Bloomberg Kotak Mahindra Bank, backed by Asia’s richest banker, is exploring a takeover of smaller Indian rival IndusInd Bank, people with knowledge of the matter said, a move that would create the nation’s eighth-largest financial firm by assets. Uday Kotak, founder and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra, is looking at the possibility of an all-stock acquisition, one of the …

Bloomberg UBS Group AG plans to raise the fixed salaries for some of its more senior employees by as much as 20% to prevent poaching by competitors. A review at Switzerland’s largest bank found differences in base pay among employees in the same roles, and when compared with competitors, people familiar with the plans said. As a result, UBS plans …

Bloomberg European stocks and the US futures dropped as coronavirus infections continued to climb and investors doubted that Washington lawmakers will reach an economic stimulus package anytime soon. German software maker SAP SE plunged 20% after cutting its revenue forecast, saying that pandemic will continue to hurt business. Investors sought protection in haven assets. Treasuries rise, sending yields on the …

Bloomberg India stocks fall as an elusive US stimulus deal kept sentiment muted in the region while investors closely watched local companies’ earnings. The S&P BSE Sensex lost 1.6% to 40,042.70 as of 2:19 pm in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index also declined by the same magnitude. “It is predominantly global factors at play here with US futures …

SHARJAH / WAM Dana Gas announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with IPR Wastani Petroleum Ltd, a member of the IPR Energy Group (IPR) for the sale of its onshore Egyptian producing oil and gas assets for a consideration of up to $236 million including contingent payments. IPR is a leading private E&P operator in Egypt, with …

Bloomberg Saudi Basic Industries Corp, the chemical maker in which Saudi Aramco holds a majority stake, returned to profit in the third quarter amid signs that demand is recovering from the impact of the coronavirus. The company, known as Sabic, said third-quarter profit was 1.09 billion riyals ($290 million) compared with 740 million riyals in the same period last year. …

Bloomberg The desolate red sands of the Pilbara region in western Australia, home to most of the iron ore mines that account for a major chunk of the nation’s export income, may one day house an ambitious hydrogen export hub. The Asian Renewable Energy Hub, which would use electricity from wind and solar plants stretched across thousands of miles to …

Bloomberg A unit of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) sued the US to recover more than $640 million in excise taxes it says it overpaid on environmentally friendly fuels. PDV Holding Inc, the subsidiary of Venezuela’s national oil company, claims it improperly calculated tax credits and overpaid from 2005 to 2011. The company, which filed the lawsuit in federal court …

Bloomberg Cenovus Energy Inc agreed to buy Husky Energy Inc in an all-stock deal valuing Husky at about C$3.8 billion ($2.9 billion), creating Canada’s third-largest oil and natural gas producer. The deal promises to combine two of the largest players in Canada’s oil sands at a time that valuations have crumbled in the sector. Even before this year’s oil-price slump, …

Bloomberg China’s fast-growing $157 billion market for exchange-traded funds became directly accessible to overseas investors, at least four years since the plan was first hatched. Four so-called “feeder” ETFs began trading in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the first batch in a project aimed at connecting the two markets. The Shenzhen funds track the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index and the …