Global Business Outlook 01 2019 by Global Business Outlook

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Volume 03 Issue 01 | 2019

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Issue 01 | 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE

e live in unpredictable but interesting times with US President Donald Trump’s high pitch trade war with China threatening a global recession and the UK facing a possible no-deal Brexit from the EU. This edition of Global Business Outlook looks at how central banks in the Asia Pacific have reacted to Trump’s trade war. Continuing in banking, in our cover story, we look at what raising the foreign investment cap in the UAE’s local banks might mean – especially since the UAE has liberalised foreign direct investment norms in key economic sectors. Also in banking, South Africa is perhaps the first African country to witness the rise of disruptive digital banks or challenger banks. While other African nations focus on mobile money innovations, South Africa’s digital banks are preparing to give traditional banks a run for their money. The possibility of a no-deal Brexit means UK payments companies are no more bound by financial regulation after Brexit. We look into what that means. The possibility of a no-deal Brexit could also mean fewer EU students at UK universities. The UK government is strategising to make up for the loss of EU students by drawing more students from the emerging markets. This could mean the reinstatement of the poststudy work visa that had fallen out of favour under Theresa May’s administration. Are the worries of global financial regulators over Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency unwarranted? Whatever their concerns may be Facebook has a distinctly strategic approach to Libra as we find. Meanwhile, in the race to dominate the electric vehicle world between Chinese EV makers and US brands, primarily Tesla, we find that the US EV company has a distinct on the ground advantage over Chinese companies, despite the Chinese government’s efforts to cut the fluff out of its EV technology market. A new trend emerges in the startup sector in Africa’s startup hotspots – South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria – whereby technology startup hubs are developing outside major city centres. In real estate, we follow the trail of the hot money that is flowing out of Hong Kong and China into the luxury realty market in a key developing nation – Vietnam. This issue of Global Business Outlook also has a selection of key news developments around our key market areas.

Kimberly Rivers

Editor kimberly@gbomag.com

Global Business Outlook

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02 02 | Issue 01 VolumeVolume 02 | Issue | 2018

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“Qatari insurance sector needs a positive mark” Turkey’s lira crisis: a new economic threat emerges

Pg 10

“Qatari insurance sector needs a positive mark”

Turkey’s lira crisis: a new economic threat emerges

Pg 10

Norway: leading the world in sustainability Pg 34

“Qatari insurance needs a positive mark”

Global housing boom: when the sector bubble is about to burst Pg 44

Norway: leading the world in sustainability Pg 34

Turkey’s lira crisis: a new economic threat emerges

Pg 10

Norway: leading the world in sustainability Pg 34 Global housing boom: when the bubble is about to burst Pg 44

Global Business Outlook is a UK-based publication dedicated to covering vital industry sectors shaping our world including Global Banking, Insurance, Finance, Technology, Finance, Brands and Education. The magazine follows key market trends and winning business strategies from around the globe, and has a readership comprising of C-suite managers, directors of some of the world’s top companies, and driven, passionate entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Business Outlook Media Ltd Winston House, 2 Dollis Park, London - N3 1HF | Tel : +44 207 193 3740 E-mail: info@gbomag.com | media@gbomag.com | Web: www.globalbusinessoutlook.com

Issue 01 | 2019

Director & Publisher Daivick Bhaskar

Editor Kimberly Rivers

Production & Design Brian Williams David Brenton Ian Hutchinson Shankara Prasad

Editorial Stanley Rogers Rachel Taylor, Lucas Cooper Alice Parker

Business Analysts Sumith Jain, Ryan Anderson

Business Development Manager Dave Jones, Jerry Thomas

Business Development Arran Smith, Benjamin Clive Ivor Drooge, Harry Wilson, Farhan Khan Ahmed Salah, David Pereira

Marketing Danish Ali

Research Analysts Richard Sam, Sophia Keller

Accounts Manager Edyth Taylor

Press & Media Contact Craig Penn

Registered office: Global Business Outlook Magazine is the trading name of

Business Outlook Media Ltd Winston House, 2 Dollis Park, London, England, N3 1HF Phone: +44 (0) 207 193 3740 Fax: +44 (0) 203 725 9247 Email: media@gbomag.com Global Business Outlook

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IN FOCUS

SPECIAL FOCUS

Is it time to raise the foreign investment cap in UAE banks?

FINANCE

Trade war's impact on Asian central banks' policies

TECHNOLOGY

A new wave in the startup culture in Africa

TECHNOLOGY

EVs: It's Tesla vs China. Who has the edge?

ENERGY

Argentina's renewable energy landscape is rich but challenging

Issue 01 | 2019

China's role in Africa's clean energy development

REALTY

Vietnam's luxury real estate developments are drawing Chinese and Hong Kong investors

INDEX FINANCE US FED cut interest rates, draws criticism

LSE buys Refinitiv in a deal worth $27 bn

South Africa loses billions as investors withdraw

Thailand’s Baht stays strong despite slow economy

TECHNOLOGY

BRANDS

US fed agencies barred from using Huawei kit

UAE's blockchain-powered KYC is a boon

DHL's digital twin tech for smart warehouses

Aviation seeks blockchain to ease operations

ENERGY South Korea builds world’s largest floating solar project 38

Will 5G obstruct Britain’s net-zero emissions by 2050? 40 Brexit to likely impact UK energy policy

Off-grid renewables to solve Africa's unemployment 41

Despite the regulatory concerns, Facebook has a strategic approach to Libra

REALTY Construction costs in Nairobi highest in Africa

Dubai's new 5-year residency permit for 20 investors

UK commercial reality dips as Brexit looms

IBC Group to acquire $5bn Dubai properties

BRANDS

Huawei strengthens ties with African nations

Alibaba Cloud deploys fintech for Islamic banks

EDUCATION

Disney to beat Netflix in streaming war

UK's higher education needs the post - study visa to face Brexit challenges

Foxconn to sell $8.8 bn production unit in China

Global Business Outlook

EDUCATION China introduces AI to education

CVC Capital buys 30% in Dubai’s Gems Education

Sisi, Macron to meet at G7 on education

Unique makers space at Queensland varsity

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FINANCE

SPECIAL FOCUS

Is it time to raise the foreign investment cap

in UAE banks?

First Abu Dhabi Bank raised its limit on foreign ownership limit to 40% and has asked for the easing of the foreign investment cap in UAE banks

or a long time, the UAE has ranked high for its conducive business environment in global surveys of competitiveness. The country has seen a number of initiatives in the recent past to increase foreign investments in various sectors of the economy. The UAE is located strategically between the east and the west â&#x20AC;&#x201D; making it easy for businesses to access significant emerging markets and link shipping routes between the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. Another advantage that foreign investors factor in while considering the UAE for doing business is its political environment.

Issue 01 | 2019

SPECIAL FOCUS

In this year’s World Bank Ease of Doing Business report, the UAE ranked 11th globally and first regionally among 190 countries worldwide. The UAE jumped 10 places from last year’s 21st position in ranking. It also stood the highest in ranking in the Middle East and North Africa region. Today, the UAE has developed an open economy which bolsters private sector growth and formulates liberal policies that foreign investors seek. It has introduced a new visa regime, for instance, where a 10-year residency visa will be provided to ‘specialists in medical, scientific, research and technical fields, as well as for all scientists and innovators’. These long-term residence visas will encourage foreigners to live, work, and study in the UAE without the assistance of a national sponsor — in addition to facilitating 100 percent foreign ownership in the UAE’s mainland. The visas will be issued for a period of five or 10 years and will follow an auto renewal process. Different government entities of the UAE have introduced a number of initiatives over the last one year to enhance the competitiveness of UAE’s economy and to transform it into a more businessfriendly landscape for foreign investors.

UAE liberalising economy In this context, the UAE recently announced a new legislation to liberalise restrictions on foreign ownership of companies registered ‘onshore’ in the UAE. The UAE Federal Law No.19 of 2018 has introduced a new framework for foreign direct investment which will allow foreigners to own business up to 100 percent in certain business sectors — creating a better business environment. Previously, the law necessitated that a UAE company should have a minimum of 51 percent of its shares owned by UAE nationals. With that, foreign investors

Global Business Outlook

could only own up to 49 percent of a company registered in the UAE — unless the company was setup in free trade zones where the law did not apply. In addition, Dubai offers small and medium enterprises and startup business incubator licence for all entrepreneurs and students who come up with unique ideas giving entrepreneurs the privilege of 100 percent ownership. This was announced as part of new regulations for Incubators and Business Accelerator. The idea is to increase foreign investments through 100 percent ownership and create jobs for nationals while slowly moving away from oil dependency. Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum tweeted that the aim of easing the restrictions is to expand economic sectors, increase investor appetite, and secure the economy’s global competitiveness. A key sector in which the government was expected to ease foreign ownership controls is the banking sector. One of the leading banks that demanded scrapping of the foreign ownership limit is the First Abu Dhabi Bank. In April, the UAE central bank allowed First Abu Dhabi Bank to increase foreign ownership in the bank to 40 percent. This means that foreigners can own up to 40 percent of the bank’s shares from the earlier 25 percent limit. According to the share profile detailed by the bank on its official website, Mubadala Investment Company owned 37.04 percent shares, other UAE entities and individuals owned 50.57 percent shares, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) investors excluding those from the UAE, owned 1.24 percent shares and foreigners outside the GCC owned 11.15 percent shares as of June end 2019. In July, its shares listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange jumped more than 2 percent following the announcement of its proposed increase in foreign ownership limit.

FINANCE

The bank’s board of directors said that removing the limit is to support the UAE’s efforts in luring fresh capital and foreign investments. Its proposed change will require new amendments from the existing laws and policies. The decision came two weeks after the UAE Cabinet approved 100 foreign ownership in specific sectors — and around the same time as it reported a 5 percent increase in profits to Dh3.22 billion for the second quarter. In July, its shares listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange jumped more than 2 percent following the announcement of its proposed increase in foreign ownership limit. The bank’s profits for the second quarter reached Dh3.22 billion. The First Abu Dhabi Bank saw a rise in earnings at the time when it described the market as challenging. The bank also saw a 9 percent increase in profits in non-interest income which reached Dh1.85 billion during the second quarter. Revenues for the first six months reached Dh 10 billion, with a 3 percent increase. The bank’s CEO told Gulf News that the bank is quite confident of its ability to demonstrate success in diversified business model, deliver sustainable growth and achieve maximum shareholder returns. Even with an increase in profits, its performance lags behind other banks in Dubai. Three Dubai-based banks reported a double digit increase in net profits for the first half of the year. For example, Dubai Islamic Bank profits jumped 13 percent, while Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic Bank gained 49 percent and 39 percent respectively. The market regulator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the first to remove the ownership limit of publicly traded companies for foreign investors. A company’s own set of rules or limits

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SPECIAL FOCUS

by other regulators is still applicable. Easing of foreign ownership controls is restricted to specific sectors. A local media report said that there are 13 nonoil sectors to which easing on foreign direct investment are applicable. These sectors include renewable energy, space, agriculture, manufacturing, transport, logistics, hospitality, food services, information and communications among others. Now, the UAE is focused on generating more income from non-oil sectors as the economy has been heavily reliant on oil. Its wants to boost foreign direct investment contribution from non-oil sectors to 80 percent by 2021, from the current 70 percent. In 2017, the emirate recorded inflow of foreign direct investment to $10.3 billion, which is 6.7 percent more from $9.6 billion in 2016, observed the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority.

Right time to raise cap

With regard to the need to raise the foreign investment cap in UAE Banks, Chief Economist Mena, Institute of International Finance, Garbis Iradian told Global Business Outlook, “It is timely as the economy needs more foreign participation, particularly in the banking sector to raise confidence and attract more private sector deposits.”

Intelligence that it is possible that foreign banks can acquire strategic stakes in small and mid-size lenders that are performing below average. In turn, this might introduce new skills along with an increase in digital transformation and international investments.

If a new legislation to raise the cap on foreign investment in UAE banks is passed by the UAE government, foreign banks will also have a very crucial role to play in developing local lenders in the UAE. A financial analyst told Bloomberg

“The projected growth in total assets of the banking system would be higher, the higher the foreign participation. Both domestic and foreign confidence in the banking system would improve and attract resident and non-resident

Issue 01 | 2019

deposits,” Iradian told Global Business Outlook. Despite the exclusion of certain economic sectors, the UAE is confident that easing laws for other sectors will still benefit the emirates in many ways. Many industry experts across various sectors have asserted that it will facilitate better investment moves by expats in the UAE — and persuade investors to bring fresh capital into the economy. This is especially true as public traded companies in the UAE that allow 100 percent foreign ownership could receive about $4.9 billion in inflows from passive

SPECIAL FOCUS

FINANCE

First Abu Dhabi Bank ownership information as of June end 2019

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% 57 0.

ies and individ ua ntit e ls E -5 A rU

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trackers of MSCI indexes, observed an EFG-Hermes equities strategist in a recent report. The UAE has always remained the chief destination with 22 percent of foreign direct investment to the Middle East and North Africa region. With the new law, economists anticipate an

tm d ala Inves

ent

p om

annual increase of up to 15 percent to 20 percent in foreign direct investment. The local governments of the UAE will determine the percentage of foreign ownership in each business activity depending on their current situations, Some sectors will still need an Emirati shareholder although the limit for

foreign ownership has drastically increased. In fact, the UAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts in raising the limit on foreign ownership in banking are seen as a longstanding necessity for the business community and foreign investors.

UAE entitie Other

Alice Parker

Global Business Outlook

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FINANCE

NEWS

US FED cut interest rates, draws criticism

he US Federal Reserve on July 31 announced its decision to cut interest rates. According to Chairman Jerome Powell, this interest rate cut will not be accompanied by a series of further rate cuts. The cut in the interest rates is not a part of strategy by the US’ apex bank to bolster the country’s economy amid the ongoing US-China trade war. The last time the FED cut interest rates was back in 2008. When asked what prompted the cut in interest rates, Jerome Powell listed signs of a global slowdown, the US-China trade war and the necessity to improve inflation as the major causes. Soon after the announcement, the US stock market fell. While the rate cuts were anticipated by experts, Ken Polcari, managing principal at Butcher Joseph Asset Management said the news was not what the market expected to hear. US President Donald Trump took to twitter to show his disapproval of the FED’s current strategy. FED's decision also drew

criticism from Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and Kansas City Fed President Esther George who argued for leaving rates unchanged. However, Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services in Tallahassee, Florida came in support of the FED. He said it’s better to take out some insurance than none at all. In a statement, the FED said the decision to cut rates was in light of the implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted inflation pressures. It also said that the rate cut would help return inflation to its 2 percent target. Following the FED’s decision to cut rates, the Central Bank of UAE and other central banks from the Gulf region also followed suit. UAE’s central bank reduced the interest rates by 25 basis points on its certificate of deposits. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority lowered its repo and reverse repo rate. The Central Bank of Bahrain also reduced its interest rates on its one-week deposit facility.

Five countries alone receive half of global remittances

ive countries namely India, the Philippines, Egypt, China and Mexico receive nearly half of the global remittances sent to low-and middleincome countries. In 2018, the amount increased by 9 percent to $529 billion, according to a World Bank report. According to the report, India retained its top sport as the biggest beneficiary of with a share of $79 billion. China is the second biggest beneficiary with $67 billion, followed by Mexico, Philippines, and Egypt who received $36 billion, $34 billion and $29 billion respectively. Remittance to India grew by 14 percent with the floods in Kerala being a major contributor. While remittances received by Southeast Asia last year increased by 12 percent to $131 billion, global remittances reached $689 billion during the same period from $633 billion in 2017.

Issue 01 | 2019

Remittances received by the Middle East and North Africa also increased by 9 percent to $62 billion. Egypt posted a remittance growth of 17 percent. A major portion of the remittances from the UAE goes to India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Remittances are often used to pay for basic expenses such as education, rent, household bills and medicines used by migrant workers’ family members. A portion of it is also used for investment purpose, debt repayment and on social activities. The World Bank attributes the increase in remittances to stronger economic

conditions in the US, increase in oil prices which has a positive impact on the outward remittances from the Gulf countries. Dilip Ratha, lead author of the Brief and head of the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), told the media that remittances will soon become the largest source of external financing in developing countries. According to Ratha, renegotiating exclusive partnerships and letting new players operate through national post offices, banks, and telecommunications companies will increase competition and lower remittance prices.

NEWS

FINANCE

National Bank of Bahrain appoints its first ever Chief Risk Officer

he National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has announced the appointment of Mr. Isa Maseeh as its first ever Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Isa Maseeh responsibilities include developing the risk management framework to support its transformation and growth. Mr. Maseeh, who joined the Bank in 2017, earlier held the role of Deputy Chief Risk Officer. He brings with him more than 20 years of banking experience working for commercial and investment banks in Bahrain. He has experience working in banks such as Al Salam Bank Bahrain, United Gulf Bank, BMI Bank, and Gulf Finance House. Apart from a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University, Canada, Mr. Isa Maseeh has an MBA from

DePaul University, USA. He is also a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Professional Risk Manager (PRM) designations His appointment highlights National Bank of Bahrain’s commitment to empower Bahraini talent and appoint them at managerial positions in the organisation.

bank's strategy to expand and support the local and regional economies of the country. He noted that his bank is committed to strengthening its management team with the addition of a highly talented Bahraini workforce as a matter of priority and to support its transformation process. The bank is focused on incorporating fintech and establishing itself as a digital leader.

Speaking about the appointment, Mr. Jean-Christophe Durand, CEO of National Bank of Bahrain said stressed on the importance of the role and its significance on the bank's ongoing and sustainable growth. He also pointed out the important role Mr. Isa Maseeh will play in the execution of the

Established in 1957, National Bank of Bahrain was the country’s first locally owned bank. It soon established itself as Bahrain’s leading retail and commercial bank. The bank dominates Bahrain’s banking market and has the biggest network of branches and ATMs in the country.

LSE buys Refinitiv in a deal worth $27 bn

he London Stock Exchange Group announced its decision to buy data provider Refinitiv in a deal worth $27 billion. The stock exchange will also take over $12.5 billion of Refinitiv’s debt. Last year, Blackstone and a group of other investors acquired a majority stake in Refinitiv from Thomson Reuters, valuing the company at the time at $20 billion including debt. Blackstone brought a 55 percent stake and almost doubled its money in 10 months. After the London Stock Exchange Group’s acquisition of Refinitiv, the new company will be the world's largest financial markets infrastructure provider. After synergising the data generated by the exchange with Refinitiv's distribution and analytics, the London Stock Exchange Group would be able to take on Bloomberg, one of the industry's biggest players. The stock exchange and financial information company would finance the deal with newly issued shares as currency, turning Refinitiv's existing investors into its shareholders. The new shareholders would own about 37 percent of the combined company which is worth $14.5 billion.

Global Business Outlook

However, they would hold less than 30 percent of the voting rights. The deal would significantly expand the London Stock Exchange Group’s information services business. Kevin McPartland, head of market structure and technology research at Greenwich Associates told the media that, "The global exchanges are focusing more and more on data and technology as revenue drivers, and less on the actual matching of buys and sells." The acquisition news was mostly celebrated across US amid Brexit. Buying

Refinitiv could reduce the damage from a bout of market volatility that is expected should Britain leave the EU without an exit deal. The London Stock Exchange Group chief executive David Schwimmer expects the deal to transform the London Stock Exchange Group's position as a leading global Financial Markets Infrastructure group.” The company operates equity and derivatives markets such as the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, MTS and Turquoise. The company has a market value of about $23.9 billion.

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FINANCE

NEWS

Nigeria seeks Indonesia’s World’s biggest lenders' help to develop Islamic valuations sinks to a microfinance record-low

delegation from the Sokoto state of Nigeria visited Indonesia to know about the practices and the development of Islamic microfinance, especially Baitul Maal wat Tamwil (BMT). The Nigerian delegation was welcomed by Indonesia National Islamic Finance Committee (KNKS) at their office on July 25, 2019. The Nigerian delegation was led by the Governor of the Sokoto State of Nigeria Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. He was accompanied by the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for Indonesia, Hakeem Toyin Balogun and others. In the meeting between Nigerian delegation and Indonesia National Islamic Finance Committee, the hosts gave a presentation about the practices, regulations, and development plans of BMT in Indonesia. Nigeria’s decision to visit Indonesia and seek its help to develop Islamic microfinance is based on the fact that both the country’s population has a Muslim majority. Also, the two countries share a similar commitment to develop Islamic microfinance to help their country’s economy. Muhammad Lawal Maidoki, one member of the Nigerian delegation stressed that their visit to Indonesia is solely to learn about the development of Islamic microfinance in Indonesia, especially BMT, which is a hallmark of Indonesian Islamic microfinance industry. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto State hailed the Indonesia National Islamic Finance Committee (KNKS) for its role as an intermediary between the regulating bodies of Islamic finance and bringing them together to better promote Islamic financing in Indonesia. He highlighted that fact that his own state doesn’t have a body that performs exactly the same roles. The governor expects a partnership and seeks Indonesia National Islamic Finance Committee’s technical assistant to establish a similar body and BMT industry in his state, Sokoto. In the nearest time, we will send a team to be trained for the technical support with the manpower you have who understand the basics and dynamics of BMTs,” said Mr. Tambuwal.

Issue 01 | 2019

he valuation of China’s big four lenders tumbled to a record-low which can be heavily attributed to growing concerns that they will have to support China’s 4000 small lenders. China’s big four lenders control assets worth more than $14 trillion among themselves with a combined profit of $140 billion last year. According to Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis in Hong Kong, state-owned commercial banks in China are clearly suffering from the market impression that they will need to swallow other smaller and weaker banks, at least partially. Despite the fact that the big four controls China’s $40 trillion banking market, many small lenders have established themselves over the years. They uses opaque asset management products rather than relying on the conventional way which is consumer deposits. These banks now face the heat as authorities prevent such way of financing. At the same time, a slow Chinese economy led to an increase in the number of bad loans in the country. Experts predict that these small lenders will soon run into trouble and the big players will be asked to come into their support. Beijing will risk financial stability if they let the small lenders to close their business; therefore, the big players’ role is inevitable. "The smaller banks, as they require the fire hose, will likely get rolled up into the bigger banks, where they can disappear,” Christopher Balding, an associate professor at Fulbright University Vietnam told the media. Terry Sun, a Hong Kongbased analyst at CMB International Securities believes it might be a good time to buy for investors with longer time horizons. Jim Stent, author of 'China’s Banking Transformation', believes the big four will not be asked to do anything which they can't handle. He said, "Even if you take some pretty severe assumptions on how many banks need to be taken over, you will likely find it’s scarcely a ripple on the profits and balance sheets of the big banks."

NEWS

FINANCE

South Africa loses billions as investors pull out money

outh Africa has lost more than R70 billion in the last six months as foreign investors pulled their money out of the country. Despite the fact that billions have flooded out of South Africa’s bonds and equities in just six months, the country’s main stock index has increased to almost 11 percent. It underlines the role played by local investors. South Africa’s GDP has retracted by 3.2 percent in the last quarter. Also, unemployment in the country surged to a 11-year high. The rand also weakened 2.5 percent against the dollar last week. When Cyril Ramaphosa took over as the fifth President of South Africa, bringing in foreign investment into the country was one of his main objectives. Last year, Cyril Ramaphosa secured huge investments from countries such as China, UAE and Saudi Arabia. He also made an attempt to secure $100 billion for Mzansi. However, the opposite is happening in the current scenario. Unemployment, retracting GDP and a weaker rand are the major causes for foreign investments moving out of the country. According to Inkunzi Wealth Group director Owen Nkomo, the current state of government-owned Eskom is also a reason which is causing the outflow.

When asked about how funds moves in and out of the country, immigration expert Sable International said that exchange control is the way a government controls the movement of money into and out of a country. In South Africa, exchange control regulations are governed by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), which dictates how much and under what circumstances you may transfer money. According to the Sable International, although the rules are different for foreign investors, moving money into and out of the country requires expert knowledge and understanding. If someone wants to withdraw more than R11 million, they need the approval of the South African Reserve Bank and the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) beforehand.

