ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Government Support, as represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (Adda) has announced the launch of the digital payment platform, ‘Abu Dhabi Pay’ through Abu Dhabi Government Services ecosystem (Tamm). The launch of Abu Dhabi Pay is a new step towards accelerating the pace and impact of digital transformation and innovating more solutions ...

DUBAI / WAM The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday sent an aid plane containing medical supplies to Kenya to bolster the country’s efforts to curb spread of Covid-19. The aid will assist thousands of medical professionals as they work to combat the virus. Commenting on the aid delivery, Khalid Khalifa AlMualla, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya, stated: “The ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi on Tuesday announced the launch of the ‘Abu Dhabi Specialist Programme’, an e-learning platform which will provide travel trade industry professionals with destination-related information about the emirate through a series of online courses. In a statement, DCT Abu Dhabi noted that the programme will be rolled out ...

DUBAI / WAM The Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced the launch of the Federal Automated Revenue Estimation System (FARES) as part of its strategy to further enhance government operations in order to advance digital transformation in the country. The system will automate ministry’s revenue estimations model and further improve integration of data to calculate estimates based on statistical and accounting ...

Bloomberg India’s budget gap for the year ended on March 31 has touched 4.4% of gross domestic product — a six-year peak — breaching the target set in February as an economic slowdown reduced tax collections, people with knowledge of the matter said. A revenue shortfall of 1.7 trillion rupees ($22 billion) led to the higher deficit number, the people ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year, amid expectations the coronavirus pandemic will take an even heavier toll on Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in months ahead. Gross domestic product rose 2.97% in the first quarter from a year ago, the statistics office said on Tuesday. That was worse than the median estimate of 4% ...

Bloomberg Singapore, which is looking to increase virus testing fivefold among its population, faces a global shortage of some test kits and materials, according to its health minister. The city-state has to be “mindful” there’s a worldwide shortage, and therefore “we have to ensure that we have a continued supply and stock of these materials to allow us to continue ...

Bloomberg Thailand reported one additional novel coronavirus case and no new deaths, in a further indication that its outbreak is ebbing. The country has conducted more than 200,000 tests for the pathogen, Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, a spokesman for the Covid-19 centre, said. The overall number of detected infections stands at 2,988. Fatalities have remained at 54 for about a week. Thailand ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s Ninja Van has raised $279 million from backers including France’s GeoPost SA and ride-hailing giant Grab Holdings Inc, scoring one of Southeast Asia’s largest startup investments since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group and Monk’s Hill Ventures were among those that took part in the parcel delivery firm’s Series D round, completed ...

Bloomberg Total SA set out bolder commitments to eliminate most of its carbon emissions by 2050, while curbing spending on oil and gas projects due to the crude-price slump. The French company’s commitment to invest more in clean energy, despite a sharp drop in profit as the coronavirus hammers fuel demand, illustrates the enduring pressure on oil giants from investors ...