Shanghai / AFP China and Russia will invest up to $20 billion to develop a long-haul wide-bodied jet, reports on Thursday and a company statement said, as Beijing seeks to challenge leading Western manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. The hugely ambitious plan was first agreed between the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), whose products ...

  Frankfurt/ AFP German sportswear group Adidas on Thursday reported a jump in third-quarter profits, lifted by a surge in sales of its own-brand trainers and apparel. The Bavarian company, which sponsors English Premier League giants Manchester United, also confirmed its improved outlook for the year, bolstered by high-profile sponsorships during the Euro 2016 football tournament and the Rio Olympics, as ...

  Emirates Business A unit of HNA Group Co. outbid Hong Kong developers including Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd. with an HK$8.84 billion ($1.1 billion) offer for government land in the former Kai Tak airport area, the highest price tag in three-and-a-half years. It was the most hotly contested land tender this year, as a rebound in home prices is ...

  Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group said it will create a new long-haul unit to fend off Persian Gulf rivals, simplify short-haul operations and work more closely with staff as new Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Janaillac seeks to put his stamp on a company riven by internal strife as its market share ebbs. The group will establish a French arm parallel ...

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc’s plans for its first-ever flights from Frankfurt sparked a bitter response from Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which vowed to fight back against the surprise incursion at Germany’s biggest hub. While Ryanair will begin Frankfurt services with just two jets and four routes, Europe’s top discount airline sees potential for a bigger operation there, David O’Brien, its ...

  Cairo / AFP Egypt floated the country’s pound on Thursday as part of a raft of reforms, after a dollar crunch and exorbitant black market trade threatened to grind some imports to a halt. The government of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is rolling out an austerity programme and seeking billions in support from abroad in order to meet ...

  Bloomberg BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, said that India is the biggest opportunity for the firm within Asia as it expands lending where banks fear to tread. The asset manager is pushing into private credit in the region as unprecedented monetary easing by central banks has weighed on bond market rates. Almost $10 trillion of securities from ...

  Zurich/ AFP Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, said on Thursday it defied market expectations by posting a profit amid a vast cost cutting programme. Net earnings came in at 41 million Swiss francs (38 million euros, $42 million), a massive decline of 95 percent from the same quarter last year. But the bank still did better than analysts had ...

  Bloomberg After scaling back Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s Asian businesses, Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott is now turning his attention closer to home. The country’s third-biggest bank is exploring “a range” of possible options for its Australian wealth business, it said on Thursday as it announced its its lowest full-year earnings since 2011. That may include ...

  LAGOS / AP The African Development Bank (AfDB) is loaning Nigeria $600 million to help offset a budget deficit of $7 billion, a statement said. The bank said another $400 million would be approved next year if the government implements reforms to economize on government costs, combat corruption and promote diversification and competitiveness in Africa’s biggest economy. Nigeria is ...