Thailand’s Baht stays strong despite slow economy

espite Thailand’s slow economy and a drought hit farming sector, Baht has risen 5.4 percent against the dollar this year. This makes Thailand’s currency the best performing and one of the strongest in Southeast Asia. Because of the country’s account surplus, foreign investment is flowing into the country. But a strong baht is having an adverse effect on Thailand’s tourism and exports. This whole situation presented itself as a predicament for Thailand’s policymakers. According to Charnon Boonnuch, southeast Asia economist with Nomura, the country's central bank is avoiding cutting the interest rates as they believe it could increase household debt. The apex bank’s decision to not cut rates will only increase the difference between the rates. This also attributes to the baht growing stronger. Thailand’s economy is Southeast Asia’s second largest economy. But despite its status, the economy is not performing to its full capacity. Thailand's manufacturing

Global Business Outlook

output fell by 5.5 percent in June when compared to a year ago. According to data released by Thailand’s tourism department, the number of tourists visiting Thailand increased by 1.5 percent since last year. However, the number of visitors from China saw a 5 percent decline. Mark Baker, fund manager for emerging markets debt at Aberdeen Standard thinks the challenge for the baht is that every other central bank is easing at the same time. According to him, cutting interest rates may not be the right way to weaken the baht, which has become a major complication

for the country’s policymakers. However, he expects Thailand’s central bank to cut interest rates despite concerns for increased household debts. Kheng-Siang Ng, Asia-Pacific head of fixed income at State Street Global Advisors believes the country's regulators should encourage pension funds and insurers to invest in foreign markets. He said that, "Diversification, broadening out into other areas such as Asian local currency bonds, would be a good thing for them to consider."

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FINANCE

FEATURE

Are Asian

central banks

ready to tackle Trump’s trade war? Central banks are forced to make monetary policy adjustments to ease liquidity — but they need a real solution to fight this unprecedented battle

he US President Donald Trump’s unending trade war with China has cranked up the tension within Asian central banks. Trump’s quick declarations on escalating tariffs followed by China’s sharp retaliation has sparked new speculation of a currency war on his agenda — or worse, the trade war leading to a global recession.

Issue 01 | 2019

Chief Economist and Global Head of Economics at Morgan Stanley Chetan Ahya told the media that a recession could occur as early as nine months if Trump imposes 25 percent tariffs on the remaining $300 billion Chinese goods and China retaliates sharply. To second that, Chief China Economist of Morgan Stanley Robin Xing in a report said the ‘global cycle will be at risk’ if the trade

war escalates. For this year, analysts have reduced China’s GDP growth forecasts and the US is fearing the mounting chances of a recession to hit the country next year. With that, the global economy could slip into a recession as well. Whether there is a recession or not, Asia has every reason to prepare for the damage the trade war might do to

FEATURE

FINANCE

The central banks

in India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines slashed rates from 25 and 50 basis points this year. In May, the Malaysian central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2016. The bank’s 25 basis point cut to 3 percent suggested the possibility of growing market risks.

its regional markets. Recently, Trump’s Treasury Department included Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam to its currency manipulation watchlist. In some sense, analysts expect central banks in India, Indonesia, China, South Korea, and Malaysia to take stock of the political uncertainty and ensure there is enough liquidity if their economies show signs of weakening under foreseen and unforeseen circumstances. China has assumed the role of a first responder in this matter. A report from Morgan Stanley noted that the country is expected to further lower its banks’ reserve requirement ratio to release liquidity into the banking system. Morgan Stanley slashed the country’s GDP growth this year to 6.4 percent from 6.5 percent. The People’s Bank of China to support funding for small and medium enterprises cut its reserve requirement ratio by 300 basis points, releasing US$40.5 billion in liquidity. These small and medium enterprises nearly represent 60 percent of GDP and 80 percent of jobs in the country.

2.7% Global Business Outlook

Yuan has dropped 2.7 percent against the dollar since Trump’s tariff tweet in May, and is slowly moving downward. It is unclear whether Chinese officials will allow the currency to reach a low psychological level of 7 to the dollar. In any case, Chinese economist and former central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan pointed out that emerging markets heavily reliant on exports should devalue their currencies to gain trade advantages — and there is no point in keeping the yuan above 7 to the dollar. In fact, a weaker yuan can help exporters, he explained.

China's PMI Last month, China’s purchasing managers’ index stood at 50.2 during the time when the trade war had started to intensify. Likewise, the indexes in Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea fell below the 50-point mark. Experts believe that although China on multiple accounts has portrayed a rosy picture, reaffirming that there is nothing that the Trump administration could do to hurt the economy — the central bank’s move to ease pressure on the Chinese banking sector means

otherwise. Fraser Howie, an independent analyst told the media last year that the country is ‘facing its worst period since the global financial crisis’. Many economists think that the People's Bank of China will reinforce efforts on easing the private corporate sector. China is the chief growth driver in Asia. So the trade war impacting China is likely to send shock waves through the rest of the developing Asian economies as well. Despite the central governors of G20 economies mutual agreement to abstain from competitive currency devaluations during the G20 summit in 2016 — the trade war is forcing countries to adopt measures to dodge the side effects in all possible ways. The Morgan Stanley report said that central banks in India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines might slash rates ranging 25 and 50 basis points this year. In May, the Malaysian central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2016. The bank’s 25 basis point cut to 3 percent suggested the possibility of growing market risks. Likewise, India is also easing to support its weakening economy.

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FINANCE

FEATURE

Analysts are anticipating another round of policy interest rate cut from South Korea's central bank after it slashed the rate for the first time in three years. Unexpectedly, the Bank of Korea joined the force by lowering its benchmark interest rate as Japan’s export restrictions and trade war hurt the economy. The bank in need to support

Repurchase rate

1.75% 1.5%

economic recovery cut the seven-day repurchase rate to 1.5 percent from 1.75 percent. South Korea’s first rate cut since 2016 clearly reflects the tension among its policy makers and a new wave of adjustment in interest rates that is taking place across Asia. From now through 2020, one rate cut each is forecasted for South Korea and Thailand.

Benchmark interest rate in Philippines

25bps 4.5% 18

Issue 01 | 2019

The Philippines is following suit as it cut interest rates right after similar reductions were made by Malaysia. In May, its central bank lowered 25 basis points from its benchmark interest rate, with the new rate of 4.5 percent — the first in approximately six and a half years. That said, the Philippines central bank

Benchmark interest rate in Philippines

Indonesia has taken a slightly different approach than its Asian peers. Indonesia’s central bank governor Perry Warjiyo said that in addition to the disruption in the global manufacturing supply chain which could hit Southeast Asia — it would be hit by investor risk aversion from the trade war. The governor only hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut. The central bank managed to maintain the benchmark rate at 6 percent to stabilise the failing rupiah, which was down more than 2.6 percent in May.

Indonesia import controls

25bps 4.5% is waiting for more data before easing monetary policy again. Last year, the central bank had increased rates by 175 basis points over five sessions.

Benchmark interest rate in Indonesia

6% 2.6%

The Indonesian government also plans to review capital goods imports to control current account deficit which bloated to nearly 3 percent of GDP last year. More recently, a central banker said that Indonesia must seek a long-term global monetary policy easing to create new opportunities for interest rate cuts and a possible rise in foreign inflows. The US Federal Reserve’s decision to stall interest rate hikes is pushing more Asian central banks to join the easing bandwagon into next year. But that does not necessarily mean they are ready. The New York Times reported that major central banks have failed to achieve their 2 percent inflation targets. Very soon low interest rates might lose their charm as investors would by default expect a permanent scenario. Secondly, many of the central banks still have huge amount of bonds and other securities they purchased to support their weakening economies in the past. So buying another round of securities will only make it harder for them. Policymakers will have to adopt macroprudential measures where they can mitigate risks rather than simply resorting to rate cuts. Keeping the loopholes in mind, People’s Bank of China’s former chief Zhou Xiaochuan suggested that the World Trade Organisation could devise a robust solution that will help to set the trade rules right.  GBO Correspondent

FEATURE

FINANCE

How Asian central banks responded to the trade war Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bank of China: Reserve requirement ratio cut by

300 bps

Bank Negara Malaysia: Lowered its benchmark rate by

Bank of Korea: Cut seven-day repurchase rate to

1.5% from 1.75%

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas: Lowered benchmark rate by

25 bps to 4.5%

Bank Indonesia: Maintained benchmark rate at to stabilise the failing rupiah

2.7%

Global Business Outlook

25 bps to 3%

2.7% www.globalbusinessoutlook.com

FINANCE

FEATURE

Digital disruption

hits South African banking

A slew of challenger banks are changing the game in South African banking, driving financial inclusion and reducing costs for customers

outh Africa’s banking sector is undergoing major transformation. The country which previously largely depended on four of its largest banks, Absa Bank, FirstRand, Nedbank and Standard Bank, for most of its financial services, is presently witnessing the influx of digital banks. Digital banking innovation in South Africa is not limited to the mobile money based innovations that have driven financial

Issue 01 | 2019

inclusion and disrupted the financial services ecosystem in Kenya. The new ‘challenger banks’ as they are called differ from one another on the range of services they provide, but are practically banking companies without the physical infrastructure. So which are these companies and how are they disrupting banking in South Africa? What is the response of the traditional banks and what are the challenges before the South African digital banks?

Challenger banks in South Africa There are numerous challenger banks coming up in South Africa, giving intense competition to the existing traditional banks in the country. A few of them include Tyme Bank, Post Bank, Discovery Bank, Bettr Finance, Barco Financial Services and Bank Zero. Tyme Bank, based in Johannesburg,

FEATURE

was officially founded in 2012 under the name of TYME. But it fully opened for business in early 2019. Post Bank currently operates within the South African Post Office Group and as expected offers only basic financial services. Bank Zero, which plans to open for business by the second half of 2019, was founded by the senior executives of First National Bank. Bank Zero has already integrated its payment system with the South African Reserve Bank. Barko Financial Services, headquartered in Ludenberg, unveiled its plans to launch a retail bank in 2019. Bettr Finance, founded in 2015, is not a fully licenced bank and is reliant on a sponsoring bank to do its businesses. Discovery Bank, a digital founded by Discovery group, a South African financial and insurance services group started its fully fledged processes by early 2019, calls itself the first behavioural bank. Discovery Bank’s model is unique. Behavioural banking refers to the use of available and relevant consumer and business spending data to estimate future behaviour. Discovery bank has set out to find the actual cost of banking services intending to help its customers. The bank’s main goal is to improve customers’ financial health, by making them aware about the financial choices they have and the financial decisions that can benefit them. The bank plans to reward the customers for

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becoming financially healthier. Discovery Bank has agreed to buy the remaining quarter of a joint venture with FirstRand Bank in September. Reaching the large unbanked population in South Africa is a major objective of the digital banks. Hello Paisa, a money remittance and digital banking provider launched its first digital banking partnership with Sasfin, in South Africa early in 2019. The new digital bank was founded to give unbanked people access to financial and banking services. Ahmed Cassim, the managing director of Hello Paisa told the media that in the first two months, they had a few thousand customers who utilised the bank’s services, which enabled them to understand what the customers needed and what are the improvements the bank has to make it more customer friendly. Hello Paisa has a far wider customer reach when compared to traditional banks. It also brought up a few innovative technologies and revolutionised banking sector. Hello Paisa has given the provision to its customers to have a bank account to deposit the money and a debit card to do transactions, without actually having to go to the bank. Hello Paisa’s digital banking services offer its customers a mobile app and a mobile sim card along with the bank account and the debit card, which can be operated at any ATM or POS device.

FINANCE

Hello Paisa offers much lower bank charges than most traditional banks in South Africa, luring thousands of customers.

Digital banks find markets in townships The traditional banks in South Africa have always focused only on the major corporates and business entities. The townships of the country are often left out by them. But the entry of digital banks has forced South Africa’s top traditional banks to re-examine their positions on working in the townships. Most of the enterprises located in such township areas do not have a bank account. South Africa’s biggest lender by market share, FirstRand has announced its decision to bring a change to this situation by targeting these small enterprises. FirstRand’s retail unit First National Bank said that the businesses in townships are always ignored by the big banks. There are around 5.78 million enterprises in South Africa but not even half of them have business accounts. First National Bank (FNB) is targeting these township enterprises in a bid to defend its top position in the banking industry. FNB has been facing major competitions from its rival Capitec and

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newly founded digital banks like Tyme Bank and Bank Zero, which are luring customers through cheaper financial products and are preparing to enter business banking. FNB recently acquired shares in the fintech firm Selpal and is planning to attract unbanked businesses to use Selpal initially. Once the consumers use Selpal, FNB will retrieve their data through it and offer them accounts. Michael Jordan, co-founder of Bank Zero confirmed that it would target all kinds of businesses. Tyme Bank’s CMO, Luiza Mazinter said that the bank would initially focus on sole proprietors and micro businesses, allowing current account holders to open separate business accounts without any extra documents.

Digital banks reduce banking costs An issue faced by the banks, especially the digital banks in South Africa is the number of people using bank accounts for transactions. Only 24 percent of the customers use their cards more than three times for transactions. The people prefer to use it in the form of cash itself. People do not trust the banks or digitalised systems due to the large number of corruption scandals that are heard. High fee is another barrier that’s stopping the people from using them. But digital banks have been able to crack their way through this with cheaper rates. There has been change in the people’s outlook as they have started realising the dangers and risks related to storing and usage of cash, which might prove beneficial to the banks. Digital banks have lowered the banking charges immensely. Digital banks have provided bank accounts with a monthly account fee that ranges from

Issue 01 | 2019

zero to R10.

Tyme Bank challenges existing banking world order Tyme Bank introduced the fully free transactional account in the country. Tyme Bank was followed by African Bank’s MY World, and Nedbank which also offers a free transactional account. Unlike traditional banks, digital banks like Discovery and FNB do not charge customers for depositing or withdrawing cash. Tyme Bank introduced quite a few innovations in the banking sector in South Africa. The bank has installed kiosks at Boxer and Pick n Pay stores all across South Africa, from where bank accounts can be opened within no time. There are no paper works in kiosks, just two biometric stands. People can open accounts with just these two biometric stands and within five minutes the customer can have a bank account, a savings account, and a personalised debit card with their name. Tauriq Keraan, the current CEO of

Tyme Bank has announced his plans of diversifying it into business and personal lending, which is not Tyme Bank’s core transactional banking business. The business and personal lending market is currently dominated by the other four big banks. Tyme Bank’s entry into this field will pose major challenges to these banks. Tyme Bank is planning to increase its customer base to 2.3 million in the coming years.

Traditional banks play digital catch up The traditional banks did not have remarkable earnings in the beginning of 2019.The growth in Africa as a whole was the only reason why banks like Nedbank and Standard bank were able to perform better. Traditional banks have been finding it very difficult to stand up to the new players, the digital banks. The traditional banks are, however, trying to create an impression that they are still resilient and have not been

FEATURE affected greatly by their competitors. For instance, Standard Bank claimed that its new MyMo bank account only took six weeks to launch rather than the normal time period of 12 months. Nedbank claimed that it can bring in customers for life through its new process Eclipse. It has also made the opening of a bank account possible in twenty minutes. But, it’s a clear fact that all banks except FNB are just trying to match up to their fully digital newcomers. Standard Bank has earmarked 91 branches for closure to reduce expense while Nedbank is planning to reduce its branch footprint by 16 percent. 20 percent of Nedbank’s business and nearly half of Standard Bank’s revenue came from the rest of Africa’s business.

What does the future hold for traditional banks? The future of the traditional banks in South Africa will depend on how they react to the current challenges. The growth of new banks has put their survival in jeopardy. The non-traditional banks seem to be keen on exploring new opportunities. The traditional banks are unable to find a strong digital foothold in the present scenario and are trying to find different ways to

stay relevant. The banking field is rapidly evolving towards being a ‘market without boundaries’ and traditional banks are trying hard to keep up with it. To stay in the game, the traditional banks will have to start prioritising key operational trends like digital transformation and data mining. The advantage that the four universal banks have over the challenger banks is the ability to serve to a sizeable of South Africa’s business and corporate banking customers. But they won’t be able to maintain this advantage if they don’t develop better solutions to meet the needs of their customers. The traditional banks have started their transformation towards a digitalised banking system. The key operational trends they brought in include implementation of emerging technologies to evolve or replace legacy systems, a strong focus on cyber and IT resilience, and digitising front and back-office operations, while prioritising fulfilment of customer expectations through electronic channels. Many banks are under digital competition stress, forcing them to restructure. The stagnant growth along with a high unemployment rate has added to this stress. But the restructuring would increase the unemployment rate as digitalisation of banks reduces the requirement of human interference in financial services. SABSO, the banking union in South Africa is threatening to put up a strike, to protect 10,000 jobs in the financial services industry.

Cybersecurity is a key digital banking challenge Just as in everything else, digitalising banks also comes with its pros and cons. The main negative aspect of digitalising the entire financial system is cyber security. Cybercrimes in South Africa have increased with the increase in digitalised banks and the number of internet users. There are no effective

Global Business Outlook

FINANCE

cyber security measures implemented yet in the country. Cybercrime is termed to be the most disruptive economic crime. According to data, cybercrimes across digital banking increased by 75 percent in 2018, resulting in loss of over R262 million in South Africa. There was a cyber-attack recently in South Africa, which is said to have been executed by the North Korean hackers Lazarus Group. There are around 3,50,5000 new threats coming up every day. This has prompted the banks to create awareness among their users and empower them to identify incidents, to avoid falling prey to fraudsters. Simone Dickson, Director in CDH’s technology, Media and Telecommunications practice told the local media that businesses and individuals should review current data practices and plans and implement stringent data security measures. There are rules which enable the victims of digital banking fraud to register a criminal case under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. They can also file complaints under theft, extortion and fraud. If the identity of the criminal is known to the victim, then they can initiate civil proceedings against the criminals to recover the loss suffered. South Africa’s state security agency, SSA, has made cyber security a top priority by publishing a new draft of the Cyber Security Bill on August 28, 2015. According to the bill, an offender of cyber security can serve jail terms from one to twenty five years or a fine of R1 million to R25 million. Therefore, with the implementation of proper cyber security measures, digitalised banks, in very less time, can take over the traditional banking system in South Africa and provide financial services in a cheaper and more flexible way. 

GBO Correspondent

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TECHNOLOGY

NEWS

Microsoft Teams will be the Trump administration bans new upgrade of Skype for US fed agencies from using Business Online Huawei kit

he Trump administration has forbid US federal agencies from using services or purchasing equipment from Chinese giants Huawei and ZTE. This decision comes after its efforts to sever Huawei from US technology. The ban was moved into law as part of the Defense Authorisation Act by the US President Trump.

icrosoft officials announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired on July 31, 2021 and its service will no longer be accessible to users. Skype for Business Online users can continue to use its services or add users between now and the date of suspension, however. Office 365 new customers will be moved to Teams by July 2021 and will not have the option to access Skype for Business Online. The reason Microsoft arrived at this decision is because it wants customers to onboard to Teams — which is considered as an upgrade to all Skype for Business Online customers. In 2017, the company launched Microsoft Teams as ‘the hub for teamwork’ in Microsoft 365.

The new rule will take effect in the month of August. In addition to Huawei and ZTE, the rule will target other Chinese companies such as Hytera and Hikvision. For a long time, Huawei has dismissed reports stating its close association with the Chinese government. However, the administration firmly believes that Huawei equipment could act as a spy putting American data at risk. With that, several countries including India have followed suit on whether to allow Huawei operate in the country — or not. In response, China has warned India that if Huawei is banned from doing business in the company — Indian companies operating on the mainland will be put on the receiving end of the conflict. For now, Indian telecom giants Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea use Huawei and ZTE equipment for their 2G, 3G and 4G networks in select areas.

Teams is dynamic and versatile. It comprises chat, video calling, and document collaboration into a single, integrated app. Microsoft officials on the company’s blog said that they have been collaborating with customers to improve Teams and now it is ready to be flaunted as an upgrade. Customers using Teams have already given their feedback that it is a powerful tool — and is transforming the way organisations get their work done. Skype for Business Online has been instrumental to Microsoft’s growth and to millions of users around the world. Now, Microsoft Teams is ready for customers seeking enhanced Microsoft services. Microsoft is also rebranding the web version of Office, formerly known as Office Online. The officials on a blog post noted that the change will be introduced only for the company’s client-side Office Online apps. The Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Office Online server names will remain as they are. The company said the chief reason for this change is because its offerings have become more enhanced to provide access to apps on multiple platforms. So the need to use any ‘platformspecific sub brands’ is redundant.

Issue 01 | 2019

The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) Oversight Board has prepared a report for the National Security Advisor of the UK assessing Huawei’s approach to security. The report identified that using Huawei kit might pose ‘significant technical issues’ resulting in a myriad of new risks for the UK telecommunications network. Early this year, Huawei said it might end up spending than the allocated $2 billion in an effort to deal with security concerns raised by the UK government. Despite the challenges, the Chinese giant has outperformed Apple and Samsung in its smartphone sales this year. To read more on Huawei’s strategic response to the ban and the reason behind its exponential growth, you can turn to page: 67

NEWS

TECHNOLOGY

Apple’s recent launches are strategic to its brand push

S giant Apple is building new strategies to lure users and developers in the modern era of technology business. More recently, the company will be venturing into the bitcoin and cryptocurrency market. Apple launched the CryptoKit at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference titled Cryptography and your Apps held in June 2019.

The reason for saying so is because Apple’s Cryptographic Engineering Manager Yannick Sierra described the conference as the ‘Bitcoin session’. CryptoKit is not the first step toward Apple’s efforts in cryptocurrency. Apple’s relationship with cryptocurrency and bitcoin has been dicey in the past. The company already had a cryptography framework called CommonCrypto quite similar to CryptoKit. So some developers believe that it is not a newly introduced element in the community.

Essentially, the CryptoKit is Apple’s new developer tool to ‘perform cryptographic operations securely and efficiently’. That means Apple’s CryptoKit will allow developers to seamlessly carry out cryptographic operations such as hashing, key generation and encryption. With CryptoKit, developers will also be able to manage tasks in a more secure manner — and not in low-level interfaces. It is believed that Apple’s CryptoKit will give developers a first time advantage to ‘manage a user’s keys in an iPhone,

achieving a similar level of security to hardware wallets.’ For now, the company’s long term goal using the CryptoKit is unknown — but blockchain is likely to be on its agenda.

Apple is also going to launch the much-awaited Apple Card in August. It has received a lot of media attention and positive feedback on the Apple Card which is described as a move to reinforce brand loyalty. This is because the product is strategic to its brand push and the only way for a user to have the Apple Card is by owning an iPhone.

Oracle to migrate 4000 on-premise MEA clients to cloud in two years

merican multinational Oracle is planning to move its entire onpremise customers in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to cloud in the next two years. The company will onboard nearly 4000 customers in the MEA region on to cloud.

of Oracle’s customers to migrate to the cloud this year. Roughly 70 percent of those 4000 customers are based in the UAE. With that, he is quite confident that setting up the data centre in Abu Dhabi in February this year will help the company in several ways.

Currently, the technology giant has more than 700 live customers in the MEA region. The customers include Emaar Group, Fine Hygienic Holding, Landmark Group and DP World among others.

The UAE data centre has made it easy to streamline selling process and several big names are expected to come onboard.

Senior Vice-President for business applications at Oracle for Middle East, Africa and India Arun Khekar said in an exclusive interview with TechRadar Middle East that the company will gain a competitive advantage over other cloud providers if it is done the right way. Khekar said he wants more than 1,000

Global Business Outlook

Oracle’s 40 percent of revenue is generated from the installed base, while the remaining is from new customers. It also has a Future Lab at Dubai Internet City to allow customers to understand how their data will work on cloud. Oracle has more than 1,100 applications on the cloud — and will open its data centre in Abu Dhabi this year. Khekar added that

the data centre is essential because of the regulated industries and to ensure their checklist is complete. The cloud market has extensively grown over the years. With that, Oracle aims to become the world’s largest business applications cloud company. The company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) cloud business grew more than 50 percent year over year as of the first six months of 2019.

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TECHNOLOGY

NEWS

UAE’s first KYC data-sharing powered by blockchain is a boon to financial industry

ubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) along with Mashreq Bank and norbloc recently announced a strategic cooperation to launch the UAE’s first blockchain consortium. The UAE Blockchain KYC Platform marks a new milestone in the region’s financial services industry. The three groups have teamed up to launch the first blockchainbacked know your customer (KYC) data to streamline transactions and ease banking-related processes. The agreement was signed in January 2019. The main objective of the system is to speed up onboarding and exchange of documentation using blockchain. The system is also expected to cut costs in managing KYC data and increase transparency. The cooperation is determined to support newly registered companies, financial institutions and regulators. Using the system, they will be able to digitally establish a single KYC record. The record will be authenticated with electronic ID. Those newly registered companies will be able to save time required to acquire a bank account and costs involved in managing the KYC data.

In this context, the UAE Banks Federation (UBF) firmly supports the use and exploration of blockchain to improve KYC processes. All eligible financial institutions and licencing authorities in the region will be able to access the consortium. DIFC and Mashreq Bank will serve as inaugural members and future members will be announced at the time. KYC processes are extremely crucial to financial institutions seeking to reduce financial crimes worldwide. Introducing the system demonstrates DIFC and Mashreq Bank’s continuous efforts to build a sterilised and process oriented financial landscape in the region. Stockholm-based Norbloc’s blockchain ecosystem is unique to feeding secure measures in KYC data-sharing. By 2021, the Middle East and Africa’s blockchain spending is expected to grow to $307 million, observed research firm IDC.

