UAE-based telecommunications operator Etisalat today launched its first global corporate social responsibility and sustainability report to highlight activities across its 15 operating countries.

Entitled “Etisalat CSR & Sustainability Report 2012,” the report was released at The Institute for International Research (IIR) 10^th CSR Summit, held today in Dubai. The heads of CSR departments from Etisalat’s operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Gabon, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Togo and the UAE all presented their latest projects.

Etisalat Egypt included the initiative “Origin”, a project to secure drinking water in 19 governorates to date.

Other African countries, such as Togo, have had aid contributions split between education and health, while Nigeria received aid through its annual Merit Awards Scheme – an educational scholarship program that focuses on undergraduate students of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, and Business Management courses.

The aid to Afghanistan included the distribution of more than 3,000 food packages in Kabul during the holy month of Ramadan.

Benin received supplies for elementary school students and the provision of seating and tables for nine colleges. Additionally, the company has supported the Ministry of Health in Benin through blood donations.

The telecommunications company also provided assistance to both Sri Lanka and Pakistan for water projects, sanitation aid, education, as well as aid to orphans.

During the conference, which was also sponsored by Etisalat, the telco group exhibited its high impact projects, including Mobile Baby (Tanzania), Emirates Energy Star (UAE) and the Etisalat Foundation (Egypt).

This year, and more specifically since Saturday, ‘thousands’ of workers went on a two-day strike – involving employees in Dubai and Abu Dhabi refusing to leave their accommodation premises. According to most reports, Arabtec’s workers earn between Dh650 to Dh1200 per month and they’re requesting for an additional Dh250 a month to help support their families back home.

In an official statement, Arabtec said they are working with the Ministry of Labour and police to resolve the situation “as quickly as possible”, yet there are mixed reports concerning the latest situation.

Gulf News has reported that on Tuesday, workers returned back to their normal routine after being promised their issues will be looked into, if not completely resolved. On the other hand, today’s report by 7days suggests an almost entirely different scenario.

Workers told the local paper that they vowed to continue this strike until their demands are met. One worker said that he, along with several of his colleagues, plan on having a meeting with the supervisor and listening to what he has to say. “If we do not get our increase the strike will continue,” he added. Other reports suggest that their demands were rejected and the workers had no choice but to return to work.

The argument of the workers’ wages being low, according to the report, is that meals are provided. The counterargument, according to several workers, is that they’d rather have more money to send home then have meals provided for them.

The company promises its projects delivery schedule will not be affected by the action and that the labour dispute will be resolved as soon as possible, but yet – according to Reuters – two employees said other workers continue to observe the stoppage and no promises on wage hikes have been made.

Most blue collar workers in the Gulf Arab states are migrant labourers hired on a contract basis from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and strikes are uncommon.

Migrant workers in Dubai are often employed at wages that are low by Western standards and housed in dormitory-style accommodation on the outskirts of the city, part of the United Arab Emirates, a regional business and tourism hub.

Two Arabtec employees who asked not to be identified said several thousand workers engaged on various projects did not report for duty on Sunday and stayed in their accommodation.

A sub-contractor confirmed the stoppage, saying he had to call back his workers from one Dubai work site after Arabtec labourers failed to show up on Sunday.

Asked for comment, an Arabtec spokesperson said: “We are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, alongside the Ministry of Labour and the Police Authority.”

The UAE Labour Ministry told Reuters a team of the ministry’s labour crisis management committee was “closely following the work stoppage by a number of Arabtec’s workers”.

The ministry added that Arabtec was paying the workers according to contracts it had signed with them, and said their accommodation was in compliance with labour regulations.

FREE MEALS AND ACCOMMODATION

It said the labourers were receiving meals and had free transportation, housing and health insurance, services that it said were at least equal to their salaries.

The employees said the strike began on Saturday and that the workers were determined not to end it without a pay rise.

“They are upset at the low wages and also about not being paid for overtime work,” one employee told Reuters. He said workers at his site were paid between $160 and $190 a month.

“The protest started in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and today (Sunday), workers in Dubai have also joined,” he said.

Arabtec, the largest publicly-listed construction firm in the United Arab Emirates, was part of a consortium that won a $653 million contract in January to build a branch of France’s Louvre museum on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island. It was not clear whether this project was affected by the protest.

Arabtec was among the contractors that built Dubai’s palm-shaped island projects and the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa.

Dubai’s building boom stalled in 2009 after the global slowdown triggered a collapse in its real estate sector, with prices falling by over 50 percent from their peaks of 2008.

Construction has gradually picked up as developers have revived stalled projects and announced new ones including the world’s biggest Ferris wheel and more than 100 luxury hotels.

Moody’s Investors Service raised its rating on Ankara’s sovereign bonds to Baa3, or investment grade, from Ba1 late on Thursday, following in the footsteps of Fitch credit ratings agency, which took that step last November.

The upgrade came on a day when Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was showcasing Turkey’s global prestige on a visit to the White House, and in a week when the emerging nation of 75 million made a final loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund.

“It was a major strategic step for Turkey,” said Erdal Tanas Karagol, economic director of the SETA think-tank in Ankara.

“This will help the current ruling party prepare long-term plans, to set higher goals and will create a suitable international environment to carry out those plans.”

The boost puts Turkey 11 notches on Moody’s rating scale above historic rival Greece, on the other side of the European Union frontier, and should drive more foreign direct investment (FDI) to an economy that still has great potential to grow.

“The ratings agencies are finally catching up with the fact that the Turkish government has done a huge amount of work in the last decade to put the country onto a stronger economic and political footing,” said Simon Quijano-Evans, head of emerging market research at Commerzbank in London.

Government debt has fallen to 30 percent of gross domestic product from more than 100 percent in the crisis years early last decade. Inflation and the budget deficit are falling.

POLICY ANCHOR

Turkey’s IMF programme and candidacy to join the EU provided a strong policy anchor in the early years of Erdogan’s mildly Islamist conservative AK party government from 2003. But the pace of political reform has slowed as EU accession talks have run into the sand due to Cypriot and French obstruction.

“There is a sense of a lost anchor,” said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Istanbul Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, EDAM.

The EU had lost influence on issues such as media freedom, tolerance of dissent and freedom of expression because Turks no longer believed they were wanted inside the European bloc. Rights groups complain Erdogan is falling short on democracy.

Ulgen said the rating upgrade was a triple vote of confidence in the resilience of the Turkish economy despite Europe’s debt crisis, in sound economic and fiscal management, and in a strengthened geopolitical relationship with the West.

“Our goal is very clear. We have to secure our survival from our own internal strength,” Chief Executive Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told reporters on Wednesday.

Germany’s second-biggest carrier, almost 30 percent-owned by Etihad, suffered a first-quarter loss before interest and tax (EBIT) of 188.4 million euros ($244.5 million), causing its shareholders’ equity to turn negative – meaning its liabilities exceeded its assets.

Air Berlin’s finances have been deteriorating for several years as it struggled to halt losses and manage its debts following a period of aggressive growth. Some analysts have had a close eye on the size of its equity compared with its debt as a key indicator of financial health.

The group’s shareholders’ equity was minus 53.1 million euros at the end of March, against a positive 130.2 million at the end of last year.

Air Berlin blamed a traditionally weak first quarter and restructuring costs for the drop in equity and said it expected the measure to turn positive by the end of this year.

The airline said it would not need more help from Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, which bought its stake in Air Berlin via a share issue in 2011 and then granted it a $255 million loan.

Last year, Air Berlin posted its first annual operating profit since 2007, after cutting seats and unprofitable routes and selling its frequent-flyer programme to Etihad.

Earlier this year it also launched a restructuring programme called Turbine 2013, under which it is reducing its staff numbers by 10 percent to help save 450 million euros by the end of 2014.

It said on Wednesday it had already achieved two thirds of the 200 million euro earnings contributions from Turbine it had targeted for the year and affirmed its 2013 EBIT breakeven goal.

It also said its liquidity, which rose to 470 million euros at the end of March from 328 million at the end of 2012 thanks to a bond issue, would be sufficient to finance its operations, implement Turbine and make investments until next year.

“They’re still in a stressful situation, but the liquidity is so high. The situation will improve rather quickly in the next few months,” analyst Juergen Pieper at brokerage Metzler Equities said. “With Etihad as a strong partner, I think the situation there is under control.”

Back in Dubai, Kipp Report speaks exclusively to Tom Farrell, Vice President of the company in the Middle East as he strongly points out that – especially as far as this part of the world goes – people still have a place for Nokia in their hearts and that traditionally, this region is a strong one for the Finnish group.

On a side note, we’re also told that an extensive, lengthy legal process was necessary before they were able to publicly claim that Lumia 920 is the most innovative Smartphone in the world. “Let’s put it this way, nobody challenged us,” says Farrell.

“What you’re seeing from Nokia is a very fast innovation cycle, much faster than before,” says the visibly excited VP. “We want to drive the industry and take leadership and that means being better and faster.”

With the release of the Lumia 920 and 925, Nokia brought a lot of firsts into the market including the first optical image stabiliser on a Smartphone, wireless charger technology, the best mapping software in the world and real time traffic and navigation updates; compliments of a partnership with the RTA in Dubai. Farrell says that with new innovation, Nokia is able to set higher standards in the industry for others to follow.

Drake, which specialises in mechanical, engineering and plumbing (MEP), has seen its shares jump 35 percent year-to-date on growing speculation that it was a takeover target, with Arabtec viewed by analysts as a possible buyer.

Arabtec is on an expansion drive after a management shake-up led by Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar, its largest shareholder.

“I have heard the speculation,” Drake Chief Executive Khaldoun Tabari said on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi. “I am not interested in selling my stake. Our shares are out in the market and our company is doing well. We have always worked closely with Arabtec and will continue to do so. You are going to see more announcements of us working closely with Arabtec.”

He attributed the increase in share price to the company’s performance this year.

“Our turnover has increased by 25 to 30 percent.”

Tabari owns about 44 percent of Drake directly and through other companies.

The construction sector in the region is gradually picking up after nearly three years of slow growth following a global slowdown and the collapse of Dubai’s property boom.

He said the results of a bid for MEP work at the Midfield Airport Terminal project in Abu Dhabi, currently under construction, would be known in a few days.

“We don’t rule it out,” said Tabari, when asked if Drake would secure this contract.

The tender is valued at around 500 million dirhams.

The contractor in total is currently bidding for projects worth about 15 billion dirhams, Tabari said. It is active on projects in Gulf countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait and has also worked in other countries like Egypt and India.

The proposal calls for state-owned Kuwait Airways to buy 25 new Airbus jets and to lease a further 13 to upgrade its fleet but needs government approval, the source said. It could be signed by the end of this month.

The move comes months after Kuwait was awarded $500 million by Iraqi Airways for damage caused when former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s forces seized aircraft and parts, ending a two-decade row over compensation.

The Kuwaiti airline’s aircraft buying committee judged that Airbus made the most attractive offer in a tender process which included bids from Boeing and Bombardier, the source said.

The source declined to be named because the deal still needs government approval.

In August 2007, Kuwait Airways cancelled an order for 19 passenger planes worth $3 billion from local lessor Alafco after failing to get government approval.

Under the new proposal, Kuwait Airways would pay around 850 million dinars ($2.98 billion) for the 25 new planes, which would include 10 wide-bodied A350-900 jets and 15 of the slimmer medium-haul A320neo, the source said.

Such an order would be worth $4.38 billion at list prices, but aircraft are usually sold at a discount.

The A350 is designed to counter Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which would have been included in the deal scrapped in 2007.

Kuwait Airways would start receiving the Airbus aircraft from 2019, the source said, confirming details of the talks originally reported by Al-Watan newspaper on Sunday.

“The final decision is the government’s,” the source said. “I think by the end of this month, they should take it.”

