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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/…

Malaysia is expected to launch in January a detailed (although voluntary) halal certification for medical devices in an innovative regulatory move, making the country a world leader in this segment.

Its government published a halal medical device standard in September 2019, known as MS2636, but the halal division of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) agency has since been enhancing “their online system” and staff, since the new “scheme for halal medical devices must comply with other requirements”, Johari Ab Latiff, senior assistant director at JAKIM’s Malaysia Halal Council Secretariat, told Salaam Gateway.…

Fraud in the global halal food sector is emerging as a widespread problem. A series of scandals have rocked the industry worldwide, and shone a spotlight on the difficulty of eliminating non-halal practices from increasingly large and complicated food supply chains. …

Higher education institutions are being warned they could be a target for money laundering, with fees being financed by the proceeds of crime, including corruption, which might also buy property, cars and other items for students.

The problem has been highlighted in a series of reports.…

Since its foundation, the United States has regularly seen opposition party presidents defeat the candidate of the incumbent ruling party. Indeed, since the 1920s (when Republican presidents held sway), only one ruling presidential candidate won an election to replace a predecessor from the same party – President George Bush Snr in 1988.…

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).…

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.…

For nearly a hundred years, the city of Jerusalem has been the scene of violent confrontations between Jews and Arabs. This is the most recent of struggles over this most disputed city that have continued for more than three thousand years.…

Nearly two-thirds of 86 countries assessed worldwide face a high to critical risk of corruption in their defence and security sectors, according to the 2020 Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI) (1) that the Transparency International defence and security programme published November 16.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will start work in early 2022, based in Frankfurt, Germany, and Montréal, Canada, the IFRS Foundation Trustees have announced at the COP26 climate change meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. The trustees added that the new body would by next June (2022) incorporate the work of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) and the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF), which itself includes the Integrated Reporting Framework and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).…

Britain’s open register of beneficial ownership was groundbreaking worldwide but its effectiveness as a bulwark against money laundering is being debated, even as both the European Union (EU) and the US move ahead at varying pace to replicate the system. The question of whether BO registers should be open or closed is one that is being discussed in countries around the world.…

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 Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated a revision of the island’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Law, partly to help paint and coatings manufacturers maintain access to the European Union (EU) market. The reform will take account of the EU’s planned Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which may levy duties on products the EU deems have been made with excess carbon emissions.…

Global supply chain delivery delays and price tensions continue to disrupt Italy’s otherwise robust food can production sector. With profit margins squeezed, food canners expect prices to rise across the board for these long shelf-life food staples

According to Italian can manufacturing industry association ANFIMA’s most recent data, Italy produced 698,523 tonnes of rigid metal packaging (tinplate and steel) and 24,745 tonnes of aluminium packaging in 2020, up 3.6% and 7% from the same period the previous year, respectively.…

The increasing decriminalisation and legalisation of cannabis as a recreational and medicinal substance has encouraged the liberalisation of hemp as a fibre crop, whose use in some jurisdictions had been restricted because of laws against the plant’s chemically-active ingredients.

This is starting to change, most notably in the USA, which used to have severe anti-marijuana laws, but which now has 18 states that have legalised recreational cannabis use.…

The food halal market for Portugal, a largely Christian country that was in the early Middle Ages part of the Muslim world, has been expanding, serving a growing local Muslim community and Muslim tourists keen to taste Portuguese food.

Between 711 and 1249, most of Portugal was under Muslim rule, which influenced its language and culture.…

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.…

Cryptocurrency innovation is moving fast, with AML/CFT-oriented financial institutions and law enforcement struggling to keep up as criminals exploit the system through newer technology such as decentralised finance and anonymous privacy coins.

The use of cryptocurrencies is surging, and is increasingly being adopted in more, often unregulated, markets.…

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.…

INTRODUCTION

In a global textile and clothing market that is increasingly integrating design with functionality, the potential of luminescent yarns is becoming ever more apparent. The focus of groundbreaking research and development, there is widening diversity in this segment from luminescent coatings on yarns to those that integrate LEDs (light-emitting diodes).…

INTRODUCTION

In a highly technical textile sector segment such as the manufacture of compressed garments, the use of detailed standards to guide production is not just useful in guaranteeing quality output, it can help manufacturers and brands’ marketing. Where products are associated with international, regional, national and private standards, this builds confidence in consumers, promoting sales.…

THE COVID-19 pandemic’s boom in web usage has created opportunities for hackers and fraudsters to attack the unwary through electronic networks, however, on the plus side the scope for open-source intelligence (OSINT) inquiries online to reveal useful information about these criminals is growing.…

The Covid-19 pandemic that accelerated e-commerce by an estimated five years will also lead to an increase in on-shoring for the US textile industry through sustainable digital printing, especially attracting millennial and Gen-Z consumers, say industry insiders.

Tight profit margins in the textile-garment sector mean it makes “no sense” to rely on an overseas supply chain when runs as short as half a yard of fabric can be carried out with digital print technology, argued Mike Scrutton, director print technology and strategy at California-based Adobe, which provides innovative software for digital textile printers

Moreover, Kathryn Sanders, CEO of Western Sensibility, a digital textile printing company based in Montana, described changes such technology is making to the US textile industry as “very powerful” and “incredible”, adding some American manufacturers and designers are “banking on this being the future”.…

Even though life has been increasingly lived online during the Covid-19 pandemic, there is still a significant market for hardware surveillance devices, including those that are covert, with recording devices hidden in everyday objects, such as pens, watches, even water bottles.…

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many profound social and economic impacts, but maybe one of the most important for the clothing and textile sector has been how it encouraged the meshing of design and function in products.

With consumers staying at home, they have looked for apparel to provide comfort as much as formal elegance, of more importance when working in an office or attending public evening events.…

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.…

The European Commission has published details of the first themed grant calls in Horizon Europe, its seven-year EUR95.5 billion 2021-7 research funding programme, including at least six with obvious relevance to the textiles industry. The six calls are worth around EUR140 million in total, to be spent over the course of 2021-2022.…

Long after the January 10, 2020, deadline set by the European Union’s (EU) 5^th anti-money laundering directive (5AMLD) (1) for member states to establish public ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) registers, a Transparency International (TI) report (2) has alleged widespread non-compliance.…

The May (2021) acquisition by Irish animal health products firm Bimeda, of Seattle, USA-based AquaTactics Fish Health was low profile, but significant in highlighting Irish ambitions in the global aquaculture industry. The sector is growing globally, with production increasing to replace declining wild fishery stocks, in many cases fished to their maximum sustainable levels.…

Saudi women are taking up professional roles unimaginable a few years ago, and that includes in accounting, a trend encouraged by the government. A new women’s accountancy programme was launched in March (2021) by the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA), supported by the ministry of commerce.…

MALTA’S only multiple casino operator has been fined over serious AML/CFT failings, with the country’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) ordering Tumas Gaming Ltd to undertake AML control reforms.

The company must pay EUR233,156 for breaching the country’s Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations.…

When the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in the first half of 2020, China’s textile industry quickly increased its nonwoven-based supply capacity of protective masks, medical protective clothing, isolation clothing and other emergency prevention and control materials.

Data compiled by the China National Textile and Apparel Council show that the country’s output of nonwoven products recorded a robust year-on-year growth of 14.4% in in the first eleven months of 2020.…

THE WIDE diversity of AML laws worldwide can complicate the enforcement of AML/CFT extradition proceedings.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations 37 and 39 say that governments should be prepared to extradite money launderers (and terrorist financiers) to another country if they both criminalise the underlying predicate offence.…

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.…

FASHION brands and clothing retailers have seen their supply chains struggle under lockdown measures imposed by governments trying to contain Covid-19. The shutdowns, of course, began just in time for 2020’s spring season, causing maximum disruption. 

According to consulting firm McKinsey, 2020 was the fashion industry’s worst year on record, with a 90% decline in overall profits and almost three-quarters of registered firms globally making a loss.[1]…

With global markets and daily consumer habits being disrupted for almost a year due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, some oils and fats sales have grown – and a key example is soybean oil. This is true worldwide, from North and South America, to Africa, Asia, and Europe.…

The latest probe by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) into publicly accessible data held on Luxembourg’s ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) register – ‘OpenLux’ [1] – has alleged gaps in European Union (EU) requirements as well as the Grand Duchy’s own UBO provisions.…

The US new administration of President Joe Biden has a real opportunity to help forge peace in Syria, and if it succeeds, it could reap a series of important foreign policy goals.

This Levant country needs calm and reconstruction. For that to happen, the Biden team needs to recognise that the Baathist regime of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad has won this conflict, and still has rights in areas controlled by Kurds.…

The US new administration of President Joe Biden has a real opportunity to help forge peace in Syria, and if it succeeds, it could reap a series of important foreign policy goals.

This Levant country needs calm and reconstruction. For that to happen, the Biden team needs to recognise that the Baathist regime of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad has won this conflict, and still has rights in areas controlled by Kurds.…

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.…

REGULATIONS affecting what information can, should and cannot be placed on personal care product packaging are among the most demanding of compliance issues facing beauty manufacturers.

One reason is that this is both a very international field and a dynamic one – rules change all the time and vary widely from market to market.…

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 ACCESSION to power of President Joe Biden has sparked speculation that the recent shift in USA policy towards Israel and the Palestinian Territories pushed by his predecessor Donald Trump may be over.

Regardless of the justified criticism of Trump’s ethics and unpredictable governing style, the fact remains that his administration moved the needle in the Middle East.…

WHEN governments talk about how to reduce the risk of terrorism, the most oft-voiced policies are security-based: detecting and cracking down on extremist cells and targeting online propaganda.

But the reality is that a more effective way of reducing societies’ exposure to criminal groups seeking to achieve political ends through violence and fear is simply to make regular life more interesting.…

IT is not easy to make a living as a fine artist. So many talented painters, sculptors, illustrators and engravers pay their bills through teaching, and indulge their creativity as a sideline. Others move into commercial graphic design where their scope is confined by the demands of selling products, contrasting with the unbound freedom of imagination enjoyed by the independent artist.…

The former global head of sales at Jersey-based energy services company, Petrofac, David Lufkin, January 14 pleaded guilty at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, to three counts of bribery to win USD3.3 billion in contracts in the United Arab Emirates.…

German banking giant Deutsche Bank is to pay more than USD130 million in the USA for a string of bribes its “business development consultants (BDC)” paid out in Abu Dhabi, China, Italy and Saudi Arabia, in breach of America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).…

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. …

NEW integrated paint manufacturing units in India with an annual production capacity of less than Indian Rupees INR500 million (USD6.6 million) will soon be exempt from securing prior environment clearance by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). This rule, covering plants with production facilities for resins and pigments, is expected to come into force early next year (2021) once the central government formalises and gazettes a new Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification.…

Many of European Union’s 27 member states appear to have been dragging their feet when implementing a key provision of the fifth anti-money laundering directive (5AMLD) (1), setting up a public ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) register.  The registers should have gone live for the corporate world on January 10, 2020, and two months later on March 10 for trusts.…

SOUTH Africa’s paints and coatings industry has been struggling though the particularly tough Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the country’s government, which saw its manufacturing plants and most paint retailers closed from March 26 until May 1.

What made this order worse was that from March 26 until May 1, homeowners were told to remain at home except for essential purchases, making it hard for them to help each other with renovations, swapping decoration equipment and more – preventing many from undertaking renovations during this enforced time off.…

IN Australia, the process of bringing the nation’s AML/CFT laws and regulations up to international standards has stalled, senior AML/CFT specialists have told MLB. And a widening banking scandal currently highlights the need for reform, they say, with Australian financial institutions struggling to detect and report money laundering and other criminal transactions.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is promoting digital technologies within air traffic management systems to shore up the efficiency of a global civil aviation sector severely disrupted by Covid-19. But there is doubt about whether these investments will be made by a pandemic-hit industry.…

The Covid-19 pandemic is set to drive a near threefold surge in the antiviral coatings market as researchers and developers say they now realise how little they know about effective materials combatting such threats.

The search for more universal antiviral materials “should be continued with even higher intensity”, said Professors Ken Ostrikov and Ziqi Sun from Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, in their September (2020) report, ‘Future antiviral surfaces: Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic’, featured in the publication ‘Sustainable Materials and Technologies’.…

THE WORLD has become used to large leaks of confidential data from intelligence services and banks, but the latest dump, from the files of the USA’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) may have impacts beyond the unveiling of wrongdoing. Keith Nuthall explains.…

The China National Coatings Industry Association (NCIA) on July 31 informed members that it has been told by the ministry of ecology and environment to investigate the production, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste in the coating industry and compile a management guide based on the investigation’s findings.…

UNPRECEDENTED demand for aluminium cans caused by consumers drinking at home during lockdowns and associated restaurant and café closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will not cause long term disruption to this key canning market, say industry experts. Instead, manufacturers will work closely with customers to maintain supplies, European and United States (US) industry organisations have told CanTech International.…

With the fall out from the Covid-19 pandemic set to prompt an increase in already staggeringly high levels of digital identity fraud, financial institutions and businesses should develop more sophisticated tools to tackle the issue, researchers have warned. The fact the disease has hit when open banking applications are proliferating means fraudsters have more portals to target “particularly through identity fraud” attacks, suggests a July (2020) report from financial platform Finextra in collaboration with software providers Feedzai, headquartered in Portugal (https://www.finextra.com/finextra-downloads/research/documents/148/how-to-prevent-payments-fraud-amid-global-disruption.pdf).…

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) July 30 charged Airbus subsidiary, GPT Special Project Management Ltd, former managing director Jeffrey Cook, an alleged accomplice Terence Dorothy and GPT ex-financial officer John Mason, over corruption linked to Saudi defence contracts. The charges come some eight years after the SFO opened its investigation into Riyadh-based GPT in August 2012 for paying GBP14 million (USD18.37 million) in bribes to secure a GBP2 billion (USD2.62 billion) contract for high-level intranet and communications work for the Saudi National Guard.…

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.…

With Nigeria continuing its lockdown closure of education institutions into late June, the country’s private universities are continuing to develop online learning, while many public universities are waiting for their physical facilities to reopen before restarting services. Access to such buildings by essential staff have eased from June 2, with Nigerian government loosening a nationwide curfew from 8pm and 6am, which will now be in force from 10pm to 4am until June 29.…

THE UK’s overseas territories are struggling with something of an existential crisis, as they face an effective 2023 deadline for introducing publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers that could undermine their ability to offer confidential financial services to companies and wealthy individuals.…

ACCESSING the dark web once demanded some computing expertise. But dark web search engines and browsers continue being developed, guiding potential users to this encrypted corner of the web where commercial criminals ply their wares and illicit businesses avoid taxes. How should legitimate companies react?…

Malawi’s higher education sector will not be open for business as usual this week (from July 13), despite earlier government recommendations that the country’s Covid-19 lockdown (in place since March 23) be lifted. This is because the country is facing spiralling infection rate and death rates from the coronavirus.…

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/).…

While it is too early to assess the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UK personal care product sector, industry experts expect strategic changes to its supply chain, a growth towards innovative digital strategies and changes in consumer behaviour that will shape the industry in the long run.…

WANT to check the dark web for illicit services? Search engines accessible from the public web offer links to the dark web. One example is Finland-based Ahmia (https://ahmia.fi/), which yields interesting results from searches such as https://ahmia.fi/search/?q=hacking. A more recent variant that has attracted attention from the IT security press is Kilos – http://dnmugu4755642434.onion…

INTRODUCTION – SERIES

A series of reports from WTiN is exploring the need for the textile and clothing sector to protect itself against attacks from cybercriminals as it invests in new transformative Industry 4.0 technologies – extended reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.…

Only five European Union (EU) member states out of the current 27 have fully and properly complied with a requirement to set up public ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) registers by January 10 (2020) under the fifth anti-money laundering directive (5AMLD), according to research by campaign group Global Witness.…

CHINESE consumers, especially in younger generations such as Millennials and Generation Z, are increasingly concerned with eating healthily- and that includes snack choices. In a trend that may increase following the Covid-19 outbreak, sales of yoghurts, nut snacks and snack bars have all seen soaring growth in sales in recent years.…

INTRODUCTION – SERIES

A series of reports from WTiN is exploring the need for the textile and clothing sector to protect itself against attacks from cybercriminals as it invests in new transformative Industry 4.0 technologies – extended reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.…

Indonesia’s industry ministry launched an initiative in February (2020) aimed at eliminating lead used in paint made and sold in the country. It involves the Indonesian paint industry, is part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) project and is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an international investment body.…

AFRICA is commonly hailed as the world’s next big focus of economic growth, but for the civil aviation industry, this prospect will require significant investment in new intra-African routes and related airport and ATC infrastructure. It will also require governments to remove immigration barriers preventing African air travellers flying to other countries on their home continent.…

AS the afternoon heat ebbs in the middle of this Indian summer, a police team block a major highway outside the city of Nashik, in the western state of Maharashtra, rolling in wheeled yellow-coloured barricades. Soon a traffic jam builds up and policemen move from one car to another in search for cash, often hidden in door cavities or spare wheels.With…

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.…

THE GERMAN personal care products market turned out to be an “element of stability” in an otherwise sluggish economy in 2019, according to the country’s cosmetics industry association Industrieverband Köperpflege- und Waschmittel (IKW). German consumers spent EUR14.04 billion (USD15.55 billion) on personal care products, including shampoo and decorative cosmetics in the past year, 1.8% more than in 2018.…

THE SAUDI Arabian paint industry’s output grew comparatively slowly in 2019 according to some market data but is expected to experience more robust growth over the next few years as the government invests heavily in new development projects and infrastructure. India-based market researcher Mordor Intelligence said that the Saudi Arabia paints and coatings market generated USD1.164 billion in sales last year (2019), up from USD 1.142 billion in 2018 and USD1.120 in 2017.…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are being touted as game-changing solutions to improve the detection of financial crimes, including AML/CFT, but despite some promising results there are obstacles to roll-out, not least regulators’ ability to green-light new technologies as well as effectively utilise the data they produce.…

Airbus is to pay out EUR3.6 billion (USD4 billion) under a trio of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) with British, French and United States authorities that were simultaneously agreed by national courts January 31 as part of a global resolution over bribes to clinch civil and military aircraft sales.…

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.…

With Pakistan’s digital textile printing industry production growing at an average of at least 5% annually in recent years, according to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), with the country’s digital textile printing industry being an important focus of investment in a sometimes-troubled textile sector.…

A free trade deal between Europe and Australia is in the making but European Union (EU) trade negotiators have managed to generate some serious concerns among Australian dairy industry in the process. The EU wants Australia to recognise the exclusive rights of EU cheesemakers to the traditional names of almost 60 different types of cheeses through Australia recognising EU geographical indications (GI) within any agreement.…

Beauty markets in sub-Saharan Africa are becoming more sophisticated, and with this comes an increasing desire by consumers to use cosmetics that better match their own skin and hair characteristics, rather than utilising products that of more universal appeal.

Nigeria’s personal care product industry continues to grow, and given its population is the largest in Africa – now estimated by the United Nations at 200 million – this market inevitably has the most potential in the continent.…

As internet-enabled devices proliferate, there are some 400,000 new malware (malicious software) samples a day being released, according to Paul Ducklin, a principal research scientist at Sophos, a British security software and hardware company.

