Business/Economic News

[Pearl of the Gulf]

MANAMA—Arcapita Bank - a international investment firm, headquartered in Bahrain, announced yesterday that it has completed the acquisition of The Tensar Corporation, one of the leading providers of technology-driven construction site solutions in North America, for approximately $405 million.


Tensar's integrated suite of over 50 products and services provide soil stabilization, earth retention, foundation support and erosion and sediment control. Tensar's customers include commercial, industrial and residential site developers, resource extractors, transportation authorities, coastal and waterway authorities, and waste management companies. "Tensar's brand name, successful 20-year operating history, strong distribution network, manufacturing know-how and portfolio of over 70 patents provide the company with a formidable set of attributes to maintain and grow its market share. In addition, changing industry and environmental requirements are expected to play to Tensar's strengths and further enhance its competitive position," said Atif Abdulmalik, CEO of Arcapita.

The acquisition represents the largest equity commitment made by Arcapita for a corporate investment. The $177 million Shari'ah compliant senior financing, led by Credit Suisse First Boston, was oversubscribed and priced significantly below the initial commitment, reflecting the B2 credit rating awarded by Moody's, and making Tensar Arcapita's highest rated corporate deal to date.

"Tensar's commitment to the technology embedded in its products gives it a significant edge over competitors. In a market that is worth nearly $4 billion annually, only 13 per cent has been captured by Tensar's type of non-traditional technology-driven products, leaving significant room for further growth, both for the industry overall and particularly for Tensar, given its position as a dominant operator in the sector," said Charlie Ogburn, global head of Arcapita's corporate investments.

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[Pearl of the Gulf]

Arcapita are growing at a phenomenal rate.

[Pearl of the Gulf]

Bahrain-based Unicorn Bank will launch the initial public offering (IPO) in the first quarter next year as part of bank's strategy to bring more private investments, a top official at the bank has said.

The bank had posted $17 million profit during the first seven months operations by end December last year. The bank will distribute its maiden dividend among the shareholders at the end of the financial year.

Majid Al Sayed Bader Al Refai, Chief Executive Officer of Unicorn Investment Bank, told a Press conference that the bank would also launch an IPO for Kuwaiti investors in the fourth quarter next year. The UIB will also be listed on European bourses in 2007.

Al Refai, who announced the successful closure of $52.5m KSA Real Estate Fund-1, said that the bank would roll out $150m to $300m private equity fund in Bahrain. He said: "The KSA 1 fund fuses innovation, solid returns and Shari'ah law, demonstrating that Islamic finance is more than just a product, but a belief and a passion".

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[Bahraini Spirit]

I believe Arcapita is tryin to compete with Investcorp.

[Moody]

Well yes and no. as competition involves competing in the same line of business or products which is missing here.. for investcorp maybe the local projects are not a priority while Arcapita is every where. why can't be a competition is the fact that both banks in different sectors, investcorp is kinda investing in retail, food, restaurants...etc while Arcapita is going more industrial with specific consitration on Real Estate.

the only competition could be of attracting staff, Arcapita pays very good bonuses, offers less work time.

[Bahraini Spirit]

Well I meant on an international scene, on other sectors, like you said, they do differ in a way.

[Moody]

Thats right

[Bahraini Spirit]

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (BCCI) new digital trading community platform, ezTrade.bh was launched yesterday. Developed by Bahrain TradaNet WLL (BTN), the service is designed to be the country's first B2B e-commerce services platform for local businesses.

The web-based service, with a strong focus to bring efficiency enhancements and cost reductions to both buyers and suppliers, aims to facilitate the real time exchange of information and transactions between trading partners in a truly interactive environment.

BCCI president Khalid Kanoo hailed the launch of the new service as a milestone in the chamber's achievements and in the development of Bahrain's commercial infrastructure.

"In addition to the numerous facilities and incentives offered by the kingdom to local businesses and foreign investors, Bahrain now offers a state of the art e-commerce infrastructure, one that will allow them to transact electronically with their trading partners anywhere in the world," he said.

