May, 2020

• 6 May

  TRA responds to over 34,000 cyber-attacks

  DUBAI / WAM The National Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT) in the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) responded to approximately 34,000 cyber-attacks, during April. The TRA’s monthly report on cybersecurity developments in the Federal Government of the UAE for April, noted that the cyber-attacks varied between malware (46 percent), vulnerabilities (47 percent) and phishing attacks (7 percent). The team also dealt ...

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• 6 May

  UAE launches unified legislative framework for Islamic finance

  

  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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• 6 May

  India raises special tax on fuel as deficit set to breach target

  

  Bloomberg India increased a special tax on gasoline and diesel as pressure builds on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to bridge a ballooning budget deficit. Additional levies on gasoline were raised by 10 rupees ($0.13) a litre effective on Wednesday and that on diesel by 13 rupees, according to government statements. Pump prices will, however, not change, the government said. ...

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• 6 May

  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. ...

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• 6 May

  JPMorgan strikes deal in China

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Asset Management’s alternative investment arm has struck a joint venture with New Ease China to capitalise on the nation’s booming logistics sector as online shopping skyrockets. JPMorgan Global Alternatives will partner with Shanghai-based logistics real estate investor New Ease to invest in properties across China, according to a statement on Wednesday. The initial portfolio consists of logistics facilities ...

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• 6 May

  Alibaba buys 50% stake in S’pore tower

  Bloomberg Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has bought a 50% stake in a Singapore office tower in a deal valuing the property at S$1.68 billion ($1.2 billion). The agreement was struck with a consortium led by Perennial Real Estate Holding, with the sale expected to close around June, according to a statement. Alibaba and Perennial will then create ...

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• 6 May

  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 ...

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• 6 May

  Nigeria stares into the abyss of a life without crude cash

  

  Bloomberg Africa’s most populous nation is getting almost nothing from its massive oil wealth. While headline Brent-crude futures have rallied sharply in the past few weeks — rising above $30 a barrel — a glut of Nigerian oil is fetching about $10 less than that. It’s a level that means fiscal revenue for the continent’s biggest economy has cratered. “It’s ...

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• 6 May

  Suncor Energy cuts its dividend 55%, chops capital spending again

  

  Bloomberg Suncor Energy Inc is going further into a defensive crouch, cutting its capital-spending plans for a second time and shrinking its dividend payout, as the Covid-19 pandemic hammers crude demand. Capital spending this year will be C$3.6 billion to C$4 billion ($2.6 billion to $2.9 billion), down from an already-reduced range of C$3.9 billion to C$4.5 billion announced in ...

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• 6 May

  Peek into wooden mast reveals wind power’s towering future

  

  Bloomberg Standing nearly 100 feet tall on the rocky shore of the island Bjorko in southwest Sweden, a white wind tower looks indistinguishable from thousands of similar tubes that help generate clean energy all over the world. But inside is another story. The interior of the tower is a tableau of creamy white boards, soaring into the air like a ...

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