Gourmet Date Company Bateel Agrees L Capital Asia Partnership

The deal is the first completed by L Capital Asia in the Middle East, a statement said.

Bahraini Bank BBK Plans Bond Issue To Refinance Maturing $500m Debt

The offering by the bank will have a lifespan of between five and seven years.

UAE Bank FGB Q4 Net Profit Rises 13%, Beats Analyst Forecasts

The bank made a net profit of Dhs1.55 billion ($422 million) for the last quarter of 2014.

Aster DM Healthcare Group To Invest Dhs500m In GCC By 2017

The group is planning to open 40 new medical centres as part of its expansion in the region, a senior company official said.

Dubai’s Tecom Investments Launches Phase Two Of Villa Lantana For Sale

Construction of the villa project has already begun and it is due for completion at the end of 2015.

UAE’s NBAD CEO Declines Comment On Citigroup’s Egypt Consumer Unit

The lender was one of 10 bidders for the business put up for sale by the U.S. bank in October, a source told Reuters earlier this month.

Saudi’s Emaar Economic City Says Cheap Oil May Boost Growth

The company, a consortium headed by Dubai firm Emaar Properties and Saudi investors, is building King Abdullah Economic City, a special economic zone near Jeddah.

Emirates To Fly A380s To Dusseldorf And Madrid

Emirates’ superjumbo network in European grows to 13 points

Abu Dhabi Launches New Water Taxi Service To Eastern Mangroves

The weekend Abra service will run from Souk Qaryat Al Beri to Eastern Mangroves, with stops at three five-star hotels.

UAE Lender NBAD Beats Forecasts With 28% Q4 Net Profit Rise

NBAD made a net profit of Dhs1.372 billion ($373 million) in the last quarter of 2014.

Yasref Refinery In Saudi Arabia To Load 2nd Diesel Cargo On Thursday

The 400,000 bpd refinery, which is currently running at about 60 per cent of capacity, started gasoline output this week.

Henkel Named Dubai Lynx Advertiser Of The Year For 2015

The company won five golds and a grand prix during the Dubai Lynx awards last year.

Qatari-Led Group Wins $4bn Battle For Canary Wharf

Songbird said it still thought the offer undervalued the company but with no rival offer forthcoming it recommended its shareholders to accept the deal.

Kuwaiti Telecom Group Zain May Sell Transmitter Towers

A source familiar with the matter said that Citigroup had been hired to look into options for Zain’s towers.

Sharjah Ruler Approves Largest Budget, Hikes Spending By 12%

The 2015 budget will also provide job opportunities to 1,000 Emiratis, a finance department official said.

Oman Bank Dhofar Proposes 10% Cash, 10% Bonus Share Dividend

The bank’s proposed 2014 dividend is equivalent to $0.03 per share in cash and one free share for every 10 a shareholder owns.

Apple iPhone Sales Trample Expectations As Profit Sets Global Record

The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 27.

Dubai’s Drake & Scull Wins $54m Engineering Contract

Drake & Scull Engineering will provide MEP services for an under-construction hotel and apartment complex.

UAE Summons Iraqi Ambassador Over Flydubai Shooting In Baghdad

Gunshots were fired at the flydubai flight when it was landing at Baghdad airport on Monday evening.

At Least Eight Killed As Gunmen Storm Hotel In Libyan Capital

Two armed gunmen stormed into the five-star Corinthia Hotel and fired at guests before blowing themselves up with a grenade.

Obama And Saudi King Discuss Iran, Energy In Symbolic Visit

Obama cut short a trip to India to fly to Riyadh, and was joined on the four-hour visit by a big delegation.

Sony To Cut 1,000 Jobs In Smartphone Business – Nikkei

The cuts are in addition to the 1,000 jobs Sony said it would eliminate in its mobile unit in October, Japan’s Nikkei reported.

Saudi’s Samba Proposes SAR8bn Bonus Share Issue To Raise Capital

The lender will increase its capital to SAR20 billion from retained earnings by issuing two shares for every three shares held.

UAE To Issue New Rules To Regulate Drones

New regulations being planned by the UAE will ban the use of UAVs near airports, residential areas and other public properties.

Kuwait’s Gulf Bank Q4 Net Profit Climbs 10.7%, Proposes Stock Dividend

Net profit for the three months to the end of December was 8.97 million dinars ($30.4 million), compared to 8.1 million dinars in the year-earlier period.

Zain Saudi Gets Regulator Nod For Second Capital Cut

The company has yet to make a quarterly profit since launching service in 2008.

UAE Fund ADFG Targets $100m Finance Buyout By June – CEO

It would be the third purchase by the privately-owned investment firm in the non-banking financial services sector in recent months.

Obama To Bolster Crucial Saudi Alliance Amid Mideast Unrest

Obama’s visit comes as Washington struggles with worsening strife in the Middle East and counts Saudi Arabia among its few steady partners in the region.

Etihad Cancels New York Flight As Winter Storm Hits Northeast US

The Abu Dhabi airline is offering passengers travelling on January 27 and 28 the option to postpone their tickets.

Emirates Warns Of Currency Shifts Eating Into Fuel-Cost Benefits

The Dubai carrier is one of the few major airlines that does not hedge its fuel bill by buying future stocks of jet fuel to minimise the effect of price spikes.