Several managers from Qatar Cool visited Al Yarmouk Independent Preparatory and Doha Independent Secondary School for Boys in Doha where the ‘Trifasciata’ saplings were donated to students.

Trees and Qatar Cool’s air conditioning technology are both important to Qatar’s sustainable future as each helps to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, a factor in global warming.

Mohammad Ali Al Marri, a spokesperson from the Doha Independent Secondary School for Boys, said: “It is gratifying to see a large corporate company like Qatar Cool not only commit itself to youth, but follow through with this commitment, showing a real sense of community spirit. We look forward to participating in future events with them.”

“We encourage our students to take an active role in both the local community and the environmental issues that affect our planet. It is gratifying to work with local businesses that share the same values,” said Ibrahim Mubarek Al Eidan, Operator and Principal of Al Yamouk Preparatory School for Boys.

Fayad Al Khatib, General Manager of Qatar Cool explained the symbolism of the gift: “Youth are our future. If we can educate them from a young age on the importance of being environmentally aware and proactive, then we are half way through to solving the critical issues we face on a daily basis as a country and as a planet. Qatar Cool is committed to the environment and creating a more sustainable future. We are continually seeking ways to ensure that the service we offer our customers is the most environmentally friendly air conditioning system on the market”. [Read More]

“We are working on structuring these funds and we will declare those very soon, perhaps within two months,” Al Muftah said, but would not disclose the size as they are still in an early stage of structuring.

“There will be an equity portion and a debt portion,” he said adding that the funds will be geographically oriented as criteria to segregate the different funds given their legal complexity since each country has its own taxation regime, rules and regulations.

The funds will target markets in Qatar and beyond. “We are looking at the GCC as well as Libya, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore,” Al Muftah said. “The Al Rayan Investment strategy is to invest in Qatar, the GCC and South East Asia as well as Libya.”

He added that within two to three months Al Rayan Investment will launch a road show to market the funds. “We have appointed so far all the required advisors and we are working on structuring of the funds and I hope that within two to three months, we will be going to the road show and advertising the funds,” he said.

Early this year, Masraf Al Rayan launched a $1bn GCC Fund, which were to be invested in Gulf listed equities as well as fixed-income and money-market instruments. Masraf Al Rayan had appointed Al Rayan Investment as fund manager of the ‘Al Rayan GCC Fund’ with a mandate to manage up to $1.1bn.[Read More]

Corporate commercial partner Ahmad Anani is expected to join the US-based law firm later this year as a partner in the Doha office, although his hire remains subject to local regulatory approval.

Anani, a Jordan national, has experience working in private practice, government and in-house counsel roles since graduating from Harvard Law School in 1999.

His practice focuses on a wide range of corporate law matters, including M&A, initial public offerings, joint ventures, property and labour law. He also advises on financial, policy and litigation matters.

Anani joined Al Tamimi in 2002 and has held roles such as in-house legal counsel for the Dubai Development and Investment Authority as well as vice president and legal counsel for Future Pipe Group.

Al Tamimi is one of the largest Middle East-based law firms, with a total of eight offices in the wider region and over 25 partners.[Read More]

Unanimously adopting resolution 1935 (2010), the Council extended the mandate until 31 July 2011 as originally formulated — with an authorized military strength of 19,555 plus police and civilian personnel — but requested UNAMID to develop, with the United Nations country team, a strategy to fully achieve its objective of protecting civilians and ensuring access to them by humanitarian workers. It stressed the importance of setting realistic targets against which the mission’s progress could be measured.

Expressing deep concern at the recent deterioration in security, including attacks by rebel groups, aerial bombardment by the Government of Sudan, increased inter-tribal fighting and attacks on humanitarian personnel, the Council demanded that all parties comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, calling on them to commit themselves to a sustained and permanent ceasefire. [Read More]

The company reported QR 330,057 million profit for the six-month period ended June 30 compared to QR 233,577mn for the corresponding period in 2009.

Managing Director Mohammad Ghannam, speaking to media persons at a conference held at Four Seasons Hotel here said, “Our profits from operations have gone up in H1 and we are optimistic about maximizing returns sometime in the fourth quarter as everything is progressing as scheduled.”

Revenue from wholly-owned vessels stood at QR1.28 billion while share of operating profits from joint ventures was QR113.99mn; interest and dividend income by 42% to QR27.91mn and other income more than doubled to QR8.36mn.

Nakilat has 25 wholly-owned LNG vessels with a total investment of $7.5bn. By the end of this year, the company will have a total of 54 vessels, making it the largest liquefied natural gas ship owner in the world. Of these 54 vessels, 29 comprising 20 Q-Flex and nine conventional are joint venture partner held.
[Read More]

The visitors are not just from Qatar but also from neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, said QTA Chairman Ahmed Al Nuaimi.

The big number of visitors, though, doesn’t translate into profits for businesses occupying the 70 stalls in the sprawling Qatar Exhibition Centre.

“Business is not that good most of the time, except on Thursdays and Fridays,” said Jeck, a shopkeeper from Dubai-based Qingfeng Trading, which sells bags, footwear and toys.

“Many people come to window shop and only a few buy our products,” she said, adding they sold around 10 bags a day. In demand are their trendy bags which are sourced from Taiwan and other countries, costing about QR150. The different toys they offer are tagged at QR40 to QR60.

There are shops selling cosmetics like perfumes, sold in Damascus Gate, which has a presence in most Gulf countries including Oman, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar. The Syria-based shop has a wide selection of perfumes, almost hundred varieties, most of which are cheap imitation perfumes, the most expensive of which are priced at QR50.

It is hard to tell the difference between the original designer perfumes Calvin Klein, Chanel, Dunhill and Gucci and the 70ml imitation bottles sold in the shop.[Read More]