Regional News

  AFP Candidates in Kuwait’s parliamentary elections have focused their campaigns on unpopular government austerity measures as the oil-dependent Gulf country faces financial stress due to low crude prices. Kuwait, which sits on around seven percent of the world’s proven crude reserves, has resorted to a series of measures to cut spending and boost non-oil revenues in a bid to …

  AFP The International Monetary Fund approved a three-year, $12 billion loan for Egypt to help the country recover from its economic crisis amid soaring inflation and deficits. The IMF executive board said it would release $2.75 billion to Egypt immediately, while further disbursements will depend on the country’s economic performance and agreed milestones in implementing the reforms. The program …

  Reuters Kuwaiti telecoms group Zain expects to sell its mobile transmitter towers in Saudi Arabia for more than $500 million in the first half of 2017, its chief executive said. Zain, which operates in eight countries in the Middle East and Africa, has been exploring the sale of its towers in some of its markets since as early as …

  Reuters Iraq’s oil ministry is postponing a bidding round for 12 small and medium-sized oil fields across three provinces from Nov. 30 to the middle of next year, the ministry said on its website on Thursday. The ministry’s statement said there are “essential changes” to the previous announcement, including plans for the oil ministry to develop some of the …

  Reuters Construction giant Saudi Oger has asked banks to agree to a freeze in repayments on at least 13 billion riyals ($3.5 billion) of debt, sources aware of the matter said, as it seeks more time to collect money owed by the kingdom’s government. The request opens the way for the company, owned by the family of Lebanese Prime …

  Reuters Saudi Arabia will settle all delayed payments to private businesses by the end of the year as it concludes a review of government projects that has saved tens of billions of riyals. The Council of Economic and Development Affairs approved the plan at a meeting late on Monday, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The council authorized payments …

  Emirates Business Saudi Arabia’s largest fleet customers recently visited the FUSO factory in Chennai with Al Habtoor Motors. The event was a great opportunity for Saudi fleet operators to meet, interact and share their ideas with other industry colleagues and learn best practice. The customers saw the outstanding build quality of FUSO trucks in this brand new manufacturing facility. …

  Reuters Edita Food Industries, one of Egypt’s largest food producers, will raise the prices of some of its products and also increase workers’ pay after the massive devaluation of the Egyptian pound, its chairman said. The company’s decisions point to challenges faced by firms around the country in the wake of the devaluation, which is expected to trigger a …

  Bloomberg Egypt will ask the International Monetary Fund’s executive board within a day or two to consider its $12 billion loan request, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy said, after the central bank freed the pound’s exchange rate to help spur investments and ease a dollar crunch. The push to finalize the loan comes as Egyptian banks began freely trading foreign …

  Bloomberg Mobile Telecommunication Co. is considering introducing new services such as fiber-optic internet access in Saudi Arabia after winning an upgrade to its license, a move that would bring the scope of its offerings nearer to larger Saudi Telecom Co. Saudi Arabia’s third-largest phone operator “has the most to gain” from a licensing change by the government because it …