UAE LEADS AGCC STATES IN GNP RISE
The UAE has led the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council, AGCC states in terms of a rise in gross national product, GNP, in 1996, according to a report published by the Saudi Arabian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The report, made available yesterday to the Emirates News, said the Emirates' GNP in 1996 achieved an increase of 10.9%, the highest among the six Gulf states.
The Saudi report pointed out that this was due, in part, to improved petroleum prices but most significantly it was accounted for by a high growth rate of 6.4% in non-petroleum sectors. The report also noted that the rate of inflation in the UAE dropped to 4.0%$ in 1996 from 4.5% in 1995.
The UAE's balance of trade for 1996 registered an increase of Dh 28.0 billion due to the increase in revenues from petroleum exports. Total exports were worth Dh 121.0 billion in 1996, compared to Dh 87.3 billion in 1995. The Saudi report said the UAE's 1997 budget showed an increase of 8.8% at Dh19,863.0 million compared to Dh 18,254.0 million in 1996.
A deficit of Dh 897.0 million in the current budget exceeds by 15.0% an estimated deficit in 1996. The report concluded that the UAE Ministry of Planning was forecasting a 4.5% increase in the GNP growth in 1997, while the non-petroleum sectors would achieve a growth rate of 5.0%. (The AGCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the UAE). (The Emirates News)
ETISALAT AGREEMENT AIMS TO DIVERSIFY REVENUE SOURCES
A recently-signed agreement between the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, ETISALAT, and the Japanese company KDD, to extend a 5,000.0-km marine cable that would cover Qatar, Djibouti, Fujairah, Bombay and Karachi, is part of the UAE's strategy which aims to diversify sources of revenue.
The step was greatly applauded because it marks the first time that ETISALAT has joined with a Japanese company in carrying out such an important project, the Japanese being considered one of the world's most advanced nations in the field of telecommunications.
The UAE, along with 12 other nations, also contributed in laying the international marine cable which links Germany, Spain, Italy, Egypt, the UAE, India, Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, China and Korea.
The cable's centre, which will be based in Fujairah, will be able to handle 600,000 telephone calls simultaneously. ETISALAT owns two cable-laying ships, namely 'The ETISALAT' and the $ 80.0 million 'Umm al Anbar' with a storage capacity of 4,200.0 tonnes of cable. An international consortium was formed by seven companies to execute the international cable project and the total capital involved reached over $ 1.6 billion.
Another ambitious project by ETISALAT is the $ 500.0 million Al Thuraya Satellite Project, to be built by the US company Hughes. Upon Al Thuraya's launch, the UAE will be the first Arab country to have a communications satellite for GSM, with a total capacity of 2.5 million lines. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IS UAE'S TOP PRIORITY: AL TAYER
The UAE said it had made human resources development the top priority of its political, economic and social objectives, giving special attention to education, training and employment.
Addressing the 18th Asian Regional Labour Conference which was held in the Thai capital Bangkok last week, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Mattar Humaid Al Tayer said that the UAE was pursuing a free market economy and was encouraging the private sector while it was also providing its citizens with employment, education and training opportunities.
The Minister pointed out, too, that job opportunities were given as well to a large number of workers from various parts of the world - especially friendly Asian countries - who are working in generous and profitable conditions and a stable work environment.
He added that the expatriate workers were free to transfer their deposits or money to their home countries or to any other part of the world without constraints. "The UAE does not impose taxes on the income of workers, which in turn contributes to limiting unemployment in a number of countries as it boosts the balance of payments and the development of the countries which export manpower to the UAE," the Minister said.
On achieving balance between social and economic development, al Tayer noted that the UAE gave great care and attention to needy families and provided them with regular monthly financial assistance, encouraged co-operative ventures and supported public utility organisations.
Commenting on globalisation and its impacts on world trade and labour relations, al Tayer said that the developing countries were concerned that advanced industrialised nations might exploit this phenomenon by imposing their standards and benefiting from their technological capabilities to dictate terms on third world countries in a bid to undermine their competitive power in international trade and to damage their economic interests.
Referring to the report of the Director General of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, on international labour standards, al Tayer said that the ILO Director General had urged the organisation's member states to ratify the seven basic accords concerning human rights and called for issuing a declaration on basic labour standards at the forthcoming international labour conference, adding that though the ratification was optional the UAE had already ratified seven labour accords including four on human rights. (The Emirates News)
NO ALTERNATIVE TO STOCK EXCHANGE, SAYS UAE BUSINESSMAN
The surge in initial public offerings, IPOs, and the repeated enthusiastic responses to them are indicators that there is actually little alternative to the establishment of a stock exchange in the UAE, says a leading businessman.
The institution will not only provide a forum for trading but will also function to regulate the new market, says Khalaf al Habtoor, Chairman of Al Habtoor Group, in an article in his in-house magazine 'Al Shindagah'. The trend of successful stock offerings will be consolidated by the establishment of a national stock exchange, Al Habtoor opines in 'A Formula for Economic Stability'.
