BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Oil Ministry signed a final deal with China’s CNOOC and state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) on Monday to develop the 2.5-billion-barrel Maysan oilfield complex. The deal is the eleventh of a series signed since last year with international oil companies to develop the war-damaged country’s vast oil reserves, and which have the potential …

DUBAI: GE Capital, a unit of General Electric Co., plans to issue its second Islamic bond in late 2010 or in 2011, a senior executive said on Sunday. Aris Kekedjian, chief executive of GE Capital Middle East and Africa, said the Islamic bond, or sukuk, would likely be a benchmark issue. In November, GE Capital …

AMMAN: Political stability in the West Bank has brightened the business prospects of the largest Palestinian holding firm, its chairman said on Sunday. "Most of the companies that we invest in have shown growth in their operations and profitability last year," said Munib Al-Masri, chairman of Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO) on the sidelines …

CAIRO: Egypt is to begin a public relations initiative in the West in an attempt to bring the international community on board regarding its rights to the Nile water after four Nile basin countries signed a new treaty excluding Egypt and Sudan. A diplomatic effort will be launched in the coming days. Delegates to the …

RAMALLAH: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet US envoy George Mitchell Wednesday to discuss final status issues in indirect peace talks with Israel, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Monday. "The discussions between Abbas and Mitchell on Wednesday will concern final status issues with Israel," Saeb Erakat told AFP, referring to core disputes in the decades-old …

BEIRUT: A UN tribunal probing the 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri could file charges by the end of the year, the head of the tribunal said in an interview published on Monday. "Prosecutor (Daniel) Bellemare announced that he is likely to issue an indictment between September and December of this year," tribunal chief …

KHARTOUM: Sudanese authorities Sunday arrested Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi and closed down his newspaper a month after the country’s first competitive polls in two decades, party officials said. "At around midnight (2100 GMT Saturday), a group of security officers arriving in three cars, came and took Hassan Al-Turabi from his home," his secretary Awad …

CAIRO: Egyptian textiles company Arab Cotton Ginning posted net profit for the nine months to end-March of LE 34 million ($6.1 million), the stock exchange said on Sunday. The firm posted net profit of LE 19.6 million for the same period a year earlier. The stock exchange statement did not provide further details.  

CAIRO: Egypt’s Maridive, the biggest oil services firm by fleet size in the Middle East, posted a first-quarter net profit of $15.4 million, down 34.3 percent from a year earlier, the stock exchange said on Sunday. The firm made a net profit of $23.4 million in the first quarter of 2009, the bourse said. Five …

CAIRO: Egypt’s Alexandria Cotton Exporters’ Association (Alcotexa) committed to sell 938 tons of cotton in the week that ended May 15, an Alcotexa official told Reuters on Sunday. The sales comprised 63 tons of Giza 88 and 875 tons of Giza 86, the official said. The deal brings Alcotexa’s export commitments for the 2009/10 season, …

CAIRO: Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $2.61 billion in the nine months to end-March from $3.43 billion year earlier, the central bank said on Sunday. Direct investment into Egypt slid to $4.33 billion from $5.24 billion a year earlier, but the inflow of portfolio investment was $7.11 billion compared to an outflow of $8.89 …

Talaat Moustafa Group, Egypt’s biggest listed developer, posted a 3.2 percent rise in first-quarter net profit after it recognized more revenue from completed homes and a pickup in tourism helped its hotels. The firm on Wednesday posted net profit of LE 324.1 million ($57.8 million), below an average forecast of LE 367 million provided by …

KAMPALA: Seven African nations are expected to push through a new and more equitable deal this week on sharing the waters of the Nile despite strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan. "What we are doing is launching the signing. Any country that feels they cannot sign now but may be ready to sign later will …

CAMBRIDGE: The $140 billion support package that the Greek government has finally received from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund gives it the breathing space needed to undertake the difficult job of putting its finances in order. The package may or may not prevent Spain and Portugal from becoming undone in a …

RAMALLAH: The issue of settlements and their illegality under international law should dominate debate surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and a return to negotiations. Israel’s refusal to adhere to international law or its previous commitments, particularly its obligation to freeze all settlement construction as stipulated under the 2003 road map, has led to a low point …

KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) swung into a first quarter loss, after booking provisions against its loan and investment portfolios. Net loss in the three months to March 31 came in at 1.41 million dinars ($4.86 million), compared with net profit of 3.14 million dinars a year earlier, CBK said in a statement on …

DUBAI: Dubai has given developer Nakheel, part of a $24.8 billion debt restructuring at its parent Dubai World, enough funds to repay a $980 million Islamic bond due on May 13, Nakheel said in a statement on Tuesday. Nakheel, the builder of man-made islands shaped like palms, is widely expected to repay the bond on …

DUBAI: Middle East stocks fell on Tuesday, weighed by falling oil prices and downbeat global markets as a relief rally ignited by a $1 trillion plan to aid Greece gave way to doubts on how it will cut its budget deficit. Petrochemical stocks, seen as a proxy to world trade, were the main drag on …

LONDON: OPEC raised its estimate for world oil demand growth in 2010 for a third successive month on Tuesday, but its figures showed economic recovery would not be sufficient to wipe out a surplus of supply this year. The monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps more than one in …

Orascom Telecom’s executive chairman said the CEO of Orascom’s Algerian unit met with the Algerian finance minister on Monday, but declined to comment further on the status of talks over the troubled unit. "We are very keen not to comment on the Algerian file, because we are very keen to leave relations with Algeria in …

CAIRO: Egypt’s parliament voted on Tuesday to extend a decades-old state of emergency for a further two years, the official MENA news agency reported. "The People’s Assembly has approved by a 308-member majority the presidential decree to extend the state of emergency for a period of two years," MENA said. A parliamentary source told AFP …

DUBAI: Dubai’s Emirates airline will start flights to Iraq in July, it said on Monday, as it looks to benefit from increasing traffic on the back of reconstruction efforts in the war-torn nation. The Arab world’s biggest carrier, which has not flown to the country before, said in a statement the destination is one of …

LONDON: The Qatari royal family’s investment arm is considering whether to open a flagship Harrods outlet in Shanghai after its acquisition of the British store, the Financial Times reported Monday. Qatar Holding, which bought the landmark London department store for £1.5 billion (€1.7 billion, $2.2 billion) on Saturday, may target the Chinese city as a …

Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin called for offering more investment projects on the Upper Egypt-Red Sea road as soon as possible. During a tour of the Upper Egyptian city of Assiut, he pointed out that major Arab and foreign investment institutions are interested in launching projects along the road. Services including petrol stations, traffic posts, …

Egypt’s central bank kept its key overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, a decision that was in line with analysts’ forecasts and the bank’s fifth pause since it last lowered rates in September. Ten out of 10 economists participating this week in a Reuters poll forecast that the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee would keep rates …

CAIRO: Egypt is set to hold elections for chambers of commerce board members nationwide on June 23. A total of 292 candidates are vying for the 193 available seats, and will hold the post for a four-year term The process will begin after appeals committee screenings and approval procedures are completed, along with a performance …

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s oil ministry has sent the final draft of a gas deal with Royal Dutch Shell to the cabinet for approval, Iraq’s oil minister said on Thursday. The deal is for a multi-billion-dollar joint venture between Iraq’s South Gas Company, Shell and Japan’s Mitsubishi in the southern Basra oil hub to capture and use …

JOHANNESBURG: The Gautrain, Africa’s first high-speed rail line, will launch on June 8 in South Africa three days before the opening match of the 2010 football World Cup, the developers said Friday. French construction giant Bouygues said the train’s first segment, linking OR Tambo International Airport and the posh Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, will open …

Dubai is among the ten most expensive office markets in the world, a report on global office rents by commercial real estate services company CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) showed. The report said office rents in Dubai have recorded $108.92 per square foot per annum, placing the emirate at number nine. Occupancy costs in the global …

CAIRO: Ceramics company Lecico Egypt said improved volumes in the sanitary ware segment was the main driver of a 25 percent rise in first-quarter earnings. Profit rose to LE 26.9 million ($4.8 million), on revenue up 11 percent to LE 269.5 million. "The strength that we had seen in our business in the last quarter …