Companies

China crypto boycott slices incomes and spikes Huobi to ‘go global’

Published

5 years ago

November 10, 2021

Spread the love

The trade is removing Chinese clients and will lose 33% of incomes from the following year, co-founder tells FT

China’s restriction on private advanced resources will clear out close to 33% of incomes for Huobi Global, one of the world’s biggest digital currency trades, and power it to search somewhere else for development, the prime supporter said. Huobi is being compelled to remove its customers in China and surrender 30% of its incomes on account of the country’s crackdown on digital currencies. To compensate for that misfortune the trade intends to chase after clients in other monetary focuses, underlining the worldwide effect of China’s choice. “Between late September to December 31 we are currently halting overhauling all our Chinese clients. There will be no Chinese clients on the platform . . . so our incomes from [these clients] will go to nothing,” Du Jun, the 33-year-old prime supporter of the trade, said in a meeting with the Financial Times. Huobi is one of the small bunch of trades that have profited from bitcoin hitting standard business sectors as the cost of the advanced coin has mobilized to a progression ever highs since March a year ago. That has turned Huobi, FTX, Coinbase and a couple of other new businesses into billion-dollar organizations. Jun underscored that 70% of the organization’s income was at that point abroad yet said it was speeding up endeavors to extend universally and quadrupling its worldwide headcount from the current 1,000. “We are truly agreeable in Asia and we are the pioneer here, yet we want another accentuation, we want to go worldwide,” said the manager of the Seychelles-based trade. He would not give income or benefit figures to the business. Until 2018, China partook in a staggering predominance in bitcoin markets, as it was home to most of mining and exchanging action. In any case, in the beyond four years, a progression of crackdowns finished in Beijing’s restricting all computerized resources this October. The US has effectively outperformed China as the biggest mining center point. The moving administrative breeze is compelling Huobi, which is China’s biggest trade and delighted in close connects to political elites, to increase its worldwide tasks forcefully, focusing on countries and locales, for example, Russia, Turkey and Latin America for retail customers and Europe and the US for huge financial backers dynamic in proficient business sectors. In October, $211bn worth of advanced resources changed hands on the stage, down 74% since the boycott in May, as indicated by information expert CryptoCompare.

Jun helped to establish the trade with his colleague, Leon Li, a previous Oracle PC engineer, in September 2013, regardless of Jun at first reasoning that bitcoin had acquired in esteem excessively fast to be everything except a trick. “Leon recommended: what about we don’t buy the resource however we simply accomplish something like a trade?” he said. After their discussion, they assessed the two existing crypto trades in China, the now-old Mt Gox and BTC China. They assessed that the stages were making $500,000 every month. So they followed up on the thought, picking a name that signifies “fire coin” and drawing in merchants with zero exchange charges. The trade is a privately owned business and says it has no “immediate relationship” with Hong Kong-recorded Huobi Technology, which likewise runs a resource the executives arm offering crypto-related assets, in spite of the fact that “it shares a vital investor and organizer” in Leon Li.

Regardless of incomes being cut in China, Huobi is commending its eighth commemoration by parting with “millions” in crypto, sending a yet to be picked client to space and following friend FTX in seeking superstar supports. Jun, who maintains the business from Singapore, needs to make half of its labor force global. In any case, the trade has no designs for a worldwide central command, leaning toward its current “decentralized construction”, with workers dispersed all throughout the planet. It is additionally reinforcing its consistence office as administrative issues could surface before very long if the stage keeps on wandering into the vitally monetary centers. Huobi has more than $2bn worth of the questionable stablecoin tie under care and is offering 55% of profits paid in tie for financial backers who store euro or authentic on the trade. That could likewise place the stage in the sights of controllers in the US, the UK and Europe, as they fix their oversight of crypto exercises. A review from the National Bureau of Economic Research said that Huobi and Binance filled in as “a door for tax evasion and other dim exercises” because of absence of know your client (KYC) checks. A representative for the trade said clients need to go through “thorough” KYC cycles to exchange over a specific sum and to have the option to change monetary forms over to computerized coins.

Announcements

Meta launches all-in-one subscription with AI tools across Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook

Published

14 mins ago

September 15, 2026

Staff Reporter

Spread the love

Meta has launched Meta One, a subscription service bringing premium features across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Meta AI, with plans in the UAE starting at Dh22.99 a month.

