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Rolls Royce - Travelling in Style

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Egypt - The End of Sharm El-Sheikh?

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Issue 84

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Inside this issue...

11. Bahrain

18. Banking

34. Real Estate

12. Bahrain

22. Dubai

45. Cars

15. Saudi Arabia

24. Egypt

46. Art

16. GCC

26. World

48. Fashion

Cruise Ships

Arab Adventurer Nabil ‘Nabs’ Al Busaidi

Nuclear Weapons

Travel Bans

Collapse of the American Investment Bank

A Soap Opera

Report - Post Mubarak

Battle for Oil Production

Exclusive Appartments

Rolls Royce Ghost

Contemporary World Exhibition

Men’s Fashion

COMMENT

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let each New Year find you a better man.”

- Benjamin Franklin

GulfInsider

r Gulf Financial Inside

The multi-award

magazine winning Arabian

n Review -The Arabia

Issue 84

g in Style

ellin Rolls Royce - Trav

GCC - Travel Bans

Nabil Al Buseraidi

m Egypt - The End of Shar

Arab Adventur Bahrain BD2

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El-Sheikh?

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Festive Fundraiser Last month saw the 40th anniversary of Bahrain’s National day celebrations, with red and white Bahraini flags and banners adorning the streets. The timing was perfect so a group of expats donned their red and white outfits to partake in a little festive cheer.

‘Santacon’ is a marathon of fun from early afternoon until the early hours of the following morning. It is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-sensical celebration of festive cheer and goodwill. It is not a membership organisation, just an annual event which is created by whoever wants to take part. There is no particular reason

to dress up in Santa suits, run around town, give gifts, sing songs, have strangers sit on our laps, and decide who is naughty or nice – but it’s a lot of fun.

There were some general rules to follow for all participants including to watch out for racism, homophobia or any other kind of abuse and step in to help when needed.

Perhaps all this frivolity in the changing times in Bahrain was a reminder to us all that whilst life is serious and there are political and personal differences going on, there is still a little room for fun, especially when it means wearing the colours of Bahrain!

Gulf Financial Insider

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GulfInsider Issue 83

Keith Bulfin : Former Undercover Agent

Uprising Falls Victim to Power Plays

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Big Player in the Great Game

40 Years of Independance GulfInsider takes a look back at the last 40 years of Bahrain’s history.

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The multi-award winning Arabian magazine

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GulfInsider -The Arabian Review MADE IN BAHRAIN Monthly focus on Bahraini companies making a difference in the community.

This month featuring:

TAIB Bank

Issue 82

Dubai and Abu Dhabi The Arab Spring

Formula One Memories Rizwan Mumtaz is leaving his mark after project managing and ‘pioneering’ the Formula One race track …

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Issue 81

MADE IN BAHRAIN

Bahrain Travel ban hardship

Monthly focus on Bahraini companies making a difference in the community.

This month featuring:

Bahrain and Pakistan

Proact

Strengthening relations

Dubai

Distinguished Women The successful and inspirational women who are making a difference in Bahrain.

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Wow, I remember Denis Irwin from way back in the day, a true legend! Well, if Sir Alex Ferguson considers him the best player that he ever signed then he must have done something right! Just a shame I couldn’t have met him myself but with the VIVA partnership I am sure we will see more of him and hopefully other Manchester United players too. What a great career!

New Year, New Attitude!

Let’s hope that a reform of the travel ban system is put into place. It’s great that the issue has been more publicly spread in recent months to make as many people aware as possible that a change must come and the system cannot carry on like this. I was relieved when reading British Ambassador to Bahrain Iain Lindsay’s interview when he mentioned that his main priority was to help Brits who are subject to a ban. I am sure if he is on the case then positive changes can happen as there are so many new cases every week it’s getting ridiculous and so upsetting for these people’s families. Come on Bahrain, it is a new year so get this problem sorted!

Expat - Beverly

Fond Memories

Highest economic development

Bahrain BD2

Irwin Idol

The story of Keith Bulfin’s life last month really was remarkable. What an interesting guy! Going from a low-key banker in Australia to ending up in a high security prison and eventually becoming an undercover agent in one of the most dangerous areas of Mexico was shocking.

I cannot imagine what horrific things he witnessed as the drug cartels are ruthless and some just pure evil. I have already ordered the book and cannot wait until the movie comes out which will probably feature some big names. A great feature, no doubt I will be transfixed by the book when it arrives.

Equal Chances for Expat Business

Libya

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A Riveting Story

Fatima

Bahrain

Make Gulf Roads Safer

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Ah, memories! The photo montage for Bahrain’s anniversary was a nice reminder to see how far the island has come since gaining independence. It also reminded me that Michael Jackson once lived here, who would have thought?! Let’s hope the country can now move forward after recent events and realise this place has so much potential!

Grace Williams

Daniel J

A Wonderful World?

I enjoyed your new ‘World News’ feature and all I can say is hahaha to some of the items! Women wishing to ski in Iran must be accompanied by a male guardian?! Saudi women with ‘attractive eyes’ may be forced to cover them up?

Sorry, but wouldn’t you be a bit offended if you were told that your eyes didn’t make the grade to being attractive enough to cover? Surely this will just cause more problems. Some very interesting snippets of stories though Gulf Insider, and thanks for giving me a chuckle along the way.

Hassan

Beyond The Grave What a moving ‘Last Post’ last month.

It really put things into perspective when reading it and you realise that you should appreciate every day as you never know what’s around the corner. So many close friends and family of mine have been diagnosed with cancer and some have survived but many didn’t manage to fight the disease. As bad enough as it is for a family to cope with, I guess it is even worse when you have young children like Derek Miller. Maybe reading his last message brought at least some comfort for his family from beyond the grave.

Rohan Patel

Business Roundup

UAE Unveils USD2.7bn Fund to Pay Debts of Poor The UAE has set up a USD 2.7bn fund to help pay low-income citizens’ debts and announced plans to raise wages of some state employees.

President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan also ordered a doubling of salaries of some state employees in the judiciary, health and education sectors from this month to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the UAE. The UAE enjoys one of the world’s highest per capita incomes of around USD48,600.

Senior officials would receive a 35 per cent pay increase, while a 45 per cent pay rise would be given to mid-level federal government employees.

The government has already announced plans to invest USD1.6bn over three years to improve living conditions in the less developed Northern Emirates and a 70 per cent rise in military pensions among other measures.

The UAE’s safe-haven status, high crude prices, strong trade flows and higher government spending are seen driving its economy to a 3.8 per cent growth in 2011.

Gulf Air Celebrates Bahraini Women’s Day; Appoints First Female Captain National carrier Gulf Air celebrated Bahraini Women’s Day last month at its Muharraq headquarters.

Addressing the female employees on the occasion, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Capt. Maher Al Musallam congratulated all Bahraini women for their significant achievements and contributions to the kingdom.

He also congratulated Ms Vanessa Umba, who has been promoted to the position of Captain and is the first female pilot at Gulf Air to reach the position. He also thanked the first female Acting Chief Financial Officer Sahar Ataei and the first female licensed engineer Eman Mandeel, for their dedication and achievements.

Vanessa Umba

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Gulf Insider January 2012

Bahrain to Hire Ex-US Police Chief for Reforms Bahrain plans to hire a former police chief in the US state of Florida to help with reforms of its law enforcement procedures.

John Timoney was Chief of the Miami Police for seven years, where among his many accomplishments were the successful reduction of crime and the implementation of proper practices for the use of force.

Bahrain has said that the Ministry of Interior was in the process of hiring US and British security experts to help police protect rights and freedoms while enforcing order.

Bahrain has said it will comply with the findings of the recent inquiry, headed by international rights experts, and is under pressure from its ally the United States to show improvements in its rights record to secure an arms sale.

Business Roundup

White House ‘Closely Monitoring’ Bahrain for Reforms

The White House has said it will be ‘closely monitoring’ Bahrain’s promise to carry out reforms following the publication of a report into the unrest which erupted in February.

In a statement, the US President’s office said it welcomed the report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and said King Hamad’s decision to establish the Commission was courageous.

The White House statement said that the subsequent steps taken to implement the report’s recommendations can serve as a foundation for advancing reconciliation and reform.

It mentioned that Bahrain is a long-standing partner of the United States, and the government and all parties should take the steps that lead to respect for universal human rights and to meaningful reforms that meet the legitimate aspirations of all Bahrainis.

The panel, led by Egyptian-American international law expert Cherif Bassiouni, was formed and funded by Bahrain’s government six months ago in an attempt to address charges of human rights abuses during the crackdown.

King Hamad, speaking after Bassiouni delivered his report, blamed much of the unrest on efforts by Iran to incite violence, but said laws would be reviewed and if necessary revised.

Investcorp Sells Accuity Holdings in $530m Deal Investcorp, the Bahrain asset management firm, has completed the sale of its US portfolio company Accuity Holdings for an aggregate enterprise value of USD530 million.

Investcorp has distributed USD 1.5 billion to clients from its four corporate investment portfolio exits over the last 18 months and said that it had acquired three real estate assets in the US, bringing the value of its property to USD300 million.

The company once floated luxury brands Gucci and Tiffany & Co and also plans to spend more than USD400 million on stakes in companies in Turkey and the GCC to 2014. Assets under management came to USD11.8 billion as of last year and net income for the fiscal year of 2011 rose 37 per cent, helped by the profitable sale of some of its investment holdings.

Tamkeen Agree Tie-Up With BASF at EDB German Road Show Bahrain’s Labour Fund, Tamkeen, has signed an agreement with German chemicals giant BASF, to provide support to the new BASF operation in the kingdom, which will be its largest plant in the Middle East on completion. The contract was finalised and signed in Munich, at an Economic Development Board’s business development road show event in Germany.

Tamkeen will work with BASF to support the employment and training of Bahrainis for the new operation based at the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP). The new plant will demand a range of skills, including engineers and technicians for production, maintenance and quality control as well as administrative support services.

EDB Chief Executive, Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa explained that the establishment of BASF’s largest investment in the Middle East in Bahrain illustrates the ongoing success of Bahrain’s programme of economic diversification. He added that BASF also recognised the value of basing operations in the kingdom, including the duty free access to the GCC region and the United States as well as access to a skilled workforce.

The plant will manufacture a range of customer specific antioxidant blends (CSB) and will be one of the largest of its kind in the world with an annual capacity of 16,000 metric tons and is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.

5th Annual Charity Sale Bazaar Shahrazad Hall-

Budaiya a Road Ro oad

(Previously known as Bushehri Hallturn right after Whole Sale Restaurant)

7 January 2012

(9 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

For Donations, Vo V Volunteers, lunteers, Media please contact 39414194 or email nada.mahmood@gmail.com For Ta Table able Booking please contact 39710301

Gulf Insider January 2012

9

Business Roundup

Staying Festive and Fruitful?

Over two-thirds of Gulf workers worked during the New Year break, yet almost half believe very little was achieved.

Monitoring work trends, Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, asked over 12,000 business people in 85 countries about their intentions to work during the end of year holidays. The survey reveals that although two-thirds of business people will go to the office during the festive season, their levels of productivity are expected to be low.

The key findings included:

• 70% of Gulf business people will work

during the end of year festive period.

• 66% of Gulf respondents working over the break will travel into the office.

• 46% of Gulf respondents believe that workers will get very little done in this work time.

• 41% of Gulf business people think that staff working over the holidays mostly

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Gulf Insider January 2012

tend to use this time to catch up on unfinished tasks.

Regus CEO, Mark Dixon explained that the holiday season is a special time for people to devote to their families and friends without neglecting their work

duties, but research suggests that many people are not taking full advantage of the break. If they are travelling into the office to work, many are unnecessarily squandering precious time with their loved ones.

Bahrain

Cruise Ships Boost Tourism Last month saw the return of cruise tourism to Bahrain and the season is expected to bring a major and muchneeded boost to the Kingdom.

T

he season began on December 14th and it was hoped it would dramatically help the Kingdom in terms of both tourism and economy.It is a welcome relief that many are returning this year after last season’s tours were interrupted due to the February uprising where many were forced to cancel and the tourism industry lost out on thousands of dinars.

The AIDA BLU V will make a total of 14 daytime stops in Bahrain through to the end of the season inmid- March. Each cruise ship will be holding around 2,400 German passengers , which means that around 33,000 tourists will be expected to visit throughout the season.

On arriving in Bahrain the tourists are able to visit different areas and are given a wide choice of destinations which they can book in advance. These includeBIC racing, the Culture tour, Ancient and Modern tour, the Oil Well and desert tour package, or simply relaxing at the

Ritz Carlton Hotel or Al Bandar resort.

