Business Extra

Is there a revolution taking place in the US stock market? The GameStop stock price has surged because of support from an online community on Reddit. This goes against some of the big boys of Wall Street who have been shorting the same stocks. Losses in the market are estimated at billions of dollars. Hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner explain what is happening, who the major players are and what we can expect for the region.

The Swiss winter resort town of Davos is eerily quiet this week. It is typically the convening place and playground of the global elite for a week every January, but this year, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting has gone online.

To discuss the forum’s agenda and the impact of its message, managing director Sarita Nayyar joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner. She says the pandemic has demonstrated that no institution or individual alone can address the economic, environmental, social and technological challenges in isolation, echoing the comments of forum founder Klaus Schwab.

In this episode:

Davos goes digital (0m 48s)

Sarita Nayyar on this year's virtual agenda (5m 00s)

Will more be done this year? (8m 35s)

Growing demand from stakeholders (11m 26s)

The momentum since change of leadership in the US (14m 43s)

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This week, Neom’s president of technology and digital, Joseph Bradley, describes his vision for the futuristic city. “What you’re going to do is way more valuable than what you’ve done,” he tells co-host Kelsey Warner, describing how artificial intelligence will underpin some of the biggest plans for the $500 billion megaproject. “The power of prediction creates new and exciting possibilities.”

It is the first interview with Mr Bradley since Neom’s chairman, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced plans for The Line – Neom’s first major development to be brought forward within the city. The 170-kilometre network of communities will be connected by subterranean passenger and freight transport networks, removing the need for cars and roads at ground level. Listen to Mr Bradley describe daily life for what he calls “Neomians”.

In this episode:

What is The Line? (0m 36s)

Joseph Bradley on cognitive environment (1m 52s)

The person‐centric experience in Neom (5m 07s)

How will Neom connect to the outside world? (12m 00s)

Who will Neom attract? (18m 52s)

The benchmark for urban planning (22m 59s)

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Shares in Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, all slid at the start of the week. But analysts said they won’t fall far.

This week, co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner dig into the unfolding drama at the world’s biggest platforms and what it means for the future of US civility and shareholder sentiment.

The National’s social media editor Cody Combs lays out the partisan debates over anti-trust and censorship levied against Facebook prior to the events of January 6, and the fallout for Mark Zuckerberg’s company and other platforms as Big Tech’s role in the insurrection came to light.

Then, we hear from Mirabaud Securities head of research Neil Campling, on his outlook for Big Tech stocks in 2021 amid mounting risks. He shares his thoughts on whether break-ups are in the offing and, if so, how much room is left for these giants to grow (hint: a lot).

In this episode:

The role of social media (0m 37s)

Social media and politics (2m 02s)

Neil Camping on Big Tech stocks in 2021 (7m 34s)

What's the outlook for 2021? (15m 13s)

China is expected to overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously anticipated, as it recovers faster from the coronavirus pandemic, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said. But what does it mean for the Middle East?

This week, co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner unpack the complicated power dynamic between the world's two biggest economies, from trade and technology to energy and finance, and how it impacts the region.

In this episode:

The US-China economic tensions (0m 43s)

The green transition of China (3m 20s)

Middle East and China (5m 52s)

China's ambition for digitized currency (8m 49s)

UAE's link between US and China (12m 45s)

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This week, Business Extra takes a look back at the 10 biggest business moments from the UAE and beyond in 2020. Co-host Kelsey Warner is joined by The National’s personal finance editor, Felicity Glover, to count down.

In this episode:

The National’s business editor Massoud Derhally puts the Beirut port blast into historical perspective days after the explosion (11m 58s) 

The National’s senior business correspondent Michael Fahy describes how BR Shetty got caught (14m 59s)

Rising protectionism and technology are changing the shape of trade. To capitalise on emerging dynamics, unprecedented global cooperation is needed - with the UAE a critical hub.

Co-hosts Kelsey Warner and Mustafa Alrawi are joined this week by Feryal Ahmadi, chief operating officer of Dubai’s trade free zone at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. Ms Ahmadi maps out the scenarios for how trade will develop in the 2020s based on DMCC’s research and interviews with experts across eight key trade hubs including Dubai, Houston, Shenzhen, Silicon Valley and Zurich. DMCC, which oversees the trading of commodities from pulses to diamonds, has 17,500 member companies in its free zone.

