Bloomberg Saudi Arabia will transfer airports to its sovereign wealth fund by mid-2018, as part of a nationwide privatization drive spurred by low oil prices. Airports will be turned into companies before being handed over to the Public Investment Fund, to help improve accountability, Faisal Al-Sugair, chairman of Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Co., said in a phone interview. The ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Airways Engineering (EAE) signed an agreement with Diehl Aerosystems to jointly design, manufacture and install the first serial produced 3D-printed cabin plastic part on an aircraft for one of its customers. Additive manufacturing – commonly referred to as 3D-printing – reduces lead time in design, decreases production cost of and enables speedier manufacturing. Etihad ...

  Bloomberg Airbus SE is being sued by some former consultants after the earlier discovery of questionable practices related to aircraft sales led the European planemaker to overhaul its business-partner relationships. The review and related legal matters may have a material impact on future financial statements, Airbus said this month in its annual report. It is “too early to determine ...

  CHARLOTTETOWN / AP Air Canada is apologizing to a Canadian family after the airline bumped a 10-year-old boy from a flight. Brett Doyle booked four tickets from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to Costa Rica for his family last August. A day before the vacation during March break, Doyle says he checked his family in for the flight online, but ...

  BAGHDAD / AP The Iraqis guarding Baghdad’s many checkpoints, on the lookout for car bombs and convoys, don’t know what to make of Ali Al Moussawi when he pulls up in a truck displaying shelves of glossy books. The mobile bookstore is the latest in a series of efforts by the 25-year-old to share his passion for reading and revive ...

  DUBAI / WAM Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, said the UAE sees a healthy level of demand for crude oil in the future from emerging economies in Africa and Asia, and that UAE would remain commercially-minded in its strategic oil investments. Al Mazrouei’s comments came during a session on the region’s oil policy moderated ...

  FUJAIRAH / WAM The Government of Fujairah is committed to opening new prospects for investment in mineral resources, according to HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, during the Fifth Fujairah International Forum for Industrial Rocks & Mining on Tuesday. He stressed the need for introducing flexible legislations that support efforts to conserve ...

  DUBAI / WAM Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and a delegation from Dell technologies headed by Michael Dell, CEO and founder of the US-based tech giant, have met to discuss ways of enhancing mutual cooperation and exchange expertise and international practices seen as the best in smart networks, information ...

  DUBAI / WAM Brazilian exports of textiles and clothing to the Arab region surged during the first two months of 2017, increasing by 87.5 per cent compared to its performance during the same period in 2016, according to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, ABCC. The huge demand for synthetic fabric and sisal rope used in ships and rigs ...

  Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for an early election on June 8, seeking a personal mandate and parliamentary backing to take her through Brexit talks. The pound surged. The Conservatives have a 21-point lead, according to a recent poll and May — who became prime minister without an election — is betting she can extend the slim ...