Emirates Business With less than a month to go, World Art Dubai 2016 is preparing to present a plethora of multinational artists to showcase their individual work and to connect them with art lovers from all kinds of cultural and social backgrounds. The four-day event, taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from April 6-9, will bring in artists …

Taipei / AFP Taiwan’s tech giant Hon Hai said on Wednesday it had finally sealed a takeover of Japanese electronics maker Sharp in a “historic” deal worth 389 billion yen ($3.5 billion). It is the first foreign acquisition of a major Japanese electronics firm and comes after weeks of delays, with Hon Hai buying a 66 percent controlling stake. But …

Brussels / AFP India’s prime minister will hold talks with EU leaders in Brussels, seeking to boost investment from his country’s biggest trading partner and deepen cooperation on counterterrorism. Narendra Modi was to meet European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels for the 13th EU-India summit, held little more than a week after deadly …

MANILA / AP Vijay Mallya, the former Indian billionaire now hounded by creditors, offered lenders as much as 60 billion rupees ($904 million) as settlement toward debt owed by the failed airline he founded, Bloomberg TV India reported, citing his lawyers. India’s Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that he will pay about 40 billion rupees ($603 million) by the …

Kathmandu / DPA Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has written to the Indian government requesting a supply of another 15,000 tonnes of cooking gas for next month as the country continues to suffer from a crippling shortage even one and a half months after the end of the embargo. Cooking gas shipments from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are expected to reach …

Seoul / AFP South Korea’s Samsung announced the launch of its mobile payment service in China, where it is likely to struggle in an already crowded market that arch-rival Apple entered nearly six weeks ago. The world’s second largest economy is also the world’s biggest smartphone market, and Samsung Pay has a powerful partner in China — bank card provider …

MANILA / AP Softer growth prospects for China and a weak recovery in major industrial economies are expected to push down economic growth in developing Asia to 5.7 percent this year and next, below projections, the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday. The gross domestic product of the region, made up of 45 countries, grew 5.9 percent in 2015. China’s …

Bloomberg Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju Yeol warned on Wednesday that economic growth for 2016 is poised to fall below 3 percent and said the impact of further interest-rate cuts may be limited. The comments come amid a change in the BOK’s board and speculation of additional rate cuts given the ruling party’s request for the bank to …

Bloomberg National Bank of Kenya Ltd. placed Managing Director Munir Ahmed on compulsory leave pending an internal audit, a day after dismissing speculation on social media that he’d been fired. Five top managers were also sent on leave, the Nairobi-based lender said in an e-mailed statement. The board appointed Wilfred Musau as acting-chief executive officer, it said. “The aforementioned actions …

JOHANNESBURG / Reuters South African lender Capitec Bank Holdings reported a 26 percent rise in full-year profit on Wednesday, in line with forecast, as growth in client numbers boosted both interest and transaction fee income. Capitec, which grants loans not supported by assets, said it gained 1 million active clients, to total 7.3 million customers, over the past year as …