Qatar house prices to fall
DUBAI: A likely oversupply in Qatar’s real estate market in 2010 will further depress property prices, a property consultancy said yesterday. “The supply deficit will shrink rapidly in the short to medium term, and with the probable contraction of population growth to 2 percent, the market is likely to be oversupplied by 2010,” Landmark Advisory said in a report. Qatar will be oversupplied by 10,000 homes in 2012 at a 2-percent annual population growth, the report said, adding that at 5 percent annual population growth, demand and supply will reach an equilibrium.
Gulf states seek Thai farms
DUBAI: A number of Gulf states have expressed interest in livestock and rice farming in Thailand to secure food supplies, a Thai official said yesterday. “Gulf countries have shown interest in investing in farms for livestock and rice production in Thailand,” Pilun Fupapol, consul of Thailand’s commercial section in the United Arab Emirates, told Reuters.
Bahrain’s April M3 growth slows
MANAMA: Bahraini money supply growth fell to 13.9 percent in April, the slowest rate in more than two years, central bank data showed. M3, the broadest measure of money circulating the Bahraini economy, stood at 7.98 billion dinars ($21.17 billion) on April 30 compared with 7.01 billion dinars a year earlier.
Rising oil prices enrich Iraq
BAGHDAD: Iraq may be able to boost government spending in coming months thanks to rising oil prices and recent increases in the country’s production capacity, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said yesterday. “The rise in oil prices and production could allow us, God willing, to present a supplementary budget,” he said at a meeting with provincial governors in Baghdad.