October, 2016

• 27 October

  Egypt’s investment charm gets better

  

    Cairo / Emirates Business The World Bank has announced, during a ceremony to celebrate the release of its 14th Doing Business Report, that Egypt moved up nine places compared to last year. The country now ranks 122, which represents a significant improvement on its previous ranking of 131. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Mohamed Khodeir, the CEO of ...

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• 27 October

  Iran crude oil exports to hit 4-month low in Nov

    Reuters Iran’s crude oil exports are set to decline 5 percent in November to a four-month low, a source with knowledge of its preliminary tanker schedule said, as low seasonal demand in Europe takes the edge off its post-sanctions export bonanza. Iran’s oil exports typically hit a low around October or November each year, reflecting peak refinery maintenance seasons ...

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• 27 October

  Kuwait’s first solar plant to generate 10MW

  

    Reuters Kuwait has begun operating its first-ever solar power plant at the Umm Gudair oil field, a landmark for the OPEC member country as it seeks to diversify its sources of energy to meet fast-rising local demand. The 30-million Kuwaiti dinar ($99 million) project, Sidrah 500, will produce 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity, half of which will be supplied ...

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• 27 October

  Int’l hotel brands open in Jeddah despite tough economic times

  

    Jeddah / Emirates Business JLL, the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firm, released its Q3 2016 Jeddah Real Estate Market Overview report which assesses the latest trends in the office, residential, retail and hotel sectors. The latest market summary report discusses the opening of two internationally branded hotels — the Movenpick City Star Hotel (228 keys) and ...

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• 27 October

  Samsung posts 30pc profit plunge on Note 7 crisis

  

    AFP Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported an expected 30 percent profit plunge on the back of a highly damaging recall crisis that hammered the reputation of the world’s largest smartphone maker. The third quarter earnings were announced just hours before the start of an annual shareholder meeting which was set to approve the latest step in a complex generational ...

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• 27 October

  Stress for Singapore energy firms deepen

  

    Bloomberg Stresses among Singapore’s oil and gas companies are deepening, the head of Southeast Asia’s second-largest lender said, signaling that more firms grappling with the slump in energy prices may face difficulties repaying their debts. “I don’t think the oil and gas sector is in a situation where it is in a recovery mode yet, and continues to be ...

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• 27 October

  China’s industrial profits get boost from steel, refining

    Bloomberg Profits of China’s industrial corporations are holding up this year thanks to a boost from steel and refining, even as last month’s earnings slowed from a three-year high. Industrial profits in January-September rose 8.4 percent from a year earlier to 4.64 trillion yuan ($685 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. Earnings last month rose 7.7 percent ...

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• 27 October

  New Zealand emerges as easiest place to do business

  

    Bloomberg New Zealand has overtaken Singapore as the best country in the world to do business, according to the World Bank. Singapore slipped to second in the bank’s 2017 “ Doing Business” report after topping the ranking for a decade. Finland dropped out of the top 10, falling to 13th. Macedonia, which placed 92nd a decade ago, improved two ...

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• 27 October

  Nintendo sputters seeking to reignite growth engines

  

    Bloomberg Nintendo Co.’s plan to get its business back on track with mobile games and a new console is coming up against a hard reality: the core business is getting weaker. Pokemon Go, which gave investors and customers an early indication of the company’s potential to carve out a significant share of the smartphone gaming market, delivered a 12 ...

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• 27 October

  900 IS extremits killed in Mosul battle, says US

  

    Arbil / AFP The United States said on Thursday that up to 900 IS group extremists have been killed in the offensive to retake Iraq’s Mosul, as camps around the city filled with fleeing civilians. Iraqis who fled their homes expressed joy at escaping IS’s brutal rule as they were given shelter and assistance, in some cases reuniting with relatives ...

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