Mathias Tourism Managing Director Richard Mathias who are the cruise operations partner said, “The return of the AIDA cruise liner will have a big

Each cruise ship will be holding around 2,400 German passengers , which means that around 33,000 tourists will be expected to visit throughout the season. impact on the Kingdom, and the feedback is that the tourists recognise Bahrain has so much to offer in terms of cultural experience dating back 5000 years, that

Mathias Tourism Managing Director Richard Mathias

should not be missed on a trip to the Middle East. The tourist like the fact they meet real Arabs as the tour guides and taxi drivers are locals who are eager to show them the history and culture of this wonderful country. I am so grateful for the help of the Police and theMinistry of Tourism,for their co operation in getting the cruise liners back into our ports and enhancing the opportunities for tourism revenue once again in this beautiful country.”

Assistant Shipping Manager Hassan Al Sharif Al Sharif of Group Shipping Management company also commented, “We are very happy that the AIDA BLU is coming to Bahrain and we are grateful for the help of the Port Immigration and Ministry of Tourism to enable this to happen”.

This is certainly a milestone in the recovery of the nation and a significant move for the boosting of tourism and revenue to the Kingdom. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

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People

An Extraordinary Explorer Arab adventurer Nabil ‘Nabs’ Al Busaidi talks to Gulf Insider about setting world records and near-death experiences…

I

n 2009, you vowed never to return to the sub-zero temperatures of the planet’s poles, after you became the first GCC national to walk to the magnetic North Pole but you have since climbed the Antarctic’s highest mountain. What made you change your mind?

I honestly meant it when I said it. I was so exhausted when I came back from the Arctic, but after a while, you recover and regain your strength and spirit. Climbing Mount Vinson was tough, but it was in no way comparable to walking to the North Pole. Even Everest doesn’t compare.

You have been through polar bear reserves and in temperatures minus 40 degrees Celsius. What has been the toughest challenge so far and how did you motivate yourself to carry on?

The hardest thing I have ever done is row across the Atlantic, and I said I would never row again when I got back, and a year later, I still feel the same!

When we were on Everest, we would spend about four hours a day climbing or hiking, only summit day was more than ten hours. At the North Pole, ten hours a day was normal and rowing the Atlantic was twelve hours a day every day. We did two hour shifts of rowing, with two

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Gulf Insider January 2012

Nabil Al Busaidi

People

hours off, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 43 days.

Motivation in these circumstances is very difficult to comprehend but the situation was so bad that we all rowed knowing it was our only salvation.

You have set world records on both an 888-mile cycling trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats in the UK and by becoming the first Arab to row over 4,600 km across the Atlantic. Do you only take part in things where you can try and set records?

I do like taking part but the achievement of being first is the goal, personally and financially. Achieving something that is a first for Oman or the GCC is something that everyone can be proud of and the beauty of being the first person to do something means no one can ever beat you. Someone will always be faster or stronger, but no one else can ever beat you at being first.

Have you ever disappointed yourself in an expedition?

I had a fall on Everest, and so didn’t summit. I was bitterly disappointed with that, and still am. Luckily I don’t feel like I could have done anything better. In fact, it

was because I had done so many things right, that I am not dead today. You just can’t account for things out of human influence, like the glacier giving way.

got a lot of recognition, and opportunities from that feat. The Atlantic was the most recognised feat worldwide, so outside the GCC, that is the expedition that is mentioned the most.

The challenges are almost entirely mental rather than physical after a certain point and no matter how fit you are, eventually you will reach your threshold and to continue is a matter of will power.

Was there ever a time where you were in pain or felt like you couldn’t carry on and how did you pull though it?

The only way out of these situations is to get to the other end, and that is my main reason for not giving up. But as for feeling I couldn’t carry on...I feel that nearly all the time!

Which challenge that you have undertaken are you most proud of, and for what reason?

It has to be the magnetic North Pole and rowing the Atlantic. The North Pole was like my debut album, and because of that, everything else has been possible. I

Describe the training process that you go have to go through to take part in such strenuous tasks.

Each trip is different. For the North Pole, I spent an hour a day on a cross country skiing machine. Technical training in my opinion, is more important than the physical training. Learning to stay alive in the most hostile environment on earth and mental strength were the most important.

Have you had any near-death experiences?

I have had several. There were encounters with polar bears, which are

Gulf Insider January 2012

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People

recounted in my book, the fall on Everest, and I nearly got washed off the boat in the Atlantic. Luckily I managed to grab a rope as I fell because I knew the result if I had let go, so I held on for dear life.

What or who inspired you to take part in these adventures and challenges in the first place and would you consider yourself an adrenaline junkie?

I had a friend from the UK who rowed the Atlantic and walked to the pole a few years ago. He told me that more people have been in space than have rowed an ocean and if I was the first Arab, no one could ever take that away from me. I was convinced. There is very little adrenaline involved in these treks and 99.9% of the time it is monotonous pain that you are coping with. I am more an adventure junkie and I look for the abnormal and variety to keep me interested and alive.

You have also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. How much do you have to prepare physically for such a challenge or is most of it mentally straining?

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Gulf Insider January 2012

I didn’t really prepare as it was more a seven day trekking holiday. Kili is rated as one of the lowest physically demanding adventure packages but people don’t take it seriously enough. Because of this, it has one of the highest failure rates for a mountain at 50 per cent. The challenges are almost entirely mental rather than

I am more an adventure junkie and I look for the abnormal and variety to keep me interested and alive. physical after a certain point and no matter how fit you are, eventually you will reach your threshold and to continue is a matter of will power.

What home comforts do you miss the most when you are away or are

you happiest somewhere in the world tackling the next challenge you have set yourself?

I miss everything when I am away! It isn’t just luxuries that you are deprived of, I came back from the North Pole craving solid ground and a chair to sit on.

After 25 days of walking on a polar ice cap that would crack or sink underneath you, you just want to put your foot down on something solid!

Tell us about your future aspirations or other challenges you wish to take part in this year.

My plans this year are to visit schools across the GCC and encourage them to help me raise USD 1,000,000 for charity.

I plan to visit 100 schools to encourage students to create their own sponsored events where they can raise money for a charity of their choice. GFI

Bestseller ‘The Arab who Took on the Arctic’ is available to buy at Jashanmals and is priced at BD 15.

Visit www.arabadventurer.com for more information.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia May Need Nuclear Weapons to Fend Off Threat

S

audi Arabia may have to arm itself with nuclear weapons to counter threats from Iran and Israel, a former Saudi intelligence chief said last month.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, who is still influential despite no longer holding public office, said the move may be necessary ‘as a duty to our country and people’.

He noted that Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear arsenal and that Iran, Riyadh’s arch-rival in the Middle East, is believed by many to be developing such weaponry.

‘If our efforts, and the efforts of the world community, fail to convince Israel to shed its weapons of mass destruction and to prevent Iran from obtaining similar weapons, we must, as a duty to our country and people, look into all options we are given, including obtaining these weapons ourselves,’ he told a conference in Riyadh. The remarks were then covered in the Saudi press.

Prince Turki has previously argued for a nuclear-free Middle East, but is now also pushing the idea that the conservative Islamic kingdom might enter an atomic arms race if Iran, its bitterest regional rival, became a nuclear power.

Few analysts believe Riyadh, the world’s top oil exporter and a key ally

for the United States, is likely to embark upon a weapons programme in defiance of U.S. calls for restraint. But Turki’s remarks signal the extent of concern over non-Arab Iran’s military ambitions among Arab Gulf countries.

In his speeches, the prince has always repeated Saudi Arabia’s official policy that the crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme

Riyadh, the world’s top oil exporter and a key ally for the United States, is likely to embark upon a weapons programme in defiance of U.S. calls for restraint. can only be solved through diplomacy and he has repeatedly warned against a military confrontation.

However, Turki has been more outspoken in public than other leading Saudis against what Riyadh sees as Iranian expansionism in the Middle East. U.S. diplomatic cables released

by WikiLeaks showed the kingdom’s

leaders discreetly urging Washington to take stronger measures, including military action, against Iran.

In June, a British newspaper quoted Turki as telling NATO officials that Saudi Arabia would have to develop nuclear weapons if Iran, its adversary in a confrontation that opposes Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim forces, succeeded in acquiring them.

Iran, like Saudi Arabia a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), insists its nuclear programme is exclusively for generating electricity.

It has suffered heavy sanctions from international powers demanding it halt activities that they believe are intended for military purposes.

Israel, which has a policy of neither confirming nor denying that it has nuclear weapons, says it would not sign up to a ban until there were a comprehensive regional peace that included Iran, Saudi Arabia and others. That is a position effectively endorsed by Washington, Israel’s most important ally.

Saudi Arabia is estimated to spend as much as 10 per cent of national income on its armed forces. It is also exploring the possibility of setting up its own nuclear power programme to reduce its consumption of oil, freeing up more crude for export. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

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Qatar

The Dangers Of Working In the gulf Wages may be tax free, but employment laws and travel bans can make leaving a nightmare. - By Alistair Dawber

T

he British former chief executive of Standard Chartered in Europe is being held against his will in Qatar after losing his job as the head of bank in the Emirate, an investigation has revealed.

David Proctor, an international banker who as a senior Bank of America executive won plaudits for his role in limiting the effects of the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s, was dismissed as chief executive of Al-Khaliji Bank, which he helped to establish, last March. His former employer has so far refused to sign his exit visa to allow him to leave the Gulf state, citing opaque investigations, the details of which are yet to be made public.

The case, highlighted by Euromoney magazine, echoes that of a number of other expatriates who have been barred from leaving the resources-rich state after coming into conflict with former employers. Those living in Qatar refer to the practice as “being sent to China” and the UK Foreign Office considers the situation serious enough to warn those thinking of going to live in Qatar that they risk being prevented from leaving by disgruntled former employers. Under Qatari law, exit visas must be signed by

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Gulf Insider January 2012

an employer. Those affected are not held under arrest, can receive visitors and are free to travel around Qatar, but they cannot leave the country.

Mr Proctor’s case, however, is especially worrying. After being removed by the bank, authorities in Qatar opened a fraud investigation into his time as

Potential job-seekers should also be aware that under Qatari labour law the employer’s permission to leave Qatar is required on every occasion. chief executive. According to the Foreign Office, this investigation was concluded in September last year, without any charges being brought. At the time, two of Mr Proctor’s former colleagues – Martin Wright and Guy Noble – who were also under scrutiny, were allowed to leave.

British officials do not know why Mr Proctor is still under investigation, or the nature of any charges he might eventually face. In fact, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office admitted that the British Government is not aware of any current investigation into Mr Proctor’s activities in Qatar.

Charbel Cordahi, a spokesman for AlKhaliji in Doha, confirmed that a new investigation had been started. However, he added that the bank cannot answer questions on the case because it is still active. He refused to say what the inquiry referred to, how long it would last, or why the company would not sign Mr Proctor’s exit visa.

Al-Khaliji, which describes itself as “next generation banking” on its website, is in effect a state-controlled bank.

Bizarrely, Mr Proctor rejoined the bank after his dismissal. He has since left that position too, although Mr Cordahi again refused to comment on why he left, or when.

Qatar’s growing influence on the global economy is unquestionable. The emirate is a major producer of natural gas and has attracted scores of highly trained foreigners to help kick-start a dynamic banking industry.

Qatar

The Foreign Office is blunt in its message to Britons thinking of moving to Qatar. “Potential job-seekers should also be aware that under Qatari labour law the employer’s permission to leave Qatar is required on every occasion,” a spokeswoman said.

She added that the Government has raised the issue of exit permits with the Qatari government in the past, and that it intends to do so again in the future.

‘Sent to China’: 1001 unwanted nights in the Arabian Gulf

The case involving David Proctor is by no means the first in which foreigners have been “sent to China” by former employers in Qatar. The most high-profile case is that of a Belgian, Philippe Bogaert, who escaped from the emirate last year after a venture to promote a marine festival failed.

He launched a web campaign about his case, which only came to an end when he boarded a yacht and escaped to India after more than a year in Qatar.

Tracy Edwards, a world champion yachtswoman, was also barred from

leaving after a deal to promote a boating festival collapsed. Ms Edwards was kept in the emirate for a month before being allowed to leave. As well as Mr Proctor and his two colleagues – Martin Wright and Guy Noble – Steve Shipley, an American-Australian national and the

The case involving David Proctor is by no means the first in which foreigners have been “sent to China” by former employers in Qatar. bank’s former head of IT, was subject to the same investigation. He was granted an exit visa in September last year, but only after agreeing to repay a USD500,000 signing-on fee from the bank.

Bahrain Travel Bans These are also travel ban problems in Bahrain with more and more cases arising almost every week.

• Though the exact figure has not been identified, it is thought up to 4,000 people in Bahrain are also stuck with travel bans.

• Many victims get into difficulty trying to pay back bank loans or credit cards and in many cases, have not been paid by their employers and owed money has not been paid back.

