April, 2017

• 26 April

  DWC records 29.5% rise in passenger traffic in Q1

    DUBAI / WAM Passenger traffic at Dubai World Central (DWC), Dubai’s second international hub, grew an impressive 29.5 percent during the first quarter of 2017 with 333,780 passengers passing through the facility compared to 257,813 in the same period in 2016 according to Dubai Airports, which also released its 2017 forecast for DWC passenger numbers. Commenting on the announcement, ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  First solar-powered gas station opens in Dubai

  

    DUBAI / WAM The country’s first solar-powered gas station has been opened by the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), in yet a new sign reflecting the country’s increased focus on maintaining the highest standards of sustainability and clean energy. The service station lies on the city’s main Sheikh Zayed Road thoroughfare and is covered with solar panels that can generate ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  DIFC Media Majlis opens doors to accredited journalists

  

    Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, on Wednesday launched the ‘DIFC Media Majlis’, a dedicated workspace for accredited members of the press. Complemented by a resource-rich online newsroom, DIFC’s latest initiative will allow journalists to work from a convenient, central location ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  Oil tankers, ships fueled by LNG to offer hopes on glut

  

    Bloomberg When Russia’s biggest tanker operator launches four new vessels next year, they won’t just be carrying oil to northern Europe but the hopes of the liquefied natural gas industry. Sovcomflot’s Aframax ships, capable of shifting 600,000 barrels of oil through the icy waters of the Baltic Sea to the port of Rotterdam, will be the first tankers run ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  Saudi solar program to generate 7000 jobs by 2020

  

    Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is hoping its solar-power program will generate 7,000 jobs and build a local manufacturing industry that can export products to the world, reducing domestic demand for its crude oil in the process. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources requires bidders seeking to build about 3.45 gigawatts of solar and wind plants by 2020 to spend ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  S Africa nuclear plans stall as process ruled unlawful

  

    Bloomberg South Africa hasn’t complied with the constitution in seeking bidders for a nuclear-energy program and must cancel any deals that have already been signed, the Western Cape High Court ruled. The government must hold public hearings and debate the estimated 1 trillion-rand ($76 billion) program in Parliament, according to a ruling read out on Wednesday by Judge Lee ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  Lebanon prequalifies 8 more firms for offshore blocks

    BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon’s government has prequalified eight more companies to bid for its first round of offshore exploration and production licences after prequalifying 46 companies in 2013, Energy and Water Minister Cesar Abou Khalil said on Wednesday. The bidding process for offshore blocks 1, 4, 8, 9 and 10, was postponed for years because of political paralysis in ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  Lotte plans to split businesses in a bid to bury family feud

  

    Bloomberg Lotte Group plans to divide four key businesses valued at about $12 billion into operating and holding units, slashing the number of cross shareholdings to 18 from 67 and allowing its chairman to tighten his grip on a hotels-to-retail conglomerate rocked by a years-long family feud and a corruption trial. Lotte Confectionery Co. will absorb the investment companies ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  Netflix agrees first China licensing deal with IQiyi

  

    Bloomberg Netflix Inc. agreed to provide television series to China-based iQiyi.com, the streaming-video service controlled by Baidu Inc., gaining access to the only major film market that had eluded the world’s largest paid video service. The licensing deal covers television dramas, animated series, documentaries and variety shows, iQiyi said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Popular Netflix original content ...

  Read More »
• 26 April

  PSA sees no turnaround in Chinese sales soon

    Bloomberg PSA Group is unlikely to revive its car sales soon in China, the world’s largest automotive market, until the automaker can improve staffing at dealerships, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon said. “We need to address and fix some human resources aspects of the question” following a 46 percent plunge in the French manufacturer’s first-quarter deliveries in China ...

  Read More »