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India is considering a ban on cryptocurrencies. A draft bill explains that a Digital Rupee, which will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), would be approved as legal tender, while all other digital currencies would be prohibited. However, the ban does not apply to anyone using distributed ledger technologies (DLT) or other related technologies for experiments or research, as long as cryptos are not being used for payments. The proposed penalty for violating the ban would be a fine or up to 10 years’ imprisonment, or both. The news comes after reports that RBI has been developing a blockchain platform for banking in its R&D branch. However, RBI has denied it had any involvement in the proposed legislation.

In a recent ask me anything (AMA) session on Reddit Bill Gates talked about his view on cryptocurrencies and the future of transportation. He believes that the speculative wave around initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies is super risky for those who go long. As cryptocurrencies are used for buying drugs, the technology has already caused deaths in a direct way. About transportation Bill Gates is doubtful about the pressurized capsule technology called Hyperloop, but he believes in electric cars and autonomous vehicles. In Japan Nissan and DeNA are planning a test run of a self-driving taxi service dubbed Easy Ride. In the USA Ford is launching a new partnership with Postmates to test its self-driving technology for deliveries.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) regulators are setting out to establish a framework to guide the small business (SMB) crowdfunding market. Reports noted that regulators are aiming to promote innovation and a broadening of small business activity. Equity crowdfunding is expected to provide $93 billion to small- and medium-sized enterprises by 2020, reports added. In the UAE, SMBs stand to gain significantly from that trend, as these businesses make up an estimated 85% of all UAE companies. In Dubai, that number is even higher, at nearly 95% of all businesses. Meanwhile, research from the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development found that as many as 70% of small business loan applications in the UAE are rejected by traditional banks. Ian Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dubai International Financial Services Authority (DFSA), said the DFSA was the first in the GCC region to formalize a tailored regime for loan and investment crowdfunding platforms, which represent an important source of financing for the SME sector.

A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has downgraded the financial strength rating of Islamic Arab Insurance Co. (Salama). This is due to the uncertainty regarding Salama’s main subsidiary, BEST RE Limited (Malaysia), and the potential implications for Salama’s capitalisation, operating performance and profile. Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings as Salama has requested to no longer participate in their rating process.

According to an announcement by ISS Corporate Services (ICS), the online environmental, social and governance (ESG) analytics platform MSCI ESG Manager is available. The platform will provide an integrated suite of tools for efficient understanding, analysis and management of sustainability risk across a spectrum of ESG factors. Companies will be able to determine the impact of ESG factors on reputational risk, the rating of their own environmental and sustainability practices and much more.

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