BI October 2015 Issue

In partnership with

October 2015

g Marketinur Hopes‌ Pinning all yo

ISSUE

Legal

Business Law Can Affect How American in the UAE

19

y Technologt-G s in en Data Centre Designing Nex ata the Era of Big D

Telecommunication partner

Finance partner

Liquid gold

Threats Could Cost The Middle East US$367 billion 6 Alternatives to Cash Bonuses Worth Considering

www.businessinsight.ae

licensed by creative city and national media council

get faster, lower cost SME finance “beehive has created a brilliant platform that I would highly recommend to businesses seeking low cost, fast and flexible finance� Vishaal S Shah, CEO of Panache International

lower rates

fast access

no early repayment fees

finance from AED 100,000

terms 12 to 36 months

average

12% APR *

*avg as of August 2015

the smart money is on beehive

www.beehive.ae

team@beehive.ae +971 4 550 6700

*Bid range between 8% and 20% APR. T&Cs apply. Beehive Group DMCC is registered and licensed as a Freezone company under the Rules & Regulations of DMCC.

Editor’s Foreword

O

ctober is upon us and we are now in the push to capitalise on the festive run that yields much business for companies throughout the region. Because of this, we have focused heavily this month on marketing – All-be-it with an unusual viewpoint.

Business Insight this month has taken on a fragrant nature. Our success series is with Luc Gabriel, President & Art Director of the Different Company – One of the first perfumers to heavily focus on fragrance as a marketing tool. He explains why businesses are moving forward in this ‘newish’ area of marketing and what they are achieving with other businesses globally. And if his advice wasn’t enough, in our interview called “Liquid Gold”, we speak to Fabrice Pellegrin the perfumer who worked with diptyque, and diptyque’s Marketing and Product Creation Director, Myriam Badault, about how to create a signature scent and exactly how powerful a scent can be.

Pintrest is often overlooked in the sphere of social media marketing. But why? Did you know that the lifespan of Facebook post is measured in hours; a tweet is measured in minutes… However the lifespan of an average pin is measured in months and still completely free! To uncover more interesting facts to consider as to why you should be using this exciting marketing tool, makes sure you read, “Pinning All your Hopes on Pinterest.”

Finally, content is key to winning over business. People want to deal with thought leaders – those who they believe really understand the product/area that they are working in. “Are you ’Content’ with your Marketing?” This should be a question you repeatedly ask yourselves. The reasons why this question should be at the forefront of our mind can be found in our article in our ‘Marketing & Advertising’ section.

Publisher & CEO Liam Williams liam@flipflopmedia.ae Managing Director Harry Norman harry@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9062 Business Development Executive Paul Davis info@flipflopmedia.ae +971 04 369 9061 Editorial Editor Tanya Selley tanya@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063 Staff Writer Rachel Stracey info@flipflopmedia.ae Design Head of Design Mhar Delaben design@flipflopmedia.ae Operation Steve Miller Operations@flipflopmedia.ae circulation & Production Circulation and Distribution Manager Antonio de Marco circulationdm@flipflopmedia.ae Database and Circulation Manager Aaliya Khan databaseandcm@flipflopmedia.ae

Enjoy!

Production Manager Juan Vasquez productionmanager@flipflopmedia.ae Digital webmaster@flipflopmedia.ae

Tanya

Published by

Talk to me at tanya@flipflopmedia.ae and let me know what information you need to take your business forward — and I will try to help you in the next issue.

Registered at Fujairah Free Zone PO Box 26734 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 369 9063 Fax: +971 4 369 8989 www.flipflopmedia.ae printed by CMS Printing Press LLC © Copyright 2015 FlipFlop Media All rights reserved While the publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

October 2015 Cover liquid gold *Threats Could Cost The Middle East US$367 billion *6 Alternatives to Cash Bonuses Worth Considering

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 3

64 20 october 2015

26

Contents Foresight

DMCC

Page 14 – A Boost to the UAE Economy Page 16 – Threats Could Cost the Middle East US$367 Billion Page 20 – Kenya Financial and Risk Outlook

Success Series Page 26 – Luc Gabriel, President & Art Director, The Different Company

34 42

Money Page 34 – Responsible Finance Page 36 – The Rollercoaster Year to Continue Page 38 – The Growth of Islamic Finance

People Page 40 – 6 Alternatives to Cash Bonuses Worth Considering Page 42 – Corporate Responsibility and Doing What is Right

Page 50 – India-Dubai: A Global Partnership

Marketing & Advertising Page 52 – Are you ‘Content’ with your Marketing?

Page 54 – Pinning All your Hopes on Pinterest

Technology Page 57 – Information Security Governance Practices are Maturing Page 58 – Designing Next-Gen Data Centres in the Era of Big Data

Business Incubator Page 62 – Expo 2020 Update Page 64 – Liquid Gold Page 66 – Going for Growth Page 72 – The Perfect Employee Page 74 – Early Detection is Key

Legal

48

Page 48 – How American Law can Affect Business in the UAE

50 10 | October 2015

66 www.businessinsight.ae

FORWARD THINKING & FRESH IDEAS

• Accounting

& Compilation • CFO Services • Company Incorporation Services • Market Research and Business Plan • Credit and Working Capital Management • Enterprise Risk Management • Operational Improvement Services • Business Valuation • Audit & Assurance • Business process reviews • Business process re-engineering P.O. Box No: 26869, 108 & 109 - Al Diyafa Shopping Centre, Satwa, Dubai, U.A.E., Tel: +971 4 345 1522, Fax: +971 4 345 2512

Tel: +971 6 552 7881, Fax: +971 6 552 7882 Email: ethics@emirates.net.ae

www.ethicsplusuae.com

2

"My grandfather is my hero. He taught me the value of hard work. He started in 1966 with a small street stall, working incredibly hard to give his family the opportunities he never had."

Ahmad, Commercial Officer

What’s Your Story?

You are the writer of your own story. With hard work, you can start a new chapter anytime you choose.

Our mission at Bayt.com is to empower you to write the story you want, starting with your career. We have the tools to make your story better, and to share it with the right people, in the right places. Together we work.

What’s your story? Start now by building your profile on Bayt.com: Bayt.com/WhatsYourStory #WhatsYourStory

"She raised me on her own, working 60 hours a week. I'm an architect now with my own family, but it's really her achievement."

Hana, Architect

What’s Your Story?

foresight

A Boost To The UAE Economy

Lifting of Iran’s sanctions will significantly boost its economy and positively affect the neighbouring GCC economies, especially the UAE CAEW (A founder member of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide) recently gathered members at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai to discuss the impact of lifting Iran’s sanctions. Following an introduction

by Matthew Benson, Transaction Advisory Services Partner at EY MENA, panelists which included the likes of Dr. Theodore Karasik, Geo-Strategic and Political Economic Analyst and Sheila Shadmand, Partner-inCharge at Jones Day - discussed the economic impacts of lifting Iran sanctions on the Islamic Republic and GCC countries.

Whilst sanctions have not yet been lifted yet, nor are expected to be until 2016 at the earliest, if the deal is implemented there will still be US primary restrictions in place. These mean that US companies will be prohibited from doing business in Iran, since there is no specific or general license from the American government that would allow otherwise.

As a result, it is critical for investors looking to do business in Iran to seek the necessary legal advice to understand what opportunities and risks may exist in a post-deal world. This should also include conducting due diligence

I

14 | October 2015

on potential local partners - whether they are based in Iran or neighbouring countries - to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws. Doing business with sanctioned persons or companies could be subject to legal penalties, which can be in the range of US$250,000 per violation.

Iran’s economy is expected to grow rapidly over the coming years. This should help the Islamic Republic to become an attractive destination for foreign investors in the medium to long term. GCC economies and particularly the UAE would be positively affected by sanctions relief and are expected to play significant roles in terms of the investment and trade flows to Iran. According to Iran Vision 2025, the Islamic Republic is expected to attract somewhere in the region of US$1 trillion of investment between now and 2025. Investors and business leaders have the opportunity now to start assessing Iran to determine whether it is a ‘must have’ or a ‘nice to have’ market within their portfolios/growth plans.

“Initially, the UAE could play a similar role to that which Hong Kong plays regarding China. It has the potential to

become the gateway to the Iranian market thanks to its historical trade relations with Iran, world-class infrastructure and bestin-class logistics,” said Michael Armstrong, FCA and ICAEW Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA). “Investor confidence would be boosted by the fact that the UAE has always been a trusted business partner. Although businesses will eventually go directly to Iran without requiring any intermediary, this is unlikely to change the UAE’s position as a vital trade hub for the region.”

Oil and gas, mining, petrochemicals, infrastructure and manufacturing, will all be among the fast-growing sectors in Iran if sanctions are lifted.

Since Iran has been economically isolated in recent times, local business practices should be expected; however, this is unlikely to deter foreign investors from doing business there. Change and new transparency laws are unlikely to materialise in Iran without engagement between the government and the private sector as well as the active participation of multinational companies. l

www.businessinsight.ae

Terms & conditions apply.

291177

000 000

800 TOYOTA | TOYOTA.AE

foresight

Threats Could Cost The Middle East US$367 billion

The Middle East’s 16 largest centres of economic growth could have US$367bn of GDP at risk from a series of threats over the next decade, according to new research for Lloyd’s, the specialist insurance market new study called the Lloyd’s City Risk Index, presents the first ever analysis of economic output at risk (GDP@Risk) in 301 major cities from 18 manmade and natural threats over a ten-year period.

Based on original research by the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, the Index finds that a total of US$4.6 trillion of projected GDP is at risk from manmade and natural disasters in these cities around the world.

Lloyd’s has produced this Index to help increase the understanding of these threats and shape the world’s response to the shifting risk landscape. The Index, which will be updated every two years, is aimed at stimulating further discussions between insurers, governments and businesses on the need to improve resilience, mitigate risk and protect infrastructure. Inga Beale, CEO of Lloyd’s said, “Lloyd’s City Risk Index highlights the economic exposure of 301 major cities across the world.

A

16 | October 2015

Governments and businesses together with insurers, must work together to ensure that this exposure – and the potential for losses – is reduced.

“Insurers, governments, businesses and communities need to think about how they can improve the resilience of infrastructure and institutions. Insurance is part of the solution.

“Insurers must continue to innovate; ensure their products are relevant in this rapidly changing risk landscape, offer customers the protection they need and, as a result, contribute to a more resilient international community.”

The Findings In the Middle East, the Index found the cities of Abu Dhabi, Ahvaz, Amman, Baghdad, Beirut, Damascus, Doha, Dubai, Esfahan, Jeddah, Jerusalem, Karaj, Kermanshah, Kuwait City, Mashhad, Riyadh, Sana'a, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, Tel Aviv-Yafo, and Qom together will generate an average annual GDP of US$2.4 trillion in the coming decade.

www.businessinsight.ae

foresight

Across the region, the largest GDP exposures are to market crash US$143.3bn, earthquake US$85.17bn, human pandemic US$41.40bn, sovereign default US$30.16bn, and terrorism US$25.68bn However 15 percent of this economic growth is at risk from the combination of 18 manmade and natural threats.

Across the region, the largest GDP exposures are to market crash US$143.3bn, earthquake US$85.17bn, human pandemic US$41.40bn, sovereign default US$30.16bn, and terrorism US$25.68bn.

Tehran has the most GDP at risk with US$64bn exposed, more than half of this (US$34.5bn) is from earthquake as the city lies on several major fault lines. It has the second largest amount of GDP@Risk from earthquake behind Lima.

Riyadh has the most GDP at risk from human pandemic in the region at US$5.16bn reflecting the flow of almost two million

www.businessinsight.ae

“Lloyd’s City Risk Index highlights the economic exposure of the major cities in the Middle East and the significant levels of GDP at risk from both manmade and natural threats” Mark Cooper Lloyd’s Middle East General Representative

pilgrims who make Haj each year.

In the financial trading hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi the highest risk is a market crash.

A crash has the greatest exposure accounting for almost half of the GDP@Risk.

Globally, the Index identifies three important emerging trends in the global risk landscape: 1. Emerging economies will shoulder two-thirds of risk related financial losses as a result of their accelerating economic growth, with their cities often highly exposed to single natural catastrophes.

2. Manmade risks such as market crash, power outages and nuclear accidents are becoming increasingly significant, associated with almost half the total GDP@ Risk.

A market crash is the

3.

greatest economic vulnerability – representing nearly a quarter of all cities’ potential losses.

New or emerging risks, such as cyber-attack, are also increasingly significant.

