MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from June 2005

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from June 2005

High hopes.(COMMENT)(Burj Dubai)
June 3, 2005... In this week's Cover Story (pages 4-6), Angus Hindley reports on the development of Burj Dubai, and talks to the engineers, contractors and clients behind the world's tallest building. They all agree they are building an icon. But iconic of...

Tehran tests missile motors and Western patience: Rafsanjani urges international co-operation as Tehran boosts missile technology.(IRAN)
June 3, 2005... Tehran continued to send mixed messages to the outside world in early June, as the government revealed that it had successfully tested a new missile motor for its arsenal of medium-range missiles, only days after nuclear talks resumed with the...

On the record.(SEVEN DAYS)
June 3, 2005... "Globalisation is not a sloga" Former president and presidential candidate Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani sets out his stall

Looking back ....(SEVEN DAYS)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... 4 June 1965 Kuwait Airways Corporation sends a special flight to the Trucial States to inaugurate the new airport that has opened in Dubai 1 June 1990 North and South Yemen officially merge to form the most populous state on the...

Security forces brace for return of militants.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Saudi security forces say they are preparing for an expected return of Islamist militants from the insurgency against US troops in Iraq, but have downplayed the chances of insurgents causing serious trouble. "Of course we expect whoever is left...

Islamists demonstrate against alleged US Quran abuse: 27 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Demonstrators rally in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan, demanding an apology from Washington for the alleged desecration of the Quran by prison interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Newsweek reported mishandling of the Quran in an article...

Lebanese intellectuals call for Syrian political reform: 27 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A group of Lebanese intellectuals and professionals publish a petition calling for an end to human rights abuses in Syria and the detention of eight political activists. The activists, who are board members of the Jamal Atasi Forum, were...

Israel must leave more West Bank settlements, says Peres: 27 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Tel Aviv must withdraw from more settlements in the West Bank after it evacuates Gaza, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres says. "Facts will not allow Israel to rest on its laurels after the Gaza pullout, we must evacuate other...

Saad Hariri sweeps election victory: 29 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The anti-Syrian Future bloc, the electoral list headed by assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariri's son Saad, took all 19 Beirut seats in the first round of parliamentary elections. Beirut is the first district to go to the polls, which...

Double suicide bombing kills more than 25: 30 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... More than 25 former policemen are killed when two suicide bombers blow themselves up in a crowd of 500 people in the predominantly Shia town of Hilla, south of Baghdad. The policemen gathered to receive overdue pay and were protesting outside a...

Saddam to stand trial in two months, says new president: 31 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Saddam Hussain )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says that he expects the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain for crimes against humanity to begin within two months. "The Iraqi government is now doing its best to prepare the ground for a court [trial],"...

Hamas shuns election rerun: 31 May.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Hamas says that it will boycott repeat elections to be held in some Gaza towns where Hamas won seats during municipal polls at the beginning of May. The election rerun was announced after courts decided to cancel the results in some districts...

IAEA to seek overview of Saudi Arabia: 1 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(International Atomic Energy Agency)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Associated Press reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is asking its members to back a plan, which will give it some oversight in Saudi Arabia for the first time. In the arrangements requested by Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will...

A very tall order: the world has never seen anything like it. At more than 700 metres high, Burj Dubai will shatter the tallest building record and push structural engineering and super-tall construction to the limit.(BURJ DUBAI)(Cover Story)
June 3, 2005... On the wall of the plush Burj Dubai show office is a quotation attributed to Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. "The word 'impossible' is not in leaders' dictionaries," it reads. "No matter how...

Managing the unpredictable: with power and water demand rocketing, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has one of the toughest jobs in the Middle East. Angus Hindley talks to DEWA's managing director and CEO Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer about how the utility plans to meet the challenges.(BRIEFING: DUBAI ELECTRICITY AND WATER AUTHORITY)(Interview)
June 3, 2005... It used to be all so predictable at Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA). Every two years or so, the utility would tender a major power and desalination project to meet Dubai's medium-term requirements, and that would be that. Not...

South Pars 15-16 award thrown into new doubt: but Petropars may take on 17-18.(IRAN)(Pars Oil & Gas Company)
June 3, 2005... The failure of the preferred bidding group to reach agreement by the 26 May deadline has thrown the South Pars 15-16 contract award into serious doubt. Pars Oil & Gas Company (POGC) head Akbar Torkan announced in late May that the tender could...

