April, 2020

• 25 April

  84,182 GWh of electricity generated in Abu Dhabi: DoE

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) issued the 2019 Annual Technical Report for Water, Wastewater and Electricity Sectors in Abu Dhabi, as part of its role as the regulating body, in charge of improving the technical performance of the energy sector. The aim is to enable the sector to play its critical part in driving ...

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• 25 April

  Deal signed to link digital services with Ajman Pay

  

  AJMAN / WAM As part of its efforts to improve its services provided to the public, Ajman Transport Authority announced that it has linked its digital services with Ajman Pay. This is an important initiative to improve the quality of services and provide multiple payment channels and options that suit various customer segments. This agreement between Ajman’s Department of Finance ...

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• 25 April

  Loose measures to slow Indonesian recovery

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia opted for less punishing social-distancing measures than its neighbors to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Now analysts are warning its economy will take much longer to recover than others in Southeast Asia. With the pandemic’s peak expected in late May, President Joko Widodo is recalibrating his strategy of large-scale social distancing rules and calling for a ramp-up ...

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• 25 April

  India allows neighbourhood stores to reopen, keeps malls shut

  

  Bloomberg India’s government is allowing smaller neighbourhood stores to reopen, bringing relief to residents after a month into the world’s biggest lockdown that’s restricting 1.3 billion people. The shops can deploy a maximum of 50% of their staff, all wearing masks and following social distancing rules, according to the order issued by the home ministry. The order includes standalone stores ...

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• 25 April

  Singapore home prices fall over Covid-19

  Bloomberg Singapore home prices fell less than initially estimated in the first quarter, with an extended lockdown threatening to further push down values as the residential property comes to a standstill. Housing prices fell 1% in the three months ended on March 31, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed. That compares to a preliminary estimate of a 1.2% decline. ...

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• 25 April

  Supplier of world’s nurses struggles to fight virus at home

  

  Bloomberg The Philippines is known for training nurses and exporting them to all corners of the world, but now the nation finds itself shorthanded just as its number of coronavirus infections and deaths skyrocket. The islands’ death toll from Covid-19 has surged nearly fivefold since April 1 to 462, and the confirmed cases have tripled to 6,981 as of April ...

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• 25 April

  Trump team faces hurdles getting Fed to help battered oil companies

  

  Bloomberg The Trump administration faces significant hurdles in getting the Federal Reserve to help rescue an oil industry squeezed by plunging crude prices given the central bank’s aversion to helping specific industries and its lack of authority to help businesses that are insolvent. The Fed regards loan programmes aimed at a specific industry as credit allocation — something Chairman Jerome ...

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• 25 April

  IndiGrid seeks $786 million in solar assets

  

  Bloomberg India Grid Trust, an infrastructure investment trust backed by private equity fund KKR & Co and Singapore’s GIC Pte, is looking to add as much as $786 million of solar power projects to its portfolio and expects some financially stressed assets to become available in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The move is part of the firm’s plan ...

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• 25 April

  Furious rebound in $2 billion energy ETF invites skeptics

  

  Bloomberg The rebound in oil after a historic crash drove a surge in ETFs that track energy producers amid skeptical calls from analysts. State Street’s $2 billion SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, or XOP, has jumped about 40% so far in April — on track for its best month on record. Meanwhile, the $8.8 billion Energy ...

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• 25 April

  German business confidence slumps as lockdowns persist

  

  Bloomberg German business confidence extended its slump in April with much of the global economy in lockdown and companies anticipating a prolonged period of subdued demand. The Ifo Institute’s index dropped to a record-low 74.3, well below economists’ median estimate. Reduced spending power from millions of furloughed workers and the persistence of the coronavirus pandemic in some of Germany’s largest ...

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