Kuwait’s Emir Could Heal Gulf Rift With Qatar – Speaker

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE said on Wednesday they were withdrawing their ambassadors from Qatar.

Qatar Airways Unveils A380 First Class

The jumbo jet will feature eight seats/beds in first class, and customers will have access to an exclusive lounge on board.

All EU Citizens To Get UAE Visa On Arrival From March 22

The UAE has passed a new ruling exempting citizens from 13 European member states from requiring a pre-entry visa.

Emaar To Open New Reel Cinemas Complex In Dubai Marina

The new cinema complex is located at ‘The Beach’, a retail destination being developed by Meraas Holding in Dubai Marina.

EFG-Hermes Sells Damas Stake To Mannai For $150m – Source

Mannai and EFG-Hermes took control of the jeweller in April 2012, with Mannai holding 66 per cent of Damas.

Lufthansa Unveils Premium Economy Seat

Seats have 50 per cent more room than economy and will initially be on Boeing 747-8s and gradually rolled out across the long-haul fleet.

Saudi, UAE, Bahrain Withdraw Envoys From Qatar In Security Row

They accused Doha of not implementing an agreement among GCC countries not to interfere in each others’ internal affairs.

Saudi IPO Market Set For Booming 2014 As Regulator, Issuers Eye Deals

The Kingdom’s stock market saw five IPOs in 2013 worth around $506 million, down in both volume and value from 2012.

Dubai World Prepays $284.5m To Creditors – Sources

The conglomerate obtained money for the prepayment from asset sales.

Arabtec Unit Wins Dhs1.03bn Emaar Contract In Dubai

Under the deal, Arabtec Construction will build over 1,500 townhouses in Emaar’s Reem community.

Dubai Hotels’ Occupancy Rates Rise To 83% In January

New survey attributed the higher than average rates during the start of the year to the holiday season.

Sofitel Dubai Downtown To Open May 1

The city’s third Sofitel will have a strong artistic flavour

Revealed: Average Gulf Salary Drops By 2%

Cost sensitivity and a strong supply of talent are impacting salaries in the GCC say recruiters.

Qatar’s Ooredoo Q4 Net Profit Falls 36%

The company said EBITDA fell because of dropping revenue at its Indonesian unit Indosat and Myanmar start-up costs.

Bahrain To See Further Bank Mergers This Year – Central Bank Governor

In 2013, there were four separate examples of consolidation in the Bahraini banking sector.

Ras Al Khaimah Exploring Ceramics Sale

Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics has a market capitalisation of $781 million.

Yahoo To Stop User Access Of Services With Facebook, Google IDs

Users will need Yahoo accounts to access services such as Fantasy Sports and photo-sharing site Flickr.

UAE’s Mubadala To Focus More On U.S., European Markets: COO

Mubadala shifted some of its focus to emerging markets after the global financial crisis hit the United States and Europe.

UAE Etisalat Hopes To Complete Buy Of Vivendi’s Maroc Tel Stake By End Of May

Etisalat agreed to buy Paris-listed Vivendi’s 53 per cent holding in Maroc Telecom for 3.9 billion euros last November.

Middle East Air Passenger Traffic To Grow By 6.7%

Air passenger traffic in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman is expected to grow at 6.6, 6.9 and 7.2 per cent respectively, a report says.

Saudi Arabia Plans Oil-To-Chemicals Plant At Yanbu -Oil Minister

Development of the Saudi petrochemical sector is part of Riyadh’s strategy for diversifying the economy away from its dependence on crude export revenues.

Inflation Rates In GCC Economies To Rise In 2014

Inflation rates will stay at manageable, low single-digit levels throughout the region, the report said.

UAE’s Etisalat Q4 Profit Rises 70%

Etisalat made a net profit of Dhs1.45 billion ($394.77 million) in the three months to December 31.

Sabic Gets Four Bids For JV With Mitsubishi Rayon

South Korea’s Daelim Industrial, France’s Technip, Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas and Taiwan’s CTCI have submitted bids for the two-plant project in Jubail.

UAE Firms Should Give “Realistic Pay Rises” During Boom Time

Unrealistic pay rises during boom time might prove counterproductive to a company’s growth, expert says.

Dubai Developer Damac Says Profit Tripled In 2013

The developer said it booked sales worth $2.5 billion in 2013 compared with $661 million in the prior year.

Dubai’s Hotels See 10.6% Rise In Guest Arrivals In 2013

Over 11 million guests stayed in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments last year with occupancy rates reaching 80 per cent.

Kuwait’s Zain Finalises $800m, Five-Year Loan Facility

The telco said the money will be used for general corporate purposes.

NCB Capital Names First Female Saudi Investment Bank Head

Sarah Al-Suhaimi, currently head of asset management and chief investment officer at Jadwa Investment has reportedly been hired as CEO of National Commercial Bank.

Bahrain’s Al Salam Bank Launches Asian Islamic REIT Fund

The REIT will invest in between 15 and 35 properties and be managed by Swiss-based B&I Capital AG.