Category: Uncategorized

Puregold Price Club: Wholesale and retail

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The Company Puregold Price Club (PGOLD) was incorporated in September 1998 as a company involved in the business of trading goods such as consumer products on a wholesale and retail basis. PGOLD operates in three main formats: hypermarket, supermarkets and discounters. PGOLD also owns the S&R Membership Shopping (S&R) brand, which offers imported goods under warehouse-type retailing. It is also expanding in the convenience store segment through joint venture with Japan’s Lawson with a 70:30 split where PGOLD provides the majority of capital. As of September 2015 Puregold had 267 stores nationwide, including nine S&R stores and 13 S&R New York Style quick-service restaurants, but

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

New solutions: The government is looking to agriculture to boost power supply

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Saddled with a legacy of heavy dependence on foreign oil to meet its primary energy needs, the Philippines has a long history of developing alternatives to serve as import substitution so as to counter the escalating cost of energy. In the past these efforts have included demand reduction through increased efficiency, adding greater incentives to attract coal, oil and gas prospectors, and encouraging a greater usage of alternative energy. The latter of these has been gaining significant traction in recent years through the introduction of new renewable energy incentive programmes, including greater synergy with the country’s largest employer, agriculture. Biodiversity What makes bioenergy unique among

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

Growing interest: A new telecoms provider to increase local competition

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The Philippines’ telecoms sector is preparing to welcome a possible new player into the field in 2016. The likely new telco provider will be established by San Miguel, a Philippine conglomerate mostly involved in food, beverage and packaging, but also telecoms. However, the country’s two major telcos, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Globe Telecom, are opposed to the new entrant for several reasons – some obvious, and some less so. (Zolpidem) The new telco could make its debut via San Miguel’s Bell Telecommunications Philippines and will reportedly focus on the pre-paid mobile broadband market, which is the largest in terms of market

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

A central role: Foreign policy targets developing ties with neighbours and global economic powers

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Djibouti is a small country in an often turbulent neighbourhood. Much of its foreign policy since independence has been based on the dual goals of maintaining sovereignty and promoting development within its borders. However, over the past decade, the country has played an increasingly central role in regional diplomacy, not only for its strategic location – which has allowed it develop close ties with neighbouring Ethiopia and a host of other large global economic powers – but also for its comparative stability, which has allowed it to play an important part in helping reduce regional instability and violence. Djibouti’s relative quiet is a notable contrast

George Richani-CEO-Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Keeping the faith: Islamic finance could help increase banking penetration

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Amid the steady expansion of Djibouti’s financial sector over recent years, Islamic finance has been taking an increasingly prominent role. Of the 10 existing banks in late 2015, four were Islamic, and the segment currently accounts for between 15% and 20% of the overall market. According to fourth-quarter 2015 information from the Central Bank of Djibouti (Banque Centrale de Djibouti, BCD) the four Islamic Banks operating in Djibouti had assets of over DJF50bn ($280m), disbursed 15% of total credits allocated in the country and accounted for 14% of total assets in the banking sector. “The Islamic banks have invested heavily on the economy, with assets

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

A future generation: New road projects attract attention from investors

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Colombia has launched what is known as the fourth generation (4G) road concession programme, which is a major public-private investment initiative. Work on designing the programme first began in 2011. The first 4G concessions were awarded four years later in 2015, with the first construction work commencing in November 2015. According to Luis Fernando Andrade, president of the National Infrastructure Agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI), the programme is designed to resolve Colombia’s long-standing deficit in road transport infrastructure and reduce its high logistics costs, to help make the economy more competitive. He calculated that 4G could add 1.5 percentage points to Colombian GDP growth

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

Daily basics: Companies in the fast-moving consumer goods segment focus on building their domestic supply chains

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Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are often considered a recession-proof segment. Although margins are relatively thin, demand for basic items such as processed food, cosmetics and alcoholic drinks tends to rise steadily, especially in emerging markets with growing middle classes. According to a September 2015 report by the National Statistics Agency (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, DANE) for the first time the Colombian middle class has exceeded those classified as poor. Some 30.5% of the population – around 14.7m people – are considered middle class, compared

Mohammed El Etreby-Chairman-Banque Misr

Access for all: The expansion of internet services is helping to strengthen the country’s economic fabric

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Using technology to improve social inclusion has become an important element in promoting economic development, especially in Colombia’s rural areas. A key element of this strategy has been the expansion of internet access. The number of internet connections in Colombia rose from 3.3m in the first quarter of 2010 to 10.7m in the same period of 2015, according to the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones, MINTIC). Internet kiosks have sprung up in some of Colombia’s

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

Health benefits: The medical tourism industry is well set for continued growth

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Medical tourism has been rising in importance in Colombia in recent years. It has been estimated that foreigners visiting the country for medical reasons spent a total of $216m in 2014, up 61% on $134m the year before. One of the incentives for inward health tourism is the relatively low cost of medical procedures, which are nevertheless carried out to high professional standards. For example, a heart bypass operation that would cost $80,000 in the US can cost as little as $26,000 in Colombia. Knee replacement surgery, which in the US costs $40,000, can be $15,000 in Colombia. These prices date from early 2015, and

Strong potential: Equities

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The Bahrain Bourse (BHB) was established in 1987 and commenced operations in 1989, with only two stocks trading. Since then, the bourse has grown to include 46 common stocks (including two closed for trading, and two non-Bahraini companies listed on the exchange), government bonds and mutual funds. The market is serviced by 12 brokers, of which three are individuals. Securities and Investment Company (SICO) is the largest broker in the kingdom. According to Bloomberg, the market capitalisation of the Bahrain Index (BHSEASI) stood at $17.1bn at the end of October 2015. The index – a capitalisation-weighted index of all Bahraini public companies – is dominated