The Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Luca Ferrari, met with the Chairperson of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) Dr. Abdulrahman Al Zamil at Zamil’s office to discuss different ways the two countries can work together to strengthen their economic and trade partnerships. Acting Secretary General of CSC Eng. Omar Bahlaiwa also attended the meeting. Read More »

The first Thai Product Exhibition was announced during a press conference at Oman International Exhibition Centre. It was explained during the April 18 conference that the exhibition will be prepared by the Oman International Exhibition Centre in collaboration with Vega Intergrade & Exhibitions, Thai Embassy and Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion. Read More »

Zenlayer, a global network and service provider of SDN technology, is expanding its co-location and hosting capabilities with Equinix into Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Melbourne, Australia. Zenlayer's data center portfolio includes more than 50 data centers across six continents. Zenlayer is also leveraging Equinix's global interconnection and data center platform — Platform Equinix — for global scale to reach additional markets around the world. Read More »

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) recently joined forces with a regional organization called Riyada to assist independent business owners with refining important skills needed to grow their enterprises such as sales, marketing strategies and customer relations. Five dozen participants attended a three-day workshop offered at Riyada’s Ghala-based headquarters. Read More »

A top ranking delegation, headed by Mohammed Ali Al-Mannai, President of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), represented Qatar at the 27th Meeting of GCC Committee for Under-Secretaries of Post and Telecommunications held in May. Numerous topics connected to the development of postal and telecommunications industries within the GCC states were discussed at the meeting, as well as ways for the member states to increase cooperation amongst themselves. Read More »

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Asian traders committee (BATC) paid a visit recently to Sri Lanka’s newly appointed ambassador to the Kingdom, A. Saj U. Mendis, at the Sri Lankan embassy in Manama. The contingent, led by vice-treasurer Mohamed Sajid, initiated discussions about elevating the level of trade between Sri Lanka and Bahrain to increase the alliance between the two nations with investment and economic partnerships. Read More »

The JustProperty.com platform, a real estate tool for managing markets across the Middle East, recently announced it is expanding its operations to Bahrain and Jordan. This news is part of the quick emergence of JustProperty.com, a product of the JRD Group, over the past six months. Prior to that, the company had been operating in the Middle East for several years. Read More »

In the past few months, Qatar Investment Authority officials announced fund managers are making moves toward investing $35 billion in U.S. interests while opening an office in New York. The fund has hired top finance professionals. But none of that has, as yet, been enough to move the QIA from the bottom of the barrel in the eyes of organizations charged with monitoring sovereign wealth funds. Read More »

Zenlayer, a global network and service provider of SDN (software-defined networking) technology, recently expanded its colocation and hosting capabilities with Equinix into Dubai and Melbourne, Australia.These two markets joins ZenLayer’s existing network of 50 data centers worldwide. As a service provider, ZenLayer connects companies and other parties in many different ways. Read More »

Criteo’s recent report on online retail and travel industries across the Middle East and Africa region shed light on the increasing importance of mobile commerce for retailers during last year's Ramadan. The study revealed that mobile was the preferred device throughout the Ramadan period, with spending increasing from 44 percent two weeks before Ramadan to 49 percent by the last week. Read More »

UAE-based Network International, a leading payment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa region, has partnered with Oberthur Technologies (OT) to offer banks in the region OT’s dynamic cryptogram payment card option to secure online transactions. The OT MOTION CODE solution provides an extra layer of security for card-not-present (CNP) transactions. Read More »

Covalon Technologies Ltd. is expanding into several Middle Eastern countries with Qatar positioned to benefit from the firm’s newly established presence. Covalon develops and markets wound care applications for infection management. The firm recently expanded its distribution in the Middle East, with Iran and the United Arab Emirates also on the list of potential clients. Read More »

Two recent Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry workshops held at the chamber’s main offices helped to identify and capitalize on the trend away from conventional commerce to that of a cloud-based economy. Sessions led by chamber specialists encouraged participants to prepare for the already apparent shift toward e-commerce in the emirate as well as across many GCC nations. Read More »

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) said a $900 million loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and other international banks will finance the construction of the new Shuqaiq power plant. The loan is guaranteed by KEXIM, but is funded by banks that include Deutsche Bank, Santander Bank and the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ for the life of the loan, 13.25 years. Read More »

A Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) committee took part in the recent Bahrain-India Forum held in New Delhi and discussed the possibility of hosting an Indian Week Exhibition in Bahrain. The BCCI Promotion, Exhibitions and Conferences committee went to the forum to increase the Bahraini presence in the promotion of and investment in the business environment and events. Read More »

InnoVacient LLC and Lamarka Consulting have revamped the InspireU Technology and Entrepreneurship Center of Excellence in Riyadh. InspireU aims to advance job creation and economic growth across the kingdom through innovative solutions that will help improve the standard of living in Saudi Arabia and lead the state away from an oil based economy. Read More »

Strengthening its dominance in the sub-sea cable market, E-marine, the Middle East’s principal provider of submarine cable solutions, recently launched its newest cable-laying vessel, the CS Maram, in Dubai. The newest in E-marine’s fleet of five vessels, and the fourth in its cable-laying fleet, CS Maram is considered to be the most modern eco-friendly cable ship ever built. Read More »

Hilal Properties Oman has listed a three-bedroom villa in the Al Khoud area of Muscat for $779,018. The villa features three bedrooms, four bathrooms and approximately 8,266 square feet of living space. The kitchen is fully outfitted and has large built-in cabinets along one wall. The living room has a large window that lets in an abundance of light. Read More »

To optimize its proficiency level in asset management workforce training, the Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance (BIBF) participated in the May 30-31 Middle East Asset Management Forum at the Gulf Hotel in Manama. The event, supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain, focused on the importance of training and development for the Bahraini financial workforce. Read More »

Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association Vice Chairman Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan recently became the association's chairman. Al-Benyan, who leads the global management team at Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) as its CEO and vice chairman. Al-Benyan has held many roles since joining SABIC in 1987, including executive vice president of corporate human resources. Read More »