If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time!                                  09 June 2023

The 3,397 real estate and properties transactions totalled US$ 2.45 billion, during the week, ending 09 June 2023. The sum of transactions was 204 plots, sold for US$ 414 million, and 2,562 apartments and villas, selling for US$ 1.55 billion. The top three transactions were all for plots of land, one in Wadi Al Safa 3, sold for US$ 25 million, and the second in in Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid for US$ 22 million, and the third in Wadi Al Safa 3 for US$ 21 million. Al Hebiah Fifth recorded the most transactions, with thirty-one sales, worth US$ 26 million, followed by twenty-eight sales in Wadi Al Safa 3, for US$ 127 million, and twenty-five sales in Madinat Hind 4, valued at US$ 9 million. The top three transfers for apartments and villas were for a villa in Al Thanayah Fourth, valued at US$ 22 million, another in Palm Jumeirah, for US$ 15 million, and an apartment in Zabeel Fourth for US$ 14 million. The mortgaged properties for the week reached US$ 414 million, with the highest being for a plot of land in Nadd Hess, mortgaged for US$ 33 million, whilst one hundred and thirty-four properties were granted between first-degree relatives worth US$ 93 million.

Research from proptech firm Realiste indicates that the Dubai Q2 real estate sector will experience a 4.1% growth, along with a 46% surge in real estate transactions, compared to 2022; the main drivers continue to include a strong 7.6% GDP growth last year and favourable amenities and infrastructure. Dubai property prices grew by 20-40% over the past twelve months, with some areas, like Palm Jumeirah and Trade Centre First, growing by 59% and 210% respectively. Other growth areas include JBR, Jumeirah Golf Estate Part 4 and Wadi Al Safa 2 Part 1, all with price rises in the region of 7.0%.

Tiger Properties has launched Altai Tower, a twenty-six-storey tower, located in Jumeirah Village Triangle. The project will house 244 residential units, comprising forty-eight studios, 146 1 B/R apartments, and fifty 2 B/R apartments, along with four parking floors, and a retail floor. It will also include an outdoor swimming pool, a kids’ playing area, a running/walking track and a gym. Prices will start at US$ 163k, with a flexible payment plan of 0% interest, along with a five-year payment plan option.  Delivery is expected by 2026.

Imtiaz has announced the launch of a US$ 42 million development in Jumeirah Village Circle. The sixteen-storey Pearl House comprises 190 studio and 1 B/R apartments, with starting prices at US$ 139k. The development will have all the usual accoutrements, including an electric vehicle charging station, fully furnished apartments, with custom-made furniture, built-in office space for remote work, a fully equipped gym, a courtyard, a rooftop pool, extra visitors parking and a kids’ playground.

Dubai South Properties has appointed Ginco General Contracting as its major developer for a US$ 272 million contract for the initial phases of South Bay, the master development located in the heart of The Residential District, within Dubai South. This development, slated for completion by Q1 2026, will include over eight hundred spacious villas and townhouses, more than two hundred luxurious waterfront mansions, a 1 km crystal lagoon, 3 km of a waterfront promenade, multiple beaches, a clubhouse, fitness centres and lush parks. The townhouses will range from 2.9k sq ft to 5.5k sq ft and be a mix of 3 – 5 B/R units, whilst the mansions will encompass a built-up area of between 9k – 14.5k sq ft

DMCC has appointed Mace as the building operations management firm, for its recently built 340 mt Uptown Tower, to deliver industry-leading building services across the board, including facilities management services with a central focus on residents, commercial office tenants and visitors. The tower, with eighty-one floors, features a 188-key 5-star luxury hotel, ‘SO/ Uptown Dubai’, SO/ branded residences, twenty-two floors of premium Grade A commercial office spaces, and exclusive F&B offerings in The Atrium.

