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Bloomberg Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the French government’s $12 billion divestment program will take years to execute and he’s working on identifying which assets will be sold. “It won’t be in one go — we won’t do the whole thing over 15 days,” Le Maire said in an interview in his Paris office. “That wouldn’t reasonable.” He said ...

Bloomberg Sprint Corp. has resumed preliminary talks about a potential merger with T-Mobile US Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said, as billionaire Masayoshi Son explores ways to build scale for a carrier facing increasing competition in the US wireless market. The two wireless operators restarted discussions after Sprint’s exclusive negotiating period with Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc. ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties, recorded a net profit of AED 1.021 billion ($278 million) in the first-half (January to June) of 2017. This is 3 percent higher than the H1 2016 net profit of AED 987 million ($269 million). Revenue for half- year 2017 is AED 1.624 billion ...

SHARJAH / WAM Expo Centre Sharjah has announced it will organise and host 11 economic, cultural, and commercial exhibitions in the second half of 2017. The first event on the agenda kicks off on October 3, and the last event ends on December 16. Saif Mohammed Al-Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah, said that the Centre has realised its objectives ...

DUBAI / Reuters Manufacturer JBF RAK, which is 60 percent owned by the United Arab Emirates’ Ras al-Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA), is in talks with banks about renegotiating around AED2bn ($544.6 million) of debt, banking sources said. The polyester producer, which according to its website is an affiliate of India’s JBF Group, has contacted lenders about reviewing its debt obligations, ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the widow of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, hailed the decision of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to declare 2018 as the “Year of Zayed”. In a statement on the occasion, the Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and service company KPMG have come together to launch the first ever FinTech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge on October 22 in Abu Dhabi to enable start-ups to access industry-leading solutions that address emerging business challenges in the financial services industry. The Innovation Challenge, as part of the inaugural FinTech Abu Dhabi ...

Ajman / Emirates Business In a significant enhancement of its initiatives to attract investments into the UAE from global markets, Ajman Free Zone (AFZ), said that it has identified five new key markets where it will set up hub offices this year as part of its global investor outreach strategy. In a statement, AFZ said the expansion of the free ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of commercial and community ports within the emirate of Abu Dhabi, in addition to the Port of Fujairah and the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, has been awarded the ISO 22301 certification for its Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). The certification is a business continuity management benchmark, ...

DUBAI / WAM Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, is to participate in the fourth edition of World Green Economy Summit (WGES 2017), organised under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, set to be held on October ...