Abu Dhabi is solidifying plans to become a global aviation powerhouse, signing new deals on manufacturing at this week's Dubai Air Show in contrast to a scarcity of transactions for new aircraft.
Boeing and Airbus have signed new agreements to bring Abu Dhabi and its strategic investment arm, Mubadala Development, into their global supply chains as a composite parts maker. And SR Technics, a European aircraft maintenance company majority owned by Mubadala, said it was in the process of building a global repair business with its sister company, Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT), and Mubadala's support.
The UAE capital is becoming the "new playmaker" in aviation, said Bernd Kessler, the chief executive of SR Technics. "Abu Dhabi is going to play a significant role in not only MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul] but manufacturing, research and development," he said.
Mubadala is pursuing joint ventures with nearly all of the top aerospace and defence firms to set up local businesses in the emirate. A watershed moment came when Mubadala entered into a strategic business alliance with GE of the US last year, covering collaboration and joint investment into aircraft engines, commercial finance, health care and clean energy.
"That hit closest to home," said Marty Bentrott, the regional vice president of sales at Boeing. "That this was more than just providing engines and medical equipment, this is really about tying up a business relationship with investment."
The investment firm's financial strength is being put to use to enter capital and energy intensive businesses. At SR Technics, Mr Kessler said he was "extremely happy" Mubadala had increased its stake by purchasing the shares of two investment firms based in Dubai earlier this year. "With one shareholder this has brought clarity, and we now belong to Mubadala's MRO umbrella." With financial support from Mubadala, SR Technics announced yesterday plans to build a new aircraft maintenance facility in Malta to service the narrow-body fleet of European airlines.
Mubadala's plans to make Abu Dhabi an aviation hub have dovetailed with other initiatives including US$50 billion (Dh183.5bn) in planned investments for Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Airports Company for new aircraft, and a new airport terminal to accommodate them with the Midfield Terminal in 2015.
This week, Etihad signed a number of deals to improve its service offerings, including awarding ADAT a deal to upgrade seating and in-flight entertainment systems on 16 aircraft. ADAT is also building a maintenance hangar to accommodate Etihad's growth, which at 32,000 square metres will be able to handle three Airbus A380 superjumbos simultaneously. Like other Mubadala initiatives, ADAT has it sight set beyond the UAE, targeting a regional airline market.
In aircraft composites manufacturing, Mubadala's subsidiary, Stata Manufacturing, has already attracted Boeing and Airbus and this week the world's number three aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier, signalled it could be interested as well.
"What they are doing with Airbus and Boeing is good because it is an endorsement from those companies and will get them started, and we can jump on that bandwagon," Gary Scott, the president of commercial aircraft at Bombardier, said yesterday. He said it might take "a few years" for Strata to prove itself after delivering its first parts, to Airbus, by the end of next year.
As a major purchaser of defence and arms, including F-16 fighter jets and Patriot defensive missiles, the UAE is also becoming a magnet for foreign firms using the capital as a regional hub for after-sales service and support. Both foreign and local companies are being attracted into the defence field to take advantage of an Armed Forces' campaign to outsource its "non-core businesses", such as maintenance services, to private industry.
Locating a missile maintenance and assembly facility in the emirate would be a "natural choice", said Florent Duleux, the vice president of Middle East export sales at MBDA, the French missile firm.
He said his firm was in discussions to set up such a facility at an industrial park being planned by the state-owned Tawazun Holding. "Abu Dhabi is attracting something unique and attractive for companies, especially in defence."
Yesterday, Lockheed Martin said it was committed to forging a "100-year relationship" with the UAE and was also negotiating a joint venture with Mubadala for an aircraft maintenance business for the Gulf's air force fleets. "We are very close to an agreement," said Willy Moore, the UAE chief executive for Lockheed Martin Global and a former naval commander of the US Fifth Fleet. "I think their aviation plans are gaining momentum."
@Email:igale@thenational.ae
Dubai Air Show, b4
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
