2 0 1 1
G L O B A L
I S S U E S
I N
P E R S P E C T I V E
q2
issue
G L O B A L
issues
20 the 2011 global
competiveness forum
This year’s GCF’s had leaders from diverse backgrounds
discussing how innovation can add a competitive edge.
30 MINER ISSUES – MAJOR PROBLEM
After a spate of high-profile incidents, the mining
industry is working hard to clean up its act.
34 TRICKS OF THE TRADE
The theft of millions in carbon credits has made
regulators sit up and take note.
04
in
1 7
2 0 1 1
P E R S P E C T I V E
44 THE NEW WORLD ORDER
China’s exponential growth as an economic
superpower has important lessons for other economies.
60 AN APPY MEDIUM
Applications development has become big business,
growing into a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years.
52 FOOD INSECURITY
While rising food prices threaten global stability, the
solution may lie in alternate agricultural practices.
70 A view from the top
A slew of upscale property openings around the
world are revving up tourism.
56 SPELLING SUCCESS
Dyslexics’ strong visual and spatial skills
and lateral thinking abilities makes them great
entrepreneurs.
74 son of the soil
The second artist to exhibit under the aegis of Project
60, Abdullah Hamas’s work is deeply rooted in his heritage
and culture.
“Recognising that its
competitive advantage is
not threatened if the world
uses solar and wind energy,
this region should seek to
become the epicentre of the
sustainable energy economy
of the world. We need to use
the resources underneath
the ground to create more
opportunities for those
people that are on top of it.”
Former US President Bill Clinton
78 beyond the boardroom
Trends in fashion, gadgets and lifestyle for spring
regulars
11
SPECTRUM
opinion
83
The best and brightest ideas
from around the world
17
ART+culture
85
A look at the flourishing art
scene in Saudi Arabia
69
profile
Calvin Chin is making
tertiary education accessible
FUTURE THINKING
26
An energy-efficient offshore
marine research centre
86
VISIONARY
Eco-activist and Nobel
Laureate Wangari Maathai
51
Meet Magatte
Wade-Marchand, a
compassionate capitalist.
BOOKS
THINK reviews the best
reads this quarter
ceo SPEAKS
TO think
40
THINK
ROUNDTABLE
How cross-border bourses are
gaining a competitive edge
through large-scale mergers.
THINKing
FORWARD
Philip Stanton on the new
developments shaping the
Middle East
64
what do
you THINK
Students from around the
world discuss if sports can
be an engine for growth
05
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edit
Q2 2011
Rejuvenation has been uppermost on our minds as
we come to terms with the turmoil of recent events,
whether wreaked by nature or the financial markets.
In this issue of THINK, our international
correspondents set about finding ideas and
innovations that rejuvenate.
Be it profit generation, as exemplified by Magatte
Wade, one of the speakers at the fifth annual Global
Competitiveness Forum organised by SAGIA.
Wade’s “compassionate capitalism” rejuvenated an
impoverished African economy, thereby creating jobs
and wealth. Or in China, where the world’s largest
country has embraced a new way of thinking to
become the world’s second-largest economy. Carbon
credits have rejuvenated the thinking about how
businesses can cut emissions and still be profitable.
World-renowned lateral thinking expert Edward
de Bono says the way forward lies in value-added
thinking. It implies THINKing about how routine
processes can be made more sustainable, more
efficient and more profitable.
THINK of it as a spa treatment for your mind –
rejuvenating the way you think about the same old,
same old.
Catherine Belbin
Group Editor
THINK@motivate.ae
09
In Transit II, 2010, Abdulnasser Gharem
THINKing on a new plane
Spectrum
The Right
Place at the
right time
written by steve hill
Revolutionary work in the fields of crop
growth and medicine, the world’s most
liveable city, plus new hotels and football
facilities for Saudi Arabia make the
headlines
011
spectrum
On Track
The designs of four stations conceived
by Foster & Partners for the Haramain
high-speed railway in Saudi Arabia have
been revealed.
The cities of Makkah, Madinah,
Jeddah and the developing King
Abdullah Economic City in the west will
be connected by the railway, which will
provide a new link for pilgrims travelling
during the Hajj. Islamic architectural
traditions have influenced the design
of 25 metre-high arches in each of the
stations, due to be completed by May
2013.
Seven of the 10 most reputable
universities in the world – and 45 of the
leading 100 – are American, according
to the results of a global poll published
by Times Higher Education. Harvard
was at the top of the list followed by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Two British universities – Cambridge
(third) and Oxford (sixth) – also feature in
the top 10. Japan is the only other nation
to break into the top ten with Tokyo
University in eighth place.
Rankings were based on a survey of
more than 13,000 academics from 131
countries.
Courtesy of singapore tourism board
Top of the Class
Growing Wealth
Saudi Arabia will become the richest
economy in the Middle East in terms of GDP
per capita by 2050 when citizens will earn an
average of more than $98,000 per annum,
according to a forecast by Citibank.
It also predicted that Saudi Arabia will
surpass Canada, Britain and Switzerland to
become the sixth richest economy in the world
by 2050. The report stated that Singapore
retained its position as the globe’s richest
economy, in terms of GDP per capita by 2050,
at $137,710 followed by Hong Kong ($116,639)
and Taiwan ($114,093).
Bloomberg
Businessweek’s best
undergrad B-school for 2011
Sporting Goal
World football powerhouse Real Madrid
has inked an agreement with the Prince
Salman Foundation to build a sports
academy in Saudi Arabia for 300
children. The Spanish club currently has
68 academies in 32 countries.
Madrid President Florentino Perez said:
“The academy will serve as a marvellous
alliance and will allow us to open several
others across the 13 provinces of Saudi
Arabia.”
012
Museum’s Boost
The Ford Foundation has contributed $3
million towards the final construction costs of the
new building housing New York’s Museum for
African Art, which is due to open later this year.
The Ford Foundation Lobby will be an
integral part of the $90-million museum
which has been designed by Robert AM Stern
Architects. Other donors to the museum
include David Rockefeller, John Tishman and
the Walt Disney Company.
For the second consecutive year, the
University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College
of Business won top spot in Bloomberg
Businessweek’s ranking of the best undergraduate
business programmes in the USA.
Students at Mendoza have the option of
studying abroad in countries like Egypt and
South Africa. Second place went to University
of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce
(McIntire Undergraduate Business Profile).
After McIntire is Emory’s Goizueta Business
School (Goizueta Undergraduate Business
Profile), a programme that enables students to
study abroad at an international institution like
Cass Business School in London or Bocconi
University in Milan.
The rest of the places in the top 10 went
to (in order of ranking): University of
Pennsylvania (Wharton), Cornell University
(Dyson), Ithaca, N.Y, University of Michigan
(Ross), Ann Arbor, Villanova University,
Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina
(Kenan-Flagler), Chapel Hill, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (Sloan), Cambridge,
and Georgetown University (McDonough),
Washington, D.C.
spectrum
Sky’s
The Limit
Experts in Qatar are getting creative
in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. Dr.
Saud Abdul Ghani, head of Mechanical and
Industrial Engineering at Qatar University,
has unveiled the design of an artificial heliumfilled cloud to float over Doha’s open-air
stadiums, shading and cooling the grounds
during matches.
The project will be executed in collaboration
with Qatar Science and Technology Park.
Estimated to cost $500,000, the remotecontrolled cloud will be made of 100 per cent
light carbonic materials and fuelled by four
solar-powered engines, flying at a very high
altitude to block direct and indirect sunrays.
E-Books Innovation
Final Frontiers
Discovery, NASA’s oldest surviving space shuttle, will be sent to the Smithsonian
Institute for display after being retired from active duty. It racked up nearly 240
million kilometres over the course of 39 missions in 27 years, spending 365 days in
space. Discovery flew to the International Space Station 13 times and carried a total
of 184 astronauts. NASA’s two other shuttles are also set to be retired following the
end of the space shuttle programme.
Taking Flight
Boeing and Saudi Arabian Airlines are
teaming up to modernise the carrier’s fleet of
777s to enhance passenger experience. The
cabin modification programme involving the
interiors of 22 Boeing 777-200ERs (extended
range) is scheduled to be completed later this
year.
Eight of the aeroplanes feature Saudi Arabian
Airlines’ new Business Market configuration,
with 24 first class, 38 business-class and 170
economy-class seats. The remaining jetliners
are in the new High Density configuration,
which accommodates 14 business-class and
327 economy-class seats.
First class seats feature 39.1cm in-seat
video monitors with PC power and powered
seat adjustment, while Business Class seats
have 30.7cm in-seat video monitors, also with
PC power and powered adjustment capability.
Rufoof, a bookstore application that
targets the Arab audience with more than
4,500 books covering various sectors,
was launched in Saudi Arabia at the
Second International Conference on
e-Learning staged in Riyadh.
The Rufoof app download is free
and can be downloaded from itunes.
Users can view a wide range of titles
in different categories and download
a sample to have the content available
even when the device is offline.
far teaching
King Abdulaziz University has become
a member of the SAP University Alliance
Programme – a global endeavour that
helps faculty members teach students
how technology can enable integrated
business processes and strategic thinking.
Professor Osama Bin Sadeq Tayyeb,
President of King Abdulaziz University,
said: “We have selected SAP’s business
solutions for their functionality to support
teaching, learning and business
processes, enabling us to improve
our financial management, maintain
operational excellence, improve
productivity and ensure best-practice.”
The university, established in 1967,
now boasts 140,000 students.
Clean Break
Investment in clean energy hit record
levels in 2010, climbing 30 per cent
to $243 billion according to the latest
analysis of global renewable energy
markets by Ernst & Young. However, there
is concern that government spending cuts
around the world could restrict continued
expansion of the industry.
China remains the clear global leader
in terms of renewable energy with its
wind capacity increasing by 64 per cent
in 2010.
013
spectrum
Power List
Lubna Olayan, the CEO of Riyadh-based
Olayan Financing Company, is the
second most powerful Arab woman in
the world according to CEO Middle East
magazine.
Olayan Financing was launched
by her father in 1947 and has grown
to become one of the nation’s most
successful conglomerates. Olayan, who
in 2004 spoke at the WEF in Davos,
Switzerland is also on the board of the
Beirut-based Arab Thought Foundation.
Top of the Crops
Researchers at King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology
(KAUST) have developed technology that
could improve the quality, yield and disease
resistance of current crop varieties. Dr Magdy
Mahfouz and his research team have been
looking at a new way of genetically engineering
plants to tolerate aggressive environments.
Lupus Breakthrough
The US Food and Drug Administration
has approved the first new treatment for
lupus in more than 50 years.
Benlysta is an injectable drug
developed over 15 years by US biotech
Human Genome Sciences.
It is estimated that this chronic and
often disabling autoimmune disease
affects more than 1.5 million Americans,
90 per cent of whom are women.
Symptoms include fever, exhaustion,
fatigue, joint pains and skin rashes, and
there is no known cure for the disease.
014
Vancouver has emerged as the most
liveable city in the world for the fifth successive
year, under an annual index compiled by the
Economist Intelligence Unit.
A combination of stability, healthcare,
culture and environment, education and
infrastructure helped the Canadian west coast
city emerge with a score of 98 per cent. Two
other Canadian cities were in the top 10, with
Toronto listed in fourth place and Calgary fifth.
Melbourne leapfrogged the Austrian capital of
Vienna into second place.
The leading US city was Pittsburgh, in 29th
position, while New York stayed at 56th.
Photo courtesy of Tourism Vancouver
The Place
To Be
Regions where water quantity and quality
are limited, such as Saudi Arabia and the
Middle East, could benefit by growing crops
engineered for stress tolerance, which would
address the problem of the nutritional needs
of a growing population and pave the way for
surplus crops to be exported to GM-restrictive
markets like Japan.
INSPIRING OPPORTUNITIES
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Our drive to perform stimulates a consistent response to the changing market
environment by delivering optimal investment solutions to our clients. With vision
and thoroughness, our investment products and services offer innovation and
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www.medsecurities.com
art + culture
Right to the Art of It
TERMINAL, the groundbreaking exhibition by Edge of Arabia,
is helping to put Saudi Arabian artists on the map and showing
off the country’s flourishing cultural credentials.
Written by Samia Qaiyum
Screened
2011
Maha Malluh
If thoughts about the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia only evoke images of vast deserts,
great wealth and limitless reserves of
crude oil you should think again.
An unexpected side of Saudi Arabia
has been revealed through the efforts of
Edge of Arabia, a grassroots initiative
that allows global audiences to better
engage with the country’s relatively
unknown art culture. The non-profit
organisation brings together a new
generation of artists from all over the
Kingdom, ranging from the mountains
of Aseer to the backstreets of Jeddah.
It all started back in 2003, when
British artist Steven Stapleton embarked
on a bumpy bus ride across Yemen’s
border with Saudi Arabia. His journey
introduced him to young artists at
the Al-Miftaha Arts Village in Abha
and ultimately welcomed an isolated
arts community into mainstream
conversation. Launched in London in
2008, Edge of Arabia aims to enhance
international cultural relationships, and
stimulate interest and investment in
Saudi art.
Following successful exhibitions
in Venice, Riyadh, Berlin and most
recently Istanbul, Edge of Arabia kicked
off 2011 with its first major exhibition
in the Gulf from March 14-April 15
at the Dubai International Finance
Centre.
Entitled TERMINAL, the highly
conceptual and experiential exhibition
addressed concepts of travel,
bureaucracy, privacy and identity
through the eyes of eight leading Saudi
contemporary artists. The artworks, all
commissioned for this show, ranged
from photography and sculpture to
performance, video and installation.
The issue of travelling for people
from the Middle East, especially
Saudi, has changed drastically post
9/11. Having said that, more Saudis
are now travelling than ever before,
017
art + culture
absorbing new ideas and challenging
their own ideologies in the process.
Both dynamics were reflected in the
artworks; and the results were as
educational as they were inspiring, as
unpredictable as they were beautiful.
Upon arrival at the exhibition,
a “passport” was provided to take
one through the airport setting that
candidly mirrored the discomforts of
travelling in today’s world. Viewers
were guided from check-in through
to security and immigration, before
allowing them a moment to pause
and reflect in the first class lounge.
Contemporary art in Saudi Arabia may
be nascent, but TERMINAL proved
to be surprisingly vibrant, critical and
innovative.
Curator Bashar Al Shroogi
commented: “Edge of Arabia has
come a long way in terms of the
development of the exhibition as
a whole, as well as the individual
growth of artistic expression of the
artists themselves. TERMINAL pushes
curatorial boundaries in dialoguing
with audiences via an experiential
installation. It also marks a maturity
in the relationship between artists and
curators working within very tightly
defined parameters. It is fantastic to see
the artists of Saudi Arabia pioneering
this curatorial relationship for the first
time in the Gulf.”
The Edge of Arabia world tour is
globally sponsored by ALJ Community
Initiatives and undertaken in
partnership with the Saudi Arabian
General Investment Authority
(SAGIA).
Art Agenda
Miró
April 14 – September 11
Tate Modern, London, England
Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus
April 21 – July 18
Louvre, Paris, France
Art Brussels
April 28 – May 1
Brussels Expo, Halls 1 & 3, Brussels,
Belgium
Art Chicago
April 29 – May 2
The Merchandise Mart, Chicago, US
018
A Tale Of
Two Cities
1
3
2
Art Beijing
April 29 – May 2
China National Agriculture Exhibition
Centre, Beijing, China
CONTACT Photography Festival
May 1- 31
Multiple venues, Toronto, ON Canada
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
May 4 - July 31
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, US
Art Amsterdam
May 11- 15
Amsterdam RAI, Parkhal (hal 8),
Amsterdam, Holland
SP-Arte
May 12 – 15
Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, São Paulo,
Brazil
4
Art HK
May 26-29
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition
Centre, Hong Kong
Tim Burton
May 29 – October 31
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
Los Angeles, US
54th International Art Exhibition –
Venice Biennale
June 4 – November 27
Multiple venues, Venice, Italy
Photoespana
June 9 – July 25
Paseo de Castellana, Madrid, Spain
Art Melbourne
May 19 – 22
Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne,
Australia
Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée
June 11 – October 9
National Picasso, Paris De Young
Museum, San Francisco, US
arteBA
May 19 to 23
La Rural, Pabellones Azul y Verde,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Art Basel
June 15-19
Messe Basel, Halls 1 & 2, Basel,
Switzerland
Taking viewers on a journey of exploration
and illumination between Makkah and
Venice will be the Saudi pavilion at the 54th
Venice Biennale.
Entitled The Black Arch, the exhibition will
showcase work by Shadia and Raja Alem,
two artists who offer two different visions of
tradition, memory and contemporary issues
– one as a novelist and the other as a visual
artist. They were chosen after their proposals
were considered to be the most appropriate
for the biennial’s theme, which this year is
“Illumination”.
The sisters grew up in Makkah and
studied classical literature, but it is their
everyday experiences in the city (that
annually hosts millions of people from all
over the world) that dominates their work at
the pavilion. Saudi traditions and the Muslim
pilgrimage form the exhibition’s backdrop.
“I grew up aware of the physical
presence of black all around – the black
silhouettes of Saudi women, the black cloth
of the Kaaba and the Black Stone,” Raja
explains.
In turn, the colour becomes the main
theme of the exhibition itself and also works
to contrast the other part of the work, a
mirror image reflecting the present. Black
also represents the rich life the sisters lead
in Makkah; the past full of people, mostly
pilgrims, stories told by grandmothers and
the rich traditions of Islam’s holiest city.
This is Saudi Arabia’s debut at the Venice
Biennale. Its mere presence is important on
many levels, but it is vital for Saudi artists,
who have gained considerable confidence
in the wake of the rise of the contemporary
Khaleej art market.
The 54th International Art Exhibition will run
from June 4 to November 27.
Official partners for the Saudi Arabian
pavilion include The Ministry of Culture and
Information of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
the Saudi Arabian General Investment
Authority (SAGIA), Saudi Aramco, and the
Saudi Research and Marketing Group.
1. Inside
TERMINAL
2. Curator
Bashar Al
Shroogi
3. Brainwash,
2011
Hala Ali
4. Concrete
Block IV
2010
Abdulnasser
Gharem
art + culture
Going Once,
Going Twice
Edge of Arabia continues its
commitment to reinvest in the future
of arts and culture in Saudi Arabia by
auctioning six works of contemporary
Arab, Iranian and Turkish art on April
19 in Dubai. Held in conjunction with
the region’s leading art auctioneer,
Christie’s Dubai, at the Jumeirah
Emirates Towers Hotel, the sale is a
fundraiser to enable the expansion of
Edge of Arabia’s education programme
and art workshops in Saudi schools and
universities.
The auction reflects the surge of
interest in the region’s arts during
the past few years. Local art shows
are on the rise, more Saudi artists are
participating in overseas exhibitions
and more educational institutes are
now offering arts degrees. This group
of iconic works feature highlights from
previous international exhibitions and
it is estimated it will raise in the region
of $150,000:
1. The highlight of the sale is a wood
and copper dome symbolising the
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem by
Abdulnasser Gharem, a pioneer of
conceptual art in Saudi Arabia and
co-founder of Edge of Arabia. Entitled
Message/Messenger and created in
2010, it hides beneath its vast diameter
a small dove, the symbol of peace.
Estimated at $70,000-$100,000.
2. Edge of Arabia co-founder Ahmed
Mater lives in southern Saudi Arabia
and is much celebrated for his X-Ray
Illumination series. The work offered
for sale, Evolution of Man, is a series of
five light boxes showing a petrol pump
in x-ray form slowly evolving into the
head and torso of a man pointing the
pump nozzle and then a gun to his
head. Estimated at $22,000-$28,000.