Kuwait Airways and Airbus, which is owned by aerospace and defence group EADS, declined to comment.

Under the plan, the airline would also lease 13 of Airbus’s A330 and A320 models for six years, the source said, without giving an estimate for the cost of that part of the agreement.

One of the reasons the Airbus deal was seen as favourable was that it combined the new and leased jets, the source said, adding that the leased jets should start arriving this summer.

The airline wants to take 11 jets from its old fleet out of service.

It is currently operating 950 flights a week and will be one of the first airlines to operate out of Dubai World Central in October – with 50 weekly flights to the kingdom. It has also just celebrated its fifth consecutive year as part of the Arabian Travel Market.

And although CEO Captain François Bouteiller tells Kipp of the airline’s previous success, nasair hopes  – for the first time  – to end this year in profit. In the past nasair has come close to profitability and even broken even, but never has it enjoyed profitable success.

Operating an airline in Saudi Arabia is challenging – whether you’re a budget or traditional carrier – because the fare caps implemented by the government have remained unchanged for 25 years. Francois tells Kipp he thinks they may be working on loosening the strings. “You can imagine how costs have increased in 25 years but the fares haven’t changed,” he says.

Click here to watch a brief video clip of Francois Bouteiller

“We’ve had major changes in 2012 and we’ve had consecutive months of profit, but we hope to actually end the year with a profit,” he says. When pressed for speculative figures, he insisted it was too early to even begin guessing.

“If you take a look at what we’ve done over the past couple of years, but more specifically last year, we’ve had a 40 per cent increase in passenger numbers and sales growth,” he adds. “In 2012, we transported nearly three million passengers, and this year it could be 4.5 million.”

It’s also the fact that he’s the chief executive officer and visionary behind Qatar Airways – an airline that, despite facing financial losses, delays and muted expansion plans, continues to plough on stronger than ever. When asked what the greatest challenges airlines in the gulf face, he candidly referred to insufficient slots in western airports due to lack of expansion, rising fuel prices, government lobbying aimed at restricting growth due to Co2 emissions and most importantly, congested airspace.

It was only recently that the Doha-based airline’s fleet of 20 Boeing 787 aircrafts was given the green light to operate. Before then, they were parked on the ground for three months; costing the airline $200 million in financial losses. Al Baker has expressed unhappiness and disappointment with the situation, but repeatedly says he will be compensated by Boeing – but that actual figures cannot be discussed.

“We don’t buy planes to park them on the ground,” he said to reporters at this year’s Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. “We lose money this way, and it upset us that we were unable to operate them. Of course, now they’re flying again and we will push ahead with our growth plans.”

Click to watch Kipp’s video interview with Akbar Al Baker

Al Baker tells Kipp Report that he intends to regain the airline’s expansion momentum in two ways; by vigorously pursuing their existing plans to expand, and by receiving additional aircrafts – possibly from both Boeing and Airbus. As far as alliances go, he insists that once Qatar Air officially joins OneWorld in October, they will be part of “a huge alliance and continue to look for more partners to grow their business”.

As for an alliance with Dubai-based Emirates Airlines, Al Baker did not want to discuss it anymore. “We talk to each other often, but to even have an alliance, we would have to pass through many regulatory hurdles and they’re very complicated, therefore we don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he said.

Aside from airplane deliveries and expanding to new routes, Al Baker was visibly proud about an arguably more important, and imminent, development.

Hamad International Airport (commonly known as Doha’s new International Airport) is the world’s first to be designed, operated and solely managed by an airline. Kipp wondered whether this sets a precedent for other airlines to follow suit but the visibly enthusiastic CEO doesn’t necessarily agree.

“I don’t know if other airlines have the same vision that Qatar Airways does,” he tells Kipp. “I don’t know if other airlines have the kind of knowledge that we’ve developed managing an airport.” He adds that once the airport is officially operational, it will “simply be the best in the world” – as the airline has put in six years of detailed planning in transforming it into a world-class airport. He believes the airport will very difficult for anybody else to match.

“It’s not always money that produces something good, it’s the vision, the perseverance and of course, the quality and standards,” he said.

Education Minister Nayef al-Hajraf, Commerce and Industry Minister Anas al-Saleh and Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak al-Sabah, all in their early 40s, had come for an informal meeting with some 30 Kuwaiti bloggers and online journalists to discuss issues that concern young people.

“It was an ice-breaking action,” Sheikh Mohammad, a member of the ruling family who is Kuwait’s minister for cabinet and municipal affairs, told Reuters.

“We wanted them to hear what we had to say. We wanted to hear what they had to say,” he said in the April interview.

Like most countries in the Gulf region, Kuwait has seen little of the kind of turmoil that turfed out entrenched rulers in other Arab countries in 2011. But opposition politicians and a youth movement have been emboldened.

Dozens of activists and political figures have been charged since late last year with insulting 83-year-old ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, mainly in comments made online.

Young people regularly spill out onto the street to protest over local issues. Most of the gatherings are peaceful, but some have resulted in clashes with police.

In an attempt to prepare for the future of a country where more than half of citizens are under 25, Kuwait has tasked the three men and other younger officials with exploring reform. With little desire to substantively change the political structure – the Al-Sabah family has ruled Kuwait for 250 years – the men are focusing their efforts on the economy.

Their concerns about Kuwait’s economic future give them common ground with many activists, a Kuwait-based diplomat said.

“They understand the difficulties and the realities of the situation here,” the diplomat said. “But they face huge hurdles.”

THEY GET IT

A major oil producer and U.S. ally, Kuwait is one of the world’s richest countries per capita and one of the most politically free in the Gulf, but development has stalled due to bureaucracy and political upheaval – December’s parliamentary election was the fifth since 2006.

The economy is almost entirely dependent on oil, even more than most in the oil-rich Gulf region. Income from crude made up 94 percent of Kuwait’s state revenues in the first 10 months of the fiscal year.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that Kuwait may exhaust all of its oil savings by 2017 if it keeps raising state spending at the current rapid rate.

Rock-bottom prices for gas, power and gasoline have turned the world’s 20th biggest economy into its sixth-biggest consumer of oil, producing less than $3.70 of economic output for every kilogram of oil equivalent that it used in 2010, compared with the global average of $6.20, according to World Bank data.

“This has become an increasingly important issue as these subsidies have become increasingly distorting to our economy. This is something we are trying to address,” Economy and planning minister Mohammed al-Jasser said on Tuesday.

“Rationalisation of subsidies, particularly on fuels for non-targeted participants”, is needed to improve Saudi productivity, he told a financial conference in Riyadh.

Jasser did not give details of how Riyadh would tackle fuel subsidies.

Saudi Arabia keeps its domestic energy prices low for everyone, regardless of income levels, paying the subsidies out of the hundreds of billions of dollars that the kingdom makes from exporting crude oil.

This practice limits the potential long-term returns from oil exports. Nearly 40 per cent of Saudi electricity is still produced by burning oil.

Energy-hungry industry has boomed over the past decade, thanks to energy costs that are a fraction of those in most countries. This growth increases the cost burden on state-run companies that supply fuel, power and gas.

“Subsidy is becoming a big part of the government budget. Subsidy should be revised and done in a different way. It should be smarter and support low income people,” state-run Saudi Electricity co chief executive, Ali al-Barrak said.

Jasser also said Saudi Arabia should also resolve imbalances in its labour market, including the low level of private-sector employment among Saudi citizens, particularly women.

He said it was important for the country to diversify its economic base and develop more medium-sized companies.

There has been talk before about raising low fuel prices, including domestic natural gas prices, for years, but there is no clear sign that it will happen.

The government is wary of provoking social unrest by hiking gasoline or power prices, especially since the Arab Spring. It is also being cautious not to scare off gas-hungry industries that create jobs for a youthful population.

Reducing subsidies available to higher income groups, while maintaining cheap power supplies for millions of Saudis who are relatively poor, could help lighten the burden on Riyadh without sparking unrest.

“Over the last two years we have seen a real debate happening in government and among the wider public, so that’s a definite step forward,” John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Masic in Saudi Arabia, said.

“But now we need to look at how this can be addressed in terms of actual decisions,” he adds.

Reuters

According to Reuters, the grounding cost the airline a total of $200 million and Al Baker expects to be compensated for the losses.

The progress of Hamad International Airport – which the airline intends to manage and operate – has also hit delays but is expected to be completed in phases. And yet, despite these setbacks, the airline hasn’t faltered in terms of its aggressive growth strategy – unless you count the cutbacks in routes of course.

During a press conference on the opening day of Arabian Travel Market – Al Baker announced yet another major expansion on three continents with an enormous increase in capacity in Pakistan.

The Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, will become the carrier’s 20^th destination on the African continent, launching on September 18, followed a month later by Clark International Airport in the Philippines from October 28. Effective March 1 next year, Philadelphia will become the airline’s fifth US gateway.

“Yet again Qatar Airways is bucking the trend across the industry demonstrating that we are resilient in times of global economic austerity because while others are cutting back, we see the opportunities to expand our global footprint,” Al Baker said.

“Our three new routes we are announcing today show we have faith in expanding our operations across different continents. This year, for example, has certainly been the year of growth in the Middle East with five of our eight scheduled route launches in the region alone.”

Qatar Airways is currently in talks with Airbus to buy up to 15 of the European aircraft maker’s A330 passenger jets, a deal worth potentially $3.6 billion at list prices, citing production delays to Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

“We are talking to Airbus about A330s to fill in the gap that the Dreamliner delays have caused Qatar Airways. Anywhere between 10 and 15 (aircraft),” Chief executive, Akbar al Baker, told Reuters on Monday.

Additional reporting from Reuters

These fast-growing Gulf carriers are expected to be among the first and possibly biggest customers for Boeing’s latest offering, which was presented to customers last week.

“For sure they have changed, I hope they have,” Emirates’ President Tim Clark said, when asked whether the Dreamliner crisis has changed Boeing’s approach and thinking.

“Boeing came out of the ashes of the Sonic Cruiser years ago and came up with the Dreamliner, which was a leap of faith by any stretch. They were just beginning to stabilize when things went wrong again,” said Clark.

Emirates is not a customer of the Dreamliner but is the largest 777 operator with up to 175 jets that will need replacing soon.

Boeing announced it had begun selling an upgraded aircraft family code-named 777X, launching a race against Airbus for sales of long-haul jets.

Boeing, which has just emerged from the Dreamliner crisis, will now have to convince customers who have lost millions due to the grounding of the 787s.

Qatar Airways, which grounded all its five Dreamliner aircraft, would receive compensation from Boeing, its chief executive Akbar al Baker said.

“Everyone takes risks but Boeing took a very big risk because they went from ground zero to 100 in one leap instead of going in stages,” Qatar Airways’ outspoken chief Baker told Reuters on board its first 787 flight from Dubai to Doha last week, after the battery fix was installed.

Apart from Qatar Airways, fast-growing Gulf airline Etihad Airways has 41 Dreamliners on order.

“We put together a permanent and comprehensive fix for the issue and we are confident of the 787 safety,” Boeing’s Middle East President Jeff Johnson said when asked about assurances to its Gulf customers.

LESSONS LEARNED

U.S. regulators formally lifted flight restrictions on the 787 last month and allowed the redesigned lithium-ion battery system to be installed in airlines.

Ethiopian Airlines became the first carrier last month to resume flying the revamped Dreamlinerfollowed by All Nippon Airways and Qatar Airways.

It all began when the private luxury real estate developer revealed plans for a Hollywood-themed Damac Towers by Paramount in March. Since then, they’ve also announced plans of a 28-million square foot ‘Akoya by Damac’, a master plan development in Umm Suqeim (ten minutes from Sheikh Zayed Road).

Along with a long list of developments Akoya will include – like international schools, a solid retail infrastructure, boutique hotels and spas – Damac has announced the development of an 18-hole PGA Championship Golf Course, to be named Trump International Golf Club.