DHL’s digital twin technology at Tetra Pak marks the future of smart warehouses

nternational logistics company DHL has implemented an integrated supply chain solution at Tetra Pak’s warehouse in Singapore. The two companies have collaborated to support Tetra Pak’s warehousing and transport activities using digital solutions. Tetra Pak is DHL’s first smart warehouse in Asia Pacific to deploy the digital twin technology. The digital twin technology comprises digital models which help to understand and manage physical assets — and is the future of smart warehouses with agile supply chain operations. Tetra Pak is the world’s leading food processing and packaging company with head offices in Sweden and Switzerland.

Issue 01 | 2019

The company caters to millions of people in more than 160 countries. DHL created the solution using both Internet of Things (IoT) technology and data analysis. The digital solution will help to virtually monitor and simulate the Tetra Pak’s warehouse activities in real-time. With that, Tetra Pak will be able to achieve good coordination of its operations and mitigate potential errors, including safety and productivity. IoT and proximity sensors are installed on material handling equipment (MHE) to minimise collision risks and enhance spatial awareness. Areas with restricted access will also be monitored and and generate alerts in case of a breach.

The goods entering and leaving the warehouse are monitored by a DHL control tower. This is to ensure that the goods are stored within 30 minutes of receipt and goods to be delivered are ready for shipment within 95 minutes. In addition, DHL has implemented a container storage management solution that will manage heavy containers usually handled by employees. Also, DHL is investing in cutting-edge technologies that seamlessly enable warehouse operations. In May, it announced launched smart glasses technology across its global facilities. DHL employees are expected to use Glass Enterprise Edition smart glasses as augmented reality is more effective in the picking process.

NEWS

TECHNOLOGY

Aviation industry is turning To end digital gender gap to blockchain powered in Africa, Melinda Gates solutions to ease operations approaches G7

ong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific will use blockchain technology to manage unit load devices (ULDs) data.

The blockchain ULD project is expected to be rolled out across all Cathay Pacific networks in the near future. The airline offers scheduled cargo and passenger services to more than 200 destinations worldwide. It was Cathay Pacific e-cargo and digital systems manager Calvin Hui who started the blockchain ULD project. According to Hui, the project will largely contribute to the internal management of ULDs and offer improved services to Cathay Pacific customers.

ith the digital financial sector blossoming in Africa, Melinda Gates fears it will bypass 400 million rural women in Africa. She urged the Group of Seven to not take the matter lightly, but stressed on the severity of the issue. According to her, the Digital financial service is something that did not exist 15 years ago. But now it’s blossoming, however, the mobile phone operators are only going to target the African middle class and leave out the poor and also women. A gap already exists which hampers all women empowerment efforts.

The first stage of the project started in July this year. It will mainly focus on ULD transactions in Hong Kong and select locations in the US before rolling out across the entire Cathay network. Cathay Pacific said that the solution powered by blockchain will increase transparency. The airline described it as a ‘single source of truth’. There are two benefits of deploying this blockchain solution: it will build a robust ULD database across the Cathay Pacific network and offer better customer experience. Hui said that they are waiting to see how the technology will help during peak cargo periods as it is expected to assist in ULD management. In July, S7 Airlines in partnership with Alfa-Bank was reported to be developing its own blockchain innovation. S7 Airlines is a founding member of global aviation alliance OneWorld. S7 Airlines’ said in an official statement that it processed more than $1 million using the blockchain platform. S7 Airlines is also Russia’s biggest domestic airline. The new blockchain platform will help its agents to work closely with the airline and grow its sales network. Overall, rolling out the platform will boost payments processing rate and minimise paperwork. It also guarantees safety of operations for the airline.

Global Business Outlook

She told the media that, “We know from good research that when a woman has her own digital financial bank account, she often moves from the informal farming sector to the formal entrepreneurial sector. When they have assets in their hands, women often invest differently from their husbands. They invest in health and their kids’ education. When women are empowered, economies are lifted out of poverty. Yet too many women are stuck in the era of the moneylender and the forced chicken sale.”

She calls for actions to be taken before the digital gender gap becomes catastrophic. A G7 finance ministers meeting in France is set to endorse a paper from the Gates Foundation acknowledging the digital gender gap issue which will leave the African women disempowered for a generation. The initiative, requiring $255 million in initial funding and regulatory action across Africa, is designed to prevent the digital gender gap from further increasing. It will aim to eradicate the cultural and market barriers which often lead to women being excluded from mobile banking, e-commerce and smartphone technology. According to reports, a mobile money revolution in subSaharan Africa is underway. Yet, sub-Saharan Africa women are 13 percent less likely to own a mobile phone and 41 percent less likely to use mobile internet than men.

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TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE

Who wins

the US China

electric vehicle technology race? The Chinese electric vehicle makers enthusiasm for the technology is not matched by actual production numbers giving Tesla and the US an advantage

he effects of the US China trade war on Chinese manufacturing is now clear with some companies hurriedly moving their manufacturing capacities to other locations in Southeast Asia. What Trump’s actions on Huawei indicate is that the so-called tech race between the US and China is getting frenetic. The key US concern is not only about

mobile technology but also about giving up an edge to China in artificial intelligence and weapons technology. There are some worries that China might have in fact overtaken the US in virtual reality innovation. But flying under the radar is another tech race between the US and China for leadership in electric vehicles and EV battery technology. While the struggles of US electric

20%

Tariffs on Burgeoning trade war Chinese EVs impose imported cars

Trump's threat

Issue 01 | 2019

20%

vehicle leader Tesla are well known, what does the competition from China look like? Will the Chinese electric vehicle startups come up to dominate the electric vehicle technology market? Is the threat of a US-China tech race in electric vehicles real? The burgeoning trade war is likely to end Tesla’s competitiveness in China. The US President Donald

40% China's import tariff on Tesla EVs

40%

Trump has threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on imported cars. China has hit back with an import tariff of 40 percent on Tesla vehicles while other imported vehicles will have a 15 percent tariff imposed on them. Trump’s widely anticipated tariffs are affecting Tesla’s brand presence in the world’s largest automotive market China. The China

15% China's tariff on other imported vehicles

15%

FEATURE Automobile Dealers Association observed that China is in fact Tesla’s second-largest market with 17,000 vehicles delivered last year.

electronic vehicle market with a vision ‘to become the world’s largest and most powerful new energy vehicle group within three to five years.

Tesla being a pioneer in building electric vehicles pointed out that the retaliatory tariffs is costing the company up to an additional 60 percent to manufacture vehicles compared to the ‘exact same car’ built by Chinese automakers. To make matters worse, the company was forced to increase its price range for Model X and Model S cars by about 20 percent in China to combat the rising tariffs.

Evergrande’s investments in electric vehicle companies are only the beginning of its attempt to challenge Tesla’s growth which is mired in political complexities. Evergrande owns National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a Swedish manufacturer that plans to introduce an electric car this year. Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yan said that the company is firming up its presence in the electric vehicle industry and is backed by robust automotive technology. It has also acquired a 20 percent stake in Koenigsegg, a Swedish manufacturer of highperformance sports cars.

Elon Musk in a tweet wrote that the price of Tesla full self-driving functionality will go up by $1000 starting from mid-August and it will ‘increase every few months’. These tariffs pose an even bigger threat to its Model 3 sales which is affordable to a larger customer base in the Chinese market. Last year, Musk described Tesla’s internal delays to produce batteries as ‘production hell’. This is one reason why automakers in China are in a better position to capture the electronic vehicle market. So a more relevant question is: how are Chinese electric vehicle automakers capitalising on Tesla’s struggles? China’s second-largest property developer Evergrande Group, for instance, is foraying into the

Global Business Outlook

Evergrande is directing its focus on vertical integration to control all major factors related to the manufacturing process. It is planning to invest $23 billion to build three factories in Guangzhou. The first factory will produce a million electric cars each year, while the remaining two factories will manufacture battery cells, electric motors and other components required for the electric cars. Evergrande also pledged $2 billion last year in Faraday Future, an electric vehicle startup founded by Chinese ex-billionaire Jia Yueting. Evergrande is not the only company trying to exacerbate competition with Tesla. Another Chinese automobile startup Xpeng, inspired by

Tesla, is known for building cars with close similarities to Tesla. Its G3 model is quite similar to Tesla’s Model X. The startup sells G3 through its own stores and has hired former staff from Tesla. Xpeng is only four-years old and is already worth billions of dollars. Truth be told, Musk has been manufacturing electric vehicles for years now. But Tesla is scrambling to retain its number one position despite top design and robust engineering because China’s

Chinese automakers expected to produce 4.5

million electric vehicles in 2020 policy reforms are fostering a slew of Chinese automakers like BYD Auto, Great Wall Motor and Lifan Auto to ramp up efforts to expand their global presence. One of the earliest electric vehicles startups Youxia Motors told Quartz that it will stop mass production by the end of the year. Its approach is different compared to its Chinese peers in the market. Instead, the automaker plans to roll out new models and open showrooms in 10 cities from early 2020. The decision stems from Youxia’s efforts to step up the process of mass production and delivery.

TECHNOLOGY The International Energy Agency observed that Chinese automakers are expected to produce over 4.5 million electric vehicles in 2020. It is also intimidating for Tesla because GACToyota Motor which makes vehicles for the Chinese market is planning to market cars in the US next year. China is a growing market for electronic and hybrid cars, where it accounts for 3 percent of 28 million cars sold every year in the country. By numbers, it represents double the rate of sales in the US. China is leading the market because it offered attractive incentives including for electric cars with a $7,500 federal tax rebate, which has been reduced to half this year. The Chinese government is mandating regulations for electric vehicle companies by necessitating manufacturers to reassess their designs for battery pack enclosures, waterproofing of enclosures, high-voltage wiring and charge controllers. The Chinese government has taken this initiative as a precautionary measure after fires involving Tesla vehicles happened this year, followed by a similar incident involving Chinese startup NIO’s vehicle. China is clear that it wants automobile companies to pay close attention to their high-end models and severe-duty delivery trucks and taxis. Currently, there are 486 electric vehicle companies in the country. China plans to downsize the number because

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TECHNOLOGY auto giants, real estate establishments and startups are making a major shift toward the electric vehicle market spurring billions of dollars of investments. There are chances that the rapidly growing electric vehicle market might burst leaving behind only a few automakers to survive. Thomas Fang, a partner and strategy consultant at Roland Berger in Shanghai, said in a media report that the situation is a matter of life or death for electric vehicle startups. In an effort to control the ballooning effect of the car market, especially with foreign automakers such

FEATURE as Tesla setting the pace, the Chinese government has jotted down rules that will allow automakers only with a certain size to outsource manufacturing to contract factories. Automakers will be eligible based on two criteria: They should have built 15,000 electric cars over the past two years and have research and development investments worth more than 580 million in China in the last three years. These rules implemented by the Chinese government will ensure that the Chinese automakers have a fair chance to compete and it also rules out the possibility of foreign monopoly in

its world’s largest electric vehicle market. China is also breaking up the monopoly it created by scaling back subsidies it braced a decade ago when the industry was still young. But the downside is that venture capital investments in China’s electric vehicle companies have dampened. The investments fell 90 percent from $6 billion in June last year to 783 million in the same period this year. For example, Xpeng which is backed by Alibaba completed a $580 million funding round in August last year. With the latest investment it has given the startup a market valuation

of $3.6 billion, however. Last year, Quartz reported that Xpeng hadn’t delivered vehicles to its customers who pre-ordered its G3 electric SUV since the pre-sales. High-profile electric vehicle startups such as Xpeng are finding it harder to ramp up mass production than receive millions in investor funding. Investors are also being cautious now because Beijing is phasing out subsidies by half this year. New electric vehicle sales rose measly 2 percent in May compared to last year. So, the challenges for Chinese companies seem

Venture capital funding for China’s EV startups

2015

$ 0.75 Billion

2016

$ 2.25 Billion

2014 $ 0.5 Billion

2017

EV startups funding

$ 3 Billion

2018 $ 7.5 Billion

2019 $ 0.75 Billion

+ Source: PitchBook

Issue 01 | 2019

FEATURE

TECHNOLOGY

Tesla is quite serious about its plans for China and is mounting a direct challenge to Chinese electric carmakers greater than it is for foreign automakers like Tesla. NIO which is known for its quest to become China’s Tesla saw its shares fall 58 percent this year. That’s not all. In addition to its safety issues that raised a concern, the startup is struggling amid China’s bumpy economic conditions. With that, it becomes obvious that Tesla still has a chance to secure its top game in the country. Beijing phasing out subsidies suggests that it is easing restrictions on foreign automakers in the domestic market. So in the next two years, several second-tier brands will face hardships involving funding and production. According to the Chinese government, the country has a long list of electric automakers. With China putting restrictions on electric automakers in its world’s largest market implies

Global Business Outlook

that it is speeding up efforts to uproot the marginal ones, meaning that the market will have to comprise automakers with strong financial assets while achieving critical mass. Despite the fact that the struggle is real for domestic automakers, Tesla is not free from new competition sprouting in the country. Another Chinese electric vehicle startup Drako Motors is in the spotlight for developing a 1,200-horsepower, 206-mph supercar called the Drako GTE. However, Tesla is quite serious about its plans for China and is mounting a direct challenge to Chinese electric carmakers. It is building its first gigafactory in Shanghai. This will be the largest foreign investment to date in Shanghai and will have a manufacturing capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year once completed.

It appears that Tesla is one of the few companies investing billions of dollars in China. Strategically, Musk has refrained from partnering with a domestic producer which is essential for foreign automakers to stay put in China’s electric vehicle market. He is instead building the factory in the Free Trade Zone where China will impose a 15 percent tariff on all Tesla vehicles — but the automaker will not have to share Tesla technology with any potential competitors. Tesla’s production in Shanghai will also allow the automaker to work with local suppliers providing low-cost material. As part of its strategic efforts, Tesla is slashing the price of Model 3 cars and eliminating Model S and Model X base versions. Adamas Intelligence’s latest EV Battery Capacity Monthly report found that Tesla’s Model 3 cars account for 16 percent of the world’s overall new electric

battery capacity deployed in May. This is in comparison to only 4 percent for the second-ranked BYD Yuan and 3 percent for the fifth-ranked Nissan Leaf. Finally, even though there is a lot of speculation whether Tesla will survive tough political conditions coupled with continuous domestic rivalry, Musk says the company must go ‘all out’ to ‘set an all-time record’ in the world’s largest electric vehicle market. In the end it looks like the puff in the Chinese electric vehicle market is getting blown away by a cautious government and market dynamics. The Chinese manufacturers’ enthusiasm for EV technology is not matched by production and output. That is where Tesla and the US have a distinct advantage as far as electric vehicle technology is concerned.  GBO Correspondent

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TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE

Inside Africa’s

booming startup culture The startup ecosystem in Africa is decentralising with tech hubs and VC firms sprouting outside major hubs in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa

or Africa, Nairobi has been the continent’s thriving technology landscape for over many years, famously known as Silicon Savannah. At one point the trend showed that multinational corporations, innovation labs, and accelerators were all concentrated in the city — making it the go-to hub for both investors and technologists. But the tech scene in Nairobi is changing swiftly. Technology hubs have started to sprout in the rest of Africa implying that Kenya’s startup sector is slowly decentralising. In 2016, the presence of technology hubs doubled in a span of less than a year as more investors and innovators started to flock to the startup landscape outside Kenya’s major cities.

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As it turns out, open spaces like Kenya’s iHub have propelled the startup culture on the continent. A testament to that is iHub’s traction camp regional accelerator program Cohort 2. Last year, it announced that twenty seven digital startups will be taking part in the second cycle, where participants were selected from a pool of 150 applicants specialising in digital offerings across fintech, energy, healthcare, education, agriculture, cyber security and e-commerce. iHub said that for the first time it found entries from Somalia as well. The programme’s first cycle was a huge success underpinned by 16 high growth startup ventures from five east African countries inlcuding Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia. A robust body of research by Partech Africa found that 2018 was a record

year for African technology startups in venture capital funding. Partech’s research findings showed that 146 startups raised $1.163 billion in equity funding, which is a 108 percent year on year growth — compared to $560 million in the year earlier. The startup funding growth has accelerated from a 33 percent year on year in 2016 to 53 percent in 2017 to 108 percent in 2018. The increase in the proportion of funding over the three years has been exponential. Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are still on top of the game accounting for 78 percent of the total venture capital funding, however. In this case, South Africa has slowed down with $250 million in funding over 37 deals, while Kenya and

FEATURE Nigeria received $348 million and $306 million in funding respectively.

Rest of Africa

On the basis of geographic distribution, the study identified that there was at least one equity technology deal in at least 19 other African countries, with a total funding of $260 million raised over 57 deals. Nearly 10 startups from the rest of Africa raised 11 rounds of funding equal to or more than $5 million.

Total funding

Markets outside major cities in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are fast developing a dynamic startup culture. Francophone African country Senegal, for example, described itself as the leading hub with $22 million raised over 4 deals, the Partech study noted. The Swahilibox in Mombasa, LakeHub in Kisumu, Sote Hub in Voi, Ubunifu in Machakos and Mt.Kenya Hub in Nyeri are some of the common examples of technology hubs that work independently from the main hubs. The Sote Hub has conducted an array of workshops, especially with innovation and entrepreneurship slowly emerging in a relatively rural setup. Three years ago, Sote Hub launched its first tech innovation platform for startups in Voi, where sixteen startups had participated. The hub largely aims to incubate the best ideas from the community and the Sote ICT project which brings practical company experience to high school students in rural Kenya enabling their digital skills. The Sote hub has benefitted 6000 students, 26 schools in the program and 28 practice companies. As it turns out, its website said, “Majority of our graduates are with jobs comprising 30 percent of the respondents sampled and this includes those with own businesses. This is three times the national average where transition from learning institutions to work place stands at 8.7 percent.” The Sote ICT graduates and communities have a chance to seek

Global Business Outlook

TECHNOLOGY

$260mn over 57 deals 10 startups had

11 rounds of funding equal or more than

$5 mn employment and entrepreneurship through startup hub, corporate volunteering, micro-outsourcing and mentorship.

Hundreds of active tech hubs in Africa There are 314 active technology hubs across the continent ensuring even opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs across the landscape. And crucially, those hubs are pivotal to the continent’s startup landscape because they empower startups with affordable shared office space, good internet connection, access to reliable electricity and other necessities. There are technology events, conferences and workshops held in an effort to develop entrepreneurial skills. One of South Africa’s biggest technology hubs is SmartXchange in Durban, outside the main startup hubs of Johannesburg and Cape Town that, strives to encourage small and medium enterprises and hosts monthly forums to share practical industry knowledge with aspiring entrepreneurs. Although venture capital investment is certainly prominent in the dominant markets, there are significant investments made in Rancard, Paga, and Interswitch. The first sub-regional equity fund manager Cauris Management is established in West Africa, where there is a good mix of both local firms and

international non-profit impact funds. Some of the active venture capital firms including Partech, Orange Digital Ventures and Teranga Capital invest in Senegal. Through the Délégation à l’Entrepreneuriat Rapide programme the Senegalese government can invest in a number of zero-interest loans and equity into startups. An example of that is the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund which was launched recently to invest in ticket sizes ranging between €3 million and €15 million or the equivalent of that in the local currency. The fund has the capacity to invest in any African country using AfricaInvest’s robust networks. The startup landscape in rural Africa is in fact improving the people’s quality of life through sustainable job creation by empowering micro and small enterprises to access business opportunities. An example of that is Liberia, a country known largely for conflict. Monrovia’s iLab offers free training in information and communications technology and serves as a networking space for professionals and new entrepreneurs. A number of private equity investors like TPG, Helios, Goldman Sachs, Carlyle coupled with multinational corporations like Naspers, Paypal, and Pernod Ricard have also joined the African technology force spurring competition across the startup landscape.  GBO Correspondent

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TECHNOLOGY

OPINION

How Brexit affects the UK and European payments landscape The UK banking and payments landscape will have to evolve and adapt in the face of a no-deal Brexit

n the latest twist in the UK’s journey out of the EU, Boris Johnson, the controversial former London mayor, has been elected by Conservative Party members as their new leader and as the new Prime Minister of the UK. Johnson won his new position by impressing party members with his commitment to leave the EU with or without a deal on the 31st October 2019. It’s no surprise then that many UKbased and international businesses are concerned about this growing level of ambiguity over the country’s future. The possibility that the UK will walk away from the European Union without a deal is still very real and plausible. So, where does this leave businesses inside and outside of the UK? And how does

Issue 01 | 2019

this impact the offering of financial service providers facilitating commerce payments for their clients operating in, and across, both the EU and UK? As everyone patiently awaits the next steps from the British government, businesses – and those in the payments industry in particular – are becoming increasingly agitated with this ongoing uncertainty.

Post-Brexit payments regulation The UK banking and payments landscape will have to evolve substantially, not just in the event of a No Deal Brexit, but even under a Hard Brexit – which will leave it completely outside of the current EU

Customs Union. Even the Labour Party’s proposed negotiated customs union – distinct from the existing continent-wide union – would entail major shifts in the payments landscape. This can have significant consequences for payment providers and their customers on both sides of the channel when it comes to financial service solutions that facilitate cross-border commerce. The reason for this is that – under a no-deal scenario, or under any one of the deals currently being discussed by the Government and the Opposition – the UK will be outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and the EU. This means UK payment service providers will need to ensure they have appropriate EEA licencing in order to provide

OPINION

financial services to their clients for operating on the European continent. Similarly, European financial institutions will also need additional certification to operate within the UK. Consequently, the UK payments ecosystem not being part of the EEA would also mean that it’s no longer subject to EU banking and payments regulation, or to any agreements made with the EEA. As a consequence, UK-based businesses and customers operating within the EU would need a financial service partner capable of facilitating payments within EEA member states after Brexit. The burden of complying now with EEA regulations may well become too complex for many UK-based regulated financial service providers. Moreover, the cost of processing international Euro transactions could also increase for UK banking and payments companies in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This is due to UK financial service firms losing access to existing passporting facilities to the EU market under this scenario. With this in mind, it is likely that many EU and overseas financial service providers will become increasingly wary of operating in the UK.

Brexit hits cross-border payments firms Many of the UK’s businesses working with a financial service provider being solely regulated by the UK-FCA, and not complying with EEA regulation, will need separate financial service providers for their overseas operations, increasing costs and impacting profits. This isn’t the only area where costs could increase for banking and payments companies and their customers. Card surcharging is another area that is set to change. In a no-deal scenario, the

Global Business Outlook

UK government warned the cost of card payments between the UK and EU would most likely increase. Such cross-border payments will no longer be covered by the surcharging ban – which prevents businesses from being able to charge customers for using a specific payment method. Customers in the UK may see these charges come into force immediately when purchasing items from the EU, with American Express being a key example of an issuer who is already not covered by these EU regulations.

UK’s role in the EU’s payment scheme In addition, the UK’s participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) could be subject to significant change after Brexit. This scheme is essential to cashless Euro payments made across Europe, as it ensures that making a payment across Europe is as easy as making a payment at home with BACS, CHAPS and Faster Payments. Payment providers and their UK clients will no longer benefit from the scheme when processing payments between the UK and the EU. According to the Cash and Treasury Management file, the UK’s participation in SEPA will be affected in various ways, depending on the UK: 1. Remaining in the EEA 2. Having no legal alignment (that is, no-deal) 3. Having a free-trade deal outside the EEA complete with “functional equivalence” For each scenario, there are different consequences in regards to the UK’s participation in SEPA. 1.

If the UK remains in the EEA following Brexit, it can continue to participate in SEPA schemes.

TECHNOLOGY

If the UK leaves the EEA, or doesn’t agree on an alignment of the relevant legal framework, the European Payments Council (EPC) will have to assess the UK’s eligibility for being part of SEPA, following an application from the UK PSPs’ community.

If the UK leaves the EEA and puts in place an FTA with the EU, establishing a ‘functional equivalence’ of the EU legal framework, UK scheme participants will be able to continue trading as normal using SEPA. This is because the UK will then meet the required criteria to participate in SEPA schemes. Still, in this situation, the EPC may have to assess any functional equivalence of the UK’s legal framework with EU law.

Whatever the result of the UK’s negotiation with the EU, banks and businesses in the UK need to ensure they have the financial infrastructure in place to enable customers to pay for goods and services quickly, effectively and securely, both at home and overseas. Many UK banks, eMoney, and payment institutions are already striving to find financial solutions that can support them in continuing to operate across borders.

