Reuters Middle Eastern stock markets edged up in quiet trade on Sunday, with construction and building materials stocks boosting Saudi Arabia ahead of the release of its 2018 state budget this week. Saudi Arabia’s index added 0.3 percent as builder Khodari surged 7.6 percent in its heaviest trade since January. Najran Cement gained 4.5 percent and in addition to Khodari, ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business A technical delegation from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) visited the Kingdom of Bahrain to review the progress of the development projects financed by the Fund in the country. The projects are being implemented as part of the AED9.19 billion grant provided by the UAE to Bahrain within the framework of the GCC development ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, has called on all businesses to comply with the executive regulations of the Federal Law No. 08 of 2017 on Value Add Tax (VAT), and register online via the Federal Tax Authority’s website to receive a tax identification number, ...

Ras Al Khaimah / Emirates Business Ras Al Khaimah has been named the GCC’s ‘Favourite Adventure Destination’ at the 2017 Condé Nast Traveller Middle East Readers’ Choice Awards – the region’s premier travel industry honours. The award recognises the major strides the emirate has taken to develop international-standard adventure and activity tourism offerings centred around Jebel Jais – the UAE’s ...

Sharjah/ Emirates Business Sharjah Public Library (SPL) has launched its ‘Digital Library Collection’, providing 38,000 libraries and schools from around the world with access to 1,200 of the emirate’s eBooks and audiobooks. In cooperation with ‘Overdrive’, one of the leading digital reading platforms in education, the material is compatible with most mobile devices and PCs, giving instant global accessibility. The ...

Geneva / WAM The UAE has reiterated its serious commitment to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, stressing the importance of reaching gender balance as part of its fulfilment of said goals. Addressing the World Family Summit 2017 in Geneva, Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations and other International Organisations, said that ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), on Sunday launched the ‘Don’t Be Deceived’ campaign, to educate customers in general, and youth in particular, about the different ways of deception and fraud on smart devices and various modern technologies. The campaign, which was launched during a press conference at the Emirates Towers in Dubai, intends to raise awareness ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Cityland Group – developer of Cityland Mall, UAE’s first nature-inspired mall scheduled for launch in 2018 – on Sunday announced further progress in its leasing arrangements by signing up Matalan which is one of the leading fashion and lifestyle retailers across the globe. Founded in 1985, Matalan, the specialist retailer in fashion and homeware will occupy ...

Bloomberg Big Oil’s slump is over and industry domination beckons, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In 2018, companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Exxon Mobil Corp. will find themselves with a surplus of cash to fund dividends, ruling the world of deep water mega-projects and even coming out ahead in tax negotiations with oil-reliant governments around the globe, ...

Bloomberg New Jersey became the latest state to consider subsidizing nuclear power with a $320 million-a-year plan to keep struggling reactors from going out of business. The state’s two plants would get extra payments for providing emission-free power under legislation introduced in Trenton. The move follows similar efforts by New York and Illinois and comes amid pressure from Public Service ...