This initiative from the Business Banking division will provide small and medium business owners in the UAE with a comprehensive platform to learn, connect and grow their businesses further. Xpert Learning is proud to be one of their select few ‘inspired stories’ and we feature in a short film that tells our story, showcases the team in action, and highlights our success as an SME.

This initiative celebrates the power of small and recognizes the importance and value of small and medium enterprises, which account for 95% of the total enterprise population in Dubai. This year Xpert Learning celebrates its tenth year anniversary and is still growing.

Mergers between two listed Saudi entities are rare: consolidation in the Gulf is often scuppered by major shareholders who are unwilling to cede control of businesses except for very high price tags.

However, both Sipchem and Sahara have Zamil Holding Company Group, one of the kingdom’s most prominent family businesses, as a key stakeholder.

The two companies had said earlier this month that they were in initial talks for a tie-up.

Sahara has yet to select an adviser while Sipchem has chosen HSBC, which has advised the firm on projects in the past, two of the bankers said.

Calls to a Sipchem spokesman went unanswered, while HSBC declined to comment.

While no value has been given for the proposed merger, the combined market capitalisation of both firms at the end of Monday was around $3.8 billion. Total assets at the end of March stood at 15.2 billion riyals ($4.1 billion) and 8.6 billion riyals for Sipchem and Sahara respectively.

A tie-up between the two would give the combined entity a greater product range, as Sahara produces basic petrochemicals and Sipchem focuses on more high-value products, said Muhammad Faisal Potrik, research analyst at Riyad Capital.

“It would also increase their purchasing power to reduce raw material costs and they could penetrate the market better,” he added.

The sanitary products labeled “KOHLAR” were traced back to a company which refused to disclose the name of the manufacturer. Local authorities fined the company $13,859 and ordered the destruction of all of its creations. Investigations are underway to determine the identity of the manufacturer, possibly a sanitary ware company headquartered in China.

“In addition to these practices being harmful to the market, the products present a degree of risk for their purchaser,” Jerome Michel, Kohler EMEA Managing Director, said. “However, customers who buy the real products know the difference,” he explained.

The raid is part of KOHLER’s ongoing efforts to protect its intellectual property rights and consistently monitor its products in the market. The industry pioneer adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards counterfeit products to guarantee consumer protection.

Mohamed Nada, KOHLER Regional Marketing Manager, said: “We always go to great lengths in ensuring that our customers receive top quality products. Hence, we were adamant on tracing the source of these products and completely destroying them.” “The operation has been implemented with the highly appreciated and continuous support of DED’s Commercial Control and Consumer Protection Division,” he added.

For more information on KOHLER products, please visit the Kohler Co. website at me.KOHLER.com.

The ministry said the four deaths were among previously registered cases. The new infections were in Eastern Province, in the capital Riyadh and in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia has been the country most affected by the respiratory-system virus, with 49 confirmed cases, of whom 32 have died, according to data from the ministry.

In a statement confirming the four additional deaths and three additional cases in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the worldwide toll now stood at 38 deaths from a total of 64 laboratory-confirmed cases.

The virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to France, Germany, Italy,Tunisia and Britain. The WHO has called it the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

It is a relative of the virus that caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.

The origin of the MERS virus is still unclear. So far, it appears to spread between people only when there is close, prolonged contact.

The WHO is advising healthcare providers around the world to be vigilant, especially with recent travellers returning from the Middle East who develop respiratory infections.

The Doha-based carrier began taking deliveries of Boeing 777s in November 2007 – utilising them to fly to long-haul destinations in Europe, Southern Africa, North America and South America – and has continued to expand its fleet.

The airline’s outstanding order for seven Boeing 777s will increase to 16 – and boost its current fleet of 35 triple sevens to 51 aircraft. Two of the aircraft on firm order will be delivered in early 2014, says Akbar Al-Baker, airline chief executive, Qatar Airways.

While addressing media at a press conference at Le Bourget, venue of the Paris Air Show, Al Baker says the 777 has “proved popular” with passengers and made a positive impact on the airline’s operations, and has now been established as the flagship aircraft for long-haul flights.

“With its reliability, economics and range capability, the 777 will continue to play a key role in enabling Qatar Airways to operate more direct non-stop flights from our hub in Doha to destinations in many markets, including Australasia and the United States,” he says.

Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines and with a determined, outspoken leader in Al-Baker, the Doha-based airline has continued to maintain a powerful media presence with a series of major announcements.

Earlier this month, when asked whether the airline would be among the first batch of buyers of Boeing’s 787-10x, Al-Baker said: “We like launching aircraft, but not every aircraft. We are not a supermarket.”

As for its fleet of 20 Boeing 787 aircraft, the airline was only recently (early May) given the green light to operate them freely. They were grounded for three months – costing the airline roughly $200 million in financial losses. When Kipp spoke to Al-Baker at this year’s Arabian Travel Market, he said: “We don’t buy planes to park them on the ground.”

A few days ago, the airline announced its decision to halt all flights to the Seychelles as of September 1 this year, due to commercial reasons.

The Europe-based hotel operator now has 300 upscale and luxury hotels (Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery and Grand Mercure) and intends to increase this figure to 400 by 2015. Traditionally, Accor has been present in the midscale and economy segments, but has recently “accelerated” its expansion into upscale hotels as well.

Pullman has hotels and resorts in 23 countries – with a network that has grown to 79 hotels in five years. The objective is to have 150 hotels by 2020 and 500 in the long term. Half the brand’s network is currently located in Asia-Pacific, including 15 properties in China, which is the country where Pullman has the most hotels.

In 2012, Pullman’s added 20 new properties to its network, including places such as London, Bangkok, New Delhi and Sydney. The hotel group claims that, in 2013, it continues to grow at a rate of one hotel opening a month; including the recent inauguration of addresses in Phuket, Dubai, Melbourne and Hanoi.

According to observations by Accor, the behaviour of upscale international travellers has changed significantly; customers are now even more cosmopolitan, hyper-connected and mobile.

The lines between work and private life are becoming increasingly blurred and the desire to stay connected with their “clans” is an increasingly key characteristic of new generation business travellers.

Pro-democracy protests in 2011 brought Yemen, a U.S. ally and neighbour of top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, to the brink of civil war and dealt a blow to its already dismal economy.

Recovery has been weak as political turmoil continues and attacks on oil installations deprive the government of vital budget revenues.

The AMF loan will support a set of reforms begun in 2012 that aim to stabilise the Yemeni economy, improve living standards and restructure government departments and their services, the fund said in a statement.

The first, $96 million-tranche of the loan was signed on Sunday and a second tranche will be provided later.

The latest loan brings the total AMF support to Yemen to $1.1 billion in the past two years, the fund said.

A third of Yemen’s population live on less than $2 a day, inflation runs at 14 percent and about 35 percent of people is unemployed.

