Regional stock market indices Regional currency rates Nakheel increases capital to $23 billion Nakhleel, the UAE-real estate property developer, obtained the approval of the Ministry of Economy to raise its capital from Dh100m ($27.2 million) to Dh82.8 billion ($22.5 billion) in an aim to transform the company from government ownership to a private joint stock company with 827 million shares. Nakheel, the developer of The Palm, The World and Dubai Waterfront, listed the world’s largest Sukuk (Islamic-compliant bond) on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) on Dec. 14, 2006. The $3.52 billion Sukuk, lead-managed and book-run by Barclays Capital and Dubai Islamic Bank, gives its holders the subscription rights to invest in future public share offerings by The Nakheel Group. Batelco launches new service with Spain’s Telefonica Moviles Batelco, Bahrain’s leading telecommunications company, announced the launching of a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)/Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) in agreement with Spain’s
