IPO boom in UAE expected to continue and why test cricket matters so much, our editors comment on the top stories of Mar 9

WHICH IPO WILL YOU CHOOSE? ALL? The UAE’s resident-investors are faced with an unprecedented situation – multiple IPOs offering them an opportunity to come on board. Someone coming to the UAE for the first time and glancing at the stock markets would never guess that prior to this period, there was an extended phase when nothing much was coming out of the IPO pipeline. Everything has changed since; Abu Dhabi’s ADX remains one of the best-performing stock exchanges anywhere. Further boosted by the record-setting ADNOC Gas one from just a few days ago, Now come Al Ansari Financial Services and G42-owned presight.ai. UAE’s retail investors have some calculations to do as they decide what they want to do with the latest offerings. And they will have more of this to do as UAE’s season for IPOs is set for one long run. (By Manoj Nair, Business Editor)

UAE’S SUCCESSES IN SPACE: The UAE space programme is on a roll. In September 2019, UAE Astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri launched aboard a Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station, where he stayed for eight days. On July 19, 2020, the UAE launched the Hope Probe to Mars, where it continues to capture and share data on Martian atmosphere. The Rashid Rover, launched on December 11, 2022, is scheduled to land on the Moon’s surface next month. While it’s still en route to Moon, a second lunar rover is already in the works. On March 2, 2023, Sultan Al Neyadi, the UAE’s first long-duration astronaut, lifted off on a Space X rocket to perform scientific experiments on the ISS for 6 months. These milestones show the UAE has become a key international partner in outer space exploration and contributes to the global scientific community’s deposit of knowledge. (By Jay Hilotin, Senior Assistant Editor)

A TEST OF PLAYERS’ CHARACTER: Test cricket is all about winning sessions. Similar to the shorter formats, one good or bad session could turn the match upside down. Hence, it is important for budding players to get the taste of longer formats, and learn the art of building an innings as a batter and/or as a bowler how to hunt in pairs to break the partnerships. The nuances of the game will come in handy even in Twenty20 matches, where these attributes are ingrained into a player’s system. Once exposed to longer formats, the foundation of a player is strengthened, which works wonders for their careers. Test matches are test of character. (By A.K.S. SATISH, Sports Editor)

A BOLLYWOOD ICON IS NO MORE: In a career lasting over four decades, Satish Kaushik, who died on March 9, 2023, donned many hats. As actor, comedian, scriptwriter, filmmaker and even producer to many a successful movie. Be it Pappu Pager in the Hindi film 'Deewana Mastana' or Calendar in ‘Mr India', his characters remain popular to this day. He made a mark in his first movie, the 1983 cult classic satire that Bollywood turns to for reference even today: 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro'. Kaushik's searing dialogues for the movie, which takes a hard look at corruption in India, are incisive and funny at the same time. (By Rajagopalan Venkataraman, Assistant Editor-Features)