Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” sponsored ‘Infrastructure Investment - Kuwait 2012′ conference which took place on 26-27 of March 2012 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kuwait City.

His Excellency Dr. Fadhel Safar, Kuwait’s Minister of Public Works and Municipalities and Minister of Public Works delivered the opening speech to the conference, which provided an overview of Kuwait’s current infrastructure development. It also addressed several issues such as evaluating mega projects in Kuwait and how the Ministry of Public Works is gearing toward the Kuwait Development Plan; and attracting international and local investment to deliver best practice in Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects.

Mr. Raghu Mandagolathur, Head of Research at “Markaz, also delivered a presentation highlighting the results of “Markaz” latest research on GCC infrastructure. “High oil prices have given the GCC increased spending power. As surpluses grow, mega projects will be launched through large-scale development plans,” noted Mr. Raghu.

“A wave of regulatory developments and changes is aimed at drawing increased foreign investor interest through various PPP programs such as IPPs, IWPPs, BOT and its derivatives etc,” he added, while noting that GCC has a fast-growing population. “In nearly all sectors, there is dire need for further development, if only, to cater to existing demand. Hence, there is a major incentive to increase investments and developments to try and keep ahead of consumption levels.”

Among key topics being discussed during the conference are the challenges that the government faces in delivering successful PPPs, and enhancing social infrastructure to stimulate economic growth.

Ms. Basma Ghareeb, Acting Vice President - Media & Communications at Markaz, said, “Markaz sponsorship of this conference reflects our keenness on actively participating in the development of Kuwait and its infrastructure. We believe that the high caliber speakers will provide valuable insight to the industry.”

Ms. Ghareeb added “Markaz has already been contributing to the infrastructure investment sector through its subsidiary, Marmore MENA Intelligence Private Limited which was established in 2010. Marmore offers full-fledged financial research and analysis of MENA economies, markets and companies, and has launched in 2011 GCC Infrastructure Report, which cover custom services, GCC Roads and Rail Roads, GCC Water, GCC Power, GCC Electricity, GCC Seaport, GCC Asset Management, and GCC Information and Communications Technology.”

March 25, 2012 Amman - MenaITech, the regional company specialized in building and deploying human resources applications sponsored the annual meeting of the Jordan Association of Management Accountants (JAMA) which took place on Saturday in the InterContinental hotel.

Entitled “A Step Toward the Future,” the conference sought to develop the accounting sector’s work systems and acquaint the participants, who discussed common interests and issues related to the association’s internal affairs and programs, with ways of utilizing and deploying latest technologies to automate their own jobs. 

Highlighting the role of software solutions and e-applications in boosting the work of administrative and accounting departments, MenaITech’s CEO, Dr. Bashar Hawamdeh, said: “MenaITech’s applications provide small and large businesses with integrated work systems that ensure strong correlations between interrelated administrative work environments and high competitive capabilities.”

In the main session, Hawamdeh also underscored the importance of automating administrative and human capital management systems as well as operating cloud accounting software in developing and maintaining effective administrative and accounting processes to enhance general work performance.

In the subsequent work sessions, experts stressed the necessity of intensifying efforts and employing skills and capabilities to improve the productivity of administrative accountants and keep them in pace with the latest technologies in the field.

JAMA is a non-profit professional society that was created by merging two innovative ideas into one promising vision: to create programs that will support and upgrade the level of Jordanian accountants to meet international professional standards, and to find a strategic partner for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) in Jordan.

The 6th International Benchmarking Conference was launched on (Tuesday, March 6, 2012) at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of the Emirates Group and Honorary Patron of the Dubai Quality Group. Held in cooperation between the Dubai Quality Group (DQG) and the Global Benchmarking Network (GBN) and sponsored by Ajman Free Zone Authority and Emirates Identity Authority, the conference lasts two days and brings together regional and international experts and specialists, who will discuss ways and methods to utilize benchmarking standards to achieve corporate excellence.

