International Business Magazine Issue 1

“UAE 2019”

Massive Funding For Thriving Startup Industry Attract Global Investors Building Company Value to Prepare It For Sale

Independent Directors Influence Results

- John M. Collard

COINBASE

One of the World’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchanges

RIPPLE:

The hassle free transaction mode

FULLERTON MARKETS:

Asia’s experts in financial trading

ZANDRE CAMPOS CEO, ABO Capital

The UAE Real Estate Market:

68

It For Sale Independent Directors Influence Results

TECHNOLOGY

52 Proof of Work: SHA-256 hashing algorithm that’s changing the world

53 Ripple:The hassle free transaction mode

82 ZCASH enabling the highly debatable semi transparent transaction facility

LATEST

19 Aafiya Medical Billing Services LLC celebrated 5 years as a TPA

44 10 top stories on what the city really wanted in 2018

56 UAE launched e-book program at elementary schools

57 Tourism: Crypto is strengthening its hold on This Crucial Industry Vertical?

58 A Constant Improvement for the Economic Stimulus Plan

60 UAE and Saudi Arabia to pilot district’s budgetary collision: new

opportunities in mergers

63 Is tourism the newest market niche for Dubai ?

70 Finance Experts relentless in bridging the retirement gap

84 Dubai starts the trial runs for the brand new hybrid, Abra

FINANCE

6 UAE 2019: Massive Funding For Thriving Startup Industry Attract Global Investors

20 Safe trading with StableCoin

27 “The Gulf hit by international mar ket losses; Riyad Bank on its way to a 4-year high after Merger”

32 UAE investors considering Bank mergers as Solution

34 Ways of Evaluating An ICO Launch and its Trading: Making a Calculated Risk

50 Going strong into the new year, 2019: Dubai Banking Sector

54 Participating in an ICO: With Ethereum

Cloud Mining on removing the existing on-premise hardware

The 7 Steps for launching an ICO

COINBASE – One of the World’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Director

Shankar VS Arjun MV

Shashank M

Chief Editor

Pragnesh Shah

Head of Operations

John Davis

Director of Production

Shank Mendez

Head of Research

Sandy James

Media Director

Sandhya Srinivasan

Content Managers

Daniel Edwards, Sumana Shankar

Business Development

Charles Grey, Desmond, Mike Cooper, Paul Cooper, Alex Prescott

Media Sales Manager

Sarah Parker

Graphic Designer

Flyer Creative Designs

Web Development and Maintenance

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Accounts Manager

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Advertising

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International Business Magazine

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NOTE FROM Editor

A cheery welcome to our very first edition of IBMag 2019! In this issue, we look at the newest and the most recent developments in the Finance and Business sector. In addition, we take our readers through the freshest technological innovations and advancements in this sector. The lion’s share of this issue deals with the breakthrough innovation in the Financial sector: cryptocurrency and the effective utilization of blockchain in the industry. This outlook may naturally lead you to question why, as recent events bear witness to the downfall of this digital currency. However, we’d like to present our enthusiastic readers with a whole new perspective as to why cryptocurrency may miraculously endure against all odds. Let’s take a quick look at the recent events in the news on cryptocurrency: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, recently stated that a day might come when the decentralized currency will ultimately replace fiat currency. Samsung Electronics has released its cryptocurrency wallet for its spring flagship phone of 2019, the Galaxy S10; currently compatible only with ether (ETH) and ethereum-based ERC20 tokens. Tim Draper, expert investor and famous bitcoin bull recently predicted that in a few short years everyone will be universally using bitcoin; it might just be the criminals holding on to hard cash—urging the masses to invest “before it’s too late.” That’s quite a bold statement to make. Consequently, we want you, our readers, to recognize what exactly is going on in this productive sector, which naturally has halved the whole world into two camps. In this issue, you can adequately appreciate the practical sense of operational security this decentralized currency has rightfully earned for all digital transactions. In addition, we have also discussed the developments in the financial and business market surrounding one of the glorious nations, the UAE. Hope you have a good read and we are open to all your suggestions, which you can mail to us at info@intlbm.com. The best comments and suggestions will be featured in our next issue.

Prominent entertainment firms have partnered with Crystal Lagoons® to develop a new facet of the Public Access Lagoons™ model. There will be 16 projects across the United States, known as “Crystal Lagoons Island Resort.” The first will be in Arizona.

