January, 2020

• 13 January

  Lifeline from India’s biggest bank gives beaten builders hope

  

  Bloomberg India’s beleaguered developers see a glimmer of hope after the nation’s biggest bank announced a programme that could unclog choked funding lines to the property market. State Bank of India (SBI) said it will finance both builders and homebuyers, charging developers a premium and offering the latter a refund if their apartments are left unfinished. While Sunteck Realty Ltd ...

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• 13 January

  Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to face protests during India trip

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos is likely to be greeted by an unprecedented show of opposition during his short India visit this week, after thousands of small-time local retailers pledged to protest its pricing and exclusive-selling practices. The Amazon chief executive is slated to headline the inaugural session of Amazon India’s event for small and medium businesses — “smbhav” ...

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• 13 January

  UK’s Flybe seeking urgent rescue deal

  

  Bloomberg UK regional airline Flybe Group Plc is in crunch talks with the British government for emergency financing, less than a year after a group fronted by Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd stepped in to rescue the unprofitable carrier, Sky News reported. EY is on standby to handle any potential liquidation, according to the report, which cited unidentified aviation industry sources. ...

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• 13 January

  Walmart fires 56 employees in India

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc has fired 56 employees in India as it restructures its business in the country but has no plans to shut down physical operations, the company said in a statement refuting a report in the local media. The world’s largest retailer “remains committed” to growing its wholesale retail business in India, Walmart India’s Chief Executive Officer Krish Iyer ...

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• 13 January

  Boeing new boss Dave Calhoun takes charge

  

  Bloomberg The opening gambits by Boeing Co’s new boss show the risks Dave Calhoun is willing to take to reset the deeply troubled planemaker. Calhoun, who officially took charge on Monday, pushed to release humiliating internal messages last week even though they may darken public perception for years to come — with Boeing’s own employees suggesting rot in a once-vaunted ...

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• 13 January

  American Eagle’s Times Square store seeks new tenant

  

  Bloomberg The search is on for a tenant at a Times Square building that is home to American Eagle Outfitters Inc’s mega-flagship store. Real estate brokers are marketing the entire four floors at 1551 Broadway, in the heart of the busy tourist district, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the plans ...

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• 12 January

  Sharjah approves largest ever AED29.1 billion 2020 budget

  

  SHARJAH / WAM His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, announced that the 2020 budget would reach AED29.1 billion budget, a two percent increase compared to the 2019 budget. The approved budget will see an increase in expenses across several sectors, including infrastructure, social programmes, economic activities, culture and education, among ...

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• 12 January

  ADFD signs loan pacts worth $33mn with African nations

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for economic development aid, on Sunday formalised three loan agreements valued at $33 million (AED121 million) with the Governments of Togo, Niger and Liberia. The agreements were signed in Abu Dhabi during the 10th Session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), Assembly. Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, ...

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• 12 January

  Saudi Aramco raises IPO to record $29.4bn

  

  Bloomberg The world’s biggest initial public offering turned out even bigger than initially thought. The final amount raised by Saudi Aramco’s sale totaled $29.4 billion as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the underwriters of the world’s biggest IPO, exercised the option to place some shares that were initially separated to avoid price swings, according to a statement. It said ...

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• 12 January

  Renewables investment needs to double to $750bn by 2030: Irena

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The share of renewables in global power should more than double by 2030 to advance the global energy transformation, achieve sustainable development goals and a pathway to climate safety, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). Renewable electricity should supply 57 percent of global power by the end of the decade, up from 26 percent ...

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