Dubai on track to repay $10bn loan



Dubai is on track to repay a US$10 billion (Dh36.73bn) loan from the Abu Dhabi Government. The emirate says growth has returned and it does not need further financial assistance.

It received support from Abu Dhabi in the wake of the global financial crisis, when liquidity in the local property market - which had frenetic growth during the boom years - dried up.

Mohammed Al Shaibani, the chief executive of Investment Corporation of Dubai, said yesterday that Dubai's economy was "in a phase of growth again".

The deadline to repay a $10bn loan from Abu Dhabi - due in "a couple of years" - would be met, he said.

"We are on track," said Mr Al Shaibani, who is also the director general of Dubai's Ruler's Court.

"There is a deadline, and we are committed to the same deadline," he added. "With this recovery, with this progress that we see in Dubai ... we expect to pay anything that is due from us on time."

Mr Al Shaibani said Dubai was well positioned for a recovery in the wake of the financial crisis.

"The fundamental businesses are really doing well. We probably will be the first to recover from the setbacks that we see [in] the world economy," he said.

"We don't need any more support from Abu Dhabi."

Dubai raised $10bn from bond sales to the Abu Dhabi Government and state-controlled banks as part of a support fund for state-owned companies. It also raised $10bn by selling bonds to the UAE's Central Bank in February 2009.

Dubai's residential property market - hit hard by the recent recession - is beginning to recover. Mr Al Shaibani said that the market for commercial property was also set to make a comeback.

"There was a big oversupply," he said. "We anticipate that in another two to three years at the most you will find a complete recovery in [commercial] real estate."

Craig Plumb, the head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle in the Middle East and North Africa, agreed that Dubai's commercial property rents had bottomed out.

"The commercial sector - office space - was currently at the bottom of its cycle. Rents have been going down for the past couple of years. And we now see some stability," said Mr Plumb.

"We would expect to see a recovery [over] a two-to three-year period."

Mr Plumb said Dubai office rents have declined by about half since the peak of the market in 2008.

"The continued growth of the economy is leading to job growth, and that is leading to new demand," he said.

However, commercial rents in some areas are expected to recover quicker than others. Mr Plumb pointed to prime areas such as the Dubai International Finance Centre and Downtown Burj as those likely to recover the fastest.

Mr Al Shaibani was speaking on the opening day of the Forbes Global CEO Conference, which is being held in Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was confirmed as the keynote speaker at the event. The Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal also attended.

Steve Forbes, the editor-in-chief of Forbes, said that the outlook for Dubai's economy was rosy.

"Dubai is becoming a global crossroads between East and West. It's become a hub, a centre for world trade," said Mr Forbes.

"The fourth quarter in the US is not going to be very good … Dubai's performance is going against the global trend," he added.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY

Starting at 10am:

Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang

Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)

Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)

Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera 

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas

The biog

Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
 

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

The biog

Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus

Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India

Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes

Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

RESULTS

Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)

World Sevens Series standing after Dubai

1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

THE LOWDOWN

Photograph

Rating: 4/5

Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz

THE SPECS

Aston Martin Rapide AMR

Engine: 6.0-litre V12

Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic

Power: 595bhp

Torque: 630Nm

Price: Dh999,563