Michelle DeFreese SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with heads of state in four African countries during his first visit to the African continent since he took office in 2014. Modi’s official visits will take him to Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. Notably, his arrival in Mozambique will mark the first time an Indian ...

  Bloomberg It took seven working days from the result of Britain’s shock vote to leave the European Union for Standard Life Investments to freeze withdrawals from its £2.9 billion ($3.8 billion) U.K. real estate fund. For investors wanting to get money out, the wait is likely to be a lot longer. Standard Life’s decision, soon followed by six other ...

  Bloomberg Hammerson Plc, the specialist retail real estate company, said demand for its properties in the U.K. remained strong after Britain’s voted to leave the European Union last month. ”We’ve seen no let-up in leasing demand — there is a healthy level of leasing activity,” Chief Executive Officer David Atkins said in an interview . ”We continue to have ...

  Bloomberg The outlook for the U.K. property market is getting a whole lot worse. Barclays Plc cut its homebuilder ratings and London investor Great Portland Estates Plc warned about weakening office markets in the U.K. capital as Britain’s economic prospects worsen following the vote to leave the European Union. “Recent events have spooked markets — with good reason,” Barclays ...

  Bloomberg Norwegians love their homes. Nearly 85% of them own the property they live in, usually with the help of a bank. So much so, in fact, that Norway has the highest proportion of mortgages in Europe – 65.6% of the population has a home loan, according to latest available data from Eurostat. That questionable record is partly the ...

  Bloomberg Manhattan renters left their apartments in search of better deals last month, pushing back against landlord price increases and taking advantage of a flood of new choices on the market. New apartment leases totaled 5,203, a 34 percent jump from a year earlier and the first increase for June since 2012, according to a report by appraiser Miller ...

  Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business Banking apps and mobile wallets will soon surpass the traditional payment methods in the UAE as more and more customers seek comfort in cashless payment systems. A vast appetite for technological advancements in the payments industry is helping in making the country one of the leading countries in the world, when it comes to ...

  Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business Robots will no longer be just machines. As innovation drives many technological advancements around the world, IT company ASUS has come up with its first-ever tech-kid — ‘Zenbo’. The home robot has specific functions which include assisting senior family members with their health, giving reminders of important information, monitoring and alerting about emergency situations ...

  Alkesh Sharma / Emirates Business Members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) always have a unique advantage when it comes to Muslim travel, thanks to the plethora of Muslim-friendly facilities and services available. However, some non-OIC destinations have also started targeting the Muslim travel market and are making sustainable efforts to offer tailor-made services to attract them. Recent ...

  Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business Mobile phones are an integral part of digital advancements that are transforming almost every sector these days. Experts say the Mobile Capture technology will change the face of information management soon. Stressing on the importance of a high-tech future, Emma Isichei, Worldwide Category Director, Capture Solutions at Kodak Alaris, emphasizes the need for adopting ...