The conference targeted in its first day, a wide range of audience at all organizational levels, including DQG members, senior managers and professionals, consultants, experts, researchers, business leaders and practitioners who seek result-oriented ideas and solutions for improving the performance of their organizations. It provided a great opportunity to network with benchmarking gurus from all over the world.

Saleh Janeeh, Chairman, DQG , thanked the sponsors who facilitated the DQG’s mission to make the event a big success. He said: “We are proud at  the Dubai Quality Group to have an opportunity to organize this conference in collaboration with the Global Bench marking Network at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He noted that the conference was in line with the vision and leadership of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with the mission of developing the UAE as centre of excellence.

Janeeh pointed out that due to technological developments and globalization, progress of the society is measured in multi-fold ways and therefore effective benchmarking has emerged as an important factor in organizations and business innovation. “Benchmarking helps sustain long-term success through continual comparison and learning. It is a strategic strength if practised well and a fatal weakness if not pursued,” he added.

Eng. Hani Hossni, Board Member, DQG, stressed the importance of taking advantage of the conference, since it provides many opportunities and experiences. He said: “The practice of benchmarking enables organisations to learn how other organisations are responding to these changes and put forward effective strategies to gain benefits. Benchmarking is a tool that helps organizations reach the highest levels and apply best practices to improve the administrative work.”

He added: “The 6th International Benchmarking Conference is an ideal opportunity for everyone who wishes to improve performance at an individual and organizat ional level. We, at the Dubai Quality Group look forward to providing the business community with the latest and best ways to remain in the forefront in the field of quality and excellence.”

Dr. Robin Mann, Chairman, Global Benchmarking Network (New Zealand), said that since the world was becoming more globalized, there is an increased need for benchmarking to address challenges like sustainability, level of inequality and issues like the current financial crisis. “We need benchmarking to share best practices and learn from our mistakes. That is why there is a need for an international benchmarking conference and we thank Dubai Quality Group for making this possible,” he said.

H.E. Dr. Eng. Ali Mohamed Al-Khouri, Director General, Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) said in a statement: “EIDA has always believed in the usefulness of commitment to work mechanisms that provide clear directions and support national goals. This will help the body reach strategic decisions that contribute to placing the United Arab Emirates in the ranks of developed countries at regional and international levels. Therefore, the EIDA has decided to sponsor and participate actively in the 6th Internat ional Benchmarking Conference, believing in its importance
and the role it plays in supplying all sectors of the UA E with the necessary strategic thinking and precise vision to achieve desired and ambitious objec tives.”

Hanan Al-Braiky, Acting Manager, Strategy and Corporate Excellence Department, Ajman Free Zone Authority, said that “we in Ajman Free Zone Authority are interested to access best practices and share successful experiences in the business world and want to contribute to this knowledge to meet the requirements of our strategic plan aimed at promoting sustainable development in the free zone. Organisationally, we are participating in the conference to keep abreast of cutting-edge management practices. As individuals, we would like to enrich ourselves with a view to excelling in the next stage of development, since the conference deals with effective business practices to ensure excellence and all-round success.”

- Channel Partner Conference to be held in Dubai on 3rd March 2012

Dubai, UAE– February 28th, 2012 – ComGuard, a Dubai based leading value added distributor for IT security products and solutions in the Middle East and North Africa region will host its first ever Channel Partner Conference on 3rd March 2012 at Spice Ballroom, Atlantis Hotel, Dubai, UAE.

ComGuard Channel Partner Conference 2012 is supported by Kaspersky, Beyond Trust, ArcSight, Safenet, Array Networks, Win Magic and TP Link and it expects nearly 200 channel partners from all across the MENA region to attend the conference.

This year Partner Conference will also coincide with the 10th anniversary of ComGuard in the IT Distribution space. Since, its humble beginning in year 2002, the company has grown into one of leading major value added distributor in the region offering huge product portfolio and geographical presence.

