April 2017
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Also in this issue...
Buceros Teams Up with Arab Investors - Buceros Capital Supplying Success - Ahsant Premium Hotel Supplies
Midway Middle East – Winner of Best Nutritional Food & Beverage Provider in MENA Region A Balanced Lifestyle – We caught up with the Founder and Managing Director Katarina Gjosheva Cheshlarov and Business Development Director Dushko Chifliganec to find out more about the firm and the vast array of products it offers.
Editor’s Note
, Welcome to the April edition of MEA Markets. As concerns of water scarcity intensify across the globe, we learn that nations in the Gulf consume an average 816 cubic metres of water per person per year, which is 65% more than the world average. At the same time, the region is widely recognised for being the vanguard of new technology adoption, deploying thermal desalination, reverse osmosis (RO) membrane desalination, and eco-friendly and solar-powered desalination plants for example. In other news, Research and Markets found that the motor vehicle sector is an important contributor to the Egyptian economy, representing around 3.7% of Egyptian manufacturing output and 1.8% of manufacturing employment annually. I hope you enjoy reading this issue. Jonathan Miles, Editor Phone: +44 (0) 203 725 6842 Email: jonathan.miles@ai-globalmedia.com Website: www.middleeast-markets.com AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.
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Contents
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, 4. News 8. A Balanced Lifestyle* 12. A Dedicated Team of Professionals 14. Supplying Success 16. Buceros Teams Up with Arab Investors 18. Investment Towards Airport Security High on Priority for Region’s Airports 20. U.S.’s Microsoft Announces New Head 22. I.T. Spending to Reach $155.8 Billion in 2017 26. LG Expands in the UAE with New Office 28. Dubai Amongst the World’s Fastest Changing Cities
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NEWS
, Water the Odds A Paradigm Shift in Middle East Water Industry As concerns of water scarcity intensify across the globe, the Middle East is being prudent in dealing with this hypercritical resource according to research from Frost & Sullivan.
Nations in the Gulf consume an average 816 cubic metres of water per person per year, which is 65% more than the world average. At the same time, the region is widely recognised for being the vanguard of new technology adoption, deploying thermal desalination, reverse osmosis (RO) membrane desalination, and eco-friendly, solar-powered desalination plants for generating potable and process water. Soaring Demand for Water in the Middle East, a recent white paper from Frost & Sullivan’s Environment & Water group, finds that technological innovation, improved efficiencies, and supportive policies will shape the region’s water odds. Governments and policymakers have already begun measures to promote efficient water usage. “The Middle East has shifted gears swiftly to address the water demand-supply gap and change its path of economic growth to incorporate sustainability,” noted Frost & Sullivan Program Manager, Energy and Environment, Kshitij Nilkanth. “Like other parts of the globe, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is looking to desalination and wastewater reuse and recycling to bridge the supply-demand gap. GCC must have balanced focus towards reducing water consumption and increasing recycled water usage, as well as incorporating advanced water and wastewater treatment technologies.”
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NEWS
, While several measures will be taken on demand-side management, it is key technologies and processes that will drive the supply side. For example, Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy (DIES) 2030 aims to reduce water consumption by 40% by 2030, and water reuse and efficient irrigation are part of the eight strategic pillars of Dubai’s Demand Side Management program. GCC countries will also aim to lower loss from non-revenue water (NRW) in order to strengthen water security. For instance, NRW rates in Europe range between 3% and 5% of the water produced, while those in the Middle East range between 13% and 35%. Renewing infrastructure and increasing accountability will help address this issue. “The strong political will of governments in the GCC, to tide over the water scarcity issue and promote economic growth, will continue to expand growth opportunities for water and wastewater technology and solutions providers,” noted Nilkanth. “For instance, water has traditionally been heavily subsidised in Arab countries. However, this is changing with new and revised water tariffs and slabs announced by Abu Dhabi, which is likely to begin a trend of sustainable consumption in the region.” Such hikes in tariffs can spur research and development and commercialisation of smart metres and smart water grids. Rise in electricity tariffs would mean that desalination water plants will be under pressure to reduce energy consumption by resorting to energy-saving devices or shifting to energy-efficient pumps. Overall, the Middle East water solutions market is set for strong growth: • GCC has nearly $42 billion worth of water and wastewater projects in the study and design phase in the next 10 years. • Commercialisation of new concepts for desalination, including forward osmosis, membrane distillation, tri-hybrid applications using nano-filtration, and low-tem-
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perature distillation, is increasing. These technologies will step up efficiency and lower the energy footprint of plants. The planned plant capacities of RO for the GCC are increasing every quarter and improving economies of scale. About $17 billion worth of desalination plant projects are in the offing in the next 10 years. Lowering the NRW losses will help curb the deficit and create more accountability. Membrane bio-reactors (MBR) systems for wastewater reuse and recycling are on a growth trajectory in both GCC and non-GCC countries. Industry convergence and the Internet of Things will bolster implementation of smart systems. Real-time data from treatment plants and networks, performance metrics, and customer consumption patterns will begin to dictate the operations and investments of utilities. Initiatives like Smart Dubai and DIES 2030 will have a profound impact on the competitive landscape. New capabilities in leveraging the collected data using management tools and improving operational efficiencies will require alliances with software firms. Water companies in the Middle East focus on rapid customer acquisition, strategic alliances and competitive strategy, leadership in operations, reinventing product/ service propositions, and realigning core competencies.
