he Almas Tower is as impressive as they come, standing 360 metres tall on a small artificial island in the middle of Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
he Almas Tower is as impressive as they come, standing 360 metres tall on a small artificial island in the middle of Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
he Almas Tower is as impressive as they come, standing 360 metres tall on a small artificial island in the middle of Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
he Almas Tower is as impressive as they come, standing 360 metres tall on a small artificial island in the middle of Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

Dubai tower that shines as bright as a diamond


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  • Arabic

DUBAI // When Ahmed bin Sulayem goes to work in the building that is home to Dubai's diamond exchange, he admits he can still "sometimes get a head rush".

It is no wonder. The Almas Tower is as impressive as they come, standing 360 metres tall on a small artificial island in the middle of Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), jutting out far beyond the other buildings in the area with a spire that almost pierces the sky.

"There is no mistaking Almas Tower when you see JLT from a distance," said Mr bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), which owns the building.

With 63 floors and five more underground, the Dh550 million tower is the tallest business tower in the Middle East, the third-tallest tower in Dubai, and the 18th-tallest in the world.

According to Shaun Killa, the architect at Atkins Middle East, which designed the tower, Almas "had to be the icon and the centrepiece" of JLT.

"All of the buildings around it were about 40 storeys and standing very closely together, so we were very conscious that this tower needed to be the tallest of all of them," said Mr Killa, whose company also designed the Burj Al Arab.

Almas is actually two towers - both oval-shaped - that interlock and have been "sliced" at an angle to create a slender look.

The surface of the south-facing tower, which is the tallest of the two and supports the mast, is made of high-performance reflective glass panels to protect it from the heat of the sun.

The north-facing side is more transparent, allowing the cooler ambient light to shine through.

Mr Killa said his firm's main objective was to build a tower that was timeless and elegant "and still look good and durable in 20 years time".

But looks are not everything; the tower's contents are more valuable than all of the building's components put together.

Almas, which means diamond in Arabic, is home to Dubai's commodity trade, which includes gold, pearls, precious metals, tea, cotton and, most importantly, diamonds.

In 2011, US$41 billion (Dh151bn) worth of diamonds passed through the building and Mr bin Sulayem estimates that almost every floor in the building has about $20m worth of diamonds on any given day.

"We made sure we would build a tower that the high net-worth diamonteers would be very proud of," he said.

It comes as no surprise that the building was inspired by the glittering facets of a cut diamond.

At the base of the superstructure is a three-storey podium shaped in eight triangles, the largest of which is cantilevered 35 metres over the lake with a see-through glass floor. This is the home of the Dubai Diamond Exchange.

"All of the textures and materials were very light to reflect the clarity of a diamond, and the podium was very strictly governed on this idea," Mr Killa said.

Franco Bosoni, the director of commodity services at DMCC, said the walls were made of glass to allow enough light into the room so diamond traders could properly assess and inspect their wares.

"Everything was thought out carefully when this floor was built," he said, adding that it was his favourite area.

But underground, on level B5, is where the heart of Almas pumps. Security cameras follow visitors every step of the way to the largest gold vault in the country. Only a handful of people have access.

According to Mr Bosoni, the 345-square metre vault, which is made of concrete and reinforced steel, is an independent structure that would survive if the tower collapsed.

A 160-square metre robotic diamond vault sits a few levels up on B1 where DMCC members can deposit or pick up their precious stones any time of the day, if they have proper security clearance.

"It's like an ATM machine," Mr Bosoni said.

Almost like a scene from Mission Impossible, one must undergo a retina scan, punch in a password, use a key and a swipe card before gaining access to the diamonds.

It has now been four years since the DMCC - which is the government authority in charge of business licensing and registration for the JLT Free Zone, and also acts as a regulator for the tower's commodity trade - moved its offices into Almas.

According to Mr bin Sulayem, going to work in the morning "still gives me flashbacks" of when Almas was just a mere model on the table.

"This tower gives me more than pride. It was a mission," he said.

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MATCH INFO

Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)

Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14

Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)

Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31

Bangla Tigers win by six wickets

EA Sports FC 24
Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
Bullet%20Train
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Company%20profile
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THE BIG THREE

NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m

ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m

RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

THE POPE'S ITINERARY

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport


Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial


Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The chef's advice

Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.

“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”

Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.

The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was first created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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DAY%20ONE%20RESULT
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