Bloomberg Societe Generale SA has applied for an Australian banking license as it prepares to restart its onshore lending business, according to a person familiar with the situation. The French bank wound down much of its Australian business in 2010, when it shifted its foreign exchange and commodities trading from Sydney to Hong Kong, giving up its local deposit-taking license ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) on Sunday signed agreements with Total of France, awarding them stakes in two of Abu Dhabi’s new offshore concessions. Under the agreements, which were signed at the Abu Dhabi Louvre, Total has been awarded a 20 percent interest in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and a 5 percent ...

DUBAI / WAM Hindustan Infralog Private Limited (HIPL), a joint venture between DP World and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), announced the acquisition of a 90% stake in Continental Warehousing Corporation (Nhava Seva) Ltd (CWCNSL), an integrated multimodal logistics player in India. CWCNSL’s founders, the Reddy family, will retain the remaining 10% shareholding and will remain involved in ...

FUJAIRAH / WAM The National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) on Sunday approved a distribution of profits of 15 percent of paid-up capital. This took the form of cash dividends of 7.5 percent, AED102.5 million, and bonus shares of 7.5 percent, AED102.5 million, of paid-up capital. The bank’s shareholders also approved the Chairman’s and Directors’ Reports, and the Sharia Supervisory Board ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Pressure is mounting on regional banking and financial institutions to accelerate the adoption and digitisation of processes as the dem-and for cutting-edge online bank- ing from millennial consumers continue to rise. In order to remain competitive, swift response to the evolving consumer needs is paramount as more and more customers are now expecting their respective banks ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Azizi Developments, one of the leading private developers in the UAE, has announced that its most ambitious project till date — a commercial and residential tower that will add to Dubai’s iconic skyline — will commence construction in the third quarter of 2018. The 122-storey building will stand at approximately 570m tall on Sheikh Zayed Road ...

DUBAI / WAM Nasdaq Dubai on Sunday welcomed the listing of a $1.25 billion sukuk by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), whose activities include financing development projects for its 57 member countries. The listing brings the number of Sukuk listings by the IDB on the exchange to nine with a total value of US$11.5 billion, making it one of the ...

Dubai / WAM YouTube announced on Sunday the opening of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)’s first YouTube Space at Dubai Studio City, a facility dedicated to supporting the growing creator community in the MENA region by giving them access to a state of the art production space. The Space, 10th in the world, is dedicated to YouTube content ...

Dubai / WAM Accenture, in collaboration with SAP, has implemented SAP S/4HANA for Expo 2020 Dubai that will provide the expo with a foundation for data-driven insights, from visitor preferences to sustainability. The new digital platform transforms back-office and visitor-facing capabilities for the global mega event, which is expected to host 25 million visits over six months from October 2020. ...

Paris / WAM Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, and Laurent Gavio, Director of “The Lab” at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris, discussed ways of promoting cooperation between “The Lab” and creative platforms in the UAE. The meeting took place during Al Kaabi’s visit to the French capital, Paris, as part of the UAE delegation participating ...