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Egypt: Authority to demand EŁ 30mn for oil spill
Bahrain: AIG forms takaful unit
Egypt: Banque du Caire to merge with Banque Misr
UAE: Recall on Actifed with erroneous printed packaging
UAE: ICCS for faster cheque-clearing process
Bahrain: Smart card project to go ahead
Turkey: Citigroup pays US$ 3.1bn for 20% of Akbank
Egypt: AUB secures IFC loan to acquire Delta
UAE: Per capita traffic death rate inches down
Qatar: Guidelines on the disposal of medical waste
Saudi Arabia: Report on card fraud cases
Kuwait: Campaign to fight software piracy to be boosted
Syria: US$ 700mn losses due environmental deterioration
Egypt: Authority to demand EŁ 30mn for oil spill
The Daily Star (Egypt), 09 Oct 2006,:--
The Canal Authority of Egypt would demand some EŁ 30mn (US$ 5.23mn EUR 4.12mn) from Trade Maestro, the owner of a Liberian tanker P C Anna, which spilled oil in the country's Suez Canal. Apart from that, tourist resort owners and local fishermen are also seeking EŁ 15mn in damages, while Egypt's environmental agency has demanded a further EŁ 10mn in compensations, bringing the aggregate claims against the P C Anna to EŁ 55mn. .
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Bahrain: AIG forms takaful unit
Gulf Daily News, 02 Oct 2006,:--
"AIG has recently formed a new Takaful Company in Bahrain that will offer
a full range of takaful products. The company, named AIG Takaful - Enaya, will
provide property, accident and health, motor, casualty and personal contents
insurance products to local customers. The Sharia supervisory board of the
firm will consist of several Sharia scholars including Dr Imram Usmani, Sheikh
Nizam Yaquby and Dr Mohammed Elgari."
Egypt: Banque du Caire to merge with Banque Misr
Khaleej Times, 08 Oct 2006,:-
n an effort to overcome bad debt woes, Egypt's third largest state-owned bank, Banque du Caire, is set to merge with Banque Misr by 2006-end. Early retirement for both banking firms' workforce will not be a compulsion. Banque Misr is the second biggest state-owned bank in Egypt.
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UAE: Recall on Actifed with erroneous printed packaging
Gulf News, 09 Oct 2006,:-
With a printing error found on the dosage intake of Actifed cold medication in Abu Dhabi, the General Medical Services Authority has retracted all products with the faulty package at markets and pharmacies in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The packages will be recalled and sent to local distributors and agent for amends to be done. The imprint mistake is the 5.2ml dosage stated for children aged from two to five years old, when it should be 2.5ml.
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UAE: ICCS for faster cheque-clearing process
Gulf News, 19 Oct 2006,:-
According to information technology service provider Raqmiyat, 35 of the 46 banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had registered themselves for a cheque-clearing system with shorter clearance process called Image Cheque Clearing System (ICCS). UAE is expected to launch the system before the close of 2006 or in early 2007, when minimum 40 banks in UAE would have been prepared to adopt the system.
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Bahrain: Smart card project to go ahead
Gulf Daily News, 17 Oct 2006,:-
As part of its e-government project, Bahrain has given final approval for its new smart card system to go ahead, with the new cards to carry personal data including health records and to have an option of also serving as an electronic wallet. The cards will replace the old CPR card, with citizens to pay BD 2 (US$ 5.31 EUR 4.18) for a basic card and BD 5 for the wallet version.
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Turkey: Citigroup pays US$ 3.1bn for 20% of Akbank
Middle East Times, 18 Oct 2006,:-
On 17 October 2006, the US-based Citigroup has revealed that it was acquiring a 20% stakeholding of Akbank, the third biggest bank in term of assets in Turkey. The stake is priced at approximately US$ 3.1bn (EUR 2.44bn). According to the two parties, Citibank has obtained the first refusal's right to purchase any other Akbank shares that might be offered by Turkey's conglomerate Sabanci Holding, Akbank's major stakeholder.
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Egypt: AUB secures IFC loan to acquire Delta
Middle East Economic Digest Online, 19 Oct 2006,:-
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is reported to be gearing to extend a US$ 200mn loan to a consortium led by Ahli United Bank (AUB). It is understood that AUB will use the ten-year loan to finance the acquisition of an 89.3% stake in Egypt's Delta International Bank. IFC will also take a 10% stake in Delta.
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UAE: Per capita traffic death rate inches down
Gulf News, 18 Oct 2006,:-
The per capita death rate for each 100,000 [accidents] has inched down from 19.6
in 2005 to 17.5 in 2006, says the Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department
in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein. In the
year 2005, there was 170,000 minor accidents. Pedestrians made up of 40% of all
the road accident deaths on average, particularly on highways.
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Qatar: Guidelines on the disposal of medical waste
The Peninsula, 19 Oct 2006,:-
In Qatar, private and government health centres, pharmaceutical units, research centres, pharmacies and pathological laboratories are required to adhere to guidelines, which are published in an official gazette, on how to dispose their medical waste. Laboratories, medical research centres, healthcare providers and pharmacies have been requested to establish proper waste storage facilities, which are easily accessible, in their premises. These storage facilities with temperatures from 15 degree Celsius to 18 degree Celsius, are disallowed to store waste for over 24 hours. The medical wastes should be categorised into non-harzardous and hazardous and be kept either in red or bright yellow plastic bags before disposing them to the waste producer. The Supreme Council for Environment and Natural Reserves would undertake the supervisory role to strictly monitor the medical waste disposal activities of pharmacies, laboratories and health centres in the country.
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Saudi Arabia: Report on card fraud cases
Arab News, 17 Oct 2006,:-
In Kuwait, authorities will boost their campaign for combating software piracy via a line of conferences, training sessions and seminars aimed at certain groups in society such as students, private and public sector organisations, information technology resellers and the public. The campaign will focus on the disadvantages of software piracy as well as the negative effects of software piracy on the economy. The campaign will be boosted in alliance with Business Software Alliance. The software piracy rate of the nation was lowered to 66% in 2005 from 68% in 2004.
Lowering the local software piracy rate by 10 percentage points could add close to US$ 350mn (EUR 275.83mn) to the economy. This was revealed in an International Data Corporation (IDC) study.
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Kuwait: Campaign to fight software piracy to be boosted
Khaleej Times, 17 Oct 2006,:-
The per capita death rate for each 100,000 [accidents] has inched down from 19.6
in 2005 to 17.5 in 2006, says the Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department
in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein. In the
year 2005, there was 170,000 minor accidents. Pedestrians made up of 40% of all
the road accident deaths on average, particularly on highways.
© Esmerk
Link to original article in English
Syria: US$ 700mn losses due environmental deterioration
Syria Times, 18 Oct 2006,:-
In Syria, losses due to environmental deterioration are more than US$ 700mn (EUR 0.55bn) annually. A sum of US$ 350mn projected to be needed annually over a 10-year period is needed to finance the preventive methods against random urbanisation, health problems due to air pollution, depletion of water resources and soil productivity deterioration. The figures were mentioned in a World Bank research recently. In 2006, cost of desertification will reach SYŁ 17bn (US$ 325.61mn EUR 256.61mn). Also, cost of air pollution in the cities is SYŁ 3bn. Total economic cost of environmental deterioration is slated to be SYŁ 30bn.
© Esmerk
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Monthly Newsletter | November 2006