 T he past few months have been a time of continuing expansion
and development at AGN WAA, and also a time when we have
had an increased sense of the ways in which we are part
of a growing network—an infrastructure that connects
businesses to business, experts and clients.
Recently,
our Dubai firm captured a major audit and a special
assignment of inventory verification
of one of the fortune
500 companies and the credit must go to our AGN brand
which we have developed in the region.
Growth
is tremendous and the growth of our activities now
need to be consolidated and it’s only a matter
of time until we continue to figure out the best ways
to bridge
the gap between best-in-class and new members.
Continuing
the developments in the region, the executive committee
had a mid year meeting in Mumbai recently
and it was agreed that to improve the quality and
standard of services AGN-WAA shall organize
training on IFRS’s
and business developments.
At
the same time Saad Maniar was appointed as a region’s
secretary and is expected to open communication
channel amongst members. Also during this period, the
eagerly anticipated
partners training conducted by Tim Bartz, of the
United States, was successfully completed. The feedback
received
from the participants indicated that the training
provided cutting edge to the members.
For
this, I really appreciate Tim and our AGN NA office
for making this session possible.
Meanwhile
in the region, UAE continues its pace to achieve multiple
growths.
Growth
is tremendous and the growth of our activities now
need to be consolidated and it’s only a matter
of time until we continue to figure out the best
ways to bridge the gap between best-in-class and
new members. US
exports to the UAE during the first quarter of this
year amounted to Dh11.8 billion,
all set for
an annual
growth of 91 per cent. According to Dubai
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) statistics,
corresponding figures for
the same period of the past two years were
only Dh6.2 billion last year and Dh2.7 billion
in
2004.
On
the other hand, US imports from the UAE likewise grew
at relatively high annual
rate of 24 per
cent, from slightly
higher than Dh1 billion in the first quarter
of last year to Dh1.3 billion in the corresponding
period
this year.
Aluminum
topped the list of US imports from the UAE during the
same period.
Other major
imports
consisted
of precious/semi-precious
stones and metals and jewelry items,
apparel in woven/textile fabrics; and metal
hardware. Dubai’s
real estate developments with the high profile project
like ‘Burj Dubai’, expected to be the
tallest building in the world, is further
enhanced by the Government infrastructure projects.
The
project of Dubai Metro worth Dh15.5 billion ($4.2 billion)
is under way,
to be maintained
and operated
by international
firms through a joint venture agreement
with the Roads and Transport Authority
(RTA).
This highlights
the
opportunities available to the international
firms in the region. Also,
the telecommunication industry is in full swing and
recently a consortium led by Etisalat of
the United Arab
Emirates won Egypt’s third mobile license yesterday,
an investment in the Arab world’s most populous
country much higher than the market had expected.
The
scenario mentioned here are just a few to name; there
are number of projects in the pipeline,
which will take
UAE to its peak in the years to come. Only time will
tell, but at the moment, the whole of Middle East is
poised to
grow significantly.
\We
are also looking forward to the World Congress meeting
in Canada and I take pleasure to announce
the celebration
of ‘AGN MAK’ Dubai silver jubilee year
in December 2006.
I
take this opportunity to invite and welcome the members
to attend the celebration party. During
this time,
there is a scope for another joint meeting of Asia
Pacific
and WAA, for this we seek AGN assistance as usual.
Dr.
Khalid Maniar
Chairman
West Asia & Africa Region, and
Managing Partner
AGN MAK
E.mail: makdubai@agnmak.com
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