There is no dearth of South Asian radio stations in the UAE, but they are not all the same. We have a rundown of what's on air and what it sounds like.
Asianet Radio
AM 657
• The lowdown: Asianet Radio began in 2000 to connect the expat Malayali community to their home state of Kerala.
• Personalities: Niyaz is certainly earning his salary. The announcer hosts at least three programmes for the station, including Evening Recharge, Radio Talkies and Uchabhashini. And with his theatre background and mimicry he keeps his listeners engaged.
• The flavour: Despite the colourful personalities, Asianet Radio is distinguished by its news coverage. With a wide array of journalists, courtesy of its parent company, the station is renowned for breaking stories and its exclusive news content.
Voice of Kerala
AM 1152
• The lowdown: VoK is the rebranded Ras Al Khaimah Radio, launched in 1991, and the first that catered to the expat Malayali population in the UAE. After several management changes, it was relaunched on January 1 to cater to Keralites living across the Gulf.
• Personalities: Reji Mannel is a familiar voice to the expat community. His shows, Morning Voice, Sabah el Kheir and Hello Marhaba, on regional music, are popular with listeners.
• The flavour: The station provides a balance of entertainment - an on-air game show - and information.
Radio Asia
AM 1269
• The lowdown: Since 1994, the station has been catering to those over 30 in the UAE's Malayali community.
• Personalities: Rajeev Cherai is the team's star, hosting programmes in both the morning and drive-time slots.
• The flavour: Variety in the form of talk shows, current affairs discussions and regular news bulletins to serials, music reality shows and game shows.
Radio Hello
89.5FM
• The lowdown: Since its launch last year, the station has been playing the latest and classic Tamil hits as well as providing regional entertainment news.
• Personalities: Reva hosts T20, a popular request show on Friday afternoons.
• The flavour: Like the station's name, the vibe is sunny and welcoming.
Radio 4
89.1 FM
• The lowdown: The Hindi station, launched in 1999, is a major player in the local radio landscape, with more than two million listeners tuning in to catch up on Bollywood and the regional entertainment scene.
• Personalities: The rambunctious duo Deep and Faizan are a popular choice for the after-work drive. Thursday nights are anchored by Harsha, described by the station as a "man who was found arguing with a lamppost".
• The flavour: Bollywood. The genre is celebrated with songs, new and old, punctuated by news tidbits.
Hit
96.7 FM
• The lowdown: Launched in 2004, the leading UAE Malayalam station caters to one of the country's largest expat communities.
• Personalities: Nyla, Afraz and Jean are the colourful folks behind the station's flagship morning programme, The Breakfast Club.
• The flavour: Non-stop Malayalam hits with regular breaks for Tamil songs.
Super
FM 94.7
• The lowdown: Launched last year, this 24-hour station caters to the UAE's South Indian community by focusing on the two largest groups: Malayalis and Tamilians.
• Personalities: The station won't have any problems with the work ethic of its leading announcer Firoz. In 2008, the presenter spent 105 hours broadcasting non-stop, a feat that is recorded in India's Limca Book of Records.
• The flavour: In addition to a balanced selection of Malayalam and Tamil hits, the station covers Indian politics and the entertainment industry with its in-house music and film critics.
Radio Mirchi
97.3FM
(Abu Dhabi)
88.8FM
(Dubai and the Northern Emirates) and
95.6FM
(Al Ain)
• The lowdown: It was launched in the UAE in February by Abu Dhabi Media (which also owns The National). Since 2000, the Radio Mirchi brand has been a heavyweight in India with more than 40 million listeners tuning in daily for its mix of Bollywood music and news.
• Personalities: Farhad Hussein hosts Purani Jeans, celebrating Bollywood's golden era. "From playing all-time Hindi film music classics at night-time to recreating the magic of the golden era," he says, "the idea is to reach out to that treasured memory and transport one back to the days of home."
• The flavour: "The Mirchi brand is all about injecting sunshine into our listeners' days," says the station manager Sandeep Sud.
Radio Me
FM 100.3
• The lowdown: Since launching last year, the station has gone high-tech to give listeners a clear audio experience.
• Personalities: The jockeys radiate optimism and make it their mission to get listeners through their day. Aswathy's Wake Up Mantra dispenses inspirational quotes to help drivers with the morning rush.
• The flavour: Something for everyone. The station plays a large selection of modern Indian and Bollywood tunes, offers the technology programme Cocktail and the one-on-one interview series First Person.
Gold
FM 101.3
• The lowdown: Catering to the middle class and big earners in the Malayali community since 2010, the station plays the latest and retro Malayalam and Tamil tunes.
• Personalities: The sugar and spice personalities of the morning duo Vishnu and Neena add extra flavour to the morning radio landscape. The evening is capped of with Sherene's Gold Rewind, a show heavy on nostalgia.
• The flavour: The station is all about keeping the hits flowing during the long hours spent in UAE traffic, with chatty radio announcers and competitions.
City
101.6 FM
• The lowdown: Aimed at the 15-to 34-year-old market, the station focuses on Bollywood, fashion and social trends and has been on the air since 2002.
• Personalities: Bend It Like City is hosted by Karishma (aka The Saatak Queen), known for her droll and sarcastic life observations. "Mama's boy" Lokesh is a neat foil to his Breakfast No 1 show co-host Malavika, who received a tattoo live on air.
• The flavour Irreverent and fast paced, the station is perfect for those with short attention spans.
Suno
102.4 FM
• The lowdown: Since launching last year, the station has been playing an eclectic mix of Hindi and Urdu music, including Bollywood, British-Asian (think Jay Sean), Pakistani and traditional ghazals.
• Personalities: Abhijeet gets the party started with his evening show OMG (Oye Mera Gaana). For something less taxing, there is One Two Ka Four and the host Dev's thoughtful take on the world.
• The flavour: One of the more interesting players, it truly reflects the multiculturalism of the UAE's Asian communities.
HUM
FM 106.2
• The lowdown: The name is an acronym for Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam. It was chosen through a public contest when the radio station was launched in 2005.
• Personalities: The easy-going host Aroma kicks off the day with her Rainbow Morning Show while Aftab keeps the hits rolling in the afternoon with the drive-time show Music On Demand.
• The flavour: Hindi and Urdu music and cricket coverage are the factors of the station's continuing popularity.
Radio Spice
105.4
• The lowdown: Launched in 2007, it offers Hindi, pop and dance music for listeners who are "young at heart and citizens of the world".
• Personalities: Radio Spice holds the exclusive rights to broadcast A State of Trance in the UAE - the show hosted by the superstar dance DJ Armin van Buuren. Those wanting wacky life tips such as how to outsmart your boss can listen to Yamini's midmorning show Stop Work Dial Spice.
• The flavour: Vibrant and youthful, the station has the most edgy playlist from trance, Hindi to the occasional Arabic club track.
Josh
97.8 FM
• The lowdown: Launched last month, it is the UAE's latest Hindi and Urdu music station, which comes complete with its own theme tune composed by the Oscar winner AR Rahman. News broadcasts have access to reports by the BBC World Service.
• Personalities: The morning show, Josh Jumpstart, is hosted by the "million ideas a minute" presenters Anjaan and Meghana. The evening can be spent with Late Night Josh as host Preetam ensures the mood is sanguine with songs that are neither too loud nor too quiet.
• The flavour: Targeted at "young, ambitious and fun-loving South Asian expats", no tune goes back more than five years.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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