ABU DHABI: Energy firm Masdar delayed a proposed $2.2 billion hydrogen power project in Abu Dhabi, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
MANAMA: Bahrain announced the opening of its $9 million high-tech refinery plant for refining used lubrication oil. The opening ceremony took place on Tuesday under the patronage of Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
DUBAI: Moody's withdrew its ratings on Saudi Arabia's largest property developer Dar Al-Arkan late on Monday, citing its own business reasons.
LOS ANGELES: US homebuilders remain discouraged over the prospects for improved home sales in the months ahead, unconvinced as yet that the economy will spur the kind of job growth needed to coax more buyers into the market.
BEIJING/WASHINGTON: Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday flew to the United States for a state visit buffeted before he even lands by senior US senators demanding tough action against China for "manipulating" its currency. Hu said earlier this week he would not accept US arguments the yuan was undervalued.
The latest sparring over the currency underlines tensions over trade that will likely dominate Wednesday's summit in Washington between Hu and US President Barack Obama. Their talks are expected to focus on a host of other thorny issues, from rebalancing the global economy to dealing with North Korea.
MANAMA: Bahrain announced the opening of its $9 million high-tech refinery plant for refining used lubrication oil.
ABU DHABI: Energy firm Masdar delayed a proposed $2.2 billion hydrogen power project in Abu Dhabi, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
RIYADH: Several government organizations, universities and private firms of the Kingdom have evinced keen interest in cooperating with a group of five major American companies offering a range of innovative products and services in different fields.
JEDDAH: The National Commercial Bank announced its financial results for the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2010, where net profit during the fourth quarter reached SR 1.256 billion compared to SR769 million for the same quarter of the previous year, an increase of 63 percent and compared to a net profit of SR828 million for the previous quarter, an increase of 52 percent. Operating income during the Q4 amounted to SR2.731 billion compared to SR2.563 billion for the same quarter of the previous year, an increase of 6.6 percent.
RIYADH: Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), has announced the company's financial results of operations for the fourth quarter and the twelve-month period which on ended Dec. 31, 2010. The company has reported a net income of SR235 million, an increase of approximately 50.8 percent compared to the results for the Q4 of 2009. The consolidated net income for twelve months totaled SR605 million, an increase of 50.3 percent over last year's.
JEDDAH/DUBAI: Egypt's index made its largest drop in seven months on Monday. Cairo's benchmark fell 2.4 percent to 6,911 points, its largest decline since June 22 as other Middle East indexes also retreated.
MANAMA: The value of Islamic ‘bonds’ (sukuk) issued in the Gulf has jumped 61 percent in the past year having slumped to the lowest level in four years as a result of a number of factors, including the global financial crisis, according to research by Trowers & Hamlins, an international law firm.
Despite the seeming success of the Portuguese bond sale last week, senior EU officials are now increasingly resigned to a Portugal bailout being an inevitability; a question of timing, of "when," and not "if." EU officials have denied reports that that there are ongoing talks about Portugal tapping the EU's European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) rescue fund. Literally speaking, that may be true, but planning and analysis for Portugal has been going on as early as July of last year, accelerating in December, before the holidays. These EU deliberations can take firmer shape during the forthcoming Eurogroup Finance Ministers' meeting on Monday and Tuesday.
RIYADH: Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) said on Monday its unit Saudi Kayan Petrochemicals Co. started producing acetone and sent its first shipment to India. Kayan, in which SABIC holds a 35-percent stake, shipped 1,600 tons of acetone to India's markets, SABIC said in a statement.
BURAIDAH: The Embassy of India, in association with the Qassim Chamber of Commerce & Industry (QCCI), Buraidah, Al-Qassim, is organizing a catalog exhibition at the chamber premises on Tuesday. It opens at 10 a.m.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Almarai, the Gulf's biggest dairy firm by market value, said on Monday fourth-quarter net profit rose 14 percent to SR283.8 million ($75.68 million), missing analysts' forecasts.
RIYADH: State-controlled Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) said on Monday it trimmed its fourth-quarter loss to SR295 million ($78.7 million), helped by higher power tariffs.
LAGOS: Nigeria plans to issue a $500 million debut Eurobond on Friday after a roadshow in the United States and Europe, the head of the country's Debt Management Office (DMO) told Reuters on Monday.
