Tonight, Dubai TV interviewed the acting CEO of Tamweel, Adel Al Shirawi, about his company's IPO. Now, Tamweels IPO (which is when the comapny is basically going to be put up onto the stock market) is coming up very fast indeed, and Shirawi was on today to dispel any fears about it.
Lets just say he got me thinking...
Investors here like to throw money at every IPO that sprouts up. Now, Tamweel is a pretty solid company, and is expected to do well, but is that always the case?
Does every IPO have to hit record figures? Is it always a safe bet to put money on an IPO?
The answer is no, and the actions of the small investors here needs some form of control, because they obviously got the wrong idea, as shown with previous IPOs.
Oh well,.,. Live and let live?
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
No Candles 4 me
Im officially 18 years old today... Its time I started to be a little more responsible.
Sweets for everyone!!!
Sweets for everyone!!!
Friday, February 24, 2006
Society
An in depth examination of the UAE social structure is out of place this late at night, I will post more on the subject later.
But I will say this,.,.
Socially, the country is split into a few large groups: The 3eemis, the Arabs, The balushis, and the mtjanseen.
3eemis tend to be educated and open-minded (varies from person to person). The basic definition of 3eemi in arabic is foriegner; Owing to the widely acknowledged fact that they originated from Iran. As a result, many 3eemis are considered very fair (colour - wise) in this land. Most 3eemis came from Iran as traders, but some Arabs, whom I will explain about shortly, are also considered 3eemi if they went to (and lived in) Iran for trading activities. Many prominent trading families here in the UAE are 3eemi.
Arabs, are usually the ones driving the culture of the UAE. The Sheikhs of the UAE (and their tribes) are considered to be Arabs. Before the oil boom, most Arabs where bedouins, living off the land (and the sea), and where divided into tribes. These tribes still exsist and dwell in the UAE. In the past, due to their nomadic lifestyles, Arabs werent really that educated, but due to modernisation, education is starting to be widely accepted among Arabs. The bedouin lifestyle is not totally obsolete though, many Arabs still hold bedouin values and traditions in the UAE.
The bedouin Arabs here usually have views that are in a western view will be both very comendable but a little backwards at the same time. For example, many bedouins are brutally honest in what they say, but sometimes brutal honesty is,.,. Brutal. Personally, I view a true bedouin friend one of the best a man could have, since they are a very loyal bunch.
Next up, are the balushis,.,. They are pretty much 3eemi, but with a twist. They are not as educated as the 3eemis, and originally come from Balochistan, a land between Pakistan and Iran .
Finally, the mtjanseen, are foreigners who have been given UAE passports, usually because they offered some great service to the country.
Now, the problem we are facing here in the UAE, is that every group thinks his is the best, causing serious rifts in the society.,.,. And the results of this train-of-thought are group-specific marriages, 3eemi families dont marry into arab families and vice versa, Balushi families stick to their own community, and mtjanseen are basically stuck with no one to marry (since they are so few).
I believe that this train of thought is destructive to the nation and to muslims as a whole. period.
Where is the logic in not letting your daughter marry a man whos familly is a little different than yours? Change should be embraced.
The problem is deeply racial in my view, and is a plague, a poison, and a darkness in this fair land.
I will discuss more about this later on, when im more awake :-)
But I will say this,.,.
Socially, the country is split into a few large groups: The 3eemis, the Arabs, The balushis, and the mtjanseen.
3eemis tend to be educated and open-minded (varies from person to person). The basic definition of 3eemi in arabic is foriegner; Owing to the widely acknowledged fact that they originated from Iran. As a result, many 3eemis are considered very fair (colour - wise) in this land. Most 3eemis came from Iran as traders, but some Arabs, whom I will explain about shortly, are also considered 3eemi if they went to (and lived in) Iran for trading activities. Many prominent trading families here in the UAE are 3eemi.
Arabs, are usually the ones driving the culture of the UAE. The Sheikhs of the UAE (and their tribes) are considered to be Arabs. Before the oil boom, most Arabs where bedouins, living off the land (and the sea), and where divided into tribes. These tribes still exsist and dwell in the UAE. In the past, due to their nomadic lifestyles, Arabs werent really that educated, but due to modernisation, education is starting to be widely accepted among Arabs. The bedouin lifestyle is not totally obsolete though, many Arabs still hold bedouin values and traditions in the UAE.
The bedouin Arabs here usually have views that are in a western view will be both very comendable but a little backwards at the same time. For example, many bedouins are brutally honest in what they say, but sometimes brutal honesty is,.,. Brutal. Personally, I view a true bedouin friend one of the best a man could have, since they are a very loyal bunch.