How can UK payments firms prepare To mitigate the uncertainty of what will be post-Brexit, many UK banking and cross-border payment providers are already establishing EU-based subsidiaries with offices and infrastructure within the EU. This is both time and capital intensive, in turn impacting profit margins. In fact, research from EY shows that 56 percent of banks, investment banks,

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TECHNOLOGY

OPINION

Christoph Tutsch CEO at ONPEX explores how the UK’s ongoing withdrawal from the European Union (EU) could impact the British payments industry and its ability to serve customers in the UK and beyond, whatever the outcome of negotiations

and brokerages are relocating operations to Europe following Brexit turmoil – moving £800 billion of assets as a result. It’s clear that the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s status in the European market is pushing businesses towards European counterparts to facilitate payments in this transitional period. Another simpler and faster way to enable cross-border payment services is to partner with an EU-based financial institution that provides the means to continue operating under EEA regulations. Working with this kind of regulated partner, that is compliant with the EEA regulatory framework, will ensure UK financial institutions can continue to offer financial services to its customers operating in European markets. The new generation of ApplicationProgramming-Interface protocols (APIs) could be the solution to connecting payment services between the UK and European financial institutions. APIs can provide UK-based financial institutions with the facilities needed to make

Issue 01 | 2019

cross-border payments seamlessly by connecting different payment schemes (e.g. SWIFT and SEPA)offered from a European-based financial institution, like ONPEX. We’re already prepared here at ONPEX for any outcome between the UK and EU. With our flexible Bankingas-a-Service (BaaS) platform, we can offer multi-currency IBAN issuing and cross-border payments to both UK-based and European financial institutions. All of this is possible due to our platform being asset and payment channel agnostic and the fact the business has an API-first approach. With cross-border payments and APIs becoming a must to maintain continuity in service, PSPs that build their financial services on a flexible BaaS platform will be better placed to attract customers on both sides of the Channel. Another advantage of this API-driven technology is the greater levels of simplicity, transparency and automation it offers. These qualities are particularly important for cross-border payments from the UK to the European mainland and will be key to

the post-Brexit success of any UK-based financial service provider. This is because customers are facing an unprecedented level of uncertainty with regard to Brexit, and require the reassurance that the solutions they are using are going to be effective and reliable. ONPEX’s BaaS solution is a key example of how API-driven technology is able to support the banking and payment space in transitioning into a post-Brexit United Kingdom. This transparent, automated and simple solution easily plugs into an organisation’s existing infrastructure and is designed to manage a number of different currencies at the same time, allowing for the quick and efficient reconciliation of payments with its IBAN issuing capabilities.

Ready for the future It remains to be seen what the UK’s future relationship with the EU will be – or even if the country will leave the trading block at all. Whatever the outcome though, businesses need to start putting procedures and solutions in place to futureproof themselves now. Above all, ensuring smooth, friction-less cross-border transactions must be a key focus for all businesses – particularly those in banking and payments. Without this, the UK financial services sector will be left behind, with significant, longlasting negative consequences for the UK economy as a whole. Taking all of this into account, organisations need to ensure they have the right payment support in place, offering solutions designed to power seamless and transparent cross-border payments efficiently.  Christoph Tutsch

GLOBAL BUSINESS OUTLOOK AWARDS 2019

Global Business outlook awards aim to recognize and reward business excellence across all sectors, private and public. These awards are open to companies regardless of their size and individuals, based anywhere in the world, entries are invited from those that feel they have performed exceptionally well than their competitors to create a business edge and market recognition.

the road to gbo awards: how does it work? STEP 1 - nominations >> Invite companies for nominations >> Confirmation on category

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STEP 3 - announcement >> To be announced on website >> To be announced in online quaterly magazine

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ENERGY

NEWS

Brazil to double efforts in South Korea builds world’s renewable capacity over largest floating solar hydropower, says GlobalData project

outh Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently announced the development of the world's largest floating solar power project with a capacity of 2.1GW. After completion, South Korea’s new solar project is reported to be 14 times larger than the world’s current largest floating solar project in China. It will be installed in the Saemangeum Seawall Dyke, the longest man-made dyke, situated on the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula.

lobalData in its recent reportBrazil Power Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2019 – Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape said that Brazil’s renewable energy production excluding hydropower is expected to reach 60.8GW capacity in 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4 percent. The report showed that installed renewable capacity in Brazil increased from 2.9GW in 2000 to 31.1GW in 2018, at a CAGR of 14 percent. The country’s increase in renewable capacity base can be attributed to a myriad of government policies such as the National Climate Change Plan, the Brazilian Energy Plan and the Plan for Energy Expansion.

According to the statement, the project will be built in two stages and have a total investment of $3.9 billion. Its first stage is expected to be completed in 2022 with a target capacity of 1.2GW and the remaining 900MW is scheduled for 2025. The government of South Korea explained that its floating solar project will provide tremendous opportunities in the renewable industry. The project will make a significant contribution to the country’s renewable energy plan with a target to obtain 30.8GW of solarby 2030. According to the statement, the project is estimated to supply electricity to roughly 1 million households.

Last year, hydropower accounted for the majority of installed renewable capacity in the country. Significant government support coupled with rich untapped hydropower generation will result in substantial increase in capacity, according to GlobalData analysts. Brazil’s hydropower capacity is expected to reach 112.5GW in 2030 from 102GW in 2019, at a 0.9 percent CAGR — and will account for 52 percent of installed capacity. The main challenge for the country’s power sector is its heavy reliance on cheap hydropower for base load capacity and a weak power grid infrastructure. Last year, hydropower in Brazil accounted for 62.7 percent of the total installed capacity. However, unforeseen circumstances such as draught or less water in dam reservoirs might result in power shortages. So, the countryhas a requirement to focus on renewable capacity. That said, Brazil is slowly achieving a balanced energy mix. The country is preparing to boost its non-hydro renewable power capacity by 2030. In fact, the use of hydropower capacity is expected to diminish in the long term and will be replaced with increased renewable power capacity.

Issue 01 | 2019

Currently, renewable energy accounts for 8 percent of its total energy generation — and Korea aims for 35 percent renewable energy capacity by 2040 based on advisory group’s recommendation. This will be four times its current renewable capacity in the country’s generation mix. In July 2018, the Korea Power Electric Corp. (KEPCO) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with India’s Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) in an effort to boost renewable energy projects in both countries. End of last year, South Korea announced its plan to build a 4GW solar and wind energy complex in Gunsan. The compex will be situated along the west coast of Jeollabuk-do Province — and power generated from it will be equal to the energy generated by four nuclear generators. The project is expected to have private investment of $8.9 billion.

NEWS

ENERGY

Fossil fuel exports to push Australia’s share of greenhouse gas emissions to 17%

ustralia contributes to about 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The number is likely to increase to 17 percent by 2030 if its fossil fuel exports are taken into account. According to a research commissioned by the Australian Conversation Foundation, the country may soon become one of the worst contributors to a climate emergency. Gavan McFadzean from the Australian Conversation Foundation said that currently, Australia is the number one exporter of both coal and gas. But the country plans to change the status in the next 10 years. Australia is currently responsible for nearly 30 percent of coal and more than 20

percent of gas traded on global markets. Export earnings from the industries topped $117 billion during the last financial year. The Australian government has decided to open the Galilee coal basin in central Queensland, starting with the longstalled Adani Carmichael mine. Six mining proposals in the Galilee have already been approved, but construction is yet to begin. While the country’s emission has steadily risen every year since 2015, government greenhouse reports say that per capita carbon pollution has fallen to its lowest level in 29 years. Experts say Australia still remains one of the world’s

highest emitters under this measure and if exported emissions were included, per head figure would leap from about 20 tonnes to nearly 70 tonnes a year each. Australian energy minister Angus Taylor seeks credit for the role the booming LNG industry is playing. However, experts say there is little or no evidence to prove his claims. The Climate Analytics report says Australia’s support for new fossil fuel developments is contradictory with its commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement goals of keeping global heating well below 2C. According to scientists, meeting the Paris goals will require fossil fuel emissions to peak soon, and then decline rapidly.

Political instability adds to Spain’s renewable energy woes

Spain plans to increase the usage of solar and wind energy, at the same time reduce its dependency on nuclear and coal-fired power stations. However, there is a growing fear among the authorities that a speculative rush threatens to hold back the development of renewable energy in the country. They worry that coveted rights to connect to the national power grid are being secured with an aim of selling them at a profit. In a bid to phase out nuclear and coal powered plants, authorities are creating incentives for investors to pounce on the rights to a limited number of grid connection points. Investors can now secure a permit by making a financial deposit. “Some developers hoard the scarce capacity available with the aim of speculating with it, delaying or paralyszing the installation of viable projects,” the CNMC watchdog said in a regulatory proposal. While regulator and the industry have called for a legislative crackdown, but due to the political instability in the country, any actions with regard to this is yet to take place.

Global Business Outlook

According to Secretary of State for Energy Jose Dominguez Abascal, the way to regulate this is to oblige people who have requested a permit to meet certain milestones, make progress in specified time-frames, so that no one can keep a permit in a drawer, to resale it at a higher price. The regulators suspect permits are acquired with the sole purpose of reselling them at a profit. However, various calls for laws to regulate the process are still to be heard. According to reports, if all the permits requested from grid operator Red Electrica were converted to actual projects, Spain would have enough renewable power to run 84 million households, four times the country’s actual number of homes. Another problem faced by Spain is soaring prices. It has resulted due to the increasing demand. According to Tomas Garcia, managing director at BayWa, there are very few projects that are truly at the ready-to-build stage and there is a great deal of appetite for them, so prices have increased significantly.

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NEWS

Will 5G obstruct Britain’s net-zero emissions by 2050 target? The next-generation mobile network technology is set to take over in the next couple of years in UK. However, it brings its own set of problems along with it. With the introduction of 5G, billions of new devices are expected to go online. So the big fundamental question is, how will these new devices be powered, given the UK seeks to achieve the target of net-zero emissions by 2050? Compared to 4G, 5G infrastructure will consume a whole lot more power. Base stations which are used to relay cellular signals cost Vodafone $650 million a year on its energy consumption. Since 5G uses higher frequencies, cellular companies will need to install at least three times as many base stations to ensure the same

coverage as 4G. These base stations are also expected to consume nine-fold of the energy consumed by the 4G ones. Telecom operators spend 16.5 percent of their total operating costs on energy which is close to $28 billion. In a situation like this, the internet of things (IoT) might come to the rescue. It can be applied to reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use. To tackle the energy problem, currently, ultra-low-power sensors are also being innovated. Many startups are developing battery-free sensors which harvest energy from light, heat or vibrations around them. Said that, energy consumptions are not

just limited to just the base stations. The IoT devices are most likely to generate huge amount of data which are to be processed wirelessly through the 5G base stations and then stored at data stations, which themselves consume a substantial amount of energy. But network providers in the UK claims the next generation technology will not be powered by energy generated from dirty sources such as coal. “We’re increasingly moving towards intermittent renewable energy sources so we are going to need more and more batteries in the energy mix,” Chris Midgley, global director of analytics at S&P Global Platts told the media.

Coal, oil, and gas to dominate despite renewable energy push

ver the years, many developed as well as developing countries have vowed to reduce or completely end their dependency on dirty energy sources in the coming years. While many have adopted plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050. However, so far, only 2 percent of the global energy demands are being met by renewable energy sources. A new report suggests oil and gas will continue to be the major source of energy production. The report estimates that by 2040, 85 percent of the total energy produced will be with the use of oil and gas. Currently, the figure stands at 90 percent. The report also predicts carbon emission will also increase. However, the growth will reflect only from 2030 onwards. If the predictions

Issue 01 | 2019

do come true, meeting the Paris climate goals of limiting global warming to well below 2C will become almost an impossible task. In emerging economies such as Asia’s and Africa, energy demand are likely to increase at a very high rate as the population is these economies is also growing rapidly. By 2040, energy demand in these economies is expected to increase by 25 percent. To meet the

Paris climate goals, carbon emissions has to be cut down to nearly half which is also a major challenge. "This is a wake-up call for governments and the energy industry. If the world wants to decarbonise, they need to take a leap, and come up with targeted policies,” said David Brown, one of the authors of the report. Despite the fall in prices for renewable energy, it is not easy to shift from dirty

energy sources to renewable and cleaner energy instantly. Meeting energy demand from clean energy sources such as solar and wind would require huge changes to infrastructure. The energy supply system has to be upgraded from power storage systems to modernised grids. According to the report, installation of renewable energy this year slowed down when compared to last year. This can be attributed to subsidy cuts and policy changes.

NEWS

ENERGY

Brexit to likely impact UK Off-grid renewable energy energy policy to solve unemployment problem in Africa Off-grid renewable energy in Africa is not just solving its electricity problems, but also at the same time, it is tackling the country's high unemployment problem.

The UK government is likely to face delay in energy policy decision making until the Brexit uncertainty is resolved, observed ICIS analysis. With Brexit’s stipulated deadline on October 31, there is a good chance for the government to release its energy policy white paper on a later date. Previously, the white paper was due to be released in summer or autumn. It appears that a no-deal Brexit on October 31 might impact the European energy market. This means that the UK would have to immediately pullout from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), leading to a carbon market with up to 100 million allowances. The government has already advised operators and traders with EU ETS of what they must do next in order to prepare for Brexit. Operators are advised to continue complying with the EU ETS legislation. Although they should be prepared for the UK leaving the EU ETS, they must continue to comply with Monitoring, Reporting and Verification requirements of greenhouse gas emissions, and the new Carbon Emissions Tax after Brexit, according to the official UK government website. That said, businesses capitalising on energy intensive industry schemes should also comply with the requirements based on the government guidelines for those schemes. Recently, the government launched plans for the proposed regulated asset base model developed for financing new nuclear power projects. The model is expected to develop 14GW of new nuclear capacity in the country using government financing to develop those projects. The UK government has emphasised on the fact that nuclear expansion should be an integral part of its future energy strategy. With that, the government believes that a new scheme is necessary for financing nuclear power. The ICIS analysis revealed that the US government might rely on corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) for future development of onshore wind and solar projects.

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A research report sponsored by a non-governmental organisation shows that Kenya and Nigeria's workforce in the renewable energy sector is comparable to traditional power grids and utilities in both the countries. Startups providing renewable energies in these two countries are also creating significant job opportunities for Kenyans as well as Nigerians. Renewable energy companies in Kenya account for 10,000 jobs, whereas the traditional energy sector only employees 1000 more. In Nigeria the sector employs 4,000 in formal jobs compared to 10,000 employed across the utility sector. Alistair Gordon, chief executive of Lumos which is the largest provider of off-grid solar in Nigeria, told the media that, “We have 100,000 customers, who are receiving electricity for significantly cheaper than running a generator: they were paying $70 a month to fuel their generators but now they pay $15 a month for off-grid solar, which does not include the $40 start up fee.”

The renewable energy sector in African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya continue to blossom. Startups are using solar power products to resolve the region’s power supply problem. These companies are also backed by millions of dollars in venture capital which highlights the potential of this sector. Reports suggest off-grid tech was the third highest funded startup sector in Africa last year. The sector is only expected to grow which means renewable energy jobs are also projected to grow by 70 percent in Kenya and over 100 percent in Nigeria over the next four years. But at the same time Africa’s population is growing at a very fast rate. Currently 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity. Nigeria alone has 73 million of those while Ivory Coast has 12 million of them. Africa’s energy need is also expected to grow at a very fast pace.

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Argentina’s resource rich

clean energy market — and why it still lags behind The country is known for its rich natural resources, but practical loopholes have slowed down its renewables market growth over the years

rgentina, a country showing great potential in renewable energy is characterised by a natural landscape that is ideal for solar, wind, and hydro power. The country’s strong winds in southern Patagonia, all-year sunshine in the remote northwest, eastern plains and rivers and the Andes mountain range to the west offer abundant renewable energy potential that has only been harnessed to a certain degree in the past. Until 2010, Argentina was exporting power. However, that changed after

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a decline in the development of new power projects and natural gas extraction which forced it to import power from other countries. Its energy economy is still dominated by fossil fuels despite being an attractive market for renewable energy resources. Biomass and waste-to-energy have gone unnoticed for a long time in Argentina. Argentina’s environmental ecosystem is fertile for cultivation of crops, even including soy, which can produce biomass energy. A robust body of research shows that six million tonnes of forestry waste each year in

Argentina could be used to generate electricity. Still, less than 2 percent of Argentina’s electricity is generated from renewable energy, while 60 percent of it is produced from fossil fuels. The G20 Brown to Green report 2018 developed by experts from various research organisations and NGOs found that 82 percent of energy from G20 economies is driven by coal, gas and oil. Argentina’s public spending on coal, oil and gas projects stood at $1.4 billion compared to wind and solar power projects with $4 million spending, according to the report.

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Argentinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spending on fossil fuel and clean energy projects Fossil fuel projects: $1.4 billion

Coal energy

Fuel energy

Nuclear energy

Clean energy projects: $4 million

Source: G20 Brown to Green report 2018

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RenovAR Target - 20% of country's energy from renewables by 2025 Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tCO2 per year

Why Argentina? Argentine Wind Energy Association found that the country’s wind energy supply is significantly high, with winds above 6m per second across 70 percent of its landscape. The winds’ direction and steady speed is suitable for generators to obtain 35 percent of capacity or higher — meaning that in the longer period it is possible to replace fossil fuel generation. That said, Argentine Solar Energy Atlas reported that more than half the country receives sunlight with an average of more than 3.5 kwH/m2, making it a great market for photovoltaic solar generation. The country’s best solar resource is concentrated in its sub-tropical north-western regions. In fact, these north-western regions being sparsely populated would be optimal for large-scale utility provided that they are supported with robust transmission systems. The combined wind and solar resources can create transformative

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opportunities in the country, alongside the development of biogas, biomass, biofuel and small-scale water projects.

Scaling up the use of resources

The Argentine government is realising swiftly that the country can be on the leading edge of the world's most promising markets only if its potential is leveraged correctly. To that end, state governments are creating new policies that can benefit net metering. The government in 2015 introduced Law No. 27191, with a focus to increase the utilisation of renewable energy, establish national targets, create project funds and define minimum requirements for large consumers. Afterwards, decree 531/16 detailed the objectives of the law and how they can be achieved. Also, the government in 2017 launched a renewable energy bidding programme called RenovAR, with a

target to generate 20 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The programme is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a total of 79.64 million tCO2 over 20 years — or 4 million tCO2 per year. The Law No. 27191 states that in order to achieve the clean energy target a capacity of 10,000 megawatts should be included in renewables infrastructure, as a result of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and investments worth $1.5 billion, a PwC report said.

IFC and World Bank underpin Argentina’s energy projects

The World Bank and the IFC have closely worked to establish a link between the government and the private sector — a critical move to create a market for investment opportunities and new renewable energy projects. The IFC has built documentation to set up the

FEATURE auction so that the projects are bankable and meet international standards. The IFC is a sister organisation of the World Bank. Together, they have helped to design the bidding rounds for renewable energy, reinforce private investor confidence and reduce the level of investment risks through an IBRD guarantee backed by the Renewable Energy Fund of US$480 million. The IBRD guarantee along with IFC financing is vital to Argentina’s new energy projects, especially at a time when investors are returning to the market. The government’s Renewable Energy Fund (FODER) was devised by the IFC to support Argentina’s broader vision to meet its renewable energy target through fiscal incentives coupled with competitive market rules. The FODER facilitates individuals and legal entities which have issued projects to submit claims directly in select cases and receive payments from the World Bank. Long-term project loans, loan guarantees, interest rate subsidies and equity contributions are all made possible with the help of FODER — which also acts as a payment guarantee for termination payments and tendered power purchase agreements (PPAs). The RenovAR program’s two renewable energy auctions in 2016 that aimed to attract new projects worth 1,000 megawatts resulted in bids more than sixfold. The IFC has agreed to finance the construction of a wind farm which was awarded under the RenovAR program. This marks IFC funding a third project under the programme to double Argentina’s use of renewable energies. This project, La Genoveva, sponsored by Central Puerto is expected to commence operations by May 2020. After completion, the project will provide 390 gigawatthours of electricity each year into the national grid, while simultaneously

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contributing to achieve Argentina’s 20 percent target of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2025. The previous two projects La Castellana and Achiras funded by the IFC are already operational.

China eyes Jujuy for crossborder solar business

Jujuy, a province in Argentina is where China has marked its next move. China is planning to develop Latin America’s largest solar plant in Cauchari, a remote site that is located 300 kilometres from Jujuy’s capital city San Salvador. The project called Cauchari is a testament to the close ties established between the two countries for over many years — and more importantly, China’s strategic efforts to carry out business in the overseas solar energy market. The project will be backed by robust Chinese technology and financing, also making it one of the largest solar plants in the world.

China will be financing

85% $400

million Cauchari solar project The Export-Import Bank of China will be financing nearly 85 percent of the Cauchari solar project, which is estimated to nearly total $400 million. The local government through a green bond will take over the remaining cost of the project. After completion, the project is expected to comprise 1.2 million solar panels and a grid capacity of 300 megawatts of power.

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The RenovAR programme has made it possible for both China and Argentina to make advancements in their existing cooperation. China has picked Cauchari which has the world’s best solar radiation, low smog and good weather conditions — all well suited for the project.

Cauchari paves the way for clean energy drive

Crucially, Argentina has a ‘strategic integral alliance’ with China which is considered a high diplomatic rank conferred upon a few select countries currently, Argentina accounts for 4 percent of the energy matrix. The country has tremendous potential in wind and solar power — despite which it is lagging behind other Latin American countries. With the Chinese-backed project, Argentina can slash both energy costs — and carbon emissions costs by nearly 325,000 tonnes — to near its 20 percent clean energy target by 2025.

Macri’s administration stokes investor interest

Investors are slowly beginning to realise Argentina’s full potential in the energy market. Under President Mauricio Macri’s administration, power prices in the country have been adjusted significantly. The creation of FODER has helped investors to gain confidence and consider what the Argentine market has to offer. Through Macri’s administration, Argentina is committed to improve the country’s credit ratings that somewhat affected investors’ confidence in the past. The country for the first time in the last decade is no longer accountable for credit defaults. The Macri government has even lifted currency control regime previously introduced by the last administration. Argentina could become the world’s prime spot for renewable energy if the government continues to maintain regulatory consistency and sector hygiene in the long run.  GBO Correspondent

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What is driving China’s billion dollar investments in

Africa’s renewable energy? China is the key link in most of Africa’s major renewable energy projects including a 510MW facility in more than 6000 acres in Morocco

egarded as the world’s biggest greenhouse gas producer, China is often critised by climate experts for its contributions to global carbon emissions. During the period from 2005 to 2014, China’s greenhouse gas emission soared by 50 percent. But the trend is changing and it is changing fast. China’s commitment to develop the renewable energy sector in Africa is proof that the Asian powerhouse is committed to change its reputation as the biggest greenhouse gas producer. It also leads the global ranking of national and international investments in renewable energy with an investment of around $360 billion.

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Over the years, China has continued to invest in Africa, but its investments were exclusive to mega-mining projects of minerals such as coal and uranium and infrastructure projects such as building railroads, bridges, and expressways. When it comes to renewable energy, China’s investment was limited to developing mega hydropower plants. But recently, China has pledged to invest in small or medium-scale energy projects in the renewable energy sector in Africa. But why the sudden change of strategy? China’s commitment to explore renewable energy potential in Africa is based on multiple factors. While changing its international reputation as the worst contributor to climate change is a major factor, other factors such as energy security, climate change

vulnerability, exploring Africa’s untapped renewable energy sector, access to African minerals and raw materials also influence the Asian superpower’s decision to change its investment strategy. But some experts argue that the actual reason behind China’s massive investment in Africa is more complex. Some experts point out that the investments will serve China’s ambitions to write the rules of the next stage of globalisation. African nations will be politically indebted to China which they could use as leverage to fulfil their global ambitions. However, China’s investments are welcomed by the African nations and its leaders. Investment in its hydropower projects, as well as the renewable energy sector provides a great scope for the economic development of African nations. It alternatively helps the African nations fight issues such as lack of energy growth and unemployment. Over the years, the country has relied on its traditional energy sector to meet its energy needs. The continent as a

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whole has often struggled to meet its energy needs on a regular basis due to insufficient funds, poor infrastructure, low electrification rates and lack of technology. But with China’s recent pledge, things are about to change. By improving its energy generation capacity through renewable energy, Africa can increase its electrification rates and reduce unemployment, which are often seen as traits for economic development. Currently, Africa meets more than 70 percent of its energy needs through energy produced form dirty sources such as coal and fossil fuels. With the development of the renewable energy sector, Africa can cut down on its dependency on these sources and at the same time reduce its carbon emission. Africa’s renewable energy sector is blooming at a very fast rate. Venture capital from all around the globe are pouring investments into African startups focused on turbocharging the African renewable energy sector. Kenya’s renewable energy sector has created around 10,000 new jobs in the country. Similarly, in Nigeria, the renewable energy sector has created around 4000 informal jobs. Figures such as these help understand the potential the renewable energy sector in Africa possesses. With the continents energy demands likely to

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triple by 2040, its renewable energy sector will play a huge role in Africa’s future.

