Dubai : DFM jumps 2.5 per cent

DUBAI — Leading UAE stock market indices made strong gains yesterday, the biggest in more than a month. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index advanced 2.5 per cent to 3,757,69 while the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) Index jumped 2.1 per cent to 2.922.32. On the DFM, the banking sector performed strongly. The banks index advanced 3.2 per cent as three banks made gains. Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) leapt 6.5 per cent to Dh6.87. Shares in Emirates Bank International, currently in the process of merging with National Bank of Dubai, rose 3.9 per cent to Dh9.09. The National Bank of Dubai advanced 0,8 per cent to Dh8.67. Shares in the Islamic Arab Insurance Company (IAIC), the largest Islamic insurance (takaful and re-takaful) operator in the world, rose 5.47 per cent to Dh5.91. It made profits of Dh181 million for the 2006 financial year, a 65 per cent increase over 2005. Gulf General Investments, a UAE investor in real estate and industrial projects, recovered most of its recent losses (it had lost about 7 per cent over the past few days) by climbing 5 per cent to Dh5.91. Amlak, the UAE’s largest home-finance provider, also made significant gains, advancing 4.2 per cent to Dh2.95. This follows yesterday’s 2.5 per cent increase. Before that it had lost 12 per cent since March 29 when the company announced that the UAE Central bank had rejected its application for a banking licence. Emaar Properties, one of the world’s largest property companies and Amlak’s largest shareholder, also advanced by 2.3 per cent to Dh11.20, extending the previous day’s 0.9 per cent gain. On the ADSM, 28 stocks advanced, eight declined and two remained unchanged. Among the biggest gainers was Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) whose shares jumped 7.5 per cent to Dh6.18 on speculation that the bank was in merger talks with Union National Bank (UNB). ADCM, the third largest lender by assets in the UAE, said there was « no substance » to the market speculation. The government-controlled UNB is the seventh-largest bank by assets in the UAE. Its shares jumped 3.1 per cent to Dh6.01. Source : Khaleedj

Khalifa issues decree to set up ADHSC as public joint stock company

ABU DHABI — The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, has issued a decree, setting up the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (ADHSC) as a public joint stock company. The new company, which shall be known as ‘sihha,’ shall be an independent corporate body, enjoying full legal status to practice its activities and to achieve its objectives. It shall also enjoy financial and administrative independence with its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The branches of the new company may be opened inside or outside Abu Dhabi emirate by virtue of a decision by the company’s board, the decree states. The company shall have a capital of Dh1 billion distributed in same quantity of shares at a nominal value of Dh1 per share all of which shall be fully paid and owned by the government. Relinquishing of the company’s share shall be made only with the approval of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The decree also states that the company’s board shall establish for the company an ordinary and Extra-ordinary General Assembly which shall last for hundred years, beginning from the date of issuance of a decree by the finance minister announcing the establishment of those assemblies. The duration is renewable for same years unless an extraordinary meeting decision calls for the dissolution of the company. Source : Khaleedj

Middle East bullion imports plunge 50%

The UAE government yesterday

Dubai : The UAE government yesterday said it would begin tackling internet crime head on with the formation of a new task force.

Cyber crimes have wrecked havoc in some countries in recent past, with a breakdown in IT infrastructure and resulting in loss of valuable data. « Instead of reacting to virus attacks or hackers, we’re now taking action, » a TRA spokesperson told Gulf News. Mohammad Al Ganem, TRA director-general, said the project arose out of the need to « safeguard the critical information and communication technology infrastructure residing under the government, business, and education sectors. » Details on the scale and scope of the initiative were scarce yesterday, but Al Ganem said the response team would serve as a point of contact for incident reporting in the country, and also collaborate with international cyber crime prevention organisations. aeCERT would present a « proactive and structured approach » in deterring future cyber security incidents and raise the profile of IT security in the country, he added. New laws Al Ganem also raised the prospect that the team would help draft new laws governing internet crime. « The aeCERT will, no doubt, enhance the cyber security law and assist in the creation of new laws, » he said. The move comes a month after the TRA said it discovered an internet crime ring running fake financial services sites that sought to defraud unsuspecting UAE victims. This year the government also counteracted many attacks, mainly website defacement and phishing attacks, the TRA said. Web security professionals hailed the move as a positive step forward in protecting against an increasingly global array of threats. « Anyone using the internet is vulnerable to attack if they are not using the proper protection tools, » said Patrick Hayati, regional managing director for internet security firm McAfee. « There are two ways to fight cyber crime. One is to have the right tools in place to prevent attacks, and the other is to catch the bad guys and remove them from circulation. The TRA team will help with the latter. » Hayati also expressed his desire for the new team to begin recommending guidelines to educate companies on the necessary level of threat protection.

