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Dubai Holding, Meraas Unveil Economic Relief Package of Over $272 Million

FILE PHOTO: General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo
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Dubai Holding, Meraas Unveil Economic Relief Package of Over $272 Million

FILE PHOTO: General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo

Dubai Holding, a global investment holding company, and Meraas, Dubai’s premier developer and operator of lifestyle destinations, have launched an economic relief package aimed at supporting existing business partners and customers across their portfolio of companies, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

The relief package which amounts to more than AED1 billion (USD272 million) is designed to partially alleviate the burdens of certain businesses or individuals within the Dubai Holding and Meraas ecosystem, who have been impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19, WAM said.

"We have directed our teams at Dubai Holding and Meraas to ensure that we provide relief to those impacted customers whether they are companies or individuals by the outbreak of COVID-19. We believe that it is our social and economic responsibility to stand with affected partners during such unprecedented times," said Chairman of Dubai Holding and Meraas Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Taskforces have been established at both Dubai Holding and Meraas to look at the specific requirements on a case-by-case basis to ensure that sufficient economic relief and support is made available, WAM said.

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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.