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Iran dismisses economy minister
Iran's economy minister has been dismissed following his statements blaming record levels of inflation on high government spending, reported Bloomberg. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has named Hossein Samsami as caretaker of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, replacing Davoud Danesh-Ja'fari, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. Ahmadinejad is facing increasing criticism as inflation rose to a 5-year high of 20.2% in February.
Iran: Wednesday, April 23 - 2008 at 07:33

UAE stocks end higher
The Dubai Financial Market ended the day, Monday, up 56.58 points, or 0.99%, to end the day on 5,777. Arabtec was the day's big gainer, up 5.05%. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Market gained 18.14 points, or 0.36%, to finish on 5,013.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 14:46

Lehman appoints global head of SWFs
Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, today announced the appointment of Makram Azar to the newly-created role of global head of Sovereign Wealth Funds. Mr. Azar joined Lehman Brothers in 1990 and had most recently been leading the Media, Consumer & Retail investment banking businesses in Europe & the Middle East.
Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 14:39

Pakistanis in GCC remit $2.37bn to home
Overseas Pakistanis residing in GCC states remitted $2.37bn to the country in the first nine-months of financial year 2007-08, a 21.5% increase over the previous period last year, reported Khaleej Times. In the UAE, Pakistani workers remitted $793.62m to their home country in July-March 2008, a 33% increase over same time frame in 2006-07.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 13:51

Kuwait SWF invests in US, Europe
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund invests at least 76% of its assets in the US and Europe, daily Al Jarida reported. The Kuwait Investment Authority bought into Citigroup and Merrill Lynch earlier this year.
Kuwait: Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 13:09

UAE urged to revalue dirham
An official of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is urging the UAE to revalue the dirham by 15% and move to a currency basket within two years, reported Khaleej Times. Dr Eisa Abdelgalil, a senior economist at Dubai Chamber's Data Management and Research Department, said the move is needed to help curb inflation and mitigate the effects of a weak US dollar to which the dirham is pegged. UAE Central Bank Governor Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi said last month there was no plan to either revalue the dirham or abandon the dollar peg.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 10:53

Global equity funds in UAE attract $2.7bn
Global private equity funds in the UAE attracted $2.7bn in investment last year, according to Karim Al Solh, CEO of Gulf Capital. The increasing number of private equity backed initial public offerings shows that there is a broader acceptance of private equity, he added. Overall, there are 128 private equity funds in the region today, reported Gulf News.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 10:25

Khalifa Fund seeks to boost SMEs
The Khalifa Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises is developing a new venture capital fund aimed at developing the SMEs segment, reported Gulf News. Hussain Jasem Al Nuwais, chairman of Khalifa Fund, said the size of the new fund will most likely be about Dhs300m ($82m). The Khalifa Fund charges zero interest on loans and financial arrangements up to Dhs1m, and 1% for facilities above that figure and less than Dhs5m.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, April 22 - 2008 at 07:23