By continuing to use the site you agree to our Privacy & Cookies policy

MEED
September 2007

View all stories from this issue.

  • : ISLAMIC BANKING: SHARIA PRODUCTS

    Baysalam: A contract for the sale of goods where the price is paid in advance and the goods are delivered in the future.Ijara: Lease financing. The purchase of the leased equipment or asset at the end of the rental period is optional. A typical structure used for retail mortgages.Ijara waqtina: Lease purchasing, where the lessee is committed to buy the leased equipment or asset at the end of the rental period.Istisnaa: A contract of acquisition of goods, by specification

  • : WHO COMPLETED THE SURVEY

    MEED's employment was completed by 101 senior-level executives from the business world and government. The largest single group to take part in the survey came from the construction industry, although other sectors represented included the finance, oil and gas, and power industries.

  • AAOIFI SHARIA FINANCE QUALIFICATION

    Certified Sharia Adviser and AuditorThe regulator's programme covers technical subjects essential to sharia compliance and review processes for the international Islamic banking and finance industry. It is designed to improve technical understanding and professional skills on sharia including compliance and review processes. It covers a wide range of topics from mechanisms to ensure sharia compliance in accordance with resolutions and fatwas, technical review of banking and financial operations

  • Abdullah criticises ministers over inflation

    King Abdullah has criticised his ministers for being more concerned about protecting their jobs than tackling rampant inflation in Jordan.At a cabinet meeting on 11 September, Abdullah accused ministers of concentrating on rumours of a change in government.Ziad Fariz, Jordan's finance minister, resigned in August after his plans to make further cuts to petrol subsidies were blocked by fellow ministers.Although Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit has

  • Abu Dhabi awards Saadiyat island contract to Leighton

    Abu Dhabi-based Tourism Development & Investment Company has awarded the AED 2,100 million ($550 million) infrastructure construction contract for Saadiyat island to the local/Australian Gulf Leighton.

  • Abu Dhabi bank approves bond issue

    The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) is approving the issuance of AED 6,400 million ($1,734 million) medium term notes and subordinated convertible 10-year bonds in UAE dirhams, Japanese yen and Malaysian ringgits.Up to AED 2,000 million ($544 million) will be raised in a 10-year convertible subordinated bond. The medium term notes will raise up to JPY 40,000 million ($326 million) and MYR 3,000 million ($871 million) respectively.'Although NBAD is well cap

  • Abu Dhabi buys into Carlyle Group

    Mubadala Development Company has bought a 7.5 per cent stake in the Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms.Mubadala, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, is paying $1,350 million in cash for the stake and will invest a further $500 million in one of the group's funds.'Carlyle's outstanding returns, broad portfolio and global presence are a tremendous fit for Mubadala's regional expertise, accelerating growth and international e

  • Abu Dhabi courts fresh bid

    The identity of the winning bidder for two new sewage treatment plants in the emirate is in doubt after Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) opened talks with a second group.

  • Abu Dhabi exchange appoints director general

    The Abu Dhabi Securities Market board has appointed Tom Healy as director general. Healy was previously head of the Irish Stock Exchange, where he served for 20 years until June 2007. The appointment is part of the exchange's plan to boost its management team to develop the market, the ADSM said in a statement.

  • Abu Dhabi launches 2030 masterplan

    The Abu Dhabi government has launched its Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Masterplan and established an Urban Planning Council to oversee its implementation.

  • Abu Dhabi to launch English language national newspaper

    The UAE's new English-language national newspaper being launched by Abu Dhabi Media Company will publish its first edition in 2008, according to launch editor Martin Newland.

  • ADA and the Municipal Council: Running Riyadh

    Saudi Arabia's capital city is divided into 17 branch municipalities under the control of Riyadh Municipality and the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA).

  • ADA PROJECTS: Planned development

    The sheer weight of the ADA's project portfolio is impressive. The latest issue of the ADA's monthly newsletter, Tadweer, lists SR 120,000 million for the Riyadh region. These funds will be used on a variety of projects: infrastructure, dams, water treatment and desalination plants, as well as electricity, education, health and culture.

  • Adco launches Hail gas field

    Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) has launched the multi-billion-dollar offshore Hail gas field development by inviting contractors to submit expressions of interest for the marine works package.

  • Adco retenders contract

    Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations (Adco) is to retender the project management consultancy contract on the programme to increase Abu Dhabi's onshore oil capacity. The UK's Amec was selected for the original contract in the spring (MEED 20:4:07). Invitation to bid documents for the retendered contract are due soon, with an award due by the end of the year. Likely bidders include Australia's WorleyParsons, the US/Canadian Veco and Amec.

  • Adnoc considers nitrogen reinjection

    Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is considering using nitrogen gas as an alternative to conventional gas for reinjection on its onshore oil fields.

  • Agency awards TangMed

    The Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency is to award two concessions on the extension to the TangMed port development by mid-2008. Under the 30-year deals, developers will operate a dedicated container terminal with a 1,600-metre-long quay wall and a cargo terminal with a 1,200-metre-long quay wall. TangMed II will have a handling capacity of 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The cost is estimated at $1,400 million (MEED 25:5:07).

  • Ahmadinejad says nuclear issue closed

    Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran's disputed nuclear programme is 'closed' as a political issue and Tehran will ignore UN Security Council demands to curb it further.'All our nuclear activities have been completely peaceful and transparent,' he told the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday.He said that despite military threats and 'illegal' sanctions Iran had established a nuclear power capability.'Iran has moved forward step-b

  • Airline board resigns

    Kuwait Airways has been left without a board after all its directors resigned over government interference in the running of the business. At a meeting with the board on 9 September, Minister of Communication Abdul Wahid al-Awadi refused to bow to requests that he end his involvement in the company's internal affairs, prompting the resignations. Al-Awadi recently blocked a deal for the airline to buy 19 aircraft (MEED 28:8:07).

  • Airline profits fall short

    Middle East airline profits for 2007 will be less than half previous predictions, according to new research. Figures from the International Air Transport Association suggest that net profits among the region's carriers will be $200 million for 2007, less than half the $500 million originally forecast. A rise to $300 million in 2008 is anticipated.

  • Airport tenders radar

    Local and international firms have been invited to design, build and install a surveillance radar at Kuwait International Airport. Interested companies have until 2 October to apply for pre-qualification. The contract forms part of the Kuwait Airspace System Plan, drawn up by the US' Stanley Consultants for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, to bring Kuwait up to international standards of air travel.(MEED 31:8:07).

  • Airports secure funding

    Financing has been put in place for two airport construction projects in Tunisia. ABN Amro, Societe Generale and Standard Bank have been appointed lead arrangers on a debt facility worth up to $400 million, for redevelopment of Monastir airport, and the construction of a new airport at Enfidha. The contract to build the two projects was awarded to Turkey's Tepe Akfen Ventures in May, with concessions on each extending up to 40 years.

  • Alafco agrees to lease planes to local airline

    Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Company (Alafco) has agreed to lease three aircraft to Kuwait National Airlines Company, also known as Wataniya Airways.Wataniya will lease three Airbus planes for eight years from 2009. The deal is first announced in Kuwait by Alafco since the group's arrangement to sell 19 aircraft to the national carrier Kuwait Airways was scrapped by the government.The BD540 million ($1,900 million) deal with Kuwait Airways was halted

  • Al-Ahleia wins substation

    The local Al-Ahleia Switchgear Company has won a contract to build a substation at the northern Sabriyah field. Under the terms of the contract, which is worth KD 2.9 million ($10.4 million), Al-Ahleia will build an 11-kV main intake substation at the field. The client is state upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company.

  • Al-Barari deadline nears

    Bids are due by 9 September for the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a 2,000-cubic-metre-a day (cm/d) sewage treatment plant and a 30,000 cm/d polishing plant at the Al-Barari development, near Safa park. Prequalified companies include France's Veolia, Metito, Eagle Electromechanical Company and Septech Emirates, all Sharjah-based. The client is Abwad.

  • Aldar awards tallest tower

    The local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has been awarded the AED 2,700 million ($736 million) contract to build three towers on the redevelopment of Abu Dhabi's central market.

  • Alfa calls for lower tariff

    Mobile operator Alfa has called on the government to cut the tariff on mobile phone users by $20 a month. According to chief executive officer Ineke Botter, this would boost mobile penetration rates from just 29 per cent to more than 50 per cent. 'The market would grow if you brought the cost down,' says Botter. 'To penetrate further, you need to cut prices.'

  • Al-Habtoor plans regional expansion

    Dubai's construction industry is buzzing with the news that the Dubai-based Al-Habtoor - one of the Emirates biggest construction firms - is to merge with Australian contractor Leighton Holdings. The two firms have agreed a AED 2,620 million ($714 million) deal to merge their operations in the Gulf. They will also pursue opportunities across the rest of the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe.

  • Al-Naboodah wins terminal 3

    The local Al-Naboodah Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 2,000 million ($545 million) civil engineering works for the third terminal and concourse project at Dubai International Airport (DIA).

  • Amman and Washington sign nuclear deal

    Jordan and the US have signed a deal to co-operate on the development of civilian nuclear technology in the kingdom.Samuel Bodman, the US Secretary of Energy and Khalid Touqan, Jordan's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research signed a memorandum of understanding on 16 September to help Jordan meet more of its energy requirements internally.Bodman and Touqan agreed to the deal at a meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, an initiat

  • Amman and Washington sign nuclear deal

    Jordan and the US have signed a deal to co-operate on the development of civilian nuclear technology in the kingdom.Samuel Bodman, the US Secretary of Energy and Khalid Touqan, Jordan's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research signed a memorandum of understanding on 16 September to help Jordan meet more of its energy requirements internally.Bodman and Touqan agreed to the deal at a meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, an initiative s

  • Amman awards Disi

    Amman has finally awarded the main contract on the Disi water conveyor project. Turkey's Gama Energy has the 25-year build-operate-transfer contract to construct a 325-kilometre-long pipeline, which will carry 100 million cubic-metres-a-year of water from an aquifer in the Disi Mudawarra area in the south to the capital. It marks an end to a long-running saga that has resulted in the project being abandoned several times. The main challenge for the government was a lack of finance. The project i

  • Amman cuts technology outsourcing tax

    Amman has cut corporation tax for companies in the IT outsourcing sector to 6.25 per cent, down from the 25 per cent tax rate paid by companies in other sectors.

  • Amnesty draws 350,000 applications

    The UAE says it expects 350,000 illegal residents to come forward through an amnesty programme by the time it ends on 3 November.The five month amnesty, which was extended from three months, has already received 279,000 applications from people wanting to either leave the country, or legalise their status without their employers being fined.By the time the amnesty closes the Department of Naturalisation & Residency is expecting around 350,000 people, or 8.5

  • ANALYSIS: Billion-dirham club no longer exclusive

    The award of the AED 1,400 million ($381 million) contract to the local Sino Construction Group for the Ajman 1 development is the latest in a rapidly growing list of billion-dirham building contracts to be awarded in the UAE.

  • ANALYSIS: Oracle faces increasing competition

    German software giant SAP has bought itself out of a 13-year-old exclusive distribution deal with its Saudi-based partner so that it can compete more effectively in the region with arch-rival Oracle.

  • ANALYSIS: Saudi mobile market yet to mature

    MTC, the owner of Saudi Arabia's newest mobile licence, expects the kingdom's mobile market to grow by 150 per cent over the next three to four years. The Kuwaiti mobile phone operator was awarded the third mobile phone licence in June with a record payment of $6,100 million.Marwan al-Ahmadi, chief executive officer of MTC's new Saudi Arabia operation, says: 'If you look at the penetration level and the potential for subscriber growth, the number of Saudi subscribers could grow by 150 pe

  • Analysts predict profits drop for telecoms operator

    Profits at the largest telecoms operator in the region, Saudi Telecom, are expected to fall this year, in the wake of record earnings last year, according to financial analysts.

  • Ankara and Baghdad unite to fight Kurdish rebels

    Ankara and Baghdad have signed an anti-terrorism deal aimed at curbing the activities of Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq. However, they have failed to reach agreement over the rights of Turkish troops to pursue rebels into the country.'We could not reach agreement on the article concerning improvement of border security co-operation. Our negotiations on this issue will continue,' Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said after the signing ceremony in the Turkish ca

  • Anti-Syrian politician killed in car bomb

    Lebanese MP Antoine Ghanim has been killed in a car bomb in the country's capital Beirut.Ghanim, a member of the Maronite Phalange party, was killed along with three others in the Christian suburb of Sin al-Fil in the east of the city. He becomes the seventh high-profile anti-Syrian figure in Lebanon to have been assassinated since 2005. The Lebanese parliament meets next week to elect a new president, with the position reserved for a Maronite

  • Aqua wins Hamriyah deal

    A joint venture of Austria's Aqua Engineering and the local Tecton Engineering has been awarded the AED 446 million ($122 million) engineering, procurement and construction contract for a desalination plant at Hamriyah power station. The reverse osmosis plant will have a capacity of 20 million gallons a day. Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) is the client.

  • Arab bank overhauls IT

    Arab Bank, Jordan's largest company, has signed a deal with the local Optimiza to outsource the management of IT systems used by its 6,000 employees. The bank will use Optimiza to overhaul the systems used for human resources and expand its wider IT capabilities. The deal is one of Optimiza's largest contract wins since it was created from the merger of five companies earlier this year.

  • Arabtec joint venture to build grandstand

    A joint venture of local Arabtec Construction and Malaysia's WCT has been awarded the estimated AED 4,600 million ($1,253 million) contract to build the 60,000-capacity grandstand at the racecourse development at Nad al-Sheba.

  • Aramco awards pipeline

    Saudi Aramco has awarded a $200 million contract to the Netherlands' Suedrohrbau for the second-phase expansion of the Shedgum-Yanbu east-west (SHY-1) natural gas liquids pipeline. The scope of works includes the installation of 585 kilometres of 30-inch pipeline. The Khurais development is slated to deliver 1.2 million b/d of Arabian Light crude.

  • Aramco awards Saipem

    A consortium led by Italy's Saipem has won a contract, worth more than $250 million, to provide offshore engineering and construction services to Saudi Aramco as part of its maintain potential facilities programme. Under the seven-year contract, Saipem, together with its local partners the Industrialization & Energy Services Company and Al-Rushaid, will engineer, procure, transport and install offshore platforms and pipelines. A minimum workload is guaranteed during the first four years of 16 pl

  • Aramco commits to Yanbu refinery

    Saudi Aramco says it is committed to the engineering element of its Yanbu export refinery. However, it has yet to make a final investment decision on the scheme, which is being carried out in partnership with the US' ConocoPhillips.Sources close to the company say the joint venture partners have taken an initial decision to stop proceeding with the 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery, because of rising costs.Both parties are believed to have baulked at rising development costs, which a

  • Aramco delays fourth Manifa gas package

    Saudi Aramco has delayed the fourth package on the onshore portion of its 900,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) Manifa heavy oil field by three months after a meeting in London with contractors.

  • Aramco invites proposals

    Saudi Aramco has asked international contractors to submit prequalification proposals by 20 September for five main packages at the proposed 400,000-barrel-a-day Jubail export refinery. The packages cover an aromatics unit, a conversion unit, a distillate and hydrotreater package, a coker unit, and a plant, utility and main pipe rack package. An award is expected in the second quarter of 2008, with production due to start in the first half of 2012.

  • Aramco signs $4bn Chinese refinery deal

    Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil Corporation and Fujian Petrochemicals have signed a $4,000 million loan from a consortium of lenders to fund the upgrade of a refinery in China's Fujian province.Beijing-based Fujian Petrochemical, a 50:50 joint venture between Sinopec and the Fujian government, controls a 50 per cent stake in the development, with Aramco and ExxonMobil of the US splitting the remaining share.The debt facility comprises long-term and working capital

  • Arcapita cashes out of wind farms

    Arcapita Bank has sold its stake in Zephyr Investments, a UK wind farm group, its third exit in the past month. The Zephyr stake was bought for about£99 million ($200 million) in 2004 by the bank and two co-investors, Englefield Capital and RWE Innogy. It was sold to two buyers for£435 million ($882 million), including a Prudential M&G infrastructure fund.'Zephyr has been one of Arcapita's most profitable investments to date,' says Arcapita chief executive o

  • Authority selects office tower

    The local KEO International Consultants has been appointed by the Kuwait Investment Authority as architects for its headquarters.

  • Automotive zone attracts interest

    Rabat has begun studies for a new industrial zone in the north dedicated to the automotive sector, according to an Industry Ministry official. Due for completion by 2010, Automotive City will be close to Tangier and extend over more than 100 hectares.

  • Avaya wins network deal

    American network supplier Avaya has won a contract to supply Dubai Civil Defence with a converged network. Dubai Civil Defence, the government body responsible for managing emergencies in the emirate, will use the network to automatically alert its 700 staff to emergencies. This should in turn help it to cut the time it takes to respond to incidents.

  • Avenue explores Israel

    The US' Avenue Group has been awarded an exploration licence in the south of Israel. The 60,000-acre area comprises three oil fields: Heletz, Brur and Kochav. The country's most prolific onshore field, Heletz has produced 17.2 million barrels of oil to date from six wells. Avenue will carry out 3D seismic, revamp existing wells and drill at least one new well in the next three years.

  • Baghdad hit by cholera outbreak

    A 40-year-old woman has died of cholera in Baghdad, the first confirmed fatality in the latest outbreak of the disease in the Iraqi capital.Other areas of the country have been hit by a cholera outbreak in recent days, with 11 deaths confirmed and 2,000 people infected, mostly in the north of the country. This latest fatality is the first in Baghdad, prompting renewed fears of an epidemic within the city.The woman, who lived in the Jisr Diyal district in the

  • Baghdad lobbies to end Kuwait compensation

    Iraq is to lobby the UN for an end to the compensation payments it is still making to Kuwait for the 1991 Gulf War, according to the country's ambassador to the UN, Hamid al-Bayati. Baghdad argues that it should not have to suffer because of the actions of the Saddam Hussein regime.Al-Bayati says the payments are severely hampering the rebuilding of the Iraqi economy, and that efforts are now under way to persuade Kuwait and the rest of the international community to end the compensation

  • Bahrain and Iran talks to seal export deal

    Manama is hoping that it can reach a deal with Iran to provide it with a much-needed source of imported gas - with a second round of talks between the two countries due in early October .

  • Bank launches rights issue

    Qatar National Bank (QNB) is to sell $1,200 million worth of new shares to help finance its regional and local expansion plans. The sale, which is likely to involve more than 20 million new shares, is expected to occur before the end of the year. QNB has been looking to expand by creating a bank in Syria, and the $442 million acquisition of 20 per cent of Jordan's Housing Bank for Trade and Finance.

  • Bank profit margins dip

    Bank margins are expected to fall in the second half of 2007, as higher borrowing costs from the global credit crunch hit the region, according to Sanjay Uppal, chief financial officer of Emirates Bank International. The rising cost of borrowing had not been passed on to customers, said Uppal, meaning profit margins will be reduced.

  • Banks deny speculators

    Currency speculators who invested billions of dollars in the Saudi riyal and UAE dirham are expected to exit the GCC markets after the Saudi central bank decided against following the US move to cut interest rates or revalue their currencies.

  • Banks' exposure to property a risk

    Gulf banks are more exposed to the real estate sector than they are to the stock market, and less able to withstand a major correction in the sector, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor's.Exposure to the sector has grown rapidly in recent years, with real estate loans by GCC banks increasing at 30 per cent in 2006 alone.S&P says that while regional banks have shown some resilience to the stock market correction that took place over the past year, a crash in the value

  • Banks fail to agree terms with sponsor on Qasco deal

    Banks involved in the $1,300 million financing deal for Qatar Steel Company (Qasco) are struggling to agree terms with the sponsor and financial adviser.

  • Banks submit financing bids for desalination facility

    Regional and international banks are lining up to take part in the $500 million debt finance for a water desalination plant in Qatar.

  • Barclays offers sharia trading

    Barclays Capital and Shariah Capital have launched a derivatives trading platform enabling investors to profit from falling stock markets in a sharia-compliant way.

