DUBAI // About 25,000 pupils will have tablet computers this academic year as the Ministry of Education expands its programme to bring smart learning to classrooms. The Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Programme, launched last year for pupils in Grade 7 and some in Grade 8, will be expanded to Grades 1 and 5 in chosen schools. It will also be introduced to other pupils in Grade […]
National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, raised its full-year profit forecast and said it hired 150 senior managers amid increasing growth at its fee-generating businesses. Net profit will probably rise 8 percent to 10 percent in 2014, up from an earlier forecast of 6 percent to 8 percent, the bank said today in an emailed statement. Revenue will likely be 6 percent […]
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank , the fourth-largest lender by market value in the United Arab Emirates, beat analysts’ estimates slightly on Tuesday as it posted a 22 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on lower impairments. The bank made a net attributable profit of 1.06 billion dirhams ($289 million) in the three months to June 30, versus 868.5 million dirhams in the corresponding period last year, it […]
Lapses in hospital infection control measures exacerbated an outbreak of a deadly new viral disease which has infected more than 60 people and killed at least 10 in the United Arab Emirates, health investigators said on Friday. Reporting the findings of a five-day mission to the UAE, experts from the World Health Organisation said, however, that they found no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of new Middle […]
Call it a perfect market storm of wealth creation. Since the start of 2013, the Dubai stock market has registered a near 200% gain to become the best performing financial market in the world. The Gulf emirate’s securing of the World Expo in 2020 is likely one factor behind this success as is the wider UAE’s reputation as a safe-haven in a region riddled with uncertainty. Oil […]
The annual Banker Middle East Industry Awards is the Middle East’s foremost gathering of key players within the banking and financial services industry (Dubai – June, 2014) – Some 500 top bankers and financiers from around the region came together at the Gala Dinner held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai to celebrate their achievements. The top awards went to institutions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE; […]
United Arab Emirates, June 2014 – GL Events exhibitions, the organizer of Piscine Middle East exhibition has confirmed the attendance of 2 800 visitors during the second edition of Piscine Middle East held in Abu Dhabi from the 22-24th of April. Most part of these visitors was architects, developers and key buyers specialized in pool and spa industry. The event hosted visitors from 50 different countries. 88% […]
The malls unit of Dubai’s Emaar Properties will hold meetings with fixed income investors ahead of a potential benchmark-sized sukuk issue, Emaar said on Thursday, in what would be a debut debt market transaction for the subsidiary. Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Mashreq, Morgan Stanley, First Gulf Bank , National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Noor Bank and Standard Chartered will be arranging the meetings on Emaar’s behalf, […]
An impending bond issue by Abu Dhabi-based telecommunications firm Etisalat may not only be the region’s largest deal so far this year, but also set a record for tight pricing as the Gulf becomes more of a mainstream investment destination. Etisalat’s debut bond will replace some of the debt used to fund its 4.2 billion euro ($5.7 billion) purchase of a majority stake in Morocco’s Maroc Telecom […]
ABU DHABI // School pupils from the American Community School in Abu Dhabi said the simplicity of their “The Engineers” robot was key to them clinching top spot at a national robotics competition on Friday. The World Robot Olympiad-UAE drew 180 students from across the country, battling it out in the elementary, junior high and high-school categories at the Fairmont Hotel in the capital, but it was […]
ABU DHABI // School pupils from the American Community School in Abu Dhabi said the simplicity of their “The Engineers” robot was key to them clinching top spot at a national robotics competition yesterday. The World Robot Olympiad-UAE drew 180 students from across the country, battling it out in the elementary, junior high and high-school categories at the Fairmont Hotel in the capital, but it was “The […]
WHO team makes five-day visit to UAE International experts and local authorities agree to continued exchange of information in attempt to reduce risk of further infections ABU DHABI // International infection experts yesterday praised the work of UAE health authorities in attempting to better understand the deadly Mers coronavirus after completing a mission to assess the risk the virus poses to the country. A team from the […]
