EU-Gulf free trade deal edges closer
Source: Arabian Business (Read full story)
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In comments that appeared to show the GCC’s reinvigorated desire to seal a FTA between the two major blocs in the free world, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said negotiators should now “strive harder to overcome the remaining obstacles to finalize signing”. However, the GCC’s insistence that it retain the right to impose duties on its exports remains the one major stumbling block. “I can say that almost 99 per cent of the items have being agreed and only one issue related to export duties is currently being reviewed before any decision is reached,” Sheikh Khalid told media following a meeting with EU officials in Manama, according to Gulf Daily News.
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Bahrain banks’ profit balloons to $1bn in Q1
Source: Trade Arabia (Read full story)
The combined net profits of Bahrain’s banks nearly doubled to $1.1 billion in the first three months of this year, compared to $427 million in cumulative profits during the same period last year, said a report. The rebound in profits was across all -sectors of the banking industry, i.e. conventional wholesale and retail banks, as well as Islamic wholesale and retail banks, according to data compiled by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).
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Kuwait Invests $24B in the UK
Source: Nuqudy (Read full story)
The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has doubled its investments in England to over 24 billion US dollars, according to managing director Bader Mohammed Al-Saad. The Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund is one of the world’s largest with an estimated $342 billion in assets. Al-Saad said, “The KIO now manages more than $120 billion globally compared with only $27 billion 10 years ago.” He added, “The KIA has invested more than $24 billion in the UK across all asset classes, sectors and industries. 10 years ago it was $9 billion.” Al-Saad was speaking at a lunch with British investors on the 60th anniversary of the creation of Kuwait Investment Office, a primary investment arm.
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Qatar Shell signs maintenance contracts with two local firms
Source: Gulf Times (Read full story)
Qatar Shell has signed electric motor maintenance contracts with two local companies — Manweir and ABB Oryx — for its Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) plant at Ras Laffan. Pearl GTL has approximately 4,500 electrical motors installed on the plant that need to be regularly inspected and maintained. The deals come as Qatar Shell increases its drive to support Qatar’s private sector and increase the number of qualified local suppliers retained in its operations locally, paving the way for them to become the supplier of choice for Qatar Shell as well as the Pearl GTL plant.
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Saudi oil exports hit 1.27 bn barrels in six months
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Saudi Arabia exported nearly 1.27 billion barrels of oil in the first six months of the current year that yielded SR 514 billion, an economic expert was quoted by the local media. Local consumption stood at 419 million barrels, or 25 percent of the total production, during the same period, Fahad bin Jumaa told Al-Riyadh Arabic daily. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that global demand on oil would go down by 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the current year, or 90.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) but still higher by 0.9 percent compared to the figures of 2012.
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Abu Dhabi bolsters sea trade links with Khalifa Port’s fourth line to Far East
Source: The National (Read full story)
Abu Dhabi’s cargo port is increasing its links to major sea trading hubs in South Korea and China. The Khalifa Port Container Terminal, which now handles all cargo shipments to the capital, has joined South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping’s main line Far East – Middle East Express (FMX) to boost trade and decrease transit time through relay ports such as Singapore and Port Klang in Malaysia. The weekly Hanjin line is Khalifa Port’s fourth line linking it to the Far East.
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