Four talking points from the week in UAE business

Pawan Singh / The National

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

Ryan Carter / The National

We’ve covered plenty of contests this week - the world’s tallest tower, the Open Skies debate, and then Dubizzle revealed its most searched for item. Read on to find out who has come out on top.

Sky’s the limit for builders, or is it?

For the past five years Dubai has been carrying the bragging rights for the world's tallest tower. But that is set to change in 2018 when Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Tower, pictured, is slated for completion. This week we were given a first look at progress on the tower, which will top out at 1km beating the Burj Khalifa by more than 150 metres. The project has reached the 14th floor so far, and although there's literally a long way to go, we can start to wonder whether there will be an attempt by Dubai to reach even dizzier heights. Back in 2013 Saudi's Prince Al Waleed bin Talal invited the Emaar chairman Mohammed Alabbar to team up with his property development company Kingdom Holding to develop a mile high tower. While there's been nothing more on that, China has been getting in on the fun with its Phoenix Towers development - also set to nudge 1km and be complete in 2018. Should both towers go according to plan it will leave the Burj third on the podium - but for how long will Dubai position itself there? Ian Oxborrow

It’s not who starts the fight; it’s who ends it

In an interview with The National's Frank Kane, the president of Emirates shared a thought or two on the dispute between American and Arabian Gulf carriers. "Have you been on a US domestic flight? It's like travelling with a low-cost bus company. The terminals are full of frightened people sitting on the floors," Tim Clark, pictured, observed. Take that, Delta and American and United! If the big three American carriers had expected to pile up points with their campaign alleging that the big three of the Arabian Gulf were unfair beneficiaries of government largesse, it's not working. The Gulf airlines are punching back. Mr Clark said that the American carriers had hired "gumshoes" to no avail, that you could drive a "bulldozer" through their arguments, and that the US rivals "want to see us off the planet". In business terms, Mr Clark said the campaign by the American "troika" had inspired Emirates to reflect anew on its possibilities in the US market. He noted that Emirates now flies from Milan to New York, and "20 other cities have asked us to do the same." Such as? "Places like Denver and Fort Lauderdale would love to have Emirates flying there," he said. It's not who starts a fight; it's who ends it that counts. Mr Clark wants to end this fight on his terms. Rob McKenzie

Second-hand shoppers keep a watch online

The classifieds website Dubizzle revealed its most searched for items in the UAE so far this year, providing a timely reminder of what residents aspire to own. Although this story was covered by our News section, it provided a window into the retail sector and the burgeoning second-hand market that has been boosted by the ever-growing smartphone penetration in the Emirates. Televisions and mobile phones were predictably among the most searched for items, as was furniture from the Swedish retail behemoth Ikea, though whether that was because of an over-riding desire to own a Billy bookcase or due to a lack of furniture shops is open to debate. Some of the wackier items listed included eggs and a used toothbrush, while an Airbus A340 made an appearance on the site last month. As for the most searched for item ... it's a Rolex watch. Many expats may see their tax-free salary as an opportunity to save, but it doesn't mean they can't check out a bit of second-hand bling. Ian Oxborrow

Du hopes free Wi-Fi will be a smart move

Last Friday saw the official launch of WiFi UAE, a nationwide free Wi-Fi project designed to boost the take-up of e-government services, across more than 200 Dubai locations, including the Dubai Tram, Dubai Metro, DIFC, and Emaar Boulevard. The initial roll out is the fruit of a collaboration between Smart Dubai Executive Committee and telecoms operatior du, with a further 100 locations to be added before the end of the year. The service is available to anyone with a UAE mobile number, with free and premium access packages available. At first blush the move appears a risky one for du, for whom mobile data revenues are a fast growing part of its business. The operator is not receiving any payment for the service from Smart Dubai. But chief executive Osman Sultan insists that there a number of opportunities to derive revenue from the service via advertising revenues. Let's wait and see. John Everington

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