Foreign Direct Investment flow to Arab World reaches USD 43.9 billion in 2014

GCC emerges as most favourable destination for investors with UAE attracting investments worth USD 10.1 billion

UAE, September 9, 2015 - The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) has revealed that foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Arab World totalled USD 43.9 billion in 2014. The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman), a Kuwait-based pan-Arab organization and the world’s first multilateral investment guarantee provider, compiled the statistics using the data received from 20 of the 22-country members of the Arab League.

According to the study, the UAE received more resources in 2014, totalling USD 10.1 billion, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Egypt at USD 8 billion and USD 4.8 billion, respectively. The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising KSA, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, received almost half of the resources that were invested in the Arab World last year.

On the other hand, Arab countries made FDIs worth USD 33.4 billion in total. Kuwait was the biggest investor in the region with an investment of USD 13 million during the same period.

“The latest figures affirm that Arab countries have emerged as an attractive destination for FDIs over the last few years. The Gulf countries in particular have successfully garnered attention of foreign investors and businessmen, reinforcing the confidence of the region’s economy, attractive investment policies, and favourable business environment. Admittedly, FDIs spurs economic growth and the current statistics bodes well for the region which is witnessing steady momentum in various economic sectors. We are upbeat that the GCC along with rest of the Arab World will remain an appealing and thriving investment hub in the coming years,” concluded Dr. Michel Alaby, Secretary General and CEO, Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.

43,9 مليار دولار قيمة الاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة الواردة إلى العالم العربي خلال 2014

دول الخليج العربي وجهة استثمارية جاذبة للمستثمرين والإمارات تستقطب وحدها 10,1 مليار دولار في العام الماضي

الإمارات، 9 سبتمبر 2015 – كشفت "الغرفة التجارية العربية البرازيلية" عن أنّ إجمالي قيمة "الاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة" (FDI) المتدفقة إلى العالم العربي وصل إلى 43,9 مليار دولار أمريكي في العام الفائت. وقامت المؤسسة العربية لضمان الاستثمار وائتمان الصادرات "ضمان"، المؤسسة الأولى المعنية بالاستثمارات متعددة الأطراف في العالم والتي تتخذ من الكويت مقراً لها، بجمع الإحصاءات الأخيرة باستخدام بيانات واردة من 20 دولة من الدول الأعضاء في "جامعة الدول العربية"، والبالغ عددهم 22 دولة.

ووفقاً للدراسة المتخصصة، جاءت دولة الإمارات في المرتبة الأولى من حيث استقطاب الاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة بقيمة إجمالية بلغت 10,1 مليار دولار أمريكي، تليها السعودية ومصر بقيمة 8 مليار و4,8 مليار دولار على التوالي. وجذبت دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي مجتمعة، والمتمثلة في السعودية والإمارات وسلطنة عُمان وقطر والبحرين والكويت، ما يقارب من نصف الاستثمارات المتدفقة إلى العالم العربي خلال العام الفائت.

وبالمقابل، أطلقت الدول العربية استثمارات أجنبية مباشرة بقيمة إجمالية بلغت 33,4 مليار دولار أمريكي. وتصدرت الكويت قائمة الدول العربية المستثمرة في الخارج، باستثمارات وصلت قيمتها إلى 13 مليون دولار أمريكي خلال السنة الماضية.

وقال الدكتور ميشيل حلبي، الأمين العام والرئيس التنفيذي لـ "الغرفة التجارية العربية البرازيلية": "تأتي الإحصاءات الأخيرة لتؤكد تنامي سمعة الدول العربية باعتبارها وجهة رئيسية جاذبة للاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة على مدى السنوات القليلة الماضية. وحازت دول الخليج العربي على وجه الخصوص على اهتمام

واسع من رجال الأعمال والمستثمرين الدوليين، الأمر الذي يعزز الثقة المتزايدة باقتصاد المنطقة التي تتمتع ببيئة استثمارية مواتية في ظل تبني سياسات مشجعة على الأعمال. وبالنظر إلى أهمية الاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة في تحفيز النمو الاقتصادي، يمكننا القول بأنّ الإحصاءات الجديدة تمثل مؤشراً إيجابياً بالنسبة للأسواق الخليجية التي تشهد زخماً متزايداً ونمواً مطرداً في مختلف القطاعات الاقتصادية. ونحن متفائلون للغاية بأنّ دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي وبقية الدول العربية ستواصل تعزيز حضورها كمركز استثماري عالمي جاذب ومؤثر خلال السنوات المقبلة."

