GAZA — For 14-year-old Aseel Radi, the promised reconciliation between warring Palestinian political factions is viewed through a forlorn fountain in a crowded market on the eastern side of Gaza City. Aseel used to visit the fountain in what is known as Palestine Square with her father, Maher, a member of the Fatah faction’s armed wing who was killed by militants from its rival, Hamas, during the […]
BP’s chief economist is jumping ship to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to establish and run a global research team for the sovereign wealth fund. Christof Ruhl is joining the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to establish and run a global research team. Bloomberg News Christof Ruhl, a German academic who specializes in energy economics and has been with BP since 2005, will start at ADIA in July, […]
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, who played a key role in Glencore International Plc’s takeover of Xstrata Plc, is returning to dealmaking a year after his ouster as prime minister and head of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Sheikh Hamad is injecting 1.75 billion euros ($2.4 billion) into Deutsche Bank AG through his Paramount Holdings Services Ltd. investment vehicle, the Frankfurt-based bank said May 18. […]
Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group said it is considering issuing subordinated Islamic bonds through its South African and Pakistani units to boost their regulatory capital. The Islamic bank’s plans come at a time when sovereign sukuk are expected from both countries later this year. The lender has operations in 15 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Al Baraka is working with the authorities in South […]
Bahrain’s central bank is finalising rules for the supervision of sharia-compliant advisory firms, part of a wider overhaul of standards as the Gulf state steps up its efforts in Islamic finance. Having been a pioneer of the sector, Bahrain is now competing with other centres such as Dubai, London and Kuala Lumpur for Islamic finance business. The rules would help small Islamic finance institutions and fund managers […]
Chief executives in the Middle East are the world’s most upbeat about economic growth next year on hopes that the region will see a period of increased stability following the geo-political turmoil of recent years, says consultancy firm PwC. Of those regional CEOs who say their companies will grow revenues in the next 12 months, 66% are “very confident” compared to the global average of 39%. The […]
WASHINGTON — To those who lost loved ones in the suicide bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in April 1983, it is often called “the forgotten bombing” — overshadowed by an even deadlier attack on a Marine barracks at the Beirut airport six months later. Now, a new book shines a spotlight on the embassy bombing, which killed 63 people, 17 of them American, including […]
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The strike had entered its second day when construction workers at Labor Camp 42 got word that their bosses from the BK Gulf corporation had come to negotiate. Mohammed Amir Waheed Sirkar, an electrician from Bangladesh, scrambled down the stairs to meet them. But when he got to the courtyard, he saw the truth: It wasn’t the bosses who had come. […]
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Saudi Arabia is considering trade measures against the Netherlands because of stickers resembling the kingdom’s flag and carrying anti-Islam slogans printed by far-right politician Geert Wilders. Local business daily Al Eqtisadiah reported on Friday that the chambers of commerce have received an order to ban Dutch companies from bidding for future projects in the country, halt visits of business […]
Egypt’s weak currency, unstable security situation, energy crisis and a government that’s almost bankrupt after three years of political uncertainty hardly make ideal conditions for a market rally. But even as periodic blackouts hit Cairo and Islamist militants carry out attacks on security forces, Egypt this week is welcoming its first initial public offering since a revolution toppled former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Arabian Cement, a […]
|By TAP Staff| Sunil John, founder and CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, the region’s leading public relations consultancy, has been awarded the “SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement”, the first person from the Middle East to be honoured with this prestigious global award. The SABRE Awards, which are presented by The Holmes Group, a leading global public relations publishing organisation, acknowledged John’s position at the “forefront of change” […]
Oil rig maker Lamprell said on Friday it would raise about $120 million to boost its productivity after returning to profit last year despite growing risk in the sector. Chief executive officer James Moffat said the rights issue marked “the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle in our recovery”, which had started around 18 months ago. It will be used to support investment, facilitate debt refinancing and […]