• Residency renewals are cancelled, leaving people without work permits.

Debts often mount up and many are not able to afford lawyers to support their cases.

• New British Ambassador to Bahrain Iain Lindsay stated that one of his main priorities will be to focus on and help those suffering from a travel ban in upcoming months.

• A Facebook page has been set up to help called ‘Banned From Travel’. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

17

BANKING

Three years ago Lehman Brothers crashed. Since then, bankers have learnt nothing

By Max Hastings

T

hree years ago, the collapse of the American investment bank Lehman Brothers signalled the onset of the global financial crisis, which has since escalated into a sovereign debt nightmare, boiling around us still.

Here is an industry which has failed on a Titanic scale (last month we saw further incompetence when a trader at banking giant UBS lost USD2billion in a string of reckless transactions); whose warlords remain impenitent, committed as ever to skinning the rest of us for their own enrichment.

And they are offered almost a decade to mend their ways.

I make no apology for penning what I hope many in banking will call ‘another banker-bashing article’. These people achieved a grip on our society, which the Spanish Inquisition would envy, and used it to create one of the great scandals of our time.

They have inflicted financial injury on almost every citizen of the Western world, while themselves continuing to strip bank coffers.

Whenever I wonder if we are wrong to feel continuing outrage, I read a new speech by Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, who plainly feels the same way.

A distinguished Financial Times columnist complained, some months ago, that not a single banker has gone to prison as a result of their abuses.

As a historian, I try to achieve

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perspective by measuring the misfortunes and follies of our own times against those of the past. Today’s bankers are moral descendants of medieval robber barons, tyrannical rural landlords, the ruthless industrialists of the 19th century.

When a minority group is granted licence to exploit others, it seldom holds back.

Yet one big thing is different: the entrepreneurial monsters of the past took huge personal risks to make their fortunes.

Yet one big thing is different: the entrepreneurial monsters of the past took huge personal risks to make their fortunes.

Today’s bankers, by contrast, are mere employees. They claim obscene rewards while placing bets with other people’s money, backed by the institutions which employ them, and ultimately by their nation’s taxpayers.

The two best-paid staffers of Barclays’ investment banking division, Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci, last year earned USD75million and USD68million respectively in salary, bonuses and

share-based awards.

The average pay per employee - which takes in secretaries and cleaners - at the five biggest American banks last year was USD400,000.

The average pay of Barclays’ 230 best-rewarded employees in 2010 was USD4.2million.

Yet Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of The Royal Bank of Scotland, defends the salary figures by saying: ‘There is a big objective reason why you pay people the way you do. This is a serious professional job where people handle almost unimaginable amounts of money.

‘Many banks will have balance sheets worth more than USD150billion.

‘That means that a single individual could be responsible for, say, USD80billion of assets. With that proximity to such large sums, you want to make sure that your money is being properly looked after.’

It will have taken most of you 0.6 seconds to spot the flaw here. The truth is that our money has not been ‘properly looked after’.

Its banker custodians have mishandled it on a scale that a similar number of chimpanzees could not match.

One of the reasons the financial crisis has not been solved is that few of the world’s banks have even now admitted how much bad debt they hold, acquired in the maddest years.

Bank shares have fallen drastically, so that anybody who has invested money in

BANKING

the institutions run by the wizards of Wall Street has seen it halved, or worse.

Hundreds of billions of hard-pressed taxpayers’ money is shoring up tottering financial institutions. Yet the men and women who have destroyed shareholder value continue to receive fantastic pay packets for themselves.

Adding insult to injury, ordinary customers - and especially small businesses - find it increasingly difficult and expensive to borrow.

For example, my son works in Argentina, but is buying a flat in Britain.

Because I knew he would have trouble getting a mortgage, I offered my own bank an unconditional, personal guarantee on a loan for him.

Fine, they said. They offered the money, less than half the value of his property, at an interest rate of 6.9 per cent. I exploded: ‘But you’re paying only 0.5 per cent interest on my money deposited with you!’

They shrugged: that is our rate, take it or leave it. We left it. I lent my son the money myself rather than see him taken to the cleaners.

As a result, the only function I asked the

bank to fulfil was to transfer the money on a given date. They acknowledged the instruction - then forgot to do it.

How can bankers be surprised by our contempt? Many people much less able to look after their own interests have

One of the reasons the financial crisis has not been solved is that few of the world’s banks have even now admitted how much bad debt they hold, acquired in the maddest years. suffered worse experiences at the hands of bankers.

The bedrock of banking used to be trust. The destruction of that precious commodity is almost all the bankers’ own work, though governments and

regulators were not blameless.

The Civitas think-tank has just published a new pamphlet, entitled You’re On Your Own. ‘Very often,’ say the authors, ‘trust in finance industry professionals has been misplaced. Some have acted like doctors who recommend unnecessary, even dangerous treatment, drugs or surgery, solely because they benefit financially from it.

Any doctor discovered doing that would be struck off the medical register and probably prosecuted.’

By contrast, similar shoddy behaviour by those working for banks and financial service providers led to them receiving bonuses!

The Civitas pamphlet goes on to highlight what seems to some of us a key issue: ‘For at least the last 30 years, it has been assumed by almost everyone - economists, politicians, civil servants that if the finance industry is doing well, that must mean customers (and society more generally) were benefiting.’

In truth, however, the sole beneficiaries of much of the activity in the financial services industry are those who conduct it. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

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Iran

Iran threatens to shut Strait of Hormuz ‘If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure’: Iran threatens to shut Strait of Hormuz with military exercise.

• Four mile-wide strait is world’s most important oil shipping lane • Price of crude leaps after false reports lane had already been closed off • Former US Vice President calls for airstrike after Iran’s refusal to hand back downed spy plane • Iranian fury over US Congress calls to assassinate key members of their Revolutionary Guard

I

ran is threatening to close off the world’s most important oil shipping lane as tensions between it and the West mount following the capture of an unmanned American spy plane.

Parviz Sarvari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, said his country was preparing to close off the crucial Strait of Hormuz as part of a military exercise.

Around a third of all shipped oil passes through the four mile-wide Strait between Oman and Iran and U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure safe passage.

Most of the crude exported from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq - together with nearly all the liquefied natural gas from lead exporter Qatar is transported through the channel.

Mr Sarvari told the Iranian student news agency ISNA: ‘Soon we will hold a military manoeuvre on how to close the Strait of Hormuz. If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure.’

After a news agency mistakenly reported the straight had already been

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closed, crude oil prices leapt by almost $2 to $100.45/per barrel, but they later stabilised.

Last month, Iran’s energy minister told Al Jazeera that Tehran could use oil as a political tool in the event of any future conflict over its nuclear program.

Around a third of all shipped oil passes through the four milewide Strait between Oman and Iran and U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure safe passage.

Tensions over the program have increased since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on November 8 that Tehran appears to have worked on designing a nuclear bomb

and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Iran has warned it will respond to any attack by hitting Israel and U.S. interests in the Gulf and analysts say one way to retaliate would be to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Former U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney said President Obama should have ordered an airstrike over Iran after their refusal to hand back the unmanned spyplane that crashed last month.

During a White House news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Mr Obama said: ‘We have asked for it back. We’ll see how the Iranians respond.’

But Mr Cheney told CNN: ‘The right response would have been to go in immediately after it had gone down and destroy it.

‘You can do that from the air and, in effect, make it impossible for them to benefit from having captured that drone, but [Obama] asked nicely for them to return it, and they aren’t going to.’

Iran

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he had not intention of returning the RQ-170 Sentinel highaltitude reconnaissance drone.

Mr Cheney added that the Iranians will likely send the drone back ‘in pieces after they’ve gotten all the intelligence they can out of it.’

Interviewed on Venezuelan television last month, President Ahmadinejad said: ‘There are people here who have been able to control this spy plane, who can surely analyse this plane’s system also.

‘The Americans have perhaps decided to give us this spy plane. We now have control of this plane.’

Mr Obama refused to comment on what the Iranians might learn from studying the drone.

U.S. officials say Iran had nothing to do with the drone crashing to earth and claim it simply malfunctioned.

General Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, said on state television that the violation of Iran’s airspace by the U.S. drone was a ‘hostile act’ and warned of a ‘bigger’ response.

Officials in Iran even believe they can ‘mass produce’ the captured bat-winged stealthy RQ-170 Sentinel and build a ‘superior’ version following its crash on December 4.

Iran has warned it will respond to any attack by hitting Israel and U.S. interests in the Gulf and analysts say one way to retaliate would be to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Parviz Sorouri, the head of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee, said: ‘Our next action will be to reverse-engineer the aircraft.

‘In the near future, we will be able to mass produce it ... Iranian engineers

will soon build an aircraft superior to the American using reverse engineering.’

It also emerged that Iran has lodged a complaint with Interpol following calls made during U.S. congressional hearings to assassinate members of Tehran’s security agency.

Former U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jack Keane and former CIA operative Reuel Marc Gerecht, now a senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the subcommittee hearing on ‘Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil,’ that they were in favour of carrying out covert operations against members of Qods, a special unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

In his speech, Keane suggested sanctions against Tehran were not sufficient and suggested cyberattacks, covert actions and assassination would be more effective.

He told the hearing: ‘Why don’t we kill them? We kill other people who are running terrorist organizations against the United States. These guys have killed almost a thousand of us. Why don’t we kill them?’ GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

21

dubai

Dubai – a soap opera in the making?

By Annabel Kantaria

I

n a dusty room in a dodgy part of town, a broken middle-aged man wipes his brow with a tissue as he hands a brown envelope stuffed with cash to a younger, better dressed man. A ceiling fan whirs as the money’s counted. “The rest next week, or else,” says the younger man in heavily accented English, dismissing the other with a flick of his wrist.

On the smarter side of town, the older man’s wife, her cheeks and lips bearing the telltale puffiness of too much cosmetic filler, slides naked out of a rumpled bed and leans her head on the cool floor-to-ceiling window of a penthouse in Dubai Marina. She looks wistfully out to sea and sighs as her Lebanese toy boy pulls a sheet over his hips, lights a post-coital cigarette and checks his phone for messages.

Further down the coast, the woman’s teenage son is racing a crowd of his friends on jet skis off the beach of a luxury hotel. They’ve been swigging homemade cocktails from a water bottle all morning and their ever-crazier stunts take them dangerously close to a moored catamaran, off which a group of drunken tourists is swimming… the sense of impending disaster is almost tangible…

With its perennial sunshine, iconic buildings, luxury lifestyle and larger-

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than-life characters, I often think Dubai would make a fantastic backdrop for a glamorous television soap opera. Done well, it could be Dallas for the 21st century –Eastenders-on-sea – enticing viewers in their millions with over-the-top plotlines about a bunch of hapless expats dropped into a millionaire’s playground.

There could be a fictitious dynasty of wealthy Emiratis, there could be expat sex scandals, cross-cultural affairs, Essex wide boys, Indian mafia,

I often think Dubai would make a fantastic backdrop for a glamorous television soap opera.

Filipina housemaids manipulating their “madams”, people skipping the country, shotgun weddings, stints in jail, dodgy deals, property conmen, unruly teenagers, and desert and sea adventures galore.

Characters and plot aside, the cinematography would be pure escapism, the blue skies, sunshine, beaches, fast cars, mansions, palaces, swimming pools, open desert skies and

luxury hotels sharing top billing with a plastic-fantastic cast.

The sad case of the BBC’s now defunct expat soap Eldorado, however, serves as a warning to any aspiring script-writer. As you may remember, Eldorado was a much-hyped soap about a group of Brits living on the Costa del Sol. Despite its prime-time slot on BBC1, it became a subject of derision and aired for just one year in the early ‘90s before being scrapped.

21-year-old film-school graduate, Naim Zaboura, however, is thankfully too young to know of Eldorado, which is just as well as he’s already written, directed and filmed the pilot for a soap opera set in a luxury hotel in Dubai. Called Checking In, the pilot follows the lives of 11 characters working in the fictitious Mina Grand Hotel. If it takes off, the show would be the first ever English-language television series to be produced in Dubai.

Zaboura’s currently looking for a local television channel willing to commission the series. He wants it to be shown in the UAE because he thinks it’ll appeal to everyone here. “I want nothing more than for it to get picked up,” he told Gulf News. “We’ve worked hard for it and I think it really deserves to be seen.”

I agree – it would be fantastic to have a brilliant Dubai-based soap to watch with a G&T as the sun goes down… GFI

BUSINESS

THE OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT – AND ECONOMIC REALITIES

By David Galland

W

hile I salute the idealism of the Occupy Wherever crowd, one would hope that those ideologues can ascertain the irony of having their encampments overrun by the homeless, as they have pretty much everywhere the Occupy movement has set down stakes.

