Deutsche Bahn, Qatar in ?17 billion deal: minister German rail and logistics group Deutsche Bahn is set to sign a ?17 billion ($25 billion) contract with Qatar, German transport minister Peter Ramsauer said on Friday. The two parties plan to sign the agreement on Sunday, Ramsauer said at a meeting of transport ministers, adding the deal included building a connection to Doha airport. Separately, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported in its online edition on Friday that Deutsche Bahn had won a ?17 billion contract to build a passenger and freight rail network in Qatar. The newspaper, which cited government sources for its story, said German industrial group Siemens could be involved in supplying trains and the German building industry in the construction of the rail network. The project would involve the construction of a rail network in Qatar s capital, Doha, as well as the high-speed connection to the airport, and a link to Bahrain, Handelsblatt reported. - Reuters Oman central bank says sticks to US dollar peg Oman plans to stick to its currency peg to the US dollar, Oman Central Bank Executive President Hamood Sangour Al-Zadjali said on Friday. We stick to the dollar as a peg for our currency, he said, when asked if there were any plans to consider a link to a basket of currencies instead. On Tuesday, Kuwait - which dropped its dollar peg in 2007 in favor of a currency basket which includes the greenback - said Gulf Arab countries will discuss pegging their planned single currency to a basket instead of the US dollar. The peg issue is gaining momentum again as the dollar retreats and oil prices recover, helping economies in the world s top oil exporting region emerge from a downturn. Al-Zadjali said Oman s growth outlook was looking up, but prospects were largely tied to developments in oil prices, which have strengthened recently to trade between $75 and $80 a barrel over the last month. The oil price will stay around $70 to $80 (per barrel) over the next year, that s our expectation, but it s not a forecast, he told reporters at the European Banking Congress. The economy is doing very well at the moment, we expect there will be positive growth this year and next year we are very optimistic that the economy will grow much better. - Reuters Tamweel, Amlak merger seen in Q1 2010: chairman The long-planned merger between troubled Dubai mortgage firms Tamweel and Amlak is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010, Tamweel s chairman said on Friday. The annual general meeting is the end of the year, Q1 will be the right time for it, Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting in Dubai. He also said Tamweel s default rate had retreated from a peak of 3 percent recently and has been coming lower . The UAE government said it intended to merge Amlak and Tamweel in November 2008 and has been working on a plan to restructure the two firms. - Reuters ExxonMobil Egypt renews partnership with GM Egypt and Al Mansour Automotive ExxonMobil Egypt, the leading company in premium lubricants, conducted a press conference to announce the renewal of its partnership with General Motors Egypt, one of the biggest automotive manufacturers in Egypt, and Al Mansour Automotive Group s Mansour Chevrolet, sole agent of GM Egypt cars. - AME Info UAE s Suweidi: Dropping dollar peg not for us The United Arab Emirates has no plans to drop its peg from the US dollar, its central bank chief said on Friday, while the recent rise in the price of oil has pushed it above the bank s internal forecasts. Dropping the dollar peg is not for us , UAE central bank Central Bank Governor Nasser Al-Suweidi told Reuters on the sidelines of a Euro Finance Week event. The peg issue is gaining momentum again as the dollar retreats and oil prices recover, helping economies in the world s top oil exporting region emerge from a downturn. On the recent rise in oil prices Al-Suweidi said, The level is now above our expectations, referring to the figure the central bank has for its forecasts. At the same event in Franfurt, Oman Central Bank Executive President Hamood Sangour Al-Zadjali said he expected oil to stay around $70 to $80 per barrel over the next year. Oil edged lower towards $77 a barrel on Friday, extending a 2 percent drop in the previous session. It has climbed from below $40 earlier this year. Suweidi also said an early tightening of monetary policy was not on the cards. We have no reason to do so, he said. He said the UAE would consider buying into the second tranche of Dubai s $20 billion bond program after buying the first tranche earlier this year. It is an option. When, and if, it comes it will be presented to our board and they will decide, he said, adding he did not know when a decision would be made. He later said the UAE had no desire to see oil priced in an alternative currency to the dollar. No... We do not intend to interfere with markets, he told reporters. - Reuters
