Search Results for: UAE

When France’s fast-food chain O’Tacos (www.o-tacos.fr) announced in 2020 that it would be selling in Italy its halal-certified French-style meat and vegetable wraps, Italian Muslims took this as a sign that halal was going mainstream in their country. O’Tacos’ first Italian outpost will open in January 2022 in Rome (delayed by Covid-19) and more openings in 2022 are planned in major Italian cities, including Milan and Bologna, said Yassin Baradai, founder of Milan-based Meem Communication (https://meemcommunication.com/…

London-based Haloodies (https://haloodies.com/), which claims to be “one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of Halal meats”, has fought against challenges posted by the Covid-19 outbreak and Brexit though expanding its online sales and reshoring production to Britain. Now, its co-founder and CEO says the company is ready to tap global markets.…

Spain, which in the early Middle Ages was part of Islamic state called Al-Andalus – remembered as a golden age of Spanish tolerance and reason – has finally started to seriously play to win in the global halal market, through tourism and exports.…

Spain has been expanding its halal tourism and food sales, as it leverages its geographical proximity to Muslim countries in north Africa to provide travel and accommodation services.

In the CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2021, by CrescentRating & Mastercard, Spain climbed six positions to the 16th in the top non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations (https://www.crescentrating.com/reports/global-muslim-travel-index-2021.html).…

South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry, a global player with exports reaching South Korean Won KRW7.93 trillion (USD6.8 billion) in 2020, has been expanding its foothold in the world’s Muslim markets, offering guarantees that manufacturers avoid inputs that are offensive to Muslims.…

On November 11 (2021), Indonesia’s National Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top Muslim clerical body, ruled that “using” cryptocurrency is haram, due to its “uncertainty” and “potential for wagering and harm”. 

The ruling, which was not accompanied by any public clarification of MUI’s position on what constitutes “using” cryptocurrency, sent ripples through the Islamic world and reignited discussions about the role of the rapidly expanding digital assets sector in Sharia-compliant finance. …

A recent verdict (judgement 1751/2021) by Greece’s top court, the Council of State, regarding the ritual slaughter of animals has raised significant concerns to the Muslim and the Jewish communities of Greece, potentially impeding growth in Greek halal exports. The ruling effectively withdraws a permit that has allowed the slaughter of animals without stunning them first, as (usually) required to produce halal and kosher meat.…

The Bangladesh food industry is increasing its efforts to export halal foods to Muslim majority population countries. A senior government delegation is planning to visit Turkey and Indonesia this year to gather facts and advice on improving Bangladesh sales in these countries of halal food.…

Oil-service provider Petrofac is to pay out a total GBP77 million (USD104.6 million) after pleading guilty to seven separate counts of failure to prevent bribery to win over GBP2.6 billion (USD3.5 billion) in Middle East contracts. In a case brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Her Honour Judge Deborah Taylor October 4 sentenced the Jersey-based contractor in Southwark Crown Court to pay GBP47,197,640 (USD64,208,613) in fines, a GBP22,836,985 (USD31,066,704) confiscation order plus the SFO’s GBP7 million (USD9.5 million) costs.…

Oil-service provider Petrofac is to pay out a total GBP77 million (USD104.6 million) after pleading guilty to seven separate counts of failure to prevent bribery to win over GBP2.6 billion (USD3.5 billion) in Middle East contracts. In a case brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Her Honour Judge Deborah Taylor October 4 sentenced the Jersey-based contractor in Southwark Crown Court to pay GBP47,197,640 (USD64,208,613) in fines, a GBP22,836,985 (USD31,066,704) confiscation order plus the SFO’s GBP7 million (USD9.5 million) costs.…

The huge offshore finance leak unveiled yesterday (October 3) by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners has highlighted the pressures AML reporters face in complying with increasingly tough beneficial ownership transparency laws.

Reports generated from 2.94 terabytes of data within 12 million documents leaked to the ICIJ from the confidential records of 14 offshore service providers have been analysed by 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.…

Many friends ask me why, as a businessman and investor controlling pioneering projects, why I am concerned with politics? I always answer that my experience has taught me that the key to progress lies in politics, and this is especially true in Arab countries, where, frankly, politics is everything. …

WHILE the imposition of age limits on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products remains very much a national, and in some cases sub-national jurisdiction decision, there is no doubt that the general trend worldwide is for tighter restrictions on younger consumers, even if they are often tough to enforce.…

Young and aspiring accountants might balk at the idea of working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region’s oil and gas sector. A connection to hydrocarbons amid growing societal pressure to de-carbonise economies can, in some circles, attract criticism.

But for GCC accountants, the ability to combine financial reporting with every increasing sustainability assessment tool, means oil and gas might be a good long term career bet.…

“Yes, to coexistence.” It sounds like a platitude – yet sometimes, it is simply a statement describing a most important principle of real life. This statement is written on the entrance of the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School in Jerusalem, that teaches Jews and Arab students side-by-side.…

President Joe Biden may think he has three main foreign policy priorities this year – China, Russia and Iran – but the truth is, as far as the Middle East is concerned, all these challenges roll into one.

That is because both China and Russia are seeking increased influence in the Middle East, and hoping for potential missteps from the USA over the Iran file to leverage their diplomatic positions.…

COVID-19 has been a challenge for many industries and the tobacco sector has been no exception, with the disease disrupting consumption and purchasing patterns that underpin profitability and turnover.

Countries where smoking is associated with socialising have been particularly vulnerable and a good example is Bangladesh, where the disease has depressed consumption, temporarily.…

The narcotics trade was a prime motivator to enact global anti-money laundering regulations to curb dirty money flows. Over 30 years later, drug trafficking is still considered the largest transnational crime by international law enforcement agencies. It is worth an estimated USD344 billion-a-year, according to Interpol, followed by counterfeiting crimes (USD288 billion) and human trafficking (USD157 billion).…

Covid-19 has reshaped commercial crime, and one lucrative offence taking a real turn for the worse is tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting. Keith Nuthall reports.

The Covid-19 pandemic has depressed incomes worldwide and forced lower income smokers to look for cheap smokes, which has included counterfeits or smuggled goods.…

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) paint market was steadily ticking along prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with more steady demand after double-digit growth during the construction boom of the mid-2000s.

And the first few months of 2020 started well, with solid sales.…

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled the black-market trade in illicit and smuggled licit tobacco products. The disease has depressed income and forced lower income smokers to look for cheap smokes, which has included counterfeits or smuggled goods.…

EMPLOYERS who fear they are being fleeced by a corrupt employee or being hacked externally do not just need to find the attacker, they must comply with data protection and privacy protections while they conduct their investigations. Breaching such laws can undermine any criminal or civil case brought against a fraudster or hacker or can weaken inside dismissal and disciplinary negotiations with the offender.…

Ever since President Joe Biden defeated former US President Donald Trump last November (2020), foreign policy experts have been predicting change regarding American foreign policy. This is especially as regards approaches to the Middle East, notably in dealings with the Gulf states.…

Fraud, cybercrime and e-commerce scams are on the rise in the United Arab Emirates, with the COVID-19 pandemic presenting new opportunities for criminals. The government has launched an anti-fraud campaign, but laws and enforcement are still not up to scratch. Paul Cochrane reports.…

Anti-money laundering specialists may be focusing on how crypto-currencies and online transactions pose an increasing ML/TF risk, especially with Covid-19 encouraging ecommerce, but the reality is that cash remains the money launderers’ best instrument for moving dirty money.

That is the conclusion of Gabriel Hidalgo, a managing director at risk specialists K2 Integrity, in New York: “Cash is king for ML; it continues to be king; and on the majority of levels, illicit actors will continue to use cash,” he said.…

In 2021, when the UK has thrown away its most precious diplomatic asset, its membership of the European Union, for dubious democratic gains, burning major European civil rights enjoyed by Britons and causing likely economic long-term damage, it is maybe time to recall when Britain followed more enlightened international policies.…

In 2021, when the UK has thrown away its most precious diplomatic asset, its membership of the European Union, for dubious democratic gains, burning major European civil rights enjoyed by Britons and causing likely economic long-term damage, it is maybe time to recall when Britain followed more enlightened international policies.…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has long been the most dynamic economy of the Arab word, based on finance, property, tourism, research and more, as well as energy wealth. Other Gulf countries, except Bahrain, are far more energy reliant. And with that diversification has come a great openness to overseas talent, with non-Emiratis now making up 85% of the 9.5 million population.…

The boom in online fraud through the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when new fintech is being rolled out, has grown demand for anti-fraud professionals.

The latest assessment released by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) (published in December 2020), based on responses from 1,712 anti-fraud professionals, (49% of whom were in the USA and Canada), said that 41% of organisations (public and private sector) are planning to increase their overall anti-fraud budget in 2021.…

E-commerce and digitalisation have needed a good push to really get going in the Gulf. And this has happened through Covid-19. The pandemic has shoved digitalisation into widespread adoption amid an otherwise difficult economic environment.

In the Gulf’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there has been a flurry of digital activity since the pandemic hit.…

Islamic finance is flourishing across parts of the Middle East and south-east Asia. Assets are increasing, there is a greater diversification in product offerings, and Islamic fintech is starting to take off.

Islamic finance assets were estimated at USD2.88 trillion globally in 2020, and are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5% to 2024, to reach USD3.69 trillion, according to New York-based research firm DinarStandard’s State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) 2020-21 report.…

The Saudi Arabian paint market is rebounding after a sluggish 2020, when sales declined due to an economic downturn caused by lower oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic, as well the trebling of value added tax (VAT) across the kingdom. The World Bank has projected that this will cause a 5.4% contraction in national GDP, a highly unusual recession in a fossil-fuel rich country used to robust growth.…

The Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is kicking off 2021 with the grand opening of its new airport passenger terminal, a 210,000 square metre (sqm) building that is four times the size of the existing facility. Following its official opening on January 28, the terminal will be capable of processing 130,000 air traffic movements a year, up from 95,500 in 2019, and will have a handling capacity of 4,700 bags an hour. …

ARAB COUNTRIES MUST JOIN WEST IN DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT WITH SYRIA TO FORGE NEW PEACE

After a 10-year-old civil war in which an estimated 400,000 people have died, calls for restoring diplomatic relations with the ruthless government of Bashar al-Assad, now controlling around 75% of the country, sound like bitter medicine.…

The international gold trade is worth over USD6 trillion a year, according to the World Gold Council (WGC), but oversight of the supply chain is considered weak by many critics, relying on self-regulation, making it vulnerable to money laundering.

Gold remains scarce and hence valuable: from antiquity until 2019, just 197,576 tonnes has been mined – equivalent to a 21.7 metre cube, according to the World Gold Council.…

THE INTERNATIONAL trade in paint and coatings products and ingredients contains significant variations in prices that some experts warn maybe too good to be true and could indicate that certain trade flows are being exploited by money launderers.

