It has been more than two years since NMC Health almost collapsed, after a more than $4 billion debt pile was uncovered and the company's founder and former joint chairman, BR Shetty, fled the UAE in one of the biggest corporate scandals in the country's history. That history is receding as the new NMC Healthcare charts a different path, while maintaining its position as the biggest private healthcare provider in the UAE. In March, a restructuring process was completed, a move that allowed 34 NM...
Jun 01, 2022•22 min•Ep. 285
The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos is back as an in-person event but in May instead of its usual January slot. Key discussions have been around energy security amid conflict in Ukraine and rising prices, with European nations looking for alternatives to Russian gas. High oil prices are helping Gulf economies and also adding to inflation concerns. Technology and the future of work following the Covid-19 pandemic are intertwined in Davos, with Meta and other companies showing how w...
May 24, 2022•15 min•Ep. 284
The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos is back as an in-person event following a move online during the Covid-19 pandemic. While Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President will address the forum virtually on Monday, leaders scheduled to physically attend next week include Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Ivory Coast Prime Minister Patrick Achi, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Colombia’s President Ivan Duque and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. German Chancellor Olaf...
May 18, 2022•20 min•Ep. 283
Economic sentiment in the UK is weighed down by the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy prices as well as overall rising inflation, together with post-Brexit struggles. Recent local election results have also shaken the political landscape. Last month, the IMF downgraded its UK growth forecast for the year to 3.7 per cent, from the 4.7 per cent it projected in January. Britain's economy had rebounded by 7.5 per cent in 2021, its strongest year of growth since the Second World War, as it recov...
May 11, 2022•23 min•Ep. 282
Carbon can be emitted, offset, removed, stored and increasingly, traded. But how does carbon trading work and what role does it play in the energy transition? To answer these questions, co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner are joined by William Pazos, co-founder and managing director at AirCarbon, which has teamed up with Abu Dhabi Global Market, the UAE capital's financial free zone, to create a carbon trading exchange and clearing house. They discuss the long (and sometimes sordid) histor...
May 04, 2022•35 min•Ep. 281
On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund released its Middle East and Central Asia Regional Economic Outlook which shows a divergent picture in 2022 for the region, with oil exporters such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia expected to experience robust rates of growth thanks to higher oil prices. Uncertainty is also increasing with the duration of the war in Ukraine a significant factor on how the rest of the Middle East and North Africa will fare amid rising inflation and growing food insecurity...
Apr 27, 2022•31 min•Ep. 280
On Monday the UAE Cabinet announced one of the biggest overhauls to the UAE's visa system in years. To explain the details, co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner are joined by Haider Hussain, a partner at immigration consultancy Fragomen in the UAE. They dig into the expansion of the popular golden visa programme; what the new green visa scheme is for high-skilled workers; and why it is now easier for job-seekers and investors to come in and out of the country. In this episode: UAE's major o...
Apr 19, 2022•22 min•Ep. 279
The sudden shift to remote working amid the Covid-19 pandemic made video conferencing tools hugely important for companies looking to keep their operations running smoothly. It was Zoom however that became synonymous with the times, spurring a new lexicon, including ' Zoom Fatigue ' and 'Zoom bombing' as people adjusted to a new paradigm. As the pandemic evolves to endemic in much of the world, the legacy of the crisis includes the adoption of hybrid working practices as employers look to lock i...
Apr 13, 2022•21 min•Ep. 278
This year's Edelman Trust Barometer report, titled The Cycle of Distrust, showed that governments and the media around the world are creating an atmosphere where distrust is the default setting. Only 50 per cent of people on average trusted the media, with governments faring only slightly better at 52 per cent. In the UAE, the government, business, NGOs and the media are all considered trustworthy, although media scored the lowest at 64 per cent. Perception of business rose by 11 points to 78 pe...
Apr 06, 2022•25 min•Ep. 277
"More question marks than answers." This is how Mohammed Al Gergawi, the UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, described the state of the world in remarks at the World Government Summit on Tuesday, as he implored decision-makers to move faster in order to keep up with rising inflation, rapidly changing technology and disruption to status quo geopolitics. The two-day annual event, staged in the closing days of Expo 2020 Dubai, brought together 4,000 participants and 30 international organisations from...