Sanaa is also struggling with an Islamist insurgency linked to al Qaeda, a separatist movement in the south, and with Shi’ite Houthis who want more say in politics.

Last year wealthy Gulf Arab states, Western governments and other donors pledged $7.9 billion in aid over several years to Yemen but only a small fraction of the money has so far arrived.

The International Monetary Fund hopes to agree a new longer term loan for Yemen by the end of 2013 and mobilise aid from international donors.

Banks’ total investment in equities and debt instruments must be limited to 25 percent of their capital and reserves, though debt instruments issued by the government and national banks are exempt from the limits.

Previously, under instructions to banks issued in November 2011, the limits were 30 percent each for equities and debt instruments.

Among other restrictions, the central bank set new limits for investment in individual companies and unlisted securities, and introduced a 15 percent ceiling for total securities investment outside Qatar.

Real estate investment by Islamic banks will be limited to 10 percent of capital and reserves; previously, the limit was 30 percent.

The central bank did not give the reasons for its new rules, but Qatar is gearing up to spend tens of billions of dollars on major infrastructure projects, and it is seeking to develop its government debt market partly to help finance this.

The circular did not say over what time frame the new rules would be implemented, and central bank officials could not be contacted to elaborate. The rules may push banks to free up more money to lend to infrastructure projects or invest in government debt, but may not have much immediate effect in forcing them to sell securities because not all banks have reached the limits.

A report by Jaap Meijer, regional head of financial research at Arqaam Capital, estimated Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) would be most affected by the new rules, since it currently had 32 percent of its capital in equity and debt securities, 7 percentage points above the ceiling, while 19 percent of its capital was in unlisted securities, 9 points above the limit.

Qatar National Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar , Al Khalij Commercial Bank and QIB exceed the limits for international investments, he said.

Among Islamic banks, only Qatar International Islamic Bank will be affected by the new curb on property investment, because it has a ratio of 29 percent, he added.

“The new regulations may push banks to transfer their excess liquidity out of the public capital markets into additional positions with the government and the other exempt entities, adding to their already sizeable positions,” the report said.

Waha, which owns 26.3 percent in aircraft leasing firm AerCap Holdings, is entering the healthcare market through the acquisition of privately owned Anglo Arabian Healthcare for an undisclosed amount.

Healthcare businesses in the Gulf are expected to boom in coming years as rising wealth leads to an increase in so-called lifestyle diseases.

Five of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations are in the global top 10 for prevalence of diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

Abu Dhabi healthcare firm Al Noor Hospitals plans to raise between $320 million and $390 million by offloading up to 34 percent of the company’s stock through a flotation in London, it said in June.

Anglo Arabian owns and operates 16 assets, employs over 300 people including 60 doctors, and serves more than 400,000 outpatients.

“Healthcare has great potential for growth in the UAE with demand rising for high quality healthcare,” Waha Capital Chief Executive Salem al Noaimi told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

“We expect quick growth, will increase staff and invest 200 to 250 million dirhams over the coming three years.”

The investment will be in more hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, he said.

Anglo Arabian Healthcare owns stakes of between 60-70 percent in three entities that own hospitals, clinics and laboratories.

The stakes – which Waha will take over – include majority holdings in the Sharjah Corniche Group, the Ajman-based Ibn Sina Group and Ibn Sina Hospital, and Proficiency Central Laboratories, which owns laboratories inAbu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Waha Capital’s other holdings include stakes in New York-listed aircraft lessor AerCap and consumer finance company Dunia Finance.

The investment firm, which is owned partly by the Abu Dhabi government, operates in four sectors – financial services, oil and gas services, maritime services and real estate.

This month the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) banned Viber, another such tool, which like WhatsApp is hard for the state to monitor and deprives telecom companies of revenue from international calls and texts.

The kingdom appears to be making a greater push for more control over cyberspace as Internet and smart phone usage soars, in part due to strict laws that limit opportunities for people to mix in person.

“We have been communicating with WhatsApp and other similar communication platforms to get them to cooperate and comply with the Saudi telecom providers, however nothing has come of this communication yet,” Abdullah Al-Darrab, governor of the CITC, told Arab News.

Al-Darrab said Viber was blocked last week for non-compliance, and that WhatsApp and Skype may be next on the list.

Asked when WhatsApp services would be blocked, the CITC chief said it was highly likely to be before the holy month of Ramadan which is expected to start on July 9.

The regulator issued a directive in March saying tools such as Viber, WhatsApp and Skype broke local laws, without specifying how.

Local media reported at the time that Saudi Arabia’s three main operators Saudi Telecom Co, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) and Zain Saudi had been asked to tell CITC if they were able to monitor or block such applications.

Mobile penetration was 188 percent by the end of 2012, CITC data shows. Saudi Arabia now has 15.8 million Internet subscribers and the average user watches three times as many online videos per day as counterparts in the United States, according to YouTube.

Conventional international calls and texts are a lucrative earner for telecom operators in Saudi Arabia, which hosts around nine million expatriates. These foreign workers are increasingly using Internet-based applications such as Viber to communicate with relatives in other countries, analysts say.

The pilot informed air traffic control and landed at Glasgow Prestwick Airport where the 310 passengers would disembark, Tawfik Assy, chairman of the state-owned airline, said in Cairo.

The authorities would search the plane once passengers were taken off, he added. Scottish police confirmed the incident had taken place but had no further details.

A note, written in English and reading, “This flight will be on fire,” was found next to a pencil in one of the plane’s toilets by a woman passenger, Assy said.

Once the crew were made aware, the pilot diverted: “According to the rules, we have to be on the ground as soon as possible,” Assy said.

No comment was immediately available from Prestwick airport.

Saudi Arabia has been the country most affected by the respiratory-system virus, with 46 cases, of whom 28 have died, data from the ministry showed.

The latest death brings the worldwide death toll to 33, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to France, Britain and Germany. The WHO has called it the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

It is a distant relative of the virus that triggered the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that swept the world in late 2003 and killed 775 people.

The origin of the MERS virus is still unclear. So far, it appears to spread between people only when there is close, prolonged contact.

According to Reuters, sales in the UAE have been on the rise as the country recovers from the debt crisis; assisted by an inflow of business and visitors seeking a safe haven.

“We are back after the global crisis,” said Michel Ayat, CEO of AW Rostamani Automotives, one of the biggest UAE dealerships, selling Nissan, Infiniti and Renault brands.

“This year, the UAE will sell more than the peak in 2008,” he told an HSBC automotive roundtable in Dubai.

Sales are on target for 380,000 vehicles this year, up by 23 per cent more than in 2012 and 40,000 more than in 2008, Ayat said. Sales in the first four months of the year are already at 118,000, against 96,000 in the same period last year.

Other industry forecasters have put the 2008 figure at 324,000, but the exact number is hard to verify, because official sales data is not available in the UAE and the Gulf region.

