MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from November 2005

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from November 2005

The appliance of science.(COMMENT)(David Frost to join Al-Jazeera's new English-language channel)
November 4, 2005... The news that Sir David Frost. one of the biggest names in television news broadcasting, is to become the face of Al-Jazeera's new English-language channel caused quite a stir in the UK's somewhat self-obsessed media industry It shouldn't...

Trouble brews on two fronts for Iranian president: Ahmadinejad's judgment questioned by hardliners.(IRAN)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... President Ahmadinejad is trying to put his stamp on the Iranian presidency but his outspoken approach has caused a diplomatic crisis abroad and a clamour among his own supporters at home. Strident comments about Israel in late October, the...

On the record.(SEVEN DAYS)(John Bolton speaks)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... "If I were a Syrian taxpayer, and my intelligence activities were visible, I would demand a refund" US ambassador to the UN John Bolton on Syria's continuing presence in Lebanon

Looking back.(SEVEN DAYS)
November 4, 2005... 5 November 1965 Investors plan to build a 100-kilometre gas pipeline from the Shibargan deposits in northern Afghanistan to Soviet Tajikistan 2 November 1990 North African governments draw up plans for a joint development bank and...

Asad surrounded.(SYRIA)(Bashar al-Asad releases prisoners)
November 4, 2005... Facing challenges from within and outside Syria, President Asad ordered the release of almost 200 political prisoners on 2 November, the eve of Eid al-Fitr. Most of those released are members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, some of whom had...

WTO accession draws near for Riyadh: 28 October.(World Trade Organization)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Saudi Arabia gets the green light to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO working group will discuss a final package of its entry terms at a meeting of the General Council in November (see Economy).

Ahmadinejad defends call for destruction of Israel: 28 October.(NEWS DIGEST in MEED.com this week)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Iran's President Ahmadinejad responds defiantly to widespread international condemnation of his call for Israel to be "wiped off the map". "My words were the Iranian nation's words," he says, adding that the criticism does not "have any...

Fighting breaks out between rebels and Sanaa: 29 October.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Armed men ambush and kill 12 Yemeni policemen in the northwestern province of Saada. About 400 people have died in fighting between the followers of Zaidi spiritual leader Shaikh Hussain Badr al-Din al-Houthi and government forces in the...

Insurgents have killed thousands of Iraqis, Pentagon says: 30 October.(NEWS DIGEST in MEED.com this week)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Insurgents have killed about 26,000 Iraqis since January 2004, says a US Defence Department report. The survey says that casualty numbers rose from 26 a day from January-March 2004 to about 64 a day in the first two weeks of September this...

Violence continues in West Bank: 31 October.(NEWS DIGEST in MEED.com this week)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The Israeli army kills three Palestinian militants near Jenin. Two militants die in a gunfight and a third is killed planting a bomb, the Israeli military says in Qabatiya.

FIS leader calls for general amnesty: 31 October.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The exiled leader of the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) Abassi Madani calls on President Bouteflika to declare a general amnesty. He proposes a ceasefire between the government and armed Algerians and says he hopes the country's national...

Israeli air strikes persist: 1 November.(NEWS DIGEST in MEED.com this week)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Israel continues its campaign of air strikes against Palestinian militant targets and kills two militant commanders in Gaza. "The enemy will regret this," says Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri. "We will not stand handcuffed."

Saddam soldiers are invited back into the army: 2 November.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Defence Minister Saadoun Dulaimi invites former junior army officers under Saddam Hussain to re-enlist. "Those who wish to rejoin the new Iraqi army to serve the precious homeland should go to recruitment centres opened around the country," he...

Libya to scrap death penalty: 2 November.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Tripoli is preparing to scrap the death penalty. The move will "pave the way for commuting the sentences against the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor" convicted of deliberately infecting children with the HIV virus in 2004,...

The Arab world finds its voice: Al-Jazeera is preparing to launch its English-language news network next year, and has fixed audiences in the US, Europe and Asia in its sights. But the Qatar-based organisation is not the only Middle East broadcaster making headlines. The battle for local and international audiences has well and truly begun.(COVER STORY: BROADCASTING)(Cover Story)
November 4, 2005... Sir David Frost lights a Havana cigar and surveys the remains of his breakfast. "Do you think they'll succeed with this smoking ban?" he asks. It is the main topic of conversation in London on this grey October morning, as another new piece of...

