Damac Launches Paramount Project In Riyadh

Damac Towers by Paramount Hotels & Resorts will offer 215 units of serviced residences, from one to three-bed apartments.

Dubai’s Revamped Al Ghurair Centre To Open On Oct 1

The Deira-based mall will feature over 130 new stores including Marks & Spencer, Mango and Omega.

Arabtec Hikes Worker Salaries By 20% Following Wage Strike

Arabtec has raised the salaries of 36,000 workers across its projects nationwide.

Oman Air And Bank Muscat Launch Visa Credit Card

Co-branded card is designed to reward and enhance loyalty among frequent flyers

Emirates Opens VIP Lounge At Bernabéu Stadium

Exclusive lounge enables guests to unwind before, during and after games.

Bahrain Jails 50 For Ties To Anti-Government Group

Bahrain has seen almost daily protests by members of the Shi’ite majority since February 2011.

Nakheel Sells Homes Worth $125m In New Project

Dubai has been recovering from a real estate crisis and property prices have begun to rebound.

Dubai Stock Market Surges To 5-Year High On Heavy Buying

Dubai’s benchmark advanced 1.2 per cent to 2,771 points, its highest finish since November 2008

Dubai Only City That “Deserves To Win Expo 2020”- Senior Official

The Expo 2020 winning bid will be announced in November this year.

Tax Breaks For Dubai’s Three And Four Star Hotels

The tax exemption, covering the 10 per cent municipality fee, will extend to applications over the next three years.

3,200 UAE Students Enrolled In UK Universities

The UAE’s booming private education sector has attracted many UK universities to setup affiliate campuses in Dubai.

Qatar GDP Growth Slows Marginally To 6% In Q2

GDP rose 0.6 per cent from the first quarter, according to the Ministry of Planning and Statistics.

Qatar First Bank Says CEO Mansour Resigns

Ahmad Mehsari from Qatar Islamic Bank will take over as the bank’s acting chief executive.

Abu Dhabi Airport Sees 18.5% Rise In August Passenger Traffic

Over 1.5 million passengers passed through the emirate’s airport in August.

GCC Capital Expenditure To Rise By 8.2% In 2013

GCC states’ expenditure on rail schemes, expansion of power generation plants and housing projects is expected to boost capital expenditure in 2013.

Saudi Cleric Says Women Who Drive Risk Damaging Their Ovaries

A campaign calling for women to defy the ban in a protest drive on October 26 has spread rapidly online.

Government Debts Affect Dubai’s Business Confidence

According to the IMF, Dubai’s total debt stands at $142 billion, or around 102 per cent of its GDP.

Etisalat-Vivendi’s Maroc Tel Stake Talks Extended

Vivendi in July entered into exclusive negotiations with Etisalat to sell its majority holding stake in Maroc Telecom for 3.9 billion euros in cash.

Oman May Issue Sovereign, Islamic Bonds In 2014

Oman aims to develop its fledgling Islamic finance industry with a debut issue of sukuk by the government.

UAE Moving Away From Cash-Based Society

A MasterCard study has found the UAE has one of the fastest changing payments systems.

UAE’s Food Imports From Victoria Up 66%

Major food exports from the Australian state include dairy, meat, fresh fruit and vegetables

UAE’s First REIT Plans IPO On Nasdaq Dubai

Emirates REIT, formed in 2010, has income-generating assets worth 770 million dirhams.

Emirates Has “Work To Do” On Boeing 777X Price Negotiation

Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing’s twin-engined 777 jetliner and is looking at a more fuel efficient version to introduce around 2020.

Majid Al Futtaim Waits For Stability In Egypt, Syria

MAF had a Carrefour store in Aleppo shut down as a result of the violence in Syria.

Dubai Stock Investors Place World Expo Bets Ahead Of Vote

Dubai is competing with Izmir in Turkey, Sao Paulo in Brazil and Yekaterinburg in Russia for the right to host the 2020 world’s fair.

Qatar’s QEWC Signs $450m Finance Deal For Desalination Plant

The plant, when completed, will produce 10 per cent of the Gulf country’s water.

Saudi Has Most Attractive Tax Framework Among G20 Nations

Saudi imposes a particularly light tax burden on entrepreneurs as compared to its European counterparts, says Ernst &Young

Dubai, China Sonangol Sign MoU To Build Oil Refinery

Dubai-based Noor Investment Group will act as the financial advisor to Dubai’s Supreme Council of Energy on the project

Mubadala’s H1 Profit Up 10.4% On Investment Gains

The Abu Dhabi fund said that profit attributable to equity owners for the first half of the year was Dhs1.1 billion.

Oman To Unveil Privatisation Plans In January

The government currently owns more than 60 companies across various sectors in the country.