Author: OBG Admin

Daniel Asare-Kyei-CEO-Esoko; Curtis Vanderpuije-CEO-ExpressPay; and Daniel Marfo-General Manager-Zipline Ghana

Who you gonna call?: The take-off of business process outsourcing in Turkey

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

As the private sector increasingly focuses on customer service as a way to retain business, Turkey’s call centre and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector has gained considerable traction in recent years. Already home to thousands of BPO centres covering operations for telecoms operators, airlines and financial institutions, the industry will continue expanding in 2015, fed by a young and educated workforce, strategic geographic positioning and government incentives aiming to increase growth in underdeveloped regions. Recent Growth Since opening its first call centres in the 1990s, Turkey’s BPO sector has seen enormous growth. The Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey reports that the industry hit

President Alassane Dramane Ouattara

Maximising potential: Efforts to pursue further trade agreements

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Turkey’s trade record over the last few years has been relatively impressive. Exports have risen substantially, if erratically. In 2006, exports stood at $85.5bn. By 2014, the figure reached a record high of $157.6bn. However, imports have also grown rapidly, reaching $242.2bn in 2014. This trade deficit, which reached 10% of GDP in 2014, has been a perennial problem for the country. The country is looking to change this balance and has placed better export performance at the heart of its growth strategy up to 2023, the centenary of the Turkish Republic. The government is targeting exports of $500bn by that date as part of

Éric N’guessan-Managing Partner-EY Côte d’Ivoire

Mongolia encouraging the development of microinsurance

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

As is the case in many developing markets, insurance inclusiveness is becoming an area of interest in Mongolia. After years of pilots, experiments and one-off commercial efforts – and some notable successes – momentum is building and micro-insurance is set to go from a concept to a business. Considerable institutional and regulatory support is being offered and an environment is being created to encourage product origination and sales. Market  Mongolia is a country ideally suited for micro-insurance. While poverty levels have dropped in recent years, with the percentage of people below the poverty line hitting 27.4% in 2012 (down from 38.7% in 2010), many in

Daouda Coulibaly-Managing Director-Société Ivoirienne de Banque

Mongolian government working to diversify the mining sector by developing production of strategic metals

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

A fledgling producer of iron ore, molybdenum, fluorspar and zinc alongside its big three minerals – copper, gold and coal – Mongolia’s extensive deposits hold significant promise for further diversifying output. However, moving from exploration to mining for new minerals such as uranium and rare earths will depend on high-level government support. While output of resources such as iron ore, molybdenum and fluorspar is growing, with new capacity coming on-line, the production of more strategic minerals is further off. Metalurgical Despite depressed global commodity prices,

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Legal reform: The industry is awaiting a number of key implementing rules

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

A perfect storm of falling commodity prices and policy changes since May 2012 has taken its toll on mining investment, heightening fiscal pressure on the state to rebuild investor confidence. Having repealed the restrictive Strategic Entities Foreign Investment Law (SEFIL) with the new Investment Law of October 2013, which grants equal treatment to local and foreign investors, an investor-friendly State Policy on Mining was issued in mid-January 2014. The government hopes new policies and laws will jumpstart investment, though this will also depend on implementation, the resolution of disputes with investors and commodity prices. New Approach The change in government rhetoric following the culmination of

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Close to home: Local refining capacity is becoming increasingly attractive

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

With the lion’s share of current coal exports unprocessed, the government is eager to build a domestic coal value chain that could jump-start Mongolia’s mid-stream segment. By 2014 the government had approved feasibility studies for two coal-to-liquid (CTL) projects and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sinopec for synthetic natural gas plants. Looking to Diesel In total, four CTL projects have been tabled since 2008, two of which will aim to produce diesel using the Fischer-Tropsch process and the other two will produce gasoline using methanol-to-gasoline technology. Two approved projects are focused on diesel and petrol, respectively. Baganuur Energy, a joint venture between MCS

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Increasing electricity capacity key to meeting growing demand in Mongolia’s energy sector

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Despite abundant reserves of fossil fuels and potential renewable energy resources, Mongolia has lagged in developing new power supply to match surging demand. Domestic electricity demand has grown by 30% to 5.5m KWh between 2008 and early 2014, but supply has grown by only 6.8%, with the balance imported from Russia. A key explanation is the long gestation period for privately financed power projects. While successive governments have been committed to the model of independent power plants (IPPs), the Mongolian process of public-private partnerships is unique and can cause delays: investors sign a framework concession with the government before finalising key aspects of the financial

Pham Hong Hai-CEO-HSBC Vietnam

The letter of the law: New and updated legislation provides clearer guidelines for investors

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Eager to expand exploration in both traditional hydrocarbons and unconventional fossil fuels like oil shale and coal bed methane (CBM), Mongolia’s parliament overhauled the existing 1991 framework with a new Petroleum Law in July 2014. Significantly easing terms for exploration, the new rules have created much-needed clarity in applying for production-sharing contracts (PSCs) and established competitive fiscal terms. An underexplored frontier play, the hope is that significant new finds in Mongolia will justify the development of infrastructure for transport and refining capacity. Licensing The law is most significant in incentivising exploration terms and expanding the Petroleum Authority of Mongolia’s (PAM) remit over a broader range

George Richani-CEO-Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Major rail projects in Mongolia showing significant progress

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

While the construction of roads has been progressing apace, rail has been stalled as a result of political and economic problems plaguing the country and the sector. However, towards the end of 2014 many of the issues were being resolved, and it is possible that significant and crucial headway will be made in 2015. Decisions have been reached on the gauge for some key connections and it now seems the authorities are willing to be flexible on the financial structuring of rail projects. Millennium Roads Major road projects are advancing; the economic and political challenges in the country have not unduly slowed their progress. The

Éric N’guessan-Managing Partner-EY Côte d’Ivoire

A series of new logistics projects under construction in Mongolia

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

The need for transportation improvements in Mongolia is well recognised, and the government has focused resources and expended considerable political will on building roads and rail links, and in developing the new international airport. Where the authorities and Mongolia’s private sector have been lagging, however, is in the area of logistics. Connections are not efficient, warehousing is not sufficient, and goods move slowly due to a lack of proper systems and because of various choke points at ports and other transfer zones. This may be one of the country’s most pressing challenges, as the lack of efficient logistics threatens to keep the cost of imported