The Mighty Dollar

    By Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published 10 Oct 2004 (Friday 04 Shawal 1427H) The Mighty Dollar This has reference to the article “The Danger of the Current World Monetary System” by Abdelmenem Jamil Addas (Oct. 4). The “mighty” dollar is not only US money but also the world’s. Other countries use it for international trade, global investment and even pocket money. The Federal Reserve estimates that more than 70 percent of prin...

Mobile Number Portability

    Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published Sunday 1 January 2006 (01 Dhul Hijjah 1426) Mobile Number Portability The arrival of Mobily in Kingdom has brought a lot of changes in the culture and attitude of the local utility giants. The Saudi Telecom Authority should also look into the possibility of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The facility, which allows mobile phone users to switch phone operators but retain their existing numb...

Market Capitalization

    Mohamed H. Zakaria • Jeddah, published 23 December 2004 Market Capitalization This refers to the report “Saudi Stock Market Capitalization Crosses SR1 Trillion in November” by Said Al-Shaikh (Dec. 16). The total market capitalization of the developed world’s main bourses such as NYSE, FTSE, DAX, CAC and Nikkei’s has rarely exceeded their national GDPs. The highly speculative Saudi Stock market has exceeded the GDP. The market,...

Culture Clashes

    Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published 7 November 2006 Culture Clashes This has reference to the reports (Nov. 3) of Saudi General Investment Authority’s governor, Amr Al-Dabagh, warning the Chinese not to miss the opportunity to invest in the Kingdom. I also refer to the report of a court sentencing a young woman, raped by several men, to 90 lashes for meeting a man alone, supposedly with the intention of doing something bad. T...

Saudi Stock Market

Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah, published 16 March 2006 Saudi Stock Market This is in reference to news and articles published daily on Saudi and other regional stock markets. The core problem remains the lack of investment opportunities in the region; so the investors look at the stock market and real estate as the only way to make quick returns on investments. One only has to look at the history of Japanese stock market to see what the future will b...

Cause for Concern

    Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published 7 April 2006 Cause for Concern The flood of so-called energy drinks in the market is a matter of great concern. In recent years consumption of energy drinks among the youth is rising. Taking into consideration the consumption of cigarettes and other soft drinks, Saudi Arabia may rank top in per-capita consumption of caffeine in the world. And surprisingly, no one has shown any concern on the ...

Asian Visit

    Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published Tuesday 28 March 2006 (27 Safar 1427H) Asian Visit King Abdullah’s Asian visit that took him to China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan indicates a major shift in Saudi Arabia’s priorities in the new geopolitical scenario. India has recently gained prominence as a potential market because of its 90 million plus middle-class consumers and as the third largest Asian economy and the fourth largest crude ...

Power Position

Mohamed H. Zakaria, published Sunday 4 December 2005 (03 Dhul Qa`dah 1426) Power Position Saudi officials have stated often the need to increase the country’s power-generation capacity to 50,000MW or even 80,000MW from its present level of 30,000MW. This, according to them, needs an investment of SR200 billion. Instead of increasing production, the government should rationalize consumption, by reducing subsidies and increasing tariffs. Saudi Arab...

Celebrations

Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published Saturday 21 October 2006 (28 Ramadan 1427) Celebrations It is celebration time both in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Bangladeshis are celebrating the Nobel Peace Prize for Muhammad Yunus who began a revolution with his pioneering work in lending: giving tiny loans to millions of poor people whom no commercial bank would touch — destitute widows, abandoned wives, landless laborers, rickshaw drivers, sweepers and begga...

‘A steel factory is the backbone of an economy’

The employees of Saudi Steel Profile company in Jeddah. Having a steel factory in the country is not just beneficial for Saudi Arabia but also necessary for the economy’s welfare. Without steel you cannot build infrastructure or help in the development of a country. So important is this commodity, that most steel mills around the world were established by governments, said Mohammed H. Zakaria, the CEO and General Manager of the Saudi Steel Profil...