  • Bavaria plans residences

    German real estate developer Bavaria Gulf plans to build townhouses at Jumeirah Village. Known as the Sandoval Townhouses, the first phase comprises 36 houses. Later phases of the project will involve building apartment buildings with 260 units. The local Diar Consult is the architect. The local Nakheel is the master developer for Jumeirah Village.

  • Bechtel to run Jeddah project

    The US' Bechtel Corporation has been selected as project manager for the estimated $13,000 million mixed-use development in Jeddah planned by Kingdom Holding Company.

  • Beirut politicians to elect president

    Lebanon's politicians will be pressured into voting for a new president on 25 September, in an attempt to end the political stalemate is paralysing the country's institutions.The speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri is calling for the vote in the hope that members of parliament will elect a consensus candidate as president.The MPs must elect a president before current president Fouad Siniora's term ends on 24 November.Berri's spokesm

  • Bel Hasa wins dual towers contract from Dubiotech

    The local Bel Hasa Engineering & Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 400 million ($108 million) contract to build a headquarters for Dubiotech, which is developing Dubai Biotechnology & Research Park.The park is located between Emirates and Sheikh Zayed roads. The contract involves the construction of two 18-storey office towers on a common podium. The total built-up area is 57,000 square metres.The building's design is based on DNA, with slabs running along the sides

  • Berber Cement closes sukuk

    Sudan's Berber Cement Company has finalised a $130 million Islamic bond. The seven-year sukuk will help to finance the construction of a new cement plant, which is due to start production in August 2008.The sukuk was issued through a special purpose vehicle, Berber Sukuk Company, established in Bahrain. It was structured by the Liquidity Management Centre, which also acted as mandated arranger. Emirates Islamic Bank was the co-arranger and Alpen Capital acted as financial

  • Bids in for Sharjah plant

    Bids are under evaluation for the contract to construct a 25,000-cubic-metre-a-day sewage treatment plant using a membrane bioreactor at the Sharjah Investment Centre. Bidders include two Sharjah-based firms, Eagle Electromechanical Company and Metito. Australia's Clifton Coney Group is the consultant on the scheme, which is being carried out on a build-own-operate basis.

  • BMI increases regional links

    BMI is expanding its Middle East operations, adding six destinations in the region to its network.The British airline will launch flights to Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Khartoum and Tehran from 28 September. BMI announced in August that it will open a new London-Cairo route in November.Flights to Dammam and Kuwait could also be added by the end of the year. BMI already flies to Riyadh and Jeddah, having picked up the routes when British Airways pulled out of the kingdom in 2

  • Board dispute hits airline

    A fresh argument has broken out over the management of Kuwait Airways after senior staff at the airline rejected two nominees to represent the workforce on the board.

  • Board queries Al-Awadi role

    A dispute between Kuwait Airways and the government was set to increase as MEED went to press, with a meeting of the airline's board due on 6 September to clarify its position.

  • Bond sale faces delay

    A potential bond sale to finance the construction of Qatar Petroleum's $1,200 million chemicals plant has been delayed because of the global credit crisis. 'The bond is likely to be postponed until the market is settled,' said Houssam Kharbouti, project finance director at Qatar Petroleum. Qatar Fertiliser Company had received an Aa3 rating from Moody's Investor Service in March in preparation for a bond (MEED 21:10:07). It now plans to raise funds through bank loans in October.

  • Borouge explains need for more help

    The appointment of a second project management consultant on the estimated $5,000 million expansion of the Ruwais olefins complex was due to the project's huge logistical challenges, according to the client, Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge).The unusual step of appointing Engineers India in mid-August as a second project manager to work alongside the original consultant, the US' Foster Wheeler, prompted speculation that the scheme was encountering unexpected difficultie

  • Borouge tenders Ruwais plant

    Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) has launched the tendering process for its new melamine plant in Ruwais, by inviting contractors to submit expressions of interest in the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract.

  • Borse Dubai buys into London Stock Exchange

    Borse Dubai will acquire a 28 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange from Nasdaq, after striking a deal with its rival. The two had been competing with each other to take over the Nordic stock exchange OMX. Borse Dubai will also acquire 20 per cent of Nasdaq as part of a deal that will clear the way for Borse Dubai to buy OMX for $4,000 million and then transfer the shares to Nasdaq. The transaction will result in the creation of Nasdaq OMX Group and av

  • Borse Dubai lifts bid for Nordic

    Borse Dubai has raised its offer for the Nordic exchange OMX to $4,900 million, as it tries to complete a complex deal with the US' Nasdaq (see pages 4-5).

  • Bourse seals deal

    The rivalry between Dubai and Qatar to be the region's leading financial centre was cranked up several notches this week following several new deals.

  • Bourse seals deal

    The rivalry between Dubai and Qatar to be the region's leading financial centre was cranked up several notches this week following several new deals.On 20 September, Borse Dubai announced a complex agreement with the US' Nasdaq in which it will take a 20 per cent stake in the US exchange and most of the shares Nasdaq holds in the London Stock Exchange (LSE).In return, Nasdaq will gain Borse Dubai's stake in the Nordic stock exchange OMX and take a stake in Borse Dubai subsidiary

  • BP eyes Iraq oil move

    UK oil major BP has admitted it is ready to compete for a stake in Iraq's oil and gas sector over four years after putting a team in place to line up a strategy for the war-torn country.Although Baghdad has yet to pass a crucial federal oil and gas law, BP said it had studied Iraqi options and had a view on which are the 'relatively good looking prospects'.'Whether it turns out to be a licensing round or some other form of offering, we are ready,' Steve Peac

  • British hostages spend 100th day in captivity

    Families of five Britons kidnapped in Iraq 100 days ago are renewing their appeal for their release.The men, a computer expert and his four bodyguards, were seized by gunmen in police uniform from the Finance Ministry in Baghdad, where the expert had been giving a lecture, on 29 May.This week, the US military told reporters it believes the men are still alive, and are being held by a splinter group of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. Al-S

  • Bush enters Iraq as British pull back

    US President Bush arrived in Iraq on 3 September for a surprise visit on his way to an economic summit in Australia.Accompanied by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national security advisor Stephen Hadley, and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Bush landed at the Al-Asad air base in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.The province was considered one of the most dangerous in Iraq following the 2003 invasion, when it formed the heart of the 'Sunni triangle'

  • Business leaders welcome relaxation of visa policy

    Saudi business leaders have welcomed the government's decision to ease restrictions on travel to the country by foreign businessmen.On 17 September, the Saudi cabinet decided that foreign business visitors to the kingdom would be granted multiple-entry visas, valid for one year, and need not present a letter of invitation from a Saudi business when applying to visit the country.Prominent business leaders say the relaxed entry requirements will boost foreign

  • Business software: Competition shapes market

    Sales of business software are booming in the Middle East, and firms are having to adapt their strategies to catch up.

  • Byblos enters Armenia

    Lebanon's Byblos Bank has acquired Armenia's International Trade Bank. International Trade will continue as a separate business, offering corporate, real estate, commercial and retail banking services. With net profits of $41.4 million for the first half of 2007, Byblos Bank has been seeking to diversify its revenue streams. The value of the deal was not revealed.

  • Cairo approves refinery

    Cairo has granted preliminary approval to the local Sawiris Group for a new sugar refinery. Proposals for refineries are also under consideration from four other companies, including Japan's Kobe Busan and local companies El-Moran and Assam. Industrial Development Authority chairman Amr Assal says that El-Moran's plan is likely to be approved in the next two months. Egypt has a sugar supply deficit of about one million tonnes a year.

  • Cairo considers expressways

    Japan's Katahira & Engineers International is carrying out a feasibility study on the extension and construction of three high-priority expressways in Greater Cairo.

  • Cairo doubles number of new Nile ports

    The River Transport Authority is expanding the number of river ports it will develop on the River Nile from five to nine.

  • Cairo exchange hits record levels

    The main Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) index reached an all-time high on 19 September, as an interest rate cut in the US pushed foreign investors to seek alternatives to US dollar deposits.The CASE 30 index closed at 8,608.62 points, having hit a historic peak of 8,648.84 points earlier in the day.The impact of the Federal Reserves decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points a day earlier was felt across the exchange, but particularly in the

  • Cairo plans second bourse

    A new stock exchange for small and mid-cap enterprises will be launched in late October, according to Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin.

  • Cairo rejects US criticism

    Cairo has reacted angrily to US criticism over the lack of press and other freedoms in Egypt.'The statement issued by the White House spokesperson over press freedom and civil society is interference in our domestic affairs that is unacceptable to Egypt,' said the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement.Two days earlier, a White House spokeswoman said recent moves by Cairo 'appear to contradict the Egyptian government's stated commitment to expand d

  • Cairo sentences editors to jail

    A court in Egypt has convicted four newspaper editors of defaming President Mubarak and his son Gamal and sentenced them to a year in prison. Ibrahim Issa, Adel Hammouda, Wael el-Ebrashi and Abdel Halim Qandi were also fined£E20,000 ($3,570) each before being released on bail. They have the right to appeal. The lawsuit was filed a year ago by two members of the National Democratic Party. Ibrahim Issa, the editor of the Al-Dustour newspaper, wi

  • Cairo targets foreign investors

    Finance Minister Yousef Boutros Ghali predicts Egypt will soon achieve an economic growth rate of 9 per cent, helped by rising levels of investment from abroad. Cairo is now planning to take advantage of the growth by extending welfare support for lower-income families.The economy grew by 7.1 per cent in real terms in 2006, and the current account surplus rose by 53 per cent to£E 2,600 million ($460 million).'The faster we grow, apparently the faster we can grow,' says Boutros Gh

  • Cairo to boost raw materials capacity

    Cairo will award a series of projects in the fourth quarter that will increase Egypt's cement production capacity by 55 per cent and steel production capacity by 73 per cent, according to the head of the country's industrial development programme.

  • Cairo to send peacekeepers to Darfur

    Cairo announced on 25 September that it will send more than 2,100 troops to join a UN peacekeeping force in the Darfur region of Sudan.'Egypt offered to provide the force with more than 2,100 soldiers, policemen, and observers, a step that reflects President Mubarak's interest in maintaining stability in this Sudanese province,' said Maged Abdel Fattah, Egypt's delegate to the UN.The Egyptian contingent will form part of a 26,000-strong joint UN and African

  • Carrier seeks to expand

    UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad will both launch large debt finance programmes in the coming months to fund their respective fleet expansions in 2008. Emirates will seek a AED 4,000 million ($1,100 million) package to finance the acquisition of 11 wide-body aircraft. Etihad will conclude the $500 million financing for four Airbus A340-600s in October. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier will seek investment in the first quarter of 2007 to finance the purchase of two further A340-600s.

  • Casablanca woos global firms to offshore call centres

    When a Paris-based customer of US IT company Dell phones to resolve a problem with his PC, the call is no longer answered by the company’s southern European headquarters in Montpellier, in France. Instead, the call is diverted to a call centre about 1,200 miles away in Casablanca, the commercial capital of Morocco.

  • Central bank predicts sharp drop in inflation

    Inflation is likely to fall sharply this year, according to new figures released by the Moroccan central bank.The rate is likely to ease to 2.0 per cent for 2007 as a whole, compared to 3.3 per cent in 2006, according to the Bank al-Maghrib. Inflation in the month of August fell to 2.0 per cent from 3.7 per cent in the same month last year, said the bank.However, the bank acknowledged that certain factors could still lead to the rate being higher than expect

  • Central banks admit currency deadline unrealistic

    A meeting of the six GCC central bank governors has decided that it is unlikely their single currency will be in place by the 2010 deadline. However they have offered no alternative timetable.Instead they have agreed that each member country should pursue independent policies to contain inflation - one of the biggest economic concerns across the region.After the meeting on 8 September Saudi Arabia's central bank governor Hamad Saud Al Sayari said: 'There is

  • Chemanol plant financing to close

    Financing for a Chemanol petrochemicals complex at Jubail is due to close in mid-September, with a small club of local banks supplying the $400 million project finance debt.

  • Chinese bank to set up in Dubai

    The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) plans to set up operations in the region, according to Yang Kaisheng, vice chairman and president. 'We would like to start up with a branch in Dubai, but that may not be enough to serve all our needs in the Middle East region,' he told MEED on 3 September on the sidelines of the China-Middle East Investment Forum in Dubai.Kuwait and Qatar bought shares in the bank, one of China's largest, in 2006 through their

  • Chlorine builds acid plant

    The local Qatar Chlorine plans to build a plant at Mesaieed Industrial City for the commercial production of hydrochloric acid. The plant will have sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and sodium hypochlorite (bleach) production lines and is due to start production in late 2009. It will cover an area of 35,000 square metres.

  • Citigroup advises Riyadh on independent power projects

    Riyadh has selected consultants to advise on three new independent power projects (IPPs) in the kingdom, which will require a total investment of SR 21,000 million ($5,619 million).

  • Citigroup advises Riyadh on independent power projects

    Riyadh has selected consultants to advise on three new independent power projects (IPPs) in the kingdom, which will require a total investment of SR 21,000 million ($5,619 million).

  • Civil servants to get pay boost

    King Hamad has announced that pay for civil servants and military employees will be increased. It comes at the same time as the government has vowed to act to prevent further price rises in the country.Hamad did not specify how much salaries would rise by. His announcement comes less than a month after parliament's economic and social affairs committee recommended an immediate 15 per cent pay rise for government employees.'In recognition of the key role of t

  • Clarification of Nimr bids begins

    The clarification of technical bids is under way for the innovative water treatment and re-use project on the Nimr oil field, in the south of the sultanate.

  • Coastal development committee formed

    Eight city councils have formed a committee to take charge of coastal development in Saudi Arabia.The new body will play a role in both environmental protection and economic development projects, including issues related to sewerage and water supply. Representatives from Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Dammam, Al-Ahsa, Tabuk, Asir and Jazan will sit on the committee, says a spokesman for Jeddah Municipality.'The first phase (of the project) will assess

  • COMPLIANCE: Search begins for the next generation of experts

    It is a delicate question to which nobody knows the answer. Neither bankers, lawyers nor scholars themselves can say where the next generation of sharia finance experts will emerge. The issue is critical as the pool of established sharia finance advisers is small and ageing. Growth in the number of experts has inevitably failed to keep pace with the rapidly accelerating expansion of the sector.

  • Congress report receives mixed response

    Opinion on the effectiveness of the 30,000-strong troop 'surge' is sharply divided both in America and Iraq, in the wake of General David Petraeus' report to the US Congress.In America, Republicans have been predictably bullish in response to Petraeus' cautious assessment that 'the military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met,' while Democrats have accused the General of toeing the White House line and giving an overly optimistic assessment of the situ

  • Conoco pulls out of Fujairah refinery

    The US' ConocoPhillips has ended its involvement in the UAE's grassroots Fujairah refinery and, along with Saudi Aramco, is understood to be considering cancelling the Yanbu refinery in Saudi Arabia, after both were hit by increasing project costs.

  • Consolidated wins Sebha

    Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company, has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the new Sebha airport. It will carry out the project in a joint venture with Turkey's TAV.

  • CONSTRUCTION: Phased approach protects supply chain

    As the Doha Asian Games came to a close in December 2006, Qatar's construction industry braced itself for a new wave of mega-projects that would test every link of the supply chain. But nine months later, many contractors are still waiting as the government adopts a more cautious approach to tendering work.

  • Contractors call the shots

    They were expected to be the UAE's biggest construction contracts of the year: the AED 3,000 million ($817 million) main package to build Dubai's Mall of Arabia, and the AED 6,000 million ($1,635 million) main construction package to build Abu Dhabi's central market. Instead, the projects have been broken into a series of small construction contracts.

  • Contractors call the shots

    They were expected to be the UAE's biggest construction contracts of the year: the AED 3,000 million ($817 million) main package to build Dubai's Mall of Arabia, and the AED 6,000 million ($1,635 million) main construction package to build Abu Dhabi's central market. Instead, the projects have been broken into a series of small construction contracts.

  • Contractors line up for $1bn Sidra centre

    Preliminary prices have been submitted by at least three contractors for the estimated $1,000 million Sidra Medical & Research Centre in Qatar.

  • Contractors win bid extension

    The deadline to submit bids for the $7,000 million-8,000 million, 400,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) East Coast refinery at Ras Tanura has been delayed for a further two weeks.

  • Contracts August

  • Contracts August

  • Control centre faces delay

    The Kurdistan Regional Government is to wait until September 2008 before issuing a tender for the engineering, procurement and construction contract on a new control centre for the Dokan and Derbandikhan hydropower plants. The plants in the Sulaimaniyah governorate will have a maximum capacity of 649 MW. Italy's ELC Electroconsult is the consultant for the two plants. and is preparing the tender documents. The World Bank is providing a $40 million loan towards the project.

  • COSTS: Premium products

    Anyone investing in the development of new products, whether flat-screen TVs, high-definition DVD players or the latest iPod, will know that being first usually costs more. And the same is true for those who invest in sharia-compliant financial products.

  • Council backs fees

    The Economy Council has approved the establishment of a state-owned bank that will charge service fees rather than interest on loans. Bank Gharzolhassaneh will have an initial capital of IR 22 trillion ($2,360 million). The move is in line with recent comments from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who have suggested the country moves towards a banking system based entirely on charging fees.

  • Council rejects Hidd plan

    Muharraq Municipal Council has rejected a proposal to build a cement plant in the Hidd Industrial Area. The council dismissed the plan because of its proximity to residential areas and concerns about the negative impact it would have on the local environment. According to the council, the area is designed for light industries that are environmentally-friendly.

  • Credit crunch hits Qasco

    The $1,300 million refinancing for Qatar Steel Company (Qasco) has become the latest major project finance deal to be hit by credit market turmoil.

  • Critical oil legislation faces further delays

    Iraq could still be months away from passing a new oil law, despite parliament returning after the summer recess, according to current and former government ministers.

  • Crucial vote begins in Casablanca

    Moroccans voted on 7 September in parliamentary elections which are expected to show gains for moderate Islamists who have been pushing an anti-corruption message.Up to 15 million registered voters began choosing from 33 parties and dozens of independent candidates seeking seats in the 325-member assembly. Analysts say the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) has a chance of winning cabinet seats if it emerges as the single biggest party. PJ

  • Crude price hits new high

    US crude oil prices hit a new high on 18 September of $81.24, setting a new record for oil prices for the fifth trading day in a row.Concerns about tight supply as US demand increases because of the approaching winter and the expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, have increased demand for oil. Opec's decision in early September to raise output by 500,000 barrels a day from November has had little impact.Goldman Sachs recently f

  • Currency can wait, say economists

    GCC governments are being urged to focus their efforts on creating a single market for labour and capital, similar to the EU, rather than joining a single currency.

  • Currency speculators steer clear as central banks meet

    GCC central banks appear to have succeeded in their efforts to deter destabilising speculation in their currencies ahead of the next meeting of central bank governors on 8 September.Little progress is expected, however, on a move towards a single currency for the six member states at the meeting.In the run-up to the last meeting of governors in March, more than $5,000 million was invested by currency speculators hoping to capitalise on an expected revaluation of GCC currencies.

  • Damascus imposes visa restrictions on Iraqis

    Damascus announced strict visa requirements on Iraqi nationals on 3 September.A government decree that takes effect on 10 September will bar Iraqi passport holders from entering Syria except businessmen and academics, a small minority of the 3,000-5,000 refugees who presently cross the border every day.'Syria has already received more than 1.5 million refugees and there could be no end in sight to what the Americans unleashed there. We simply cannot cope any

  • Developer of local talent

    The Power Generation Engineering & Services Company (Pgesco) dominates Egypt's electricity generation sector. Set up in 1993, it now provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management services for almost all the country's power generation projects.

  • Dewa securitisation closes

    Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has raised $800 million through a securitisation of its future utility bills. The deal enables the utility company to lower its cost of funding by ring-fencing and effectively selling off future bill income to investors. Calyon and ABN Amro acted as financial advisers on the deal, which was reduced from an initial $2,000 million (MEED 20:4:07). It is one of the first non-real estate securitisations in the region.

