NOBLES
Nobles Properties has signed an agreement with OYA Tourism Investment and Development, a subsidiary of Libya’s Economic and Social Development Fund (ESDF), whereby Nobles will launch its first real estate project in Libya, the Tripolis Towers, in the heart of Tripoli at an estimated value of $500 million. “We have signed this significant agreement in Libya as part of our commitment to selecting and developing unique, high-quality projects that will set new benchmarks for innovation, quality and modern architectural development in the Arab World. We have taken this step after conducting a thorough and in-depth study for this upscale project — our first in North Africa. We see great potential in the Libyan market and its outstanding level of economic competitiveness, which stems from a unique combination of attractions that cannot be found elsewhere. We pledge to develop and deliver a pair of iconic towers that will be a landmark development in Tripoli,” Omar Ayesh, founding chairman of Nobles, said. “Our extensive experience in the real estate market has won us a leading position in the region’s real estate investment and development sector, and we aim to maintain this position both in the development of this project and beyond,” Ayesh added. “Libya is enjoying a period of substantial economic growth and we are delighted to join hands with a company of this caliber in the development of this project. We look forward to establishing an ongoing partnership with Nobles and are confident that the Tripolis Towers project will serve as the springboard to a very fruitful long term relationship,” Wissam Al-Idrissi, GM, OYA, said. “There is enormous demand in the Libyan market for high quality, multipurpose property developments. We believe that the prime location of this project and the state-of-the-art services and facilities it offers will make it one of the most successful projects in the market,” he added.
GULF EXTRUSIONS
Gulf Extrusions, one of the largest aluminum extrusion plants in the Gulf, has announced that it has recently opened a new sales office in Addis Ababa to anchor its operations in Ethiopia and in other key African markets. The move has been part of Gulf Extrusions’ aggressive expansion strategy across high-growth global markets, setting up new distribution channels and production plants to cater to a growing global demand for extruded aluminum. The new sales office in the Ethiopian capital started operations in July 2008 and will usher in the opening of several other strategic distribution channels in Djibouti (Ethiopia), Sudan and Tanzania. Gulf Extrusions also seeks to consolidate its presence in the African market by offering a wide range of value-added services and complementary projects including a comprehensive training program to educate fabricators on how to produce the most efficient aluminum. “As part of our expansion program, we will also increase our warehouses and establish new distribution channels throughout strategic points to accommodate the global increase in demand for aluminum,” said Modar Al-Mekdad, general manager, Gulf Extrusions. Its intensified activities this year in Africa follows a highly successful expansion program in Europe last year wherein a new chain of quality control and warehousing facilities were set up in Europe. A warehousing facility was initially put up in Belgium and later in the UK.
VISA
Visa, one of the world’s major payment solutions providers, has announced the extension of the Visa Money Transfer (VMT) service to millions of cardholders. With the launch of VMT in Indonesia and the expansion of a program in Singapore, Visa is making it easier and more secure for people in 13 countries in Europe, the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, and Asia to send and receive funds. VMT, a card-based service enabling a Visa cardholder to send funds conveniently and securely to another Visa cardholder, debuted in Ukraine in 2003. Since then, the service has been extended to tens of millions of people who no longer need to wait at a money transfer agent’s office, but instead can use the convenience and security of their 16-digit Visa account number to send and receive money. Depending on their issuing bank, they can execute the transfer at a bank branch, using the Internet, via an ATM or self-service kiosk. “Visa’s growth has been the result of our commitment to finding innovative ways to use our network and products to make payments more secure and more convenient,” said Ihab Ayoub, GM, Visa, Saudi Arabia. “Our approach to person-to-person payments and remittances is to use our global technology to create tailored solutions for various countries and apply what we’ve learned to expand the service worldwide.”