In this episode:

DMCC and the future of trade (0m 40s)

UAE's opportunities in international trade (3m 41s)

Recommendations for businesses and governments (9m 38s)

Read more on our website:

• DMCC extends support package to help businesses deal with economic impact of Covid-19

• DMCC slashes set-up costs by 50% for diamond companies

• UAE has rolled out Dh388bn in economic support since pandemic began

• Sail of the century: Sweden to build world’s largest wind-powered ship

• EU seeks to forge improved relations with US under President Joe Biden

Arabesque Partners chairman Georg Kell speaks to Kelsey Warner this week on the future of responsible investing, including the role of artificial intelligence to drive decisions. As the founding director of the United Nations Global Compact, Mr Kell was a pioneer in defining and assessing environmental, social and governance factors that can drive corporate strategy and investment decisions to improve the state of the world. 

Since September 2016, Mr Kell has also chaired the Volkswagen Sustainability Council, an independent body that advises VW on issues of social responsibility and the future of mobility. The group was formed following the high-profile diesel emissions scandal. He jumped at the chance to serve on the council, and explains why coming out of the shadow of controversy, VW is now at a competitive advantage five years later.

Hosted by Mustafa Alrawi

In this episode:

Mustafa and Kelsey on ESG (0m 39s)

Where are we with sustainable finance? (2m 28s)

Arabesque and sustainable intelligence (7m 00s)

How to address biased machine learning (13m 52s)

The lessons learnt by Volkswagen (15m 15s)

Who gains and loses because of the ESG criteria (20m 06s)

Headlines (22m 29s)

Read more on our website:

• Airbnb and DoorDash IPOs may raise $6.2bn based on new price ranges

• UAE businesses bullish about returning to pre-Covid profitability by 2022

• Emirates to take delivery of 3 A380s as it prepares to launch premium economy

What do Toyota, Disney, IBM and Airbnb have in common? They were started during – or right after – a crisis. Whether the Great Depression, the Second World War or the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, major struggles have led visionary founders to build some of the world's biggest, most durable companies. So what will 2020 yield?

Host Kelsey Warner is joined this week by Noor Sweid, founder and general partner at UAE venture capital firm Global Ventures, to discuss how entrepreneurs can capitalise on opportunity even during times of uncertainty.

In this episode:

What is Global Ventures? (0m 50s)

Investor appetite in the UAE (1m 59s)

What tech will stay after 2020? (4m 57s)

The change in dynamic between the founder and the investor (7m 09s)

The path to liquidity (11m 33s)

Headlines (13m 25s)

Read more on our website:

• UK retailer Debenhams to close, putting 12,000 jobs at risk

• Shanghai replaces London as the most connected city in the world, according to Iata

• Tony Hsieh, former 'visionary' CEO of Zappos, dies at 46

The changes to the UAE Commercial Companies' law, which were announced allowing almost all companies to be fully foreign owned, have been widely welcomed. The idea of further opening up the economy to foreign investment will have obvious potential benefits such as attracting more FDI and spurring business activity. This has been an evolution of a number of steps over the last 17 years or so, making doing business in the UAE easier for all nationalities. 

The changes to the law will prove interesting in terms of how it will impact the well established ecosystem of onshore and offshore jurisdictions in the country and it will take some time after the amendments are in effect for the landscape to be fully realised.

Host Mustafa Alrawi discusses this landmark development with Omar Momany, partner and head of the corporate and commercial practice group at Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, and another partner at the leading law firm, Hani Naja, who is also a corporate and commercial legal expert.

In this episode:

The commercial companies law (0m 32s)

The changes the new law would bring (2m 06s)

The onshore and offshore ecosystem (9m 10s)

Why does owning 100% of a company matter? (14m 08s)

What we don't know yet (20m 47s)

Headlines (25m 23s)

Read more on our website:

• Oil surges to an eight-month high on vaccine hopes

• Adnoc to put Dh160bn into UAE economy over the next five years

• Amazon grows storage capacity in the UAE to meet demand