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Sharjah deal ‘not in Iran’s interest’; Oman deal could be reached by year-end; Iran ‘plans $4bn gas pipeline to Europe’

Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas investment arm is talking tough as it seeks to exponentially increase its already substantial portfolio with acquisitions at home and abroad. International Petroleum Investment Company is showing itself to be a tough negotiator in its talks with Spain’s Banco Santander

John Leonard Monterona, Middle East co-ordinator for Migrante, a leading independent organisation representing Filipino expatriate workers, told GSN his group would like to see sponsorship completely abolished.

Dubai provides the widest range of requests for trade and project risk insurance within the GCC markets, while Saudi Arabia provides underwriters with the largest volumes of political risk insurance (PRI) exposure, according to London-based insurer Aspen Insurance UK,

Spanish sporting giant Real Madrid (RM)’s president Ramon Calderón has been in talks with Ajman Crown Prince Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi with the idea of training talented young Emirati footballers in Spain, as well as opening RM football schools in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi’s recent attention-grabbing deals highlight the wealthiest emirate’s emergence as an increasingly high-profile force to be reckoned with – astride the world stage and within the United Arab Emirates, where a further round of shifts in the internal power balance are coming to light.

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA)‘s participation in First Energy Bank (FEB), whose emergence is analysed above, is part of a rapidly multiplying network of links between Libya’s fast-changing economy and the established oil economies of the Gulf (GSN 832/12, 815/1). While Libya is still in the process of setting up institutions to take charge of its huge financial reserves

Gulf Finance House’s latest initiative to establish a bank that caters specifically to the energy sector could create some attractive investment opportunities, adding another powerful instrument to Bahraini mover and shaker Esam Janahi’s ever growing portfolio.

The takeover of one of the UK’s oldest football clubs by a previously unheard of Abu Dhabi vehicle has caused huge stirs in the UAE and in Britain – and still it remains unclear who owns the privately-held company. GSN highlights two members of the Abu Dhabi ruling family with close links to the sale.

Falcon Petroleum Ltd, a company with Middle Eastern backing registered in Cyprus, has been awarded three blocks in Ethiopia’s Amhara Regional State. Ethiopian Minister of Mines and Energy Alemayehu Tegenu said the contract envisaged an exploration period of four years and a 25-year production period, and

Interest is growing in the Gulf about the potential impact of a new US administration on the region, and on the West’s long-running reliance on Middle East energy. In a first pre-election analysis, GSN examines the main camps, their advisors and general policy orientations. A second part of this analysis from Washington will follow in GSN 837, focusing on the implications of an Obama or McCain victory on what remain the key theatres of US foreign policy: Iraq, Iran and the GCC states.

Dubai Group (DG), which is owned by UAE government investment vehicle Dubai Holding, has been on a spending spree this summer. It has purchased a 5.24% stake in one of Egypt’s largest banks, Commercial International Bank, for Dh580m ($157.9m). Egypt has attracted a number of investors from the Gulf looking to tap the potential of its largely underdeveloped financial sector. With the government not issuing new licenses, Gulf investors are left with no choice but to buy stakes in banks. DG chief executive Thomas Volpe said the group planned another four acquisitions before the year’s end.

The UAE's only Olympic gold medal winner, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hasher Al-Maktoum, has been outspoken about his countrymen's lack of sporting prowess. "I feel sorry for the young generation.

State-owned property developer Nakheel has become the latest company to uncover what appear to be incidents of fraud in Dubai’s real estate sector.

Three sharia-compliant investment funds worth $10bn have been created to seek out opportunities