Bloomberg Inditex SA, the world’s biggest clothing retailer, is seeking a buyer for 16 Zara stores in Iberia as online purchasing takes off in Spain. Inditex, owned and founded by Amancio Ortega, the world’s fourth-richest man, is seeking $472 million for the stores in a 20-year sale-and-leaseback agreement that would give the buyer the right to vacate the properties after ...

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda unit has appointed a former Amazon.com Inc. finance director to help it turn around its struggling UK business, according to people familiar with the matter. Rob McWilliam will rejoin Asda as a part-time strategic adviser to new Chief Executive Officer Roger Burnley, said the people, who asked not to be named as the information is ...

Bloomberg Imran Ameer booked tickets to spend 10 days on the beaches of Lombok, near Bali, with his pregnant wife and 17-month-old daughter. Then Mount Agung in eastern Bali erupted, forcing the 28-year-old from Melbourne to scrap that plan. He’s not alone. With a possibility of the volcano erupting again any time, scores of hotel rooms and flights to Bali ...

Bloomberg Joyalukkas, world’s favourite jeweller, has launched its new showroom in the bustling metropolis of South Extension, Delhi. The new showroom was inaugurated by Sri. Vijay Prakash Jain, Secretary General, Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, last week, which was an exciting affair attended by local dignitaries, VIPs and chief executives of the Joyalukkas Group. Set at the heart of the exciting ...

Dubai / Reuters The United Arab Emirates economy is expected to recover gradually next year without suffering a significant blow to growth from the introduction of a 5 percent value-added tax in January, a senior International Monetary Fund official said. Natalia Tamirisa, IMF mission chief to the Ara b world’s second biggest economy, said Dubai’s spending on preparations to host ...

ABU DHABI / Reuters Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala has made 15 to 16 investments in technology firms as part of a partnership with SoftBank Group of Japan, deputy group chief executive Waleed al-Muhairi told a conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Mubadala has committed $15 billion to SoftBank’s $93 billion private equity fund, the SoftBank Vision Fund, which has ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The total cash deposits placed at the UAE Central Bank surged to AED223.26 billion in 11 months, a growth of 9 percent from AED204.8 billion by end of October. In the meantime, withdrawals from the Central Bank amounted to AED222.969 billion in 11 months, an increase of 11.3 percent from AED206.6 billion during the per- iod ...

ABU DHABI / Reuters UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazroui said on Monday that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan to announce in June an exit strategy from global supply cuts, but that does not mean the pact will end by then. Mazroui said it was premature to talk about the form or shape of such an exit ...

Dubai / WAM November’s data signalled a solid upturn in Dubai’s private sector business conditions. Steep growth in both output and inflows of new work contributed to the latest expansion, the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker. The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index – a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business The Middle East remains the world’s most important trading partner in the region despite a fall in oil prices, according to a report by World Trade Organisation (WTO). The report stated that the Middle Eastern countries recorded exports of $765.8 billion and imports of $665.2 billion in 2016. The region recorded the highest exports growth (+4 ...