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As one of the world’s most influential business hubs, the Middle East requires expert attention. Business Extra provides those experts, as well as news and insights from The National’s esteemed team of business editors and reporters, who are on top of the markets, technology, the energy sector and more.
Episodes
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Rising geopolitical tensions, an energy crunch and the thrum of pandemic economic recovery are setting an uncertain path to net zero.
But how did we get here? And what are the forces in play during a decisive decade for climate action?
Alexis Crow, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council with a background in geopolitics and economics, joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to lay out what to expect in the year ahead for fossil fuels, renewables and the push and pull of the “old” versus “new” economies.
Read more on our website:
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Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Amid inflation, an energy crisis, volatile stock markets and increasing scrutiny of big technology firms, there is concern over how tensions between global powers such as the US and Russia might spill over into conflict.
The major crisis is around Ukraine, but there are other pain points, including North Korea's ballistic missile programme, the war in Yemen, ISIS's enduring threat and the continuing talks over Iran's nuclear programme.
Higher oil and gas prices are a symbol of these worries. What should decision makers and senior executives do to mitigate the rising risk profile?
Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner talk to The National's UK-based business commentator Chris Blackhurst about how industry and commerce could be affected by the higher levels of uncertainty.
In this episode:
Has geopolitics taken precedence over the energy transition? (10m 59s)
The consequences of Brexit (14m 06s)
Actions business leaders should take (17m 08s)
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Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
On Monday the UAE announced it will introduce a new federal corporate tax on business profits in a landmark move that will reshape the economic landscape.
Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner answer the basics of how it will work, why now and what to expect when the tax goes into effect on June 1, 2023.
Later, they are joined by Anurag Chaturvedi, chartered accountant and chief executive of the Chartered House Tax Consultancy in Dubai.
He explains why the new tax regime is competitive for attracting multinationals and foreign direct investment, what consumers can expect and how businesses should be preparing.
In this episode:
Why is it happening now? (7m 04s)
How will this impact the UAE? (14m 32s)
The preparations a business needs to undertake (22m 21s)
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Thursday Jan 27, 2022
Thursday Jan 27, 2022
Web3 is the next generation of the internet.
Though it is difficult to understand and seemingly easy to dismiss, the advent of a decentralised internet demands our attention as it is a fundamental shift away from how we use the web today.
So says Noor Sweid, a veteran venture capitalist in Dubai who has been tracking the rise of the technology and eyeing opportunities.
She joins Kelsey Warner this week to explain her current thinking on Web3 and what to expect.
Ms Sweid is the founder and general partner of Global Ventures, an emerging markets venture capital firm backed by some of the world’s best-known investors such as General Atlantic and Capria. Global Ventures will shortly close its second fund and has now invested in more than 40 companies including Kitopi, Mumzworld and Red Sea Farms.
In this episode:
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Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
With Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the World Future Energy Summit under way in the UAE, the path to net zero is becoming clearer with an energy mix of hydrogen, nuclear and renewables alongside innovations such as carbon capture and battery storage.
Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner discuss the latest developments and then, Kelsey interviews The National's energy contributor Robin Mills in this bonus episode of Business Extra.
They discuss Adnoc's business continuity response to the Houthi militia's Monday attack, the challenges that remain for sustainable fuels and how record-high oil prices influences net zero ambitions.
In this episode:
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Monday Jan 17, 2022
Monday Jan 17, 2022
This is the decade of ‘talentism’ rather than capitalism, the World Economic Forum’s president said as it begins a week of high-level online meetings to address climate action, the pandemic and the economic recovery.
Borge Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister, tells the Business Extra podcast that the success of a business is now also being measured by its ability to recruit and develop young talent.
In this episode:
Could Covid disruption offer opportunity? (3m 00s)
Private and public sectors being brought together (4m 35s)
Companies taking more responsibility towards customers, society and the environment (7m 03s)
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Wednesday Jan 12, 2022
Wednesday Jan 12, 2022
With the UAE's move to a Monday-Friday working week and a reduction of hours for public sector employees to four-and-a-half days, the country is leading the charge of a milestone shift in the way we work in the 21st century.
Less than a month into the new model, the private sector is following suit. One in four companies plan to move to a four-and-a-half-day working week, a survey by management consultancy Mercer found.
To talk about the broader implications of this working culture shift, future of work expert Diana Wu David, founder of Future Proof Lab and the author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in the Age of Acceleration joins co-hosts Kelsey Warner and Mustafa Alrawi this week.
In this episode:
Is the future of work less time at work? (6m 28s)
Future-proofing businesses and the hunt for talent (11m 51s)
How to better support working mothers (17m 10s)
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Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Staff shortages are one of the most consequential by-products of the latest coronavirus variant, Omicron. Health care, aviation, education and dining are among the industries scrambling for employees to provide essential services.
As the pandemic enters its third year, robots and automation are becoming a necessity rather than a novelty, with a labour market in flux.
This is according to geopolitical futurist Abishur Prakash, who joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to talk about the future of work and the role of technology.
Mr Prakash is a co-founder of the Centre for Innovating the Future, an advisory firm based in Toronto, Canada. His latest book is called The World Is Vertical: How Technology Is Remaking Globalisation.
In this episode:
Changing trends in the labour force (3m 19s)
Crafting the future with automation and robots (11m 02s)
The fight for talent (18m 48s)
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Wednesday Dec 29, 2021
Wednesday Dec 29, 2021
Sharp uptick in robot orders in the US amid a worker shortage. Historically large cyber and ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure. A chip shortage that threatened to grind the auto industry to a halt.
Looking back on some of the biggest technology threats of 2021, experts from the World Economic Forum, Algirde Pipikaite, cybersecurity lead, and Jayant Narayan, AI and machine learning lead, weigh in on what we learnt – and where we are headed.
This is what to expect in 2022 on the frontiers of AI and cybersecurity.
In this episode:
The displacement of work by automation (2m 19s)
Predictions for AI in 2022 (5m 10s)
Where are we in the evolution of FinTech? (8m 54s)
2021 and cybersecurity (7m 44s)
The risk environment in cybersecurity (9m 46s)
Trends in 2022 for cybersecurity (13m 07s)
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Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Will 2021 be remembered as the year cryptocurrency went mainstream?
The blockchain-powered financial services industry drew about $30 billion in venture capital this year, more than in all previous years combined. Meanwhile, hype over a more decentralised Internet - from NFTs and crypto to Web 3.0 and beyond - reached a fever pitch.
Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner unpack and explain the trends, and Kelsey interviews Abu Dhabi Global Market's Wai Lum Kwok, senior executive director, about the role regulators play in this new frontier.
In this episode:
FinTech products and services approaching ADGM (4m 11s)
Finding a balance between regulation and innovation (7m 15s)
Where are we in the evolution of FinTech? (8m 54s)
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