Europeanbusinessmagazine-23 by European Business Magazine

CONTENT

Business

Brexit - why the UK needs to stay in Europe

Cuba inviting its European friends to invest with open arms

Britains’s £3 Billion Arms deal with Saudi’s

Israels’s Diamond Fraud

How to succeed in the business of Life Coaching

Hamdi Ulukaya the Greek Yoghurt King

Germany to Ban Fracking

EU Nations progress in banning of Glyspophate

Technology 14

New Blockchain technology Seeking to end censorship

Big Data -How its transforming big business and scoiety

Samsung pay launch in china

Monsanto loses one of the biggest UK supermarket chains

Finance 20

Fintech to disrupt financial services

Barclays and Credit Suisse fined for ‘dark pool’ private market service

Anti Tax Avoidance Package – What is it?

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Executive Education How cross culture is enhancing business education I’m an Executive Educator

FDI 28

Seychelles - The new kid on the block in the world of IFC

Germany - Fertile ground for investors

Profiles

Bernie Sanders-can he do it?

Culture

Publisher Nick Staunton Editor Giles Hurn Deputy Editor Anthony Gill Associate publisher Brad Adams Features Editor Pat Hickey Head of Production Anil Shilpa

Stalemate between Catalan and Spanish Government

Delving into the world of FX

Subscriptions Manager Rebecca Hill

Travel

Head of Business Development Paul Matthews

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City Travel on the Up 2016 Transatlantic Travel about to change for good

Head of Design Korana Stojcic

Advertising Sales Tara Duckworth Advertising Sales Tara Duckworth Mike Ray Andy Ellis Mark Holburn Contributing writers Shilpa Meen Farrah Smith Emma Thompson Michael Yielding Head of Digital Deepu Cholakkadan Photographer Ben Fisher NST Publishing Ltd, 19 Leamington Spa (studio 1) Leamington Spa, Cv324tf, UK The information contained has been contained from sources teh proprietor believes to be wholly correct however no legal liability can be accepted for any errors. No part of this publication can be reproduced without consent of the publisher

Business

Brexit - why the UK needs to stay in Europe By Jonathon Power

f you want to operate effectively in a big international organisation, you have to occupy what can in academic-speak be called the analytical heights. You have to know in detail what you are talking about, and, not less important, what your partners are talking about. You have to feel that you are at least a part owner of the enterprise. You do not get what you want by threatening to make for the exit unless you do. We are on the inside, and much more than just on the inside, in the Commonwealth, the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, the Council of Europe – in every case except the EU, where we have all too often been market takers rather than market makers. During the Blair/Brown administrations we just played cop-out, most notably over the Lisbon Treaty, which has predictably been the cause of so much of the trouble. The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, in its report on Foreign Policy Aspects of the Lisbon Treaty quoted as describing the EU as “the world’s principal under-performing asset”. I also assailed the Blair government for caving in on the discussion of the Treaty as a whole: “the Government’s role in the preparation of the Treaty

was effectively reduced to a damage limitation exercise of drawing red lines around what were judged to be key UK interests…a strategy which just leaves the field to others to get their way at your expense”. It was freely prophesied at that time that the 2010 House of Commons would be the most Eurosceptic ever. Indeed it was, until it was outdone by the result of the 2015 General Election. There is now more than a whiff of Europhobia. Segments of the Conservative Party seem to have stopped the clock as from 2010. Hence the failure to recognise the transformation which has already taken place since then: the Referendum Lock, the Balance of Competences Review, clipping the EU Budget’s wings, and the consolidation of Britain as de facto the principal EU think tank. The unique role on offer to us in the European Council agreement reached in February was dismissed by Brexit as anywhere between insulting and derisory, coupled with dire warnings that if we vote to remain we will be “prisoners of the EU bosses’ agenda”. No-one who knows anything about how to operate in international organisations would accept for a moment such a ridiculously defeatist proposal. Brexit is not a policy, nor a programme. It is not even a scenario. It is more perhaps a protest or a grievance. That explains the emptiness of its campaign. It runs on assertion, assumption and criticism of the Remainians, rather than on rigorous or consistent analysis. The ultimate question behind the referendum is whether the EU is so set in its own obstinate ways that it is in practice unreformable and will drag us down with it. The answer is that it is the Single Market which matters most to us. If we remain, under the terms of the deal the deal the Prime Minister struck with his EU counterparts, we can ensure the survival of the Single Market without getting sucked into anything we don’t want. The challenge is a mighty one. We have what it takes to rise to it. Of this more in a later column. If we leave, nobody, but nobody, can say what will happen, be it to us, to the rest of the EU, or, even to a lesser extent, to any or all of the other inhabitants of our Global Village.

Business

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Cuba inviting its European friends to invest with open arms By Derek Ryan

fer years of Cuba being closed to serious investors from around the globe , countries want to make up for lost time and Spain it appears is knocking on its doors with heavy financial fists. To begin with Cuba will be visited by both the acting foreign minister José Manuel García-Margallo, as well as the business delegation under the auspices of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. Madrid and the powers that be have been in talks with their counterparts in Havana and are about to sign a deal which is effectively turning the €375 million debt with Spain into investment. The return of the Spanish to Cuba will be initiated by

the presence of the four-masted Juan Sebastián Elcano, the third-largest tall ship in the world. The Spanish Army’s famous training ship will arrive on May the 11th. The 10thvisit to Cuba by the schooner barque since 1929 and only the first in four years however this stop will stand out above the others because “the Elcano ” will sail straight from Havana to Miami on the 16th which not many if any can recall the last time a ship covered the 200 miles separating the Cuban capital from the capital of the Cuban exile in the United States. Various ministers plan to attend the arrival of the ship from Spain’s cabinet and commercial chambers hoping to start many long term investment and political partners for the coming future.

Business

Britains’s £3 Billion Arms deal with Saudi’s By Derek Ryan

he British government has approved more than 121 military licenses for weapons and military hardware worth nearly £3 billion since Riyadh began its bombing campaign against Yemen more than a year ago it has been revealed The latest figures has been compiled by Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) show which show that in the last three months of 2015 alone the government issued licenses for the export of £7 million worth of arms, including £3 million worth of ML4 licenses that include the export of grenades, bombs and missiles. The Saudi-led bombing campaign against Yemen has resulted in the deaths of 6,400 people, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced across the country not to mention the movement of weapons to ISIS and its supporters A leaked UN report recently condemned the“widespread and systematic” targeting of Yemeni civilians as the Saudis attempt to push the Houthi rebels out of the capital and reinstate the country’s deposed president, Riyadh ally, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.Andrew Smith said: “Almost 6,000 people have been killed in the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen. UK-supplied combat aircraft and bombs have been central to the destruction, and yet the arms sales have continued, and so has the government’s support of the Saudi regime.” A cross-party parliamentary select committee on arms export controls is conducting an inquiry into arms sales to the oil-rich kingdom as well as other Gulf countries. What will ever come of these reports , no one ever knows and no ever seems to care but CAAT has meanwhile submitted a claim for judicial review into UK arms sales to the Saudis, calling on the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to suspend all extant licensees and stop issuing new licenses during the review.

Business

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Israels’s Diamond Fraud By Jonathon Power

n Israel diamond Dealer is in the centre of a major 65 million diamond fraud scheme. The dealer was identified as a well-known Israeli dealer Hanan Abramovich and head of well known and reputable company Hanan Abramovich Diamonds. The suspect has been arrested and is being questioned on suspicion of embezzlement,” said a police spokeswoman. The investigation was started after a number of dealers from the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) complained the Abramovich firm owed them “tens of millions of dollars” for gems it purchased but never paid for. Abramovich allegedly had taken gems worth $60-65 mil-

lion from 12 leading diamond dealers without paying for them or giving them back. There is concern that some of the dealers will be forced into bankruptcy, media reported. Abramovich’s lawyer denied his client’s connection to illegal activities and insisted the dealer’s business had simply failed. “We are talking about a huge deception by a man who planned it a long time in advance,” the managing director of the Israel Diamond Exchange Eli Avidar told The Times of Israel newspaper. “He took advantage of the ethical code of the exchange members.”