  • DF sells wind farm stake

    France's EDF has signed an agreement to sell its 84.5 per cent in Compagnie Eolienne du Detroit (CED) to Theolia, also of France. CED operates the Koudia al-Baida wind farm, the largest in Morocco. Located in the Tetouan province in the north of the country, the farm comprises 84 wind turbines with a total capacity of 50 MW. CED was established in 1998 to finance, build and operate the wind farm for 19 years.

  • Dhabi wins structure deal for Mall of Arabia project

    The local Dhabi Contracting has been awarded the main structure package for the estimated AED 3,000 million ($817 million) Mall of Arabia project at City of Arabia in Dubailand.

  • Dinar currency basket takes effect

    The Kuwaiti dinar has begun to float against a basket of currencies, several months after the Central Bank said it was dropping the dollar peg in May.The dinar has begun to move in value on a daily basis since 29 July. It depreciated by 0.05 per cent that day due to changes in the dollar value, following a total appreciation over the previous two months of about 2.5 per cent. Although the exact composition of the currency basket has not been disclosed, it is

  • Doha awards Qatalum deals

    Three contracts have been awarded for the $4,800 million Qatalum aluminium smelter at the Mesaieed industrial area, the largest primary aluminium plant ever to be built in a single phase.

  • Doha reviews bond funding

    A $1,200 million project finance deal being planned by Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) for its Qafco 5 project faces potential restructuring in the wake of turmoil in the bond markets.

  • DP enters Rotterdam port

    An international consortium led by DP World has signed a contract to design, build and operate a new container terminal at the port in Rotterdam. The new terminal will have a capacity of 4 million TEUs, boosting capacity by 40 per cent. DP World's partners in the consortium are APL of Singapore, Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines, Hyundai Merchant Marine of South Korea and the French shipping groupCMA CGM.

  • DP World signs port deal

    DP World has reached an agreement with the Algerian government to manage the port in Algiers and to acquire 50 per cent of the site's container terminal. The group will spend $70 million on the acquisition and has agreed not to make any redundancies at the site. The ownership structure resolves a dispute between Algiers and workers at the port who had threatened to strike overprivatisation.

  • Drilling contractor gets contract extension

    Oman KCA Deutag, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK's Abbot Group, has been awarded early contract extensions, totaling $100 million, for five of its onshore drilling rigs in the sultanate.Deutag's contracts for rigs T 44 and T 77 have been extended by four years, to December 2011 and July 2011 respectively.The contracts for rigs 55, 66 and 63 have all been extended by two years, to September, March and June 2010 respectively.The original con

  • Dubai Airports hires chief

    Dubai Airports, the new division of the city's restructured Department of Civil Aviation, has appointed its first chief executive officer. Paul Griffiths, formerly managing director of London's Gatwick Airport, which is owned by BAA, will take over from 1 October. Before joining BAA in 2004, Griffiths was at the UK's Virgin Group, where he was in charge of the commercial development of the Virgin Atlantic airline.

  • Dubai awards waste plant

    Dubai Municipality and Zenath Group, a subsidiary of the local ETA Star Group, have signed an agreement to build a medical waste incinerator plant at Jebel Ali. The incinerator will have a treatment capacity of 20 tonnes a day and will be fully operational by late 2008. The municipality handled 1,188 tonnes of medical waste in 2006. By 2017, it is estimated to reach 4,030 tonnes.

  • Dubai buys stake in retailer

    Dubai International Capital (DIC), the investment arm of the Dubai government, has acquired a significant minority stake in Dubai-based retail company Rivoli Group.The group imports luxury brands to the Middle East, including Montblanc, Dunhill and Kenzo, which are sold through its retail outlets in the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.

  • Dubai considers bus lanes

    Dubai is considering introducing bus lanes across the emirate to encourage the use of public transport.

  • Dubai invites parallel road bids

    Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has invited companies to bid by 27 September for the fourth contract on its controversial parallel roads scheme.

  • Dubai issues tenders for Al-Sufouh tram network

    Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has issued tender documents for the estimated AED 2,000 million ($544 million) design-and-build contract for the Al-Sufouh tram scheme.

  • Dubai launches education charity

    Vice-President and Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has launched a new charity to raise funds for primary education in developing countries.

  • Dubai repairs its public image

    On 11 September, a lawsuit was filed in the US against Dubai’s ruling family, charging deputy ruler Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid al-Maktoum with involvement in trafficking and enslaving child camel jockeys. The lawsuit was filed in Kentucky and repeats charges made in a previous lawsuit filed in Miami in 2006.

  • Dubai scraps bid for Auckland airport

    Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is abandoning its bid to buy a controlling stake in Auckland International Airport.DAE says it is withdrawing its NZ$2,600 million ($1,819 million) bid to take over the airport, which has been troubled from the outset. The bid has faced huge political opposition in New Zealand, with all parties fighting against the prospect of a key national infrastructure site falling under foreign ownership. The airport's boa

  • Dubai to gain most from Gulf trade deal with Iran

    Dubai will gain the most if a trade deal between the Gulf and Iran is agreed, say economists in the region.

  • Dubai to launch satellite

    A Dubai government body has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) to send a satellite into space. The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (Eiast), which is controlled by the Dubai government, would not say when DubaiSat-1 will launch. The memorandum gives Eiast access to Roscosmos's technical expertise. DubaiSat-1 will be used to give Dubai warning of natural disasters and help it plan its urban development.

  • Dubai World pursues projects in Vietnam

    Dubai World signed three agreements for a major development project in Vietnam on 4 September.The agreements signed by Dubai World and Vietnamese state-owned Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company (IPC) involve Dubai World subsidiaries DP World, Jafza International and Limitless in the development of a huge harbour city and port project known as Hiep Phuoc Harbour City.IPC is already a partner in a joint venture with DP World to develop the $230 million Saig

  • Dubai World to develop maritime hub in Malaysia

    Dubai World has signed an agreement with Malaysia's MMC Corporation to develop a $4,600 million maritime hub in Malaysia.Located in South Johor, the 9,125 square metre masterplan comprises oil terminal activities, drydocks, a shipyard and cargo handling facilities.An estimated $2,600 million will be invested in the petroleum and maritime industrial zone, and an estimated $2,000 million will be invested in the port, dry docks, shipyard and associated real est

  • Dutco to build Binary towers

    The local/UK Dutco Balfour Beatty has been awarded the estimated AED 550 million ($ 150 million) main construction contract for the Binary towers project at Business Bay.The project involves the construction of 21 and 25-storey commercial towers sitting on top of a common four-level podium. It will also have a beach deck on the podium roof as a place for office workers to relax.The local Dubarch is the consultant. The local Hamilton is the project manager. T

  • Earnings fail to keep pace with spending

    Jordanian families spend 20 per cent more than they earn, according to a survey of 13,000 households by the kingdom's Department of Statistics.The average family spent JD 7,550 ($10,655) during 2006, but only earned JD 6,220 ($8,778).According to the department, families financed the extra JD 1,330 ($1,877) with bank loans, remittances from relatives working abroad, and proceeds from the sale of property.Average spending was 21.7 per cent high

  • EASTERN PROVINCE: Backbone of growth

    For a long time, the Eastern Province has felt that its importance to the country's economy has not been reflected in investment in the region. 'We are the heart of Saudi industry but there has historically been this feeling we have been taken for granted,' says a local businessman. Another contractor reinforces this feeling. 'For too long we have felt marginalised despite the wealth we produce,' the Jubail-based contractor tells MEED.

  • ECONOMY: Expanding horizons

    The story of Qatar in the 21st century, has been one of unprecedented growth. Underpinned by high energy prices and massive gas reserves, the country has enjoyed spectacular double-digit growth since 2003 and is well set to continue doing so for some time to come.

  • ECONOMY: How Jeddah lost its crown to Riyadh

    'Once you move the administrative operations of the state, you naturally move the financial means to distribute capital - Riyadh is now the financial and distributive capital of Saudi Arabia,' says John Sfakianakis, chief economist of Sabb, describing the changing fortunes of the capital.The flow of cash to Riyadh from the current boom is in sharp contrast to the 1970s when Jeddah - hitherto the country's financial capital - serviced the country's petro-dollars. Riyadh has wrested the cr

  • Egas signs for exploration

    Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) has signed three new gas exploration deals. Italy's Edison, Chile's Sipetrol and Thailand's PTT will explore a 4,294-square-kilometre area offshore of Sidi Abdel Rahman. A deal with Sipterol, PTT and the UK's Centrica covers 6,184 square kilometres in the Rumana area of north Sinai. The third deal gives the local Tharwa Petroleum a 2,281-square-kilometre area offshore of El-Arish.

  • Egypt and Iran hold rare high-level talks

    Cairo and Tehran took a step towards the restoration of full diplomatic relations with a meeting in the Egyptian capital on 18 September.The talks, involving Iran's deputy foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and officials at the Egyptian foreign ministry, constituted a rare senior-level meeting of the two states since relations broke down following the Iranian revolution of 1979.'The purpose of the talks is to upgrade the existing diplomatic ties to the le

  • Egypt in talks with Libya

    Companies in Libya and Egypt are in talks to set up a project company to construct power plants. It will be formed by General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol), Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC), the Egyptian German Electrical Manufacturing Company (Egemac) and Egypt's General Company for Electrical Projects (Eleject).

  • EGYPT: Getting wired for growth

    Smart Village lies west of Cairo covering 3 million square metres. It is Egypt's first technology park and will be home to up to 36,000 employees once complete. It aims to attract local and global telecoms and IT companies.

  • Egyptian newspapers to stage protest

    In protest against Cairo’s encroachment on press freedom, 15 private and opposition newspapers will not publish on 7 October. A statement from the publications’ editors said they were protesting ‘against the fierce campaign against the free press in Egypt’.Seven journalists have recently been imprisoned, among them Ibrahim Issa, editor of the Al-Dustour newspaper.In August, the newspaper published several articles claiming President Mubarak was dead or seriously ill. Eissa was due to stand tr

  • Eight blamed for contaminated supply

    Eight senior civil servants have been blamed for a water-poisoning that afflicted more than 1,000 people with diarrhoea and fever in the northern Jordanian province of Mafraq earlier this year.A report by a government-commissioned group of health experts found the eight were responsible for the water contamination.Jordan's cabinet approved the report on 18 September and recommended that disciplinary procedures be started against all eight.The

  • Eight blamed for contaminated supply

    Eight senior civil servants have been blamed for a water-poisoning that afflicted more than 1,000 people with diarrhoea and fever in the northern Jordanian province of Mafraq earlier this year.A report by a government-commissioned group of health experts found the eight were responsible for the water contamination.Jordan's cabinet approved the report on 18 September and recommended that disciplinary procedures be started against all eight.

  • Electricity company privitised

    The Jordanian government has sold a majority stake in the Central Electricity Generating Company (Cegco) to an group of international investors.Energy Arabia (Enara), which is based in Amman, has paid $320 million for the stake. Enara is a joint venture of Amman-based JD Capital, through its subsidiary JD Energy, Malaysia's Malakoff Berhad and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company.Cegco runs five major power plants in the country a

  • Electricity company privitised

    The Jordanian government has sold a majority stake in the Central Electricity Generating Company (Cegco) to an group of international investors.Energy Arabia (Enara), which is based in Amman, has paid $320 million for the stake. Enara is a joint venture of Amman-based JD Capital, through its subsidiary JD Energy, Malaysia's Malakoff Berhad and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company.Cegco runs five major power plants in the country and se

  • Emaar pays court deposit

    The local Jadawel International and the UAE's Emaar Properties have paid $12 million deposits to a local court as a long-running legal battle between the former joint venture partners' moves to arbitration. The firms paid 1 per cent of the $1,200 million being sought by Jadawel from Emaar. The Saudi firm alleges that Emaar failed to start projects through their Emaar Saudi Arabia joint venture. The dispute dates back to December 2004 (MEED 17:6:05).

  • Emaar to sell shares in Indian joint venture

    Emaar MGF, a joint venture of Dubai's Emaar Properties and India's MGF Developments is to offer 117 million shares, or 10 per cent of its capital, in an initial public offering in India. The offering could raise more than $1,000 million. It will go ahead once the company has obtained regulatory approval, which is expected to take four to six weeksA prospectus was filed with the Securities & Exchange Board of India on 26 September.The company d

  • Emcan to go public

    Local construction company Emcan is to stage an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in early 2009,a rare move in the Bahrain market. The issue will triple the company's capital to BD 15 million ($40 million). There has only been one IPO in Bahrain so far in 2007, when Seef Properties sold $75 million of shares in May. There are less than 55 companies listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange and a number are dual listings.

  • Emerging from the storm

    When US President Bush announced in mid-September that the US military 'surge' would end by the middle of 2008, he attempted to put a positive gloss on US attempts to rebuild the country's devastated economy, including a claim that job creation was on the rise in the previously hostile Anbar province, in the west of the country. 'These developments do not often make the headlines, but they do make a difference,' he said.

  • Emerging from the storm

    When US President Bush announced in mid-September that the US military ‘surge’ would end by the middle of 2008, he attempted to put a positive gloss on US attempts to rebuild the country’s devastated economy, including a claim that job creation was on the rise in the previously hostile Anbar province, in the west of the country. ‘These developments do not often make the headlines, but they do make a difference,’ he said.

  • Emicool invests in Dubai plants

    The local Emirates District Cooling Company (Emicool) plans to build two new cooling plants at Dubai Investments Park. The plants will supply up to 125,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) for five mixed-used projects in the park.

  • Emirate approves merger

    The merger of Emirates Bank International and National Bank of Dubai (NBD) has been accepted by shareholders of both banks at the close of the initial offer period on 18 September. More than 96 per cent of Emirates Bank shareholders and 90 per cent of NBD shareholders agreed to the deal, well above the 51 per cent required. Shares in the merged entity, Emirates NBD, will begin trading on the Dubai Financial Market on 14 October.

  • Emirates denies it could bid for international carriers

    Emirates Airlines is dismissing speculation that the company might acquire a stake in either the low-cost Australian carrier Virgin Blue or the Italian airline Alitalia.The Dubai-based carrier has been linked in the Australian and Italian press to bids for shares in both airlines. However, the company says it intends to focus on its expanding fleet and network rather than look at foreign acquisitions.The Australian logistics group, Toll Holdin

  • Emirates sponsors AC Milan

    Emirates has announced a three-year sponsorship deal with Italian football club AC Milan.The Dubai-based airline has added the UEFA Champions League holders to its list of football sponsorships, joining the French team Paris Saint Germain, Germany's Hamburger SV and English club Arsenal.No financial details of the deal have been disclosed.'It is very exciting for Emirates to partner the current champions of Europe,' said Ghaith al-Ghaith, a se

  • Etihad agrees football sponsorship deal

    Etihad Airways has agreed a three-year deal to be sponsor and official airline of Premier League football club Chelsea. The Abu Dhabi-based airline announced the 'seven figure' deal in a presentation at Chelsea's training ground in London, attended by James Hogan, chief executive officer of Etihad, Peter Kenyon, chief executive officer of Chelsea and José Mourinho manager of Chelsea.Etihad had signalled it was seeking to sponsor a high-profile European

  • Etisalat considers Pakistan

    Etisalat will decide whether to buy a controlling stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) by the end of 2008, according to chief executive officer Mohammad Hassan Omran. The Middle East's third largest telecoms company has been given first refusal on a 25 per cent stake, which would take its total shareholding in the state-run operator to 51 per cent. Etisalat paid $2,590 million for its 26 per cent stake in PTCL in 2005.

  • Etisalat faces competition

    UAE giant Etisalat faces competition from one of its own partners when bidding starts for the second fixed-line licence in Egypt early in 2008. Egypt Post, which owns 20 per cent of Etisalat's Egyptian mobile phone operation, confirmed that it wanted to bid for the licence. The winner will start operations in 2009.

  • Etisalat wins network contract

    Etisalat has won a contract to provide fixed-line networks to four major new developments in Abu Dhabi emirate.

  • EU bans Mahan Air

    The European Commission has banned Iranian carrier Mahan Air from flying to EU countries, citing safety concerns. The commission says its decision is a response to recent safety alerts from member states. It follows the UK's decision in August to ban Mahan, which lacks collision-avoidance systems on several of its aircraft. Mahan says it is due to install the systems in October.

  • Exchanging futures

    The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) that launched trading in early June has set itself the ambitious task of establishing a benchmark Middle East sour crude futures contract. As a new exchange in a region where commodities futures trading is itself a new phenomenon, it is taking a risk. This type of contract has failed before.

  • Exchanging futures

    The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) that launched trading in early June has set itself the ambitious task of establishing a benchmark Middle East sour crude futures contract. As a new exchange in a region where commodities futures trading is itself a new phenomenon, it is taking a risk. This type of contract has failed before.

  • Explosion forces cut in gas output

    Jubail-based National Industrial Gases Company, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), is understood to have been forced to reduce output after an explosion at one its five gas production trains.The incident is believed to have disrupted supplies of oxygen gas feedstock to Eastern Petrochemical Company (Sharq) and Jubail United Petrochemical Company. It also affected the production of ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide.Sabic declined to confirm or deny the in

  • Fines for illegal workers

    Dubai's Labour Ministry will impose a new system of penalties on companies hiring illegal workers from 1 October. The new penalties are split into seven categories and range from suspending deals the firm has with the ministry, to closing down the company in the case of repeat offenders. The ministry said businesses will have a two week grace period until October to legalise the status of their workers before being eligible for fines.

  • Firms chase Seeb plant

    Oman Wastewater Services Company is evaluating proposals from three consortiums for the contract to build an 82,000-cubic-metre-a-day sewage treatment plant at Seeb, near Muscat. The bidders are Japan's Hitachi Zosen with the local Galfar Engineering & Contracting; Turkey's Guris with Germany's Passavant Roediger and the local Bahwan Engineering Company; and South Korea's Rotem. The US' Parsons International is the consultant (MEED 24:8:07).

  • Firms line up for channel

    Four companies have submitted bids to dredge the channel at Ras Ghanada in Abu Dhabi. The bidders are Royal Boskalis Wesminster and Van Oord, both of the Netherlands, and Dredging International and Jan De Nul, both of Belgium. The contract involves about 100 million cubic metres of dredging. The UK's Halcrow is the consultant and the Department of Presidential Affairs is the client.

  • Firms reach final of mobile licence auction

    All seven competitors for Qatar's second mobile phone licence should pass the regulator's technical test and proceed to the final round, says an industry expert.

  • First Abu Qir tender nears

    West Delta Electricity Production Company is to issue the first tenders for the extension of the Abu Qir power plant. The contract for the installation of two 650-MW steam turbines will be tendered by November. This will be followed a month later by a tender for the boiler package. The local/US Power Generation Engineering & Services Company is the consultant on the project. (MEED 8:6:07).

  • First Gulf enters Libya

    The UAE's First Gulf Bank will partner with Libya's Economic & Social Development Fund to establish Gulf-Libyan Bank, as part of Tripoli's attempts to reform the country's banking system. Gulf-Libyan Bank will be managed by First Gulf, but ownership will be shared equally with the fund, with paid-up capital of $200 million. First Gulf expects strong growth in the banking sector over the next five years.

  • First oil find in upper Egypt

    The Petroleum Ministry has announced the first oil discovery ever to be made in upper Egypt in the Baraka field, 80 kilometres from Aswan and 25 kilometres from Kom Ombo. The discovery was made by Canada's Centurion Energy, a subsidiary of the UAE's Dana Gas. Preliminary estimates indicated the field could hold 8 million barrels of crude oil. A total of $30 million will be invested in the first stage of the development of the field. 'The only problem now is

  • Five bid for quay package

    The Works & Housing Ministry has received bids from five companies for a quay wall package at North Bahrain New Town. The low bidder is the local Ahmed Mansoor al-Aali (AMA) with options from BD 11.8 million ($31 million) to BD 17.7 million ($47 million). Second is the local Nass Contracting, with options of BD 12 million ($31 million) and BD 12.7 million ($34 million).

  • Flare bids low for Lower Fars pilot scheme

    The local Flare Petroleum Services is low bidder for the Lower Fars pilot project to produce the state's first heavy oil with sands. The project involves testing the potential of removing sand and other solids from heavy oil deposits in the northern Ratqa field.

