MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from September 2007

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from September 2007

Delay currency union.(COMMENT)
September 7, 2007... In June, MEED argued that rising inflation in the GCC could tear the single currency project apart. At the time, economists were divided. Today, there is much less room for argument. The global credit crunch resulting from the crash in world...

US criticises slow progress: congressional report calls Iraqi government "dysfunctional".(IRAQ)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A US congressional report has increased the pressure on the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by claiming it is dysfunctional and is failing to meet most of its key targets for the past year. The report by...

Looking back.(SEVEN DAYS)(Chronology)
September 7, 2007... 14 September 1967 The Iraq National Oil Company says it is ready to exploit a number of areas and to have discussions with "friendly countries". 4 September 1992 A comprehensive study on linking the power grids of the GCC states...

On the record.(SEVEN DAYS)(Quotation)
September 7, 2007... "THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH IS EXCELLENT. THERE MUST BE PUNISHMENT EITHER FOR A JOURNALIST, A TELEVISED PROGRAMME OR A NEWSPAPER THAT PUBLISHES THE RUMOURS" Suzanne Mubarak, wife of President Hosni Mubarah, responds on satellite channel...

Palestinian protest reroutes Israeli security barrier.(WEST BANK)
September 7, 2007... West Bank Palestinians scored a small but significant victory when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Israel must move a portion of its controversial West Bank security barrier around the village of Bilin. The court's decision, on 4...

Paris and London warn Khartoum of sanctions: 31 August.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Paris and London call for sanctions against Khartoum if progress is not made on upcoming Darfur peace talks. In a joint statement, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy say they will push for the new UN-African...

Lebanon hails victory in camp siege: 3 September.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The Lebanese government claims victory after a 100-day siege over militants in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. The army overran the camp on 2 September and is now searching for members of the Fatah al-Islam group who escaped. More than 300 were...

Rafsanjani elected leader of key oversight body: 4 September.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Former Iranian President Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Former Iranian President Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani is elected leader of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body responsible for the appointment and dismissal of Iran's Supreme Leader. Rafsanjani, considered a pragmatic conservative, received 41...

UN leader arrives in Sudan: 4 September.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon arrives in southern Sudan to evaluate a January 2005 peace agreement. He meets Salva Kiir, a former rebel who is now Sudan's vice-president under the peace deal. There are up to 10,000 UN peacekeepers in the...

Israel continues with military response to Gaza: 5 September.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vows to continue with a military response to rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. However, a meeting of the security cabinet resists calls to cut off electricity, water and fuel supplies. It was under pressure to...

Prince voices rare public criticism: 5 September.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Saudi prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... A Saudi prince criticises members of the royal family for blocking the process of reform in the kingdom. Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, announced plans to form a political party, which is illegal in the kingdom. He also...

Saudis return from Guantanamo: 6 September.(NEWS DIGEST on MEED.com this week)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Sixteen Saudi prisoners return to Riyadh after the US released them from the prison at Guantanamo Bay used for holding people suspected of terrorism. Their detention has been a source of anger in the kingdom. Many of the men held were captured...

Manama's new oil formula: Oil & Gas Affairs Minister Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza tells Perry Williams about plans to boost the efficiency and profitability of the country's energy industry.(BAHRAIN)(Interview)(Cover story)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bahrain led the economic development of the Gulf for most of the 20th century. In 1932, it was the first Arab Gulf state to produce oil. And in the early 1970s, when it became clear that the al-Awali field was past...

Exchanging futures: the Dubai Mercantile Exchange is taking a risk in trying to establish a benchmark regional sour crude futures contract after other attempts have failed.(BRIEFING: SOUR CRUDE FUTURES)
September 7, 2007... The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), which began trading in early June, has set itself the ambitious task of establishing a benchmark Middle East sour crude futures contract. As a new exchange in a region where commodities futures trading is...

