MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from January 2007

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from January 2007

Binding economies.(COMMENT)(Editorial)
January 5, 2007... The giant Dolphin gas project will deliver its first volumes of Qatari gas to Abu Dhabi this summer. It is a significant moment for the region. The $3,500 million project is the Gulf's first cross-border energy scheme and symbolises the growing...

On the record.(SEVEN DAYS)
January 5, 2007... "The important thing is why the medical team injected the children with Aids. Who ordered you--was it Libyan intelligence, American intelligence, Israeli intelligence or Bulgarian intelligence? This is what we have to find out" Libyan...

Looking back ...(SEVEN DAYS)
January 5, 2007... 5 January 1967 Libya blacklists 19 companies, institutions and branch offices for allegedly violating a boycott of Israel 10 January 1992 Iranian President Rafsanjani calls on Iranians to avoid extremist rhetoric which would alarm...

Promise of more US troops fails to assuage Al-Maliki: Dawa party plays down reports of Iraqi PM's intention to resign.(IRAQ)(Nouri al-Maliki )
January 5, 2007... The relationship between the US and beleaguered Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki looks set to remain uneasy despite the anticipated announcement of more US troops to support the Iraqi government. Although the likely increase in US...

Tehran forges on with nuclear programme.(IRAN)
January 5, 2007... Tehran appeared to be trying to forge closer relations with Beijing in early January after the UN adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme. On 4 January, Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali...

Record numbers at Hajj.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Saudi Arabia received more than 3 million pilgrims during the Hajj, one of the largest pilgrimages on record. The number of visitors emphasises the increasing pressure on the country's infrastructure during the period. New security measures...

US to stay in Gulf, says Gates: 22 December.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(US Defence Secretary Robert Gates )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says the US navy will stay in the Gulf for the foreseeable future. US media reports on 18 December said the naval presence in the region was aimed at warding off a possible threat from Iran.

Egypt announces new bird flu victim: 27 December.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Cairo announces its 10th bird flu victim when a 26-year-old man dies after testing positive for the deadly H5N1 strain. The man had been admitted to hospital 10 days earlier and is the third person to die of the virus since 24 December.

EU ends Israel loan freeze: 28 December.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(European Investment Bank )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The European Investment Bank (EIB) announces it will provide Israel with loans worth an estimated Eur 275 million ($360 million) to promote business and environmental projects. The largest portion of the loans will be directed to more than 400...

Palestinian deaths treble in one year: 29 December.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... An Israeli human rights monitoring group claims that three times as many Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in 2006 than in the previous year. B'Tslem says that 660 Palestinians have been killed in 2006, a figure that...

Victims presumed dead off Yemen coast: 29 December.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... More than 150 people are presumed to have died off the coast of Yemen after a boat carrying migrants from Somalia capsized two days earlier. The incident happened as Yemeni security forces opened fire on boats smuggling migrants across the Gulf...

Palestinian factions in kidnap struggle: 2 January.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Hamas)(Al Fatah)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Members of rival factions Hamas and Fatah kidnap each others' members. Following a gunfight provoked by a Hamas raid in north Gaza, Hamas kidnaps two Fatah militiamen. In response, Fatah seizes several Hamas members, although some are reported...

Qaddafi upholds death sentence for six foreigners: 2 January.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi says six foreigners sentenced to death for infecting children with the HIV/Aids virus must face the death penalty. The six--five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor--have twice been found guilty of...

Police search for kidnapped Peruvian: 3 January.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Peruvian photographer Jaime Razuri )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Security forces in Gaza search for a Peruvian photographer following his abduction by an unknown group two days earlier. Jaime Razuri was working in Gaza for Agence France Presse. Palestinian Authority President Abbas, who met both French and...

Light relief: the first gas from the massive Dolphin project is due to arrive in Abu Dhabi in 2007, but the Qatari supplies will only go so far to meeting soaring gas demand in the lower Gulf.(DOLPHIN GAS PROJECT)(Cover story)
January 5, 2007... It is not unusual for drivers heading into Dubai from neighbouring Abu Dhabi to see an apparent change in the weather. After miles of clear skies, a couple of clouds appear on the horizon near the border. Twenty kilometres further on and the...

Currency countdown: the head of the Central Bank of the UAE is adamant GCC monetary union will occur on time, but says concessions will need to be made to all members.(ECONOMY BRIEFING: GULF MONETARY UNION)(Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi )(Interview)
January 5, 2007... With only three years to go until monetary union, the governor of the Central Bank of the UAE Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi has expressed scepticism about the creation of an independent central bank for the GCC. Speaking only days after Muscat...

