< Previous60 Vol. 23/08, August 2022 LIFE S TYLE / RETAIL The UAE’s efforts to rein in food prices could have fortuitous health benefits. With no foreseeable end to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the resultant inflationary impact has begun trickling down to our part of the world too. UAE residents have already started to feel the pinch as the squeezing effect of rising fuel and food prices tug at our purse strings. While fuel and food prices are inevitably intertwined, the UAE’s sound medium- to long- term strategies to enhance food production and distribution capacity promise to aid citizens and residents in their efforts to curb expenses. In the wake of disrupted global food supplies, while u Essentials The UAE’s retail sector is looking to boost effi ciency and embrace digitalisation amid rising food prices The UAE’s sound strategies to enhance food production and distribution capacity promises to aid residents in their efforts to curb expenses while infl ation continues to remain high, writes Vineetha Sony, head of trade, Middle East, at OCO Global in Dubai The healthy side of infl ationarabianbusiness.com 61 fact that the UAE imports the raw material, rapeseed, primarily from markets such as Canada, Australia, and India. Canola oil is touted as one of the healthier oils due to its low level of saturated fat. So, could a happy side effect be that due to consistency in the availability and pricing of canola oil, it could eventually push the population to alter their cooking practices? More significantly, will the commercial food industry replace this critical ingredient with a supposedly healthier alternative (like the canola oil) to keep the output prices stable? Just like how rationing during the time of war led to the invention and consumption of ‘brown’ bread that was higher in nutritional value, could it be that during times of adversity (or inflation in this case), we are able to benefit from possibly better quality, yet less expensive alternatives? As the dark clouds of financial uncertainty looms over the horizon, these possibilities offer a silver lining. So, the next time you head out to your neighbourhood grocery store, take a closer look at other available options in the adjacent shelf before you pick the usual fare. You may end up with cost-effective and arguably better quality substitutes in your cart, with an added advantage of emerging healthier, wealthier, and wiser by the time the global economy recovers. other nations in the region have been struggling to procure staple food items, the UAE has not only been able to leverage its historic trade ties with some of its export partners, but has also been swift in identifying new trade partners to ensure availability, quality, and affordability of food, earning an enviable 35th position (among 113 countries) in the Global Food Security Index. A highly commendable achievement for a nation that imports over 80 percent of its food. Earlier this year in her capacity as chairwoman of the Emirates Food Security Council, Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “The UAE works to meet its goal of ranking at the top of the Global Food Security Index by 2051 through utilising data to inform strategies that advance the transition to a sustainable future and ensuring the provision of safe and healthy food at affordable prices.” As part of this strategy the UAE has effectively diversified its supply chain. For instance, in a bid to keep the prices of fresh produce in check, the country turned to CIS nations. It also helped that this move coincided with a time when the farmers in these countries were finding it difficult to trade owing to the conflict in the region and were seeking new export markets. While the decision was mostly driven by financial and logistical factors, it has resulted in a serendipitous benefit to UAE consumers. They are now able to choose fresh produce such as fruits, nuts and berries from these new markets that are cost-effective and equally tasty alternatives to comparable products flown in from markets further afield. Similarly, in addition to restrictions on wheat exports, nearly a dozen countries have implemented export restrictions on yet another essential ingredient – edible oil. Much like the rest of the world, the UAE was reliant on Russia and witnessed a steep price rise in these categories of oils, especially sunflower oil. However, an interesting phenomenon is that in comparison, canola oil prices remained steady here. This can be attributed to the u Supply The UAE ranked 35th in the Global Food Security Index last year u Authority Mariam Al Mheiri, chairwoman of the Emirates Food Security Council u Adjustments Vineetha Sony from OCO Global 4.6% The year-on year consumer infl ation in Dubai in April / RETAIL q THE UAE HAS BEEN SWIFT IN IDENTIFYING NEW TRADE PARTNERS TO ENSURE AVAILABILITY, QUALITY, AND AFFORDABILITY OF FOOD”62 Vol. 23/08, August 2022 u Legal eagle Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has seen staggering success under Quinn’s leadership Insights on the Arabian Gulf from the world’s ‘most feared’ law fi rm John B. Quinn, founding partner and practicing lawyer at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, sits down with Arabian Business to discuss the future of business in the region BY ARABIAN BUSINESS STAFF FEATURE / LAW Since the days of Shakespeare’s Henry XI, lawyers have had to grow a thick skin, as they navi- gate between vested interests and aggrieved parties, it is not a world for the faint-hearted. That said, economists now recognise that disputes and arbitration are one of the best barometers of business activity, with deal flows measured and facilitated by the completion of contracts between said parties. And, for the Gulf this is especially true, with the region seeing a host of mega deals, giga projects and the rise of cryptocurrency and regulation playing into daily activity of the business world. So to get a sense of the region’s potential, Arabian Business sits down with John B. Quinn, a lawyer and one of the founding partners of the litigation law firm known today as Quinn Eman- uel Urquhart & Sullivan. Among the titles he’s held on his journey are being $1.3bn The annual revenue of the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law fi rm named as one of America’s Most Influ- ential Lawyers and the nation’s Most Famous Practicing Lawyer. Meanwhile, his firm, which has more than 900 litigators in 29 offices around the world, is known the world’s “most feared” law firm – one that “top legal decision makers do not want to see on the other side.” Let’s start with the Gulf. What is the opportunity you see in the region, and any particular nation leading the way? In my view, Saudi Arabia is the most energised, unified country in the world. The people there seem to share a vision, that they all believe that this is their time, especially now as they have the means to execute on some of these incredibly ambi- tious plans. We see the opportunity. A lot of money has been invested around the world, there are joint ventures and there’s a lot of inbound investment. There’s a lot of the giga projects, from Neom to the Red Sea project and the rest. And with this will come a number of issues which will need to be resolved by people like us, so we see a huge opportunity there. Doha, we’ve been in Doha for many years. That is pretty much strictly a construction dispute practice. So when they are building a subway, a hospital, a university, World Cup stadiums, muse-arabianbusiness.com 63 / LAW Q SAUDI ARABIA IS THE MOST ENERGISED, UNIFIED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. THE PEOPLE THERE SEEM TO SHARE A VISION, THAT THEY ALL BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THEIR TIME” ums, all those big public projects, inev- itably, doesn’t matter where they’re built, there’s going to be a certain amount of construction dispute. So we have people on the ground there who interact with the client. Really, the disputes are resolved in London. So Doha is a kind of a special- ised practice, but it’s not lost on us that there’ll be opportunities for that type of work in the kingdom as well. One unique character of Gulf countries is stability of leadership, national plans are not disrupted by the vagaries of politics. Do you think that gives the region an advantage? Yeah, for sure. Decision making is easier there, we’re not going to have a situation like we had in Mexico City, where they were halfway to completing a new, badly needed international airport and you have a change in president and he just pulls the plug on the project because there’s a different view. The Saudi economy is the biggest in the region. However, in some ways, and many people have acknowledged this to me in the kingdom, they’re playing catch up. In terms of the sophistication, you look at some of the sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Dubai has become a world city, like Singapore. So there is this huge capability and ambition, but they’re starting from some way back, there’s a lot of room for them to grow even in their neighbourhood. That said, every time I go back, the pace of change is incredible. Every time I’m struck by something new, and you know, I go multiple times a year. They have an aggressive plan to make Riyadh a regional centre and to get companies to move their headquarters there. That is a tall order though, especially given what Dubai has become. But look, I can remember not that long ago you could not get a decent meal in Riyadh, or at least that’s how it seemed to me, and now we have a burgeoning fine dining scene, an arts district and contemporary art galler- ies. These didn’t exist say a year or so u Legal services Saudi Arabia’s mega projects, such as NEOM, also poses a huge opportunity for law fi rms including Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan u Economic powerhouse The Saudi economy is the biggest in the region ago, given the means they have, I don’t think you can rule anything out. For the last 12 to 18 months, the biggest topic of conversation have revolved around cryptocurrency, from its regulation to its wild ride. As a business-focused legal leader, what’s your view? Well, first off, let’s talk about the block- chain, which I think is something sepa- rate and different than crypto and that’s important, it has proven use cases. And even the Jamie Dimons