Bloomberg Fidelity Bank Plc expects profit to rise by 30 percent this year as it benefits from investments in high-yielding Nigerian government debt and improving supplies of foreign exchange, even after the country’s economy declined for the first time in 25 years. Fidelity is able to buy Nigerian 10-year bonds that yield more than 16 percent, the second-highest among …

  Bloomberg Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., (ICBC) the world’s largest lender by assets, reported its strongest quarterly profit growth in two years as soured credit and lending margins stabilized amid an uptick in the economy. Net income rose 1.4 percent to 75.79 billion yuan ($11 billion) in the three months ended March 31 from 74.76 billion yuan …

  ABU DHABI / WAM The statistics by the UAE Central Bank affirmed improved operating efficiency, with public sector deposits up by AED23.8 billion at the end of Q1 2017, while the private sector deposits stood at AED17.6 billion over the same period, bringing to AED41.4 billion ($11.27bn) the two sectors’ total deposits. Credits offered to the trade and industrial …

  Dubai / Agencies The estimated value of the building and construction industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to surge to US$336 billion by the year 2020, according to recent business reports. Thermal insulation technologies provide efficient solutions conducive to increasing the value of the industry in MENA from $235 billion in 2016 to …

  ABU DHABI / AGENCIES First Abu Dhabi Bank is “seriously studying” expanding into Saudi Arabia, either through acquisitions or a new license, its chief executive officer told Al Khaleej newspaper. All opportunities for local and foreign acquisitions are open to the bank, Abdulhamid Saeed, said in an interview with the Arabic daily. First Abu Dhabi Bank was created with …

  SHARJAH / WAM Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has released details of the key themes of the Euromoney Emirates Conference to be held on May 8-9 at the Sheraton Sharjah Hotel, under the theme ‘Finance and Investment for an Innovative Economy’. Held under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy …

Dubai / WAM Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dubai Economy to allow companies operating within DIFC to obtain licenses to operate in mainland Dubai. Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, and Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General of Dubai Economy, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which aims to increases levels of governance, compliance and transparency for businesses …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking and finance education and training, hosted a high-level conference to discuss the implications of value-added tax (VAT) on businesses in the UAE. The tax will kick in on January 1, 2018.The event convened more than 200 senior bankers, management consultants and experts …

  Donald Trump’s tax plan, if adopted, has been seen as an unmitigated windfall for corporate America. Cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from its current effective rate of around 28 percent could generate nearly $2 trillion in additional income for the companies in the S&P 500 index alone over a decade. But a surprising number of companies …

  Germany’s No. 1 lender is leaner, more profitable and more financially robust than a year ago. That’s good news for shareholders who have suffered through two years of losses, and taxpayers nervous about the health of the country’s banking system. The bad news is that revenue is still underwhelming. Despite a blowout quarter for most of Wall Street’s debt-trading …