Key players in the Middle East water solutions market include Veolia, Dow Water and Process Solutions, Abengoa, Almar Water, Xylem, Suez, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, and Pentair Water. www.frost.com
Al Tamimi & Company Launches Tax Practice to Support Growing Tax As concerns of water scarcity intensify across the globe, the Middle East is being prudent in dealing with this hypercritical resource according to research from Frost & Sullivan. The global tax landscape has shifted significantly with governments in many countries facing budget deficits and constant media and public attention focusing on the ‘fair share of tax’ debate and tax transparency. This has led to changes in tax policies at both the international and governmental level and resulted in changes to tax laws and stricter enforcement strategies on a global scale. In order to have certainty on tax, organisations must keep pace with the constant tax developments and legislative changes. It is important for businesses in the Middle East to partner with a trusted tax advisor to proactively manage tax and reputational risk and navigate the increasingly complex international tax environment. Led by Ahmed Ibrahim, Partner and Head of Capital Markets, the team will provide and manage cross border tax advice to multinational corporations, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, private equity groups, investment funds, real estate investment houses, family offices, joint ventures and other regional organisations. The service offering will include Inbound Tax Advisory, International Tax Structuring and Plan-
ning, Mergers & Acquisitions Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), Tax Disputes and Litigation and Tax Risk Management Husam Hourani, Managing Partner at Al Tamimi said, “We are delighted to expand our offering to include Tax with the hire of Shiraz. Shiraz is a highly experienced international tax professional and brings with him a unique tax skill set having worked in private practice and led a global in-house tax function.” He added, “With the imminent introduction of VAT in the GCC from 2018 and the increasingly complex global and regional corporate tax landscape that impacts businesses in the Middle East, we are very confident that our new Tax Practice will enable Al Tamimi to provide even greater value to our clients.” Shiraz is a UK qualified lawyer with over 15 years of international tax experience. Prior to joining Al Tamimi, he was the global head of tax at a leading multinational where he was responsible for the tax affairs in over 100 countries. He has also worked for a top international law firm in the UK and big 4 firms in both the UK and the Middle East. For further information please visit: www.tamimi.com
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NEWS
, Israeli Networking Consortium Conducts Pioneering SDN/NFV Demonstration Neptune, the Israeli Consortium for Network Programming, has announced that it has recently performed a general demonstration of its pioneering technologies.
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NEWS
, The demonstration was an expression of Neptune’s mission – to build on the software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) technologies currently being developed by global standards development organizations, industry specification groups and open source communities. In particular, Neptune strives to dramatically reduce the time required to deploy new services and even completely new service types, to enable more efficient exploitation of network and computational resources, and facilitate faster and more intelligent response to network events. Neptune achieves these objectives through research undertaken by special teams assembled by its member organizations. Four Global Firsts What gave this demonstration special significance was that it included four global firsts. It was the world’s first multi-vendor vCPE demonstration, in which a single service provider OpenStack controller established end-to-end services terminating on virtual customer premises equipment (vCPEs) from three different vendors – ADVA Optical Networks, Telco Systems (BATM Group) and RAD. Everything was run on top of Mellanox switch and HCA adaptor. Satellite network vendor Gilat Satellite Networks, moreover, became the first to demonstrate vCPE capabilities in a satellite ground segment gateway. The demonstration also incorporated the world’s first integration of tactical mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) UHF radio networks into an SDN and NFVbased multi-vendor heterogeneous virtual Radio Access Network (vRAN), a technology developed by Elbit Systems Land and C4i. Additionally it featured Open Mobile Edge Cloud (OMEC) with the world’s first completely virtual cellular base station (from modem to management) developed by ASOCS, accelerated by a pool of network attached programmable hardware accelerators. In addition, the Neptune demonstration showcased the transport of the Common Public Radio In-
terface (CPRI) standard over microwave by Ceragon Networks. ECI Telecom demonstrated how its multilayer service app performs fast recovery from optical-layer faults using an ONOS controller combined with OpenFlow optical extensions. Satellite edge computing for factor-of-20 throughput improvement was shown by Gilat Satellite Networks, and ADVA presented Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for enterprise services. The demonstration was conducted in the premises of Bezeq International, supported by equipment located at four other sites. Present were the outgoing Chief Scientist of the Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry, Avi Hasson, the head of the Chief Scientist’s technological infrastructure division, Ilan Peled, Neptune chair Dr. Yaakov Stein, and representatives of each consortium member. “Tighter financial restrictions along with the dynamicity of today’s networks are steering service providers to adopt ever more efficient, automated, and service-aware networks,” Stein explained. “This necessitates totally new network architectures that enable the fast creation of new services, simplified network management, and real time network optimization while maintaining or even reducing service provider CapEx and OpEx,” he added. ” Our demonstration represents a major step in bringing all these advantages of networking programming to service providers worldwide.”
Egypt Automotive Industry Report 2016 - Research and Markets Research and Markets has announced the addition of the ‘Egypt Automotive’ report to their offering. Despite a tumultuous few years since the 2011 ouster of then President Mubarak, Egypt appears to be on track to stabilize both the economy and the automotive industry as the government continues on a path of political stability. The motor vehicle sector is an important contributor to the Egyptian economy, representing around 3.7% of Egyptian manufacturing output and 1.8% of manufacturing employment annually. Egypt consistently ranks at the top of the list globally for auto manufacturers, and auto supply companies within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In terms of revenue, the domestic automotive sector generated $3.5 billion in 2014. The automotive industry dates back to the socialist era of the 1960s. The market be-
gan to become liberalized in the 1980s, when General Motors set up its first assembly plant in Cairo in 1985. The market became fully liberalized in 1992, though the market is still moderately protected by the government. Egypt possesses one of the few domestic auto production capacities in the MENA region, and is the largest auto producer in North Africa. Today, there are 16 businesses with 26 assembly lines that manufacture 325,000 passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses. To support the sector, there are over 259 factories that supply 70% of all component parts. For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6k3kfc/egypt_automotive
“The Neptune Consortium propels Israeli industry into a new era in which communication networks will be programmed, existing services can be easily modified and new services may be introduced quickly.” Peled concluded. “The collaboration between member companies, as well as between them and breakthrough research groups, shortens time-to-market, maximizes resources and establishes the entire Neptune Consortium at the forefront of these leading-edge technologies.” www.nep-tune.org
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‘Healthier on a Whole New Scale’
A Balanced Lifestyle
Midway Middle East is Dubai based company dealing with Organic, Gluten Free, Non GMO, Vegan, Raw, Probiotic and many other free-from foods and beverages. We caught up with the Founder and Managing Director Katarina Gjosheva Cheshlarov and Business Development Director Dushko Chifliganec to find out more about the firm and the vast array of products it offers. Under its umbrella, Midway Middle East have more than 25 very well established brands from the United States and Europe with whom they work on exclusivity bases for the MENA region. All brands present in Midway’s portfolio are very carefully selected, and are absolute top performers in their domestic markets. Dushko discusses the firm’s brands and how it works to ensure that it only works with the very best in order to offer clients top quality products. “Here at Midway Middle East we offer only the very best products from across the food and beverage market. Among our US partners are: LUKE’S Organic, Lakewood Organic, G.H Cretors, Hi I’m Skinny, Baked in Brooklyn, Raw Revolution, Organic Valley, Karmalize.Me, Crunchies and ‘If You Care. Some of our European partners are: Biotta, Sarchio, Bioitalia, Rawlicious, Dragon Superfoods, Bett’r, Roo’Bar, Kookie Cat, GAEA, Googly Fruit, White and Lovechock. Thus, choosing the right products is the first crucial objective of our operations on which our success is laid. We support our suppliers with introducing and building their brands in the region. “The second key task of Midway’s scope of work is achieving the right execution of the brands within our markets of operations. We accomplish this in partnership together with Modern Trade Retailer Chains in the region as well certain specialized Organic high end A class stores. We would like to point out our cooperation with the number one retailer in the region Carrefour with whom we work in a very close strategic partnership. With Carrefour, we are continuously
