Kuala Lumpur / AFP Rayani Air, Malaysia’s first Islamic-compliant airline, has been shut down, regulators said on Monday, months after it was suspended from flying for breaching aviation regulations. The carrier launched only in December with Muslim flight crew wearing the hijab while non-Muslim members were forbidden from wearing revealing clothing. In-flight meals were completely halal and alcohol consumption banned. …

  Seoul / AFP South Korea’s Lotte Group said on Monday it was scrapping an initial public offering worth almost four billion dollars amid a widening investigation into alleged embezzlement by its founding family. Hotel Lotte — the group’s key unit — had planned to list shares worth at least 4.6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) on Seoul’s main stock market …

  Mumbai / Tribune News Service The Wadia group-owned budget airline GoAir is likely to start international services by early next year, civil aviation secretary R.N. Choubey said. Meanwhile, GoAir’s 20th aircraft, Airbus A320neo, landed at the Delhi airport on Monday. A domestic airline needs a 20-aircraft fleet to fly abroad, and GoAir inducted its 20th Airbus A320neo plane this …

  New York / Bloomberg It’s time for Urban Outfitters to re-think its thing for physical stores. Shares in the hipster-chic retailer dropped by as much as 9 percent after it warned investors, in a quarterly results filing, of falling sales in the current quarter. More than half a dozen Wall Street analysts subsequently cut their share-price targets. The consensus …

  Shanghai / Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is preparing to name its China head, Sean Clarke, as the chief executive officer of the UK supermarket chain Asda, Sky News reported. Wal-Mart may make an announcement as soon as this week, although the timing of the change is unclear, according to the broadcaster, which cited unidentified people. Andy Clarke, CEO of …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates NBD, one of the leading banking groups in the region, was awarded ‘Best Mobile Banking Experience’ for its superior mobile app, reinforcing Emirates NBD’s strides in the digitisation of banking, at the recently held Smart Cards & Payments Middle East Awards 2016. The bank’s mobile app was recognised for its widely used services including …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Al Hilal Bank acquired a Private Placement funding worth USD $225 million under its existing Trust Certificate Issuance Programme of USD$2.5 billion. This is the second tranche under the programme. The first funding secured was worth USD$500 million for five years, and was issued back in 2013. Al Hilal Bank, PJSC (A1/-/A+) is the …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Flight College (EFC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has taken delivery of the first of four Embraer Phenom 100E. Etihad Flight College will be the first flight school in the world to use the Phenom 100E in the initial phase of flying training. The …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Visa (NYSE: V), a global payments technology company, announced that more online shopping sites in the UAE now offer Visa Checkout, the digital checkout service that allows shoppers to pay with their cards online and on any device that’s connected to the Internet, with just a few clicks. Visa Checkout-enabled shopping sites include Emirates Airline, …

  Dubai / Emirates Business GAC EnvironHull, part of global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC Group, announced that its pioneering hull cleaning system, HullWiper, will be available to ship-owners berthing in the Port of Rotterdam next month. HullWiper — which will be demonstrated at an event co-hosted by GAC EnvironHull and the Port of Rotterdam at the port …