When the direct trading link between stock markets in Shenzhen and Hong Kong opened this month, local dignitaries were easy to spot at the launch events. Less conspicuous were international investors ready to take advantage of what was billed as a big opportunity to buy into Chinese equities. The link offers foreign investors greater access to shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, home to some of China’s up […]
Even as the Singapore economy is projected to see worsening economic climate next year, local businesses appear unwilling to transform to cope with the changing environment. Just 15 percent of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and 36 percent of large enterprises strongly agreed with the need to transform to adapt to slowing economic growth as well as technological change and disruption. Across the board, 62 percent agreed […]
Qatar Airways has reportedly spoken of a positive outlook for 2017, as its rivals Emirates and Etihad Airways scale back in response to tough economic conditions and lower air travel demand. A spokesperson for Qatar Airways told Doha News that the airline would be adding new routes next year, and had recently put in a new order for Boeing aircraft. The spokesperson reportedly added that Qatar Airways […]
Qualcomm has been fined 1.03 trillion won ($865 million) by the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) over antitrust violations, with the regulator finding the chip giant’s business practices to be in violation of competition law. Qualcomm’s business model includes collecting royalty payments from clients, which are calculated on the price of the handset using the chip, rather than the price of the chipset itself, and royalties […]
By Thomas Wilson and Saeed Azhar | TOKYO/SINGAPORE TOKYO/SINGAPORE Japan Inc may become a more important force in dealmaking next year as its cashed-up companies seek to buy growth prospects elsewhere in the world and as Beijing’s crackdown on capital outflows prevents some Chinese companies from making foreign acquisitions, bankers and lawyers said. Facing tepid prospects at home after decades of stagnation amid a shrinking population, Japanese […]
Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 27.12.2016 The Board of Executive Directors of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), in its 316th meeting on Sunday, gave the final go ahead for injecting US $863 million in to new financing development projects in a number of member countries namely; Guinea, U.A.E, Bahrain, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Djibouti, Chad, Jordan, and Mali. The meeting also approved to a number of important […]
The low-for-long era is over. Central banks, fiscal activism and populism pricked the bond bubble in 2016. Next year will be a lot worse for bond investors, and the aftershocks of the burst will spread across many other assets. Since the crisis, investors have been buying bonds for capital gains and equities for yield, trusting in the holding hand of easy monetary policy. However, today the central […]
By Patrick Graham | LONDON LONDON Share prices inched higher on Tuesday as trading in some of the world’s major financial markets resumed after a Christmas break, with oil and the dollar also rising marginally. Concerns about Italian banks, Chinese growth and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist bent look set to keep investors on edge into the start of 2017. But expectations the new administration will splash […]
Gravity plays a crucial part in the growth of plants, especially in the early phase. This was amply demonstrated in the seedlings of cucumber analyzed for gravity-related changes in growth. Plants carry specialized cells that perceive gravity and distribute the growth hormone auxin to develop their vital features. Japanese researchers examined cucumber seedlings germinated at the International Space Station, where microgravity conditions prevailed. The results of the study were […]
Toshiba warned the market that it could book an impairment loss of “several billion dollars” at its troubled US nuclear division and reconsider its presence in that industry as accounting issues returned to blight one of Japan’s biggest industrial names. With Toshiba’s financial position becoming more clouded by the announcement, its chief executive, Satoshi Tsunakawa, told a press conference on Tuesday night in Tokyo that the company […]
Apple has published its first research paper, which focuses on artificial intelligence. Specifically, the paper discusses methods for the improvement of the recognition of computer vision systems. The publication of the paper marks a new direction for Apple, as it has been traditionally secretive with its research. Apple’s Artificial Intelligence Research Paper Explained The first research paper of Apple, published on Dec. 22 and titled “Learning from Simulated […]
Finland, once a world leader in mobile telephony with Nokia, is in a class of its own when it comes to internet usage on smartphones and tablets, thanks to cheap subscription plans On the crowded morning metro in Helsinki, silence prevails. Everyone is hunched over their smartphone screens, reading the news, checking emails or watching videos. A loud “yeah!” breaks the quiet, along with delighted screech from […]
