Etihad Starts Daily Ho Chi Minh Flights

New service to meet strong business and leisure demand and support UAE investments in Vietnam

New UAE Start-Up To Offer BPO Services To Telcos

Kinetic BPO is hoping to improve customer service standards in the UAE’s telecoms industry.

Dubai’s ENOC, Tristar Plan Oil & Gas Logistics JV In Saudi

The new joint venture is being set-up with an initial capital outlay of around $8 million.

Dubai’s Index Has Best Quarter In Six Years

Shares in Dubai were boosted during the quarter after index compiler MSCI upgraded the United Arab Emirates to emerging market status.

Nepali Official Denies Labour Abuses In Qatar

Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported that dozens of Nepali workers had died on Qatari building sites over the summer

Qatar World Cup 2022 “To Be Held In November”

Thomas Bach has claimed that he has received assurance from Sepp Blatter that the tournament will not clash with the Winter Olympics.

Ex-DIFC Exec Fined $7,500 For Falsifying Information

Tareck Fouad Farah was found guilty of issuing a letter containing false information.

Saudi’s Almarai Prices Gulf’s First Corporate Hybrid Sukuk

BNP Paribas, HSBC, Saudi Fransi (Credit Agricole) and Standard Chartered were the leads.

Saudi Start-Up Glowork Gets $16m Investment

Saudi firm SAS has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Glowork, a platform that helps women in the Middle East find employment opportunities.

Qatar Ranked 10 In UN’s Top Countries For Internet Use

Qatar is the only MENA country and one of the two non-European countries to be featured in the list.

British Airways Upgrading Jeddah Route To Boeing 777

Saudi travellers set to enjoy first class services to and from London next spring.

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.