Mr Kanoo thanked the IT and e-commerce committee for their hard work in bringing this project to fruition and also BTN for their efforts to make the service live in such a short time span.

IT and e-Commerce Committee head Dr Tawfeeq Almoayyed said that this is a very exciting time for e-commerce in Bahrain.

"We found that more and more Bahraini companies are acknowledging that e-procurement is the way forward," he said.

"The main problem is that while the large organisations are implementing complex systems, the vast majority of small and medium businesses have little or no access to expensive e-procurement technology. This is prohibitive to the growth of local business to business (B2B) e-commerce.

"We really wanted to encourage businesses of all sizes to benefit from e.Business, and the logical answer was a hosted e-procurement exchange, one central location on the web where local businesses could meet and trade electronically with each other (and with their international partners), irrespective of the type of in-house systems they have implemented."

ezTrade.bh will offer a range of subscription-based B2B and business to consumer (B2C) services and applications including hosted websites, online product showroom, hosted catalogues, electronic transaction processing and auctions and tenders.

"Our service bridges the technology gap that exists between the large organisations and their SMB trading partners," said BTN general manager William Rowe.

"It provides an e-business infrastructure for all; a system that not only enables companies to buy and sell their goods online, but also to process electronically all the documents that are associated with the transaction.

"The system provides a range of value added Internet based services, not only catering for B2B, but also for business to consumer B2C transactions.

"Any company that is interested in trading electronically with its partners needs to have only one electronic connection, to us. We take care of connecting them to the rest of the world.

"The solution has been built on a combination of Internet technologies ranging from old to the new.

"BTN have leveraged the tried and tested EDI and integration technologies of GE, who have been active in the B2B arena for more than 30 years, with the new and exciting web technologies of Oracle and Microsoft."

The service also connects seamlessly to the Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce (FGCCC) new e-marketplace, enabling companies in Bahrain to connect to a larger regional marketplace thus increasing their market size.

[Pearl of the Gulf]

Citigroup Private Bank (CPB), a member of Citigroup, today announced the opening of a new office in Bahrain to serve the high net worth segment in the Kingdom.



Housed at the landmark Citibank House Building, the Bahrain office marks a significant addition to CPB's onshore footprint in the fast-growing Middle East wealth management market.

Together with existing offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Bahrain office will serve clients who are demanding a more sophisticated range of financial instruments to help them meet their wealth management needs and goals.

'Backed by more than 50 years of Citigroup history in the Middle East, the private bank is growing its local presence in the region. The offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain are staffed by a pool of experienced bankers and specialists, many of them with substantial experience in serving the region's high net worth individuals,' said Akbar Shah, Head, Citigroup Global Wealth Management in the Middle East.


'Our business in the Gulf region has grown steadily since we opened our first office in Dubai in 2004. To properly build on our business momentum, it was critically important for us to establish a presence in Bahrain, which is one of the most developed of the financial centres in the Gulf region.'


Mark Morgan, Managing Director and Chief Officer of Citigroup Global Wealth Management in the Middle East, said: 'Our unique strategy of developing a robust onshore private banking platform to match Citigroup's global product offerings will allow CPB to meet the increasingly complex needs of our Middle East clients and capture a larger slice of the emerging wealth management market in the region.'

'Our client-banker ratio is relatively small compared to other providers. A banker serves 20 to 30 clients at most, and often much lesser. This enables us to deliver a unique brand of private banking where there is a high degree of customer contact and customisation in our advice and solutions,' he said.

Industry data shows that the Middle East was the fastest growing region in the world last year in terms of wealth creation, with assets under management expanding by nearly one-third to reach USD 1 trillion. The number of high net worth individuals (those with at least USD 1 million in net assets) in the Middle East rose by one-tenth to 300,000.

The Citigroup Private Bank believes that both AUM and the number of HNWIs in the Middle East will grow annually in double-digit percentage terms in the short to medium term.

Individuals with a minimum net worth of USD10 million form CPB's target market.

