Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
COVID-19 PRIVATE INVESTMENT DROUGHT PROMPTS PUBLIC CASH INJECTION INTO UPSTREAM TEXTILE MANUFACTURING IN EGYPT
Egypt’s plans to attract significant foreign investment in its garment and textile manufacturing sectors have been delayed due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, with exports down 20% last year. The government’s Vision 2025 strategy had targeted attracting some USD17.5 billion in foreign investment to quadruple textile and garment exports.…
SRI LANKA DEVELOPS NEW CLOTHING AND TEXTILE PARK AS IT EYES POST-COVID-19 EXPORT BUSINESS
SRI Lanka is making a significant step towards increasing its share of locally-sourced raw materials for clothing made in the country by setting up a fabric processing park – construction beginning in the first week of February.
Funded by the government’s investment promotion agency, the Board of Investment (BOI), its location is Eravur, Batticaloa, in the country’s Eastern Province.…
UK ENERGY EXECUTIVE ADMITS PAYING USD30 MILLION’S WORTH OF BRIBES
The former global head of sales at Jersey-based energy services company, Petrofac, David Lufkin, January 14 pleaded guilty at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, to three counts of bribery to win USD3.3 billion in contracts in the United Arab Emirates.…
LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES CAUSED BY COVID-19 POSE MAJOR SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS TO EUROPEAN AND USA CLOTHING RETAILERS
Unprecedently severe bottlenecks in merchandise trades between Asia and the rest of the world caused by Covid-19 economic disruption is continuing to frustrate apparel retailers in Europe and the US. High levels of demand, port congestion and shortages of containers have been pushing up costs, with shipping rates for the Shanghai-Rotterdam and Shanghai-Los Angeles routes on January 21 being up 296% and 153% year-on-year respectively, according to UK-based maritime consultancy Drewry. …
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALL FOR AUTOMATIC EU BLACKLISTING FOR COUNTRIES WITH 0% TAX RATE
The European Parliament is calling for automatic inclusion of jurisdictions with a 0% corporate tax rate within the European Union’s (EU) blacklist of tax havens, a rule – should it be imposed – that would see UK dependency the Cayman Islands included.…
EU BUILDS MORE ANTI-FRAUD INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY AS FINANCIAL CRIME THREAT REMAINS
IMPORTANT building blocks of anti-fraud regulatory and law enforcement policies and programmes for the European Union (EU) have been introduced in the past two months, as the EU continues to grapple with endemically high levels of financial crime and corruption.…
DEUTSCHE BANK FINED OVER USD130 MILLION FOR FOREIGN GRAFT
German banking giant Deutsche Bank is to pay more than USD130 million in the USA for a string of bribes its “business development consultants (BDC)” paid out in Abu Dhabi, China, Italy and Saudi Arabia, in breach of America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).…
EU/UK BREXIT DEAL INCLUDES DETAILED COMMITMENTS ON ANTI-FRAUD COOPERATION
THE NEW trade and cooperation agreement struck on Christmas Eve by the European Union (EU) and the UK will preserve significant cooperation on anti-fraud matters. The 1,256 pages long agreement includes detailed provisions on exchanging criminal records, evidence, fingerprints, vehicle registration records and more.…
EY/WTO REGULATORY ROUND UP – EU FOOD AND DRINK TRADE WITHSTANDS COVID-19
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) international food and drink trade has withstood the challenges of Covid-19, with figures for the first eight months of 2020 valuing EU exports (excluding the UK) at EUR119 billion, up 1.2% compared to January-August 2019. Imports also rose slightly to EUR81.6 billion (up 0.8%).…
USA CONGRESS BACKS LAW ENDING SECRECY OVER ARTS AND ANTIQUITY SALES
The United States is to roll out anti-money laundering provisions in banking regulations to the sale of antiquities and arts following a January 1 vote in Congress for sweeping reforms. The vote, overturning President Donald Trump’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act spending bill, includes a clause handing federal regulators the power to end secrecy over antiquities transactions so that buyers and sellers be identified.…