MEED
Issue No 44 31 October - 6 November 2008
View all stories from this issue.
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Africa gas plans spark Europe’s interest
A $15bn project to transport Nigerian gas via Algeria to Europe has become the focus of a political chess game, as Russia’s Gazprom stamps its mark on the plan and the EU offers project funding. -
Arab Banking Corporation switches focus to retail
Arab Banking Corporation revises business model in the wake of the turmoil in global financial markets. -
Baghdad gets tough with oil majors
International oil companies are lining up for Iraq’s first licensing round since the US invasion in 2003, but Baghdad is setting strict criteria for bidders as it seeks the most favourable terms. -
Boeing explores Islamic finance options
Aviation giant enters talks with Gulf banks over model for sharia-compliant funding for aircraft orders. -
Cairo reviews gas priorities
A legal challenge to subsidised gas exports to Israel highlights growing concern over Egypt’s plans to increase prices for domestic industrial users. -
Cairo targets private finance
A law governing public-private partnerships will need to be passed before Egypt can embark on£E15bn worth of planned infrastructure projects. -
Compulsory GCC healthcare cover attracts foreign insurers
International companies are competing with a growing number of local providers for a share of the GCC insurance market as mandatory health cover is brought in across the region. -
Contractors bid $11.5bn for work at Saudi women’s university
Construction of college campus to the north of Riyadh will begin in early 2009. -
Correction raises fears of property crash in Dubai
Dubai’s previously robust property sector is showing signs of being affected by the global financial crisis. -
Credit crunch fallout hits Dubailand
Bawadi delays work on Asia Asia hotel, while Tatweer theme park tender raises concerns over risk. -
Credit crunch forces Emaar to delay economic city work
Affordable housing projects on King Abdullah Economic City to be prioritised. -
Domestic demand threatens Iranian gas exports
Despite having the world’s second-largest gas reserves, Iran needs to take drastic action to curb spiralling domestic consumption that is hampering its ambitions to become a major global supplier. -
Dubai builds energy futures hub
The acquisition of a stake in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange by JP Morgan is a sign of the bank’s confidence in the venture, but attracting liquidity remains a concern. -
Emphasis shifts to private sector healthcare in Gulf
With growing populations putting an increasing burden on their health services, Gulf governments are encouraging private healthcare providers to take on a bigger role. -
Firms line up for 325km Abu Dhabi highway
Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport is to draw up a shortlist for the contract to develop a 325-kilometre-long highway to the border with Saudi Arabia by the end of November, after receiving statements of qualification from prospective bidders. -
Gas exports: States juggle competing gas export demands
Developments in Qatar and Algeria will bring substantial amounts of gas to the global market in coming years, but export capacity elsewhere in the region is at a standstill. -
Gas shortage undermines power plans in Gulf
With booming populations, GCC states urgently need to boost power and water capacity, but a shortage of gas available to use as feedstock after 2009 means a series of major projects will have to be delayed. -
Gulf Gas consumers must pay more
Fast-rising domestic consumption and poor economic incentives for exploration mean supply is increasingly falling short of demand. -
Gulf health policies need a rethink
The total cost of healthcare delivery in the Gulf will rise to nearly $60bn by 2025, five times the 2007 figure. -
Gulf mergers and acquisitions hold steady
Gulf bankers maintain volume of deals, but the value of work undertaken tumbles as markets tighten. -
Hiring delays slow Gulf health plans
Partnerships with leading international clinics are helping to attract skilled professionals and improve healthcare across the region, but hurdles to recruitment still need to be overcome. -
Kahramaa fast-tracks transmission network expansion in Qatar
Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has accelerated plans for phase 9 of its transmission network expansion programme, with the first bids being submitted a week ahead of the original deadline. -
Libyan oil merger plan is a hard sell
It is little wonder that oil companies are beating a path to Tripoli’s door. Any merger would struggle to attract political support. -
Libyan state oil firm considers foreign merger
Libya's National Oil Corporation chairman Shokri Ghanem says it will join up with an international energy major within a decade. -
Limitless approaches local banks for Arabian Canal funding
Dubai developer Limitless is in talks with local banks to secure support for the first phase of its AED40bn ($10.1bn) Arabian Canal project, with international banks saying they are unlikely to provide financing for the scheme. -
Low tariffs threaten domestic gas supply
Despite growing demand for gas in the region, investment to increase production will not materialise unless GCC governments raise prices for domestic customers. -
Nakheel invites contractors to submit plans for Tall Tower in Dubai
Contractors have until 20 November to bid for 1-kilometre-high skyscraper. -
Obama fails to inspire the region
The leaders of the Middle East have few expectations from the result of the US presidential election. -
Petrobras puts Caspian Sea deal on hold
Brazil’s Petrobras has put the planned development of Iranian oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea on hold because of the global credit crunch. -
Property developers are right to prioritise in Dubai
Dubai’s unravelling real estate sector has served as a reminder of how fast markets can turn. -
Q&A: Reza Ebadzadeh, Managing Director, Sunir
MD Ebadzadeh explains the role the Iranian company hopes to play in rebuilding Iraq -
Questions & Answers: Essa Kazim, head of regulation, Dubai Health Authority
Dubai is reviewing regulation of the healthcare industry in an effort to attract foreign investment, manage a more transparent sector as well as raising standards to international levels. -
Questions and Answers: Malcolm Wall Morris, CEO, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange
Malcolm Wall Morris, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), talks to MEED about the reasons for setting up the exchange, its performance and future challenges amid the turbulent global conditions. -
Receiver closes in on Consolidated debt
High Court of England & Wales appoints accountant to collect $65m from contractor’s Middle East clients. -
Riyadh pins gas hopes on Empty Quarter
The kingdom is continuing its commitment to its gas exploration programme in the remote Rub al-Khali desert despite no companies having yet reported commercially viable finds. -
Riyadh to award water contracts
Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) says it will award the contracts for technical, legal and financial consultants on the Greater Dammam, Medina and Mecca public-private-partnership scheme by mid-November. -
Special Report: Healthcare - GCC states broaden private sector role
The Levant’s pedigree in medical training has benefited the Gulf for a long time. -
Special Report: Oil & Gas - Region's domestic needs hit export plans
Iran’s export plans neatly encapsulate the problems faced by many of the region’s gas producers. Heavily subsidised prices for domestic consumers are a big burden on the Iranian government, as they are in Egypt. But both governments have created an expectation among consumers of cheap energy. -
Sunir
UN sanctions may have limited opportunities for Sunir, but it is involved in several high-profile projects. -
Sunir: MEED Assessment
Sunir’s reputation for taking on projects anywhere in the world has filled its order books, but that will inevitably include high-risk, low-tech projects -
Technip in line for sour gas study at offshore Hail field
France’s Technip is expected to win the pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) package on Abu Dhabi’s offshore Hail sour gas field, one executive close to the project tells MEED. -
UAE steel producers
The six leading figures in the UAE steel production industry: Hussain al-Nowais, Lovraj Talwar, Sridhar Krishnamoorthy, Abu Bucker Husain and Ajay Aggarwal. -
US president will focus on home
Only with a stabilised economy at home will the US be able to exert proper influence abroad.