Contractors call the shots: megaprojects such as Dubai's Mall of Arabia and Abu Dhabi's central market are struggling to get under way as contractors gain the upper hand in negotiations.(BRIEFING: CONTRACTING)
September 7, 2007... They were expected to be the UAE's biggest construction contracts of the year: the AED 3,000 million ($817 million) main package to build Dubai's Mall of Arabia, and the AED 6,000 million ($1,635 million) main construction package to build Abu...

Zadco deal attracts international bids: three compete for consultancy contract.(UAE)(Zakum Development Company )(Amec; Veco; Worley Parsons)
September 7, 2007... Three international firms--the UK's Amec, the US/ Canadian Veco and Australia's Worley Parsons--have submitted bids for one of the largest project management consultancy contracts ever tendered in Abu Dhabi. The five-year contract covers...

Total targets Timimoun tight gas scheme.(ALGERIA)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... A consortium including France's Total and Cepsa of Spain will submit ground-breaking proposals to develop a tight gas prospect in the Timimoun basin in the south-west by the end of the year. The team will propose the use of cutting-edge...

Contractors win bid extension.(SAUDI ARABIA)
September 7, 2007... The deadline to submit bids for the $7,000 million-8,000 million, 400,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) East Coast refinery at Ras Tanura has been delayed for a further two weeks. Contractors have requested extra time to complete their submissions,...

Sonatrach seeks partner as Spanish consortium exits.(ALGERIA)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Sonatrach is considering signing up a new international partner to jointly develop its $6.8 billion Gassi Touil project after abruptly cancelling a deal with the Spanish consortium of Repsol and Gas Natural. An oil executive close to the...

Gulf takes two deals.(OMAN)(Gulf Petrochemicals Services & Training)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The local Gulf Petrochemicals Services & Training has won two contracts, The first, worth more than $100 million, covers the interconnecting pipelines system for the local Occidental Mukhaizna on its enhanced oil recovery project (MEED...

Aramco awards pipeline.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Aramco)(Suedrohrbau Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung und Co.)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Saudi Aramco has awarded a $200 million contract to the Netherlands' Suedrohrbau for the second-phase expansion of the Shedgum-Yanbu east-west (SHY-1) natural gas liquids pipeline, The scope of works includes the installation of 585 kilometres...

Adco retenders contract.(UAE)(Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations (Adco) is to retender the project management consultancy contract on the programme to increase Abu Dhabi's onshore oil capacity. The UK's Amec was selected for the original contract in the spring (MEED...

Sour gas bidding heats up.(UAE)(Abu Dhabi National Oil Company )
September 7, 2007... Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) received revised proposals from four international oil companies for the Shah gas development project. The bidders are ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corporation and Occidental Petroleum, all of the US, and...

Critical oil legislation faces further delays.(IRAQ)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Iraq could still be months away from passing a new oil law, despite parliament returning after the summer recess, according to current and former government ministers. "Movement on the hydrocarbons law is critical," Industry Minister Fawzi...

Zadco makes U-turn on Satah field development.(UAE)(Zakum Development Company )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Zakum Development Company (Zadco) has reactivated its Satah offshore full-field development project just weeks after putting the scheme on hold. International firms have been asked to submit prequalification applications by 23 September...

WorleyParsons wins pipeline.(UAE)(International Petroleum Investment Company )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Australia's WorleyParsons has won the front-end engineering and design contract on the trans-emirates oil pipeline, running from Habshan in Abu Dhabi emirate to Fujairah, planned by Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment...

Opec and Felix edge prices up.(OIL PRICES)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Crude prices continued to rise this week as prices edged towards $74 a barrel, with the threat of Hurricane Felix in the Caribbean and Opec's next production meeting highlighting the tightening of supply. Brent oil traded at $73.90 a...

Fosters takes Mesaieed deal: joint venture awards Mesaieed petrochemical complex work to US firm.(QATAR)(Foster Wheeler )(Honam Petrochemical Corporation )(Qatar Intermediate Holdings Company)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The US' Foster Wheeler has won the joint project management consultancy and front-end engineering and design contract on the Mesaieed petrochemicals complex planned by South Korea's Honam Petrochemical Corporation and Qatar Intermediate...

