Industry Update

Apple and Google are partnering to help authorities track exposure to the coronavirus using Bluetooth technology. The two Silicon Valley giants will work on a platform to enable contact tracing, a measure that identifies people who have been exposed to the virus and who they have been in contact with, the companies announced Friday. The companies will first release interfaces built on existing public health apps in May that can work on iOS or Android systems, followed by a more comprehensive platform in the coming months to which users will be able to opt in.

Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/10/tech/apple-google-contact-tracing-technology/index.html

The UAE has officially proposed that the World Expo 2020 Dubai be moved to start on October 1, 2021, in light of the ongoing issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The request was made in a letter addressed to Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). A statement from the BIE said: “In the letter, His Highness Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation of the UAE, seeks the postponement of the World Expo following in-depth discussions by the Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee with the Organizer and the BIE on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and in solidarity with participating countries.”

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/healthcare/444331-uae-officially-proposes-one-year-postponement-of-world-expo-2020-dubai

The fight to survive the Covid-19 crisis is pitting airlines across the globe against their grounded customers. Regulations in the U.S. and Europe generally call for carriers to offer passengers a refund if a flight is canceled, with exceptions for circumstances like bad weather. It happens in normal times, but country lockdowns have dissolved schedules for weeks, with airlines parking their fleets and guarding their cash as revenue withers. Their customers are flooding Facebook and Twitter to complain they can’t get their money back for canceled trips. Tamara Watts, from Northumberland, England, said she was due to fly to the U.S. for a family road trip through California, Nevada and Arizona, before jetting to New York and then home. With the pandemic spreading, the flights were canceled by the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-04/cash-crunch-pits-airlines-against-customers-in-refund-disputes?srnd=premium-middle-east

The founder and CEO of Zoom has apologized to the video conferencing app's millions of users after coming under fire for a host of privacy issues at a time when it has emerged as a vital social and professional lifeline for many. “We recognize that we have fallen short of the community's -- and our own -- privacy and security expectations," Eric Yuan said in a blog post on Wednesday. "For that, I am deeply sorry. “Zoom will stop adding new features for the next 90 days and instead focus solely on addressing privacy issues, Yuan said.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/02/tech/zoom-ceo-apology-privacy/index.html

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC shares dropped the maximum allowed after the lender said it has $541 million of exposure to NMC Health Plc, which could wipe out almost half of its estimated profit for this year. The Dubai-based bank had about $425 million of exposure at the end of March, while NMC owed its subsidiary Noor Bank about $116 million, according to a statement. With an estimated profit of 4.46 billion dirhams ($1.2 billion) this year, according to seven analyst forecasts, the exposure represents about 45% of its projected profit, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Sources: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-05/dubai-islamic-bank-noor-bank-exposure-to-nmc-at-541-million?srnd=premium-middle-east

3M, the world's largest maker of respirator masks, said Friday it is willing to comply with President Trump's order to manufacture and supply more critically needed N95 masks for the United States. But 3M cautioned about being forced to halt exports of those masks to other parts of the world. A day after Trump invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) to order 3M to significantly ramp up production of N95 respirators, 3M said in a statement that "3M and its employees have gone above and beyond to manufacture as many N95 respirators as possible for the US market."

Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/03/business/3m-defense-production-act-response/index.html

Google is to publicly track people's movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other countries. The plan is to issue a regular updates with the figures referring back to activity from two or three days prior. The company has promised that individuals' privacy will be preserved. The readings are based on location data gathered via the Google Maps app or one of the firm's other mobile services. The firm typically uses this to reveal when specific museums, shops and other places are busiest as well as to revise driving routes to help motorists avoid traffic.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52138076

Matrixport, the crypto-finance venture founded by Bitmain Technologies Ltd.’s billionaire chief Wu Jihan, is seeking to raise $40 million in a funding round at a post-investment valuation of $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Crypto startups are riding somewhat of a resurgence along with a modest recovery in Bitcoin prices. Matrixport pitched its latest round to investors in recent weeks, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. The startup took in $7 million to $8 million in revenue for 2019 and expects that to more than double this year, according to a slide deck shared with investors and viewed by Bloomberg. The firm was valued at $114 million in a previous round, according to the deck.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-04/singapore-crypto-startup-seeks-to-triple-value-to-300-million?srnd=premium-middle-east

Saudi Aramco shares dropped below their IPO level for the first time as a looming price war in global crude markets battered the outlook for the kingdom’s flagship oil company. The stock fell as much as 9.2% in Riyadh to trade at 29.95 riyals, compared with the 32 riyals at which they launched on Dec. 11. It trimmed losses to 8.6% as of 1:20 p.m. local time, while the benchmark Tadawul All Share Index lost 8.1%. Trading with Aramco will be suspended if it falls 10%. Markets across the Middle East tumbled Sunday after Saudi Arabia ignited an all-out oil price war by slashing pricing for its crude, making the deepest cuts in at least 20 years on its main grades. The declines for Saudi Aramco are a setback for a government that had celebrated last year’s record $29 billion initial public offering as a centerpiece of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s drive to open up the energy-dependent economy.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-08/aramco-slumps-below-ipo-price-as-kingdom-starts-oil-price-war?srnd=premium-middle-east

Payments giant Network International said on Monday that WeChat Pay will soon be available to its merchant partners across the UAE. The announcement follows an agreement between Network International and Tencent Holdings Limited, official developer of WeChat Pay. WeChat Pay is a mobile payment service embedded in WeChat, the popular Chinese social messaging service that boasts more than 1 billion users registered globally.

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/banking-finance/441058-payments-giant-set-to-launch-wechat-pay-in-the-uae