Mukesh Ambani
Indian industrial company Reliance is reviving a historic local cola brand with plans to use its vast retail network and slash prices to challenge US beverage businesses PepsiCo and Coca-Cola in a key market.
Controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Reliance this month launched revamped Campa drinks, sugary sodas popular in India in the 1970s and 1980s before disappearing from shelves as the US companies expanded rapidly in a liberalising economy.
At first glance, it may seem that Mr Ambani will find it tough to loosen Pepsi’s and Coca-Cola’s stranglehold of a market Euromonitor estimates is worth $4.6 billion and set to grow 5 per cent a year until 2027.
Other tycoons have tried to go toe-to-toe with the drinks companies and failed, most notably Richard Branson with his Virgin Cola.
But Asia’s richest person famously disrupted India’s telecoms market seven years ago with cut-throat pricing to make Reliance the leading player in that industry. And he is applying some of that same strategy in his soft drinks venture.
"Coca-Cola and Pepsi are unused to a nationwide challenge, and Reliance has the financial muscle and reach to challenge them with a local brand with high nostalgic value," said Amulya Pandit, a consultant at Euromonitor International.
Reliance’s plan aims to open some factories of its own or as joint ventures to produce Campa, and take the soda to hotels, restaurants and in-flight sales, according to a source.
Production of Campa is currently outsourced, after the $2.7 million acquisition of the brand last year.
The company is heavily discounting in-store prices. A two-litre Campa Cola bottle is priced at 49 Indian rupees (60 US cents) in shops, a near 50 per cent discount on its label price and about a third lower than 2.25-litre Coke and Pepsi variants, a Reuters check showed.
The smallest bottles of Campa Cola and Coke both cost 10 rupees, while Pepsi starts from 12 rupees.
“The price will be disruptive across,” said the source, who added that Reliance is planning an advertising spree during the coming IPL cricket tournament and is in talks with at least three teams to make Campa their refreshment partner.
Coca-Cola said it had broadly kept prices of its small bottles unchanged since last year and was focused on expanding distribution.
"Having new players in the market presents a great opportunity for investments to develop the market further," it said.
Reliance, India’s top retailer, will supply Campa to its 2,500 grocery outlets and thousands of smaller non-network shops as part of its new consumer goods push, from which it has set an internal target of $6.5 billion in annual revenue within five years.
The company also has a grocery shopping app and a wholesale division through which it supplies consumer goods to 500,000 small shops.
Reliance's cola and consumer goods foray is being driven by T. Krishnakumar, an executive who worked for nearly 17 years at Coca-Cola in various leadership roles.
MacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott is launching a $250 million “open call” for community-focused non-profits that the billionaire philanthropist can fund.
Through her organisation, Yield Giving, Ms Scott plans to make unrestricted $1 million donations to 250 non-profits selected in the process, which she calls a “new pathway to support organisations making positive change in their communities”.
To apply, the non-profits must have annual operating budgets larger than $1 million, but less than $5 million for at least two of the past five years.
“Teams on the front lines of challenges have insights no one else can offer,” Ms Scott said.
“So, there are three big headlines here in my heart: Community change-makers can nominate themselves. Community change-makers get feedback from their peers. Community change-makers have a powerful role in funding decisions.”
The open call marks the first time non-profits can reach out to Ms Scott for potential funding.
Until now, Ms Scott and her team secretly contacted organisations they were interested in funding first, then offered them unrestricted donations after receiving information about the group’s work and financials.
Since 2019, when she pledged to donate the majority of her wealth, Scott has given more than $14 billion in unrestricted funds to 1,600 non-profit organisations.
Scott is currently worth more than $26 billion, according to Forbes.
She said that she is excited to enter into a partnership with non-profit Lever for Change, which will manage the open call process to find community-focused organisations advancing people of modest means and groups who have experienced discrimination and encountered other systemic obstacles.
“This open call is designed to empower and strengthen communities across the United States that are often overlooked,” said Cecilia Conrad, chief executive of Lever for Change, an affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
“We are looking for organisations that are making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. The awards will recognise teams that demonstrate the potential to make progress toward reducing disparities in health, education, economic outcomes, and other critical issues.”
Organisations need to register to apply before May 5 and complete their applications by June 12.
The applications will be reviewed by peers, who will select up to 1,000 finalists. Those finalists will then be evaluated by a publicly named panel selected for their related experience. The 250 winners will be announced in early 2024.
Ms Scott does not discuss the reasons behind her philanthropy, beyond essays on her website. However, some experts have said the open call process is a continuation of her desire to change philanthropy.
Phil Buchanan, president of The Centre for Effective Philanthropy, said when Scott originally announced her open call plans in December that her approach says: “We as donors can yield to those talented people in non-profits working closest to communities who know best what is needed and how to do it.”
John and Patrick Collison
John and Patrick Collison became two of the world’s richest millennials over the past decade as Stripe’s valuation surged more than 5,000 per cent — an ascent emblematic of the easy-money era.
It has not been so easy of late.
The wealth of Patrick, 34, and John, 32, has nearly halved since a 2021 funding round valued the payments company they founded at $95 billion, making it the biggest US start-up at the time.
The company last week revealed a much lower $50 billion external valuation after raising money from investors, including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
The brothers are now worth about $5.9 billion each, down from a combined $23 billion two years ago, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The rapid decline in the Irish siblings’ wealth underscores how rising interest rates and surging inflation are hitting the fortunes of technology billionaires.
Stripe, which has its headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin, has repeatedly cut its internal valuation in recent months and slashed more than 1,000 jobs to prepare for what the brothers called “leaner times” in an email to employees in late 2022.
The company is using the $6.5 billion it raised in its latest funding round to pay the taxes of long-standing staff.
Stripe has told potential investors it will turn a profit this year.
The Collison brothers sold their first company for $5 million when they were teenagers and founded Stripe in 2010 after dropping out of college in the US.
Before last week, they were worth $7.5 billion each, based on Stripe’s internal valuations for its stock, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The company, which sells software allowing businesses to accept online payments, held a seed round in 2011 from investors such as Elon Musk and revealed a valuation of $1.8 billion with its series C funding round three years later.
The value then surged to $20 billion during a 2018 series E round led by Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management.
Even with their recent wealth slump, the Collisons are still the only self-made billionaires under 35 among the world’s 500 biggest fortunes.
UK aristocrat Hugh Grosvenor, 32, and Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz, 30, inherited their riches.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
More on animal trafficking
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Suad%20Amiry%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pantheon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20304%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
4pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Dirt); 1,400m
Winner: Solar Shower; William Lee (jockey); Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
4.35pm: Handicap; Dh165,000 (D); 2,000m
Winner: Thaaqib; Antonio Fresu; Erwan Charpy.
5.10pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Turf); 1,800m
Winner: Bila Shak; Adrie de Vries; Fawzi Nass
5.45pm: Handicap; Dh175,000 (D); 1,200m
Winner: Beachcomber Bay; Richard Mullen; Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,800m
Winner: Muzdawaj; Jim Crowley; Musabah Al Muhairi
6.55pm: Handicap; Dh185,000 (D); 1,600m
Winner: Mazeed; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,200m
Winner: Riflescope; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206-cylinder%203-litre%2C%20with%20petrol%20and%20diesel%20variants%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20286hp%20(petrol)%2C%20249hp%20(diesel)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E450Nm%20(petrol)%2C%20550Nm%20(diesel)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EStarting%20at%20%2469%2C800%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight (Wednesday), BeIN Sports
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.”
