Abu Dhabi plans to create a second city centre to accommodate a projected threefold growth in population. « We are creating the Capital City District, with a population of 350,000 to 380,000 residents, » Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council told Bloomberg. « It will form a second centre for Abu Dhabi, …
Energy projects in Gulf oil producers have become the latest victim of the festering global financial crisis as it is depriving them from funding and discouraging full capacity expansions, according to officials and experts. Besides worsening fund shortages, the crisis has already sharply depressed oil prices and is set to smother global demand which is …
Lire la suite Financial crisis hampers Middle East energy projects
National Bank of Kuwait, the country’s biggest lender by assets, said on Sunday was not affected by the troubles of smaller lender Gulf Bank and expected to meet its 2008 profit target. « Business is going normally. On the contrary, there is a flight to quality. We are seeing deposits are coming to us, » Chief Executive …
Plunging oil prices and a stronger dollar will bring the UAE’s annual inflation rate down to seven per cent from its last measured point of 11 per cent, a top official has said. The lower price of oil has brought local diesel prices down while the weaker European currencies will result in cheaper imports of …
Saudi-owned MBI International will sign an agreement to buy 12 hotels in France from Starwood Capital in deal that could be worth $2 billion, a Saudi newspaper reported on Sunday. The deal will include Le Crillon Hotel in Paris and 11 other establishments, Asharq Al Awsat reported, quoting unidentified sources close to the Saudi group. …
Residents of Dubai Pearl will now be a boat trip away from their own private beach after the developer, Pearl Dubai, bought an island at Nakheel’s The World development. The company paid US$27.2 million (Dh100m) for Archangel, a 1.6 million square foot island close to Siberia and is located in the north of the 300-island …
A crucial decision on the future of the internet will be made at a meeting of industry professionals in Dubai this week. A body that oversees the regional distribution of internet protocol (IP) addresses – the unique numbers that identify every device connected to the internet – will make a decision on migrating to a …
Lire la suite Dubai meeting to decide future of the internet
MANAMA — The drop in oil prices will affect the growth rate in Bahrain but would not bring it to standstill, therefore turning the government’s focus on important infrastructure and housing projects, a senior government official has said. The Minister of the Premier’s Court Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa told the press in the …
Lire la suite Bahrain to Focus on Housing and Infrastructure Projects
Finance and economy ministers and central bankers from the Arab states in the Gulf met for emergency talks on Saturday to forge a common front to battle the global economic crisis. The policymakers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met behind closed doors in Saudi Arabia to examine the impact of the crisis on …
Lire la suite Gulf policymakers mull impact of world financial crisis
UAE Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said the UAE has one of the regions’ most competitive economies in terms of attracting foreign investments. The UAE ranks 31st globally in Davos Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for 2008-2009, issued by Davos World Economic Forum and first in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. …
Lire la suite FDI attracted to UAE by its competitive economy