Such criminals seeking to move illicit proceeds from one country to another through artificial pricing – deliberate over- and under- invoicing.…

ACCA members Danish Sange and Amina Rafi reveal how their marriage has accelerated their professional growth and advanced their careers.

It is tough to separate work and home when you are married to someone with a similar profession.

But setting these boundaries has helped Danish Sange, manager at PwC Middle East, and his wife Amina Rafi, audit senior at Deloitte Middle East, make the most of their relationship.…

Mavi, the Turkish denim giant, sold 9.7 million pairs of jeans worldwide in 2019, and, its chief executive has told just-style, has rebounded from the shuttering of the garment sector earlier this year with e-commerce sales doubling in its major markets.…

TRADE-based money laundering (TBML) is often hard to spot – that is why criminal networks use this typology. But a careful analysis of detailed trade data can reveal anomalous pricing flagging the possible presence of TBML. This is the key goal of a trade database created by a business professor at the USA’s Florida International University.…

THE INTERNATIONAL trade in tobacco products and inputs contains significant variations in prices that might indicate the presence of trade-based money laundering – of TBML – a specialist database indicates. Certain trade flows are exploited by money launderers seeking to move criminal proceeds from one country to another through artificial pricing – deliberate over- and under- invoicing.…

As Syria enters its 10th year of civil conflict, the economy is in tatters, foreign currency is in short supply, and sanctions have not only been renewed, the USA has introduced new secondary sanctions. Illicit crime and sanctions busting abounds.

In May (2020), the USA issued further guidance on Syria, while the European Union (EU) extended its sanctions on Syria for a further year, to 1 June 2021.…

AS governments worldwide loosen lockdowns imposed to impede the spread of Covid-19, energy companies are assessing their health and safety policies to ensure workplaces are not new infection hotspots, protecting workers and hence production.

These changes come as energy industries downscale workloads to reflect a collapse in demand for their output.…

If there is one subsector of technical textiles that is regarded as well suited to environment-friendly materials innovation, it is surely the agricultural textile (ag-tex) sector. This is indeed the case, with research and development specialists creating clever solutions allying the functional and sustainability benefits of ag-tex with new biodegradable and naturally-sourced fibre.…

Only a handful of countries in the Middle East and Africa have dedicated whistleblowing laws – South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Algeria, Morocco, and the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, according to Blueprint for Free Speech, a charity promoting freedom of expression (https://www.blueprintforfreespeech.net/).…

FATF has called on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to work harder in tightening controls against the abuse of its complex jurisdictional set-up by money launderers and terror financiers, pointing to a weak implementation of its largely solid AML/CFT regulations by law enforcement and regulators.…

‘Explainability’ is becoming the watchword for AML solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI), with developers increasingly aware they must convince regulators their systems’ decisions are reliable and unbiased. The result has been manufacturer clams about the traceability of system decisions, according to a white paper produced in July last year by London, UK-based fin-tech industry network FinTech FinCrime Exchange and the London-based screening and compliance solution company Regulatory DataCorp Inc (RDC) – see https://rdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/AI-and-FinTech-FFE-RDC-Report.pdf.…

In a market long dominated by well-established players, the success of ‘masstige’ beauty brands, which combine elements of mass and luxury products, is creating fierce competition in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman looking for skincare and cosmetics are increasingly shopping from South Korean brands such as Etude House, which opened a branch in Dubai Mall in 2018 and is known for its quirky kitsch products, and The Face Shop, which arrived in Dubai in 2008 and recently renovated its four concept stores in the city.…

NORTH Africa is a region where care for appearance, grooming and personal hygiene is integral to its cultural DNA, so while personal care product majors have a strong presence, it is maybe no surprise that local beauty manufacturers continue to bubble up with fresh ideas and products that capture the imagination of consumers.…

WITH Middle East dairy sales expanding steadily, dairy suppliers from around the world are targeting its consumers, hoping to gain a foothold in an increasingly diverse marketplace that is often open to innovation.

Dairy Industries International attended the 4th Global Dairy Innovation Congress MENA 2020, held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from January 20-21, where participants were encouraged by sales projections as from market researcher Euromonitor International that the Middle East (and Africa) dairy market should expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 3% between 2019 and 2023.…

Time was that the Gulf was a hotspot for paint and coatings sales and production, with frothy demand fuelled by major building projects – most met by locally manufactured product. But today, demand for paint in the Gulf countries is sluggish due to low oil prices, depressing overall economies and a drop in the number of infrastructure and real estate projects under construction.…

THE NONWOVENS industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is still struggling with over-capacity, while declining purchasing power has hit the mid- and higher-tier segments, prompting global players to reconsider product offerings.

MENA economies have been impacted by low oil prices and regional instability, with growth forecast at 1.5% this year, down from 1.7% in 2018, according to investment bank JP Morgan.…

Japan is financing a United Nations (UN)-led project to bolster employment and garment design in the West Bank of Palestine. The project was officially launched this month (July), with Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry (METI) providing USD446,428 for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to spend on promoting “employability for women and youth in the State of Palestine through supporting the garment and textile value chain”.…

Brazilian beef exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw an increase of 439.84% year-on-year in the first half of 2019, according to figures issued by the Dubai-based Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Brazilian beef sales to all Arab countries were up 47.62%.…

Just four months before Italy’s much-anticipated Formula One (F1) Grand Prix was set to roar through the Monza racetrack on September 6-8, (2019), a major arrest involving money laundering within FI was made in Dubai. Luigi Provini was handcuffed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emirate and placed on a direct flight to Rome, for questioning by Italy’s Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza – GdF).…

MONEY service businesses (MSBs) are having a tougher time operating in compliance with international AMF/CFT rules, especially those in emerging market countries, where they have to deal with a double challenge of tighter controls and derisking by banking partners.

MSBs throughout the Middle East, for instance, have been hit by derisking from correspondent banks as well as designations by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).…

THE INTERNATIONAL clothing industry needs to take a holistic and assertive approach to fighting intellectual property theft and counterfeiting, which while can be easier to detect today, because of advances in data analysis, still poses a significant threat, an expert USA seminar was told.…

INTERNATIONAL efforts are under way to improve how airports can serve as effective humanitarian logistics hubs, reducing the risk that they become bottlenecks in disaster relief efforts. These moves follow research and a growing consensus in the air and aid sectors that while airports are undoubtedly a lifeline during crises, they can also hamper the efficient delivery of aid to victims.…

THE INTERNATIONAL airport industry is assessing the potential impact of Airbus’ cancellation, from 2021, of its manufacturing programme for the wide-bodied A380 airliner – a plane that sparked multi-million dollar improvements to airports worldwide.

Faced with a reduction in orders from its key supporter, Emirates airline, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Airbus announced when releasing its 2018 results on February 14, that its programme to build this ground-breaking large jet would be wound up.…

Ethiopia’s new government is liberalising the country’s politics and economy, with growth projected to be a frothy 8.5% this year. But increased wealth and freedom is increasing the risks posted by commercial crime. Elias Gebreselassie reports from Addis Ababa.

Kiya Tsegaye, a partner at SKY and Associates law office, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, is used to dealing with local and foreign firms who come to his office frustrated by the increasing numbers and sophistication of commercial crimes in Ethiopia.  …

With more than 5.48 billion (see https://www.worldwidewebsize.com) pages on the internet, fraud investigators have a wealth of material at their fingertips to help trace fraudsters and link target individuals, objects, locations and events. Thankfully, there are also increasingly sophisticated sites and tools available online to make this task more efficient and less time-consuming.…

While the confectionery industry is traditionally associated with high sugar levels and unhealthy indulgence, market research indicates that efforts to also appeal to consumers with a growing interest in health and wellness trends are paying off. According to UK-based market researcher GlobalData, in 2016 alone USD3.7 billion worth of confectionery with functional or fortified attributes was sold globally.…

Women in the Gulf region need to put themselves forward and show the skills they can contribute to organisations if they want to be considered for more senior positions, participants of a recent event hosted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) have said.…

TRADING partners with the European Union (EU) are concerned about the EU cutting the size of low duty import quotas once Britain quits the bloc, which it is scheduled to do on March 28.

The EU has released detailed plans to reduce the amount of some goods it allows into the EU, to take account of Britain exiting the single European market.…

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are political and economic heavy-weights in the Middle East, but while they have much in common, their anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes and the risks they face significantly differ, primarily due to the UAE’s greater exposure to the international financial system.…

A TECHNOLOGY entwined with fossil fuels that, by the of 2018, boasted 43 large-scale facilities, (18 in commercial operation, five in construction and 20 in development), and which processed almost 40 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of CO2, is clearly more than a passing fad.…

INDIA’S knitted medical stockings maker Ista Healthcare has been in business for only three years but has already been exporting products, has created backward integration and is now seeking venture capital for future expansion.

“Our product has been created right from scratch and is now accepted worldwide,” said Kumaraguru Muthuswamy, chief executive of Ista Healthcare LLP, based in the southern Indian city of Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu state.…

With the USA re-imposing sanctions on Iran, and international financial institutions wary of dealing with the country, Tehran is dusting off its pre-2015 sanctions-busting playbook. Old networks are being renewed, including with neighbouring countries and China, but there are more obstacles for the Iranian government to contend with this time around.…

Paint markets throughout much of the Middle East are experiencing a downturn due to the region’s political instability and economic slowdown. However, manufacturers are nonetheless betting on a rebound as larger projects re-start and reconstruction begins in certain markets.

In the oil-based economies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, lower oil prices have hit government budgets, causing state-backed projects to be suspended or delayed, while having a knock-on effect on the wider economy.…

Charities continue to be at risk of being exploited by terrorist groups looking to transfer money and finance their operations, with the Middle East a high-risk area.

These non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are, however, criticising the extra scrutiny the sector is facing from regulators, banks and governments, saying it is driving charity financing into the shadows, actually increasing risks of financing by crime and terror groups.…

INDIAN livestock exporters are up in arms after the Indian government withdrew permission to export 25,000 goats and sheep from the western state of Gujarat just before the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.

The animals were bound for slaughter in Gulf countries as part of the festivities, which involve copious consumption of meat.…

DEBATES are now underway at the European Union (EU) on a proposed revamp of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a programme for 2021 to 2027 that would exclude Brexited Britain. As a result of losing UK contributions to the EU from next March (2019), funding for the CAP would fall by around 5% to EUR365 billion, with EUR265.2 billion spent on direct payments for food producers, EUR20 billion for market price support measures and EUR78.8 billion for rural development.…

THE OUTLOOK for European Union (EU) beef, sheep and goat meat imports looks bleak, with sales tumbling, according to an EU agricultural markets 2018 and 2019 forecast released by the European Commission.

Beef exports started falling by December 2017, and this has continued into this year, with exports almost 15% lower in the first four months of 2018 year-on-year.…

Paul Simmons, Chief Financial Officer, Marriott International Middle East and Africa, provides a glimpse into running the finances of the region’s largest international hotel operator.

