BEIJING -- The online retail market has provided strong support for China to promote consumption growth and domestic circulation as economic activity is hampered by the coronavirus epidemic, according to the latest statistical report on China's internet development.

The report released by the China Internet Network Information Center noted that China's online retail sales in the first half of 2020 had risen by 7.3 percent year on year to exceed 5.15 trillion yuan (about 758.5 billion U.S. dollars), citing National Bureau of Statistics figures. (China-Internet-Online retail)

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NICOSIA -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed Cyprus' Long Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating at BBB- with a stable outlook, a Fitch press release made available on Saturday said.

Cypriot Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides said Cyprus' affirmation was made possible despite strong economic challenges as a result of the coronavirus crisis impact, most notably on the all-important tourism and travel sectors, which provide 21 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). (Cyprus-Rating)

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MADRID -- With a 60-80 percent decline in international tourism foreseen for 2020, and a drop of between 910 billion and 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in exports, over 100 million direct tourism jobs are at risk, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) warned on Saturday.

A joint statement, released by UNWTO and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said the COVID-19 crisis has devastated the tourism economy, with unprecedented effects on jobs and businesses. (Spain-UNWTO-tourism-jobs)

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LJUBLJANA -- Global credit rating agency Moody's has upgraded Slovenia's long-term issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings by one notch to A3 from Baa1, changing the outlook to stable from positive, Slovenia's Ministry of Finance announced on Saturday.

According to Moody's, the rise in the credit rating was mainly influenced by two factors -- "The improvement of Slovenia's debt burden and debt affordability metrics relative to peers," and "the significant improvement of the health of the banking system, as well as the completion of the privatization of the country's largest banks." (Slovenia-Credit rating-Moody)

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LONDON -- Nearly half of firms in Britain reported a decrease in domestic sales in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020 despite much of the business reopening, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said in a latest survey.

Among 6,410 firms surveyed by the BCC, 46 percent of them recorded a decline in domestic sales in Q3, down from 73 percent in the previous quarter, suggesting a continuing feeble performance amid the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, said the BCC's Quarterly Economic Survey. (UK-Business-COVID-19) Enditem

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