Dubai and the General Industries Corp (GIC) of Abu Dhabi are expected to raise their stakes to 50 per cent each in Dubai Cable Co (Ducab) following an agreement to acquire the 30 per cent stake held by the UK's Balfour Beatty Group. Ducab will then become a 100 per cent UAE-owned company.

Company sources said the technical collaboration with BICC Cables of the UK will also end, freeing the UAE firm to source any technical requirement from any vendor globally.

"Existing owners - the government of Dubai and the General Industries Corp of Abu Dhabi - have reached an agreement to purchase the 30 per cent stake in Ducab held by Balfour Beatty Group of the UK," the company announced yesterday.

Ducab was set up in 1979 as a joint venture with Dubai holding 60 per cent and BICC Cables of the UK 40 per cent. On June 17, 1997, an agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi under which GIC acquired a 35 per cent stake. Dubai's shareholding was diluted to 35 per cent and BICC's to 30 per cent. BICC was subsequently taken over by Balfour Beatty.

"We are extremely pleased with this agreement with Balfour Beatty plc. Ducab has long established roots in the UAE, and it was logical for us to acquire the full ownership of the company," said Sheikh Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Ducab chairman.

"We wish to extend our thanks and appreciation for the technical collaboration with BICC in the past. We have gained an enormous amount of knowledge and are capable of continuing the progress through a well-qualified technical and administrative team. We take immense pride in Ducab's strong heritage as a member of the BICC Group, but we are now ready to take full responsibility for further developing Ducab into a leading company worldwide," Sheikh Tahnoon added.

"Following its formation 20 years ago, Ducab became an ideal example of a successful foreign joint venture partnership. Today, Ducab is an illustrious symbol of the UAE's vision of industrial diversification. The company with its strong technology base and wide product offering has made an important contribution in strengthening the UAE's quality image in the international marketplace," said Mohammed Alabbar, Ducab board member and director general of the Department of Economic Development.

"The deal marks the beginning of a new era for Ducab. We have tremendous technical capabilities in-house and now we are free to acquire the latest worldwide technology from whoever is best able to provide it. This will enable Ducab to offer the best possible solutions in cable engineering products and services," Managing Directior Walter Bailey said.