Category: Uncategorized

Sheikh Ahmad Duaij Jaber Al Sabah-Chairman-Commercial Bank of Kuwait

Domestic bliss: A strong local tourism market helps reduce vulnerability to fluctuations in international arrivals

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  With volatility in international arrivals continuing in 2016, the domestic market is increasingly viewed as a critical component of Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism industry. In recent years the domestic market has played an important stabilising role for the country’s tourism industry, particularly in Tobago, where a constant flow of tourists from Trinidad has helped to offset the effects of declining international arrivals. According to a study by the Tourism Development Company (TDC), the number and duration of domestic trips are on the rise. Domestic

Chaim Zach-Managing Director and CEO-Agric International Technology and Trade; Kabiru Rabiu-Group Executive Director-BUA Group; and Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed-Managing Director

On the radar: Interest from a major international resort brand confirms the island’s untapped potential

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  In 2016 news of a proposed Sandals International Resort for Tobago made headlines in the Caribbean, becoming the main talking point of Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism sector that year. The potential arrival of the international hotel chain, which already owns 24 vacation properties in seven Caribbean islands, promises to be a game changer for Tobago’s hotel industry. The landmark project could well be the catalyst needed for tourism development in the relatively untouched island. The announcement comes after T&T experienced a 7% drop in

Stuart Tait-Regional Head of Commercial Banking-Asia Pacific

In a key role: Private sector development is vital to stimulate the economy

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

The relationship between the public and private sector in Trinidad and Tobago is both important and complex. At one level it is competitive and sometimes antagonistic, with each side seeking to widen its share of total economic activity and criticising the other, often on ideological grounds. On another level, however, it is deeply collaborative, with both working together in the context of a mixed market economy. The balance between these two tendencies has shifted back and forth over time and changing economic circumstances. In the context of the current depression in energy sector revenues, there is a clear sense of urgency for both sectors to

Peter Wong-Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive-HSBC

Vital contribution: Improving the operating environment for small businesses to expand

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Small businesses are the backbone of Colombia’s economy, but the recent economic slowdown has hit them particularly hard. As in many other countries, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) face a range of challenges that are far less binding for larger firms that benefit from economies of scale. According to Claudia Patricia da Cunha Tcachman, manager of dynamic ecosystems at Bancóldex, the five most pressing challenges facing SMEs include accessing credit, hiring the necessary human capital, defining a business plan, managing their financial structure and improving corporate governance. Relatively high rates of informality also pose a challenge. Firms and workers operating in the informal

George Richani-CEO-Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Hedging risk: The bourse is working to diversify the derivatives market

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Derivatives are financial instruments that are derived from an underlying asset, such as a stock, an exchange index, bonds, currency, interest rates and raw materials, among other things. There are two categories of derivatives: standardised, which are traded through a stock exchange such as the Colombia Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC); and non-standardised, which are tailor-made products traded outside a formal exchange on an over-the-counter (OTC) basis. As well as developing broad and deep spot markets, the addition of a sophisticated derivatives market can give players in the industry a more complete range of investment opportunities while allowing financial and real

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

Out to sea: Government and sector stakeholders join forces to make Barranquilla an offshore energy hub

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Recent hydrocarbons discoveries have resulted in a renewed push for exploration in the Colombian Caribbean Region, as government and energy sector stakeholders set their eyes on a series of largely unexplored onshore and offshore blocks. Barranquilla, the capital of the Atlántico department, is well placed to serve as an energy hub for a prospective offshore industry. The city has a variety of assets, and while there are shortcomings to overcome, government authorities and sector stakeholders have made a concerted effort to achieve this goal,

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

Highway to growth: A new road improvement programme is key to increasing the country’s global competitiveness

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  Colombia’s ambitious fourth generation (4G) road programme is a key part of the government’s transport infrastructure development strategy. The programme aims to build 45 new highway links and upgrade and renovate existing stretches of roads across the country for a total investment of $24bn. Most of the concessions are public-initiative, public-private partnership (PPP) agreements, although some projects will be privately managed will little to no public funding. The country’s PPP laws were overhauled in 2012 to improve the legal framework for infrastructure investment, laying

Chaim Zach-Managing Director and CEO-Agric International Technology and Trade; Kabiru Rabiu-Group Executive Director-BUA Group; and Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed-Managing Director

Homegrown: The industry weighs up basing refineries in Peru

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  One of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s election campaign themes was that Peru’s mining sector should increase its involvement in higher value-added activities, moving beyond simple ore extraction into more smelting and refining. “Pedro Pablo is very clear on this. Today we export a lot of rocks with our raw materials and some of those minerals should be refined in Peru,” said Alfredo Thorne, just weeks before he was sworn in as the minister of economy and finance alongside the rest of the new cabinet. Thorne added that Peru needed to discuss its partnership with China – a major market for its metals exports –

Mohammed El Etreby-Chairman-Banque Misr

Ebb and inflow: A pipeline of projects should help to boost both public and private investment

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Steady economic growth in Peru may have masked a potential problem: investment has been falling over the last three years. The country’s GDP grew by 2.4% in 2014, 3.3% in 2015 and 3.9% in 2016, an impressive performance in the context of low commodity prices and contraction of some of the larger economies in Latin America. But across those same three years, the gross fixed investment value decreased. It fell by 2.5% in 2014, 5% in 2015 and by 5% again in 2016, according to the central bank, Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP). The decline occurred across both public and private investment. As