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21ST Century economy Developing countries are increasingly pushing back against an intellectual property “regime” which has been foisted on them by the developed world over the last 30 years.

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CONTENTS

Three ways ahead for the Eurozone

12

21st century economy

8

A new front in Asia’s water war

16

Work together or suffer alone

SPOTLIGHT

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26

Making the future work for us

Page 22 How to be an innovator

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CONTENTS

SPOTLIGHT

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY 30

Controlling cyber-conflict

32

Regulating across the digital divide

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Page18 How to be at the forefront in the TLC industry

Publisher/Director Guido Giommi Editors, America: Imani Nicole Jones Scarlett Williams Editor, Asia: Eric Davide Editors: Chiara Alessandra Piscitelli Alice Trevisan Simona Vantaggiato Alessia Rosa Alessia Liparoti Claudia Chiari

International Subscription Kate Rios Art Director Nick Lowen Graphic Design Giulia Andreoli Mary Thompson Editorial Offices: London, Milan, New York, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong

© Project Syndicate 2017 WorldExcellence Volume 26 Copyright © 2017

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Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written consent of World Excellence.

Information is based

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Neither the information in World Excellence nor the opinions expressed should be taken as a solicitation for investment.

World Excellence accepts no liability for actions based on the information herein.

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EUROPEAN POLITICS

Three ways ahead for the Eurozone With German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is impossible to say for certain what approach to integration Europe will take in the coming years.

But reform of the EU and the eurozone will almost certainly not follow the highly ambitious path.

Kemal Derviş

W

ASHINGTON - After a tu-

multuous year, politics seem to be stabilizing across Europe. Though the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) gained almost 13% of the vote in Germany’s recent federal election, it does not pose a serious threat to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership. In France – the other pillar of the European project – President Emmanuel Macron can count on a solid parliamentary majority. And, despite the uncertainty surrounding the details

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of Brexit, there is little doubt that, whatever plans the European Union makes, it will be doing so without the United Kingdom as a member.

SO NOW THE QUESTION IS HOW THE EU and, in particular, the

eurozone, will move forward. There are three possibilities. The first option is a “more united union,” as described

by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Juncker’s vision rejects a multi-speed Europe, in favor of uniform steps by all EU members.

This would mean, for starters, expanding the Schengen Area of border-free travel to include Bulgaria and Romania.

Juncker also called for progress toward a European Social Standards Union embodying a shared understanding of welfare entitlement in the single market.

As for the euro, Juncker stressed that it is meant to be the currency of the entire EU, not just select countries. With that in mind, the EU should pursue the creation of a full banking union, in which banking rules and supervision are consistent across all member states. The commissioner for economic and financial affairs should become a European finance minister, and the European Stabilization Mechanism should become the European Monetary Fund.

A year ago, such “hardline” integrationism would have lacked credibility; after all, the UK would never stand for it.

But, with Brexit apparently a sure thing, Juncker’s vision has gained some credibility. Macron has set out his own ambitious vision for Europe, which echoes

many of Juncker’s proposals, but seems to allow for more differentiation within the EU, at least in the medium term.

For example, if Poland does not want to adopt the euro, it should not be forced to do so, and that decision should not prevent other eurozone countries from moving ahead with integration. That is why Macron wants a separate eurozone parliament, which would decide on matters that do not pertain to all members of the European Parliament. Differences in the level of integration coun-

A PROPOSAL

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS THAT LONG POWERED CALLS FOR MORE INTEGRATION tries pursued today would not prevent anyone – or everyone – from eventually joining the EU’s deeply integrated “core.”

THE THIRD – AND, IT SEEMS, MOST LIKELY – WAY FORWARD

for the eurozone is business as usual.

The economic crisis that long powered calls for more integration – and, in some cases, for more fragmentation – has subsided, with eurozone GDP growth now exceeding 2% and unemployment having declined significantly.

Even Greece – the one country that remains, to some extent, in crisis mode – continues to muddle through. In this

context, policymakers may well decide, as they have so many times before, to put ambitious eurozone reforms on the back burner, deciding that the reforms pursued during the crisis are sufficient.

AFTER THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CRISIS, if signs of growing cost

divergences begin to emerge in the future, interest-rate differentials among eurozone countries will rise much faster than they did before the last crisis, providing an earlier warning signal.

Yet, given that much of the debt overhang remains and much of the rescue ammunition has been spent, another shock could be devastating. The economist Adam Lerrick proposes a scheme whereby the beneficiaries of sudden changes in interest-rate differentials would transfer half their gains into a “financing cost stabilization account,” to be paid back when the interest-rate shock subsides. But such a scheme would have to be agreed among eurozone members.

With Merkel still forming her new coalition government, it is impossible to say for certain what approach to integration Europe will take in the coming years. But, given the likelihood that her coalition will include the Euroskeptic Free Democrats and the pro-integration Greens rapid pursuit of ambitious integration objectives for the entire EU seems unlikely. A more realistic option is a multi-speed effort whereby the eurozone countries can move ahead, while others are allowed to wait. The outcome would not be perfect, but it would be better than the status quo. WEIE

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INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS

A new front in Asia’s water war

For decades, China has been dragging its neighbors into high-stakes games of geopolitical poker over water-related issues.

But the country’s politically motivated decision to withhold hydrological data from India amounts to an escalation of China’s efforts to exploit its status as the world’s hydro-hegemon to gain strategic leverage over its neighbors.

Brahma Chellaney

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EW DELHI - China has long regarded freshwater as a strategic weapon – one that the country’s leaders have no compunction about wielding to advance their foreign-policy goals. After years of using its chokehold on almost every major transnational river system in Asia to manipulate water flows themselves, China is now withholding data on upstream flows to put pressure on downstream countries, particularly India.

For decades, China has been dragging its neighbors into high-stakes games of geopolitical poker over water-related issues. Thanks to its forcible annexation of Tibet and other non-Han Chinese ethnic homelands – territories that comprise some 60% of its landmass – China is the world’s unrivaled hydro-hegemon. It is the source of cross-border riparian flows to more countries than any other state.

IN RECENT YEARS, CHINA HAS WORKED HARD TO EXPLOIT THAT STATUS to increase its lev-

erage over its neighbors, relentlessly building upstream dams on international rivers. China is now home to more dams than the rest of the world combined, and the construction continues, leaving downstream neighbors – especially the vulnerable lower Mekong basin states, Nepal, and Kazakhstan – essentially at China’s mercy.

SO FAR, CHINA HAS REFUSED TO ENTER INTO A WATER-SHARING TREATY with a

single country. It does, however, share some hydrological and meteorological data – essential to enable downstream countries to foresee and plan for floods, thereby protecting lives and reducing material losses.

Yet, this year, China decided to withhold such data from India, undermining the efficacy of India’s flood early-warning systems – during Asia’s summer monsoon season, no less. As

But China did enter into a five-year bilateral accord, which expires next year, requiring it to transfer to India hydrological and meteorological data daily from three Brahmaputra-monitoring stations in Tibet during the risky flood season, from May 15 to October 15.

A similar agreement, reached in 2015, covers the Sutlej, another flood-prone river. Both accords arose after flash floods linked to suspected discharges from Chinese projects in Tibet repeatedly ravaged India’s Arunachal and Himachal states.

NOWDAYS

CHINA IS NOW HOME TO MORE DAMS THAN THE REST OF THE WORLD COMBINED a result, despite below-normal monsoon rains this year in India’s northeast, through which the Brahmaputra River flows after leaving Tibet and before entering Bangladesh, the region faced unprecedented flooding, with devastating consequences, especially in Assam state. China’s decision to withhold crucial data is not only cruel; it also breaches the country’s international obligations. China is one of just three countries that voted against the 1997 United Nations Watercourse Convention, which called for the regular exchange of hydrological and other data between co-basin states.

UNLIKE SOME OTHER COUNTRIES, which offer hydrological data

to their downstream counterparts for free, China does so only for a price.

(The Watercourse Convention would have required that no charges be levied, unless the data or information was “not readily available” – a rule that may also have contributed to China’s “no” vote.)