3. Maharem, a play on the Arabic word
used to describe tissues and your close
family, is by Ayman Yossri. In this
work, the Jeddah-based artist has taken
a group of tissue boxes, decorated them
with posters advertising classic Arabic
films from the 1940s or 1950s and
stacked them beside and on top of one
another. Estimated at $20,000-$25,000.
4. Manal Al Dowayan, a leading
Saudi lens-based artist known for her
depiction of Saudi women’s issues
through art, is offering the Time
Seduces and Time Betrays triptych. This
monumental piece is from her recent
series, which depicts an imagined
conversation between urban inhabitants
and their cityscape, confronting the
complex issues of uncertainty, conflict
and constant flux in the relationship.
Estimated at $15,000-$20,000.
5. Maha Malluh is a photographer
based in Riyadh. Since recently, she has
begun to work with photograms – one
of the oldest forms of photography
using photographic paper exposed
to light. Unveiled is a large lightbox
containing a group of kitchen utensils
animated with smiling faces. Estimated
at $5,000-$7,000.
6. A Lambda print mounted on
aluminium by Sami Al-Turki entitled
Marhabba from the series Washaeg. It
depicts two figures in the desert before
an expansive sky pierced with sunlight,
and became iconic as the marketing
image for Edge of Arabia Dubai.
Estimated at $5,000-$7,000.
019
2011
The
Global
Competitiveness Forum
Some of the world’s most powerful business, political and environmental
leaders gathered for the fifth time in Saudi Arabia to discuss how countries
Written by Joanne Molina
and leading businesses can foster innovation.
020
world event
The Saudi Arabian General
Investment Authority
(SAGIA) was pleased at the
enormous success of the
world’s premier conference
about competitiveness:
the Fifth Annual Global
Competitiveness Forum
(GCF), which was held
on January 22-25 in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the conference, this year’s theme
was Innovation as a Means to Competitiveness, built upon last year’s
conference discussion that focused on balancing economic growth and
sustainability through competitiveness.
The GCF theme was particularly relevant as Saudi Arabia continues
its unprecedented economic growth and continues to build upon the
last five years of social and political reforms. For the past four years,
participants at the GCF discussed innovation as a means of developing
competitiveness in order to build sustainability, drive economic growth
and promote responsible development. This year’s GCF was the first
paperless forum of its kind as all participants had iPads and paper was
banned.
His Excellency Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of the
Board, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, explained the
importance of the conference for Saudi Arabia and the world. “While the
GCF is global in scope, it has special relevance for us here in Saudi Arabia.
In defining the country’s development strategy, the Supreme Economic
Council through the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority,
has committed to achieving world-class economic competitiveness
as the platform for enhanced prosperity.” But he also emphasises that
this prosperity should not come at any price. “To deliver sustainable
prosperity, capitalism must be attentive to social, environmental, political
and financial systems, with which it is intertwined. This imperative is
reinforced daily by the pressure placed on the foundations of the world’s
economic well-being. Achieving sustainable competitiveness has never
been a more pressing challenge, neither for Saudi Arabia nor for other
forward-looking nations.”
According to Citibank’s forecast, Saudi Arabia is set to be the Middle
East’s richest economy in terms of GDP per capita by 2050. Citibank
also reported that Saudis will have an average wealth of $98,311 by 2050,
nearly four times the current rate of $24,200 gross domestic product
(GDP) per capita, according to the CIA World Factbook. Saudi Arabia
tops the rankings for the Middle East and will be sixth overall on the
global list by 2050, the forecast showed. In total, the Gulf is estimated to
contribute four per cent of global GDP by 2030 and by five percent by 2050.
The GCF launched in 2006 in Riyadh under the patronage of HM King
021
1
2
4
3
5
022
6
world event
7
8
9
1. SAGIA governor Amr Al Dabbagh
and former US president Bill Clinton
at the SFG Gala dinner 2. Paul
Hawken, environmental activist and
author 3. Former UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair 4. Adel M. Fakeih, mayor
of Jeddah 5. Chrystia Freeland,
global editor-at-large, Reuters
6. Ulf Henriksson, chief executive and
director, APV UK Limited
7. His Excellency Dr. Muhammad
Sulaiman Al-Jasser, governor, Saudi
Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA)
8. Helmut Schuehsler, managing
partner, TVM Capital 9. James S.
Turley, chairman and CEO, Ernst &
Young 10. Andy Bird, chairman,
Walt Disney International
10
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. It
started as a gathering of Information, Communication and Technology
(ICT) experts, including Bill Gates, as a vehicle to discuss how these
technologies enable and encourage competitiveness. Since the success of
its launch, the GCF has been the only event of its kind, functioning as an
annual meeting of global business leaders, international political leaders
and selected intellectuals and journalists to create a dialogue with respect
to the positive impact organisational and national competitiveness can
have on local, regional and global economic and social development.
Its vision and mission continue to be the same: an annual programme
of activities attended by global business leaders, international political
leaders and selected intellectuals who share a common interest in
competitiveness. The forum is dedicated to fostering awareness
and enthusiasm around the issue of competitiveness, evaluating the
applicability of competitiveness theory and practice as a tool for
generating real solutions to contemporary global challenges.
This year’s first conference panel, Innovation as a Means of
Competitiveness, started by delving directly into the theme of innovation,
asserting that the future will reward those countries whose competitiveness
drives them to create and think ahead. “Innovation is the best way
to compete for companies as well as countries,” said panelist David
Drummond, Google’s senior vice-president of corporate development.
During the course of the discussion, four key factors that foster
innovation were established: an ecosystem that fosters change, a culture
of tolerance towards failure, a supportive regulatory environment and
availability of risk capital. “These add up to creating the environment that
induces innovation,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing.
John Rose, CEO of Rolls Royce, raised in important point, reminding
the panel that “not all innovation is good innovation” and that often
innovations aren’t commercially viable. Albaugh supported Rose’s
observation, citing his experience with engineers at Boeing. He discussed
how each innovation an engineer makes should be respected so as not to
discourage the engineer to innovate in the future. Andy Bird, chairman of
Walt Disney International, agreed saying: “The ecosystem should lay the
groundwork for innovation, then management should allow innovators
free reign to come up with ideas and be supportive even if they fail.”
Former US President Bill Clinton gave one of the most talked-about
keynote speeches on the third day of the conference. “In an interdependent
world, innovation has to be built into the model and structure of operations,”
he said. Clinton spoke about innovation and competitiveness around the
globe and how it all relates to Saudi Arabia. Often the best innovation isn’t
dramatic but rather just “doing what we already do better”, he continued.
“The iPad is an incredible innovation, but only 15 per cent of the world’s
population has the capabilities to use it.”
At this year’s GCF, the spotlight was turned on five groundbreaking
initiatives. The first initiative, The Saudi Fast Growth Awards (SFG),
an annual ranking of the fastest-growing companies in Saudi Arabia,
launched by SAGIA, awards and highlights Saudi companies that are
creating jobs and spurring innovation. The top three winners for 2010 were
the First Gulf Company, Dnata Travel and Waseel ASP Ltd, respectively.
The second initiative, The Saudi Responsible Competitiveness Index
(RCI) analyses how Saudi companies are building competitive advantage
by managing their social and environmental impacts. Led by the King
Khalid Foundation and SAGIA, it is supported by the international thinktank AccountAbility. This year’s winners of the King Khalid Responsible
Competitiveness Award were Saudi Basic Industrial Company, SABIC
(first), National Commercial Bank (second), International Medical
Centre and Dr Fakeeh Hospital (sharing third place).
The third initiative, The Most Competitive Youth (MCY), is a strategic
initiative to engage Saudi youth in applying 21st-century skillsets
to improving their communities; inspiring creativity, promoting
innovation, and bringing Saudi Arabia’s economy to the forefront of
competitiveness. Rayan Al-Dafas, a 15-year-old Saudi student, bagged
top honours this year. The fourth initiative, The Top 100 FDI initiative,
was introduced by SAGIA to recognise top FDI companies, and highlight
their contribution to the Kingdom, the largest recipient of FDI in the
region and the eighth largest in the world. The fifth initiative, Saudi
023
world event
1
2
Oxford Leadership, was launched in 2009 as a joint initiative by SAGIA,
North Development Program, and Oxford University’s Saïd Business
School. The Saudi Oxford Leaders Event at GCF 2011 highlighted the
objectives and strategy behind the creation of SOAMLP, the connection
between leadership development and competitiveness, and showcased
the alumni’s community-based projects for improving Saudi society.
In celebration of Saudi Arabia’s improving to 11th place in the Ease of
Doing Business Ranking and eighth in global inflows of FDI, the GCF
panel on 10x10: A Case Study highlighted how accomplishments over the
past five years have laid an excellent foundation for Saudi Arabia’s future
and it’s global presence.
President Bill Clinton said, “The 10x10 programme represents Saudi
Arabia’s commitment to thinking in terms of the future — not just
thinking of the present.”
Amr Al-Dabbagh praised the success of 10x10, but he also said “this
is not the end of our competitiveness journey; the future will be even
more interesting. The Economic Cities will become new benchmarks
recognising Saudi Arabia’s second phase competitiveness.”
In his keynote speech, His Excellency Adel M Fakeih, the current Minister
of Labour, addressed labour force reform in Saudi Arabia. According to HE
Fakeih, five million jobs need to be created in 20 years to keep up pace with
work force growth. He reassured the audience that the Saudi Government
is working to fix this problem and he made three main recommendations:
1) focus on job intervention policies that are “Saudisable” (industries where
Saudis want to work), 2) create economic activities and opportunities that
deliver high salary jobs and 3) increase nationals’ participation in the private
sector by creating an equal playing field and restoring fair competition
between nationals and expats. Other items that HE Fakeih put on the reform
agenda were increasing the cost of foreign workers, giving youth incentives
to work in the private sector, making the labor market more transparent and
creating a social welfare system.
In his keynote speech on the global energy outlook 2011, His
Excellency Ali bin Ibrahim Al Naimi, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and
Minerals said, “The world has clearly passed the global economic and
financial crisis and deep recession it experienced in 2008-2009 and
entered as of last year a stage of growth which is expected to continue this
year.” He added: “This year might mark an important turning point in
this direction, as oil demand in the emerging economies and developing
024
3
countries is nearing its level in the OECD industrialised countries and
will surpass it by 2013.”
The future of innovation in the energy field was also a hot topic at the
conference. The panel The Shift in the Energy Landscape addressed how
diverse technologies to develop clean energy are on the rise. Joe Stanislaw
of the JA Stanislaw Group discussed how the future is “clean” and Sandra
Wu of Koksai Kogyo Group urged Saudi Arabia to utilise advanced
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in building solar power plants.
She said that satellite technologies will be crucial for selecting land and
positioning solar panels, and that, using GIS, Saudi Arabia would be able
to maximise the productivity of its plants.
Art was also the topic of spirited discussions at the GCF. Paola
Antonelli, senior curator of the Department of Architecture and Design
at the Museum of Modern Art; Jake Eberts, the award-winning movie
producer of A Journey to Mecca; Jitesh Gadhia, managing director of
The Blackstone Group; Mona Khazindar, Curator of the Museum of the
Institut du Monde Arabe; and Venetia Porter, Curator of Islamic and
Contemporary Middle East at The British Museum, each presented their
views during the panel, Creative Capital.
Panelists discussed how art plays an important role in creating a
competitive atmosphere. Khazindar showed slides of public art projects
and Porter gave an overview of important contemporary Saudi artists,
including Manal Al-Dowayan, who is supported by the Edge of Arabia
platform for promoting Saudi art. Eberts reflected on how business
philanthropy can turn creative ideas into powerful cultural forces,
emphasising how “we are able to develop a sense of identity because
of social interactions”. Gadhia explained how innovation and artistic
creativity are inseparable and offered suggestions for how the arts can
create growth in private-sector competitiveness.
Other speakers included Janine Benyus, Rahul Singh, Mohammed
Rezwan, Jack Simm. Klaus Kleinfeld, Marco Tronchett-Provera. Jean
Pascale-Tricoire, Ulf Henriksson, James Wolfensohn, Professor Michael
Porter, Linda Rottenberg, Paul Hawken, Jean Chrétien, Andy Meyers, Amy
Zhou, James Carpenter, Atul Punj and John C. Warner, among others.
“The insights that emerged during the conference were a testament to
the growth and global scale of the GCF 2011,” says HE Amr Dabbagh.
Next year’s theme will build upon these insights. “The theme will be
“Competitive Entrepreneurship.” This is not the end of our competitiveness
journey; the future will be even more interesting.”
1. Abe M. Sher, founder, chairman
and CEO of Aqua Sciences, Inc.
2. Steven Mills, senior vice president,
IBM 3. Canadian senator, MariePaule Poulin
industry
026
ceo speaks
to think
captital sm
w th a
consc ence
Magatte Wade-Marchand earns a living by
introducing Americans to some of her
homeland’s native secrets, yet she does so
Magatte
Wade-Marchand, raised in Senegal,
educated in Germany and France, and now living in the United States,
is getting ready to launch her latest venture, a high-end cosmetics label
that takes traditional beauty recipes from her homeland, and brings
them into 21st century. Wade-Marchand has high-expectations for
Tiossano Tribe, as her collection is dubbed.
Wade-Marchand is part of a growing number of entrepreneurs who
believe that profits do not have to be made at the expense of others
and the environment, they understand that every participant, from
CEO to local workers, must reap the rewards of success. Consider
it a corporate culture with soul; conscientious capitalism is what
these entrepreneurs, including Wade, ascribe to and they hope it will
become the next major chapter in economics.
So when it comes to establishing her latest proposal, Wade-Marchand
is banking on Tiossano to not only help Senegalese workers earn a
comfortable living but also to provide them with the tools they need to
turn Senegal into a haven of entrepreneurship. “Conscious capitalism
is capitalism that’s conscious of its deeper purpose,” she says. “My
purpose has always been to transform Africa by providing jobs, by
providing innovative education and, most importantly, by providing
a new identity for what it means to be African that will change both
Africans and non-African perceptions.”
WRITTEN BY LISA VINCENTI
in a manner illustrative of a new breed
of capitalists who believe their jobs go
well beyond just turning a profit.
At just 35, Wade-Marchand already has one flourishing company
under her belt. Founded in 2004, Adina World Beverages introduced an
original Senegalese drink to US consumers, who have become increasing
thirsty for esoteric, organic beverages. The market penetration of Adina
in less than 10 years is impressive: the drink is now distributed through
most Whole Food supermarkets (the owner of which counts himself
among the ranks of conscientious capitalists and was among the first
to adopt this new business model) and was recently introduced to
mainstream grocery chains such as Safeway, Publix and Raley’s.
Yet while establishing Adina in the marketplace, Wade-Marchand
lost touch with one of her original goals of the company and she feels
the founding of Tiossano is her way back. “Adina was founded after
visiting Senegal and discovering that the traditional hibiscus beverage
that I had been raised with was being replaced by Coke and Fanta,”
notes Wade-Marchand, who is now based in the US but makes several
trips a year back to her homeland, where her family still lives.
“I knew the only chance that our beverage had of being respected
by Senegalese people would be if it became popular in the West.
When I created Adina, hibiscus growing was in steep decline, and by
partnering with (Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant
027
Kevin Mcnulty
ceo speaks
to think
1
Products) and the first lady of Senegal we were able to create a thriving
organic hibiscus industry that now employs thousands of women. Since
then many organisations have been inspired by our visionary approach.”
As Adina, which received a $30 million venture capital infusion, grew
into a mainstream product, it began drifting away from its initial focus
on indigenous African recipes, prompting Wade-Marchand to leave the
company, although she remains the largest individual shareholder.
“The great irony is that while I have probably founded the most
successful US consumer brand ever created by an African, the African
component of the brand has steadily shrunk as the brand became more
successful,” she says. “Tiossano has been designed to ensure that will not
happen again.”
Senegal, with its population of more than 12 million, sits
on the western most tip of Africa. One of the continent’s most stable
democracies, Senegal, with its low, rolling plains rising to foothills in
the southeast, is nonetheless plagued by some of the same problems as
other African nations. Nearly half of the population is unemployed and
of those that do work, 77 per cent rely on agriculture to eke out a living,
according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook.
028
2
What’s more the country exports slightly more than $2.1 billion (chiefly
in fish, groundnuts, petroleum products, phosphates and cotton) while
importing more than double that amount in food and beverages, capital
goods and fuels. The nation has been struggling for decades to create an
economy that can boost employment rates and income levels, yet change
has come slow.
Often relying on hand-outs of foreign aid for survival, Senegal – and
most other African nations, Wade-Marchand contends – would do far
better by fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship and enterprise instead.
Furthermore, many non-government initiatives that attempt to create jobs
in Senegal and Africa fail due to a lack of understanding by implementers
that to get a crop like hibiscus grown is just one small factor in the success
of an agricultural project. It proves far more challenging to get crops to
market rather than having them rot in the field without a strong, saleable
concept, such as Adina, which serves as the buyer.
“After 40 years of socialism, there was much optimism in 2000 when
President Wade was elected,” Wade-Marchand recalls. “Although he made
some reforms which made it easier to start businesses in Senegal, in more
recent years reforms have gotten bogged down in politics and corruption.
Senegal is a beautiful country with hard-working, respectful, decent people.
3
1. Magatte Wade with hibiscus
women co-op growers in Senegal.
2. The new product Tiossano from
Wade.
3. A renewable energy power station
in a remote village.
1
2
3
1. The Senegal countryside.
2. A salesgirl in Dakar.
3. A hotel in the Saly Portudal area
on the Petite Cote.
4. A coastal town in Senegal.
4
“We have never had a coup nor civil war, our AIDS rate is similar
to that of the US, we have none of the usual problems associated with
Africa. If we can create a successful manufacturing sector we can
become the first African success story. In addition to the jobs created
directly by my company, I wanted to serve as a model to the Senegalese
of how it is possible to create a world-class company.
“I know many Indian entrepreneurs who said that when [IT and
consulting company] Infosys became a global brand it inspired them
to create globally competitive companies as well. Today we all consider
Indians as entrepreneurial, but that was not the case 30 years ago… I
want to do the same for Senegal.”
With the first Tiossano beauty products coming to market this
spring, Wade-Marchand has big plans for her current project. Based
just outside of New York, she apprenticed with a tradipractitioner in
Senegal to learn all she could about traditional recipes and techniques.
She then collaborated with a professional green chemistry lab in
California to adapt those beauty potions to American product
standards. In fact, in the initial viability phase, Tiossano will be
produced, marketed and sold exclusively in the US.
“Once we have adequate sales volume to justify moving production
to Senegal we will do so,” Wade-Marchand says, noting that she expects
it will take about 18 months to build up enough capital to set up a
production facility in Senegal. “Thus our first impact [on Senegal] will
be to create jobs. In addition, we are devoting 10 per cent of product
revenues to the creation of innovative education in Senegal, which will
empower Senegalese young people to become creators, innovators and
entrepreneurs.
“In order for Africans to obtain the respect and dignity they deserve,
it is important that Africans not only escape poverty, but that they also
become competitive globally. By means of the example of my company,
by the experience of working in my company and by means of the
schools we will create, we will provide a new generation of Senegalese
with the skills and inspiration to become globally competitive.”
029
industry
Miner issues –
major problem
Widespread abuses in the past have earned the mining industry a dirty
reputation. The question now is: can mining clean up its act?
written by Dorothy Waldman
1
030
mining
Copyright © Marli Miller, University of Oregon
The world watched anxiously as
33 trapped Chilean miners were
dramatically rescued after an accident
last October. Unfortunately, this was but
one of a deluge of mining accidents that
occurred in 2010, and tragedies continue
to occur. As of early March this year there have been 11
additional fatal mining accidents in Chile alone.
