Bloomberg Natura Cosmeticos SA entered exclusive talks to acquire British make-up seller Body Shop from L’Oreal SA, with an offer that values the UK chain at 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion). An acquisition by Natura would represent a major expansion for the Brazilian cosmetics company, which originated as a direct-sales business like Mary Kay or Avon and expanded its retail ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Footfalls at indoor theme parks and family entertainment centers at the malls are set to increase, according to International Expo Consults (IEC), organisers of ‘DEAL 2018’ show. The Global Industry Analysts, Inc. report says the global market for amusement and theme parks is forecast to reach US$44.3 billion by 2020, driven by the recovery in leisure ...

DUBAI / WAM The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has said that the official UAE Government Portal presents a pillar that highlights the UAE’s future milestones until the year 2117, within the context of the national vision and the directives of the wise leadership, working towards creating a future full of happiness, achievement, sustainability and leadership. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director-General ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), the entity responsible for developing quality infrastructure in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, has launched a pilot project to classify automotive workshops in the emirate in collaboration with Saaed for Trafficking Systems. Abu Dhabi’s first classification scheme for automotive workshops seeks to elevate the standard of vehicle repair services ...

DUBAI / Reuters A move by four Arab states to blacklist dozens of figures with alleged links to Qatar could squeeze liquidity at Qatari banks which get a significant amount of their funding from the region. Qatari banks have around 60 billion riyals ($16 billion) in funding in the form of customer and interbank deposits from other Gulf states, Chiradeep ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) and OnBoard International have joined hands to provide in-flight TV reports, broadcast by DFF’s Future Monitor, onboard Arab and international flights operated by major regional and international airlines. The in-flight scientific content will be available onboard flights to many Arab and international destinations, including London, Istanbul, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, ...

Sharjah / WAM The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), received the coveted ISO 9001:2015 quality certification. The certification came after Shurooq was declared successful in a thorough audit by the independent international certification body, SGS. The body conducted their assessment over a series of checks and follow-ups over many months, reviewing Shurooq’s core institutional processes in the aforementioned sectors, ...

Dubai / WAM Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has approved RTA’s self-driving transport strategy. The strategy is aligned with Dubai’s smart transport strategy launched by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It aims to convert 25 percent ...

Dubai / WAM Bosch, the global supplier of technology and services, is the first company in the UAE to be certified to the new ISO 37001:2016 ‘Anti-bribery Management Systems’ standard, by TASNEEF-RINA Business Assurance L.L.C. The certificate was presented to the General Manager and Vice President of Robert Bosch Middle East, Volker Bischoff, and Bosch Middle East Compliance Manager, Sarfraz ...

Dubai / Emirates Business In the run up to the eleventh edition of the Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) – the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage – has announced the new festival programme for 2017 and 2018. This year, the programme will be launched afresh with a new series of ...