Regional News

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s main state grain buyer SAGO said on Thursday it was seeking to purchase 595,000 tonnes of hard wheat from global suppliers in an international tender. The deadline for submitting offers was 2359 Saudi time (2059 GMT) on Oct. 14, with the wheat due to be shipped between Dec. 1, 2016 and Jan. 30, 2017, it said. ...

  Reuters The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) plans to finalize several new standards by the end of the year, as the standard-setting body works through a revamp of its guidance for the $2 trillion industry. Bahrain-based AAOIFI has published a draft sharia standard for gold-based products with a one month consultation period ending Nov. 9, ...

  Reuters A joint venture of HaskoningDHV UK and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co has been awarded a contract to design the infrastructure for the Ras Al Khair maritime yard in Saudi Arabia, a statement from the firms said on Tuesday. The duo, based in the Netherlands and South Korea, have been awarded the front-end engineering design contract, with the ...

  DUBAI/ Reuters Kuwait has delayed a sovereign bond issue of up to $10 billion until next year after deciding it is in no rush to raise funds overseas, bankers familiar with Kuwaiti debt policy said. Finance Minister Anas al-Saleh said in July the government planned to sell as much as $10 billion of U.S. dollar-denominated conventional and Islamic bonds ...

  Doha / Reuters Qatari banks Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank plan to launch the Gulf state’s first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the end of 2016, a move that should boost capital flows into the local stock market, a bourse official said. The launch of ETFs – portfolios of stocks that track an index – could boost a market ...

  Bloomberg Egypt has “almost completed” the actions required for the International Monetary Fund’s board to review its $12 billion loan accord, but some measures related to the exchange rate and subsidies are still pending, Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Saturday. The most populous Arab country is relying on the deal to restore investor confidence and ease a dollar ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s Almarai, the Gulf’s largest dairy company, reported a 10 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Sunday, broadly meeting analysts’ forecasts with the help of cost controls it said would remain a priority. Saudi retailers will in coming quarters have to weather the impact of austerity measures imposed to curb a huge state budget ...

  Bloomberg Qatar’s royal family is considering increasing its stake in Deutsche Bank AG to as much as 25 percent, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, former Prime Minister of the Gulf State, and the former Emir of the country, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani are exploring increasing their ...

Bloomberg Trafigura Group Ltd., the second-biggest metals trader, wants to increase business with post-sanctions Iran. The Singapore-based trading house is seeking to hire a Persian-speaking executive for its refined metals division to work with its traders to “identify, analyze, assess and propose business opportunities in the Arabian Gulf, especially within the rapidly changing Iranian market,” according to a job posting ...

  Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund said its board may be able to approve a $12 billion accord with Egypt by early November, as the country seeks alternative sources of financing to complement the IMF loans. Egypt is making “very good progress” on obtaining about $5 billion to $6 billion of additional funds, and is discussing the issue with Saudi ...