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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Rolex Tower,Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai

Rolex Tower,Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai



Tuesday, February 24, 2009

RTA completes Marinas Project at the Floating Bridge to assist Dubai Police Marine Rescue Operations







RTA completes Marinas Project at the Floating Bridge to assist Dubai Police Marine Rescue Operations


Dubai (United Arab Emirates): H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Road & Transport Authority (RTA) announced the completion of Marinas Project at both ends of the Floating Bridge. The project is intended to serve marine rescue operations of Dubai Police, boats of Dubai Golf Club, Album Tourist Village and visitors of the Creek Park.

“This Project is part of RTA efforts to facilitate the smooth operation of Dubai Police Marine Rescue Patrols and support the deployment of marine rescue teams 24 hours a day” said Al Tayer. He added: “They will ensure prompt access to the intended locations through the waterways to deliver security & safety services to the operators of abras, water bus, and users of marine mass transit modes as well as visitors of these water canals. The whole exercise adds to the realization of RTA vision to provide safe and smooth transport for all.

“The Project, which has a total cost of about 11 million dirham, includes a special marina for Dubai Golf Club and Album Tourist Village, was designed to accommodate 17 different sized boats with length extending up to 45 meters. The left part of the Project contains a marina for the exclusive use of Marine Rescue Dep’t at Dubai Police which has been designed at the highest global standards and is capable of harbouring three boats of different sizes.

“RTA Marine Agency constructed a 100 square meter building to house the accessories of Marine Rescue Personnel as well as offices to facilitate entry & exit operations of marine personnel. RTA also completed the construction of two stations to serve the passengers of the water bus and the water taxi as contribution by Marine Agency towards easing traffic congestion in that busy area. Both stations are expected to be operational by the end of February 2009.

“RTA also constructed a Customer Service Office to provide information and guidance to the public and it is being linked with other locations within the Creek to provide integrated services to tourists, the public and clients at all stations, particularly Heritage & Diving Village Station which is being linked with the terminal location of the Creek Park, all fully provided with the essential services needed by the public.

“The Marinas Project is one of the key and vital projects to upgrade the level of service delivered and enhance the efficiency of security & safety level; which ranks high among RTA priorities. RTA has recently developed a Security & Safety Manual which aims to raise the awareness of security & safety aspects, and display the key preventative instructions to achieve top quality safety standards for all visitors of water canals in the emirate of Dubai. The Manual also addresses other matters such as how to contribute to protecting marine habitat and the best methods applicable in this regard for the benefit of operators of abras and the water bus as well as commuters of marine mass transit modes.

Smart bankers and clever investment gurus took the world into financial crisis, says regional expert

Smart bankers and clever investment gurus took the world into financial crisis, says regional expert

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 February, 2009: Panic is spreading all over the globe as no one is sure how much damage the current crisis could cause before it’s over, according to a regional expert.
Speaking at a conference held in Dubai, recently, Zed Ayesh, Managing Director, Flagship Consultancy, said insecurity persists because the current global financial system is based on the predictability of consumer behavior patterns.
"Modernization and globalization brought the world closer together more than ever before, allowing easier global capital flows and offering opportunities for investment gurus, bankers and other financial master minds to compete to attract such wealth to create more profits for themselves by offering high returns on new capital. The higher the returns the more capital (investment) you attract, the more capital the bankers have the bigger promises they can make, sell and trade.
“The funny thing is that those bankers take real money and give the investor a promise with interest on that promise, the investor in his turn takes that promise and uses it to make more promises for loans that he uses to buy more promises. So more promises can be bought and sold on the basis of higher interest," added Ayesh.
Financial institutions make their profit from employing the money of others and then charging higher than their cost to manage the money. Over time bankers have figured out that in normal market conditions the (cash) needed to keep things floating is around 10% from money deposited in the bank (demand accounts); financial institutions then borrow cash from one another through the central banks overnight, to cover any (cash) shortage they may have incurred - this is done at an interest rate called repo. As a last resort, central banks themselves charge interest known as a central funds rate.
Banks hold promise notes (repayment agreements) from borrowers to repay the borrowed money back to the bank at a given interest rate. Banks can then take such promise notes and borrow money from other financial institutions against such promise notes at lower interest rates and re-lend that money. From this they can obtain further promise notes and borrow more money against it, and lend more money and make more profits; this is known as money circulations.
From the actual borrower to the holder of the last promise note, many interlinked chains of financial institutions will be involved in the process at different levels of involvements; and globalization will add more complex integration to the entities involved in such chains.
Over time the money circulations got bigger and bigger as it’s easy for financial institutions to create more money through promise notes and bundling those promise notes in such a way that no one can understand. With the emergence of a new breed of bankers and investment gurus that get paid millions of Dollars by making more promises, trading more promises and even betting on which promises will be paid or not. Even some more creative bankers bundled the bets on promises (known as Derivatives) and sold those bundles as investment tools and/or insurance (hedge) funds.
Ayesh added: "This is the global financial system in simple terms and the collapse of this system is simple: sooner or later those promises will be due for payment (maturity) and some will have to pay for them, so when the time comes, and a significant amount of promises cannot be paid simultaneously, this will cause the financial chain to break."
The true crisis is a trust crisis, not a financial one as the entire system is built on turning intangible investments (promises) into tangibles (money supplies).
Ayesh concluded: "Even with the help of all governments and central banks across the globe, the current financial system will continue to struggle. Every few years a financial crisis will hit this system. Further study is critical in order to identify, understand and separate the winners and the losers in the current financial system upturns and downturns."

Ahmed Abdul Rahim Al Attar and Khalid Al Attar Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai

Ahmed Abdul Rahim Al Attar and Khalid Al Attar Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai





Monday, February 23, 2009

RTA Unleashes Dubai Taxi Drivers’ Performance Scheme, Allocates AED2m as Annual Bonuses






RTA Unleashes Dubai Taxi Drivers’ Performance Scheme, Allocates AED2m as Annual Bonuses


Dubai - (Roads & Transport Authority): Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) at Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) announced that it has launched yesterday DTC Drivers’ Performance Scheme as a benchmark of Drivers’ Merit and Demerit Points Scheme. The Scheme will be implemented by Quality, Health, Safety & Environment and Strategic Planning Section at DTC.

The above Scheme was unveiled in a ceremony held by DTC at Dubai Institute for Human Resources Development attended by Abdul Aziz Malik, CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation, along with a number of department directors and section managers at DTC. 19 drivers of DTC were rewarded for their distinguished performance and obtaining “Excellent” rating.

“Unleashing of DTC Drivers’ Performance Scheme aims to meet a host of objectives that include improving the level of services delivered by cabdrivers to taxi passengers, introducing an effective scheme to assess the daily performance of drivers, minimizing the number of accidents, identifying & improving poor driver’s performance, and rewarding the distinguished drivers. A sum of two million dirham is being allocated as annual bonuses under this Scheme” said the CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation.

Malik further added: “We track the excellent performance of drivers and reward the efforts of drivers who earn points in recognition of their efforts to upgrade the level of service delivered to the public. In judging the rewards payable to drivers we rely on several inputs & perimeters that include complaints received from clients, income raised by the driver and income per one kilometer, accidents, traffic fines, and black points. Drivers will be classified into four categories; Excellent, Very Good, Good, and Fair.

“Drivers’ Merit and Demerit Points Scheme is applied through tracking the mistakes made by drivers and holding them accountable by means of having negative points registered against them based on several grounds. Examples of these include breaching the permissible error thresholds where the driver is held responsible for errors committed, violating traffic regulations, excessive speed, and recurrent complaints filed by customers against drivers.

“RTA is always keen on delivering top-class services to clients from various segments of the community. DTC will rehabilitate the drivers with poor performance through exposing them to training courses to uplift their performance and rectify their mistakes. However, penalties might extend up to the level of terminating the service of drivers whose mistakes overreach the permissible limits. RTA views cabdrivers as ambassadors in view of their daily interaction with a wide spectrum of community members” added Malik in a final remark.

