The Moon Man says Monday

“We can only see the new moon on Monday evening with difficulty as it will be visible for only 36 minutes with a glow of 1.90 percent,” said Al-Zaaq, who is also a member of the Islamic Project to Observe the Crescent. He urged the public not to be confused by seeing celestial bodies on Saturday evening.

Kul 'am wa enta bi-khair! Eid Mubarak! Eid saeed!

From Arab News (Proviso - The Moon Man is in Jeddah)

Locals on Expats on Locals

Perception:

“People see us as these creatures walking in their midst,” Ms. Atiyat said. “They see these aliens wearing all black or white, which they think means we are closing ourselves off.

More insight from the New York Times

Istithmar will buy you

With a spending spree in the offing, and $7 billion in their back pocket, Istithmar will probably something related to your daily life:

Mr Jackson said Istithmar was set to open offices in New York and Shanghai but the company’s investment strategy was driven less by geography and more by industry trends.

Investment sectors he was interested in include media content providers and healthcare companies.

Read more from the FT

The Real EMI

Mention EMI in Abu Dhabi, and some confuse the real EMI with Emirates Media Incorporated, the government media arm that looks after Abu Dhabi TV, Radio 1, Itihad Newspaper and Zahrat Al Khaleej etc. It's more of a mouthpiece than a dynamic media orgnaisation and lives a little in the dark ages.

The rumours are that Istithmar are interested in buying a stake in EMI. But why? It's a dead company. No, apparently Istithmar want a stake in the the real EMI, and are prepared to flex their cash for it.

All rumours of course, apart from the fact that the fake EMI lives in the dark ages....

Top Arab Brands

Forbes has released its ranking of the Top 40 Arab Brands, which makes for some interesting reading. No doubt debates will continue whether certain brands make it in higher than others and whether the mthodology is correct, but either way, at least there is a ranking of this sort to differentiate the big players.

Here they are with the UAE brands starred:

1. Al Jazeera
*2. Emirates
3. Almarai
4. Al Arabiya
5. Afia
6. Americana
*7. Burj al Arab
8. Fine
9. Jarir Bookstore
*10. Emaar
11. Qatar Airways
12. Gulf Air
13. Aramex
14. LBC
15. Patchi
16. Rotana
17. Future TV
*18. Etihad Airways
19. Kudu
20. Rotana Hotels
21. Gandour
*22. Thuraya
*23. Ajmal
24 Al Islmai
25. Kassatly Chtaura
*26. Gulfa
*27. Air Arabia
28. Wataniya Telecom
29. Mikyajy
*30. Nakheel
31. Mecca Cola
32. Milco
33. Melody
34. Al-Tazaj
35. Fayrouz
*36. Splash
37. Jashanmal
38. Two Apples
*39. Al Rawabi
40. Orascom Construction Industries

See the list and methodology here

Ramadan Tents and Shisha

Coverage of Ramadan in Dubai and the Shisha tents by the Washington Post:

The city slumbers during the daytime hours of Ramadan, when Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex from sunrise to sunset.

But come nightfall, people throng to Bedouin-style tents at hotel beaches and rooftops to smoke tobacco water pipes, eat traditional Ramadan dishes, and enjoy a festive outing.

Read the rest if you want to get a picture of what it is like.

Dead Dubai Drunk Deported

Perhaps he was a ghost?

Living it up in Dubai

If you are going to use up taxpayers money, why not do it in Dubai, live bling and hope that no real work opportunity comes up.

The case of the Canadian senators.

The Hijab Guide

With all the debate about headscarves in the UK the BBC have produced a what's what guide.



Not just for the ignorami

The VOIP farce

As news of Etisalat's mega profits return to laugh in the face of the UAE consumer, the Associated Press have jumped in to throw the whole voip debate into the ears of the world. Here is the final paragraph which says it all really:

Many people here believe the ban runs counter to Dubai's image as the Mideast's most liberal and business-friendly city.

"If the foreign companies Dubai wants to lure here can't use cheap communications tools, that cuts into Dubai's competitiveness on the international stage," Chesman said.