There are currently more than 7 billion devices connected to the internet, a number forecast to reach 10 billion by 2020, according to Germany-based internet of things consultants IoT Analytics.…

The new so-called European Union (EU) sixth anti-money laundering directive that harmonises penalties for money laundering across the bloc is a key back up to the EU’s existing AML legislation. While dubbed the sixth anti-money laundering directive (6AMLD), Directive (EU) 2018/1673 on combating money laundering by criminal law (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/1673/oj…

SALES of Indian apparel exports continue to be sluggish even after registering a 11% growth in July compared to June this year, after three months of continuous decline. According to a monthly newsletter issued by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India on October 5, India exported USD1.36 billion’s worth of apparel in July, which was also 7% more than July 2018.…

THE INCOMING European Commission may seek to further harmonise European Union (EU) food labelling rules on sugar content. This pledge comes from the nominee for new EU health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, a Cypriot parliamentarian, whose EU role includes being responsible for food safety and standards.…

A harmonisation of regulatory frameworks and increased sharing of data between financial institutions may help overcome the “metronomic tension” within financial businesses balancing effective fraud detection and low user friction, say experts. With more challenger banks delivering services, real-time checks based on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics may ensure the speed customers expect in digital transactions does not compromise security, including during onboarding.…

THE CHINESE government has from September 1 imposed 5% additional retaliatory duties on US exports of paint to China, in the latest round of the trade war between the two countries. The new tariffs cover products such as polyester, acrylic, ethylene and polyeurathane powdered paints; acrylic, polymer and vinyl liquid paints; and more – see http://gss.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/zhengcefabu/201908/P020190823604938915640.pdf…

HONG Kong’s government has released tax measures to support an economy buffeted by political protests, the US-China trade war and headwinds from a potential hard Brexit. Its financial secretary announced that 27 groups of government fees and charges would be waived for 12 months to benefit sectors including maritime, logistics, retail, catering, tourism, construction, agriculture and fisheries businesses.…

HONG Kong’s government has released tax measures to support an economy buffeted by political protests, the US-China trade war and headwinds from a potential hard Brexit. Its financial secretary announced that 27 groups of government fees and charges would be waived for 12 months to benefit sectors including maritime, logistics, retail, catering, tourism, construction, agriculture and fisheries businesses.…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has started looking for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that it may advise be restricted internationally through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and hence within the European Union (EU).

This new role for the agency, which could impact the use and availability of coatings and their chemical ingredients, was mandated under a new EU regulation on persistent organic pollutants (POP), that came into force in June – see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019R1021&from=EN…

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.…

THE TRADE war between the USA and China that has seen both sides impose a wide range of duties on each other’s exports has depressed Australian wool prices though a reduction in demand from key Chinese buyers.

Australian Council of Wool Exporters and Processors executive director Peter Morgan told just-style that the Washington-Beijing stand-off has come during other events depressing wool sales: “Events such as the US, China trade wars, US, India trade disputes, the US, Iran political tensions and the negative rhetoric during the recent G20 meeting” have been  disruptive and this obviously “effect global economic confidence,” he said.…

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%.…

GLOBAL food and beverage company Nestlé’s restructure in the EMENA (Europe, Middle East and North Africa) region, which began in 2017, has delivered improved efficiencies and performance, according to Marco Settembri, Nestlé’s executive vice-president and EMENA zone CEO.

“It’s always a question of evolution,” Mr Settembri told just-food before the opening session of the July 4-5 2^nd European Entrepreneurship Education summit in Lille, northern France,* in which he was to speak.…

SURVEILLANCE and detection are becoming increasingly high-tech, especially when fighting financial crime. But experts still think combining human expertise with new artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis is the smartest way to unmask commercial crime. Sarah Gibbons and Sara Lewis report.…

The rules amend existing restrictions in the REACH chemicals regulation 1907/2006. They set maximum concentration limits for chemicals “particularly harmful in case of frequent contact with human skin”, the Commission said in an October 10 press note.

Permitted levels range from 1mg/kg for cadmium, chromium, arsenic, and lead to 3,000mg/kg for N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF).…

Regulators have started to actively encourage financial institutions to experiment and use machine learning to detect suspicious activity.

US regulatory authorities have called for innovative approaches to meet AML compliance obligations “to further strengthen the financial system against illicit activity”.

In a joint statement, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; USA FIU the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN); the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced their support for innovative technology development last December.…

Regulators have started to actively encourage financial institutions to experiment and use machine learning to detect suspicious activity.

US regulatory authorities have called for innovative approaches to meet AML compliance obligations “to further strengthen the financial system against illicit activity”.

In a joint statement, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; USA FIU the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN); the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced their support for innovative technology development last December.…

WITH the Carbon Trust defining energy management as the use of technology to improve energy performance of an organisation within their holistic management processes, the need to tap data banks of expertise can only help in framing and operating such policies.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Organization for Standardization (ISO) has launched a series of standards designed to help the cocoa industry ensure its products are both sustainably harvested and processed, but also traceable across their supply chains. Its ISO 34101 series is designed to promote good environmental and labour practices in a sector that involves sophisticated confectionery companies, global commodity traders and small farmers, often in poor countries, notably in west Africa.…

THE PERSONAL care product sector has an increasingly complex and global supply chain and as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and retailers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

THE BALTIC States, being European Union (EU) member states adjacent to Russia and Belarus have been exploited by Russian criminals as a gateway for their illicit funds into the EU and beyond.

This is despite that as EU member states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania must implement EU anti-money laundering and anti-terror finance legislation.…

THE INDUSTRIAL minerals mining and processing sector and its customers has an increasingly complex and global supply chain and as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and retailers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

AFRICA is without doubt the continent to watch for airport and air traffic control investment in the future. It is the world’s second most populous continent (home to more than 1.2 billion people), and according to Airports Council International (World) – ACI World – Africa was the fastest growing region for air passenger traffic in 2017 and 2018, which rose 6.3% in 2017 year-on-year and 10.8% in 2018 to June year-to-date, year-on-year.…

THE LEGALISATION nationwide of recreational cannabis in Canada last October (2018) was a groundbreaking move – a first for a major western country – and from this coming October 17, at the latest, one that may have significant implications for the beauty business.…

INDIAN authorities have seized more than USD120 million’s worth of unaccounted cash during the six-week long general election that concluded in May [2019]. Law enforcers have warned that this could be for vote buying, making a future government susceptible to corruption, promoting graft in business.…

THE INTERNATIONAL paint and coatings sector is not just under increasing regulatory pressure to reduce the amount of toxins in its products, but it continues to actively remove such potentially harmful elements – it is good for consumers and hence, business.…

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.…

This year’s edition of Italy’s premier beauty trade fair, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna (March 15-18) and its packaging “show within the show” Cosmopack have showcased innovations that will help pull the global personal care product sector towards a more sustainable future.

The 52nd edition of the successful B2B platform drew over 265,000 cosmetic beauty professionals, boasting an increase in visitors from abroad by 10% compared to the previous year.…

THE EGYPTIAN economy is still struggling to overcome the problem of low hard currency reserves, a challenge that has negatively affected the local paints and coatings industry due its high dependence on imports.

“There has been a crisis in terms of availability of US dollars to purchase raw materials and most of the raw materials are imported,” said Himanshu Vasisht, project lead for energy and chemicals at India-based market researcher Mordor Intelligence.…

BOTH France and Germany are facing legal action by the European Commission over their failure to implement the European Union’s (EU) 2015 fourth anti-money laundering directive (AMLD – 2015/849) correctly.

While both countries have written the legislation into national law, the EU’s executive has concluded that certain provisions are missing.…

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.…

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.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has included four American external territories – Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa – on a proposed blacklist of weak AML/CFT jurisdictions released today (Feb 13).

Brussels’ updated list includes 12 countries that are viewed with concern by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the Bahamas, Botswana, North Korea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen. …

WITH Bahrain investigating its first major oil find in 86 years, the mineral sector will be keeping a close eye on exploration because this is an offshore shale oil and gas resource that will need fracking inputs to extract hydrocarbons.

“It is definitely very unique, a one of a kind oil find in shallower waters close to shore,” said Edgar van der Meer, senior research analyst at NRG Expert, in London.…

The former global head of sales for Jersey-based oilfield services company Petrofac International Ltd pleaded guilty February 6 to UK Bribery Act violations related to over USD50 million in bribes to agents to gain engineering, procurement and construction contracts in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. …

BAHRAIN’S first oil find since 1932 is of major economic significance to the small Gulf state, which has been less reliant on hydrocarbons than its oil and gas rich Gulf neighbours. But it is also of global significance, being a unique, conventional-unconventional offshore shale find in shallow waters.…

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.…

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) maybe the focus of hype in anti-fraud circles, but specialists insist that as AI systems are refined, they will create effective tools for financial institutions, governments and large companies.

Sundeep Tengur, London-based banking fraud and financial crime specialist within the global fraud and security practice of US-headquartered analytics software producers SAS Institute Inc, noted in a blog on the Fintech Extra site last April last year that the financial services industry has witnessed “considerable hype” around AI.…

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.…

EMBATTLED Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has launched appeal proceedings against a mammoth USD4.69 billion judgement as it fights on to salvage its reputation amid increasing claims its Baby Powder causes cancer.

Dubbed by one attorney as the biggest public health scandal after tobacco, the American personal care product giant is currently fending off almost 12,000 other lawsuits.…

MANUFACTURERS and users of chemicals made from minerals, and chemical mineral processing agents within the European Union (EU), will from January 2020 have to check whether the chemicals they use contain nanoparticles. If they do, they will have to assess their safety and report the results to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) textile finishers and their suppliers will from January 2020 have to check whether the chemicals they use contain nanoparticles, and if they do, assess their safety and report the results to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). This follows the release of a new EU regulation on nanoforms amending EU chemical control system REACH which will apply to all current REACH registered chemicals and any subject to new registration applications.…

BLOCKCHAIN technology may be being examined hard by the anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) sector, but AML/CFT experts warn against its swift widespread adoption, stressing that while regtech innovation is important, adopters must make sure it does not “compromise the safety and soundness of the financial eco system”.…

The conventional arms trade has a reputation for using side payment sweeteners to secure multi-million dollar deals. But despite allegations of corruption in numerous jurisdictions, the legitimate arms trade is not on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) radar. Should it be?…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is working with European ATC organisation Eurocontrol to design a globally accessible repository of urgent messages and related situational data showing emergency services the location of a plane at risk of crashing. This system would, if the project is successful, come on line as a prototype by February 2020, and be operational by the January 2021 enforcement of a second tranche of air navigation reporting requirements, designed to prevent a recurrence of tragedies such as the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370.…

With different forms of fraud skyrocketing, demand for surveillance is not only growing but becoming more diverse, with companies offering services ranging from old-fashioned stakeouts to high-tech detection. A Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection, released in January (2018) by research and advisory firm Gartner Inc, forecasts that the fraud detection and prevention marketplace is expected to grow significantly by 2022.…

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.…

THE DRAFT Brexit agreement that has caused political controversy in the UK, but which the European Union (EU) insists is its final offer, would not – if approved – guarantee British membership of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

There have been calls for the UK to remain within ECHA and its REACH chemical control system, if the UK quits the EU, as planned on March 29.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has adopted a regulation* tightening use restrictions for 33 carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances in clothing and textiles.

The rules amend existing restrictions in the REACH chemicals regulation 1907/2006. They set maximum concentration limits for chemicals “particularly harmful in case of frequent contact with human skin”, the Commission said in an October 10 press note.…

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.…

WHILE crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero and the others have built their reputation and success of the reliability of their blockchain-based transaction records, it does not mean that these financial systems are immune to fraud. Indeed, fraudsters have found ample opportunities to exploit and subvert the eco-system that surrounds cryptocurrencies.…

WITH an estimated USD1.5 trillion lost to the global economy because of bribes, the World Bank is pushing for a diverse array of technology to be deployed – it is a call being answered with anti-graft systems being installed worldwide.

Reducing corruption “is a priority” for the World Bank, it said in a briefing note in September 2017.…

*EU member states have been given temporary permission to use so-called reverse charge mechanisms to collect VAT, involving shifting liability to pay from suppliers to customers, to fight fraud. The EU Council of Ministers has approved a directive allowing governments to reverse charge VAT on domestic supplies of goods and services above EUR17,500 per transaction until June 2022, when a country is losing 25% or more of VAT to carousel fraud.…

A SALES and Services Tax (SST), replacing Malaysia’s now abolished goods and services tax (GST), has come into force (from September 1), via the new Sales Tax Act 2018 and the Service Tax Act 2018. The SST is a single-stage tax, a sales and services tax imposed on manufacturers and service providers rather than end customers, as with the 6% GST.…

A SALES and Services Tax (SST), replacing Malaysia’s now abolished goods and services tax (GST), has come into force (from September 1), via the new Sales Tax Act 2018 and the Service Tax Act 2018. The SST is a single-stage tax, a sales and services tax imposed on manufacturers and service providers rather than end customers, as with the 6% GST.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) paint and coating sector will be keeping a close eye on plans to craft a new EUR94.1 billion Horizon Europe research and development programme operating from 2021 to 2027. These major EU research budgets fund innovation in the sector involving companies from different countries within the EU – proposed industry and natural resources priority spending sections in the 2021-27 programme may especially promote paint and coating studies.…

China seems to have given the world nuclear industry back its mojo this summer with two big moves: the signing in June of an order for four Gen 3+ VVER-1200 reactors from Russia’s Rosatom. This certainly got the bubbly flowing at the World Nuclear Exhibition, in Paris, in late June, following two years of sluggish investment in this globalised industry.…

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.…

An amendment to a UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill requires the British government to impose such registers on its OTs by this deadline, if the local administrations have not created their own. The UK currently has the world’s only public beneficial ownership register – but it only covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – see http://ownershiptransparency.com/…

AN INNOVATIVE air traffic management switch from land-based ATC services using classic vectoring, to a performance-based navigation (PBN) arrangement using airliner satellite positioning and RNP-AR (required navigation performance – authorisation required) has dramatically increased the traffic capacity of El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá, Colombia.…

EASTERN Europe offers some significant advantages as regards digital fabric printing – it has a high skilled workforce, reliable utilities and transport, access to western European markets, and comparatively low wages.

Its fabric producers also look for technological niches that allow them to compete with Asian manufacturers on quality and western European companies on cost – and digital textile printing as a result is popular.…

THERE are growing calls for Hong Kong-based recruiters to re-think and speed up their hiring processes, after a latest study found that they are losing the best talent to unnecessary HR decision delays.

More than 72% of 500 Hong Kong job seekers have taken a second job “because their preferred employer took too long to give them an answer,” recruitment specialist Robert Half found in a study published last month (May 17).…

PAKISTAN’S law enforcers and regulators are on the front line when it comes to fighting terrorist financing, money laundering and financial crime in general, both within the country and from across its borders, notably conflict-riven Afghanistan. But its government and state agencies often send mixed messages over their commitment to fight terror finance.…

CIVIL rights groups in the United States have been making progress in securing court rulings hindering customs and border security agents from searching electronic devices at international borders, including airports.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others, have been seeking to leverage the 2014 Supreme Court ‘US v Riley’ judgement, which said police must obtain a warrant to search mobile phones of arrested people – https://www.eff.org/document/riley-wurie-supreme-court-opinions…

ACHIEVING regulatory convergence in the USD465 billion global cosmetics industry (Euromonitor 2017 figures) is an important long-term goal, industry experts agreed at European personal care product association Cosmetics Europe’s June 13-14 annual conference 2018 in Brussels. Europe is a key market for this industry – providing EUR77.6 billion’s worth of personal care product sales last year, and supporting more than two million jobs, said Cosmetics Europe president Loïc Armand, also president of L’Oréal France.…

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.…

A VOTE by the UK parliament to insist that Britain’s overseas territories introduce publicly available beneficial ownership registers by December 31, 2020, has sparked anger and dismay within these autonomous, mainly small island, jurisdictions.

An amendment to a UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill requires the British government to impose such registers on its OTs by this deadline, if the local administrations have not created their own.…

The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the five pillars of Islam, a religious duty every Muslim should perform once in their lifetime. But with 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide and the Hajj only occurring over five days every year, the event is a logistical challenge for the Saudi Arabian government, tour operators, hospitality service providers, retailers and accountants.…

THE HIMALAYAN kingdom of Bhutan may have a ban on smoking in public spaces under the Tobacco Control Act of 2010, but it is not hard to find smokers flouting this law. The legislation specified sporting centres as public spaces under the act, but when Tobacco Journal International visited the national stadium in the capital Thimphu to watch the opening game of this season’s Bhutan Pepsi Football League on April 21, it followed young fans walk to washroom at half-time to light up smuggled cigarettes.…

A DRAFT European Commission regulation amending European Union (EU) chemical control system REACH is to insist that chemical manufacturers using nanoparticles must consider the special potential environmental health impact of using them in their products.

These proposals have been backed by the European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) REACH committee.…

WITH the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) about to hold a new plenary on June 27-29, jointly with the FATF-style regional body from the Middle East and North Africa (MENAFATF), the global AML body is assessing its new operational plan for terrorist financing.…

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.…

THE ORGANISERS of Italy’s premier beauty trade fair, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, are claiming a record number of visitors and international buyers attending this year’s 51st edition of the event from March 15-19. Exceeding the 250,000 visitors from last year’s Cosmoprof, attending foreign buyers, distributors and retail representatives grew 11% in 2018, year-on-year.…

THE SOUTH Korean cosmetics market, currently evaluated by Frost & Sullivan at USD12.4 billion and growing at 7% year-on-year, is leaving behind the negative effects of a de facto boycott by Chinese tourists. The travel freeze, sparked by Seoul’s decision to install a US-made anti-missile system to protect itself from North Korea, has been in place since early 2017.…

India’s petrochemicals industry is preparing to exploit its growth potential and can benefit from lessons learned in Europe. Indeed, India’s intertwined petrochemicals and refining sectors received a significant endorsement of their future potential in April 2018 in the shape of major foreign investment in what will be one of the world’s biggest integrated sites for these twin purposes.…

WILL Brexit increase money laundering through the UK, or will the British government’s October 2017 Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill (SAMLB) and the UK money laundering regulations 2017 adequately replace the European Union’s (EU) anti-money laundering directives (AMLD)?

British Labour member of the European Parliament (MEP) Claude Moraes has his doubts.…

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI)-led candidate screening or simply put, automated recruitment is ready to take off in east and south-east Asia. However, a key challenge in the process is making automated interactions valuable and engaging enough for candidates – so that “they don’t feel like they are talking to a dumb machine,” an industry expert said.…

SINCE the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the USA, the UK, Russia, France, China, Germany and the European Union (EU), foreign financial institutions have – in theory – been allowed to do business with Iran.  But the reality – as ever with relations with Iran – is proving to be a good deal more complex.…

AUSTRALIA may have been strengthening its anti-money laundering (AML) systems, but an admission last year (2017) by the country’s biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), about AML failures was a clear reminder that reforms are still needed. The Commonwealth Bank admitted that it had breached Australian AML laws 53,700 times.…

AN OFFICIAL from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has told just-drinks that the growth in free trade zones (FTZ) is boosting the sale of counterfeit drinks.

OECD’s policy analyst Florence Mouradian said the drinks sector that was a target for illicit traders in FTZs.…

A CONSORTIUM led by Singapore’s Changi Airports International (CAI) has lost a contract to operate and manage Saudi Arabia’s new King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), in Jeddah, which, has been due to open in May (2018). Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said it will launch a new international tendering process.…

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 UK may have a formal relationship with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after its planned March 29, (2019) departure from the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled in a detailed policy speech. Speaking in the City of London, she said: “We will also want to explore with the EU, the terms on which the UK could remain part of EU agencies…” And while not naming EFSA, she said – in theory – she was prepared to allow the UK to be bound by the rules of EU agencies, post-Brexit. …

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.…

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.…

TURKEY has become “a powerhouse” in the nonwovens sector and forecasts predict further growth of between 5-10% this year with “game changer” new products coming to market, according to industry insiders – but overcapacity is keeping margins tight, they warn.

Turkey is the largest nonwovens producer in the Middle East, and now the second largest in Europe, according to European nonwovens industry association EDANA.…

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.…

THE JORDANIAN cabinet has approved in principle a deal between Jordan’s ministry of energy and mineral resources and Iraq’s oil ministry to build an oil and gas pipeline linking the main southern Iraq oilfields near Basra and Jordan’s port, Aqaba. The Jordanian ministry has said that the 1,680km pipeline could daily pump one million barrels of oil daily and 258 million cubic feet of gas to Jordan.…

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to build 16 nuclear reactors, both small and large, to generate 17GWe by 2040. While no tenders have yet been awarded, the kingdom is working with numerous international partners to develop its nuclear infrastructure and safety systems.…

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.…

MAJOR shifts in the power of exporting countries within the meat and livestock sector in the past decade have been identified in new statistical analysis released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The global body has noted how India between 2006 and 2016 became a bovine meat export power house (notably in buffalo meat) with overseas sales rising from 79,400 tonnes (1.9% of world exports) to 1.2 million tonnes (18.7%) and the world’s largest exporter to boot.…

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.…

ONLINE-savvy cosmetics consumers are becoming more adventurous – gone are the days that they would only trust the quality of traditional brands bought sight unseen on the web. Instead, consumers are investigating product ingredients carefully, as well as online reviews, and armed with such information, are often choosing to buy emerging, smaller brands over those established, known ones.…

BEET and cane sugar exports from the European Union (EU) boomed in 2017, the year production quotas were scrapped (on September 30), according to figures released by the European Commission. They rose by 42.9% year-on-year, up from EUR631 million in 2016 to EUR902 million in 2017.…

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.…

THE NONWOVENS market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is increasingly important to the global nonwovens industry, with rising consumer demand being generated by middle classes that are growing in size. Countries in the region are also comparatively young, with high birth rates, boosting demand for diapers and wipes.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) financial watchdog, the Court of Auditors, has highlighted concerns about how Chinese knitwear exporters maybe exploiting loopholes in EU customs and VAT controls to evade paying proper amounts of these taxes.

