EU Visa Waiver Agreement For Emiratis Takes Effect

Officials from the European Union and the UAE signed the final agreement, validating visa free travel for Emiratis to the EU region.

Dubai World Central Signs Deals For Three New Hotels

The opening of Aloft, Studio M and Millennium will see the addition of around 1,300 new hotel rooms.

Saudi Central Bank Predicts Stable Q2 Inflation

Saudi consumer prices rose two per cent from a year earlier in March.

Saudi Arabia Mulling Land Operations On Yemen Border

US Secretary of State John Kerry began negotiations in Riyadh on Thursday to pause the campaign of airstrikes launched by a Saudi-led coalition on March 26.

United Kingdom Votes In Most Unpredictable Election In Decades

Final opinion polls showed PM David Cameron’s Conservatives and Ed Miliband’s opposition Labour Party almost in a dead heat.

Dubai Among Top 5 ‘Most Improved Cities’ Since 2010 – JLL

The index identifies New York, London, Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong as the top five performing cities globally.

Dubai Falls In Global Luxury Property Price Rankings As Market Cools

Prime house prices in Dubai fell 1.1 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2015 while showing a 1.9 per quarter-on-quarter decline.

Emirates Airline 2014 Net Profit Jumps 40% On Lower Oil Price

The airline’s Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said lower oil prices had saved Emirates around Dhs2 billion during the financial year.

Oman’s Bank Sohar Says $104m Rights Issue Oversubscribed

In total, shares worth OMR53.28 million were bid for under the capital increase, which saw 228.8 million new shares sold to investors.

Boeing Poised To Clinch $3bn-Plus Kuwait F/A-18 Order

Kuwait has signed a formal letter stating its firm plans to buy newer-model Boeing jets, sources said.

Kuwait Finance House Says May Sell Malaysia Unit

It did not provide any details such as a timeline or a potential sale price of the unit.

Saudi Market Opening Will Take Time To Boost To Local Managers – Jadwa CEO

Jadwa, Saudi’s largest private investment firm, expects inflows to reach between $40 billion and $50 billion in the medium to long term.

Saudi Regulator Approves IPO Of Aviation Ground Handler

Saudi Ground Services Co, a unit of national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines, plans to sell 30 per cent of its shares.

UAE’s Tabreed Seeks Shareholder Nod for Dhs1bn Bond Buyback

Tabreed said the bond buyback will be financed through a new loan it secured during a debt refinancing last year.

Houthi Shells Kill Five In Saudi Border Town

One shell landed near security forces patrolling near the prison in Najran, killing an officer, while another killed four Saudi civilians.

Kerry Pushes For Pause In Yemen Fighting In Saudi Meetings

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was deeply concerned with the worsening humanitarian conditions in Yemen.

UAE Reveals Details About Its Mars Mission

The unmanned probe, named Hope, will collect data that will help scientists learn about the atmosphere in Mars.

Starwood To Double Its Middle East Portfolio In 5 Years

The group’s mid-market brands represent nearly 50 per cent of the company’s pipeline in the region.

Qatar Airways Eyes Stake In India’s IndiGo, Warns Airbus On A380neo

The airline chief said that Indigo would be Qatar Airways’ preferred choice if it wanted to invest in India.

Qatar Invites Oil Firms To Bid For Al-Shaheen Oilfield From Mid-2017

Qatar’s existing 25-year exploration and production-sharing agreement with Maersk Oil of Denmark expires in 2017.

MasterCard Doubles Card Numbers In Middle East, Africa

Partnerships with governments have helped the company boost card numbers in the region, a senior official said.

Saudi Electricity Says Looking For Investments To Diversify

Last month, the state-owned firm said that its net loss for the first quarter of the year more than doubled, to 1.94 billion riyals ($517 million).

Iran May Join TANAP Gas Pipeline Project

The Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) will carry carrying 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea to European markets.

Marriott Boss Plays Down Mega Deal With Starwood

The senior official did not completely rule out the idea of a takeover saying there are “constantly deals in our industry”.

US Regulator Sues Two UAE Traders For Allegedly Spoofing Gold Futures

Both individuals are traders of CME Group Inc’s gold and silver futures contracts on its Comex exchange in New York.

UAE’s ADNOC Adds Upper Zakum Crude Delivery Point As Output Grows

The OPEC producer began storing the medium-sour crude onboard Aframax tanker Abu Dhabi III in mid-April, the sources said.

Qatar Airways’ Al Baker Says Will Need Two Years To Rebutt “Fictitious” Subsidy Claims

The airline chief also denied that its recent US route expansion was part of a reprisal to American carriers calling for a freeze to flights by Gulf airlines to the US.

Saudi Shipper Bahri Hopes To Issue Sukuk This Quarter

Bahri had previously said it planned to make the issue by the end of March this year and that the tenor would be 10 years.

Saudi’s Khodari Expects Government Compensation For Labour Fees

In 2012, the Saudi goverment introduced a levy of 2,400 riyals ($640) a year for every foreigner whom a company employs above the number of its Saudi workers.

Saudi’s Khodari Expects Government Compensation For Labour Fees

Partly because of higher labour costs, Khodari’s net profit tumbled 57 per cent from a year earlier to $3.7 million in the first quarter of this year.