ArabianBusiness.com - Middle East Business News
Saturday, 22 November 2008 10:25 UAE time

YOUR DIRECTORY /

Print this page Print this page | Email this to a friend Email this to a friend | Discuss this article (0 Comments) |

GCC governments holding back privatisation

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  on Monday, 19 November 2007

Outspoken chief executive of Kuwaiti telecoms giant Zain, formerly MTC told delegates that Gulf governments, with the exception of Dubai, has "slowed down the pace of economic development". Shaikh Gabr, chairman and managing director of the Artoc Group in Egypt agreed and said: "The private sector has played on the outskirts for too long. The private sector should be given greater value and importance by our governments."

Dr Nahed Taher, CEO of Gulf One Investment Bank in Saudi Arabia, said that high wealth existed in the region, but equally alongside high unemployment. "Until now hardly any of our wealth has been invested in production and infrastructure and instead all in real estate. Saudi is the most privatised country in the Gulf and the government needs private sector money," she said.

"I am financing one of the largest projects in Saudi, the US$7bn railway that will connect West to East, and the government can't take all of the cost and has to pen it up to the private sector. There is a funding gap and we are here to fill it. In the water sector, for example, the GCC has 60% of all the water desalination capacity, but zero technology and GE is investing heavily in this sector."

Story continues below
advertisement

Dr Taher added that Muslims should potentially "give away" their Zakat - the 2.5% of income Muslims give annually to the poor - to small and medium sized businesses rather than the needy. "We should give our Zakat to SMEs. Instead of giving people food we should give them jobs. They are the lifeblood of the economy. In Germany 98% of its economy is made up of SMEs, we have 3% and this is why we can't grow. If we don't change this then we won't be big."

Print Print | Email Email | Discuss this article |


READERS' COMMENTS



Click here to post a comment


Add your Comment
All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *
(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code * Code


Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.


MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM

more » MIDDLE EAST MARKETS DATA

ZAIN.KSE

Last Price:

1.06

+0.08+8.16%

19 Nov 2008 08:48 GMT
(Market Closed)

CURRENCY CONVERTOR

RELATED STORIES

Leaders
3 stories
  1. Palm flood - 'Branson wrong'
  2. Mega banks fuelling financial crisis
Arabianwomen
3 stories
  1. Leading historic change
  2. The Future Arabian Businesswoman
  3. Arabian Businesswomen 2008
Artoc Group
| 1 story
    Zain
    | 159 stories
    1. Against all odds
    2. Cash saver
    3. Zain debuts prepaid mobile internet in Kuwait

    RELATED LINKS

    1. Artoc Group»
    2. Zain»

     EMAIL ALERTS

    1. Artoc Group

    2. Zain

    3. Politics & Economics


    EMIRATES ID DOWNLOAD

    READER COMMENTS

    Read all user comments >

    BUSINESS FEATURES

    Down and out in Beverly Hills: Rolexes, Picassos hit pawnshops

    Beverly Loan is a pawnshop that caters to people who hock Cartiers, Harleys and Oscar statuettes.

    ‘Poor but sexy’ Berliners shrug as crisis hits

    For Berlin it's no-business as usual amid the credit crisis as they had little to lose in the first place.

    Commodities send sell signal

    A record plunge in commodities may signal the longest US recession since Reagan became president.

    BUSINESS INTERVIEWS

    Bahrain opens door to kingdom

    Bahrain Ecomonic Developent Board's CEO, Kamal Ahmed, on why investors should choose Bahrain.

    East meets West

    HM Ambassador Edward Oakden describes how he plans to build trade relations between Britain and the UAE.

    Is this it?

    Gulf Research Centre's Dr Eckart Woertz on how far reaching economic global uncertainty could prove to be.

    MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM