The biggest news in football circles over the last few days was the announcement of Manchester United’s new kit deal with German sportswear giants, Adidas. At a staggering $1.2 billion, the kit deal stands alone as the biggest sports licensing deal of all time. With sports and financial analysts falling over themselves to pick the deal apart to better understand the sheer amount of dollars being discussed, one of Ghana’s leading football teams, Asante Kotoko is reportedly close to snagging a kit deal of its own away from all the spotlight. Far from being as lavish as Manchester United’s huge deal as it may be, Asante Kotoko’s deal highlights the dearth of financially beneficial kit deals on the African football scene but it also raises the hope that this might be the beginning of a trend that could well unlock a huge source of revenue generation for clubs in Africa. Reports from GhanaSoccernet suggests that Asante Kotoko have an offer from Singaporean manufacturing company Kubba for a kit sponsorship deal valued at $340,000 annually.
Updated 6 Years ago

Trade between Iran and the European Union amounted to €2.8 billion in the first five months of 2014, a 5 percent increase compared to the same period in 2013, according to the EU statistics agency Eurostat. The EU exported €2.415 billion worth of goods to Iran during the 5-month period, a 4 percent rise compared to the year before, when the figure was €2.315 billion, the Tasnim News Agency reported on Sunday, citing Eurostat data.
Updated 6 Years ago

The 14-acre luxury resort has a Spanish-Mediterranean feel with Arabian accents and the 237-room hotel offers panoramic sea views and large balconies. The lobby is capped by an octagonal dome finished with gold leaf and no expense has been spared – even the handrails in the elevators are made of Murano glass, and the opulence extends to the two 510sqm Presidential Suites and Royal Suite.
Updated 6 Years ago

Saudi Arabia’s Savola Group has signed a non-binding agreement to sell its packaging business to Takween Advanced Industries, as it moves to focus on its core sectors of food and retailing, it said on Wednesday. Savola, which reported a 32.4 per cent jump in second-quarter net profit earlier this month to SAR513.3 million ($136.9 million), said the proposed deal would have Takween acquire the entire share capital of Savola Packaging Co (SPC).
Updated 6 Years ago

Property company Greenland Group is moving into the metro construction sector, with the launch of Greenland Metro Investment Development Co on Monday. The new company signed a strategic agreement with Shanghai Shentong Metro Co Ltd and a group of other Shanghai enterprises to jointly invest and develop metro projects around China.
Updated 6 Years ago

Movie theater company IMAX Corp signed a deal on Monday with three Shanghai companies to increase the number of IMAX screens throughout China. The three Shanghai companies are the State-owned Shanghai Film Corp, Shanghai United Circuit Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Film Corp, and Shanghai SFG-EPR Cinema Development & Management Co Ltd - a joint venture in which Shanghai Film Corp holds a major share.
Updated 6 Years ago

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd teamed up with seven banks on Tuesday, jointly offering loans of up to 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) to China's small and medium-sized enterprises as the e-commerce conglomerate looks to further build a credit rating system based on online transaction histories. The cooperation involves Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Ping An Bank Co Ltd, China Merchants Bank Co Ltd, Bank of Shanghai Co Ltd, Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd and Industrial Bank Co Ltd.
Updated 6 Years ago

Jordan circulated to the UN Security Council today a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Hamas-dominated coastal enclave. It welcomes an Egyptian-led bid to end fighting between Israel and Hamas militants and "condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism," according to a draft obtained by reporters.
Updated 6 Years ago

Queen Elizabeth's racehorse Estimate, the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup winner, has tested positive for the banned substance morphine, Buckingham Palace said today. Estimate was one of five horses under various trainers who were found by the British Horseracing Authority to be affected.
Updated 6 Years ago

After a decades-long deficit, Chile's sulfuric acid market is expected to turn a net surplus by 2020 on a future decrease in consumption due to lower production of copper in cathodes, said state copper commissionCochilco. Used in hydrometallurgy processes, sulfuric acid is one of the main supplies of the mining industry.
Updated 6 Years ago