Qatar to support SME projects
Qatar plans to spend QR2 billion ($549.7 million) to promote small to medium-sized projects in the country, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
A government-run body dedicated to smaller projects would be established under the plan, QNA quoted Commerce and Business Minister Sheikh Fahd bin Jassim Al-Thani as saying.
A study into what form the support should take would begin this year.

PetroRabigh nets losses
PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Japan's Sumitomo Chemical and Saudi Aramco, said net loss almost tripled in 2008 on a drop in prices of refined products and a delay in the start of some units.
It made a net loss of SR1.26 billion ($334.9 million) in 2008 compared with SR443 million in 2007, the firm, also known as Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co, said.
“Profits were hit by delays in starting production at several new petrochemical plants and refinery units, in addition to losses from 'a decline in both the prices of oil products and global demand,' it said.
The firm plans to start commercial production before the end of March.

Sipchem gets state loan
Saudi International Petrochemicals Company (Sipchem) said it secured SR1.35 billion ($360 million) in financing from the state-owned Public Investment Fund for an acetyl complex.
Sipchem has already obtained a loan of SR1.12 billion from the government-owned Industrial Development Fund and a commercial financing of SR1.43 billion for the complex, it said.
The plant is 95 per cent complete and will start production by the middle of this year, it added.