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TOKYO — The Bank of Japan's (BoJ) longstanding monetary easing policies are "appropriate", its next Governor Kazuo Ueda told parliament on Friday, suggesting no sudden changes to the bank's stance when he takes the helm in April.

Ueda, an economics professor, was nominated last week to replace Haruhiko Kuroda, who is stepping down after a decade in the job.

His nomination is expected to be easily approved in parliament, where the ruling coalition commands a healthy majority.

Under Kuroda, the bank unleashed a raft of extraordinary ultra-loose policies — from a negative interest rate to spending vast sums on government bonds — in a bid to boost Japan's sluggish economy.

It has stuck with these measures over the past year, despite pressure to join the US Federal Reserve and other central banks in aggressively hiking interest rates to tackle soaring inflation.

Ueda said Friday he saw the "continuation of monetary easing as appropriate".

"It is necessary to keep monetary easing to support the economy and create an environment where companies can raise wages," he said in his first public address since being nominated by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Government data showed on Friday that Japan's consumer prices rose 4.2 per cent year-on-year in January, a level not seen since September 1981.

The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food, is fuelled in part by higher energy bills and is above the BoJ's longstanding 2 per cent inflation target.

However, because the higher prices are not driven by demand or steady wage increases, the BoJ has said it sees no reason to abandon its easing policies.

DOHA — A Qatari businesswoman has turned heads at the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition, pitting herself against giants of the industry while also bucking trends in the conservative country. 

Noora Al Ansari — a Qatari woman running her own company and dealing with customers herself — is a rarity in the wealthy Gulf state, where a growing number of women work but few have made their name in business. 

Since opening her first Papillon store in the capital Doha, she said customers have been curious about her nationality.

"When women saw me standing in Papillon, they were wondering whether I was Qatari or not," she told AFP, her exhibition stand flanked by household names of the jewellery world.

"They were not used to seeing a Qatari woman standing in her shop" and dealing with the business and customers, she said.

"When they found out they said, 'we are so proud of you. You have beautiful pieces'. And that encourages me."

The week-long exhibition ending on Saturday reflects the opulence of Qatar, whose massive gas reserves have made it one of the world's wealthiest countries but where women's rights have caused controversy.

Ansari said she calls the annual show, which has drawn more than 30,000 visitors, "the big Qatari wedding" because it is highly anticipated among Doha society.

A steady flow of luxury cars could be seen pulling up outside the exhibition, where Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and other global names were showcasing their designs.

One Cartier necklace was on sale for $21 million.

'All owned by men' 

A former education and oil industry executive, Ansari designed her first solitaire ring in 2008 and launched her business three years later.

In 2022, she moved her store into one of Doha's most expensive malls alongside the international names she is competing with at the show.

"I am very proud as a woman to be a jeweller because all the names that you hear about in Doha, all the jewellery stores here, are owned by men," she said.

She added that her customers appreciated her efforts to explain the "four Cs" of diamonds — cut, clarity, colour and carat.

"When I visited jewellery stores, no one was telling us what is a diamond, why it is valuable, why we should have it and enjoy it. We just keep hearing that a diamond is a girl's best friend," she told AFP.

When she started out, there were only one or two Qatari designers while now there are at least 10 at the Doha show, according to Ansari.

"As a local brand, to be among the big names in the world is an honour, of course. It means that our jewellery is presenting our local tastes and high standards," she said.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Thursday banned TikTok on official devices used by staff amid concerns over data protection as the EU seeks to bolster its cybersecurity.

TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data.

The new ban also means European Commission staff cannot use the video-sharing app on personal devices including phones that have official EU communication apps installed.

Employees must remove the app as soon as possible and should do so by March 15.

EU spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova said the corporate management board of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, had made the decision for security reasons.

"The measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks against the corporate environment of the commission," she said.

There was no immediate comment on whether other EU institutions such as the European Council, which represents member states, or the European Parliament would take similar measures. 

After the news was made public, EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton pointed to the cybersecurity risks he said had informed the decision. 

"As an institution, the European Commission has, from the beginning of the mandate, a very strong focus on cybersecurity, protecting our colleagues and, of course, everyone who is working here in the Commission," Breton told reporters.

'Disappointed' 

A spokesperson for TikTok said it was "disappointed with this decision, which we believe to be misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions".

In November, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users.

The company however denies that the Chinese government has any control or access.

TikTok on Thursday stressed it protects the data of 125 million users monthly in the European Union on its app and was taking steps to strengthen data security.

"We're continuing to enhance our approach to data security, including by establishing three data centres in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe," the firm said.

The United States last year banned the app from federal government devices, and some US lawmakers are trying to prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States.

Last month, the Dutch government reportedly advised public officials to steer clear of the app over similar concerns.

Tough line on tech 

TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month for talks with EU officials during which they warned TikTok to ensure the safety of European users' data.

The company has said it is setting up centres in Europe to store user data locally and has promised to further reduce employee access to data.

TikTok also promised last year to hold US users' data in the United States to allay Washington's concerns.

The European Union has taken a tough line on technology companies, passing two major laws to make sure social media platforms adhere to the bloc's rules on digital issues. 

The Digital Services Act forces social media platforms, online marketplaces and search engines to react more quickly to remove content deemed in breach of EU regulations.

The other, the Digital Markets Act, prohibits anti-competitive behaviour by the so-called "gatekeepers" of the Internet.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong's finance chief unveiled a HK$761 billion (US$97 billion) budget on Wednesday, plunging into the coffers to pay for the recession-hit city's post-Covid recovery.

