Category: Uncategorized

David Gledhill-CEO-Port of Salalah

Colombia increases bond offering to achieve development goals: Ties that bind

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  Drawing on international best practice, public and private banks in Colombia have begun to develop financial products designed to promote environmental sustainability and achieve development goals. Beginning in 2016 the country has issued a series of green bonds to support environmental projects. Building on this experience, Colombia has more recently begun to issue new financial products aimed at supporting socially responsible entrepreneurship through microcredit. Eco-Bonds In December 2016 Bancolombia became the first Colombian financial institution to launch a green bond. The product, which was designed to increase financing for private sector investments aimed at addressing climate change, had a maturity of seven years. The

George Richani-CEO-Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Gold rush: The industry is moving in the right direction with new projects and efforts under way to combat illegal production

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  With similar geological characteristics to its Andean neighbour Peru, Colombia’s gold potential has long attracted interest from local and international miners. The country’s gold deposits are concentrated in areas with metallogenic belts in the Departments of Antioquia, Santander, Tolima, Huila, Caldas, Nariño, Cauca and Bolívar. Gold was the main export product during the colonial era and Colombia boasts a long tradition of small-scale mining, with over 50% of the country’s total official production coming from largely informal activities. As gold prices regain some of

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

Blueprint for growth: A development plan promoting collaboration and formalisation

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  Looking to leverage the momentum of an expanding tourism sector, in December 2018 the Colombian government introduced the Plan for the Tourism Sector 2018-22. With emphasis on sustainability, responsibility and quality, the plan aims to position the country as an innovative, diverse, high-value destination to promote long-term, inclusive and sustainable growth. Several areas of focus are highlighted in the document and include the integrated management, better infrastructure, improvements in education to meet international standards, entrepreneurship, formalisation and productivity, information and promotion, and domestic tourism. Within these pillars are 30 programmes and 200 action plans laid out to achieve the objectives. These areas of focus

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

Domestic demand: Rapid and sustained expansion has put pressure on financial institutions, but the outlook remains positive

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  With Peruvian GDP growth improving to 4% in 2018, lending saw some renewed dynamism after a slow couple of years. Showing its fastest growth since 2010, lending from private sector banks was up 8.77%, according to the Peruvian Banking Association (Asociación de Bancos del Perú, ASBANC). Though different data providers offer different figures, partly due to fluctuations caused by the dual-currency nature of Peru’s credit markets, it appears that the era of the early 2010s, when annual loan growth was in the high teens,

George Richani-CEO-Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Destination exploration: Officials are striving to promote adventure and nature tourism, while working to draw visitors to the north of the country

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  As visitor numbers at Machu Picchu reach saturation, Peru is working to attract travellers with offerings beyond its most-popular site. Indeed, the goal of the Peru Travel Mart industry fair in May 2019 is to strengthen the country’s position as an adventure and nature tourism destination, while driving the development of segments such as corporate meetings and events. “From a promotional perspective, our focus is on diversification,” Marisol Acosta, director of tourism at the Commission for the Promotion of Peruvian Exports and Tourism (Comisión

President Alassane Dramane Ouattara

Striking a balance: Officials seek to end corruption while cutting excessive red tape

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  Peru has maintained the legal framework adopted by the constitution of 1993, favouring a free market economy designed to promote and attract private investments. Indeed, it is through this framework that Peru has seen almost three decades of uninterrupted economic growth, despite the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008. Fight Againts Corruption Nevertheless, there have been some challenging times as the country’s legal system has been put to the test by recent corruption scandals involving the payment of bribes to Peruvian politicians by Odebrecht, the biggest engineering and contracting company in Latin America. Indeed, in the wake of the corruption allegations that

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

Tech in bloom: Funding injections are increasing as the start-up ecosystem becomes more dynamic and sophisticated

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  Egypt is banking on a number of key advantages to become a regional and global centre for tech start-ups. The country benefits from a young, increasingly urbanised and tech-minded population, and around 250,000 engineering and tech graduates enter the job market every year. The costs of establishing and registering a business in cities like Cairo are low – averaging $1500, compared to anywhere between $6500 and $7100 in Dubai, for example. In addition, the government offers modern infrastructure and a range of tax incentives

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

Modern alliances: Strong and calculated ties are helping the country secure diverse export markets

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  Despite the instability that has rocked the MENA region in recent years, the Egyptian government has pursued a consistent diplomatic programme to strengthen ties with major Gulf players and improve border security. While these policies have been successful, the challenges that still face Egypt and the region will take time to disappear. (Xanax) Therefore, while Egypt continues to have strategic and economic ties with the Gulf – a long-time source of expatriate remittances and tourism revenue as well as aid and investment – the country is navigating a new regional reality. Egypt has relied heavily on the US for aid and support in the

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

Up for sale: Long-awaited plans for the sale of state-owned entities may be moving forward again

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  In early 2017 Egyptian officials announced plans to offer stakes in 23 state-owned companies in a series of public offerings that would raise LE80bn ($4.5bn) over the following two and a half years. The move marked the return of the subject of privatisation on the national agenda after a decade of absence. New Agenda  The new programme takes a more cautious approach than previous efforts at privatisation. Rather than sell-offs, only minority interests in selected state enterprises are planned to be offered to the public and investors, with the state maintaining control of its more substantial assets. The authorities are also keen to secure

Mohammed El Etreby-Chairman-Banque Misr

Alternative financing: A series of new developments signal a shift in funding policy

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  In early October 2018 officials unveiled 79 infrastructure projects worth $42bn as part of the Indonesia Infrastructure Investment Forum. The projects, which will be undertaken in partnership with state-owned enterprises (SOEs), cover a number of sectors, including transport, energy and industry. In addition to unveiling the new developments, the government used the forum to encourage SOEs to make greater use of equity-based finance to fund infrastructure projects. The approach appears to have had an effect. During the forum, SOEs signed $13bn in deals, mainly with overseas partners, to carry out 21 developments, though many have yet to publish detailed terms or reach finanicial close.