Together they account for more than a third of the total GDP@Risk with just four – cyber-attack, human pandemic, plant epidemic and solar storm – representing more than a fifth of the total GDP@Risk.

The findings show the need for governments and businesses to work together to build more resilient infrastructure and institutions.

How quickly a city recovers after a catastrophe is a key component of the total risk, and the impact of events is mitigated by rapid access to capital to help restore the economy.

October 2015 | 17

foresight

“Insurers, governments, businesses and communities need to think about how they can improve the resilience of infrastructure and institutions.

Insurance is part of the solution” Inga Beale CEO, Lloyd’s

What is GDP@Risk?

Mark Cooper, Lloyd’s Middle East General Representative commented, “Lloyd’s City Risk Index highlights the economic exposure of the major cities in the Middle East and the significant levels of GDP at risk from both manmade and natural threats.

“We are all too familiar with some of the natural threats and have robust contingency plans in place; however we should be increasingly aware of a number of manmade and emerging threats highlighted in the report and the importance of risk management to mitigate the potential economic impact.

The study shows that a market crash is the greatest economic vulnerability and this

18 | October 2015

is also true in the Middle East, where US$143bn could be at stake.

“Whilst insurance is part of the solution to improve resilience to these threats; and the industry continues to innovate with specialist (re)insurance coverage; government, business and communities must work together to create a more resilient response to a major event."

When a catastrophic event, such as an earthquake, a pandemic or a financial crisis, hits a city, it reduces its economic output.

The loss of economic output, relative to the economic output that would have been expected, is the GDP@Risk from an event. Lloyd’s City Risk Index 2015-2025 takes the first five years of lost economic output as the standard measure of GDP@ Risk from an event.

Cities are at risk from multiple threats and GDP@Risk considers 18 of them: cyber-attack, drought, earthquake, flood, freeze, heatwave, pandemic, market crash, nuclear accident, oil price shock, plant epidemic, power outage, solar storm,

sovereign default, terrorism, tsunami, volcano and windstorm.

The report estimates the likelihood of each city being affected by different magnitudes of events between 2015 and 2025. These likelihoods vary from city to city depending on their locations and risk characteristics, but all of these events are rare and the probability of a city being impacted by any particular event scenario in the ten year period may be only a few percent.

From this, calculations have been done to estimate the GDP@Risk from each event - were it to occur - for each city. How quickly a city recovers after a catastrophe is a key component of the total risk. The impact of events is mitigated by rapid access to capital to help restore the economy afterwards. It is the summation of all of these expected losses from the different threats and their representative scenarios that could occur in each of the years from 2015 to 2025 gives the Total GDP@Risk for the city from all threats.

This is a probability-weighted expected loss to the economy of that city from all threats. l

www.businessinsight.ae

foresight

Kenya Financial And Risk Outlook

By QNB Economics

20 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

foresight

Kenya is now the third largest economy in SubSaharan Africa (SSA) after Nigeria and South Africa with nominal GDP of US$66bn expected in 2015

T

he economy is dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 30 percent of GDP and 40 percent of exports (Kenya is the world’s leading exporter of black tea).

Real GDP growth is currently relatively high, expected to be 5.5 percent in 2015 driven by investment in infrastructure and high population growth.

Kenya’s long-term fundamentals are underpinned by positive demographics.

The 44m population is growing quickly (2.7 percent a year) and urbanising, leading to rising wealth, an expanding middle class, strong growth in the supply of labour and rapidly growing demand for consumer services. Kenya is also expected to start producing and exporting oil from 2021, which would provide a further impetus to growth.

However, in the short term Kenya’s weak fiscal and external positions leave it exposed to the risk of capital flight.

The History From 1990 to 2003, Kenya’s real GDP growth was weak, averaging 2.2 percent as a result of protectionist policies, economic mismanagement, patchy reforms and corruption.

However after Kenya’s first truly free and fair elections in 2002, the economy turned around, following the implementation of a number of reforms including deregulation, anti-corruption laws and an overhaul of the public finances.

This resulted in an improved business environment with private and public investment rising sharply, including from foreign investors (foreign direct investment rose from US$21m in 2005 to US$514m in 2013), and GDP growth picked up to an estimated average of 5.1 percent in 2004-14. In 2014, Kenya issued a US$2bn sovereign bond (SSA’s largest ever debt issue), which was four times oversubscribed.

To further encourage investment and develop the economy, a number of

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 21

foresight

major projects are being implemented: including the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, geothermal plants, irrigation projects and new oil pipelines. These projects should help ease bottlenecks in the transport and energy sectors and should support more stable growth in agriculture. As a result, the economy is expected to grow by around 5.5 percent in 2015, supported by fiscal stimulus, rising infrastructure investment and strong private consumption growth.

22 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

foresight Real GDP Growth (%, average growth indicated)

Sources: IMF and QNB Economics

Deficit However Kenya is exposed to risks of capital flight. The current account deficit is expected to be 7.7 percent of GDP in 2015 and international reserves are low (around four months of import cover).

Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit is expected to be 7.6 percent of GDP in 2015 and public debt is high and rising (50.0 percent of GDP in 2015 compared with 48.6 percent in 2014). The twin deficits are part financed by capital from abroad, exposing Kenya to a “sudden stop� in inflows.

The Kenyan authorities have already requested a precautionary facility with the IMF for US$688 million in case of a balance of payments shock and may need to tap that facility this year.

A number of factors are dragging on growth and could trigger a reversal in sentiment and capital flows. Firstly, dry weather is leading to poor harvests, holding back growth in agriculture. Secondly, external pressures have already led to a sharp depreciation in the Kenyan Shilling (down 19 percent in the year to 14th September 2015) and weaker capital inflows, which could intensify if the US Federal Reserve starts hiking interest rates later this year as expected. Thirdly, the Central Bank of Kenya raised interest rates twice in June and July, by 300 basis points in total, to 11.5 percent to combat the weakening exchange rate and high inflation (6.4 percent on average so far this year). Finally, a deterioration in the security situation has badly hit tourist visitor numbers (down 19 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to last year).

In summary, Kenya has a lot of positives: strong investment, high population growth and a backstop of US$1 billion to US$2 billion of additional oil revenue expected to come online in 2021. As a result many forecasters expect growth of over 6 percent over the long term. However, in the meantime, there is a real risk of a balance of payments crisis that could seriously upset growth in the short term. l

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 23

success

Luc Gabriel Success Series Interview:

President & Art Director, The Different Company When we first stumbled on the The Different Company we were intrigued - They really are different! Business Insight talks to Luc Gabriel, President & Art Director of the Different company to find out more orn in Paris and schooled at Sciences Po Paris and HEC Paris, with a Masters in Finance, and Economics and Law from La Sorbonne, and other more artistic degrees - the art of Ikebana in Moribana style, fragrance creation, piano - Luc worked as a banker, consultant in strategy for McKinsey & Co and managed various internet and service companies.

It was when he met Thierry de Baschmakoff and decided to embark on The Different Company’s amazing adventure. Whilst this may seem as though it is far off his original career course, his love of fragrance goes back to his childhood when his mother owned a perfumery in France and trained him in the secret world of beautiful scents.

Since embarking on this journey, Gabriel has never looked back and now, not only does he own and manage the brand, but also he is also very much involved in the creation of fragrances.

With an impressive company growth – They are present in more than 40 countries with three cult perfume collections, and a unique luxury life style concept that includes Travel Sets, Home Fragrances, Bespoke objects Business Insight wanted to find out more…

B

26 | October 2015

So tell us about The Different Company?

Our company has been launched in 2000. In those days perfume was really becoming a commodity, far from the art of perfumery and the luxury that comes with it.

Our goal is simple; to get back to the roots of a true French Haute Parfumerie, relying on the expertise of centuries of perfume creation, with a contemporary approach in both the design of our products and the quality of our perfumes; eco conscious with refillable bottles, travel suitcase for our perfume in high end leather and bespoke concept. In this tradition, our most recent fragrance “Le 15” (as in our 15th anniversary) features a whole new type of wood, the Palo Santo that will most certainly become very popular in the next coming years.

What made you decide to join Jean Claude and Thierry?

When I was a boy my mother had a perfumery so everyday back from school I spent time discovering the realm of perfume. By chance a common friend to Thierry and I introduced us and the journey began. What better opportunity to combine a love for fragrances and a great brand to develop! The concept of the brand was unique at that time and still is, 15 years after its inception.

www.businessinsight.ae

success

The Dorchester in London diffuses our fragrances in 29 different areas. The idea is to create a perfumed path rather than imposing a scent on the clients

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 27

success

there, the more traditional brands in our environment generally. I prefer to miss the “first mover advantage” in order to pick and choose the right locations and retailers. Eventually, we also have to adapt to the evolution of the structure of the industry and the taste of the customers since our client base has dramatically changed over time. The market is far bigger today than it was 15 years ago with an estimated 10 percent market share of fragrances at least in Europe and some other countries.

You also haven’t kept to the traditional distribution methods (shops on high streets and malls), with distribution in hotels. Why have you taken this route?

We are present in traditional networks but also try to be where our clients are and where they can experience our fragrances. What better way to discover rare fragrances than in a luxurious hotel or at the spa?

For a company that launched in 2000, you have come a very long way with your products being distributed throughout the world. How do you determine which countries you want to expand into and when?

We are actually present in almost 40 countries now.

In order to enter a new country we need to have some key aspects in line; consumers ready for rare fragrances, retailers that can provide the right presentation and level of service and, for larger countries, distributors who know how to handle our brand.

The timing is also critical. We are never the first and try to enter the market once a first wave of brands is already

28 | October 2015

How have you got this to work?

We share some key values with the hotel industry and also have some major differences. In luxurious hotels, the level of service and the attention to details is paramount which is perfectly in sync with The Different Company. Hotel managers really understand the added value of a unique offering in the amenities or of a high-end scent in the lobby. Most of the time, they have already invested in design, renowned chefs’, music and they discover the potential of fragrances in designing a unique atmosphere the client will remember.

They are also paying attention to the costs and sometimes do not see the interest of investing in amazing amenities versus regular products or branded products.

We are not selling a price but an attractive concept that can be transformed in more sales for the hotel and better satisfaction for the client.

I have seen over the last couple of years a true shift towards more exclusive, niche and high-end olfactory products in hotels in 4 and 5 stars. But there is still a lot do in that area, mostly making the hotel industry understand that an extra investment of 0.2 or 0.3 Euros per amenity will bring a lot more to their clients and also in terms of profit for them. We are slowly getting there.

Another crucial point is to understand the value of co-branding. Some hotels

www.businessinsight.ae

success

prefer to propose shampoos and shower gel under their brand name even though they do not have any credentials for that. Bringing along a brand like ours enhances dramatically the exclusivity and credibility of the amenities and hence the perceived value of the hotel offering. Moreover, this industry is very competitive with 4 and 5 stars and palaces opening up in all major locations. Having a unique and exclusive fragrance brand on board is also a key differentiator.

So the hotel industry has been a key business avenue?

Very much, yet in two different ways. The Dorchester in London diffuses our fragrances in 29 different areas. The idea is to create a perfumed path rather than imposing a scent on the clients. In some hotels you are overwhelmed by perfume. We try to create points

We are never the first and try to enter the market. I prefer to miss the “first mover advantage” in order to pick and choose the right locations and retailers

www.businessinsight.ae

of olfactory interest in the public areas of the hotel (lobby, corridors, etc.). It becomes quite technical at that stage (diffusion power of the scent, size of the rooms, with or without doors, etc.) but the result is amazing.

Ask anybody who has been recently at the Dorchester, they will remember this unique scent they have discovered there and kept in their memory, associated with the Dorchester brand name.

The George V in Paris carries perfumes of our lines in their boutique. We have a great followership of clients since our implementation in this palace, a few years back. And we are developing new concepts to improve the client’s experience and the hotel turnover for 2016.

Why do you believe perfume is such an integral part of an outfit for a modern businessperson?

Perfume is what remains in your memory when you have forgotten everything else. It is a unique combination of emotions that jolts your mind whenever you smell it. Today wearing a scent you have carefully chosen is just as important as a choice of colours, style or accessories, it is your invisible but very real signature of your personality. One of the key reasons for the development of rare fragrances is exactly that, finding the perfume that suits your personality and that you will not smell in the streets on everybody. This trend towards very personal

choices is expanding rapidly, creating more demand, a development of retailers carrying niche fragrance brands and of course of the total number of brands on the market. My recommendation would be to always trust how you feel when you smell a fragrance and choose the concept in sync with your personality.

