Business briefs

MANAMA: Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (Asry) has agreed to recruit 100 jobseekers registered with the National Employment Project.

Assistant under-secretary for labour affairs Jamil Humaidan sealed an agreement with Asry chief executive Mohammed Mohieddine Al Khatib. Under the deal, the company also pledged to hire seven BA graduates in non-engineering sectors.
ABU DHABI: France recently signed a billion-euro deal to set up a satellite of the Louvre on an island in the UAE despite charges that the famed art museum was “selling its soul”. Under the 30-year agreement, the government of Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, will pay 400 million euros ($525m) just for the Louvre brand name.
MANAMA: Arab Banking Corporation (Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers) and Standard Chartered (Bookrunners) have launched a general syndication for the debut $300 million three-year Term Loan Facility for Batelco. The loan will be used for general corporate purposes and to support Batelco’s growing business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
MANAMA: Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) is to shortly introduce the first Islamic EMV-compliant chip-based card in the region. It will be conforming to VISA standards with the support of Arab Financial Services.
RIYADH: A consortia led by Verizon Communica-tions and India’s Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited are among 10 bidding for Saudi Arabia’s second fixed line licence, the country’s telecom regulator said. The licence is set to break state-controlled Saudi Telecom’s (STC) monopoly over fixed-line phone services in the Gulf’s largest telecom market, source of around half of its revenues in 2006. Also, Oman plans to sell a fixed-line telephone licence this year, ending the monopoly of  Omantel, a spokesman said.
BUSINESS
BRIEFS

MANAMA: Moody’s Investors Service has hailed Bahrain’s strong financial sector in its annual report on the country. Bahrain’s investment-grade ratings and positive outlook are supported by the government’s net asset position and Bahrain’s relatively high per capita level of GDP, it said.
The foreign currency country ceiling for bonds is A1 - upgraded from A2 in October - and is based on the foreign currency government bond rating of A3 - upgraded from Baa1 at the same time - and Moody’s assessment of a low risk of a payments moratorium in the event of a government bond default.
MANAMA: Bahrain-based United Gulf Bank’s (UGB) net profit soared to $101.5 million last year, it announced. This was an increase of 25.3 per cent over the $81m the bank reported for 2005. Shareholders have also approved the payment of a 34.6 per cent cash dividend, compared to a 27.5 per cent cash dividend in 2005.
MANAMA: Bahrain Duty Free recorded sales increase of 16.4 per cent in 2006, over those achieved in 2005, the chairman of the board of directors has said. Speaking after the annual general meeting at the Gulf Hotel yesterday, Farouk Yousuf Almoayyed said the increase, to BD28,986,953, was mainly driven by a 20 per cent growth in passenger numbers passing through the Bahrain International Airport. More than 6.7 million passengers passed through Bahrain International Airport last year.
MANAMA: Bahrain-based Securities & Investment Company (SICO) announced a consolidated net income of BD4.045 million last year compared to BD7.639m in 2005. Total income for the year was BD6.581m compared to BD9.705m in the previous year.
MANAMA: Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company (BKIC) announced a net profit of BD3.4 million for last year, an increase of 39 per cent compared to BD2.5m for 2005.