February, 2016

• 15 February

  New thermal energy storage prototype at Masdar Institute

  

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, has announced the successful initiation of its Concentrated Solar Power on Demand Demonstration (CSPonD Demo) pilot at the Masdar Institute Solar Platform (MISP) located in Masdar City. The demonstration is intended to show that the novel ...

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• 15 February

  Oil gives up gains as Iran loads shipment for Europe

  

  Singapore / AFP Oil prices turned lower again on Monday as Iran prepared to ship its first consignment of the commodity since sanctions were lifted, reigniting worries over a global supply glut. Both main contracts had soared more than 10 percent on Friday on a report that the OPEC producers’ club was open to output cuts that could drag prices ...

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• 15 February

  China yuan surges after central bank chief’s comments

  

  Shanghai / AFP China’s yuan currency surged more than one percent against the dollar on Monday, its biggest rise in over a decade, after the central bank chief said there was no reason the beleaguered unit should fall further. The yuan stood at 6.4944 to $1.0 at 0830 GMT, up 1.14 percent from February 5 — the last trading day ...

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• 15 February

  ADCB launches regionally distinctive private banking

  

  Abu Dhabi / EMIRATES BUSINESS Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), announced the launch of “ADCB Private”, a new private banking proposition providing globally sophisticated banking and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth customers, delivered from the UAE. Wealthy clients in the region and the UAE have historically had to seek international banking and investment services that required them to deal with overseas ...

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• 15 February

  Japan’s SoftBank announces $4.4bn share buyback

  Shanghai / AFP Japanese telecom giant Softbank said on Monday it will buy back about 14 percent of its shares for more than $4.0 billion, after the stock plunged since the start of the year. The company plans to buy 167 million shares over one year starting Tuesday at a total cost of around 500 billion yen ($4.4 billion), it ...

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• 15 February

  Vickers says BoE is soft on UK Bank capital buffers

  BLOOMBERG Bank stock volatility this year shows that the Bank of England should “think again” about its capital buffer requirements for U.K. lenders, according to John Vickers, who led the Independent Commission on Banking. The BOE’s 11 percent goal for the “appropriate” level of Tier 1 equity, a regulatory measure of financial strength for the banking system, is “questionable,” Vickers ...

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• 15 February

  Egypt’s CIB accepts billionaire Sawiris offer for CI Capital

  Bloomberg Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE approved an offer by billionaire Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom Telecom Media And Technology Holding SAE to buy its investment-banking unit CI Capital. Orascom Telecom made a non-binding offer to buy CI Capital for 924 million Egyptian pounds ($118 million), Egypt’s biggest publicly-traded lender said in a filing to the country’s bourse on Monday. The deal ...

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• 15 February

  Saudi to ease lending rules to boost liquidity

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is easing rules on bank lending to stimulate growth in the largest Arab economy, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Banks were told they can lend the equivalent of 90 percent of their deposits, up from an earlier limit of 85 percent, by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency on Sunday, the people said, asking not ...

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• 15 February

  HBL launches its new Abu Dhabi main branch

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS Habib Bank Limited ( HBL ) UAE has opened its new Abu Dhabi Main Branch at the Landmark Tower on Corniche Road in Abu Dhabi. The branch was inaugurated by H.E. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Mr. Sultan Ali Allana, Chairman of HBL , Mr. Mubashar Maqbool, Country Manager – ...

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• 15 February

  Airbus, Boeing count on China as Southeast Asia slows down

  

  Singapore/ Bloomberg Asia’s biggest airshow kicks off in Singapore this week amid a rout in the global financial markets. You can’t tell any of that looking at plane orders for Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. The heydays of multi-billion orders from India and nations in Southeast Asia is giving way to concerns about airlines in the region delaying delivery ...

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