The focus of the conference would be ‘How partners can turn market challenges into new opportunities by offering right solutions and emphasis on developing sales & technical competencies to match the right solution to the right customers thereby, enhancing customer satisfaction, generating new business and attaining better margins.

The conference will start with a keynote address from Ajay Singh Chauhan, CEO, Spectrum group. Several key partners will showcase their products and technologies during the conference besides presenting their roadmap for the year 2012.

“ComGuard is pleased to host its first channel partners for a Partner Conference in a year that marks the 10th anniversary for ComGuard in the IT distribution and we would like to thank all our partners for their support. This conference is a way of expressing our gratitude towards our partners and assure them of our continual efforts to strengthen our relationship with them,” said Ajay Singh Chuahan, CEO, Spectrum group.

ComGuard will be honouring its partners by awarding them for their contribution to its success in the MENA region.

“The main aim for this Channel Partner Conference is to provide our partners a platform to connect with each other and explore opportunities to further enhance their businesses,” said Mohammad Mobasseri, Senior Vice president, ComGuard, “Our target is to work as closely as possible with our partners to drive business in the region and continue together on the growth path.”

- Conference to be held in Dubai on 7th February 2012 -

Dubai, UAE– February 06th, 2012 – GFI Software today announced that it is to host a channel Partner conference on 7th February 2012 at Mina A’ Salam Hotel, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. The conference is open to all GFI reseller channel partners in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The conference will cover all sales and technical aspects related to the latest GFI products, including presentations on upcoming security trends as well as live product demos. Keynote speeches will be delivered by GFI’s management team, focusing on new product launches, channel and sales updates and product roadmaps.

GFI will also be presenting a number of awards to channel partners in recognition of their contribution to GFI’s success across the region.

“Middle East and Africa is a key market for us and the region holds an enormous business potential for both GFI and our channel partners. Our target is to incrementally increase our sales in the region and improve on last year’s very positive growth. At the partner conference we also want to assure our continuous and ongoing support to channel partners in the region,” said John Spoor, Channel Sales Manager MEA, GFI Software.

“We expect a high turnout of partners from UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, and Iraq, among others countries from the MENA region, at the 2012 GFI Partner Conference,” added Spoor.

World’s largest stand-alone refinery to announce new storage capacity to buffer import price shocks

Dubai, February 1st, 2012 - Dubai’s Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery, the world’s largest stand-alone refinery, has announced its participation at the Kingsman Dubai 8th Sugar Conference, a renowned event in the world of sugar trading, being held at the Grand Hyatt Dubai from February 4th to 7th 2012.

The conference, which hosts internationally known speakers and is attended by some of the most powerful decision-makers in the world of sugar, offers Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery an ideal platform to network with stakeholders and announce its ambitious sugar storage expansion projects.

“We are delighted to participate at the Dubai Sugar Conference, an event known not just for the quality of its speakers but also attendees,” said Jamal Al Ghurair, Managing Director of Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery. “The conference attracts attention on the world stage, and places us in an ideal position to communicate our expansion and storage increase plans to a diverse audience of stakeholders and decision-makers. Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery is one of the largest refineries in the world, and we are looking forward to expanding our operations while guaranteeing an uninterrupted supply of raw sugar for our processing needs, and white sugar for the regional market.”

Most recently, Al Khaleej Sugar has added three new large silos for raw sugar with a capacity of 160,000 tons each. The new silos will add up to the existing storage capacity of one million tons. The decision to increase raw sugar storage is to create buffer stock that can be utilized to smooth out the price variations in imported raw sugar. For white sugar, the refinery currently has four silos with a total capacity of 132,000 tons of sugar. The four silos play a vital role in offering flexibility to Al Khaleej Sugar’s production and sales departments.

Al Khaleej Sugar’s storage enhancements plans will allow the company to better deal with demand and supply shocks and variations in pricing, while also offering a buffer to its production and sales departments.