Fortinet Unveils Industry-Leading Security Framework and Partner Ecosystem Designed to Protect Cloud and SDN Data Center Environments

Partners Including HP, Ixia, PLUMgrid, Pluribus Networks, Extreme Networks and NTT Collaborate with Fortinet to Advance SDN Security

Dubai, UAE., September 9, 2015 – Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT) – the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, today announced its new Software-Defined Network Security (SDNS) framework – the first of its kind across the industry - designed to provide advanced threat protection through the integration of security into the modern, agile data center environment. This new framework provides a clear vision and actionable steps in delivering a comprehensive approach to securing the data center, while providing the most extensible platform for infrastructure integration with technology partners including HP, Ixia, PLUMgrid, Pluribus Networks, Extreme Networks and NTT. SDN Security redefines advanced cybersecurity in a world where data centers are being transformed by the adoption of virtualization, cloud computing, and now software-defined networking.

“Information security infrastructure is too rigid and static to support the rapidly changing needs of digital business to provide effective protection in a changing threat environment,” wrote Neil MacDonald, vice president and distinguished analyst, Gartner Research. “Increasingly, security vendors are shifting more of the policy management out of individual hardware elements and into a software-based management plane for flexibility in specifying security policy, regardless of location.”1

Enabling Cybersecurity Innovation Throughout the Network Architecture

The new Fortinet SDN Security framework exemplifies the company’s innovations across all principal layers of the network architecture:

• Data Plane – the encapsulation of security engines from fixed hardware boxes into logical instances that can be more scalably distributed and embedded deep into virtualized switching fabric and abstracted network flows.
• Control Plane – the orchestration and automation of security policy with provisioning of elastic workloads to eliminate security and compliance gaps in highly agile, dynamic environments.
• Management Plane – a ‘single pane-of-glass’ for security policy and events across physical and virtual appliances, private and public clouds, and throughout converged infrastructure to ensure a consistent and compliant security posture.

“There is likely no single SDN platform that all enterprise and service provider customers are going to standardize on,” said John Maddison, vice president of marketing for Fortinet. “Hence the reason we are developing an eco-system to support different SDN platforms through proprietary and open Application Programming Interfaces (API’s). The key is providing scalable security modules that can be called on-demand, at the orchestration level.”

Fortinet’s efforts in the software-defined arena began more than five years ago with the first FortiGate-VM virtual appliances designed to secure increasingly virtualized and consolidated data centers. These efforts have expanded, along with the ongoing transformation of the data center, including recent milestones such as: new Fortinet security appliances to support Microsoft Azure; membership in HP’s AllianceOne program to deliver pre-integrated; optimized security for HP’s SDN portfolio; integration with Cisco’s application-centric infrastructure (ACI), and network security efforts for VMware vSphere and SDDC customers.

Fortinet Expands Partner Ecosystem to Meet Customer Data Center Requirements

As part of its overall data center strategy, Fortinet has been working closely with a large and growing number of partners to tightly integrate security within their key infrastructure platforms. These platforms include SDN controllers, orchestration frameworks, hypervisors, cloud management, security management and analytics. Fortinet is currently working with more than two-dozen technology providers to ensure protection from cyber threats through Fortinet’s advanced SDN Security.

Fortinet SDN Security Ecosystem Partner Quotes

“The integration of Fortinet with Extreme Networks’ SDN platform gives organizations the ability to combine industry leading security and compliance solutions with the freedom of open standards and interoperability,” said Markus Nispel, vice president of software and solutions at Extreme. “While making the deployment, service provisioning, management and operations of software defined networks seamless and cost effective, the integrated solution protects organizational assets by dynamically applying security policies to users, applications, and devices from the cloud to the edge."

