The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considering the implementation of a comprehensive National Strategy to augment the country’s stock of affordable housing. HRH King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz has emphasized the need to expedite measures for facilitating easier access to housing for low- to middle-income citizens. Around 80 per cent of the Saudi population, which continues to grow at an annual rate of 2.9 per cent, is under the age of 39. Many of them are married c... Read more »

A Dubai-based manufacturer of water heaters working from solar power has given an interview the Gulfnews. According to him, such water heater can pay off in just 2 years. The heaters use solar power instead of electricity and do not pollute the environment. They can heat 400 liters of water per day up to 90C. In addition, such water heaters almost do not require any maintenance. In Dubai, the largest sun-powered water heater is installed on the roof... Read more »

The government of Morocco has finalized a development plan for fishing sector, called Halieutis. The aim of the project is the raise the number of working places in the sector almost twice to 115,000 and to raise the export of sea products to 3 billion dollars per year by 2020. In addition, the fleet will be modernized and a special area, called Haliopolis, will be created. Haliopolis will cover 150 hectares of land and will provide land plots and offices for busi... Read more »

In 2008 foreign investment in Lebanon rose by 32% to 3.6 billion dollars. Most foreign investment came from other Arab countries with Saudi Arabia topping the list with 63% out of all foreign investment in Lebanon. FDI was mostly directed to the real estate sector, the Middle East Online reports. According to a recent report by the UN, in 2008 total FDI to 14 ... Read more »

Maan Al Sanea forged the signature of Sheikh Suleiman Hamad Algosaibi on a loan application for forty million dollars. The sheikh himself couldn’t sign the document since at the time he was dying at a hospital – unconscious, under anaesthetics and respiratory ventilator. In addition, it is obvious that the signature was printed from a computer and traced with a felt-tip pen. Printer ink is clearly visible under the signature in ultra violet light, ... Read more »

Egypt is threatening mobile phone operator in the country to place sanctions on them if they fail to cancel their promo offers after Ramadan. Major operators, Vodafone Egypt and Mobinil, lowered their prices per minute of calls down to one cent until the end of Ramadan, the Daily News Egypt reports. Apart from that, Vodafone and Etilasat Egypt ha... Read more »

A recent opinion poll among managers of leading recruiting agencies in the UAE has shown a considerable fall in average salary in the country. During the first half of this year companies reduced salaries in an attempt to cut expenses, the Arabian Business reports. According to the poll results, 65% of respondents think that... Read more »

The prime-minister of Jordan has arrived in Iraq to request an increase in oil supplies to the country. Currently Iraq exports about 18,000 barrels of oil per day to Jordan, and Jordan wants to double that amount. Previously, Iraq used to be the main exporter of oil into Jordan, but supplies stopped in 2003 after the invasion of US forces. In 2006 Iraq promised to start supplies but was unable due to widespread attacks on trucks transporting oil. Oil supplies from... Read more »

Saudi Arabia is planning the creation of the country’s first nuclear power plant. The project is being developed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology located in Riyadh, the Arabian Business reports. Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, which is responsible for the UAE’s nuclear programme worth 41bn dollars, ... Read more »

UAE and China have signed five agreements aimed at improving bilateral ties. The most significant is the deal between China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and, from the UAE side, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC). The deal envisages joint work on oil projects, including the construction project in Singapore where oil storage facilities will be built. A defense systems supplier from UAE has signed a cooperation agreement with a Chinese defense contractor, ... Read more »