The Middle East – particularly the countries of the Arabian Gulf – is known for its impressive skyline of luxury hotels.…

Enhancing the quality of passenger experience while maintaining maximum security was a recurring theme during the Dubai Airport Show 2018. The annual airport industry event, held from May 7 to 9, drew more than 7,500 visitors.

Covering 15,000 square metres of space across three halls of the iconic Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, its 18^th edition hosted more than 350 exhibitors from 60 countries.…

Most organisations in the Middle East today acknowledge the importance of gender diversity, yet the current number of females on boards does not reflect this, according to participants at a recent networking breakfast in Dubai, hosted by ACCA.

An important reason for this is the self-perception of women, who feel that they lack the experience to be a board member, according to research from Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), whose CEO Dr Ashraf Gamal El Din addressed the meeting.…

PROTECTIONISM and currency problems are posing challenges for north Africa’s beauty and personal care market, often forcing consumers to change their purchasing behaviour and turn to locally manufactured products, when they are available.

In Egypt, the region’s most populous country, the fall in value of the local currency, the Egyptian pound, against the Euro, has helped increase the price of imported products.…

*A newly approved European Union (EU) directive on transparency requirements for tax intermediaries will insist that accountants designing or promoting aggressive tax planning schemes report them to national tax authorities. The requirements, approved by the EU Council of Ministers, apply from July 1, 2020, and member states will have to fine intermediaries, including lawyers and bankers, that fail to report.…

Most organisations in the Middle East today acknowledge the importance of gender diversity, yet the current number of females on boards does not reflect this, according to participants at a recent networking breakfast in Dubai, hosted by ACCA.

An important reason for this is the self-perception of women, who feel that they lack the experience to be a board member, according to research from Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), whose CEO Dr Ashraf Gamal El Din addressed the meeting.…

THE IMPORTANCE of Brazil as the world’s top supplier of internationally-traded tobacco leaf and manufactured products has been waning for the past decade, with India, notably, improving its position. New statistical analysis released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) shows that this market share fall for Brazil also represented a decline in volume sales, given the global trade in tobacco leaf and products has shrunk since 2013 – until 2016, the year for which the latest data is available.…

EXPORTERS of air cargo, including clothing and textiles, from five Middle Eastern countries to the United States are in the process of gearing up to comply with mandatory enhanced screening imposed by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The order, disseminated on January 22, requires six air carriers flying from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the TSA’s heretofore voluntary Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) programme.…

CONSUMERS do not like sales tax, and they are particularly sensitive to tax-based price increases when new taxes are introduced. So, it is maybe no surprise that personal care product sales in the Middle East have been dampened by the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January 2018, inflating beauty product prices.…

The economic crisis, anti-smoking legislation, increased product taxation and new tax regimes for producers are taking their toll on the Greek manufactured tobacco market.

A surge in cigarette prices has depressed cigarette sales and increased fine cut tobacco sales, according to market researchers Euromonitor International.…

THE GULF paint and coatings market has had another year of stagnant growth, with sales impacted by stalled infrastructure projects, government policies and regional turbulence. Sales in 2017 were further impacted by the economic siege of Qatar, now into its seventh month, by its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbours Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain.…

Cynthia Corby is living proof that the sky is the limit for female accounting professionals. An audit partner and construction industry leader at Deloitte Middle East, the South African national has broken every glass ceiling in the industry. Not only was she the youngest audit manager ever in Deloitte South Africa at the age of 23, but 10 years later, she became one of the first female partners at Deloitte Middle East.…

*The European Union (EU) Council of Ministers has published a blacklist of jurisdictions it thinks do not cooperate sufficiently with international efforts to reduce tax evasion. They are American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam, South Korea, Macau, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers today (December 5) adopted a money laundering blacklist, bringing widespread criticism because the listing – designed to prevent tax fraud and evasion – only covers countries outside the 28-nation bloc. Despite the European Commission screening 92 jurisdictions worldwide, the final list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in taxation matters only contains 17 jurisdictions: American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam (another US territory), South Korea, Macau (a China special administrative region), the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to liberalise its society and economy are positively affecting the local beauty market. Ever since the global plunge in oil prices that led to the shrinking of the state’s budget, the kingdom’s government has embarked upon major economic reform.…

With its mega shopping malls, opulent standards of living and investor-friendly climate, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has always been a strategic market for international beauty brands. The small nation of 9.27 million was ranked as the seventh biggest consumer of beauty products in the world by research firm Euromonitor International, with a per capita spend of around USD239 in 2016.…

THE CHAIRMAN of Abu Dhabi Airports has said that the new terminal of Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) will open in the fourth quarter of 2019, well past the project’s original 2017 completion deadline. Awaidah Murshed Al Marrar said that 86% of construction work for the 742,000m2 Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) was now completed, “despite the challenges and difficulties…” At a meeting of project partners, he said the expansion would ensure that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital’s airport would make “its mark on the regional and international air transport map”, handling 45 million passengers-a-year by 2027.…

THE FIVE month-long diplomatic and commercial dispute between Qatar and the so-called ‘anti-terror quartet – ATQ’ of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt) continues and revolves around Doha’s alleged financial support for terrorist groups.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) has long been a fertile ground for colour cosmetics brands thanks to its large young population (its median age is just over 30) and the presence of image conscious consumers. Despite the pressure of rising costs and fierce competition among brands, the country’s colour cosmetics market experienced moderate growth in 2017 compared to 2016, increasing an estimated 4% in value terms to reach Emirati Dirham AED1.1 billion (USD299.4 million), according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

The Egyptian Pounds EGP1.6 billion (USD90.5 million) Egyptian colour cosmetics market has had steady growth over the past year despite the downturn in the economy, the depreciation of the Egyptian pound and some serious regulatory challenges.

According to market researcher Euromonitor International, in 2016, this market grew by 18% in value terms, year-on-year, mainly influenced by the positive performance of lip care products, primarily lipsticks.…

IT is a spectacular sight from the top of Dubai’s 68-storey Almas Tower, with the sea on one side and the massive development of Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) on the other. For Jignesh Sanghvi, chief financial officer of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the panoramic views from the skyscraper are a constant reminder of the magnitude of development the government-sponsored free zone has witnessed over the years.…

VIETNAM’S textile and clothing and textile sector is looking to sell more product into Asian markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, while solidifying its traditional export bases like the US and EU, the latest trade data indicates. 

Last year, Vietnam exported USD2.28 billion’s worth of clothing and textiles to South Korea – a 7.45% gain compared with 2015, according to Vietnam customs data analysed by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). …

VISITING spa and beauty salons is a way of life in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The country’s competitive business climate has given rise to a ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality and a hectic lifestyle that requires frequent pampering and relaxation.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) may hold an enviable portion of the world’s oil and gas reserves, at 4% and 3.5% respectively. But this has not stopped the country diversifying its long-term energy sources through developing nuclear power. With generation imminent, nuclear energy regulators and companies are watching closely how this rare event – a country embarking on a new civilian nuclear programme – rolls out.…

QATAR is a small country, roughly half the size of Wales and with a population of 2.5 million. But what it lacks in demography and geography, it makes up for in spending power – and its significant cosmetic surgery industry is a key beneficiary.…

A YOUNG population with high disposable incomes coupled with a booming medical tourism sector has created an ongoing demand for cosmetic procedures in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai especially dominates this important market, being a global luxury-centric city with world-class medical infrastructure.…

THE DEPARTMENT of eGovernment at the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) emirate of Sharjah has said that 16 smart gates introduced at Sharjah International Airport last October (2016) have reduced passport control processing times by 70%. The department said that at least 850,000 passengers had used the facilities – eight at departures and eight at arrivals – by August (2017).…

THE LEAGUE of Arab States’ 22 countries have imported more Brazilian textiles and clothing between January and July of 2017 than during the whole of 2016, according to the latest industry figures from the Brazilian-Arabic Chamber of Commerce (CCAB – Câmara de Comércio Árabe-Brasileira).…

THE FIRST phase of building the Istanbul Grand Airport (IGA), in Turkey, set to be the world’s largest such facility, is more than half complete, although a projected opening of early 2018 is not expected to be met.

There are some 20,000 people working on the project, forecast to rise to 30,000 as work progresses and developments around the airport get underway, such as an associated Airport City, including shopping malls, hotels and entertainment facilities, according to Istanbul Grand Airport (IGA), the airport’s operator.…

Russia and three Gulf countries are planning to establish an aluminium industry association whose goal is reducing overproduction in the global market, raising prices for the metal.

Despite the ongoing diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its neighbours, the Russian government says it has already started talks with the governments of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, regarding establishing the new association.…

Russia and three Gulf countries are planning to establish an aluminium industry association whose goal is reducing overproduction in the global market, raising prices for the metal.

Despite the ongoing diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its neighbours, the Russian government says it has already started talks with the governments of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, regarding establishing the new association.…

THE QATAR government is hopeful that its recent diplomatic black-balling by other Gulf states over its supposedly liberal approach to Islamic activists will not damage its oil and gas production or exports. A Qatar ministry of energy and industry ministry spokesman has told the government-run Qatar News Agency: “We have no reasons to be concerned about gas supplies…This is a diplomatic row that should not result in an economic blockade.”…

SAUDI Arabia’s hot and humid desert climate has made it a high-priority higher income market for international deodorant brands. With temperatures regularly exceeding 45 degrees Celsius in the summer and 30 degrees in the winter, staying fresh all day is a social necessity.…

THE EVER-intensifying skyline of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, illustrates the rapid economic growth of this equatorial East African country, and its growing workforce is increasingly keen to buy deodorants to keep them dry and comfortable in the office and outside.

