The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  Reuters Al Rayan Bank is expanding its product range and adding an office in Scotland, its top executive said, after a year of strong growth for Britain’s only Islamic retail lender despite uncertainty stemming from Brexit. Islamic retail banking is still a rarity in the West, but the experience of Al Rayan could encourage other Islamic banks to explore ...

  Bloomberg Falling commercial real estate prices after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union pose a threat to bank stability because of the market’s reliance on foreign capital, Bank of England said. Values have declined 2.6 percent since the referendum and may drop further from their current high levels, according to the central bank’s twice-yearly assessment. Continuing declines ...

  PATE ISLAND / AFP Ahmed Ali Mohamed snorkels over sea grass and coral, keeping an eye out for different fish species darting through the waters below him. But his job is not to catch the fish — as his family has done for generations — instead he only counts them. Mohamed is one of the first former fishermen to ...

  Soga / AFP The vivid red wound at the base of Gina’s ankle has remained open for three months and refuses to heal, leaving the Guinea-Bissau islander in constant pain. “I thought it was from a piece of wood,” she said, recalling the day when a snake sunk its fangs into her leg. “They had to carry me back ...

  Reuters OPEC agreed its first limit on oil output since 2008, sources in the producer group told Reuters, with Saudi Arabia accepting “a big hit” on its production and agreeing to arch-rival Iran freezing output at pre-sanctions levels. Brent crude futures jumped 8 percent to more than $50 a barrel after Riyadh signalled it had finally reached a compromise ...

  Reuters Royal Dutch Shell is considering selling out of its oil fields in Iraq as part of its global $30 billion asset disposal programme, industry sources said. Shell is seeking to slim down its vast oil and gas portfolio following the $54 billion acquisition of BG Group in February, which transformed it into the world’s top liquefied natural gas ...

Reuters Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power is expected to offer a hefty spread on its planned $1 billion bond offer, partly because of market volatility since the US elections and a narrowing issuance window, bankers and investors said. ACWA, in which Saudi sovereign entities hold a combined 16.3 percent stake, is set to be the first international bond from the kingdom ...

  Reuters Morocco’s Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), one of the world’s biggest phosphate producers, plans to issue 5 billion dirhams ($495 million) of domestic perpetual bonds, the stock exchange regulator said. State run OCP, a major earner of foreign currency for Morocco, has been increasing output to help offset a slide in prices and aims to produce 47 million tonnes ...

  Bloomberg Tunisia’s prime minister said it’s time the government delivered on the long-ignored demands of protesters whose 2010 revolt swept an autocratic ruler from office and sparked the Arab Spring. Unemployment, pay and inequality were the main drivers of the Jasmine Revolution, and six years later unrest is again festering after previous administrations focused on cementing the nation’s transition ...

  Chiba / AFP The sun is setting on Japan’s clean-energy boom, despite projects like a massive floating solar farm near Tokyo, as the government cuts subsidies and bets on nuclear and coal-fired power, critics say. Workers at the floating power station, one of the world’s biggest, have just finished laying about 50,000 interconnected panels on a vast dam reservoir. ...