  • Foreign direct investment in tourism exceeds $7bn

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Egypt's tourism industry exceeded $7,000 million in the year to the end of June, a rise of almost 17 per cent on the previous year.

  • Foreign firms get go-ahead to bid for mobile licence

    Foreign telecoms operators will be allowed to bid for Kuwait's third mobile phone licence, according to the committee running the auction, ending fears that they would be barred from taking part.In August, Jamal al-Jarwan, Etisalat's head of international investments, said he was unsure whether foreign operators would be allowed to bid for the licence, in the wake of rule changes by the government (MEED 31:8:07).However, Fuad al-Hajri, the organiser of the establishing committee

  • Foreign investment soars

    Foreign direct investment in the country's contact centres reached TD 146.6 million ($116.8 million) during the first eight months of 2007, up from TD 26.1 million ($20.8 million) for the same period in 2006. Foreign investors have set up 40 contact centres in Tunisia, employing 5,000 people. French companies are among the most common, including Alcatel and USDI. Germany's Siemens has also set up a contact centre.

  • Fosters takes Mesaieed deal

    The US' Foster Wheeler has won the joint project management consultancy and front-end engineering and design contract on the Mesaieed petrochemicals complex planned by South Korea's Honam Petrochemical Corporation and Qatar Intermediate Holdings Company.Foster Wheeler beat competition from Italy's Snamprogetti and Fluor Corporation to win the work, which covers the majority of process units at the complex (MEED 17:8:07).The project will comprise an ethane and naphtha cracker with

  • Four bid for Osos chemicals plant

    The local Osos Petrochemicals Company has received four technical bids for the main package on its planned polybutylene terepthalate (PBT) complex in Yanbu, on the Red Sea.The international contractors who submitted proposals are GS Engineering & Construction, Hanwha Engineering & Construction and Samsung Engineering, all of South Korea, and Oslo-based Aker Kvaerner with China's Sinopec. Commercial offers are due on 5 October (MEED 10:8:07).The engineering, procurement and constr

  • Four compete for Jeddah Islamic Port expansion

    Four companies are lining up bids to build the new container terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, in the west of the country.

  • Four contractors vie for main package at El-Merk

    The race for the main package to develop crude processing facilities on the El-Merk field is down to four competitors following the prequalification round. The lump-sum turnkey contract is estimated to be worth at least $2,000 million.

  • Franklin buys into UAE

    Global asset management firm Franklin Templeton has bought a 25 per cent stake in Dubai's Algebra Capital, as part of an initiative to expand both firms in the region. Franklin Templeton says it hopes to capitalise on the emerging middle class in the region demanding more sophisticated investment products than those currently available. It says it expects the market for professionally managed funds to triple in size to more than $200,000 million in the next five years.

  • Fund issues tenders for North-South Railway

    The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is overseeing construction of the North-South Railway project, is preparing to issue several tenders for the 2,400-kilometre minerals railway in the coming weeks.

  • Galfar to start highway

    The local Galfar Engineering & Contracting is preparing to start work on the RO 68 million ($178 million) Hasik-Shuwaymiyah highway along the southern coast of the sultanate. The 94-kilometre-long road runs along the south-east coast of the sultanate and will be completed in four years. It will provide an alternative route between Muscat and Salalah. Renardet Ingenieurs Conseils of France is the consultant. The Transport & Communications Ministry is the client (MEED 26:3:04).

  • Gassi Touil contractors seek assurances

    International firms are unsure whether to proceed with bids for the main downstream construction package on the Gassi Touil integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project (MEED 7:9:07).

  • Gaz de France denies Gassi Touil deal

    Gaz de France has denied reports that it will replace the Spanish consortium of Repsol and Gas Natural on the Gassi Touil scheme. The estimated Eur 5,000 million ($6,800 million) project will develop the country's first integrated liquefied natural gas project, in partnership with Algeria's state energy company Sonatrach.'There is no proposal for Gaz de France to develop Gassi Touil,' said a Gaz de France spokesperson. 'Sonatrach has not yet expressed its intentions whethe

  • Gaza is hostile entity, says Israel

    Israel's security cabinet has classified the Gaza Strip as a 'hostile entity,' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said on 19 September. The move is a response to continuing rocket attacks on Israeli territory by Palestinian militants.'Additional restrictions will be imposed on the Hamas regime, limiting the transfer of goods to the Gaza Strip, cutting back fuel and electricity, and restricting the movement of people to and from the Strip,' the statement from Olmert's offi

  • Ghanem puts oil round on hold

    Libya has delayed its planned enhanced oil recovery round until 2008.

  • GLOBAL NETWORKS: Consolidation trend grows

    Between them, Doha and Dubai will hold a 51 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with Qatar holding 23 per cent and Dubai 28 per cent.

  • Government extends sales of cut-price food

    Jordan's government is increasing the range of food it sells as part of its attempt to reduce food prices during Ramadan.The Civil Service Consumer Corporation, a government agency, generated record food sales of JD 7 million ($9.9 million) during September.The corporation started selling Syrian meat to consumers on 27 September, ending import restrictions on mutton and lamb from its neighbour.King Abdullah told government ministers to find wa

  • Governor calls for banks to stop charging interest

    The new governor of Iran's central bank has said that banks in the country should stop charging interest and move to an entirely fee-based system more in line with Islamic principles.The comments echo those of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who recently called for structural reforms to establish a new banking system.'Interest-free banking is a very advanced and unique system which is based on Islamic principles,' Ahmadinejad said.Tahmasb Mazah

  • Group to double capital

    Saudi Industrial Investment Group will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in early January to approve doubling its capital to SR 4,500 million ($1,200 million). The new capital will be raised through a rights issue to existing shareholders at SR 10 ($2.7) a share. It will help fund its SR 2,800 million stake ($747 million) in project company Petrochem.

  • Gulf feels the crunch

    The knock-on effects of loose lending to those at the bottom of America's income spectrum are spreading across the world. Stock markets in New York and London have tumbled, international banks have lost millions of dollars, and oil prices have surged to new highs. Most Middle East businesses had assumed the crisis would bypass the region. However, project finance borrowers are discovering otherwise.

  • Gulf feels the crunch

    The knock-on effects of loose lending to those at the bottom of America's income spectrum are spreading across the world. Stock markets in New York and London have tumbled, international banks have lost millions of dollars, and oil prices have surged to new highs. Most Middle East businesses had assumed the crisis would bypass the region. However, project finance borrowers are discovering otherwise.

  • Gulf group to invest $1.4bn in Malaysia

    A consortium led by Gulf Petroleum of Qatar is to invest $1,400 million in Malaysian oil and gas, property and Islamic banking assets.Gulf Petroleum president Abdul Aziz Hamad al-Delaimi is in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to assess what investment opportunities are available. He said the consortium was also evaluating the possibility of building an oil refinery in Malaysia to refine crude oil from the Middle East.Delaimi says: 'We have come to evaluate and

  • Gulf International Bank sets up Saudi brokerage

    Gulf International Bank (GIB) has been licensed by Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority to establish a securities company in the kingdom. The new company, GIB Financial Services, will offer brokerage and corporate finance advisory services, as well as fund management and underwriting services.GIB established merchant banking operations in Saudi Arabia in 2000 and has branches in Riyadh and Jeddah. It reported profits for the first half of the year of $150

  • Gulf launches rail study

    The GCC railway project will take a significant step forward on 17 September with the launch of a feasibility study into the construction of the international rail network.

  • GULF PROJECTS MARKET: Defying the doubters

    Observers of the global economy may be forgiven for thinking that market jitters about the global credit crunch mean a slowdown is in sight for the GCC projects market. Indeed, in the past few weeks there have been signs of a slowdown.

  • Gulf states track US rate cut

    GCC states have been quick to respond to a cut in US interest rates on 18 September, with Kuwait and the UAE cutting rates the following day.

  • Gulf takes two deals

    The local Gulf Petrochemicals Services & Training has won two contracts. The first, worth more than $100 million, covers the interconnecting pipelines system for the local Occidental Mukhaizna on its enhanced oil recovery project (MEED 15:9:06). The second, worth OR 27.2 million ($70 million), is to build gas compressor stations at Buraimi in the north and Fahud in the south for Oman Gas Company.

  • Halliburton wins field deal

    The US' Halliburton has won a contract, worth KD 17.3 million ($61.8 million) to provide oil field services to Kuwait Oil Company. Under the five-year contract, Halliburton will provide the state upstream operator with measurement services for use during the drilling process. In the last 18 months, Halliburton has won more than $200 million of work in the state's upstream sector (MEED 23:3:07).

  • HEAVY OIL: A heavy price to pay

    The prognosis emerging from the Houston offices of the US' ConocoPhillips in early September was grave. After completing half the engineering work, initial estimates from the US' KBR showed the cost of the project to build a grassroots export refinery at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast would exceed even the highest estimates Conoco and its partner Saudi Aramco first predicted when they signed the development agreement in 2006.

  • Hill to manage mall

    US-based Hill International has been appointed to provide construction management services on the estimated AED 3,000 million ($817 million) Mall of Arabia project at City of Arabia in Dubailand. The firm had been providing project management services for the development, but will now also manage the construction of the mall. The client, the local I&M Galadari Group, originally intended to award the mall as a single main construction contract (MEED 17:8:07).

  • Hill to manage towers

    Sharjah-based developer Tameer Holding has appointed US-based Hill International as the project manager for its Tameer Towers development on Reem island in Abu Dhabi. The AED 6,000 million ($1,635 million) project involves the construction of six towers in Shams Abu Dhabi.

  • Hotel stock split rejected

    The Capital Market Authority has denied Pyramisa Hotels & Casinos permission to split its shares. The company's board of directors agreed on 2 September to divide its existing shares from a par value of£E 20 ($3.50) to£E 2 ($0.35). The shares were trading on Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges at£E 49 ($8.60) on 10 September.

  • Hyundai wins pier package

    South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company has won an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth KD 3.9 million ($14 million) to build four mooring points at berths 1 and 2 at the new oil export pier at the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery. The client is Kuwait National Petroleum Company.

  • IMF backs economic performance of Cairo

    The IMF has praised impressive growth in the Egyptian economy over the past year, in the preliminary conclusions of its latest Article IV consultation. Real GDP growth is estimated at 7.1 per cent and the growth of the non-oil economy has also accelerated, creating 2.4 million jobs between the end of 2004 and March 2007. High levels of foreign direct investment drove the balance of payments to a surplus of $5,300 million in 2006/07, bringing official reserve

  • Independent state

    Doha stands out in the region as both a refuge for dissidents and as a regional builder of bridges between friend and foe. Where else might you find US airforce commanders, Chechen rebel leaders, Israeli foreign ministers and Hamas leaders cheek by jowl?

  • Inflation hits new high

    Inflation in the kingdom is expected to climb to 4 per cent in 2008, its highest level in more than 10 years, according to Sabb. The bank forecasts that inflation will reach 3.6 per cent by the end of 2007, driven by increasing food and rent costs. GDP growth will accelerate to 5.8 per cent in 2008, up from 3.7 per cent in 2007.

  • Inflation still running high

    Cairo has failed to hits its inflation target of 7 per cent, with the consumer price index rising 8.5 per cent in the year to August.In July, Central Bank governor Farouk el-Okdah said that he expected inflation to fall to 7 per cent by August, but external factors have continued to boost prices in the country.Price shocks including a 40 per cent cut in fuel subsidies in the summer of 2006, and an outbreak of avian flu in February this year which affected po

  • Internationals to bid for Al-Zour

    Four international groups are expected to bid for the contract to develop the Ras al-Zour independent water and power project (IWPP).Prospective groups include the local Acwa Power Projects with Germany's Siemens and South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction; the local Arabian Bemco Contracting with Hong Kong Electric International and Italy's Fisia Italimpianti; Japan's Sumitomo Corporation with Malaysia's Malakoff International; and Belgium's Suez Energy International with J

  • Introduction - Zain versus Etisalat

    A series of parties were held across the region in September to celebrate the relaunch of Kuwait-based mobile phone operator MTC as Zain. In Sudan, the celebrations were happy and raucous. The live satellite link from Kuwait showed regimented groups of dignatories in their dishdashes staring impassively at a stage. The Jordanian party was more relaxed while the Bahrainis were entertained by a fireworks display. If the relaunch of the telecoms operator was intended to show how far the company

  • Investors swamp Galfar offering

    The initial public offering of shares in Galfar Engineering & Contracting closed on 10 September more than 14 times oversubscribed.

  • Ipic buys Cosmo stake

    International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic), an arm of the Abu Dhabi government, has bought 20 per cent of Japanese oil firm Cosmo Oil Company. The two parties will evaluate future investment opportunities, including the upgrade of Cosmo's refinery network and the expansion of oil sales in the Asia-Pacific region.

  • Islamic bank raises funds

    Locally-listed Bahrain Islamic Bank will raise $225 million by the end of September through a rights issue to help raise funds for its expansion throughout the GCC. The bank says part of its regional expansion strategy will be to apply to every GCC country for a banking licence. Currently the bank is only present in Bahrain. Sico Investment Bank will manage the rights issue, which begins in mid-September.

  • Islamists ruled out of government coalition

    A leading member of the conservative Independence Party, which won the most seats in parliamentary elections on 7 September, has declared that he will not form a coalition with the moderate Islamist Justice & Development Party (PJD).The party's secretary general Abbas El-Fassi said on 10 September that the party is most likely to team up with its current coalition partner, the Socialist Union for Popular Forces, which won 38 seats, the centre-right Popular Movement, which

  • Israel to continue with military response to Gaza rockets

    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed to continue with a military response to rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. However he has resisted calls to cut off electricity, water and fuel supplies to Gaza in the wake of recent attacks.At a meeting of the security cabinet on 5 September, involving senior ministers and defence officials, Tel Aviv decided against any wider military response.'The cabinet decided that it will continue its intense military actio

  • Israeli court forces government to re-route fence

    The Israeli Supreme Court said on 4 September that it will force the government to re-route its security barrier around the West Bank near the Palestinian village of Bilin.In a move likely to embarrass the government, the court accepted claims by citizens of Bilin, that the barrier's present route denied them access to 50 per cent of their farmland. Bilin has been a focal point of demonstrations against Israel's controversial barrier, with weekly protests held outside the

  • Israeli soldiers hit by Gaza rocket

    At least 69 Israeli soldiers were injured, four seriously, when their base was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. It is the highest number of casualties suffered by Israel in a single rocket attack from Gaza.The soldiers were sleeping at their training camp in Zikkim, when the Qassam rocket hit their equipment store at about 1.30 am local time. The troops were hit by flying shrapnel.A spokesman for the Islamist group, Hamas, hailed the strike as 'a v

  • Istiqlal leader appointed prime minister

    King Mohammed VI has appointed Abbas el-Fassi as the country's prime minister.The veteran politician was named as the government's new leader on 19 September, following legislative elections on 7 September.El-Fassi is leader of the conservative Istiqlal party, which was returned as the largest single party with 52 seats in the 325-seat lower house. He was minister of state without portfolio in the previous administration.A turn-out of just 37

  • Istithmar joins with Israelis on Singapore development

    Dubai's Istithmar is teaming up with Israel's Elad Group to develop a mixed-use development in Singapore.The two companies, together with Singapore's City Developments, submitted a winning bid of AED 4,100 million ($1,117 million). The investors will build a hotel and commercial complex on a 335,000 square metre-site, close to the landmark Raffles Hotel.CapitaLand and Keppel Land, both of Singapore, and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Holdings were am

  • Istithmar plans Zanzibar resort

    Dubai-based Istithmar is to develop a $150 million luxury resort in Zanzibar, the island which forms part of Tanzania, after signing an agreement with the government.The 76-hectare site at Muyuni Beach will contain a 50-room residence and spa retreat, and a 150-room hotel. Both developments will be operated by major international luxury hotel brands. Work on the project will start immediately, with completion targeted for 2009.Earlier this month Istithmar fo

  • Ithmar buys into Kuwait construction company

    Dubai-based private equity firm Ithmar Capital has made a AED 355 million ($96.6 million) investment in Kuwaiti construction company Mushrif Trading & Contracting. The investment was made through the acquisition of 30 million new shares issued by the company by Ithmar's affiliate Gulf Consortium 2. The deal should help the Kuwaiti company expand in the UAE. It already has projects in the UAE, as well as in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Ithma

  • Japan finances dry dock

    Oman has agreed a $660 million finance package with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to fund the construction of a port and dry dock at Duqm. The agreement was signed in Muscat on 22 September between Omani government officials and senior executives from the bank. Oman must begin to repay the 14-year loan in three-and-a-half-years' time, with subsequent payments at six-monthly intervals. In total, the port project is expected to cost $1,100 million.

  • Jazeera Airways doubles network

    Jazeera Airways is to double the number of its destinations by 2010.The Kuwait-based low-cost carrier unveiled three new destinations on 11 September, adding Riyadh, Jeddah and the Maldives to its present network, which now stands at 23 cities. With 40 new aircraft on order in the future, the company is targeting new routes to Europe, where its sole destination at present is Larnaca, and greater frequency of flights to India. New routes are also planned to t

  • Jazeera Airways plans to double capital to $71m

    Budget carrier Jazeera Airways plans to double its capital to KD 20 million ($71 million) in October.

  • Jeddah: Beating heart of commerce

    For more than 1,000 years, the economy of what is now western Saudi Arabia has been fuelled by pilgrims pouring in from every corner of the Islamic world to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina. The result is that today Jeddah is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Saudi Arabia, primarily because of pilgrims settling and becoming citizens, bringing with them different interpretations of Islam.

  • Jordan Post to stock Umniah

    Umniah, Jordan's third mobile phone operator, has agreed with Jordan Post for its phones to be sold in post offices across the kingdom.The public-private partnership with Jordan Post is an unusual move for a mobile phone operator. The majority of phones in the region are sold through specialist independent retailers such as the UAE's Axiom Telecom. Operator-branded shops account for fewer sales, but are used to support the brand.Jordan Post will initially sell Umniah's phones at

  • Journalist on trial over Mubarak health stories

    Ibrahim Issa, editor of the independent Al-Dustour newspaper will stand trial on charges of disturbing the peace and harming national economic interests after he published articles speculating about President Mubarak's health. If he is convicted, he could serve up to three years in prison. In August, the newspaper published several stories claiming the 79-year-old president was gravely ill or dead. The government did not respond to the rumours for weeks afte

  • Journalists spared threat of jail

    Journalists working in the UAE can no longer be jailed for libel or other issues related to their work, following a vice-presidential decree.Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, vice-president and Prime Minister of the country, issued the directive following the high-profile imprisonment of a reporter and his editor for libel on 23 September.The men had been found guilty of libelling an Iranian woman, apparently by printing her name in relation to a divorc

  • Kaupthing wins licence

    Iceland's Kaupthing Bank has been granted a licence by Dubai Financial Services Authority to operate in the Dubai International Financial Centre. It is the first Nordic bank to be given a branch licence. It will focus on investment banking and wealth management services, targeting companies, high-net worth individuals and institutional investors. Kaupthing is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Iceland and Stockholm.

  • Kema wins consultancy

    Kema of the Netherlands has been appointed as technical adviser on the Ras Laffan C independent water and power project. The firm will advise Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) on the plant, which will have capacity of 2,600 MW and 55 million gallons a day. Three groups are competing for the contract to develop the project, with an award due by the end of the year (MEED 9:2:07).

  • KEO prepares masterplan

    The Dubai office of KEO International Consultants has been appointed to prepare the masterplan for a $450 million development planned by the local First Bahrain Real Estate Development Company. The 21,000 square metre Seef District development will be located opposite Bahrain City Centre shopping mall and will include a four-star hotel, serviced apartments, office and residential towers.

