|By Matein Khalid| Saudi Arabia has fascinated me since I first met Hani AZ Yamani as a teenage student all those years ago at Wharton. Hani’s father was Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, legendary Saudi Oil Minister (1962-86) under Kings Faisal, Khalid and Fahd. Sheikh Yamani managed the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks, survived a terrorist assault in Vienna by Carlos the Jackal, midwifed the birth of Saudi […]
|By TAP Staff| Majid Al Futtaim, owners of Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, has launched a benchmark $500 million, ten-year sukuk issue, with initial pricing set around 270 basis points over midswaps. The banks involved with the issue are Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC, National Bank Of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered. The sukuk will use the wakala structure, in which one party […]
|By TAP Staff| Union National Bank reported third-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates as impairment charges rose and fee and trading income declined. Net income fell 12 percent to 480.6 million dirhams ($131 million), the Abu Dhabi-based bank said in a statement to the stock exchange on Sunday. Impairment charges jumped 57 percent to 199.8 million dirhams. Fee and commission income dropped 16 percent and the lender […]
Oil at $50 a barrel is a “gift to the world” as prices should be low enough to spur economic growth, according to the head of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development. Prices will probably be at $60 next year, after hitting bottom at $45, Ali Al Mansoori, the department’s chairman, said in an interview Sunday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the fourth-largest oil producer […]
|By TAP Staff| Etihad Airways won a great PR opportunity when a German court allowed it temporary injunction to continue operating all its codeshare flights with airberlin to destinations in Europe, the US and the UAE. The injunction granted by the Administrative Court of Braunschweig is valid until 8 November. It provides an opportunity for the parties to resolve outstanding differences through ongoing consultation between the Governments […]
|TAP Special| The UAE healthcare sector witnessed another landmark deal when Aster DM Healthcare acquired an additional 57 per cent stake in Sanad Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, raising its total ownership stake to 97 per cent. The AED 900 Million (US$ 245 Million) investment in the Kingdom brings the total number of Aster DM Healthcare hospitals to six in the Gulf. Sanad Hospital has seen steady […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai Water and Electricity Authority has chosen a consortium including China’s Harbin Electric and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power as the preferred bidder to build and operate a 1,200 megawatt clean coal power plant. The plant is the first phase of the $1.8 billion Hassyan clean coal project under planning by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). One unit of 600 MW is to be […]
|By TAP Staff| Etihad Airways and IBM announced a ten-year technology services agreement worth approximately US$700 million. The transformational agreement, one of the most important strategic collaborations by Etihad Airways, will provide access to the latest cloud-based technologies and services for the airline, its group companies and equity partners. Etihad Airways, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, carried 14.8 million passengers in 2014, and serves […]
|By TAP Staff| Dr David Alessi, the Beverley Hills-based plastic surgeon who helped many a celebrity transform their faces and body shapes to keep pace with the latest trend in high fashion, will soon be available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the benefit of people in the UAE and the region. The founder and medical director of Alessi Institute located in Beverly Hills is currently here […]
|By TAP Staff| Majid Al Futtaim Holding is weighing an offer to acquire Abu Dhabi consumer finance firm Dunia Finance, Chief Executive Officer Alain Bejjani said in an interiew. “Dunia is an opportunity that was presented to us, so we are looking at it,” Bejjani said, but clarified that the company has not yet decided on a formal bid. Dunia’s shareholders, including Mubadala Development Co. and a unit […]
ABU DHABI // Clad in black cycling gear and, of course, a helmet, Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, chairman of Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), joined hundreds of cyclists at TrainYas on Tuesday. Sheikh Nahyan, accompanied by a group of officials and British cycling champion Mark Cavendish, attended the free weekly event to promote the capital’s inaugural cycling event, the Abu Dhabi Tour. On his lap of Yas […]
The four Emirati soldiers killed in Yemen on Tuesday have been brought home to full ceremony. The General Command of the Armed Forces announced that the soldiers died in suicide bombings in Aden on Tuesday. They were Ahmed Khamis Al Hammadi and Mohammed Khalfan Al Seyabi of Abu Dhabi, Ali Khamis Al Ketbi of Al Ain, and Yousef Salem Al Kaabi of Fujairah. “We are still investigating […]
