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AN APPY MEDIUMApplications development has become big business,

growing into a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years.

A vIEw froM thE toPA slew of upscale property openings around the

world are revving up tourism.

soN of thE soIlThe second artist to exhibit under the aegis of Project

60, Abdullah Hamas’s work is deeply rooted in his heritage and culture.

thE 2011 globAl coMPEtIvENEss forUM

This year’s GCF’s had leaders from diverse backgrounds discussing how innovation can add a competitive edge.

MINEr IssUEs – MAJor ProblEMAfter a spate of high-profile incidents, the mining

industry is working hard to clean up its act.

trIcKs of thE trADEThe theft of millions in carbon credits has made

regulators sit up and take note.

thE NEw worlD orDErChina’s exponential growth as an economic

superpower has important lessons for other economies.

fooD INsEcUrItYWhile rising food prices threaten global stability, the

solution may lie in alternate agricultural practices.

sPEllINg sUccEssDyslexics’ strong visual and spatial skills

and lateral thinking abilities makes them great entrepreneurs.

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bEYoND thE boArDrooMTrends in fashion, gadgets and lifestyle for spring

sPEctrUMThe best and brightest ideas from around the world

Art+cUltUrEA look at the flourishing art scene in Saudi Arabia

ProfIlECalvin Chin is making tertiary education accessible

cEo sPEAKs to thINKMeet Magatte Wade-Marchand, a compassionate capitalist.

thINK roUNDtAblEHow cross-border bourses are gaining a competitive edge through large-scale mergers.

fUtUrE thINKINgAn energy-efficient offshore marine research centre

booKsTHINK reviews the best reads this quarter

vIsIoNArYEco-activist and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai

thINKINg forwArDPhilip Stanton on the new developments shaping the Middle East

whAt Do YoU thINKStudents from around the world discuss if sports can be an engine for growth

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ForMEr US PrESIdENT BILL CLINToN

“rEcogNIsINg thAt Its coMPEtItIvE ADvANtAgE Is

Not thrEAtENED If thE worlD UsEs solAr AND wIND ENErgY, thIs rEgIoN shoUlD sEEK to bEcoME thE EPIcENtrE of thE

sUstAINAblE ENErgY EcoNoMY of thE worlD. wE NEED to UsE

thE rEsoUrcEs UNDErNEAth thE groUND to crEAtE MorE

oPPortUNItIEs for thosE PEoPlE thAt ArE oN toP of It.”

opinion

Motivate Publishing LLC, on behalf of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, publishes THINK quarterly. SAGIA and Motivate Publishing do not accept liability for errors or omissions contained in this publication for whatever reason, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of SAGIA or of the publishers. SAGIA and the publishers take no responsibility for the goods and services advertised. All materials are protected by copyright.

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the written permission of the copyright owner, except as may be permitted by applicable laws. sagia.gov.sa

Sagia EdITorIAL AdvISor Fahd M Hamidaddin ProjECT LEAdEr Aseel A Al-Zamil

motivate publiShing EdITor-IN-CHIEF Obaid Humaid Al Tayer GroUP EdITor + MANAGING PArTNEr Ian Fairservice GroUP SENIor EdITor Gina Johnson

GroUP EdITor Catherine Belbin catherine@motivate.ae dEPUTy EdITor Shalaka Paradkar shalaka@motivate.ae CHIEF SUB EdITor Iain Smith iain@motivate.ae EdITorIAL ASSISTANT Belinda Igaya belinda@motivate.ae

GENErAL MANAGEr GroUP SALES Anthony Milne anthony@motivate.ae SENIor AdvErTISEMENT MANAGEr Rowena Miranda rowena@motivate.ae dEPUTy AdvErTISEMENT MANAGEr Omar Al Eit omar@motivate.ae GENErAL MANAGEr – ProdUCTIoN + CIrCULATIoN S. Sasidharan sasidharan@motivate.ae ProdUCTIoN MANAGEr C. Sudhakar sudhakar@motivate.ae

dESIGN Design Studio INTErNATIoNAL CorrESPoNdENTS Steve Hill, Joanne Molina, Lisa Vincenti, Dorothy Waldman, Richard Warren, Samia Qaiyum

SAuDI ARABIAn GEnERAL InVESTMEnT AuTHORITy (SAGIA) SAGIA HEADQuARTERS Imam Saud Bin Abdulaziz Road (university Road), PO Box 5927, Riyadh 11432, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, T +966 1 203 5555 F +966 1 263 2894 E Info@sagia.gov.sa

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editQ2 2011

Rejuvenation has been uppermost on our minds as we come to terms with the turmoil of recent events, whether wreaked by nature or the financial markets.

