Al Waseet International (AWI), the Kuwaiti publisher of the Middle East editions of Marie Claire, Top Gear and Fortune magazines, is restructuring in preparation for an initial public offering in the UAE and Kuwait in 2012, its chief operating officer says. The company's only public listing is in Syria through one of its subsidiaries, the United Group.
But the structure being implemented, which brings United Group and its sister company, Al Wataniya, under the name AWI and divides the company into business units such as AWI Magazines, AWI Dailies, AWI TV and AWI Classifieds, will set it up for a wider public offering, said Majed Suleiman, the chief operating officer of AWI. "We are planning to do it in 2012 because I think it's the perfect thing to do when you are structured very well," Mr Suleiman said. "I think we have to share this experience with a lot of people."
AWI takes its name from Al Waseet, the weekly classified advertising newspaper the company launched in Kuwait in 1993 and that today operates in 35 cities and 12 countries.
The paper became the foundation for a company that, in addition to publishing well-known western magazines in Arabic, has won lucrative contracts to sell advertising for major pan-Arab media brands such as Al Jazeera and Al Hayat.
The Al Jazeera deal played a large role in the company's 15 per cent profit growth last year, compared with 2008, Mr Suleiman said. The company, which employs about 3,500 staff, won the contract from Q.Media, the sole advertising representative of Al Jazeera, to sell the pan-Arab satellite broadcaster's advertising outside of its domestic market of Qatar. "It's about US$60 million [Dh220.3m]," Mr Suleiman said. "This is how much we have to sell every year." To reach that volume, the company hired 200 new staff and opened an office dedicated to Al Jazeera ad sales in Paris, he said. Those new employees accounted for half of the workers the company hired last year. Al Jazeera bought the rights to this year's FIFA World Cup, along with the rest of the Arab Radio and Television network's sports rights late last year. The Al Jazeera deal also represents a new direction for the company, which plans to broaden its former focus on print to include more television. AWI launched its own branded television station, Waseet TV, last June, with a mix of television shopping, "infomercial" and "advertainment" programming.
"This is our plan," Mr Suleiman said. "In 2010 and 2011, we will move into television."
The move will help offset some of the losses arising from the company's print deals last year, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Mr Suleiman said a loss of property advertising in Saudi last year contributed to Al Hayat's ad sales amounting to only 30 per cent of what they had been the year before. Al Wataniya, AWI's Saudi media sales subsidiary, is a 50-50 joint venture between AWI and Al Hayat's publisher, the Makshaff Group, Mr Suleiman said. AWI is owned by four partners: Bashar Kiwan, the chief executive; Mr Suleiman; Marwan Dimas, the general manager; and Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah, a Kuwaiti businessman. The company plans to continue expanding its titles to new markets within the region, including the introduction of Marie Claire and Top Gear to Qatar and Bahrain this year, as well as focus on its newest regional rights acquisition, Fortune. Fortune, a global business magazine launched in 1930 and owned by Time Inc's Fortune/Money Group, signed a deal last November to launch the Middle East editions of its magazine this spring.
Mr Suleiman said the company would be producing Arabic-only editions to start with, followed by English editions as markets merited, with UAE, Saudi and Kuwaiti editions to launch this summer.
The launches come just over a year after Fortune's main rival, Forbes, folded its Arabic edition. Mr Suleiman said the closure of Forbes left a gap that needed to be filled.
"I think we need a real, good title for economics in Arabic," he said. "I think our innovation is going to be the ability to bring some new content to the local market, while also bringing some advertising to the local market. That's what we do."
khagey@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
The Mother
Director: Niki Caro
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Gael Garcia Bernal, Omari Hardwick and Lucy Paez
Rating: 3/5
CONFIRMED LINE-UP
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic)
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
Jeļena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Liudmila Samsonova
Daria Kasatkina
Veronika Kudermetova
Caroline Garcia (France)
Magda Linette (Poland)
Sorana Cîrstea (Romania)
Anastasia Potapova
Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine)
Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
Emma Navarro (USA)
Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine)
Emma Raducanu (Great Britain) – wildcard
LOVE AGAIN
Director: Jim Strouse
Stars: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, Celine Dion
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: 3S Money
Started: 2018
Based: London
Founders: Ivan Zhiznevsky, Eugene Dugaev and Andrei Dikouchine
Sector: FinTech
Investment stage: $5.6 million raised in total
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
EU's 20-point migration plan
1. Send EU border guards to Balkans
2. €40 million for training and surveillance
3. Review EU border protection
4. Reward countries that fund Balkans
5. Help Balkans improve asylum system
6. Improve migrant reception facilities
7. Close gaps in EU registration system
8. Run pilots of faster asylum system
9. Improve relocation of migrants within EU
10. Bolster migration unit in Greece
11. Tackle smuggling at Serbia/Hungary border
12. Implement €30 million anti-smuggling plan
13. Sanctions on transport linked to smuggling
14. Expand pilot deportation scheme in Bosnia
15. Training for Balkans to deport migrants
16. Joint task forces with Balkans and countries of origin
17. Close loopholes in Balkan visa policy
18. Monitor migration laws passed in Balkans
19. Use visa-free travel as leverage over Balkans
20. Joint EU messages to Balkans and countries of origin
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL CARD
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections
6.30pm: Gifts Of Gold
7.05pm Final Song
7.40pm Equilateral
8.15pm Dark Of Night
8.50pm Mythical Magic
9.25pm Franz Kafka
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
More from Mohammed Alardhi
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates