Saudi Arabia Starts Payout To Minority Investors In Ailing Telco

A royal decree last May ordered the liquidation of the firm, which never launched services despite making a winning SAR1 billion bid for a fixed telecom licence in 2007.

Giordano To Open 40 New Stores By 2015

The fashion retailer is planning to expand across locations in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central and Southern Asia.

Dubai’s Arabtec To List Shares Of Building Unit In Abu Dhabi

Arabtec is trying to evolve from a local contractor into a multinational development company as its finances are boosted by a recovery in Dubai’s property market.

Abu Dhabi Airport To Get Dhs1.65bn Upgrade

Additions include a tunnel under the southern runway, nine new aircraft stands and an automated passenger mobility system.

National Bank Of Abu Dhabi Confirms Burdett As CFO

Burdett joins from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, where he was finance head of its international and institutional banking business.

Bahrain’s Batelco Q1 Net Profit Rises 8%

The former monopoly made a net profit of 14.5 million dinars ($38.46 million) in the three months to March 31.

Arabtec Scraps Cash Portion Of 2013 Dividend For More Stock

The company had earlier proposed a cash dividend of Dhs0.1 ($0.03) per share plus bonus shares worth 30 per cent of its share capital.

Arabtec Launches New Training Arm, Appoints CEO

The new subsidiary specialises in the training of Emiratis across a variety of sectors.

Abu Dhabi Fund IPIC Posts 23.4% Profit Hike For 2013

Its total assets grew to Dhs251.2 billion at the end of 2013, up from Dhs239.3 billion on December 31, 2012.

Etihad Still Open To Alitalia Talks, But Won’t Budge On Demands

Sources have said that Etihad could invest 500 million euros in return for a 49 per cent stake, but talks reached a stalemate this month when Alitalia raised concerns over the deal conditions.

Dubai’s Arabtec To Carry Out Multiple Acquisitions By 2018 – CEO

The contractor has won a series of deals in the region recently, including the development of Abu Dhabi’s main airport and the building of a Louvre Museum.

Qatari Fund Buys UK’s Heritage Oil For $1.6bn

Heritage said that it was recommending a 320 pence per share cash offer, which represented a 25 per cent premium to its closing price the day before the approach was announced.

Abu Dhabi Hotel Revenues Rise 11% In Q1 2014

Guest numbers in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments soared 32 per cent in Q1 2014, authorities say.

DWC Traffic Growth Expected As Dubai International Slots Fill

The newly launched airport is expected to see a surge in traffic as Dubai International closes for a runway upgrade.

Dubai’s TECOM Business Parks Reveals Projects Worth Dhs1bn

Facilities under development include The Butterfly, DuBiotech’s headquarters, the Makateb development and the Publishing Pavilion.

Meydan Signs Dubai Deal For World’s Largest Man Made Park

Wire World is set to cover 25,000 square feet and will be located adjacent to Meydan Racecourse.

Qatar’s Barwa Real Estate Q1 Net Profit Jumps 67%

The developer said its profit for the three months to March 31 was 265.1 million riyals ($72.8 million), up from 158.5 million riyals in the same period of 2013.

Exclusive: Wealthy Russians Seek Second Citizenship To Beat Western Sanctions

Second citizenship expert says he has seen a significant jump in interest from Russian millionaires in the last month.

Hamad International Airport Takes Off

Ten airlines are now operating out of the $17 billion facility and all others will switch by May 27

Oman Telco Nawras Q1 Profit Rises 14%

The firm made a net profit of 8.8 million rials ($22.86 million) in the three months to March 31, a statement said.

Middle East Funds Become More Cautious On UAE -Survey

The April survey marks the first time since last September that the ratio of managers who are bearish on UAE equities exceeds the ratio of bullish ones.

Bahrain, Russia Sign Investment Deal Amid Western Sanctions

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said it had signed a deal with Bahraini sovereign wealth fund to identify and work together on investment opportunities in their countries.

Bahrain Jails Five For Plotting To Bomb 2013 F1 Race

Bahrain’s official news agency did not name the five but said they had confessed to the plot.

Abu Dhabi’s TAQA To Price $750m 10-Yr Bond Tues

The transaction was formally launched to price at 115 basis points over midswaps, a document from the lead banks said.

Middle East Defence Spending To Reach $920bn By 2020

Around $27 billion will be injected into the Gulf economy through defence deals by 2020, new research says.

Emirates To Start Daily Brussels Flights

Dubai carrier targets premium business traffic to and from the EU capital

Dubai’s MAF Tightens Pricing Ahead Of $500m Bond Sale

High demand for the offering has helped MAF reduce the prospective cost of its borrowing.

$1bn New York University Abu Dhabi Construction Completed

The project was designed by award-winning architects Rafael Vinolycovers and developed by state-owned investment company Mubadala.

Unpatched OS Increasing Vulnerability of Saudi PC Users

Cyber security company Secunia found that 17.4 per cent of users had unpatched versions of WinXP, Win7, Win8 or Windows Vista.

Two Senior Bankers Leaving UAE Lender NBAD – Sources

NBAD, 70 per cent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, has been realigning its business under new chief executive Alex Thursby, who took charge last summer.