Bloomberg The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is poised to become the latest central bank to test its own digital currency, which it will use in a trial of a blockchain-driven system for interbank payments. The ‘proof-of-concept’ project, which also involves the city’s stock exchange and eight banks, is aimed at simplifying the payments process and reducing transaction costs, ...

  Bloomberg Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd. became the first of the country’s biggest banks to report a drop in nine-month profit as it tripled loan-loss provisions and bad loans surged. The bank partially owned by Barclays Plc’s Africa unit posted profit of 6.06 billion shillings ($59.5 million) in the nine months through September, compared with 6.4 billion shillings a ...

  Bloomberg ABN Amro Group NV, the state-controlled Dutch lender that returned to the stock market last year, reported a 19 percent jump in third-quarter profit and said it would cut 1,500 jobs as it steps up cost reductions. Underlying net income, which strips out one-time items, rose to 607 million euros ($652 million) from 509 million euros a year ...

  DUBAI / Reuters The Kingdom of Bahrain is in talks with lenders for an Islamic bond, or sukuk, which is expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2017, banking sources said. No banks have been appointed yet to arrange the debt transaction, the bankers said on condition of anonymity because the information has not been made public. ...

  NEW DELHI / AP The first people showed up at the bank long before dawn, forming a line in the cold and the smog and silently waiting for the chance to withdraw their own money. They left more than seven hours later, each holding the handful of bills, worth $60 at the very most, that they’d been allowed to ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business International Petroleum Investment Company (‘IPIC’ or ‘the Group’), wholly-owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, recorded an operating profit of US$ 1.43 billion for the first half of 2016, with its core energy investments producing a robust performance despite the lower oil price environment. IPIC, which invests across the energy value ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business As a part of its ongoing commitment to environment, health and safety (EHS), Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) as a socially responsible organization has taken additional safety measures by installing bollards in front of all facilities across its service station network in UAE to protect customers, staff and assets. In an effort to reduce the ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business In its efforts to continue engaging with customers through various channels, Mashreq, the UAE’s leading financial institution will be engaging with customers and the public through a LIVE Facebook session on November 17 at 6 pm to answer any queries about the property market such as when is a good time to buy and what ...

  Sharjah / Emirates Business Fifty percent of the AED 100 million renovation project, Al Bait Hotel in Sharjah, has been developed, as announced by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). The new hotel, which is expected to be a prestigious hospitality and heritage landmark located in the Heart of Sharjah – the largest heritage-focused project in the region, ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The digital age has drastically altered how businesses market their products. Thanks to the meteoric rise of digital solutions, marketing has now emerged as a more powerful and a resource-rich function of business. Marketing, now more than ever, is the most integral function responsible for creating and sustaining an enduring relationship with the most important ...