Business

How to succeed in the business of Life Coaching By Shilpa Meht

ife coaches assist people to positively and constructively deal with changes in both their personal and professional lives. Sometime just to make sense of it all, sometimes for direction and sometimes to help the work life balance but mostly to help them to get people to get the best out of their situation. Life coaches are employed to reach a greater level of personal or professional attainment but what is absolutely clear is that the business of life coaching is booming and has been for the last few years. It’s an industry that’s been growing due to a few reasons but mainly due the uncertainty that is amongst us in these economic times. Life coaches have many diverse professional backgrounds but its the quality of their educated backgrounds that is really raising the bar and hence why people are turning to them. Suffice to say there is huge potential for life coaches to become very successful and financially independent and to really make life coaches need to go a more focused route which makes them more marketable ie specialisng in one field , ie thought leadership or even focusing on having a high end clientele or becoming an outstanding speaker at events or conferences. By adopting these three strategies one can reap the rewards

Some should do’s of the BUSINESS LIFE COACH

Getting top quality and high end clients can really create a big difference in the profitability of any business. They do not care at all about the cost as long as they can be certain to get superior quality.It is the quality that will attract high end clients too. A business should always strive and prove to be the best that money can afford because that solid reputation will establish a top brand that’s reliable and

worthy of respect.However, not all businesses know the essentials of how to attract high end clients; most only go with the simplistic idea that as long as they work on their products and services and are at par with others, these important clients will come. This is not the case at all. To get these really good clients, it is imperative for a business to completely understand the way these people think and operate. For example let the price reflect the idea of quality ie it should charge should always reflect quality like no other. The other pointer is that if the business is using prime equipment or technology and has the best professionals or experts in the business, in the mind of the wealthy and powerful, there’s no reason for the products or services to be cheap.Its the small attention to details that they notice.A business should always strive and prove to be the best that money can afford because that solid reputation will establish a top brand that’s reliable and worthy of respect. The key is to add things of high perceived value. Customer support or service is a clear reflection of quality operations; Be always ready to help because high end clients are used to being put first — they do not like to wait. And since high end clients have.

Business

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Hamdi Ulukaya the Greek Yoghurt King By Giles Hurn

mericans are buying of 1.8 million cases per week of this mans yoghurt. A gigantic story, a man form very humble beginnings, Hamdi Ulukaya turned the fortunes of an essentially run down 90-year-old yogurt plant in New Berlin, N.Y., from Kraft Foods in 2005. He then started producing small batches of his new yoghurt, testing it and storing it for weeks and months on end to see if the yoghurt kept its quality. This is the story of Ulukaya the master yogurt. “The first thing I did when I started this journey was that I realized that I didn’t know much. I would make meetings with bankers or engineers, and ninety percent of the things they were trying to tell me — I had no idea with they were talking about.” He could fake it and figure it out, or he could ask questions. Mumble jumble to him but as he put it “The best thing I did was to say, ‘Tell me a simpler way to understand.’’ After 18 months, the first 300 cases of Chobani yogurt went to a kosher store on Long Island, and Ulukaya’s waited for a very long week to see the reponse. Suffice to say The order came with good feedback and the next case was ordered The story starts as simply as this “At that point, I knew this wasn’t going to be about selling; it was going to be about making. And the big guys were going to hear about this. They were going to kill me,” he said. But Ulukaya prepared and prepared well. Before he went to market, he interviewed shoppers at the dairy case and found out that they were mixing fruit into plain nonfat Greek yogurt because the leading brand only offered fruit with full-fat. So he flipped the equation and made his fruit flavors nonfat. Ulukaya decided to approach traditional distribution differently Instead of distributing his yogurt into smaller stores, he went directly to the big national chains. It was more expensive, and Ulukaya didn’t have the resources to pay the $200,000 that his first buyer demanded to sell Chobani. So Ulukaya bet the farm. “We told them we would pay them in yogurt. And what if the yoghurt doesn’t sell?”

he remembered. “We told them we’d give them the plant.” The gamble paid off, and Ulukaya’s non-traditional took the dairy industry by storm. “I realized that those big guys — they’re not that clever,” he said. “It’s a very old way of doing business. It’s very slow, and they don’t react very fast.” Now, Ulukaya and Chobani are expanding to stay ahead of the competition, taking care not to be slowed by the weight of their success. “We never sit and wonder what we’re going to do next,” he said, “Being in the action of doing, it comes.” “I had no idea I was a marketer, a finance guy, a leader,” he said. “I got to learn myself and the people I work with. I learned what makes this country so great — the passion and the belief.” Things have been going well and not more so than for his employees. Today Ulukaya just gave away ten per cent of his shares to all employees. It is an unusual move for a food company. Shares will be distributed among Chobani’s 2,000 employees worldwide and for some the shares could, reportedly, be worth millions of dollars. However he was quoted to say at his the plants headquarters. This isn’t a gift. It’s a mutual promise to work together with a shared purpose and responsibility. To continue to create something special and of lasting value,” he told staff.

Business

Germany to Ban Fracking By Brandon Turberville

fter years of discussion and debate, Germany’s Coalition Government has finally agreed to ban shale gas and fracking.While some are hailing the decision and praising the new policy others do not believe the law goes far enough. The question of fracking has been continuous for years in Germany particularly in regards to the risks posed to drinking water. German industry has opposed the decision arguing that it would lower energy costs. Still, the ban isn’t as complete as one might think to begin with. Test drilling will still be allowed although it will require the permission of the respective state government. As a matter of compromise, the legislation requires the German Parliament to reassess the decision in 2021. Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) has criticized the proposal and stated that the 2021 reevaluation date amounts to a legalization of fracking after five years. Head

of BUND Hubert Weiger stated, “The Coalition’s agreement on a fracking permission law is hair-raising. The law must be stopped and replaced with a true fracking ban.” Germany’s ban on fracking follows a similar ban put in place by France. Before the legislation was passed, fracking was largely unregulated in Germany and a lack of specific rules was an invitation for the fracking industry and companies like Exxon Mobile and Wintersal to go ahead with fracking projects. Thus, the rush by these companies was the impetus for the legislation. As it is, the recent legislation will ban all but test drilling till 2021, a step, at least, in the right direction. Similar legislation was on the verge of being passed a year ago but a disagreement between the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats prevented its success. The recent legislation is a result of a compromise between these two parties.

Business

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EU Nations progress in banning of Glyspophate By Brandon Turberville

s the European Union dominates the news headlines across the world, the Brexit is not the only controversy brewing in Europe. Never known for its democratic values, European nations have nevertheless refused to back an extension of the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup – a decision that could strike a major blow to the multinational corporation. EU politicians regulators, researchers, U.S. politicians, corporate representatives, farmers and activists are now embroiled in a debate regarding the continued use of the ubiquitous herbicide. Glyphosate is well known for its adverse effects on human health and the environment, and as a result of greater public awareness of the dangers of the chemical, pressure has been placed on national governments to begin a transition away from it. The EU executive responsible for licensing glyphosate had attempted to renew the license for up to 15 years, but after two meetings in early 2016, was unable to win enough support from EU nations to do so. The EU then offered to make a limited extension for 12-18 months to allow time for more research and debate. Despite the appearance of compromise, however, the proposal did not win the qualified majority needed for passage.

If the EU is unable to achieve a majority decision, the executive may submit the proposal to an appeal committee made up of political representatives of EU member states. If there is no decision made by this committee, the EU commission will demonstrate its reputation for popular democracy and adopt its own proposal. Spokesperson Bart Staes, member of the European Parliament and Greens Environment and Food Safety Spokesperson commented on the decision by stating, We applaud those EU governments who are sticking to their guns and refusing to authorise this controversial toxic herbicide. There are clear concerns about the health risks with glyphosate, both as regards it being a carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor. Moreover, glyphosate’s devastating impact on biodiversity should have already led to its ban. Thankfully, the significant public mobilisation and political opposition to re-approving glyphosate has been taken seriously by key EU governments, who have forced the EU Commission to back down. The Commission must stop continuing to try and force through the approval of glyphosate. Such a move would raise major Democrat concerns about the EU’s decision-making process.

