Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) is in advanced talks to secure orders for its new Baynunah class of multipurpose missile corvettes from other regional navies.
"The Baynunah class is a unique and very sophisticated warship and it has attracted the attention of a number of navies in the region and around the world," Mohamed Salem Al Junaibi, the ADSB chief executive, said after the launch of the Mezyad, the fourth ship in the class at ADSB's yard yesterday.
He declined to name the interested navies, but it is already known that the Saudi Arabian navy has embarked on a US$20 billion(Dh73.46bn)-plus expansion programme and is said to be considering the purchase of up to a dozen new warships.
The Kuwaiti navy is also understood to be a potential customer according to the Defense News journal, based in the US.
The Mezyad is one of six new corvettes, first ordered by the UAE Navy in 2004, and expected to be in service by 2014. The programme, worth Dh4bn, is the largest and most important contract for ADSB to date.
Under the contract, the first of the class was designed by both ADSB and the French shipbuilder Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie (CMN) and built at CMN's yard in Cherbourg. The five remaining ships are being built and completed by ADSB at its yard in Mussaffah in Abu Dhabi under a technology transfer arrangement between the two companies.
The 72-metre long Baynunah class has been designed to replace the UAE Navy's 33.5-metre Ardhana class large patrol class vessels in the patrol and surveillance role in the country's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. But they will also be capable of minelaying, interception and other anti-surface warfare operations.
Their design also incorporates a stealthy superstructure, a helicopter landing deck and a hangar and the ships are being equipped with the latest weapons and surveillance technology that is being integrated by the sub-contractor Selex, formerly Marconi Systems.
Its shallow draught allows the corvette to operate easily in inshore waters, and the class is being seen as a much more economic alternative to the US-designed littoral combat ship concept being offered by Lockheed Martin and Austal USA since mid-2008.
"The Baynunah Corvette Class, which is the largest warship construction programme and a first-of-its-kind project in the region will significantly boost the arsenal of the UAE Navy and enable it to effectively fulfil its duty of protecting the UAE's maritime territory," Mr Al Junaibi said. He also used the launch to announce the completion of a 155-metre extension to the yard's fitting-out quay to accommodate an expansion of ADSB's refitting and maintenance business.
The shipyard already has two construction halls equipped with overhead cranes. The shipyard facilities also include two shiplift piers for berthing and ship repair.
[ david.black@thenational.ae ]
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
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For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
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Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
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We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
The five pillars of Islam
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
