Business
UAE makes history: Central Bank launches world’s first sovereign financial cloud with AI for secure digital finance – The Times of India
In a bold leap that could redefine how modern financial systems operate, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has announced the launch of what it calls the world’s first sovereign financial cloud services infrastructure, a secure and AI-powered digital backbone designed specifically for the nation’s financial sector. This initiative, developed in partnership with Core42 (a subsidiary of AI and technology group G42), aims to position the UAE at the forefront of secure, sovereign digital finance and bolster its reputation as a global hub for innovative financial services.The platform, known as the Sovereign Financial Cloud Services Infrastructure (SFCSI), is set apart from traditional cloud environments by its focus on data sovereignty, integrated cybersecurity and unified multi-cloud management, all underpinned by advanced artificial intelligence and real-time analytics. In practical terms, this means the UAE’s financial sector will be able to process, analyse and automate critical banking functions with unprecedented speed and regulatory control, securely within national borders.
What makes the UAE’s sovereign financial cloud revolutionary
Unlike most cloud services, which are operated by global providers and often host data far from the jurisdictions that regulate them, the SFCSI is built on a fully isolated and centralised infrastructure that ensures critical financial data remains within the UAE’s legal and security perimeter. Governments and regulators see this as key not just for privacy but for economic and strategic sovereignty in a world where data and finance increasingly intersect.This approach mirrors broader global trends toward digital sovereignty, where countries aim to protect sensitive infrastructure from foreign interference, whether from geopolitical tensions or shifting international data laws. By embedding regulatory controls and governance tools directly into the cloud platform itself, the CBUAE is seeking to reduce reliance on foreign systems and strengthen confidence in the nation’s financial resilience.Core42’s involvement is not just as a technical builder; the partnership brings integrated artificial intelligence and advanced analytics directly into the financial backbone. This allows licensed financial institutions and the CBUAE to automate operational processes intelligently, analyse real-time data for risk and performance insights, improve decision-making with predictive models and enhance customer service through automated, data-driven workflows.In a world where financial services are rapidly becoming more complex and interconnected, AI integration at the infrastructure level offers both competitive edge and stronger defences against threats like fraud, system failure or cyber-attacks. The new system also provides a single management framework for multiple cloud services, giving licensed financial institutions the flexibility to administer a range of cloud environments, including private and hybrid setups, seamlessly and securely. This capability is particularly valuable for institutions that need to balance agility and innovation with strict regulatory compliance.
Implications for the UAE and global financial landscape
For the UAE’s banks, insurers and fintech startups, the SFCSI represents a foundational piece of digital transformation. Regulatory oversight will be more immediate and nuanced, while institutions can scale new digital products, from personalised banking apps to smart payment systems, without compromising on security or compliance.Officials from the CBUAE emphasised that the platform will serve the entire licensed financial sector, reinforcing not just operational resilience but also long-term sustainable growth as financial services evolve. The central bank’s leadership views this as a pivotal step in strengthening the nation’s competitiveness on the world stage.The UAE’s move toward a sovereign financial cloud resonates with a broader global push for digital control over critical infrastructure. Various countries are debating how to balance openness to global technology with the need to protect sensitive financial and governmental data, a tension that’s only grown more pronounced as cyber threats increase and geopolitical competition around tech intensifies. By being among the first to embed sovereign control, AI capabilities and cloud innovation at this scale, the UAE is signalling that it intends to lead in secure, regulated digital finance, not just participate in it.While this cloud platform is targeted at the financial sector, its development aligns with the UAE’s wider strategy of integrating AI and digital infrastructure across governance, public services and enterprise systems. The inclusion of AI, real-time analytics and automation at a national infrastructure level could help catalyse further technological development in related fields such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), national payments innovation and cross-border financial integration.
