China cuts tax on US vehicles in move to soothe trade tensions

Beijing: China will remove the punitive duty on automobiles imported from the US for three months in an effort to defuse trade tensions with the world’s biggest economy. China will remove the 25 per cent tariff it had imposed in a tit-for-tat measure, the finance ministry in Beijing said in a statement Friday. Earlier this […]

‘Expo 2020 can change urban development in UAE and region’

Shanghai: Prominent thought leaders from around the world came together in Shanghai, China for a conversation about future cities and the transformative power of World Expos at Expo 2020 Dubai’s second international World Majlis session, which was hosted at the World Expo Museum (WEM). The latest World Majlis session, titled ‘The Future of Cities: World […]

Listen: Why Dubai’s stock market is struggling?

Dubai: One of the most underreported stories of this year has been the Dubai stock market’s slow bleed. The emirate’s main stock index is down 25 per cent so far this year, and ranks as the worst performing market in the world in 2018. On today’s podcast we ask why? To help answer this question […]

Business conditions in Dubai’s non-oil private sector improve; more job vacancies open up

Dubai: Business conditions in Dubai have bounced back, with companies adding new jobs and getting busier than in the previous months, according to the latest analysis. The Emirates NBD’s latest seasonally adjusted Dubai Economy Tracker Index indicated that firms in the non-oil private sector improved strongly in November after a slump a month earlier. Businesses […]

Investment guidelines soon for health care

Dubai: Are you seeing another dental clinic or cosmetic surgery service provider open up in your neighbourhood? And you start thinking there are already way too many? Then you are not the only one. “In primary health care, there are many communities and catchment areas that are oversupplied,” said Dr. Ibtesam Al Bastaki, Director of […]

ECB formally ends asset purchases even as growth concerns rise

Frankfurt: The European Central Bank (ECB) decided on Thursday to end its lavish asset purchase scheme but otherwise kept policy broadly unchanged, promising protracted stimulus for an economy struggling with an unexpected slowdown and political turmoil. Having long flagged the end of quantitative easing, the ECB had little choice but to stop the bond buys. […]

Emirates Steel refinances $650m of debt

Abu Dhabi: Emirates Steel, the largest steel producer in the UAE, has refinanced $650 million (Dh2.38 billion) of debt with a new loan and sukuk (Islamic bond), sources close to the transaction told Reuters. The company owned by Abu Dhabi’s Senaat, a state-owned investor in the emirate’s industrial sector, raised $1.3 billion in credit facilities […]

Saudi Arabia to target US with sharp oil export cut, sources say

London: After flooding the US market in recent months, Saudi Arabia plans to slash exports to the world’s largest oil market in the coming weeks in an effort to dampen visible build-ups in crude inventories. American-based oil refiners have been told to expect much lower shipments from the kingdom in January than in recent months […]

India clips the wings of ecommerce players

Mumbai, New Delhi – India has tightened rules for foreign investment in e-commerce companies to check predatory pricing and deep discounts that threatened the domestic retail industry. E-commerce companies like Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart, which act as a facilitator between the buyer and seller by providing an online marketplace, must treat all vendors […]

Carlos Ghosn’s right-hand man, Kelly, granted bail

Tokyo: Japanese authorities Tuesday released on bail a Nissan executive accused of a key role in the financial misconduct case involving auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who remains in detention. Greg Kelly, wearing a casual zip-up jacket and looking tired, walked out of the Tokyo Detention Centre more than a month after his arrest and got […]