Dubai’s Mashreq has increased the limit on foreign ownership of its shares to 49 percent, its chief executive said on Monday, in line with a wider move by companies in the United Arab Emirates to open up to international investors. Companies and banks in the UAE and Qatar are reviewing their foreign ownership caps ahead of a planned upgrade by international index compiler MSCI to emerging market […]
A Saudi English-language daily has become the country’s first newspaper with a female editor-in-chief after the Saudi Gazette this week appointed Somayya Jabarti to succeed veteran journalist Khaled Almaeena for the top post. “I was pleasantly surprised,” she told the Wall Street Journal over the phone, “because I did not think we as a country were ready for a female editor. But I believe this is a […]
Iran’s largest private bank is suing the British government for almost $4 billion in damages after the Supreme Court quashed sanctions imposed against it over alleged links to Tehran’s nuclear program. Bank Mellat wants compensation for the “significant pecuniary loss” and substantial reputational damage it sustained as a result of sanctions imposed in 2009, according to a claim filed in London’s High Court and seen by Reuters […]
LG Electronics (LG) will be unveiling the third generation of its popular L Series smartphones at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014. The L SeriesIII devices retain LG’s distinctive minimal design philosophy while boasting an impressive package that includes enhanced hardware, UX features and operating systems (OS) unmatched in its class. With the original L Series and L SeriesII having enjoyed tremendous success worldwide, the L SeriesIII […]
|By Steen Jakobsen|The negative start to this year came as a surprise to most investors as we came into the new year with the usual euphoria and expectations of a stock market ending 2014 up 10-15% and a Europe and US in continued recovery but January soon became all about a potential EM crisis which ended up hurting even developed markets return in this year first month. […]
The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), the legal arm of the Dubai Land Department (DLD), is encouraging people to register complaints against real estate agencies making cold calls. Complaints have been received against three companies engaged in making unsolicited calls to potential clients and property owners. “A new regulatory article has been introduced by us that covers telemarketing. “We encourage anyone who has a complaint in this […]
West Texas Intermediate crude rose for the first time in three days as an improved U.S. economy bolstered the demand outlook in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures climbed as much as 0.7 percent in New York, extending a fifth weekly gain. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer confidence held at 81.2 this month, topping the median estimate of 80.2 in a Bloomberg News […]
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s most profitable lender, said it will consider acquisitions in the Middle East as part of plans to boost earnings from the region by 50 percent this year. “We’re looking to see if there are acquisition opportunities,” Zhou Xiaodong, chief executive officer for the Middle East, said in an interview from the lender’s Dubai offices. “It’s a good strategy. […]
Former Delhi leader Arvind Kejriwal attacked India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani over gas pricing as he turned his attention full time to a nationwide election due by May after his 49-day rule of the capital came to an end. Kejriwal, who resigned as Delhi chief minister on Feb. 14 after lawmakers rejected an anti-corruption bill, targeted the ruling Congress party, main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Ambani, […]
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a show-cause notice to Etihad Airways, asking whether the Abu Dhabi-based carrier violated takeover rules in acquiring a 24 percent stake in Jet Airways, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. SEBI issued the notice to Etihad on Wednesday and asked for a response on why it should not make a tender offer to Jet […]
UAE telecom firm du has agreed terms on a $720 million loan which will be used to replace two existing debt facilities and lower the company’s funding costs, two banking sources said on Sunday. The five-year loan will be provided by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group, the sources who both have knowledge of the matter said. They […]
A well-timed launch saw Dubai Investments Park achieve favourable terms on its debut $300 million, 4.296 percent five-year Reg S sukuk issue, a deal that may serve to accelerate the plans of other regional potential issuers. The real estate firm, rated BB by Standard & Poor’s, kicked off the deal in a strong week for emerging markets and to a market starved of Middle East paper: it […]
