Run Around The Clock

Over 190 members & staff of The Club, Abu Dhabi, donned their gym shoes and trainers and completed 1,000 kilometres between them as part of a treadmill challenge to raise money in support of the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres

The event kicked off on Friday 20th April at 10am, with Edward Oakden, the British Ambassador, leading the way as each participant did their 30 minute slot. Together, they successfully kept four treadmills running for 24 hours non-stop.

Despite soaring temperatures, the teams carried on throughout the day and night, successfully completing their challenge at 10am on Saturday 21st April. To keep the runners and spectators going, there were entertainers on hand including DJ's and an energising performance from Dubai Drums.

Mike McGrath, The Club's General Manager, said 'the commitment and camaraderie amongst everyone who took part or supported was outstanding and as a result of everybody's amazing efforts, the members and staff have raised a fantastic Dhs 65,000, exceeding last year's donation. Our members are of 84 nationalities and through MSF we are able to support projects in over 70 countries around the world."

Abu Dhabi focus at UK Falcon Festival

The Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Falconers Club and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, EAD, are key sponsors of the world's largest-ever Festival of Falconry, taking place in the deer park of a country estate near Reading, west of London, on 14th and 15th July.

The event is hosted by the Hawk Board, representing all of the falconry organisations in Britain, and is being attended by falconers from throughout Europe, the Arab world, Central Asia, the Far East and South America.

A special Emirates village, built by the Emirates Falconers Club and EAD, is a major focus of the event, which is expected to be attended by a leading member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, himself a keen falconer.

The central theme of Abu Dhabi's participation is the role that falconry plays in the culture and heritage of the UAE and the achievements made by Abu Dhabi in terms of conservation both of wild falcons and their prey.

The first International Conference on Falconry and Conservation was held in Abu Dhabi in 1977, under the patronage of the late Sheikh Zayed.

Clyde & Co win Queen's Award

Legal firm Clyde & Co have won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade for their outstanding achievement in the export of legal services, in particular the doubling of export earnings over the last six years. They are the only law firm to appear in this year's Awards.

The Queen's Award is considered to be Britain's most coveted commercial award. Made by the Queen on the advice of Government, the Awards seek to recognise outstanding performance in international trade.

Jonathan Silver, head of Clyde's Middle East and India operations, commented that he was "very proud of the part our offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha have played in being considered for this honour."

Clyde and Co have also been singled out as the leading international law firm in the UAE by Legal 500 (EMEA), an annual guide to the leading commercial law firms in the Middle East.

In its latest edition, the guide gives Clyde and Co top ranking in six of the nine practice areas it features, a level of recognition ahead of any other firm in the region, including corporate and M & A, dispute resolution, information technology, insurance, real estate and construction and shipping.

Completing a hat-trick of achievement for the firm, the intellectual property practice of Clyde & Co has also been ranked by Managing Intellectual Property, MIP, magazine as the top overall IP practice in the Emirates.

Liverpool architects win Qasr Al Hosn work

Architects at the Liverpool office of architects Austin-Smith Lord have won a contract for work on the restoration and development of Qasr Al Hosn, the 'Old Fort', in the heart of Abu Dhabi, according to a recent story in the Liverpool Daily Post.

"Our brief," says partner Neil Chapman, head of landscape and urban design, "is to reveal the fort in all its splendour. It has an iconic status for the Al Nahyan family and for the emirate of Abu Dhabi as a whole."

The firm has also been invited to develop a masterplan for the downtown district of Abu Dhabi City.

"Abu Dhabi is one of the most architecturally exciting places on the planet at the moment. Amazing buildings are going up everywhere. Austin-Smith Lord is delighted to be part of it all," says Chapman.

Dr Sami el-Masri, head of Strategic Planning for the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, ADACH, was quoted as saying that "Austin-Smith Lord have a great track record in the design and delivery of projects such as this, and I am very excited to be working with them."

