Xiaomi, the world's third-biggest vendor of mobile phones, has opened its biggest Middle East store in Dubai, as it seeks to boost its presence in the region.
The flagship outlet at Dubai Mall, which spans more than 610 square metres, is also its largest store outside of China and India, the Beijing-based company, which opened its first retail store in 2017, said on Thursday.
“Our commitment to making quality technology accessible to everyone is reflected in our Dubai Mall store,” Arjun Batra, country manager of Xiaomi UAE, said.
Xiaomi rose through the ranks of the smartphone market by offering affordable devices with specifications that rival higher-priced models from the world's biggest manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung.
The company has consistently ranked third in terms of market share and units shipped over the past two years. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Xiaomi accounted for 11 per cent of the global market, according to Counterpoint Research. In that quarter, it shipped 33.2 million devices.
A sales peak of 52.5 million came in the second quarter of 2021, the data showed.
However, the company was not spared from the downturn that the industry experienced last year. Smartphone shipments for the full year 2022 dropped to 1.2 billion units, the lowest since 2013, Counterpoint said.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers — including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo — felt the pinch of Beijing's domestic lockdowns that were enforced to temper the spread of Covid-19 for much of the year.
The curbs, considered some of the toughest globally, were in addition to global economic and geopolitical challenges, supply chain issues and a slowdown in consumer demand.
“Despite offering premium phones at aggressive margins, Chinese brands are yet to make headway in the premium market,” Counterpoint said.
“We expect the [global smartphone] market to remain under pressure until the end of the first half of 2023 and to start recovering thereafter.”
Smartphone sales in the Middle East, excluding Turkey, are projected to grow by 6 per cent to about 40.4 million units this year, a report from research firm Canalys found.
The smartphone market in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy, is forecast to expand 9 per cent on the influx of foreign direct investment, while the UAE's market is expected to grow by 6 per cent, on the back of a robust expansion in non-oil industries like real estate, tourism and trade, it said.
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
EA Sports FC 25
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Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
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- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
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'Munich: The Edge of War'
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Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.”
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Sean Kirrane (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Kalifano De Ghazal, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Pharitz Oubai, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Sieh bin Amaar – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Oxord, Richard Mullen, Abdalla Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi
8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan
Napoleon
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