Top 10 Stories On Zawya Dow Jones On July 31 At 0800 GMT

Tuesday, Jul 31, 2012

The following is a list of top 10 business stories published by Zawya Dow Jones on Tuesday at 0800 GMT.

1.SOROUH EYES ROBUST 2H AFTER POSTING 33% HIGHER 2Q NET PROFIT

Abu Dhabi-based developer Sorouh Real Estate (SOROUH.AD) said it is looking forward to a strong second half after it posted a 33% year-on-year rise in second-quarter net profit Tuesday and said it's making "good progress" on the due diligence on a possible merger with Aldar Properties.

By Tahani Karrar-Lewsley

2.QATAR TELECOM 2Q NET PFT DN 11.3% AT QAR641 MLN ON FX LOSSES

Qatar Telecom (QTEL.DO) said Tuesday its net profit in the second quarter fell 11.3% on year, impacted by adverse foreign exchange movement in Indonesia and Algeria, missing most analysts expectations.

By Shereen El Gazzar

3.EGYPT'S APRIL TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS SHARPLY ON YEAR

Egypt's trade deficit in April widened sharply to 17.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.9 billion), from EGP9.7 billion a year earlier, as the prices of commodities such as petroleum products, iron, steel and crude oil rose, data from the country's official statistics agency showed.

By Farah Halime

4.QATAR TELECOM NAMES BASSAM HANNOUN AS CEO FOR KUWAIT'S WATANIYA

Qatar Telecom has named Bassam Hannoun as the new chief executive for its Kuwaiti subsidiary National Mobile Telecommunications Co., or Wataniya.

By Shereen El Gazzar

5.MOST GULF MKTS TAD UP; UAE PPTY STKS SHINE ON 2Q CHEER

Most Persian Gulf stock markets trade modestly higher Tuesday as investors digest some recent earnings.

By Nikhil Lohade

6.SAUDI OIL OUTPUT SEEN AT RECORD PACE

Saudi Arabia is on track to surpass its record oil output this year, analysts said Monday, offsetting a decline from Iran because of international sanctions, despite pressure from other oil exporters to cut back and help bolster world oil prices.

By Summer Said

7.QTEL 2Q MISSES EXPECT MAINLY DUE TO FX LOSSES -JPMORGAN

JPMorgan Cazenove says Qatar Telecom's 2Q net profit of QAR641 million misses its expectations by about 10% mainly on adverse forex movements.

By Shereen El Gazzar

8.DUBAI'S DU EYES DATA TO BOOST EARNS AS SUBSCRIBER ADDS SLOW

Dubai-based Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. (DU.DFM), or Du, is pinning its hopes on higher data revenues to boost its earnings going forward, as it becomes more difficult to acquire additional market share at home.

By Shereen El Gazzar

9.SAUDI SABIC, EXXON EXPECT LATE 2015 START AT JUBAIL RUBBER PLANT

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (2010.SA), or Sabic, and ExxonMobil Chemical, a part of U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), expect to start production at their synthetic rubber plant in Jubail Industrial City in the second half of 2015, executives at the two companies said Monday.

By Ellen Knickmeyer

10.UAE, Australia to Ink Nuclear Cooperation Pact Tuesday - Source

The United Arab Emirates will sign Tuesday a nuclear cooperation and safety agreement with Australia, an official said Monday, after the Gulf state was given the go-ahead earlier this month for construction of two nuclear power units, the first in a string of civilian power plants planned in the strategically sensitive Persian Gulf region.

By Summer Said

-Dubai Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 3748044; djnews.dubai@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

31-07-12 0810GMT