• Luxury retailer Chalhoub Group is the best company to work for in the UAE this year, according to LinkedIn. Photo: Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Luxury retailer Chalhoub Group is the best company to work for in the UAE this year, according to LinkedIn. Photo: Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, Mubadala Investment Company, was second on the best company list. Photo: Mubadala
    Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, Mubadala Investment Company, was second on the best company list. Photo: Mubadala
  • Healthcare provider Mediclinic was third on the LinkedIn list. Reuters
    Healthcare provider Mediclinic was third on the LinkedIn list. Reuters
  • Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, is the fourth best company to work for in the UAE this year, according to LinkedIn. Reuters
    Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, is the fourth best company to work for in the UAE this year, according to LinkedIn. Reuters
  • Hospitals operator Aster DM Healthcare completed the top five best companies to work for in the UAE in 2022. Jeffrey Biteng / The National
    Hospitals operator Aster DM Healthcare completed the top five best companies to work for in the UAE in 2022. Jeffrey Biteng / The National
  • National health insurer Daman was sixth. Ryan Carter / The National
    National health insurer Daman was sixth. Ryan Carter / The National
  • The Al Tayer Group and its portfolio of businesses was seventh. Photo: Facebook
    The Al Tayer Group and its portfolio of businesses was seventh. Photo: Facebook
  • Cosmetics company L’Oreal was eighth. Reuters
    Cosmetics company L’Oreal was eighth. Reuters
  • Dubai lender Mashreq Bank was ninth on LinkedIn's list. Satish Kumar / The National
    Dubai lender Mashreq Bank was ninth on LinkedIn's list. Satish Kumar / The National
  • Life insurer MetLife rounded out the top 10 companies to work for in the UAE. Reuters
    Life insurer MetLife rounded out the top 10 companies to work for in the UAE. Reuters
  • Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank was 11th.
    Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank was 11th.
  • Gulf Marketing Group (parent of Sun & Sand Sports) was 12th. Photo: Facebook
    Gulf Marketing Group (parent of Sun & Sand Sports) was 12th. Photo: Facebook
  • Business conglomerate and mall operator Majid Al Futtaim was 13th.
    Business conglomerate and mall operator Majid Al Futtaim was 13th.
  • E-commerce company Amazon was 14th. AP Photo
    E-commerce company Amazon was 14th. AP Photo
  • Energy services company Schneider Electric completed the LinkedIn top 15. AFP
    Energy services company Schneider Electric completed the LinkedIn top 15. AFP

The top 15 companies to work for in the UAE, according to LinkedIn


Deepthi Nair
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai-based luxury retailer Chalhoub Group is the best company to work for in the UAE this year, according to LinkedIn.

Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm Mubadala Investment Company, healthcare provider Mediclinic, Europe’s largest bank HSBC and hospitals operator Aster DM Healthcare complete the top five preferred employers, according to the 2022 LinkedIn Top Companies List.

Other sought-after employers in the UAE include national health insurer Daman, Al Tayer Group, cosmetics company L’Oreal, Dubai lender Mashreq Bank and life insurer MetLife, according to the professional network.

This list is meant to guide professionals at every stage – whether that means a career pivot, jumping back into the workforce after a hiatus or investing in new skills
Salma Altantawy,
Mena news editor at LinkedIn

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Gulf Marketing Group (parent of Sun & Sand Sports), business conglomerate and mall operator Majid Al Futtaim, e-commerce company Amazon and energy services company Schneider Electric round out the top 15 list.

“This list is meant to guide professionals at every stage — whether that means a career pivot, jumping back into the workforce after a hiatus or investing in new skills,” Lynn Chouman, senior news editor at LinkedIn, said on Wednesday.

"Seeing new rankers make up 80 per cent of the list for 2022 is an indication of how significant a single year can be in reinvigorating business cultures as the world of work continues to evolve."

The seven criteria LinkedIn used to identify the best companies in the UAE were the ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity and spread of educational backgrounds. The companies were analysed from January to December last year.

The UAE jobs market has recovered strongly from the pandemic-induced slowdown, helped by the government’s fiscal and monetary measures.

About 76 per cent of employers in the Arab world's second-largest economy plan to expand their workforce in 2022, a February survey by jobs portal Bayt.com and market research company YouGov found.

About two thirds of professionals in the UAE will actively look for new jobs in the first half of this year as business confidence and hiring activity return to pre-pandemic levels, recruitment company Robert Walters said.

To be eligible for the UAE Top Companies list, a company must have at least 500 employees as of December 31, 2021, and the attrition rate can be no higher than 10 per cent, according to LinkedIn.

The most sought-after skills at the UAE’s best employer Chalhoub Group are luxury goods, retail sales and visual merchandising, while the job roles in demand are those of sales executive, fashion consultant and make-up artist, LinkedIn said.

At Mubadala Investment Company, in-demand roles include investment specialists, senior legal counsel and investment associates, the list revealed.

At Mediclinic and Aster DM Healthcare, the most in-demand roles are registered nurses, pharmacists, hospital administrators and medical doctors.

The Covid-19 pandemic opened up a range of employment prospects for certain segments of the healthcare industry. Healthcare jobs now most sought after in the UAE include nurses, laboratory technicians and general practitioners, according to recruitment agency Hays.

The most sought-after roles at lenders HSBC and Mashreq Bank are those of premier client manger, service officer, relationship manager, compliance officer and personal banker, LinkedIn found.

Daman is prioritising jobs for customer service representatives, business development managers and financial officers, while insurance advisers, sales managers and financial advisers are sought after at MetLife, according to the LinkedIn list.

LinkedIn's list of the best 15 companies to work for in the UAE

  1. Chalhoub Group
  2. Mubadala Investment Company
  3. Mediclinic
  4. HSBC
  5. Aster DM Healthcare
  6. Daman
  7. Al Tayer Group
  8. L’Oreal
  9. Mashreq Bank
  10. MetLife
  11. ADIB
  12. GMG
  13. Majid Al Futtaim
  14. Amazon
  15. Schneider Electric
Mobile phone packages comparison
Profile of Whizkey

Date founded: 04 November 2017

Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani

Based: Dubai, UAE

Number of employees: 10

Sector: AI, software

Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million  

Funding stage: Series A

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)

TV: Abu Dhabi Sports

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

Race%20card
%3Cp%3E6pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%201%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20%2450%2C000%20(Dirt)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20Dubai%20Racing%20Club%20Classic%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20%24100%2C000%20(D)%202%2C410m%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Dubawi%20Stakes%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(TB)%20%24150%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20Jumeirah%20Classic%20Trial%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20%24150%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%201%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Al%20Fahidi%20Fort%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24180%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Ertijaal%20Dubai%20Dash%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20%24100%2C000%20(T)%201%2C000m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours 
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.

How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

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.”

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

How it works

1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground

2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water

3) One application is said to last five years

4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Bio:

Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour

Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people 

Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite food: Fish and vegetables

Favourite place to visit: London

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
Updated: April 08, 2022, 6:09 AM