Majid Hassan will be joining Mirabaud Asset Management as the new head of business development focused on Middle East investors. Hassan will be seeking out investors from a wide range of backgrounds, including banks, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds from within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Hassan will be headquartered in Mirabaud’s Dubai… Continue Reading
According to data supplied by the International Air Transport Authority, demand for air travel soared in April, 2014, by 18.6 percent. The figures represent the largest growth for any region in the world. Capacity also climbed by 13.1 percent while the load factor increased by 3.8 percent bringing the total to a respectable 80.8 percent,… Continue Reading
Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal once again topped the list of the world’s richest Arabs according to the Forbes annual survey. His net worth is estimated to be $20.4 billion. Coming in second place on the Arab scale is the Lebanese-Brazilian banking magnate Joseph Safra, with about $16 billion in wealth. The third place… Continue Reading
According to the Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report, Middle East businesses have been confronted by a growing number of cyber-attacks, reaching their highest-ever numbers last year. “Organizations across the Middle East and Africa must realize that it is no longer if they will be targeted by cyber-attacks, but rather when,” said Dr. Tarig Enaya, Managing… Continue Reading
OPEC member Libya, producer of 1.5 percent of global oil supplies, was unable to commit to deliveries of crude oil to its customers in September due to strikes by workers at their major ports. Oil production and supply continued normally until last June, but since then output has taken a nose dive, driving up… Continue Reading
It has not been easy for Evan Burschkopf, CEO of Zarsha Leo, to get his trendy, upscale restaurant bar into the conservative countries of the Middle East, but he has finally succeeded. “It was hard work to convince the authorities that we would refrain from serving alcoholic beverages and only employ foreign nationals on the… Continue Reading
Signs of economic recovery are in the air as several private equity firms in the Middle East prepare to leave a variety of investment vehicles in the coming weeks and months, according to executives in the industry. After the economic challenge of the Arab Spring, compounded by the international financial crisis, investors now feel the… Continue Reading
The Boston Consulting Group, an international management consulting company, announced the appointment of two of its own Principals to Partners. The move is part of BCG’s continued expansion into the Middle East market. The new partners, Hermann Riedl and Dr. Alexander Türpitz, have years of experience in Technology, Telecommunications, Media and the Public Sector with… Continue Reading
The Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority (DTMFZA) is supervising the construction of 40 new buildings, to be finished early this new year. “Overall more than 200 sites are under construction, of which some projects are suspended. The progress of the sites is going on in a normal pace. We expect at least 20… Continue Reading
Hoping to satisfy both taxi owners and their customers, the Land Transport Regulatory Commission in Jordan has decided to create fixed night-time rates for taxis all across the country. The new regulations come after the LTRC received repeated complaints from consumers that taxi drivers do not use their meters at night. Countrywide Law The new… Continue Reading