The service is part of the technology company’s wider push into paid products, combining enhanced artificial intelligence tools, creative features and professional services for creators and businesses.

Meta said the core versions of its apps and Meta AI would remain free, while subscribers would receive higher usage limits and access to additional features.

The company said Meta One launches with more than 50 features. It follows the introduction of individual subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, which Meta said have attracted more than 15 million subscriptions and trials.

More AI tools and creative features

Meta One’s individual plans, Core and Premium, offer greater access to AI-powered image generation, video creation using Meta’s Muse models, image editing, Instagram’s Restyle tools and voice effects.

Meta said its AI assistant would continue to be available for everyday use without a subscription. The paid plans are aimed at users who want more intensive access to AI-powered creative tools.

Early testing found that more than half of bundle subscribers used both AI and creative-expression features, according to Meta. Instagram Restyle and voice effects were among the features most frequently cited as reasons for subscribing.

The new bundles also include features available through the company’s individual app subscriptions.

Instagram Plus has added custom fonts for direct messages and Stories, notifications for specific Story viewers and DM previews. Facebook Plus includes Messenger customisation, expanded Reels insights and super reactions across Reels and Feed posts.

WhatsApp Plus is expected to test chat and media backup storage, as well as Focus Schedules, which allow users to mute or hide chats at set times.

Business and creator plans

Meta One also includes subscription tiers aimed at creators and businesses, offering professional profile tools, AI-powered customer engagement and expanded analytics.

Business subscribers can access enhanced profiles displaying details such as websites, locations and customer reviews. Other features include a prominent follow button on Reels and automated follow invitations for users who interact with content.

Businesses will also receive expanded access to Meta Business Agent, Meta’s AI-powered tool for handling customer queries around the clock on WhatsApp.

Higher-tier plans add features such as Story scheduling, exportable analytics, deeper audience insights, collaborative account management and expanded business messaging capabilities.

Meta said it plans to introduce further benefits over time, including Edits Plus, which is expected to offer additional cloud storage for syncing projects across devices and greater access to an upcoming assistant that can analyse Instagram insights and generate content ideas.

The company also plans to extend Meta One benefits to other products, including its Edits video-editing app and AI-powered smart glasses.

Meta One UAE pricing

Meta said Meta One plans are available globally, although features, pricing and availability may vary by region, app and account.

The UAE pricing announced for the service is:

Individual app subscriptions

Instagram Plus: Dh7.99 a month
WhatsApp Plus: Dh5.99 a month
Facebook Plus: Dh7.99 a month

Meta One individual bundles

Core: Dh22.99 a month
Premium: Dh76.99 a month

Creator and business bundles

Essential: From Dh46.99 a month
Advanced: From Dh119 a month
Expert: From Dh359 a month
Max: Up to Dh1,199 a month

The company said the subscription options are designed to give users more choice, while keeping its main social media services accessible without payment.

Business

When the seller’s brokerage handles the buyer’s transfer, who should pay?

Published

6 days ago

September 9, 2026

Sudhashree Dash

Spread the love

Some leading Dubai brokerages are charging buyers for in-house conveyancing or sales-progression services while also holding the sales mandate for the property being purchased.

The practice raises a broader question about how transaction roles should be structured: when a brokerage represents the seller and also provides the service responsible for progressing the buyer’s purchase, should the buyer be required to pay for that service?

The arrangement is visible across brokerage websites, while LinkedIn and Instagram profiles show sales-progression and conveyancing teams operating within some agencies.

The issue is not necessarily the competence of an in-house conveyancer. The more fundamental question is one of independence. A buyer paying for a transfer service may reasonably expect that the person handling the transaction is able to act without commercial considerations connected to the other side.

Consider a seller who has multiple properties listed with the same brokerage, or one who is selling a current home while planning to purchase another property through the same agency. In such cases, the brokerage may have a broader commercial relationship with the seller than with a buyer completing a single transaction.

That distinction can become important when a seller-side issue delays or complicates a transfer. The person responsible for resolving the bottleneck should be able to communicate the problem to the buyer clearly and objectively, without having to balance that responsibility against a wider commercial relationship.

