Elaine Ramirez SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Four years ago, a backpack-toting software engineer strutted on to South Korea’s presidential campaign stage with the vow to reform the two-party system and heal the bipartisan split with a new shade of politics. The self-made entrepreneur, antivirus creator, and former school dean Ahn Cheol-soo attracted swarms of young voters who pinned hopes on ...

Last week the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States were in Washington, D.C. to remount a political charge against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s recent behavior. It’s encouraging to see President Xi Jinping chip in for world peace alongside Asia’s other power brokers, as it is to see Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean ...

BLOOMBERG Stocks fell around the world, while the yen and government bonds rallied, as heightened concern that global growth is faltering drove investors into haven assets. U.S. stocks sank a second day, as Allergan Plc plunged on concern that a clampdown on inversions may derail a merger with Pfizer Inc. Japan’s yen jumped to a 17-month high versus the U.S. ...

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has decreased by -1.11% to close at 4457.31 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has lost AED 8.1 billion attaining AED 723.03 billion. A total of 0.73 Billion Shares were traded with a total value of AED 0.79 billion during the trading session of 05-04-2016 through 8562 transactions. The number of companies which ...

Bloomberg Egypt’s government has set a new timeline for the completion of public and middle-income housing units, according to a cabinet statement. The statement went on to say the government has committed to delivering about 300,000 units by the end of 2016. Cairo also plans to deliver about 750,000 housing units by the end of 2018, in addition to the ...

Bloomberg US-based Hill International has won two contracts to provide construction services on real estate and tourism development projects in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. In Saudi Arabia, Hill has been awarded a contract from the local DUR Hospitality to provide services during the construction of the Diplomatic Quarter Marriott Hotel in Riyadh. Hill says its two-year contact has an estimated ...

Bloomberg U.S. apartment vacancies climbed in the first quarter as a flood of newly built units hit the market, slowing the rate of rent increases. Effective rents, or what tenants pay after landlord concessions, rose 4.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, down from 5 percent growth at the end of 2015, Reis Inc. said. The vacancy ...

Bloomberg Norway will let its sovereign wealth fund raise real estate holdings by about $17 billion, while rejecting a proposal to expand into infrastructure projects. The upper limit on real estate investments for the $850 billion fund, the world’s biggest, should be raised to 7 percent from 5 percent, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The real estate assets will ...

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business If you think of socialising in UAE, a nearby mall would be the first option to come to your mind. Malls are not just places of shopping in UAE, they are rather the lifeline of the country and imagining a life without access to malls is nearly impossible. Over the years, many factors have led ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Under the patronage of the Dubai Economic Council, the first edition of the Top CEO Conference drew to a spectacular close at the Westin Mina Seyahi, Dubai, on Tuesday. The first instalment of the event was organised by TRENDS magazine and leading international business school INSEAD. The conference was an open discussion between thought leaders, executives ...