A group of investors will pay $1.12 billion for Saudi Oger’s stake in Jordan’s Arab Bank and expects to complete the deal by mid-January, a member of the consortium told Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday. Saudi Arabian conglomerate Astra Group was part of the consortium, led by Arab Bank Group Chairman Sabih al-Masri, that was buying the 20 percent stake, Ghassan Akeel, chief executive for Saudi Arabia […]
DUBAI: Britain will help Gulf states “push back” against aggressive regional actions by Iran, Prime Minister Theresa May told the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Bahrain on Wednesday in a televised address.“We must… continue to confront state actors whose influence fuels instability in the region,” May told Gulf leaders at their annual summit.“So I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran […]
Saudi Aramco’s planned flotation is unlikely to require any major changes to Saudia Arabia’s securities rules, the vice chairman of the kingdom’s market regulator said. The kingdom’s state oil giant is targeting 2018 for what is expected to be the world’s biggest ever initial public offering, with a listing on both its home exchange and a foreign market among the options being discussed. The move is part […]
The Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival opened its gates in Al Wathba last week, showcasing a range of exhibitions, foods and cultural performances from around the world. There are 18 different cultural districts, including nationally themed offerings from the UAE, Bahrain, Serbia, India and China, and each houses traditional souvenirs and handicrafts. Most of the merchandise is affordable and great value for money, but it doesn’t hurt to […]
AL MUKALLA, Yemen — A ship carrying almost 60 people off the coast of Yemen is believed to have capsized in high seas, a Yemeni official said on Tuesday. “Four passengers have been rescued by Spanish and Yemeni commercial ships that we were sailing in the area, and we are still looking for survivors,” said the official, Fahd Kafayen, the minister of fisheries. The boat set sail […]
Investment in Manufacturing Innovative Medicines Supports the Kingdom’s “Vision 2030” Aspirations 06 December 2016 Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), known as Merck & Co, Inc. in the US and Canada, has today highlighted the initiation of the manufacturing investment agreement with Pharma Pharmaceutical Industries (PPI). This deal enables PPI to exclusively manufacture many of the MSD medicines approved by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority and distributed […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced 15 men to death on Tuesday for spying on behalf of Iran, after a trial that a Western human rights organization characterized as a “travesty of justice.” The sentences came as the sectarian and political rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is fueling conflicts across the Middle East, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Both Saudi Arabia, a […]
DUBAI An investigative body set up by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Tuesday it should apologise for a deadly attack on a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in August that the group said killed 11 people. But the Joint Group to Assess Incidents found the coalition was not responsible for or had legitimately targeted fighters in four other incidents that rights groups blamed on […]
On Tuesday afternoon, the billionaire founder and CEO of Japan’s Softbank and was seen entering the Trump Tower, to meet with the President-elect. It appears that they had fruitful conversations, because just a few minutes later, Trump – who earlier in the day lambasted Boeing over charging too much for Air Force 1 sending its stock lower – tweeted some words of praise for the Japanese businessman. […]
Hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand has returned almost 15 per cent this year by betting on a recovery in oil prices and he forecasts the rally has further to run after Opec’s agreement last week to cut supplies. The French founder of Andurand Capital, which has grown to be one of the world’s largest oil funds, returned 6.1 per cent in November as he positioned for crude’s […]
By Angus McDowall , John Davison and Stephanie Nebehay | BEIRUT/GENEVA BEIRUT/GENEVA Syria’s army and allies closed in on areas near Aleppo’s Old City on Tuesday, looking closer than ever to achieving their most important victory of the five year civil war by driving rebels out of their last urban stronghold. Rebels said on Tuesday they would never abandon Aleppo, after reports that U.S. and Russian diplomats […]
The petrochemical sector helped carry Saudi Arabia’s stock market to a fresh one-year closing high on Tuesday after crude oil prices hit a 17-month peak. The main Saudi index added 0.7 percent to 7,155 points in extremely heavy turnover with gainers outnumbering losers 139 to 18. The index is now up 3.5 percent year-to-date. The petrochemical sector stayed strong; it has been contributing to the market’s positive […]