Reuters

The Nokia Lumia 720 is the latest in the Nokia Lumia smartphone range in the Middle East. The campaign will include a number of touch points on air, digital, retail, theatre and through exclusive ‘Man of Steel’ content, including merchandise. More features include an immersive Man of Steel app, exclusive to Nokia Lumia Windows 8 smartphones.

Nokia is also launching an official Man of Steel Hub (www.Nokia.com/ManofSteel) for a collection of digital comics, video content and images. The site hosted a photography challenge, and the winners attended the film’s world premiere in New York, along with limited edition, official memorabilia.

Fans will have the chance to get their hands on limited Lumia 720 Man of Steel phone edition along with covers for the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 720.

It is the first major sale of a foreign asset by Dubai World as it restructures its debt. The sources, who are familiar with the deal but declined to be named because the matter is not public, did not reveal the price of the transaction.

EZW was not immediately available to comment. Toronto-based Brookfield could not be contacted immediately.

Gazeley is one of four businesses held by EZW, which operates technology, logistics and industrial parks as well as the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), a business district, under the Dubai World Group umbrella.

Dubai World bought Gazeley from Wal-Mart Stores in 2008 for an estimated 300 to 400 million pounds ($459-611 million); because of falls in asset prices since then, the sale to Brookfield may have occurred at a lower price.

In Dubai World’s $25 billion debt restructuring deal with banks, signed in March 2011, the company said it planned to raise between $1.3 and $2.3 billion through the disposal of some assets including Gazeley.

Since Dubai’s corporate debt crisis of 2009-2010, the emirate has sold assets more slowly than some bankers had hoped, raising questions about how it will repay debt maturities looming in the next three years.

Enjoying a cradle-to-grave welfare system and other financial support from a wealthy government, UAE citizens are viewed as attractive customers. So banks have been competing aggressively to persuade them to pay off loans from rival institutions and transfer the business to them.

This ignited an interest rate war among the banks, prompting the central bank to intervene. In a circular last month, it directed banks to halt loan transfers for three months while it studied the practice to find a solution.

On Monday the UAE Banks Federation said it had started talks with the central bank in an effort to have the ban lifted.

“Such a decision limits the choices of the customer, and plays against the open-market and the free economy system adopted by the country…(It) gives rise to monopoly and harms and damages the banks’ reputation,” the body said.

“It is the customers’ right today to gain from the current interest rates on personal loans, marking 2.8 percent in some banks, due to the strong competition which falls on the customer side,” the federation’s chairman Abdulaziz al Ghurair said in the statement.

Comment could not be obtained from the central bank.

Loan growth in the UAE remains in the low single digits even though banks are increasingly cash-rich as the economy recovers. With many corporate loans still viewed as risky, banks are targeting UAE nationals and rich expatriates.

The Indonesian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur, told Detik.com that 5,000 workers were queuing to have their travel documents verified on Sunday afternoon. The Saudi Arabia government is to begin a crackdown on illegal labor from July 3.

Roughly five thousand Indonesian workers protested outside their consulate in Jeddah on Sunday, setting fire to the building’s outer wall and clashing (briefly) with security forces.

Frustrated by long waits and queues, protestors entered the consulate and caused a stampede.  Nawaf al-Booq, a Jeddah police spokesperson told Reuters that some people suffered mild injuries, but protesters had later dispersed ‘peacefully’ and the fire outside the consulate was put out.

“Workers were throwing stones and water bottles at police, who shot into the air,” said a witness who did not want to be named, according to Reuters.

Workers have queued outside government offices and some consulates for days on end over recent weeks, often sleeping outside the offices to keep their place in line.

Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers in Saudi are trying to rectify their immigration status or leave the country before July 3, when the government will resume a crackdown on illegal labour.

Later on Sunday, hundreds of Indonesians were still waiting near the building peacefully, some of them apparently staying in a nearby empty lot where 20 to 30 tents had been set up, a witness said. Food was being distributed and people were selling bottles of water and other goods.

*Photo Credit

The reform allows a shareholder who does not want to or cannot subscribe to a share issue to sell the rights, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) said in a statement.

“The regulation will provide new investment options and give greater depth to local financial markets,” it said.

The SCA also said it had decided to make the use of machine-readable mark-up language XBRL, a global standard for exchanging business information, compulsory for listed public joint stock companies and brokerage firms.

The system will be introduced in the UAE from the start of 2014, when annual reports for 2013 will be released using it.

The UAE is seeking to make its financial markets more attractive to foreign capital. On Tuesday index compiler MSCI will decide whether to upgrade the UAE from frontier to emerging market status.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest stock market, introduced trading in subscription rights for share offers last November.

The move will further increase the dominance of local banks over foreign banks in the panel that determines the Emirates interbank offered rate (Eibor), which is used to price financial instruments in the Gulf’s top banking centre.

A spokesman for Citi declined to comment on the reasons for its withdrawal when contacted by Reuters. The central bank said the exit was in line with Citi’s “globally implemented policy”.

Since last year’s scandal over manipulation of the London interbank offered rate (Libor), banks around the world have been considering withdrawing from panels which set indicative interbank rates, questioning the benefits of participation given the potential risks to their reputation.

Last year Barclays agreed to pay a $453 million fine to U.S and British regulators over Libor manipulation, and last October it withdrew from the Eibor panel, though there was no suggestion that it tried to manipulate Eibor.

Barclays was replaced by UAE lender National Bank of Fujairah, but Citi will not be replaced. That will leave nine local and two foreign banks – HSBC and Standard Chartered – in the panel.

The central bank also said on Monday that the two-month Eibor tenor would be dropped from the panel’s fixings, effective on Dec. 10. Eibor rates run from one week to one year.

A banker familiar with Eibor, who declined to be named, said the two-month tenor was being dropped because it was rarely used. Citi’s exit from the panel is unlikely to affect rates significantly, he said.

The central bank said the next meeting of the Eibor panel would discuss governance standards in line with recommendations by the Bank for International Settlements.

Having reportedly attracted roughly 65 million visitors in 2012 (more than New York’s annual 52 million), the mall will soon undergo a massive expansion – starting with the first phase of expanding by 1 million square feet.

The fashion portfolio of the mall will be further strengthened, enhancing the city’s high-end retail offerings.

Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based developer behind the expansion, says along with enhancing the city’s focus on offering high-end retail and leisure attractions, the expansion project also complements Dubai’s new Tourism Vision 2020 announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

“Our strategy to create compelling new retail and lifestyle experiences also supports the city’s growth outlook of further strengthening its core economic sectors, including retail, tourism and hospitality. The current expansion will redefine Dubai’s retail sector, cementing its reputation as a global hub for the latest in fashion,” he said.

Having welcomed a record 20 million visitors in the first three months of the year, the highest so far during a three-month period, the expansion of The Dubai Mall will further underline its global standing as the world’s most visited shopping and lifestyle destination.

The expansion will add to the choice of residential, commercial and hospitality components.

