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Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP said its female employees in the UK earn an average of 30 percent less than male colleagues, providing a rare glimpse into the gender pay gap in the private equity (PE) industry. Although more than 400,000 people work in private equity in the UK, most of the firms have fewer than 250 employees, exempting them from ...

Bloomberg The American consumers who were stretching themselves to buy or lease a new car are starting to go missing from showrooms. Rising interest rates and new-vehicle prices are squeezing shoppers with shaky credit and tight budgets out of the market. In the first two months of this year, sales were flat among the highest-rated borrowers, while deliveries to those ...

DAMMAM / WAM The MENA region has committed $345 billion to critical energy projects under execution while an additional $574 billion worth of development is pla- nned over the next five years, bringing total committed and planned investments up to $919 billion to meet growing demand and demographic and urban expansions, according to MENA Energy Investment Outlook, issued by Arab ...

RAS AL-KHAIMAH / WAM The Government of Ras al-Khaimah has announced the official launch of RAK’s 2018 Petroleum Licensing Round and the establishment of the new Ras al-Khaimah Petrole-um Authority, the regulator responsible for the Licensing Round tendering process and ongoing management of petroleum rights. These actions reflect the vision of HH Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Global investment is seeing a bumpy recovery as worldwide foreign direct investment (FDI) flows reach $1.52 trillion in 2017, according to the World Investment Report published by the United Nations Council on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). FDI to developing economies remained stable, at an estimated $653 billion, 2 percent more than the previous year. A number ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for development aid, has extended an AED55 million ($15mn) concessionary loan to the government of Tanzania to finance the upgrade of 51km of the Uvinza-Ilunde-Malagarasi Road. The funded project is an extension to Kidaho – Ovinza Road which was funded in 2009 by ADFD as a ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and master developer Nakheel have collaborated in a joint venture, that will bring a new community retail centre to Sharjah. The project Nakheel’s first outside its home emirate of Dubai has an estimated development value of AED75 million. Under the agreement, signed on Monday by Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Tax authorities in GCC are starting to use sophisticated digital platforms that require taxpayers to submit data in real time or near-real time prompting firms to enhance their digital capabilities. This is changing the way businesses collect, format and report tax information, and accelerates reporting, filing obligations. Sherif El-Kilany, MENA Tax Leader at EY said, “The ...

Bloomberg Damac Properties Dubai Co. hired banks including Barclays Plc and HSBC Bank Plc for a possible sale of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, according to people familiar with the matter. The second-largest listed real estate developer in Dubai is expected to hire more banks to arrange the debt sale, which may happen as soon as this month, said the people, ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Abu Dhabi Police (ADP), has warned the public about fraud messages on social media applications, such as Whatsapp, which imitate trademarks and trusted websites, with the aim of stealing personal information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and other information that may lead to problems for users, who are required to report these crimes ...