After initially welcoming the street dwellers into their encampments, that welcome mat was quickly worn threadbare as the homeless helped themselves to donated rations, tents, and choice spots by the fire.

The struggle of the Occupy movements with the homeless who are looking to make their hard lives a little softer is the problem confronted by all human societies. In this instance, the homeless are merely demonstrating the same ingrained survival instincts and gravitate toward anything that makes their lives easier.

In societies skewing toward socialism, certain rules considered humane are implemented that strip wealth from Peter to hand-feed to Paul when Paul is unable to feed himself. Unfortunately, on seeing that Paul is managing to get along just fine with less effort, and maybe no effort at all, all sorts of less ethically inclined individuals will study the rules and invariably find the loopholes that allow them to hop on the same gravy train.

Next thing you know, Peter is almost alone as he is forced provide a free ride,

or close to it, to Paul and many others.

Which brings us to the idealised freemarket capitalist system (idealized, because nothing like it is currently operating). The key feature of that system is that government studiously stays out of the way of every citizen, leaving them free to take risks in the hopes of earning rewards. While not perfect, history has proven time and again that the freer flowing the human enterprise, the bigger the economic benefits - benefits that ultimately spread to society at large.

Need a proof point? You don’t have to look any further back in human history than 1978 and the introduction of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in China.

Among other actions, those reforms loosened the state’s direct control over many segments of the economy and allowed for foreign direct investment to help provide the necessary capital for the newly freed segments to blossom.

Simply, rather than trying to command the economy from the center, there was an active campaign for individuals and consortiums to start and operate private businesses.

The results of these reforms are historic: In 1978, Chinese GDP per capita was 379 renminbi, today it approaches 20,000, a better than 50-fold increase, in the process surpassing Japan as the world’s second-largest economy.

The real significance of China’s growth has been that it eradicated centuries of

abject poverty and degradation for the masses, all of which could be directly laid at the feet of the succession of warlords, dictators and communist tyrants.

Were there still some Chinese who were not lifted by the rising tide? Of course, but outside of some utopian fantasy, the best economy is one that allows the maximum number of people to live a life of some dignity. And in that regard, despite the obvious drawbacks, the freer the economy, the better.

Unfortunately, most people simply don’t understand basic economics, but instead deal almost entirely on an emotional level, one that is deeply shaded by the greeneyed monster of jealousy. Sure, there are some pigs working on Wall Street. But to advocate an economy structured around the idea of suppressing a human’s natural tendencies to get ahead, rather than simply having a structure in place whereby fraud is punishable and letting people be free to choose whatever path they feel will get them what they most want, is folly of the highest sort.

I hope that at least someone in the OWS camp, confronted by the unwelcome homeless campers - campers who are looking to the Occupiers to be their new source of sustenance and shelter - finds themselves pondering about the parallels with broader society and realizing things are not so simple as to be reduced to slogans. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

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EGYPT

Egypt Report In November, Peter Hitchins visited Cairo to witness how it has changed post Mubarak.

H

ow small Tahrir Square turns out to be. How scruffy and modest it is. Television broadcasts have a way of making places look bigger than they really are. They also make them look simpler.

Just a few months ago a great revolution took place here, or seemed to.

A mighty despot fell. The world gasped.

Freedom and democracy, we were told, had come to Egypt.

But what really happened? Was it just a melodrama of shouting and posturing?

Or has the world actually changed?

I sought to find out in this confusing, shocking city, so vast that its population, 17million, is greater than that of many European countries.

Cairo is a puzzle, an education and perhaps a warning. In the warm November dusk, some beautifully restored streets of the old city could be in Seville. A few of its grander squares and avenues are like Paris, distinctly European in shape and atmosphere, much closer to Italy than to the great cities of the Islamic world.

But look closer and you find the sad neglect, the crumbling pavements and unpainted facades that are so common in this part of the planet – private affluence and public squalor. And where a European city would have churches, Cairo has mosques, even if some of them are incongruously flanked by branches of a cheeky chain of wine shops called Drinkies.

Here you may get a disturbing preview of what an Islamic Europe might be like if it comes to pass. Other areas are a little like communist Moscow in a heatwave – glowering offices and blocks of flats, colossal military bases and academies,

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secluded special clubs and hospitals for various favoured elites set in their own walled estates, grandiose murals recording military victories – the concrete legacy of Egypt’s long Cold War flirtation with the former Soviet Union.

But a short distance away the ordered grandeur, and the Russian regimentation, both stop abruptly and give way to half-Middle Eastern, halfAfrican claustrophobia and chaos, with tiny dwellings piled crookedly on top of each other and scruffy little cafes where each glass of tea comes with its own free cloud of flies.

Perhaps most important of all, this is much more of a real nation than most other Arab countries, with a long and distinct history and a strong, genuine patriotism.

Even lower down the scale are the great ‘Cities of the Dead’, cemeteries still in use, but where the hopelessly poor live, eat and sleep among long streets of ornate tombs.

Beyond this macabre zone, hastily built and largely illegal suburbs of crude red brick eat into the lovely green floodplain of the Nile, wasting some of the most fertile land in Africa, until they wash up in a drift of tourist tat at the feet of the Pyramids.

If it were not for the commercial power of

tourism and the supervision of the United Nations, people would be living in the Pyramids too.

Nowhere else in the world is like this.

You cannot put it in any category. It is both modern and ancient.

It contains cosmopolitan thinkers, familiar with the ideas and fashions of Chicago and Shanghai. And it houses near-medieval peasants, with a shaky grasp of the outside world but a deep knowledge of the Koran.

Perhaps most important of all, this is much more of a real nation than most other Arab countries, with a long and distinct history and a strong, genuine patriotism. It is part of Arabia, but it is also very much a state in its own right, not a series of lines drawn in the sand by departing imperialists.

Everyone, every institution linked with the old regime of ex-President Hosni Mubarak, is now dismissed with the contemptuous word ‘f’loul’ (it rhymes with ‘pool’).

This means a combination of things: ‘has-been’, ‘discredited’, ‘counterrevolutionary’ and ‘unwanted’, with undertones of corruption and tyranny. If you are one of these, then you are well advised to keep quiet, for now at least.

Strangely, it does not apply to the military that actually propped up Mubarak.

They are known by their English acronym SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces). They are let off because of their superb timing. They dropped Mubarak just in time, and sided with the crowd, or mob, who called for his dismissal. But I was told by a well connected source that their real target was Mubarak’s younger son and would-be heir, Gamal. The army disliked Gamal and had for years chafed

EGYPT

at the idea that he would take over.

Informed Cairo rumour, nearly as good as news, says that the ex-president is now being royally treated in hospital. And the trial of Mubarak has been postponed again and again, suggesting that the military hope the old man – he is 83 and far from well – will die before too much truth comes out, and before a verdict is reached.

Meanwhile, the vital tourist trade shrivels as international visitors nervously watch TV footage of riots and massacres on the Cairo streets, and wonder if anyone is in charge. Perhaps Turkey would be better this year, they conclude, and thousands of Egyptian families wonder where their next meal is coming from.

Egypt’s fantastic bureaucracy, already horrible, has become even worse as nobody wants to take responsibility for anything. So business suffers. Prices have risen sharply, making life that little bit more miserable. But the thing that everyone complains of, high and low, rich and poor, is that the country has become less safe since the old order fled. In the stately old Al-Azhar Mosque, dossers slumber in the pillared courtyard.

They would have been moved on in Mubarak’s days.

In Cairo’s middle-class heart, professionals look on with dislike and apprehension as teenagers from the city’s slums invade their once-select districts. Parking and traffic laws, planning regulations, restrictions on street-trading, all seem to have vanished, leaving a general impression that authority has gone on holiday.

The Copts massed around the state television station in Cairo to protest. Soldiers drove armoured cars into the protesters, crushing people to death.

The most spectacular sufferers are the Copts, Egypt’s huge minority of ancient Christians, who make up ten to 15 per cent of the population of 82million, and proudly point out that they were in the country centuries before Islam arrived. Under Mubarak, they were

reasonably well protected, though there were serious outbreaks of anti-Copt violence a year ago. But now they feel very nervous.

A few days after a Coptic church was destroyed by angry Muslims in the Aswan district in October, the Copts massed around the state television station in Cairo to protest. Soldiers drove armoured cars into the protesters, crushing people to death – and while they did so an anchorwoman on the main TV channel was urging ‘honourable citizens’ to defend the army against Coptic attack.

The same TV station never showed any footage of the appalling carnage that was going on yards from its studios, and also just yards from pleasure boats, full of dancers, cruising along the Nile. At least 27 died. Some witnesses claim they saw thugs throwing corpses into the river.

Shopkeepers and passers-by echo the familiar themes of the ordinary Egyptian – life has grown more dangerous, jobs are few and prices have got higher. It sometimes feels as if the authorities want people to associate their new freedom with insecurity and poverty, so that they begin to wish for a return to a more rigidly ordered society. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

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oil

A Battle for Oil Production Is Brewing By the Casey Research Energy Team

H

igh oil prices have put record earnings into the coffers of the world’s big oil companies, but those splashy headlines are masking an industry-wide decline in oil production. Almost across the board, major oil companies are producing less oil now than they were a year ago. It’s not due to a lack of exploration and development - these companies have all devoted billions of dollars to finding new oil deposits. The problem is that for the most part it will still take years - and many more dollars - before those investments start producing.

In the meantime, big oil’s output will keep declining unless majors start using some of their record profits to buy up producing assets from smaller companies. Oil wells produce less each year; Exxon’s oil fields, for example, are declining by 5 to 7% each year, which means the company needs to add 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of production a day just to break even. This year, Exxon

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has not come close - its production levels are down 8% compared to a year ago. Some of the production decline stems from contractual limits on Exxon’s production, but even without those limits production would have still been

Big oil’s output will keep declining unless majors start using some of their record profits to buy up producing assets from smaller companies. down more than 1%. Over the first nine months of the year, Exxon’s production averaged 2.33 million barrels of oil per day, the company’s lowest average since 2005.

Things are even worse for other major oil companies. BP said oil production dropped 10.6% in the quarter, in terms of barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). Shell’s BOE production fell almost 2% in the quarter. ConocoPhillips produced 6% fewer BOEs. There’s an important note to add about BOEs. The BOE concept combines a company’s oil, natural gas, and condensate output into a single production number, based on energy equivalence. It takes roughly 6,000 cubic feet (cf) of natural gas to release the same amount of energy that is in one barrel of oil, so companies book gas reserves as ‘barrels of oil equivalent’ using a ratio of 6,000 cf:1 barrel. A problem arises when a company then values its reserve books using oil prices. One barrel of oil may have the same energy content as 6,000 cf of natural gas, but in North America the barrel of oil is worth something like US$86, while the 6,000 cf of gas is worth only about US$22. Adding lots of natural

oil

Image source: vimac.com.vn

gas to the books is an easy way to make it appear that oil reserves are growing, but at a fraction of the typical cost. And there are lots of inexpensive shale gas deposits for sale.

Oil output may be stalling but oil prices have remained high enough to more than cover the cracks. Exxon’s profits jumped 41% in the third quarter to US$10.3 billion because the company sold oil in the US for an average of $95.58 a barrel, a 35% increase compared to Q3 2010.

For the same reason, Shell doubled its earnings this Q3 compared to last, bringing in $7.3 billion. BP earned $4.9 billion in the quarter, a 175% year-overyear increase. Chevron pulled in $6.2 billion in the third quarter, 74% more than last year. ConocoPhillips exited Q3 with $3.5 billion in earnings, a 59% increase over 2010.

The pattern is pretty clear: big oil companies are producing less but profiting more. With oil prices expected to remain range-bound for the medium

term (assuming no major supply disruptions), these majors cannot rely on rising prices to keep their profits aloft in the future. They need to boost production instead, especially given that global

The pattern is pretty clear: big oil companies are producing less but profiting more. With oil prices expected to remain range-bound for the medium term.

new discoveries online, the short-term fix is to buy production.

With big oil’s bank accounts full to the brim with cash, the stage is set for some significant acquisition activity ... or, to put it another way, for a battle to buy producing assets. There are quite a number of contestants in the battle - big oil companies are not only competing against each other to sweep up good assets but also against the national oil companies of developing, energy-hungry nations like China, South Korea and India.

Oil demands are rising in these nations so quickly that just to cover expected annual demand increases those three countries would have to jointly spend $30 billion on acquisitions each year.

Make no mistake; the end of easy oil is looming ever closer. GFI

oil demand is expected to increase by approximately 1.5% annually for the next five years. Since it takes years to bring

Gulf Insider January 2012

27

World NEWS

w rld news Summaries of news published in December by international media

Man could receive death penalty for adultery with ex-wife - From Emirates 24-7, December 08 A Saudi man could be stoned to death if he is found guilty of sleeping with his ex-wife for nearly four months without telling her that he had divorced her.