You wouldn’t think it at first, but Dubai and Abu Dhabi have recently been ranked as the 6^th most popular destinations for golf tourism, according to a study by accounting firm KPMG last month. Surprisingly, that’s not a regional comparison; but a worldwide one where the emirates are pinned against the likes of England, South Africa and USA.

Construction of the 7,205-yard course has already begun and will be ready for play next year. It will also include a 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art club house and a luxurious Trump Spa & wellness centre, which will be managed by The Trump Organization.

Donald Trump cancelled a previous foray into Dubai’s real estate market, a project to build an international hotel tower on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, after the emirate’s property downturn.

Hussein Sajwani, Chairman at Damac says the course will provide a ‘unique challenge for golfers, while delivering the utmost luxury and refinement’. “By collaborating with Donald Trump, we are bringing the most elite name in golf and international luxury real estate to Dubai,” he said.

Donald Trump, chairman and president of The Trump Organization says that ‘Dubai is an incredible city that truly understands the meaning of luxury’ and that this golf course – which is his first in the Middle East – will ‘exceed all expectations’. The Trump Organization already has 14 award-winning courses under its ownership and management across the world.

“There will be nothing like it in the region and beyond,” he said.

Tourism is crucial to Dubai’s economy, which had a gross domestic product of around $90 billion last year; it supports the emirate’s large retail industry as well as its hospitality sector.

Occupancy at Dubai’s 599 hotels, which have 80,500 rooms combined, was 78 percent in 2012 as the number of visitors rose 9.3 percent from a year ago to 10.16 million, according to data from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Helal Almarri, director-general of the DTCM, told Reuters that the emirate was likely to have more than 160,000 hotel rooms by the end of the decade and aimed to attract 20 million tourists annually by then.

Most decisions to build hotels would not be made by the Dubai government but by private companies. However, the Dubai government is active in supporting growth of the industry by providing infrastructure, marketing the emirate overseas, adjusting visa policies for visitors and expanding the network of the state-owned Emirates airline.

Saudi Arabia, India and Russia will be the main contributors to expected growth in tourist numbers, Almarri told Reuters.

“With Emirates airline and other carriers we focus very much on extending the routes to those markets,” he said.

Dubai’s main airport handled 5.85 million passengers in March, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, according to airport authorities.

Ethiopian Airlines was the first to resume its operations and Qatar Airways, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, is the latest to announce its continuation.

The outspoken chief of the Doha-based airline says regulators have overreacted and the plane ‘should never have been grounded’. He also tells local media he’s unhappy about their fast-paced and steady expansion plans being stifled. More specifically, the chief is upset the company’s plans to launch 15 new routes are being scuppered, meaning they’ll have to settle for 10.

“The aircraft shouldn’t have been grounded,” Akbar Al Baker told reporters at a press conference in Dubai. “I think there was a reaction by the regulators because of the unnecessary emergency evacuation of the Japanese aircraft.”

Speaking to local media as the aircraft returned to service for the first time – Al Baker said the Gulf carrier would now have to ‘claw’ back new destinations and he expects Boeing to compensate them and other affected airlines for their losses during the delay.

Although he blames the U.S. plane manufacturer, he does insist that he, like many others, has complete faith in them and the safety of their aircraft. He says he ‘really does believe’ it is one of the safest planes and even if the battery problem happened again – which he insists it wouldn’t – it would be ‘very limited and not affect safety’.

“The Dreamliner is so safe, I’ll fly with you today, and anytime,” he said.

The plans would have appeared fanciful three years ago, when a crash in the inflated real estate market triggered a corporate debt crisis and a slew of company restructurings. But Dubai, home to an archipelago of man-made islands and an indoor ski slope in one of its shopping malls, staged a dramatic economic recovery last year, partly because of a tourism boom.

Tourist arrivals grew 10 percent and hotel revenue rose 19 percent in the first half of 2012. Some state-linked companies have been working through their debt loads while some property prices have started to rebound.

“Maybe we will try to build something a little taller,” said Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Dubai’s largest developer Emaar Properties, which built the 828-metre Burj Khalifa.

The tower, which dominates Dubai’s spectacular high-rise skyline, was opened in 2010 but is set to be overshadowed by the 1,000-metre Kingdom tower under construction in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

“Dubai needs another tall building. Dubai is only about 30 years old. So we have a lot of time and lot of investment left,” Alabbar told journalists at a conference.

Meydan Group and the Sobha Group, two Dubai conglomerates, separately announced a joint venture to develop a major leisure, retail and residential complex near the city’s downtown area.

The complex will include a 350,000 square metres water park, a 7-km lagoon, retail spaces, leisure and sports attractions as well as 1,500 villas.

In its simplest form, this growing epidemic is often defined as ‘attending work while sick’. And we all have that one work colleague that – regardless of the severity of his or her illness – will insist on putting their health on the line to come to the office. Naturally, the consequences of that irresponsible decision can spread, quite literally, to others.

Why? Occasionally, it’s the enormous workload rearing its ugly head, but more often than not, it is either guilt or fear. There have been several studies and polls on the subject – some of which suggest that employers, since the global crisis, have begun using it as a scare tactic – and we’ve written about a couple here.

According to Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, head of clinical governance at Dubai Health Authority, only government employees were previously charged (AED50) to obtain a sick note. Now, the new charge will affect everybody “regardless of where they are working, or their social class”.

As The National reports, this move is merely a piece in the puzzle; a part of a series of measures introduced to combat an ongoing fraudulent abuse of the system. In a nutshell, its aim is to discourage those feigning illness to skip a working day – in hopes that the charge will force them to think twice.

To further quote the report, this move has been met with ‘mixed reactions’, with one resident in Dubai describing it as ‘a tax on the sick’ and one medical practitioner ‘detesting’ the idea; saying it ‘shows distrust in doctors’.

You may be reading this thinking, if I’m really ill, then 60dhs is a price I wouldn’t mind paying – but does that mean that workers from all social classes can afford this charge? It is a classic case of an entire population being affected by the mistakes of a few.

The health authority says they’re still reviewing the actual charges and that; in the meantime, they’re open to alternative suggestions.

What are yours?

The IMF, which has sent a team of experts to the major oil producer before preparing its regular annual report on the country’s economy, has said the government needs to include the tax system in its fiscal reforms.

Income is not taxed in Kuwait, one of the world’s richest countries per capita, and water, electricity and petrol are heavily subsidised.

“The committee has rejected in its meeting to impose any taxes on citizens especially (given) that the level of public services is not good enough,” member of parliament Yusuf Zalala, head of the assembly’s financial and economic affairs committee, was quoted by the daily Kuwait Times as saying.

The IMF has calculated that Kuwait may exhaust all its oil savings by 2017 if it keeps raising state spending at the current rapid rate. The international body therefore wants Kuwait to expand its tax base, to provide stability in case of any sharp fall in oil prices.

Some members of parliament have suggested that foreigners, who make up around two thirds of Kuwait’s 3.7 million population, should pay more for services, but others have argued this would dent the country’s appeal to foreign companies.

Political infighting and bureaucracy have held up economic development in Kuwait, and its public infrastructure and services, from telecommunications to garbage collection, lag other states in the Gulf such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

After all, it is the world’s longest fully automated metro network. That’s why Kerala’s Kochi Metro Rail Ltd is sending a team of officials to the United Arab Emirates to take a closer look at the metro’s technological aspects.

It is not only Dubai’s rail that they intend to study, but this week the emirate will be their starting point. To better understand the functioning and operations of metros in major cities, they’ll also be paying a visit to Paris, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Copenhagen and Singapore.

“A team led by project director, Mahesh Kumar, will head for Dubai to gain a greater understanding of the third rail system and communications-based automatic train control system (CBTC),” said KMRL managing director, Elias George. Kochi Metro is estimated to cost Rs4.43 billion and it will cover 25.523 kilometres in length.

When Dubai Metro ‘opened its doors’ in September 2009, as a city – or rather, emirate – it’s safe to say we were unanimously relieved. It was a project with brains behind it; not a luxurious dream of an elitist, but rather something the entire population could find practical. And, sure enough, in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the metro transported approximately 6.9 million, 38.9 million and 69 million people, respectively.

According to data released by the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai, the metro carried approximately 350,000 passengers a day in December of 2012.

In 2005, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page – along with CEO Eric Schmidt – all reduced their yearly compensation to $1. And now, Mark Zuckerberg, the brain behind Facebook, the world’s most successful social network, has officially joined the club as well.

This move was revealed in the company’s IPO Filing at the beginning of this year, but only in a recent proxy filing, was it concretely confirmed, along with his decision to ‘forego any bonuses’. Last year, in addition to his $500,000 base salary, Zuckerberg received a whopping $266,101 bonus. That’s a lot to give up, but trust me; you can take back any sympathetic sentiments you may be feeling.

According to Business Insider, the 28-year-old billionaire exercised 60 million stock options when Facebook went public in May of last year. At the time, they were worth an approximate $2.3 billion – although the report adds that he sold half the stock to cover his tax bill. Currently, he’s still currently nesting another 60 million that can be exercised on November 7, 2015; at the same astonishingly low price of six cents.

On the other hand, Zuckerberg now sits on a massive loss of nearly $7 billion on paper. This is, of course, based on the 609.5 million shares of company stock he owned as of March 31. The company’s stock, since the IPO was completed last year, hasn’t closed above $38; a 29 per cent decline.

As far as public appearances and statements go, it’s always been apparent that the young entrepreneur strongly believes there’s more to life than money. He’s quite often made headlines for sprouting out seemingly noble statements like “we don’t wake up in the morning with the primary goal of making money, but we understand that the best way to achieve our mission is to build a strong and valuable company” and “we don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services”.

He’s also insisted on numerous occasions that Facebook is free and always will be – although if you count recent developments like paying to promote your private posts to friends – then he’s sort of playing fast and loose with the word ‘free’.

King Abdullah originally announced the housing scheme in March 2011. His plan to build 500,000 homes over several years was part of a series of official steps to improve social welfare, at a time when social discontent was prompting uprisings in other Arab countries.

But the housing programme has been slow to get underway, partly because of difficulties in obtaining land – an example of how inefficiencies in Saudi Arabia‘s economy can slow its growth, despite its oil wealth. Last week’s royal decree may push the programme forward by opening up thousands of acres of state-owned land for construction.

“The decree is an important step that begins to address the gap between demand and supply of land in order to begin building the amount of units promised,” saidJohn Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at MASIC, a Riyadh-based investment firm.

“It should eventually, as more allocations become available to the ministry of housing, bring down the price of land. Land prices, especially in Riyadh, can only come down if more land is made available as the majority of land still remains idle.”

SHORTAGE

Saudi Arabia has lagged poorer countries in providing housing to its citizens. Some 60 percent of nearly 20 million Saudis are estimated to live in rented accommodation rather than homes they own, and much of the housing is in poor condition, said Mike Williams, head of research at the CBRE property consultancy in neighbouring Bahrain.

Because of the housing shortage, rising rents have been a major source of inflation; rents nationwide rose 3.7 percent from a year earlier in March, though that was far below a peak of 29.7 percent seen in 2008. Apartment rents in Riyadhjumped 8 percent last year, estimates Jones Lang LaSalle.

Faisal al-Dekheel, a 25-year-old government employee, is one person who has grappled with the shortage. He wanted to rent a cheap apartment in Riyadh that would spare him a commute to work of up to 95 minutes, but found he would have to pay an annual rent of 60-80,000 riyals ($16,000-$21,300).

“I cannot afford such an amount. It is impossible,” said Dekheel, who eventually settled for an apartment costing 26,000 riyals a year in the distant eastern suburbs of city. “This is not an easy amount too.”