Residents and visitors will have direct access to the retail and leisure choices on Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, billed to be one of the world’s most prestigious boulevards offering luxury retail and dining options.

The agreement was signed by Alexandre Hawari, co-CEO of Mediaquest, who said:

“The acquisition of both the AME Info and SME Info websites are in line with our growth strategy and commitment to strengthening the position of regional publications. We are delighted to have another feather in our business publications cap.”

Founded in the United Arab Emirates in 1993, AME Info offers English and Arabic information in daily news wires, editorial columns, features, reports, video and radio features, including business directory information and event listings.

Powered by AME Info, SME Info is an online English resource of valuable business advice and information, interviews featuring SME role models and business growth research articles.

AME Info and SME Info were previously owned by Top Right Group, a leading B2B media group providing information services, events and subscription content to enable customers worldwide to make better business decisions.

Duncan Painter, CEO, Top Right Group, said:

“The AME Info and SME Info websites are successful, well regarded brands with a loyal, daily following. This sale will enable us to invest back into growth initiatives as we continue to create a platform for growth, particularly internationally. We will continue our growth focus on MEED, our leading subscription content and events business in the Middle East and other fast-growing international territories.”

Mediaquest’s acquisition of the AME Info and SME Info websites follows the launch in 2010 of Dotmena.com, Mediaquest’s premium digital platform, aimed to connect luxury brands and extend their reach to key audiences across the MENA region. Dotmena.com has rapidly established itself as the portfolio of choice for a number of advertisers and publishers. It now represents more than 41 million unique visitors and 1 billion impressions across varied verticals, and includes Kippreport.com, Jeelnar.com, AMDmode.com, MarieClaireArabia.com, among others.

AME Info and SME Info will be re-designed and will re-launch in September 2013.

Mediaquest is one of the leading media groups in the MENA region and for more than 15 years has provided unique insights into the Arab world through its diverse portfolio of more than 20 consumer and trade publications covering business, marketing, communications, women’s interests, lifestyle, entertainment and automotive sectors. Titles include: Gulf Marketing Review, Communicate, Saneou Al Hadath, TRENDS, Policy, Arabies, Marie Claire Arabia and Lower Gulf, Haya, Aficionado and Autocar Middle East. The group publishes in three languages and operates an international network across Algiers, Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Egypt and Paris.

-ends-

Notes to the editor:

About Mediaquest: partner in media, partner in digital, partner in events… partner in success

Founded in 1997, Mediaquest provides unique insights into the Arab world through its diverse range of media. It operates in Algiers, Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh and Paris, and publishes in three languages.

partner in media

With more than 20 consumer and trade titles covering business, marketing, communications, women’s interests, lifestyle, entertainment and automotive, Mediaquest is one of the leading media companies in the Middle East and North Africa.

partner in digital

dotmena.com is fast becoming the premium portfolio of choice for advertisers and publishers to expand their reach in the region. dotmena.com represents more than 41 million unique visitors and 1 billion impressions in the fields of business, marketing, communications, sports, women’s interest, lifestyle and entertainment, allowing us to match the right ad to the right audience at the right time. www.dotmena.com

partner in events

Mediaquest events creates, project manages and delivers successful events, including the GMR Marketing to Women Conference, Effie Mena Awards, SPIA, and Insurex.

www.mediaquestcorp.com

About Top Right Group Ltd

Top Right Group is a business-to-business multiplatform media group, providing critical analysis, breaking news, fresh ideas and relevant professional opportunities to customers worldwide. It owns a portfolio of independent operating companies, including: i2i Events Group, a leading exhibitions and large-scale events business; Lions Festivals, the organiser of International Festivals of Creativity globally; 4C Group, a portfolio of world class information services brands; and EMAP, a progressive, brand-led media company delivering paid-for subscription content in print, digitally and at live events. www.topright-group.com

The new project, Dubai Creek Harbor, will include a business district, shopping, sporting and entertainment facilities, according to the statement. Emaar said it was in the final stages of negotiations with Dubai Holdingfor the project.

Emaar, Dubai’s largest listed developer, is part government-owned, while Dubai Holding is part of the Dubairuler’s personal business empire.

Separately, Emaar said on Saturday that it formed a joint venture with Meraas Holding to build a huge residential and commercial area near the city’s downtown area.

Regional business leaders at the Pearl Initiative’s Good Corporate Practices roundtable emphasised that top management should implement anti-bribery and corruption policies.

The initiative, which is a regional network of business leaders from the Gulf’s leading corporations, also highlighted the need for organizations to embed values and the fight against unethical behavior throughout a company’s culture and code of conduct.

HM British Ambassador Dominic Jermery, chief visionary officer of OBE, recommended that MENA companies should be clear about activities to enable investors to feel confidence in the firm’s ethos.

He stated that installing policies and processes that facilitate transparency would contribute to higher ratings and enable potential foreign investors to understand how the company operates, and perhaps facilitate their decision.

Riad Al Sadik, Chairman of Habtoor Leighton Group stated preventing corruption in the future should be made a priority for the business community and suggested that university students are taught the importance of good corporate governance so the ethos of good corporate practice is carried through their careers as they become business leaders of the future.

Michael Adlem, fraud investigation partner at Ernst & Young, said that reputation and trust are key components to any successful company. He demonstrated that high-profile corruption and fraud cases have shown that, over and above fines and damage done by unforeseen rogue incidents, the loss to reputation and business can be devastating.

Marcelo Cardoso of Petrofac told that audience that clearly setting out the company’s position leaves employees across the business in no doubt as to what is not tolerated and therefore ambiguity and the potential for questionable behavior is reduced.

The study also shows how retailers globally manage a multi-channel environment. In this new environment customers will often return products to a store that they ordered online or ask a store employee to order an out of stock item through another channel. When employees are not measured on the success of non-store channels, they have little incentive to encourage the growth of those channels.

Regional players too need to evaluate integrating effectively across multiple channels, considering the exponential Internet growth witnessed in the GCC, with Internet users increasing by more than 2000 per cent from December 2000 to June 2012 and customers becoming more channel-savvy.

On the employee front, the AERO study analysed the importance of field managers. The study findings show that across the board – at the district and regional level and above – managers are overseeing more stores than in the 2010 study. Retail field managers are spending too much time on administration and not enough time in the field.

On the flip side, the front-line staff who interact with customers all day long, gaining valuable insights into customer needs, are often now leveraged enough by retailers. Adam Pressman, principal of research firm A.T. Kearney and co-author of the study says, “The problem today is a lack of formal requirements or processes to gather these employee insights. Leading retailers create formal pipelines that capture and use these insights.”

Given the decidedly attractive retail opportunity in GCC, those thinking about strengthening their core retail capabilities now are expected to capture a bigger share of the retail pie in the near future.

“Rising consumer expenditure in categories like communication and durable goods in the GCC urges retailers to invest in category management skills to capture growth, especially in a market where suppliers, in most instances, dictate assortment decisions,” explains Martin Fabel, partner at A.T. Kearney Middle East.

