MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from March 2004

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from March 2004

Political geology.(Comment)
March 5, 2004... The mix of oil and politics is usually explosive, and recent weeks have proved no exception. If all goes according to plan, a historic event will take place in Riyadh in mid-March. Chinese and Russian oil companies, alongside an Italian/Spanish...

On the record.(Seven Days)
March 5, 2004... "This is a great day in the history of Iraq, an unforgettable day. This document not only reflects agreement on many wider aspects of Iraqi society, it is also an aspirational document which looks to the future" Interim governing council...

Looking back ...(Seven Days)(Calendar)
March 5, 2004... 6 March 1964 Arab foreign ministers meet in Cairo ahead of a series of planned tours of the US, China, the USSR and Europe to put forward the Arab viewpoint on the Palestine question 10 March 1989 Western pressure over the Salman...

Hundreds of Iraqis die in Ashura attacks: Shia targeted during religious celebrations.(Iraq)
March 5, 2004... More than 200 people are now thought to have been killed in a series of devastating attacks against the Shia community as they marked Ashura on 2 March, the holiest event in their calendar. The US-led authorities are pointing the finger at a...

Occupied Territories gradually descend into lawlessness.(Regional)
March 5, 2004... The shooting on 1 March of Khalil al-Zebin, a leading adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, symbolised the state of increasing lawlessness in the Occupied Territories. Al-Zebin, a journalist who advised Arafat on human rights and media...

Worshippers riot in Jerusalem: 27 February.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Israeli police are called to stop rioting in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city. A spokesman says police threw stun grenades when Muslim worshippers "started rioting" after Friday prayers. Reports say hundreds of youths began...

Israel offers Cairo security role.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Israel has reportedly held talks with Egypt over handing Cairo security control of a narrow corridor on the Egypt-Gaza Strip border, say reports in the Israeli press. The proposal is part of Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon's plans for the...

Qataris detained in Moscow: 1 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Two Qatari Olympic wrestlers are arrested by Russian authorities. The news comes shortly after Qatar charges two Russians in connection with the assassination of former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who was killed along with his two...

MPs vote against proposed council.(News Digest)
March 5, 2004... A law to set up a higher media council is voted down by Jordan's parliament. In a lower house debate, 35 of 66 deputies vote against the council. Plans to create the new council led to the scrapping of the Information Ministry as part of...

Nine arrested after siege.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Nine Egyptians are arrested after a five-day siege comes to an end in Nakhila village, 248 miles south of Cairo. Witnesses say about 6,000 security personnel and 200 cars surrounded the village during the siege, which began after police moved...

EU invites officials to Brussels: 2 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The EU tells Libya to send its officials to Brussels if it is serious about joining the Barcelona process, which aims to create a Euro-Mediterranean free trade region by the end of 2010.

Cause of Kish crash revealed: 3 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The 10 February Kish Airlines crash that killed all but three of its 46 passengers was caused by the plane's engines going into reverse, the director-general of the UAE Civil Aviation Authority announces. The Fokker 50 twin-turboprop aircraft...

Al-Qaeda man arrested: 4 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A top Al-Qaeda operative is arrested by security forces in Yemen. The militant, who had apparently survived a 2002 CIA attempt to kill him, is apprehended in the southern Abyan province. The man arrested is said to be Abdul Raouf Nassib, also...

How empty is the Empty Quarter? In the second week of March, Saudi Arabia will sign licences for upstream gas development with three second-division foreign energy companies. Global heavyweights such as ExxonMobil and BP passed on the first opportunity to gain access to upstream Saudi hydrocarbons for a generation. Why?(Saudi Gas)(Cover Story)
March 5, 2004... At lunch last December, a Saudi royal with a top government job was reviewing the kingdom's relations with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US was making mistakes in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Palestine,...

Aramco refutes reserve charges: Saudi Aramco officials have vigorously defended the company against accusations by a US analyst that estimates of potential production are exaggerated. MEED reports.(Economic briefing: Saudi oil capacity)
March 5, 2004... Saudi Aramco has mounted a strong and detailed rebuttal of claims that its oil production has peaked and that current production capacity is unsustainable over the coming decades. Output of up to 15 million barrels a day (b/d) can be maintained...

Oil Ministry in talks with Tehran: Iran committee one part of wide-ranging plans.(Oil & Gas)
March 5, 2004... Baghdad is stepping up its efforts to open up new oil export routes and build co-operation with its neighbours, Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) senior oil adviser Rob McKee told MEED on 3 March. Talks are under way with Iran, Saudi Arabia...

