The billionaire behind one of India’s largest media companies says the Arab advertising market has the potential to double by 2016.
Subhash Chandra, founder of India's Zee Entertainment, says greater competition in the market would see spending on advertising hit $10 billion by 2016.
Zee Entertainment, which is part of the Essel Group conglomerate, recently invested $100 million launching a new Arabic-language TV station called Zee Alwan. It plans to launch additional free-to-air stations over the coming years, executives said.
The total advertising market in the Arab world was worth an estimated $4.7 billion last year, according to the Arab Media Outlook, which was published in April in collaboration with the Dubai Press Club and Deloitte.
Mr Chandra acknowledged this was “small” - but is bullish on the sector's growth prospects.
“In this market, it is only two or three media groups, and perhaps only two media sales agencies that are taking 80 or 90 per cent of the advertising,” he said.
“If they allow competition, I think this market can grow many-fold... It can grow in the next three to four years to $10 billion,” Mr Chandra added.
That is far more than the forecast laid out in the Arab Media Outlook, which estimates that the total Arab advertising market will increase to just $6 billion by 2015.
However, Mr Chandra said the growth of the industry depends on more challengers emerging to existing market leaders, which include the Dubai-based TV broadcaster MBC.
Mr Chandra is ranked in Forbes magazine's list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of $1.8 billion.
He is the chairman of the Essel Group conglomerate - which has diverse holdings ranging from Zee Entertainment and the satellite-TV service Dish TV, to infrastructure and packaging.
It was reported last week that Essel Group is seeking to raise $500 million to fund expansion and pay debt at some of its companies.
Mr Chandra confirmed that several of the group companies are seeking financing as part of their “routine” activities.
“It’s not one single transaction of $500 million. A number of different companies are doing their different jobs on a daily basis,” he said.
The company’s infrastructure arm Essel Infra last week closed financing of $300 million for a road project in southern India, Mr Chandra said. “That’s part of the $500 million,” the executive said.
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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The five pillars of Islam
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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
SPECS
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
IPL 2018 FINAL
Sunrisers Hyderabad 178-6 (20 ovs)
Chennai Super Kings 181-2 (18.3 ovs)
Chennai win by eight wickets
