DUBAI, 2 November 2007 — Morgan Stanley (MS) has initiated coverage of the Middle Eastern equity markets with a clear “overweight” recommendation on the region, with the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar as the firm’s preferred country exposure. Morgan Stanley estimates that GDP for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plus Egypt and Jordan will reach $957 billion in 2007 and $1,045 billion in 2008, more than twice the 2002 figure of $484 billion. In the report, “Middle Eastern Equity Markets: Clear Overweight,” Jonathan Garner, global emerging market strategist at Morgan Stanley, said that the equity markets are likely to perform well in 2008.
Tabreed Profit Rises 17.26% in 3rd Quarter
ABU DHABI, 2 November 2007 — Tabreed, the Middle East’s award-winning district cooling pioneer, has posted AED20.87 million profit in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 17.26 percent compared to AED17.798 million over the same period in 2006. “Tabreed’s results have gone from strength to strength and the company has posted consistently positive results every quarter for the past five years,” said the company’s chairman, Mohamed Saif Al-Mazrouei. The UAE-based company, with operations in six countries, generated revenues of AED163.75 million — an increase of 49.74 percent in the period under review and posted a gross profit of AED65.163 million, up from AED42.661 million.
Flanagan Receives Legends Award
DUBAI, 2 November 2007 — Maurice Flanagan CBE, executive vice chairman, Emirates Airline and Group, has been honored with the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation’s (CAPA) Legends Award, one of the most highly-esteemed awards in the aviation industry. Flanagan received the award in Singapore yesterday at the CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence for 2007.