  • Keppel scoops $1.5bn wastewater deal

    Singapore-based Keppel Corporation has been awarded a $1,500 million design-build-operate contract to build the largest wastewater treatment plant and water reuse facility in the state.The Doha North complex will have 439,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of wastewater treatment capacity. The contract covers the 30-month design and construction and the 10-year operation and maintenance of the plant, which should be up and running by 2010. The new plant will serv

  • Keppel scoops $1.5bn wastewater deal

    Singapore-based Keppel Corporation has been awarded a $1,500 million design-build-operate contract to build the largest wastewater treatment plant and water reuse facility in the state.The Doha North complex will have 439,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of wastewater treatment capacity. The contract covers the 30-month design and construction and the 10-year operation and maintenance of the plant, which should be up and running by 2010. The new plant will

  • Keppel to develop Jeddah Corniche

    Singapore's ~Keppel Land~ has launched a $501 million waterfront development in Jeddah in a joint venture with the local ~Saudi Economic & Development Company~ (Sedco). The 3.6 hectare development will comprise three towers containing around 1,000 residential apartments.Keppel Land will hold a 51 per cent share in the new joint venture, and Sedco the remaining 49 per cent. Appartments in the development will go on sale in 2008.

  • Khalifa briefed on Abu Dhabi masterplan

    President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan has been briefed by the chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Khaldoun Khalifa Mubarak, on the 22-year masterplan for Abu Dhabi.Khalifa's expected approval for the Abu Dhabi 2030 scheme will pave the way for the official release of the masterplan and the formation of a new planning authority for the emirate. The plan is for a city of three million and includes a number of new civic centres, housing projects and infrastruc

  • Khatib to design tower

    Sharjah-based Tameer Holding has appointed Lebanon's Khatib & Alami to provide architectural and engineering design services on its Platinum Tower project at Dubai's Business Bay. The project involves the construction of two 29-storey, adjacent towers, one residential and one commercial.

  • King reshuffles cabinet

    King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has reshuffled the cabinet, with two new appointments for the health and information portfolios.Health Minister Nada Haffadh has been replaced by Faisal al-Hamr, a former dean of the Health Sciences College. Haffadh revealed in early September that she had tendered her resignation earlier in the year when a parliamentary commission began to investigate the work of the health ministry.A new information minister has

  • Kingdom becomes Gulf's top overseas investor

    Overseas investment from Saudi Arabia has eclipsed investment activity from other GCC states this year despite some headline-grabbing deals by its neighbours.

  • Kingdom plans national grid

    Riyadh is developing plans to build an electricity grid linking the west, north and central regions of the country. Studies are also under way to connect the electricity grid with Yemen and Egypt.

  • Kurds claim oil deals are still valid

    The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) says oil and gas deals it signed this year are still valid, rejecting Baghdad's claim that the deals breach the country's petroleum law.Although Baghdad tentatively agreed a draft law in February, political wrangles have slowed its progress through the parliament. The KRG approved its own oil law in August.Earlier this month it signed a production-sharing contract with the US' Hunt Oil Company and with Impulse Energy C

  • Kurds face power hikes

    The Kurdistan Regional Government is to increase its power tariff in an attempt to reduce demand, which is expected to rise 13 per cent a year for the next three years to 2,164 MW. The present tariff is US 0.4 cents per kWh. Electricity Minister Hoshyar Siwaly says: 'We plan to increase the tariff by 150 per cent to US 1 cent in the coming years.' The ministry also plans to upgrade the transmission and distribution network by building 27 substations.

  • Kuwait ponders partner on Chinese refinery

    Kuwait is looking to replace the UK/Dutch Shell Group with its rival BP in a project to build a $5,000 million oil refinery in China, according to state news agency Kuna.In 2005, Kuwait Petroleum International along with another Kuwaiti firm, Petrochemical Industries Company, signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing to develop a refinery and integrated petrochemicals complex in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.Kuwait is now in talks on the

  • Labour shortage hits contractors

    Contractors across the federation are struggling to meet project deadlines because of the knock-on effects of the recent clampdown on illegal immigrants.

  • Larsen bids lowest for clean fuels contract

    India's Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is low bidder at KD 170.5 million ($609 million) for a contract to supply reactors to Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) as part of its multi-billion-dollar refinery upgrade.

  • Law boosts local listings

    The federal government has lowered the minimum percentage of shares that must be issued for initial public offerings (IPOs) to 30 per cent from 55 per cent. The new law, issued by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, amends the 1982 federal law on commercial companies and is expected to encourage local family-controlled companies to launch IPOs as they will now be able to retain a controlling stake.

  • Leading cleric holds talks with vice-president

    Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most senior Shia cleric in Iraq, has been in talks with the Sunni vice-president, Tariq al-Hashemi in a bid to end sectarian violence.The Ayatollah is widely respected and has great influence within the Shia community, He spoke of his 'pain' at the violence in Iraq, according to Al-Hashemi.'I found he cares very much for Iraq and all Iraqis. From now on I will inform him about everything happening in my office,' the vice-p

  • Lebanon hails victory in camp siege

    The Lebanese government has claimed victory at the end of its 100-day siege over militants in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp.The Lebanese army over-ran the camp on 2 September and is now engaged in hunting members of the Fatah al-Islam militant Palestinian group who have escaped during the siege. Fighting in the camp has been going on since May, with more than 300 killed and about 40,000 Palestinian refugees forced to flee.The leader of Fatah al-Islam, Shake

  • Leighton buys 45 per cent of Al-Habtoor

    Australia's Leighton Holdings is acquiring a 45 per cent stake in Dubai-based Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises for $870 million. The Australian contractor will also merge its operations in the Gulf with Al-Habtoor.Thirty-five per cent of Leighton's investment will be cash and the remaining 65 per cent will be funded by debt provided by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, EFIC, HSBC, Mashreqbank and Royal Bank of Scotland.Al-Habtoor is one of the largest contractors

  • Lessons for the Middle East from the Northern Rock affair

    As a student of monetarism at the London School of Economics (LSE) in the mid-1970s, I was obliged to listen to stimulating but unpalatable lectures from Brian Griffiths, now a UK peer and adviser to Margaret Thatcher when she was prime minister. Most went in one ear and out the other. But three arguments stuck.

  • Limitless looks east

    Dubai-based Limitless plans to build a $220 million mixed-use project in Vietnam after signing a joint venture agreement with the country's Phuong Hung and International Property Investment Partners. The Halong Star development will include luxury hotels, conference facilities, high-end residential units and recreational, cultural and education facilities, all with extensive views of Halong Bay, a Unesco World Heritage site. The announcement coincides with a visit to Vietnam by the ruler of Duba

  • Limitless to explore China opportunities

    Dubai-based Limitless plans to develop real estate opportunities in China, after establishing subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Shanghai.In Hong Kong it has formed Limitless World China, and in Shanghai it has launched Limitless Consultancy Company. Both new companies will explore opportunities to develop large-scale urban projects.According to Limitless, China has seen a 20 per cent annual growth in real estate over the past decade.More than 750

  • LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS: The world's gas supplier

    After a sleepy August, when the bulk of Doha's oil and gas executives fled for cooler climates, Qatar Petroleum's (QP) headquarters are slowly getting back up to speed as the country resumes work.

  • Local reveals plans for Abu Dhabi corniche

    The local International Capital Trading plans to build a major new mixed-use development on Abu Dhabi cornice, adding to a series of plans for the area.

  • Local wins Maaden mine

    The local Saudi Canadian Mining Services has signed a five-year SR 400 million ($106.6 million) contract with the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) to mine and transport bauxite and kaolin at Al-Zabirah. The mines are believed to have reserves of 126 million tonnes of bauxite ore. The US' Bechtel has already carried out a feasibility study on large-scale mining in the area for Maaden.

  • Localisation Policies: Resisting local quotas

    Businesses are against being forced to employ nationals

  • Low bids in for water pipelines

    ~Kuwait Controls Company~ and ~Al-Nahar Industrial Trading & Contracting Company~, both local, are low bidders for two contracts to build water pipelines in the state.

  • Maaden ready to award Al-Jalamid mining complex

    Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) will award by the end of October, two contracts to build and operate the Al-Jalamid mining complex in the north-east of the country.

  • Maaden signs deal with Sabic

    Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) have signed a joint venture agreement covering their multi-billion-dollar Ras al-Zour phosphate project.Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed on 15 September, Sabic will take a 30 per cent stake in the scheme, with Maaden holding the remaining 70 per cent. The latter will provide phosphate expertise, while Sabic will provide nitrogen fertiliser technology and market the diammonium phosphate

  • MAF to open 11 outlets

    MAF Fashion, the clothing arm of the UAE's Majid al-Futtaim Group, will open 11 stores in Saudi Arabia before the end of 2007. The clothing retailer will open nine stores in Riyadh. MAF Fashion will use its Mexx, XX by Mexx, Lucky Brand Jeans, Monet & Co, and Liz Claiborne franchises in Riyadh. It will also open a further two Mexx stores in Al-Ahsa and Al-Qatif, in the Eastern Province.

  • Maghreb states meet to discuss integration

    Maghreb countries will make a renewed push towards greater economic integration in the region when they hold an IMF-backed meeting in Tunis in November.

  • Manama's new oil formula

    Bahrain led the economic development of the Gulf for most of the 20th century. In 1932, it was the first Arab Gulf state to produce oil. And in the early 1970s, when it became clear that the al-Awali field was past peak production, it became the first Gulf state to start diversifying away from oil, pioneering heavy industrial development in the region through the establishment of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). In the mid-1970s, it began its transition into the region's financial services centre.

  • Manifa tender faces delays

    Saudi Aramco has further delayed issuing the tender for the gas plant package on the onshore portion of its 900,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) Manifa heavy oil field. It has now been put back to the second quarter of 2008.

  • Marafiq begins tendering for Yanbu plant

    The Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafiq) has begun the tendering process for its second independent water and power project by inviting expressions of interest for a new plant at Yanbu.The multi-billion-dollar project will be made up of a grassroots, heavy oil-fired plant with a power generating capacity of 1,500-1,700 MW and a desalination capacity of 150,000 cubic metres a day.It will be developed on a build-own-operate basis, with Ma

  • Marafiq begins tendering for Yanbu plant

    The Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafiq) has begun the tendering process for its second independent water and power project by inviting expressions of interest for a new plant at Yanbu.The multi-billion-dollar project will be made up of a grassroots, heavy oil-fired plant with a power generating capacity of 1,500-1,700 MW and a desalination capacity of 150,000 cubic metres a day.It will be developed on a build-own-operate basis, wi

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: DUBAI: Making a list

    The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) saw a flurry of listings in mid-September when four stocks listed within a week. Market interest focused on local property company Deyaar, which closed its AED 3,178 million ($865 million) initial public offering (IPO) of 55 per cent of its shares in May. The stock closed at AED 1.81 ($0.49) on 12 September, up from its listing price of AED 1.02 ($0.28) a week earlier.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: DUBAI: Making a list

    The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) saw a flurry of listings in mid-September when four stocks listed within a week. Market interest focused on local property company Deyaar, which closed its AED 3,178 million ($865 million) initial public offering (IPO) of 55 per cent of its shares in May. The stock closed at AED 1.81 ($0.49) on 12 September, up from its listing price of AED 1.02 ($0.28) a week earlier.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: GCC: Courting exposure

    Dubai is not the only government in the GCC seeking to buy a foreign stock exchange. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) made an offer in mid-September for Nasdaq's 31 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE). However, the paths of the two transactions are taking markedly different turns.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: GCC: Courting exposure

    Dubai is not the only government in the GCC seeking to buy a foreign stock exchange. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) made an offer in mid-September for Nasdaq's 31 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE). However, the paths of the two transactions are taking markedly different turns.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: SAUDI ARABIA: Insider trading

    The Capital Markets Authority has introduced regulations to prevent any share dealings by directors from soon after the end of each half-year financial period until results are publicly announced.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: SAUDI ARABIA: Slow opening

    In a further step toward opening up the kingdom's economy, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced in late September that GCC investors could now buy shares in listed banking and insurance stocks. The move lifts one of the last major prohibitions for GCC investors, who have been able to trade in other stocks on the bourse, and puts them on the same standing as local investors. However, other barriers remain.

  • MEDINA: A model transport system

    Medina is a city on the move. Not only is its population of almost 1 million expected to double within the next 20 years, but the city also draws in millions of pilgrims each year.

  • MEED Employment Survey: Unlocking potential

    As governments in the region try to increase local participation in the Gulf jobs market, a MEED survey reveals that most employers believe young nationals lack the necessary skills.

  • MEED Local Training Survey

    On 14 September, MEED is publishing a special report looking at how governments and businesses in the Gulf are facing up to the issue of rapid population growth in the region, particularly the challenge of providing meaningful employment for the region's fast-growing young population. The report will be look how the public and private sectors are working together not only to create job opportunities, but also to equip future generations with the tools needed to compete in

  • Merger moves forward

    The first of two shareholder meetings to approve the proposed merger of Emirates Bank and National Bank of Dubai (NBD) was held on 3 September.The first meeting, which constituted just Emirates bank shareholders, will be followed by a meeting on 6 September of NBD shareholders.The extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) are an opportunity for shareholders to give their views on the proposed merger to create the biggest bank in the GCC by asset size, according

  • Middle East contracts awarded: September 2007

    Almost $6bn worth of contracts were awarded across the Middle East region in September, according to this selected checklist compiled from MEED reports throughout the month.

  • Militant now believed to have escaped from camp

    Tests on a body believed to be that of a Palestinian militant leader killed by the Lebanese army during the siege on a refugee camp have proved negative. Local authorities now believe Sheikh Shaker al-Abssi, leader of the Islamist Fatah al-Islam group, succeeded in fleeing the camp in the hours before the army's final assault.DNA test results have revealed that the body is not that of Al-Abssi. The body had been positively identified by his wife following the conclusion of

  • Minister refuses to allow unions

    Trade unions will remain illegal in key areas of the economy, including the oil industry, according to the government.'At the moment, I need labour in Iraq to be working, irrespective of their personal situations,' said Industry Minister Fawzi al-Hariri on the sidelines of an Iraqi oil and gas summit in Dubai. 'By keeping public sector unions illegal, we are safeguarding the jobs and future of everyone.'A week-long strike by oil sector workers in June ended with troops surroundin

  • Ministry approves Mouten

    The Commerce Ministry has approved the creation of a new real estate development company. Mouten has been created as a limited stock company with capital of SR 1,100 million ($293 million). The capital will be split into 110 million shares, each worth SR 10. A date for an initial public offering of shares has not yet been set.

  • Ministry expands de-radicalisation scheme

    Riyadh has expanded its re-education programme for Saudi militants, adding a programme of skills-based training to the final stage of the course before reformed jihadists are released back into society.

  • Ministry extends deadline

    Prospective bidders have been given a two-week extension for the new interchange serving Sohar port. No official reason has been given for the delay to the project. The revised closing date is 17 September. The consultant is US-based Parsons International. The Transport & Communication Ministry is the client for the scheme.

  • Ministry relaunches Subiya power plant prequalification

    The Electricity & Water Ministry has invited local and international contractors to submit prequalification applications by 18 November for the retendered contract to build the Subiya power plant.

  • Ministry requests proposals to build Al-Qatrana plant

    The Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry has requested proposals for the project to build an independent power plant at Al-Qatrana.

  • Ministry requests proposals to build Al-Qatrana plant

    The Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry has requested proposals for the project to build an independent power plant at Al-Qatrana.The deadline for submitting bids is 24 January.The combined-cycle plant will have a capacity of 280-400 MW and will be developed on a build-own-operate basis.It will be fuelled using natural gas, which will be imported from Egypt using the Jordanian Gas Transmission Pipeline. Ahead of the bid deadline, a pre-bid conference will be held

  • Ministry tenders power plants to increase capacity

    The Electricity & Water Ministry is planning to retender the Al-Zour North power plant and increase its capacity to 3,000 MW. A retender for the planned 2,500-MW power plant at Subiya is also expected to be issued by late October.

  • Ministry turns to Kepco

    Korean Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) has been awarded a $600,000 contract to advise the Electricity, Water & Gas Ministry on power transmission and generation. The work will cover forecasting of peak loads and long-term power generation planning. Kepco will advise on how much power generation the country should install, where plants should be and what kind of fuel they use. Libya currently has a power generation capacity of 5,000 MW.

  • Mitsubishi to supply gas turbines

    Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with Tokyo Tsusho Corporation has signed contracts to supply four gas turbines in Egypt. Two of the turbines will be installed at West Delta Electricity company's planned combined cycle plant at Sidi Krier. The consortium will install two other turbines at the Middle Deltra Electricity Production Company's new Al-Atf plant. Both new power stations will have a capacity of 750MW. Each of the plants will also include a s

  • Mitsubishi to supply gas turbines

    Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with Tokyo Tsusho Corporation has signed contracts to supply four gas turbines in Egypt. Two of the turbines will be installed at West Delta Electricity company's planned combined cycle plant at Sidi Krier. The consortium will install two other turbines at the Middle Deltra Electricity Production Company's new Al-Atf plant. Both new power stations will have a capacity of 750MW. Each of the plants will also include a steam

  • Mobily buys internet firm for $400 million

    Saudi Arabia's second mobile phone licence holder Mobily has offered SR 1,500 million ($400 million) for internet service provider Bayanat, in an agreed takeover bid.Mobily, which is owned by the UAE's Etisalat, has to win the approval of Saudi telecoms regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission, before the takeover can be completed.'Our acquisition of Bayanat allows Mobily to grow by providing high quality data communication service

  • MOROCCO: Casablanca calling

    When a Paris-based customer of US IT company Dell phones to resolve a problem with his PC, the call is no longer answered by the company's southern European headquarters in Montpellier, in France. Instead, the call is diverted to a call centre about 1,200 miles away in Casablanca, the commercial capital of Morocco.

  • MTC to rebrand services as Zain

    Kuwait's MTC is to rebrand its operations across the region to Zain, the Arabic word for 'good service'. The name change will affect its six Middle East and 14 sub-Sahara African mobile phone businesses.The Middle East businesses will be changed first, led by MTC-Vodafone, the name of MTC's operations in both Kuwait and Bahrain. They will be followed by the Fastlink business in Jordan, MTC-Atheer in Iraq, MTC in Lebanon, and Mobitel in Sudan.The company, which has a market capita

  • Muscat tenders Sohar

    Companies have been invited to bid by 29 October for the contract to build and install the infrastructure for the expansion of the industrial estate at Sohar. The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates is the client.

  • Muslim Brotherhood to field candidates in general election

    The Muslim Brotherhood is to field candidates in Jordan's parliamentary elections on 20 November, ending weeks of speculation that the party would boycott the contest.Members of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, boycotted local elections in July after accusing the government of sending security forces to the areas where its support was strongest.The IAF also criticises the government for appointing half the 64 members o

  • Nakheel selects operator

    Nakheel has appointed SMRT Engineering to operate the monorail at the Palm Jumeirah. The engineering group will oversee all aspects of the monorail's day-to-day operations, including recruitment and training of staff on the AED 1,400 million ($381 million) project. It will also operate the line's four stations and undertake maintenance work. Construction of the monorail is under way, with completion scheduled for November 2008.

  • Nasdaq to split stake sale

    Nasdaq is unlikely to sell its entire 31 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange to a Gulf rival, according to a source close to the deal. There has been speculation that both Dubai Borse and the Qatar Investment Authority could buy the stake. Because such a move would trigger a full takeover bid under UK law, the source says Nasdaq favours splitting its stake between several bidders.

  • National airline to be sold next year

    Tehran is to privatise Iran Air during the next Iranian calendar year, which begins on 20 March 2008.The road and transportation minister, Mohammed Rahmati, announced on 26 September that the Iranian parliament had agreed to privatise the national carrier and its subsidiary, Iran Air Tours.Shares will be sold on the Tehran stock exchange, with the initial public offering overseen by the ministry of economic affairs and finance.

  • National bank drives expansion

    Qatar National Bank (QNB) has bought an additional 10 per cent of Jordan's Housing Bank for Trade and Finance for $195 million, as it continues to pursue its regional expansion.The move comes only two months after QNB announced it had acquired a 20 per cent stake in the Jordanian lender for $442 million. The bank also plans to raise an additional $1,200 million by selling new shares on the Doha Securities Market to fund its expansion strategy.Housing Bank is Jordan's largest lend

  • National flag carrier set to go public by end of 2007

    Royal Jordanian Airlines will complete the final stages of its privatisation before the end of 2007.

