DUBAI / WAM Noor Bank successfully closed an AED850 million Syndicated Islamic Financing Facility for Ajman Bank. The two-year Sharia compliant facility will be utilised towards Ajman Bank’s future growth plans. Noor Bank, a leading Sharia compliant bank in the UAE, was mandated for the second time to act as the Initial Mandated Lead Arranger and Book-runner for this ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the UAE has reviewed the latest developments in the Transformation Programme aimed to achieve the bank’s objectives and develop the financial sector in the UAE, during its 10th meeting in 2016, under the chairmanship of Khalifa Mohammed Al Kindi, Chairman of the Board. During the meeting, ...

London / AFP British low-cost airline EasyJet warned on Tuesday it faced further financial turbulence from a Brexit-driven slump in the pound after terror attacks and labour disputes took their toll on annual profits. Pre-tax profit tumbled by 28 percent to £495 million ($618 million, 574 million euros) in the year to September 30 compared with 2014-15 “mainly due to ...

  Bloomberg Malaysia Airlines Bhd. is considering ordering as many as 25 widebody aircraft as the nation’s flag carrier, recovering from two fatal air crashes in 2014, looks to meet growing travel demand. The airline will replace 15 of its aging planes and add 10 to fuel growth, Chief Executive Officer Peter Bellew said in an interview in Singapore Tuesday. ...

  Bloomberg Telkom SA SOC Ltd. said first-half earnings rose 20 percent as South Africa’s biggest landline provider reported a maiden profit for its faster-growing mobile business. Earnings per share excluding one-time items were 3.36 rand in the six months through September, the Pretoria-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. That was in the middle of a range forecast ...

  Bloomberg British mobile phone giant Vodafone on Tuesday said its first-half net loss doubled to more than 5.0 billion euros owing to a huge writedown for its Indian unit. Vodafone said its loss after tax soared to 5.1 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in the six months to September 30 compared with a net loss of 2.5 billion euros one ...

  Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bet on the biggest US airlines, reversing decades of aversion to the industry. Berkshire held 21.8 million shares of American Airlines Group Inc. as of Sept. 30, valued at almost $800 million at the time, according to a regulatory filing from the billionaire’s Omaha, Nebraska-based business. Buffett’s company also reported 6.33 million shares ...

  Sharjah / Emirates Business Hotels and hotel apartments across the Emirate of Sharjah welcomed a combined 1,318,748 guests in the first nine months of 2016 (January to September). The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) released the statistics as it took part in the World Travel Market (WTM) in London on November 7-9. The Authority headed a delegation ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business A high-profile delegation from the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) discussed promising investment opportunities abounding in Dubai with the Japanese business community during a series of seminars held recently in Japan. Japanese decision-makers, investors and entrepreneurs in attendance applauded the pivotal role played by DAFZA as a leading platform and ideal gateway for Japanese companies ...

  DUBAI / WAM The results of this year’s Arab Knowledge Index will be announced at the Knowledge Summit 2016, to be held between December, 5-7 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai hotel. The summit’s theme for 2016 is “Knowledge Present and Future”. The event is being organised by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, MBRF, a member of the Mohammed bin ...