MEED
Issue No 43 24 - 30 October 2008
View all stories from this issue.
-
Abu Dhabi exchange chief calls for more foreign brokers
Head of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange says locals do not ask the right questions. -
Abu Dhabi's Ipic forges ahead with refinery projects
Abu Dhabi company pursues $20bn plan to build three plants despite a gloomy global economic outlook. -
Amec in line for onshore crude consultancy contract
Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) is expected to award a project management consultancy contract to UK engineering firm Amec on the ‘1.8 million project’ to increase Abu Dhabi’s onshore crude production capacity by 400,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 1.8 million b/d. -
Arab leaders seek greater co-operation to tackle shipping piracy
Arab leaders will meet in Sanaa, Yemen, in late October to agree to greater co-operation in battling piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. -
Bidding to begin for Hail economic city construction
Tender plans are sign of progress on project that has struggled to attract interest. -
Bjorn Naf on Gulf Air's recovery plan
The struggling airline’s third chief executive officer in eight months is beginning to find a route to recovery. -
Consortiums bid to build Shams 1 solar power plant
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has received four bids to build the Shams 1 solar power plant. -
Consortiums form for $5bn Al-Shaheen refinery
International contractors are holding talks over forming groups to bid for Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) proposed $5bn Al-Shaheen refinery, following a two-month extension to the bid deadline. -
Contract row stalls Kuwaiti energy plans
Parliamentary concerns over awards for the giant Al-Zour refinery have left Kuwait’s downstream oil and gas developsment programme in disarray. -
Credit crunch regional winners emerge
The global financial crisis is providing unexpected opportunities for some institutions in the region. -
Crisis will free up power and water contractors
The credit crunch may yet end shortages in contractor resources that hampered so many projects earlier in the year. -
Dispute over financing slows development of Dubai Metro
Transport and airports authorities disagree over funding for the Purple line. -
Dubai financial regulator delays rule revisions
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is to delay new regulations until international bodies agree on how to prevent a repeat of the credit crunch. -
Dubai right to delay projects
Palm Deira is just the first of a series of projects likely to be reviewed. Suspension of work is a sensible option until conditions settle down. -
Egypt banking
Six key players in the Egyptian banking and finance sector: Farouk el-Okdah, Hisham Ezz al-Arab, Mohamed Kamal al-Din Barakat, Tarek Amer, Mahmoud Abdel Latif and Mohamed Yehia Saim Ozalp. -
Energy expansion: Abu Dhabi must tread carefully
Energy fund’s diversification depends on the success of its high-risk expansion policy. -
Eqypt's Suez Canal Authority revises tariffs to maintain traffic volumes
Authorities blame a fall in Chinese exports and surge in piracy in Gulf of Aden. -
Etisalat warns of slowing Egyptian economy
Etisalat Misr, the Egyptian subsidiary of the UAE telecoms operator, should start making a profit by 2010, despite a slowdown in the economy, the company’s senior executives tell MEED. -
Groups bid for Sama Dubai's Jumeirah Hills contract
Construction work is due to start on Sama Dubai’s Jumeirah Hills development in early 2009, after three groups submitted bids by 22 October for the first construction package on the scheme. -
Gulf International Bank faces $500m hit from US exposure
Bank set to announce further debt provisions for investments in Lehman Brothers. -
Gulf shippers take on global peers
Regional firms are challenging the dominance of international rivals by investing heavily in new vessels. -
Islamic banks can exploit rivals’ misfortune
Sharia-compliant institutions that have struggled to compete in terms of pricing are back in vogue. -
Jarir Marketing Company
The Saudi group is well placed after listing but its office supplies business will be vulnerable to a downturn. -
Jarir Marketing Company: MEED Assessment
Jarir is one of the most transparent of Tadawul-listed companies, with impressive governance structures -
Kuwait missing out on the property boom
Kuwait is falling behind in the Gulf real estate sector as high land prices and delays in progressing flagship projects deter developers from investing in the country. -
Kuwait weighs up calls for intervention in banking sector
Kuwait’s stock market has succumbed to the global financial downturn despite its robust banking system, and the government is coming under increasing pressure to intervene. -
Kuwaiti oil plan needs foreign firms
Opposition to foreign involvement means Project Kuwait has been starved of the necessary expertise. -
Kuwaiti oil production plans hang in the balance
Project Kuwait, the government’s plan to bring in international oil companies to help exploit its oil reserves, will remain in limbo unless the objections of the National Assembly can be overcome. -
Kuwaiti power network shows signs of strain
Despite additional supply coming on line this year, soaring demand is increasing pressure on the government to resolve the delays that are hampering its power projects. -
Kuwait's first steps on the road to reform
Kuwait’s successful recovery from the damage caused by the Iraqi invasion has been laudable, but gridlock in parliament risks the state being left behind economically. -
Monetary policy eases inflation in Kuwait
The Kuwaiti government has been struggling to control rising prices for the past year, but the global downturn and a series of fiscal measures are finally having an impact. -
Muscat assesses bids for Duqm and Al-Ghubrah power plants
Oman Power & Water Procurement Company is assessing technical bids for advisory services on the sultanate’s next two independent water and power projects (IWPPs), following offers from four groups. -
Nakheel puts Palm Deira work on hold
Market turmoil forces developer to shelve dredging work at Dubai’s ambitious landmark development. -
Oil and gas majors line up for Iraqi acreage
Despite onerous bidding conditions and the absence of an oil law, international oil companies are showing keen interest in the eight fields on offer in the country’s first post-war licensing round. -
Q&A: Muhammad al-Agil, Executive Chairman, Jarir Marketing Company
Al-Agil explains why the company went public, the reasons for expanding beyond Saudi Arabia and its main challenges -
Riyadh to launch tower competitions
Architects will be invited to bid for towers at King Abdullah Financial District within the next month. -
Saudi Arabia and UAE move to ease interbank lending rates
Economists praise $24bn rescue package to boost dollar liquidity. -
Special Report: Kuwait - Policy dispute stunts development
Kuwait’s economic indicators should be a source of envy for central bank governors worldwide. In 2007, the country posted a budget surplus of $43bn, all the more remarkable given the $26bn deficit it amassed immediately after the 1990-91 Gulf war. -
Utilities seek to bridge funding gap in Gulf
Developers to broaden sources of finance as international banks shun power and water schemes.
