Search Results for: United Nations

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.…

INTERNATIONAL brands have been growing in emerging markets worldwide, but it would appear that where a newly wealthy country develops a local industry with quality products, they can lose market share. Taiwan is a case in point. Its beauty and personal care market – last year worth USD3.4 billion and traditionally heavily dominated by international brands –  has seen domestic players steadily clawing back more market share: extending from a mere 15% in 2007 to a relatively handsome 25% in 2012.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) offers a more favourable investment environment compared to north America or south-east Asia in the eyes of Chinese investors, according to a recently released study of Chinese companies investing in Europe. Africa however is seen as the most welcoming destination for Chinese investment, by 85% to 15%, according to the survey of 74 Chinese firms carried out by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), in cooperation with KPMG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.…

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

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

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

THE ENERGY sector has been left guessing whether there will be a robust future international climate change agreement after the latest global diplomatic meeting on the subject in Doha, Qatar. Delegates attending the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change were tasked from November 26 to December 7 with solving two key issues: devising a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement that will kick in from 2020; and also devising a holding agreement for countries wanting to reduce emissions from the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol this December until the new agreement comes into force.…

Both producers and importers of olive oil in the United States will be following their government’s actions closely in the coming months as decisions on proposed legislative changes could greatly impact the industry.

The sharply divided US Congress has failed to pass a new, multi-year farm bill to replace the 2008 law that expired this year.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) Japanese knitwear manufacturers are assessing the opportunities offered by the planned EU-Japan free trade agreement (FTA), with negotiations about to begin, having been authorised by the European Union (EU) member states before Christmas.

“We will try to develop good contacts with the Japanese industry to try to come up with solutions during the negotiations that could be beneficial for both whenever possible”, said Luisa Santos, head of international trade at the European apparel and textile confederation (Euratex).…

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.…

THE UNITED States government has unveiled details of proposed flexibilities it wants to introduce into the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement which will allow importers to buy scarce clothing, textiles and yarns from outside the bloc.

Speaking at a New York conference yesterday (Wed, Jan 9), Kim Glas, deputy assistant secretary for textiles and apparels of the US Department of Commerce stressed proposals that may appease concerns of US garment and clothing importers concerned about restrictive ‘yarn forward’ rules in the draft TPP.…