Technology

New Blockchain technology Seeking to end censorship By Nick Staunton

arey Wedler /(ANTIMEDIA) As Facebook and other digital social platforms face repeated accusations of censorship, a new blockchain-based social networking platform is emerging — with the express purpose of combating censorship. “We are basically living in an information age plagued by arbitrary censorship and digital amnesia, affecting every Internet user,” says AKASHA Project founder and CEO Mihai Alisie. That digital amnesia, he argues, is a consequence of inefficient servers that fail to guarantee the permanence of information. As Bitcoin Magazine explains: “Information - web sites, documents, email archives, video, etc. - can be either purposefully deleted by the governments and/or corporations that control today’s Internet, or, more simply but equally tragic, just disappear for lack of maintenance of the central servers where it’s hosted.” The AKASHA Project, which aims to be a decentralized publishing platform akin to Medium or Reddit, is the result of various forms of technology intersecting to promote freedom of information and a free-flowing internet — traits AKASHA’s founder, Mihai Alisie, believes are central to the digital age. “We believe that freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy are fundamental human rights that should be respected on the Internet as well as in real life,” explains the AKASHA Project. AKASHA stands for Advanced Knowledge Architecture for Social Human Advocacy. “Moreover, we are a civilization transitioning to an information-based society, and as such we feel that the permanent storage of information for future generations is a critical issue we should be striving to solve as soon as possible.”

Lamenting the fact that internet users have outsourced their “freedom of expression and collective memory to corporations that don’t always have our best interests at heart,” Alisie pointed out in a recent blog post that corporations often comply with government requests for private information around the world — and must do so to stay in business. He largely blames the existing technological infrastructure that pervades most servers, arguing their “centralized architecture enables the companies to honor such obnoxious requests in the first place.” Alisie first conceived of the social media project when he was working on Ethereum, a blockchain app he co-founded that challenges “traditional servers” that are often isolated. “If a server goes down for any technical or commercial reason, or is taken down by the authorities, all the web pages stored on that server disappear,” Bitcoin Magazine explains. (Full disclosure: Alisie is also a founder of Bitcoin Magazine but previously left the company to start Ethereum and now, AKASHA.) Ethereum describes itself as “a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. “These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property.” Though the blockchain is generally more associated with Bitcoin and financial transactions rather than social networking, its technology is core to the AKASHA Project (and will also have “a built-in infrastructure suitable for micropayments”). The blockchain is useful for AKASHA in part

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because, as Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle has explained (as cited by Alisie), “Block Chain technology that enables the Bitcoin community to have a global database with no central point of control.” Similarly, “With Ethereum we remove the need for servers, avoiding from design stage all the problems associated with censorship,” Alisie explained in a blog post for AKASHA, which was, fittingly, officially unveiled on May 3 — World Press Freedom Day. He also spoke about the widespread problem of censorship: “All in all, history has taught us that when censorship shows its ugly face it usually isn’t in the best interest of society and people at large. On the contrary. Now, with all the horrible things that have happened you might think that we would learn from the mistakes we’ve made and avoid making them again. “Sadly, that is not the case: The situation we are currently in, when it comes to freedom of expression, is one of the most precarious we have ever faced as a society.” The AKASHA Project credits the “the hacker mindset” for “allowing [them] to look beyond blocks and disappointments, seeing them instead as interesting challenges that, if solved, can really make a difference.” In addition to Ethereum, it is made possible by a “technology stack” including IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), whose perma-

nent web infrastructure provides “access to information through a planetary-scale information network without central points of failure and bottlenecks.” As Alisie noted in response to a comment on one of his blog posts, “Ethereum is mostly used for processing interactions while IPFS is used for content hosting/distribution.” Electron, React with Redux, and Node.js are also included in the stack. The AKASHA Project says their goal is to “explore the applications and implications of a permanent web in the context of social networks, freedom of expression, creative perpetuity, and privacy for a better Internet in service of humanity.” According to the new platform, AKASHA is a Sanskrit word for “the unseen medium that pervades the universe and, in Eastern religions and spiritual traditions, serves as a substrate for the ‘Akashic Records’ - a permanent repository embedded in the fabric of space-time for all the information that is ever produced in the universe” — a fitting name for the ambitious new project. The AKASHA Project plans to launch both its alpha and beta testing phases later this year, but Alisie says they have already received an overwhelming outpouring of support for the project. As he pointed out: “After all, it’s not information that wants to be free – it’s us.”

Technology

Big Data How its transforming big business and scoiety By David O Connor

ig data is a buzzword that is ambiguous and often misunderstood. But it also feels like it could be the next big thing. To open up my perspective I found myself stepping outside the echo chamber of Silicon Valley. I enrolled in a class at the Aspen Institute called Socrates. They pull together a group of around 20 people from diverse backgrounds to spend a couple days digging into a topic and sharing their experiences. No one in my group was a specialist in big data – we had a person who worked for a family office, a mayor’s office, an investment bank, a major consulting firm, an online advertising company, a hospital, the DEA, and of course I was there as the token enterprise software guy. Prior to the seminar, we had all studied a set of fascinating readings that ranged from the story of Socrates struggling with the advent of the written word, to the implications of a world where every detail is known. There were two general directions the conversation went. One centered on the negative externalities brought on by big data. Things like information overload, dependency on technology, and privacy risks. The other direction focused on the incredible opportunities that big data was opening up, like:

. Autonomous, Ubiquitous Presence

iwatchAll kinds of services are working for us, even when we’re not thinking about them. Your LinkedIn profile is generating value by connecting you with career opportunities. Having Siri on your wrist means you’ve got an assistant listening for your cues and monitoring your health. And for businesses, it is all about listening to your customers so you can better anticipate their needs.

.Transforming Chaotic Environments into a Self-Healing Society

the future, problems will be predicted and resolved before we even think about them. Self-driving cars will navigate around traffic. The airline industry will adjust bookings and communications based on weather and flight delays. And many business transactions will move from console transactions typed into a computer to programmatic transactions, which involve weighing many signals before automatically optimizing for good outcomes.

. Deadweight Loss Redistribution

There are massive inefficiencies we can eliminate by listening to data, which can in turn free up and repurpose energy for the most critical endeavors. As an example, 3050% of water and electricity use in cities could be cut with big data projects. And since 50% of crime takes place on less than 5% of street segments, it’s relatively easy to reduce crime with predictive policing. For me, this discussion clarified that big data is about way more than just the exponential growth of sites like Twitter or the 1.3 billion transactions logged into Salesforce each day. Those apps just capture the perception we actively want to create in a small snapshot of time. The really big data is the product of passive listening and actual behavior. It’s data from the web, your credit card transactions, your mobile phone, and your medical records. It is going to come from a new breed of connected, wearable devices that monitor our environments.

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Our cars, our home thermostats, and our clothing are all becoming “aware.” These devices are able to measure location, speed, sound, temperature, light, vital signs, and any number of other inputs from our environment. With all the new sources of always-on information pouring in, there’s clearly an immense amount of data being collected. The questions become: How will we make sense of it all? What are big data’s practical applications? Who is going to emerge as winners and losers? And ultimately how will it change society? As I’ve pondered these observations and questions in the context of my work in the enterprise software arena, I’ve identified three key takeaways for the average business:

. Get on Board

Big data is a mega-trend every bit as powerful as the alphabet, the printing press, or the Internet itself. It will inevitably transform the competitive landscape, and it will happen faster than you think. It took only 2.5 years to sell 100 million iPads, so how long will it take before 100 million people are wearing an Apple iWatch or Google Glass? And how long before your industry feels the effects of the shift from console transactions to programmatic transactions?

. We’re in an Arms Race Powered by Data

prospects, customers, products or employees that’ll give you an edge over the competition? And just as important, do you have a real-time framework to turn that data into action, so you’re able to programmatically increase the probability of good outcomes for your business, while decreasing bad outcomes?

. Partner with Vendors Who Understand Predictive

While some companies have the resources to collect big data and build their own proprietary applications, it is likely that best-of-breed vendors have better end-to-end solutions. We’ve already seen this for A/B Testing, Search Optimization, Display Retargeting, Lead Scoring, and Product Adoption. In each of these categories, companies can ride the big data wave without having to hire a single data scientist. We’re living in an exciting time, especially for those who can embrace being awash in data. We need to find ways to profit from it rather than drown in it. By eliminating the deadweight in your business, you can shift energy to more productive initiatives and blow past the competition. Being a data-driven business means more quickly anticipating customer needs, and finding new ways to meet them so you can guarantee the most profitable outcomes. So whether we like the term big data or not, there is little doubt that it will fundamentally change how businesses operate.

To remain competitive you need to be relentless in your pursuit of data. Is there data you can collect about your

Technology

Samsung pay launch in china By Shilpa Meht

amsung Pay is now available in the world’s largest smartphone market. Samsung Pay has officially launched in the world’s biggest smartphone market. Samsung said Monday that its mobile-payments service is now available in China under a partnership with China UnionPay, the bank dominates the interbank payment business in China. The deal, announced in December, allows customers in China to add their credit or debit cards to the mobile-payments service. “The reception of Samsung Pay since its launch has been extremely positive and the service has already seen tremendous success in terms of availability and adoption by consumers,” Injong Rhee, the global chief of Samsung Pay, said in a statement. The ability to pay for goods via a smartphone has been around for years, especially in countries like China. But consumer interest in the concept got a jump-start in 2014 with the launch of Apple Pay, which enables owners of recent iPhones and Apple Watch to pay for items on the go via the wireless technology NFC (near-field communication). Samsung’s debut comes a little more than a month after Apple Pay launched in China. Samsung Pay, which hit the US in September, doesn’t re-

quire NFC technology and can work with any magneticstrip card reader. The service is supported by Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, and Galaxy Note 5, with more devices expected to be added in the future. Also available in South Korea, the service is expected to launch later this year in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Spain and the UK. The rival electronics giants also face competition from Samsung Pay and Google’s Android Pay. Also looking to jump on the mobile payments bandwagon are banks such as JP Morgan and retailers such as Walmart. Companies are eager to push mobile payments in the belief that the additional service will build consumer loyalty. Users of mobile-payments services might be more likely to stick with their current smartphone if they can store their payment data and use the device to buy shampoo, beer or whatever their hearts desire. As the largest smartphone market in the world, China represents a significant business opportunity for mobilepayments systems. The country’s massive population of 1.35 billion and its growing middle class have created a lucrative market for companies like Apple and Samsung. At the end of last year, 358 million Chinese had been paying for goods via their smartphones, Reuters reported last month, citing data from the China Internet Network Information Center.

Technology

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Monsanto loses one of the biggest UK supermarket chains By Giles Hurn

onsanto Takes Another Hit with UK Supermarket Pulling Their Herbicide. The UK giant Waitrose succumbs to consumer pressure to remove Monsanto’s dangerous herbicide from its shelves. Strength in numbers proved to be a winning mantra for activists against Monsanto: a petition 90,000 signatures strong recently forced UK supermarket Waitrose to remove all Roundup herbicide bottles from their shelves. The petition allowed for thousands of people to voice their concern about the continued selling of glyphosatebased herbicide called Roundup, even after the World Health Organization’s IARC announced the chemical was potentially carcinogenic to humans. Not only does it impact human health, this toxin is absolutely devastating to honey bees, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. When bees come in contact with the active ingredient of glyphosate, they lose their ability to eat and have a much more difficult time learning how to forage properly. While this may seem inconsequential, the fact that 20 species of bees have disappeared is alarming. According to the United Nations Environment Program, 71 of the 100 essential crops that feed 90 percent of the world are fertilized by bees. Because of this, it is absolutely crucial to stop the use of pesticides that are known to have adverse effects on bee populations. In response to the petition, a customer service representative announced Friday:

“I’m pleased to confirm that the last time we sold Roundup was in January this year. We’re committed to protecting our pollinators and after careful consideration decided to remove this product from our business.” Similar businesses throughout western Europe have also removed the product from their shelves. Countries like Germany and France have both publicly recognized the health and environmental impacts of this particular chemical. Dominique Rotondi, General Purchasing Manager of the German retailer REWE (Toom Baumarkt), stated of the importance of finding alternative and more sustainable options, confirming that “Toom Baumarkt is constantly and consistently developing a more sustainable portfolio of products.” The French Environment and Energy Minister has also spoken out against the product, asking stores to remove it from their aisles. Even Sri Lanka has banned Monsanto’s chemical completely, with their newly elected president Maithripala Sirisena announcing the import will no longer be allowed in the country. It comes as little surprise that US retailers are not nearly as willing or prompt in their decision to eliminate Monsanto products from their shelves. While chains like Lowe’s and Home Depot have hinted they will discontinue the selling of another pesticide, called neonicotinoids, that has been associated with bee colony collapse, they still continue to sell Roundup.

FINANCE

Fintech to disrupt financial services By Derek Ryan

he possibilities of technology to disrupt every aspect of the financial services industry are significant, and startups born in digital are increasingly outmaneuvering banks to cater for the changing habits of the population – millennials in particular – when it comes to conducting transactions, investing and raising money, and saving funds. Here, we’ve looked at 7 companies leading the way.

Funding Circle

Funding Circle’s online platform facilitates loans from savers directly to small businesses – removing the banks from the process. Since it launched in 2010, almost $2

billion worth of loans have been financed on the platform, and it is already the third-largest net lender to small businesses in the UK after RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, according to Bank of England statistics for the third quarter of 2015. One of Funding Circle’s founder Samir Desai explained: ’We will always be able to lend to more businesses than the banks because banks have very high capital requirements when lending to small businesses, especially riskier small businesses. Also, banks are managing portfolios. There may be good businesses they should lend to but they just don’t because maybe they’ve tapped out on lending to that particular sector.’ Desai continues: ‘As we get better and better at our data we can accept more and more businesses. It’s a virtuous funding circle if you want. We have more data, which means we can accept more businesses, which means we can spend more money on marketing, which means we can get more businesses, which means we have more data. It’s a very powerful mechanism versus the banks.’ The peer-to-peer lending platform has also recently hired Deutsche Bank to launch its first securitization, as it moves into capital markets for funding.

Ant Financial

Chinese fintech company Ant Financial, formally known as Alipay, run an Alibaba-affiliate payments platform. It is estimated to account for 58% of all online payments in China according to the Financial Times, and they themselves claim that its core offering Alipay reaches 450 million users. It also operates a money-market fund called Yu’e Bao and an online bank called MYbank. This success has seen it close the biggest private tech funding round of all time, netting a huge $4.8 billion, in a giant Series B round that values the tech company at

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$US60 billion. Ant Financial is already investing heavily in the Indian market, most notably in Paytm, in an indicator of its future business strategy, and should soon launch an IPO.

Robinhood

Robinhood is an app that allows anyone to buy and sell US shares for free – cutting out the traditional commission and trading fees that brokers charge. Robinhood has raised $66 million from investors that include Europe’s Index Ventures, Google Ventures, and well-known Silicon Valley fund Andreessen Horowitz. Jan Hammer, a partner at Index Ventures who led the Robinhood investment, explained: ‘From the time of our Seed investment in 2013, Robinhood has continued to impress us with the quality of their product and the pace of growth. They’ve not just made trading simpler, mobile and free, but by doing so, they’ve opened up stock trading to a generation of Millennials who have largely stayed clear of the stock market.’

Stripe

Stripe is an online and in-app payment platform with a clean Application Programming customer interface that is more developer-friendly way. It enables payments to be accepted online and in mobile apps send directly to your bank accounts from a range of local and international

cards. In its last funding round in July 2015, it was valued at $5 billion. Stripe aims to expand internet commerce by making it easy to process transactions and manage an online business, and processes billions of dollars a year for thousands of businesses of all sizes.

Atom

Digital-only bank, Atom, drew interest last November when Spanish banking group BBVA invested £45 million, and it is already worth £150 million, despite having no useable product at the current time. Earlier last month, it officially launched its iPhone and iPad app — the only way you’ll be able to interact with the new bank – so that customers can gain an understanding of what they will offer. These include voice and face biometrics for login, and plans to introduce a full range of banking services, all without any physical branches, by the end of the year. They’re to be joined by a number of others, including Mondo, which should see the market saturated. Many are likely to fall short, but Atom is definitely well placed for success. Atom’s Founder and Chairman Anthony Thomson says in the press release: ‘During 2016, Atom will be unveiling a further range of products and continuous App enhancements, with a phased roll-out of services throughout the year. By the end of 2016, customers will have access to fixed savings, current accounts, overdrafts, debit and credit cards, instant access savings and residential mortgages, all serviced via the App.’

FINANCE

Barclays and Credit Suisse fined for ‘dark pool’ private market service By Sarah Smyther

uropean banks Barclays and Credit Suisse have been fined by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading customers over the specifics of so-called ‘dark pools’ Barclays and Credit Suisse have been fined a collective total of $154m (€133m) by US regulators. The two European banks will pay the fine split between the state of New York and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, for misleading investors with their ‘dark pool’ private market service. Dark pools are private stock trading venues, closed to access from the public, and so are inherently non-transparent. These secret trading forums, which cost a premium to use, are supposed to allow institutional investors to carry out large block trades without impacting the market price. When large trades are carried out on the open market, they are broken up into smaller amounts. This can often alert other market participants as to the intention of an inves-

tor. However, with no order book visible to the public in the dark pool, the intention of participants within the pool remains a secret until after the trade has been executed. While dark pools have existed for many years, with the growing ruse of high frequency trading (HFT), institutional investors making large orders have increasingly turned to them. HFT, through the use of algorithms and high-powered computers, works at breakneck speeds, recognising patterns and executing trades. Therefore, the systems are better at recognising the large block trades being carried out by investors, allowing them to front-run the trades, pushing up the prices of trades before they have been fully executed. While dark pools have existed for many years, with the growing ruse of high frequency trading (HFT), institutional investors making large orders have increasingly turned to them.

Finance

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Anti Tax Avoidance Package – What is it? By Shilpa Meht

he European Commission has announced a series of new measures, designed to cut aggressive tax planning policies from multinational corporations. However, experts feel more needs to be done. The European Commission has announced that a comprehensive set of new rules is necessary to harmonise tax laws across the 28 member states, in order to thwart multinational companies’ aggressive tax practices, which allow them to avoid paying billions in tax every year. The Anti Tax Avoidance Package (ATAP) put together by the Commission asks EU countries to cooperate with one another and implement international standards as outlined by the OECD for tackling base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). “Billions of tax euros are lost every year to tax avoidance – money that could be used for public services like schools and hospitals or to boost jobs and growth”, said Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs. “Europeans and businesses that play fair end up paying higher taxes as a result. This is unacceptable and we are acting to tackle it. Today, we are taking a major step towards creating a level playing field for all our businesses, for fair and effective taxation for all Europeans.” Billions of tax euros are lost every year to tax avoidance – money that could be used for public services like schools and hospitals or to boost jobs and growth

The proposal calls for countries to adopt legally binding measures that will stop multinationals from using common tax planning methods that currently allow them to avoid paying their fair share. It also advises member states to share tax information with one another about multinationals that operate within the EU. “Today, we are taking another step to strengthen confidence in the entire tax system, making it fairer and more efficient”, said vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis, who is responsible for the euro and social dialogue. “People have to trust that the tax rules apply equally to all individuals and businesses. Companies must pay their fair share of taxes, where their actual economic activity is taking place. Europe can be a global leader in tackling tax avoidance. This requires coordinated European action, avoiding a situation of 28 different approaches in 28 member states.” The Commission is hoping that the implementation of the measures put forward in their ATAP will hinder aggressive tax planning practices from large multinationals by increasing transparency between member states. But, experts want that the current plan is insufficient, and may not provide the levels of transparency required to force corporations to pay their fair share. Experts want that the current plan is insufficient, and may not provide the levels of transparency required to force corporations to pay their fair share

Executive Education

How cross culture is enhancing business education By Jonathon Power

hen Mei wa Poon’s classmates head back to Ithaca this January to start a new semester of their MBA at Cornell University, wa Poon will be flying across the Atlantic. But wa Poon isn’t dropping out of her MBA or taking a semester off. She’s participating in Cornell’s international exchange program, a scheme that allows MBA students to visit one of the university’s partner schools for a semester of cross-cultural study. Wa Poon is studying at the London School of Economics; Cornell students can also choose to study at a variety of other institutions, from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) to the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management is one of a group of business schools, including the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, University of Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and New York University’s Stern School of Business, that offer students the opportunity to study abroad for a semester. Students typically choose to attend an international school that partners with an American institution, while the international school sends students from its programs to the United States for the duration of the exchange. Schools outside the United States also typically offer students the opportunity to participate in exchanges. London Business School partners with 39 schools around the world for exchange programs, while CEIBS partners with 40. Officials at these schools extol the tangible and intangible benefits of participating in an exchange program. “I think an exchange program is a great opportunity to have a longterm cultural immersion in another part of the world while continuing studies,” says Marc Johnson, Executive Director of Global Affairs at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, which offers exchange programs with partner schools such as Stockholm School

of Economics, Melbourne Business School and the Indian School of Business. “There’s just a qualitative difference in spending two weeks in a country and spending two months in a country, living, studying and engaging with fellow students,” says Johnson. “We think it’s a great way to broaden the global readiness and perspective of our students.” Between 15 and 25 percent of MBA students at schools that offer exchange programs choose to study abroad, according to officials. At some schools, such as Cornell, a portion of these students use their study abroad experience to build international networks and thereby find international positions post-graduation. But the majority of students use their study abroad experience to enhance the breadth and depth of their education. “Students have the opportunity to learn about business practices specific to a region or country from local practitioners,” says Caitlin Killmer, Exchange Program Manager at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. “Students are able to take courses in specialty topics, such as luxury brand management or sustainability and corporate social responsibility, that may not be available at his or her home school.” “In terms of professional benefits, students gain a greater understanding of cross-cultural trade and business practices.”

Intangible benefits

For Mei wa Poon, studying abroad in London is appealing because it will expose her to the different educational mores in the United Kingdom. “There’s a lot more lecture and theoretical types of teaching styles [in London],” wa Poon says. “It’s different from what I was exposed to at Cornell.”

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Officials also say that exchange programs attract students because they offer intangible benefits not measurable on resumes or transcripts. Participation in an exchange program shows that students are flexible, adaptable and able to learn in other environments–key skills in today’s globalized business world. “As part of our educational aims in our MBA program, we want students who are globally ready,” Darden’s Marc Johnson says. “Ready to go into a different environment, a different context. To know what they don’t know. Study abroad, Johnson continues, “helps you understand and develop your self-awareness to learn what you need to learn in a new context,” and imparts “broad life lessons, but it’s also directly applicable in the business world as we know it today.”

But there are some downsides

But studying abroad during an MBA program comes with some downsides. Unlike undergraduate degrees, MBA programs only last one or two years, so studying abroad basically means missing out on a large part of a program. Forgoing such a large chunk of an MBA program isn’t the best idea for every student, and on top of that, study abroad can sometimes interfere with the all-important job search.

“The biggest constraint we see is on the recruiting side,” Johnson says. “For a student to spend a semester in another part of the world, if they’re still actively recruiting for a job, that can be a problem.” Betsy Dick, Associate Director of Student Services at Cornell, says this is a particularly pressing problem for some international students, who might need to be in the country to complete the process of gaining certification to work in the US after graduation. “If they’re international and want to work in the US after graduation, the OPT [Optional Practical Training] process, getting authorized to legally work in the US, kicks in and starts in their last semester. It hasn’t necessarily been as problematic before, because the government wasn’t tracking things as closely,” says Dick, adding that the government is now scrutinizing students in this process more closely. But wa Poon, who wants to work as a project manager in energy finance after she graduates, says she’s heard that exchange programs can help with longterm networking. “People say that you meet people overseas, expand your network,” she says. “You never know: five or ten years down the line, someone you met during the program might be able to help you out.”

