The GRC Gulf Business Weekly Report - Gulf Research Center

Gulf Research Center
based in Abu Dhabi, and may set up branches and offices in other emirates. The board will meet
once every month, and may hold an extraordinary meeting upon a request by its chairman.
Qatar
The Qatar Financial Center (QFC) can probably read the writing on the wall. Last week, the
QFC announced that it was framing its own labor and immigration rules that will apply to
companies it licenses. Labor disputes arising within a QFC-authorized company will be settled
within the framework of QFC-framed regulations. As is the case with drafts of all legislation the
QFC frames, the two aforementioned drafts will also be circulated for comment from expert
circles.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom’s ambitious railway expansion project seems to be going full steam ahead. The
Saudi Railways Organization will hold a project day next month for potential investors in the
Makkah-Madinah rail link to provide information required by key players such as high-speed rail
technology suppliers, passenger rail operators, civil and electromechanical contracting
companies, and other prospective investors.
Elsewhere, Riyadh’s governor, Prince Salman, laid the cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s first
private aviation school at Thumama Airport last week. Even though the school is not complete,
classes will start soon in existing buildings at the airport and move to the new complex when it is
ready. A shift in regulations means members of the public will now be allowed to fly.
The stock markets were abuzz with reports alleging that the two dealers suspended by the
Central Market Authority for manipulating the stocks of three companies this month were still
managing their stock funds in their wives' names. Meanwhile, the Saudi Electricity Company
announced that it suffered a loss of SR 436 million in the first quarter of 2006, a further increase
over the losses of SR 303 million it incurred during the same period last year.
The GRC Weekly Business Report Page 4 of 5