Saad Mohseni has been called the Rupert Murdoch of Afghanistan - and, like the Australian-born media mogul, he is at the helm of an ever-expanding empire.
Mr Mohseni is the chairman of Moby Group, Afghanistan's largest media company, which yesterday said it would boost its presence in Dubai as part of ambitious expansion plans in the Middle East and South Asia.
Moby Group plans to launch five channels outside Afghanistan over the next 18 months, with its new regional headquarters in Dubai acting as the hub, he said.
"We have ambitions to become more of a regional player. We're now looking at South Asia and the Arab market. Dubai is going to be a springboard into the region for us," said Mr Mohseni. "Our plans are for general entertainment satellite channels and production of shows specifically for these markets."
The Moby Group, based in Kabul, operates Tolo TV and Arman radio, Afghanistan's most popular TV and radio networks.
Its 11 businesses also include Lemar TV, a music-recording company, an advertising agency and a television and movie production company.
In 2009, Moby partnered with Mr Murdoch's News Corp to create the Farsi1 satellite network, whose programming is produced in Dubai and beamed from the UK to Iran.
Aside from hosting Farsi1, Dubai will be home to Moby Group's new TV channels, which the company says are to be geared towards markets in the Middle East and South Asia.
"In a short space of time, we will probably have about half a dozen stations outside Afghanistan. In time, we will have some editing, and we may of course start to transmit out of Dubai … It may make sense to do some aspects of production out of Dubai," said Mr Mohseni.
He said the company would establish direct satellite uplinks from Dubai "in the near future", followed by a production capability "in the medium term".
About 25 people currently work for Moby in Dubai, and that is expected to grow to 100 within 18 months, Mr Mohseni said. Television is the primary focus of the expansion, with "severe" government regulations on radio in the Middle East making that medium less attractive, he said.
Moby's expanded Dubai office is due to be sited at Dubai Studio City, a member of TECOM Investments Media Cluster, which also oversees Dubai Media City.
"Since we set up base five years ago in Dubai, we have rapidly grown out of our small office in Dubai Media City. The Dubai Studio City provides the ideal base for our expanding media operations," said Mr Mohseni.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
In the original version of this article we restated reports that claimed Iranian officials had shut down the Tehran office of the Farsi1 satellite channel. The article should have made it clear that the company had denied reports in December that its office had been closed. Farsi1 officials say the channel has never had an office in Iran.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5