The woman filed a case against her ex-husband and asked court in the western Red Sea port of Jeddah to give him maximum punishment for having sex with her during that period although he had divorced her nearly four months ago.

The woman, who was not identified, said her former husband told her on the last day of their relationship that he had just divorced her.

“When she went to court to check the divorce case, she was told her husband divorced her 120 days ago although he told her about the divorce a day before,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Alikhbariya said.

“The woman demanded the maximum punishment of her ex-husband…court sources said that in case the man is found guilty, he could be stoned to death because what he had done amounts to the most serious adultery since she is prohibited to sleep with him unless she marries another man and is divorced again before returning to the former husband.”

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Protesters calling for religious tolerance attacked with stones, threatened with death - By JJ Robinson for

Minivan News, December 10

Police are investigating a violent attack on a ‘silent protest’ calling for religious tolerance, held at the Artificial Beach to mark Human Rights Day. Witnesses said a group of men threw rocks at the 15-30 demonstrators, calling out threats and vowing to kill them.

One witness who took photos of the attacked said he was “threatened with death if these pictures were leaked. He said we should never been seen in the streets or we will be sorry.”

Among those injured in the attack was Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, a controverisal blogger whose website was recently blocked by the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

“They started hitting us with bricks.

They were aiming at our heads – we could tell they were serious and wanted to kill us,” Rasheed told Minivan News from hospital.

The protesters, calling themselves ‘Silent Solidarity’, had earlier issued a press release stating that their intention was to “make the Maldives and the international community aware of the rising religious intolerance in the Maldives, and to condemn the Constitutionally endorsed suppression of religious freedom. We also denounce the increasing use being made of Islam as a tool of political power.”

The Maldives has come under increasing international scrutiny following an apparent rise in religious intolerance.

Tis the season to be jolly, with a police permit By Debra Chong for the Malaysian Insider, December 09

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 - Around this time for the past 30 years, Catholic church groups nationwide will bring out their song sheets, check their musical instruments and tune their voices to sing in harmony as they ready to go a-carolling.

And get a police permit.

Because carolling is done in public and requires moving from one spot to another.

As Christmas approaches, parish priests or their church youth leaders seek a police permit to effectively visit their fellow church members and belt out “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night, Holy Night” and even “Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer”.

For what is essentially a simple gathering to get into the spirit of the season and celebrate the birthday of their religion’s founder, carolling organisers are required to submit their full names as per their MyKad, identity card numbers, the details of their total participants, the dates, time and general areas of their visits.

Parish priests in Klang were alarmed to receive a memo from a district police officer this past week telling them to send in a list detailing the full names and contact information of the home owners they planned to visit this carolling season.

They are also required to inform Bukit Aman and the National Security Council, said an alarmed Rev Father Michael Chua, who told The Malaysian Insider he received the news from the parish priests of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Church of the Holy Redeemer earlier this week.

“Normally, we get the permits to go carolling without too many conditions imposed,” said Rev Father Lawrence Andrew, who heads the Church of St Anne near Port Klang.

“This is something new. It seems they are now trying to regulate worship,” he added, voice tinged with concern.

Sometimes, the police impose on carollers a 2km distance between the house they will be performing and the neighbourhood mosque or surau, which the ex-youth leaders say is nearly impossible to adhere to in a country where over 60 per cent of the population is Muslim....

World NEWS

Afghanistan’s women languishing in prisons 10 years after fall of Taliban - By Ben Farmer for the

Egyptian Salafi clerics issue spat of controversial fatwas - From Al-Arabiya,

December 06

Telegraph, December 04 Figures disclosed to The Daily Telegraph show that half of the country’s jailed women — about 350 — have been sentenced for “moral crimes”. For girls aged 12 to 18 in prison, the figure rises to four-fifths.

The latest United Nations figures estimate that the women’s prison population has risen to 600, up from 380 two years ago.

A further 114 girls aged 12 to 18 are locked up, of which 80 per cent are serving sentences for either running away from home or extramarital sex, an Afghan justice official said.

The situation is predicted to get worse after a recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman who flees her home and goes anywhere other than the police or a close relative should be locked up as a precaution against illicit sex and prostitution.

Human Rights Watch, which has interviewed more than 50 female prisoners for a forthcoming report on the issue, found women who had tried to flee arranged marriages, beatings and husbands who had forced them into prostitution, only to be then prosecuted.

Human Rights Watch said the two biggest girls’ prisons, in Kabul and Herat, were almost exclusively populated by inmates convicted of moral crimes.

Hertz to fight Muslim workers’ suit over prayer breaks - By Laura L. Myers for Reuters, December 09 SEATTLE (Reuters) - Hertz rental car company, facing a religious discrimination suit by 25 fired Muslim drivers, said on Thursday it would “vigorously defend” itself in a dispute involving prayer breaks at its Seattle airport office.

Hertz says the drivers, all of them Somali natives, refused to clock in and out for the 10-minute paid breaks they took twice daily, as required under their union contract, and abused their breaks by failing to return to work promptly.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in King County Superior Court, accuses Hertz of intentionally creating a “hostile work environment owing to religious, race and national origin discrimination” by terminating the drivers at SeattleTacoma International Airport in late October.

In a written statement issued on Thursday, Hertz spokesman Richard Broome said, “this situation has absolutely nothing to do with religious or discrimination.”

“The employees refused to accept our only requirement -- that they clock out first to ensure that when prayers ended they returned to work promptly, which wasn’t happening in many instances,” he said.

Other workers suspended for not clocking out on prayer breaks were reinstated after agreeing to the rules, he said.

Sheridan said the lawsuit seeks job reinstatement with back pay for the 25 fired workers, plus damages for emotional pain and suffering....

The recent emergence of the hardline Salafi trend in Egypt after the January 25 revolution has given way to a series of controversial fatwas that mainly focused on women, Copts, culture and democracy.

Preacher Mustafa al-Adawi issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslim women from wearing high heels because they are a source of seduction for men.

Another cleric, Sheikh Mahmoud Amer, had issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from voting for Coptic candidates or their Muslim counterparts who do not pray on regular basis.

Other controversial statements were issued by prominent Salafi and parliamentary candidate Abdel Moneim al-Shahat who said that democracy is a form of apostasy and categorized the works of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz as “atheist literature.”

These statements were met with a lot of resentment by Egyptian intellectuals and men of letters who warned of the dangers of such extremist ideologies on Egyptian culture and the awareness of the Egyptian people.

In the same vein, Salafi cleric and potential presidential candidate Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail said he is against mingling of the sexes in public places.

Despite their rejection of the idea of democracy, several Salafi clerics were quick to join the political scene after the fall of the regime and one of their parties, al-Nour, scored unexpected results in the first stage of the country’s first postMubarak parliamentary elections....

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World NEWS

Saudis fear there will be ‘no more virgins’ and people will turn gay if female drive ban is lifted - From Daily Mail, December 01

Islamic smartphone launched - From Daily Mail, December 05 An Islamic smartphone has been launched with a compass pointing permanently to Mecca and the Koran already downloaded.

Inventors of the Enmac in India said they focused on religious technology when designing the new phone.

And the market is heaving as India has the fastest growing mobile phone users in the world with more than 850 million subscribers including farmers and rickshaw drivers.

Anuj Kanish, who has launched the Enmac in India, told The Telegraph: ‘India has around 180 million Muslims and the penetration of mobile phone in that community is less.

‘But when a compelling product or service is available, it has a potential to increase the number of users. So far, we have had a tremendous response for the product.’

He added: ‘Religion has a very important place in Indian society, so has the mobile phone. Our aim was to bring a device which caters to both the sections, the product is a combination of both technology and religion, the first of its kind in India.’

The Enmac translates the Koran from Arabic into 29 languages, and includes the Hadith sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, and a guide for Indian Muslims on how to perform the Hajj rituals in Mecca and Medina.

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Repealing a ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia would result in ‘no more virgins’, the country’s religious council has warned.

A ‘scientific’ report claims relaxing the ban would also see more Saudis - both men and women - turn to homosexuality and pornography.

The startling conclusions were drawn

by Muslim scholars at the Majlis al-Ifta’ al-A’ala, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious council, working in conjunction with Kamal Subhi, a former professor at the King Fahd University.

Their report assessed the possible impact of repealing the ban in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed behind the wheel.

It was delivered to all 150 members of the Shura Council, the country’s legislative body.

The report warns that allowing women to drive would ‘provoke a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce’.

Within ten years of the ban being lifted, the report’s authors claim, there would be ‘no more virgins’ in the Islamic kingdom.

And it pointed out ‘moral decline’ could already be seen in other Muslim countries where women are allowed to drive.

In the report Professor Subhi described sitting in a coffee shop in an unnamed Arab state.

‘All the women were looking at me,’ he wrote. ‘One made a gesture that made it clear she was available... this is what happens when women are allowed to drive.’

Rezaei

Nosrati

Long suspensions, heavy fines for Iran soccer players’ fanny pat - From the Los Angeles Times, November 29

REPORTING FROM TEHRAN AND BEIRUT -- Long suspensions and $30,000 fines. That’s what Iran’s football association imposed on two Iranian soccer players accused of celebrating a goal in an “immoral” manner, Iranian media reported Sunday.

The two players landed in hot water last month when Persepolis defender Mohammed Nosrati swatted the backside of his teammate, Sheys Rezaei, while celebrating a goal in a nationally televised match.

The players insisted the fanny pat was only for fun. But it didn’t go down well with the Iranian football federation’s disciplinary committee, which immediately suspended both players on charges of immoral offense and reportedly dismissed Persepolis manager Mahmoud Khordbin for failing to report the incident.

Nosrati’s suspension will last 10 months, according to the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency. Rezaei will be suspended for 20 months.

The team’s current manager, Mohammed Royanian, protested the decision, telling ISNA that it will have a “bad impact on the spirit of the team.”

World NEWS

Blinded by acid, now denied compensation for showing her attacker mercy - By

Ms Bahrami is now disputing.

“Even though I agreed to pardon Mr Movahedi, I didn’t think I was surrendering my right to compensation,” Ms Bahrami said. “My request for compensation was recognised as legal by the judiciary officials at the time. But then the deputy prosecutor said he had made a mistake and that my request for compensation had no legal grounds.”

Ms Bahrami says she needs the money to pay for extensive plastic surgery to repair her injuries. She has already spent more than £150,000 – partly funded by the Iranian state – on treatment in Barcelona. But further treatment is needed.

Ms Bahrami is also demanding meetings with Iranian parliamentarians to discuss women’s compensation rights. Under Iran’s Islamic penal code, women are entitled to only half that of men....

Noushin Hoseiny for The Independent, November 26

A woman blinded and horrifically disfigured in an acid attack by a spurned admirer is suing Iran’s judiciary after accusing senior officials of cheating her out of compensation when she agreed to spare her attacker from a similar fate.

Ameneh Bahrami, 34, suffered severe injuries to her eyes, face and hands when a former university classmate, Majid Movahedi, threw acid in her face after she rejected his advances.

In November 2008, a criminal court in Tehran ordered Movahedi to be blinded in both eyes under Iran’s application of the sharia code of qisas, which allows retribution for violent crimes.

But he was given an eleventh hour reprieve in July when Ms Bahrami exercised her right to pardon him.

Prison officials had been preparing to drop acid into his eyes when the pardon was delivered.

Ms Bahrami says she is paying the price for her leniency after being told by judiciary officials that she no longer had the right to compensation, which Movahedi was ordered to pay when he was sentenced.

After being pardoned, Movahedi’s sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison and five years exiled in a remote area. The sentence no longer requires him to pay compensation, something

“One-fifth of Iraqi women are subjected to two types of violence, physical and psychological, constituting a very serious danger to the family and society,” Zaidi said at a conference dedicated to fighting violence against women.

“The most dangerous violence against woman is family violence, from the father, the brother, the husband or even the son,” she said.

“Fighting violence against women is a cultural issue, it is the responsibility of the media, politicians and the religious men,” said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who also attended the conference.

Iraqi women are also affected by a lack of social services, and some must head their households alone because of the death of a husband or son.

Boycotting lectures on evolution... because it ‘clashes with the Koran’ From Daily Mail, November 28

A fifth of Iraqi women ‘subjected to abuse’ - From Agence France-Presse, November 26 One in five Iraqi women is subjected to either physical or psychological abuse, often inflicted by family members, Minister of State for Women’s Rights Ibtihal al-Zaidi said on Saturday.

Muslim students, including trainee doctors on one of Britain’s leading medical courses, are walking out of lectures on evolution claiming it conflicts with creationist ideas established in the Koran.

