BUSINESS & JOBS

Islamic Arab Insurance Co. (PSC), one of the region's leading Islamic insurance (Takaful) companies, hosted a special appreciation event to thank its partners and brokers for their long-standing loyalty and support to the company. Held at the ultra-luxury Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest tower - the special appreciation event was attended by nearly 26 insurance brokers from the UAE and GCC states, apart from SALAMA's, partners, clients, business associates and media representatives.

Most analysts expect Emaar to increase earnings in the third quarter, boosted by the handover of properties at Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. 'Forecasting risk is almost entirely dependent on the handover rate of the Burj Khalifa, which we estimate is 30 per cent in the third quarter,' said Nomura analyst Chet Riley.

A highlight is a spectacular display of Downtown Dubai, the 500-acre destination development anchored by Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building housing the world's first Armani Hotel. With the Dubai Mall, possibly the world's largest shopping and entertainment destination, several world-class hotels, residences, and prime office space, Downtown Dubai underscores Emaar's strategy of developing fully integrated communities that energize the economy.

You make the point that it was defined, this decade in architecture, it was defined on the vertical access by the World Trade Center's coming down and this enormous tower -- the Burj of Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, I guess now properly -- over in Dubai. And also on the horizontal by the devastation of Katrina. I mean, it goes all ways. We've had economic booms and busts in the past decade. We've had floods and terrorist attacks. We have had creation and destruction in all of their extremes. Those forces are reflected by the buildings around us.

After six days of glaring color — Armani himself featured watermelon red in his Emporio collection shown earlier in the week — it was a real surprise to see a show where the brightest shade was midnight blue. In his fashion notes, Armani said he drew inspiration for the collection from the Tuareg, the blue nomads of the desert, so called for the dark face covers worn by the men. The designer probably has desert on his mind since the opening of his luxury hotel in Dubai earlier this year. A dunned version was projected at the end of the runway.

It may be tall, and it may be grand, but we don’t think the Burj Khalifa is worth boasting about. Even so, this towering blight on Dubai’s sustainable horizon took “project of the year” at the 3rd annual Middle East Architecture Award ceremony held in Dubai’s Park Hyatt on September 28th, 2010.

Around 307 property projects of the 980 registered projects in Dubai are expected to get completed in the due course, according to the Government of Dubai’s bond prospectus. Quoting Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) in the prospectus supplement on the London Stock Exchange, the government said of the total number of registered projects, 46 projects have been completed, while another 307 are expected to be completed in due course.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi now blame Emaar MGF for the delay in getting the Village ready, reports 'Gulf News'. “The developer handed us the first 18 towers in time which are in top condition. We were handed over the rest of the 16 towers very late which has delayed our job," Kalmadi was quoted by Indian media as saying. Emaar MGF is a joint venture between the UAE's Emaar Properties and India's MGF Development.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the emirate is recovering after state-controlled holding company Dubai World reached a debt restructuring settlement with creditors. Dubai’s vision is unchanged after projects such as Meydan’s racecourse and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building developed by Emaar Properties, were completed on schedule, Sheikh Mohammed said. “All the projects that were there are going ahead,” although some may be delayed for six months to a year, he said.

Little noticed in the furore over the state of facilities for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and in particular the Athletes’ Village is that the contractor who built the Village is the Dubai developer behind the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. You might think there were two odd things about this. One is that it has been little noticed. The other is that there is something of a contrast between the glitz of the Burj Khalifa, with its Dubaian (Dubish?) trappings of expensive souvenirs, Armani hotel and Armani-designed apartments up for sale, and Delhi’s “filthy” rooms and unworking toilets.