Bloomberg Ping An Bank Co., the lending arm of China’s largest insurer, kicked off the earnings season for Chinese banks with better-than-estimated profit growth after ramping up loans to corporates even as the virus outbreak grounded the economy and led to a surge in personal defaults. Net income rose 14.8% to 8.5 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the first quarter, ...

Bloomberg Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd became Asia’s first airline to fall to the coronavirus after the outbreak deprived the debt-burdened company of almost all income. Administrators at Deloitte, who have taken control of the Brisbane-based carrier, aim to restructure the business and find new owners within months. More than 10 parties have expressed an interest, Deloitte said on Tuesday. Virgin ...

Bloomberg The US Treasury Department disbursed $2.9 billion to passenger airlines in the first round of payroll assistance to an industry suffering financially from a pandemic-induced shutdown. The assistance that has been handed out so far went to two “major” airlines and 54 smaller passenger carriers, the department said in a statement. More payments will be sent out on a ...

Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc tumbled after the company said it expected to record a $2.1 billion loss in the first quarter as the coronavirus outbreak all but erased air-travel demand in March. The pretax loss, which will be about $1 billion on an adjusted basis, came as revenue dropped 17% from a year earlier to $8 billion, the carrier ...

Bloomberg Gap Inc is in discussions to issue new bonds backed by assets including real estate as one financing option to get it through the coronavirus pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The talks with investors and banks would be for bonds backed by inventory and certain properties including distribution centres, the people said, asking not to ...

Bloomberg Nigeria extended the closing of the West African nation’s airports for two weeks as it continues a lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The decision is subject to review when appropriate, Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said in an emailed statement. Nigeria closed its international airports for one month on March 23, a week before President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a ...

Bloomberg A US travel industry group estimates that lost revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic could approach $520 billion by the end of the year, with much of the tourism industry still depressed in December. The US Travel Association — which represents airlines and other transportation companies, local attractions, tourism bureaus and other parts of the industry — ...

Bloomberg Oil suffered its biggest one-day price plunge in the modern era, at one point crashing about 40% to below $11 a barrel as traders contended with an historic glut. Despite Opec+’s unprecedented output deal agreed a week ago, the oil market remains massively oversupplied as the lockdowns to fight the spread of the coronavirus reduce global crude demand by ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Customs announced that its external trade of masks during the first quarter of 2020 reached AED60.5 million, compared to the 2019 yearly total of AED63.5 million. To meet the rising demand of masks and medical gloves, Dubai Customs took further steps and procedures to facilitate the trade of these items against the outbreak of Covid-19, the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director-General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) stressed that the UAE has accomplished achievements in smart services and digital transformation, due to the future vision of its leadership and the efforts of government authorities, in cooperation with the private sector. Al Mansoori pointed out that the UAE’s telecom and information technology sector ...