The Times newspaper, one of the most respected and influential news sources in the world, has confirmed it is relocating its business desk from London, UK, to the Middle East for one week during The Times Gulf Business Forum, Sunday October 28 - Friday November 04 2007.
The Times Gulf Business Forum is a week-long event with more than 200 company CEOs, leaders and business leaders meeting with The Times journalists to discuss regional and global business issues. Members of the award-winning editorial team, including business editor, James Harding, will be touring the region and meeting with leaders, CEOs and ministers in The UAE, Bahrain and Qatar and these meetings will contribute to the business content over the following weeks and months.
“The Gulf is making itself felt in companies and markets around the world. We want The Times, which has the best-read business pages of any paper in UK, to always be at the forefront of activity in global business. So, for the first time, we are moving The Times business desk offshore for a week: a team of reporters, columnists and editors will be based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi looking at the commercial trends that are remaking the Middle East, the new sources of capital that are investing internationally and the people that are transforming the Gulf into an economic powerhouse, ” said James Harding, The Times’ Business Editor.
The Times Gulf Business Forum will see members of its business desk visiting key cities throughout the region including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Manama. Amongst the journalists based in the region will be:
• James Harding, Business Editor
• Carl Mortished, International Business Editor
• James Rossiter, Property and Professional Services Correspondent
• David Robertson, Business Correspondent
• Siobhan Kennedy, Finance, M&A Correspondent
• Dominic Walsh, Leisure and Retail Industries Editor
The Times is the only leading international daily with comprehensive news on business, international affairs, politics, sports and lifestyle to be printed and distributed on the morning of publication to the readers of this region. Licensing for The Times in the Middle East is owned by the Saudi-based SAB media group which introduced the publication to the region in May 2007. The paper is published seven days a week, including its Sunday Times edition, and is available in retail outlets or by subscription. The international edition is edited in London and is printed in the UAE.
“We are delighted to be welcoming the top global minds in business and finance to the region,” said Tariq Qureishy, CEO, SAB Media Group. “During the Times Gulf Business Forum, The Times world renowned journalistic team will be able to deeply engage with the people who are currently shaping this region.”
With a readership of 1.8 million in print and more than 10 million people online, the paper currently reaches 95 per cent more businesspeople than the Financial Times and around 46 per cent of its readers are under 45 (Source: British Business Survey). Now with a circulation of over 15,000 in the Middle East with a readership of over 50,000 influential people daily, The Times International Edition is establishing it’s leadership position in the Middle East.
The international edition, printed in the Middle East, is published five days a week, at 64 pages, with a 96-page Saturday edition and the 96-page broadsheet Sunday Times. In the UAE, the retail rate is AED7 for the daily edition and AED15 for the Sunday Times; subscription rates are AED5 for the daily and AED12 for the Sunday paper, with comparable rates around the region.
For more information The Times Gulf Business Forum, please visit www.thetimesme.com/gulfbusinessforum .
The Times and The Sunday Times are two of the world’s most famous newspapers. The Times, founded in 1785, has a daily global readership of 1.8 million people. The Sunday Times is the market-leading quality Sunday newspaper with a readership of more than 3.6 million people.
With daily circulation of over 15,000 copies, a readership of 50,000 across the Middle East region. (www.thetimesme.com)
The Times is renowned for its ability to deliver accurate, intelligent and engaging information. The Times offers its readers news, features, comment and analysis on a wide range of subjects from politics and business to health, the arts and sport.
The Sunday Times is Britain’s most successful and innovative broadsheet newspaper. It is renowned for the courage of its investigative journalism, the authority of its opinion pages, the indispensability of its news and business coverage and the breadth and depth of its features.
Times Online (www.timesonline.co.uk) offers breaking news, comment and analysis on global issues, business, sport, travel and entertainment. Launched in 1996, the site has more than 10 million unique monthly users delivering more than 66 million monthly Page Views.
About SAB Media
SAB Media, is a growing media group and has a long term licensing deal with The Times and The Sunday Times and associated products in the Middle East.
SAB Media is also developing new concepts, services and ideas, particularly in new media, and is seeking to develop its presence into a significant media player through additional licensing deals, mergers and acquisitions.
US$122 Billion Investment Drives Demand for Supertankers
Money & Ships conference to assess impact of multi-billion dollar investment –
Middle East Money & Ships, the premier networking forum for key players in the finance and shipping industries, which takes place from 4-5 November at Mina a’Salam, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, will be assessing the impact of multi-billion dollar investment in the region’s refineries.
According to analysis of project data carried out by Dubai-based research company Proleads, the six GCC countries, flush with cash from years of high oil prices, are investing vast sums in new refinery projects to meet rising demand and tighter specifications for products.
These projects are valued at more than $122 billion, $80 billion of which are in Saudi Arabia and due for completion before 2013. This investment has resulted in a boom in orders for new supertankers, and chemical product carriers, in particular.
“These are staggering figures. Once completed, these GCC projects alone will have total capacity to produce the equivalent of six million barrels a day of petrochemicals,” said Chris Hayman, Chairman and Managing Director of Seatrade, organiser of Middle East Money & Ships.
Delivering the keynote at the Middle East Money & Ships conference will be General Sharafuddin Sharaf, President of the United Arab Emirates Ship Owners Association and Vice Chairman of the Sharaf Group. He will be addressing the scope of the shipping business in the UAE, in terms of volume and scale, and its contribution to the UAE economy.
Other key industry figures speaking at the event include: Mohammad Souri, Chairman and Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company; Ahmed Hareb Al Falahi, CEO of Gulf Energy Maritime of the UAE; and Saleh Al Shamekh, President - Oil and Gas, of the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia.
Underscoring the surge in shipbuilding orders, an International Financial Services (London) maritime services report, recently estimated the world shipping loan book had grown by over a third, from $200 billion in 2005 to $275 billion in 2007.
BRS, an independent broker in the international market and a participant at Money & Ships, estimates 184 supertankers are currently on order worldwide for delivery between now and 2012. ‘Supertankers’, in this case, refers to ships of 200,000 tonnes or over and capable of transporting two to three million barrels of oil. Put into perspective, the combined oil consumption of Spain and the UK is about 3.2 million barrels of oil a day
The global order book is even greater for petrochemical product and chemical tankers, with a staggering 1,560 such vessels due for delivery between now and 2012, say BRS.
Middle East Money & Ships has the support of high profile maritime businesses in the region and beyond. Principal sponsors are the National Iranian Tanker Company, the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia and TJ Shipping. Other sponsors include Dubai Maritime City; Drydocks World; Emarat Maritime; Fichte & Co; IRISL Group; Lloyd's Register and Transworld. The conference is endorsed and supported by DP World and the UAE Ship Owners Association. For more information, please visit: www.moneyandships.com
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