Bid Boland moves to award stage.(IRAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) has selected tender winners for the Bid Boland gas treatment plant, according to the local Petropars, which is the project manager on the scheme. A group led by the UK's Costain has been nominated for the...

Four line up for ethane pipeline.(QATAR)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids were submitted in late May for the Ras Laffan-Mesaieed ethane pipeline project. The submission came almost eight months after the project was first issued for tender by Qatar Petroleum...

MEED conferences: premier networking events.(Calendar)
June 3, 2005... Gulf Petrochemicals 2005 7-8 June 2005, Bahrain Middle East Retail 2005 14-15 June 2005, Dubai Developments in the Middle East Cement Industry 19-20 June 2005, Dubai 3rd Middle East Capital Markets 20-21 September 2005, Dubai ...

Bidding nears on EPF programme.(KUWAIT)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The prequalification list is expected to be announced imminently for the estimated $120 million-150 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and the five-year operation and maintenance (O&M) contract for the state's first...

Air Liquide signs up for Sohar gas.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... France's Air Liquide has signed an agreement with Oman Refinery Company (ORC), Omzest and Mohsin Haider Darwish to establish an industrial gases unit at Sohar Industrial Port, dedicated to supplying the industries under development at the site....

Fresh prices due for Hawiyah subcontract.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Revised prices are due to be submitted by 8 June to Italy's Snamprogetti for an estimated $300 million construction subcontract on package 2 of the greenfield Hawiyah natural gas liquids (NGL) project. The contract will include civils and...

Saudi, US push prices up.(OIL PRICES)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Oil prices rose in the final week of May as the start of the US driving season coincided with the reaction to the first crude stock draw for several weeks and fears of instability in Saudi Arabia. Spot Brent was trading at $49.48 a barrel on 1...

Luksar readies to spud in Empty Quarter.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Lukoil Saudi Arabia Energy (Luksar), the 80:20 joint venture of Russia's Lukoil Overseas and Saudi Aramco, is in the final stages of 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition in concession area A in the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter). The US'...

Linde/Sazeh JV wins crackers on olefins 11: economies of scale sought in building two plants side by side.(IRAN)
June 3, 2005... National Petrochemical Company (NPC) has issued a letter of intent to a joint venture of Germany's Linde and the local Sazeh Consult to build two identical ethane crackers each with capacity of 1.2 million tonnes a year (t/y) at Assaluyeh under...

Locals bid low again on Kharg methanol.(IRAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Two locally-led teams have submitted significantly lower bids on the Kharg methanol retender, after the client, Kharg Petrochemical Company (KPC), opened prices in late May (MEED 28:1:05). The local Petrochemical Industries Design &...

Uhde wins EDC supply contract.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Liwa Petrochemical Company, the project company for the planned ethylene dichloride (EDC) and caustic soda plant at Sohar, has signed a $300 million technology and equipment supply agreement with Germany's Uhde. The planned plant will have...

RAK closes in on petrochemicals complex.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) is in negotiations with Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) with a view to signing a joint venture (JV) agreement to set up a new petrochemicals complex in the emirate. No details have been made available on the...

Fluor signs up for YanSab offsites and utilities.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The US' Fluor Corporation received a letter of intent in late May to carry out the offsites and utilities package on the grassroots Yanbu National Petrochemicals Company (YanSab) complex. The package, valued at $650 million-700 million, is the...

ALDAR moves on souk, Al-Raha: design consultant appointed for central market.(UAE)
June 3, 2005... Local developer ALDAR Properties has selected the UK office of RTKL as design consultant for its estimated $325 million redevelopment of Abu Dhabi's central market. The project is one of five being worked on by ALDAR, while at least another 20...

CCC takes Mubadala headquarters contract.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) was awarded in late May the estimated $60 million contract to build a low-rise office building in Abu Dhabi to house the local Mubadala Development Company and the Environment...

Business Bay towers let.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The local Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises has received a letter of intent for the construction of 11 30-40-storey towers in Dubai's Business Bay development. The contract, valued at about AED 2,000 million ($545 million), was directly...

ACC goes double platinum.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A joint venture of Lebanon's Arabian Construction Company (ACC) and the UK's Higgs & Hill signed on 30 May the estimated $80 million contract to build the Platinum tower in Doha. The signing came two weeks after ACC moved on site for the...

