Dubai / EMIRATES BUSINESS Despite global economic volatility over the past year, which contributed to multiple downward revisions for growth forecasts, investment appetite among UAE High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) does not appear to be dented, with 61% confirming that they would most likely invest in their top target city during 2016, according to leading international real estate consultancy, Cluttons. ...

Doha / EMIRATES BUSINESS Barwa Real Estate Company plans to develop several new projects in 2016. Company’s Annual General Assembly meeting held on March 16 endorsed recommendation of Board of Directors to distribute cash dividends of 22 percent, equivalent to QR2.20 per share. Addressing the shareholders, H E Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali, Chairman of the Board, Barwa Real Estate ...

Bloomberg Lenders are getting stingier when it comes to funding risky U.S. real estate developments, putting pressure on landlords in need of fresh funding to keep their projects afloat. Banks are proceeding with caution as the specter of slowing economic growth rattles financial markets and shakes investor confidence in a six-year recovery that’s helped lift property values to records. Lenders ...

Bloomberg Qatar Airways remains on the hunt for a stake in discount carrier IndiGo to add to its portfolio of holdings after failing to buy shares of India’s largest airline at the time of last year’s initial public offering. “I cannot force the owners to sell a stake to me,” Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said. “But if they ...

BASEL / AFP The world’s biggest watch fair opened in the Swiss city of Basel on Thursday as a slumping luxury market and the soaring popularity of connected timepieces cast gloom over the industry. Baselworld is the highlight of the year for watch and jewellery makers, with retailers flooding in to snap up the latest eye-candy for their showcases. The ...

Bloomberg When a Fastjet Plc plane flew from Tanzanian business hub Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria on Nov. 29, 2012, Chief Executive Officer Ed Winter lauded the service as heralding the start of low-cost travel in Africa. Barely three years on and Winter quit this week after a spat with backer and EasyJet Plc founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou ...

Frankfurt / AFP German airline Lufthansa said on Thursday it will resume dividend payments to shareholders after profits soared in 2015, helped by low oil prices, and are set to increase again this year. Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said that despite an “emotionally challenging year” due to the Germanwings air crash and the burden of repeated strike action by ...

NEW YORK / AP Forget about slipping out of your shoes because of loose laces or feeling pressure from too-tight tying when doing those sprints. Nike Inc. has unveiled its first power-lacing sneaker — it allows users to make the fit looser or snugger on the fly by pressing buttons on the side of the shoe. The world’s largest sportswear ...

Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business “Lives are crying because it’s not clean, Earth is dying because it’s not green” – I came across these lines while vaguely browsing through internet trying to find the best thing ever said about our planet. I must admit, it shook me to the core. Not because I am not aware of the numerous campaigns ...

Emirates Business In cooperation with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, DCCE, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has launched the Carbon Neutral initiative to neutralise all carbon emissions during Earth Hour. This will be achieved by adopting the Clean Development Mechanism, CDM, across all DEWA projects based on the Kyoto protocol, which is directly linked to the United Nations ...