Regional News

DUBAI / Reuters Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) will pay $1.35 billion to buy a further 12.1 percent stake in Kuwaiti telecoms company Zain in a deal that will expand its reach to nine Mid- dle Eastern and North Afri- can countries. It paid 0.781 Kuwaiti dinars ($2.58) per share, around 74 percent above the current listed price, for the stake, which …

Bloomberg Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser said he’s plann- ing sweeping cuts at the German engineering company’s power-and-gas business, setting the stage for a turnaround plan aimed at tackling weak orders and a sharp drop in profit. The unit, which is suffering from a steady decline in demand for large turbines used in power plants, will be “reshaped …

KHOBAR / Reuters Preparations to float shares of Saudi Aramco next year are proceeding, but no decision has been taken yet on the venue for the international listing, the chief executive of the state oil company told Al Arabiya Television channel. “Preparations are proceeding to the fullest extent for listing in 2018,” Amin Nasser told the channel in an interview …

CAIRO / Reuters Egypt has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund for an instalment of about $2 billion more from a three-year, $12 billion loan programme, the IMF said. The payment, still subject to IMF executive board approval, will bring total disbursements under the program to about $6 billion. Egypt is pushing through ambitious economic reforms under …

Bloomberg Boosted by higher global prices, US coal miners are showing they can make money again. Now, for the hard part — winning back investors. Five of America’s largest coal producers — Alliance Resource Partners LP, Arch Coal Inc., Cloud Peak Energy Inc., Peabody Energy Corp. and Warrior Met Coal Inc. — reported a combined $801 million in third-quarter earnings …

Bloomberg As the price of oil rises, an international rush is on for Mexico’s untapped deep-water riches. The who’s who of the oil world — led by Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s two biggest drillers by market value — are lining up to bid in the country’s Jan. 31 deep-water auction. And the interest is …

Bloomberg Northern Drilling Ltd., a company set up by billionaire John Fredriksen to buy offshore drilling rigs on the cheap, raised 2.03 billion kroner ($250 million) in a private placement to expand its fleet. The company said it sold 31.8 million new shares at 64 kroner apiece, equal to the stock’s closing price on the Oslo Axess market a day …

Bloomberg Narendra Modi’s first term as leader of the world’s fastest-growing oil market coincided with the biggest price crash in a generation. Crude’s rebound into a bull market is set to test the Indian Prime Minister as he gears up for re-election in 2019. While low prices helped shrink deficits as Modi cut subsidies after taking the reins of Asia’s …

Bloomberg Just five years ago it would have been almost unthinkable that one of the world’s biggest mining companies would not dig any coal. It’s now likely to become a reality. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest miner, has been steadily backtracking from coal to focus on better assets. It’s now looking for buyers for its remaining coal mines in …

Bloomberg Venezuela is set to pump the least oil in almost three decades, just when it needs petrodollars the most. Output is expected to slump to 1.84 million barrels a day next year, the lowest compared with official government data since 1989, according to a survey with four analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Rig counts hit a 14-year low in October, …