Two tenders due on financial harbour.(BAHRAIN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Tender documents are due to be released in June for two further packages on the Bahrain Financial Harbour project being developed by Gulf Finance House. The first will cover dredging and reclamation work for phase 3 of the project, likely to...

Award nears on Marriott refurb.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A contract award is approaching on the project to refurbish the Marriott hotel in Cairo, after revised prices were submitted by contractors. In the repricing exercise, Belgium's Besix submitted the low bid at $29 million, followed by a...

Bids in for Islamic University subcontract.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... About five local companies submitted bids in late May to the local Al-Fouzan Trading & General Construction for the main subcontract on the project to expand Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. Estimated to be worth SR 400...

Prequals invited for Bubiyan dredging.(KUWAIT)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Prequalification has been launched for the second and largest package on the $1,200 million Bubiyan sea port project, with interested companies invited to submit design and build applications by 9 July. Covering dredging works, the estimated...

Parklife project for Ashrafieh.(LEBANON)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The local Middle East Capital Group (MECG) is planning a $27 million residential development, called Park Hill, in Ashrafieh. Architects are expected to be appointed imminently and construction tenders are due to be issued in January 2006, The...

Work starts on souks.(LEBANON)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The local Entreprises AR Hourie is expected to start work by the end of June on the $52 million gold souks and souks core package, which forms the first phase of the Souks of Beirut project. The development will involve the construction of a...

Options studied on Jamarat bridge.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The contract to build Jamarat bridge in the Mina area of Makkah is likely to be retendered, with changes to the original scope of works. The client, the Municipal & Rural Affairs Ministry, is understood to be considering its options after...

NDIA bidding revs up.(QATAR)(New Doha International Airport)
June 3, 2005... Tendering on the first phase of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) project has moved into its most intensive phase, with about seven contract packages out to bid among contractors. The client, the NDIA Steering Committee, has also...

Doha lifts restrictions.(QATAR)(new contracting reforms)
June 3, 2005... The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has introduced a raft of contracting reforms aimed at attracting international companies to the state to deliver an ambitious five-year infrastructure development plan. The measures have been welcomed by...

SaudConsult scoops major awards.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Saudi Consulting Services (SaudConsult) has been awarded in partnership with German consultants three design and engineering services contracts for building and infrastructure projects in Riyadh. The largest of the three projects, valued at...

First Al-Huda plaza work let.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Local property developer Al-Tajamua International for Real Estate Development & Engineering Company awarded on 28 May a SR 64 million ($17 million) main construction contract to the local Mubarak al-Qitmi Contracting for the Al-Huda plaza 1...

Firms queue for City Centre.(BAHRAIN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Tender documents were released on 30 May for the main construction contract on the Bahrain City Centre mall by the client, Dubai-based Majid al-Futtaim Investments. Bids are due by 13 August (MEED 13:5:05). The four prospective bidders are...

Fresh prices studied for Faisal University.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Revised prices were submitted in mid-May to the local Faisal Foundation for the first two packages on the Al-Faisal university project in Dabab, Riyadh. For package 1, the construction of a mosque and two five-storey buildings to house a...

DBB bids low for Dubai road widening.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The local/UK Dutco Balfour Beatty (DBB) has submitted the lowest bid for the widening of Shaikh Zayed highway from the World Trade Centre to interchange 3. Its offer of AED 82 million ($22 million) is about 10 per cent lower than the next price...

Private investor plans Shaikh Zayed tower.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Contractors have been invited to bid by 7 June for the main contract to build a mixed use tower on Shaikh Zayed highway, The 58-storey tower will have a built-up area of about 55,000 square metres and will take 24 months to complete. The local...

New body to manage Qatar-Bahrain causeway.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Doha and Manama are seeking members for the board of a new body to manage the delivery of the long-planned Qatar-Bahrain causeway, says Qatar's Public Works Authority (Ashghal) managing director Zayed Mansour al-Khayarin. "We have completed...

Mitsubishi gets metro green light: Japanese-led team set for phases 1-2.(UAE)
June 3, 2005... The consortium led by Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation is due to sign on 25 June the AED 12,450 million ($3,400 million) contract with Dubai Municipality (DM) to build the first two phases of the Dubai light rail transport (LRT) system after...

Euro carriers expand networks.(ALGERIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... British Airways (BA) is to become the first international airline offering direct scheduled flights to Hassi Messaoud in the south when it launches on 7 June a twice-weekly service from London. The airline currently offers flights five times a...