An increased focus on banking, industry, manufacturing and construction have raised the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 5.3% year-on-year in 2014 and 5.6% in 2015 (Deloitte Economic Outlook 2016).…

WITH a climate that leaves consumers constantly battling with dry and frizzy hair, and with a sizeable population of 32.6 million people, Saudi Arabia has become a strategic destination for haircare brands. Despite the deceleration of economic activity over the last year and tighter liquidity, the Kingdom’s haircare market experienced moderate growth in 2016 compared to 2015, increasing 1% in value terms to reach Saudi Arabian Riyals SAR2.9 billion (USD746.4 million), according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

Consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are becoming savvier about their beauty products and more conscious of what ingredients they’re putting on their skin and hair. This increasing awareness along with a widening choice of products is driving steady growth in the country’s natural and organic cosmetics and toiletry market.…

THE MIDDLE East and Africa is certainly a promising regional market for nonwovens manufacturers, given the high level of economic growth in many countries and the rise of consumer-culture focused middle classes. But companies need to be sophisticated in their investment and sales tactics given the immense variety of economic and social fortunes experienced by countries in this most diverse region.…

A case detected last May (2015) at Lisbon international airport, Portugal, says much for the worrying scale of the laundering of illicit funds from Europe into mainland China. A nondescript Chinese couple travelling from Lisbon to Shanghai via the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Dubai was stopped carrying more than EUR1 million in large denomination notes found elaborately wrapped in ‘danger, chemicals’ packaging within packets marked ‘FRAGILE’.…

A FORMAL International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) ‘Dubai Declaration’ on boosting cyber-security in civil aviation has been approved at an inaugural Cyber Summit and Exhibition staged by the UN agency in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The declaration says that member states should outlaw cyber-threats targeted at civil aviation.…

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a comprehensive study into the healthiness of consuming sugar, that could guidance telling consumers when to stop eating sugary foods, such as confectionery. An ad-hoc working group with expertise in dietary exposure, epidemiology, human nutrition, diet-related chronic diseases and dentistry will examine the issue, along with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, which requested the work.…

THE PAINT and coatings sector in Egypt is growing, but its progress has been unsteady, reflecting its bumpy political progress since its 2011 revolution that brought down long-standing President Hosni Mubarak. While a construction boom dominated by huge public private partnerships (PPPs) is driving up sales of decorative paint, according to industry analysts, a weak automotive sector is holding back overall growth with slow sales of refinishing paint.…

THE DIAMOND trade is still one of money launderers’ best friends due the precious stone’s high value to mass ratio, akin to the highest value banknotes that can be obtained. Indeed, it is maybe harder to trace diamonds than numbered banknotes, there is no reliable means by which the point of origin of a particular diamond can be ascertained just by examining it.…

DEMAND for coatings for the Middle East’s oil and gas sector has been sluggish in the wake of lower energy prices. New infrastructure projects and maintenance is ongoing, but with government and national oil companies’ (NOCs) budgets getting tighter, so is the demand for innovative coating solutions.…

SOUTH African fragrance sales are growing swiftly. Research released by Euromonitor International in April 2016 entitled ‘Fragrances in South Africa’ showed a market more than doubling from South African rand ZAR5.288 billion (USD423 million) in 2010 to ZAR11.505 billion (USD923.4 million) in 2015.…

IT has been a tough year for the fragrance industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where competition between international and local brands has intensified, while consumer spending has been weakening. But this has not stopped perfumiers from launching new products nor has it prevented overseas suppliers from expanding their local presence.…

KENYA has long been regarded as east Africa’s economic powerhouse, with residential and industrial construction boosting sales of paints and coatings – and for now there seems to be no halt in this progress. Indeed, the last World Bank assessment of growth in this 45 million people country was that GDP rose by 5.6% in 2015.…

SKIN cancer ranks as South Africa’s most common form of the disease with the country also suffering the second highest incidence globally after Australia, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation of South Africa – research such as this is driving sales of sunscreen products.…

YEAR–round sunshine, a young population, and a large expatriate community have made the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a strategic destination for multinational suncare brands, which continue to dominate the local market.

According to London-based research company Euromonitor International, the UAE’s suncare market was valued at Emirati Dirham AED89.38 million (USD24.3 million) in 2016, up 4% compared to 2015.…

The Arabian peninsula oil-producing nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have long been considered a lucrative consumer market for international brands. Many businesses flourish in the region and the beauty and personal care product industries are no exception.

According to Euromonitor International, the retail value of the GCC region’s beauty and personal care market was USD9.3 billion in 2016 – member countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

Promoting women to corporate boards within the Middle East and elsewhere can directly improve profitability and change the way a company approaches its market, participants at a recent networking breakfast hosted by ACCA concurred.

Entitled ‘Women in Finance: beyond the numbers’, the event was held on February 2 at the Four Seasons resort hotel in Dubai and attended by senior finance professionals and leaders from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

Terrorist financing is continuing in the Middle East, highlighted by the devastating attack in Istanbul over the new year. Radical Islamic groups still operate in Iraq and Syria, notably the Islamic State and the Levant, or ISIL (also known as ISIS), and the source of funding for these terrorist groups is a contentious issue.…

EAGER to give a new twist to the abaya (the robe-like dress worn by some Muslim women), she went on to create dozens of unconventional designs of the traditional garment and opened three branches of her boutique in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) has managed to ride out the economic and political instability that has afflicted much of the Middle East since the onset of the Arab Spring, but low oil prices have impacted the paint sector, with fewer mega developments and infrastructure projects in the pipeline than several years ago.…

Arab Gulf governments are repeatedly accused of aiding terrorist financing on and, more often, off the record. Calls to get tough on these states have been sidelined by political and economic expediency, while Gulf moves to curb terrorist financing have been lacklustre and there may be risks ahead, reports Paul Cochrane, in Beirut.…

The Italian beauty and personal care industry has headed into 2017 with optimism, on the heels of a still slow yet solid recovery in the domestic market and the strengthening of its competitive edge in foreign markets. Although the most recent confirmed data goes back only to 2015, industry association Cosmetica Italia’s latest forecast for the sector, released in July 2016 and entitled, ‘Economic Forecasts, Trends and Investments in the Cosmetics Sector – July 2016’, gives a good idea on the 2016 year-end results we can expect from the Italian cosmetics industry.…

Her Excellency Sara Al Madani ventured into the business world at a time when very few Emirati women dared to do so. Defying gender and cultural norms, she started her fashion label Rouge Couture at the age of 15.

Eager to give a new twist to the abaya (the robe-like dress worn by some Muslim women), she went on to create dozens of unconventional designs of the traditional garment and opened three branches of her boutique in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

ONE of the wealthiest countries in the world, Qatar’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was estimated at USD73,653 in 2015, according to the World Bank. Close to 85% of the country’s 2.5 million population are expatriates and this has influenced the skincare products on offer, while high levels of disposable income continue to drive consumption.…

United Arab Emirates

Population 9.1 million – 2015

GDP 2015 – USD370 billion (up 3.2% on previous year)

Projected 2016 GDP growth – 2%

Size of non-oil economy 2015 – 66% (IMF)

Proportion of local nationals in private sector – 1% (LSE estimates 2014)

Saudi Arabia

Population 31.5 million – 2015

GDP 2015 – USD646 billion (up 3.5% on previous year)

Projected 2016 GDP growth – 1.86%

Size of non-oil economy 2014 – 57% (IMF )

Proportion of local nationals in private sector 2016 – 16% (Oxford Strategic Consulting)

Qatar

Population 2.2 million – 2015

GDP 2015 – USD166 billion (up 2.9% on previous year)

Projected 2016 GDP growth – 3.3%

Size of non-oil economy 2015 – 49% (IMF)

Proportion of local nationals in private sector 2014 – 5% – (Qatar Statistics Authority)

Bahrain

Population 1.3 million – 2015

GDP 2015 – USD32 billion (up 2.9% on previous year)

Projected 2016 GDP growth – 2.2%

Size of non-oil economy 2015 – 76% (IMF)

Proportion of local nationals in private sector 2013 – 18% (Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority).…

IRAN’S rose water export sector is facing the potential for rapid expansion now that the country can trade freely globally after the bulk of international banking and economic sanctions imposed over the Iranian nuclear programme were lifted this January (2016).…

TURKEY’S carpet sector continues to thrive according to recent trade data, with the industry association saying the sector was not harmed by the recent attempted military coup against the elected government.

According to recent figures from the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, Euratex, Turkey was once again Europe’s leading supplier of carpets in 2015, with a 3.5% year-on-year increase in sales from 2014, to EUR378 million last year.…

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) spa market experienced healthy growth in 2015 compared to 2014, increasing 11% in value terms to reach Emirati Dirham AED1.57 billion (USD428 million), according to market research company Euromonitor International.

In 2016, the market is predicted to grow by 9% to hit USD435 million year-on-year, accounting for nearly 14% of the Middle East and Africa’s USD3 billion spa market, according to Euromonitor.…

The male grooming market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has grown significantly over the past decade as men become more image conscious and brand aware.

This MENA market “is growing and performing quite well, at around five per cent growth a year in constant terms,” said Amna Abbas, a research analyst at Euromonitor, in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Dubai.…

MAJOR delays are expected at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after an Emirates airline plane crash-landed and burst into flames on a runway at Dubai International Airport just after 12:45pm local time today (August 3). Flight EK521 was arriving from Trivandrum International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram, India.…

A EUROPEAN Commission ruling that Ireland must recover up to EUR13 billion in back-taxes (plus interest) from Apple has signalled a tough approach from Brussels over alleged European Union (EU) competition law breaches associated with sweet taxation deals by member states.…

Oil and gas owners and operators working offshore in the Middle East face looming corrosion and erosion detection and prevention challenges to continue operating their ageing assets efficiently, safely and within regulatory requirements in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.…

WITH 4.8 million Syrian refugees registered by the UN, and many more displaced without registration, their impact on consumer markets outside their home country has been significant. The tobacco sector has been no exception. Indeed, even before the civil war, Syrians were keen smokers – with 2004 Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies research indicating that 56.9% of men smoked cigarettes and 17% of women; 20.2% of men smoked waterpipes (shisha) and 4.8% of women; 29% smoked daily – 51.4% of men and 11.5% of women).…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has accused six European Union (EU) member states of failing to detect enough fraud in EU spending programmes where their governments have a significant management role. In its latest annual report on the ‘Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – Fight against fraud 2015’, the Commission said Austria, Britain and Finland had reported “a very low number of fraudulent irregularities, in particular in relation to the amount of frauds allocated to them” for  EU agricultural spending.…

MIRRORING how Spain is crawling out of its long recession, the country’s personal care product market is recovering. UK-based market researchers Euromonitor released a report last month concluding: “After years of decline in value terms, beauty and personal care finally saw a positive performance in Spain in 2015.”…

THE PAKISTAN government has reduced customs duties on importing machinery used in the livestock and meat industry from 5% to 2% to encourage investment and development in the livestock and meat industry.

Incubators, brooders and animal feedstuffs machinery are among the imports that will see duties reduced in this way.…

Outgoing Philippines President Benigno Aquino has signed into law a consolidated measure on halal exports, which may help his country’s meat exporters grow more competitive in the Middle East, as well as in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Currently, most of the Philippines’ meat exports are processed meats, including corned beef and hot dog, while chilled chicken yakitori nuggets and Peking duck are also shipped to overseas markets.…

JAPAN’S probiotic product specialist Yakult Honsha Co Ltd has told just-food that it plans to launch a production facility by 2017 on the outskirts of Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon.