PLASTEX 2008
Regional and international plastics processors will showcase the latest industry trends and technologies during PLASTEX 2008, the 11th international African-Arabian exhibition for plastics industries, which will be held at the Cairo International Fair Ground in Cairo from Oct. 23-26. The event will serve as a timely platform for trade members to discuss and prepare for a projected 30 percent annual industry growth rate within the Middle East for the next five years, the fastest in the world. Qatar Petrochemical Co. (QAPCO), a producer and global distributor of fertilizers, steel, refined petroleum products and natural gas liquids, will act as main sponsor of the prestigious event, which is set to gather more than 550 leading exhibitors from over 31 countries across Asia, Europe and the Far East, along with various Gulf member countries. The QAPCO event delegation will be led by the company’s general manager, Mohammed Yousef Al-Mulla, accompanied by Abdulrahman Al-Abdulla, group manager, commercial and marketing. Assocomaplast, the Italian Plastics and Rubber Processing Machinery and Moulds Manufacturers’ Association, has likewise confirmed its participation as main exhibitor and partner for the 2008 edition. PLASTEX 2008 is expected to welcome more than 24,000 visitors from 18 countries. “This year’s edition of PLASTEX is an excellent event to invest in, since it gathers the biggest industry names and sets the tone for what is expected to be a solid-five year run for the plastics sector,” said.
SWEETS ME
The region’s growing taste for sweets and snacks is developing into one of the most dynamic sectors of the global food market, according to the organizers of Sweets Middle East 2008. Market statistics estimate that Middle East consumers spend billions of dollars on food every year, with the foodservice market in the GCC worth more than $31 billion annually. Regionally, a TNS study in 2007 shows that demand for chocolate is strong in the Kingdom and the UAE. Recognizing the growth and increasing sophistication of the Middle East food market, two giants in the exhibition industry have partnered again to host the second edition of the only dedicated trade show geared toward the sweets, confectionery, bakery, snack food and ice-cream industries in the Middle East. The exhibition takes place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center from Nov. 3-5. “The success of the 2007 exhibition reaffirmed a need for this important industry platform, as the confectionery and sweet industries continue to expand across the Middle East,” said Joanne Cook, industry group manager — exhibitions and events management at DWTC, co-organizer of Sweets Middle East 2008. “Everyone who took part had positive results and together with our partner DWTC, we will be further developing this trade fair in line with market demand,” Markus Reetz, brand manager of Koelnmesse GmbH, said Al-Mulla.
DHL
DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company HAS announced the completion of its $110 million Central Asia Hub (CAH) expansion. With a total investment of $210 million, the facility is the first large-scale automated Express hub in Asia Pacific and significantly boosts DHL’s operational capability in Asia. Situated at the Hong Kong International Airport, the Central Asia Hub has doubled in size to 35,000 sq m — about the size of 120 tennis courts — and is expected to handle 40 million shipments this year. With the expansion, the highly sophisticated and automated facility has a throughput of 75,000 pieces per hour (pph) of flyers and conveyable shipments, an increase of 114 percent compared to the 35,000 pph throughput capacity before the expansion. With the automation, the throughput cycle time has been further reduced from 12 minutes to just 7 minutes. “Asia Pacific continues to be a key growth driver. In the first half of 2008, we grew 13 percent year-on-year. The expansion of the CAH is a testament to the continued growth of intra-Asia trade and the Asia-Europe trade lane. Currently, over 60 percent of express cargo processed by the Central Asia Hub is intra-Asia Pacific shipments, a figure we expect to continue to grow alongside rising intra-regional trade,” said Dan McHugh, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific. Originally slated for completion in 2013, the expansion of the CAH well ahead of schedule underscores the growth and potential DHL sees in the region. “The further expansion of DHL’s Central Asia Hub is a testament to the continued strategic importance and relevance of the Hong Kong International Airport within the region. It is also a vote of confidence by the world’s largest express integrator of Hong Kong’s strength as an aviation and logistics hub,” Eva Cheng, secretary for transport and housing, said.
