MEED
Issue No 39 26 September - 2 October 2008
View all stories from this issue.
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Abu Dhabi acts to restore confidence in banking sector
Bankers welcome move to steady interbank lending rates with liquidity fund of AED50bn. -
Abu Dhabi to set up tourism development joint venture
Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) is in talks with the UAE’s Alec to form a joint venture contracting company. -
Al-Zour dispute forces delay on $18bn Clean Fuels deals
Probe postpones upgrade at Mina al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries. -
Aramco seeks support for Ras Tanura
Second contractor to help US’ KBR hit deadlines on $26bn refinery upgrade and petrochemicals complex. -
Blom Bank
The Lebanese institution’s twin strategy of acquisitions and service diversification is aiding expansion. -
Blom Bank: MEED Assessment
Lebanese bank seeks opportunities in the region as improving political climate boosts investor confidence -
Contract model will reap rewards in Iraq
Baghdad can offer incentives to attract enough firms to push ahead with the overhaul of its energy sector. -
Developers in Saudi call for action on mortgage law
Firms say delays in introducing legislation are undermining plans to launch real estate developments. -
Energy: Ipic enters Mubadala’s territory
Abu Dhabi government-owned investment firms will have to co-operate or compete in the upstream sector. -
Financial turmoil fails to ease inflation in Gulf
Prices in the Gulf will continue to rise this year, despite weakening consumer demand and a strengthening dollar. -
Five firms line up for $1bn Kuwait airport terminal
Five companies are being invited to bid for the design contract for the $1bn terminal at Kuwait International airport. -
Foreign investors back Gulf bourses
Overseas investment has flooded into Middle East funds this year despite falling markets. -
GCC states lack common financial goal
Financial turmoil is highlighting the different policy aims of GCC states. The UAE has backed growth, others seem more concerned with inflation. -
Global financial crisis highlights weak markets
When the hysteria dies down, the contrast between the region’s healthy and sickly markets will be evident. -
Gulf project finance market collapses
Few banks are actively seeking deals following the crisis caused by the failure of Lehman Brothers. -
Investment funds exit Cairo exchange as shares tumble
Fears over weakening domestic economy drive away investors. -
Ipic holds talks with oil majors over Fujairah
Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) is in talks with two international oil companies about developing the 200,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) oil refinery at Fujairah, but has shelved plans for an integrated petrochemicals unit. -
Jizan refinery faces two-year delay
Bidders lining up to build Saudi Arabia’s Jizan oil refinery have been issued with a fresh construction deadline of 2015 - a two-year delay to the original schedule. -
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts opens door for Gulf funds
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), one of the world’s largest private equity firms, is to develop co-investments with Middle East sovereign wealth funds, after announcing plans to open its first office in the region. -
Moscow’s push for Gulf business
Despite increasing efforts to grow trade with the Middle East and help its struggling industries, Russia’s sales to the region remain dwarfed by those of the US. -
Q&A: Saad Azhari, Chairman and General Manager, Blom Bank
The Lebanese bank plays to it’s strengths; universal banking in the Middle East but niche markets in Europe -
Qtel and Noor bid for second fixed-line operating licence
Qatari telecoms operator Qtel and Kuwaiti conglomerate Noor Financial Investment tell MEED they have submitted bids for the second fixed-line telecoms licence in Oman. -
RAK Properties invites interest in record deal
AED2.5bn construction contract for residential project is the largest to be launched in Ras al-Khaimah. -
Real estate company profile - Barwa
Barwa Real Estate Company is publicly listed and trades on the Doha Securities Market. Its largest shareholder, with a 45 per cent stake, is master developer Qatari Diar. -
Real estate company profile: Aldar Properties
Abu Dhabi developers have enjoyed a meteoric rise since 2004. Over the past three years, they have launched more than $250bn worth of projects, establishing a real estate market in the emirate that is eventually capable of challenging Dubai’s supremacy in the region.Leading the charge of private sector development is Aldar Properties, which is now working on almost $100bn worth of projects, including the $40bn Yas island - the emirate’s largest. In total, these projects give the company a lan -
