the bottomline

KUWAIT CITY:

Kuwait’s statistics office reported the following May consumer price data on Tuesday. Kuwait Consumer Inflation 05/17 04/17 05/16 pct change month/month 0.1 -0.1 0.0 pct change year/year 2.7 2.6 2.8

Note: Prices of food and beverages, which account for more than 18 percent of the basket, edged up 0.1 percent from a year earlier. Housing costs, which account for nearly 29 percent of consumer expenses, rose 4.3 percent. (RTRS)

CAIRO:

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ratified a stamp duty on stock exchange transactions for both buyers and sellers at 1.25 Egyptian pounds per 1,000 for the tax’s first year, a decree published in the official gazette on Thursday showed.

Sisi also approved an extension of a freeze on capital gains tax for three years. The country originally imposed a 10-percent tax on capital gains in July 2014 as part of efforts to replenish depleted state coffers. But its suspended the tax a year later under pressure from investors for a period of two years. Thursday’s decree extends that freeze for another three years. (RTRS)

DUBAI:

Iran’s crude oil production has surpassed 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd), Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Saturday, adding that Tehran expects output to reach 4 million bpd by March 2018.

“Oil production has exceeded 3.8 million barrels. The country’s oil output will reach 4 million barrels by the end of the year,” Zanganeh told Fars news agency, referring to the Iranian year which ends on March 20. (RTRS)

DOHA:

Qatar’s finance minister told US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a trip to Washington last week that Qatar was committed to maintaining stability around its exports of liquefied natural gas to the global energy market, according to a statement by Qatar’s government communication office.

“They discussed Qatar’s efforts to counter terror financing ... and Qatar’s commitment to maintaining stability around its exports to the global energy market,” the statement said. (RTRS)

BEIRUT:

Lebanon’s Blom Bank said on Monday it had completed its acquisition of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited — Lebanon, a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings. Blom said in November it would acquire the assets in the first half of this year subject to central bank approval.

Blom said in a statement it would retain HSBC staff. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

HSBC had been in Lebanon since 1946 and has three branches in Dora, Ras Beirut and St Georges Bay. Blom said in November HSBC had about $953 million in assets in Lebanon as of June 30 last year. (RTRS)

CAIRO:

Egypt’s state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt will secure a loan of up to 13 billion Egyptian pounds ($720.22 million) to improve infrastructure and mobile internet services, Chief Executive Ahmed El Beheiry told Reuters on Thursday.

The board approved the loan conditions on Wednesday, and El Beheiry said it would be paid back over eight years. Telecom Egypt was the first company to buy a 4G licence from the government in August last year for 7.08 billion Egyptian pounds, and expects to begin offering mobile services in September. (RTRS)