Tokyo / Bloomberg Siemens AG is setting up a unit to invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) over five years on “disruptive ideas,” the latest bid by Europe’s largest engineering company to move into digitalization and shed a reputation for being slow and cautious. Named next47, the unit will initially be overseen by Chief Technology Officer Siegfried Russwurm and ...

  Manila / Bloomberg Philippine Airlines Inc. hired Morgan Stanley to help look for an investor as it seeks to become a five-star carrier, President Jaime Bautista said. The airline, wholly owned by billionaire Lucio Tan, plans to find a “specific equity investor” as early as next year, Bautista told reporters in Manila. “There are on-going talks with possible investors,” ...

  Washington / Bloomberg Top pay rates for United Airlines flight attendants would rise as much as 31 percent, a union spokeswoman said, under a proposal to bring the 25,000 members under a single labour contract for the first time. The maximum pay for veterans with at least 13 years of experience would be set at $62 an hour, the ...

  New York / Bloomberg After coping with terrorism, bankruptcies and consolidation, the largest US airlines are facing a new problem: They may start running out of pilots in as soon as three years. That looming pilot deficit will soar to 15,000 by 2026, according to a study by the University of North Dakota’s Aviation Department, as more captains reach ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, issued a resolution to merge International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and Mubadala Development Company, Mubadala. The resolution stipulated that a joint committee be created and assigned with the ...

  Bloomberg Masdar and Electricite de France SA are jointly bidding to build a 350-megawatt solar power plant in Abu Dhabi as OPEC’s fifth-largest oil producer diversifies electricity sources to meet burgeoning demand. The partners plan to make the bid “as competitive” as the record-low offer that this week won Masdar the right to build a solar facility in neighboring ...

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS Abu Dhabi Airports announced a 5.6% increase in passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) for May 2016, compared to the same month last year. A total of 1,982,010 people traveled through AUH last month, exceeding May 2015’s figure of 1,877,440. A number of destinations witnessed noteworthy growth in passenger traffic, with the ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced on Wednesday via his official Twitter account that the Reading Nation Ramadan campaign has exceeded its set target of five million books to reach over 8.2 million books. The books will be distributed to unprivileged children and ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Following its commitment to transferring to smart government services by promoting e-payment operations in the UAE, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) launched the e-dirham card charging service through MBME for collecting fees and payment services, on Wednesday. As a strategic partner of the e-dirham initiative, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) will be re-charging the ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Ports and Agthia Group PJSC signed a lease agreement aimed at expanding the Group’s existing ‘Grand Mills Flour and Animal Feed’ facilities at Zayed Port. The new agreement was signed by Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports and Iqbal Hamzah, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group ...