The developments will unite Universal Music Group, the world’s leading record label; Epic, the multinational entertainment company; Point Cloud, the leading 4D light projection firm; and SimEx-Iwerks, two-time Academy Award winner for cinematographic effects.

The projects will incorporate state-of-the-art attractions, such as hyper-realistic light and music performances over the lagoon with Raylight4D technology by Point Cloud, while SimExIwerks will offer virtual tours.

Additionally, there will be Pangea and Rainforest Café restaurants, aerial bars and an indoor bar with waves for surfing. This new Crystal Lagoons model will revolutionize the hotel and concert offer with a new tourist and entertainment format, centered around its lagoons with cutting-edge technology.

For Universal Music, this marks its move into the hotel industry with its own chain, Universal Music Hotel, with a far wider range of shows. The label’s leading bands will host concerts on the central stage mounted on the 10-acre lagoon, which guests will enjoy from all 300 rooms at the U-shaped hotel.

“By incorporating Crystal Lagoons innovation, we are offering a new standard of tourism and entertainment for the XXI century,

which will revolutionize the hotel and entertainment industries. For that reason, Universal Music has opted for the Public Access Lagoons business model, also known as PAL™, creating its own chain of hotels and giving a qualitative jump with respect to what is currently on offer,” explains Eric Cherasia, Vice President at Crystal Lagoons U.S. Corp.

Lagoon beach clubs, retail, amphitheaters and recreational and cultural activities will be included in the areas surrounding the lagoon.

“Universal Music hotels will be true entertainment centers, with unique and extreme experiences such as the French Aerophile Balloon gastronomic platform, which will rise 1000 ft. with diners inside,” concludes Cherasia.

As published on Arab press releases

Grand Skylight Hotel, a renowned home-grown hospitality brand in China, has successfully launched her flagship hotel in Addis Ababa, the hub city of East Africa with worldacclaimed Ethiopian Airlines. This move signifies Grand Skylight’s international presence in Africa, and is an affirmative step in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, cementing Sino-Afro ties further.

On January 27, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines unveiled the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His Excellency

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam presided over and spoke at the grand opening. Ethiopian senior government officials, diplomats, international luminaries and global media representatives were among the close to 3,000 guests. Chairman of Shenzhen Grand Skylight Hotels Management Company (GSHM)

Mr. Zhang Guochao addressed a noticeably impressed international audience.

“The hotel’s ambience is great. It’s contemporary, bright, and very luxuriously spacious, befitting a veritable landmark project in continental Africa,” H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said amidst profuse praise.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam in his exalted speech briefed the guests about the hotel’s vast growth opportunities in the face of the exciting potential of local tourism and MICE market. He lauded the hotel’s pioneering team for their diligent efforts, and presented a personally signed Letter of Appreciation to the GSHM task force.

“We are very pleased to work with Ethiopian Airlines, harbinger of the new African spirit. Ethiopian Skylight Hotel is a landmark hotel, commanding

the most rooms locally, most comprehensive facilities as well as the largest banquet floor space. The future beckons and the only limit is the sky,” said Mr. Zhang Guochao, Chairman of GSHM. “Shenzhen Grand Skylight Hotels Management Company is a famous brand from China with more than 33 years of international experience, and more than 60 hotels being managed and being built. As a member of Fortune Top 500 aviation – Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), GSHM has spared no effort adding to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Likewise, it is with utmost urgency that we have reinforced the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel’s pioneering team with whatever it took to render the grand opening a resounding success.”

As published on Arab press releases

Chinese famous automaker GAC Group, the parent company of GAC Motor, has completed the construction of a new energy intelligent and ecological factory for (“the Factory”) for its first-phase project of achieving production capacity of 200,000 electric vehicles per year in the industrial park for electric and smart vehicle development (“the Industrial Park”) on Dec 23. GAC Motor and Aisin AW CO., LTD (“Aisin AW”), a subsidiary of Aisin Seiki, have also hosted a foundation stone laying ceremony in the Industrial Park for their joint venture project of manufacturing automatic transmission on the same day. Provincial and municipal government officials, Zeng Qinghong, Chairman of GAC Group, Feng Xingya, General Manager of GAC Group, representatives of staff, investment companies, partners and media representatives have attended the event.

New Factory for New Energy and New Technology

Representing a RMB 4.7 billion (US$ 680 million), the Factory is the first project of the Industrial Park and has started construction since September 2017. The Factory will start production in May 2019, aiming to achieve annual production capacity of 400,000 vehicles. The GAC New Energy will release at least 2 electric vehicle models per year after that to enrich its product line and provide consumers with multiple options.

