Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. said it has named Gerald Keefe as its Hong Kong-based head of corporate banking for the Asia-Pacific region, a newly created role. Keefe, currently head of corporate banking for Japan, will take on responsibilities for Citigroup bankers in the region dealing with companies, financial institutions and public-sector entities, according to a press release. Agnes Liew, another ...

  Moscow / Reuters The New Development Bank (NDB), formed by the BRICS group of emerging nations, has approved its first loans — $811 million for renewable energy projects in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, Russian news agencies reported last week. The BRICS bank, with authorised capital of $100 billion, started work last year on funding initiatives for infrastructure ...

  SINGAPORE / Reuters Asian skies are getting busier and the impact is set to be felt in the jet fuel market as brisk demand for air travel, due to rising incomes and more flights, cuts the region’s aviation fuel surplus in 2017 by the most in at least five years. About 100 million new passengers take to the Asian ...

  BERLIN / Reuters Zalando reported slower first-quarter sales growth after a blistering 2015, but Europe’s biggest dedicated online fashion retailer said sales had accelerated since the Easter holidays in late March and reiterated its annual targets. Fashion retailers such as H&M and Next have reported a weak start to 2016 due to an earlier Easter than last year and ...

  MADRID / Reuters Fast-food company Telepizza has announced it planned to list on Spain’s stock market on April 27, looking to raise 550 million euros ($621 million) from the share sale, to become one of the first Spanish companies to seek a listing this year. Specialised engineering company Dominion, a unit of car parts company CIE Automotive, is planning ...

  Riyadh / AFP State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines plans to launch a low-cost offshoot next year under initiatives to restructure the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy, official media said. Known as “Flyadeal”, the low-cost carrier will begin operations from the middle of next year, Saudi Arabian Airlines chief Saleh al-Jasser said. It will operate independently of its parent firm, Jasser was quoted ...

  Bloomberg Associated British (AB) Foods Plc reported first-half earnings that beat analyst estimates as improved results from its sugar business offset a decline in profit at its Primark discount retail chain. Adjusted pretax profit rose 4 percent to 466 million pounds ($667 million), the London-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Analysts were predicting 454 million pounds, according ...

  Tokyo / AFP Tokyo businessman Randal Furudera isn’t about to swap his German-made BMW M5 for a “boring” Japanese car, although he’ll give them some grudging respect for their ho-hum dependability. Deep-pocketed buyers like Furudera are driving sales in Japan of high-end foreign brands, which dominate the niche sector in a car market long seen as all but shuttered to ...

  Amsterdam / Relaxnews European Union policy makers and European vehicle manufacturers have reached their first agreement on the future of self-driving cars and their place on the continent’s roads. The ‘Declaration of Amsterdam’ endorsed by the Informal Transport Council represents a first agreement among all parties regarding how potentially life-saving technologies are to be deployed on European roads. Tackling ...

  Relaxnews To celebrate National Parks’ Service 100th anniversary, from April 16 to April 24, everyone is enjoying free admission to all national parks in US these days. The National Park Service usually offers free entry to national parks on certain days of the year, including President’s Day weekend and Veteran’s Day, however in honour of their anniversary this year ...