Economics and Politics
Qatar plans to boost the government spending by 18 percent to QAR210.6bn (US$57.8bn) in the 2013/14 fiscal year that began on Monday, the QNA state news agency quoted Finance and Economy Minister Youssef Kamal as saying.
But elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain’s economic growth slowed sharply in the final quarter of 2012 as growth in hydrocarbon output stalled and two years of social unrest weighed on the banking sector.
Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir has claimed that he will release all political detainees, a move welcomed by the opposition as tensions ease with South Sudan.
Iran's inflation rate has climbed above 30 percent under the impact of international economic sanctions, according to figures released by the government's statistics centre.
Demand for Saudi crude is likely to rise over the next few months, Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi has said, in a sign the world’s largest oil exporter sees a recovery of demand in Asia, its biggest export market.
Despite the demand for oil, Saudi Arabia has begun deporting thousands of Yemeni labourers following new regulations requiring foreigners to work only for their sponsors, a Yemeni official said on Monday, a move that could “significantly damage” the poor country’s economy.
Turkish authorities have developed a plan to assume unprecedented control over revenues from Iraq's northern oil exports.
Companies and Business
Saudi Arabian dairy and food producer Almarai Co has completed the sale of a SAR1.3bn (US$346.7m) Islamic bond, or sukuk, the company said in a bourse filing on Monday.
Organizers are canceling or delaying conferences in Lebanon, including a major international oil and gas exhibition, because of political and security instability in the country.
Sharjah Islamic Bank has picked four banks to arrange meetings with fixed income investors ahead of a potential Islamic bond or sukuk issue, a lead manager said on Tuesday.
