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PineBridge Opens New MENA HQ In Bahrain

The new office of the global asset management company will be headed by ex-Mumtalakat CEO, Talal Al Zain.

Top Five Cities In The Middle East

Three UAE cities feature in the list that ranks cities on economic and social factors, labour rights and quality of life.

Gulf Carriers Bid For Saudi Licence

Seven consortia including Qatar Airways and Bahrain’s airlines are hoping to qualify for a new licence in the Kingdom.

Gulf Air Weighs On Bahrain Fund

SWF Mumtalakat, which has shares in the airline, made a net loss of $717.68 million last year.

Bahrain Bank Merger Gets Nod

Shareholders of Capital Management House, Capivest and Elaf Bank approve the three-way merger.

Former Alkhair CEO Found Guilty

Majid Al-Refai will serve four years in jail for a number of crimes during his tenure as CEO of Bank Alkhair.

Bahrain Eyes 10 Year Bond

The Arab state will need to attract conventional rather than Islamic investors due to the lack of sukuk.

$20bn Gulf Fund Not Capitalised

The wealthier GCC states had planned to create an aid fund to assist Bahrain and Oman combat social unrest.

Bahrain Plans Bond Roadshows

The Gulf state is starting investor meetings this week for a planned dollar-denominated bond issue.

Bahrain Mulls Social Media Law

Officials say new laws are needed to prevent misuse of social networking tools in the country.

Vote On Bahrain’s Triple Bank Merger

Capivest, Elaf Bank and Capital Management House are in talks to form one new bank with larger assets.

Bahrain Rents Slump

Residential rents in some areas have fallen to 2005/ 2006 levels, and occupancy levels have reached as low as 30 per cent.

Bahrain To Issue $1.25bn Bond

The Gulf state plans to issue the bond in the second or third week of June, a central bank official said.

Gulf States Warned Off Lebanon

UAE, Bahrain and Qatar have urged their citizens not to travel to Lebanon as Syria unrest spreads.

GCC Union Talks Delayed

The Gulf States, which met in Riyadh on Monday, have postponed talks of a possible integration.

Bahrain To Open New Dragon City

Chinese firm Chinamex is building a multi-million-dinar Chinese-themed retail shopping mall in Manama.

Al Baraka Bank Posts Q1 Profit Rise

The Bahraini lender’s net profit rose seven per cent during the first quarter of the year to reach $57.4 million.

Alwaleed’s Rotana To Shift To Bahrain

Prince Alwaleed’s upcoming news channel, Al Arab will also be headquartered in Manama.

Vettel Wins Bahrain GP; Protesters Stay Away

High security kept trouble away from the track as Vettel stormed to victory.

Bahrain F1 Race Goes Ahead Despite Protests

The Gulf country is hosting the Formula One Grand Prix amidst increasing protests on the streets.

Bahrain Is “Not Syria” Says Circuit Boss

Formula One teams taking part in the Bahrain Grand Prix will not be at risk, circuit chairman Zayed Al Zayani has said.

Bahrain Grand Prix Doubts Persist

Despite officials confirming that the race is Bahrain is still on, many teams expect it to be called off amid security concerns, say reports.

GCC Produces Record Aluminium Supply

Annual production in the GCC could reach five million tonnes by 2014.

Formula One’s FIA Monitoring Bahrain

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said that it was keeping a close watch on the escalating violence in Bahrain ahead of the grand prix on April 22.

Bahrain Tops Region In Global IT Index

The UAE and Qatar also ranked high for their IT technologies on the global index compiled by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD.

Batelco Eyes Acquisitions In 2012

The Bahraini telecoms operator hopes that new acquisitions will bring in revenues to compensate domestic losses.

New $1bn Islamic Bank In Doha

Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank and Dallah Albaraka Group have signed an agreement with Qatar to set up the new bank.

Ex-Mumtalakat Head Joins PineBridge

Talal Al Zain, who recently resigned from Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, has been appointed as the CEO of PineBridge’s MENA operations.

Accor To Hire 4,000 Staff In ME

The hotel group targets to have 100 hotels either operating or under construction in the region by 2015.

Bahrain’s SWF Names New CEO

Mumtalakat has appointed ALBA chairman Mahmood Hashem al-Kooheji as its new CEO.