China's unquestionable leadership Despite being the biggest producer of greenhouse gases, China is set to establish itself as a superpower when it comes to renewable energy. With an investment of around $360 billion already pledged, China is the largest producer as well as exporter of renewable energy components such as solar panels, wind turbines as well as electric vehicles. China is also leading the way in term of technology when it comes to renewable energy. As of 2016, China has registered around 150,000 patents which amount to 29 percent of the global total. While the US has registered around 100,000 patents, Japan and the European Union (EU) have registered close to 75,000 patents each. These figures are a clear indication of the huge amount of investments each country is putting in for developing the renewable energy sector. According to reports, global production in 2016 stood at 5,885,504 GWh. While production by Asian countries was 2,222,580 GWh, China’s production of renewable energy accounts to three quarter of the Asian total. China’s production is astonishingly higher than the total production of all

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European countries combined. While hydropower was the major contributor to China’s total output accounting for 1,193,370 GWh, wind power accounted for 242,388 GWh in 2016. These figures clearly demonstrate China’s intent and its focus on renewable energy production. China also outperformed all other countries when it comes to solar energy production as well as deriving energy from renewable municipal waste. When it comes to bioenergy production, China ranks only second to Germany. Between 2008 and 2016, China doubled its production of energy from renewable sources. Unlike traditional sources such as coal or fossil fuels, renewable energy sources are available around the globe and are also easily accessible. While most countries have the potential to develop clean energy from solar power, many European countries also have the potential to generate wind energy. This means many countries can fulfill their energy needs by generating energy in house and reduce import. China understood this, and with its billion dollar investments has become a global leader when it comes to renewable energy. With a focus now on Africa, China will soon bolster its position as a renewable energy superpower.

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How is China boosting Africa’s renewables? China and Africa have collaborated on numerous energy projects over the years, apart from the current focus on renewable energy. Many African countries are seeking clean energy to boost their economic development and China has forwarded a helping hand. According to reports, out of 242 power projects in Africa, 63 of them are being overseen by Chinese contractors. The projects with Chinese contractors are estimated to be worth $78.1 billion. While these projects are expected to deliver 125.5GW of generating capacity, the 63 Chinese projects will contribute to nearly 30 percent of it, which is 53.3 GW of generating capacity by 2030. Chinese contractors are involved in 52 percent of the hydropower projects in Africa, followed by 29.3 percent involvement in coal projects and 10.7 percent in gas projects. Chinese funds are also being used to develop infrastructure, for the construction of highways, railways, develop ports, airports as well as power stations. While Chinese contractors prefer hydropower projects, the shortage of energy in Africa has created demands for the construction of new hydropower projects. With support from its government, Chinese contractors are jumping into the fray. China helped Ethiopia, the East African country plan, design and construct its flagship Hawassa Industrial Park by applying its latest technology to treat and recycle about 90 percent of its water usage. The country dubbed the project as a model for economic and environmental sustainability. China’s influence in Ethiopia is not only limited to the industrial park, but over the years, many Chinese companies have helped developed numerous projects in the country. The Chinese government is to

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fund another $300 million industrial park in the city of Adama. Ethiopia also aims to increase its electrification coverage to 100 percent by 2025. To make sure it fulfils its ambition, the country has increased its cooperation with China. The Asian superpower will construct a high voltage electric transmission line connecting the 6,450 MW hydro dam currently under construction on Blue Nile River, the 51 MW Adama I and 153 MW Adama II wind farm projects and the 300MW Tekeze hydro project. China’s involvement is not just limited to Ethiopia. In Uganda, Chinese companies constructed a 183 MW power plant on River Nile. The 600 MW hydroelectric Karuma Hydropower Plant is under construction. After completion, it will become Uganda’s largest powergenerating installation. Together with the newly constructed Isimba Hydropower Plant, the projects will help Uganda solve its power shortage problems and also lead to economic development. Other major projects by China include the construction of a 120 MW wind park in the Ethiopian state of Somali a 200 MW solar farm in Bui, Ghana; a 100 MW Gwanda Solar Power Plant in Zimbabwe any many more. A Chinese renewable energy company has also completed the construction of three solar power stations at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Egypt's southern province of Aswan. Once completed, Benban will be the largest solar installation in the world. Another Chinese firm is helping develop the Noor Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in Ouarzazate, Morocco. At 510 MW, it is the world's largest concentrated solar power plant. The more than 6,000 acre facility is a landmark in the renewable energy sector. The solar plant is estimated to be the size

of around 3,500 soccer fields, an area almost equivalent to that of San Francisco. Costantinos Bt. Costantinos who served as an economic advisor to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa told the media that, "African countries should invest more and find more partners on the energy sector, in which the development of renewable energy is far more sustainable while at the same time affordable given the abundant resources found on the continent." It is pretty evident that China is single-handedly boosting Africa’s renewable energy market. With projects of such magnitude and intensity underway, it will lead to the economic development of both the parties. And in the coming future, the collaboration of the two parties when it comes to renewable energy is likely to increase.

China eyes major Africa investments Investment in Africa’s energy and infrastructure sector by Chinese enterprises has been huge. According to reports, the amount has almost tripled by 2017. Loans forwarded by Chinese lenders to Africa was around $3 billion in 2016, however, it jumped to $8.8 billion in 2017. Countries such as Nigeria and Kenya were the recipient of the majority of this share. While the two developing African nations received around 40 percent of the total Chinese investment in Africa, other seventeen countries have benefitted including Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Sub-Saharan Africa’s energy sector alone has received loans worth $17.5 billion from Chinese lenders since 2014. But why has China been so generous to Africa over the years? One of the major causes is believed to be China’s urgency to lose the tag of the

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biggest producer of greenhouse gases. China also sees potential in the renewable energy sector in Africa which is mostly untapped in most parts of the continent. Developing and tapping into these unexplored sources could prove pivotal for both China and Africa. As the renewable energy sector in Africa could lead the continent to economic development, sustainability and growth and China want to be a part of it. Africa is also a market for natural resources dear to China such as minerals, rare metals, and so on. Also, China wants to use Africa’s strategic advantage for global trading.

of the Renminbi. Also, for the Chinese multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to be a success, globalisation of the Renminbi as a reserve currency is vital.

However, some experts are not convinced. Many see a much darker motive behind China’s massive investment in Africa. Experts argue that these investments serve China’s ambitions to write the rules of the next stage of globalisation. Also, by accepting these investments, the African nations are becoming politically indebted to China.

Experts believe the Renminbi could increase efficiency and reduce risk and cost of trade within Africa as well as with China. However, China is not pushing for the globalisation as expected as it waits for the Renminbi evolve naturally. In the present scenario, some African nations are using Renminbi to pay for Chinese products but not to a great extent.

Ted Bauman, Senior Research Analyst at Banyan Hill Publishing told the media that, “It's clear that China's primary goal with foreign investment is geopolitical, not economic. The most consequential investments are undertaken by stateowned companies, not by Chinese private capital. They tend to focus on infrastructures like highways, ports, and dams, and on public networks like the electrical grid.” “These investments help to bind countries to China politically, and through debt obligations. It creates a form of leverage that China can use to force these countries to support Chinese ambitions globally. In some cases, such as the Angolan oil sector or Congolese rare earth mining, Chinese investment helps to lock-in supply relationships with essential commodities.” Another reason which many experts believe is the main reason behind China’s investment in Africa is the globalisation

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Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious programme to connect Asia with Africa, Europe and the two American continents via land and maritime networks along six corridors with the aim of improving trade and economic growth. With the establishment of the Renminbi as a new reserve currency, China aims to end the monopoly of one reserve currency.

What is happening on the ground? While China continues to invest billions in the renewable energy sector especially in China, many doubt if the country is doing enough to meet its own vision of South-South climate cooperation. Despite its investments in the renewable energy sector, China also continues to invest heavily in traditional energy sources. Last year, China signed a contract with Egypt to build the world’s largest coal-fired power plant.

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Some experts also argue that China efforts are very minimal when it comes to climate change and sometimes contradictory to its actions. Another report also found that 72 percent of Chinese investments in Africa between 2014 and 2016 were for the development of oil and gas, followed by coal-fired power and large hydropower projects. Almost every third coal-fired power plants built in this decade up to 2016 were developed with Chinese investments. But China’s efforts to develop the renewable energy sector in Africa cannot be underestimated either. Investments in the Noor Concentrated Solar Power, the Benban Solar Energy Park in Egypt's southern province of Aswan, the 100 MW Gwanda Solar Power Plant in Zimbabwe, the 120MW wind park in the Ethiopian state of Somaliland are prime examples of China’s commitment towards developing the renewable energy sector in Africa. As the renewable energy sector develops in Africa over the years, the continent will be able to meet its energy needs through these renewable sources and reduce its dependency on unsustainable sources. China has the ability to change the face of the energy sector in Africa and it will be interesting to see what direction the African renewable energy sector takes and to what extent it develops.  GBO Correspondent

A research report also found that the majority of the investments in Africa came through two Chinese banksExport-Import Bank of China, and China Development Bank. During the period from 2000 to 2016, the investments from these banks were primarily to hydropower, oil, and coal. However, investments in the renewable energy sector are on the rise.

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Centum raises Sh6.5 bn from Nedbank to finance ongoing projects

ast African investment company Centum raised Sh6.5 billion from Nedbank to finance its ongoing projects. Netbank is one of Africa’s largest financial services groups. The re-financing deal was signed between the Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Nedbank property finance division, and Centum Real Estate. Centum Real Estate is the real estate arm of Centum. Gerhard Zeelie, Nedbank CIB Africa divisional executive for property finance told a local media report that Nedbank is working on five deals with Centum. Those deals include developments in both Kenya and Nigeria. Zeelie added that Centum Real Estate is a ‘master developer’ on three sites in

Kenya and Uganda, known as Vipingo Development at the Coast, Pearl Marina Development in Entebbe and Two Rivers Development in Nairobi. The Two Rivers has moved to the second phase of development which will comprise additional projects on the land owned by Centum in Nairobi. The funds raised from the deal will be used for financing the ongoing real estate projects by Centum. Those projects in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are slated for completion between 2020 and 2021. Centum Real Estate is developing 3,000 residential units across three sites, Of those sites, the first phase of 1,200 units is under construction. The company said that they have

achieved a 58 percent pre-sale on residential units under construction. Centum is a publicly owned investment company headquartered in Nairobi. The company’s shares are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Kenya’s real estate market is booming. The country will have 300,000 additional affordable housing units constructed in line with the Big Four agenda. Two Qatari companies are expected to construct 200,000 houses while Chinese companies will construct the remaining 100,000 units. The reason for developing those housing units is because 61 percent of urban households in the country live in difficult settlements. Of that, 70 percent to 80 percent are rental units.

Construction costs in Nairobi highest among African cities

recent research report found out that the cost of construction in Nairobi is highest after Johannesburg in Africa. Not only other cities in Africa, it also topped other global cities including Beijing, Shangai, Kuala Lumpur, and Mumbai. The research took into account factors such as costs of living, labour and materials, quality and complexity of projects under construction and also the currency rate. High costs of land and also construction is one of the major challenges faced by Nairobi’s developers. Access to finance, and over-supply in terms of commercial properties, offices as well as retail has also become problematic for the developers. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in May announced that his government is working hard to make construction inexpensive. In a bid to deliver affordable houses to Kenyans, authorities are working to find a solution.

He told the media that, “Our ambition to provide our citizens with affordable housing is entrenched in our Constitution 2010 which ascribes the right to accessible and adequate housing and reasonable standards of sanitation. It is also aligned to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which we have endorsed.” Soaring property prices in Nairobi and over-supply has slowed down the real estate market significantly. With many properties

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unsold, developers have dropped the prices of residential properties in Nairobi up to 2.8 percent. An analysis of the third quarter of 2018 suggested that real estate grew by 5.8 percent, the slowest since the 5.4 percent registered in the fourth quarter of 2014. The cost of living in Nairobi has also surged significantly over the years. It means the disposable income of the people which would normally be invested in real estate is now being used elsewhere. Another report published earlier this year found that Nairobi’s rank jumped 13 places to occupy the 69th position among the cities with the highest cost of living.

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Dubai issues new 5-year residency permit to 20 investors T

he Dubai Land Department in partnership with General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs has granted property investment visa to 20 property investors for a period of 5 years.

Prior to the new residency permit, investors could apply for a three year property investment visa â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and were subject to eligibility only if they have invested at least Dh1 million in purchase of property.

The residency golden visa has been granted to the investors and their respective families. Every beneficiary had invested Dh5 million or more in Dubai real estate. The main requirement for obtaining the golden visa without an agent is that investors must invest in at least one or more existing properties.

Now, investors can stay for longer in the emirate and sponsor visas for dependent family members as well.

The investors who were granted the visas are from countries including Tunisia, the USA, Commonwealth of Dominica, India, Iraq, China, Libya, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Real estate has been an economic driver for the emirate. The total real estate investment in Dubai reached Dh200 million. For that reason, the Dubai government has frequently rolled out policy initiatives to further improve the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth.

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Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property prices in the second half of the year is expected to drop, observed a report by real estate portal Property Finder. This is because of the upcoming or recently completed projects in the city with a record number of 20,978 residential units. Those residential units comprise 14,999 apartments, 1,084 serviced apartments and 4,895 villas and townhouses. That said, rents and sales prices are also expected to decline in the city. Average price for an apartment declined 15.1 percent in the second quarter of the year, according to a research report by Cavendish Maxwell.

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PGIM launches EuroCore, an open-ended real estate fund

GIM Real Estate has launched the European Core Diversified Property Fund (EuroCore), an open-end, diversified real estate fund. The first closing of the fund was completed and it raised about €304 million capital from six institutional investors. EuroCore invests in real estate through primarily defensive core strategies in major metropolitan markets in Europe with a focus on Germany and France. The fund’s strategy is diversification across all sectors, with an overweight to residential real estate. The EuroCore portfolio currently comprises five office and logistics properties in France and Germany, which are indicative of the fund’s focus on sustainable returns and value creation through growth in operating income.

According to Raimondo Amabile, head of Europe for PGIM Real Estate, Europe continues to offer an attractive set of investment opportunities – particularly low-vacancy office markets and logistics that offer further near-term growth potential, as well as residential markets that can generate growth alongside downside protection. Thomas Kallenbrunnen, senior portfolio manager for PGIM Real Estate's European core strategy told the media that, "By consistently applying our transparent and defensive global investment philosophy to the European market, we aim for long-term outperformance with low volatility and cash flow diversification." With the launch of EurCore, PGIM Real Estate plans to contribute substantially

to the transparency initiative in the European core real estate market. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment business of PGIM, the asset management arm of American life insurance company Prudential Financial. PGIM Real Estate Finance has decided to provide San Franciscobased Stockbridge Capital Group with a $350 million debt package to fund its acquisition of a 26-property national industrial portfolio. The properties include bulk distribution facilities which are as large as 1.1 million square feet and light industrial properties. It is spread across nine markets and five states. According to reports, the portfolio comprises 11 properties in California, 12 in Nevada and one each in Arizona, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Indiana.

UK commercial realty investment slumps amid Brexit uncertainty

nvestment in UK’s commercial property has declined heavily in the second quarter of the year as the uncertainty of Brexit looms large. According to reports, investment in these three months decreased to £9.1 billion making it the second-weakest quarter in the past seven years. Investment declined by 36 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year. This has led to a decline in share value of realtors such as Land Securities and British Land. Their shares have fallen by 8 percent and 11 percent since the end of the first quarter. While it was earlier estimated that the UK’s commercial properties will suffer because of Brexit uncertainty, the impact, however, is way beyond what was earlier anticipated. It can be attributed to the drop in demand from overseas buyers, as foreign investment decreased by 39 percent to just over £4billion. Mark Stansfield, head of UK analytics at CoStar told the media, Brexit uncertainty is dampening trading, causing some inertia in the market. With lesser investments, the number of deals signed has fallen to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2013, so churn across the whole market has slowed. He told the media that, “A lot of investors seem to be waiting to see [what happens], while anecdotal evidence shows that sellers are not willing to accept discounts. Uncertainty has really ramped up in the past four or five months.”

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Investors from Asian economies such as China have started to sell their offices in the UK, especially London. But such activities declined tremendously over the last year and a half with restrictions on cash outflows. However, alternative real estate assets like student housing and healthcare have outperformed the commercial property investment market so far this year, in terms of transaction volume. Also, the £1.6 billion spent on retail in the second quarter was 30 percent higher than the previous quarter. But according to Mark Stansfield, it is still a very difficult time for retail.

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IBC Group to acquire 10,000 properties worth $5 bn in Dubai

ubai-based IBC Group has announced that it will acquire 10,000 properties in Dubai to manage as holiday homes. The deal is valued at around $5 billion. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Gulf Properties will play an advisory role and assist the investment firm in identifying, acquiring as well as financing the properties. The acquisitions in Dubai are a part of the company’s plan to acquire around 1 million properties in over 100 cities throughout the world.

According to the group, the deal will be financed through Islamic bonds. IBC Group has the backing of global banking and finance leader Khurram Shroff. He is also the co-founder of The Gallery Suites Vacation Rentals, a worldwide rental management firm that specialises in services to property investors and home owners.

of services and facilities are available in Dubai’s short term accommodation market.

Khurram Shroff told the media that, “We believe in interfaith harmony and cater to all beliefs. For the Muslim traveller, providing Shariah-compliant vacation homes with standardised Qibla direction and prayer mats in each of our apartments will enhance our offerings in this sector.”

According to a report, Dubai’s holiday home market accounts for 2 percent of its total households. As of 2018, 10,766 holiday homes were listed in Dubai out of which 61 percent were entire homes or apartments, 31 percent were private rooms and the remaining 8 percent were shared rooms.

IBC Group forecasts strong opportunities for growth in the short-term Dubai accommodation market with Expo 2020 just around the corner. The mega event attracts around 25 million visitors from all around the world. According to Khurram Shroff, the deal will ensure that the highest possible standards

IBC Group has been operating in Dubai since 2014 with a focus on private equity investment in real estate, arts and future technologies. IBC Group has also entered into a partnership with ASA, a Dubai-based venture capital firm. Together, they plan to tokenise real estate assets in the UAE and Portugal.

Mozambique develops new strategy to lure Chinese investments

ozambique is drafting a new strategy to attract investments from China, mainly focused on property, agro-industry and light industry. This comes at a time when Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical equipment manufacturers are exploring opportunities in the country. The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) data showed that the country’s strategy will be developed under the Partnership for Investment and Growth in Africa programme — and implemented by the Mozambique Investment and Export Promotion Agency. It is believed that Chinese pharmaceutical investment could significantly impact Africa’s social and economic development by providing reliable and affordable medicine in the regional market. Also, China has now become Africa’s largest financier for infrastructure projects. Chinese Ambassador Su Jian is working to strengthen bilateral relations between China and Mozambique. He reaffirmed that China is Mozambique’s main trading partner. ITC noted that sector-related civil servants, the

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Mozambican private sector and representatives of the Chinese government will effectively take part in the strategy’s process — expected to be completed this year. Mozambique will outline a roadmap will target new investors while continuing to maintain a relationship with the existing ones in the sector. In addition, the strategy will also aim to closely work with stakeholders to boost the industry’s development. In the last decade, Chinese investors have replaced the traditional ones like Portugal and South Africa in the country. China encourages domestic companies to invest overseas through its ‘Go Out’ strategy. With that, the Mozambican government has planned to capitalise on the opportunity by attracting a considerable portion of Chinese investments. Chinese companies are largely interested in Mozambique’s drugs and medical equipment market in addition to the ones in neighbouring countries. This is based on ITC and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines & Health Products’ presentation made in June.

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Vietnam

One of Asia’s most lucrative property markets Rising real estate prices in Hong Kong and China are prompting investors to consider Vietnam’s new luxury developments

ietnam’s property market has become particularly irresistible for Hong Kong and mainland Chinese buyers. Three years ago, Ho Chi Minh City was marketed as Vietnam’s Shanghai and Thu Thiem as a new version of Pudong — meaning that the country has a close resemblance to China. Vietnam at present stands where China was a decade ago, especially with the trade war looming. Founder and Chief Executive of Asia Bankers Club

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Kingston Lai during a two-day Vietnam Property Investment seminar in Hong Kong described the country as the world’s next factory after China. In 2015, Vietnam opened its property market to foreign investors, a long time after Thailand and Malaysia did. It was during that period when the 2014 Housing Law came into effect easing foreign housing ownership in the country. The law allows developers to sell 30 percent of the units in each

building to foreign buyers, while nonlocal residents in the country can own apartments up to a 50-year lease. Despite this late implementation, demand from Chinese buyers for Vietnam properties in the first quarter of 2018 was 300 percent higher than the first quarter of 2017. Even though Malaysia and Thailand still beat it on the basis of preference — the property demand in Vietnam is growing remarkably which suggests that it could

FEATURE become Asia’s hottest property market in the next few years. This is quite likely to take place as investors overseas, mostly from mainland China and Hong Kong are scouting for more affordable property markets in the region — and Vietnam seems to be a good fit despite its soaring prices.

$2,000 to $2,800 per square metre. In comparison, the recent Metropole Thu Thiem project is expected to sell at a twofold increase ranging between $4,500 to $6,500 per square metre.

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percent of Vietnam’s total foreign buyer transactions, reflecting an increase from 21 percent in 2016.

The real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City is surging as developers are raising the bar with new luxury projects. The Serenity Sky Villas project in the city has penthouses with exclusive features comprising individual elevators, designer furnishings and private pools, with each costing $2.64 million. The Feliz en Vista is another masterpiece example that boasts high standards of comfort in the city. Adding to the appeal is the city’s first line of metro slated to launch next year.

Locals outnumbered A measly 23 percent of locals who purchased homes in Vietnam last year were outnumbered by mainland buyers and residents from Hong Kong and South Korea, observed the CBRE report.

Interest amid foreign buyers in Ho Chi Minh properties is growing tremendously despite the fact that they have no access to Vietnamese bank home loans. To those foreign investors, home prices in Vietnam are affordable compared with properties in Hong Kong and the mainland. For example, the mainland’s third largest builder China Vanke’s riverside project in Pudong had units priced at $15,000 per square metre, roughly more than twice the cost of the Metropole project. And as it seems buyers with assets overseas can easily purchase a 700,000 yuan home in Vietnam, while it is hard for them to buy a home worth 5 million yuan in Australia or the US.

In 2016, a local developer Dai Quang Minh constructed a residential complex in Thu Thiem, with a selling rate between

Data from CBRE Vietnam found that buyers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2018 accounted for 25

Asian developers are prying their way into Vietnam after understanding its growth potential against China’s

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A research analyst Dung Duong at CBRE Group told Bloomberg Opinion that the prices of luxury condominiums in Ho Chi Minh City climbed 17 percent last year to an average of $5,518 per square metre. That said, the city’s much affordable condos only increased by one percent last year.

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highly dynamic property market. A case in point is Singapore’s developer CapitalLand who has been granted the first batch of Ownership Certificates for one of its high-end residential projects Vista Verde in Ho Chi Minh City. Also, the De La Sol project is slated for completion in the last quarter of 2020 — marking CapitalLand’s 10th project in Ho Chi Minh City and its 12th project in Vietnam with two in Hanoi. Helping the market growth is the fact that both domestic and international developers benefit from Vietnam’s regulations, where they can pre-sale the projects once the foundations are built. Another reason Vietnam is relatively a popular choice as an investment destination for buyers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland seeking premium properties because of what the market has to offer. A luxury apartment within a central business district in Ho Chi Minh City which costs $5,000 per square metre upward might cost nearly four times more in Hong Kong, for instance. The standards for luxury homes are quickly improving as the property market is seeing a good mix of both domestic and international developers competing for the lion’s share of the property market. Developers are taking note of the fact that the Vietnamese have an affinity for investing in real estate. Wealth in the country is rapidly increasing with the middle and affluent class expected to double by 2022. People with $30 million net assets or more rose by 320 percent during the period between 2006 and 2016. Home ownership rates in the country have risen above 90 percent, making it one of the highest in the world. Vinhomes, the largest commercial real estate developer in Vietnam in a statement said that it expects the contract sales volume to rise to $7.6 billion in 2019. The country’s District 1, the central urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, is touted as a strong choice for Asian

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Home ownership rates in Vietnam is above

90%

Rental return on hi-end apartments in Vietnam’s big cities is between Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland cover of foreign buyer transactions in 2018

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7% and 8%

25%

Luxury apartments in Ho Chi Minh City cost $5000/sq m upward Chinese buyers for Vietnam’s properties in Q1 2018 was higher than Q1 2017

300%

investors looking for high return on investment. Capital market firm VinaCapital in its 2017 data found the annual rental return for some of the high-end apartments in Vietnam’s big cities is between 7 percent and 8 percent — almost 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent

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higher than the ones in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. Vietnam’s real estate prospect in the next three to five years is anticipated to be better than other Asian countries — although there is a higher demand

for luxury properties. In this context, its property pricing will continue to remain attractive for foreign buyers and investors exploring the Vietnamese market.  GBO Correspondent

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Amazon AWS comes to the Middle East

mazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the opening of AWS Middle East Region in Bahrain. The Middle East is an emerging market for cloud providers and a perfect fit for Amazon Web Services as it seeks to expand its global footprints. With this new expansion, Amazon expects to help Middle Eastern companies to digitally transform with the help of its cloud services. The company announced its plans to launch in Bahrain in 2017. According to Amazon, the AWS Middle East Region consists of three availability zones. Each availability zones have its independent power, cooling and physical security, and is connected through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks.