Part of the problem is that the kingdom’s wealthy have snapped up residential land plots around the country as long-term investments, making them too costly to use for lower-income housing.

Complicating the situation, many plots remain undeveloped because they were given to citizens under a previous system of land grants, and the recipients lacked the money to build on their land.

“The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has distributed around 2.2 million plots in this way, but there is no data recording how these plots have actually been utilised,” Williams said in a research report.

“There is the possibility that most of them remain undeveloped, and therefore these grants are proving insufficient in addressing housing needs in the Kingdom.”

In March, local media quoted Housing Minister Shuwaish al-Duwaihi as saying his ministry was able to obtain only a third of the land it needed to carry out housing projects. Ministry officials were not available to elaborate on his comments.

A lack of affordable bank financing is another constraint on home ownership. Partly because of Islamic sensitivities, there are no clear legal provisions for letting banks take away a borrower’s home if he defaults on a housing loan; this causes banks to charge high rates on the loans which they extend.

“The long-documented lack of security for mortgage lenders means that risk is priced into such products, making them unaffordable to all but a few,” Williams said.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Two years after King Abdullah originally announced the housing scheme, last week’s decree may finally put it into top gear. The king instructed the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to hand over municipal lands immediately to the Ministry of Housing, which was told to build infrastructure such as roads on them before distributing them to citizens, who would build homes with loans granted by the housing ministry.

The Ministry of Finance was ordered to approve funds for the infrastructure construction. The king also told other departments to provide the housing ministry with the data it needed to decide which citizens were eligible for the land grants and loans – a key issue to avoid waste and corruption.

Even if all the government agencies cooperate smoothly, however, the scale of the task means it is likely to be many years before Saudi Arabia reaches the levels of home ownership – around two-thirds – enjoyed by other rich countries such as theUnited States and Britain.

The housing ministry said in January it would need a year just to prepare the mechanism for deciding citizens’ eligibility for land grants. Administering it may be a slow process in a country where the state bureaucracy is not known for its efficiency.

Bottlenecks in the construction industry may then delay the delivery of homes. One current bottleneck is in the supply of cement; last week King Abdullah ordered the import of 10 million tonnes to ease a shortage and called for three or four cement plants to be built over the next three years, granting 3 billion riyals towards the scheme, state news agency SPA reported.

“In my calculation, I’ve put 10 years to finish the whole project,” Fahad Alturki, senior economist at Jadwa Investment in Riyadh, said of the housing programme.

With Saudi Arabia‘s population expected to grow by 2.1 percent annually in 2010-2015, well above the global average of 1.1 percent, according to a central bank report, the current housing programme may need to be followed by others. In January, minister Duwaihi told local MBC television the country needed 1.1 million housing units.

Dekheel said he was optimistic about buying his own home eventually, but was not expecting it to happen soon. “For sure I will apply to get a land and loan,” he said, adding: “It is going to take at least five years until the youth can have access to this.”

The sector’s net income slid 18 percent from a year earlier to 8.0 billion riyals ($2.1 billion) in the first quarter of this year, Riyadh-based NCB Capital calculated this week after the companies announced earnings.

Even worse, global oil prices have dropped sharply since the start of this month. That threatens to pull down petrochemical product prices later this year, hurting firms’ bottom lines.

This matters for the entire Saudi stock market, because petrochemical shares account for roughly a third of its total capitalisation.

But a closer look at the outlook for petrochemical earnings suggests it is not so grim, many institutional analysts and investors argue – meaning the market could rebound quickly if oil prices stabilise in coming weeks.

A collapse of demand for Saudi petrochemical output is not on the cards, saidFaisal Potrik, analyst at Riyad Capital, who is keeping a “buy” rating on Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) , the world’s biggest petrochemicals group.

“Demand is still there, especially out of Asia - that’s going to cushion and has been cushioning the impact of any decline in the West,” he said.

RETAIL SELLING

Heavy selling of petrochemical shares by retail investors has pushed the sector index down 4.8 percent this month, leaving the overall Saudi market flat. Saudi Arabia is far underperforming most Gulf markets; Dubai, which is not directly exposed to the petrochemical industry, is up 12 percent this month.

There has been plenty of bad news to alarm investors. SABIC said last week that it would cut about 1,050 jobs in Europe and close some operations there because of weak demand on the continent.

Demand is stronger in the United States but the revolution in extracting natural gas there is strengthening some of the Saudi companies’ competitors, by reducing the cost of the gas they use as feedstock.

Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude oil has tumbled 8 percent this month to its lowest level since mid-2012. Petrochemical prices have held up well so far this year – ethylene was around $1,490 a tonne in the first quarter, up 16 percent from the previous quarter – but they could drop if oil prices stay at current levels, since in the long term the markets are closely related.

SABIC announced last week that its net profit sank 10 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, while sales shrank 3.3 percent. It warned that growth would probably not improve until next year.

BETTER THAN EXPECTED

But there are signs that petrochemical firms’ plight is not as bad as some investors are assuming. Although first-quarter profits dropped at many Saudi producers, most actually beat analysts’ consensus forecasts, except for when company-specific factors were involved, said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management in Dubai.

In fact, much of the drop in the sector’s profits during the first quarter was due to shutdowns of facilities for maintenance and emergencies – events that did not indicate weakness in the firms’ core business.

PetroRabigh, for example, posted a 658.1 million riyal net loss in the quarter, against a year-earlier profit of 115.8 million riyals – but the loss was due to an unexpected disruption of power and steam supplies from an outside provider. This forced PetroRabigh to halt operations.

Concern that SABIC‘s European layoffs are a sign of things to come may also be overblown. Announcing first-quarter earnings, the firm’s chief executive Mohamed al-Mady described Europe as a “special case” and said he was optimistic about growth in China improving, while the U.S. construction market – a major source of demand for SABIC‘s products – was recovering.

Potrik at Riyad Capital forecast SABIC‘s earnings per share would rise to 8.75 riyals this year from 8.26 last year, meaning the stock, which closed Wednesday at 91.25 riyals, is trading at an inexpensive 10.7 times projected 2013 earnings. He has a target price of 120 riyals for the stock.

NCB Capital has a target of 120.5 riyals for SABIC shares.

“We expect the sector’s earnings to improve in the next quarters of 2013 as most of the shutdowns ended in 1Q13,” it said, predicting petrochemical product prices would remain “broadly flat” this year – not a strong performance, but not as bad as many investors have been fearing.

“I was fired with many others when trading volumes went down,” said Ayad, a man in his 30s who worked for a securities firm in Cairo until last year. “I have been unable to find a new job as many other people working in the financial sector have also been laid off.”

Over two years after Egypt‘s revolution ousted president Hosni Mubarak, the stock market continues to sag, plagued by sluggish trading turnover, a lack of new equity issuance and the reluctance of many big foreign investors to commit money.

The effect is being felt well beyond the community of finance professionals in Cairoand Alexandria – the market is viewed as a barometer for business confidence, and its weakness is preventing companies from using it to raise money.

Although Egypt‘s economy is struggling, the market’s problems are as much political as economic. Investors feel the government is unsympathetic to them, and inclined to intervene in the market to obtain money or settle political scores.

Two official decisions this month have raised hopes that the government’s approach to the market is changing, and that it can reach an accommodation with investors. But the decisions will need to be followed by the resolution of other long-running issues for confidence to return, analysts and investors say.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

After Mubarak’s overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood, which took the lion’s share of political power, mounted a public relations campaign to reassure investors that its Islamist ideology did not conflict with their desire to make money.

By late last year the campaign appeared to be working; the main stock index, which halved in the months after the revolution, had recovered almost two-thirds of those losses.

But early this year, a series of regulatory incidents hit the market. One was a clash between authorities and Orascom Construction Industries, the market’s largest stock.

In late February the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) intervened to suspend a multi-billion dollar offer for Orascom’s Amsterdam-listed affiliate OCI NV to buy out the shares of the Cairo-listed company. The EFSA said it wanted more information about the transaction, which could result in Orascom being delisted from Cairo.

Then in early March, the government slapped a travel ban on Orascom chief executive Nassef Sawiris and his father Onsi Sawiris – two of the country’s most prominent businessmen – in a probe into alleged tax evasion by the company.

Later that month, authorities spooked the market by imposing a new tax covering investment gains on an offer by Qatar National Bank (QNB) to buy shares in National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) – and telling shareholders about the tax only after they had agreed to sell.

Taken together, the incidents suggested the government’s attitude to the market was not as benign as it had claimed. A fledgling recovery of foreign fund inflows into the market was halted; the index is down 11 percent from its January peak.

The market is still debating authorities’ motives. One theory is that the government, with its budget deficit officially projected to rise to 197.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($28.5 billion) in the fiscal year that will start on July 1, is increasingly desperate to raise money – and that it sees the market as a tempting source of cash.

If this theory is right, the government may be disappointed. Much of the money it raises in the short term could be lost in the long term as investors become more reluctant to trade stocks and companies shy away from listing their shares on the market.

“They make less than $10 million, $9 million from this tax, a very small amount for making all this trouble,” said Karim Abdelaziz, who manages an Egyptian share fund worth 1 billion pounds at Cairo-based al-Ahly Fund & Portfolio Management.

Another possibility is that as Brotherhood-backed President Mohamed Mursi consolidates power, his administration is becoming more eager to settle political scores with businessmen who prospered under the old regime. The Sawiris, and wealthy stock market investors, fall in that category.

In the long run, that strategy could also be counter-productive, by deterring the business investment which Egypt needs to create jobs and repair its economy – and which the Muslim Brotherhood will need to retain its political support.

Abdelaziz said the Orascom tax case could lead to a lengthy court battle, which would risk scaring off more investors who were already concerned about land sales that have been revoked by the government. Authorities accuse some real estate firms of having paid too little for land because of cosy relationships with officials in the Mubarak era.

A third theory is that officials making decisions affecting the stock market, some of them new to government after being excluded from power by Mubarak, are simply too inexperienced – or perhaps too distracted by other challenges – to make policies with investor confidence in mind.

Hani Helmy, chairman of El Shorouq Brokerage in Cairo, said the government was too busy dealing with street violence, fuel shortages and power cuts to focus on helping the stock market.

“I think since the revolution until now…the stock exchange is not a priority to deal with – maybe we are number 10, number 20,” he said.

POSITIVE SIGNS

There have been two signs this month that authorities’ approach toward the market may be becoming more benign.

One was an announcement by the EFSA that the stock exchange would reinstate the buying and selling of individual stocks within the same trading session from the first week of May, in an effort to boost market volumes.

Buying and selling a stock in the same day has been banned since the revolution destabilised the market in February 2011. EFSA head Ashraf El Sharkawy said the resumption would increase the number of transactions by between 30 and 40 percent and help to alleviate “huge liquidity problems” on the exchange.

By itself, the opportunity to trade stocks more frequently will not restore investors’ faith in the government – but it does suggest that within the government, there are still officials working to improve market conditions.

The second positive sign was a decision by parliament’s economic and financial committee to scrap the tax on investment gains and return to investors the money already levied on the NSGB deal.

Abdullah Shahata, an aide to the finance minister, told Reuters that members of parliament had decided the tax would have a “negative effect on the investment climate in Egypt“.

Daniel Broby, chief investment officer of British-based Silk Invest, said the tax saga should be seen as part of a learning curve in economic management for Mursi, and was not a bad omen for the market in the long run.

“The tax imposed on stock market gains…is the sort of knee-jerk reaction that inexperienced politicians typically make and regret,” he said.

At least two more things may need to happen for the market to feel comfortable with the government. One is a resolution of the Orascom tax dispute; Orascom said on Tuesday it was “in an advanced stage of negotiations with the Egyptian Tax Authorityand will announce more details within the coming few days”.