SOC output to peak at 2.3 million b/d.(Oil & Gas)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... South Oil Company (SOC) expects output from its fields to peak this year at about 2.3 million barrels a day (b/d) from a present level of 2.1 million b/d. "We have completed about 35 per cent of our water injection programme, and if we are...

SOC reopens second terminal.(Oil & Gas)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The first shipments of crude were lifted on 27 February from the Khor al-Amaya export terminal on the Shatt al-Arab waterway South Oil Company (SOC), Iraq's biggest producer of oil, has completed a six-month refurbishment of the facility, which...

Asia-Cell pushes ahead with network build-up.(Telecoms & IT)
March 5, 2004... Asia-Cell, the consortium in charge of rolling out a GSM network in Iraq's northern region, is pressing ahead with the expansion of its coverage, adding new subscribers and introducing roaming services, according to Abroad Haleem, chief...

LogicaCMG wins more work.(Telecoms & IT)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The UK's LogicaCMG has been awarded its second contract for text messaging services in Iraq. The company was selected by Atheer Telecom Iraq, the consortium that has the two-year licence to provide GSM services in the south. LogicaCMG signed a...

MEED conferences: premier networking events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 5, 2004... Saudi Retail Forum 7-8 March 2004, Jeddah Middle East Real Estate 16-17 March 2004, Dubai MEED Power & Water 22-24 March 2004, Abu Dhabi Job Creation & Human Resources Development Forum 29-30 March 2004, Jeddah...

New power targets set.(Power & Water)
March 5, 2004... Significant progress in the reconstruction effort by Iraqi authorities in co-operation with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) will push Iraq's power generation capacity to at least 6,000 MW by mid-year, Robyn McGuckin, deputy senior...

March dates for reconstruction awards.(Construction)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) is planning to award or 12 March seven contracts to roan age its $5,000 million reconstruction programme and on 24 March 10 design-and-build prime contracts to carry out the work say programme sources....

Banking licences to be finalised.(Banking & Finance)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The first three operating licences for foreign banks issued by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) will receive final approval in mid-March, according to Kevin Woelflein, senior banking adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). "The...

SSA to get Umm Qasr operating extension.(Transport)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) Marine is likely to have its contract extended to operate and manage the deep water port at Umm Qasr. The $4.8 million contract, awarded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) a year ago, is...

Azadegan's Japanese consortium collapses: several IOCs likely to be interested in stake.(Iran)
March 5, 2004... The Japanese consortium aiming to develop the landmark $2,000 million Azadegan field has collapsed with the withdrawal of at least one partner. Major international oil companies (IOCs) are now expected to step in to the project, with France's...

Frontrunner emerges for Aramco water injection line.(Saudi Arabia)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... An award is imminent for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the pipeline serving the Ain Dar and Shedgum water injection project in the Eastern Province. Lebanon's Contracting & Trading (CAT) is frontrunner...

Consortium wins exploration permits.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A consortium led by the US' Heyco Energy has signed an eight-year exploration agreement with Office National de Recherches & d'Exploration Petrolieres (Onarep) for the Maamoura and Moulay Bousselham concessions. The two contiguous blocks are...

GE wins Qatargas II long-lead contract.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Italy-based GE Oil & Gas has been awarded a contract valued at $200 million to supply turbo compressor strings for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project under way at Ras Laffan. The client is Qatar Liquefied Gas Company II (Qatargas...

Prices hit post-war highs.(Oil Prices)
March 5, 2004... Oil prices climbed to their highest level since the Iraq war in the fast week of March, chiefly on the back of supply concerns in the US market. OPEC members are also signalling their seriousness about implementing the 1 million-barrel-a-day...

Gassi Touil to be awarded soon.(Algeria)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Commercial bids for the giant Gassi Touil gas field development will be opened on 27 March, and the contract awarded the same day Energy & Mines Minister Chekib Khelil, on a visit to London on 27 February, said that the successful bidder would...

Tender out for new pipeline.(Libya)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... At least 10 companies have purchased bid documents on an estimated $180 million construction contract for a pipeline between the newly operational Elephant field--800 kilometres south of Tripoli--and Melitah, on the north coast. The field's...

