Microsoft has announced that Almoayyed Computers, the flagship division of Almoayyed International Group, has won the ‘Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2015 Award for the Kingdom of Bahrain’. Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,300 entrants from 108 different countries worldwide. Almoayyed Computers was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in […]
A senior French economic and political delegation is in Tehran to lay the groundwork for the first business contracts between France and Iran since an accord to curb its nuclear programme in July. France’s main business lobby group, the Medef, is sending a delegation comprising more than 100 firms to Iran, including companies such as oil major Total, planemaker Airbus and car manufacturer Peugeot. “We’re trying to […]
|By TAP Staff| Integrated Capital, the capital markets arm of Abu Dhabi Financial Group, announced that it has placed and syndicated to its clients 20.3 percent of the $700 million notes issued by EA Partners IBV, a funding vehicle for Etihad Airways, its airport services business and five of its equity partners. Integrated Capital invested $142 million during the allotment period for the debut notes. The note […]
|By TAP Staff| Al Noor Hospitals Group of Abu Dhabi announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Rochester Wellness. Founded in 2006, Rochester Wellness is a leading provider of long-term physical, speech, and occupational rehabilitation therapy caring for patients in their homes and through two inpatient facilities in Dubai and Muscat. The business operates 51 beds and generated revenue of $ 5.6 million during the […]
EDIRNE, Turkey — Doaa, a 25-year old Syrian, was lying in the shade one day last week, trying to shelter herself from the scorching sun in a makeshift camp near this northwestern border city. A pile of blankets next to her quivered, and a tiny hand emerged. Her son, Nassim, was just a week old. Doaa had walked out of a hospital in Istanbul a few days […]
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 […]
INTERNATIONAL. Emerging Asian economies remain a challenging operating environment according to new risk ratings released today. In their first jointly produced economic and political risk ratings, Oxford Economics and Control Risks have evaluated the outlook for 164 countries worldwide, producing for each country a score based on a weighting of key political, economic, business and security risks. The ratings, drawn from the new Economic and Political Risk […]
UAE. Forbes Middle East has unveiled the names of its Most Powerful Arab Women for 2015 at a glittering awards ceremony that shone a light on some of the region’s most influential and accomplished leaders. The impressive event recognized the achievements of women in reaching the top of their fields in business and government and, in doing so, working towards a fairer and more equal working environment […]
ADEN // Relatives of Yemeni loyalist fighters killed by Houthi rebels thanked the UAE for its support on Friday, as the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) helped families in Aden buy new clothes for Eid Al Adha. “I cannot describe my happiness today. I got the clothes that will enable me to celebrate this Eid”, said Waleed Abdullah, 14, whose father Saleh was killed in fighting in July. […]
News Analysis President Obama in Washington on Wednesday. White House aides said Mr. Obama had always been skeptical about training Syrian rebels. By PETER BAKER September 17, 2015 WASHINGTON — By any measure, President Obama’s effort to train a Syrian opposition army to fight the Islamic State on the ground has been an abysmal failure. The military acknowledged this week that just four or five American-trained fighters are actually […]
Qatar National Bank (QNB), the largest bank in the Gulf region, is in preliminary talks to buy Kuwait Finance House’s (KFH) Malaysia unit, the Qatari lender said on Thursday. No agreements had been reached over a potential deal and QNB would make any necessary disclosures to the Qatar stock market in the future, QNB said in the statement. KFH, the largest Islamic bank in Kuwait, said in […]
Private equity funds managed by Blackstone is set to acquire a majority of Serco Group’s private sector business process outsourcing (BPO) operations. The definitive agreement will include the former Intelenet business, for a consideration of £250 million ($385.7 million), approximately INR2,558 crores, said a statement. The enterprise value of this deal represents the largest acquisition by Blackstone in India, it said. The business has expected annual revenues […]
Gulfnet Communications Co, a leading provider of information and communications technology services, has received the ISO 9001:2008 for the fifth consecutive year after an extensive audit of the company’s internal operations. The ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System certification demonstrates Gulfnet’s robust quality management system to guide and govern its operations across the company, said a statement. The certification is an important step in assuring that customers continue […]
Gulf Business Machines (GBM), a leading provider of IT solutions, leveraging industry-leading technologies in the region, has partnered with the Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman to launch a programme aimed at increasing interest and offering opportunities for Omani graduates within the ICT sector. The partnership comes as part of GBM’s ongoing efforts to provide the right tools and programmes to support the continued development of Oman’s […]
Autodesk, a leader in 3D design and engineering software, said that new commercial licences of most Autodesk Design and Creation Suites and individual products will be available by subscription only from July 31 next year. When this takes effect, the company will provide new, simplified subscription options so customers can access multiple products and share licences as they currently do — while gaining the simplicity, accessibility, and […]
ABU DHABI // Emiratis living in Khalifa City A want more footpaths, a better road network and more after-school activities for their children. A suburban area of mostly villas, the neighbourhoods do not have parking or traffic congestion problems. But some residents say the lack of paths makes it dangerous to walk. “We do not have any parking shortages here compared with the city,” said Mohammed Al […]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Amazon (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a rocket manufacturing plant and launch site in Florida to better compete with fellow billionaires using their fortunes and tech prowess to open a new frontier in human space travel and exploration. Bezos’ space startup, Blue Origin, intends to invest more than $200 million to build the rocket-making facility adjacent to NASA’s Kennedy […]
Dubai’s diamond trade will grow as the emirate attracts dealers from the industry’s traditional hub in the Belgian port of Antwerp after one of the city’s main lenders closed, depriving buyers of needed financing, according to National Bank of Fujairah. “Do we anticipate a big shift of rough diamond traders to Dubai?” Davy Blommaert, unit head for precious metals and diamonds at National Bank of Fujairah, said in […]
CAIRO — The mistaken airstrike by the Egyptian military that killed a dozen people on a Mexican tourist trip in the Western Desert hit at a picnic in the middle of the day, witnesses said Monday, raising new questions about both the extent of the error and the official explanations. The convoy of four sport utility vehicles was about three hours southwest of Cairo on a typical […]
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 […]
Plans by Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) to raise a $750 million bond to boost the lender’s core capital reserves are off the table for the immediate future after shareholders rejected the proposal, a bank official said on Sunday. The rejection is a rare case of shareholder rebellion in the Gulf, where votes usually rubber-stamp decisions made by the board of directors and executive management. Last month, […]
LEBANON. On Sept. 11, 2015, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its outlook on the Republic of Lebanon to negative from stable. At the same time, we affirmed our ‘B-/B’ long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings. RATIONALE The outlook revision stems from our view that political uncertainty in Lebanon and regional tensions will continue to weigh on economic growth in the mediumterm. In […]
Middle East News Analysis By PETER BAKER and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS September 11, 2015 WASHINGTON — Having beaten back a congressional campaign to derail his nuclear agreement with Iran, President Obama now faces a panoply of challenges that may be just as daunting: making the deal actually work while repairing relations with disaffected allies and constraining Tehran’s regional ambitions. He got started Friday even as the House was still voting by announcing […]
