Economics and Policy
The IMF and the Tunisian government have reached agreement on a $1.78 billion precautionary loan which will be announced later today.
Bank employees in Lebanon have vowed to stage fresh protests and sit-ins on April 28 to press their demand for the renewal of a 2008 collective labor agreement.
Syria’s central bank set the exchange rate of the pound at $95.30 Monday, in a move aimed at propping up the country’s currency.
Companies and Business
Dubai-listed companies increased earnings by 88.2 percent in 2012, leading the GCC’s economic recovery, according to an analysis by Kuwaiti-based Global Investment House.
A law that will allow Egypt's Islamist-led state to issue Islamic bonds contravenes the sharia in numerous ways, according to a panel of senior Muslim clerics whose objections are likely to hold up ratification of the legislation.
Barwa Bank, a Qatari lender part-owned by an arm of the state's sovereign wealth fund, plans to raise 2.05 billion riyals ($563 million) through two share sales including a public float on the Doha bourse.
Odeabank AS, owned by Lebanon’s Banque Audi Sal-Audi Saradar Group, said it may consider acquisitions in Turkey, where chief executive officer Huseyin Ozkaya is seeking to attain a top-15 position for the bank.
Qatar Petroleum International and Exxon Mobil Corp signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to assess jointly unconventional gas resources in North America and global opportunities in liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, expects its retail lending to jump between 25 and 40 per cent in 2013 as consumer confidence returns in the United Arab Emirates, its retail banking head said on Monday.
Indebted telecom operator Zain Saudi said it narrowed losses in the first quarter as revenue rose and financing costs fell.
