Source : Agencies | 03 Dec 2013

Four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will announce the introduction of a common currency by the end of December, a Bahraini daily reported on Sunday.

The common currency to be announced by Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be pegged to the dollar, a source told Akhbar Al Khaleej.

Source : SG / 28 Nov 2013

Tourism industry in Qatar continues its upward trajectory, latest data from Qatar Tourism Authority released Wednesday said.

In QTA’s third quarter (July – September) 2013 report, all key indicators of the tourism sector demonstrated improvement and growth from the previous year comparable period:

The average hotel occupancy rate rose from 50 percent to 57 percent despite the industry adding over 600 rooms, growing inventory by 4.73 percent.

Source : Al Jazeera / 26 Mar 2013

The Gulf state of Qatar is among the wealthiest countries in the world. But despite the affluence, increasingly extravagant weddings in Qatar are making it difficult for men, who pay for the celebrations, to foot the bill.

Jamal Qassim said he spent 450,000 Qatari riyals ($123,600) on his wedding. He worked and saved for nine years to pay for it. "I didn't even travel once outside of Qatar. I was saving and saving. I didn't buy myself a fancy car." He said he now regrets paying that much. At the end of 2012, he was in the process of getting a divorce.

By Carina Kamel / 10 Jan 2013

Egypt will sign a long-awaited financing deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before upcoming parliamentary elections, the planning minister has told Al Arabiya, hinting that elements of the government’s economic program such as a controversial sales tax rise could be subject to change in a revised agreement.

Minister Ashraf El Araby also dismissed reports that newly announced aid from Qatar could delay the IMF loan.