SOFIA // The beleaguered Bulgarian economy has received some much-needed good news with Great Wall Motor Company, one the biggest Chinese car makers, signing a joint venture deal with Litex Commerce.
Great Wall will be investing in a car factory in the eastern European country with plans to assemble four different vehicles under the Great Wall badge - an SUV, a pickup and two passenger cars - by 2011.
The deal is seen as an economic coup for Bulgaria and will be the country's first car manufacturing plant.
Since the fall of communism, Bulgaria had fallen behind its neighbours - the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania - in this sector, largely because of a lack of history in car making, as well as relative poverty and a small domestic market.
But low labour costs, EU membership and low corporate tax have all made the country very attractive to Great Wall. The deal's initial worth is ?80 million (Dh420 million).
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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