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Qatar National Bank Says Buying 12.5% Stake In Ecobank

The stake will consist of current outstanding ordinary shares and the conversion of QNB’s convertible preference shares.

Libya’s Oil Recovery May Be Short-Lived As Country Risks Falling Apart

Libya’s oil production rose significantly during the last two months but experts say the ongoing internal conflict could be counterproductive.

Marriott Says Protea Acquisition Helps Boost Occupancy In MEA

Marriott saw occupancy rise 4.4 per cent and RevPar increase by 3.9 per cent in the Middle East and Africa region during Q2.

Kenya Airways To Suspend Flights To Liberia, Sierra Leone Due To Ebola

The carrier, which is part-owned by Air France-KLM, flies a total of seven times a week to Monrovia and Freetown through Accra.

Qatar Airways To Launch Eritrea Flights

Doha airline will serve capital Asmara twice weekly from December

UAE Warns Citizens To Avoid Travel To Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia

The ministry of foreign affairs issued the warning citing security concerns in the three countries.

IATA Says Risks From Ebola, Gaza And Russia Could Dampen Air Travel Demand

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, that has killed 932 people so far, could be one of the biggest challenges this year for some airlines, said IATA.

Emirates Suspends Flights To Guinea Over Ebola

The Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea and has spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has killed more than 700.

Mobile Money Grows In Africa But Hurdles Remain

Industry players say a fragmented and tough regulatory environment is holding the mobile money industry back.

Sierra Leone Declares State Of Emergency Over Ebola

Ebola has been blamed for 672 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Bad Weather Probable Cause Of Air Algerie Crash

The flight crashed in the West African state of Mali killing all 118 people on board.

Private Banks Not First Choice For Wealthy – StanChart Report

The majority of high net worth business owners prefer consulting lawyers and accountants over their private banks for planning their wealth transfer to their successors, a new study finds.

Djibouti In Legal Dispute With DP World Over Port Concession

DP World owns one-third of Djibouti’s Doraleh Container Terminal.

Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Forms JV To Invest In Africa

The joint venture will invest in direct private equity opportunities in African firms with a focus on consumer driven sectors.

Abu Dhabi To Provide Dhs33m Loan For Sierra Leone’s Solar Project

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will provide finance to construct a 6 MW solar power plant in the city of Freetown in Sierra Leone.

Saudi Suspects MERS Virus May Have Come from African Camel Imports

More than 700 people in Saudi Arabia have contracted the virus and 292 of them have died from it.

Etihad Launches Freighter Operations To Uganda’s Entebbe

The service is expected to carry large quantities of electronics and textiles to the Ugandan city.

Etisalat Scraps Buyout Offer To Maroc Telecom Minority Shareholders

Etisalat paid 4.14 billion euros ($5.7 billion) for Paris-listed Vivendi’s stake in Maroc Telecom.

LuLu International Invests Dhs55m To Launch Galito’s Restaurant Chain in UAE

The franchise agreement includes plans to setup 15 restaurants in the UAE over the next four years.

Suez Canal Development Tender Winner To Be Announced Next Month

Bidders include Australia’s WorleyParsons, consulting firm McKinsey & Co and Japan’s Oriental Consultants.

Dubai’s Drake And Scull Wins $40m Algeria Contract

The firm will undertake the civil construction portion of the mixed use development in Algiers, it said in a statement.

Sudan Says Qatar To Deposit $1bn As Part Of Aid Package

A sudanese official declined to disclose the total value of aid that Qatar had agreed to offer Sudan.

Tablet Shipments To Middle East, Africa Up 111% In Q4 2013

A total of 3.45 million units were shipped to the region during the final quarter of 2013, according to IDC.

Dubai’s Al-Futtaim Wins Control Of Kenyan Motor Firm CMC

The 91 per cent acceptance means Al-Futtaim will hold 533 million shares in CMC, which distributes Ford, Suzuki and Volkswagen vehicles among other brands in the region.

Ghana’s Tema Oil Refinery Close To Deal With PetroSaudi

Ghana is one of Africa’s newest crude exporters after starting production from its offshore Jubilee field in late 2010.

Congo’s ECAir Launches New Dubai Flight Route

The flight signals the first direct link between Congo and the Middle East.

Emirates Starting Daily Abuja-Kano Flights

Emirates will soon serve three cities in oil-rich Nigeria

ME-Africa Trade Corridors To Grow In 2014 – Aramex CEO

Hussein Hachem, CEO of Aramex, says Africa-Middle East trade corridors have expanded alongside the growth of Africa’s economy.

MEA M&A Deal Values Up 26.9% In 2013

The 2013 deal value saw the highest rise in the last six years with all the quarters posting values above $12 billion, the report found.

Different Arab money

Soaring Compliance Costs Clip Wings Of Mideast, African Banks

Compliance teams face an increasing array of rules due to failings exposed by the financial crisis.