Five talking points from the week in UAE business

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  The Oppo N3. Courtesy Oppo

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  Christopher Pike / The National

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  Antonie Robertson / The National

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  Christopher Pike / The National

We take a look at the Greek bailout, UAE smartphone market, retail sector, new rent data for Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the local markets.

Greece gets clubbed

Groucho Marx once said: "I don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members." People in Greece might well be wishing they had been as picky about joining their wealthy neighbours' euro club in 2001. Because while membership initially came with benefits - an economic boom fuelled by loans from European banks - it turns out that the penalty for late payment of dues is much harsher than the parvenus had anticipated. On Monday, after months of talks, the government of Alexis Tsipras reached a bailout deal with Greece's creditors. The creditors agreed to fork over E86 billion and ease some of Greece's payment terms. In exchange the Greeks must reduce pensions, raise taxes, put E50bn worth of state assets into an independent fund, and allow the IMF to supervise the goings-on. On Wednesday, the Greek parliament voted in favour of the bailout terms. Rob McKenzie

Cheap iPhone could reshape market

Anyone who wants to buy a new Apple iPhone has to fork out a significant number of dirhams - an amount that is beyond the majority of the UAE population. But what if Apple changed tack and released a cheaper version of its pride and joy? A column this week from Nabila Popal, a research manager at IDC in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, gave us a fascinating insight into the shifting smartphone market dynamics in the UAE. She said that devices priced $450-plus have experienced a decline in share from 44 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 to 36 per cent in the corresponding quarter this year, while those priced under $150 increased to command a 38 per cent share of the market's volume. It's new brands such as Wiko, Fly, Vsun, Asus, Obi, Oppo, Hisense that are making waves, rather than those we see plastered over billboards everywhere. Apple had an 18 per cent first quarter UAE market share compared to Samsung's 37 per cent. And, as Ms Popil says, Apple is catering to just one segment. How about an iPhone Lite? Ian Oxborrow

UAE retail sector heralded

UAE was named as the eighth-most popular global location among international retailers – the highest in the Middle East - by construction consultancy Arcadis. The index was based on five key criteria: quality of infrastructure; market demand; the economic environment; the ease of setting up (including business freedoms); and the ease of operating in a country. Popular as it is, retailers will find that they will face increasing competition in coming years as more malls open up in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and an increasing number of shoppers make the transition to ecommerce rather than pounding the aisles - a shift that has been more pertinent in western nations. The food and beverage market in particular is growing ever more crowded, with half of the new retail brands setting up in Abu Dhabi and Dubai either coffee shops or other food and beverage outlets, according to CBRE, the international real estate consultancy. The retail sector across the UAE can expect bumper demand during the Eid weekend. Ian Oxborrow

Rent relief for Dubai residents

Is seems as though there isn't a week that goes by without a report being issued from an agency somewhere on the state of the UAE residential market. During the past few days we received further evidence that the forecast slowdown in Dubai is taking place. "The softening in Dubai's residential rental market appeared earlier than we originally anticipated, offering tenants in the emirate an opportunity to recoup somewhat after several tough years of high rents," said Asteco's managing director John Stevens after the release of its Q2 data. There wasn't such relief for renters in the capital, where rents jumped by 6 per cent in the second quarter of this year from the first on a lack of new supply. Asteco said that new leases were being agreed on rates that were typically about 8 per cent higher than previous deals, but renewals on prime, high and mid-quality accommodation were typically being signed with increases of 4 to 6 per cent. A new rental index is being drawn up by the Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA), and could be introduced by the end of this year, according to comments made recently by Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council's executive director, Mohamed Al Khadar. For some residents, it can't come soon enough. Ian Oxborrow

Markets rise amid global drama

The UAE's stock markets have entered the Eid break on a high. The Dubai Financial Market rose to its highest level in more than a month on its last day of trading before the end of Ramadan, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index rallied for the fifth day in a row, its longest winning streak in a month. The DFM is at 4,101.90, and the ADX 4,809.85. It's been a significant week globally, with the Greek bailout drama and then the nuclear deal between Iran and the United States. The world markets should have had some time to digest what is going on geopolitically by the time shares in Dubai and the capital resume trading on Monday when volumes should be at a higher level than in recent weeks. Ian Oxborrow

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