According to Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon Web Services, cloud technology has the potential to unlock digital transformation in the Middle East. He told the media that, "Today, we are launching advanced and secure technology infrastructure that matches the scale of our other AWS Regions around the world and are already seeing strong demand in the Middle East for AWS technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, data analytics, IoT, and much more." Amazon's client base in the Middle East & North Africa includes Anghami, Bayt.com, Careem, EKar, Fetchr,

Jeeny, Mawdoo3, Property Finder, StarzPlay, and Vezeeta. Some of the enterprises using AWS services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are Al Tayer Group, Aramex, Bahrain Bourse, Bank Al-Etihad, Batelco, Emirates NBD, Flydubai, Gulf News, MBC Group, OSN, Seera Group, Union Insurance, Virgin Middle East, and many more. Bahrain’s Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social Development and many other public sector organisations also uses Amazon Web Services. Amazon Web Services also launched a new AWS Direct Connect location in Bahrain which enables its customers to establish a direct private network connection between Amazon Web Services and their data centers, offices, or colocation environment.

Huawei strengthens ties with African nations

hina’s Huawei has strengthened its ties with African nations, especially South Africa and Nigeria. The company has also reaffirmed its role in smart city infrastructure development in Africa. Huawei lauded South African president Cyril Ramaphosa for showing confidence in the company as well Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for his support. It is noteworthy that South Africa and Nigeria are not the only countries to show interest to work with Huawei. According to Zheng Zhibin, president of Huawei, his company is committed to become a smart city enabler and promoter by providing a city nervous system. To roll out new technologies such as 5G networks, Africa does not have the infrastructure, expertise or requisite technologies. Therefore,

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companies like Huawei are expected to play a key role in providing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services in Africa.

or Southeast Asia. However, there were reports that many companies in Europe and Asia were suspending orders placed for Huawei products.

While speaking about US’ ban on Huawei, according to Huawei, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the media, "This standoff between China and the US where the technology company Huawei is being used as victim because of its successes is an example of protectionism that will affect our own telecommunications sector, particularly the efforts to roll out the 5G network, causing a setback on other networks as well."

In a statement, the company said, "Recently, many of our partners have chosen to stick with us and weather this storm together. We are immensely grateful for this. Moving forward, Huawei will continue working with our partners to protect the interests of our customers and consumers around the globe, maintain order in the market, and ensure the healthy development of our industry." While highlighting the impact of the ban on its ambitions in Africa, the company said that its effective business management system would ensure business would go on as usual even under the most difficult circumstances.

In May 2019, the company said that a ban from doing business in the US does not impact its relation as well as business in other markets such as Africa, Europe

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Alibaba Cloud deploys Apple to pay $1 bn for fintech to help Islamic Intel’s smartphone modem banks business

libaba Cloud has recently announced its collaboration with Bank Muamalat to deploy its financial technology (fintech). Alibaba’s technology will help the bank keep track of its customers and also offer recommendations according to the individuals’ predictive financial capability. Alibaba is also looking to expand itself in the Islamic banking industry to deploy its data analytics services and empower financial institutions. According to Alibaba Cloud Malaysia and Thailand GM Kenny Tan, his firm is in talks with several local financial institutions to deploy its predictive analytics programme after securing a partnership with Bank Muamalat Malaysia. He also noted that Alibaba is also reviewing other banks in Malaysia to collaborate and provide its data analytics services.

Bank Muamalat CTO Abdul Razak Mohamed Ismail expects Alibaba Cloud’s technology will help the bank better understand its customer’s needs as well as preferences and also provide customised services to its customers. Alibaba said its fintech will help the bank better understand its customers, especially the small and medium sized firms. These banks have a lot of data and insights, so Alibaba’s fintech will help them make the best use of available data.

Alibaba also plans to expand its data centre in Malaysia. It will focus on human capital and the training and development of its workforce. According to Alibaba Group VP Selina Yuan, Alibaba has already invested to expand its data centres. She also revealed that the company will continue to invest more in its resources in Malaysia, particularly in the training courses. In terms of physical expansion, she said Alibaba has plans in the pipeline but it will depend on its business growth in Malaysia. She also added that, “As the number one cloud provider in the Asia Pacific, we want to continue promoting inclusiveness through technology so that customers can experience a worldclass cloud system in terms of reliability, security, efficiency and inter-connectivity.”

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pple and Intel entered into a deal which will see Apple acquire a majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion. According to the deal, Apple will take control of Intel’s intellectual property, leases, and equipment. Also, 2200 Intel employees will join Apple. Apple will have access to nearly 17,000 patents ranging from protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and modem operation. However, Intel will continue to develop modems for non-smartphone applications. The transaction, which is subjected to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2019. The deal is one of Apple’s biggest, second to Apple’s acquisition of headphone maker Beat. According to Intel CEO Bob Swan, the agreement enables Intel to focus on developing technology for the 5G network while retaining critical intellectual property and modem technology that its team has created. He added that Intel is putting its full effort into 5G which aligns with the needs of Intel’s global customer base, including network operators, telecommunications equipment manufacturers and cloud service providers. Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies told the media that, "They, together with our significant acquisition of innovative IP, will help expedite our development on future products and allow Apple to further differentiate moving forward." Currently, Intel provides Apple with wireless chips which it uses to connect to the 4G network. However, Intel’s recent struggles mean Apple’s next batch of phones will not have 5G technology in them. Qualcomm in recent years has emerged as an industry leader after years of Intel’s dominance. Qualcomm has recently ended a legal battle with Apple which lasted for years. Apple may have paid chip-maker somewhere between $5 billion to $6 billion to dismiss all legal proceedings. This also comes as a bad news for Intel. The end of the legal battle means Apple will use Qualcomm chips and not Intel’s. This could force Intel to sell.

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Disney to 'emerge Microsoft, First Solar victorious in streaming war to develop sustainable against Netflix' Arizona data centre

icrosoft has announced that it has partnered with First Solar, an Arizona-based solar energy firm to develop its data centre campuses in El Mirage and Goodyear, Arizona. Microsoft intends to make these date centre campuses the most sustainably designed and operated in the world. First Solar will work on Microsoft’s Sun Streams 2 photovoltaic (PV) solar plant. The 150MW plant utilises some of the most eco-efficient solar technology available and will provide 100 percent renewable energies to Microsoft’s data centre campuses.

hile Disney and Netflix are engaged in a streaming price war, it is very early to predict who will emerge victorious. But one analyst has gone and done exactly that. Needham’s Laura Martin told the media, "We project Disney will win the US subscription video on demand (SVOD) battle." Recently, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that customers will now be able to subscribe to Disney+, ESPN+, and the adsupported version of Hulu, all for a bundled price of $12.99. It will be available to the public from November 12, the launch day for Disney+. Customers that wish to just subscribe to Disney+ can have the service for $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year. The subscriber will have access to three platforms for the same price as Netflix’s most popular plan. Laura Martin’s decision to put her money on Disney is based on the company’s aggressive pricing strategy. She said, “US consumers have shown a reluctance to add to their three SVOD services. This implies that Disney's projected 20 million to 30 million US subscriptions by 2024 will mostly come from Netflix's 60 million US subscribers.” Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne is confident Disney will achieve its targets largely because of the $12.99 bundle. However, some recent studies have been contradictory to Martin’s statement. A study by data analysis firm Mindnet Analytics found that only 2.2 percent of Netflix subscribers said they will definitely cancel Netflix once Disney+ launches in November. It is also very unlikely that Disney will gain at the expense of Netflix as many customers prefer to have multiple options. Netflix, which has 151 global subscribers, however would have to reconsider its strategy to hike prices. With Disney announcing the new bundle prices, to stay competitive, Netflix would have to follow suit or come up with a better offer.

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Microsoft has chosen Arizona to develop its data centre campuses because of the increasing demand for cloud and internet services in the region and across the country. According to Brian Janous, General Manager, Energy and Sustainability at Microsoft, Arizona has been increasingly embracing the technology industry with a pool of growing talent, affordable quality of life for employees, and as many 200 as sunny days a year making it an ideal location for investing in solar power.

“Our data centre design and operations will contribute to the sustainability of our Arizona facilities. In Arizona, we’re also pursuing LEED Gold certification which will help conserve additional resources including energy and water, generate less waste and support human health," Brian Janous told the media. Microsoft also plans to run a zero waste-certified operation in the data centre campuses thus reducing wastage by 90 percent by committing to reuse and recycling processes. Microsoft also expects these data centre campuses to create numerous jobs across the region. The data centres are expected to have an annual economic impact of approximately $20 million across communities in Arizona.

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Baidu takes cloud battle with Amazon to Singapore

hinese internet search giant Baidu has announced the launch of its cloud services in Singapore. According to the company, its AI cloud services have won certification from Singapore’s authorities. It has launched in Singapore with the motive to support Chinese companies operating globally as well as local businesses. Initially, the Baidu AI cloud will provide computing, storage, networking, security, database, and system management services. The company also revealed that it will add to the list in the near future to offer the best available services to its customer. Baidu's cloud services are available for various industries such as online gaming, finance, and Internet services in Singapore. Its first clients in Singapore include video streaming site iQiyi and Do Global, a spin-off of Baidu’s global business that focuses on international mobile apps as well as international advertising platform business. According to the Nasdaq-listed company, Singapore has seen a huge surge in demand for cloud computing services. The surge could be attributed to Singapore’s prime geographic location in Asia and its role as one of the world’s largest international financial centres. China’s Belt and Road Initiative gaining momentum could also contribute to the increase in demand. During the first quarter of the year, Baidu was the fourthlargest cloud infrastructure service provider in China in terms

of sale after Alibaba, Tencent, and Amazon Web Services. Earlier this year, Huawei also launched its cloud services in Singapore. Companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and Amazon Web Services have already established their businesses in the city. In China, Baidu has earned the reputation of the fastest cloud service provider despite having a comparatively smaller cloud services operation. It has also established itself as one of the top players in China over the years. While its services are currently available in the Asia-Pacific region, the company has plans to expand to serve customers globally. Its quarterly revenues were around $141.9 million.

Foxconn to sell $8.8 bn production unit in China

aiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturing company Foxconn has held talks to sell it new $8.8 billion liquid crystal display panel production unit in China. The recent development can be attributed to the ongoing US-China trade war. The project, which was announced by Foxconn in 2016, was dubbed as the largest single investment ever in the city of Guangzhou, China. The plant was announced after the Asian market saw a surge in the demand for large screen TVs and monitors. Foxconn’s decision was also influenced by the challenge to take on Chinese display maker BOE Technology. The Japanese company will take the help of a bank to find a buyer for its production unit in Guangzhou. The plant was being run by a joint venture between the Guangzhou government and Japan's Sakai Display Products, an advanced panel factory owned by Foxconn founder Terry Gou. Discussions, however, are still in the initial stage and Foxconn

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are yet to fix a price tag for the production unit which specialises in large screen LCDs. Foxconn is also not being helped by the escalating trade war between the US and China. US President Donald Trump created a stir as he vowed to impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports starting from September. To add to Foxconn’s woes, demand for large-screen televisions and monitors have also slowed down. A decision to sale would be properly reviewed by Foxconn because of its huge investments in the country. Foxconn revealed that it would shift its production unit to Vietnam to make flat screens and other electronic devices. Formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn in April announced that it is committed to build a display plant and tech research facilities in Wisconsin despite the fact that the fate of its $8.8 billion Guangzhou project remains unknown.

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has a strategic approach to Libra Facebook claims Libra backed by blockchain will have low volatility and enable swift financial services to serve the unbanked population in the world

acebook’s new cryptocurrency project Libra is apparently underpinned by a vision to empower billions of users on the global financial front by ‘creating a new opportunity for responsible financial services innovation’, its recently published white paper noted. In May, Facebook registered Libra Networks in Geneva, Switzerland, where the regulatory environment is conducive for cryptocurrency projects. Once it is launched, the new digital currency will be accessible to anyone with a basic smartphone and data connectivity. Libra is scalable, secure and fast. Facebook claims its low volatility and swift financial services could reduce poverty rates around the world — and this is how Facebook has positioned

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Libra to distinguish it from the already existing cryptocurrencies in the world. For users, Libra coin is described to be a currency with an intrinsic value which will help them to sell it without being affected by the speculative value fluctuations triggered by other cryptocurrencies. Unlike bitcoin and ether, each Libra coin will be backed with a set of low volatility assets such as bank deposits and government-backed currencies from reliable central banks. Although each Libra coin will be linked to a collection of fiat currencies, the Libra Reserve is designed in a way that it can mitigate massive value fluctuations, especially if they are spiralling downward. Libra Reserve will be braced by a body of exchanges for buying and selling Libras.

Facebook is capitalising on the possibility that 1.7 billion people without a bank account might choose any provider offering low cost financial services alternative as their online identity provider. On an average, it cost 7 percent to transfer money internationally. So, the idea is to allow Facebook to drive its ambitious goal on financial inclusion and disrupt Libra in the cryptocurrency market — where one day it will rival the greenback. For that, Libra will have to earn global trust to match the US dollar in its utility. Its unique selling point is that transferring money to a friend or making a payment will be as effortless as sending a Facebook message. Next year, Facebook will launch a subsidiary called Calibra in a hope that it can address global

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privacy concerns that are subsequently rising with its cryptocurrency efforts. Calibra will introduce an exclusive digital wallet for Libra powered by blockchain technology. In practice, Libra is both centralised and decentralised. Because the digital currency is backed by blockchain, it is decentralised ensuring security and transparency across multiple users. Libra is also centralised as it will be run and controlled by a robust body called the Libra Association. Thus, the Libra Reserve will be managed by the Libra Association held by a consortium of global organisations such as Mastercard, PayPal, coinbase, eBay, Uber, Lyft, Women’s World Banking, Kiva and Mercy Corporations, who will together maintain the Libra platform. Each of those companies have invested at least $10 million into the project’s operation, providing Facebook with more than $1 billion to invest into the new currency. People can acquire Libras by

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exchanging their national currencies to Facebook’s cryptocurrency organisation Calibra. In turn, Calibra will transfer this money to the Libra Reserve — and the money will be used to buy other currency or lowrisk government bonds. People with Libras can use them online for e-commerce purposes. Calibra will be available in messenger, whatsapp, and in a standalone app — independent of Facebook to protect user data privacy against third-parties. That means the financial data gathered from Libra's users will not be commingled with a user’s Facebook data.

Regulators go hammer and tongs at Libra Despite that, Facebook and Libra are facing criticism from regulators, lawmakers and countries that are unwilling to introduce the digital currency in their financial markets. Soon after Facebook’s announcement, congresswoman and chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters said the company should stall

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any development on the project and its executives to testify before the committee citing global security and privacy concerns. Another concern was raised by Senator Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, who said in a statement that it is not safe to allow Facebook to run Libra out of a Swiss bank without review. Facebook has set substantial precedents in exploiting billions of user data privacy which is hurting its current efforts to launch the digital currency, without being questioned. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made an official announcement about its $5 billion settlement with Facebook after carrying out a deep investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other security breaches last year. FTC said that Facebook has violated the law by not protecting user data from third parties and providing a false statement that its facial recognition feature was turned off by default.

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The company is now forced to implement a privacy regime which necessitates it to conduct a review for every new launch. Those mandated reviews must be submitted to the CEO and a third-party assessor every quarter. In fact, the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned the company that Libra could face strict regulation. Meanwhile, Walmart is working to issue a fiat-backed digital currency to provide an alternative offering to serve the unbanked. According to the filing, Walmart’s digital currency might be pegged to the US dollar and will be available only to a few select partners or retailers. It seems that Walmart’s cryptocurrency proposition is quite similar to Facebook’s Libra’s vision — meaning that it is only a matter of time before both companies compete against each other in the crypto space. There is a possibility that the digital currency might be linked to a national currency such as the US dollar so that funds can be included or removed easily. Walmart already has 54 blockchain-related patents to date, with the latest addition being Walmart China’s blockchain platform. Facebook has not one but numerous battles to fight even before Libra is

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introduced in the market. Angela Walch, a research fellow at University College London told Quartz that there is only a slim chance for Libra to receive regulatory approvals within the near future of six to twelve months. Facebook will have to do its due diligence in setting the record straight regarding anti-money laundering, money transfer, security and data privacy — and learn a way to deal with financial regulations as they differ from region to region.

of the People’s Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan hinted that the country may take a different approach inspired by Libra in issuance of China’s sovereign digital currency. Three banks in Hong Kong issue their own banknotes, while the monetary authority ensures that the value of one Hong Kong dollar is steady at $7.80. By following the Libra approach it is possible for Beijing to mitigate huge fluctuations during the digital currency’s early development stages.

Asia’s second largest economy is not keen to allow Libra to trade in the country. Even though Facebook hasn’t sought approval from India to launch its new currency — as per media reports both the Indian government and the central bank firmly believe that it could roil their financial moves. A government panel headed by Finance secretary Subhash Garg has already proposed a draft bill to ban cryptocurrencies in India. The panel has developed a report suggesting the creation of an official cryptocurrency which can replace other private digital currencies.

World’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance in its research report said Libra will have a medium and long term impact on both global economies and financial sectors, however. The success rate of the currency will depend on how far it can convince the regulators and financial institutions worldwide to form a consortium.

Then again, different countries’ response to Libra is contrasting. Hong Kong is taking inspiration from the Libra project. For example, former governor

The report’s review emphasised that Facebook must build trust with financial institutions and expand Libra’s user base. The project must operate in a similar manner to the ‘existing separation between monetary policy and fiscal policy that occurs in developed countries’, the report concluded.  GBO Correspondent

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Why Trump will hurt, not kill

Huawei's global footprint Trump’s partial ban on Huawei suggest that there is more on his agenda with China than plain old security concerns

n May, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security added the Chinese technology giant Huawei to the entity list, effectively banning the company from doing business in the country. In response, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would establish an ‘unreliable entity list’ comprising foreign companies, organisations, and individuals who clash with Chinese companies’ interest. For Trump, the core concern stems from Huawei’s closeness with the Chinese government that could enable it to pose serious security threats to the US and its allies. Those fears have been persistent for a long time. In 2018, France’s Le Monde newspaper published an insight into a data theft investigation at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. It was discovered that the Huawei-made servers at the headquarters were transferring classified information to unknown servers hosted in Shanghai every single night. But Huawei refuted to those claims on the website by stating that the infrastructure was highly vulnerable to malicious attacks.

Huawei reached 59.1 million shipments in the first quarter of 2019 compared to 39.3 million in the same period last year. The expected consequence of the series of US bans coupled with the cancellation of Android license agreement with Google is that it would decimate Huawei’s market performance. In fact, the two technology giants were reportedly co-developing a smart speaker which came to a halt in May. The Huawei smart speaker powered by Google

Assistance would have been unveiled in September and sold in the US market. In China, Huawei is already operating without the Play Store as Google pulled out from the market in response to a series of Chinese-originated cyber attacks. Although there is no bright side to losing Google’s cooperation — Huawei CEO confirmed that the company’s own operating system replacing android is in the works. Its operating system under development is called Hongmeng OS and

More recently, the Trump administration has announced that the US federal agencies trading with Huawei will be barred from doing so in the future, citing national security concerns. The new ban is a significant move to Trump’s continuous efforts to tear down the Chinese technology. Huawei started the year with ballooning sales as Apple plunged.

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was trademarked in case Google shutting Huawei from its Android ecosystem remains a permanent feature. It is still unclear whether Huawei is developing its operating system from the ground up or it would be based on the existing Android Open Source Project. Developing an alternative operating system is strategic for the Chinese company but might not be robust enough for it to compete against the contemporary iOS-Android duopoly, Many of its components are sourced from US companies or other companies with direct association to those US suppliers. So Huawei using those parts, however, would be considered illegal. Huawei’s has managed to report stratospheric growth in revenue. Revenues have increased by nearly a quarter during the first half of 2019 despite all efforts to derail its telecom and smartphone markets. Recently, the company reported a 23.2 percent rise in revenue to 401.3 yuan compared to 325.7 billion yuan in the same period last year. The company’s smartphone shipments rose by 24 percent to 118 million yuan. The reason for Huawei’s growth can be attributed to its dominance over the native market where rivals like Oppo and Apple see weak growth. Huawei shipped 37.3 million smartphones in China in the second quarter boosting its market share by more than 10 percent. That’s a 31 percent jump year over year, observed market research company Canalys. Also, the momentum it achieved after the trade ban can be factored in for its substantial growth. Kitty Folk, who keeps a tab on China’s smartphone sector at a research company IDC said that the trade ban has somewhat encouraged people to support the Chinese giant. Another reason could be the manner in which Huawei has responded to the Android ban. The company promised that existing Huawei and Honor phones will continue to receive security updates, while it builds a safe and sustainable

Issue 01 | 2019

software ecosystem to deliver the best experience worldwide. Huawei, mired in the US-China trade conflict, has stated several times before that no matter what the final decision on the ban is it will not affect the company’s market performance — even though it is heavily reliant on computer chips imported from Intel and Micron. Chairman Liang Hua told reporters that the company is confident of what the future holds and will carry on investing as planned. The Chinese state-run Global Times noted that Huawei’s operating system Hongmeng is expected to be unveiled at its developer conference in the first week of August. Hongmeng will first debut in Honor smart TVs. There is a comparison made between Hongmeng and Google’s Fuchsia which is still under developing stages. Fuchsia is said to be a similar operating system designed to run on various form factors.

Apple lags behind By comparison, Apple’s iOS device captured only 11 percent of the total market share in the second quarter of the year. The US company is expected to unveil iPhone 11 in September. Its sales declined 12 percent to $26 billion in the fiscal third quarter. The downside effect of the ban has not translated into Huawei phones’ failing shipment and has outperformed the iPhones instead with 17 percent total market share, according to Strategy Analytics. Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint Research observed that smartphone shipments have collectively fallen by 4.3 million units year over year, while the combined share of Chinese giants including Huawei and Xiaomi have peaked 42 percent of the global market. An analyst at Assembly Research said that uprooting Huawei from global telecom markets would negatively impact countries and is an impractical move. For example, an independent report from Assembly Research commissioned by Mobile UK found that if the British government decides to blacklist Huawei

it could cost the economy $8.5 billion, in addition to a delayed 5G availability by up to two years. The UK has long relied on the Chinese company with both Vodafone and EE using Huawei equipment to roll out 5G in there. But the unending debate on whether Huawei should be allowed to trade with its 5G telecom giants, or not is bogging down its 5G deployment strategy. The British government is becoming more and more indecisive after the Trump administration put undue pressure on its allies to blacklist Huawei. China has told India not to block Huawei from doing business in the country, or it will face repercussions of ‘reverse sanctions’. Chinese officials have warned India’s ambassador in Beijing that Indian companies in China will be affected if the country succumbs to mounting pressure from Washington. Huawei has been carrying out operations in India for a long time. A high-level group of officials carried out an investigation and found no evidence to imply Huawei’s ‘back door’ programme. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said that India will make an independent and objective decision in order to realise mutual benefits. Now, the Trump administration is considering easing restrictions that held back US companies from trading with Huawei without a US government license. During the G20 Summit in Japan, Trump said that US companies can continue to sell components to Huawei as long as they don’t present a national threat. Analysts at IDC explained that in the current situation if Google gets its licence to trade with Huawei — it would be a massive advantage to the Chinese company. Following the easing of those sanctions for US companies, Trump announced that Huawei is still going to be a part of the trade discussions between Washington and Beijing. The Chinese giant responded to Trump’s new take on blacklisting Huawei by stating “U-turn?