Executive Education

I’m an Executive Educator By Giles Hurn

ost executive M.B.A. students have jobs — average work experience is 13 years; management experience 8.5. One might think that in tough times, the already employed would hunker down and hang on for dear life. But applications have risen slightly over the past five years and instead of investing in things like stocks or houses a lot of career hungry individuals have invested (sometimes hugely ) into EMBA The palate of options attracts not only a broader range of students, but is also lucrative for the university. While the

average cost of a degree is $65,000, the elites are pricey. M.I.T. charges $132,000 compared with $109,000 for an M.B.A. Many throw in books and breakfast and lunch. “It is a very compressed schedule,” Ms. Blanco says. “We don’t want students having to run out to find something to eat on their lunch break.” Johns Hopkins’s $108,000 program will include lodging. M.I.T.’s does not. I know that I am learning a ton and meeting some really amazing people,” he says. “In the long run, it will be worth it. Right now it is more pain than gain.

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FDI

Seychelles - The new kid on the block in the world of IFC By David O Connor

he Seychelles the idyllic island in the hear of the Indian Ocean, well known for its luxury hotels and resorts has for the last two years been attracting off shoring investments on a quite a large scale which has seen to contribute greatly in the country’s economy. Panama, BVI, Bermuda welcome to the new kid on the block Seychelles is known destination renowned for its golden sand natural beauty , it is an archipelago of 115 islands off the coast of East Africa. a reputation as one of the world’s most sought after tourist destinations. The main island, Mahe, is where most of the business is done and is an added welcome to the the two main pillars of the Seychelles Economy which are tourism and fishery. Many visitors come to experience at first hand this natural and exotic beauty. The ethnicity varies from European, African and Asian culture of which the population descended from these cultures and it reflects today in the culinary as well as skin orientation with the native tongue creole .English and French the second languages . Seychelles has recently become a very attractive destination for foreign investors and business ventures and as a result there has been a huge increase in International Corporation, investments, exchange of information and more transparency in legal framework of Seychelles. Communication has improved drastically with the recent connection of Seychelles to the fiber optic cable to Eastern African Coast, which provides fast paced internet. Furthermore the Seychelles has many investment structures in place to facilitate the processes of business ventures. The Seychelles Investment Bureau provides a very important bridge between investors and government facilitating the presentation of new business opportunities. The Seychelles International Business Authority is the regulatory body which offers investors wide range of investment opportunities in International Business Compa-

nies, Trusts, Foundation and many others. while the Central Bank of Seychelles ensures financial securities of all investment by implementing legal framework, licensing and supervision of banks, insurance companies, trusts to allow as much transparency in financial transactions. The Seychelles has both political and economical stability operates a business friendly environment and cost efficient. It is a well regulated jurisdiction according to the last Peer Review by the Global Forum in May 2012.The Seychelles has now a solid legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information of the jurisdiction (Offsite Review). The reputation of Seychelles has extended across the world and many developing markets have realize the advantages of having investments in Seychelles.

Main features of the Seychelles jurisdiction • Excellent communications network with the connectivity of fibre optic cable and superb IT infrastructure • Favourable tax regimes for investment in the Tourism, Agriculture, Energy and Fisheries sectors and a World class financial centre with no foreign exchange restrictions • Stable and independent as a country • Fast incorporation, usually within 24 hours • Low incorporation and renewal fees • Convenient time zone (+4 hrs GMT) • Modern offshore legislation modelled on BVI – confidentiality guaranteed by law • Multi-lingual incorporation documents allowed (Chinese characteristics accepted) • Secure offshore banking (Barclays/BMI Offshore)

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• Lower taxes for IBCs than any other jurisdictions • Nominee shareholder and directors permitted • Corporate nominees permitted (including those from other jurisdictions) • 1 shareholder, 1 director; minimum requirement • No public disclose of Beneficial owner, Shareholder or Director • No public register of shareholders or Directors • Bearer shares allowed. We, as registered agents, are required to have on file (not for public or official records) the details of the custodian (holder) of the bearer share certificate(s) • No minimum share capital requirement • Annual company returns are not made public • Financial accounts are not made public • No annual meeting requirements • Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties in force with China, South Africa, Indonesia, Oman, Botswana, Mauritius, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Belgium, Barbados, Qatar, Bahrain, Cyprus, U.A.E and Zambia. Treaties with various other countries such as Luxembourg, Portugal and Monaco are in the final stages of negotiation. Seychelles also has a wide range of offshore products available, namely: The Seychelles International Business Company (IBC) offers no tax offshore company while the Seychelles Special License Company (CSL) – offers low tax (1.5%) on domestic companies with special license. They also offer Limited partnerships and protected call companies in addition to hedge and Mutual funds.

Seychelles as an offshore jurisdiction

Building upon a collaborative, mutually beneficial working relationship between the government, regulator and service providers, Seychelles’ offshore industry has placed the maintenance of its OECD-compliant reputation at the forefront of its work. While geographically, politically and economically free from the undue influence of the EU and US regulatory systems, Seychelles’ financial services industry nonetheless demands and maintains respect for the highest standards in business practice to guarantee the reputations of the jurisdiction, its service providers and their clients. Seychelles is emerging as a jurisdiction of choice with over 17,000 companies registered in 2009 and more than 120,000 companies registered to date. It is taking giant steps towards being an International Financial Centre in the Indian Ocean Region by offering a wide array of products such as International Business Company (IBC), Special License Company (CSL), Protected Cell Company (PCC), Domestic Company, Trusts, Foundations, Mutual Funds, Offshore Banks and services such as Legal, Accounting & Auditing.

Seychelles has established well-formed legislation for International Business Companies, Offshore Banks, Insurance Companies, Mutual Funds, Trusts, Foundations and extensive programs of investment incentives as well as the International Trade Zone. Seychelles has a territorial taxation system, therefore only locally – sourced income is taxed. Furthermore, Seychelles is an excellent investment base for investors between Europe and the Far East, being between these time zones, and has the benefit of a multilingual population with English and French as the two business languages. The laws of Seychelles take a most comprehensive, modern and attractive approach to the establishment and operation of offshore companies, mutual funds, offshore banking, offshore insurance and Freeport activities. In 2003 the government legislated for additional types of companies; Special License Companies, Protected Cell Companies and Limited Partnerships. In 2009 the Foundation Act also came into force allowing the Seychelles to add Foundations to its product offer. It is now easy to form corporations and privacy is reasonably assured. Seychelles signed a number of tax treaties which add an excellent instrument available in the jurisdiction for tax planning purposes. So when open a new company or looking to relocate Seychelles it appears are welcoming you with open arms.

FDI

Germany - Fertile ground for investors By Giles Hurn

ermany is one of the most important countries in the European Union (EU). Bordered by North Sea and Denmark to its north and to the south it shares its border with Austria and Switzerland, Germany has more than 81.8 million inhabitants (approximately) residing in the country and is the most populated country in the European Union. Germany is one of the few countries that enjoy the distinction of being of the third largest countries in the world with the highest number of immigrants staying in the country. Germany has also liberal social market economy. It is ranked first as the largest economy in European continent. Since the onset of Industrializatio it has been one of the forerunners in the technological advancement and has been a leading global economy.A key member of the G8 and G20. It is second largest exporter and the third largest importing country in the EU with the trade sector contributing to a staggering $189.7 (approx) to the German exchequer. Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aggressive international policy makes it a fertile ground for foreign investment. Here we will look at the benefits of investing in Germany foreign investors: Germany has a huge resource of developed infrastructure that is easily accessible for foreign investors.

Germany has a huge labour force which is highly educated and technically qualified. Majority of the work force speak English, the global languages. So there is no communication barrier between the investors and the local work force.

5 6

Germany is a huge country and it offers a huge market base for foreign investors.

In a bid to attract foreign investment, the German Government has made it a mandatory rule as to not to discriminate between the local investors and foreign investors. Foreign investors can all avail all the benefits granted to local investors.

The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic geographic location of Germany, it is situated in the center of European continent provides foreign investors to easy access to the rest of European Union.

Another significant advantage of investing in Germany is that the taxation policy of Germany is liberal and highly competitive. This gives the country an edge over other countries in the EU for foreign investment.