1. AngloGold mining operations in
South Africa
2. Open pit mine with half full of
water in North America
3. AngloGold’s underground mining
operations in Brazil
4. A view of the plant at Crixas Mine
Serra Grande in Brazil
2
3
Major accidents in coal mining have made the front pages of
the world’s newspapers because of the tragic numbers involved and the
heroic rescue attempts. The reality is that the mining of coal and other
minerals frequently takes its toll, not just in terms of lives lost, but also
on the environment.
Minerals harvested through mining are vital for almost all human
activities today from agriculture to manufacturing to the technology
required for alternate energy sources, and the demand for them continues
to escalate. In an effort to extract these valuable natural resources from the
earth, the mining industry has gained a reputation for the exploitation of
both its workers and the environment. So is safe, clean mining possible?
With the price of gold skyrocketing, its mining is taking on new
significance today. Unlike the popular Wild West image of a lone 49er
panning for chunks of gold in a California stream, most of the supply that
is excavated today is in the form of tiny particles mixed with mud and dirt.
The traditional process uses a cyanide solution to extract the particles.
Contamination affecting the surrounding ecosystems occurs if water
utilised in this process leaks into the environment, causing substantial
damage to the local ecosystems, often destroying the livelihood of the
inhabitants while exposing them to a variety of serious health conditions.
In 2000, a pipe carrying cyanide solution burst in Romania, sending
the rancid chemicals down to the rivers and villages below the mining
site. Eleven years later, people living in the area continue to suffer, with
drinking water cut off and nearly all the fish in the area killed. Residents in western Turkey recently protested about a gold mining
project in their area. “This process brings an end to vegetable and fruit
farming and stock-breeding. The cyanide mixes with the atmosphere and
comes back to the soil in the rain,” says Bayramiç District Mayor İsmail
4
Sakin Tuncer. Of particular concern is the damage to the olive trees in
the area.
“Olive trees have been [benefiting] humankind for the past 6,000 years,
whereas the average activity of a mine is around 10 years,” says Mustafa
Tan, head of Turkey’s National Olive and Olive Oil Council. “And at the
end of that 10 years, the mines leave behind environmental damage that
takes hundreds of years to heal.”
Although mining has been conducted for centuries, prior to
recent years there has been little worry about the safety of people or
the environment. Today, these are growing concerns. International
organisations such as the International Council on Mining and Metals
(ICMM), an organisation comprised of 18 mining and metals companies
plus 30 national and regional mining associations and global commodity
associations, have been formed by those involved in this sector to
voluntarily address core sustainability issues including the health and
safety of workers and the environment. The list of yearly conferences
devoted to these issues is continuously growing as a testament to the
current anxiety.
The ICMM in a recent survey found that environmental concerns
(40 per cent) followed by social concerns (28 per cent) were the top
sustainable development issues for the mining and metals industry.
In the late 1930s, deaths from all mining activity in the US averaged
over 1,500 annually, considerably more than the 71 fatalities in 2010.
Improved safety policies and enforcement of government regulations
have helped reduce these numbers. If regulations are strengthened
throughout the world, and effectively and consistently enforced, more
fatalities can be prevented and the affects on the environment should be
031
mining
less destructive moving forward. Many mining companies, especially the
larger, more heavily regulated ones, have developed official sustainability
statements voicing their concern for safety and the environment, a small
but vital first step.
According to Martin Jones, director of the Banro Foundation, which
is involved in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: “With reputable
mining companies that (destruction) almost never happens. Any mine
being built today has to be built to global standards. In the Congo, the
Mining Code of 2003 is quite advanced. It is based on the best mining
practices in Africa and was put together with help from the World Bank.
If you do [build according to World Standards] there shouldn’t be any
environmental issues.”
The increase in awareness in the past few years has also inspired
responsible companies to take their own initiative to prevent these
disasters. Among advances being made are those by European Nichol,
which has developed heap leach technology that, in addition to being
effective and cost-effective in extracting the mineral that is used in
making stainless steel, is a method that considerably reduces carbon
dioxide emissions when compared with conventional processes. The
sulphuric acid used in the process is recycled to generate steam, which in
turn generates more electricity than the project needs. The excess is then
supplied to the local energy grid, thus reducing the need for fossil fuels.
Another reportedly more environmentally friendly technology for
extracting minerals is the bioleaching utilised by BacTech Environmental,
which uses naturally occurring bacteria rather than chemicals such as
cyanide and is purported to be a safer method of neutralising arsenic and
other toxins in mine site debris or “tailings”.
Water management is another vital aspect of the mining
process and involves recycling, conservation, quality-testing and storm
water management. Xstrata, which has 40 operations worldwide, with
close to half in arid regions, is working to lessen their demands on water
sources through conservation
and the increased use
of
recycled
water.
Approximately
60
per cent of the water
used in 2009, the last
year statistics are
available for, was
1
recycled. For one operation in Chile, treated wastewater accounts for 70
per cent of the overall water consumed.
Additional pressure to clean up the environment is coming from other
sectors of the economy as well. Zale Corporation and 53 other jewellery
companies with annual sales of more than $5.75 billion are boycotting
gold from the open-pit Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska, United States. Open pit mining is a surface mining practice that leaves a huge pit in the
earth. “Such a large number of jewellers have never taken a stance on a
particular place before,” Earthworks spokeswoman Bonnie Gestring says.
Some lenders are also taking a stand on mining practices. The loan
Getting
it Right
2
032
Banro is a Canada-based gold
exploration and development company that
is constructing a “phase one” gold mine
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
the first of a number of projects there. The
Banro Foundation was created to promote
the social and economic development of
the local communities, to create jobs and
training for Congolese citizens, to protect
the environment and to promote workplace
safety.
Martin Jones, chairman of the Banro
Foundation, spoke to THINK.
“When we first went to the Congo
in the autumn of 2004, the first thing
we did was to meet with the tribal and
administrative leadership in the regions
where we were going to be active, as well
as the government and church officials,
and explained to them what our goals
were going to be. We asked them how we
could best work with them to make the most
effective contributions to these communities,”
he said.
1. A view of the plant at Crixas Mine
Serra Grande in Brazil
2. Martin Jones, chairman of the
Banro Foundation
“We are dealing with a population
that really wants to see progress. They
are perfectly aware the Congo has been
left behind. They know they have limited
opportunities and that the rest of the world
has a higher standard of living, and more
opportunities in life. The know they have a
limited skills base.”
The local leaders identified three areas
they specifically wanted the Foundation to
address:
1. Education
2. Healthcare
3. Social infrastructure
Photo by Scott Close, Eurasia Minerals
1
3
2
1. The ore sample yard in a
Tanzanian mine 2. Transport by train
at main level, Kiruna iron ore mine,
Sweden 3. Conveying belt with
pellets, Geita mine, Tanzania
4. Geologists prospecting for gold
application process for mining activities instituted by the US financial
institution Wells Fargo requires input from Environmental Affairs and a
review of the applicant’s track record on these issues.
Localities are becoming more involved in the developmental phase
of an operation. Especially in the poor and underdeveloped areas of
emerging economies where many of the new projects are located, the
local communities are expecting such basic services as healthcare and
clean water from the mining companies. Understanding these concerns,
along with the local political situation, will be critical to the success of
projects in so-called frontier markets, according to Pricewaterhouse
Canada. “It is a complex and sensitive area, where mining companies
have not always gotten it right,” says Aidan Davy of the ICMM.
To help companies get it right, the ICMM has published guidelines
for dealing with local peoples. Mick Davis, CEO of Xstrata, an ICMM
Committing to one major capital
investment project a year in each community,
but admitting that some very expensive
projects may take longer, each community
decides what they want built. Among the
foundation’s projects have been the building
of four schools that now serve 1,500
students, a potable water delivery system
serving 18,000 people in four villages,
the construction or re-construction of more
than 100km of roads and bridges and the
construction of a hospital
One school designed for 300 students
was officially dedicated on Saturday,
October 3, 2009. At the ceremony Jones
thought to himself: “How will they ever find
300 children from this community to fill this
school? We have really overbuilt this thing.”
But on the following Monday morning,
700 students showed up and some had
walked as far as 50km. “That number has
settled down to 600, but that is still twice
4
member, says in its Sustainability Report: “We must equally demonstrate
to communities and host nations that our presence delivers sustainable
benefits that extend beyond simply providing jobs or paying taxes.” To
that end, the company dedicates millions of dollars for projects to help
the local communities that include infrastructure development, health
services, education, environment and cultural involvement.
Governments around the world are also evaluating common practices
and setting new standards. Expected among the new provisions being
developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China
are greatly reduced allowable levels of contaminants in water in the
production of rare earth minerals, which are used in a number of hightech processes including wind turbines and hybrid cars. Cracking down
on artisanal mining operations, which are often illegal and are among
the worst offenders not just in China but globally, is also high on their
priority list.
The UN, World Bank and industry organisations are working to set
standards for safe, ecological mining practices that will hopefully pave
the way for higher industry standards. These examples indicate that
many efforts are being made to combat the current perception of mining
as a dirty industry. At the very least, current global best practices must be
followed at every site and innovative technological advancements must
continue to insure that mining becomes safer and cleaner than it is now.
There is still room for improvement
Mining involves inherent dangers, but the goal is to make all types of
mining as safe and environmentally responsible as possible.
the number it was built for. That shows how
eager people are to get an education.”
The communities also “stressed the
importance of job creation and on-the-job
training and that pretty much coincided with
what we wanted to do as well”, Jones said.
Among the more than 3,000 Congolese
directly or indirectly employed by Banro are
40 recent geology graduates from a local
college, many of whom have advanced to
senior positions in just a few years. “People
want to learn English so we have put English
programmes in place,” he added.
Another concern were the artisanal miners
in the area. Of the 200 children involved,
about half were integrated into the school
system while the older ones elected to go
into skills training programmes where they
learned such things as motor mechanics,
sewing, masonry and carpentry.
This and some of the other programmes
were accomplished by the foundation
working in tandem with local NGOs
who occasionally request help for oneoff projects. One of these involved
feeding a baby chimp, something the
employees were very proud of doing,
especially since most of the wildlife in the
area was killed off during the Congolese
Civil War.
033
Tricks of
the trade
Written by Joanne Molina
Carbon is set to become the world’s biggest commodity, but
with its growth in popularity come increased cases of fraud on
thefinancial services market. So how is the emergence of carbon
credits training being policed and what can we expect in the future?
034
energy
London office of Thomson Reuters
Recent
instances of multimillion-dollar carbon credit fraud and cybertheft in Europe have drawn attention to the
expanding global carbon credits market.
Carbon is poised to be the world’s biggest
commodity and the managing of carbon credit
is one of the fastest growing financial services
markets, estimated to be worth in excess of
$41bn. The ETS (European Trading Scheme)
predicts that the number of allowances will be
reduced over time so that total emissions fall.
In 2020, emissions will be 21 per cent lower
than in 2005.
As Michael Szabo’s report for the UK-based
Thomson Reuters Point Carbon has recently
surmised, carbon is presently holding up
despite tumbling energy prices. According to
the report, front-year EUAs finished near their
session high, climbing 5 cents to €15.91 by 1700
GMT after trading as low as €15.71 earlier in
the day. Traders noted that the gains in EUA
prices were made in light of a significantly
weaker energy complex.
Volumes on the ICE ECX December 2011
contract were healthy at 10.4 million units
traded, while a total 17.4 million EU carbon
dioxide emissions allowances (EUAs) were
transacted across all vintages and exchanges.
The report also stated that the German
government (one of the nations that has been
the victim of carbon credit fraud) sold 300,000
spot EUAs at €15.44 each earlier on Tuesday
in its weekly auction on Leipzig-based bourse
EEX – a 36-cent discount to the Dec-11 EUA
price at the time. The European commission, as
part of its 2050 Roadmap, proposed that the EU
should consider withholding some EUAs from
phase three auctions to bolster carbon prices.
Carbon’s current stability in the energy
market is a good sign, especially after recent
concerns about the security of carbon credits.
This January, after years of VAT-fraud and illegal
activity in the carbon market, the European
Commission suspended all transactions, except
for the allocation and surrender of allowances,
in EU ETS national registries. The most recent
incident that challenged the integrity and safety
of the system occurred when 475,000 EUAs
were stolen from the Czech Republic’s carbon
registry and illegally sold to the Estonian
registry.
However, despite reasonable assurances that
the minimum security requirements are in
place, there are many questions surrounding
the future of the carbon trading market. Many
still have doubts about the effectiveness and
long-term stability of the carbon trading system
and have raised issues on the need to streamline
and reorganise the security and management of
carbon credits.
The history of carbon credits
Carbon credits and carbon markets are a
component of national and international
attempts to mitigate the growth in concentration
of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The goal is to
allow market mechanisms to drive industrial
and commercial processes in the direction
of low emission and less carbon-intensive
approaches.
Carbon credits create a market for reducing
greenhouses emissions by giving a monetary
value to the cost of polluting the air: emissions
become an internal cost of doing business and
are visible on the balance sheet along side raw
materials and other liabilities and assets. Since
GHG mitigation projects generate credits,
this approach can be used to finance carbon
reduction schemes between trading partners
and around the world.
Launched in 2005, the Kyoto carbon credit
mechanism for CO2 trading has been adopted
by all the countries within the EU under its
ETS. About two billion EUAs are issued each
year to included companies, which establish
a cap on total aggregate emissions from these
companies. According to the ETS, the system works on
the “cap and trade” principle. This means there
is a “cap”, or limit, on the total amount of certain
greenhouse gases that can be emitted by the
factories, power plants and other installations
in the system. Within this cap, companies
receive emission allowances which they can sell
or buy from one another as needed. The limit
on the total number of allowances available
ensures that they have a value.
At the end of every year, each company must
surrender enough allowances to cover all its
035
UN Photo/R Marklin
1
emissions – otherwise heavy fines are imposed.
If a company reduces its emissions, it can keep
the spare allowances to cover its future needs
or sell them to another company that is short
of allowances. The flexibility that trading brings
ensures that emissions are cut where it costs
least to do so. Market players include large
greenhouse gas emitters from the power sector
and industry, banks, hedge funds and other
traders who provide liquidity and increase
market efficiency.
Endre Tvinnereim, senior analyst at the UKbased Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, explains
the rapid rise of the global carbon market: “The
global carbon market has grown rapidly because
climate change is a major global problem and
deep cuts in GHG emissions are needed, while
carbon trading offers an opportunity to reduce
emissions at the lowest possible cost. The carbon
market has also unlocked billions of dollars in
private sector funding for emission reduction
projects in developing countries.”
But Tvinnereim sees challenges ahead.
“The major challenge for the market is the
political framework, as the market is created
by governments putting a declining cap on
emissions. Since governments may change their
minds about how best to regulate greenhouse
gases, policy frameworks are also subject to
change. However, we see that a system such as
the EUETS has been relatively stable since it
was made law in 2003, in part because of the
large amounts of money at stake in carbon
assets. Thus, carbon trading is probably a more
predictable framework than a carbon tax, which
has fewer stakeholders.”
036
2
Tvinnereim is also quick to address a major
misconception about the carbon market: the
idea that it is mostly about speculation and little
about reducing emissions. “In fact, most trading
in the EUETS is done by power companies that
have a legal obligation to procure emission
permits to cover their emissions under the
ETS,” he says.
Carbon credit fraud
But this seemingly benevolent market strategy
has been responsible for more than an estimated
$6.9bn in tax fraud damage for European
taxpayers, according to Europol.
Recent headlines about carbon credit fraud
have splashed this market across financial
headlines across the globe. Still, the exact
nature of this fraud is often misunderstood and
the details elusive. VAT fraud, cybertheft and
the effects of this fraud on the market and the
defrauded countries have hit major and minor
financial capitals, including a $61bn scam in the
City of London where seven people have been
charged and are awaiting a trial in February
2012.
Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, says:
“Organised VAT fraud remains a significant
criminal activity in Europe. It is responsible
for draining huge resources from central
government revenues and undermining
the objective of transforming Europe into a
competitive and greener economy. Europol is
determined to crack down on the organised
crime groups involved and is pleased to have
assisted a number of successful operations this
year, carried out by law enforcement authorities
in EU member states. Europol is also currently
monitoring apparent new trends in this
criminal activity, including possible organised
crime infiltration of the gas and electricity
markets.”
The cyber-theft of $9.48m of carbon
allowances from a Czech firm has made the
most headlines. As Thomson Reuters Point
Carbon reported, EUAs left the national registry
in the Czech Republic and were transferred to
an account in Poland, and then moved to one in
Estonia, then to Lichtenstein. Then the credits
seem to have disappeared. Kjersti Ulset, manager for the European
Carbon Market at Thomson Reuters Point
Carbon, immediately suggested that “hacking
attacks of this type have also occurred
elsewhere within the EU in the recent past.
Although such incidents are negligible in terms
1. Air pollution in Romania
2. Endre Tvinnereim, Senior Analyst
at the UK- based Point Carbon
Thomson Reuters
Billion tonnes CO2 traded
Other Carbon Markets
US Markets
Kyoto Country Permits (AAUs)
Joint Implementation
Clean Development Mechanism
European Cap-and-trade
‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10
energy
1
2
For the medium
and long-term
we reinforce
efforts to identify
solutions both by
co-operation with
member states and
a regular dialogue
with stakeholders.”
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
3
1. Connie Hedegaard, Minister for
Climate and Energy of Denmark
2, 3 and 4: A major misconception
about the carbon market is that it is
about speculation and not so much
about reducing emissions
4
of actual market impact they will over time
undermine the credibility of carbon trading as a
policy measure to reduce emissions in Europe.
Immediate actions to improve the security of
EU registries are thus needed.”
Ultimately, it was the Czech Government that
had to pay for the theft. The report also disclosed
Prime Minister Petr Necas’ statement about
how the government would supply state-owned
utility CEZ and emissions traders Blackstone
Global Ventures with around $25.3m in EU
allowances to replace those stolen from them in
January.
The cyber-theft of carbon credits can
largely be attributed to the lack of experience
of countries trying to monitor the market.
Thomson Reuters Point Carbon senior analyst
Tvinnereim explains: “A general reason why
cyber-theft was possible is that the emission
trading infrastructure has been set up by
the environment authorities of individual
European member states. These government
agencies are good at monitoring pollutants,
but less experienced with financial markets.
The creation of a centralised European registry
from the third trading period should hopefully
fix most of the security issues. In the meantime,
member states should learn from online
banking and implement security solutions
available today.”
Germany was also a victim of VAT tax fraud.
The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung
said that. according to Frankfurt’s attorney
general and general prosecutor, the German
Government lost $1.18bn due to VAT fraud
in the EU ETS. As Thomson Reuters Point
Carbon’s Michael Szabo reported, this was
markedly higher than the $279m loss estimated
by the government last July.
“A total of 50 companies are said to have
cheated the tax authorities. The total damage
amounts to $1.18bn. The Frankfurt-based
special commission investigating the crime,
codenamed Odin, identified more than 150
suspects, mostly CEOs and other businessmen.
He adds that at least four suspects remained in
custody, some for almost a year.”
Szabo explained that “German authorities in
April 2010 raided over 50 businesses and 150
homes, including offices at German investment
bank Deutsche Bank. The report also said the
investigation led to as far away as Dubai, Hong
Kong and the Seychelles, and that some of the
emissions trading companies involved had now
re-branded themselves as traders in power,
metal and gold.”
