Smart Dubai is aimed at transforming Dubai into a model smart city by embracing new technology innovations. The initiative has four strategic pillars to make Dubai a world-leading city by 2021. The four pillars are efficient, seamless, safe and personalised.

PwC in its report titled Establishing Blockchain Policy said, “Through this policy, government entities are encouraged to establish integration channels with the aim to improve the functioning of services that cut across areas of responsibility of several entities, and increasingly to enable digital integration with the private sector.”

Blockchain technology is perceived significant, especially in smart city development. In Dubai’s context, the blockchain platforms are launched to cater to government use cases. For now, there are more than 30 blockchain platforms under development in Dubai, according to the media reports.

In recent times, the UAE has been quite active in using technology—and has launched several programmes including a legislative sandbox for fintech startups. It helps startups to explore technology and identify the necessary regulatory changes in the fintech landscape.

Jan Grabski, Middle East Director of Technology Consulting at PwC said that blockchain technology is crucial in understanding and analysing data. In addition, it is another way to mint cryptocurrencies, he told the media.

That said, there are certain challenges while regulating blockchain in the cryptocurrency space. For example, the Central Bank of the UAE has warned that cryptocurrencies are not a valid currency under current regulations or legislation.

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The four investment banks are likely to play a significant role in Aramco’s IPO transaction along with JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley that were reportedly chosen before the process was stalled last year. 

The media said that JP Morgan might win the lead advisory role for Aramco’s IPO. If that happens, the bank will be firm positioned for future capital markets assignments from Aramco. However, the final decision is likely to be announced next week. 

The company is planning to sell a 5 percent stake by 2020 or 2021, which is anticipated to be the world’s largest IPO.  The company was planning to raise $100 billion through the sale, valuing it at $2 trillion. 

Aramco’s IPO is a push for economic diversification away from oil and to lure foreign investment. Last year, Aramco produced $111.1 billion in profit which is double Apple’s estimated profit. 

Khalid Al Falih, who is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s energy minister was removed from his position as Aramco’s chairman by the country’s government. With that, Yasir Al Rumayyan is the new chairman and also leads the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund worth $320 billion. 

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Walmart states in the lawsuit that about seven of its stores where Tesla’s solar panels were installed, faced losses due to the incident. The fire is said to have destroyed a large amount of store merchandise. Walmart claimed to require compensation to make substantial repairs.

Walmart stores in Denton, Maryland and Beavercreek, Ohio are few of the outlets where the fire incident is said to have occurred.

Walmart accused Tesla of breaching the contract and of displaying gross negligence over the panel’s safety properties. It began installing solar panels made by Solar City, owned By Tesla in the year 2010, after both the companies struck a deal. As of now, around 240 Walmart stores have installed Tesla solar panels  on its rooftops.

The fires began in March 2018 persisting through December. Walmart states in the lawsuit that in Maryland, the fire punctured the roof causing significant damage while in Ohio the fire prompted an evacuation and closing down of the store for eight days.

Walmart slammed Tesla in the suit for hurrying to launch the solar panels without adequate precautions and safety measures. The retailer further added that detailed inspection of the solar panels led to the exposure hanging and frayed wires susceptible to arcing, where electricity deviated from its path, creating the risk of fire

Tesla, originally known for its electric cars ventured into developing renewable sources of energy, thus acquiring Solar City, a sales and installation company, in 2016 for$2.6 billion.

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Indonesia would become the second country globally to receive the service from WhatsApp, if the decision is implemented. WhatsApp’s digital services had earlier been offered to India, its biggest market by users. The deal is currently under consideration and review.

WhatsApp has offered to serve as a platform in Indonesia supporting payments via local digital wallets due to the tough licensing rules in the country, whereas in India it is offering direct peer to peer payment services.

The template used in Indonesia can serve as reference to the company to start in other regions where they have similar licensing rules and regulations.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has around 100 million WhatsApp users, making it one of the top five markets for WhatsApp globally.

