Regional News

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 ...

  Bloomberg OPEC could cut production at its late November meeting in Vienna by another one percent more than the amount agreed in Algiers last month, if producers reckon it is needed, Algeria’s Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa has told local Ennahar TV. He also told Ennahar that OPEC and non-OPEC members would hold an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 ...

  DOHA / Reuters Gulf carrier Qatar Airways and Boeing will hold a news conference on Friday, a spokeswoman for Qatar Airways told Reuters on Wednesday, as a big sale of Boeing widebody jetliners looked close to being clinched. Qatar Airways is in the process of firming up the order, which was delayed by the Qatari government in an effort ...

  CAIRO / Reuters Beltone Financial, Egypt’s largest asset manager, said on Tuesday it had acquired 60 percent of New York-based brokerage firm Auerbach Grayson & Company. Beltone has 30 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.38 billion) in assets under management and has executed over 100 billion pounds in M&A and capital markets transactions. It was acquired by billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris’s ...

  Reuters Intensive care wards in Yemen’s hospitals are filled with emaciated children hooked up to monitors and drips – victims of food shortages that could get even worse due to a reorganisation of the central bank that is worrying importers. With food ships finding it hard to get into Yemen’s ports due to a virtual blockade by the Saudi-led ...

  BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq launched a radio station on Tuesday to help Mosul residents stay safe during the upcoming military offensive to dislodge IS from the largest city under its control, state TV said. The radio will give instructions on possible safe exit routes, places to avoid, where to find assistance and emergency numbers to call during the offensive. ...

  Doha / Emirates Business Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) has announced the dates and agenda for its second International Conference on Family Research and Policy, which will address the theme of ‘The Impact of Wars and Conflicts on Arab Families’. The conference will once again host researchers and policymakers from across the world at the Qatar National Convention Centre ...

  Reuters Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris’ OTMT said on Monday failure to resolve a dispute with the financial regulator had hit business and stymied growth, and the holding company would call a board meeting to discuss how to proceed. The dispute emerged six months ago and centres on breaches the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) says were involved in the ...

  Reuters Qatargas, the world’s largest LNG producer, will start operations at its new Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter by the end of this month, doubling the Gulf state’s capacity to process condensate, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The 146,000 barrel per day (bpd) facility had been due to open in September but was delayed ...