Bloomberg China’s home prices rose in fewer cities in May than the previous month, with gains in some second-tier locations surpassing those in Shanghai and Shenzhen. New-home prices excluding affordable homes climbed in 60 cities, down from 65 in April, among the 70 tracked by the government, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. They dropped in four …

  Bloomberg Banco Popular Espanol SA raised €2.5bn from a sale of new shares, as the Spanish lender seeks to draw a line under losses stemming from the country’s property crash. Popular sold 2 billion new shares in the capital increase, which attracted total investor demand of €3.4 bn, or 136% of the amount raised, the bank said. Popular is …

  Bloomberg By the time interior designer Jacques Grange first entered the contemporary, bayside house at 1320 Flying Point Road, it was nearly complete. What he saw was “like a boat, very pleasant but dominating the view,” he said from his Paris office during a phone call. His decorating approach—chairs by Marcel Breuer, a sofa by Tobia Scarpa, and light, …

  ABU DHABI / WAM Foreign investors purchased AED 570.7.2 million worth of shares on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and sold AED 666.5 million over the week, DFM said on Thursday. Net foreign investment on the market reached AED 95.7 million, as aggregate sell. Value of shares bought by foreigner investors comprised 44.4 per cent of the total value of …

  Paris / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) pavilion showcasing the International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX) has drawn high interest from key exhibitors and decision makers in the global defence industry at the Eurosatory 2016 currently underway in the French capital Paris. Held under the patronage of His Highness …

  Dubai / WAM Microsoft opened a new centre of excellence for the oil & gas industry in Dubai. The Middle East and Africa centre has been launched to assist organisations in the sector to drive digital transformation, cut costs and optimise processes in their organisations. The centre, which is the largest such facility for Microsoft globally, will focus on emerging …

  Dubai / Emirates Business FGB, one of the leading banks in the UAE, is celebrating after its Ferrari card was recognised as the ‘Best Premium Credit Card’ at the 2016 Smart Card and Payments Awards for the second year in a row. Bank representatives received the award during a ceremony which recently took place at the Armani Hotel in …

  Dubai / WAM Passengers travelling to Melbourne, Australia will now have another direct flight option with Emirates announcing that flights EK408 and EK409 will begin operating as nonstop services from Dubai from October 30. Operated by an Emirates B777-300ER aircraft, EK408 will depart Dubai at 03:00hrs and arrive in Melbourne (MEL) at 23:20hrs. The return flight, EK409, will leave Melbourne …

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Arab Trade Financing Program (ATFP) approved 117 requests for financing trade deals worth US$249 million during its board meeting on Wednesday, which was dedicated to reviewing trade finance activities during the first quarter of the year. With the latest approvals, the cumulative volume of financing made available by the Abu Dhabi-based ATFP since inception in …

  Dubai / Emirates Business The second batch of graduates of the world’s pioneering Internal Auditing training programme were honoured at the recent graduation ceremony by UAE IAA in collaboration with the Higher Colleges of Technology and Protiviti at HCT, Abu Dhabi Men’s college and was attended by Abdulqader Obaid Ali, UAE IAA President, Ahmed Al Khouli, HCT Head of …