The other thing is for the government to give clearance for a merger of Cairo-listedEFG-Hermes, the Middle East‘s largest investment bank, with QInvest of Qatar. The deal was originally signed on May 4 last year; a clause in the agreement states it will lapse after 12 months if regulatory approval is not forthcoming.

The merger is politically sensitive in Egypt because both of EFG‘s chief executives,Hassan Heikal and Yasser El Mallawany, are accused by authorities of illegal share dealings in relation to a 2007 transaction, along with the two sons of ousted Mubarak. EFG has said it will defend the CEOs.

Uncertainty over whether the deal will go ahead has weighed on EFG‘s share price and caused concern about Egypt‘s relations with Qatar, which has promised billions of dollars of badly needed financial aid to Cairo.

If such issues are resolved and confidence in the regulatory environment revives,Egypt‘s fast-growing population of 84 million could make its stock market attractive. Some institutions are already planning based on that assumption.

“We plan to open five to six branches in the provinces in the Nile Delta and UpperEgypt in the next three years to attract retail investors,” said Hussein Choucri, chairman of local firm HC Securities & Investment, which manages assets worth almost 5 billion pounds in 14 investment funds.

Fund manager Helmy said a Muslim Brotherhood victory in this year’s parliamentary elections, which are expected as early as October, might actually calm the market by giving parliament a mandate to take difficult economic decisions.

“People would accept the Brotherhood for the first two years, and judge them afterwards,” he said.

Investments went into expansion of core industries such as Emirates Steel, Arkan Building Materials Co and Agthia Group.

Since 2004, Senaat has invested about 16 billion dirhams in Abu Dhabi‘s industrial sector.

“All of this new investment is consistent with our strategy to engage in industrial projects and we will continue to invest every year,” Hussain al Nowais, chairman ofSenaat, told Reuters after announcing the company’s results.

Unlisted Senaat‘s revenues totalled 12.3 billion dirhams in 2012, up 7.2 percent over the previous year. But net profit was lower at 1.3 billion dirhams compared to 1.5 billion dirhams in 2011, mainly due to higher depreciation costs, al Nowais said.

Total assets grew 7.8 percent to 25.4 billion dirhams in 2012.

Two of Senaat‘s companies, Arkan and Agthia, are listed on the Abu DhabiSecurities Market and there are plans to list more when market conditions improve, said al Nowais.

Industry sources, analysts and potential buyers say Boeing’s idea of revamping its long-serving 777 was rapidly gathering momentum even before British Airways signed a $6 billion order for 18 of Airbus’s new A350-1000 jets on Monday.

Airbus’s victorious climax to a three-year courtship cracks Boeing’s virtually complete hold on BA’s long-haul fleet and makes it almost certain the U.S. group will show its hand by formally offering a revamped “777X” very soon, the sources said.

Boeing’s response would mark the end of a “phoney war” between transatlantic rivals and set up a direct clash for a segment of the market projected to involve 2,000 twin-engined mini-jumbo jets worth $500 billion at list prices over 20 years.

It provides a glimpse of fierce competition that continued behind the scenes – pulling in top Boeing executives – even as the grounding of its 787 Dreamliner over battery concerns captured global headlines and drew public support from Airbus.

“I think there is pressure on Boeing to move by the (June 17-21) Paris air show,” said Adam Pilarski, former chief economist at Douglas Aircraft, which is now part of Boeing.

For years, Boeing governed a “sweet spot” in the jet market between 300 and 400 seats after pioneering two engines rather than four for long routes. Its 777 is an industry best-seller.

Now, its dominance is being challenged by the A350-1000, a larger cousin to Europe‘s answer to the carbon-composite 787, forcing Boeing to come up with changes such as folding wingtips to increase wingspan while fitting at the same airport gates.

“I think Boeing is ready to go with the 777X. We’ve been in fairly close contact with them in the last few months,” Tim Clark, President of Emirates airline, told Reuters last week in Dubai.

“They have offered (it) to us in the specifications we asked for and this is now being tested through our normal route of assessment. If we are happy we may even go with it soon.”

As head of the largest 777 operator with up to 175 jets that will need replacing starting soon, Clark is someone Boeing will pay attention to as he pushes for early decisions.

Not all potential buyers agree things will happen imminently, however. One, who asked not to be named, said Boeing needed more time to fine-tune the 777X, though basic negotiations can start while designs are still in flux.

Boeing must also consider the impact on its existing product, but is anxious not to leave the door open to Airbus. It declined to comment on the timing of a formal marketing debut.

“It is a thorough process, with ongoing robust discussions, to ensure we come to market with the right airplane, at the right time, leveraging the right technology and delivering the right economics,” Boeing spokeswoman Karen Crabtree said.

A BIGGER A350?

Critics say Boeing has dithered over the 777X, giving Airbus time to recover from a slow start, as they became absorbed in a battle for market share for smaller planes. Still, Airbus has so far only dented the mini-jumbo market with 128 new A350-1000 sales, compared with 1,294 777s of various sizes over 20 years.

“Airbus’s best friend is Boeing’s delays with the 777X,” said Richard Aboulafia of Virginia-based consultancy Teal Group.

The looming mini-jumbo war is part of a wider contest for long-haul, twin-aisle jets where Boeing is traditionally strong. The battle for 350-400 seats promises to be one of the toughest.

Boeing says the total market for twin-aisle wide-body planes is worth $2.1 trillion over 20 years. It represents a quarter of the overall jet market by volume but just under half by value.

Sources say Boeing is also offering a larger 787 called the 787-10X after a low-key decision to market it late last year. But so far no airlines have committed to the 320-seat model.

The largest version of Boeing’s revamped 777 is tipped to have over 400 seats or 60 more than the A350-1000, raising questions whether Airbus will kick back with a bigger design.

So far, Airbus argues the 350-seat A350-1000 is “lean and mean” and that the 777X would be too big for many airlines.

“Airbus will respond that the A350-1000 will do the job,” said Clark, adding the two planemakers had perhaps inadvertently arrived at a neat method of segmentation of the market.

Asked if Airbus would make the A350 bigger, the European planemaker’s sales chief John Leahy told Reuters: “No, we wouldn’t want to. There isn’t a market there (and) you can’t artificially create a market where there isn’t one.”

That doesn’t prevent a growing number of people speculating that Airbus may keep other ideas in reserve, though it is seen unlikely to reconsider its A350 strategy any time soon.

Much depends on where the market decides the “sweet spot” should be – the ideal combination of payload and range that decides whether any plane is a success or an expensive flop.

Technically, industry sources say it would be feasible to make the A350 bigger, depending on the support of Rolls-Royce which has already redesigned the engine. Its battle with 777 supplier General Electric mirrors the jet makers.

Like bigger cars, stretched jets can be economical because they burn less fuel per passenger. But stretching too much increases the risk of the tail scraping the ground on take-off, so designers have to include bigger and heavier landing gear.

Drifting above 400 seats with a new, lightweight jet could also test support for Airbus’s 525-seat A380 superjumbo.

“I think that would be a stretch too far,” a major client of both Airbus and Boeing said, asking not to be named.

Despite its euphoria over BA – “one of the most dramatic changes of culture” at the airline since it turned its back on UK aircraft in the 1960s, according to analyst Howard Wheeldon - Airbus needs more wins as Boeing mounts an all-out 777 defence.

A decision by Swiss, an all-Airbus customer, to buy 777s - as its parent Lufthansa also weighs fleet options – suggests the opportunity to capture Boeing’s lead remains tight, analyst say.

“That deal sent a signal to Toulouse,” where Airbus is based, said a senior industry source, asking not to be named.

The fortunes of nuclear power plant builders around the world sank when a tsunami smashed into Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant in March 2011, sparking the worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster.

Opposition to nuclear power has risen since in many countries, along with construction costs, but nuclear technology is gaining popularity in the Middle East, where soaring electricity demand is eating into oil and gas exports.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) picked a consortium of Korean companies in late 2009 to build the Gulf Arab region’s first nuclear power station, dashing French nuclear industry hopes of building the plant near Abu Dhabi.

But state-run French nuclear reactor builders should get something out of Saudi Arabia‘s much larger nuclear programme, with Riyadh‘s plans to build up to 17,000 MW one of the world’s biggest nuclear building markets for the next two decades.

France‘s original large fleet of nuclear plants was built around one technology, and there are economies of scale to be enjoyed from building just one type.

But Saudi Arabia is likely to opt to build a variety of different plants to meet its rapidly rising power demand, according to the Vice President of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), which is responsible for steering the kingdom’s nuclear plans.

More than one design would avoid over-stretching one reactor builder and allow the kingdom to sign politically potent, long-term contracts with several of its biggest trading partners.

“We see unique benefits of diversifying acquired technologies in terms of job creation, value chain localization, and knowledge transfer,” Waleed Abulfaraj said.

“The current front runners are all countries which Saudi Arabia has already signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with, which include France, Korea, China, and Argentina.”

Abulfaraj said the kingdom is considering only Generation 3 and 3+ advanced reactors which have already licensed, built and operated safely. Third-generation plants have standardised designs to streamline licensing and cut construction times, added safety features and longer operating lives of around 60 years. The kingdom expects the first to be built by 2022.

Third generation large reactor vendors include Mitsubishi, France‘s Areva , Toshiba Corp’s Westinghouse, GE Hitachi, and Korea‘s Kepco.

Saudi Arabia is also keen to use smaller modular reactors at industrial complexes, but will hold off on buying any until there are clearer, global regulations on their use, he said.

There are 435 civil nuclear power reactors operating around the world, with 67 under construction. The kingdom’s atomic ambitions are modest compared to China‘s, which is building 29,910 MW and planning another 59,800 MW, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA).

India is building 5,300 MW and planning to build at least another 15,100 MW, while Russia is building 9,160 MW and planning another 24,180 MW,

But it is still one of the biggest potential export markets for reactor vendors worldwide over the next two decades, as China builds more of its own plants and Russia always has done so.

“Saudi Arabia has the potential to be an important market for the global nuclear industry,” Jonathan Cobb, an analyst at the WNA, an umbrella group nuclear energy companies worldwide.

“Working with a range of vendors does have the advantage of giving countries new to nuclear energy a broader experience of working with key players in the global industry. China has chosen to work with a range of vendors and this has served its ambitious nuclear energy program well.”

The Saudi target implies building at least 11 large reactors, or more if a mix of reactors is used, with the largest - France’s European Power Reactor (EPR) – capable of producing 1,630 MW.

But it seems Saudi Arabia is set on building more than one type.

“It would surprise me, though it wouldn’t be out of the question, if they went with one … I doubt they would go with five or six … But it wouldn’t surprise me that they would go with two,” Sandy Rupprecht, senior vice president business and project development, at Westinghouse said.

Few of the limiting factors on nuclear new build elsewhere – environmental opposition, volatile power market prices, high upfront costs and long construction times – are going to be stumbling blocks in a country trying to save millions of barrels of valuable oil from being burnt in its power plants each summer.

“Saudi Arabia has no problem with something which is the main condition nowadays for developing nuclear power, which is to have the financial capacity to do it,” Luis Echavarri, director of the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency, said.

“If you want to be efficient economically, I think that having a single technology helps a lot… However, if you have two or three different technologies you can negotiate better sometimes because you can benefit from competition even when you are already under construction,” he said, adding that the Saudi programme was probably big enough to justify two reactor types.

The QCB launched quarterly issues of riyal-denominated bonds in March, giving it a tool to manage excess liquidity in the banking sector as the economy gears up for heavy infrastructure spending in the next few years.

“As of now, we plan to issue the same amounts in every quarter. Cumulatively, that would imply total issuances of 16 billion riyals ($4.4 billion) during the year,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani said in written answers to questions from Reuters.

“We, however, would continue to keep a close watch on the evolving domestic and global developments and would react accordingly, if required.”

