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Bloomberg French police raided Renault SA’s headquarters outside Paris to gather evidence for an investigation related to spending by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn. A spokesman for Renault confirmed the police presence following a report by L’Express, while an official at the prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. French investigators opened a probe earlier this year into whether ...

Bloomberg Unite Group Plc agreed to buy fellow UK student-housing provider Liberty Living Group Plc for $1.8 billion in cash and shares. Unite is buying the assets from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which will have a 20 percent stake in the group when the deal is completed in the third quarter, according to a company statement. Unite proposed ...

Bloomberg An 18-month labour dispute at an aluminum smelter in Quebec controlled by Alcoa Corp ended after workers accepted a deal, defying the recommendation of their union’s leadership. About 80 percent of workers at the Becancour plant voted to ratify the offer after a meeting of the United Steelworkers in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, the union said. Alcoa said it expects the ...

Bloomberg Oil slid to its worst loss in two weeks as mounting fears about the global economy undercut the latest plan from Opec and its allies to stabilise markets. Futures dropped by as much as 4.3 percent in New York, the steepest intraday decline since June 12. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned of the dangers of rising protectionism ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai ranked first in the Arab world and 11th globally in ‘Future Readiness’ in 2019, according to ‘Global Competitiv- eness of Talent’ report issued by Institute for Administrative Development in Switzerland in cooperation with the Dubai Competitiveness Office in the Department of Economic Development (DED). The report evaluated various cities worldwide around three main axes — investment ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The total value of more than 26,000 construction projects exceeded AED9.25 trillion in June, according to the June 2019 Issue of the BNC Projects Journal: The Next Construction Circus — Setting the Stage for Growth, issued by BNC Network. Saudi Arabia leads the GCC region in the total value of construction projects worth $895.8 billion (AED3.29 ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The average size of a home loan taken out in the UAE in May 2019 was AED1.31 million, marking a steady incr-ease compared to an average loan size of AED1.67 million in May 2018, according to data from Mortgage Finder. This is in line with the current market trend which has shown a downward shift in ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is restarting preparations for a potential initial public offering of oil giant Aramco, months after putting the planned listing on hold, people familiar with the matter said. Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, held talks with a select group of investment banks to discuss potential roles on the offering, according to the people. Detailed work on the ...

DUBAi / Emirates Business Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced the launch of the Real Estate Investment Opportunities (REIOs) initiative during a press conference. The new initiative is a new way to attract investors from all economic sectors. Before the launch of the project, a feasibility study was conducted, and the most prominent international experiences and local and global practices were ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Executive Council (SEC) approved the second batch of housing support beneficiaries for 2019. The payment includes 274 beneficiaries acro-ss two categories — 96 grants and 178 loans — with the total valued at AED197.6 million. The announcement came during a SEC meeting on Tuesday at the Ruler’s office in Sharjah. The meeting was chaired by ...