Some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds are increasingly striking their own private equity deals rather than relying on external fund managers, in a drive to cut costs and gain more control. With some $6.5 trillion in assets, sovereign investors already account for 19 percent of capital committed to private equity, according to data from research firm Preqin. But mega-funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment […]
The European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion, known as PANA, is holding a string of meetings in Malta today to interview, among others, No Portfolio Minister Konrad Mizzi following revelations that he had secretly opened a company in Panama. Dr Mizzi was the only serving minister in the European Union to be named in the Panama Papers, 11.5 million documents […]
20 February 2017 Dubai – The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) signed an agreement to adopt the e-Dirham system to enable FEWA to receive service fees electronically. The agreement aims to enhance FEWA’s efforts to facilitate the collection process for its clients which will increase customer satisfaction and strengthen its institutional work. The agreement was signed by HE Younis Haji Al […]
By Ben Blanchard and Philip Wen | BEIJING BEIJING With the suspension of all North Korean coal imports, China has wielded a big stick against its reclusive neighbour, but there is no sign it will cut off all critical links and Beijing is still promoting talks to solve the dispute over Pyongyang’s programme to develop nuclear weapons. China has been getting increasingly fed up with what it […]
Submitted by Don Quijones via WolfStreet.com, Untouchable. Inviolable. Immunity. Impunity. These are the sort of words and expressions that are often associated with senior central bankers, who are, by law, able to operate more or less above the law of the jurisdictions in which they operate. Rarely heard in association with senior central bankers are words or expressions like “accused”, “charged” or “under investigation.” But in Spain this […]
LONDON Shares in Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS) dropped 8 percent on Monday after U.S. rival Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) abruptly ditched its surprise $143 billion merger proposal. Backed by Warren Buffett and the private equity firm 3G, Kraft had wanted to buy Unilever to build a global consumer goods giant but its offer was flatly rejected on Friday by the maker of Lipton tea […]
Lenín Boltaire Moreno is in the lead after Sunday’s nail-biting presidential election in Ecuador. The anointed candidate of leftwing President Rafael Correa was close to the margin needed to avoid a second round against Guillermo Lasso, a conservative former banker, in a test for Latin America’s battered left. After a campaign that underlined the divisive legacy of Mr Correa, the US-trained economist who has been in power […]
KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) on Monday warned the public of bogus calls using its hotline number, 1-300-88-9980, alleged to be from a bank concerning credit card usage. “ABM would like to alert the public that such calls are fraudulent in nature,” the association said, adding that it received enquiries from the public about the phone calls purportedly made using ABMs hotline number. […]
By Alexandra Ulmer and Alexandra Valencia | QUITO QUITO Leftist government candidate Lenin Moreno was within striking distance of winning the first round of Ecuador’s presidential election on Monday, as the Andean country’s electoral body counted ballots late into the night. In a nail-biter vote with eight candidates, Moreno was close to the threshold needed to avoid an April runoff and continue a decade-long period of leftist […]
Under Manfred Galdes’ stewardship, the FIAU had started an investigation into the Panama Papers scandal The European Parliament’s Panama Papers committee has formally invited the former chief of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit to meet its MEPs in Malta next Monday. Under the stewardship of Manfred Galdes, the FIAU had investigated the Panama Papers scandal – which revealed that minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief […]
SINGAPORE The U.S. economy is on “sound footing,” a hawkish Federal Reserve official said on Monday in a speech that cautioned against asking the central bank to solve problems beyond its control such as low productivity growth. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, at a forum in Singapore, did not comment specifically on interest rates. However she has dissented in the past in favor of quicker rate hikes […]
By Carl O’Donnell | NEW YORK NEW YORK U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) withdrew its proposal for a $143-billion merger with larger rival Unilever Plc (ULVR.L), the companies said on Sunday, raising questions about whether Kraft could turn its focus to another target. Kraft had made a surprise offer for Unilever to build a global consumer goods behemoth that was flatly rejected on Friday by […]
