Business briefing: 3 Sept 2013

An attack by assailants on a container ship in the Suez Canal has heightened risks for merchant shipping using the vital waterway, with further threats considered likely as political turmoil continues in Egypt.

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Lebanese banks will close their businesses Wednesday in solidarity with the Economic Committees, a body that represents private sector groups, to demand the immediate formation of a Cabinet.

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Companies and Business

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the world’s most aggressive investors, is hiring senior bankers and industry executives to lessen the fund’s reliance on Europe and diversify its investment portfolio.

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Elsewhere, Bahrain sovereign fund Mumtalakat has had signed a $250 million loan to help refinance part of a larger five-year facility.

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Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) registered 67 new companies in the first half of the year, bringing the total number of active registered firms in the centre to 979, an increase of seven per cent from year-end 2012.

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