Day: June 6, 2021

ABU DHABI, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has announced it won five categories at the Islamic Finance News (IFN) Awards 2021 ceremony, including Best Islamic Bank in the UAE, Iraq and Egypt. The bank also received the awards for Best Islamic Private Bank and Best Islamic Bank for Treasury Management.

Held in Dubai, the IFN Awards is a highly regarded awards ceremony within the Islamic finance industry, honouring organisations that have displayed leadership, innovation and excellence in deal execution over the past year.

Since its establishment in 2006, the IFN Awards have continued to grow significantly with the rise of demand for Sharia’a-compliant products and services. The winners are selected by a panel of independent experts who judge each candidate based on a set of predetermined criteria.

ADIB continues to be recognised for its success in the Islamic banking sector, receiving numerous awards in recent months including ‘Best Islamic Digital Bank’ and ‘Innovator in Islamic Finance’ awards by Global Finance. The bank was also named ‘World’s Best Islamic Bank’ by the FT’s The Banker Magazine and ‘Best Islamic Bank in the Middle East’ at the MEA Finance Awards 2020.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that its installed capacity has reached 12,900 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 490 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day (MIGD) thanks to its state-of-the-art infrastructure, innovation and planning.

In comparison with the 1990s, which witnessed the merger of the Dubai Electricity Company and the Dubai Water Department and the establishment of DEWA, the installed capacity of electricity was about 1,200 MW and water was 60 MIGD. This means DEWA’s production capacity today has increased more than 10 times for electricity and more than 8 times for water.

It is expected that the installed production capacity of electricity will increase next July to 13,200 megawatts, with the commissioning of the 300 MW first project of the 900 MW 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said, “In line with DEWA’s vision to become a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation, we work to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for facilities management and services through smart and integrated systems that use disruptive technologies and Fourth Industrial Revolution applications. These include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Blockchain, Energy Storage, and Internet of Things (IoT), among others.

“DEWA has major clean and renewable energy projects to achieve Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, aiming to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. These include the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030. The Smart Grid is a key component of DEWA’s strategy to develop an advanced infrastructure. The Smart Grid includes programmes with investments of up to AED7 billion that will be completed in the short, medium, and long-term until 2035,” added Al Tayer.

DEWA achieved a new world record in reducing Customer Minutes Lost (CML) for electricity per year. DEWA recorded 1.66 minutes in Dubai, compared to around 15 minutes recorded by leading electricity companies in the European Union. The UAE, represented by DEWA, has maintained its first global ranking, for the third consecutive year, with scores of 100% in all Getting Electricity indicators in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report. The report measures the ease of doing business in 190 economies around the world.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with the Russian-UAE Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, recently hosted a virtual forum as part of its newly launched Dubai Global Partnership Series, which explored new avenues of economic cooperation between the emirate and Russia.

Featuring 150 participants from 12 countries, the virtual forum examined high-potential bilateral trade and investment opportunities across ICT, technology and innovation.

Speakers included Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber; Maxim Fateev, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation; Alexei Busev, Executive Director of the Russian-UAE Business Council and representative of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ammar Al Malik, Managing Director of Dubai Internet City; Hans Henrik Christensen, Vice President of the Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Campus; Evgeniy Borisov, Deputy Director of the Russian Internet Initiatives Development Fund, and Omar Khan, Director of International Offices at Dubai Chamber.

During his opening speech, Buamim highlighted the UAE-Russia relations, which are expanding across various fields, and described the formation of the Russian-Emirati Business Council as a clear indication of growing interest on both sides to take trade ties to a higher level.

Buamim said that non-oil trade between Dubai and Russia has increased steadily in recent years to reach AED7.7 billion in 2020, a positive trend supported by several developments, such as high-level visits, the easing of visa restrictions and the signing of strategic cooperation agreements.

The UAE and Russian economies share many synergies, including their strong focus on fostering innovation, economic diversification, global trade and foreign investment. Much like Russia, Dubai is currently in the midst of a rapid digital transformation led by the impact of COVID-19, while it invests heavily in its smart city vision and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, said Buamim, adding that Russia’s information technology outsourcing industry offers much scope for cooperation with the UAE.

The forum concluded with a panel discussion that examined Dubai’s status as a preferred business hub for high-tech companies from Russia, key sectors of mutual interest for Russian and UAE companies and investors, and practical advice on how companies can establish a presence in the Dubai and Russian markets.

Source: Emirates News Agency