  • National Properties teams up with Prudential

    National Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Dubai-based National Bonds Corporation, has formed a joint venture with Prudential Investment Company of Australia to launch a facilities management company. The new venture, BCS Strata Management Services, will provide management services to developers, home owners and tenants. The company will focus on strata management, which provides services for multi-level apartment blocks. The market for this is estim

  • National reconciliation policy lacks support

    Most Algerians believe that President Bouteflika's national reconciliation policy will not stop terrorism, according to a poll carried out by a local newspaper.In a survey published on 23 September by national daily El-Khabar, 76 per cent of respondents said that reconciliation was an 'insufficient' solution.In September 2005, Bouteflika brought a symbolic end to the country's decade-long civil war when a Charter for Peace & National Reconciliation was endor

  • National to raise $1.7bn

    National Bank of Abu Dhabi is expected to raise AED 6,400 million ($1,742 million) split between a AED 2,000 million ($545 million) 10-year convertible bond, two medium-term note programmes of - 40,000 million ($351 million) and MR 3,000 million ($858 million). The funds are being raised as part of the bank's plans to expand in international markets.

  • Net users shop online

    The majority of internet users in the UAE are shopping online, according to a survey by Arab Advisors Group. Some 51 per cent of internet users made an online purchase at least once over the 12 months to the end of July, taking the value of internet shopping to $1,150 million. Arab Advisors interviewed 1,108 internet users for the survey.

  • Network contract goes to India

    Indian IT outsourcing company HCL has won a three-year exclusive contract to provide Saudi Telecom's corporate customers with managed network services.As Saudi Telecom is the monopoly supplier of fixed-line telecoms services in Saudi Arabia, companies will have to use HCL or develop their own internal network management expertise.Saudi Telecom has 2,500 corporate sites using its fixed-line network through its subsidiary Awal Net, a rise of 30 per cent in the past year.The

  • New Delhi signs employment deal

    Muscat and New Delhi are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour, employment and manpower issues in December or early 2008.

  • Nine injured in bomb attack

    An apparent suicide bomb attack on 21 September injured nine people, including three employees of French firm Razel, which is building a dam in the area.Two French nationals and one Italian were hurt by the explosion, which was directed at a police convoy accompanying the Razel workers. Five police officials and the driver were also injured by the bombing in Bouira in the mountainous Kabylie region, 70 kilometres southeast of the capital Algiers.A single att

  • November deadline set for auction of mobile licence

    Telecoms companies have until 18 November to bid for the third mobile phone licence in Kuwait.Foreign telecoms operators will be able to bid for the licence, according to the Kuwait Investment Authority, which is organising the auction. Some of the region's largest telecoms companies had been concerned that they would be prevented from bidding for the licence.According to the tender, foreign operators and companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange are all

  • Nuclear ambitions

    The news that Sanaa has decided to build five nuclear power plants in the country under a $15,000 million deal with Houston-based Powered Corporation has been met with surprise and scepticism from regional power consultants and World Bank officials.

  • Nuclear ambitions

    The news that Sanaa has decided to build five nuclear power plants in the country under a $15,000 million deal with Houston-based Powered Corporation has been met with surprise and scepticism from regional power consultants and World Bank officials.Energy & Electricity Minister Mustafa Bahran announced on 24 September that five nuclear reactors would be built over 10 years and that a $3 million feasibility study into the project would be launched in early 2008, funded jointly by the US f

  • Octal outlines plans for Salalah packaging plant

    The local Octal Holding has revealed details of a $300 million facility in Salalah to produce packaging materials - the first of its type for the region's downstream manufacturing sector.

  • OFFSHORE EXPLORATION: Unearthing potential

    To encourage greater foreign investment in its upstream oil sector, the National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) has announced a licensing round for four offshore exploration and production projects - marking the first exploration of Bahrain, made up of several of islands, in more than 70 years.

  • OFFSHORING ZONE: Winning big business

    Launched in December 2005, Casashore is the kingdom's first dedicated offshoring zone. The Eur 300 million ($416 million) scheme is being developed by a partnership between Rabat, the Grand Casablanca local authority and local investment company Caisse de Depot & de Gestion. Spread over 53 hectares, it boasts more than 250,000 square metres of office space and, by 2015, is expected to boost economic growth in Casablanca by MD 5,000 million ($582 million).'It is a huge programme that will

  • Oger to target East Europe

    Saudi telecoms operator Oger Telecom is to use money raised from the sale of 33 per cent of its shares to expand into the East European mobile marketSeveral international telecoms companies, including France's Vivendi, are bidding for a stake in Oger Telecom, which is wholly owned by Saudi Oger.

  • OIL PRICES Concerns linger over supplies

    Oil prices have remained high, with fresh concerns over supply as the UAE told customers that it would halve its November exports.

  • OIL PRICES Market tight as Fed cuts interest rates

    Oil prices hit a series of record highs in mid-September as the US Federal Reserve's decision on 18 September to cut interest rates by 50 basis points, rather than the widely expected 25 basis points, put further upward pressure on the market.A particularly cold start to the US winter could push prices in excess of $90 a barrel, warned one Merill Lynch analyst.Opec's decision on 11 September to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels a day from 1 November failed to dampen pric

  • OIL PRICES: Opec and Felix edge prices up

    Crude prices continued to rise this week as prices edged towards $74 a barrel, with the threat of Hurricane Felix in the Caribbean and Opec's next production meeting highlighting the tightening of supply.

  • OIL PRICES: Output increases in bid for stability

    After pledging for several months not to budge on oil supply levels, Opec performed an about turn on 11 September, agreeing to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day (b/d).

  • OIL PRICES: Output increases in bid for stability

    After pledging for several months not to budge on oil supply levels, Opec performed an about turn on 11 September, agreeing to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day (b/d).The oil cartel agreed last year to lower production by 1.2 million b/d from 1 November 2006 and by a further 500,000 b/d from 1 February 2007.However, the increase will not be enough to offset the impact of planned refinery outages. As a result, oil prices have continued to rise. Brent crude hit $76.3

  • Oil subsidies to end in 2008

    Jordan will scrap its oil subsidies from early next year, according to new finance minister Hamad Kasasbeh. The move is likely to cause petrol prices to soar.Kasasbeh said oil subsidies must be cut because they are adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the government's budget deficit.Kasasbeh's predecessor as finance minister, Ziad Fariz, resigned in August after fellow ministers blocked his plans to bring an immediate end to oil subsidies.

  • Olmert offers prisoner release

    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered to recommend the release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners in the lead up to the month of Ramadan.Olmert made the suggestion during talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem on 10 September. The recommendation must first be approved by defence officials before it can be implemented.The pair also agreed to set up negotiating teams to discuss contentious issues including

  • Oman links with Emirates

    Oman Shipping Company (OSC) and Emirates Trading Agency (ETA) have formed two joint venture companies to transport alumina to the Sohar Aluminium smelter and methanol to the Salalah Methanol plant. OSC will own 60 per cent and ETA will 40 per cent in each company. Aluminium production will start in 2008 and methanol by early 2010 (MEED 10:10:06).

  • Oman Orix doubles capital

    Oman Orix Leasing Company will almost double its capital to RO 10 million ($26 million) through a rights issue to existing shareholders. The company provides financing to small and medium-sized enterprises and hire purchase loans to consumers. It is listed on the Muscat Securities Market where its shares were trading at RO 1.86 ($4.8) on 26 September. Its shareholders include the Oman National Investment Corporation, Orix Leasing Pakistan and Dubai's Majid al-Futtaim Trust.

  • Oman reviews Barka 3 bids

    Oman Power & Water Procurement Company is evaluating proposals for the retendered technical advisory contract on the Barka 3 independent water and power project (IWPP).

  • Oman reviews Barka 3 bids

    Oman Power & Water Procurement Company is evaluating proposals for the retendered technical advisory contract on the Barka 3 independent water and power project (IWPP).

  • Omantel stalks stake in Worldcall

    Omantel is likely to have to pay at least $160 million for a majority stake in Pakistani mobile phone operator Worldcall.

  • Opec agrees to increase output

    Oil cartel Opec has bowed to international pressure and agreed to increase its current oil production by 500,000 barrels-a-day (b/d) from 1 November. The move at today's meeting in Vienna is a concession to industrialised nations who are nervous about high crude prices.The new production limit for the group's 10 members will be 27.2 million b/d, according to Kuwait's acting oil minister Mohammed Abdullah al-Aleem.A production increase had appeared unlikely a

  • Opec's oil price party ends as the world economy trembles

    Mohammad Alipour-Jeddi, head of Opec's market analysis department, was ruminating at the annual meeting of the Japan Co-operation Centre for the Middle East in Vienna on why economists have been so wrong about oil price trends since 2003.

  • Operator warns of cuts

    The chief executive officer of Oman's Nawras has called for regulators to resist forcing operators to cut international call charges. Ross Cormack claims such a move would weaken network coverage. Arab Regulators Network, the alliance of regional regulators, says its main priority is to reduce roaming charges between operators. 'Interconnectivity provides profitability. If you take that away, you take away operators' ability to invest,' says Cormack.

  • Orascom fails to bid for licence

    Orascom Telecom is the highest profile telecoms operator to pull out of bidding for the second mobile phone licence in Qatar.The Egyptian operator, which has licences in seven countries, failed to submit a bid before the deadline set by Qatar's telecoms regulator, ictQatar. Orascom decided not to bid despite pre-qualifying for the competition at the beginning of July.Four other operators that had been pre-qualified by ictQatar also failed to submit bids befo

  • Oryx pays $50m to rescue gas plant

    South Africa's Sasol is to spend $50 million to resolve technical problems at its $950 million Oryx gas-to-liquids (GTL) venture.The 34,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) project, a 51:49 joint venture of Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Sasol, suffered a setback in late May over the build-up of fine material in the plant which hindered its output.Sasol chief executive Pat Davies said technical issues were being resolved at a cost of $50 million, with a second production train

  • OVERSEAS INVESTMENTS

    Qatar Petroleum has made a series of major investments overseas during the past few years, teaming up with ExxonMobil Corporation on the Golden Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the US, and with France's Total on the South Hook terminal in Wales.QP and ExxonMobil also signed an agreement in 2003 for a 45 per cent stake in the Edison LNG terminal in Italy.All receive gas via the Qatargas consortium, ramping up its global supply deals. In 2006, it delivered 163 schedule

  • Palestinian economy continues to shrink

    The Palestinian economy is contracting for the second year in a row, according to a new report from the World Bank.GDP fell by 4.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 after falling 8 per cent in 2006. GDP had expanded from 2003 to 2005.The World Bank said investment has fallen to 'exceedingly low levels', and that the West Bank and Gaza Strip will need $1.6 trillion in aid this year.Poverty has increased from 21.6 per cent of the population

  • Palm Water evaluates Jebel Ali free zone proposals

    The local Palm Water is evaluating proposals from seven firms for the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the AED 2,000 million ($550 million) Jebel Ali free zone (Jafza) utility project.

  • Paris urges wider boycott

    The French government is calling on its leading energy companies to boycott Iran in a bid to pressure the Tehran government into making concessions in its stand-off over its nuclear ambitions.Gaz de France and Total are among those being warned off investing in Iran, ahead of a proposed meeting discuss further sanctions against Tehran this week.'We have asked a certain number of our big companies not to respond to Iranian tenders,' says French Foreign Minist

  • Park and Data win award

    The UK group Park Air Systems and local partner Data Processing Systems have won the contract to supply three air traffic systems to the new Dubai World Central airport at Jebel Ali. The joint venture will supply radar systems for tracking aircraft on the ground, new landing guidance systems and ground-to-air communications.

  • Parliament fails to elect new president

    Lebanon's parliament has failed to elect a new president, leaving the country's political deadlock intact.Members of the governing March 14 anti-Syrian coalition lacked the two-thirds majority needed to elect their choice of president. The opposition MPs, who want a pro-Syrian candidate, stayed away from the vote.Lebanon has been mired in a political deadlock since pro-Syrian members of the cabinet walked out of the government in November 2006. The two sides

  • Petraeus considers Iraq troop pullout in January

    General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, is considering the withdrawal of about 4,000 US troops from the country in January next year.In testimony to Congress due next week, Petraeus will discuss the possibility of far deeper withdrawals over a period of months beyond January, according to media reports. Levels could be reduced to about 130,000 troops, from the current record level of 168,000 US troops.Asked about the reports, White House spokesman

  • Petraeus to face tough questioning from Congress

    The commander of the US forces in Iraq is expected to face tough questions over the success or otherwise of the much-heralded 'surge' tactic.General David Petraeus is expected to tell a joint session of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees that the troop increase has reduced sectarian violence, and to provide data suggesting a lower number of roadside and car bombings in the month leading up to Ramadan.The figures have already been critici

  • Petrofac lands contract

    UAE-based Petrofac International has won the $595 million contract to build gas compression facilities on the In Salah field. Although Petrofac's bid was higher than the client's expectations, the structure of tendering process meant there was no subsequent negotiations on the price. The contract is expected to be signed in early October, with start-up set for early 2010. The client is a consortium of the UK's BP, Norway's Statoil and state energy company Sonatrach (MEED 10:8:07).

  • Petro-Rabigh to raise $2bn

    More than $4,000 million is expected to be raised by firms in the kingdom launching initial public offerings (IPOs) in the next six months.Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro-Rabigh) is the largest in the queue of IPOs, with plans to raise $2,250 million.The company, which is a joint venture of Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company and Saudi Aramco, submitted its application to carry out an IPO to the Capital Market Authority in July. However, the offer was delayed by inte

  • POWER: Connecting the regions

    Residents of Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia, find it odd that an electricity connection has never been built linking the western port metropolis to the national power grid.

  • Prices limit Jizan refinery capacity

    Rising construction costs will restrict the capacity of Saudi Arabia's first private-sector refinery at Jizan, in the south-west. Following the submission of developer's prices to build the facility, the refinery is now expected to be built at the lower end of the 250,000-400,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) range, according to the Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry.

  • Prime minister tells businesses to cut prices

    Jordan's prime minister has told businesses to cut prices for basic commodities before Ramadan starts on 13 September, amid fears that middle and working class Jordanians are struggling to be able to pay for food.Marouf Bakhit told Jordan's chambers of commerce and industry that 'more than ever' they needed to avoid increasing the prices of staple goods.Bakhit announced that two government bodies - the Civil Service Consumer Corporation and the Military Cons

  • Prince voices rare public criticism of royal family

    A Saudi prince has spoken out publicly, criticising members of the royal family for blocking the process of reform in the kingdom.Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, announced plans to form a political party, an act which is still outlawed in the kingdom.The prince attacked the government for imprisoning reformists and criticised the royal family's monopoly on power. The formation of his new party was, he said, a challenge to those who hav

  • Prisoners return from Guantanamo

    Sixteen Saudi prisoners returned to Riyadh on 6 September after the US released them from a prison camp at Guantanamo Bay used for holding foreign terrorism suspects.The Saudi state news agency SPA said that Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz 'expressed his relief and appreciation for the co-operation shown by the authorities in the US, hoping this leads to the return of the remaining Saudis.'Washington is reducing the numbers of people detained a

  • Private security firms to be regulated by new law

    Thousands of private security guards operating in Iraq are due to be held more accountable for their conduct under a new law due to be presented to parliament.The law has been drafted by the Interior Ministry in response to the 16 September shootout in Baghdad involving employees of Blackwater USA, in which 11 civilians were killed. Blackwater, one of 23 private military companies operating in Iraq, has been implicated in a further six fatal shootings.At a p

  • Private security firms to face review

    The Iraqi government is to review the licences and operations of every private security firm in the country, following the death of eight people during a Baghdad shoot-out.On 17 September, the government suspended the licence of Blackwater, the firm whose personnel were involved in the gun battle the previous day. All Blackwater employees, apart from those involved in the battle, have been ordered to leave the country.Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said

  • PROFILE: Industry leader

    Hussain Hamid Hassan rushes into his office from a previous meeting. It is 7.30pm and dark outside. The broad windows of his spacious office located within Dubai Islamic Bank look out over the city lights of Deira. Any other 75-year-old would be thinking of going home for the day, if not retiring altogether. But Hassan has meetings until 10pm. This is a normal day for the renowned sharia scholar, which always begins at 7am after morning prayers.

  • Putin visits Abu Dhabi

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Abu Dhabi for an official visit to the UAE.He visited UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan at the Mushrif Palace, where the Russian Premier also met with Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.It is the first time a Russian president has visited the federation since it was formed in 1971. He is accompanied by a high-leve

  • Qafco enters Mesaieed talks

    Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) has entered into exclusive negotiations with an Italian/South Korean consortium for the main contract on its Qafco 5 expansion at Mesaieed.

  • Qatar proposes cuts in foreign workers

    Qatar has announced plans to cut the proportion of its workforce made up by expatriates to half of the population in 2025, from 88 per cent currently.In a newly-released study, Doha's Planning Council has proposed a gradual reduction to 70 per cent by 2010 amid forecasts that the country's population will reach two million by 2025.Unwanted expatriates may have to be sent back to their home countries, but with monetary compensation, according to the study. Th

  • QTEL: Facing challenges abroad

    What do you get if you add a company making $100 million of profit to a company generating $228 million of profit? If you do nothing to the two separate businesses, the answer is that you have a combined operation producing aggregated profits of $328 million. As you may have paid a premium for the acquisition, to win the support of the incumbent management team you would look to cut costs through operational efficiencies in a bid to generate rather more than the sum of the two.

  • Rabat wins approval for industrial strategy

    A deal signed by Renault and Nissan to invest Eur 600 million ($833 million ) in a 400,000-car-a-year manufacturing plant in Tangier free zone has been hailed as a success for the kingdom's industrial strategy, location and existing automobile supply chain.

  • Rafsanjani elected leader of key oversight body

    Former Iranian President Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani was elected on 4 September as leader of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body responsible for the supervision, appointment and dismissal of Iran's Supreme Leader.The Assembly of Experts is a group of 86 clerics who monitor Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and will eventually choose his successor when he dies.Rafsanjani, considered a pragmatic conservative, received 41 votes for the chairman role, beati

  • Ras al-Zour port deal faces delays

    The contract to build a port facility to serve the Ras al-Zour fertiliser and aluminium smelting complexes is unlikely to be signed until the end of October, according to sources close to the project.

  • Ras Laffan consultancy contract nears award stage

    An award is nearing on the consultancy contract covering the world-scale petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan,planned by Qatar Petroleum and the US' ExxonMobil Chemical Company.

  • Reem contract awards near

    Developers are planning to award construction contracts for three major tower projects on Abu Dhabi's Reem island by the end of this year.At least three companies have been invited to submit revised prices by 1 October for the estimated AED 2,000 million ($545 million) main construction contract for the First Abu Dhabi tower project on Reem island.The bidders include Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises, Al-Shafar General Contracting, both local, and South Korea's Samsung Corporati

  • Refugees face long wait for America

    Iraqi refugees face waiting up to two years to resettle in America, according to a memo by US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.Crocker said security checks were resulting in 'major bottlenecks' and criticised the lack of US officials processing applications in Jordan.More than 10,000 refugees are waiting for entry to the US after being referred by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, but are waiting an average of 10 months before being allowed int

  • REGULATION: Setting the standard

    The broad spectrum of interpretations of sharia law across the Muslim world has contributed to a lack of standardisation in the Islamic finance sector, leading some within the industry to question whether all the products available can truly be classified as Islamic.

  • Regulator ends monopoly

    Etisalat and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (Du) will lose their monopolies over the supply of broadband internet services before the end of the year, following a ruling by the UAE's telecoms regulator. Etisalat has a monopoly over broadband access in most of the UAE, while Du has a monopoly in Dubai Media City. Both companies will now have to provide wholesale access to rival operators.

  • Regulator expands licence

    Egypt's telecoms regulator is to increase the number of services that can be offered under the country's second fixed-line licence. The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority plans to allow the winner of the fixed-line licence to offer wireless internet services using wimax technology. The licence will be auctioned by the authority early next year. The UAE's Etisalat and Egypt Post have both said they will consider bidding.

