Qatar Airways Launching Djibouti Flights

Doha carrier looks to capitalise on Djibouti’s rising commercial profile

Christie’s Watch Auction In Dubai Nets Over $3m

A Patek Philippe men’s wristwatch, set with 42 emeralds, fetched the highest price at $341,000.

Qatar Toughens Penalties For Hiring Runaway Workers

Companies hiring illegal workers will be subject to a recruitment ban lasting two years and will be blacklisted as per new rules.

New Affordable Nokia X With Android Apps Launches In The UAE

Priced at Dhs439, the device is part of the new Nokia X family of affordable smartphones.

Emirates To Drop Clark International In The Philippines

Dubai carrier makes unusual move and decides to drop new route

Dubai Investments To Lift Foreign Ownership Cap To 35%

Foreign investors now hold 13.7 per cent of Dubai Investments’ shares out of the total 20 per cent allowed, bourse data showed.

Dubai’s Emirates Reit Sets IPO Price Range At $1.36-1.56

The company will issue as many as 110.3 million new shares with an over-allotment option of 16.5 million additional shares.

Dubai Introduces Real Estate Contracts To Regulate Transactions

The new agreements will help avoid problems that arise from misinterpretation of the documents, a statement said.

Bomb Blast In Bahrain’s Sitra Village Injures Policeman

It was not immediately clear who planted the bomb or the extent of the damage.

UK Private Equity Firm CD&R Frontrunner For Dubai-Owned Mauser -Report

If it goes ahead, the sale of Mauser would be one of the largest asset disposals by the emirate since its debt crisis in 2009.

Air Berlin To Be Delisted; Etihad To Lift Stake – Report

Air Berlin needs to remain German so as not to lose its traffic rights outside the European Union, a German weekly reported.

The Long Term View On Dubai’s Property Market

Dubai real estate prices could triple by 2020, writes Peter Cooper.

Defying Allies, Qatar Unlikely To Abandon Favoured Syria Rebels

Qatar’s Syria policy matters not only because Doha remains a generous backer of the opposition but also because its dispute with other funders.

Dubai Considers Rule Change To Lure More Domiciled Funds

Only nine funds have been domiciled in the DIFC since its current funds regime was introduced in 2010.

Saudi Arabia To Add 1.7m Tourism Jobs By 2020

The Kingdom’s tourism sector provided around 751,000 new jobs in 2013, including around 27 per cent of them for Saudis.

Oman Plans To Privatise One More Company In 2014

Oman’s government has said it would revive its privatisation programme to raise revenue and stimulate the private sector.

Dubai-Based Digital Media Firm Bags $5m Investment

Paris-based Webedia has bought a majority stake in digital media firm Diwanee.

Saudi Investment Bank Picks Riyad To Arrange Sukuk – Sources

The sukuk will enhance the bank’s Tier 2 – or supplementary – capital.

Saudi Developer ACWA Picks Adviser For Home Bourse IPO – Sources

The offering is likely to take place before the end of the year or in the early part of 2015, sources say.

Qatar To Reschedule 15% Of Planned Projects -Sources

Qatar announced plans for a raft of projects worth $140 billion after it won the World Cup hosting rights.

GrowthGate Capital Plans Dubai IPO For Logistics Firm

The share sale is expected to take place on Dubai Financial Market around the end of this year.

Qatar Spending Jumps 33% In First Half Of 2013/14 Fiscal Year

Expenditure in April-September accounts for a little over 44 per cent of the record 210.6 billion riyals Qatar plans to spend in the 2013/14 fiscal year.

Saudi Arabia Sentences 13 For Backing Militants

The 13 sentenced to between three and 14 years in prison were nine Saudi citizens, two Jordanians, an Egyptian and a Syrian.

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Appoints Al Jaber As Chairman, Announces New CEO

Ahmad Belhoul, the CEO of Strategy at Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, has been appointed as Masdar’s new CEO.

Top 10 Most Expensive Art Works Sold By Christie’s In Latest Dubai Auction

The 140 art works auctioned during the event in March raised over $10.6 million, up 65 per cent from last year, said Christie’s.

Kuwait Regulator May Delay Enforcement Of Governance Rules

The Capital Markets Authority issued the regulations in June 2013, giving companies until the end of 2014 to implement them.

Qatar Says FIFA 2022 World Cup Projects Proceeding On Track

Qatar is planning to spend $27.5 billion over the next five years on new roads and interchanges.

Growth Of Qatar’s Islamic Banks Falls Near Conventional Peers

Islamic banking assets grew 12.2 per cent in 2013, compared to the 11.2 per cent growth posted by conventional banks last year.

Dubai DP World Blames Tough Market As Annual Revenue Falls

The world’s fourth-largest port operator posted annual revenues of $3.07 billion for 2013, down 1.5 per cent on 2012.

2022 World Cup: Amnesty Calls On FIFA To Address Qatar Workers’ Rights

Last month, Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers said they would penalise contractors who violate the welfare of construction workers.