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thyssenkrupp Elevator

THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY IN CITIES

How the German group aims to develop the innovative transportation system inside buildings

Andreas Schierenbeck

COMMERCIAL BELIEF

The global economy’s surprising resilience The global economy stands strong despite political uncertainty

WASHINGTON D.C.

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The Trump-Xi strategic face off

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The global economy’s surprising resilience

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Why Europe still needs cash

PROTAGONIST

A false spring at the spring meetings?

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

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ECONOMICS

CONTENTS

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Page 26

Thyssen - Vertical transportation

Corporate governance at Saudi Aramco

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

Theresa May rolls the electoral dice

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Democratizing artificial intelligence

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Work in an automated future

AWARDS

Publisher/Director Guido Giommi Editors, America: Imani Nicole Jones Scarlett Williams

International Subscription Kate Rios

© Project Syndicate 2017 WorldExcellence

Art Director Nick Lowen

Volume 23

Editor, Asia: Eric Davide

Graphic Design Mary Thompson

Editors: Claudia Chiari Alessia Rosa Alessia Liparoti Simona Vantaggiato

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The new symbol in the Thai Real Estate Industry

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“We want to build a better life for people”

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Hong Kong - Event 2017

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GLOBAL ECONOMY

A false spring at the spring meetings?

Every spring, international bureaucrats flock to Washington, DC, as reliably as swallows to Capistrano, for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, where they exchange information about their local economies and policy prospects Carmen Reinhart & Vincent Reinhart

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ASHINGTON DC. – Because these officials attend multiple events over the course of the week, an echo chamber develops, from which a general perception of the state of the global economy emerges. Policymaking around the world is then influenced by that perception.

This time round, the sense was positive. According to IMF staff, as reported in their World Economic Outlook, real GDP should expand by about 2% in advanced economies this year and next.

This will pull the unemployment rate below 6%, not much different from its level before the 2008 financial crisis. Deflation or unwelcome disinflation is now seen only in the rearview mirror, as consumer price inflation settles around 2%, the goal of most major central banks.

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But, as any resident of New England knows, April showers do not always bring May flowers; sometimes they bring only more and colder showers.

Not to rain on officials’ parade, but we fear that they are taking too much comfort in the stabilization of economic conditions. Beneath the headline numbers, there is little evidence that underlying problems have been resolved.

It wouldn’t be the first time. The post1945 record includes two prior “lost decades” in which economies struggling to recover from severe financial crises – including about a dozen countries in Latin America from 1982 to 1992, and Japan from 1992 to 2007 – underperformed their own trend growth and that of their peers.

As bleak as this history seems, annual real GDP growth per capita was po-

sitive in 60% and 75% of those years, respectively, in Latin America and Japan.

Indeed, real GDP per capita expanded by more than 2% in at least a quarter of those years. That is, these countries glimpsed rays of sunshine through what turned out in retrospect to be a mostly solid cloud cover.

Acceleration in economic activity may stir hope in officialdom, but levels matter, too. In Europe, real growth GDP has been only barely positive, on average, since the financial crisis, and its level in 2016 was about 20% below that predicted by the trend over the ten years up to 2007. This ranks as the slowest recovery from a severe financial crisis in two centuries. And aggregation hides a multitude of problems: Greece and Italy, for example, will not regain their pre-crisis level of real GDP per capita

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World Bank in Washington D.C.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT

THIS TIME ROUND, THE SENSE WAS POSITIVE. ACCORDING TO IMF STAFF REAL GDP SHOULD EXPAND

BY ABOUT 2% IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES THIS YEAR AND NEXT World Excellence

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ADVANCED ECONOMIES

GROWTH IN THE ADVANCED ECONOMIES’ REAL POTENTIAL GDP HAS FALLEN BY HALF THIS CENTURY, FROM 2.71% IN 2001 TO AS LOW AS 1.28% JUST A FEW YEARS AGO within the World Economic Outlook’s forecast period, which stretches to 2022.

Yes, post-crisis spending headwinds are an important impediment to growth, partly owing to their persistence. But central to economic performance over this period is stagnating growth in potential output. According to the IMF, growth in the advanced economies’ real potential GDP – think of this as the underlying trend for aggregate supply – has fallen by half this century, from 2.71% in 2001 to as low as 1.28% just a few years ago. The picture is bleaker

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in the US, where, according to the Congressional Budget Office the amplitude of the swing is double, from about 4% to 1.5%. But all of the G7 economies share this phenomenon, because their aging populations are growing more slowly, withdrawing from the labor market, and adding little extra output per additional hour worked.

Whether productivity, or output per hour, will continue to languish is hard to predict. But data are data, and they show quite clearly that productivity growth has been languid for some time.

The growth of potential output is not just an economist’s abstraction. If, as seems to be the case, the expected path of income turns south, we will have fewer future resources to meet our needs. To the extent that we have consumed and borrowed now in anticipation of higher income, disappointment is in store.

There certainly is scope for disappointment in advanced economies, considering that gross general government debt is hovering around 106% of nominal GDP and fiscal deficits are stretching beyond the forecast horizon.

The budget math only gets harder as central banks normalize monetary policy, even if interest rates do not return completely to their pre-crisis levels. In economies with a recent record of fiscal restraint, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, the private sector has been borrowing hand over fist. In times of distress, private-sector mistakes often become public-sector obligations.

The machinery of representative government works best when it is used to apportion a growing economic pie.

For example, when the US economy was experiencing 4% trend growth, real GDP could be expected to double in 18 years, comforting parents about their children’s economic future. At the current trend of 1.5% growth, the period needed to double GDP stretches to 48 years, darkening the economic prospects of the grandchildren. In those circumstances, will elected officials make the hard decisions needed to get from economic stabilization to sustained recovery? ■

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CHINA AND USA

The Trump-Xi strategic face-off

In ancient times, Chinese emperors never traveled to another country to meet its new ruler. Rather, that ruler, or his envoy, would visit China’s imperial capital to request investiture from the Son of Heaven‌ Le Hong Hiep

World Bank in Whashington D

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D.C.

Private Trumps’ family residence in Mar-a-lago, Palm Beach, Florida

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NITED STATES – The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping has traveled thousands of miles to meet US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, rather than receiving Trump in the Forbidden City, suggests that China recognizes its own status as a lesser power vis-à-vis the United States.

But that does not mean that Xi considers this status to be permanent. On the contrary, he might be anticipating that the two countries’ strategic standing will change very quickly if the US does not do more to preserve its global primacy.

Discussions about China’s rise and America’s relative decline have been ongoing for almost a decade. But the notion that China would replace the US as the dominant global power was not considered plausible – by either the Chinese or observers around the world – until Trump’s presidency.

This new perception could be further reinforced at Mar-a-Lago. Although the event has been presented as an occasion for the two leaders to become personally acquainted, Trump reportedly intends to raise at least three major issues with Xi: America’s massive trade deficit with China, North Korea’s nuclear program, and the territorial disputes between China and US allies in the South China Sea. Each leader undoubtedly wants the other to make concessions on these issues, so that he can emerge “victorious” from the summit. Trump needs a favorable outcome to compensate for a series of domestic political failures that have severely eroded his political capital and sent his approval ratings to record

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Donald Trump

Xi Jinping

lows. And Xi wants a diplomatic victory to bolster his political standing ahead of the Communist Party of China’s National Congress in November.

On trade, Trump wants to curtail Chinese exports to the US, presumably by imposing higher tariffs on Chinese goods and pressuring US and international manufacturers to move their production facilities to America. But Trump is unlikely to get his way on this issue. Unilaterally imposing tariffs on Chinese imports would likely trigger trade disputes, invite Chinese retaliation, and hurt US businesses that create wealth – and deliver affordable products to American consumers – by basing their production facilities in China.

A better alternative for Trump would be to persuade China to import more from the US. But making that change would take time for China. And, on the US side of the equation, Trump cannot simply dictate quo-

tas for companies, which must base their decisions on market conditions.

Meanwhile, Trump has implied that he might somehow soften his stance on the trade issue if Xi offers to help rein in the North Korean regime’s nuclear ambitions. But Xi, knowing that he has the upper hand on the trade issue, will not be easily swayed. Instead, he will probably offer China’s cooperation in exchange for the US halting its deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea.

Trump would most likely reject this proposal. And yet he may be overestimating China’s influence over North Korea. The North conducted its recent nuclear and missile tests despite Chinese sanctions, which have halted coal imports from North Korea – the regime’s main revenue source. If China has less control over North Korea than many assume, Xi may be unlikely to offer any strategic concessions to Trump

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to address the nuclear threat.

The same can be said for the South China Sea issue. China has defined its territorial claims as a “core interest,” which implies that it will use force to defend its position there. Some observers have criticized former US President Barack Obama for being too soft on the issue, because he allowed China to assert its claims unchecked over the past eight years. Yet it is unlikely that Obama could have done anything to stop China without risking a major great-power conflict. Trump also wants to stop China’s strategic encroachments in the South China Sea; but, as his meeting with Xi will prove, his options are as limited as Obama’s were.

Given these constraints, Trump will almost certainly fail to secure a political victory at the summit. Xi, meanwhile, can return home triumphant by simply standing his ground. This likely outcome will further strengthen the view that the US is losing global influence to China, especially among observers in the Asia Pacific region who have watched Trump scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership and cease Obama’s strategic “pivot” to the region.

