Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Ports is on-pace to close 2019 with impressive year-to-date results and recording-breaking milestones, underlining the company’s continued contribution to the UAE’s non-oil GDP. Two of these milestones were achieved in the eleven months spanning from January to November 2019. During the period, the company handled more than 20 million tonnes of general cargo ...

Bloomberg The looming dissolution of Thailand’s highest-profile opposition party is set to strengthen the military-backed government’s grip on power as authorities signal their next move against the movement’s popular leader. The Future Forward party of Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the third-largest in parliament, faces a trial as early as January for funding violations that it denies. Separately, Thanathorn and one other party ...

Bloomberg The US and its allies called on United Nations members to reveal whether they’re complying with UN-imposed sanctions requiring the repatriation of North Korean workers, part of an effort to squeeze Pyongyang of much-needed foreign currency inflows. As part of a series of resolutions passed in 2017, UN member states were required to send back all North Korean laborers ...

Bloomberg In a landmark summit, the leaders of Japan and South Korea signaled they wouldn’t let relations spin out of control even as they made little progress in resolving disputes that have plunged relations to new depths. South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that cooperation was crucial in the face of regional security threats as ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said it will start building a comprehensive identity database of all those living in India, amid a growing public uproar over the administration’s move to grant citizenship to undocumented migrants based on religion. The plan to create a National Population Register has been criticized by the opposition as a precursor to countrywide citizens register ...

Bloomberg An intensifying storm struck the Philippines on Christmas Eve, disrupting holiday travel plans in Asia’s largest Catholic nation. Typhoon Phanfone, called Ursula locally and upgraded from a tropical storm, hit the central Philippines on Tuesday, stranding thousands of travelers and prompting authorities to advise residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas to leave their homes. Phanfone made landfall in Eastern ...

Bloomberg It’s been a good year for Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. The Indian tycoon added almost $17 billion to his wealth as of December 23, the most in Asia, taking his net worth to about $61 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In comparison, Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma’s net worth grew $11.3 billion, while Jeff Bezos lost ...

Bloomberg Residents of Hong Kong are hunting for homes all over the world as tense anti-government protests look set to drag into the new year. Real estate brokers from Australia to Canada have seen a surge in interest over the past few weeks, with the desire to secure a safer future prompting many to look beyond the Asian financial hub. ...

Bloomberg India’s slowing economy is sparking a wave of consolidation, creating opportunities for Asian lenders. It’s worked like this: Banks desperate for higher yields have turned to lending for leveraged buyouts in India. The loans have supported private equity funds executing the deals. Foreign-currency syndicated LBO loan volumes involving India have jumped to $891 million across four deals in 2019, ...

Bloomberg Japan’s government is considering holding off on its plan to sell about $10 billion worth of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co through this fiscal year following scandals involving its insurance unit, according to people familiar with the situation. Concern over corporate governance and the tumbling stock price have made it difficult to sell the third and final tranche ...