|By TAP Staff| Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has successfully raised AED 504 million in the first tradable rights issue for a bank in the UAE. The rights issue, which forms part of the comprehensive capital plan to support ADIB’s strong growth trajectory, was nearly 3 times oversubscribed with AED 1.46 billion in subscriptions received. Following the close of the subscription period on 10 September 2015, all […]
INTERNATIONAL. The era of the autonomous vehicle (AV) is fast approaching. Mass-market adoption of AVs will be the greatest inflection point for the automotive industry since the introduction of the assembly line and will confer tremendous benefits on society, according to a new report from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, titled Revolution Versus Regulation: The Make-or-Break Questions About Autonomous Vehicles, is being released today. It […]
The development of autonomous vehicles (AV) hinges on cooperation among technology players in the areas of cybersecurity, high-definition maps, and vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, said an industry expert. “But there are equally pressing questions about liability, vehicle certification, and regulatory frameworks,” explained said Nikolaus Lang, a senior partner at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. “Multi-stakeholder collaboration is key to developing win-win solutions—and […]
WASHINGTON — Only four or five Syrian individuals trained by the United States military to confront the Islamic State remain in the fight, the head of the United States Central Command told a Senate panel on Wednesday, a bleak acknowledgment that the Defense Department’s $500 million program to raise an army of Syrian fighters has gone nowhere. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the top American commander in […]
Two years on from its launch in the city, ride-hailing service Uber is using its Middle East & Africa headquarters in Dubai to lay the groundwork for expanding in the region–through more than just operating in new cities. Since August 2013, the US-based company, which connects drivers and passengers through smartphone apps, has commenced operations within the GCC in Doha, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Saudi Arabia’s […]
A Google self-driving vehicle is parked at the Computer History Museum after a presentation in Mountain View, California May 13, 2014. Reuters/Stephen Lam/Files FRANKFURT German premium carmakers BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are snapping up software experts as tech firms such as Google threaten to outflank them in the race to develop a self-driving car. Software expertise has become a new battleground for automakers and tech firms as […]
UAE. As Dubai continues to roll out developments fueling the expansion of the city, there has been pressure on developers to build affordable homes to support the middle-income groups (earners between 3k-10k AED). In the last year, a flurry of new projects has been launched to cater to this segment. As the markets have matured and slowed down, developers have catered to affordability, more often by reducing […]
UAE. Latest business survey data pointed to a robust and accelerated expansion in Dubai’s private sector output during August. Furthermore, the rate of business activity growth was the fastest seen since May, with all three monitored sub-sectors reporting stronger output growth in the latest survey period. The rebound in activity growth was underpinned by a stronger expansion in new business, which increased at the strongest rate in […]
UAE. With a 54% decline in the price of oil prices during the past 12 months the United Arab Emirates (UAE) real estate market is now beginning to feel the effect with property transaction levels falling across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, according to the latest research from international real estate consultancy, Cluttons. Cluttons’ annual 2015 UAE Property Report reveals that the direct correlation between hydrocarbon revenues […]
INTERNATIONAL. The enduring impasse between Israel and the Palestinians in the peace negotiations and their changing internal political dynamics has made it impossible for them to resolve the conflict on their own. Leaving them to their own devices is no longer a viable option as the continuation of the conflict is hazardous and potentially explosive. The resumption of bilateral peace negotiations with US mediation alone will not […]
UAE. The second quarter 2015 real estate report issued by leading local consulting firm ValuStrat – has shown a steady decline in property values since the peak last year. However, the rate of decline is easing and is expected to continue to decelerate over the remainder of the year. The Residential VPI (ValuStrat Price Index), which is a 100 point index that started tracking residential values since […]
UAE. The upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE, will see an unparalleled number of visitors to the GCC region. A number of sizeable infrastructure projects and associated developments have been earmarked to showcase the region and provide for this influx. Large-scale projects, coupled with short timeframes for completion, understandably carry with them the risk of construction disputes. Against this backdrop, […]
