Ooredoo, a Qatar-based leading telecom group, has announced that its Maldives operation won an Internet Service Provider licence from the Communication Authority of the Maldives (CAM) earlier this month. The company received the licence after a competitive bidding process, which saw Ooredoo come out ahead of national and international competition, the company said. Ooredoo has established a strong presence in the Maldives in the mobile broadband sector […]
The UAE, which leads the Arab world for network readiness, must take full advantage of the potential offered by ICT solutions to drive social and economic transformation, according to experts. Considerable challenge is facing the UAE as it seeks to develop the infrastructure, institutions, and skills needed to reap the full benefits of ICTs, added senior executives from Cisco, a global leader in IT. Out of 143 […]
The recent action taken by the UAE to eliminate fuel subsidies has rekindled the debate on tax reform in the GCC, with the focus on domestic implementation of a broad-based Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services. While countries are facing an increasing amount of pressure on their national budgets, every GCC government understands the urgent need for fiscal-sustainability, added the report “VAT in the GCC […]
The UAE’s gross domestic electricity consumption has more than doubled over the past 10 years, and is expected to grow even more rapidly over the next five years as the country undergoes substantial population and economic growth, according to a recent study. The study by management consultancy Strategy&, formerly Booz & Company, revealed that energy usage in the UAE has grown at an annual average of four […]
Record trading of Dubai crude by two Chinese state companies this month on a decades-old oil pricing system has pushed the benchmark higher, even as other grades are being pressed lower by a global glut. The strong Dubai trade has forced Middle East producers to raise official selling prices (OSPs), driving Asian buyers to seek cheaper oil elsewhere or cut refinery runs due to low margins. Chinaoil […]
UAE. The recent action taken by the UAE to eliminate fuel subsidies with effect from 1 August 2015 ignited the debate on tax reform in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Whilst these countries are facing an increasing amount of pressure on their national budgets, every GCC government understands the urgent need for fiscal-sustainability in the long-term. This urgency, according to Deloitte’s latest report “VAT in the […]
Amnesty International issued a scathing report Tuesday on the Yemen conflict, accusing all armed antagonists there of complicity in war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians. The report, “Nowhere Safe for Civilians,” called on the United Nations to establish a panel of inquiry to “independently and impartially investigate alleged war crimes committed during the conflict.” Donatella Rovera, a senior researcher for Amnesty who has worked in many […]
MoneyGram, a global provider of money transfer and payment services, said its customers will now be able to send and receive funds at Al Noor locations in Baghdad, Basrah and Najaf in Iraq. Maher Haddad, senior regional director at MoneyGram, said: “The remittance industry in Iraq is growing and our presence in the country is growing with it to provide more choices for customers who need to […]
SpeedCast International, a leading satellite telecommunications service provider, has won a multi-year communications contract from Gulf Marine Services (GMS). The new dual-beam Ku-band satellite service will provide high-performance broadband connectivity for client office applications and voice services across nine GMS barges, said a statement. GMS is one of the largest providers of self-propelled, self-elevating accommodation jack-up barges in the world, it said. The vessels work in offshore […]
China’s Lenovo Group will lay off 10 per cent of white-collar staff after sales of Motorola handsets fell by a third, raising doubts over the personal computer giant’s bet that a money-losing brand it bought for nearly $3 billion will help it become a global smartphone leader. Shares in the world’s biggest maker of PCs slid nearly 9 per cent on Thursday after it said its quarterly […]
Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) reported a 15.5 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit on Thursday. The former monopoly made a net profit of OR26.7 million ($69.35 million) in the three months to June 30, down from OR31.6 million rials in the year-earlier period, according to Reuters calculations based on Omantel’s earnings statement. It had reported rising profits in six of the preceding seven quarters. EFG Hermes and […]
ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and a 21-gun salute greeted Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the Presidential Airport on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed, also Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, welcomed Mr Modi and invited him to inspect the honour guard. He said the visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in 34 years, came within the context […]
KALBA // Fishermen are questioning a decision to protect areas off the coast of Khor Kalba. Boat captains who live in the area and fish the waters off the east coast, said the protected zone, set up in 2012, interfered with their livelihoods. Restricted access to mangroves has halted crab fishing, but the most contentious issue for the fishermen is their exclusion from waters within a nautical […]
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, […]
QADIYA, Iraq — In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted. He bound her hands and gagged […]
INTERNATIONAL. Lifting sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program will have a significant impact on the world oil market, the Iranian economy and Iran’s trading partners. Iran’s full return to the global market will eventually add about a million barrels of oil a day, lowering oil prices by US$10 per barrel next year, according to the World Bank, which also expects economic growth in the country to surge […]
The first journalist from an American Jewish pro-Israel publication to be given an Iranian visa since 1979 reported Wednesday that he had found little evidence to suggest that Iran wanted to destroy Israel, as widely asserted by critics of the Iranian nuclear agreement. The journalist, Larry Cohler-Esses, assistant managing editor for news at The Forward, an influential New York-based newspaper catering to American Jews, also wrote that […]
Emirates Airline said on Tuesday that Gulf airlines were not to blame for overcapacity on services between the United States and Dubai, rejecting comments at the weekend by U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines. Delta said on Sunday that it was reducing flights between Atlanta and Dubai this winter, blaming overcapacity on U.S. routes to the Middle East by subsidised and state-owned airlines, underscoring a trade row. “Their […]
SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc (GOOGL.O) announced a surprise overhaul of its operating structure on Monday, creating a holding company called Alphabet to pool its many subsidiaries and separate the core web advertising business from newer ventures like driverless cars. The move appeared to be an attempt by the search engine giant to focus on its more creative and ambitious projects, while investors cheered the potential for more […]
Delta Air Lines Inc has scrapped a number of its flights to Dubai this winter in an apparent nod to how competition with three Gulf carriers is hurting its business. Delta, the second-largest U.S. passenger carrier, will fly nonstop to Dubai from its Atlanta hub between four and five times per week starting Oct. 1, down from daily service this summer. The airline revised its schedule on […]
|By TAP Staff|Saudi Arabia’s Al Khafra Holding Group has acquired a substantial equity position in Invescore Ltd, a financial advisory firm based in London. With the acquisition Sheikh Mubarak Al Khafrah becomes the new Chairman of Invescore. This transaction strategically increases Invescore investment banking and direct investment capabilities as well as strengthening its presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GCC region. The transaction was […]
UAE. Media outlets in the UAE and elsewhere have picked up on a variety of recent stories regarding the use of social media in the UAE. These stories include one about an Australian expat being arrested, jailed and deported after posting a picture of a car taking up two disabled parking spots. A similar story from earlier in the summer related to an appellate decision to overturn […]
Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology, gestures during a news conference in New Delhi, India, August 4, 2015. Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee MUMBAI Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and a key supplier to Apple Inc (AAPL.O), on Saturday signed a pact with Maharashtra to invest $5 billion over five years on a new electronics manufacturing facility. The announcement was made by Foxconn founder […]