Abu Dhabi kicks off major sour gas programme: exploitation to be carried out with an IOC.(UAE)(international oil companies )
January 5, 2007... The biggest gas project in UAE history has entered the bidding phase, after international oil companies (IOCs) were issued with tender documents for Abu Dhabi's sour gas development. The programme, valued at up to $10,000 million, will be...

Tehran kicks off onshore portion of South Pars 12.(IRAN)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has started the prequalification process for the onshore portion of its giant South Pars 12 gas field development project The multi-billion-dollar offshore scheme, three times larger than previous South...

Western oil companies ignore licensing round.
January 5, 2007... Tehran has launched a new oil and gas exploration and development licensing round. National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has put 17 onshore and offshore blocks up for tender (see Tenders). However, due to US sanctions and the current...

Eni awards upgrade work.(LIBYA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The local-Italian joint venture Eni Oil (formerly Agip Oil) has awarded two contracts to upgrade ageing facilities at the Bu Attifel field in the east Sirte basin. At the same time, the deadline for technical and commercial bids for the...

Halliburton in supply deal.(contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The US' Halliburton has been awarded a KD 15 million ($51.7 million) contract to provide well completion equipment and associated services for Kuwait Oil Company. The five-year contract covers the provision of equipment including: alternative,...

Global wins offshore work.(contracts; Atlantis Holdings; Global Industries Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... US-based Global Industries has been awarded a fabrication and installation contract covering a jacket, piles and topsides for an offshore gas exploration and production platform in Umm al-Qaiwain (UAQ). Worth $31 million, the contract will also...

Austrians start output.(YEMEN)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Austria's OMV has started production from block S2, which covers an area of 1,000 square kilometres in central Yemen, at 1,000 barrels a day (b/d). The company plans further development of the field to take output to 11.000 b/d by 2008 and...

Turbines order awarded.(contracts; GE Energy. GE Oil & Gas; Saudi Arabian Oil Co.)(ENOC Processing Company )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Florence-based GE Oil & Gas has picked up two new contracts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It has won a multi-million-dollar order for gas turbines to Saudi Aramco Delivery of the 12 mechanical drive packages for the Ghawar and Khurais oil fields...

Mild weather leads to New Year price lull.(MARKET ROUND-UP)
January 5, 2007... Oil prices dropped slightly in the first week of 2007, with mild weather in the US having the biggest impact over the quiet festive period. With the holidays producing little for markets to react to, the weather proved to be the best indicator...

Al-Zour scheme hangs in the balance.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), the state refinery operator, has admitted that the fate of its planned 615,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Al-Zour is in doubt after bids came in way over the project's budget. "We need this project, but...

Statoil team adds block 10.(contracts; Sonatrach; Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co.; Statoil ASA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has awarded Norway's Statoil and a subsidiary of Algerian state energy company Sonatrach a second offshore block in its 2006 international licensing round. An EGAS spokesman said the block was the...

Samsung wins olefins unit: Ibn Zahr leading the way in utilising olefins conversion units.(Samsung Engineering and Construction Company Ltd.)(contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... South Korea's Samsung Engineering Company has won the contract to build the region's first olefins conversion unit (OCU) at the Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr) polypropylene (PP) complex in Jubail. The firm beat off...

Chemicals plant moves on.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Saudi Formaldehyde Chemical Company (SFCCL) is planning a new dimethylformamide (DMF) facility in Jubail. The process technology has been selected and basic engineering is already under way. The facility, located close to SFFCL's existing...

Jubail to get aromatics unit.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The $6,000 million new refinery in Jubail will now include an aromatics unit. "The option was there from the beginning to have a aromatics unit to sell paraxylene locally, and this option has recently been taken up," says a project source. "But...

Sabic set for acquisition.(SAUDI ARABIA)
January 5, 2007... The EU has given regulatory approval for Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) to acquire the European assets of the US' Huntsman Corporation. "The commission concluded that the operation would not significantly impede effective...

Joint venture formed.(REGIONAL)(Baser Petrokimya )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Saudi Basic industries Corporation (Sabic) has formed a new polystyrene joint venture (JV) with Turkey's Baser Petrokimya. Sabic wilt hold 70 per cent of the new company, with Baser owning the remainder. The JV will take over all of Baser's...

