Dubai builder Arabtec looks likely to support the emirate’s bourse on Thursday after the company’s biggest shareholder said he was in talks to sell part of his stake at a price higher than the current market valuation. Hasan Ismaik, who abruptly resigned as Arabtec’s chief executive in June, told Reuters on Wednesday he was in talks with Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar to sell part of his 27.9 per cent stake and wanted over Dhs5 per share. Aabar is Arabtec’s second-biggest shareholder with an 18.94 per cent stake.
Updated 6 Years ago

Qatar Airways, the launch customer of the Airbus A350 Xtra Wide Body (XMB) aircraft, is set to receive its first delivery before the end of this year. On Thursday, the airline released photos of “freshly painted” Airbus A350 XWB on the factory lines in Toulouse, France.
Updated 6 Years ago

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday unveiled what it said was the first smartwatch capable of making and receiving calls without a mobile phone nearby, in the South Korean firm’s latest effort to find a new growth driver. The world’s biggest smartphone maker has been pushing hard to develop the wearable devices market as it looks to counter slowing earnings in its mobile division, which led to weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Samsung is hardly alone in pushing wearables, which have yet to catch on with consumers. Rival Apple Inc is expected to launch its own device this year and LG Electronics Inc on Thursday announced its new G Watch R smartwatch featuring a circular plastic OLED screen, a stainless steel frame and leather strap. Samsung’s new smartwatch, called the Gear S, differs from its predecessors with a bigger 2-inch (5 cm) curved display and offers features like WiFi connectivity, pedestrian navigation and a built-in GPS. This device will run on Samsung’s nascent Tizen operating system. Samsung said the Gear S will start selling from October. It did not give details on pricing or where it will be available. LG said its G Watch R will launch in key markets in the fourth quarter, without indicating a price.
Updated 6 Years ago

Singer and actor Jaycee Chan, son of well-known actor Jackie Chan, together with popular Taiwanese actor Kai Ko, were caught by Beijing police for using and possessing drugs on August 18, bringing shame to the entertainment industry, which has received much negative publicity due to the numerous celebrity drug scandals exposed this year. Many popular actors, singers and scriptwriters have recently been caught using drugs, including actor Gao Hu, actor Zhang Mo, director Zhang Yuan, singer Li Daimo and scriptwriter Ning Caishen. The number of addicts in the industry is hard to believe.
Updated 6 Years ago

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's revenue accelerated in the second quarter on strong gains in its mobile business, providing investors with what may be the final glimpse of the Chinese e-commerce company's financials before its expected landmark market debut.
Updated 6 Years ago

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is set to visit China in late September, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, as the Chinese government conducts an antitrust investigation into the world's largest software company. It is not clear if Nadella, who took over as Microsoft CEO in February, will meet with any Chinese government representatives as part of his visit, or try to resolve issues with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), one of China's antitrust regulators.
Updated 6 Years ago

China is to allow foreign investors to wholly own hospitals in seven cities and provinces, further opening up the country's fast-growing private hospital sector. Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan will take part in a pilot test that was launched in July, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.,
Updated 6 Years ago

The Puerto Rican government's failure to reach an agreement with local bank Doral Financial could lead to declines in investment, GDP growth and revenue that far outweigh the cost of settling with the bank, said Doral advisor Robert Shapiro. Doral reported on Tuesday that court-supervised negotiations with the treasury – over US$229mn in tax receivables allegedly owed to the bank – had broken down.
Updated 6 Years ago

The insurance sector will see long-term benefits from the Mexican government's ambitious reforms program, which appears to be steering the country down the road to "transformational" economic and political success, said international law firm Kennedys. Insurance and reinsurance firms will benefit from the economic growth generated by the opening up of the energy sector and landmark reforms in other industries.
Updated 6 Years ago

Brazil's national water agency ANA said it has extended for a month a measure to reduce the volume of water flowing from the São Francisco river into the Sobradinho and Xingó reservoirs, as requested by grid operator ONS. The 1,100m3/s maximum flow intake originally implemented until August 31 will be extended until September 30. The normal intake for the two reservoirs located in the states of Bahia (Sobradinho) and Alagoas-Sergipe (Xingó) is 1.300m3/s, an ANA release said.
Updated 6 Years ago