Next up, are the balushis,.,. They are pretty much 3eemi, but with a twist. They are not as educated as the 3eemis, and originally come from Balochistan, a land between Pakistan and Iran .
Finally, the mtjanseen, are foreigners who have been given UAE passports, usually because they offered some great service to the country.
Now, the problem we are facing here in the UAE, is that every group thinks his is the best, causing serious rifts in the society.,.,. And the results of this train-of-thought are group-specific marriages, 3eemi families dont marry into arab families and vice versa, Balushi families stick to their own community, and mtjanseen are basically stuck with no one to marry (since they are so few).
I believe that this train of thought is destructive to the nation and to muslims as a whole. period.
Where is the logic in not letting your daughter marry a man whos familly is a little different than yours? Change should be embraced.
The problem is deeply racial in my view, and is a plague, a poison, and a darkness in this fair land.
I will discuss more about this later on, when im more awake :-)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Forgot to mention
Yea,,, while people were partying it up at the maseera... Me and a friend were driving around the backroads of Shk Zayed road trying to get to that damn emarat petrol station,.,.What we found astounded both me and my friend...
Behind Shk Zayed road they are mainly these chapras (warehouses) and cargo areas for the various dealers of goods in the country,,, Strangly enough we past by a GLOWING chapra,.,. Im talking flashy lights, with music spilling out to the streets,.,.Im talking about 15 valets/ security guards for a chapra! And guess what they had beamed on the walls of that particular chapra?
Dom Perignon!
(google it, if you dont know what it is)
Seems the maseera was not the only party going on tonight (it was just getting started, and I just reached home!)
Behind Shk Zayed road they are mainly these chapras (warehouses) and cargo areas for the various dealers of goods in the country,,, Strangly enough we past by a GLOWING chapra,.,. Im talking flashy lights, with music spilling out to the streets,.,.Im talking about 15 valets/ security guards for a chapra! And guess what they had beamed on the walls of that particular chapra?
Dom Perignon!
(google it, if you dont know what it is)
Seems the maseera was not the only party going on tonight (it was just getting started, and I just reached home!)
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Maseera!
Tonight, UAE won a match against Oman in a 1 - 0 game in al nasr stadium.
This caused mass chaos in the minds of most teens here, and as a matter of fact, had even me, a guy who thought the UAE had no chance against Oman, smile...
Though I was not personally there ( I was half-way across the city at Mall of the Emirates) my friends were at the mini-parade in Dubai,.,. and from what I here It was amazing!
As one of my friends put it: "We are the UAEs soldiers" :-)
Maseeras rock,.,.
This caused mass chaos in the minds of most teens here, and as a matter of fact, had even me, a guy who thought the UAE had no chance against Oman, smile...
Though I was not personally there ( I was half-way across the city at Mall of the Emirates) my friends were at the mini-parade in Dubai,.,. and from what I here It was amazing!
As one of my friends put it: "We are the UAEs soldiers" :-)
Maseeras rock,.,.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Madinat Jumeirah
ok,,, so there I was at madinat jumeirah (and mina salaam), with loads of free time,.,. I work out at mina salaam and today I felt exceptionally bored SO I decide to check out the tourist trap's shops and see what they have to offer... No Ipod nanos on sale as usual, and I ended being cheated on a msba7 I bought (there was a 200 dhs difference between two shops)
Sickened by the fact that I was cheated on msba7s, I head back to the (mixed) gym and have an intresting workout... At the end of it, a train of local girls walk in and start gawking at me (the only local in the place). Let me describe it : I was a complete wreck, I havent cut my hair in a while, and was chatting up the trainers there about how come they are not married yet,., suddenly, I see like 10 black clad girls (1 wasnt) walk in, and I quickly desist my ranting over the unmarried trainers... then foolishly thinking they are gone, go work my abs out close to the entrance. To my utter and complete horror, they came back,,, with two of em no longer clad in the abayas they sooo dearly cherish (i think they were doing a project)... let me say this much I was lying on the ground with literally two others right in front of me, and let me tell you, IT WAS AWKWARD, (I also think they got my face on camera)!
weird day,.,.
