Revealed: Gulf's most admired companies

11. Al Jazeera English (Qatar)
Media
After a sticky start, the 24-hour English-language news and current affairs TV channel has become an integral part of the Middle East media world.

Headquartered in Doha, and the sister channel of Al Jazeera Arabic TV, the station broadcasts factual programming including news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current affairs, business and sport.It aims to provide both a regional voice and a global perspective to a potential world audience of over one billion English speakers, but without an Anglo-American world perspective. Instead of being run under central command, news management rotates around broadcasting centres in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington D.C.

The channel had expected to reach around 40 million households, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes.

The channel is now one of the three biggest global English language 24-hour news channels, the other two being BBC World and US competitor CNN International.

12. Dubai World (UAE)
Various
If ever a company put Dubai on the map as a 21st Century city, then Dubai World can surely lay claim to that title. Last week, Dubai World made waves when one of its subsidiaries, Nakheel, handed over the first phase of the world's largest waterfront development to investors. Yet Dubai Waterfront is just one of a series of stunning developments in the Nakheel portfolio, which features the iconic ‘Palm' and ‘World' projects.

A holding company that manages and supervises the portfolio of businesses and projects for Dubai Government, and works towards making Dubai a leading hub for the commerce and trading industry, Dubai World contributes to the rapid economic growth of Dubai across a wide range of strategic industry segments.

These range from Nakheel's unique real estate concepts, to DP World - now the third largest port operator in the world - to segments as diverse as investments, leisure and financial services.

13. Etihad Airways (UAE)
Aviation
The national airline of the UAE, Etihad began commercial operations in November 2003, with an initial paid-up capital of US$135m. Since then, and using Abu Dhabi as its hub, the carrier has enjoyed extraordinary growth, quickly spreading its network across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America.

In that time, the carrier has acquired 22 aircraft and will receive another 11 this year. Etihad now flies to 38 destinations, and aims to hit the 70-destination mark by 2010. This rapid expansion drive means that the airline will operate at a loss for the next three years, however Etihad's CEO, James Hogan, insists that the carrier will also aim to break even in 2010. Last year, the airline picked up two awards at the prestigious World Travel Awards - ‘World's Leading New Airline', and ‘World's Leading Flatbed Seat'.

14. NCB (KSA)
Banking & finance
At the beginning of this month, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank would be increasing its paid-up capital to US$4bn from US$2.4bn through a 2:3 share issue. The issue of 600 million shares worth US$2.67 each, will bring to 1.5 billion the number of issued shares, and marks another milestone for the Saudi giant.

The bank posted a US$1.7bn profit for 2006, an increase of over 25% on 2005, while total operating income grew 24% to US$2.5bn. The bank's assets had grown by 6.8% to US$41.5bn by the end of December that year, and shareholders' equity increased to US$6.4bn.

Not content to rest on its laurels, NCB has already begun shaping the future of banking in KSA. It has upgraded its online trading service with the introduction of the more reliable and user-friendly Tadawul Plus: clients can now place orders on the screen itself, create a basket of orders, and prices are automatically refreshed.

15. Etisalat (UAE)
Telecoms
When the UAE telecoms sector was liberalised last year with the emergence of du, industry experts asked whether Etisalat - which had previously enjoyed a 30-year monopoly - could deal with the competition. Several months later, and the government-run operator has more than answered its critics.

Since 2000, the company has invested over US$27m on improving its customer service levels and, while maintaining its huge market share at home, has embarked on a rapid expansion plan across the region.

Last year, Etisalat won the rights to develop Egypt's third mobile network in a deal worth US$2.9bn. It also has a 35% stake in Mobily, Saudi Arabia's second telco. As the winning bidder for Saudi Arabia's second GSM licence, it provides mobile services nationwide, breaking Saudi Telecom's monopoly in the wireless business. Etisalat has also continued to make its presence felt in Pakistan and West Africa, and is currently looking to take a major stake in Algeria's Algerie Telecom, worth up to US$3bn.

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