Dania Saadi reports on the new wave of entrepreneurs spreading across the Gulf, boosted by growing funding opportunities.
Despite demand worries, OPEC oil production reportedly reached 30.97 million bpd in February, the highest since November 2008.
The region’s representatives on Forbes’ annual list of the World’s Billionaires have a combined net worth of $65.4 billion.
P&G was named advertiser of the year, while Y&R Dubai bagged the advertising agency of the year award.
Healthcare provider NMC hopes to raise $250 million through the listing, and plans to use the funds for further expansion.
The outspoken head of Qatar Airways has expressed support for the planemakers as they struggle to resolve production flaws.
The hotel group has 15,000 rooms under development in the MENA region and is planning further expansion.
The 750 million renminbi bond, which matures in 2015, was 5.7 times oversubscribed, the bank said.
The parliament has voted to extend the suspension of the tax on foreign workers for another two years, according to reports.
The issuance of Islamic bonds in the region could reach over $14 billion this year because of increasing investor demand, according to HSBC.
The utilities unit of Drake & Scull International has won the Dhs100 million contract to set up a water system for a thermal power station in India.
The Gulf state is initially planning to import the equivalent of around 3 million tonnes a year of LNG from Russia’s Gazprom.
The Saudi Arabia-based telecoms operator is keen to build a domestic partnership with a mobile virtual network operator.
Regional unrest might affect China’s oil input, which in turn will have a drastic impact on global asset prices, said hedge funds guru Marc Faber.
The telecoms operator reported a net profit excluding royalty of Dhs1.8 billion in 2011, a 47.8 per cent rise over the previous year.
The move makes the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund one of the largest shareholders in Arabtec.
Total bank deposits in the UAE reached Dhs1,069.7 billion at the end of December 2011, according to the central bank.
The kingdom’s foreign trade revenue amounted to SR1300 billion in 2011 and is set to rise by 14 per cent this year.
A Korean consortium has signed a deal with ADNOC to acquire a 40 per cent stake in three oilfield projects in the UAE.
Kuwait’s controversy-ridden stock market regulator, Capital Markets Authority (CMA), has appointed three new commissioners.
The health ministry has said that many herbal products may contain harmful drugs and are also packed in unhealthy conditions.
Saudi Arabia has increased the price of its Arab Light crude oil for customers in Asia by $1.25 a barrel for April.
The value and volume of shares traded on the Dubai Financial Market increased in February.
Many people in the country are dissatisfied with their current financial position, according to a Bayt.com-YouGov survey.
Royal Bank of Scotland said it no longer requires equity research on Middle Eastern companies from Dubai’s Rasmala Investment Bank.
Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company is refinancing the $850 million, three-year loan it signed in February 2009.
Hotels in Dubai and Jeddah saw occupancy levels rising in January 2012, according to TRI Hospitality Consulting.
Dubai’s Drydocks will present its restructuring plan for its $2.2 billion loan facility next week.
The country’s non-oil trade reached Dhs759.8 billion during the first ten months of 2011.
Airlines in the region posted a 14.5 per cent year-on-year increase in January this year, according to the IATA.