Author Archives: Staff Writer

Dubai Ports World (DPW) could face further international opposition to its acquisition of British ports and ferries firm P&O.

The International Advertising Association (IAA) Congress, held in Dubai for the first time last week, broke world records.

The Secretary General of the GCC, His Excellency Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah, has said that new companies should not be allowed to launch initial public offerings (IPOs), in order to stabilise bourses across the region.

Next week is going to be ‘Virgin week’ with the arrival of Sir Richard Branson in Dubai, officially to launch the first Virgin Atlantic flight between London and Dubai.

Faisal bin Juma Belhoul has spent the last few years restructuring his father’s family empire. Now, he tells Richard Agnew, he plans to use that experience to turnaround other regional businesses.

At 7.10am on Tuesday morning, Virgin Atlantic’s first flight from London to Dubai will touch down. Sir Richard Branson’s public relations machine has been in full swing, and the airline has already slashed prices on the London to Dubai route. But can it really compete with Emirates Airline? Anil Bhoyrul and Tamara Walid find out.

“When you combine ignorance and borrowed money, the consequences can get interesting.” — Warren Buffett. We should all be wary of the comments coming out of the property world over the last two weeks.

The odds are against him, but Emirates Airline should heed the warnings. Four months ago I spotted Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson in the Burj Al Arab. He was in Dubai to promote the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s service to Dubai, which starts this Tuesday. And, as always, he was more than happy to talk. To talk about anything, except his pricing policy on tickets.

LG Electronics has decided to give buyers of its latest dual-core laptops an extra level of security by adding AuthenTec fingerprint sensors to its dual-core Express series notebook PCs.

Windows Middle East’s readers will most likely upgrading their PC systems by adding more memory, according to recent poll results

The networking know-how that goes into making residential properties state-of-the-art often goes unnoticed. Alex Ritman assesses how residential networking has progressed and what the networked home of the future may look like.

Free space optics (FSO) technology may have started out as a product for niche markets like the military, however, it is starting to make its way into the mainstream of broader markets.

Egypt’s investment tsar Ziad Bahaa El Din tells Richard Agnew about the country’s life or death struggle to attract business from abroad.

Demand for white cement in the UAE prompts Pakistan to import a third plant that will produce 500 tonnes per day

Arab state will begin construction on new power plants in order to meet rising energy demands in the country

Bu Haleeba labourers coordinate massive demonstration, which was felt from its Sonapur to Jebel Ali camps

With the signing off of the new Dubai freehold property law, investment in the local property market is expected to rocket, as homebuyers become more confident of their ownership rights. But, as Angela Giuffrida finds out, the new law will do more than just establish property ownership.

Road expansion and tunnel projects are set to go up for grabs, as the RTA looks to end Dubai-Sharjah traffic blues

Dubai-based developer is planning to invest US $1.4 billion in the UAE over the next three years

Zamil Steel has won a US $9.2 billion (KD2.6 billion) contract to supply fabricated structural steel products and process equipment for Kuwait Oil Company’s OL2K Ethylene Project.

Construction workers rioted on the Old Town site this week, when the buses that were due to take them back to their camps, were delayed.

At least 24 Indian construction workers committed suicide in Dubai last year — accounting for more than 25% of suicides involving expatriates from the country.

Top five global construction player checks into UAE market and lands DIFC hotel booking

With a subdued construction market at home that has only started to turn the corner in recent months, German architectural practices are seeking new markets to sustain their order books, and increasing numbers of them are targeting the Middle East, where German-designed buildings are in high demand among the region’s developers.

With more than US $4.2 billion worth of exports, and over 500 companies operating in the country, German trade to the UAE is second only to Saudi Arabia, in the Gulf. Zoe Naylor finds out why the region is a goldmine for German companies looking for construction contracts.

Founded in 1998, the Monorail Society is the international association for monorail enthusiasts. Or, as the society’s website describes itself – the organisation for people with ‘one-tracked minds’. Don’t let the humour fool you. Monorailists are not your average pale and pasty trainspotters. You won’t find your monorailist hanging around railway platforms wearing a tatty snorkel and clutching a wet notebook.

Vizrt has recently won a US $0.5 million deal to provide a broad range of its graphics products to a new Arabic business television channel.