Mar 29, 2022•20 min•Ep. 276
Sanctions on Russian crude over the Ukraine conflict have increased concerns about supply, sending already high energy prices rocketing. Saudi Arabia warned it will not bear any responsibility for global supply shortages following attacks on its energy infrastructure. Along with Russia, the kingdom leads the 23-member Opec+ oil producer alliance which has been working to keep markets stable. Inflationary pressures are impacting expectations of worldwide economic growth this year, potentially imp...
Mar 23, 2022•17 min•Ep. 275
The relationship between the UAE and the US is perhaps one of the most important for stability in the wider region. The two nations have been allies for decades, working across defence, energy, technology and investment. However, these ties are currently going through what the UAE's ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, called a “stress test". When the countries eventually move into a new phase, it has the potential to be something quite exciting and promising that encompasses technology, ...
Mar 16, 2022•35 min•Ep. 274
Oil prices touched their highest level since 2008 — surging past $130 a barrel — after US President Joe Biden banned crude, gas and coal imports from Russia on Tuesday, in retaliation for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Wheat and other soft commodities are also rising on supply concerns, as both Russia and Ukraine are big producers. There is already a knock-on effect on food costs. Metals, including aluminium and nickel, are experiencing similar record price jumps and industries such as car making...
Mar 09, 2022•21 min•Ep. 273
As the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic recede, the most critical issue faced by those leading the energy industry becomes the transition to a less carbon-intensive world after the commitments made at Cop 26 climate summit in Glasgow. How will this be managed amid an evolving global landscape which also includes heightened geopolitical risk and the concern around security of energy supplies. Randy Bell, senior director and Richard Morningstar Chair for Global Energy Security at the Atlantic...
Mar 02, 2022•27 min•Ep. 272
The future of ownership or a passing fad? NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, a digital object underpinned by the blockchain, have taken the digital art world by storm — and Sotheby's is taking note. The storied auction house credited an “influx of younger, tech-savvy collectors” interested in luxury goods and NFTs for its success in 2021, when it reported its highest sales figure since it opened in 1744. But the digital space is not without its grifters, spammers and scammers. OpenSea, the world's bi...
Feb 23, 2022•17 min•Ep. 271
Rising geopolitical tensions, an energy crunch and the thrum of pandemic economic recovery are setting an uncertain path to net zero. But how did we get here? And what are the forces in play during a decisive decade for climate action? Alexis Crow, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council with a background in geopolitics and economics, joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to lay out what to expect in the year ahead for fossil fuels, renewables and the push and pull of the “old” versus ...
Feb 16, 2022•18 min•Ep. 270
Amid inflation, an energy crisis, volatile stock markets and increasing scrutiny of big technology firms, there is concern over how tensions between global powers such as the US and Russia might spill over into conflict. The major crisis is around Ukraine, but there are other pain points, including North Korea's ballistic missile programme, the war in Yemen, ISIS's enduring threat and the continuing talks over Iran's nuclear programme. Higher oil and gas prices are a symbol of these worries. Wha...
Feb 08, 2022•22 min•Ep. 269
On Monday the UAE announced it will introduce a new federal corporate tax on business profits in a landmark move that will reshape the economic landscape. Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner answer the basics of how it will work, why now and what to expect when the tax goes into effect on June 1, 2023. Later, they are joined by Anurag Chaturvedi, chartered accountant and chief executive of the Chartered House Tax Consultancy in Dubai. He explains why the new tax regime is competitive for a...
Feb 01, 2022•28 min•Ep. 268
Web3 is the next generation of the internet. Though it is difficult to understand and seemingly easy to dismiss, the advent of a decentralised internet demands our attention as it is a fundamental shift away from how we use the web today. So says Noor Sweid, a veteran venture capitalist in Dubai who has been tracking the rise of the technology and eyeing opportunities. She joins Kelsey Warner this week to explain her current thinking on Web3 and what to expect. Ms Sweid is the founder and genera...
Jan 27, 2022•21 min•Ep. 267
With Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the World Future Energy Summit under way in the UAE, the path to net zero is becoming clearer with an energy mix of hydrogen, nuclear and renewables alongside innovations such as carbon capture and battery storage. Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner discuss the latest developments and then, Kelsey interviews The National's energy contributor Robin Mills in this bonus episode of Business Extra. They discuss Adnoc's business continuity response to the ...