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[Moody]

hehe, they were in Bahrain for a year! now they have just announced it

[Pearl of the Gulf]

hehe, they were in Bahrain for a year! now they have just announced it

The announcement isn’t them moving into the new building. They are opening a private banking branch. You’re eligible for an account if you have a minimum of 10 million net worth. Or was that already here in Bahrain for a year?

[Pearl of the Gulf]

(MENAFN) A new training institute for journalists is planned to be established in Bahrain, Gulf Daily News reported.

The Institute of Journalism and Information Services is being set up by the City University of London.

It will offer academic and practical training to graduates and those already working in the field.

The institute will offer a post-graduate diploma, Master's and Doctorate in journalism and is scheduled to start in September next year.

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[Moody]

Originally Posted by Pearl of the Gulf

The announcement isn’t them moving into the new building. They are opening a private banking branch. You’re eligible for an account if you have a minimum of 10 million net worth. Or was that already here in Bahrain for a year?

They were here for one year, I dont know if they were doing business, but they set up this branch last year.

[Bahraini Spirit]

GULF Air bagged two prestigious awards at the 12th Annual World Travel Awards, held at a gala ceremony at the Royal Opera House, London.

The airline was voted the Middle East's Leading First Class Airline and the World's Leading Airport Lounge for its Bahrain First and Business Class lounge.

The ceremony was attended by Gulf Air marketing and sales vice-president Danny Barranger, Europe, Africa and America regional manager Rohan Alce, corporate affairs head Reem Antoon and UK key account executive Jo Copestake.

"This is a very proud moment for us," said Gulf Air president and chief executive officer James Hogan.

"The entire team at Gulf Air has worked relentlessly to provide the best service in the sky and on the ground.

"We have invested heavily in our refurbished planes, which has led to the creation of one of the best first class products in the skies, and, with this award, it's now officially the best in the Middle East," said Mr Hogan.

[Moody]

All goes to first class, Budget and awards !

The economy class is forgotten!

[Bahraini Spirit]

MORE than BD520 million will be spent on housing and infrastructure projects in Bahrain over two years, it was revealed yesterday.

It will be spent this year and next year and is the ministry's biggest budget as Bahrain prepares itself for the future, said Works and Housing Minister Fahmi Al Jowder.

He added that advances in technology would mean that sewerage would be used in future to provide the country with clean water.

"More than 83 per cent of residential areas are connected to the national sewerage network, with this expected to increase to 95pc by 2020," he said.

"Sewerage will be a source of water in future considering the new technologies Bahrain has acquired to treat it.

"It is expected that this water would comprise 20pc of the country's circulated water by 2010, which will help reduce pressure on the natural water supply."

He was speaking at the launch of the ministry's new strategy for the next 10 years.

"The ministry has been restructured to become an vocational establishment with a development and growth mission," said Mr Al Jowder.

"Decisions will be decentralised and everyone will take part in drawing up plans and contributing to the future. The Cabinet has already approved the new structure, but the new administrative structures haven't been completely approved yet and we hope they will be soon."

Mr Al Jowder said the ministry had started adopting a balanced scorecard system, which takes into consideration training, developments in internal operations and human resources.

"We have increased our training budget and improved our training programmes and IT networks," he said.

"Half of the Urban and Development Committee members are part of the ministry and this is a responsibility - we should handle it the best way possible, considering the committee is in charge of major projects in the country."

Mr Al Jowder said the ministry was planning to lease its lands to come up with funds for projects.

"This will help bring Bahrain's private sector to the fray and ensure they are taking part in development, rather than the government doing everything," he said.

"We will also try to find an alternative source of [money for] housing loans other than the Housing Bank, which take into consideration Islamic finance to help the needy and middle-income families have their dream homes."

Mr Al Jowder said the ministry's housing and infrastructure projects schedule extends until 2024, while its roads projects continue until 2021.

Ministry Under-Secretary for Public Works Affairs Nayef Al Kalali said the ministry was supervising more than 800 infrastructure projects - including roads, sanitary works and government buildings.

"We are also supervising other projects that include the expansion of Bahrain International Airport and the construction of Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Port, the new industrial area in Hidd and King Hamad Public Hospital," he said.

