Business Briefs (Daily Star)
* LogicaCMG lands contract with MTC-Vodafone Bahrain
LogicaCMG has been selected to provide next generation short messaging service (SMS) infrastructure to MTC-Vodafone Bahrain, Bahrain’s newest mobile phone operator. The company said it won the contract after being chosen by MTC-Vodafone Bahrain’s network infrastructure provider Siemens Mobile Newtworks, a global alliance partnet of LogicaCMG. |
 |
The new technology that LogicaCMG brings will help lower operational and capital expenditure. The company supplies messaging and billing solutions to 250 operators in more than 70 countries. It serves more than 500 million mobile phone subscribers. – The Daily Star
* Dubai wins praise from Business Travel readers
Dubai’s growing popularity as a safe year-round destination for business and leisure has won another major public recognition with the Business Travel readers choosing the emirate as the “Best Incentive Destination.” The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) was presented with the Business Travel Readers Awards at a gala ceremony held at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Barbel Kirchner, director of the UK and Ireland Office of the DTCM, received the award on behalf of the DTCM from Noel Ahern, minister for housing and urban renewal, in the presence of Clive Brownlee, president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. Kirchner said the UK and Ireland have been major markets for Dubai tourism and have been posting year-on-year growth in tourists.
Emirates News Service
* Morocco expects huge increase in olive crop
Morocco’s olive production is expected to rise by 78 per cent to around 800,000 tons this year, compared to 450,000 tons last year, according to first estimates of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry. This quantity will produce some 80,000 tons of olive oil and 110,000 tons of industrial cooking olive oil, a ministry source said, linking the significant improvement to the favorable climate this year. Olive orchards cover 80,000 hectares in Morocco. – Emirates News Service
* EDCH signs deals with GSM operators in Africa, Asia, Europe
Emirates Data Clearing House (EDCH),a business subsidiary of Etisalat, announced Sunday the signing of five new agreements with GSM operators in Africa, Asia and Europe. The agreements were with China Mobile, Coltel Uganda, Ceitei SierraLeone, SNPT Comoros and Vodafone Albania. Under these agreements, EDCH will provide the five operators with services ranging from data clearing and financial clearing to TAP conversion services. The number of EDCH clients will rise to nearly 40 GSM operators. In addition to the recent deals, EDCH won this summer contracts with MTC-Vodafone and Watanlya Telecom in Kuwait, and with MTC-Vodafone in Bahrain. All the new agreements bring EDCH’s share in the international market up to 6 percent. EDCH now handles more than 1.5 million roaming call records per day, up from 350,000 only two years ago. EDCH was established in 1994 to provide a single source of support for the roaming facility provided by Etisalat. – Emirates News Service
* TAIB Bank repositions itself to serve high-net-worth clients
TAIB Bank, created 25 years ago as Bahrain’s first investment bank, announced Sunday that it is to become a private bank focused on serving high-net-worth individuals, families and institutional clients. Its shareholders increased the bank’s authorized capital from $125 million to $200 million. The bank will primarily serve clients with investment holdings of between $3 million and $15 million, according to CEO Iqbal G. Mamdani. Headquartered in Manama, TAIB has had a long history of bring real-estate, private equity and syndicated loans to local investors. TAIB recently launched a series of Islamic index funds that are the first of their kind in the world, Mamdani said. – The Daily Star
Beirut
11-11-2003 The Daily Star Redaction The Daily Star |