2006
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RAK investment scales $27.2bn
Investment in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone is now more than $27.2bn, an official told Gulf News. Director-general Oussama Al Omari is predicting 100% growth this year, with on average 100 new companies registering per month. RAKFTZ is attracting investors looking for cheaper alternatives than the more expensive zones in Dubai.
New CEO at Industrial City
Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, has appointed Rashed Al Ansari as the new CEO of Dubai Industrial City. He replaces Khalid Al Malik who will continue as senior VP of industry and knowledge at Tatweer. Al Ansari has held positions with Dubai Holding, and in May 2005 was made a board member of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.
CAP mandates $50m loan
Capital Bank of Jordan has mandated Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation and Citibank to arrange for it a $50m syndicated loan. Capital says it will use the proceeds for general funding. The bank is a member of International Finance Corporation's Global Trade Finance Program.
Hazardous waste plant on track
Qatar's $13.7m hazardous waste treatment plant coming up at Mesaieed Industrial City will start operations in early 2007, according to The Peninsula. Managed by Qatar Petroleum, the plant has been designed to dispose of various types of ignitable, corrosive and toxic wastes.
IBQ opens fourth branch
The International Bank of Qatar marked 50 years in the local market with the opening of a new branch in the Al Markhiya area, The Peninsula reported. IBQ now has four branches throughout the city.
Injazat fund buys Broadlink stake
Injazat Capital said its $50m technology fund has bought a 35% stake in Dubai's Broadlink Research, which makes mobile handsets for children, Gulf News reported. The company has a licence form Disney to use its cartoon characters on phones. Phones have a four-button keypad and can be programmed to call only a few numbers.
Oman borrows $150m for Sohar
Oman has signed a $150m loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to part finance the second phase of Sohar Industrial Port, according to Gulf News. JBIC has previously advanced finance for a number of other Omani projects in infrastructure, ports, and oil and gas.
Palm Water, $550m Jafza deal
Palm Water has been awarded a $550m contract by the Jebel Ali Free Zone to design, build, own and operate water and wastewater plants. Palm Water will construct a desalination plant with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres per day, a centralised sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 141,000 cubic metres per day and an industrial wastewater plant with a capacity of 4,000 cubic metres per day.
GAC in Norwegian tie-up
The Dubai-based GAC Group has formed an alliance with Norway's oldest shipping agency, Ole R Olsen, as part of the ongoing expansion of its global agency network. Lars Peter Hiesselberg, GAC's Group Vice President, Shipping Services, believes the GAC-ORO collaboration will help improve vessel turnaround time and enhance cost savings for operators in Norway and beyond.
SIB, $350m sukuk for Sewa
Sharjah is to gain $350m through a sukuk facility from Sharjah Islamic Bank, which is the core mandated lead arranger along with the Kuwait Finance House, ABC Islamic Bank of Bahrain and Gulf International Bank of Bahrain. The financing will enable the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority to complete phase one of the $272.3m Hamriyah power generation and desalination plant which will have a power generating capacity of 400 megawatts.
EFG-Hermes, $94m 9-month profit
Investment bank EFG-Hermes has revealed its results for the first nine months of the year. Year-to-date net profit, after tax and minority interest, increased almost three-fold over the same period in 2005 to $93.9m. Some of the growth is due to the consolidation of income resulting from the acquisition of a major stake in Banque Audi earlier in the year.
Mashreqbank sorts out glitch
Mashreqbank announced yesterday, Sunday, that it had repaired its network after hardware problems caused a communications failure on Saturday afternoon, reported Gulf News. As a result of the problem, all bank cards used at ATMs were rejected. Atif Bajwa, Head of the Retail Banking Group, said Mashreqbank were trying to get to the root cause of the glitch.
Asry, $135m 2006 profit
The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company expects its net operating income to reach about $135m by the end of 2006, compared to $111m last year, reported TradeArabia citing the Gulf Daily News. 150 vessels, mostly very large crude carriers, had been repaired and were booked for repair.
Al Farida, StanChart deal
The Al Farida Investment Company and the Standard Chartered Bank have agreed an eight year bilateral structured trade facility of $75m which will be used to finance continued ongoing investment and growth in the coming year. Abu Dhabi based Al Farida is currently investing in the UAE's real estate, hotels and malls.
New GM for BMI
Bahrain based BankMuscat International has appointed Abbas Al Derazi as its new General Manager. Al Derazi took over as the Acting General manager of BMI in April. Abbas has been a senior member of BMI's management team and launched the retail banking operation in April 2002.
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