FEATURE

Donald Trump suggests he would allow #Huawei to once again purchase U.S. technology!” Although Trump has allowed US companies to resume supply of less critical components, no announcement has been made on the supply of critical components. Founder and CEO of Huawei Ren Zhengfei in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance emphasised that Huawei is not at the mercy of those companies in order to survive the complexities. In this context, Ren said their production would not stall for a single day even if the US companies decide to end their ongoing trade with them. 5G is a huge opportunity for both China and the US as it represents a new era of networks. So China is paving its way to lead global 5G innovation with Huawei and ZTE robust body of research and implementation is not so good for the US with the trade war looming. Beneath the security concerns another issue the US government has with Huawei is its 5G cellular network technology. Trump’s national security team has outlined a plan to build

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a government-owned 5G network devised to challenge the Chinese hi-tech capabilities. The 5G programme is aimed at developing a centralised nationwide network within three years.

Trump plan under strain The exponential development of critical technologies in the telecommunication industry is worrying the US that China might gain a competitive advantage over it in the 5G carrier network market. Huawei’s confidence about its self reliant 5G project is straining Trump’s 5G plan moves — and the more advanced it builds its technology, the fewer problems they will face in the future, Ren said. Currently, Huawei and ZTE are leading the development and commercialisation of 5G technologies. Analysts see Trump administration’s rush to build a nationalised 5G network to create more problems for the US telecommunication industry. That coupled with Trump backtracking on the Huawei ban could benefit China’s 5G development moves. With that, Huawei is also capitalising

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on Trump easing his restrictions on the ban.. Ren during the interview pointed out how a country like US bound by law is open to negotiations over legal issues when they must be addressed in court. Ren said that they don’t intend to sell the 5G products in the US market and that, Trump is using the company as a bargaining chip to win over China. In fact, the ban forced Huawei to pull out from its plans to invest $600 million this year in the US research and development subsidiary Futurewei as there were restrictions imposed on their engagements with each other. Recent media reports suggest that Trump is interested to strike a deal with China and thus Washington will not kill Huawei’s global market presence. And crucially, the Trump administration is likely to shake up its 5G moves by enforcing a partial ban on US companies’ trade with Huawei. The media speculation is that Trump intends to make the Chinese giant less attractive in the eyes of US allies around the world — and leave it with a series of obstruction.  GBO Correspondent

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EDUCATION

NEWS

China introduces AI to education, might change outlook

hile many countries are still debating how to upgrade their educational systems, China may have found a futuristic solution. In the last couple of years, the country has invested heavily on research for AI-enabled education. Tech companies, startups, and authorities have all worked together to implement AI into China’s education system. Currently, millions of Chinese students take AI’s help to some extent. One of the major reasons behind AI’s sudden growth in Chinese education system is tax breaks and incentives introduced for firms dealing with AI in education. Tax breaks led to more investment in this sector. According to reports, China was a major contributor to the $1 billion invested globally last year in AI education. Competition among Chinese students is also another crucial factor. Around 10 million students in China take the National College Entrance Examination. Therefore, parents are not reluctant to invest to give their children the best education possible. Shanghai-based Squirrel AI Learning by Yixue Group is the first K12 Ed-tech company founded in 2014. It specializes in intelligent adaptive education in China and is the market leader. It helps students score better on annual standardised tests such as the the National College Entrance Examination. The company collects huge amount of data which has made possible all kinds of personalisation and prediction experiments. The company is now valued at $1 billion.

Alo7, another Ed-tech startup that teaches English seeks to move away from test-oriented learning and instead focus on creativity, leadership, and other soft skills. Unlike Squirrel, Alo7’s online learning platform is meant to supplement a traditional classroom. Startups such as Squirrel AI Learning and Alo7 are leading the revolution in the Chinese education system. With China leading the way by experimenting with AI education, it soon might change the way that the world absorbs education.

CVC Capital acquire 30% stake in Dubai’s Gems Education

CVC Capital Partners led consortium has brought a 30 percent stake in Dubai’s Gems Education. During the same time, Gems Education has launched a financing programme including loans and bonds. Both sets of transactions were completed last month.

According to Jan Reinier Voûte, partner and co-head of CVC Strategic Opportunities, Gems is a perfect fit for CVC Strategic Opportunities strategy which is ideally positioned to support value creation in long term partnership investments.

The transaction also saw the exit of consortium led by Fajr Capital including Tactical Opportunities funds managed by Blackstone and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company that acquired a significant minority stake in Gems Education in 2014. However, Khazanah Nasional, a sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, will retain its 3 percent stake.

After the completion of the transaction, Gems Education will acquire 14 private schools in Europe, through the acquisition of a leading UK-based school group called Bellevue Education. As of 28 February 2019, Gems Education owns and operates 49 schools in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Founded by a family of teachers in 1959, Gems Education has grown from a single school to the world's largest provider of private kindergarten to 12th grade education by revenue.

According to Dino Varkey, CEO of Gems Education, "Investment by the CVC Funds marks the third time we have successfully collaborated with global institutional investors. As we approach our 60th anniversary, we look forward to developing the company further. This is aligned with our vision of expanding the business into new markets and continuing our long history of growth.”

Issue 01 | 2019

Gems Education shareholders were advised by Credit Suisse, Emirates NBD, and Morgan Stanley, as well as JP Morgan. CVC, on the other hand, was advised by UBS, Goldman Sachs and Freshfields, Fajr Capital, Blackstone, and Mumtalakat.

NEWS

EDUCATION

Microsoft adds another Moroccan union fights the African partner in controversial educational Think-Career reform bill

alent acquisition and learning firm Think-Career has announced that it has become a Microsoft authorised education partner (AEP). According to the firm, after becoming a Microsoft’s education partner, it will provide training to resellers on Microsoft’s Academic licencing programme, authorise them to purchase and resell Microsoft Academic licences, and also demonstrate to potential customers that they are approved and knowledgeable academic partners. VP of education for Microsoft, Anthony Salcito told the media that, “By becoming AEPs, partners show themselves to be committed and trained in providing discounted Microsoft academic products to the education market.” He added that, “This authorisation, along with our other education partner initiatives gives our partners recognition of their areas of expertise and our academic customers the confidence that they are buying from academic IT specialist.” Think-Career also specialises in retail, FMCG and ICT industries operating across South Africa. It also provides services such as talent acquisition, talent learning and development, talent career assessments and talent management. According to founder and MD of Think-Career, Khani Mhlongo, the partnership highlights his company's commitment and passion in the academic IT marketplace and demonstrates their knowledge of Microsoft and its academic products. To earn a Microsoft AEP authorisation, partners must complete a test to prove their level of academic licensing and market expertise. The AEP programme is designed to train participating resellers on Microsoft’s Academic licencing, as well as authorise them to purchase and resell Microsoft Academic licenses. Earlier this year, Infopulse, an international software development, IT operations and IT outsourcing company headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine became an authorised education partner of Microsoft.

he National Office of the Democratic Labour Confederation’s National Education Union heavily criticised the new Education Reform Bill introduced by the government. The union said the bill which the Moroccan House of Representatives, the First Chamber of Parliament approved is a political liquidation of government funded education. The union also chastised the government for introducing such a bill.

The union publicly demanded that the government withdraws the bill as it will have serious implications on the country’s education system and also its future. It also demanded that the House of Representatives should be held responsible for sabotage because of its reforms to dismantle the country’s public sector. Five prominent Moroccan education sector unions including the National Office of the Democratic Labour Confederation’s National Education Union have publicly disapproved the bill. However, the Moroccan policymakers welcome the new bill as it seeks to privatise as well as modernise its educational system, especially the primary and higher grades. According to the bill, some subjects in Moroccan schools will be taught in foreign languages, especially which the ones that involves science and technology. Because of this reform, the Education Reform Bill has become a source of controversy in Morocco. The Moroccan constitution states that Arabic is the official language of the State. The State works for the protection, development and promotion of the Arabic language. Likewise, Tamazight [Berber/Amazighe] constitutes an official language of the State, being the common heritage of all Moroccans without exception.

Similarly, last year, ZNetLive, a leading hosting and cloud services provider based in India announced that it has become a Microsoft Authorised Education Partner.

Many political leaders also disapproved the bill. Abdelilah Benkirane, former Moroccan prime minister, declared that he might leave the Justice and Development Party (JDP), after it approved the law. Idris Azami Al Idrissi, head of the JDP parliamentary bloc, already issued his resignation.

Collaborating with Education partners, Microsoft aims to provide the best solutions in the field of education and ease the process of learning.

Since the House of Representatives’ approved the Education Reform Bill in a public session, the new law will now be referred to the second chamber of parliament, the House of Counsellors.

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EDUCATION

NEWS

Sisi, Macron to meet again Singapore’s minister of at G7 for collaboration education justifies spending on education on foreign students

gyptian President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will meet again in Biarritz next month during the upcoming G7 Summit, French Ambassador to Cairo Stephane Roumtier said in a ceremony. According to the ambassador, the two countries will form collaboration in the education, infrastructure, and energy sector. He said, “France has great ambitions in the relations between the two countries. This is what President Macron proposed during his meeting with President Sisi last January when he visited Cairo, and this is what he will say again when receiving President Sisi in France at the end of August.” Earlier this year, the France’s President Emmanuel Macron visited Egypt on a three day tour. During his stay, important things discussed include bilateral trade. Macron also announced the launch of a joint electric cars project. Other things discussed during his visit were cooperation on infrastructure, railways, roads, healthcare, culture, upbringing, and academic cadres training. The president highlighted the need to increase his country’s presence in the Egyptology sector, more museum exchange programs, and collaboration on Islamic artifacts. Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi also pointed out that cooperation on regional and international affairs as well as economic and cultural matters were discussed. According to him, the partnership with France will help Egypt boost its economic development. He welcomed the French companies to participate in mega projects and benefit from opportunities in Egypt. In January, Egyptian education minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar and French Ambassador to Egypt Stéphane Romatet discussed increasing their cooperation in the educational domain. The two also discussed boosting cooperation in culture as well as the development of a French University in Egypt. According to reports, already 3.5 million students are learning French in Egyptian school as a second foreign language. The Association for the Dissemination and Teaching of French in Europe (ADEFE) project will continue to support the Egyptian public education system in teaching French in Egypt.

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ingapore’s Minister of Education Ong Ye Kung was recently asked to justify the government spending on foreign students in parliament. This concern was raised after a series of debate on whether the country was excessively spending on foreign students. In response, Ye Kung said the country’s main aim is to focus on the education system and cater to the needs of the nationals. He also asserted that no Singaporean has been replaced by an international student from an ‘institute of higher learning’. According to the minister, the Singaporean government’s education budget is nearly $13 billion a year. He added that the fund is being ‘overwhelmingly’ spent on local students to provide them with affordable education. That said, the spending on international students is estimated around 1 percent of the annual education budget. In the beginning of the 2000s, Singapore launched an initiative to transform into a ‘global schoolhouse’ where it anticipated that 150,000 international students will be attending schools in the country by 2015. The plan was supported by the Singapore Education campaign. The initiative saw 900,000 students move to Singapore to study in 2010. The top two universities in Asia, Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore are housed in Singapore. Both the universities ranked 11th on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2020. According to the QS rankings, Nanyang Technological University moved up by one position, while National University of Singapore retained its last year’s rank on the index. The Singapore Management University rose to 477th position from 500th last year. That said, Singapore was listed 20th in the 2019 list of best student cities.

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EDUCATION

Queensland's UQ Innovative, Australia’s biggest university makerspace

he University of Queensland has launched UQ Innovative, a world class makerspace. The facility which includes a 1200 square metre workshop is regarded as Australia’s biggest university makerspace. The makerspace includes advanced manufacturing and prototyping tools and machines including 3D printers, vacuum formers, industrial robots, and water jet cutters. According to Vicki Chen, Professor at the University of Queensland, the new makerspace will give the students of the university a competitive edge over others as they integrate with the country’s already existing workforce. A group of technical staff will also assist the students and researchers in making the best use of the makerspace. Professor Chen told the media that, “One of our main roles as a university is to give our students the confidence and capability to embrace the challenges of a changing world. And with the launch of UQ Innovate, we are in a much stronger

position to fuel their curiosity, so they can drive sustainable solutions at the cutting edge, today and tomorrow.” University students have developed competitive race cars and rockets by using the university’s facilities. Even before the launch of UQ Innovative, students from the university have developed highly complex rockets which won them the Australian University Rocket Competition. Managing Director of UQ Space, Myrthe Snoeks told the media, “With the launch of these new facilities, we have the tools we need to tackle even more exciting and challenging projects, with

the aim to go further than any Australian university team has gone before.” Over the years, universities around the globe have developed makerspaces to enable students to get involved with advanced manufacturing processes, while also allowing the public to see how innovative techniques produced products in industrial settings. Makerspaces has resulted in the establishment of engineering and manufacturing startups and allowed wider engagement with similar projects. The first maker lab in Australia opened in Adelaide in November 2012.

IIM Calcutta to see more foreign student exchanges

ndian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) has announced that it has signed MoUs (memoranda of understanding) with Carleton University, Canada and Montpellier Business School from France to execute student exchange programme. So far, IIM-C has a tie up with 83 international institutes across the world. Professor Prashant Mishra, Dean, New Initiatives and External Relations at IIMC told the media that, “Student exchange programme (STEP) is an integral part of IIM Calcutta’s internationalisation efforts. It is aimed at providing IIM Calcutta students an opportunity to have learning experience from the international environment. It also helps them gain valuable knowledge in a diverse ecosystem and enables them to know about their peer group at the partner institute. This helps them sharpen their practical skills, equips them with the ability to work in culturally diverse teams and contributes largely to their personal and professional development.” According to IIMC, the MoUs were singed for a period of five years. With this new collaboration, the elite Indian institute

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hopes to achieve research collaboration, capacity building, executive training and other forms of academic partnerships beside the exchange of students. Similarly, the exchange programme with Montpellier Business School aims to exchange postgraduate and doctoral students, faculty members, academic information and materials, organise executive development programmes, research programmes, workshops and conferences. International exchange programme similar to these are essential for students as well as faculty members to develop practical knowledge and experience of each other’s business, social, cultural and political environment. Each year eligible students are selected by the institute to spend one academic term in any of the partnered universities. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) which is regarded as one of the topmost B-school in the country has 79 partner universities across the world. IIMC recently launched the executive programme in Operations Management (EPOM) for working professionals willing to advance their career in the domain of Operations Management.

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EDUCATION

FEATURE

Post-study visa is critical to

the UK international education The government’s new International Education Strategy is a push to welcome more international students in the country

lthough the UK is recognised as the second most popular study destination in the world — its education landscape currently offers a more or less ‘hostile environment’ policy blocking international students from working in the country. So the government has formulated a new International Education Strategy in an ambitious effort to uplift international students numbers and boost income generated from international education. According to the official announcement published on the government’s website, the new initiative is expected to increase the number of international students studying in the country by more than 30 percent, It will benefit both international students and the country on the whole. International students can stay up to one year to find employment after their study visa expires in the UK. Meanwhile, the UK can focus to not only retain its existing scope in the EU but expand into global markets such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. There is no limit put on the number of international students welcomed to study in the country. The post-study leave period for undergraduate and masters students will be extended up to six months, while a year’s extension will be given to all doctoral students. Ernst and Young UK reported that international students can apply for Tier-2 visa, also known as skilled worker visa a few months earlier than it is usually accepted. Currently, the law states that students will have to wait to obtain a degree to apply for Tier 2 visa. London Mayor Sadiq Khan in his blueprint Immigration, a future approach suggested that a post-study visa should be separate from Tier 2 route, meaning that students are allowed to work in the country up to 2 years after graduation. However, with the new rules, students will be granted Tier-4 visas for the duration of the course in addition to a few months after completion. But the downside of Tier-4 visa is that if students are unable to find employment within the stipulated time

Issue 01 | 2019

frame they will have to return to their home country. Now, many international students holding a Tier-4 visa are unable to switch to Tier-2 visa because they do not have a degree yet — or worse, their visa is about to expire. The official international enrollment statistics observed that there were nearly 458,520 international students studying in universities in the UK in the last two years. International enrollment at universities in the country increased by 3.6 percent during the period 2017 and 2018. Newly enrolled students were 54 percent of the total international students in the UK. The statistics also showed that the origin of international students in the country were commonly from China, India, the US, Hong Kong and Malaysia. International students from those five countries account for 38 percent of the total international enrollment at the UK universities. China still remains the top country for exporting international students to the UK. For example, 106,530 Chinese students were enrolled at UK universities followed by India with 19,750 students and the US with 18,885 students during that period. By comparison, only 30 percent of international students originate from the EU nations such as Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Greece — with 139,150 enrolled at UK universities as of 2017 and 2018. Education Secretary Damian Hinds and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox published the International Education Strategy to reinforce the country’s leading position in the global education market. The idea is to largely benefit both the UK and international students as the country prepares to leave the EU with Brexit looming. Last year, the Department of International Trade introduced the Export Strategy which aims to support businesses of all sizes in order to benefit from the opportunities presented by global markets. Currently, the UK hosts roughly 460,000 international higher education students annually. The country’s education sector generates £20 billion income annually through education

FEATURE exports and transnational activities such as English language training, income from international students, overseas education services and education technology solutions sold globally. In this context, the strategy intends to expand the international students base in the country to 600,000 during the year — and generate income of £35 billion through education exports by 2030. That means international education in the country will see a 75 percent increase in the growth rate of international students in the next decade. The UK is easing restrictions on post-study visa to naturally attract international students in the coming years. Hinds on the government website said that it is important for the UK to reach out globally and capitalise on what the country has to offer. This is especially crucial given the current political complexities with Brexit. So the strategy necessitates a number of measures for the country to capitalise on benefits stemming from its education exports abroad. •

A new International Education Champion will be appointed to reinforce overseas activity through global partnerships

•

Persuade sector groups to take part in the £5 million GREAT Challenge Fund to promote UK education worldwide

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EDUCATION

•

Extend international students post-study visas to encourage student employment

•

Actively work with government departments on international education policy

•

Develop robust body of data on education exports to boost performance

On the bright side, the strategy will enable a large scale of employment opportunities for international students as employment competition from UK workers will have lessened with Brexit. However, analysts believe that it is important to closely watch the Brexit impact on work visas for international students. The UK leaving the EU is feared to have a mixed impact on the universities in the UK. Many of UK universities believe there is a chance of them losing a good proportion of EU students and the European Research Development Fund which supports a considerable number of education projects in the country  GBO Correspondent

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AWARDS 2019

In Recognition of your Ongoing Commitment to Excellence The Global Business Outlook awards aim to recognise and reward excellence in business to companies all over the globe, both in the public and private sector. Our goal is to make sure that innovation, creativity and the drive to create value gets its due recognition. The awards are open to companies of all sizes, based anywhere in the world, and in both broad and niche sectors. Our goal is to offer recognition to both smaller market participants as well as larger firms adapting international models to unique geographies from all over. Whatever the size of your company , if you feel that it has performed in exceptional terms, created great value, business edge and market recognition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we would love to hear from you. The Global Business Outlook awards are not just for companies that conduct business globally. Companies that operate nationally or regionally only, are every bit as applicable for them. These companies will compete against organisations or individuals based out of their own country. When submitting your application for these awards, kindly be specific about the region of your operations. The jury will consider all entries during the first two weeks of the month and winners will be notified personally within six weeks. We pride ourselves on an efficient, fair and prompt judiciary process and intend to announce the outcome of these results as soon as possible. All award winners are entitled to their winnings for a period of 12 months.

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2019

Best use of Technology in FinTech Solutions – Jazeel – Bahrain 2019

Kuwait Finance House (BAHRAIN) BSC

GBO AWARDS

Best Islamic Bank Egypt 2019

Banque Misr

Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) is a leading provider of Islamic commercial and investment banking services. Established in January 2002 as a whollyowned subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House-Kuwait, it is an industry leader for more than 40 years. It specialises in conceptualising the development and introduction of innovative, Sharia'a compliant banking and investment products. KFH-Bahrain pioneers in compelling financial solutions in a fast-growing, high-demand Islamic banking industry.

Since 96 years ago, the great Egyptian economist, Mohamed Talaat Pasha Harb, came up with the concept of establishing a bank with a mission. He brought that idea into existence and presented it to the Egyptian society as a whole. This concept was based on investing national savings and directing them towards economic and social development. That bank is Banque Misr.

Most Innovative Digital Transformation Initiative – Bahrain 2019

Best Green Bank Egypt 2019

Bahrain Islamic Bank Incorporated in 1979 as the first Islamic bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the fourth in the GCC. Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has played a pivotal role in the development of the Islamic banking industry and the Kingdom’s economy. A steadfast focus on continuous innovation, strong corporate governance and risk management, employee development, and the use of state of the art technology to deliver superior customer service, has cemented Bahrain Islamic Bank’s position as the leading Sharia’a-compliant Bank.

Best Microfinance Bank Bahrain 2019

Ebdaa Bank for Microfinance Ebdaa Bank was established in 2009 as the first microfinance bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain, thanks to the support of H.R.H Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the wife of the King of Bahrain and the President of the Supreme Council for Women as well as the Late Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the President of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND).

Best Mobile Banking Service Provider Cambodia 2019

Wing (Cambodia) Limited Specialised Bank Wing (Cambodia) Limited Specialised Bank is Cambodia's leading mobile banking service provider. Launched in 2009, Wing is committed to providing financial inclusion to the unbanked and under-banked allowing every Cambodian access to services including local money transfers, bill payments and phone top-ups, online shopping and QR payment, as well as instant international money transfer from more than 200 countries.

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Arab African International Bank AAIB aims to create a financial institution that would leverage the wealth of the region not just in the Egyptian market, but to be the financial backbone of this regional ambition, providing innovative products and services. Arab African International Bank's treaty of establishment was signed by the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and H E Gabr Al Ahmed Al Gabr Al Sabbah Kuwait's former Crown Prince.

Best CSR Bank Ghana 2019

Zenith Bank (Ghana) Ltd Since inception, the Zenith brand has been synonymous with its cutting edge ICT platform, passionately innovative staff and devotion to the development of top of the range products and services to meet customer needs. Zenith Bank is an epitome of a stable and strong institution with a brand and customer service that are an envy of its peers.

Best Digital Transformation Initiative Indonesia 2019

Bank OCBC NISP Bank OCBC NISP (previously known as Bank NISP) is the fourth oldest bank in Indonesia, established on April 4, 1941 in Bandung under the name of NV Nederlandsch Indische Spaar En Deposito Bank. The existence of Bank OCBC NISP in Indonesia’s banking industry for more than 78 years is associated with the role of Karmaka Surjaudaja and Lelarati Lukman.

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GBO AWARDS

2019

Best Commercial Bank Ghana 2019

Best Islamic Bank Kuwait 2019

Zenith Bank (Ghana) Ltd

Warba Bank

Since inception, the Zenith brand has been synonymous with its cutting edge ICT platform, passionately innovative staff and devotion to the development of top of the range products and services to meet customer needs. Zenith Bank is an epitome of a stable and strong institution with a brand and customer service that are the envy of its peers.

Warba Bank was established on February 17, 2010 by an Emiri decree to revive the economic situation following the crisis in Kuwait. On April 7, 2010 Warba Bank joined the Group of Islamic Banks registered with the Central Bank of Kuwait. The bank has been up to the expectations of Kuwaitis and earned their trust. Shortly after its founding, it successfully established its leadership position in the banking sector.

Most Innovative SME Bank Indonesia 2019

Best Credit Card Offering Lebanon 2019

Best Digital Transformation in Online Banking – Kenya 2019

AM Bank S.A.L AM Bank was established in 1980. Since then, it has grown exponentially year after year, thanks to a solid management structure and the shared philosophy that “customer satisfaction comes first”. Today, AM Bank ranks as one of the largest and most awarded banks in the market.

Most Innovative Islamic Bank Malaysia 2019

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad Kenya Commercial Bank KCB Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licenced as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator. The bank has also been running Agency banking model.

Best Customer Service Bank Kenya 2019

National Bank of Kenya National Bank was incorporated on June 19 1968 and officially opened on Thursday November 14 1968. At the time it was fully owned by the Government. The objective for which it was formed was to help Kenyans get access to credit and control their economy after independence. The bank is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Issue 01 | 2019

It was when Bank Islam Malaysian Berhad or Bank Islam, in short, was officially established, it marked the beginning of Islamic banking not just in Malaysia but also within the ASEAN region. As the pioneer of the industry, Bank Islam has since set the benchmark for innovations with a number of groundbreaking Shariah-based banking products and services.

Best Digital Transformation Initiative Malaysia 2019

Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad is a dynamic, integrated banking group offering end-toend financing solutions through its consumer banking, SME banking, wholesale banking, Islamic banking, investment banking and stock broking businesses, having served the financial community over the past five decades.

2019

Best CSR Bank Malaysia 2019

Bank of China (Malaysia) Berhad BOC Malaysia Branch is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (“BOCHK”). BOCHK is a major commercial banking group, one of the three note-issuing banks and the sole clearing bank for Renminbi (“RMB”) business in Hong Kong. We have strong market positions in all major businesses and enjoy leading edges in cross-border and RMB businesses.