Environmental scheme kicks off: UN-funded project cleans up legacy of invasion.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Kuwait has launched a multimillion-dollar programme to rehabilitate the environmental damage caused by the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion and subsequent occupation. It will be funded by the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), which has collected...

Qataris launch Tangier project.(contracts)(Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company is set to issue the tender for infrastructure works on its $350 million tourist development in Tangier by the end of the month. "The tender document is being reviewed by the client and we are...

Sharm development designs near approval.(Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company is expected to approve by February the conceptual designs for its new $250 million-300 million tourist development in Sharm el-Shaikh that will include a hotel, villas and an aquatic park. ...

Chinese win headquarters.(construction contracts)(China State Construction and Engineering Corporation)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... China State Construction & Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has been awarded the estimated $23 million contract to build the local offices of French shipping company CMA CGM near Houari Boumediene airport in Algiers. Direct negotiations with...

Education city planned.(Economic Development Board)(Kuwait Finance and Investment Company)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The Economic Development Board has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuwait Finance & Investment Company to create a Higher Education City, at an estimated cost of $1,000 million. The complex will include branches of international...

Yuksel nets bypass work.(Yuksel)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Turkey's Yuksel has been awarded the AED 237 million ($65 million) contract to widen the Dubai bypass. Yuksel was low bidder for the contract when bids were submitted in September, beating off competition from seven other contractors. The scope...

Hotel tenders issued.(contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Local and international contractors have been invited to bid for contracts to build new hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The first, being tendered by Kuwait's Al-Aziziah United Real Estate Investment Company, is for the five-star, 300-room...

First tender issued on new air system.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation has tendered the first contract on its updated Kuwait airspace system plan. Three international contractors have been given until 4 March to bid for the design and construction of electrical...

Systra in pole for metro.(EGYPT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... France's Systra is understood to be the low bidder for the National Authority for Tunnels' contract to provide supervision and co-ordination services on the new third line of the Cairo Metre. The only other bidder is the US' Parsons...

New airline launched.(MAURITANIA)(Mauritania Airways)(Nouakchott)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... A new national carrier, Mauritania Airways. was created in late December in an agreement between Nouakchott, the local Bouarnatou Group and Tunisian national carrier Tunisair. The airline, which will be the second national airline along-side...

Dornier wins consultancy.(SUDAN)(Dornier Consulting )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Germany's Dornier Consulting has won a consulting and technical assistance contract on the proposed Port Sudan-Khartoum railway project. Under the terms of the five-year contract, Dornier will provide supervision and cost control services and...

Four consultants compete for Jeddah port expansion: Tusdeer's container terminal will sit next to its re-export zone.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Trade & Export Development Company)(Engineering & Environmental Consultants, Halcrow and Maunsell; Royal Haskoning and Sepakat Setia Perunding)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Four international companies have submitted bids for the design and engineering consultancy contract on the new Jeddah Islamic Port container terminal, planned by Saudi Trade & Export Development Company (Tusdeer). The bidders are...

Binladin wins Hajj terminal.(contracts)(Saudi Binladin Group)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The French/local team of Aeroports de Paris and Saudi Binladin Group has won the Hajj terminal upgrade contract at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. The group was expected to win the estimated $250 million project after it...

French build up Beirut Port.(LEBANON)(Beirut Port Authority )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... France's CMA CGM has signed an agreement with Beirut Port Authority (BPA) to boost capacity at the port as it tries to turn itself into a transhipment hub. Under the three-year deal, CMA aims to increase container capacity to 740,000...

No-frills airline comes in to land.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The General Authority for Civil Aviation has granted a national air operator's licence to Sama Airlines, making it the first no-frills operator in the kingdom. The licence allows Sama--founded by the local Investment Enterprises--to start...

Doha builds up water treatment: Ashghal needs plants for booming population.(QATAR)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Five international groups have submitted bids to design, build and operate the Doha north sewage treatment plant (STP), as the country strives to deal with a booming population. It will be the largest STP in the state, providing 243,000...

Power-sharing progresses.(contracts)(GCC Interconnection Authority)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The Dammam-based GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) has appointed a consultancy team led by the UK's Norton Rose to advise it on electricity interconnection between the six GCC states. Under the terms of the $1.8 million contract, Norton...

Desalination plant retendered.(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water) is retendering the contract to build the Shuwaikh desalination plant, inviting prequalified contractors to submit bids by 11 March. The original contract was cancelled after only one company,...

