Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business A collective figure of US$1 billion in startup investment funds will be present at the STEP conference this year, which will host more than 200 start ups and exhibitors, organisers announced. STEP, the largest tech and interactive gathering in the Middle East to be held in Dubai next month, plans to host more than 5,000 ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Eight Dubai Government entities joined hands to inspect 12 companies in the emirate involved in the illegal trade of diesel. The inspections occurred over a two-day period in Ras Al Khor Industrial Area in Dubai from which a number of trading companies and agents were penalised for numerous violations ranging from use of unsafe fuel facilities ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Contemporary French jewellery house ‘dinh van’ opened its first mono-store at City Walk, Dubai on Wednesday. The brand has been a symbol for elegant, eclectic designs in the UAE after having a strong following in the region. Founded by Jean Dinh Van in Paris in 1965, the House of dinh van was born from the will ...

Beijing / AFP Ratings agency Moody’s on Wednesday cut its outlook on China’s sovereign bonds from stable to negative, warning of increasing government debt and further capital outflows and questioning Beijing’s ability to implement economic reforms. The Chinese government’s fiscal strength has weakened with borrowing increasing across the economy and financial system and stress mounting in state-owned enterprises, Moody’s Investors ...

New Delhi / Bloomberg Vodafone Group Plc and Cairn Energy Plc must decide whether to take the tax olive branch proposed by India or risk having to pay 500 billion rupees ($7.4 billion) that the government claims in taxes, penalties and interest, an official said. The government has done its best to end disputes with Vodafone and Cairn over retrospective ...

Tokyo / Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. is handing non-Japanese executives major promotions in the third overhaul of its complex business structure in six years, as President Akio Toyoda seeks ways to make the world’s largest automaker more nimble. Didier Leroy, who was appointed the company’s highest-ranking non-Japanese executive a year ago, will add the newly created title of chief competitive ...

Tokyo / Bloomberg Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., (HKEX) the most valuable exchange operator in Asia, said full-year earnings rose to a record on higher trading turnover. Net income jumped 54 percent to HK$7.96 billion ($1 billion) last year, up from HK$5.17 billion a year earlier, the exchange said in a statement on Wednesday. Revenue increased 36 percent to ...

Taipei / DPA Workforce demand for the second quarter is expected to rise by 19,334 – a drastic 57-per-cent decline from last year’s 45,063, according to the Labour Ministry’s survey on domestic firms. It was the lowest growth in seven years for the April-June period. Stagnant global growth and lackluster export performance have contributed to companies’ lower willingness to hire, ...

Tokyo / Bloomberg As stocks go, so does the performance of Japan’s giant pension fund. The $1.2 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) provided some respite for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a $41 billion gain in the three months ended December, rebounding from the worst quarterly loss in data going back to April 2008. It will probably prove fleeting, ...

LONDON / Bloomberg Alternative trading arrangements with the European Union in the event of a British departure from the bloc would pose “serious risks” to the prosperity of Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron’s government said. The option providing for the most definitive break with the 28-nation bloc — a reversion to World Trade Organization rules —would mean greater costs for ...