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SHARJAH / WAM Sharjah National Hotels Company, a subsidiary of Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), recorded a strong performance during the first half of this year, confirming the emirate’s position as a preferred destination for families. The company reported an average of more than 70 percent occupancy during the first six months of 2017. A strong performance during the first half ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business The Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC), has signed a strategic partnership MoU with the leading global cybersecurity company Trend Micro, to provide advanced software solutions to 84 entities within Abu Dhabi’s e-Government. As part of the MoU, Trend Micro will provide cybersecurity services to boost the general security environment of ADSIC and its ...

Bloomberg European Union officials warned Britain not to make peace in Ireland a bargaining chip in their bid for a post-Brexit UK-EU trade deal. With talks on the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc scheduled to resume next week, officials in Brussels said they wanted Theresa May’s government to come up with more ideas to keep the border between Northern Ireland ...

Bloomberg Jack Dorsey’s latest bet is positively old-school. Square Inc., the mobile payments processor run by Dorsey, unveiled its first physical store to offer hands-on support for merchants using its technology and showcase some of their wares. To most passersby, the cozy space looks like any other boutique store in Manhattan’s Nolita neighbourhood, with eclectic merchandise for sale like handmade ...

Bloomberg Hudson’s Bay Co., the owner of the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor chains, spiked as much as 14 percent after Reuters reported the company is reviewing its strategic options. The department-store company, which has already hired an investment bank as it responds to pressure from activist shareholder Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC, plans to hire an ...

Bloomberg German automakers must invest more in electric vehicles and take on Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc., Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff said Saturday. Peter Altmaier said he was thoroughly disappointed by German auto executives following the diesel-emissions scandal and that he was also thinking about the future of the 600,000 employees in the industry. “When is our automobile industry, ...

Bloomberg Jeff Bezos is about to one-up your grocery store loyalty program. Today, millions of consumers get lower prices and other perks in exchange for favouring one store chain over another. Starting Monday, Amazon.com Inc. will lavish its most loyal customers with similar benefits and more when they shop at Whole Foods Market Inc., the high-end grocery chain it’s buying ...

KHOBAR / Reuters­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Saudi Arabia and China are to cooperate on nuclear energy projects following discussions between the two countries on ways to support the kingdom’s nuclear energy programme, state news agency SPA reported. Saudi Arabia has been for years trying to diversify its energy mix so that it can export more of its oil, rather than burning it at ...

SINGAPORE / DUBAI / Reuters Iraq’s proposal to change the way it prices crude oil in Asia faces resistance from refiners who fear that longer lead times between pricing and deliveries will expose them to more risk. Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO surprised traders this week by seeking feedback on plans to switch its Basra crude benchmark in Asia to ...

Bloomberg PetroChina Co. took a page from the playbook of global peers known for generous dividends by deciding to pay shareholders its entire half-year net income. China’s biggest oil producer passed on to investors the benefits of higher global prices with almost 12.7 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) in dividends, the Beijing-based company said as it reported earnings that beat estimates. ...