Oslo / AFP Irish no-frills airline Ryanair announced on Wednesday it will shut down one of its Norway bases, condemning to closure an airport in the Oslo region, in protest against a disputed new tax. “The Oslo base will close in October,” Ryanair’s chief commercial officer David O’Brien told reporters as an 80 Norwegian kroner ($10, nine-euro) passenger tax came ...

  Mumbai / Tribune News Service India’s domestic air traffic market grew the fastest in the world for the 13th consecutive month in April, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its report. The market grew at nearly 22%, it said. “India’s domestic traffic soared 21.8%, marking the 20th month of double-digit traffic growth and the 13th consecutive month ...

London / AFP Britain’s historic menswear chain Austin Reed, whose suits were worn by Winston Churchill and The Beatles, said on Tuesday it will close 120 stores by the end of June as it winds down its operations. The company fell into administration last month and no viable offers were made for its purchase. Austin Reed’s administrators AlixPartners said: “We have ...

  Shanghai / Bloomberg With its ubiquitous Phantom drones, Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co. brought aerial photography to millions. Now, with dozens of competitors biting at its heels, the world’s biggest producer of consumer drones needs to prove that its products are more than just glorified selfie sticks. “Right now, DJI is the king of the drones-are-cool market, they ...

  RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business As technology continues to change the way in which payments are made across the Middle East, improved application performance and flexibility are expected to play an important role in making the region’s digital economy mature. Experts at the Cards and Payments Middle East, and its co-located exhibitions — Retail Show Middle East 2016 and ...

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, invited more than 500 local and international suppliers, to a major conference in Abu Dhabi aimed at transforming the traditional buyer and supplier relationship. Hosted by the company’s Procurement and Supply Management team, the theme of the event was ‘Transformation’. The mandate set for ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Investbridge Capital — an independent alternative asset management and advisory firm based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) covering emerging growth markets — has announced that it arranged and advised on a cross-border US$25 million (AED 92 million) convertible loan by the International Financial Corporation (IFC) to Carbon Holdings. The latter is an Egyptian ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has issued a directive ordering major operators Etisalat and du to put a ceiling, or hard cap, on their respective mobile data bundles in a bid to protect consumers from unwittingly incurring disproportionately higher additional charges. Directive (1) of 2016 applies to all mobile data bundles whether included as part ...

  ALKESH SHARMA Emirates Business ‘Go Green’ is the new corporate mantra of enterprises worldwide in their eco-friendly pursuit to ensure a sustainable tomorrow. Following this green path, UAE-based Al Ghurair Investment — one of the largest diversified industrial enterprises in the Middle East — has unveiled its environmental and sustainability plan for the next three years. Various entities, active ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business National Industries Park (NIP) and Proclad have signed an agreement to invest and develop plots in the National Industries Park to a tune of approximately AED 500 million and develop 1.5 million sq. ft. of industrial area specializing in Products and services related to the Oil and Gas Industry. Proclad currently owns four factories in ...