By Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published 10 Oct 2004 (Friday 04 Shawal 1427H)
The Mighty Dollar
This has reference to the article “The Danger of the Current World Monetary System” by Abdelmenem Jamil Addas (Oct. 4). The “mighty” dollar is not only US money but also the world’s. Other countries use it for international trade, global investment and even pocket money. The Federal Reserve estimates that more than 70 percent of prin...
Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published Sunday 1 January 2006 (01 Dhul Hijjah 1426)
Mobile Number Portability
The arrival of Mobily in Kingdom has brought a lot of changes in the culture and attitude of the local utility giants. The Saudi Telecom Authority should also look into the possibility of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The facility, which allows mobile phone users to switch phone operators but retain their existing numb...
Mohamed H. Zakaria • Jeddah, published 23 December 2004
Market Capitalization
This refers to the report “Saudi Stock Market Capitalization Crosses SR1 Trillion in November” by Said Al-Shaikh (Dec. 16). The total market capitalization of the developed world’s main bourses such as NYSE, FTSE, DAX, CAC and Nikkei’s has rarely exceeded their national GDPs. The highly speculative Saudi Stock market has exceeded the GDP. The market,...
Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published 7 November 2006
Culture Clashes
This has reference to the reports (Nov. 3) of Saudi General Investment Authority’s governor, Amr Al-Dabagh, warning the Chinese not to miss the opportunity to invest in the Kingdom. I also refer to the report of a court sentencing a young woman, raped by several men, to 90 lashes for meeting a man alone, supposedly with the intention of doing something bad. T...
Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah, published 16 March 2006
Saudi Stock Market
This is in reference to news and articles published daily on Saudi and other regional stock markets. The core problem remains the lack of investment opportunities in the region; so the investors look at the stock market and real estate as the only way to make quick returns on investments.
One only has to look at the history of Japanese stock market to see what the future will b...
Mohamed H. Zakaria, Jeddah published 7 April 2006
Cause for Concern
The flood of so-called energy drinks in the market is a matter of great concern. In recent years consumption of energy drinks among the youth is rising. Taking into consideration the consumption of cigarettes and other soft drinks, Saudi Arabia may rank top in per-capita consumption of caffeine in the world. And surprisingly, no one has shown any concern on the ...
The employees of Saudi Steel Profile company in Jeddah. Having a steel factory in the country is not just beneficial for Saudi Arabia but also necessary for the economy’s welfare. Without steel you cannot build infrastructure or help in the development of a country. So important is this commodity, that most steel mills around the world were established by governments, said Mohammed H. Zakaria, the CEO and General Manager of the Saudi Steel Profil...
By MOHAMED H. ZAKARIA, published in Arab News - July 20th, 2011
THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula, and Pakistan, the second largest Muslim state after Indonesia, the world’s two leading Islamic countries, enjoy excellent relations.
Saudi Arabia has always served as the solid foundation for eternal, unflinching and pure bondage of brotherhood and Pakistan is proud of its strong ties with the Kingdom.
Saudi Arab...
By MOHAMED H. ZAKARIA, published in Arab News - Aug 1st, 2011
We are fighting a war on terror; this has been the slogan of successive Pakistani leaders since Gen. Zia-ul-Haq dragged Pakistan into the Afghan war against the Russians.
The present Pakistani government is using the same slogan despite the fact that the world knows the reality of the war on terror. If fighting a few thugs warrants such massive preparations and operations that have taken a h...
By MOHAMED H. ZAKARIA
Published in Arab News: Aug 14, 2011 23:37
The sinking US dollar and the euro crisis are threatening the world financial system. The US Federal Reserve’s recent decision to keep dollar interest rates near to zero at least for two more years was an unprecedented step, according to some economists. It is also being suggested that the US might be starting to look eerily like Japan — entering into long-term recession.
The Japanese ...