In March, the central bank placed 1 billion riyals of Islamic bonds and 3 billion riyals of conventional bonds, half with three-year maturities and half with five-year, directly with local banks.

In addition, the central bank has been holding monthly auctions of 91-, 182- and 273-day Treasury bills since 2011. The volume of funds drained through this tool has stayed in recent months at 4 billion riyals per month, despite a build-up in surplus liquidity in the banking system.

“As of now, we intend to continue with the Treasury bill auctions of the same amount as done hitherto. As mentioned before, we would take stock of the evolving situation in future and react flexibly if there is any need to change the current practice,” Sheikh Abdullah said.

A more active monetary policy may be needed in coming years as Qatar plans to spend some $140 billion on infrastructure building, partly in preparation to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament.

In the wake of the 2011 interventions in the money market, total available liquidity dropped to a mere 5.8 billion riyals at the end of that year from 73.2 billion riyals a year earlier, the QCB has said.

But excess liquidity has begun building again. Funds parked by banks at the central bank’s low-yielding deposit facility hit a two-year high of 204 billion riyals in January this year, though they subsequently fell back to 138 billion riyals in February, the latest QCB data show.

Loose liquidity pushed the average three-month interbank lending rate down to 0.76 percent in November, the lowest since June 2011. It rose again to 1.03 percent in February but is still well below the March 2012 peak of 1.75 percent.

REVERSE REPOS

In January, the International Monetary Fund said Qatar’s central bank needed to start managing liquidity fluctuations more finely through more flexible open market operations.

Asked if the QCB planned to launch a reverse repo instrument to absorb liquidity in case of short-term fluctuations, as the IMF recommended, Sheikh Abdullah said there were not enough government securities outstanding at present to use such an instrument in a sustained manner.

“As of now, we are not contemplating the introduction of reverse repo in the immediate future…Since the QCB does not finance the government by purchasing government bonds in the primary market, there is little scope of enhancing its stock of securities substantially in the near future,” he said.

“Therefore, the QCB is operationally constrained to move towards the introduction of reverse repo at the present juncture.”

The new bond issue programme will, however, deepen the local debt market in the long term. Asked whether domestic bond issues meant Qatar would be less active in issuing U.S. dollar-denominated sovereign bonds, Sheikh Abdullah said: “A local debt market would enhance options for domestic financing and reduce reliance on foreign funding.” He did not elaborate.

Qatari Finance and Economy Minister Youssef Kamal said earlier in April that the country was still open to conducting debt issues in the international market, depending on opportunities and on the level of debt to gross domestic product, which is very low.

The Qatar government was last in the international debt market in July 2012 with a $4 billion dual-tranche sukuk issue, which attracted orders worth over $25 billion.

($1 = 3.6407 Qatar rials)

“I feel they do a super job and we’re more than happy to give them a new contract for five years. I don’t see any problems,” the 82-year-old billionaire said at the Sakhir circuit.

Bahrain is the most controversial race on the calendar due to concerns about alleged human rights abuses after a bloody crackdown on a 2011 anti-government uprising in the tiny Gulf kingdom.

The race was cancelled in 2011, but the last two have proceeded without incident. The current contract runs to 2016.

“We’re committed to motorsports, and F1 especially,” said Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani after Sunday’s race. “We were the first race in the Middle East and we call ourselves the home of motorsport in the Middle East.

“We truly believe that in every sense of the word, so we are here for the long term … maybe we can sign something this year.

“We had a race last year, and we had a race just finished, and we will have a race for the years to come,” he added. “We are now developing the grassroots karting and an academy of open-wheel racing to look to the future.”

Australia currently hosts the current season-opener with a highly popular race in Melbourne, while Bahrain is the fourth of 19 races this year.

It is no longer the sole race in the Middle East, with Abu Dhabi’s day-to-night grand prix under the Yas Marina floodlights becoming a more popular and glamorous destination for many sponsors towards the end of the year.

Bahrain has twice before hosted the opening round and officials have made no secret of their desire to return to the coveted slot, with its higher profile for a worldwide television audience.

Ecclestone has been supportive of the idea, despite some tongue-in-cheek comments at the weekend suggesting that the Bahrain authorities had been “stupid in a lot of ways” to host the race because of the platform it gave to opponents.

“It’s on the table,” said Alzayani of the date change.

“For us, we’re ready any day of the year, but we will have to see how it fits with logistics, other dates, other countries hosting and if there are conflicts with any other events they may have.

“We’ve had the first race before, and by July or August we will get a better picture as to where we will lie on next year’s calendar.”

Bahrain could be attractive logistically to teams because they would be able to test at the circuit in dry conditions before the start of the season and leave equipment in place.

The situation in Dubai has surely been similar to all over the world, where smallish discounts against loco London prices changed into decent premiums for physical gold. Dubai moved from a discount of US$0.50 to a premium of between US$2 and US$3 per ounce of gold. The Dubai Gold Souk, based on anecdotal evidence, looked more like a busy Central Train station, with buyers clearly in the driving seat.

The other side of the coin is the ongoing liquidation from ETF and other ETP holders. The liquidation seen was magnified by increased margin requirements from various exchanges and the volumes traded were massive. The Commodity Exchange (Comex), a division of the CME Group, recorded just over 700,000 contracts traded for the active June Gold contract, on Monday (April 15, 2013). This was reduced to 425,000 contracts on Tuesday, with a falling tendency, which culminated last Friday (April 19, 2013) with a volume of 189,000 traded contracts. For your guidance, 200,000 contracts represent a very active normal trading day. Gold prices have been able to recover just over US$80 from the lows, but it failed to close above the US$1400 level on Friday, during the important Comex session. The settlement price for the active June gold futures contract is US$1395.60 per ounce and that does not convince me yet that the worst is already over.

A confirmed close above US$1400 is, in my opinion, needed before a more confidence building scenario can be achieved. Volatilities for gold rallied to levels above 30 per cent early in the week, in order to close the week in the low twenties. Last week’s trading span has been huge, with ranges between US$50 and US$100 being the norm, during the trading day. Next week promises to be equally busy and it will be key to note if the physical markets can still rise to the challenge and take up the slack, which will keep coming from the derivative markets.

Lastly, I want to bring in the thought, that a significant amount of gold mining companies will start seeing negative cash flow scenarios, if prices do establish themselves around, or even under the US$1300 level. This would lead over the medium term to production curtailments and should be supportive to the market. There have been several comments from the official sector that they will look positively towards increasing their purchases of gold and take advantage of the current price level. It does come as a bit of surprise to me how quickly a lot of people suddenly see no reason to hold gold any longer, and to invest heavily into equities.

The economic numbers which I am looking at, especially from the US, are better than some time ago, but they are by no means convincing and clear cut. The latest Commitment of Traders Report (COTR) (end of business day April 16, 2013), shows a large decrease of long positions, while short positions have also decreased. This appears odd, after the price action seen, but this could be the result of spread trading instead of outright futures sales.

It wasn’t about changing the name or the logo, but reviewing its entire identity as a global force. “From this moment on, we are Ooredoo,” said the visibly enthusiastic chairman. “Ooredoo means ‘I want’ in Arabic and it demonstrates our intimacy and engagement with our customers,” he added.

At the time of the announcement, reactions to the new quirky name were mostly that of amusement. As with any global corporate change, there were those that supported it and those that condemned it – but the majority appeared to be mildly amused.

“Can you imagine the reaction when the branding agency pitched ‘Orange’ to the Hutchinson Telecom board?” says Russell James, managing creative director at James Branding, whose agency has a growing portfolio, with the likes of Emirates Airlines and Aston Martin as clients. “I’m sure it must have been met with reservation, but just like Deutsche Telecom to T-Mobile or BT Cellnet to O2, Orange has gone onto become a power brand in Europe.”

Love it or hate it, it’s an interesting move, to say the least. To see a traditional word being used in a non-traditional way is definitely strange, but quite unique as well. Scott Feasey, Managing Director of Iris Middle East says while the name doesn’t strike him as particularly international, branding is often less about a name and more about what the brand says and does.

In 2010, the words were ‘pretend and extend’, the following year was tagged ‘delay and pray’, while 2012 ‘surrender and murder’ were the words of choice. “And that actually lasted up until the last quarter,” he laughs.

In a recent interview with Arabian Business, he insisted that real estate speculation in Dubai w­ill never stop. The act of purchasing property for the sole intent of almost instantly selling it off at a higher mark-up – also known as ‘flipping’ – was deemed one of the main factors that contributed to Dubai’s property bubble bursting in 2008 and 2009.

A prime example would be Emaar’s recent (and highly-publicised) offering of its Reem development, where hundreds queued up to buy properties by the scoop – only to sell or advertise them minutes, hours or a few days later.

Al Awar tells Kipp that back when he sold his first property, terms of the agreement stipulated the buyer couldn’t re-sell until he or she actually received the property. Obviously, that regulation is long gone. “If that rule is implemented now, nobody would be able to re-sell and you’d be stopping people from making money,” he says. “Suddenly, we have one million properties, with people fighting over them and the chance for more developments.”

He affirms that speculation can actually be good for the market – providing it doesn’t get out of hand – because it adds credibility, value and reveals a forceful demand for particular developments. According to him, Rera cannot influence the individual human behaviour of buying and selling, but a few developers can help add regulations protect the market. “As a suggestion, we could have a rule that only when a property reaches the ‘groundbreaking’ phase, only then can you sell,” he says. That way, he insists, everyone will have more belief and faith in the sector.

Interestingly enough, Al Awar did mention (in AB‘s interview) that if buyers hold on to their properties longer, they’d be able to make more money than selling it within a matter of days. “Yes, but that requires a marketing scheme which we’re working on and plan to announce in a couple of months.”

Still, many spectators still argue that ‘flipping’ – particularly when done so rapidly with an enormous amount of hype – is a ‘pre-2008′ mistake the industry shouldn’t be repeating.

“There are generally four market forces – including buying power, competitive rivalry and industry power,” Al Awar assures us. “If all those become strong, then I think nothing can be stopped.”

“We have and will continue to have millions of foreign workers. We have 7.5 million legal foreign workers and we need them,” Fakieh told Saudi-owned MBC television this week, according to a transcript posted on the MBC website.

“We will continue to issue visas for others but those who want to come to this country have to respect the law.”

Saudi Arabia has been deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal foreign workers as part of labourmarket reforms designed to reduce unemployment among its own citizens, which is officially estimated at 12.0 percent.

If it persists, the crackdown could have major effects on the Saudi economy, which has for decades relied heavily on foreigners from south and southeast Asia as well as Arab countries in its energy, construction and services industries.

In addition to legal foreign workers, analysts have estimated the number of illegals at 1 or 2 million, conceivably more. The governments of Yemen and India’s state of Kerala have expressed concern about a sudden influx of returning workers because of the Saudi crackdown.

Fakieh said about 200,000 foreigners had been deported in recent months, and that 840,000 had leftSaudi Arabia - most of them voluntarily – since a quota system for companies to hire local citizens was introduced in late 2011.

As a part of new measures to be implemented from next month, the ministry will set up a toll-free line for the public to report violations, he said. Business owners will be able to check online whether they violate the rules.

The ministry will hire 1,000 more inspectors who will be accompanied by policemen when checking businesses, and firms will face penalties if they harbour illegals, Fakieh added.

“If an owner of a small enterprise conspires with an illegal foreign worker, he will be subject to sanctions,” Fakieh said. Possible punishments will include a 100,000 riyal ($26,700) fine for each illegal worker, two years in prison or both.

“Passenger operations unaffected by tremors in the UAE, no damage to facilities reported. #Earthquake,” Dubai Airports announced through a post on Twitter.