The latest Mercer’s 2023 Cost of Living Survey shows that Dubai has moved thirteen places higher to eighteenth on its global list of the world’s 227 most expensive cities for international employees. Rent increases, averaging 25%, were the primary reason for the shift upwards; only Singapore, with a mouth-watering 50% average rise in housing costs, saw higher rents last year. Other price hikes noted in the survey were the cost of food in supermarkets, sports/leisure and transportation, rising by 11%, 5% and 4% respectively. The survey found that to compensate employees, surveyed companies have provided an average of a 4.2% annual merit increase in 2023, with 40% of surveyed companies having lifted their housing allowances by up to 10%. Overall, Hong Kong remained the most expensive city for expatriates, followed by Singapore.

At a recent federal cabinet meeting, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the National Sports Strategy 2031, with Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, noting the growth of the sports sector and its role in advancing the nation’s prosperity and welfare. The aims of the strategy are to implement seventeen initiatives, including developing sports professionals, discovering talented athletes in schools, upgrading the sports education methodology, enhancing regulations governing the sector, and raising the proportion of people practising diverse sports to 71% of the population.

On Tuesday, the World Bank revised UAE’s economic growth upwards by 1.1% to 3.4% over the next two years, driven by higher oil output, reform initiatives and fresh investments, and it will be the fastest-growing economy during 2024 and 2025. However, it did revise UAE’s GDP growth downwards for 2023, by 1.3% to 2.8%, attributable to constrained oil production, (with Opec+ members having already announced production cuts twice this year – once in April and then this month) and tightening financial conditions. For both the GCC and the Mena region, it cut its 2023 forecasts by 1.3% to 2.4% and by 1.3% to 2.2% and increased 2024’s forecasts by 0.8% to 3.2% and 0.6% to 3.3%.

Emirates is planning a new wide-body aircraft order of a range of Airbus A350s, Boeing 777-9s and “possibly” the smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to Tim Clark, its president, commenting that “we are in the market for [the purpose of] buying quite a few more aircraft”; the size and timing of any order were not indicated. The world’s biggest long-haul line is in the middle of a US$ 2 billion programme to retrofit more than one hundred of its Airbus A380 jets and Boeing 777s as it awaits the delivery of fifty A350s in summer of 2024, as well as thirty Boeing 787-9s and the long-delayed one hundred and seventeen 777Xs, expected to start in 2025. The A380s are scheduled to start exiting operations between by 2033, but there are plans to extend that timeframe. On the side-lines of the annual IATA meeting in Istanbul, he commented, in relation to whether Emirates would move to Al Maktoum International, (DWC), that the government was “fairly close to making a decision on that”, and “if we have our way, it would be built by 2032-2033.”

Last week, Drydocks World celebrated two anniversaries – forty years since its 1983 launch and the completion of its 20,000th project. Since then, it has become a leading provider of maritime services and has been responsible for a host of global projects for marine and energy customers. Over its life span, it has carried out 10k ship repairs, maintenance and upgrade projects, 9k global offshore and onshore service projects, and other work on conversion, fabrication, drilling, rig, reactivation, life-extension and refit projects. Drydocks World continues to enhance its facilities in Dubai, with the new South Yard development providing dedicated fabrication facilities, as well as expanding its global presence in Mumbai and in the Mediterranean.

Last year, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority invested US$ 975 million to extend main water transmission pipelines, by 64 km, with diameters of 600, 900 and 1,200 mm in several areas in Dubai. DEWA is committed to meeting the current and future needs of its 1.15 million customers and in providing world class services according to the highest standards of availability, reliability and efficiency, as well as meeting increasing water reserves. DEWA’s total production capacity of desalinated water has reached 490 million imperial gallons per day. The utility has achieved one of the lowest percentages of water network losses worldwide, recorded at 4.5%, compared to around 15% in North America.

Q1 saw Dubai Chamber of Commerce recording a massive 48.7% hike in new registered companies, totalling 15,.4k. Over that period, total exports and re-exports reported by the Chamber were 17.35 higher at US$ 19.54 billion. It also issued 182.3k Certificates of Origin – a year-on-year 2.0% growth as well as issuing and receiving 1.5k ATA Carnets, worth US$ 300 million. In Q1, it also achieved its goal of establishing more than one hundred Business Groups, representing various sectors and economic activities. Dubai Chamber of Commerce is one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers.

