Etisalat has signed a 3.15 billion euro (2.59 billion pounds) facility to fund its purchase of Maroc Telecom, opting to borrow rather than use cash to exploit low interest rates and maintain dividend levels, its CFO said.

An Abu Dhabi state-owned fund is financing a quarter of Etisalat's 4.2 billion euro purchase of Vivendi's stake in Maroc Telecom, said three bank sources with knowledge of the deal, adding it should close this week.

Prospects for a strong economic rebound in India are dim as industry remains weak, and although a business-friendly opposition party looks likely to form a new government, its ability to pass sweeping reforms is in doubt, a Reuters poll showed.

The stock exchanges of Taiwan and Singapore will allow their companies to list on each other's bourses by end of 2014, the Taiwan exchange said on Tuesday, in the island's latest attempt to boost its competitiveness across Asian markets.

Australia's bond market is likely to take more lending business away from banks as tighter banking regulations make market-based finance relatively cheaper, a top central banker said on Tuesday.

Foreign investors can own from Sunday 25 percent of Commercial Bank of Qatar's shares, a statement from the stock exchange said, as the lender becomes the latest firm to loosen ownership restrictions prior to the country's MSCI upgrade.

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) in June plans to introduce a new fee structure for trading securities to increase liquidity and encourage retail investors to trade higher-priced stocks.

Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp has sold $300 million worth of five-year bonds exchangeable for common stock of its property unit Ayala Land Inc, sparking a fall in the subsidiary's share price on worries over dilution.