Arabian Post Special

Dubai to sell German aluminium maker

Dubai International Capital (DIC) is launching the sale of German alumina products maker Almatis as the fund seeks to reduce its liabilities in the wake of a debt restructuring, three people familiar with the deal said. DIC has mandated Barclays to explore the options of the possible divestment, the people said on Thursday. Almatis is around 80 percent owned by DIC with a stake also held by […]

China challenges India’s diamond leadership

India’s long-held position as the world’s top diamond polisher is being challenged by soaring output from China, compelling the south Asian country to seek help from ally and top rough diamond supplier Russia to defend its market share. India has traditionally relied on the middlemen in trading hubs of Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Dubai for its supply of rough diamonds, which mainly come from Russia or Africa. […]

Gulf markets rise on Saudi budget release

Gulf stock markets rose on Thursday as Saudi Arabia released a 2015 state budget that will keep spending high, reassuring the region that economic growth is unlikely to be hurt much by the plunge of oil prices. The Saudi budget envisions state spending at a record 860 billion riyals ($230 billion) next year, up 0.6 percent from the 2014 budget plan. That would be the smallest rise […]

Saudis to cut wages to cope with oil slump

Saudi authorities pledged to curb wages and push ahead with investments next year as the world’s largest oil exporter seeks to counter the effect of tumbling crude prices on the economy. The government said it expects the budget deficit in 2015 to widen to 145 billion riyals ($39 billion), from 54 billion riyals this year, the Finance Ministry said today. That amounts to about 5 percent of […]

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Watan inks strategic tie-up with Natixis

Watan inks strategic tie-up with Natixis RIYADH, 2 days ago Natixis, the corporate arm of France’s banking group Groupe BPCE, and Saudi Arabia’s Watan Investment & Securities Company have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The signing, which took place at the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marks the start of expectantly a long-term cooperation between the two institutions on a wide range of Natixis […]

Majority of Mena women see gender equality in jobs

Women in the Mena region mostly seek employmentin order to be more financially independent. Majority of Mena women see gender equality in jobs DUBAI, 2 days ago While 51 per cent of women in the Mena region consider recruitment and selection opportunities are regardless of gender, 31 per cent believe that women are treated less favourably in terms of salary, a report said. Women in the Mena […]

Oil slump won’t derail $500bn Gulf infrastructure plan

Gulf governments seek to improve the livesof citizens and create jobs. Oil slump won’t derail $500bn Gulf infrastructure plan DUBAI, 2 days ago Slumping oil prices will not halt a massive ramp-up in Gulf infrastructure spending, as rich nations deploy huge reserves to maintain a breakneck development pace and the rest turn to buoyant funding markets. However, states are being urged to consider the most effective funding […]

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Cyber threats increase by one billion in 2014

Cyber threat… rise in malicious attacks on computers and mobiles Cyber threats increase by one billion in 2014 JEDDAH, 1 days ago A total of 6.2 billon malicious attacks on user computers and mobile devices were blocked by Kaspersky Lab antivirus products in 2014, one billion more than in 2013, the vendor of endpoint protection solutions reported. In 2014 Kaspersky Lab experts saw considerable growth in the […]

Family firms â€˜key driver of GCC growthâ€™

Family firms… ouperforming non-family companies Family firms ‘key driver of GCC growth’ DUBAI, 1 days ago Family firms, which represent around 75 per cent of the private sector economy in GCC, outperform non-family firms by 15 per cent, and their continued success is a vital contributor to overall GCC growth, a report said. Family firms, which represent around 75 per cent of the private sector economy in […]

Sexism at the heart of Labour? Surely not

Labour leader Ed Miliband with MP for Manchester Central Lucy Powell Photo: Steve Back / Barcroft Media It was only a matter of time before Lucy Powell got it in the neck for being successful, young – and above all female. Just days after Ed Miliband promoted her vice-chair of Labour’s election campaign, the briefings against her began. Yesterday they reached a new frenzy, after she was blamed […]

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Indian bid to bypass traditional gem supply route

