Economy and Politics
Gulf Arab countries have issued a travel warning for Lebanon, telling their citizens to avoid what is a popular tourist destination for the region after a spillover of violence from neighbouring Syria.
Qatar has awarded four design and build contracts worth approximately $8.2 billion for phase one of the Doha metro.
The UAE advertising industry accounted for a 33 per cent share of the GCC’s total ad spend estimated at $4.8 billion in 2012 to remain number one, as the print media continued its dominance with a 71 per cent share of the overall market.
Some 72 percent of residential projects in Beirut completed in 2012 are still unsold, a new report has shown.
Companies and Business
Zain Saudi, the kingdom's third-largest telecom operator, has signed a SR2.25bn ($600m) Islamic loan guaranteed by its parent company.
Lower GDP growth, falling interest rates on Lebanese sovereign bonds and stricter Basel III measures could affect the profitability of Lebanese banks in 2014 and 2015.
Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) and Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) have asked Qatar Exchange to increase the number of their shares available to foreign investors to 25 per cent of their market capitalisation.