Tvinnereim explains how VAT tax fraud
happens so easily. “The VAT fraud arising from
trading carbon allowances generally involved a
seller charging VAT as normal, but then failing
to pay the VAT to the tax authorities.” But there
have been important developments to eliminate
fraud. “Since the emergence of this kind of
fraud in 2009, many countries have introduced
a reverse-charge mechanism between taxable
counterparties, eliminating the problem,” he
says.
The EU Commission for Climate Action
issued a plan to combat future theft. Connie
Hedegaard, European Commissioner for
Climate Action, says: “The commission has
identified a range of actions that member states
can already take in the short term to further
improve security – for example, regularly
reviewing security plans, reinforcing registry
account policies and identity checks, training
registry users etc. For the medium and longterm we reinforce efforts to identify solutions
037
industry
1
both by co-operation with member states and a
regular dialogue with stakeholders.”
The commission suggested the following
short-term solutions for restoring faith in the
carbon trading market: regular reviews and
updates of registry security plans; a review
and strengthening of policies concerning the
opening of registry accounts; building on
best practices; a risk-based review of existing
registry account holders; the facilitation of
information exchange between member states
regarding suspicious requests to open an
account; better training for registry users; and
better use of options in existing EU legislation
to prevent VAT fraud. Not all member states
have yet eliminated the risk of VAT fraud,
despite the existence of enabling legislation at
the EU level to do so.
The International Emissions Trading
Association (IETA) was quick to comment on
the lack of clarity regarding the new minimumsecurity requirements after the re-opening of
the market. “Given that the minimum security
requirements recently agreed to by European
authorities to lift a registry suspension remain
confidential, only time will tell if they are
sufficient.” said Henry Derwent, the IETA’s
CEO and president.
While the IETA commends the commission’s
038
report, it strongly suggests a quick investigation
of three points of interest if the market is to
take comfort in the work being done following
the suspension: first, an investigation of the
actual causes of the alleged thefts; second, the
measures that the commission had repeatedly
asked national registries to take before their
suspension by the commission; and third,
whether the introduction of those measures by
the registries would have prevented the causes
of the various alleged thefts previously.
As the IETA shows, there is currently no clear
legal jurisdiction in many of the member states.
According to research by the group, one of the
biggest concerns facing market participants is
what rights and liabilities (including criminal
liabilities) attach to the inadvertent receipt or
purchase of an allegedly stolen carbon credit.
It is currently not possible to give such market
participants clear advice on this, as the legal
nature of a carbon credit is not a matter explicitly
dealt with by the laws of most member states.
The IETA remains concerned and suggests
that an in-depth, EU-wide screening of existing
registry account holders according to KYC
(“Know Your Customer”) criteria is urgently
required. This screening would be indispensable
for restoring confidence.
Other recommendations from the IETA
include making available as soon as possible
an official, comprehensive and up-to-date list
of affected allowances. In the absence of such
a list, market participants will be exposed to
significant and continuing uncertainty when
acquiring EUAs on the spot market. The IETA
also recommends establishing full clarity on the
legal status of stolen EUAs and the development
of a set of common protocols and mitigation
measures to protect market participants from
suffering financial loss if they have exercised all
prudent measures to prevent the theft of credits
or the receipt of stolen credits.
1. Isabel Hagbrink, Senior
Communications Officer of the
World Bank
industry
040
think
roundtable
THE
BOURSE
WARS
Two recently announced, high-profile mergers between cross-border
global exchanges, along with rumours of other deals, signal
what many predict to be a trend toward industry consolidation as
international bourses aim to boost competitiveness, gain access to
new markets and whittle away at costs.
WRITTEN BY Lisa Vincenti
Five
years ago, the Nasdaq ignited fury. The US upstart had attempted a takeover of the London Stock Exchange
(LSE) but its overtures were soundly rebuffed. Nonetheless, while the electronic stock exchange, which has 2,872 listings today
and the largest trading volume of any other electronic exchange in the world, may have felt the sharp sting of rejection, the move
touched off a wave of consolidation culminating
in the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE’s) $10.2 it was in advance talks with NYSE Euronext to create the world's largest
billion tie-up with European exchange operator exchange operator worth a staggering $24 billion. (That offer hasn't come
Euronext, in a deal that was heralded as creating without some rivalry and Nasdaq, along with IntercontinentalExchange,
was making a play for NYSE as well, according to reports in the Wall
the first global bourse.
Around the same time, Nasdaq bought OMX, Street Journal at press-time.) It seems the race among global exchanges
a Scandinavian firm; Chicago’s two big exchanges to reposition themselves and tap emerging opportunities is again moving
merged; and in 2007 the LSE scooped up Borsa full-speed ahead.
In fact, as established exchanges in Western nations continue to see
Italiana. Still, the massive worldwide recession that
pounded economies around the globe saw an end market share erode as both trading and listing happen increasingly on
to the hustling, a temporary truce followed by four cost-saving platforms or on exchanges in emerging countries throughout
years of relative silence. However, those days are Asia and the Middle East, industry players agree that consolidation will
now gone and the next chapter of the “bourse wars” continue.
has begun in earnest.
The London Stock Exchange has been making Merger activity in Asia has already begun with Singapore and
headlines again, only this time for eyeing a takeover Australia's exchanges signing a major deal, and Hong Kong announcing
of its once-rejected suitor Nasdaq, according to that it would also like to be involved in consolidation. The Londonreports in British newspapers. That news came just Toronto merger also had the Gulf nations once again debating the merits
a few weeks after a surprise announcement by the of mergers. Cost-savings have been the common denominator of most of
LSE of a $6.9 billion tie-up with Canadian exchange these deals, as has the heated battle to gain market share.
operator TMX. Yet within 30 minutes of making
“Often these long-standing monopolies are under severe pressure from
their planned merger known, the deal was blown new, low-cost entrants – which is why sales have been falling in breadout of the water with Deutsche Börse confirming and-butter businesses like cash equities,” states The Economist in a report.
041
“Joining forces does not in itself realise revenue gains or alter this decline. But
it may make it possible to combine the technology and back-office platforms
being used by different exchanges, cutting costs. Efficiency savings are the
one element of the last round of consolidation that did arrive as promised.”
The two chief dealmakers of the London-Toronto merger, the CEOs of
TMX and LSE, extolled the virtues of the merger through cost synergy
and increased strength in the resources sector and emerging markets. In
fact, the union would marry the world's two largest exchanges for the
shares of mining, oil & gas and other resources companies, and dominate
the listing and trading of financial instruments in the booming global
commodities and natural resources sector. And according to LSE CEO
Xavier Rolet, the tie-up with Toronto's exchange would achieve $56
million cost savings in a year and $160 million in five years. Likewise
the hotly contested NYSE-DB deal is expected to generate annual cost
savings of some $400 million, principally from information technology,
clearing, and market operations, as well as from corporate administration
and support functions.
“This new international leader, marrying the right cost structure,
financial strength, technological expertise and product portfolio, will be
042
strongly positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities in emerging
markets and deliver them to our customers in North America, Europe
and beyond,” Rolet says.
Thomas Kloet, the CEO of TMX, adds: “We are creating an
international group with deep expertise, undeniable leadership in key
sectors and the ability to compete and win on the global stage. Canadian
customers will benefit from access to one of the world's deepest capital
pools while European issuers will have an effective gateway to North
American financial markets.”
Yet such unions are not always made in heaven and with so much at
stake, whether in the form of lost business at home, the fear of dwindling
local employment and even wounded national pride, the long road to
globalisation is lined with regulatory and political setbacks. Raymond
Bachand, Quebec's finance minister, says of the deal: “We are going to
take our time to study the details of this transaction to be sure that this
meets Quebec’s economic needs. We need to assure that access to capital
is maintained for Quebec businesses, if not improved.”
Furthermore, Canadian financial institutions, including TD Securities,
“Joining forces
does not in itself
realise revenue
gains or alter
this decline. But
it may make it
possible to combine
the technology
and back-office
platforms being
used by different
exchanges, cutting
costs.
think
roundtable
1
1. Xavier Rolet, CEO,
London Stock Exchange.
2. Duncan Niederauer,
CEO of NYSE Euronext.
3. Andreas Preuss, Deputy
CEO of Deutsche Börse AG.
CIBC and National Bank, issued a public letter warning that Canada risks
losing its clout as a financial centre if the merger goes through. “We do
not believe this takeover offer is the right solution to creating a globally
sustainable exchange and nor will it allow Canada to achieve the benefits
of globalisation offered,” notes Bob Dorrance, head of TD Securities.
“Although certain aspects of the listing business are to be maintained
in Canada, there is no guarantee that this will continue to be the case
in the future,” according to a commentary signed by Dorrance, CIBC
World Markets chief executive Richard Nesbitt, National Bank cochief executive Ricardo Pascoe, AltaCorp Capital's George Gosbee and
Casgrain chief executive Guy Casgrain run in the National Post. “As the
new entity inevitably does future acquisitions, the derivatives specialty
in Montreal, venture capital expertise in the West and Toronto’s hopes
to be a global financial services hub could suffer a severe and potentially
irreversible setback.”
Still, Toronto and London have faced increasing competition
from alternative trading venues. In fact, major global stock exchanges
have been reeling from losses of market share to smaller rivals in recent
years, as traders turn to new platforms that operate in faster, cheaper and,
quite often, less transparent venues. Recouping some of that lost market
share has proven a major contributor to this current rash of deal making
and might wind up being a merger’s saving grace.
Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext at the time of the Deutsche
Börse bid, noted: “The increasing globalisation and interconnectedness of
capital markets, and the rapidly growing presence of alternative trading
2
3
venues that operate with less transparency and far fewer regulatory
requirements, will position the new company as a true global player well
placed to drive the long-term strength and competitiveness of transparent
and regulated markets.”
Just one example among many, the New York Stock Exchange handled
a meagre 35 per cent of NYSE-listed shares in December 2010. That’s
down just slightly from a year earlier, but reflects a huge erosion over the
years due to competitors such as Nasdaq OMX, as well as next-generation
rivals, such as BATS and Direct Edge. Deutsche Börse has only a 70 per
cent share of the trading in its own listed stocks, down from 90 per cent
just a few years ago. For Euronext, the percentage is even lower.
“In order to increase market share, the exchanges have to cut trading
costs, and one way to do that is to consolidate trading systems and
possibly clearing systems,” says Benn Steil, director of international
economics at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and author
of Money, Markets and Sovereignty. “Broadly speaking, trading volumes
are extremely sensitive to trading costs.”
Andreas Preuss, who is slated to serve as deputy CEO under the planned
merger of Eurex parent Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, should it
succeed, says: “The increasing globalisation of the trade-matching and
clearing business builds pressure on exchanges to drive a greater level
of activity through their electronic platforms and reduce costs. For all
of us this is a scaling business, under constant need to get more [trading
volume] onto our existing infrastructure.”
So while local communities and politicians may call foul, there is no
doubt that business has already begun looking, and moving, elsewhere.
043
The
new
China is a rising force in the
global economy, with a growing
population and seemingly endless
resources. THINK takes a look
at the rise of the world’s next
economic superpower.
world
order
Written by Joanne Molina
044
world economy
The
People’s Republic of China has leapfrogged from an
impoverished Communist state to an international economic powerhouse
in 30 years, becoming an unavoidable player in global politics.
With a population of 1,330,141,295 (July 2010 est) and a growth rate of
0.494 per cent (2010 est), it is currently the world’s largest exporter and
second-largest economy, recently overtaking Japan. The EU is China’s
biggest trading partner, while China is the EU’s largest source of imports
and second largest two-way trading partner. China is currently positioned
to overtake the United States as the world’s number one economy around
2025, according to the World Bank and the global investment firm
Goldman Sachs.
As Vivek Arora, assistant Director in the International Monetary
Fund’s (IMF’s) Asia and Pacific department, and Athanasios Vamvakidis,
deputy division chief in the
IMF’s strategy, policy, and
review department report:
“China’s share in world trade
has increased nearly tenfold
over the past three decades, to
about nine per cent, while its
share in world gross domestic
product has risen to 13 per cent
from less than three per cent.
Real GDP has grown by about
10 per cent annually, implying
a doubling every seven to eight
years. The resulting 16-fold
increase in a major economy’s
national income during a single
generation is unprecedented.
In 2010, the gross domestic
product of the year was $6.05
billion, up by 10.3 per cent over
the previous year.”
The US-based Brookings
Institute
economist
Hu
Angang, who is also professor
of Economics and director of
the Center for China Studies at
Tshingua University in Beijing,
forecasts that by 2020 China will
become a “mature, responsible
and attractive superpower” that
will contribute, alongside the
EU, to the “end of the unipolar era dominated by the United States”.
Daniel Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies
at the Cato Institute in Washington DC and author of the book Mad
About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalisation,
explains the three primary reasons behind China’s exceptional growth.
“It began in 1978 when farmers were allowed to keep and sell a share of
their output,” he says. “Other important reforms were the lowering of
barriers to international trade and foreign investment, the deregulation
of domestic prices, and the freedom of Chinese in urban areas to start
their own businesses and own their own homes.”
Griswold reflects on the historical momentum to place China’s success
in a broader framework. “I don’t think we need to fear China’s rise in the
global economy. After all, China includes one-fifth of mankind. Up until
the 1800s, China had been the world’s largest economy and the reforms
The Shanghai skyline, China’s fastest-growing city.
045
world economy
of the past 30 years are only allowing China to regain its rightful place,”
he asserts. “Even if China’s economy becomes larger than that of the US,
its standard of living will still be only one-quarter of that enjoyed by
Americans.”
Analysis of different types of enterprises showed that in the first two
months of 2011, the year-on-year growth of state-owned and state
holding enterprises went up by 10.6 per cent; collective enterprises, 10.5
per cent; shareholding enterprises 15.6 per cent; and 12.2 per cent growth
for enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan province. The year-on-year growth of heavy industry
in the first two months was 14.4 per cent, and 13.3 per cent for light
industry.
“That these improvements involve one-fifth of the world’s population
highlights the vast human scale of the achievement. Several hundred
million people have been lifted out of
poverty, and living conditions have
improved for many more people in a
shorter period of time than ever before,”
conclude Arora and Vamvakidis.
Brooking Institute policy
analyst and contributor Willy Lam,
also a senior fellow at the Jamestown
Foundation, a professor of China Studies
at Akita International University, Japan,
and an adjunct professor of history at
the Chinese University of Hong Kong,
describes the country’s momentum in
his report China’s Quasi-Superpower
Diplomacy, Prospects and Pitfalls. “The
diplomatic and geopolitical implications
of China’s precipitous rise are thoroughly
appraised. With its economy predicted to
grow at eight per cent despite the world
financial crisis, China is widely regarded
as a prime locomotive for economic
recovery worldwide,” he says.
“The People’s Liberation Army is
building nuclear submarines and aircraft
carriers, and the country’s first astronaut is expected to set foot on the
moon before 2015. Taking advantage of the damage that the financial
crisis has dealt the American laissez-faire system, the Chinese Communist
Party is also gunning for a novel international financial architecture, or
one that is not dominated by the US.”
EU nations and the US have expressed great concern about the rapid
rise of China’s economy, often citing the abundance of exports and an
increasing trade deficit as legitimate threats to their own economies. But
as Griswold suggests, there is a difference between what lawmakers claim
is a healthy economic policy that will protect domestic economies and
the actual spending patterns of consumers in those countries.
“Imports from China arouse political opposition because they are
so visible to consumers, and they do compete against such powerful,
entrenched interests as steel and textile companies and their unions,” he
says. “It doesn’t help that China is so big and its government so oppressive
of political and civil freedoms. Politicians in the US often look for foreign
scapegoats to distract attention from their own domestic policy mistakes.
Japan was the target 20 years ago. Now it’s China’s turn.”
Stereotypes about the Chinese are also a driving force behind recent
scandals in the luxury goods community. Many companies, including
046
1
2
Prada and Gucci are still recovering from reports of merchandise being
made in China instead of in EU countries such as France and Italy,
the presumption being that when goods are crafted in China, they are
automatically inferior. Chinese immigrant communities in Italy are also
being eyed suspiciously, although their presence is largely due to the fact
that they work for less than typical wages and that Chinese entrepreneurs
are buying formerly Italian-owned businesses largely because the owners
were looking to sell at a high rate, regardless of the buyer.
Griswold notes: “While politicians and voters express worry about
imports from China, American consumers have voted with their dollars
to embrace lower-cost goods from China. Access to low-cost imports
from China helps Western countries keep a lid on inflation. Those goods
are especially important in the budgets of lower-income workers. Income
inequality would actually be greater in the US if poor families could not
buy more affordable clothing, shoes, and consumer goods from China.”
The IMF research by Arora and Vamvakidis also supports the claim
1. Daniel Griswold, Director,
Centre for Trade Policy Studies
at the Cato Institute.
2. The Guangzhou Opera House
by Zaha Hadid.
3. The Forbidden City, Beijing
4. Industrial pollution is the bane
of China’s fast growing cities.
5. New hotels opening up all
over China include The RitzCarlton, Pudong Shanghai.
courtesy The Fairmont Hotels
3
4
that China’s growth could have positive benefits for other countries. “Our
empirical results suggest that the role of China’s growth in explaining
output fluctuations in other countries is sizable and has increased
substantially in recent decades. The results include effects both during
the one to five-year period typically associated with business cycles and
over the longer term,” the pair says.
“In the short and medium term, our results suggest that a one percentage
point shock to China’s GDP growth is followed by a cumulative response
in other countries’ growth of 0.2 percentage point after three years and
0.4 percentage point after five. What accounts for this impact? Our
analysis suggests that initially almost all of the impact is felt through trade
channels. But, over time, the impact of non-trade channels increases.
“Over a full five years, about 60 per cent of the impact of China’s growth
on other countries seems to be transmitted through trade channels and
the remaining 40 per cent through other channels. Examples of these
other channels include capital flows, tourism [which is particularly
5
important for some of China’s neighbours] and business travel, and
consumer and business confidence.”
There has been much accusation recently that the Chinese Government
has been hoarding reserves in order to “manipulate” the value of its
currency, the yuan, and maintain a favourable trade balance. Many
consider this tactic a threat not to just to international economic stability,
but to the financial well-being of the Chinese people.
In January, New York Times economic columnist Paul Krugman
suggested that “Chinese currency policy is a lose-lose proposition,
simultaneously depressing employment here and producing an
overheated, inflation-prone economy in China itself… China has been
using a weak currency to keep its wages and prices low in dollar terms;
market forces have responded by pushing those wages and prices up,
eroding that artificial competitive advantage. Some estimates I’ve heard
suggest that at current rates of inflation, Chinese undervaluation could
047
be gone in two or three years – not soon enough, but sooner than many
expected.
“China’s leaders are, however, trying to prevent this outcome, not just to
protect exporters’ interest, but because inflation is even more unpopular
in China than it is elsewhere. One big reason is that China already in
effect exploits its citizens through financial repression (other kinds, too,
but that’s not relevant here). Interest rates on bank deposits are limited
to just 2.75 per cent, which is below the official inflation rate – and it’s
widely believed that China’s true inflation rate is substantially higher than
its government admits. Rapidly rising prices, even if matched by wage
increases, will make this exploitation much worse. It is no wonder that
the Chinese public is angry about inflation and that China’s leaders want
to stop it.”
The rise of inflation in China will have a particularly harmful effect on
the country’s rising middle class, whom Griswold claims hold the greatest
potential in China’s rapid growth. He also projects that this middle class
will be the source of many benefits to the EU and US.