So perfume for a business or person is a great way to promote their brand…?

Creating fragrances for men or women is a great marketing tool to sell more perfumes but at the end of the day, the decision is based on a personal choice and a cultural environment. A Rose scent would be perceived as exclusively feminine in some countries or mix in others. All our fragrances are absolutely unisex; we do not want to bias our clients’ judgment with our own categorisation.

Who is your role model in business and why?

I have a few, some I’ve met in my previous business life. Steve Jobs for his vision that turned around an almost bankrupt company into one of the largest in the world in years, not decades.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin for their incredible confidence in their ability and business model.

Back in the day, I met with top executives of Google on a road trip for a multinational company interested in financing their development. They very politely declined the offer. At that time Google was losing money and selling clicks on AdWords for 0.05 USD with a tiny market share in search engines. We know what happened next.

October 2015 | 29

success

30 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

success

In France, Alain Weill has created one of the largest independent media group (BFM Business) with a clear and constant strategy where others have failed. I have the greatest respect for vision, hard work and business sense.

What mistakes have you made or hurdles have you faced in business and how have you bounced back/ overcome these?

So many I have to think! In our industry, I think the greatest mistake you can make is to lose the focus on the coherence of the brand. The minute you have a discrepancy in the retail/product/ image/marketing/scent chain there is an immediate sanction on the market. In some countries in the past I chose the wrong distribution partner in a developing market for niche brands. We went too fast in stores that did not have the level of service and presentation required for the brand. It has had a bad impact on the image and my mistake was not to get out of the deal instantly. Fortunately, we have been able to switch for the right partner locally but it took us years to be back in the game in this country. An important hurdle in our industry is the cultural differences in the major perfume regions, Russia, Europe, and the GCC. Not only the taste for fragrances could be very different but you also have to take into account important differences

I think the greatest mistake you can make is to lose the focus on the coherence of the brand. The minute you have a discrepancy in the retail/product/image/ marketing/scent chain there is an immediate sanction on the market

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 31

success

Perfume is what remains in your memory when you have forgotten everything else. It is a unique combination of emotions that jolts your mind whenever you smell it

in the way the business is conducted. Eventually, the fragrance business is a peoples’ business, maybe more so than in other industries. Your local partner has to really understand the brand and support it the way it should.

What is the one piece of great advice you have been told about running a business during your career?

I heard it back in my days at McKinsey, the strategy consulting firm, from a partner that I greatly admire; Be schizophrenic, keep an eye at the same time on the long term strategy and the day to day key details of the business to make sure it’s on track and in sync. It gives you headaches sometimes!

What is the one piece of advice that you have learnt that you would like to impart on other entrepreneurs starting out with their own businesses?

Take a lot of time to think beforehand (helicopter view), prioritise and allocate resources, choose the path you want to follow, and then zero in on the implementation with relentless energy. Never deviate from that sequence. l

32 | October 2015

Some facts on The Different Company zz A pioneer in the niche fragrance business since 2000, around 1 million pieces sold to perfume lovers. Present in 40 countries, 26 fragrances, 3 Collections and Travel Sets, 8 home fragrances. Sold in Department Stores, niche perfume stores, concept stores, Luxury hotels and spas zz The creative team gathers eight different internationally acclaimed and award winning perfumers including JeanClaude Elena, Christine Nagel, Bertrand Duchaufour, and Emilie Copperman. Thierry de Baschmakoff, former art director for Asprey and Lalique, who has also worked for the most prestigious brands in the luxury industry

www.businessinsight.ae

Enhance your property with InfoPod.

InfoPod offers a professional display unit removing the need for door-to-door distribution of flyers reducing unauthorised access to the building.

We work with Building Managers to custom design an InfoPod, deliver, install and maintain it!

Contact us today to arrange a visit to your building.

Optimizing cOmmOn areas Office 302, Fortune Tower, Cluster C, JLT t +9714 454 1688 / +971 55 2319216 e info@myinfopod.com

Are you a business owner?

Choose from any of our current locations and let us do the hard work for you. Our current total network of InfoPods reaches an audience of over 30,000 potential customers.

MONEY

The Synergy Between Islamic Finance and Responsible Finance Responsible finance has grown across the developed markets, but its growth in emerging markets where Islamic finance is concentrated, has lagged owever, the Responsible Finance Institute (“RFI”), a nonprofit organisation, sees potential for Islamic finance to lead convergence around responsible financial principles to make the financial sector support equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic development. A key aspect of its mission will be exploring opportunities for collaboration between responsible finance solely focused on ESG and an Islamic finance industry that recognises the key overlaps between the principles behind ESG and the principles which guide Islamic finance.

Its Chief Executive Officer Blake Goud will lead the RFI’s efforts. Goud will lead the development of its research agenda to map the global scope for responsible finance and opportunities for convergence. The RFI plans to also become the reference point for creating awareness for how the universal value proposition of Islamic finance contributes to the development of responsible finance industry. The research agenda will include, among other activities, the creation of an indicator of the quantitative and qualitative development of responsible finance In addition to the RFI’s research agenda, they will host insightful roundtables in key centers of responsible finance globally to engage different perspectives in discussion of key issues in the industry. These roundtables will

H

34 | October 2015

bring together professionals, academics and regulators of issues that will shape the future of the responsible finance industry, and will be supplemented with webinars to engage with additional stakeholders.

It is believed that, in order to promote a balanced discussion of the responsible finance industry, it is vital to bring the ethical and socially responsible principles of Islamic finance into the conversation about supporting equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic development. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Chairperson of the RFI Council of Advisors said, “Since the financial crisis, there has been an increasing focus on the need for how financial institutions can incorporate ethical and responsible finance in their businesses across the industry. I am delighted to support RFI’s efforts towards greater convergence of the socially responsible and ethical principles of Islamic finance within the broader responsible finance industry.”

“The RFI will be the source for creating and disseminating research and that provides a robust, detailed and balanced perspective about responsible finance,” Explained Professor Datuk Dr. Rifaat Rifaat Karim, Chairperson of the RFI’s Board of Trustees. “Disseminating this research and stimulating robust discussion about how to support greater integration of ESG into Islamic financing activities as a way of moving Islamic finance closer towards the principles of Shari’ah.”

To paraphrase Blake Goud, the RFI’s CEO, “One of the biggest missing pieces in responsible finance research today is the role that Islamic finance plays and what it can gain from engaging with the broader responsible finance community. Building awareness about the growth in areas like socially responsible investing (SRI) Sukūk and financial products that focus on financial inclusion of the global Muslim population is not fully recognised in the responsible finance sector.” l

www.businessinsight.ae

MONEY

Jameel Ahmad, Chief Market Analyst, FXTM

The Rollercoaster Year To Continue Written by Jameel Ahmad, Chief Market Analyst at FXTM

The turbulent year for the Shanghai Composite Index is set to continue

o matter where you look at present, it is becoming very difficult to find any market headlines that are not centered on heightened concerns for the China economy.

Declining economic momentum has been a running theme in China for a substantial amount of time and while the current economic targets that were set at 7 percent by the Chinese government are currently being met, recent data has provided further confirmation that economic momentum in China is facing severe downside pressures.

The China economy is now looking increasingly exposed and vulnerable

N

36 | October 2015

to dropping below Beijing’s target before the end of the year, with this being a major concern to investors because a weakening China will also have a detrimental impact on global economic growth.

Market Sentiment As soon as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced at the beginning of 2015 that the government’s target for GDP growth in 2015 was going to be set at 7 percent it was clear that

this would be seen as a crucial benchmark, and that if GDP looked likely to fall below 7 percent that the global markets would become at high risk of experiencing aggressive pressures. The problem recently has been that with GDP growth already falling to the government target for the past two quarters, and as the economic data continues to decline further, the likelihood of growth targets being missed are now intensifying each time an economic announcement is released from China. This in

“I actually think that China can handle economic growth below 7 percent, and it is only if the lower growth begins destabilising local employment that this will raise concerns”

www.businessinsight.ae

MONEY

“although the Shanghai Composite has shown some signs of stability after aggressive selling in recent weeks, all expectations are for China economic growth to continue dipping lower, with some already expecting growth slightly above 6.3 percent in 2016”

turn means that the global market sentiment is facing continual risks.

When speaking about market sentiment, it would be an understatement to suggest that the Shanghai Composite Index has had anything but a complete rollercoaster of a year.

The major market jumped by over 50 percent during the first six months of the year, but this was always a dangerous move and had very little to do with improved sentiment regarding the China economy. As stated above China has been suffering from declining economic momentum for a long time, and the major reason behind the 50 percent jump was due to the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) easing monetary policy on a regular basis, and the appeal of easier access to liquidity, which lured investors towards China markets. Once market participants realised that the continuous easing efforts from the PBoC were falling to have a positive impact on China economic data, the Shanghai Composite completely reserved its gains from the beginning of the year.

What Is Next?

Although the Shanghai Composite has shown some signs of stability after aggressive selling in recent weeks, when you bear in mind that all expectations are for China economic growth to continue dipping lower, with some already expecting growth slightly above 6.3 percent in 2016, I don’t think that we have witnessed the conclusion of exposure to losses when it comes to the Shanghai Composite Index. This also means that we have not seen the end of the PBoC easing monetary policy and I personally think that the central bank will

www.businessinsight.ae

do whatever it takes to reinvigorate economic momentum and defend growth targets.

Speaking of the PBoC, the central bank has lived up to my expectations over the previous year when it comes to easing monetary policy.

When the price of commodities encountered aggressive selling early in the final quarter of 2014, I noted that the Chinese central bank would now find the flexibility at its disposal to cut interest rates and they have done so on multiple occasions since then. Not only have benchmark interest rates been cut on several occasions, but also liquidity has been made available to banks, and the financial world received a shock one morning during August when the Yuan was unexpectedly devalued. While the latter measure received criticism, it reiterated that the PBoC is willing to do whatever it takes to reinvigorate economic growth.

Out of all the monetary easing measures from the PBoC over the past year, it was the unexpected Yuan devaluation that inspired panic across the markets. What this really spelled out to the markets was that the PBoC were attempting to reinvigorate economic momentum by making exports more competitively priced, while also making imports expensive in the hope of enticing consumers to look for products within the domestic market.

This basically alarmed and woke up those economies that are reliant on trade with China as their exports to mainland China are set to hit a fall, and this has led to pressure spreading throughout the global equities.

I actually think that China can handle economic growth below 7 percent, and it is only if the lower growth begins destabilising

local employment that this will raise concerns. It is the economies which are dependent on trade with China that will suffer the fallout of a declining Chinese economy, as it is only a matter of time before they will also begin to notice that trade with China is going to encounter a sharp fall. While the weaker Yuan might make import prices from China more attractive, products to China from overseas have become even more expensive and economies will soon begin to notice that exports to China are falling.

Drop In Imports It was only recently that the markets learnt about an abysmal drop in imports, with this showing that China is already purchasing fewer products from abroad. This will further weaken the sentiment towards the economies reliant on China trade, and it is important to point out that this was occurring even before the Yuan devaluation. This in itself, is a huge concern for the global economy because it is only natural to expect imports to decline even further with the currency devaluation making it more expensive for China to import from abroad. Exports and basically trade relations with China are going to continue following the downward trend. This is where the concerns around the China economy will stretch and encourage more fears outside of China, because these economies are now going to inevitably face downside pressures. l

October 2015 | 37

MONEY

The Growth Of Islamic Finance No greater lesson came out of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis than the importance of managing excess and minimising risk finance, yet the profligacy so common is sadly still prevalent in today’s financial system. It is no wonder then that investors and institutions have prioritised financial products and services that are low on risk and high on ethical returns

any have seized on Islamic finance as an alternative to conventional financial services, offering ethical investing and managing risk.

Islamic finance borrows on the teachings in Sharia and involves sharing the risk of a financial product between financial institutions and the individuals who use them. The payment of interest earned on deposits, or ‘Riba’, is prohibited because it is thought to be exploitive and unproductive. To avoid it, the two parties are tied into a longer-term relationship that is supposed to shift incentives. In the case of a loan, the risk sharing means both parties own the debt being issued.

M

Partnerships Islamic financial institutions treat their customers as partners. This creates a strong incentive for them to carefully evaluate requests for funding and helps borrowers in tough times, which minimises the possibility of financial contagion. The Islamic financial framework also protects the balances of deposits, prevents excessive credit growth, and discourages excessive short term risk-taking by increasing the emphasis on long-term goals.

