Liquidityin 2000 Q4 rises 9.4%
UAE Central Bank on Tuesday said the overall liquidity (M3) situationin the country rose 9.4 per cent thanks to the increase in private domesticliquidity and a rise in government deposits in the fourth quarter of 2000.A quarterly figures for October-December 2000 published by the bank peggedM3 at Dh157.03 billion, rising by Dh13.54 billion. Domestic liquidity (M2)in the fourth quarter of last year was at Dh127 billion, up 5.7 per centor Dh6.89 billion, the report said. The bank said the increase in domesticcash was because of increased money supply (M1) and also quasi-monetarydeposits by Dh5.53 billion, rising 6.3 per cent, to touch Dh92.93 billion.Government deposits with the bank also showed a healthy growth of 28.5per cent during the period at Dh30.03 billion contributing to the risein the overall liquidity. The bank said that the money supply (M1) increasedby Dh1.36 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of last year at Dh 34.07billion against Dh 32.71 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2000.A review of the components of money supply indicated that the currencywith the public was up by 20.9 per cent, increasing by Dh1.73 billion totouch Dh10.02 billion while monetary deposits dropped by Dh371 million,a fall of 1.5 per cent, to each Dh24.05 billion, the report said. The CentralBank said net domestic credit dropped 2.9 per cent to reach Dh110.86 billionagainst Dh114.16 billion during the third quarter of last year. There wasa fall of over 80 per cent in the net credit offered to the government,the bank said. The total assets and liabilities of the Central Bank increasedby Dh4.34 billion to reach Dh50.14 billion at the end of December 2000,against Dh45.80 billion at the end of September 2000, a 9.5 per cent increase.On the assets side, deposits with the bank rose by Dh2.97 billion to reachDh28.08 billion. On the liabilities side the value of certificates of depositrose over 10 per cent, or by Dh1.14 billion to touch Dh15.62 billion. Currentaccounts and deposits also rose 11.7 per cent at Dh11.40 billion whilethe currency issued increased by 24.4 per cent, the Central Bank reportsaid. (The Gulf Today)
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Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, ETISALAT, the UAE telecom servicesprovider, has announced the launch of its Wireless Application Protocol-EWAPService. Subscribers to the service can now access local and internationalinteractive information all from the convenience of their WAP enabled GSMhandsets, ETISALAT said in a statement. The service, essentially a technology,enables people on the move to access text based information, applicationsand services anytime, anywhere, the statement said. Subscribers to EWAPcan check their e-mail, latest news, sports scores, airline schedules andstock quotes. They can access the UAE's White and Yellow page telephonedirectories, find out which movies are playing in the cinemas and checkand pay their traffic fines (Dubai Police), all from the convenience andprivacy of the WAP enabled handsets. They can also access all the WAP siteson the Internet. Mohammed Al Fuheim, Deputy Chairman and Executive Director,Marketing, ETISALAT, said on the occasion: 'The launch of EWAP is partof the overall strategic plan of the Corporation to provide our customerswith the very best in technologically advanced services in the wirelesssegment of our business.' Subscription to EWAP is easy and very convenient,according to the ETISALAT official. Both GSM and Wasel customers can subscribeand register for the EWAP service by dialling '125' from the WAP enabledhandsets. There are no connection or quarterly rental charges. Access chargesare only 21 fils per minute flat, at all times. An initial configurationfor the access is all that is necessary to become a subscriber. Customersneed to refer to their GSM handset manuals for this configuration. GSMcustomers will be billed for the EWAP access charges along with their monthlyGSM bills. Wasel customers can access EWAP if there is a credit balancein their account. UAE subscribers having international roaming facilitycan also access EWAP, if they define the dial number 9714004466 in theiraccess settings. International call charges in addition to the roamingcharges for accessing EWAP from abroad will be applicable. . In order toenhance quality and content, EWAP has entered into partnership agreementswith several content providers such as Atcell.com. Ducont.com, DLJ DirectME, Explore Publishing and Info2 Cell.com Plans are in place to includeadditional partners in the future, the official said. Mobile cellular telephonywas launched in the UAE way back in 1982 and the GSM standard was introducedin September 1994. Within a short period of over six years, ETISALAT hassucceeded in having a subscriber base of 1.7 million. The service incorporatesadvanced digital communication technology with full roaming facilitiesin 81 countries, with 175 operators as at March 2001. A prepaid GSM SIMcard 'Speak Easy,' a prepaid GSM service Wasel and an SMS Messenger ServiceRisalaš are also offered. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
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E-Visiontargets 200,000 home connections by end of the year
