FEATURES

Etisalat announced the exclusive launch of the new Huawei P10 across key Etisalat business centres and retail outlets across the UAE for as low as AED 83 per month and a standalone price of AED 1,899. Etisalat will also make available the Huawei P10 Plus for all android fans in the country at AED 2,599. Both devices are available in black, gold and blue.

The 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Emaar Properties PJSC today declared a cash dividend of 15 per cent of the share capital, equivalent to AED 1.074 billion (US$ 292 million), for distribution to the company’s shareholders. The AGM also approved the report of the Board of Directors on the activities and financial position of Emaar, the Auditor’s report, and balance sheet for 2016. Ernst and Young was appointed as the auditor for 2017. The assembly also approved the Employees Incentive Scheme.

Business confidence in the Middle East rebounded strongly in the first quarter of 2017, in line with a substantial global increase, according to the latest edition of the Global Economic Conditions Survey. The quarterly survey of global CFOs and finance professionals, conducted by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (the Institute of Management Accountants), has found that economic sentiment has been spearheaded by an increasingly confident outlook in North America and is reflected across leading developed and emerging markets. In particular, there has been the fastest rate of growth in global trade since 2015.

Setting a rare record in the Indian film industry, Dr B.R. Shetty, UAE based billionaire businessman and philanthropist is investing Rs. 1000 crore (USD 150 million) to produce India’s biggest ever motion picture, ‘The Mahabharata’. This magnum opus is being directed by noted ad man and advertising film maker V.A Shrikumar Menon. 'The Mahabharata' will be produced in two parts and is scheduled to go on floor by September 2018 for a release in early 2020. The second part of the film will be released within 90 days of the first part. The film will be shot primarily in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu and  will be dubbed into major Indian languages and leading foreign languages.


du Announced as one Finalists in the Global Gartner Data & Analytics Excellence Awards

UAE telecommunications operator du was recently recognised by Gartner as finalists in the Gartner Data & Analytics Excellence Awards in the category of Best Data Management and Infrastructure. To further demonstrate its leadership in the space, Dr. Dirk Jungnickel, Senior VP Business Analytics, from du presented the telco’s leading-edge Big Data analytics solution at Strata + Hadoop World, San Jose.

Dubai Land Department has announced that it will be the the AACE International Conference 2017, which will be hosted by Dubai for two days on the first and second of May 2017. The AACE International Conference 2017 will be hosted under the theme ‘Protecting Capital investment through project cost control and risk management’, featuring around 40 expert speakers who will share their knowledge and international best practices. The exhibition staged alongside the conference will demonstrate the best technologies in the fields of cost control, risk management, consultancy and contracting, and awards will also be presented for best practice at both individual and organisational levels.  

“The Dubai Government will issue its last paper transaction in 2021,” asserted Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as he attended Smart Dubai’s ‘Future-Now’ event at the Dubai Design District, instructing the Smart Dubai Office to oversee the ambitious goal. During the event which celebrates three years of success for Smart Dubai and its affiliates – HH Sheikh Hamdan launched the Smart Dubai 2021 initiative, which represents the next step in Dubai’s smart and sustainable development as well as the ‘Dubai Pulse’ platform, which will host all of the emirate’s data and form the backbone of its shift towards smart development. 

A masterpiece by Bohemian painter, Georg Emmanuel Opiz, painted circa 1805-25, is set to establish a record for the artist at auction when offered at Sotheby’s London on 25th April. Estimated at GBP800,000-1,200,000, "The Arrival of the Mahmal at an Oasis en route to Mecca", is a lavish and wonderfully detailed rendition of the Ottoman caravan of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The OSGP Alliance, the global non-profit association dedicated to promoting the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) and infrastructure for smart grid applications, will organize the 2nd Annual Smart Grid Security Summit on May 22, 2017 at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai. Networked Energy Services Corporations (NES), a global smart grid market leader with industry’s leading Patagonia Energy Applications PlatformTM (EAP), will be the Platinum Sponsor of the security conference dedicated to utilities, regulators, ministries, consultants, researchers and vendors. 

H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority, has reviewed Dubai Holding’s new strategic direction aimed at boosting the Group’s future growth as a stand-alone entity. In a meeting attended by Abdulla Al Habbai, Chairman of Dubai Holding and Edris Alrafi, CEO of Dubai Holding, the new business model was presented that focuses on a new organisational structure and debt management programme to achieve a stronger balance sheet.