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ABU DHABI / WAM First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), concluded its General Assembly Meeting on Monday at FAB’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi. According to a statement released by FAB, all items on the agenda were discussed and approved including the distribution of 74 percent cash dividends – AED0.74 per share, implying total cash dividends of AED8.08 billion – for the ...

Bloomberg President Xi Jinping urged China to “spare no effort” to contain the coronavirus outbreak in Beijing, as the nation’s top legislature postponed its annual legislative session in the capital to help check the disease’s spread. Xi issued his warning in a conference call attended by more than 170,000 government and ruling party officials — the biggest of its kind ...

Bloomberg China said an announcement that the quarantine of Wuhan would be eased was prematurely issued without approval from top officials. The lockdown of the Chinese city where the novel coronavirus emerged would remain fully in place, it said. The abrupt about-turn within a matter of hours added to the confusion emanating from the devastated city of 11 million which ...

Bloomberg Six months after Mukesh Ambani laid out a road map to make Reliance Industries Ltd free of net debt by early 2021, his plan has hit a few bumps thanks to the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has petitioned a court to halt a proposed stake sale by Reliance Industries to Saudi Arabian Oil Co, threatening a key ...

Bloomberg South Korea warned its fragile economic recovery is under threat from the coronavirus that has spread dramatically across the country over the past week, and pledged action to minimise the fallout. The country’s currency and the main stock index plunged. The epidemic poses a “large concern that it will limit the trend of economic recovery started late last year,” ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong is being threatened by a “Tsunami-like” cataclysm, the city’s finance chief has warned, as the new coronavirus devastates businesses already hobbled by months of anti-government protests. The financial hub’s lack of a bankruptcy process will only exacerbate the pain. Unlike in the US, Australia and rival Singapore, businesses in Hong Kong don’t have recourse to any corporate ...

Bloomberg Bangkok’s condominium market, once a favourite of Chinese investors, faces a bleak year as the novel coronavirus outbreak keeps buyers away. Foreigners are set to account for as little as 10% of purchases in 2020, down from a fifth two years ago, consultancy Agency for Real Estate Affairs estimates. Chinese buyers used to provide the bulk of overseas interest ...

Bloomberg Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro will travel to the US next month for the fourth time in a year with a pro-business agenda that includes trying to convince electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc to set up a plant in the South American country. Bolsonaro’s visit will be on March 7-10 and his plans include attending a business seminar in Miami, ...

Bloomberg The mood among German business hasn’t being dramatically shaken by the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting they see a short-term impact that won’t overly disrupt a pickup in 2019. The closely watched IFO confidence index unexpected rose this month, as did a measure of expectations. The increase comes as executives wait to see if authorities can get the outbreak under control ...

Bloomberg UK retail sales jumped the most in almost two years in January, ending the worst run for British stores on record and adding to signs of an economic rebound after the December election created a Brexit breakthrough. Sales excluding auto fuel rose 1.6% from December, the biggest increase since May 2018. Economists were expecting a rise of 0.8%. Sales ...