PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Middle East has released its most recent tax survey that suggests that streamlining and clarifying Saudi Arabian taxes and business regimes could help the area’s businesses gain new overseas investors. Many people see Saudi Arabia as a low tax or “no tax” nation. Unfortunately, the actual tax system is complicated and challenging for leaders to manage. Read More »

Mercury MENA has announced that its construction of the Mondelez International facility will be completed in 2016. Read More »

For financial services institutions, the cost of doing business in Bahrain is lower than in Dubai or Qatar, a recent KPMG report said. “We are honored to be part of this important initiative and to provide an independent overview of the financial sector in Bahrain, a critical sector in the local economy,” Jalil Al Aali, KPMG's head of financial services in Bahrain, said. Read More »

Interactive workshops to ignite interest and encourage technical solutions in drones and robotics among university students in the United Arab Emirates were organized by The Assembly, a Dubai-based smart lab initiative, and held during the UAE Drones for Good Award and UAE AI & Robotics Award for Good events Feb. 4-6 at Dubai Internet City. Read More »

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has three new Boeing aircraft. Two 787-9 Dreamliners and a 777-300ER will join the 45 other Boeing planes in the Saudia fleet. "The delivery of our first Dreamliners marks yet another exciting chapter in Saudia's long-standing relationship with Boeing that began in the early 1960s," Saudia Director General Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser said. Read More »

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. signed a deal with Dubai developer Nakheel for a new hotel in Jumeirah Island's Palm Tower. The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm, expected to open in 2018, will be the fifth St. Regis hotel in the UAE. The first 18 stories of the 52-story Palm Tower will feature 289 rooms and suites while the upper floors will offer 504 luxury apartments. Read More »

Macy's Inc will open a Bloomingdale's store at the 360 Mall in Al Zahra in 2017, the company announced last week. Read More »

The top e-business minds in Iran are working to spur innovation and curb the unemployment rate. The First Gathering of Iran’s e-Business Leaders was hosted by e-Act. “By having these kind of events in our country, we hope that we can make Iran have a more successful e-business in order to help people have better lives,” Nima Asdaghi of e-Act, told the Gulf News Journal. Read More »

The Kuwait Ministry of Health announced that GE Healthcare and its partner Advanced Technology Company will be supporting the expansion of Kuwait City's Al Amiri Hospital. The hospital is one of nine hospitals slated to undergo infrastructure modernization as part of Kuwait Vision 2030. Al Amiri's expansion includes doubling its capacity plus adding new diagnostic equipment. Read More »

Gulf Air announced Thursday that it will convert its current fleet of 16 787-8 twin-aisle planes to the 787-9 model, which will allow them to carry more passengers and cargo. The replacement model is 20 feet longer, allowing for 20 percent more passengers and up to 23 percent more cargo. Read More »

Khalid Al-Abdulkareem, one of the founding partners of Clifford Chance, a Saudi Arabia-based law firm that employs more than 100 attorneys in offices across five continents, has been appointed office managing partner at the firm's Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, location. Read More »

Marriott International recently announced the signing of development plans for the first Residence Inn by Marriott in the UAE, to be called Residence Inn by Marriott Al Jaddaf. It is expected to be completed in 2019. Bahrain-based Trading and Investment Co. owns the property. Marriott International has 14 hotels in the UAE, but this will be the first Residence Inn. Read More »

The Islamic Research and Training Institute and Thomson Reuters will release a set of new studies and reports on the global Islamic finance sector at the World Islamic Banking Conference next month in Bahrain. The conference aims to explore investment opportunities in high-growth emerging Islamic financial markets in Central Asia, North Africa and the Americas. Read More »

More than five years ago, Brazilian confection maker Docile started efforts to ship sweets and candy to the Gulf Cooperation Council initially targeting only Oman, however, it has since expanded to other countries in the Persian Gulf. “As of today, we do have sales and operations in several countries in the GCC region,” Cristian Ahlert, recently told the Gulf News Journal. Read More »

Next year will see the opening of a new luxury Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Mecca, which will be the largest hotel operated by the brand in the world. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which operates the Four Points by Sheraton chain of four-star hotels, is working with the Sulaiman Abdulaziz Al Rajhi Real Estate Investments Company to develop the hotel in Mecca. 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 Middle East’s enterprises need to recruit higher level strategists to drive digital transformations, chief information officers from around the globe told attendees at the GITEX Technology Week in Dubai this week. Experts assembled at GITEX noted that advancing new technologies and collaboration will do much to develop the Smart Cities regional leaders aim to create. Read More »

American BBQ restaurant chain Famous Dave's will open its first franchise outside North America in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a partnership with Tablez Food, Famous Dave's will open four restaurants in United Arab Emirates, with the first one expected to open in Abu Dhabi in 2016. Famous Dave's is the first BBQ restaurant to feature in Tablez Food's portfolio. Read More »

Oman Air has received its first of six Boeing 787 Dreamliners for use on routes to Europe and Saudi Arabia. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was released in 2011 to offer improved efficiency and has been used on more than 50 new nonstop routes around the world. Oman Air has also contracted with Boeing to support the introduction of 787 Dreamliners into its fleet. Read More »

The international law firm Morgan Lewis has strengthened its international finance capabilities with the addition of Tarek El-Assra as a partner in Dubai. With his background handling matters for clients in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, El-Assra will collaborate with the firm’s global finance, debt capital markets, and restructuring teams around the globe. Read More »