Oman May Privatise Part Of Refiner ORPIC – Minister

ORPIC runs oil refineries at Sohar and Muscat as well as aromatics and polypropylene production plants at Sohar.

Dubai Investments Says Near Completing Two Buys Worth Dhs400m

One of the purchases will be of a financial entity, with the second acquisition coming in the real estate sector.

Bureaucracy Delaying Qatar Airways Launch In Saudi – CEO

The airline is expecting to begin operations in the Kingdom in the next six to 18 months.

New Private Luxury Villas To Be Developed In Dubai’s World Islands

The series of private island villas will be located within the OQYANA World First development forming the continent of Australasia.

BMW Middle East Sales Up By 23% In 2014

The UAE accounted for 54 per cent of BMW’s sales in the Middle East, followed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Stock News: Most Markets Edge Up, But Industries Qatar Drags Down Doha

Industries Qatar fell its daily 10 per cent limit and was the main drag on Qatar’s index, which dropped 2.3 per cent.

Dubai Aluminium Completes $1.8bn Loan To Fund General Business

The deal was underwritten by Citigroup, Emirates NBD and Societe Generale.

Property Firm Damac To List On Dubai Bourse On Monday

Damac received approval from the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority in December to list on the DFM.

Gulf lender GIB Launches region’s first online-only retail bank

Called “Meem” – the letter M in Arabic – the new retail banking platform will offer personal finance products and credit cards in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi’s ACWA Power Wins 1.7bn Euro Morocco Solar Power Deal

The two plants are the second phase of the 500 MW Ouarzazate project, which is part of a government plan to produce two gigawatts of solar power by 2020.

Bahraini Protesters Clash With Police Over Opposition Leader’s Detention

A witness said that protest marches turned violent, with dozens of young men throwing petrol bombs at security forces who fired bird shot and tear gas back.

Saudi Arabia Flogs Liberal Activist In Public – Amnesty

Raif Badawi, who set up the “Free Saudi Liberals” website, was arrested in June 2012 and prosecuted for offences including cyber crime and disobeying his father.

Kuwait Restarts Crude Unit At Mina Ahmadi Refinery

The crude unit was back online on January 2 with 80 per cent capacity and is expected to return to full capacity by January 21.

Dubai’s Limitless Seeks More Time After Missed Debt Talks Deadline

Limitless has been in talks with creditors for nearly a year and in November floated a tentative proposal backed by future cashflows.

Saudi Says Arrests Seven Saudis, Syrians Over Suicide Border Attack

The government confirmed last week that three of the four attackers, who carried out a gun attack on the country’s border, were Saudi nationals.

DIC Launches Sale Of German Aluminium Group Almatis – Sources

DIC has mandated Barclays to explore the options of the possible divestment, sources said.

Review: YotaPhone 2

The key feature on the YotaPhone, as before, is the 4.7-inch e-ink display on the rear of the device.

AirAsia Crash Makes Case For Ejectable Black Boxes

ICAO wants to develop a global system to improve plane tracking and ensure accident sites are found quickly.

High Noon On The Gulf Coast: Canada, Saudi Oil Set For Showdown

Saudi Arabia is offering crude at discounted prices in an attempt to defend its remaining share of the regional market, which has shrunk by more than half in recent months.

Dubai Aluminium Signs $1.8bn Loan Deal – Sources

The transaction was signed at the very end of 2014, sources said.

Industries Qatar Proposes 36% 2014 Dividend Cut

The company recommended a a cash dividend of 7 riyals ($1.92) per share for 2014.

Emirates Launches Second A380 On Manchester Route

The upgraded service will increase Emirates’ capacity from Manchester by 13 per cent, the airline said.

Emaar Opens New Boutique Hotel Manzil Downtown Dubai

The hotel will have 155 standard king rooms, 56 twin rooms and eight Burj View suites, decorated in an Arabian cultural style.

Bid Deadline For Egypt’s Arab Dairy Extended To January 22

Pioneers, a financial firm that already owns 25 per cent of Arab Dairy, is in a bidding war with Lactalis for Egypt’s Arab Diary.

Middle East And Africa M&A Deal Value Dropped 9.4% In 2014

Despite an overall decline, Q4 2014 saw growth in total M&A transactions in the Middle East and Africa region.

Abu Dhabi Airport Hit By More Fog, Reschedules Some Flights

Normal operations are expected to resume by later on Thursday afternoon, the spokesman said.

Stock News: Gulf Markets Extend Gains After Oil Edges Up

Dubai’s equities index rose 3.1 per cent while shares in bourse operator Dubai Financial Market surged 6.6 per cent.

Dubai’s Drake And Scull Asks To Treat Gulf Investors As Nationals

If approved, Gulf investors will be allowed to own up to 100 per cent of Drake and Scull’s shares.

Qatar’s Mesaieed Recommends Annual Dividend

The company said that it will pay a dividend of QAR1.1 riyals ($0.30) per share for 2014.

Middle East Carriers Post 12.9% Cargo Growth In November

Middle Eastern air cargo carriers also saw a 17.1 per cent increase in capacity in November, IATA said.