Professors at University College London have expressed concern over the increasing number of biology students boycotting lectures on Darwinist theory, which form an important part of the syllabus, citing their religion.

Steve Jones emeritus professor of human genetics at university college London has questioned why such students would want to study biology at all when it obviously conflicts with their beliefs.

‘They don’t come [to lectures] or they complain about it or they send notes or emails saying they shouldn’t have to learn this stuff.

‘What they object to - and I don’t really understand it, I am not religious - they object to the idea that there is a random process out there which is not directed

by God.’ Earlier this year Usama Hasan, iman of the Masjid al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton, received death threats for suggesting that Darwinism and Islam might be compatible.

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World NEWS

Afghan woman’s choice: 12 years in jail or marry her rapist and risk death - By Nick Paton Walsh and Masoud Popalza for CNN, November 22

Kabul (CNN) -- The ordeal of Gulnaz did not simply begin and end with the physical attack of her rape. The rape began a years-long nightmare of further pain, culminating in an awful choice she must now make.

Even two years later, Gulnaz remembers the smell and state of her rapist’s clothes when he came into the house when her mother left for a brief visit to the hospital.

“He had filthy clothes on as he does metal and construction work. When my mother went out, he came into my house and he closed doors and windows. I started screaming, but he shut me up by putting his hands on my mouth,” she said.

The rapist was her cousin’s husband.

After the attack, she hid what happened as long as she could. But soon she began vomiting in the mornings and showing signs of pregnancy. It was her attacker’s child.

In Afghanistan, this brought her not sympathy, but prosecution. Aged just 19, she was found guilty by the courts of sex outside of marriage -- adultery -- and sentenced to twelve years in jail.

Now inside Kabul’s Badam Bagh jail, she and her child are serving her sentence together.

Sitting with the baby in her lap, her face carefully covered, she explains the only choice she has that would end her incarceration.

The only way around the dishonor of rape, or adultery in the eyes of Afghans, is to marry her attacker. This will, in the eyes of some, give her child a family and restore her honor.

Incredibly, this is something that Gulnaz is willing to do.

“I was asked if I wanted to start a new life by getting released, by marrying this man”, she told CNN in an exclusive interview. “My answer was that one man dishonored me, and I want to stay with that man.”

Tending to her daughter in the jail’s cold, she added: “My daughter is a little innocent child. Who knew I would have a child in this way. A lot of people told me

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that after your daughter’s born give it to someone else, but my aunt told me to keep her as proof of my innocence.”

Gulnaz’s choice is stark. Women in her situation are often killed for the shame their ordeal has brought the community.

She is at risk, some say, from her attacker’s family.

We found Gulnaz’s convicted rapist in a jail across town. While he denied raping her, he agreed that she would likely be killed if she gets out of jail. But he insists that it will be her family, not his, that will kill her, “out of shame.”

Whether threatened by his family or hers, for now, jail may be the safest place for her.

Shockingly, Gulnaz’s case is common in Afghanistan.

CNN asked a spokesman for the prosecutor to comment on the case.

The reply was that there were hundreds such cases and the office would need time to look into it”...

Male nurse sues after firing for treating Muslim women - By Robert Snell for Detroit News, November 23 Detroit - A male nurse filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the city of Dearborn on Wednesday, claiming he was fired for treating conservative Muslim women wearing head scarves.

John Benitez Jr. is suing for unspecified damages and to reclaim his job, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.

Benitez, 63, of Madison Heights, worked at the city’s taxpayer-funded health clinic. He alleges he was ordered by a female supervisor not to treat conservative Muslim women, specifically those wearing head scarves, according to the lawsuit. He was told the clinic’s male Muslim clientele did not want a male treating female patients.

He complied until November 2010, when a doctor ordered him to treat Muslim women as he would any other patient. Benitez followed the doctor’s order and was fired less than one month later, according to the lawsuit.

“When you get to the point that taxpayer-funded entities are having to comply with personal religious beliefs rather than letting people do their job

you’re going down a road that does not end in a good place,” the nurse’s lawyer Deborah Gordon said in an interview Wednesday. “If people don’t want to be treated, they can go find their own practitioner.”

The city closed the clinic June 30 amid budget cuts.

A Dearborn spokeswoman declined comment.

Hospitals and health clinics routinely make accommodations based on religion, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

“In general, unless it is for emergency situations, many Muslims would prefer being screened and touched by someone of the same gender,” Walid said. “If he was fired based upon an order from a supervisor, that obviously would be unjust.”

Jakim declares book on Lee Kuan Yew haram - By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider, December 08

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Federal Islamic authorities have declared haram a book in which Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew urged Muslims in Singapore to be “less strict on Islamic observances.”

Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, a collection of interviews published in January, was included in a list of 15 books declared haram by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

Jakim’s planning and research division confirmed the decision was made when its committee on the censorship of publications with Islamic elements met in October.

Lee, who served in Singapore’s Cabinet as PM, senior minister and minister mentor for 52 years before retiring in May, said in the book that Muslims in Singapore were socially “distinct and separate” and should “be less strict on Islamic observances” to aid integration and the city-state’s nationbuilding process.

It led to uproar from Malay and Muslims groups on both sides of the Causeway with his old rival and former Malaysian PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accusing Lee of having no respect for religion.

Egypt

The end of Sharm el-Sheikh?

Islamist parties call for ban on drinking, wearing bikinis and mixed bathing on Egyptian beaches. - By Wil Longbottom

T

he Muslim Brotherhood, which won success in the first round of parliamentary elections last month, is set on turning Egypt into a ‘sin-free’ holiday resort.

But the end of many tourists flying to resorts like Sharm el-Sheikh could spell disaster for an economy that has already been battered by this year’s political unrest.

Islamist parties want to stop tourists drinking alcohol and wearing skimpy beachwear.

Azza al-Jarf, a candidate for the Muslim Brotherhood, told supporters: ‘Tourists don’t need to drink alcohol when they come to Egypt; they have plenty at home.

‘They came to see the ancient civilisation, not to drink alcohol.’

Since its success in the first round of elections on November 28 and 29, the Brotherhood and the even more fundamentalist party of Salafi Muslims called Al-Nour have been under pressure to define their stance on a wide range of issues - including Islamic law, personal freedom and tourism.

Al-Nour has said it seeks to impose strict Islamic law in Egypt, while the Muslim Brotherhood says publicly it does not want to force its views on an appropriate Islamic lifestyle on Egyptians.

The unrest that saw former president Hosni Mubarak ousted has hit the

economy hard and shaken investor confidence.

Last month, interim prime minister Kamal el-Ganzouri broke down in tears as he said the state of the economy was ‘worse than anyone imagines’.

Turning around the decline in tourism is key to breathing life back into the economy. The industry was also hit by two fatal shark attacks in Sharm elSheikh last year.

Tourism accounts for roughly 10 per cent of Egypt’s GDP, employs an estimated 3million people and is one of the pillars of its economy.

The Muslim Brotherhood came in first and Al-Nour second in the first round of voting.

The Salafis, who follow the Wahhabi school of thought that predominates in Saudi Arabia, are clear in their opposition to alcohol and skimpy beachwear.

They are also undecided on whether unmarried couples should be allowed to share hotel rooms, or the display of ancient Egyptian statues like fertility gods.

But the Muslim Brotherhood has sent more mixed messages, reflecting it is more inclined to leave tourism alone for the sake of the economy.

Influential cleric Yasser Bourhami has called for ‘halal tourism’ - which includes restrictions.

Speaking to private television network Dream TV, he said: ‘A five-star hotel with no alcohol, a beach for women - sisters - separated from men in a bay where the two sides can enjoy a vacation for a week without sins.

‘The tourist doesn’t have to swim with a bikini and harm our youth.’

Tourism accounts for roughly 10 per cent of Egypt’s GDP, employs an estimated 3million people and is one of the pillars of its economy.

Huge swathes of the country, including the Red Sea coast with its stunning coral reefs and Nile Valley cities like Luxor, with its ancient temples and tombs, are solely dependent on tourism.

There are around 15million visitors to Egypt every year and analysts say bookings for its beach resorts - mostly far from the unrest - have recovered faster than areas in the centre of the country where most pharaonic ruins are found.

This year, tourist arrivals fell more than 35 per cent in the second quarter because of the unrest, and Egypt expects to earn around $9billion from tourism in 2011 - down by a third. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

33

real estate

Apartments So Exclusive, No One Lives There London’s ‘ultimate luxury’ flats are backed by a company owned by Qatari Royals and cost up to £136m - but who, if anyone, actually stays in them? - By Matt Sandy

S

tanding opposite upmarket department store Harvey Nichols, the imposing glass fronted building in the heart of London could easily pass as the headquarters of an anonymous multinational corporation.

There are few clues on the outside that this is reputedly the world’s most exclusive apartment block.

When the 86 flats at London’s One Hyde Park went on the market for up to £136million four years ago, they were billed as the ‘ultimate luxury’ for the super-rich.

But a year after completion, hardly anyone lives there in spite of claims by the developers Nick and Christian Candy that 62 flats have been sold – the cheapest for £3.6million.

Only four of the properties have been registered as primary residences for council tax, according to Westminster Council.

All but a handful have been bought by companies based in

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Gulf Insider January 2012

tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands.

Just three have been bought by named individuals. One of those is owned by Monaco-based Christian Candy and the second is Mohammed Saud Sultan Al Qasimi, based in the United Arab Emirates.

The only remaining named owner – and possibly one of the few to actually live in the block – is Rory Carvill, 69, a British insurance broker.

He spent £21million of his reputed £40million fortune on an apartment.

Even he, however, also owns a palatial sixstorey townhouse just 500 yards away.

So who, if anyone, does live in One Hyde Park? Last month I spent several days trying to find out.

I arrived at 7am on a Wednesday, expecting to see a parade of tycoons and highflyers leaving the building for work.

Instead, I saw no one. This,

At the launch: Developers Nick Candy with partner Holly Valance and Christian Candy with wife Emily.

real estate One Hyde Park At McLaren, dealer Sinan Omer has five appointments a week with customers interested in buying the new £168,500 MP4-12C supercar.

‘We have had one order from someone who lives upstairs,’ he says.

‘But we’ve had to turn away several others as the UK wasn’t their main country of residence. We had to direct them to the appropriate dealer in their own country.’

But nothing sums up One Hyde Park better than my encounter with an Eastern European security guard while standing outside.

‘Who are you?’ he barks accusingly and, given the reported Special Forces training of the guards at the block, not a little threateningly.

Having told him, I asked for his name and identification.

‘It’s John Smith,’ he says in his broad accent, and smiles, before melting into the night.

according to an immaculately presented Polish doorman in a bowler hat, is not unusual.

‘On some days not a single person will go in or out of this building,’ he says.

‘At most there will be ten.’

Standing next to a more menacing security colleague wearing an earpiece, he says: ‘These people are not like you and me. Many have homes across the world and will stay here for only a few days each year.’

It is hard not to sense his disappointment. The tips he could expect from the richest people in the world would surely dwarf his modest salary. But instead he is left manning the entrance to a ghost town.

Behind him, shimmering spheres of white Christmas lights adorn the perfectly manicured trees and shrubbery in the bulletproofed foyer. A cleaner, dressed in black, sweeps away a solitary leaf which has fallen out of place.

An air of secrecy and isolation pervades One Hyde Park. Many of the features of the block – iris recognition in the lifts, panic rooms, bomb-proof windows, all mail being X-rayed – point to an

almost ridiculous cocoon.

It has a 21-metre swimming pool which is said to be nearly always empty, a cinema, saunas, gym, golf simulator, wine cellar, valet service and room service – via a tunnel from the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel next door.

But chefs there, where Heston Blumenthal has a restaurant, say they can go a week without an order from the complex.

Residents also have to pay service charges that may be the highest in the world. Those who own the triplex penthouses pay as much as £350,000 a year.

When I revisit the block at 10pm, I count twelve lit windows in the four towers.

There is an occasional glimpse of life inside. In a first floor flat, a balding man sits alone underneath two chandeliers in an immaculate but modestly sized flat.

Many blocks of flats have a nearby convenience store. But here, the closest three outlets are a Rolex shop, a McLaren car dealership and a branch of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which is yet to open.

• The project is a joint venture between the Candys’ Guernseybased vehicle, CPC Group, and Waterknights, a company owned by the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani.

• The Qatari royal family is set to add Battersea Power Station to its London property collection alongside Harrods, Chelsea Barracks and the One Hyde Park apartments in Knightsbridge.

• Sheikh Hamad, cousin of the ruling Emir of Qatar, is the part-owner of the One Hyde Park development in Knightsbridge and has a flat in the building.