The corruption levels in the country is extremely low, this greatly augments the interest of foreign inves-

Germany has a strategically planned and well laid out transportation systems in place, the well connected rail and roadways connect every nook and corner of the country and it is an important gateway to all of European Union.

tors.

Germany is one of the most technologically advanced countries not only in European Union but also in the world; as a result foreign investors investing in diverse

The German Government is keen to attract foreign investment in the country. The Federal Government of Germany grants attractive tax subsidy to all foreign in-

sectors of Germany can get the benefit of the most developed scientifically advanced technological assistance.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy:

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vestors investing in Germany to acquire new movable and buildings for a period of 1 year. The tax subsidy at the rate of 25% to 27.5% is applicable to all small and medium sized companies (SME’s) that employ about 250 employees.

The Germany government grants special financial grants for foreign investors for conducting Research and Development. The financial aids are provided in the form of low interest rate loans. The interest rates are particularly low for SME’s. Foreign investment investing in certain sectors in Germany can avail grants up to 50% of the eligible costs.

Special incentives provided by German government to foreign investors

The Government of Germany has laid out a statutory rule that all foreign investors are granted free access to investment in all sectors and are eligible to enjoy 100% ownership of the business even in recognized sectors that are under public domain. Foreign investors are allowed to invest in national bodies such as mail, telecommunication and other such sectors.

Key Investment sectors for foreign investors:

Germany presents innumerable opportunity for foreign investors to invest in its varied sectors. Although most of the sectors promise valuable returns on investments, there are few classified sectors that are sure to provide high profits.

Some of the most valuable sectors are mentioned below: Consumer Goods: Germany is the most populated country in the European Union. Germany represents a huge market base for consumer goods. Germany is also renowned for producing high-tech machines. The machinery manufacturing sectors also provides huge investment opportunities for foreign investment. Recently there has been a significant upsurge in the amount foreign investment invested in the High tech products and production of environment friendly and renewable energy. Tourism Sector: The ‘Oktober Fest’ is a world famous beer festival that is held annually in Germany, the festival attracts huge tourist world wide to enjoy the beer and have fun. Not only the Beer inations. The huge influx of tourists around the year has opened up investment avenues for foreign investors. A large number of foreign investors are investing in providing accommodation facilities to the tourists. The investors are buying in building luxury villas, cottages, hotels and motels. Education: Recently, Germany is growing as the top Educational hub in the European Union. Foreign investors can invest in the establishing colleges in the Germany. Many German Universities are collaborating with foreign Universities in order to uplift the face of Education system in Germany. Thus, there are plenty of investment opportunities in Germany. It is truly a world-class destination to do invest and establish a business. The liberal government policies, well-establish transport system, low corruption levels all these factors greatly contribute to make Germany a preferred destination for foreign investment.

PROFILES

Bernie Sanders can he do it? By Sarah Smythe

ernie Sanders, the leading candidate for the democrats who is best described as a “socialist democrat”, has been attracting attracted some of the largest crowds at his rallies from any of the presidential candidates and is fast becoming a real proposition for the next role as president of the United States. Bernie it seems is the man in the moment and when one actually listens to his extremely direct interviews , you can only applaud him. A revolution of the corporate USA would on the horizon.

But who is Bernie Sanders

He 74 and is The son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and has credited his upbringing in a struggling workingclass family for inspiring his drive to resolve economic disparity. He is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election. He’s been talking about the injustices and inequalities done to working people by unequal income distribution for more than forty years. He favours tax reform that would increase rates on the wealthy, calls for greater oversight of Wall Street, believes in a state-administered health care system and is pro-choice and same-sex marriage.

Previous experience

He became US Senator for Vermont, elected in 2006. Sanders sought to switch to the Senate in 2006, running against Republican businessman Richard Tarrant. As a self-described “democratic socialist,” he managed to defeat Tarrant despite the latter’s much more substantial funding. Tarrant spent $7 million of his own personal wealth in this election battle. He is the longest serving independent member of the House of Representatives in US history.Bernie Sanders first rose to elective office in 1981 and holds an elected position to this day. Sanders has served as an elected official for a

total of 34 years and counting, which is 19 more than the average 2016 presidential candidate (15 years).

Inspiration

What inspires Mr Sanders is the economic disparity in America and is making this the heart of his politics and as such is drawing huge crowds and admirers.Since joining the Senate, Sanders has received the most attention for his gestures of defiance — such as his marathon oration against tax cuts for the wealthiest.In 2010, Sanders made the news with hiseight-hour-long filibuster against the extension of Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy. He felt that this legislation was “a very bad tax agreement” between the president and Republican legislators, he later wrote in the introduction of The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class. Sanders ended his time on the Senate floor with a plea to his legislative colleagues to come up with “a better proposal which better reflects the needs of the middle class and working families of our country and to me, most importantly, the children of our country.

Presidential Run

In October, Mr Sanders drew a crowd of more than 20,000 at a rally in Boston.Written off in the earlier parts of the campaign, he has continued to attract an audience and seen his deficit in polls reduce.Sanders has made impressive strides in challenging Clinton during the presidential primaries and gaining favor in the polls. The most recent Quinnipiac University poll (released in February 2016) shows that he was favored above all the top running candidates and would even beat out Republican frontrunner Donald Trump — 49 to 39 percent, respectively — in a general election. (Sanders’s numbers surpassed Clinton’s 46 to 41 percent matchup with Trump.

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Stance

What defines Sanders’s campaign is his call for a “political revolution,” which asks for everyday people to become active in the political process and be the change they want to see on any given issue. The other trademark is his fight to take corporate money out of politics, specifically, overturning the Citizens United ruling, which allows corporations and the wealthy elite to pour unlimited amounts of money into campaigns. Such money, Sanders vehemently argues, undermines democracy by skewing policies that favor the extremely rich.

Political funds

Bernie it seems relies almost solely on small individual donations to run his presidential primary race. To the surprise of many , he has made an unprecedented mark on campaign fundraising in American politics. In December 2015 Time magazine wrote “Bernie Sanders has broken the fundraising record for most contributions at this point in a presidential campaign,” even surpassing President Obama’s fundraising record for his 2011 re-election bid. February of 2016, it was reported that Sanders had “received 3.7 million contributions from some 1.3 million individual contributors whi9ch is quite incredible and never ever before done anywhere.

Campaign trail

Sanders’s Michigan primary victory is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in modern political history. He won 50 to 48, despite the latest polls showing he was trailing Clinton at least 20 percentage points. The only time such an egregious polling error was recorded was during the 1984 Democratic primary when

polls showed Walter Mondale leading Gary Hart by 17 percentage points. Hart actually won Michigan by more than nine points. Sanders also made more headlines news in March as the first presidential candidate — and the only Jewish one — in the 2016 race to abstain from attending the AIPAC conference, an annual pro-Israel lobbying event. What Sanders has accomplished so far is a testament to his career-long political ambitions, from going door-todoor in, Vermont, as the city’s mayor to listening to residents complaints, to his passionate speeches on presentday, widespread income inequality.

Speeches

Now is the time for millions of working families to come together, to revitalize American democracy, to end the collapse of the American middle class and to make certain that our children and grandchildren are able to enjoy a quality of life that brings them health, prosperity, security and joy — and that once again makes the United States the leader in the world in the fight for economic and social justice, for environmental sanity and for a world of peace,” Sanders said in a recent speech to listeners in Burlington.

So the future is bright and the future maybe Bernie

As CNN noted, Sanders’ rise can be partly attributed to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, which had left her with an unfavorable opinion among voters. The poll numbers have consistently demonstrated just that, and with no other primary competition in the Democratic race — Clinton’s camp understands that the “Bern” is here to stay.

