Nationals grab few jobs

The UAE has pumped nearly $10 billion into industrial projects as part of a long-term economic diversification drive, but the sector could face problems because of the heavy reliance on foreign labour, an official study warned.

The investments created more than 180,000 jobs but UAE nationals have grabbed just below one per cent of them, according to the Industry Affairs bulletin of the Ministry of Finance and Industry.

Guidelines issued

Fujairah Municipality has issued fresh guidelines for mineral water factories. Mineral water producers have been asked to locate their plants away from any source of pollution. They should be constructed on a wide area and must have water storage tanks and other equipment for sterilising.

Chamber publishes appraisal

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has brought out a publication, 'An Appraisal of the Dubai Industrial Sector: 1997-2000'. The appraisal offers an analysis of growth in 23 sectors.

Abu Dhabi to help investors

The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry is planning to speed up procedures for investors as part of a new five-year strategy.

Under the plan, the chamber will encourage local businesswomen and employ more nationals, the Gulf News reported. Other features include expanded ties with government offices, the launch of an export-promotion programme and the carrying out of studies to boost the quality of manufacturing, director general Mohammed Omar Abdullah said.

Concrete company makes profits

The Aerated Concrete Industries Company has posted net profits of KD3.21 million ($10.44 million) for 2001, up 7.7 per cent from the year before, the daily Al Qabas reported.

The newspaper quoted the Kuwait Stock Exchange as saying Aerated Concrete had decided to distribute a 36 per cent cash dividend for 2001. The firm has a paid-up capital of KD10 million. It manufactures an array of concrete blocks.

Cables firm wins contract

Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Cables & Metals has bagged a Dh20 million ($5.4 million) contract for the supply of power cables to the UAE's AbdulJalil Industrial Development, part of the Al Fahim Group. AbdulJalil Industrial Development has also been appointed prime distributor in Dubai by Riyadh Cables & Metals, the largest electrical cable manufacturer in the Middle East with annual sales exceeding Dh1.5 billion.

Gamco expects higher earnings

The Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (Gamco) expects revenues to grow by $60 million to $180 million this year. The company has expanded its services to international airlines, while earlier they were confined almost wholly to its owner Gulf Air, Gamco chairman Shaikh Ahmed bin Saif Al Nahyan said. "Revenues last year stood at $120 million and this year we expect them to climb to between $180 and $200 million. Net profits could reach $20 million this year," Shaikh Ahmed added.

Greenberg named chairman

DevCorp International's board of directors has appointed James Greenberg as chairman for an initial period of three years. The decision was made at a board meeting. It followed the annual general meeting held at the company's offices at the Manama Centre and which shareholders attended. Reports from directors and auditors as well as financial statements were approved at the event. Arthur Anderson, Bahrain, was re-appointed as auditor.

Ibrahim Al Mishari and Susan Jahnke were appointed as directors for a term of three years. DevCorp is a wholly American-owned venture development and investment company, which was founded in 1996 by Greenberg and Uwe Jahnke.

Islamic fair to be held

The ninth Islamic Trade Fair will be held at the Expo Centre Sharjah in December. It will be held alongside the ninth private sector meeting of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce. The fair is being jointly organised by the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and the UAE Ministry of Economy and Commerce, said a report in the Gulf News.

Dubai office opened

Schneider Electric Gulf has opened a liaison office in Doha. The company has had an office in Doha since 1998 with three engineers covering control, instrumentation and service activities related to low and medium voltage.

Krishna Ganapathi is heading the new liaison office as country manager.

Schneider Electric Qatar's customers include Qatar Petroleum, Kahraama, Qapco, Qafac and leading contractors and traders. Schneider Electric, which makes brands such as Merlin Gerin, Modicon, Square D and Telemecanique, has its Gulf headquarters at Jebel Ali.

Tora profits fall

Egypt's Tora Cement posted a fall in net profit for 2001 to 100.6 million Egyptian pounds ($21.7 million) from 169.4 million pounds in the previous year.

A company official said the fall was largely due to declining cement prices and tough competition. Tora Cement is 66.12 per cent owned by Suez Cement.

Welding prospects voiced

Training in welding could open up a world of new opportunities for Bahraini job seekers and proper training could give unemployed people a career in highly paid jobs in the field, said Gulfmatech, which held a welding conference in Bahrain. The event attracted leading speakers from Alba, the Bahrain Training Institute (BTI), Bahrain University, the Education Ministry, ITQAN, the Al Moalem Institute and Ramses Contracting Company.

HMT makes offer

India's state-owned Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) has offered to set up a technical and entrepreneur development centre in Qatar. PJ Mohanram, an executive director with HMT's international division, made the offer at a technical seminar recently held in Doha.

Crushing units closed down

Fujairah Municipality has shut down three rock-crushing units in Al Siji for violating environmental standards.

They had failed to install air filters and pave the road leading to their quarries with asphalt, despite a four-month notice period to do so, Dubai press reports said quoting Rashid Hamdan Abdullah, the municipality's director.

Minerals exist in the north

A survey of the UAE's geology has revealed solid mineral resources in the Northern Emirates.

The study also revealed that good potential existed for expanded quarrying of these minerals but that there was a need to ensure quality control to meet market requirements. The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Sharjah, led by Professor Mufid Samarai, was undertaken for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and aimed at maximising the use of domestic supplies of mineral resources.

GPIC announces profits

Bahrain's Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) announced a net profit of BD9.47 million ($25.19 million) for 2001, with an increase of BD6.1 million over estimated figures. The company had reported a net profit of $40 million in 2000, according to a Reuters report last year.

GIA issues 706 licences

The General Investment Authority (GIA) issued 706 foreign investment and joint venture licences between April 2000 and January 2001. Of the total number, 413 were licences for direct foreign investments and 293 for joint-venture projects. The total capital investment was SR35.7 billion, including SR29 billion from foreign companies, Dr Ibrahim Al Mutrif, the deputy governor for systems and studies at the GIA said.

Of the total number of licences, 342 were in the industrial sector, which received an investment of SR19.7 billion, and 363 in the service sector, which received an investment of SR16.1 billion. There was one licence granted to an agricultural project.

Output to increase

Al Wathba Marionnet, a pioneering UAE-France joint venture in the cloning of date palms, is enhancing production this year. The company will also concentrate on penetrating deeper into existing export markets. To cope with rising demand, the company has embarked on an expansion to increase production of date palms to 300,000 by end-2003 from the current 200,000 date palms per year, Franck Marionnet, general manager of the company, said.