LONDON: Oil slipped on Monday while the dollar strengthened and equities faltered as OPEC said the market was well supplied and inventories should climb in the first half of the year.
JEDDAH: The Shoura Council has approved the establishment of a general authority to take care of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the Shoura, said the new authority would contribute to strengthening SMEs and creating more jobs for Saudis.
JEDDAH: Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) said two of its affiliates decided to cancel a plan to build a steel plant in Jubail Industrial City after feasibility studies for the plant proved to be discouraging.
JOHANNESBURG: Ratings agency Fitch raised South Africa's outlook to stable from negative on Monday, saying its recovery in 2010 after a recession the year before had outpaced expectations.
India is in the middle of a car boom. Good for some. But bad for most, who call this chaos. At the latest count, there were a staggering 123 models, manufactured by 30 companies. Each model comes with several variations. One of the latest is Tata’s Nano, which for just about $2,000, has been steadily replacing two-wheelers, still worsening the traffic congestion.
JEDDAH: The National Commercial Bank announced its financial results for the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2010, where net profit during the fourth quarter reached SR 1.256 billion compared to SR769 million for the same quarter of the previous year, an increase of 63 percent and compared to a net profit of SR828 million for the previous quarter, an increase of 52 percent. Operating income during the Q4 amounted to SR2.731 billion compared to SR2.563 billion for the same quarter of the previous year, an increase of 6.6 percent.
MILAN: Google Italy was released Monday from an antitrust investigation in Italy after the company made a pair of commitments to address competitive concerns.
NEW DELHI: India, which is facing inflation "surge", needs to calibrate monetary policy in order to manage inflation and support growth, said a top government official on Monday.
TEHRAN: Iran joined Venezuela and Libya on Sunday to say it saw no need for the cartel to consider raising crude supplies to rein in crude prices now near $100 a barrel.
DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties tumbled to a five-month low on Sunday after the indebted developer said it planned to take $2.9 billion in impairments and issue a $760 million convertible bond.
RIYADH: Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem) said on Sunday its fourth-quarter net profit more than doubled year-on-year to SR125.1 million ($33.36 million).
RIYADH: Mobily, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest telecoms operator, posted an above-forecast 39 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit on higher use of services and more broadband subscribers.
ABU DHABI: An aircraft maintenance company set up by the oil-rich Abu Dhabi government says US defense contractor Lockheed Martin has taken an equity stake in the firm.
DUBAI: UAE telecoms firm Etisalat is still working to complete a deal to buy a stake in Zain for $12 billion despite missing a Jan. 15 due diligence deadline and the emergence of a potential rival bid.
JEDDAH: The Banker magazine has named Muhammad Al-Jasser, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), as the central bank governor of the year, Middle East.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabian leaders in government and industry are set on Sunday to discuss plans to increase strategic food reserves to fend off a spike in global prices and secure food supplies. The top OPEC oil exporter, which suffered like other Gulf Arab states in 2008 when international food prices rose, said this week it would boost wheat reserves to cover its needs for a year instead of six months.
WASHINGTON: The US central bank wants banks to be careful about raising dividends even as the economy improves, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo said on Friday.
“OIL prices are entering a dangerous zone for the global economy,” asserts none else than the IEA chief economist Fatih Birol. “Oil import bills are threatening the economic recovery.” Financiers are backing predictions that the crude markets will soon begin treading the three-digit zone, for the first time since the financial crisis.
LONDON: BP PLC and Russia's state-controlled Rosneft agreed to a share swap under which they plan to jointly explore for offshore oil and gas in a deal that gives the UK company access to areas of the Arctic previously reserved for Russian oil companies.
WASHINGTON: American and Chinese energy companies will sign several commercial agreements next week during Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington, a US official said on Friday.
RIYADH: A group of Gulf officials and businessmen registered a strong protest against anti-dumping duties imposed by India, during a lecture delivered by Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad here Friday night. The protest, however, subdued after Ahmad replied to the queries on anti-dumping within the framework of the regulatory provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the progressively growing ties between the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and India.
MILAN: Carmaker Fiat SpA won narrow backing from its workers for a groundbreaking contract that limits strikes and absenteeism in exchange for investment in Italy, unions said on Saturday. Workers in a referendum at Fiat's historic but loss-making Mirafiori factory in Turin voted 54 percent in favor of the new contract, a spokesman for the FIM union said.