Sickened by the fact that I was cheated on msba7s, I head back to the (mixed) gym and have an intresting workout... At the end of it, a train of local girls walk in and start gawking at me (the only local in the place). Let me describe it : I was a complete wreck, I havent cut my hair in a while, and was chatting up the trainers there about how come they are not married yet,., suddenly, I see like 10 black clad girls (1 wasnt) walk in, and I quickly desist my ranting over the unmarried trainers... then foolishly thinking they are gone, go work my abs out close to the entrance. To my utter and complete horror, they came back,,, with two of em no longer clad in the abayas they sooo dearly cherish (i think they were doing a project)... let me say this much I was lying on the ground with literally two others right in front of me, and let me tell you, IT WAS AWKWARD, (I also think they got my face on camera)!
weird day,.,.
Friday, February 17, 2006
On Honor,.,.
Friend asked: "Would you let your teenage sister go out without a m7ram (escort)?" and it inspired this article...
Recently, A Newsweek article by Fareed Zakaria caught my attention; the article argued that western thinking, which instantly brings to mind democracy and freedom of speech, have issues penetrating the Islamic world.
After much thought on how this issue relates to me and the community here, I came to an intresting conclusion. To be truly open-minded (in the western sense) here in the UAE is not possible, unless you want to risk alienating yourself from all that you (should) hold dear to you.
The reason for this, is that there is a deep sense of honor here, and honor has no place for freedoms, period. I believe that to truly understand honor you would have to have a train of thought that is (probably) the flipside of that held by most people reading this very article.
Though honor sounds like something that is holding the community back,.,. lt is quite the opposite. I feel that because most people here are changing their beliefs of honor, the countries true potential suffers. Nowadays, people either totally ignore honor, or they apply honor to things of no value. For instance, you have the progressive local who thinks that being honor has no place in his "freedoms". Or you could have a bedouin who thinks that educating his daughter would comprimise her virtue, and therefore lower his family's name (in the community). Both these people would be gravely mistaken; I disagree with the progressive guy because I strongly, and deeply believe that honor is integral in having peace of mind, body, and soul. Also, I would disagree with the bedouin man, because of two things: First, he intrepreted honor in the wrong way, and as a result, he over-exagerated his sense of honor. Honor should be placed on things of value: To have an educated daughter, in my eyes, is to be truly honorable.
In conclusion:
- People should not overlook honor, nor should they exaggerate it.
- Remember that honor applies to everyone, whether they ignore it or not.
Recently, A Newsweek article by Fareed Zakaria caught my attention; the article argued that western thinking, which instantly brings to mind democracy and freedom of speech, have issues penetrating the Islamic world.
After much thought on how this issue relates to me and the community here, I came to an intresting conclusion. To be truly open-minded (in the western sense) here in the UAE is not possible, unless you want to risk alienating yourself from all that you (should) hold dear to you.
The reason for this, is that there is a deep sense of honor here, and honor has no place for freedoms, period. I believe that to truly understand honor you would have to have a train of thought that is (probably) the flipside of that held by most people reading this very article.
Though honor sounds like something that is holding the community back,.,. lt is quite the opposite. I feel that because most people here are changing their beliefs of honor, the countries true potential suffers. Nowadays, people either totally ignore honor, or they apply honor to things of no value. For instance, you have the progressive local who thinks that being honor has no place in his "freedoms". Or you could have a bedouin who thinks that educating his daughter would comprimise her virtue, and therefore lower his family's name (in the community). Both these people would be gravely mistaken; I disagree with the progressive guy because I strongly, and deeply believe that honor is integral in having peace of mind, body, and soul. Also, I would disagree with the bedouin man, because of two things: First, he intrepreted honor in the wrong way, and as a result, he over-exagerated his sense of honor. Honor should be placed on things of value: To have an educated daughter, in my eyes, is to be truly honorable.
In conclusion:
- People should not overlook honor, nor should they exaggerate it.
- Remember that honor applies to everyone, whether they ignore it or not.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Stock Market
Stock market related opinion:
Want to trade on the DFM (Dubai Financial Market) eh? Listen up then, this advice will help,.,.
The UAE stock market is a cause of great pain and great joy for many people here in the UAE. Unfortunately, small investors here are (largely) amatures with no sense whatsoever of stock market strategies. NEVER be swayed by rumors, EVER.
To be a credible small investor, look at the long run benefits of the cash statements , perform an indepedent analysis of both your stocks and the market as a whole to get the big picture when making the decision to invest. Otherwise dont bother investing, your damaging yourself, and the credibility of the market. I say this because the over-reaction to anything happening to Emaar runs deeper than just the stock price being affected. Short-term small investors here have no idea how to adapt properly to market develpments, and it takes time to do so, therefore, if you plan to invest, plan for the long-term with contingency plans (very important, contingency plans).
