The first international conference of the member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization on health tourism opened on Monday in Iran’s northern city of Ramsar. Tens of Iranian tourism experts along with 70 experts from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have taken part in the 2-day conference.
Updated 6 Years ago

On a May afternoon in Tehran, a Russian in a dark suit sits in the crowded lobby cafe of the Espinas Persian Gulf International Hotel with his Farsi translator. No sooner do they vacate their armchairs than another group of besuited businessmen takes their place, this time conversing in Italian and Farsi about industrial motors. Today, however, amid glimmers that sanctions will be lifted, finding a room at the Espinas isn’t easy.
Updated 6 Years ago

NMC Health, the United Arab Emirates healthcare provider, boosted first-half profit by nearly 27 per cent, aided by higher occupancy across its hospitals, it said on Tuesday. The London-listed company, which operates general and specialist hospitals, pharmacies and medical centres, made a net profit of $40.9 million in the first six months of the year, against $32.3 million in the same period last year.
Updated 6 Years ago

Chinese companies exported $2.1 billion worth of agricultural produce to Russia last year, and China is willing to work with Russia to expand two-way agricultural produce trade, aMinistry of Commerce spokesman said Monday. Shen Danyang, the spokesman, made the comments at a regular press conference when asked about Russia's decision to restrict food imports from the United States and the European Union and increase trade with China.
Updated 6 Years ago

Hu Zhenyu, 21, founder of Link Space, China's first private rocket firm, does not want people to call him a "rocket scientist" but a rocket entrepreneur. Rocket launches have traditionally been a state monopoly in China, but the young graduate from South China University of Technology plans bust the oligopoly with his first commercial launch in 2017.
Updated 6 Years ago

A stock trading program linking the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges will speed up reforms of China's stock markets and make them more attractive to investors at home and abroad, according to analysts. Test trading on the Hong Kong stock market began last week for the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, a pilot program designed to allow mutual stock market access for investors in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
Updated 6 Years ago

Authorities in countries affected by Ebola should check people departing at international airports, seaports and major border crossings and stop any with signs of the virus from travelling, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. The UN health agency reiterated that the risk of getting infected with Ebola on an aircraft was small as infected people are usually too ill to travel, and said that the risk is also very low to travellers in affected countries, namely Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Updated 6 Years ago

New management rules defined by Brazil's civil aviation authority (SAC) permit smaller towns to operate regional airports, according to a notice in the federal gazette. According to SAC's airports concession plan, cities with a GDP of at least 1bn reais (US$442mn) can operate airports if they demonstrate technical and financial capacity. However, smaller towns with lower GDPs are also eligible if they team up to form municipal consortiums aimed at operating airports as long as they achieve the minimum GDP requirement together.
Updated 6 Years ago

Two consortiums, one involving ICA and others and the second Abengoa and partners, have submitted technical bids for construction and operation of the Monterrey VI water pipeline in Mexico. The pipeline will serve Nuevo León state capital Monterrey.
Updated 6 Years ago

QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBE) plans to raise about $750 million in a share placement and sell assets including part of its lenders’ mortgage insurance business in Australia after reporting an 18 percent drop in earnings. The insurer, which earns about three quarters of its premiums outside Australia and New Zealand, will sell $600 million in shares to institutions and raise about $150 million through a share purchase plan, it said in a regulatory filing. QBE will also sell its U.S. agency business and seek partners for two Australian equivalents, it said. The proposals, along with a debt refinancing, will raise about $1.5 billion, chief executive officer John Neal said in a call with reporters.
Updated 6 Years ago