Business / Middle East Business

Sri Lanka to restart refinery with Dubai crude 06 Nov 2012 - 06:22 am

COLOMBO: Ceylon Petroleum Corp (Ceypetco) will resume operation of Sri Lanka’s sole refinery, a 50,000 barrels-per-day facility, after a 10-day closure, because it...

Iraq signs final gas contract with Pakistan Petroleum 06 Nov 2012 - 06:21 am

BAGHDAD: Iraq signed a final gas exploration contract with Pakistan Petroleum yesterday as part of its drive to attract investment in its energy...

Spurt in Iraq oil exports buoys government bonds 04 Nov 2012 - 07:56 am

DUBAI: Iraqi bond yields fell more than three times as much as the average on Middle Eastern debt as Opec’s second-biggest producer pumped...

Guinea, UAE sign bauxite supply deal 04 Nov 2012 - 07:54 am

DUBAI: Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) signed a long-term supply agreement with the United Arab Emirates for bauxite, the main raw material...

Turkey signs $350m Iraq oil drilling deal 03 Nov 2012 - 05:53 am

ANKARA: Turkey has signed a $350m deal on drilling 40 oil wells in the southern Iraqi Basra area and is in talks with...

Iraq opens biggest trade fair in 20 years 02 Nov 2012 - 05:48 am

Baghdad: Iraq opened yesterday its biggest trade fair in more than 20 years, the latest step in Baghdad’s efforts to rebuild an economy...

Dana Gas fails to repay $920m Islamic bond 02 Nov 2012 - 04:30 am

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas failed to repay a $920m Islamic bond on maturity, prompting a source close to holders of...

IFSB releases draft standards on capital adequacy 02 Nov 2012 - 04:29 am

DUBAI: The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) released new draft guidelines on capital adequacy for Islamic banks and the risk management of takaful...

Mena energy capital investment to reach $740bn in five years 01 Nov 2012 - 05:29 am

DOHA: With an objective to meet its fast growing electricity demand, the Middle East and North Africa’s (Mena) total energy capital investment is...

Gulf railway boom to shape economies 01 Nov 2012 - 05:27 am

DUBAI: A century after Lawrence of Arabia cut the Damascus-Medina railway, governments are embarking on plans to restore long-distance rail transport in the...

Opec output up in Oct: Survey 01 Nov 2012 - 05:27 am

LONDON: Opec oil output has risen slightly in October as extra supplies from Iraq, Angola and Libya offset a further decline in Iran...

Egypt, IMF in talks over $4.8bn loan 01 Nov 2012 - 05:25 am

CAIRO: The Egyptian government resumed negotiations yesterday with the International Monetary Fund on a loan to help the country shore up public finances...

Dana Gas won’t repay Islamic bond on maturity 31 Oct 2012 - 04:45 am

DUBAI: Dana Gas is set to become the first United Arab Emirates (UAE) company to fail to pay an Islamic bond on maturity,...

UAE approves 2013 deficit-free budget 31 Oct 2012 - 04:44 am

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates prime minister yesterday announced approval of a 2013 federal budget that is heavy on social spending but without...

Fitch warns of threat from Kuwait unrest 30 Oct 2012 - 03:02 am

PARIS: The ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday that a surge in public unrest in Kuwait could threaten the Gulf state’s solid sovereign rating. ...

Gulf should cut state spending growth: IMF 30 Oct 2012 - 02:59 am

DUBAI: Most Arab oil exporting countries in the Gulf should plan to reduce growth in government spending to make their budgets more sustainable,...

Egypt secures oil supplies for rest of year 30 Oct 2012 - 02:55 am

LONDON: Egypt has secured oil supplies for the rest of the year, despite fears about its ability to make payments, from a small...

Iran’s coal trade booms despite Western heat 28 Oct 2012 - 03:51 am

LONDON: Using shadowy middle men, multiple bank accounts and a fleet of ghost ships, Iran’s coal trade is quietly booming as the Islamic...