GE to extend compression station.(Algeria)
March 5, 2004... Italy-based GE Oil & Gas, formerly known as GE Nuovo Pignone, has won a Eur 60 million ($74.6 million) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to extend a gas compression station near the Hassi R'mel gas deposit. The two-year...

FMC signs revised contract.(Algeria)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The US' FMC Technologies has announced that it has signed a revised contract with state energy company Sonatrach for an offshore oil loading project, which the Texas-based firm won in 2002. The original $240 million contract called for the...

Naftec bidding extended.(Algeria)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Naftec, the refining subsidiary of state energy company Sonatrach, has extended the deadline for the submission of technical bids for the rehabilitation and upgrade of three refineries as part of a $400 million modernisation programme. Bids are...

Bids in for Bapco pipeline contract.(Bahrain)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The local Riffa Construction is low bidder at BD 2.1 million ($5.4 million) for a three-year pipeline maintenance and upgrade contract for Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Riffa's bid came in at less than half the value of the next lowest...

Apache closes in on 3 tcf estimate.(Egypt)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The US' Apache Corporation has announced the successful drilling of a third well in its onshore Khaldeh concession. Qasr-3X logged 448 feet of net pay, showing strong correlation with two earlier wells completed last year, Qasr-1 and Qasr-2,...

More time for Sohar pipeline bidders.(Oman)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Oman Gas Company has extended the bid deadline by two weeks to 22 March for the contract to build a mixed feedstock pipeline between Sohar and Mina al-Fahal The estimated $200 million project will involve the supply and construction of a...

Companies express interest in gas plant.(Saudi Arabia)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... International contractors expressed interest by 23 February in participating in the Saudi Aramco tender for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts to build a straddle plant and expand capacities at the Hawiyah gas and...

Prices due for Takreer project.(UAE)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Commercial bids are due to be submitted by 15 March for the contract to carry out the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for a revamp of the hydrocracker unit at the Ruwais refinery. Eight international companies submitted technical bids...

ITB out for PMC on large-scale Yanbu complex: Yanbu site will have similar scope to United complex.(Saudi Arabia )(invitation to bid)(project management consultancy)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has released invitation to bid (ITB) documents to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for a large-scale petrochemicals complex at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. The contract will include...

Companies sign EPC contracts.(Saudi Arabia)(engineering, procurement and construction)(Teldene)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Two local companies--Jubail-based Gulf Advanced Chemical Industries Company (GACIC) and Yanbu-based Teldene--signed in early March lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for new petrochemical capacity. GACIC...

Zamil sets up new venture.(Saudi Arabia)
March 5, 2004... The local AH Al-Zamil Group has established a new holding company dedicated to investing in the domestic petrochemicals sector. The new firm, Sahara Petrochemical Company, will invest in two separate projects in Jubail. Sahara was originally...

Locals ahead on Kharg.(Iran)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Two local companies have emerged as favourites to win the main construction package on the methanol facility at Kharg petrochemical complex. However, the client, National Petrochemical Company (NPC), is still considering the two foreign bids...

Award made for first phase of financial harbour: $250 million first-phase job to be completed by 2007.(Bahrain)(Al-Hamad Contracting Company awarded the main infrastructure package on the Bahrain Financial Harbour)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Sharjah-based Al-Hamad Contracting Company has been awarded the main infrastructure package on the Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) project. Work on the estimated $250 million contract is scheduled to start by the end of March. The...

Piling package awarded on Burj Dubai.(UAE)(Germany's Bauer and Middle East Foundations have been awarded the pilings package for the landmark Burj Dubai project)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A team of Germany's Bauer and the local Middle East Foundations has been awarded the pilings package for the landmark Burj Dubai project. Estimated to be worth AED 60 million ($16 million), the 190-day contract calls for the excavation of...

Cairo T3 goes for bid.(Egypt)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Cairo Airport Company has invited prequalified groups of local and international contractors to submit technical and commercial bids by 8 May for the estimated $350 million-400 million project to build a third terminal at Cairo airport. Twelve...

USACE's top 10 tackle Al-Udeid.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has invited 10 groups of contractors to bid by 11 March for a $30 million-100 million project to expand the Al Udeid airbase, The tactical and refueller ramp project involves construction of paved areas...

More Alba potline 5 contracts awarded.(Bahrain)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Three more subcontracts have been awarded on the fifth potline expansion at Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). The contract for the supply and erection of potline steel silos went to the local Ramsis Engineering, while refractory installation work in...

