UAE

DUBAI/DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco said it does not expect a recent attack on its oil plants to have a material impact on finances and operations as it launched an initial public offering (IPO) on Sunday by announcing its intent for a domestic flotation.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told a news conference after the IPO intent statement was published that the world’s largest oil firm was still the most reliable oil company globally.

Dubai (Reuters) - Iran will not lift its ban on talks with the United States, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, describing the two countries as implacable foes on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

“One way to block America’s political infiltration is to ban any talks with America. It means Iran will not yield to America’s pressure,” Khamenei, who is Iran’s top authority, was quoted by state TV as saying.

“Those who believe that negotiations with the enemy will solve our problems are 100% wrong,”

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s supreme leader poured scorn on French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday for trying to promote talks between the United States and Iran.

“The French president, who says a meeting will end all the problems between Tehran and America, is either naive or complicit with America,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks reported by state television.

Macron tried to arrange a failed meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia formally started its long-anticipated initial public offering of its state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco on Sunday, which will see a sliver of the firm offered on a local stock exchange in hopes of raising billions of dollars for the kingdom.

An announcement from the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority serves as a starting gun for an IPO promised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since 2016.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild the Arab ally’s electricity grid, Iranian state media reported, as Tehran seeks a deepening economic role after years of the Syrian conflict.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries’ electricity ministers in Tehran covered the construction of power plants, transmission lines, cutting losses in Syria’s electricity network, and the possibility of connecting the two countries’ grids through Iraq, the state news agency IRNA said.

DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco aims to announce the start of its initial public offering (IPO) on Nov. 3, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, after delaying the deal earlier this month to give advisers time to secure cornerstone investors.

The people also said Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, was not present at the conference on Tuesday as he was meeting investors abroad ahead of the offering.

29 Oct 2019; MEMO: Dubai has loosened its liquor laws in order to face the severe economic crisis that has affected the trade in alcohol, news agencies have reported. For the first time, Dubai now allows tourists to buy alcohol from state-owned markets, said Associated Press on Tuesday, whereas before only locals with special licences could do so.

29 Oct 2019; PTI: Business Wire India Merck KGaA Germany, a leading science and technology company, announced today the establishment of its Sustainability Centre in District 2020, Dubai.

ABU DHABI, Oct 28 (NNN-WAM) – Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE’s Armed Forces, today received President Ueli Maurer of the Swiss Confederation, currently visiting the UAE.

While welcoming the country’s guest, at the Youth Centre, which opened in Abu Dhabi today, Sheikh Mohamed underlined the importance of further developing ties of friendship and cooperation, between the UAE and the Swiss Confederation, to serve the interests of the two countries and their peoples.

21 Oct 2019; MEMO: The UAE has released $700 million in previously frozen funds to Iran, in a bid to improve relations between the two countries. A member of the parliament in Tehran hailed the move yesterday.