The empire service comes full circle: as part of an overhaul of its international services, the BBC has announced plans for a new Arabic-language TV channel. Nigel Chapman, director of the BBC World Service, explains the strategy behind the launch.(BBC ARABIC TV)
November 4, 2005... After decades of being known for crackly shortwave listening in all corners of the globe, the BBC World Service has announced plans for its most far-reaching transformation since it began international broadcasting in December 1932 as the...

Pushing an industrial agenda: after years out of the limelight, Doha-based Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) is looking to regain its position as the region's leading industrial consultancy body, as its secretary-general Ahmed Khalil al-Mutawa tells Angus Hindley.(BRIEFING: GOIC)
November 4, 2005... The regional pioneer in industrial consulting is back. That is the message coming out of the Doha-based Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), as it prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2006. Convinced there has never been...

Selection nears on Yanbu export refinery project: Aramco talking to Conoco, Chevron and Exxon.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Saudi Aramco completed in late October the first round of discussions with three shortlisted international oil companies (IOCs)--ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corporation and ExxonMohil Corporation--looking to acquire an equity stake in its...

Knives out over oil ministry appointment.(IRAN)
November 4, 2005... President Ahmadinejad on 2 November nominated Sadeq Mahsouli as oil minister, shortly after political pressure forced him to withdraw another little-known name for Iran's top cabinet post. Majlis (parliament) deputies must now vote to ratify...

Adgas mulls LNG train options.(Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company)(liquefied natural gas )
November 4, 2005... Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (Adgas) has invited companies to submit technical and commercial bids on 30 November for a feasibility study contract to suggest strategic options for the replacement of its first two liquefied natural gas...

Sonatrach explores US LNG market.(liquefied natural gas )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... State energy company Sonatrach signed on 24 October a 20-year heads of agreement (HoA) with the US' Sempra Energy to export 1,9 million-3,8 million tonnes a year (t/y) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Sempra's Cameron LNG termina under...

Linde, Sham join hands for NIOC LNG.(IRAN)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Germany's Linde and Italy's Snamprogetti are to work together on a single front-end engineering and design (FEED) package for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being pursued ay National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) with a likely Indian...

Project managers track Abu Dhabi gas link.(UAE)
November 4, 2005... Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco) has invited companies to submit technical bids by 14 November for the position of project manager for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase on the proposed offshore associated gas...

Yanbu gas plant project goes for bid.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Saudi Aramco has invited companies to submit bids by 24 December for the contract to expand Yanbu gas plant, after eight international contractors attended a job explanation meeting in Dhahran in mid-October. The attendees were Germany's Uhde,...

Warmer weather cools prices.(OIL PRICES)
November 4, 2005... Oil prices managed to remain just below $60 a barrel at the beginning of November, on the back of milder weather in key US consuming regions and the ongoing recovery of Mexican Gulf production. However, increased political uncertainty, in the...

Sonoran expects major finds in Azraq block.(JORDAN)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The kingdom's oil reserves could be greater than previously realised, a leading US oil company operating in the country has claimed. The US' Sonoran Energy said that preliminary technical studies in the Hamza field in the Azraq block had...

Tender due for new Aramco pipeline.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... About 10 companies responded to an initial inquiry by 1 November to Saudi Aramco for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to supply and install a 42-inch-diameter 32-kilometrelong seawater transfer pipeline between UWSS 1...

Petro-Canada to sell Al-Furat stake.(SYRIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... UK-based energy consultant Harrison Lovegrove has been appointed to advise PetroCanada on the divestment of its stake in Al-Furat Petroleum Company, which produces about 250,000 barrels a day from three concession areas. The sale is being...

Stroytransgaz in for Palmyra.(SYRIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Russia's Stroytransgaz has been awarded the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract to build a gas treatment plant in the southern half of the Palmyra gas reserves region. The contract also includes a short spur...

ARC reissues Azzawiya upgrade.(LIBYA)(Azzawiya Oil Refining Company)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... International contractors have been given until 20 November to submit prequalification documents for the estimated $250 million-300 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to upgrade the country's second biggest...

Green diesel FEED goes for bid.(UAE)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) has invited six companies to submit technical bids on 17 December for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for its sulphur-free gas oil (SFGO) project at Ruwais. A tentative deadline of...

Tender due for Jebel Dhanna tank project.(UAE)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... At least five companies have been prequalified for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build two 1 million-barrel crude oil storage tanks at Jebel Dhanna in Abu Dhabi emirate. They include Turkeys' Tekfen, the local...

WorleyParsons in line for unmanned platform.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Australia's WorleyParsons is understood to be in pole position for the contract to carry out front-end engineering and design (FEED) and detailed engineering to fabricate an unmanned wellhead platform at the offshore West Bukha gas field off...

