24/12 • 16 – 31 October 2023 BRIDGING BEYOND BORDERS Milton Cheng, Global Chair for law firm giant Baker McKenzie reveals how geopolitics are reshaping the world UAE: AED 15 KSA: SAR 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 QATAR: QAR 15 Inclusive of VATTHE ART OF ELEVATION OMNIYAT.COMarabianbusiness.com 3 Contents 16 – 31 October 2023 CO VER ST ORY Milton Cheng, Global Chair for law rm giant Baker McKenzie, sits down with Arabian Business to discuss how the global order is changing ECONOMY Expanding BRICS There’s a risk that the diverse economic and political priorities of BRICS members could potentially undermine the group’s effectiveness, believes Zahabia Saleem Gupta HEALTHCARE Stem cell research Dubai’s journey to revolutionise stem cell technology is a testament to the city’s commitment to innovation and progress, says Ahmad Al Ahmad 20 FIRST WORD BRICS expansion is incredibly impactful and will have huge political rami cations 10 Matthew Amlot Editor-in-Chief matthew.amlot@itp.com on tful 18 www.arabianbusiness.com SUBSCRIBE NOW +971 4444 3000 www.itp.com/subscription arabianbusiness #arabianbusiness arabianbusiness4 Vol. 24/12, 16 – 31 October 2023 FIVE THINGS T O KNOW ABOUT... SUSTAINABILIT Y Climate change in spotlight Businesses are often at the forefront of technological advancements and can leverage this capability to develop solutions that mitigate environmental impact REAL ESTATE Is it time for Mohamed Alabbar to launch a real estate fund? Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar says the real estate industry has given him everything. What better way to give back then to launch his own fund? SUSTAINABILIT Y Fighting wildlife tra cking With COP28 approaching, the UAE is ramping up its crackdown on nancial crime networks sustaining the illegal wildlife trade and looming biodiversity crisis 28 34 50 COP28 in Dubai The COP28 thematic programme is designed to unite a diverse range of stakeholders around speci c solutions that must be scaled up this decade to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, build resilience and mobilise nance at scale Contents 16 – 31 October 2023 36arabianbusiness.com 5 SUBSCRIBE NOW www.itp.com/subscriptions +971 4 4443000 XPT VIEWS 24/10 • September 2023 DISRUPTING A GIANT Yasser Abdul Malak, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé MENA maps out his plan for shaking up an F&B behemoth UAE: AED 15 KSA: SAR 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 QATAR: QAR 15 Inclusive of VAT X LV interviews 24/09 • August 2023 LEADERSHIP Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron breaks down why it’s the team behind a leader that leads to success UK: £ 4.95 UAE: AED 15 KSA: SAR 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 QATAR: QAR 15 Inclusive of VAT INDEH NEWS PUBLISHED BY AND © 2023 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. 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PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 444 3000 Offices in KSA, UAE, UK, US, and INDIA I MEDIA GROU CEO Ali Akawi MANAGING DIRECTOR Alex Reeve DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR Anil Bhoyrul EDI 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 EDITOR AT LARGE Will Milner DESIGN SENIOR DESIGN MANAGER Geri Batara Sonny DESIGNER Mohammed Irqsosy S UDIO PHOTOGRAPHER Rajesh Raghav VIDEOGRAPHER Muhammad Kaleem VIDEO EDITOR Liju Cheruvathur RODUC 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 SENIOR MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER Anthony Chandran, +971 4 444 3685, anthony.chandran@itp.com DIS RIBU ION HEAD OF DISTRIBUTION AND NEWSTRADE Abdulrahim Alparambil DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Avinash Pereira CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE Rajesh Pillai AD ER ISING GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Saraswati Agarwal, +971 4 444 3352, saraswati.agarwal@itp.com SENIOR COMMERCIAL MANAGER Neha Sikri, +971 4 444 3353, neha.sikri@itp.com SENIOR 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.com6 Vol. 24/12, 16–31 October 2023 FIRST WORD | Matthew Amlot, Editor-in-Chief Sustainability takes the stage MATTHEW AMLÔT @MatthewAmlot Hello and welcome to the October mid-month issue of Arabian Business. We begin with a thoughtful cover story inter- view with Baker McKenzie Global Chair Milton Cheng. In a wide-ranging discussion, Cheng shares his views on the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape and the need to combine local expertise with a global mindset. As he notes, “It’s a complex world that is getting more complex, and local knowledge combined with a global outlook is even more critical than it’s been for a while.” This dynamic means that businesses need to “get on board or be left behind,” Cheng explains. Turn to page 20 to check out the full story. The past month saw a major announcement regarding Saudi arabia and the UAE entering BRICS. This is incred- ibly impactful and will have huge political rami cations and represents the importance of this region on the global stage. However, what are the economic bene ts? Dive into this topic on page 10. Meanwhile, the real estate sector remains a driving force of the regional economy. On page 28, we consider if now is the right time for Emaar Properties founder Mohamed Alabbar to launch a new real estate fund. Few can match Alabbar’s track record of success over several decades, so we examine if expanding his portfolio makes strategic sense. While most property news is positive, we also discuss on page 32 the lingering issue of cancelled projects, such as the Dubai Pearl development. The UAE already has robust