Al-Falak Partners With Halcyon
Al-Falak Electronic Equipment & Supplies Co. has signed a partnership agreement with UK-based Halcyon Software Limited to represent Halcyon in the GCC region. The partnership aims to take advantage of an expected double-digit growth in the Gulf’s IT market within the next three years. Halcyon Software Limited has one of the largest portfolios of systems management products in the world, covering a wide spectrum of platforms from IBM iSeries, AIX, Windows, Unix, Linux and Netware. The partnership will allow Al-Falak to offer Halcyon’s full range of software solutions in the GCC.
According to IDC, the Gulf’s total IT spending will exceed AED 33 billion in 2008, increasing by more than 15 percent compared to 2007. This presents excellent mutual growth opportunities for Al-Falak and Halcyon, which have both implemented intensified expansion initiatives across the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the largest markets in the GCC that account for 43 percent and 36 percent respectively of the region’s overall IT spending.
Networking Info in Arabic
Huawei Technologies has launched the Arabic version of its corporate website www.huawei.com/ar/. The comprehensive Arabic website allows Huawei to reach out to a larger audience and strengthen its customer relations with the local Arabic-speaking community. It is designed to offer immediate and flexible access to corporate, product and market information and to establish additional channels for business partners and prospective clients. In addition to details on Huawei’s full range of products and solutions, the website also provides technical support to existing clients and contains a section dedicated to career opportunities in Huawei’s regional offices.
Global Infrastructure Fund Well-Received
At a time when it’s difficult to find investments that offer a good return, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) has closed with $4.0 billion of equity commitments, exceeding the initial target of $2.5 billion. The Fund targets investments in assets that provide public goods or essential services in sectors such as transportation, energy and utilities, social infrastructure and communications.
“The successful fund-raising underscores the particular demand for infrastructure investment, and broadly, for alternative assets that generate long-term stable cash flows,” commented James Gorman, co-president, Morgan Stanley.
The Fund raised its capital globally in North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. Investors include major pension funds, insurance companies, high net worth individuals as well as Morgan Stanley and its employees.
E-Trade License Secured
Direct Broker for Financial Services (Mubasher), a provider of e-financial solutions in the region and a subsidiary of the Riyadh-headquartered National Technology Group (NTG), has been granted an E-trade license by the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA), becoming the first major firm among over 100 similar brokers to acquire such a license. The E-trade license confirms that Mubasher has met all conditions stipulated by ESCA, particularly in terms of security and real-time information feed.
Mubasher is the largest online trading company in the Arab World. It was the first to introduce online stock trading in the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM). Mubasher also introduced the UAE’s first Arabic/English real-time stock market information service and online trading engine.
