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Bloomberg Just when you thought Hong Kong’s IPO market couldn’t get any frothier, a bubble tea maker just surged 298 percent in its debut. Shares of B & S International Holdings Ltd., known for a famous franchise called TenRen, staged the strongest mainboard debut in two years, closing at HK$3.98, after selling initial shares at HK$1. With orders for 2,601 ...

Bloomberg Prudential Plc soared on plans to split the firm by spinning off its UK operations, a move that will create an insurance business focussed on faster-growth markets in Asia, Africa and the US. Investors will receive shares in M&G Prudential, formed in 2017 through the combination of its UK asset-management business with European insurance assets. Both firms are likely ...

Bloomberg The Benetton family’s Atlantia SpA reached a preliminary agreement with Real Madrid Chairman Florentino Perez’s ACS to jointly buy Abertis Infraestructuras SA, ending an eight-month battle for control of the Spanish toll-road operator. The accord was expected to be discussed at a board meeting on Wednesday, Rome-based Atlantia said in a statement, without giving any details. Shares in Abertis ...

Bloomberg The European Union failed to water down proposals for the Irish border that Theresa May said no prime minister could ever accept in the first revision of the draft Brexit treaty. Revising the first draft of the document published by the European Commission two weeks ago, diplomats from the 27 remaining EU countries retained the focus on keeping Northern ...

Bloomberg Stephen Hawking, the British physicist and black-hole theorist who brought science to a mass audience with the best-selling book “A Brief History of Time,” has died. He was 76. Hawking died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in England on March 14, a spokesman for his family said. “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” ...

Bloomberg Denmark is edging closer to a public sector strike that has the potential of wiping out most of the country’s economic growth. Employers have already warned some 450,000 employees—more than half of the total—not to turn up for work on April 10 unless a protracted dispute over pay is resolved. Helge Pedersen, chief economist at Nordea, the Nordic’s largest ...

Bloomberg Broadcom Ltd formally abandoned its attempt to acquire rival chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. after US President Donald Trump blocked the deal citing national security risks. “Although we are disappointed with this outcome, Broadcom will comply,” the company said, bringing to an official end to a months-long battle to land the tech industry’s biggest ever deal. Singapore-based Broadcom said it will ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The total earnings of commercial and Islamic banks in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi surged to AED30.83 billion in 2017, according to figures released by the Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi. The total earnings of commercial banks headquartered in the capital reached AED25.53 billion by the end of 2017, accounting for 82.8 percent of the total earnings accrued, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) hosted a forum on ‘Strategic Alignments – Connections 2018’ to promote domestic Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and support their growth, and implement innovative plans to help foster an entrepreneurial spirit in the country. The forum brought together top-level officials from federal and local entities within the legislation and banking ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Sudan enjoy long-standing ties of cooperation and strategic bilateral relations, built on joint coordination and economic and development partnerships, that have contributed to the progress and prosperity of Sudan. Thanks to the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the directives of His ...