REUTERS Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) beat analysts’ forecasts as its second-quarter net profit trebled due to higher production and sales. The firm, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), made a net profit of 689.3 million riyals ($183.8 million) in the three months to June 30, up from 227.4 million riyals in the same period ...

  BLOOMBERG Saudi Arabian mobile-phone operator Etihad Etisalat Co. started talks with lenders about refinancing 8 billion riyals ($2.1 billion) of debt to get better terms, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Mobily, as the company is known, began discussions with banks after putting the sale of its mobile towers on hold, some of the proceeds of which ...

  Reuters Telecom Egypt, the country’s state-owned landline monopoly, is in talks with banks about a 5 billion Egyptian pound ($563.07 million) loan to acquire a 4G licence, banking sources said. The sources said Etisalat Egypt was also in talks with banks for a 5 billion pound loan to acquire the licence. “TE is negotiating to acquire five billion pounds, ...

  Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank said further monetary easing is probably needed to lift inflation, reinforcing expectations of an interest-rate cut next month. The currency fell to a six-week low. “At this stage it seems likely that further policy easing will be required to ensure that future average inflation settles near the middle of the target range,” the Reserve ...

  AFP The yen on Thursday slid to its lowest level in about six weeks on expectations of fresh stimulus from the Japanese government and central bank, ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. Japan’s currency has lost most of the sharp gains it made in reaction to Britain’s June 23 vote to exit the European ...

  Bloomberg SMRT Corp shares rose after Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte offered S$1.2 billion (US$884 million) to buy out the island-city’s biggest train operator, 16 years after the company became the first Asian subway operator outside Japan to list shares. The shares advanced 6.5 percent to close at S$1.645, resuming trading Thursday after a suspension on July ...

  Bloomberg Yamaha Motor Co plans to tap more green energy to drive production in India, the latest sign that renewable power could boost profit for industrial manufacturers. The Japanese motorcycle maker wants solar power to supply a quarter of energy needs at its northern Indian factories near Delhi, according to company executives. Yamaha motors wants to double capacity to ...

  Bloomberg Bank of England policy maker Kristin Forbes said there’s no need to hurry to add stimulus after the UK’S vote to exit the European Union, citing a moderation of the immediate market turmoil, calm consumers and “quite solid” growth before the referendum. “Given the substantial uncertainty and likelihood that growth slows, there is a valid case to ease ...

  Bloomberg Denmark’s biggest bank said profit slipped 1 percent in the second quarter, missing analyst estimates, as income all but stagnated. Danske Bank A/S reported net income of 4.26 billion kroner (US$631 million), missing the 4.32 billion-krone average estimate of analysts. Net interest income was broadly unchanged at 5.49 billion kroner, according to the Copenhagen-based lender. The bank said ...

  BLOOMBERG An increasing number of officials at the Bank of Japan are concerned about the sustainability of the current framework for massive monetary stimulus, according to people familiar with the discussions. Some current and former BOJ officials, including dissenting board member Takahide Kiuchi, have for some time publicly said that the central bank’s unprecedented scale of bond purchases and ...