|
Consumer Electronics Association – from page 1
distribution and integration of audio, video, mobile electronics, wireless and landline communications, information technology, home networking, multimedia and accessory products, as well as related services that are sold through consumer channels. CEA’s members account for more than $140 billion in annual sales.
|
“The UAE has become increasingly important to the global consumer electronics marketplace. As such, this partnership will further brand the event, and the entire Middle East region, as a global hot spot for consumer technology.”
– Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA
|
CEA’s decision to spotlight the UAE was based on research into the country’s market potential. A special study prepared by CEA, entitled Business Opportunities in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf, noted that “the youth market [in the UAE] is Internet-savvy, with extensive access to digital media and global advertising ... The residential building boom has triggered installation of Wi-Fi networks and flat-panel TV monitors. Home networks, with top-of-the-line home theatres, are being installed at a rapid pace entirely with American, Asian and European devices.” The CEA study found that the UAE market included “high income nationals, expatriate business executives and international visitors and tourists.”
CEA is not the only consumer electronics group that sees the huge potential of the UAE market. Electronic Channel News, in its November 2006 edition, forecast that the UAE’s consumer electronics and household appliance sector will enjoy double-digit annual growth over the next three years due to booming consumer demand for new convergence products and networked household appliances.
Adrian Chang, President of the Asia-Pacific region for digital media giant BenQ, told Electronic Channel News, “The Middle East and Africa boasts a massive population base that is growing exponentially. The population demographic is also very youthful across the region. These young consumers are very interested in new technologies, which create major opportunities for businesses like ours. Dubai offers an ideal location as a base for tackling these markets. It is truly the commercial gateway to the Middle East and Africa.”
|
|
|
The UAE Takes Flight with
Emirates and Etihad
|
|
Local airlines are world-class
|
|
The UAE’s successful development as a global air transport hub is due in large measure to the success of two airlines: Emirates, based in Dubai, and Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi.
Emirates Airlines
Emirates has been one of the major success stories in aviation history. By 2005 – just its 20th year in business – Emirates had entered the ranks of the world’s top ten carriers in terms of passengers carried and miles flown. Over the next five years, Emirates is scheduled to receive one new aircraft every month, including the largest order ever for Boeing’s wide-body 777. (See related article on page 20.) By 2010, Emirates should have a fleet of 156 aircraft flying to over 100 destinations and carrying some 125 million passengers.
Emirates is not just growing; it is also making money. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, Emirates posted a 23.5 percent increase in profits and a 28.4 percent increase in revenues. This marks the company’s 19th straight year of profits. Passenger volume also increased from 12.5 million to 14.5 million persons.
The airline’s cargo division – Emirates SkyCargo – has also notched impressive growth: between 2005 and 2006, total cargo tonnage increased by 21.5 percent to over one million tons, accounting for over 20 percent of revenues for Emirates in 2006. Air Cargo News, the industry’s premier newspaper, selected Emirates as “Best Cargo Airline in the Middle East” for the 18th straight year in 2006 and “Best Cargo Airline in the Far East” for the second straight year.
Emirates Airlines aims to be the world’s biggest.
The former Prime Minister of Singapore recently said in a speech in Dubai that when
|
Emirates started, Singapore Airlines was the model that Emirates copied. He admitted that for the past several years, Singapore Airlines was now following the lead of Emirates and copying their initiatives and business decisions.
Etihad Airlines, a new international airline servicing the UAE, flies Boeing aircraft.
Etihad Airlines
The growth of Emirates Airlines has been truly remarkable, but the Dubai-based carrier by no means controls the UAE’s skies. In 2003, the Government of Abu Dhabi launched Etihad, a new national airline with ambitious plans of its own. In 2004, Etihad shook the airline world when it placed orders for $8.9 billion worth of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, including five Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft. By the end of 2006, Etihad was already serving 41 destinations from its hub in Abu Dhabi, including New York and Toronto, with one of the industry’s youngest and most modern fleets.
The airline is expected to carry four million passengers in 2007, and Etihad plans to serve 70 destinations by 2010. The Abu Dhabi-based airline triumphed recently at the prestigious World Travel Awards, not only winning the title of World’s Leading New Airline for the third year in a row, but also the award for World’s Leading Flat-bed Seat. At the end of 2006, to ensure continued high quality, Etihad opened its $68 million Aviation Academy, a comprehensive training facility for pilots and cabin crews.
Etihad Crystal Cargo handled 100,000 tons of cargo in 2006 – half of all cargo shipped out of Abu Dhabi International Airport – and tonnage is expected to double in 2007. Etihad’s new cargo facilities at Abu Dhabi International will be able to handle more than 500,000 tons annually.
|
|