Explosion forces cut in gas output.(SAUDI ARABIA)
September 7, 2007... Jubail-based National Industrial Gases Company, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic); is understood to have been forced to reduce output after an explosion at one its five gas production trains. The incident is...

Aldar awards tallest tower: Arabian Construction to build 88-storey central market skyscraper.(UAE)(Arabian Construction Company )(Aldar Properties )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has been awarded the AED 2,700 million ($736 million) contract to build three towers on the redevelopment of Abu Dhabi's central market. The contract is understood to be the largest...

Bel Hasa wins dual towers contract from Dubiotech.(UAE)(Bel Hasa Engineering & Contracting)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The local Bel Hasa Engineering & Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 400 million ($108 million) contract to build a headquarters for Dubiotech, which is developing Dubai Biotechnology & Research Park. ...

Labour shortage hits contractors.(UAE)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Contractors across the federation are struggling to meet project deadlines because of the knock-on effects of the recent clampdown on illegal immigrants. A three-month amnesty ended at the beginning of September. During that time, 278,715...

Rotana to run Irbil hotel.(IRAQ)(Rotana Hotels)(Malia Holding )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The UAE's Rotana Hotels has Signed a contract to manage a five-Star hotel already under construction in the Kurdish city of Irbil. Local property developer Malia Holding has started work on the $55 million project, with a subsidiary, Malia...

Ministry extends deadline.(OMAN)
September 7, 2007... Prospective bidders have been given a two-week extension for the new interchange serving Sohar port: No official reason has been given for the delay to the project. The revised closing date is 17 September. The consultant is US-based Parsons...

Limitless looks east.(UAE)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Dubai-based Limitless plans to build a $220 million mixed-use project in Vietnam after signing a joint venture agreement with the Country's Phuong Hung and International Property Investment Partners. The Halong star development will include...

Hill to manage mall.(UAE)(Hill International )(Mall Of Arabia project )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... US-based Hill International has been appointed to provide construction management services on the estimated AED 3,000 million ($817 million) Mall Of Arabia project at City of Arabia in Dubailand. The firm had been providing project management...

Al-Habtoor plans regional expansion: Dubai-based firm's managing partner, Riad Sadik, speaks exclusively to MEED about the deal.(ANALYSIS)(Interview)
September 7, 2007... Dubai's construction industry is buzzing with the news that the Dubai-based Al-Habtoor--one of the Emirates biggest construction firms--is to merge with Australian contractor Leighton Holdings. The two firms have agreed a AED 2,620 million...

Board queries Al-Awadi role: Kuwait Airlines director resigns over state interference.(KUWAIT)(Nasser al-Mari non-executive director Kuwait Airlines )(Communication Minister Abdul Wahid al-Awadi)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... A dispute between Kuwait Airways and the government was set to increase as MEED went to press, with a meeting of the airline's board due on 6 September to clarify its position. It follows the resignation of one board member in protest at...

Dubai issues tenders for Al-Sufouh tram network.(UAE)(Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has issued tender documents for the estimated AED 2,000 million ($544 million) design-and-build contract for the Al-Sufouh tram scheme. At least four groups are expected to bid for the contract. They...

BMI increases regional links.(REGIONAL)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... BMI is expanding its Middle East operations, adding six destinations in the region to its network. The British airline will launch flights to Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Khartoum and Tehran from 28 September. BMI announced in August...

Airport tenders radar.(KUWAIT)
September 7, 2007... Local and international firms have been invited to design, build and install a surveillance radar at Kuwait International Airport, Interested companies have until 2 October to apply for prequalification. The contract forms part of the Kuwait...

Sama expands fleet.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Sama is adding two aircraft to its fleet and expanding its network with six destinations, The Saudi low-cost airline has added a fifth Boeing 737300 to its fleet, with a sixth to be delivered in October. New routes are planned from Dammam to...

