GCC to discuss single fuel price
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Oil ministers in GCC countries will discuss steps that have been taken toward finalizing a study on a single price of petroleum products in GCC countries next Tuesday during the 32nd Petroleum Cooperation Committee meeting. The meeting will be held in Riyadh at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Oil analyst Rashid Abanami expects the process to contribute to saving 30 percent of the total consumption of fuel in Saudi Arabia, which is smuggled to neighboring countries to be sold at higher prices. “A unified market for petroleum products could exist within the next six years,” said Abanami.
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IAEA rejects Arab push on Israel
Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)
A proposed resolution by Arab states criticising Israel’s widely-rumoured atomic arsenal was narrowly defeated on Friday at a gathering of the UN nuclear agency. Following a lively debate at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s annual general conference, the measure, supported by Iran, was defeated by 51 votes against and 43 in favour with 32 abstentions. Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons but has never acknowledged it and is not a signatory to the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The Jewish state is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency but is not subject to IAEA inspections except for at a small research facility.
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Saudi deal breathes more life into General Dynamics’ Abrams production line
Source: Washington Business Journal (Read full story)
General Dynamics Corp. landed a contract worth nearly $200 million to upgrade Saudi Arabia’s fleet of Abrams tanks, helping the Falls Church-based company to keep the production line churning despite budget uncertainty at home. The Army awarded the $187.53 million contract as a foreign military sale, tapping General Dynamics to update 84 Abrams tanks currently in the Saudi fleet to the most current configuration. The Department of Defense confirmed in an award announcement that performance will be at the company’s Lima, Ohio facility, as well as Sterling, Mich.
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UAE bank Mashreq might lift foreigners’ share limit – again
Source: The National (Read full story)
Mashreq might make a second increase in the percentage of its shares that foreigners can own, the bank’s chief executive said yesterday. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair’s comments came the day after Mashreq announced that it had increased the proportion of its shares that could be owned by non-Emirati investors to 20 per cent from 0.9 per cent following approval from the market regulator. If the change lifts the shares, he said, the limit could be lifted further still. “If it’s a success we can always consider it,” he said. Mr Al Ghurair was speaking on the sidelines of Sibos, a transactional-banking conference held in Dubai.
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QE market cap rises to QR537bn
Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)
Buying support from local retail and foreign institutional investors eased the selling pressure to lift the Qatar bourse benchmark index by 2.61 percent to close at 9,870.90 last week. All the sector indices ended in the green with the telecoms, transportation, real estate and banking and financial services outperforming the key index at the end of the week. Qatar Meat and Livestock, Qatar Electricity and Water, Gulf International, UDC, Ooredoo, Qatar Navigation and Nakilat were the top gainers. Market capitalisation rose by 2.21 percent to reach QR537bn as compared to QR525bn at the end of previous week. In all, 37 stocks returned gains to investors last week while four of the total 42 companies fell and one remained unchanged.
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Oppn leader not arrested for political work: Bahrain
Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)
Bahrain has denied media reports that opposition leader Khalil Al Marzooq had been detained over political activities or speech-related charges. Al Marzooq, who is the deputy general secretary of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, was arrested on Tuesday for 30 days pending investigations on the charge of inciting terror and connections with a terror group. “For many years, Khalil Al Marzooq has carried out his political activities unhindered both in and out of parliament, in and out of Bahrain, freely expressing views critical of government policy — a right enshrined in Bahrain’s constitution and guaranteed by its laws,” the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) said in a statement.
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