JEDDAH: Saudi shares made their biggest gains in about four weeks as banks climbed after beating forecasts and petrochemical stocks were lifted by climbing oil prices.
WASHINGTON: Industrial production rose in December by the largest amount in five months, providing the US economy with solid momentum heading into the new year.
NEW YORK: World stocks edged higher and Wall Street rose on Friday as J.P. Morgan's strong earnings offset weaker-than-expected US retail sales, but China's move to raise banks' reserves hit gold prices.
NEW YORK: Brent crude oil rose to a 27-month peak above $99 a barrel on Friday, closing in on $100 ahead of the February contract's expiration and shrugging off China's move to lift lenders' reserve requirements that had weighed on US oil prices.
Expectations that oil prices will hold their strength in the first half of the year have encouraged a good improvement in business confidence among Saudi Arabia's business leaders, who expect follow-on benefits in consumption patterns, revenues and stock market performance.
AMMAN: Arab stock markets reflected mixed performance last week as investors evaluated annual results of listed firms, financial analysts said Friday.
NEW DELHI: The World Bank on Friday announced $1.73 billion in loans to India, including $1.5 billion to fund a state project to build 24,000 km of rural roads across seven states.
TOKYO: Japan's new economics minister warned on Friday that the country faced a fiscal dead end, signaling that a revamped Cabinet was serious about tax reforms to rein in the country's massive public debt.
GENEVA: Trading powers must get down to real negotiations right away if there is to be any hope of concluding the long-running Doha talks to open up global commerce this year, a top US negotiator said on Thursday. To reach a deal, said the US ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Michael Punke, big emerging countries like China, Brazil and India should accept that their booming economies.
WASHINGTON: US jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October last week while food and energy costs lifted producer prices in December, pointing to headwinds for an economy that has shown fresh vigor.
SEOUL: South Korea raised interest rates on Thursday, surprising markets, and unveiled a set of measures to contain mounting inflation as policymakers around the world battle surging prices of food and other commodities.
14 January 2011
MAKKAH: Indian Islamic Chamber of Commerce Chairman Iqbal Zafar led a delegation of Indian businessmen on a visit to Saudi Arabia to explore business opportunities and to advocate mutually beneficial ties between small and medium-size businesses. His delegation met with members of the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).
LONDON: British industrial output grew at its slowest annual pace in four months in November, dragged down by weakness in the oil and gas sector, despite strength in manufacturing, official data showed on Thursday.
NEW YORK: The bleakest year in foreclosure crisis has only just begun.
DUBAI: With steel prices worldwide dropping by 10 percent, and oil and gas industry as well as expanding pipeline network boosting the GCC’s pipe industry, demand for steel across the region is set for a six-fold growth in the next five years.
NEW DELHI: India and Iran have reached a stopgap arrangement on oil payment for this month as both the countries are trying to reach an amicable solution to a dispute over how New Delhi should pay for oil imports from Tehran, according to officials.
NEW YORK: Oil prices rose Wednesday after the US government reported a larger-than-expected drop in crude oil supplies and stock markets climbed on Europe's improving financial picture.
DUBAI: Retail gold sales volumes in Dubai were slightly up in December compared with the same time last year as seasonal promotions lured consumers despite the metal's high price, traders said on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON: China's currency is substantially undervalued and Beijing is moving too slowly to fulfill its promise to let it rise, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.
NEW YORK: The euro rose against the dollar Wednesday after Portugal successfully raised more than $1.6 billion in a bond auction, helping assuage some fears that the country will soon need a bailout.
CARACAS, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez said Venezuela has dramatically increased its oil reserves and is now the world leader. Some experts, however, said the new figures are inflated and that Venezuela's oil industry is suffering serious problems.
LONDON: Britain's bank bonuses row flared into new life on Wednesday as a report the boss of bailed-out British bank Lloyds will take a 2 million-pound ($3.12 million) bonus collided with a government pledge to curb payouts. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is struggling to clamp down on banker pay and quell trade union and public anger over perceived excesses in a sector that needed significant state support during the credit crunch.