“On the other hand, retailers in historically large but slow growing categories like food and grocery need to constantly think about operational excellence, beyond store openings, to ensure sustainability of business in the long run.”

Qatar Airways, one of the world’s fastest growing carriers, has expressed interest in the 323-seat 787-10X, prompting speculation that it would be among the first batch of buyers.

“We like launching aircrafts but not every aircraft. We are not a supermarket,” Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker told Reuters.

Launch customers usually get favourable pricing to kickstart new projects, though the fanfare of launch is not without risk because early aircraft tend to be heavier and require closer attention in order to ensure reliability.

Boeing is expected to announce a formal launch of the aircraft at the June 17-23 Paris Airshow, although the timing is uncertain. Boeing simply says that the launch could be within months, subject to board approval.

The launch of the 787-10X – which will drop the working “X” from its name once it is launched – is part of a growing struggle between Airbus and Boeing for wide-body jet orders as airlines look to renew and expand their long-haul fleets.

The stretched 787-10X will compete with the A350-900, the main model of Airbus’s newest jet family. Boeing also hopes it will cut short a renaissance of the older Airbus A330, which has sold well during a three-year development delay of the 787.

The programme received an unexpected early boost when Singapore Airlines placed a provisional order for 30 aircraft last week, subject to the final go-ahead. Boeing is expected to assemble a handful of other buyers to launch the aircraft with a fanfare.

Boeing has started assembly of the 787-9, a larger version of the plane in service. The 787-10 would be larger still.

Manufacturers often stretch or lengthen aircraft designs once new models have entered service to lower operating costs per seat, a crucial measure of success for airlines.

More passengers means a shorter range but lower fuel cost per seat, making it attractive to fly on routes that do not cover the full distance offered by the smaller basic model.

Europe’s Airbus was meanwhile expected to start taxi trials on Tuesday of its new A350, built with similar lightweight technology to the 787 that offers fuel savings to airlines.

Industry experts say the jet seems on course to make a maiden flight late next week, just before the air show, where it could also make a brief flypast if tests go according to plan.

Airbus says the aircraft will fly when crews are ready.

Lufthansa, a leading member of the Star Alliance grouping of airlines, has criticized the market power of fast-growing Gulf airlines and is locked in a dispute with Dubai’s Emirates over the latter’s bid to gain more access to German airports.

After a period of rapid standalone growth, Gulf airlines have started forging links with carriers including Lufthansa’s two main European network rivals.

Qatar Airways plans to join oneworld, which includes British Airways, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad has forged several codeshare agreements with Skyteam member Air France and Emirates has agreed to co-operate with Australia’s Qantas.

“It was interesting for us, and has also drawn a lot of attention, that the philosophies of the Gulf carriers seem to have been modified,” Lufthansa Chief Executive Christoph Franz told Reuters.

“We are observing and at the end of the day, if there are future circumstances in which Lufthansa could benefit from any kind of relationship, then why not — but there is no rush.”

He was speaking as airlines meeting in Cape Town put the finishing touches to an agreement to co-operate on reducing emissions, in a deal backed by European and Gulf carriers.

In an interview, Franz also said Lufthansa is in “advanced discussions” with Airbus and Boeing to buy around 50 long-haul jets.

The German airline is evaluating Boeing’s 777 and 787 families, including a new stretched version of the 787 Dreamliner, and the Airbus A350, he said.

He predicted a decision in the second half of the year, effectively ruling out Lufthansa emerging as a launch customer for the latest 787 model at the June 17-23 Paris air show.

Seven out of 10 (69.2 per cent) respondents would consider working on an independent or freelance basis instead of being a full-time employee, with their main motive for doing so being to achieve a better work-life balance (30.5 per cent).

Other top reasons professionals would consider a freelance career are to be able to focus more on the things they love (23.5%); better pay (18.3%), and more control over their career path (11.8 per cent). Freelancers are considered, by 54.9 per cent of respondents, to earn more than full-time professionals.

“There is clearly a strong interest in freelancing in the region; however, the majority of people do not know where to begin. This suggests that more needs to be done to educate professionals in the Middle East on their options,” says Suhail Masri, vice president of sales at Bayt.com.

Half of the respondents’ companies (53 per cent) outsource work to freelancers, because it is considered to be cheaper than hiring an employee (30.4 per cent). Freelancers are also seen as being a good contingency plan between hires (28.4 per cent), while a quarter of respondents (24.8 per cent) believe that they are more skilled and efficient.

Data for the poll was collected online from May 2-28, 2013, with 7,795 respondents from UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Majid Al Futtaim Finance was awarded two awards, including the “Industry Partner of the Year’ and ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year – MyNetCard.”

Other winners included Bayani Card from RAK Bank for the Outstanding Innovation; Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s Landmark Gift Card for Retailer Program of the Year and The Sharjah Islamic Bank COOP Prepaid Card for Prepaid Card Program of the Year.

This year’s Industry Contributor of the Year award, which recognizes the most outstanding achievement from an individual working in the industry, was awarded to Commercial Bank of Dubai’s head of cards Souheil Joesph Yammine.

Timetric group publisher and chairman of the event Andy Cook says, “It is clear that this region offers tremendous opportunities and that prepaid is growing steadily. As for mobile payments, it is not a question of if but of when and how.”

Francesco Burelli, partner at Value Partners agreed, stating that “Prepaid is growing at double digits, with Russia and the Middle East growing at the fastest rate, up by 144 percent and 28 percent respectively.”

Recently, Majid Al Futtaim Finance announced expansion plans that will see its prepaid card programs rolled out in Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt.

Ahmadinejad had been on his way to a ceremony to inaugurate a road tunnel, the website said. “The helicopter carrying Dr. Ahmadinejad and some executive officials accompanying him had an accident in the Alborz mountains this morning … the pilot managed to land the helicopter with complete skill,” it said.

“The president and his entourage are right now in perfect health,” said the report, which gave no details as to the nature of the accident.

The patient was in good condition and was being monitored in isolation, the ministry said in a statement. He was admitted to a hospital in Tuscany with a high fever, a cough and breathing difficulties.

A resident of Italy with foreign nationality, the man recently spent 40 days in Jordan where one of his sons was suffering from an unspecified flu.

Saudi Arabia has been the most affected by the virus, with 39 cases and 25 deaths so far, according to data from the World Health Organisation.

The virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to France, Britain andGermany. The WHO has called it the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

It is from the same viral family that triggered the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that swept the world in late 2003 and killed 775 people.

ENOC, owned by the government of Dubai, said its price cut reflected “the recent decline in international prices” and would have a positive impact on the emirate’s economy, particularly the manufacturing sector.

Unlike neighbouring Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai does not have significant oil reserves. Although petrol prices are capped across the country, diesel prices are not.