Sharjah Airport upgrades.(UAE)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Sharjah Airport has announced a major upgrade of its IT and check-in systems to cater for a huge increase in passenger traffic. The airport recently announced a 36 per cent increase in passenger numbers in the past year, with 3 million people...

Dubai Airports hires chief.(UAE)(Paul Griffiths)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Dubai Airports, the new division of the city's restructured Department of Civil Aviation, has appointed its first chief executive officer. Paul Griffiths, formerly managing director of London's Gatwick Airport, which is owned by BAA, will take...

Kingdom plans national grid: Riyadh commissions studies for long-awaited electricity network.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Riyadh is developing plans to build an electricity grid linking the west, north and central regions of the country. Studies are also under way to connect the electricity grid with Yemen and Egypt. Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has...

Internationals to bid for Al-Zour.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Ras al-Zour independent water and power project )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Four international groups are expected to bid for the contract to develop the Ras al-Zour independent water and power project (IWPP). Prospective groups include the local Aewa Power Projects with Germany's Siemens and South Korea's Doosan...

Firms chase Seeb plant.(OMAN)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Oman Wastewater Services Company is evaluating proposals from three consortiums for the contract to build an 82,000-cubic-metre-a-day sewage treatment plant at Seeb, near Muscat. The bidders are Japan's Hitachi Zosen with the local Galfar...

Kema wins consultancy.(QATAR)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Kema of the Netherlands has been appointed as technical adviser on the Ras Laffan C independent water and power project. The firm will advise Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) on the plant, which will have capacity of...

Bids in for Sharjah plant.(UAE)(Eagle Electromechanical Company )(Metito)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Bids are under evaluation for the contract to construct a 25,000-cubic-metre-aday sewage treatment plant using a membrane bioreactor at the Sharjah Investment Centre. Bidders include two Sharjah-based firms, Eagle Electromechanical Company and...

Al-Barari deadline nears.(UAE)
September 7, 2007... Bids are due by 9 September for the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a 2,000-cubic-metre-a-day (cm/d) sewage treatment plant and a 30,000 cm/d polishing plant at the Al-Barari development, near Safa park. Prequalified...

Ministry tenders power plants to increase capacity.(KUWAIT)(United Arab Emirates. Ministry of Electricity and Water)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The Electricity & Water Ministry is planning to retender the Al-Zour North power plant and increase its capacity to 3,000 MW A retender for the planned 2,500-MW power plant at Subiya is also expected to be issued by late October. "The aim...

Reverse osmosis plant faces financial threat.(KUWAIT)(Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The plan to build the state's first seawater desalination plant using reverse osmosis technology is in doubt after contractor bids to build the plant came in well above the budget for the project. The Electricity & Water Ministry has set a...

State operator worth $16bn: analysts value Telecommunications Company of Iran ahead of sale.(IRAN)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... State-owned Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) has been valued at $16,000 million, according to a financial analysis commissioned by the company. TCI is being split up and sold off as part of the Iranian government's programme to...

Wataniya awaits report to release Asiacell payment.(IRAQ)(Wataniya Telecom)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Kuwait's Wataniya received a payment from investment bank MerchantBridge for its 40 per cent stake in collapsed Iraqi mobile phone operator Asiacell at the beginning of this year, it has emerged. The news partially resolves the confusion over...

MTC to rebrand services as Zain.(KUWAIT)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Kuwait's MTC is to rebrand its operations across the region to Zain, the Arabic word for "good service". The name change will affect its six Middle East and 14 sub-Sahara African mobile phone businesses. The Middle East businesses will be...

Tehran bans multimedia.(IRAN)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Tehran has banned mobile photo and video messaging, The moves comes after the country's first foreign mobile phone operator. Irancell, tested the multimedia messaging service (MMS) with some of its customers. "We trialed MMS messages and it was...

Alfa calls for lower tariff.(LEBANON)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Mobile operator Alfa has called on the government to cut the tariff on mobile phone users By $20 a month. According to chief executive officer Ineke Botter, this would boost mobile penetration rates from just 29 per cent to more than 50 per...

