March, 2020

• 16 March

  Airfares soar as Chinese rush to escape virus in Europe

  

  Bloomberg Cambridge University student James Shen didn’t hesitate to pay double for a business-class ticket to fly to China last week, deciding it would be safer there than in the UK as the coronavirus spreads in Europe. “I feel much more protected here,” Shen said after arriving home in Suzhou, about 60 miles (95 kilometres) west of Shanghai. “In the ...

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• 16 March

  Finnair projects loss after cutting 90% of capacity

  Bloomberg Finland’s national carrier Finnair Oyj will slash 90% of its flight capacity in response to a decline in demand caused by the global new coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a substantial operating loss this year. The airline also withdrew its dividend proposal and plans to cut costs, according to a statement on Monday. In addition, it is implementing a funding ...

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• 16 March

  H&M, Primark brace for downturn in Europe

  Bloomberg Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) and Primark are bracing for an unprecedented slump in European sales as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak shifts from China. Primark has closed shops that generate 30% of its total revenue as governments ordered shutdowns. H&M is shutting stores in 13 European countries, including Italy, which has more than 24,000 cases of Covid-19. The ...

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• 15 March

  Dafza adds AED164 billion to Dubai foreign trade in 2019

  

  DUBAI / WAM Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) has played a key role in boosting Dubai’s economic growth, with a 12 percent contribution to the emirate’s foreign trade in 2019, compared to 11.2 percent in 2018, out of a total trade value of AED1.37 trillion recorded last year. This came as a direct result of the incentives and business facilitation ...

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• 15 March

  Abu Dhabi, Dubai financial markets ban insider trading

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Markets (DFM) announced the prohibition period for insider trading at public shareholding companies listed in the UAE capital markets, which will take effect on Tuesday, March 17, in compliance with the applicable regulations and rules. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and DFM called on listed shareholding companies and brokerage companies to implement ...

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• 15 March

  Covid-19: WTO suspends meetings till end of April

  

  GENEVA / WAM All World Trade Organisation (WTO), meetings are suspended until the end of April and Secretariat staff have been requested to work from home until the end of March. Director-General Roberto Azevedo has informed WTO members and staff that access to the organisation’s premises will be restricted as of March 16. “In light of developments related to the ...

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• 15 March

  Europe widens lockdown, moves to limit economic damage amid virus

  

  Bloomberg Europeans were faced with increasingly draconian restrictions on public life on Sunday, as governments from Spain to Scandinavia and the Baltic tried to check the spread of the coronavirus and limit the damage to continent’s fragile economies. With Europe now the epicenter of outbreak, Austria banned gatherings of more than five people, urged citizens to self-isolate and said it ...

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• 15 March

  Dubai Cares launches ‘vocational training’ in Tajikistan

  

  Dubai / WAM Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has expanded its geographical outreach with the launch of its first educational programme in broader Central Asia. The AED5,510,250 ($1.5 million) programme, being implemented in partnership with Mercy Corps, is set to tackle widespread youth unemployment in Tajikistan over a period of three years. The programme ...

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• 15 March

  Etihad announces changes to route network

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Airways has announced temporary changes to its route network on Sunday. In a statement, the UAE airline said, “Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, and its continuing impact on air travel services globally, Etihad Airways continues to follow UAE and international government and regulatory authority directives and has implemented a series of ...

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• 15 March

  ADX, DFM ban insider trading from Tuesday

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Markets announced the prohibition period for insider trading at public shareholding companies listed in the UAE capital markets, which will take effect on Tuesday, March 17 2020, in compliance with the applicable regulations and rules. ADX and DFM called on listed shareholding companies and brokerage companies to implement the ban until ...

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