  • Regulator selects location for port

    The Qatari ports regulator will decide on a location for the new port in Doha before the end of September, reviving the stalled project.

  • Regulators to co-operate

    The aviation regulators of Saudi Arabia and Egypt have signed a co-operation agreement aimed at upgrading the countries' air navigation systems. Under the deal, signed on 8 September, the civil aviation authorities of both countries have agreed to introduce any future navigation systems simultaneously and to co-operate in their installation.

  • Reverse osmosis plant faces financial threat

    The plan to build the state's first seawater desalination plant using reverse osmosis technology is in doubt after contractor bids to build the plant came in well above the budget for the project.The Electricity & Water Ministry has set a budget of KD 60 million ($214 million) for the project. However, the lowest bid for the contract, from South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, is KD 88 million ($314 million).The ministry plans to build the plant, which will have c

  • Revitalising the Western

    Abu Dhabi’s Western Region has a proud history. The Liwa oasis at its heart was, until 1793, the permanent home to Abu Dhabi’s ruling Al-Nahyan family.

  • Revitalising the Western

    Abu Dhabi's Western Region has a proud history. The Liwa oasis at its heart was, until 1793, the permanent home to Abu Dhabi's ruling Al-Nahyan family.

  • Rice calls for moves towards Palestinian state

    The peace conference due to be held in November must address key issues and pave the way for the creation of a Palestinian state, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said. Speaking after a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Rice said: 'From my point of view a successful meeting has to be one that is substantive and that advances the cause of the Palestinian state, not one in which we simply meet for the sake of meeting.'She ad

  • Risk of tougher sanctions rises for businesses

    The threat of further sanctions against companies doing business in Iran has increased, after the US House of Representatives approved a bill to tighten economic measures against Iran.

  • Riyad Bank to raise cash

    Riyad Bank is to raise SR 13,130 million ($3,500 million) in a rights issue before the end of 2007. The bank will sell 875 million shares to more than double its paid-up capital to SR 15,000 million ($4,000 million). It comes ahead of the creation of a new rival, Inmaa Bank, by the government. It is also expected to be capitalised at SR 15,000 million, although an initial public offering has been delayed since 2006.

  • Riyadh boosts defence sector

    Saudi Arabia is poised for a huge increase in its defence manufacturing capability following the signing with the UK of a£4,430 million ($8,848 million) deal to buy 72 Typhoon fighter jets, manufactured by the European Eurofighter consortium.As well as the agreement to buy the jets, supplementary contracts still to be signed between Riyadh and London will involve massive UK investment in Saudi Arabia's aerospace sector (MEED 27:9:06).As part of a maintenance, support and training

  • Riyadh expands number of airlines

    Riyadh will licence a further four private airlines in the kingdom over the coming years, easing the burden on Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia). Crown Prince Sultan, Saudia's chairman, made the announcement at a ceremony to celebrate the privatisation of the airline's catering business, which was sold to the Saudi-French consortium, Strategic Catering Company.Riyadh has issued licences to two new low-cost airlines over the past year, National Air Services and

  • Riyadh licenses Ethraa

    Three Gulf businesses are to form a joint venture in Saudi Arabia called Ethraa Capital. The firm has been licensed by the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority to offer investment banking in the kingdom. Bahrain's Ithmaar Bank, Kuwait Investment Company, and Saudi-based Atheeb Trading will be the main shareholders, with minority holdings being owned by other unnamed Saudi investors. Ethraa Capital will eventually expand across the GCC.

  • Riyadh reports record budget surplus

    Saudi Arabia has reported a record budget surplus of SR290,000 million ($77,500 million) for 2006, mainly because of high crude oil prices, according to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama).The kingdom's budget surplus comes despite 2006 also being a year of record public spending, with SR 393,000 million ($105,000 million) spent on development projects and the repayment of public debt.The surplus was 9.4 per cent higher than forecast by the finance m

  • Riyadh signs Eurofighter deal

    The Saudi Arabian government has confirmed it has signed a£4,430 million ($8,839 million) deal to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the UK.The prime contractor is the UK defence giant, BAE Systems. It will be followed by more deals between BAE and Riyadh in the future, including one on munitions. BAE will also commit to broadening its presence in the kingdom, creating several thousand new jobs at purpose-built aerospace manufacturing facilities.In total,

  • Riyadh to open Baghdad embassy

    Foreign minister Prince Saud Al Faisal has confirmed that the kingdom will open an embassy in Iraq, establishing a full diplomatic presence in the country for the first time since Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.Saudi Arabia sent a delegation to Baghdad in mid August to evaluate the possibility of reopening an embassy in the country (MEED 7:8:07). The delegation, which Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar bin Obaid Madani said was 'warmly received' in Ir

  • RIYADH: The rise of Riyadh

    'Two eyes are better than one' is an old Saudi saying. That truth is being tested as Riyadh expands both upwards and outwards.

  • Rotana to run Irbil hotel

    The UAE's Rotana Hotels has signed a contract to manage a five-star hotel already under construction in the Kurdish city of Irbil. Local property developer Malia Holding has started work on the $55 million project, with a subsidiary, Malia Construction, as the main contractor. The consultant is Lebanon's Spectrum Engineering Consultants. The 205-room hotel is due to open in October 2009.

  • S&P warns Lebanon

    Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned the Lebanese government it must reduce the country's public debt to achieve an upgrade in the nation's credit rating. S&P currently rates Lebanon at B-, six notches below investment grade, and has placed the country on a negative outlook since the July war with Israel in 2006. The firm will reconsider upgrading Lebanon's rating in the first quarter of 2008, taking the level of public debt, economic growth and political stability into account.

  • Saad raises $2.8bn bond

    Saad Group, the investment company owned by billionaire Maan Al-Sanea, has issued a $2,820 million bond to refinance existing loans. The bond issuance comes a week after ratings agency Standard & Poor's put the firm on negative credit watch for being too highly leveraged (MEED 31:8:07). The debt has been priced at 80 basis points. The pricing will be reviewed every six months and altered should changes to the rating occur.

  • Sabic completes bond sale

    Saudi Basic Industries Group (Sabic) has completed a $1,500 million bond sale to help fund the acquisition of GE Plastics.The deal marks the end of the fundraising for the acquisition, and means that Sabic has a clear market to raise $1,800 million in project finance for the Al-Kayan petrochemicals complex.Sabic's financial advisers on the delayed Al-Kayan debt are close to finalising terms with the export credit agencies and commercial banks, and expect the documentation for the

  • Saddam Hussein's cousin to hang after losing appeal

    Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the cousin of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is to die within 30 days after losing his final appeal on 4 September.He was sentenced to death earlier this year for his role in the Al-Anfal military campaign against the Kurdish population in 1988, which saw thousands die from the effects of chemical weapons and earned Al-Majeed the nickname 'Chemical Ali'. Two other members of the Saddam regime, Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, the former defence min

  • Safwan bids low for Minagish

    The local Safwan Petroleum Technologies Company is low bidder at KD 18.8 million ($67.1 million) for the contract to provide gas compression services for gathering centre 16 and gas reinjection services at the Minagish field.

  • Salalah finalises financing to build methanol factory

    Oman Oil Company has finalised a $590 million project finance deal with six regional banks and an Italian bank. Royal Bank of Scotland acted as financial adviser and also took a place in the mandated lead arranger group.

  • Salini bids lowest for latest phase of parallel highways

    Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has received bids from three companies for the contract to build another phase of its parallel roads scheme.

  • Sama expands fleet

    Sama is adding two aircraft to its fleet and expanding its network with six destinations. The Saudi low-cost airline has added a fifth Boeing 737-300 to its fleet, with a sixth to be delivered in October. New routes are planned from Dammam to Hail, and from Hail to Arar, Tabuk, Rafha, Al-Qurayyat and Al-Jawf. The aircraft will also be used to increase flight frequency from Dammam and Riyadh to Jeddah during Ramadan.

  • Sanaa to boost capacity to improve rural power supply

    The Public Electricity Corporation (PEC) is moving ahead with plans to boost generation capacity and improve rural electricity supply. A series of projects are being developed to build substations and a power plant.The country has the lowest level of electricity connection in the Middle East, with only 40 per cent of the population having access to electricity, according to the World Bank.'We are short of power, we need to reduce losses in the network and are trying to boost serv

  • Saudi Arabia learns the lessons of democratic fission in Iraq

    Saudi Arabia's Majlis al-Shoura has emerged as Arabia's most effective legislative body.

  • Saudi tops business survey

    It is easier to do business in Saudi Arabia than in any other country in the region, according to a new survey by the World Bank. Despite this, observers say that special economic zones elsewhere in the region are better for business.

  • Senate blocks troop reduction bill

    The US Senate has failed to pass a bill that would have significantly cut the number of US troops in Iraq, despite strong support by Democrats.The bill, which called for troops to spend as much time at home as they do on active duty, was defeated by four votes on 19 September 19. It is the second time the bill has been defeated.US troops spend about 12 months at home for every 15 months that they are on active duty. Had the bill been passed, it would have fo

  • Seven bid for data centre

    Seven companies are preparing bids to construct an estimated SR 200 million ($54 million) data centre for Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. Six local companies, Nesma & Partners, Al-Osais Contracting, El-Seif Engineering Contracting, Al Latifa Trading & Contracting, Al Yamama and Saudi Binladin Group, and Canada's ATCO Engineering & Construction, have all been invited to bid.

  • Shares for expatriates

    The local Faisal Holdings is to float 30 per cent of a new holding company, Aamal, and offer some of the shares to expatriates - the first time a primary issue will be open to non-Qatari nationals. Sheikh Faisal bin Qassem al-Thani said he plans to raise QR 1,040 million ($284 million) from the initial public offering on the Doha Securities Market. The businesses in the new holding company include retail management, medical and cleaning equipment, car accessories and property leasing.

  • Sharia Rules: COMMON SUKUK TYPES

    Riba: In Western economics, money is considered to have a cost that equals the interest rate on it. Under sharia law, money is used to measure the value of assets and has no value of its own so using it should not include a charge (interest). The use of money to generate money, called Riba, is forbidden.Assets: Islamic finance stipulates that money should only be used in relation to tangible assets, and as such unsecured corporate debt, such as conventional bonds, are forbidden. This is

  • Sharjah Airport upgrades

    Sharjah Airport has announced a major upgrade of its IT and check-in systems to cater for a huge increase in passenger traffic. The airport recently announced a 36 per cent increase in passenger numbers in the past year, with 3 million people now passing through the site annually. To speed up the check-in process, the airport is to upgrade to a web-enabled check-in system supplied by Sita.

  • Sharjah calls for proposals

    Prequalified companies are preparing proposals for the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build the emirate's largest power plant at Hamriyah. Prequalifiers include the US' GE, France's Alstom, Germany's Siemens and South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction. Bids are due in early November. Hamriyah phase III will be a 1,900-MW combined-cycle plant. Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority is the client.

  • Sharq tower building begins

    The construction of a mixed-use tower 60 floors in height has started in the Sharq district of Kuwait City.

  • sheikh appoints female editor

    Qatar's Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani has appointed a woman to be the editor of The Peninsula, the daily English-language newspaper he owns. Rachel Morris is believed to be the first woman to edit a daily newspaper in the Gulf.

  • sheikh Hamdan named in new lawsuit

    A second US lawsuit has been filed against Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai, over slavery allegations relating to thousands of young camel jockeys.The latest attempt by American campaigners to sue Dubai's ruling family has been lodged in Kentucky, where the Maktoums own several stables.A previous attempt to sue the family, including Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, was thrown out of a Miami court two months ago when a judge ruled the family did not

  • Siemens wins airport electrical upgrade

    Germany's Siemens has been selected for the KD 31.4 million ($108 million) upgrade of Kuwait International Airport's electrical infrastructure.

  • Sino lands first phase of Ajman

    The local Sino Construction Group has been awarded the AED 1,400 million ($381 million) construction contract to build the first phase of a cluster of mixed-use towers on Ajman corniche.

  • Six Construct dredges Yas

    The local/Belgian Six Construct Abu Dhabi has been awarded a second marine works contract on Yas island in Abu Dhabi. The AED 166 million ($45 million) contract involves dredging and quay wall works for the development's south marina. The contractor was awarded an AED 300 million ($82 million) contract for the island's racetrack marina. The UK's Halcrow is the consultant. Local developer Aldar Properties is the client (MEED 20:7:07).

  • Smart Heights work starts

    The local International Foundation Group has started work on the Smart Heights development in Dubai. The local Engineering & Contracting Company is the main contractor for the project, which is located at Dubai Technology & Media Free Zone. The scheme is scheduled to be completed in 2009. The local Damac Properties is the client (MEED 29:6:07).

  • Sonasid reports strong profit growth

    Sonasid, the local subsidiary of Luxembourg-based steel company Arcelor, has reported a 52.5 per cent increase in its half-year net profits.Profits increased to MD 495 million ($62 million) from MD 325 million ($41 million) in the first six months of 2006. Turnover increased by 20.6 per cent to MD 3,264 million ($408 million).Sonasid’s earnings grew on the back of a state-backed construction programme that includes the construction of tens of thousands of low-cost houses every year.The market

  • Sonatrach approves five

    State energy company Sonatrach has approved all five applications to prequalify for the retendered contract to build crude oil processing facilities at Rhourde Nouss in the south-east. Successful prequalifiers for the estimated $300 million engineering, procurement and construction contract are Japan's JGC Corporation; Italy's Saipem; Canada's SNC Lavalin; Europe's ABB; and US-based Willbros Group. The contract calls for a 1,000 cubic-metre-a-day crude processing unit.

  • Sonatrach seeks partner as Spanish consortium exits

    Sonatrach is considering signing up a new international partner to jointly develop its $6.8 billion Gassi Touil project after abruptly cancelling a deal with the Spanish consortium of Repsol and Gas Natural.

  • Sonatrach to go it alone at Gassi Touil

    State-energy company Sonatrach is now expected to develop the Gassi Touil integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project alone, following its dismissal of Spanish partners Repsol and Gas Natural in early September.

  • Sonelgaz retenders plants

    Algerian state energy company Sonelgaz will reissue tenders for two power plants after it received only one bid for the projects. It has also backed down from a previous threat to blacklist two international firms after they declined to bid for the scheme.

  • Sonelgaz retenders plants

    Algerian state energy company Sonelgaz will reissue tenders for two power plants after it received only one bid for the projects. It has also backed down from a previous threat to blacklist two international firms after they declined to bid for the scheme.The bid documents for the 1,200-MW combined-cycle power plants at Terga and Koudiet Draouch will now be reissued in the third week of September.In August, a consortium of France's Alstom and Egypt's Orascom Construction Indu

  • Sour gas bidding heats up

    Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) received revised proposals from four international oil companies for the Shah gas development project. The bidders are ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corporation and Occidental Petroleum, all of the US, and the UK/Dutch Shell Group. An award is expected by the end of October. The multi-billion-dollar project involves the extraction of sour gas reserves from the Shah field (MEED 20:7:07).

  • Spreading the wealth

    For many observers, a convenient way of analysing theinternal dynamics of Saudi Arabia is to split the country intothree: the oil-rich east, the commercial west and the politicalcentre. But this simplification masks a much more subtle and variedpicture.In addition to the hydrocarbons sector, which makes up75 per cent of government revenue but only about 63 per cent ofGDP, Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest date producers.Qassim province alone is one of the world's biggest exporte

  • Staking out the future

    In mid-September, Borse Dubai was squaring up to the US' Nasdaq for what appeared to be a gruelling bidding war for little-known Scandinavian stock exchange OMX.

  • State oil firm raises $2.5bn

    Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to raise $2,500 million in the next six months to help finance the construction of the largest power plant in the country.Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been appointed financial adviser on the project, and financial close is expected to be reached by March 2008. RBS is understood to be still evaluating financing options for the project, with a possible bond tranche under consideration, depending on market conditions in January 2008 when RBS is expected t

  • State oil firm weighs share sell-off on Doha exchange

    Qatar Petroleum (QP) is examining proposals to sell shares in three of its service companies on the Doha Securities Market, as it looks to divest more of its non-core assets.

  • State operator worth $16bn

    State-owned Telecommuni-cations Company of Iran (TCI) has been valued at $16,000 million, according to a financial analysis commissioned by the company.

  • State requests proposals for security fence

    Requests for proposals have been issued to companies bidding to construct the 900-kilometre-long security fence along Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq.

  • State to issue tenders to upgrade Bizerte refinery

    State-owned refining company Societe Tunisienne des Industries de Raffinage says it will issue tenders in the fourth quarter for the contract to carry out feasibility studies for an upgrade of Tunisia's only refinery.

  • STOCK MARKET: Bourse turns the corner

    After a difficult 18 months up to August 2007 when the Qatar stock market slumped by almost 50 per cent despite a backdrop of economic health, signs are emerging that the market has gained a degree of robustness.

  • Strategic buys into Saudia

    The Strategic Catering Company (SCC) has bought a 49 per cent stake in the catering division of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), six months after being declared the successful bidder for the business. SCC won the contract to run Saudia's catering arm in March, with a bid of SR 830 million ($221 million). However, the Saudi-French consortium has had to wait for an agreement between the airline and Riyadh on the new ownership structure (MEED 31:8:2007).

  • Subscribers keep numbers

    Egyptian consumers will be able to take their mobile phone numbers with them when they change their network providers from November 2008. The country's telecoms regulator has announced that number portability will be made available in a measure that will increase competition in the mobile market. Egypt has three mobile phone operators, with the newest entrant, the UAE's Etisalat, starting its operation in the country in May.

  • Suisse hires Yammine

    Bassam Yammine has joined Credit Suisse as managing director and co-chief executive officer for the Middle East. He will also head the investment banking and asset management businesses in the Middle East and North Africa. Yammine was founder and chief executive officer of Audi Saudi Arabia, managing the regional investment banking business for Audi Saradar Group, one of the largest banking groups in Lebanon.

  • SUKUK: Open to interpretation

    The UK Treasury is another step closer to issuing the first sukuk by a major Western government. The Treasury and City of London regulator the Financial Services Authority held talks in late August with a special advisory board to kick-start the feasibility study into the sovereign Islamic bond. The sukuk will be issued after the benefits to the UK financial community, retail demand, cost and risks have been assessed. It will be a milestone in the evolution of Islamic finance.

  • Supermarket chain opens its books to Delta Two

    UK supermarket chain J Sainsbury has agreed to open its accounts to Delta Two, after the Qatari government-backed investment fund agreed to improve the terms of its offer for the business.The decision to allow Delta Two to conduct due diligence work comes after the fund increased the equity portion of its $10,600 million bid for the company by $850 million. Equity now makes up $4,850 million of the bid, and the fund has said it is prepared to pay a 3p a share interim divid

  • Supreme approval gives Al-Zour refinery go-ahead

    The Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) has granted approval to the new refinery project at Al-Zour, meaning the last major hurdle for the project to proceed has now been overcome.

  • Sweden probes Borse bid block

    The controversy surrounding Borse Dubai's attempted purchase of shares in Swedish stock exchange operator OMX has deepened, with the Nordic firm now being investigated over how it reacted to the bid.On 4 September, Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority said it was investigating OMX over reports that it had used 'inappropriate measures' in its defence against Borse Dubai's takeover attempt.On 23 August, the Swedish financial regulator ruled that Borse Dubai's attempted purchas

  • Syndicated loans take precedence over bonds

    Regional institutions issued more than $7,500 million in syndicated loans in early September. Qatar National Bank closed a $1,850 million, five-year facility on 11 September.