Finns lube up for Bapco JV.(BAHRAIN)(Bahrain Petroleum Company and Neste Corp. in a joint venture)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Negotiations are under way between Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) and Finland's Neste on putting in place a comprehensive joint venture (JV) agreement on the construction of a lube base oil refinery in the kingdom, following the signature of...

Bids studied for Khafji onshore facilities.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Bids were submitted on 31 October to Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) for the second major onshore contract to expand production facilities at the Divided Zone (DZ). Called the Hout field expansion facilities, the estimated $150 million-200...

GS in line for Sohar: EDC, aromatics awards imminent; MLAs signed.(OMAN)(GS Engineering & Construction)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction is due to sign by early 2006 two contracts worth a total of about $1,800 million for the planned aromatics and ethylene dichloride (EDC) projects at Sohar. Mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) have already...

Consultants link up for Al-Reem infrastructure: Germans appointed for overarching role.(UAE)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Two groups of consultants have been appointed to design and manage the development of infrastructure on Al-Reem island, also known as Abu Shooum. The local Al-Reem Investments has appointed Germany's Drees & Summer as the project manager for...

Firms line up for Mina Zayed redevelopment.(UAE)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Bids are under evaluation at local developer ALDAR Properties for two key contracts on the proposed multi-billion dollar redevelopment of Mina Zayed, after quotes were submitted in late October for the infrastructure and project management...

AMA takes BFH infrastructure work.(Ahmed Mansour Al-A'Ali bags contract, Bahrain Financial Harbour )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The local Ahmed Mansour Al-A'Ali (AMA) has been awarded the estimated BD 10 million ($26.3 million) contract for the infrastructure work covering all three phases of the Bahrain Financial Harbour project. Five companies bid for the job in...

Emaar gets Smart.(Emaar Properties signs contract with Egyptian government)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian government to develop an integrated community in Cairo's new Smart Village. The 250,000-square-metre development will comprise a convention and...

Four bid for five-star Sulaimaniyah project.(IRAQ)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Four regional companies submitted bids on 28 October for the contract to build a new five-star resort in Sulaimaniyah. However, the project is likely to be reviewed after prices came in well above budget. The estimated $80 million scheme calls...

Bids studied for Dammam dredging work.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Bids are under evaluation for the dredging package covering the construction of a new waterfront facility adjacent to the King Abdul Aziz port in Dammam. Estimated to be worth SR 200 million ($53 million), the nine-month contract includes 18...

Firms reprice prison work.(Saudi Arabia Interior Ministry)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Four local companies submitted fresh prices in late October to the Interior Ministry for a design and build contract covering the construction of nine orisons. administration buildings, a car park and related facilities in the kingdom. Saudi...

Contracts let for Umm al-Qura University.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Umm al-Qura University has awarded four contracts to Al-Arrab Contracting Company, also local, worth a total of SR 259 million ($69 million) for the construction of major new facilities at its existing complex at Makkah. The centrepiece of the...

Work accelerates at Motorcity.(Al-Futtaim Carillion extends sites)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion (AFC) has started enabling and grading works at Motorcity. The 700.000-squaremetre site is an extension of the already complete Dubai Autodrome and will be used as a business park for the automotive sector. The...

Zueblin makes light work of the Torch.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Germany's Zueblin has started piling work for a 74-storey tower in Dubai Marina Known as the Torch, the tower will provide 504 residential units. Six contractors have been shortlisted for the project's mare construction package and an award is...

Park Island tender out.(Emaar Properties, Dubai Marina)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Local developer Emaar Properties has invited contractors to submit bids by mid-November for the estimated AED 650 million ($177 million) Park Island contract in Dubai Marina. The scope of works covers construction of a four-tower complex with...

Emirates lands in the Marina.(Emirates Airline)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dubai-based airline Emirates has announced plans to build the Emirates Marina Serviced Apartments & Spa. Located in Dubai Marina. the estimated AED 300 million ($81.7 million) project is scheduled for completion in September 2006. The airline...

NSCC piles into Tiffany, Downtown.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The local NSCC has been awarded the piling, shoring, excavation and dewatering contract for the Tiffany Towers project. Located in Jumeirah Lake Towers the 183-metre, 42-storey building will provide 49,000 square metres of residential space....

Bids in for Ras al-Khor 3.(Dubai Municipality)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dubai Municipality received three bids on 30 October for the third package on the Ras al-Khor creek crossing project. The contract will take about 18 months to complete (MEED 9:9:05). The local Bin Hafeez General Contracting & Transport...