Owing to the deep divisions within American society, Trump’s isolationist, anti-liberal administration may already lack the political capital and determination to delay, let alone reverse, the momentous shift in global power toward China. That shift will only accelerate further during and after Trump’s presidency, unless major changes are made to retain America’s costly, hard-earned global preeminence. ■

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BREXIT

Theresa May rolls the electoral dice A big election year for Europe just got bigger. With France’s upcoming presidential election becoming a nail-biter, and Germans preparing to vote in September, British Prime Minister Theresa May has now called a snap election for June 8. The outcome will have farreaching implications not only for the United Kingdom’s impending negotiations on withdrawal from the European Union, but also for the survival of the UK itself….

Philippe Legrain

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NITED KINGDOM – Notwithstanding the unpredictability of British politics nowadays, May’s Conservative Party is expected to win the election handily. A recent YouGov/ Times poll predicted that the Conservatives would receive 44% of the vote, compared to 23% for the Labour Party, 12% for the Liberal Democrats, and 10% for the UK Independence Party.

Under Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system, the Conservatives would likely have a hefty majority of more than 100 seats in the House of Commons – up from 14 now May owes her position as prime minister to the parliamentary majority that David Cameron won in 2015, before he resigned in the wake of last June’s Brexit referendum. But if the election result vindicates the pollsters, she will have a significantly stronger popular mandate than Cameron did.

To be sure, the Conservatives are unlikely to win more than 50% of the vote.

But May could still claim that a big parliamentary majority amounts to an endorsement of her pursuit of a “hard Brexit.” That entails leaving the EU single market and customs union, so that the UK can impose immigration controls on EU citizens, free itself from the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, and pursue its own trade deals. At the same time, a large parliamentary majority might give May more leeway to make compromises during the Brexit negotiations, because she will be less vulnerable to pressure from hardline Brexiteers.

The timing of a Conservative victory

Theresa May

would prove highly opportune for May. She could claim her mandate to implement a hard Brexit before the consequences hit home, while the economy is still riding high on debt-fueled consumption. And she would not have to face voters again until 2022, giving her more flexibility in implementing Brexit.

If Britain leaves the EU as planned in 2019, there could be a further two- or three-year transition period before the 2022 election, during which the UK might remain in the single market and customs union – and maintain free movement – while it negotiates a future tra-

de deal. Most of the trade, investment, and migration losses that Brexit is likely to cause might thus be delayed.

But there are risks to May’s strategy.

For starters, she is reversing a position she has maintained since announcing her candidacy to succeed Cameron as Tory leader (and thus as prime minister). “There won’t be an early election,” she vowed a week after the Brexit vote.

“There should be no general election until 2020.” She has issued similar, seemingly ironclad assurances ever since.

May’s justification for calling an early election – that the current parliamen-

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tary opposition could block Brexit – is nonsense. Parliament unconditionally allowed May to initiate the EU exit process last month. If it tried to reject an exit deal, Britain would simply leave the EU without one. Similarly, a big parliamentary majority would not strengthen May’s negotiating position vis-à-vis the EU. If anything, the knowledge that she had scope to compromise would weaken it.

By cynically breaking her promises, May could badly erode the public’s trust in her. She obviously thinks she can get away with it: even if swing voters have doubts about her, they are not about to bolt to the deeply unpopular hard-left Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, have an opportunity to siphon support from both the Conservatives and Labour, by campaigning against May’s vision for a hard Brexit. Granted, the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, does not look particularly pri-

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me ministerial. But he did oppose his party’s decision to enter into a coalition with the Conservatives between 2010 and 2015, which could make him more palatable to voters fleeing from Labour.

In addition, the Liberal Democrats could appeal to more moderate Tory

ber of Parliament were to back a temporary government and vote to hold a second national referendum. With this outcome being extremely unlikely, the most one can hope for is that the election will soften the blow from Brexit.

May is also taking a much bigger gamble with the survival of the UK. She recently rejected the Scottish government’s request for another independence referendum – the second since 2014 – on the grounds that it would be wrong for Scots to vote before knowing the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. But she is now asking Britons to do precisely that.

May’s position on Scotland is scarcely tenable. Assuming that the pro-independence Scottish National Party’s support holds up in the general election, Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will be in a much stronger position to renew her demand for an independence referendum – perhaps as

OPPORTUNITY

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIPHON SUPPORT FROM BOTH THE CONSERVATIVES AND LABOUR voters, because they remain committed to EU single-market membership. And, lastly, one cannot discount the possibility that a new centrist party will emerge before June.

If May fails to win a big majority, her authority within the Conservative Party will be weakened. But even if she fails to win a majority, Brexit would not be stopped, unless every anti-Brexit Mem-

early as next year.

With many Scots – 62% of whom voted to remain in the EU – leery of being dragged into a hard Brexit by a Conservative UK government in thrall to English nationalism, the case for Scottish independence could be compelling. The future of Northern Ireland remains in question as well. Little England, a state of mind, could become the real thing. ■

ECONOMICS

ECONOMIC SCENARIOS

The global economy’s surprising resilience

The global economy stands strong despite political uncertainty.

Jim O’neill

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ONDON.– Disconcerting political developments in the United States and the United Kingdom might lead one to conclude that an already challenged world economy will struggle even more in the near term. But as we continue into 2017, the cyclical evidence actually suggests otherwise.

Since my days as Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, I have kept an eye on six indicators from around the world that, taken together, provide a reliable snapshot of what the global economy will look like for the next six months. Right now, all six indicators show more promise than they have for some time, and only one of them has fallen slightly from a recent high.

THE FIRST INDICATOR IS WEEKLY UNEMPLOYMENT

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CLAIMS IN THE US, from which one can gauge the overall strength of the US economy. Economists are rightly trained to treat unemployment as a lagging indicator, but these data can also be useful in forecasting the near future. US jobless claims are always up to date, because they are produced weekly, and statistical evidence suggests that they are a leading indicator for US equity prices. As of last week, jobless claims remained rather low, as they have for some time, which bodes well for US stock markets.

Similarly, the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Index provides a pretty good preview of the US economy for the next 3-6 months, even though manufacturing comprises a relatively small share of GDP. Like the latest jobless

claims, the ISM’s numbers are currently giving cause for optimism.A third indicator is a subcomponent of the same ISM survey: manufacturers’ new orders and inventories. Currently, new orders are increasing and inventories are low, which suggests that businesses will have to produce more in the coming months to satisfy those orders.

Looking beyond the US, a fourth indicator is the ratio of Chinese retail spending relative to industrial production (adjusted for inflation).

These figures give us a glimpse of both cyclical trends and China’s structural rebalancing away from exports and toward domestic consumption. This will arguably be one of the most important indicators for both China and the rest of the global economy for years to come.

The ratio of Chinese monthly retail sales to industrial production, while erratic, has been slowly trending higher since 2008, and there appears to have been another uptick in consumption recently. This is why I am less worried than others about frequently cited risks confronting th e Chinese economy. Chinese consumer spending has remained strong despite the slowdown in industrial output and investment and the government’s efforts to constrain spending on luxury goods.

SOME MIGHT OBJECT THAT CHINESE DATA CANNOT BE TRUSTED. But I do not see why the

data on one side of the ratio would be any more or less reliable than data on the other side. Why would Chinese officials fiddle with con-

sumption data while allowing the industrial-output figures to register a decline. In any case, we have to work with what we have. A fifth indicator is South Korean trade data, which is consistently reported on the first day of each month after trades occur – faster than any other country. South Korea has an open economy and trading partners around the world, including the US, China, Japan, and the European Union, so one can extrapolate from its trade data to draw conclusions about the state of global trade. After trending down in recent years, South Korean trade since November has shown signs of recovering, notably in terms of export growth; and in January, it bounced back significantly. To be sure, this finding is at odds with all of the eulogies for globalization that one hears these days, and Donald Trump’s decidedly protectionist administration in the US could now send global trade into a long retreat.

But South Korea’s recent data suggest that globalization still has some life left in it, and that 2017 is off to a decent start.In fact, barring the worst-case scenario under Trump, it is possible that the slowdown in global trade in recent years will turn out to be a temporary phenomenon. It may have been a singular occurrence that reflected a variety of factors, including the euro crisis; continued economic weakness in many European countries; the sharp decline in commodity prices; dramatic slowdowns in Brazil, Russia, and other emerging economies; and

tighter regulations for international banks, which might have hindered trade finance.

THE LAST KEY INDICATOR IS THE MONTHLY IFO BUSINESS CLIMATE Index in Germany, which

contains useful cyclical data for Europe overall, owing to Germany’s centrality in the continent’s economy. The Ifo survey has reported positive results in recent months, although the data were more promising in December than in January.

Taken together, these six indicators suggest to me that the global economy might now be growing at a rate of more than 4%. This is the fastest growth in a number of years – although the last decade’s average growth rate of 3.3% was barely lower than the rate in the previous decade – and close to the pace of the previous two decades before that. At the same time, the six indicators cannot tell us anything about what will happen after the next few months. It is an open question whether global economic growth will remain strong, strengthen further, or start to weaken. It has been interesting to watch growth accelerate in the face of shocks such as the UK’s Brexit referendum and Trump’s election. And yet it is unclear why this is happening. Some might say the trend is a result of policy decisions in the US and UK, but far more would probably say that it is happening despite those decisions. Unfortunately, there are no indicators that provide an answer to this question – only time will tell. ■

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PROTAGONIST

THE STRATEGY OF THE FIRM

Vertical transportation In the city of the future, Andreas Schierenbeck, Ceo of thyssenkrupp Elevator explains why urbanization cannot be stopped and why mobility infrastructures need to keep up Nino Sunseri

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ERMANY – thyssenkrupp Elevator is climbing the roof of the world. “Our goal is to become the leader of our industry” says indeed Andreas Schierenbeck, chairman of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Elevator AG, German company specialized in the installation and maintenance of escalators, treadmills, elevators and lifts. And the results of recent years seem to legitimize this ambition.

Born in 1966 in Hohen-Neuendorf near Berlin, studied electrical engineering at Dresden University of Technology. After completing his studies, Andreas Schierenbeck began his career in 1992 as a control center software developer, followed by positions in commissioning, as a project manager and in business development at Siemens AG in Vienna, Austria. In this role he spent two years in Colombia and Venezuela.

On his return to the Austrian capital, he was tasked with restructuring

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a software company acquired by Siemens. Following the successful completion of this project, he performed further duties in control center technology. In 2005 he took up new challenges and joined the Building Technologies Division, initially as Senior Vice President for Fire Services. From 2006 to 2010 he served as CEO for the Building Automation business unit in Zug, Switzerland, and has been President and CEO of Building Technologies Americas at Siemens Corporation in the USA since 2010. Andreas Schierenbeck was appointed member and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Elevator AG on June 1, 2012. In January 2013, Andreas Schierenbeck was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Elevator AG. What challenges should be faced by the elevator industry in the next years?

Meeting the demands of mass urban

migration, especially in emerging economies, is the current challenge facing the elevator industry. By 2021, the global demand for elevator equipment is projected to rise over 2.4% annually to EUR 62 billion. Urbanisation is an unstoppable trend, and the scale of movement of people to cities has redefined the construction and infrastructure requirements needed to keep pace with growing urban populations.

An estimated additional 85% of the existing urban and commercial floor space will need to be developed by 2025, according to a 2012 McKinsey Global Institute report, which foresees a need of nearly 58 trillion euros in new construction to meet this requirement. Limitations on space in urban areas means that mid to high-rise buildings are the most viable construction options, translating into an immense demand for elevators. Efficient mobility in buildings is not a luxury but an absolute necessity. Any megacity would be paralyzed if its elevators suddenly

stopped moving and every day, it becomes more essential to make improvements in how people move from floor to floor. In addition, what we need to be aware of the need for sustainable urbanization that we cannot ignore longer, and the cost and effectiveness of sustainable buildings that largely depend on integrated planning that involves all service areas, including the construction, design, and maintenance life-cycle costs.

How thyssenkrupp Elevator will change the vertical transport?

While cities are getting bigger, so do skyscrapers. Buildings are becoming vertical cities, and they need a flexible transport system similar to a metro. Traditional elevators with one single cabin in a shaft cause restrictions in terms of mobility and space, and also limit the height of the building. Against this backdrop, it is clear that efficient mobility in buildings is no longer a luxury, but an absolute necessity - making our

Andreas Schierenbeck new concept MULTI lift system one of the most significant innovations in urban mobility. This is the beginning of a new era for the elevator industry. We focus on developing future cities and making sure that people flow is enabled in the future.

We strive to make it more comfortable and change the experience. For our business the technology is in every respect key. We are heavily investing in technology and will be the driver when it comes to technology.

You have announced the MULTI lift system, which enables ver-

tical and horizontal movement.

A very disruptive creation in the elevator industry. Can you explain the project aiming the attention on vantages for company, citizens and transportation?

As the nature of building constructions evolves, it is also necessary to adapt elevator systems to better suit the requirements of buildings and high volumes of passengers.

We at thyssenkrupp elevator believe that MULTI will transform the way people move inside buildings, reduce waiting times for passengers, and take up significantly less space. MULTI is our latest offering in our extensive repertoire of elevator technologies, and represents a landmark revolution in the elevator industry. We developed MULTI lift system, the world’s first rope-free elevator system that moves cabins vertically and horizontally in a perpendicular metro-like structure. It is the world’s first ‘Willy Wonka’ elevator that can literally open up new directions in people transportation. MULTI breaks the 160-year tradition of rope-driven elevators and has been designed to increase passenger shaft capacity by 50%. It achieves this goal by enabling multiple cabins to travel safely up one shaft and down another in a single continuous loop, much like a circular shuttle. The only visible difference to passengers is that an elevator cabin is now available every 15 to 30 seconds.

MULTI requires smaller shafts than conventional elevators, and can increase a building’s usable area by

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PROTAGONIST

up to 25%, considering that current elevator-escalator footprints can occupy up to 50% of the building’s floor space. The overall increase in efficiency also translates into a lower requirement for escalators and additional elevator shafts, resulting in significant construction cost savings as well as a multiplication of rent revenues from increased usable space. By combining groundbreaking technology with a simple operational concept and convenience of passenger use, MULTI has transformed the idea of a flexible number of cars per shaft from a distant vision for the future into a reality. With MULTI’s rope-free system, architects and developers are no longer restricted in their building designs by concerns about elevator shaft height and vertical alignment.

MULTI opens the door to design possibilities in all directions.

What is the best customer for MULTI? When do you think it will be available for Italian market?

Each forward-thinking customer who does not ignore the need for sustainable urbanization and is aiming to integrate energy-efficient elevator solutions is predestinated for using MULTI. Although the ideal building height for MULTI installations starts at 300 metres, this system is not constrained by a building’s height. Building design will no longer be limited by the height or vertical alignment of elevator shafts, opening new

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perspectives to architects and building developers they have never imagined possible. Currently, we are testing MULTI in our test tower in Rottweil, Germany, and we are looking forward to announcing the global availability of MULTI soon.

ELEVATOR INDUSTRY

INNOVATIONS TO IMPROVE URBAN MOBILITY ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO

In your opinion how much important is Italy in the global market?

With 1 million elevators in operation, Italy is the third elevator market in the world, after China and the US, certainly a key market for us and we are continuously working on to strengthen our position here. Most recently we celebrated our latest success in urban mobility in Italy: We have won contracts to provide maintenance services for 585 mobility systems in Milan and Naples’ metro stations. Of these, 352 systems (237 elevators, 115 escalators) are spread across of Milan’s 60 metro stations, and 233 systems (83 elevators, 150 escalators) extend over 23 stations in Naples. Combined, the contracts are worth approximately €9 million.

We have an excellent reputation in the urban mobility industry, as proven by significant tenders recently awarded to the company in Italy. These include a contract to supply and install 88 escalators and 53 elevators, and provide Agenzia del trasporto autoferrotranviario del Comune di Roma (ATAC) with

maintenance services at all 30 stations of the metro Line C in Rome, the longest urban underground railway line in Italy with a length of 25km and carrying over 24,000 passengers per hour.

We are also responsible for providing maintenance services at numerous other railway facilities, including large stations such as Rome Ostiense, Milan Central Station, Turin Porta Nuova, Genova Porta Principe, and others.

What do you expect from thyssenkrupp Elevator in Italy? which can be the best advice you can give to Luigi Maggioni from your strategic and global point of view?

Innovations to improve urban mobility are at the heart of everything we do and they help thyssenkrupp disrupt the elevator industry also in Italy. We achieve very good results here and we are proud to contribute to this ongoing transformation, using advanced technology and our engineering expertise to further improve reliability and safety. I am confident that we’ll reach the highest position in the Italian market.■

THYSSENKRUPP

ELEVATOR

How I boosted business in Italy

Luigi Maggioni

Since Luigi Maggioni took the reign of Italian elevator giant in 2014, the company has radically changed course. Even with a rocky start, in 2016, the firm managed to grow by 150%, reaching a turnover of about 100 million and a marginal double-digit operating profit Nino Sunseri

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ERMANY- A young Neapolitan manager marks the transformation of the Italian branch of an industrial giant made in Germany. Luigi Maggioni, forty years old, has been heading thyssenkrupp Elevator Italia since 2012, a company specialized in the installation and maintenance of escalators, treadmills, elevators and lifts. Right after joining the Italian subsidiary of the German group he brought a radical change to the company that in 2016, after starting with a negative balance, grew more than all the sister companies operating in other European countries. In comparison to the previous year, results grew by 150%: it’s one of the best performances of the year within the Group. As a consequence, the employment rate increased as well: about 80 people, especially commercial and technical professionals, have already been hired or will be hired by the end of the year. Maggioni holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in Finance both

from Federico II University. He worked for three years at the accounting firm PwC’s, then moved to Rome to work in the Transaction Service dealing with M&A. Here he met Daniel Maidana, manager of thyssenkrupp Elevator, with responsibility in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “We’ve always understood one another, as it usually happens beetween a Neapolitan and an Argentine - says Maggioni -. He asked me to work for him and I immediately accepted”.

The Neapolitan manager moved to Madrid as responsible for mergers and acquisitions in southern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He did acquisitions in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, South Africa and opened new branches in Qatar, Kazakhstan and Romania.

Three years later he came back to Italy, where thyssenkrupp Elevator had just taken over some companies, among which the most important one was Curti Elevators in Lecco. He also handled

the integration project of the different companies. It was January 2009. In 2012 he became the Financial Director of the Italian subsidiary. The company was in debt: results were negative and sales were declining. In a short time Maggioni, supported by his team, was able to turn the tide, reaching the point of balance and growing by 20%. In 2014 he was appointed CEO and 2016 results set forth the revitalization of the Italian branch, which is now one of the best all over the world.

How was it possible to reach such important results in a period of economic stagnation, especially in our country?

“We mainly focused on our core business, on maintenance and modernization of our plants, still without ignoring installation projects – says Maggioni –.

Now we make about 100 million euros and we have double digit operating margins. That’s why our competitors

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PROTAGONIST

envy us”. The Italian market is 50% owned by multinationals such as Swiss Schindler, American Otis, Finnish Kone and thyssenkrupp Elevator itself. The rest is made by a large number of small companies on which multinational companies are directing their attention. Maggioni’s strategy is based on the creation of a culture strongly inspired by values and sustained by performance-oriented leadership models: “Since my arrival, marginality has tripled and the sense of belonging grew up”. thyssenkrupp Elevator Italy is part of the homonymous German group, headquartered in Es-

That’s why security is fundamental. In the country of elevators (the first elevator for people transportation was built in 1870 for the Costanzi Hotel in Rome) a plant stops for an average of four and a half days a year because of breakdowns. The most common problems are doors electric failures, burned-out electronic boards or worn-out buttons. In blocks of flats, the average cost of repairs is 700 euros a year. In terms of safety, Italy has to implement the European recommendation, already enforced by many European countries, requiring for lifts built before 1999 to comply with minimum safety standards, in conjunction with the national transposition of the so-called New Elevator Directive (2014/33/ EU). To reduce failures and to increase the level of security preventive maintenance is needed. “This service - says the CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator Italia - can reduce downtime by 50%. By networking all elevators, you can remotely monitor plants health and promptly respond”. The global elevator maintenance industry is valued more than $ 44 billion a year and numbers more than 12 million lifts carrying over 1 billion people every day. It is estimated that elevators are out-of-service 190 million hours a year worldwide, including 11 million hours in Italy. Technology, of course, gives a fundamental aid in preventing breakdowns and improving maintenance. In particular the augmented reality of Microsoft HoloLens is succesfully applied to lifts. thyssenkrupp Elevator already uses this technology in the 71 lifts of the New World Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center).

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

THE ITALIAN MARKET IS “APPETIZING” sen, a few kilometers from Dusseldorf, billing 7.5 billion euros and counting 55,000 workers around the world. In Italy there are 23 offices and over 450 employees. The Italian market is “appetizing”. Luigi Maggioni explains why: “Almost a million lifts are installed in our country, 60% of the plants are not up to code, 40% were installed more than 30 years ago. They are among the oldest plants in Europe and they run nearly 100milion races every day. In our peninsula, more than 50% of lifts have been running continuously for over 40 years: 300,000 rides and 400,000 km. The consequences of malfunctioning due to plants that are not in line with international standards also have an impact on social and welfare costs because of the resulting accidents”.

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“HoloLens - explains Luigi Maggioni significantly reduces working times by helping our 24,000 technicians before and during on-site maintenance. An intervention can be performed up to four times faster than in the past. By using HoloLens technology, maintenance technicians will be able to visualize and identify any problems before starting the work and assigning specific tasks to the right people.” . In 2015 Thyssenkrupp had launched MAX, the first predictive maintenance solution connecting thousands of lifts to cloud.

MAX is already active on thousands of pilot units in the United States, Germany and Spain, and is expected to be applied on another 180,000 by the end of 2017. MAX is also active in the One World Trade Center in New York, equipped with elevators which run faster than Usain Bolt, able to rise from the ground floor to the top (102 floors) in just 60 seconds. The One World Trade Center also has regenerative engines that convert in electricity the energy produced by elevators while decelerating. This electricity can be used to significantly reduce energy consumption. Maintenance indeed also includes energy consumption: “Elevators - says Maggioni - consume 10% of the total energy. The use of innovative technology enables the lift industry to improve its performance and energy efficiency. An efficient elevator, equipped with standard technology, reduces energy consumption by 27%, but a “modern” elevator saves up to 50% energy if made with ultra lightweight materials and smart electronics (that enable standby mode when the lift is not in use) and equipped with braking energy recovery systems. ■

PROTAGONIST

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PROTAGONIST

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Corporate governance at Saudi Aramco Since the announcement last year that Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company and Saudi Arabia’s corporate crown jewel, would go public, the media have been abuzz with speculation – and not just about the company’s massive valuation. While the initial public offering is expected to happen in 2018, the timing – not to mention the approach the government will take – remains far from certain Alissa Amico

S

AUDI ARABIA – A short-term “fire sale” of a minority stake in Saudi Aramco does not appear to be warranted by Saudi Arabia’s current macroeconomic situation. Given slightly higher hydrocarbon prices, lower government expenditures, and potentially higher tax receipts, many predict that the country’s budget deficits will narrow. Sovereign borrowing is also expected to decline, in stark contrast to last year’s record-high bond issuance.

Furthermore, the Saudi government has identified dozens of other stateowned enterprises (SOEs) to privatize, in order to help fill government coffers, deepen the equity market, and boost the private sector’s role in the economy.

Stimulating interest in the Saudi capital market with these listings prior to the Saudi Aramco IPO might be wise, given that IPOs throughout the Gulf region have slumped in recent years.

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In any case, despite all the media speculation, the specifics of how and when Saudi Aramco will be privatized have not been considered thoroughly. Although the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul, is by far the largest in the Middle East, it is neither large nor open enough to handle the listing of Saudi Aramco, valued by the authorities at $2 trillion.

But size is not the only problem. Qualified foreign investors, having gained access to the Saudi market in 2015, still account for only 4% of the market’s overall capitalization today. Domestic retail investors account for 12% of that capitalization – and are responsible for over 80% of overall trading activity.

These investors, together with Saudi institutional investors, are accustomed to the use of privatization as a wealth-distribution mechanism. But Saudi Arabia is not pursuing Saudi Aramco’s partial privatization to move money from one

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PROTAGONIST

sovereign pocket to another; it needs to raise fresh capital to finance its spending needs. Furthermore, a dual-pricing approach to privatization – in which domestic investors are offered equity at a discount – could send the wrong message to international investors.

A further wrinkle in the pricing process, as Tadawul’s ex-CEO Adel Al-Ghamdi recently pointed out, is that Saudi corporate law prescribes a fixed-par-value regime for all of the country’s IPOs. Since domestic retail investors expect such pricing, they may be reluctant to accept Saudi Aramco’s much higher share price.

The mainstream media have left these issues largely unaddressed, preferring to focus on issues of governance. It is commonly assumed that a key impediment to Saudi Aramco’s international listing is that Saudi corporate-governance standards are low, and that the Saudi authorities are therefore “shopping around” for an exchange with similarly low standards. But the truth is that Saudi governance standards are more rigorous than those that would be imposed on Saudi Aramco by an international exchange.

In fact, Saudi Arabia’s corporate-governance rules, last revamped in February 2017, are among the strictest and most rigorously enforced in the Middle East and North Africa region. Unlike other regulators in the region, Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority issues and discloses its enforcement actions, which have recently included criminal sanctions. Unlike some regulators in the Gulf region, the CMA takes the same approach to SOEs and private firms.

The truth is that most international li-

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RULES

SAUDI ARABIA’S CORPORATE-GOVERNANCE RULES ARE AMONG THE STRICTEST AND MOST RIGOROUSLY ENFORCED sting standards are in many respects inferior to those of Saudi Arabia. For example, whereas listed Saudi companies have separate CEOs and board chairs, over half of S&P 500 companies in the United States are led by a single chair/CEO. Even if Saudi Arabia does choose an exchange with high corporate-governance standards for its secondary listing, Saudi Aramco could be exempted from that country’s requirements. As competition for high-profile international listings among exchanges heats up, the temptation to water down standards and regulations for dual listings is becoming stronger.

Just recently, the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog announced that it is considering a new listing segment for international companies that would enable them to obtain a London listing without complying with domestic governance standards. The announcement highlights the risk of a regulatory race to the bottom, driven not just by Saudi Aramco’s impending listing, but also by financial deregulation in the United States and fears about Brexit’s consequences for the City of London.

It seems clear, therefore, that improvements to Saudi Aramco’s corporate governance do not rest, on which international venue the authorities choose for

the secondary listing, as is commonly assumed, but on whether the company will be required to meet domestic standards. Because the Saudi capital market’s credibility depends on the credibility of the Saudi Aramco listing, it is critical that Saudi Arabia holds Saudi Aramco to domestic governance standards.

It is encouraging in this regard that Saudi Arabia has quietly made major improvements to Saudi Aramco’s corporate governance in the last two years. For example, until 2015, Saudi Aramco was overseen by the Supreme Petroleum Council, which included senior members of the Royal Family and government ministers; now, the company is overseen by a board of nine directors, three of whom are outsiders. In a region where some SOEs operate with no board of directors at all, this is a significant move.

Continuing on this path, and ensuring that Saudi Aramco fully meets the country’s stringent domestic standards, would be in line with the motives behind the company’s privatization, which include, as Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has explained, increasing transparency. With the state planning to retain a 95% share of Saudi Aramco, ensuring equitable treatment of all investors, as provided by Saudi corporategovernance rules, could not be more important. ■

BUSINESS & FINANCE

World Excellence 29

BUSINESS & FINANCE

PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Why Europe still needs cash Payment systems in Europe are facing upheaval. With the digital revolution offering ever-faster and more convenient means for settling transactions, cash seems to some to have no future. But to write off the role of banknotes and coins in the economy would be a mistake

Yves Mersch

F

RANKFURT – Non-cash payment options have been proliferating in recent years.

Credit cards, online transfers, and direct-debit payments are already well established.

Now, smartphone-enabled digitalpayment solutions and mobile wallets are also gaining ground. The emergence of potentially disruptive innovations like distributed ledger technologies indicate that further and possibly fundamental change may be on the horizon.

Independent of these new and incipient options, there are a number of studies making the case to abolish cash. Advocates of a cashless society tend to fall into three distinct

30 World Excellence

camps.

The first camp, the alchemists, wants to overcome the restrictions that the zero lower bound (ZLB) imposes on monetary policy. The second, the law and order camp, wants to cancel the primary means of payment for illicit activities. And the third camp, the fintech (financial technology) alliance, anticipates major business opportunities arising from the elimination of the high storage, issuance, and handling costs of cash that the financial industry currently faces.

But the arguments for going cashless do not withstand scrutiny.

Start with the alchemists’ case. It is true that, in an environment of very

low interest rates, the conduct of monetary policy becomes difficult.

Yet experience has shown that the effective lower bound is different from the ZLB. Indeed, negative interest rates have worked, without triggering a flight to cash, especially when combined with outright asset purchases, long-term credit operations (including “fixed-rate full allotment” and “targeted” variants), and forward guidance. As such, negative interest rates should be understood as a specific non-standard monetary-policy instrument different from low interest rates.

The law-and-order camp’s case for banning cash also wilts under scrutiny. By acting as a store of value

BUSINESS & FINANCE

World Excellence 31

BUSINESS & FINANCE

and a means of payment, cash fulfills an important social function for many law-abiding citizens. Would anyone suggest forbidding private ownership of luxury cars or gems because criminals like them? Harming the decent majority in order to punish a misbehaving minority would be like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer – and breaking the table it is on in the process.

Finally, the fintech alliance promises that, with its innovative digitalpayment solutions, it can ease the conduct of financial transactions.

Customers would no longer need to carry wads of cash or search for ATMs. But it is an open question whether the still highly fragmented digital-payment sector will help customers more than the companies offering the payment solutions.

There is one more major problem

32 World Excellence

with the arguments for a cashless society: most people, at least in the eurozone, don’t want it. According to an as-yet-unpublished European Central Bank survey of 65,000 eurozone residents, almost 80% of all point-of-sale transactions are conducted in cash; and, in terms of value, more than half of payments are made in cash.

As is often the case in Europe, the differences among member states are pronounced: the share of cash transactions ranges from 42% in Finland to 92% in Malta. But, overall, the public’s commitment to cash remains strong – and is becoming stronger.

In fact, growth in overall demand for cash is outpacing nominal GDP growth. In the last five years, the average annual growth rate of euro banknotes was 4.9% by va-

lue and 6.2% by piece. This rise includes denominations that are predominantly used for transactions, rather than for savings.

These findings confirm the appropriateness of the ECB’s neutral stance on payments, which allows for both cash and cashless payments. This approach is based on four principles: technological safety, efficiency, technological neutrality, and freedom of choice for users of the respective means of payment.

The ECB’s supreme objective is to ensure price stability. To support that objective, it supplies safe central-bank liquidity, in the form of both bank-held central-bank reserves and banknotes (the latter being the sole notes with the status of legal tender in the eurozone).

If Europe were to abolish cash, it would cut off people’s only direct link to central-bank money. In a democracy, such a link helps to foster public acceptance of central-bank independence, by reinforcing the trust and support of the people in the conduct of effective monetary policymaking.

The ECB will continue to provide banknotes. We will also facilitate the further development of an integrated, innovative, and competitive market for retail payment solutions in the eurozone. If, one day, cash is replaced by electronic means of payment, that decision should reflect the will of the people, not the force of lobby groups■

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTIONS

Democratizing artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is the next technological frontier, and it has the potential to make or break the world order. The AI revolution could pull the “bottom billion” out of poverty and transform dysfunctional institutions, or it could entrench injustice and increase inequality. The outcome will depend on how we manage the coming changes Maciej Kuziemski

O

XFORD – Unfortunately, when it comes to managing technological revolutions, humanity has a rather poor track record. Consider the Internet, which has had an enormous impact on societies worldwide, changing how we communicate, work, and occupy ourselves. And it has disrupted some economic sectors, forced changes to long-established business models, and created a few entirely new industries.

But the Internet has not brought the kind of comprehensive transformation that many anticipated. It certainly didn’t resolve the big problems, such

34 World Excellence

as eradicating poverty or enabling us to reach Mars. As PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel once noted: “We wanted flying cars; instead, we got 140 characters.”

In fact, in some ways, the Internet has exacerbated our problems. While it has created opportunities for ordinary people, it has created even more opportunities for the wealthiest and most powerful. A recent study by researchers at the LSE reveals that the Internet has increased inequality, with educated, high-income people deriving the greatest benefits online and multinational corporations able to grow massively – while evading ac-

countability.

Perhaps, though, the AI revolution can deliver the change we need. Already, AI – which focuses on advancing the cognitive functions of machines so that they can “learn” on their own – is reshaping our lives. It has delivered self-driving (though still not flying) cars, as well as virtual personal assistants and even autonomous weapons.

But this barely scratches the surface of AI’s potential, which is likely to produce societal, economic, and political transformations that we cannot yet fully comprehend. AI will not become a new industry; it will penetrate

and permanently alter every industry in existence. AI will not change human life; it will change the boundaries and meaning of being human.

How and when this transformation will happen – and how to manage its far-reaching effects – are questions that keep scholars and policymakers up at night. Expectations for the AI era range from visions of paradise, in which all of humanity’s problems have been solved, to fears of dystopia, in which our creation becomes an existential threat.

Making predictions about scientific breakthroughs is notoriously difficult.

On September 11, 1933, the famed nuclear physicist Lord Rutherford told a large audience, “Anyone who looks for a source of power in the transformation of the atoms is talking moonshine.” The next morning, Leo Szilard hypothesized the idea of a neutron-induced nuclear chain reaction; soon thereafter, he patented the nuclear reactor.

The problem, for some, is the assumption that new technological breakthroughs are incomparable to those in the past. Many scholars, pundits, and practitioners would agree with Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt that technological phenomena have their own intrinsic properties, which humans “don’t understand” and should not “mess with.”

Others may be making the opposite mistake, placing too much stock in historical analogies. The technology writer and researcher Evgeny Morozov, among others, expects some de-

gree of path dependence, with current discourses shaping our thinking about the future of technology, thereby influencing technology’s development.

Future technologies could subsequently impact our narratives, creating a sort of self-reinforcing loop.

To think about a technological breakthrough like AI, we must find a balance between these approaches.

We must adopt an interdisciplina-

ry perspective, underpinned by an agreed vocabulary and a common conceptual framework. We also need policies that address the interconnections among technology, governance, and ethics. Recent initiatives, such as Partnership on AI or Ethics and Governance of AI Fund are a step in the right direction, but lack the necessary government involvement.

These steps are necessary to answer some fundamental questions: What makes humans human? Is it the pursuit of hyper-efficiency – the “Silicon

Valley” mindset? Or is it irrationality, imperfection, and doubt – traits beyond the reach of any non-biological entity?

Only by answering such questions can we determine which values we must protect and preserve in the coming AI age, as we rethink the basic concepts and terms of our social contracts, including the national and international institutions that have allowed inequality and insecurity to proliferate. In a context of far-reaching transformation, brought about by the rise of AI, we may be able to reshape the status quo, so that it ensures greater security and fairness.

One of the keys to creating a more egalitarian future relates to data.

Progress in AI relies on the availability and analysis of large sets of data on human activity, online and offline, to distinguish patterns of behavior that can be used to guide machine behavior and cognition.

Empowering all people in the age of AI will require each individual – not major companies – to own the data they create.

With the right approach, we could ensure that AI empowers people on an unprecedented scale. Though abundant historical evidence casts doubt on such an outcome, perhaps doubt is the key. As the late sociologist Zygmunt Bauman put it, “questioning the ostensibly unquestionable premises of our way of life is arguably the most urgent of services we owe our fellow humans and ourselves.”■

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Work in an automated future On 3D printing, the Internet of Things and Advanced Biology Johan Aurik

L

ONDON – Disruptive technologies are now dictating our future, as new innovations increasingly blur the lines between physical, digital, and biological realms. Robots are already in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants; we can now use 3D imaging and stemcell extraction to grow human bones from a patient’s own cells; and 3D printing is creating a circular economy in which we can use and then reuse raw materials.

This tsunami of technological innovation will continue to change profoundly how we live and work, and how our societies operate. In what is now called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies that are coming of age – including robotics, nanotechnology, virtual reality, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and advanced biology – will converge. And as these technologies continue to be developed and widely adop-

36 World Excellence

ted, they will bring about radical shifts in all disciplines, industries, and economies, and in the way that individuals, companies, and societies produce, distribute, consume, and dispose of goods and services.

THESE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE PROVOKED ANXIOUS QUESTIONS about what role

humans will play in a technology-driven world. A 2013 University of Oxford study estimates that close to half of all jobs in the United States could be lost to automation over the next two decades. On the other hand, economists such as Boston University’s James Bessen argue that automation often goes hand in hand with the creation of new jobs. So which is it – new jobs or massive structural unemployment?

At this point, we can be certain that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have a disruptive impact on employment, but no one

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

THESE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE PROVOKED ANXIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT ROLE HUMANS WILL PLAY IN A TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN WORLD

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

can yet predict the scale of change. So, before we swallow all of the bad news, we should look at history, which suggests that technological change more often affects the nature of work, rather than the opportunity to participate in work itself.

THE FIRST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION moved British

manufacturing from people’s homes into factories, and marked the beginning of hierarchical organization. This change was often violent, as the famous early-nineteenth-century Luddite riots in England demonstrated. To find work, people were forced to move from rural areas to industrial centers, and it was during this period that the first labor movements emerged.

The Second Industrial Revolution ushered in electrification, large-scale production, and new transportation and communication networks, and created new professions such as engineering, banking, and teaching. This is when middle classes emerged and began to demand new social policies and an increased role for government.

DURING the Third Industrial Revolution, modes of production were further automated by electronics and by information and communication technology, with many human jobs moving from manufacturing into ser-

38 World Excellence

vices. When automated teller machines (ATMs) arrived in the 1970s, it was initially assumed that they would be a disaster for workers in retail banking. And yet the number of bank branch jobs actually increased over time as costs fell. The nature of the job had changed: it became less transactional and more focused on customer service.

Disruption accompanied each previous industrial revolution, and the fourth will be no different. But if we keep in mind the lessons of history, we can manage the change. For starters, we need to focus on skills, and not just on the specific jobs that will appear or disappear. If we determine which skill sets we will need, we can educate and train the human workforce to leverage all of the new opportunities that technology creates.

Human-resources departments, educational institutions, and governments should lead the charge on this effort. Second, past experience has repeatedly shown that disadvantaged classes must be protected; workers who are vulnerable to being displaced by technology must have the time and means to adjust. As we saw in 2016, there can be far-reaching consequences when vast inequalities of opportunities and outcomes lead people to believe that they have no future.

Last but not least, to ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolu-

tion translates into economic growth and bears fruit for all, we must work together to create new regulatory ecosystems.

Governments will have a crucial role to play, but business and civil-society leaders will also need to collaborate with governments to determine the appropriate regulations and standards for new technologies and industries.

I AM UNDER NO ILLUSIONS

that this will be easy. Politics, not technology, will determine the pace of change, and implementing the necessary reforms will be hard, slow work, particularly in democracies. It will require a mix of forward-looking policymaking, agile regulatory frameworks, and, above all, effective partnerships across organizational and national boundaries. A good model to keep in mind is Denmark’s “flexicurity” system, in which a flexible labor market is paired with a strong social safety net that includes training and re-skilling services for all citizens. Technology may be advancing rapidly, but it will not cause time itself to collapse.

The momentous – indeed, revolutionary – changes ahead will take place over many decades, not as a big bang. Individuals, companies, and societies do have time to adjust; but there is no time for delay. Creating a future in which all can benefit must start now. ■

IAIR World Excellence is the leading magazine focused on innovation, technology, economics, business, ďŹ nance, and world affairs. Covering breaking news from all corners of the earth, we are the source for business professionals with an appetite for information. Subscribe and discover more.

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IAIR AWARDS REAL ESTATE

The new symbol in the Thai Real Estate industry A luxurious condominium in Thailand and expansion projects in Asia, Europe and North America. Here’s how Sansiri aims at affirming itself in the luxury Real Estate market.

Imani Jones

T

HAILAND – The luxury real estate market in Thailand has been a tough market to conquer. During the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 the market was shattered and during its struggle to rebuild was surged again in 2012 with catosprophic floods that caused more than 45 billion USD in damages. However, through it all Thailand has seen property values that have remained more or less consistent and have even increased. In fact, Thailand has seen a rise in property and quality which has helped turned Bangkok into a city of beautiful high rises. Thailand’s ability to regain its strength in the real estate

Mr. Aphichart Chutrakal, CEO of Sansiri Plc.

42 World Excellence

industry has deemed it worthy of the name, “Teflon Thailand”. Amongst the leaders in the Teflon Thailand real estate revolution is real estate development giant, Sansiri. Sansiri has become a symbol in the real estate industry of the country, leading the way with the most advanced technology and stunning real estate projects. It’s new project, “98 Wireless” is among Southeast Asia’s most prestigious residential real estate developments. Even more so, the company’s dedication to improving the quality of life in Thailand across the board has touched the hearts of many and left this company most deserving of the Le Fonti IAIR Award for Company of the Year in the Luxury Real Estate Sector-Thailand.

Mr. Apichart Chutrakal, CEO of Sansiri Plc., has led the way in ensuring that his company proved to advance their community and serve today, tomorrow, and always, as stated in their mission statement. Mr. Aphichart Chutrakal himself received a Master of Business Administration at the University of San Diego in the United States before joining Sansiri in the 2000’s. Mr. Apichart Chutrakal was also recognized as, “CEO of the Year in the Property and Real Estate sector in Thailand at the Le Fonti Award Ceremony for his demonstrated vision and leadership over several years and has shown an ability to lead and inspire the organization to a new level of growth.We had the opportunity to sit down with Sansiri to discuss their recent progress and growth. Read on to hear more of what they had to say…

Sansiri wins an Le Fonti IAIR Award as Company of the Year in the Luxury Real Estate Sector – Thailand. Please, would you like to leave a comment?

It is such an honor for both winner awards recognition from Le Fonti IAIR Awards 2017. This success could not happen without the dedication from our strong team in Thailand and regional offices in Asia. Sansiri is Thailand’s leading full-service property developer and strives to deliver our customers ‘best in class’ residences through a wide variety of product segments and high quality property management services in a world-class standard.

Sansiri is a top property developer in Thailand, in particular, the prize was awarded to “98 Wireless”, one of Southeast Asia’s most prestigious residential real estate developments. Mr. Chutrakul, could you tell us more about this important project you have worked on?

This project is our second flagship project which we are truly proud of, as we have spent over 7 years dedicated to this prestigious residential project, 98 Wireless -- a super luxury condominium, to ensure the utmost quality and a world-class specifications through the craftsmanship of materials and the high-standard international design inspiration of Ralph Lauren Home through our 33 years of professional development experience. 98 Wireless is the finest flagship condominium in Thailand and South East Asia,

with only 77 units available and with a project value of Baht 8.7 billion, or approximately USD 246.5 million.

Our first flagship condominium is Baan Kai Muk, located in Hua Hin, a classic beachside resort town close to Bangkok. This condominium has solidified our success of delivering quality products to customers with a timeless design emphasis which translates into an ever-increasing property value as indicated by the current market resale prices.

What are the future plans of Sansiri?

International level : 1) Enhance our presence in existing key regional Asian markets such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Australia, and also plans to expand our market to more long-haul flight markets that enjoy beach and mountain resort residences, such the UK and EU, and also North America.

2) Enhance lifestyle and CRM (Customer Relations) events to strengthen the Sansiri brand image among both existing and new customers For 2017, the company will launch 19 projects worth a total of more than USD$1.17 billion nationwide to fulfill the needs of both Thai and foreign customer groups.

The property industry in Thailand (and Asia) is expected to be a quite challenging one this year.

What are some of the challenges you face in running your compa-

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IAIR AWARDS

ny’s property arm? How do you intend to deal with the challenges?

Actually, we don’t have much of a challenge in running our business at current operational level. However, the most difficult part of the property industry is to understand more of our consumer needs and their insight to deliver products that effectively respond to their needs. Apart from product development, we have confidence that our after-sales services, which is a distinct strength that differentiates us from other players, can enhance overall customer satisfaction -- This award is also a point which helps prove our service success.

What are Sansiri’s main sources of inspiration when it comes to architectural designs?

Every project development maintains consumer insight as a top-of-mind priority for us, such as their lifestyle, location and behaviour. Our team frequently travels around the world to explore the new trends, innovations, technology and building materials to localize and develop new project concepts in Thailand. We have been working closely with global and local partner-design firms to develop projects that meet high satisfaction levels for customers and prospects.

What differentiates Sansiri’s after sales services from the rest?

We are the only true, full-service residential real estate developer in Thailand that has a successful proven track-record as demonstrated through our new, current and repeat buyers.

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1) Plus Property: Provides complete professional services including buying, reselling, renting/leasing, as well managing and maintaining quality residential developments.

2) Rental for the Holidays management programme : Allows buyers to enjoy managed resort rental returns from their residences for short or long terms, depending upon the ownership option and the residential project location.

3) Home Service App: Our mobile application allows Sansiri’s customers to manage and access their properties in an all-in-one app 98Wireless Exterior Full Building service such as maintenance/servicing, booking facilities, acSocial Responsibility (CSR) programcounting statuses, communication me, which aims to help, support and with the building management, etc. improve children’s lives sustainably by 4) Sansiri Family: A privilege proworking with all of our partners from gramme for Sansiri customers to enboth the government and private secjoy with lifestyle experiences such as tors. Sansiri is the only partner with exclusive discounts, benefits and priUNICEF in Thailand with the largest vileges offered by a varierty of busiand most comprehensive cooperative ness partners in multiple service and programme. As official partners, we food industries. We are a partner for can help build a world where equal living who constructs a life, not just rights for every child are realized, so a building - lifestyle services and proevery one of them, too, can live a ducts delivered to our customers both good life. Sansiri advocates its own in Thailand and overseas countries CSR initiative, through Sansiri’s Social with the same quality standard in orChange programmes with focal points der to fulfill everyone’s lifestyle needs. on Health, Education and Sports ‚where constructing the good life for How have your social change projchildren‛ includes our dedicated theects changed the lives of local mes: The Good Space, The Good children in Thailand?

Education, The Good Nutrition, The Social Change is Sansiri’s Corporate Good Sports and The Goodwill.■

PROTAGONIST

World Excellence 45

IAIR AWARDS REAL ESTATE

“We want to build a better life for people”

PT Ciputra is continuously seeking new opportunities going beyond the classical construction business with their expansion into sophisticated projects such as schools, art centers, even hospitals all across South East Asia.

Imani Jones

Fadjar Halim, Associate Director of Ciputra, Indonesia

46 World Excellence

S

OUTH EAST ASIA – Le Fonti recognized PT Ciputra, a leading construction company in South East Asia, with the Le Fonti 2017 Award in the category “Company of the Year in Property & Real Estate Indonesia”.