Despite financial woes, Faraday Future is pushing through with its factory in Las Vegas, six months after its construction was stopped from lack of funding. In a statement published on the company’s website, Faraday Future says it will have a competitive bidding process for the construction of its car plant, and has already solicited five bids from “top U.S. and international contractors.” This news comes on the […]
Kraft Heinz, the Warren Buffett-backed US food group, dropped its $143bn pursuit of consumer products rival Unilever on Sunday, only two days after publicly confirming its interest in acquiring the Anglo-Dutch rival. Kraft Heinz said in a joint statement with Unilever that it had “amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies”. A takeover would have created the world’s second-largest consumer goods […]
By Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions, the White House said on Sunday as it scrambles to fill the post following the turbulent departure of Michael Flynn. Trump fired Flynn, a retired U.S. Army general, on Monday after it was revealed that he discussed U.S. sanctions against […]
LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked top officials to examine U.S. food company Kraft Heinz’s (KHC.O) proposed takeover of Unilever Plc (ULVR.L), the Financial Times reported on Sunday without citing any sources. Kraft’s surprise $143 billion offer, which would be the largest ever acquisition of a UK-based company, was flatly rejected by Unilever on Friday. The Financial Times said May had ordered officials to see […]
The EU’s Brexit negotiators expect to spend until Christmas solely discussing Britain’s divorce from the bloc, denying London any trade talks until progress is made on a €60bn exit bill and the rights of expatriate citizens. A narrow divorce-first approach favoured by Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, would represent a big setback for Britain’s aim for a fast-track EU trade deal, completed by the end of […]
Yesterday´s Future is Today´s Reality. In the area of Business applications, cloud seems to be all over the place. But it has many facets which all have its right to exist, though it´s a fatal misunderstanding to see cloud simply as an alternative technical deployment option. From the new millennium SaaS models that have been adopted, initially with huge appetite in dedicated Line of Business areas. We […]
Manfred Galdes Manfred Galdes, former director of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, has been invited to give evidence before the European Parliament’s committee of inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA) on Monday. Dr Galdes controversially stepped down at the height of the Panama Papers scandal. The committee agreed to invite him to give evidence at the request of Nationalist MEP David Casa. “I’m satisfied […]
Theresa May has ordered her top officials to examine Kraft Heinz’s proposed takeover of Unilever to see if it raises concerns for the wider British economy and merits government intervention. The $143bn takeover approach is a big test for Mrs May’s industrial policy: last year she criticised Kraft’s 2010 takeover of the British chocolate maker Cadbury — the US company reneged on a promise to retain factories […]
The two projects, the first to open since Mr. Trump became president, are among the dozen international business deals from his former life still moving forward — from India to Indonesia, Uruguay to the Dominican Republic. None of them are “new deals,” as defined by the family, as they were already well underway before the election. Continue reading the main story A Web of Complications Mr. Sajwani […]
UAE-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Julphar has reported a positive outlook for 2017 despite “difficult and uncertain” times in the regional economic cycle. The company, which announced the launch of two medications prescribed for the management of Type 2 diabetes, as disease rates hit record levels in the Middle East in October, said it expected the MENA pharmaceutical markets to improve in 2017. Julphar said its pipeline of new […]
19 February 2017 Manama – (The 13th Annual Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF 2017), being held in partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), is set to commence on 20 February 2017 in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the expected participation of more than 400 high level attendees to explore “Current Challenges and their Implications on the Regional Insurance Industry – The Road Ahead”, the theme of this year’s event. A […]
Saudi Arabia officials and executives of around 14 companies plan to embark on a marketing tour of Singapore and Hong Kong next month to attract Asian investors in the $430 billion stock exchange, banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. The HSBC Saudi Arabia Investment Forum will include stops in Singapore on March 1-2 and Hong Kong on March 3, the sources said. The trip reflects the rising […]
