MEED
Issue No 41 10 - 16 October 2008
View all stories from this issue.
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Barwa
The Qatari developer is rapidly diversifying beyond property into a wide range of sectors. -
Barwa: MEED Assessment
Government decision to cap material price increases takes pressure off Qatari developers and contractors -
Calyon reconsiders Gulf finance deals
French bank enters talks over escape clauses after underwriting more than $1bn in project financing. -
Competition drives Doha banks' overseas growth
As an increasing number of international banks set up in Qatar, local banks are pursuing foreign expansion through acquisitions and organic growth as a means of increasing profits. -
Crescent enters talks with Iraq provinces over gas cities
Kurdish facility could become model for developments country-wide. -
Damascus breaks state control of financial sector
Syria is about to get a stock exchange for the first time in four decades as the government moves towards a free market. But can it attract investors when its global peers are performing so poorly? -
Doha right to go slow on regulator
Qatar knows that the success of its financial hub and new regulations lies in the planningIt took the UK almost 20 years to agree on the form its Financial Service Authority (FSA) would take, before a deal to set up the new body was finalised in 2001. -
Doha’s securities market a platform for change
NYSE Euronext’s acquisition of a stake in the Qatari stock exchange boosts Doha’s chances of overtaking Dubai as the region’s securities trading hub. -
Dubai can beat the downturn
The signs are that Dubai will manage to provide a soft landingfor property owners and investors. -
European turmoil threatens Rabat's economy
Morocco’s close trading links with Europe are set to hit its economy as more EU states slip into recession. -
Friendship Causeway group lines up programme manager
The US’ KBR with UK-based Halcrow has been selected as the preferred bidder to provide programme management services on the $2bn project to build a causeway between Qatar and Bahrain. -
Gasco invites bids for gas development
Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco) is inviting at least eight firms to submit bids by 19 October for a project management consultancy contract on its multi-billion-dollar integrated gas development project. -
Gulf Air to expand in Europe
Gulf Air is poised for a major expansion in the long-haul market, adding up to six European destinations to its network next year. -
Gulf firms face $6.5bn bond refinancing
Almost $3bn worth of bonds are due to mature in the first half of 2009, with a further $3.5bn in the second. -
Iran agrees Kuwait gas export deal
Iran has sealed a long-awaited deal to initially export gas to Kuwait via a trunk pipeline, with the first phase of the deal, which involves 1 billion cubic feet a day, (cf/d) starting by 2011. -
Jeddah Islamic Port reaches staffing deal with Riyadh
The authorities at Jeddah Islamic Port have reached agreement with the Labour Ministry to make it easier to bring in temporary staff, in an effort to prevent further damaging delays. -
Lebanese banks pursue foreign expansion
With improved credit ratings following the easing of political tensions, but limited opportunities to grow in a crowded domestic market, Lebanon’s financial institutions are increasingly investing overseas. -
Lending growth fuels inflation in Qatar
The rapid expansion of the banking sector is a major contributor to Qatar’s high inflation, which is now the greatest economic challenge facing the authorities. -
Low bidders emerge for $2bn Ras al-Zour water pipeline
Two low bidders have emerged for the contract to build the world’s largest water pipeline, running from Dammam to Riyadh. -
Najm al-Jazeera wins $266m Saudi power deal
The local Najm al-Jazeera Contracting Company, a subsidiary of Al-Arrab Contracting Company, has won a SR1bn ($266m) contract for the construction of a 300MW power plant in Tabuk, in the northwest of the kingdom. -
Nakheel revises terms for Jebel Ali plants
Delays likely as contractors await full details of agreements for desalination schemes on Palm development. -
Nervousness hits Dubai property
Caution enters the market as global recession looms, but developers remain optimistic for the long term. -
Overseas investors sell stakes in UAE-listed property firms
Financial turmoil drives foreign investors to move investments to safe havens. -
Private bankers move to Doha
Competition is fierce in Qatar’s private banking sector as its wealthy population attracts the big international asset management firms to set up offices in the state. -
Q&A: Ghanim Bin Saad al-Saad, Chairman, Barwa
In the drive to globalise, a human resources strategy is essential to integrating local and international expertise -
Qatar becoming the region’s peace-broker
Following successful diplomatic efforts such as the Doha Agreement, Qatar is carving out a role as mediator for the Arab world. -
Qatar Investment Authority building a global portfolio
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is making high-profile acquisitions across the world to diversify its asset base and raise the state’s international profile. -
Qatar is the Middle East’s rising star
Doha’s efforts to attract big-name foreign financial institutions are working, with more than 100 firms expected to be licensed by the end of the year. -
Riyadh invites interest in $3.7bn rehabilitation project
The Interior Ministry is inviting firms to bid on a SR14bn ($3.7bn) network of rehabilitation centres for prisoners across the kingdom by 15 November. -
Samba and Riyad Bank to record falls in annual profits
Third-quarter results show banks have suffered significant declines in income. -
Samsung wins $95bn Jumeira Gardens tower deal
Three-tower 1-Dubai building is designed by the team behind the Burj Dubai. -
Saudi aviation sector grounded by bureaucracy
Government lethargy and a slow-moving regulator are preventing the Saudi aviation sector from achieving its enormous potential. -
Share sale to fund Mecca regeneration
Developer Dallah al-Baraka seeks to raise $5.6bn for the scheme by selling shares in a new project company. -
Special Report: Qatar - Restructuring the financial sector
Euro-US stock exchange operator NYSE Euronext has taken a bold position in the Gulf states’ stock exchange rivalry, after choosing to invest $250m for a 25 per cent holding in Doha Securities Market (DSM). -
Tehran agrees oil and gas with Petrobras
Contract with Brazil’s Petrobras to develop an oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea will be Iran’s first. -
Tehran bourse plans international finance centre
Iran Financial Centre will host state-run, private and international banks alongside the stock exchange. -
Tehran seeks $20bn from Gulf investors
Cash injection is needed for liquefied natural gas plants as sanctions deter international oil majors. -
Tehran should learn financial lessons from West
A plan for an international financial centre in Tehran is one way to prod the banking sector into action. -
UAE must address structural faults of bourses
Past weeks prove that, as far equity markets are concerned, the UAE and the West are joined at the hip. -
UAE water
The six key figures in the emirates’ water sector: Rashid Ahmad Muhammad bin Fahad, Nick Carter, Fady Naja, Mohamed Ibrahim Suwaid, Issam al-Mulla and Branly Nassour. -
Vital projects in the Gulf need funding
Bankers in the Gulf are considering invoking escape clauses in contracts. The importance of utility projects means financing has to be found.
