Latest news with #Abu Dhabi
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE emerges as top global safe-haven for wealth in new tax index
The UAE has emerged as the world's most attractive destination for wealth preservation, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai topping the newly released Tax Friendly Cities Index 2025 by global mobility platform Multipolitan. The report underscores the UAE's status as a global hub for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) seeking stability, fiscal efficiency, and long-term wealth protection amid growing global tax pressures. Multipolitan's 'Wealth Report 2025: The Taxed Generation' ranks 164 cities based on their statutory taxation frameworks, legal governance, and treaty networks. Abu Dhabi takes the top spot, followed closely by Dubai in second place, outperforming traditional financial centres such as Singapore (3rd), Zurich (6th), and Hong Kong (7th). The UAE's achievement underscores its role as a magnet for global capital and talent in an era when rising taxes, geopolitical uncertainty, and shifting regulatory landscapes are redefining global wealth strategies. Abu Dhabi leads due to its zero per cent income tax regime, relatively low property transfer fees, strong legal infrastructure, and consistent policy environment. Dubai's second-place ranking reflects its unparalleled international connectivity, broad treaty coverage, and a regulatory ecosystem that supports transparent wealth management and investor confidence. Speaking on the findings, Nirbhay Handa, CEO of Multipolitan, said, 'Wealth isn't just being built anymore — it's being defended. Geography has become the ultimate strategy. The UAE is at the forefront of this shift, offering not just low tax rates but something even more important — predictability, legal clarity, and institutional trust.' The Index arrives at a time when high-tax jurisdictions in Europe and North America are tightening regulations on wealth, inheritance, and capital flows. In contrast, cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer a rare combination of low-tax environments, asset security, and regulatory foresight — a mix that increasingly appeals to globally mobile families and corporate leaders. The report also highlights the broader strength of the Gulf region in shaping the future of wealth mobility. Five additional GCC cities made the top 20 — Manama (4th), Doha (5th), Kuwait City (8th), Riyadh (12th), and Muscat (17th) — driven by tax incentives, economic diversification strategies, and growing financial sector sophistication. With seven of the top 20 tax-friendly cities located in the GCC, the region's reputation as a rising force in wealth preservation is now firmly established. In addition to taxation metrics, Multipolitan's report introduces two complementary indexes that provide a multidimensional lens on global resilience. In the Wealth Preservation Cities Index (2015–2025), Zug, Hong Kong, and Basel ranked highest for safeguarding purchasing power during a volatile decade. Abu Dhabi and Dubai placed 22nd and 24th, respectively, indicating growing maturity and increasing investor confidence in long-term capital security. Meanwhile, in the Smart & Sustainable Cities Index 2025, Wellington, Copenhagen, and Singapore topped the rankings. Abu Dhabi and Dubai, ranked 23rd and 25th, are quickly climbing the ladder as they invest in climate resilience and digital infrastructure — cornerstones of future wealth sustainability. According to Knight Frank's 2024 Wealth Report, Dubai recorded the highest global influx of ultra-rich individuals, with over 4,500 new HNWIs relocating to the city in the past year alone. This was driven by its appealing visa regimes, lifestyle offerings, and safe-haven status during geopolitical upheavals. Abu Dhabi, with its long-term investor residency schemes and rapidly expanding private banking sector, is also gaining traction among institutional wealth managers and multi-family offices. The Multipolitan report includes expert commentary from former leaders at EY, Deloitte, and BDO, as well as international tax lawyers and family office strategists. Collectively, these perspectives paint a picture of a new global order in wealth planning — one where jurisdictional agility, smart structures, and proactive compliance are becoming essential. Topics addressed range from how American expatriates are restructuring their holdings, to how AI is transforming global tax strategy, to Portugal and Malta's rising appeal as complementary wealth hubs. What sets Abu Dhabi and Dubai apart, experts note, is their ability to combine traditional financial stability with innovation and long-term governance vision. With no personal income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, or wealth tax, the UAE continues to attract wealth creators seeking to shield their legacies from policy volatility. Moreover, the country's rapidly growing network of double tax treaties — now exceeding 140 — ensures international compliance and ease of asset mobility. As governments worldwide increase scrutiny on offshore structures and adopt transparency standards like the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the UAE's strategy of aligning competitive taxation with robust regulatory practices has earned global credibility.
Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Adib posts record Dh4b profit as customer base surges in H1
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib) has reported a record net profit before tax of Dh4 billion for the first half of 2025, a 16 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. The strong results reflect broad-based income growth, a surge in new customer acquisitions, and effective execution of a diversified business strategy. Net profit after tax for the six-month period stood at Dh3.5 billion, up 15 per cent year-on-year. The bank's second-quarter performance also mirrored this momentum, with net profit before tax rising 14 per cent to Dh2 billion and net profit after tax climbing to Dh1.8 billion, a 13 per cent annual increase. Adib's return on equity (RoE) reached a robust 29.8 per cent for the first half, approaching a record 30 per cent, reaffirming the bank's leadership in generating shareholder value within the regional banking sector. Total revenues grew by 11 per cent year-on-year to Dh5.9 billion, up from Dh5.3 billion in the first half of 2024. The growth was supported by a balanced contribution from both funded and non-funded income streams. Funded income rose nine per cent to Dh3.6 billion, buoyed by increased business volumes and strategic asset-liability management, which helped mitigate the effects of interest rate cuts introduced in late 2024. Net profit margin stood at 4.27 per cent, highlighting the bank's strong operating efficiency. Non-funded income saw an even more impressive gain, increasing 15 per cent to Dh2.3 billion. This was primarily driven by a 28 per cent jump in fee-generating revenues, which reflected rising customer activity and successful cross-selling across retail and corporate segments. Non-funded income now contributes 39 per cent to Adib's total operating income, highlighting the bank's strategic focus on income diversification. Adib also demonstrated operational efficiency with its cost-to-income ratio improving to 28.2 per cent, down 40 basis points from a year earlier. Operating expenses increased by nine per cent to Dh1.7 billion, mainly due to continued investments in digital infrastructure, technology upgrades, and talent acquisition to support long-term growth. The bank's credit quality improved notably, with impairments down 24 per cent to Dh305 million, resulting in a cost of risk of 44 basis points. The non-performing asset ratio dropped to 3.5 per cent, its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2016, underscoring successful legacy portfolio remediation and disciplined underwriting. Provision coverage, including collaterals, improved significantly to 160.8 per cent, while excluding collaterals, the ratio rose to 85.3 per cent from 76.9 per cent a year ago. Adib's total assets rose 22 per cent year-on-year to Dh260 billion, driven by strong growth in both retail and corporate financing, as well as an expansion in the bank's investment portfolio. Customer financing surged 23 per cent year-on-year, amounting to Dh31 billion in new credit, while Dh20 billion was added year-to-date, reflecting increased market share across core segments and strategic deals in wholesale banking. Customer deposits grew by 24 per cent to Dh213 billion, compared to Dh172 billion at the end of June 2024. The bank maintained a healthy funding mix, with current and savings accounts (CASA) rising 11 per cent and now accounting for 66 per cent of total deposits. Capital and liquidity positions remained strong, with a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.69 per cent, a total Capital Adequacy Ratio of 16.56 per cent, and an eligible liquid asset ratio of 17.7 per cent. The advances-to-stable funding ratio was 80.3 per cent. Adib welcomed 145,000 new customers in the first half of the year, reflecting strong demand for its expanding digital offerings and Sharia-compliant financial solutions. Total shareholders' equity grew 13 per cent to Dh29 billion, reinforcing the bank's financial resilience. Jawaan Awaidah Al Khaili, chairman of Adib, said the bank's exceptional first-half performance is a result of record business volumes, continued momentum in customer acquisition, and successful execution of a long-term growth strategy. 'We are focused on building a future-ready bank that integrates technology and delivers long-term value to shareholders,' he said. Group CEO Mohamed Abdelbary added, 'Our disciplined credit approach and high-quality asset origination continue to strengthen our balance sheet. The record earnings show that we are well-positioned to capitalise on the UAE's expanding economy and evolving financial landscape.' He reiterated Adib's commitment to its Vision 2035, aiming to create a resilient, tech-forward Islamic bank that meets future challenges and opportunities head-on.