Hyundai lays out dragnet.(Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company Ltd.)
November 4, 2005... Meetings were held in early November in London between South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company and the Iraqi government to discuss the recovery of receivables. About $860 million is overdue for contracts carried out by the...

Twin tower project for DHCC.(Dubai Health Care City)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) has released details of its plans to build an estimated AED 860 million ($235 million) mixed-use twin tower project. The project involves the construction of a five-star hotel tower and one apartment tower. It will...

Dutch Foundations awarded Citadel contract.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The local Dutch Foundations has been awarded the piling, shoring, excavation and dewatering contract for the Citadel project in Business Bay. Bids are due in on 15 November for the main package on the project, which calls for the construction...

DP World mulls P&O takeover: international operators wait in the wings.(Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... DP World, which was created in September by the merger of Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International, has declined to comment on reports that it has tabled a bid of in excess of $5,000 million to acquire the UK's P&O. The UK firm has...

PWC leads pack for air cargo and logistics.(JORDAN)(PWC Logistics )(Aqaba Special Economic Zone )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Kuwait's PWC Logistics is the preferred bidder for two separate logistics contracts in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ). A team of PWC with National Aviation Services, also of Kuwait, is frontrunner for the 10-year contract to equip and...

Bids in for Amman-Zarqa.(JORDAN)(railroads)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... At least two companies have submitted bids for the estimated $100 million build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) contract for a 26-kilometre light railway between Amman and Zarqa. France's Alstom Transport and an all-Egyptian consortium identified...

New body created to take on congestion.(UAE)(Dubai Roads & Transport Authority)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dubai ruler Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum issued a decree on 1 November creating the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority. The new body will be responsible for planning and implementing transport projects in Dubai and overseas. The...

Tertiary scouts for new sister metals: tertiary keen to develop Ghurayyah deposit in the northwest.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Tertiary Minerals)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Tertiary (Middle East), 100 per cent owned by UK-based Tertiary Minerals, announced in late October that it had started work on a pre-feasibility study aimed at the commercial mining of tantalum and niobium deposits at Ghurayyah, 85 kilometres...

Investors flock to Dubai Techno Park.(UAE)(Proclad Group International )
November 4, 2005... Investments in Dubai Techno Park (DTP) have now topped AED 2,000 million ($545 million) after a raft of new agreements were signed in September and October. DTP aims to attract foreign direct investment in research for the energy and power...

Sohar investment tops $11bn.(OMAN)(Sohar Industrial Port Co.)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Industrial and other projects now going ahead in the Port of Sohar are worth $10,800 million, Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC) chief executive Jan Meijer told MEED in Dubai on 31 October. The port has so far received about 100 vessels,...

New slab steel plant for Ahwaz.(IRAN)(Kaavian Steel Company )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... State-owned Kaavian Steel Company has issued a turnkey tender to international and local companies for the delivery and installation of a new slab steel production unit. Kaavian says it plans to install 700,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of new slab...

DIC bids for diesel unit.(UAE)(Dubai International Capital)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dubai International Capital (DIC) a subsidiary of Dubai Holding has submitted a joint bid with private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for Germany's MTU Friedrichshafen, the heavy diesel unit of German car manufacturer DaimlerChrysler. "The...

RFP out for Barka IWPP: seven prequalifiers invited to bid.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The request for proposals 0RFP) was issued on 1 November for the Barka/Rusayl brownfield independent water and power project (IWPP). Seven prequalified developers have been invited to submit bids by 27 March by the client, the National Economy...

ADWEA kicks off wastewater privatization.(UAE)(Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) has started the process of selecting advisers for a planned privatisation of two of the emirate's sewage treatment plants. The privatisation will be the first to take place in the Abu Dhabi...

Three in for Al-Wahda power plant.(MOROCCO)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Three companies have submitted technical bids for the estimated $5Q0 million Office National de l'Electricite (ONE) contract to develop an 800-MW combined cycle power plant at Al-Wahda (MEED 13:5:05). Bids were received from France's Alstom,...

Four awards for new desalination capacity.(ALGERIA)
November 4, 2005... Awards were made by state-owned Algerian Energy Company (AEC) in late October for the construction of four plants worth more than $500 million. Contracts were awarded on the single bid parameter of price per cubic metre, with awards made on the...

Senior officials jailed in power fraud case.(OMAN)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Thirty-one people were handed jail terms by the Criminal Court in late October for their part in an alleged fraud in the power sector. Those convicted include senior government officials, among them former undersecretary at the Ministry of...

Bids due for Ain Beni Mathar solar thermal plant.(MOROCCO)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Technical bids are due by 30 November for the estimated Eur 200 million ($240 million) contract to develop the kingdom's first solar thermal power plant in the northeastern city of Ain Beni Mathar. The plant will have capacity of 200-250 MW,...

