AD Ports Group, the operator of industrial cities and free zones in Abu Dhabi, has launched its first office in China, as it aims to strengthen commercial and investment activities globally.
The new office in Beijing will help advance AD Ports’ presence within China as well as the Belt and Road network, which spans maritime routes linking Asia, Africa and Europe as well as multimodal overland corridors between China, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, AD Ports said in a statement on Thursday.
The new office will also help connect potential clients and investors into the group’s integrated global trade and logistics ecosystem, while co-ordinating investments, fostering new business ventures, and facilitating capital inflows from Chinese investors into the UAE.
“As the world’s largest exporter and driver of supply chain development, China is actively reshaping international trade. Through our newly established Beijing office, we will work closely with our Chinese partners to support the expansion of key local, regional and international trade corridors and deliver cutting-edge shipping, infrastructure and logistics solutions,” said Capt Mohamed Al Shamsi, managing director and group chief executive of AD Ports Group.
The move comes as AD Ports looks to expand its global footprint and strengthen partnerships with businesses across within the UAE well as China, and in markets beyond the world's second-largest economy. The Abu Dhabi-based group and China’s Jiangsu Overseas Co-operation Investment operate economic zones in Abu Dhabi, while Cosco Shipping Ports operates a major container terminal via a joint venture at Khalifa Port.
A number of Chinese companies have also invested in manufacturing and trading entities within Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi Group (Kezad), the largest operator of integrated economic zones in the UAE. As of 2024, China was the UAE's largest trading partner, with more than $100 billion in total bilateral trade spanning sectors including crude oil, petrochemicals and artificial intelligence.
AD Ports, which has a network of more than 140 offices worldwide, completed several new deals last year including acquiring 100 per cent of APM Terminals Castellon in Spain, as well as buying a 60 per cent stake in Dubai Technologies, a trade and transportation solutions developer based in Dubai.
The group also acquired a 60 per cent stake in Tbilisi Dry Port, a key logistics terminal in Georgia, and secured 81 per cent ownership in the joint venture that signed a 20-year concession to operate and upgrade the existing Luanda Multipurpose Port Terminal in Angola.
Established in 2006, AD Ports’ portfolio includes 33 terminals, with a presence in more than 50 countries, and economic zones spanning more than 550 square kilometres.
As part of its China growth strategy, AD Ports will also be expanding in-country capacities of Noatum Logistics, the group’s logistics arm, to offer logistics solutions tailored specifically to the needs of China’s domestic market. Noatum Logistics will also operate its new commercial branch for the Beijing-Tianjin region, a vital domestic market with a combined population of more than 110 million, according to AD Ports.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
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
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
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Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Quick%20facts
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