JEDDAH/DUBAI: Kuwait's Zain slumped to a month-low on Wednesday as the deadline for a stake sale to Abu Dhabi's Etisalat neared.
Zain fell 1.4 percent to its lowest close since Dec. 9.
DUBAI: Dubai's public revenues are estimated at AED29.906 billion while public expenditure is expected to reach AED33.684 billion leading to a projected budget gap of AED3.78 billion, according to the Department of Finance (DoF) in Dubai.
CHILECITO, Argentina: Marc Coma in bikes and Nasser Al-Attiyah in cars built up hefty leads after Wednesday's 10th stage of the Dakar Rally to close in on the overall victory as the race returned to Argentina ahead of the finish on Sunday in Buenos Aires.
RIYADH: NCB Capital, described as Saudi Arabia’s largest investment bank, has added analysis of Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) to its award-winning equity research coverage. It has initiated coverage recently with an “overweight” rating and a price target of SR130.8 per share.
All the various concepts of automation were first introduced in the industrial sector. Now they are being applied to the financial services sector. It made more sense in the industrial sector since we were dealing with the automation of tangibles.
DUBAI: The Middle East was a hive of merger and acquisition (M&A;) activity in 2010 with more than 500 deals announced in the region, the most on record, according to Thomson Reuters 2010 Middle East Investment Banking Analysis.
Lao officials take part in a opening ceremony of the Lao Securities Exchange Tuesday in Vientiane, Laos. Communist Laos opened the modest stock market Tuesday, hoping to attract capital to its largest enterprises and boost the economy of one of the world's poorest nations. (AP)
JEDDAH/DUBAI: Stocks in the United Arab Emirates slid on Tuesday after two property companies unveiled financing plans likely to be dilutive to minority shareholders, with Dubai's index making its largest drop in two months. The index dropped 1.5 percent to 1,634 points, its biggest decline since Nov. 8.
NEW YORK: Global stocks gained on Tuesday as better-than-expected earnings lifted Wall Street while the euro erased early losses against the dollar as talk of the European Central Bank may buy Portuguese bonds buoyed the single currency.
DUBAI: Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's biggest real estate developer, said Tuesday it may shed assets and issue new bonds while giving the government a larger stake in the cash-strapped company.
ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates Finance Ministry expects to issue the oil producer's first sovereign bonds toward the end of the year or in early 2012, a minister said on Tuesday.
ABU DHABI: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced on Tuesday his participation and attendance at the fourth annual World Future Energy Summit (WFES) being held in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 17-20.
LONDON: Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME), London's leading wholesale Shariah-compliant bank whose main shareholders are Boubyan Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, the Securities House and the Public Institution for Social Security, announced on Tuesday the launch of its Premier Deposit Account (PDA) in pound sterling, US dollars and euro for investors in Saudi Arabia. The PDA is the first online Shariah-compliant deposit account in the UK with a minimum investment of 50,000 pounds. This account is termed ideal for investors looking for a competitive rate of return on an ethical, alternative investment.
INCIDENT: Toward the end of last year, the European Commission presented its new energy strategy for the next decade, calling for investment of 1 trillion euros in the EU's energy network, among a series of other measures. Leading Eurocrats hope that an EU energy summit scheduled for next month in Budapest will endorse the proposals and give them some political traction.
TOKYO/LISBON: Japan promised on Tuesday to buy euro zone bonds this month in a show of support for Europe's struggle with a seething debt crisis.
BEIRUT: Experts from Deloitte, international policy makers, industry leaders and investors as well as academics will meet for the third year running during the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) to find practical and sustainable solutions for today's energy security and climate change problems.
EDDAH: After more than two years of global financial crisis, the Saudi banking sector has emerged almost unscathed. But like many banking systems, during the turbulent period, both investment and loan portfolios of Saudi banks were implicated. As a result, all Saudi banks have taken steps to reinforce their fundamentals by allocating provisions and cutting costs, while reaching out to customers, according to the Saudi Banking Sector Review titled "From Recuperation to Moderate Growth" by the National Commercial Bank (NCB) released on Saturday.
Kingdom Holding Company Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal meets with Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al-Nahyan, left, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). They discussed the prince's solid regional presence in various sectors including real estate, hotels and the media. The meeting also covered local, regional and international economic and investment issues, and future potential business collaborations. (AN photo)
LONDON: Europe’s debt crisis returned to the fore of investor concerns on Monday amid reports Portugal is facing mounting pressure to accept an aid package to prevent contagion to other countries.
