|By Arabian Post Staff| The latest appendix to the Ericsson Mobility Report for the Middle East and North East Africa reveals that mobile data traffic will experience 16 times growth by 2021. This massive growth will be driven by availability of affordable smartphones, coupled with availability of mobile broadband networks in highly populated countries, increased number of subscribers moving to faster networks and growth of the video […]
|By Dr Alaa Alghamdi| Ambassador Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz’s eloquent plea in the UK Telegraph newspaper is a rational, well-stated reminder of the importance of fairness and respect amid today’s complex arena of foreign relations. As the Ambassador points out, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom have been allies since 1932, the better part of a century. This relationship presupposes a certain amount of trust between […]
Arab countries’ political, social and economic realities affect their nationals’ dreams. We spend a third of our lives sleeping. What if we can unlock the mystery of what happens in our subconscious minds when we’re asleep? Are our dreams connected to one another? Does our local environment influence what we dream? What if we had a tool that can analyze hundreds of thousands of people’s dreams to […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai’s external debt continues to be at tight spreads, given still high leverage and refinancing challenges but this is somewhat offset by certain positive aspects, a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch research report said. The positives include still solid local bid on the shorter end of the curve and its low-beta defensive status within an emerging markets context. The Iran nuclear deal is another […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| A scenario of continued fall in oil prices, OPEC oil export revenue could fall by a quarter despite the higher output, according to International Energy Agency outlook for oil. In the Low Oil Price Scenario, the Middle East’s share in the oil market ends up higher than at any time in the last forty years, it says. According to IEA, lower prices are […]
|By TAP Staff| Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced today the establishment of a jointly-owned subsidiary in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to support the company’s growing regional presence. The primary focus will be to strengthen Orbital ATK’s existing alliances in the country and collaborate with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to help it realize its self-sufficiency objectives in national security, […]
Airbus Group SE escaped order oblivion at the Dubai Air Show after negotiating a last-minute agreement to sell 30 narrow-body planes to VietJet Aviation — prompting the European planemaker to take a swipe at Boeing Co. over the announcement of a deal that had already been booked. VietJet agreed to buy nine current-generation A321s and 21 upgraded A321neos worth $3.6 billion at list prices after negotiations that […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai developer Limitless has failed to repay over $500 million, which it had promised to pay banks from the proceeds of a land sale in Saudi Arabia as part of the debt restructuring deal with the banks and this has apparently caused concern among the banks. Last week Bloomberg had reported that the developer should have paid about $517 million to banks more than […]
|By TAP Staff| Middle East carriers recorded a 9.9% increase in passenger traffic demand in September, well down on the 13.7% year-over year growth experienced in August, International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced. Capacity rose 12.9% and load factor slipped 2.1 percentage points to 75.7%. Major economies in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have experienced slowdowns in non-oil sectors, it pointed out. […]
|By Matein Khalid| I was in a pensive-philosophic mood last week as I decompressed from a trip to a hauntingly beautiful post Soviet country in the Caucasus, the land that produced Koba from Gori and Prince Pyotr Bagration, the fallen hero of Tsar Alexander’s imperial guard at Borodino. Yet Georgia gave me time and perspective to think about the financial firestorms on Wall Street, Marounuchi, the Gulf […]
|By TAP Staff| The UAE banking sector has lost AED56 billion ($15.25 billion) in government deposits since September last year, NBAD Chief Executive Alex Thursby disclosed. Out of this, NBAD alone lost AED48 billion he said. According to a bank statement, deposits fell to AED31.2 billion last month from 69.6 billion at the end of December. The decline in oil prices is forcing countries from Saudi Arabia […]
|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| 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 ($131 million), the Abu Dhabi-based bank said in a statement to the stock exchange on Sunday. Impairment charges jumped 57 percent to 199.8 million dirhams. Fee and commission income dropped 16 percent and the lender […]
|TAP Special| The UAE healthcare sector witnessed another landmark deal when Aster DM Healthcare acquired an additional 57 per cent stake in Sanad Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, raising its total ownership stake to 97 per cent. The AED 900 Million (US$ 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 […]
The world is awash in crude, but big oil companies are lining up to develop new fields in Iran even as they slash spending and abandon exploration elsewhere. One thing explains this paradox: cost. The Middle Eastern country is one of the cheapest places in the world to tap new oil fields and pump from existing wells. The slump in crude prices makes Iran even more attractive […]
|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| 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|Indian nationals were ranked first for foreign investment in Dubai’s property sector for the first half of this year, having made a total of 3,017 transactions worth AED 7.8 billion, according to statistics released by the Dubai Land Department. British investors were in second place having conducted deals worth AED 4.7 billion, followed by Pakistani investors with transactions worth AED 3.3 billion. Canadian investors came […]
| By Yaroslav Trofimov| Despised by some, admired by others, the U.S. has been the Middle East’s principal power for decades, providing its allies with guidance and protection. Now, however, with Russia and Iran thrusting themselves boldly into the region’s affairs, that special role seems to be melting away. As seasoned politicians and diplomats survey the mayhem, they struggle to recall a moment when America counted for […]
UAE. Across the GCC, public pension funds amount to US$397 billion, representing nearly a quarter of GDP and US$15,000 per national. This is according to EY’s GCC Wealth and Asset Management 2015 report – “Fast growth, divergent paths”, launched at the FundForum Middle East 2015. GCC Governments are relooking at existing models of both public and international pension funds to ensure they are sustainable. George Triplow, MENA […]
SAUDI ARABIA. JLL, the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firm, today released its third quarter (Q3 2015) Riyadh and Jeddah Real Estate Market Overview reports that asses the latest trends in the office, residential, retail and hotel sectors. Mr Jamil Ghaznawi, National Director and Country Head of JLL KSA, commented: “The Riyadh real estate market has maintained a steady performance this quarter. The office sector […]
|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 […]
TEHRAN — As the music ended and the crowd rose in a standing ovation, several women in the audience could be seen with heads bared, the obligatory head scarves draped around their necks. This was no underground concert by an indie band in North Tehran, though. Rather, it was a recital by a classical lute player in Vahdat Hall. As the opera house emptied, the women casually […]
ADEN // Thousands of pupils returned to school in the Yemeni province of Aden on Sunday, following efforts by the UAE to rebuild 154 institutions destroyed or damaged in fighting between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces. The conflict led to the closure of schools in several parts of the country, including the southern province of Aden, which was liberated by loyalist fighters – backed by a Saudi […]