“Within the next decade or two, China will become a middle-income,
middle-class economy. This will mean greater global demand for all the
tokens of middle-class life – cars, appliances, travel, higher education,
048
financial services. This will mean more business for companies and
workers in the West. As Chinese companies move up the value chain,
they will start producing innovative products and not just assembling
iPhones and other products created outside China.”
The rise of the middle class will also mean a dramatic increase and
change in important industries. “While it’s hard to predict,” Griswold
says, “it’s safe to say that as incomes and education levels in China rise,
the goods it produces will look more like the products now being made
in Malaysia and other more developed nations in the region. I expect
China will be a major global producer of automobiles, civilian aircraft,
that sort of stuff.”
The IMF says China now accounts for nearly one-tenth of global
demand for commodities and more than one-tenth of world exports of
medium and high-technology manufactured goods. It has also become a
major exporter of electronics and information technology products and
is the largest supplier to the US of consumer electronics products such as
DVD players, notebook computers and mobile phones.
The National Bureau of Statistics in China further supports his
claim with the most recent data on consumer spending and real estate.
world economy
electronic equipment was up 14.3 per cent; the production and supply of
electricity, gas and water was up 9.7 per cent; and ferrous metal smelting
and pressing was up by 8.6 per cent.
The sales ratio of industrial products in the first two months of 2011
was 97.7 per cent, or 0.4 percentage points higher than that in the same
period of last year. The total export delivery value of industrial enterprises
was $201.2 billion, up by 20.2 per cent year-on-year.
The NBSC report also says that in terms of 468 products measured, the
output of 397 of those products in the first two months showed a year-onyear growth. Of this total, the output of crude oil was 33.72 million tons,
up by 5.5 per cent; that of electricity was 677.3 billion kilowatt-hours, up
by 11.7 per cent; that of pig iron was 114.18 million tons, up by 12.6 per
cent; that of cement was 204.29 million tons, up by 9.1 per cent; that of
motor vehicles was 3.13 million, up by 10.3 per cent, of which, the output
of cars was 1.67 million, up by 10.8 per cent.
China’s exponential growth has important lessons that other economies,
such as those of the Gulf region, can absorb. Griswold explains: “China’s
growth has sprung from freeing its domestic economy and opening itself to
the global economy. The Gulf region states need to deregulate their domestic
economies so that local entrepreneurs and companies can flourish. They
need to open themselves more widely to foreign goods and investment.
Just relying on the sale of petroleum will not create the kind of challenging
and rewarding jobs that their young workers need to be fulfilled.”
1
1. Uncontrolled development
and pollution threatens heritage
sites such as the Forbidden City.
2. Economists say low-cost
Chinese goods have helped
Western countries control
inflation.
3. Shanghai’s industrial
area: industrial growth has
maintained the middle class.
According to its report, in the first two months of 2011, the total retail
sales of consumer goods reached $442.5 million, a year-on-year rise
of 15.8 per cent, or 3.3 percentage points lower than that in December
2010. Of this total, the retail sales of the units above designated size
stood at $193.49 million, up by 20.7 per cent. One of the fastest growing
internal investments was real estate. In the first two months of 2011,
the investment in real estate development was $64.6 billion, a year-onyear growth of 35.2 per cent. Of this total, the investment in residential
buildings reached $45.8 billion, up by 34.9 per cent.
Industrial growth is also an important factor in contributing to and
maintaining the economic viability of the new middle class. The NBSC
reported that, grouped by different sectors, in the first two months of
2011 all of China’s 39 industrial divisions kept year-on-year growth. Of
this total, the growth of textile industry was 7.7 per cent; the manufacture
of raw chemical materials and chemical products was up by 15.3 per
cent; the manufacture of non-metallic mineral products was up by 17.8
per cent; the manufacture of general machinery was up 22.4 per cent;
the manufacture of transport equipment was up 14.4 per cent; the
manufacture of electric machinery and equipment was up 17.7 per cent;
the manufacture of communication equipment, computers and other
In comparison to other BRIC countries, Griswold says: “All four
BRIC countries are following their own path to development. Russia is
probably the least promising. Its population is declining and it is overly
reliant on natural resources. Brazil will remain a major agricultural
exporter as its industrial sector continues to grow. India is far ahead of
China in its services and IT sectors, but it lags in manufacturing because
of continued over-regulation. India’s biggest advantages over China are its
demography, its English-language heritage, and its democratic system.”
Despite the optimistic claims about the rising middle class and the
international economic benefits that follow their strengthening economy,
China’s human rights violations should give pause to consumers, nations
and companies that make the decision to do business in China.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a non-governmental international
organisation dedicated to monitoring human rights violations
throughout the globe, recently offered an analysis of China’s first-ever
National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010), in which the Chinese
Government recommitted to existing human rights protections in
domestic and international law. According to HRW, at the same time
the Chinese Government has touted its commitment to human rights
through this document, it has also continued to egregiously violate those
obligations in practice, perhaps most notoriously through its persecution
of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, but also in the case of
the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who says he was recently put under house
arrest by the authorities.
Amnesty International, another non-governmental agency, reports
that regular human rights violations by the Chinese Government include
arbitrary detainment, harassment, house arrest and incommunicado
detention, as well as the imprisonment of human rights defenders,
including lawyers, journalists, environmental activists and proponents
of democratic reform. Amnesty also points out China’s use of the death
penalty for non-violent crimes and extensive evidence of unfair trials and
the use of torture in places of detention, including beatings, hanging by
the limbs, force feeding, injecting unknown drugs and sleep deprivation.
Statistics on death sentences and executions remain classified as state
secrets.
049
050
thinking
forward
Courtesy of Ernst & Young MENA
Emerging markets increase
their global power
written by Philip Stanton
The
New
Math
Six global
developments to
shape regional
trends for the
next decade.
Global economies are now so
tightly interconnected that companies,
governments and industries are
beginning to interact in ways we could
not have imagined just a few years ago.
Ernst & Young has tracked the rise of
six key developments that are shaping
the international business world. We’re
clearly seeing increased complexity in
economic and social environments,
with companies and economies having
to adapt to increasingly interlocking
systems. Regional corporations need
to be aware of these trends and be
prepared to respond rapidly.
Estimates show that 70 per cent of
world growth over the next few years
will come from emerging markets, with
China and India accounting for 40%
of that growth. The IMF forecasts that
the total GDP of emerging markets
could overtake that of the developed
economies as early as 2014. As
emerging markets gain in stature, new
companies are taking center stage. The
rise of these emerging market leaders
will constitute one of the fastestgrowing global trends of this decade.
In light of the economic expansion
in rapidly developing economies,
local and regional companies will
need to reassess their business models
and partnerships. Other emerging
markets will provide opportunities
for significant revenue growth as well
as a source of talent, true innovation
and ground-breaking approaches to
business.
Cleantech becomes a
competitive advantage
The Cleantech-enabled transformation
to a low-carbon, resource-efficient
economy may be the next industrial
revolution. As this transformation
accelerates, regional corporations are
increasingly realizing that they must
understand the impact of Cleantech on
their industries and develop strategic
plans to adapt to this change. As global
Cleantech investment surged 30% in
2010 to US$243 billion, we expect
more investments to be made in the
region as companies try to sustain
competitiveness.
MENA countries need to balance
environmental goals with providing
a sustainable future for their rapidly
growing populations. As costs decrease,
supply chains globalize and ever more
energy is derived from renewables,
new business opportunities arise and
existing business are transformed.
Banking seeks recovery
through transformation
Three years after the financial crisis
began, the global financial system
remains in flux. Regulatory clarity
is nearing but many issues remain
unresolved. Not surprisingly, financial
institutions cite regulatory uncertainty
as the biggest challenge they face and
are in anticipatory mode. The recent
ban on bank telesales in the UAE
and lockdown of Islamic windows
in conventional banks in Qatar are
examples of game-changing regulation.
Financial sector change will continue
throughout this year and the next, with
banks adopting the flexibility approach
in strategy until the dust settles.
We’re clearly
seeing increased
complexity in
economic
and social
environments,
with companies
and economies
having to adapt
to increasingly
interlocking
systems.
Regional
corporations
need to be
aware of these
trends and
be prepared to
respond rapidly.
Governments enhance ties
with private sector
As a result of the global recession,
many governments are trying to further
their national interests through diverse
vehicles and activities, including stateowned corporations, sovereign wealth
funds (SWF) and industrial planning
and regulation. The total assets of SWFs
are expected to climb from roughly
US$3.5 trillion in 2010 to US$8 trillion
by 2015, giving GCC governments
increasing influence in the corporate
world. State-owned enterprises (SOEs)
are becoming larger and more globally
competitive. Companies can expect
more government competition and
intervention through industry in their
own backyards.
Rapid technology innovation
creates a smart, mobile world
In spite of the digital revolution of
the past 25 years, consumers still
want more powerful devices and
applications, while businesses seek
more cost-effective technology to
cope with increasingly complex
challenges. Satisfying these demands
will lead to explosive growth in data
and analytics, to new competition
in almost every field and to the
disruption and realignment of many
industries. Welcome to the world of
cyber competition. Evidence of the
impact of the rapid adoption of the
digital revolution has been emphasized
by commentators who see regional
youth increasingly driving not only
perception and opinion in the region
but also demand and activism.
Demographic shifts
transform the global
workforce
Despite a growing population, the
availability of skilled workers is actually
shrinking. A ‘demographic divide’ will
soon arise between countries with
younger skilled workers and those that
face an aging and shrinking workforce.
The war for talent will become
increasingly acute in certain sectors,
especially areas requiring high skill
levels and more education. Regional
companies could see flight of talent
outwards and a lack of talent coming
into the region. Skilled youthful people
of the region will be lured away by
exciting new opportunities elsewhere.
Regional companies would need to
build in a buffer of qualified workers
who are up-skilled periodically. Our
recent report, Leading across borders:
inclusive thinking in an interconnected
world, outlines three actions that
leaders can take to position their
organizations for future success:
collaborate in the face of uncertainty;
seek out new cultures and experiences;
and sponsor rising stars who look,
think, and act differently.
Philip Stanton is the Chief Operating Officer
at Ernst & Young MENA
051
food
Food insecurity
With food prices rising to dangerous levels, food security threatens
global growth and social stability as poor harvests, civil unrest and
soaring demand strain resources around the world.
UN Photo/forte
WRITTEN BY Lisa Vincenti
Around
the world, the food system is in crisis. Prices have skyrocketed and are higher now
in real terms than at any time since 1984. If expected droughts devastate China’s wheat harvest, the world’s
largest producer, as many fear, prices will climb even higher. The increased prices, the second spike in less
than four years, are adding millions to the number of people who go hungry each day.
Experts are sounding the alarm and the G20,
a grouping comprised of the world’s largest
economies, has placed “food security” at the
top of its agenda for 2011, the year in which the
global population is expected to rise to seven
billion. The current crisis poses a tremendous
issue for world leaders, policy-makers and
corporations, for if we cannot feed our current
population, how could we possibly feed the
nine billion expected by 2050?
052
According to some, solutions to the current
food problem do exist. “Agricultural productivity
growth is only one to two per cent a year,”
warned Joachim von Braun, director general of
the International Food Policy Research Institute
in Washington, DC, at the height of the 2007-08
crisis. “This is too low to meet population growth
and increased demand.”
Von Braun and his colleagues at the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research
have been wrestling with that reality since the
spike in food prices four years ago. This is the
group of world-renowned agricultural research
centres that helped more than double the world’s
average yields of corn, rice, and wheat between the
mid-1950s and the mid-1990s – an achievement
so tremendous that it became known as the Green
Revolution. With world population set to increase
by two billion by mid-century, these experts now
say we need a repeat performance and must
053
curt carnemark/the world bank
double current food production by 2030, yet how
to achieve this is the centre of considerable debate.
During the 2007-08 crisis, export bans,
food riots, panic buying and emergency price
controls added fuel to the fire, something we
are again beginning to witness with the current
surge in food prices. Riots in Algeria and
Tunisia kicked off the new year, while in the
US food reserves are already disturbingly low,
says Dennis Conley, an agricultural economist
at the University of Nebraska. At the same time,
the world’s agricultural systems are increasingly
challenged by water scarcity, climate change
and volatility, raising the risk of production
shortfalls. There is no simple solution to the
hurdles faced by the international community.
054
1
Earth every day,” says Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s
CEO. “The new vision for agriculture focuses
not just on small-holder agriculture but
agriculture in its entirety around the world.
It’s a big subject and will involve many, many
people. It’s a question of how to improve policy,
how to broaden infrastructure and strengthen
the markets for the products and crops these
farmers grow. When you bring together all
those pieces it’s a daunting challenge but it’s
achievable.”
In fact, the complexity of food security is
immense. Consider the simple fact that demand
in India and China is shifting away from cereals
and towards meat and vegetables; or that obesity
rates around the world are surging. In China,
writes PBS commentator Ray Suarez in a report
on the rising rate of obesity in China, “portion
sizes are getting bigger, Western-style food is
widely available in urban areas, and people are
eating out more often”. Changes in lifestyles,
hence, are further straining a system pushed
to the limit and placing public education in the
equation as well.
Many players currently at the table are
proposing following the route already taken,
where modern farming techniques, which
introduced pesticides, synthetic fertiliser,
irrigation projects and genetically modified
crops are expanded. Food companies, plant
breeders and international development
agencies are all pinning their hopes on a repeat
performance of the Green Revolution, which
began five decades ago.
In Africa, the only continent that was
passed over by the agricultural transformation,
Annan is working to build a rich breadbasket.
“Africa is the only continent which does not
grow enough food to feed itself,” notes Annan,
who is the chairman of the Alliance for Green
Revolution in Africa (AGRA). “It alone has
failed, in recent decades, to see agricultural
productivity keep pace with its growing
4
1. Kofi Annan, former Secretary
General of the United Nations
2. Bruno Le Maire, France’s
Agricultural Minister
3. Wheat harvesting.
4. French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
UN Photo/jean marc ferre
3
UN Photo/John Mcllwaine
Yet, finally, more global leaders are
beginning to acknowledge the magnitude of
the situation and in 2009 the assembled leaders
of the G8 put food security at the top of the list,
promising to find $20 billion for agriculture
over three years (as of last year, $6.5 billion had
been deployed). This year, the current president
of the G20, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, made food
security a priority and the Gates Foundation,
the world’s richest charity, which had previously
focused on health and development generally,
has begun to focus more on feeding the world.
While Kofi Annan, former secretary general of
the UN, joined the gathering of businesspeople
and policy-makers at the World Economic
Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, in January
to launch what’s being dubbed a “new vision for
agriculture”.
This roadmap focuses on three pillars –
creating food security; driving economic
growth – especially in rural areas, where threequarter’s of the world’s poor live; and protecting
the environment (agriculture accounts for 70
per cent of water use and up to 30 per cent of
greenhouse gas emissions). Aspirations are high
with a goal of increasing production by 20 per
cent, while decreasing green house gas emissions
by 20 per cent and reducing the prevalence
of rural poverty by 20 per cent every decade,
according to the World Economic Forum.
However, these milestones cannot be achieved
without public and private partnerships.
Seventeen global companies have signed
on, signaling rising alarm in the private
sector. Included in the initiative are corporate
players Archer Daniels Midland, BASF, Bunge
Limited, Cargill, the Coca-Cola Company,
DuPont, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Metro
AG, Monsanto Company, Nestlé, PepsiCo,
SABMiller, Syngenta, Unilever, Wal-Mart and
Yara International. “The challenge really is how
we are going to feed 200,000 new people on
2
UN Photo/jjohn mcllwaine
food
bill and melinda gates foundation
of greenhouses, one on top of the other, into
vertical farms for densely populated urban
locales, where nearly half of the world’s
population now lives.
“High-rise food-producing buildings will
succeed only if they function by mimicking
ecological process, namely by safely and
efficiently re-cycling everything organic, and
re-cycling water from human waste disposal
plants, turning it back into drinking water,”
he says. Abandoned skyscrapers could be
retrofitted into these multi-level farms with
food grown using sustainable greenhouse and
hydroponic techniques.
1
2
1. Poor maize, farmer shows the
purple on his crop that means very
poor yields. (AGRA)
2. Different kinds of maize.
3. Varieties of rice.
3
population. Africa was bypassed by the sciencebased agricultural development, built on the
ideas of Norman Borlaug, which so dramatically
transformed food production in Asia.”
Annan and AGRA are seeking to transform
Africa from food importer to self-sufficiency,
hoping that one day soon not only will the
region feed its own citizens but others around
the world, too. The organisation has assisted
farmers in getting the supplies needed including
higher-yielding seeds and fertilisers; putting
in place networks of agro-businesses and
retailers; and giving young businesses access
to capital. “We are bringing governments,
development partners, farmer organizations
and the private sector together in an integrated
and comprehensive way to provide the financial
and technical support needed,” he says. Ghana,
Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania have all begun
to reap the benefits of a modernised approach
to farming, which includes increasing land
productivity and tapping new plant technologies.
Last year, a public-private partnership in
Tanzania was set in motion by an international
partnership of global agriculture businesses
(including Unilever, Yara International,
Diageo, Syngenta, Dupont and Monsanto),
donor agencies (such as USAID, AGRA and
the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation),
and the Tanzanian government. The Tanzania
experiment is being watched carefully as a
fast track to the Green Revolution, with some
banking on achieving success within one
generation.
Yet others in the industry are looking toward
more unexplored, 21st-century territory to
alleviate the world’s food problems. One
proposed sustainable food project by Dickson
Despommier, a professor of microbiology
and public health, offers an alternative to
established agricultural practices, which have
helped feed the masses but often at steep costs
to the environment and local communities.
Despommier likens his vision to the stacking
By 2050, nearly 80 per cent of the world
will be living in urban areas and the necessity for
cheaper, locally grown food will help to reduce
carbon emissions, make agricultural production
less vulnerable to harsh weather, and help control
fluctuations in food prices, Despommier says.
“The concept of indoor farming is not new, since
hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety
of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue
for some time,” he notes.
“What is new is the urgent need to scale up
this technology to accommodate another three
billion people. An entirely new approach to
indoor farming must be invented, employing
cutting-edge technologies. Vertical Farms must
be efficient [cheap to construct and safe to
operate], many storeys high and situated in the
heart of the world’s urban centres. If successfully
implemented, they offer the promise of urban
renewal, sustainable production of a safe, yearround and varied food supply, and the eventual
repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed
for horizontal farming.”
Yet until productions levels rise, in the
short term, agencies and governments are
beginning to act. The G20 is looking at some
stopgap measures to avoid a repeat of 2007-08
and France is close to giving a green light on
plans to improve transparency on agricultural
data, increase co-ordination on export policies
and launch emergency wheat and rice stocks,
according to France’s Agricultural Minister,
Bruno Le Maire. But getting nations to regulate
financial commodities markets, which Nicolas
Sarkozy blames for exacerbating surges in food
prices, will be far more difficult to realise.
“We really fear that the world might live
exactly the same kind of situation it faced in
2008 with food riots and instability in some
parts of the world,” Le Maire says. “We are in
a situation where we have to take decisions,
concrete decisions.”
055
Health
Spelling
out
success
A high percentage of entrepreneurs
and creatives suffer from dyslexia,
and while there is now a greater
understanding of the learning
disability than in the past, there is still
plenty for schools, and society as a
whole, to do.
written BY SHALAKA PARADKAR
The
list of famous people with dyslexia is a long one and
contains many of the greatest artists, entrepreneurs and creative talents
that the world has ever known: Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison,
Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Tom Cruise, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Uma
Thurman, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Winston Churchill and chef Jamie
Oliver to name but a few.
Many of these people failed spectacularly at school, were written off by
their teachers and succeeded only because of their parents’ belief in them.
