Search Results for: saudi arabia

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai
THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) highly competitive food sector is expecting double-digit growth this year, driven by 7% annual population growth, booming foodservice and tourism sectors, and rapid economic growth.

Food producers and retailers in this economic powerhouse of the oil-rich Gulf say there is strong growth across the board, from fresh fruit to ready-made meals in the modern retail environment of the UAE, particularly in Dubai, which is undergoing a construction boom and the top destination for most expatriate workers and tourists.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A BID by a South Korea fibre exporter to have low melt polyester staple fibres (LMP) excluded from existing European Union (EU) antidumping duties on synthetic polyester staple fibres (PSF) has been refused by the European Commission. These particular duties are levied on exports from China, Saudi Arabia, Belarus and South Korea, but South Korea exporter and producer Saehan Industries Inc claimed LMP should be excluded, claiming they “have different basic physical and chemical characteristics and end-uses” to other PSF types, having “inherent binding properties.”…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
HUNTING with falcons has been part of Arab culture for thousands of years, but with wild falcons declining because of trapping and Middle Eastern hunters also shooting falcons for sport, what do Arabs think about imposing tougher restrictions?…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S Serious Fraud Office dropping a major foreign bribery investigation concerning BAE Systems and the Al Yamamah defence contract with Saudi Arabia could lead to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) censure. The OECD working group on bribery admits “serious concerns as to whether the decision was consistent with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention”, and will discuss the case in March.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SAUDI Arabia health minister has publicly warned American and European tobacco manufacturers that his oil-rich government will sue them for compensation over health problems caused through smoking.

Speaking at the 12th Gulf Symposium Against Smoking, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Dr Hamad Al-Manie said: "I have met with representatives from tobacco companies in the kingdom at my office before.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, in New Delhi

"REFINERY Process Outsourcing" or simply RPO is an exciting buzzword in the otherwise hard-pressed Indian petroleum industry, as the term represents newly found and highly profitable venture of operating refineries to fulfil surging international demand.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

CONTRARY to all assumptions, Lebanese universities have not experienced the student exodus they thought might happen following the month long war between Israel and Hizbullah, but the conflict did cost lives, financial losses and a sizeable reduction in the number of Western students.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Damascus and Amman

JORDAN and Syria both have large tobacco markets, with a third of Jordan’s population, and around 60% of Syria’s male population, being smokers. Both markets are growing, spurred on by large young populations and the cultural prevalence of smoking cigarettes and nargileh (water pipes), but not all is rosy in the sector.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

WITH the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the midst of an unprecedented construction boom, the paint sector is flourishing with contracts of up to half a million dollars underway, 200% growth in fire-resistance paints, and over 16% growth predicted for the sector as a whole this year.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

CONTRARY to Islamic stereotyping, lingerie sales are extremely healthy in the Middle East, although the brand is not as important as the style.

Indeed, there is lingerie openly on display that in Europe would usually be confined to sex shops.…