KFAED extends loan for road project.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Rabat has signed a KD 18.5 million ($63.8 million) loan agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) to part-finance the construction of a 54-kilometre-long motorway connecting the new Tangier (TangMed) port with the...

TangMed concession bids extended.(Morocco)(Tangier-Mediterranean Special Agency)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Tangier-Mediterranean Special Agency (TMSA) has extended the bid deadline by three weeks to 29 March for the 30-year concession to build and operate its container terminal in the kingdom's flagship port project, 35 kilometres east of...

Laing O'Rourke wins Oman golf course job.(Oman)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Laing O'Rourke of the UK has been appointed project manager for the RO 20 million ($51 million) Muscat Golf & Country Club project, which is due to open in October 2005. Housing to be built in the project has already been sold, some of it on...

Bids in for museum package.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Bids were submitted on 29 February for the estimated $i40 million main package on the Museum of Islamic Arts project. About six international companies are understood to have priced the contract, which covers foundations, structures, finishings...

Major HMC package goes for bid.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... About 20 local and international contractors have been invited to bid by 15 April for the finishings package covering the accommodation units on the Hamad Medical City (HMC) project, The package, valued at about QR 400 million ($110 million),...

OOC to proceed with Sohar smelter: ADWEA interest reaffirmed; Alcan still unsure.(Oman)
March 5, 2004... Oman Oil Company (00C), the downstream investment arm of the government, has reaffirmed its commitment to press ahead with the construction of a greenfield aluminium smelter at Sohar. "The decision to move ahead with the project has been taken...

UDC seeks smelter advice.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A shortlist of six international banks submitted bids to United Development Company (UOC) for the position of financial adviser on the proposed Ras Laffan aluminium smelter project by the 29 February deadline. Barclays Capital, DNP Paribas and...

Preparations begin for capacity hike: Kahramaa seeks 750 MW and 50 million g/d.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) is understood to have invited Qatar Electricity & Water Company (QEWC) and Ras Laffan Power Company (RLPC) to submit proposals for a major expansion of power and desalination capacity The...

Low turnout stalls Deir Ali contract award.(Syria)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Public Establishment of Electricity for Generation & Transmission (PEEGT) has awarded to Ireland's ESB International (ESBD the contract to evaluate bids on its project to build a 750-MW combined cycle power plant at Deir Ali, 36 kilometres...

Bidding groups form for Taweelah B IWPP.(UAE)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Bidding groups are beginning to form for the Taweelah B independent water and power project (IWPP). About 20 international developers are prequalified to submit proposals by 20June for the IWPP, but given the size of the Abu Dhahi Water &...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
March 5, 2004... The MENA: power Requirements Table published in the MEED Power Special Report on 13 February, page 24, contained some inaccuracies in The totals line. A corrected version is published below. MENA: POWER REQUIREMENTS TO 2010 ...

Metito picks up Nuberiya water works.(Egypt)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Egyptian Electricity Holding Company has awarded a $15 million contract to Metito of the UAE to provide water and wastewater units tar the 1,500-MW combined cycle power plant being built at Nuberiya. The scope of works includes the design and...

Privatisation set to begin.(Jordan)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The sale of the kingdom's electricity utilities is set to begin following the signing on 1 March of government guarantees for a JD 100 million ($141 million) loan which will be used to restructure Central Electricity Generating Company (Cegco)...

AFD extends loan for water project.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) has approved a Eur 20 million ($25.1 million) loan to Office National de Eur Potable (ONEP) to finance a water supply programme and sewerage project. Signed on 21 February the 17-year concessionary loan...

Casablanca cleans up.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... SITA, the waste collection division of France's Suez Environnement, has signed a 10-year waste services management contract with the municipal authorities of Casablanca, The contract, which includes a capital investment of Eur 8 million ($10...

AFESD approves loan for Marib power plant.(Yemen)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Kuwait-based Arab fund for Economic & Social Development (AFESD) has approved a KD 25 million ($86.2 million), 25-year loan Sanaa to part-finance the estimated $230 million Marib power plant. State-owned Public Electricity Corporation (PEC)...

Wataniya makes first GSM payment.(Algeria)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Wataniya Telecom Algerie, the focal subsidiary of Kuwait's Wataniya Telecom, has paid the first tranche of its $421 million GSM licence, which it won last December. In accordance with its contract, Wataniya paid Algiers $210.5 million--50 per...

