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GCC to have single currency soon

During the three day summit happened on 5th October 2020, Gulf Cooperation Council

(GCC) had taken a historic decision to have a single currency by end of this year. This

decision is part of their long standing effort in bringing eco-

nomic integration, and better political cooperation. Efforts

have been made to have a single central bank, uniform legal

and regulatory environment.

GCC has taken big strides in driving economic growth with

major infrastructure projects, improving the booming tourism

and financial sector. Few GCC members believe that unless

there is a shift from trading oil and gold in dollars to the new

common currency, the move will have minimal impact. GCC

GDP has reached US $2 trillion, and is estimated to grow 6% annually for the next 5

years.

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1

THIS ISSUE

Indian & Chinese expats in GCC

record highest remittances P.2

Hong Kong to choose

its Chief Executive P.3

Narendra Modi is the most followed

personality on Twitter P.4

Apple to launch 3-D OS P.5

‘Smart Meters’ in every UK household P.6

Dubai is all

geared up to

host World EXPO

2020

With just a few days to go, Dubai is

all set to host World Expo 2020 start-

ing from 20th October 2020 to 10th

April 2021. The World Expo is one of the largest global events. This six month mega

event is expected to attract 25 million visitors, 70 percent to 80 percent of whom are

expected to be from overseas. The theme of this Expo is “Connecting Minds, and Cre-

ating the future”, which aims to bring together likeminded people across the globe and

inspire them to contribute towards unprecedented scope in field of mobility and sustain-

ability.

Over the last 5 years, Dubai has invested Dh30billion on infrastructure projects . Dubai

Expo 2020 has managed to create 2,50,000 jobs in the field of construction, hospitality

and aviation. Huge investments, high inflow of tourists, and more prospects of trade

expected to push Dubai economy to greater heights. Hosting this mega event will posi-

tion Dubai as a global city and preferred destination for business.

WEEKLY DASH OF NEWS & VIEWS

GCC CENTRAL

OCTOBER 4-10, 2020

Remittances from Indian &

Chinese expats based in GCC

countries hits the $150 billion

mark

The Dubai Expo scheduled to commence on October 20th has

created an economic boom not just in UAE and other GCC countries

but also in other developing nations; the prime benefactors being India

& China. Of the 200,000 new jobs created by the Expo, 65% were

distributed among the two Asian superpowers with Indians accounting

for 35% and 30% taken up by the Chinese.

The remittances by Indian & Chinese expats based in GCC

countries reached the $150 billion mark. The past 4 years has seen a

100% rise in remittances owing largely to the employment generated

by the Dubai Expo and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Labour

force employed in the numerous Infrastructure projects especially in

UAE and Qatar was the major contributor to the remittances with 75%

of the amount contributed by the workers. The $150 billion accounts

for 56% of the total global remittances by Indian and Chinese expats; a

rise of 10% from the last year.

Mohamed Badawy Al-

Husseiny talks to GCC

Central about his experience

on board the Virgin Galactic

Mohammad Badawy Al-Husseiny, the CEO of Aa-

bar Investments shares his experience on board the Virgin

Galactic with Abrar Ali

1. What was your experience like to be on the first flight

of Virgin Galactic?

It was unbelievable. I had goose bumps while the spacecraft

was surging through the skies at 2500 mph. As we moved away

from the atmosphere we could see the cobalt blue skies. I felt I

was watching Avatar from my window.

2. How tiring was your journey?

I was as fresh as a cucumber even after 4 days of the journey.

Richard has carefully thought about the safety and every aspect

of passenger comfort has been considered to make the journey

a memorable one.

3. Did you experience any glitches on board?

We had quite a few test flights without passengers on board.

We had no glitches enroute our journey to the moon. Richard

and I believe that the engine noise levels are areas for improve-

ment.

GCC CENTRAL REGIONAL NEWS

“There is no doubt in my mind that

the reformed education system in

India will keep producing

precocious talent who will find

employment across the world and

send more money back home.”

- Narendra Modi, PM of India

Pic: Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny (Right) with Richard Brason

PAGE 2

China succumbs to protesters

pressure, Hong Kong to choose its

Chief Executive Hong Kong Federation of students with Benny Tai Yiu-ting hold the distinction

of starting “Occupy Central with love and peace” (civil disobedience movement) on

September 28th 2014. The movement intended to pressurize the government of

China to grant electoral system in Hong Kong chief Executive election in 2017.

The “Occupy Central” movement wound down after 13th October 2014. The com-

munist government held talks with protesters promising them with a broadly repre-

sentative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.

