Business Extra

For more than a decade, Syria has been under international sanctions aimed at pressuring Bashar Al Assad’s regime. But there is a longer history of sanctions on the country and the broader Middle East.

Sanctions can be used as a nudge – or shove – from government to government, usually during times of war.

But their impact continues into periods of relative peace, trickling from the highest ranks of the ruling class down to the labourers and families that make up the backbone of a country’s economy. We have seen sanctions ravage Syria’s economy on and off since the 1970s, and hold throughout 14 years of civil war.

But following the fall of Mr Assad in December 2024, Syria has a new government, a new head of state and a caretaker cabinet that has promised to rebuild.

In this episode of Business Extra, we are looking at sanctions on Syria, the complexities of these measures and how the country’s economy might evolve after they are lifted.

Donald Trump has been vocal about his planned tariff war since setting foot on the campaign trail – in both his first and second times in office.

Mr Trump began his first stint in the White House with a trade war against China. Some of those tariffs were preserved by Joe Biden’s administration when he began his term in 2020.

But throughout his campaign, Mr Trump made clear he’d come back with tariffs at full force.

What we’re seeing now is a return of that foreign economic policy – broadened, fast-tracked and intensified.

On this episode of Business Extra, we’re hearing from experts about what this means in the political sphere, but also outside of it; for the everyday consumer perhaps uncertain about what a trade war can mean, and for economic machinery here in the region.

The start-up economy is booming in the Middle East, but despite progress, women remain underrepresented, as founders and as recipients of funding.

While women-led start-ups make up 7 per cent of the region’s total, they receive about 1 per cent of available funding, Wamda statistics show.

In this episode of Business Extra, host Salim Essaid speaks with three female founders in the UAE – Yasmin Rose of Rise Birth Centre, Yasmin Megerisi of House of Meena, and Thea Myhrvold, chief executive of Getbee – who share their experiences of navigating the start-up scene in the region.

The host also hears from Hynd Bouhia, a start-up funding expert, who unpacks the numbers behind the gender gap in investment and the biases that continue to shape funding decisions.

This episode is sponsored by Al Masaood Automobiles

The global automotive industry is undergoing dramatic transformation as owners seek more from their vehicles – and technology delivers.

This is evident in the UAE where major distributors such as Al Masaood Automobiles are anticipating and catering to shifting customer demands.

In this episode of The National’s Business Extra podcast, the company’s chief executive, Irfan Tansel, discusses the UAE’s current motoring landscape, as well as the future of mobility, as it experiences disruption across the industry, including the growth of electric vehicles, emergence of autonomous cars, and rising owner appetite for digitisation and connectivity.

Drawing on more than 40 years in the automotive business, Mr Tansel tells host David Dunn about the evolving role of physical dealerships in a digital-first world, Al Masaood Automobiles’ significant sector successes and the enduring legacy of family favourite, the Nissan Patrol.

It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of tech, with big names such as TikTok, Meta and X making moves in terms of policy and business models.

Changes were announced as huge political shifts took place in the US – the start of President Donald's Trump's second term, being one – and some of them were moments for the history books. The timing is no coincidence.

This episode of Business Extra hears a breakdown of these developments and explores the business motives driving them, both in the US and right here in the Middle East, with insights from our reporters and former insiders at Twitter and Meta.

Tune in every other Wednesday for top stories from a global business hotspot, with vital analysis from renowned experts, diverse perspectives from key figures, and exclusive insight from The National's team of reporters.

Two weeks before returning to office, US president-elect Donald Trump has his eyes on the Middle East — and business interests that are storied to him, but new to the White House.

The latest one stars one of the biggest business names in the UAE: Damac properties.

Emirati businessman Hussain Sajwani founded Damac in 2002. It’s now one of the leading real estate developers in the region.

Damac reported $2.4 billion in revenue in 2023 and was expected to nearly double it in 2024. In 2021, it launched its Edgnex brand, focusing on digital infrastructure through assets like data centres with operations in 10 countries.

Now, it’s moving stateside.

The $20 billion investment announced at Mar A Lago last week will mean the delivery of data centres - buildings used to house all kinds of computer systems - in phases. Damac and Mr Trump said the first phase will focus on eight US states in the Sunbelt and Midwest regions — places including Arizona and Illinois.

The projects promise to make leaps for data use in the realms of technology, finance, healthcare and retail, to create what Damac called a “ripple effect” that attracts more businesses to data centre hubs.

This latest investment deepens ties that the two established nearly a decade ago. It is a testament to what has come to be a characteristic trait of a Trump presidency — a mesh between his personal business interests and national dealings through his role in the White House.

But what does this move mean for Middle East investors? And for sectors like technology, space and electric vehicles?

On this episode of Business Extra with host and Business Editor Salim Essaid, hear from our own business reporter Fareed Rahman — and an analyst specialising in Middle East and global geopolitics, Ryan Bohl, on what to know - and expect - just days ahead of Trump's inauguration.