Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial hub connecting businesses and institutions with emerging market opportunities across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, welcomed one of India’s leading insurers HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited (HDFC Life) to its diverse portfolio of clients. HDFC International Life and Re Company Limited (HDFC International Life …

  AJMAN / Emirates Business As a result of Ajman’s steady growth, Ajman Sewerage has announced the commencement of two strategic projects, which will enable the utility company to further expand its network coverage while increasing the overall capacity and safety performance of its wastewater collection and transportation system. The projects, which are worth AED 75 million, include the construction …

  ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business Drones — also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) — have certainly come a long way in terms of their utility. More than those petty jobs of taking simple imagery or delivering light packets, drones are now seen as an asset when it comes to sprucing up homeland security of a nation. In the …

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Neuron Inc. — the fastest growing provider of innovative health insurance solutions — and NASCO France, a leader in insurance and reinsurance brokerage in …

  New York / AFP Two days before Britain’s referendum on breaking with the European Union, the largest US banks are preparing for a catastrophic scenario that could cost them billions of dollars. Amid the volatile atmosphere in Britain, the banks are outwardly keeping a straight face. “We are locked down on this,” said Michael Duvally, spokesman for Goldman Sachs, when …

  Bloomberg Brazil’s government says it struck a deal with state treasuries that’s designed to alleviate their fiscal crises without placing too much of a burden on federal coffers. The deal on the 427 billion reais ($126 billion) that states owe the federal government was reached in a meeting between Acting President Michel Temer and governors on Monday. It will …

  Bloomberg Corn from Brazil is heading to the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, just as the South American country grapples with a shortfall of the grain. The vessel, Samsun, is estimated to arrive Aug. 12 at port in Wilmington, North Carolina, an area with many poultry and hog operations, according to a sailing schedule from the state’s port authority. …

  Bloomberg Sugar prices in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer and exporter, have surged to a record, but that’s not enough to entice processors to increase investment, Louis Dreyfus Commodities Co.’s sugar unit says. While making the sweetener has become profitable again, companies are still reluctant to boost capacity as many still struggle with a debt hangover from the previous …

  Bloomberg In two years, pipeline giant Enterprise Products Partners LP will be capable of processing 800mn cubic feet of natural gas a day in an energy-rich stretch of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico known as the Delaware Basin — 20 times what it could handle in 2012. Behind this rapid expansion in one of America’s most prolific oil …

  Anushka Wijesinha SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Sri Lanka is in an enviable location. The busy East-West shipping route passes just six to ten nautical miles south of the island. More than 60,000 ships ply this route annually, carrying two-thirds of the world’s oil and half of all container shipments. Sri Lanka is also at the doorstep of a dynamic …