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Bloomberg Singapore has been moving forward on its aim to be the lead broker of infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia, and is intent on getting the private sector more involved. Globally, government funding accounts for about 40% of infrastructure spending, but in Asia it’s 90% — an “unsustainable” proportion, Indranee Rajah, minister in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s office, said ...

Bloomberg While Thailand’s surging currency is squeezing exporters, the nation’s largest consumer-electronics retail chain is benefiting as the strong baht attracts customers by making iPhones and Samsung smartphones cheaper. Com7 Pcl’s 72% total return this year through Monday on its stock ranks as the world’s best performance among electronics sellers with a market value of at least $500 million, according ...

Bloomberg As European steel demand comes under growing pressure, two big suppliers to the bloc are betting on online stores to help attract new clients. It may not sound like a groundbreaking plan — Internet shoppers around the world can already order anything from a prefabricated house to a human skull — yet European steel buyers still make most purchases ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday agreed to abolish a tax that was used to help finance reunification for all but the very wealthy. From 2021, the so-called “Solidarity Surcharge” will be eliminated for 90% of those currently paying it and another 6.5% will receive partial relief, the finance ministry said in a statement. As a result, expected revenue ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. is making good on a promise the company made following last year’s Cambridge Analytica scandal: It finally finished a feature that will let users separate their internet browsing history from their personal profiles. The move is a risk for the world’s largest social media company because it could make Facebook advertising less accurate and potentially less valuable ...

Bloomberg China vowed retaliation against a proposed $8 billion US sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan, threatening to impose sanctions on American firms participating in such a deal. “China will take all necessary measures to defend its own interests, including imposing sanctions on the US companies involved in the arm sales,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Dubai recorded a 5 percent drop in apartment transactions during the first quarter of 2019, while villa sales in the emirate are up by 35 percent, according to data in ‘Property Finder Trends’ report, released earlier this month. The figures show that the type of properties being purchased is changing, although overall sales transactions are steady ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The third day for the registration of applications for the Federal National Council (FNC) elections saw 84 applications, taking the figure to 372 in three days, including 133 from women. The total number of applications in Abu Dhabi by the end of the third day reached 110. Dubai saw 53, while Sharjah received 94. A total ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has achieved another milestone in the construction of Unit 3 of the Barakah nuclear energy plant, being built at the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi. Enec has safely and successfully energised Unit 3’s main power transformer and gas insulated bus (GIB), an important step in the continued testing and ...

SHARJAH / WAM HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Deputy Chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council (SEC) chaired a meeting of the council at the Ruler’s Office in Sharjah. The council reviewed various issues on its agenda concerning achieving the vision of the Emirate of Sharjah. After the ratification of the minutes ...