The company has already set up a subsidiary to operate Myanmar work (in 2015), where it wants to tap into growing local demand for dairy products.…

Pakistan’s largest multi-industry conglomerate, the Fauji Group, has launched the country’s biggest and state-of-the-art halal abattoir and meat processing and exporting unit near Port Qasim, Karachi. The Fauji Meat Ltd (FML) subsidiary-run facility, which has been fully operational since April (2016), has a daily production capacity of 100 tonnes of meat (85 tonnes of beef and 15 tonnes of mutton, according to a company note) in both frozen and chilled categories per day for worldwide export, and cost an estimated USD75 million to build.…

Pakistan remains a source of concern to global anti-money laundering (ML) authorities even though the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s leading AML organisation, removed the country from its monitoring process last February (2015). Then, FATF cited Pakistan as having made “significant progress” in improving its AML and CFT (combating the financing of terrorism) regime.…

It gets exceedingly hot in Riyadh in the summer, with the mercury rarely below 40 degrees Celsius, but that does not deter Moazam Shah from going for his evening run around the residential compound he lives in with his family.

After six years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistani national Shah has acclimatised to exercising in extreme heat: “It’s a time for myself, to catch up on my thoughts,” he told Accounting & Business at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manama, Bahrain.…

Indonesia’s mosquito net industry is facing high demand due to the growing number of middle class consumers in the country and their increasing desire to live a more natural lifestyle, according to Citra Maya, an Indonesian mosquito net supplier.

Arif Novianto, a marketing manager at Citra Maya, told WTiN.com…

Demand for milk is outstripping domestic supply in Egypt, the most populous market in the Middle East and North Africa. The sector has been growing at more than 10% a year as Egypt – whose population is at least 82 million – consume more dairy products, especially milk and yoghurt.…

CAPITAL markets and their traders within Malaysia may be forced to forge defences against cyber-crime amidst growing concern that hackers could damage the country’s financial services. The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is seeking comments from accountants and other financial specialists about planned regulations saying capital market participants should have cyber-security programmes and policies, including contingency plans for dealing with associated risks.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) fragrance retail market (unisex and those targeted at female and male consumers) experienced healthy growth in 2015 compared to 2014, increasing 8% in value terms to reach Emirati Dirham AED2.23 billion (USD607.2 million), according to market researchers Euromonitor International.…

CAPITAL markets and their traders within Malaysia may be forced to forge defences against cyber-crime amidst growing concern that hackers could damage the country’s financial services. The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is seeking comments from accountants and other financial specialists about planned regulations saying capital market participants should have cyber-security programmes and policies, including contingency plans for dealing with associated risks.…

The Islamic Republic of Iran has had to deal with financial sanctions imposed by the United States following the revolution in 1979, and then ramped up during the Bill Clinton and George W Bush administrations. But it was the multilateral financial sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) and the European Union (EU) from 2007 onwards, and particularly in 2011, that hit Iran even harder, further narrowing an already limited window to operate financially in international terms.…

Changing management styles is key the success of corporate gender diversity initiatives in the Gulf region and elsewhere, participants of a recent networking breakfast hosted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) have concurred.

Entitled ‘Lead the Change: increasing gender diversity to boost performance’, the event was held on February 7 at the Shangri-La Dubai hotel and was attended by more than 60 CFOs and senior finance professionals.…

Following the international agreement limiting its nuclear power ambitions, Iran is essentially open for business. However, certain US sanctions remain in place, adding to Western banks’ caution in dealing with Iran, long a pariah to global investors and bankers. Indeed, the biggest challenge will be reintegrating Iran’s financial institutions back into the international system after their years’ long experience of dealing with, and circumventing, sanctions.…

The professional coaching sector is booming in the Middle East. Over the past decade the region has become increasingly interconnected in the global business system, and accordingly adopted international standards. This has driven the need for professional coaching and training. But with coaching modelled on US and European norms, there is a need for greater localisation, while more coaching accreditation is needed to develop further confidence in the fledgling sector.…

Natural gas has played an increasing part in meeting the Middle East’s domestic energy needs. Its role and significance vary for each country, but demand is driven mainly by gas-intensive industries and electricity generation, which is strongly seasonal, peaking during the summer due to air conditioning loads.…

MALAYSIA’S Audit Oversight Board (AOB) has revoked the registration of an audit firm for the first time since the regulator was established by the Securities Commission Malaysia in 2010.

It has scrapped the registration of Wong Weng Foo & Co, managing partner, Wong Weng Foo and partner Abdul Halim Husin, from December 2.…

THE MIDDLE Eastern halal meat market is anticipating significant growth in the next few years, driven by rising populations and rising consumer awareness about food content. However, the lack of a common global halal standard is hindering the market’s potential, given that the region is heavily dependent on imports from non-Muslim countries.…

Of all the countries that made up the old Soviet Union, the central Asian republics have proved the slowest to open up to the outside world. For the personal care product industry, this represents opportunities, but also significant hurdles and barriers.…

There were high hopes that Egypt was embarking on a new clean financial era following mass protests in January 2011 that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Popular calls for an end to the corruption and cronyism that had characterised Mubarak’s 30 year rule appeared to be heeded.…

PAKISTAN has been improving its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime according to international watchdogs, while its military takes increasingly tough action against hardline Islamist groups.
For instance, Pakistan has drawn up a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), agreed upon by Pakistan’s political and military leadership to fight terrorism; this has helped focus further attention on the need to tackle money laundering and terror financing as part of a comprehensive law-and-order strategy.…

In the Gulf, the harsh desert climate has always made agricultural production difficult, so fats in the form of animal lard or milk ‘ghee’, have traditionally dominated diets.
But population growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – UAE), rising affluence, booming ex-patriot populations, and increasing diversity in imports, have driven increases in sales of higher end edible oils in the region.…

MIDDLE Eastern national oil companies do not always spring most readily to mind when demand for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is discussed. The most obvious example of a country ‘least likely to’ need EOR is Saudi Arabia, with its vast oil reserves and a history of being able to rely on natural lift to produce.…

India and Pakistan are trying to remove barriers that are hindering the trade of cotton and textile between these two neighbouring countries, however deep-rooted historic and political resentments continue to hinder progress.
These have helped put out of reach a major trade deal that would sweep away import-export barriers, despite the governments of both countries having relatively new electoral mandates.…

TOILETRIES sales in the Arab Gulf countries remain robust, an oasis of economic and political stability in a turbulent Middle East. Elsewhere in the region, the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the rise of the Islamic State, has seen toiletries sales plummet.…

The days of Italian consumer spending extra Euro on a high performing hydrating face cream or premium fragrance may be on hold as the majority of Italian consumers are currently seeking better value for money in their beauty and personal care (BPC) purchases.…

COMPREHENSIVE pro-diversity company policies are needed to encourage women in business, participants of the January 21 fourth Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Middle East ‘Women in Finance’ roundtable heard at the Al Murooj Rotana hotel in Dubai. The event was attended by more than 30 female financial executives.…

There is something of the fairy-tale about the luxury Atlantis The Palm hotel in Dubai. An impressive and elegant palatial structure, built next to the warm waters of the Gulf, this is a real signature building and business, with 1,537 bedrooms.…

There is something of the fairy-tale about the luxury Atlantis The Palm hotel in Dubai. An impressive and elegant palatial structure, built next to the warm waters of the Gulf, this is a real signature building and business, with 1,537 bedrooms.…

The Middle East and North African nonwovens sector is in flux. At the same time as extra capacity has come online, regional demand has been affected by political instability, forcing manufacturers to focus on exports and diversify their offerings.

“It is showing clearly now that the Arab Spring and political consequences have definitely delayed investment decisions by potential customers.…

THE RESPONSIBILITIES of Singapore accountants to report suspicions that their clients maybe involved in money laundering or terrorist finance have become tougher since November 1. New guidelines released by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) have strengthened requirements for accounting firms to establish anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) controls.…

Consumers in Japan are notoriously fickle and constantly in search of the next greatest product – and in a nation that takes its food very seriously, that applies doubly to the confectionery sector.

Sales of ice cream have been strong in recent years and continue to grow, although chocolate confectionery sales came to Japanese Yen JPY342 billion (USD2.95 billion) in the calendar year 2013, a minor contraction on the previous year – blamed on poor weather during the traditionally busy summer months.…

Multilateral talks over Iran’s nuclear power programme have partly and temporarily eased certain sanctions against the country. Yet while businesses worldwide are keen to get into the lucrative Iranian market to offer all kinds of good and services, the overarching sanctions regime put in place by the United States, the European Union  (EU) and the United Nations still remains, as do the risks of doing business with Iran, considered one of the world’s riskiest jurisdictions.…

THE ETHICAL traits of Sharia-compliant, or Islamic, financing, such as not allowing interest or investments in gambling and tobacco, have made sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) and green funds an obvious extension for the sector. But with Islamic finance already being a niche market, compared to conventional financing, initiatives to diversify into SRIs have struggled over the past several years.…

THE United Arab Emirates (UAE), including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, heads the global league table for the percentage of consumers reporting that they have been victims of fraud involving credit, debit or prepaid cards. This emerges from a fraud study of more than 6,100 consumers across 20 countries conducted by international payment systems provider ACI Worldwide and analysts Aite Group.…

THE MIDDLE East cosmetics market is weathering the region’s current political and economic instability in the region. While the markets in the Levant are experiencing tough times, Gulf sales continue to grow. Retailers and manufacturers are also offsetting the losses incurred in depressed and unstable countries by exporting to burgeoning African markets.…

INDIAN apparel exporters have demanded a series of favourable policy decisions from the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government while welcoming foreign buyers at the 53rd India International Garment Fair, held in New Delhi from July 14 to 16.
A presentation from the country’s Apparel Export Promotion Council was released to the conference, calling on the Indian government to conclude the planned EU-India free trade agreement “immediately to counter [the] competitive price advantage available to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam…” The paper also argued that until such a deal is struck the Indian government should compensate garment exporters with export subsidies equaling the burden of import duties imposed by EU.…

The importance of creativity in fuelling and underpinning economic development, especially within the financial sector, has been the focus of a roundtable discussion in Dubai involving 17 high profile female senior managers.

They listened to and discussed a presentation by Mark Batey, joint chair – psychometrics at work research group, Manchester Business School, at the Shangri La Hotel, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emirate, on May 12.…

Global technology analysts Gartner Inc is well known for its articulated predictions. An announcement in January 2014 to accompany its report on ‘Predicts 2014: The Rise of the Postmodern ERP and Enterprise Applications World’, highlighted the complex, and at times conflicting scenario facing companies considering moving their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to the cloud.…

Bangladesh steel makers are anticipating a rush of orders with the country beefing up efforts to implement new generation infrastructure projects involving billions of dollars. Government data indicates that more than USD13 billion will be invested in projects whose construction is planned over the next 10 years, ranging from a metro railway in the capital Dhaka, to elevated expressways, a deep-sea port and an underwater road tunnel in the southeastern port city of Chittagong.…

WHEN the Percassi family, owners of the successful make-up brand KIKO Make Up Milan, purchased in October 2013 a UNESCO-listed historic industrial site called Crespi d’Adda in northern Italy, it was not only a sign of their success, but proof of the old adage that tough economic times can be good for the beauty industry. …

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ranks poorly in intellectual property rights protection and enforcement. While some countries, notably in the Gulf, are gradually improving, political and economic uncertainty in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings is hampering progress in much of the rest of the region.…

NATURAL and ‘halal’ cosmetics are making gradual inroads into the lucrative Gulf markets, which have some of the highest spending per capita on fragrances and cosmetics in the world. A handful of local companies and distributors are springing up to cater to the growing trend for natural or organic cosmetics, while the development of the ‘halal’ sector is actively being pushed by the Dubai government, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).…

What is the value of adopting an integrated financial reporting model and how might Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) companies introduce such a model into their overall strategy in the future?

