Bloomberg Hermes International says growth in greater China remains rapid despite months of protests in the luxury shopping hub of Hong Kong. A “slight acceleration” in mainland China will offset the impact from store closures in Hong Kong, which was most significant in August, Hermes Chief Financial Officer Eric du Halgouet said on a conference call. “Globally, our performance in …

Bloomberg Since taking the reins at Spirit Airlines Inc this year, Ted Christie has overseen a 38 percent share decline and a deteriorating financial outlook. But just wait for next year as the discounter steps up efforts to squeeze more revenue out of travellers. “Nobody’s satisfied with the performance to date and I am certainly among that group,” Spirit’s chief …

DUBAI / WAM The UAE has ranked first globally in mobile-broadband subscriptions and network coverage, and second in mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, according to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, issued by the World Economic Forum. Commenting on this achievement, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director-General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, stated, “The UAE’s global achievements are the result of …

Bloomberg Oil advanced to highest level since July after the head of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said that the group had been “very conservative” with its oil demand estimates and that there was no global recession on the horizon. Futures rose as much as 1.6% in New York on Tuesday, gaining for the fifth consecutive day. At a …

Bloomberg Arabtec Holding shares soared in Dubai after the company started talks to merge with Abu Dhabi-based Trojan Holding LLC. The stock advanced as much as 13%, the steepest intraday gain since July 2017, as Arabtec said the entities began a study to potentially combine their construction businesses and may merge after technical, financial and legal reviews. It didn’t provide …

Bloomberg A spat between the world’s most populous countries is holding up a pan-Asian trade agreement encompassing nearly a third of all global trade. Trade ministers from 16 Asia-Pacific countries this week hailed a “critical milestone” after seven years of talks and vowed to wind them up before a regional summit in November. But officials involved in the process say …

Bloomberg State oil giant Saudi Aramco said it’s lining up banks for its long-awaited initial public offering (IOPO) as the sale is now imminent. Banks will be chosen “soon,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi. Confirmation of the underwriters will signal that the share sale — set to be the world’s largest — is …

Bloomberg Poland won a European Union court ruling that limits Russia’s control of a key natural gas link. The eastern European nation successfully challenged a European Commission decision from 2016 that allowed Gazprom PJSC to use most of the capacity on the Opal pipeline in Germany. That link in turn carries fuel from the Baltic Sea Nord Stream pipeline, a …

Bloomberg Uganda is seeking $3.5 billion in private investment to expand its power-transmission network in attempt to curb spending without slowing its economic growth. Liberalising transmission will provide additional resources needed to transmit power from new generation projects including the 600-megawatt Karuma hydropower plant scheduled to start output in December, according to the electricity regulator. The capital injection, above the …

Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz gave car buyers a glimpse of the top-end of its electric model plans, showing off a sleek silver battery-powered concept version to complement the flagship S-Class sedan. So far luxury cruisers have remained a mainstay for traditional combustion-era heroes, with only plug-in hybrids available for the likes of BMW 7-Series or the recently revamped Audi A8. Mercedes-maker Daimler …