But it was a price India was willing to pay. And this year, as always, India sent the agreed amount. Yet it received no data, with the Chinese foreign ministry claiming after almost four months that upstream stations were being “upgraded” or “renovated.” That claim was

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reading is reinforced by China’s violations of its 1984 pact with the United Kingdom, under which China gained sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997.

CHINA CLAIMS THAT THE AGREEMENT, based on the formu-

spurious: China did supply data on the Brahmaputra to Bangladesh.

Three weeks earlier, the state-controlled newspaper Global Times offered a more plausible explanation for China’s failure to deliver the promised data to India: the data transfer had been intentionally halted, owing to India’s supposed infringement on Chinese territorial sovereignty in a dispute over the remote Himalayan region of Doklam. For much of the summer, that dispute took the form of a border standoff where Bhutan, Tibet, and the Indian state of Sikkim meet.

BUT EVEN BEFORE THE DISPUTE FLARED IN MID-JUNE,

China was seething over India’s boycott of its May 14-15 summit promoting the much-vaunted “Belt and Road” initiative. The denial of data apparently began as an attempt to punish India for condemning China’s massive, cross-border infrastructure agenda as an opaque, neocolonial enterprise. China’s desire to punish India was then reinforced by the Doklam standoff.

For China, it seems, international agreements stop being binding when they are no longer politically convenient. This

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la “one country, two systems,” had lost “practical significance” over the last 20 years.

Were the roles reversed, a downstream China would have stridently accused an upstream India of exacerbating flood-related death and destruction by breaching its international obligations.

But just as China has unilaterally and aggressively asserted its territorial and maritime claims in Asia, it is using the reengineering of cross-border riparian flows and denial of hydrological data to deepen its regional power.

In fact, China’s cutoff of water data, despite the likely impact on vulnerable civilian communities, sets a dangerous precedent of indifference to humanitarian considerations. It also highlights how China is fashioning unconventional tools of coercive diplomacy, whose instruments already range from informally boycotting goods from a targeted country to halting strategic exports (such as of rare-earth minerals) and suspending Chinese tourist travel.

Now, by seizing control over water – a resource vital to millions of lives and livelihoods – China can hold another country hostage without firing a single shot. In a water-stressed Asia, taming China’s hegemonic ambition is now the biggest strategic challenge.WEIE

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ECONOMICS

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

21 Century Economy st

Developing countries are increasingly pushing back against an intellectual property “regime” which has been foisted on them by the developed world over the last 30 years. They are right to do so, because what matters is not only the production of knowledge, but also that it is used in ways that put the health and wellbeing of people ahead of corporate profits.

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Dean Baker and Arjun Jayadev

N

EW YORK - When the South African government attempted to amend its laws in 1997 to avail itself of affordable generic medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, the full legal might of the global pharmaceutical industry bore down on the country, delaying implementation and exacting a human cost. South Africa eventually won its case, but the government learned its lesson: it did not try again to put its citizens’ health and wellbeing into its own hands by challenging the conventional global intellectual property (IP) regime. Until now. The South African cabinet is preparing

to finalize an IP policy that promises to expand access to medicines substantially. South Africa will now undoubtedly face all manner of bilateral and multilateral pressure from wealthy countries. But the government is right, and other developing and emerging economies should follow in its footsteps.

Over the last two decades, there has been serious pushback from the developing world against the current IP regime. In large part, this is because wealthy countries have sought to impose a one-sizefits-all model on the world, by influencing the rulemaking process at the World Trade Organization

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(WTO) and forcing their will via trade agreements.

The IP standards advanced countries favor typically are designed not to maximize innovation and scientific progress, but to maximize the profits of big pharmaceutical companies and others able to sway trade negotiations. No surprise, then, that large developing countries with substantial industrial bases – such as South Africa, India, and Brazil – are leading the counterattack.

These countries are mainly taking aim at the most visible manifestation of IP injustice: the accessibility of essential medicines. In

ECONOMICS

in the technical sense that the marginal cost of someone using it is zero, and in the more general sense that an increase in knowledge can improve wellbeing globally. Given this, the worry has been that the market will undersupply knowledge, and research will not be adequately incentivized.

DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

WHAT SEPARATES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FROM DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IS AS MUCH A GAP IN KNOWLEDGE AS A GAP IN RESOURCES.

India, a 2005 amendment created a unique mechanism to restore balance and fairness to patenting standards, thereby safeguarding access. Overcoming several challenges in domestic and international proceedings, the law has been found to comply with WTO standards. In Brazil, early action by the government to treat people with HIV/AIDS resulted in several successful negotiations, lowering drug prices considerably.

THESE COUNTRIES ARE FULLY JUSTIFIED IN OPPOSING AN IP REGIME that is neither equitable nor efficient. In a new pa-

THROUGHOUT THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY, the

per, we review the arguments about the role of intellectual property in the process of development. We show that the preponderance of theoretical and empirical evidence indicates that the economic institutions and laws protecting knowledge in today’s advanced economies are increasingly inadequate to govern global economic activity, and are poorly suited to meet the needs of developing countries and emerging markets. Indeed, they are inimical to providing for basic human needs such as adequate health care.

The central problem is that knowledge is a (global) public good, both

conventional wisdom was that this market failure could best be rectified by introducing another one: private monopolies, created through stringent patents strictly enforced. But private IP protection is just one route to solving the problem of encouraging and financing research, and it has been more problematic than had been anticipated, even for advanced countries.

An increasingly dense “patent thicket” in a world of products requiring thousands of patents has sometimes stifled innovation, with more spent on lawyers than on researchers in some cases. And research often is directed not at producing new products but at extending, broadening, and leveraging the monopoly power granted through the patent. The US Supreme Court’s 2013 decision that naturally occurring genes cannot be patented has provided a test of whether patents stimulate research and innovation, as advocates claim,

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ECONOMICS

or impede it, by restricting access to knowledge. The results are unambiguous: innovation has been accelerated, leading to better diagnostic tests (for the presence of, say, the BRCA genes related to breast cancer) at much lower costs.

THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE ALTERNATIVES FOR FINANCING and incentivizing research.

One is to rely on centralized mechanisms of direct support for research, such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation in the United States. Another is to decentralize direct funding through, say, tax credits. Or a governmental body, private foundation, or research institution can award prizes for successful innovations (or other creative activity). The patent system can be thought of as awarding a prize. But the prize impedes the flow of knowledge, reduces the benefits derived from it, and distorts the economy. By contrast, the final alternative to this system maximizes the flow of knowledge, by maintaining a creative commons, exemplified by open-source software.

Developing economies should use all of these approaches to promote learning and innovation. After all, economists have recognized for decades that the most important determinant of growth – and thus of gains in human development

and welfare – is technological change and the knowledge it embodies. What separates developing countries from developed countries is as much a gap in knowledge as a gap in resources. To maximize global social welfare, policymakers should strongly encourage the diffusion of knowledge from developed to developing countries.

But while the theoretical case for a more open system is robust, the world has been moving in the opposite direction. Over the last 30 years, the prevailing IP regime has erected more barriers to the use of knowledge, often causing the gap between the social returns to innovation and the private returns to widen. The powerful advanced-economy lobbies that have shaped that regime clearly put the latter first, reflected in their opposition to provisions recognizing intellectual property rights associated with traditional knowledge or biodiversity.

THE WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF TODAY’S STRINGENT IP protection is also his-

torically unprecedented. Even among the early industrializers, IP protection came very late and often was deliberately eschewed to enable for quicker industrialization and growth. The current IP regime is not sustainable. The twenty-first-century global economy will differ from that of the twen-

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tieth in at least two critical ways.

First, the economic weight of the economies such as South Africa, India, and Brazil will be substantially higher. Second, the “weightless economy” – the economy of ideas, knowledge, and information – will account for a growing share of output, in developed and developing economies alike.

