Abu Dhabi Global Market-headquartered Anghami, the music streaming rival of Spotify in the Arab world, successfully listed on New York’s Nasdaq with a bell-ringing ceremony on Thursday.
The listing followed Anghami’s deal with Vitas Media Acquisition Company (VMAC), a special purpose acquisition company, or Spac, set up in 2020.
Anghami has become the first Arab technology company to be listed on Nasdaq and the first Arab company to list on this market in more than 25 years, the firm said.
We have carved out a place not only in the industry, but also in the hearts of music lovers in across the region, with a 58 per cent market share
Eddy Maroun,
co-founder and chief executive of Anghami
Founded in 2012, the ADGM-registered public company listed with the trading name Anghami (Nasdaq: ANGH).
ADGM will continue to support Anghami in the next phase of its growth story, said Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of ADGM.
“Anghami is set to become the first Arab technology company to successfully list on Nasdaq, which is a remarkable achievement. The approval demonstrates the vast opportunity for ADGM-based companies to tap into global capital markets to raise funds to realise their full potential,” Mr Al Zaabi said.
Anghami established its global base and research and development centre in Abu Dhabi last year, as part of a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office under the $545 million innovation programme.
Adio has provided Anghami with financial and non-financial incentives to set up at ADGM, in addition to helping the platform access the advantages of Abu Dhabi, including its strategic location, access to a competitive talent pool and established infrastructure.
“We have carved out a place not only in the industry, but also in the hearts of music lovers in across the region, with a 58 per cent market share,” said Eddy Maroun, co-founder and chief executive of Anghami.
“We look forward to continuing our mission to transform the music streaming industry worldwide by bringing fans and artists together to deliver a unique streaming experience with our focus on original, hyper-local content and an extensive catalogue of music and entertainment."
Dubai investment bank Shuaa Capital invested an undisclosed amount as part of a new funding round in Lebanon-born Anghami in January last year.
Commenting on Twitter on Thursday, Shuaa Capital's chief executive Jassim Alseddiqi wrote: “Anghami successfully lists on Nasdaq New York; the first Arab technology company to list on Nasdaq. Congratulations to the Anghami team and pleased for Shuaa Capital to be leading the listing and the round of funding."
Anghami’s music streaming platform has more than 75 million users in Europe, the US and the Middle East and North Africa region. It offers access to more than 72 million Arabic and international songs to stream and download, and about 200,000 Arabic and global podcasts.
Abu Dhabi is proud to celebrate Anghami's achievements “as it receives final approvals to list on Nasdaq … paving the way for it to become the first Arab technology company to achieve this monumental milestone”, said Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and vice chairman of ADGM.
“A true technology pioneer and regional success story, Anghami's drive for innovation and growth has enabled it to reach new heights, boosted by support from the emirate’s ecosystem … working as an integrated ecosystem, Abu Dhabi provides support and enables opportunities for fast-growing companies.”
Anghami has worked with several local label partners to build a comprehensive catalogue of songs from around the region and negotiate licences with major international labels.
“As we prepare for life as a public company, I would like to thank Abu Dhabi Global Market for its support in cultivating an environment that allows exciting home-grown Middle East technology companies such as Anghami to grow and thrive,” said Elie Habib, co-founder and chief technology officer of Anghami.
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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.”
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
