Bloomberg China omitted a key defense spending figure from its budget for the first time in almost four decades — before an official disclosed the number — highlighting concerns about transparency in the world’s largest military. While authorities said defense expenditures would rise “about 7 percent†this year, the budget report published by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday ...
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China’s $150 billion dining out scene lures foreign dairy firms
Bloomberg In an industrial kitchen in a leafy, residential suburb of central Shanghai, a quiet culinary evolution is taking place. Beside shelves stacked with butter mounds the size of bread loaves and 11 pound (5 kilogram) cheese wheels, chefs are experimenting with exotic ingredients that their New Zealand supplier, Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., wants to become ubiquitous in China: ...
Read More »Beijing considers dialing back or delaying e-car quota
Bloomberg China is considering dialing back or delaying proposed measures aimed at pushing automakers to produce more electric vehicles, after industry feedback that the targets are overly ambitious. Under draft rules released in September for public consultation, automakers will be required to obtain a new-energy vehicle credit score of 8 percent next year, derived from different weightings assigned to ...
Read More »Standard Life to buy Aberdeen in US$4.7 billion stock deal
Bloomberg Standard Life Plc, Scotland’s largest insurer, agreed to acquire Aberdeen Asset Management Plc for about 3.8 billion pounds ($4.7 billion), a deal that would create the UK’s largest active manager. The stocks soared in London trading. Under the terms, Standard Life shareholders will own 66.7 percent of the combined group, according to a joint statement on Monday. Aberdeen’s ...
Read More »BT Group pays $1.5 billion to keep ‘broadcast rights’ in UK
Bloomberg BT Group Plc will spend 1.18 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) to hold on to broadcast rights for Champions League soccer in the UK, agreeing to a 32 percent price increase to secure the future of its pay-TV business. Britain’s former telephone monopoly will pay 394 million pounds a year for three seasons ending in 2020-2021, BT said in ...
Read More »Khalifa dedicates Year of Giving to UAE martyrs
ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has dedicated the Year of Giving along with all its initiatives and activities to the UAE martyrs in memory of their heroic deeds and in appreciation of their sacrifices. The President’s directive aims to instill the values of generosity and selflessness, which the martyrs ...
Read More »UAE government launches National Year of Giving Strategy
Abu Dhabi / WAM Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the government of the United Arab Emirates has launched the National Strategy for the Year of Giving, declared by the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. ...
Read More »ADNOC expands Marine service station network
Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business In line with the initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to ensure the highest quality of life for the people of the UAE and support the country’s sustainable development, Saeed Mubarak Al Rashdi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC Distribution, opened recently Ghalila marine service station ...
Read More »DAFZA achieves 16% net profit growth in 2016
Dubai / Emirates Business The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) performed strongly in 2016, achieving 16 percent net profit growth and posting a 2 percent growth in its total revenue and a 28 percent increase in its total assets and a 3% rise in Earnings Before Interest and Depreciation (EBID). According to official reports, the total leasable area of ...
Read More »White House: Congress must probe Obama ‘power abuse’
PALM BEACH / AP The White House demanded on Sunday that Congress investigate whether former President Barack Obama abused his executive powers in connection with the 2016 presidential election. President Donald Trump leveled that claim on Saturday when he accused his predecessor of tapping telephones at Trump Tower. But Trump offered no supporting evidence, a spokesman for Obama denied ...
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