In 2011 ENOC said it faced a loss of 2.7 billion dirhams ($735 million) to sell petrol at the subsidised rate after buying it at international prices and said the situation was “clearly not sustainable or viable for the company”.

World Bank data showed that in 2012, the average pump price of diesel in the United States was $1.05 a litre and in China it was $1.28 a litre.

Regional project management and consulting firm KEO International has been appointed project manager and Los Angeles-based Aecom Technology Corp was named as design consultant for the al-Wakrah Stadium, the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee said in a statement.

Qatar, where summer temperatures top 45 degrees celsius, was the surprise winner of a FIFA vote in 2010 to choose the 2022 host country. The tiny Gulf state plans to build solar-powered, air-conditioned stadiums to overcome the sweltering summer heat as well as housing, infrastructure and transport for the event.

The top tiers of the planned 45,000-seat stadium will be modular and, following the tournament, the capacity of the stadium will be reduced to 20,000, with the remaining 25,000 seats removed, donated and re-constructed in countries that need sporting infrastructure, the statement said.

“This is an important step for us as we deliver on our innovative hosting concept,” Hassan al-Thawadi, Secretary General for the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, said in the statement.

“In the coming months, we will also bring on board a project manager and design consultant for Al Rayyan Stadium.”

No financial details of the contract was provided.

Construction of Qatar’s first stadium for the 2022 World Cup tournament is slated to start in 2013, with construction of the first stadium completed by 2015, officials from Qatar’s Supreme Committee said last year.

The Gulf state has plans to build nine new stadiums and renovate three existing facilities.

The central bank first announced plans to set up a currency mint in Abu Dhabi in December 2009, but the project never took off.

The currency printing unit, which will be built by Emirates Investment Authority, will cater to demand from other markets, the statement said.

No details were given about the cost or when the currency mint would be ready.

The UAE’s currency, the dirham, is printed overseas in countries such as the UK and France.

Every year since 2005, the Ministry of Labour has continued to impose a three-month period (two months prior to 2010) where workers should be allowed a break of two and a half hours – from 12:30pm to 3pm – as a means of particularly protecting outdoor labourers during the peak summer hours when temperatures are at their worst.

The ban will apply between June 15 and September 15, and this rule strictly applies to employees working in open areas such as construction sites.

The law also insists that companies must set up adequately cool and shaded places of rest for their employees during recess or – in the event that work flow must remain uninterrupted for technical reasons, in which case an exemplary clause could apply – provide them with cold water.

As part of the ministerial ruling, daily working hours – be it in the morning or night – should not exceed eight hours, and any employees working additional hours in a continuous period of 24 hours must be paid overtime.

In the past eight years, Kipp is pleased to report that, according to past reports by the ministry – an extremely high percentage of companies and employers adhered to the ban.

Last year, the ministry inspectors conducted a total of 53,990 visits across the UAE and found that 99.79 per cent of them were compliant – yet there were more than 100 firms that turned a deaf ear to the warnings at their own peril. Let’s root for 100 per cent this time around.

The 37-year-old Emirati, who trained for Godolphin owner and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was last month found guilty of administering anabolic steroids to 15 horses at his stables in Newmarket, England.

“The BHA has received notice from the solicitors of Mahmood Al Zarooni that he has withdrawn his appeal regarding his eight-year disqualification,” the British Horse Racing Authority said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven further horses trained by Al Zarooni, including 2012 St Leger winner Encke, have tested positive for anabolic steroid stanozolol since he was found guilty.

Racing in Britain is going through an unprecedented period of negative publicity, with jockeys also falling foul of drugs regulations.

Italian jockey Frankie Dettori, a favourite among the British racegoing public, still hopes to ride at the flagship English Derby this Saturday despite not yet being cleared to return after a doping ban.

The French racing authority Galop banned the Italian for six months after he tested positive for cocaine at Longchamp in September, but the rider had been due to return to action last week after serving his suspension.

However, a “private matter” between Dettori and the medical committee of Galop means he is still waiting for the green light to go racing and the BHA said in a statement it would back its French counterpart’s position until the situation was resolved.

Health Minister Marisol Touraine sent her condolences to the family of the man, whose death in the northern French city of Lille brings to 23 the number of people killed worldwide by the new virus.

The man was diagnosed with the new virus strain, known as nCoV, on May 8, after being admitted to hospital on April 23, shortly after his return from Dubai, with what seemed at first to be a severe stomach bug and breathing problems.

A second man, aged 50, is critically ill with the virus in the same hospital. The two men had shared a ward in April at a different hospital.

While there is little evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of the novel virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, health experts are concerned about clustering as it has spread from the Gulf to France, Britain and Germany.

The nCoV is from the same viral family that triggered the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that swept the world in late 2003 and killed 775 people.

French health officials have screened dozens of people who had come into contact with the two carriers in Lille.

Additionally, it also shows that 83 percent of users in the UAE agree that mobile “is an extension of me — I feel lost without it,” with 81 per cent stating their mobile is their most important piece of technology.

The company’s CEO, Steve Hamilton-Clark, was citing the recent 2013 TNS Annual Mobile Life Report, which draws on consumer behavior  motivation and attitude responses from 38,000 people in 43 countries to help companies develop a mobile business and marketing strategy.

“As more people gain access to smartphone technology, they are eager to use new content and multiple functions as long as they deliver convenience, experience, reassurance, relevance and independence,” explained Hamilton-Clark.

The study also highlights that customers want to interact with the world around them as they look for brand experiences that engage, entertain and remain on the mind.

As mobile engagement grows, Hamilton-Clark insists that consumer brands must be prepared to manage a full spectrum of customer services – be it helping with pre-purchase research or slick after-sales services.

Plans for Oryx Island, which would feature luxury villas, a water park, and five floating hotels using cruise ships, were unveiled by Qatari developer Barwa Real Estate, part-owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

The hotels would be able to house as many as 25,000 soccer fans, Barwa’s Chief Executive Abdulla al-Subaie said at the sidelines of a real estate conference in Doha.

Demand for residences and hotel rooms are expected to increase in the tiny Gulf Arab state as projects for the 2022 World Cup tournament come onstream.

Qatar, the world’s top liquefied natural gas exporter, has allocated 40 percent of its budget to 2016 to infrastructure projects.

“We anticipate that there will be a short-term demand for hotel rooms, so maybe it is not wise to offer all these hotel rooms for only a short time,” Subaie said.

“Oryx Island can accommodate 20,000 to 25,000 people. Cruise ships can be docked for one week, two weeks. It can be mobilized and demobilized for a short time.”

Oryx Island will cost 20 billion riyals ($5.5 billion) to build, he said, adding that the project was only in the conceptual phase.

Subaie said the company had agreed to sell one million square meters of land to Qatar’s 2022 Supreme Committee to build Lusail Stadium, where the closing match of the tournament will take place. A price has not been agreed upon, he said.

