Dirhams & Dollars

It’s been less than a week since the new tear started, but if there has been one major business story for 2018, it’s the roll-out of Value-Added Tax here in the UAE. So far, the disruptions have been minimal, usually involving delivery drivers forced to collect a few dirhams when online platforms failed to factor the new tax into the billing, but other news surrounding VAT seems to be building, too. Sales of gold at Dubai’s Gold Souq have fallen since the year started. But is that due to the VAT or is it just a natural conclusion to the annual year-end gold-buying frenzy? We may have to wait a few weeks to find out. The second major business story for 2018 is going to be out of Las Vegas, where the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is scheduled to get underway on Monday. Amazon and Google look to be set for a AI-on-AI throw down at the show. Will the Google Assistant beat Alexa, or is the Echo’s Dot dominance secured by booming holiday sales?