India wants to buy more rough diamonds directly from mining companies as the world’s biggest polisher of the gems seeks to bypass traditional dealers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on more major suppliers such as Russia’s OAO Alrosa to sell directly to India, which polishes 80 percent of the world’s diamonds, avoiding trading centers such as Antwerp and Dubai. Speaking alongside President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi […]

Panic selling in Gulf stocks

Most stock markets in the Gulf fell sharply on Tuesday after oil prices hit five-year lows, triggering a fresh wave of panic selling of shares by local retail investors, though most fund managers and analysts think the region can cope comfortably with cheaper oil. Dubai’s market, traditionally the Gulf’s most volatile, tumbled 3.5 percent to 3,889 points, though it closed well above its intra-day low of 3,761 […]

Sending Putin the Elgin Marbles is barmy, but it’s what makes Britain great

Visitors walk past by the Ilissos statue, a part of the collection of ‘The Parthenon Marbles’, also known as the ‘Elgin Marbles’ in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Photo: ANATOLY MALTSEV/EPA By Boris Johnson 6:10AM GMT 08 Dec 2014 Follow The other day, I saw at close hand the bravery and professionalism of a Malaysia Airlines cabin crew as they grappled with a passenger who was being, […]

Fund buying seen boosting markets

Funds tracking MSCI’s emerging markets index are likely to start buying several stocks in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that will see their benchmark weightings increased after the end of trading on Tuesday. These include Emaar Properties, Dubai Islamic Bank and First Gulf Bank in the UAE, plus Doha’s Industries Qatar, Qatar National Bank, Doha Bank and Commercial Bank of Qatar. Gulf International Services will join […]

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Twins returned to family after 32 months of hell spent in ‘care’

As so often in Britain, the Dutch case involves the system colluding with a dysfunctional and absent father Photo: ALAMY Anyone wishing to see just how shocking the behaviour of our “child protection” system can be should watch an utterly chilling video on YouTube (see below: “Kidnap of children from their mother by Dutch social services…”). It shows 11-year-old twins screaming in protest as they are seized by […]

Dubai pulls up PIA for flight disruptions

Airport Co-ordination Ltd (ACL), the slot co-ordinator of Dubai International Airport, has asked Pakistan International Airline (PIA) to explain issues with flights that operated at a significantly different time from the allocated slot time which hampered the smooth operation of the airport. Dubai airport ranked among world”s busiest airports recently underwent runway repairs to facilitate around 30-40 aircraft operating in and out of Dubai and serves 180,000 […]

Debt bomb building up in China: Watch your steps

Bad debts in China are well underestimated because authorities persist in propping up weak companies and bailing out local investors, according to DAC Management LLC. The Chicago-based asset management and advisory firm, which focuses on distressed credit and special situations in China, says the worst is yet to come, and that means lots of opportunities for the world’s biggest distressed debt traders. Nonperforming loans at Chinese banks […]

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Amanat IPO oversubscribed 10 times

|By TAP Staff| Amanat Holdings announced that its AED 1.375 billion Initial Public Offering (IPO) was nearly 10 times oversubscribed. The integrated healthcare and education company collected more than AED 13.6 billion in total during its 16-day IPO. The company said shares have been allocated proportionately to subscribers and excess funds are due to be returned to investors on November 11, 2014. Amanat is scheduled to list […]

Chuka Ummana is the only mainstream politician with the guts to take on Ukip. Good for him

Labour MP for Sreatham and Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna Photo: Andrew Crowley By Dan Hodges 11:12AM GMT 05 Nov 2014 Chuka Umunna is starting to break the rules. Up until recently Labour’s shadow business secretary had become a byword for political caution and calculation. “He’s good, but it’s not clear what he stands for”, a shadow cabinet colleague told me a few month’s ago. Well, Umunna is […]

Real Estate Investments Less Attractive for SWFs, Report Says

The shine may be wearing off for high-end real estate investments by sovereign wealth funds, according to a new report, a consequence of perceived market frothiness and increased competition for property assets. Sovereign wealth funds collectively closed $5.9 billion in real estate deals in the first half of this year, according to the report from Institutional Investor’s Sovereign Wealth Center. That was a 43% decline in value […]