Such was the topic of a roundtable discussion jointly organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Pearl Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation set up to improve transparency, accountability and business practices in the Gulf.…

IRAN and Turkey are regional giants within the Middle East oilseeds sector, and while their industries have been performing the threat of political instability and unstable energy subsidies threaten their profits.

According to Bill Baker, foreign agricultural service analyst at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Turkey and Iran constitute the two “major producers of oilseed crops in the Middle East.”…

IRAN and Turkey are regional giants within the Middle East oilseeds sector, and while their industries have been performing the threat of political instability and unstable energy subsidies threaten their profits.

According to Bill Baker, foreign agricultural service analyst at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Turkey and Iran constitute the two “major producers of oilseed crops in the Middle East.”…

AVIATION project management company Bechtel has secured a contract to create an expansion master plan for Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Selected by the Sharjah Airport Authority, the US-based company will this year conduct short-term and long-term analyses of the airport’s future needs.…

THE EXPANSION of the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport (PMIA) in Medina, Saudi Arabia, has long been overdue, with the facility having struggled to handle the spike in pilgrims visiting the two holy sites of Mecca and Medina. In a first for the Gulf region, the expansion is a public-private partnership, with Turkey’s TAV Airports Holding Company operating a 25-year concession that is expected to be rolled out elsewhere in the kingdom.…

BY MARK ATKINSON, in Dubai

FEMALE financial specialists are leading the charge in the Gulf region for women to gain senior professional positions in countries where men have traditionally dominated career structures.

How finance can be a catalyst for this process and the challenges facing women attaining top management positions within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular, was the focus of discussions at an ACCA roundtable staged on January 21 in Dubai.…

FEMALE financial specialists are leading the charge in the Gulf region for women to gain senior professional positions in countries where men have traditionally dominated career structures.

How finance can be a catalyst for this process and the challenges facing women attaining top management positions within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular, was the focus of discussions at an ACCA roundtable staged on January 21 in Dubai.…

PAINT manufacturers have been expecting a major boost to business following the economic stimulus and infrastructure investment projects launched by Gulf governments over the past few years. But projects have not materialised to the degree expected, and while the USD2.26 billion Gulf paint and coating market is still flourishing, it is not meeting expectations.…

PAINT manufacturers have been expecting a major boost to business following the economic stimulus and infrastructure investment projects launched by Gulf governments over the past few years. But projects have not materialised to the degree expected, and while the USD2.26 billion Gulf paint and coating market is still flourishing, it is not meeting expectations.…

Ahmad Darwish, chairman of the ACCA UAE (United Arab Emirates) members’ advisory committee (UAE MAC) and manager of the management accounting team at DP World UAE region.

“The UAE is becoming a more developed economy like the USA and Europe.…

THE HIGHLY diverse and emerging markets of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) face major challenges in bringing financial services, accounting and auditing up to international standards. They are often lacking qualified professionals and sometimes overly reliant on expatriate expertise.…

PAKISTAN meat sector executives believe their export sector is underperforming, failing especially to seize sales in affluent international halal markets.

With an estimated annual output of 2.2 million tonnes, Pakistan is the 19^th largest producer of meat in the world.…

CONSUMERS in Asia and the Middle East are continuing to grow the market for halal cosmetics – until now, a relatively overlooked industry in halal certification – but suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, non-Moslems in the west are starting to buy these products, attracted by their natural and mild ingredients.…

DESPITE the billions of dollars spent on modernising several major Indian airports, government officials admit they have failed to become strong international hubs, limiting their potential.

According to a May 2012 report, ‘Developing aviation hubs in India’, published by the Indian ministry of civil aviation, in the year ending March 2011 only 12% of passengers in Mumbai and 9% in Delhi used these airports for transit, and most are transferring to domestic destinations.…

PERSONAL care product market in the Middle East can be divided into two current trends: sales in the affluent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are booming, while on the other side of the region, in the Levant, markets are feeling the effects of the Syrian conflict, with the loss of tourists and low consumer confidence impacting bottom lines.…

The European Commission has granted a key element of EU merger approval for the creation of a new United Arab Emirates (UAE) aluminium company called Emirates Global Aluminium. This will be a joint venture incorporating the businesses of Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) and Emirates Aluminium (Emal).…

IRAN is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations, and last year the US tightened the screws even more. As President Barack Obama said following his re-election in November, 2012: “We’ve imposed the toughest sanctions in history.”…

LEBANON was an important shop window for Middle East and North Africa manufacturers of tobacco molasses used in hookahs until a public smoking ban was implemented in 2012. And while the ban has dented Lebanon’s strategic positioning, as a popular regional tourist destination and with the Lebanese travelling widely, the country is still an important market.…

SO diverse are the Middle East’s oil and gas reservoirs and the environmental conditions encountered that companies focused on optimising exploration and production view the region as a giant laboratory for proving new technologies.

Its oil also varies hugely in viscosity, from the Arab Light crude of Saudi Arabia’s Al Khurais onshore field to the heavy crudes in Oman’s Mukhaizna onshore field.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

THE UPRISINGS in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the past two years have had a negative impact on the construction and paint sectors, throwing a proverbial spanner in the works when the region was striving to come out of recession.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

It has been a been a turbulent time in the Middle East since the Arab uprisings swept much of the region over the past year-and-a-half, with not only sales of cosmetics, toiletries and perfumeries being depressed by losses in consumer confidence, but also distribution being harmed, especially by the protracted conflict in Syria.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

LEGISLATIVE change and the setting up of green building councils is pushing demand for environment-friendly coatings in the Gulf, but the lack of enforcement of eco-laws in the region and the ongoing recession has hampered potential growth.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT; AND MARK GAO, IN ISTANBUL

MOST states in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) have mulled developing nuclear power over the past decade, from Morocco to Egypt, and Jordan to Saudi Arabia, but only the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is coming close to embarking on the nuclear option thus far.…

BY MARK GODFREY, IN BEIJING

WHILE delegates at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Beijing remained concerned about the impact of the European Union’s (EU) emissions trading scheme (ETS) on global aviation, there was general consensus that the industry is growing healthily.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

THE FINANCIAL crisis, international regulations and the ‘Arab Spring’ have prompted Gulf countries to set up or expand the mandates of public watchdogs to curb corruption and financial malpractice. There have been some notable progress, but enforcement is still lagging.…

BY ROBERT STOKES, IN EDINBURGH

TO listen to many researchers, the ‘wonder material’ graphene will metaphorically transform base metal into gold. But what is in it for plastics manufacturers and what does the road ahead hold in store?

On the face of it – the material is impressive: graphene is a sheet of carbon, just one atom thick, around one hundred-thousandth of the width of a human hair, 200 times stronger than steel, and with the atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern.…

BY ROBERT STOKES, IN EDINBURGH; LEAH GERMAIN, IN EDMONTON; AND PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

AS the price of oil continues to rise and the demand for the valuable commodity increases worldwide, oil and gas companies are making major profits – yet this industry remains one where safety issues and hard physical work can cause injury.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

THE REAL estate market in the Gulf has started to bottom out, with prices stabilising in the commercial and residential categories. However, empty properties still abound, there is more supply than demand and few new projects are being undertaken.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

DUE largely to the surging growth of Dubai-based airline carriers Emirates and flydubai, government-owned operator and manager Dubai Airports is currently juggling the development of the new Al Maktoum International Airport at logistics hub Dubai World Central (DWC), as well as the USD7.8 billion expansion of the Dubai International Airport (DXB).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE IN BEIRUT

THE ‘ARAB Spring’ uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the past year have had a mixed effect on Arabic publishing. Book sales have plunged due to instability, and while some countries have loosened up on censorship, others have clamped down.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

BACK in the noughties, the Gulf was one of the fastest growing regions for paint companies, thriving on an unprecedented construction boom. But then the financial crisis hit in late 2008, ending years of double-digit growth for paint manufacturers in Gulf countries.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN ABU DHABI

IT sounds completely bizarre, given their dominant role as global energy players, but the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are facing a chronic energy shortage, with domestic demand growing by an estimated 8.5% and investment in power systems failing to keep pace.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

THE SYRIAN economy is in bad shape: sanctions have been slapped on the country by the United States and the European Union (EU), and the uprisings that began in March last year continue unabated. But while one of Syria’s main revenue earners – fossil fuel oil – has been affected by instability and international sanctions, its olive oil sector has had its best year ever harvest, estimated at 200,000 tonnes.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

UPRISINGS in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) this year have hit demand for printers in Lebanon, which has long been the printing hub of the region. Lebanese printers canvassed privately for Print Week MEA report that the upheavals have seen demand from Egypt and Syria decline, while transportation has been marginally affected from Lebanon due to the situation in neighbouring Syria.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE WESTERN financial system is undergoing profound change, of weakened trust in the sector, heightened tax regulations, pressure to curb banking secrecy and tougher regulatory compliance. As a result, the owners of legal and extra-legal capital who are looking for a safe haven for their money are starting to consider destinations outside the established offshore jurisdictions – the less regulated financial centres of the Middle East and Asia.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

TURKEY is the fifth largest importer of oils and oilseeds in the world, with demand being driven by its burgeoning economy, sizable food export industry, and a population of 74.8 million people. But while its demand for vegetable oils is outstripping local production, in olive oil production the country has set its sights on rising up the global rankings from its current fifth place to become the second largest producer.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

INTELLIGENCE agencies by their very nature are secretive. So too are budgetary expenses and the ways in which agencies finance operations, especially in foreign jurisdictions and where they carry out so-called ‘black ops’. The techniques to quietly transfer funds do not in fact differ that widely from organised crime or terrorist groups, using banking services, front companies, charities and the like.…

BY NAAFIA MATTOO, IN DUBAI

AS the only female partner at Ernst & Young’s Dubai office, Ginnie Carlier paints an intimidating figure on paper. In person, she is affable, engaging and wryly admits to leaving E&Y early in her career to work for Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for a year "because it seemed like fun" Aside from that bout of adventurousness, Ms Carlier has been with E&Y since 1993.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE MULTI-billion dollar beauty market in the Middle East’s Gulf countries is back on an upward trend, thanks to renewed economic growth as this rich region, with avid consumers start spending again. Demand for cosmetics and personal care products are being driven by high disposable incomes, new sales channels and a growing lifestyle trend among both men and women in terms of plastic surgery, personal fitness and body care.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE

The countries of the Arabian Gulf region will spend USD90 billion on new airports and expansion projects over the next few years, according to the organisers of the Dubai Airport Show 2011. The figure is based, in part, on figures from the Airports Council International and the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) that have predicted that airports in the Middle East are expected to handle more than 400 million passengers yearly by 2020.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A JOINT venture run by the United Arab Emirates’ Masdar and Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO) has registered a gas flaring reduction device with the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism. The technology will be installed at Abu Dhabi emirate’s Asab and Bab gas processing plants and create 7,770 tradeable Certified Emission Reductions annually – each representing one tonne of CO2.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE

Abu Dhabi-based airport systems integration provider Bayanat Airports Engineering and Supplies has signed a strategic partnership agreement to become the exclusive United Arab Emirates (UAE) sales representative for Adacel, an Australia-based specialist in advanced air traffic control simulators and automated ATM systems.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE

DUBAI International Airport (DXB), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is planning to launch a large-scale passenger flow measurement project to track the movement and activity of passengers from the second they enter the airport complex.

