Business

Tencent to step up investment overseas, in smart retail

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

BEIJING- Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings said it will step up its investment overseas and in industries such as “smart retail”, having already invested in more than 800 companies. Those firms include 70 listed companies and over 160 are valued at more than $1 billion, according

Business

United Nations decarbonisation target for shipping over $1 trillion

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

LONDON- At least $1 trillion (769 billion pounds) of investment in new fuel technology is needed to enable the shipping industry to meet U.N. targets for cuts in carbon emissions by 2050, a study published on Monday showed. The global shipping fleet, which accounts for 2.2% of the world’s CO2 emissions, is under pressure to […]

Business

Gulf carriers fly over Iran, Iraq after others deterred by military action

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

KUWAIT- Qatar Airways, Emirates and several other Gulf airlines still fly in Iraqi and Iranian airspace and to cities in both countries, even as other international carriers have rerouted planes since the United States and Iran traded military strikes. Executives and analysts said carriers in the Gulf, a major transit stop between European and Asian […]

Business

Britain’s car insurance premiums rise 5% in 2019

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

Comprehensive motor insurance policy costs in Britain rose 5% on average in 2019, the steepest annual rise since 2017, an insurance price index released on Monday showed. A comprehensive policy now costs 815 pounds on average, according to the latest index from price comparison site Confused.com in association with insurance broker Willis Towers Watson. The […]

Business

Airbus subsidiary to offer financial product to aid revenue volatility

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

LONDON- A subsidiary of the world’s largest planemaker, Airbus, is preparing to launch a new financial product to aid the airline customers to hedge against risks to revenue. Skytra Ltd is set to launch listed financial futures and options this year to represent airline revenue and to aid the industry in the efficient management of […]

Business

Guoxuan in talks with Volkswagen- not reached binding agreement

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

SHANGHAI- On Monday, Guoxuan High-Tech is currently in talks with Volkswagen AG for a potential strategic technology, product and capital co-operation. The Chinese battery maker wrote this as a company filing, and Guoxuan added that a legally binding agreement regarding the co-operation terms and conditions with the German automaker has not been reached yet. On […]

Business

Oil to highest level in over a week after Libyan shutdowns

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

TOKYO- Oil prices rose to their highest in more than week on Monday after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down amid a military blockade, setting the stage for crude flows from the OPEC member to be cut to a trickle. Brent crude futures were up by 74 cents, or 1.1%, to […]

Business

China confident of industrial growth stabilisation in 2020

Editorial Bureau January 20, 2020

BEIJING- On Monday, China’s Industry and Information Technology Minister Miao Wei said that China is confident of keeping industrial growth steady this year despite the pressure the sector faces. China’s industrial output topped its December expectations by 6.9% above last year’s bringing 2019’s expansion to 5.7%. The world’s second-largest

Business

Drugmakers slash rates for eligibility for China’s bulk-buy program

Editorial Bureau January 18, 2020

BEIJING – Global pharmaceutical majors and generic drugmakers chopped by 53% on average prices of some of their off-patent products in the latest bidding round under China’s national bulk-buy program, government officials said late on Friday. Beijing has been pushing forward the program where drugmakers have to go through a bidding process and cut prices […]

Business

Judge slashes Risperdal award against Johnson & Johnson from $8 to $6.8 million

Editorial Bureau January 18, 2020

A Pennsylvania judge on Friday slashed to $6.8 million (5.2 million pounds) from $8 billion a punitive damages award against Johnson & Johnson to a man who said it failed to warn that boys using its antipsychotic drug Risperdal could grow breasts. Judge Kenneth Powell of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas reduced the payout […]