Business Extra

Ride-sharing app Careem has been one of the Middle East's most successful tech start-ups, and competitor Uber is now reportedly interested in an acquisition to widen its own presence in ther region. While it would likely be a multibillion-dollar windfall for Careem, would selling now be a shortsighted move for a company with so much potential?

Hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Chris Nelson discuss Careem's future in this week's episode of the Business Extra podcast.

Also in this episode:

• Tesla adds a criminal probe from the US Department of of Justice to its growing list of problems. Elon Musk's erratic behaviour and irresponsible tweets might have sunk his company.

Despite ever-increasing prices and fierce competition, consumers flock to Apple's new products every year. Surely this year will be no different, and hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Chris Nelson assess the world's first trillion-dollar company as it unveils a new line of products in this week's Business Extra podcast.

Also in this episode:

• Saudi petrochemicals maker Sabic has growing ambitions in China, a sign of how some of the Kingdom's largest businesses are diversifying.

A potential merger between Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al Hilal would create one of the region's largest lenders. The news has already had positive effects on UNB's share prices, a sign that a merger would be a welcome change to the banking sector.

Host Mustafa Alrawi discuss the potential merger and more with Chris Nelson in this week's episode of the Business Extra podcast. 

• Also in this episode:

In this week's episode of the Business Extra podcast: 

• Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday he wanted to prevent foreigners from buying residential units in the $100 billion Forest City project, a setback for the Chinese developer Country Garden as it tries to revive faltering demand for the site. What is the rationale for the change in direction?

Greece is free of of its final bailout from the European Union, allowing Athens to borrow from financial markets for the first time since 2010. But the end of financial woe in Greece is far from over, as we discuss this week on the Business Extra podcast. 

Also in this episode:

• We analyse the move by Venezuela to devalue its currency the bolivar and launch a new one.

In this week's Business Extra Chris Nelson and Andy Scott discuss Elon Musk's increasingly erratic behaviour. The maverick billlionaire and CEO of Tesla tweeted this week that he was considering taking his company private - a move that has caught the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The mercurial genius may have been the inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man but right now he would do well to avoid the limelight. He tweeted that he planned take Tesla private at $420 a share, valuing the company around $72 billlion, a 20 per cent premium on the share price that day. 

As the car company has only posted two quarterly profits since its float eight years ago and last year lost over $2 billion it is not certain who has that much faith in Mr Musk.

The current currency volatility in emerging markets and the British pound are also under the microscope.

DP World is asserting the validity of a London arbitration court ruling in its favour against the government of Djibouti over the seizure of the Doraleh container terminal. This is a row that will have far-reaching consequences for investment in Africa and confidence in DP World's vision.

• Hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Chris Nelson discuss this and more in this week's Business Extra podcast. Also discussed in this episode:

The fall from grace of private-equity firm Abraaj Group took a new turn this week as founder Arif Naqvi faces another criminal case surrounding a bounced cheque, this one for the sum of Dh798 million.  

For years, Abraaj projected a lavish and strong brand to the group's many high-profile investors. Now Naqvi and the group are under fire for being unable to pay for loans he had taken out to prop up the company. Will the Abraaj brand be able to recover?

Host Mustafa Alrawi discusses this and more in this week's Business Extra podcast.

Also discussed in this episode:

• The National's personal-finance writer Alice Haine gives tips to the many on holiday this summer who might be wondering how best to get the most out of their funds while abroad.

First Abu Dhabi Bank's second-quarter profits soared past expectations, as did those for many of the UAE's biggest banks. Could an uptick in the financial sector be a sign that the worst of the economic downturn is behind us?

Hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Chris Nelson discuss this and more in this week's Business Extra podcast. 

Also in this episode:

They discuss how the Apple X has not performed up to the same technological standards as current-generation devices from competitors. Will that affect sales?

How will this week's monumental peace talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea in Abu Dhabi affect trade and other economic sectors in the region?

And we have a conversation with Janardan Dalmia, the CEO of Trukkin, a commercial logistics start-up based in Dubai about. How has his company gained a foothold in the transport industry?