Medina monorail nears.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A final investment decision is awaited from Jeddah-based Al-Salam Group for the first phase of a proposed monorail project in Medina. The estimated SR 500 million-600 million ($133 million-160 million) scheme has been structured on a...

Virgin heads to Dubai.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Competition on the Dubai-London route is expected to heat up in 2006 after UK-based Virgin Atlantic announced it would begin flying to the emirate in April next year. The airline will initially fly four times a week, with a view to flying daily...

RAK mulls airline take-off.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) is looking to establish a new airline based in the emirate within a year, Shaikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, told MEED in an interview on 29 May. The proposed airline, which is...

Carbon anode plant moves ahead: a private firm--Gulf Carbon Industries Company--will operate the Shuaiba plant.(KUWAIT)
June 3, 2005... Detailed engineering is set to begin on 1June on the estimated $360 million private carbon anode plant at the West Shuaiba industrial area. It follows the finalising of agreements on the feedstock supply for the plant and on the incorporation...

Asco goes shrimping in Jizan in two-phase project.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The local Arabian Shrimp Company (Asco) is pressing ahead with plans to build a major shrimp farm at Jizan in the southwest of the kingdom. Estimated to cost SR 600 million ($160 million), the project will have capacity to process 28,000-30,000...

RAK steps up manufacturing plans.(UAE)
June 3, 2005... The government of Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) signed on 28 May a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the local Al-Ghurair Investments and Dubai-based ETA Star Holdings for the construction of a greenfield steel plant in the emirate. The MoU was one...

Magnesium plant planned at Sokhna.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A group of local and international investors are to invest in a magnesium smelter in the port of Ain el-Sokhna near Suez. Germany's ThyssenKrupp Metallurgie has signed a 15-year offtake agreement for 100 per cent of the plant's output. The...

Bid round launched for iron deposits.(ALGERIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The National Agency of Mining Patrimony, part of the Energy & Mines Ministry, has launched an international bid round for the exploitation of iron ore deposits at Gara Djebilet and Mechri Abdelaziz in the southwest. Companies have been invited...

Renault parks its Megane in Tehran.(IRAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... France's Renault and the local Pars Khodro, part of the Saipa Group, have signed an agreement for the assembly and sale of the Renault Megane model. Installed production capacity of the sedan at the Pars Khodro plant in Tehran will be 15,000...

DEWA awards L station 2: Hyundai E&C takes the power island and Fisia the desal package.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company and Italy's Fisia Italimpianti received letters of acceptance in late May from Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) for the two main turnkey packages on phase 2 of the Jebel All L...

Ras al-Khaimah revs up power plans.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The government of Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) has unveiled plans to build a new $150 million power plant. The project is one of several aimed at resolving the emirate's lack of power capacity, which has held up its industrial development. Located...

T&D work at Khursaniyah beckons.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has invited firms to submit bids by 9 July for the Khursaniyah transmission and distribution (T&D) project in the Eastern Province. Estimated to be worth SR375 million ($100 million), the project will be carried...

Power privatisation advances.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A request for qualifications (RFQ) is likely to be issued in July and a request for proposals (RFP) in September for the sultanate's next independent water and power project (IWPP), says Bob Bryniak, chief executive of Oman Power & Water...

Weather turns to Wind: complex deal also sees a reduction in the Sawiris' stake in Orascom Telecom.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Weather, the consortium led by Orascom Telecom (OT) chairman and chief executive officer Naguib Sawiris, has concluded an agreement to acquire Wind, the wholly-owned telecoms subsidiary of Italy's Enel, in a deal which values the operator at...

Nokia signs 3G deal with Wataniya.(REGIONAL)(Wataniya Telecom)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Finland's Nokia hopes its Eur 100 million ($127 million) contract, signed on 29 May, to upgrade Wataniya Telecom's Kuwaiti network will open the door for new regional opportunities. The deal provides for Wataniya to upgrade to third-generation...

Ministry must protect mobile operators from illegal providers, says Jawwal CEO.(GAZA & WEST BANK)(Hakam Kanafani)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Jawwal, the mobile phone division of Palestine Telecommunications Company (PalTel), has reacted sceptically to news that the Palestinian Telecommunications & Information Technology Ministry plans to issue a tender for a second mobile operator...

Siemens speeds up Kuwait.(KUWAIT)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Germany's Siemens has been awarded a Eur 40 million ($49.4 million) contract by the Communications Ministry to upgrade telecommunications networks in six urban areas, entailing replacement of copper wires with optical fibres to enable faster...

