Americana, the largest quick-service restaurant operator in the Mena region, plans to start a new poultry feed plant in Ethiopia to support its business, according to its chairman.
Americana, which has 84 stores under construction as of June 30, expects to add 250-260 new restaurants by the end of the year, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia, it said earlier this year.
The company opened 108 new stores during the first half of 2023, bringing its total restaurant count to 2,277 stores as of the end of June.
“I am really excited about starting a poultry feed plant in Addis Ababa,” Mohamed Alabbar told the Future Hospitality Summit in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“In the Arab world, we have a shortage of chicken feed … 65 per cent of the cost of the chicken is the feed and none of us in the Arab world is able to produce the feed because we don't produce soya, we don't produce corn.”
Mr Alabbar did not reveal how much the company is planning to invest in the project and when it will be launched.
Americana, founded in Kuwait in 1964, introduced fast-food restaurants in the region in 1970. It is the largest out-of-home dining operator in 12 countries across the Mena region and Kazakhstan and operates restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut and KFC.
Other brands owned by the company include Costa Coffee, Hardees, Baskin Robbins, Krispy Kreme, Wimpy and TGI Fridays.
The company raised $1.8 billion from its initial public offering in November last year and was dual-listed on Saudi Arabia's main Tadawul market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the Arab world's two largest stock markets.
The IPO was the largest in Saudi Arabia last year.
Speaking at the event on Tuesday, Mr Alabbar, who is also the founder of Emaar Properties and chairman of Abu Dhabi-based private developer Eagle Hills, said that the hotel industry is an exciting business and “today we have about 12,000 rooms with $3.5 billion of investment”.
The hotel industry offers big potential since “4 per cent of the world population has travelled, out of the seven billion … so tourism has not started yet”, he said.
Emaar Hospitality, a unit of Dubai-listed Emaar Properties, owns hotel brands including Address Hotels and Resorts, Vida and Al Alamein.
Eagle Hills is currently developing mixed-use projects in a number of countries, including Morocco, Bahrain, Jordan, Serbia and the UAE. Last year, it launched a $2.5 billion project in Albania.
Company%20Profile
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
ENGLAND TEAM
Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