Kahramaa lets West Bay substations.(QATAR)(Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation)(Areva T&D receives)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has awarded the key turnkey contracts on its West Bay substation programme. France's Areva T&D has received a letter of intent, valued in the region of Eur 150 million ($180 million), for...

PP9 returns.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Electricity Company's power station)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is expected to issue a new tender for the long-awaited PP9 power station in Riyadh by the end of the year. The original tender was aborted earlier this year and bids returned to the contractors after SEC decided...

RAK power award by year-end.(UAE)( Ras al-Khaimah's Al-Jazeera al-Hamra)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... An award is expected by the end of December for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a 129-MW grassroots power and desalination plant in Ras al-Khaimah's Al-Jazeera al-Hamra district. Among the frontruners for...

TAS plant on Palm.(UAE)(TAS International)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... US-based TAS International has been awarded the design and build contract for four district cooling plants on the crescent of Palm Jumeirah. Together the plants will deliver 120,000 tonnes of cooling. The three-year contract will see the first...

Supervision award nears for GCC grid.(REGIONAL)(GCC Interconnection Authority )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Dammam-based GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) is close to appointing a consultant to supervise construction of the $1,300 million phase 1 of the GCC power grid. Three international firms--Canada's SNC Lavalin, Germany's Fichtner and the...

Report reveals oil-for-food scandal: illegal payments topped $200 million.(IRAQ)
November 4, 2005... The long-awaited final report from the independent inquiry investigating misconduct under the UN's Iraqi oil-for-food programme published a list of more than 2,000 companies that made a total of $1,800 million in illicit payments to Saddam...

WTO accession approved.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The working party of WTO members on 28 October approved Saudi Arabia's accession to the organisation, bringing to an end more than a decade of negotiations. The General Council will meet in mid-November to rubber stamp the decision, allowing...

Brussells offers more aid funding.(IRAQ)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The European Union (EU) has set aside Eur 230 million ($275 million) to spend on aid in the country throughout 2006. The financing, which is part of the EU's annual budget and is still to be approved, includes Eur 30 million ($35 million) for...

Shouaiba debt details emerge: project sponsors eye 80:20 debt/equity split.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Riyad Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea, Hermes etc provide funds to Shouaiba Water & Electricity Company)
November 4, 2005... Further details were provided to local and international banks at roadshows held in Riyadh and Dubai in late October about the debt package to fund the Shouaiba independent water and power project (IWPP). Responses are due by the third week of...

Aluminium MLAs signed up.(OMAN)(mandated lead arrangers)(Sohar aluminium smelter's finance)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) have been appointed on the $1,500 million debt package for the Sohar aluminium smelter. Citigroup is acting as the financial adviser (MEED 30:9:05). Banks were asked to offer underwriting commitments of at...

Nass IPO oversubscribed.(BAHRAIN)(initial public offering )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The initial 0ublic offering (IPO) of shares in Nass Corporation. the holding company for 10 of the companies forming part of local family business the Nass Group, closed on 30 October. Initial indications suggest that the share sale was...

Global goes to Palestine.(GAZA/WEST BANK)(Global Investment House to buy stake in Palestine Real Estate Investment Company)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Kuwaiti investment bank Global Investment House (GIH) is planning to buy a 30 per cent stake in Palestine Real Estate Investment Company (Prico). The deal, which Prico is expected to approve by the end of 2005 is part of the company's plan to...

MLAs appointed for LNG ship financing.(QATAR)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, DNB and Societe Generale have been appointed mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) and joint bookrunners on a $1,650 million limited-recourse debt package to finance the acquisition of eight Q-Flex liquefied natural gas (LNG)...

DGCX seals launch date.(UAE)(Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) will officially open for operations on 22 November, The bourse will first launch its gold futures market. The DGCX opened its membership in June 2004 and so far has signed up 50 members with a...

VCBank CEO lays out plans.(REGIONAL)(Venture Capital Bank )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... The board of directors of the recently created Bahrain-based Venture Capital Bank (VCBank) has approved senior appointments to the management team, with Abdul-Latif Janahi named as chief executive officer (CEO). The bank was granted an Islamic...

EMTN bandwagon rolls on.(UAE; euro medium-term note program planned by Arab Banking Corp, National Bank of Abu Dhabi )(Brief Article)
November 4, 2005... Roadshows for the first drawdown of the euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme of Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) will begin on 9 November. National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has also announced plans for a programme and has mandated arrangers....