The value of services exports delivered digitally has continued to increase, reaching $3.8 trillion last year, and accounted for more than half (54 per cent) of total global services exports, according to the World Trade Organisation.
Global exports of digitally delivered services recorded an almost fourfold increase in value since 2005, rising 8.1 per cent annually on average from 2005 to 2022, according to the WTO's Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report.
This outpaced the growth in value of goods exports (5.6 per cent) and other services exports (4.2 per cent), the Geneva-based trade agency said.
Digital delivery includes services traded cross-border through the internet, apps, emails, voice and video calls, and increasingly through digital intermediation platforms such as online gaming, music and video streaming and remote learning.
Growth in global trade is expected to remain “subdued” this year, following a significant slowdown in the fourth quarter of last year amid geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic headwinds, according to a March report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).
Trade is set to stagnate in the first quarter of 2023, but the outlook is more positive for the second half of the year, the UN body said.
Geopolitical factors, persisting inflation and concerns about global debt sustainability will weigh on international trade flows, according to Unctad.
Business, professional and technical services accounted for about 40 per cent of digitally delivered services exports last year, followed by computer services (20 per cent), financial services (16 per cent), intellectual property related services (12 per cent), insurance services (5 per cent), telecoms services (3 per cent), audiovisual and other personal, cultural, and recreational services (3 per cent), and information services (1 per cent), the WTO said.
Europe accounted for more than half of global exports of digitally delivered services last year.
“Asia’s exports have been rising faster than the rest of the world. In 2022, almost a quarter of digitally delivered services originated from Asian economies, and 19 per cent from North America,” the WTO said.
“Central and South America and the Caribbean as well as the Middle East saw an acceleration in growth in 2022.”
However, growth in Africa continued to lag, with the region holding less than a 1 per cent share of digitally delivered services exports in 2022.
Meanwhile, global merchandise trade volume is projected to grow 1.7 per cent in 2023 before nearly doubling to 3.2 per cent next year, the WTO said.
Risks to the forecast include geopolitical tensions, food insecurity, potential financial instability stemming from monetary policy tightening and increasing levels of debt.
“Trade volume growth in 2022 was slower than expected at 2.7 per cent following a fourth quarter slump, but still stronger than worst case scenarios considered at the start of the war in Ukraine,” the WTO said.
The value of world merchandise trade rose 12 per cent to $25.3 trillion in 2022, boosted partly by high global commodity prices.
The report also found that the value of global commercial services trade increased 15 per cent in 2022 to $6.8 trillion.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Naga
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Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Company%20profile
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE
First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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