As a safety precaution, Kipp hears that many of the country’s offices in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai and Al Ain were evacuated. In Dubai Media City, we witnessed hundreds of people (including ourselves) standing outside their buildings for as long as an hour, before heading back inside. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the southeast border of Iran at 2.45pm UAE time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Authorities in the UAE have advised all residents that panicking isn’t the solution and that rumours of another earthquake hitting the country are moot. A spokesperson from the Abu Dhabi-based National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology told Emirates247 that “these things cannot be predicted”.

“We cannot predict whether there will be another earthquake. We simply analyse the situation, but getting panicked is not the answer.”

Kipp can certainly agree with that, but a more pertinent fact the aftershock has (hopefully) brought to light, is the need for UAE residents to be trained on evacuation drills. If the hundreds of comments and posts by residents on social forums are an indication of anything, it is that many people were genuinely unprepared and misinformed about what they should do during an earthquake.

Many people panicked, which ironically is the first thing that experts advise you against during a quake. The second would be (although that may not apply in the UAE since the tremors weren’t that strong) to drop down onto your hands and knees. There are a few other important points, such as moving to a safe location – particularly away from doors and glass. And never, ever, ever use an elevator.

Iranian authorities declared a state of emergency – describing the quake as the strongest and deadliest in over 40 years. So far, Reuters has reported the death of 47 people in Iran and 35 people in neighbouring Pakistan.

On April 9, a less powerful, but equally devastating earthquake struck close to Iran’s only nuclear station – killing 37 people, injuring 850 and destroying homes and villages. In 2003, 26,000 people were killed as a result of a 6.6-magnitude quake that struck the Iranian city of Bam.

*Photo Credit

Gold investor Dennis Gartman reportedly sent this statement to his clients: “We’ve traded gold for nearly four decades and we’ve never … ever… EVER… seen anything like what we’ve witnessed in the past two trading sessions.”

So what is the cause of a drop which is being called the sharpest fall for 30 years?

Here are some of the theories:

Slow-down in Chinese economic growth

Some point the finger at a report released on Monday, which shows China’s economic growth in the first few months of this year having dropped from 7.9 percent in 2011 to 7.7 percent. While China’s booming economy has been more resilient to the economic downturn, the recent drop in growth is sending panic waves among investors at the weakest growth China has experienced in 13 years.

Cash-strapped economies looking to sell reserves

Not as popular a view, but some consider the economic crisis in the Mediterranean to be at the core of the drop. Cyprus, for one, needs to raise €400 million and it is speculated the island will attempt to  sell its reserves. With prices dropping, the amount that could be raised would be significantly lower. This isn’t a common view many experts subscribe to, however.

Inflation hasn’t risen as expected

Favouritism shown by investors towards gold was a belief that wide-spread inflation will make gold a more lucrative and stable investment. Inflation has not taken off as expected and some think the repercussions haven’t been strong enough to lift gold prices.

Panic selling

And finally, there is the common case of panic selling:

“What we now see is panic selling, perhaps triggered by the Fed’s stimulus view. The Fed has given the signal that there’s a possibility to reduce QE (quantitative easing) and that took a lot of trust out of gold,” said Dominic Schnider, analyst at UBS Wealth Management.

Which is why the latest initiative from Watani is bound to be well received by local film makers. Earlier today Filmi, part of Watani, announced a partnership with The Gulf Film Festival and Dubai International Film Festival to bring projects selected through Enjaaz.

To be launched on May 1st, the program aims to support Emirati film makers to not only produce short films and feature length films and documentaries, but also to take these films to film festivals around the world.

Filmi has allocated a dedicated fund of Dh1 million to support a minimum of four Emirati projects for both production and post production for two Enjaaz cycles. The body will select two features, fiction or documentary.

“I believe in this story and in this project. I believe that the UAE needs this project now. If we even get an Oscar nomination, it will be an achievement. At Watani we have already signed our first project with an animated film called Flag Mother, which will honour a UAE national hero” said Watani Director General, His Excellency Dherar Belhoul.

So how much exactly will Watani be allocating for the fund? While the estimated amount is Dh1 million for two Enjaaz cycles, Belhoul said: “We want to help film makers. When we add up all of the other benefits we aim to give, it will be more than the figure we talked about. Let us see; what we can we will help the local film makers.”

Financing has been a key topic of the Gulf Film Festival. Earlier this week, the festival hosted a session on crowd funding with Aflamnah co-founder Vida Rizq. Aflamnah is the first crowdfunding website dedicated to the Arab World and since its launch in July 2012 it has supported more than 30 projects, including films, magazines, and art buses.

His words were in response to two fatal explosions at the Boston Marathon on Monday. The bombings have resulted (at the time of publication) in the death of three people – one of which was a child – and left 140 injured.  Some of the wounded are hospitalised with serious and critical conditions.

A report by The National suggests there were ‘as many as 11 UAE residents participating in the marathon yesterday’ but they are reportedly safe. They’d managed to cross the finishing line minutes before the explosions took place. Dubai resident Helmut Raukuttis crossed the finish line less than four minutes before the first two bombs went off.

What was meant to be a day of sports and triumph has ended up in senseless loss. And this tragedy got us – along with the rest of the globe – thinking about how the world is changing, and the world of sport in particular.

The Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, among many other sporting and public events that were scarred through violence over the past few decades, has opened our eyes to how important security and safety are. And yet, tragedies like these continue to happen.

At the very least, if there is but one outcome the world can hope to rise out of Boston’s tragedy, it is a strong wake-up call. A reminder that regardless of how rigid organisers and governments feel their security plans are, there is always a risk.

Today, London’s Metropolitan Police announced its security plan for the London Marathon this weekend will need to be reviewed. Russian sports officials have also said they plan to beef up security at upcoming sports events and the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

“Our security measures are tough as they are,” Mikhail Butov, secretary general of the Russian Athletics Federation told the Associated Press. “But when it’s clear what actually happened (in Boston), we will draw our conclusions.”

Whether it’s Qatar’s 2020 World Cup, the London Marathon or the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia, we can’t stop the constant stream of major sporting events across the world – nor should we have to. One can only hope that the shocking aftermath of this week’s tragedy will resonate long enough for event organisers all around the world to look at themselves and ask “are we safe enough?”

Image Source*

With the REIDIN Rental Indices showing an increase of 10 percent year on year for the villa and apartment rents in Dubai – the positive trend for the residential market showed last year has continued. At the same time, the rental index is still 26 percent lower than it was in January 2009. Yet, what is important to note is that while the rents in prime locations such as the Burj Downtown, Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah have seen an increase in rents, secondary and less completed locations have remained stable.  Still, Jones Lang LaSalle predicts rents in more established residential communities in Dubai will see an increase in rental prices for the rest of the year.

Equally interesting is the performance of the hotel supply and industry. In the first quarter of 2013 Dubai saw the increase of 500 branded rooms including Ocean View Hotel in JBR and an extension of the Ritz Carlton, also on JBR. In addition, with the delays of projects expected to be completed by the end of last year, 2013 is expected to see many more openings of hotels, including the Conrad on Sheikh Zayed Road, Sofitel on The Palm, Novotel in Al Barsha, the Oberoi in Business Bay and the Anantara Royal Amwaj on Palm Jumeirah.

Developers claim that more than one million square metres of office space could enter the market by the end of the year. While it was thought likely that this would be delayed, the office market has got off to a good start.

More than 145,000 square meters of office space entered the market this quarter with the most prominent developments including the Conrad Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road, the Grosvenor Business Tower and Iranian Business Tower in Business Bay and the S.I.T project in Silicon Oasis. Previously stalled projects like the Central Park project in DIFC and the Dubai World Trade Centre District have re-started.

Speaking at the launch of Qatar’s service to Chicago, Al Baker also said he thinks Boeing’s fix for the battery system that overheated on two planes in January will work. He said if it were not the right solution, the Federal Aviation Administration would not have approved the testing plan for it. Boeing completed testing on April 5.

“The 787 has such a huge technological leap compared to other airplanes that it was obvious that some kind of teething problem will occur,” Al Baker said in an interview.

“Boeing is very busy getting the certification process finished and I’m sure they’ll give you something very soon.”

On Tuesday, United Continental Holdings Inc’s United Airlines said it planned to begin flying Boeing Co’s 787 Dreamliner on May 31, five days sooner than expected.

Al Baker, who has said he will seek compensation from Boeing over the 787 problems, declined to discuss the terms he is seeking

The fast-growing airline, which is enjoying a civil aviation boom in the Gulf region, has an order for up to 60 Dreamliners, 30 firm orders plus an option to buy 30 more.

The company also plans to use Boeing’s next-generation 777X aircraft, which is still in development.

“I don’t think the 777X would be around until the end of this decade or early part of the next decade,” he said, adding that the 787′s problems had not affected plans for other airplanes that Qatar gets from Boeing.

Qatar Airways, 50 percent owned by the state of Qatar, currently serves New York, Washington, D.C., Houston and Chicago in the United States. The company will be able to fully join the Oneworld alliance by October, Al Baker said, after which it will have code sharing arrangements with other Oneworld members, including British Airways.

Baker also said the new Hamad International airport, which was supposed to be open for a soft launch on April 1, will be fully operational by the end of 2013.

The statement was made during an ‘industry-shaping’ discussion held by Amadeus – a technological provider of advanced solutions for the global travel industry – in an attempt to answer one important question. Does the Middle East have a globally competitive online travel sector? Naturally, during the discussion we talked about the disparities that exist in the market, but in a nutshell; if online travel sites don’t keep up with technology, security and marketing, they will disappear.

Amadeus research shows that an average traveller visits approximately 26 different websites before actually making a purchase. Ahmed Youssef, regional director of marketing and operations at the company, says it’s really not about converting everyone from offline to online – but more about maintaining a balanced hybrid. When it comes to keeping up with technology, the last thing an online travel site needs to do is cut corners.

The region is on its way, but it’s certainly not there yet, and online travel platforms need to quickly adopt both competitive strategies and keep up with technological upgrades if they want to experience any kind of boost. Currently the online travel market in the region is worth $8.6 billion – which sounds like an impressive figure – except that it really only makes up about 15 per cent of the total empire. In more mature markets, such as Europe, that figure could easily hit 40 per cent.

There’s still the lingering lack-of-trust factor when it comes to the region’s e-commerce industry – which can certainly explain why the online travel sector makes up less than 20 per cent of the entire industry. There is a perception that online purchases lack proper security in the region and as the experts say, this perception needs to be changed.

Guerro certainly thinks so: “Without a fashion platform of our own we will be totally dependent on the trends of the international scene. We have top talent in this region-from Beirut to Dubai, they just need a magnifying glass to bring them to the forefront and that is what Fashion Forward aims to be.”

Taking place from 26^th to 29^th April, Fashion Forward consists of a series of talks, workshops and panels at the Madinat Jumeirah, which will feature execs from Milan’s Domus Academy, London College of Fashion, New York-based Fashion Institute of Technology and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

“We want Fashion Forward to be the definitive fashion platform in the region. We want to highlight the talent of the regional designers to be held to international standards. Fashion Forward is a movement and it will help move the fashion industry of the Arab world to compete with the fashion capitals of Paris, London and New York” said co-founder Ramzi Nakad.

The international aspiration of the movement is clear enough. Fashion Forward’s business development manager, Saira Mehar, said:  “We weren’t just looking for someone who was creative, but someone who has a vision. We are looking for designers with an integral business focus or business sense because we want designers who want to go international.”

Aiming high is all very well, but does Fashion Forward have what it takes to rise above the city’s reputation for being a trend-follower and establish Dubai as the fashion capital of the Arab World? It remains to be seen.

This was actually the general theme of this year’s study as it paints a general notion of social, political and economic optimism among the region’s young demographic (18-24 years). About three quarters of participants feel their best days are yet to come and are ‘hopeful for an improvement in their own economic prospects. This applies to both GCC and Non-GCC countries. For the UAE, 88 percent of Emiratis feel their country is heading in the right direction.

