Bloomberg Andorran private bank Andbank is working to add Argentina to its Latin American roster and looking to expand in Mexico and Brazil as tax amnesty programs unlock wealth in the region. The micro-state’s largest bank, with 25 billion euros ($30 billion) under management, is trying to obtain a license to operate as a global investment adviser in Argentina under ...

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) expects to have racked up a record 54 billion-franc ($55 billion) profit in 2017, in large part because of the drop in the franc against the euro. Earnings at the central bank led by Thomas Jordan got a boost from holdings of foreign currency, which contributed 49 billion francs. The overall result dwarfs even ...

SYDNEY/ Reuters The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has raised around $260 million via three sharia-compliant facilities to support small- and medium-sized businesses in the region, as African markets gradually open to Islamic finance. Cairo-based Afreximbank, which was founded by African governments and other investors in 1993 and focuses on trade finance, obtained a $100 million financing from the Islamic Corp ...

Bloomberg FedEx Corp. expects growing cross-border online transactions to be a driving force for its business in China as the company prepares to open one of its largest facilities in Shanghai. “Absolutely that’s an important part of it,” David Cunningham Jr., chief executive officer of FedEx Express, the world’s largest cargo airline, said in an interview in Shanghai. Cunningham said ...

Bloomberg Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc enjoyed a bumper Christmas season as UK consumers squeezed by inflation cut back on department-store spending to dress their Christmas tables in style. The Bradford, England-based grocer’s sales during the holidays beat analyst estimates as consumers splashed out on items from its premium range, including French yule logs. The shares rose as much as 4.7 ...

Bloomberg A Christmastime dropoff at the resort city of Acapulco led Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB to its first decline in passenger traffic for the month of December since 2009. OMA, as the company is known for short, reported a 0.2 percent decrease in total passenger traffic for December, including a 9.8 percent slump in Acapulco ...

Bloomberg Geoffroy van Raemdonck has spent his career at global fashion companies such as Ralph Lauren Corp. and Louis Vuitton. But it will take more than an eye for style to fix the problems at Neiman Marcus Group Ltd., a quintessentially American luxury department-store chain hoping to relive its former glory. Van Raemdonck, who becomes chief executive officer next month, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) signed a fintech cooperation agreement, marking a significant first in the MENA region. With the new partnership, Bahrain EDB and ADGM will explore initiatives to promote economic growth in financial services through the adoption of new technology, and highlight MENA’s strengths in the fintech ...

DUBAI / WAM The Ministry of Finance stated that adopting value-added tax (VAT) in the UAE will have a positive effect on its development and competitiveness, and will contribute to building a sustainable knowledge-based economy for future generations, as the tax will provide additional financial resources and enable the UAE government to realise its strategy and guarantee a prosperous future. ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Investments Park (DIP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dubai Investments, has signed a three-year cleaning contract worth AED6.8 million with Imdaad. With effect from February 2018, Imdaad will be responsible for the external cleaning of the 2,300-hectare DIP. The agreement was signed recently by Omar Al Mesmar, General Manager of DIP, and Jamal Abdullah Lootah, Group CEO ...