In this issue of THINK, our international correspondents set about finding ideas and innovations that rejuvenate.

Be it profit generation, as exemplified by Magatte Wade, one of the speakers at the fifth annual Global Competitiveness Forum organised by SAGIA.

Wade’s “compassionate capitalism” rejuvenated an impoverished African economy, thereby creating jobs and wealth. Or in China, where the world’s largest country has embraced a new way of thinking to become the world’s second-largest economy. Carbon credits have rejuvenated the thinking about how businesses can cut emissions and still be profitable.

World-renowned lateral thinking expert Edward de Bono says the way forward lies in value-added

thinking. It implies THINKing about how routine processes can be made more sustainable, more efficient and more profitable.

THINK of it as a spa treatment for your mind – rejuvenating the way you think about the same old, same old. Catherine BelbinGroup Editor THINK@motivate.ae

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revolutionary work in the fields of crop growth and medicine, the world’s most

liveable city, plus new hotels and football facilities for Saudi Arabia make the

headlines

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sAUDI ArAbIA will become the richest economy in the Middle East in terms of GDP per capita by 2050 when citizens will earn an

growing Wealthaverage of more than $98,000 per annum, according to a forecast by Citibank.

It also predicted that Saudi Arabia will

surpass Canada, Britain and Switzerland to become the sixth richest economy in the world by 2050. The report stated that Singapore retained its position as the globe’s richest economy, in terms of GDP per capita by 2050, at $137,710 followed by Hong Kong ($116,639) and Taiwan ($114,093).

oN trAcKThe designs of four stations conceived by Foster & Partners for the Haramain high-speed railway in Saudi Arabia have been revealed.

The cities of Makkah, Madinah, jeddah and the developing King Abdullah Economic City in the west will be connected by the railway, which will provide a new link for pilgrims travelling during the Hajj. Islamic architectural traditions have influenced the design of 25 metre-high arches in each of the stations, due to be completed by May 2013.

toP of thE clAssSeven of the 10 most reputable universities in the world – and 45 of the leading 100 – are American, according to the results of a global poll published by Times Higher Education. Harvard was at the top of the list followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two British universities – Cambridge (third) and oxford (sixth) – also feature in the top 10. japan is the only other nation to break into the top ten with Tokyo University in eighth place.

rankings were based on a survey of more than 13,000 academics from 131 countries.

sPortINg goAlWorld football powerhouse real Madrid has inked an agreement with the Prince Salman Foundation to build a sports academy in Saudi Arabia for 300 children. The Spanish club currently has 68 academies in 32 countries.

Madrid President Florentino Perez said: “The academy will serve as a marvellous alliance and will allow us to open several others across the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia.”

thE forD Foundation has contributed $3 million towards the final construction costs of the new building housing New York’s Museum for African Art, which is due to open later this year.

The Ford Foundation Lobby will be an integral part of the $90-million museum which has been designed by Robert AM Stern Architects. Other donors to the museum include David Rockefeller, John Tishman and the Walt Disney Company.

museum’s Boostfor thE second consecutive year, the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business won top spot in Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking of the best undergraduate business programmes in the USA.

Students at Mendoza have the option of studying abroad in countries like Egypt and South Africa. Second place went to University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce (McIntire Undergraduate Business Profile). After McIntire is Emory’s Goizueta Business School (Goizueta Undergraduate Business Profile), a programme that enables students to

study abroad at an international institution like Cass Business School in London or Bocconi University in Milan.

The rest of the places in the top 10 went to (in order of ranking): University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Cornell University (Dyson), Ithaca, N.Y, University of Michigan (Ross), Ann Arbor, Villanova University, Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler), Chapel Hill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan), Cambridge, and Georgetown University (McDonough), Washington, D.C.