The communist government did not fulfil their promise in the Hong Kong Chief

Executive election in 2017 as the residents were able to elect their ruler but only

from the list of candidates vetted by Beijing. Protests continued but the communist

government used force to calm the protesters.

On 23rd September 2020, the “Sit-in Tiananmen Square” movement had

gained momentum from various social media platforms and about 200,000 protes-

tors gathered in the centre of Beijing and demanded Hong Kong Chief Executive’s

(nominated by PRC ) resignation with immediate effect. The police made 23,000

arrests however the protesters continued to increase in number and refused to

leave in spite of force used against them. Official figures indicate at least 13,456

youth lost their lives since the campaign began on 23rd September. Social media

helped Hong Kong youth connect with a similar audience from China and by 4th

October 2020 the capital city was full of protesters. After four days of fruitless ne-

gotiations with protesters the communist government succumbed to the demands

of the agitators. The communist government promised protesters that the Hong

Kong Chief Executive’s would be nominated by Hong Kong citizens.

Does this movement signal the end of a communist government in China?

Corporate Tax cuts: A

bane or a boon to

America?

Republican party’s Presidential candidate Rand

Paul has brought a new tax plan as part of his election

manifesto. The new tax system plans to bring corpo-

rate income tax below 30 percent. With the election to

be held on Nov 10 2020 , this plan seems to be a last

minute addition to attract more votes. This comes into

picture after the candidate’s meeting with the current

president Hilary Clinton .

Experts predict that the tax plan might fall short of

4.2 trillion dollars in revenues. The Republican party

accepts the shortage in revenue and assures the peo-

ple that the details for closing the gap would be dis-

cussed when the tax plan is announced to the public.

Paul’s script resembles the tax plans put forward

by his predecessors from the Republican party. Ex-

perts believe the new tax plan might cause a deficit in

the total federal reserve and the national Debt will in-

crease if government spending is not reduced . The

Democratic party warns the repercussions of the tax

plan could be catastrophic . Speculation about the tax

plan without clear details has created a complete pan-

demonium among the people of United States . The

whole nation waits for the elections to be held exactly

one month from now.

Pic: Protestors at the Sit-in movement at Tiananmem Square

PAGE 3

GCC CENTRAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pic: Rand Paul, Republican Party Presidential Candidate

Narendra Modi

is the most

followed per-

sonality on

Twitter

Twitter, one of the largest social

media platform has close to 2.5

billion users. With such a micro-

blogging website, not just India

but the entire world is busy fol-

lowing each other. Narendra

Modi, Prime minister of India

has surpassed the likes of Katy

Perry and Justin Bieber to be-

come the most followed global

personality on Twitter. A survey

conducted by Gartner revealed

that 20% of Modi followers are

Americans.

Narendra Modi is visiting the US

next week to strengthen Indo-

US relationships . Twitter would

be streaming the interaction

live.

PPP in India rises to a record high

In 2020, World Bank has published a report on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), which

suggests much lower poverty rates in India. The PPP in India has increased by 20% over

the past 5 years resulting in a significant increase in the spending power of Indians. This

has made India a better country to live in since income equality is balanced. With a signif-

icant decrease in the number of people below poverty line, there is a vast growth in devel-

opment of the country which takes India one step closer to being a developed country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also planning for a new goal which is expected to

make a prominent mark in the economy of the country by complete eradication of poverty

within the country.

GCC CENTRAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC NEWS

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Are Mortgage

Loans affordable

in Dubai ?

The topical context has been the cap on

mortgage loan which required expats to

have 50% of the deposit being reduced to

40% to buy a home. A recent survey was

conducted on expats working in Dubai on

this topic and about 35 percent said they

prefer the rent to own scheme as it

has lot of advantages. But on the contrary

about 30 percent of the expats welcomed

this move and about 25 percent were not

aware that a rent to own scheme or the

change in mortgage loans existed in Du-

bai. With EXPO on the bigger picture for

inviting more countries , this change

might seem trivial to other nationals.

Pic: PPP growth comparison over 40 years

Apple launches 3D version of OS X –

Utopia

Apple today unveiled OS X Utopia available with the all new MacBook ProMo-

tion, a 3D version of OS X which allows you explore the world in a whole new way.

