DUBAI / Reuters National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf Arab state’s largest commercial lender, reported a 5.4 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, in line with analysts’ forecasts, according to Reuters calculations. The bank made a net profit of 80.0 million dinars ($266.3 million) in the three months to December 31, compared with 75.9 million dinars a year earlier, ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc and the US Justice Department, announcing last week that the bank would pay $100 million for front-running client currency orders, left one thing unstated — the name of a big client the bank’s traders defrauded. That unidentified victim was London-based insurer Prudential Plc, according to court records and testimony in a related case and a person ...

MUSCAT / Reuters Global oil producers are in agreement that they should continue cooperating on production after their deal on supply cuts expires at the end of this year, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Sunday. It was the first time Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, had publicly stated OPEC and non-OPEC producers would keep cooperating ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) partnered with Rolls-Royce to lay the groundwork for the provision of enhanced naval shipbuilding, repair and refit services across the GCC. Dr Khaled Al Mazrouei, CEO of ADSB, and Leo Pantazopoulos, Rolls-Royce’s Senior Vice President, Asia & Middle East, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see the companies move ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM In yet a new bid to help drive the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) across the UAE, Oracle announced the opening of a first-of-its-kind Innovation Hub in Dubai. As the nation celebrates the centennial of the birth of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan with the ‘Year of Zayed’ initiative, Oracle has named the new ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.7 trillion in 2018, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2017, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. “Global IT spending growth began to turn around in 2017, with continued growth expected over the next few years. However, uncertainty looms as organizations consider the potential impacts of Brexit, ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has been recognised as the Fastest Growing Bank in the country at this year’s International Finance Magazine Awards. The International Finance Magazine (IFM) Awards recognises and honors individuals and organisations that make a difference and bring significant value to the international finance industry. Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank, said, ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Investments has acquired additional 50% stake in Emirates District Cooling (Emicool) from Union Properties for AED500 million. Following this acquisition, Dubai Investments owns 100% stake in Emicool. Khalid bin Kalban, MD and CEO of Dubai Investments, said, “The transaction strengthens Dubai Investments’ portfolio in the utility service domain, growing its asset base, and is expected to ...

Bloomberg After lagging behind other precious metals in 2017, platinum is finally outperforming, and hedge funds are taking notice. Money managers increased their bets on a rally for platinum, a commodity used in pollution-control devices for cars. Investors had been pessimistic on prices until the start of this year, but that sentiment changed as signs of synchronised global growth boosted ...

REUTERS Gulf stock markets mostly edged down on Sunday with Saudi Arabia pulling further away from a major resistance level, although a surge by fuel distributor ADNOC Distribution buoyed Abu Dhabi. The Saudi index slipped 0.3 percent to 7,518 points, pulling away from the July peak of 7,586 points. Dairy company Almarai dropped 1.9 percent after reporting fourth-quarter net profit ...