mutually engaged in creating new ways and alternatives for serving their customers. We would like to use this opportunity to acknowledge Carrefour’s proactivity and huge efforts committed not only providing healthy food; furthermore, educating and making shoppers aware of the importance of the same. We focus on the total healthy category by creating new shopping experience for the customers by providing them with different healthy alternatives. Our strategies are based on vast market intelligence, global and regional food trends. These offerings are only part of Midway’s services, which makes us distinctive and unique.” Alongside a vast service offering, Katarina is eager to highlight the firm’s impressive focus on client service and ensuring that everyone it works with receives the service they need. “Midway Middle East is founded on two main principles: Competence & Compromise. The first one is a must and the second one is must not. The essence of our company behavior is based solely on full commitment to what we do, and excellence is the only option in our performance.” “There is only one success proven philosophy when it comes to client service: the client is the first, foremost and most important aspect of the business. This principle applies for every business; however, for us, the significance extends beyond the business perspective. We believe that we have one of the most noble professions existing, which is providing people with food. Providing people food relates with providing life to people. What we sell is not a
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want, what we sell is a need. We trust that selling a bite of food has the equal significance as a doctor’s job, and that is the exact approach we have in our work. The technique we approach client service with can be best resembled by the twoway method of communication. We always primarily tend to understand customers’ needs; then, we provide them with healthier options. “To illustrate the point, if a customer wants a chocolate, we offer chocolate; nevertheless, we offer Organic, Raw and Low on Sugar chocolate that is healthier than conventional chocolate. We always provide our customers with what is best for them regardless of anything. In simple words, it takes willingness, bond creation, mutual understanding and communication from both, us and our customers to pursue the healthier trail. As in any business, the company is the wall, and the employees are the bricks. In order the wall to stand tall, the bricks must be perfectly aligned. That is exactly what Midway’s team is. Midway’s team is consisted of carefully chosen individuals who themselves, have realized and strongly believe in the significance of pursuing a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle, and have already experienced the difference it brings in their life. To succeed, you must truly believe. Our biggest belief is Healthy; therefore, Healthy is our ultimate success. Every day each one of us is perfectly aligned with our mission to create a healthier society for everyone. Every day, we strive to discover something new, better, innovative and benefit creating. We believe more in Healthy every next day; thus, every next day we are closer to everyone.”
This supportive, collaborative internal culture is vital to the firm’s success and drives every aspect of its work, as Katarina explains. “Midway is ruled by two oxymoronically statements. Primarily, we believe that the team is only as good as the leader; however, we also fundamentally believe that a leader is only as good as the team behind. These two very meaningful sentences embody great significance in the basis on which our way of working is positioned internally. At Midway, there is no such thing as boss and its employees. At Midway, we believe in associates only. Our success is laid on empowering people. Each member of the team is encouraged to express ideas, disagree decisions, prove points, suggest, implement, execute etc. regardless of their position within the company. In fact, often the best suggestions come from the lower levels of hierarchy. “All of us are constantly engaged in field work, shop observations and brainstorming on site. There is a specification in the job description no member of the team respects. That is working hours. Midway’s team work around the clock, yet everyone is content and happy. The reason behind this is because everyone enjoys what we do, and for all of us this serves a higher purpose than just a job position. All of us have a job we do not need a vacation from. In the team creation, we hugely respect and trust in gender as well as age diversity. We have equally man and women associates with age starting from 21 onwards. The main reason behind this is each demographic group can be best understood and approached
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A Balanced Lifestyle
Contact: Katarina Gjosheva Cheshlarov; Dushko Chifliganec Contact Email: katarina@midwaymiddleeast.com; dushko@midwaymiddleeast.com; info@midwaymiddleeast.com Company: Midway Middle East DMCC Jumeriah Bay Tower X3, Unit No: 3901 Cluster X, Jumeriah Lake Towers Dubai, UAE Website: www.midwaymiddleeast.com
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by someone belonging to the same. And to repeat our point mentioned earlier, our intent is to provide healthier & happier society for EVERYONE. In addition to, having a pretty demographically diversified team adds to the team’s culture quality and definitely destroys any chance of work monotony. All in all, the recipe is quite simple. Find people that extract fulfillment from the brighter change they are responsible for rather than the pay check they receive. Structure their motivation in the right way, and the positive results are inevitable.” Working with clients around the world, Midway Middle East is perfectly located in Dubai as the region offers a dynamic hub where many leaders in the food and drinks market are based, as Katarina is eager to emphasise. “Fundamentally, the UAE is a very constructive, useful and beneficial place to be. The nature of our business is complex and challenging for a variety of reasons. To begin with, we carry very extensive portfolio, which is introduced to the region for the first time and majority of people are not completely familiar with. Secondly, we operate in significantly wide region, which although extends in close geographies, yet every part of the region differentiates in numerous ways. “What we find great about UAE regarding our industry is that it serves as an excellent test market and a perfect indicator about the region’s Food & Beverage preferences. All products we carry are first introduced in UAE. Based on the feedback from the UAE
market; subsequently, we have clearer picture about the product regarding the region and better indication how should we proceed with launching the product in the rest of MENA. Speaking of the challenges and opportunities, I will cite His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum vice president, prime minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai to best illustrate our methodology: “The pessimist will see a difficulty in every opportunity, whereas the optimist will see an opportunity in every difficulty”. This is the exact logic we apply in our everyday work and we lead our actions by. “Our main objective is encouraging society to pursue a balanced lifestyle. We continuously engage not only existing customers, but the whole society in activities designed to illustrate how big of a role do the nutritional habits play in our lives and portray the advantages associated with pursuing a healthier diet and balanced lifestyle. If we compare the base of Organic consumers in UAE and USA, we would see tremendous difference although both countries have almost exact GDP per capita figures. Being one of the pioneers in bringing Organic and other added benefit products in a region with a notably small base of Organic consumers means we must pave the road for ourselves alone. However, at Midway, we decide to see this as a great opportunity rather than a difficulty. “Being part of such a dynamic society, it is very hard to get the attention of the wide mass. Together with Carrefour, we implemented a concept of Healthy Kitchen inside Carrefour
Mall of the Emirates. We did a complete revamp of the Organic category within the shop, giving it a French Kitchen appearance. Healthy Kitchen has the intent to provide enhanced shopping experience to customers that want to pursue a healthy and balanced lifestyle, raise customer awareness of Healthy Foods and Beverages, better educate customers of the importance of eating healthy through different sorts of digital marketing activities and help people how to search and select healthier food alternatives easier. Healthy Kitchen immediately won the hearts of everyone, bringing handful of excitement, joy and interest for the customers. As part of our other customer engaging activities, we provide sessions for our customers to get free nutritionist advices, we award our customers with gift boxes through our digital marketing engagement, we provide support for a variety of sport events, we maintain the Healthier on a Whole New Scale movement that is present trough facebook, instagram and a web blog as well as many other sorts of customer engagements.” “We work very closely with the Organic Trade Association of United States in creating activities together which are supporting our mutual objectives. The OTA work on programs how to get the products from farm to marketplace and we are collaborating on a few projects together. OTA deserves every respect for their activities and efforts they are performing all around the globe to boost the organic produce and sales of US companies.”
“One of Midway’s core strengths is our engagement in raising customer awareness through customer education, working on a very close basis with prominent nutritionists in the region, enhancing shopping experience for healthy eaters, giving healthy eaters recognition for their efforts, rewarding healthy eaters, supporting sport events and giving education to the participants at the same, a variety of digital marketing activities, campaigns encouraging for pursuing a balanced lifestyle. We measure our true success through the impact on society we create. Having said all of this, for us UAE is the perfect place to be.” In order to offer the very best products and services to its clients, Midway Middle East is constantly seeking to develop and grow its offering and adapt around the ever changing requirements of the market it operates in. Dushko concludes by highlighting the various future trends that the company will be focusing on as it looks towards the future. “Midway Middle East base our strategies in line with the global food trends, and as such our future revolves around meeting the ever evolving needs of our clients. The need for clear label, significant growth of organic and GMO free statements has been very much popular, therefore we make sure that our portfolio follows this requirement. Another trend is free-from foods which has become more attractive for consumers without food allergies and we have introduced a few new lines of this product type. Super leaf ‘Kale’ is booming and a lot of different products containing Kale has been created. In our range, we do have different snacking propositions containing this awesome superfood such as organic multigrain kale chips, organic dehydrated kale and different smoothies. Products with protein positioning are becoming mainstream these days. Our portfolio offers a variety of sources for protein. “Health conscious consumer’s wellness goals have become more prominent and they are looking for permissible indulgence. We offer healthier, guilt free organic, vegan, gluten
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A Balanced Lifestyle
free snaking products such as Hi I’m Skinny, Luke’s G.H Cretors and many more. “In addition, breakfast is the rising snack occasion and we focus a lot on assuring we provide to our consumers propositions to fit this trend. Driven by a need for convenience, consumers are looking for ready-to-eat products that they can easily fit into their busy lifestyles. At the same time, ongoing financial concerns mean they are looking for both affordable and premium products, depending on the occasion. Our full portfolio addresses all this trends as our main purpose is to serve the needs of our consumers. “Ultimately, consumers want more new products on the market that are affordable, healthy, convenient and environmentally friendly. Time pressures and stress are facts of life. Shoppers want products that help restore balance and free up time to do the things they value most. “The world is facing a global health crisis—nearly 30% of the global population was considered overweight or obese in 2013— and consumers are attempting to take charge of their health. “The healthy eating space holds great potential and consumers want to go ‘back-to-basics’ with fresh, natural and minimallyprocessed options. We are working in line with this need and are very much excited of all the new products we will be introducing in the next coming months such as diary, specialized kid’s portfolio and many more. We will continue our efforts and focus on educating the consumers of consuming healthier food alternatives and take care of their wellbeing. “Additionally, the global organic market today is estimated on around $90 billion with United States being almost a half, followed by Germany and France. By 2020 global organic market is expected to reach $212 billion, so the opportunity speaks for itself about Middle East region and Midway Middle East - Healthier on a Whole New Scale. These are all exciting developments and we look forward to taking advantage of them.”
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A Dedicated Team of Professionals Al Qamra Holding Group, a leading business conglomerate in the State of Qatar, with a history of more than six years successfully operating in the nation. Powered by a dedicated team of professionals, Al Qamra Holding Group has successfully carried out diverse assignments in areas such as industry, logistics & facilities management, agriculture, information technology, education, construction, media, tourism & hospitality, real estate, trade and medical & health care. We recently spoke to the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Hossam Eldin Mostafa who was awarded CEO of the Year – Qatar to tell us more about Al Qamra Holding Group The Holding Group has gone from strength to strength, delivering high quality products and services with a dedicated, highly-trained and innovative management and support staff. Dr. Hossam, the Chief Executive Officer of Al Qamra Holding Group has been working for the company for almost six years till date. Essentially, he oversees the over-all development of the existing affiliated companies that they have as well as the acquisition of the potential companies to name a few of his responsibilities as a CEO. Dr. Hossam informs us about the type of business, the clients with whom they work with and the impact of the company has made in the Middle East and African region. “As a Holding Group, we are managing multitude of companies of different segments within and outside of the State of Qatar; therefore, it involves diversified type of clients. We started cooperation with North African countries namely Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in the field of waste management, agriculture and real estate. Further cooperation extended to Angola in the field of food supply.”
In regards to the state of the industry in which AI Qamra Holding Group work within, Dr. Hossam highlights the changes that are affecting the business in the Middle East and African region. “Amongst our business industries, we have two main industries that will significantly affect the future events within the region. We have a business in the field of recycle oil which will have a great FIFA impact towards the environment and the other one is in the field of aluminium and glass assembly which will have a huge impact in World Cup 2022 projects.” With over 10 years of successfully operating within the industry, Dr. Hossam details out for us what the business has learnt so far, and how this has helped Al Qamra Holding Group to run a successful company. “To have a successful company, I believe it is very important to consider having an accurate market study, business plan, action plan with time line, cash flow projection, measurable achievements, targets, reporting system and an evaluation.” Reflecting on the challenges that the business has had to
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overcome, Dr. Hossam reveals how these difficulties has helped him to run a successful company. “Over the years, it has been clear that the greatest challenge is hiring the right and qualified personnel to work within a group of companies, considering that human resources are the heart and soul of a company. Through an affective recruitment process and rigid evaluation of the candidates, we were able to select the best qualified candidates that suit the vacancies.” Looking ahead, Dr. Hossam tells us about the future he envisions for AI Qamra Holding Group. “Amongst the future plans for the company, one of the aspects is to transform the nature of the companies from family business into IPO companies within the next five years. With technology advancing, we are utilizing our IT infrastructures and using SAP Business One and All-inOne as well as other software according to the network and nature of each of our business. Furthermore, we are certified for ISO 27001:2013 and very keen to have the Integrated Management System (IMS) in place which consist of ISO 9001/14001/18001 standards.”
g A Dedicated Team of Professionals Company: Al Qamra Holding Group Name: Dr. Hossam Eldin Mostafa Email: h.mostafa@al-qamra.com Web Address: www.al-qamra.com Address: Al Jazeera Al Arabia o. 36, Al Messila, Khalifa City, PO Box 90199, Doha, Qatar Telephone: +974 44339310 Mobile: +974 66966349
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Supplying Success Ahsant Premium Hotel Supplies works in partnership with luxury hotels and resorts to create unique and unforgettable guest experiences. We invited Iman Suguitan, Founder and Managing Director to provide us with an absorbing overview of the company and the vast array of products it offers.
Established in 2009, Ahsant, which is an Arabic expression for “congratulations, well done!”, has since worked with a vast array of clients, designing and manufacturing furnishings and accessories that go to hotel rooms, bathrooms and public areas. Iman is eager to highlight some of the illustrious clients her firm has worked with over the years. “Since we opened our Dubai office we have worked with regional and global hotel chains and resorts in the Middle East and Africa – from luxury hotel operator, such as Four Seasons Hotels, to very successful owning companies like Emaar Hospitality who established The Address Hotels and Resorts chain and own Armani Hotel Dubai. Now we’re involved with new and exciting properties launching in
the region like UAE’s concept hotel Rove, four properties opened in the last 12 months, as well as the much-awaited opening of the first Mondrian Hotel in the Middle East, which will be in Doha. We’re again working with the Wolfgang Puck Group as they open awardwinning restaurants in Qatar. You know with luxury comes leather accessories.” To ensure that every client receives the highest possible level of service right from the beginning, Iman and her team work hard and operate a clientfocused process which starts the moment the client books, as she explains. “The foremost role of any hotel supplier naturally is to deliver products that will last the rigors of hotel use, however our employees are trained to act
more as relationship managers, not just mere suppliers. This is how we make real the part where we promise to create unique and unforgettable guest experiences together with our hotel clients. This is best reflected in how our employees are trained in the whole operations process. “Whenever possible, we conduct face-to-face meetings to first understand the client’s requirement. Our design team then becomes at the disposal of our client; what we often find is that operators may have a brilliant idea but could not put it down into paper so we help them develop ideas; research, drawings, discussion and then we go into materials. It is a must to have an energetic, and cybersavvy team to keep connected to the client. This is how we receive new enquiries and maintain relationships with old clients based outside of the UAE. Then we have owning companies that go back to us because they know we put high value on integrity and honesty; they know they will get their money’s worth for products they purchase.” Operating at the luxury end of such a creative industry means that Iman and her staff have to work hard to remain at the cutting edge of the latest market developments, as she explains. “Innovation is essential to stay ahead in our industry as it ensures that we are always providing our clients with the products they need. We look not only at trends in interior design and architecture, but more
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importantly we must understand how tastes and sensibilities change. As such, we try to keep updated of what’s new in retail, fashion, art and even movies. As experts, we need to have a pulse of what hotel guests will appreciate. We need to know what is on trend currently so we can advise and support our clients with this knowledge.” Looking ahead, Iman is excited for the launch of a brand-new division of Ahsant, which will combine the high-quality service and products of the core brand with a new and invigorating food concept. “Moving forward, we want to continue fortifying our relationships in the hotel industry by offering their guests something that’s been a growing trend in the specialty food sector. It will be an entirely new division which will focus on a personal passion. This exciting project is going to be something very personal to me and my mother who has diabetes because it’s about healthy farm-to-bar chocolates! The project will provide us with the chance to help cacao farmers, whilst at the same time creating decadent, handcrafted chocolate bars, bon-bons and traditional hot chocolate. This business unit is a social enterprise but will carry the same core values of excellence, imagination and creativity that Ahsant is known for. We hope to launch the brand before the year ends and I’m already imagining hotel guests eating our farm-tobar chocolates. What a delicious thought!”
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Company: Ahsant Premium Hotel Supplies Contact: Iman Suguitan at iman@ahsantdubai.com Website: www.ahsantdubai.com
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Buceros Teams Up with Arab Investors Buceros Capital is a private equity firm based in the Netherlands. Buceros manages a multimillion dollar equity fund aimed at investments in emerging markets, most notably Africa. Financing is provided by both the private sector and the Dutch government. Buceros Capital draws on the collective expertise of both investors and government agencies while pro-actively enabling SME’s to enter emerging markets, most notably Africa and Latin-America. Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF, a government program) investment manager Tim van Galen comments: “Until recently DGGF predominantly provided loans to entrepreneurs operating in emerging markets. Buceros Capital will broaden our offering with private equity thus enhancing access to regions with suboptimal capital markets. Local impact (job creation, knowledge transfer and production growth) remains an overarching aim for both DGGF and Buceros.” Buceros Capital operates from The Netherlands with a rep office in Johannesburg (SouthAfrica). In Q1 2017, the firm will furthermore establish an office in Bogotá, Colombia. Buceros is currently working on several potential transactions for the new fund. Corné Melissen, director and spokesman for the investor group involved: “This newly established publicprivate fund initiative will act as co-investor but above all as a partner to entrepreneurs with ambitions in emerging markets.
