“I cannot accept that our region will be taken over. I will not accept it,” he said. Photo: Canon
“I cannot accept that our region will be taken over. I will not accept it,” he said. Photo: Canon
“I cannot accept that our region will be taken over. I will not accept it,” he said. Photo: Canon
“I cannot accept that our region will be taken over. I will not accept it,” he said. Photo: Canon

Alabbar says starting $1bn Noon.com was his 'biggest risk'


Nada El Sawy
  • English
  • Arabic

Mohamed Alabbar is best known for his role as chairman of Emaar Properties, but two decades after founding the real estate giant, Mr Alabbar dived into e-commerce with the launch of the $1 billion e-commerce platform Noon.com in 2017.

“It’s the biggest risk in my life that I’ve taken,” Mr Alabbar said yesterday at the annual entrepreneurship summit organised by TiE Dubai, the local chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs founded in Silicon Valley.

“For me to be able to even be brave enough, after making billions in my real estate business, I really [didn’t] have to go into digital. Why should I? I’m sitting on an amazing company, amazing balance sheet, amazing powerhouse. Why should I go and take a risk?” Mr Alabbar said.

Two years ago, Mr Alabbar had made an 11th-hour bid to acquire Souq.com – the region's leading online retailer, founded in 2005 – but it was bought by Amazon for $580 million. Shortly thereafter, he bought Noon, financed with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, and other private investors.

Noon has faced a challenge to compete with Souq. The risk, however, has the potential to reap big rewards. The Middle East e-commerce market is estimated to be worth $48.6bn in 2022, up from an estimated $26.9bn in 2018, according to a report by Fitch Solutions.

Mr Alabbar said now "the digital economy is a fact of life", but competition is fierce with global giants such as Amazon, Alibaba and Flipkart dominating the market.  

“Especially in digital and e-commerce, if you don’t have the muscles – the technology, financial power, the best people you can get – you die, and you die quickly,” he said.

“Globally, if you look at e-commerce, how many companies in this giant country called India? Two. How many in China? Two. How many in America? One,” he said.

He still believes the region has an opportunity with its youth and the capital available, and that creating home-grown e-commerce brands should be a priority.

“The great news is that we in the region have the highest percentage of young people, and that is really the fuel of our future,” Mr Alabbar said.

It is often the case that there is a market player that struggles and another that takes over, he said.

“I cannot accept that our region will be taken over. I will not accept it,” he said.

Mr Alabbar has continued to expand his group's online and geographical footprint. Last month Emaar Malls, a unit of Emaar Properties, acquired the remaining stake of online fashion retailer Namshi for Dh475.5m ($129.5m). The Dubai-listed company first bought a 51 per cent stake in Namshi for $151m in 2017.

Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Barings Bank

 Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal. 

Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson. 

Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.  

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

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Omar Yabroudi's factfile

Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah

Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University

2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship

2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy

2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment

2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment

2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager