Depa venture wins four new contracts worth Dh100m


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Interiors provider links up with Northern Ireland-based Mivan Gureni Lukwaro Depa, the interiors company that fitted out the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, has won four new contracts worth Dh100 million (US$27.2m). The Dubai company said its joint venture with Mivan, based in Northern Ireland, had won three orders in the UAE and one in Yemen. The largest of them is a 12-month project worth Dh60m for the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, which is scheduled to open in late 2012.

The company will install drywall partitioning and specialist ceiling works in three of the clinic's buildings. The company has also recently signed two other contracts in the UAE, including the refurbishment of several areas of Abu Dhabi International Airport's Terminal 1. "Abu Dhabi continues to be an extremely significant market for us as the city continues to progress major development projects and to represent an important proportion of Depa's overall revenues," said Mohannad Sweid, the chief executive of Depa.

With operations in more than 17 countries, Depa will enter the Yemen market with a contract to refurbish a hotel in Sana'a, the capital. Depa was awarded a two-month refurbishment contract for the Aden Hotel in Sana'a to upgrade its public areas with completion scheduled in time for the 20th Gulf Cup football championship, starting on November 22. The hotel has one of the largest ballrooms in the city and about 200 rooms and suites.

The contracts come after a challenging start to the year for the company, which announced in August it had lost Dh103m for the first half. Earlier this year, Depa won a Dh220m contract for the interior fit-out of the five-star Hotel and Casino in Luanda, Angola. The company also paid Dh449m to increase its stake in Design Studio Furniture Manufacturer, based in Singapore, from 24.7 per cent to a controlling stake of 90.5 per cent.

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  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
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  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO

BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.

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- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports

Ibrahim's play list

Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute

Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc

Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar

His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach

Also enjoys listening to Mozart

Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz

Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica 

Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil

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Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Graduated from the American University of Sharjah

She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding

 

BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

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Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

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Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

War and the virus