Proposals can be submitted by email and feedback will be provided within a short timeframe. Although impact as such is an important driver the investments will certainly be assessed in terms of economic viability. External consultants will be dealing with the environmental and social corporate governance (ESG) issues. Deal selection, due diligence and transaction execution will be done in-house. We anticipate to announce the first transaction shortly.” One of the most powerful investors behind Buceros is Dutch billionaire investor Mr Marcel Boekhoorn. Mr Boekhoorn, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the Netherlands sees emerging markets as the next frontier in private equity and venture capital. Boekhoorn recently announced a strategic co-operation with South African investor-philanthropist Dr. Iqbal Survé, Chairman of Sekunjalo Group and Chairman of Independent Media. Buceros is in process of rolling out a vast network of strategic partners across the globe. In the United Arab Emirates Buceros will team up with entrepreneur and serial investor Dr Salwan Yousif of Dubai’s Inter Group. As many UAE based investment groups (including sovereign wealth funds) have frequent and sizable investment activities in emerging markets Dr Salwan Yousif’s core focus will be on
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identifying GCC co-investors for Buceros investments. As Dr Yousif explains.
United Nations projections the population will rise to almost 1.7 billion in 2030.
“I am delighted to work with Buceros Capital as their strategic partner for the Middle-East and North-African (MENA) region. The number of deals coming our way since we started operations just a few months ago is tremendous. Many GCC investors are keen to establish footholds in especially Africa. Sub-Sahara Africa is one of the fastest growing target areas in the world and we are all set to become a player. Having worked with the investors backing Buceros Capital for many years I have great confidence in our ability to track down and successfully close interesting deals.”
Corné Melissen: “African cities are increasingly relevant consumer markets. The most important ones will be Cairo, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Luanda. A recent surge in infrastructure investment indicates that states are investing in transport corridors to connect urban clusters, leading to deeper market integration through reduced transport and trade costs. An ever-increasing number of African companies find their way to the stock market. Since 2010 over USD 40 billion was raised in African capital markets with Johannesburg, Cairo and Lagos topping the charts. Although progress is hampered by inequality, urban poverty and exclusion, Africa’s prosperity outlook is better than ever.”
Africa achieved impressive economic growth over the past 15 years with the average gross real domestic product (GDP) rising to a stellar 5% in the past decade. Africa also is the continent with the fastestgrowing population in the world. From 2000 to 2015, population numbers increased by more than 370 million from 814 million to almost 1.2 billion. According to
Buceros Capital is a socially responsible, impact investor with an entrepreneurial eye out for opportunity. Its investors have a long history of business relationships in the Gulf area. More info: www.buceroscapital. com
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Contact: Ramon Lambert (COO) E-mail: info@buceroscapital.com Website: www.buceroscapital.com Telephone: +31 (0)20 233 6677
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Investment Towards Airport Security High on Priority for Region’s Airports Dubai - Airports across the Middle East, one of the fastest growing aviation sectors in the world, are driving investment to the tune of millions of dollars toward airport technology with a view to enhancing security and ensuring a seamless passenger experience.
The region, led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is expected to record over 4.8 per cent annual growth in passenger numbers over the next 20 years compared to a global average of 3.7 per cent, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA), which increases the challenge of ensuring that the growing number of passengers are handled efficiently without compromising on security. Mohammed Ahli, Director General, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), said: “Our two international airports are gearing up to serve up to 146 million passengers by 2025 and there will be a corresponding huge expansion in related fields in the aviation sector. This necessitates the need for ensuring safety and security for all stakeholders, passengers, airlines and the general public. We are fully prepared to face this challenge by adopting advanced technology and deploying trained personnel for the job. We understand that aviation security is not, and should not be, of a transit nature, but a constantly evolving requirement. It’s crucial to adopt innovative technology, improve security and streamline efficiencies to offer a seamless passenger travel experience.”
Increase in passenger numbers and the increased need for security reforms amid unrest in many parts of the world, have increased the need for security reforms and there is major focus on investment toward security. Globally, the airport security market size is set to exceed USD 12.8 billion by 2023, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights. According to the report, rising safety and passenger protection concerns, growing air traffic with the increasing air travelers owing to the time related factors and rising disposable income are expected to stimulate the global airport security market size over the forecast period. Enhancement of security technology that offers operators with better situational awareness, greater efficiency and increased security is anticipated to contribute to the airport security market size, the report says. Another report by Visiongain assesses that the airport security market will reach $9,336m in 2016, driven by growth in the commercial air transport market and the need to process increasing passenger numbers without negatively impacting upon the quality of security. The UAE has been driving the growth in the Middle East and is uniquely placed to lead change in aviation security, according to experts.
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Angela Gittens, Director General, Airport Councils International (ACI), said: “The Middle East has a unique opportunity, due to its location and rapid growth, to lead change and innovation in regards to security. Dubai International Airport for one, the next-generation travel hub, is implementing innovative practices such as automatic passenger identification and a seamless passenger journey.” The 17th edition of the Airport Show, to be held in Dubai from May 15-17, will bring in worldleading companies to highlight the latest safety & security solutions and products. The Airport Show, with a participation from over 300 leading companies from around the world, will have a dedicated Security zone, which will highlight cutting edge technologies from around the world. Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibitions Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said: “Airports in the Middle East have been witnessing massive investments and are on the forefront when it comes to adopting the latest smart technologies. From using robotics to biometrics, the Middle East and UAE, in particular, are adopting technologies that are significantly impactful when it comes to ensuring security and enhancing the passenger experience. With the focus on
security rising worldwide, these technologies are highly relevant. The Airport Show provides an opportunity to explore the latest technologies from around the world on one platform.” The Airport Security Zone at Airport Show 2017 will offer a dedicated platform to launch a wide range of products in different categories such as biometrics, checkpoint and baggage screening, digital and network surveillance, bird control systems, self-service and baggage handling systems, systems for passport readers/ scanners, access and perimeter control, air cargo X-ray screening equipment, emergency alarm and warning systems, smart building automation, hardware and data security, fencing, surveillance and security risk management systems. Among the leading participants who will showcase products in airport security include Rapiscan, L-3, Nuctech, Smiths Detection, CEM Systems, Rockwell Collins, Garette and many others.
g Investment Towards Airport Security High on Priority for Region’s Airports
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U.S.’s Microsoft Announces New Head Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Microsoft today announced the appointment of Samer Abu Ltaif as the president of its Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Abu Ltaif, who joined Microsoft in 2004, has held many senior roles within the organisation including regional director for enterprise and partner group across MEA. Most recently, he was the Regional General Manager of Microsoft Gulf. During his tenure, he led landmark Microsoft initiatives aimed at empowering governments and citizens through innovation, revolutionizing education, stimulating SME growth and entrepreneurship; all to enhance the region’s global competitiveness and modernization. Abu Ltaif played a key role in growing Microsoft’s presence in the Gulf and developing the company’s ecosystem of over 1,400 channel partners
His vision for Microsoft in MEA is to contribute to the economic and social development of the region. “MEA has tremendous potential. The rich diversity across the region, combined with the fast-growing youth population and innovative spirit, opens up enormous opportunity,” says Abu Ltaif. “As Microsoft, we have an important role to play, not only through the innovative technology that we bring to market, but also through our presence across the region, our focus on developing local talent, and our deep commitment to the communities in which we operate”. A key part of Abu Ltaif’s role will be to drive the digital transformation agenda of the region across governments, enterprises, developers and small and medium businesses.
