Mideast’s biggest bank raised provisions and remains on alert

Qatar National Bank’s 2021 net income rose to QR13.2bn from QR12bn a year ago

Airline spend on automation, sustainability and digital health to rise, states SITA report

Rising focus on technology to support industry recovery in 2022

Barclays selects HPE GreenLake for private cloud platform

The HPE GreenLake platform will host more than 100,000 workloads across Barclays’ strategic hubs in the UK, US and Asia

Aldar gains ground within two global ESG benchmarks

The company’s improved ESG ratings have been attributed to the consistent and broad integration of sustainability practices into its operations

Covid-19 update: UAE reports 2,616 cases, 982 recoveries

The nationwide case count has risen to 793,314

Things are looking better after two years – Emirates CEO

‘We are in a world in which we have to change all the time’ – Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed

Apicorp and IsDB partner in $1bn infrastructure financing initiative

The joint ‘Infra Initiative’ aims to incentivise more private sector investments and mobilise funding for utility projects

Abu Dhabi introduces Dhs1,000 cap for tourism business licences

The revised fee structure is applicable to tourism business licences starting this month

Airbus beats Boeing on deliveries, is set to lose on orders

The latter part of last year saw carriers take advantage of low prices to make landmark orders

US firm Resecurity opens new AI-driven R&D centre in Saudi Arabia

The new R&D centre in Riyadh will focus on security innovations for smart cities and cognitive surveillance technologies

Qatar Airways moves financial planning to Oracle cloud

Oracle Cloud EPM enables Qatar Airways to better connect financial data across HR, finance and enhance the company’s business modelling and planning

Oil extends biggest gain this year as Powell sparks broad rally

Oil has roared higher in the opening days of the new year as concerns about the pandemic, especially the impact of the omicron variant, have eased off

Dubai Airport

Dubai Airports chief says visitors to the emirate surpassing pre-Covid levels

Paul Griffiths also anticipates that Covid testing at airports will end in the near future

Power Letters 2022: Mohammad A. Baker, deputy chairman and CEO, GMG

Whether it is acquiring new international brands or developing homegrown concepts, when an opportunity presents itself, we go after it

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to begin operations to Russia’s Krasnodar

Flights will operate twice a week, commencing from February 7, 2022

Abu Dhabi

Khalifa Fund partners with eBay to support Abu Dhabi-based SMEs

eBay is the latest partner to join Khalifa Fund’s e-Empower initiative

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UAE learners seek key business upskilling to compete globally – study

The top course this past year was Johns Hopkins University’s Covid-19 Contact Tracing, reflecting the need to mitigate the effects of the ongoing pandemic

UAE launches Coders HQ to empower local, global coding communities

The project aims to build a new generation of coders, enhance their skills in coding and technology and empower them with tools and expertise

UAE reports 2,511 Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths

The nationwide case count has risen to 790,698

Roland Berger and Start-Up Nation Central partner to tap opportunities in the GCC

The organisations will collaborate on strategic initiatives to promote business agreements between Israeli companies and GCC-based government and commercial entities

Ivan Wu, CEO of OPPO GCC, on why the Reno6 Z 5G is built for Gen Z

Reno6 Z 5G users can expect swift internet speeds, agile performance and fast charging alongside the photography and videography features

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi offers 25% discount on traffic fines paid within 30 days of violation

Also, all parking permit services for residents in Abu Dhabi has moved to the Darb platform

SEWA completes nine new power plants in Sharjah last year

It undertook a number of development projects and network improvements worth over Dhs480.8m in 2021

Nasdaq Dubai

Nasdaq Dubai records $23.1bn sukuk and bond listings in 2021

The 30 listings undertaken in 2021 were 15.5 per cent higher than the number of listings the previous year

One of the world’s biggest wealth funds targets sustainable finance

Kuwait Investment Authority has applied the ESG standard set by an independent globally-recognised ESG benchmark provider

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority DEWA

DEWA commissioned 1,310 11kV distribution stations in Dubai in 2021

These stations are mainly spread across Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, Airport City, Wadi Al Safa, and Al Yafra 2

Power Letters 2022: Mohammed Amin, SVP – MERAT, Dell Technologies

Our primary focus in the coming months is to help regional organisations accelerate digital transformation initiatives

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development announces investment in Thailand’s tourism, hospitality sector

The properties in which the fund is investing have more than 760 rooms combined

Finesse adds Barracuda to its portfolio

Through this agreement, Finesse will offer regional customers the ability to visualise, segment, and protect their cloud security structure

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Fenix expands access to electric mobility with the launch of its new payment service

Fenix Pay is an extension of Fenix’s vertically integrated e-mobility and deliveries platform built for the Greater Middle East