ABU DHABI / WAM The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) is following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern and hoping that the key actors there will advance the aspirations of the Afghan people to live dignified and peaceful lives. The HCHF called for protecting human rights, guaranteeing public and individual freedoms, and, in particular, safeguarding the rights of …

BRUSSELS / WAM The EU will provide €41 million to help low and middle-income countries facing an unprecedented health, humanitarian and socio-economic crisis as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to persist, combined with the imbalance in the delivery of vaccines. To help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia tackle the consequences of the pandemic, the …

Bloomberg Four of the top five Canadian banks are taking a stricter stance with their return-to-office policies, requiring that workers be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before coming back to company buildings, while the fifth is moving in the same direction. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Bank of Montreal joined other major financial firms in requiring …

Bloomberg Standard Bank Group Ltd is aiming to grow its customer base by at least 10 million across the 20 African countries it operates in over the next four years. Africa’s biggest lender is looking to add more digitally engaged customers, forge alliances with distribution partners and expand its product offering as it plots a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. …

Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank refrained from raising interest rates during a coronavirus outbreak and nationwide lockdown but left little doubt it intends to start lifting them soon. The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the official cash rate (OCR) at 0.25%, but Governor Adrian Orr said the decision was made in light of the lockdown and that policy was …

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank will stop accepting applications for digital banking licenses from September 1, Governor Benjamin Diokno said. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will close the application window for three years to allow the regulator “to better monitor” the performance of the industry, Diokno said in a briefing. Submissions on or before end-August will be processed on a first-come, …

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s Petershill unit, which specialises in buying stakes in alternative asset managers, is considering listing a permanent capital vehicle in London as soon as this year, people familiar with the matter said. Petershill is working with advisers on the potential initial public offering (IPO), the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is …

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate at a record low to protect the currency, and said it had formulated a plan to deal with eventual US policy tightening. Bank Indonesia kept the seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 3.5%, as expected by all 28 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Interest rates have been on hold since February’s 25-basis …

Bloomberg The Chinese central bank’s branch in Shenzhen ordered almost a dozen companies operating in the technology hub to rectify illegal activities related to cryptocurrencies, signalling an intensifying crackdown on digital assets. The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Shenzhen branch started a “rectification project” targeting illegal trading of virtual currencies and “cleaned up” 11 firms allegedly involved in illegal activities …

Bloomberg Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln luxury division is updating the cash-cow Navigator SUV with hands-free driving technology and refreshing the styling. But the automaker isn’t adding a feature it has been touting lately —electric power. With new competition coming from the updated Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Lincoln is giving its flagship vehicle a reboot, adding creature comforts like second-row seats that …