Dh3 million
Visa’s “impossible deals” initiative during this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival delivered Dh3 million worth of savings for its cardholders. The global payments provider said a record 125,000 signed up for the promotion with 425 winners rewarded with deals on mobile phones, watches, jewellery, gold and cars. While 10 shoppers drove home an Infiniti QX50 worth Dh181,000 for just Dh25,000, a total of 200 cardholders had iPhone 7s delivered to their door for just Dh600.
Residents apply multiple times for finance
UAE residents were forced to apply for multiple loans to secure personal finance last year. While 1.6 per cent fewer people actually applied for personal loans in 2016 compared to the previous years, according to the financial comparison website compareit4me, those who did apply had to make numerous applications to actually get a loan — something illustrated by the 10.26 per cent increase in the number of applications.
Quote:
“It needed a few quarters of good performance for them to warm up and get more interested. This is what is happening now.”
Michael Bolliger, the head of emerging-market asset allocation at UBS Wealth Management on its clients’ interest in increasing their emerging-market holdings after last year’s rally.
ADIB launches Snapchat channel
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank announced a new Snapchat channel this week, in a bid to better connect with its customers and the wider community. The channel will act as an online platform for customers to engage with the bank and also share its news and promotions.
US credit card thieves move online
The use of stolen card data to pay for merchandise on US websites in mobile apps and via call centres surged 40 per cent last year, according to a report from Javelin Strategy & Research released on Wednesday. That is forcing merchants to spend billions on online fraud protection in an effort to detect when a crook is using someone else’s card number.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
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Company%20Profile
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'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS
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Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5