In partnership with Bybit, DMCC will provide US$ 136 million of financial support to assist new companies to set up in the Dubai Free Zone’s Crypto Centre. The global crypto giant will provide dedicated support for crypto firms looking to list digital assets in the free zone and will become the listing partner for the crypto centre. With its HQ in Dubai, Bybit, which is the world’s third most visited crypto exchange, with over fifteen million users, will also participate in the DMCC Crypto Centre’s educational initiatives, by delivering webinars and educational courses. As DMCC looks to further enhance the support available to members of the crypto centre, the DMCC Crypto Centre is home to over five hundred and fifty businesses, operating in the Web3 and blockchain space.

Last month, Dubai saw a slight softening of 1.4, in its seasonally adjusted S&P Global PMI, to 55.3, with the economy improving at a “robust pace”, mainly attributable to stronger output and employment numbers rising for the thirteenth month in a row in the fastest pace of job creation since January 2018; (50 is the threshold between expansion and contraction). The degree of business confidence was the strongest recorded since pre-pandemic March 2020 – and the subsequent global lockdown. New business growth slowed in the month, from April’s eight-month high, but was still in positive territory, whilst surveyed businesses registered the fastest expansion in activity levels for a fifth consecutive month. Other positive indicators include lead times shortening, at their fastest pace since August 2019, and a sharp rise in new order intakes.

With this week’s signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, non-oil trade between the UAE and Cambodia is expected to more than double to US$ 1.0 billion, over the next seven years. Last year, bilateral trade reached US$ 407 million which in turn was 33% higher compared to 2021.The CEPA will eliminate or reduce customs duties, remove trade barriers, facilitate investments, open market access to services exports, and create more opportunities for businesses to forge new partnerships. Currently, the UAE is the top regional trading partner with the Asian nation, accounting for 70% of its total trade. The signing of this accord offers a wide range of opportunities for investment in tourism, logistics, infrastructure and renewable energy as well as guaranteeing improved access for UAE products to the Cambodian market, covering 92% of customs tariff lines and over 93% of the value of non-oil trade.

With its main aim of assisting government entities in deploying future technologies across key sectors, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed announced the launch of the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence.  The Crown Prince noted that Dubai wants to be a global leader in preparing for emerging opportunities and challenges, as well as shaping the future, and that the emirate is fast adopting new artificial intelligence and future technologies in step with the evolution of global technology innovation. He also commented that “Dubai’s government will be the best in the world in deploying artificial intelligence within its various entities. This new centre is the first step in achieving this goal”, as he encouraged employees across all Dubai’s government entities to apply generative AI tools to enhance productivity and optimise government services. The new centre will train 1k government employees, from over thirty government entities, on the uses of generative artificial intelligence.

Having made on offer of USS$ 5.03 per share, including a 69.5% share premium, Brookfield Business Partners acquired the UAE’s payments-processing company, Network International, for US$ 2.76 billion.  Ron Kalifa, chairman of Network International, noted that “the strength of Network’s people and technology platform has enabled it to build on its position as a leading payment solution provider across the Middle East and Africa”. Earlier, it had received a bid from a consortium of private equity firms, CVC Capital and Francisco Partners, valuing the company at about US$ 2.64 billion. Little wonder that its shares were 5% higher on the news, with its value up more than 25% YTD. Brookfield, already with a 60% share in FAB’s payments business Magnati, commented that there was “strategic and industrial logic” in combining Magnati and Network International. Data from Statista indicates that, in 2023, the total transaction value in the digital payments segment could top US$ 28.74 billion in the UAE and US$ 106.30 billion in the GCC; on a global stage, this year’s value, at US$ 8.26 trillion, will be 87.7% higher than in 2020.

