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Bloomberg Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s plan to relax mortgage rules for first-time buyers appears to have already spurred sentiment, with the city recording its best weekend for home sales since April. The 10 biggest housing estates tracked by Centaline Property Agency Ltd recorded 20 sales, more than three times the weekend before. That’s despite violent protests that have ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE-founded ‘ekar’ has announced a partnership with Masdar to bring electric vehicle car-sharing to the Middle East by purchasing five Tesla models S and X for its fleet, with the vehicles available for hire from Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. “Masdar City installed first rapid charging station for electric vehicles in the Mideast,” said Yousef ...

Bloomberg Kuwait expects to sign an agreement with Saudi Arabia to restart oil production from the neutral zone along their border within 30 to 45 days, according to a person familiar with the matter. The pact, reached after months of intensive negotiations, won’t be final until it’s signed, the person said, asking not to be identified as the talks are ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Investors are keen to capitalise on the increasing opportunities in the aviation sector globally, according to industry experts. “Over the past decade, as the global economy has improved, airlines have grown in profitability, matured in terms of employing better capacity management and cost controls, and have benefitted from the explosion in demand for passenger air travel,” ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabian stocks rose the most in the Gulf as the country’s oil giant delayed a long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), easing a sell-off of other stocks intended to fund purchases in the share sale. The Tadawul All Share Index climbed as much as 2.3%, recovering from a loss of 0.8% last week and trimming losses in October to ...

Bloomberg Global finance ministers and central bankers pledged to use all their tools, including fiscal policy, to support demand amid a “highly uncertain” outlook and elevated risks. “The outlook is highly uncertain and subject to elevated downside risks,” including trade tensions, policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks, according to a communique issued by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The oldest known natural pearl in the world has been discovered by Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi archaeologists working at a Neolithic site on Marawah Island, just off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Dubbed the ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’, it was found in layers that have been radiocarbon dated to 5,800-5,600 BCE, during the ...

Sharjah / WAM The Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), reported a net profit of AED415.4 million for the first nine months of 2019, compared to AED397.7 million for the same period last year, with a projected increase of 4.5%. The bank’s total assets reached AED45.6 billion as of the end of the third quarter of 2019, with an increase of AED890.2 ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and President of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) inaugurated on Sunday the 6th World Green Economy Summit (WGES ...

BELGRADE / WAM A Federal National Council (FNC), delegation, led by Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the FNC, concluded its participation in the meetings of the 141st General Assembly and the 205th Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), held in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, with the participation of over 1,700 parliamentarians from 140 countries. During the meetings, ...