Couple this with my post of the 13th, and a report from Katie the day after and you start getting some further backing that this it is time to move out of the dark ages and into the desert sun. (with a little UV protection of course)

The World Investment Report (UN)

It's a hulk of a report, all 366 pages of it, but the UAE features predominantly due to the money coming in, and especially due to the freezones:

The United Arab Emirates was the largest recipient of FDI in West Asia, with a record high of $12 billion, mainly gone to the country’s 15 free trade zones.
...
The United Arab Emirates will continue to attract FDI in various manufacturing and service activities, mainly to their free zones. Driven by the property laws enacted successively in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai, FDI in real estate is likely to remain prominent. With the eventual adoption of the planned federal Company Law to allow majority foreign ownership in non-free economic zones, the Emirates would continue to be the largest FDI recipient in the region.
...
According to the competitiveness rankings of the world’s economies, in 1986 there was only one developing economy (Turkey) among the 20 most competitive economies, and by 2005 the number had increased to five: Taiwan Province of China, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in that order (World Economic Forum 2005).


Worth a skim, if you follow the economics of these things.

WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2006 - FDI from Developing and Transition Economies: Implications for Development

The most important trend

The most important trend considered by top managers is the growing number of consumers in emerging economies. If that is what the people in business think, expect more in terms of choice and competition to take our money away.



Going from global trends to corporate strategy from the Mckinsey Quarterly

Speer meets Disney on the shores of Araby.

Courtesy of the John Chilton, comes the latest must read article of Dubai, citing numerous past must reads:

From a booster’s viewpoint, the city’s monstrous caricature of futurism is simply shrewd branding for the world market. As one developer told the Financial Times, ‘If there was no Burj Dubai, no Palm, no World, would anyone be speaking of Dubai today? You shouldn’t look at projects as crazy stand-alones. It’s part of building the brand’.

Read it all: FEAR AND MONEY IN DUBAI: MIKE DAVIS from Evil Paradises: The Dreamworlds of Neo-Liberalism, to be published by New Press in 2007.

$60 is a realistic price

Opec have cut its forecast for q4 06, but have maintained their predictions for 2007. That's still money in the coffers for countries like the UAE, and will help to maintain balanced or surplus budgets without the need for any real income tax.

The skyscrapers of the world

The current under construction and proposed structures put into order of size. No doubt this will be change annually as the race to the top continues.

skyscraperpage

Emirates Air Canada

No, not a takeover, but potentially Emirates may be sponsoring the Canadian Golf Tournament, which has confused local Canadians: "would this change the security in getting into the event?"

Score Golf

If you haven't yet booked for Eid...

..you will certainly be paying a premium. Eid, which falls next week to mark the end of Ramadan, is one of the times where those in the UAE choose to holiday either within the Emirates or abroad. But, Eid, from a holiday perspective is equivalent to probably Christmas in the West, and so, with many people choosing to go on holiday, and with competition between other Muslim states, there is is a lack of supply on numerous fronts:

hotels in the UAE;
flights from the UAE;


So here is the problem:

While people leaving the country find it difficult to book an airline seat, those flying into Dubai may not be able to find a hotel room during the festivities, which are due to start on either Sunday or Monday, if they have not already booked.

Note to file. Book early for next year.

Got 10 billion dollars handy?

Then, Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (Taqa) wants to borrow it to refinance debt and fund acquisitions.

Reuters

Astana is a Dubai in the making

Jagshemash.

On Astana:

Other countries have built futuristic capitals in remote outposts, Brasília most famously, and other cities have experienced feverish, transformational construction, like Dubai or even the imperial capital that once ruled Kazakhstan: Moscow.

Borat will be happy and have liquid explosion.

Paypal in the UAE

For those interested in the online cash marketplace, there has been a step up that included the UAE. Paypal are now allowing sending of money online for 48 new countries, including the UAE.

Although this is not a full solution, and many will have to action payment in other ways, this is the first step in the chain.

Despite this move, which may signal steps down the line to go into the online auction arena against souk.com, it appears that ebay will not be in the UAE any time soon:

When asked by Windows, the spokesperson added that eBay “currently has no plans” to launch in the Middle East region.

Shame that.