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Saudi billionaire and nephew to the King, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud announced Monday that he and his investment company will pump $300 million into the social networking site, Twitter.
 Click here for more photos “We believe that social media will fundamentally change the media industry landscape in the coming years. Twitter will capture and monetize this positive trend,” Ahmed Halawani, the Kingdom Holding Co. executive director of private equity and international investments, said in a statement.
Prince Alwaleed has a history investing in the media, particularly with News Corp. With this investment, he now owns 3 percent of Twitter. It is unknown at this point how much he will control it. The micro blogging site had a lot to do with this year’s Arab Spring, which saw demonstrations across the Arab world, bringing down four leaders.
Alwaleed, who ranked as the 26th wealthiest man in the world, probably took up investing Twitter possibly because of it being high profiled.
“It is … an investment into a well recognized brand with future growth potential,” said Said Hirsh, a Mideast economist.
According to Fortune, the Prince did not directly invest into Twitter, but bought shares from existing investors.
Sources: AP, TIME
Luxembourg’s Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume spoke on Tuesday at the 20th Alfi Global Distribution Conference, a financing event. Guillaume talked about microfinancing at the opening of the second day of the conference.
 Click here for original photo at Monarchie.lu He also discussed the rising unemployment in Europe due to the poor economy.
“Poverty might not be such a serious issue in Luxembourg and the EU,” Guillaume told delegates. “But unemployment has been rising since 2008 and young people are the first victims. Our youth is in dire need of job creation. So microfinance might be solution even within our borders.
“We must give them the opportunity. Luxembourg is well positioned to be a centre of excellence for microfinance in years to come and can encourage the seeking of both a social and financial return. The needs are especially high in a time of crisis and Luxembourg can lead by example. Responsible investment will be the key to a sustainable European economy.”
His Royal Highness was with Jeannot Krecke, the Minister for Economy and Foreign Trade for Luxembourg during the conference.
Source: Luxarazzi, Alfievents.com
On Wednesday, the King of Swaziland spoke about the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank coming to his southern African Kingdom’s rescue. He also wondered why they won’t do to his country what they did for Greece and Portugal.
 View more photos of King Mswati III at Daylife.com “When they come to visit us, they do not come in the same spirit and that is a cause for concern,” said King Mswati III.
According to the AFP, the IMF won’t grant Swaziland a bailout unless it controls its spending. It has also called for the government to cut back on its travel budget and focus more on education and health.
“We are given timelines that are difficult to meet,” Mswati complained of the recommendations.
“I am quite confused as to which advice to take. The IMF has its own advice, the ILO (International Labour Organisation) has its own advice and the UN has its own advice. This puts us in a predicament knowing the state of the economy,” he said.
Recently, South Africa gave Swaziland a $343 million bailout, but it has yet to be released. That is probably because South Africa wants to see national dialogue in Swaziland, which it has been urging.
Wednesday was a step towards national dialogue in order to discuss ways to fix the shattered economy. It comes after five days of protests in the country from labor unions, who accuse the King of bankrupting the nation by living a lavish lifestyle along with his 13 wives – each who have their own palace.
In fact, King Mswati arrived at the meeting in a luxury car.
During the dialogue, union leaders were not allowed to speak unless they were representing themselves as individuals.
Source: AFP
 Qatar News Agency Luxembourg’s Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume arrived in Doha, Qatar Sunday to begin an official visit to the tiny Gulf nation. He was received by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and the two discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties.
One of the ties Guillaume is hoping to accomplish with this visit is financial. With him on this trip is Luxembourg’s Financial Minister, Luc Frieden, who met with his Qatari counterpart. The Luxembourg delegation is looking to make it known that the tiny Grand Duchy’s Financial Center is open to foreign investment.
Tomorrow, the Hereditary Grand Duke will head to Abu Dhabi for another round of financial talks. He will then go to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and then Lebanon the following day. Originally, his father, Grand Duke Henri was supposed to go to Saudi Arabia, but with him home recovering from heart surgery, it is Guillaume who has the task of promoting his country.
Source: Wort.lu, Qatar News Agency
On Tuesday, Luxembourg’s royal mother and son team, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, were present to distribute the third European Microfinance Award. Funded by the Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the award was given out at the European Investment Bank. This year’s recipient was the Ethiopian company, Harbu.
 www.manueldias.com Maria Teresa gave a speech during the ceremony, where she talked about social credit, something she supports.
“We need to give the poor the opportunity to borrow. The only way to help them out of trouble and prove that they are a real asset to the global economy,” the Grand Duchess said.
Harbu cultivates and processes soybeans and employs scores of farmers, many of them women.
The European Microfinance Award has been given out every two years since 2006.
After the award ceremony, both Maria Teresa and Guillaume mingled with the 400 guests.
Source: Wort.lu
The Netherlands’ Princess Maxima was in two parts of the country Tuesday. In the morning, she was in the eastern town of Hardenberg and in the afternoon she was in Boxmeer, in the south. It was all part of the Princess’ schedule in which two engagements so happened to fall on the same day. 
In Hardenberg, Maxima attended an entrepreneur conference. Before her arrival, a group of schoolchildren waited for her to come, though not all were convinced the Princess would. When she did, there was a round of applause and a waving of flags. Maxima delightfully smiled and waved, accepted a bouquet of flowers from a young girl and entered the facility.