An aerial view of Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi Reuters Capacity at seaports and airports in the Middle East is growing faster than regional trade, potentially jeopardizing the viability of billions of dollars worth of new investment in transportation infrastructure. Government-led investment in regional logistics and transport has taken off in the past decade, driven by energy-rich Gulf Arab countries trying to carve out a niche as […]
SHARJAH // Hindus and Sikhs in the emirate can complete the last rites for the dead at Sharjah’s first crematorium, which was finally opened this week. The crematorium is the fourth in the country and has become operational after a hold-up of more than a year owing to documentation, clearance permissions and delay in the electricity connection provided to the site. “People have been approaching us for […]
ABU DHABI // Residents will have more relief from the recent sweltering heat this weekend, with Thursday’s cooler conditions forecast to continue. The weather bureau says the drop of up to 7°C in many parts of the country is set to continue on Friday and Saturday as the north-westerly Shamal wind makes a welcome return, with cloudy, windy and hazy conditions. “It will be slightly hazy on […]
ABU DHABI // The influence of Arabic architecture on European buildings should not be underestimated, experts from Spain said at a talk in the capital. As part of the first event in a series of collaborations with Universidad Europea de Madrid, Alhosn University gathered some of Spain’s foremost architects from both universities to discuss how Middle Eastern and Spanish architecture have learnt from each other. Dr Miguel […]
|By TAP Staff|Aldar Properties announced it has repaid a US$1.25 billion bond that matured at the end of May 2014 as the company pushes ahead with a strategy to deleverage, reduce its cost of borrowing and build a strong platform for growth. The bond that matured in May 2014 carried an annual interest cost of 10.75% and it was repaid using cash and by drawing down on […]
ABU DHABI // A little boy who has overcome deafness to become an academic star at school has received a personal letter of praise from Barack Obama. “I am proud of you for pushing yourself academically,” the US president told Yusuf Batha, “and I am counting on you to continue to set a good example to help others whenever you have the opportunity.” Mr Obama also told […]
ABU DHABI // If Daniel Bekai has his way, robots will be common features in homes of the future. Daniel, 16, wants to live in a world where humans command robots to perform the mundane tasks that an artificially intelligent machine would be better at anyway. “Suppose you’re in your house and you want some yogurt, you can build a robot that gets yogurt from your fridge […]
Abu Dhabi’s economy expanded an inflation-adjusted 5.2 percent in 2013, its official statistics centre said on Tuesday, a much slower rate than the government had previously estimated but still higher than 4.8 percent in 2012. The figure from the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) was much lower than an estimate in February by the emirate’s Department of Economic Development (DED), which said real GDP grew 7.4 percent […]
Global airline executives might have gathered in Qatar for their annual general meeting this week to bemoan their lack of profitability, but the event itself was certainly not short of a dime or two. The title sponsor and host of the IATA AGM was Qatar Airways – and the Gulf state’s flag carrier wasted no time in using the annual mix of conference, talking shop and lavish […]
ABU DHABI // Companies who deny labourers their midday break from work may face closure and fines of up to Dh15,000. Hourly inspections will be carried out, and anyone flouting the law will be dealt with harshly, the Ministry of Labour said on Tuesday. The midday work ban comes into force on June 15 from 12.30pm to 3pm and ends on September 15. The ministry also plans […]
ABU DHABI // Yas Marina Circuit is looking to stage major international charity events after staff visited New York to gain ideas from a major run there. Officials from the track visited the Big Apple last month to attend the city’s UAE Healthy Kidney 10K road run and learn about staging the best in community fitness programmes. The annual Healthy Kidney event, a tribute to the founding […]
Etisalat has added four banks to the list of bookrunners for its potential debut bond, which could include dollar and euro-denominated paper of up to 12 years duration, banking sources said on Monday. The mainly state-owned company added Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Morgan Stanley, National Bank Of Abu Dhabi and Natixis as passive bookrunners, three sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is not […]
