News

CAIRO / AP For two weeks now, the shelf once piled with bags of sugar — for better or worse Egypt’s most loved commodity — has stood empty at this grocery store in bustling downtown Cairo. “This is nothing — they’re missing even more things in my village,” said Mahmoud Sulayman, a former army conscript from the Nile Delta now ...

  Reuters Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr have signed licence deals allowing them to operate fourth-generation (4G) mobile services in Egypt, the country’s telecoms regulator said on Sunday. Egypt is selling four 4G licences as part of a long-awaited plan to reform the telecoms sector and to raise money for stretched government finances. The country’s three existing mobile phone operators ...

  Reuters Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) said on Sunday it closed a $1.5 billion loan with regional and international banks that will fund its Line 6 expansion project. Alba will become the world’s largest single aluminium smelter complex, boosting its annual output by 540,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes per year by adding a sixth “potline”, used in producing the metal ...

  Kuwait City / Emirates Business GE marked a new milestone in its operational presence in Kuwait with the opening of the GE Kuwait Technology Center (GEKTC), a flagship facility that will foster localized research, provide hands-on training and build an innovation ecosystem specifically for the power sector. Approved by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) for a Foreign ...

  AWEIL / AP The mother faced an anguished decision: choosing which of her children to save. With hunger gripping this remote region of South Sudan, Elizabeth Athiel could either get urgent medical attention for her 8-month-old daughter, Anger, or make sure her other five children could eat. The little girl was shockingly thin, but the medical clinic was a ...

  DHAHRAN / WAM Saudi Aramco’s offshore projects department recently awarded a long-term agreement (LTA) to National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) of Abu Dhabi for the execution of its offshore development programme. It is the fifth LTA awarded by Saudi Aramco, with four earlier LTAs awarded in June 2015 to various engineering, procurement, fabrication and offshore installation (EPIC) contractors. The ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business India’s leading travel agents have been urged to seize the potential of Abu Dhabi’s diverse tourism offering to further boost their already growing business relations with the Emirate. The call came at a welcome gala reception for up to 600 agents, all members of The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) — the ‘voice’ ...

  ATHENS / WAM The UAE-Greece Business Forum opened in Athens on Saturday, in a bid to expand opportunities, trade and investments for businesses in both countries. The Forum was co-chaired by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, and Giorgos Stathakis, Greek Minister of Economy. The Forum was attended by representatives from UAE and Greek government organisations, ...

  Ajman / EMIRATES BUSINESS Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Coface Emirates Services and National General Insurance Company (NGI) to extend trade credit solutions and risk management services to member companies of the Chamber. The agreement, signed by HE Abdullah Omar Al Marzouqi, Executive Director of Membership Registration and Transactions Services at ...

  ABU DHAHBI / WAM The National Media Council (NMC) will highlight its role in regulating the media sector in the UAE, during its debut appearance at GITEX 2016, the largest technology exchange and marketplace for Middle East and Africa, which will open tomorrow in Dubai. Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the ...