Category: Uncategorized

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

Thinking ahead: Makkah has plans to expand its water, wastewater and sewerage networks

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In common with other cities in the Kingdom, Makkah’s growing population and location have placed a strain on the management of its water resources. The city’s rapid urban development, not to mention the regeneration of existing urban areas, is also necessitating a substantial programme of investment to expand and upgrade wastewater and sewerage networks. To achieve the goal of long-term water security, local authorities are increasingly looking to the private sector to provide high-tech and sustainable solutions. With nearly 2m inhabitants, rising to over 6m during the Hajj season, Makkah has long outstripped its capacity to rely upon nearby aquifers and instead draws on water

Emmanuel Macron-President of France

Breaking new ground: Research has led to a range of alternative technologies and solutions

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Local scientists and engineers working in Saudi Arabia’s laboratories and on its test rigs have been making significant research and development (R&D) gains in the energy technology sector in recent years. In 2014, Saudi Aramco set a new record for inventiveness and innovation – 99 patents were granted to the company in the US, while an additional 154 applications were filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office for consideration during that year. The total number of patents granted to the company in the US marked a significant increase over the 57 granted in 2013 and 58 in 2012. Saudi Aramco operated 11 international research

Mohammed El Etreby-Chairman-Banque Misr

Variety on tap: From refining to associated gas, the Kingdom’s product offerings are thriving

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Although gas production increased by more than 70% between 2003 and 2013 according to BP figures, harnessing its potential presents a number of challenges. Saudi Arabia has no plans to export gas, seeing it as feedstock for local power, desalination and petrochemical plants in order to free up more oil for export. GAS PRODUCTION: Saudi Aramco’s 2013 annual report, published in April 2014, revealed that its raw gas output for such plants was 4.02trn standard cu feet, the most in a single year in the company’s history. The firm also produced 455.9m barrels of natural gas liquids (NGLs), including 86.8m barrels of condensate. The report

Emmanuel Macron-President of France

Morocco developing stronger international diplomatic partnerships

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Although the kingdom’s foreign policy choices have always been driven by pragmatism, Morocco has lately become more audacious in the way it projects its international profile. Much of this has been the result of its successful ventures into sub-Saharan Africa, where the country is increasingly becoming an important economic player, as well as closer cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – in part a result in the North African kingdom’s trade strategy, which has sought stronger links with faster-growing markets. Furthermore, the Moroccan government is also seeking increasingly close ties and economic collaboration with traditional partners such as France and other European partners. The

Lesieur: Consumer goods

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Founded in 1942 Lesieur has emerged as a leading player in the Moroccan agribusiness sector, with a 57% market share of its core business – edible oil. Endowed with the largest refining capacities in Morocco, Lesieur is gradually becoming a pan-African competitor, seeking opportunities in new markets via exports and foreign direct investment. Benefitting from strong brand recognition and loyalty, the group is continuously capitalising on its know-how and experience to further diversify and enrich its product mix thanks to a proactive research and development strategy. Product Lines Lesieur produces and markets five product categories: seed oils, olive oil, body soaps and gels, detergents and

InterOil: Oil and gas

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The Company InterOil is an independent oil and gas business that is primarily focused on Papua New Guinea. InterOil has exploration licences covering almost 16,000 sq km, with this divided into four petroleum prospecting licences (PPLs) and two petroleum retention licences. Each PPL is currently held for six years, from March 2014. Most of the licences spread over the Eastern Papuan Basin. In the last several years, InterOil has focused on improving its exploration programmes in the hopes of developing a robust oil and energy business. It has made five consecutive discoveries, which include Elk, Antelope, Triceratops, Raptor and Bobcat. InterOil posted a profit of

Newcrest Mining: Mining

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The Company Newcrest Mining (NCM) is one of the world’s largest gold mining companies and operates mines in four countries, with a global workforce of around 10,000. NCM’s strategy is to build a portfolio of predominantly long-life, low-cost gold assets that can remain profitable through various stages of the gold price cycle. The company is an unhedged gold producer and seeks to maintain a conservative balance sheet. NCM has a concentrated asset portfolio comprising operating mines and growth opportunities in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and Fiji. Current reserves estimates include 78m oz of gold and 12m tonnes of copper, which represents over

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

International insurance firms face challenges covering PNG

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Facing extreme risks from natural disasters, as a result of the country’s location on the geological “Ring of Fire”, insurance is a much-needed service in Papua New Guinea. PNG has frequent earthquakes and is home to a number of active volcanoes. The city of Rabaul was destroyed by volcanic eruptions in 1934 and again in 1994. In 2014, one of the volcanoes in the area (Tavurvur) erupted again. The 1998 earthquake and subsequent tsunami near Aitape killed more than 2000 people, and a swarm of earthquakes was experienced in and around the country in early 2015. According to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and

Mark Geilenkirchen-CEO-Port of Sohar

Expanding the role of renewable energy in PNG

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For a country that relies heavily on hydrocarbons exports as a major revenue stream, Papua New Guinea has an electricity sector surprisingly reliant on renewable energy. This is more from necessity than from any overriding imperative to develop clean energy; PNG has little in the way of tailored incentives like feed-in tariffs or a “green certificate” scheme for producers of clean energy. Instead, the wide availability of renewable sources – mainly hydro and geothermal – combined with the absence of a local coal mining industry and presence of an export-heavy oil and gas sector, have led to an energy mix heavily weighted towards green energy.

Emmanuel Macron-President of France

PNG expands transport projects to ease flow of goods

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As the largest trading economy in the Pacific region, with links to Australia, Pacific island nations and Asian economies, it is essential that Papua New Guinea have efficient transportation and logistics infrastructure to maximise its trade potential. PNG’s economy is dependent on international trade, both in terms of revenue generation from exporting energy, mining and agricultural products as well as relying on imports from Australia and other countries for food, machinery and equipment. International Story The country’s interdependence is expected to continue, given the trend of increased trade within the Asia-Pacific region. Interconnectivity between Asia and Western markets has improved over the past few decades