Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, opened Facebook operator Meta's new regional headquarters in Dubai on Tuesday.
He said the establishment of the base in Dubai Internet City reflected the emirate's growth as a global business hub.
He hailed the latest addition to Dubai's roster of major firms as further evidence of the desire of the world's largest technological companies to do business in Dubai.
The inauguration was attended by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Meta.
The new headquarters will serve the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and will house more than 100 employees.
"Dubai continues to consolidate its partnerships with global technology players as part of its ambitious vision to shape the future," Sheikh Hamdan wrote on Twitter.
"From its new base in Dubai, Meta will serve its markets in the Middle East and North Africa region and support three billion users of its platforms worldwide."
Sheikh Hamdan was joined on his tour by Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Mohamed Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Helal Saeed Al Marri, director general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, Ahmad Abdullah bin Byat, vice chairman of the board of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, and Malek Al Malek, director general of Dubai Development Authority and group chief executive of Tecom Group.
“Our leadership’s vision to cement an enabling and competitive business environment has attracted some of the world’s leading players to Dubai, especially in the technology sector, and enabled them to expand in the region and beyond," Mr Al Malek said.
"Our group’s business districts including Dubai Internet City have been at the forefront of efforts to deliver on this vision and the cornerstone of the region’s economic growth and digital transformation journey for the past two decades by providing a world-class ecosystem that attracted a pool of 95,000 best-in-class talent.
"Meta has been part of this journey for the past decade. It is rewarding to see their growth and expansion across the region, as it demonstrates the region’s potential and growing demand for innovation and advanced technologies."
Sheryl Sandberg said the UAE's "culture of innovation" matched Meta's ambitious vision.
"This office represents our commitment to the millions of people who use our platforms to express themselves, stay connected to their loved ones and their communities, and start and grow businesses," she said.
"There is a culture of innovation in the UAE that fits with the spirit of our company. We share an excitement about the economic and social opportunities that a connected world can create. The talent and creativity of people across the region will be crucial as we embark on the next chapter for our company – helping to build the metaverse.
"It is no coincidence that we selected March 8 for our office opening. We chose to do it on International Women’s Day as a sign of our continued commitment to empowering women, here in Dubai and around the world.”
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