Another feature of Islamic finance is the prohibition on financial trading of products forbidden under Islamic law.

This includes products related to alcohol, tobacco, non-halal meat, and pornography or gambling.

In a decade or so Islamic finance has become a global, multi-billion dollar industry, growing an average of 20 percent annually between 2009 and 2013, to reach nearly 1 percent of global financial assets

38 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

MONEY

Sharia-compliant finance requests on Beehive are processed under a ‘Commodity Murabaha’ structure, using the award-winning ‘DMCC Tradeflow’ platform operated by the UAE-based Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. The Shariya Review Bureau (SRB) certificated the Beehive platform as Shariacompliant in September, making Beehive the first P2P platform in the world to independently confirm its processes are compliant with Sharia principles

Finding profits in an industry without interest to be charged and with a large segment of products forbidden may seem like a major challenge, but sharia finance experts have found solutions that embrace the ethical way while delivering value to their investors.

One example is Murabaha. In this process the borrower or purchaser agrees at the outset to pay a higher price than the property is worth today. The profit, or Murabaha, is deemed to be a reward for the risk that is assumed by financial institution providing the finance. Another example of Sharia-compliant finance is Ijara, in which banks charge a rental on money that is borrowed instead of interest.

Growth In a decade or so Islamic finance has become a global, multi-billion dollar industry, growing an average of 20 percent annually between 2009 and 2013, to reach nearly 1 percent of global financial assets. The growth of the industry has outpaced conventional banking in recent years, and by the end of last year, the global market for Islamic finance was worth around US$1.3 trillion.

The rapid growth of the global Islamic finance highlights the remarkable demand for ethical financial products.

This was made especially clear issuances of essentially Shariah-compliant bonds, or sukuks, in major financial markets such as London and Hong Kong in recent years. Both Muslim and nonMuslim investors can look to gain from these lower-risk Islamic financial instruments as a clear alternative to traditional financial products and services.

www.businessinsight.ae

Challenges Despite the growth of the industry however, it is still underdeveloped with regard to mortgages, mutual insurance, hire purchase and microfinance.

Improvements also need to be made to the industry’s bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, as well as to the mechanisms for dealing with defaults on Islamic bonds.

The Islamic finance industry also faces new challenges to its growth. The sector’s return on assets has fallen in recent years amid tougher competition from conventional peers, as well as to a contraction in net interest margins.

Traditional lenders have benefited from their ability to leverage technology to gain access to critical infrastructure, keeping their cost-to-income ratios low. As a far more specialised sector, the Islamic finance industry must invest more into research and development to customise a wide range of financial products to make them Sharia-compliant.

The continued success and growth of the Islamic finance industry will ultimately depend on the ability of financial institutions’ to adapt new financial products and concepts in line with Sharia law. Continued innovation will be driven by an increased global demand for a more ethical, lower-risk financial model, from an industry estimated to range from US$1.66 trillion to US$2.1 trillion, with expectations of market size to grow to US$3.4 trillion by the end of 2018.

The First P2P Sharia Compliant Finance Platform Beehive, the UAE’s first online marketplace for peer-to-peer (P2P) finance, for one, has developed a shariacompliant P2P finance platform that allows Islamic investors to take full advantage of the opportunities P2P finance has to offer, while providing complete confidence that their ethical values are respected and adhered to.

Sharia-compliant finance requests on Beehive are processed under a ‘Commodity Murabaha’ structure, using the award-winning ‘DMCC Tradeflow’ platform operated by the UAE-based Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. The Shariya Review Bureau (SRB) certificated the Beehive platform as Sharia-compliant in September, making Beehive the first P2P platform in the world to independently confirm its processes are compliant with Sharia principles.

Innovative products like this support Dubai’s vision of becoming the capital of the global Islamic Economy by 2016. The main pillar of the strategy is focused on developing the Emirates’ Islamic banking and finance sector by expanding its customer base and by introducing new innovative financial instruments that comply with contemporary needs and do not conflict with the principles of Islamic sharia law. l

October 2015 | 39

MONEY

6 Alternatives to Cash Bonuses Worth Considering

In today’s job market, employers with a competitive edge are the ones who can attract and retain the best talents. There are many different ways to achieve that, such as offering attractive salary packages, but there are also non-cash perks that you may want to consider. Most of these perks are actually low cost and will provide your employees with benefits they won’t find anywhere else

Suhail Masri is the VP of Sales at Bayt.com

rofessionals today want more. They expect their employers to invest in their growth and development and are hungry for skills acquisition and training. According to the Bayt.com ‘Learning in the Middle East and North Africa Workplace’ poll, March 2015, 98 percent of professional respondents feel that working in a company that provides learning and development opportunities is extremely important. And while 97 percent of them said they are very dedicated to lifelong learning, a quarter (25 percent) stated that ample learning and training opportunities is their top motivator at work apart from salary.

P

Below are some alternatives to cash bonuses worth considering, suggested by the experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site:

40 | October 2015

1. Training By providing adequate training to employees, not only will you fulfill their need for continual self-development, but also reap the benefits of enhanced skills and competencies. As 61 percent of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Skills and Hiring Trends in the MENA’ poll, January 2015, believed that there is a lack of skills in their company, 73 percent of them still said that investment in training would increase in 2015.

2. Team-building activities Over the past decades, management theory has evolved from the promotion of competitive work environments to the development of cooperative ones. As a part of this evolution, companies have put an increasing emphasis on team building. Team-building activities, ranging from fiveminute group games or week-long retreats, teach essential

www.businessinsight.ae

MONEY

About the author: Suhail Masri is the VP of Sales at Bayt.com.

Suhail has more than 20 years of experience in sales and management.

His mission at Bayt. com goes in line with the company’s mission to empower people with the tools and knowledge to build their lifestyles of choice.

About Bayt.com: Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 21,750,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.

97 percent of them said they are very dedicated to lifelong learning, a quarter (25 percent) stated that ample learning and training opportunities is their top motivator at work apart from salary

collaborative skills while helping employees develop trust in each other and each other’s abilities.

According to the Bayt.com ‘‘Personal Fulfillment in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll, August 2015, professional respondents place great importance on having good relationships with people, both inside and outside the office.

September 2012, went as far as stating that they wouldn’t mind changing their job for a better work-life balance. Employers should know that their employees need a break once in a while. That’s why companies should offer paid off-time in the form of vacation days, holidays, personal leaves and sick leaves, so as to give employees down time and a chance to deal with nonwork related issues.

While this may seem counterproductive at first glance, it’s actually a perk that goes a long way towards increasing employee productivity. In a high-stress job, employees need a chance to get away and do something else to get their minds back on their task. For people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, happiness equals mental and physical health first and foremost, as revealed in the Bayt.com ‘Personal Fulfillment in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll.

3. Off-time Professionals today give more importance to work-life balance than ever before. In fact, 88.3 percent of professional respondents who took part in the Bayt.com poll on Work-life Balance in the Middle East and North Africa, conducted in

4. Memberships There is no doubt that free gym memberships keep employees healthy and happy. As an employer, you can provide your staff with access to on-site gym facilities at no cost, or can negotiate a deal or discounts with local gyms and fitness centers. According to the Bayt.com ‘Career

www.businessinsight.ae

Aspirations in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey, January 2015, a little more than a quarter (26 percent) of professional respondents said that exercising more was on top of their personal goals for the year 2015.

People who are more active may not need to go to the doctor as much. But what it really comes down to is that better health means more productivity.

5. Free parking No statistics to prove this, but based on common sense, employees consider ‘parking woes’ as one of their top daily peeves. An incentive practice, which we follow at Bayt. com, is granting managers and top achievers access to free office parking.

6. Gift cards Most employers give gift cards to acknowledge outstanding performance, boost morale, increase sales, or reward loyalty. Gift cards are non-cash incentives that are often referred to as ‘sticky’ rewards, because of their tendency to remain in the minds of employees long after cash is spent.

Non-traditional perks work on a simple rationale: keep your employees happy and able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Employees who are feeling their best and can keep their homes and careers running smoothly are more likely to be in top form when they arrive at work each day, making them more productive, more motivated, and more likely to stay with your organisation for the long-term. l

98 percent of professional respondents feel that working in a company that provides learning and development opportunities is extremely important

October 2015 | 41

people

Corporate Responsibility And Doing What Is Right Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes provide opportunities for businesses to give back to the communities they operate in and the wider world at large. Though the cynical may claim CSR is nothing more than a cheap marketing ploy, and while this is often a factor, when done well an effective CSR program can have a profound impact on the people and the communities that benefit n the UAE and greater GCC, CSR initiatives fall behind their global counterparts often only taking the form of corporate lip service comprising a press release and token donation. However there are some companies going out of their way to do CSR right, making a meaningful impact on the world where it is needed.

One such company is Midcom Group, an international conglomerate headquartered in JLT with operations spanning across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Midcom’s policy revolves around the Midcom Foundation, an initiative where all Midcom’s business units contribute a percentage of their profits every year. This fund is utilised to provide healthcare and educational support in East and West Africa via the foundation, which has succeeded in making a difference in local communities.

Midcom Director, Anvita Kapoor, explains the success of the organisation’s CSR initiatives is due to several key

I

42 | October 2015

factors every company should follow to create an effective CSR programme.

Corporate Culture - CSR For CSR’s Sake “CSR has never been about marketing for us,” Kapoor explains.

“In fact it’s never been something we really thought about, it’s just something we do and that mentality of always giving back, always playing a role to help in our communities is a core value for us.”

Social responsibility or responsible business, was always a priority for Midcom’s founder, Anand Kapoor, and it is both his and his wife Anvita’s passion for community action that has driven Midcom’s ongoing charitable and philanthropic endeavours from the top down.

With a focus on corporate responsibility at the very head of the organisation, Midcom has been able to instil that same ethos throughout the organisation to create a culture of ‘doing good’.

www.businessinsight.ae

people

people

“To ensure a CSR program isn’t just an afterthought, it’s essential to make sure giving back is at the foundation of the company’s culture and core values” Anvita Kapoor Director, Midcom “To ensure a CSR program isn’t just an afterthought, it’s essential to make sure giving back is at the foundation of the company’s culture and core values,” says Kapoor. Coming from a place of sincerity that is true to the company’s beliefs, a CSR program becomes an extension of the company’s intentions.”

Keep It Local Headquartered in Dubai, and with a presence in 17 countries across two continents, it is in the very communities where Midcom operates that it focuses the majority of its CSR activities.

The Midcom Foundation is a thriving CSR and community involvement program that supports development projects in education, health, environment and sports in the entire East and West African regions.

The projects include eye and heart surgeries, blood donations, provision of furniture and educational materials to schools, cancer programs, development of various sports and regular donations to various charities and welfare organisations.

The foundation also champions initiatives for the care and well being of children in

44 | October 2015

Africa. Through the foundation, the group donates funds to an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. This house for toddlers receives regular funding to take care of its electricity and water requirements on a monthly basis.

“Wherever we see an opportunity to help the communities we’re operating in we do it,” says Kapoor. “This includes financial assistance, education and community support, but also simple measures where our expertise on the ground can benefit the local community.”

An example of this is Rainbow International School, Midcom’s school in Uganda, which provides an educational program for underprivileged children.

The school also donates books, stationery and other essential school materials to the children.

Locally, Midcom is actively involved in initiatives to benefit the immigrant labour community in the UAE, providing basic amenities like towels, toothbrushes and sanitation materials to a labour camp in Al Barsha.

Partnerships As well as creating their own initiatives through the Midcom Foundation, the Group also works closely with NGOs and charitable organisations that are often better placed and better equipped with the expertise needed to oversee community projects.

This includes working with the CARE Initiative, a CSR umbrella initiative that brings together students in order to improve the welfare of their communities; and the HABITAT initiative, which is a CSR project focusing on the construction of affordable accommodation. Midcom’s HABITAT Uganda project involves funding money to construct houses and accommodation for the poor and vulnerable in Uganda.

Corporate Responsibility And Business Objectives Often Align Perhaps Midcom’s biggest CSR partnership is that with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Midcom entered the agriculture sector in 2013 with a milk processing plant Pearl Dairy, being built in Mbarara, Uganda. With the

www.businessinsight.ae

people

“Wherever we see an opportunity to help the communities we’re operating in we do it” Anvita Kapoor Director, Midcom establishment of the plant, Midcom have helped to grow the local economy substantially and have been investing in the ongoing education of farmers, even helping them to establish a co-op to ensure the best prices for their product and saving the local community thousands of dollars in transportation and other costs. The plant’s land is also cultivated by Midcom who gives 100 percent of the food grown on its land to the local community completely free.

