Qatar-Led Group Takes Over Damas

A consortium led by Qatar’s Mannai Corp said that its $445 million offer for a majority stake in the Dubai jeweler has been accepted.

Saudi Firms Face Fines For Excess Expats

Private companies in Saudi who hire expatriates in excess over the number of Saudi employees will have to start paying penalties.

The GCC’s Top MBA Courses

Post-financial crisis, MBAs are in vogue in the Gulf. Which are the most popular courses and who is enrolling?

Kuwait’s Surplus Jumps 78%

The country’s current account surplus increased mainly because of a rise in exports.

Dubai Launches $1.25bn Sukuk: Sources

The two-part Islamic bond reportedly received strong demand in the market.

Saudi To Award New Airline Licences

The Kingdom will grant new airlines licences in September to operate both locally and internationally.

MENA M&A Values Drop 40%

The value of M&As in the region fell to $8.5 billion during the first quarter of 2012, according to Ernst &Young.

Apple Crushes Street Targets

The US tech firm posted quarterly revenues of $39.2 billion, a 59 per cent jump on last year.

ENBD Reports Dhs641m Q1 Profit

Emirates NBD’s Q1 net profit fell 55 per cent compared to last year but profit has tripled since Q4 2011.

Kuwait To Regulate Social Media

The country is planning to pass laws this year to control the use of social networking sites.

Top Arab Spenders At Heathrow

London’s Heathrow Airport found that Saudi visitors were the Middle East’s biggest spenders in 2011.

ADCB Posts Dhs802m Q1 Profit

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reported that net profit rose 38 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2012.

Julius Baer: Europe Crisis “Behind Us”

The threat of a severe Europe crisis has passed, but more needs to be done to ease the situation, said Julius Baer.

Aramex Posts 22% Q1 Profit Rise

The Dubai-based logistics firm made a first quarter net profit of Dhs61 million this year.

Etisalat Reports Flat Q1 Profit

The UAE-based telecoms operator reported net profit of Dhs1.81 billion during the first quarter of the year.

Emaar Announces 10% Dividend For 2011

The Dubai-based developer said that it had no plans to tap debt markets in 2012.

Sorouh: Abu Dhabi Rents Will Continue To Fall

One of Abu Dhabi’s largest developers said that it expects residential rents in the emirate to drop further this year.

Saudi To Build 85,000 New Homes By 2015

The new units are being developed by Saudi’s housing ministry as part of a larger affordable housing strategy.

Cityscape Preview: Abu Dhabi Q1 Rents Drop

Experts say that residential rents in the emirate fell up to 18 per cent during the first quarter of the year.

Bahrain F1 Race Goes Ahead Despite Protests

The Gulf country is hosting the Formula One Grand Prix amidst increasing protests on the streets.

Containing Iran

The latest round of sanctions have placed Iran under unprecedented pressure, but will they really work?

Kingdom Holding Records 11.3% Q1 Profit Rise

Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Company said that net income during the first quarter of the year reached SR100.8 million.

Abu Dhabi Sees 3.4m Passengers in Q1

Abu Dhabi International Airport saw 21.2 per cent increase in traffic year-on-year.

Arabtec Wins $60m Deal From Aabar

The contract includes the construction of a residential development in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai’s Foreign Trade Hits Dhs1.1 trillion

India is the emirate’s top trading partner, according to the customs authority.

Abu Dhabi To Exit Daimler

Abu Dhabi’s investment fund Aabar is reportedly looking to exit its its stake in the German carmaker.

Turkey Rising

As Turkey looks to the GCC for investment, the country’s upwards trajectory is turning heads, writes Peter Shaw-Smith.

Qatar Lends Tunisia $500m

The five-year loan will boost Tunisian government finances, according to its central bank.

Revealed: The World’s Top Ten Retail Nations

The UAE is the world’s second most popular country for global retailers, according to property adviser CBRE.

HSBC Merges Oman Branch With OIB

The European bank will hold a 51 per cent stake in the new entity, which will be renamed HSBC Bank Oman SOAG.