In a report on shortcomings in EU import procedures, the court noted how Chinese traders were abusing EU customs procedure CP42, which allows an importer to bring goods into one EU member state without paying VAT, because they will be sold in another EU country.…

Australia has today (January 16) requested formal talks with Canada at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), where it will pressure the Canadian government to liberalise wine trading restrictions in four of Canada’ provinces. These are British Columbia (BC), Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.…

TARGETING online fraud as businesses, government and consumers increasingly conduct business and transactions via the Internet is an increasing priority for anti-fraud technology providers.

Real-time identification of potential frauds is a key focus of new systems developed and released in the past year.…

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 programme called ‘”From School To Work” Buddy Programme’, initiated by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM), is set to be rolled out in January 2018 – marking the institute’s 40^th anniversary.

The six months long programme will offer “one-on-one, peer-to-peer mentoring and coaching for HR students in their final year of study in universities and academic institutions about career aspirations and goals,” HKIHRM president David Li said.…

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.…

*The wealthier personal care product markets of the Middle East and Africa are increasingly mature and segmented, with consumers looking for specialist lines such as organic and halal products. Brands need to develop quality formulations that meet these demands, while protecting the image and reputation of their overall product line.…

With its history of currency counterfeiting, drug trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the laundering of related proceeds and payments, there is surely no state worldwide that has a worse money laundering track record than that of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea).…

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.…

HUMAN resources experts in Asia have challenged the widely-held belief that recruiting more and more younger ‘digital natives’ who grew up in the Internet age is the best answer to technological developments completely transforming traditional work environments.

Personnel specialists in the tech-innovation-driven economies of Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia believe that an older more experienced workforce might actually be more beneficial to organisations mastering digital development challenges.…

MORE could be done by the Indonesian government to improve the opportunities for job seekers as unemployment figures continue to rise, say HR experts.

While the IT sector is set to drive the economy forward, the skillsets of local would-be employees are still lacking and a push is required towards stepping up education levels, they warned.…

HUMAN Resources experts across east and southeast Asia need to rethink what can be overly-automated hiring processes, lacking in personal touch, say some experts. Indeed, there is a need to rehumanise the candidate experience, according to a new study which found that too much automation puts off prospective candidates rather than attracts them.…

CHINA’S imposition of temporary safeguard duties to protect its sugar industry have been challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with sugar giant Brazil arguing Beijing’s tariffs break global commerce rules. In a signal that Brazil might be considering launching a disputes case against China, diplomats for the South American country told a WTO safeguards committee meeting that the duties broke the WTO agreement on safeguards and the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT). …

PANAMA has been reforming its anti-money laundering (AML) regulations at a rapid rate as it tries to change perceptions of the country as a hub of money laundering and tax evasion. However, with serious loopholes remaining and grave doubts over its lack of investigative capacity, it remains some way from shedding its unwanted reputation.…

SINGAPORE may be a global hub for business but the city state’s ministry of manpower is keen to ensure that its employers consider Singaporeans fairly for local jobs when recruiting. And currently there are nearly 300 companies placed on a government watchlist for not doing so, a ministry spokesperson told People Management.…

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). …

DUBLIN-based accountancy firm BDO is planning to start a new EUR100 million investment fund to assist fast expanding mid-sized Irish companies in unlocking further growth opportunities. This will be the successor fund to an already existing BDO Development Capital Fund (DCF) worth EUR75 million.…

In a socially-reserved country such as Saudi Arabia where entertainment options are mostly limited to shopping and cafes – the opening of spas and beauty salons offer another avenue for leisure and recreation.

According to market research company Euromonitor International, Saudi Arabia’s spa market was valued at Saudi Arabian Riyals SAR275 million (USD73.3 million) in 2017, growing by 7% over 2016.…

THE ARAB Spring, for all its faults, inconsistencies and disappointments, has delivered the world one thriving open and pluralistic Arab society – Tunisia – where women especially have seized new freedoms and spending power. This is reflected in spending on spa and salon services in the country, where, according to market researcher Euromonitor International, in the year of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution the turnover of the Tunisian spa sector was just USD32.4 million.…

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.…

IN a cutting-edge area of the textile sector such as digital manufacturing, planning and distribution, it is always helpful to know what the gold standard is for performance. But with technologies still developing and innovation taking hardware and software in directions that are untested – with implications that are as yet unknown – companies may not want to follow the crowd.…

THE IMPOVERISHED south-east Asian kingdom of Cambodia shares porous borders with the significantly more dynamic economies of Thailand and Vietnam, is notorious for corruption, has a large casino sector and generates significant earnings from illegal exports.

This precarious mixture of factors has since 2012 consecutively earned Cambodia a spot in the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index (from the Basel Institute on Governance) top-10 risk jurisdictions for money laundering.…

MOST of East Asia’s dynamic economies have traditionally relied on expats and there are no readily discernible signs that this is decreasing.

In Vietnam, which has been benefitting from production lines migrating from China amid rapidly rising labour and land costs there, increasing the number of expats six-fold since 2004 to almost 100,000 in 2016, the shortage of engineers and managers can be seen throughout most sectors.…

HONG KONG and Saudi Arabia has struck an agreement on avoiding double taxation so any Saudi Arabian tax paid by Hong Kong companies will be credited against tax payable on the same profits in the special administrative region. The same would apply to Saudi companies paying tax in Hong Kong.…

A MAJOR international anti-counterfeiting action ‘Operation Renegade’ did not just seize more than 70,000 counterfeit auto spare parts, oil and air filters, grills, and fuel pumps, and nearly 600 cylinders of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants, it yielded valuable anti-smuggling and counterfeiting information.…

JAPAN’S paint and coatings sector is putting on a positive face and playing up overseas expansion efforts, as well as its traditional strength in innovation, but analysts are concerned about the longer-term outlook for domestic companies.

Sales of paint in Japan came to Japanese Yen JPY 675 billion (USD6.10 billion) in 2016, a marginal increase of around 1% on the previous year’s figure, according to the Japan Paint Manufacturers Association.…

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.…

WHEN the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) released its annual set of global statistics in June (2017), and South Korea was not among the world’s 24 countries that performed the most surgical and nonsurgical procedures in 2016, there was considerable surprise.…

THE GENERAL Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia has released information about how it plans to privatise all the kingdom’s 27 airports. It has said it will transfer control to companies owned by the Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Co, whose ownership will be given to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which will handle further sales.…

In a move that will disappoint many textile manufacturers and exporters, the government of Pakistan has decided to abandon its plans to build a Pakistan Textile City near Karachi.
A senior government official at Pakistan’s ministry of textile industry confirmed to just-style that the federal cabinet’s economic coordination committee had approved winding up a Pakistan Textile City Ltd (PTCL), a special purpose vehicle for the project, after clearing the company’s liabilities and transferring its land to the Port Qasim Authority (PQA).…

AN EXPERT from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has told businesses in the city state that they need to work harder to ensure they pay women and men equally for the same for level of work.

Its call came after a study found that Singapore’s gender pay gap has not improved in the last decade.…

IN east Asia’s complex ethnic mix of peoples, the need to avoid racial discrimination which may undermine social stability is understood clearly by governments and businesses. And while experts agree that progress is being made is tackling this potentially corrosive personnel problem, more certainly could be done.…

TEXTILE finishers in Brazil should take heed of local consumers’ demand for complex and colourful design in fabrics, traders at SAARA, Rio de Janeiro’s biggest open-air market, have told WTiN.com.

Grassroots interviews at this market in the city’s historic centre said Brazil’s mass market fabric tastes eschew simplicity – the market, originally founded by immigrants at the end of the 19^th century, is a medley of shopfronts selling everything from sports equipment and beach chairs to makeup and plastic jewellery.…

THE FIRST phase of expanding the main airport for passengers visiting the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia, is now 88% complete say managers for Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA). New systems will start being trialled early 2018. The USD7.2 billion project integrates domestic and international environment-friendly terminals, stressed KAIA director general Abdullah Alraimi.…

ROYAL Jordanian Airlines and Kuwait Airlines have been given permission to allow air passengers on USA-bound flights to resume carrying personal electronic items, including laptops, onto their planes, after they ramped up security measures. The bans, lifted July 9, had been imposed in March over American concerns that Islamic State members and other extremists could hide bombs inside laptops. …

PUBLIC authorities in the south Asian island nation of Maldives are themselves developing the country’s main Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, after a dispute with India’s GMR Group ended in a costly arbitration ruling.

This dated back to 2010 when GMR Male International Airport Ltd (GMIAL), a subsidiary of India’s GMR Infrastructure Ltd, signed a concession agreement with the Maldives government and the Maldives Airport Company Ltd (MACL) to modernise and operate the airport.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) projected comprehensive trade deal with Japan, agreed in principle at a July 6 EU-Japan summit in Brussels, will benefit exporters of Europe-produced non-ferrous metals, experts have told Metal Bulletin. Japanese non-ferrous metal exporters are more cautious about the potential benefits for their industry, however.…

Myanmar human resources managers are facing a challenge managing a flood of qualified professionals return home from abroad in the past half-decade, with the country’s government transitioning from military to civilian rule and opening up the economy.

At first it may seem that Myanmar returnees – so called ‘re-pats’ – would be ideally placed to prosper in a local business environment.…

With an ever-increasing reliance on technology and global shift towards renewable energy to protect the planet’s resources, the Nordic industrial minerals sector finds itself at something of a crossroads in terms of sustainability.

Home to some of the world’s largest reserves of minerals used in critical technologies, with a profitable future predicted, the industry is being closely monitored by Nordic regulatory authorities to ensure mining is conducted as ethically and sustainably as possible.…

Greek savoury snacks specialist company Chipita has refused to confirm or deny reports that it plans to build a new plant for its products in Slovakia. The company told just-food.com that “it is interested in many markets (including Slovakia) and is constantly looking for opportunities.…

THE GROWING importance of computer apps (applications) in fraud investigation has been highlighted at an expert conference – Forensics Europe Expo, the annual exhibition for the international and digital forensic communities held at the Olympia exhibition centre in London in May.…

Open source intelligence (OSINT) is becoming an increasingly attractive tool of choice for lawmakers and other bodies investigating and trying to prevent fraud. With so much data now available online, OSINT’s rich seam of data from newspapers, radio and television, academic papers, government and other public records, and commercial websites can provide exceptionally valuable information, especially when analysed by sophisticated big data analysis software. …

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 LEBANESE haircare market has been in a state of flux over the past six years, reflecting the instability in the Levant. Following the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the country’s haircare market grew as Lebanon took in more than 1 million Syrian refugees.…

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.…

EUROPE’S nonwovens producers again served up a solid performance in 2016 against the background of (uneven and) uncertain trading conditions for the industry.

As usual, the just-published returns from EDANA, the representative organisation for the USD30 billion nonwovens industry in Europe, show some important national variations.…

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has released a new Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG). This revised guidance encourages the development of corporate governance culture, not just within listed companies, but also state-owned enterprises, small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and licensed intermediaries. This code includes 36 practices to support strong board leadership; effective audit, risk management, and internal controls; and solid corporate reporting.…

EU MINISTERS APPROVE DOUBLE TAXATION REDUCTION SYSTEM

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has agreed a directive insisting that member states establish an effective system for resolving EU double taxation disputes. The system requires dispute resolution mechanisms to be mandatory and binding, with clear time limits.…

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.…

THE DIFFICULTIES that have surged in the diplomatic relations between the Mexican government and the new US administration of President Donald Trump have increased uncertainty within the Mexican personal care product market and industry.

With Mexico facing US demands to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with the risk of the US imposing temporary safeguard duties on Mexican exports to protect American manufacturers, companies in Mexico are seeking to boost domestic consumption.…

SALES of personal fragrance products maybe on the rise among the 1.4 billion people market of mainland China, but thus far, growth is still almost solely attributable to millennials residing in the big cities, market researchers say.

Retail sales of personal perfume products grew by 8.9% in the whole of 2016 from the previous year to just Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY6.1 billion (USD885 million), with the competitive landscape remaining firmly in the hand of foreign players, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

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.…

EU PROPOSES BOOSTING ANTICARTEL POWERS OF NATIONAL EUROPEAN COMPETITION AUTHORITIES

A DIRECTIVE has been proposed by the European Commission that would ensure that national competition authorities across the European Union (EU) have a minimum level of powers enabling them to enforce EU antitrust laws.…

The oil and gas industry is reshaping its strategies, practices and values as it responds to global agreements on climate change and sustainable development. The 2015 United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – which came into effect in January 2016 – are prominent among global governance challenges driving change in the oil and gas industry, but pressure just keeps building.…

THE EUROPEAN wipes market is a complex affair. This is a varied segment, in itself, but wipe use varies between countries with contrasting consumer cultures – meaning that in some states, wipes sales are increasing; in others decreasing; and in others, the kinds of wipes being sold is changing.…

Europe’s nonwovens producers again served up a solid performance in 2016 against the background of (uneven and) uncertain trading conditions for the industry. As usual, the just-published returns from EDANA, the representative organisation for the USD30 billion nonwovens industry in Europe, show some important national variations.…

WHILE Jordan usually has a reputation for reliability, security and stability, the truth is that the Hashemite Kingdom is behind the compliance curve as regards anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) compared to many of its Middle Eastern peers.…

AS the international glass market continues to recover from the global recession, experts predict emerging markets might be tempted to invest in plant development to manufacture their own flat glass rather than paying expensive import fees buying from one of the handful of major suppliers.…

GERMANY’S paint and coatings companies, backed by the country’s formidable research organisation the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM), are pushing forward with developing innovative environment-friendly products. They are developing water-based protective coatings, sustainable coatings, biocide-substituting microbial protection and radiation curing, among other initiatives in the search to develop new products. …

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.…

AN APPRECIATION of interior design along with environmental concerns appear to be driving innovation when it comes to the colouring of nonwovens.

Often used in functional or ‘behind the scenes’ capacities in industrial applications, colour is not always top of the list when consideration is given to nonwovens finishing processes.…

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.…

Enhancing the percentage of oil recovered from existing assets is a no-brainer for countries that want to maximise economic gains from their oil reserves.

In an era of apparently ‘lower for longer’ oil prices, it is high up the agenda for oil companies and governments.…

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.…

THE OLIVE oil industry has traditionally been dominated by some key major European players, notably Spain, Italy and Greece, but with global consumption rising, production is emerging in countries which have previously relied on imports.

International Oil Council statistics show how new production centres are being created.…

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.…

Saudi Arabia’s economy has been going through tough times ever since oil prices started tumbling in late 2014. Only a few market segments have withstood the effects of the latest downturn – men’s grooming being one of them. Overall, the male grooming market in the kingdom registered a minor value decline of 0.4% in 2016 compared to 2015, reaching Saudi Arabian SAR2 billion (USD533.2 million), according to research company Euromonitor International.…

Indonesian batik producers are turning to social media to boost sales, helping them maintain production when not only standard marketing and distribution channels are not delivering enough revenue but standalone websites and major e-commerce sites.

Rusydi Bawazir, producer of Nargis Batik Podhek, from Madura, East Java province, started online marketing three years ago by using website: nargis.web.id.…

A new European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EU-ON) database is set to go live in summer 2017. Its establishment will relieve the cosmetics industry which had feared earlier proposals to create a mandatory nanomaterials register, regarding it as a potential bureaucratic nightmare.…

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.…

Russia’s economic woes are well-documented, yet, rather than mirroring the financial downturn, its personal care market and industry has remained comparatively healthy. Beneath these encouraging figures, however, strong currents appear to be instigating long-term changes to the sector, notably an increasing preference for cheaper products by hard-pressed consumers.…

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).…

COMPANIES and the financial professionals that work with them have many risks to worry about, but few can seem as menacing and as alien as the so-called ‘dark web’.

The Internet can be described as an iceberg: the websites and services most people use regularly are the tip, but there is an entire other, much larger world submerged below.…

The Internet can be described as an iceberg: the websites and services most people use on a regular basis are the tip sticking out of the water, and there’s an entire other, much larger world submerged below. This underwater portion generally goes by two names – the deep web and the dark net.…

BIG data means big money, especially for telecoms and internet companies. However, the fact that they are holding, collating, processing and monetising so much data makes heavy weather for IT-based anti-fraud systems. As a result, the siren song of cloud-based anti-fraud programmes is becoming increasingly attractive as companies look to scale up their protection to take account of growing datasets.…

THE SPANISH book sector has declared that it is optimistic about growth in sales at its annual LIBER International Book Fair, which wrapped up on Friday (Oct 14). A statement from the organisers said that there was a “positive feeling about the sector’s upswing”.…

Indonesia’s personal care product sector is faring well at first glance, with domestic sales more than doubling in size in value terms over the past five years. Multinational companies see it as a lucrative market, while local firms also seem to hold their own.…

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 CIVIL aviation industry and its suppliers are innovating solutions to comply with the new tracking rule from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) which came into force in July and will be compulsory for new planes with a take-off mass exceeding 27,000kg from January 2021.…

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.…

COSMETICS giant the Kao Group has opened a state of the art research facility at its existing plant in Odawara city, around 80 km south-west of Tokyo. Its new Beauty Research & Innovation Centre includes laboratory space where the company’s scientists, developers and marketing experts are encouraged to interact through technology in the search for new products.…

BIG marketing stunts can boost sales of technical textiles and maybe one of the biggest examples in Europe this year was created by world renowned artists Christo. He created ‘The Floating Piers’ on Lake Iseo, near Brescia, in northern Italy.…

Authorities in China are currently developing a new range of regulations aimed at efficacy claims that when passed will have a broad-ranging impact for domestic and foreign cosmetics manufacturers, alongside other regulations covering labelling and ethics. The proposed regulations are aimed at standardising the industry and providing a basis on which prosecutions can be brought in order to reduce safety concerns.…

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.…

WORKFORCE DEMOGRAPHICS

East Asia is a very varied region in terms of economic development. Take the 10 members of trade bloc ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations): with 632 million people, demographics greatly vary, from aging Singapore and Thailand, to the younger and emerging economies of Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.…

Autoparts researchers are developing the use of grasses, such as hemp or flax, to make tough bioplastics that are lightweight and also help reduce a vehicle’s carbon footprint by using a renewable resource as an input.

A key innovator is Bruce Dietzen, president of Renew Design, a Florida, USA-based company that produces custom-ordered cars whose body components are made from processing the outer stalk of hemp plants through combining it with a synthetic resin and placed in a mold.…

Brazil will continue to challenge the USA for the position of being the world’s biggest meat producer and exporter over the next 10 years, with chicken leading the way, Brazilian government forecasts indicate. It says that Brazilian meat production in 2025/26 will be 29.8% higher than in 2015/6 – amounting to 7.8 million tonnes in additional production – resulting in 23.6 million tonnes of output.…

BRAZIL’S JBS, the giant meatpacker and meat processing company, has been arguing it has not been harmed by raids carried out by Brazilian police earlier this month, dubbed ‘Operation Sepsis’, part of the country’s ongoing ‘Lavo Jato’ corruption investigations.