It was with the establishment of Pearl Diary and the obvious benefits it was providing to the local community that Midcom was approached by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to work with them on their projects in the region.

As a telecom distributor, Midcom understands the implications of e-waste getting accumulated and with that in mind, the group has made the recycling of electronic waste a priority.

The organisation has repeatedly initiated buy-back programs where old models are bought back from the

www.businessinsight.ae

market and sent to recycling companies worldwide. This program has already been implemented in Kenya with several other such programs set to begin in other markets where the Group operates.

Leading By Example “To emphasise my first point, CSR needs to be part of the very fabric of the company. At the heart of it all we are a business driven by a man’s vision, and that vision dictates that whatever we do, we’re putting as much back into our local communities as we can,” says Kapoor.

Anand Kapoor’s vision permeates throughout the organisation, ensuring social responsibility is a core value of the company and everyone who works for it. He believes all his employees should be a ‘global citizen’ and there is a constant push from his end to enhance the nature of CSR activities undertaken by the Midcom Group. l

October 2015 | 45

LEGAL

How American Law Can Affect Business In The UAE By: DLA Piper

Non-US Companies and Executives are at risk from US Rico Law

ore frequently than ever before, American plaintiffs and prosecutors are using US laws to target conduct that has little, if any, connection to the United States. Potential exposure to criminal and civil liability under US law must now be considered by businesses no matter where they are headquartered and operate. Mitigating that liability exposure requires diligent compliance effort and comprehensive compliance systems and policies. This article alerts you to a new development in this area: an expansive interpretation of a US law targeting money laundering and other racketeering crimes conducted outside of the United States The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation law (“RICO”) imposes significant criminal and civil penalties on those engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity conducted as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise. It was enacted in 1970 to combat organised crime, but since that time prosecutors and plaintiffs have routinely invoked RICO’s broad provisions against defendants bearing little resemblance to the crime families initially targeted by the statute. Typical RICO defendants now include publicly-traded companies and corporate executives. A plaintiff who prevails in a civil RICO action may recover treble damages and attorney’s fees.

A recent decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals which denyed en banc review in European Community v. RJR Nabisco, Inc., further expands the

M

48 | October 2015

reach of RICO by permitting the assertion of claims against defendants for conduct that occurred outside of the United States. One member of the Court writing in dissent, has concluded that the decision is in “direct tension” with recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court that limit extraterritorial claims and has predicted, “a new litigation industry exposing business activities abroad to civil claims of ‘racketeering’; [that] will invite our courts to adjudicate civil RICO claims grounded on extraterritorial activities anywhere in the world.”

“Racketeering activity,” as defined by the RICO statute, involves the commission of a “predicate act.” A predicate act includes any “act . . . which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year,” and an “act which is indictable,” under numerous specified provisions of federal law. After September 11 2001, Congress added to RICO approximately 30 predicate racketeering acts that expressly apply to foreign conduct. Nearly all of these newly added acts relate to “international terrorism directed against United States interests,” including statutes criminalising the provision of material support or resources to foreign terrorist organisations.

RJR Nabisco The claims against RJR derived from predicate acts that involved foreign conduct. The European Community and its 26 member states alleged that RJR was part of a complicated scheme: Russian and Colombian criminal organisations allegedly smuggled narcotics into Europe and sold them for

www.businessinsight.ae

LEGAL

euros; they then laundered those euros through money-brokers for domestic currency, who in turn sold these euros to cigarette importers at a discounted rate. Finally, the importers used those euros to order RJR’s cigarettes from wholesalers, who in turn purchased the cigarettes from RJR. Plaintiffs alleged that through this conduct RJR, “committed various predicate racketeering acts in violation of RICO, including money laundering and providing material support to foreign terrorist organisation,” since some of the cigarettes implicated in this scheme were allegedly, “sold through the EU and into Iraq [and] fueled and financed the Saddam Hussein regime and terrorist groups, including the PKK [(Kurdistan Workers’ Party)], which is a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organisation.’”

The district court dismissed the complaint, holding that the activity alleged was extraterritorial, and that RICO did not reach such conduct.

The court relied upon the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, Ltd., which held that “when a statute gives no clear indication of an extraterritorial application, it has none,” and the Second Circuit’s ruling in Norex Petroleum Ltd. v.

Access Indus., Inc., which found that “RICO is silent as to any extraterritorial application,” and held that it had none.

On appeal, the Second Circuit reversed. The court held that its earlier decision in Norex did not conclude that RICO could never be applied to extraterritorial conduct. Instead the court found Norex left open the possibility that RICO could apply extraterritorially in some contexts, “if, and only if, liability or guilt could attach to extraterritorial conduct under the relevant RICO predicate.”

Because two “predicate acts” alleged by the plaintiffs involved statutes that were expressly extraterritorial in application—money laundering, in violation of 18 USC. §§ 1956-57, and providing material support to foreign terrorist organisations, in violation of 18 USC. § 2339B—the court reinstated those claims. RJR then sought en banc review.

www.businessinsight.ae

The Denial of En Banc Review The Second Circuit refused to hear the case en banc. Its denial of review generated four dissenting opinions and one concurrence, a rarity for the court. One of the dissenting judges noted that the panel opinion was in “taut tension” with Norex and predicted, “litigation on the fault lines of Norex and RJR Nabisco.”

Another dissenting judge saw more alarming consequences in the future; he remarked that the European Commission had achieved “a pyrrhic victory, and one that the Community’s constituents will have a great cause to regret in the years ahead because its citizens, natural and corporate, are among the likely targets of future RICO actions under the panel’s interpretation of the statute.”

Yet another dissenting judge challenged the panel’s conclusion that Congress intended to create private RICO claims arising from extraterritorial conduct merely because certain statutes included as predicate acts had extraterritorial application.

These statutes authorised criminal proceedings, not private actions, Judge Raggi noted; moreover, the “focus” of RICO’s proscriptions consisted of “specified interactions between an identified enterprise and a pattern of racketeering, ” and not the commission of discrete predicate acts.

Where those interactions were international, as opposed to domestic in character, she observed RICO should have no application. But Judge Lynch, another dissenter, was troubled by such an “enterprise” focused approach, reasoning that Congress would be “astonish[ed]” to learn that operatives of a foreign enterprise could not be held accountable under RICO for a pattern of predicate crimes that violated statutes with express extraterritorial reach, especially in light of Congress’ clear intention to apply RICO to foreign terrorist groups.

Conclusions As Judge Lynch acknowledged, the intended audience of these many dissenting opinions is the Supreme Court. For the time being, however, RJR Nabisco remains the law of the Second Circuit. Plaintiffs may file civil RICO claims based on injuries resulting from conduct that occurred outside of the United States whenever that conduct violates one of the extraterritorial federal statutes included as predicate acts under RICO. Most of the extraterritorial predicate statutes proscribe terrorism-related crimes, including the provision of material support or resources to a terrorist organisation. In RJR Nabisco, the European Commission alleged violation of one such predicate statute, claiming that sales of cigarettes were used to finance the regime of Saddam Hussein and terrorist groups operating in Iraq.

Yet another dissenting judge challenged the panel’s conclusion that Congress intended to create private RICO claims arising from extraterritorial conduct merely because certain statutes included as predicate acts had extraterritorial application

Civil terror-related claims against foreign commercial enterprises have proliferated in recent years, and often take the form of alleging material support of terrorist organisations.

Such claims have been asserted against global banks (accused of providing financial services to charities and individuals with alleged ties to terrorist organisation), agricultural and mining companies (accused of making payments to terrorist organisations in exchange for ensuring the security of their facilities and employees), oil companies (accused of violating sanctions by dealing with state sponsors of terrorism), and media organisations (accused of broadcasting content that assisted terror organisations in carrying out their crimes), among others. A number of these claims, filed by foreign plaintiffs under the Alien Tort Statute, have been dismissed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Kiobel v.

Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which found that statute to have no extraterritorial application.

It remains to be seen whether the RICO statute will be used by alien plaintiffs’ as an “end-run” around Kiobel, as one of the dissenting judges in RJR Nabisco suggested. One thing seems certain, however: RJR Nabisco represents a dramatic shift in the RICO landscape. l

October 2015 | 49

on Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official fficial section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section on Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official

dMCC

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DMCC Executive Chairman

India-Dubai: A Global Partnership on-resident Indians make up about a third of the population of the UAE, working in every position from skilled labouring jobs, to hi-tech and IT posts, all the way up to the CEOs of some of the country’s most successful companies.

DMCC hosted two prestigious events in India this month, both in Mumbai, the country’s vibrant business capital. On October 8, DMCC’s chief executive Gautam Sashittal brought the latest edition of the DMCC Future Agenda workshop to the Oberoi Hotel where some of India’s leading commercial figures discussed the future of trade in the next ten years from India’s perspective.

The following evening DMCC’s executive management hosted the first annual Mumbai Networking

N

50 | October 2015

Dinner at another of Mumbai’s first rate venues – the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

These events in themselves show just how important India is and has always been to DMCC and Dubai. To underscore the point further, DMCC Executive Chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem answers Business Insights’ questions on the relationship between India and Dubai, which has become a truly global partnership.

How important are Indian businesses to Dubai?

As businesses expand globally, they lay down new roots in new markets, their employees lay down new roots and in turn societies grow and develop. We see it in Dubai every day.

www.businessinsight.ae

section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section O Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official sectio section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section Official section O

DMCC

This is particularly true of the Indian business community, which has expanded and laid down roots all over the world - Not least in the UAE! We have 2.2 million non-resident Indians in the UAE; about 30 percent of our population including some of our most successful business people.

So, if you want to market your Indian property or goods and services around the world, Dubai is a great place to start.

Many of our trade shows are Indian focused – the India Property Show has run 18 editions in Dubai in the last seven years.

How significant is the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) community in the UAE and the rest of the world?

The UAE is in 4th place globally for NRIs. Nepal, the US and Malaysia are the top 3. 17.5 percent of the world’s population are Indian or people of Indian heritage – approximately 1.25 billion people. There are as many as 20 million NRIs all over the world and they are an economic force to be reckoned with.

In 2014, remittances to India from those NRIs reached US$70bn with US$72bn expected this year. To put that into perspective, remittances account for about 3.5 percent of India’s GDP. How important are Indian business leaders today?

Just as in the UAE, Indian companies and executives are growing in importance and prominence in business around the world. Many of the world’s top companies are run by Indians; Sundar Pichai at Google, Satya Nadella at Microsoft, Ajay Banga at Mastercard and Indira Nooyi at Pepisco are but a few well-known names. And as I am sure you know, DMCC has an Indian CEO too. Gautam Sashittal was born and grew up in Mumbai.

These five top CEOs I mention were all born and bred in India. It is testament to the quality of education, of training and of the business community in India that so many of the world’s leading companies are run by Indians.

It also shows the importance of the Indian market to the rest of the world. If you are a global company and your CEO does not understand India, it will be hard to succeed.

How important has Indian business become globally?

According to the World Bank, India is set to become “fastest growing big

www.businessinsight.ae

economy” by 2017, overtaking China.

The quality and calibre of India’s business community is a key reason for this growth.

India has a long list of local companies with truly global outreach, such as Bharat Forge, the second largest forging company in the world. It supplies components to 35 of the world’s 40 biggest auto-parts makers; Essel Propack, the world’s leading manufacturer of laminated tubes with a 32 percent share of the market; Mahindra & Mahindra, a top 5 tractor brand and top three tractor manufacturer in world; Hindalco, the world’s leading producer of aluminium rolled products How important is India to the UAE? India is the UAE’s second largest trade partner; and the UAE is India’s third largest trade partner.

India-UAE trade was valued at just US$180 million (Dh660.6 million) per annum at the end of the 1970s, today it has reached US$60 billion. The UAE is the second largest export destination of India with more than US$30 billion worth of exports coming here from India for the year 2013-14.

The visit of Prime Minister Modi, the first visit from an Indian Prime Minister to the UAE in 34 years, shows just how deep the ties between our countries have grown. Dubai provides everything a globally expanding business needs; from world class logistical hubs, to the first rate schools, housing and lifestyle choices we offer. Dubai has welcomed leading Indian businesses for generations and will continue to do so.

How important is India to DMCC? DMCC helps Indian businesses to fulfil their global ambitions by building upon Dubai’s many achievements.

