Sales of Chevy Cars in Middle East Up 9.2% in 2010

Chevrolet’s popularity is soaring in the Middle East as new models and old standards continue to sell, in many cases with double digit growth figures. For instance, the latest cars entering the market in the region are the Cruze, Malibu, Camaro and Traverse, which are all selling well. Full size SUVs and popular pick-up trucks which have always been favorites of Middle Easterners, are selling to double-digit figures.  A big favourite, the Suburban, which is one of  Chevy's oldest models with 75 years behind it, charted growth of 56% in 2010. Others models also doing well are the Tahoe with a 14% growth, the Avalanche at 39% increased sales, and an amazing 74% growth for the Silverado.

These sales figures for 2010 only confirm what most denizens of the Middle East already know: that Chevrolet is a wildly popular car company among citizens of the region.

Praise for Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman

The Secretary General of the AGCC (Arab Gulf Countries Council) Abdulrahman bin Hamad al Attiyah heaped warm praise on the His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman for his great success in achieving unprecedented improvement in human rights and other areas in his country.

Describing the Sultan’s achievements as ‘remarkable’ al Attiyah expressed appreciation of the ‘wise policies’ of his majesty which have accomplished so much for the Sultanate in recent years. The Secretary General added that because of these achievements Oman has become a source of ‘inspiration’ for other Arab Gulf states and has garnered respect from the rest of the international community.

What was especially satisfying to al Attiyah as representative of the AGCC was the assertion made by Sihasak Phuangketkeow, president of the Human Rights Council, that Oman is meeting all the international standards, work mechanisms and conditions for the implementation of human rights in the Sultanate.

Al Attiyah told the Oman News Agency that Phuangketkeow’s statement and the success of the Sultanate is simply a reflection of the wise political vision and enlightened perspective of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The Secretary General went on to say that Oman’s success is proof that the Sultan is committed to security, stability and the welfare of the Omani people.

Zamil Joins With Severfield-Rowen to Build in Saudi Arabia and Middle East

The biggest manufacturer of structural steel in the United Kingdom, Severfield-Rowen, has teamed up with Zamil Steel Industries with the intention of providing improved design, fabrication and construction capability of structural steelwork. The focus of the partnership will be to make available to clients in Saudi Arabia and the more expansive Middle East, specialized steel structures.

Zamil Steel Industries is a sector business of the Zamil Industrial Investment Company which announced the strategic partnership last week. Together they hope to develop and build projects requiring intensive engineering content, such as airports, stadiums, train stations, museums, power plants, high-rise buildings and the like.

"This agreement is the result of ongoing collaboration between Zamil Steel and leading international companies to execute steel structures and buildings projects in the region. It is also a distinctive addition to Zamil Steel's capabilities in the design, manufacture and installation of mega-projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, GCC States and the Middle East," said Adnan Al-Mansour, President of Zamil Steel.

Hyundai Wins Contract from Abu Dhabi Company Worth $169 Million

The Abu Dhabi-based provider of creative plastics solutions, Borouge, has finalized a deal with Hyundai Engineering and Construction of South Korea, for them to construct a plant for the manufacture of XLPE (cross-linkable polyethylene) adjacent to its existing petrochemical plant located in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

The deal is worth $169 million and is expected to produce 80,000 tonnes of XLPE per year as an added-value complement to the already existing LDPE (low density polyethylene) unit in Ruwais. Together the plants will allow Borouge to produce innovative plastics for low to high voltage cables.

This contract represents the final stage in a multi-stage process which is already well underway. The planned mega-expansion will allow Borouge to grow in such a way that by mid-2014, when the new plant is expected to become fully operational, Borouge will produce more than double their present yearly capacity, reaching 4.5 million tonnes. At this stage Borouge will be the world’s largest producer of integrated polyolefin.  The goal is for Borouge to join Borealis to become the leading long-term dependable supplier of polymers for the international cable and wire infrastructure market.

Qatar’s Al Rayan Rises on Upbeat 4Q News

Masraf Al RayanNews of a slight increase in quarterly profit caused Qatar’s Masraf Al Rayan to rally yesterday.

The Islamic lender’s Shares of the Masraf Al Rayan climbed 1.5 percent. The company’s profit of QR289m ($79.4m) in the fourth-quarter, rose from from its earlier profit of QR280m.

Qatar’s index QSI rose 0.3 percent to 9,041 points.  The index rose for a third day, a rebound after Sunday’s three-week low.

“The risk-reward profile does not warrant an entry at this stage and more pull back is required to trigger buying,” Shuaa Capital wrote in a research note.