WhatsaApp is currently conducting preliminary discussions with Go-Jek, a transportation booking service, mobile payments provider DANA, a fintech startup OVO and state owned bank Mandiri regarding the launch of its digital services.

A Facebook spokesperson said, “WhatsApp is in conversations with financial partners in Indonesia about payments, however the discussions are in early stages and we do not have anything further to share at this stage.”

The discussions are expected to be finalised by the end of the year. Although Whatsapp’s digitalservice was expected to start by 2019, it got delayed owing to the company’s decision to launch first in India. With that, the launch is expected to happen by the end of 2020.

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“We are apprehensive that the acquisition of 1st respondent by the 2nd respondent will occasion the loss of jobs to may Kenyans under the employment of respondents as there is high likelihood that various positions will be declared redundant,” they said.

Because the National Treasury and National Social Security Fund holds 50 percent of the shares in National Bank of Kenya, it is subject to public participation, both stated in their suit. 

Their main concern was that the deal between the two banks may cause loss of jobs to Kenyans as several positions might become redundant. 

However, the court in its ruling dismissed the petition because it lacked substantial reasoning to prevent the acquisition from taking place. Shareholders of both banks have already approved the takeover. The two individual emphasised that if the court allows the acquisition to proceed, it might lead to series employment issues related to staff welfare/ 

In addition, the court said that the National Bank of Kenya employees will be subject to stringent laws under the Employment Act. Treasury CS Ukur Yattani in a statement to the media said that the government as a shareholder is also part of the merger process. 

Previously, the court had declared the matter as urgent. 

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Finance minister Sajid Javid has declared that 1.1 billion pounds would be released immediately mainly to prepare for any kind of critical conditions. The country is all set to depart from the union on October 31.

The extra amount would be used in various ways. The plans include increasing the border force officers, upgrading transport infrastructures at ports, easing traffic congestion in Kent and providing a solution to delays created by queues at the border; ensuring the continued availability of medicines by stockpiling them and a national programme to help business; improving processing of passport applications and increasing training for customs staff.

On the other hand, the Labour party has rebuffed this plan, describing it as “an appalling waste of taxpayers’ cash.” John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor of the Exchequer said he was against the idea of increasing Brexit funding. He claims that it to have been better if the government could have ruled out the no-deal part. The money could then have been put to better use then, according to him.

Chancellor Sajid David said, “With 92 days until the UK leave the European Union, it’s vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready.” Britain has made it clear whether it’s offered a deal or not, it would leave the Union either way.

According to a cabinet source, the decision to increase Brexit funding was taken by the government as it felt that the businesses in UK did not understand the gravity of a no-deal situation.

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BCC forecast said that the UK firms investment is anticipated to drop by 1 percent in 2019. However, it also said that the UK firms investment is expected to grow by 0.6 percent in 2020 and 1.1 percent in 2021. Overall, it predicts that Britain’s economic growth will be reduced to 1.2 percent in 2019.

Adam Marshall, director general BCC, said, “Political inaction has already had economic consequences, with many firms hitting the brakes on investment and recruitment decisions.”

“Worse still, some companies have moved investment and growth plans as part of their contingency preparations. Some of this investment may never come back to the UK,” Marshall added.

According to Marshall, the UK firms are unable to thrive under Brexit uncertainty and their long-term plans are now getting distorted. That said, businesses are diverting their resources into ‘contingency plans’.

“This is simply not sustainable. Business communities expect the next prime minister to quickly find a sensible and pragmatic way forward to avoid a messy and disorderly Brexit,” he said.

Theresa May has stepped down as leader of the ruling Conservative Party. Because Britain’s stance on its relationship with the European Union is still unclear, several UK businesses have already established operations in other European countries. That said, automobile giants have reduced their expansion plans in Britain.

