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  Bloomberg Singapore is rolling back some property-market curbs after a three-year decline in prices made homes more affordable in the city state. Shares of property developers surged after the surprise announcement by the government that stamp duty imposed on sellers will be reduced and some mortgage restrictions eased. City Developments Ltd. jumped as much as 10 percent and CapitaLand ...

  Bloomberg Senator Lisa Murkowski said President Donald Trump is interested in opening up new coastal waters for oil and gas drilling and reversing Obama-era policies that restrict energy development in Alaska. Both Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are weighing ways to expand opportunities to drill in Arctic waters though the changes could take years to accomplish administratively, Murkowski ...

  Bloomberg BHP Billiton Ltd. has sent a formal request to meet with union leaders at the world’s largest copper mine in Chile, the first attempt to meet since talks failed on February 20, the company said in an emailed statement. BHP wants to propose a new wage offer that includes improvements in several areas that the union has said ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index (DET) eased slightly to 56.2 in February from the two-year high reached in January, according to new data released today by the lender. The DET in February was higher than the average reading for 2016, signaling an acceleration in economic growth at the start of this year. Output and ...

  Sharjah / WAM As part of its participation at the world’s leading travel trade show, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) is reinforcing the emirate’s status as one of the Middle East’s leading tourism destinations by promoting four of its most impressive hospitality venues. Under the umbrella of Sharjah Tourism and Commerce Development Authority, Shurooq is attracting interest from ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Looking ahead to a year of robust growth, DAMAC Properties, a leading luxury real estate developer in the region, on Thursday announced that it awarded 121 construction, supplier and consultancy contracts valued at AED 1.4 billion in Dubai during January and February 2017. The main contracts have been awarded for the provision of various services ...

  Bloomberg As one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies and the most populous Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia is billing itself as a natural home for Middle Eastern investment at a time when the US is turning inward. With a landmark visit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Southeast Asia winding down this week, Indonesia has won pledges ...

  Bloomberg Shum Chiu Hung, chairman of Chinese developer Times Property Holdings Ltd., has advice for those dismayed at record land bids in Hong Kong by mainland firms: “Get used to it.” Chinese developers have dominated Hong Kong’s land sales this year, splurging more than $2.9 billion to win all three residential plots tendered, including a record sum for a ...

  ANKARA / AP The United States risks major damage to its relationship with NATO ally Turkey if the US includes Kurdish forces in the fight to retake Raqqa, the IS group’s de facto capital, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday. Turkey and the US are locked in a heated dispute about US plans to liberate Raqqa, with ...

Reuters China has granted preliminary approval for 38 trademarks linked to Donald Trump, documents on China’s state trademark office show, giving the US President and his family protection were they to develop the “Trump” brand in the market. The trademarks — which in theory cover a wide sweep of businesses from hotels to mobile libraries and escorts — underline the ...