Qatar Financial News

By Susan McArthur

The appointment is effective from March 19. Prior to his promotion as ED, Bhattacharyya was serving as Adviser in the Monetary Policy Department of the RBI.

Lionel Messi bid adieu to Barcelona. However, he might be having an unfinished business with the La Liga club, which is now eying to sign its greatest-ever player back to the side. Messi, 37, left Barcelona in 2021 on a free transfer as the financial situation at that time prevented the highly popular club from renewing the Argentina star's contract.

Hamas said on Friday it agreed to release an American-Israeli dual national, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza, after receiving a proposal from mediators to continue negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal. Hamas said in a statement that it responded «positively» to the proposal that was presented on Thursday to resume negotiations. It will also release the bodies of four other dual nationality hostages, it said without giving further details. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Meetings between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days sought the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old man from New Jersey, who served as a soldier with the Israeli military.

World Bank officials, including President Ajay Banga, have faced criticism for flying private jets to a UN climate summit while advocating for carbon reduction. Critics have condemned their actions as «hypocrisy,» citing the massive carbon footprint of their travel and the organization's lavish spending habits.

ONGC will be in focus on Monday after its subsidiary ONGC PetroAdditions Ltd (OPaL) decided to relinquish its «only-for-export» status and shift its focus to the rapidly expanding domestic petrochemical market. The company has received final approval to exit the Dahej Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and will now operate as a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) unit, effective from March 8, 2025. This move will enable OPaL to concentrate primarily on serving the domestic market, instead of exporting products, which was the primary purpose of operating within an SEZ. As a DTA unit, OPaL will be exempt from paying customs duties on products sold within India, which is expected to enhance its profit margins.

The first phase of the truce ended on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that could secure a permanent end to the war, but both sides have since refrained from resuming full-scale fighting. There are still significant differences over the terms of a potential second phase of the truce, which has largely halted the violence that raged since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

ONGC PetroAdditions Ltd, a subsidiary of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has relinquished its 'only-for-export' unit status as it aims to tap into the booming local petrochemical market to drive a turnaround. In a stock exchange filing, ONGC said OPaL has received the final approval for its exit from the Dahej Special Economic Zone (SEZ). «Accordingly, OPaL shall operate as a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) unit with effect from March 8, 2025,» ONGC said. «Further, this exit from SEZ will improve the competitiveness of OPaL for supplies to be made to the DTA». This essentially means primarily catering to the domestic Indian market instead of focusing on exports, which is the primary purpose of an SEZ unit. It will now not have to pay customs duty on products sold within India, helping improve margins.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ahead of the summer season, India's two leading airlines are ramping up their international presence. IndiGo, the market leader in the Indian international segment, has announced four new destinations—Mauritius, Langkawi, Penang and Medinah.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Days before the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Russia said the Syrian rebels advancing on Damascus were terrorists. Now, with those rebels in power, Moscow senses an opportunity to both expand its economic footprint in Syria and hold on to its military bases there.

Qatar Airways has responded to a distressing incident aboard a flight from Melbourne to Doha, where a deceased woman’s body was placed next to an Australian couple for several hours. The airline conducted an internal review and stated that its crew «acted quickly, appropriately and professionally» in handling the situation. The incident gained attention after Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, who were traveling to Venice, shared their experience with Channel Nine in Australia.

The agency is implementing strict profiling measures for passengers heading to 15 countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Kenya. According to a report submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) regarding a petition from a pilgrim denied travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, the FIA stated that travelers must possess a clear travel purpose, confirmed hotel bookings, and adequate financial resources. The FIA also mentioned that those traveling for Umrah should have sufficient religious understanding, as reported by Dawn.

The Qatar Investment Authority is leveraging its over-$500 billion in assets to attract venture capital firms to the hydrocarbon-rich state.

Lillia, an AI startup for chronic care, on Tuesday, introduced its platform for individuals living with diabetes and related chronic conditions to live fulfilling lives.

Qatar's government has signed a five-year deal with AI data company Scale AI to deploy AI-powered tools and training in a push to improve government services in the Gulf Arab state, a senior Scale AI executive told Reuters on Sunday.

Taliban representative to the country soon, the latest step from New Delhi to improve ties with Kabul and counter China’s growing influence in Afghanistan.

Benjamin Netanyahu to extend a fragile Gaza ceasefire beyond the first phase, even as US President Donald Trump repeated his pledge that the US would take control of the Palestinian enclave. Talks on the second phase, meant to see more hostages released and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, were due to start February 3. But Israel and Hamas appear to have made little progress, even as Israeli forces withdrew Sunday from a Gaza corridor in the latest commitment to the truce.

Hamas since its attack on Israel returned home on Sunday after their release from captivity last month.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans to visit the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss raising funds with Abu Dhabi investment group MGX, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.