It is worth-mentioning that Merit Points Incentive, developed by DTC to reward taxi drivers, provides for quarterly rewarding of drivers who earn 100 points with 300 dirham in cash, 100 dirham as shopping voucher, a certificate of appreciation and other prizes. Drivers who manage to obtain 98 points will get a cash payment of 100 dirham plus a shopping voucher of 100 dirham as well, whereas drivers obtaining 95-97 points will obtain 100-dirham shopping vouchers.

Total value of real estate projects under construction in the GCC is more than USD 2.39 trillion

Total value of real estate projects under construction in the GCC is more than USD 2.39 trillion

DubaiFocus offers comprehensive and up-to-date information on property investment deals within Dubai real estate market
February 23, 2009

The total value of real estate projects under construction in the GCC is more than USD 2.39 trillion, reports FutureBrand - a REIDIN.com Information Partner. In addition, investments from across the GCC into the Dubai real estate market have crossed AED 5 billion in 2008, thereby underlining the emirate’s strong pull among regional real estate players and its role in driving the UAE’s position in global land sales rankings, where it currently holds the fourth highest spot. A comprehensive collection of reports and data on real estate deals and transactions within Dubai is being offered by REIDIN.com, the world’s first and leading global online information services provider, through its product ‘DUBAIFocus’, the first exclusive online information product that tracks real estate deals and transactions in Dubai.

In 2008, the UAE has accounted for 5.8 per cent of worldwide land sales, which also reflected an increase of 1.348 per cent since 2007, according to FutureBrand. The highest total GCC investment into Dubai came from the Saudi Arabian investors, who pumped over AED 2 billion into the market, followed by Kuwaiti investors, who have shelled out more than AED 1 billion. Although a distant third, Omani investments into the Dubai real estate sector have topped AED 818 million, which is followed by Bahraini and Qatari investors, who have injected AED 615 million and AED 117 million respectively into the emirate’s property market. Despite a projected slowdown on the UAE economy’s growth from an expected 7.7 per cent in 2008 to 1.5 per cent in 2009, real estate investments are still continuously being funnelled from various GCC countries, which indicate strong consumer trust in the market.

With an ever-growing repute as one of the top destinations for multibillion dollar developments, Dubai plays a pivotal role in the growth of the real estate market within the GCC. Although there are speculations of a drop on the GCC’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 from 6 per cent to a minimal 2.8 per cent, continuous activity within Dubai’s real estate sector can still be expected due to the government’s efforts to soften the impact of the credit crunch by ensuring liquidity and supporting major developments.

According to information cited by REIDIN.com, the Dubai Government has spent about 33 per cent of its budget or USD 12 billion on infrastructure, with aims to cater to the emirate’s rapidly growing population, which welcomes a total of 25,000 people per month or 33 people per hour. With a comprehensive database dating back to 1973, ‘DubaiFocus’ provides daily information on all types of land, villa and flat deals, including sales, mortgage, lease, grant, inheritance that transpire within the emirate, with aims of addressing the unique requirements of real estate market professionals. As a testament to the credibility of its information, REIDIN.com’s exclusive partner and primary data source for this first-of-its-kind information service includes the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and the Dubai Land Department.

“The real estate market is facing unique challenges today, with issues on liquidity and investor confidence posing significant threats to development progress and investment return promised by development companies to their customers. However, based on the trends, which we have established by looking into the extensive bank of market information at our disposal, we are positive that the Dubai property market will still be the busiest, as transactions and investments will remain comparatively high. With the USA and Europe reeling over the repercussions of the economic crisis, we predict a considerable rise in foreign investments who will be heading towards more stable regions such as the GCC, especially Dubai,” said Ahmet Kayhan, CEO, REIDIN.com.