Brazilian media has reported that on July 1 federal officers searched the São Paulo home of Joesley Batista, CEO of J&F Investimentos, the parent company of JBS.…

Significant European Union (EU) company law changes are set to add to the training challenge for non-executive directors who are working on boards outside their home country. The difficulties are compounded where flexibility for member states or companies to implement directives, regulations and recommendations adds local nuances to the know-how required to serve on a board in a jurisdiction with which a director is not previously familiar.…

Significant European Union (EU) company law changes are set to add to the training challenge for non-executive directors who are working on boards outside their home country. The difficulties are compounded where flexibility for member states or companies to implement directives, regulations and recommendations adds local nuances to the know-how required to serve on a board in a jurisdiction with which a director is not previously familiar.…

THE UK’s personal care and cosmetics industry faces uncertainty and potential future trade challenges with the European Union (EU) following the 52% to 48% June 23 referendum vote to leave the EU. “No longer being part of a single market for the free circulation of goods and no longer being a key player in the development of legislation governing those goods will be a major challenge to the cosmetics industry as it will be to all other sectors of the UK industry,” Chris Flower, director-general of the UK’s Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA), told Soap Perfumery and Cosmetics.…

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.”…

Global travel fraud has been increasing sharply as a result of burgeoning numbers of online travel and accommodation booking websites available to consumers. Vanessa Sinders, senior vice president of government affairs at the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), said there were 15 million online hotel bookings in 2015 in the USA that were affected by fraudulent scams, such as third-party rogue websites that look to the consumer like a hotel website, though they have no actual affiliation, or hacking legitimate accounts on social media and setting up fake advertisements for holiday packages or accommodations that do not exist.…

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.…

THE EUROPEAN nonwovens industry has been pushing ahead, maintaining consistent growth above increases in GDP for the whole economy, increasing its international collaboration, and the successfully exploring new markets. And while it is rarely prudent to make anything more than short-term predictions about cost and tariff problems, such difficulties faced by the European nonwovens sector seem have been pushed into the background. …

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.…

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.…

Saudi Arabia has approached international financial markets for the first time since 1991 to raise funds due to a burgeoning government deficit in the wake of lower oil prices. The April move was followed by the launch from Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of a ‘Vision 2030’ programme to diversify the kingdom’s economy from hydrocarbons, possibly as soon as 2020.…

Seizures of contraband cosmetics have become an increasingly common sight on local TV in China. A recent case in point (this March – 2016) saw 1,488 boxes of South Korean cosmetics seized from a forty-foot container in the east coast port city of Qinhuangdao, about 300km east of Beijing.…

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.…

The recent start of commercial operations at concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in Africa illustrates the potential for utility-scale CSP to capture an increasing share in the world’s power generation mix.

These plants include the 160 megawatt (MW) Noor 1 in southern Morocco, the foundation of what may become the world’s largest CSP generation site, and the 50MW Khi Solar One in South Africa.…

New Zealand’s butter producers may be a global force in this key dairy segment, but they have regarded the groundbreaking Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with scepticism. Negotiations for the TPP produced a deal last October (2015), and although New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra and the DairyNZ producers association declared they had secured increased access to some key markets – Japan, Canada and the United States all increased butter quotas to varying degrees – there was general agreement that the gains had been modest.…

ITALY’S textile, finishing and clothing sectors have been given detailed guidance on reducing the toxicity of its manufacturing processes, with advice being released by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (the National Chamber for Italian Fashion), following wide industry consultation.…

With the desire for packaging beauty being an integral part of north-east Asian consumer culture, it is perhaps no surprise that Japanese and South Korean cosmetics companies have led the way with compacts – whose popularity is spreading worldwide.

The ultimate combination of utility and design, when Japanese cosmetics companies start developing a new compact product, its packaging needs to meet two basic requirements: it has to delight the user with the way it looks, and it must be easy and convenient to use.…

A MEETING of the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings has grilled multinationals over European Union (EU) member state tax rulings. The European Commission fears they have been abused by governments giving companies low tax rates in return for registering businesses in their jurisdictions.…

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.…

Experts predict artificial intelligence-based technology may underpin anti-money laundering (AML) measures within the next decade. With artificial intelligence (AI), or cognitive computing, services already providing significant applications in the financial crime prevention industry, several companies have begun developing and commercialising AI-based technology for AML.…

AT a time when the world is regularly sickened by the web-cast beheadings and civilian bombings by Islamic State (IS), it is perhaps hard to recall when Lebanon Shia militant Hizbullah group was regarded as maybe the world’s most notorious international terror group.…

BRAZIL may have emerged the world’s largest sun care market in terms of sales in 2014, pushing past the United States (US), according to market researchers Euromonitor International. And the country may retain its suncare crown – sales are expected to continue growing between 2014 and 2019, albeit at a slower pace compared its growth between 2009 and 2014. …

A shortage of raw materials and domestic equipment is making import substitution difficult for the Russian textile sector. Indeed, instead of seeing rising production amidst increased rhetoric about localising production, fabric output has slumped across all categories. According to industry insiders, manufacturers are still years away from replacing imports with locally-made products.…

THE EUROPEAN Medicines Agency (EMA) is to stage assessments of the effectiveness of its medical literature monitoring service in this coming year to ensure the effectiveness of this pharmacovigilance service.  An independent audit of the system’s internal quality management, controls and its output will be conducted early this year (2016).…

MILLENNIAL CONSUMERS ARE SHAKING UP INDIAN MARKET

The emergence of the millennial generation – those born between 1980 and the early 2000’s – is going to drive how consumption, including that of food, takes place in India, according to retail and manufacturing heads at the India Food Forum, which was held in Mumbai between January 19 and 21.…

Five years since the start of the Arab uprisings in 2011, instability is still impacting cosmetics sales in the Levant and north Africa. Last year saw a slight improvement on overall sales in 2014, the year the Islamic State spread through northern Iraq and Syria, but figures are down on 2013, and the growth projected in 2010, according to figures from market researcher Euromonitor International and estimates from cosmetics companies.…

THE JORDANIAN and Lebanese confectionery markets are both in a state of flux due to the conflict in neighbouring Syria, now into its fifth year. Local production has faced major competition from Syrian entrants fleeing the chaos of their home country, particularly in Jordan; while in Lebanon imports of parallel goods have soared over the past few years.…

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.…

Jordan maybe a small country – with a population of just 6.6 million people, but it is one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Middle East. A key reason is that production is export focused, particularly of generics. The country’s USD500 million-a-year turnover manufacturing sector had been steadily growing at 8% to 10% per year until 2012, according to the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Medical Appliances (JAPM).…

IT has been a tough year for China’s growing economy, which has experienced some unexpected faltering in 2015, but facial care product sales have continued to surge ahead.

Retailers of these products have posted strong and sustained growth rates, increasing by 8% in the whole of 2014 to Chinese Yuan Renminbi – CNY142 billion (USD22.1 billion) and are estimated to have grown by another 10.2% in 2015, to CNY (also known as RMB) 156.4 billion, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

In the dozen or so days after a devastating earthquake killed more than 8,000 across Nepal on April 25, many major international search and rescue teams came and left, but they have been followed by a second wave of emergency response nurses belonging to smaller non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and even nurses volunteering alone.…

A USD13 billion deal agreed by China to build two reactors for Argentina hinges entirely on the Chinese side putting up the financing, with a final arrangement on the cash deal to be inked in 2017. That’s according to sources in the Chinese nuclear industry.…

The Danish Agriculture & Food Council (DAFC/ Landbrug & Fødevarer) has invited the country’s leading meat industry players to round-table talks to deepen collaboration between producers, brokers and marketers regarding halal meat exports.
This DAFC initiative would help create a range of common industry guidelines that take into account country-by-country differences in halal slaughtering conventions.…

The lack of coordinated control of unmanned aircraft (drones) gathering information and data following a disaster such as the recent Nepal earthquake has been highlighted at the bi-annual European Civil Protection Forum, in Brussels. A debate staged on April 6 on the subject was told by Michel Feider, director of Luxembourg’s Search and Rescue Agency (CHECK), that there had been poor co-ordination between the groups using drones responding to the earthquake disaster Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were trying to map the resulting physical damage and monitor population movements and camps, as they had done following the Hurricane Sandy incident in Haiti five years ago.…

Online sales of unbranded personal care products that are either clearly counterfeit or sold in a way that alludes to an established brand are legion, as the industry well knows.
But how easy is it to spot such products on the internet?…

Publishers were upbeat at the 41st Buenos Aires International Book Fair highlighting strong sales in the Argentine market of adventure, fantasy and self-help books. They told the Bookseller that they planned to focus on these genres as they sign new talent.…

Changing textile and other input suppliers may be fraught with difficulties, but it is key to the role of any clothing buyer.
“It can be extremely difficult,” said Emma Wilson, buyer for UK-based specialist sourcing agency Smartway. “There are issues such as quality, lead-times and monitoring the supplier.”…

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.…

In the highly competitive global lollipops market, manufacturers are creating innovative additions to this traditional confectionery to attract consumers with innovative designs attempting to generate an emotional response to these products. Around the world, lollipop manufacturers are tailoring shapes and designs to match seasonal holiday images; incorporating glow-in-the-dark features; and combining confectionery items such as lollipops and gum.…

When one authoritarian government after another fell following mass uprisings in the Middle East in 2011, there was optimism that this would usher in an era of greater publishing freedoms. But as the ‘Arab Spring’ enters its fifth year, with conflict in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, book sales have dropped and censorship has rebounded.…

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.…

DEVELOPMENTS in 3D printing technology are revealing significant opportunities for automotive manufacturers to cut costs, time, and have more freedom in design. From printing entire structures to specific parts, 3D printing can even now build most of an innovative automobile – and could in future build an entire car.…

The UK confidentiality watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has fined the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) GBP180,000 after evidence in a high-profile fraud, bribery and corruption case was sent to a witness.
The SFO had been investigating allegations that senior executives at BAE Systems had received payments in an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.…

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.…

Ethiopia’s appointment of the Vitol Group, the Switzerland-based and Dutch-owned physical oil trading major, to supply Ethiopia with petroleum imports in 2015, marks a sea-change for this key sub-Saharan Africa market.
Vitol is replacing the Kuwaiti Independent Petroleum Group after it had supplied the Horn of Africa country with petroleum products for five years.…

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.…

A NEW offline version of the EudraLex database of European Union (EU) pharmaceutical legislation has been launched. The EudraLex V30 is similar to the existing online EudraLex database, but can be used off-line with an integrated search engine. All documents are in.pdf…

A NEW international standard for the monitoring and reporting of suspected side effects of medicines has been explained by a new European Medicines Agency (EMA) guide. The standard will come into use from July 2016, and explains how such problems should be noted in individual case safety reports (ICSRs).…

The Egyptian energy sector is facing numerous challenges in the immediate and long-term, mirroring how the country is struggling to secure political stability. Insufficient power supply is resulting in sporadic power cuts in the major cities, driving up sales of private generators.…

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.…

Japan’s confectionery manufacturers have a reputation for being creative when it comes to new product lines, and when it comes to bubble gum and chewing gums, companies will need all the innovation they can manage. Domestic sales in the segment have been falling sharply.…

Projects are underway in India to install captive solar photovoltaic power systems in the country’s airports, exploiting innovative funding models and long term power purchase agreements. However, the country’s grid power operators are refusing to purchase any excess power.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is owned by the Indian government, plans to generate 50 megawatts (MW) of electric power from solar plants at 30 airports by the end of 2015.…

THE HONG Kong government has proposed a 75% reduction of profits tax, salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for the 2014-15 assessment year, up to Hong Kong dollars HKD20,000 (USD2,578) per case. Announced in the government’s budget, the tax cut will cost HKD17.7 billion (USD2.2 billion), benefitting about 1.95 million taxpayers.…

As they looks at the rewards of shale gas production seen over recent years in the US, European producers are edging closer to commercial shale gas production. However, it faces a wide range of challenges, and the debate within Europe over shale gas is intensifying.…

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.…

Iraq and Syria are major hot spots in the fight against terrorism financing. Numerous militant Islamist groups are in operation, most notably the Islamic State (IS), with revenues derived from multiple sources, including extortion, seizures of grain, sales of oil, private donations and charities.…

NATIONAL authorities in the member countries of the European Union (EU) will be obliged to create central registers listing the ultimate owners of companies on their territory following a deal on the fourth EU anti-money laundering directive (AMLD) agreed on Tuesday (Dec 16) in Brussels.…

US meat exporters are to launch inexpensive cuts of American corn-fed beef in the Taiwanese market, with demand for premium products being depressed by soaring prices for American beef, accompanied by lacklustre consumer spending power on the island. The US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently partnered with a Taipei five-star hotel to promote plate fingers, petite tenders, and clod hearts, which with prices between Taiwan New Dollars TWD250 (USD7.91) to TWD550 (USD17.41) per kilogramme would roughly cost half the price of the currently popular rib eye, fillet, and boneless ribs.…

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.…

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.…

Oil and gas companies are facing increasing risks related to corruption. However, there are numerous ways in which a business in the sector can avoid being exposed to graft. And new laws are tackling such problems more effectively. Jonathan Dyson reports.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a searchable database that can be used offline including a complete set of European Union (EU) human and veterinary pharmaceutical legislation. The Eudralex V29 is similar to the EU’s EudraLex web site, but with an off-line search engine – all the documents are in pdf format.…

Beef and poultry production in the European Union (EU) have been growing steadily this year, putting the sectors on track for further growth in 2015, says a new report released today by (Wed Oct 8) the European Commission.
Its directorate-general for agriculture and rural development says the EU beef sector has seen impressive growth after a two-year slump, with beef and veal production likely to increase by more than 134,000 tonnes by December 31 to 7.6 million tonnes for all of 2014, compared to 2013.…

GHANA continues to be recognised as one of Africa’s success stories. The country remains relatively peaceful and stable, and its economy has grown at an annual average of around 6% over the past six years. As a result, it is maybe not a surprise that Ghana was ranked healthily at 5.88 (10 being the worst score) in the 2014 Basel Anti-Money Laundering index, among the lowest in west Africa, only bettered by established democracy Senegal, with 5.43.…

A leading carpet producer in Gaziantep Province, which lies in Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Region, and a major carpet production hub, has told WTiN.com that the industry is facing a number of challenges as the Turkish sector becomes increasingly competitive.

According to data from the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters’ Union (GAİB), Gaziantep’s annual exports of carpets are currently worth around USD1.5 bilion, with 227 carpet companies in Gaziantep that are members of export unions.…

A COLLABORATION between a major Pakistan food company and local non-governmental organisation (NGO) aimed at improving the country’s slaughterhouse standards is set to expand sales abroad.
Pakistan’s Al-Khidmat Foundation, a conservative social welfare organisation, has so far contributed USD2.9 million to maintaining a Karachi slaughterhouse facility run by Tata Best Foods Ltd that complies with international food safety standards.…

When it comes to shipment of liquids in bulk, flexitanks are emerging as a viable alternative to traditional methods, and personal care product companies are taking notice. These huge, impenetrable and foldaway polyethylene bags that fit inside shipping containers can transport up to 24,000 litres of liquid at a time.…

AN AGREEMENT between the European Commission and Google over alleged abuses of its dominant market position – breaking European Union (EU) competition law – appears to have collapsed. Brussels today said it had levelled fresh allegations against the company. In February, Google promised to make changes to its commercial policy – in particular, to give equal prominence in search engine results to competitors in various sectors – in response to Commission competition law concerns.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade commissioner, Karel de Gucht, has welcomed the ruling by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) appeal body against China’s restrictions of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum exports.

This is “another milestone in the EU’s efforts to ensure fair access to much-needed raw materials for its industries,” he said in an Aug 7 statement of the European Commission.…

THE SALE to Russia of multi-directional, multi-dimensional knitting and interlacing machines, including adapters and modification kits, specially designed or modified for weaving, interlacing or braiding fibres, for composite structures has been banned by the European Union (EU).

This is because the EU considers such machines of potential use to the Russian military, which has been involved in the Ukraine crisis.…

A RANGE of plastics-related chemicals have been included in a draft list of new substances subject to special authorisation by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for their manufacture or use in the European Union (EU). ECHA is now consulting on these planned additions to its ‘authorisation list’, because of concerns about their potential impact on human health and the environment.…

IN the search for ways to extract energy from a reliable and efficient source to power heat pumps, the water lapping the shores of our continents is increasingly being viewed as a key resource. “Sea water, like any water, has the ability to retain heat for a long period of time.…

Chinese construction firms have cornered plenty of business in Africa and Latin America, but they need upskilling to consolidate their position. Anyone who observes the queues of nervous young men lining up in the early morning in Beijing’s tree-lined Sanlitun diplomatic district will be in no doubt of the intensity of Chinese activity in Africa and Latin America.…

AFTER upgrading its laws against money laundering, Bangladesh has earned praise from anti-money laundering (AML) watchdogs however implementing this legislation remains an uphill challenge. Satisfied with the progress Bangladesh made toward plugging “strategic deficiencies” in its AML and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed the country from its special watchlist.…

Tech-savvy South Korean publishers were out in force at the Beijing Book Fair this weekend hoping to strike sales and partnerships. South Korea’s e-book players looking for partnerships in China have an edge, said Kim Tae-won, head of ebook sales at Seoul-based Book n Book.…

EXPORTS from the European Union (EU) to Russia of a wide variety of specialist coatings with military uses have been banned as a result of extensive sanctions imposed on Moscow. Imposed because of the Ukraine crisis, the EU Council of Ministers has released details of the banned goods, which include so-called ‘dual-use’ goods that have military as well as civilian uses.…

European Union (EU) meat production is projected to start growing in 2014, according to the European Commission, as Europe’s economic recovery solidifies. This could be up 0.7% year-on-year for beef, veal, pigmeat, poultry, sheep and goat meat. However, exports might fall for pigmeat and poultry, with Russian import bans especially causing problems for pigmeat.…

The global market for halal food is expected to grow from USD698 billion in 2012 to reach USD830 billion in 2016, according to Malaysia’s department of Islamic development, and manufacturers in its country and neighbouring Thailand are competing to service this demand.…

Many eyes will be on a court room in Shanghai on July 29 when a Chinese judge will decide the fate of one of the most prominent investigators of fraud in China. The trial of Peter Humphreys and his wife Yu Yingzheng follows a year’s imprisonment for the two, who founded ChinaWhys, a Shanghai and Hong Kong-based firm that performed due diligence, credit checks (as well as investigations of staff for possible kickbacks or embezzlement) for western corporations in China.…

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.…

WHEN American personal care product giant Johnson & Johnson opened its shared-services centre in Prague during 2006, it employed 12 people and provided only in-group procure-to-pay services. Currently this Johnson & Johnson finance centre is the largest of the five centres the company operates worldwide in terms of staff numbers as well as the scope of services it provides to internal business partners.…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has secured agreement from its 34 rich world member countries to apply a new single global standard on automatic exchange of tax information. Endorsed by G20 finance ministers, the standard obliges countries and jurisdictions to obtain all financial information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions annually.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released details of how it plans to boost aviation tracking following the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The Commission released a detailed note at a meeting of EU transport ministers in Luxembourg in Thursday (June 5).…

Big data is creating a growing range of opportunities that can help the global pharmaceutical industry develop and manufacture drugs more effectively. However, the industry faces a number of challenges in the way it manages and analyses the increasingly broad range of data that is available, with collaboration essential for the industry to capitalise on the potential of the big data explosion.…

IN 2012, after years of delays, Brazil instated a new money laundering law, finally bringing this economically vibrant and influential country more or less in line with international standards.  Two years later, what difference has it actually made?    

Brazil’s first official money laundering law (Law 9613) was enacted in 1998.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Avition Organisation (ICAO) is pushing hard for a global aircraft tracking system in the wake of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370. But, while recommendations on aircraft tracking solutions will be issued later this year, binding standards may still be some way off.…

Colombia’s struggling automobile sector is anticipating the April 15 launch of a new government program designed to help it follow the successful tactics of its principal competitors abroad.

The primary objective of the scheme, PROFIA, (Development Program for the Automotive Industry) is to help the sector recover market share from cheap imports, notably by imports by slashing tariffs on parts and materials imported for vehicle assembly.…

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.…

TURKEY is the Middle East’s largest oilseed producer, but domestic demand outstrips supply despite efforts to boost production. In olive oil, Turkey is increasing production and exports, being the fifth largest producer globally, with the sector valued at USD500 million, according to Tariş Zeytin ve Zeytinyağı – the union of olive and olive oil co-operatives.…

A FREE trade agreement signed between Canada and South Korea could see increased investment by the nuclear fuel hungry Korea in Canada’s abundant uranium resources.