THE RULES RELATING TO THE “GOVERNANCE” OF GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE must

change to reflect these new realities. An IP regime dictated by the advanced countries more than a quarter-century ago, in response to political pressure by a few of their sectors, makes little sense in today’s world. Maximizing profits for a few, rather than global development and welfare for the many, didn’t make much sense then, either – except in terms of the power dynamics at the time.Those dynamics are changing, and emerging economies should take the lead in creating a balanced IP system that recognizes the importance of knowledge for development, growth, and wellbeing. What matters is not only the production of knowledge, but also that it is used in ways that put people’s health and welfare ahead of corporate profits. South Africa’s potential decision to enable access to medicine may be an important milestone on the road toward that goal. WEIE

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ECONOMICS

CENTRAL BANKS

Work together or suffer alone In recent years, the world’s major central banks have pursued unprecedentedly easy monetary policies, characterized by ultra-low and even negative interest rates. These policies are turning out to be a classic bad equilibrium: each central bank stands to gain by keeping interest rates low, but, collectively, low rates constitute a trap from which none can escape.

globalized world, a slight reduction in interest rates by an individual central bank can bring some benefits, beginning with weakening the currency and thus boosting exports. But the more countries employ this strategy, the greater the strain on the banking sector. This is already apparent in Europe, where bank equity prices have dropped steadily in recent months.

Kaushik Basu

MOREOVER, LOW AND ESPECIALLY NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES make holding cash costly,

N

EW YORK - Global growth seems to be moving, slowly but surely, along the path to recovery. The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook predicts 3.5% global growth this year, up from 3.2% last year. But there’s a hitch: the easy monetary policies that have largely enabled economies to return to growth are reaching their limits, and now threaten to disrupt the recovery by creating the conditions for another financial crisis. In recent years, the world’s major central

banks have pursued unprecedentedly easy monetary policies, including what a recent Deutsche Bank report calls “multi-century all-time lows in interest rates.”

That, together with large-scale quantitative easing, has injected a massive $32 trillion into the global economy over the last nine years. But these unconventional policies are turning out to be a classic game-theoretic bad equilibrium: each central bank stands to gain by keeping interest rates low, but, collectively, their approach constitutes a trap. In today’s

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prompting investors to seek riskier investments with higher potential returns.

As a result, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) have more than doubled this year, reaching an overall market value of $460 billion. That looks a lot like the surge in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that helped to drive the 2008 financial crisis. While the world has implemented more checks and balances for CLOs than it did for CDOs before the crisis, the trend remains deeply worrying. Finally, persistently low in-

ECONOMICS

purchased on a remote island. Finding that the pottery has been damaged in transit, they demand compensation from the airline. Because the airline manager – known as the “financial wizard” – has no idea what the price

THE POTTERY HAS NO ACTUAL MONETARY VALUE, but if they

each write $100, all can receive $100 in compensation. One traveler, however, quickly realizes that writing $99 would be a better option, because it would gar-

GLOBAL MARKET

terest rates can cause people to worry about their retirement funds, spurring them to save more. Far from boosting consumption, as intended, monetary stimulus may create an environment that dampens demand, weakening prospects for economic growth. Today, no single country can steer the world away from this trap. The United States, which might have taken the lead in the past, has ceded its global leadership position in recent years – a process that has been greatly accelerated during the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency. Moreover, the G20 has lately lost steam in supporting closer coordination of monetary and fiscal policies among the world’s major advanced and emerging economies.

Perhaps a new grouping of the major players – the GMajor? – needs to step up, before it is too late. To gain the needed motivation, monetary policymakers should recall the “traveler’s dilemma,” a game theory parable that highlights the pitfalls of individual rationality. The parable features a group of travelers, returning home with identical pottery

THE INVISIBLE HAND OF THE MARKET DOES NOT ALWAYS LEAD INDIVIDUALLY SELF-INTERESTED AGENTS TO A COLLECTIVELY DESIRABLE OUTCOME of the pottery is, a creative solution is needed to determine the appropriate amount of compensation.

THE MANAGER DECIDES THAT EACH TRAVELER SHOULD WRITE DOWN THE PRICE – any

integer from $2 to $100 – without conferring with one another. If all write the same number, that figure will be understood as the price, and thus the amount of compensation each traveler receives. If they write different numbers, the lowest number will be taken as the correct price. Whoever wrote the lowest number would receive an additional $2, as a reward for honesty, while anyone who wrote a higher number would receive $2 less, as a penalty for cheating. So if some write $80 and some $90, they will receive $82 and $78, respectively, in compensation. At first blush, the travelers are thrilled.

ner that extra $2 reward, and thus a total of $101. That traveler quickly realizes, however, that others must have had the same idea, and so decides to put down $98 instead. But what if the others had the same thought? Better make it $97.

In the end, trapped by this inexorable logic, all travelers end up writing and receiving $2. The outcome may seem a disaster, but it is also the most rational choice – the “Nash equilibrium” of the traveler’s dilemma game. It is clear how the financial wizard came by his moniker. The moral of the story is simple.

The invisible hand of the market does not always lead individually self-interested agents to a collectively desirable outcome. Altruism and regard for others must play a role. If they are missing, the players at least need to coordinate their decisions. Unless central bankers take that message to heart, they will find themselves sweeping up a lot of broken pottery. WEIE

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SPOTLIGHT

TOWNGAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS

How to be at the forefront in the TLC industry The company is well-known as an important provider of data centre services and network connectivity solutions and has now adopted pioneer technological solutions in sustainable telecommunication infrastructures, becoming a landmark in the industry.

Alessia Liparoti

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BIOGRAPHY Mr. Joseph Lai joined the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited in 1977, accumulating over 40 years of business management experience in Hong Kong and mainland China. In addition to the gas business, he has also managed telecommunications and IT business, achieving outstanding results in all areas. Mr. Lai is the Head of Emerging Businesses division, the Head of Telecommunications Business of Towngas Group and General Manager of Towngas Telecommunications Co., Ltd. Under his leadership, the Emerging Businesses division has successfully expanded its business scope and customer base. Mr. Lai is committed to improving the welfare of the local community; he has assumed active roles in a number of local government and professional organization in Hong Kong and mainland China, and has made signiďŹ cant contributions in both the private and public sectors.

Mr. Joseph Lai

General Manager of Towngas Telecommunications Company Limited

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SPOTLIGHT

H

ONG KONG - Telecommu-

nication infrastructures, glassalong-gas technology, network connectivity, cloud computing and data management: the future of infrastructure development solutions will depend on these technologies and Towngas Telecommunications Company Limited knows it. The company has now become a landmark in the industry thanks to its crucial role in the development of the technologies in Hong Kong and Mainland China. World Excellence International met Mr. Joseph Lai, General Manager of TGT, winner of “Company of the Year for Leadership” as Data Service Centre in Mainland China.

Gas (GAG) technology by laying the telecommunications cables with gas pipes. Both technologies have provided excellent results, minimising installation time and reducing environmental pollution. They are quick deployment solutions that help save costs in network infrastructure installation.

WHAT ARE TOWNGAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS GOALS IN

aboe to seize business opportunities under the big data era; 7 networked data centres have been established in Hong Kong, Beijing, Dalian, Dongguan, Harbinand Jinan, all in accordance with TIA 942 Rated 3+ international standard, l. TGT has obtained numerous world-class international quality standards and certifications such as ISO 27001:2005, ISO 14001:2004, 200001:2005, FISC, CSA STAR Certification

WHAT IS GLASS-IN-GAS AND GLASS-ALONG-GAS TECHNOLOGY AND HOW HAS IT HELPED YOUR COMPANY TO MAINTAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?

As a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas), riding on the 3,500 kilometer colossal gas pipe network of Towngas, TGT has created a fibre net-work providing high-end telecommunication infrastructure services and quality network solutions offering substantial synergies for telecom carriers, service provider and large corporations.

TGT has been installing optical fibres within pipes with the Glass-In-Gas (GIG) European technology in Hong Kong, while maintaining the reliability and sustaina-bility of premium services to local cli-ents. Meanwhile, we have also been adopting the Glass-Along-

THE NEAR FUTURE?

TGT focuses on 3 core businesses: network connectivity; data centre management and cloud computing. We will continue to expand each area vertically and horizontally in the years ahead.

WHICH STRATEGIES DO YOU IMPLEMENT IN ORDER TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH THE BEST POSSIBLE SERVICES?

TGT is a pioneer telecommunication service provider with more than 10 years’ experience in data centre operations and management. TGT has been

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for Cloud Security, Level II Security Guidelines issued by HKSAR Government and LEED Gold Certification.

By integrating reliable and high-speed connectivity with competitve advantages such as outstanding infrastructure, TGT has been able to build flexible and reliable cloud computing platforms, as a means to provide customers with a total solution and directly respond to their requirements.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU PREDICT WILL OCCUR IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN-

SPOTLIGHT

DUSTRY IN THE UPCOMING YEARS AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO TACKLE THEM?

In the big data era, there has been a huge demand for telecommunication services. TGT has established a data centre network together with network connectivity and a cloud platform. We are now positioned to seize the opportunity. as we can utilize our existing resources to provide customers with professional management services, • Customers nowadays are not only looking for collocation services, but are expecting more value-added services, managed services and one-stop solu-tions. These challenging requrests require a large amount of capital investment, so we need to evaluate the practicality and benefits of such an investment.

• In recent years, more and more international players in the industry (e.g., Superloop, China Unicom, and Global Switch) have entered the Hong Kong market to provide connectivity and data centre solutions, making the market more competitve than ever.

•The demand for ICT talents is increasing however, we need to retain existing talent and simultaneously hire new management as well. Therefore, in our accounts we have recently earmarked a larger labor cost compared to previous years in order to recruit those talents.

YOU HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED IN THE LATEST ASIAN IAIR LE FONTI AWARD AS COMPANY OF THE YEAR. WHAT DOES THIS

AWARD MEAN TO YOUR COMPANY?

Thank you! We are honoured to receive the award of “Data Centre Service in Greater China” This award can be seen as a representation of the respect and affi rmation the industry has for TGT. We take pride in our data centres’ op-erations, and always strive to maintain its availability, stability and effi ciency. We are currently operating 7 networked data centres in Hong Kong and main-land China, located in Hong Kong, Beijing, Dalian, Dongguan, Har-

work connectivity, data centre and cloud computing), TGT will continue to expand vertically and horizontally. To create synergy between Hong Kong and mainland China, TGT is currently operating 7 networked data centres there, located at Hong Kong, Beijing, Dalian, Dongguan, Harbin and Jinan. We have expanded our footprint in mainland China and have now founded 17 joint ventures in Hong Kong and Mainland China. By integrating our unrivalled and high-speed connectivi-ty with advantages such as world-class data centres and

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE DIVERSIFIED SERVICES THAT EXCEED CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS bin and Jinan. All of the Data Centres are inter-connected. Each serves as a backup to the other, while benefiting from geographical advantages, positioned to be syn-chronized between Hong Kong and Mainland China, and matched to meet customer’s strategic network plans. TGT acts as a gateway to the globe, so customers in mainland China can access the overseas market through our data centres. And at the same time, we also act as a hub to overseas customers; they can enter the Mainland market through our data centres.

WHAT ARE YOUR COMPANY’S EXPANSION PLANS?

To enrich our 3 core businesses (net-

cloud computing platform with secured privacy and high fl exibility. We are able to provide data transmission and cloud comput-ing services to clients ranging from large corporations to SMEs, as well as telecommunications carriers and international network service provid-ers in the region. We will continue to strive to provide diversifi ed services that exceed customer expectations, and deploy it to all our subsidiary and joint venture. With a growing pres-ence in the telecommunications mar-ket, TGT is well positioned to cap-italise on the coming Big Data Era. Massive transmissions of data are ex-pected to mark the coming years, to be used to unlock new value. WEIE

World Excellence - International Edition 21

SPOTLIGHT

THE STRATEGY

How to be an innovator The keys to success: consciousness, intellectual awareness and mindfulness.

Alessia Liparoti

L

ONDON - On October 20th 2017, the world’s leading corporate stars united for the 37th edition of Le Fonti Awards, an annual awards ceremony recognizing industry leaders in the fields of banking, business, economics, fi nance, sustainability, law, healthcare, insurance and e-commerce. This year, the “London Gala & CEO Summit” was held at the London Stock Exchange, a prestigious location located in The City of London, hosted by the influential journalist, Jenny Hammond of Sky. Mr. Vito Rotondi, CEO of MEP Group, was awarded CEO of the Year for Innovation Industrial Machinery Italy. He became CEO in 2014 and holds a university degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in R&D Management from Harvard University.

MR. ROTONDI, YOU WON THE LE FONTI AWARDS 2017 AS CEO OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVA-TION

INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY ITALY. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMENT ON THIS VICTORY?

I am very honored to receive Le Fonti’s Award as CEO of the year for innovation at the London Stock Exchange.

After receiving the Elite Certificate and the Ambrogio Lorenzetti Award for Corporate Governance during a previous ceremony in Milan, I would like to take the opportunity to confirm William Shakespeare’s statement: “Men at some time are masters of their fates”. The award is very positive for my company in Italy, MEP Group, as well as for my professional career and personal life. The award sums up a mosaic of personal goals and ambitions, including dedication, passion, skills and getting results. I am proud of the Le Fonti Award, which I consider a prestigious step forward in my career and an incentive for me to continue with my company’s projects in the coming years.

22 World Excellence - International Edition

WHAT IS INNOVATION FOR YOU?

Having won the Le Fonti Awards for Innovation, I am glad to share what innovation means to me. In my opinion, it means the motivation to work towards progress and to adhere to true values andsuccess. It’s not easy to face the competition without being determined in achieving goals .

YOU ARE AN ITALIAN CHAMPION OF INDUSTRY 4.0. ARE THERE STILL CHALLENGES THAT THIS PLAN SHOULD FACE?

The main effects of Industry 4.0 in Italy

SPOTLIGHT

“OUR FIRST TASK IS TO INSTILL INTELLECTUAL CONVICTION AND THEN INTELLECTUALLY TO DEVISE THE MEANS” - JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES.

will occur in the near future. Today, we have developed the right mindfulness, consciousness, and intellectual awareness to succeed with the knowledge that Industry 4.0 is a necessary and imminent step in the technological development of our society. Furthermore, the Italian Minister for Economic Development has structured an excellent legislative framework on its behalf. Its implementtion will be entirely supported by our Stakeholders, Customers, and Suppliers, thanks to the coordination of our company’s internal committee. We have also incorporated an MEP busi-

ness school, a school of Management not only for technology training but also for organizatrional training. In addition, we have discovered the human side of digitalization and the impact of the best practices on management’s processes.

Technology progress and human enhancement are the basis of the industrial renaissance.

HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO COMBINE THE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND THE ENHANCING OF THE HUMAN FACTOR IN YOUR COMPANY?

Our MEP Business School, our internal School of Management, has adopted a set of new interdisciplinary corporate governance rules which combine technology awareness and evaluation, economics and progress. Our society has come to understand that we are living and working in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment. As John Maynard Keynes declared when addressing national employment policy, our first task is to instill intellectual conviction in public opinion and subsequently to devise intellectually the means. “Insufficiency of cleverness, not of goodness, is the main trouble” and “resistance to change” should not be underestimated in innovation, according to Keynes.

Nevertheless education, training, job rotation, and development, are tools for human enhancement at all levels of organization and society. Technological progress and human enhancement are at the basis of the industrial renaissance. Human behaviour is indeed a science of management.. WEIE

World Excellence - International Edition 23

LE FONTI AWARDS

SUBMIT YOUR CANDIDACY www.lefon�awards.com

DUBAI

The Palace Downtown Dubai December 14th 2017

HONG KONG

Sheraton Hotel & Towers 23rd March 2018

MILAN

Palazzo Mezzano�e

May -June 2018

LONDON

London Stock Exchange October 2018

BUSINESS & FINANCE

HUMAN PROGRESS

Making the future work for us Ricardo Hausmann

26 World Excellence - International Edition

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Rapid technology-driven displacement of massive amounts of human labor is not a new occurrence.

But while we can’t know what opportunities will arise from a such shifts, we do know that most countries should focus on ensuring that they can master every new technology and exploit every new opportunity that comes their way.

C

AMBRIDGE - What does the future of work hold in store, and how should we prepare for it? The debate so far has focused on developed countries, but it is a question that will affect the entire world.

To pessimists, the introduction of these so-called general-purpose technologies – including 3-D printing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things – threatens the demand for labor; without new forms of social solidarity, such as a universal basic income, the future will be one of widespread destitution.

To optimists, the latest technological developments, like others that have propelled humanity forward, promise to deliver unprecedented levels of prosperity. It is probably impossible at this stage to say which side is right.

As the physicist Niels Bohr said: “It is very hard to predict, especially the future.” For a complex system such as the world economy, understanding the past – for example, the massive decline in manufacturing employment in almost all countries over the past two decades – is already hard enough.

What is more easily ascertained are the causal links that might determine the outcome.

Rapid displacement of massive amounts of human labor is not a new occurrence. The early-nineteenth-century Luddites revolted against the mechanical looms that were supplanting artisanal textile production. Almost 60 years later, agricultural employment in the US peaked at 53% of total employment. Today, it is less than 3%.

In fact, since as recently as 1980, most countries have experienced large declines in agricultural employment. In some, like Portugal, Malaysia, Turkey, and Indonesia, the share of agricultural employment declined by more than 20%. In others, like Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Philippines, and Sri Lanka, the decline exceeded 10%. And it’s not just agriculture. According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, the share of manufacturing in GDP fell in 100 of the 124 countries reporting data since 1990.

BUT IF LARGE SHIFTS IN THE COMPOSITION OF EMPLOYMENT HAVE BEEN THE NORM,

what makes today’s technology-driven shifts so scary? Fundamentally, technology is a way to transform “the world as I found it” into “the world as I want it to be” – from pastures to milk, from soybeans to chicken tenders, from silicon to smartphones. And it depends on three forms of knowledge: embedded knowledge in tools; codified knowledge in recipes, manuals, and protocols; and tacit knowledge, or knowhow, in brains. Most of the time, these three forms of knowledge complement one another: like coffee and sugar, the more of one you have, the more of the others you want. But technological progress occasionally substitutes one for another, as with coffee and tea. Once upon a time, people stuck their hands in the ground to plant the next crop. Now seed drills

World Excellence - International Edition 27

BUSINESS & FINANCE

and planters do that much more quickly and effortlessly. Not long ago, airline check-in clerks wrote out boarding passes. Now they are delivered to our smartphones. It is these substitutions – the embodied knowledge of the machine for the knowhow of traditional handiwork – that make us fearful. But while each new technology displaces one form of knowhow, it creates others. The first industrial revolution so reduced the cost of textiles that it led to a boom in demand, production, and employment. Likewise, as David Autor of MIT has pointed out, the automatic teller machine (ATM) displaced human bank tellers, but so reduced the cost of branches that their number rose, fueling an increase in employees focused on customer relationship management (for which ATMs are less than ideal).

Today, websites have displaced printed materials, giving rise to an industry of web designers.

BUT WHILE IT IS CLEAR WHICH JOBS NEW TECHNOLOGIES DISPLACE, it is harder to anticipate

how the new possibilities will be exploited. Back in 2001, many thought the Internet’s fiber-optic backbone had been overbuilt, given low demand for bandwidth. But then along came iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Netflix. Similarly, today we are trying to predict the nature of future work before the jobs of the future have been invented. The most important uncertain aspect of the new technologies is their diffusion capacity.

If they do not diffuse worldwide, they will widen the income divide between countries and regions. Landline telephone service and electricity have diffused far less than guns and cellphones.

ONE DETERMINANT OF A TECHNOLOGY’S “DIFFUSABILITY” IS ITS KNOWHOW INTENSITY. Tools and codes are easy to

ship; moving the knowhow needed to use them is a different matter. Guns require just a little training to operate, whereas an electrical utility requires a large team of people with varied expertise to run the generators, install and service the transmission lines and sub-stations, limit theft, and compel customers to pay their bills on time.

Technologies that require more diverse knowhow, reflected in the size and heterogeneity of the team needed to implement them, diffuse much more slowly or not at all.

A new technology’s diffusion is also affected by its dependence on the previous diffusion of other technologies.

Uber depends on the previous diffusion of cell phones, cars, and credit cards. If implementing a technology requires less knowhow and fewer other technologies, it is likely to diffuse even faster than the technologies it replaces. This is what people call technological leapfrogging. As was the case with computer-aided design and manufacturing, it is easier to run a 3-D printer than to master all the steps needed to make the same part the traditional way. Artificial intelligence

28 World Excellence - International Edition

OPPORTUNITY

THE MOST IMPORTANT UNCERTAIN ASPECT OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES IS THEIR DIFFUSION CAPACITY may make technology less reliant on knowhow and consequently easier to diffuse. By contrast, the Internet of Things will probably require prior diffusion of many other technologies. In 66 countries, electricity penetration is less than 60%; in 26 countries, it is less than 30%. Finally, diffusion depends on whether countries can afford to purchase the new technology. And that, in turn, depends on whether it facilitates or complicates their search for goods and services that they can sell internationally. The globalization of value chains has made it easier for more countries and regions to participate in international trade, because each country needs to assemble less complex teams; but it has been bad for places like Detroit, where fully integrated industries used to cluster. In the end, predicting the future is beside the point.

Most countries’ future is more likely to be bright if they focus on ensuring that they can master every new technology and exploit every new opportunity that comes their way. WEIE

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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION SECURITY

CONTROLLING CYBER CONFLICT At the annual BlackHat cyber-security conference in Las Vegas, 60% of attendees said they expect the US to suffer a successful attack against its critical infrastructure in the next two years. Can international norms governing cyberspace be developed to prevent such a scenario?

Joseph S. Nye

L

AS VEGAS - When cyber-security professionals were polled recently at their annual BlackHat conference in Las Vegas, 60% said they expected the United States to suffer a successful attack against its critical infrastructure in the next two years. And US politics remains convulsed by the aftermath of Russian cyber interference in the 2016 election. Are cyber-attacks the wave of the future, or can norms be developed to control international cyber conflict?

We can learn from the history of the nuclear age. It took states about two decades to reach the first cooperative agreements.

If one dates the cyber-security problem not from the beginning of the Internet in the 1970s, but from the late 1990s,

when burgeoning participation made the Internet the substrate for economic and military interdependence, cooperation is now at about the two-decade mark.

The first efforts in the nuclear era were unsuccessful United Nations-centered treaties. In 1946, the US proposed the Baruch plan for UN control of nuclear energy, and the Soviet Union promptly rejected locking itself into a position of technological inferiority. It was not until after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 that a first arms control agreement, the Limited Test Ban Treaty, was signed, in 1963.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty followed in 1968, and the bilateral USUSSR Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in 1972.

30 World Excellence - International Edition

IN THE CYBER FIELD, RUSSIA PROPOSED A UN TREATY TO BAN ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION WEAPONS IN 1999.

With China and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, it has continued to push for a broad UNbased treaty. The US resisted what it saw as an effort to limit American capabilities, and continues to regard a broad treaty as unverifiable and deceptive. Instead, the US, Russia, and 13 other states agreed that the UN Secretary General should appoint a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), which first met in 2004.

That group initially produced meager results; but, by July 2015, it issued a report, endorsed by the G20, that proposed norms for limiting conflict and confidence-building measures. Groups of experts are not uncommon in the UN process, but only rarely does their work rise from the UN’s basement to a summit of the world’s 20 most powerful states. Over the years, as the number of GGE member states increased from the original 15 to 20 and then to 25, the group became more unwieldy, and political issues became more intrusive.

ACCORDING TO ONE DIPLOMAT WHO HAS BEEN CENTRAL TO THE PROCESS, some 70

countries have expressed interest in participating. But as the numbers expand, the difficulty

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

of reaching agreement increases. There is a wide range of views about the future of the GGE process. A first draft of a new report existed at the beginning of this year, and the able German chairman argued that the group should not rewrite the 2015 report, but try to say more about the steps that states should take in peacetime. Some states suggested new norms to address data integrity and maintenance of the Internet’s core structures. There was general agreement about confidence-building measures and the need to strengthen capacity. The US and like-minded states pressed for further clarification of the earlier agreement

TOPICS

that international laws of armed conflict, including the right of self-defense, apply in cyber space, but China, Russia, and their allies were reluctant to agree.

And the deterioration in US-Russian relations soured the political climate.

Moreover, whereas some states hope to revive the GGE process or enlarge it into a broader UN process, others are skeptical, and believe that future progress will be limited to discussions among like-minded states, rather than leading to universal agreements.

PROGRESS ON THE NEXT STEPS OF NORM FORMATION WILL REQUIRE SIMULTANEOUS USE OF MANY DIFFERENT FORMATS, BOTH PRIVATE AND GOVERNMENTAL

NORMS THAT MAY BE RIPE FOR DISCUSSION OUTSIDE

THE GGE process could include protected status for the core functions of the Internet; supply-chain standards and liability for the Internet of Things; treatment of election processes as protected infrastructure; and, more broadly, norms for issues such as crime and information warfare. All of these are among the topics that may be considered by the new informal Global Commission on Stability in Cyberspace established early this year and chaired by former Estonian Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand.

Progress on the next steps of norm formation will require simultaneous use of many different formats, both private and governmental. A regime of norms may be more robust when linkages are not too tight, and an over-arching UN treaty would harm such flexibility at this point.

Expansion of participation is important for the acceptance of norms, but progress will require action on many fronts.

Given this, the failure of the GGE in July 2017 should not be viewed as the end of the process. WEIE

World Excellence - International Edition 31

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

GREAT BRITAIN

Regulating across the digital divide Most rules governing global trade were built to regulate the cross-border distribution of goods and services in traditional industries.

But the rapid growth of the digital economy has exposed regulatory shortcomings that, unless addressed, could widen the gap between developed and developing economies.

Shamel Azmeh

32 World Excellence - International Edition

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

L

ONDON -

The increasing digitization of the global economy is changing how products and services are produced, distributed, and sold across borders.

Technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and “smart devices” are spawning new industries, and revolutionizing old ones.

But, while these changes could bring important benefits, the speed of digitization has also created daunting governance challenges, both within and across countries.

Existing global rules – embedded in multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade and investment agreements – are being challenged by the new processes that digitization is enabling.

This is creating more space for national governments to intervene in the digital economy. China, for example, has established its own digital industries, using policies such as Internet filtering, data localization (requiring Internet firms to store data on domestic servers), and forced technology transfer to drive digital development. This has supported the emergence of major Chinese digital firms such as Tencent and Baidu, though it often has had adverse effects on freedom of expression and access to information.

Governments elsewhere increasingly view such digital policies as a way to catch up with advanced digital

economies, like the United States.

But, while some countries have managed to take advantage of the current regulatory environment to advance their own digital capabilities, many developing countries risk being left behind.

One factor is that the effectiveness of existing global rules is being eroded. The World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), for example, governs trade in services through different “modes of supply.”

MANY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AGREED TO LIBERALIZE CROSS-BORDER DELIVERY OF SERVICES (so-called

“mode one” trade), never anticipating just how dramatically the digital economy would revolutionize cross-border economic opportunities and enable more services to be delivered across borders. Today, these earlier commitments are becoming economically meaningful, increasing the pressure on many developing countries.

In recent years, debates about how to govern the digital economy have intensified. Multinational digital firms, mostly based in the US, have pushed for globally harmonized rules that would provide predictability and limit the space for national governments to intervene in digital flows.

Supporting such efforts, the Obama administration made the digital do-

World Excellence - International Edition 33

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

main a core part of US trade policy.

Provisions on the free flow of data, together with prohibition of data localization and forced technology transfer, were included in so-called “twenty-first-century trade agreements,” like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

draw from the TPP was received very negatively by the US digital industry. It remains to be seen how digital trade regulations will fare under the TTIP, which Trump has suggested he might revive.

Trump’s trade moves notwithstanding, efforts to update global rules governing the digital economy are

THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO BRING DIGITAL OVERSIGHT

SOLUTION

to two major markets – the Asia-Pacific (under the TTP) and the European Union (under the TTIP) – as an important first step toward global rules in these areas. Negotiations for digital rules under the TPP proved difficult, but ultimately were successful; the Obama administration overcame opposition by offering better market access for manufactured goods to some TPP partners. TTIP negotiations proved more challenging, with some European states, particularly France and Germany, opposing the rules out of fear that they would enable US firms to dominate the European digital economy. “Digital catching up,” as colleagues and I have noted, is a key strategic objective for many European countries. The election of President Donald Trump in the US, who campaigned on a platform of protectionist trade rules and support for “traditional” manufacturing industries, has called into question the future of digital rulemaking. Trump’s decision to with-

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ACCEPT RESTRICTIONS ON THEIR “POLICY SPACE” IN EXCHANGE FOR BETTER MARKET ACCESS TO ADVANCED ECONOMIES continuing – within the WTO, and also as part of talks among the US, Canada, and Mexico to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. These debates will only become more urgent in the coming years. So far, regulatory ambiguity has not severely affected developing countries, and the economic costs to the global South have been minimal. That may change, however, if the world’s three major economies – the US, the EU, and China – were ever to harmonize their approach

34 World Excellence - International Edition

to regulating digital trade and global data flows. In such a scenario, the pressure on developing countries to accept digital rules would intensify.

Proponents of new rules could advise developing countries to accept them openly, arguing that to operate outside a global regulatory system would hurt domestic digital development and make it difficult to participate in new technological fields.

BUT NEW RULES COULD ALSO REVIVE THE INEQUITIES wrought by the “Uruguay

Round” of trade negotiations, which created the WTO and drove North-South free trade agreements.

In multilateral and bilateral agreements, developing countries accept restrictions on their “policy space” in exchange for better market access to advanced economies. Many scholars now believe this “bargain” undermines developing countries’ ability to enact policies that encourage economic diversification and structural change, making it more difficult for them to catch up economically and technologically with developed economies.

A new framework for digital trade and e-commerce must be crafted with these concerns in mind. As rules are created to manage how countries interact, regulators must work to ensure that digital-trade policies do not exacerbate the inequities that the traditional trading regime has exposed. WEIE

Author: Paul Pigeon

The innovation or why the bonuses will never be the same I

t’s hard to find a retail Forex broker that does not offer bonuses. Today, working with any broker you can get bonuses for almost everything - for opening an account, for replenishment, for trading volume, for loyalty to the company, for referring friends and so on. However, the essence of all these bonuses is the same - to give money and then get them back later. As a rule, these bonus funds are very small, always non-withdrawable, and traders run out of them quickly.

So, benefits from bonuses are quite nominal. Well, they used to be. In the autumn of 2017, InstaForex received one of the most prestigious awards in financial markets, Forex of the Year for Innovation from the World Excellence International journal. Why do market participants attach great importance to this award? You see, the award is not given for development in a particular area like growth in a number of accounts, expansion of the range of services, or other quantitative indicators, but for a genuine breakthrough in the technological sphere. In other words, for innovations applied on the market. In fact, any major broker at some point enters the stage when serious technical work largely determines its status and future growth.

The Forex Broker of the Year for Innovation was awarded to InstaForex for innovation in their bonus products, more specifically, the development of the No Deposit Bonus (NDB). What is so special about this bonus? On the surface, there is nothing unusual. The

No Deposit Bonus can be received by any existing or potential client of InstaForex. After application for the bonus and checking for correspondence to the extremely simple requirements, a trader receives USD 1,500 to a live account. It is indeed USD 1,500 without any initial deposit. It is good enough but not revolutionary. Only after receiving the NDB and commencing trading, the very innovation, which no other broker has had before, is brought into action. Once a trader reaches a profit of 10% of the bonus (USD 150), the body of the bonus (USD 1,500) is canceled. The account itself and the earned profit are put on hold until a trader replenishes an amount equal to the received profit (USD 150). Thus, a trader earns USD 150 using the starting capital from the broker. Then, a trader adds one’s own funds and receives an additional USD 150 from the broker. All in all, there are USD 450 on the account, while a trader deposited only USD 150. What’s next? Then, a client continues to trade and boost profits, withdrawing the profits without any restrictions. It may seem that the NDB is not much different from other bonuses, but it is not. The structure of the bonus is extremely difficult despite the simplicity of use. The complexity

of this product, along with bonus features, gives its users many opportunities. Firstly, it is a great opportunity to gain trading experience and sharpen skills on a live account for quite a long time thanks to the considerable volume of the bonus. Secondly, the recipient of the bonus smoothly progresses from successful trading using bonus funds to no less successful trading using own funds without changing the account. Thirdly, thanks to the large amount of the bonus and small lots, a trader can test any trading strategies on a live account at no cost. Given that the standard InstaForex accounts have features of cent accounts, trader can test grid strategies or strategies based on Martingale. Finally, the NDB funds can be invested in the ForexCopy service. No broker has ever had such an offer before. In other words, you can test any trader from ForexCopy monitoring using the broker’s money right now. You can evaluate capabilities and efficiency of any trader before you invest your own money for trust management. You can call it an investment test drive. Thus, the No Deposit Bonus is a great example of what a modern bonus should be, as it is a complex innovative task for a broker and a simple and useful product for a trader.

This is an advertisement

World Excellence - International Edition 35

FOOD

JAPAN

The modern sushi industry Suzumo Machinery Co.’s robots are used by about 70,000 customers around the world Ernest Davis

36 World Excellence - International Edition

T

OKYO - Kisaku Suzuki, creator

of the world’s first sushi robot, once ran a company that made candy-wrapping machines. For Suzuki, rice was the sacred heart of the country’s economy. He started to think about how to make the staple food more popular, so that Japan had no reason to restrict the crop. He would use his firm’s knowledge of candy-packaging machines to develop the robot. The idea, while off-the-wall in the mid-1970s, had a simple premise. If he could lower the cost of making sushi by mechanizing parts of the process and reducing the need for highly paid chefs, he could bring the previously elite Japanese dish to the masses, and in doing so increase demand for rice. Four decades later, Suzumo Machinery Co.’s robots are used by about 70,000 customers around the world, ranging from sushi chains to factories, and account for about 70 per-

FOOD

cent of the market for the equipment at restaurants, according to Suzumo’s estimates. Kaiten sushi, also known as conveyor-belt sushi, has become a $6 billion industry in Japan alone, partly thanks to Suzuki’s invention.

sushi machines. “What they’ve done is allow kaiten restaurants to make good Japanese food affordable and accessible. ” But even so many years later, the debate still rages about the machines. For purists, if you use robots, it just isn’t the same. Sushi isn’t just balls of rice. The process is the most important thing. It requires relentless practice to make just one piece of sushi rice -- things like how you select, prepare and cook the rice, how much water you use, and so on.

You can’t get that from a robot. At the headquarters of Kura Corp., about an

Rice,” is set for publication in October, sees room for both types.

“I WANT EVERYONE TO GET A CHANCE TO TASTE what amazing

sushi from Jiro tastes like, because it’s a very, very different experience,” Booth CHEAP SUSHI “COULDN’T HAVE says. “But then again, cheap, mass-produced sushi is like the entry drug into HAPPENED WITHOUT OUR MAsays Ikuya Oneda, who the sushi world, and that can be a good CHINES,” succeeded Suzuki as Suzumo president thing, too. People are exposed and may in 2004, a year before the founder died, become curious as to what great sushi and took over his life’s work. When Sutastes like.” In a sense, Suzumo dealt a zuki started to create his robot, he met blow to one part of traditional Japan, nothing but resistance. In 1976, the artisan sushi business, so that NEWS sushi was still largely a food for another could prosper: the rice special occasions. It was mostly industry. It was an act of political THE ERA WHERE IT’S OK sold through a legion of small subversion, attempting to derail restaurants. Not surprisingly, the government’s policy of conTO MAKE SUSHI WITH YOUR those chefs were up in arms trolling the price of rice. OneBARE HANDS IS OVER da and his colleagues actions when they heard about Suzushow they never agreed. after mo’s plan. In their view, it took developing their first sushi machines, 10 years to train someone to make sushi. hour south of Osaka, Kunihiko Tanaka they helped pioneer an iconic Japanese No machine could possibly do the job. bristles when he hears that argument. hamburger that uses rice patties instead Suzumo asked some of the very peo“The era where it’s OK to make sushi of bread. They helped mechanize the ple it was trying to depose to give their with your bare hands is over,” Tanaka kitchens of rice-bowl restaurants. And opinions on the prototype. “They said, says, referring to artisan sushi chefs in they even made a California roll sushi ‘This is no good, this is terrible, I don’t general. “They still do that, and say that robot, as they targeted U.S. demand for know what this is,’” said Oneda, 73, is the real sushi. Things that should be the food as a healthy and trendy choice. who became chairman of the compachanged should be changed.” ny this year. After three years, Suzumo It’s true that by one narrow definition, was nowhere near its goal and running Suzumo didn’t succeed. Japan has kept ALREADY, ABOUT THREE-QUARout of cash. We thought “the compacontrolling rice production since first TERS OF JAPANESE PEOPLE ny would go down the tubes,” Oneda that when they eat sushi, it’s from introducing the policy in 1971. And deSAY said. Suzumo stuck with the task, and a conveyor belt, according to a survey mand for rice has fallen. Still, the comtwo years later the sushi chefs finally published by fishery company Maruha pany’s share price has more than tripled said the machine was usable. In 1981, Nichiro Corp. in March. Almost half since a low in February last year. Investhe company completed its first robot, of them choose which restaurant based tors think Suzumo will benefit from the which formed sushi rice into balls called on price. Michael Booth, a food writer labor shortage in Japan, and the overnigiri. These days, it offers 28 different whose latest book, “The Meaning of seas sushi boom. WEIE

World Excellence - International Edition 37

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LONDON Le Fonti Awards 2017 On October 20th, 2017, the world’s leading corporate stars reunited for a special occasion, the 37th Le Fonti Awards in London. The Le Fonti Awards ceremony is held each year recognizing industry leaders in the fi elds of banking, business, economics, finance, sustainability, law, healthcare, insurance and e- commerce. This year, the London Gala & CEO Summit was held at the London Stock Exchange, a prestigious location located in The City of London. The event is capped by the CEO Summit on The Digital Revolution and how CEO should adapt to technology “disruptors”. Each event commands diversity in decision making, inviting participants to participate in an open discussion on a variety of mainstream topics. Congratulations to all of the award winners.

LE FONTI AWARDS

LE FONTI LEGAL

AWARDS

Stefano Loconte

Guido Carlo Alleva

Loconte&Partners

Alleva & Associati

1 Chiara Padovani

Studio Giordanengo Avvocati Associati

Studio Legale Padovani

3 40 World Excellence - International Edition

2 StelĂŠ Perelli Studio Legale

4

5

LONDON

LAWYER OF THE YEAR INTERNATIONAL TAX ITALY

LAWYER OF THE YEAR WHITE COLLAR CRIME ITALY

LAWYER OF THE YEAR BOUTIQUE OF EXCELLENCE CRIMINAL LAW ITALY

Stefano Loconte

Guido Carlo Alleva

Chiara Padovani

Mr. Loconte has become recognized throughout Italy for his successful management of international tax issues thanks to his dynamism,competence,and his multidisciplinary and personalized approach in the areas of legal,tax and wealth management. With his detailed knowledge of national and international regulatory instruments:Stefano Loconte is undoubtedly a trusted business partner.

Mr. Alleva has developed a deep and complete understanding of corporate and financial crimes, especially in the banking sector.

He has successfully defended an internationally renowned ratings agency from charges of market manipulation,obtaining the acquittal of all defendants; Mr. Alleva today has become an important national reference point in the industry.

Ms. Padovani is at the forefront of the industry for her professionalism and charisma and for being the head of the Padovani Law Firm since 2007. She has been successfully offering full assistance in all areas of Criminal Law and litigation.

Loconte&Partners

Studio Legale Padovani

Alleva & Associati

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*Giancarlo Marzo collected the trophy on behalf of Stefano Loconte

BOUTIQUE OF EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR CRIMINAL TAX LAW ITALY

BOUTIQUE OF EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION ITALY

Studio Giordanengo Avvocati Associati

StelĂŠ Perelli Studio Legale

Studio Giordanengo has constantly been at the service of the entrepreneurial world and has demonstrated its unprecedented knowledge and competence in all areas related to Criminal Law.

Studio StelĂŠ Perelli has been consistently providing assistance to Italian and multinational clients, both in ordinary litigation and in arbitration proceedings.The law firmglobal support to customers is provided through the Nextlaw Global Referral Network, which the firm has recently joined.

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5 World Excellence - International Edition 41

LE FONTI AWARDS

CEO & TOP EXECUTIVES OF THE YEAR

Augusto Mitidieri

Vito Rotondi

Sintetica

M.E.P. Group

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Andrea Bori

Gino Falvo

Barbara Cominelli

Betafence Italia

Lepida

Vodafone Italia

3 42 World Excellence - International Edition

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5

LONDON

CEO OF THE YEAR INTERNATIONALIZATION SWITZERLAND

CEO OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY ITALY

CEO OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION PERIMETER SECURITY ITALY

Augusto Mitidieri

Vito Rotondi

Andrea Bori

Mr. Mtidieri commitment to strategic partnering and business development as the keys to long term growth for his company have been the drivers to his success as Ceo of his company, Sintetica. He is great care and attention to human resources management, corporate social responsibility , innovation and global expansion are at the forefront for Sintetica, which is specialised in injectable anaesthetics and analgesics utilized in pain therapy.

Mr. Rotondi is a pioneer Ceo in his ability to combine the needs of digitalization and automation in the wake of industry 4.0,while at the same time enhancing the human dimension. He has invested more than 1O% of R & D revenue from his company M.E.P. Group,a leader in redar equipment manufacturing,and has created the M.E.P. Business School,giving birth to a new era in the social economy.Finally,he h s consolidated the company’s leadership in industrial engineerin and business information.

Mr. Bori has successfully led Betafence ltalia to the forefront of the industry of perimeter security and fence systems. The company’s success can be attributed to Mr. Bori undisputable competence, experience and quality leadership in the industry, guiding his company in becoming a renowned leader for the entire industry for product quality, customer service and innovation.

M.E.P. Group

Sintetica

DIGITAL DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR ITALY

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Betafence Italia

2

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER OF THE YEAR TELEMATIC SERVICES PA ITALY

Barbara Cominelli

Gino Falvo

Ms. Cominelli has successfully led a team of about 3,000 employees across Italy,and has an experience of over 20 years in the lT, Telco and Energy sectors besides being a strategic consultant operating in Italy and abroad,focusing on diversity.

She has become a landmark in Italy for talented women involved in the high - tech and digital industry.

Mr. Falvo has successfully guided telematic services for public administration in the financial and administrative dicisions of his company Lepida . In particular,he has become renowned for his support of local government through the application of a Digital Agenda and for the implementation of networks and infrastructures in adherence to the ICT revolution,to which he has successfully contributed.

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Lepida

Vodafone Italia

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5 World Excellence - International Edition 43

LE FONTI AWARDS

LE FONTI

CORPORATE

AWARDS

VRM

Grid

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1 Porta Solutions

Takeda Italia

3 44 World Excellence - International Edition

4

LONDON

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP IT UNITED KINGDOM

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP AUTOMOTIVE ITALY

Grid

VRM

Grid has become an international excellence and leading company in the IT industry.

In particular,it has become renowned for creating added value through continuous monitoring and development of modern technologies.

VRM has become a leader in the IT industry,working towards the implementation of innovation as a tool for the development and continuous growth. It has always sought excellence in every single component it has manufactured as a means to ensure the highest quality performance and maximum reliability to its customers

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EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP FLEXIBLE PRODUCTION ITALY

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR DIGITAL INNOVATION PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY ITALY

Porta Solutions

Takeda Italia

Porta Solutions has been an Italian excellence since 1958 and an innovative leader in the field of productive flexibility in the manufacturing world. In particular,it has aimed to continually and strategically innovate its product line,enhancing product customization to ensure the highest performance and quality to customers.

Takeda has become an international excellence in the pharmaceutical industry.In particular,the company has developed MyHospitalHub,a web platform and app that aims to simplify the communications between hospitals and patients suffering from cancer or chronic diseases.Thanks to this new online technology,hospitals can now create a website to provide doctors with information about their post - discharge patients,including the patient’s compliance history and their quality of life.

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World Excellence - International Edition 45

LE FONTI AWARDS

Previmedical

Amicucci Formazione

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5 Markas

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JSC Airport Nikola Tesla Belgrade

46 World Excellence - International Edition

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Kwak Telecom

9

LONDON

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR EDUCATION ITALY

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR INTEGRATIVE HEALTH SERVICES ITALY

Amicucci Formazione

Previmedical

Amicucci Formazione is renowned throughout Italy for its professionalism,experience,and passion in e learning. Amicucci is recognized for its distinctive training model,based on micro-learning, gamification,and a multimedia format that ensures a high level of engagement through its visual appeal. The company earnestly believes in innovation and the ability of people and organization to express their full potential.

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The management of some of the largest Health Care Funds and major insurance groups active in the life and damage compensation branches make Previmedical one of the most relevant companies of its sector,operating in accordance with the main international standards.

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EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR PROFESSIONAL FACILITY MANAGEMENT ITALY

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION AIRPORT SERVICES BALKAN PENINSULA

EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOLUTION PROVIDER CYPRUS

Markas

JSC Airport Nikola Tesla Belgrade

Kwak Telecom

Markas is renowned throughout Italy for offering specialized cleaning,catering and facility services.The company has always been committed to strict quality standards to meet customeuequirements and to treating suppliers fairl in a transparent “win-win relationship’.

JSC has become an international excellence and leading company in the airport services industry.In particular , the company has become a reliable partner that applies the highest business and operational standards, while providing the highest quality services.

Kwak Telecom has become an international excellence and a leading telecommunications solution provider. In particular, the company has become a reliable partner always placing the customer at the core of its business strategy.

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World Excellence - International Edition 47

LE FONTI AWARDS

LE FONTI

INSURANCE

AWARDS EXCELLENCE OF THE YEAR INSURANCE INTEGRATIVE HEALTH CARE ITALY RBM Assicurazione Salute

RBM has achieved leadership in the insurance industry thanks to the development of innovative health insurance products and policies, with a network of 97,000, hospitals and doctors, more than 5 million insured with tailor - made health plans, and a + 22% in insurance premiums collection reaching over 200 million.

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48 World Excellence - International Edition

RBM Assicurazione Salute

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LONDON

LE FONTI FOREX

AWARDS

FOREX BROKER OF THE YEAR ActivTrades

ActivTrades

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Active Trades has aimwed to maximise its clients’trading through a unique mix of superior value proposition, diverse product offering and stellar customer service.

The company offers some of the tightest spreads in the industry along with a wide range of informative professional webinars.

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World Excellence - International Edition 49

LE FONTI AWARDS

InstaForex

World Forex

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FOREX BROKER OF THE YEAR FOR INNOVATION EUROPE

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BINARY OPTION & FOREX ON ONE PLATFORM OF THE YEAR

InstaForex

World Forex

InstaForex is renowned for its dynamic and user-friendly platform, providing traders with a powerful range of features and tools. Thanks to its continuous effort to innovate as a means to satisfy customer requirements, lnstaForex trading platform off ers its users the ultimate trading experience.

World Forex has been providing traders around the globe with access to the international foreign exchange market. The company has provided access to Binary Option & Forex on one Platform and has consistently provided traders with minimal risk real time trading instruments.

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50 World Excellence - International Edition

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