The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

Ritika SHARMA / EMIRATES BUSINESS Today, people rely more and more on the Internet than they would have ever imagined. One is constantly reaching out to search engines and apps for day-to-day activities. In such a ubiquitous environment, one always wondered whether mundane services like plumbing, facilities management, landscaping can also be available online in a secure and convenient manner. ...

Beijing / AP China’s top planner tried to reassure foreign companies they are welcome in its slowing, state-dominated economy in a speech on Sunday aimed at dispelling growing anxiety Beijing is squeezing them out of promising industries. Speaking to an audience that included executives of top global companies at a government-organized conference, Xu Shaoshi pledged to “promote two-way opening up ...

Astana / Bloomberg Kazakhs are going to the polls in early parliamentary elections called after President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned of a “real crisis” facing the Central Asian nation because of the slump in oil prices. Six parties are competing for 98 elected seats in the 107-member parliament, which also has nine appointed delegates. Voting on Sunday begins at 7 a.m. ...

New Delhi / Bloomberg Jewellers in India, the world’s second-biggest gold consumer, ended a strike to protest against a new tax announced in the budget after the government assured them the charges won’t lead to harassment by authorities. The strike, which started on March 2, ended after the government agreed not to “trouble the industry” over the excise levy, Ketan ...

Manila / AFP When mystery hackers launched a stunning raid on Bangladesh’s foreign reserves, a plot worthy of a John le Carre spy novel was sparked in the Philippines, exposing the Southeast Asian nation as a dirty money haven. The $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank’s American accounts last month was immediately sent via electronic transfer to the ...

Beijing / Bloomberg Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei downplayed a decision by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to cut his country’s credit-rating outlook, saying leaders “didn’t care that much” because the move had little market impact. The March 2 downgrade didn’t lead to irrational market behavior or aggressive short-selling, Lou said at the China Development Forum, a gathering of world business ...

Sydney / Bloomberg The Australian government is focusing on boosting jobs and economic growth as it prepares for the annual budget, which is still scheduled to be delivered on May 10, according to Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos. “The overriding objective is how do various government policies contribute to higher jobs and growth, in other words how do we continue to ...

Singapore / DPA The surging gold price has lifted gold mining stocks in Singapore. The precious metal has jumped almost 20 per cent in price since the end of last year to trade above US$1,250 per ounce in recent weeks. Of the three gold miners listed on the Singapore Exchange, two have bucked the bearish tide across the wider market ...

Paris / AFP The European Central Bank’s plan to buy corporate bonds to help the eurozone economy is boosting the private-sector debt market which promptly responded with a new record-sized company bond. With interest rates near or below zero and few other monetary policy tools left in its arsenal, the ECB announced earlier this month that it would begin buying ...

Bloomberg Iain Duncan Smith, who resigned as U.K. work & pensions secretary last week, denied accusations that his move was aimed at undermining Prime Minister David Cameron amid Conservative Party divisions over the European Union. Duncan Smith told BBC Television’s “Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday he quit solely because the government’s tax and welfare changes are unfair. “This is not ...