Artificial intelligence-powered space technology company Space42 is set to expand business and drive technological innovation as it looks to unlock new global opportunities, its managing director designate Karim Sabbagh has said.
The new entity, created through the merger of Bayanat and Yahsat, will also facilitate the democratisation of space technology globally, Mr Sabbagh told Bloomberg TV in an interview.
“We are clear about our ambitions … [and] approach our ventures in space with the mindset that no one has a monopoly in space … there is a lot of room in space for every nation to do formidable work.”
The new company will also strengthen the UAE’s position in space technology and ensure that the country has strong capabilities in space for civilian as well as commercial applications, Mr Sabbagh said.
Shareholders approved the merger of Abu Dhabi-headquartered Bayanat, a geospatial data products and services provider, and satellite services company Al Yah Satellite Communications – better known as Yahsat – on Thursday.
The merged entity will provide services and solutions including AI-powered geospatial and mobility solutions, Earth observation, satellite communications, and IoT (Internet of Things) and business intelligence.
Initially proposed in December, the merger is expected to become effective by mid-2024. Both companies will continue to operate independently until the deal that is subject to regulatory approvals in the UAE and internationally is concluded, Yahsat said.
Mr Sabbagh said the merger brings forth the “best of both worlds”.
“On the one hand, you are bringing a very stable base with proven technologies, with a lot of legacy on the side of satellite communication. Then you are merging this high-growth business … [with] geospatial analytics with Bayanat,” he added.
The global space economy is also booming. Its total value could be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 billion last year, almost twice the rate of global economy growth, according reports by the World Economic Forum.
Bayanat, which is majority owned by AI and cloud group G42, offers national-level mapping and geospatial products and services.
While Yahsat is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investment arm Mubadala Investment Company. It provides satellite services in more than 150 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia and the Australasia region.
The new company aims to lead efforts to realise the objectives of the country's National Space Strategy 2030 and the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, said Mansoor Al Mansoori, chairman designate of Space42.
It will “cultivate an AI-powered ecosystem that will further transform the sectors”, he added.
Both Bayanat and Yahsat are listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the merged entity offers a significant potential for growth, both regionally and globally, and is expected to become one of the world's most valuable publicly listed space companies, Yahsat said in a bourse filing.
With a combined revenue of Dh2.8 billion ($762 million) and net income of Dh639 million based on the 2023 financial results, Space42 is well positioned to bring increased value to all stakeholders, it added.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
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8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
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The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
57%20Seconds
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Mobile phone packages comparison
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
