Companies such as Coca-Cola intend to raise production in the region in coming years. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National
Companies such as Coca-Cola intend to raise production in the region in coming years. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National
Companies such as Coca-Cola intend to raise production in the region in coming years. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National
Companies such as Coca-Cola intend to raise production in the region in coming years. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National

Unilever, Nestlé and Coca-Cola to increase local output


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Producers of food and other household staples are set to ramp up output in the region as they seek to tap into its burgeoning consumer market.

Global consumer goods multinationals including Unilever, Nestlé and Coca-Cola as well as local producers such as Al Islami Foods, intend to raise production in the coming years.

The moves reflect a renewed recognition of the fast growth of the region's young population and its increasing affluence at a time of flagging expansion in western markets. The region's population is forecast to grow from 340 million now to more than 470 million by 2030, according to the United Nations. Disposable income is also expected to rise as economies mature.

"As the region becomes bigger it makes more sense to have production near the market," said Abhik Gupta, the executive director for consumer packaged goods at the information and measurement company Nielsen in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. "We see a lot of these companies investing in Egypt and in the GCC, and as these economies grow they are likely to consider opening output here."

Unilever has nine factories across the region at the moment, including the world's second-biggest tea factory in Jebel Ali. But significant numbers of products still come into the region such as Fair and Lovely, a skin cream made in India, and Rexona, a deodorant from the Philippines.

"At the moment we get 35 per cent of our products from outside the region, but as we grow and get critical mass more of those products will come onshore," said Arijit Ghose, the managing director of Unilever Gulf.

He highlights tax advantages from basing manufacturing onshore.

The Greater Arab Free Trade Area allows for lower tariffs on the flow of goods in the region.

Nestlé will add to its 16 plants in seven regional countries, with the opening of a facility in Dubai next year for culinary and coffee goods. The Dh500 million investment will create up to 800 additional jobs in the region.

"Producing locally allows us to bring products faster and therefore fresher to consumers," said Lynn Alkhatib, a media relations manager at Nestlé Middle East. "This is a clear advantage we have already experienced with our many manufacturing plants in the Middle East."

Local companies are also planning to grow their presence.

Rani Refreshments, a fizzy drinks producer jointly owned between Coca-Cola and Aujan Industries, plans to open two new plants in the region by 2016.

Al Islami Foods, a UAE-based halal food producer, is building a processing plant in Dubai Investments Park, due to open in two-and- a-half years.

"The plant will be processing meat and poultry and will be three times what we are producing at the moment," said Saleh Abdullah Lootah, the managing director of the company. "We want to meet growing demand in the region."

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Friday’s fixture

6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta

6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman

9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas

9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah

.

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
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

The specs

Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm

Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh130,000

On sale: now

MATCH INFO

West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')

Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')

The specs

Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder

Power: 220 and 280 horsepower

Torque: 350 and 360Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT 

On sale: now

Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Pakistan 106-8 (20 ovs)

Iftikhar 45, Richardson 3-18

Australia 109-0 (11.5 ovs)

Warner 48 no, Finch 52 no

Australia win series 2-0

LIST OF INVITEES

Shergo Kurdi (am) 
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris

Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks

Following fashion

Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.

Losing your balance

You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.

Being over active

If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.

Running your losers

Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.

Selling in a panic

If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.

Timing the market

Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.

Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.

if you go

The flights

Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.

The hotel

Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850

 Events and tours

There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com

For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art. 

More information

For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com

Scoreline

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3

  • Agüero 18'
  • Kompany 58'
  • Silva 65'