Iran’s rial hit a record low against the U.S. dollar on Monday in a sign of concern about the country’s ability to attract foreign money after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump takes office. The rial was quoted in the free market at 41,500 to the dollar, weakening from around 41,250 on Sunday and 35,570 in mid-September. Before this month, the record low was about 40,000, hit in late […]
The adoption of cloud technology, for an organisation like Jurlique, can have enormous business benefits, extending well beyond the bottom line. It can also extends into the workplace culture and brand perceptions. (via PCMag)
ACE Hardware, the world’s largest hardware retail cooperative, is to open at First Avenue in Dubai’s Motor City, becoming its main anchor retail tenant. The retailer said in a statement that it will operate on the ground floor across an area of almost 6,500 sq ft. ACE stores sell a wide variety of hardware products to maintain and fix homes and businesses. “The pace of demographic growth […]
Dubai, 26 December, 2016, UAE Ajman Free Zone (AFZ) signed an investor partnership agreement with Dubai Quality Group (DQG) to activate fruitful cooperation between both parties to foster quality, business excellence, and innovation in the workplace. The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from both the organizations. The delegation from DQG was headed by Eng. Ahmed Al Mulla, Vice Chairman of DQG, who presented the Certificate […]
Infrastructure works for two new berths at King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City will be finished in the next few weeks, significantly boosting capacity. Berths 5 and 6 are part of the port’s expansion plan, which aims to significantly uprate the port’s capacity, thus boosting its standing in the maritime industry, both regionally and internationally, a statement said. “With the two new berths, […]
Emirates airline has announced that it will operate the first ever commercial Airbus A380 flight to Morocco and North Africa, when it takes the iconic double decker aircraft to Casablanca on March 26, 2017. The airline’s flagship aircraft will replace the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently used on the Dubai-Casablanca route, offering increased seat capacity across all three cabin classes and an enhanced premium product experience. The switch […]
India’s government is making an increasing number of requests for data on Facebook’s users, but the social networking site is blocking less content as a result of fewer requests from authorities in the South Asian nation. According to the social media giant’s most recent report on government requests from January to June 2016, Indian authorities made 6,324 requests for user data from Facebook, 23% more than the […]
Over the past year, technology and ‘sharing economy’ start-ups have continued their disruption of traditional industries — from Uber and other ride hailers’ shake-up of the taxi market to Airbnb’s myriad alternatives to conventional hotel stays. But which will be the next businesses to be challenged by further digitisation and automation? FT correspondents have looked ahead five to 10 years to identify those industry sectors and companies […]
26 December 2016 Dubai – The internet of things (IoT) is rapidly gaining momentum within the healthcare industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. According to IDC Health Insights, there has been a steady rise in IoT initiatives over recent years, and in some usage scenarios, IoT services are maturing rapidly toward mainstream deployment. The firm projects IoT spending by healthcare providers across the Middle East […]
By David Stanway | SHANGHAI SHANGHAI The heavily polluted northern Chinese province of Hebei said it will learn lessons from the smog that engulfed the region last week and step up its clean-up efforts, while the country’s Supreme Court vowed to crack down harder on polluters. Hebei, which surrounds Beijing and was home to seven of China’s 10 smoggiest cities last year, has been on the front […]
Dubai’s Shuaa Capital bought 14 percent of Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank on Sunday for 9.6 million dinars ($25 million) and said it would use the stake to support the bank’s expansion. The Dubai-listed investment bank purchased the stake from Alimtiaz Investment Group for 0.065 dinar per share, acquiring 147.1 million shares in a special auction, the Bahraini bourse said. KHCB is an Islamic retail bank with assets […]
Dubai, December 25, 2016 Nikai Electronics, a part of the Nikai Group of Companies, has been honoured with the Sheikh Khalifa Business Excellence Award (SKEA) in the Commercial sector. The prestigious award, an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, aims at providing continuous improvement and enhancing competitiveness within the business sector in the UAE. The coveted award was conferred to Nikai at a […]