"The success of the IPOs demonstrates the potential of the planned market to attract home the surplus capital of a potentially wide investor class. Local establishments must now consider the option of transforming themselves in order to gain access to a new source of capital. In addition, there is the logic of improving management procedures," he says.
A stock exchange will help to guard against unethical or unsound practices which would undermine the stability of the UAE economy, al Habtoor says. With specialised bodies at the helm, the stock exchange will "establish procedures for corporate transparency and will ensure that there is accurate disclosure about the vital statistics of listed companies or new IPOs".
The stock market, al Habtoor says, will broaden the participation of the public in equity ownership. The existence of the market will also encourage established local corporations, even the large family owned enterprises to consider raising capital by issuing shares.
Increased awareness of economic issues, bringing back locally owned capital home to let it work for the future of the economy, and improved performance by local enterprises are some of the benefits al Habtoor foresees with the opening of a stock exchange.
In addition, he says, "It will also foster the creation of a locally based investment industry. These specialised organisations will play a crucial role in developing and maintaining the links between the expanding pool of investors and the management of the listed companies."
Focusing on the increasing number of stock markets throughout the Arab world and the opening of channels between them, al Habtoor notes that "these markets are recording considerable capital growth rates due to steady expansion in the number of stocks listed and due to the increasing willingness of Arab investors to bring their money home. It's high time for the Emirates to benefit from this trend with a formal equity trading institution."
In conclusion, Al Habtoor says, "The wider the circle of Emirati citizens that benefit from equity ownership in our strong economy, the more stable and prosperous will be the future of our young nation." (The Emirates News )
RAK EXCAVATIONS PROVE ANCIENT TRADE LINK
Ten years of excavations in Ras Al Khaimah have shown that trading links between the UAE and Japan, as well as the rest of the Far East, were much more extensive than previously suspected, according to two leading Japanese archaeologists.
Professor Dr. Tatsuo Sasaki and his wife Hanae Sasaki were addressing a meeting of the Emirates Natural History Group, ENHG, at the Cultural Foundation last night. The meeting was held in collaboration with the Japanese Embassy, as part of the Cultural Foundation's Japanese Cultural Week.
The Sasakis have been studying archaeological sites in Ras Al Khaimah since 1987, focussing on the two major Islamic sites of the island of Hulayla, where evidence from the 8th-10th centuries AD was found, and at the ancient port city of Julfar, just north of present-day Ras Al Khaimah, which appears to have flourished from the 14th to at least the 16th century.
In the excavations, they said, they have found extensive evidence of maritime trade between the Emirates and the Far East. One interesting find was a Chinese coin from the 8th century, the oldest of its type ever found in the Arabian Gulf.
The Julfar excavations, part of a multi-national project that also involved archaeologists from France, Germany and Britain, concentrated on the settlement area of the town, where the Sasakis uncovered seven layers of houses and streets, indicating that the town had been well laid out and organised.
Finds from Hulayla, where occupation was earlier, included fragments of imported Chinese jars, as well as imported 9th century AD blue-glazed bowls from Mesopotamia of a type that have also been found in Japan, proving the existence of the trade connections over a thousand years ago.
"The purpose of our research," Professor Sasaki said, "has been to elaborate on the flourishing cultural interchange that took place between the Arabian Gulf and East Asia during ancient times." "Historical relations between the Gulf and Japan, we have found, were much deeper than was previously thought." (The Emirates News)
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GHANTOOT RACING AND POLO CLUB: LARGEST SUCH FACILITY IN MIDEAST
The Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club is yet another feather in the UAE sports cap, said the Club's Board Chairman Sheikh Falah bin Zayed al Nahyan. Sheikh Falah added that the Club's premises were carefully chosen to be on the road linking Abu Dhabi with the rest of the Emirates so as to act as a meeting point for the country's equestrians.
"The Club was established to reflect the UAE's care for equestrian activities and to play a major role in hosting international events, " he said. He added that the Middle East's largest racing and polo club provides facilities for nationals to practice their favourite sports. Also, "A group of national polo players were sent to the UK for a training course in one of the world's leading polo schools. They will act as a nucleus for the national team."
The Club's Deputy Board Chairman Saleh bin Nasra al Amri explained that the 300.0-hectare Club features a VIP stand, a further 2,000-seat stand, horse training areas, swimming pools, a sauna, restaurant and a conference hall, while the flood-lit Club's turf has been designed to international standards.
Al Amri said that despite being newly established, the Club had already succeeded in organising a polo match in honour of HRH the Prince of Wales, in which Prince Abdullah of Jordan also participated.
The Deputy Board Chairman went on to reveal that there are ambitious plans to build tennis and squash courts, a golf course, an indoor swimming area and a swimming pool for horses. Also, the number of boxes at Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club, currently able to accommodate 80 horses, will be increased. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