The DMCC Free Zone, with more than 11,000 companies from 170 nations with almost 45,000 employees, adds about 150 new companies a month. In 2014 we were named the global SME free zone of the year

by FDi magazine.

This month we held two major events in Mumbai. The first was our Future of Trade Thought Leadership event, where we heard from some of the brightest economic minds India has to offer on how global trade will look in the next decade. The following night we hosted our annual India Gala Dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel where we saw many friends old and new from all over India.

At DMCC we have 1,480 active Indian companies – Adani Group, Videocon,

“17.5 percent of the world’s population are Indian or people of Indian heritage – approximately 1.25 billion people. There are as many as 20 million NRIs all over the world and they are an economic force to be reckoned with” Ahmed Bin Sulayem DMCC Executive Chairman

“At DMCC we have 1,480 active Indian companies – Adani Group, Videocon, Rosy Blue and many others - and 18,000+ Indian nationals working with us” Ahmed Bin Sulayem DMCC Executive Chairman Rosy Blue and many others - and 18,000+ Indian nationals working with us. They contribute to our success in helping us build the biggest and best free zone in the region and we contribute to their success by providing them with all they need to set up and run global businesses.

What does the future hold for India and DMCC? We are building Burj 2020 District and the Burj 2020 tower, a super tall building designed for large corporates. When both are complete we will have created an opportunity for more of the biggest companies in the world to make DMCC and Dubai their home.

We imagine many of those companies will be from India, and those that are not, judging by the examples I gave earlier, will probably have an Indian CEO or chairman. l

October 2015 | 51

marketing & Advertising

Are you ‘content’ with your marketing?

By: Ian Hainey, Managing Director, IHC

Creation of interesting and relevant messaging must be at the core of your marketing and then it’s what you do with it that counts

survey by Roper Public Affairs found 80 percent of business decision-makers prefer to receive information from articles, not ads. On top of this, 70 percent of respondents said content makes them feel closer to a company and 60 percent think they make smarter buying decisions through content provided by companies.

There is a big difference between flicking through a magazine or website and actually reading the content.

In today’s age people are incredibly busy creatures.

Senses are often simultaneously overloaded by messages on smartphones, tablets, laptops, television screens and print media. You have a few seconds to grab attention and hold it. Once you do, you can deliver messages that are both meaningful to your audience and valuable to your organisation.

A

Content Is King Organisations must ensure messages they are delivering are clear, consistent, memorable, purveying the desired image and achieve established goals. If you can combine this engaging written content with the appropriate imagery, whether rich media – video and photography – or branding, then you can create a powerful messaging concoction that can leave customers intoxicated with interest in your organisation.

52 | October 2015

The last 15 years has not seen the PR industry shrink as some may suggest.

In fact it has opened up a world of opportunity to deliver messages directly to more of your audience’s devices and laptops – if tackled strategically and holistically The recently published Content Marketing Institute’s annual survey found 86 percent of organisations are using content marketing and 70 percent are creating more content than the previous year. An average of 28 percent of these organisations’ total marketing budget (not including staff) is spent on content marketing, and 55 percent of companies will increase their content marketing spend over the next year.

The Move To Digital Having worked in the PR and communications industry for over 15 years, the industry has changed, but one thing remains the same – good quality content is an effective tool for success.

PR agencies have traditionally comprised of ex-journalists or writers of some sort, who have developed great relationships

www.businessinsight.ae

marketing & Advertising

Ian Hainey is Managing Director of IHC, an integrated communications agency headquartered in JLT, Dubai and contactable at ian@ih-c.com

with print and broadcast media and primarily used their skills to get their clients featured in the press or on radio and TV. Generating editorialised content or a nice interview slot in the news was, and still is, an effective way to draw attention to your brand or company and deliver impactful messages to a huge audience.

Even 15 years ago in the UK the move towards digital media was heating up as quickly as the fax machine was cooling down.

Online sites for newspapers and magazines were becoming the norm before social media even existed and the monthly media coverage reports submitted to clients started to include links to digital coverage achieved on their behalf.

The rise of social networking, blogging and the popularity of receiving news through tablets and phones started to hugely increase the potential value of digital news and messages that could be re-tweeted and shared on Facebook. Search engines began to lift companies above competitors through links to online articles and aggregator news sites. Companies paying for digital marketing began to see hits to their websites coming from articles rather than only through paid for advertising.

How many among us only receive our news through their newsfeed on Facebook and Twitter? A quick straw poll in

www.businessinsight.ae

Do not ask them, “What are you going to produce?” Challenge them, “What are you going to produce and then exactly what are you going to do with it to get it to our target audience?”

our office shows everyone receives most of his or her news through social networks, Sky News app, The National Online or The Mail Online.

Only one person in our office receives a daily newspaper and the rest only pick one up when enjoying a leisurely breakfast at the weekend.

And IHC is a communications agency.

There was research carried out by Digital News Report 2014 on online news consumption across ten countries, where almost 20,000 people were polled on how they source their news. The findings show the increasing use of smartphones and tablets for reading news, the rise of social media and news apps, and the burgeoning appetite for entertainment news online.

Across the ten surveyed countries, 39 percent of respondents were found to be using two or more digital devices every week for news, with the smartphone the primary tool with 20 percent.

The survey found Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google+ are by far the most important networks for news. Around half of Facebook (57 percent) and Twitter users (50 percent) say they find, share, or discuss news stories in a given week within the platforms.

Reddit, the self-styled ‘front page of the internet’ has a relatively small but active community that is highly engaged with news stories (48 percent).

Becoming Content If you employ the right PR agency to create your messaging and then work out the best channels to get those messages out to your target

audience every month, then they should see a return on investment totalling multiples of the retainer fee in powerful coverage of a depth that can not be achieved through costly advertising.

But do not ask them, “What are you going to produce?” Challenge them, “What are you going to produce and then exactly what are you going to do with it to get it to our target audience?”

Which blogs and influential social media sites will the agency target? How many posts and tweets should you expect to accompany your news release? Can the agency boost your news with Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, or even Google Ads to link back to the story, which they can organise to have added to your website.

When you look to purchase a product or service many people will first ‘Google it’. When you do this and find informative, interesting, reassuring content – especially if it is editorialised – it gives you all the confidence in the world to go ahead with your purchase. So consider the potentially negative implications when a potential customer searches your company and all they can find is a website. On top of this, search engines reward businesses that consistently publish relevant, high quality content in terms of page ranking. In short, content is crucial.

The last 15 years has not seen the PR industry shrink as some may suggest. In fact it has opened up a world of opportunity to deliver messages directly to more of your audience’s devices and laptops – if tackled strategically and holistically. It’s an exciting time for progressive communications agencies to elevate your brand and deliver the right solution to meet your business goals, all without breaking the bank.

To recap, content marketing is the art of communicating with potential customers, without selling. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that educates your buyer. In short - if organisations deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information, they will be rewarded with smarter and more loyal clientele. l

October 2015 | 53

marketing & Advertising

Pinning All Your Hopes On Pinterest Pinterest is rapidly gaining exposure as another means of businesses to self promote. But why do you want to? Read on to find out the facts…

Robert Moore of RJ Metrics provides this insight that explains a lot about the storytelling that visual media on Pinterest is able to communicate: “Pinning is aspirational, which means that data on pins is data on people’s aspirations.”

Most pinned categories on Pinterest:

• • • •

Demographic • • • •

79% are female 58% use Pinterest on a tablet 88% purchase a product they pinned 49% purchased 5 or more products they pinned

Source: HelloSociety

Food & Drink DIY & Crafts Home Décor Holidays & Events

49%

Most browsed categories:

• • • •

Food & Drink DIY & Crafts Home Décor Their home feed

Source: Cision

88%

It is great for brands:

• •

79%

83 percent of active users prefer to follow a brand than a notable celebrity 73 percent of active users prefer to follow a beauty brand than a notable makeup artist

Growth Pinterest took the lead with 57% growth while Facebook’s member base grew by 6% Source: www.JeffBullbas.com

This has grown 111 percent yearover-year from 2013 to 2014 Source- Cision

54 | October 2015

58%

25% of Fortune Global 100 companies have Pinterest accounts Source: Burson-Marsteller

• Users have generated thirty billion pins (by mid-2014) in less than four years • There are over 70 million users that have generated 30 billion pins • Over 80% of pins are re-pins, compared to 1.4% of tweets re-tweeted Source: Pinterest

www.businessinsight.ae

marketing & Advertising

A comscore survey said that Pinterest users follow an average of 9.3 retail companies on the site Allfacebook said that this compares to an average of 6.9 retailers on Facebook and 8.5 on Twitter.

Shopify Customers referred by Pinterest place an average order of US$80, compared to US$40 for customers navigating from facebook Pinterest generates over 400% more revenue per click as Twitter and 27% more than Facebook Source: Shopify

Pinterest V. Twitter & Facebook August 2012, Pinterest became

44% higher click rate

the fourth largest traffic source in the world This puts Pinterest directly behind Google, direct traffic, and Facebook. Pinterest also drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. This puts Pinterest ahead of Yahoo organic traffic

11%

“The average useful lifespan of a Tweet is measured in minutes. Facebook posts exist in newsfeeds for a few hours. Want to take a guess on how long an average pin can remain relevant? Not minutes, not hours, and not even days. We’re talking about months…”

25%

Source: Shareaholic

Source: www.JeffBullas.com

Shoppers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to follow through with a purchase than visitors from other social networking sites

INTERACTED iN FOOD & DRINK

57%

INTERACTED WITH FOOD RELATED CONTENT

CONSUMERS REPORTED BUYING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE

After Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is ranked as the 3rd most popular social networking site source: Experian

“Twitter rely on trends that are everchanging, Pinterest has categories that are pretty much grouped based on similarity and tagging” Source: www.JeffBullas.com

Making It Work

Tutorials, guides, and do-it-yourself pins have a 42% higher click rate compared with all other types of pins Source: www.JeffBullas.com

Source: Sprout InsightS

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 55

marketing & Advertising

The Male/ Female Split

79% of Pinterest users are Women This statistic confirms Pinterest as a prime avenue for reaching the female market. The imbalance between the sexes is starting to correct itself; this number is down from 92%.

Source: Pew Research

Mothers are 61% more likely to visit Pinterest Source: Cision

Men on Pinterest have different interests Most popular Pinterest categories for men: • Food & Drink • Technology • DIY/Crafts • Humor • Gardening Source: Cision

The largest difference between male and female users: • Technology • Cars & Motorcycles • Men’s Fashion • Sports • Videos Source: Cision

Need More Convincing to Pin? Business Insider reports that

Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social platforms among millennials Median Pinterest user is 40.

What this means is that half of all Pinterest users are Gen X or older, a demographic that might otherwise be overlooked.

Source: Ahalogy

56 | October 2015

Food & Drink 11% of Pinterest pins are in the Food & Drink Category Source: Replinly Stats

Compete’s Online Shopper Intelligence Survey says, 57% of Pinterest users have interacted with food related content. This makes it especially critical for companies in the food industry to regularly update their boards with new photos.

“25% of consumers reported buying a product or service after discovering it on Pinterest” Source: www.JeffBullas.com

“Consumers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to actually purchase than those referred by Facebook; Pinterest grabs around 41% of ecommerce traffic compared to other social media sites. Case in point: 25% of Fortune Global 100 companies have Pinterest accounts, which is pretty impressive considering Pinterest’s age” Source: www.JeffBullas.com

Shopify users referred by Pinterest, for example, spend an average of US$80 compared to Facebook referral of US$40 Source: www.JeffBullas.com

Half of Pinterest users make US$50K+ with 10% of households making greater than US$125K Source: Ahalogy

www.businessinsight.ae

technology

Information Security Governance Practices Are Maturing A new report states that there is growing trend for establishing primary security function outside of I.T. that reflects the need for effective security governance

nformation security governance practices are maturing according to Gartner, Inc.'s annual end-user survey for privacy, IT risk management, information security, business continuity or regulatory compliance. Gartner surveyed 964 respondents in large organisations — with at least US$50 million equivalent in total annual revenue for fiscal year 2014, and with a minimum of 100 employees — in seven countries between February and April 2015.

"Increasing awareness of the impact of digital business risks, coupled with high levels of publicity regarding cyber security incidents, are making IT risk a board-level issue," said Tom Scholtz, vice president and Gartner Fellow. "Seventy-one percent of respondents indicated that IT risk management data influences decisions at a board level. This also reflects an increasing focus on dealing with IT risk as a part of corporate governance."

