Oman unveils new strategy
Oman's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has unveiled a new strategy to boost exports of Omani farm produce. The goal, according to a senior official, is to encourage the production of high-value items for export to countries where Oman enjoys a competitive advantage.
Sabic wins MTBE supply contract
The Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) has won a contract to export 45,000 tonnes of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to Egypt in 2002.
The agency said it was the eighth deal of the petrol additive that Sabic won from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC). It gave no value for the deal. The Saudi government holds a 70 per cent stake in Sabic, which produces around three million tonnes of MTBE per year. Sabic has an annual output of three million tonnes of MTBE, which is used to produce unleaded petrol.
Paper firm to get new machines
Dubai's Union Paper Mills plans to purchase a new machine from Europe that will boost production capacity over the next two to three years. The company expects production of recycled paper to surge from 100 tonnes per day to 375 when the machine is in full operation. This increase would enable Union Paper Mills to widen its export base of the GCC, Sri Lanka and Iran to include Europe and Africa, general manager Nasser Khoory said.
The company, which began operations in 1988, produces about 35,000 tonnes of recycled paper per year. About 60 to 70 per cent of that is sold in the UAE, while about 30 per cent is exported to other Gulf states.
Omani firm reports profit
Oman Fibre Optics Company has reported a net profit of RO2.24 million ($5.82 million) for the first nine months of the year, compared with a net loss of RO0.495 million in the same period a year earlier. Operating profit was RO2.33 million compared with RO164,000. A company report showed that gross profit was RO3.2 million compared with RO505,000 posted in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Total assets rose by 40 per cent to RO8.39 million compared with RO5.99 million.
Rotor holds a seminar
Rotor, a Holland-based manufacturer of electric motors, recently held a seminar at Emirates Towers in Dubai that was addressed by Rotor president H J Abcouwer and Jabir Rasheed, managing director of Standard Ship Spares (SSS), a supplier of marine, industrial Key customers of SSS attended the event. Rotor products include electromotors, worm gear reducers, frequency inverters, explosion proof motors, motor reducers and transmission technics.
New faces at BCCI
Ten of the 18 board members elected to the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry board are new faces. Mona Almoayyed became the first woman ever elected to the board. But the highest number of votes went to re-elect two members of the old board. Yousuf Al Saleh polled 816 votes, followed by Khalid Kanoo, with 767.
Others winners were Adel Al A'ali, Jawad Al Hawaj, Ebrahim Zainal, Hassan Kamal, Dr Esam Fakhro, Dr Tawfeeq Almoayed, Dr Ahmed Al Tahoo, Othman Sharif, Adel Al Maskati, Mohammed Eid Bokhammas, Abdulrahman Yousif Fakhro, Jihad Bukamal, Mohammed Yateem, Sharif Ahmadi, Almoayyed and Dr Nazar Al Baharna.
SMEs' role hailed
The role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) was hailed at a key forum held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Muscat, Oman. The two-day First Gulf SME Forum was held under the auspices of Dr Ahmed bin Hashim Al Dhahab, director-general of industry.
Speakers from the Middle East, Europe and the US in addition to participants from GCC countries and representatives of Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Dubai Internet City discussed information technology, finance, marketing, management and training manpower development. Addressing the forum, Dr Al Dhahab said SMEs played a major role in most national economies, adding that the requirement in the Sultanate in order to establish a strong and sustained industrial base was to create a healthy co-existence between SMEs and large-sized businesses.
Firms win Iraqi contracts
UAE firms that took part in the 34th Baghdad International Fair which concluded recently, have bagged contracts worth Dh500 million ($136 million) from the Iraq Ministry of Trade.
The contracts to supply various goods under the oil-for-food programme has to be approved by a UN Committee.
The fair drew more than 2,000 companies from all over the world. Some of the contracts were for the supply of accessories for the Ministry of Energy and Oil and microfilms and computers for the Ministry of Education.
The UAE pavilion won the golden shield for the best pavilion in the exhibition for the third consecutive year. Ambassador to Iraq Ahmed bin Saeed said UAE firms would benefit from a preferential trade agreement signed with Iraq.
DCCI 's financial help
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry will extend financial assistance to local firms taking part in foreign exhibitions. The chamber will contribute up to 50 per cent of the costs, a chamber official said.
Companies participating in expos organised by the chamber and other government departments will also be given financial assistance.
Ocean Rubber eyes expansion
The Dubai-based Ocean Rubber Factory, which has seen substantial growth since its launch, is planning to expand it facilities to meet a growing demand for its products from regional and international markets.
The company is on course to meet its $17.37 million turnover projection for this year, against last year's turnover of $12.9 million, general manager K M Noordeen said. He added that production at the 80,000 sq ft facility had b
Capacity at the plant is 400 tonnes per month. Total investment currently runs at $5.4 million. The company's products include building protection systems, offshore platform services, 'corroline' systems that offer corrosion protection of structures and pipelines against all types of fluids; elastomeric sheeting, and the Flexcon range of gaskets, O-rings and special design seals.