Telecoms regulator created.(QATAR)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Doha established an independent telecommunications regulatory authority in late May, a prelude to the liberalisation of the country's telecoms sector. Called the Supreme Council for Information & Communication Technology (SCICT), the body will...

Another FLAG unfurled.(YEMEN)(FLAG Telecom)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... TeleYemen has agreed a multimillion-dollar investment in London-based FLAG Telecom's $300 million-400 million Falcon project, which will see the local state-owned operator gain access to capacity on the network and Yemen providing two landing...

RAK unveils multi-billion dollar plans: port of Arabia leads the way; Marjan Island and the Jebel Jais mountain resort follow.(UAE)(Ras al-Khaimah)
June 3, 2005... Ras al-Khaimah unveiled on 28 May a handful of new tourism and real estate projects aimed at diversifying the emirate's economy and drumming up support from investors. Khater Massad, chief executive officer of Ras al-Khaimah Investment...

Emaar slips into Armani.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Emaar Hotels & Resorts, a newly created subsidiary of Dubai-based property developer Emaar Properties, signed on 31 May a $1,000 million contract with Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani SPA to develop 10 hotels and resorts across the world....

Investment firm looks to tap into tourism potential.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Abu Dhabi announced on 31 May the establishment of a new investment company aimed at tapping into the emirate's growing tourism potential. The joint-stock company, which has a paid-up capital of AED 100 million ($27 million), will run tourism...

Bilateral and bloc FTAs all the rage: Maqbool "White House wanted bilateral deals".(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Oman expects to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US in the first half of June, Commerce & Industry Minister Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan told MEED in late May. "Everyone wants to sign one of these agreements and we don't want to be left...

Banks flock to YLNG finance: more than 30 banks want to talk.(YEMEN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... One-on-one meetings have been held with international and regional conventional banks interested in participating in the $1,900 million financing of the Yemen LNG (YLNG) project and meetings with Islamic banks will be held during June. A...

Oman LNG refinancing sealed.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... A five-strong bank group has signed up to the refinancing of a $1,300 million facility for Oman LNG, with the project company succeeding in obtaining a substantially reduced pricing and extending the tenor. There had been some doubt about the...

IDB EMTN takes to road.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has launched the roadshow for the first drawdown of its $1,000 million euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme. Presentations were launched on 1 June in Hong Kong and will take in Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE,...

Bank Dhofar loan signed.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Bank Dhofar has signed a $75 million syndicated loan facility, lead arranged By HSBC and ING Bank. The three-year loan was priced at 37.5 basis points. It closed oversubscribed but was not upsized. The funds raised will be used to allow Bank...

BNP in front for smelter advisory.(QATAR)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... BNP Paribas is understood to be frontrunner for the financial advisory mandate on the debt package for the planned aluminium smelter at Mesaieed, following beauty parades in late May. Citigroup, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank are understood...

Roadshows staged for Amlak sukuk.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Roadshows have been completed in Bahrain and Dubai for the sukuk issue planned by Amlak Finance, the home finance subsidiary of Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties. Amlak plans to raise a minimum of $200 million. The issue is being arranged...

First Gulf Bank plans capital hike.(UAE)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The board of First Gulf Bank has decided to more than double capital from AED 408 million ($111.2 million) to AED 1,000 million ($272.5 million), subject to shareholders' approval at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 21 June. It is...

ABG umbrella to widen.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Albaraka Banking Group (ABG), the recently consolidated entity created out of nine Islamic banking subsidiaries of Saudi Arabia's Dallah Albaraka Group, is planning a private placement or initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the year and...

Price war: debate on who is responsible for high oil prices is intensifying, but producers across the Middle East can justifiably claim to be investing heavily in capacity increases.(SPECIAL REPORT: OIL & GAS)
June 3, 2005... "The OPEC reference basket in April saw the lowest rise in four months on again of $0.56, or 1 per cent, from the previous month, to close at $49.63." The unusual phrasing of the May edition of OPEC's monthly report fails to disguise a familiar...

Balanced on a knife edge: decision time is fast approaching for Project Kuwait, with the latest draft enabling law now in parliament.(KUWAIT)
June 3, 2005... To rapturous applause from the public galleries, Kuwait's National Assembly (parliament) voted on 16 May for women to be allowed to vote and stand in future elections. After years of parliamentary opposition, one of the country's...