As member of the Council of Microfinance, she spoke about how important it is for young entrepreneurs to have support in order to start their own businesses. She also took part in the discussion on the successes and failures of new businesses while the importance of maintaining networks and the provision of microcredit.
 After chatting with the entrepreneurs and the conference leaders, Princess Maxima hopped on a helicopter (literally!) to jet over to Boxmeer. It was in that town that she opened a new business production of veterinary medicines at the Boxmeer Biosciences Center.
With a push of button, Maxima got the medicine machine going. She was also given a tour of the building and chatted with its workers.
The Center – which includes nearly 2,000 employees – will be producing vaccines especially for small pets (dogs, cats) and poultry. The new production line will double the production capacity of vaccines.
Sources: Hardenberg.nu, De Gelderlander, Het Koninklijk Huis
The investment company controlled by the ruler of Dubai wants to extend its debt payback by three months. This had raised questions on just how far deep are Dubai’s credit problems.
 Chris Jackson/Getty Images/FILE Dubai International Capital, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, said in a short statement Thursday that it has asked lenders for an extension “of certain maturities” until September 30.
“The extension period would allow the implementation of a consensual longer term plan that would enable DIC to maximize the value of its business for the benefit of all its stakeholders,” the company said.
DIC did not give more details of its debt involved. The company has a $1.25 billion loan coming in June.
“The extension period would allow the implementation of a consensual longer-term plan that would enable DIC to maximise the value of its business for the benefit of all its stakeholders,” said the DIC.
DIC will “continue to pay interest” during the extension period, its spokeswoman said.
The parent firm of DIC – Dubai Holding, which is also run by the Sheikh – is believed to have debts mounting to a total of $15 billion. The International Monetary Firm believes the entire Sheikhdom is about $109 billion in debt.
Sources: AP, Big Pond News
The Queen of Spain traveled to Nairobi Wednesday to go to the Regional Microloan Summit for Africa and the Middle East. Queen Sofia is there to reaffirm how Spain is committed to Kenya’s economic development, and also to see how the NGO Jamii Bora is helping in this.
 SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images When the Queen attended the Summit, the largest on the African continent, she was joined by the Netherlands’ Crown Princess Maxima, who uses her position to promote microfinance.
In her speech, Queen Sofia called microfinance “one of the most powerful engines and solidarity” for Africa’s fight against poverty. She praised Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus for being “able to give shape to an idea so simple and yet so great.”
 SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images The Queen did not forget to also highlight the contribution of private banks and savings banks, with a special reference to Microbank created in 2008 by La Caixa, which has already granted over 60,000 micro-, before inviting all delegates to the World Summit Microcredit will host Spain in the next 14 to 17 November in the city of Valladolid.
“It will be the first time that such a summit is held in a European country,” recalled Queen Sofia, to the applause of the audience, thanking the solidarity of the many anonymous partners through microcredit have helped ” to so many women to regain their dignity. ”
After the summit’s opening ceremony, Sofia went to the Mathare Valley shantytown, just outside of Nairobi. She toured the slum, getting an idea of how the people are starting to benefit from microfinance. The Queen tested food made by a member of Jamii Bora, which that cooks meals at home and sells them for one US dollar to residents.
Tomorrow, Queen Sofia will head to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to see how Spanish funds help the people in that city get out of poverty.
Sources: El Mundo, Latin American Herald Tribune
Princess Maxima of the Netherlands spent part of Monday visiting the headquarters of the Dutch social networking site, Hyves. She got a chance to chat live with the site’s users, known as Hyvers, and discussed money management with them.
 Royal Press/Pool/Patrick van Katwijk During the conversation, a young girl told the Princess she was saving up to buy herself a computer. This led to an honest question: does Maxima’s eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, who would day be Queen and become one of the wealthiest women in the world, save any money too?
The answer was yes.
“Amalia also saves,” Maxima replied. “But she gave all her money away to Haiti during a school action so she must begin again.”
Princess Maxima also said that when Amalia moves on to group 4, which is sort of like the Dutch version of second grade, she will get pocket money like any other child her age.
Maxima was at Hyves to kick-off the Campaign Without Cash, which is meant to teach young people about spending wisely. Some of the young people she spoke to told the Princess that they found it difficult to set priorities. Maxima, a former banker, provided them with some financial tips.
Source: www.at5.nl
Holland’s future Queen spent Friday in the town of Hoorn located in the north of the country. There Crown Princess Maxima chatted about microfinance with a financing company and local entrepreneurs. That field is her speciality, as she’s a former banker with a degree in economics. 
The Crown Princess met with Start Guide, the company that helps entrepreneurs get started by use of microfinance. She was accompanied by Frank Heemskerk, State Secretary of Economic Affairs. Maxima then met for over an hour with small business owners who had benefited from microfinance.
Microfinance in the Netherlands is for people with good business plans, but who need help in developing their plans or what a bank can not correct. With coaching and credit they get the chance to make good plans approved. Start Guide focuses on people who are threatened with unemployment, labor market starters and existing entrepreneurs who could use extra support.
It should be noted that Princess Maxima is a member of Holland’s Council of Microfinance.
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