Bloomberg Thailand’s ubiquitous tuk-tuk, the noisy, colourful three-wheeled taxi that’s been belching exhaust on local roads for almost a century, is getting a cutting-edge makeover to help carry the local auto industry into the future. Beginning in November, a public-private partnership will test the nation’s first self-driving tuk-tuk in an effort to nudge Thailand towards the forefront of developing autonomous-vehicle ...

Bloomberg Commerzbank AG is planning to cut 4,300 jobs as part of a new strategic plan that will also see the bank sell a stake in its Polish mBank unit to reduce risk and help pay for the measures. Germany’s second-biggest listed bank plans to close 200 branches as part of the measures, and buy the 18% it doesn’t yet ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank cut its key interest rate for a third straight month to bolster growth amid a deepening global economic slowdown. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 5.25%, as predicted by 21 out of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The rest forecast no change. The latest round of easing, after the Federal ...

Bloomberg India’s central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said there’s room for interest rate cuts to spur economic growth given stable and below-target inflation. Speaking at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum in Mumbai, Das said a surge in oil prices following the supply disruption at a Saudi Arabian crude facility will likely be contained and won’t pose a major challenge to ...

Bloomberg Zimbabwe’s central bank has tightened the rules governing the trade of foreign currency by money exchange offices with immediate effect. The rates offered by exchange offices must be 7% above or below the interbank mid-rate, the central bank said in an emailed statement. Failure to comply would result in either heavy financial penalties or license revocation, it said. The ...

Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) promoted Alison Rose to chief executive officer, making her the first woman to run one of Britain’s big four lenders. Rose, the former head of British commercial and private banking at RBS, was seen as being groomed for the role for years. She takes over on Nov. 1, set to be the UK’s ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc has launched a public-relations offensive aimed at leaders in Beijing, reflecting worries that its position as the biggest foreign bank in China is at risk. With controversies such as the US-China trade war and the Hong Kong democracy protests swirling, the effort is aimed at repairing damage from the fallout of its role in the US ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary gave a pessimistic outlook for the resumption by Boeing Co of deliveries of its grounded 737 Max, saying the carrier has frozen payments to the manufacturer and started talks on recouping costs of the delay. Deliveries of the aircraft will likely slip “another couple of months” to March or April, he ...

Bloomberg British Airways pilots scrapped a planned one-day walkout scheduled for later this month to pursue “meaningful new discussions” as the union sought to end a deadlock over wages. The British Airline Pilots’ Association said it was calling off the September 27 action “before the dispute escalates further and irreparable damage is done to the brand,” and demanded the carrier ...

Bloomberg PT Lion Mentari Airlines, Indonesia’s biggest private carrier, is investigating a breach that led to personal data of passengers on its Malaysian and Thai units being leaked online. Malindo Airways’s passenger information, which is hosted on cloud-based services, may have been compromised, the carrier said in a statement. Malindo is working with its data service provider Amazon Web Services ...