DUBAI // Businesses failing to comply with the Dubai Health Authority’s mandatory health-insurance plan face hefty fines, and new visas will not be granted for employees until they fall in line. Phase two of the plan, which includes about 3,000 companies with between 100 and 999 employees, began on August 1, ensuring that another 600,000 people now have health insurance. It has also emerged that the national […]
UAE. July’s survey data signalled another increase in overall business activity across Dubai’s private sector economy, which marked five-and-a-half years of continuous expansion. However, growth momentum moderated to its weakest recorded since March 2012 amid softer contributions from all three key sub-sectors monitored by the survey. Private sector companies operating in Dubai are nonetheless still highly upbeat about their business activity prospects for the year ahead, according […]
UAE. July data suggested that the UAE’s non-oil private sector regained some of the growth momentum that was lost at the end of the second quarter. Output and new orders both rose at sharper rates, contributing to a robust overall improvement in business conditions. Job creation was also sustained at a solid pace. On the price front, data highlighted divergent trends in July. The rate of cost […]
SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector began the third quarter of 2015 on a positive note, with business conditions improving at the fastest pace in three months during July. Stronger growth of the sector as a whole was mainly driven by sharper expansions in both output and new orders, while purchasing activity also rose more quickly. However, data for employment bucked the general trend, as the […]
Police secure the main entrance of the German Axel Springer publishing group headquarters in Berlin January 8, 2015. Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke/Files FRANKFURT After its failed bid to buy the Financial Times, Germany’s biggest news publisher Axel Springer will concentrate on digital expansion through small and medium-sized deals, the company said on Tuesday. Springer was outbid last month by Japan’s Nikkei in an attempt to buy the FT from […]
|By TAP Staff| Some 5,200 rooms are expected to be added to the Abu Dhabi hotel sector by 2017. Of this, 2,300 rooms are set to enter the market by the end of 2015 alone, according to a report by JLL. The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA) also report a 20% increase in hotel guests in the first quarter of 2015 compared to Q1 figures […]
A wounded soldier received treatment in January 2013, at an Egyptian hospital. The poor condition of medical and other public facilities in the country have been illustrated on Facebook pages. By KAREEM FAHIM and MERNA THOMAS July 24, 2015 CAIRO — When the prime minister of Egypt visited two Cairo hospitals last month, he said he was shocked by the disorder and decay he encountered. No one else was. Egyptian doctors […]
Delegates arrives for a special meeting of the General Council Preparatory Committee on Trade Facilitation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva November 27, 2014. Reuters/Denis Balibouse/Files GENEVA The World Trade Organization finalised a list of 201 information technology products to be freed from import tariffs in a $1.3 trillion deal on Friday, but said it was still short of the critical mass of countries […]
UAE. The current shortage of middle income housing is one of the greatest challenges facing the real estate industry in the Middle East, said Craig Plumb, Head of Research at JLL MENA. “With a shortage of housing for those families earning salaries around the UAE average, it is important that we address some of the best practice initiatives and developments that have been launched in the Emirates, […]
UAE Exchange in community development partnership DUBAI, 3 days ago UAE Exchange, a leading remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand, has extended its philanthropic arm by partnering with Community Development Authority of Dubai to benefit various local community groups, educational institutions, charitable organisations, labour camps and government departments. Varghese Mathew, country head – UAE, said: “We are an organisation that is committed to the betterment of […]
UAE. KPMG’s third annual ‘Top of Mind’ consumer survey, in conjunction with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), has found that growth and top-line expansion, consumer trust and a sound omni-channel strategy are the top priorities for consumer company executives – both globally and in the UAE. KPMG and CGF surveyed close to 550 senior consumer, manufacturing and retail executives globally to gain insight into the economy, the […]
UAE. Private sector businesses in Dubai signalled further strong increases in business activity and new orders in June, though the rates of expansion moderated to 27- and 53-month lows, respectively. Despite softer increases in activity and new work, Dubai private sector companies were increasingly optimistic towards the year-ahead, with the degree of positive sentiment reaching a 19-month high. Furthermore, increased confidence towards the business outlook underpinned the […]