Around 200,000 homes in the whole of the UAE, including parts of Sharjahwill be connected by E-Vision, the only cable television network of thecountry, by the end of this year, officials said. This was disclosed toby Humaid A Rashid Sahoo, chief executive of E-Vision, the completely-ownedsubsidiary of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (ETISALAT), duringa brief interview in the sidelines of a FAM tour of its broadcasting centreat Al Dhaid, Sharjah. The facilities for this tour were organised by E-Vision,which celebrated its first anniversary, on Tuesday. E-Vision had earlierannounced that Sharjah and northern Emirates will be connected to the cablegrid by the beginning of 2001. E-Vision's satellite dish farm and broadcastingcentre is located at Al Dhaid, around 60 kms north of Sharjah. E-Vision,however, was not able to complete the project as reported and Sahoo saidthe company is doing its best to meet its target as the expansion projectsare in progress. E-Vision targets 200,000 house connections throughoutthe UAE by the year's end and more than 50,000 connections have alreadybeen given. When asked why Dhaid has been selected for installing the broadcastingfacilities, the CEO said there are several technical reasons for choosingDhaid. The Arabsat facility is nearby, Dhaid is an isolated area with vast,uninterrupted landmass, there is no interference in broadcasting, cablelaying is easy and accessible to all other parts of the country as a goodintersection, and has an ideal geographical location. Sahoo, however, addedthat the place has nothing to do with altitude in receiving satellite signals.E-Vision is developing its own software for the multi-player games. Eventually,E-Vision will be able to hold school level competitions in online electronicgames. The dish farm in the sprawling courtyard of E-Vision complex has12 satellite dishes to receive signals, which is capable of operating 1,000channels. It, however, is now handling only 70 channels, Hunt said. Heexplained several stages of signal receiving, manipulating, providing interactiveservices, controls in the master control room which has 120 monitors, editingand other online processes until broadcast, which is also monitored inanother control rooms. E-Vision has two of its own channels, the E-Juniorfor children and E-Xplor, a documentary channel. There are separate controlrooms and studios for the channels with a huge video library and linearand non-linear editing rooms. The facility with upto date technology ismanned by around 100 local and multinational employees with dedicated 24-hourservice. The basic package of 48 channels is provided for Dh50 per monthand other packages are Arabic Package, Western Package, Asian Package,Selective Package and A La Carte, a choice of individually priced channels.Sahoo said the current pricing will be further reduced during the expansionof E-Vision in the coming years. An electronic programme guide (EPG) willbe soon ready which will help subscribers to plan their viewing using remotecontrol, he added. (The Gulf Today)
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Archaeologyproposed as a subject in schools
The three-day International UAE Archaeology Conference, which endedon Tuesday, recommended introducing UAE archaeology as a subject in schoolsand educational institutions and training national cadres in the field.The participants also decided to hold the conference regularly. They alsocalled for enhancing co-operation between Arab archaeology institutionsand departments and exchanging experts. The conference recommended launchinga science magazine to publish reports and researches related to the archaeologyfield in the UAE and the Gulf region. The participants also hailed PresidentHis Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan's keen desire to preservethe region's heritage and history. The participants sent cables of thanksand gratitude to Sheikh Zayed, Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Membersand Rulers of the emirates and hailed their nationalistic stances towardsArab and Islamic issues and for their keen desire to preserve the country'sheritage and history, which are part of the history of Arabs and Muslims.In a session held on Tuesday morning and chaired by Donald Howley, Britishcommissioner to the UAE from 1958 to 1961, work papers were presented bya number of experts, including Dr Geoffrey King and Peter Hellyer who spokeon Islamic archaeology in the deserts of the Abu Dhabi emirate. Other expertswho presented their work papers included Prof. Tatsuo Sasaki and Dr HanaeSasaki from the Kanazawa University of Japan, Prof. Jennifer Price of theDurham University, Dr Hussein Qandil from the Dubai Museum and Dr DanielHull all of whom presented work papers on various topics of interest onarchaeological findings and discoveries in many parts of the country. Inanother session chaired by Dr Mourad Ramah, director of Centre Tunisia,Kairawan, Dr Mark Beech of the York University in Britain, talked aboutthe development of fishing in the UAE from the archaeological point ofview, presenting a lot of evidence from archaeological excavations. Otherswho presented their work papers in this session include Dr Henrike Kiesewetterfrom the Tubingen University of Germany, Dr Chris Mosseri-Marlio from Londonand Dr Phillip Iddison from Al Ain. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
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Sultansigns deal with UK colleges
Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah His Highness Dr SheikhSultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi on Tuesday signed a partnership agreementbetween the Sharjah Government and the Royal Academy of Arts and LoughboroughUniversity, both in Britain, to establish and manage the Sharjah Collegeof Fine Arts. According to the five-year contract, the two British collegeswill establish and manage the new art college in Sharjah which will openin September next year at the University City. The signing came on thesidelines of the opening of the Fifth Sharjah International Arts Biennialat the Expo Centre. Sheikh Sultan signed the agreement with Prof BrendanNeiland, keeper of the Royal Academy Schools, and Prof Terence Kavanagh,director of the School of Art and Design at the Loughborough University.The college will offer a one-year foundation course starting Septembernext year and then a three-year BA Honours in Fine Art starting 2003. Accordingly,students will be able to take their foundation year in Sharjah Collegeof Fine Art and then can study for BA Honours in Fine Art at LoughboroughUniversity, he pointed out. The college will admit 25 students from anynationality in the foundation year provided they completed high school,have high level of art, portfolio and good command of English. Studentsadmitted to the college will be aged 17 years with no maximum age limit.Male and female students will study separately in the college. The selectioncommittee will comprise the head of the college and the four full-timestaff who will be recommended by the two partner colleges in Britain. Thefirst batch of students will graduate in 2006. They will be artists andart teachers in the UAE and other GCC states who will replace English artteachers, he said. During the foundation course, students will study painting,drawing, sculpture and printmaking, after which each student will specialisein one of them after completing the first year. Students will study alsophotography, video, IT and digital work for computer. (The Gulf Today)
