Ramadan food supply pledged

MANAMA: Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro yesterday toured Manama and Muharraq central markets.

Fruit and Vegetable traders confirmed the ample availability of both for the whole month of Ramadan.

Fruit and Vegetable supplier Redha Al Bustani affirmed that markets are loaded well above the market's needs.

Ibrahim Salman from Bahrain Livestock Company confirmed the availability of meat and said it would be enough for Ramadan, noting that next Friday a ship will arrive loaded with 21,000 Australian cattle.

Dr Fakhro also inspected Lulu Hypermarket in Dana Mall. The general manager assured him of the stability of food prices. He added that there are a lot of promotional campaigns for goods in high demand during Ramadan.

Thanks to Industry and Commerce Ministry's efforts to educate consumers, they are now not accumulating goods, but buying them day by day.

Source : Gulf Daily News

Moody’s assigns A3 long-term rating to Masraf Al Rayan

by Martin Morris
Moody's on Wednesday assigned A3 long-term and Prime-2 short-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings as well as a D+ bank financial strength rating (BFSR) to Masraf Al Rayan (MAR), with a stable rating outlook.

This is the ratings agency’s first public rating assigned to an Islamic bank in Qatar.

The agency noted that with $4.6 billion of assets at December 31 2008, MAR is a small financial institution by domestic and regional standards and holds a market share of around 5% in domestic banking assets.

But it added that MAR is one of Qatar's most successful Islamic banks and commands around 25% of the country's Shari'ah-compliant banking assets.
Despite its small size, the agency says MAR enjoys a solid brand name and a strong reputation as one of the most dynamic Shari'ah-compliant financial institutions in the country.

It added that the D+ BFSR - which maps to a baseline credit assessment (BCA) of Ba1 reflects MAR's growing franchise as one of Qatar's few Islamic banks, its close ties with the government of Qatar, strong financial performance and asset quality, as well as ample capitalisation and satisfactory liquidity.

It noted though that the rating is constrained by a short track record and limited absolute size, high degree of concentration risks, rapid balance sheet growth, as well as a still imbalanced funding continuum that is heavily reliant on short-term customer deposits, generating both maturity mismatches and displaced commercial risks.

''Moody's assesses the probability of systemic support in the event of a stress situation to be very high, based on Moody's assessment of Qatar (rated Aa2) as a high-support environment, especially for domestic, retail deposit-taking institutions like MAR.''
The outlook on the ratings is stable - Moody's considering both an upgrade and a downgrade of the bank's current BFSR and issuer ratings to be unlikely over the medium term.
Source : Arabian Business

Road works add to Makkah’s traffic woes

Hamid Al-Sulami

MAKKAH: With the number of visitors to Makkah likely to see a huge increase during Ramadan, unfinished and ongoing road construction will add to the traffic problems that already exist in the holy city.

Work on some of the city’s arterial roads has forced the authorities to divert traffic, leading to a crush of vehicles not only at peak times but nearly around the clock.

The seasonal rush, in addition, will not only increase vehicular traffic but also the number of pedestrians on roads thereby leaving the authorities with a logistical nightmare.

The construction work is not only impacting traffic but also businesses, which generally wait all year for the Ramadan and Haj seasons in which they make the bulk of their sales.

Some businesses are already suffering be-cause of the ongoing projects. Trenches and diversions as well as construction material on the side of the roads are proving to be stumbling blocks for customers and businesses alike. Negotiating paths to these stores is difficult, something that puts off prospective customers. Store entrances are some times blocked by construction materials for these projects.

Business owners — who are hoping to make money after a lean period during the summer — say the projects are driving away customers and are calling for the municipality to complete the work at the earliest.

Despite construction companies repeatedly promising to finish the projects on time and before the summer vacation and Ramadan, the end is nowhere in sight. The fact that these companies are not accountable allows them to set their own schedule. There is also no supervision from the municipality. That is why many of these businessmen have called for an imposition of deterrents on construction companies — like hefty fines, punishment or both.

One example of the woes Makkah people face can be seen on the Al-Haj Street, which is under constant construction, something that has forced people to take different routes, leave earlier for their daily chores and plow through additional traffic.

Suleiman Fehaid, a Makkah resident, said there is much roadwork going on in and around the city. “It is frustrating for residents to be forced to use other roads just to get home. These roads should be ready for use because many pilgrims will be arriving and it will be a disaster if these roads remain closed, or dug up,” he said. Another resident, Mansour Al-Otaibi, said Makkah’s people are used to congested traffic. He said what is not acceptable is the delay in completing the road projects.

“On the ring road leading to Al-Awali, there is some construction work in the middle of the road. This is causing huge traffic jams,” said Al-Otaibi, adding that if this is the case now then what will be the situation when numbers swell during Ramadan.

“Road maintenance is important but what is more important is for companies to stick to deadlines and finish projects on time. Most of these projects started in the summer. The authorities must know the time frame for each project. If the project is going to take a long time, then why did they not begin them early to finish before the Ramadan rush,” he said.

Source : Arab News