• The oil-rich state of Qatar has been investing heavily abroad, including in Britain. GFI

Gulf Insider January 2012

35

BUSINESS

UAE BUSINESSES FAIL TO UTILISE SOCIAL MEDIA

R

esearch has shown that less than half, 41 per cent, of businesses in the UAE have a social media presence, and companies who are engaged are not utilising it to its full potential, according to DLA Piper, a global law firm. In addition, over a quarter of UAE firms that proactively use social media do not have a company policy in place, opening them up to a raft of legal implications.

The research, conducted in September 2011, was also conducted in the UK where 76 per cent of companies have a social media presence compared to only 41 per cent in the UAE. UK firms are also far more likely to use social media to communicate with employees, 39 per cent in the UK compared to only 16 per cent in the UAE, and as a way of encouraging employee engagement, 37 per cent in the UK compared to only 12 per cent in the UAE, showing the gap between the sophistication of social media uses between the two countries.

Over a quarter, 26 per cent, of companies active on social media channels in the UAE do not have a social media policy outlining what is and is not allowed by employees, compared to 17 per cent of companies in the UK. Legally this opens up organisations to major issues as without having a clear policy in place staff who use social networks in a way that discredits or damages their employer may not be seen in the eyes of the law to have knowingly caused any damage.

“Social media is a medium that is unarguably here to stay, however companies in the UAE are not placing

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Gulf Insider January 2012

enough focus on ensuring employees know what they can and can’t do within a professional environment,” commented Neil Crossley, Head of Employment, Pensions and Benefits Middle East at DLA Piper. “With a large percentage of the population classified as ‘Generation Y’, and therefore highly skilled when it come to the internet and social media sources, more focus has to be placed on utilising that skill base and properly engaging with them to drive innovation and motivation in the work place.

Over half of social media policies in the Middle East, 56 per cent, were embedded as part of other policies in the organisation.

“There is also a widespread recognition that social media is not just a tool for marketing, but something that needs to be considered by all aspects of a business; from HR, to risk, to the upper echelons of corporate management and the legal implications of social media breaches and how to prevent them must be taken into consideration.”

Branding expert, Bachir Abouchakra, Senior Legal Consultant at DLA Piper also commented “Businesses must implement good brand management policies if they want to maximise the

return on their brand-related investments.

Given the rise of social media, it is increasingly important for businesses to consider the impact of social media on these policies.”

Social media policies were communicated to employees in the Middle East mostly by via intranet, 40 per cent, and the staff handbook, 36 per cent, but in the UK the communication was primarily by staff handbook, 52 per cent, and cascaded down by management, 43 per cent. This demonstrates the importance UK firms place on social media policies, in comparison to those based in the UAE. Over half of social media policies in the Middle East, 56 per cent, were embedded as part of other policies in the organisation, with only 15 per cent having a standalone policy. And worryingly over a quarter, 26 per cent did not have any policy in place.

Social media use in the Middle East, like in the UK, is aimed at communicating with customers or consumers. Brand awareness, UK 80 per cent and 60 per cent in the Middle East, and marketing, UK 60 per cent Middle East 56 per cent, were the most popular uses of social media in both regions. The Middle East place an emphasis on advertising corporate events, with over half of respondents using social media for this purpose, 52 per cent. GFI

The full UK report can be found at http://www.dlapipershiftinglandscapes. com/ and more information on the UAE findings can be found at www.dlapiper. com/middleeast

ADVERTISING FEATURE

A Year On Just over 12 months ago we interviewed the Managing Director of m2r Ltd, a UK based recruitment firm rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with in Bahrain.

A

lot has happened in the last 365 days and Gulf Insider decided to speak to Munir Mamujee to find out how the job market has changed during a difficult year in Bahrain.

Munir, can you give us an overview of the job market prior to Feb 2011?

After almost four years of working with companies in Bahrain, we were certainly seeing a boom in the market, hospitality, general trading etc were all flourishing. We were working on roles from the most junior to the most senior, speaking to candidates from within Bahrain, throughout the GCC and the world. There was a buzz, the F1 was round the corner and it was an exciting place to be. My love affair with Bahrain was certainly going from strength to strength! We were about to launch new products into the market too.

From a purely commercial perspective, how has the job market changed post Feb 13th 2011?

Well, speaking only from this level, the market certainly slowed down. We kept in very close contact with our clients and Bahrain based candidates and made sure everyone knew that when the time was right, we would be there to assist.

We continued to receive vacancies and continued to fill roles, but albeit at a slower pace than before. Organisations are also more aware of their bottom line and our low cost recruitment packages

are certainly beneficial to them.

Are companies you work with recruiting again?

I came back to Bahrain in October and although the market has not recovered fully, companies are going about their daily business and recruitment is certainly back on the agenda. I noticed a large degree of optimism, from international and Bahraini firms and most of my clients are hiring. We are filling roles on a weekly basis with candidates from within Bahrain as well as those who have never been there before. This is very interesting as it shows that Bahrain still has great appeal which is refreshing to hear from a recruitment perspective.

What about the redundancies due to market exit and downsizing? How has this affected the job market?

Yes, the number of people looking for jobs has increased, we have experienced an influx of applications from Bahrain based candidates however my concern is that a vast proportion do not want to proactively search for work or their expectations are set too high. When I am told that ‘there are no jobs’ I feel frustrated as I know this is not the case.

When I was in Bahrain in January, I was privileged to meet two young guys who were both out of work but certainly not letting their frustrations get the better of them. They were extremely proactive, asking my advice on their CVs, networking and chasing vacancies in

Munir Mamujee order to find a job. They knew what they wanted, they had a goal, but appreciated they would have to start at the bottom and work their way up. I found out a few months ago that both are now working and thoroughly enjoying their work.

It just shows what can be achieved if you persevere. So, using a model that is working well in the UK, I am going to deliver a free job hunting workshop when I come to Bahrain at the end of January, hopefully this can inspire people and raise confidence levels in order for them to find a job.

Sounds interesting. Please tell us more.

We run workshops in the UK showing people how to search for jobs. It has proved to be extremely successful and I am going to run the same courses in Bahrain. As a business we will never have access to every job in Bahrain, it is simply impossible, however we can show people how to find a job and also how to go about getting it. I will be running the first course at the end of January.

Glad to hear you are planning to offer your help. We wish you all the best. GFI

Munir Mamujee will be in Bahrain at the end of Jan 2012 for a week. If you wish to discuss your own career or find out how m2r can help your company recruit, contact him directly, munir@m2rglobal. com or call +447770865741.

Gulf Insider January 2012

37

roundup

Gulf roundup

By Annabel Kantaria

Gearing up for a Sunny Christmas

“Are you here for Christmas?” is one of the most common questions at this time of year as expats start thinking about where and with whom they’ll be eating their roast turkey on the 25th.

For some, the idea of spending Christmas in the sunshine is as wrong as serving cod and chips for Christmas lunch: They just can’t countenance the thought of sitting outdoors in the warm sunshine when they should be shivering in the gloam. But this will be my 14th Christmas in Dubai and I honestly believe you can’t go wrong with Christmas here.

Although you hear Brits complaining that they “don’t feel Christmassy” because, with daytime temperatures still in the high 20s “it doesn’t feel like winter”, the build-up to Christmas is always fun in Dubai.

We get Christmas-tree lighting parties with carols and mulled wine; we get more Christmas bazaars and markets than you could shake a bauble at; we get gingerbreadhouse decorating classes; and we get the pantomime.

There’s even an Elves’ Tea party, The Nutcracker ballet and a festive sound and light show this year. Fresh Christmas trees are flown in for those who want the authentic scent of the festive season.

One of the biggest pulls here, though, for people of all nationalities and religions, is still Santa. While Wafi Mall holds the reputation for having the most authentic-looking Santa in that his beard is said to be genuine, traditionalists can pull on a ski suit and thermals to visit Santa in temperatures of minus two degrees in Ski Dubai’s Snow Park.

38

Gulf Insider January 2012

Should UAE Drivers Undergo Personality Tests?

In a move that’s sure to delight the Jeremy Clarksons of the world, a Dubai-based psychiatrist has said that all UAE drivers should undergo mental health checks before being granted a driving licence.

The UAE has some of the most dangerous roads in the world and, while the number of road deaths here is falling thanks to targeted efforts from the police, the UAE still has a long way to go before it achieves its goal of zero deaths on the road in 2020.

Approximately 200,000 driving offences were ticketed by the police in Dubai in October alone. That’s an enormous number for a population of two million.

The most common offence, police say, was speeding, but tail-gating, texting while driving, weaving in and out of lanes, driving without seatbelts and jumping red lights are all everyday occurrences, too. And these kinds of offences are not caused by mental illness such as depression, but by attitude. The attitude of “it won’t happen to me” or “I’m more important than he is” or “my car’s better than his” or “I need to get there faster than she does” – these, more than Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, are the things that kill people on Dubai’s roads.

Even more alarmingly, a study out last January found that the “attitude, values and peer pressure” among young Emiratis was the cause of the “alarming number of UAE car accidents, injuries and fatalities” in the UAE. The study found that up to 50 per cent of young Emirati men admitted to dangerous offences such as driving the wrong way down one-way streets, not wearing seatbelts, using their phones while driving and stopping in the slow lane to chat.

Personally, I wouldn’t like to point fingers at any nationality.

We’ve all seen expats from Europe, Asia and the Arab world driving with an inflated sense of self-importance, tail-gating at 140kph in the fog and weaving in and out at high speed with children loose in the front.

Superiority, self-importance, bloody-mindedness and lack of respect for others are the biggest problems on the UAE’s roads.

Sadly, though, I doubt we’ll ever get to a point where a driving licence is dependent on the results of a personality test.

roundup

Would you want a Pension in the UAE?

The Department of Economic Development (DED) is currently studying whether it would be viable to start a pension scheme for expats in Dubai.

It’s a topic that, perhaps due to its daunting complexity, has been rumbling quietly along since 2008.

At present, in lieu of any sort of pension, expats in the UAE receive an “end of service” (EOS) benefit in the form of a gratuity paid by the employer and based on length of service and basic salary. Capped at the equivalent of two years’ salary, it’s a golden handshake – a fat cheque to take home at the end of your time here. The main problem with the system is if, as was seen during the mass redundancies of the financial downturn, employers lack sufficient funds to make the pay-out, leaving employees short-changed.

The pension scheme being mooted, on the other hand, is expected to involve a contribution of eight per cent of the employee’s basic salary from the employer, with a possible contribution from the employee as well.

Working with advice from the World Bank, the DED says the scheme aims to “make Dubai a more attractive place to do business and live” and that funds raised would be used to “enhance the welfare of expatriates”.

While the most obvious benefit to employees would be that it would protect their pay-out in the case of employer bankruptcy, the more cynical see it largely as a vehicle designed to raise capital and boost local financial markets while not doing anything to let expats get too comfortable.

At present, the concept of an expat pension generates more problems than it solves. For a start, why would an expat want a pension here when residency visas are only for a period of two or three years and retirement here is impossible? What would happen to the pensions of those who were deported? Would the pension be transferable to other countries when expats move on? Will expats ever be allowed to retire here? Where would the funds be invested?

And, of concern to expats who’ve worked in the same company for one or more years will be the issue of what’s to happen to gratuity already accrued. Will it be paid out before the pension scheme begins, added as a lump sum to the pension – or written off?

Although Dubai’s expats may ultimately have no choice about the pension scheme, it’ll take a lot to convince them that it’s a good thing. Many larger private sector companies have now started to safeguard employees’ EOS benefits by ring-fencing capital to be used for gratuities with some even using external companies to manage their EOS funds. For many, a cash lump sum is more desirable than a pension accrued over the paltry couple of years they might be in Dubai.

The government walks a fine line between wanting to attract the business it needs to maintain its economy and appeasing its citizens by keeping expats at an arm’s length. If it truly wanted to make Dubai more attractive to expats and to enhance their welfare, a better place to start would be by increasing the potential length of residency visas; by making it possible for property owners and long-term expats to get permanent residency; and by offering expats benefits such as free education.

Most expats would consider these issues as more valuable, I feel, than holding a compulsory pension in a country in which they can’t retire.

Is there such a thing as an Expat State of Mind?

If there’s one thing that western expats dislike more than being told “you’re not very tanned”, when they visit home, it’s got to be “you’re so lucky”.

The implication is, of course, that Lady Luck one day walked into the unsuspecting expat’s house and transferred him, Business Class, to an exotic country, shipping over his belongings, sorting out his visa and his driving license, finding him a well-paid job and a new home by the sea, getting his kids into school, making him a bunch of friends and building him a swimming pool at the same time.

The implication is that the expat himself had no hand at all in making all the above happen, and it’s a continual frustration for expats that friends and family back home are unwilling to understand that moving overseas to secure a better quality of life is something that anyone can do if they put their mind to it.

