Business

Qatari bank asset quality set to improve 20 Jan 2013 - 03:58 am

By Satish Kanady DOHA: Balance-sheet constraints, intense competition and undiversified funding portfolios are posing challenges to the growth of Qatari banks. With government...

Qatar aid pushes Egypt’s foreign reserves to $15.5bn 20 Jan 2013 - 03:57 am

CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign reserves have risen to $15.5bn, helped by a deposit by Qatar to support the economy, its finance minister said, although...

Qatar to witness $27.5bn road upgrade 20 Jan 2013 - 03:57 am

Doha: Qatar’s road sector will witness a sharp increase in contract awards this year as the government initiates a major infrastructure upgrade of...

Business minister meets Moroccan economy minister 20 Jan 2013 - 03:57 am

Doha: Qatari and Moroccan ministers have discussed investment opportunities between the two countries in Riyadh yesterday. The Minister of Business and Trade H...

Kuwait’s 8-month budget surplus jumps to KD14.7bn 20 Jan 2013 - 03:56 am

Kuwait: Kuwait’s budget surplus for the first eight months (April 2012 to November 2012) of fiscal year 2012/2013 reached KD14.7bn ($52bn), exceeding the...

Chinese economy grows 20 Jan 2013 - 03:55 am

A labourer works at a residential construction site in Shanghai, yesterday. China’s economy regained speed in the final quarter of last year, pulling...

IMF to assess Iran economy in the next six months 20 Jan 2013 - 03:55 am

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund will visit Iran in the first half of the year to assess the state of its economy and...

Yemen parliament okays $12.9bn spending plan 20 Jan 2013 - 03:55 am

SANA’A: Yemen’s parliament approved the transitional government’s YR2.77tn ($12.9bn) 2013 spending plan yesterday, four weeks after it was passed by the cabinet, after...

Tunisia in loan talks with IMF 20 Jan 2013 - 03:54 am

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund has begun negotiations with Tunisia on a loan programme and hopes to return to Egypt for talks on...

Almarai Q4 net profit up 29pc 20 Jan 2013 - 03:54 am

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian dairy and food producer Almarai Co posted a 29.2 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit, beating analyst forecasts, the...

Qantas cancels one Dreamliner, 14 still on order 20 Jan 2013 - 03:54 am

SYDNEY: Australian airline Qantas late on Friday announced it was cutting its order for Dreamliner aircraft by one, but said it had planned...

QNB Group: Global interest in GTL expected to grow 20 Jan 2013 - 03:54 am

DOHA: Doha hosted the World Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) Congress at a time of heightened interest in the industry, according to QNB Group. Recent landmark...

Bank of America issues 4Q12 results 20 Jan 2013 - 03:52 am

A woman walks past as a customer uses an ATM at a Bank of America (BAC) banking centre in New York’s financial district...

ThyssenKrupp supervisory board takes pay cut 20 Jan 2013 - 03:52 am

FRANKFURT: German heavy industry and steel giant, ThyssenKrupp’s supervisory board has agreed to take a 50-percent pay cut in view of disastrous losses...

Top QFIB executives to speak at financial meets 20 Jan 2013 - 03:51 am

Doha: Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB), has partnered with Gulf Financial Conferences as the gold sponsor for two key conferences “Finance & Investment...

IMF estimates €9.5bn Greek funding gap 20 Jan 2013 - 03:51 am

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated on Friday that Greece faced a financing gap of between ¤5.5bn and ¤9.5bn for 2015 and...

UK oil rig jobs lost as contracts go to Korea 20 Jan 2013 - 03:49 am

LONDON: Up to 10,000 engineering jobs could have been created if the government had supported British companies bidding to win contracts to build...

Mozambique suspicious over Rio Tinto coal write-down 20 Jan 2013 - 03:48 am

MAPUTO: Mozambique cast doubt on Friday on why global mining giant Rio Tinto has made a $3bn (£2.2bn) write-down on its Mozambican assets,...