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DUBAI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has directed a comprehensive assessment of more than 1,300 digital and smart services provided by ministries and government departments. “Today we directed a thorough evaluation of digital and smart services provided by federal government ministries and departments. ...

Sharjah / WAM The Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) announced that it would be implementing the full foreign ownership policy, allowing investors of natural and legal persons to own 100 percent of commercial and industrial companies and practice activities in the Emirate of Sharjah. This decision includes no requirements such as a specific capital or any additional fees for foreign ...

Ajman / WAM The Department of Economic Development in Ajman (Ajman DED) opened 100% ownership of economic activities in the commercial and industrial sectors to foreign investors. In this regard, the department has approved over 1,000 economic activities for foreign investment, except those with a strategic impact, which were agreed upon during the meetings of the Strategic Impact Economic Activities ...

Dubai / WAM flydubai, the Dubai-based airline, has announced on Wednesday the resumption of its operations to Naples in Italy. The three weekly flights to Naples International Airport (NAP) will commence on July 1. From June 2, a quarantine-free travel corridor has been established between Italy and the UAE enabling passengers to travel between the two countries with less restrictions. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Emirates Development Bank (EDB), fully owned by the UAE Federal Government, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), to offer a credit guarantee and co-lending programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE. The MoU is part of EDB’s commitment to supporting the goals of the ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden announced measures to increase the number of federal contracts awarded to small, disadvantaged businesses. He also said he had directed his administration to more aggressively prevent discrimination in home appraisals, a detriment for wealth accumulation for Black families. Last week, Biden reiterated calls for Congress to overhaul US policing as he met with the family of ...

Bloomberg The French government will use algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify small firms at risk of collapse in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and provide as much as $3.7 billion to protect them. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire presented the new measures as part of a plan that also includes an extension of crisis lending facilities to the ...

Bloomberg European Union (EU) officials struck a deal to crack down on international companies’ efforts to dodge taxes by requiring greater disclosure, as a coordinated push by governments to take a bigger slice of corporate revenue gathers pace. Negotiators representing the European Parliament and EU governments agreed to a package forcing companies with a total revenue exceeding $917 million in ...

Bloomberg The Swiss economy is recovering quickly after restrictions to curb spread of Covid-19 hit the service sector and consumption at the start of the year. Gross domestic product contracted 0.5% in the first quarter, a deeper slump than economists anticipated. But manufacturing and service sector data for May showed an upsurge in activity — the latest in a string ...

Bloomberg Euro-area factories are struggling to keep up with the economic recovery as orders rise faster than production, setting the bloc up for a summer spike in inflation. Delivery delays for raw materials and components are constraining output growth, leaving companies unable to meet rising demand, according to a survey by IHS Markit. While purchasing activity rose at the fastest ...