News

  Bloomberg Aspire Pte, a fintech startup serving businesses, raised $100 million in a round that more than doubled its valuation, defying a market downturn for young tech firms. The Singapore-based company said in a statement it struck a deal for financing led by Lightspeed and Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia. Paypal Ventures, Tencent Holdings Ltd, LGT Capital Partners and previous ...

  Bloomberg Embattled tycoon Gautam Adani’s challenges have knocked the confidence of strategic insurance investors seeking to establish partnerships in India, according to Bain & Co’s mergers and acquisitions head for Asia Pacific. Global firms, which typically hold significant stakes in the government-regulated sector, are worried about finding strong local partners who they can trust, said Bain’s Harshveer Singh. “They ...

Bloomberg India is likely to witness more extreme weather events, including intense heat waves, heavy flooding and severe drought that pose challenges to food and energy security for the second-most populous nation. “The extremes are increasing — hot is becoming hotter and cold is becoming colder,” said M Ravichandran, the top bureaucrat at the country’s earth sciences ministry. This trend ...

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is exploring how to boost wages for Malaysian workers, as gloomy economic prospects pose headwinds to his fledgling administration. Malaysia plans to set a wage growth target for all workers and formulate policies to support this, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli told a press conference. The National Economic Action Council will meet in March to ...

  Bloomberg Dabur India Ltd, a major consumer goods maker controlled by the billionaire Burman family, is scouting for acquisitions at home and in Southeast Asia as it works to establish its presence in a new overseas market amid heated domestic competition. On the back of its $71 million purchase of spice producer Badshah Masala Pvt Ltd in October, the ...

  Sharjah / Gulf Time The Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH) announced that the 20th Sharjah Heritage Days (SHD) will take place from March 1-21 under the slogan “Heritage and Creativity”. The event will be held in 12 cities of the emirate of Sharjah, with the participation of 42 Arab and foreign countries and 40 government agencies. The announcement came ...

  DUBAI / WAM Dubai Future Foundation launched the Future Opportunities Report: The Global 50 at the World Government Summit 2023, unveiling 50 promising opportunities across various sectors and ten global megatrends. The report was created alongside 30 international experts and highlights opportunities to overcome global challenges such as scientific advancement, economic growth, government work and social development. Mohammad Abdullah ...

  DUBAI / WAM Gilbert F Houngbo, the Director General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), has welcomed the efforts made by the UAE to reform social protection and services, and hailed the country’s plans to embrace the technology needed to make these reforms come true. He highlighted in this regard the recent unemployment insurance scheme launched by the UAE ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) has reported its financial results for the full year ended on December 31, 2022, announcing a net profit of AED377.9 million. The company reported gross written premiums increased by 20.1% to AED5.13 billion, compared to AED4.27 billion for the same period in 2021. Adnic’s net underwriting income was AED490.9 ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and Chairman of the Exports Executive Committee of the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX), met Arnoldo Andre Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, to discuss ways to strengthen relations between the UAE and Costa Rica in various fields. During the meeting ...