‘Made in Bahrain’ Car Set for Takeoff
Walid Mazi, Arab News
MANAMA, 13 August 2007 — The first “Made in Bahrain” car to be manufactured by RUF Bahrain will be ready by November, said Ahmed Al-Khan, chief executive officer of the company’s partner Dyar Al-Bahrain. “The first production unit of high performance sports carmaker RUF Automobile outside Germany will produce two to three cars this year against orders,” he said, adding that the first car will be a RUF CTR3. It would be a transitional step for the company from the production of RUF/Porsche hybrid to a complete RUF car. The car will have the speed of 100 kilometers in just two to three seconds. The factory will also produce RUFR50, RT12 and RUF Spyder by July next year.
Dubai Port Operator Eyes $2 Billion IPO
Reuters
DUBAI — DP World, the world’s third-largest container port operator, may this year sell $2 billion of shares in an initial public offering and list the stock in Dubai, Middle East Economic Digest reported. The Dubai government-owned company may list the shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, unidentified analysts close to the port operator said, according to the London-based weekly magazine. DP World, which bought Britain-based P&O port and ship operator for $6.85 billion in 2006, last year hired Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch to advise on a possible IPO, MEED said.
Al-Ahli Fund Grows 38%
Arab News
JEDDAH — The Al-Ahli Capital Financial Fund of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) posted a net growth rate of 38 percent trading in shares of emerging markets during the last 10 months until July 15, 2007, Sami Abdo, head of NCB Investment Banking Division, said. The fund, launched on October 2006, was rated as the best performing local fund in its category compliant with the Islamic law. Abdo said the success was a result of “conscious and successful management as well as the careful selection of the companies that the fund invested in, in addition to the strategic diversification and a conservative strategy in risk management.
Istithmar Cautious on Credit Turmoil
Reuters
DUBAI — Dubai-government owned investment agency Istithmar, which expects to make about $2.5 billion of acquisitions this year, said it will be more cautious about purchases because of turmoil in global credit markets. Istithmar, which agreed to buy US luxury clothing store company Barneys New York Inc. for $942.3 million, typically borrows about 70 percent of the cost of its investments.
Barneys to Open 5 Clothing Stores
Reuters
DUBAI — Dubai government investment agency Istithmar, which agreed last week to buy Barneys New York Inc. for $942.3 million, said the US luxury-clothing store plans to open up to five outlets at a cost of as much as $100 million. “We can probably open three to five stores right out of the box,” Istithmar Chief Executive Officer David Jackson said on Dubai Eye radio. Each store cost about $20 million to develop, he said.
Kuwaiti Banks Not Hit by Credit Squeeze
Reuters
KUWAIT — Kuwaiti banks are not affected by the turmoil on global credit markets, a newspaper yesterday quoted the central bank governor as saying. A lending squeeze, triggered by defaults in the US market for high-risk mortgages, spooked investors around the globe, and forced central banks to inject cash into the banking system. Kuwaiti banks will not be affected because they do not invest in tools that were negatively affected by US mortgage crisis.