Dynasty From luxury to real estate: Inside the world of Abbas Sajwani U E: AED 15 K : SAR 15 B HR IN: BHD 1.500 OM N: OMR 1.500 KUW IT: KWD 1.200 Inclusive of VAT #24/01 • January 2023arabianbusiness.com 3 Contents January 2023 www.arabianbusiness.comSUBSCRIBE NOW +971 4444 3000 www.itp.com/subscriptionarabianbusiness#arabianbusinessarabianbusiness COVER STORY The ‘real’ deal Rampaging startup, high- class luxury, and one of the biggest developers in Dubai: Welcome to the world of Abbas Sajwani and AHS Properties SPOTLIGHT Women and business: Beyond economic growth The business case for widening women’s participation in the global economy is clear, believes François Ortalo-Magné, Dean of London Business School SUSTAINABILITY Preserving KSA’s natural capital Saudi Arabia and the futuristic city of NEOM will play a key role in the battle against climate change, says Richard Bush from NEOM 20 FIRST WORD One lesson learnt throughout the pandemic was the importance of resilience to business operations” 12 Matthew Amlot Managing Editor matthew.amlot@itp.com emic of s 164 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 Where is the nancial sector heading in 2023? It’s a good year to be in the ntech sector in the UAE, says Professor Ramesh Jagannathan 50 FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT... REAL ESTATE A prosperous year ahead Buoyed by residency reforms, the future of Dubai’s real estate looks bright, believes CEO Lewis Allsopp LETTERS TO 2023 Sectors to watch as Saudi Arabia races to achieve Vision 2030 Saudi Arabia’s ambitious plan for economic reform is set to take centre stage in 2023, says Sapna Jagtiani, Director – S&P Global Ratings ECOMMERCE Lessons in resilience Phygital experiences and resilient supply chains will de ne retail in 2023, says CEO Mohammad A. Baker 24 3436 386 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 SUBSCRIBE NOW www.itp.com/subscriptions +971 4 4443000 XPT VIEWS THE AVIATOR James Hogan is back UAE: AED 15 KSA: SAR 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 Inclusive of VAT #23/11 • November 2022 X LV i te views Leadership in an age of accelerating connections Dubai Riyadh Mumbai London New York Dimitrios Dosis, President, EEMEA, Mastercard, shares his vision for a digital future where everyone prospers AN ITP MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATION #23/10 October 2022 UAE: AED 15 KSA: SAR 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 D PTH NEWS Learning from life How Sunny Varkey created a global education empire #23/12 • December 2022 UAE: AED 15 KSA: SAR 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 Inclusive of VAT PUBLISHED BY AND © 2023 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. NOTICE The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. 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PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 444 3000 Offices in KSA, UAE, UK, US, and INDIA I ME IA GROU CEO Ali Akawi MANAGING DIRECTOR Alex Reeve DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR Anil Bhoyrul E I ORIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rob Corder, rob.corder@itp.com MANAGING EDITOR Matthew Amlot, + 971 4 444 3264, matthew.amlot@itp.com SUB EDITOR Edward Liamzon, +971 4 444 3474, edward.liamzon@itp.com ARABIANBUSINESS.COM INDIA EDITOR James Mathew ESIGN SENIOR DESIGN MANAGER Geri Batara Sonny DESIGNER Mohammed Irqsosy S U IO VIDEOGRAPHER Muhammad Kaleem, Julius Garcia PHOTOGRAPHER Marwan Elsayed VIDEO EDITOR Liju Cheruvathur RO UC ION & IS RIBU ION PRODUCTION MANAGER Denny Kollannoor PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Mahendra Pawar SENIOR IMAGE EDITOR Emmalyn Robles E EN S & MARKE ING DIRECTOR OF AWARDS & MARKETING Daniel Fewtrell, +971 4 444 3684, daniel fewtrell@itp.com CIRCU A ION DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Avinash Pereira CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE Rajesh Pillai AER ISING GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Saraswati Agarwal, +971 4 444 3352, saraswati.agarwal@itp.com SENIOR COMMERCIAL MANAGER Mansi Khatwani, +971 4 444 3242, mansi.khatwani@itp.com COMMERCIAL MANAGER Samir Glor, +971 4 444 3320, Samir.Glor@itp.com I GROU CEO Ali Akawi CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies CORPORATE WEBSITE itp.com CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE +971 4 444 3000 WEB arabianbusiness.comINNOVATE. DISCOVER. CONNECT. WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT 16 - 18 JAN 2023 10AM - 5PM / ADNEC - ABU DHABI Hosted byPart of 4 FOCUSED EXPOS 5 LEADERSHIP FORUMS 300+ EXHIBITING COMPANIES 110+ KNOWLEDGE SESSIONS 300+ SPEAKERS RESERVE YOUR ATTENDANCE AT WORLDFUTUREENERGYSUMMIT.COM WATER SMART CITIES SOLAR ECOWASTE ENERGY CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTFIRST WORD | Matthew Amlôt, Managing Editor 8 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 H ello and welcome to the January issue of Arabian Busi- ness. This month we turn our minds to looking ahead, examining the challenges and opportunities ahead for . While last month we concerned ourselves with answering the questions of how became a more di cult year than expected, this month we look for optimism. It is perhaps tting therefore that we have featured a member of the Middle East’s optimistic future generation on the front cover of this month’s issue – Abbas Sajwani. Sajwani, a member of the storied family behind real estate giant DAMAC, dived into the ways in which he has sought to carve out his own property empire. His development rm, AHS Properties, already has millions of dollars in development complete, with visionary further plans over the horizon. In addition, Sajwani explains the role that his father, property mogul Hussain Sajwani, played in his personal growth. “I think my management style and everything I’ve learned in busi- ness is from him,” he says. In , the Dubai real estate market saw enormous gains, with prices rising in luxury segments by over percent in some areas, such as Palm Jumeirah. The rapid price increases have prompted some fears that there may be a bubble in the market. On this, Sajwani says: “The market is good, but I don’t think it’s a bubble, Dubai is still undervalued. When you compare to London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris, even other cities in the Middle East, Dubai is not very expensive.” Turn to page for the full story. More predictions on the less luxury portion of the Dubai real estate market are also available on page , but su ce to say, it doesn’t look like the emirate’s property sector is set to slow in . Across the border in Saudi Arabia, the future also looks bright. The kingdom’s burgeoning tourism scene is driving a new industry in the country, with ambitious mega-projects providing a fresh source of growth. As part of our Letters to series in this issue, we have included a look inside the future of Saudi Arabian tourism on page , as well as which other sectors indus- try veterans need to be watching (page ). One lesson learnt throughout the pandemic was the impor- tance of resilience to business operations. Some sectors were harmed more than others, with retail in particular feeling the bite of constrained supply chains. As such, it is fascinating to hear the thoughts of retail industry veteran Mohamed Baker of GMG on the importance of resilience to future operations – we have included his view in full beginning on page 6. Finally, in the world of nance, the UAE is already a regional and global hub, but more reforms are on the way. The topic of sustainability has continued to be top of the mind for future growth, and this trend’s importance in the nance world will continue to grow – you can read more about how these two dynamics will intersect in on page . With that I’ll let you get to reading. Until next time. 2023: The path to prosperity? The beginning of the year is the best time to lay the groundwork for a fruitful 2023 MATTHEW AMLOT @MatthewAmlot $8. BN The value of 10,000 sales transactions in Dubai in November – the highest ever since 2011, according to Property FinderNext >