DUBAI: Most Gulf markets retreated on Monday, led by Saudi Arabia’s bourse, after petrochemical stocks fell on profit-taking. audi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) fell 0.9.
PARIS: Air France-KLM saw a 2 percent increase in passenger traffic in December after heavy snowfall across Europe and the US that will shave an estimated 70 million euros ($90.36 million) off revenues, the airline group said on Monday.
THE health of a country’s financial system is just as important, if not more, than the latest scare about H1N1 flu epidemic.
BRUSSELS: Euro zone finance ministers called on Monday for an increase in the effective lending capacity of the currency bloc's rescue fund, but EU paymaster Germany said there was no urgency and it would be March before a firm plan was in place. Growing realization that a deal to widen the bailout fund was not imminent caused the euro to retreat on Monday.
RIYADH: Banque Saudi Fransi's (BSF) net income for 2010 amounted to SR2.80 billion, a positive increase of 13.35 percent in comparison to the SR2.47 billion earned last year. The increase in the net income was achieved despite the continuing international financial slowdown, the low level of interest rates and the weak activity in the local equity market, according to a bank statement on Monday.
RIYADH: Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullah Zainal Alireza said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia has identified 27 countries for agricultural investment. “A technical team has already visited 14 countries to explore investment prospects,” he pointed out. Opening a workshop on strategic food reserves organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alireza said Saudi businessmen would be the main investors in the projects, adding that the state would provide them with necessary incentives.
At a time when the global Islamic finance industry is debating whether Shariah advisory should be regulated and scholars restricted to advising only a small number of institutions, Malaysia almost in passing adopted on Jan.
TEHRAN: OPEC’s leading oil price hawk Iran joined Venezuela and Libya on Sunday to say it saw no need for the cartel to consider raising crude supplies to rein in crude prices now near $100 a barrel. Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries saw no need for producers to act even if prices went to $120 a barrel.
JEDDAH: The Banker magazine has named Muhammad Al-Jasser, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), as the Central Bank Governor of the Year, Middle East.
JEDDAH: Trade exchange between the member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is expected to cross 20 percent of their total trade by 2015, Dr. Ahmad Mohammed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank said on Sunday.
JEDDAH: A 13-man delegation of major players in the UK water industry arrived Friday in Jeddah to be greeted by winter storms and floods.
RIYADH: Saudi British Bank (SABB) recorded a net profit of SR1.88 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010 — a reduction of SR149 million, or 7.3 percent, compared with SR2.03 billion for the same period in 2009. Net special commission income decreased by SR194 million, or 5.6 percent, compared with the same period in 2009.
MANAMA: The financial crisis has encouraged regulators to raise the bar of regulations, especially those who are trying to integrate into the global financial markets, a US-based leading financial and investment expert said.
RIYADH: Shuqaiq Water and Electricity Plant in Jazan has been completed 70 days ahead of its schedule, the company told Arab News on Saturday. According to a spokesman from ACWA Power International, the lead developer of this project, Jazan Governor Prince Mohammad bin Nasser visited the facility on Thursday.
NEW YORK: The recapitalization of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc. closed on Friday, leaving the government with a 92 percent stake that it plans to sell quickly.
BASRA: Hundreds of miles of mostly rusty pipelines cut across the bleak desert landscape near this southern port city under a smog-filled sky, as foreign crews in flak jackets, guarded by armed security, work nearby to extract the crude oil on which Iraq has pinned its future.
BEIJING: China will not bow to foreign demand for faster gains in the yuan and will stick to its gradualist approach in currency reform, senior officials said on Friday, indicating Chinese President Hu Jintao may push back if President Barack Obama presses him on the issue next week. Obama is likely to raise US complaints at a summit with Hu on Jan. 19 that Beijing maintains the yuan at artificially weak levels, giving China an unfair trade advantage.
TURIN, Italy: Workers at Fiat’s loss-making Mirafiori plant voted on Friday on a revolutionary employment deal seen as key to keeping production in Italy. The contract is part of a Fiat-led overhaul of Italian labor relations, which have been based on national deals rather than on a plant-by-plant basis.
