Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB) is seeking to raise up to $9.8bn (€8.6bn) by listing its Asia-Pacific business in Hong Kong, marking what would be the world’s largest initial public offering this year.

A push to promote Irish food produce to the Asia Pacific market amid Brexit uncertainty has seen Bord Bia open up an international office in Tokyo.

Shares in European beer manufacturers Heineken and Carlsberg are relatively flat despite both reporting solid sales growth.

Google moved €15.9bn to a Bermuda shell company in 2016, saving at least $3.7bn (€3bn) in US taxes that year, regulatory filings in the Netherlands show.

China has taken what it called a major step toward opening up its financial industry, with a promise to ease limits on foreign ownership of banks and securities firms.

A revolution is taking place in the way food is sold and consumed across the world. The traditional system whereby consumers visited large supermarkets, trucked around aisles, and queued at a check-out desk is under extreme pressure.

Chinese president Xi Jinping is primed to consolidate his already considerable power as the ruling Communist Party begins its twice-a-decade national congress tomorrow.

Accor, Europe’s biggest hotel operator, offered to buy Australia’s Mantra Group in a deal valuing the hotel and resort company at $1.2bn (€795m).

A new direct route between Dublin and Hong Kong will “dramatically” strengthen an already burgeoning business relationship between Ireland and Asia, according to business and political figures.

Unilever agreed to buy a South Korean cosmetics maker for €2.27bn to gain a stronger foothold in the world’s fourth-largest skincare market, betting that the pop-culture-fuelled appeal of the country’s beauty products will outweigh concerns over regional tensions.

Dublin Airport’s first ever direct route to the Asia-Pacific region will operate a new direct to Hong Kong service four times per week from next June with Cathay Pacific.

Dublin fintech firm Cambrist is changing how foreign exchange is managed, writes Trish Dromey

Outgoing Kerry Group boss Stan McCarthy is set to join the board of Ryanair later this month.

Kerry Group has maintained its strong earnings growth outlook for 2017 on the back of a solid performance in the first three months of the year.

Executive pay levels at Kerry Group decreased by just over 16% last year, despite further solid revenue and profit growth.

Kerry Group has dismissed speculation it might sell its consumer food arm by saying it remains “very, very committed” to it and still sees further growth opportunities arising from the division.

Caterpillar is the best- performing US industrial stock this year on bets its cost-cutting efforts will reap rewards as demand recovers. The problem is, demand is not recovering.

Starbucks will more than double its number of locations in China by 2021, increasing the company’s bet on a country that CEO Howard Schultz says eventually could be a bigger market than the US.

The decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant approval for Apple to proceed with a large data centre in Co Galway is an important stepping stone in Ireland’s industrial economic strategy.

All seven crew members have made it out safely after their B-52 bomber crashed on the island of Guam shortly after take-off, the US air force said.

Cork-based multinational outsourcing company Voxpro has more than trebled its US workforce after announcing 450 positions at its base in California.

Starbucks plans to accelerate its expansion in China, shrugging off concerns about a slowdown in the coffee chain’s second-largest market behind the US and a potential further depreciation of the yuan.

Forgiveness benefits everyone: For seven decades, Japan has been a peaceful contributor to the global community, says Yuriko Koike

US President Barack Obama has been strangled by Republican Congressional majorities but is still on the verge of sealing his legacy on the international front, writes Andrew Hammond.

A key challenge for Kerry Group will be to meet ever-changing tastes and trends among consumers, chief executive Stan McCarthy yesterday told the food giant’s AGM, in Tralee.

FINLAND: Angry Birds are getting angrier, because some of their real-life counterparts in the South Pacific are facing extinction.

Dublin-headquartered aircraft leasing company Avolon has secured a long-term loan arrangement that will finance up to 21 aircraft in the coming years.

A leading global specialist technology solutions business is set to expand its Irish operations by adding another 75 jobs to its base here.

Global sales fell 2.2% at McDonald’s in November as the US market continues to soften and it contends with ongoing difficulties from a food safety scandal in China.

Pre-tax profits at a Shannon-based aircraft engine leasing firm fell 10% last year to $45.54m (€36.75m).

Setanta Sports is in the final stages of selling its Australian broadcasting division to an international conglomerate owned by an affiliate of Middle East media giant, Al Jazeera.

The United States is preparing to boost its military presence in Europe at a cost of up to $1bn, President Barack Obama said, as tensions in the region simmer over Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine.

VOLKSWAGEN’S RECORD DELIVERY

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, sold 5.8% more vehicles in the first quarter, marking a delivery record for the period as the Audi luxury brand attracted buyers.

A brazen shoplifter has helped himself to an alligator-leather coat worth nearly HK$1M (€93,900) from a flagship Burberry store in one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping districts, police said.

The world has six main challenges to overcome to make living in cities of the future manageable, writes Noeleen Heyzer.

Irish company TNS Distribution has acquired Australian distribution firm Conexus for an undisclosed sum.

Just as the brake lights of rush-hour traffic began to dwindle last night, thousands more red bulbs suddenly lit up the centres of three Irish cities as thousands of runners took to the streets for a run in the dark.

A farm needs to be prepared for succession instead of preparing a successor on the farm, according to a book recently published by Rabobank International