#Qatar Airways to become Formula One's main airline sponsor | Reuters

Qatar Airways to become Formula One's main airline sponsor | Reuters

Qatar Airways will become the main airline sponsor of Formula One motor racing, the carrier said on Wednesday, replacing regional rival Emirates as the organisation's official airline.

The sponsorship announcement comes ahead of the 2023 season, which kicks off next month and will also see Qatar begin a 10-year run as host of a Grand Prix, to be held in October.

The state-owned carrier will become title sponsor of that race -- now known as the Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix -- along with Grands Prix in Hungary and Emilia Romagna in Italy.

The airline's press release did not mention how much the sponsorship deal was worth or any other specifics.

Qatar Airways adds Formula One to a list of global sports sponsorships, which include world soccer's governing body FIFA and soccer clubs Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain.

Dubai-based Emirates was Formula One's main airline sponsor for the last decade.

#SaudiArabia Talks on Buying Egypt’s United Bank Stall Over Pound - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Talks on Buying Egypt’s United Bank Stall Over Pound - Bloomberg

Talks between Saudi Arabia and Egypt over the purchase of Cairo-based United Bank have stalled over a disagreement about how to value the multi-million-dollar transaction, in a stumbling block as the government works to raise sorely-needed funding.

Discussions over the state-owned lender have faltered over how to account for the plunging value of the Egyptian pound, people familiar with the situation said. They asked not to be identified as the matter is private.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund started negotiations with Egyptian authorities about buying the bank last year, part of the kingdom’s $10 billion pledge to help shore up the finances of the Middle East’s most populous nation. The deal could be worth as much as $600 million, Bloomberg reported at the time.

The PIF wanted to value United Bank in Egypt’s pound with the dollar amount determined at the time of the transaction, while the central bank preferred a dollar-based valuation from the start, the people said. Egypt has devalued the pound three times in about a year, making it the world’s third-worst performing currency over the past 12 months.

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses end lower as oil prices drop ahead of Fed minutes

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses end lower as oil prices drop ahead of Fed minutes

Gulf stock markets closed lower on Wednesday as oil prices fell and caution prevailed among investors ahead of the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting.

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - eased on Wednesday with Brent crude losing 0.66% at $82.50 per barrel by 1230 GMT. The Fed's minutes due at 1900 GMT will come at a time when hawkish rhetoric from policymakers and signs of economic resilience have spurred worries that major central banks could keep raising interest rates for longer.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes.

In Abu Dhabi, its benchmark index fell 0.6%, extending its losses to a third session. The index was pulled down by a 3% drop in fertilizer maker Fertiglobe and a 4.4% slide in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the worst intraday decline since June.

Dubai's benchmark index dropped 0.9%, dragged down by losses in almost all sectors, with Emaar Properties declining 2.3% and tolls operator Salik falling 2.6%. The Qatari Stock index eased 0.3%, extending its losses to a second session.

The index was dragged down by losses in most sectors with the Gulf region's largest lender, Qatar National Bank, dropping 1.7%. Shares of Qatar Insurance dropped 10% to 1.5 riyal, hitting a more than 13-year low and falling to their steepest intraday decline since February 2020. The Gulf's biggest insurer reported a full-year consolidated net loss of 637 million riyals, compared to a profit of 630 million riyals a year earlier.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index dropped 1.5%, with almost all of its constituent stocks in the red. The index was weighed down by a 1.3% loss in Commercial International Bank and a slide of 2.5% in electronic payments firm Fawry. Among the losers, El Sewedy Electric and Talaat Mostafa Group declined 3.8% and 2.5% respectively.

"The Egyptian stock market remained exposed to new losses as traders moved to secure their gains," said Ahmed Negm, head of market research MENA at XS.com.

#Qatar’s Ooredoo Plans to Carve Out Telecom Tower Unit This Year - Bloomberg

Qatar’s Ooredoo Plans to Carve Out Telecom Tower Unit This Year - Bloomberg

Qatari telecom operator Ooredoo QPSC expects to carve out its portfolio of tower networks this year, in a transaction that has reportedly drawn interest from suitors including Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and American Tower Corp.

The firm received interest from over 50 regional and international bidders and is currently in the final round of talks, Chief Executive Officer Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo told Bloomberg TV in an interview. “We’re hoping to announce something before the end of the first half of this year.”

Ooredoo said in September it will carve out its portfolio of almost 20,000 towers as part of a shift to an asset-light model. The state-controlled operator last year sold its Myanmar business for an enterprise value of $576 million and is also considering carving out its data center unit.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, American Tower, IHS Holding Ltd. and Helios Towers Plc were among suitors weighing a bid for the tower assets, which could be valued at $3 billion to $5 billion, Bloomberg reported in November.

#Dubal Holding posts 37% surge in 2022 net profit to $1bln

Dubal Holding posts 37% surge in 2022 net profit to $1bln

Dubal Holding (DH), the investment arm of the Dubai Government in the commodities and mining, power and energy, and industrial sectors, has reported a net profit of AED3.7 billion ($1 billion) in 2022, up 37% from AED2.7 billion of 2021.

This was disclosed at the annual general meeting of Dubal Holding, which was presided over by its chairman, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.

Members of the board and management of DH were present at the meeting, along with its auditors and shareholder representatives from Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD). The company witnessed an exceptional year owing to a combination of optimal investments in multiple industrial sectors and efficient operational performance.

With the laying of the foundation stone for a titanium slag facility in the Sohar Free Zone in Oman, the Sohar Titanium Project, a strategic project with Dubal Holding as one of the shareholders, made good progress during the year. By mid-2025, it's anticipated that the facility will commence operations.