Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart has eclipsed Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton to become the world's wealthiest woman, according to an annual index by Business Review Weekly.

A preview of the respected BRW Rich 200 list, published Wednesday, put the mining tycoon's personal fortune at Aus$29.17 billion (US$28.48 billion), a figure that sees her outstrip Walton for the first time.

Gulf countries are channeling billions of dollars into airport expansions, betting on a sharp rise in passenger traffic and competing to strengthen their positions as regional hubs for global travel.

"We are trying to catch up with demand. We are not overspending," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai Airports and the emirate's fast-growing carrier Emirates Airlines, to justify the vast amounts being poured into the sector.

Malaysia and Australia on Tuesday signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that will strip away tariffs and which Canberra hopes will help jump-start negotiations with China, South Korea and Japan.

The agreement inked in Kuala Lumpur will grant Malaysian exporters duty-free entry into the Australian market once the trade deal comes into force in January 2013.

French hotel giant Accor said Tuesday it had sold its U.S. budget hotel division to the Blackstone investment fund for $1.9 billion and would use the funds to tap into growth in Asia.

"Accor announces it has signed an agreement today to sell its United States Economy Hotels Division to an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, for a total value of $1.9 billion" (1.5 billion euros), it said in a statement.

The oil-rich Gulf state of Kuwait will spend $6 billion to expand its international airport to handle 13 million passengers by 2016, the head of the civil aviation directorate said on Tuesday.

"The cost of the projects amounts to $6 billion," Fawaz al-Farah told reporters at an airport show in Dubai, adding that work is expected to begin this year.

British mobile phone giant Vodafone on Tuesday said annual net profits dropped almost 13 percent as eurozone losses offset asset sale gains and strong performances in emerging markets and the U.S..

Vodafone said profit after tax hit £6.957 billion (8.6 billion euros, $11.0 billion) in the 12 months to March 31, down 12.7 percent compared with 2010/11.

The European Central Bank's "plan A" is for Greece to remain in the single currency and that is the only scenario the central bank is working on, a top ECB official said on Monday.

The ECB's "preference is that Greece remains in the eurozone. That's the Plan A, that's what we're working on," executive board member Joerg Asmussen told a conference in the German capital.

The CEO of the Nasdaq stock exchange says it is "humbly embarrassed" by its bungling of Facebook's hugely anticipated debut as a public company on Friday.

Robert Greifeld tells news media there's no indication the delay contributed to the underwhelming performance of Facebook's stock, which ended at $38.23 — 23 cents above where it began.

Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday after last week's huge losses, with traders taking some heart from a statement by Group of Eight leaders saying they wanted Greece to remain in the eurozone.

The euro also bounced back from four-month lows against the dollar after the weekend announcement, but comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao hinting at more monetary easing failed to lift sentiment in Hong Kong.

Australia will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia this week which officials said Monday they hope will help fast-track ongoing talks with China, South Korea and Japan.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson is set to pen the deal in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, his office said, giving Australian companies unprecedented access to one of Southeast Asia's biggest economies.