Best Transaction Bank Mauritius 2019

Barclays Bank Mauritius Limited

GBO AWARDS

Best Commercial Bank Morocco 2019

BMCE Bank BMCE Bank is a large commercial bank in Morocco. It operates over 697 branches in Morocco alone and 560 branches in the rest of the African continent. BMCE has offices in France, Spain, United Kingdom, China, Italy, Germany, UAE, Belgium, Canada and Netherlands.

Best Investment Bank Egypt 2019

Arab African International Bank

Barclays was the first international bank to establish operations in Mauritius. Barclays Mauritius has developed to become the third largest bank in Mauritius. The bank has 25 branches and a market share of nearly 10 percent to 12 percent. Barclays Mauritius offers a range of banking services to both personal and corporate customers.

AAIB aims to create a financial institution that would leverage the wealth of the region not just in the Egyptian market, but to be the financial backbone of this regional ambition, providing innovative products and services. Arab African International Bank's treaty of establishment was signed by the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and H E Gabr Al Ahmed Al Gabr Al Sabbah Kuwait's former Crown Prince.

Excellence in Customer Experience Morocco 2019

Best Social Responsibility Initiative Mozambique 2019

BTI BANK Alliance between BMCE Bank and Al Baraka Banking Group led to the establishment of BTI Bank. Launched in December 2017, BTI Bank is a participation bank headquartered in Casablanca. It was established with a profound goal to fulfill the needs of the Morccan market and adheres to Sharia values.

Best Environmental Sustainable Bank Egypt 2019

Banque Misr Since 96 years ago, the great Egyptian economist, Mohamed Talaat Pasha Harb, came up with the concept of establishing a bank with a mission. He brought that idea into existence and presented it to the Egyptian society as a whole. This concept was based on investing national savings and directing them towards economic and social development. That bank is Banque Misr.

Global Business Outlook

Banco Único Banco Único is a universal bank with a strong retail focus, dedicated to all clients – individuals and companies who value a personalised, distinct and high quality service. We are committed to provide a close, intimate and available service, where excellence and attention to detail are underpinned by a relationship of extreme personal trust with the client.

Fastest Growing Retail Bank Nigeria 2019

First Bank of Nigeria Ltd First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is Nigeria’s premier commercial bank and most valuable banking brand. With over 10 million active customer accounts and more than 750 business locations, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to customers and investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities available in Nigeria and its business locations across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

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GBO AWARDS

2019

Best SME Bank Malaysia 2019

Best CSR Bank Kenya 2019

Best Mobile Banking App Nigeria 2019

First Bank of Nigeria Ltd First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is Nigeria’s premier commercial bank and most valuable banking brand. With over 10 million active customer accounts and more than 750 business locations, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to customers and investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities available in Nigeria and our business locations across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Most Innovative Bank – ALAT by Wema Nigeria 2019

Wema Bank PLC Wema Bank is one of Nigeria’s most significant banks with more than 73 years of banking experience. The bank offers a range of tailored services to customers from e-banking platforms to transaction flexibility to a host of other personalised services. Wema Bank constantly introduces new banking products and services to help customers achieve their personal and financial goals.

Most Innovative Payment Solution Taiwan 2019

Taipei Fubon Bank Taipei Fubon Bank, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holdings, was created through the merger of Taipei Bank and Fubon Bank. The merger formally completed on January 1, 2005 was the first in Taiwan’s banking history involving a state-owned bank and a private bank. As of December 31, 2018 Taipei Fubon Bank had total assets of NT$2.71 trillion and operated a total of 127 domestic branches and five overseas branches.

Issue 01 | 2019

Kenya Commercial Bank KCB Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licenced as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator. The bank has also been running an agency banking model.

Most Innovative E-Banking Platform Nigeria 2019

Ecobank Ecobank is a full-service bank providing a broad range of products and services to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organisations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals. Listed on three stock exchanges, Ecobank is also the leading pan-African bank with operations in 27 countries across the continent.

Best Digital Bank Nigeria 2019

UBA Bank Today’s UBA emerged from the merger of the dynamic and fast growing Standard Trust Bank, incorporated in 1990. UBA is one of the biggest and oldest banks in Nigeria. The merger was consummated on August 1, 2005. It is one of the biggest mergers done on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Following that merger, UBA went ahead to acquire Continental Trust Bank in the same year, further expanding the UBA brand.

Best Asset Manager Oman 2019

Bank Muscat Bank Muscat is the leading financial institution in Oman with a strong presence in corporate banking, personal banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, treasury, private banking and asset management. The bank has the largest network of branches and electronic channels in Oman, as well as branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and representative offices in Dubai (UAE), Iran and Singapore.

2019

Best Corporate Advisory Oman 2019

Bank Dhofar

At Bank Dhofar strives to be ‘the best bank for you’ by making banking easy. Bank Dhofar currently has a nationwide network of 70 branches, 1 corporate centre ( 61 branches of Bank Dhofar & 10 Branches of Maisarah Islamic Banking services), 121 ATMs, 56 CDMs and 14 FFMs across the length and breadth of the Sultanate. As one of the fastest growing financial services institution in the Sultanate, Bank Dhofar offers corporate banking and consumer banking.

GBO AWARDS

Best Cash Management Bank Sri Lanka 2019

Union Bank of Colombo PLC Established in 1995, as the 8th indigenous Bank, Union Bank is amongst the fastest growing banks in Sri Lanka, offering a full range of products and services to personal and commercial financial sectors. Union Bank continues to expand its reach across Sri Lanka through a robust channel strategy consisting of an island-wide branch network and alternate channels.

Best Commercial Bank Russia 2019

Best Corporate Bank Sri Lanka 2019

Credit Bank Of Moscow PJSC Credit Bank of Moscow is a universal commercial privately-owned bank providing the full range of banking services to corporate and retail customers and financial institutions. The bank is included in the CBR`s list of systemically important banks. The bank was ranked as a top-2 privately-owned bank by total assets in Interfax-100 as at April 1, 2019.

NDB Bank's goal is to be the catalyst in the financial services industry by creating superior shareholder value and contributing to the national development through the empowerment of individuals with innovative financial solutions delivered by an inspired and dedicated team committed to excellence. National Development Bank has the right attitude to diligently deliver what is promise while adding value that goes beyond what is expected. It achieves excellence through innovation, expertise, thoroughness and experience in everything swe do.

Best CSR Bank Saudi Arabia 2019

Best Intelligent Process Automation Innovation – Taiwan 2019

National Development Bank PLC

Taipei Fubon Bank The Saudi British Bank The Saudi British Bank is a Riyadh-based Saudi joint stock company in which British banking firm HSBC Holdings PLC owns a minority stake. The bank traces its origins to the British Bank of the Middle East which was acquired by HSBC in 1959.

Best Islamic Banking Window South Africa 2019

First National Bank First National Bank is one of South Africa’s oldest and largest banks. The bank holds subsidiaries in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia. The bank offers a host of banking services that combines trust, quality, security and easy-touse options for customers.

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Taipei Fubon Bank, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holdings, was created through the merger of Taipei Bank and Fubon Bank. The merger, formally completed on Jan. 1, 2005, was the first in Taiwan’s banking history involving a state-owned bank and a private bank. As of December 31, 2018, Taipei Fubon Bank had total assets of NT$2.71 trillion and operated a total of 127 domestic branches and five overseas branches.

Best Credit Card Offerings Nigeria 2019

Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria was incorporated locally to offer banking services in Nigeria. The bank offers a wide range of products and services in retail, wealth management, commercial, corporate and institutional private, digital and transaction banking business. It has 22 branches located in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

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GBO AWARDS

2019

Best Investment Bank Taiwan 2019

CTBC Bank CTBC Bank is the largest and a successful private sector bank of Taiwan. CTBC Bank has a total of 147 branches in Taiwan and 68 offices worldwide (branches, subsidiaries and their branches, and representative offices), in America, Canada, Japan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China. CTBC Bank had established its first branch in New Delhi in April 1996 and had opened its second branch in Sriperumbudur (Chennai) in June 2012.

Most Innovative Mobile App Taiwan 2019

Taipei Fubon Bank

Orient Finans PJSCB Orient Finans has been working in Uzbekistan since 2010 and have been investing experience and energy in creating a quality service that inspires respect and loyalty of people and companies for many years. It strives to change the life and work of clients for the better, help them grow, save time and free them from tedious work. Orient Finans is proud of its customers and tries to be a reliable and useful partner for them. Its goal is to help them be free in their actions and dreams.

Best Savings Bank Vietnam 2019

Vietnam Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietABank)

Taipei Fubon Bank, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holdings, was created through the merger of Taipei Bank and Fubon Bank. The merger, formally completed on January 1, 2005, was the first in Taiwan’s banking history involving a state-owned bank and a private bank. As of December 31, 2018, Taipei Fubon Bank had total assets of NT$2.71 trillion and operated a total of 127 domestic branches and five overseas branches.

Viet A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietABank) is one of the young banks in Vietnam. Founded on July 4, 2003 on the basis of the merger of two long-term credit institutions in the monetary and financial markets of Vietnam: Saigon Financial Joint Stock Company and Joint Stock Commercial Bank. In the rural part of Da Nang, after 15 years of operation, VietABank has gradually built and developed strongly.

Best Sukuk House Turkey 2019

Best Credit Card Offerings Vietnam 2019

Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank provides a myriad of financial products and services to customers with a distinct structure. The bank provides interest-free banking in Turkey and the rest of the world. It firmly believes that both customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction is pivotal to its growth in the banking sector.

Best Mobile Banking App Uganda 2019

Diamond Trust Bank Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) is a leading regional bank, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). An affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), DTB has operated in East Africa for over 70 years. DTB’s focus on the SME sector and commitment to enhancing convenience for customers through branch network expansion has driven the bank’s growth in recent years.

Best Commercial Bank Uzbekistan 2019

Issue 01 | 2019

Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Limited Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam opened its first branch in Ho Chi Minh City in 1904. The bank is deeply committed to the Vietnamese market and has a long-term vision in the country. It brings banking expertise in Asia, Africa and the Middle East to Vietnam to develop the local financial services sector in addition helping small and medium size companies in the country.

Best Risk Governance and Intellectual Anti-Hacking Initiative – Taiwan 2019

Taipei Fubon Bank Taipei Fubon Bank, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holdings, was created through the merger of Taipei Bank and Fubon Bank. The merger, formally completed on January 1, 2005 was the first in Taiwan’s banking history involving a state-owned bank and a private bank. As of December 31, 2018 Taipei Fubon Bank had total assets of NT$2.71 trillion and operated a total of 127 domestic branches and five overseas branches.

2019

Best Mid- Sized Venture Capital Firm Bahrain 2019

Tenmou

GBO AWARDS

Best Fund Manager Greece 2019

AlphaTrust

Tenmou provides mentorship and capital to high potential, innovative Bahraini entrepreneurs who have reached the stage of viability in their business journey. Through the support and mentorship provided by Angel shareholders, all of whom are reputable businessmen and entrepreneurs, Tenmou seeks to give these new entrepreneurs the greatest chance of success.

Founded in 1987, alphatrust is today the oldest largest independent asset manager domiciled in Greece. Alphatrustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to provide top quality asset management services to both private and institutional investors. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s track record speaks for itself as alphatrust consistently ranks amongst the best performing fund managers for more than three decades.

Best Growth Investor Firm Bahrain 2019

Best Wealth Manager Hong Kong 2019

Tenmou Tenmou provides mentorship and capital to high potential, innovative Bahraini entrepreneurs who have reached the stage of viability in their business journey. Through the support and mentorship provided by Angel shareholders, all of whom are reputable businessmen and entrepreneurs, Tenmou seeks to give these new entrepreneurs the greatest chance of success.

Best Equity Research House Bahrain 2019

SICO SICO is a leading regional asset manager, broker and investment bank with more than USD 2.1 billion in assets under management (AUM). Today SICO operates under a wholesale banking licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain and also oversees two wholly owned subsidiaries: Abu Dhabi-based brokerage firm SICO Financial Services and specialised regional custody house SICO Funds Services Company (SFS) in Bahrain.

Most Innovative Investment Manager Egypt 2019

NI-Capital NI Capital is a leading Egyptian financial services holding company which provides a broad range of solutions tailored to specific requirements of individual, institutional, corporate and government clients. Established in 2015 as a sovereign subsidiary of the National Investment Bank, NI Capital functions as an independent, privately-managed financial services firm, capitalising on the extensive expertise and unique insights of its teams to create value across all sectors of the Egyptian economy.

Global Business Outlook

Infinity Financial Solutions Ltd Infinity Financial Solutions is a leading provider of expat financial services and wealth management services across Asia. It is dedicated to providing exceptional financial consulting service to both individual and corporate clients along with a combination of carefully tailored financial planning.

Best Investment Bank Kazakhstan 2019

Halyk Finance Established in Kazakhstan, Halyk Finance combines a robust understanding of the local market coupled with the highest standards of efficiency in its services. Halyk Finance offers a full suite of services including brokerage customer service, asset management, market research and analysis, consulting and underwriting.

Fastest Growing Investment Banking Advisory Firm - Egypt 2019

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GBO AWARDS

2019

Best Equity House Kazakhstan 2019

Best Alternative Investment Company Kenya 2019

Cytonn Investment Management Limited

Best Wealth Manager Malaysia 2019

Best Proprietary Investments Firm Nigeria 2019

Zedcrest Capital Limited

Cytonn was formed by a team that had worked together as the executive team at a leading asset manager in the region. After a very successful tenure growing profitability by over 10 times, increasing assets by over 3 times and moving the previous firm from number 6 to number 1 (in the East-African region) by revenues, the team moved to create an independent firm focused solely on serving the interests of clients and investors.

Zedcrest Capital is a full service capital management firm, with core interests in fixed income securities trading, asset management and proprietary investments. In every venture it invests in is steadfastly committed to putting its clients’ interests first. This fiduciary responsibility defines its relationship with clients and informs the basis of every decision Zedcrest Capital makes.

Best Investment Promotions & Marketing Innovations – Kuwait 2019

Most Innovative Asset Management Company – Nigeria 2019

KAMCO KAMCO was established in 1998 as a subsidiary of United Gulf Bank (UGB) and became one of the leading investment firms in the region in terms of assets under management (AUM). KAMCO is also regulated by the Capital Markets Authority and listed on the Boursa Kuwait.

Best Corporate Governance Investment Company – Kuwait

United Capital Plc United Capital Plc is a leading financial services Group in Africa focused on leveraging technology to empower businesses, individuals and governments with excellent financial services, while contributing to economic growth and prosperity across Africa by supporting financial inclusion.

Best Shariah Compliant Advisory Firm Qatar 2019

QInvest KAMCO KAMCO was established in 1998 as a subsidiary of United Gulf Bank (UGB) and became one of the leading investment firms in the region in terms of assets under management (AUM). KAMCO is also regulated by the Capital Markets Authority and listed on the Boursa Kuwait.

Issue 01 | 2019

QINVEST is Qatar’s leading investment group with operations across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. It is one of the most prominent Islamic financing institutions in the world. QINVEST has built world-class investment and advisory capabilities, with the highest standards of governance and transparency underpinning its client-focused approach. The group’s priority is to deliver highvalue propositions and considered solutions.

2019

Best Investor Relations Qatar 2019

QInvest QINVEST is Qatar’s leading investment group and, with operations across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, is one of the most prominent Islamic financing institutions in the world. QINVEST has built world class investment and advisory capabilities, with the highest standards of governance and transparency underpinning its client-focused approach. The group’s priority is to deliver high-value propositions, considered solutions.

Most Innovative Trading Platform Saudi Arabia 2019

GBO AWARDS

Best Investor Relations Company Singapore 2019

ESR Funds Management (S) Limited ESR-REIT has been listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited since July 25, 2006. ESR-REIT invests in quality income-producing industrial properties and as of June 30 2019 has a diversified portfolio of 56 properties located across Singapore. The properties are in the following business sectors: Business Park, High-Specs Industrial, Logistics/Warehouse and General Industrial, and are located close to major transportation hubs and key industrial zones island-wide.

Best Corporate Governance Taiwan 2019

Derayah Finance Derayah is a financial services firm that focuses on empowering individual investors by providing the most independent, convenient and cost-effective way to put their money to work. Derayah has built and currently operates the first mutual fund supermarket in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Derayah also offers the first seamlessly integrated platform to trade in the Kingdom, regional exchanges and key international financial markets, all from a single account and website.

Best Investment Management Firm Saudi Arabia 2019

Osool & Bakheet Investment Company Osool & Bakheet Investment Company (OBIC), is a Saudi closed joint stock company (Company resulting from the merger of Osool Capital Company and Bakheet Investment Group). The company is licensed by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) of Saudi Arabia and registered in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Best Equity Research Company Saudi Arabia 2019

NCB Capital NCB Capital was founded in 2007 as the investment banking and asset management arm of the National Commercial Bank (over 90 percent ownership), providing clients with premier solutions of integrated investment services. Today, NCB Capital is the largest asset manager in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the largest Sharia compliant asset manager globally with over SAR140 billion of assets under management.

Global Business Outlook

Chailease Holding Company Limited In 1977, our first operating entity, China Leasing Company Limited (“China Leasing”), commenced business in Taiwan. China Leasing initially provided primarily asset-backed financing to companies in heavy industries to help them acquire manufacturing machinery and equipment and to upgrade their manufacturing facilities.

Best Islamic Financial Institution UAE 2019

Siraj Finance Siraj caters to individuals, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and corporations with the objective of encouraging healthy growth through the provision of a myriad of effective Islamic finance solutions and superlative diversified investment plans. Siraj is directed towards the procurement of wealth and growth of businesses and passionate in understanding clients’ concerns and in providing them a variety of Islamic finance options that best fit their aspirations and needs.

Best Educational Investment Management Firm – UAE 2019

Foundation Holdings Foundation Holdings is a global investment firm focused on building sustainable, industry defining companies in the GCC and India’s healthcare, education and consumer sectors. It enhances operational value for companies and IPOs in these high growth sectors. By leveraging management’s extensive track record of operational value creation and IPOs in robust and exponential growth sectors that are aligned with national strategy, Foundation Holdings is able to elevate business’ sustainability.

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GBO AWARDS

2019

Best Bond House Vietnam 2019

Techcom Securities Techcom Securities (TCBS) is one of the largest securities companies in Vietnam and is a leading company in the field of corporate bond issuance and transaction consulting. Founded in September 2008, Techcom Securities (TCBS) is a subsidiary of Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank - Techcombank and is one of the largest securities companies in the market in terms of charter capital and revenue. and the profit.

Best Independent Financial Advisor Vietnam 2019

S & P INVESTMENTS S&P Investments is dedicated to the needs of wealthy Asian individuals and businesses, providing a comprehensive suite of services for those seeking to maximise their wealth. Alongside offshore banking and investment management services, clients rely on it for expert, discreet advice on property purchases, citizenship, taxation, accountancy and legal matters.

Best Takaful Brand Oman 2019

Takaful Oman It aims to be one of the leading Takaful companies in Oman by maximising value to all stakeholders under a Shari’a-compliant framework. It promotes Takaful awareness through offering innovative Shari’a compliant products and services that deliver exceptional value and are tailored to the specific needs of customers through a highly dedicated professional team.

Best Healthcare Insurance Service Provider – Saudi Arabia 2019

Bupa Arabia Bupa Arabia is the largest health insurance business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is a Saudi-owned and publicly traded company offering health insurance to individuals, companies and families across the Kingdom. Bupa Arabia also offers all registered members access to an exclusive array of online services..

Issue 01 | 2019

Most Innovative General Insurance Company – Kenya 2019

Takaful Insurance of Africa Limited Takaful Insurance of Africa Ltd (TIA) is a pioneering and dynamic insurance company offering ethical and innovative products. Takaful recognises that risk is an undeniable part of life. It provides a wide range of risk management and financial security services. The Takaful concept is based on the principles of togetherness, cooperation and mutual solidarity for all.

Most Innovative Medical Insurance Company – Kenya 2019

Best Investor Relations Insurance Company – Saudi Arabia 2019

Best CSR Insurance Company Saudi Arabia 2019

2019

Best Life Insurance Company Taiwan 2019

Taiwan Life Insurance Co., Ltd Established in 1947, Taiwan Life was the first life insurance company in Taiwan. Taiwan Life offers a diversified range of insurance services and a whole new range of protection network to policyholders coupled with flexible product strategy. This in turn has also enhanced the company’s growth in many ways.

Fastest Growing Life Insurance Company – Turkey 2019

Katilim Emeklilik ve Hayat A.S Katilim Emeklilik offers a full suite of services in affordable pension plan, automatic participation, life insurance, health insurance and personal accident insurance. The company stands out in the sector because of its innovative approach coupled with technological investments and customer-focused services.

Most Innovative Health Insurance Company – UAE 2019

GBO AWARDS

Most Innovative SME Takaful Provider UAE 2019

Noor Takaful Noor Takaful Family & Noor Takaful General are sister companies, established in early 2009, to provide a broad range of Islamic insurance (takaful) general and customised insurance products and services to individuals, families, groups and companies in the UAE market. Noor is the first such entities to abide by the new Federal Law No 6 of 2007, which requires life and non-life insurance businesses to be separate legal entities.

Best Insurance TPA UAE 2019

Aafiya TPA Services Bearing the name which stands for “good health”, Aafiya is a specialized integrated service provider for healthcare management. Established with the mission to facilitate comprehensive health insurance services of high quality standards to all the sectors of the population, Aafiya is the hub which connects insurance companies, policyholders and health care providers.

Best Digital Transformation Company Oman 2019

Oman Insurance Company

Ooredoo Oman

Oman Insurance Company (PSC), or OIC, is one of the leading insurance solutions providers in the Middle East, headquartered in Dubai, UAE. OIC has 15 branches including the Head Office-Operational Branch and a strong presence in every Emirate in the UAE, the Sultanate of Oman and Qatar. Established in 1975, OIC today is a financially sound and professionally managed organisation.

Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOG (“Ooredoo”) was founded and registered in the Sultanate of Oman in December 2004. Ooredoo launched our services in March 2005 as the challenger mobile operator in Oman, operating originally under the name Nawras and, from March 2014, as Ooredoo was awarded the second fixed licence in Oman in 2009, and launched its international gateway in April 2010.

Best General Insurance Company UAE 2019

Best Digital Transformation Telecom Company – UAE 2019

Oman Insurance Company

Etisalat

Etisalat Group is one of the world’s leading telecom groups in emerging markets, with a current market cap of AED 148 billion (USD 40.3 billion). In 2018, the company’s consolidated net revenues were Dh52.4 billion while its consolidated net profit was AED 8.6 billion. Its high credit ratings reflect the company’s strong balance sheet and proven long-term performance.

Global Business Outlook

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Issue 01 | 2019

The Best Investment Bank of the Year and The Best Bond House in Kazakhstan!

2018

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy

Kazatomprom

KazMunayGas

Nuclear power

Energy

CHF 170,000,000

USD 449,000,000

USD 3,250,000,000

Joint Lead Manager & Bookrunner

Joint Lead Manager & AIX bookrunner

5 - year Eurobond issue

IPO

7 -, 12 - and 30.5 - year Eurobond issues under Liability Management Exercise

2017

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy

KazMunayGas

USD 780,000,000

USD 2,750,000,000

Joint Lead Manager & Bookrunner

Debut 3 - year KZT Eurobond issue

10 - year benchmark Eurobond issue under Liability Management Exercise

5 -, 10- and 30 - year benchmark Eurobond issues

2017

2015

Transportation

Development Bank of Kazakhstan Financials

KZT 100,000,000,000 Joint Lead Manager & Bookrunner

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Transportation

RUR 15,000,000,000 Financial Advisor & Bookrunner Debut 5 - year RUB bond issue with dual listing on the MOEX and the KASE

Transportation

Republic of Kazakhstan Sovereigns

Joint Lead Manager & Bookrunner

Energy

Halyk Bank Financials

USD 4,000,000,000

KZT 170,000,000,000

Joint Lead Manager

Sole Lead Manager & Bookrunner

10 - and 30 - year benchmark Eurobond issues

10 - year bond issue

Halyk Finance is the leading investment bank in Kazakhstan rendering a full range of investment banking services. Quality Solutions Today With a Focus on the Future www.halykďŹ nance.kz/en

Ahli Capital Investment Company Best Asset Management Firm

GLOBAL BUSINESS OUTLOOK

AWARDS 2018 Kuwait

BEST ASSET MANAGEMENT FIRM Global Business Outlook presents Ahli Capital Investment Company with the 2018 Best Asset Management Firm.

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