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Disneyland Abu Dhabi Could Be Disney's Largest Theme Park
Disneyland Abu Dhabi has the potential to become Disney's biggest theme park Theme park announcements usually give fans the most important details about upcoming attractions such as when they will open, what they are called and where they will be located. The announcement that a Disney park will be built in Abu Dhabi is an exception. When Disney made the announcement in May it only distributed two pieces of extremely eye-catching but obscure concept art along with a press release containing precious few details. Like a classic fairytale, it kept fans guessing by raising more questions than answers. The biggest question on everyone's lips was when the park will open. On the day of the announcement, Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney's Experiences theme park division, told Reuters that a project of this scale could take a year or two to design, and another four to six years to build. On the same day, Disney's chief executive Bob Iger was interviewed by CNBC about the development of its theme parks and said "it typically takes us between 18 months and two years to design and fully develop and approximately five years to build." In contrast, just a few hours later Disney's publicity team told this author that "we have not been giving an estimated opening date" for the park. As this report revealed, the details on the invitation to the Disneyland Abu Dhabi announcement said that it would showcase the "vision for the next five years" of Yas Island, the entertainment destination where the park will be built. This suggested that the earliest it could swing open its doors is 2030, one year ahead of a new park in Britain being developed by Disney's arch rival Universal Studios. This reflected D'Amaro's timeline though Disney's public relations agency was quick to point out that the promise of an announcement about the vision for the next five years of Yas Island was simply a way of inviting media "without mentioning Disney" in order to keep the project under wraps. Even the official name of the park has yet to be revealed. Disney's media site links to fact sheets about its parks with each one showing its official name. In contrast, the tab for its upcoming outpost is simply marked 'Abu Dhabi'. It goes through to the announcement press release which includes a quote from Iger referring to "Disneyland Abu Dhabi" whereas the page about the park on the Yas Island website describes it as "Disney Abu Dhabi". Both 'Disneyland' and 'Disney' are used in the official names of the Mouse's other resorts so both are possibilities. Perhaps mindful of this, the Abu Dhabi government's release refers in general terms to "the Disney Theme Park Resort project" which further suggests that an official naming announcement is still to come. Surprisingly, internet records show that a seemingly unconnected individual registered the domain back in April whereas Disney registered and on May 6, the day before the official announcement. There is good reason why this was done so late. Unlike the majority of Disney's resorts, it won't own or operate the one in Abu Dhabi. Instead, it will be controlled by Miral, comfortably the world's leading dedicated theme park management company. Miral will pay licensing fees and royalties to Disney in return for the right to run the park and use its characters in it. They are in safe hands. Yas Island's current attractions include the Ferrari World theme park (Photo by Beata ... More Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Miral manages a collection of four parks on Yas Island and they are widely renowned for being the best in the world outside Disney and Universal. It began working its magic in 2010 with the opening of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. The park is home to the world's fastest roller coaster and the latest generation of ride from the company behind many of the most immersive attractions in Disney and Universal parks as this report explained. Ferrari World was followed in 2013 with Yas Waterworld, a water park awash with innovative features including a suspended roller coaster which weaves between the slides and a flooding 3D theater outlined in this report. Five years later, Warner Bros. World made its debut and later became the first theme park in the Middle East to appear on the Global Attractions Attendance report with 1.8 million visitors streaming through its turnstiles in 2023 as this author reported in local newspaper The Khaleej Times. Miral's latest park, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, also launched in 2023 and immediately made a splash with a first-of-its-kind ride described in detail here. The park aces every other SeaWorld and blows the Living Seas pavilion at Walt Disney World in Orlando out of the water. Iger liked what he saw so much that it only took him a matter of months to decide to entrust Disney's brand to Miral. SeaWorld opened on Yas Island in 2023 He told CNBC that he first started considering expanding in the Middle East in 2017 or 2018 but according to Miral's chief executive, Mohamed Al Zaabi, the Disney team only made its first visit to Abu Dhabi in 2024. "For some of them, it was their first time ever to visit this region, and they were saying they could not believe it. That was their reaction," he said in an interview with local title Forbes Middle East. In the CNBC interview, Iger added that he had visited Abu Dhabi three times in the past nine months culminating in the deal with Miral which was signed on April 29 as Al Zaabi revealed on Instagram. It left such a short amount of time to hit the announcement deadline of May 7 that the Miral team had to get to work on the unveiling event before pen had been put to paper. Rafae Ali, Miral's head of brand marketing, events and activations revealed that he and his team only had 14 days to deliver the Disney announcement celebration event which is an extraordinary feat given how elaborate it was as this author reported. When the park will open and what it will be called aren't the only questions which were left unanswered by the announcement. There's also the matter of exactly where it will be located on Yas Island. All Disney and Miral disclosed is that it would be a waterfront park and this was reflected in the concept art which showed the park's gleaming crystalline castle standing right next to the sea. "We'll be able to pull water in and play with it in a completely new and unique way," explained D'Amaro without saying exactly where the park will be located. However, this soon became clear thanks to some detective work by Themeparx, the leading source of attraction construction photos. It noted that the site of the announcement has been described as the future location of the park. The website correlated the buildings in the background of the announcement photos with ones on Google Maps and concluded that it was on the beach in the north of Yas Island. This happens to be the largest area of clear land on the coast of the island so it would make sense for the new park to be located there. There is more than enough space for it to have a happy ending. In the wake of the Themeparx post, a number of other outlets began reporting on the likely location of the new park. They included TheWrap which recently wrote that although "Miral and Disney haven't officially announced how big the park will be, there is a 300-acre parcel of land waiting to be developed on the island. As pointed out by someone working on the project, if that 300-acre parcel is indeed used, this would make it the smallest Disney theme park in the world, just a few acres less than Hong Kong. "It constrains what they can do," an individual who has been shown plans told TheWrap." It is unclear if the outlet was referring to the north Yas site or another one but if it is the former, it seems that it didn't cross reference its information with a map. Drawing a boundary around the north Yas site on Google Maps reveals that it isn't 300 acres but 1.94 square kilometers or 479 acres as can be seen below. That's not all. The reported site of Disneyland on Yas Island is around 479 acres Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be the only Disney park located in a resort which is also home to outposts of rival operators like SeaWorld and Warner Bros. The resort is Yas Island and the north beach site isn't the only area of available space on it. Indeed, two years ago, Al Zaabi told this author that "I would say 60% [of Yas Island is developed already]. Still 40 to go." Accordingly, unlike the majority of Disney's resorts, its themed hotels and dining and entertainment district don't have to be located right next to the park. One of the few exceptions is Walt Disney World where the Disney Springs shopping and dining district is around a 15-minute drive from Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park which, in turn, is also around 15 minutes away from the futuristic Contemporary, the tropical Polynesian and the turn-of-the-century Grand Floridian hotels. If Disneyland Abu Dhabi follows this model then the north beach site could be used