MANAMA / Reuters Bahrain will go ahead with imposing a value-added tax to stren-gthen state finances, Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Khalifa said on Wednesday, after domestic political opposition slowed the plan. “We’ll be working with parliament on VAT and aim to have everything set up by the end of 2018,” Sheikh Ahmed told an investment conference in ...

Bloomberg The US Energy Department is throwing its support behind a request by utilities to extend the life of some nuclear power reactors — keeping them in operation for as long as 80 years. An official with the department, who asked not to be named to discuss its decision-making process, said the agency was conducting research and working with utilities ...

Bloomberg Oil dropped as US stockpiles were forecast to have expanded for a fourth week, raising questions about OPEC’s success in draining a global oversupply. Crude in New York lost as much as 1.4 percent. Inventories in America rose by 3 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey. Oil has struggled to regain January’s highs as equities remain ...

Bloomberg General Motors Co. has offered a $2.8 billion new investment plan for its South Korean business after threatening to exit the country amid mounting losses, a lawmaker from the nation’s ruling party said. The investment, being proposed for the next 10 years in South Korea, is needed to produce new models, for research and development, to renovate facilities and ...

Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co. may get a boost from a deepening relationship with Japan’s biggest trading house as access to battery materials becomes a priority amid the industry’s push into electric vehicles. Mitsubishi Corp. said it plans to double its stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp., of which Nissan is the biggest shareholder. The trading company, which also owns mining assets, ...

Bloomberg Singapore remains a competitive destination for businesses even though it’s raising taxes and maintaining some restrictions on foreign workers, Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran said. “When you take into account the whole scheme of taxes, including corporate tax regimes, personal tax regimes, I think Singapore still remains a competitive destination in relative terms,” Iswaran said. “We never ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp. is working with Nomura Holdings Inc. as it makes early preparations for an initial public offering of its domestic telecom business that could raise more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion), said people with knowledge of the matter. SoftBank is considering marketing most of the offering to Japanese individuals, said the people, who asked not to ...

Bloomberg In a sign of the times, the organisation that speaks for and champions India’s $167 billion IT services industry will soon get its first female head. Intel Corp. veteran Debjani Ghosh takes over as president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in April—three decades after its formation. After a two-decade career at the US chipmaker, ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s equity investors are rekindling their love for the newcomers. Four of the city’s recent listings surged on Wednesday after failing to hold on to their debut pops in 2017. Razer Inc. soared as much as 24 percent, while online car-financing provider Yixin Group Ltd. jumped 6 percent. E-book publisher China Literature Ltd. and ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance ...

Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc. raised its offer for NXP Semiconductors NV and cut a deal with investors who had been threatening to hold up the transaction— prompting a sharp response from its own hostile suitor Broadcom Ltd. Qualcomm’s sweetened offer of $127.50 a share—16 percent more than the previous price—was enough to secure support from holders, including activist Elliott Management Corp., ...