Guido Giommi, President of Le Fonti, underlined in his speech the continuous contribution of PT Ciputra to South East Asia’s fast growing economy and the company’s continous aspiration to innovation in the construction sector. “Hopefully through this award, all parties can work more spirit by continuing to uphold values such Integrity, Professionalism, and Entrepreneurship,” he said. The award was received by Fadjar Halim, Associate Director of Ciputra in Indonesia, thanking Le Fonti for the international appreciation of long lasting sustainable business performance of the construction company across many markets. PT Ciputra is continuously seeking new opportunities going beyond the classical construction business with their expansion into sophisticated projects such as schools, art centers, even hospitals all across South East Asia. The founder of the company, Ir Ciputra, started his first construction business in the sixties after graduating from the Bandung Institute of Technology with a Bachelor in Architecture.

He grew his business activities to a modern international construction conglomerate spanning all across South East Asia and China.

His continuous effort to not only

contribute to the economy but also to the Asian society established him as a leading philanthropist in Indonesia. A tradition that is set forth by his company through their nationwide education program for young entrepreneurs. His success in business made him one of Asia’s most acclaimed entrepreneurs in Indonesia and South East Asia with 9 listed companies. PT Ciputra is one of the pioneers in large scale construction business in Indonesia. The group’s first project, Citral Garden, was started as an urban housing project in the heart of Jakarta and represents today’s increase of Asian living standards offering comprehensive commercial and recreational areas.

The vision of self-contained urban living motivated PT Ciputra to expand into many projects across Indonesia setting the benchmark for the combination of sustainable housing and commercial areas in Asia. In the early 1990’s the group started to diversify its business by building hotels, 3rd party management and large scale office leasing projects. A road that was continued by the investments into the area surrounding the Jacarta Airport early on. Most recently PT Ciputra Property and PT Ciputra Surya merged into the mother company, PT Ciputra Development Tbk to take the group another step further down the road to increase the overall value as a future oriented business.

We sat down with PT Ciputra to find out more about their recent

accomplishments. Read on to hear what they had to say…

PT Ciputra Development wins a IAIR Awards as Company of the Year in Property & Real Estate sector - Indonesia. Please, Would you like to leave a comment?

We are truly and humbly honored by this prestigious award. It is such a great privilege to be recognized internationally. We hope that this will also boost the confidence for all of us who are working at Ciputra Group.

This is also a real recognition that we are doing our best and we are giving our best to our customers.

As of January this year Ciputra Property no longer exists due to its merger with Ciputra Development. Would you like to tell us more about this merger?

PT Ciputra Property and PT Ciputra Surya merged into the mother company, PT Ciputra Development Tbk. We saw this as a strategic step to increase the value of the company, which will benefit our shareholders, as we are a public company.

What are the future plans of PT Ciputra Development?

PT Ciputra Development will continue to grow its business. Even beyond real estate. Ciputra Group now has hospitals/medical centers, and internationally standardized art center and theater, schools among others. It is our vision to not just create houses or aparments, but to create a better life for people. Last week we have just done a topping

off ceremony for our apartment tower at Ciputra International mixed use development in West Jakarta, an area where we believe will be another central business district of Jakarta.

What led PT Ciputra to develop its recent CSR programs and how have they contributed to society?

Our founder, Mr. Ciputra believes strongly in the spirit of entrepreneurship. We are focusing our effort in educating people to become entrepreneurs. It is our aim that by 2030, we will create 4 million entrepreneurs. If this happens, we believe that Indonesia will be in much better economic shape and the welfare of the Indonesian people will increase.

How does PT Ciputra personalize its real estate offerings to suit the customer’s needs?

We always build our developments with the best materials and ensure the longevity of of the buildings. We also make sure that our customers are enjoying a significant return, since property is also an investment.

This, we believe are what our customers need.

How do you anticipate the real estate market of Indonesia will change in the next 2-5 years?

Real estate in Indonesia was at the lowest point last year. So, this and the next 5 years, there is no other way than going up. We believe strongly that real estate market will become strong again in years to come. ■

World Excellence 47

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HONG KONG Event of the year 2017 The race to corporate excellence continues as The Le Fonti IAIR Awards moves through the major financial capitals of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Starting with Singapore on November 15th, followed by Milan on November 15th, and finishing the year in Dubai on the 15th of December – corporate leaders in every city were delighted to celebrate together in an evening of prestige and C-level networking. Corporate executives discussed hot topics such as leadership, innovation, and political uncertainty. In chaotic political eras, it is critical for the world’s greatest leaders and thinkers to unite for the purpose of generating ideas to tackle today’s issues and spread strategies for growth. Each event commands diversity in decision making and invites an open conversation in a peaceful setting. Congratulations to all of this roadshow’s honourees.

World Excellence 49

IAIR AWARDS

CEO &TOP EXECUTIVE OF THE

YEAR

Naser Taher MEX Group

50 World Excellence

Investment Quorum

1

Dato’ Ir Jamaludin Bin Osman I&P Group

Lee Robertson

Mr. Apichart Chutrakul Sansiri

3

4

2

CEO &TOP EXECUTIVE OF THE

YEAR

CEO OF THE YEAR FINANCIAL SERVICES ASIA PACIFIC

CEO OF THE YEAR WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES UNITED KINGDOM

Naser Taher

Lee Robertson

MEX Group

Investment Quorum

For his more than 28 years of unparalleled experience in the financial and commercial industries worldwide, working with many of the major global financial institutions.

Thanks to his expertise and unique skillset, he has been able to lead one of the largest financial institutions worldwide, MultiBank Exchange Group.

For offering unique wealth management. For working with its clients to ensure their individual financial goals, objectives, concerns and standards are met with highly-esteemed business acumen.

For the experience and professionalism of its CEO, Mr. Lee Robertson.

CEO OF THE YEAR PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE MALAYSIA

CFO OF THE YEAR PROPERTY AND REAL ESTATE THAILAND

Dato’ Ir Jamaludin Bin Osman

Mr. Apichart Chutrakul

1

2

Sansiri

I&P Group

For being a dynamic real estate leader.

In particular, for his strategic thinking capabilities, strong business acumen and outstanding relationship skills and for having demonstrated commitment to Malaysia’s real estate industry through I&P Group as well as being a pioneer in the development of the property sector through innovation, creativity, and environmentally feasible management governed by ethics and a code of conduct in generating greater value with the purpose of providing better living spaces both for society and the stakeholders.

3

This IAIR award recognizes Mr. Apichart Chutrakul as a CEO who has demonstrated vision and leadership over several years and has shown an ability to lead and inspire the organization to a new level of growth.

This accolade is given to an individual who has achieved great success in the local property sector in the past year.

With his experience in construction and real estate, Mr. Apichart Chutrakul has earned a reputation of excellence in the Thailand luxury real estate market. For this achievement, he has been named as the Real Estate Personality of the Year, recognizing his achievements and exemplary leadership in the industry.

4

World Excellence 51

IAIR AWARDS

CORPORATE

AWARDS Zimmer Biomet

Borqs

1

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP MOBILE TECHNOLOGY ASIA PACIFIC

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP TOP PLACE TO WORK HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS ASIA PACIFIC

Borqs

Zimmer Biomet

For its continuous success as a global leader in software and products for IoT, demonstrated by the victory of their third IAIR Awards.

For its pioneering approach in providing customizable, differentiated and scalable Android-based smart connected devices and cloud service solutions. For leveraging its unique strategic chipset partner relationships as well as its broad software and IP portfolio that every year is enriched by new disruptive products.

For its mission to lead the industry in delivering value to healthcare providers, their patients and stockholders, while embracing its social responsibilities.

For giving value to its Human Resources, creating a stimulating work environment, always open to new opportunities.

1

52 World Excellence

2

2

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group

Hutchison Global Communications

Bharti Airtel

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & OTT LEADERSHIP ASIA

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR SUSTAINABILITY TELECOM SOLUTIONS ASIA

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP LUXURY ASIA

Hutchison Global Communications

Bharti Airtel

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group

For being a leading fixed-line operator, IT service provider and one of Hong Kong’s largest-scale Wi-Fi service providers.

For being committed to developing cloud computing services and offering high-speed Wi-Fi service under the “HGC On Air” brand while keeping true to its standard of reliability and commitment to innovation.

For their long-term vision and policy approach to steadily elevate the quality of governance in the company, and for having aligned its safety systems to international standards such as the Occupational Health and Safety Management Standards.

For being a leading jeweller in China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

For its world-class reputation built upon its trustworthiness, authenticity and for its products, known for their design, quality and value.

3

3

4

5

5

4 World Excellence 53

IAIR AWARDS

BookDoc

Towngas Telecommunications

6

7

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION MOBILE HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY SOUTH ASIA

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIPDATA CENTRE SERVICE GRATER CHINA

BookDoc

Towngas Telecommunications

For their integrated online ecosystem for local and overseas health travelers, that allows users to search and book healthcare professionals anytime and anywhere.

BookDoc Activ rewards users for maintaining high level of activity by partnering major service providers that offer users discounts.

For their successful business model and innovative approach, that make Towngas Telecommunications a landmark in its field.

Thanks to its best in class data centres and network infrastructures, it is able to offer high quality services to the customers.

6

54 World Excellence

7

Mobitel

China Resources Power

8

FrieslandCampina

9

10

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP ENERGY CHINA

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SRI LANKA

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP HONG KONG

China Resources Power

Mobitel

FrieslandCampina

For being one of the leading independent power producers in the world and the best IPP in China.

For your ability to enhance your core coal power business value chain and to strengthen the coordinated development of the thermal power. For your organizations focus on providing green energy for the development of the society and for a better life.

For being the National Mobile Service Provider in Sri Lanka and a leader in the field of ICT. For its vision to lead Sri Lanka towards becoming a technologically enriched society through its service offerings.

