Author: Kasun Illankoon

Truebell, a regional distributor of leading FMCG brands, has entered into a distribution agreement with a leading baby care brand from Ireland, WaterWipes, to exclusively distribute its range across the UAE. The partnership comes as the global baby wipes market reached a value of US$4 billion in 2017, and is projected to grow by CAGR 3.5% to US$5 billion by 2023, according to a recent report entitled ‘Baby Wipes Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2018-2023’. In Dubai alone, the number of children under the age of five has increased 188% from 54,693 in 2005 to approximately…

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Bahrain’s GDP increased sharply in the second quarter of 2018 to an annual rate of 2.4%. The data published in the Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report (BEQ), produced by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), shows a significant acceleration of growth from the previous quarter. This rebound was underpinned by both the normalisation of oil production and markedly faster non-oil growth. In spite of the improvement, the BEQ noted the ongoing regional economic recovery is progressing somewhat more slowly than initially expected. While GCC growth is expected to accelerate to 2.5% this year and 3% in 2019, this is clearly below…

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KONE Corporation, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry is opening its first ‘People Flow Experience Center’ in the region. Located in its regional head office in Dubai, the center will showcase KONE’s Advanced People Flow Solutions and allow visitors to experience first-hand its comprehensive range of flexible solutions. The term ‘People Flow’ is defined as the way how people move in and between buildings. A good people flow means people moving smoothly, safely, comfortably, and without waiting. The people flow experience of a building begins at the arrival point, from there the journey continues to the lobby…

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SDLG will be unveiling a new 5 t-rated wheel loader in India during Bauma CONEXPO India 2018, which will be held at HUDA Ground, Gurgaon, Delhi, from December 11 to 14. The four-day event is one of the largest construction equipment tradeshows in Asia.  “With the Indian government continuing to invest in infrastructure, the new wheel loader will be a great fit for heavy-load applications such as material handling, land clearing and general earthmoving,” said Surat Mehta, head of the SDLG business in India.  Alongside the new loader, SDLG will also display the G9138 motor grader and the L946 wheel loader…

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Abu Dhabi Customs has signed a joint agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of commercial and community ports within the emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as Fujairah Terminals and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD). The collaboration will support the development of an effective framework that allows seamless entry and exit of empty containers at Khalifa Port. Designed to provide increased efficiency, transparency and security, the latest partnership between the two entities was signed by Mubarak Matar Al Mansouri, Executive Director, Customs Operations Sector, at Abu Dhabi Customs and Abdullah Humaid Al Hameli, Executive Vice…

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Saudi Airlines Cargo Company has signed an agreement with Gallup Inc., the global management consulting company, to develop Saudia Cargo employee performance and study its employee trends and performance levels. The agreement comes in line with the company’s Strategy 2020. Saudia Cargo CEO Omar Talal Hariri said the company attaches great significance to the development of its human capital, which is its greatest asset, and also aims to turn the Kingdom into one of the major global logistics platforms in line with Kingdom’s Vision 2030. “The agreement aims to create and implement clear strategy and vision to increase the company’s…

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Hatem Farah, Chairman and Founder of the ECC Group of companies, was recently recognised with the Lifetime Achievement award at the Construction Innovation Awards ceremony. Kamal Farah, Director of ECC Group and CEO of Abanos, commented, “I am humbled to receive this award on behalf of the Chairman, who built ECC Group to its current size, with one vision in mind; to be one the best and most diversified contracting companies in the region, delivering to the highest of standards with integrity.” He added: “At ECC Group, the Chairman is a beacon of inspiration. All the employees are an integral part…

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Al Masaood Commercial Vehicles & Equipment Division (CV&E) received the ‘Best Partner’s Success Story’ and ‘UD Trucks MEENA Parts Sales Team of the Year – 2018’ during the awards ceremony of the 2018 UD Trucks MEENA (Middle East, East and North Africa) Partner’s Conference held in Lapita Hotel Dubai Parks and Resorts. Mohamed Nabih El Zeftawi, General Manager, Al Masaood Commercial Vehicles & Equipment Division, said: “Al Masaood CV&E Division highly appreciates the recognition that we received during the UD Trucks MEENA Partner’s Conference. The ‘Best Partner’s Success Story’ is testament to hard work and trust that our peers in the…

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Gulftainer is set to invest $3 billion over the next five years in order to double its container capacity and acquire assets, based on a report by The National. In the next five years the operator wants to reach 10 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) in order to increase the amount they can transport globally. Mr. Peter Richards, CEO of Gulftainer, said: “We should not to be restricted to TEUs and containers because a lot of the entities that we’re looking at now are not just containers but a lot of them are break bulk and general cargoes.” He…

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In 2017-18, Emirates SkyCargo has transported close to a quarter of Sri Lanka’s produce exported by air. According to the figures released by the Emirates Colombo office, its freight division transported 27,000 tonnes of cargo from Colombo in 2017-18. Of which a significant 23 percent of the 118,000 tonnes of goods the island exported were transported by air. Due to the amount of cargo being transported, Emirates SkyCargo has become a major carrier of Sri Lanka’s trade commodities. There are upto 28 flights from and into Colombo weekly and the capacity to carry approximately 20 tons of cargo in each…

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