News

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Duty Free set a new sales record in 2015, reaching AED 1.5 billion across its retail, food and beverage (F&B) and services sectors, according to its latest commercial figures. Sales were up 10.3% on 2014’s figures, despite increasing economic volatility worldwide. The retail category continued its upward growth trend, rising by 7% to ...

Emirates Business Auto industry professionals in Abu Dhabi gathered in a recent event to discuss the cumulative prospects in UAE automotive aftermarket. The capital has witnessed a steady growth in the demand for spare parts and services. Auto spare parts demand in the Gulf region was valued at AED3.1 billion in 2015, up from AED2.9 billion in 2013; the aftermarket ...

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business Gone are the days when fashion was for grown-ups only. The little ones also rock, that’s what figures say. Kids-wear market is estimated to hit US$173.6 billion by 2017, growing at a stable compound annual interest rate (CAGR) of 4.2 percent. According to Reference for Business report, there are over 1,000 international children’s fashion brands ...

Doha / AFP Energy giants Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Tuesday to freeze oil output to try to stabilise the market if other major producers do the same, Qatar’s oil minister said. The Saudi and Russian oil ministers, along with their Venezuelan and Qatari counterparts, “agreed to freeze the production at (the) January level provided that other major producers ...

AFP Two recent oil pipeline spills in Peru’s part of the Amazon hit areas rich in wildlife and it will take them a year to recover, the government said Monday. The spills released a total of 2,000 barrels of petroleum, Energy and Mining Minister Rosa Maria Ortiz said. She and other government officials flew over one of the areas blackened ...

Bloomberg When British Prime Minister David Cameron rushed to Paris late on Monday to lobby the French leader over safeguards for London’s banks, the latest in a long line of disputes between the two countries had been five years in the making. French President Francois Hollande is leading a group of euro-area countries unhappy with U.K. demands to shield its ...

Brussels / Bloomberg European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker refused on Tuesday to entertain the idea of a British exit from the European Union, saying there is no “plan B” ahead of talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Juncker, head of the EU executive, said he expected Britain to stay in 28-nation bloc as “a constructive and active member.” “If ...

Alex Morales / Bloomberg A British departure from the European Union would put at risk 466 billion pounds ($670 billion) of U.K. trade with nations in Europe and beyond, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Centre for Economic and Business Research. Britain’s membership of the bloc gives it “easy” access to trade with the other 27 member ...

WARSAW / Bloomberg Poland’s new government plans to harness 1 trillion zloty ($254 billion), or nearly half of the country’s annual economic output, for investment in manufacturing and innovation to help the nation catch up with richer European Union neighbours. The government is due to discuss the proposal, drafted by Development Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the former chief executive officer at ...

London / AFP Britain’s annual inflation rate rose in January to its highest level for a year, buoyed by the higher prices for clothing and alcohol, official data showed Tuesday. The 12-month Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3 percent last month, after registering 0.2 percent in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. Alcohol and ...