News

Bloomberg BMW AG dodged a takeover attempt by Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG six decades ago, and ever since the two luxury-car icons have been bitter rivals — until recently. Reflecting the historic challenges gripping the auto industry, BMW and Daimler are reaching across the aisle to team up in what’s become an emerging trend in the sector. The latest rapprochement ...

Bloomberg Gibraltar was ordered by European Union regulators to reclaim some 100 million euros ($114 million) in tax breaks that aimed to lure multinational firms to the British territory. The European Commission said Gibraltar’s corporate tax exemption rules for interest and royalties unfairly favored some multinational firms. It also judged illegal five tax rulings involving some income from Dutch partnerships. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Digital economy can contribute more than $3 trillion to Arab GDP growth, according to key recommendations and insights from the First Arab Digital Economy Conference, which concluded in the UAE capital on Wednesday. The importance of adopting the vision of the Arab digital economy for the growth opportunities of the Arab countries’ GDP is in direct ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi government and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have awarded Austria’s OMV a 5 percent stake in the Ghasha ultra-sour gas concession that comprises the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma, Nasr, Sarb and Mubarraz sour gas fields. OMV, which joins Italy’s Eni and Germany’s Wintershall as Adnoc’s partners in the concession, will contribute 5 ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump declared victory over IS, as officials said he’s ordered a full withdrawal of US forces from Syria in a sharp reversal of American policy that appeared to take the Pentagon by surprise. The US military is working to quickly carry out Trump’s order, according to the officials, but it wasn’t clear how soon the approximately 2,000 troops ...

DUBAI / WAM The number of Chinese tourists travelling to the GCC is expected to increase 81 percent from 1.6 million in 2018 to 2.9 million in 2022, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28 to May 1, 2019. The latest research from Colliers International, ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai-based airline flydubai announced the start of flights to Budapest in Hungary and Naples in Italy. flydubai will operate up to five flights a week to Naples from June 4, 2019, becoming the first UAE carrier to offer direct flights. Daily flights to Budapest will start on June 27, 2019, and will be in addition to the ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Airways will introduce the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its scheduled services from Abu Dhabi to Barcelona, effective February 22, 2019, replacing the Airbus A330-200 currently operating the recently launched route. The deployment of the larger 787 Dreamliner to Barcelona has been timed to coincide with the Mobile World Conference taking place in the city ...

Dubai / WAM Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, met fishermen from Umm Al Qaiwain and urged them to avoid unsustainable fishing practices and techniques, which apart from depleting fish stocks in the country’s waters, damages marine biodiversity and creates a negative image of the UAE regionally and globally. The move is part of ...

Dubai / WAM The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has announced that changes to its Collective Investment Funds (CIF) regime, on which the DFSA consulted in October last year, came into force coinciding with the enactment of the DIFC Companies Law 2018 (Companies Law). The DFSA consultation included a wide-ranging set of proposals to support the continued development of the ...