Pakistan may have to wait another year before unveiling its own big-money franchise Twenty20 league.
The likely delay also ends the UAE’s hopes of staging a second high-profile Twenty20 event within a year, after successfully hosting part of the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) still hopes to launch the Pakistan Super League (PSL) this winter, almost certainly in the UAE, but senior officials acknowledge that it may not happen.
This weekend the board was due to open financial bids from two parties who want the rights to run the PSL for the next 15 years. But the PCB has decided to delay the opening of the bids by 10 days, to August 18.
Ostensibly, the board asked the two bidders – the global consumer electronics group, Haier (Pakistan), and Aman Foundation, a Pakistani charitable trust – for more evidence of their financial robustness.
But officials involved in Haier’s bid told The National they suspect the PCB is buying time to ensure the Aman Foundation gets the contract.
The PCB has set up a nine-member committee, headed by former board chief executive and renowned broadcaster Chishty Mujahid, to look at the bids.
One committee member, however, played down concerns of favouritism and told The National more documentation has been sought from both companies because the board is being cautious about the awarding of league rights.
Financial statements and audited accounts of both companies, the committee official said, were “not sound enough”. In actual fact, the board is eager to draw out the backers behind both bids.
Aman Foundation, for instance, is owned by Arif Naqvi, founder of the Abraaj Group, which is among the world’s leading private-equity investors.
The PCB would prefer Naqvi to be at the front end of the bid, not a non-profit charitable trust which has, on paper, no assets.
Similarly, Haier’s bid is a joint one, with JW International and Ruba International, two subsidiary companies they created. The PCB is uncomfortable dealing with the subsidiaries and wants Haier Pakistan to front the bid.
In both cases, the PCB wants to secure enough guarantees to ensure they do not suffer losses, in case the owner pulls out from the PSL. Given global trends, that is not an outlandish concern.
Haier feels the documentation provided is already enough. Evidence of financial health should be clear, their officials said, from the fact that they deposited a fee of US$3 million (Dh11m) to take part in the bidding process.
The board’s caution, said one official, stems from not wanting to go the way of leagues in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The former has not taken place since the first event was staged and the latter has been plagued by corruption and financial mismanagement. Even the Caribbean Premier League underwent early financial hiccups.
These leagues, as well as the PSL, are based on different ownership models. The IPL is owned and run by the Indian board.
These leagues are sold to an outside party, with the boards choosing to maximise their revenues from it in different ways.
The PCB plans to lease the PSL – which will have five franchise teams to begin – for 15 years and is contracted to receive a fixed sum every year. It will additionally claim 20 per cent of whatever profit the series makes each season.
Unlike other leagues, the PCB plans to keep greater control over the running; they will have three officials on a governing council, provide anti-corruption cover, ensure payments for players and control umpiring and referee appointments.
The PCB has been working toward the PSL since 2009, but momentum has built only in the past few years.
They were close to launching in March 2013 in Pakistan, only to postpone it indefinitely.
Given the board’s history of disputatious TV rights deals and limited time left on the 2014 calendar, a launch this winter looks logistically difficult. Whenever it does happen, it will almost certainly be in the UAE: both bidders’ plans have the UAE as the host, as the PCB awards points for venues closest to Pakistan’s time zones.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at SprtNationalUAE
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
57%20Seconds
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SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
Results
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Cashew%0D%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202020%0D%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Ibtissam%20Ouassif%20and%20Ammar%20Afif%0D%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%0D%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%2410m%0D%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Mashreq%2C%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