Tenders issued for plant work.(contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has invited bids for two construction contracts on its proposed Al-Qurayyah and PP8 power plant projects. Prequalified contractors have until early February to submit bids for the mechanical, electrical and...

Hyundai takes substation.(KUWAIT)(Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company has been awarded the KD 19.4 million ($67 million) contract to build the 300/132-kV Green Zone W substation. Hyundai was low bidder for the contract when bids were submitted last summer....

Locals bid low for pipeline.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The local Combined Group is low bidder at KD 17.9 million ($62 million) for the C4 third-phase package on the Subiya water storage and distribution scheme. Kuwait Arab Contractors has submitted the second best offer of KD 18.3 million ($63...

Group wins airport desal.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Sete Technical Services)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The General Aviation Civil Authority has selected the consortium led by Athens-based Sete Technical Services to develop a desalination plant at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. The group, which includes the UK's Aquatech, Italy's...

Abu Dhabi substations let.(UAE)(contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... India's Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won a contract, worth $94 million, to build six substations in Al-Ain for Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority. Under the terms of the 18-month contract, L&T will also install more than 120 kilometres of...

Cap Ghir lures developers.(MOROCCO)(contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... A total of 20 local and international companies have submitted prequalifications to Office National de l'Electricite (ONE) for the planned coal-fired independent power project at Cap Ghir, north of Agadir. The next step will be the...

Awards near on Setif water distribution contracts.(ALGERIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Commercial offers for six contracts to build dams and water supply networks for the Setif region in the northwest are set to be opened by the end of January, with awards expected by March, say project sources. The new infrastructure will...

UAE says no to GCC central bank: monetary policy could be set by national banks.(REGIONAL)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, has claimed there is no need for a single central bank to run monetary policy in a future GCC monetary union (see Briefing). "We don't need a central bank to agree on...

Beirut prepares reform package.(LEBANON)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Doubts are mounting over the viability of government plans to revive the country's economy, including the holding of an international donors' conference in Paris on 25 January. The government has unveiled proposals to rebuild the economy,...

Government sleaze clampdown continues.(KUWAIT)(PWC Logistics' build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The government's latest anticorruption drive has been blocked by a local court, which has ruled that attempts to cancel build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts were illegal. It remains unclear whether the government has the authority to...

Loans write-off rejected.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The National Assembly (parliament) has rejected a draft bill that would have written off all commercial loans owed by nationals. By 39 to 20, members of parliament rejected the bill, which the government says would have cost it more than $4,000...

Budget deficit drops.(OMAN)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Muscat's 2007 budget forecasts a drop in the deficit to RO 400 million ($1,039 million), 38 per cent lower than the previous year. Expenditure is set to rise to RO 4,890 million ($12,701 million) in 2007, up 15 per cent, with revenues budgeted...

Petrol price hike dropped.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The kingdom has gone back on plans to raise the price of petrol. The prices of Premium 95 and Premium 91 petrol were due to increase to SR 0.75 ($0.20) and SR 0.60 ($0.16) a litre respectively with effect from 1 January. However, King Abdullah...

Cap on rent rises halved.(UAE)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The Dubai government has more than halved the cap on rent increases, from 15 percent to 7 per cent. The move should help to reduce inflation, but its impact on housing costs could be undermined by a continuing shortage of rental properties....

Investcorp spree goes on.(BAHRAIN)(acquisitions)(Moody International )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Investcorp has agreed to acquire UK-based Moody International from Close Brothers Private Equity in a deal worth $311 million. Moody is a provider of inspection and personnel services to the oil and gas, construction and mining sectors and is...

Lagoon sukuk flies.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The sukuk issue for the local Al-Ahlia Investment Company closed oversubscribed in late December. The facility, which has a tenor of five years callable in two, was increased in size to $200 million from $125 million. The issue was lead managed...

Hollandi upgraded.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... International rating agency Fitch has upgraded the issuer default rating of Saudi Hollandi Bank (SHB) to A- from BBB+ with a stable outlook. "The upgrade reflects SHB's continued strong growth in underlying profitability, despite the...

New fund gets advisers.(UAE)(Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training)(Alpen Capital; Corecap )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Abu Dhabi-based CERT (Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training) has picked Dubai-based Alpen Capital and Corecap as financial advisers on its $100 million venture capital fund. Cert Capital, CERT's investment management arm, will...

New banking rules draw near: plans incorporate licensing and credit bureaus.(UAE)
January 5, 2007... The Central Bank of the UAE is introducing new regulations which should lead to more investment and merchant banks, as part of an ongoing drive to improve the banking system. There are currently no specific licences to govern the activities...