“With recent efforts to leverage HP VAN SDN Controller orchestration of next-generation firewall (NGFW) protection for campus LAN’s, we have a strong collaborative relationship with Fortinet” said Michael Zhu, senior director of Solutions and Alliances, Global Product Line Management, HP Networking, “With Fortinet’s new SDN Security framework, we are looking forward to working even closer with Fortinet to bring compelling Security solutions to our customers”.

“Fortinet’s SDN Security enables agile data centers to leverage virtualization and SDN, while helping to prevent gaps in security and compliance,” said Scott Westlake, vice president of corporate development, Ixia. “Using realistic test solutions, such as Ixia’s BreakingPoint Virtual Edition and PerfectStorm, to validate firewall performance throughout the security lifecycle is critical to ensuring peace-of-mind in today’s increasingly dynamic data centers and clouds.”

“Our enterprise customers are desperately seeking a solution to better protect their networks with improved visibility and operational agility,” said Masa Kawashima, senior vice president for NTT Innovation Institute, Inc. “NTT's Elastic Service Infrastructure (ESI) will address these demands by enabling nimble and granular operation of networking resources with SDN and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies. The combined use of ESI and software-defined security products from security leaders like Fortinet will be very practical solutions for many of our customers,”

“Security is evolving rapidly, and as data centers become increasingly software driven, businesses need agile, elastic software-defined security to deliver uncompromised services and performance at scale,” said Wendy Cartee, vice president of product management and marketing for PLUMgrid. “As an industry leader in data center security, Fortinet is simplifying and operationalizing security for OpenStack clouds with the SDNS framework. Together with PLUMgrid Open Networking Suite for OpenStack, PLUMgrid and Fortinet are delivering secure, innovative solutions for the modern data center.”   

“Enterprises and cloud service providers alike are searching for agile solutions that allow their business strategies to drive their infrastructure behavior at the touch of a button. Our Open Netvisor switching solution provides the perfect platform for the deployment of Fortigate virtual appliances, since they then reside within the foundational connectivity layer itself,” said Mark Harris, vice president of marketing, Pluribus Networks. “By hosting Fortigate virtual appliances within our software-defined switching fabric, customers can realize the industry’s most agile and highly secured infrastructure with complete visibility into each and every flow of data across the entire data center.”

1 Gartner, Hype Cycle for Virtualization, 2015, 08 July 2015

Elegant new men's multi-function watch from CITIZEN hits Middle East stores

CITIZEN unveils the elegant BU2035-05E, a men's multi-function timepiece made to adorn the wrist of the man about town. The new addition to the Men's Eco-Drive Collection is now available across all Citizen outlets across the UAE.

The watch comes with an unusual beige nylon strap, which offsets the black stainless steel case with black ion plating and black dial rather nicely. With both a day and date and 24-hour display, this multi-function watch which is powered by CITIZEN'S Eco-Drive, charges with any available light source and doesn't ever require a battery replacement. The watch comes with an insufficient charge warning function and an overcharge prevention function.

The anti-reflective mineral glass encases a triple-dial display of day, date and a 24-hr timer. The watch is water-resistant up to 100m and comes with a 5-year warranty.

Features:

Black stainless steel case.

Beige nylon strap.

Black dial.

Date display.

Eco-Drive Technology: Solar power watch. Charges with light, Never requires battery or battery replacement.

Multi-Function: Day, date and 24-hour subdials.

Luminous hands and numerals.

Case size: 44 mm.

Movement: 8729.

Scratch resistant: Anti-reflective Mineral Crystal.

Water resistant: 100 meters / 330 feet.

UPC: 4974374245731.

Warranty: 5 Year from manufacturer.

About CITIZEN WATCH

CITIZEN WATCH is a true manufacture d'horlogerie with a comprehensive manufacturing process that extends from creating a watch’s individual components to its final assembly. The company operates in more than 100 countries around the world. Since its founding in 1918, CITIZEN have held the belief of “Better Starts Now” — that is, no matter who you are and what you do, it is always possible to make something better, and now is the time to start doing it. Sharing this belief, we have made watches, invented and improved technologies and explored the future of watches such as our propriety light-powered technology Eco-Drive and state-of-the-art satellite-synchronised timekeeping.