The agreement – inked on March 11, and Canada’s first with an Asian country – lays down rules on how South Korean investments should be made in Canada, with a focus on boosting transparency and predictability, according to a note from the Canadian government Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).…

Astellia, a leading provider of network and subscriber intelligence enabling mobile operators to drive business performance, is constantly developing solutions helping mobile operators exploit big data. Astellia’s vendor-independent real-time monitoring and troubleshooting solutions cover end-to-end 2G, 3G and 4G from radio access to core network, and its scalable products and expert services address the needs of operators’ full value chain.…

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.…

TECHNIQUES being developed to analyse ink offer significant benefits for examining questioned documents. Forensics has voyaged far since handwriting experts had just magnifying glasses and experience to underpin giving evidence as experts.

It has had to: high-quality inkjet and laser printers make it tougher to distinguish between photo-quality frauds and commercially printed, legitimate documents.…

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).…

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.”…

New Zealand has recorded bumper beef exports to Saudi Arabia and Indonesia in the first four months (October 2013 to January 2014) of the meat export year, according to figures from industry body Beef and Lamb New Zealand (BLNZ).

Saudi Arabia took 861 tonnes of New Zealand beef in the first quarter of 2013-14, continuing on last year’s gains.…

Ethiopia’s large livestock industry is set to undergo a shakeup following a new livestock trading bill passed on January 21. The new law, due to be enforced in March, is designed to tighten Ethiopia’s livestock market, increasing its efficiency and value by eliminating middle-men, unregulated animal markets and illegal cross border trades.…

Nearly 18 months since Australian exporters voluntarily suspended sheep exports to Bahrain, the CEO of the Australian Live Exporters’ Council Alison Penfold has told globalmeatnews.com that Australian exporters are keen to resume trading: “Bahrain is a market we value very highly.…

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.”…

TURKEY’S paints and coatings industry has set itself the target of becoming the third largest paints and coatings sector in Europe by 2023 as it seeks to become a key regional hub within the international industry as a whole.

According to data from Turkey’s Association of Paint Industry (Boya Sanayicileri Dernegi – BOSAD), the size of the Turkish paints and coatings market reached 840,000 tonnes in 2012, with a value of USD2 billion.…

The Russian government is to draft fresh state measures to support domestic producers of wool and flax fibres.

Acting on direction from the office of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian ministry of industry and trade will boost Russian wool production through the creation of special trading centres that will buy wool from farmers at prices that are high enough to encourage production.…

AUSTRALIAN beef and veal exporters have been buoyed by data from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) showing record export numbers for the industry in 2013. The country exported nearly 1.1 million tonnes of chilled and frozen beef and veal in 2013, up 14% from the 963,779t achieved in 2012.…

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.…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has created a global model for using export credits in new railway infrastructure projects, including rail control, electrification, tracks, rolling stock, and related construction and engineering work. The system covers contract repayment terms and more.…

SINCE 2007, Turkey has been on the receiving end of repeated warnings from Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to improve its combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime. While an anti-terrorism bill has now been passed, shortcomings still remain and new risks have emerged in Turkey’s difficult neighbourhood.…

Leading Bangladesh steelmaker KSRM has joined rivals BRSM and Abul Khair in building new billet plants, lured by cheaper production at home and prospects of overseas sales.

All three companies now say they hope to start operations of new mills in the coming year (2014), with their combined annual output of billet reaching 3 million tonnes, double the size of the country’s estimated billet imports of 1.5 million tonnes per year, industry insiders have told Steel First.…

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.…

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.…

A SENIOR official within an organisation charged with increasing European textile exports to Russia has told WTiN.com that Russia’s 2012 accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has created real opportunities for European manufacturers to score Russian sales.

Igor Salomakhin, head of the Moscow liaison office of the Russia-Europe Textile Alliance (RETA), has told WTiN that it is helping a growing number of European textile businesses expand their sales in Russia by helping establish direct contact with new customers in Russia.…

AUSTRALIAN beef exporters are nervous about a decision by the Russian government – confirmed directly to globalmeatnews.com – that it is planning to lift the existing ban on imports of US beef. It has been banned since this February (2013), with the official reason being the use of beta agonists in US beef production – and since then, Australian exports of high-end (chilled, not frozen) high value beef exports to Russia over the last 10 months have soared.…

Given its location, political actors and recent history, Lebanon has long been under the international regulatory spotlight. The US Treasury’s fingering of the Lebanese Canadian Bank in 2011 for money laundering concerns rocked its financial sector. Beirut has since been scrambling to address any short-comings, while at the same time dealing with sanctions on neighbouring Syria.…

THE BALTIC States’ proximity to Russia and their position as a border between eastern and western financial markets, renders Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania particularly at risk as regards money laundering.

Hard hit during the global financial crisis they have still made considerable strides towards improving anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) legislation while transitioning into the Eurozone: Estonia joined January 2011; Latvia will join this January; Lithuania wants to join by 2015. …

DIGITAL innovation and exports dominated discussion at the 31st edition of Liber 2013, Spain’s leading book fair, which ended on Sunday (October 6) in Madrid after drawing 10,000 visitors, compared with 6,000 last year in Barcelona.

And while 450 exhibitors and 300-plus international buyers almost universally framed their comments in terms of recession, robust overseas sales and advances in e-publishing made for a slightly more positive mood than last year.…

While Syria is mired in its bloody civil war, it remains targeted by multilateral sanctions. But despite being essentially cut off from the international banking system, Damascus is evading these sanctions by using Russian banks, and is being financially propped up by Iran.…

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.…

ANTI-CORRUPTION campaigners Transparency International have criticised sustained cuts in the UK’s Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) budget after the SFO lost 3% of the evidence from a high profile corruption investigation.

“A strong and well-resourced SFO is critical to the fight against corporate bribery,” said Robert Barrington, executive director of Transparency International UK, after the SFO admitted losing data from its investigation into defence contractor BAE Systems over alleged bribery in winning a massive defence contract from Saudi Arabia.…

THE BIG question for mobile operators today is how to make an honest buck tomorrow, when Internet connectivity is getting so fast, over-the-top (OTT) service providers are becoming increasingly competitive. Some specialists predict operators will essentially become utilities, offering basic network services, leaving the cream to content and OTT companies.…

ISLAMIC banks are big business in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, but not thus far in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), however, recently took a USD5 million, 15% equity stake in Kenya’s Gulf African Bank (GAB) to support corporate finance and lending to small and medium businesses – its first in the sub-Saharan Islamic bank sector.…

WHEN a senior company figure blunders in communicating through the media, the corporate and career costs can be high, but getting it right can drive sales and profits.

Examples in the debit column are rife. Gene Morphis, the CFO of Nasdaq-listed US womenswear chain Francesca’s Holding Corp was fired in May 2102 after his ‘Tweet’ message on social media site Twitter inadvertently disclosed share price-sensitive information from a board meeting in contravention of rules applied by the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).…

To meet apparel and textile brands’ desire to move into fast fashion, manufacturers have begun to embrace new production processes that improve efficiency and performance. Apparel and textile manufacturers have been slower than many other manufacturing industries to embrace supply chain improvements in speed, but are now succumbing to pressure from brands moving into fast fashion retail.…

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.…

FOR some time, scientists have been aware that the concept of something being ‘bigger’ on the inside than outside’ is not entirely locked away in the realms of science fiction. This is particularly the case with researchers working on the storage and utilisation of natural gas who have focused on metal organic frameworks (MOFs), which can store much more gas than an empty cylinder of the same size.…

Making money in the mobile communications sector is always about the art of the possible, but ambitious companies will always seek to tap the most revenue streams. The question, as ever, is how to achieve such goals, without being weighed down with additional layers of management that eat into those vital profit margins.…

ON July 1, Croatia finally became the European Union’s 28th member state – a long-awaited accession following 10 hard years of negotiations. Many of the questions that surrounded Croatia’s eligibility centred on the country’s level of commercial crime and corruption, including money laundering, and concerns about its ability to tackle such problems effectively.…

much of the rest of the Middle East, with political and economic instability causing a slowdown in construction and new projects on hold, Saudi Arabia’s paint sector is expanding fast and attracting international players to this currently stable growing market. A key reason has been a USD131 billion government stimulus package launched in 2012, which is fuelling construction.…

A fire at a slaughterhouse near the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun has so far claimed the lives of 119 people and left a further 60 hospitalized, state media reported Monday night – the victim’s families are demanding answers about the fire’s cause.…

Poland confirmed plans in 2012 to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with a view to importing supplies from Qatar, it seemed like the latest example of eastern European energy ministries trying to avoid energy dependence on Russia. Plans to develop shale gas in Poland and the Baltic States fall into the same category, along with policies to build energy infrastructure linking Poland and its Nordic and Baltic neighbours.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) heads of states and governments have urged their ministers to agree important pieces of draft EU legislation that could potentially curb tax evasion in the bloc.

Meeting during a European Council meeting in Brussels last week (May 22), leaders were under pressure to act from media reports revealing how much untaxed incomes politicians, companies and rich business owners have stashed in tax havens.…

the wall for multinationals using current international tax laws to reduce their fiscal exposure. Speaking at the eighth meeting of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development) Forum on Tax Administration, hosted by Russia’s federal tax service from May 16-17, experts noted that public anger was building over cases such as the low level of taxes paid by Google, Amazon and UK energy company NPower.…

THE INDIAN government is to create a national Veterinary Emergency Response Unit, charged with protecting the country’s huge livestock population during natural disasters, such as floods, fires, droughts and earthquakes, a New Delhi conference has heard. “We are going to train the students of Indian veterinary colleges in disaster management techniques so that they can rush to save livestock whenever a disaster strikes,” S Abdul Rahman, President of the Commonwealth Veterinary Association, told globalmeatnews.com. …

THERE are many pathways to developing helpful support services for telcos in today’s increasingly complex communications world, but one particularly reliable guide has to be boosting customer experience. Some companies start with the technology and work out to the customer, but others start with the customer in mind and develop effective technologies that suit a comprehensive vision of maximising their happiness and generating revenues.…

MAJOR companies within the European Union (EU) suffering from major cybercrime attacks will have to inform regulators under a proposed EU directive on network and information security. If the legislation is approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers, it would assign that duty to operators of critical infrastructure in the financial, transport, energy and health sectors; IT services, such as app stores, e-commerce platforms, internet payment systems, cloud computing companies, search engines and social network; plus public administrations.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU)-backed research project has developed new ways of applying patterns within deposited layers of nanoparticles that can be adjusted to create special properties such as super-waterproofing. Hungarian and Finnish researchers working for the CompNanoALD have developed atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques, which can “deposit one atomic layer of a material at a time in a step-wise manner”, said Dr Imre Miklós Szilágyi, of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, in a European Commission note.…

THE UK government has reported to European Union (EU) consumer protection network Rapex that its consumer protection authorities have seized and destroyed potentially dangerous henna-based personal care products. In two cases these were hair dyes imported from India under the Moon Star brand’s Herbal Henna line – their copper brown and burgundy products.…

As Poland’s shale gas rush ramps up in earnest, companies offering locally-sourced minerals used in hydraulic fracturing look set to profit. The industry, nascent as it is in Poland, comprises a hodgepodge of contractors and subcontractors, each sourcing different materials from different places.…

IF there is one crime condemned worldwide it is the sale and smuggling of counterfeit medicines. Sometimes close copies and sometimes dangerous substances – this crime kills on a grand scale.

Counting the number of its victims accurately is difficult, because of the subversive nature of the trade, but some think-tanks have tried.…

PART 1 – THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF MULTI-CHANNEL

The apparel retail world has been altered profoundly by technology over the last few years, and the fashion industry knows that to succeed marketing and sales must be undertaken though the many new channels that are now available. …

AFTER years of promises, the Ghanaian government, with some help from Brazil, is ready to make good on its pledge to equip Ghana with a second international airport. Construction under the government’s USD174 million plan to upgrade Tamale Airport, in northern Ghana, to enable it to better handle the international traffic for which it was designated in 2008, should begin this summer, according to Bernard Nyavor, the passengers director of Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport (KIA), in the capital Accra.…

NONWOVENS manufacturing has grown fast in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with most of the major players less than two decades old. With a burgeoning population and strong export potential, MENA production has in general doubled over the past five years, especially in the region’s manufacturing hubs of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which currently have the strongest nonwovens sectors.…

New tantalite ore concentrating equipment will be installed in Ethiopia to boost the value and output volume of existing plant to meet rising demand for the rare earth metal, Metal Bulletin has been told.

It is also pushing ahead with plans to build of a new value added plant, making products such as tantalum salt, powder, bar, sheets, wire, negate and nobiumpentoxide.…

Strengths:

China has a booming e-commerce sector, and growing online drinks retailers are building more warehouses nationwide. They need to balance ‘just-in-case’ and ‘just-in-time’ demands and also the need for flexibility versus low inventory. Negotiating these logistical pressures is vital in this huge yet highly fragmented market.…

NORWAY is on course to become the latest European country to roll-out full body scanners at its airports, following a ministry of transport and communications decision, authorising the country’s airports to purchase and employ 360 degree full body scan technologies and equipment.…

WHAT impact could uncertainty in the run-up to a promised British referendum on continued membership of the European Union (EU) have on investment flows from the UK into commercial property and developments in the rest of the EU?

What might the impact be if a referendum did indeed take place and voters told their government loud and clear to quit the EU and free up the UK to make its own laws and regulations covering important aspects of finance, investment and tax?…

MAJOR new opportunities are emerging for both international and domestic cosmetics brands in Thailand, due to strong economic growth, increasingly sophisticated consumers, and a vibrant market in which new products and innovations are leading to growing competition.

The economy in Thailand, with 70 million consumers, is a key mid-sized and medium-income market, and has recovered strongly from the severe floods in 2011 that affected much of the country, with GDP growth forecast at 5.7% for 2012.…

SHOULD Middle Eastern oil producers, Saudi Arabia in particular, be price makers rather than takers, confined to influencing prices through OPEC quotas? With OPEC’s contribution to overall oil production dwindling compared to non-OPEC producers’ output, and rising domestic demand in the Arab world, there are strong arguments for price signalling, but the turmoil in the region means any change in strategy will be difficult to implement.…

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.…

ETHIOPIA’S potential as a source of industrial minerals is beginning to be realised, with a growing number of exploration and mining projects underway, and rapidly increasing foreign investment.
To date, its Ministry of Mines has granted 72 industrial minerals exploration licenses – 61 to foreign companies, eight to Ethiopian/foreign joint ventures, and three to local companies; and 52 mining licenses – 28 to foreign companies, 17 to Ethiopian/foreign joint ventures, and seven to local companies.…

DECLINING demand from the USA and European Union (EU) for Bangladesh knitwear has not dampened the world’s second largest clothing exporter from aiming high. Rather, Bangladesh is planning to more than double its current knitwear exports, to USD20 billion by 2020, seeking out new markets.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

AFTER two years from the entry into force of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) between the European Union (EU) and the United States, the European Commission patted itself on the back, claiming the agreement is working.…

BY MARK ROWE, MICHAEL KOSMIDES, IN ATHENS, AND MOHAMMED YUSUF, IN NAIROBI

WHILE Aden Adde International Airport, Mogadishu, Somalia, does not serve an unrecognised country, it has operated without an effective government since 1991. But with Mogadishu security now improving, airport traffic has grown from just three to four flights-a-day to around 18 this year.…

BY CARMEN PAUN IN BRUSSELS

IN a move which critics might claim animal welfare is being given priority over human safety, the European Union (EU) is about to implement a marketing ban on all cosmetics which have been tested on animals since March 11, 2013.…

THE LUXURY packaging seent of the personal care product industry has always been important, but with the industry’s high end becoming increasingly profitable worldwide, packagers are assuming a really critical role.

Simply, while revolutionary formulations are being developed to tap wealthy markets, the resulting cosmetics and personal care products need to set themselves apart for marketing with classy exteriors.…

BY MARK ROWE, IN BRISTOL

BRISTOL Airport, the largest in the south-west of the UK, plans to expand its annual passenger numbers from 6 million to 9 million by 2015. At the heart of the development is a 30-point plan, which includes reconfiguring the terminal building, with an extension to the east (6,700 square metres) and west (3,600 square metres) of the existing terminal to just over double its current overall floor area.…

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 ROBERT STOKES

SMALL and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union (EU) complain they cannot get finance from banks, or not on reasonable terms. Banks counter that there is just not that much demand.

Politicians have responded with schemes to improve the flow of finance to SMEs.…

BY CARMEN PAUN IN BRUSSELS

THE EUROPEAN Commission is hoping that the recent overhaul of the European Union’s (EU) Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) will increase the flow of rare earth metals and aluminium oxide into the EU. Concerns persist about supplies of these important industrial minerals.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PRESSURE is growing on European Union (EU) ministers to give the EU’s sugar production quota system a stay of execution. MEPs on the European Parliament’s agriculture committee have called for the retention of EU sugar quotas for beet farmers until 2020, rather than follow existing plans to phase them out in 2015.…

BY CARMEN PAUN IN BRUSSELS

Urban mining being carried out in the European Union (EU) today brings more benefits to Chinese traders than to European metal buyers, Guy Thiran the secretary general of the European association of non-ferrous metals industry Eurometaux has claimed.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

THE SATURATION of mobile devices, telecommunications and social networking in today’s digital age has created a society of real-time connectivity, where the Internet and its applications are no longer confined to a desktop computer. However, an increasing dependency on digital identity has also generated new risks in terms of cybercrime, where technology users have become more susceptible, depending on the number of devices and applications they use.…

BY MARIANI DEWI

BRANCH campuses of established western universities can be major prizes for emerging market higher education systems – but attracting these institutions is not easy, even for economically dynamic countries such as Malaysia.