Oman and Great Britain Building Deeper Ties

Oman and U.K. Foster TiesOman (Muscat) – Darwish bin Ismail bin Ali al Balushi , Secretary General of the Finance Ministry received at the Finance Ministry ‘s HQs’ Lord Alderman Nicolas , Mayor of London who is currently visiting the Sultanate on top of a delegation comprising executives and representatives of a number of U.K banking and investment companies.

There was discussion in the meeting on the various ways of developing and enhancing the bilateral cooperation and the current relations between Oman and Great Britain, especially in the financial sector and joint investment fields.

Lord Nicolas Alderman highlighted to the guest the efforts and achievements made by the Sultanate’s government in the field of diversifying sources of national income and enhancing the role of national economy . He also highlighted the financial policies adopted by the Sultanate’s government to improve the financial performance and ensure that the financial sector has all the potentials that contribute to the development process in the Sultanate.

He also covered the development plans of the government and the ongoing efforts to prepare the state budget for 2011 and the 8th five year plan scheduled to kick off at the beginning of next year. He also covered the development programs adopted by the government to increase the contribution of the non-oil sector in the GDP and its endeavors to develop and construct a number of new ports and airports. He also covered the efforts underway to develop the oil & gas based industries.

Al Balushi pointed out that the inflow of foreign investments and investors to the Sultanate is good; thanks to the financial and economic stability of the Sultanate. He also reviewed the underway projects in Al Duqum area, as well as, the development plans to convert the area into an economic zone that will contribute to the growth of the national economy.

On the other hand, Yahya bin Said al Jabri, Executive President of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) received in his office Lord Nicholas Alderman.

The meeting reviewed aspects of existing cooperation between the two countries, in addition to, touching on investment opportunities in Oman’s capital sector by acquainting them with the legislative and auditing infrastructure for the sector, as well as, reviewing the latest developments witnessed by the CMA at the local and international levels.

The visit’s program included lecture directed towards familiarizing the British delegation on the capital market sector. This lecture touched on legislative and auditing systems of the capital market sector, their stages of development and available investment opportunities. This is in addition to familiarizing them with facilities offered by Muscat Securities Market (MSM) for local and foreign investors.

The meeting was attended by Ahmed bin Saleh al Marhoon, MSM Director General, Abdullah bin Ahmed al Nabhani, General Manager of Muscat Clearance and Depositary Company, senior officials at CMA, MSM and Muscat Clearance and Depositary Company.

What Do America’s Midterm Elections Mean for Oman?

Obama-AhmadinejadOn Nov. 2nd Americans go to vote for their Congressional representatives and by most counts and with the show of force at yesterday’s FreedomWorks rally and conservative talk show host Glenn Beck’s rally from two weeks ago, the Republicans are seemingly going to take back the Congress or come very close. At first glance this seems to be plain negative for Oman and the greater Middle East. The Obama administration, bolstered by a majority in both Houses of Congress has been pushing for greater partnership with the Islamic world and the Arab world in particular. Yet, this is only on the surface and money and defense contracts don’t make up for a do nothing attitude on the rising threat of Iran, which if allowed to get atomic weapons could undo all the economic advancements Oman has seen in recent years.

While I and many others in the Persian Gulf don;t like the Republican and neo-con affinity with the Zionist State of Israel, their sweeping victory in November might just get the Obama administration to do something about Iran, which is now a bigger problem than the “Zionists”.

Food Dependency in the Arab World

The United Nations issued a new report, addressing the status of the population and food in 77 countries, including most countries of the Arab World and the Middle East. UN report has been completed to the miserable results , indicating a large degree of food dependency experienced by most Arab countries , as many third world countries.

The report, titled ” Index overpopulation “(overpopulation index), levels of per capita consumption of productive land vital; any productive land for food and water, and those for livestock. This is known as the environmental impact of consumption per capita (ecological footprint).

This corresponds to the indicator, the per capita share of productive land available, capable of producing vital resources , and compensation for the shortfall caused by human consumption, wahich is being defined as vital energy production (bio capacity).

After that it defines food dependency (food dependency) as the ratio of consumption based on external sources. The ratio begins at a minimum levels close to zero, in countries with agricultural production and water active , rising close to cent per cent, in countries heavily dependent on the outside.

There have been five Arab countries in the list of the top ten global level of food dependency . The index fluctuated this dependency in the respective countries between 93.5 % in Kuwait and 81.5 % in Iraq . He was in Lebanon, 82.5 %.