Elegance with a dazzle of diamonds

The updated Oris Artelier Date Diamonds makes ideal Eid gift for the stylish woman

The resplendent Oris Artelier Date Diamonds is a real gem of a timepiece that is designed to make a special gift for the woman of style this Eid. Elegantly adorned with 12 diamonds, this timeless timepiece is sure to make every lady feel like a princess.

The dazzling Oris Artelier Date Diamonds is a magnificent and charming watch built to last. Beautifully decorated with 12 spectacular diamonds upon a stunning silver guilloche finish, each stone has been chaton set to ensure a truly impressive sparkle. Reimagined with an updated case and dial design, the latest Artelier Date Diamond also incorporates a striking silver guilloche dial.

Adding to its charm, the Artelier Date Diamonds also boasts an intriguing translucent mineral glass case back revealing the timepiece's intricate inner workings and the unique red rotor at its heart.

Simple enough for a trip to the shops whilst still glamorous enough for an evening of entertaining, a multi-piece stainlesssteel bracelet or a calfskin leather strap is an elegant pairing.

Oris' desirable Artelier Date Diamonds is a chic and versatile accessory that will remain a girl’s best friend for life.

Product Features

Oris Artelier Date Diamonds

Ref. No. 561 7687 4051, Ø 31 mm

· Oris automatic mechanical movement based on ETA 2671, with date window

at 6 o’clock.

· Multi-piece stainless steel case. Water resistant to 5 bar

· Case back stainless steel, fixed with screws, see-through mineral glass

· Sapphire crystal domed on both sides with inner anti-reflecting coating

· Stainless steel crown

· Silver guilloche dial with 12 diamonds and applied indexes

· Minute and hour hands filled with white Super-LumiNova® inlay

· Multi-piece stainless steel bracelet

ZERO GRAVITY ANNOUNCES AN INCREDIBLE WINTER LINE-UP OF INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS – AND THE WORLD’S HIGHEST QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE

The world will be watching Zero Gravity this winter. In the final months of 2015, Dubai’s most talked about beach club, bar and restaurant will not only reveal its 2,000sqm expansion, including a 39m glass-fronted infinity swimming pool, but an 800sqft multi-use stage, along with a permanent installation of the highest quality audio/visual equipment available to purchase across the globe.

The state-of-the-art L-Acoustics K2 and Arcs Wide system will put the clarity and depth of sound of all Zero Gravity events at recording studio quality. The internationally-lauded system has been used to transform audience experiences at the Olympic Games, Coachella Festival and Eurovision Song Contest, but will be the first of its kind to be permanently installed at any venue in the MENA region.

In addition to the K2, Zero Gravity has selected Clay Paky lighting, Kvant lasers, Universal Effects and much more, to revolutionise the visual experience of both its large and smaller scale events from November – from DXBeach festival right through to the intimate live music of Drift, every Saturday. It is also working hand-in-hand with global noise and vibration consultancy Acoustic Logic, to ensure this ultimate audio experience will also produce minimum disturbance. For example, there will be more than 100 sound boxes covering the new outdoor space, to assist the control of sound.

With anything from two to five international artists performing at Zero Gravity per week (the full winter line-up of events is detailed overleaf) – this world-class audio/visual overhaul could not have come at a more impactful time. “Our events will look, sound and feel like something most people have never, ever, experienced,” explains Peter Skudutis, General Manager at Zero Gravity since its inception.

“We have spent at least the last six months researching the technology available and our competitors, on a global level. We went to who we believe are the five leading audio suppliers in the world and gave them the same brief – ‘get us the best’. And I can say with great confidence – this is the best.”

“L-Acoustics has a standard two-year waiting list for the K2. Zero Gravity was fast-tracked through the process, and that’s because every party involved in this set-up is aware of just how spectacular, and unique, it will be. We haven’t forgotten about a single square metre of the place.”

Peter Owen, Sales Manager at L-Acoustics says: “The sound design and installation done by Delta Solutions for Zero Gravity is nothing short of unique. It will be one of the first locations globally to feature speakers from our brand-new X Series, coupled with our award-winning K2 and Arcs boxes. Patrons of Zero Gravity will easily benefit from the best sound on the market, and I am proud to have been a part of this flagship project.”