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Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE Armed Forces awarded AED4.971 billion in contracts on the first day of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex 2019), and Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (Navdex 2019), with the lion’s share of deals going to national companies. Speaking at a press conference Staff Brigadier-General Mohammed Al Hassani, Official Spokesperson of Idex 2019, …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabian Military Industries and France’s Naval Group SA entered a joint venture (JV) to develop vessels in the kingdom, which seeks to promote local manufacture of armaments. The Saudi government-backed firm will hold a 51 percent stake and the French naval defense company will have the rest. The new company will develop, engineer and manufacture frigates, corvettes and possibly …

Dubai / WAM Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), set a strategy and growth plan aligned with the UAE economic agenda, setting a target to support $3 billion in non-oil exports and re-exports. The announcement came during the recent ECI 2019 Kick-Off Meeting at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai. The event highlighted ECI’s goal to support UAE-based companies with over …

Bloomberg Oil rose to the highest level this year as Saudi Arabia curtailed output at its largest offshore field and amid signals of a thaw in US-China trade tensions. Futures in New York advanced 2.2%. Saudi Arabia was said to trim supply from its giant Safaniyah field to repair a damaged power cable. Chinese President Xi Jinping said US-China trade …

ABYAN/ wam The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), sent a relief aid convoy to the population in Ahwar District in Abyan Governorate in a continuation to the UAE’s humanitarian aid provided to the liberated areas in Yemen.

Bloomberg Oil climbed for a second day after Saudi Arabia pledged to deepen production cuts and US President Donald Trump said he might extend a deadline for additional tariffs on China. Futures in New York added as much as 1.5% after rising 1.3% on Tuesday. The world’s biggest crude exporter will continue to curb output more than required by a …

Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said will cut 3,000 megawatts of power from the South African grid from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive day of such measures. The state-owned power utility, which supplies more than 90 percent of the country’s electricity, is implementing the rolling blackouts due to a shortage of generating capacity, Eskom …

Dubai / WAM Richard Rasi, Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Investment and Information, shared prospects for cooperation between his country and the UAE during his participation in WGS. “We have more than 150 Slovak companies operating in the UAE and we are looking forward to further cementing our collaboration”, Rasi said.

Bloomberg A mining company claiming interests in copper and gold reserves estimated at $58 billion on the Pacific island of Bougainville said its rights are under threat by efforts to revive the resource sector in the run up to a independence referendum. At the heart of the dispute is the Panguna mine, which was operated by Sydney-listed Bougainville Copper Ltd. …

Bloomberg Forces loyal to Libya’s eastern leader Khalifa Haftar have taken control of the country’s biggest oil field and say the deposit is secure and ready to resume production. Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army fanned out in the southwestern Sharara field, people with knowledge of the matter confirmed. Armed protesters had closed down the 300,000 barrel-per-day deposit in December, demanding …