From the airport’s growth statistics, it appears the trial has not come a moment too soon; DXB is one of the fastest growing airports in the world and could become the busiest in the near future.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE MIDDLE East’s confectionery market (including the Gulf, the Levant, Egypt (but not elsewhere in north Africa), Iraq Iran, Turkey and Israel) was valued at US dollar USD113 billion in 2009, while annual chocolate sales exceeded USD4.2 billion, according to USA-based TNS Media Intelligence.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Fujairah International Airport has selected Czech Republic and Slovakia-based IT company ALES for the supply of an air traffic control system and ERA (part of American technology and systems company SRA International) for a wide area multilateration radar to fully automate the airport’s air control centre, and implement an advanced surveillance solution.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE

The return of economic growth in the Middle East – especially in the Arabian Gulf region – has prompted European aviation technology company AVTECH to establish a new subsidiary in Dubai.

AVTECH Middle East LLC opened for business on May 31, 2011, after more than three years of collaborations between AVTECH Sweden AB and local United Arab Emirates (UAE) businessman Dr Mohammed bin Saeed Al Badi (SPELLING CHECKED).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

Kurdish Iraq tobacco market is Middle East black market hub

International tobacco companies entered Kurdish Iraq after the US-led invasion. But political instability has made this a tough market to operate in. Black market trades thrive. And there are a wide variety of brands from around the world available.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

INDIA’S home ministry has confirmed to the Money Laundering Bulletin that it will approach the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) with formal claims and evidence alleging Pakistan’s key intelligence agency is counterfeiting Indian currency.

A senior official from the ministry said the Indian government would approach the international body in next two to three weeks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports into the European Union (EU) of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) exported from Iran, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The duties – which as usual compensate EU producers for government subsidies or assistance in the exporting countries – would range from 5.1% to 16.7%.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

INDIA continues to attract international cosmetic and perfume brands as its consumer base and their spending grow. According to the United States Trade Mission to India, the country’s USD2.68 billion beauty and wellness market is growing at 15-20% annually, almost twice as fast as the United States and European markets.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE MULTI-BILLION dollar cosmetics and fragrances industry in the Middle East’s six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has had a mixed few years in the wake of the global financial crisis, made more unpredictable by demographic change and purchasing behaviour shifts.…

BY MARK ROWE

IS the recession’s worst over for the jet fuel aviation industry? Passenger traffic during this late spring and summer has risen sharply compared with flights year-on-year, giving hope to an industry that Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), described last year as "structurally sick".…

BY KARRYN MILLER, ANCA GURZU, MARK ROWE and PAUL COCHRANE

THE NEED to think out of the box to reduce carbon emissions and pollution is becoming increasingly appreciated in the Asia-Pacific region. And the coatings sector offers a range of solutions to reduce energy use.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

DEMAND for more environmentally-friendly coatings and paints is on the rise in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, driven by government-backed infrastructure projects that are forcing paint manufacturers to comply with strict requirements.

Still a specialised product, ‘green’ paints account for less than 10% of sales in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) US dollar USD$300 million paint market and the USD$1 billion Saudi Arabian market, according to Bassam Bizri, general manager of Chemipaint in the UAE (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

CONFECTIONERY manufacturers in the Middle East are not only ideally placed geographically to sell their products to the rich European Union (EU) market, they are assisted by a series of free trade agreements either in place, or in the works.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

CORRUPTION, bribery and cronyism have long been a part of business in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with media reports of such malpractice few and far between yet alone prosecutions. But this taboo topic has started to hit headlines in the Gulf over the past year as prominent businessmen have been arrested for fraud, bribery cases investigated and governmental units set up to tackle the problem.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE KINGDOM of Saudi Arabia’s USD$1 billion paint sector market is projected to return to double-digit growth this year on the back of massive government spending, following static growth in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has been pushing for more synchronised RNAV 5 area navigation within the Middle East. A regional meeting in Cairo has agreed there is a "need to harmonise the implementation of RNAV 5 in the MID [Middle East] Region."…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE ISLAND Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain has embarked on a US$4.7 billion (Euro 3.45 billion) expansion of its one and only commercial airport, the Bahrain International Airport (BIA), to handle rising passenger traffic and regain its position as an aviation hub in the region.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

INTRODUCTION

There are signs around the world that the textile market is beginning to recover from the global economic crisis, and developing markets will be leading that recovery. Asia is, of course, at the forefront, but many countries in Latin America have also weathered the crisis and have come out in a surprisingly decent position, with their dynamic textile and apparel industries well positioned for future expansion.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, EMMA JACKSON, PAUL COCHRANE and JULIAN RYALL

INTRODUCTION

Professionalisation is a key trend in today’s drinks sector, particularly as export markets are growing fast in emerging markets. With brand loyalty up for grabs, it is critical for alcoholic drinks producers especially to maintain and raise quality.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

WITH maturing fields, a need for more expansive upstream capabilities, and domestic energy demand spiking year on year, the United Arab Emirates is investing more than US$50 billion (Euro 36.6 billion) on oil and gas projects over the next three years to nearly double output capacity by 2020.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

PIRACY has increased exponentially off the coast of Somalia in recent years, with ships hijacked deep into international waters despite the presence of a multi-national naval task force, and pirates demanding ever higher ransoms from shipping companies. But while the spoils of piracy are evident in coastal Somali towns, tracking down where the remaining millions of dollars disappear to is hard to pin down, with allegations circulating of ransom money entering the real estate markets of Kenya, to money laundering in Yemen and Dubai.…

BY ANCA GURZU, MARK ROWE, PAUL COCHRANE AND KARRYN MILLER

THE COPENHAGEN conference on global warming may failed to have delivered a comprehensive global warming deal, but it did at least highlight an international consensus on the need to fight climate change and conserve energy: as a result, the global sales of paints and coatings that reflect heat and hence reduce the need for air conditioning are likely to rise.…

By Paul Cochrane, in Beirut

For business journalists, writing about the Gulf from 2004 to 2008 was often a repetitive process. Regardless of the sector being covered, the opening paragraph would invariably have a growth figure in the double digits, and the projection for the next year would also be very healthy. The global financial crisis in the autumn of 2008 dimmed the region's business fortunes, flipping that opening paragraph to negative double-digit growth or, for some sectors, growth in the low single-digits.

This change was welcomed by many business journalists, if only to spice up their writing, but of course not by the business community. The reasons behind strong growth can be easily explained, but a downturn and a serious contraction in revenues requires a different explanation, and it was time for journalists to start asking hard questions – at least it should have been time to play hardball.…

By Paul Cochrane, in Beirut

In Syria, a quarter of the country's population, some 5.3 million people, are enrolled in schools, while 38% of Saudis, 46% of Yemenis, 31% of Jordanians and 31% of Egyptians are below 14 years of age. Altogether, including Iran, half of the MENA's 300 million-plus people are under 24 years old.

While all these kids are in school, there is no pressing socio-economic problem. But over the next decade as students graduate and want to enter the workplace, finding employment for them all will be difficult. Already the Middle East and North Africa have among the highest unemployment rates in the world at 9.4% and 10.3% respectively, according to an International Labour Organisation report.…

By Paul Cochrane

With the end of the summer holidays, children and young people across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) once again donned uniforms, packed satchels and headed to school, amounting to more than a quarter of the region returning to class.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

IN the Persian Gulf, the traditional dress of the ‘dishdasha’ or ‘thobe’ is still a staple of most men’s wardrobes. In the region’s short, three- to four-month winter the typically white cotton dishdasha is replaced by light wools and cashmere dishdashas, with the season’s trend influenced by the Gulf’s monarchical rulers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has confirmed that it has launched an anti-dumping investigation into alleged cut-priced exports to the European Union (EU) of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from Iran, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A spokesman for the Commission’s trade directorate general said officials started probing the problem last Thursday (Sept 3) – it could lead to punishing anti-dumping duties being imposed by the EU on these products.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

OVER the past five years steel production has struggled to keep pace with demand in the Gulf, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as hundreds of billions of dollars worth of construction projects sprung up in the desert.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned that the amount of counterfeit medicines being smuggled into the European Union (EU) is increasing sharply. In its latest report on fake products, it warns that when compared to 2007, there were 57% more interventions by EU customs teams to seize counterfeit drugs, and a "remarkable" 118% increase in the number of fake medicines seized – to 8.8 million items.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

PAINT sales in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are forecast to fall by 25-30% this year, a remarkable change in fortunes from the years of double-digit growth when the country’s US$300 million coatings sector was one of the fastest growing in the world.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

TURKEY is ramping up car safety inspections as part of its bid to join the European Union (EU). Last year, Turkey hired a consortium made up of a German inspection firm TUV-Sud; Turkish car importer and distributor Dogus Automotive; and Akfen, a Turkish construction company, to independently inspect motor vehicles.…

BY DOMINIQUE PATTON

DEMAND for halal cosmetics worldwide is on the rise, driven not only by more affluent Muslim consumers but also growing interest in high quality, safe products.

Sales of all kinds of halal-certified goods have surged in recent years alongside higher purchasing power in Muslim countries.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

VEHICLE sales in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plunged by up to 45% in the first two months of the year compared to 2008, according to Ford, a remarkable change in fortunes from the years of double-digit growth when the US$3.6 billion sector was one of the fastest growing in the world.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE ARABIAN Sultanate of Oman’s two-year long talks with Iran to jointly develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) fields and establish a company to market LNG exports have yet to bear fruit. But while talks are still ongoing, Oman is developing its West Bukha field (off the Musandam Peninsula at the mouth of the Persian Gulf), with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Petroleum.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE COSMETICS and personal care sector in the Middle East is one of the fastest growing in the industry worldwide, registering 12% annual growth in the three years to 2008, and valued at US$2.1 billion, according to trade experts Epoc Messe Frankfurt (EMF).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE MIDDLE East and North Africa region (that economists like to award the acronym ‘MENA’) consumes 6% of the global vegetable oil market and sucks in 15% of global imports, with strong growth across the board on the back of rising per capita GDP and a burgeoning population.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Damascus and Beirut, and HELENA FLUSFELDER, in Jerusalem

INTRODUCTION AND THE GULF

THE DENIM sector in the Middle East is as diverse as it is fragmented, with strong demand in the Gulf and Israel for major brand names and the latest trends, while in the less economically developed parts of the Levant international brands are of less importance than style.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

IN a bid to become a major air industry capital of the world, Dubai is investing US$13 billion in civil aviation and aerospace projects as part of a master plan that extends to 2050. Dubai International Airport (DXB), the 10th busiest in the world in 2006 according to Airports Council International, is spending US$4.5 billion on terminals and other facilities that will triple its capacity by 2009 to 75 million passengers, while the US$33 billion Dubai World Central (DWC) business and residential city will be centred around what could be the world’s largest airport and cargo hub, the Al Maktoum International Airport (MIA).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut, and HELENA FLUSFELDER, in Jerusalem

THE DRINKS market in the Middle East continues to increase on the back of population growth, economic development, improvements in distribution and retail, and more aggressive advertising campaigns.

But like much of the rest of the world, younger and better educated market segments within the region are shifting away from carbonated soft drinks (CSD) towards fruit juices and bottled water as people become increasingly health conscious according to independent industry analysts and the drinks sector.…

BY LUCY JONES, in Dallas; ALAN OSBORN, in London; KARRYN CARTELLE, in Tokyo; BILL CORCORAN, in Johannesburg; PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut; RACHEL JONES, in Caracas; MARK ROWE; and KEITH NUTHALL

WITH the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round being slow to proceed since its 2001 launch – and only this year approaching something resembling and end game – free traders wanting to encourage global commerce have looked to bilateral and regional trade deals.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Tripoli and Beirut

THE OPENING up of Libya’s economy could not have come at a better time for international oil companies, which have been beset in recent years by dwindling easily accessible oil reserves, tighter controls over exploration rights and extraction, and heightened security concerns.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Kuwait City and Beirut

THE AUTO sector and market of the Middle East’s Gulf region experienced yet another boom year in 2007 on the back of high oil prices, a rising population and strong economic growth. But although sales were uniformly high among the six Gulf Arab states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Kuwait had a noticeably slower year, particularly for American and European brands.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Kuwait City

KUWAIT is set to follow Dubai by banning smoking in public places, a move that is expected to further hit local struggling non-premium tobacco distributors, who are still reeling from a hike in duty and advertising bans imposed five years ago.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Kuwait

THE MARKET for fake car parts in the Middle East is rising at an alarming pace, now accounting for an estimated 30% of the region’s US$11 billion parts sector. In a recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, the Middle East was highlighted as a central market in the US$16 billion global trade in fake auto parts, which is growing at an estimated 9-11% a year.…

BY SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH, in Lahore

WITH a long established food manufacturing sector and strong commodity production, the Pakistan food industry, one of the largest industries in the country, has grown with an average pace of 10% over the last three years.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s largest economy and, as a result, the biggest market for cosmetics, toiletries and perfumes, estimated at US$1.2 billion last year, according to the Saudi-American Business Council. With the birth rate at 3% growth a year, one of the highest in the world, and the population doubling every 25 years, companies expect significant growth in the near future as this young population ages.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
The cosmetics and personal care market in the UAE was worth more than US$414 million in retail sales last year, according to market data group Euromonitor. Demand is being driven in the UAE by an estimated 6.2 million tourists a year, a 23.5% rise in GDP in nominal terms in 2006, and by radical changes in the UAE’s population- from 2.4 million in 1995 to 4.3 million this year.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai
THE CLOTHING market in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is experiencing stellar growth on the back of rising consumer spending, a surge in tourists, and 145% growth in retail space as new malls and shopping centers spring up.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
Bahrain has a population of less than 800,000 and is not a major market for the international players, but with a growing economy sales are consistent and should increase as the retail environment develops. No soaps or cosmetics are made in Bahrain, imported from plants in neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as from Asia, Europe and North America.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Abu Dhabi
HOW to better regulate the popular Middle East and south Asian alternate remittance system (ARS) known as hawala, which has been linked to money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing, was the focus of the recent Fourth International Conference on Hawala at the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Abu Dhabi.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
SALES of cosmetics, perfumes and toiletries are surging in the Middle East, with sales reaching US$2.1 billion last year according to official statistics.

German cosmetics and toiletries manufacturing giant Beiersdorf estimated regional growth at 10% percent last year.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai and Manama, Bahrain
THE CAR market in the Arab Gulf, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is experiencing stellar growth across the board, fuelled by a surge in population and strong economic growth.

In the last five years, the UAE market has grown by over 300% to reach 2.5 million cars on the road, said Guy Edmunds, General Manager of Honda.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai
THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) US$310 million tobacco market is set to grow by 8% this year on the back of population growth, tourism and a strong economy, but the sector faces sizeable problems with illicit trade that accounts for as much as 33% of the market.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai
CURBING the counterfeiting and smuggling of established companies’ goods has become a pressing concern for international businesses wanting to protect their brands in the growing economies of the Middle East.

Although certain sectors are suffering more than others, the issue has been deemed serious enough for leading multinationals to team together last year to create a Brand Owners’ Protection Group (BPG) in the Middle East to tackle the region’s part in generating the US$500 billion global counterfeit trade.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States Trade Representative office has released intelligence reports showing global hotspots for sophisticated fake packaging. One bulletin, from the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition has cited Paraguay and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as problem countries. “Counterfeit exporters in Paraguay…use sophisticated methods to produce accurate forgeries of labels and packaging that are difficult for both consumers and law enforcement to distinguish from genuine products,” it says, adding UAE free zones Jebel Ali and Fujairah are major entry points for fakes into legitimate distribution channels.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai
THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) highly competitive food sector is expecting double-digit growth this year, driven by 7% annual population growth, booming foodservice and tourism sectors, and rapid economic growth.

Food producers and retailers in this economic powerhouse of the oil-rich Gulf say there is strong growth across the board, from fresh fruit to ready-made meals in the modern retail environment of the UAE, particularly in Dubai, which is undergoing a construction boom and the top destination for most expatriate workers and tourists.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States Trade Representative (USTR) has released a series of detailed reports outlining the threats posed by counterfeiters worldwide and the inability of many governments to fight the problem.

Its sheaf of intelligence includes comprehensive warnings from cigarette giant Philip Morris, a company that has adopted a high profile in fighting counterfeiters and smugglers.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

IRAN’S US$1 billion paint sector is going through a boom period: it is expected to grow by up to 20% this year on the back of strong decorative paint growth, an expanding automotive sector, and surging demand for specialised paints in the shipping and energy sectors.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

WITH the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the midst of an unprecedented construction boom, the paint sector is flourishing with contracts of up to half a million dollars underway, 200% growth in fire-resistance paints, and over 16% growth predicted for the sector as a whole this year.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Amman

CORRUPTION in Jordan is on the decline but cronyism and bribery are still widespread. An anti-corruption law is pending in government, and the monarchy has called for the implementation of an anti-money laundering law, a financial disclosure law and an anti-corruption commission.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

CONTRARY to Islamic stereotyping, lingerie sales are extremely healthy in the Middle East, although the brand is not as important as the style.

Indeed, there is lingerie openly on display that in Europe would usually be confined to sex shops.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

CONTRARY to Islamic stereotyping, lingerie sales are extremely healthy in the Middle East, although the brand is not as important as the style.

Indeed, there is lingerie openly on display that in Europe would usually be confined to sex shops.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

SAUDI Arabia’s paint sector is expanding vigorously – it is expected to grow by up to 10% this year on the back of high oil prices spurring on consumer spending, and a multi-billion dollar construction boom.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

STRONG demand for leather luggage in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is lining the pockets of tanners in Italy, Pakistan and Thailand.

According to a recent global online survey by marketing data company AC Nielsen, the UAE ranks among the top five countries worldwide for luxury branded luggage bags.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

OVER the last five years the Middle East and North Africa region has firmly joined the global effort to fight money laundering and terrorist financing by setting up national financial intelligence units and a regional watchdog, the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENA-FATF).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

THE COSMETICS and toiletries market in the Middle East is booming with 12% growth expected this year in a US$2.1 billion sector. Market trends differ from country to country, but the general trend is rising demand for European cosmetics over local products in the wealthier Arab countries, largely due to aggressive marketing campaigns by the major brands, and high demand for unregistered, fake brand name perfumes in countries with sizeable low-income populaces, such as Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Cairo

WITH the fight against money laundering and counter terrorism financing relatively new to the Middle East (the first plenary session of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force

– MENA-FATF – was only held last year), financial institutions from the US and MENA met in Cairo for a Private Sector Dialogue (PSD) conference to discuss the implementation of international regulations in the region.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SUGAR, honey and biscuit supply companies paid together hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in kickbacks to the toppled Saddam Hussein regime, the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Iraq Oil for Food programme scandal has claimed. There were 79 suppliers of these confectionary-related products (76 supplied sugar) named in a report, who paid Iraq to secure humanitarian supply contracts under the scheme, out of 2,200 companies overall.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PAINT and coating supplies companies paid together tens-of-thousands of dollars in kickbacks to the toppled Saddam Hussein regime, the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Iraq Oil for Food programme scandal has claimed. A report said they paid Iraq to secure humanitarian supply contracts under the scheme, out of 2,200 companies overall.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN ARAB sheik and his camel, riding the desert with a trained falcon, hunting for bustard migrating south to Africa; with skill and tenacity, he could catch 10 plump prey, a feast in a land where little grows.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) knitted clothing exports to the United States are expected to be boosted in the future by a new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement signed by the two countries. The US imported US$1.1 billion million in UAE goods in 2003, with knitted apparel a key component of this commerce, (along with woven clothes and oil).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
Fast food restaurants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are expecting a drop in business following a recent decision by the government there to ban beef products from U.S, according to trade sources. The country imports about 1,387 metric tons of beef each year.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) anti-fraud unit OLAF has claimed that EU treasuries were cheated of Euro 6 million because of a rules of origin scam involving steel wire, which has now been uncovered.

In its 2001-2002 annual report on the fight against fraud in the EU, OLAF tells of inquiries into information provided by British customs officers about an apparent increase in trade between India and the United Arab Emirates in steel wire.…

BY MARK ROWE
THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund is to help set up an Islamic Financial Services Board to regulate and lay down standards for financial transactions throughout the Islamic world. A key aim of the project is to incorporate the special insurance tenets that exist in the Islamic business world into the wider capitalist system.…