Kathmandu / DPA Industrialists in Birgunj, southern Nepal, have complained that increasing human settlements around the Birgunj industrial corridor has made it difficult for them to operate their factories. About half a dozen new residential areas have sprung up along the industrial corridor from Gandak to Pathlaiya. The industrial zone is one of the largest manufacturing centres in the country. ...

New Delhi / Bloomberg Until a week ago, India’s metal companies were almost written off by investors amid the worst price slump in six years. They may be starting to get their sheen back now. Federal budget proposals on February 29 to boost infrastructure spending by 15 percent and take electricity to every household by 2018 have spurred a rally ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi — the leading aviation industry playmaker in the region — has launched the first-ever Abu Dhabi Aviation & Aerospace Week (ADAAW), which will run until March 12. The landmark inauguration event is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme ...

Emirates Business Al Hilal Bank is participating as a Silver Sponsor in the ‘Emirati Women: Excellence & Innovation 2016’ Conference, scheduled on March 8, in conjunction with the International Women’s Day. This conference will be held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation, Chairperson of the UAE Women’s General Union ...

Emirates Business The overall market sentiment may look a bit challenging across sectors, but one award has inspired companies to buck the trend, so to say. The 2016 Product of the Year Gulf Awards (POY), renowned worldwide for its recognition of innovation, has once again reaffirmed its popularity with more and more companies implementing innovative business models in order to ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Italian luxury sports car brand, Ferrari launched Ferrari GTC4Lusso at the Geneva Motor Show. The new model is a new four-seater that integrates rear-wheel steering with four-wheel drive for the first time, hailing another major advance for the versatile sporty Grand Tourer concept. As Ferrari’s latest clarification of the four-seater, a configuration that holds a very ...

Dubai / Emirates Business With the advent of a true knowledge economy developing across the region, Huawei has partnered with Edutech Middle East to launch a Smart Education solution, which improves student interaction through active learning and making classrooms borderless, at the Gulf Educational Supplies and Solutions (GESS). Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will have to deliver plenty to meet the expectations of euro bears next week. With Draghi under increasing pressure to boost inflation in the euro region, investors are preparing for a range of measures at next week’s policy meeting, including a cut to the deposit rate and a boost to the ECB’s quantitative-easing ...

Bloomberg U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne dropped a plan to overhaul pension tax relief after pressure from industry groups and fellow Conservative lawmakers. Osborne last year studied whether to scrap some pension giveaways and was predicted to flesh out plans in his March 16 budget, only to be warned off amid concerns it would hurt affluent voters. The ...

Bloomberg With talk swirling about the Norwegian interest rate heading to zero, the nation’s finance minister is confident its banks can withstand the added pressure to their balance sheets. “The Norwegian banking system is very robust and has been able to adjust quickly to the new demands in regulatory framework,” Siv Jensen said in Oslo. “They are robust enough to ...