There are still only six branch campuses in this south-east Asian country.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF, IN BOLOGNA

MORE than 110 academics and university administrators met in Bologna, Italy on September 21 for the twenty-fourth anniversary conference of the Magna Charta Universitatum – a declaration on fundamental university principles that has now been signed by over 750 universities worldwide.…

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, AND BILL CORCORAN, IN CAPE TOWN

Drinks distribution is highly fragmented in the Middle East, and ranges from best practice at leading companies in the Gulf countries to less automated and more labour-orientated methods in the Levant.…

BY DAVID HAYHURST, IN PARIS

THREE years ago, the Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors stated the organisation’s intention was to "rationalise and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption".…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

The economic sanctions imposed on Syria last year by the United States and Europe to pressure Damascus to end its violent crackdown on protesters has made doing business in Syria difficult, especially financial transactions. But the sanctions are being evaded, with Lebanon a prime conduit for goods and capital outflows.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS

THE TURKS used to run the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as colonial overlords – now with the country enjoying its independence since 1991, its government has shown its confidence in welcoming a Turkish company TAV Airports Holding to run its two international airports.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF, IN ITALY

WHILE trade fairs remain the primary channel for finding suppliers for any kind of fabric, the sourcing of luxury fabrics and fibres has seen a small revolution over the last decade – thanks in large part to the development of web-based technologies that have integrated face-to-face contact with online services.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Steel First has been told by Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) Chief Executive Officer Major General Mohammad Javed that there are no plans to sell off the ailing state-owned industrial giant, backing up recent comments from Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

OUTSOURCING textile and apparel production is a necessary step along the supply chain for many large international brands, which – more than often – have long-standing relationships with manufacturers abroad. These partnerships have to start from somewhere, though – and with economic development continuing to grow in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and other emerging market countries, there are many third-party companies and services that can help international buyers choose the right manufacturer.…

BY JONATHAN DYSON, IN LA PAZ

STRONG growth in Bolivia’s personal care market is attracting an increasing number of both international and domestic cosmetics brands, capitalising on rising demand for products across all consumer demographics. This market success can be linked to the country’s overall economic growth in recent years, which has seen GDP rise about 5% per year since the country’s indigenous socialist president Evo Morales came to power in 2006.…

BY ROBERT STOKES IN MÁLAGA

THIS year I have abandoned my premium brand sun screen in favour of a Deliplus private label product sold by the Spanish supermarket group Mercadona for around EUR 5.00, saving around EUR 12.00 into the bargain.…

BY ANDREW GREEN, IN KAMPALA

Uganda is undergoing a higher education boom. The result of introducing universal primary education in 1997 and universal secondary education a decade later is a surplus of students looking for a university placement. Uganda’s 30 public and private universities offer 50,000 spots for qualified secondary school graduates.…

BY KITTY SO

GLOBAL police agency Interpol is developing a service enabling customs officers and retailers to identify counterfeit personal care products using the Internet and smart phones. A prototype has been built by Interpol with Google Ideas. It is a global database of security features such as tax stamps and holograms.…

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 KITTY SO

GLOBAL police agency Interpol is developing a service enabling customs officers and retailers to identify counterfeit clothing and textiles using the Internet and smart phones. A prototype has been built by Interpol with Google Ideas, and the agency wants industry associations to help structure the system.…

BY GERARD O’DWYER, IN HELSINKI

A TOUGH legislative response to the rising problem of money laundering-related crimes in Sweden appears to be having a meaningful impact on curbing illegal activities within the country – with the latest statistics from Finanspolisen, the Swedish financial crime police, revealing that while the number of reports pertaining to money laundering grew by 30% to 11,892 in 2010 (year-on-year) that figure dropped to 11,135 in 2011.…

BY KARRYN MILLER, IN HANOI

WITH similar tropical and sub-tropical climates giving personal care product consumers some similar requirements as regards skin care, the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region could be regarded as one by lazy marketers.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN, IN EDMONTON

EXPERTS, industry and provincial and municipal governments met this month [June] to discuss progress and improvements to a set of detailed guidelines for planning, defining, and integrating intelligent transportation systems specifically for Canada’s needs. ‘The ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture for Canada 2.0’ is the country’s second such set of detailed guidance.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS AND PAUL COCHRANE

THE ARAB Spring has brought many unlikely changes and not all have been welcome, but one development that is certainly positive for the printing industry is its encouragement of publishing and advertising. Saudi Arabia is a case in point, with the government last year ordering a print run of 1.5 million religious edicts banning protests, which helped drive sales at printing presses.…

BY MIKE STEIN, IN PRAGUE

EASTERN and central Europeans often have mixed feelings about dealing with the Russians – and for good reason, given their 40-plus-year domination of the region after the Second World War. It has encouraged many governments to seek alternative energy supplies other than Russian gas, but – as the Cold War recedes into memory, old scars are healing and joint energy ventures with Russia’s energy giant Gazprom are increasingly being assessed on their merits.…

BY DAVID HAYHURST, IN PARIS

CHANTAL Ronceray is targeting fast growth in turnover at Jamal Paris, a small but ambitious halal cosmetics products company she co-founded in 2007. It is an act of faith in the long-term potential for sales among France’s 4.7 million Muslims, Europe’s largest such population.…

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 ALAN OSBORN

Germany’s metals association, the WirtschaftsVereinigung Metalle (WVM), has linked the recent announcement of bankruptcy at Voerde Aluminium (see http://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3024029/Search/Voerde-Aluminium-declares-insolvency.html?PageId=196010) to the delay in implementing

European Union (EU) rules helping energy-intensive industries survive in Europe. Ulrich Grillo, WVM chairman, said non-ferrous metals companies were awaiting decisions from Brussels and Berlin on compensation for demonstrated CO2-related costs and for the shutdown regulation – both of which were still pending.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

DESPITE the US government’s great need for new tactics to combat cartel-related money laundering activities, recent budget cuts are limiting the potential development of highly useful tools in this fight – including a bulk currency detector able to sense large quantities of money hidden in speeding vehicles.…

By Wang Fangqing

China, a nation once so secretive about sex, is determined to introduce sex education as early as primary schools. On December 12, China’s Ministry of Education released a draft of the National Standard for Primary School Teachers that included a requirement that teachers “get the knowledge and methods of puberty and sexual education.” 

 Beijing and Shanghai, the two most developed cities in China, launched sex education programs in selected local primary schools months ago along with the textbooks: “Steps of Growth” in Beijing and “Boys and Girls” in Shanghai, both presented in manga style to appeal to the young students.

“How to Protect Myself” is a major topic in both books. In “Boys and Girls,” which is adapted from a German textbook, scenarios include a little girl being given candy by a stranger and a little boy being told by a male tennis coach to help him clean a locker room.…

By Wang Fangqing

China, a nation once so secretive about sex, is determined to introduce sex education as early as primary schools. On December 12, China’s Ministry of Education released a draft of the National Standard for Primary School Teachers that included a requirement that teachers “get the knowledge and methods of puberty and sexual education.” 

Beijing and Shanghai, the two most developed cities in China, launched sex education programs in selected local primary schools months ago along with the textbooks: “Steps of Growth” in Beijing and “Boys and Girls” in Shanghai, both presented in manga style to appeal to the young students.

 “How to Protect Myself” is a major topic in both books. In “Boys and Girls,” which is adapted from a German textbook, scenarios include a little girl being given candy by a stranger and a little boy being told by a male tennis coach to help him clean a locker room.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD AND JONATHAN DYSON, IN LIMA

SOME of world’s most coveted fibres, Vicuña, Guanaco, Alpaca and Llama, all hail from rugged Andean region in South America. Vicuña fibre, known locally and in the trade as the "gold of the Andes" and "the fabric of the gods" is a key part of the global high-end luxury market for rare and superfine fibres.…

BY MARK GODFREY, IN BEIJING

DINERS in Beijing were appalled recently to discover that restaurants on the city’s most famed dining street have been using recycled – or so called ‘gutter’ – cooking oil processed by an underground industry of oil collectors.…

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

SWITZERLAND just signed a so-called ‘Rubik deal’ with Austria to safeguard Swiss banking secrecy in return for it levying withholding taxes anonymously on undeclared savings and investments held in Switzerland by Austrian nationals.

The bilateral treaty with Austria, start date 2013, follows those with Britain and Germany, and has raised the hackles of the European Commission, which has questioned these agreements’ legality under the European Union (EU) Savings Tax Directive, which tries to erase loopholes allowing depositors to squirrel money away from tax assessors.…

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 ALAN OSBORN

OFFSHORE wind energy has moved with astonishing speed from being little more than an environmentalist’s dream a few years ago to a vast industry set to provide 4% of Europe’s electricity by 2020 with commensurate growth in jobs, associated industries and port development.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

DESPITE much political turmoil over the course of the past year in Egypt, the country’s ongoing airport expansion projects have not been suffering. For the past decade, major expansion and renovation works have been underway, to handle the surge in foreign tourists to the North African country; which jumped from 5.5 million in 2002 to 14.7 million in 2010.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

THE PAKISTAN government has shied away from selling off Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in its latest privatisation announcement, with court proceedings and opposition within the company deterring a sale. PSM was not among the 23 public sector banks, insurance firms, electricity supply companies, postal services, hotels, railways, and other concerns listed for inclusion by the government’s Privatisation Commission in a new round of sell-offs beginning in April.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

AS the poorest country in the Middle East, with annual gross national income per capita just exceeding USD1,000, Yemen is plagued with chronic economic problems, corruption, smuggling, links to East African piracy, separatist movements and host to militant groups.…

DESPITE the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last May, Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups remain a global money laundering and terrorist financing concern. Yet a decade on from the September 11 attacks, counterterrorism specialists say there has been too much focus on Al Qaeda itself (it means The Base in Arabic) but not enough on associated and other militant groups that pose significant threats.…

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 MARK ROWE

IN the global push to make transport greener, the aviation industry is just beginning to take a serious look at how to ease the sector into using less fossil fuel. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), like many other airlines, is currently looking into projects that scrutinise kerosene biofuel blends in the quest to make transportation more environmentally friendly.…

BY WANG FANGQING, IN SHANGHAI

WITH a growing interest in colour cosmetics amongst Chinese women, many companies are developing innovative and unique packaging that especially appeal to younger consumers.

Market research firm Euromonitor International has stressed in a report that international marketing has helped fuel this trend: women between the ages of 15 and 30 living in urban areas of China have been widely exposed to Western and Japanese makeup and are gravitating largely towards colour cosmetics because of this.…

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, 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

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 Beirut

Saudi Arabia’s failure to secure a wide-ranging atomic energy treaty with the USA, continues to push the oil-rich country into the arms of other nuclear suiters, experts on the kingdom have argued. The Saudi's plan is to invest USD112 billion over the next 20 years to build 16 nuclear power plants (NPPs) to offset rising domestic energy demand and retain its position as a leading hydrocarbons exporter.

A memorandum of understanding on nuclear energy was signed with the US in 2008, but the two countries have yet to sign Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, essentially a prerequisite for nuclear cooperation between the US and other nations.…

BY BILL CORCORAN

SOUTH African and Chinese investors have joined forces with the government of the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho to develop Africa’s largest renewable energy project at an estimated cost of around US dollars USD15 billion over the next 15 years.…

BY EUGENE VOROTNIKOV

RUSSIA is planning to invest more than Russian Roubles RUB470 billion (USD14 billion) in reforming the country’s air traffic management system, bringing it into the line with European Union (EU) standards, according to November 25 statements made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a transport policy meeting in the city of Horki.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PUBLIC searchable database of pharmaceutical-related intellectual property assets will be run by a global consortium involving major pharma companies including Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Eisai, GlaxoSmithKline, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and Sanofi. They are working with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) and major research organisations.…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

FRENCH cosmetics giant L’Oréal is offering scholarships subsidising up to 50% of fees for full time MBA courses at the well-regarded Vlerick Leuven Ghent Management School, Belgium. However, unlike many such corporate grants, students do not owe work or studies for L’Oréal after graduation.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

NATIONALISM and the energy industry have made uneasy bedfellows throughout history, yet Scotland is attracting substantial international investment in renewables despite having, since May and for the first time, a majority government committed to winning independence from the UK.…

BY GEMMA HANDY

Endemic corruption in a British overseas territory, compounded by claims of bribery and fraud, saw its constitution suspended and it returned to direct UK rule.

The Turks & Caicos Islands are now being prepared for a return for responsible government, but are sufficient checks and balances in place to prevent a backslide to commercial crime?…

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 ROBERT STOKES

AMAZON’s arrival in Spain has lit a slow flame under the soles of Spanish booksellers, but the e-tailer faces obstacles to growth that do no afflict it in the UK and America. Amazon.es launched September 15 and will be hot gossip at the LIBER Madrid International Book Fair, the main platform for publishers of works in Spanish, which begins October 5.…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is staging a re-evaluation of the sweetener aspartame after it agreed to bring forward from 2020 a scheduled inquiry, despite recent scientific assessments failing to reveal fresh concerns about the sweetener.

Indeed, EFSA reviewed the latest studies on aspartame only in April, but accepted a European Commission request for a new study.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

SAUDI Arabia’s failure to secure a wide-ranging atomic energy treaty with the USA, continues to push the oil-rich country into the arms of other nuclear suiters, experts on the kingdom have told World Nuclear News. The Saudis plan is to invest USD112 billion over the next 20 years to build 16 nuclear power plants (NPPs) to offset rising domestic energy demand and retain its position as a leading hydrocarbons exporter.…

BY MARK ROWE

IN the global push to make transport greener, the aviation industry is just beginning to take a serious look at how to ease the sector into using less fossil fuel. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), like many other airlines, is currently looking into projects that scrutinise kerosene biofuel blends in the quest to make transportation more environmentally friendly.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

LITTLE more excites the international auto industry more than the search for an alternative to fossil fuels, and an American company is now looking seriously into the idea of using a heavy element thorium to generate locomotive power.…

BY SERAJ ELALEM and JOSH MULL

ON February 17 as Libya’s revolt against the regime of Col Muamar Gaddafi began, Judith San Pedro, 52, reported to work as head nurse in the intensive care unit of Al-Jala Hospital in Benghazi, Libya.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Medicines Agency (EMA) will allow public access to its databases with information on the potential side effects of medicines. Its announcement follows criticism that EMA has been too secretive with such data. In a communiqué, the agency said it would henceforth produce monthly reports summarising information held in its EudraVigilance database for all medicines with central EMA authorisation.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

THE CANADIAN federal government is planning to scrap the legal monopoly operated by Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) for grains grown in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and parts of British Columbia. The legal requirement that farmers in this area sell wheat and barley to the CWB would disappear on August 1, 2012.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF

EARLIER this year the search of the house of a notorious octogenarian loan shark in Naples made headlines in Italy. The news was given particular attention not because of the elderly gentleman’s reputation as one of the city’s most prominent usurers, but because of the amount of money investigators found hidden in his home: over Euro EUR5 million (US dollars USD7.15 million) in cash stashed behind tiles and false walls together with hundreds of thousands of Euros in debtor cheques.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF

ITALIANS have voted overwhelmingly against a return to nuclear power, repealing regulation that allowed for the construction of new reactors in a national referendum held on Sunday and Monday. On the nuclear question 54.79% of citizens responded, and 94.05% of these voted against the reconstruction of nuclear reactors in Italy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS the global digital content marketplace continues to evolve rapidly, communications service providers (CSPs) have been increasingly losing revenue to third party content providers. For years now, entertainment and broadcasting companies, search engines and more have been harming CSP’s revenue streams and brand value.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and DAVE YIN

THIS has been the year where the European Union (EU) considered imposing a draconian origin labelling law that would have been a major headache for knitwear manufacturers and retailers. In the winter, the European Parliament was seriously discussing insisting on a regulation forcing knitwear and crocheted clothes and accessories imports into the EU to carry country of origin labels.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

FEW transatlantic agreements have given rise to more friction and animosity than the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) set up by the US Treasury in 2001 shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and in direct response to them.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZIL and Argentina are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their knitwear exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system.

The European Commission announced yesterday (May 10) it wanted to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so henceforth those regarded by the World Bank as high or upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZIL and Argentina are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their cosmetics exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system. The European Commission wants to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so those regarded by the World Bank as high-or-upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ARGENTINA, Uruguay and Iran are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their food exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system, which lowers EU import duties for emerging market and developing countries for more 6,200 tariff lines, including many food products.…

BY MARK GODFREY

WITH some researchers (most recently Credit Suisse’s China analysts) predicting Chinese e-commerce revenues will grow 100%-a-year to 2015 it’s not surprising international brands are scrambling to understand and tap the dynamics of the country’s web portals. Top of the local business-to-consumer pile Taobao has evolved from an eBay knock off to a massively popular resource for wholesalers and B2C operators.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

Turkey taxation hike encourages smuggling

Increases in tobacco taxation in Turkey have helped prompt a surge in smuggling. Turkey is geographically poorly placed to resist illicits given its proximity to Iran and Bulgaria – known sources of contraband.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has told manufacturers of intermediate chemicals – including those used in the paint, coatings and solvent sectors – they may have to submit more information under REACH chemical control system. ECHA screened more than 400 dossiers of substances declared as intermediates and has said that 86% have not proved that this special status should apply – the agency requires less information on intermediates than standard chemical substances.…

BY MARK ROWE and KEITH NUTHALL

CENTRAL Asia is often in the news regarding political instability, and the complexity of the region’s borders and ethnicities make for an opacity that can encourage the growth of organised crime. Also, being far from the centres of anti-money laundering activities and standard setting – in Europe, north America and east Asia, the region’s often authoritarian governments have a poor reputation regarding the enforcement of law and judicial probity.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Iran are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their plastics exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system.

The European Commission announced yesterday (May 10) it wanted to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so henceforth those regarded by the World Bank as high or upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZIL and Argentina are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their textile and clothing exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system.

The European Commission announced yesterday (May 10) it wanted to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so henceforth those regarded by the World Bank as high or upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY JULIAN RYALL

IN the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in living memory, with the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on Japan’s economy being assessed closely, its government is conducting a rapid rethink of its energy priorities – and that could be good news for the biofuels sector.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

UNDER the United Nations’ Al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions regime, more than 30 states have frozen at least US dollars USD90 million in assets as of September 2010. But Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other designated terrorist groups in the Middle East and Central Asia continue to receive funding despite the region’s widespread adoption of international regulations on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CTF).…

BY MARK ROWE, ALAN OSBORN and PAUL COCHRANE

IT may be no coincidence that football (or soccer as it is known by north American readers) is generally regarded as corrupt by law enforcement agencies and has chosen to stage two of its next major spectacles – the 2012 European championships, and the 2018 World Cup, in Ukraine and Russia.…

BY JULIAN RYALL, and EUGENE VOROTNIKOV

A PROPOSED joint venture under discussion between Japan’s Toshiba Corporation and Russia’s Techsnabexport (TENEX) is expected to focus supplying low enriched uranium, not only to Japan but to third-party markets, Fuel Cycle Week has been told.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

ECONOMIC sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban were agreed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 12 years ago (Resolution 1267) and at first enjoyed strong and uncritical support. It was a new kind of sanctions regime, targeting named individuals, businesses and organisations that supported al-Qaeda rather than focusing on countries, as before.…

By Paul Cochrane, in Beirut 

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

May 31, 2009, a quiet Sunday morning at Mumbai’s ChhatrapatiShivaji International Airport: Air India flight 348 to New Delhi and Jet Airways 651 to Calcutta had accelerated on their runways to 180 km per hour when just seconds before take-off they made emergency stops.…

BY MINI PANT ZACHARIAH and EMMA JACKSON

WHILE European paint manufacturers are breathing sigh of relief having passed the first major compliance deadline for the European Union’s (EU) chemical control system REACH, the same cannot be said for paint manufacturers in India.…

BY FLORENCE LABEDAYS

Michele Norsa is a discreet amicable man who does not seek personal publicity in his role as Chief Executive Officer of Italian luxury clothing company Salvatore Ferragamo. Impeccably-dressed at all times – pin-striped suit, pale blue shirt and red tie, when we met – as one would expect an Italian fashion executive to be, he has ease and approachability.…

By Paul Cochrane

Countless times I’ve read analysis and the blurb on the back of books that the Middle East is ‘on the brink’, a ‘tinderbox’ ready to explode due to the nepotistic nature of governments and the dire economic conditions of much of the region.…

BY WANG FANGQING

IN maybe one of the most telling signs that China is opening up to the west, as much as it is exporting products there, that Chinese consumers are purchasing more olive oil and moreover, they are using it in a shift to a more cosmopolitan diet, including healthy Mediterranean-based recipes.…

BY SAMI HALABI

BEFORE the county’s 1975-90 civil war Lebanon was an oil transit nation, with pipelines running through its territory from Saudi Arabia, and export terminals on its shores. Today, the country cannot even produce the electricity it needs to power its cities and is completely dependent on imports of oil and gas for energy.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

THE FIRST major compliance deadline for the European Union’s (EU) chemical control system REACH has passed, and paint manufacturers, importers and suppliers are breathing a sigh of relief.

"Overall, I think it has been quite challenging for both industries and ECHA [the European Chemicals Agency based in Helsinki, Finland], but I think we are both relieved to have the first deadline past, and I think it was quite successful on both sides," said Laurence Hoffstadt (NOTE: NAME IS SPELLED CORRECTLY), a scientific officer with ECHA, which governs and administers Europe’s chemical registration programme.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

A DECISION this June by the leading US anti-money laundering (AML) agency, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), to call for changes to the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in respect of stored value or prepaid access cards has stirred interest and some controversy.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

As governments wake up to the need of establishing an infrastructure of charging points for electric vehicles (EVs), commercial players are offering anything from the expertise to set up the network down to the individual chargers. Some innovations will clearly make life a lot easier for those with the job of making the EV marketable.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

EUROPEAN booksellers and publishers have welcomed the decision by the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers to approve legislation improving access to orphan works, whose copyright holders cannot be found. By encouraging their digitisation, the move will potentially open up vast swathes of books to libraries, museums and similar non-commercial organisations across Europe.…

BY SAMI HALABI

THE LEBANESE government is preparing tenders for around US$13 million security improvements at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, after a stowaway incident prompted a review. In July, maintenance crews in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia found the deceased body of 20-year old Firas Haidar in the landing gear of a flight from Beirut.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

EXPORT development and digital trends dominated discussion at the 30th annual staging of Liber, Spain’s leading book fair, in Barcelona last week.

With Spain still gripped by recession, short-term hopes rest on exports and e-books. Government figures released at Liber showed book exports of all kinds rose 5.4% to EUR482 million (GBP402 million) in 2011.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

SAUDI Arabia is rapidly developing the extraction of its bountiful mineral resources, with international companies inking contracts over the past month to explore for zinc, copper and gold. Australian mining company Alara Resources announced that it is to buy a 50% interest in the Khnaiguiyah (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT) zinc and copper project, and the Mutiyah and Umm Hijja projects (all are west of the capital Riyadh) through a joint venture with the Saudi-based United Arabian Mining (Manjem), according to a company statement.…

BY MEGAN DETRIE

A KEY figure in the Egyptian textile industry has called on his government to invest in the two companies recently re-nationalised, following a court decision which ruled illegal their privatisation by the deposed Mubarak regime.

