Panicking Arab equity investors treaded into October poorer by nearly $84 billion (Dh176.64bn) as they continued to count amassing losses from an unprecedented haemorrhage in most regional markets shaken by the global financial crisis.Defying expectations by dealers that an enormous bailout plan by the US to rescue its tottering financial system would stop that hemorrhage, the bulk of Arab stock markets continued to bleed and Gulf bourses remained the main victim.Official figures showed the combined loss of the Arab world's 15 official stock exchanges totalled around $84bn during the first week of October and the seven bourses of the GCC accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the decline as they were savaged by nearly $74bn."There is panic in the region's markets," said Ahmed bin Abdul Nabi Makki, Oman's Minister of National Economy. "But it is caused by speculation about what could happen not about what is actually there."In the UAE, an official from the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange
ADX
UAE Financial Services
Research called for government intervention to stop the decline in the Gulf markets."ADXADX cannot interfere because our role is confined to enforcing laws and ensuring transparency in dealings," said Rashid Al Balouchi, ADXAX deputy CEO."Government intervention could have positive effects...I think this measure will be beneficial in the short term as a reaction to abnormal situations in the market," Balouchi told the semi-official Arab language daily Al Ittihad yesterday.In Morocco, the global financial crisis dominated the talks of Arab Central Bank governors, who began a two-day meeting on Tuesday.Central Bank of Oman's Executive President Hamoud bin Sengour Al Zedjali, the current Chairman of the Arab Central Bank Governors' Council, said Arab states still do not know the real proportions of the US financial crisis."But the first lesson that we should derive from this crisis is that financial stability cannot be achieved without an efficient system of control and supervision ... the second lesson is that ignoring basic principles in dealing with risks could have serious repercussions that must not be ignored," he told the meeting.Figures by the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) showed Saudi Arabia's Tadawul, the region's largest and most speculative bourse, was the main loser in the first week of October, plunging by nearly $30bn.Kuwait, the second largest single exchange, dived by around $13bn while the losses stood at nearly $11bn in Dubai, $10bn in Abu Dhabi, $7bn in Qatar, $1bn in Bahrain and $1.7bn in Oman.Outside the Gulf, Egypt's bourse reversed a sharp decline over the past weeks and recovered around $1bn while the markets of Jordan and Lebanon dipped by nearly $5bn and $1bn respectively. The AMF's Arab Stocks Data Base gave no market capitalisation figures for Morocco, the second largest Arab stock market after Egypt outside the six-nation GCC.The figures showed the AMF indices for Arab markets, except Morocco, plunged in the first week of October, with the largest declines recorded in the bourses of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.They dived by 10.94 and 10.24 per cent respectively while there was a fall by 9.32 per cent in Saudi Arabia, 7.76 per cent in Oman, 7.75 per cent in Kuwait, 3.27 per cent in Qatar and 0.18 per cent in Bahrain. The composite AMF index, which measures the region's 15 stock exchanges, fell by 7.19 per cent in the first week of October and by around 29 per cent since the beginning of 2008.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Financial Harbour - Bahrain
The Bahrain Financial Harbour Holding Company has unveiled a blue print that boasts of some of the region’s most technologically advanced system designed to ensure optimal security and enhance- energy consumption savings at its landmark US$1.4 billion Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) waterfront development.
The financial sector is one of the most competition intensive sectors, with Bahrain alone hosting over 365 financial sector companies. The importance of data security and confidentiality is one of the foremost criteria of risk management and also plays a key role in the decision-making process for the location of a firm’s headquarters and its key R&D facilities”, said Stephen Rothe, BFH CEO
BFH has implemented fully integrated security system based on Internet Protocol solution having features for local / central / remote monitoring and controlling facilities. The security system mainly comprises three elements – CCTV for surveillance, Access Control and intercom.
Access control system engages the Smart Card technology, which is programmed at various security levels. Through these smart cards, tenants will be allowed access to only certain pre-defined areas of the facility. Similarly, the established visitors’ management system will help control movement of visitors within the building.
Additionally, the entire facility is hooked up with CCTV facilities, which are centrally monitored 24 hours a day from a single control room. While this security features covers all public areas of the buildings, tenants have the additional option of requesting for this system to be extended to cover their individual facilities.
BFH also implemented a scaleable converged ICT distribution network with all active and passive components based on CISCO Solutions in the project. ICT backbone network engages greater level of network security within BFH and BFH/Tenant network from outside world by enabling security features by deploying redundant fire walls on various network layers including access / distribution /core layers.