I say this because I see too many people running around like headless chickens in our stock markets, especially with the recent dividends from emaar, which investors took in a bad way, expecting bonus stocks. Anyone who truly knows what they are doing, understands that bonus stocks are basically cutting the pie into smaller pieces (which means that you get no real value added), at least with dividends, you get money!
In addition, the way emaar is being treated these days is a big mistake by investors,.,. Its either a play by kbareeya (big fish) to make more money, or it is truly being undervalued by the average joe, which is a bad play on his part (or both :-p).
Yes Qatari and Kuwaiti stocks look good at the moment, but who wouldnt want to be part of the biggest real-estate company in the world?! (which by the way drives all the other stocks up and down, in case you didnt know) and the fact that its being undervalued makes the pie all the more sweeter.
(just dont forget to strategize)
Want to trade on the DFM (Dubai Financial Market) eh? Listen up then, this advice will help,.,.
The UAE stock market is a cause of great pain and great joy for many people here in the UAE. Unfortunately, small investors here are (largely) amatures with no sense whatsoever of stock market strategies. NEVER be swayed by rumors, EVER.
To be a credible small investor, look at the long run benefits of the cash statements , perform an indepedent analysis of both your stocks and the market as a whole to get the big picture when making the decision to invest. Otherwise dont bother investing, your damaging yourself, and the credibility of the market. I say this because the over-reaction to anything happening to Emaar runs deeper than just the stock price being affected. Short-term small investors here have no idea how to adapt properly to market develpments, and it takes time to do so, therefore, if you plan to invest, plan for the long-term with contingency plans (very important, contingency plans).
I say this because I see too many people running around like headless chickens in our stock markets, especially with the recent dividends from emaar, which investors took in a bad way, expecting bonus stocks. Anyone who truly knows what they are doing, understands that bonus stocks are basically cutting the pie into smaller pieces (which means that you get no real value added), at least with dividends, you get money!
In addition, the way emaar is being treated these days is a big mistake by investors,.,. Its either a play by kbareeya (big fish) to make more money, or it is truly being undervalued by the average joe, which is a bad play on his part (or both :-p).
Yes Qatari and Kuwaiti stocks look good at the moment, but who wouldnt want to be part of the biggest real-estate company in the world?! (which by the way drives all the other stocks up and down, in case you didnt know) and the fact that its being undervalued makes the pie all the more sweeter.
(just dont forget to strategize)
Monday, February 13, 2006
galbi...valentines!
Ok, its valentines tomorrow, and the waves of self-pity are washing over me! Im sheepishly single :-D
Unfortunately, I will be too busy to look for true love since I am currently swamped with work (as you can probably tell by the times I post) but here is where the intresting and evil side of this blog comes to life!
Ok, now tomorrow, I want anyone living in the UAE to notice the way other peoples eyes move, especially the love-starved teens (Im not included: work),.,. Ten - to - one, you will eventually catch someone staring, either at you, or at someone else,.,. GOD flirting here is weird!
Whatever happened to simple conversation, followed by "hey, Im 3li by the way,.,." ?
but nooo, you have to have poetry with an active bluetooth search to get a number these days!
Let give you an idea what it is like with me: I am scared out of my mind when turning on bluetooth! I have only ONCE put my number as my bluetooth name (on eid incedentally) as a dare with my friend, I thankfully took it off before it was recognized, but my friend was called by a gay guy called "haza3" wanting to "know him better",.,.spooky
Unfortunately, I will be too busy to look for true love since I am currently swamped with work (as you can probably tell by the times I post) but here is where the intresting and evil side of this blog comes to life!
Ok, now tomorrow, I want anyone living in the UAE to notice the way other peoples eyes move, especially the love-starved teens (Im not included: work),.,. Ten - to - one, you will eventually catch someone staring, either at you, or at someone else,.,. GOD flirting here is weird!
Whatever happened to simple conversation, followed by "hey, Im 3li by the way,.,." ?
but nooo, you have to have poetry with an active bluetooth search to get a number these days!
Let give you an idea what it is like with me: I am scared out of my mind when turning on bluetooth! I have only ONCE put my number as my bluetooth name (on eid incedentally) as a dare with my friend, I thankfully took it off before it was recognized, but my friend was called by a gay guy called "haza3" wanting to "know him better",.,.spooky
Friday, February 10, 2006
The wind cries
The blood of worshippers is all over the mosque, the screams are unholy and out of place, and the cries,.,. the cries seem to come from the very winds themselves...
that is not the way religion is supposed to work. But that seems to be the result of differences between shia and sunni all over the newspapers nowadays.
