Crypto has reached a critical moment in its history. The US released a slew of game-changing bills for cryptocurrency last week, signalling a long-anticipated seal of approval of crypto from the world’s largest economy. Those bills are the Clarity Act, something called the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and – the Genius Act, which is what we are focusing on today. It is all expected to have major implications for the Middle East, which has already established its own level of crypto adoption....
Jul 23, 2025•22 min•Ep. 405
A whole new property market is to open up to international buyers and it is from the Middle East’s largest economy. Starting in January 2026, Saudi Arabia will allow foreign investors to buy property in the kingdom. It has left global investors eager to find out how they can tap into Saudi Arabia’s fast growing real estate market, which is expected to reach more than $94 billion by 2028. But how easy will it be for a foreign investor to buy property in the kingdom? Will there be a language barri...
Jul 16, 2025•18 min•Ep. 404
The absence of income tax has helped to attract people from around the world to move to the Gulf. But one country is set to change direction. Oman recently announced it will be the first country in the region to introduce personal income tax. While some countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have other types of taxes, such as VAT, on most goods and services, Oman is making history with a levy on personal income. The tax is not set to take effect until 2028, but it has already raised ques...
Jul 09, 2025•20 min•Ep. 403
For decades, most Emiratis have worked in government roles. But now, thousands are joining private companies as part of a nationwide plan to balance the workforce. Early iterations of Emiratisation began in the 1990s, with programmes formalised in the early 2000s. About three years ago, the UAE gradually implemented quotas for hiring Emiratis and gave private-sector companies deadlines to meet them. Now, those deadlines continue to come up. In this episode of Business Extra, host Salim hears fro...
Jul 02, 2025•17 min•Ep. 402
Gulf leaders have been on alert for triggers on several fronts: for one, potential damage to nuclear sites, such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, just across the pond that is the Arabian Gulf. The Gulf has also kept close watch on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway in the Gulf where about a fifth of the world's oil flows through to power the globe, and which Iran had threatened to close. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, all of these are still major factors in the Gulf's...
Jun 25, 2025•18 min•Ep. 401
In the days since Israel started its offensive against Iran, oil prices have shot up and global markets dipped. Israel has struck nuclear sites and oil fields, and the aggression has left global markets wary of what’s to come. Markets are holding out for the possibility of major supply chain disruptions that could have global impact. To understand what this war means for the global economy, Business Extra host Salim Essaid hears from The National's Geo-Economics Editor Manus Cranny, and Colby Co...
Jun 18, 2025•23 min•Ep. 400
“New” is the theme in the Middle East’s growing aviation sphere: new cities, new aircraft and new markets. The International Air Transport Association (Iata) says carriers in the region are expected to post the highest net profit margin in the world this year, at 8.7 per cent. These are strong numbers from the Middle East. But they are coming at a volatile time. Host Salim Essaid hears from The National's own Deena Kamel and StrategicAero Research's Saj Ahmad on what to expect from air travel in...
Jun 11, 2025•18 min•Ep. 399
In the UAE, where development is the name of the game, real estate is a big deal. There's a lot of growth in the UAE, and that means questions about property. The real estate sector in Dubai has been booming since Covid, while there is also rapid development in Abu Dhabi. A report from the credit rating agency Fitch says Dubai property prices are expected to fall by up to 15 per cent in the second half of 2025 and into next year. But some experts say that might not be the case. So how do these n...
Jun 04, 2025•19 min•Ep. 398
Last week, some of the biggest names in tech announced a partnership with Abu Dhabi’s leading AI entity, G42 – a project called Stargate UAE. It’s part of a massive new AI campus set to come online in 2026 – a Gulf iteration of OpenAI’s US-based project of the same name, which was launched earlier this year. Also happening at the same time will be a partnership between Nvidia and the UAE’s AI investment bank, MGX, on a data centre in Europe, and another G42 partnership focused on building data c...
May 28, 2025•22 min•Ep. 397
The UAE is in a race with itself to raise its manufacturing game. From machine parts to pasta, there is one goal: Make it in the Emirates. That also happens to be the name of an event taking place in Abu Dhabi this week, showing what UAE manufacturing has to offer. It’s part of a larger push by the country to be less reliant on international trade, aiming to expand and diversify the UAE economy and make manufacturing as one of its strongest pillars. On this episode of Business Extra, we're heari...
