Dubai / WAM HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance and Governor of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for the United Arab Emirates, announced on Wednesday the launch of a new initiative to create a unified global legal and legislative framework for the Islamic finance sector. Launched by the UAE Ministry of Finance in partnership with the IDB, ...
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Hong Kong retail slumps as Chinese consumers vanish
Bloomberg Hong Kong’s retailers will need to get creative to survive the deepening recession that’s enveloped the city as tourists from the mainland who fuelled past rebounds are unlikely to come to the rescue this time. The city’s retail sales by value in March sank 42% from a year earlier to HK$23 billion ($2.97 billion), according to a government release. ...
Read More »World’s worst PMI shows 15% contraction in India economy
Bloomberg India’s dominant services industries crashed last month, signaling a massive contraction in the economy during the strict stay-at-home restrictions. The services purchasing managers index (PMI) plunged by 43.9 points to 5.4 in April, the lowest in the world, hitting single digits for the first time and staying below 50, the dividing line between contraction and expansion, according to data ...
Read More »Recession deepens in Europe’s south amid lockdown damage
Bloomberg Italy and Spain, the two European countries most severely hit by the coronavirus, are suffering even deeper slumps after record contractions in the first quarter. Lockdowns that shut hotels and restaurants meant companies experienced unprecedented declines in output and new orders in April, and cut jobs like never before in the history of IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Surveys. Prospects ...
Read More »General Motors to raise $2b loan to boost liquidity
Bloomberg General Motors Co. is in discussions with banks to raise a new $2 billion loan to increase liquidity as it deals with a continuing slump in consumer demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The loan is structured as a 364-day revolving credit facility and is a precautionary measure to raise company’s liquidity, the people said, asking not to be ...
Read More »Sunak looks at options to bring UK furlough support to end
Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is examining ways to move millions of workers off government support and back into their jobs as the UK leaves its lockdown. In March, as the UK went into lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus, Sunak announced a furlough program where workers received 80% of their wage to stay home. It’s now ...
Read More »Pompeo has no evidence virus escaped from Wuhan lab: China
Bloomberg China fired back at US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, saying he has no evidence to back up claims that the virus that causes Covid-19 escaped from a lab in the central city of Wuhan. The US attacks on China were part of an election year strategy by President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of this year’s election, Chinese ...
Read More »VP: International cooperation has never been more needed
ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said that as the country and the world face testing times during the coronavirus pandemic, the 44th anniversary of the UAE Armed Forces’ Unification Day comes as a reminder of this nation’s “perseverance” and “ability ...
Read More »Tamm unveils Abu Dhabi Pay for government services
ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Government Support, as represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (Adda) has announced the launch of the digital payment platform, ‘Abu Dhabi Pay’ through Abu Dhabi Government Services ecosystem (Tamm). The launch of Abu Dhabi Pay is a new step towards accelerating the pace and impact of digital transformation and innovating more solutions ...
Read More »Abu Dhabi launches e-learning platform for industry partners
ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi on Tuesday announced the launch of the ‘Abu Dhabi Specialist Programme’, an e-learning platform which will provide travel trade industry professionals with destination-related information about the emirate through a series of online courses. In a statement, DCT Abu Dhabi noted that the programme will be rolled out ...
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