Here is a rundown of ten top stories – Inside NEOM, Oman visa-free entry, Saudi Crown Prince announces five new PIF funds – you might have missed this week on Arabian Business.
Inside NEOM’s THE LINE: Saudi Arabia’s 170km city cutting straight through the desert
Located within NEOM in the Northwest of Saudi Arabia, THE LINE is a linear city that will be built on a footprint of just 34 square kilometres. The city intends to eventually accommodate over nine million people. The mirror facade allows the city to seamlessly blend into the nature around it.
With a reduced infrastructure footprint, THE LINE will have no roads, cars or emissions, running on 100 percent renewable energy with 95 percent of land preserved for nature. The city is built to prioritise health and well-being over transportation and infrastructure.
The city will be just 200 metres wide but 170 kilometres long and 500 meters above sea level with ideal climate throughout the year and a high-speed rail offering residents end-to-end transit in 20 minutes.
Saudi Crown Prince announces five new PIF-backed funds in Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced Wednesday that the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would launch five new investment firms in countries around the Middle East.
The new companies are aimed at investing in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Sudan.
The announcement follows the launch of the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC) in August 2022.
Together, all six companies will invest SAR90 billion ($24 billion) across a range of sectors in each country, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Oman announces visa-free entry for GCC residents
All GCC residents can now enter the Sultanate of Oman, Oman Airports announced on Wednesday.
The new rule is applicable to all commercial professions.
Oman Airports confirmed the change to Arabian Business, adding that travellers will need to pay for a visa on arrival.
Earlier, eligible GCC residents had to apply for an e-visa through the official government portal prior to their travel to Oman.
Dubai real estate: ‘No evidence’ of a bubble in the property market, expert claims
There is currently no evidence that there is a bubble brewing in Dubai’s real estate market, according to a property expert.
The city’s real estate sector has been on a post-Covid bull run, hitting continuous records throughout 2022. On Thursday, the market posted AED2.7 billion in transactions for the day, a new record. The market is already hot, with some pointing to further highs ahead with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 looming large.
“In my viewpoint, there is presently no evidence to suggest that a bubble is occurring [in Dubai],” Morgan Owen, managing director of real estate firm Provident Estate told Arabian Business.
Ain Dubai will be closed until next year
Ain Dubai has announced that the closure period will extend until Q1 of 2023.
Having been closed since March, the wheel was expected to open this year but has now been delayed until the coming year.
“We have been working rigorously to complete the enhancement works over the past months. Once a reopening date is set, a further announcement will be made,” the official statement read.
“In line with our commitment to offering guests an experience unlike any other, we look forward to introducing new and exciting offers when we re-open Ain Dubai for visitors to enjoy from across the globe,” the statement concluded.
Dubai to open world’s first metaverse nightclub
Anew nightclub, VISION, will launch in Dubai built around the metaverse. Club-goers and crypto-owners will be able to “turn coins into cocktails,” while NFTs will also be available to purchase.
VISION will be located at The H Hotel Dubai and is being brought to the city by Chinese entertainment firm WanTing Group.
The club is also partnering with jewellery and watch firm Jacob&Co to launch the Jacob&Co x VISION wristwatch. These will be available to those who purchase the venue’s unique NFTs. An exclusive branded VIP table will also be established at VISION along with other Jacob&Co elements.
Dubai Bling review: Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fakest of them all?
The best thing that can be said about Dubai Bling is that by the end of the first episode, you almost feel sorry for the cast. You want to reach out to them, hug them, tell them it’s going to be okay. It isn’t their fault that for some of them, their careers, their reputations, their futures, are all in tatters.
Really, it isn’t. They genuinely thought the show would propel them onto the global stage and make international superstars out of them. It’s all the fault of those horrible people from Netflix, who had a grand plan to dish Dubai – and found 10 unsuspecting local residents to help them.
Unfortunately, sympathy is likely to be in short supply. One of the most curious aspects of the show, which launched on Netflix on October 27, is the cast members often describe the type of people they least relate to, before metamorphosing into those very characters. The opening credits aren’t even done before Danya Mohammed tells us: “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fakest one of all?”
Crypto industry in UAE is a tsunami in the making, set to disrupt online commerce in a huge way, says expert
The crypto industry in the UAE is a tsunami in the making which will disrupt online commerce in a huge way, with the domestic market set to see several Google-Coinbase type partnership deals between the banking, fintech web3 ventures, an industry expert said.
The Gulf country is also predicted to emerge as a global capital for the crypto industry in the next five years, with the best of entrepreneurs, venture capitals and developer communities converging to build and scale globally disruptive crypto projects.
“UAE is at the forefront when it comes to crypto adoption globally and I’m absolutely sure UAE and MENA region will see a considerable amount of firework between the banking, fintech web3 communities based in the region [in the lines of the Google-Coinbase deal],” Khaleelulla Baig founder and chief executive officer of KoinBasket, a diversified crypto investment platform, told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview.
McDonalds, Dubai Police, DEWA: Here are the best places to work in the UAE
The UAE has taken various initiatives recently to increase work-life balance, enhance job satisfaction and attract global talent to the country.
The new UAE job seekers visa came into effect on October 3 aimed at attracting and retaining global talents and skilled workers. The new initiative allows individuals to apply for a visa to look for jobs in the Emirates without the requirement of a sponsor or a host.
Arabian Business had earlier reported that 86 percent of UAE professionals have a positive outlook about 2023 career prospects, according to a survey. Workers in the country have high aspirations, with 66 percent planning to find a new job, 46 percent hoping to learn new skills and 44 percent setting a goal of securing a higher salary.
WhatsApp services crash in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, users report
WhatsApp users in Dubai have reported service issues with the messaging platform. Users have been unable to send or receive messages since 11:00 AM on Tuesday morning.
#whatsappdown is currently trending on Twitter with over 600K users and counting, taking to Twitter to share outrage about the situation. The outage is now being reported by users worldwide.
Users have begun to report the outage in places all-over around the world including Kenya, Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia, Spain, Germany, and more.
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