According to The Dyslexia Research Institute, 10 to 15 per cent of the US
population has dyslexia, yet only one-third of them are recognised and
receive assistance. Without proper diagnosis and help, dyslexics remain
only functionally literate, limiting their ability to find jobs.
However, when they do find the support to start something on
their own, dyslexics are five times more likely to become successful
entrepreneurs than the general population. Last year, Simfonec, a science
research centre based at London’s Cass Business School, surveyed 300
entrepreneurs and found that 20 per cent of those studied were dyslexic. A
2003 report by Tulip Financial Research showed that nearly 40 per cent of
Britain’s self-made millionaires were dyslexic – this included chef Oliver,
businessman Lord Michael Heseltine and model Jodie Kidd. Simfonec’s
study also showed that dyslexic entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of
creativity then others.
In a damning indictment of current educational systems, the research
found that 70 per cent of dyslexic entrepreneurs did not succeed at school.
Dr Julie Logan, director of Simfonec, says this research not only links
dyslexia and entrepreneurship for the first time, it also has fundamental
implications about how entrepreneurship should be fostered.
056
057
health
Getty/Gallo Images
A dietary
approach
to dyslexia
1. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin
Airlines 2. Orlando Bloom, actor
3. Uma Thurman, actor 4. Albert
Einstein, father of modern physics
5. Paul Orfalea, founder, Kinko’s
AFP/Grapheast
1
3
4
“One of the most interesting findings of our research has been that
dyslexics can grow their businesses quickly because they are able to
delegate, something that many managers find difficult. They delegate
to cover their own weaknesses, but this helps them get the best out of
people,” Dr Logan says.
“The dyslexic entrepreneur uses unique, creative ways to motivate
staff and is also very good at communicating the mission. They are quite
confident – which is unusual for a dyslexic. But when put in a situation
that required them to write, that confidence quickly evaporated.
“The other finding that is interesting is that the entrepreneurs felt they
were successful in their own business because they had control and did
what they were good at, finding other people to do what they were not
good at. That control is very difficult in a corporate environment.”
Zenna Atkins, managing director of Zail, a start-up providing
consultancy and delivery in education and health, remembers that as a
schoolgirl she often missed when she clapped and wasn’t very good at
reading or writing. Atkins only learned to read at 12, left school with a
single O-level, turned entrepreneur at 16 and went on to be chairwoman
of the UK schools inspection authority, Ofsted.
Her dyslexia diagnosis came later in life, but her mother never doubted
her intelligence. Atkins says that was responsible for her robust self
confidence. “I was one of the first people to get an educational statement
for dyslexia in the UK; until then schools did not recognise if you were
dyslexic,” she recounts.
058
2
5
In hindsight, Atkins says dyslexia has been a gift. “Because you cannot
read very well, you learn to read body language, to listen astutely and if
asked to read aloud by a teacher, you can predict what might be in the
text and respond. The last thing you want to do is admit you cannot read.
So you learn to hold your nerve, become adept at storytelling and public
speaking.”
Today, Atkins is on the board of the Royal Navy, sits on the audit
committee of the Treasury, has founded four successful companies and is
a regular speaker on leadership, CSR, innovation, and governance.
Can dyslexia, which has been categorised as a learning disability in
many quarters, really be a gift? And if so, why isn’t more being done to
nurture the uniquely individualistic talents of dyslexics?
“As a dyslexic, I can memorise a lot as I know reading the text again will
take me too long. This has been a very effective skill for the boardroom.
Dyslexia is still a hindrance to me in some ways – spell check, for instance,
is useless to a dyslexic, but I’ve learned early on in life to find my way
around barriers,” Atkins says.
Indeed, while dyslexics can find it tough going in conventional schools,
they often flourish outside of regimented academic environments.
Nineteen-year-old chocolate entrepreneur Louis Barnett (see box)
remembers the “massive relief ” he felt when his dyslexia was diagnosed.
“I always found school difficult and didn’t enjoy it,” he says. “I have
dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and short-term memory loss. I owe all
my success to those so-called liabilities. Dyslexia teaches you problem
solving, to be an innovator, to think of products that no one has tasted
Neurologist Dr Natasha CampbellMcBride was prompted to study the
relationship between neurological
disorders and nutrition, when her son
was diagnosed autistic. Dr CampbellMcBride, who runs the Cambridge
Nutrition Clinic, specialises in using the
nutritional approach as a treatment.
In her book Gut And Psychology
Syndrome (GAPS). Natural Treatment
Of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia,
Depression And Schizophrenia, Dr
Campbell-McBride details the GAPS
Nutritional Protocol she uses to treat
patients with learning disabilities.
“Children with dyslexia are often very
bright, but many of them suffer typical
GAPS physical problems, such as
allergies, asthma, eczema, bedwetting
and hay fever. They are usually
malnourished: when we test them we
find the same typical GAPS nutritional
deficiencies,” she says.
“Testing for gut flora shows that they
have gut dysbiosis. So, the gut-brain
connection in dyslexia is the same as in
the other GAPS conditions, described in
my book and on www.gaps.me.”
Dr Campbell-McBride recommends
that all processed carbohydrates,
processed foods, artificial fats, cooking
oils, grains and sugar be cut out for
dyslexic children. “Dyslexia is not
incurable! By changing your child’s diet
you will change your child’s life, and not
only today but for many years to come.”
6. Dr. Julie Logan: researching the
link between entrepreneurship and
dyslexia
6
1
1. Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef
2. Bill Gates, Gatesfoundation.org
Chokolit success
What is
dyslexia?
Dyslexia comes from the Greek for
“difficulty with words”. Dyslexics are
challenged when it comes to reading,
spelling, writing and numeracy, or all of
these.
Dyslexia does not reflect the
individual’s intelligence; it is often
hereditary and a life-long condition that
cannot be cured, but can be managed.
Common signs of dyslexia in schoolgoing children:
n Difficulty in reading single words, not
surrounded by other words.
n Slow to learn the connection between
letters and sounds.
n Confuses small words and rhyming
words, such as cat and bat, goes and
does.
n Consistently makes reading and
spelling errors, such as letter reversals
(d for b), and inversions (m and w, u
and n).
n Trouble learning the alphabet,
numbers, days of the week, colours,
shapes, how to spell and write his or
her name.
n Slow in developing fine motor skills,
compared to peers.
2
before. Dyslexia also accelerates certain thought processes; for instance
when I want to learn about something, I can pick it up much faster than
my peers.
“For me, dyslexia is not a challenge any more as I now have employees
to take care of things. I have to do things in a slightly different way – I use
a Dictaphone when required to give instructions to my staff.”
Dyslexia can vary from mild to severe, hence many dyslexics fly under
the radar and may only know years later when their own children face
the same difficulties in school, but the price that a society pays for not
recognising dyslexia is quite high.
A 1996 study by the UK’s National Probation Service found
that more than half the prisoners in London exhibited signs of dyslexia,
and the numbers are somewhat similar among juvenile offenders.
Educationist Anita Singhal, regional tutor for the Hornsby International
Distance Learning Course and associate member of the British Dyslexia
Association, stresses the importance of early and appropriate intervention.
“Today, there is definitely more awareness and schools are doing more
to identify students with learning difficulties. However, it’s far from
satisfactory. Schools still do not have adequate infrastructure to cope
with children with learning difficulties,” Singhal says.
In reality, a majority of dyslexics can remain undiagnosed until they
Louis Barnett is a 19-year-old entrepreneur, who became the youngest
supplier of supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Waitrose at the age of 14. At 11,
Barnett left school because of learning difficulties and was later diagnosed
with dyslexia.
His parents continued homeschooling and he became a certified
chocolatier and founded Chokolit (named thus because that was how
he spelled chocolate due to his dyslexia). Today, Barnett is also a brand
ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association.
are adults. Both parents and teachers misconstrue the signs when
dyslexic children cannot cope with regular academic workloads, become
unhappy, introverted or disruptive.
“Children with mild to severe dyslexia should be mainstreamed,”
Singhal says. “Children should not be made to feel different or abnormal
because of their literacy skills. The biggest mistake that parents and
teachers can make in dealing with dyslexic children is to label them lazy
or stupid.”
Dr Logan speaks of the enormous waste in human capital when
dyslexia is not understood. “It is deeply saddening that so many bright
people are not working because they feel worthless. A situation made
worse now by the recession – it’s going to be even harder to get or keep a
job if you’re dyslexic,” she says. “In order to keep up in the workplace, dyslexics have to put in so many
hours that they burnout and feel depression. It’s very important that not
only business be educated about what is happening, but the dyslexic
knows about what can happen – a mentor can do that.
“In terms of the education system, it is really geared to the left brain,
which is why it is so difficult for dyslexics [many entrepreneurial people
who are really right-brained]. We need to bring a lot more right-brained,
practical activities into our education curriculum and allow people to
shine in different ways.”
059
A n
A p p y
m E d i u m
Apps development has ballooned into a multi-billion dollar
industry in just a few short years. Our hunger for these
tasty bytes is growing, providing opportunities for games
inventors, newspaper tycoons and entrepreneurs.
written By Richard Warren
060
technology
Apple’s iPhone and iPad have revolutionised the apps industry.
Courtesy of Apple
In
December last year, an author in the United States published a
piece of non-fiction for Apple’s iPad tablet computer. It was the first book
in the world to appear as software, not hardback in its first edition. David
Eagleman’s Why the Net Matters is part of a wider phenomenon impacting
on our lives, because it is an app, one of hundreds of thousands to have
become available for download over the past couple of years that allow us to
carry out a growing number of daily activities on a smartphone or computer.
An app is a piece of software that can be downloaded from an online
store, the biggest of which is the Apple App Store. Some apps, like maps
and calculators, are practical, while others, mainly games, are for fun.
Some, like social networking sites, are a bit of both.
Social networking apps can be platforms for other apps. For example,
250 million people play games on Facebook, making it the largest gaming
platform in the world.
Some apps are free, some must be paid for. Paid apps can cost as little
as 99 cents, but prices are creeping up, especially following the launch
of tablet computers – prices for some iPad apps touch US$14.99. The
top five paid apps downloaded from Apple in 2010 were all games, with
Angry Birds taking the number one spot. The most popular free apps in
2010 included Facebook, Angry Birds Lite, Words With Friends, Skype, and
Tap Tap Revenge 3.
The proliferation of apps has been sudden. In July 2008, only 500 were
available from Apple’s App Store, now it has 300,000. The number for
non-Apple mobile devices has also grown rapidly and the overall apps
market will expand even faster over the next couple of years, analysts say.
The apps industry will be worth US$17.5 billion next year, a report
published by research company GetJar forecasts. It says 50 billion
applications will be downloaded by mobile phone users in 2012, a sevenfold increase on the seven billion downloaded in 2009.
The apps boom has occurred during the most acute global economic
crisis since the Great Depression of the early 1930s, which makes its
rapid growth all the more remarkable. Whether the internet will save
civilisation as Eagleman argues in his iPad book is debatable, but the
contribution of apps like his to saving the United States economy is
increasingly important.
The state of California may follow many United States banks into
bankruptcy, but Silicon Valley, its high-tech business community near
San Francisco, is booming, partly because it is at the heart of the multibillion dollar global apps industry. Silicon Valley’s totem, Apple, is a huge
beneficiary as its cut from each app sold at its store is 30 per cent.
Apple’s dominant position among apps stores is challenged mainly by
US competitors, including Google’s Android Market, which has 70,000
061
technology
Games apps development hasx
xbecome an early 21st-centuryx
xgold rush. Non-existent inx
x2007, social gaming is nowx
xworth US$640 millionx
xworldwide and will be valuedx
xat US$1.5 million in 2014,
xanalysts at Screen Digest forecast.x
x
apps available for the Android smartphone. Research company Gartner
forecasts Microsoft SharePoint’s business apps will be as popular as those
on iPhone by 2015, when it will have 20,000 applications available.
The United States dominates apps development. About two-thirds of
apps sold by Apple are developed in the US, and most of the rest are
created in Europe and Japan. China’s apps industry is developing and the
country’s officials have urged their mobile telephone companies to cooperate with each other to match the success of US firms like Google and
Apple in providing apps to Chinese consumers.
Asia is the world’s biggest mobile app consumer, accounting for 37
per cent of downloads in 2009, according to GetJar. However, North
American consumers spent the most money on apps, generating 50 per
cent of apps revenue, in 2009.
1
062
The Middle East’s apps market was slow to develop initially, but the
pace of growth is quickening. Apps developed by and for the Middle East
market include Etisalat’s Yellow Pages, which had 10,000 downloads after it
was launched in spring 2010. AppsArabia, the Middle East’s first and only
investment fund financing apps development in the region, launched its
first app, Kalimat, a collaborative iPhone game, in December 2010.
Games apps development has become an early 21st-century gold
rush. Non-existent in 2007, social gaming is now worth US$640 million
worldwide and will be valued at US$1.5 million in 2014, analysts at
Screen Digest forecast.
The world’s largest games app maker is California’s three-year-old
Zynga, which is growing at a faster rate than Google did during its
formative years. Zynga has more than 215 million monthly active users
playing its games, which include FarmVille, Mafia Wars and Café World.
1. Apple’s iPhone gave rise to a multibillion dollar apps industry.
2. F
acebook co-founder Mark
Zuckerberg, co-inventor of the
game-changing social networking
app.
1
2
1. F
rontierville and Treasure Isle: two
of the most popular apps.
2. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.
Most of the company’s competitors are from the US, although Londonbased Playfish was a challenger before it was bought out by California’s
Electronic Arts in 2009. As a subsidiary, Playfish remains the world’s
second largest social gaming company.
More money will flow into the coffers of apps makers and sellers
over the next couple of years. Revenue from European sales will rise
from US$1.5 billion in 2009 to US$8.5 billion in 2012, forecasts GetJar.
Meanwhile, US sales revenue will more than treble from US$2.1 billion
in 2009 to US$6.7 billion in 2012, the company says.
Apps are popular because they allow a smart phone or tablet user to do
much more than make a phonecall. They can search the internet, send
email, swap photos, read a book and carry out a multitude of other tasks.
Moreover, apps possess a flexibility that non-digital media does not. For
example, Eagleman will send updated content of his iPad book direct to
readers via the internet over the coming years.
The popularity of applications is also helping traditional businesses.
Publishers are using apps to boost the sales of books, magazines
A
Common
Cause
Software entrepreneurs are among the
world’s most soft hearted business people.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has
given US$24 billion in grants to anti-poverty
schemes since it was launched in 1994;
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s
donations include US$100 million to help
improve run-down schools in the United
States and he has signed the Giving Pledge,
a philanthropic scheme for billionaires
initiated by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet,
which commits him to give away more than
half of his US$7 billion fortune.
Aside from providing Zuckerberg with the
means to accumulate great wealth to share
with others, Facebook and other social
media sites are becoming a force for good
in their own right, as a means of promoting
causes, raising funds and providing
discussion forums.
and newspapers. Faber and Faber, and Bloomsbury Book publishers
produced their first ever iPad editions in time for the Christmas sales
rush in 2010. Newspaper owners hope apps will help reverse declining
sales revenues. From The Times in Britain to The Daily Telegraph in
Australia, newspapers are producing apps for iPads that take readers to
their pay-to-view websites.
Alongside a rapid expansion in the number of apps is the growing
popularity of social networking sites, the biggest of which is still Facebook.
Launched in 2004, Facebook had more than 500 million active users by
July 2010. Networking sites like this have developed rapidly in nations
that are not seen as traditionally high tech. Indonesia has the second
largest number of Facebook users after the United States. Twenty-four
million Indonesians, 10 per cent of the country’s population, tag photos,
write wall postings and send messages to their friends on this site.
They may also discuss Eagleman’s book, and one or two may consider
whether it could be turned into a computer game. The opportunities for
creating new apps appear endless.
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes
set up Jumo in February last year as “a
social network connecting individuals and
organisations who want to change the
world”. Its news service brings visitors up to
date on global health and poverty issues,
and how projects aimed at alleviating these
problems are progressing.
Zoetica provides charities and social
enterprises with communications services.
Its social networking site, Zoetica Salon, is
an online community where charity workers
can swap ideas, ask each other questions
and make new contacts.
Skype provides free and low cost
phone and video calls via the internet,
and it has developed software that allows
UNHCR refugee aid workers, who often
work in remote, inaccessible locations, to
communicate with loved ones back home.
Twitter, the social networking and
microblogging service has 175 million users
worldwide. Charities campaigning on issues
ranging from ending malaria to building
libraries have tweeted to raise funds from
fellow tweeters using its TwitPay platform to
collect donations.
063
what do
you think
Students discuss whether sport can be a positive
vehicle for Socio-economic development
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
written By Shalaka Paradkar
London
tourism agency,
Visit London, puts the estimated additional
tourism revenues from the London 2012
Olympic Games at $2.4 billion over 10 years.
This has been regarded with some scepticism
by tour operators who cite the example of
China, where tourism was down both before
and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according
to data from the European Tour Operators
Association (ETOA). It also added that in the
five years prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympics,
Australia’s and New Zealand’s tourism was
growing at the same rate but Australia’s growth
lost ground significantly straight after the
Games.
There is no denying the fact that sporting
events bring a certain cachet to host cities.
However, not all countries have learned to
maximise the benefits – case in point being
India’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games
that was mired by allegations of corruption.
According to a report, delays, administrative
inefficiency and wasteful spending cost the
government $355 million. However, the Games
did succeed in creating an infrastructure
that will engender a culture of sports among
schoolchildren, the benefits of which cannot be
quantified.
Sports and sporting events have served as
an engine for growth in many disadvantaged
societies. We asked our panel to discuss what
value sports can bring to a society.
The rollercoaster of a tournament
that was the 2011 Cricket World
Cup brought together people of different
nationalities, cultures, religions and even
convinced the Prime Ministers of dueling
nations to sit side-by-side and watch their
064
teams compete for glory.
The economic impact
of the tournament was
not limited to the bank
accounts of the players
on the field: from the
construction workers who
built the venues to the
scalpers who sold last-minute tickets at highly
inflated prices, everyone got their piece of the
pie. All of this would have been impossible
without the existence of sport, a powerful
vehicle of socio-economic development.
“The value of sport lies as much in the
before and after as in the game itself. While
only 11 players make it to a country’s
football team, every single person who ever
practiced to be among the chosen 11 has,
to some extent, imbibed the qualities of
sportsmanship, teamwork and commitment.
The handshake that follows even the most
hotly contested game demonstrates that
despite our differences, we can be one. On the
economic front too, sport can transform. The
2008 Olympics heralded China’s arrival on the
world economic stage. The 2022 Soccer World
Cup will provide a fillip to the Qatari economy
through the influx of tourists from across the
world. History is dotted with remarkable ragsto-riches stories of personal accomplishment.
Usain Bolt, the son of the owners of a momand-pop grocery store, achieved immortal
fame and success by becoming the fastest man
on earth. While sport may not be as impactful
on people’s economic conditions as, say, largescale industrialisation, it offers many that one
invaluable opportunity to rise way above one’s
station solely through grit and determination,
and that alone makes sport impactful enough.
“Unfortunately, recent trends and events
have grossly undermined sport’s contribution
to society. Parents question if children should
spend hours practicing on the field chasing an
improbable dream, or instead devote their time
to safer academic pursuits. Fiscally-challenged
governments are putting athletic programmes
on the chopping block in the wake of deep cuts
to public education. However, think of a world
in which a young Roger Federer was forced
to study chemistry instead of being allowed
to practice his game. Or one in which every
child graduated with an education deprived
of the values that only sport can teach. A
society without sport would be just like that
education: incomplete.
Vidur Sehgal graduated cum laude with a
Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International
Studies from Yale University, USA. Originally from
India, he did his schooling from the The Doon
School in Dehradun. He is currently working in
Washington, DC at the Analysis Group, a leading
economic, financial and strategy consulting firm.
The sports
industry continues
to grow outside fields
and stadia. Due to
the influx of money,
sports organisations are
expected to contribute
to the community while
sportsperson are expected to be role models.
From a young age, professional players are now
receiving an all-round education where they
are groomed and nurtured to be model citizens
and athletes. The money invested in youth
development provides previously inaccessible
opportunities for a better future to families
1. King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh,
venue of many world-class events.
2. The International Rugby Board
invested $247 million in rugby from
2009 to 2012.
3. Large-scale football projects have
created jobs and housing in poor
districts.
4. Cricket has enriched many players
in developing countries.
5. The Cambridge University rowing
team, likened to the best business
teams in the world.
1
3
2
4
5
065
what do
you think
from poor and underprivileged backgrounds.
Sport has become a viable career allowing
people to pursue their passion professionally.
“Large-scale projects such as the Football for
Hope festival in South Africa and Arsenal FC
creating 2,500 new jobs and 2,500 affordable
homes in North London illustrates how
money in sports can have a positive impact
on people’s lives. In India, the rich Board for
Cricket Control of India (BCCI) has donated
money for promotion of football, a previously
underdeveloped sport. These are just a few of the
many examples that can be seen on a daily basis.
“The sports industry, now more than
ever, needs to re-evaluate the importance
of managing money responsibly and
understanding the effects of the globalised
economy. Although a downturn in any of the
fundamental industries has an adverse affect
on sport, the money generated from sports
through broadcasting, sponsorship deals and
prize money is increasing exponentially even
through these financially hard times.
“On the downside, the money used in sport
today is mostly raised on credit. The English
football team Portsmouth FC is just one of the
clubs enduring financial turmoil and might fall
into serious financial difficulties because of overextending themselves.
“The social costs of sports arise from fiercer
competition and higher expectations that lead
to extreme pressure on and off the field. Doug
Barron [golf] for performance enhancing
drugs and Robert Enke [football] committing
suicide are just the more recent examples. No
sport is immune; however, the worst hit is
athletics, where the list is endless.
Taha Dalal is an Indian postgraduate student of
sports administration at the International Academy
of Sports Science and Technology, Lausanne. He
earned his Bachelors in computer engineering and
is currently pursuing his MSA (Master of Advanced
Studies) in sports administration and technology.
The United
Nations considers
sport to be a healthy
and potential means
for implementing the
Millennium Development
Goals, particularly in the
developing world. The very
nature and goal of sport is to overcome the
various segregations in the community and
can be summed up in one word: participation.
“Participation of not only the few
members of the team but participation of
the local community, city, state and country.
Participation and involvement of the masses
066
allows for the government and organisations to
spread awareness through campaigns ranging
from health, employment to education.
“Herein lies the fruit of socio-economic
development. On the flip side of increasing
development and involvement of sports, if an
ordinary boy or girl were to make it through
and get selected to play the sport at a national
or international level, he or she is immediately
lifted from the realm of the private to that
of the public domain. They are likened to
gods, which is mostly the case in developing
countries, as people are easily swayed by the
prestige and status of others so that they can
forget about the difficulties of their own life.
“Reaching such a high level always has pitfalls.
However, if one boy or girl can make it, then so
can the rest. This is the principle followed by all,
forgetting the fact that only a handful of players
are selected to be on the team. The question pops
up: is it worth it? In my opinion, in the case of
sports, where skill and talent are not the only
factors involved in one’s selection and added
to the shelf life of the professional period of a
sportsman, perhaps, it is not worth it.
“If more people dream about finding the
cure for cancer rather than being the next
David Beckham or Sachin Tendulkar, not only
will the future of their own life and family be
secured, but also the future of the world.”
Sagarika Milind Gujar is an international
student from India at Seton Hall University in
New Jersey, USA. Currently a sophomore at the
Whitehead School, she is majoring in Diplomacy
and International Relations with honours.
Sports give
participants and
fans enjoyment and often
an opportunity to set
aside their disadvantages.
In addition, sports can
provide economic benefits
to participants and their
communities. I believe that for some who choose
sports as a career, it not only can improve their
personal financial situation, but also have a
positive impact on their stakeholders, such as
families, schools, and nations.
“It is true that the actions of people
determine their own success and the success
of their individual nations. That being said,
athletes should not limit pursuits to their
sports alone. They should aspire to be
educated because education is an investment
that can be used at any circumstance or age.
“The Olympics and Commonwealth Games
bring many benefits to hosting countries.
However, such benefits may be overrated,
since athletes in such games are not rewarded
consistently. The events themselves do not
always provide positive social, cultural, and
economic paybacks to the participating teams
or nations. As such, events of this kind should
not be considered as a steady and trusted
source of income. However, I do believe such
events often give a boost to the reputation of a
nation and its citizens.
“Nelson Mandela said: ‘After climbing a
great hill, one only finds that there are many
more hills to climb.’ I would encourage young
people worldwide to apply the greatness of
Nelson Mandela, by pursuing sports as a hobby
and developing other interests as professions.”
Sultan Al-Saif is a Saudi senior at the University
of Denver and majoring in finance. He is also a
Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS).
Only in the
world of sport
can stars be made out
of the blue specifically
from disadvantaged
backgrounds. However,
sport as a profession is
neither economically nor
professionally secure; as sportspersons age,
they gradually start losing opportunities due to
their declining abilities, consequently limiting
earnings. It makes for economically vulnerable
stars, especially those who neglected good
education for sports. I think any
sportsperson should have a back-up plan
where another source of income, when a
sporting career reaches an end.
“It is certain that hosting countries of some
sports events benefit in many ways: opening
doors for tourism, business and investment. Yet
the cost of hosting such an event can be much
more than the revenue earned from it. “Big
achievements on the sports field don’t necessarily
translate into economic benefits. The Brazilian
national football team is one of the best in the
world, yet Brazil remains a developing country.
“Nowadays, sports are an essential part of
our daily life, thanks to the media has been
advertising for it until this was achieved.
“However, sports whether being a profession
or a hobby, watched or practiced, should be
balanced out with other life essential and
not come on the way of gaining a reasonable
level of education and achieving a career and
a secure source of income. Sports cannot be
taken as a main source of income, whether for
a person or an entire nation.”
Deema Alomar is a Saudi student at the
University of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in
computer science with a minor in religious studies.
profile
has received an admission letter
or valid student ID can post their
needs at Qifang. Lenders (including
banks, companies, non-government
organisation, non-profit organisations,
philanthropists and individuals) then
select whom they want to assist from
online listings.
The company is based on the rural
credit cooperative model in China,
which is a common way for students
to take out loans from their own local
community, yet has taken the concept
national so that students can find
lenders anywhere in China.
Launched in August 2007, Qifang has
brokered some 3,000 loans on its site,
Chin says. Partnering with established
universities in China, Qifang sends the
loan directly to the university, which
has built trust in the process. “Qifang
aims to target the population of high
school students for whom it wouldn’t
even occur that attending college could
be a option,” Chin says.
Loan Ranger
WRITTEN BY Lisa Vincenti
Calvin Chin is a market-oriented education entrepreneur whose
organisation Qifang has made tertiary education easily accessible
to many Chinese students.
The number of student
enrollments in China’s 2,000
universities and colleges has surged
since the nation decided to transform
its higher education system more than
a decade ago, with gross enrollments
ballooning to more than 20 million last
year from just 3.4 million in 1998.
To support such expansion, part of its
overall efforts to reform its education
system, the Chinese government
adopted a more-Westernised approach
to tertiary schooling and began
allowing colleges and universities to
charge tuition fees, a move that helped
fund the growing system yet shut the
door to higher learning for many lowerincome families.
In fact, some 50 million Chinese
cannot afford college and as the nation
continues to revamp its system to
a more market-driven model, the
student-loan system remains largely
underdeveloped. Yet recently, marketminded entrepreneurs have begun
stepping up and Calvin Chin, the CEO
of Shanghai-based Qifang, is a pioneer
in the field.
He developed a technologydriven peer-to-peer (p2p) system that
connects students who need financial
assistance to go to college with eager
lenders, a business he hopes will prove a
sustainable model. Chin estimates that
25 million Chinese students now pay
$400 to $2,200 a year in college tuition.
If 40 per cent of eligible college students
(only about 15 per cent of students in
China enroll in college today) were
able to finance their education through
loans, this could add up to $10 billion
in loans annually, Qifang states.
An online p2p lending service, it
gives students the means to find friends,
employers, agencies or philanthropists
willing to help fund their education.
Any Chinese undergraduate who
The 35-year-old Chin, who
spent time teaching maths in New
York, worked on Wall Street prior to
joining several Silicon Valley startups,
but in 2004 he decided to move to
China. “Seeing so many young Chinese
people aspire for education that they
can’t always afford was a key catalyst,”
he recalls. “But we were also inspired
by concepts and innovators from
other markets like Nobel Laureate and
Grameen Bank founder Muhammad
Yunus, Kiva.org and Prosper.com.
These inspirations require us to make
smart choices about what might and
might not apply to our situation, to
our market, to our company, but they
have been an important way for us to
leverage the creativity and innovation
from other places to help us build a
better service and company.
“People and companies are hungry
for new models that go beyond social
responsibility to include changing
the world for the better in their core
operations. Because the growth of
our service directly translates to more
students being able to stay in school,
we consider ourselves part of a new
breed of social ventures who recognise
social value and impact along with
our profitability and other traditional
business metrics.”
069
An oversized mirror ball rotates at W London-Leicester Square
070
travel
The view
from the top
Hoteliers around the world are breathing a sigh of relief as tourists ignore
the financial crisis and head out on holiday. As luxury property developers
continue to expand their global reach, here’s a glimpse of what’s to come.
WRITTEN BY Lisa Vincenti
Hoteliers
around the world are feeling
a bit more confident these days as guests are filling up more and more
once-empty rooms. The note of optimism follows on the heels of a strong
comeback in international tourism last year – and things are already
beginning to look up for 2011, according to the UN’s World Tourism
Organisation (WTO).
International tourist arrivals jumped by seven per cent to 935 million
last year, following a four per cent drop in 2009 (the year hardest hit by
the global economic crisis), with most destinations worldwide recording
increases in visitors large enough to offset the losses they had suffered in
recent years, the WTO states. Tourism is expected to continue to grow
this year, albeit at a more moderate pace of between four per cent and five
per cent, but the hotel industry still isn’t fully out of the woods.
Boosted by improved economic conditions worldwide, international
tourism has recovered faster than expected from the financial crisis.
Despite the relative sag in Europe (up just three per cent), strong growth
in the Asian (more than 13 per cent) and the Americas (up eight per
cent) vaulted the worldwide number of tourist arrivals to 935 million, 22
million more than the pre-crisis peak of 2008.
Hotel rooms may be filling up again, but new hotel openings continue
to flounder. The recovery remains bumpy and declines in new hotel
developments worldwide are anticipated in the foreseeable future.
According to global real estate consultancy Lodging Econometrics,
new hotel openings in 2011 and 2012 will continue to dwindle, with
1,559 hotels expected to open in 2011, down from 2,148 in 2010, with a
further contraction to openings 1,411 forecast for 2012. The US, Europe
and the Middle East have all proceeded sluggishly, with new project
announcements continuing to shrink from peak-levels three years ago.
Still, many of the world’s most prestigious hotel brands are not giving up
on their efforts to expand, with much of the activity centered in emerging
markets, such as China, India and Brazil. China led the world in new
hotel construction and is a driving force of the industry’s development,
notes the US-based Lodging Econometrics. With a staggering 1,182
projects in the pipeline, the country opened the doors to 900 hotels last
year and expects to introduce another 601 in the next 12 months.
Luxury brand Ritz-Carlton continues to blaze forth with its expansion
plans this year, adding numerous properties to its portfolio. At the
beginning of 2011, it opened its second UAE property in Dubai’s
prestigious DIFC, followed by another in Toronto. Most recently, it
opened the world’s tallest hotel in Kowloon, The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong.
Located in the 484 metre-high International Commerce Centre (ICC),
the 312-room hotel, with a lobby 425 metres from the ground, occupies
the top floors of the ICC designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in
association with Wong and Ouyang. A spokesperson for Ritz-Carlton
confirmed that the chain expects to open two additional properties in the
Middle East before the end of this year.
There is plenty of excitement this year as a slew of highly anticipated
new hotels open and completed renovations come online. Renovations of
landmark buildings such as the St Pancras, London; Le Royal Monceau,
Paris; and the Shanghai Club, Shanghai, are giving travellers something
to dream about.
As are a slew of upscale new developments around the world. Bulgari
Hotels & Resort – which currently has properties in Milan and Bali,
recently signed a deal with Ritz-Carlton to open a third hotel in 2012
in the Knightsbridge, London. Contemporary luxury brand Conrad
Hotels & Resorts, which currently operates 15 hotels across the world,
announced a bold expansion plan to double its portfolio in the next
several years. Four new locations in the Algarve, Portugal; Koh Samui,
Thailand; Dubai; and New York are slated to open this year and 14 more
are in the pipeline.
W Hotels will continue to showcase its design-oriented approach with the
opening of six new establishments this year. It recently opened the W London
alongside hotels in Taipei, Bali and St Petersburg, with future projects in the
works for Paris, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, and Athens.
HOTEL ROUND UP:
The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong
Parent Company: Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Total Properties: 75
Total Openings in 2011: Five, to-date three including Toronto Hong Kong and
Dubai, two more scheduled in the Middle East.
In the Pipeline: More than 30 hotel and residential projects
With a luxurious art deco interior with a contemporary twist designed
by Richard Farnell and panoramic views over the Huangpu River and
071
travel
1
the historic Bund, the new Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, has wasted
no time in making its presence felt in China’s most dynamic and fastestgrowing city.
Located in Shanghai’s sophisticated Lujiazui central business district, in
the IFC South Tower, the 285-room hotel recently won the Robb Report
Lifestyle award as the ‘Best City Hotel- Best of the Best 2010’.
The hotel boasts numerous popular restaurants including Flair, the
city’s highest alfresco dining venue, and Scena, both designed by Japanese
design firm Super Potato, as well as the Chinese fine dining restaurant Jin
Xuan, designed by Steve Leung. The hotel is proving to be popular with
visiting gourmands and China’s growing number of wealthy trendsetters.
The five-star business hotel is the epitome of style and luxury from the
marble floors to the rich silk drapes. The slipper-shaped designer copper
bathtubs in the guestrooms are much talked about, as is the ESPA spa and
gym on the 55th floor.
Under the same roof is the prestigious new all-designer IFC Mall
featuring a cult Apple Store and the best of the word’s shopping, a worthy
complement to the overall luxury experience that is the Ritz-Carlton
Shanghai, Pudong.
The company also manages The Portman Ritz-Carlton across the river
in Nanjing, the bustling older part of the city. It plans to open a new
property in Macau, China soon and two more in the Middle East before
the end of this year.
HOTEL MISSONI KUWAIT
Parent Company: Rezidor Hotel Group
Total Properties: Two
In the Pipeline: Missoni Oman/Antalya, Turkey; Ilja de Cajaiba, Brazil
The iconic Italian fashion-house Missoni opened the doors of its first
hotel in June 2009 in Edinburgh. Now it has rolled out a second: the Hotel
Missoni Kuwait, part of the Symphony Centre, a boutique emporium
located in the shopping district of Kuwait City.
Missoni creative director Rosita Missoni combined her signature use
072
2
of vibrant patterns and vivid colour to imbue the hotel with local flavour.
The 169 sea-facing room property is part of a hotel trend that began in
the mid-Noughties in which prominent couturiers, such as Moschino,
Armani and Versace, extended their brands into the hotel segment.
Missoni Kuwait’s amenities include a 1,500sq/m Six Senses Spa, a
cutting-edge fitness facility, yoga studio, separate ladies gym, sauna,
steam room and a swimming pool overlooking the Gulf.
W LONDON – LEICESTER SQUARE
Parent Company: Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Total Properties: 40
Total Openings in 2011: Five
In the Pipeline: 15
The much-awaited opening of W Hotel’s latest location in London is the
40th stylish property to be added to the company’s holdings. Designed
by London architects Jestico + Whiles and Dutch interior design agency
Concrete, the 10-storey W London, hopes to cash in on the brand’s spirit
of urban cool, first ushered in 12 years ago when the W unveiled its first
location, designed by David Rockwell, in New York.
The London location features: five “Fantastic Suites”, two “Marvellous”
ones, three Spa Suites, seven Studio Suites, three Wow Suites and one
E-Wow Suite, all appointed with custom-made furnishings and accents
unique to London. The hotel also houses a signature spa, fitness facility, a
world-class destination restaurant and the W Lounge.
1. Hotel Missoni Kuwait
2. The Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai Pudong
1
3
5
palace on Avenue Hoche, near the Arc de Triomphe and ChampsElysees, in addition to featuring 149 rooms and suites; two restaurants
(La Cuisine, the French fine-dining restaurant and Il Carpaccio, an
Italian gastronomic eatery); the Spa My Blend by Clarins, which boasts
an impressive art collection; and La Librarie des Arts bookstore, with a
collection of 700 books and collectibles dedicated to contemporary art,
design and architecture, a well-appointed screening room and art gallery.
4
2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mondrian SoHo, NYC
Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel
W London Leicester
Four Seasons Guangzhou
MONDRIAN SOHO, NYC
Parent Company: Morgans Hotel Group
Total Properties: Three
Total Openings in 2011: One
In the Pipeline: Doha, Qatar
Credited as being the first boutique hotel, Morgans in New York
revolutionised the hospitality industry in 1984, introducing the world to a
more intimate, personal setting. Since then, the company has developed a
series of boutique brands throughout the US and Central America, and the
opening of imaginative Mondrian SoHo is the third to carry the Mondrian
label. The hotel features a modern sustainable seafood restaurant, Imperial
No. Nine, by chef Sam Talbot; Mister H, an intimate downtown nightlife
concept; and 270 guest rooms. Looking ahead, Morgans plans to export its
concept with a Mondrian Doha, Qatar, and a Delano Hotel in Turkey.
LE ROYAL MONCEAU, RAFFLES PARIS
Parent Company: Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
Total Properties: Eight
Total Openings in 2011: Three
In the Pipeline: Five
Paris is still buzzing from the recent re-opening of the 1930s legend
Le Royal Monceau, which was completely transformed by renowned
designer Philippe Starck. The two-year renovation of this elegant Parisian
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, GUANGZHOU
Parent Company: Four Seasons Hotel
Total Properties: 84
Total Openings in 2011: Six
In the Pipeline: Eight (China only)
Four Seasons Hotels has made China its top priority: the Guangzhou
property, the company’s fourth in the country, is coming online to receive
guests by this summer. Part of a soaring, tapering triangular tower designed
by HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates, the Four Seasons will occupy the topthird of the building. The privately held company, which entered the Chinese
market in 2002, plans to add another eight hotels in this surging market.
ST PANCRAS RENAISSANCE HOTEL, LONDON
Parent Company: Marriott International
Total Properties: 145
Total Openings in 2011: Three
In the Pipeline: 17
Known for its collection of original, architectural gems, Renaissance
Hotels recently added a number of new holdings to its global collection,
including the Renaissance Malmo hotel in Sweden, Renaissance Bangkok
Ratchaprasong Hotel and the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel. Yet it has
been the group’s massive renovation of the St Pancras in London that has
been most anticipated. After more than 10 years of painstaking effort, the
landmark St Pancras’ long-awaited opening is finally nearing completion.
