The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  Bloomberg State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, is predicting an acceleration in loan growth from a 25-year low after slashing borrowing costs to the lowest level in at least six years. The state-run lender cut lending rates based on the marginal costs of funds by 90 basis points across all tenures on Sunday. Other banks including Union ...

  Bloomberg Bank Hapoalim Ltd.’s credit-card unit may be valued at about $1 billion as the lender prepares to divest the business to comply with new Israeli regulations, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Tel Aviv-based bank and smaller rival Leumi Le-Israel Ltd are both meeting with investment banks about the sale of their credit card units, ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s second-largest bank by market capitalisation, said on Monday that it had decided to suspend the activities and licence of its brokerage business, Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Company. After obtaining the necessary approvals from regulatory authorities, the bank said the last date of trading for the company would be Jan. 12. All remaining ...

  Bloomberg China’s new regulations on cash transactions and overseas transfers are not capital controls, according to a central bank researcher cited by the official Xinhua News Agency. New requirements published by the People’s Bank of China on Friday stoked concern that the government is imposing capital controls in a disguised form, Xinhua reported. “It is not capital control at ...

  Mexico City / DPA Many people think of archaeologists as people who excavate dry earth at scorched sites, or dust off relics with small paintbrushes under piercing sunlight, perhaps donning hats in the style of Indiana Jones. This is not the case with Pilar Luna’s team. Their gear consists of air tanks, wetsuits, diving fins and dive tables for ...

  Frankfurt / DPA There was a time when postal services were about gathering heavy sacks full of letters, painstakingly sorting the mail manually and delivering letters on heavy-duty bicycles. Not any more – with everything from drones and self-driving cars coming up, postal services are rushing into a robotic future. In some nations, today’s sorting offices are dominated by ...

  Bloomberg US refiners exported record amounts of oil products last week, taking market share from struggling competitors in Mexico and the Caribbean. Almost 4 million barrels a day of gasoline, distillates like diesel and heating oil, and propane left the country as refiners in Texas and Louisiana processed the most crude in at least 24 years. Demand has grown ...

    MUSCAT/ Reuters Oman’s government released a 2017 budget plan on Sunday that projected a smaller deficit but included fresh austerity steps and tight curbs on spending because of low oil prices, which are hurting state revenues. Government spending this year is projected to total 11.7 billion rials ($30.4 billion) and revenues 8.7 billion rials, which would result in ...

  Reuters Turkmenistan stopped gas exports to Iran on Sunday in a long-running dispute over arrears, Iran’s state gas company said, days after Tehran said the issue had been temporarily resolved. “Türkmengaz suddenly and … in an illogical manner, contradictory to the agreement, halted gas deliveries to Iran this morning, demanding quick payment of the disputed amount,” the National Iranian ...

  Doha / Reuters Qatari construction firm Investment Holding Group (IHG) will launch an initial public offer of its shares next week in a boost for the country’s stock market, which has seen only two new listings since 2010. The contracting and trading business will offer 49.8 million shares, or 60 percent of its capital, at a price of 10.1 ...