Tag Archives: weather
DFM hits five-year high on bourse merger report
DFM hits five-year high on bourse merger report Agencies / 3 October 2013 The Dubai stock index climbed to the highest in almost five years, led by the Dubai Financial Market, after reports that the emirate and Abu Dhabi have hired banks for a possible merger of their bourses. The DFM General Index gained 2.67 per cent to 2,829.53 points, the strongest close since November 2008. The measure has climbed 22 per cent from a two-month low in September, entering a bull market. The Abu Dhabi market rose 0.64 per cent to 3,861.79 points. The shares of the DFM, the only publicly traded exchange in the region, surged 15 per cent, the most in four months. Dubai Investments also soared 15 per cent, the most since 2009. “Abu Dhabi and Dubai aim to reach an agreement on the merger of the exchanges by the end of the year,” Reuters reported. In April 2012, Abdullah Al Turaifi, chief executive officer of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), said the owners of the bourses may “hopefully” decide by the end of that year on whether to consolidate their operations. “The DFM isn’t party to any merger talks,” the company said in a statement posted on the bourse website. A Reuters report citing sources said Abu Dhabi has hired US investment bank JP Morgan Chase and First Gulf Bank to advise on the merger. One source said Abu Dhabi’s mandate came from the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the top policy-making body in the emirate. Investment Corporation of Dubai, the flagship holding company which owns stakes in many of Dubai’s top entities, including DFM’s parent, Borse Dubai, has hired Citigroup to advise on the matter, according to the sources. Continue reading
Dubai set for massive facelift
Dubai set for massive facelift (Wam) / 3 October 2013 His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday inaugurated the Dubai Water Canal which will connect the Business Bay with the Arabian Gulf passing through the heart of Dubai at a total cost of about $2 billion. Dubai will also take another shot at a world record with the launch of the largest artificial lagoon which, when completed, will cover 40 hectares. The date of completion has not been announced by developer Crystal Lagoons, who said it will be four times bigger than the existing world’s largest artificial lagoon in Sharm El Shaikh resort in Egypt. Shaikh Mohammed with Shaikh Hamdan, Shaikh Maktoum, Lt-Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim and Mattar Al Tayer during the inauguration of the Dubai Water Canal on Wednesday. — Wam The Dubai crystalline lagoon project will be located in the up-scale Mohammed Bin Rashid City — District One residential community. The developer said the lagoon will form an integral part of the $7 billion community project. Wednesday’s Dubai Water Canal inauguration ceremony was attended by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; other Shaikhs and ministers. Courtesy: Youtube.com/Sheikhmohammed.ae Shaikh Mohammed was briefed about the state-of-the-art tourist and commercial project which offers a new lifestyle in the heart of Dubai and on both banks of the canal. He also reviewed the constituents of the project which stretches from the Business Bay up to the Arabian Gulf in a waterway stretching 3km in length and 80- 120 metres in width. The Canal crosses Shaikh Zayed Road (between Al Safa Interchange and the first interchange) and passes across Safa Park, Al Wasl Road, and Jumeirah 2 to terminate in the Arabian Gulf. All construction works of the project’s infrastructure, including drilling and building bridges, is set for completion in 2017. The canal will add 6km to Dubai’s waterfront, while the project will provide an area of over 80,000sqm dedicated to public places equipped with outstanding facilities that meet the expectations and requirements of visitors of all segments of society. The project encompasses new shop-ping and entertainment centres linked through a uniquely designed bridge, more than 450 new restaurants along with a wide array of luxurious marinas for yachts, and four world-class hotels. At the entrance of the project from Shaikh Zayed Road, an iconic Trade Centre will be constructed comprising four levels, including one underground level and three elevated levels linking the Business Bay with the project zone in a total area of more than 50,000 sqm. The development of the water-front will allow for the construction of deluxe residences and private marinas for boats along with pedestrian pathways, cycling tracks, together with fine business outlets, hotels and deluxe restaurants. The project will boost the position of the Jumeirah area as a premier and distinctive tourist destination in Dubai. The project is expected to attract 20 to 22 million visitors per annum. The ‘Dubai Water Canal’ will have a depth of six metres and bridges above it will rise more than eight metres, offering free navigation for deluxe yachts extending up to 200 feet. The canal will ensure the replenishment of water supplies in the entire Business Bay Canal automatically without any need for pumps. An extra flushing capacity will be added to the Dubai Creek when the canal is connected to the Business Bay, by approximately 250 million cubic metres per year. The total tidal water exchange through the canal is estimated to be around 800 million cubic metre per year, and the canal is anticipated to have a cooling effect, benchmarking to a similar project “Cheong Gye Cheon” man-made canal in Seoul, where the recorded thermal reduction reached -3.6 C. Explaining the project, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said that due to the enormity of the project scale, it has been divided into three contracts. The first and the second cover building bridges over the canal linking with the key roads intercepting the canal course; which are Shaikh Zayed Road spanning eight lanes in each direction, and three lanes on each side of Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Road. These crossings are constructed 8.5 metres above the water level, thus allowing for a round the clock free navigation in the canal. Al Tayer added that the third contract encompasses drilling and landscaping works as well as the construction of four pedestrian crossings. Four marine stations will be constructed to ease the mobility of the public and promote the public and tourist transport. The marine transit modes are expected to ferry more than six million passengers per annum, according to the marine transport plan in Dubai. Al Tayer added that the RTA will carry out several improvements on the key roads intersecting the canal as well as the surrounding areas such as Jumeirah and Al Safa neighbourhood, including the construction of roads alongside the canal to assist the mobility between those districts. As for pedestrians, a free and safe movement will be provided through three new pedestrian bridges across the canal in addition to footpaths on all the new main bridges passing over the canal. Moreover, tracks dedicated to practising light sports, such as jogging & cycling, will be constructed along both sides of the canal. Landscaping works will also be made in both sides of the canal including greens, benches, public relaxation areas, and various other facilities and tourist-oriented projects. Continue reading
India, Pakistan leaders reach no concrete agreements
India, Pakistan leaders reach no concrete agreements (Reuters) / 30 September 2013 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, agreed on Sunday to work to restore a cross-border ceasefire after a spate of shootings in order to improve strained ties, officials said. Singh and Sharif met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, amid heightened tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the Kashmir region, sparked by series of fatal clashes on their de facto Himalayan border. India emerged from the meeting of more than an hour calling the talks “useful” while Pakistan called the atmosphere “very positive.” They both expressed a desire to improve ties but agreed that “peace and tranquillity across the LOC (Line of Control) is a precondition,” Indian national security adviser Shivshankar Menon told reporters in New York. “We need to address the issues that we face today and then we hope to move it forward,” he said. Pakistan’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters the New York meeting set the stage for future cooperation even though they did not reach specific agreements. “The most significant aspect of the meeting was that the leaders expressed their commitment to … better relations between the two countries,” he told reporters at a separate New York briefing. “Both sides wish to see a better India-Pakistan relationship than we have today,” said Menon. A series of fatal clashes along the so-called Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan have killed at least eight soldiers from both countries in less than two months. The South Asia Terrorism Portal, a website that tracks the violence, says this year’s toll is 44 members of the security forces, up from 17 for all of last year. In their speeches to the U.N. General Assembly, both leaders said they wanted to improve relations between their countries, which have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. The two prime ministers agreed to instruct military officials to work together to develop a mechanism to stop ceasefire violations, Menom and Jalil said. The two leaders accepted invitations to visit each other’s countries, but no dates were set, Menon added. Continue reading
