Dubai / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA), and Dubai Land Department (DLD), have confirmed that the UAE’s recently introduced VAT will have a limited impact on the real estate sector. FTA and DLD have stated that all real estate transactions, with the exception of the sale of vacant commercial properties and commercial property leases, will be either not subject ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a friend of the US. “A lot of people are at work” because of Saudi Arabia’s business, Trump said, adding that the kingdom has finalised $12.5 billion in purchases of planes, missiles and frigates from US companies. Crown prince Mohammed praised the kingdom’s “really deep” relationship with the ...

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, hours after the Kremlin said there’d been no call to congratulate the Russian leader on his re-election. Trump “congratulated Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential elections,” and the two leaders discussed a possible meeting, the Kremlin said in a statement. “The conversation was constructive and business-like, and ...

Bloomberg Kenya’s biggest opposition party called for an independent probe of Cambridge Analytica’s role in last year’s protrac-ted presidential elections that were marred by violence. “We would be interested in the truth about the role of Cambridge Analytica in spreading divisive propaganda in our election cycle,” Orange Democratic Movement Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna said on Tuesday by phone from Nairobi, the ...

Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that efforts to widen divisions with Taiwan would be “punished by history” in a nationalistic speech to mark the start of his second term. In an address to China’s almost 3,000-member national parliament, Xi said China had the capabilities to stop any attempt to formalise the democratically ruled island’s independence. The remarks came just ...

BEIRUT / Reuters President Donald Trump used the annual presidential statement marking the Persian holiday of Nowruz to criticize Iran’s government and military leaders with sharp-tongued language rarely before seen in a celebratory presidential message. “The history of Nowruz is rooted in Iran, where for millennia a proud nation has overcome great challenges by the strength of its culture and ...

Bloomberg Samuel Okunola shares the frustration of many Nigerians with the man he voted for three years ago, President Muhammadu Buhari. The 52-year-old tailor no longer feels he can support him in elections next year, but he doesn’t see an alternative. “I can’t vote for Buhari in 2019,” Okunola said in an interview at his shop in the upscale Victoria ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Investments has announced plans to lead a consortium of investors to launch Arkan Bank, a wholesale Islamic financial institution with an initial paid-up capital of $100 million. The authorised share capital of Arkan Bank will be $500 million. Arkan Bank is applying to the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), for approval for a prudential ‘Category 5’ ...

Sharjah/ Emirates Business The Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC) and the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD), launched a ‘single-window’ service exclusively for female entrepreneurs to accelerate business processing, including applications, permits, visas and licences. SBWC is one of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment’s (NAMA) entities. The NAMA-SEDD initiative is in line with the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Meraas announced the winners of its first annual brokers awards at a ceremony held at the Yacht Club at Bulgari Resort & Residences Dubai on Jumeira Bay. The Meraas Brokers Awards were created to recognise the impact leading real estate brokers have had on the industry in Dubai, and the ceremony coincided with an exclusive sales ...