Aster Medcity in Kochi, India

Dubai-based Aster expands into the Caribbean with Medcity project in Cayman Islands

Aster will initially develop a 150-bed tertiary and quaternary care hospital, with plans to bring in medical tourists from the US

UAE winners of the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition picked

The 2020 edition of the competition held virtually due to social distancing rules

MBC Group reappoints Sam Barnett as CEO

Marc Antoine d’Halluin, who spent a year as group CEO at MBC, has now been appointed as a board advisor

Google teams up with Aramco to bring its cloud business to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia joins global network of Google Cloud Platform regions

UAE’s Taqa confirms financial closing for Al Dhafra solar power plant

Upon full commercial operation, the plant is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tons per year

Crowd investment platform Stake launches in UAE

Users can own a piece of real estate for as little as Dhs2,000

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad updates rules for passengers coming from UK

PCR tests must be conducted at a government accredited medical facility

UAE establishes one-day courts to expedite minor cases

The aim is to reduce the backlog of cases in the courts

Covid-19 new strain: Kuwait joins Oman, Saudi in suspending flights, closing its borders

The border closure will be in place from 11pm on Monday, December 21 until Friday, January 1, 2021

Huawei says it registered Dhs1.1m sales within first 30 minutes of DSF promotion

Huawei Consumer Group is extending its DSF offers to December 21 and 22

Dubai’s DC Aviation Al-Futtaim to offer express Covid-19 testing on arrival

Al-Futtaim’s DC Aviation and HealthHub partner to offer services for VVIP customers

OMAN-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRAVEL

Covid-19 new strain: Oman to close all its borders for a week

Cargo vehicles including planes, ships and trucks will be excluded from the decision

Covid-19 update: UAE reports 1,077 cases, 845 recoveries and 2 deaths

The death toll in the UAE has risen to 639

UAE-based NMC Health announces $525m sale of Eugin Group

The transaction is expected to be complete by H1 2021

UAE carriers Emirates, Etihad suspend flights to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman

Emirates has suspended flights to the kingdom until December 27, while flights to Kuwait and Oman have been halted from December 22-28

UAE’s Palms Sports lists shares on Abu Dhabi bourse

Trading on the shares begins on December 21

Lessons learnt: How to task board members to earn their privileges?

Homework can also be assigned to directors of a board, especially those non-executive, independent directors

Business leaders rank UAE as global leader in innovation

Business executives in the UAE rank the country as a global leader in creating an ‘innovation-conductive’ environment

UAE SMEs receive Dhs420m trade credit support during Jan-Nov 2020

Etihad Credit Insurance insured the exports of the SMEs as well as their operations in the domestic market allowing them to stay competitive

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

Kuwait set to receive first batch of Covid-19 vaccines this week

Over 60,000 people have registered on the vaccination platform so far

Dubai’s Meraas offers to delist park operator DXB Entertainments

Meraas plans to acquire debt worth $1.16bn and convert it into new DXBE shares

SAUDI-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRAVEL

Saudi suspends all international flights, closes land and sea ports over new virus strain

New urgent measures have been put in place for one week, with the possibility of an extension

12hr sale

Majid Al Futtaim malls to hold 12-hour sales for Dubai Shopping Festival

The 12-hour super sale will be held on December 26

Dubai Airshow

Dubai Airshow to return in 2021, discuss future of the aviation sector

The event, taking place from November 14 –18, will serve as a platform for the innovation within the industry during Covid-19

Covid-19 testing UAE 3

Covid-19: UAE reports 1,171 cases; Dubai’s DHA urges travellers to get doctor’s advice for vaccination

The total number of Covid-19 recorded cases in the UAE has now reached 193,575

UAE and Pakistan foreign ministers

UAE minister stresses that visa restrictions on Pakistani nationals are ‘temporary’

Foreign ministers from the UAE and Pakistan met last week

Vaccine rollout will boost the UAE’s economy – Majid Al Futtaim CEO

Alain Bejjani said that the UAE’s retail economy “should be back to 2019 levels” by mid-2021

Oman to start removing utility subsidies from January 2021

The subsidies for the electricity and water sector are about $1.95bn

Emaar Development announces new chairman, Alabbar to remain in executive role

Adnan Kazim has been named as its new chairman in line with regulatory requirements

Dubai Metro’s Route 2020 to begin operating from January 1, 2021

The initial operation phase will cover four stations including Jebel Ali (interchange station), The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, and Al Furjan