Living Legend Villas To Be Handed Over By 2014 Year End

Villas from the Dhs7 billion residential project will be handed over to buyers in December 2014.

Alitalia Needs A Few Weeks To Close Etihad Deal – CEO

Gabriele del Torchio said Etihad was proposing to invest up to 560 million euros in Alitalia.

Accor To Open New Ibis Hotel In Jeddah

The French hospitality group will operate the new ibis Madinah Road in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.

Mobile Firm Viva Kuwait Reports Six-Fold Jump In Full-Year Profit

Viva, which competes with Zain and Ooredoo subsidiary Wataniya, said it had 2.15 million mobile customers in 2013.

Dubai’s Emaar Malls Seen Selling 10-Year Sukuk This Week

The potential benchmark sukuk comes ahead of plans by Emaar Properties to sell a quarter of its unit to the public.

Nakheel Signs On Shangri-La For Luxury Hotel on Palm Jumeirah

Shangri-La will manage the 52-level luxury hotel in Nakheel’s Palm Tower development.

RAKBANK Eyes Benchmark-Sized Debut Bond Issue

The bank has chosen National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered to arrange roadshows in the Middle East, Asia and Europe starting June 11.

Emirates Steel Lowers Cost With $1.3bn Refinancing Deal

The facilities will be used to refinance an existing $1.1 billion facility and purchase assets.

Emirates, Etihad Warn Of Flight Delays On Karachi Route

A terrorist attack killed at least 27 people in Karachi’s Jinnah airport on Sunday.

UAE’s Etisalat Plans $4.22bn Bond Issue In Four Tranches

Etisalat, which last month mandated banks for the bond issue, may also issue a 30-year tranche.

Bank Muscat Considers Sale Of Brokerage Unit

The lender did not give a size or time frame for the potential sale of the unit.

UAE’s Mubadala To Convert Bonds Into 79.4m Tabreed Shares

Mubadala is currently the biggest shareholder in Tabreed with 14.3 per cent.

Up to 75% Of Tickets For Abu Dhabi’s Grand Prix Are “Spoken For”

The event, which takes place from November 20-23 this year, offers 60,000 tickets in total this year.

UAE Central Bank Warns Dubai Property Bubble May Be Forming

House prices in Dubai soared 27.7 per cent from a year ago in January-March.

Pakistan Sees Etisalat Resolving $799m Dispute Soon – Minister

Etisalat led a consortium that bought a 26 per cent stake in Pakistan Telecommunication for $2.6 billion, with $1.8 billion paid upfront.

Etihad Withdraws From Skytrax, Airline Ratings Firm Says Carrier Can’t Opt-out From Awards

The airline said it made the decision after reviewing the criteria and measurement of the Skytrax Airline Rating System.

Abu Dhabi International Passenger Traffic Up 22.5% in April

Passenger traffic at the Abu Dhabi International Airport surpassed 1.6 million in April.

Alitalia CEO Says Job Cuts From Etihad Tie-Up To Number 2,200

Alitalia and Etihad have been in talks since December, but a deal has so far proved elusive.

Soccer Sponsors Back Qatar World Cup Probe

Britain’s Sunday Times has printed what it says are leaked documents showing bribes were paid to secure the event for Qatar, which Qatar denies.

Four Global Design Firms Compete To Create Masterplan For Dubai’s Burj 2020 District

The world’s tallest commercial tower, the ‘Burj 2020’ will form the centerpiece of the development.

Saudi Arabia To Discuss Proposal For Sovereign Wealth Fund

The proposed Saudi fund would start with capital of 30 per cent of budget surpluses accumulated over past years, it was reported.

UAE Economic Growth Accelerates To 5.2% In 2013

The development of oil output along with a stable level of oil prices contributed to the UAE’s economic growth in 2013.

Damac Announces Sale of Units In AKOYA Drive Hotel Project

Prices for the units at NAIA hotel, located on Damac’s 1.3km AKOYA Drive shopping strip, start at Dhs680,000.

Saudi Regulator Lifts Share Trading Suspension On Etihad Atheeb

The regulator had halted the trading of STC shares after the company failed to give sufficient details on a network sharing deal.

Saudi Mulls Raising Minimum Age For Drivers

The Kingdom’s Shoura Council is examining a proposal that suggests raising the minimum age of drivers to 20.

Saudi’s Sipchem Says Postpones Merger Talks With Sahara

Both firms agree the merger is still in the interest of shareholders but said it couldn’t be achieved under the current regulatory regime.

UAE Central Bank: Rental Yields May Indicate Growing Imbalances, Overheating

Monitoring development in the UAE real estate markets and the banks’exposure to it remains a core financial stability priority, the bank said.

UAE Central Bank To Propose New Capital, Liquidity Rules In H2 2014

The new rules on capital will include requirements for enhanced capital, the application of a new leverage ratio and a shift in definition of capital.

Egypt, UAE Choose Army-Linked Company To Build Wheat Silos

The UAE pledged last October to build a total of 25 wheat silos with a storage capacity of 1.5 million tonnes to help prevent the loss of billions of dollars worth of wheat per year.

Alitalia Gives Initial Nod To Etihad Plan, To Continue Talks

Alitalia’s board on Friday “expressed appreciation” for Etihad’s proposals, which government sources say include plans to make the Italian carrier profitable by 2017.