Saudi Arabian Mining Co will seek shareholder approval for a 5.6 billion riyal ($1.49 billion) rights issue to help to fund its expansion plans, the company said on Thursday. The company, better known as Ma’aden, intends to use the money to expand its phosphate and gold operations, as well as increase funding for its aluminium business, it said in a bourse filing, adding that a date for […]
Dubai’s Emaar Properties said on Thursday that its revenue from villa sales dropped by nearly 17 percent in the first quarter of the year, as it extracted more income from malls and hotels instead. The builder of the world’s tallest tower generated revenue of 256.91 million dirhams ($69.94 million) from sales of villas in the first quarter compared to 308.73 million dirhams in the corresponding period in […]
STORY HIGHLIGHTS Porta Nuova aims to transform Milan’s skyline Project will feature new skyscrapers and buildings covered with trees Some experts believe construction ventures like these could get Italian economy moving One Square Meter explores the leading architectural designs, city plans and demand for property investment in emerging markets. Join CNN’s John Defterios as he visits some of the world’s most dynamic cities for an insight into […]
Emirates’ ground services unit Dnata is “very interested” in acquiring the world’s largest in-flight catering business from Lufthansa, if it is put up for sale again, Dnata’s president said on Tuesday. Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline by revenue, had put LSG Sky Chefs up for sale in 2012 but then abandoned the plans. “They have said they are not ready to sell,” Gary Chapman,told reporter on the sidelines […]
Dubai is set to become a smart city in the next three years, which would see a thousand government services going smart along with other changes that will make daily life of the residents smoother. There will be service booths in public places like malls equipped with video conferencing, document scanning and printing services so that people can complete almost all paperwork without visiting any of the […]
Samsung Electronics Co Chairman Lee Kun Hee, who leads Asia’s biggest technology company and helps generate about a quarter of South Korea’s economic output, remains in stable condition after emergency surgery following a heart attack. Lee, 72, is at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul after being resuscitated following an acute myocardial infarction, Rhee So Eui, a spokeswoman for Samsung Group, said in an e-mailed statement. Lee, who […]
Dubai International Capital, the private equity arm of Dubai Holding, today announced that it has signed an agreement for the sale of Mauser Group to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $1.7 billion. Mauser, which was acquired by DIC in 2007 in a deal that valued the Group at c. $1.1 billion, is a worldwide leading producer of rigid industrial packaging with approximately 4,400 employees and consolidated revenues […]
Dennis Lockhart, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, spoke to the American Business Council of Dubai on Sunday. Reuters Large Middle Eastern holders of U.S. Treasuries shouldn’t worry about the stability of their investments especially as the U.S. economy shows more signs of improvement following the worst recession in a generation, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said on Sunday. U.S. government debt has long been a key […]
The Dubai business community has been significantly more optimistic during the first quarter of 2014, compared to the same period of the previous year. Optimism is especially high among manufacturing and services firms, according to the quarterly business survey conducted by the Department of Economic Development. The composite Business Confidence Index for Dubai stood at 135.5 points in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 22.4 […]
With Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. filing to go public, the biggest winner won’t be founder Jack Ma or his fellow executives or even venture capital backers like Silver Lake Management LLC. It’ll be Japan’s Masayoshi Son. Fourteen years ago, Son’s SoftBank Corp. started with a $20 million bet on a then-unknown Web portal connecting Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers. That site evolved into China’s biggest Internet shopping […]
SolarReserve, a closely held U.S. power plant developer, is studying whether to bid for a 100 megawatt facility in Dubai and looking at projects in Jordan, Chief Executive Officer Kevin Smith said in an interview in Dubai. The company expects to hear by the end of the year whether it, GDF Suez (GSZ) unit International Power Ltd. and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar have won the right to build […]
One year into the delivery of Dubai’s ‘Tourism Vision for 2020,’ significant first steps have been taken to achieve the target of attracting 20 million annual visitors by 2020, leading the emirate’s tourism authority to state a new ambition: for Dubai to become the world’s most visited city. If a growth rate similar to that achieved in 2013 is maintained – a 10.6 percent year-on-year increase equating […]