Multi systems are converged in a common fiber-optic backbone system and connected to the central control system, which has the facility for management, accountability and monitoring of each service independently. The ICT network is designed to provide tenants with services such as VoIP telephone, Internet VPN, Site-to-Site VPN, Multicast (TV Broadcast), Desktop Video conferencing and provisions for connecting future tenants security system (CCTV and Access control)
One of the key highlights of the technology blue print is the implementation of a fully integrated building management solution, which incorporates energy management system resulting in a considerable amount of energy savings during building operations.
BFH's energy conservation concept provides a state-of-art, technology based lighting control system.. The concept further utilizes return air exhaust for air-conditioning the plant rooms, and introducing variable frequency drives in the entire air and water distribution network.
NEWS......CURRENT NEWS..............
Gulf International Investment Company to move
Offices to Harbour Towers at Bahrain.
In a significant indication of the continued enthusiasm among local and regional companies to be part of the BFH business community, Gulf International Investment Company, a consortium of Bahraini and GCC businessmen based in the Kingdom, has committed to move its offices to the Harbour towers of the integrated financial and business development.
The financial center being launched recently and very much under the publicity glares. Additionally the developments occupancy is witnessing a significant upward momentum. Gulf international company is one of the fastest growing real estate development and investment companies in the region and this decision will certainly put it on a high growth curve . With significant investment interests in the GCC, including Bahrain, the company’s decision to base its operation in BFH will also help it to consolidate business operations. Gulf international investment company, which has been set up with the objective of pioneering real estate development and investment in the Kingdom of Bahrain, will be taking up space on the 10th floor of Harbour Towers.
The financial sector is one of the most competition intensive sectors, with Bahrain alone hosting over 365 financial sector companies. The importance of data security and confidentiality is one of the foremost criteria of risk management and also plays a key role in the decision-making process for the location of a firm’s headquarters and its key R&D facilities”, said Stephen Rothe, BFH CEO
BFH has implemented fully integrated security system based on Internet Protocol solution having features for local / central / remote monitoring and controlling facilities. The security system mainly comprises three elements – CCTV for surveillance, Access Control and intercom.
Access control system engages the Smart Card technology, which is programmed at various security levels. Through these smart cards, tenants will be allowed access to only certain pre-defined areas of the facility. Similarly, the established visitors’ management system will help control movement of visitors within the building.
Additionally, the entire facility is hooked up with CCTV facilities, which are centrally monitored 24 hours a day from a single control room. While this security features covers all public areas of the buildings, tenants have the additional option of requesting for this system to be extended to cover their individual facilities.
BFH also implemented a scaleable converged ICT distribution network with all active and passive components based on CISCO Solutions in the project. ICT backbone network engages greater level of network security within BFH and BFH/Tenant network from outside world by enabling security features by deploying redundant fire walls on various network layers including access / distribution /core layers.
Multi systems are converged in a common fiber-optic backbone system and connected to the central control system, which has the facility for management, accountability and monitoring of each service independently. The ICT network is designed to provide tenants with services such as VoIP telephone, Internet VPN, Site-to-Site VPN, Multicast (TV Broadcast), Desktop Video conferencing and provisions for connecting future tenants security system (CCTV and Access control)
One of the key highlights of the technology blue print is the implementation of a fully integrated building management solution, which incorporates energy management system resulting in a considerable amount of energy savings during building operations.
BFH's energy conservation concept provides a state-of-art, technology based lighting control system.. The concept further utilizes return air exhaust for air-conditioning the plant rooms, and introducing variable frequency drives in the entire air and water distribution network.
NEWS......CURRENT NEWS..............
Gulf International Investment Company to move
Offices to Harbour Towers at Bahrain.
In a significant indication of the continued enthusiasm among local and regional companies to be part of the BFH business community, Gulf International Investment Company, a consortium of Bahraini and GCC businessmen based in the Kingdom, has committed to move its offices to the Harbour towers of the integrated financial and business development.
The financial center being launched recently and very much under the publicity glares. Additionally the developments occupancy is witnessing a significant upward momentum. Gulf international company is one of the fastest growing real estate development and investment companies in the region and this decision will certainly put it on a high growth curve . With significant investment interests in the GCC, including Bahrain, the company’s decision to base its operation in BFH will also help it to consolidate business operations. Gulf international investment company, which has been set up with the objective of pioneering real estate development and investment in the Kingdom of Bahrain, will be taking up space on the 10th floor of Harbour Towers.
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