AUDITOR NO TO NAVY’S RS 6,000 CRORE DEAL

New Delhi: The attorney-general (A-G) has recommended cancellation of a proposed defence deal for the acquisition of eight minesweeper vessels, estimated to be worth about Rs 6,000 crore, from the South Korean Kangnam Corporation after allegations of involvement of middlemen, official sources in the ministry of defence (MoD) have confirmed. The MoD had sought the view of A-G Mukul Rohatgi in the matter. The government may […]

Climate change is a problem. But our attempts to fix it could be worse than useless

194 countries have gathered to try and reach a deal to stop global warming Photo: PA The UN Climate Panel came out with its final report yesterday. It is a summary of its 3 main reports, published over the last year. It tells us that global warming is real and a significant problem. And as usual, the media hears something else – in the words of Mother Jones […]

Qapco teams with IBM and SAP to drive growth

ERP platform….improve company’s overall performance Qapco teams with IBM and SAP to drive growth DOHA, 21 hours, 20 minutes ago Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), a leading petrochemical powerhouse in the region and a pioneer in petrochemical production, has teamed up with IBM and SAP for the development and implementation of an innovative enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform that will improve the company’s overall performance. Dr Mohammed Yousef […]

Dubai says boom is no bubble

Alongside the Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping centers, sits an ersatz version of what would be an authentic retail experience in most Persian Gulf cities: an Arab souk. If, in the evening, you stroll through this air-conditioned, hassle- and haggle-free caricature of a market, staffed mostly by smiling South Asians, you can amble out onto the shores of man-made Burj Khalifa Lake, named after […]

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Builders seen facing cash crunch to sustain construction boom

Look at computer models for the Venice-like Arabian Canal proposed for central Dubai, or the plans for the world’s biggest shopping mall, and it seems as if the collapse of the United Arab Emirates real estate market six years ago never happened. Citibank estimated earlier this year that there were already two thirds of a trillion dollars worth of construction projects underway in the UAE. That was […]

The rise of Brandy Wandy signals the end for Silly Mili

Russell Brand shares his views at the Occupy Wall Street Rally in New York Photo: REX FEATURES Oh dear, what a fusillade of hatred against poor old Brandy Wandy. I have before me a slew of Sunday papers and in almost all there is a broadside against Russell Brand, the crinkle-tressed comedian. Commentators from Left and Right denounce him as a prancing, prinking, pompadoured popinjay; a know-nothing narcissist […]

Westminster is a better bet for Salmond

The atmosphere at Westminster has always been more to Alex Salmond’s taste Photo: Getty Images So, will Alex Salmond make that return trip to Westminster, again? And does anyone care? His almost coquettish refusal to say for definite, on BBC’s Question Time, whether he plans to swap the IKEA-like backbenches of Holyrood for their green-leather equivalents at Westminster created a fair old stir in certain quarters yesterday. And, […]

Dubai emerges as plastic surgery hub

Dubai is racing ahead to dominate the Middle East’s plastic surgery market with plans to attract half a million medical tourists in six years. Where cosmopolitan Beirut was once the region’s best known city for going under the knife, turmoil in Syria and violence often spilling into Lebanon is driving away wealthy Arab tourists. After splashing out on medical infrastructure over the past years, Dubai already ranks […]

Real Estate & Construction

Irishman wins 1m euro claim in Dubai property case

A businessman has obtained a €1 million judgment against a developer arising out of a failed deal to purchase several apartments in Dubai. James Byrne (56), a native of Waterford now living in Dubai, claimed he gave €633,000 to Caoimhin McGeever, otherwise known as Kevin McGeever and his company KMM International Ltd, in 2006 to purchase three studio apartments and a duplex apartment close to the centre […]

U.A.E. Migrant Domestic Workers Suffer Abuse, Human Rights Watch Says

Maids from the Philippines break their Ramadan fast at a shelter managed by Labour and Welfare officers in Dubai. The house maids live at the refuge after fleeing their employers’ homes. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Maids, housekeepers, nannies and other female domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates are often denied wages, have their passports confiscated, don’t get proper medical care and are even in some cases subject […]

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