“A messy and disorderly exit from the EU would do real and lasting damage to the UK’s economic prospects,” Marshall concluded.

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London Stock Exchange said that the deal will be beneficial to its wholly-owned FTSE Russell’s existing  Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) index and data offering. FTSE Russel is a British provider of stock market indices.

Waqas Samad, Group Director of Information Services, London Stock Exchange, said that the acquisition will speed up the exchange’s capability to deliver ‘research-driven multi-asset solutions’ to its global client base.

According to several media reports, the acquisition will create a significant opportunity for London Stock Exchange’s Information Services business. In turn, the business will be able to boost its multi-asset data and analytics capabilities, in addition to commercialising Beyond Ratings’ existing datasets globally.

Samad said that Beyond Ratings consist of several ESG data models developed by a highly-skilled team of ESG experts.

Rodolphe Bocquet, CEO and co-founder of Beyond Ratings said, “Beyond Ratings is delighted to be joining London Stock Exchange Group and its growing Information Services business. We look forward to working with the Group to capitalise on our ESG data, research and modelling capabilities to provide new solutions within sustainable finance on a global scale.”

The terms of the transaction are not disclosed. London Stock Exchange’s Information Services business accounts for nearly half of the total revenue, and provides information and data products. The data products include indices and benchmarks, analytics, real-time pricing data, product identification, and much more, according to media reports.

FTSE’s shares climbed nearly 1.2 percent after the deal was announced.

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Founded in 2017, Luckin Coffee is a coffee chain based in Beijing. The company sold 33 million American depositary shares which exceed its initial expectation of selling 30 million.

Each share was sold at $17, which marks the top end of its target range between $15 and $17 per share. According to Bloomberg data, the target range would be the sixth largest of the 53 US IPOs so far this year.

Luckin is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and BlackRock, an American global investment management company. Luckin is currently valued at $4.2 billion.

According to Reuters, Luckin is due to start trading on Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday under the symbol LK.

The numbers at Luckin’s IPO is quite promising. It is planning an ambitious move to open as many outlets as rival Starbucks in China. Since its inception in 2017, Luckin has established  2,370 stores in 28 cities. By the end of 2019, it plans to become the largest coffee network in China based on its number of stores.

The company is also banking on China’s increasing coffee consumption which is expected to rise to 15.5 billion cups by 2023 from 8.7 billion last year. This figure is based on a report filed by the company.

Last year, Luckin incurred a net loss of $475.4 million and had a total revenue of $125.27 million, according to its filing. In the first quarter of 2019, it reported a net loss of $85.3 million.

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“We would like to engage UAE sovereign wealth funds to be partners…in Africa to joint venture with them and to fund projects, as …Africa will be the next lion [big market] in economic terms,” he said. Bruno oversees the trade promotion in the UAE, Oman, and Pakistan.

Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte is in talks with the UAE investors and sovereign funds for potential investment opportunities in sectors including logistics, tourism , and technology-intensive industries, a regional media reports.

Bruno said that they are ‘engaging’ sovereign funds in an effort to explore possible partnerships. “We would like to see more investment flows from the UAE,” he added.

Italy is planning to establish at least two large-scale free zones in the southern part of the country. These zones will be adjacent to the ports, according to the media report.

Italian authorities are in talks with DP World, global ports and terminals operator, and Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority in Dubai. These efforts reflect on Italy’s objective to enter into partnerships for developing its proposed free zones.

Bruno explained that the response from the UAE counterparts has been ‘very good’ and that Italy could be their ‘gateway to access the important markets in Europe’.

“We reached maximum level of exports [to the UAE] in 2015, which was almost €6 billion, but given the economic situation and volatility in the market … our exports recorded a contraction,” he said. Against this background, he believes that if they can reach a CAGR of 5 percent it will be a good start. “It is highly strategic market for us and that is the reason why we are doubling our efforts to further develop our bilateral trade relations,” he concluded.

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