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Qatar Airways orders 24 Airbus jets at a cost of $1.9 billion
Qatar Airways captured the spotlight during the Paris Air Show by placing a $1.9 billion order to buy 24 single-aisle Airbus jets. The aircraft are to be delivered in 2010 and will be equipped with advanced technological aviation systems. It is worth noting that Qatar Airways already operates 19 Airbus single-aisle A320 family aircraft and is one of Airbus’s major customers in the Gulf. Moreover, the fast growing Doha-based carrier will launch a low-cost airline in the region as a strategy to compete with regional budget carriers that are gaining on Qatar Airways’ market share.
Al Futtaim’s $2 billion Moroccan property project
Al Futtaim Capital, the investment arm of Al Futtaim Group, is planning to develop a mega real estate project in Morocco. The project will be Al Futtaim’s third large-scale project, after Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City, and will cost in excess of $2 billion. Al Futtaim Capital will acquire 7 million square meters of land in Bouznika on the Moroccan Atlantic coast located half way between the capital city Rabat and Casablanca, the country’s business hub. In addition, the project will have a timeline of 20 years and is the second investment of the $500 million Al Futtaim MENA Real Estate Development Fund launched more than two years ago. Moreover, officials at Al Futtaim capital have high expectations for the Moroccan market as they forecast high demand for middle to low income residential units.
Bahrain’s growth expectedat 3.1% through 2009
According to the latest country report published by the Economic Intelligence Unit, Bahrain’s economy is expected to grow by 3.1 percent in 2009 and to remain at 3 percent in 2010. Affected by the regional economic woes of countries such as United Arab Emirates and Kuwait that have been adversely impacted by the global financial turmoil, Bahrain’s growth has decreased from 8.1 percent in 2007. Oil, which constitutes nearly 80 percent of the country’s export revenue, has fallen in price and thus contributed largely to this decrease, in addition to a slide in private and public consumption. Despite a series of interest rate cuts, consumer price inflation is expected to moderate in 2009-10 because of slower local demand and a drop in the price of commodities. Consequently, inflation is forecast to average 1.8 percent in the coming two years.
