- NEWS Desk Local
BUSINESS NEWS MAY 8TH, 2016
The RBI's move to regulate the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending business has evoked good response with most participants saying that it could provide greater confidence to lenders and borrowers, as also to venture capitalists. The space has some 35 startups now and more than 20 of them were founded just last year, according to data from startup tracking platform Tracxn. They have collectively attracted only $7.5 million in venture funds, and the ones that have received the most funds include Faircent, Milaap, iLend, RangDe, LendenClub and LoanCircle.
ISRAEL CONCERNED ABOUT EXPECTED US SETTLEMENT CRITICISM
The quartet- the international entity charged with brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians comprised of the US, European Union, Russia, and the United Nations -- will issue a new report at the end of the month that is expected to be sharply critical of the expansion of Israel’s construction in areas it acquired in the 1967 war. While the report will not reflect a change in the American position, Israeli diplomats and analysts say it is the expected shift in emphasis that concerns Jerusalem
SAUDI ARABIA LOOKS TO IPOS TO BOOST CAPITAL
As cheap oil constricts Saudi Arabia's capacity to spend at home, the Arab world's largest economy is pressing ahead with the selling of state assets to raise new capital and boost the private sector.Saudi Arabia's stock exchange, or Tadawul, which lists some of the biggest companies in the Middle East worth in total about $410 billion, has picked a unit of HSBC to manage its planned initial public offering. The bourse called the appointment of a financial adviser "an important milestone in the beginning of the IPO journey" that it hopes to finalize by 2018.Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month outlined plans to publicly list up to 5% of the national oil company -- Saudi Arabian Oil Company, better known as Saudi Aramco -- as part of the ambitious economic reforms package.