Lukoil starts output from massive Iraq oilfield - Your Middle East

Lukoil starts output from massive Iraq oilfield - Your Middle East

One of the biggest undeveloped oilfields in the world has begun commercial production in south Iraq, officials said on Saturday, part of ambitious plans by Baghdad to dramatically ramp up output.

The announcement was made during a ceremony attended by Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi and Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, as well as officials from Russian energy giant Lukoil, the principal firm developing the enormous West Qurna-2 field.

It comes just weeks ahead of parliamentary elections, with the country looking to fund reconstruction of its dilapidated infrastructure and economy by upping crude sales.

"Production started today," said Nasir Hashim Fakhr, the Iraqi oil ministry official charged with the development of West Qurna-2 field in the southern Basra province.

MSCI upgrade could lead to equity diversity in the UAE and Qatar | The National

MSCI upgrade could lead to equity diversity in the UAE and Qatar | The National:



"Much has been made of the forecast millions of dollars of investment that the equity markets of the UAE and Qatar are expected to receive when their stocks are included in MSCI’s emerging market listings from June.



In the latest forecast, EFG-Hermes, the Egyptian investment bank, said that the move would net the UAE exchanges US$538 million and Qatar US$475m.



But aside from the cash, the upgrade of the markets from their previous frontier markets status is also expected to provide an impetus to the economy in other ways.



EFG-Hermes believes the move could help to usher in a new era in local bourses, challenging the dominance of state-owned companies and barriers to foreign ownership of shares."



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The New UAE Companies Law – What Will Be Changing? » Gulf Business

The New UAE Companies Law – What Will Be Changing? » Gulf Business:



"Recent reports from news agencies such as Reuters has put the new UAE Commercial Companies Law back at the forefront of practitioners’ minds.



The UAE Federal National Council approved the revised form of the new companies law in May 2013 (the “Draft Companies Law 2013”) and reports from Reuters suggest that the ratification by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, is expected shortly.



Based on various sources, we do not expect that the law to be published in the Gazette will differ substantially from the Draft Companies Law 2013, however, before the law is published there is no absolute certainty as to its final form and the below analysis is based on the draft version as it currently stands."



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Egypt’s economy continues to operate in vacuum | GulfNews.com

Egypt’s economy continues to operate in vacuum | GulfNews.com:



"Egypt’s next president is likely to face a far more complex problem than cracking down on Islamists — meeting the demands of workers desperate for decent jobs and wages.



While the authorities have cowed the Muslim Brotherhood by throwing its members behind bars in their thousands, factory employees say they are ready for a fight. Officials realise workers’ demands cannot be ignored as a wave of strikes will compound Egypt’s instability just as the new leader — most likely to be army chief Field Marshal Abdul Fattah Al Sissi — struggles to mend the economy.



At the Diamond textile factory near Cairo, staff are determined to win more rights and say the popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 has failed to produce any improvement in social justice. “For more than 20 years we did not speak or demand our rights,” said Essam Al Husseini, who began work at Diamond almost two decades ago and makes only 1,300 Egyptian pounds ($190) a month, barely enough to feed his family."



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