The future of vehicles is electric, global, online and sharing, which highlights the importance of automated driving technology. GAC Group has started its own R&D of self-driving technology since 2011. The Aion S, featured Level

Level 3 conditional automation driving system will be put into production in the near future.

A Powerful Alliance, A Stronger Global Supply Chain

On the same day, GAC Motor and Aisin AW have also hosted a foundation stone laying ceremony in the Industrial Park for their joint venture project of manufacturing automatic transmission. In April, GAC Motor and Aisin AW signed the in-depth cooperation agreement to open the new joint ven-

will create many local jobs and cultivate more professionals in the field of automatic transmission manufacturing.

Founded in 1969, the Aisin AW is the world’s No.1 manufacturer of AT and car navigation systems. The 6-Speed Automatic Transmission planned to be manufactured in the joint venture project, has been widely installed in GAC Motor’s vehicles including the GS8 and GS4.

2 partial automation driving system, will be released in 2019, and will also be the first mass-produced new energy vehicle model used for developing Level 4 high automation driving system. A new vehicle model developed by GAC Group and featured with

ture. An investment of RMB 2.13 billion (US$ 310 million) will pour into the project and its first product will go into production by the end of 2020, aiming to achieve annual production capacity of 400,000 AT units.

Mr. Yu Jun, the President of GAC Motor said, “After construction completed, the joint venture project will bring remarkable economic and social benefits. Its estimated annual value of production will be over RMB 3.5 billion (US$500 million). It

As part of its commitment to producing top-quality vehicles, GAC Motor has built strategic partnerships with 18 of the world’s top auto suppliers, including Michelin, Denso, Continental and more, covering areas such as core components and smart technologies, enabling its global supply chain to adhere to the industry highest standards. The GAC Motor and Aisin AW’s joint venture will enable GAC Motor to push forward the sustainable development of its high-performance parts and components supply and establish stronger global supply chain.

As published on Arab press releases

Kerui Petroleum Won a Contract to Supply Geothermal Drilling Rigs and Related Service Orders in Ethiopia

On February 23rd 2019, Kerui Petroleum, along with a geothermal exploration company in East Africa, successfully signed a geothermal exploration contract with the Ethiopia electric power. The contract value is more than USD 80 million. The project is Ethiopia’s first geothermal energy exploration project and the largest one in the geothermal energy field. After completion, the project will provide living and industrial electricity for cities and towns in Ethiopia.

The project includes 2 sets of 50DB geothermal drilling rigs and the whole year of geothermal drilling services. As important support of Ethiopia’s national geothermal exploration strategy, the selection of

suppliers for this project is also extremely demanding. Kerui Petroleum stood out in the fierce competition and gained recognition from customers relying on its joint strategic partners, the advantages of one-stop integrated solutions in equipment, oil service and engineering, as well as its mature technical solutions and rich project experiences.

Ethiopia has abundant geothermal energy, and the Ethiopian government attaches great importance to the development of the energy industry, especially the renewable energy industry, among which wind energy and geothermal energy will be focused on.

Ethiopia is an important country of the Belt and

Road Initiative and Kerui Petroleum has developed the market for many years. The business area continues to expand, from spare parts supply to integrated services like complete equipment services, technical services, maintenance as well as operation. These provide a solid foundation for the acquisition of the project.

“The acquisition of the project has enhanced the influence of the Kerui petroleum brand in the African region,” Ding Tuanwei, the project leader, said. “The next priority is to complete project delivery and take the project as an opportunity to accelerate the localization of Kerui petroleum, develop deeper the Ethiopian and the entire African market, promote mutual benefit and win-win cooperation with strategic partners and customers, and continue to contribute to the development of oil & gas energy in the Belt and Road Initiative”.

As per press release on Arab press releases

NEXCOM, a leader in network communication and network security industries, partnered up with ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute), FHT (First Hi-Tec), and TUC (Taiwan Union Technology Corp.) to co-develop new technology to overcome design challenge of high-speed signaling. This innovative technology will be applied to high end network equipment in telecommunication industry and expected to be available in Q2 2019.

