Cape Town / Bloomberg South African furniture retailer JD Group Ltd. plans to close about 260 stores employing thousands of workers as it seeks to stabilize its finances. About 1,800 employees will be affected, according to the company, although a trade union put the figure at 4,110. The closings are key to securing the employment of JD Group’s remaining employees, ...

Pyongyang / Bloomberg Change is in the air in North Korea. After years of being ranked by Skytrax as the world’s worst airline, national carrier Air Koryo is undergoing a revolution, according to interviews with passengers and travel agents. New planes, new in-flight entertainment options, smart new uniforms for the cabin attendants, even business class. It’s all part of supreme ...

ABU DHABI / WAM H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Monday received the visiting International Monetary Fund Director General, Christine Lagarde, at the ministry. During their meeting, they discussed cooperation between the UAE and IMF, latest economic developments, as well as other issues of mutual interests. Sheikh Abdullah welcomed Lagarde, noting ...

Sharjah / EMIRATES BUSINESS With the region looking at increasing its downstream capabilities as part of its economic diversification policies, the regional plastics, molds, printing and packaging industries are virtually untouched by declining oil prices as well as other economic and political headwinds. Top executives, who turned up for the opening of a multi-industry trade event at Expo Centre Sharjah, believe ...

Abu Dhabi / EMIRATES BUSINESS Global Financial Markets Forum (GFMF), the annual conference organised by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), will kick off for a two-day conference on March 2nd and 3rd at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. The Forum is designed to offer thought provoking content on major regional and international issues from the perspectives of regulators, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi-based investment and development company, on Monday announced that wholly owned asset Strata Manufacturing PJSC (Strata), the advanced composite aero-structures manufacturing facility, has made a range of new leadership appointments in order support Strata’s next phase of growth, including its expanding portfolio of products and capabilities for global original equipment manufacturers ...

KUWAIT / WAM Dubai-based flydubai will operate up to 17 flights a day between Kuwait and Dubai between February 23 and 29 . The 26 extra flights added to the schedule will accommodate the increase in passenger numbers between the two cities during Kuwait’s 55th National and Liberation Day Holiday. The carrier, which has been operating from the convenient Sheikh ...

DUBAI / WAM The price of Oman Crude Oil Financial Contract, DME Oman, for April delivery, closed at US$30.81 a barrel at Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 12:30 p.m., Dubai time. DME Oman crude oil is a benchmark for pricing crude oil by the countries that produce it, and it gives them a differential price that reflects the quality of the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi City Municipality has held a unique park awareness event in Mohammed bin Zayed City, concurrent with the opening of new parks. The event was held to showcase the municipal system’s vision and plans to broaden the scope of recreational facilities, add more green areas, and construct world-class parks to serve the community. The ...

Dubai / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) held a smart clinic on Monday to discuss employee health initiatives. Badriya Al Harmi, community medicine specialist at DHA’s Al Barsha Health Centre said: “Employee health awareness and healthy initiatives helps reduce absenteeism, helps reduce the burden of non-communicable lifestyle diseases and helps reduce companies’ healthcare costs. Therefore employee health awareness ...