South Korea's top 100 companies contributed more than 1,600 trillion won ($1.16 trillion) to the national economy in 2024, with Samsung Electronics topping the list for the second consecutive year, a market tracker said on Wednesday.

Their combined economic contribution reached 1,615.2 trillion won, up 3.9 percent from 1,554.9 trillion won the previous year, according to CEO Score. Samsung Electronics' contribution rose 7 percent on-year to 157.5 trillion won.

The 100 companies are among the nation's 500 largest firms by revenue, excluding public enterprises and financial institutions, such as banks, insurers and securities firms, reports news agency.

Total sales by the 100 firms rose 6.6 percent on-year to 2,122.4 trillion won, contributing to the overall increase in their economic contribution to Asia's fourth-largest economy.

In a key development for the Indian derivatives market, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has received approval from capital markets regulator SEBI to shift its weekly derivatives expiry day to Tuesday.

Also, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has also received SEBI's nod to shift its expiry day to Thursday as per its request.

The communication from the capital markets regulator regarding the expiry day changes has been conveyed to both the exchanges.

Google on Tuesday announced a major initiative to make India’s digital space safer by unveiling its new ‘Safety Charter’ during the ‘Safer with Google India Summit’.

The initiative is focused on protecting users from online fraud, boosting cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and ensuring that AI is developed responsibly.

This Safety Charter is built around three key goals -- keeping internet users safe from scams and frauds, strengthening cybersecurity for governments and businesses and building responsible AI systems that protect people.

Google’s 'Digikavach' programme, a key part of the initiative, has already reached over 17.7 crore Indians with AI-powered tools and awareness campaigns against financial scams.

Google’s systems are becoming more powerful with AI -- its Search now identifies 20 times more scam websites, and scam attacks on customer service and government platforms have dropped by 80 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded a 4 per cent real GDP growth in 2024, reaching 1.77 trillion dirhams (about 482 billion US dollars), fueled primarily by robust expansion in non-oil sectors, the Ministry of Economy has announced.

Non-oil activities surged by 5 per cent to 1.34 trillion dirhams, accounting for 75.5 per cent of total GDP. In contrast, the oil sector contributed 434 billion dirhams, reports news agency.

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE's economy minister, said the latest figures highlight progress toward transitioning to a knowledge-based, sustainable economy. He attributed the performance to modern economic policies centred on innovation, technology, and business environment development.

"The UAE continues to move steadily toward the goals of the 'We the UAE 2031' vision, which aims to raise GDP to 3 trillion dirhams and reinforce the country's position as a global hub for the new economy," he added.

Meta has appointed Arun Srinivas as the Managing Director and Head for its India operations.

This comes after Sandhya Devanathan taking on an expanded role of leading both India and Southeast Asia.

“We are appointing Arun Srinivas as the Managing Director and Head for Meta in India. This follows the recent announcement of Sandhya Devanathan taking on an expanded role of leading both India and South East Asia,” the tech giant said in a statement.

As part of his new and expanded role, Srinivas will focus on bringing the organisation’s business, innovation, and revenue priorities together to serve partners and clients, while continuing to support the long-term growth of Meta’s business and commitment to India.

Low-cost Indian airline SpiceJet on Saturday announced that its revenue from operations fell 16 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,446.37 crore in Q4 FY25, down from Rs 1,719.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY24 (Q4 FY24).

However, the budget carrier’s profit soared nearly three times as profit after tax (PAT) rose to Rs 324.87 crore from Rs 119 crore in the year-ago quarter (Q4 FY24).

The company credited this turnaround to better passenger yields, strong load factors, and cost optimisation.

For the full financial year 2024-25, SpiceJet recorded a profit of Rs 580.74 crore, a remarkable recovery from the loss of Rs 409 crore in FY24.

However, annual revenue from operations declined by 25 per cent, dropping to Rs 5,284 crore compared to Rs 7,050 crore in the previous fiscal.

Kent RO Systems, a water purifier company, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its initial public offering (IPO).

While this marks an important milestone for the company, its financials tell a mixed story with some concerns.

Kent RO’s latest financial data reveals a strong profit jump in FY24, but this comes after a sharp fall in the previous fiscal (FY23).

The company had posted a profit of Rs 166.5 crore for the year ended March 31, 2024, compared to Rs 97.1 crore in FY23.

While this is a big jump of around 71 per cent, it’s important to note that the profit had dropped by over 37 per cent in FY23 from Rs 154.2 crore in FY22.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together on strengthening cyber security and resilience in India’s fast-growing digital payments ecosystem, including UPI.

This partnership aims to improve the overall safety of digital transactions by focusing on training, awareness, and proactive risk management.

Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of NPCI, said that this collaboration with IDRBT is a step towards enhancing cyber resilience not just through technology, but also through people and preparedness.

“Strengthening cyber resilience is not just about technology, but also about people and preparedness,” Asbe stated.

He emphasised that training, certifications, and shared intelligence will play a key role in raising security standards.

Shares of One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, fell by up to 10 per cent on Thursday, hitting a low of Rs 864.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

However, the stock recovered some of its losses during the intra-day trade and was seen trading at Rs 906.75, still down by Rs 53.70 or 5.59 per cent on the BSE.

The sharp fall came after the Finance Ministry strongly denied reports that the government was planning to reintroduce a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI payments.

MDR is a fee that banks or payment service providers like Paytm charge merchants for processing digital payments.

Currently, the government has waived MDR charges on UPI transactions to promote digital payments.

Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday denied any disruption to its operations due to the rare earth magnet crisis, saying that they are monitoring the evolving situation.

Reports have surfaced that the production plans for the automaker’s upcoming electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), the e-Vitara, may be affected due to China’s restriction on exports of rare earth minerals. The e-Vitara is expected to be launched in India before the end of September.

“Regarding the situation on rare earth, as of now, there is no disruption in our operation due to this issue. There is a lot of uncertainty, and the situation is continuously evolving,” a Maruti Suzuki India spokesperson said on the sidelines of the announcement of Bharat NCAP safety ratings of the Dzire compact sedan and the Baleno premium hatchback.

"We are monitoring the situation and pursuing multiple solutions to ensure continuity in our operations. If and when there is any material impact to our business, we will inform all stakeholders in line with regulatory requirements," the spokesperson added.