The March balance sheet of the Central Bank of the UAE saw assets grow by 5.4% on the month, to US$ 161.9 billion, marking the largest level ever in its history; on the year, it has expanded by 15.2% (US$ 15.0 billion) and by 7.05% YTD. Its assets of cash/bank balances, reserved investments, deposits, loans/other investments and other assets totalled US$ 71.2 billion, US$ 53.6 billion, US$ 29,.4 billion, US$ 0.9 billion and US$ 6.7 billion. On the liability and equity side of the balance sheet, the balances included current/deposit, certificates of deposit/monetary bills, currency notes & coins issued, for capital/reserves and for other liabilities equating to US$ 67.3 billion, US$ 53.2 billion, US$ 35.2 billion, US$ 3.9 billion and US$ 2.1 billion.

“In accordance with the applicable insurance brokers’ regulation,” the UAE Central Bank has struck off Seagull Insurance Services Co. and Al Shorafa Insurance Services from the broker registry; no further details were readily available. One of the objects of the CBUAE is to ensure that all insurance companies and brokers comply with the regulations to safeguard the transparency and integrity of the UAE financial system.

The Central Bank confirmed that the number of transactions rose 49%to 38,715 during the period, with the busiest month being March, with a total value of cleared cheques standing at. US$ 30.44 billion. Cash deposits reached US$ 9.64 billion, including US$ 10.73 billion in notes, against cash withdrawals of AED 46.32 billion, including US$ 12.62 billion in notes.

The UAE Central Bank has announced that Emiratis now represent 33.2% of the total number of bank employees in the country, with further growth expected. It was noted that the 2026 target is to reach 45% of total employees and 30% for senior executives. Last year, the regulator backed the creation of 5k jobs for UAE citizens, in the banking and insurance sectors, under its Emiratisation programme. At the same meeting, it reinforced “the importance of sustainability, Emiratisation and consumer protection, and underlines our commitment to achieving our ambitious digitalisation, financial technology and innovation targets.”

With its recent 5% acquisition of shares in the National Bonds Company, Taaleem Holding has become its major shareholder, with a 22% stake in the Sharia-compliant saving and investment company; Taaleem, which listed on the DFM last November, was founded in 2006 by the NBC, and other investors, and is now one of the region’s biggest education groups. It boasts twenty-six schools, attended by 27k students and supported by 1.7k faculty members and 3k support staff. This latest move is part of National Bonds’ continuous effort to strengthen its presence in the education sector and aligns with its strategy to invest in vital educational services.

The DFM opened on Monday, 05 June 2023, 62 points (1.7%) higher the previous week, gained 92 points (1.7%) to close the week on 3,603, by 09 June 2023. Emaar Properties, up US$ 0.06 the previous week, was flat to remain on US$ 1.66 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.68, US$ 3.76, US$ 1.44, and US$ 0.39 and closed on US$ 0.70, US$ 3.86, US$ 1.46 and US$ 0.40. On 09 June, trading was at 263 million shares, with a value of US$ 117 million, compared to 369 million shares, with a value of US$ 221 million, on 02 June 2023.

By Friday, 09 June 2023, Brent, US$ 0.96 lower (1.2%) the previous week, shed US$ 1.23 (1.6%) to close on US$ 74.99.  Gold, US$ 18 (0.9%) higher the previous week, gained US$ 12 (0.6%) to US$ 1,976 on 09 June 2023.   

Opec+ members have agreed to extend their voluntary oil production cuts until the end of 2024, as economic growth concerns weigh on the outlook for crude demand, with Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, making an additional voluntary output cut of one million barrels per day in July, whilst the UAE will keep its voluntary cut of 144k bpd in place until the end of December 2024. Russia will also extend its voluntary output cut of 500k bpd until the end of next year which will see its production drop to some 7.9 million bpd if they do adhere to its output curbs. The bloc also agreed to establish a new production target of 40.46 million bpd for 2024, noting that the decision was taken “in light of the continued commitment … to achieve and sustain a stable oil market, and to provide long-term guidance for the market, and in line with the successful approach of being precautious, proactive, and pre-emptive”. With China’s economy recovering so slowly, the fact that it is recovering will probably boost global crude demand to record levels later this year, despite the fact that latest manufacturing PMI figures dipped 0.4 in May to 48.8 – any figure under 50 signals contraction.

