Business / Middle East Business

PetroRabigh refinery halted for 20 days 02 Jan 2013 - 01:01 am

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s PetroRabigh refining and petrochemicals complex will carry out maintenance for 20 days after a power cut on Saturday forced it...

Plan B for business in Beirut to avoid bust 02 Jan 2013 - 12:59 am

A Lebanese man looks at a shop window in ‘Souqs’ shopping district in Beirut. BEIRUT: As civil war rages in neighbouring Syria and...

Oman budget raises spending by 30pc 02 Jan 2013 - 12:52 am

MUSCAT: Oman’s 2013 budget raised spending nearly 30 percent over its 2012 plan to 12.9bn rials ($33.5bn) yesterday as state boosts outlay on...

Dubai aims to shrink budget deficit by 18pc 01 Jan 2013 - 01:08 am

DUBAI: Dubai has released a 2013 budget plan that would raise spending moderately while cutting the size of its deficit by 18 percent,...

Yemen resumes oil flows after pipeline repairs 01 Jan 2013 - 01:08 am

SANAA: Yemen’s main oil pipeline, damaged in repeated bombings by armed men, resumed pumping crude yeterday after repairs, sources at state-run Safer oil...

UAE risks slowing property recovery 01 Jan 2013 - 01:06 am

DUBAI: Last September, people lined up for hours in a square outside the headquarters of leading Dubai real estate developer Emaar Properties, waiting...

Tabreed to issue convertible bonds in recap plan 30 Dec 2012 - 11:35 pm

DUBAI: District cooling firm Tabreed has agreed to issue Dh1.13bn ($308m) in convertible bonds to Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala on December 31, the...

New currency regime pushes Egypt pound low 30 Dec 2012 - 11:34 pm

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound hit a record low against the dollar yesterday as worried Egyptians shifted their money out of local currency after...

Nakheel awards $136m contract for villa project 30 Dec 2012 - 11:34 pm

DUBAI: Property developer Nakheel yesterday awarded contracts worth $136m to two local construction firms for a luxury villa project stalled after Dubai’s property...

Oil output hike elsewhere may dent 2013 income: Saudi 30 Dec 2012 - 11:32 pm

RIYADH: Production hikes by other oil producers will weigh on energy prices in 2013, potentially cutting into Saudi Arabia’s fiscal surplus, Finance Minister...

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...