Dubai Municipality introduces new online system for building permits image Dubai media office

Dubai introduces new online platform for building permits, control services

The new system will help streamline procedures and reduce the required application documents, making it easier for customers to input data and track application updates

Corporate tax transitional rules-Photo-courtesy-WAM

UAE corporate tax: MoF issues transitional rules for businesses

The decision applies to immovable property, intangible assets, financial assets and financial liabilities held by businesses before the corporate tax law comes into effect on June 1

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Celebrities endorsing brands in the Middle east. Image credit: Instagram/sofiavergara/iamsrk/davidbackham/leomessi/prideofgypsies

7 A-list celebrities who are brand ambassadors in the Middle East

Penelope Cruz, Jason Momoa, Sofia Vergara are the new face of home-grown brands in the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively

critical mineral

UK-GCC trade talks: Saudi Arabia-leg sees focus on critical minerals

The UK and Saudi Arabia signed a declaration of intent to jointly develop resilient and responsible critical mineral supply chains

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai at IIFA Awards

Etihad Arena hosts Bollywood’s biggest stars for IIFA Awards 2023 in Abu Dhabi

The IIFA awards are being held in partnership with DCT Abu Dhabi and Miral at the Etihad Arena for the second year in a row

Penelope Cruz onboard Emirates A380. Image credit: Emirates Airlines

Penelope Cruz is the new brand ambassador of Emirates Airlines

Academy Award-winning actor Penelope Cruz will star in a global advertising campaign for Emirates Airlines set to be launched come June 2023

PIF has launched a new company Badeal

Saudi wealth fund PIF launches Badael to make tobacco-free products

The new company will make tobacco-free nicotine delivery products available across Saudi Arabia by the end of 2023

Bahrain (Image: Supplied by Qatar Airways)

Qatar Airways resumes flights to Bahrain

It has commenced with a daily flight between the two destinations, and will increase it to thrice-daily services later this year

Ministry of Interior

Ministry of Interior, Etihad Rail ink MoU on strategic cooperation and coordination

Under the MoU, the two parties will work towards enhancing readiness to confront security risks and threats, improving security and safety measures and strengthening civil protection

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid at Jebel Ali public beach. Image credit: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed approves master plan for Dubai’s public beaches

The proposed development forms part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, and aims to increase the length of public beaches by 400 per cent

Majid Al Futtaim issues sukuk

UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim issues $500m green sukuk

The conglomerate will use the proceeds from its fourth green sukuk issuance to refinance an older $800m bond commitment due in May 2024

Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, QIA CEO on sovereign wealth funds in private credit. Image credit: QIA

Sovereign wealth fund QIA joins SoftBank, BlackRock in private credit push

Sovereign wealth funds like the QIA have been increasingly looking at private credit, providing evidence of the market’s rapid growth

TII unveils its Falcon 40B

Abu Dhabi’s TII unveils its Falcon 40B AI model open source

Falcon 40B is a foundational large language model with 40 billion parameters and trained on one trillion tokens

Adnoc L&S IPO is oversubscribed. Image credit: WAM

ADNOC Logistics gets $125bn in orders for $769m IPO

ADNOC sold 1.41 billion shares in its maritime logistics unit at Dhs2.01 a share, valuing the company at $4.05bn

Taweelah Reverse Osmosis achieves 90 percent capacity

EWEC’s Taweelah Reverse Osmosis facility surpasses 90 per cent capacity

The facility is currently producing 183 MIGD of desalinated water making Taweelah the world’s largest operating reverse osmosis facility

Sultan AlNeyadi with other crew members

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi celebrates birthday in space

Al Neyadi has been in space for almost three months and during this period he has performed a historic spacewalk and carried out several scientific investigations

Crude oil market on tenterhooks over OPEC meet. Image credit: Getty Images

Oil watchers predict OPEC+ to maintain steady supply

Forecasters predict OPEC+ to keep output steady due to demand in China, and the current curbs, should rapidly deplete world inventories

Red Sea Coastline. Image Credit: redseaglobal.com

Red Sea joins Virtuoso’s portfolio as a travel partner

The destination hopes to be the gold standard for regenerative and sustainable tourism when it opens its doors to travellers later in 2023

Flynas A320 neo aircraft (Image: Supplied by flynas)

Flynas passenger numbers climb to 2.4 million in Q1 2023

The number of flights it operated in Q1 2023 stood at 17,000, a 13 per cent increase year-on-year

Empower plant Image WAM-e1684523583814

Empower launches new plans, policies to drive sustainable operations

Empower has saved 412 million imperial gallons of fresh water in 2022 by using recycled water in its operations

Abu-Dhabi-Housing-Authority-has-announced-new-housing-projects-in-West-Baniyas-and-Al-Samha-regions-photo-Abu-Dhabi Housing Authority-

Abu Dhabi launches housing projects worth over Dhs7bn

The new housing projects, which are located in West Baniyas and Al Samha, include 1,742 residential villas for citizens

Saudi Arabia and Canada restore full diplomatic ties

Saudi Arabia, Canada renew full diplomatic ties

Saudi Arabia had suspended diplomatic ties and halted new trade and investment dealings with Canada in 2018

ADNOC Drilling acquires 6 rigs

ADNOC Drilling signs $75m deal for six newbuild hybrid power land rigs

The rigs are being built by Honghua Golden Coast and will progressively enter the fleet from the second quarter of 2024

Jeddah Islamic Port is Saudi Arabia’s busiest port

Jeddah Islamic Port’s April container volume surges by 25%

The port’s cargo column saw an addition of 19.33 per cent to the 2022 volume to achieve about 5,261,883 tons

Sheikh Mohammed

Sheikh Mohammed approves 78 environmental initiatives ahead of COP28

It includes national strategies to reduce carbon and regulate the use of solar energy products, sustainable tourism and other initiatives

Khalifa Fund launches Franchise UAE image credit KFED

Franchise UAE: Khalifa Fund launches new portal to help businesses buy and sell franchises

Franchise UAE is designed to cater to both existing, homegrown businesses seeking to develop a franchise and aspiring entrepreneurs looking to invest in an established business concept

FAB supply chain finance in KSA

UAE’s FAB launches supply chain finance in Saudi Arabia

The programme allows companies to monetise their receivables at competitive rates and get instant payments, without needing to borrow funds

AD Ports Group, Vale to jointly develop low-carbon mega hub for steel industry photo WAM AD Ports

AD Ports Group, Vale to develop low-carbon mega hub for steel industry

Land and related services from KEZAD will be allocated for the ‘Mega Hub’, in addition to the development and management of a high-tech handling facility at Khalifa Port

RTA to auction special number plates. Image credit: RTA

RTA to auction premium car number plates soon: Check dates

The RTA will auction 350 number plates comprised of two-digit plates for vintage cars, and three, four and five-digit plates for private vehicles

ADNOC Group Onshore Drilling Rig

ADNOC, TAQA invest $2.4bn to supply sustainable water to onshore operations

The project will develop a centralised seawater treatment facility for operations at the Bab and Bu Hasa fields in Abu Dhabi