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Bloomberg Mothercare Plc reported a sharp drop in UK sales over the holiday season, underlining the depths of the country’s retail crisis as store owners wrestle with higher costs and a shift to online shopping. Like-for-like sales in the UK declined 7.2 percent in the past 12 weeks, the childrenswear retailer said on Monday. Gross margins are also set to ...

Bloomberg The company with the biggest grip on Thailand’s brick-and-mortar retail market is expecting a partnership with China’s JD.com Inc. to help it do the same in online sales. Central Group, which controls Thailand’s biggest operator of shopping malls and department stores, expects online sales to account for as much as 15 percent of its revenue in five years, from ...

DUBAI / WAM Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs, received the outgoing Azerbaijani Consul-General, Parvez Ismayilzada, along with Alnoor Aleef, Azerbaijan’s Commercial Representative. Musabih thanked Zada for his dedicated service in Dubai. The meeting agenda included discussions on cooperation, trade growth opportunities and the exchange of customs experiences between Dubai and Azerbaijan. Musabih highlighted that trade with Azerbaijan has ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The market capitalisation of foreign shares traded on UAE stock markets amounted to AED101 billion by the end of 2017, according to official statistics which showed that non-Arab foreigners secured the largest gains after their market value increased by around AED3.6 billion by the end of December. The last month of 2017 witnessed regular profit booking ...

Reuters A package of handouts to Saudi Arabian citizens to compensate them for cost of living increases will cost the government about 50 billion riyals ($13.3 billion) this year, the information minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. “The allocation of 50 billion riyals for this decree indicates the leadership’s concern for the people’s comfort and quality of living,” Minister ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Azizi Developments, one of the fastest growing developers in the UAE, has announced that it will continue its fast pace of development in Al Furjan in 2018, with a total of seven projects lined up for delivery in Q1 and Q2 of 2018, ahead of planned schedule. The seven serviced apartment projects boast a combined value ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired on Sunday the first Cabinet session of the new year and highlighted the importance of choosing the year 2018 to be the ‘Year of Zayed’. The session was held at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, ...

Sharjah / WAM His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, inspected on Sunday a number of vital service projects and road networks in the mountainous area of Shis in Khorfakkan. Upon his arrival, the Ruler of Sharjah received a warm welcome from the people of Khorfakkan, who expressed their gratitude to ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA), urged the business sector to complete the registration requirements for Value Added Tax (VAT), purposes, commending the commitment and high turnout in the registration process. The FTA confirmed that the registration process is continuing and other businesses that did not register to date should register immediately to avoid fines and legal proceedings. ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE Departments of Naturalisation & Residency have begun distributing souvenirs entitled, “Your Country is Your Responsibility” from HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to the parents of UAE nationals born in 2018. The Symbolic souvenir, entitled Eyal Zayed or ‘Zayed’s ...