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ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for economic development aid, commended the opening of a major infrastructure project – Maafaru International Airport, located on one of the islands of the Noonu Atoll in the Maldives. To support the strategic objectives of the Government of the Maldives, ADFD contributed AED191 million ($52 million) …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump added to the criticism of the World Bank’s plan for low-interest loans to China. “Why is the World Bank loaning money to China?” Trump said in a Twitter post. “Can this be possible? China has plenty of money, and if they don’t, they create it. STOP!” His tweet came a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, …

Bloomberg Oil in New York posted the biggest weekly gain since June after Saudi Arabia surprised the market with a significant supply cut beyond what was agreed to with fellow Opec+ members. WTI settled 1.3% higher after Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the country would continue its voluntary cut of 400,000 barrels a day. That brings …

Bloomberg The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies sent mixed signals about whether they were considering deeper production cuts, fanning oil-market speculation before crucial talks in Vienna this week. Iraq, which has the worst record among major producers of implementing the group’s current supply deal, pushed for steeper cutbacks. Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban said the group should …

Emirates Business The 26th edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC), the largest and most prestigious gathering of Islamic banking and finance leaders in the world, kicked off at The Gulf Hotel Bahrain, in the Kingdom of Bahrain on Wednesday. The forum is spurring a series of discussions focusing on “mega trends in banking and finance”, a theme that …

Bloomberg Egypt on Wednesday launched a $6.2 billion initiative to support local industry, as the nation looks to boost private sector growth in the next phase of its economic revival program. Under the new plan, factories with sales of under 1 billion pounds would be able to secure loans at a reduced interest rate of 10%, central bank Governor Tarek …

Abu Dhabi / WAM Waha Capital recorded a net gain of AED40 million through the divestment of its remaining stake in New York-listed AerCap Holdings NV, according to a press statement issued by the company on Wednesday. Waha Capital, which has been a shareholder in AerCap since 2010, has been reducing its stake gradually in recent years to re-allocate capital …

Dubai / WAM Nasdaq Dubai on Wednesday welcomed the listing of a one billion euro green sukuk by Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the multilateral lender which finances development across its 57 member nations. It is IsDB’s first green sukuk, issued under its Sustainable Finance Framework. It is also third Sukuk listing this year on the region’s international exchange by IsDB, …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump signaled he would be willing to wait for another year before striking a trade agreement with China, casting doubt on the likelihood of a phase-one accord within weeks between Washington and Beijing. “I have no deadline,” he told reporters on Tuesday on London when asked if he wanted an agreement by year end. Stocks dropped in …

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is gearing up for the world’s most ambitious push against climate change with a radical overhaul of its economy. At a summit in Brussels next week, EU leaders will commit to cutting net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero by 2050, according to a draft of their joint statement for the December 12-13 meeting. To meet this …