Wissam Braidy, one of the hosts of the Mahzooz draw, at Studio City. Ruel Pableo/The National
Wissam Braidy, one of the hosts of the Mahzooz draw, at Studio City. Ruel Pableo/The National
Wissam Braidy, one of the hosts of the Mahzooz draw, at Studio City. Ruel Pableo/The National
Wissam Braidy, one of the hosts of the Mahzooz draw, at Studio City. Ruel Pableo/The National

Lucky Mahzooz winner bags 1kg of gold


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Dozens struck it lucky in Dubai’s latest Mahzooz prize draw, including three people who won Dh100,000 each in the draw.

There was no winner of the top prize of Dh10 million in this week’s live draw, but the second prize of Dh1 million was divided equally among 43.

Each of the winners secured Dh23,256 after matching four out of the five winning numbers — 7, 19, 33, 34 and 38.

One lucky winner, who held ticket number 8626299, also won 1 kilogram of gold - which is worth about Dh210,000 ($57,350).

The total prize money of the draw was Dh1,992,300.

The next draw is set to take place at 9pm on December 11.

Last month, 26 winners shared the Dh1 million prize and three winners collected 100 grams of gold and Dh100,000 each.

In another draw last month, 32 participants shared the Dh1 million prize, taking home Dh31,250 each after matching four out of the five numbers.

The Mahzooz draw has changed many lives all over the UAE.

Last month, Suzane Saiid Yazbeck, a Lebanese woman in Abu Dhabi who won Dh100,000, said it was a ‘nice surprise before Christmas’.

Ms Yazbeck, 51, who works as an executive assistant, said she would be able to clear some of her bank loans and send money to her relatives in Lebanon.

“It’s a nice surprise before Christmas. It is really a gift. I would be able to help some of my family members in Lebanon. We are always helping and we continue offering help. It’s a bit expensive there, with the currency dropping low,” she said.

Suzane Saiid Yazbeck won Dh100,000 from the Mahzooz weekly draw. Photo: Ms Yazbeck
Suzane Saiid Yazbeck won Dh100,000 from the Mahzooz weekly draw. Photo: Ms Yazbeck

In October, a Bangladeshi crane operator in Dubai who did not even have a bank account won Dh1 million in a Mahzooz draw.

Abdul Kadeer, 32, moved to the emirate 10 years ago to work for a steel company, earning Dh2,400 each month.

The father of two sent nearly all of his income to his family back home, leaving him with less than Dh100 for food and bills.

“This changes everything for me. I will quit my job and I will move back to Bangladesh for now,” he said.

“When I got the call I thought someone was trying to prank me. Now, it’s slowly starting to sink in that I’m a millionaire.

“I want to help my father and brother. We will build a house in Bangladesh. I will buy my wife what she wants and we will save for our children.”

Participants must register online and buy a Dh35 bottle of water to enter. The bottles are collected by the organisation and donated to charity.

Match info

Wolves 0

Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')

Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)

'Saand Ki Aankh'

Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash

Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.

Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.

Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.

Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.

Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.

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

Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

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Notable Yas events in 2017/18

October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)

December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race

March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event

March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Silkhaus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Aahan%20Bhojani%20and%20Ashmin%20Varma%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Property%20technology%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247.75%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nuwa%20Capital%2C%20VentureSouq%2C%20Nordstar%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20Yuj%20Ventures%20and%20Whiteboard%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: December 05, 2021, 1:48 PM