Tourism
Dubai to get its own French city
After Abu Dhabi's deal for its own Louvre museum, Dubai is also going for the French touch with plans to build its version of Lyon, complete with cafes, cinemas and schools, according to Lyon officials. Due to be completed by 2012, the project is the brainchild of a Dubai entrepreneur who fell in love with Lyon after travelling there as part of plans for a French-language university in Dubai in partnership with Lyon-2 university. Buti Saeed Al Gandhi, who heads investment capital firm Emivest, is expected to sign a draft accord between the French city and Dubai.
DreamWorks to build theme park in Dubai
DreamWorks, the US studio behind the hit box-office animated movie "Shrek", is to build a theme park in the booming Gulf emirate of Dubai. The studio has signed an agreement with Tatweer, a subsidiary of state-owned investment firm Dubai Holding, to develop the project which includes restaurants, hotels and retail outlets.
Sega, Dubai's Emaar plan Asia, Mideast theme parks
Dubai's Emaar Properties and Japan's Sega Corp have agreed to develop theme parks in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, Emaar said. Sega Corp is the game publishing unit of Sega Sammy Holdings.
Kuwait-based company to invest in hospitality projects
Kanoos Group, Kuwait proposes to invest Rs200 crore in several hospitality projects in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Company is planning to set up four-star hotels in Kochi and Thiruvananthpuram in Kerala and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The projects are to be completed by 2009. At present, the Company has a hotel each at Palakkad and Guruvayur in Kerala.
Abu Dhabi moves a step closer to Louvre project
Abu Dhabi moved a step closer to hosting a Louvre museum franchise as French and Emirate officials sealed a groundbreaking deal to bring the iconic name, and its tourist pulling power, to the Gulf. Under the 30-year agreement, Abu Dhabi will pay €400m (US$525m) for the Louvre brand name and for hundreds of artworks loaned from the Paris museum for periods of between six months and two years.
Plans for Dilmunia unveiled
Plans have been unveiled for a US$1.6 billion health island, located off the northeast coast of Muharraq, which aims to transform the kingdom into a hub for health tourism while focusing on health and wellbeing and preventative medicine in Bahrain. The project, known as Dilmunia, will have state-of-the-art health and wellness facilities and services set in a landscaped resort covering a total area of 1.25m square metres on reclaimed land.
MGM Mirage, Dubai World to boost offer to 15m shares, US$80
Casino operator MGM Mirage Inc. announced that it is increasing its joint tender offer with Dubai World for MGM Mirage shares by 50 percent to 15 million, and it is setting the price at US$80. The revised tender offer, at a 20 percent premium over the stock's most recent closing price, came after a MGM Mirage board meeting in which directors discussed surging revenues due to the weak U.S. dollar, President Jim Murren said.
