DUBAI: The UAE has exported 19 million barrels of crude oil to Japan in November last year, state news agency WAM has reported. According to data from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in Tokyo, Japan imported around 69.1 million barrels of crude oil in November 2020, 27.5 percent of which came from the UAE. The agency is part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy,
An employee looks on at a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia on Oct 12, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa are taking steps to become major exporters of hydrogen in a bid to meet demand for cleaner sources of energy.
The countries can exploit low-cost gas resources, according to research by the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, a multilateral development financial institution.
In a report titled MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Power Investment Outlook 2020-2024, the institution said Saudi Arabia and Morocco have already taken measurable steps to bolster their position as low-cost exporters of blue and green hydrogen. The former is hydrogen gas that is produced by using nonrenewable energy sources. The latter refers to hydrogen gas that is produced from renewable energy sources. The countries have also taken strides in producing net-zero ammonia and other low-carbon products.
Japan’s high taxes chase away bankers
UNPOPULAR: A finance executive in Tokyo making US$400,000 a year would be left with US$225,941 after taxes, whereas they would collect US$331,000 in Hong Kong
Bloomberg
Japan’s push to make itself a more attractive financial hub faces a taxing problem if it is to stop the drip-drip departure of finance professionals to other countries in Asia.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has put most relocations on the back burner for now, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is trying to better position Tokyo as a potential base for financiers when transfers and hiring return. Efforts so far show that the government has identified taxation and the language barrier as key hurdles.