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 »

Dow Chemical Company said the first shipment of reverse osmosis elements from its Saudi Arabia Dow Water and Process Solutions’ Jubail Operations plant will be sent to help meet water demands in developing markets. The plant produces FILMTEC RO elements for the purification of seawater and brackish water, as well as the recycling of potable, nonpotable and industrial water. Read More »

Saudi Aramco said this week its Safaniyah Onshore Producing Department (SONPD) has completed an initiative to decrease the amount of gas flaring in its procedures by using an in-house flare recovery system developed at the Tanajib plant. Reducing the gas flares will help in protecting the environment from dangerous emissions, including sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide. Read More »

The Oil & Gas West Asia (OGWA) Exhibition & Conference will take place this year March 21-23 at the Oman International Exhibition Center in Muscat, Oman. Read More »

Vinli, the connected car platform based in Dallas, said Monday it is expanding its operations beyond the United States by partnering with VIVA Bahrain to bring its cloud-connected system to the Middle East.The partnership with VIVA Bahrain, a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company (STC), was announced at the Mobile World Congress and is a significant milestone for Vinli. Read More »

Smashburger has entered into a deal with Pearll Investments to open 26 restaurants in the Middle East over the next several years. The restaurants will be located in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Read More »

BP said it has reached an agreement with Oman Oil and the government of Oman that would facilitate further development of the Khazzan gas field. “I am delighted to see BP taking additional acreage that will result in realizing more gas reserves and more production of gas that our country needs to support our energy planning and requirements,” Oman Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammed Al Rumhy said. Read More »

Omantel and Xtera Communications Inc. announced a supply agreement that will result in the construction of the Gulf to Africa (G2A) system, a new submarine cable system connecting Oman, Puntland and Somaliland. Omantel and Xtera Communications said the G2A system will better the connectivity costs in Africa and add capacity to an underserved and quickly expanding region. 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 »

RMG Networks will continue providing digital signage for Etisalat retail stores through the first part of this year, the company announced Monday. 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 »

Two Saudi Aramco executives were among the speakers at the Global Competitiveness Forum held recently in Riyadh. The forum focused on the role governments and businesses can play in driving competitiveness while emphasizing the potential for particular industries like health care, education and services. Many of these sectors have taken on increased relevance as oil prices lag. Read More »

Baker Hughes Inc. released its fourth quarter and yearly numbers Thursday. The company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $3.4 billion and $15.7 billion for the year, an $8.8 billion drop from full-year revenue in 2014. Company executives said the oilfield services business was hit hard by falling oil prices, which have slipped by more than 60 percent since 2014. 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 »

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 »

Egypt's largest petrochemical plant will soon be automated, thanks to a new $150 million partnership between Emerson Process Management and Carbon Holdings. Emerson will provide technology and services to help automate Tahrir Petrochemicals Project in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. Read More »

Bahrani airline Gulf Air said Tuesday it will renew and upgrade its flight planning technology through an agreement with Sabre Corporation. The airline has been using Sabre's AirCentre Flight Plan Manager for the past eight years in a limited capacity, but will now look to the technology for more information the company hopes will streamline overall operations. Read More »

MasterCard recently reported that the number of users in the Middle East and Africa has doubled in the last three years to 100 million users. Read More »

Communication technology provider Ericsson representatives attended the Saudi Arabia Smart Grid Conference, where they gave a presentation titled "Networked Society and the Internet of Things for Sustainable Use of Energy Resources." The Ericsson presentation covered topics such as the connectivity and exploitation of big data and how they are changing the utilities industry. Read More »