Business360

GOODWOOD: A convertible Rolls-Royce with a back deck that opens up to reveal cocktail tables, fridges and a parasol matching the vehicle’s baby blue colour scheme is now a reality – for one ultra-wealthy individual. The “Boat Tail” car, so-called because its rear is shaped like a J-class racing yacht, was hand-built over four years according to the detailed specifications of an unnamed client of the elite automaker. “The outcome is one of the most remarkable cars ever in history. I would even say it’s probably not even a car,” said Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which is based in southern England and owned by Germany’s BMW. “It’s a masterpiece of art,” he said as he presented the car to reporters at the company’s factory in Goodwood. The Boat Tail’s price tag is not being made public, nor is the name of the buyer. While high-net-worth clients have long had the option of having their Rolls-Royce cars customised with their preferred upholstery or gadgets, t

DUBAI: Oman Arab Bank was set to raise $250 million on Thursday in its first foray in the international debt markets with an Additional Tier 1 perpetual bond issue, a document showed. The bank launched the bonds at a yield of 7.625% after initial price guidance in the low 8% range for the AT1 bonds after it received more than $1.1 billion in orders, the document from one of the banks on the deal showed. AT1 bonds are at the higher end of the risk spectrum of bank debt issues. They are perpetual in nature but issuers can redeem them after a specified period. Oman Arab Bank’s bonds will be non-callable (redeemable) for five years. The deal is the latest in a series of AT1 bond issues from the oil-rich Gulf this year, as banks take advantage of low interest rates to bolster their Tier 1 capital after the region’s economies were hit by the double shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s historic slide in oil prices. Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Kamco Invest, Stand

KARACHI: The per tola gold price on Thursday registered a decrease of Rs900 to Rs111,800 in the domestic market, ARY News reported. Sharing the price of the precious metal, All Pakistan Jewelers Manufacturers Association Chairman Muhammad Arshad said that the rate of 10 grams of gold also decreased by Rs771 to Rs95,850 today. In the international market, gold prices steadied near the $1,900-per-ounce level on Thursday as investors awaited key economic readings out of the United States, while a firmer dollar weighed on bullion prices. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,900.30 per ounce after hitting its highest since Jan. 8 at $1,912.50 on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,901.50 per ounce. Elsewhere, palladium rose 0.5% to $2,757.06 per ounce, silver was steady at $27.68, and platinum gained 0.3% to $1,194.55. US dollar rises against rupee The United States (US) dollar continued to appreciate against the Pakistani rupee in the inter-bank currency market for a fourth day in

Qatar has introduced tougher measures to protect labourers from heat stress ahead of hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup. New regulations issued on Wednesday, the latest in a series of labour reforms, extended a ban on outdoor work during the peak heat season and made annual health checks mandatory. The outdoor work ban was increased by one hour to run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from June 1 until mid-September, which also extends the previous duration by several weeks. All work must stop if the temperature in a workplace rises above 32.1 degrees Celsius at any time. The International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomed the move as an example of evidence-based policy making. “With climate change negatively impacting workers worldwide, we should expect more countries to adopt heat stress legislation in the near future,” Sharon Barrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, was quoted as saying in the ILO statement. In March players from Germany, Norway and t

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi and Britain’s GSK announced Thursday the start of final tests of their belated Covid vaccine as they race to add their jab to the world’s arsenal against the pandemic. The companies reported positive results from interim human trials earlier this month after a disappointing outcome from initial studies last year left France without its own vaccine, denting national pride. Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday started enrolment for Phase 3 of a clinical study that will include more than 35,000 adult volunteers at sites in the United States, Asia, Africa and Latin America, the firms said. The companies hope to launch their vaccine by the end of 2021 — one year after Pfizer and Moderna jabs were approved by regulators. The Phase 3 trial will initially investigate the vaccine’s efficacy against the original coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan, China and then look at its response to a variant found in South Africa. Sanofi and GSK will also

Twitter said on Thursday it was worried about the safety of its staff in India, days after police visited its office as part of a probe related to the social media firm’s tagging of some ruling party posts as manipulated. Indian police on Monday visited a Twitter office to serve a notice to the micro-blogging firm’s country head for a probe into its tagging of a tweet by a ruling party spokesman as “manipulated media”. Without directly referring to the Delhi police action, Twitter said: “We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service.” Leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party recently shared portions of a document on Twitter they said was created by the main opposition Congress party and highlighted government failures in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress complained to Twitter saying the document wa

KARACHI: The United States (US) dollar continued to appreciate against the Pakistani rupee in the inter-bank currency market for a fourth day in row on Thursday. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the greenback closed at Rs154.84 against the local currency, registering appreciation of six paisas over the previous close of Rs154.78. Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today: https://t.co/urxbbI2VJT pic.twitter.com/nNfQnchcPz — SBP (@StateBank_Pak) May 27, 2021 On Wednesday, the dollar appreciated 41 paisas to close at Rs154.78 against the rupee. Tuesday also saw the greenback close 67 paisas higher at Rs154.37 against the local unit. It is noteworthy that he rupee has recovered more than Rs12 during the last ten months since it touched an all-time low of Rs168.43 last year in August. The local unit has gained considerable ground on the back of improved  foreign exchange reserves , current account surplus, higher remittances besides less demand of dollar due to t