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Abu Dhabi / WAM A total of 17 million cheques worth AED805 billion were handled by the Image based Cheque Clearing System (ICCS) during the first eight months of 2019, according to a report issued by Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). A breakdown showed that 1.77 million cheques worth AED 82.6 billion were cleared in August 2019, as compared …

HONG KONG / WAM The UAE Economic and Commercial Delegation concluded its participation in the 4th Summit of Belt and Road Initiative in Hong Kong. Abdullah Al Saleh, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs and Head of the UAE Delegation, highlighted the success of the delegation’s mission and its contributions to the summit. Under the theme …

Bloomberg The Boeing 737 Max is unlikely to be back in service before next year, the UAE aviation regulator said, contradicting the manufacturer’s timeline for its return. Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority, said he expects the plane to be back in the first quarter of next year. Boeing has set a fourth-quarter target. The …

WAM / Bloomberg The UAE strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Saturday that targeted two Saudi Aramco facilities in Abqaiq province and Hijrat Khurais in Saudi Arabia, causing fires that were later brought under control. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation denounced this terrorist and subversive act, saying it is new evidence …

Bloomberg Oil fell to a two-week low as the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned of a looming supply glut. Futures in New York ended the week 3% lower after four straight days of declines. Sentiment continues to be dominated by an International Energy Agency report highlighting the challenge facing Opec and its allies in balancing the market as production …

Bloomberg India unveiled new measures involving a more than $7 billion boost to exporters and housing projects, as part of efforts to revive a flagging economy. A program to refund taxes and levies for export promotion will be effective January 1 and involves forgoing 500 billion rupees ($7 billion) in revenue, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi …

Bloomberg Nigeria LNG Ltd., the operator of Africa’s largest natural gas plant, is in talks with lenders to finance a $10 billion expansion. The company is discussing with the country’s top-10 lenders including Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, to raise as much as $2 billion, and with foreign lenders and export-credit agencies for the balance, Chief Executive …

Abu Dhabi / WAM The United Arab Emirates has expressed its strong condemnation and categorical rejection of an announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the planned annexation of land from the occupied West Bank to Israel in the event of an election win. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stated …

Bloomberg Ministers from Opec+ are gathering in Abu Dhabi with deeper production cuts off the agenda for now, but with a backdrop of growing concern about strength of oil demand as the global economy slows. Crude lurked in the low $60s for most of the summer as escalating tensions between the US and China and increasing fears of a looming …

BEIJING / WAM A total of 362 deals worth valued at $26 billion have been signed at the fourth China-Arab States Expo, reported the People’s Daily. The expos was held in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, with Chinese President Xi Jinping relaying a congratulatory message during the opening ceremony of the event. According to People’s Daily, “Over 2,900 regional …