Gulf Arab countries have lagged many other parts of Asia in using the yuan because their oil exports to China are denominated in U.S. dollars and most of their currencies are pegged to the dollar.

HSBC estimates 10 percent of China’s international trade is conducted in yuan, a ratio which it expects will rise to 30 percent by 2015. The share is under 4 percent for Chinese trade with the United Arab Emirates, which imports many goods for on-shipment to other countries in the Gulf.

But Helen Wong, chief executive of HSBC China, said she was seeing growing interest within China in using the yuan instead of the dollar for non-oil trade with the Gulf.

A wider range of smaller Chinese companies are becoming involved with the Gulf, and in contrast to big state-owned firms which are accustomed to processing dollars, the smaller firms want to use the yuan to minimise costs and currency risk, she said.

“Customers are telling us that they are willing to give discounts if the payment is in RMB,” Wong said in an interview while visiting Dubai to promote HSBC’s yuan services to local businessmen.

Rising Chinese labour costs are also increasing interest in the yuan by compressing profit margins, making savings gained through the currency’s use more important, HSBC officials said.

The bank said on Monday it was launching yuan account services in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Lebanon, allowing clients in those countries to settle cross-border trades and make term deposits in the currency. It was already offering the accounts in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

To be launched on April 12^th for a select amount of Android phones, Facebook Home will soon be made available for all Android devices. Also, HTC will be pushing out a new phone called HTC First, which will be the first phone to have Facebook Home preloaded. Also because Android is open source, Facebook was able to wiggle its way on to the home screen—it will not be allowed such liberties with Apple or BlackBerry, meaning Home will be confined to the screens of Android phones for now.

Essentially, Home takes over your smart phone’s home screen. It constantly flashes updates and messages on a real time basis, which sounds like a nightmare. Though we haven’t had a chance to play with the software, the unique format of Facebook Home sets it apart from other applications and forces users to engage with Facebook longer than they usually would. Also worth mentioning, the omnipresence of the Facebook Chat option gives the web giant an advantage over other mobile messenger applications—like Whats App (which coincidentally Google is rumoured to be aquiring for $1 billion).

It is important to note that Facebook Home is like any other application: you can opt to uninstall whenever you wish. You can also access your different applications like Gmail or Twitter as you normally would, but you would have to go through Facebook Home to get to it.

There have been significant fears expressed about privacy: if Home is the gateway to all other applications and mobile activity, will it have access to information exchanged elsewhere? Will Facebook be able to track my activities on the internet and sell it to marketing firms as they wish? Zuckerberg has quelled fears by assuring users that their information will be safe, but somehow Kipp isn’t reassured.

Yet, perhaps the most natural critique comes from Business Insider’s editor Jim Edwards who asked: “Who, after all, wants their entire phone dedicated to Facebook all the time? And who wants to have to click through Facebook’s interface before getting to other apps you use, such as Twitter or the web browser?”

With Mashable reporting smartphone users check Facebook Mobile at least 14 times a day, there is no denying Facebook has always been part of the smart phone experience. Yet to suggest it become THE smartphone experience is being ambitious and just a tad arrogant.

The world’s top oil exporter has more than nine million expatriates whose remittances home provide important revenue for countries including Yemen, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

“King Abdullah directed both the Interior Ministry and the Labour Ministry to give an opportunity to workers in breach of the labour and residency regulations in the kingdom to clarify their status in a period not exceeding three months,” said a statement carried on official media.

More than 200,000 foreigners have been deported from the country over the past few months, a passports department official said in comments reported by al-Hayat daily this week.

The crackdown is part of labour market reforms aimed at putting more Saudi nationals into private sector jobs, where they now make up only a tenth of the workforce. The most recent central bank statistics, for 2011, showed nine in 10 working Saudis were employed by the public sector.

The Middle East’s largest economy grew by 6.8 percent last year, but regards low employment among nationals as a long-term strategic challenge, a view given added impetus after joblessness in nearby countries contributed to revolutions.

“The Labour Ministry does inspections inside the enterprises to make sure there are no violations to the labour system … We will continue our work to make sure labour system regulations are applied,”Labour Ministry spokesman Hattab al-Enazi told Reuters on Saturday before the king’s announcement.

Under Saudi law, expatriates have to be sponsored by their employer, but many switch jobs without transferring their residency papers.

That has allowed companies to dodge strict Labour Ministry quotas regulating the number of Saudis and expatriates each firm can employ by booking their foreign workers under a different sponsor. Companies with too few Saudi employees face fines.

It has also led to the emergence of a labour black market in which sponsors illegally charge expatriates to renew their residence documents when they in fact work for somebody else.

It was only when a customer posted the question of “what happened to Pearl Spinneys” three days ago that Michael Wright, the Lebanon-based CEO of Spinneys responded today to confirm the closure. “Unfortunately there were weevils in a packet of dry pasta, the municipality have decided that the store should close for a period of time,” he wrote.

When the customer questioned the situation further, worrying particularly about the well-being of the company’s employees, he reassured her that – as far as he knows – the closure will only last for a month.

“We will ensure the employees are not effected, they will temporarily work in The Mall branch.”

Arabian Business, having initially reported on the closure earlier today, also added that Spinneys is the second outlet on Pearl-Qatar that has been closed down in the last few weeks. Expired food was reportedly discovered in the Kitchen of Thai restaurant Mango Tree.

Now, while Kipp does find the CEO’s response admirable – even if it was posted three days later – we can’t help but wonder why so many brands tend to shy away from being transparent with the public. Maybe we don’t know the first thing about damage control or preserving a brand image, but surely putting out the ‘flame’ from the start must be better than letting the rumour mills churn out something nasty.

People are bound to find out about something sooner or later, and the way I see it, if a brand reacts quickly and honestly, at least they can control the manner in which the news is heard.

*Image for illustrative purposes only

If anyone else is feeling the kind of reservation I am, they don’t show it. Following the crackling belly-rippling laughter Walmsley is bubbling with, my fellow laughter yogis walk around hysterically laughing to some kind of in-joke I am not privy to. I decide to join in. Initially a confused would-be genuine gruff whimper emerges from me, but by the end of the one hour of session, I am on the floor, wiping the tears away from my eyes and catching my sides.

Laughter yoga is an 18 year-old practice first popularised by Indian physician Dr.Madan Kataria. Since he started the first laughter club in Mumbai in 1995, more than 6,000 social laughter clubs have sprung up around the world. And now it has come to the offices in Dubai.

Trained by Dr.Kataria himself, Jo-Dee Walmsley is hoping to bring the powers of laughter into the workplace. She offers corporate wellness workshops and team building exercises through her recently set-up venture called Simply Laugher.

“When people laugh together they work well with each other. It was mentioned in Forbes that people are choosing a happier workplace over better salaries and titles. What happens is when you are happier at work, you work better, you are more productive, you are more creative and you get on better,” said Walmsley.

“There are so many people who are bunking work all the time and this makes them go to work and they are happy to come to work. This is a great thing for team building,” she added.

Through strategically designed exercises, Walmsley teaches her students to learn to laugh at a bad result. From walking around the room laughing at an imaginary credit card bill, using gibberish to explain your story of heart-break or failure,  these exercises are easy to integrate into real-life situations. My personal favourite is the “No Money” pose which involves turning out your pockets, gazing down at it and just shaking it off with a laugh.

Studies have shown laughter (even if it is fake laughter) releases endorphins and reduces stress levels—something most employees are in need of. It is all about retraining your brain to look at a difficult situation in a positive way.

“This is my third class. My attitude towards a few things in my work has changed dramatically which my colleagues have noticed the difference. I have just moved to Dubai, so there is additional stress. At work also there are a few things which are not stable from the company’s point of view-so changing is happening too suddenly and I think laughter is the only thing which is giving me a new stance looking at the issues” said Priyanka Pawar, 29, project manager.

While it is recommended do practice laughter yoga for 20 minutes thrice a week to really feel the benefits, by the end of the class I am in a significantly better mood than I was when I went in.

“I felt happy, I felt light. It is a platform to let go-to be free, to let go of all the tension and the stress. You never get to do this at home or at work, this is a safe place. The first time I did it, it was a bit awkward-but today is my second time and so I feel it is much better” said Kitoro Siraba Constance, 24, research consultant.

Will laughter yoga catch on in the board rooms of the UAE? It remains to be seen—but given the small following Walmsley has developed since she set up shop in the Emirates a few months ago, the future looks promising.

“Laughter, yoga-I couldn’t quite make out what the relationship would be like between the two-but the outcome is superb. When I was younger, I used to laugh a lot-but then later on, the corporate life tends to be a bit difficult” said Romain Saada, a 34-year-old entrepreneur.

He added: “I think I laughed more today than I have in a couple of years.”

Having previously brought his wife and children to Istanbul for sightseeing and shopping, Saleh has returned as the new kind of high-spending visitor Turkey is increasingly seeking to attract: a medical tourist.

“There’s a social pressure to look good,” the casually suited executive, declining to give his family name, told Reuters as he sat waiting for a check-up a day after having hair follicles implanted in his balding scalp.

“Two of my brothers and half of my friends had hair implants in Turkey. It was an easy choice after that.”

As it tries to boost tourism revenues and narrow its current account deficit, its main economic weakness,Turkey is on a mission to diversify away from the all-inclusive package tours to its sun-drenchedMediterranean shores which, local businesses complain, often do too little for the local economy.

Of 37 million tourists visiting Turkey last year, about 270,000 came for surgical procedures, from moustache implants and liposuction to operations for serious ailments, generating $1 billion in revenues and representing a small but growing fraction of tourism receipts.

“They usually come for three days. We offer them shopping or skiing tours, they get well and have a short vacation,” said Kazim Devranoglu, the medical head of Dunyagoz Group, which has 14 eye care clinics inTurkey and branches in western Europe.

Around 10 percent of the group’s patients – some 35,000 people a year – are now coming from abroad, he said.

“They are mostly from western European countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, as well as from Algeria and Azerbaijan.”

There are various factors behind Turkey’s appeal.

People from countries with heavily congested health systems welcome the opportunity to choose the time of their surgeries, while those from less-developed nations are attracted by Western-trained medics and new facilities sprouting up as Turkey’s private healthcare industry flourishes.

The moustachioed stars of Turkish soap operas, popular across the Middle East and North Africa, have also prompted an influx of men seeking a virile addition to their upper lip.

Health professionals and patients say plastic and corrective eye surgery costs, including travel and accommodation, can be up to 60 percent below comparable programmes in western Europe.

In a televised interview aired on 23 channels, the prince, who owns stakes in some of the world’s top companies, said Saudi Arabia needed to upgrade its equity markets to international standards while protecting its blue-chip companies from hot international money.

“The Saudi market needs to rely less on individual investors. Saudi Arabia is 90-95 percent dominated by individual investors and 5 percent by institutions, opposite to what is there in America and Europe,” bin Talal said.

“Yes there is concern about the hot money, but we can control foreign investors by, for example, introducing shares Class A or B and give access to 20 percent or 30 percent of the shares of each company,” the prince said.

He added that Saudi Arabia had the right to protect strategic companies like Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) from hot foreign money.

Foreigner investors can only buy Saudi shares through swap deals made by international investment banks, and via a small number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Abdulrahman al-Tuwaijri, chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), had said last year that the kingdom was planning to open up the market to foreign investors but that it should be done in an orderly and gradual manner to make sure it did not threaten market stability.

The CMA is considering allowing qualified foreign investors to take a capped share in each Saudi company, with international buyers able to own a total of around 20 percent of the market’s value, according to proposals circulated to the financial industry last year.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark has risen 5.5 percent so far in 2013, and the economy is forecast to grow 4 percent this year, according to a Reuters poll in January.

Reporting from Reuters