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

Riding the wave: Tackling cryptocurrency crime by strengthening legislation

Amid record levels of cryptocurrency crime, many emerging markets are looking at ways to strengthen their cryptocurrency-related protections. The incidence of cryptocurrency-linked crime is increasing as the uptake of the payment medium rises rapidly and broadly. A record $14bn in digital currencies was transferred to illegal addresses in 2021, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis, up 79% from the $7.8bn recorded in 2020. Illicit addresses are defined as accounts or wallets tied to criminal activities such as ransomware, Ponzi schemes, scams or other forms of crypto-theft. Despite this increase in crypto-crime, transactions involving illicit addresses in 2021 accounted for 0.2% of total cryptocurrency transaction volume,

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

Capacity boost: A new oil and gas discovery in the Gulf of Guinea is expected to increase the country’s reserves significantly

In September 2021 Côte d’Ivoire announced the country’s first large-scale oil and gas discovery in two decades. The discovery was made by Italy’s Eni in Block CI-101 on the Baleine prospect, some 60 km off the coast on the Gulf of Guinea. According to initial estimates, the discovery is thought to total 1.5bn-2bn barrels of oil and 1.8trn-2.4trn cu feet of natural gas. This would significantly increase the country’s reserves, which as of 2019 stood at 100m barrels of oil and 1trn cu feet of

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Mohammed El Etreby-Chairman-Banque Misr

Code of conduct: Efforts are being made to strengthen the mining industry’s regulatory framework on both the national and regional level

As mining investment continues to increase across the region, many West African countries have introduced regulations to ensure that mining operators take into account the needs of local communities and the potential impact on the environment. The UEMOA community mining code was adopted in 2003 with the aim of protecting these interests. In 2014 Côte d’Ivoire introduced its own mining code to ensure that mining operators within the country respect the local environment, and the new law replaced a previous regulation implemented in 1995. In

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

In short supply: An EU ban on seaborne imports of Russian oil has implications for emerging markets and the rollout of renewable energies

Emerging markets are exploring opportunities to help meet the EU’s energy demand following the bloc’s announcement to ban seaborne imports of oil from Russia. The move, announced in May 2022 and set to be implemented by the end of the year, forms part of the sanctions crafted in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Roughly 90% of the EU’s oil imports from Russia arrive on seaborne tankers, with the rest coming through the Druzhba pipeline. The exemption for pipeline imports allows Hungary

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

Digital growth: The future of many farms may lie online

In the countryside some 50 km outside Abidjan, a coffee-roasting plant is using the latest digital technology to produce subtle variations on a new theme: Arabusta coffee beans from the Man region. Adjusting the roast scientifically while introducing other flavours and aromas, the coffee produced by Augur Industries is a combination of high-tech industry and traditional agriculture, and represents a level of digital mechanisation that is far from the norm. “When it comes to digitalisation, the level in agriculture is still under development,” Roger Kouassi, head of planning, monitoring, evaluation and statistics at the Fund for Agricultural Research and Advice, told OBG. Recent years have

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

Ecological transformation: Farmers in emerging markets are transitioning to green solutions to meet the world’s increasing agricultural demands

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and broader environmental concerns, many countries are looking to improve the efficiency of agriculture and reduce its carbon footprint. The drive for sustainable agriculture gained impetus in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which curtailed exports of maize, wheat and cooking oil from key producers – raising broader concerns about food security. Moreover, a heat wave in India and Pakistan in April and May 2022 killed dozens of people and caused significant damage to crops and

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

Bouncing back: Despite ongoing challenges, growth and purchasing power are trending upwards after a pandemic-related slowdown

West Africa is experiencing a higher rate of inflation due to lingering pandemic-related challenges, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Constraints on commodity supply chains have dramatically increased the price of several goods, such as food and energy. Meanwhile, sanctions on Russian exports, especially oil and gas, are likely to push global prices higher, making it more difficult for consumers to access several products due to price and scarcity. Inflation Situation According to Fitch Solutions, the national inflation rate is expected

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

Eyes on the future: The government is looking to minerals, pharmaceuticals and more for development beyond agro-industry

The government has introduced several new policies to enhance the country’s industrial sector and, in turn, enable private and foreign investors to enter the market. While agro-industry remains the country’s largest industrial segment, the authorities plan to develop other industries and export sectors as the country’s population becomes increasingly urbanised. Industrial Development The National Development Plan (Plan National de Développement, PND) 2021-25 focuses on governance and modernisation through diversification, human capital, social inclusion and infrastructure. Pillar two of the PND is job creation, emphasising the

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President Alassane Dramane Ouattara

Cementing change: As many Ivorians continue to work from home, the public sector is looking to make Covid-19 digitalisation trends permanent

While many countries worldwide signalled a shift towards economic recovery in late 2021 and into 2022 after the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Côte d’Ivoire appears to have weathered the global crisis better than many. The country’s GDP expanded by 2% in 2020 and 7% in 2021; by comparison, global GDP contracted by 3.1% in 2020 and grew by 6.1% in 2021, according to the IMF. Côte d’Ivoire’s economic expansion is forecast to continue apace, growing by an average of 6.2% per year between

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

Heightened concern: Governments work to counter a global rise in cyberthreats stemming from digitalisation and the shift to remote work

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has caused disruptions across the global economy, from food to energy, and prompted an increase in the number and sophistication of cyberattacks – exacerbating similar impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a poll of 800 chief audit executives conducted by the UK-based Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, 77% of respondents thought the war had elevated cybersecurity and data-security risks. Senior cybersecurity analysts have said that the invasion has been accompanied by a sustained cyber-conflict, with a large

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