For their commitment ‘to Nourishing the Lives of HK People Across All Ages’, from the dairy product it provides, to their healthy lifestyle advocacy and preservation of unique local HK-styled milk tea culture.

Thanks to the launch of tailored nutrition formulas like OPTIMEL, FCHK contributes to the growth of the industry with product innovations, never forgetting CSR campaigns and educational programmes for children.

8

9

10

World Excellence 55

IAIR AWARDS

Hong Kong Airlines

iPinYou

ISS Facility Services

12

11

13

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP AERIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY HONG KONG

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP DIGITAL ADVERTISING GLOBAL

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP FACILITY MANAGEMENT GLOBAL

Hong Kong Airlines

iPinYou

ISS Facility Services

For being the world’s leading digital advertising company, serving thousands of brands across Asia, Europe and North America.

For the development of the OPTIMUS™ System, the first smart advertising optimization platform in China.

For being one of the world’s leading facility services companies. In particular, for Facility Management that combines all the customer’s services into an integrated solution.

Through the coordination of multiple work streams, people management processes, and integrated delivery systems, ISS Facility Management, adds value to the customer’s organisation.

For being an internationally acclaimed air carrier with its principal place of business in Hong Kong.

For their immense development reached in just ten years with a wide destination network covering 36 major cities across the Asia Pacific region. For the quality of its onboard offerings, that have granted this airline a highly-esteemed 4-star rating.

11

56 World Excellence

12

13

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION LASER SCANNING TECHNOLOGY USA Micro Vision

Micro Vision

14

For being a leading international company in innovative ultra-miniature projection display.

In particular, for its PicoP scanning technology, an ultra-miniature laser projection and imaging solution based on the innovative laser beam scanning (LBS) that can be adapted to a wide array of applications and form factors.

MicroVision is a pioneer solution provider and an independent leader in the development of intellectual property in its field.

14 World Excellence 57

IAIR AWARDS

Mar Vivo Films

Geoswift

15

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP PAYMENT SOLUTIONS CHINA

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FILM PRODUCTION CHINA

Geoswift

Mar Vivo Films

For being an innovative payment solutions company connecting China to the rest of the world.

Thanks to their in-house staff of world renowned technology experts and their comprehensive knowledge of global and national monetary policy.

For their ability to combine international expertise with Asian features and details, giving life to the most beautiful stories in the entire Chinese region.

Thanks to its original and high-quality films, it is able to work for the most prestigious production companies around the world and with more than 150 festival organisers.

15

58 World Excellence

16

16

LBS Communications ONLINE

China Telecom

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP MEDICAL CONSUMABLES INDIA

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION ADVISORY HONG KONG

IR TEAM OF THE YEAR TELECOM ASIA

Sutures India

LBS Communications ONLINE

China Telecom

For being an international excellence and a leading Medical Consumables company. For having put into practise its mission of “PROTECTING LIVES” in more than 95 countries.

Thanks to its commitment to providing trustworthy and affordable healthcare solutions, Sutures India is a preferred partner to surgeons worldwide.

For its customized offer to the clients, being a leading professional financial communications and investors relations consulting company.

For its attention to professional services in IR, media relations, CSR and about the value and brand and for its “entrepreneurial mindset”.

For the continuous excellent results in the telecom sector that make China Telecom an authentic leader in the field, demonstrated by its victory of 5 IAIR Awards in a row.

Thanks to the brilliant work of its IR Department, it was also able to affirm itself as a landmark in the government, CSR and institutional communication.

Sutures India

17

17

18

18

19

19

World Excellence 59

IAIR AWARDS

Hotels.com

20

PR TEAM OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP LEISURE TRAVEL Hotels.com

For being an international excellence and a leading company in the leisure travel industry by providing the best possible travel options for its customers and paying close attention to the smallest of details, ensuring maximum customer satisfaction.

Hotels.com is an innovative solution provider and a pioneer leader in its field.

20

60 World Excellence

REAL ESTATE

AWARDS Sansiri

COMPANY OF THE YEAR LUXURY REAL ESTATE THAILAND

BASK Gili Meno

1

Sansiri For being a top property developer in Thailand with over 32 years of experience, for your ability to deliver projects in all sectors including commercial, residential, retail, townhouses and condominiums and for using the most modern design methodologies. In particular, for “98 Wireless” one of Southeast Asia’s most prestigious residential real estate developments. A timeless, elegant and luxury property, Southeast Asia’s most exclusive building made with artisanal quality materials: a unique combination of modern elegance, high design and luxury.

1

COMPANY OF THE YEAR LUXURY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPER INDONESIA

2

BASK Gili Meno For being a leading real estate developer, for providing a fully integrated and comprehensive service for projects of all scales and various levels of complexity. For their unique, fresh and innovative approach to problem solving. Bask Gili Meno is a first mover in ultra-luxury resort destination facility development of Indonesia.

2

World Excellence 61

IAIR AWARDS

PT Ciputra Development

3

Borey Peng Houth Group

4

COMPANY OF THE YEAR PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE INDONESIA

COMPANY OF THE YEAR PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE CAMBODIA

PT Ciputra Development

Borey Peng Houth Group

For being leader in the real estate sector and recognized as one of the largest and most diversified property companies in Indonesia in terms of products, locations, and market segments. Thanks to its team of experts and its knowledge, passion and drive for innovation with an extensive range of customer-focused services to build the most innovative residences, PT Ciputra Development has successfully applied its excellence of various unique and modern concepts into all its architectures of residential and commercial property projects, which has also facilitated long-term sustainable growth.

3

62 World Excellence

For being a leader in property development, for providing a fully integrated and comprehensive service for projects of all scales and various levels of complexity since 2005.

In particular to build innovative residences and products with high quality, safety, and beauty and to build a long term relationship with its customers.

4

SonKim Land

One Plus Partnership

5

6

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE VIETNAM

COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP INTERIOR DESIGN HONG KONG

SonKim Land

One Plus Partnership

For being a leading real estate development company since 1993, for its ability to deliver projects in all sectors including, residential, hospitality, retail, and office buildings and for using the most modern design methodologies to create integrated, economically and environmentally self-sustaining master developments.

SonKim Land is a Pioneer Leader in its field.

5

For its aim to provide interior design services, from conception to delivery, which enhances its clients business and personal intent.

For being a forum for generating ideas.

6 World Excellence 63

IAIR AWARDS

INSURANCE

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR LEADERSHIP INSURANCE THAILAND

AWARDS

Bangkok Insurance

Bangkok Insurance

1

64 World Excellence

For providing a wide range of general insurance policies under the quality and international management system.

The company has adhered to the customer-oriented strategy for more than half a century, providing its clients with fair services and integrity.

1

BROKER

AWARDS FirewoodFX

BROKER OF THE YEAR ASIA

Forex4you

1

FOREX BROKER OF THE YEAR SOUTH EAST ASIA

2

FirewoodFX

Forex4you

For being a global leader of online Forex Broker systems, composed of a team with remarkable experience in the financial industry.

For providing the best forex trading experience to traders. For your uniqueness to offer traditional 4-digit pricing with fixed spread from 1 pip.

For having a deep knowledge of the Forex market and maintaining the highest level of professionalism and competency in any issue.

For maintaining its high competence and solid reputation.

2

1 World Excellence 65

IAIR AWARDS

Wealth Bond Group

BROKER OF THE YEAR BINARY OPTIONS CHINA

IşıkFX

1

FOREX BROKER OF THE YEAR TURKEY

2

Wealth Bond Group

IşıkFX

For your professional operational team with over 30 years of extensive experience in precious metal investment, trading in gold coins.

Through the quality of your services and research, Wealth Bond, has earned an excellent reputation among investors throughout the world. For your focus in offering customers around the world a consistently high quality service and experience using the benefits of your scale, geographic reach and strong brand.

For aiming for complete transparency and being an excellent choice for both pro traders and beginners with fantastic trading conditions and adequate training.

For providing exclusive access to the most leading trading platform in the industry, the Metatrader 4.

1

66 World Excellence

2

La Trobe Financial

ASSET MANAGEMENT

AWARDS

1

Orchard Global Asset Managment

2

ASSET MANAGER OF THE YEAR ASIA PACIFIC

ASSET MANAGER OF THE YEAR HEDGE FUNDS ASIA

La Trobe Financial

Orchard Global Asset Managment

With international recognition and relevant growth in funds under management, La Trobe Financial continues to strengthen its presence in the market.

For their careful portfolio construction combined with their co-investment model to buffer portfolio against the effects of individual asset shortfalls.

For being a leading alternative asset manager that seek to generate superior risk-adjusted returns through market cycles, with a strong emphasis on capital preservation and with portfolios that include specifications to optimize market inefficiencies.

1

2

World Excellence 67

IAIR AWARDS

NON-BANK LENDER OF THE YEAR AUSTRALIA La Trobe Financial

La Trobe Financial

LEGAL

3

For over 64 years La Trobe has lent in excess of $12 billion to over 128,000 borrowers whose financial needs are not adequately met by the traditional banking sector.

For being a competitive specialist lender with a broad experience that allows them to continually develop, innovate and enhance their product suite.

3

AWARDS

Vilaf

Vilaf

1 68 World Excellence

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR CORPORATE AND M&A VIETNAM

For your 20 years of experience in Vietnam as a full-service, law firm. For your unique approach to risk-assessment and solution-oriented strategies.

For the extensive international experience and in-depth knowledge of Vietnam’s political culture and the legal developments that make your lawyers the most qualified to advise clients on the laws on the legal practices of Vietnam.

1

IBG IAIR Mag 210x297mm.indd 1

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