April, 2020

• 15 April

  Government portal records 11.75m e-services transactions

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Latest figures on the activity of the official portal of the UAE government recorded around 11.752 million transactions involving the most used e-services in 2019. The UAE achieved significant accomplishments in the field of digital transformation in recent years, due to the provision of 5,713 federal and local government services through the official government portal in ...

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• 15 April

  UAE condemns terror attack attempt in Egypt

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The United Arab Emirates has condemned an attempted terror attack in the Arab Republic of Egypt that resulted in the killing of a policeman and the wounding of several others. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation praised the vigilance, sophistication, and efficiency of the Egyptian security forces’ response, which resulted in ...

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• 15 April

  Fujairah oil product stocks climb highest since Feb record

  

  Fujairah / WAM Volumes of oil products held in storage at Fujairah climbed to their highest since the all-time high seen in February as tumbling demand from the coronavirus pandemic left more supplies in the eastern UAE port. Stocks rose 5.3 percent over the past week to 24.953 million barrels, with the greatest build seen in light distillates, according to ...

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• 15 April

  SCCI reaffirms support for private sector

  

  SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) underlined its keenness on the constant coordination with the private sector to support its activities in the emirate of Sharjah in general and in eastern and central regions in particular. The coordination will be through the chamber’s branches in these cities by creating an enabling environment to enhance the ...

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• 15 April

  India plans partial lockdown exit to start stalled economy

  

  Bloomberg India will allow makers of information technology hardware, farmers and industries in rural areas to resume operations after April 20 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi crafts a plan to exit the world’s biggest lockdown and revive stalled economic activity. Amid a three-week lockdown that’s been extended to May 3, the government will also lift restrictions to allow e-commerce companies, ...

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• 15 April

  US returns $300m Jho Low-linked funds to Malaysia

  

  Bloomberg The US returned to Malaysia another $300 million that was recovered as part of the Justice Department’s forfeiture lawsuits targeting assets that fugitive financier Low Taek Jho and his associates bought with funds allegedly stolen from the country’s 1MDB investment fund. With the latest repatriation, the US has sent $600 million back to Malaysia as part of the continuing ...

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• 15 April

  Singapore home sales set for harder hit over lockdown

  

  Bloomberg Singapore home sales slumped in March and are set to take a harder hit in coming months as the government enforces a more draconian lockdown that threatens to bring the property market to a standstill. Sales in the city-state fell 32% to 660 units last month — even before the toughest curbs were imposed — from 976 in February, ...

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• 15 April

  Coronavirus pandemic may hit banana supplies in Asia next

  

  Bloomberg Get your potassium while you can. The coronavirus pandemic may limit supplies of bananas in Asia. Growers in the Philippines, the world’s second-biggest exporter, said overseas shipments may drop by nearly 40% this year as lockdowns and social distancing measures curb output and transport. The country’s exports of the fruit are expected to plunge to about 2.5 million tons ...

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• 15 April

  Thai PM tells people to sell gold gradually

  Bloomberg Thailand’s gold shops are running out of cash because so many people want to sell ornaments, jewelry and bars amid an economic slowdown. “I’m asking people to sell gradually, not in large amounts, as shops may face a cash crunch,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said in a briefing on Wednesday in Bangkok. The yellow metal remains a popular way ...

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• 15 April

  India’s monsoon expected to be normal

  Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for economic growth, is expected to be normal this year, the weather office said. Annual rainfall during the June-September rainy season is likely to be 100% of the long-term average, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.

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