“We are looking forward to our participation at the Dubai Sugar Conference, where we will be meeting with producers, importers, refiners, analysts, investment bankers, shipping companies, end users, traders, as well as leading discussions that impact significantly on the future of the sugar market. The Dubai Sugar Conference is an event that monitors and influences global sugar trade, and Al Khaleej Sugar is looking forward to playing an important role at this event yet again,” Al Ghurair concluded.

Qatar Petroleum recently took part as the Gold Sponsor of the 13th GCC Industrialists’ Conference and International Exhibition, a major event that was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and attracted the participation of many companies throughout the Middle East region.

In appreciation of QP’s sponsorship of the event, His Excellency Dr. Taufiq bin Fauzan Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, presented the corporation with a trophy during the conference, and he also personally visited the QP stand during the opening of the exhibition.

Held every two years, the GCC Industrialists’ Conference and Exhibition was first held in Doha in 1985. The event is organized by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), a Doha-based organization which was established by all six GCC countries in 1976 to promote industrial development in the region by facilitating the flow of knowledge and information. Yemen later joined the organization in 2009.

The GCC Industrialists’ Conference and Exhibition is hosted in rotation by its member states, and the 12th edition of the event was previously held in Doha in 2010, with QP serving as the event’s Strategic Partner.

For its 2012 edition, which took place on January 17-19 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, the theme of the event was “Knowledge-Based Industries and New Technologies.” The event was held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.

Being a major sponsor of the event and as one of the leading companies in the region, QP attracted the attention of many delegates and visitors, and the corporation used the opportunity to further spread awareness of its extensive operations. Over 900 delegates and visitors visited the QP stand during the three-day event, and they mainly inquired about QP’s range of projects as well as the employment opportunities in the corporation.

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s sponsorship of Arindon’s 2012 Investors Conference at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 reveals the company’s support for initiatives that bolster confidence in the Middle East as a viable investment destination.

The 2012 Investors Conference looked at capitalising on market opportunities from a Middle Eastern perspective. It featured four panels of industry experts from leading companies in the region who tackled the following topics: Middle East Market Outlook; Alternative Investments; Capital Markets; and Investor Relations Perspectives.

Alba’s Chief Executive, Laurent Schmitt, Chief Financial Officer, Tim Murray, Investor & Public Relations Manager, Eline Hilal as well as the Finance Manager, Mansoor Afzal’ were present at the opening of the IR conference.

Commenting on the company’s support for the investor conference, Alba’s Chief Executive, Laurent Schmitt said: “Being ahead of the curve, reaching out to investors, customers and other stakeholders can create huge benefits and real value to the company itself.

Nowadays with the prevalence of volatile economic environment, companies that place high premium on strong corporate governance and transparency alongside possessing a clear roadmap for future performance are most likely to earn the trust and goodwill of investors.

We - at Alba - are positive that this conference will provide the right platform for engaging in productive discussions on the Middle East’s viability as an investment destination.”

The 2012 Investors Conference attracted investors from across the wider MENA region, chief financial officers, investment bankers, asset & fund managers, heads of investor relations, investment advisors and other high net worth individuals.

Dubai, January 11, 2012: The 7th Asia Information Retrieval Societies Conference (AIRS 2011), hosted by the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) at Dubai Knowledge Village in December, brought to the fore the need to end the monopoly of the English language in the acquisition and creation of knowledge.

Delivering the keynote address on ‘Challenges in Information Retrieval for Arabic Script-based Languages’, Dr. Ali Farghaly, Senior Knowledge Engineer at DataFlux Corporation, US, and former senior technical member at Oracle, said: “Web Search is just one aspect of Information Retrieval (IR). Since IR is primarily concerned with the encoding, decoding and creation of knowledge, it is imperative for countries aspiring to end the monopoly of the English language to be actively involved in Research and Development in IR.