What UAE’s sovereign financial cloud platform means for everyday users and institutions
For banks and financial firms, the SFCSI offers a more efficient way to innovate and comply with regulations, potentially making services faster, more secure and easier to tailor to customer needs. For consumers and businesses, the shift could translate into:
- More secure banking services with enhanced protections.
- Better digital experiences built on real-time insights.
- Faster product rollouts as institutions leverage automated, AI-powered infrastructure.
- Greater confidence in data privacy and national sovereignty
The rollout of such an infrastructure may also attract international finance players, tech investors and startups looking to base operations in a secure, innovation-friendly jurisdiction. The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has unveiled what it calls the world’s first sovereign financial cloud services infrastructure, developed with technology partner Core42.The Sovereign Financial Cloud Services Infrastructure (SFCSI) is designed to ensure data sovereignty, robust cybersecurity, AI integration, and unified multi-cloud management for the UAE’s financial sector. Built with advanced AI and analytics, it will enhance automation, real-time decision-making and innovation within licensed financial institutions. The move reinforces the UAE’s ambitions to be a global leader in secure, digital finance, aligning with broader global trends toward sovereign digital infrastructure.
Business
Pakistan considering buying LNG on spot market to offset supply disruptions caused by Iran war: petroleum minister – SUCH TV
Pakistan is considering buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the spot market to offset supply disruptions caused by the Iran war, but would favour government-to-government deals to avoid having to pay steep premiums, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has told Reuters.
Qatar’s force majeure forced Pakistan to make costly spot purchases or find alternative fuels ahead of summer demand.
Spot LNG cargoes have surged to $20 to $30 per mmBtu amid the Middle East conflict, Malik says, adding that purchases would depend on whether prices are acceptable to the power sector, including under existing government-to-government arrangements with Azerbaijan’s Socar.
Pakistan has also been routing some crude supplies via Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, with Malik saying insurance costs on that route were lower than routes crossing or near Hormuz.
Pakistan imports nearly all of its oil, much of it via the Strait of Hormuz, and remains exposed to supply shocks despite cutting its LNG reliance in recent years, as gas is still needed to meet the country’s peak summer power demand.
It has begun commercial output from its highest-ever producing oil and gas well, as it shores up domestic supply.
“We have arrangements in place to meet domestic and industrial requirements,” Malik said, adding that gas disruptions have not led to major curbs, with eight of 10 fertiliser plants operating.
Officials are also considering the use of costlier fuels such as furnace oil to limit load shedding, although at the expense of higher tariffs. Malik warned that prolonged shortages could threaten food security.
The Baragzai X-01 well in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is producing about 15,000 barrels of oil per day and 45 million cubic feet of gas, with output expected to rise further, the state-run operator Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC) said.
The well could reach up to 25,000 barrels per day and 60 million cubic feet per day of gas, making it Pakistan’s highest-producing well, and may contribute around 10 per cent of crude output while cutting the country’s import bill by about $329 million annually, OGDC said.
The Carnival Miracle cruise ship is anchored in the Pacific Ocean near Kailua Bay during a 15-day cruise, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on Jan. 14, 2024.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
The global cruise industry is reporting record demand and renewed consumer enthusiasm, but the leaders helming the world’s largest cruise companies say the sector is also facing some of the most complex challenges it has seen in decades.
“We are not an alternative vacation anymore. We are a vacation,” Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein said during a keynote panel Tuesday at Seatrade Global, a cruise industry conference.
As demand rises, passengers are getting younger; one-third of cruise travelers are now under 40, according to the 2026 State of the Cruise Industry report released by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). One-third of trips are multi-generational, often families traveling together. And nearly a third of cruisers take vacations by ship multiple times a year, according to the report.
The cruise industry hosted 37 million passengers worldwide last year and anticipates reaching 42 million annually by 2029, CLIA found.
“That mainstream demand sets us up very well for volatility,” Weinstein said.
A resilient business in an uncertain world
At least six cruise ships remain stranded in the Persian Gulf by the impasse at the Strait of Hormuz. One of them is the MSC Euribia.
