Three new hotels owned by Best Western Hotels & Resorts were recently opened in Saudi Arabia, including the Best Western Plus Riyadh, the Best Western Dammam Hotel and the Best Western Olaya Hotel. The company expects to open 20 hotels in the Middle East by the close of 2016. All of the hotels feature free Wi-Fi, onsite full-service restaurants and fitness and business centers. Read More »

TAKELEAP is a new virtual real estate tour tool that has built upon previous virtual real estate tour platforms My Virtual Home and Zayed Communities. My Virtual Home and Zayed Communities were launched in 2014 for the Sheikh Zayed Housing project, allowing users to take visual tours of potential properties with a multilingual and interactive interface. Log on to www.takeleap.com. Read More »

Etisalat, the UAE-based telecommunication services company, partnered with the Fujairah Free Zone Oct. 18 in the wake of Dubai’s GITEX Technology Week. The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, which operates under the Etisalat brand name, will work to provide improved telecommunication and ICT services to companies operating in Fujairah Free Zone Authority. Read More »

Dubai Civil Defense, which organizes fire and emergency services for the emirate, recently launched the Personal Dashboard, allowing Dubai residents and visitors to easily connect to Dubai Civil Defense services online. The goal is to empower users by connecting them to the services they need, and making their daily interactions with city services more efficient and seamless. Read More »

The Coca-Cola Co. signed a deal to make its products the only soft drinks available at movie theaters owned by the Bahrain Cinema Company, the kingdom’s entertainment industry market leaders commonly known as Cineco. As part of the deal, Coca-Cola will bring its "Cinema Tower” drink machines to Cineco's theaters in Bahrain so that customers will spend less time in line. Read More »

In Dubai's waterfront Jumeirah Beach residential community, this lovely, three-bedroom apartment boasts a spacious floor plan with 1,985 square feet of living space and breathtaking beach views. The apartment has a sizable combination living and dining room, as well as a stunning modern kitchen with striking countertops, handsome cabinetry and stainless steel appliances. Read More »

Oil company Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) hosted a workshop Oct. 20 for SMEs in Oman. The goal of the event was to educate SME representatives about how they could get into business with PDO. The half-day workshop, which took place at PDO's Learning Development Center at Mina Al Fahal, was attended by about 75 business people and local community contractors. Read More »

The Middle East’s investment banks recorded 22 percent less in fees over the first nine month of 2015 than last year says Thomson Reuters' quarterly investment banking analysis for the region. Thomson Reuters estimates Middle Eastern investment banking fees reached just above $480 million during the first quarter of 2015, which makes it the worst third-quarter total for the region. Read More »

The Saudi-based tourism company Elaf Group launched a series of strategic marketing tours Tuesday to seven countries in order to boost Saudi Arabia's tourism industry. The marketing tour will travel to Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Indonesia, Tunisia and the United Kingdom to present travel packages to tourists planning to visit Saudi Arabia while promoting tourist attractions. Read More »

Sheikh Turki Bin Faisal Al Thani, chairman of Qatar's Catalyst LLC, emphasized the need for his nation to become the region's leader in e-commerce during Qatar's E-Commerce Forum 2015 Tuesday. Catalyst LLC signed an MOU ealier in March to establish a joint venture company, 004 Arabia,in Qatar, bringing a complete suite of e-commerce services to Qatar and the MENA region. Read More »

NBK Capital Partners sold its equity investment in Kiliç Deniz, an aquaculture company based in Bodrum, Turkey. This is the sixth sale for NBK out of eight investments across the MENA region. NBK is a investment manager that holds over $750 million in assets, and Kilic Deniz specializes in sea and fresh water fish production. Yaser Moustafa commented on the sale. Read More »

Professional conference organizer and destination management company Hala Abu Dhabi, a division of Etihad Airways, was honored as the World’s Best Halal Tour Operator at the inaugural World Halal Travel Awards 2015 Tuesday. The awards are to honor companies in the Halal tourism sector that demonstrate best practices, service and distinction in travel and tourism brands.  Read More »

The November conference will bring key professionals from various fields within the tunneling sector together to discuss such things as design and planning of underground spaces, security, maintenance of tunnels, and risk assessment. The topic is timely given that infrastructure projects in the Gulf region are creating enormous opportunities for tunneling professionals. Read More »

The Qatar Exchange hosted the 55th World Federation of Exchanges General Assembly and Annual Meeting last week. Doha Bank CEO Rahavan Seetharaman was among the panelists who spoke on a panel addressing "Opening the Middle East Markets – The Shape of Things to Come." He presented a broad outlook for the global economy and said he expects the GCC's market reforms to shape up. Read More »

Oman Insurance Company (OIC) was named the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Insurance Company of the Year during Acquisition Finance Magazine's (ACQ5) Global Awards. In addition, company CEO Christos Adamantiadis was named UAE Insurance Game Changer of the Year. Winners of the awards are chosen after a rigorous process that evaluates companies in a challenging business environment. Read More »

Pure Gold Jewelers, the only World Diamond Mark certified retailer in the Gulf Cooperation Council, recently opened three new retail outlets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and two stores in Oman. Customers in Dubai can find the new shops in Shindagah, Dragon Mart and National Paints, while those shopping in Oman can find Pure Gold Jewelers at Wave Mall and Lulu Sohar. Read More »

Offshore Oil and gas industry support provider Halul Offshore Services Company, a subsidiary of Milaha, won the prestigious Seatrade "Offshore Marine Award for Owners & Operators" in Dubai Monday at the Seatrade Maritime Awards Ceremony. Milaha's President and CEO Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai said the company is honored to have been recognized by Seatrade and the maritime community. Read More »

In partnership with Smart City App Hack,  Dubai Internet City (DIC) announced 10 finalists for their app competition Tuesday. Boxit.com, Ithal, Einvite, Carpool Arabia, World Spotlight, D2D Auto Services, LupUp, GPSShield, MyGreenRank and App3ad are the smart app finalists, after being monitored for five months as they developed apps to improve urban mobility, energy and emissions. Read More »

The Arab Future Cities Summit will take place in Doha, Qatar, next year. The summit is expected to gather regional and international industry experts, senior government officials and sector specialists together to focus on smart connectivity, smart mobility and transportation, Internet of Everything (IoE), economical and sustainable smart vehicles and building automation. Read More »

Oman's top 100 energy sector stakeholders held a workshop aimed at drafting recommendations to be included in Oman’s 25-year energy master plan. The delegates at the workshop agreed that Oman needs to devise a longterm strategy to diversify its energy mix while adding alternative renewable power generation sources. They also plan to enhance energy efficiency and improve management.  Read More »