The innovation encompasses 3 new technology, including a new type of ‘Ultra Low Loss’ material called TUC3, whereas the Insertion loss can reach as minimal as -0.57dB/inch @25Gbps. Another brainchild, named Coaxial VIA, is an innovative technology that outperforms in signal simulation through traditional Pass Through Hole (PTH) VIA. Coaxial

VIA in PCB layout is able to maintain better signal integrity in high speed signal, compared with traditional PTH VIA in PCB FAB. The third innovation is the embedded capacitor layered in PCB FAB instead of current mainstream SMD type capacitor. By using such embedded capacitor, it reduces the circuitry traces by 50% and as a result greatly enhances the signal integrity since it cuts down much of the Synchronized Switching Noise generated by high speed IC chip (such as Mellanox ConnectX-5, etc).

NEXCOM has developed a 100G LAN module showcasing the three innovation put together by the 4-party alliance. “These three patented innovative technologies allow high speed signal to extend the length up to 14,” according to Matthew Liou, Product Line Director of NEXCOM Network

Communication Solutions Business Group. “When the module is tested in Intel Skylake-EP based NEXCOM NSA7146 and runs under NEXCOM’s own DPDK, we witness impressive figures of throughput. We achieve this without any addition of repeaters, re-timers and any other active component in hardware design to safeguard its signal integrity and at the same time, to maintain the desired performance.”

In 5G era, this revolutionary innovation will bring to the world new generation highspeed, broad-band network equipment, as embodied in this milestone-marking 100G LAN module developed by NEXCOM International, a true breakthrough in high speed signal design.

As published in Arab Press Releases

The Ministry of Finance recently launched and concluded the final phase of Sheikh Zayed e-book initiative aimed at introducing primary students to Sheikh Zayed in an innovative manner through a non-traditional book that includes video clips that detail the biography of the founding father. The e-book, which also features voiceover by Shaikh Zayed, aims to introduce young students to the values of sharing, tolerance and sincerity. The launch was part of a series of initiatives undertaken by the ministry in recognition of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the Year of Zayed.

H.E. Mariam Al Amiri, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Management of Financial Resources, said the Ministry of Finance had created the e-book to celebrate the vision and the life of a great leader who played a pivotal role in building and developing the UAE.

H.E. said: “The late founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was an exceptional personality and a great leader. He had extraordinary vision and an unparalleled insight on life, specifically when it came to leadership and community affairs, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire us to this day. The aim of this initiative is to inculcate his values and vision in our children and future generations to ensure that his personality, moral values and traits remain the pride of the homeland and the people of the UAE.”

The Ministry of Finance launched the first phase of the initiative at the beginning of the school year and distributed 800 e-books in Arabic and English. The books were added to school libraries.

As per the press release on the Ministry of Finance of UAE

ZTE Unveils

the Industry’s First Commercial-Ready AI-Based 5G Slice Operation System

ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile Internet, today unveiled the industry’s first commercially ready AI-based 5G slice operation system, CloudStudio, at Mobile

World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona.

This system innovatively introduces the 3A concept: Awareness, Automation, and AI, supporting agile slice deployment, intelligent analysis and rapid self-healing. It significantly simplifies 5G network operation, improving O&M efficiency by more than 30%, and reducing cost of network construction by 20%.

Leveraging machine learning and advanced algorithm technologies, ZTE’s carrier-grade CloudStudio network slice system generates over 8,000 RCA (root cause analysis) rule repository based on ZTE’s rich O&M experience of more than 400 cloudification projects around the world, while supporting online scaling and upgrading.

ZTE’s CloudStudio system implements automatic intelligent alarm filtering in accordance with time, correlation and other policies. It matches with the system RCA rule repository and quickly locates the real root cause in several minutes, greatly reducing the complexity of O&M.

In addition, ZTE’s CloudStudio carries out seamless management and dynamic resource adjustment for private cloud and public cloud. When service workload reaches its peak, CloudStudio can automatically trigger the public cloud to assign resources on demand. When services resume to the normal level, the system releases resources from the public cloud. Therefore, CloudStudio allows operators to omit the need of constructing the network in accordance with the largest service capacity, effectively saving network construction cost by 20%.

Moreover, by means of network slicing, operators can create multiple end-to-end virtualized networks on the same physical infrastructure to provide various vertical industries with differentiated, quality-assured network services.

As the world’s leading provider of integrated communications solutions, ZTE is actively collaborating with operators and partners from vertical industries, including smart grids, industrial controls, and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), to promote the commercial deployment of 5G slicing. Meanwhile, ZTE enables operators to develop new business models, such as B2B and B2B2C on the basis of the traditional B2C model, creating vast opportunities pertaining to the 5G ecosystem.

