Indian inflation hits 16-year high
NEW DELHI: Despite the rate of inflation at a 16-year high — 12.63 percent for the week ending Aug. 9 — the government is hopeful it will be able to keep the rate from breaching 13 percent. If inflation continues to increase, India is likely to witness fourth rise in interest rates since June. During the same week, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) moved up marginally by 0.12 percent from 240.4 to 240.7, according to a statement from the Finance Ministry.
Jet to start Saudi flights in October
DUBAI: Leading Indian private carrier Jet Airways will include Saudi Arabia on its list of destinations in the Gulf with effect from October, according to its Chairman Naresh Goyal. “We are going to start services to Saudi Arabia in October,” Goyal told the Gulf News newspaper ahead of the airline’s inaugural flights from Dubai to India. Jet Airways’ inaugural flights from Dubai to New Delhi and Mumbai are scheduled for today.
Kuwait loans Cambodia $546m
PHNOM PENH: Kuwait has agreed to give Cambodia loans totaling $546 million to develop agriculture, build hydropower facilities and construct roads, a Cambodian Foreign Ministry official said yesterday. This is the second-biggest aid pledge ever received by Cambodia, after aid and loans totaling $601 million offered by China last year.
Daewoo wins $706m KOTC order
SEOUL: Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering said yesterday it had won a 742.6 billion won ($706.4 million) order for four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Kuwait’s state-owned Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. (KOTC). Daewoo will deliver the ships by the end of 2012, the South Korean shipbuilder said in a filing with the Korea Exchange.
United Airlines faces $18,000 penalty
MINNEAPOLIS: The US flight agency is proposing an $18,000 civil penalty against United Airlines for two maintenance violations it said occurred before a United jet skidded off a runway and ended up in three feet of snow in February. The Federal Aviation Administration disclosed the fine on Thursday after The Associated Press asked about violations cited in FAA documents. The FAA said it notified United of the proposed penalty yesterday.
Rentokil profit falls 82 percent
LONDON: British services company Rentokil Initial PLC posted an 82 percent drop in first-half profit yesterday, and said it could take as long as five years to recover to its target levels of profitability.
