RIYADH, 19 April 2007 — Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC), the Gulf’s largest utility by market value, posted first-quarter losses within a range of analyst expectations. First-quarter net loss was SR434 million ($115.7 million), down 0.5 percent from a SR436.1 million loss in the year-earlier period, SEC said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website. Operating loss was SR535 million, a 16 percent increase over the first quarter of last year after a periodic maintenance ahead of the peak summer period pushed costs up, the firm said.
Premier Telecom Expo in Abu Dhabi
K.T. Abdurabb, Arab News
ABU DHABI — MECOM, the region’s premier telecom showcase, will open on Sunday at the new Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). “MECOM will feature nearly 100 exhibitors showing the very best in telecoms and IT Comms equipment and services. Leading industry names have signed up for the event as exhibitors and sponsors including the TRA, Etisalat, du, Dubai Internet City, Thuraya, Motorola, Ericsson, ZTE, Cisco, HP, British Telecom, Alcatel Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, ICT Fund and many others.
Al-Burj Net Profit Hits AED925m
Arab News
DUBAI — Al-Burj Real Estate Limited (Al-Burj), one of the leading real estate companies in the region, announced that its net profit touched AED925 million by the end of 2006, the company’s first full year of operations. Al-Burj Real Estate, an initiative led by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) along with leading businessmen and corporate groups in the UAE and the region, was launched at the end of 2005 as a private joint stock company with a paid-up capital of AED1.4 billion, making it one of the largest capitalized shareholding firms in the UAE.
Sharjah Business Licenses Issued Up
Arab News
SHARJAH — Sharjah Economic Department said yesterday that it has issued 1,462 licenses during the fourth quarter of this year. The number of licenses in the commercial field was 669, which constitutes 46 percent of the total number of licenses issued, while 43 were issued in the industrial field, or 3 percent of the total.