Chris Jupp, graphic designer at Showtime and an ardent Maya user, gives us the lowdown on version 7.0 of the software.

UAE-based Alpha Data picked up the Microsoft hardware-OEM competency award at the software giant’s recently held Gulf partner summit.

Arabtec, the UAE construction company whose current projects include the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, migrates its mail servers to Linux.

The South African operator, a 49% stakeholder in Iran’s second licence holder, has high hopes for the country and expects it to become its third key growth market.

As the quality of digital products goes up, more professionals are beginning to experiment with consumer products to get the best value for their money. Giorgio Ungania, audio designer at Dubai Media Inc and a member of the Emirates Diving Institution (EDA), recently went on an environmental trip to Malaysia and produced a documentary in the most innovative way. Ungania shares the details of the production exclusively with Digital Studio.

A new Qatar trading exchange, believed to be the largest oil and gas trading platform in the world, launches today, based on technology from an Oman-based company.

Microsoft says while its Windows Vista, the next generation of the Windows client operating system, will be available to the business community in November 2006, broad consumer availability will be made January 2007. Windows Vista is Microsoft’s first major update to the company’s flagship operating system since Windows XP was released in late 2001.

Qtel has watched liberalisation affect its fellow regional incumbents, and in Oman it has even become one of those start-ups. Such experiences have left the telco patently aware of the challenges that competition brings to an incumbent and Alex Ritman talks to Nasser Marafih, head of the Gulf’s last remaining monopoly operator about Qtel’s current and future activities.

Wataniya Telecom Maldives in partnership with Huawei Technologies has built out one of the most technically sophisticated converged 2G/3G networks in the region. CommsMEA reports from the islands on how logistical challenges in deploying and growing the business were overcome and Wataniya’s plans to be the market leader within 12 months.

Mobile phone content has become one of the highest growing revenue generators for operators in developed markets. In Africa however, where ARPUs are low and many millions still remain unconnected, offering such extras may seem unnecessary and futile. Alex Ritman asks what applications are selling across the continent, and what issues providers are facing.

The amount of time that it is taking the Jordanian government to offload its 41.5% stake in Jordan Telecom Group (JTG) is running the real risk of impeding the telco’s development on both the domestic and regional front. Since 2003, the government has talked-up its intention to sell down its shareholding, but to date the process remains locked in consultation and negotiation.

The Hotel Show is set for a 30% increase this year and will occupy seven halls at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre when it opens in June.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts’ senior managers are sharpening their scissors as the hotel brand prepares for nine ribbon cutting ceremonies in 2006.

Dubai-based hotel company, Jumeirah has been appointed by Shanghai Lixing Hotel Limited to manage one of Shanghai’s most prominent and prestigious new hotel developments in the downtown Luwan District.

First it was the Million Dollar Home Page, a pay per pixel advertising website launched by an enterprising English 21-year old, and now a team of entrepreneurs has launched a dirham equivalent of the site in the UAE.

Regional value-added distributor Tech Access has appointed Sarah Bentley as its new marketing manager, claiming that the appointment reflects its ongoing commitment to support its growing partner community.

Avaya and Microsoft have teamed up to develop open standards, SIP-based interoperability between Avaya MultiVantage Communications Applications and Microsoft Office Communicator, the unified communications client for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005.

Channel veteran Thierry Chamayou, formerly general manager at networking vendor D-Link’s Middle East operation, has made the move back into the distribution world, taking on the role of deputy general manager at Mindware.

HP has confirmed that Nahil is no longer operating as a logistics service provider (LSP) for its PC assembly facility in Saudi Arabia. The change in channel strategy leaves Redington as the sole GCC LSP supplying PCs produced at the plant to HP’s channel development partners (CDPs) in the region.

What a difference three years make. When Carl-Henric Svanberg became president and CEO of Ericsson in April 2003, the traditional Swedish telecoms equipment supplier was haemorrhaging cash and Svanberg was immediately called upon to continue overseeing the difficult task begun by his predecessor of culling Ericsson staff. On his first official visit to the Middle East last month, Svanberg spoke to CommsMEA about just how different the climate now is for Ericsson compared to those dark days.

Qatar-based systems integrator, Salam Media Cast, has recently purchased 20 teleprompting systems from Autoscript Limited for its clients in the Middle East.