DUBAI, 7 February 2006 — Dubai Investments’ Company posted a 2005 net profit of 666.6 million UAE dirhams ($181.5 million) yesterday, up 116 percent from the previous year. The company did not give quarterly numbers in its statement on the bourse website. But comparisons with nine-month figures showed a fourth quarter net profit of 281 million dirhams, up 111 percent from the third quarter.
Alstom Wins Dubal Deal
DUBAI, 7 February 2006 — French engineering group Alstom said on Sunday it won orders of about 200 million euros ($241.5 million) to construct a power plant for Dubai Aluminum Company Ltd. (Dubal). A statement from Alstom said it would also supply two fume treatment centers for the smelter at Dubal — owned by the government of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates.
Kuwait to Shut Shuaiba Refinery
KUWAIT, 7 February 2006 — Kuwait plans to shut down its 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) Shuaiba refinery from the end of March until May 17 for maintenance, a Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) official said yesterday. KNPC spokesman Mohammad Al-Ajmi said the shutdown will start on March 31. “It is for routine maintenance,” he said. Ajmi also said that the Gulf Arab state’s 270,000 bpd Mina Abdullah refinery was scheduled for shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2006 for maintenance.
Telecom Egypt May Bid for Mobile License
CAIRO, 7 February 2006 — Telecom Egypt (TE) may look at selling its stake in Vodafone Egypt so that it can bid for Egypt’s third mobile license, the company’s Chairman Akeel Bashir said in comments published yesterday. “Telecom Egypt may study selling its stake in Vodafone ... If that is necessary for the sake of obtaining the third license,” Egyptian financial daily Al-Alam Al-Youm quoted Bashir saying. Officials from TE, which has a 25.5 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt, were not immediately available for comment.