A U.S. border checkpoint located a day’s flight from New York in the Arabian desert promises to become an oasis for weary travelers heading for the States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened an Abu Dhabi base on Jan. 24, the first in the Middle East and the second outside the Americas after Ireland. Another post is planned in Dubai within a year as part of a […]
Oman may have to start selling foreign assets or borrow on international markets in coming years if government spending rises during a period of lower oil prices and economic growth, a report in a magazine published by its central bank said. “The sultanate has to tolerate one of the options in the coming years if there is any prediction of decrease in GDP (gross domestic product) growth […]
|By Arjuna Mahendran|The GCC stock and bond markets remain a safe haven to investors, underpinned by solid fundamentals. The Expo 2020, MSCI inclusion of the UAE and Qatari markets in the emerging market (EM) category, infrastructure spending across countries – the GCC Railway project to mention one – the revival of trade, tourism and real estate – as tensions in Egypt, Syria and Iran subside somewhat – […]
Emirates and Jetstar have announced an agreement which is set to open up new destinations for Emirates passengers across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia as the Dubai-based airline continues to connect people, places and passions. Emirates’ code will now be placed on a number of routes operated by Jetstar Airways in Australia and New Zealand and Jetstar Asia, giving passengers access to 27 new routes […]
|By Upendra Prasad| When Congress leaders had forced unwilling Kejriwal to form his government in Delhi, he said the Congress will have to repent its decision to allow him to become CM. It is clear now what he meant by saying it. In an unprecedented move, he has ordered institution of a case against present and former Petroleum Ministers as also Mukesh Ambani to manipulate and hike […]
Comcast Corp is buying Time Warner Cable Inc for $45.2 billion in an all-stock deal, combining the nation’s two largest cable operators, according to people familiar with the matter. The friendly takeover comes as a surprise after months of public pursuit of Time Warner Cable by smaller rival Charter Communications Inc, and immediately raised questions as to whether it would pass regulatory scrutiny. Comcast will pay $158.82 […]
A massive cyber attack from unknown sources that has been spamming bitcoin exchanges is highlighting some of the dangers people can encounter when they exchange cash for digital currencies like the bitcoin, experts said on Wednesday. The attack, which is technically known as a distributed denial of service attack, involved thousands of phantom transactions, forcing at least three of the online platforms that store bitcoins and trade […]
U.K. billionaire Richard Branson said his Virgin Galactic venture is on track to carry its first fare-paying passenger to the edge of space this year, and that he plans to take his family on a flight some time in 2014. Virgin Galactic, which completed the third rocket-powered supersonic flight of its SpaceShipTwo vehicle from Mojave Air and Space Port in California last month, is on course to […]
Nokia said on Wednesday it plans to challenge a Delhi High Court ruling that is blocking the transfer to Microsoft of assets related to its mobile phone business. One such asset – a plant in Chennai – is among Nokia’s biggest phone-making factories. Local authorities seized it last year in a tax dispute, blocking its transfer to Microsoft which bought Nokia’s mobile phone business. Nokia agreed in […]
Gold retreated from the highest level since November as a five-day advance damped physical demand and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen pledged to continue with a gradual tapering of stimulus. Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.6 percent to $1,284.15 an ounce, and was at $1,286.78 at 3:12 p.m. in Singapore. Prices climbed to $1,293.93 yesterday, the highest level since Nov. 14, capping a […]
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved a one-year extension of federal borrowing authority on Tuesday after Republicans caved into President Barack Obama’s demands to allow a debt limit increase without any conditions. The 221-201 vote, carried mainly by Democrats, marked a dramatic shift from the confrontational fiscal tactics House Republicans have used over the past three years, culminating in last October’s 16-day government shutdown. It came […]
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the largest aircraft leasing firm in the Middle East, has ordered 20 turboprop commercial aircraft with an option for another 20 planes from French-Italian manufacturer ATR, the company said on Wednesday. DAE put the value of the purchase at $988 million. “We aim to diversify our portfolio and expand into regional aircraft, to meet an increasing demand from airlines that are developing regional […]
