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KUWAIT CITY:

Kuwait’s statistics office reported the following June consumer price data on Monday. Kuwait Consumer Inflation 06/16 05/16 06/15 pct change month/month 0.7 0.0 0.4 pct change year/year 3.1 2.8 3.5

Note: Prices of food and beverages, which account for more than 18 percent of the basket, rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier. Housing costs, which account for nearly 29 percent of consumer expenses, jumped 7.3 percent. (RTRS)

DUBAI:

Vodafone Qatar, an affiliate of Vodafone Group, reported on Tuesday a first-quarter loss that was flat compared with the corresponding period of last year, as higher customer numbers offset a decline in total revenue

The telecoms operator made a net loss of 99.6 million riyals ($27.4 million) in the three months to June 30, it said in a bourse statement, compared with a loss of 99.9 million riyals in the prior-year period.

The result was in line with the forecast of QNB Financial Services, which expected a net loss of 101.2 million riyals. (RTRS)

DUBAI:

Saudi Telecom Co (STC) missed estimates as it reported a 27.1 percent fall in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, extending an earnings slump as operating expenses rose.

The results followed lower than expected earnings earlier in the day from another Saudi Arabian telecoms company, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), which fell short of forecasts despite swinging to a net profit in the three months to June 30.

STC had reported falling profits in six of the preceding seven quarters, stalling an improvement in its bottom line that had been sparked by the operator trimming its international ambitions and refocusing on its lucrative home market. (RTRS)

RIYADH:

Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialization Co (Tasnee) expects further job cuts to come but is seeing the benefits of a restructuring effort which has already resulted in the firm shedding more than 25 percent of its global workforce.

The remarks by Chief Executive Mutlaq al-Morished came after the maker of plastics, chemicals and titanium dioxide halted a run of five straight quarterly losses to return to profit in the second quarter of 2016.

Tasnee’s earnings have been hit hard by falling product prices, like many petrochemical firms in the kingdom, as they are closely tied to slumping oil prices. In response, the company launched in April 2015 a restructuring effort aimed at significant cost cuts and efficiency savings. (RTRS)

DUBAI:

Saudi Arabian construction firm Abdullah Abdul Mohsin alKhodari and Sons said on Tuesday it swung to a net loss in the second quarter as earnings were pressured once again by a slowdown in the kingdom’s building sector.

The company made a net loss of 43.34 million riyals ($11.6 million) in the three months to June 30 compared to a profit of 34.86 million riyals in the year-earlier period.

EFG Hermes had forecast the company would make a net loss of 16 million riyals during the quarter.

Khodari cited a 37.4 percent dip in revenue, partly due to a lower contribution from newly awarded contracts. It also blamed a 10 percent rise in financial charges and a 43.7 percent drop in other income due to a decrease in sales of used equipment. (RTRS)

KHOBAR:

State-run oil firm Saudi Aramco has named Ibrahim al-Buainain as chief executive officer of its trading arm, it said in an emailed statement on Tuesday in response to a Reuters query.

It said Buainain started his new role earlier this month.

Buainain had held the position of head of transaction development at Saudi Aramco for less than a year, according to his Linkedin profile.

Prior to that, he was president of Aramco Asia. (RTRS)

RABAT:

Maroc Telecom, Morocco’s largest telecom operator, said on Monday its first-half net profit rose 3.2 percent to 2.92 billion dirhams ($296.59 million), boosted by growth in Sub Saharan Africa.

The company, controlled by UAE’s Etisalat Group, said consolidated revenue rose 6.1 percent in the first six months of 2016 to 17.6 billion dirhams. (RTRS)

DUBAI:

HSBC Bank Middle East, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, said on Monday it was in discussions to sell its Lebanese business to Lebanon’s Blom Bank.

There was no certainty about whether a binding transaction would result from the discussions but HSBC would make further disclosures if appropriate, it said in an emailed statement.

HSBC has been seeking to divest businesses, including in Brazil to Turkey, as part of Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver’s plan to boost profitability and play higher dividends to shareholders. (RTRS)

MUSCAT:

Oman’s National Center for Statistics and Information released the following June consumer price data, according to state news agency ONA, showing annual inflation at its highest level since May 2014. Oman Consumer Inflation 06/16 05/16 06/15 pct change month/month 0.9 0.0 0.5 pct change year/year 1.5 1.1 0.2

Note: Transport costs rose 4.0 percent from the previous month after Oman lifted domestic gasoline and diesel prices for June. Prices of housing and utilities were flat month-on-month, but food and beverage costs rose 0.8 percent.

DUBAI:

Abraaj Group expects to complete at least four or five acquisitions in Turkey in the next two years, a senior executive told Reuters on Tuesday, despite the political turmoil currently dominating the country.

The comments, by Seluk Yorganlu, regional head of Turkey and Central Asia at the emerging markets-focused investment firm, came on the day it announced it had closed to new money its first dedicated Turkey fund worth $526 million.

While Turkish officials have said they foresee no impact on the economy and investment climate, the upheaval in Turkey following the failed coup attempt on July 15 has shaken many foreign investors and stoked fears that political instability will weigh on Turkish financial assets in the