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ABU DHABI / WAM President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, sent a cable of condolences to President of Indonesia Joko Widodo on victims of tsunami that hit Sunda Strait beaches. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown …

DUBAI / WAM Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation, Empower, has started the construction of a permanent district cooling plant in Barsha Heights. At a projected cost of AED169 million, the plant will have a total capacity of 31,250 refrigeration tonnes (RT). This is a part of Empower’s efforts to develop more areas and increase the operational efficiency of existing district …

Bloomberg Attorneys general from nine coastal states are intervening in a lawsuit aimed at blocking seismic surveys that could help pinpoint oil under Atlantic waters but also imperil whales and dolphins. The move brings the heft and resources of top state law enforcement officials to a fight over the future of oil and gas exploration along the US East Coast. …

Bloomberg With oil hovering just above its lowest level since August 2017, at least one large investor is dumping a BlackRock Inc exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the global energy industry. Two large blocks of the $1.4 billion iShares Global Energy ETF, or IXC, sold. The first was 1.1 million shares worth $34 million at 10:37 am in New York, and …

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE maintained its lead in attracting the highest amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to the Arab region in 2017, according to a top official at the Ministry of Economy. “The UAE was recipient of 40 percent of FDI inflows into Arab and Western Asian countries and 23.3 percent of FDIs directed to Middle …

Dubai / Emirates Business The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is home to some of the most exciting projects markets in the world. With an estimated $3.5 trillion worth of projects planned across the region, the pipeline of future projects is vast. Data from Meed Projects show that construction, which covers private real estate and public buildings, represents …

Dubai / Emirates Business HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Free Zones Council (DFZ Council), noted that Dubai’s free zones have made a significant contribution to the growth of non-oil trade. Free zone trade in Dubai hit AED394 billion in first nine months of 2018, accounting for 41 percent of emirate’s total trade during the …

Bloomberg The richest people on earth lost $511 billion this year after record first-half gains were obliterated by a succession of bruising market selloffs. Global trade tensions and worries about a US recession dragged markets lower at year-end. It’s only the second annual decline for the daily wealth index since its 2012 debut, and represents a sharp about-turn from the …

Bloomberg The Trump administration outlined plans for selling drilling rights on every acre of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, despite acknowledging potential oil spills and impacts to polar bear and caribou that roam through the region. The Interior Department’s draft environmental impact statement, published online, is a major milestone in the administration’s push to sell drilling rights in …

Bloomberg Crude drilling increased in American fields even as explorers face the biggest quarterly drop in oil prices since 2014. Working US oil rigs rose by 10 this week to 883, according to data released by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. More than 100 additional rigs have been deployed across American fields this year. It’s likely one of the last …