Batelco posts profits rise.(Bahrain)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has posted a 4.7 per cent increase in net profits for 2003 to BD 60.7 million ($160 million). Total revenues rose by 3.4 per cent to BD 192.1 million ($506 million). Batelco's annual general meeting...

OPEC Fund extends IT institute loan.(Tunisia)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a $12 million loan agreement with Tunis to help finance the construction of an IT technology institute in the governorate of Beja. The institute will be able to accommodate 1,500 students...

New tourism project to be developed.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The government has signed a deal, worth up to MD 4,700 million ($542 million), with Societe Amenagement Essaouira-Mogador (SAEM)--a consortium led by Belgium's Thomas & Piron and L'Atelier de Jean-Pierre Reynders--for a new tourism resort in...

Rabat/ Washington conclude FTA: agreement heralds new opportunities.(Morocco)(free trade agreement)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Trade representatives from the US and the kingdom concluded on 2 March a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries--the culmination of more than a year of talks (MEED 23:01:03). The FTA paves the way for the abolition of...

IMF commends economic management.(Kuwait)(International Monetary Fund)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The government has done well to pursue prudent macroeconomic policies but needs to accelerate structural reforms to absorb the swelling local labour force, according to the IMF's 2003 Article IV consultations, published in late February. ...

RasGas bond flies: huge oversubscription "changes landscape".(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Books were closed on the bond issue by Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company (RasGas) on 2 March, with the issue more than four times oversubscribed. Bankers involved in the transaction say that commitments had grown to over $2,500 million...

Banks move on PFI debt for tri-services college.(Oman)(private finance initiative)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A group of five international banks has started work on the documentation for the expected $150 million loan package for the tri-services training college in Muscat. The private finance initiative (PFI) project is being developed by the UK's...

Mannai signs debt/equity deal.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The local Mannai Corporation signed on 29 February a debt/equity agreement with a group of 18 banks. The deal, believed to be the first of its type in the region, involves Mannai swapping more than half of its original debt of $300 million for...

Sovereign sukuk listed in Malaysia.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Doha's debut sovereign sukuk, launched in September, has been listed on Malaysia's Labuan International Financial Exchange (MEED 3:10:03). The $700 million, seven-year instrument is already listed in Luxembourg. Malaysia is the main centre of...

Sovereign loan under renegotiation.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... International and regional banks with parts of Qatar's $500 million sovereign loan taken in 2000 on their books have been invited to reschedule the facility. The proposed terms will see the tenor stretched and the margin sharply reduced....

Macquarie, MerchantBridge form alliance.(Regional)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... An alliance has been formed between London-based MerchantBridge & Company and Australian investment banking heavyweight Macquarie Bank for operations in the Middle East. "We will be marketing ourselves jointly in the region and focusing on...

Finance Ministry guarantees Cegco loan.(Jordan)(Central Electricity Generating Company)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour signed on 1 March an agreement guaranteeing a JD 100 million ($141 million) loan to Central Electricity Generating Company (Cegco). The proceeds of the loan will be used to restructure the company's capital...

Mashreqbank launches first EMTN.(UAE)(euro medium-term note)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Dubai-based Mashreqbank has completed the first drawdown of its $750 million euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme, lead arranged by Banc of America Securities--the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America--and Morgan Stanley. The size...

Cairo banks clean up their act.(Egypt)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a financial watchdog sponsored by the G7 group of the richest industrialised countries, has removed Egypt from its blacklist of countries failing to take adequate measures to prevent money...

Arig returns to the black.(Regional)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Arab Insurance Group (Arig) has posted a net profit of $7.6 million for 2003, returning to the black for the first time in four years. Return on equity was 6.2 per cent. The result was underpinned by an under. writing profit of $9.8 million,...

Tabreed completes landmark sukuk issue.(UAE)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) has completed the issue of a $100 million sukuk--the first to be launched by a UAE corporate. The local National Investor was sole arranger on the issue and joint lead manager with Credit Suisse First...

AUB profits soar.(Regional)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank (AUB) has posted a 46 per cent increase in 2003 net profits to $87.1 million. Total operating income climbed 19.9 per cent to $195.4 million. Interest income rose by 16 per cent, while fee and other income was up...

Smith new COO for HSBC.(People)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Matthew Smith has been appointed the new regional chief operating officer (CO0) at HSBC Bank Middle East. He replaces Steve Freeman. Smith moves to HSBC's regional headquarters from Doha, where he has served as the chief executive officer of...