Bloomberg Kenya may consider taking full ownership of its national carrier to effectively ward off competition from other state-owned airlines on the continent and from the Gulf, according to Transport Principal Secretary Esther Koimett. The East African state owns 48.9 percent of Kenya Airways Plc after it converted debt into equity in 2017. The agreement diluted major shareholder Air France-KLM’s ...

Bloomberg JD.com Inc. posted fourth-quarter revenue ahead of estimates, as Singles’ Day promotions helped the Google-backed online retailer fend off competition despite a decelerating Chinese economy. Sales for the three months ending December hit 134.8 billion yuan ($20.2 billion), surpassing the average projection of analysts. The Beijing-based company expects revenue this quarter of 118 billion yuan to 122 billion yuan, ...

SEOUL / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, on Wednesday attended — at the Blue House in Seoul — the signing of an agreement between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), and South Korea’s SK ...

GENEVA / WAM As part of its commitment to achieving peace and prosperity in Yemen, the UAE has pledged $500 million for Yemen in 2019. The funding includes grants for United Nations agencies to support Yemen as well as commitments on a bilateral basis, to finance ambitious stabilisation programmes, working with many Yemeni and international partners. The UAE has also ...

GENEVA / WAM Aldar Investments Properties has announced it’s acquiring full ownership of Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre in an AED1.2 billion transaction with Etihad Airways. As part of the deal, Etihad will take 100 percent ownership of Etihad Airways HQ. The three properties were previously held in three 50/50 joint ventures between Aldar Properties and Etihad (the JV). ...

Bloomberg Oil climbed in New York as Saudi Arabia signaled that Opec and its allies will keep going with production cuts. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced as much as 2.1 percent. Opec’s most powerful member is inclined to extend the supply cuts into the second half of the year, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in Riyadh. US stockpiles fell ...

DUBAI / WAM The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) launched the Smart Mobile Service, the latest addition to the maritime innovation and transformation march, with positive interaction from exhibitors and visitors at the Dubai International Boat Show (DIBS) 2019 at Dubai Water Canal. Hailing from the smart car concept, the Smart Mobile Service, is equipped with state-of-the-art technological innov- ations offering ...

Bloomberg US equity futures fell alongside European stocks on fresh headwinds from disappointing corporate earnings and geopolitical tension in Asia. The dollar and Treasuries held steady as traders awaited the second half of the Federal Reserve chairman’s testimony to Congress. The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined as Air France-KLM dropped the most ever and Nivea hand-cream maker Beiersdorf cut guidance, ...

Bloomberg US companies are finally listening to stock and bond investors that have been pressing corporations to cut their debt loads. General Electric Co. is selling its biopharmaceutical business to Danaher Corp. for more than $21 billion, and using the money to pay down borrowings. Kraft Heinz is slashing its dividend and using the proceeds of asset sales to reduce ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said a healthy US economy has faced some “crosscurrents and conflicting signals” that officials in January decided warranted taking a patient approach to future interest-rate changes. With inflation pressures “muted,” the Federal Open Market Committee in its decision last month to keep interest rates unchanged “determined that the cumulative effects’’ of its actions and ...