Qatar the league leader as local markets fall behind



Qatar's World Cup 2022 bid win enabled it to outperform markets in the UAE today as the country's exchange posted its highest close in more than two years.

Optimism that government spending on infrastructure for the World Cup will boost economic growth helped to push the exchange 0.5 per cent higher to 8,794.83 points.

But the UAE markets' optimism last week about Qatar's selection as World Cup host and speculation surrounding Aldar Properties' government funding has subsided. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index slipped 0.9 per cent to 1,676.18. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index inched 0.2 per cent higher to 2,766.2.

"Trading today was calm. Foreign institutions are on Qatar rather than [the] UAE, where volume is four times as high," said Samer al Jaouni, the general manager of the Middle East Financial Brokerage Company.

"There were some retail selling pressures and it seems it's a one-way direction on selling," he said.

Volumes on the DFM have hovered about the 80 million mark from levels three times that at the height of the property bubble.

Shares in Tabreed fell 5.08 per cent to Dh1.96 in the first day of trading after the company cut its share capital in an effort to eventually raise more money. Property stocks reversed last week's gains as Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's biggest developer and the most actively traded stock by volume in the capital, lost 2.8 per cent to Dh2.43.

Aldar last week gained the most in five weeks on speculation that the builder would secure government funding.

Sorouh fell 2.26 per cent to Dh1.73 and Arabtec retreated 2.9 per cent to Dh2.01.

Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait fell 0.3 per cent to 6,803.60; Bahrain lost 0.1 per cent to 1,424.27; Oman slipped 0.09 per cent to 6,711.46 and the Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index fell 0.09 per cent to 6,450.49.

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan

Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm

Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

Fast%20X
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It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.  

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

MATCH INFO

Championship play-offs, second legs:

Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0

(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)

Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')

Derby County 0

(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)

Final

Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE) 


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