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His leadership will be instrumental in progressing Microsoft’s commitment to empower people, transform businesses, impact societies and fuel a knowledge economy in MEA. Abu Ltaif will continue to be based in Dubai, which serves as one of the major hubs for Microsoft in the region. He takes over the reins from Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Ali Faramawy, who has headed the region for thirteen years. Faramawy, in turn, takes on a newly announced global role as the head of the Emerging Markets Digital Transformation Organization which has been established within Microsoft. The new organization will focus primarily on building the capability in emerging markets to drive the adoption of cloud technologies and contribute to sustainable growth. Innovation, agility, strategic partnerships, modern business models and building cloud skills for Microsoft partners, will be the core focus of this team.
g U.S.’s Microsoft Announces New Head
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I.T. Spending to Reach $155.8 Billion in 2017 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) IT spending is projected to reach $155.8 billion in 2017 a 2.4 percent increase from 2016, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts are discussing the key IT and business issues that are driving the evolution of digital business this week during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo here through Thursday. Analysts said the key vertical segments driving IT spending growth include the communications, media and services, banking and securities, manufacturing and utilities markets. The devices segment will represent nearly 17 percent of total IT spending in 2017 (see Table 1), This market is expected to grow 4 percent this year, mainly due to a strong increase in mobile phone expenditure. Other devices (which include PCs) are forecast for negative growth. Data center systems will see an overall growth of 6 percent in 2017, versus flat performance in 2016, due to increase in demand for servers and unified communications. Software spending is forecast to increase 9 percent, with enterprise application software projected to grow 13 percent and infrastructure software spending to increase 6 percent.IT services will post 4 percent growth, with business IT services reaching
nearly 5 percent growth this year. Consumer mobile services will represent close to 60 percent of the total expenditures in communication services. “The MENA region is moving in the right digital direction, where demand for the latest and most emerging technologies like Blockchain will continue to reflect the profound changes the IT markets are experiencing. The growing and influential role of business leaders toward embracing technologies and processes such as cloud, business intelligence (BI), analytics, customer relationship management (CRM), digital business and marketing, are contributing to fuel digital transformation,” said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president and global head of Research at Gartner. “A new type of infrastructure needs to be built that is not just going to reshape business, but also the way people live. CIOs are the builders of this infrastructure, which Gartner calls the ‘civilization infrastructure’,” said Mr. Sondergaard. “Middle East user organizations must realize the next evolution of digitalization is here: the rise of the digital ecosystem — where enterprises,
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competitors, customers, regulators and other stakeholders form an interdependent business network.” CIOs will participate in the building of a new digital platform with intelligence at the center. That platform will enable ecosystems, connecting businesses and collapsing industries. Gartner analysts said it will change society itself, and the way people live. The new digital platform consists of five domains: traditional IT systems, customer experience, The Internet of Things (IoT), an ecosystem foundation and the intelligence platform that ties all the domains together. “Each of these domains are interconnected and interdependent. All have a role, and all are required,” said Mr.Sondergaard. “Your new digital platform will allow you to participate in the evolving world of business, government, and consumer ecosystems. Because ecosystems are the next evolution for digital. It’s how you compete at scale.” Further insight into the five elements of the new digital platform include:
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Traditional core IT systems. This is how CIOs run and scale operations. It’s building on what’s already been built. It’s taking high performing traditional IT systems (such as the data centers and networks) and modernizing them to be part of the digital platform. For example, leading organizations are halfway through the transition to the cloud. It started with Sales and Marketing, and now half of sales-support capabilities are in the cloud. This migration will continue through the end of the decade into functions such as HR, procurement and financial management. “You now need to make cloud, mobile, social and data your core capabilities while investing in resilience, business continuity and disaster recover, insight and outside in a hybrid approach,” Mr. Sondergaard said. Customer experience. This is how CIOs connect and engage in new ways. The digital customer experience may be the only one that the customers have. This is how the business engages in the digital world. The pioneers are exploring how new experiences such as virtual and augmented reality will change the way customers engage. In the world of chatbots and virtual personal assistants (VPAs), your mobile apps, and even your web presence, will be much less relevant. The new competitive differentiator is understanding the customer’s intent through advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence. Creating new experiences that solve problems customers didn’t realize they had. The Internet of Things (IoT). This is how the organization senses and acts in the physical world. Adding devices to the IoT domain is the easy part. Processes, workflows, and data integration are much harder. In fact, twothird of organizations have had to rework their existing IT systems to accommodate IoT.
IoT also changes how CIOs should invest in analytics because decisions must move from days to minutes to instant. CIOs should plan to shift their investments in analytics to real-time. Real-time analytics will outpace traditional analytics by a factor of three by 2020 to become 30 percent of the market. Intelligence. This is how the systems analyze, learn and decide independently. CIOs start with traditional data management, data science and data intelligence. Algorithms determine the action. The new type of intelligence, driven by machine learning is artificial intelligence. “We are building machines that learn from experience and produce outcomes their designers did not explicitly envision. Systems that can experience and adapt to the world via the data they collect,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “Machine learning and artificial intelligence move at the speed of data, not at the speed of code releases. Information is the new code base.” Ecosystem Foundation. This is how the enterprise interacts as an institution in the digital world. Ecosystems go beyond the capability to decide, CIOs need to build the capability to interact with customers, partners, adjacent industries, even your competitors. The ecosystems allow for the transformation from traditional business with linear value supply chains to networked digital ecosystem businesses. Many industry models will transform with digital ecosystems. Moving from simple relationships run by intermediaries toward distributed partnerships possibly managed by a shared distributed ledger system like blockchain. Building a strong ecosystem will help you manage these dynamic interactions. Ecosystems are the future of digital.