Troubles seem to have bedevilled Boeing lately, with the most recent being this week’s announcement that it could be forced to again delay delivery of its 787 Dreamliner. After a new flaw, (that does does not impact flight safety), had been found, the plane maker has been forced to inspect all ninety of the planes. The problem, involving the fitting for the 787’s horizontal stabiliser, comes after Boeing was forced in March to stop production for a month to solve another problem. Last Friday, it stopped approving for delivery all 787s, suspected to have the flaw, and although the issue does not immediately affect in-service 787s, it could not say how far back the issue stretches or whether Dreamliners currently operated by airlines will need a fix.

All eyes were on Apple last Tuesday and the tech company did not disappoint with the launch of its mixed-reality headset at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in California. As it was the firm’s most significant product release since 2015, it was no surprise that it came with a headset offering both virtual- and augmented- reality experiences. Pre-launch price estimates of US$ 3k were on the low side, as the headset, with a two-hour battery life, will cost US$ 3,499. At this price, it may prove a hard sell in a slow market, considering that last year, the headset market posted a 54% dive in global sales, and that, last week, Meta announced its Quest 3 would cost US$ 499. Apple Vision Pro looks different to similar headsets on the market – and is more reminiscent of a pair of ski goggles than a virtual reality headset. Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, commented that the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world and the virtual world”.

The southern Indian state of Karnataka has announced that Apple’s biggest supplier Foxconn will start manufacturing iPhones in the state next year; it has been making older versions of iPhones in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu since 2017. There are reports that the US supplier will invest US$ 700 million, on a new factory, with the local government claiming that the project was valued at US$ 1.59 billion; the project will create around 50k jobs. It is estimated that the new facility will manufacture twenty million iPhones a year. The move comes at a time when trade relations between the global superpowers, China and the US, have deteriorated., leading to Apple’s decision to diversify its supply chains away from China, where it currently makes most of their iPhones. However, the company has so far struggled to compete in the Indian market which is dominated by the much cheaper South Korean and Chinese smartphones.

As it plans to shave US$ 1.03 billion off its expenses, Standard Chartered announced  selective lay-offs of some one hundred employees, mainly in Singapore, London and Hong Kong. Several middle office positions, such as human resources and digital transformation in Asia, have already been cut, as have a few managing directors in financial markets in London, and some junior staff. The move by the bank has been mirrored by other financial institutions who all have been impacted by a tough economic and muted deal-making environment. Last week, Goldman Sachs released plans for more job cuts, as it hunkers down in the face of what president, John Waldron, called an extraordinarily challenging economic backdrop.  Morgan Stanley co-president Andy Saperstein has also given a similar gloomy forecast.

In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Binance with breaking the country’s investment laws, and has accused the crypto giant of engaging in a “web of deception”, including erecting “sham controls” so that it could continue operating in the US. Its founder, noting that it had yet to receive details of the charges, confirmed that it was “standing by” to ensure that the platform’s systems remained stable. Changpeng Zhao confirmed that it would respond once it had received further details. Earlier in the year, the firm faced charges from another US financial regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Furthermore, the SEC has also brought charges against Coinbase with operating illegally, alleging that the country’s biggest crypto trading platform had acted as a broker, exchange and clearing agency for investments that are subject to SEC rules, without properly registering. The firm has indicated that the rules and regulations, covering crypto are not clear, with its chief legal officer saying that “the solution is legislation that allows fair rules for the road to be developed transparently and applied equally, not litigation. In the meantime, we’ll continue to operate our business as usual.” It seems that authorities are beginning a robust crackdown on the sector, brought about by the collapse last year of FTX, which had left many customers unable to access their funds.

