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.
WHERE ARE ARABS IN THE DONKEY & ELEPHANT RACE?
Every four years, people worldwide, armed with statistics, predictions and expectations, gaze at traditional, smart, and portable screens, waiting for an anticipated globally important event. Some observers are enthusiastic, others are indifferent – but everyone awaits the results.
But this is no sporting championship.…
TECHNICAL ROUND UP – IOSCO SAYS REGULATORS SHOULD PUSH ESG DATA SERVICE QUALITY
The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has called on regulators to proactivity ensure environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) ratings and data product providers perform at a high standard. In detailed guidance, IOSCO noted: “Their significance and usefulness will only continue as capital markets intensify efforts to support the shift towards a net zero economy.”…
TUNISIA’S TEXTILE SECTOR SHRUGS OFF COUNTRY’S POLITICAL TURMOIL AND TARGETS GROWTH
The leaders of Tunisian textile industry argue that their independent development plans will help them weather Tunisia’s ongoing political storms, staying on track in growing export and internal markets.
When President Kais Saied announced froze parliament and sacked Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on July 25 (2021), there were initially scenes of jubilation, but these have morphed into fears about instability and uncertainty as he gathered power into his hands to rule by presidential decree.…
NON-BIG THREE MANUFACTURERS FIGHT UNIONISED WORKER ONLY EV TAX CREDIT, AS CONGRESS CONSIDERS VOTE
Opposition is mounting outside the Big Three US auto manufacturers to proposed federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases within proposed House of Representatives and Senate versions of the Build Back Better Act.
With a House vote maybe happening this week, representatives of foreign-owned and non-union manufacturers as well as the Canadian and Mexican governments, are pushing for changes to the tax credit packages under discussion.…
FALLS IN KEY SUPPLIES AND DOMESTIC MARKET WEAKNESSES PREVENT MEXICO AUTOMAKERS FROM RECOVERING AS COVID-19 EBBS
Automotive associations and manufacturers in Mexico admit that their country’s automotive industry is registering a much slower rate of Covid-19 recovery than expected due to supplies shortages, which have especially impeded light vehicle production – cars, CUVs, SUVs and pick-ups.
In early October, the Mexican Automotive Industry Association, (Asociación Mexicana de la Industria Automotriz – AMIA) noted that light vehicle sales in September in Mexico were 76,930 units, meaning 1.1% less than the number recorded during September 2020, when the pandemic was ravaging Mexico’s economy, which lost 8.5% of its GDP last year (2020).…
SPAIN TRIES TO RECOVER ITS GOLDEN PLACE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
Spain, which in the early Middle Ages was part of Islamic state called Al-Andalus – remembered as a golden age of Spanish tolerance and reason – has finally started to seriously play to win in the global halal market, through tourism and exports.…
SPAIN BOOSTS HALAL TOURISM AND FOOD SALES – LOOKING FOR GROWTH IN THE POST-COVID-19 WORLD
Spain has been expanding its halal tourism and food sales, as it leverages its geographical proximity to Muslim countries in north Africa to provide travel and accommodation services.
In the CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2021, by CrescentRating & Mastercard, Spain climbed six positions to the 16th in the top non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations (https://www.crescentrating.com/reports/global-muslim-travel-index-2021.html).…
SOUTH KOREA’S PHARMA SECTOR PROBES HALAL MARKET WITH INDONESIAN PARTNERS
South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry, a global player with exports reaching South Korean Won KRW7.93 trillion (USD6.8 billion) in 2020, has been expanding its foothold in the world’s Muslim markets, offering guarantees that manufacturers avoid inputs that are offensive to Muslims.…
INDONESIA’S HALAL PHARMA SECTOR GROWS, BUT RELIANCE ON IMPORTED UNCERTIFIED INGREDIENTS IMPEDES DEVELOPMENT
Indonesia’s drive to require pharmaceutical products to be halal-certified is gathering pace, but the country’s pharma industry’s reliance on imported raw materials for medicines is impeding progress, officials and industry players say.
In October, Indonesia issued a government regulation requiring pharmaceutical products to be certified halal by 2029 for over-the-counter drugs and 2034 for prescription medicines.…
KENYA’S HALAL FOOD MARKET AND INDUSTRY IS GROWING, BUT EXPANSION COULD BE MADE MORE SUSTAINABLE
The halal food market and industry in Kenya, east Africa’s economic hub, is growing, say experts, although reforms in regulation and certification are needed to underpin the sustainability of this growth.
As elsewhere, said Eugene Jernigan, director of International Trade Policy and Development at the Action Green for Trade and Sustainable Development (AGTSD) organisation, that serves small businesses in Kenya, Covid-19 hit food service sales in Kenya, and that included halal outlets.…