In interviews with The New York Times, a former Taliban finance minister described how he traveled to Saudi Arabia for years raising money while ostensibly on pilgrimage. The Taliban have also been allowed to raise additional millions by extorting “taxes” by pressing hundreds of thousands of Pashtun guest workers in the kingdom and menacing their families back home, according to Vali Nasr, a former State Department adviser. […]
DUBAI A Saudi court on Tuesday sentenced 15 people to death for spying for Iran, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported. The 15 were among 32 people — comprising 30 Saudi Shi’ite Muslims, one Iranian and an Afghan — who were detained in 2013 on charges of spying for Iran and went on trial in February. There were no immediate details on the outcome of the trial for the […]
ABU DHABI // As ties between Turkey and the UAE grow increasingly warm, Ankara’s new ambassador — formerly the most senior Middle East official in the Turkish foreign ministry — says his appointment shows his country is serious about improving bilateral ties. “That is my mission here,” Ambassador Can Dizdar, who began his tenure in October, told The National. “I want to increase the pace, and achieve […]
OPEC’s oil output set another record high in November ahead of a deal to cut production, a Reuters survey found on Monday, helped by higher Iraqi exports and extra barrels from two nations exempted from cutting supply – Nigeria and Libya. The latest rise in supply means the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will have a bigger task in complying with a plan to cut supply […]
ABU DHABI // The president of Yemen visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the newly opened Wahat Al Karama memorial on Sunday. Abdrabu Mansur Hadi visited the Abu Dhabi landmarks as part of his official visit to the UAE. He visited the memorial, which was inaugurated last Wednesday for Commemoration Day, to honour killed UAE heroes and their sacrifices in defending their country. Mr Hadi toured […]
High inventories and the potential for US shale production to respond quickly to any market tightening mean oil prices may flatline in 2017 before gradually moving higher over the next few years, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said it expects supply and demand to be broadly balanced in the first half of next year, with a move to a more pronounced deficit from July onwards. […]
Hotels operating in the UAE continued to see declines in occupancy and room rates during October, according to the latest data from industry consultants STR. It said the UAE’s hospitality sector reported an occupancy dip of 2.9 percent during the month to 75.6 percent, while average daily rates (ADR) dropped 9.6 percent to AED668.05, the lowest for an October since 2005. As a result, revenue per available […]
Dubai-based Careem, the app based car booking service, has announced that it is expanding operations into 15 more cities within the next few weeks, with Istanbul, Turkey the latest city to be added. Initially, Careem will operate as an airport service in Turkey, available to customers going to and from the airport, in Mercedes VITO and Volkswagen car models. Within the GCC, Careem said it is answering […]
On April 7, 14 large blue letters quietly disappeared from the outer walls of an office building in an exclusive neighborhood in northern San Salvador. One by one, the letters came down from the blue and beige stucco walls, leaving behind faint traces of the name of the law firm that had been working there just days before: M-O-S-S-A-C-K-F-O-N-S-E-C-A. Employees of the El Salvador branch of Mossack […]
Opec’s production cut this week to bolster oil prices may strike many as a throwback to an earlier era, but it hinged on a very modern method of communication: a messaging group between the smartphones of Saudi Arabia’s delegation in Vienna and Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud. For a royal priding himself on being a tech savvy moderniser in the kingdom, the use of a popular encrypted messaging service may […]
Egypt, which has seen its influence wane, is seeking allies and relevance wherever it can find them, even if that means shelving concerns about Iran. Continue reading the main story While Russia’s goal seems to be to expand its influence and pave the way for the international rehabilitation of Mr. Assad’s government, the scrambling of alliances remains in motion and the results unclear. The new relationships are […]
Businesses operating in GCC countries should brace themselves for further government action to raise non-oil revenues, according to a new ICAEW report. The accountancy and finance body said that given the weak outlook for oil prices, imposing tax measures, along with subsidy reforms, spending cuts, and a freeze on public sector recruitment and pay, will help to close the fiscal gap. Its Economic Insight: Middle East Q4 […]