CULTURE

Stalemate between Catalan and Spanish Government By Derek Ryan

fter nearly two years central and Catalan governments picked up talks again on Wednesday. Current Spanish acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalan the new premier Carles Puigdemont met in Madrid met for discussions, but came away without very littleBoth men are fundamentally opposed over the Catalan nationalists’ desire to hold a referendum on self-rule, which Madrid still considers illegal.“ Without law, there is no democracy,” said Rajoy of the Popular Party (PP), echoing a position he has long held. Puigdemont was not in the least surprised “It is no surprise to say that there was no agreement. I didn’t expect any other kind of reaction, because we are separated by an abyss,” said Puigdemont, who took over formt eh long standing Artur Mas. Mas had maintained a similar verbal confrontation with Rajoy during his own term in office, which was marked by an informal independence referendum held on November 9, 2014 which was very grey in the results .Rajoy actually held his last meeting with Mas in late July 2014 which after all contact was severed after that, and the Catalan premier, who had held moderately nationalist views, fully embraced the independence movement from that point onward. On Wednesday, Rajoy and Puigdmont chatted for more than two hours and after , Rajoy also gave a press conference afterwards, something he had not done for over a month in which the dialogue appeared positive and looking to “work together”.However the long standing and enduring differences between both men were still evidentWe support the idea that Catalonia is part of Spain and, like the vast majority of Spaniards, we feel this way and wish for us to stay together,” said Rajoy. “We are going to defend this political and personal position.”Puigdemont, for his part, handed Rajoy a document with 46 demands, twice as many as Mas had brought to Madrid in July 2014. He insisted that he plans to take Catalonia “to the doors of

independence,” but left room for dialogue.“ We will never walk away from the table, and if during this journey toward independence the government feels that it has an offer to negotiate the referendum, we will listen; we are ready to talk.” Although the Catalan premier admitted that Rajoy had “listened” to all his proposals, but added that he sees “no possibility of an agreement – we stand at opposite extremes, and I expected no other reaction.” Despite the lack of agreement, both leaders suggested a meeting of their deputies to analyze other issues, including how to deal with the refugee crisis, new regional financing rules, and investment in infrastructure.

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Delving into the world of FX By Sarah Smythe

he forex market is incredibly competitive, with little actual variation in what is offered. In such a climate, customer service can make all the difference. The foreign exchange market is an international, decentralised market which is open around the clock, five days a week. It is known to be the most liquid financial market in the world, yielding a daily turnover of roughly $4trn, giving traders the opportunity to invest in a multitude of asset classes with relatively low capital requirements. These are just a few elements that render the forex market one of the most popular in the world. However, due to its dynamic and overly competitive nature, forex brokers face a continuous struggle to retain their clients. Nowadays, with so many emerging all over the world, a broker’s reputation can be influenced by customers’ experiences and their reviews about that broker. Forex brokers recognise that providing outstanding customer service and support is one of the most important things clients look for. Clients are more sophisticated today than ever before; they have a deeper understanding of the business and greater demands.

Client profile

Choosing a forex broker is a challenging task, even for the most experienced traders, as many brokers sell themselves as ‘the best in the market’ in a bid to overcome fierce competition. The spreads offered by brokers are more or less similar, and the same goes for the performance of trading platforms. What really differentiates a broker in the competitive field of forex is the level of customer service they offer to their clients, how innovative their approach to customer service is, and what value this adds for the client. These are just a few elements that render the forex market one of the most popular in the world. However, due to

its dynamic and overly competitive nature, forex brokers face a continuous struggle to retain their clients. Nowadays, with so many emerging all over the world, a broker’s reputation can be influenced by customers’ experiences and their reviews about that broker. Forex brokers recognise that providing outstanding customer service and support is one of the most important things clients look for. Clients are more sophisticated today than ever before; they have a deeper understanding of the business and greater demands.

TRAVEL

Transatlantic Travel about to change for good By Sarah Smyther

These plans are far more ambitious than past attempts to transform the the potential cash cow transatlantic travel by “mid-cost” airlines such as Icelandair and Aer Lingus. Norwegian will take advantage of Ireland’s low taxes and limited labor protections, which could allow the company to use cheaper crews from places such as Thailand. The company also has subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Transatlantic routes have been dominated by the three American large airlines operators — United, Delta and American — and their forges partnersthe other side of the pond- one being BA . The airlines, as well as unions and lobbies associated with them, have fought tooth and nail against Norwegian and other competitors. WHY ? Well they

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have accused Norwegian, for instance, of “labor dumping” and claim that they violate “open skies agreements” that the United States has signed with more than 100 countries and that stipulate certain degrees of labor protections. However they have also accused the wealthy Persian Gulf governments of overly subsidizing their prolific, state-owned airlines, calling that practice “financial doping.” Airlines such as Emirates and Etihad have expanded service to the United States, providing greater competition on routes to Asia and Africa. Norwegian and Emirates deny this and say that they engage in either practice, and they say their operations employ many Americans and support the economies of the cities they serve. Both airlines also have invested heavily in American planes. “The four factors that go into ticket prices are supply, demand, fuel costs and competition,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive at Farecompare.com. “From a consumer

perspective, competition is now the only thing keeping fares artificially high.” With a spate of mergers in the United States, the field is down to three legacy carriers from seven. As a result, both domestic and transatlantic competition have drastically reduced. By way of its aggressive low-cost model, Norwegian is pushing the boundaries as to what will be allowed in pursuance of the lowest possible airfares. Last week, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called the legacy airlines’ rule change “unfair and deceptive” and requested that the Transportation Department to investigate. As Christopher Elliott noted in a recent Washington Post column, this would be the second investigation into collusion among legacy carriers in as many years. Last year’s, which looks at the possible limiting of available seats and resulting price inflation, remains active. “Now that there are fewer airlines, it is easier to collude,” Seaney said. “Those three follow each other like lemmings — either off a cliff, or to wherever they’re feeding.

TRAVEL

City Travel on the Up 2016 By Giles Hurn

he biggest change for air travel passenger especially for those looking to travel to Europe, is the preliminary approval granted to Norwegian Air Shuttle by the U.S. Transportation Department to increase its operations between the United States and Europe by using an Irish subsidiary. Norwegian is a low-cost airline that already flies from New York to five major cities in Europe with the most modern jets with onboard wifi ( albeit weak wifi) . It also flies to two in the Caribbean that are on French-administered islands. The carrier wants to run 37 nonstops between the USA and Europe by summer, including flights between Paris and New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that would start at £125 one-way. These plans are far more ambitious than past attempts to transform the the potential cash cow transatlantic travel by “mid-cost” airlines such as Icelandair and Aer Lingus. Norwegian will take advantage of Ireland’s low taxes and limited labor protections, which could allow the company to use cheaper crews from places such as Thailand. The company also has subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Transatlantic routes have been dominated by the three American large airlines operators — United, Delta and American — and their forges partnersthe other side of the pond- one being BA. The airlines, as well as unions and lobbies associated with them, have fought tooth and nail against Norwegian and other competitors. WHY ? Well they have accused Norwegian, for instance, of “labor dumping” and claim that they violate “open skies agreements” that the United States has signed with more than 100 countries and that stipulate certain degrees of labor protections. However they have also accused the wealthy Persian Gulf governments of overly subsidizing their prolific, stateowned airlines, calling that practice “financial doping.” Airlines such as Emirates and Etihad have expanded service to the United States, providing greater competition on routes to Asia and Africa. Norwegian and Emirates deny this and say that they engage in either practice, and they say their operations employ many Americans and support the economies of the cities they serve. Both airlines also have invested heavily in American planes.

“The four factors that go into ticket prices are supply, demand, fuel costs and competition,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive at Farecompare.com. “From a consumer perspective, competition is now the only thing keeping fares artificially high.” With a spate of mergers in the United States, the field is down to three legacy carriers from seven. As a result, both domestic and transatlantic competition have drastically reduced. By way of its aggressive low-cost model, Norwegian is pushing the boundaries as to what will be allowed in pursuance of the lowest possible airfares. Last week, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called the legacy airlines’ rule change “unfair and deceptive” and requested that the Transportation Department to investigate. As Christopher Elliott noted in a recent Washington Post column, this would be the second investigation into collusion among legacy carriers in as many years. Last year’s, which looks at the possible limiting of available seats and resulting price inflation, remains active. “Now that there are fewer airlines, it is easier to collude,” Seaney said. “Those three follow each other like lemmings — either off a cliff, or to wherever they’re feeding.