The 245-room hotel, a superb example of high Victorian Gothic architecture,
consists of the historic St Pancras Chambers, which will house 38 elegant
Victorian suites.
073
074
exhibition
Son of the Soil
Project 60 continues to showcase Saudi works of art to a diverse audience.
ABDULLAH HAMAS, the originator of the ‘figurative formal abstraction’ genre
and the second artist to take part in the project, explains how his homeland’s
landscape has heavily influenced his work.
written By Shalaka Paradkar
Last year, Saudi Arabia’s
newly formed Economic Cities
Authority (ECA) marked its
establishment with the launch
of an innovative new art scheme
that showcases the very best in
contemporary art from the Kingdom.
Designed to support the
cultural development of Saudi
Arabia’s economic cities, Project 60
invites contemporary Saudi artists
to lend their artwork – 60 pieces in
total – to the new ECA offices in King
Abdullah Economic City for a threemonth display. The ECA headquarters
served as a platform for Saudi art to
be showcased to the diverse audience
of business and political figures
who frequent the offices on a daily
basis in addition to contributing to
an innovative work environment for the
ECA employees.
Project 60 also serves to highlight one
of the ECA’s most exciting initiatives,
60/24/7, a service to make
government and non-governmental
services available to residents and
expatriates, individuals or businesses,
within 60 minutes of their request, at
anytime of the day.
Going forward, there are more art
and cultural events planned under the
aegis of Project 60. There are plans to
tweak the present format and open
up Project 60 to group exhibitions
(not limiting the showcase to one
artist at a time). The project would
also be expanded to include a lecture
series with artists’ talks, moderated
by a curator or art expert. The ECA
is mindful of incorporating culture
and creativity in the urban development
plans for King Abdullah Economic city,
with Project 60 representing the first of
several long-term plans to include other
cultural landmarks, such as museums
and art centres.
Jeddah-based Saudi artist Abdullah
Hamas is the second artist to participate
in Project 60. He grew up in a small
village near Abha – a hilly city sited in
a verdant corner of the Kingdom, with
a culture and landscape all of its own –
and knew since he was a child that all
he wanted to do was paint.
He studied at Riyadh’s Art
Education Institute, graduating in
1973. Then, in 1983, he chaired the
arts committee at the Fine Arts &
Culture Organisation in Jeddah
and enrolled in a course designed
for leading artists in Riyadh.
Hamas worked as an art teacher
in schools in Riyadh and Jeddah
(where he now lives) for more than
30 years, before turning into a full
time artist. However, the scenes of
his idyllic childhood continue to
be his muse even today; his art is
inextricably tied to the soil of his native
Saudi Arabia.
“We have trees, water and clouds
in Abha – these are precious in Saudi
Arabia. It’s a colourful province and
my heritage is a recurrent theme in my
work. Some of the themes I touch upon
are nature in Asir, my hometown, the
customs and traditions of Saudi Arabia
and some of the icons convey more
abstract symbolic art,” Hamas says.
Hamas’ paintings are memorable
for their use of colour and pattern. In
several paintings he depicts Abha’s
distinctive architecture and lifestyle –
stone-and-mud buildings that look like
truncated pyramids, bejewelled women
wearing their sombrero-style hats and
men in colourful traditional garb. His
narrative style is folksy and charming,
with flattened perspectives and blocks
of bright colours. He describes it as an
abstract figurative style, which harks
back to the innocence of childhood
when one drew as one saw. Preferring
to eschew political commentary, Hamas
says he strives to portray a distinctly
Saudi identity in the work that he
creates.
“When children paint something
from nature, they do it in a
manner devoid of details. For example,
075
a tree would simply be drawn as
a rectangle of brown or beige and
green circle above,” he explains. “This
is what attracted me to art. As such, I
have developed my art in the genre of
‘figurative formal abstraction’.”
A self-taught artist, Hamas developed
his style through diligent drawing
and, being a lifelong student of art, he
refined his craft by attending exhibitions,
visiting museums, and being featured in
as many exhibitions as possible.
When he began over four decades
ago, Hamas faced numerous challenges.
At his first solo exhibition in Riyadh
in 1974, half the paintings on show
were in an abstract figurative style
and the other half realistic. This was
the first time abstract paintings had
gone on show in Saudi Arabia and
the unfamiliar style had few takers
among an audience brought up on a
diet of realistic and classical painting.
Since then, he has held several solo
076
exhibitions in Saudi Arabia, Morocco,
Paris, Jordan and Kuwait.
“No one paid attention to my work
and I didn’t sell a single piece,” Hamas
recalls. “However, I’ve come a long
way since then and have worked hard
on fine tuning my skills and artistic
style to the point where my artwork is
readily recognised without it even being
signed by me.” His style is indeed quite
distinctive; the geometric merges with the
realistic: vernacular architecture, people
and landscapes are rendered in triangles,
rectangles, squares, and circles.
So what would he describe as his
greatest strengths as an artist? “From
my first exhibition presented in 1974,
I developed my signature formal
abstraction technique. I continue to
develop and improve my technique in
step with the evolution of art at the local,
regional and global levels,” Hamas says.
“I have distinguished myself as mastering
the use of colour directly on the surface of
exhibition
the painting without flaws.
“I was inspired to work so
prominently with colour due to
the inspiration I drew from living in
a small village near Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The region is
known for its mild climate, fertile
landscape and beautiful countryside,
and this inspiration turned into a
full-time occupation as I am singularly
dedicated to my work.”
Hamas has also mastered larger
formats, having executed several
large-scale murals for public spaces;
including a 30m-long painting that he
sent in for the Cairo Biennale in 1995,
asking the organising committee to
divide it as it thought appropriate.
The contemporary art scene in Saudi
Arabia today is quite different from
when Hamas started painting four
decades ago. “It has developed rapidly
with the development and evolution of
specialised arts and culture institutes,”
he says. “Young men and women
have been exposed to the world of
contemporary art in Saudi Arabia by
visiting exhibitions and broadening
their horizons through the internet.
These developments have seen many
artists make a name for themselves
on the international art scene and
Saudi Arabia will have its first
official participation at the Venice
Biennale in 2011, in addition to a
number of other exhibitions elsewhere.”
As a successful artist in today’s
Saudi Arabia, Hamas sees himself as a
role model for a younger generation
of artists. “I’m very thankful for my
position as a successful Saudi artist,
as my works are collected locally and
internationally. Also, I have been able
to serve as a role model to aspiring
art students, as they still seek out my
teaching programme at the university
and I always welcome students to my
studio,” he says.
“Painting is like oxygen to me and
I consider art to be an immeasurable
pleasure.”
077
style
Gold is the order of day. Think
anywhere in the spectrum of costume
jewellery with a graphic, oversized
cuff bracelet by Clash to a statementmaking Pianegonda bracelet in
yellow gold.
beyond the
boardroom
Spring is here, giving you the perfect excuse to revive
your work wardrobe with a touch of relaxed, upbeat
femininity and much-needed splash of colour. Explore
these key trends to step into the office, and the new
season, in style.
Written by Samia Qaiyum
Balenciaga bags are globally
renowned as the go-to choice for
cutting edge fashionistas, celebrities
and jet set women alike. Opt for one
that is roomy, colourful and loaded
with texture, like
the über-chic croc
Papier Tote.
Usher in the warm, sunny
days ahead with a subtle scent
for spring. Flora Eau Fraiche by
Gucci is a fresh and sparkling
composition of citrusy top notes, a
velvety rose heart, and evocative
sandalwood and patchouli base.
Coveted by women the world over, footwear from the
ultra-luxe Jimmy Choo brand is the epitome of glamour
and elegance. Pick a gravity-defying peep-toe pair in
metallic patent or snake print leather to take you stylishly
from day to night with ease.
078
A nude colour palette
from top-to-toe is the ideal
starting point for a no-fuss
work outfit. Fusing sharp
Savile Row tailoring with
functional luxury, this
Stella McCartney suit pairs
a straight-cut jacket with
high-waisted trousers in
lightweight fabrics.
Embrace your inner fashion magpie with a feather-light
silk scarf by Pucci, complete with colour, embellishment
and the brand’s signature bold print. Throw it on to inject
a carefree dose of 1970’s sensibility into your look.
The easiest way to
jumpstart your springtime
look is to combine bright
colours with classic
masculine stripes. One of
the top names in men’s
designer wear, Eton offers
an exceptional range of
wrinkle-free cotton shirts
and silk ties to ensure you
look immaculate all day
long.
Hand enamelled, uniquely
engraved and full of life, the
Duchamp London cufflinks
collection will satiate your hunger
for colour in your work wardrobe.
Inspired by the geometrical motifs
and bold colours of the 1930’s Art
Deco period, the Harlequin pair
will add a fun, contemporary feel
to formalwear.
Some like
it haute
Trends from fashion capitals across
the world dictate how you can look
sharp this season despite breaking
away from the traditional – vibrant
accents paired discreetly with clean,
ultra-groomed styles have struck a
chord with fashion aficionados due
to their suitability for work or play.
Business or pleasure?
Either way, a slim-cut
Moschino suit from
the Uomo collection
combines elements
of rock, comics and
pop to take you there
with panache. A
charcoal grey backdrop
remains timeless,
complementing bright
piping and youthful
hints of colour peeking
through.
Business travel dominating the agenda
in the upcoming months? Invest in an
iconic piece of luggage by Louis Vuitton
– this spacious and elegant carryall is
cabin-sized, made with supple debossed
Monogram Révélation leather
and sure to stand the test
of time.
The rising temperatures
ahead call for a fragrance
that is steeped in explosive
freshness. Water and fire
collide unpredictably in Aqua
Fahrenheit, which opens with
lively citruses followed by an
intense blossom of violet.
Stay one step
ahead of the game
by sporting some
immaculate Italian
craftsmanship
on your feet.
Guaranteed to go
with anything in
you already own,
these black leather
lace-ups by Sergio
Rossi embody
understated luxury
at its finest.
079
style
The decadent new C-Class by Mercedes-Benz will rapidly find its
way to the top of your wishlist for spring. Lower fuel consumption,
nine new driving assistance systems and a host of new-generation
telematics have been supplemented by a strikingly designed exterior
that will make your arrival unmistakable from a distance.
The world’s thinnest notebook, MacBook Air is the very
definition of ultra-portable, weighing an unprecedented
1.3kg. Its stunning 13.3in, backlit widescreen display,
full-size keyboard and built-in camera for video
conferencing render your location irrelevant when there
are decisions to be made.
Pick your favourite room, find a
power outlet and choose a musical
genre of your choice. Now add the
powerful new BeoSound 8 speaker dock
to discover the big style and even bigger
sound performance that has made Bang
& Olufsen one of the most sought-after
names in home audio.
In a fast-paced world
where things come and
go, Mont Blanc remains
a bastion of timeless
elegance. Celebrating
the musical genius John
Lennon, this special
edition pen features a
handcrafted rhodiumplated 18K gold nib and
is rounded off with a
platinum-plated plaque,
engraved with the
Beatle’s famous selfportrait.
080
Objects
of desire
There’s nothing but good news for modern
professionals. The future is designed with
your business and lifestyle in mind, rife
with opportunities to maximise your daily
productivity. Combining sleek, minimalist
aesthetics with superior-quality performance,
here’s a glimpse at the latest must-haves from
the world’s most coveted brands.
Ward off chaos
with office supplies
that blur the line
between fashion and
function. Quintessentially
Scandinavian in design,
ORDNING&REDA produces an
extensive range of premium
stationery products including
diaries, albums, notebooks, desktop
accessories and more.
Thinner, faster and lighter than its predecessor, the iPad 2 is packed with
new features yet still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life. Stay connected
with this wonder device that allows you to browse the web, send emails,
exchange photos, watch videos, read e-books and so much more.
Shake off the midweek blues with the contemporary petrol Morini sofa by BoConcept. Rich in detail and
comfort, it features extra wide seating units and light, thin legs that accentuate its smooth, sleek design.
On the
bright side
A table intended for the office
need not be predictable and prosaic.
Designed by the renowned Karim
Rashid for Christofle, the limited
edition KasKade side table is a
sculptural work of art, featuring
strips of metal layered in a spiral.
Gone are the days of stark office spaces furnished
with sterile desks and merely functional chairs.
Today, your workspace needs to dress to impress,
just as you do. Modern minimalistic furniture in
warm, earthy tones accented with 1970s inspired
accessories contributes to an air of cosmopolitan
elegance, making even the most arduous workday
an enjoyable one.
Brighten up the vibe in your office in time for spring
with the addition of just a single accent. A table lamp
full of pep and personality, such as the futuristic Soffioni
in Murano glass by Roche Bobois, will do the trick.
Outfit your workplace with a refreshing scent by using
citrus fruits or tealight candles. They won’t steal focus
when housed in the porcelain, peek-a-boo Baby range by
design duo Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas for Alessi.
Take a few moments to
escape to the cobbled streets
of Milan in the midst of your
frenetic day. The new Gaggia
Accademia espresso machine
boasts a host of Italian-style
espressos options with just
the touch of a button, leaving
your caffeine cravings spoilt
for choice.
081
Copyright © solus4
future thinking
Making Waves
Maine-based architectural company Solus4 has revealed an
energy efficient vision for a marine research centre in Bali.
written by steve hill
Devastation caused by the 2004 Indian
Ocean earthquake and tsunami led to the launch of
an international design competition for a marine
research centre in Bali.
And Solus4, an architectural company based in
Maine, took inspiration for their entry from the
structure of a tsunami wave, the shapes of which have
been incorporated into its futuristic building form.
Its design team sought to understand the wave
dynamics and the resulting force patterns that are
generated as tsunami waves are created and radiate
out from an epicentre. The wave forces, when
translated to linear patterns, inform the shapes that
are integrated into the building form and result in
patterns that seem to be born of the sea.
The 2,500sq/m structure was designed to be located
150m offshore from Kuta Beach, and would feature
research labs, accommodation for scientists, seawater
pool, aquatic garden library and an auditorium.
Laboratories, a gym, bedrooms and the aquatic
garden would be located under the waterline of the
structure, which is intended to be totally energy
efficient. Large glass-based panels form the skin – both
transparent and opaque as well as embedded with PV
cells, while the close-to-shore location allows for tidal/
current generators to serve the power requirements.
Rainwater collection and seawater conversion
systems would take care of domestic water
requirements while deeper source seawater is
circulated through the skin for radiant cooling and
temperature control of the overall anthropomorphic
shape.
Solus4 also felt that the unique shapes and
programmatic requirements would serve as an
icon for scientific study and tourism in this part of
Indonesia.
083
books
Courtesy of Bing Thom Architects
reviews by shalaka paradkar
With meeting rooms for small business owners, a performance space for the Surrey Symphony, wi-fi access, online collections, Facebook and Twitter profiles,
Canada’s $36-million Surrey City Centre library (designed by Bing Thom Architects) is the new face of libraries, an environment-friendly hub for the whole community.
OBLIQUITY
By John Kay
The central
argument at the
heart of this book
from renowned
economist John
Kay is that profits
and happiness
are the side effects
of aiming for
something else.
The richest people are not the most
materialistic, the happiest are not those who
chase happiness and the most profitable
companies are not profit oriented. This
is the concept of obliquity and Kay puts
forth numerous examples from the world
of business, sports and arts to illustrate his
point.
Written in a lucid, engaging style, Kay
wears his erudition lightly, making this book
accessible yet thought provoking.
THE POWER OF POSITIVE
DEVIANCE
By Richard Pascale,
Jerry Sternin and
Monique Sternin
In this book, the authors
make a case for
challenging the status quo
through positive deviance
(PD).
PD is founded on the
principle that one person in a
community, working with the same resources
as everyone else, has solved a problem that
confounds others. PD has helped alleviate
seemingly intractable problems – be
they staph infections in hospitals or infant
mortality in Pakistan’s highland Pashtun tribe.
The authors outline how PD methodology
can be practised at the grassroots level in
disparate communities – by identifying the
solutions within their midst and getting the
community to adapt these practices.
THE FINE ART OF SUCCESS
By Jamie Anderson,
Jorg Reckhenrich and
Martin Kupp
When it comes to business
gurus, Damian Hirst,
Madonna and Picasso seem
a rather unorthodox choice.
This book attempts to bridge
the yawning divide between
the arts and business.
The authors have selected artists from the
Renaissance to modern times, for the valuable
business lessons they can impart to today’s
businesses – companies can learn about
the power of strategic vision from pop star
Madonna, for instance, or about creating
new markets from artist Damien Hirst, who
sold $270 million of art in a single day at
auction, in the midst of a recession. There are
some fresh perspectives to be enjoyed here
for those who count creativity as a critical
skill.
CONFESSIONS OF AN ARABIC
INTERPRETER
By Leslie
McLoughlin
Having lived in the
Arab world for over 50
years and taught Arabic
at several universities,
McLoughlin’s love of
Arabic in all its forms, its
nuances and subtleties,
shines through in this memoir.
Published by Motivate Publishing, this
book is rich in detail and wry humour.
Having interpreted for HM The Queen and
the British government from 1983-2004,
McLoughlin offers us a ringside view of the
art of interpreting during the course of several
historic talks. There are many fascinating
vignettes of the real personalities behind the
British and Arab leaders of the 1980s. An
interesting and enriching read for anyone
interested in Anglo-Arabian political relations.
085
visionary
Wangari
Maathai’s life story is an extraordinary
example of the power of a simple idea. For this Kenyan Nobel Laureate,
planting trees led to political activism and ultimately the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2004, making her the only African woman to win the prestigious
accolade so far.
Maathai grew up in rural Kenya but won a scholarship to study in
the United States. Returning to Kenya in the 1960s, she discovered the
devastating effects of deforestation on the once-lush rural communities
where she had spent her childhood. Women had to walk greater distances
to fetch water and their children were malnourished as once-fertile farms
turned to dust on account of soil erosion.
Maathai thought the best solution was to plant trees – they would provide
sustenance, arrest soil erosion and create new means of livelihood for an
increasingly impoverished population. Thus was born the Green Belt Movement:
a grassroots organisation that encouraged rural women to plant trees.
The Seeds
of Change
photo by martin rowe
A plan to help save the people of her
native Kenya by planting trees across
the destitute but once fertile country
led to a Nobel Peace Prize for Wangari
written by Shalaka paradkar
Maathai.
086
As her movement grew, empowering women across Kenya and uniting
them into a sizeable political force, it came into conflict with Kenya’s thendictatorial regime, headed by President Daniel arap Moi. Maathai was
jailed, beaten and divorced by her politician husband for being such an
outspoken critic of the regime.
“It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who
must make their leaders change. And we cannot be intimidated. So we
must stand up for what we believe in,” she said.
When Moi was finally ousted and Kenya became a democracy in 2002,
Maathai became a member of the new parliament and Assistant Minister
of the Environment and Natural Resources. In 2004, she won the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Some criticised the fact that she had won a prize for planting trees.
She responded in her Nobel speech: “Although initially the Green Belt
Movement’s tree planting activities did not address issues of democracy
and peace, it soon became clear that responsible governance of the
environment was impossible without democratic space. Therefore, the tree
became a symbol for the democratic struggle in Kenya.”
Today, Maathai’s organisation has planted more than 35 million trees
throughout Kenya. The Green Belt Movement also teaches women
about indigenous foods, income generating activities, AIDS and selfempowerment.
This sexagenarian environmentalist continues to be vocal about the issues
she is passionate about. As she recently said: “We have a responsibility
to protect the rights of generations, of all species, that cannot speak for
themselves today. The global challenge of climate change requires that we
ask no less of our leaders, or ourselves.”