March, 2016

• 22 March

  Tackling the Asia-Pacific’s inequality trap

  Rising inequality threatens to derail, from the start, successful implementation of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific region. Stronger, more equitable social protection will be critical in overcoming these challenges. New research by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) indicates that inequality, related to both outcomes and opportunities, is ...

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• 22 March

  Expensive Asia? At least some are still smiling

  

  Singapore has retained its unenviable ranking as the world’s most expensive city for the third straight year, with Hong Kong and Seoul also joining the top 10 list. But while residents of the powerhouse Southeast Asian economy are likely not exactly celebrating their status, at least those residing Down Under can still see the joy in life’s lot while they ...

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• 22 March

  Friedman’s ‘Helicopter Money’ looks less crazy

  

  Increasingly, central bankers, economists and market watchers are discussing the pros and cons of what’s called helicopter money, a 47-year old idea that posits a way to kickstart an economy through dropping money on its citizens. Peter Praet of the European Central Bank, for example, said in an interview published last week that “all central banks can do it” if ...

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• 22 March

  As London landlords wilt, South Africa’s REITs defy slowdown

  

  Bloomberg South Africa is struggling to stave off recession after commodity prices fell, demand from China weakened and the worst drought in more than a century. Investors are still making more profit from that country’s property companies than from landlords in central London. Growthpoint Properties Ltd., South Africa’s largest real estate investment trust, and Resilient REIT Ltd. have gained more ...

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• 22 March

  Egypt’s Heliopolis to build 500 villas in New Heliopolis city in 2016

  Cairo / EMIRATES BUSINESS Egypt’s state-run Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development (HELI) aims to start developing the fourth neighborhood in New Heliopolis at the end of 2016 with investments, its Chairman and Managing Director Hani Al Dib said on Monday. New Heliopolis fourth neighborhood includes building 500 villas of various spaces with investments worth one billion Egyptian pounds (US$112.6 ...

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• 22 March

  Bahrain’s GFH sells 10% stake in cement unit

  

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Bahrain-based investment holding firm GFH Financial Group has signed a sale agreement with Integrated Capital (IC), the capital markets arm of Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG), under which IC will acquire a 10 per cent stake in Bahrain’s Falcon Cement Company (FCC) from GFH. The signing ceremony took place between Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH ...

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• 22 March

  Cairo’s B2B firm makes 900 sales & leasing transactions

  Cairo / Emirates Business Egypt-based Business to Business for Investment and Real Estate Marketing -B2B has made sales on belalf for 450 residential, administrative and commercial units in addition to recording 450 leasing transactions by end of 2016, its CEO Nehad Adel said on Monday. B2B seeks to increase the sales and leasing transactions 35 percent by the end of ...

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• 22 March

  Previously owned US home sales decline more than forecast

  

  Bloomberg Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more than forecast in February after reaching the second-highest level since 2007 as low inventory levels continue to limit progress in housing. Closings on existing homes, which usually take place a month or two after a contract is signed, decreased 7.1 percent to a three-month low 5.08 million annual rate after a ...

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• 22 March

  Russia deals deepen India hold in China oil-buying backyard

  

  New Delhi / Bloomberg India is expanding its footprint in China’s backyard by forging deals with Russia for stakes in Siberian fields that supply Asia’s biggest economy and crude consumer. Deals last week between Rosneft and Indian state-run companies beefed up the South Asian nation’s share in two assets that are linked to the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline. That conduit ...

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• 22 March

  IMF pushes China to disclose more currency data: WSJ

  Beijing / Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pushing China to disclose data on holdings of derivatives that could shed light on more-opaque methods of intervention in the yuan’s exchange rate, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. The Washington-based lender is seeking data on the People’s Bank of China’s total holdings of forwards and futures, a step that would be in ...

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