Masafi to quench delegates' thirst
Dubai-based Masafi, a bottled water market leader, has been named the official supplier of drinking water for the annual meetings of the boards of governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund to be held in Dubai in September 2003.
An agreement to this effect was signed between Ibrahim Belselah, general coordinator of Dubai 2003, and Abdulrahman Seif Al Ghurair, chairman of Masafi Mineral Water Company.
Big 5 will be biggest ever
The Big 5 of 2003, the largest trade show for the construction and contracting industry in the Arabian Gulf, will be larger than ever before when it is held from November 29 to December 3 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre (DIEC). Occupying all available space in the eight exhibition halls of the DIEC, it will feature around 1,500 companies from 50 countries.
Two sections at this year's show will receive special attention: Water Technology & Environment, and Marble/Stone & Machinery.
Power expo to be more diversified
Middle East Electricity 2004, the premier Pan Arab power generation and electricity trade show and conference, will be the largest in the event's history, with organiser IIR Exhibitions contracting for 14,000sq m at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre (DIEC).
Scheduled to take place from February 15-18, the show will for the first time feature three vertical arenas for the power generation, lighting and new and renewable energy sectors.
Record demand for crystal products
Crystal Arc, a leading Dubai-based luxury crystal goods production company, reported a record demand for finished crystal products in the first quarter of 2003.
The company said sales had grown by 70 per cent to date this year.
As part of the growth of its local business, Crystal Arc won a prestigious contract to exclusively craft the 2003 Shaikh Khalifa Industry Award trophies, each of which had to be cut by hand to ensure meeting the standards set by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce.
Guarantees abolished
Emirates Industrial Bank (EIB) has abolished guarantees for loans and reduced lending rates in a move towards promoting industrialisation in the country, a top official of the bank said.
"The bank guarantee for EIB loans is abolished and EIB will finance projects on their own merit," Dr Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, Minister of State for Financial and Industrial Affairs and chairman, EIB, said. EIB has increased its capital from Dh400 million to Dh1 billion and there is a government loan of Dh500 million, it said.
Tea cheers Dubai trade
Just how strong is the role of tea in Dubai trade, particularly re-exports, was revealed recently by a business chamber official. The emirate imports 59,000 tonnes of tea annually worth Dh537 million, but most of this is re-exported to Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the Central Asia countries, said director general of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Rahman Ghanim Al Mutaiwi.
Sri Lanka is the biggest exporter, sending around 360,000 tonnes. Other exporters to Dubai are India, Kenya, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and China. Al Mutaiwi recently met Navin Dissanayaka, the Deputy Plantation Minister of Sri Lanka, who was on a visit to the UAE.
Sagia licenses 187 projects
The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) has granted licences for projects worth SR51 billion ($13.6 billion) since it was set up in April 2000. By May 2003, the kingdom's top investment body had cleared 187 projects. About 26 per cent of the licences went to joint venture projects, and 74 per cent for wholly owned ones.
Russians invited to set up ventures
Abdul Rahman Ghanim Al Mutaiwee, Director General of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has invited Russia to establish industrial production centres in the Emirates as a means to expanding sales to Middle East markets and beyond. Al Mutaiwee said Dubai supplied markets containing 1.5 billion consumers, and it was possible for the industrial establishments in the Emirates to export their goods to those markets.
Sharq launches ERP/SAP system
Sharq, the Eastern Petrochemical Company affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), celebrated the successful implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Systems Applications Products software -- known as ERP/SAP.
ERP/SAP is a new technology infrastructure that enables efficient inter-subsidiary trading processes with real-time reporting and analysis for effective business performance tracking. It allows Sabic to achieve significant cost savings by reducing inventory through tight integration between the production, sales, procurement, and accounting processes of the company's many subsidiaries and affiliated business partners around the globe. Sharq is the first Sabic location in Saudi Arabia to go "live" with the ERP/SAP software.
SGI introduces new product
Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI), a leader in high-performance computing, visualisation and management of complex data, is targeting regional oil and gas companies for its recently introduced Altix 3000 family of servers and superclusters. The breakthrough performance highlights of SGI's Altix 3000 range were presented to oil and gas industry representatives by officials from SGI and Emirates Computers, distributors for SGI products in the UAE, at a recent 'SGI Technology Day Seminar' held in Abu Dhabi.
Napco expanding plant
Oman's National Aluminium Products Company (Napco) is investing RO2.5 million ($6.49 million) for expanding its plant. Napco, the fourth largest aluminium extrusion manufacturer in the Gulf region, says the project is now at an advanced stage.
When completed, the installed capacity of the plant at Rusayl will rise from 8,500 tonnes to 18,000 tonnes per year.
The company manufactures extrusions for applications in architectural and general engineering. With the expansion, the product range will be increased - both in terms of alloys and product size. Most of the civil works on the project have been completed and all major equipment delivered.
Napco exports around 85 per cent of its production, most of it to Gulf Arab states.