Judges said that the Shebin El-Kom Textile Company (which has major international clothing sector clients), and the Tanta Company for Linen and Derivatives (which does not sell to the clothing sector) had been sold off without sufficient due process, restoring the companies’ ownership to the state.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

The European Commission has proposed a second handout this year for redundant Spanish textile industry workers, drawn from the European Union’s (EU) Globalisation Adjustment Fund. Brussels in August proposed spending Euro EUR2.8 million on former Galician textile workers; now it has asked the European Parliament to authorise another EUR2 million on 350 unemployed textile workers in Alicante province.…

BY PAUL RIGG

SPAIN’S top book fair has been told by an American anti-piracy firm that publishers and retailers can protect themselves against illegal downloads, even as digital publishing becomes increasingly dominant.

Yuri Burka, Europe, Middle East and Africa director for Attributor, told LIBER, the international book fair for the Spanish speaking world that acting proactively against illegal downloaders did work: "There is a group of occasional offenders who can be influenced," he said.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

AS demand for digital content within electronic communications continues to rise, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are seeing activity continuously expanding on their networks; however, this does not necessarily mean revenue growth for telcos. In fact, as the consumers’ appetite for content grows, video producers, movie studios and other creators of premium content have, in recent years, been capitalising on this demand by launching and cultivating their own digital content delivery systems.…

BY JULIAN RYALL

BEFORE September 8, few people anywhere had heard of Zhan Qixiong or his battered fishing boat. However, since the Chinese fisherman and his 14-strong crew were taken into custody by the Japan Coast Guard on September 8, Zhan has found himself at the centre of an escalating geopolitical row that has already put planned discussions over gas and oil deposits between Beijing and Tokyo on hold and is ratcheting up broader tensions in the region.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

A COOPERATIVE of 450 current and former workers at the Jeffrey Mine, Québec, Canada, voted Monday to approve an offer made by an international consortium of financiers and construction material manufacturers to invest in expanding its underground asbestos mining operations.…

BY BILL CORCORAN

ALTHOUGH Sub-Saharan Africa is considered one of the least developed parts of the world in terms of air traffic management (ATM) systems, experts at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have said the continent has made progress in recent years.…

BY MARK ROWE

ION-EXCHANGE reactions and water-soluble polymers are among the new generation of "green" paints that are being introduced to protect the marine environment in Asia. The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) international convention on the control of harmful anti-fouling systems on ships came into force in September 2008 and IMO is continuing to urge all its members to ratify this convention.…

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 PAUL COCHRANE

MUSLIM fashion is traditionally conservative – a far cry from the often flashy fashion runways of the West. But a younger Muslim generation of female ‘hijabistas’ is combining Islamic values with high fashion, working hijabs and other head coverings into high-end, high fashion knitted and crocheted outfits.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

THE FOUNDER and CEO of Canada’s book retail giant Indigo Books & Music Inc Heather Reisman has told The Bookseller she firmly believes paper books will survive and thrive in an increasingly digitalised world of bookselling, despite predicting ebooks will take a whopping 20% of the book market in the future.…

BY DINAH GARDNER

WITH its five thousand years of history, it’s unique Confucian-based social traditions and, more recently, a one-party state system, no one expects China to take on the western concepts of coaching without tweaking them a little. "The best coaches in China are those who can blend Western best practice with Chinese wisdom and social mores," says Frank Gallo, an American who offers business coaching in China via his own company, Calypso Consulting.…

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 WANG FANGQING

WITH the fast development of on-line shopping and increasing orders from overseas, the business of counterfeit perfumes is expanding in China.

Take taobao.com, Asia’s largest online shopping website resembling eBay, as an example. A simple search for J’Adore, a perfume by Dior of Paris-based LVMH (Moët Hennessy.Louis…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

A CANADIAN company exploring for metals and diamonds in northern Botswana is receiving Canadian dollars CAD5 million in investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank. Tsodilo Resources Limited has licences to explore for metal deposits surrounding the globally-renowned Okavango Delta nature conservation area.…

BY ALYSHAH HASHAM

KENYA, and its capital Nairobi, is the business hub of east Africa. It also has the reputation of being one of the world’s most corrupt places – a place where bribery is an accepted part of doing business.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE TOWN of Asbestos in French-speaking Québec, Canada – named after the mineral that underpins its economy – is waiting to see whether its provincial government will approve a Canadian dollar CAD58 million (US dollar USD56 million) loan enabling an underground mine to tap an immense deposit.…

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

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 WANG FANGQING

THE RASH of strikes that have hit China’s auto sector are certainly insufficient to persuade manufacturers to scale back their expansion plans, but the long term lessons are clear: China is no longer a bargain basement labor market of placid easily-pleased workers.…

BY DANIEL PRUZIN

REPRESENTATIVES from around 160 countries are moving toward clinching a deal on new World Health Organisation (WHO) Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which could be wrapped up within the next 12 months. Unlike its predecessor, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (under whose authority this latest agreement is being negotiated), the protocol is something of a mixed blessing for the tobacco industry.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, AHMAD PATHONI, GAVIN BLAIR, RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, WANG FANGQING, HELEN FLUSFELDER, KARRYN MILLER, KEITH NUTHALL and ALAN OSBORN

THE BRITISH writer Oscar Wilde wrote: "A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied.…

BY ANDREW CAVE

ALISON Cooper’s accession to chief executive of Britain’s Imperial Tobacco last month (May) put the UK tobacco industry in an unfamiliar position as the 43-year-old mother-of-two became just the fifth female chief executive in the flagship FTSE100 index.…

BY ERIC LYMAN

THE TRIAL of 11 international bankers and two officials from the City of Milan got underway on May 19 in connection with a series of 2005 bond issues in which the parties are accused of generating as much as Euro EUR100 million in illegal fees and interest.…

BY MARK ROWE

ANTI-FOULING paints prevent barnacles, algae and other marine organisms attaching themselves to the hulls of ships and help reduce drag. Yet increasing concern about the impact of organotin ingredients, such as the pesticide tributyltin-oxide (TBT), on the marine environment has prompted the development of a new generation of green paints.…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

ESTABLISHED cosmetics firms cannot tell Google to ban the use of their trademarks by rivals as keywords in search engine services, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. Judges said Louis Vuitton Malletier could not require Google to prevent third parties using its mark in its ‘AdWords’ service, allowing rivals’ websites to appear as highlighted links in searches on the French company’s name.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SWEDISH and Austrian governments have been given an additional year to spend the Euro 15.6 million in earmarked European Union (EU) subsidies for the auto sector previously announced by the European Commission.

These payments – Euro 9.8 million for Sweden and Euro 5.7 million for Austria – come from the EU’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund, which is designed to help industries hit by unavoidable international competition.…

BY MARK ROWE

RUSSIA’S near abroad appears to offer an A-Z of both money laundering activities – from low level corruption to more sinister opium-based profits – and of the wide spectrum of governmental attitudes towards tackling the problem.

"While Russian and Ukrainian gangs have a presence in a lot of the activity in the region, most money laundering is still done by indigenes," said Mark Galeotti, of the Centre for Global Affairs at New York University (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT).…

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 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 MARK ROWE

SEQUENCING the human genome has brought widespread interest and the potential for treatment of diseases, but confectionery industry researchers are increasingly applying this technique to key components in the food chain. One of the most high-profile sequencing programmes gathers pace this year, as Mars continues the sequencing of the cocoa genome, a project it is working on with the US department of agriculture’s subtropical horticultural research substation and IBM.…

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 RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

INDIA’S largest ever financial fraud, the US$1 billion-plus Satyam computer company scam, where top management inflated revenues and laundered money for their personal gains, has shocked the Indian government into reassessing the efficacy of laws and regulations concerning corporate governance and anti money laundering (AML).…

BY GAVIN BLAIR

JAPAN-based food retailer Seven & I Holdings has opened a new online mall, ‘Seven Net Shopping’, stocked with five million items.

The service consolidates the online presence of the group’s department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, while adding 32 outside specialist retailers, including record labels and an animation studio.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, EMMA JACKSON and ERIC LYMAN

THE COPENHAGEN climate change conference ended on December 18 with an accord where key world economies promised to make binding agreements to cut carbon emissions. But detail on exactly how much will be settled at a later date, meaning its long term effects on the oil and gas industry are unclear.…

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 Alan Osborn, International News Services

Nature has dealt a string of savage blows to the world’s hungry and poor over the past year or so but just when we might have hoped for rich countries and individuals to help out by digging a bit deeper into their pockets, along comes the economic recession. The crunch may or may not have imposed genuine limits on the cash available to alleviate drought and famine but it has certainly given cautious people a wonderful excuse for doing less, especially after the record food aid donations of 2008.

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CONSERVATIONISTS may detest the notion of jungle food – cooking rain forest species for the dinner table. But harvested sustainably, the plants, animals and birds of jungles, deserts, ice caps and steppes inhabited by traditional societies offer excellent nutrition.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

MOROCCO’S 150,000 tonnes per year decorative paint market, worth Moroccan Dirham (MAD) 2 billion (GBPounds 157.4 million), grew by an estimated 5 to 8% in 2008, but plunged by 30% in December in the wake of the financial crisis, according to paint manufacturer Hempel Morocco (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT).…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Find has praised anti-recession strategies amongst Middle East and north Africa oil and gas exporting countries. It said using "reserve buffers for countercyclical spending by [Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen] mitigated the impact on their own economies and generated positive spillovers for neighbours."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A DETAILED European Commission report has listed trade barriers impeding European Union (EU) automobile, parts and components sales imposed to protect export market industries from the recession. Brussels fears that while these restrictions were designed to help vulnerable businesses survive the recession, they could cause long-term damage to Europe’s auto manufacturers.…

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 KASHMIR HILL

TEXAS financier R Allen Stanford built an US$8.5-billion Caribbean banking empire catering to 30,000 customers in 131 countries, but this year Stanford was indicted for swindling those investors in a massive, ongoing fraud. The US government is calling it a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of US$7 billion, making it the second largest of the era after Bernie Madoff’s.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank is to advise on improving the operation of the Maldives’ Malé airport, hoping to attract private investors willing to run the country’s national hub. In a communiqué, the IFC said it would help the government-owned "Maldives Airport Company Limited attract private investors…" It would structure an operating company that could be privatised "and develop a tariff framework and an appropriate investment plan."…

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 Emma Jackson

The University of Michigan’s library has partnered with Booksurge, the print-on-demand service owned by Internet retailer Amazon Inc., to make thousands of rare and out-of-print books available for one-off printing through digitisation.

Customers will be able to browse over 400,00 titles on Amazon.com,…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, is to help Saudi Arabia create a public-private partnership to build a new terminal at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Medina. The airport is a key gateway for the annual Moslem Haj pilgrimage, and has long been the focus of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation plans to boost transport to this major religious event.…

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

WITH a quarter of the world’s reserves the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the most influential member of OPEC and able to put an extra two million barrels of oil on the international markets within days. But the kingdom is notoriously opaque about its oil policy and reserves, with decisions made at the highest level by the ruling House of Saud.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

STANDFIRST

The Indian clothing sector is emerging from its traditional image as an outsourcing-hub image and establishing its own brands that sell modern design and high quality garments in the international market. A resurgent economy still growing during the current global economic downturn and the official encouragement of entrepreneurial freedom have brought forward talented designers to challenge established names in the business.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

OIL tankers sailing past the often unstable shores of west Africa will be safer in future, following the commissioning of a fully-equipped regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Monrovia, Liberia, coordinated by the International Maritime Organisation. The centre will help ships in distress off the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.…

BY MARK GODFREY

BUSINESS remains slow in Jinghai, a slice of industrial land a couple of hours east of Beijing designated as one of China’s key recycling belts. Business was brisk here up to October 2008, the date given locally as the beginning of a savage dip in demand for recyclables.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is to launch an inquiry into the digitalisation of millions of books by Google, without the permission of their rights holders, to see whether the European Union (EU) should protect authors and publishers.

This follows a request made yesterday (28-3) by the EU Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels.…

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 LEE ADENDORFF

IF there was a year when long-term textile and clothing market forecasters missed by a mile, 2008 was it. Forecasts made in 2007 were dominated by looming concerns about trade restrictions, investment in technology, a potential slow-down of production and a consolidation of business investment but no one predicted what devastating effects an unexpected recession would have on the textiles and apparel sector.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

"THE STONE Age did not end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil," said Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani in 2003, former oil minister of Saudi Arabia. Six years on Mr Yamani’s words appear to ring true more than ever before – with alternative fuels becoming a viable petroleum substitute.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

INDIA’S cosmetics industry appears to have taken the international economic downturn in its stride as the US$950 million market grew by more than 15% in 2008-09, according to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

All the major brands speaking to Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics are registering a positive growth and companies remain confident about the future prospects.…

BY PHILIPPA JONES

THE NUMBER of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the skies above Europe is increasing rapidly, but safety concerns mean they normally remain segregated from other airspace users, inhibiting their employment in a wide range of activities. Eurocontrol, the European organisation for the safety of air navigation, has therefore launched a major project of work intended to ensure the safe and efficient integration of UAS into the pan-European Air Traffic Management Network (ATM).…

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 MARK ROWE

AS book reading online enters the mainstream, one question that has plagued academic and cultural journals for years has re-emerged: digital obsolescence. Publishers are concerned about keeping pace with technological advances and preserving access to digital material.

No sooner, and at significant expense, is literature scanned and digitally secured in a given format, than it risks being overtaken by the latest storage versions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, EMMA JACKSON and ALAN OSBORN

THE NUCLEAR energy industry has always been a global business, and since the fall of communism, it has become more, not less international. As a result, the need for common standards and practices, relevant to the industry, its suppliers and its customers is becoming increasingly important.…

BY MARK ROWE

FOR the past 10 years, the message from the environmental movement has been "biofuels good, fossil fuels bad". And the search for alternatives has exercised many industries, not least the cosmetics sector, which widely uses mineral oils, but has increasingly been looking for ways to use bio-based oils and fats.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, LUCY JONES and KEITH NUTHALL

INTRODUCTION

CLOTHING and textile production and trade subsidies are under pressure today, as they have not been for many years. There has been a steady trend towards liberalisation in the sector worldwide, stemming from the abolition of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) in January 2005 and with it, then end of restrictive quotas for imports for the WTO’s 152 member countries.…

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 JAMES FULLER

THE TWIN island republic of Trinidad & Tobago is many people’s idea of a tropical idyll but Sunita Kissoon, senior nurse/midwife at the Gulf View Medical Centre in San Fernando, says medical care in her country is fundamentally lacking when compared to the UK.…

BY ERIC LYMAN

THE OIL and gas industry worldwide will closely follow a technical debate to be staged throughout 2009 over whether or not to include carbon capture and storage technologies in the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The issue was tabled at December’s 14th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-14) in Poznan, Poland, and may not be resolved until January 2010.…

BY GEORGE STONE

WHAT a difference a year has made in the African oil industry. With sky rocketing oil prices fuelling an expansion boom in 2007 and 2008, this year will be much tougher for the oil and gas sector in sub-Saharan Africa.…

BY GEORGE STONE

SOUTHERN Africa has always been rich in natural resources, but its ability to process and manufacture them has not always matched this bounty. Oil refining capacity is a case in point and the governments of South Africa, Angola and Mozambique are trying to push forward.…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

A SAUDI Arabia firm committed to developing energy projects in the Middle East, north Africa and south Asia is investing in a Pakistan 585-megawatt gas-fired combined cycle power project with the help of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF, in Lucca, Italy; PHILIPPA JONES, in Paris; DOMINIQUE PATTON, in Beijing; KARRYN CARTELLE, in Tokyo; and LUCY JONES, in Dallas

Where is the best cutting edge research for the textile and clothing industry? Which are the best design schools, the best fabric developers and the best industrial innovators in the sector?…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

BANGLADESH’S fledgling anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing regime faces an uphill struggle, with the country ranked as one of the most corrupt on earth and money laundering equivalent to 13% of the country’s GDP. Furthermore, Abul Barkat, Professor of Economics at Dhaka University told the Money Laundering Bulletin, an estimated US$7 billion flows into Bangladesh through illegal alternative remittance systems, and there is an ‘economy within an economy’ generating some US$300 million in profits every year for Islamist political parties linked to fundamentalist and terrorist activities.…

BY ERIC LYMAN

BATTLE lines have been drawn in negotiations to renew the Kyoto Protocol over the future shape of energy policy within future United Nations efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At December’s climate change summit, in Poznan, Poland, a key power industry issue has emerged as a primary point of discord: whether or not carbon capture and storage technologies should be allowed in a revised Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE LONG-AWAITED European digital library Europeana was launched last Thursday (November 20) but you had to be quick off the mark to learn anything from it: within hours the site had to be closed after its on-line servers proved unable to cope with the volume of demand.…

By Alan Osborn

It lasted less than a day and it ended in apparent humiliation but believe it or not the launch of the European digital library Europeana has been hailed as a success story. The site collapsed on 20th November because the servers couldn’t cope with the torrent of demand but all being well it will be back before Christmas "bigger and better than ever" according to a spokesman for the European commission which is behind the idea.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE FUTURE of the oils and fats sector globally may be shaped in the coming years by the emergence of synthetic biology, which is enabling scientists to create oils and fats with enhanced properties.

This new technology has been developed in the wake of advances in biofuel manufacture, as the United Nations, major energy companies, scientists and environmental organisations all seek to identify the sources of energy that will sustain a post-oil world.…

BY MUNZA MUSHTAQ

DOING business in a country wracked by civil war is never easy, and involves extra cost, but with care and good management, oil and gas companies can still turn profits in such circumstances. Sri Lanka is a good case in point: multinationals Shell, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Chevron Lubricants are trading successfully in this country, even as its government’s armed conflict with Tamil Tiger separatists reaches an expected military climax.…

BY GAVIN BLAIR

EXPLOSIVES screening procedures, like most security measures at international airports in Japan, follow the lead of the United States’ Transportation Security Administration (TSA). However, airport operators are somewhat less than satisfied with the performance of the current generation of certified explosive detection systems (EDS) or explosive trace detection systems (ETD).…

BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

EMPLOYEES of the big four accountancy firms are almost twice as likely to donate money to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign than to John McCain’s. A search of campaign contribution database at OpenSecrets.org shows nearly 640 employees at the big four have contributed to Senator Obama’s campaign, while only 326 employees have donated to Senator McCain.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has swiftly approved the re-establishment of anti-dumping duties on imports of polyester staple fibres from Belarus, China, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Ministers agreed with the European Commission that lifting them would lead to further dumping of this yarn on EU markets.…

By Gavin Blair

Though the number of academic specialists in commercial crime in the Asia-Pacific region may be fewer than in the US or Europe, many of the leading figures are both willing to work with corporate clients and have a great deal of experience outside the ivory towers.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 attacks on the US resulted in a raft of regulations to curb terrorist financing, but seven years on Al Qaeda is still at large, has adapted to the new regulatory environment to raise funds, and morphed into an international terrorist Hydra.…

BY MARK GODFREY

IT has been a bad year to be a fuel retailer in China. Local retailing leader Sinopec has had its profits squeezed by government price controls on petrol prices. Prices at Chinese pumps have risen by 9% in the last 12 months, even though the cost of crude has jumped 40% in the same time span.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed re-erecting anti-dumping duties on imports of polyester staple fibres from Belarus, China, Saudi Arabia and South Korea after concluding that lifting them would lead to further dumping of this yarn on European Union (EU) markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A COMPANY importing quality cigars from Nicaragua has been launched in Toronto, Canada. Former investment bank researcher Markus Raty has become president of Mombacho Cigars, which is backed by the president of independent beer-maker Steam Whistle Breweries Co – Cameron Heaps.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE HEADS of government of the European Union (EU) have backed a USA-Russia global nuclear non-proliferation initiative, making detailed pledges.

