Industry Update

UAE-based tech app Zbooni, which enables retailers to conduct transactions with customers via social media and chat services, has closed its latest funding round of $1.1 million. Zbooni, which said it is handling millions of dirhams of sale transactions per month through its connected chat commerce app, said funding has been committed by Chalhoub Group and B&Y Venture Partners. The app is designed specifically for the needs of retailers in a social first era, helping them convert sale through easy payment with customers via services such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/banking-finance/422461-uae-social-media-payments-app-zbooni-secures-new-funding

Bank of Scotland has been fined £45.5m for failing to alert authorities to early indications of a fraud which ended with the jailing of six people. The fine relates to activity by Lynden Scourfield, the head of the bank's Impaired Assets team in 2007. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bank knew he had been sanctioning lending beyond his authority, but failed to act properly.
In February 2017, Scourfield was sentenced to 11 years in jail. Five other individuals were also jailed for their parts in the fraud, in which funds were diverted and spent on luxury holidays and prostitutes.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48716922

While travelers love using Airbnb, it has received bad press over the years from those that say short-stay rentals are not ethically sound, making housing unaffordable in certain areas or displacing people who want to live in the neighborhood. Fairbnb wants to change that. The start-up company, which has been in the works for three years, is similar to Airbnb in which they have a home-sharing model. However, they've built responsible tourism directly into their operations and policies to make short-term rentals positive aspects to the communities in which they are located.

Source: https://www.travelpulse.com/news/hotels-and-resorts/fairbnb-aims-to-be-the-responsible-version-of-airbnb.html

The HP Spectre Folio is available now in the UAE at select retailers in Burgundy with an Intel® Core TM i7 processor for a starting price of AED8,099 ($ 2,200). HP Inc has unveiled the HP Spectre Folio, a stunning new device that sets a bold standard for premium PC innovation. HP set out to reinvent every aspect of the PC, from the materials used to build it to the experiences it can deliver. The result is a transformative form factor designed for true mobility and equipped to easily adapt to everyday use cases. The world’s first leather convertible PC, the Spectre Folio blends timeless craftsmanship with the latest technology to create a product unlike any other.

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/technology/419851-hp-launches-spectre-folio-in-the-uae

Bahrain’s underwater theme park will open after Eid Al-Fitr next month, according to a report by the Daily Tribune newspaper, citing information from the Bahraini Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. The attraction, which authorities claim will be the world’s largest underwater theme park and will include a submerged Boeing 747 as its centerpiece, will also eventually cover a total area of 100,000 square meters, according to a report in January by the state-run Bahrain News Agency. The diver site will feature the 70-metre long 747, the largest aircraft ever to be submerged.

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/420209-bahrains-underwater-theme-park-to-open-after-eid

Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure business of Emaar Properties, has launched a fully-integrated mobile app that covers its entire portfolio. With the single app, users will have access to an extensive range of services including booking of hotels, restaurants, spas, golf and entertainment attractions using their mobile devices. The new app replaces all the earlier apps that were launched for the individual hotel brands and leisure attractions under Emaar Hospitality Group.

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/419603-emaar-hospitality-launches-new-mobile-app-to-cover-entire-portfolio

Microsoft and Sony have formed a partnership on video games streaming, despite being fierce competitors. It is expected Sony will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud service to host its upcoming PlayStation streaming service. Microsoft has been trialling a streaming offer of its own, under its Xbox brand. The firms said they would also work together on semiconductors and artificial intelligence applications.


Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48304221

Dubai’s main port and biggest free zone authority plans to return 1.3 billion dirhams ($354 million) in cash and bank guarantees to its clients in an effort to stimulate the broader economy.
Jebel Ali Free Zone will start refunding companies operating in its jurisdiction in September. Jafza, as the economic zone is known, said in a statement the move will help companies invest in their operations and strengthen their businesses.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-18/dubai-free-zone-to-refund-354-million-in-fees-to-spur-economy?srnd=premium-middle-east

Goldman Sachs just made its first M&A splash of the David Solomon era, scooping up United Capital in a bid to beef up its wealth-management business. The Wall Street heavyweight is pushing deeper into the slow-but-steady wealth management industry in hopes of offsetting the turbulence experienced in its once-vaunted trading arm. Goldman's $750 million purchase of Newport Beach, California-based United Capital is the company's largest in nearly two decades, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/16/investing/goldman-sachs-acquisition-united-capital/index.html

Amazon entrepreneur Jeff Bezos has unveiled a mock-up of a new lunar lander spacecraft that aims to take equipment and humans to the Moon by 2024.The reusable Blue Moon vehicle will carry scientific instruments, satellites and rovers. It will feature a new rocket engine called BE-7 that can blast 10,000lb (4,535kg) of thrust. Mr. Bezos presented the Moon goals of his space exploration company Blue Origin at the Washington Convention Center in Washington DC, to an audience consisting of potential customers and officials from NASA. The Blue Moon lunar lander comes loaded with enough fuel to get from Earth to the Moon.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48222568