Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Taqa) announced that it is in the process of obtaining the required approvals to finalize the conversion of its AED4.15 billion convertible bonds due on September 1st. Moreover, the conversion process and the listing of the new stocks will require 60 days to be completed as stated in the subscription letter. In more news, Taqa approved to purchase a Dutch oil company Anchor. (ADX and Al Bayan)

Kuwait Finance and Investment Company AGM and EGM approved increasing the company’s paid in capital by 52.0% to KWD63.7 million through: i) issuing 125.8 million shares to shareholders with a record date of September 2nd at KWD0.2/share; ii) 83.9 million shares at KWD0.25/share to new shareholders with the primitive rights cancel of old shareholders and iii) 8.4 million shares at KWD0.17/share as part of the ESOP. In more news, KFIC bought 40.9 million shares representing a 24.5% stake in Arabian Capital Investment and Finance (ACIFC) for a total value of KWD7.6 million. (DFM and Emirates Business 24/7)

Trade between the UAE and Japan increased by 52.8% to hit AED104.7 billion in 1H08 compared to AED68.5% in 1H07. (Al Khaleej)

Oil fell by more than USD2.0 to drop below USD108/barrel on Wednesday, weighed down by slowing demand in the United States and other consuming nations due to Hurricane Gustav. U.S. crude traded down by USD2.16 to USD107.55 /barrel where as London Brent crude fell USD1.79 to USD106.55/barrel. Prices have fallen by more than USD7 from Friday after Hurricane Gustav proved to be less devastating than feared. (Khaleej Times)

Aldar Properties formed a joint venture with Textura Corporation to set a new payment management system that is set to revolutionize cash flow management and apply cost effectiveness of construction projects in the UAE and the region.  The service links together the participants and information across the construction supply chain from subcontractor to main contractor to developer, as well as the consultants appointed to each project. (Gulf News)

ESCA announced that margin trading will begin on November 1st 2008. The new regulations stress that legal margin trading cash accounts in brokerages should be 300% of total shareholders equity of the brokerage firm. Moreover the maximum margin trading cash account for a single client should not exceed 10% of the shareholders equity. (Al Bayan)