More business for Pacific

Locally-based Pacific Consulting Services report the winning of substantial business over the last year from companies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai wishing to outsource their technical documentation. Having completed CRM module user guides for Dubai's Nakheel, Pacific have recently been appointed by IMTAC to prepare a technical reference manual for a large healthcare system.

Over the last year, Pacific's clients have included Etihad, Borouge, Injazat, TOTAL and Dubai Silicon Oasis. The company provides technical writing and communication services throughout the UAE, principally to banks, IT organisations and the oil and gas industry.

Law firm help ADCB to record loan

International law firm Reed Smith Richards Butler recently announced its role in advising Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC on a US $ 1.5 billion syndicated loan, the largest syndicated loan ever signed by a financial institution in the Middle East.

The syndication raised over US $ 1.7 billion from an initial launch amount of US $ 1 billion with the support of 18 banks in the syndication, ranging from regional and international institutions. Based on the tremendous response received from the market, ADCB decided to increase the facility amount to US $ 1.5 billion. The original 'Mandated Lead Arrangers' comprised the 'bookrunners' Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and Standard Chartered and ING Wholesale Banking as the facility agent.

The Reed Smith Richards Butler team was led by Vince Gordon, Managing Partner of Reed Smith Richards Butler's Abu Dhabi office. The team also comprised associates Emma Towers and Karen Ellison.

"ADCB is a long-standing client of our firm," Vince Gordon commented, "and we were delighted to have the opportunity to work with them on such a successful syndicated loan facility."

UAE Centre of Excellence launched

Dascam Consulting and Emirates Advanced Investments, EAI, have teamed up to establish Al-Shaheen Adventure LLC, which will develop and operate the UAE Centre of Excellence for Leadership Training.

The joint-venture facility, capable of housing 300 people, will be located in the mountains of Ra's al-Khaimah, where a wide range of challenging and recreational programmes will be delivered to national and international clients. The training campus will include lecture theatres, classrooms, parks, climbing wall, mountain bike trails, diving training pools, and canoeing facilities. Besides adventurous training, the centre will also cater to the specific cultural and technical requirements of each client group. It will also provide specialised programmes for children. The centre design allows for year-round operation and the first phase of construction is scheduled for completion in October 2007. Further details on the UAE Centre for Practical Leadership Training can be obtained from Pete Aldwinckle at pwa@dascamconsulting.com and will be made available in the near future at www.alshaheenadventure.ae

Emirates Advanced Investments (EAI) is a growth-oriented and diversified investments establishment based in Abu Dhabi. Its primary focus is on channelling and developing advanced technologies and highquality services to help regional industries progress to the future. As a value-added partner, EAI establishes strategic global partnerships with world-class manufacturers and service organisations.

Dascam Consulting is an Abu Dhabi based international training and security consultancy company with over six years experience of operating in the UAE and the Middle East.

UTS enters Dry Waste treatment business

Locally-based United Technical Services, UTS, established in 1961, is working with French partners EVAC, part of the Zodiac group, to introduce to the market a new technology of integrated solutions for dry and wet waste systems for cruise liners and ferries.

Type-approved by IMO-MARPOL, the new technology takes into account growing environmental concerns and aims at further improving the company's product range and meeting customers' needs even better. Zodiac recently acquired the Norwegian company Norsk Inova AS, a leading supplier of total dry waste and garbage handling systems for the cruise industry.

"Under international law, MARPOL annex V, the committee on shipboard pollution control places limits on ocean discharge of solid waste materials. Plastics may not be discharged into the sea at all. Paper, including cardboard, metal and glass, may not be released in Special Areas," says Ziad Al Askari, UTS Business Development Manager. "The purchase of Norsk Inova by Zodiac ensures that EVAC has the necessary technologies to handle both dry and organic waste onboard ships and help to protect our fragile Arabian Gulf waters."

"As United Technical Services is the only distributor in the GCC of EVAC's products and services, this new technology will enable us to serve a wider range of marine sector needs according to the latest international terms and standards," says Imad Hseino, UTS Marketing & Sales Manager.