$46.9 billion – the headline profit figure from Saudi Aramco’s first half results is staggering. The company also says it is ready for a planned IPO, possibly next year, and lines up a stake buy in Reliance Industry’s oil to chemicals business. Mustafa Alrawi, assistant editor in chief, Kelsey Warner and Chris Nelson, assistant business editors, discuss Aramco with Jennifer Gnana, The National's energy correspondent, who has been reporting on a story that is proving to be a game changing time fo...
Aug 14, 2019•28 min
Fad or the future of city transport? That is the debate around electric scooters (or e –scooters) as they get set to come to a street near you. Careem is in talks to run one of Abu Dhabi's first e-scooter rental services after the capital legalised the leasing of the vehicles. The ride-share company - which was bought by Uber for more than $3 billion this year - said it sees two-wheel devices as the future of "micro-mobility". Globally, in dense urban areas scooters are increasingly being seen a...
Aug 07, 2019•31 min
The UAE government has made it easier for husbands, fathers and sons to secure employment without full company sponsorship. Previously, only women were eligible for work permits under family sponsorship. This week we speak to Rory Reynolds, The National 's News Editor, about the new work permit and what it means for workers and their families in the country. In this episode: - Headlines (0 minutes 53 seconds) - The new labour card (6m 50s) Read more on our website: • UAE's new labour card rules ...
Jul 31, 2019•21 min
Assistant Business Editors Chris Nelson and Kelsey Warner talk to Energy reporter Jennifer Gnana about why tanker operators choose to run ships under flags of convenience, following recent attacks and incidents involving such vessels in the Arabian Gulf. Also discussed is how such incidents and wider trade tensions affect oil prices - or not - and they take a look at Saudi Arabia's blooming wind power sector, which alongside solar in the kingdom and elsewhere is set to transform the face of powe...
Jul 24, 2019•18 min
Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief and Assistant Business Editors, Chris Nelson and Kelsey Warner, explore what the consequences could be for the global technology sector after US regulators endorsed a $5 billion (Dh18.3bn) privacy settlement with Facebook to resolve the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Also, they discuss the latest economic data out of China which indicates growth has slowed to the weakest pace since 1992 amid the ongoing trade standoff with America. And what of investo...
Jul 17, 2019•26 min
Host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief and Chris Nelson, Assistant Business Editor, discuss Deutsche Bank's sweeping revamp. This week the German bank announced it will shrink its trading activities by 40 per cent through an unprecedented withdrawal from equities. About 18,000 jobs, almost 20 per cent of the workforce, will go around the world, including in London. The overhaul is forecast to cost €7.4 billion (Dh30.45bn). We break down India's budget and despite a lack of 'big bang' exp...
Jul 10, 2019•28 min
Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief talks exclusively to BR Shetty the founder of NMC Healthcare, Finablr and Neopharma, as well as the Founder and Chairman of BRS Ventures. In the second part of the interview, Mr Shetty recounts how he managed to buy the global foreign exchange business Travelex thanks to his belief in keeping good personal relationships. He is also backing Assam tea to become a worldwide brand now that he owns the oldest producer in India. He explains what he learnt at H...
Jul 03, 2019•21 min
Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief talks exclusively to BR Shetty the founder of NMC Healthcare, Finablr and Neopharma, as well as the Founder and Chairman of BRS Ventures. In the first part of the interview, Mr Shetty shares some anecdotes about building up a fledgling business in Abu Dhabi in the 1970s and 1980s including how one morning he had to get behind the wheel of an ambulance himself to get to the scene of a medical emergency. He recounts his memories of the Founding Father Shei...
Jul 03, 2019•35 min
Thousands of foreign investors and residents have been identified for a "golden card" permanent residency scheme, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai announced in May. Top business leaders from across the Emirates said the move will give investors greater confidence to settle in the country. They also believe it will create greater demand for buying property, boosting a sluggish property market in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. On Tuesday the General Directorate of Residency and ...
Jun 26, 2019•9 min
Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief, hears from Rashed Al Bloushi, Under Secretary of the Department of Economic Development about what Ghadan 21 is all about on the day nine new initiatives were announced outlining R&D investment, electricity tariff discounts, business licensing for technology and state-backed bank loans for SMEs. Kelsey Warner, Assistant Business Editor also joins the discussion about what the outlook for Abu Dhabi's economy will be going into 2020. Also, amid region...
