New offices located on Floor 40 and 41 of the iconic twin towers

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, 30th October, 2011: RAK Properties has moved its headquarters to Julphar Towers, one of its flagship projects, to better serve its rapidly increasing customer base in the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi-listed real estate development company announced that it will occupy 40th and 41st floors of the 45-storey Julphar Towers. The move reflects the company’s rising stature in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, following its success in the handover of three mega projects in Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi.

Earlier this year, RAK Properties commenced the handover of RAK Tower at Marina Square on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi as well as 213 premium beachfront villas at Precinct 5 of Mina Al Arab.

Julphar Towers, the tallest and most luxurious towers in Ras Al Khaimah, offers top of the range facilities and amenities. The residential tower boasts 349 luxurious apartments varying from studios to deluxe four-bedroom units as well as duplexes on the upper floors, while the office tower features 468 state-of-the-art offices of various sizes to meet differing work requirements.

Mohammed Sultan Al Qadi, Managing Director & CEO of RAK Properties, said: “We are delighted to move our head office to Julphar Towers, the Ras Al Khaimah’s iconic twin tower. This world class location will help us serve our customers with greater efficiency and professionalism. We would like to invite businesses to open offices in the commercial tower and enjoy the world class services and amenities. Moreover, residential space in the towers is still available, with apartments offering spectacular views of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.”

Julphar Towers has been built over a three-storey podium that will provide retail and food outlets with stunning water views, which is set for completion over the coming months.

Julphar Towers features a number of high quality services to match different personal and professional preferences. As the project has free zone status, it provides the business sector with the possibility of establishing companies across various sectors. This makes it an attractive option, with the potential to achieve great success.

The leading Montessori was inaugurated by Padma Shri Dr. Azad Moopen

Dubai, October 19, 2011: Hope Montessori Nursery, a leading Montessori in Dubai, has moved into its new premises in Mankhool, Bur Dubai. The new facility was inaugurated today by Padma Shri Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman, DM Healthcare. The inauguration was also attended by Dr. PMM Sayed as Group Medical Director of ASTER Medical Centre and DM Healthcare and Mrs. Nilofer Sayed, Managing Director, Hope Montessori Nursery. The campus offers larger space and a colourful, happy environment for toddlers to grow and play.

Commenting at the launch of the new campus, Mrs. Sayed said: “The foundation years are very crucial in moulding a child’s personality and mental growth. The right environment helps in shaping the child’s cognitive, personal and social development. At Hope Montessori Nursery, we encourage the children to explore their world and their creativity through play. It is a fun and happy environment that we have created using engaging and playful activities directed towards learning through play.”

“We are happy to move into a more spacious campus which enables us to offer the kids more room for play and explore. The nursery is now located in the heart of the city where we are closer to the children, making the commute for parents living in the Bur Dubai, Karama, Satwa and other neighboring localities easier,” she added.

Hope Montessori Nursery, established in 1983, is a leading Montessori nursery in Dubai and has helped mould thousands of toddlers into whiz kids.

Hope Montessori Nursery is well-equipped with all the amenities for the over-all mental and physical development of toddlers. The nursery ensures a fun packed time enjoying the wide variety of activities provided in the relaxed atmosphere of the nursery. The nursery indulges the children in lively and interactive activities such as aerobics, Arabic, art and craft, contests, field trips, fun at assembly, cooking, music and movement, parties, puzzle games, sandpit, splash fun, storytelling, yoga and lots more, ensuring an overall physical and emotional development of the children.

Hope Montessori Nursery is owned and run by a professional with around two decades of experience in customer service industry, dealing with multi-cultural and multi-linguistic people. The strength of the nursery lies in its group of experienced, well-trained, caring and pleasant staff, dedicated and motivated in looking after the tiny tots.

The new location of the nursery is in a quiet and pollution-free area, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is centrally placed and accessible to people from Bur Dubai, Karama, Satwa and other adjoining areas of Dubai.

Jordanian group Hikma Pharmaceuticals took a further step to building up its presence in North Africa on Monday with a deal to buy 63.9 percent of Morocco’s Promopharm for $111.2m.

