South African defence company Paramount Group is in discussions with the Egyptian government to expand the country's defence manufacturing capabilities and boost its position as an arms exporter to Africa. Paramount is seeking to set up a modernised defence industrial complex to produce advanced land, air and naval equipment, Ivor Ichikowitz, the group's chairman said.
"We're talking to the Egyptian government to try and understand their priorities in terms of invigorating the defence and aerospace industry," Mr Ichikowitz told The National. "The domestic market is sizeable as the country modernises, becomes more efficient and reduces its reliance on former Soviet legacy equipment."
Egypt is one of the biggest arms makers in the Arab world and Africa has a robust military industry dating back to the 1800s. The North African country produces battle tanks, heavy armoured vehicles, machine guns and ammunition, and rocket launchers, among other equipment, according to the Egyptian ministry of military production's website. Some are produced under United States and Russian licensing contracts.
The closely-held defence company sees “big potential” for production, in partnership with the Egyptian government, of light, attack and reconnaissance aircraft and armoured vehicles as well as providing the technology for clearing landmines in the Sinai to free up large plots of land and ensure civilian safety.
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The response from the Egyptian government has been “positive” as it understands the need to consider a defence industrial complex that’s not reliant on US and Russian production licensing, Mr Ichikowitz said.
The North African country, which has an automotive industry that enables production of land forces equipment, has the capacity to boost its arms exports to the rest of the continent.
“Egypt has the potential to become one of our major export hubs to the rest of Africa, not for everything, but certainly for land forces equipment,” he said.
While it has some concerns about the country’s ability to finance long-term and large-scale defence production projects, Paramount offers financing solutions to support the governments it works with, which will be an option in Egypt.
“We have a financing arm that syndicates funding structures and allows us to lease equipment to provide sovereign lines of credit,” Mr Ichikowitz said.
The current period of relative political stability compared to the years after the 2011 revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak has made this right time to look into the Egyptian market.
“There is light at the end of the Egyptian tunnel,” he said. “The first-mover advantage is a good thing. We look at Egypt with caution and optimism.”
Paramount, which says it's profitable and sees 15 to 20 per cent growth in annual sales, is focused on the Middle East as one of its main growth markets.
The company is in discussion with Saudi Arabia to set up a defence manufacturing plant in the kingdom, with tech-transfer and creation of jobs, as one of the world’s biggest buyer of arms seeks to build its nascent military production industry.
Paramount operates in 30 countries and has already set up facilities in Jordan and India.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
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Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
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Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Alita: Battle Angel
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson
Four stars
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
England ODI squad
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
SPEC SHEET: NOTHING PHONE (2)
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Main camera video: 4K @ 30/60fps, 1080p @ 30/60fps; live HDR, OIS
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Front camera video: Full-HD @ 30fps
Battery: 4700mAh; full charge in 55m w/ 45w charger; Qi wireless, dual charging
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Google Pay)
Biometrics: Fingerprint, face unlock
I/O: USB-C
Durability: IP54, limited protection
Cards: Dual-nano SIM
Colours: Dark grey, white
In the box: Nothing Phone (2), USB-C-to-USB-C cable
Price (UAE): Dh2,499 (12GB/256GB) / Dh2,799 (12GB/512GB)
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Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
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Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
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Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
EXPATS
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee, Jack Huston
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Top 10 most competitive economies
1. Singapore
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4. Ireland
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7. UAE
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The UAE's journey to space
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Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
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Investment stage: Pre-seed
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Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.