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GENEVA / WAM The number of people fleeing war, persecution, and conflict exceeded 70 million in 2018. This is the highest level that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has seen in its almost 70 years. Data from UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, released on Wednesday, shows almost 70.8 million people are now forcibly displaced. To put this in perspective, this …

Bloomberg Global oil demand growth is slowing. That is the view of all three major oil forecasting organisations, who have cut their assessments for what they expect in terms of an increase in crude consumption this year. The latest outlooks from the International Energy Agency, the US Energy Information Administration and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) all show …

Dubai / Emirates Business Landmark Group and HSBC have completed a first-of-its-kind transaction that connected two independently- built blockchain platforms, proving their interoperability and showing how collaborative technologies can further accelerate international trade in the future. It also marks a major step forward in the Middle East’s retail industry adopting blockchain. The transaction involved a shipment from Bee Dee Industries …

Dubai / Emirates Business Homegrown UAE company Zbooni has announced it has just closed its latest funding round of $1.1 million from Chalhoub Group and B&Y Venture Partners to continue to grow the business. With a strong growth record over two years, it is handling millions of dirhams of sale transactions per month through its connected chat commerce app. The …

Bloomberg Oil rose, reversing earlier declines, as the European Central Bank said it may pump more stimulus into the region’s economy and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies made progress in setting a date to discuss extending supply cuts. Futures gained as much as 4.5 percent in New York. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and …

ABU DHABI / WAM The United Arab Emirates drew up to AED111.7 billion in FDI flows during the period from 2016 through 2018, bringing its overall volume of foreign investments to circa AED511 billion. According to the World Investment Report 2019, released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the UAE ranked 27th globally in attracting FDI flows …

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider, Sanad Aerotech, has announced its expanding its international customers network in Eastern Europe, signing two maintenance agreements with Russian Nordwind and Bulgarian BH Air. The partnership agreements come after Sanad Aerotech and Rolls-Royce announced a landmark $6.5 billion engine maintenance agreement including component repair to operators globally over …

ABU DHABI / WAM Japan is drastically reforming its defence organisations to deal with new combat situations that require a combination of conventional warfare and the new domains of space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum, a top Japanese defence official told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on Monday. There is potential for further defence cooperation with UAE in such new …

PARIS / WAM Abu Dhabi’s Sanad Aerotech on Monday announced the conclusion of a landmark agreement with Rolls-Royce plc to become a Rolls-Royce Trent 700 Authorised Maintenance Centre (AMC). Sanad Aerotech is a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider for aero engines and industrial gas turbines that is wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company PJSC. The agreement, which is valued …

Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co founder Ren Zhengfei expects US sanctions to curtail its revenue by about $30 billion over the coming two years, wiping out the networking giant’s growth by withholding critical American technology. Sales at China’s largest technology company will likely remain stagnant at about $100 billion in 2019 and 2020, the billionaire said during a panel discussion, quantifying …