May 21, 2025•20 min•Ep. 396
US President Donald Trump’s historic trip to the Gulf has come to an end – but the business deals announced during it will have a lasting impact. Mr Trump’s tour was a whirlwind of mega-announcements, including $200 billion in commercial deals with the UAE, a $600 billion package with Saudi Arabia and a record aircraft order from Qatar Airways. In this episode of Business Extra , host Sarah Forster is joined by The National’s Geo-Economics Editor Manus Cranny to break down what it all means for ...
May 16, 2025•12 min•Ep. 395
The Jordanian government owed 44.8 billion dinars in public debt as of February this year. That’s more than $63 billion. It’s not $36 trillion dollars like the figure blinking on the US debt clock. But for a country like Jordan, where debt makes up more than 92 per cent of GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund, that number hits differently. Jordan is now at a crossroads. With US financial aid frozen in President Donald Trump’s second term, and pressure mounting from lenders like the ...
May 07, 2025•19 min•Ep. 394
It's been a time of tumult on Wall Street – at the hands of the White House. US President Donald Trump made his plans for tariffs known on the campaign trail, but their scale has taken the world by surprise. The sweeping tariffs sent global markets into chaos. Then, with the announcement of a 90-day pause, things calmed down. But that hasn’t done much for perhaps the greatest fear among investors and the public: the possibility of recession. We’ve heard about so-called recession indicators – par...
Apr 23, 2025•15 min•Ep. 393
For more than a decade, Syria has been under international sanctions aimed at pressuring Bashar Al Assad’s regime. But there is a longer history of sanctions on the country and the broader Middle East. Sanctions can be used as a nudge – or shove – from government to government, usually during times of war. But their impact continues into periods of relative peace, trickling from the highest ranks of the ruling class down to the labourers and families that make up the backbone of a country’s econ...
Apr 09, 2025•24 min•Ep. 392
Donald Trump has been vocal about his planned tariff war since setting foot on the campaign trail – in both his first and second times in office. Mr Trump began his first stint in the White House with a trade war against China. Some of those tariffs were preserved by Joe Biden’s administration when he began his term in 2020. But throughout his campaign, Mr Trump made clear he’d come back with tariffs at full force. What we’re seeing now is a return of that foreign economic policy – broadened, fa...
Mar 26, 2025•31 min•Ep. 391
The start-up economy is booming in the Middle East, but despite progress, women remain underrepresented, as founders and as recipients of funding. While women-led start-ups make up 7 per cent of the region’s total, they receive about 1 per cent of available funding, Wamda statistics show. In this episode of Business Extra, host Salim Essaid speaks with three female founders in the UAE – Yasmin Rose of Rise Birth Centre, Yasmin Megerisi of House of Meena, and Thea Myhrvold, chief executive of Get...
Mar 12, 2025•28 min•Ep. 390
This episode is sponsored by Al Masaood Automobiles The global automotive industry is undergoing dramatic transformation as owners seek more from their vehicles – and technology delivers. This is evident in the UAE where major distributors such as Al Masaood Automobiles are anticipating and catering to shifting customer demands. In this episode of The National’s Business Extra podcast, the company’s chief executive, Irfan Tansel, discusses the UAE’s current motoring landscape, as well as the fut...
Mar 03, 2025•25 min•Ep. 389
In the past decade, Gulf countries have prioritised innovation. It's part of a shift from their prime standing as oil economies to their new goal of using the advent of AI to enhance their economies all around. It's getting attention from global tech hubs. A former Google chief recently said Saudi Arabia has the potential to become the next AI powerhouse. Only last month, Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector economy recorded its strongest expansion in more than a decade. Some of the biggest nam...
Feb 26, 2025•19 min•Ep. 388
Global leaders, policymakers and industry experts came together in Dubai this week at the World Governments Summit to discuss the most pressing challenges shaping the future. With a focus on sustainability, AI governance and global finance, this year's conversation set the stage for collaborative action in an evolving world, from economic resilience to technological innovation. On this episode of Business Extra, we take you to the World Governments Summit, where The National's Editor-in-Chief, M...
Feb 12, 2025•17 min•Ep. 387
It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of tech, with big names such as TikTok, Meta and X making moves in terms of policy and business models. Changes were announced as huge political shifts took place in the US – the start of President Donald's Trump's second term, being one – and some of them were moments for the history books. The timing is no coincidence. This episode of Business Extra hears a breakdown of these developments and explores the business motives driving them, both in the US and...