The nature of the reporting lines of the information security team is one of the key attributes of effective governance. Thirty-eight percent of the survey respondents indicated explicitly that the most senior person responsible for information security reports outside of the IT organisation.

"The primary reasons for establishing this reporting line outside of IT are to improve separation between execution and oversight, to increase the corporate profile of the information security function and to break the mindset among employees and stakeholders that ‘security is an IT problem’," said Mr. Scholtz. “Organisations increasingly recognise that security must be managed as a business risk issue, and not just as an operational IT issue. There is an increasing understanding that cyber security challenges go beyond the traditional realm of IT into areas such as operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) security."

I

www.businessinsight.ae

The seniority level from which security programs are sponsored is also improving. Sixty-three percent of the respondents indicated that they receive sponsorship and support for their information security programs from leadership outside of the IT organisation. This is a significant increase from 54 percent in 2014. CEO and/or board-level sponsorship has remained constant at 30 percent (29 percent in 2014), while sponsorship from a steering committee increased from seven to 12 percent. There are interesting regional differences, with 57 percent of respondents in North America indicating sponsorship from outside IT, considerably lower than 63 percent in Western Europe and 67 percent in Asia/Pacific.

"A senior executive mandate for the security program is fundamental. Without it, the security program has little chance of getting the requisite support from the rest of the organisation," said Scholtz. "Because a corporate information security steering committee (CISSC) should consist primarily of business representatives, we expect that the level of sponsorship from such bodies will continue to increase as governance functions continue to mature. Indeed, an effective governance forum such as the CISSC becomes the authoritative representative of the CEO, the board and the senior business unit managers."

On the effectiveness of security policies, although half of the respondents indicate the governance body is involved in assessing and approving the policies, only 30 percent of respondents indicated that the business units (BUs) are actively involved in developing the policies that will affect their businesses. While this is a considerable improvement from previous years (16 percent in 2014), it still indicates a lack of active engagement with the business. This lack of engagement is a major cause of different risk views between the security team and the business, which can result in redundant and mismanaged controls, which in turn result in unnecessary audit findings and ultimately in reduced productivity. l

October 2015 | 57

technology

Designing Next-Gen Data Centres in the Era of Big Data By: Glen Ogden, Regional Sales Director, Middle East at A10 Networks

Future data centre planning needs careful consideration

ig data has revolutionised the way we think about data centre design and orchestration.

However, it’s important not to get carried away with the hype, and to understand that big data cannot be looked at in isolation when considering future data centre planning.

B

New Storage Model Perhaps the biggest challenge introduced by big data is the need to re-evaluate the storage-compute model.

Big data components such as Apache Hadoop enable distributed processing to be done in situ with the data, where each data node is also a compute node. This

fundamentally changes how we view storage and raises a bunch of questions around what to do with existing SAN and NAS, how to archive, and how legacy applications are to access this data.

Internet of Things (IoT) We can’t mention big data without also mentioning the Internet of Things (IoT). By 2020 various industry estimates put the number of Internet connected devices between 50 and 75 billion. This is going to radically change how humans interact with technology, the visibility we have on the state of these ‘things’, and the insights gained from analytics on those ‘things’.

Big data is relatively new; it has only been a decade since Google published the seminal MapReduce white paper, and as with any new technology the primary concern is functionality

58 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

technology

One of the most exciting prospects of big data is the potential to integrate with the live running of data centre infrastructure, through soft programmable components such as SDN controller nodes as well as API-enabled hardware and virtualised appliances

In practice, this will result in the generation of much higher volumes of unstructured data (through instrumentation, external feeds, etc.). All this data will need to be stored in the enterprise data centres and analysed using big data solutions – something that needs to be considered and factored in to future IT planning.

IPv6 Given the number of devices introduced

by IoT and mobile technology, we need to think about addressing. While there are solid techniques for IP preservation (such as DHCP, NAT, and Carrier Grade NAT) there is no question that IPv6 will accommodate these new IoT entities. From an enterprise data centre perspective that means, at the very least, having tools at the edge to translate IPv4 to IPv6.

High Availability Big data deals with scale and availability by design. Hadoop can effectively scale out to tens of thousands of nodes - transparent to the application. High availability is built directly into the clustering model, negating the need for expensive RAID arrays. This completely changes how we think about storage, and right now organisations are making their own rules on the type of hardware to deploy, driven by cost and processing needs.

Security Implications Big data is relatively new; it has only been a decade since Google published the seminal MapReduce white paper, and as with any new technology the primary concern is functionality. This introduces a number of security challenges, not only in the secure handling and storage of the data, but in understanding the nature of the data itself, and how it can be manipulated to create insight (and potentiality breach confidentiality policy).

At the most basic level, big data components may include only rudimentary access control and integration with systems such as Kerberos, and depending on the

www.businessinsight.ae

components you choose, may introduce additional vulnerabilities when mapped against a mature security framework. It is also important to determine how long to keep this data and how to ensure that data integrity is maintained (over potentially many years). With big data there may simply be a lot more data, but the scope of it may also be much broader, and it is likely to be more granular as the drive to instrument everything continues.

Also as big data lakes become more valuable they are likely to become more attractive as a target for hackers - Denial of Service (DoS) attacks for example may put an organization at risk and should be factored into future business continuity planning.

Migration of Legacy Data Big data should not be used as a panacea for all data management functions.

It is most beneficial to organisations that have a lot of legacy data. Using big data in those cases could require moving historical data, integrating with that data, or unarchiving that data from long term storage. Again this has implications for traffic management, security, data handling, and storage.

Distribution and Archival One of the key advantages of big data is the ability to localise processing and massively scale low cost storage nodes within clusters; with availability built in.

This introduces complexity in terms of archiving and how existing applications access that data.

Where data may have been mostly structured, centralised and automatically backed up on a SAN, we now have unstructured data that is highly distributed.

Existing applications may require bridging middleware to access this data from the cluster, or their functionality may need to be rewritten to access big data natively.

Dealing with Uncertainty One of the things that should be obvious is that we are very much at the ‘end of the beginning’ for big data, and this introduces genuine uncertainty.

While on the face of it you cannot plan for uncertainty, those organisations that invest time in software programmable and heavily virtualised data centres are likely to be more prepared for big data.

One of the most exciting prospects of big data is the potential to integrate with the live running of data centre infrastructure, through soft programmable components such as SDN controller nodes as well as API-enabled hardware and virtualised appliances. Data centre planners need to start thinking about the full potential for automation, and the ability to have a closed feedback loop with big data analytics based on fine-grained instrumentation. Next generation data centres will undoubtedly have more in common with the Formula 1 racing car than a juggernaut. l

October 2015 | 59

business incubator

EXPO 2020 Update

Dubai unveils Youth Connect in an “Engaging, Empowering and Entertaining Event”

xpo 2020 Dubai unveils YouthConnect, the first in a long-lasting and wide ranging series highly interactive forums designed by youth for youth.

This first interactive, full-day forum, which is part of a far wider programme to talk to the younger members of society, is open to all UAE residents (between the ages of 1825). It will be a genuinely hands-on and immersive experience, providing participants with access to inspirational and keynote speakers chosen from the broadest range of professions; as well as high achievers and leading organisations from widely different backgrounds. Attendees will be introduced to a host of ‘hands-on’ participatory workshops, engaging exhibits, and areas for in-depth discussions and ‘edutainment’.

Subjects covered by this year’s YouthConnect will include Business and Leadership; Start-ups and Entrepreneurship, Science and Engineering, Technology, Coding and Gaming, Arts and Culture, Innovation, Health and Lifestyle and of course, Employability.

“From our earliest days conceiving Expo,” says Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and Director General of the Bureau Dubai Expo 2020, “we were determined to put our youth at the heart of our plans. It is these young men and women who will be representing and leading our nation in the years to come. So it is important that they contribute to these events and decide what they want to see and do on the day.”

YouthConnect has been planned in coordination with people from across the target age group. Furthermore, as their peers sign up for the event, they will be asked to design their own individual experience. Attendees will be able to select how they want to spend their time: joining specific workshops, listening and talking with global thought leaders, taking part in activities all designed to provide guests with a range of hands on experiences that offer the opportunity to understand what working in a specific field might be like. They can dip in and

E

62 | October 2015

out of events trying as many as possible to get a true and practical flavour of what’s on offer. The event ends with night time activities featuring great food and a range of live entertainment.

“YouthConnect has a genuinely important purpose too. We know that we need to prepare our young for their professional lives and to ensure they are in the best possible shape to meet the challenges that lie ahead. In this event, as in all of the events to come, we are offering the chance to meet with and learn from others who have succeeded by selfbelief and hard work,” said Her Excellency. “As our Expo theme proclaims to the world, we want to Connect Minds and Create the Future, and what better minds to connect with than the young?” l

www.businessinsight.ae

business incubator

hen Business Insight was offered the opportunity to speak with Fabrice Pellegrin, The perfumer and creator of diptyque’s new fragrance, Oud Palao along with Myriam Badault, Marketing and Product Creation Director, we jumped at the chance to find out more. They were one of the original perfumeries that offered home fragrances since the 1960s’, a concept that has since been taken on by Hoteliers and spas globally. The founders of the brand had the foresight to envision perfume as the art of living, as Badault explained, “You use it to express who you are and how you live. A perfume will tell the world who you are personally and who you are in society.”

How would people start with their own marketing strategies?

Badault – You would follow the same steps that you would for any perfume. Think of the story or the message you want to convey and then find the base note. For example, with Oud Palao, it was the discovery of Oud that provided the base notes to the story and it gave us the inspiration to work around it.

Pellegrin – Oud is a raw material well known in the Middle East. In the West it is gaining attention. It is special because it has a very wide pallet. It is very captivating and very complex.

People don’t think about how perfume is so emotive and can instantly take you to a certain place and time. Why aren’t people using this in their marketing strategies?

Badault – Perfume marketing is increasing as people are beginning to acknowledge certain stories, shops, spas or hotels with a smell.

It is reflective memory and brands like this. With a smell, the imprint is born. At diptyque, we take a story and the initial smell to then create the final scent. There is a story behind every perfume.

This perfume is perfect for Dubai as it really does remind me of East meets West…

Badault - It is very true. Dubai has a diversity that cannot be found elsewhere.

It is very unique in this respect and this is the story behind Oud Palao.

Pellegrin – The other notes that you can smell are based on the premise that we wanted to create a perfume to attract people here. To do that you have to use the acceptable notes available, like: oud, rose, sandle wood and saffron.

W

Liquid Gold

As we have just found out in our Success Series interview, smell is emotive and therefore a perfect ingredient for marketing purposes. Whilst the leisure industry has embraced this, other areas of business are only just beginning to wise up as to what it can do their brand

64 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

business incubator

We tried to incorporate some raw materials that are widely used in the West.

In the East, we picked Rose and Oud and in the West we picked Incense and Vanilla.

This is what makes the world collide.

So how do you get it to work?

Pellegrin - We work on it like people would a diamond ring. You have the main diamond in the centre, but to make it shine you have to polish it and add some other diamonds or stones. This is what a perfumer does.

It must be nice to hear people say good things about your work?

Pellegrin - For me is it a passion; not work. To see people react to what I am doing means there is a certain emotion that they are feeling – An emotion that I have created.

The perfume is just the trigger to an emotion. Of course there are positive and negative emotions…

Making a signature scent – how long is the process?

Pellegrin – To make our perfume it took two years – Starting with the first basic idea to the production. It isn’t something that we work on intensively over that period. Sometimes we do, but often the research means that this is prohibitive.

For a scent to really work, the most important thing in the creation of a perfume is to have time. Now, we have a lot of commercial constraints imposed on us and they give you much shorter time frames. It is to be expected. This isn’t the case with a diptyue perfume.

How do you source the oud?

Pellegrin – To get a good quality of oud you have to wait between 80 and 120 years for the trees to mature enough.

This is why it is so expensive and rare. It is as expensive as gold. Sometimes it is cultivated as well. It can be used between

“There are studies to illustrate that the choice of your lunch can be influenced by what you smell before you make that choice” Myriam Badault Marketing and Product Creation Director, diptyque

www.businessinsight.ae

15-20 years but the smell is not as good as one that comes from trees that are aged 80-120 years.

Badault - diptyque policy is to replace the oud.

We will only source from those that will replant the trees that they cut down. Because it is so expensive, some suppliers don’t replant, but for us to work with them would be unethical sourcing. There are certification tests now to prove that you have ethically sourced your oud. Each tree that is cut down has to be replanted.

