Economics
Fitch Rating agency says an expansionary 2013 budget based on a conservative oil price will support another year of healthy economic growth for Saudi Arabia.
Public expenditure in Dubai is set to increase by 7.8 percent in 2013 as the emirate's ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved a budget worth $9.3bn.
Lebanon has imposed a temporary ban on the import of cattle from the Brazilian state of Parana over fears of mad cow disease.
Companies
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is in the final stages of buying a stake in India’s Jet Airways, a senior Indian government source has said.
Dubai’s Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co, or du, has signed a $100 million financing deal with Standard Chartered to shore up liquidity.
Dubai Duty Free announced on Wednesday that its full-year sales for 2012 totalled AED5.9bn ($1.6bn), a 10 percent increase on the previous year.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded a AED167m ($45.4m) contract for a project to supply and extend the emirate's water transmission network.