Although not one of the major global tech giants – but still an important player in the sector – Reddit is the latest to announce staff redundancies, as it lays off 5%, (ninety employees); it will also scale back on future hiring. Like other companies, Reddit hired substantial numbers during the pandemic and had probably become too bloated, as business slowed. Reddit, which separated from magazine conglomerate Conde Nast in 2011, has seen its popularity rise in recent times attracting retail investors engaged in stock speculation. Its message boards had gained significant attention during the meme stock frenzy, from day traders.

This week, the billionaire Winklevoss twins, who founded the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini in 2014, are on record stating they believe Bitcoin could surge to a value of US$ 500k. Bitcoin had been created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and the brothers got involved in 2012, when the currency was trading at just US$ 10. Their earlier claim to fame was in 2004, when they sued Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who they had employed to build their social networking site, HarvardConnection, alleging that he stole their idea to create the social media platform. The case was settled four years later, with a pay-out of US$ 65 million in cash and Facebook shares.

In an effort to cut food waste,Marks & Spencer has become the latest UK retailer to scrap use-by dates on milk by replacing it by best-before dates instead; M&S follow in the footsteps of the likes of Morrisons in changing milk labelling, advising shoppers to use their judgement on whether the milk is safe to use. It is estimated that, in the UK, 490 million bottles of milk are thrown away every year, with the “main reason being not drinking before the use-by date”. The retailer noted better shelf-life and improvements in milk quality meant consumers could use “their judgement on what’s still good to eat” without having to rely on labels. Supermarkets have also been ditching use-by dates on fruit and vegetables to help reduce food waste.

The Royal Mint confirmed that there is almost GBP 9 billion, (US$ 11.19 billion), in old bank notes that have not been cashed in across the UK, even though paper £20 and £50 stopped being legal tender last October. Furthermore, there are also GBP 87 million, (US$ 108.16 million) of old £1 coins that have not been returned. The Bank of England said 445 million paper banknotes remained in circulation:

• 111 million £5 notes
• 65 million £10 notes
• 198 million £20 notes
• 70 million £50 notes

despite the £5 notes being withdrawn in May 2017 and the paper £10 notes in March 2018. While the paper notes are no longer legal tender, a BoE spokeswoman said “all genuine” banknotes, that have been withdrawn from circulation, retain their face value. Surprisingly, cash still accounted for 15% of all payments in 2022, making it the second most-popular payment platform after debit cards.

At the start of the annual IATA meeting, it was revealed that global airlines are owed more than US$ 2.3 billion by world governments – 47% higher on the year. The aviation body claims that these debts deprive the aviation industry of much-needed cash, risk reduced air connectivity and damage investors’ perceptions of these economies. The biggest offender remains Nigeria, followed by Bangladesh, Algeria, Pakistan and Lebanon reportedly owing US$ 812 million, US$ 214 million, US$ 196 million, US$ 188 million and US$ 141 million – accounting for over 67% of the total debt. This problem has been on-going for years but was exacerbated by the pandemic, which left airlines strapped for cash.

The International Air Transport Association announced continued strong passenger traffic demand in April, which rose, on the year, by 45.8%, with global traffic now at 90.5% of pre-Covid levels. Domestic traffic was up 42.6%, compared to April 2022, and has now fully recovered from the pandemic, posting a 2.9% increase over the April 2019 results. International traffic climbed 48.0%, with all markets recording healthy growth, with carriers in the Asia-Pacific region continuing to lead the recovery, with international RPKs touching 83.6% of April 2019 levels. The world body attributed the improvement to several factors including the easing of inflation, rising consumer confidence in most OECD countries and declining jet fuel prices. It expects that this upward trend will continue, and that strong air travel demand is sustainable, aided by slowing cost pressures. (Next year’s annual meeting will be held in Dubai).

