Wednesday 30 January 2013

UAE’s financial management met with international recognition | GulfNews.com

Over the past 50 years, industrially advanced countries have come in first place as per economic and social indicators that are published in international organisations’ reports. Developing countries on the other hand came in last because of the large developmental disparities between the two groups.
However, it seems this image which has continued since the end of WWII until the end of the 20th century is on its way to change. This is due to the huge changes witnessed in the world economy over the past decades and the advances achieved by many developing countries such as the UAE and other GCC countries that have come to surpass the position of European, American, and Asian countries in some development indexes.
A prominent example of these changes and outstanding advances is the UAE’s international stand for its financial policy’s efficiency as published in the 2012 World Competitiveness Yearbook that was issued in June by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.
UAE’s financial management met with international recognition | GulfNews.com

Saudi industrial push to be fuelled by sukuk - The National

Saudi Arabia's massive industrialisation drive will increasingly rely on Islamic financing, said the treasurer of the country's national oil company, as international banks are constrained from investing in projects in the region.

Saudi Aramco - the world's largest oil company - has taken on many of the petrochemical and refining projects intended to diversify the national economy away from oil and provide jobs for Saudis.

Satorp, a Saudi Aramco petrochemical joint venture with France's Total, in 2011 launched a Sharia-compliant bond to fund the construction of a refinery.
Saudi industrial push to be fuelled by sukuk - The National

Agthia Group feeds off consumer confidence - The National

Agthia Group generated sharply higher profits as it improved margins and sales soared in the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi-based food group, best known for its Al Ain mineral waters and also owning distribution rights to brands including Chiquita and Capri-Sun, had substantial sales last year.

Agthia made profits for the year of Dh124.7 million (US$33.9m), an increase of 44.5 per cent compared with a year earlier.
Agthia Group feeds off consumer confidence - The National

Standard bearer for managing Gulf wealth - The National

Selling traditional insurance in the Middle East has been a famously problematic business. There are socio-cultural difficulties on top of the usual barriers to entry in an industry dominated globally by big American and European players.

Life insurance and even buildings and property insurance have remained an under-exploited market in the region; demand has remained weak by international standards, and market penetration low.

So it is just as well that Nathan Parnaby, who recently launched the Arabian Gulf business of Standard Life with an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), stresses that his company is "less a risk-taking insurer, more a savings and investment company".
Standard bearer for managing Gulf wealth - The National

Tough market hits Abu Dhabi National Hotels profit - The National

Costs associated with the capital's swanky Park Hyatt hotel bit deep into profits at Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH).

The company reported that profits fell 24.8 per cent last year to Dh198 million (US$53.9m).

ADNH is one of the capital's biggest hotel owners, with a portfolio that also includes the Hilton, Le Meridien and Sheraton. It said revenue across the company increased by just 1 per cent during the year to Dh1.8 billion.
Tough market hits Abu Dhabi National Hotels profit - The National