Bloomberg JD.com Inc, China’s second-biggest online retailer, will become the country’s first virtual mall to use digital yuan, the cryptocurrency backed by the central bank. JD Digits, the e-commerce giant’s fintech affiliate, will launch a pilot program this month, and customers will pay for certain items with digital yuan, it said on its official WeChat account. About 100,000 digital cash ...

Bloomberg Car-sharing startup Turo Inc is returning to New York, seven years after leaving the state that was once its biggest market over a dispute with regulators about insurance rules. Turo, which allows vehicle owners to put their personal cars up for daily rentals through its website and smartphone app, aims to compete with traditional offerings from Avis Budget Group ...

Bloomberg Google is set to win conditional European Union (EU) approval for its $2.1 billion takeover of health tracker Fitbit Inc this month, people familiar with the discussions said. The deal could be approved as soon as next week after national competition authorities give their opinion, said the people who asked not to be named because the procedure isn’t public. ...

GENEVA / WAM The UN refugee Agency has commended the UAE for supporting humanitarian efforts to airlift emergency aid and supplies to Ethiopian refugees in Sudan. Spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Babar Baloch, told a news briefing in Geneva that a plane carrying 32 tons of UNHCR emergency aid from global stockpile in Dubai landed ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, has ordered the award of the Fallen Frontline Heroes Order to those who have lost their lives on the frontlines while tackling Covid-19. The award is based on a proposal by HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi’s non-oil exports and re-exports reached AED32.8 billion between June and August 2020, up 62.5 percent compared to AED20.2 billion recorded between March and May this year, a report issued by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) showed. The report reveals the emirate’s exports and re-exports of non-oil goods amid the coronavirus pandemic, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Non-performing Debt Relief Fund announced on Monday that 12 banks had waived the debts of 1,607 Emirati citizens, with a total value of more than AED869.85 million. The banks that participated included First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Mashreq Bank, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered, RAKBANK, Commercial ...

Bloomberg Opec ministers started hashing out the size of the cartel’s oil-production cuts for next year, as the group’s president called for caution in a fragile market. The coalition that pumps half the world’s crude is debating whether to maintain supply at current levels or increase it as planned in January. Some members are concerned that global markets remain too ...

TOKYO / WAM Japan imported from the United Arab Emirates 21.850 million barrels of crude oil in October 2020, data released by the Agency of Energy and Natural Resource in Tokyo showed. This accounts for 31.2 percent of Japan’s total crude imports, the agency that belong to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said. Saudi Arabia provided 29.761 mmb, ...

Dubai/ WAM The UAE has been identified as a key market where Angola is looking to attract foreign direct investment in a wide variety of economic sectors, such as agriculture and agroindustry, fisheries, and manufacturing, government and business leaders have revealed. Their comments came during the recent “Expand Your Business to Angola” webinar organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and ...