Gulf Finance House To Sell 75% In Leeds United, Retain 10% Stake

GFH, which bought the second-tier club in 2012, said it had agreed to sell the stake to a consortium of British investors.

Saudi Says Doubles Number Of Citizens In Private Sector Jobs

Economists estimate only 30-40 per cent of working-age Saudis hold jobs or actively seek work.

Saudi Oil Min Says U.S. Shale Oil Helps Keep Oil Markets Stable

Shale oil remains much more costly to produce than most Middle East crude.

Different Arab money

Middle East Investment Banking Fees Up 20% In 2013

Total fees rose to $722 million in 2013, the highest since 2010.

Middle East Professionals Consider Flexible Working Vital

A study has shown 71 per cent believe flexible working improves staff retention.

Sager Is Frontrunner To Succeed Dabdoub At Kuwait’s NBK

Isam al-Sager, 58, is currently the deputy chief executive of National Bank of Kuwait.

Empower

Empower Buys Cooling Firm For $500m From Dubai World Unit

Acquiring Palm Utilities will give Empower about 70 per cent of the UAE’s district cooling market.

Shell And UAE’s Mubadala Swap Malaysian Offshore Field Stakes

Mubadala has taken a 20 per cent interest in Block 2B and Shell has taken a 20 per cent interest in Block SK320.

UAE Introduces Compulsory Military Service For Men

All Emirati males between ages 18 and 30 will be required to serve in the military while it is optional for women

Abu Dhabi Plans Aviation Biofuel Project With Boeing And Total

The venture is looking at various raw materials to produce biofuel including agricultural waste and date palm leaves.

Abu Dhabi’s Prime Property Prices Rose 30% In Q4 2013

Reem Island showed the highest rise in prices for the second consecutive year in 2013, comprising around 30 per cent of online property searches.

Nakheel 2013 Profit Up 27%; Plans Dhs6-8bn New Projects In 2014

The developer attributed the profit rise to the timely completion of projects and the handing over of finished units to customers.

Saudi’s Almarai Posts Marginal Q4 Net Profit Gain

Net earnings in the three months to December 31 were 373.3 million riyals, up 1.2 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

Saudi’s Al Rajhi Bank Halves H2 Dividend After Q4 Profit Drop

Al Rajhi reported a 19.1 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit.

Dubai’s Real Estate Deals Hit Dhs236bn In 2013

The number of deals in Dubai rose 53 per cent from 2012, reaching a total of 63,652, according to the land department.

Chronic Wealth Gap Biggest Global Risk – WEF

A World Economic Forum report finds the gap between incomes is the biggest global risk, followed by extreme weather and unemployment.

SABIC’s Q4 Profit Up 5.7%, Below Forecasts

SABIC earned 6.16 billion riyals in the quarter, not the 6.58 billion analysts predicted.

Investcorp Sells UK-based TDX Group to Equifax for $327m

TDX is the UK’s largest debt placement services and debt management platform company.

Israeli Minister To Lead Delegation To Abu Dhabi Energy Summit

The Israeli delegation will be the first at government level to visit the UAE since the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

OPEC Outages Cut Its Oil Output To Below 2014 Demand

OPEC sees fast growth in 2014 of 3.5 per cent, up from 2.9 per cent in 2013 as monetary stimulus continues.

Qatar Airways To Launch Saudi Operations By Q3

Saudi Arabia started opening up its aviation market in 2012 by awarding additional carrier licenses.

Emirates Starts Daily Kiev Services

Ukraine-UAE inbound market set to double.

MENA Green Energy On The Rise

With local energy demand surging, green power is rapidly gaining traction.

Dubai Launches Entrepreneurship Academy

The academy aims to equip entrepreneurs with practical skills and knowledge they need to become future businesspeople.

UAE Attracts Top Talent Ahead Of Expo 2020

Around 49,000 LinkedIn members have moved to the UAE in the last 12 months.

Dubai Group Signs $10bn Debt Restructuring Deal

Ahmed al-Qassim was appointed chief executive of Dubai Group last week.

New Saudi Airline In $2bn Deal For Bombardier Planes

Bombardier has so far seen slow orders for the CSeries after several months of development delays.

Nakheel Appoints Halcrow To Design New Palm Attraction

The new project, called The Boardwalk, will run across the whole of the existing crescent with a pier at either end.

Top 10 Safest Airlines In The World

Nervous flyer? Fear no more. Fly with one of these airlines to (almost) guarantee your safety.

UAE To Attract $14.4bn FDI In 2014

The UAE attracted FDIs worth $12 billion in 2013 owing to increased government spending and resurgence in some service sectors.