Barwa, the Gulf state’s largest listed property developer, has properties in France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and focuses on retail, office, hospitality and residential developments.

Last year it announced plans to launch a $4.9 billion mixed-use Golf City project in its coastal Lusail city development, which will house 4,000 residential units and a golf course.

The company has no plans to issue any bonds this year, he added.

Passenger traffic totalled 5.42 million people in April, exceeding 5 million for a fifth straight month.

The largest absolute increase in total passenger numbers during April was recorded on western European routes. Some Middle Eastern routes that were affected by political instability last year grew moderately in April, the airport operator said without elaborating.

“It is very clear that our growth rate has picked up and that should continue at a similar pace into the next quarter and beyond,” Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.

Growth was slightly slower than a 20.6 percent increase in March but well above low to mid double-digit rates since earlier in the year.

Freight volume through the airport rose 7.3 percent to 199,985 tonnes in April; in the first four months of this year, it climbed 11.5 percent to 784,832 tonnes.

Marshad will replace Yawar Pasha and will report to Deyaar’s chief executive Saeed Al Qatami, the statement said.

Before joining Deyaar, Marshad was employed as chief financial officer at Zabeel Investments, a firm owned by the crown prince of Dubai.

The developer doubled its first-quarter net profit this year, as it gradually recovers from Dubai’s property market crash.

The U.N. agency, which is not currently recommending any restrictions on travel to the kingdom or screening of passengers at airports or entry points, will sent a second team of experts in the coming weeks, WHO director-general Margaret Chan said.

The virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, emerged in Saudi Arabia last year and has been found in 33 people there, killing 17. They are among 44 cases and 22 deaths worldwide, according to the WHO, which has called it the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

“Without that proper risk assessment, we cannot have clarity on the incubation period, on the signs and symptoms of the disease, on the proper clinical management and then, last but not least, on travel advice,” Chan told the WHO’s annual ministerial meeting in Geneva.

The WHO, which sent a first team to Saudi Arabia this month, will provide a fresh risk assessment ahead of this year’s haj, which takes place in October.

“We need to get the facts clear and get the appropriate advice to all your countries where your pilgrims want to go to Mecca. It is something quite urgent,” Chan said.

Millions flock to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina for the haj, although pilgrims come and go all year round.

CENTRED IN MIDDLE EAST

The virus has also been found in Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, while isolated cases have been exported to France, Britain and Germany by visitors.

Saudi Arabia said on Friday that tighter controls had helped to stamped out a MERS-CoV outbreak in a hospital in the eastern region of al Ahsa, which infected 22 people, killing 10.

“Certain infection control measures were applied because we thought there was some transmission happening in the areas where the patients were clustered. These included the ICU (intensive care unit) and the haemo-dialysis unit,” Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Health Minister Ziad Memish told the Geneva talks.

The measures included separating patients or increasing the distance between them, and reduction of direct contact.

Many questions remain about how the new virus spreads and what the vector may be, ranging possibly from animals to surface contamination. Saudi and WHO officials say there has been some contagion between people, but only where contact has been close and prolonged.

Saudi authorities have collected a large number of samples from bats, camels, sheep and cats for testing, Memish said.

Asked about the risk factors for contracting the disease, Memish said: “It seems like being a male is a risk factor, being old is a risk factor; having underlying diseases including diabetes, heart disease and renal failure seem to be putting people at risk.”

This did not include a $680 million purchase of a 25 percent minority share from Carrefour Groupe in the company announced last week that will give it full ownership of the Carrefour franchise in the region, Iyad Malas, the chief executive officer said in an interview on Saturday.

“Our capital investments could be anywhere between $600 million and $1 billion this year,” said Malas on the sideline of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East and Africa.

The developer and operator of shopping malls will go on a roadshow to raise the money from institutional investors for the purchase of its minority share, Malas said.

Sales growth in the region had not been affected by the Arab spring because consumption rates continued to grow and even investments continued to grow.

“In 2010 we spent capex of over a billion dollars and since then it slowed down a little bit not because we want to but we are not seeing things moving as fast,” Malas said.

MAF, the franchisee for Carrefour hypermarkets in 19 countries in and operator of some of the biggest malls across the Middle East and North Africa, was expected to maintain healthy growth in 2013, he said.

Sales outlook for 2013 was “hopefully in line with a 10 rise” in Q1, compared to 9 percent growth last year, Malas said.

“Clearly Dubai is our big base but our focus is on retail and shopping malls. These sectors have continued to do well everywhere because the average Egyptian or Jordanian still wants to eat and we are low cost provider. We are not offering high end offering we are offering something for the mass,” Malas said.

The emirate’s population has been swelled by people seeking refuge from political strife in the Middle East and economic malaise in Europe, which is also supporting retail sales.

“We are a big buyer, we have good purchasing power from the suppliers and we pass this on to consumers,” he said.

MAF’s major regional investment was a retail and entertainment complex in Egypt at an investment worth around $600 million. The firm was also looking at a presence in Libya and had just expanded in Lebanon, with a large project that was opened recently.

But a prime investment in Syria before the 2011 uprising remains suspended because of the civil war and one Carrefour store in Syria’s Aleppo was shut as a result of the violence.

“We just opened our last store in Beirut and we will continue to expand into the rest of the territory this year with a healthy outlook,” Malas said.

“I have always believed in the integrity of horse racing and all other horse sports,” Sheikh Mohammed, ruler of Dubai, said in a statement.

“I have, in light of the unfortunate recent event, directed that a decree be issued making, with immediate effect, the import, sale, purchase or use of anabolic steroids in horse sports a criminal offence under the UAE penal laws.”

Sheikh Mohammed said last month that he was appalled and angered about the positive tests for steroids at Godolphin’s Newmarket stables in England.

Trainer Mahmood al-Zarooni was banned for eight years by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after 11 horses tested positive in April.

Seven more horses trained by Zarooni proved positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol in further tests, the BHA said last week.

“Regrettably, one of my stables in Europe has recently fallen below the standards that I expect and will tolerate,” Sheikh Mohammed said in Thursday’s statement.

Rules on using drugs in horse racing vary around the world.

Under current rules, the use of anabolic steroids is permitted out of competition in the UAE, as it is in Australia.

Sheikh Mohammed, who temporarily closed the Moulton Paddocks stables and ordered the testing of all the horses in Zarooni’s care after the positive tests, said Godolphin would recover.

“As soon as the internal investigations are complete and the requisite pre-emptory rules are put in place, Godolphin will go from strength to strength and lead, once again, adherence to the highest standards in that gracious sport,” he said.

Godolphin, which takes its name from The Godolphin Arabian, one of the three foundation stallions imported into England nearly 300 years ago, have won 204 Group One races in different countries since Sheikh Mohammed established training operations in Dubai and England in 1992.

Ian Larkin was due to replace the Abu Dhabi-listed lender’s current CEO Graham Honeybill in July but barely six weeks since arriving at the bank to prepare to take the helm the former managing director of Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance has quit, the sources said.