Jun 26, 2019•36 min
Fertilisers play a critical role in ensuring the security of the global food supply. Overnight, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company group has gone from the 12th-largest nitrogen-based fertiliser exporter in the world to the biggest, thanks to its tie up with Nassef Sawiris' OCI. The Abu Dhabi company will combine unit Adnoc Fertilisers with OCI’s regional nitrogen-based fertiliser platform, to create one of the largest exporters of the product globally. OCI has fertiliser production operations in...
Jun 20, 2019•26 min
Nearly Two years on from the acquisition of Souq.com , the US e-commerce company Amazon is front and centre in the UAE again with the launch of its paid subscription service, Prime. Host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief, and Kelsey Warner, Assistant Business Editor, talk to Nada El Sawy, The National's Business Correspondent, about what this development means for consumers and retailers in the region. Also there was the meeting in Japan of G20 countries' central bank governors this week...
Jun 13, 2019•23 min
Apple will break up iTunes into Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV as it revamps how it delivers content. Host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor and Chief, and Kelsey Warner, Assistant Business Editor, explain what the US company's changes could mean for its own future, as well as that of the media and technology landscape and not least, consumers. Zahabia Gupta, Associate Director, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings at S&P Global Ratings is in the the studio to talk abo...
Jun 06, 2019•30 min
Ride-hailing platform Careem has acquired UAE-based bike-sharing company Cyacle for an undisclosed sum, its first foray into "micro-mobility" — an increasingly popular concept for providing easy access to scooter and bike rentals in urban areas. Magnuss Olsson, Careem’s co-founder, sees that increasing bicycle availability and expanding bike routes will transform how people commute in the region. Host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief, and Kelsey Warner, Assistant Business Editor, discus...
May 30, 2019•30 min
Thousands of foreign investors and residents have been identified for a "golden card" permanent residency scheme, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai announced on Tuesday. Top business leaders from across the Emirates said the move will give investors greater confidence to settle in the country. They also believe it will create greater demand for buying property, boosting a sluggish property market in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief, ...
May 23, 2019•28 min
According to brokers, Dubai rental rates continued the downward trend experienced during 2018. Asteco noted “an increasing number of price-conscious tenants … irrespective of location, size or quality". However, year-on-year rents are down in most categories not just luxury. What is driving the prices to fall? Hosts Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief and Chris Nelson, Assistant Business Editor delve deeper. In this episode: A round-up of the business news you need know from thenational.ae...
May 16, 2019•18 min
The National has been covering the Abraaj scandal from New York, London and Abu Dhabi as our editorial team brings you the key developments. In this episode, host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief, talks to Massoud Derhally, The National’s Business Editor who himself has been producing some quite compelling investigative journalism into what happened at the failed private equity firm, founded by Arif Naqvi He explains that in September 2017, about five months before Abraaj collapsed, two...
May 08, 2019•38 min
Host Mustafa Alrawi, Assistant Editor in Chief, talks about the latest news from Arabian Travel Market. Deena Kamel, our aviation correspondent, discusses Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed of Emirates and FlyDubai offering some home truths for Boeing over the 737 Max which has been grounded following deadly crashes. Business correspondent Sarah Townsend shares how leading hotel operators including Jumeirah, Rotana and Hilton have an upbeat outlook. Also Chris Nelson, Assistant Business Editor, speaks to CA...
May 02, 2019•34 min
The promise of lightning-fast internet speeds and a hyper-connected world that will spawn a new era of automation and AI is at the heart of the promise of 5G technology. Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, is both building this bright future and being accused of facilitating the darker side of this technology. The United States and allies such as the United Kingdom are determined to prevent Huawei from being part of the building of their respective 5G networks. They fear this w...
Apr 24, 2019•29 min
Nouriel Roubini is the professor of economics at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He is also chief executive of Roubini Macro Associates, and he became famous after his prediction of the financial crisis, several years before it happened, turned out to be correct. For this, he has sometimes been referred to as "Dr Doom" in the media. He is also a very outspoken critic of Bitcoin – which he has called the mother of all scams. Host Mustafa Alrawi, The National's Assistant Editor in Chief caught up ...