If workers accept the new contract, which has already been agreed at another of Fiat’s five Italian factories, the company has pledged to invest 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to build new, high-end Alfa Romeo and Chrysler models at Mirafiori.
LONDON: The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record low 0.5 percent as expected on Thursday, judging that longer-term downward pressure on prices will quell a looming spike in inflation. British consumer price inflation was 3.3 percent in November and is forecast to rise to 4 percent in the coming months due to higher food and fuel costs and last week's rise in sales tax.
WIESBADEN, Germany: Germany’s economy rebounded last year at its fastest pace since reunification but consumer spending stayed modest, leaving analysts and other euro zone states hoping a more balanced recovery would take hold this year.
LES MUREAUX, France: Airbus basked in the world’s biggest commercial plane order on Wednesday, with shares in parent EADS lifted by news of its $15.6 billion 180 aircraft deal with Indian airline IndiGo.
MANAMA: Bahrain is among the world's top 10 most economically free nations, according to the annual Index of Economic Freedom published on Wednesday by the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal.
BRUSSELS/LISBON: The European Union's executive called for greater emergency lending power to underpin the euro zone as Portugal, seen as the next candidate for a bailout, successfully sold its first debt of the year.
JEDDAH: The landmark agreement signed by Saudi Arabian Airlines with SkyTeam alliance on Monday will enhance the national carrier's global reach, said Khaled Al-Molhem, Saudia's director general.
RIYADH: Movenpick Ramallah Hotel has opened in Palestine. Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, owns a 33.3 percent stake in Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts that manages the Movenpick Ramallah Hotel.
JEDDAH: The completion date for the ionic Lamar Towers Project, located on the North Corniche of Jeddah Red Sea coast, has been pushed back from September 2011 to early 2013.
BEIJING: China’s trade surplus narrowed in 2010 for the second straight year, giving Beijing grounds to rebuff US pressure for faster currency appreciation ahead of President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington next week.
DETROIT: The Chrysler 300, once a hot-selling sedan distinguished by a tall grille and big wheels, will attempt a comeback at the Detroit auto show. It’s an important car in a pivotal year for the company, which must start making money before a public stock sale can happen.
RIYADH: India is looking more toward Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, to promote trade and investment because of the huge potentials in the region, said Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad on Monday at the opening of the ITL World office in Riyadh.
A significant milestone was passed in the 60-year history of Saudi Arabian Airlines on Monday evening after the airline signed an agreement in Jeddah enrolling it in one of the world’s great airline alliances, SkyTeam. Saudia will be the alliance’s first member from the Middle East.
LONDON: The rich got rolling last year, pushing Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to its highest sales figures since BMW took over the company seven years ago.
RIYADH: Jadwa Investment announced exceptional results for the fourth consecutive year. The company's income for 2010 exceeded SR110 million, registering growth of more than 225 percent compared to the result of 2009. Revenues rose to SR230 million by the end of 2010, up 64 percent. Prince Faisal bin Salman, Jadwa's chairman, highlighted the company's consistent strong performance since the launch of operations in 2007.
RIYADH: South Indian film star Sarat Kumar will be the chief guest at the grand opening of the ITL World TMC in Riyadh on Monday.
RIYADH: Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) started deploying new bio-sourced SIMs for its subscribers, made with renewable and easily recyclable materials, the company announced on Saturday.
WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Friday that there’s increasing evidence that a “self-sustaining” economic recovery is taking hold, but he said the Fed’s $600 billion Treasury bond-buying program is still needed because it will take years for unemployment to drop to more normal levels.
SEOUL: Samsung Electronics said Friday that both sales and operating profit likely rose to record highs in 2010 despite sluggishness at the end of the year amid lower prices for televisions and semiconductors. The manufacturer of the 7000 Series 3D flat panel TV estimated that consolidated revenue during 2010 came to 153.76 trillion won ($137.31 billion), which would be an increase of 13 percent from the previous year’s record performance of 136.32 trillion won.
JEDDAH: A Toyota chief engineer was in Jeddah on Sunday to gather feedback about one of the carmaker’s flagship designs.
RIYADH: Arab National Bank (ANB) announced a net profit of SR301 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to SR296 million for the same period last year, an increase of 2 percent, and compared to SR347 million in the Q3 of 2010.
