January, 2021

• 6 January

  EGA’s Al Taweelah refinery reaches nameplate capacity

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, on Tuesday announced that its Al Taweelah alumina refinery, the first in the UAE, has delivered sustained monthly production at or above nameplate capacity each month for the past three months. The milestone marks the completion of a world-class ramp-up of ...

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• 6 January

  Etihad Airways offers two tickets for price of one in New Year’s sale

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Etihad Airways announced the launch of its New Year’s sale – get two tickets for the price of one. Fares from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul start from just AED1,790, Dublin from AED3,830 and Toronto from AED5,790. The sale extends across all of Etihad’s cabins, with return Business fares starting from AED8,750 out of Abu Dhabi to ...

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• 6 January

  Irthi explores new avenues for traditional crafts

  

  Sharjah / WAM Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, an affiliate of the Nama Women Advancement Establishment, has broadened the global appeal of the UAE’s timeless, indigenous craft traditions through collaborations with entities at the forefront of the international design and cultural landscape. Teaming up with Dezeen, an influential architecture and design magazine and digital platform, Irthi showcased a selection of its ...

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• 6 January

  Trump’s phone call is what coup fever looks like

  

  Like the little boy haunted by ghosts in the horror movie “The Sixth Sense,” President Donald Trump sees dead people everywhere. He thinks at least 5,000 of them voted in Georgia during the presidential election and were part of a broader conspiracy that deprived him of a victory in the state. In an unhinged, extraordinary phone call with Georgia Secretary ...

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• 6 January

  Indonesia’s unicorn marriage is ‘risky’

  

  An $18 billion merger between Indonesia’s transportation king Gojek and e-commerce giant PT Tokopedia would create the kind of champion Southeast Asia’s largest nation deserves. The real synergies may be hidden below the surface, just like the landmines they face. Both are ready for a possible deal, with a view towards an initial public offering, Bloomberg News wrote on Tuesday. ...

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• 6 January

  What South Korea needs are births, immigrants

  South Korea greeted the new year by recording its first annual population decline. Unfortunately, the go-to solutions are meeting some practical challenges in the Covid-19 era. Headcount dwindled slightly to 51.8 million last year, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said. The retreat was the product of a 10.6% slide in births, coupled with a 3.1% increase in deaths. South ...

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• 6 January

  Private sector must join in India’s vaccine push

  The Indian state faces one of the world’s most formidable challenges: rolling out a Covid-19 vaccination program for 1.3 billion people. To succeed, many things have to go right in a country that usually gets a lot wrong. The government would be wise to enlist the country’s private sector in this gargantuan effort — and soon. The vaccine rollout is ...

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• 6 January

  Changi Airport gears up for business travellers

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s Changi Airport, a key part of the city-state’s psyche, is reinventing itself for the Covid era and beyond. In a bid to keep people engaged until life returns to normal, it’s offering glamping for families at Jewel, the nature-themed entertainment complex open to the public, as well as a host of holiday offerings from canopy park tours that ...

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• 6 January

  Delta CEO reiterates cash flow target

  

  Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc’s Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian reiterated the carrier’s aim to achieve positive cash flow by the spring as it plans for a “year of recovery.” He warned that travel demand will remain “deeply depressed” initially, with the company’s focus on health and safety for passengers. A “significant” resumption of travel, particularly for business, will come ...

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• 6 January

  HK’s retail slump eases before new virus wave

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s retail environment showed further signs of improvement in November, although the recovery may have been short-lived as the city was hit with a fresh wave of virus infections and imposed new restrictions late in the month. The provisional value of total retail sales in November 2020 was HK$28.7 billion ($3.7 billion), down by 4% compared with the ...

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