Hoping to kickstart the finance centre's economy, Finance Secretary Paul Chan announced tax cuts and more consumer spending vouchers. 

Hong Kong's leaders are keen to resuscitate its fortunes after posting recessions in three of the past four years — a tumultuous period that saw the economy battered by protests, virus controls and Beijing's authoritarian crackdown. 

While rival financial hubs reopened to the world long ago, Hong Kong only fully emerged from pandemic isolation earlier this month when it restored its border with mainland China, its main economic pipeline. 

"Our economy is at the early recovery stage, and members of the public as well as a large number of enterprises are still weighed down by tremendous pressure and require support," Chan told legislators while announcing his 2023/24 budget.

The latest blueprint for reversing the downturn allocates HK$5,000 ($637) handouts for more than six million people, half last year's amount as Chan is under pressure to rein in fiscal spending.

Other measures include salary tax breaks, welfare allowances and a "Happy Hong Kong" campaign aimed at making the city more enjoyable with food fairs. 

The budget will push the city's books into the red for a second consecutive year, but by less than some forecasters initially feared, with an estimated deficit of HK$54.4 billion.

Over the past three years, Hong Kong splashed out more than HK$600 billion on pandemic relief efforts.

The upcoming expenditures would bring one of the world's largest fiscal reserves down to around HK$763 billion ($97 billion), about half of what it was before the pandemic.

Betting on a rebound 

On its path to recovery, Hong Kong has made restoring its business-friendly reputation and reversing an exodus of both expatriate and local workers top priorities.

In three years, the city's workforce has lost more than 200,000 people.

Andy Kwan, of the ACE Centre for Business and Economic Research, warned that Hong Kong might spiral into a structural deficit if it fails to correct course.

"Medium- to long-term government revenue will be affected because both the economic growth and salaries tax will be undermined when quantity and quality of young labour worsens," Kwan told AFP.

To pull in more talent, Chan announced a capital investment scheme and reiterated measures first proposed by city leader John Lee in his maiden policy address last year, including relaxed visa rules for high-earners and elite university graduates.

Desperate for crowds to return and inject cash into the moribund economy, Chan unveiled a new loan pool of HK$2.7 billion for passenger transport operators and licensed travel agents.

The move builds on a charm offensive launched this month, with the government offering half a million free flights and ramping up publicity.

Hong Kong welcomed about 600,000 visitors last year as it rolled back quarantine restrictions, compared with 56 million arrivals in 2019. 

The economy shrank by 3.5 per cent last year as the city reeled under its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, with GDP dropping in every quarter.

But Chan appeared confident of a rebound.

"I believe that Hong Kong's economy will visibly recover this year," he said. "I remain positive."

DUBAI — Dubai's airport welcomed 66 million passengers in 2022, more than double the previous year, it said on Tuesday, a spike its chief executive attributed to "huge growth" in Russian travellers.

The main business hub of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates is home to one of the world's busiest airports.

The airport "welcomed a total of 66,069,981 passengers during 2022", representing year-on-year growth of 127 per cent, according to a statement.

In 2021, around 29.1 million passengers passed through Dubai, and the authorities had expected 57 million visitors for the year 2022.

India, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom topped passenger arrivals but Russia has also "been an important contributor", CEO Paul Griffiths said.

"We've seen a huge growth in the Russian market since the... tensions between Ukraine and Russia" started on year ago, he told AFP.

Russians accounted for 1.9 million passengers — more than double the 912,000 recorded for 2021, Griffiths said.

The UAE has maintained a neutral stance towards Russia's war in Ukraine, which is nearing its one-year anniversary.

The Gulf nation has emerged as a top destination for rich Russian emigres fleeing the impact of Western sanctions.

Russians were the top buyers of Dubai properties last year, according to brokerage Betterhomes, bolstering the city's record real estate transactions last year.

Dubai's airport was briefly closed to commercial flights from March to July 2020 due to COVID-19. It was one of the first travel hubs to reopen after the pandemic.

In 2020, it received only 25.9 million passengers, down from the 86 million the previous year.

RABAT — Moroccan trade union activists protested on Sunday in the capital Rabat and other cities to denounce surging costs of food and fuel, defying a government ban against marches.

Protesters from the Democratic Labour Confederation (CDT) staged rallies outside their offices in Rabat and Casablanca as well as other cities "following the decision of the authorities to ban marches", senior CDT member Rajae Kassab said.

Morocco banned marches due to a "health state of emergency" put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and still in force, according to a letter from the interior ministry to CDT, which was seen by AFP.

In Rabat, several dozen demonstrators surrounded by police officers chanted slogans against "the deterioration of purchasing power".

"We came... to alert officials to the tense social situation," CDT official Rachid Lemhares told AFP.

Morocco has seen months of rising prices and growing calls for caps on energy firms' profits. Soaring costs of food in recent days have provoked stiff criticism from trade unions, the opposition and the media.

Inflation peaked at 8.3 per cent at the end of 2022, fuelled by the effects of the war in Ukraine and shifts in global supply chains, according to the World Bank.

Rabat has blamed recent price increases on speculation on basic goods, and government spokesman Mustapha Baitas on Thursday announced the seizure of 192 tonnes of such products.

Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch has promised to "strengthen market control" and lower prices in the coming days, and subsidies have been issued for basic necessities such as petrol, gas and flour.