September 4th, 2017 | 0 commentsA decades-old dream to turn the sun-drenched Middle East and North Africa (Mena) into Europe’s giant solar farm refuses to die, and now may finally become a reality. In June, Tunisia-based TuNur filed a request in the North African country to export 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy to Europe, enough to power 5 million homes or 7 million...
August 25th, 2017 | 0 commentsBarclays, a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank, has announced the appointment of Bjorn Holderbeke as Mena head of Global Investments and Solutions (GIS) for its Private Bank. Based in Dubai, UAE Holderbeke will be responsible for product and platform development and will liaise with subject matter experts to assist in d...
August 20th, 2017 | 0 commentsAs much as $55.2bn worth of healthcare projects are in the pipeline in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2017, with major new developments expected to be announced at the forthcoming Building Healthcare Innovation & Design Show. According to the latest industry estimates, a total of 37 mega hospital projects are alread...
August 14th, 2017 | 0 commentsUAE-based Neopharma, a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing company, has revealed that it is planning for a major expansion, primarily in the Middle East and North African (Mena) markets and parts of Asia. These plans take into account the impending growth of the industry in these markets. The increased push for compulsory health insuranc...
June 28th, 2017 | 0 commentsThe call for entries to the upcoming Mena Effie Awards (Effies) which honours the most effective marketing campaigns in the region is now open across 29 categories, including a new addition for this year – Renaissance. The ninth edition of the event will take place on November 15 in Dubai, UAE. The awards ceremony is expected to attract m...
June 23rd, 2017 | 0 commentsAs Saudi Arabia named its new crown prince Wednesday, Britain’s spokesman to the Middle East and North Africa hailed the smooth transition of power. “A sophisticated royal scene of the peaceful transfer of power in Saudi Arabia,” said Edwin Samuel in a series of tweets Thursday. “We are also going through a political transition in Britain...
June 22nd, 2017 | 0 commentsVisa has announced that its Everywhere Initiative, an innovation programme designed to encourage the development of the “next big thing” in payments, will expand into the Mena region. Entrants in Visa’s first-ever Mena Everywhere Initiative will have the opportunity to compete for a chance to win up to $50,000 to support a development pro...
June 21st, 2017 | 0 commentsDespite a drop in earning across the Middle East and Africa (Mena) hospitality sector in May, Jeddah's hotel market emerged as the top performer recording the highest occupancy rates at 80.2 per cent and highest RevPAR at at $247. According to the May 2017 Mena Hotel Benchmark Survey Report, the majority of the Mena hospitality industry e...
June 19th, 2017 | 0 commentsThe biggest declines in lumber imports globally from 2015 to 2016 were seen in the Mena region, where demand for lumber fell in all the major markets, including Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, a report said. Global softwood lumber prices trended upward in early 2017 with prices in North America hitting a 13-year high, Chinese im...
May 14th, 2017 | 0 commentsOmantel, the first provider of integrated telecommunications services in the sultanate, recently won the HR Excellence Award for Employee Engagement in Middle East and North Africa. The awards ceremony organised by NASEBA took place in Dubai recently, and was attended by 150 senior HR professionals, human capital practitioners and busines...