News

  Reuters New standards for the use of precious metals in Islamic finance are encouraging the development of financial products based on gold and silver, from futures contracts to a mobile app. The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), which sets guidelines followed in whole or in part by Islamic financial firms around the world, approved ...

  Bloomberg In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political base of Varanasi, Hinduism’s holiest city, weaver Zainul Abedin stares at the uneven mud floor of his home. Behind him, more than a dozen handlooms lie idle. Abedin is part of the collateral damage of Modi’s Nov. 8 decision to ban high-value currency notes, effectively canceling 86 percent of cash in circulation. ...

  Bloomberg Australia on Tuesday signed a mega deal to purchase a fleet of next-generation submarines from France, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hailing the vessels’ “cutting-edge technology”. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian inked the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) in Adelaide that will see French shipbuilder DCNS design and build the Shortfin Barracudas. The total cost of the 12 submarines, ...

  Bloomberg Even as Uber Technologies Inc. exited China, the company’s financial loss has remained eye-popping. In the first nine months of this year, the ride-hailing company lost significantly more than $2.2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the third quarter, Uber lost more than $800 million, not including its Chinese operation. At the same time, ...

  Bloomberg A lawsuit filed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is shining a light on the fake reviews and purchases on its websites. China’s biggest e-commerce operator sued Shatui.com, which allegedly links merchants with people willing to falsify purchases and write positive comments that can drive sellers up Alibaba’s rankings. The suit in Hangzhou West Lake District People’s Court is ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The value of shares bought by foreign investors registered at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in November 2016, amounted to AED2.97 billion, constituting 48.3 per cent of the total trading value. Meanwhile, foreign investors sell value during the same period reached AED2.9 billion, constituting 48.5 per cent of total turnover. As a result, net foreign ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) received a visiting ministerial delegation from the United Republic of Tanzania at its headquarters. At the meeting, Adel Al Hosani, Director of ADFD’s Operations Department, discussed the fund’s current and upcoming socio-economic deve- lopment ventures in Tanzania with Makame Mbarawa, Tanzanian Minister of Works, Transport and Communication. Both parties ...

  DUBAI / WAM In another remarkable first for Dubai South and the country, the VIP Terminal at Dubai South, the largest purpose-built facility of its kind in the world, has been inaugurated. The terminal is poised to be a game-changer in the business aviation sector, offering VIP customers a seamless travel experience, coupled with time and cost efficiencies within ...

  Dubai / WAM Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Monday reviewed the results of the fourth Dubai Social Survey conducted by Dubai’s Community Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC). The survey, which sampled 15,165 individuals, including 9,709 Emiratis, measures current levels of ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM From April 2015 to November 2016, the United Arab Emirates provided nearly AED6 billion (US$1.6 billion) in foreign aid to Yemen as part of its efforts to provide development, security, stability and peace in Yemen. The assistance, offered in line with the UAE’s humanitarian and development response towards the crisis in Yemen, covered three sectors, mainly ...