As published on Arab press releases

Emirates NBD Selects Intellect for End-to-End Digital Transformation of Its Transaction Banking Business

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the Middle East today announced a planned end-to-end digital transformation of its Transaction Banking platform. The transformation is part of the banking group’s commitment to digitise operations, products and services, enhancing its proposition to corporate clients and retail customers. Supported by Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), the transaction banking and technology specialist from Intellect Design Arena Limited, the planned project is aimed at strengthening Emirates NBD Transaction Banking’s market leadership and will cover the bank’s operations across trade corridors in the UAE, KSA, Egypt, India, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Commenting on the planned transformation, Sumit Aggarwal, EVP and Group Head, Transaction Banking Services, Emirates NBD, said: “iGTB’s in-depth domain knowledge and expertise made it our partner of choice to create a best-in-class digital Transaction Banking platform

that will strengthen our capability to respond to evolving business needs. Clients are at the centre of our digital transformation journey and this platform will enable our clients to seamlessly manage all aspects of working capital management, with enhanced visibility and data analytics.”

Jonathan Morris, Head of Wholesale Banking, ENBD (right) and Manish Maakan, CEO, iGTB (left) signing the cash management contract. Sumit Aggarwal, EVP and Group Head, Transaction Banking Services, Emirates NBD, K Srinivasan, President, APAC, South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Intellect Design Arena Ltd, and the leadership teams from both ENBD and Intellect present during the signing ceremony.

Emirates NBD’s investment in a new digital platform will strengthen the bank’s position as the country’s market leader in Transaction Banking. The project integrates iGTB’s digital transaction banking platform powered by the integrated

front-end, omni-channel CBX portal to deliver a seamless user experience to Emirates NBD’s corporate clients. The new platform will offer clients the ability to view, monitor and control their working capital needs across cash management, trade and FX enabling easy, informed and on-the-go decision making with one-click efficiency in addition to fully integrated back-end product processors across all lines of business.

Manish Maakan, CEO, iGTB, said:

“This significant deal, with our 29th DTB client, reiterates our market leadership in the Middle East, with iGTB being the preferred go-to digital transformation partner for the transaction banking space. Our unwavering design-driven culture puts banks and businesses at the centre of everything we do. This not only creates desire and establishes trust with banks, but also results in a distinct advantage for them.

We are delighted to support Emirates NBD’s digital transformation journey, especially given the Middle East’s strong position as a hub for global trade.”

K Srinivasan, President, APAC, South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Intellect Design Arena Ltd., added: “Transaction banking has been an industry dominated by global banks. Intellect has been empowering banks in the Middle East to launch and commercialise the transaction banking business in an integrated way and to gain significant market share. This is highlighted by this announcement of another signature deal.”

The UAE’s leading position as the vital hub connecting Asia and Africa with the west combined with a reported increase in trade volumes by UAE businesses this year have led to a significant growth in the country’s transaction banking sector. Emirates NBD is the only UAE-based bank with physical presence across important trade corridors from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) across to Asia and the United Kingdom (UK) making it the bank of choice for corporates looking to invest and do business in the MENA region. The planned platform will enable Emirates NBD Transaction Banking clients anywhere in the world cross-channel accessibility, irrespective of the country they operate in.

As published on Arab Press Releases

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that it is contributing USD $500 million in new funding for the UN-approved Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) for 2019. This donation increases the support provided by the Kingdom to help the Yemeni people to more than USD $14 billion since the start of 2014.

The announcement of the latest funding was made by His Excellency Dr.Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court and General Supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), during the annual High-Level Pledging Event of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) held in Geneva.

“I am pleased to announce that Saudi Arabia is donating USD $500 million to finance the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan approved by the United Nations for 2019,” Dr Al Rabeeah said in his speech.

ing is in addition to recently announced aid such as “Imdaad” initiative to support food security and nutrition in Yemen, for the amount of USD $500 million split equally between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a payment of USD $70 million split equally between Kingdom and the UAE to help pay teachers’ salaries in Yemen. He also cited the programs and initiatives by KSrelief, and the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), which

come the humanitarian, security and economic challenges that they face because of the inhumane practices of the Houthi militias. Despite the great efforts of the United Nations and the international community, Yemen is still suffering a lot because of the intransigence of these militias and their failure to respond to the resolutions of the United Nations and the international community,” he said in his speech.

