The United Arab Emirates' rail company has ordered seven locomotives for delivery by 2012 from Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), a unit of Caterpillar Inc, the UAE firm said on Sunday.
State-owned Etihad Rail plans to complete UAE's 40 billion dirham ($10.9 billion) rail project in the next seven to eight years, and later link it to other regional lines in the Gulf Arab region.
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A looming US debt default may not have any immediate repercussion on the UAE economy, but the crisis might further dent the value of dirham that is pegged to a sinking dollar, further fuelling domestic inflation.
The UAE Central Bank, in a bid to soothe public fears about the negative implications of a possible US default on the UAE economy, said on Thursday it was not presently holding any US treasury bonds or any other financial instruments issued by the US government “due to the very low return on holding such instruments.” The Central Bank added that it was confident that the US officials would meet the August 2 deadline on raising the country’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.
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Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by around 3.8 per cent in real terms in 2010 and is expected to sharply pick up by nearly 6.5 per cent this year because of higher oil output and public spending, a key Saudi bank said on Thursday.
The world’s top oil exporter and largest Arab economy is expected to overshoot its budgeted expenditure by more than a third in 2011, tempted by a surge in crude prices and its foreign assets, the Saudi American Bank (Samba) said.
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Emaar Properties, the builder of the world’s tallest tower, on Tuesday recorded a net operating profit of Dh843 million in the first six months of 2011, and said it would roll out a five-year corporate strategic action plan to drive long-term value creation.
Despite a drop in delivery of new units in the second quarter, the better performance was due to “superior performance of the hospitality and malls businesses and higher margins,” the Dubai-based developer said.
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Investors in the White Bay project, now under liquidation, are being offered a property swap option by a Dubai-based developer, who claims to have approval from the liquidators to make such an offer, Emirates 24|7 can reveal.
“We are presenting this offer with the permission of liquidators. The offer is part of our move towards offering a viable solution to affected customers from other developers. This also adjusts the new sales of our own units,” Ahmed Shaikhani, Managing Director, Memon Investments, said in an emailed response.
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Saudi Arabia’s foreign assets are forecast to reach a new peak of SR1.9 trillion at the end of 2011, the National Commercial Bank, or NCB, said.
The sustained strong oil prices coupled with higher crude output pushed the Kingdom’s foreign assets to a record high of more than SR1.8 trillion at the end of May this year.
The bank said the country boosted supply to one of its highest levels of 9.4 million bpd to offset Libya’s supply disruption. It noted that in recent years, the Kingdom’s policy of stockpiling foreign assets has been noticeable, adding that this policy has not changed.
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Investment bank Rasmala reckons a 20 per cent downside potential to property prices in Dubai, estimating that an additional 35,000 homes will be delivered in the emirate between 2011 and 2013 – boosting the existing housing stock of an estimated 330,000 units by about 10 per cent.
“We believe the Dubai residential market may see delivery of 30,000-35,000 units of apartments and villas combined between 2011 and 2013, upon an existing supply base of roughly 330,000 units. This translates into roughly 10 per cent incremental supply over three years, which we believe will further depress real state asset values,” the bank said today in a report on the UAE’s real estate market.
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Dubai's housing market still has nearly a third too much supply and prices will plummet by another 10 per cent, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
Residential property prices in the emirate will fall 58 percent from a peak in the third quarter of 2008 according to the median estimate of 11 banks, investment firms and research institutions.
Rentals will, however, fall by five per cent in 2011 and one per cent next year, the median forecast showed.
Abu Dhabi rentals are expected to drop 10 percent this year and two per cent in 2012.Many expat professionals in the country consider the UAE a good place to work in, according to a poll conducted by Emirates 24|7.
Places like Singapore and India, have become very favourable after the recession but according to experts the choice may be due to other factors and not just the salary levels.
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The Dubai Government has categorically denied media reports that it has received offers to sell its financial assets.
Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre and member of the Supreme Fiscal Committee, said Dubai has not received any offers to sell financial assets.
A statement issued by the Dubai Government Media Office said that Al Tayer also denied that Borse Dubai had received an offer for the purchase of its shares in the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and emphasised that Borse Dubai was not looking to dispose of its investment in LSE.
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A dozen flights bound for London from the UAE were cancelled on Sunday as Heathrow Airport remained shut leaving thousands of frustrated passengers stranded worldwide.
Ahmed Al Haddabi, Senior Vice-President, Airports Operations at ADAC, told Khaleej Times that five flights were cancelled in Abu Dhabi while an official at the Dubai International Airport, who requested anonymity, confirmed seven flights were cancelled. Both said that the cancellations also included return flights to the UAE.
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A Dubai website is advertising stays in a one-bedroom Burj Khalifa apartment for as little as a one night stretch.
The mydubaistay.com site says the signature apartment on the 19th floor of the world’s tallest tower is available from $286 per night, and can sleep up to four people.
When contacted by Arabian Business, an official at mydubaistay.com said that the apartment had only recently been put up for rent, and that it was the only one of its kind on their books. He declined to reveal the identity of the landlord.
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United Parcel Service is requiring photo identification for retail shipping as it expands security during its peak season following the interception of a parcel bomb at Dubai airport in October, it was announced this week.
The world's largest package delivery company, which expects a 7.5 percent rise to about 430m deliveries this holiday season, said this week that retail customers will not be permitted to ship without a government-issued picture ID at the UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc and authorized shipping outlets worldwide.
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