Bloomberg From free burgers and ride-hailing services to hip-hop concerts and discounted gasoline: South African banks are going all out to win customers as competition hots up. The biggest lenders are facing an onslaught of entrants for the first time in 12 years. They’re responding before the newcomers find their feet by pushing loyalty programs, revamping digital offerings for technology-savvy ...

Bloomberg The UK’s antitrust regulator will publish its final decision on Thursday on J Sainsbury Plc’s 7.3 billion-pound ($9.4 billion) plan to buy Walmart Inc’s Asda, after attaching harsher-than-expected conditions to the deal in February. Sainsbury’s attempt to buy the grocer — which would create the biggest UK supermarket chain — looked close to collapse in February after the Competition ...

Bloomberg Germany has cleared the remaining three Bombardier Global 5000 jets in the government fleet to continue flying following the forced landing of one of the aircraft in Berlin. The cause of a recent emergency, which closed the capital’s Schoenefeld airport for several hours and led to widespread delays, is still being investigated but a “systemic failure” can already be ...

Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd is cracking down on flight attendants taking in-flight supplies such as cutlery and ice cream, the South China Morning Post said, citing company and cabin crew sources. The Hong Kong carrier started spot checks by security officials at its home base to prevent such theft, long considered an unofficial perk by staff, the newspaper said. ...

Bloomberg Supermarket operator Royal Ahold Delhaize NV lowered its profit forecast due to an 11-day strike at its Stop & Shop chain in the US that crippled sales, spoiled produce and drew support from several Democratic presidential candidates. The Dutch-Belgian retailer reached a tentative agreement with five local units, allowing employees to return to work. The strike affected 246 of ...

Bloomberg TCI Co is in talks with a health food maker about a potential acquisition this year that’s aimed at diversifying its production base, the company says. The company hopes consumers will be more interested in the products it makes if it has factories outside China and Taiwan, executive deputy general manager William Liao said in an interview. TCI is ...

Bloomberg Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts announced that it’s in the process of converting another private jet to its fleet in 2021, to replace the current one, which premiered in 2015 for extravagant group excursions. Like the previous model, the new plane allows travellers to book bespoke adventures around the world, with Four Seasons arranging the trip itinerary and lodging ...

Bloomberg Crude leapt to its highest level in almost six months after the Trump administration said it wouldn’t renew Iran oil waivers for China, India and other countries once they expire in May. Futures in London traded near $74 a barrel after jumping as much as 3.3 percent and reaching the highest since early November in anticipation of the statement ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) reported a net profit growth of 1.7 percent for Q1 2019 to AED 600.3 million. Revenues increased by 5.3 percent to AED1,436.6 million driven by growth in customer financing of 2.8 percent to AED 78.1 billion, and a 57.5 percent rise in investment income, which reached AED 185.3 million, in addition ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The digital transformation of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) small- and medium-sized enterprises and smart cities is driving regional software spend to top $6 billion, industry experts announced on Monday. The Mena region is a fast-growth market for digital transformation, as organisations look to gain greater business agility, better understand customer needs and trends, ...