BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon’s government plans to swap $5 billion of new foreign currency bonds for Lebanese pound debt with the central bank, in an operation its finance minister suggested would slash the cost of servicing its huge debt pile by as much as $1.5 billion. Ali Hassan Khalil, speaking in parliament, said 218 billion pounds ($145 million) of the …

Bloomberg Japanese banks must move forward with consolidation by using everything from mergers to informal tie-ups to tackle declining profitability, according to the new chief of the industry’s main lobby group. “Consolidation has to advance from here, and the formats for doing this are going to get more diverse,” Koji Fujiwara, who starts as chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association …

Bloomberg Pakistan’s central bank unexpectedly left its benchmark interest rate unchanged after a second currency devaluation in four months. The target policy rate will stay at 6 percent, the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement. The move was predicted by only three of 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey with rest expecting a hike. The central bank unexpectedly …

Bloomberg John Thain, a former chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, is expected to join Deutsche Bank AG’s supervisory board in May, according to a person with knowledge of the German lender’s plans. News of the board’s shakeup follows speculation that Deutsche Bank is seeking to replace Chief Executive Officer John Cryan. The CEO, who has been trying to restructure …

Bloomberg Mario Draghi has six months left to prepare a retreat from ultra-loose monetary policy, and he has a ready-made roadmap on hand. The US Federal Reserve’s experience of halting quantitative easing, raising interest rates and starting to shrink its balance sheet provides both a blueprint and a cautionary tale for the European Central Bank president. It’s an easy example …

HARVARD / WAM The International Conference on Humanitarian Crises, which was held at Harvard Club of Boston, has hailed the UAE’s pioneering role in humanitarian field. The participants praised HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, for her role …

NEW YORK / WAM United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent and transparent investigation into clashes at the Gaza fence between Palestinians participating in the ‘Great Return March’ and Israeli security forces which resulted in at least 15 deaths and a large number of injured. The UN chief’s call for a probe came as the Security Council …

HONG KONG / Reuters China is taking its first steps towards paying for imported crude oil in yuan instead of the US dollar, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a key development in Beijing’s efforts to establish its currency internationally. Shifting just part of global oil trade into the yuan is potentially huge. Oil is the world’s …

Bloomberg Fifty-five years after starting natural gas production from Europe’s biggest field, the Netherlands have signed its death warrant. Output from the Groningen deposit will be cut by two-thirds from the year starting October 2022 and halt by 2030 to ensure the safety of people in the province of the same name after earthquakes linked to extraction, Economy Minister Eric …

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp., Total SA and Lukoil PJSC are among international companies interested to win rights to develop 11 oil and gas border fields as OPEC’s number two producer continues to build production capacity. Iraq plans to hold a bidding round on April 15 and award service contracts the same day for companies to develop 11 onshore and offshore …