Real estate company profile: Dubai Properties
Unlike Nakheel, which effectively created a market for real estate in the region with Palm island in 2003, Dubai Properties’ (DP) success has been in responding to the emirate’s property needs, which have allowed it to build a portfolio of projects worth $95bn. -
Real estate company profile: Emaar, The Economic City
The Emaar brand is most commonly associated with Dubai, thanks mainly to its iconic Burj Dubai development. But it is outside the UAE’s borders that the group’s impact is given a broader context. In Saudi Arabia, its associated company, Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar EC), is developing the largest private sector-led project in the region. -
Real estate company profile: Gulf Finance House
Gulf Finance House (GFH) is an Islamic investment bank that targets infrastructure development as the major part of its portfolio. -
Real estate company profile: Nakheel
Dubai-based Nakheel is probably the largest real estate developer in the world. It has $110bn worth of projects under development, which when completed will provide homes for more than 3 million people - about twice the population of Dubai. -
Real estate company profile: Qatar Diar
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company has an agenda beyond pursuing real estate developments. It is also involved in some of the state’s largest infrastructure schemes, including Qatar’s national rail network and the Friendship Bridge, a causeway linking Qatar with Bahrain. -
Real estate company profile: Tamdeen
Leading the Kuwaiti contingent in MEED’s real estate 100 survey is Tamdeen Real Estate Development Company. Established in Kuwait in 1982, it is a public company listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with assets of more than KD432m ($1.6bn). The company merged with the Salmiya Real Estate Company in 1997. -
Real estate market profile: Bahrain
Residential, retail and office space is coming to market in the next five years, reducing pressure on rents. -
Real estate market profile: Kuwait
High operating costs are stagnating the market and forcing home developers to look further afield. -
Real estate market profile: Oman
Relaxing property laws to boost the tourism industry has created a residential real estate boom. -
Real estate market profile: Qatar
Strong economic growth is increasing demand for Doha’s already limited office space. -
Real estate market profile: Saudi Arabia
The kingdom’s real estate market has huge potential as a result of its rapidly growing population. -
Real estate market profile: UAE
The federation remains the region’s most active real estate market, but confidence is eroding. -
Reforms drive Gulf property boom
MEED’s 2008 survey of the region’s real estate developers reveals a thriving sector, with $1 trillion worth of projects being carried out and UAE companies maintaining their dominance. -
Riyadh must speed up aviation sector reforms
Unless Riyadh accelerates reforms, low-cost carriers could cut services even further and the kingdom will squander the gains it has made. -
Riyadh to award Haramain high-speed rail link in 2009
The first construction package on the $6bn Haramain high-speed rail project between Mecca and Medina will be awarded in February or March 2009, according to sources close to the project. -
Riyadh tops foreign investment survey
Moves to remove barriers reaps dividends with an additional $6bn coming into the kingdom in 2007. -
Riyadh's regulators refuse to fast-track decision on domestic fare cap
Sama cuts routes to stem losses caused by price limit and soaring fuel costs. -
Saudi real estate is on the rise
Beyond the UAE’s show-stealing real estate schemes lies a pool of projects in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. -
Special Report: Real Estate 100 - The Gulf's top developers
For Dubai’s major real estate developers, the UAE is no longer big enough. MEED’s list of the Gulf’s 100 biggest property developers may focus solely on the GCC market, but the largest companies on the list are now exploring opportunities outside the Gulf. -
Syria financial services
The six key figures in the Syrian banking sector: Adib Mayaleh, Abdullah Dardari, Bassel Hamwi, Rateb, Shallah, Douraid Dergham and Aleppoburn Faisal Kudsi. -
Tehran launches $1bn rescue package for port expansions
State will fund upgrades at Chabahar and Shahid Rajaie from its own budget.
