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Bloomberg Europe’s consumer-goods giants are showing new signs of life by selling more food and cleaning supplies, even at higher prices. Nestle SA and Unilever surprised investors with strong starts to the year, reporting first-quarter sales growth that handily topped analysts’ estimates. The Swiss maker of KitKat bars and the Anglo-Dutch owner of Dove soap each cited a combination of ...

Bloomberg Pinterest Inc.’s message to investors was don’t compare us to social media or a search engine. The outcome was that it raised about $1.4 billion in an above-range initial public offering. Pinterest operates in a crowded digital marketing space, where Google and Facebook Inc. get the lion’s share of ad dollars, and a smattering of smaller platforms like Twitter ...

ABU DHABI / WAM In his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has issued a law amending provisions of Law No. 19 of 2005 concerning real estate sector in Abu Dhabi. The new law stipulates amendments to Articles 3 and 4 of the ‘Real Property Law’. Article 3 (i) stipulates the ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast the UAE’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 4.7 percent to AED 1.673 trillion ($460 billion) in 2019, compared to AED 1.589 trillion a year ago. The GDP growth is reflective of the economic diversification efforts made by the country, according to the Washington-based fund. Driven by remarkable ...

Bloomberg Emirates NBD PJSC posted a 15 percent increase in first-quarter profit as lending rose and margins improved at Dubai’s biggest bank. First-quarter profit rose to AED2.74 billion ($747 million) from AED2.39 billion, the bank said in a statement. The mean estimates of three analysts compiled by the lender was for a profit of AED2.5 billion. The rise in profit ...

Emirates Business Economic activity in the UAE is set to accelerate to 2.2% in 2019, up from an estimated 1.7% in 2018, according to ICAEW’s latest Economic Insight report. This will be buoyed by a pick-up in non-oil activity, rising public spending at the Federal and Emirate levels, higher investment ahead of the highly anticipated Expo 2020 and continued regional ...

Bloomberg Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is considering selling as much as 25 percent of its refinery business in a deal that could fetch at least $10 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. Reliance is sounding out potential investors including state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) to gauge the interest, according to the people, who asked ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Investments, the leading diversified investments conglomerate listed on the Dubai Financial Market, has decided to distribute 10 percent cash dividend to its shareholders for the financial year ending December 31, 2018. A proposal to this effect was approved by shareholders at the group’s 23rd annual general meeting (AGM). The company’s shareholders also approved all other resolutions ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The UAE-based, Grandweld Shipyards, has announced a delivery of four Crew Boats to Kuwait Oil Company “KOC”. As per the contractual agreement signed in May 2017, Grandweld should build six Pilot Boats and four Crew Boats for KOC. Five boats have been delivered and the remaining five will be delivered in June 2019. Furthermore, the newly ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Traditional Iftar and Sohour experiences in celebration of the Holy Month of Ramadan await at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr’s stunning Al Andalus Ramadan Tent. With breathtaking views of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the enchanting Al Andalus Tent provides the ultimate venue to enjoy an authentic Arabian Iftar and Sohour with stunning surroundings, lavish spreads ...