The Apple Motion Controller® with 3D graphics allows you to naturally move your

hands to feel the applications. The new technology will help you to interact with

applications in a ten cubic feet 3D space using gestures without the use of Mac’s

Multi Touch® trackpad. You can now browse the internet, read articles, listen to

music by just lifting your finger. You can even use a pencil or a paintbrush to draw

and paint. You can now play the guitar, race cars and land aircrafts with your

hand. The Apple Motion Controller® does not replace your keyboard, mouse, or

trackpad. You can disable the Motion Controller® and use your MAC like you used

to before.

Apple had reported a sluggish Q3 results brought down by declining sales for

iWatch, iPad Sleek, and MAC mini. The launch of iPhone Air and the all new Mac-

Book ProMotion is expected to help Apple bounce back with better Q4 results and

end the year on a high.

The New Age of

Machine Sports

For the first time in history Tokyo is all set to

launch its grand opening of Olympics for Robots on

12th October after tremendous success in human

Olympics that got over in 9 August 2020. This even-

tually is an opportunity for companies to showcase

their potential for creating Robots. Close to 180 com-

panies are expected to be part of this event with

HONDA and TOSY co-hosting the event.

The number of fans for robot games have been

expanding over the years. The event gives Tokyo an

opportunity to expand its tourist base as close to

200000 are expected to visit Tokyo during the Olym-

pics . This event has caused the manufacturing and

R and D sector all over the world to grow by 11%.

Electric vehicles – The

Future of Mobility has

arrived

Electric and hy-

brid vehicles

have sold record

37 million units

in year 2019,

and this year

2020 automotive

industry are ex-

pecting to sell 42 million cars. Global total car sales

stand at 100 million units, so one is every 3 car is

now an electric / hybrid car. Auto sector expecting the

electric/hybrid car sales will increase 25 percent year

on year. By year 2025, it is estimated that Electric

and hybrid car sales will constitute 80 percent of total

global car sales.

Oil price rise in recent

years is one of the major

reasons global consumers

are shifting their mobility

towards more fuel efficient

cars. Stricter emission

norms adopted by west-

ern countries and effort to move towards greener

technology are also some of the added reasons.

Globally, oil importing countries are trying to reduce

their oil imports. Auto sectors constitute 30 percent of

total consumption. It will be huge impact to the Bal-

ance of payment and reduce fiscal deficit for these

countries. Electric vehicles are the new future of mo-

bility, and going to rule in the portfolio of auto indus-

tries.

GCC CENTRAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS

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Techno Tidbits

Samsung will be launching the next -gen X-series

smartphone that doesn't require external charging.

They have developed a patented Electromagnetic

receiver which can amplify radio signals coming from

the mobile tower and use this energy to charge the

phones.

UK becomes the first country to install a

‘Smart Meter’ in every household

In what could be termed as a landmark achievement in the field of energy conservation, UK be-

came the first country to achieve 100% installation of Smart Meters. October 7th marked the comple-

tion of the project that begun in early 2015, with 53 million meters installed in 30 million households

and offices across UK. Prime Minister David Cameron and King Charles of England were present at

the gala event that marked the installation of the final Smart Meter inside Buckingham Palace.

The project which was expected to cost £11 billion to the UK Government overran its

costs by £4 billion due to inflation in the rollout costs over a period of 5 years. The meters,

which monitor energy usage in real time, have enabled households to save up to £23 on

their annual energy bills. The total accumulated savings on energy bills in the last 5 years

amount to £3.4 billion and are expected to rise to £7.3 billion through the next decade.

75% of AICHI 2020 Biodiversity targets

still not met

The Conference of Parties (COP) which form the Convention on Biological Diversity

(CBD) took place in New Delhi, India on Monday, 5th October. 75% of Global Biodiversity

targets set by the convention in Aichi, Japan in the year 2010, were missed thereby pos-

ing questions to the environmental sustainability of the globe. The targets that included

among others, reduction in loss of habitat, pollution control, preservation of endangered

species and restoration of ecosystems, were grossly underachieved. 10 species of mam-

mals became extinct along with 30 species of fish and more than 200,000 km2 of land

underwent deforestation as steady growth in global population led to increased consump-

tion of resources. Governments and authorities of member countries were unable to regu-

late the degradation of flora and fauna.

European Nations set an example for the rest of the world by achieving their individual

targets whereas developing nations in Asia and Africa were unable to achieve their tar-

gets owing to population explosion and rising levels of income. Critical measures were

drafted for the next decade which would be published in the report titled New Delhi 2030,

to be released on November 27th of this year.

GCC CENTRAL ECOLOGY NEWS

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C08, China Cluster, International City, Dubai