“Arabic script-based languages and the countries where these languages are spoken represent a striking example as the advent of the Arab Spring is a precursor to what will follow. However, Arabic script-based languages do not belong to a single language family. For example, Arabic is a Semitic language but Farsi is an Indo-European language. The 20 languages which use the Arabic script exhibit many differences in their internal structure, but the fact that they all use Arabic script imposes common challenges when it comes to developing IR systems.”

Dr. Farghaly, who is currently visiting professor of Arabic Computational Linguistics at Cairo University and Adjunct Professor at Monterey Institute of International Studies, strongly believes that linguistic knowledge can, if used properly, enhance search quality and information retrieval.

The recently concluded AIRS Conference featured 32 papers and 24 posters from 52 universities from 18 countries. They were reviewed by experts from 27 different countries.

TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster, comprising Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City, supported the event as knowledge partners. Dr Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director, TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster, was one of the main speakers.

“It was an honour for UOWD to play host to so many illustrious IR experts sharing their knowledge and experiences in this critical area,” said Dr. Mohamed Salem, dean of Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, UOWD. “The committees consisted of representatives from University of Wollongong, Microsoft Research Asia, University of Glasgow, UK, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Tsinghua University, China, National Central University, Taiwan.”

‘AIRS 2011’ had 8 technical areas: Arabic Script text Processing and Retrieval by Ali Farghaly, Senior Knowledge Engineer at DataFlux Corporation;  IR Models and Theories by Minjie Zhang, University of Wollongong, Australia;  Multimedia IR by Joemon M Jose, University of Glasgow, UK;  User Study, IR Evaluation, and Interactive IR by Tetsuya Sakai, Microsoft Research Asia; Web IR, scalability and adversarial IR by Min Zhang, Tsinghua University, China Wang Bin, Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), China; IR Applications by Kazunari Sugiyama, National University of Singapore, Singapore;  Machine learning for IR by Tie-Yan Liu, Microsoft Research Asia and Natural Language Processing for Information retrieval by Chia-Hui Chang, National Central University, Taiwan.

At the end of the conference, it was announced that the 8th AIRS Conference 2012 would be held in China.

Microsoft Gulf, in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Justice, has announced that it has recently co-organized the 4th International Conference on Cyber Crimes in Abu Dhabi. The UAE – the first Arab state to enforce a special cybercrime law – led regional and international discussions on trends, best practices and challenges in the global fight against cybercrimes during the conference.

The Ministry of Justice’s Institute of Judicial Training and Studies organized the inaugural edition of the conference in 2007 shortly after the promulgation ofFederal Law No. 2 of 2006 on combating information technology crimes. The UAE had already been taking various legal actions against such crimes prior to the federal law, however, adopting legislations within the Penal Code and issuing judicial rulings from the national courts. As one of the world’s leading IT proponents, Microsoft has been lending full support to the Emirates and other Arab countries in establishing more effective legislation to reduce the incidences of cyber crimes.

Chancellor Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Al Kamali, Director-General of the Institute of Judicial Training and Studies, said: “The only way to effectively address cybercrimes is to enhance coordination and cooperation among the judicial, government and private sectors. The International Conference on Cyber Crimes adopts this mindset by bringing together experts and decision-makers from the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, industry and even society to develop comprehensive and suitable strategies, laws and standards. The UAE was a fitting host for this event as it has emerged as a regional model for cybercrime prevention and policing.”

“Strategic partnerships are key to the tackle against cybercrimes. We need to be aware of the legal strategies that can be taken against them, the impact of such activities on the IT industry and society in general, and the technologies and tools we can use to more effectively protect national and regional IT assets. For our part, Microsoft Gulf is highly committed to sharing its expertise and collaborating with key institutions such as the Ministry of Justice to achieve our common vision of eliminating software piracy and other forms of cyber crime in the region,” added Jawad Al Redha, Microsoft Gulf’s Head of Government Interface for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Small and Mid Market Solutions and Partners (SMS&P) Business Development.