My mind darkens upon seeing these things, but then I think of the situation with some of my countrymen and my very soul is darkened. The tolerance for the shia minority here is a strange thing; you dont know whether a shia man will be shunned or embraced by his peers for admitting his beliefs in most circumstances. So what does the average Shia guy do? He keeps quite. The shia should be proud, and hold their heads up high and refuse to hide this fact in their own MUSLIM country,.,. We are all muslims here (btw I am sunni)
The stigma that sunnis hold here, comes from a deep-rooted belief that starts with the grandparents, and I know this for a fact. But I have this to say to every sunni man and woman out there: "see for yourself". Make your own opinions, decide for yourselves rather than just accepting something as true,.,. The hate here must fade away, lest the winds cry for us, as well.
that is not the way religion is supposed to work. But that seems to be the result of differences between shia and sunni all over the newspapers nowadays.
My mind darkens upon seeing these things, but then I think of the situation with some of my countrymen and my very soul is darkened. The tolerance for the shia minority here is a strange thing; you dont know whether a shia man will be shunned or embraced by his peers for admitting his beliefs in most circumstances. So what does the average Shia guy do? He keeps quite. The shia should be proud, and hold their heads up high and refuse to hide this fact in their own MUSLIM country,.,. We are all muslims here (btw I am sunni)
The stigma that sunnis hold here, comes from a deep-rooted belief that starts with the grandparents, and I know this for a fact. But I have this to say to every sunni man and woman out there: "see for yourself". Make your own opinions, decide for yourselves rather than just accepting something as true,.,. The hate here must fade away, lest the winds cry for us, as well.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
m6arzi? (the plague of people)
The greatest mistake that people make about others is forgetting that they are humans,,, Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve (Adam w 7awa). Our young Sheikhs are normal people trying to do what they think is right, so why is that I see people chasing after our Sheikhs?,.,. With my own eyes I see some students crowding some of the Sheikhs studying with us, dont they have any mercy on them? They are just normal guys in extraordinary circumstances.
By chasing after them, I mean becoming their "friends" for a reason other than being a true-blue friend, which many of them do (otherwise they wouldnt be chasing them :-p).
These people Im talking about are probably young and dont know better, but then again they are in university and should either like people for who they are and not what they are. I wont say they are a type of m6arzi, which is a grave thing to call a man, but I will say this: your personality is a part of you, it reflects who you are; dont degrade it,.,.
And most importantly learn RESPECT: by chasing after people without good intentions, especially our Sheikhs, you disrespect them,.,. and you disrespect yourself.
By chasing after them, I mean becoming their "friends" for a reason other than being a true-blue friend, which many of them do (otherwise they wouldnt be chasing them :-p).
These people Im talking about are probably young and dont know better, but then again they are in university and should either like people for who they are and not what they are. I wont say they are a type of m6arzi, which is a grave thing to call a man, but I will say this: your personality is a part of you, it reflects who you are; dont degrade it,.,.
And most importantly learn RESPECT: by chasing after people without good intentions, especially our Sheikhs, you disrespect them,.,. and you disrespect yourself.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Denmark!!!
Pray tell, how come we found out about those cartoons six months after it was printed?!
I really think its about time we, as a people, come together FASTER,.,. Perhaps if we had a commitee to tackle such problems? But then again, the money would probably be better used in more worth-while projects sorry such as a truly balanced education,.,. In my opinion, If we fix ourselves first, then we have the right to have a go at the critics.
I really think its about time we, as a people, come together FASTER,.,. Perhaps if we had a commitee to tackle such problems? But then again, the money would probably be better used in more worth-while projects sorry such as a truly balanced education,.,. In my opinion, If we fix ourselves first, then we have the right to have a go at the critics.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Can I change the world?
I had an intresting experience yesterday,.,.A mini debate over whether or not I, as a single individual, should be able to change the country (even a little)...His train of thought stated that one man can do no good, whether that one man's ideas are good ones or not, since the collective mind of this country will never pay attention to what he has to say, and he will always be overuled by his elders,.,.,. Now, I thought about this for a while, and came to the conclusion that if I dont try to change my country (or anything else for that matter) though I am one person, then I have failed as a human being and a muslim.,.,.the tides of change are within ones soul
The problem is, the perception of the community dulls ambitions of change.,.,.How many entrepeneurs can you name from the new generation? How many UAE students have become millionares from the ground-up?
The problem is, the perception of the community dulls ambitions of change.,.,.How many entrepeneurs can you name from the new generation? How many UAE students have become millionares from the ground-up?
Its all because of fear
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