MEED
Issue No 31 25 July - 6 August 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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Adwea struggles to raise $1.1bn for Shuweihat 2 project
Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea) is struggling to raise $1.1bn through a commercial bank loan for its $3.2bn Shuweihat 2 power project, according to the lending banks. -
Baghdad to develop unwanted gas fields
Iraq National Oil Company is being revived after licensing round fails to attract foreign energy majors. -
Bidders face delay on nuclear deal
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has delayed the shortlisting of bidders for the UAE's nuclear power programme until the end of August, a source close to one contractor vying for the deal tells MEED. -
Cairo bourse shows signs of life
While the Egyptian stock market fell further and faster than many of its Western counterparts after the global downturn hit last year, it is recovering more quickly. -
Doha supports banks with $6bn bailout
Qatar National Bank receives biggest financial injection as sector records profits for the first half of the year. -
Dubai population to fall by 9 per cent
Analysts say expatriate workers will leave the emirate as real estate and construction sectors contract. -
Dubai stance risks losing business
Islamic insurance, or takaful, premiums amount to only 1 per cent of all insurance premiums globally, even though Muslims account for nearly 25 per cent of the world's population. Building an Islamic insurance market will take time.Islamic insurance, or takaful, premiums amount to only 1 per cent of all insurance premiums globally, even though Muslims account for nearly 25 per cent of the world's population. Building an Islamic insurance market will take time. -
Dubai takes tough stance on takaful
Strict rules governing insurance firms launching Islamic products could drive business to other GCC states. -
Emirate's vision requires people
According to urban legend, Dubai once kept a quarter of the world's tower cranes busy. But the one thing it now needs more than anything else is people. Without a growing population, Dubai's megaprojects do not make sense. Who will live in the tower blocks, work in the offices, or shop in the malls that the developers rushed to build? -
Falling oil output threatens gas plants
Qatar Petroleum seeks contractor for feasibility study that could lead to Mesaieed facilities being closed. -
Fertil ends bidding delay on urea plant
Abu Dhabi-based Ruwais Fertilisers Industries (Fertil) will ask for final prices in August for its much-delayed $1.2bn-plus contract to increase urea production, according to contractors preparing to bid on the deal. -
Kawar Group
The diverse Jordanian family business is expanding its information and communications technology arm. -
Kawar Group: MEED Assessment
Like many family conglomerates, the company faces some tough decisions about its future structure and direction -
Licence terms must be fairer
The friction between state-run oil companies and their international counterparts has reached new depths. Several countries around the region have offered new gas acreage to international oil companies (IOCs), but their reluctance to improve licensing conditions is undermining their plans to increase output. -
Masdar to issue fresh tender for Shams 1 power project
Abu Dhabi power developer to relocate its proposed 100MW solar plant. -
Opportunity knocks in North Africa
Unlike the Gulf, where many major real estate schemes have been put on hold since last year, a series of large-scale projects are under way in countries including Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. -
Opportunity knocks in North Africa
Unlike the Gulf, where many major real estate schemes have been put on hold since last year, a series of large-scale projects are under way in countries including Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. -
Q&A: Rudain Kawar, Chief Executive Officer, Kawar Group
The company has a good financial position and easy access to liquidity, says CEO Kawar -
Qafco enters negotiations with Saipem over $3bn plant
Fertiliser giant seeks to cut costs for Mesaieed scheme by retaining contractor. -
Riyadh targets foreign investors
A series of reforms have been made over the past year to encourage bond trading and relax the rules governing the ownership of shares listed on the Saudi stock exchange. -
Saudi Arabia industry
Six influential figures behind the kingdom’s drive to set up industrial clusters: Tawfig bin Fawzan al-Rabiah, Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan al-Saud, Abdullah Ahmed Zainal Riza, Amr Abdullah al-Dabbagh, Yousef Ibn Ibrahim al-Bassam, Azzam Shalabi. -
Solar plant is step in right direction
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company's (Masdar's) plans to develop a 100MW solar power plant have been postponed as the firm prepares to issue a new tender for the scheme. -
Sovereign debt revitalises market
Bond issues from Abu Dhabi and Qatar are paving the way for a revival in the region’s conventional and Islamic debt markets, as investors seek out low-risk investments. -
Sovereign debt revitalises market
Bond issues from Abu Dhabi and Qatar are paving the way for a revival in the region’s conventional and Islamic debt markets, as investors seek out low-risk investments. -
Special Report: Capital Markets - Downturn exposes investors' weaknesses
The past 12 months has been a torrid time for GCC stock markets, which collectively lost more than 40 per cent of their value over the period. Today, their total market capitalisation is $655bn - $500bn less than a year ago. -
Stock market development plans on hold
With the global economic downturn having wiped billions of dollars off the value of Gulf bourses, trading in a series of new financial instruments is being postponed. -
Tadawul needs to open up
The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) has suffered two bear markets in three years and has yet to recover from either. The 2006 crash pulled the Tadawul All-Share Index (Tasi) down from more than 20,000 points in February that year to just 7,933 by December. Last year's crash means the index now stands at just 5,839 points. -
Technip wins deal to design $400m Abu Dhabi oil pipeline
Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) has awarded France's Technip a contract to design the second phase of the pipeline network linking Abu Dhabi's refineries and international airport. -
The Gulf's gas challenge
State producers are struggling to attract foreign energy majors to bid for a series of exploration deals.