Property legislation in final approval stage

Dubai: Legislation crucial to the future of Dubai’s real estate sector is in its final stage of approval, say officials at Dubai Land Department. Eagerly-anticipated legislation concerning escrow accounts and a condominium law have passed the final draft stage and are awaiting official approval from the emirate’s rulers. It follows a lengthy period of consultation between the land department and property developers in Dubai. « The draft laws have been finalised and have been submitted for government feedback and approval, » said Mohammad Sultan Thani, director of development and marketing administration at Dubai Land Department. Concern Legal experts say the Strata (Condominium) Law will clarify owner/occupier responsibility for commonhold land, while Trust (Escrow) Accounts will protect buyers’ stage payments in independently-held accounts. According to information obtained by Gulf News, escrow accounts in Dubai will be managed by a number of domestic and international financial institutions, all of which will be supervised and monitored by the land department. « We need to determine which banks are in a position to handle this responsibility, » said Thani. An area of concern for many small developers was the stage that funds will be released. Many argued that payments held in accounts pending full completion of a project would create significant cash flow problems. According to Thani, the funds will be released in stages depending on the stage of project completion. Meanwhile, the release of the Condominium Law will also pave the way for a by-law to be signed on the rights and responsibilities of owners associations. Figures: Transactions double The value of land transactions in Dubai has doubled, according to figures released by Dubai Land Department. Transactions worth Dh8 billion were made In the first quarter of 2006 compared to Dh16 billion in the same quarter this year. – R.D.

UAE creates team to fight cyber crime

Dubai: The UAE government yesterday said it would begin tackling internet crime head on with the formation of a new task force. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said it is creating a UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT) for the detection and prevention of cyber crime in the country. Cyber crimes have wrecked havoc in some countries in recent past, with a breakdown in IT infrastructure and resulting in loss of valuable data. « Instead of reacting to virus attacks or hackers, we’re now taking action, » a TRA spokesperson told Gulf News. Mohammad Al Ganem, TRA director-general, said the project arose out of the need to « safeguard the critical information and communication technology infrastructure residing under the government, business, and education sectors. » Details on the scale and scope of the initiative were scarce yesterday, but Al Ganem said the response team would serve as a point of contact for incident reporting in the country, and also collaborate with international cyber crime prevention organisations. aeCERT would present a « proactive and structured approach » in deterring future cyber security incidents and raise the profile of IT security in the country, he added. New laws Al Ganem also raised the prospect that the team would help draft new laws governing internet crime. « The aeCERT will, no doubt, enhance the cyber security law and assist in the creation of new laws, » he said. The move comes a month after the TRA said it discovered an internet crime ring running fake financial services sites that sought to defraud unsuspecting UAE victims. This year the government also counteracted many attacks, mainly website defacement and phishing attacks, the TRA said. Web security professionals hailed the move as a positive step forward in protecting against an increasingly global array of threats. « Anyone using the internet is vulnerable to attack if they are not using the proper protection tools, » said Patrick Hayati, regional managing director for internet security firm McAfee. « There are two ways to fight cyber crime. One is to have the right tools in place to prevent attacks, and the other is to catch the bad guys and remove them from circulation. The TRA team will help with the latter. » Hayati also expressed his desire for the new team to begin recommending guidelines to educate companies on the necessary level of threat protection.