Wednesday 16 March 2011

UAE and Montenegro sign MOU for open air services

The United Arab Emirates represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has signed an open air services Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and initialed an Air Services Agreement (ASA) with the Government of Montenegro in Podgorica. The agreement was initialed by Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Mirel Radic Ljubisavljevic, Deputy Minister for Air and Road Transport of Montenegro. Representatives from Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline attended the negotiations.

2.RAK Airways will emerge stronger: CEO

DUBAI - RAK AirwaysRAK Airways
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will emerge stronger as the airline plans to generate demand from tourism and the expat community based in the emirate, its top official said on Monday.

"The airline is an integrated part of RAK vision that expects an increase in tourists influx from 0.5 million at present to over 2.5 million by 2013," RAK AirwaysRAK Airways
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Chief Executive Officer Omar Jahameh said while addressing the Aviation Outlook MENA conference.

He said emirate has potential to attract tourists and ongoing infrastructure developments will boost hospitality sector that will ultimately generate demand for air travel from the emirate.

"Almost $10 billion in investment is allocated to expand and build tourism attractions in the next few years. RAK Tourism expects to increase the footfall in Ras Al Khaimah from the current half a million to around 2.5 million by 2013."

The emirate is also aiming by the end of next year to push the number of five star hotel rooms up to 7,500 and have at least 30 hotels. Jahameh said RAK AirwaysRAK Airways
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looked at its own domestic demand within the emirate. "We have a large cement industry, UAE's largest pharmaceutical company and one of the world's largest ceramic tile manufacturer with more than 5,000 expatriate workers in the emirate. We looked at how they would travel and then worked with the company to make sure we could deliver what they needed." The airline also saw opportunities for Umra packages, he said. Jahameh also defended the decision to suspend the airline's services in 2009. He said that tough decision enabled the airline to emerge stronger after its relaunch in September 2010.

"The decision was made to suspend the airline and protect the capital investment of $200 million," he said adding that the airline became stronger by re-emerging in 2010 as it serves a new market segment.

"We at RAK AirwaysRAK Airways
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were waiting to be back in business at the right time with a business model which defines our vision in building a  sustainable future."

"The first quarter of 2010 witnessed global traffic coming back to pre-recession levels with improving load factors and bottom line. With the worst of the recession behind, 2010 was the right time for us to look to the future."

The airline has so far launched flights to Calicut, Dhaka, Jeddah and Cairo. "We sit with an average seat factor of around 85 per cent on our existing routes," Jahameh said adding that the strategy of the low cost Dh10 introductory fare created an impact. "Ras Al Khaimah is on its way to become a world-renowned destination in terms of investment, tourism and infrastructure. RAK AirwaysRAK Airways
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work very closely with the tourism authority of Ras Al Khaimah. Our mandate is to provide the best connections in and out of Ras Al Khaimah at affordable prices with high quality to support the government vision of connecting the world with Ras Al Khaimah."

He said the re-launch of RAK AirwaysRAK Airways
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is set to play a key role in the promotion of Ras Al Khaimah as a favoured destination.

"Ras Al Khaimah is also a wonderful place to do business, with a healthy economy, together with a stable environment. Ras Al Khaimah free Trade Zone, one of the fastest growing and most cost effective free trade zones in the UAE is home to over 5,000 companies now. The cost of living and doing business in Ras Al Khaimah is extremely competitive, yet the emirate is perfectly positioned at the cross roads of Europe and Asia," he said.  

3.Mohammed visits Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, visited the third edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Thursday where he met with writers and literary figures taking part in the event.

During his tour Sheikh Mohammed spoke with authors attending the festival at the Intercontinental Hotel near Dubai Festival City, including Chinese poet Yang Lian who recited a poem in Cantonese in his honour.

Sheikh Mohammed also exchanged views with Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka and travel writer Michael Palin. Among the topics discussed were the cultural scene in the UAE and ways to encourage the UAE's youth to further immerse themselves in the country's rich literary heritage.

After welcoming the participants from around the world, Sheikh Mohammed said that the festival reflects the leadership's keen interest in the art of literature, saying that it acts as a bridge between diverse cultures.

Sheikh Mohammed was later briefed about a story writing competition for children organised by the festival to promote reading and writing amongst younger generations.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will run until March 12 and is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed in partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.

Sheikh Mohammed was accompanied on his visit by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Director General of the Government of Dubai Media Office Ahmed Abdullah Al Shaikh and other senior officials.

4.Dubai mulls secondary IPO market for SMEs

DUBAI - Dubai is considering to establish a secondary IPO market for small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, and an equity market dedicated to trading of SME shares, a top official of the emirate said on Monday.

“Dubai SME 100 will serve as the foundation of other initiatives such as the possible development of a SME secondary IPO market listing, and the building of an equity market dedicated to SMEs,” Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Supreme Fiscal Committee, told reporters at a conference.

Dubai SME, an agency under the Dubai Department of Economic Development mandated to develop the SME sector, launched Dubai SME 100, the first-ever ranking of top-performing and fast-growing SMEs in Dubai.

Dubai SME CEO Abdul Baset Al Janahi said that the launch of an IPO market for SMEs is still being considered. “We are discussing the idea of an equity market and an SME secondary IPO market listing and [this] is still an idea at an early stage,” he told reporters.

The rankings aim to recognise and celebrate the SMEs that have made a difference to Dubai’s economic landscape, while also establishing clear benchmarks to enable the creation of bigger, better, sustainable and globally-oriented enterprises. Dubai SME 100 will now serve as a strong credential for enterprises to access new markets and funding for capacity building and expansion.

It follows the successful launch of the first official definition of SMEs in Dubai in 2009, which was defined as any Dubai-registered firm with a turnover of up to Dh250 million and employs up to 250 staff. Based on this, the Dubai SME sector comprises 95 per cent of the total enterprise population and employs 42 per cent of the Dubai workforce, and contributes 40 per cent of the emirate’s value add.

“Dubai SME 100 will objectively indicate the competitive positioning of the top SMEs and also serve as an invaluable tool to identify the capability development gaps of SMEs and address them,” said Shaikh Ahmed, who is also the President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emirates airline and Group. “We need to further enable the creation and development of quality enterprises that are innovative and globally-oriented. Dubai SME 100 will serve as a foundation for other SME initiatives including the possible development of a SME secondary listing and the building of an equity market dedicated to SMEs,” he said.

“Small and medium enterprises are uniquely placed to attract much-needed private equity into our economy. In many developed economies, high performance SMEs are supported by financial markets. SMEs also have the flexibility, variety and adaptability to lead diversification like no other,” UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said.

Mansouri said the UAE is in the final stage of drawing up a federal law for SMEs which is due later in 2011. The draft law will be submitted to the cabinet by the middle of this year, he added.

The minister also said that the country’s economy is growing faster than expected this year. The International Monetary Fund predicted a 3.25 per cent GDP growth for the UAE this year. In a recent announcement the Fund also increased its forecast for non-oil GDP from two to 3.25 per cent.

By
Monika Jain

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