Lebanon's flag carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) has signed a USD 1bn contract to buy five A320neo and five A321neo aircraft to help expand its fleet and destination routes, Daily Star reported. The deal was previously arranged at the Farnborough International Air-show. The central bank of Lebanon owns 99% of MEA, which has a fleet of four A330-200s, four A321s and 10 A320s, according to chairman Mohammed El Hout. MEA is said to be seeking to buy a majority stake in Cyprus Airways. |
Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more
The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more