Beijing / Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is seeking a loan of as much as $4 billion from at least eight banks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The banks are expected to begin marketing a $3 billion loan to other lenders, with the intention of increasing the size depending on demand, the people said. The loan would …

WARSAW / Bloomberg Dropping valuations aren’t enough to convince Eastern Europe’s third-largest lender Erste Group Bank AG to buy assets in Poland, the region’s biggest market, amid growing political uncertainty in Warsaw. Consolidation among Polish banks has been slowed by uncertainty stemming from the government’s plan to convert $44 billion in foreign currency-denominated loans, a proposal called “pure evil” by …

JEDDAH / Emirates Business Arqaam Capital, the specialist emerging markets Investment Bank, said in a strategy note issued ahead of Jeddah Economic Forum to be held on March 1-3 that Saudi Arabia’s plans to implement wide-ranging institutional changes to put its fiscal policy on a sustainable footing would give an unprecedented impetus to public-privatepartnerships’(PPPs) in the country. History suggests that …