Jan 18, 2022•18 min•Ep. 266
This is the decade of ‘talentism’ rather than capitalism, the World Economic Forum’s president said as it begins a week of high-level online meetings to address climate action, the pandemic and the economic recovery. Borge Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister, tells the Business Extra podcast that the success of a business is now also being measured by its ability to recruit and develop young talent. In this episode: Key issues for WEF 2022 (1m 57s) Could Covid disruption offer opportunit...
Jan 17, 2022•17 min•Ep. 265
With the UAE's move to a Monday-Friday working week and a reduction of hours for public sector employees to four-and-a-half days, the country is leading the charge of a milestone shift in the way we work in the 21st century. Less than a month into the new model, the private sector is following suit. One in four companies plan to move to a four-and-a-half-day working week, a survey by management consultancy Mercer found. To talk about the broader implications of this working culture shift, future...
Jan 12, 2022•22 min•Ep. 264
Staff shortages are one of the most consequential by-products of the latest coronavirus variant, Omicron. Health care, aviation, education and dining are among the industries scrambling for employees to provide essential services. As the pandemic enters its third year, robots and automation are becoming a necessity rather than a novelty, with a labour market in flux. This is according to geopolitical futurist Abishur Prakash, who joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to talk ...
Jan 06, 2022•22 min•Ep. 263
Sharp uptick in robot orders in the US amid a worker shortage. Historically large cyber and ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure. A chip shortage that threatened to grind the auto industry to a halt. Looking back on some of the biggest technology threats of 2021, experts from the World Economic Forum, Algirde Pipikaite, cybersecurity lead, and Jayant Narayan, AI and machine learning lead, weigh in on what we learnt – and where we are headed. This is what to expect in 2022 on the frontie...
Dec 29, 2021•15 min•Ep. 262
Will 2021 be remembered as the year cryptocurrency went mainstream? The blockchain-powered financial services industry drew about $30 billion in venture capital this year, more than in all previous years combined. Meanwhile, hype over a more decentralised Internet - from NFTs and crypto to Web 3.0 and beyond - reached a fever pitch. Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner unpack and explain the trends, and Kelsey interviews Abu Dhabi Global Market's Wai Lum Kwok, senior executive director, abo...
Dec 22, 2021•28 min•Ep. 261
A year in review for the controversial figure with an outsized influence on our future. In this episode Elon Musk's 2021 overview (1m) Elon Musk's persona (5m 50s) The role of social media (8m 32s) Tesla stock and future (9m 58s) Is Elon Musk human enough? (14m 23s) US regulation (17m 5s) Read more • Elon Musk offloads more Tesla shares as company loses its $1tn valuation • Elon Musk jokes about quitting his jobs as he sells more Tesla shares • New battery technology can charge electric vehicles...
Dec 15, 2021•18 min•Ep. 260
A four and a half day working week, with Saturday and Sunday as full days off, marks a massive shift to work culture in the UAE. The federal government will adopt these measures beginning January 1, 2022, but it remains unclear if the private sector will follow suit. Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner discuss what residents, investors, employers and employees need to know, the significance of the announcement and what it means for productivity, worker well-being and the UAE's competitiven...
Dec 07, 2021•11 min•Ep. 259
Status quo is no longer good enough in the C-suite. From employees looking for greater leadership and meaning in their work amid the Great Reassessment, to shareholders and consumers calling for sustainability and equity, top jobs at the corporate level demand a new list of skills. Shane Phillips, CEO of global executive search firm The Phillips Group, joins host Kelsey Warner this week. He talks about the hiring questions boards of directors are asking after the pandemic, the new career path to...
Dec 01, 2021•19 min•Ep. 258
Abu Dhabi could be "the Switzerland" of financial technology thanks to its regulatory environment and agile government, according to Kevin O'Leary, but he is quick to add he is still doing his due diligence. The celebrity investor, who made his name on the US reality show Shark Tank, joins co-host Kelsey Warner this week to talk about investing in decentralised finance, Web 3.0 and what he has learned on this visit to the UAE. Mr O'Leary also talks about why he is putting his name behind Access ...
Nov 23, 2021•21 min•Ep. 257
Business Extra is live from Adipec 2021, where oil majors, energy ministers and executives are meeting. Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner discuss the major themes of the critical gathering following Cop26. Read more on our website: Adipec to explore challenges faced by the energy industry on the cusp of change Adipec 2021 told oil and gas industry needs more than $600bn annual investment until 2030 The UAE’s decision to host Cop28 is a chance for a new narrative Oil exporters to see larg...
Nov 15, 2021•15 min•Ep. 256