He said Saudi Arabia is pleased to announce its readiness to host the Yemen pledging conference in 2020 in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Dr Al Rabeeah said the new fund-

aims to implement development program to support the stability of Yemen.

“We meet today as the Yemeni people look forward to the outcome of our meeting to over-

faces significant challenges as a result of the negative practices of these militias, which obstruct the access of humanitarian aid and seek to target and seize it,” Dr Al Rabeeah said, adding that 12 of these breaches have been

“Humanitarian action in Yemen

monitored since the signing of Stockholm Agreement and up to now, including the laying of mines and the denial of access to the Red Sea Mills in Hodeidah.

The ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the supervisor of the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber said that the Kingdom has always been keen to support the Yemeni economy and the Central Bank of Yemen, with USD $2.2 billion most recently in addition to the previous deposit of USD $1 billion.

Al Jaber said the Kingdom has always been, and continues to be, the largest supporter of Yemen and the United Nations

Humanitarian Response Plan announced in 2018.

To help fund that plan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have provided USD $1 billion, split equally, while Kuwait donated USD $250 million. USD $70 million of the total has been allocated for the rehabilitation of ports and roads, and providing cranes in the ports of Aden, Mukalla, Nishtun and Socotra. This initiative aimed to increase the capacity of these ports, and the volume of relief and trade imports, which reached 2.7 million metric tons of foodstuffs, fuel products, medical supplies, and other materials during the first half of 2018.

In addition to this, he said there were various programs and initiatives being implemented by SDRPY in health, education, energy, transport, water, agriculture and fisheries to support the economy, maintain security and stability, and provide employment opportunities for the brotherly Yemeni people.

millions of beneficiaries, but also includes supporting Yemen with oil derivatives, Al Jaber said. He stressed on the importance of this support of USD $60 million monthly to Yemen’s electricity stations, which contributed effectively to the continued delivery of electricity to many Yemeni governorates without interruption, benefiting 18 million people.

He said that the support has also contributed to easing pressure on the Yemeni government budget, effectively contributing to the disbursement of salaries of state employees, especially health and education workers, and helped the Yemeni government to strengthen its capacity to implement service projects.

The support provided by Saudi Arabia to the Yemeni people, in partnership with KSrelief as well as international and regional humanitarian organizations, was not limited to providing food and humanitarian assistance to

Al Jaber said that the financial support provided by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait has been spent on the programs of 12 United Nations organizations operating in 11 sectors, including food security, health, water, and sewage, in addition to partnerships established with 86 United Nations and international organizations, which have had a significant impact on Yemeni society.

As published on Arab Press Releases

The UAE has implemented four water pumping stations west of the Sudanese State of Kassala and signed contracts with the state government to drill 10 water wells, with work underway to establish additional pumping stations fed by Atbara River to address the severe drinking water crisis.

The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court is funding the developmental projects as per the directives of the His Highness Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said Hamad Mohamed Humaid Al Junaibi, the UAE Ambassador to Sudan, who opened the four water pumping stations,which will meet the needs of 150,000 people.

The solar-powered stations are part of Sudan’s Zero-Thirst

Project and aimed at ensuring stability and development across the country, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

“The developmental projects fall in line with the brotherly bonds between the two countries and their peoples in keeping with the march of giving, the solid basis of which was laid down by late Shaikh Zayed Al Nahyan and now maintained by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” added the Ambassador.

Adam Jamaa, the Governor of Kassala, expressed appreciation to the UAE leadership under HH Shaikh Khalifa and Shaikh Mohamed for the project, which, he said, is the first of its kind.

“The project will significantly fulfill the people’s needs for water and livestock ensure social wel-

fare and help achieve economic wellbeing,” noted the governor. Sudan’s Infrastructure and Urban Planning Minister, Majzoub Abu Moussa, said developmental work will continue to carry out the Zero-Thirst Project and address the water shortage challenge across the state, noting that up to 28 feasibility studies are ready to be used to drill water wells to address the problem.

As published on Arab Press Releases

Trina Solar selected for first project with low CO2 bifacial dual-glass modules in France

Trina Solar Co., Ltd (“Trina Solar” or the “company”), a leading total solutions provider for solar energy, announced today that it will supply 16 MW of special low-carbon footprint bifacial PV modules to EDF Renewables.

