Saudi Arabia tops foreign investment flows at $28bn - Retail - ArabianBusiness.com

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, which includes the Gulf region, dropped by 15 percent last year, according to a new report.

FDI fell to $57bn from the $67bn in 2009, according to the World Investment Report 2011.

Apart for Oman and Lebanon, the drop affected all ESCWA countries, Abulgasim Abdullah, chief of financing for development section at ESCWA said in the report, which is published each year by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

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KIPCO board of directors approve issuance of bonds

In an announcement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) reported that the Board of Directors met on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, under which the Board of Directors approved the issuance of bonds in Kuwaiti Dinars or any other currency totaling the maximum amount of company capital or its equivalent in foreign currency. The mandate of the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors is necessary in determining the conditions of the issuance of those bonds, duration and value of the nominal interest rate and the date of the meeting and all other terms and conditions.

KIPCO recently mandated National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Capital and KIPCO Asset Management (KAMCO) for a Kuwaiti dinar bond.

It is reported, however, that the proposed bond must still have to be approved by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

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Abraaj eyes majority stake in publisher - The National

The private equity firm Abraaj Capital is in talks to buy a majority stake in Motivate Publishing, which produces Middle East editions of Hello! and Campaign magazines.

Contact between the two companies was initiated almost a year ago, with intense talks taking place in March and April, according to sources close to the negotiations.

A final decision on the potential acquisition is expected to be made after Ramadan.

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GlobeSt.com - Canary, Qatari Pay $429M for South Bank Site

Shell International has officially selected the locally based Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar Real Estate Co. as the developer of the oil firm’s planned South Bank office complex, reported to likely cost up to $3 billion. The venture has paid $429 million to secure a 5.3-acre site on a 999-year lease.

Both venture firms contributed 50% of the cost of the land purchase. The total payment is conditional on planning permission being received for the project within three years, according to a Canary Wharf statement.

Shell already has a 27-story office tower on the site called Shell Centre, on Belvidere Road along the south bank of the Thames River. The company has moved its thousands of employees out of the building, and will likely redevelop the tower as a mixed-use office and apartment complex.

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Kuwait's Agility to face potential new charges for overcharging US military - Ahram Online

US prosecutors are investigating potential new charges against Agility or overcharging the US military.

According to federal court documents, Agility had asked US District Judge Thomas W. Thrash in Atlanta to reject a federal grand jury subpoena demanding the appearance of retired US Army General Dan Mongeon, a member of Agility’s board.

Judge Thrash, however, upheld the subpoena yesterday.

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Abdullah Mohammed Saleh: bringing dignity to the top job - The National

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has a new governor, the third in its seven-year history. If his reputation is anything to go by, he will bring a new style of management to the emirate's financial hub.

Abdullah Mohammed Saleh was appointed to Dubai's premier financial post this week. It is the pinnacle of a career in banking and finance going back 50 years, during which he has given service to three Dubai Rulers.

He has been at the heart of the creation of a modern banking and financial services sector in the emirate, even before the formation of the UAE in 1972. 'He virtually wrote the banking rule book from the beginning,' says a DIFC insider.

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