as it lists on ADX Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its Austrian chemicals partner Borealis AG are planning an initial public offering (IPO) of their petrochemicals joint venture Borouge on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Borouge, a specialty plastics firm that produces polyolefins used in items such as cars and food packaging, said its offering will consist […] May 18, 2022
Lifestyle Juan Carlos to visit Spain after two years in UAE exile The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, will travel to his country this weekend for the first time since he left under a cloud of scandal in August 2020, making his home in the United Arab Emirates. Juan Carlos, 84, is visiting the northern region of Galicia for a boating event, according to the mayor […] May 17, 2022
Agriculture 300,000 tonnes of wheat bought by Egypt stranded in Ukraine The wheat ordered by Egypt's state grains buyer has yet to be shipped, with one cargo stuck in port and four others to be loaded, traders say May 17, 2022
Analysis Media & Advertising $4.4bn sounds a lot but e& has made the right call on Vodafone Vodafone and e&, formerly known as Etisalat, will look to launch new products globally while working together to make greater efficiencies following the UAE telco’s deal to buy a $4.4 billion stake. Following the announcement that the UAE’s biggest telecoms operator has acquired a 9.8 percent stake in British mobile operator Vodafone Group, AGBI spoke […] May 16, 2022
Energy Israel ramps up gas output, looks to supply Europe Israel is on track to double its natural gas production to 40 billion cubic metres and hopes to sign a framework deal with Europe this summer May 16, 2022
Sweden seeks to overcome Turkish objections to NATO bid Sweden is formally applying for NATO membership, prime minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday. “The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wants to be accepted as a member of NATO,” Andersson told reporters, adding that the application could be handed in on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. It will be synchronised with Finland’s request […] May 16, 2022
Retail Turkish retailer in talks to take over Reebok’s Russian stores FLO Magazacilik could buy the US firm's 100-plus outlets in Russia, but chairman Mehmet Ziylan denied reports that the deal is already done May 16, 2022
Manufacturing Renault sells Russian carmaker Avtovaz for one rouble Renault is to sell its majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz to a Russian science institute for just one rouble with a six-year option to buy it back, leaving the door open for the French carmaker’s return. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said to preserve thousands of jobs Renault’s plant in the city would be used to […] May 16, 2022
Aviation Emirates should be allowed to fly to Berlin, says German exec The bilateral air service agreement between Germany and the United Arab Emirates should be expanded to allow Dubai’s Emirates airline to operate direct flights to more cities, including the capital Berlin, a senior official from the Middle East office of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) told AGBI. Under the existing air services agreement between […] May 16, 2022
Banking & Finance Vodafone shares rise as telecoms group e& buys $4.4bn stake The group, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group, said it supported the board and had no plans to buy the UK mobile operator outright. May 16, 2022
People & Lifestyle Messages of sympathy pour in from around the globe Leaders from the Gulf, the wider Middle East and around the world have offered their heartfelt condolences after the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi. Here are some of the messages of sympathy The UN offices in the UAE said: “In this […] May 13, 2022
Business of Sport Newcastle United strip to be Saudi Arabia green Newcastle United’s away kit for next season will be green and white, to reflect the club’s new owners from Saudi Arabia. Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, bought an 80 percent stake in the football club for £305 million last October. And to attract more supporters from the region the players will wear […] May 13, 2022
Exclusive Tech Why London-Dubai tech tie-up hits investment ‘sweet spot’ The London Technology Club (LTC), a community in Europe for investment opportunities in the technology sector, has announced the launch of LTC Dubai, its first international investment hub. The hub is supported by Global Ventures, the international venture capital firm focused on investing in emerging market founders. Konstantin Sidorov, founder, CEO and general partner of […] May 12, 2022
Lifestyle Who is Konstantin Sidorov? Konstantin Sidorov is an international entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years’ experience in building, developing and restructuring businesses within the tech sector. He has successfully built and sold several IT businesses. In 2016 he sold the Eastern European division of RRC Group to a leading US-listed distributor Ingram Micro. In 2020, he sold his […] May 12, 2022
Tourism Germany boosts Gulf travel budget with Russia savings The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) increased its marketing budget this year in the Gulf by 10 percent, after making savings by shutting down several of its international offices, including Russia. “We actually got a 10 percent budget increase because, as you can see, we unfortunately had to close our Russian office,” Yamina Sofo, director […] May 12, 2022
Retail Chiara Ferragni reveals investor interest in fashion brand Chiara Ferragni has received various expressions of interest from potential investors in her brand, the Italian Instagram star said in an interview with Milano Finanza. Ferragni, 35, is Italy’s top fashion influencer with 27 million followers on Instagram. In January she mandated BNP Paribas to find an investor to help expand her fashion brand internationally. […] May 12, 2022
World Cup 2022 Overworked footballers ‘fatigued’ ahead of Qatar World Cup, says union The fixture demands on the world’s best players has already crossed a red line and is risking their health, the general secretary of the players’ union (FIFPRO) said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Global Sports Week forum in Paris, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann told reporters: “The red line was probably crossed a few years ago to be […] May 11, 2022
Business of Sport PGA Tour bans golfers from taking part in Saudi-backed event The PGA Tour on Tuesday rejected requests from players for authorisation to play the first Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series event in London next month. The new series, which offers the promise of super-sized prize money, is set to begin June 9 and would conflict with the RBC Canadian Open, a PGA Tour official told […] May 11, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Development ‘Zakat can save the world’ … and this is how International charities hit hard by the pandemic are turning to Zakat, which requires Muslims to donate a percentage of their wealth to help the needy As countries rich and poor reeled from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the work of charities was more important than ever. Yet many of these […] May 11, 2022