Though roughly 1,500 passengers were safely evacuated amid Dubai airport shutdowns and missile warnings after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran in late February, there are still some crew on board to maintain the vessel.
“Obviously, we live day by day. The situation is very fluid,” said MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago during the Seatrade Global keynote.
Already the shutdown of marine traffic in the Strait has disrupted itineraries in the Middle East and southern Europe. Threats of blockades, mines on the sea floor and on-and-off-again negotiations are keeping cruise executives guessing about when they can move their ships.
“Morning is one thing, lunchtime is another, dinner is another again,” Vago said of the numerous and often conflicting announcements from government leaders. “We need to stay cool and actually be ready to move out as soon as the possibility and opportunity comes back.”
Despite these challenges, cruise executives argue the industry has never been better positioned to absorb shocks.
“Every crisis we’ve faced — financial, geopolitical or health-related — we adapted,” Carnival’s Weinstein said. “There’s no reason to believe it will be different this time.”
Fuel costs, sustainability and the push to use less
Fuel price volatility has once again put energy strategy front and center for the cruise industry, particularly for Carnival, which does not hedge fuel prices.
“Nobody asks us about hedging when prices are low,” Weinstein said. “But our strategy has been consistent: use less fuel.”
The cruise industry aims to have net zero emissions by 2050, but CEOs agree that they can’t achieve that goal solely by conserving fuel.
Industry leaders see biofuels, green methanol and synthetic liquid natural gas (produced by combining captured carbon with hydrogen) as the most promising solutions to meet their fuel needs.
Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said cruise lines are already investing hundreds of millions of dollars annually in technology and energy innovation, but availability of alternative fuels remains the bottleneck.
“It’s not about what we want to use,” Liberty said. “It’s about what’s scalable and available.”
“We’re going to have heavy competition with other sectors for those fuels as well. There’s no guarantee we get them,” added Bud Darr, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association.
Tailwinds for growth
Even as the industry navigates choppy seas, cruise companies are looking for their next avenues for growth.
Technological advances in artificial intelligence are being used to reduce food waste, plot routes and itineraries and increase efficiency. Cruise line executives say the most important application is to reduce friction in the guest experience.
“A more flexible work environment has been a big demand driver for us,” Liberty said. Most Royal Caribbean ships now host a Starlink connection for fast internet aboard.
Private destinations, the exclusive ports or islands owned or controlled by a cruise line, continue to be a priority for investment. Royal Caribbean, for instance, currently has three private destinations on its itineraries but will have eight by 2028.
It’s developing a major land-based hub in Puerto Williams, Chile, to reduce or eliminate the amount of time passengers to Antarctica have to spend transiting the punishing seas of the Drake Passage.
And the luxury segment, though a small percentage of the overall industry, is growing rapidly. Customers are increasingly interested in exploring health, wellness and longevity — and those trends are showing up in their vacation habits, too.
Smaller ships and river cruising accommodate specialized interests in eco-tourism, off-the-beaten path (not yet discovered by social media influencers) locales and culinary or artistic aficionados.
Social-media driven demand in tourism has also sparked backlash from some destinations, overwhelmed by the crowds. The cruise industry is working with destinations on what it calls managed, predictable tourism.
Vago said MSC worked with Dubrovnik, Croatia, for example, to coordinate the flow of visitors to the medieval town, which wants the tourism spending but without destruction of quality of life for residents.
“Many of these coastal communities actually appreciate that. We plan in advance. We create itineraries three years in advance,” Vago said.
“The strength of this industry is its ability to evolve without losing its soul,” Liberty said. “That soul is hospitality.”
Leadership change and fresh perspective
At Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the challenge for new CEO John Chidsey is righting the ship.
In his first earnings call, just days after taking the helm, Chidsey acknowledged the company had committed numerous missteps.