It is very similar to the process high-end houses use if they use crocodile skin in their leather accessories. It is to protect the specific suppliers, the animals and the manufacturers.

From a business standpoint, perfumes can really help with marketing. How should people look at it themselves?

Badault - The story is very important. The scent should create a memory and an emotion. It is easier to recreate and share your story with others.

In more places now, people are creating their scents.

It helps you unlock the brands.

2 years ago we developed an electrical defuser device. There is a lot of study that has been/is being undertaken to measure the impact of scents on brain behaviour. For example, there are studies to illustrate that the choice of your lunch can be influenced by what you smell before you make that choice.

In Paris, hospitals are embracing this too with brain trauma patients. They are using smells to trigger the memories that they those patients have forgotten.

It is a sense that is not well treated. You protect your eyesight; you protect hearing but not your smell. Normally people only use smell as a warning – to highlight to them when something has gone bad for example, or if something is burning. It is a very secondary sense. Marketing with a scent is changing this…

Why is this region so important to perfume houses and marketing companies that specialise in perfumes? Is it because of the fascination with oud?

Badault - Perfume is part of the culture here.

For us it is a kind of creative field as it opens new doors and new thinking in perfumes. For us it is very exciting.

How have you found it coming to the region, as competition is so intense?

Badault - We have had a regional presence now for over 7 years. Our previous partner we outgrew as our global vision took a hold. This meant that we needed find a partnership that could grow with us, accommodate our needs and requirements.

Our partnership with Al Tayer means that we now have a presence in Areej stores. It is a constructive partnership that we are developing year on year. It is a long-term partnership and offers the Dubai market a dedicated scent. l

October 2015 | 65

business incubator

Going For Growth In September Business insight and the DMCC jointly hosted the Knowledge series event, Going for growth. With nearly 400 business leaders in attendance, people were able to hear speakers talking about how business can improve cashflow and marketing, whilst finding and enabling the right employees to work outside of the office in secure environments

66 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

business incubator

Delegates enjoying the networking breakfast Delegates networking Ian Hainey, Managing Director, IH-C Grant King, Digital Marketing Director, IH-C during his presentation on the basics of Social Media Marketing Delegates networking The Bayt.com team Question Time Krysta Fox, Director Free Zone, DMCC Pierre Olivier Descoteaux, Sr. Partner Cloud Manager, Microsoft during his talk on cloud technology and what it means for business Philippe Fanjere, VP Europe, Middle East and Africa, Maestrano Delegates networking

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 67

business incubator

Philippe Fanjere, VP Europe, Middle East and Africa, Maestrano The CMS Printing stand in the exhibition hall Various entrepreneurs A business leader posing a question to Microsoft on cloud technology Delegates networking Maniner Vij, Head of Account, Audit & Returns, Dubai First, whilst presenting on Cashflow for businesses The exhibition hall

68 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

business incubator

Conference compare, Abdul Karim Hanif, City 7 News Presenter FlipFlop Media’s MD Harry Norman with Dawn Franklin, Senior Associate, Holborn Group John Brash, CEO, Brash Brands The Microsoft team Philippe Fanjere, VP Europe, Middle East and Africa, Maestrano during his talk on CRM systems and the advantages to businesses Bayt.coms HR Director, Suha Mardelli Haroun talking with colleagues

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 69

business incubator

Delegates networking The team from Beyond Films CMS Printing team on their exhibition stand in the exhibition hall Delegates networking James Bernard, Director of Business Development, DMCC with the DMCC Team Thanj Kugananthan, Founder/ Consultant, Not Just Numbers Group during her speech on HR Best Practice Delegates in the exhibition hall Suha Mardelli Haroun, HR Director at Bayt.com talking about why finding the right staff is so important to business and how to motivate them

70 | October 2015

www.businessinsight.ae

business incubator

Delegates in the breakfast networking suite Krysta Fox, Director Free Zone, DMCC in her welcome speech John Brash, Brash Brands during his talk on the basic of brands and how to drive sales through brand Delegates in the conference hall Dubai First colleagues on their stand in the exhibition hall Delegates in the exhibition hall

www.businessinsight.ae

October 2015 | 71

business incubator

The Perfect Employee

As a Managing Director or business owner who is hungry for success, it is important that you make a commitment to the development of your staff in order to reach your corporate goals well-trained workforce can improve business productivity and efficiency, drive innovation and development, and vastly alter a customer’s perception of the business.

A badly or untrained workforce can see productivity decrease can lead to stagnation of product and service innovation, and force customer service interactions to become a thing of nightmares. But what makes a perfect employee? Business Insight has compiled a list of the things that you may want to consider before you hire your next employee or conduct the next round of employee appraisals.

A

Problem Solvers Regardless of industry or job function, an employee who can demonstrate that they can effectively solve problems in an everyday work setting will have a head start on the competition. Likewise, if your team of employees inherit and learn this skill, your business can feel more confident in identifying and overcoming potentially serious business issues. Your people should be able to work on initiative and under minimal guidance - be people wo are proactive rather than reactive. Ranging from the smallest customer service issue to the largest boardroom disagreement, killer problem solving skills will always serve you well.

Understand IT And Basic Social Media In the age of new media and rapid technological advancement, keeping up to date with existing and emerging

72 | October 2015

technology is an essential for your employees. In the case of new media channels (Twitter, Facebook etc.) and their consistent lines of communication with customers or potential customers, your employees need to have a working knowledge of how these platforms work and the etiquette that accompanies them.

Nuria Gonzalez Martin, Human Resources Director at FoodFund International comments, “Confident basic computing may seem like a simple skill, but it is surprising how many employees do not have even the standard skill set to deal with computer software that is so pervasive throughout the professional working environment. Any employee who cannot fully operate Microsoft Office will not only impact upon their own development but will almost certainly affect business productivity.”

Clear, Concise and Professional Communication Many seasoned professionals lament what they see as a decline in standards when it comes to written communication. The advent of text speak has managed to seep into mainstream communication and has even found its way into the workplace. There’s nothing more unprofessional than sending out a business email littered with colloquial spelling and grammar. The impression it forms in the mind of the recipient is one of stark unprofessionalism and irreverence.

Business communication should always be kept clear, concise and free from jargon. Any employee that doesn’t have

www.businessinsight.ae

business incubator

“Confident basic computing may seem like a simple skill, but it is surprising how many employees do not have even the standard skill set to deal with computer software that is so pervasive throughout the professional working environment. Any employee who cannot fully operate Microsoft Office will not only impact upon their own development but will almost certainly affect business productivity” Nuria Gonzalez Martin Human Resources Director at FoodFund International this skill is at an extreme disadvantage.

Admittedly your employees don’t have to be Shakespeare, but an ability to easily communicate through written language is certainly a must-have.

Fearless and Professional Presenter A prerequisite for a modern presentation is the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. There’s no getting around it, this tool is extremely useful and it can usually enhance any presentation it carries. Therefore, knowing the finer details of how to use and manipulate PowerPoint seems like an obvious skill for any successful employee.

Aside from the technological aid, the art of presenting combines a number of overlapping factors that can determine how a presentation is received, from projecting the voice in a confident manner to formulating a persuasive argument that will enthrall the audience.

Modern day business is all about presenting: to clients, to colleagues, or to superiors. Any modern day professional cannot get by without learning, practising, and improving their presentation skills.

www.businessinsight.ae

Team Work Most job advertisements ask for the same thing – they call for those candidates who can work under their own initiative but also thrive in a team environment. Why is the ability to work productively within a team considered such a sought after skill?

Business is made up of interconnecting relationships that have to be cultivated and nurtured. An experienced employee will traverse the tricky nature of business relationships with consummate skill by listening to others, thinking critically about issues and communicating their analysis effectively with the relevant stakeholders.

Projects stifled by substandard teamwork are a manager’s worst nightmare. In a land of individuals - the team player is king.

Business acumen According to Wikipedia, business acumen is “keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome”. In other words a good working knowledge of the minutiae details of business operations, whilst being able to make the connection with larger business issues. It may seem a slightly abstract skill to possess but if looked at in detail it

contains many elements that make up dayto-day business life. For instance, equally important is a solid grasp of financial processes as well as an understanding of market conditions and ways to reach the desired customers. Many employees find themselves stuck in their specific job functions and fail to see the wider issues that affect them and the rest of the business.

Those who can make this connection and inspire colleagues to do the same will be considered to be ‘business savvy’.

Leadership Material Leadership skills do not only apply to the most senior person in a company. Ideally a business should be littered with those willing to lead. In times of technological, economical and sociological change, businesses need to be quick to adapt and move with the times. Strong, effective leadership in all areas of the business is vital in navigating this rapidly accelerating pace of change. Furthermore, the businesses in question must become adept at spotting and nurturing those with leadership skills.

They must equip them with the tools and training to reach their leadership potential for the ultimate aim of greater productivity, innovation, and success. l

October 2015 | 73

business incubator

Early Detection Key To Curing ‘Silent’ Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is diagnosed in an estimate 80% of men who reach 80 years old.

It is treatable if caught early

rostate cancer is a major health concern for men all over the world. It is a ‘silent disease’ that can go unnoticed for years as there are no specific signs or symptoms. The three most common forms of problems that may affect the prostate are inflammation (prostatitis), benign enlargement of the prostate and prostate cancer. After lung cancer, prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men.

The prostate is a small doughnut-shaped organ that sits below the bladder, and the urethra passes through the centre of it. It is normally about the size of a chestnut but it enlarges with age. Prostate cancer is mainly a disease of older men and the symptoms - caused by it is usually not different from that of the benign enlargement of the prostate when it is compressing the urethra and making resistance to urine flow .

However if left untreated, prostate cancer can cause serious complications so it is recommended that men aged over 40 years’ old or younger men, with a positive family history of cancer to visit a Urologist.

The treatments vary from 'watchful waiting' through to surgery, radiation and hormonal therapy. Watchful waiting for many older men is preferable, as prostate cancer in the elderly, often runs a slow, non-lethal course. However for younger men especially if the disease is still confined to the prostate, surgical treatment is the preferable line of treatment.

P

74 | October 2015

For the whole of September, Medeor 24x7 Hospital, Dubai will be raising awareness about the different forms of prostate disease. Dr. Amgad Farouk, Head of Urology Department and Consultant Urologist at the hospital, outlines who is most at risk: zz Age: Age is the single biggest risk factor for prostate disease. The chance of being diagnosed increases dramatically after the age of 50. In fact, 65 percent of all diagnoses are found in men over the age of 65 zz Race: Men of Afro-Caribbean origin are more at risk of developing prostate disease than any other race zz Heredity: It is common that more than one male family member to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The chances of developing the disease double when present in an immediate family member zz Diet: In terms of protective factors, having low blood cholesterol and a healthy diet seem to be the biggest game-changers. Studies have found that men who eat large amounts of red meat or high-fat dairy products have a greater chance of developing prostate disease.

These men also tended to eat fewer fruits and vegetables zz Exercise: Some studies have found that high levels of physical activity, particularly in older men, may lower the risk of advanced prostate cancer zz Infection and inflammation of the prostate: Some studies have suggested that prostatitis may be linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer l

www.businessinsight.ae

THE PHILLIPS GROUP SPECIALIZING IN LEADERSHIP SOLUTIONS The Phillips Group is a boutique executive search firm specializing in placements in the MENA Region. From assisting Fortune 500 companies acquire and retain top performing senior executives or to advising leading Chief Executive Officers on developing their human capital, The Phillips Group has experience acquiring leadership talent from all four corners of the world.

WE ARE THE EXECUTIVE SEARCH SPECIALISTS. Call us now for high touch bespoke service if you are looking to hire the best in your industry.

M: +971 50 940 7537 T: + 971 4 352 2849 shane@tpgleadership.com www.tpgleadership.com

want better returns on Sharia-compliant investments? beehive, the world’s first Sharia-compliant peer-to-peer finance platform

processing

Sh

target returns *

B ureau

ew

12%

‫ﻟﴩﻋﻴﺔ‬ ‫ا‬

achieve

‫دار اﳌﺮا‬ ‫ﺟﻌﺔ‬

a ri y a h R e v

i

*avg as of August 2015

managed risk

higher target returns

the smart money is on beehive

monthly

repayments

www.beehive.ae

team@beehive.ae +971 4 550 6700

*Terms and Conditions apply. Beehive Group DMCC is registered and licensed as a Freezone company under the Rules & Regulations of DMCC. The Beehive "Sharia Processing" is certified as fully Sharia compliant by the Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB).