Tourism No experience, no resume – you’re hired! Hotels fight for staff Top European hotel chains are hiring workers without experience or even a resume as executives admit years of underpaying staff have come back to bite, leaving them unable to meet post-pandemic travel demand. Thousands of workers left the hospitality industry when international travel shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Many chose not to return, finding […] July 4, 2022
Exclusive Food & Drink $500-an-hour sobriety coach helps Dubai’s big drinkers Dubai’s work-hard, play-hard expat party lifestyle, and its famous all-you-can-drink weekend brunches can be the perfect breeding ground for potential alcoholics, according to the founder of a new $500-an-hour sober coaching service. British sober and recovery coach, David Golding, relocated to Dubai nearly four months ago and has launched Sober Lifestyle Coaching, a 13-week recovery […] July 1, 2022
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia ‘in early talks to take stake in Aston Martin’ Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in early talks with British luxury carmaker Aston Martin about taking a stake in the business that could be worth 200 million pounds ($243.5 million), the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Shares in Aston Martin, which had fallen as much as 20 percent to a record low on Thursday, […] July 1, 2022
Biden administration supports potential F-16 jet sale to Turkey The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden. Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary for Defense for International Security Affairs at Pentagon, told reporters on a call that strong Turkish defense capabilities […] June 30, 2022
Banking & Finance UK bank losses from fraud scams surge 40% British bank customers were tricked out of 583 million pounds ($712 million) stolen through sophisticated fraud in 2021, up nearly 40 percent on the prior year, according to data published by trade body UK Finance. Lenders have been battling increasingly complex fraud schemes against their customers, as criminals target the growing numbers of people banking […] June 30, 2022
Retail Unilever sells Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel Unilever on Wednesday sold its Ben & Jerry’s ice cream business in Israel to its local licensee for an undisclosed sum, aiming to smooth over a potentially damaging diplomatic row over the company’s political stance. The deal comes after the US ice cream brand announced last year it would stop marketing products in the Israeli-occupied […] June 30, 2022
Media & Advertising BBC News controller heads for Saudi’s Al Arabiya News A former senior news editor at the BBC left the corporation to take a position at Saudi Arabia’s state broadcaster. Jamie Angus stepped down from his role as BBC News’s senior controller of output and commissioning in April. He is expected to take a senior role at Al Arabiya News. Sources were uncertain about Angus’s […] June 30, 2022
Manufacturing Dutch EV pioneer aims to generate buzz in Sharjah Lightyear, the Dutch startup that launched the world’s first long-range production-ready solar electric vehicle earlier this month, has picked the UAE for its first overseas expansion. The company said it will be opening testing facilities and a sales office at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park), the first such facility outside the […] June 30, 2022
UK agency inks first Jordan deal to create 4,000 jobs UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government’s export credit agency, has announced its first deal in Jordan to support the largest clothes manufacturer in the Middle East and North Africa in the construction of new factories and a corporate office in Aqaba. The deal with Classic Fashion Apparel Industry, worth £66 million, will facilitate the building […] June 29, 2022
Development Turkey lifts veto on Finland, Sweden joining NATO NATO ally Turkey lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden’s bid to join the Western alliance on Tuesday after the three nations agreed to protect each other’s security, ending a weeks-long drama that tested allied unity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The breakthrough came after four hours of talks just before a NATO summit began […] June 29, 2022
Real Estate Freeze on Russians selling boosts luxury London house prices The war in Ukraine is making it hard for even unsanctioned Russians to sell exclusive residential property in Britain, adding to a shortage of supply that has helped drive up house prices in prime locations, real estate sources say. Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern oil barons and billionaire Chinese entrepreneurs have been on a spending spree […] June 29, 2022
Energy Iran, US hold nuclear talks with EU in separate Doha hotel rooms Indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington started on Tuesday in Doha, Iranian state media reported, as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator met with European Union envoy Enrique Mora, who will shuttle between the American and Iranian sides. Based in separate rooms in a hotel in Qatar’s capital, Iran’s Ali Bagheri Kani and US Iran special […] June 29, 2022
Tourism Hotelier recruiting 12,000 workers for World Cup Hotel operator Accor is recruiting 12,000 temporary overseas employees to operate 65,000 empty rooms in apartments and homes in Qatar as temporary fan housing for the 2022 soccer World Cup, its chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin told Reuters. Qatar is working to avoid an accommodation shortage during the tournament and has hired Accor, Europe’s largest […] June 29, 2022
DP World port deal set to boost UAE’s trade with Romania Dubai’s DP World has signed a deal to develop infrastructure at the Black Sea port of Constanta, in a move designed to boost bilateral trade relations between Romania and the UAE. The agreement between the Romanian government, Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) and port operator DP World will also expand cooperation in […] June 29, 2022
Exclusive Real Estate Damac set to splurge on jewellers and real estate across Europe Dubai developer Damac is looking at projects in Germany and Copenhagen, as well as more partnerships with fashion brands, says senior VP June 29, 2022
Tourism UK’s offer of visa-free travel to UAE hailed as ‘historic’ step The addition of the UAE to the list of countries eligible for visa-free travel to the UK is “historic” and will drive further growth in both economies, officials and experts have told AGBI. The British government announced on Monday that the UAE would be added to its new electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system in 2023, […] June 28, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt can no longer depend on foreign money, says minister Egypt’s finance minister said on Monday the government could no longer depend on foreign purchases of treasuries to finance its budget, but must work to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) instead. “The lesson we have learned (is that) you cannot depend on this type of investment. It is coming just to get high yields, and […] June 28, 2022
Agriculture Scotland eyes big export boost from UK-Gulf trade talks Scottish businesses in key export sectors such as food, financial services and renewables have high hopes for a free trade deal with the GCC June 27, 2022
Tourism Sanctioned Russian’s superyacht docked in Dubai A luxurious superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian billionaire parliamentarian featuring six suites, an elevator, its own beach club and a helicopter pad is anchored in Dubai where Russians have sheltered wealth since the invasion of Ukraine. Andrei Skoch’s blue and white “Madame Gu” was docked at Port Rashid on Friday, where Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh […] June 25, 2022
Analysis Business of Sport The pros (and cons) of big stars backing your business As French footballer Paul Pogba becomes an angel investor and brand ambassador for Islamic fintech Wahed, we look at the benefits and pitfalls of celebrities from David Beckham to Jay-Z teaming up with brands When global Islamic fintech Wahed announced its latest list of investors, Paul Pogba, the Manchester United and French international footballer, stood […] June 25, 2022
Analysis Banking & Finance UK Islamic fintech wants to take on the world UK fintech has enjoyed meteoric growth in recent years, and Islamic fintech has been a key part of that success. AGBI speaks to industry experts to get the inside track on the sector’s development UK fintech investment hit $37.3 billion in 2021, up sevenfold from $5.2 billion in 2020, according to figures published by global […] June 24, 2022
Manufacturing 25 years of Harry Potter: From rejection to 500m global sales When Bloomsbury Publishing founder Nigel Newton brought home a manuscript for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by a then unknown J.K. Rowling, his daughter Alice described it as “possibly one of the best books an 8/9 year old could read”. Twenty-five years later, it is one of the biggest selling novels of all time […] June 24, 2022