In addition to DUBAIFocus, REIDIN.com's current products in the region include ‘INDEXFocus’ and ‘REBIS’ (Real Estate Business Information Service). As the world’s first and leading global online information services provider, REIDIN.com has entered into strategic partnership agreements with more than 70 major firms including CB Richard Ellis, Deutsche Bank Research, Pramerica Real Estate, NAI Global, ImpressMedia, ASSAP Media, EuropaProperty, HVS International, AMEinfo.com, AII, Xinhua Finance, Global Investment House, AT Kearney and the UNCTAD, to create a one-of-a-kind database that will be regarded as the most trusted source for information about the real estate sector in the emerging markets. For further information please visit: www.reidin.com.

GCC's USD 204 billion upstream projects drive new investment prospects across energy value chain

GCC's USD 204 billion upstream projects drive new investment prospects across energy value chain

OGS 2009 creates new business-to-business platform to strengthen strategic link between upstream and downstream segments

February 23, 2009
OGS 2009, the 16th edition of the premier oil, gas, renewable energy and automation event expects a sharp surge in participation as a result of a growing regional focus on upstream oil projects, which is reflected by a nine per cent increase in upstream investments in the GCC, from USD 188 billion in June 2008 to a current estimate of USD 204 billion. Accordingly, OGS 2009 will be held from 27th to 29th October 29 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre featuring an augmented Oil and Gas segment complemented by an upstream networking energy forum with a focus on environmentally-friendly techniques for oil and gas procurement.

Statistics from Proleads data confirmed a marked surge in upstream oil and gas investments, counting 265 projects in January 2009 or a 10.9 per cent increase from just 239 in June 2008.

"The oil and gas sector will remain a very important economic driver in the region and a critical resource for the global economy. As such, despite recent economic challenges, it is only natural for the GCC to continue its oil and gas investments, particularly in exploration and development projects to replenish declining reserves, replace and upgrade deteriorating assets and ensure long-term supply. With a renewed and expanded format for the Oil and Gas segment, OGS 2009 has been positioned to provide a strategic link between the upstream and downstream value chains, enabling industry players to optimise business opportunities, create new partner networks and synergise to overcome new challenges," said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director, International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), the organisers of OGS.

At the same time, there is a realisation that conventional energy resources can be bolstered by renewable energy investments. Not just that, but the environmental impact of making available conventional sources of energy can be minimised through new green technologies and methods.

Published statistics have indicated that the UAE, home to the fifth largest oil reserves in the Middle East, accounts for the highest increase in upstream oil and gas investments, pushing expenditure by 30 per cent to USD 55 billion from USD 42 billion. Qatar has likewise upped oil and gas investments from USD 7 billion to USD 10 billion, including an 11 per cent increase in upstream gas investments, while Kuwait, the most hydrocarbon-reliant country in the GCC, has raised its budget to USD 40 billion from 34 billion.

Bahrain has been reported to be focusing its attention towards drilling deeper oil reserves, while Oman has been targeting to expand crude oil production to 800,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from its current rate of 750,000 bpd. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of crude oil, has unveiled a strategy to access more than 720 billion barrels of discovered oil resources.

Distinguished as the premier regional platform for procurement and networking in the conventional energy sector, the Oil and Gas segment of OGS 2009 will feature an expanded and renewed format in response to evolving market needs in the GCC. The segment will also continue to focus on hydrocarbon technology, extraction techniques, storage and transport infrastructure.

OGS 2009 holds true to its trade roots as well, with an emphasis on setting up a business to business forum for sourcing the building blocks of modern manufacturing, energy and automation industries. Showcasing an industrial cross-section of technology and machinery, the Instrumentation, Automation and Laboratory Technology segment will focus on analytical instrumentation, lab technology, bio technology, testing and measurement, process control and automation, and technologies for the water, power, renewable energy and oil and gas sectors. The segment, which also encompasses diverse sectors such as medicine, manufacturing, construction, municipal services, aviation and energy, will explore the technological and mechanical roots underpinning modern industry.

HHHR Tower,Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai

HHHR Tower,Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai




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