Iran seeks to boost gasoline production capacity

Iranian refinery to issue bonds worth 2.5 tln rials

TEHRAN (Reuters)

Iran's largest refinery will start issuing bonds on Sunday worth a total of 2.5 trillion rials (about $250 million) to help finance expansion of gasoline production, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Saturday. Iran is the world's fifth-largest crude exporter but lacks sufficient refining capacity to meet...More

A general view shows the Lavan oil refinery in Iran (File)

A general view shows the Lavan oil refinery in Iran (File)

Oman building new terminal at Muscat's airport

Four international firms bid for Oman airport deal

Four international firms including a joint venture between India's Larsen & Toubro and Oman's Galfar Engineering have bid for the construction of a new terminal at Muscat's airport. Cypriot construction firm Joannou & Paraskevaides submitted the lowest bid at 746 million rials ($1.94 billion), a tender board...More

More large supermarkets selling halal products in Europe

Halal food going mainstream in Europe: Nestle

The business of selling food that is halal, or acceptable to Muslims, is set to grow rapidly in Europe in coming years as more supermarket chains target the sector, a Nestle executive said on Tuesday. Frits van Dijk, executive vice president at the world's biggest food group, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Halal...More

Nestle is the world's leading manufacturer of halal food, selling about 5.3 billion Swiss francs ($5.23 billion) worth of halal food in 2008 (File)

Negotiations delayed by disagreements between nations

WTO chief calls for 'hard look' at Doha progress

The WTO will hold a ministerial meeting between November 30 and December 2 (File)

World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy on Tuesday warned member states that a serious assessment of progress toward a global trade deal was needed if an...More

Western banks eye Iraqi market, but security costs deter

Private banks flourish amid Iraq's chaos

Private Iraqi banks turn focus to loans for small firms

Privately-owned banks are flourishing in Iraq as lower violence and increasing savviness among Iraqi bankers fuel a lending boom, U.S. officials and Iraqi...More

Gulf region leads global race for new fighter jets

Arms race dominates Dubai air show

The Italian aerobatics team perform above the dome of a mosque on the first day of the Dubai Airshow

Middle East tension is driving demand for military hardware at the Dubai Air Show which opens on Sunday, but recession means fewer orders for civilian jets. ...More

Oil prices to average $80 in 2010

Gulf economy to grow 6.2 pct in 2010: report

The global credit crunch brought a boom in Gulf Arab economies to a grinding halt this year (File)

The recovery in oil prices is set to accelerate Gulf Arab economic growth to as much as 6.2 percent in 2010 compared to a projected contraction of 0.9 percent...More

Australian govt expresses interest in Islamic finance

Australia "natural" for Shariah finance: Malaysia

An aerial of the Mount Whaleback iron ore mine in Western Australia (File)

Australia's natural resources such as iron ore provide a wealth of assets for sukuk issuance but tax laws have to be amended for its Shariah finance...More

Crops have depleted scarce water supplies

Saudi to phase out water intensive crops

Saudi Arabia plans to phase out production of all water intensive crops that have depleted the desert kingdom's scarce water supplies, Saudi's water...More

UAE says raising production not on OPEC agenda

Yemen starts natural gas exports from new plant

The $4.5-billion project involves a 320-kilometre (200-mile) gas pipeline (File)

Yemen began exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its newly built LNG plant in Balhaf on the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, with the first shipment destined...More