  • Syria on US nuclear watch list

    A US official has claimed Syria is on the US nuclear 'watch list', adding that North Korean technicians were in the country and that there were possible contacts with suppliers for nuclear equipment.A US newspaper reported on 13 September that Israel had gathered satellite imagery showing potential North Korean co-operation with Syria on a nuclear facility.'There are indicators that they do have something going on there,' said Andrew Semmel, the US' acting d

  • Syrian foreign minister cancels Saudi visit

    Walid Muallem, the Foreign Minister for Syria, has cancelled a planned trip to Saudi Arabia, according to media reports. Muallem had been expected to meet King Abdullah in Jeddah and convey a message from Syrian President Asad.The official Syrian news agency Sana denied that a trip was ever scheduled, saying the media had created the rumour. Tensions have been high between Riyadh and Syria in recent months, because of differences over Iraq and the 2005 assas

  • Tadawul updates system

    The Saudi Arabian stock exchange (Tadawul) will introduce a new electronic trading system at the end of October using technology supplied by the Nordic stock exchange operator OMX. The new system will initially have the capacity to handle up to 2 million transactions a day.

  • Taqa takes on more Canadian assets

    The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) is to buy Canada's PrimeWest Energy Trust for close to $5,000 million. The acquisition is being made through Taqa's existing Canadian subsidiaries. The country is a focus for Taqa's international expansion and the company plans to grow its assets there to $20,000 million.It has been actively acquiring Canadian oil and gas companies. In August, Taqa entered into negotiations to buy Pioneer Natural Resources Canada

  • Tehran bans multimedia

    Tehran has banned mobile photo and video messaging. The moves comes after the country's first foreign mobile phone operator, Irancell, tested the multimedia messaging service (MMS) with some of its customers. 'We trialed MMS messages and it was popular and then the government banned it,' says Christian Kilowan, director of Irancell, which is backed by South Africa's MTN Group. Iran's mobile operators have yet to introduce mobile email.

  • Tehran blocks Google

    The Iranian government blocked internet search engine Google on 17 September, without giving an explanation for its action. Secretary of the National Council of Information Hamid Shahriari confirmed that Google had been blocked but was later unblocked. The official Fars news agency described the block as an 'error'. Iran uses filtering programmes that block websites containing words that the regime censors.

  • Tehran plans $13bn sell-off

    The Iranian government is planning to privatise a $12,800 million stake in Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI), the mobile and fixed-line telecoms giant.

  • Tehran to revalue currency

    President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has instructed the central bank to evaluate the possibility of taking three zeroes off the country's banknotes because of the falling value of the rial.Earlier this year the central bank issued a 50,000 rial note, its highest value banknote. However, the note is only worth $5.40.Gholamreza Mesbahi Moqadam, a member of parliament and of the Money and Credit Council, which advises the government on policy, says Ahmadinejad had ord

  • Tel Aviv warns of impending military campaign

    Tel Aviv warned on 26 September of its plans to launch a wide-ranging military operation in the Gaza Strip.'We are getting closer to carrying out a widespread operation in Gaza which, for many reasons, has not taken place in the past weeks,' said Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak speaking to Israel's Army Radio.The aim would be to stem cross-border rocket fire in the Hamas-run territory. 'It must be clear that an operation of this type is no

  • The globalisation of Islamic banking

    In 1963, Ahmad el-Najjar introduced a radical new form of banking when he launched a non-interest-based, profit-sharing savings bank in the town of Mit Ghamr in Egypt. Out of fear of being linked to Islamic fundamentalism by the political regime of the time, the bank did not promote itself as sharia-compliant, but it was here that Islamic banking is widely thought to have begun.

  • THE Mecca DECLARATION: Economic strategy is failing to deliver

    In December 2005, the OIC governments put forward a 10-year plan to address the economic underperformance of Muslim countries. Since then, progress has been limited at best - something that was made clear at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of September.

  • THE Mecca DECLARATION: Economic strategy is failing to deliver

    In December 2005, the OIC governments put forward a 10-year plan to address the economic underperformance of Muslim countries. Since then, progress has been limited at best - something that was made clear at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of September.The OIC members' characterisation of their plight in 2005 was stark, describing 'an age of muddled concepts, misguided values, and pervasive ignorance, as diseases and epidemics gain ever-greater grounds, injustice takes hold, a

  • The Middle East begins its long Silk Road march to China

    Visitors to Nakheel's Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai can retrace one of the journeys made by the celebrated 14th century Arab explorer after whom the shopping centre is named. Entering the world's largest single-floor mall, they start in a section themed after Tunisia where Ibn Battuta was born, pass through Andalusia, Egypt, Persia and India and finally finish in China, a retail zone complete with a life-size model junk.

  • Theolia plans subsidiary

    France's Theolia has announced plans to set up a new subsidiary called Theolia Emerging Markets. Based in Casablanca, the new company will focus on the renewable energy sector in Morocco, sub-Saharan Africa, India, South America and Eastern Europe. Theolia will hold a 51 per cent stake in the firm and the other 49 per cent will be held by international financial institutions.

  • Third metro boring machine arrives in Dubai

    The third tunnel boring machine for the Dubai Metro scheme has arrived in the emirate from Japan.The Al-Wugeisha 3 machine will work on the second phase of the metro system - the green line - between Al-Ras and Burjuman stations. Adnan al-Hammadi, the Roads & Transport Authority's director of construction, says: 'The boring for the project is schedule to commence in December at Al Ras. The tunneling will pass under the creek up to a length of 2.5 km and at a

  • Three firms vie for Suwwa deal

    At least three companies have submitted prices for a dredging and reclamation contract on the Suwwa island development off Abu Dhabi island.

  • Three vie for sewage tunnel

    Abu Dhabi is to spend AED 4,000 million ($1,090 million) on a strategic investment programme to upgrade its sewerage network. Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) is planning the scheme, which will focus on the sewerage network on and around Abu Dhabi island.

  • Three vie for sewage tunnel

    Abu Dhabi is to spend AED 4,000 million ($1,090 million) on a strategic investment programme to upgrade its sewerage network. Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) is planning the scheme, which will focus on the sewerage network on and around Abu Dhabi island.The main component of the programme is a AED 2,000 million ($545 million) 45 kilometre-long sewer tunnel, leading from the northern part of Abu Dhabi island to the mainland. The tunnel will relieve pressure on the existing

  • Total insists South Pars talks continue

    Total says it is still in talks with Iran to carry out a multi-billion dollar gas project, despite Iran's caretaker oil minister threatening to pull the project from the French oil firm.'We are still in talks as costs have spiralled,' a Total spokeswoman said. 'We are not in a position to take a decision on investment now.'Total was responding to a speech made by Iranian oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari about the future of the project.'I have

  • Total targets Timimoun tight gas scheme

    A consortium including France's Total and Cepsa of Spain will submit ground-breaking proposals to develop a tight gas prospect in the Timimoun basin in the south-west by the end of the year.

  • Total to develop Sabratha basin

    France's Total is to begin drilling in the first quarter of 2008 on Block 137 in the Sabratha basin in the north-west of the country, following the evaluation of 3D seismic data collected earlier this year.

  • Trading finance and liberalism

    In late August, four Gulf investors, Kuwait Finance House and three Abu Dhabi firms - Mubadala Development Company, Aldar Properties and Millennium Development International - agreed to invest $1,200 million in Malaysia's Iskandar Development Region, an economic development zone close to the border with Singapore. Government insiders in Kuala Lumpur predict that Gulf investment in Malaysia will rise sharply in the next few years, while Malaysia itself plans to invest several billion dollars in t

  • Trading finance and liberalism

    In late August, four Gulf investors, Kuwait Finance House and three Abu Dhabi firms - Mubadala Development Company, Aldar Properties and Millennium Development International - agreed to invest $1,200 million in Malaysia’s Iskandar Development Region, an economic development zone close to the border with Singapore. Government insiders in Kuala Lumpur predict that Gulf investment in Malaysia will rise sharply in the next few years, while Malaysia itself plans to invest several billion dollars i

  • TransGlobe plans drilling

    Canada's TransGlobe Energy is to drill 30 new targets on the West Gharib concession over the next two years, following the $59 million acquisition of an interest in eight development leases. TransGlobe will operate seven fields, with 24 producing wells and current production of 1,500 barrels a day. The acreage has proven and probable reserves of 6.3 million barrels. The assets have been bought from Canada's Tanganika Oil.

  • Tripoli and Cairo plan link to regional electricity grid

    Libya and Egypt are considering setting up a new electricity interconnection that should allow a wider network around the Mediterranean basin to be completed.

  • Tripoli and Cairo plan link to regional electricity grid

    Libya and Egypt are considering setting up a new electricity interconnection that should allow a wider network around the Mediterranean basin to be completed.The addition of a direct current (DC) link could allow Tripoli to link its power network with Tunisia for the first time.A DC link would act as a filter to limit the impact of fluctuations in power frequency in the wider network.It would also mean countries around the Mediterranean could exchange electricity acro

  • Tripoli draws up shortlist for 41 licences

    Stiff competition is expected for the 41 exploration and production licences on offer in Tripoli's latest international licensing round, after the state-owned National Oil Company shortlisted 35 firms to operate the fields and a further 21 as investors. But concerns persist that the bidders will have to accept an uneconomic share of production to win.

  • Tunis joins with Rome for power venture

    Rome and Tunis are to form a joint venture company to launch the next phase of the country's second independent power project.The company will commission further feasibility studies for the project, which involves the construction of a 1,200-MW power station at El-Haouaria in the north-east, of which 800 MW will be exported to Sicily.The estimated Eur 1,800 million ($2,514 million) scheme was approved by both governments in the summer.Once the company has been establi

  • Tunis joins with Rome for power venture

    Rome and Tunis are to form a joint venture company to launch the next phase of the country's second independent power project.

  • Tunis looks to export gas through Transmed pipeline

    Tunis has opened talks with the UK's BG and Algerian state energy company Sonatrach to sell Tunisian gas through the Transmed pipeline, according to the head of the state refining company.

  • Tunis to tender for Hasdrubal

    State oil company Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activites Petrolieres (Etap) is set to tender by the end of September the advisory mandate for the estimated $500 million financing of the Hasdrubal gas and condensates field development.

  • Two people shot dead in Nablus

    An Israeli soldier and a Palestinian militant have been shot dead during clashes in the West Bank town of Nablus.The deaths occurred during an Israeli raid to detain militants in the town's Al-Ein refugee camp. It was the first time an Israeli soldier has been killed since July.According to media reports, the Palestinian killed was 17 years old, and a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was the fourth Palestinian to be killed by I

  • UAE PROJECTS The last big award of a busy summer

    The AED 4,600 million ($1,250 million) contract for the Meydan grandstand is likely to be one of the last major awards in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2007. Contractors are beginning to close their order books after the busiest summer yet.

  • UAE PROJECTS The last big award of a busy summer

    The AED 4,600 million ($1,250 million) contract for the Meydan grandstand is likely to be one of the last major awards in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2007. Contractors are beginning to close their order books after the busiest summer yet.Signs emerged in late May that the available contracting resources were finally beginning to catch up with the emirate's vast mountain of projects. Projects such as Mirdif City Centre attracted interest from contractors prepared to go through the tendering pr

  • UN ready to boost presence in Iraq

    UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon says the organisation is ready to expand its operations in Iraq, four years after the UN special representative and 21 others were killed in a massive bomb attack on its Baghdad headquarters.'The UN stands ready to broaden its activity in support of the people and government of Iraq,' he said.He said the UN would try and act as a mediator between different factions, as well as providing humanitarian assistance.

  • UN Secretary-General arrives in Sudan

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon arrived in south Sudan on 4 September to evaluate a peace agreement, which has been in place since January 2005.Moon met Salva Kiir, former rebel and now Sudan's first vice-president under the peace deal, which came about after a 21-year conflict.There are up to 10,000 UN peacekeepers in the south. The secretary-general will also visit Darfur in the west on 5 September.Moon has named Pakistani diplomat Ashraf Q

  • UN watchdog calls for nuclear-free Middle East

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged all countries in the region to strive to create a nuclear-free Middle East.At its annual general conference in Vienna, the UN's nuclear watchdog passed a resolution calling on all parties in the region to accept nuclear safeguards, to enhance security and co-operation.In the resolution, named Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East, the agency pressed countries on the 'urgent need' to accept n

  • Uncertainty frustrates licence-holders

    Wataniya's investment programme is being affected by the uncertainty surrounding the auction for a third mobile phone licence in Kuwait, according to Harri Koponen, its chief executive officer.

  • United partners Aldar

    Qatar's United Development Companywill partner with Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties to establish a QR 200 million ($55 million) real estate development and investment company in the UAE. It is the first move into the UAE market by the company and follows a recent deal to invest $50 million in a real estate development venture in the Cayman Islands.

  • US air strike on Baghdad kills 14

    At least 14 people have been reported dead after US helicopters fired missiles at houses in the Mansour district of west Baghdad.The attack took place during an overnight operation involving tanks and hundreds of American troops, witnesses were reported as saying.The area where the deaths took place is believed to be a pocket of support for the followers of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, surrounded by a largely Sunni neighbourhood.His Jaish al-M

  • US ally killed in bomb attack

    A prominent Sunni Sheikh who supported the Baghdad government and the presence of US troops in the country has been killed by a bomb near his home in Anbar province.Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, leader of the Anbar Salvation Council which has given its support to US forces in Iraq and the Iraqi government, was killed on 13 September. It comes 10 days after he met US President Bush during a visit by the president to the country. The meeting had been held between Iraqi clerics and

  • US argument over dismantling Iraq army

    The former US envoy to Iraq insisted on 4 September that US President Bush approved plans to dismantle Iraq's army. Paul Bremer, who led the Coalition Provisional Authority following the invasion of Iraq, issued a series of letters to the New York Times explaining the need to take 'robust' action against the toppled regime of Saddam Hussein. The army break-up is now seen as a crucial error that ignited Iraq's insurgency. In a letter dated 22 M

  • US crude hits $80 record

    US crude oil hit a new all-time high of $80.20 on 13 September, over concerns about American crude stockpiles and disappointment at the modest production increases announced by Opec.The new price beat the previous high of $78.77 reached in August, although it later fell below the $80 mark to trade at $79.75 in late afternoon on 13 September.Brent crude was trading at $77.51 a barrel, a rise of almost $10 since the end of August.On 12 September

  • US firm in consultancy bid

    The US' Weatherford has submitted an offer of KD 1.2 million ($4.3 million) for a contract to provide state upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company with consultancy services. Weatherford will carry an integrated modelling programme of field assets in the state's northern oil fields.

  • US firm wins Borouge work

    Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) has awarded the US' CB&I a contract to design and build a storage tank at its olefins complex expansion in Ruwais. The contract, worth more than $40 million, covers the engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction of a new low temperature storage tank and all associated electrical, mechanical, instrumentation and controls work.The contract is due to be completed in 2009.The $5,000 million Borouge

  • US firm wins Ras Tanura deal

    The US' KBR has been selected for one of the largest ever consultancy contracts, covering the project management of the Ras Tanura refinery upgrade and integrated petrochemical complex.As exclusively reported by MEED on 10 July, the mega-project's co-sponsors Saudi Aramco and the US' Dow Chemical Company are understood to have selected KBR for negotiations for the contract following a meeting on 3 July (MEED.com 10:7:07).KBR beat the US' Fluor Corporation and Foster Wheeler to wi

  • US invites Syria to peace conference

    The US has confirmed that Syria will be invited to an international meeting to discuss the Middle East peace process in November.Despite the opposition to Israel in Damascus, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that Syria will be invited along with officials from all Arab nations.However, Rice said that although the Arab nations had a right to attend the meeting, they must accept 'certain responsibilities' to assist efforts to broker peace between Is

  • Visa policy eases access

    The process of obtaining permission to enter Saudi Arabia is to be eased with the introduction of multiple-entry visas for foreign businessmen. The visas, which will be valid for 12 months, will not require a letter of invitation from a Saudi host company or chamber of commerce. The decision was approved by the Council of Ministers on 17 September. There was no announcement as to when the new visas will be introduced.

  • Wahda prepares for sale

    The Central Bank of Libya is expected to issue tenders for the sale of a 19 per cent stake in Wahda Bank in early October, after appointing Rothschild as financial adviser on the sale. The successful bidder will also take management control of the bank and be allowed to increase its share to 51 per cent within three to five years. Rothschild previously advised the government on the sale of shares in Sahara Bank (MEED 31:8:07).

  • Warner Bros signs deal

    Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties with Abu Dhabi Media Company has signed a multi-billion dollar agreement with US media giant Warner Bros Entertainment to set up a film company, theme park, hotel and cinema chain over five years. It also covers financing for film production and the development of video games. In May, the US' Universal Studios announced it is spending $2,200 million to build a theme park in Dubailand.

  • Wataniya awaits report to release Asiacell payment

    Kuwait's Wataniya received a payment from investment bank MerchantBridge for its 40 per cent stake in collapsed Iraqi mobile phone operator Asiacell at the beginning of this year, it has emerged. The news partially resolves the confusion over what interest Wataniya had retained in the failed business.

  • White Nile disputes concession agreement

    The UK's White Nile is disputing the validity of an agreement reached in June between the country's joint north-south oil authority - the National Petroleum Commission (NPC) - and France's Total over its claim to a stake in the Block B oil and gas concession in the south of Sudan (MEED 22:6:07).

  • Women call for right to drive

    The Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars will submit an electronic petition to King Abdullah on 23 September, the country's national day. It is the first time that Saudi women will lobby the government over the right to drive.'This is, as many have said, a social and not religious or political issue,' said Fawzia al-Oyouni, a founding member of the committee. 'Since it is a social issue, we have the right to lobby for it. This is a right that has been dela

  • Woodside sells Mauritanian assets

    Australia's Woodside Petroleum has sold its assets in Mauritania to Malaysia's Petronas for $418 million.Under the deal, Petronas will take over the company's onshore and offshore producing, development and exploration interests in the country. The sale is expected to close in November, subject to regulatory approval.Since bringing Mauritania's first oil on stream in February 2006, from the Chinguetti field, Woodside has faced problems. Output fell to 37,000

  • World Bank loan ratified for power plants

    Baghdad has ratified a World Bank loan to finance the Dokan and Derbandikhan hydro-electric power stations in the north of the country.The loan will finance urgent repairs to both power stations, which have a total installed capacity of 649 MW, in the Sulaimaniyah governorate in the Kurdistan region. Work has yet to start on the project, with an engineering, procurement and reconstruction tender to build a new control centre for both plants, due to be issued

  • World Bank loan ratified for power plants

    Baghdad has ratified a World Bank loan to finance the Dokan and Derbandikhan hydro-electric power stations in the north of the country.The loan will finance urgent repairs to both power stations, which have a total installed capacity of 649 MW, in the Sulaimaniyah governorate in the Kurdistan region. Work has yet to start on the project, with an engineering, procurement and reconstruction tender to build a new control centre for both plants, due to be i

  • WorleyParsons wins pipeline

    Australia's WorleyParsons has won the front-end engineering and design contract on the trans-emirates oil pipeline, running from Habshan in Abu Dhabi emirate to Fujairah, planned by Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

  • Zadco deal attracts international bids

    Three international firms - the UK's Amec, the US/Canadian Veco and Australia's WorleyParsons - have submitted bids for one of the largest project management consultancy contracts ever tendered in Abu Dhabi.

  • Zadco makes U-turn on Satah field development

    Zakum Development Company (Zadco) has reactivated its Satah offshore full-field development project just weeks after putting the scheme on hold.

  • Zain bids for state operators

    Zain, the Kuwaiti mobile-phone group formerly known as MTC, is preparing multi-billion-dollar bids for Algerie Telecom and Telecommunications of Iran (TCI), two of the last big state-owned telecoms operators to privatise. The Algerian and Iranian governments plan to privatise their telecoms operators in 2008.

  • Zain loses out to Sudatel

    Kuwaiti operator Zain has lost an auction for a combined mobile phone and fixed-line licence in Senegal to Sudatel, a small operator that competes with Zain in Sudan. Sudatel's $200 million bid beat competition from Zain and Saudi Arabia's Binladin Group. It will share the Senegalese market with France Telecom-backed Sonatel and Luxembourg-based Milicom.

Newsletter Sign-up

More sector and country newsletters

Subscribe to MEED to receive your choice of premium newsletters

Find out more

Knowledge Bank

Company Profiles

Biographies

Databank

Top 100 projects

Top 100 listed companies

Qatar Projects 2012

Order your copy here

Read sample chapter

Follow MEED on

Linkedin     Twitter     RSS Newsletter