It’s easy to come up with any number of reasons why you, personally, couldn’t move overseas, but that doesn’t mean others haven’t tackled the same issues themselves and decided to take the plunge regardless.

Becoming an expat involves a huge leap into an uncertain future; it’s a gamble and, yes, it’s scary.

Still, hundreds of thousands of people make the move each year, so what is it about those people that allows them to view the world with the type of global outlook and “can-do” attitude that’s typical of an expat? Is there such a thing as an “expat state of mind”?

Shelter Offshore implies in its pre-move checklist that capability and resourcefulness, a flexible attitude to travel and adventure, an ability to spend time alone, a willingness to make new friends and an ability to adjust and adapt to new situations are all crucial ingredients in the cocktail that makes a successful expat.

And, on a positive note, Lloyds TSB International says that large numbers of people in the UK are now becoming more “outwardlooking” thanks to increased global travel, more international business and more contact with other cultures.

“It has become easier and a more natural transition for some people to settle in and enjoy life overseas than it would have been 20, even 10, years ago,” Tony Wilcox, Expatriate Banking Managing Director, Lloyds TSB International told ExpatForum.com. I hope that means fewer people telling me how “lucky” I am next summer.

Gulf Insider January 2012

39

dubai

Deported from Dubai... for working without the permission of her husband

By Jo Macfarlane

A

British mother has been deported from Dubai – and forced to leave her six-year-old daughter behind – for working without her estranged husband’s permission.

Secondary school teacher Tess Lorrigan was in her classroom with a group of 13year-old children when she was arrested by immigration officials and thrown into one of the Middle Eastern state’s notoriously tough prisons for two days.

She had taken the job teaching media and film studies to support her adopted daughter Olianne after separating from her husband of eight years, British company director Michael Lorrigan.

Tess claims he lodged the complaint after becoming bitter over their tug-oflove battle for Olianne.

In Dubai, it is an offence for a married woman to work without her husband’s permission.

But Mr Lorrigan insists he became frustrated after Tess broke their access agreement and disappeared with their daughter while he was away on business.

Tess then spent six months and $10,000 fighting for the right to remain in the country, and for custody of Olianne, after the girl went to live with Michael.

But Tess was deported back to the UK last month.

Tess, now living in the New Forest in Hampshire, said: ‘I don’t know how long it’s going to be before I see my daughter again and I don’t know what to do for the best.’

Tess moved out to Dubai 15 years ago and married Mr Lorrigan, now 59, the

In Dubai, it is an offence for a married woman to work without her husband’s permission.

enforced. I spent £6,000 [$10,000] trying to win the immigration case against me but in October I found out I had lost.

‘I could have tried to appeal but I didn’t have any extra money and I had been advised it wouldn’t have done any good.’

Speaking from Dubai, Mr Lorrigan said: ‘I came home from a business trip to find them gone.

‘We later had an access agreement that would have let me have Olianne three weekends a month, but she broke that.’ GFI

managing director of a training company, in 2001.

The couple could not have children but travelled to Nepal to adopt Olianne in February 2008. However, their marriage broke down in 2009.

Tess then began divorce proceedings through the UK courts, which have still not concluded.

She found a teaching job in the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah, half an hour from Dubai – but was stunned when police arrested her in May as Michael had not formally approved she could work.

She said: ‘It is a law but it is rarely

Tess and her adopted daughter Olianne 40

Gulf Insider January 2012

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CARS

BMW Gears Up to Launch the New 3 Series BMW Group Middle East have confirmed that the sixth generation of the new BMW 3 Series sedan will go on sale in the Middle East at the end of next month.

B

MW have sold 12.5 million cars since its launch in 1975. The BMW 3 Series continues to be the group’s best-selling model series consistently accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s global sales and in 2010, every third BMW sold was a 3 Series.

The model features an increased length compared to its predecessor, giving the car an elegant and athletic silhouette and a noticeable increase in space, benefiting the rear passengers.

The new design elements include a new BMW face, with flat headlights reaching along as far as the grille. The model features an increased length compared to its predecessor, giving the car an elegant and athletic silhouette and a noticeable increase in space, benefiting

42

Gulf Insider January 2012

the rear passengers. A choice of two powerful four-cylinder engines, 335i and 328i with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and TwinPower Turbo technology will be available for the new 3 Series and the model is lower in pollutant emissions compared to the predecessor.

New technology includes the ‘Driving Experience Control’ switch which comes with four driving programmes allowing the driver to choose between sporty, ultra sporty, comfortable and extremely economical driving. ECO PRO mode helps drivers maximise fuel economy through their driving style, thereby

enabling them to increase the distance they can travel on each tank of fuel.

Under ‘BMW ConnectedDrive’, the new BMW 3 Series offers the latestgeneration full-colour head-up display, which projects key information in 3D onto the windscreen so it appears directly in the driver’s field of view. Also available is surround view with side and top view, which gives a bird’s-eye perspective of the vehicle and the area around it. GFI

For more information, visit the Euro Motors showroom in Sitra or Tel. +973 177 507 50.

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CARS

A SPECTACULAR WEEKEND OF RACING Sbirrazzuoli and Ghanem take one win each in the first round of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK at Bahrain International Circuit.

B

ahrain International Circuit witnessed a spectacular weekend of racing with the first two races of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series taking place as the headline act of the ‘Speed Weekend’ last month.

In the first race, Monaco-based Cedric Sbirrazzuoli lead from the grid and took the chequered flag in style, 16 seconds ahead of second placed Patrick Zamparini from Italy. Zamparini had been chasing hard throughout the 30-minute race, but dropped time in the later part of the session as the technical circuit took its toll on the tyres. CEO of Bahrain International Circuit Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, took the final step on the podium after a faultless race.

It was the second race of the day that delivered the most thrilling action on the challenging inner circuit configuration of Bahrain’s Formula One track. From the moment the lights went out at the start, Zamparini was pushing Ghanem to make a mistake. However, the young driver from Lebanon kept his cool for the full 30 minutes of the race, even after unrelenting pressure from the Italian driver. At the fall of the flag, Ghanem was victorious by a margin over Zamparini.

Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa finished in a comfortable third position, though came under attack from Ziad

44

Gulf Insider January 2012

Ghandour in the last five minutes of the race.

Managing Director of Maserati Middle East and Africa Umberto Cini, was ecstatic at how well the inaugural round of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK had gone.

“It was a fantastic weekend of motorsport and we couldn’t have asked for anything better. The action on the track was truly heart-stopping and I must congratulate all the drivers for the professional and respectful manner they drove in both races.”

There was action further down the field in both races with the drivers

closely matched for pace in qualifying and the race. The three members of GR8 Racing Team from Saudi Arabia put on a great show throughout the day with brothers Faisal and Osamah Shaker plus teammate Mohammed Jawa putting the full potential of the Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo to good use throughout the weekend.

The next round of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series takes place at Bahrain International Circuit on 6th and 7th January. GFI

Visit www.maseraticorse.com for more information.

CARS

TRAVELLING IN STYLE Nick Cooksey test drives the Rolls Royce Ghost at BIC.

I

was last month invited by Euromotors to drive the Rolls Royce Ghost around the Bahrain International Circuit, a car that many would think is not normally driven and used in this way.

The Ghost is known as the compact Rolls Royce as it is smaller than the Phantom. The Ghost customer is very different to the Phantom, 80 per cent are

This car can really do the business and proved itself on the racing track.

Despite driving around hard corners at high speeds, the engine remained very quiet and it really felt like the ultimate luxury driver’s car.

incredibly powerful and with its 6.75 litre twin turbo charged V12 engine, it should be! Travelling from 0-100 kph in just five seconds and with a top speed limited to 250 kph, this car can really do the business and proved itself on the racing track. Despite driving around hard corners at high speeds, the engine remained very quiet and it really felt like the ultimate luxury driver’s car.

Passengers can relax in lounge seats covered in leather, seated behind the C-pillar heightening the sense of privacy.

Passengers can also take advantage of the optional wireless hotspot for business or personal use. Theatre configuration is available as an option, controlled and

accessed from the rear seat so as not to disturb the driver.

The new Ghost is still very much catered towards the passenger but is mainly aimed at people who intend to drive the car themselves on a regular basis.

The Ghost’s overall appearance is striking and it looks very expensive, and very solid. Customers can choose from twelve exterior colours, each of which can be contrasted by an optional Silver Satin bonnet. GFI

For more information, visit the Euro Motors showroom in Sitra or Tel. +973 177 507 50.

new to the brand and the customer profile is much younger and many appreciate the more informal, driver-oriented car that is Ghost.

Whilst speeding around the circuit I felt like a chauffeur trying to escape the paparazzi. I found the car to be

Gulf Insider January 2012

45

Art

Contemporary Art From Around the World The premier art fair of Istanbul opened its doors to art enthusiasts, bringing together 90 contemporary art galleries across 20 countries and also featured plenty of talent from the GCC.

T

he sixth edition of ‘Contemporary Istanbul’ hosted over 60,000 art enthusiasts and was held for four days at the Istanbul Congress Center, Exhibition Area and Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Contemporary Istanbul showcased contemporary paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs, installations and limited editions with the participation of national and international galleries. This edition featured art initiatives, independent projects and publications along with art institutions.

There were 3,000 contemporary artworks exhibited by 526 local and global artists at the fair, which also saw the debut of galleries from the Gulf region participating in the ‘New Horizons’ section, celebrating aspiring artists and real talent from this region.

Focusing on the international arena, Contemporary Istanbul will also organise two more art exhibitions in Seoul, South Korea and London, England this year. GFI

46

Gulf Insider January 2012

‘The Man Measuring the Clouds’ by Jan FABRE from MAM Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art, Vienna-Salzburg, Austria

‘Lava Lake’ by Richard Mosse from the Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai

Art

‘Fading’ by Simeen Farhat from the XVA Gallery, Dubai

‘Mes Arabies’ by Samer Mohdad from the Mark Hachem Gallery, Paris

‘Resurrection’ by Katayoun Karami from the FA Gallery, Kuwait

‘Slogan 5’ by Zhang Dali from the Sanatorium Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey

Gulf Insider January 2012

47

FASHION

Outfits

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Carolina Herrera Chequered Scarf

Reiss Hawley Deer Coat Reiss Forsythe Quilted Blue Blazer

48

Gulf Insider January 2012

Caroline Herrera Brown Leather Gloves

Ralph Lauren Shetland Button Mockneck Jumper

FASHION

Fragrances

David Beckham –‘ Homme’

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Rasasi Classic Collection – ‘Numero Uno and Numero Due’

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49

Enron Venture Capitalism

Final word Understanding politics and the economy can be accomplished by starting with two cows.

Communism

Somali Corporation

Fascism

• You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are.

• You decide to have lunch.

• You have two cows.

• The state takes both and gives you some milk.

• You have two cows.

• The state takes both and sells you some milk.

Bureaucratism

• You have two cows.

• The state takes both, shoots one, milks the other and then throws the milk away.

Capitalism

• You have two cows.

• You sell one and buy a bull.

• Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.

• You sell them and retire on the income.

A French Corporation

• You have two cows.

• You go on strike, organize a riot and block the roads, because you want three cows.

A Japanese Corporation

• You have two cows.

• You redesign them so they are onetenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.

• You then create a clever cow cartoon image called “Cowkimon” and market it worldwide.

A Swiss Corporation

• You have two cows.

• You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

50

Gulf Insider January 2012

• You have two cows.

• The state takes both and shoots you.

A Bahrain Corporation

A Cayman Islands Corporation

• You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you.

• You charge the owners for storing them.

A Chinese Corporation

• You have two cows.

• You have 300 people milking them.

• You claim that you have full employment and high bovine productivity.

An Indian Corporation • You have two cows.

• You worship them.

An Afghan Corporation • You have two cows.

• Both are mad.

• You have two cows.

• You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brotherin-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.

• The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.

• The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.

• You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows.

• No balance sheet provided with the release.

• The public then buys your bull.

A Dubai Corporation

• You have two cows • They are the biggest cows in the world and can be seen from outer space • No one really knows what to do with them

A Qatar Corporation

• You have more cows by square kilometre than any other country in the world.

• Business seems pretty good.

• You buy a Bugatti Veyron.

A Saudi Arabian Corporation

An Iraqi Corporation

• You have two cows.

• The one on the left looks very attractive.

A Lebanese Corporation

• You have two cows.

• You borrow against the cows from the Germans.

• You kill the cows and make souvlaki.

• You can’t pay the interest, so the Germans lend you more money.

• You can’t pay the interest, so your people hold a general strike.

• The EU bails you out.

• You drink ouzo.

• Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.

• You tell them that you have none.

• No one believes you, so they bomb the crap out of you and invade your country.

• You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a democracy.

• You have two cows • You say you have twenty cows • You buy a Rolex

A Greek Corporation

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