Regional News

  DUBAI / Reuters Aluminium Bahrain has approached banks for a $750 million loan towards the financing of its Line 6 expansion project, sources said. 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 the sixth “potline”, used in producing the metal from raw …

  CAIRO / Reuters Pharmacies across Egypt are running short of medicines, some of them life-savers, as a plunge in the value of the Egyptian pound coupled with strict government price caps has made scores of products unprofitable to produce or import. The shortages include some cancer treatments as well as basic items like insulin, tetanus shots and contraceptive pills. …

  Riyadh / Emirates Business The Middle East is one of the largest importers of French dairy products according to the latest research from the country’s official cheese board, the Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière (CNIEL). The research puts the Middle East ahead of China (US$354m), North America (US$270m), Switzerland (US$137m) and Australia (US$30m). Edwina Salvatori, Account Director, SOPEXA …

  DUBAI / Reuters Iran has sent some ‘surplus’ heavy water to Oman, an Iranian nuclear spokesman was quoted as saying, after a UN atomic watchdog said Tehran was over a soft limit set under its nuclear deal with major powers. “In view of the progress of talks with several foreign firms and countries to purchase heavy water, some quantities …

  CAIRO / Emirates Business Egypt remains the star performer among its peers in the region rising 5 percent over last week and breaking the 11,000 level for the first time since 2008. The rise is backed by positive investor sentiment regarding the IMF support of much needed funding. Stocks continue to rise after the currency declined by more than …

Riyadh / Reuters Embattled Saudi construction firm Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG) said it has written directly to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman explaining that it may not be able to continue operating. It was unclear if the privately owned company was seeking financial or other assistance from the government. In a short statement via the stock exchange on …

  Riyadh / Emirates Business Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) announced the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott Riyadh Olaya located in the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The contemporary new Courtyard by Marriott Riyadh Olaya rises proudly along the popular Olaya district in Riyadh and provides a new level of functionality and comfort to travelers within the Kingdom. …

  Dubai / Emirates Business InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced the opening of InterContinental Doha Residences under a management agreement with Gulf Hotels Company WLL. Located on Doha’s longest natural private beach, each spacious residence offers tranquil living in distinctive surroundings. With a design that merges Arabian and European sophistication, InterContinental Doha …

  DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s government has made payments of 40 billion riyals ($10.7 billion) that it owed to private sector companies, the kingdom’s Arab News newspaper quoted a senior construction industry executive as saying. With its oil revenues slashed by low crude prices, the government of the world’s largest oil exporter has cut spending sharply this year and …

  Dubai / Emirates Business USGBORAL ME, the renowned manufacturer of interior finishing products, has begun production of metal ceiling panels from its Dammam factory in Saudi Arabia, the newest and latest plant for metal ceiling in the region for the past 5 years. The move marks a major expansion of the company’s product portfolio, which comprises plasterboard, ceiling lining …