IATA expect that 2023 industry profits will more than double to US$ 9.8 billion, from US$ 4.7 billion last year, with a 1.2% net margin; airline industry operating profits are forecast to reach US$ 22.4 billion – well up on last year’s US$ 10.1 billion. Total revenues, at US$ 803 billion, are forecast to be 9.7% higher, as operating expenses will rise at a slower rate of 8.1% to US$ 781 billion; jet fuel costs at US$ 215 billion, are expected to average US$ 98.50/barrel in 2023 – a marked improvement on 2022’s US$ 135.60. Passenger numbers, at 4.35 billion, will almost reach pre-Covid levels of 4.54 billion. There has been a marked slowdown in cargo volumes, expected to reach 57.8 million tonnes, compared to 2019’s 61.5 million tonnes, with revenues slipping to US$ 142.3 billion, compared to US$ 207 billion posted last year. The positive news is that industry financials are improving in all regions from the COVID-related figures of 2020, although not all regions are expected to deliver a profit this year, as it is noted that airlines are just making an average US$ 2.25 per passenger.

Data by Eurostat, on the occasion of World Bicycle Day, posted that the EU saw exports of bicycles, in 2022, 24.0% higher at US$ 1.18 billion, with imports up 32.0% at US$ 2.68 billion. The overall increase in the trade value of bicycles can be attributed to an increase in the trade of electric bicycles, which are typically more expensive. Last year, the EU imported 5.2 million non-electric bicycles, (down 9.0% on the year), and exported one million – 31.0% lower compared to 2021. For electric units, EU imports were 16.0% higher at 1.2 million, with exports also 16.0% higher for 365k electric bicycles. The three main markets for EU exports of non-electric bicycles were Switzerland, UK and the US with 25%, 23% and 7%; for non- electric bicycles, the main markets were the same three – at 38%, 27%, 13% – followed by Norway’s 9%. The five main markets for EU imports of electric bicycles were Cambodia, Taiwan, China, Bangladesh and Türkiye with 30%, 23%, 11%, 10% and 6%; for electric bicycles, the main markets were Taiwan, Vietnam, Switzerland, China and Türkiye – at 56%, 14%, 13%, 8% and 5%.

For a second consecutive quarter, the eurozone posted a 0.1% of economic contraction – a sign that the bloc has entered a technical recession. However, the are some analysts who take a broader look at the economy, including unemployment figures; the latest unemployment figure of 6.5% shows that this is the lowest ever return since the bloc was created in 1999. Whether the eurozone is in recession is debateable but what is for sure is that many are suffering from rising prices, rising mortgage rates and an ongoing cost of living crisis. Because of these factors, and others, it is obvious that consumer spending is heading south which could see the economy continuing to contract.

There was a big, and surprising, development in the sporting world this week, with the announcement that the PGA Tour, European Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, (which was only formed in October 2021 and fronted by Greg Norman), had agreed to end their long-running standoff and to merge and form a commercial entity to unify golf. As part of the deal, the sides agreed to drop all lawsuits  involving LIV Golf against each other effective immediately. The agreement also sees PIF, Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, making capital investment into the combined entity. The wealth fund will initially be the exclusive investor in the new entity and have the right of first refusal on any capital to be invested. The tours also said in their announcement that players, who were suspended by the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour for playing in LIV Golf events, could return as the entities “will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership”. There is no doubt that LIV introduced a breath of fresh air to a game that was becoming staid and in urgent need of change. The Saudi-backed tour lured top PGA Tour talent – such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith – with record US$ 25 million purses and money guarantees; the PGA responded by banning LIV players from their tour and fining some of them, including Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson.

Until recently, the Dubai weather has been exceptionally kind to most residents and as we approach the June Solstice, the emirate will experience its longest day of the year. On that day, dawn will be at 5.03 am, with the sun rising at 5.29 am, and setting at 7.11 pm, and dusk occurring twenty-six minutes later at 7.37pm. The period of civil twilight is some fourteen hours and thirty-four minutes. It would be interesting to see a cost/benefit analysis on, whether over a period of between four and six summer months, the viability of Dubai clocks being put forward an hour, so that the emirate’s longest day is still fourteen hours and thirty-four minutes long but is between 6.03am and 8.37pm. Will the economy benefit more from having an extra one hour at the end of the day whilst losing that hour of sunlight at day break? If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time!