ABU DHABI // Motorists are warned of a series of road closures over the next few days for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour cycling race. The event, which runs from Thursday until Sunday, will feature 108 competitors over a four-stage, 555-kilometre course around the emirate. Motorists are advised to avoid roads the race will pass through and to seek alternative routes. › Check out a map of […]
|By TAP Staff| There are 1,275 ultra wealthy individuals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), representing 20% of the total ultra wealthy population in the Middle East, Wealth-X research shows. The combined wealth of the UAE’s ultra high net worth (UHNW) population stands at US$255 billion. Wealth-X defines UHNW individuals as those with US$30 million and above in net assets. The study also reveals that 57% of […]
|By TAP Staff| Mediclinic International Ltd. is in talks with United Arab Emirates health-care provider Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc about a tie-up that would create the biggest supplier of private care in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with further operations in Europe and Southern Africa. The potential deal between the two hospital owners would involve the issue of new Al Noor shares to Stellenbosch, South Africa-based Mediclinic […]
ABU DHABI // Emirati women have expressed their disappointment that only one female candidate was elected to the Federal National Council. Naama Al Sharhan, from Ras Al Khaimah, was the only women out of 78 candidates to succeed by picking up 1,004 votes. Asma Al Ali, 26, from Ajman, said she hoped many more women would make it on to the council. “I was shocked, I expected […]
UAE. In times of economic uncertainty, cold-hearted international investors seek more diversification of their property portfolios; as London provides opportunity for property capital appreciation with prices continuously on the rise in the last five years, reasonable prices and growing yields in Dubai market make an equally attractive income generating opportunity. Mutual InterestFor Middle Eastern investors, London has always been regarded as a strong investment complementary to their […]
ABU DHABI // Hundreds of pedestrians are risking their lives every day as they use a gap in a median fence to illegally cross one of the city’s busiest roads. On a recent afternoon, a group of men dashed across three lanes of traffic to the central reservation on Muroor Road, between Electra and Hamdan streets. As cars zoomed by, the men waited for a break in […]
ABU DHABI // The artist who designed the intricate flowers and vines that adorn Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque said the project had transformed his life. Before his work on the mosque, Englishman Kevin Dean was an acclaimed creator of botanic designs and illustrations, but had not worked on such a vast scale. After sending in his portfolio, he was appointed by Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed, the former […]
ADEN // The smiling, triumphant fighters waving the flags of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen at the Marib Dam were not just celebrating a strategically important victory in the battle to restore stability to Yemen. They were also fulfilling a vow by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. While visiting families of the Emirati […]
The scales do not lie, or so we are told. But in the case of what constitutes being too fat, they just might be telling a few fibs, according to UAE health experts. A new report by the World Health Organisation, says almost half of all women in the UAE are obese, as are one in three men. Insurance provider Zurich International Life, based on a sample […]
ABU DHABI // New reforms to the Labour Law were welcomed by expatriate workers and bosses. The changes will come into force from January 1 through three decrees, the Ministry of Labour said. The main goal is to ensure transparency and compliance in matters related to labour contracts, including terms of termination. Emirati businessman Sanad Al Meqbali said the new laws would benefit both the employer and […]
The world’s first purpose-built centre for paediatric research on rare diseases was named after the founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, on Monday. The Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children was facilitated by a gift of £60 million (Dh335 million) by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the wife of the late Sheikh Zayed who is also Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman […]
Gulf Related will borrow 2.3 billion dirhams ($626 million) from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to finance the construction of a shopping mall that will house the first Macy’s store outside the U.S. Gulf Related, a venture between Abu Dhabi’s Gulf Capital and New York-based Related Cos., announced the plan in a statement Monday. The 400-store mall, scheduled to open in 2018, is in Abu Dhabi’s new business […]