exclusively for the theme park which could make it one of the biggest in the world. As the list below shows, measuring the area on Google Maps reveals that each of Disney's existing theme parks should comfortably fit into the north Yas site with more than 100 acres to spare. The size of Disney's theme parks The only possible exception is Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando as it isn't possible to distinguish whether some of the backstage land is unused or is a grazing area for animals. Animal Kingdom's area comes to around 340 acres but according to Disney, it spans more than 500. It isn't clear if that includes car parking spaces, bus stops and other areas outside the berm of the park which could be located elsewhere on Yas Island. Disney also says that its Magic Kingdom in Orlando could fit in the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride in Animal Kingdom which is perfectly possible as the former is 155 acres and appears to be around half the size of the latter park. The areas were all calculated by drawing around the perimeter of the park, including backstage buildings but excluding car parks which could be located elsewhere on Yas Island. Accordingly, although the overall resort in Hong Kong (including three hotels) is around 310 acres, the theme park itself is only 150 acres. It is important to note that just because there is enough space on Yas Island to build Disney's biggest park, that doesn't mean to say this is what Miral will do as its size has not yet been revealed. Miral could of course build multiple parks on the land which is three times bigger than Tokyo DisneySea, widely considered to be the world's most immersive and engrossing theme park. Likewise, it could also build a small park on the site but it has much more reason to do the opposite. When Warner Bros. World opened it earned the accolade of being the world's largest indoor theme park and it wasn't just to boast. Miral is backed by the Abu Dhabi government which is using the vast resources it amassed from oil to build a leisure infrastructure and diversify its economy due to dwindling fossil fuel reserves. In April last year Abu Dhabi approved new plans to boost visitor numbers to 39.3 million by 2030 in order to increase the amount that travel and tourism contributes to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the value of all of the goods and services it produces. Non-oil GDP is expected to rise from $13.3 billion in 2023 to $24.5 billion in 2030 and theme parks are at the vanguard of this expansion as they are magnets for tourists. Warner Bros. World opened with the accolade of world's biggest indoor theme park (Photo credit ... More GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images) Ensuring that Warner Bros. World was the world's largest indoor theme park drove publicity and made the park more desirable which attracted more tourists. Similarly, the better the parks are, the more tourists they attract which is why Miral's attractions are immaculate. The Abu Dhabi government has even deeper pockets than movie studios do so this is a magic formula to create the best of the best attractions without any need to cut corners. Cutting corners defeats the object of the theme parks for the government as if guests aren't happy with the experience, they might not come back to the city. The bigger the brand, the more tourists the park is likely to attract and the farther they are prepared to travel to get there. Although Disney is facing stiff competition from Universal, it still dominates the theme park industry which makes it a dream ticket for Miral. The only hurdle is Disney's home-grown competition. Abu Dhabi is in a sweet spot with one-third of the world's population located within a four-hour flight. It is also part of the largest global airline hub in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and nearby Dubai each year. The closest Disney park is currently in Paris which is a seven hour flight away giving Disneyland Abu Dhabi a catchment area with a huge untapped audience. However, Abu Dhabi's ambitions are greater than that. It aims to be the world's leading theme park destination and in order to take that crown it will have to attract guests from far and wide which will put its Disney outpost in competition with all of the others. To tempt tourists to Abu Dhabi instead, its Disney park will have to be better than the rest which explains why Iger made the bold claim that it will be "the most technologically advanced theme park that we've ever built." It could also be why it might end up being the biggest.