“His style of working didn’t quite fit in with the bank’s way of functioning,” said one of the sources.

A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment.

In one of the biggest ever bank heists, a global cyber crime ring stole $45 million from RAKBANK and Oman’sBank Muscat by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATM cash machines in 27 countries.

RAKBANK was targeted in December and had nearly $5 million stolen, although no customers suffered any loss, the bank said at the time.

No decision on a new CEO has yet been taken, the sources added. Larkin resigned earlier this week.

Honeybill was due to become a non-executive director of the bank once he retired in July, sources said in April.

*Photo Credit

A non-Saudi, whose nationality and age were not given, died on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said on its website late on Wednesday. It said he had been admitted to a hospital in al-Qassim several days ago with an “acute respiratory syndrome”.

“Most cases recorded so far are among elderly patients and people with multiple chronic diseases,” it added.

A World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman confirmed it had been notified of the new death from the disease, which the WHO plans to call Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

“It is in a different area and doesn’t appear to be linked to the recent outbreak and cluster in the eastern part of the country,” Glenn Thomas told reporters in Geneva.

The WHO’s tally of people who have died in the kingdom from nCoV/MERS since it surfaced last year is 18, including one who died in Britain last year after arriving from Saudi Arabia.

The virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, is from the same family as the one responsible for an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed 775 people worldwide in 2003.

The WHO says a total of 44 cases of the new virus have been recorded so far, 22 of them fatal. Saudi Arabia has had 33 of the cases.

WHO officials say the new virus appears to be transmissible between humans, but only after prolonged, close contact.

With two key prepaid products on offer, the LOADnSHOP and MyNetCard users can recharge these cards at more than 400 locations across the UAE with 24/7 access in some locations.

The LOADnSHOP functions similar to a credit card, and can be reloaded with funds. The MyNetCard is a one-time use prepaid card for online shopping and entertainment.

Prepaid cards have been one of the fastest growing industries in the Middle East, with revenue from prepaid sales in the UAE alone expected to reach $18.4 billion by 2015.

“Prepaid cards are the new generation of shopping for this region, and Majid Al Futtaim Finance is amongst the pioneers of the industry in the UAE,” said Rasool Hujair, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Finance.

The civil aviation union Hava-Is, which represents 14,000 of the carrier’s 15,800 workers, responded by saying its week-long industrial action would continue.

Turkish Airlines, Europe’s fourth-largest airline by passengers, said it will increase wages by a cumulative 8.1 percent in 2013 and 6.1 percent in 2014 after contract talks with Hava-Is broke down.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hava-Is proposed a wage increase of 10 percent for this year, less than its initial demands. It is also seeking the reinstatement of 305 workers who were fired over a one-day walkout last May.

“With this decision, the collective contract negotiations, and what has happened in connection with them, are no longer on Turkish Airlines’ agenda,” the Istanbul-based carrier said in an emailed statement, referring to the strike.

The airline said there have been no flight disruptions because most personnel had disregarded the union’s decision to strike on May 15 and accused Hava-Is of abuse of its authority.

However, Atilay Aycin, president of Hava-Is, said about 2,500 workers had joined the strike and that Turkish Airlines was consolidating flights in order to avoid cancellations and hiring temporary staff to maintain personnel numbers.

“It is illegal for management to unilaterally end collective bargaining … We have pared our demands to end this dispute but our proposals were not accepted and so the strike continues,” Aycin said.

Experts and web users say they believe the Internet obstacles are related to the June 14 presidential vote, the first since 2009 polls in which accusations of fraud – denied by the government – kindled months of protests organised in part via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Iranian officials denied any connection between the Internet disruptions and the upcoming vote. But, after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad four years ago, they are wary of the possibility of further unrest this time around.

The last-minute entries of moderate former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad allyEsfandiar Rahim Mashaie have shaken up what was expected to be a limited race between hardline conservatives close to clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hostile to Ahmadinejad.

The populist Ahmadinejad, who has fallen out with Khamenei, is limited by law to two consecutive presidential terms.

Iran’s Guardian Council was due to present a final list of approved candidates to the Interior Ministry on Tuesday. The ministry then has two days to announce the approved names.

The opposition website Kaleme reported on Monday that security had been heightened in Tehran, apparently to counter any protests should the candidacies of Rafsanjani or Mashaie be rejected by the council.

Iranian web users, who number some 45 million according to official figures, have grappled with increased obstacles to using the Internet since the 2009 election.

Kaleme said on Monday Internet speeds had dropped in much of Tehran and that in some parts of the capital, accessing the Web had become impossible – which would prevent dissidents from mustering protests online as they did after the 2009 vote.

Hamed, 33, a dissident freelance journalist living in Tehran, said his clients now have resorted to sending him files by loading them onto CDs and transporting them by courier.

“We get things done but with more time spent,” Hamed told Reuters via email.

Sheikh Mohamed became CEO in October 2011, having previously served as deputy chairman. He replaced long-serving Peter Kaliaropoulos, who became Group Chief Executive Officer for Strategic Assignments.

Batelco has now appointed Kaliaropoulos as chief operating officer and he, along with a three-person committee, will lead the telecom operator until a new CEO is hired, it said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The committee is comprised of three members of the company’s board.

Sheikh Mohamed has left the company with immediate effect. Batelco did not give a reason for his departure, but he was unable to halt a profit slump that the company largely blamed on tougher competition at home.

It competes with units of Kuwait’s Zain and Saudi Telecom Co as well as about 10 internet providers.

Batelco, majority government-owned, has reported declining profits in 11 of the past 12 quarters, with 2012 net profit down 22.2 percent from a year earlier.

The slump has pushed the group to expand abroad and in April it concluded a deal to buy Cable & Wireless Communications’ Monaco and Islands Division, putting Batelco in 10 new markets. It also owns Jordanian telecoms operator Umniah, 27 percent of Yemeni mobile operator Sabafon and minority stakes in internet providers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

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Morocco wants to be one of the first African countries to get the fourth generation (4G) telecom services, the statement said.

“We will launch the tenders to award 4G licenses by the end of the year, and the opening of the service is expected in 2014″ Azdine El Mountassir Billah, the head of ANRT said, quoted by MAP. “It is not a luxury, it is a must,” he added.

The Morocco’s telecom watchdog had originally planned to sell at least one 4G license in the fourth quarter of the last year, but El Mountassir Billah has not given any reasons for the delay.

Morocco’s telecommunications market is dominated by Vivendi’s Maroc Telecom, which is being sold, France Telecom affiliate Medi Telecom, and Inwi, owned by a holding company controlled by the Moroccan monarchy and Kuwait’s Zain.

Mobile phone penetration hovers around 115 percent of Morocco’s 34 million population, and the country had 4 million Internet subscribers by the end of March 2013, up 24.35 percent from the previous year, the statement said.