Jan 29, 2025•24 min•Ep. 386
Tune in every other Wednesday for top stories from a global business hotspot, with vital analysis from renowned experts, diverse perspectives from key figures, and exclusive insight from The National's team of reporters.
Jan 15, 2025•55 sec
Two weeks before returning to office, US president-elect Donald Trump has his eyes on the Middle East — and business interests that are storied to him, but new to the White House. The latest one stars one of the biggest business names in the UAE: Damac properties. Emirati businessman Hussain Sajwani founded Damac in 2002. It’s now one of the leading real estate developers in the region. Damac reported $2.4 billion in revenue in 2023 and was expected to nearly double it in 2024. In 2021, it launc...
Jan 15, 2025•17 min•Ep. 385
For the past few decades, slowly but surely, paper cash has increasingly been viewed as antiquated. Digital payment options are in. You can pay by card, by phone and even by smartwatch. Some people even opt to pay via cryptocurrencies. Yet there are those who insist that physical, paper cash has role in future transactions. Some also insist that personal financial freedom and independence depend on it. In this episode of Business Extra, host Cody Combs hears from Jay Zagorsky, a professor at Bos...
Dec 05, 2024•16 min•Ep. 384
This page was produced by The National in partnership or collaboration with Danube Group. The Danube Group is a prime example of how 1990s opportunities in the UAE combined with business acuity to create a regional success story. Having learnt tough retail lessons selling items from a Mumbai street cart, the brand’s founders went on to create a conglomerate that today employs thousands and contributes to the GCC economy. The Group includes Danube Home and Milano home improvement products, a high...
Dec 02, 2024•34 min•Ep. 383
Saudi Arabia is witnessing a housing boom that is transforming the country’s real estate sector, as home ownership rises and international investors join one of the world’s most dynamic markets. Leading this transformation, developer NHC is meeting demand for lifestyle communities with mega-projects that anticipate future growth. The kingdom’s real estate market is on a path to reach unprecedented heights, with a forecasted market value of $2.27 trillion by the end of the year and a goal to deve...
Nov 13, 2024•14 min•Ep. 382
Just when you thought AI news and developments have reached peak saturation, it seems there’s always something new that captures our collective imagination. Every week brings a new large language model – the backbone of many AI implementations. This time, AI is getting a Hindi-language breakthrough. It’s part of NANDA, a project unveiled earlier this month at the UAE-India Business Forum in Mumbai. Named after one of India’s highest peaks, NANDA is a technological – and cultural – feat in itself...
Sep 25, 2024•17 min•Ep. 381
The Middle East, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has witnessed significant growth in sectors such as cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and FinTech, largely driven by cutting-edge technologies. Some have speculated that the wealth and innovation created from those industries could eclipse that of the oil industries that defined the region. However, this rapid expansion of crypto, AI, and FinTech firms is about to face a challenge – the upcoming US election. In this episode of the Bu...
Sep 18, 2024•13 min•Ep. 380
After decades of anticipation, electric vehicles are becoming the mainstream – as more hit the roads globally, despite bumps along the way. EVs are on the rise, driven by greater affordability, environmental concerns and a shift in consumer preferences. But with geopolitics, infrastructure and misconceptions still in the mix, what does the future hold? In this episode of the Business Extra podcast, host Cody Combs dives into the accelerating world of EVs. He is joined by Hasan Nergiz, managing d...
Sep 11, 2024•24 min•Ep. 379
Banking institutions are a common denominator for many throughout the developed world. Though often portrayed as powerful and imposing, banks, especially in recent times, have learnt to move quickly. They have to adjust to consumer behaviour, and of course, make the most of technologies that change at a breakneck pace. The banks of the Middle East, of course, are no different, and often, they are proving to set the pace, for other banks in the world. In this episode of Business Extra, host Cody ...
Sep 05, 2024•18 min•Ep. 378
In this episode of Business Extra, we explore the rapidly evolving FinTech landscape in the Middle East, where new apps and products are constantly emerging with promises of easier financial transactions and innovative money management solutions. Among these players, Dubai-based start-up Ziina stands out for its methodical rise over the past few years. Ziina aims to bring economic freedom and enhanced financial literacy across the Middle East. Recently, the company made headlines by securing a S...
Aug 14, 2024•16 min•Ep. 377
