News

  Abu Dhabi / WAM First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) with the support of its affiliate, Magnati, is collaborating with PayRow Net through the Ports Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) to establish a best-in-class digital payment platform to spur Dubai’s shift towards becoming a cashless economy. The new payment ecosystem is set to transform the existing payment gateway, leading ...

Bloomberg Australia is eyeing India’s burgeoning middle class to help offset the economic damage wrought to some of its major exports by the twin headwinds of Covid-19 and heavy restrictions imposed by its biggest trade partner, China. With a middle-to-high income population of about 85 million people, according to Pew Research — roughly three times Australia’s total population — it’s ...

  Bloomberg India is likely to spend less on subsidising fertilisers as global prices fall and the government looks to narrow its budget deficit, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials are considering slashing the fertiliser subsidy bill to 1 trillion to 1.5 trillion rupees ($18 billion) for the 2023-24 fiscal year starting April, according to the people, who ...

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s urbanisation rate has nearly tripled since 1970, with three-quarters of the nation’s residents now living in cities. The nation’s urban population expanded to 24.4 million in 2020 from 3 million in 1970, according to a report by the Department of Statistics. The rural population saw rose slightly to 8.1 million from 7.5 million in the period. The ...

Bloomberg Thailand will exceed its most-recent target for foreign tourist arrivals by about 15%, buoyed by a year-end rush of visitors from Europe and the United States, according to the government’s tourism agency. At least 11.5 million international travellers will come this year, compared to a target of 10 million, according to Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of ...

  Bloomberg Shanghai, the world’s biggest container port, is isolating the shipment of international goods to prevent disruptions to global exports as a Covid wave sweeps across China. The port is keeping overseas vessels in a closed-loop zone to avoid massive delays, according to an oil-shipping broker. In addition, most infected staff have mild symptoms, and there are backup teams ...

  Bloomberg China’s soaring Covid infections are keeping people home and causing a slump in travel and economic activity, according to the latest high-frequency data. Following the recent abrupt end to Covid Zero controls, more cities have been hit by an exit wave of infections in the past week, leading to crowded hospitals and queues at funeral parlours. That’s keeping ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Madiyar Menilbekov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UAE, stressed that the ambitious objectives, similar aspirations and mutual respect of the UAE and Kazakhstan have strengthened their bilateral relations. At a press conference held at the embassy’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi for the launch of a book on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ...

Muscat / WAM Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Omani Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, stressed that the digital economy of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is advancing at a rapid and significant pace, noting its major importance to GDP. He also noted the importance of promoting cooperation between the GCC and its international partners to increase the ...

  Dubai / WAM Dell Technologies and G42 Cloud have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help customers in the UAE accelerate their digital transformation drive by collaborating on cloud, security and IT and managed services. The MoU was signed by Walid Yehia, General Manager – UAE, Dell Technologies, and Talal Al Kaissi, CEO of G42 Cloud, at the ...