AL-SAWANI
Al-Sawani Group, a major fashion retail companies in the Middle East, opened Go-Sport at Aliat Al-Madinah Mall in Madinah recently. The new outlet is a new concept from Al-Sawani. The concept shop has been the leading distributor of sport equipments in France for the past 30 years. In addition, to its fashion aspect, it offers all kinds of professional and recreational equipment. Their qualified distribution skills reach the goal of every type of sports’ requirements, from the smallest size to the largest possible equipment. “Walking into the new store is similar to entering a realm of every sport lovers dream. The spacious and smartly designed showroom is inviting to enjoy the amazing products offered for your taste and need,” Bilal Hafiz, Go-Sport brand manager said. “What is unique about our store is that it is a one stop shop for all the sports/fitness needs. Also, our products are arranged in terms of categories and brands. This makes the shopping experience more relaxing and comfortable,” he added. “Go-Sport aims to become a leading sports equipment destination in the Kingdom. We opened two stores in Riyadh (Al-Hayat Mall and Ghurnatah Mall), now have three at Jeddah (Serafi Mega Mall, Sa’ad Mall and Red Sea Mall), one in Alkhobar (Al Fo’ad Center), he added. Al-Sawani Group was established in 1976 and has since become one of the leaders in the ready-wear industry not just in the Kingdom, but also throughout the region.
GULFSANDS
Gulfsands Petroleum PLC, an oil and gas production, exploration and development company with activities in Syria, Iraq, and the United States, has said that stabilized oil production through the Khurbet East Early Production Facility (EPF) now exceeds 11,500 barrels of 25.7 degree API oil per day (bpd), with production from three vertical and two horizontal wells. Oil production through the Khurbet East EPF commenced on July 21 with initial production from the KHE-4 vertical well. Additional wells were successively brought online, and daily average production through the month of August was approximately 5600 bopd. Upon completion of the production startup phase on 5th September, all five wells are online and daily production was increased to in excess of 11,500 bpd with only trace amounts of water. Total field production to date has been in excess of 260,000 barrels of oil with the oil being transported by truck approximately 33 km from the EPF to a processing facility operated by the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC). Sufficient trucking capacity had been pre-arranged in order to transport these daily volumes. The production startup phase included a pressure monitoring program designed to obtain data to be used to improve reservoir and field performance. Surface and down-hole pressure gauges were installed in all wells. Individual wells were shut-in for pre-planned periods to monitor reservoir pressure behavior. On Sept. 5, the company completed the initial data gathering phase and the down-hole memory gauges were pulled from the wells. In-house and external engineering professionals are currently analyzing the data. The results of these analyses, combined with real-time production information, will be used for reservoir management as well as full-field development planning and design purposes.
RAKAA
The property market in the UAE is seen as one of the most productive markets in the region. It has recorded a growth rate of 20 percent in Abu Dhabi over the last year, according to recent statistics by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This growth is the result of the various big projects unveiled in Abu Dhabi, at a combined cost of AED200 billion, bringing the total cost of projects currently under construction or in the design phase in Abu Dhabi to $466 billion, a 30 percent increase over the projected cost presented at “Cityscape” 2007, where predicted costs were estimated at $327 billion. The total cost of projects in Abu Dhabi is set to increase, given the growing number of projects under development in the emirate and the number required in order to satisfy the needs of residents and investors alike. Meanwhile, profits are down to 15 percent, having peaked at 100 percent with the initial rise of competition, new alliances and the emergence of several powerful new entities in the market. Lower profits are attributable to lack of opportunities, the scarcity of reputable contracting companies and the increasing costs of basic development materials, such as concrete, on which there has been a 400 percent price hike in a single year,” Rakaa Properties CEO Abdul Rahman Al-Tassan said. Al-Tassan, whose company is currently developing two residential towers on Al-Reem Island using SMART building technology, says the introduction of value added tax will have two major implications for the local economy, one of which is advantageous and the other, disadvantageous.