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Gartner analysts are examining key industry trends during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2017 in Dubai, 28 February – 2 March. For further information about the event in Dubai, please visit https://www.gartner.com/ events/emea/dubai-symposium. Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Sony Shetty at sony. shetty@gartner.com. About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world’s most important gathering of CIOs and other senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and objective content with the authority of the world’s leading IT research and advisory organization, and provides access to the latest solutions from key technology providers. Gartner’s annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of attendees’ annual planning efforts. IT executives rely on these events to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to overcome business challenges and improve operational efficiency.
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LG Expands in the UAE with New Office Strengthening its tactical position in the region, LG’s new office space is set to facilitate dialogue with key businesses and partners within the nation’s capital Abu Dhabi, UAE – As part of its plans for regional expansion in 2017, LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, has opened a new office facility in the UAE’s capital city this week. The new LG office facility is optimally located in Bin Hamoodah Tower, Capital Centre in Abu Dhabi. Its opening aims to enhance both business-to-business and business-to-consumer operations for LG in the UAE. Attending LG Gulf’s new office inauguration and ribbon cutting ceremony were the President of
LG MEA, Mr. Kevin Cha and the President of LG Gulf, Mr. Yong Geun Choi. Also attending the ceremony were key stakeholders including key business partners and retailers as well as members of the media. Expansion to Abu Dhabi aligns with LG’s ambitions to continue growing its operations and becoming even more accessible to its consumers and partners. While already maintaining a strong presence in Dubai, LG’s goal through this opening is to further strengthen its position in the fast-growing Middle East and Africa region. “At LG, a top priority is to continuously connect and
engage with our customers and business partners by being available to them and by providing them with the best in innovative and premium technology solutions, and we have always been committed to seeking and leveraging opportunities which allow us to expand horizons and nurture a win-win relationship. Our new office in Abu Dhabi comes at an opportune time as we reinforce ties with key stakeholders and strongly position ourselves here in the capital of the UAE and continue to expand throughout the region,” said Mr. Yong Geun Choi, President of LG Gulf. Long-term plans are to further solidify LG’s foothold in the region by increasing availability of and access to the brand’s premium products across LG’s various business units, including home entertainment and home appliances for consumers and through its business-to-business solutions. LG will continue to optimize its ‘premium way forward’ strategy with its high-end products and business solutions across its business units while constantly revolutionising the connections between the brand and its customers and partners in the UAE and across the MEA region.
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Dubai Amongst the World’s Fastest Changing Cities Strengthening its tactical position in the region, LG’s new office space is set to facilitate dialogue with key businesses and partners within the nation’s capital Placed at 11 in the global top 30, Dubai finished just behind Nairobi (10th) and London (6th) in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market. Top of the list went to the Indian powerhouse Bangalore, followed by Ho Chi Minh City, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Hyderabad which completed the top five. The Index covers 134 major established and emerging business hubs across the globe, and looks at the key ingredients of population, connectivity, technology and R&D, education, environment, real estate investment, property prices and economic output, among other areas. Despite challenges and a world of heightened risk, the 2017 edition of JLL’s CMI highlights remarkable dynamism in major global cities, many of which are consistently outperforming their national economies. “The world’s most robust, agile and open cities are generating considerable momentum and energy, and are taking the lead in shaping our future landscape,” said Craig Plumb, Head of Research at JLL MENA.
“However, the world has become a riskier place since our last report. These disruptions are happening just as our cities are undergoing major structural change as the effects of globalisation, technological breakthroughs and rapid urbanisation combine to challenge the very fabric of our urban spaces.” Dubai and Nairobi – the urban stars of the Middle East and Africa Middle Eastern and African cities have struggled to maintain momentum, with many hit by the slump in energy and commodity prices. The notable exception is Dubai which has re-appeared in the Global Top 30, having fallen outside the top group in the last couple of years. Nairobi is the star performer in Africa by a significant margin – making its second consecutive appearance in the Global Top 30. The Asia Pacific Century The Asia Pacific region is home to more than half of the world’s 30 most dynamic cities and real estate markets (based on the CMI 2017). This is testament to the rise of Asia Pacific cities as major hubs of commerce and innovation.
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There has, however, been a realignment within Asia Pacific, with India supplanting China as home to the region’s most dynamic cities: • Bangalore tops the CMI 2017 for the first time, as one of the world’s premier technology hubs, supporting robust real estate demand. India’s Tier 1 megacities of Chennai (18th), Delhi (23rd) and Mumbai (25th) also feature in the Top 30, although their rankings are compromised by poor scores on environmental sustainability. •
While China no longer dominates the top ranks, it is nonetheless still well represented in the Top 30, with three Tier 1 cities featuring – Shanghai (4th), Beijing (15th), Shenzhen (23rd), as well as the Yangtze River Delta cities of Hangzhou (26th) and Nanjing (29th).
Technology drives momentum, notably in the U.S. Technology and innovation continue to be a major driver of momentum, from Silicon Valley to Nairobi (Silicon Savannah). Technology explains the strong presence of U.S. cities in the Global Top 30.
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Tech-rich New World Cities - Silicon Valley (3rd), Austin (7th), Boston (9th), Seattle (20th), San Francisco (21st) and Raleigh-Durham (24th) have among the world’s highest concentrations of technology companies
Europe’s cities offering longer-term sustainable momentum As in previous editions of the CMI, European cities are not well represented among the Global Top 30, a reflection of their maturity and dynamics. Their strength lies in their longerterm sustainable momentum which appeals to investors and corporate occupiers. Four European cities sit in the Global Top 30 – London (6th), Paris (17th), Dublin (28th) and Stockholm (30th) round off the Top 30 representation from Europe. The Missing World Cities from the CMI Top 30 Tokyo and Seoul, which were in the Top 20 in the CMI 2016, have fallen out of the top positions, ranking in the mid-30s. While Tokyo and Seoul finish in the top 10 on long-term momentum, both cities have disappointed on short-term economic and real estate momentum during 2016.
g Dubai Amongst the World’s Fastest Changing Cities
While Singapore and Hong Kong are among the world’s most competitive cities, neither city has made this year’s top 30 in terms of momentum: • Singapore has failed to make the top-cut due to a continuing correction in office and retail rents, and sluggish net absorption •
Despite a strong 2016, Hong Kong lacks positive real estate momentum with office rents set to enter negative territory from 2017
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This is the fourth edition of JLL’s City Momentum Index (CMI). The Index has been published annually since 2014.
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投资移民 issue 7
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