Regional News

  Reuters Saudi Arabia’s securities regulator has suspended trade in the shares of the kingdom’s listed telecommunications operators after the government decided to extend their licences, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said. The CMA said it was acting after the government decided to extend the licence of Zain Saudi Arabia for 15 years, and also allow other telecommunications firms to ...

  Manama / Emirates Business Tenmou, Bahrain’s first ‘Business Angels’ organisation, in strategic partnership with the Economic Development Board (EDB) is preparing to host the third Middle East North Africa (MENA) Angel Investors Summit at the Ritz Carlton Hotel , Bahrain on November 22-23. More than 40 start-ups are expected to attend the event. The Summit aims to provide a ...

  PARIS / Reuters PSA Peugeot Citroen said it plans to sell more than 150,000 Peugeot vehicles in Iran in the second half of this year as the French carmaker seeks to reclaim the leading position it once enjoyed in the country. Peugeot, the biggest-selling European automaker in pre-sanctions Iran, suspended sales in 2012 when an international boycott due to ...

  Doha / Emirates Business In the lead-up to the soft opening of Mall of Qatar, it has been revealed that the multi-billion QAR project—designed to serve as the region’s ultimate shopping, entertainment and dining destination—will generate about 8,000 new jobs nationwide. This impressive figure indicates that Mall of Qatar is set to play a pivotal role in the country’s ...

  Reuters Egypt will hire SGS SA, a Geneva-based inspection service, to review wheat cargoes, a move that may ease trader concerns about the country’s frequently changing import standards. SGS will examine imported wheat at origin and arrival ports, Hamed Abdel-Dayem, a spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry, said by phone on Tuesday. Typically, the inspections have been carried out by ...

  Bloomberg Egypt’s central bank, which unexpectedly left borrowing costs unchanged last week, is keeping its powder dry for what one economist called a “super” rate increase. Five out of 8 economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected the Monetary Policy Committee to raise its key rate on Thursday to curb accelerating inflation and lay the ground for a widely ...

  Bloomberg Saudi Telecom Co. is exploring options for its indirect stake in billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan’s Maxis Bhd., the second-largest Malaysian wireless carrier by market value, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Gulf kingdom’s biggest telecommunications operator is gauging interest in its 25 percent holding in Binariang GSM Sdn., which is the controlling shareholder of Maxis, according ...

  Bloomberg Marriott International Inc., which became the world’s largest hotel operator with its $14 billion purchase of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., plans to almost double its workforce in the Middle East and Africa over the next three years. The company expects to add 30,000 more people to its regional workforce of 41,000 as new properties are opened, ...

  KUWAIT / Reuters Kuwait Projects Co (KIPCO), the Gulf state’s largest investment company, said on Sunday construction had begun on its $2.0-$2.5 billion real estate project in Kuwait, which has been downsized by around half from its original estimated cost. The mixed-use project, which had previously been valued at $5 billion, was scaled down after an earlier estimate did ...

  Bloomberg Turkey’s sovereign credit rating was cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service, which concluded a review initiated after an unsuccessful coup attempt on July 15. Moody’s cited rising risks related to Turkey’s external financing needs and a weakening in its credit fundamentals as economic growth slows. The rating was cut to Ba1 from Baa3, leaving Fitch Ratings as ...