Abu Dhabi / WAM The second annual Mother of the Nation Festival, a national cultural and social event to honour, celebrate and commemorate the inspirational values of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, began at Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. Organised …

  Sharjah / WAM Tourism from China grew by 63 percent in 2016, compared to 2015 figures, to become the sixth largest source of tourists to the emirate, according to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). As tourist numbers from China continue to grow, SCTDA recently organised an event that focusses on continuing to increase visits from China. SCTDA …

  Dubai / WAM In an effort to encourage international investments and enhance cooperation, the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), which will take place in Dubai from 2nd- 4th April 2017, will discuss the role of free zones in shaping and promoting competitive economy. Spearheaded by leading experts of the industry, the discussion will focus on efforts of free zones in providing …

  Dubai / WAM The UAE is expected to increase expenditure, primarily in areas of infrastructure and developmental enterprises, which will reflect positively on the government’s revenues, according to a report released by an international consultancy recently. In a report published by the Dubai-based Arabic Language Al-Bayan newspaper, Knight Frank, a leading independent real estate consultancy, expected the UAE business outlook …

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Etihad Airways is reassuring passengers of its highest level of service to minimise disruption following the introduction of a new US travel directive on electronic devices. Effective March 25, passengers on all US-bound flights from, or transiting through, Abu Dhabi International Airport will be barred from carrying electronic devices bigger than a smartphone or mobile …

  Want to switch on the TV? Wait for the entire family to gather in the evening. That’s one of the strategies that Philippine Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi says his countrymen use to squeeze the most juice out of electricity. When President Rodrigo Duterte gets a moment from his drugs war, a busy economic agenda is crying out for attention. …

  It’s never easy for American businesses to make it in China. Cultural differences, government interference and the sheer cost of competing in a market that dwarfs the US have frustrated companies ranging from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Uber Technologies Inc. Those stumbles aren’t dissuading Airbnb Inc., however. This week the home-sharing pioneer announced that it’s changing its local brand …

  Silicon Valley technology executives tend to be control freaks. Snapchat’s founders made sure they didn’t have to listen to stockholders when deciding how to run the company. When Marissa Mayer was a senior Google executive, she instructed her staff to test 41 shades of blue to find just the right color for a website toolbar. Jack Dorsey made sure …

  Bloomberg Next Plc held its profit forecast and said it can mitigate a tough U.K. clothing market by improving ranges and switching suppliers, reassuring investors worried about the retailer’s price pressures and product challenges. The clothier maintained its forecast that profit will fall this year to between 680 million pounds ($849 million) and 780 million pounds, defying some analyst …

  Bloomberg Emaar Malls PJSC, the shopping-center unit of Dubai’s largest publicly-traded property developer, bid for online retailer Souq.com in a challenge to an offer made by Amazon.com Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The retail division of Emaar Properties PJSC, run by Mohamed Alabbar, offered about $800 million for Souq.com last week, which includes a convertible deposit …