Business / Middle East Business

Saudi to issue bonds for Jeddah, Riyadh airports 30 Dec 2012 - 11:31 pm

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s government will issue bonds next year backed by the kingdom’s ministry of finance to fund construction work at airports in...

Egypt president downplays economic crisis 30 Dec 2012 - 01:17 am

CAIRO: Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi downplayed yesterday the country’s teetering economy before a newly empowered senate, and insisted that a new constitution that...

Sudan’s oil production rises to almost 140,000b/d 30 Dec 2012 - 01:16 am

KHARTOUM: Sudan has managed to boost oil production to almost 140,000 barrels per day and plans to add another 10,000b/d next year, its...

Saudi sets record budget for 2013 30 Dec 2012 - 01:06 am

RIYADH/DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has set a record state budget for next year as high oil prices allow heavy spending on welfare and infrastructure...

Egyptian pound falls on devaluation talk 27 Dec 2012 - 09:42 am

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound hit a near eight-year low yesterday as concerns the government might devalue or bring in capital controls drove many...

UAE bad loan provisions drop first time since crisis 27 Dec 2012 - 09:33 am

DUBAI: Outstanding provisions for bad loans set aside by banks in the United Arab Emirates fell in October for the first time since...

Iraq mobile firm aims to raise $1.23bn in IPO 27 Dec 2012 - 09:32 am

Baghdad:Iraq’s second-biggest mobile operator Asiacell aims to raise $1.23bn in an initial public offering next month, it said, after pressure from Baghdad’s media...

Asiacell plans to raise $1.35bn from IPO; offer starts on Jan 3 26 Dec 2012 - 01:17 am

DUBAI: Iraq’s Asiacell, a unit of Qatar Telecom, said it planned to raise at least $1.35bn by floating 25 percent of its share...

Sudan pound hits record low against dollar 26 Dec 2012 - 01:09 am

KHARTOUM: Black market rates for the Sudanese pound hit a record low against the dollar on the black market yesterday as importers struggled...

Iran warns of cancelling $5bn China gas deal 24 Dec 2012 - 10:18 pm

TEHRAN: Iran has warned China it could cancel a much-delayed $5bn offshore gas exploration contract in the Gulf, a news agency said yesterday....

Majid Al Futtaim eyes Egypt’s supermarket chain 24 Dec 2012 - 10:07 am

DUBAI: Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), is in talks with Egypt’s Mansour Group, owned by billionaire Mohammed Mansour, to buy its supermarket business...

Iraq to withhold payments for Kurdish oil 23 Dec 2012 - 07:00 am

BAGHDAD: Iraq will not pay oil companies operating in Kurdistan because the autonomous region has failed to export the volume of crude it...

HSBC no longer bookrunner on Asiacell float 21 Dec 2012 - 01:32 am

DUBAI: HSBC Holdings has ceased to be a bookrunner on Asiacell’s planned share sale, raising new questions about the Iraqi telecom operator’s ability...

Iran sidesteps sanctions to export fuel oil 21 Dec 2012 - 01:29 am

DUBAI/GENEVA: Iran is becoming increasingly creative in dodging Western sanctions, managing to sell a rising volume of fuel oil to generate revenue equal...

BNP to divest Egyptian assets 21 Dec 2012 - 01:21 am

DUBAI: BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest bank, agreed to sell its Egyptian arm to Dubai lender Emirates NBD for $500m as French lenders...

Private equity group eyes Abu Dhabi healthcare IPO next year 20 Dec 2012 - 01:49 am

DUBAI: The private equity consortium which owns half of Abu Dhabi healthcare provider Al Noor Medical is reviving plans to sell its stake...

Emaar signs $500m Turkey real estate loan 20 Dec 2012 - 01:49 am

DUBAI: Emaar Properties signed a $500m loan to finance its project in Turkey, as a gradual recovery in Dubai’s battered property market helps...

Foster Wheeler signs Kuwait fuel project contract 20 Dec 2012 - 01:45 am

KUWAIT: Engineering company Foster Wheeler said yesterday it had signed a contract with Kuwait to manage and service a clean fuels project at...