Qatar GDP Growth Rebounds To 6.2% in Q1, Construction Jumps

Qatar’s economic output growth quickened to 2.3 per cent in the first quarter from a meagre 0.6 per cent in October-December, the data showed.

Bahrain, Oman Most Vulnerable To Fall In Oil Prices

Increasing dependence of the GCC states on oil revenues poses a rising credit risk, a new survey by S&P says.

Facebook Scores Record One Billion Interactions For World Cup

The tournament is set to break new records as the biggest social media event to date.

Dubai Index Drops 4.4% As Arabtec Again Falls Daily Limit Of 10%

The Dubai index reached a three-month closing low of 3,943 points, bringing its losses from a multi-year peak hit in May to 27 per cent.

Dubai’s Expo 2020, Qatar World Cup To Boost Demand For Skilled Workers

Niche skill sets and specific areas of expertise will shape the demand for a particular cadre of executive talent.

Nakheel Launches New Deira Islands Mall, Awards Dhs40m Design Contract

The 620,000 square metre retail destination will form part of the Dubai developer’s new 15.3sq km Deira Islands project.

Etihad’s Fleet Expands To 101 Aircraft

The Abu Dhabi state carrier received two new Airbus aircraft – a A321-231 and a A320-200, that expanded its fleet to over 100 planes.

UAE’s Al Hamra Real Estate Gets $230m Financing

The firm said the facility would be used to refinance existing debt and to finance planned new real estate projects.

Abraaj To Consider Options For Pakistan K-Electric Stake

Abraaj bought a controlling stake in KES Power, the majority shareholder in K-Electric, in 2009.

Etihad Airways Signs Maintenance Deal With Air New Zealand

As part of the deal, Etihad will perform all scheduled and non-scheduled line maintenance on Air New Zealand aircrafts.

Runway Work Cuts Dubai Airport Traffic In May

Dubai International’s passenger traffic rose 9.2 per cent to 29.61 million people during the first five months of this year.

Abu Dhabi To Provide Dhs33m Loan For Sierra Leone’s Solar Project

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will provide finance to construct a 6 MW solar power plant in the city of Freetown in Sierra Leone.

Stock News: Dubai Drops As Arabtec Resumes Freefall

Dubai’s index is now down 27 per cent from the multi-year peak hit in mid-May, though it is still up 17 per cent year-to-date.

Saudi Telco Atheeb Sells Riyadh Real Estate For $43m

Atheeb sold a building and two plots of land to an unidentified buyer, according to a company filing to Riyadh’s bourse.

Egypt’s Sisi Approves Revised Budget With Deficit At 10% Of GDP

Boosted by billions of dollars in aid from Gulf Arab countries, Egypt’s 2013/14 budget deficit was set to shrink from some 14 per cent the year before.

Omantel Appoints New Chief Executive

Talal Said Marhoon al-Mamari was previously chief financial officer of the company.

Egypt’s Beltone and Sawiris Say No Change To EFG Hermes offer

EFG Hermes is one of the biggest investment banks in the Middle East.

Property Brokers In Dubai To Face RERA Test For Licence Renewal

The test, which has a fee of Dhs700, has to be cleared by all real estate brokers in the emirate.

Egypt’s EGAS Expects Delay In Gas Import Terminal

The terminal, slated to arrive in September, is now expected in October or November, according to sources.

Infrastructure Spending In The Middle East Set To Rise – Survey

The survey by PwC found that 75 per cent expect an increase in funding for infrastructure and capital projects over the next 12 months.

Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital Buys Into Dubai’s National Petroleum Services

Waha Capital bought a 20.56 per cent stake in National Petroleum Services for $76 million.

India’s New PM Modi Is Twitter’s 4th Most Followed World Leader

US President Barack Obama remains the most followed world leader on the social networking site, finds new study.

Stock News: Dubai Falls As Arabtec Extends Drop

The Dubai builder’s shares have fallen 59 per cent from May 14’s record close.

Airbus Plans To Revamp A330 With Rolls-Royce Engines

General Electric – the main alternative A330 engine supplier – is reportedly no longer in the running for the $2 billion “A330neo” revamp.

UAE Retailers Can’t Hike Prices During Ramadan Without Govt Approval – Minister

Suppliers need written consent from the ministry of economy to increase commodity prices.

Bahrain’s Invescorp Walks Away From Cavalli Deal Over High Valuation

Italian designer Roberto Cavalli was hoping to receive a 450-million-euro ($612 million) offer from Investcorp by a June 30 deadline.

Saudi King Sacks Deputy Defence Minister – Royal Court

Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdul-Aziz was removed from his post less than two months after his appointment.

Saudi King, In Ramadan Message, Vows To Crush Terrorists

The remarks came days after the king ordered all necessary measures to protect Saudi against potential “terrorist threats” from Iraq.

Saudi King Tells Kerry He Will Press Sunnis To Join Iraq Government

Saudi Arabia had previously been unwilling to support the formation of a new government unless Iraqi PM Nour al-Maliki stepped aside.

The Cloud Is Coming With Unprecedented Market Growth In 2014

This year, the total expenditure on cloud spending is set to reach $100 billion, with the market growing by a quarter.