Regional News

  Emirates Business Increased demand for energy efficient lighting solutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is spurring fresh growth for the LED market, as the sustainable and long-lasting luminaire looks to dominate the regional architectural and public lighting landscape. Analysts Frost & Sullivan estimate that the GCC’s LED (light-emitting diode) market was worth US$900 million in 2015, comprising 38 ...

  Jeddah / TNS Secretary General of the Committee on Information and Awareness in Saudi Banks, Talaat Hafeth, said that transactions made using the Mada System for sales points and ATMs amounted to SR58.6 billion this Ramadan, marking a growth rate of 8 percent compared to the previous year. He said that the highest number of sales made in a ...

  Jeddah / TNS The Arab Tourism Experts Union, a tourism body of experts seeking to promote tourism among the Arab countries, selected Riyadh as its headquarters. The union also decided to open branch headquarters in a number of Arab countries. The countries that represent the general commission of the union include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Tunisia, Algeria, ...

  Jeddah / TNS A total of 14,062 establishments have showed compliance to the directive that aims to employ Saudi males and females in the telecom sector, a recent statistic showed in the second month of ongoing inspection campaigns. As various ministries take part in implementing the 50-percent nationalization of the telecom sector, the Eastern Province registered the highest number ...

  Bloomberg Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co. signed a deal with a majority of its creditor banks to restructure about $6 billion of debt, taking the Saudi conglomerate one step closer to ending a seven-year impasse over the Middle East’s biggest default. The agreement with a five-member committee representing about 80 banks, which include BNP Paribas SA and Standard ...

  Emirates Business Egypt will “soon” receive the first tranche of a $1.5 billion loan from Saudi Arabia, an Egyptian minister said, a cash injection that could help to ease a dollar shortage that has weighed on economic growth. The first payment will be about $500 million, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said. The loan is one of ...

  Reuters Libya’s hopes to boost crude exports have been dealt a blow after the head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) objected to a deal between the government and local guards to reopen key ports. In a letter seen by Reuters to U.N. Libya envoy Martin Kobler and a number of oil and diplomatic officials, NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla ...

  Emirates Business One of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent real estate development companies believes its first venture in the UAE can help mould the changing face of Dubai residential property over the next few years. Riyadh-based ARTAR Real Estate Development says a big focus on genuine liveability and a payment plan requiring only a 30% investment prior to completion has ...

  REUTERS The board of Jarir Marketing , one of Saudi Arabia’s largest retailers by market value, has proposed paying a cash dividend of 1.25 riyals per share for the second quarter of 2016, it said in a statement on Sunday. The company paid shareholders a 1.46 riyal dividend for the corresponding period of 2015.

  REUTERS Saudi Arabia’s Alinma Bank reported a 12.1 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, in line with the average forecasts of analysts, as expenses dropped. Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 409 million riyals ($109.1 million), compared to 365 million riyals in the same period last year, it said in a bourse statement. ...