Honor

Ahead of the game: Honor’s quest to become the preferred choice in the Middle East

The GCC has witnessed huge commitment from the global technology brand to drive innovation, aiming to create a smarter and more inclusive future for all

Public cloud

Public cloud’s contribution to UAE economy could reach $181bn by 2033 – report

Amazon Web Services commissioned a study to provide an econometrical method for calculating the aggregate productivity gains realised by economies that adopt cloud computing

micky jagtiani image credit Landmark group

Dubai’s Landmark Group founder Micky Jagtiani passes away

A constant innovator, the Indian billionaire created and led more than 27 diverse brand concepts

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

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

Magic5 Pro

Honor unveils Magic5 Pro, Magic Vs flagship smartphones in the UAE

The Magic series will be available for pre-order starting May 25 until June 1

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

Google

Google teams up with UAE organisations for AI research and sustainability initiatives

The announcement was made during an event at the MBZUAI campus, where Google introduced three significant initiatives

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

Karim Awad Group CEO EFG Holding

EFG Hermes Holding rebrands as EFG Holding

The change in the brand name will not impact the current management structure and reporting lines, day-to-day operations, or the level of support and cross-selling that will continue between the group’s three verticals

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

TaxGPT Worlds-First-AI-Powered-Corporate-Tax-Assistant image: Virtuzone

Introducing TaxGPT, the AI-powered UAE corporate tax assistant

Virtuzone has launched TaxGPT to help UAE-based businesses get answers related to the upcoming corporate tax regime based on information from the UAE’s MOF and FTA

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

OpenAI

OpenAI raises $175m for startup investment fund

The platform has been investing in startups working in artificial intelligence for a while

ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED

Redefining Mobility: Introducing the astonishingly lightweight ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED

Unmatched portability at 1cm thin and 1kg light

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

France implements short-haul flight ban. Image credit: Groupe ADP

France short-haul flight ban comes into effect: What it means for travellers

Domestic flight journeys that can be completed by train in less than two-and-a-half hours banned by French Transport Ministry

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

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

Uber India

Uber to add 25,000 electric vehicles in India in green push

The ride-hailing company will launch EV Uber Green in June in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi

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