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Emirates Aluminum Company to Build World Largest Smeltery
Emirates Aluminum Company (EAC) completed the financing of the world’s largest aluminum semltering factory in Abu Dhabi. The overall cost of the project is $4.9 billion with an initial annual production capacity of 700 tons that will double by the completion of the second phase. EAC is a joint venture between Moubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminum that will further the expansion of the project to reach $7 billion. City Group and Sullivan & Cromwell acted as the financial and legal consultants of the project in addition to a consortium of banking institutions that financed the deal including Goldman Sachs, Export Finance and Insurance Company, Abu Dhabi Bank, Royal bank of Scotland, BNP, Standard and Chartered and Somitomo to name a few. EAC started operations in 2007 in Abu Dhabi’s Tawile area and is due to reach production capacity by 2010.
Saudi Arabia Budget for 2008 at $120 billion
The Saudi Government has ratified its budget for 2008 at $120 billion with an over-budget ceiling of $10 billion. The budget figures revealed the good performance of the Saudi economy where state revenues reached $162.6 billion representing an increase of 55% over last year versus an expenditure of $120 billion increasing 16% from the previous year. The government also used the budget surplus to reduce the debt by $14.2 billion. Additionally, GDP is expected to grow 7.1% to reach $373 billion with a trade surplus of $148.16 billion and inflation at 3.1%. Interesting to note that the 2008 budget is the highest in the history of the Kingdom where the education sector has been given priority with $28 billion followed by the health at $12 billion, water and agriculture at $7.6 billion and the specialized projects at $6.7 billion. New and pending projects were also given $44 billion budget expenditures.
Paris Conference Pledges $7.4 billion for Palestinian State
Donor countries pledged $7.4 billion during last month’s Paris conference to support the Palestinian economy. The aid, that was originally estimated at $5.6 billion, will be channeled over a period of three years of which $2.9 billion will be released in 2008.
The pledge is part of the Palestinian State’s plan to revive the faltering economy. The conference that was attended by representatives of 68 states and 20 global organizations is a push by the international community to establish a Palestinian state and reinvigorate the peace process. The biggest contributors were the EU with $640 million, followed by the US at $555 million, Saudi Arabia, Germany and the UK with $500 million each and France at $300 million. French president Sarkozy in his opening speech reiterated the need to establish a Palestinian state by the end of 2008 that will coexist with Israel.