Operator warns of cuts.(OMAN)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The chief executive officer of Oman's Nawras has called for regulators to resist forcing operators to cut international call charges. Ross Cormack claims such a move would weaken network coverage. Arab Regulators Network. the alliance of...

Regulator ends monopoly.(UAE)(Etisalat)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Etisalat and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (Du) will lose their monopolies over the supply of broadband internet services before the end of the year. following a ruling by the UAE's telecoms regulator, Etisalat has a monopoly...

Jordan Post to stock Umniah.(JORDAN)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Unmiah, Jordan's third mobile phone operator, has agreed with Jordan Post for its phones to be sold in post offices across the kingdom. The public-private partnership with Jordan Post is an unusual move for a mobile phone operator. The...

Uncertainty frustrates licence-holders.(KUWAIT)(Wataniya Telecom)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wataniya's investment programme is being affected by the uncertainty surrounding the auction for a third mobile phone licence in Kuwait, according to Harri Kopnen, its chief executive officer. There has been...

Saudi mobile market yet to mature: operators are optimistic that mobile usage will continue to grow.(ANALYSIS)
September 7, 2007... MTC, the owner of Saudi Arabia's newest mobile licence, expects the kingdom's mobile market to grow by 150 per cent over the next three to four years. The Kuwaiti mobile phone operator was awarded the third mobile phone licence in June with a...

Baghdad lobbies to end Kuwait compensation.(IRAQ)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Iraq is to lobby the UN for an end to the compensation payments it is still making to Kuwait for the 1991 Gulf War, according to the country's ambassador to the UN, Hamid al-Bayati. Baghdad argues that it should not have to suffer because of...

Cairo targets foreign investors: Finance Minister predicts 9 per cent economic expansion rate in four years.(EGYPT)(Yousef Boutros Ghali)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Finance Minister Yousef Boutros Ghali predicts Egypt will soon achieve an economic growth rate of 9 per cent, helped by rising levels of investment from abroad. Cairo is now planning to take advantage of the growth by extending welfare support...

Currency speculators steer clear as central banks meet.(REGIONAL)
September 7, 2007... GCC central banks appear to have succeeded in their efforts to deter destabilising speculation in their currencies ahead of the next meeting of central bank governors on 8 September. Little progress is expected, however, on a move towards a...

Minister refuses to allow unions.(IRAQ)(Industry Minister Fawzi al-Hariri)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Trade unions will remain illegal in key areas of the economy including the oil industry, according to the government. "At the moment, I need labour in Iraq to be working, irrespective of their personal situations," said Industry Minister...

Sabic completes bond sale: finalisation of GE Plastics funding clears way for Al-Kayan project finance.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Basic Industries Corp.)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Saudi Basle Industries Group (Sabic) has completed a $1,500 million bond sale to help fund the acquisition of GE Plastics. The deal marks the end of the fundraising for the acquisition, and means that Sabic has a clear market to raise...

Chemanol plant financing to close.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Formaldehyde Chemical Co.)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Financing for a Chemanol petrochemicals complex at Jubail is due to close in mid-September, with a small club of local banks supplying the $400 million project finance debt. Samba is acting as financial adviser and lead arranger on the...

Banks submit financing bids for desalination facility.(QATAR)(Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Regional and international banks are lining up to take part in the $500 million debt finance for a water desalination plant in Qatar. The deadline for submissions to underwrite the deal is early September, and...

Islamic bank raises funds.(BAHRAIN)(Bahrain Islamic Bank)(Gulf Cooperation Council)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Locally-listed Bahrain Islamic Bank will raise $225 million by the end of September through a rights issue to help raise funds for its expansion throughout the GCC. The bank says part of its regional expansion Strategy will be to apply to every...