The National
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Ozzy Osbourne: When the Prince of Darkness lit up Abu Dhabi
It was on a sweltering May evening in 2014 when heavy metal's Prince of Darkness lit up Abu Dhabi. Ozzy Osbourne' s sole performance in the Middle East came when Black Sabbath took the stage at Etihad Park (then du Arena) as part of a world tour promoting the album 13. Everything about that period suggested a band rejuvenated. The album – their first with Osbourne in 35 years since 1978's Never Say Die! – was praised for pairing the group's monstrous riffs with sharper songwriting. And on stage, despite the well-documented tensions behind the scenes, the band delivered a spirited and muscular performance. Osbourne, who died on Tuesday at the age of 76, will be remembered by many for his final live appearance – an emotional hometown show in Birmingham earlier this month where he sang from a wheelchair. In Abu Dhabi, however, we remember him stalking the stage, clad in signature black, his circular shades masking what must have been a glint in his eye. The performance was greeted with a mix of awe and curiosity. While Black Sabbath's music had long permeated the region through record stores, radio stations and guitar tabs passed around in bedrooms, this was the first time many fans had experienced the sound live – direct, unrelenting and anchored by Osbourne's presence. As The National noted in its review, the evening was 'part event, part musical education'. From the band's maiden regional visit, fans got what they wanted. The 16-song setlist featured many vintage hits, from the stomping War Pigs with its anti-war message underscored by projected footage of military conflicts, followed by Into the Void and Iron Man, with Tony Iommi's sludgy and walloping riffs. 'Go … crazy!' Osbourne shouted before Paranoid, and the crowd obeyed. As our review noted, their time away from stage didn't diminish the band's ferocious sound: 'Osbourne sounded stronger than ever on the classics. The most pertinent case in point arrived after he announced that Sabbath were about to 'take you back', right to the very beginning, to the title track of the debut album Black Sabbath, heralded by a cascade of haunting church bells and a riff heavier than an overladen 16-wheeler lorry.' In a pre-show interview with The National, Osbourne described the tour as a kind of renewal. 'We have sold out every gig and had a No 1 album in 15 countries. It just feels like a regeneration for us,' he said, adding the Abu Dhabi show was part of a wider effort to reach new audiences. 'There is a whole market out there that we didn't know about,' he said. 'I have still never seen any of the Arab countries … and I understand that in India we have a lot of Black Sabbath fans. That's amazing!' The concert also reflected a quieter shift in the band's internal dynamics. 'We also don't do drugs and we don't do alcohol,' Osbourne said. 'The music is what we are about now. We have matured and we have families and responsibilities, and I am just having a great time playing with the boys all over again.' That maturity translated to a performance that was less about chaos and more about connection. The crowd was a mix of long-time fans, younger listeners and the kind of families Osbourne described as 'grandfathers coming in with their children and they are bringing their kids as well'. With Osbourne's death this week, the Abu Dhabi show feels more pointed than ever. While it never felt like a farewell, we knew how privileged it was to witness this most unexpected of reunions. Black Sabbath never returned to the region on future tours, but their sole gig is fondly remembered for all the right reasons: it was loud, unrelenting and oddly tender – exactly as it should have been.
Zawya
12 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Shaikha Al Nowais meets with Chinese Ambassador to strengthen tourism collaboration and global partnerships for resilient tourism
Abu Dhabi - Her Excellency Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais, Secretary-General elect of UN Tourism for the 2026–2029 term, met with His Excellency Zhang Yiming, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the UAE, in Abu Dhabi. The meeting focused on advancing collaboration in the tourism sector and explored opportunities to forge partnerships that foster cultural and tourism initiatives supporting knowledge exchange and economic development in tourism and related sectors. Her Excellency Shaikha Al Nowais reaffirmed her commitment to working with global partners, particularly China, to develop strategic projects in sustainable and cultural tourism. She noted that China's dynamic tourism industry is a key driver of tourism and cultural exchange, as well as the growth of global tourism markets. H.E. said: 'We value China's continuing efforts to drive tourism and promote partnerships in this field. We look forward to expanding collaboration in the areas of education, training, and tourism innovation through launching training programmes globally to elevate the preparedness of the tourism workforce, enrich cultural tourism experiences, and support rural community development through sustainable tourism.' During the meeting, both sides discussed several priority areas of mutual interest, including initiatives to empower local communities and opportunities to leverage China's expertise and resources. They also explored ways to enhance tourism mobility across countries and regions through bilateral and multilateral collaboration, aligned with the United Nations' global tourism frameworks. Both parties affirmed the importance of aligning international efforts to strengthen tourism's role as a bridge between people and cultures, and as a catalyst for sustainable development and youth empowerment. They emphasized the need for renewed policies that embrace diversity, foster innovation, and ensure the sustainable use of resources. -Ends- For further information, please contact: Orient Planet Group (OPG) Tel: +971 4 4562888 Email: media@
