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GENEVA / WAM Qatar has decided to withdraw its measures against the UAE in a significant concession aimed at averting the consequences of the UAE’s case in WTO against an illegal Qatari ban on UAE goods and services. During a session of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO, on Saturday, to examine the UAE’s request to set up …

Bloomberg Oil is on its longest bull run in 13 years. Hedge funds have increased bullish sentiment on US crude prices for the last nine weeks, the longest such run since 2006, according to data. Almost 14 times as many bets have been placed on prices going up as on a decline, as investors see supply threats multiplying around the …

London / WAM The volume of foreign trade in non-oil goods between the UAE and the UK was estimated at approximately 9 billion pounds (AED 42.69 billion) in 2018, recording a growth rate of 10 percent over the previous year, according to a senior UAE official. Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of …

Emirates Business Arab Bank Group announced its results for first quarter of 2019 reporting 5.2% growth in net profit after tax of $231.8 million as compared to $220.3 million in 2018, with net income before tax increasing by 9.1% to reach $312.8 million. Group equity stood at $ 8.5 billion, while loans increased to $25.8 billion and deposits to $33.7 …

ABU DHABI / WAM The Board of Directors of the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) approved AED1.45 billion worth of housing finance for UAE nationals, during its meeting on Wednesday. The bank’s financing solutions provide up to AED5 million for home buyers and up to AED3 million towards construction, enabling Emiratis to maintain a good standard of living. The meeting was …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia started the year with a quarterly budget surplus for the first time since the 2014 collapse in oil prices. The biggest Arab economy posted a surplus of 27.8 billion riyals ($7.4 billion) in the first quarter, helped by an increase in non-oil revenue as well as income from crude exports, Finance Minister Mohammed Al- Jadaan told an …

Bloomberg Trade negotiators led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing next week, the White House said, as both sides work to reach a draft agreement by next month. Talks starting next Tuesday “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agr- iculture, services, purchases and enforcement,” the …

ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Cargo on Wednesday celebrated its position as a market leader in the air cargo digitalisation and innovation community, six months after migrating to a new technology platform. Last year, the carrier saw the introduction of several transformative programmes across its fleet and network, commercial and operational processes, and its physical and digital infrastructure. This culminated …

Bloomberg Crude leapt to its highest level in almost six months after the Trump administration said it wouldn’t renew Iran oil waivers for China, India and other countries once they expire in May. Futures in London traded near $74 a barrel after jumping as much as 3.3 percent and reaching the highest since early November in anticipation of the statement …

DUBAI / Emirates Business The digital transformation of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) small- and medium-sized enterprises and smart cities is driving regional software spend to top $6 billion, industry experts announced on Monday. The Mena region is a fast-growth market for digital transformation, as organisations look to gain greater business agility, better understand customer needs and trends, …