Bloomberg An investment firm backed by a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family agreed to buy a stake worth just over $1 billion in LuLu Group International, which runs one of the Middle East’s largest hypermarket chains, according to people familiar with the matter. The company led by His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan acquired an almost 20% …
Read More »Bloomberg The United Nations is calling for the creation of a global authority to help implement the temporary suspension of debt obligations from developing countries during the coronavirus pandemic. The proposal will enable private creditors to join the debt payments pause and allow countries use resources to fight the new illness, said Stephanie Blankenburg, head of debt and development finance …
Read More »
Bloomberg The European Union’s 27 leaders will be asked to consider a 2 trillion-euro ($2.2 trillion) plan for the region’s post-pandemic recovery on Thursday, according to reports. The compromise proposal has emerged from a north-south squabble over how to pay for the effects of coronavirus lockdowns that is set to play out on a video conference. The proposal would partially …
Read More »
Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, the tech ecosystem powered by Mubadala, has been selected by the top US data residency hosting platform, InCountry, to be the home of its Middle East headquarters. This new development marks a strategic move to capitalise on the UAE’s growing cloud market, which Gartner predicts is set to increase by 21 percent year …
Read More »
Bloomberg The Kremlin put on a brave face as prices for Russia’s benchmark crude closed in on levels last seen in a devastating 1998 financial crisis. “The pandemonium with futures is absolutely speculative, just a trading issue,†Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, referring to negative prices on some US futures contracts. “There’s no need to give this …
Read More »Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates is stepping up precautionary measures at the airport and on board to ensure the health and safety of its employees and customers. All cabin crew, boarding agents and ground staff in direct contact with passengers will now don personal protective equipment (PPE) which includes a protective disposable gown over their uniforms, and a safety visor, …
Read More »
Bloomberg Oil suffered its biggest one-day price plunge in the modern era, at one point crashing about 40% to below $11 a barrel as traders contended with an historic glut. Despite Opec+’s unprecedented output deal agreed a week ago, the oil market remains massively oversupplied as the lockdowns to fight the spread of the coronavirus reduce global crude demand by …
Read More »
ABU DHABI / WAM Advancing the renewables-based energy transformation is an opportunity to meet international climate goals while boosting economic growth, creating millions of jobs and improving human welfare by 2050, stated the first Global Renewables Outlook released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), on Monday. While a pathway to deeper decarbonisation requires total energy investment up to $130 …
Read More »ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) announced that the number of building permits issued by its subsidiaries in the first quarter of this year increased by 10 percent compared to the same period last year to reach 2,563 permits for buildings in various vital sectors. According to the report by the Department of Municipalities and …
Read More »
Bloomberg The guardians of the global economy came up short. Facing what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says is a crisis like no other, policy makers from leading economies agreed this past week on a set of initiatives to help emerging markets and poor nations weather the coronavirus shock, including a path-breaking halt on debt payments. But critics faulted the …
Read More »
The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.