of the world have endorsed the blockchain. I think more generally, if you think in terms of decentralised finance I do think that has the ability to revolution- ise finance and the concept of owner- ship as we know it. Everything’s turning digital, right. So why not ownership? Why not finance? If you took a black sheet and designed a financial system today, there’s no way you would design the financial system that we have with all these inefficient intermediaries, with banks and stock exchanges. You would have some form of digital fraction- alised ownership that was transpar- ent, seamless, and without the trans- action costs that come with having to deal with all the intermediaries. To me it’s just a matter of time before, in one form or another, the whole system gets reorganised along these lines. But in terms of cryptocurrencies, I think we’re at a super early stage, and there’s going to be lots of failures. There’s going to be a few survivors, but it’s going to be chaotic, and highly vola- tile for a while. Another hot topic in board rooms has been the future of work, and whether teams should be back in the offi ce or working remotely. As a business leader with global operations, what’s your take on that? Well, our firm have adopted a work from anywhere policy indefinitely we’re not requiring people to come into the office. This was driven in the first 64 Vol. 23/08, August 2022 instance by recruiting the challenges we had recruiting talented young people in particular. We thought that there might be really highly qualified excellent young lawyers in places like Boise, Idaho, Des Moines, Iowa, Charleston, South Caro- lina, who needed to be there for the reason they needed to be there and wanted to be there. So, the only way that we could attract them is if we had such a policy, and in those cities, there wouldn’t be firms that do what we do. It was a way for people who aren’t in major metropolitan areas but who are talented and can contrib- ute to become part of a major global disputes practice. That was the genesis of it, and we’ve had a lot of success. That’s the upside but also obviously its presents very clearly some challenges, this is not how we all learn to practice law. The informal walk into the office of the lawyer next door, the watercooler conversation, the in-person mentor- ship, for these people that’s not going to exist. So the question is, how do we reinvent that for a virtual environ- to people wherever they may be. The other half of it is, there are people who want to come to the office, and we have to make that attractive. That includes thinking about how to redesign the space because office space should be for people to come together. It shouldn’t be for them to open the door and go into their individual rooms, what’s the point? While there is a lot of doom and gloom about the global economy, let’s finish on an optimistic note. What’s exciting you for the rest of the year? As the world gets smaller, and I know people talk about globalisation but I don’t think there’s any turning back from globalisation, I think that the prevalence of cross-border disputes for our practice areas, where we have lawyers from different jurisdictions all around the world are locally qualified, who work together to solve problems for our clients. That’s very exciting, very satisfying. We only see more demand for what we have to offer. ment? And that’s something that we’re paying a lot of attention to by creating the Quinn Emanuel Academy, various programmes that offer check-ins and groups and mentors who are assigned Q IN TERMS OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES, I THINK WE’RE AT A SUPER EARLY STAGE, AND THERE’S GOING TO BE LOTS OF FAILURES” 900 The number of litigators employed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in 29 offi ces around the world u Global event Qatar invested more than $200bn on infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup in November FEATURE / LAW66 Vol. 23/08, August 2022 Dubai’s Metaverse Strategy Dubai has launched a metaverse strategy based on fi ve pillars, including government adoption of metaverse technologies, talent development, and a focus on innovation $4 billion 230%5,00040,000 30% How much the strategy aims to increase the metaverse’s contribution to the economy Increase in performance of surgeons in Dubai due to the metaverse Number of blockchain and metaverse companies in Dubai in fi ve years Jobs to be created as part of the strategy Increase in productivity of engineers due to the metaverseN E OM . C OM THE LINE is a revolution in civilisation. However, the true wonder is not what it is, but what it will do for its citizens. Running from the mountains in the East of NEOM right through to the Red Sea in the West, THE LINE is a city that follows a single, perfectly straight line 170Km long, 500 metres high and just 200 metres wide. It is designed for 9 million people and combines the most advanced engineering and design imaginable, from some of the greatest wonder is what it will deliver for everyone living there. A place for commerce and communities to thrive like never before. NEOM_30105_Arabian_Business_English_200X265mm_En.indd 118/07/2022 15:57Next >