April, 2018

• 1 April

  Congo airport warns to halt operations over debt

  Bloomberg Aeroports du Congo, a unit of Groupe Egis of France, threatened to halt operations at three airports it manages because of debts owed by the government. The state owes the company 5 billion CFA francs ($9 million), including value-added tax refunds and landing fees, Director-General Jean-Michel Ratron said in a statement emailed from the capital, Brazzaville. The company is ...

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• 1 April

  Amazon takes fresh stab at $16bn housekeeping industry

  

  Bloomberg Three years ago, Amazon.com Inc. launched a marketplace to connect its customers with handymen, landscapers and housekeepers in their neighbourhoods, a direct challenge to the likes of Angie’s List Inc. and Yelp Inc. The offering embraced the independent contractor model, using Amazon’s web store to create a new service from scratch without hiring a single person or buying any ...

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• 1 April

  Lebanon plans $5bn debt swap to cut servicing costs

  

  BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon’s government plans to swap $5 billion of new foreign currency bonds for Lebanese pound debt with the central bank, in an operation its finance minister suggested would slash the cost of servicing its huge debt pile by as much as $1.5 billion. Ali Hassan Khalil, speaking in parliament, said 218 billion pounds ($145 million) of the ...

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• 1 April

  ‘Japanese banks must move forward with consolidation’

  

  Bloomberg Japanese banks must move forward with consolidation by using everything from mergers to informal tie-ups to tackle declining profitability, according to the new chief of the industry’s main lobby group. “Consolidation has to advance from here, and the formats for doing this are going to get more diverse,” Koji Fujiwara, who starts as chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association ...

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• 1 April

  Pakistan holds key rate after currency devaluation

  

  Bloomberg Pakistan’s central bank unexpectedly left its benchmark interest rate unchanged after a second currency devaluation in four months. The target policy rate will stay at 6 percent, the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement. The move was predicted by only three of 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey with rest expecting a hike. The central bank unexpectedly ...

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• 1 April

  Deutsche Bank to name John Thain to supervisory board

  Bloomberg John Thain, a former chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, is expected to join Deutsche Bank AG’s supervisory board in May, according to a person with knowledge of the German lender’s plans. News of the board’s shakeup follows speculation that Deutsche Bank is seeking to replace Chief Executive Officer John Cryan. The CEO, who has been trying to restructure ...

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• 1 April

  Draghi studies Fed exit as ECB’s guide on what to do and avoid

  

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi has six months left to prepare a retreat from ultra-loose monetary policy, and he has a ready-made roadmap on hand. The US Federal Reserve’s experience of halting quantitative easing, raising interest rates and starting to shrink its balance sheet provides both a blueprint and a cautionary tale for the European Central Bank president. It’s an easy example ...

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March, 2018

• 31 March

  UAE’s pioneering role in humanitarian field hailed

  HARVARD / WAM The International Conference on Humanitarian Crises, which was held at Harvard Club of Boston, has hailed the UAE’s pioneering role in humanitarian field. The participants praised HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, for her role ...

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• 31 March

  First Gulf Properties officially launches as FAB Properties

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Following the launch of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), First Gulf Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank, has changed its name to ‘FAB Properties’. The real estate service provider, which specialises in end-to-end property solutions, has launched a new logo, inspired by the look and feel of the FAB brand identity. FAB Properties’ mission and ...

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• 31 March

  Gulftainer subsidiary wins 50-year US port concession

  

  SHARJAH / WAM Gulftainer, a privately-owned independent port operator, headquartered in the UAE, has announced that its subsidiary GT USA has inked an agreement on terms with the State of Delaware, USA, which would grant GT USA exclusive rights to operate and develop the Port of Wilmington for 50 years. Terms of the agreement are to be formally approved by ...

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