safeguards in place for investors but navigating this is no easy task however, and we help answer this question on page 32. Sustainability is also a major theme as expectations ramp up ahead of COP28 later this year. Our dedicated section analyses the importance of the private sector to the climate debate on page 35, the UAE’s increasing e orts to combat global wildlife poaching on page 36, and inno- vative plans by the emirate of Umm Al Quwain to strengthen its eco-credentials as a tourism destination on page 40. Moving to the world of technology, we preview on page 46 the highly anticipated return of the massive annual GITEX event to Dubai this month. With major announcements and deals on the cards, we give a taste of what to expect. Our sister publication Arabian Business Leaders also features this month. The cover story profiles crypto pioneer Bijan Alizadeh of Phoenix Group, which is planning a landmark IPO. Alizadeh shares his optimism about the UAE’s growing prominence in emerging technologies such as blockchain. “Education will breed adoption, adoption will bring awareness and awareness will take us to the next stage,” with this cycle now well underway through e orts of univer- sities, accelerators and events being held in the country. With that I’ll let you get to reading. Until next time. The UAE is spearheading the ght against climate change with COP28arabianbusiness.com 7 NEWS IN NUMBERS India’s drug regulator has reportedly found a cough syrup and an anti- allergy syrup made by the domestic company are toxic Boosting ties Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, participated in a UAE-Malaysia business roundtable in Abu Dhabi alongside leading government and business representatives from both countries. He said: “The UAE greatly values our economic, social and cultural bonds with Malaysia, the strength of which is a re ection of the shared will of the nations’ leadership to foster construc- tive cooperation and unlock mutually bene cial opportunity.” Trade relations Malaysia ranks as the UAE’s 12th-largest global trade partner, while the UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Arab world, accounting for 32 percent of Malaysia’s trade with Arab nations, and 17th-most important globally. The UAE is also the principal destination for Malaysian merchandise exports to the Arab world, accounting for 40 percent of Malaysia’s exports to the region. In 2022, bilateral non-oil trade reached $4.8bn compared to $3.5bn in 2020. Rising numbers The UAE is also the rst destination for Malaysian merchandise exports to Arab countries, accounting for 40 percent of its exports to the region. In May, Al Zeyoudi highlighted that the value of Malaysian investments in the UAE amount to $150m across industries such as construction, real estate, trade, transport, storage, nancial activities, insurance, and professional and technical activities, while UAE investments in Malaysia amount to more than $220m. THREE REASONS WH Y The two countries are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as they look to grow last year’s bilateral trade Norris Medicines Saudi Arabia will install more than 5,000 new electric vehicle charging stations as it looks to increase EV adoption EVs in KSA GOOD MONTH BAD MONTH The top news and business headlines from the region 16–31 O C T O B E R 2023 UAE-Malaysia economic partnership is set to grow Qatari banks have experienced single digit growth of total assets and liabilities over the nancial year 2022 (FY 2022 vs FY 2021). Growth of aggregated assets accelerated in FY 2022 by 3.6 percent to QAR2.02 trillion ($554.8bn) compared to QAR1.95 trillion for FY 2022, and by 3.3 percent CAGR over the three-year period (FY 2022 vs FY 2020) evidencing that the banking industry in Qatar has been expanding at a fast pace over the past three years. These observations underscore the importance of effective capital allocation, risk management and responsiveness to market conditions in maintaining pro tability and competitive advantage in the banking sector. Growth of aggregated liabilities accelerated in FY 2022 by 3.5 percent to QAR1.79 trillion compared to QAR1.73 trillion for FY 2021, and by 3.3 percent CAGR over the three-year period (FY 2022 vs FY 2020). Source: Qatar Banking Sector Report, October 2023 by PwC Qatari banking sector Ahli Bank 0 250 500 750 1,000 1,250 FY22 Total assets (QAR billions) FY21 CBQDoha Bank Dukhan Bank QIBQIIBQNB Masraf Rayan8 Vol. 24/12, 16–31 October 2023 BIG PIC TURE The property is located in one of the most exclusive communities in Abu Dhabi and offers stunning views of the Arabian Gulf The mansion is fully customisable to suit the owner’s preferences and includes swimming pools, landscaping and ultra-high-end nishingarabianbusiness.com 9 BIG PIC TURE The listing of the $26.7m villa is a testament to the strength of the Abu Dhabi real estate market The luxurious development is located in the exclusive Ohana by The Sea development, a luxury coastal community situated between Abu Dhabi and Dubai Beachfront mansion in Abu Dhabi set to become the most expensive in the emirate Metropolitan Capital Real Estate (MCRE), a leading full-service real estate agency, is listing on an exclusive basis the most expensive luxury villa in Abu Dhabi. The 32,000 square feet stunning seven-bedroom beachfront mansion will o er private beach access, allowing its residents to enjoy a 180-degree unob- structed sea view directly from the private garden. The luxury mansion will also feature three living rooms, two salons, a spacious home o ce, three private gardens with direct beach access, a huge terrace, two maids’ rooms and a driver and guard’s room.Next >