Business Extra

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.

Business Extra is a business podcast hosted by The National News, with 439 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

The National News hosts Business Extra, a business show with 439 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #438

  World Cup economics: Ticket prices, tourism and visa restrictions

  Jun 10, 202616 minS0

  <p>The 2026 Fifa World Cup was supposed to be a record-breaking economic windfall for the United States. But as the tournament gets under way, the numbers reveal a more complicated story.</p> <p>Top-tier tickets for the final are going for more than $10,000, nearly seven times what the co-hosts' bid book originally promised. Hotel occupancy in some host cities, meanwhile, is tracking below normal summer levels. And the international tourism boom that was supposed to drive billions into local economies is being complicated by visa restrictions, geopolitical tensions and dynamic pricing that has left fans unable to afford tickets.</p> <...

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  Episode #437

  Why so few UAE SMEs become major companies

  Jun 2, 202631 minS0

  <p>Small and middle-sized companies (SMEs) make up more than 95 per cent of businesses in the UAE and contribute more than 60 per cent of the country’s non-oil GDP. But despite that, the UAE still has relatively few SMEs growing up to become large private companies.</p> <p>Founders have been saying that starting a business is much easier than scaling one, and in some cases, even easier than closing one.</p> <p>As businesses grow, they tend to encounter the same roadblocks. Access to growth financing can be difficult, delayed payments create cash flow pressure, and operational complexity can ta...

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  Episode #436

  Syria’s investment boom: Real opportunity or political mirage?

  May 20, 202619 minS0

  <p>Syria is becoming part of the economic conversation again.</p> <p>Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of talk about investment and reconstruction, from the first Syrian-Emirati Investment Forum to upcoming business events in Damascus for the private sector in early June, and even discussions in Washington about Syria's economic future.</p> <p>UAE officials and business delegations have met the Syrian leadership, and Gulf investors are studying projects tied to logistics, housing and industrial development.</p> <p>But beyond these announcements, the reality on the ground remains extremely difficult. The country is dealing with...

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  Episode #435

  Is the UAE's exit the beginning of the end for Opec?

  May 12, 202625 minS0

  <p>The UAE's decision to leave Opec is the biggest exit the organisation has faced since 1960.</p> <p>As the group's third-largest producer and one of the few members with real spare capacity, the departure of the Emirates raises urgent questions about the future of global oil markets and the organisation that has shaped them for decades.</p> <p>This comes at a critical moment. The Iran war is escalating, the Strait of Hormuz is under pressure and Aramco is warning that the market has already lost about one billion barrels. Analysts say it could take until well into next...

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  Episode #434

  How the UAE's Aleria is partnering with Nvidia to own its AI future

  May 6, 202617 minS0

  <p>As global supply chains face sustained disruption, the UAE is pressing ahead with a plan to build sovereign AI infrastructure, technology and data that the country can control without relinquishing intellectual property to foreign providers.</p> <p>In this week's Business Extra, recorded at Making it in the Emirates in Abu Dhabi, host Salim A Essaid speaks to the executives behind a deal finalised in March, in which UAE-based sovereign AI company Aleria won a major agreement with Nvidia to use advanced AI infrastructure in the UAE, beginning with thousands of Blackwell Ultra chips.</p> <p>Eric Leandri, chief...

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