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ABU DHABI / WAM President Adama Barrow of the Republic of Gambia has expressed his country’s interest in promoting economic and investment cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. This came during a meeting with Mohamed Helal Al Muhairi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Preident Barrow, during the meeting, …

Bloomberg Emirates NBD PJSC’s first-half profit jumped 49 percent as Dubai’s biggest bank benefitted from the sale of a stake in its card payments processing unit. Net income advanced to AED7.48 billion ($2.04 billion) from 5.02 billion a year earlier, the state-controlled lender said in a statement. The bank made AED2.1 billion from the initial public offering of Network International …

Bloomberg The pound fell to the lowest since 2017 as the market once again reckoned with no-deal Brexit risk after the contenders to be UK prime minister toughened their rhetoric. Sterling hit its weakest level in more than two years versus the dollar and a six-month low against the euro, as Brexit negotiations appeared to turn more hostile. Both leadership …

Bloomberg China’s efforts to shore up sagging economic growth are leading to a resurgence in indebtedness, underlining the challenge President Xi Jinping’s government faces in curbing financial risk. The nation’s total stock of corporate, household and government debt now exceeds 303% of gross domestic product and makes up about 15% of all global debt, according to a report published by …

Bloomberg Oil traded close to $60 a barrel after a tropical storm shut almost three-fourths of US Gulf of Mexico crude production amid lingering concerns about demand growth. Futures were little changed on Monday in New York after advancing almost 5 percent last week. About 73 percent of Gulf crude output was offline after explorers evacuated platforms and rigs ahead …

Bloomberg Amlak Finance PJSC is nearing a deal to restructure debt for a second time, according to two people with knowledge of the plan. The company is asking creditors to reschedule repayments on $1.2 billion of loans over the originally agreed period that ends in 2026, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Most …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The value of announced M&A transactions in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) reached an all-time high of $112 billion in the first half of 2019, according to a report from financial data provider Refinitiv. The increase of 231 percent compared to the value recorded during 2018, was driven by Saudi Aramco’s $69.1 billion …

Bloomberg Oil capped its best week since mid-June as Tropical Storm Barry gained strength, approaching refineries in Louisiana and leaving deserted offshore platforms on its path. Futures in New York gained 4.7 percent for the week after prices held above $60 a barrel for a third day. Forecast to make landfall as a hurricane early Saturday, Barry has already curbed …

Bloomberg Japan and South Korea bickered over the details of rival briefings about export-control talks on Saturday as the US backed away from a potential role as a mediator in a fight over history and trade between its two Asian allies. Officials at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry held a press conference at which they denied an assertion …

ABU DHABI / WAM Search for Common Ground (Search) in collaboration with Hedayah, the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), has released the first ever complete CVE Training Curriculum. Financed by the European Union’s Strengthening Resilience to Violent Extremism (STRIVE) Global programme, the initiative is aimed to raise awareness on collaborative CVE approaches among governments and civil …