An Abu Dhabi conglomerate plans to develop a Dh1.1 billion steel plant that will create 370 jobs.
Senaat, the state-owned Abu Dhabi-based holding corporation, said it has entered a joint venture with two Japanese steel makers to build steel pipes for industrial use.
The plan for the new company, Al Gharbia Pipe, comes as the emirate accelerates its push to diversify from crude oil.
JFE Steel and Marubeni-Itochu Steel are joining Senaat in the project to manufacture steel pipes for customers in the energy and construction industries at a plant in the Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi (Kizad).
The company will reduce the country’s reliance on steel pipe imports while exporting 40 per cent of its production, Senaat executives said in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
“In striving to uphold our mandate of championing UAE industry and contributing to the nation’s diversification efforts, Senaat will continue to expand its portfolio through global partnerships with leaders in their respective fields,” said Suhail Al Ameri, the chief executive of Senaat.
“The project not only meets stringent demand at a time where being efficient in the oil and gas and other industries is more important than ever, but it is also symbolic of the strength and the calibre of the relationships that we are able to forge.”
Al Gharbia Pipe is expected to be up and running by 2018 with a production capacity of 240,000 tonnes a year. The Japanese companies will provide the steel plates for manufacturing the pipes, but Senaat said it would be open to taking steel from local producers if they could meet its specifications.
Financing of the company is expected be done this year and the Japanese firms will have a 49 per cent stake in the venture, according to Jamal Al Dhaheri, Senaat’s chief operating officer.
Senaat is aiming to build a steel hub in the emirate to grow the country’s industry. The company’s portfolio of businesses already includes Emirates Steel and Taweelah Aluminum Extrusion Company. Expanding the industrial base has become increasingly urgent after the price of oil, upon which Abu Dhabi relies to drive economic growth, shed about half of its value since June amid an increase in North American energy production.
Senaat said this week that it plans to invest Dh5bn over the next two years to develop refining industries and is considering an initial public offering of one of its units this year, the chairman said.
The company has invested more than Dh16bn developing the metals sector over the past five years, said Hussain Al Nowais.
Still, Takafumi Nishiuma, vice president of JFE Steel, said that despite the recent drop in oil, there was still plenty of demand projected for steel pipes from energy companies in the Arabian Gulf.
“The GCC region is highly competitive in terms of drilling costs and oil and gas reserves capacity,” he said. “With the development and production of oil and gas forecast to remain robust across the region despite recent volatility, the demand for high-quality steel pipelines to transport these resources is expected to expand steadily. We see high opportunities for investment in this market, and particularly in the UAE.”
Senaat, which translates as “industries”, manages more than $6.9bn of industrial assets and employs more than 15,000 people.
mkassem@thenational. ae
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: +0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: +31.43sec
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies+– by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
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Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
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Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Civil War
Director: Alex Garland
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Nick Offerman
Rating: 4/5
Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Racecard
8.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 1,200m
9pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
9.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
10pm: Reem Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
10.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 2,400m
11pm: Al Maryah Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Company Profile
Company: Astra Tech
Started: March 2022
Based: Dubai
Founder: Abdallah Abu Sheikh
Industry: technology investment and development
Funding size: $500m
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Read more about the coronavirus
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
SPECS
Engine: Supercharged 3.5-litre V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 430Nm
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh450,000
SPECS: Polestar 3
Engine: Long-range dual motor with 400V battery
Power: 360kW / 483bhp
Torque: 840Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 628km
0-100km/h: 4.7sec
Top speed: 210kph
Price: From Dh360,000
On sale: September
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
