Manama / Tribune News Service Bahrain-based Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) remained profitable last year despite the sharp decline in global prices and other market challenges, it has emerged. The company, which is an equal stakes joint venture of Bahrain’s nogaholding, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and the Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, uses locally available natural gas …

  Beijing / Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang sought to limit conflict over trade during talks overshadowed by angst in Germany about a Chinese company’s 4.6 billion-euro ($5.2 billion) bid for robot maker Kuka AG. “We don’t want a trade war,” Li told reporters in Beijing on Monday after the two leaders presided over …

  Seoul / AFP South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Monday urged “bone-crushing” efforts to overhaul the nation’s ailing shipbuilders faced with mounting losses caused by slowing global demand and increased competition. The South’s mighty shipbuilders including Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering have dominated the global market for past decades. But a slump in oil prices …