EDF Renewables is building up two projects in Aramon (5 MWp) and Saint Pargoire (11MWp). Trina Solar is delivering a total of 44,790 units of its bifacial DUOMAX Twin dual-glass module in its low carbon footprint version, with power outputs ranging from 350 to 365Wp. As a global leader in renewable energy, EDF Renewables covers every sector of expertise, from project

development, construction, and operations & maintenance.

These two projects developed under the specific constraints of CRE4.1 and CRE4.2 tenders are the first projects in France using low CO2 bifacial dual-glass modules. Once operational, the PV plants will produce 100% renewable energy covering the consumption of more than 8,400 French inhabitants.The plants are spread over approximately 18 hectares and will avoid the emission of roughly 15,000 tons of CO2annually over 30 years.

The bifacial DUOMAX Twin dual-glass module features

monocrystalline PERC cells and increases total power output through generation from the front and back side, with an additional energy gain of up to 25% depending on albedo and mounting. 1,500V system voltage further reduces BOS costs. Trina Solar’s dual-glass technology has been recognized with 26 patents so far. The module’s durable dual-glass structure made with high quality solar glass and encapsulation withstands harsh environmental conditions and protects solar cells from strong humidity, preventing energy loss from PID (potential induced degradation). The product has a wide range of applications and it is compatible

with major tracker systems.

Gonzalo de la Vina, Head of Module Business Europe at Trina Solar, says: “We are honoured to have been chosen by EDF Renewables for these two projects in France being developed under the specific constraints of the French CRE4.1 and CRE4.2 tenders using our low carbon bifacial dual-glass monocrystalline PERC modules.”

Deliveries of total 16 MW modules are expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2019.

As published on Arab Press Releases

We are certain that these new texts will enhance the learning experience for our students and offer a wealth of creative teaching ideas for our instructors

- Alexandra Zilovic Executive Vice President of Global Operations for ELS.

ELS Educational Services, Inc. entered into an agreement with National Geographic Learning to develop custom-published ESL textbooks.

National Geographic Learning will provide resources for both ELS students and teachers. Students will have access to National Geographic Learning’s online practice portal, MyELT.com, and teachers will receive customized teacher guides for each text, an online teacher companion website, and classroom presentation tools.

“We are delighted to partner with ELS to deliver English learning programs that reflect this incredible world and prepare students to be successful and responsible stewards of it”

- Dennis Hogan General Manager of National Geographic Learning

“We’re excited to work with National Geographic Learning,” said Ms. Zilovic. “NGL books offer engaging content with a robust digital component. And the famous National Geographic photography is unparalleled.”

ELS and National Geographic Learning will create 24 custompublished texts. Content for the customized textbooks will come from National Geographic texts, including Pathways, World Link, and Great Writing. Texts will be available to ELS students in both hardbound and digital formats.

As published on Arab Press Releases

from Collins Aerospace, re-brands company as Burrana digEcor completes acquisition of commercial IFE business

On 18 January 2019, digEcor officially acquired the commercial In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) business from Collins Aerospace. The deal originated with Rockwell Collins, which was acquired by United Technologies in 2018.

The closing of this transaction, and digEcor’s integration with this significant business, marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for digEcor — now rebranded as Burrana.

“Burrana is an indigenous Australian word, meaning ‘to fly’, which aligns to our purpose of helping airlines

create extraordinary passenger experiences,” said David Withers, Burrana CEO. “It is the history of innovation that is the common thread that binds these two organisations together as Burrana, and the main driver for the acquisition.”

Withers continued, “This thread stretches back over 50 years to the Hughes Avicom and Sony Transcom days, when IFE was in its infancy, and the passenger experience came into focus for airlines. Then came the days of Microair Avionics radios and digEcor’s portable players, through today when the market demands innovative cabin technologies for their

passengers — and this is where Burrana will deliver.”

The acquisition brings together the former Rockwell Collins’ PAVES family of seat back and overhead solutions, as well as PAVES™ On-demand, Total Entertainment System (TES), Enhanced Total Entertainment System (ETES) and content services, with digEcor’s GLIDE, Engage, Power, PSS and Lighting products. The combination will enable Burrana to now offer best-

of-breed solutions for airlines seeking to deliver an extraordinary passenger experience.

Withers went on to say, “Burrana’s global employee base will deliver innovative cabin technologies reliably and affordably to the market, serving an installed base of more than 1,400 planes and 300 customers, positioning us as the #3 player in the IFE market — and we are not stopping there. We will achieve our vision of taking the passenger experience

to the next level by collectively bringing the right new technology to market and leveraging our engineering expertise and proven ability to rapidly develop and certify new products. We pride ourselves on listening to our customers, understanding their vision and requirements and developing new solutions to deliver on these needs.”