Mr Al Kalali said the ministry had witnessed unprecedented successes in delivering projects in record times and budgets. "(Such as) the Bahrain International Circuit, the Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Bridge and filling up the industrial area in Hidd," he said.

He added the ministry has also launched its website www.mwh.gov.bh to respond to any question or enquiry citizens may have.

Ministry Under-Secretary for Housing and Administration, Mohammed Al Sayed, said Bahrain was facing a housing crisis, which needed an immediate solution.

"There are no lands, but the leadership has promised it would provide us with some in the near future," he said. "We hope that the new towns we are currently planning to build will help accommodate some of the population expansions."

The event also included a documentary on the ministry's progress since its establishment 30 years ago.

An art exhibition with paintings by five Bahraini artists on developments in the country was also set-up at the event, which was held at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.

[B-Patriot]

How many awards has Gulf Air won recently...?? Quite a few...I find it surprising...

I mean what ever happened to Qatar Airways and Emirates...!? They're bragging all the time about fleet size, QUALITY, services, personal attention, bla ba bla...are they just exaggerating and overdoing it..!? Is Gulf Air too humble, lol!?

Or maybe i'm just a bit ignorant, and these airliners have won scores more (awards) than Gulf Air has...

[Bahraini Spirit]

I agree on the overdoin part, it's all an ego war, nothin more than that. Anyways, here is a new center (am sure you heard about it):


The newly inaugurated Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence in Bahrain will play a key role in identifying and training entrepreneurs from across the Middle East so that they can learn how to compete in the global economy, according to U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain William Monroe.

Speaking to over 200 entrepreneurs, business leaders and government officials at the opening of the Bahrain center November 16, Monroe added, "It symbolizes our belief that investing in the business talent of the region will advance reform, economic development and democracy in the broader Middle East and North Africa."

The Bahrain Development Bank at the present time is hosting the entrepreneurial center, which officially opened November 16. The project to open entrepreneurship training centers in the Middle East and North Africa was first proposed at the Group of Eight (G8) Sea Island Summit in the U.S. state of Georgia in June 2004. Bahrain and Morocco offered to establish the centers. (See related article.)

Dhafar Alumran from the Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the demographic pressures in the region and the realities of globalization make it necessary for the governments of the Middle East and North Africa "to create more flexible, dynamic and open economies to provide high-quality and sustainable employment for their citizens."

"A thriving, diverse and energetic private sector is the most effective way to create these jobs. To ensure the development of the private sector, we need a new generation of entrepreneurs, whose education, commitment, leadership and dynamism can help drive forward our economies," he said.

In order to help train and support this new cadre of young professionals, the center will provide business skills training to entrepreneurs from across the region, advocate for policies that favor the growth of entrepreneurship and conduct research on issues facing small businesses in the region.

The center has begun offering workshops and training courses for business people in the region. As part of its official opening, it is also hosting a conference of more than 120 entrepreneurs from across the Middle East and North Africa to discuss business strategies and the challenges facing small business owners in the region. The conference participants are all alumni of the U.S. State Department's Middle East Entrepreneur Training in the U.S. (MEET U.S.) program, which sponsors business skills workshops for Middle East entrepreneurs at the University of California at San Diego's Beyster Institute.

Ambassador Monroe said the center would accelerate job creation and economic growth by stimulating the private sector. "Its cutting-edge curriculum will impart the business skills needed to compete in the global economy and to attract jobs and investment to the region," he said.

Monroe also noted the important role that business leaders can play in improving their societies by demanding better educational systems, transparency of the judiciary, and respect for the commercial code.

He said that entrepreneurs cannot thrive without open and accountable political systems and a strong educational system. Therefore, he said, entrepreneurs have an interest in advocating for political, economic and educational reforms.

[Pearl of the Gulf]

Hey B-Spirit have you heard of The Herman Group of Companies and their projects in Bahrain? Cause I was reading an article on a blog and it had some scary news. See for yourself.

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[Bahraini Spirit]

Ya I read it and if that is true, I'll be greatly disappointed like hell. Those damn people we have that are supposedly declarin everythin is cool are in fact nothin but back-stabbers.