SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) in Dubai, marking a significant milestone in their efforts to strengthen trade relations and develop mutual cooperation. The MoU was signed in the presence of various high-level officials and dignitaries, including Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, ...

CAIRO / WAM Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, highlighted his country’s willingness to continue working closely with the UAE during its COP28 presidency. He also stressed the importance of maintaining the commitment of developed countries to their financing pledges, as well as accelerating the reforms of international financing institutions and multilateral development banks to finance the efforts aimed ...

DUBAI / WAM Al Ansari Financial on Thursday announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) and to list its ordinary shares for trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). In a press statement, Al Ansari said that 750,000,000 (seven hundred and fifty million) shares, each with a nominal value of AED0.01 (one fils) will be made ...

BLOOMBERG Citigroup Inc Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said his firm will adjust headcount in its investment banking division as necessary as it continues to look for ways to boost profits. For years, Citigroup has been beefing up its investment bank, including through hires in sectors like energy, biotechnology and healthcare, Mason said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Still, ...

BLOOMBERG Bank of America Corp (BofA), one of the few major Wall Street banks to avoid mass job cuts in recent months, has begun moving investment bankers into busier areas as the industry deals with a slowdown in dealmaking and capital markets. For years, the company has relied on attrition as a way to manage headcount, Chief Executive Officer Brian ...

BLOOMBERG Bitcoin fell to a three-week low, sapped by the collapse of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp and the prospect of higher-than-expected central bank interest rates. The largest token fell as much as 1.9% on Thursday, dropping for a fourth session, and was trading at about $21,780 in Singapore. Smaller coins ranging from Ether and Solana to Avalanche were subdued. ...

BLOOMBERG Silvergate Capital Corp plans to wind down operations and liquidate its bank after the crypto industry’s meltdown sapped the company’s financial strength, sending shares plunging. “In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the bank is the best path forward,” the company said in ...

BLOOMBERG Southwest Airlines Co will use Amazon.com Inc servers to help process fare searches, crew scheduling and other software tasks, a modernisation of its technology that comes months after a meltdown stranded thousands of the airline’s passengers. Amazon Web Services (AWS) will become Southwest’s “preferred cloud provider,” the e-commerce giant said, calling the move a “large-scale migration” of the airline’s ...

BLOOMBERG Japan Airlines Co (JAL) halted sales of steeply discounted tickets for domestic flights after demand overwhelmed the carrier’s website. “We are currently investigating and working to restore the connection,” the Tokyo-based company said in a statement, asking customers to refrain from accessing the website until the problem is resolved. Demand for travel within the island nation is picking up, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi has announced the launch of a number of Tesla electric vehicles in cooperation with Arabia Taxi Transportation to support the fleet of environmentally friendly taxis. ITC aims to establish an integrated, clean and sustainable transport environment, keeping pace with developments in ...