Margins are under pressure. Shares have been volatile. Critics have questioned a push to expand cruise itineraries in the Caribbean before Norwegian’s private island was fully completed.
Earlier this year, Elliott Investment Management took an activist stake in Norwegian, which may have provided impetus for the board to make a leadership change.
Chidsey told CNBC Elliott’s goals align with his own and that he intends to create a culture of accountability and urgency where teams are working together rather than separated into silos.
The Seatrade conference was a cruise industry debut for Chidsey, formerly the CEO of Subway, Burger King and Avis.
When asked what a “sandwich guy knows about cruising,” Chidsey didn’t miss a beat, insisting he’s a “turnaround guy not a sandwich guy.”
“I knew nothing about fast food when I went there. I think having a fresh set of eyes is really what Norwegian needs. And it’s all about execution,” he said.
Business
India rejects US Section 301 allegations, seeks termination; calls for resolution via talks – The Times of India
India has strongly pushed back against the United States’ Section 301 investigations, rejecting allegations of unfair trade practices and seeking immediate termination of the probes.In its submission to the US Trade Representative (USTR), India “firmly denies all allegations made in the initiation notice” related to claims of excess structural capacity and production in manufacturing sectors, PTI reported. “The initiation Notice is premised on aggregate macroeconomic indicators, without identifying any specific act, policy or practice of the Government of India that could be considered ‘unreasonable or discriminatory’ and that ‘burdens or restricts United States commerce’ as required by Section 301(b) of the Act,” the submission said. India said the notice provides no “cogent rationale” or prima facie evidence to support allegations that the country has structural excess capacity leading to a trade surplus with the US. “India submits that the present investigation does not satisfy the requirements for the initiation of this investigation pursuant to Sections 301 and 302 of the Trade Act of 1974. India calls upon the USTR to make a negative determination and terminate the investigation forthwith,” it said. The government also urged that trade concerns be addressed through ongoing bilateral negotiations rather than unilateral measures, noting that both countries are engaged in discussions for a Bilateral Trade Agreement. “India remains willing to constructively engage with the United States in the underlying investigation, including any consultation,” it added. Separately, responding to another Section 301 probe launched on March 12 on alleged failure to act against forced labour, India said the investigation does not meet legal requirements for initiation. “India requests the USTR to make a negative determination and terminate the investigation against India. Additionally, India remains willing to constructively engage with the United States in the underlying investigation, including any consultation,” the submission said. The responses have been filed by the commerce and industry ministry on behalf of the government. On March 11, the USTR initiated investigations into policies and industrial practices of 16 economies, including India, China, Japan and the European Union, to examine “unfair foreign practices” affecting American manufacturing. A day later, on March 12, the USTR launched a broader probe covering 60 economies, including India and China, to assess whether their practices related to forced labour imports are unreasonable or discriminatory and restrict US commerce. India said its submissions represent the public, non-confidential summary of its response, while the full version has been filed separately as confidential.
A culinary thriller with explosive star power
Pakistan considering buying LNG on spot market to offset supply disruptions caused by Iran war: petroleum minister – SUCH TV
Pakistan steps in as US enforces naval blockade on Iran
-
Fashion1 week agoIndia’s exports face reset as EU links trade to carbon metrics: EY
-
Entertainment1 week agoQueen Elizabeth II emotional message for Archie, Lilibet sparks speculation
-
Entertainment1 week agoLamar Odom shocking response to Khloé Kardashian account of his overdose
-
Tech1 week agoAzure customers up in arms over ‘full’ UK South region | Computer Weekly
-
Tech1 week agoAs the Strait of Hormuz Reopens, Global Shipping Will Take Months to Recover
-
Fashion1 week agoCII submits 20-pt agenda to Indian govt to back firms hit by Iran war
-
Tech7 days agoThis AI Button Wearable From Ex-Apple Engineers Looks Like an iPod Shuffle
-
Politics6 days agoIndian airlines hit hardest after Dubai limits foreign flights until May 31