Rosetta Stone To Open First Middle East Office

The global language-learning company is to set up shop in Dubai, amid several new school announcements at GESS.

Dubai’s Emirates Airline Plans Second Bond Sale This Year

Emirates has hired six banks to arrange a potential dollar-denominated, benchmark sukuk sale.

Kenya Airways To Fly Dubai-Hong Kong

New route provides some competition for Emirates and follows recent codeshare agreement with Etihad

Aramco CEO: Global Oil Demand Growth Moderated

Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia had maintained its maximum potential oil production at 12.5 million barrels per day.

Kuwait Telco Zain’s Deputy CEO Resigns

Hisham Akbar, who was also Zain’s chief operating officer, quit as of March 3.

Prince Alwaleed Severs Ties With Forbes Rich List

Prince Alwaleed has asked to be removed from the list and Kingdom Holding Company officials will no longer work with Forbes.

Exclusive: Dubai-Based Chocodate Maker Plans Major Expansion

The company is currently in talks to export the product to the US, UK, Japan, Brazil and Russia, among other countries.

Dubai Sees Big IPO In 2014/15, Says Debts Under Control

Mohammed al-Shaibani, CEO of the Investment Corporation of Dubai said that Dubai had a plan to deal with debts maturing in coming years

Yohan Blake To Run At Doha’s Diamond League Meeting

The world’s second fastest man will compete at the meeting on May 10 in Qatar – the first of 14 Diamond League fixtures.

Dubai Islamic Bank To Boost Capital Through Sukuk Sale

The dollar-denominated Islamic bond is expected to be benchmark-sized.

Shoppers Fuel 10% Dubai RevPAR Rise

Hoteliers benefited from the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival and high in-flows of tourists, particularly from Europe

EXCLUSIVE: Oberoi Dubai Targets March Opening

The 250-room hotel is the luxury Indian chain’s first UAE property.

Saudi Arabia To Behead Seven On Tuesday

The seven men were sentenced to death in 2009 for an armed robbery in 2006, says Amnesty International.

Court Rules Kuwait Venture To Pay $2.48bn To Dow Chemical

Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) pulled out of a $17.4 billion joint venture deal in late 2008.

UAE’s First Online Shopping Mall Goes Live

Retail plays an important role in the UAE’s economic growth, accounting for 12 per cent of Dubai’s GDP over the last ten years.

Starwood Relocates Global HQ To Dubai In March

With 80 per cent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, President says it’s not possible to lead a truly global business “from a boardroom in Connecticut”

First Gulf Bank Repays $1.2bn Government Support

The UAE’s Ministry of Finance placed Dhs70 billion ($19.1 billion) with banks after the 2008 financial downturn.

Bahrain’s Investcorp Sells IPH To European PE Firm

Investcorp has been selling assets and making new investments as financial markets recover from the Arab Spring.

Shareholders Approve Aldar-Sorouh Merger

Mohamed Al Mubarak was named the deputy chief executive and chief portfolio officer of the new entity.

Emirates’ Perth Flights Go Triple Daily

Latest capacity increase means the airline’s services have grown more than five-fold since it first flew to Perth in 2002

New Dubai Firm To Manage Islamic Endowments

Awqaf are believed to control tens of billions of dollars worth of assets around the Muslim world.

Oman Sees BP Tight Gas Deal In Weeks

Omani gas production has risen sharply over the last decade and the country remains a net gas exporter.

Dreamliner Grounding Impacts Qatar Airways’ New Routes

Chicago schedules amended to three-a-week and Chengdu is put on hold

Saudi Central Bank Sees Inflation At Tolerable Levels

Inflation in the Kingdom reached a seven-month high of 4.2 per cent year-on-year in January.

Oman’s 2012 Average Daily Oil Output Up At 918,000 bpd

Average oil production in the country was at 884,900 bpd in 2011.

Qatari Telecom Firm Ooredoo Posts 14.6% Rise In Q4 Profit

Profit was boosted by higher revenue in Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq.

Bahrain’s Gulf Air Cuts 15% Staff In Restructuring

The struggling carrier said further adjustments would be made across all levels of its organisation.

Al Habtoor And Accor Mull Partnership

Al Habtoor has talks with global operator about potential projects at home and abroad

Zain To Offload Stake In Iraqi Unit Through IPO

The company expects to finalise details of the initial public offering by the end of June.

Dubai’s Noor Sets Up JV With State-Owned AMAF

The new company, called Noor Awqaf, is being set up with a share capital of Dhs10 million.