Apr 17, 2019•13 min
CityScape Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s most prestigious property exhibition, takes place next week at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Running from Tuesday to Thursday, this year’s event comes at a time when the local and regional real estate market is on the up. The show draws home-based, regional and global developers, investors and real estate asset managers eager to market their latest projects and it serves as a snapshot of the property sector both here and internationally. In this week’s ...
Apr 11, 2019•29 min
Agriculture is one of the primary drivers of climate change, estimated globally at making up 14 to 15 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, half of which is generated directly by livestock, says University of California, Berkley. US science magazine Scientific American, meanwhile, says producing a half-pound hamburger patty the size of two decks of cards releases as much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere as driving a 1.3 tonne car nearly 15km. But the tide is turning in favour of meat-free ...
Apr 03, 2019•20 min
Uber Technologies has agreed to buy Careem in a $3.1 billion (Dh11.39bn) deal that is the largest technology sector transaction in the Middle East so far, eclipsing Amazon’s $580 million acquisition of Souq in 2017. With governments across the region looking to nurture start-ups in the technology space, the size of the Uber-Careem deal, as well as the increased availability of expertise and liquidity in its wake, will be seen as a catalyst for both budding entrepreneurs and investors, from insid...
Mar 27, 2019•27 min
Dr Reem Bint Mansour Al-Saud is a member of Saudi Arabia's permanent delegation to the UN in New York, and she is a passionate advocate of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Of particular interest is goal number 5 — gender equality. Dr Reem joined The National's Chris Nelson over the phone from her New York base to discuss gender equality in the work force, and how the UN and it's sustainable development goals can help shape the economic and commercial landscape in the future....
Mar 21, 2019•25 min
157 passengers and crew lost their lives when an Ethiopian Airlines flight operating a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed near Addis Ababba, en route to Nairobi, last Sunday. It is a terrible tragedy for their families, Ethiopia, Africa, the world and the aviation industry. Mustafa Alrawi, The National’s Assistant Editor in Chief, and aviation correspondent Deena Kamel discuss the potential impact of the crash on confidence in Boeing’s 737 Max 8 aircraft and the wider air travel industry. There has been a...
Mar 13, 2019•25 min
Entrepreneurialism underpins the UAE’s push to broaden the economy and cement its position as a world leader in innovation. Ramesh Jagannathan, the Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Managing Director of StartAD , the innovation and entrepreneurship platform at NYU Abu Dhabi, is dedicated to providing the necessary tools for start-up creators here. In this episode of the Business Extra podcast, Ramesh Jagannathan talks to Chris Nelson about how the entrepreneurial landscape...
Mar 07, 2019•33 min
With the March 29 deadline for the UK to divorce the European Union close on the horizon, investors both within the country and overseas are trying to prepare for what the outcome might be. However, whether it be leaving with a no-deal, a good deal or bad one, postponing the exit or even deciding not to leave the EU at all, markets, the pound and investor sentiment will all be affected. In this episode of the Business Extra podcast, Chris Nelson talks to Jameel Ahmad, Global Head of Currency Str...
Feb 28, 2019•27 min
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is now rated as the most creditworthy oil and gas producer in the world, according to Fitch. This is a strong validation from one of the world’s leading credit ratings agencies of Adnoc's strategy and transformation into a more commercially driven and innovative organisation. In this week's Business Extra podcast, we talk to Dmitry Marinchenko, Fitch's oil and gas director and the primary analyst for Adnoc, about the credit ratings process, how Fitch arrived at...
Feb 20, 2019•17 min
The global military industry is a vast and hugely lucrative sector where defence spending produces some eye-watering numbers. Next week, Abu Dhabi once again takes centre stage for the world’s major manufacturers and government procurement leaders when the International Defence and Exhibition Conference, Idex, and the Naval Defence Exhibition, Navdex, take place from 17 to 21 of February. In this week’s Business Extra Podcast, The National’s Chris Nelson and Assistant Editor in Chief Mustafa Alr...
Feb 14, 2019•26 min
QuadrigaCX, one of Canada’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, last week filed for creditor protection saying it was unable to retrieve almost $200m worth of deposits belonging to clients because its CEO Gerald Cotten, the only one able to do so, had unexpectedly died. The National’s Assistant Editor in Chief Mustafa Alrawi and Chris Nelson discuss the issue, which has all the makings of a mystery novel. In addition, this week marks earnings season and so far things are looking good both here and...
Feb 05, 2019•22 min
