August, 2021

• 12 August

  Dubai’s Blue Ocean Academy achieves Superbrands status

  

  Dubai / Emirates Business Blue Ocean Academy is the first organisation in the UAE from the corporate training services industry to win the iconic Superbrands 2021 status, reinforcing its position as the leading name in knowledge empowerment solutions in the Mena region. The distinction by Superbrands, a global independent authority and arbiter of branding was bestowed upon Blue Ocean Academy ...

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• 12 August

  Etihad Cargo’s tonnage surges to 20% on pre-Covid volumes

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group, has reclaimed 90 percent of its pre-Covid destinations and recorded a 20 percent increase in tonnage compared to the same period in 2019, according to the company’s press release on Wednesday. The award-winning UAE carrier currently services 72 network destinations across the Middle ...

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• 12 August

  Watania Takaful reports net profit of AED7m

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business The National Takaful Company (Watania) on Wednesday announced financial results for the first half of 2021 that ended June 30, 2021, reporting a net profit of AED 7.0 million and annualised ROE of 13.5% for H1 2021. “A recent S&P report has noted that very high competition in the overcrowded GCC insurance industry will continue ...

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• 12 August

  Dubai Airports expects rebound in air traffic during H2 2021

  

  DUBAI / WAM Dubai Airports is projecting robust growth for Dubai International (DXB) in the second half of the year after the airport clocked 10.6 million passengers in the first six months of 2021 despite travel restrictions affecting its key source markets throughout the second quarter. According to the latest figures issued by Airports Council International (ACI), DXB remains the ...

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• 12 August

  World told Afghan women it had their backs; it doesn’t

  

  Do senior officials from the US, China and Russia really plan to keep talking to the Taliban as if its fighters are not murdering civilians — including female activists — across Afghanistan, attacking schoolgirls and telling women they cannot leave the house without a man to accompany them? Plenty of governments seem happy to break bread with Taliban negotiators since ...

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• 12 August

  It’s time for SoftBank to stop ‘buying’

  

  SoftBank Group Corp’s prolific spending on startups and listed companies underpins founder Masayoshi Son’s entire strategy, driving both earnings and share price. But such massive outlays have forced its balance sheet into a hole that suggests the only way out is to start selling. Net income at the Japanese company dropped 39% for the June quarter, while profit at its ...

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• 12 August

  Can Moderna buy its way into $200bn club?

  Moderna Inc’s highly effective Covid vaccine, in addition to protecting millions, is officially a cash cow. The company disclosed during its earnings presentation that it expects the shot to generate $20 billion in sales this year. Now it has to figure out what to do with its windfall as it tries to justify a market valuation that has surged by ...

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• 12 August

  Fed is watching how BOE inches to a taper

  “Some modest tightening of monetary policy over the forecast period is likely to be necessary” was how the Bank of England worded the forward guidance at its quarterly review on Thursday. It sounded like tough talk. Indeed, the BOE is the first of the major central banks to set out a template for reducing stimulus, with parameters for when the ...

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• 12 August

  UK heat strategy pushed to Sept amid climate pressure

  

  Bloomberg The UK’s long-promised strategy for reducing carbon emissions from heating drafty homes will be published next month, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said, as the government gears up to host a key climate change summit in the fall. During a media round, Kwarteng suggested the so-called heat and buildings strategy may include a plan for phasing out gas boilers. He ...

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• 12 August

  Gates-backed battery firm gets funding from Reliance, others

  

  Bloomberg Ambri Inc, a Bill Gates-backed venture that makes batteries for power grids, said it secured $144 million to build production plants in funding led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd and Paulson & Co. Plans include a pilot facility and a subsequent commercial-scale site in the US, followed by two more abroad in yet-to-be-determined locales. Reliance, India’s most ...

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