As published on Arab Press Releases

ODEM, creator of the On-Demand Education Marketplace, is pleased to announce a partnership with ITWORX Education, an international market leader in innovative academic and corporate learning software solutions, to explore opportunities to jointly develop leading-edge blockchain-based services.

Under the partnership, the technology companies will work to establish ODEM as a blockchain-services provider for ITWORX Education’s learning products, said ODEM CEO Richard Maaghul. The precise scope and breadth of the partnership will be determined during the next few educators. Its official rollout is scheduled for the first quarter of 2019.

“At ITWORX Education we value partners as if they were our own company and we are truly excited about our upcoming partnership with ODEM,” said ITWORX Education CEO Erik Goldenberg. “While we are still discussing the outlines of the collaboration between ITWORX Education and ODEM, we are keen to incorporate blockchain technologies into our offerings, products and services to benefit our users and enable better learning experiences for academic, business and governments in the region, generating economic and social value for individuals, organizations and all up national levels.”

ITWORX Education is on a journey to disrupt traditional learning around the world through the power of technological innovation. In line with its mission to transform the learning and education industry by making learning more accessible to those who

seek it, ITWORX Education supports lifelong learning through innovative solutions at the core of the industry’s value chain, driving learning outcomes and offering a digitally transformed experience to all citizens of the world.

With more than fourteen years of expertise in education-and-learning solutions, ITWORX Education has specialized in innovating solutions that can scale from nation-wide implementations deep down to class level; with deployment success stories in over 1,400 schools. Applying its experience, the company enables education authorities, private and public schools, academies, and colleges to achieve their learning visions effectively and efficiently through technology.

As published on the Arab Press Releases

HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has launched the test run of the first hybrid abra; preserving the authentic design and features of the traditional abra. The step marks the addition of the first hybrid marine transit means to RTA’s marine transport fleet.

During a ride aboard the hybrid abra, Al Tayer heeded to a briefing by Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan,

CEO of Public Transport Agency, about the features of the new abra; which has a capacity for 20 riders. It is powered by a 20KW electric motor and has a lighter weight, thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology. It has 26 Lead Crystal Batteries and solar energy panels along with a standby generator to recharge batteries when running low in power. It has an automated firefighting system that will be activated when batteries are overheated. The abra has battery ventilation and cool-

ing system, and USB ports for recharging cell phones.

The Hybrid Abra is characterised by low carbon emissions which are 87% lower than petrolpowered abras. It reduces fuel consumption by 172% and therefore saves about 134% of fuel cost. Its Operational and Maintenance costs are 83% lower compared to any traditional abra and reduces the noise level to the minimum. The Hybrid Abra will be operated on a trial base on Al

Seef- Al Ghubaiba line; one of the key marine transit lines linking four stations (Al Seef, Baniyas, Dubai Old Souq, and Al Ghubaiba). The fare will be two dirhams only for transiting between two stations.

Future Plan

“The trial run of the Hybrid Abra supports the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The step is in line with the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, Dubai Plan 2021, and the UAE Vision 2021. It is also compatible with RTA’s Master Plan for leveraging marine transport in Dubai which is used by 13 million riders per annum,” explained Al Tayer.

“The Plan envisages the construction of 11 new marine transit stations in Dubai over the period of 20182020, thus raising the number to 58 marine transport stations in Dubai by 2020. It also encompasses the

manufacturing of 11 boats to bring the total number to 61 boats by 2020. New lines will be opened on Dubai Creek, Jumeirah beach, new islands, and the Dubai Water Canal as well as the Ferry service between Dubai and Sharjah,” he elaborated.

“The number of marine transport modes & stations is expected to receive a big boost with the completion of property developments along the two banks of the Dubai Water Canal. It will make marine transport the ideal choice for the movement of citizens, residents, and tourists; offering them enjoyable rides at the backdrop of an impressive skyline along the Dubai Creek and the Water Canal. The RTA has recently launched Al Garhoud Maintenance Workshop for marine transport means (abra, ferry and water taxi) spanning an area of 5000 square meters. It comprises five workshops, three warehouses, crane, marine works zone, outdoor work area, management offices and staff’s rest house,” concluded Al Tayer.