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Dubaiairport growth reaches new heights
Passenger movement at Dubai International Airport in the first quarterof 2001 registered at 3.5 million, a growth of 15.6 per cent over the sameperiod last year. January saw the highest movement of passengers with agrowth of 21 per cent over the same period last year. February and Marchshowed 13.4 per cent and 12.4 per cent growth. Aircraft movements in thefirst three months of 2001 were 35.184, growing 1.1 per cent over the sameperiod last year. The difference in growth ratio between passenger andaircraft movement has been attributed to the fact that more airlines arenow using larger aircrafts. The growth in passenger movement at the DubaiInternational Airport had been further reflected in the Dubai InternationalHotel room occupancy statistics for the first quarter of 2001. The hotel located in upper three levels of the Sheikh Rashid Terminal has enjoyed 99 per cent occupancy in the first three of months of thisyear. January saw 94 per cent occupancy, while February and March registered105 per cent occupancy. With the preliminary report for the year 2000 fromthe Airports Council International just in, Dubai International Airport,which had 12.3 million passengers, has jumped in its world rankings from83rd in 1999 to 75th in 2000. It clearly leads the Middle East as the busiestairport, ahead of Jeddah which is ranked 85th with 10.6 million passenger;Riyadh 105 with 8.7 million; Bahrain at 167 with 3.9 million; Kuwait at170 with 3.8 million and Muscat at 222 with 2.7 million. According to ACIstatistics, Dubai International Airport is among the top fastest growingairports within the top 100 busiest airports worldwide as far as passengermovement is concerned. However, Dubai International Airport has been thefastest growing cargo airport among the top 30 airports worldwide, witha 19 per cent growth in 2000. Internationally, Dubai International Airportis ranked 28th for cargo movement. And according to ACI, the top 30 airportsaccounted for 59 per cent of the total cargo handled worldwide. (TheGulf News)
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Seventy-seven young national couples will be married at a mass ceremonyin Fujairah in June, the first group of wedding in Fujairah City and thesecond in the emirate. The wedding is being organised by the Fujairah MarriageFund Committee. It will be held in Fujairah with the full of support ofHis Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Member of the SupremeCouncil and Ruler of Fujairah. The main aim of the UAE Marriage Fund holdinggroup weddings is to cut the lavish wedding expenses incurred by nationalfamilies, which can be put to better use after the couple marry. The FujairahMarriage Fund Committee is trying to speed up the grant of Dh40,000, asthe first payment of the marriage subsidy to each of the prospective bridegrooms.The second instalment of Dh30,000 will be given after the marriage. (TheGulf News)
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Mediacentre offers trade licences in two hours
Dubai Media City has opened a one-stop shop for tenants where all theirservices can be processed and completed without the need to visit individualgovernment departments. The unit promises to obtain residence visas in48 hours and trade licences in just two hours. Services offered includeissue of trade licenses, health cards and immigration services includingresidence and visit visas for business partners and dependents, and coverstraffic department procedures ranging from vehicle registration to theissue of driving licences and payment of traffic fines. The facility isonly for Dubai Media City business partners. (The Gulf News)
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Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan won his first ever endurance ride astrideAllura Park Star Minoan in the Al Wathba Endurance Body Weight Ride heldat the Endurance Village on Tuesday. The 120-km CEI.B ride was run in fourstages of 37 kms, 36 kms, 29 kms and 18 kms. Sheikh Hazza, finished thedistance in six hours 42 minutes and nine seconds ahead of Khaled Ghanemwho was riding Doran Park Zatory (7:11.47). Sheikh Hazza who was placedninth in the Body Weight Category, on the 13-year-old gelding, at the endof the first stage worked his way to third at the end of second stage andthen onwards he never looked back and went on to finish first in the tworemaining stages. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was among the 29 ridersin this category. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Ministerof the UAE, attended the final ride of the season. The rides were organisedby UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, had a total purse of Dh880,000.
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DepartmentExternal Information Ministry of Information and Culture P.O. Box 17, AbuDhabi E-Mail: mininfex@emirates.net.ae Tel: 009712-4452922 Fax: >009712-4450458
PLEASENOTE: The items covered in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect theofficial view of the UAE Government. Rather, they form a UAE-related digestof reports from the local press and publication
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