A call for the United Arab Emirates to consider allowing expatriates to apply for citizenship has sparked a debate about national identity in the Gulf Arab state, where foreigners outnumber the local population by more than five to one. Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi, a member of one of the UAE’s ruling families, is one of the federation’s pre-eminent commentators and also one of the most well-known Twitter users […]
Britain’s Vodafone and three Gulf telecoms companies have formed a consortium to launch a 1,400km fibre network to meet rising demand for broadband services in the region. Vodafone, Kuwait’s Zain, du of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwaiti internet service provider Zajil will create the Middle East-Europe Terrestrial System (MEETS) with the long-term aim of connecting the network overland to Europe. MEETS will activate a largely […]
Dubai government-owned property developer Nakheel said on Sunday it had sold town houses worth about 460 million dirhams ($125.24 million) in its Warsan Village project. “As expected we witnessed a big response to the residential units … from investors from a number of countries including the UAE, the GCC countries, India and China,” a Nakheel spokesman said according to the state WAM news agency. “We also noticed […]
Using public transport in Dubai is about to get a whole lot easier. With a simple swipe of a phone, riders can board whatever service they desire thanks to a new deal inked between Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and telecommunications providers Etisalat and du to launch the ‘Smart Nol’ Service for Dubai commuters using public transport. The service aims to ease the transportation process for commuters […]
The United Arab Emirates central bank is expected to announce within one or two months rules restricting the amount of exposure which banks can have to the debt of government-related entities (GREs), a top commercial banker said on Tuesday. Abdulaziz al-Ghurair, head of the national banking industry association and chief executive of Mashreq Bank, told reporters that each bank would then discuss the time frame for its […]
A survey by Fund Advisors among respondents living in rented accommodation in Dubai has shown that 81 percent have no contents insurance. So events like theft, fire or damages by way of other incidents have no coverage. Furthermore, the UK’s daily newspaper The Telegraph found that, when insuring their contents, people often valued their clothes and valuables on worth at the point of valuation and not what […]
At least two major global investment banks are maintaining that the beleaguered Indian rupee, which is already down about 15 per cent since the beginning of 2013, could see a further deterioration of about 10.5 per cent in the near future and slump to Rs70 against the US dollar. That would equate to a level of Rs19 against the UAE dirham, and if attained, this exchange rate […]
The UAE’s new Land Transport Act will come into effect from September 1. The new act clearly explains the rules of carrying passengers and goods between the UAE and other countries as it specifies the responsibilities and commitment of the parties to ensure the safety of passengers and goods. According to this law, no land transport business maybe practiced without getting a license from the National Transport Authority […]
The UAE Central Bank said monetary aggregate M2 increased 7.8 per cent during the first half of 2013, while bank loans and advances surged 4.4 per cent and total bank deposits were up 7.5 per cent year-on-year as a result of an increase in resident deposits by 9.2 per cent. “The rise of loans and deposits reflects that there’s greater confidence of investors in the UAE economy,” […]
The domestic banking system in Saudi Arabia relative to many of the global peers, developed or developing, had maintained its inherent strengths that emanate from greater reliance on core banking activities, lower non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio, little recourse to wholesale funding and ample liquidity. During the last two years, Saudi banks have returned to a higher growth trajectory after a lackluster performance in 2009 that saw total […]
K. Raveendran, Special to Gulf News When Dubai Islamic Bank announced the launch of its first property development in Dubai Marina in January last year, there was only a hint that the world’s first Islamic bank might be looking at the emirate’s booming real estate sector somewhat more seriously than the rest of the banks. But in less than a couple of years, DIB has emerged as […]