First Gulf enters Libya.(LIBYA)(First Gulf Bank)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The UAE's First Gulf Bank will partner with Libya's Economic & Social Development Fund to establish Gulf-Libyan Bank. as part of Tripoli's attempts to reform the country's banking system. Gulf-Libyan Bank will be managed by First Gulf, but...

Saad raises $2.8bn bond.(SAUDI ARABIA)
September 7, 2007... Saad Group, the investment company owned by billionaire Maan Al-Sanea, has issued a $2,820 million bond to refinance existing loans. The bond issuance comes a week after ratings agency Standard & Poor's put the firm on negative credit watch for...

Airports secure funding.(TUNISIA)(ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (Amsterdam, Netherlands))(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Financing has been put in place for two airport construction projects in Tunisia. ABN Amro, Societe Generale and Standard Bank have been appointed lead arrangers on a debt facility worth up to $400 million, for redevelopment of Monastir...

Cairo plans second bourse: small and mid-caps stock exchange to be launched in late October.(EGYPT)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... A new stock exchange for small and mid-cap enterprises will be launched in late October, according to Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin. Companies will be able to list on the new bourse without having to meet the listing requirements...

Abu Dhabi to launch English language national newspaper.(UAE)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The UAE's new English-language national newspaper being launched by Abu Dhabi Media Company will publish its first edition in 2008, according to launch editor Martin Newland. Newland, a former editor of the UK's Daily Telegraph, says: "The...

Sweden probes Borse bid block.(UAE)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... The controversy surrounding Borse Dubai's attempted purchase of shares in Swedish stock exchange operator OMX has deepened, with the Nordic firm now being investigated over how it reacted to the bid. On 4 September, Sweden's Financial...

Nasdaq to split stake sale.(QATAR)(The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Nasdaq is unlikely to sell its entire 31 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange to a Gulf rival, according to a source close to the deal, There has been speculation that both Dubai Borse and the Qatar Investment Authority could buy the...

Suisse hires Yammine.(UAE)(Credit Suisse Group)(Bassam Yammine)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Bassam Yammine has joined Credit Suisse as managing director and co-chief executive officer for the Middle East. He will also head the investment banking and asset management businesses in the Middle East and North Africa, Yammine was founder...

Law boosts local listings.(UAE)
September 7, 2007... The federal government has lowered the minimum percentage of shares that must be issued for initial public offerings (IPOs)to 30 per cent from 55 per cent. The new law, issued by President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan. amends the 1982...

Franklin buys into UAE.(REGIONAL)(Franklin Templeton )(Algebra Capital)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Global asset management firm Franklin Templeton has bought a 25 per cent stake in Dubai's Algebra Capital, as part of an initiative to expand both firms in the region. Franklin Templeton says it hopes to capitalise on the emerging middle class...

Insider trading: Saudi Arabia is clamping down on rogue traders.(MARKET IN FOCUS: SAUDI ARABIA)
September 7, 2007... The Capital Markets Authority has introduced regulations to prevent any share dealings by directors from soon after the end of each half-year financial period until results are publicly announced. The decision to introduce these so-called...

Forthcoming events.(CONFERENCES)(Calendar)
September 7, 2007... HEALTHCARE PROJECTS CONFERENCE 2007 This conference is an excellent chance for you to discover first-hand what prospects are available in the regional booming healthcare industry, as well as interact with the key stakeholders and...

The globalisation of Islamic banking: the rapid growth of the Islamic banking sector is attracting the attention of the world's established financial centres and challenging the Middle East's sharia-compliant markets.(SPECIAL REPORT: BANKING)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] In 1963, Ahmad el-Najjar introduced a radical new form of banking when he launched a non-interest-based, profit-sharing savings bank in the town of Mit Ghamr in Egypt. Out of fear of being linked to Islamic...

Premium products: securitisation and standardisation could enable banks to reduce their charges for sharia-compliant investment.(COSTS)
September 7, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Anyone investing in the development of new products, whether flat-screen TVs, high-definition DVD players or the latest iPod, will know that being first usually costs more. And the same is true for those who invest...