Business

25 Mar 2020; MEMO: Kuwait has taken a number of measures to support small and medium-sized companies and individuals to face the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Kuwait Banking Association said in a statement that it has decided to postpone the repayment of loans and credit card facilitations for small and medium-sized companies for six months, as well as interest.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Amid coronavirus outbreak, the government on Wednesday banned export of anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine with immediate effect to ensure sufficient availability of the medicine in the domestic market.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargava had on Monday recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.

OTTAWA, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Billions in economic aid announced last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help Canadians deal with the coronavirus pandemic hit a snag when opposition parties rejected giving his minority government unprecedented spending powers.

Thirty-two members of Parliament, proportionally representing each party instead of the full 338, gathered in Ottawa for a vote on the emergency measures.

WASHINGTON, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US senators and Trump administration officials have reached an agreement on a massive economic stimulus bill to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the negotiators said on Wednesday.

The Senate will vote on the US$2-trillion package later in the day and the House of Representatives is expected to follow suit soon after.

RIYADH, Mar 25 (NNN-SPA) – The Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency, will host a virtual G20 Summit, on response to the COVID-19 pandemic, tomorrow, March 26, the G20 Saudi secretariat said.

Saudi King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will chair the meeting, to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications, it said in a statement.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) With the coronavirus pandemic threatening a sharp economic slowdown, experts are suggesting companies to adopt a humane approach in rationalising their expenses without going for across-the-board pay cuts or freezing of hikes to ensure a faster recovery from the slump.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Bursa Malaysia continued its upward momentum at mid-afternoon today on bargain hunting activities as well as global economic optimism over massive initiatives to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Key index, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 3.37 per cent or 42.47 points higher to 1,302.35 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,259.88.

The market traded in a tight range of 1,271.34 to 1,296.17 throughout the morning session. 

23 Mar 2020; MEMO: Russia never sought a sharp oil price fall or an end to cooperation with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Gulf nations are to blame for the crisis on the global oil markets, a senior Russian official said, according to Reuters.

Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) In a bid to provide additional liquidity to the system hit by the coronavirus outbreak, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday decided to inject Rs 1 lakh crore and assured such move further also if required.

The first tranche of term repo worth Rs 50,000 crore was conducted on Monday, while the second tranche of the same amount will be conducted on Tuesday.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Hyundai Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) have announced the suspension of manufacturing operations at their respective plants amid coronavirus outbreak.

Hyundai has decided to halt production at its Chennai plant while TKM has put brakes on manufacturing at its Bidadi facility in Karnataka.