imported 2024-03-17 17:43:07
By striving to be in the first rank of global business leadership, Bahrain has achieved a long series of “firsts” in order to rapidly move into a major leadership role in world banking, finance, business opportunity, tourism, high-performance sport, education, and culture.
BAPCO Bahrain, CEO, Abdulkarim Al Sayed
BAPCO Bahrain sells on the behalf of the Bahrain Government. The other source of income for the government is from the BAPCO Bahrain refinery. The money BAPCO Bahrain makes as a result of processing crude oil is a source of income for the government. Between what BAPCO Bahrain pays and what BAPCO Bahrain gets from the sale of products, the bigger the margin is the better it is for Bahrain.
Bahrain Ports – General Organisation of Sea Ports in Bahrain (GOP), Director General, Hassan Ali Al Majed
Khalifa Bin Salman Port will be built on 150 hectare and this will double Bahrain Ports capacity from 1.1 to 2.5 million TUs. Bahrain Ports are also planning for stage three where Bahrain Ports have reserved land east of Khalifa Bin Salman Port and it is almost the same size and this will also double the through port of Khalifa Bin Salman Port by almost 5 million containers. This is a plan for the next 20-30 years.
The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states – Abu Zaby, ‘Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn – merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra’s al Khaymah. The UAE’s per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. Its generosity with oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed the UAE to play a vital role in the affairs of the region.
The making of a powerhouse: How the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is transformed to an economic and tourism world class centre of the future.
“Sharjah was chosen by UNESCO in 1998 as the cultural capital of the Arab world”, underlines Mohammed Ali Al Noman, Director General of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, with pride in his voice.T hanks to several initiatives taken by Shrajah’s ruler, His Highness Dr. Sultan Bin Mohmmed Al Qassimi, Sharjah cannot be ignored by friends of Arab literature and Islamic art. “We feel like we are the museum of the world”, says Mr. Al Numan. HH Dr. Sheikh Sultan is a poet himself, he regularly writes and publishes stories of Arabian history and fairy tales for children. His books are presented every year at the famous Sharjah International Book Fair, which usually takes place in autumn in the Expo Centre-Sharjah.
Oil now plays a very minor role; it represents only around 3 percent of Dubai’s GDP. Dubai’s economic success story is mainly based on its 20 free zones (of which 12 are still under construction). You want to set up your own laboratory in order to invent new drugs for the health sector? Then DuBiotech, a dedicated free zone for biotech companies, is the right zone for you. Entrepreneurs in the IT-sector establish their firms in Dubai Internet City and trade companies go either to the Dubai Airport Free Zone or Jebel Ali Free Zone. Nearly all Fortune 500-companies are present in Dubai.
Within the UAE, Abu Dhabi owns the lion’s share of oil and gas– 95 percent and 92 percent, respectively. As a result, with US$ 63,000, Abu Dhabi is ranked third in the world in terms of GDP per capita (ahead of Switzerland, but behind Luxemburg and Norway). “I think the appeal of Abu Dhabi is that it represents about 60% of the economy of the UAE”, says Michael H. Tomalin, Chief Executive (CE) of National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the largest bank in Abu Dhabi . NBAD’s major shareholder is the state. Only 30 percent of NBAD-stocks are listed at the Abu Dhabi Exchange and this is representative for most UAE banks.
For H.H. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, or simply RAK, this title is not enough. His Highness wants to raise RAK to the top of the Middle Eastern economic, tourism and industry rankings. RAK’s GDP has grown by more than 50 percent over the last four years and the fast growing emirate, riding a wave of massive inward investment, is expected to clock an annual growth rate of over 15 percent in the next few years.
Among travelers, Ajman is well-known for the beach hotel, Ajman Kempinski, but the journey does not stop here. Despite being the smallest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, “Ajman is emerging as one of the big players in the real estate sector”, Imad Dana, CEO of Al Zorah, is convinced.
Fujairah, the easternmost emirate of the UAE with a fabulous coast on the Gulf of Oman, is already home to an international airport and, even here, figures are all on the rise.
In five years time, the emirate of Umm Al Quwain wants to be as popular as the other six emirates. Literally, Umm Al Quwain means “the mother of two powers”, a reference to the seafaring tradition of this emirate. It is home to 62,000 people and ruled by the Al Mu’alla-family.
