News

  Seoul / AFP An extended export slump and weakening domestic consumption saw South Korea’s economic growth slow in the first quarter, despite record low interest rates, the central Bank of Korea said. Asia’s fourth largest economy expanded 0.4 percent in the January-March period from the previous quarter, and 2.7 percent compared to a year earlier.On-quarter growth in the final ...

  THE HAGUE / AP Royal Philips says an international arbitration panel has ordered Japanese company Funai Electric Co. to pay the Dutch electronics firm $152 million compensation over a breach of contract. Philips launched the arbitration proceedings in 2013 after terminating a $200 million deal to transfer to Funai its audio, video and media accessories unit and license the ...

  Tokyo / AFP Troubled conglomerate Toshiba announced it had booked a $2.3 billion write-down of its US nuclear unit Westinghouse but said the sale of its medical devices business would reduce its forecast net loss for the year ended March. A once proud pillar of corporate Japan, the company has been besieged by problems, most notably a profit-padding scandal ...

  Shanghai / AP The financial services affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba raised $4.5 billion in funding, it said, calling it the largest single private placement by an Internet company. The move values Ant Financial Services Group at roughly $60 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the situation. Previous media reports had said the company ...

  Ratnapura / AFP From the Queen of Sheba to Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, Sri Lanka’s sapphires have adorned royalty through the ages, but a flood of cheap imitations is threatening the island’s reputation for the precious stones. Ceylon sapphires, known after the island’s colonial-era name, enjoyed a huge boost five years ago when it was revealed that one formed ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, officially inaugurated, on Tuesday, ADNOC’s Al Hosn Sour Gas Development Project, the largest of its kind in the world. Sheikh Mohamed was accompanied by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative ...

  DUBAI / WAM Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree forming the Dubai Nuclear Energy Committee (DNEC). Decree No (15) of 2016 amends Article (1) of Decree No (26) of 2009 on the Establishment of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy. ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Etisalat Group on Tuesday announced its consolidated financial statements for the three months ending March 1, 2016, registering a rise in revenues to AED12.9bn. Saleh Al Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Group, said, “Etisalat’s first quarter results are a continuation of the strong performance the company has achieved over the years. Despite a challenging ...

  DUBAI / WAM Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du) on Tuesday published its financial results for the first quarter of 2016 registering a 1.3% rise in revenue to AED 3.09 billion, while net profit before royalty rose by 10.4% to AED 1.02 billion. The report said the revenue grew to AED 3.09 billion, a 1.3% increase compared to 2015 ...

  DUBAI / WAM Emirates Post Group, Empost, and Dubai Statistics Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote exchanges of statistical data and to make use of it more effectively for their mutual benefit. The MoU was signed by Arif Obaid Al Muhairi, Executive Director of Dubai Statistics Centre, and Fahad Al Hosani, Acting CEO of Emirates Post Group, in ...