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Egypt PM targets 3.5 percent GDP growth in 2012/13

Egypt’s government will focus on boosting flagging economic growth to 3.5 percent this financial year and 4.5 percent in 2013/14, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said on Tuesday. The government had forecast growth of 4 to 4.5 percent in its budget for 2012/13. Economists had said this was optimistic. Kandil met ... Read More

Break-up of Eurozone most disturbing issue in WEF’s Global Agenda summit

The prospect of a break-up of the Eurozone is the most concerning issue of the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils, according to a survey released during the network’s annual summit being held in Dubai and live-streamed by Al Arabiya English. Two other trends, a lack of global leadership and global ... Read More

Saudi Fransi gets OK for up to $667 million secondary sukuk issue

Banque Saudi Fransi, which is part-owned by Credit Agricole, will issue up to 2.5 billion riyals ($667 million) in secondary sukuk, or Islamic bonds, after shareholders approved the move, the lender said on Tuesday. The move is aimed at shoring up its supplementary capital reserves, or Tier 2 capital. Bonds and sukuk issued ... Read More

UAE’s Crescent Petroleum to enter Libya, Lebanon

United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Petroleum is gearing up for expansion in the Iraqi oil and gas sector and a debut into Libya and Lebanon, its chief executive told Reuters on Monday. As new governments try to meet the urgent needs for job creation and economic diversification in the wake of the Arab Spring, regional oil ... Read More

UAE’s investment plans in Arab Spring countries still on hold

The UAE’s investment plans in Arab Spring countries are pending and still in the process to be formulated, an advisor at the Gulf state’s ministry of foreign trade has said. Mahmood Sharif Mahmood told Al Arabiya that the UAE is waiting for the Arab Spring countries’ situation to settle before planning any solid investment ... Read More

Abu Dhabi’s TAQA picks five banks for dollar bond

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) has mandated five banks for a dollar-denominated bond which could be issued before the end of the year, a spokesman for the company told Reuters on Monday. TAQA has picked BNP Paribas, Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered for the bond, the ... Read More

Three international companies bid for Afghan oil rights

Three international companies have bid for new oil and gas exploration rights in Afghanistan, the mines ministry said Monday, as the troubled nation seeks to transform its vast mineral deposits into an economic engine ahead of NATO withdrawing its troops in 2014. Dragon Oil of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait ... Read More

Egypt’s former finance minister warns of spiraling economic crisis

Former Egyptian Finance Minister Samir Radwan warned of a severe financial crisis to hit the country if serious steps are not taken to salvage the collapsing economy. “Foreign investment in Egypt is now at zero percent,” he told Al Arabiya. “In fact, investment outside Egypt has reached two billion dollars.” Radwan said ... Read More

Small contraction in Iran economy over oil ban: IMF

Economic performance in Iran has shown a small contraction because of a Western ban on oil exports whose impact is spilling over into other sectors, the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday. “The projection that we have shows small contraction in Iran economy during 2012 ... and an increase in ... Read More

Barclays given license according to rules: Saudi Capital Market Authority

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority on Sunday it granted Barclays the license to operate in the kingdom according to official rules and after making sure the Bank had met all necessary conditions and requirements. In a statement obtained by Al Arabiya, the authority said Barclays Bank was given the license in August 2009 ... Read More

Arab Spring economies to recover slowly in 2013: IMF

Most economies hit by the Arab Spring uprisings will recover slowly next year, grappling with high inflation and rising unemployment due to poor global conditions, the International Monetary Fund predicted in a report on Sunday. In its twice-yearly outlook for the Middle East and North Africa, the global lender said a ... Read More

Saudi Arabia happy with current oil price: minister

The global oil market is in a good shape and Saudi Arabia is happy with the current oil price, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday, expressing satisfaction over a Gulf Arab effort which kept prices in check. Sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe against Iran over its disputed nuclear program had ... Read More

Steel sanctions cut deep into Iran’s economy

Iranian manufacturers and builders face serious shortages of steel and other metals as a new European Union export ban adds to troubles for an economy already reeling from sanctions on its finances and oil exports. Reliant on imports to make up a shortfall in its own steel production, data shows Iran’s purchases of foreign ... Read More

Former Iraqi central bank chief rejects graft charges

The former governor of Iraq’s central bank on Saturday denied parliamentary charges of corruption on Saturday, saying he was the victim of a government campaign to try and control the autonomous bank's foreign reserves. Iraq’s cabinet last month ousted Sinan al-Shibibi after a parliamentary investigation into central ... Read More

UAE frees hundreds of Emirati debtors from jail: WAM news agency

The United Arab Emirates has released from prison around 290 people convicted of bouncing checks, the state news agency said on Saturday, the latest step by one of the world’s richest countries to help its citizens deal with their debts. The drive to help debtors underlines moves by the government to expand its support to ... Read More

Barclays face U.S. investigation on Saudi license

The U.S. Department of Justice is currently looking into Barclay’s allegedly improper payment to gain banking license in Saudi Arabia, reported Financial Times Friday. According to sources, U.S. prosecutors are skeptical on how the bank managed to win a license to operate its wealth-management and investment banking services ... Read More

Wedding woes for Iranians as economy endures

Iran weddings are common in the lead up to the start of Muharram, a month of mourning particularly for Shiite muslims, which make up the majority of the Islamic Republic. Brides heading to the salon and picked up by their grooms after beauty treatments are a usual sight for Tehran residents. But it has recently decreased due ... Read More

Swiss bank chooses Bahrain as regional headquarters in Mideast

Swiss bank BSI Bank has chosen Bahrain as its regional headquarters in the Middle East, a move welcomed by Bahrain officials that may give a boost to the kingdom’s financial sector, reported Arabian Business on Friday. The bank, which is one of the oldest in Switzerland, has assets amounting to $85 billion. “We believe ... Read More

LUKOIL says looks into Exxon offer on Iraqi oil-report

Russia’s second largest crude producer LUKOIL said on Friday it will study an offer from Exxon regarding Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oilfield, which the U.S. major wants to leave, Interfax news agency reported. “We received an offer from Exxon. We will likely study this possibility. But we haven’t make any decision today,” ... Read More

Ex-Iraq bank chief says government wants reserves

The ex-chief of Iraq’s central bank has dismissed charges against him as baseless in an interview with AFP and said authorities had compromised the bank’s independence to access its reserves. Sinan al-Shabibi said the government had been ‘spoiled’ by a stable exchange rate for several years, and a warrant for ... Read More

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