News

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Majid Al Futtaim has been awarded two prestigious awards at the MENA Digital Awards 2016 (MDA) and the Festival of Media Awards MENA 2016. The retail pioneer won in two categories: “Best Mobile App” for City Centres’ mobile app at the MDA, as well as “Best Engagement Strategy” for the Corporate Sustainable Responsibility angle ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Airways officially opened its spectacular new Premium Lounge at Melbourne Airport, offering guests a stylish, comfortable environment in which they can relax, re-energise, dine, work or be entertained pre-flight. A natural light filled space with floor-to-ceiling glass, it offers expansive views across the runway. At more than 800m2 with seating capacity for up ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business According to Abu Dhabi-based Business DNA, the region’s retail sector is far from being saturated, and expects the industry to see a growth of 7% to 12% in 2017. The company sees 2016 as a correction year for the industry, even as it looks to drive growth of Abu Dhabi’s underrated retail market. Business DNA ...

  SYDNEY / Reuters The Australian government has proposed removing tax barriers to asset-backed financing arrangements as part of its federal budget, a move likely aimed at facilitating interest-free transactions used in Islamic finance. Islamic finance is gradually catching on in Australia, with National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) helping fund a A$160 million ($114 million) Brisbane property purchase in February, ...

  New Delhi / Bloomberg Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Hyundai Motor Co. and Renault SA paced India’s biggest gain in passenger vehicle sales in five months, as new compact SUVs, hatchbacks and minicars drew buyers to their showrooms. Deliveries of passenger vehicles, including sport utility vehicles and vans, climbed 11 percent to 242,060 units last month, the Society of Indian ...

  Jakarta / Bloomberg China must turn off the taps of credit-driven growth to avoid a financial system crisis in the face of rising bad loans and other risks, the Communist Party’s official mouthpiece newspaper said on Monday, citing an unnamed “authoritative” source. The prominent article, in question-and-answer format, started on the front of the broadsheet paper and took up ...

  New Delhi / Bloomberg After back-to-back droughts battered India’s farmers, a forecast for above-normal rainfall this year is brightening the outlook for Asia’s third-largest economy. Economists at DBS Bank Ltd., State Bank of India and Standard Chartered Plc say India’s gross domestic product this year may grow more than they previously predicted if the monsoon is as good as ...

  BRUSSELS / AFP Eurozone finance ministers on Monday tackled crucial talks on unlocking vital cash and debt relief for Greece just hours after Greek lawmakers adopted unpopular reforms demanded as part of the country’s bailout. The 19 ministers, meeting in Brussels, are aiming to finally sign off on the long-delayed first review of Greece’s massive EU-IMF bailout — the ...

  Frankfurt / AFP A British exit from the EU would have “unforeseeable consequences” for European cooperation, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has warned in an interview with German media. Britain is to hold a closely-watched June 23 referendum on whether or not it should stay in the 28-nation bloc, and opinion polls are showing that the nation is still ...

  Bloomberg Get ready for a pro-European Union onslaught. This week, voters tuning into the fraught battle over the U.K.’s future will hear from three heavy-hitters who have already warned about the risks of leaving the single market. The chancellor of the exchequer, the governor of the Bank of England and the head of the IMF are set to speak, ...