There are parallels in other parts of the financial and property sectors. Banks, for example, commonly appoint independent valuers rather than relying on a valuation conducted by a party whose commercial interests are directly tied to the transaction. The separation of roles is intended to reduce potential conflicts and strengthen confidence in the process.

“The real test of a transfer service comes when the interests on each side stop aligning,” said Jan Baluyut, Director, Property Affairs at Cendale, which operates Conveyance.ae. “An independent transfer provider has no sales mandate to protect, no listing relationship to preserve and no sales commission dependent on completion. That is the procedural oversight buyers pay for.”

Functional separation is also well established internationally. In the UK, buyers and sellers commonly instruct separate solicitors, while in the US, attorneys, title companies and escrow providers can perform distinct roles depending on the state. Dubai does not need to replicate either system, but both demonstrate that transaction roles can be separated to provide greater clarity around responsibilities.

The question is relevant across both ready properties and secondary off-plan transactions. While the mechanics of each transaction can differ, the buyer’s need for accurate information, clear communication and independent oversight remains the same.

Where a brokerage offers an in-house conveyancing or sales-progression service, buyers should be clearly informed about the arrangement, including whether the service is optional and whether they are free to appoint an independent provider.

As Dubai’s property market continues to expand and attract investors from around the world, greater transparency around who represents whom — and who is paying whom — could become an increasingly important part of a mature transaction process.

Business

UAE cracks down on fake and unsafe goods: Suppliers given 24-hour deadline to clear items

Published

1 month ago

August 14, 2026

Michael Gomes

Spread the love

Businesses caught dealing in counterfeit, adulterated, or spoiled goods in the UAE now have just 24 hours to clear them off the shelves or face swift state intervention, under tough new commercial fraud regulations that have officially taken effect.

The new rules, outlined in Cabinet Resolution No. 107 of 2026 (the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2023), significantly ramp up consumer protections. They grant authorities sweeping powers to raid premises, seize stock at the violator’s expense, issue public alerts, and order rapid product destruction.

The 24-hour countdown

Once the Ministry of Economy and Tourism or local authorities flag a non-compliant item, the clock starts ticking immediately. Suppliers must halt sales on the spot and execute four mandatory steps within 24 hours:

Clear shelves and warehouses: Remove every affected batch from inventory.
Alert supply chains: Notify downstream retailers and distributors to pull the products within the same 24-hour window.
Recall active stock: Initiate steps to recover items already in circulation.
Provide proof: Submit verified evidence to authorities confirming total withdrawal.

Miss the deadline? Expect the bill

Suppliers dragging their feet won’t stall enforcement.

Under Article 8, if a business fails to clear offending stock within 24 hours, government authorities will step in and clear markets and warehouses themselves within the following 48 hours, billing the non-compliant supplier for the entire operation.

Seizures, storage fees, and public name and shame

Authorities now hold expanded legal teeth to intervene early:

Impounding stock: Suspected goods can be seized, locked in designated storage facilities, and held during lab testing, with all warehousing fees charged directly to the offender.
Public consumer alerts: Regulators can publicly broadcast warnings naming the product type, description, and trademark to warn shoppers against dangerous goods.

Heavy penalties for violators

Ignorance is no longer an easy defence. Administrative penalties will hit anyone caught knowingly trading fraudulent goods, or anyone who should have reasonably known based on their industry expertise that the product posed a health and safety risk.

Regulators are paying particularly close attention to:

High-risk goods: Medicines, organic foods, and agricultural supplies.
Recycled hazards: Goods previously declared unfit for use that were reintroduced into the market.
Profiteering & tampering: Counterfeit items bought for alteration, repackaging, or unlawful resale.
Deceptive advertising: Products promoted with false claims regarding origin, ingredients, or quality standards.

Fast-track destruction: 15-day limit

Once a competent court or the Supreme Committee issues a formal ruling, authorities won’t let fake items linger in storage. Under Article 18, confiscated counterfeit and spoiled products must be destroyed within 15 working days, closing the door on unlawful resale.

For consumers, the revamped framework delivers stronger market surveillance and faster removal of hazardous goods. For traders, retailers, and distributors across the UAE, it sends a clear signal: compliance is non-negotiable, and slow reaction times will come with steep financial and legal costs.