Bloomberg Vodafone Group Plc is nearing an initial agreement to merge its Indian operations with Idea Cellular Ltd. in a deal that would create the largest telecom company in one of the world’s most competitive markets, people with knowledge of the matter said. The two firms plan to announce a preliminary agreement as soon as this month, according to …

  Bloomberg Pakistan barred the first foreign national chief executive of the state-owned national airline from leaving the country as the government begins an investigation into a plane-lease contract. Bernd Hildenbrand, the German head of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Corp., has been put on a so-called exit control list and the nation’s anti-graft Federal Investigation Agency has been directed to …

  Bloomberg French authorities joined the UK in a corruption probe of Airbus Group SE centered on allegations of fraudulent practices related to selling planes and arranging aircraft financing. The probe by the Parquet National Financier follows steps by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office in August to look into possible bribery and corruption in Airbus’s civil aviation business related to …