The acquisitive multinational group said it would also launch a mandatory tender offer to buy out the rest the company, which is Morocco’s ninth largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals with a 3.5 percent market share.

Hikma’s Chief Executive Said Darwazah said he had wanted a presence in Morocco - the region’s fourth largest prescription drug market - for the last three years, and had worked on the deal for about 12 months.

“Promopharm has a very nice portfolio of 200 branded generic and in-licensed products,” he said in an interview on Monday. “We have also identified about 20 Hikma products we plan to introduce to Morocco.”

The initial stake is being acquired from a consortium of shareholders, comprising existing management, institutions and related parties.

Hikma has been hit by political upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa this year, but the company said in August that key markets were recovering and it was continuing to scour the region for acquisitions.

Darwazah said Morocco was politically very stable, and the country could also be used as a platform to access markets in Western Africa.

Amman-based Hikma, which sells generic and branded drugs, generates around 60 percent of its sales from the Middle East and North Africa. It has built its position through a string of acquisitions of smaller players.

Darwazah said the deal would be funded by new debt facilities, which left the company with the capacity for further deals.

“We are actively looking in Sudan, Egypt and other countries,” he said. “It takes a long time to build bridges (…), we are still working on other acquisitions for 2012 and beyond.”

The latest deal will give it a local manufacturing presence in a pharmaceuticals market expected to grow by 9 percent a year between 2010 and 2014 and add more than $45m in annual revenue.

It is expected to be earnings accretive in the first full year, Hikma said in a statement.

Hikma sells branded drugs across 17 markets in the Middle East and North Africa, led by Saudi Arabia and Algeria. It also sells generic drugs in the United States, where it completed the $112m acquisition of Baxter’s injectables business in May.

• Selects DMCC free zone as its global headquarters
• Jumeirah Lakes Towers  continues to develop as a regional hub for the commodities industry
 
Dubai, May 24, 2010: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) announced today that Topaz Energy and Marine has begun operations from Almas Tower as a DMCC-registered company. Topaz Energy and Marine is one of the world’s leading oil and gas focused marine services and engineering companies with a regional footprint across the Middle East and the Caspian.

Topaz will use the DMCC’s Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) free zone in Dubai as its global base to further develop and establish its marine services and oil and gas fabrication business in the region, underscoring Dubai’s strategic role as a significant hub for the energy and marine sector.
 
“Topaz Energy and Marine’s move to the Almas Tower represents a strong vote of confidence in DMCC’s efforts to establish the JLT free zone as the principal hub for commodities including energy and marine services industry in Dubai,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC. “With industry-specific market infrastructure and a full range of facilities, Almas Tower is an ideal location for companies from the industry who can utilise the free zone to manage their operations across the region.”

“We are extremely impressed with the quality of the Almas Tower and we believe the JLT free zone is quickly establishing itself as the destination of choice for regional energy and marine companies,” said Fazel A. Fazelbhoy, CEO of Topaz Energy and Marine.

Almas Tower is the purpose-built headquarter, which is located in JLT and caters to the specific needs of the commodities industry, accommodating hi-tech security systems and industry-specific infrastructure for its occupants. DMCC offers resident companies highly attractive benefits, including a 50-year guaranteed tax holiday, 100 per cent business ownership, and full ownership of business premises under a free zone status.

The JLT Free zone is currently home to over 2,000 licensed companies, ranging from commodities to legal, information technology, management consultancy, marketing,  medical, tourism and architecture. In addition to being a commodities and energy hub in the region, DMCC also offers a conducive business environment for all types of other licensed activities within its Jumeirah Lakes Towers Free Zone.    

Topaz operates under two primary business divisions – Topaz Marine and Topaz Engineering. Topaz Marine; the offshore support vessels division comprises Nico Middle East, Doha Marine Services, Topaz Marine Saudi Arabia, BUE Caspian, BUE Kazakhstan & BUE Turkmenistan. Topaz Engineering comprises Adyard (Abu Dhabi) and Nico International.