On a global scale , Singapore, is in first place, by 99.1%, and Burkina Faso ranked 77 ( the last among the countries ranked in the report) , by 1.9%. and replaced Israel in second place worldwide , increased dependency of 93.9 %. Egypt topped the No. 14 globally at 77% , Iran ranked 19 by 62.9 %, Saudi Arabia ranked 20 by 62.7 %.

This ratio was in Qatar, 59.6% , Azerbaijan 57 %, India 51% , Haiti 50.4% , Pakistan 49.9% , Turkey 48.3% , Syria 45.9% , Tunisia 38.9 % , Morocco 32.8% , Yemen 31.4% , Oman 28.5% , Djibouti 9.7 % , Kazakhstan 3.4%.

The global rate of food dependency ratio 30.4 %. In high-income countries 44.8 %. And middle-income countries 5.5%. And low-income countries 3.6 %. The rate in the European Union 32.9 %, in Canada and the United States 35 %.

Of course, these percentages can be read on more than one level. It can be said that the proportion within thirty percent may be considered acceptable , given the size of the overlap in the global food market.

In spite of this, beyond this ratio means that there is not likely exposed to food security, not necessarily a weakness, vulnerability and sensitive, in the perspective of the overall national security of the States concerned.

In contrast, less than 15% may indicate a state of isolation , or weakness in the link to the international economy , which is not good.

For the Arab countries in the report , there were mostly in the box states the great food exposure . This is a situation that may be considered alarming.

I registered the global average rate at this level clocked 2.59 hectares per capita and was amended in high-income countries 6.06 in middle-income countries , and 1.78 low-income countries 1.03 hectares. The lowest rate world wide was found in Haiti, by 0.48 hectares per capita and the rate was 0.75 in Pakistan , Tajikistan and Yemen 0.87 0.98 .

In terms of per capita share of productive land available, the global average was 1.81 hectares per capita. In high-income countries 3.35 hectares, and middle-income countries 1.68 hectares, and the low-income countries 0.99 hectares. The highest rate worldwide in Denmark, by 5.19 hectares per capita, and lowest in Singapore, by 0.04 hectares.

The score results in a number of the Arab states as follows: Qatar 3.91 , Amman, 2.53 , UAE 1.36, Saudi Arabia 1.3, Morocco 0.9 , Syria 0.87 , Algeria 0.82 , Djibouti, 0.84 , Yemen 0.67 , Libya 0.57 , Kuwait 0.52, Lebanon 0.37 , Egypt 0.32 , Jordan and Iraq 0.26 0.25 ha.

It is clear that these figures do not need much comment as they show a severe crisis in relationship to the state of the Arab world’s agriculture and farmers .

Adding to the aggravation of existing food security crisis , that the great elevation, and unprecedented in the prices of materials and food commodities.

The report of the joint , issued in June 2010 , for each of the Organization of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) , the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , noted that food prices would rise by 40% over the next decade. It is expected the report, titled ” Agriculture Outlook : 2010 – 2019 ” the average price of wheat and coarse grains over the next ten years actually limits ranging between 15 % to 45 %, compared to levels prevailing during the period 1997 and 2006. Is also expected to rise in the prices of plant oils and dairy products by about 40 %.

The report finds that agricultural output of the international , even if sufficient to meet the food needs of the world’s population , the sudden increases in prices, the economic crisis, may have contributed to the worsening situation of food insecurity and hunger , the suffering of about one billion people short of food.

For the Arab world , is required today is the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector. And direct investments to its branches and various fields , production and manufacture . Accordingly , we have to dust off plans found on the shelves for many years and start pulling our selves out of this predicament .

Oman and India Sign Investment Deal

Investment Options Asia is reporting that Ahmed bin Abdul Nabi Makki is visiting India tomorrow to sign a final agreement with India on investing in India through the Oman Investment Fund:

Minister of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Ahmed bin Abdul Nabi Makki tomorrow ‘s visit to India to sign the final agreement with the Indian Oman Investment Fund – worth 5.1 billion dollars.

An official source in Oman to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) , who preferred anonymity said that the Fund will provide support for bilateral trade and joint investment between the two countries , pointing out that the agreement would help both countries to ensure the financing of a number of projects.

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ARC China: Middle East Meets China

In my previous post I detailed the linkage between China’s rise in economic stature and its positive implications for our region.  Well ARC China, a respected investment firm based in China concurs:

Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) are poised to become the largest investors in the Hong Kong portion of the Agriculture Bank of China IPO next month after signing agreements to invest $2.8 billion and $800 million respectively. This is an important development as China’s largest lender by number of customers, the Agricultural Bank is seeking to raise as much as $15 billion for the Hong Kong portion of what may become the world’s largest IPO to date.

Its clear that this natural partnership will only grow and benefit regions.