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13 November 2016
By Yasmine Saleh
Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar said on Sunday he would launch an online shopping platform early next year with initial Gulf Arab investments of $1 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would contribute $500 million to the venture while the rest would be covered by several Gulf Arab investors, Alabbar told a news conference, but declined to name individual investors or the size of their stakes.
The Riyadh-based marketplace Noon.com, which plans to offer 20 million products including technology, fashion, toys and books, is expected to launch in January.
“The project will launch in Saudi and UAE (United Arab Emirates) first, then will expand,” Alabbar said. He later told reporters in Dubai that Noon.com would expand to Egypt and Kuwait over the next two years.
Asked when he expected the online venture to become profitable, Alabbar said: “In five years.”
The CEO of Noon.com, Fodhil Benturquia, told reporters that the platform could go public in five to seven years.
Natural evolution
Alabbar said Noon.com would benefit from the existing networks of Dubai-based courier Aramex and Kuwait Food Co (Americana), in which he owns stakes.
“The delivery system is almost the biggest in the region for logistical operations, between Americana and Aramex as well,” the businessman said.
Alabbar, who is chairman of Dubai developer Emaar Properties, earlier this year led two investor groups to buy a combined 16.45 percent stake in Aramex, and in April Alabbar Enterprises took a 4 percent stake in online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter.
He also leads an investment group that bought a 66.79 percent stake in Kuwait-based Americana, which owns the Middle East franchises for fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut and also produces branded consumer foods, according to Reuters.
Alabbar, whose investments span several industries from real estate to mining, said the move to e-commerce was an obvious one.
“"There is a change in the core of human beings and it is changing fast. We are becoming totally digital and we have to cope with that and quickly as we are already late.
“The youngsters in the world are totally digital. And we as Arabs have a majority young population so we have to deal with that reality and deal with it fast,” he said.
Alabbar’s ambitions go beyond the Middle East. The businessman said he plans to be a “dominant” force in the global e-commerce market, going up against giants like Amazon, eBay and China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group.
(Editing by Ghaida Ghantous)
© Zawya 2016
By Yasmine Saleh
Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar said on Sunday he would launch an online shopping platform early next year with initial Gulf Arab investments of $1 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would contribute $500 million to the venture while the rest would be covered by several Gulf Arab investors, Alabbar told a news conference, but declined to name individual investors or the size of their stakes.
The Riyadh-based marketplace Noon.com, which plans to offer 20 million products including technology, fashion, toys and books, is expected to launch in January.
“The project will launch in Saudi and UAE (United Arab Emirates) first, then will expand,” Alabbar said. He later told reporters in Dubai that Noon.com would expand to Egypt and Kuwait over the next two years.
Asked when he expected the online venture to become profitable, Alabbar said: “In five years.”
The CEO of Noon.com, Fodhil Benturquia, told reporters that the platform could go public in five to seven years.
Natural evolution
Alabbar said Noon.com would benefit from the existing networks of Dubai-based courier Aramex and Kuwait Food Co (Americana), in which he owns stakes.
“The delivery system is almost the biggest in the region for logistical operations, between Americana and Aramex as well,” the businessman said.
Alabbar, who is chairman of Dubai developer Emaar Properties, earlier this year led two investor groups to buy a combined 16.45 percent stake in Aramex, and in April Alabbar Enterprises took a 4 percent stake in online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter.
He also leads an investment group that bought a 66.79 percent stake in Kuwait-based Americana, which owns the Middle East franchises for fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut and also produces branded consumer foods, according to Reuters.
Alabbar, whose investments span several industries from real estate to mining, said the move to e-commerce was an obvious one.
“"There is a change in the core of human beings and it is changing fast. We are becoming totally digital and we have to cope with that and quickly as we are already late.
“The youngsters in the world are totally digital. And we as Arabs have a majority young population so we have to deal with that reality and deal with it fast,” he said.
Alabbar’s ambitions go beyond the Middle East. The businessman said he plans to be a “dominant” force in the global e-commerce market, going up against giants like Amazon, eBay and China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group.
(Editing by Ghaida Ghantous)
© Zawya 2016
