RwandAir says #Qatar Airways close to acquiring stake, FT reports | Reuters

RwandAir says Qatar Airways close to acquiring stake, FT reports | Reuters

RwandAir expects Qatar Airways to finalise its purchase of a major stake in the central African country's carrier as early as next month, chief executive Yvonne Makolo told the Financial Times.

"It's been going on for a while, we have been discussing it for almost five years. So, now, we're really at the tail-end of it," Makolo said.

For the past five years, Qatar and Rwanda have been working on a deal which would give the Gulf nation's airline a 49% stake of RwandAir for an undisclosed sum, the FT report added.

Qatar Airways and RwandAir did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Earlier this year, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer said that Qatar Airways will soon announce an investment in an airline in southern Africa.

Qatar Airways in 2019 took a 60% stake in a new $1.3 billion international airport being built in Rwanda and has code share agreements with several airlines in Africa including RwandAir.

#SaudiArabia inflation remains at 1.6% in May | Reuters

Saudi Arabia inflation remains at 1.6% in May | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate remained at 1.6% for the third month running in May, government data showed on Sunday, with higher housing rents still the main driver.

Housing rents rose 10.5% from a year earlier underpinned by a 14.3% rise in apartment rents, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

Overall, prices in the subcategory of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 8.7% from the previous year.

Food and beverage prices rose 1.4% year on year, while prices for hotels and restaurants rose by 2.5% driven by a 1.9% increase in the price of food services.

Prices of clothing and footwear fell 4% from the previous year, and vehicle purchase prices dropped 4.1% to bring overall transportation costs down by 2.4%.
On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% in May from April.

At below 2% year to date, inflation has remained relatively subdued in Saudi Arabia compared with global levels, with government policies helping limit the impact of international price increases.