Abu Dhabi bank mulls sukuk issue.(UAE)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) will be held on 21 February to vote on a proposal for Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) to increase its stake in the bank. This follows a decision...

Acetyls complex finance signed.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Sandi International Petrochemical Company contract with banking industry)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... The debt package for the Sandi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) acetyls complex in Jubail was signed in late December. The $560 million, 12-year facility is in the process of being converted to an Islamic structure. The nine...

Amman plans 16 sell-offs: privatisation chairman Abu Hammour targets major divestments.(JORDAN)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Amman is planning up to 16 major privatisations of state-owned companies this year, according to Mohammed Abu Hammour, chairman of the Executive Privatisation Commission. It is not yet clear how many will be floated on public markets and...

Omar Effendi owed millions.(EGYPT)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Local retailer Omar Effendi, whose troubled privatisation was completed in November, is still owed E 300 million [pounds sterling] ($52 million), almost a third of it from the government, according to a new report by the Central Accounting &...

Heineken buys into brewer.(TUNISIA)
January 5, 2007... The Netherlands' Heineken International has acquired 49.99 per cent of local brewer Societe de Production & de Distribution des Boissons (SPDB). Following the deal, which was announced in late December, the local company is set to invest...

New fund to aid small companies.(LEBANON)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... A new $20 million fund to help small and medium-sized businesses in the country is to be launched by the end of March. The Bader Group, set up by local business leaders, is promoting the initiative and is being assisted by the Finance...

Maroctel buys into Africa.(MOROCCO)
January 5, 2007... Maroc Telecom acquired at the end of December a 51 per cent stake in Onatel, the state-owned telecoms company of Burkina Faso. The partnership will help facilitate Ouagadougou's programme to raise the quality of its telecoms services to...

Istithmar buys Thai.(UAE)(Raimon Land Public Company)(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Two regional hospitality companies have bought significant stakes in Thai real estate developer Raimon Land Public Company. Istithmar Hotels, the hospitality arm of Dubai-based investment house Istithmar, has bought a 25 per cent stake in the...

Local bank boosts capital.(UAE)(Commercial Bank International )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... Commercial Bank International will double its capital to AED 1,000 million ($272 million) from AED 478 million ($130 million). The new capital will be raised from existing shareholders and will finance its retail banking expansion plans. The...

HSBC buys Flip stake.(UAE)(HSBC Private Equity Middle East)(Flip Media Investments )(Brief article)
January 5, 2007... HSBC Private Equity Middle East has acquired a stake in Dubai-based Flip Media Investments (FMI). FMI is the holding company for digital media consultancy Flip Media, online marketing agency Neo Digital and two software companies. It has...

Hopes rise for the new year: tighter regulation bodes well for the market in 2007.(MARKET IN FOCUS: UAE)
January 5, 2007... The new year on the UAE bourses got off to an inauspicious start when the Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority (ESCA) banned two brokerages from trading. The action sounds yet another sour note in the chorus of negative sentiment that...

Forthcoming events.(CONFERENCES)(Calendar)
January 5, 2007... GULF PROPERTY INVESTMENT FORUM 4-5 March 2007 Hilton Abu Dhabi, UAE www.meed.com/property Demand for real estate in the Gulf has led to unprecedented growth in the property market. However, with fast-paced development comes...

Trouble in store: for all his outward bluster, President Ahmadinejad is about to face his most difficult months in office, as sanctions creep closer and disillusionment sinks in at home.(SPECIAL REPORT: IRAN)
January 5, 2007... At the main polling station in the Sadeqieh neighbourhood of west Tehran, a large crowd gathered in late December to vote for new city councillors and venerable religious scholars charged with overseeing the supreme leader. The high...

A distorted picture: the government claims the economy is in robust health. Economists--and most Iranians--beg to differ.(ECONOMY)(Statistical data)
January 5, 2007... Local economists complain that the Islamic republic becomes more difficult to understand every year. Figures are frequently dismissed as misleading, while economic and political trends often seem totally contradictory. "How does this country...

The cheaper alternative: as private Western investors retreat from Iran, Chinese companies are gaining a secure foothold.(PROJECTS MARKET)
January 5, 2007... Businessmen from Beijing or Shanghai are now a common sight in Tehran's more salubrious restaurants and hotel lobbies. A large delegation of businessmen was recently taken around the country, meeting officials, potential private sector partners...