These came in a communiqué issued following the June 19-20 EU summit in Brussels. It said the EU and its member states agreed Moscow and Washington’s Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism "corresponds with [EU] strategy…"

As a result, EU member governments made promises to tighten up nuclear material security including:

*Improving accounting, control and physical protection systems for nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances and enhancing the security of civilian nuclear facilities;

*Boosting their capacity to detect nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances to prevent illicit trafficking;

*Increasing their capability to search for, confiscate, and control unlawfully held nuclear or other radioactive materials and devices; and

*Ensuring their national laws "provide for…appropriate criminal and, if applicable, civil liability for terrorists and those who facilitate acts of nuclear terrorism".…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

THE KUWAIT Project, the country’s multi-billion dollar plan to boost oil production capacity to 4million/bpd (barrels per day) by 2020, is still lagging way behind schedule, with the opposition in its parliament preventing progress while international oil companies are getting cold feet due to the delay.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BACK in 2006, the buzz in Internet marketing was about virtual worlds, and how clothing and other companies could use them to raise profile and generate additional sales. The dominant version of this technological platform was – and is – Second Life (SL), an interactive online world, which computer users explore online through the eyes of a digital representation of themselves (or indeed someone completely different) using simple cursor-based controls.…

BY MARK ROWE

ONE of the first responses to concerns about climate change involved the search to sequester carbon, a component of the major greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. Increasingly, efforts are focussing on how to deal with another greenhouse gas, methane.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has dropped security plans to limit the maximum permitted size of cabin baggage on planes operating within the European Union (EU) to 56 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm. Following a detailed assessment, newly appointed EU justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot has announced: "The inconvenience of additional limits would outweigh the advance in security."…

BY KENCHO WANGDI, in Thimphu, Bhutan; JUHEL BROWNE, in Port of Spain, Trinidad; BILL CORCORAN, in Johannesburg; and KEITH NUTHALL

THE RISING price in oil has hit the prosperity of many companies, communities and countries, but it is the world’s poorest people, living in what the United Nations calls least developed countries that are suffering the most.…

By Paul Cochrane, Beirut

And with Lebanese political leaders looking to outside powers to consolidate their domestic position, whether you are pro- or anti- Western depends on the politics of the day.
But that, like any brief summary of Lebanon, is a simplification, as although the Hizbullah led opposition is ostensibly anti-Western, strongly backed by Iran and ardently anti-Zionist, fellow opposition party the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) is predominantly Christian and pro-Western.…

BY MARK ROWE

MALAYSIA’S paint and construction industries are going through a stabilisation phase, according to the government’s Department for Statistics. Figures released by the department show that the paint industry grew by 3% in both 2006 and 2007, and is projected to grow by around 5% each year from now until 2011.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE NEWEST members of the European Union (EU) – Bulgaria and Romania – have been roundly attacked in Brussels over failures to combat organised crime and corruption. Their inaction could cost them dear. Keith Nuthall reports.

BEING criticised by the European Commission could easily be compared to being slapped with a wet fish: unpleasant, but nothing to lose sleep about.…

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 KEITH NUTHALL

AFTER years of resistance from France, Italy and other European Union (EU) member states favouring privacy on a range of issues, all recipients of EU agricultural and rural development subsidies will be published from April 30, 2009. Under a new European Commission rule, the full name, municipality and, where available, postal code of recipients will be published, said the Commission, in "clear, harmonised, nationally-managed websites with a search tool".…

BY MARK ROWE

WHEN the European Union’s (EU) energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, visited Turkmenistan last autumn it served notice that this central Asian ex-Soviet republic had come in from the cold. Once a pariah on the international stage, because of the activity of its crazed former president Sapamurat Niyazov (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT), Turkmenistan has become something more than a bit player in the international energy 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 KARRYN CARTELLE, in Auckland; LUCY JONES, in Dallas, Texas; MONICA

DOBIE, in Ottawa; and BILL CORCORAN, in Johannesburg

NEW Zealand has long retained a position of prominence in the global butter products

industry, despite the fact that competitors are always looking to seize export markets in

what is an increasingly competitive market.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) seven-year-old Doha Development Round maybe drawing towards a close, the pharmaceutical industry might start to consider that a final deal could lead to the elimination of most import duties on drugs and medicines, traded worldwide.…

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 GAVIN BLAIR, in Tokyo

THOUGH the number of academic specialists in commercial crime in the Asia-Pacific region may be fewer than in the US or Europe, many of the leading figures are both willing to work with corporate clients and have a great deal of experience outside the ivory towers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EVERY decade or so comes a technology that is so new, comprehensive, interesting, and damned useful, that it changes the way that we learn, have fun and do business. Think commercial air travel, the mobile phone and the Internet…..these…

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 BILL CORCORAN, in South Africa

SOUTH Africa is in a race against time to ensure the country’s

burgeoning economy is not crippled by fuel shortages, forcing its oil and gas companies to innovate to ensure security of supply, notably from neighbouring countries.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Kuwait City

THE KUWAIT National Petroleum Company is pushing ahead with multi-billion dollar energy projects, recently green lighting a US$14 billion budget for the 615,000 bpd Al Zour refinery, the world’s largest purpose built facility of its kind.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN EXPERT group including the Federation of European Publishers is pressing towards the launch next November of a prototype European digital library, giving access online to records of Europe’s cultural treasures. The aim is to include digitised versions of at least 2 million digital books, photographs, maps, archival records, and film material from Europe’s libraries, archives and museums.…

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 RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

FOLLOWING the late-November OPEC summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Tehran to discuss joint ventures over oil refining and then chuckle with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over the weakened US dollar.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) maritime safety committee has accepted an offer from the United States to be the initial temporary host of a global data exchange linking centres for long range identification and tracking (LRIT) systems for shipping.…

BY ANDREW CAVE

TECHNOLOGY generates more technology. Only a decade ago, the Internet had only just come into commercial use and many companies still didn’t have websites.

Before then, money launderers got along fine without internet frauds perpetrated through email and websites and the anti-money laundering industry had to manage without software devoted to online identity verification.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has welcomed a cooperation agreement struck between the British and Irish governments to prevent illegal waste shipments across the land border between their two countries. Brussels was threatening legal action over the problem, because it broke European Union (EU) waste shipment rules, but with London and Dublin combining their forces, and tougher waste regulations being approved for Northern Ireland, the Commission has been satisfied.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CHINA has been baldly accused of hosting much of the world’s booming counterfeit auto parts production. A detailed report by the planet’s largest think tank – the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – said: "China has been repeatedly identified as the principal source of counterfeit activity in the automotive sector, involving both trademark and design infringements.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

HUMAN nature’s tendency to let sleeping dogs lie means that international initiatives to deal with chronic problems often only come to fruition after a major disaster. And such was the case with the formation of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, in the real world, and BELINDA BLESSED, in Second Life

EVERY decade or so comes a technology that is so new, comprehensive, interesting, and damn useful, that it completely changes the way that we have fun and do business.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

SAUDI Arabia, the Middle East’s largest economy and a major political player internationally, has been linked to terrorist financing, but despite AML and CTF measures put in place by the kingdom, very little is known about the country’s implementation and adherence to regulations.…

BY MARK ROWE

A FUEL marker so complex that it is all but impossible for thieves to replicate has been developed by scientists; the marker is so sensitive, it can identify illegal stolen fuel by using nanotechnology-based components.
This nanotech-based tracer, developed by Authentix, a nano-science company based in Dallas, Texas, uses hand-held LSX-based technology, and which has already been taken up by Luke Oil, Shell and BP in the United States.…

BY ANDREW CAVE

THE DEVELOPMENT of biofuels and their impact on food crops has generated debate since Germany’s Rudolph Diesel ran the world’s first diesel engine on peanut oil in 1894.
However, now a biofuels boom is moving global markets and one result is commodity crop price inflation.…

BY ANDREW CAVE

BIOFUELS have generated earnest debate ever since German inventor Rudolph Diesel ran the world’s first diesel engine on peanut oil back in 1894, but suddenly there is a biofuels boom that’s moving global markets.
World economies are in a race to find alternatives to fossil fuels and turning crops such as wheat and corn into ethanol or oilseed rape, soya, or palm oil into biodiesel is having an impact on farmers, manufacturer and industrial producers worldwide.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
WITH demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) surging across the globe, the Persian Gulf is at the epicentre of LNG developments due to its vast gas resources. But the rapid expansion of the sector is not without complications.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

WITH demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) surging across the globe, the Persian Gulf is at the epicentre of LNG developments due to its vast gas resources. But the rapid expansion of the sector is not without complications.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE OIL and gas sector was always a global business, and with world trade increasing and new reserves being opened up in all continents and oceans, it is becoming ever more international. As a result, the need for common standards and practices, relevant to the industry, its suppliers and its customers is becoming increasingly important.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE OIL and gas sector was always a global business, and with world trade increasing and new reserves being opened up in all continents and oceans, it is becoming ever more international. As a result, the need for common standards and practices, relevant to the industry, its suppliers and its customers is becoming increasingly important.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
Lebanon’s cosmetics, toiletries and perfumery sector, excluding shaving creams and soaps, is estimated to be worth US$180 million a year, according to L’Oréal.

The sector was seriously affected by the month long war between Israel and Hizbullah last year.…

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 KEITH NUTHALL
THE POWER generation industry has always been a globalised business, especially regarding the manufacture of equipment, but with the opening of national electricity markets, especially in Europe, it has become increasingly international. As a result, the need for common standards and practices, relevant to the industry, its suppliers and its customers is becoming more and more important.…

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 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 KEITH NUTHALL
THE NUCLEAR energy industry has always been a global business, and since the fall of communism, it has become more, not less international. As a result, the need for common standards and practices, relevant to the industry, its suppliers and its customers is becoming increasingly important.…

BY MARK ROWE, in London
NANOTECHNOLOGY has a range of significant implications for power generation, a series of leading UK and world experts have told a high-level conference at Britain’s Royal Society. From solar cells to battery storage and fuel cells, nanotechnology will change the way we produce energy, with some impacts already beginning to be rolled out and others expected to become mainstream and commercially viable within 10 years.…

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 RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, in New Delhi
SHY but confident, Leenia Thomas, 31, is among the few fortunate nurses in India satisfied with their present employment and not dreaming of immigrating to the UK, USA or the Gulf. However she still lives 2,000 km away from her hometown in the southern state of Kerala, which provides a large proportion of the nurses in India because of its high literacy rates and unusually strong cultural position of women.…

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
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
A BID by a South Korea fibre exporter to have low melt polyester staple fibres (LMP) excluded from existing European Union (EU) antidumping duties on synthetic polyester staple fibres (PSF) has been refused by the European Commission. These particular duties are levied on exports from China, Saudi Arabia, Belarus and South Korea, but South Korea exporter and producer Saehan Industries Inc claimed LMP should be excluded, claiming they “have different basic physical and chemical characteristics and end-uses” to other PSF types, having “inherent binding properties.”…

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’ diplomatic service is surely the largest and best resourced international network of experts in the world, and this is born out by the depth of the narcotics strategy report – or INCSR to use its acronym.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, in London
YOU think the European Union (EU) is like the US – one big uniform market where prices are roughly the same wherever you buy? It is after all, legally and officially named the ‘Single European Market’.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON
WITH every new piece of European Union (EU)-inspired road and vehicle-safety legislation brings a new opportunity to make and sell the kit to local authorities so that they can comply. Speed limiters may not be the newest story in safety equipment, but the requirements to fit them had a further boost on January 1 this year.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) working group on bribery has strengthened its criticism of Britain’s dropping a bribery investigation concerning BAE Systems and the Al Yamamah defence contract with Saudi Arabia. At a March meeting, the committee “reaffirmed its serious concerns” about the matter and alleged “continued shortcomings in UK anti-bribery legislation”, for instance over the liability of legal persons to foreign bribery charges.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PHILIP Morris International (PMI) has released a detailed intelligence dossier on cigarette and other tobacco product counterfeiting, in a bid to encourage the international cooperation it deems necessary to effectively fight this crime. The report highlights 17 countries around the world where it thinks cigarette counterfeiting is a particular problem and where the cigarette company has specific advice: Latvia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Egypt, Belize, Panama, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Ghana.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DETAILED plans are now being laid for the development of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) coordinating the management of long term concessions. A joint venture involving the Saudi Binladin Group and Aeroports de Paris Management has been chosen as the preferred bidder for a US$250 million to expand, rehabilitate and operate over 20 years a specialised passenger terminal for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims who flood into the region annually.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GULF Cooperation Council (GCC), representing Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, has published a common veterinary quarantine law which would cover the movements of fish farm livestock to the region. The law insists on adequate health checks being made on imported fish and also their feed, as well as proper documentation such as bona fide certificates of origin.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, in London
YOU think the European Union (EU) is like the US – one big uniform market where prices are roughly the same wherever you buy? It is after all, legally and officially named the ‘Single European Market’.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
HUNTING with falcons has been part of Arab culture for thousands of years, but with wild falcons declining because of trapping and Middle Eastern hunters also shooting falcons for sport, what do Arabs think about imposing tougher restrictions?…

BY KEITH NOYAHR, in Colombo
AS hostilities between Sri Lanka military and Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka’s north and east intensify, the country’s national air force has been entrusted with “overall security” of the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, near Colombo a top government official has disclosed to Janes Airport Review.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITISH and German scientists have made a breakthrough in developing Europe’s most common food and animal based pathogen – salmonella – which is increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics.

Britain’s Institute of Food Research and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, of Germany, have discovered how salmonella bacteria defends itself in hostile environments (such as stomachs and intestines) by continually inserting outer membrane proteins (OMPs) into its cell walls.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
AN odd fact about Serbia today is that hardly anybody in the country seems curious about the way its official government financial figures don’t remotely add up. The authors of a US-sponsored report for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published last October – ‘Money Laundering and Predicate Crime in Serbia 2000-2005’ – acknowledge the conventional shortages of staff and computers but say they “hit on a more fundamental void: lack of curiosity.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S Serious Fraud Office dropping a major foreign bribery investigation concerning BAE Systems and the Al Yamamah defence contract with Saudi Arabia could lead to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) censure. The OECD working group on bribery admits “serious concerns as to whether the decision was consistent with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention”, and will discuss the case in March.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SAUDI Arabia health minister has publicly warned American and European tobacco manufacturers that his oil-rich government will sue them for compensation over health problems caused through smoking.

Speaking at the 12th Gulf Symposium Against Smoking, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Dr Hamad Al-Manie said: "I have met with representatives from tobacco companies in the kingdom at my office before.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

IF there are those who doubt whether the time, effort and resources invested in tracking down lost or orphaned sources of nuclear radiation is well spent, the tragic case of Alexander Litvinenko demonstrates only too clearly why this work is crucial.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, in New Delhi

"REFINERY Process Outsourcing" or simply RPO is an exciting buzzword in the otherwise hard-pressed Indian petroleum industry, as the term represents newly found and highly profitable venture of operating refineries to fulfil surging international demand.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

IT’S COMMONLY acknowledged that, whatever its merits, the globalisation of world trade and commerce brings with it vastly enhanced opportunities for money laundering. As the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) points out, in an online report explaining its work, the world-wide spread of inter-connected financial markets greatly extends the range of countries where anti-money laundering (AML) controls are absent or embryonic and enforcement is weak "and unfortunately, many countries particularly those classified as emerging markets, fall into this category."…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

CONTRARY to all assumptions, Lebanese universities have not experienced the student exodus they thought might happen following the month long war between Israel and Hizbullah, but the conflict did cost lives, financial losses and a sizeable reduction in the number of Western students.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

By many measures, the Dutch are the world leaders in paint and coatings which is not quite the same as saying they’re the largest suppliers or that Dutch paints are the best known though they do come at or near the top in both categories.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Damascus and Amman

JORDAN and Syria both have large tobacco markets, with a third of Jordan’s population, and around 60% of Syria’s male population, being smokers. Both markets are growing, spurred on by large young populations and the cultural prevalence of smoking cigarettes and nargileh (water pipes), but not all is rosy in the sector.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

AS befits its wider membership and longer history, Interpol is better known internationally than Europol though it has fewer staff and a smaller budget. But the similarities between the two organisations are more important than the differences. Neither is a hands-on police force.…

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 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 Damascus

THE SOFT drinks market in Syria is undergoing unprecedented growth, expected to surge 17%-18% this year over last year’s 12% growth, and Pepsi’s share of the market growing after just under a year of operations in the country.…

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 Damascus

CLASSES at all of Lebanon’s universities have been cancelled and international students and faculty are being evacuated following Israel’s air and sea bombardment of the country.

The American University of Beirut’s (AUB) provost Peter Heath announced Sunday that all classes for the summer semester were cancelled until further notice.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is offering a comprehensive European Union (EU) free-trade deal to Russia, to secure cheaper and more reliable gas and oil supplies. Commission president José Manuel Barroso said the EU will offer this to Russia once it has joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO), maybe this year.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN research network Eureka has developed a computerised screening process that will help pharmaceutical companies assess thousands of plants for a potentially lucrative source of therapeutic compounds. At present, researchers trawl through plant samples looking for a useful species, but Eureka’s E!…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

WHEN asked about corruption in Belgium by Commercial Crime International, a government official held his nose in the time-honoured gesture. But was he being fair? Some recent high profile cases have brought the nation some lurid publicity.…

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 DEIRDRE MASON

FROM the scorching heat of Kenya’s northern border with the Sudan to the unforgiving conditions of Afghanistan, International Red Cross nurse Jenny Hayward-Karlsson has seen it all during a varied and challenging 20-year career working in the world’s war zones.…

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 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

PUBLISHERS are being asked to comment on draft European Commission plans to reform scientific publishing in Europe. The Commission has suggested an official ranking system for scientific publications: by quality, copyright management, search facilities and archiving. It is also considering using its competition powers to "guarantee a level playing field" in a market where paid-for journals compete with open-access Internet sites.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) is planning to lend up to Euro 150 million to Esso Highlands Ltd, Oil Search Ltd, and the Papua New Guinea government to develop gas reserves in the country’s Southern Highlands. Gas would be piped 3,500km to eastern Australia.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) competition commissioner has indicated she could push for regulatory reform to improve competition in EU energy markets, in parallel with legal enforcement action using existing rules. Neelie Kroes highlighted "bundling of generation, supply, pipelines, grids, and distribution (as) at the heart of the current EU energy market failure."…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Cairo

FOREIGN investment in Egypt is on the rise, spurred on by new legislation, deregulation and a pro-business Cabinet under Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, although there are still plenty of pitfalls for the unwary and unprepared.

Indeed, the door has only recently opened wide to overseas investors, with Egypt in 1997 allowing foreign companies 100% ownership of Egyptian companies, the repatriation of dividends and tax exemptions.…

BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

ONGOING recruitment of South African nurses to the UK is pushing South Africa’s already hard pressed public health system close to the brink of collapse and putting patient care at risk, the country’s lead nursing union and health experts have warned.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, in London

EUROPEAN and US regulatory bodies have agreed to co-operate to develop common testing and engineering standards for mobile air conditioning systems such as those used in automobiles. Because some of the gases used in these systems, such as HFC 134a, are far more lethal to the environment than carbon dioxide, the European Union (EU) has agreed to start phasing them out in 2011 and stop using them in new autos from 2017.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

THE NUMBER of Syrians studying in the US has dropped a steep 32% over the past five years, with sometimes-criticised universities in Syria the direct beneficiaries, even attracting foreign students from around the Middle East.

The move comes as Arab students are increasingly shunning top ranked US universities because of anger about its government’s foreign policy, and as Syria’s ossified university system opens up to the private sector.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE, in Sydney

FOR devotees of Captain Kirk, Dr Spock and the original Star Trek crew, the thrilling world of nanotechnology could sound vaguely familiar. It offers the 21st century a swathe of new products and services, from dirt-repelling cars to ‘thinking’ materials that can change colour automatically.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPE’S business newspapers are reporting that German publishing giant Bertelsmann will join the Quaero serach engine consortium that wants to create a European rival to Google. A spokeswoman for Bertelsmann’s information logistics arm Empolis however would only confirm to the Bookseller that "we are considering this", adding that there may be a formal announcement by the end of this week.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

OUT of 60 recommendations made in a report last December by the European Parliament on strategies to prevent human trafficking only one specifically mentioned money laundering and even there the message was essentially "carry on as before" and "keep your eyes open".…