Bloomberg Businessweek’s best undergrad B-school for 2011

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DiScovery, naSa’s oldest surviving space shuttle, will be sent to the Smithsonian institute for display after being retired from active duty. it racked up nearly 240 million kilometres over the course of 39 missions in 27 years, spending 365 days in space. Discovery flew to the international Space Station 13 times and carried a total of 184 astronauts. naSa’s two other shuttles are also set to be retired following the end of the space shuttle programme.

ExPErts IN Qatar are getting creative in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. Dr. Saud Abdul Ghani, head of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Qatar University, has unveiled the design of an artificial helium-filled cloud to float over Doha’s open-air stadiums, shading and cooling the grounds during matches.

The project will be executed in collaboration with Qatar Science and Technology Park. Estimated to cost $500,000, the remote-controlled cloud will be made of 100 per cent light carbonic materials and fuelled by four solar-powered engines, flying at a very high altitude to block direct and indirect sunrays.

boEINg AND Saudi Arabian Airlines are teaming up to modernise the carrier’s fleet of 777s to enhance passenger experience. The cabin modification programme involving the interiors of 22 Boeing 777-200ERs (extended

range) is scheduled to be completed later this year.

Eight of the aeroplanes feature Saudi Arabian Airlines’ new Business Market configuration, with 24 first class, 38 business-class and 170

economy-class seats. The remaining jetliners are in the new High Density configuration, which accommodates 14 business-class and 327 economy-class seats.

First class seats feature 39.1cm in-seat video monitors with PC power and powered seat adjustment, while Business Class seats have 30.7cm in-seat video monitors, also with PC power and powered adjustment capability.

sky’s the limit

Final Frontiers

taking Flight

E-booKs INNovAtIoNrufoof, a bookstore application that targets the Arab audience with more than 4,500 books covering various sectors, was launched in Saudi Arabia at the Second International Conference on e-Learning staged in riyadh.

The rufoof app download is free and can be downloaded from itunes. Users can view a wide range of titles in different categories and download a sample to have the content available even when the device is offline.

fAr tEAchINgKing Abdulaziz University has become a member of the SAP University Alliance Programme – a global endeavour that helps faculty members teach students how technology can enable integrated business processes and strategic thinking.

Professor osama Bin Sadeq Tayyeb, President of King Abdulaziz University, said: “We have selected SAP’s business solutions for their functionality to support teaching, learning and business processes, enabling us to improve our financial management, maintain operational excellence, improve productivity and ensure best-practice.”

The university, established in 1967, now boasts 140,000 students.

clEAN brEAKInvestment in clean energy hit record levels in 2010, climbing 30 per cent to $243 billion according to the latest analysis of global renewable energy markets by Ernst & young. However, there is concern that government spending cuts around the world could restrict continued expansion of the industry.

China remains the clear global leader in terms of renewable energy with its wind capacity increasing by 64 per cent in 2010.

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rEsEArchErs at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed technology that could improve the quality, yield and disease

top of the cropsresistance of current crop varieties. Dr Magdy Mahfouz and his research team have been looking at a new way of genetically engineering plants to tolerate aggressive environments.

Regions where water quantity and quality are limited, such as Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, could benefit by growing crops engineered for stress tolerance, which would address the problem of the nutritional needs of a growing population and pave the way for surplus crops to be exported to GM-restrictive markets like Japan.

vANcoUvEr has emerged as the most liveable city in the world for the fifth successive year, under an annual index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

A combination of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure helped the Canadian west coast city emerge with a score of 98 per cent. Two other Canadian cities were in the top 10, with Toronto listed in fourth place and Calgary fifth. Melbourne leapfrogged the Austrian capital of Vienna into second place.

The leading US city was Pittsburgh, in 29th position, while New York stayed at 56th.

the place to Be

PowEr lIstLubna olayan, the CEo of riyadh-based olayan Financing Company, is the second most powerful Arab woman in the world according to CEo Middle East magazine.

olayan Financing was launched by her father in 1947 and has grown to become one of the nation’s most successful conglomerates. olayan, who in 2004 spoke at the WEF in davos, Switzerland is also on the board of the Beirut-based Arab Thought Foundation.

lUPUs brEAKthroUghThe US Food and drug Administration has approved the first new treatment for lupus in more than 50 years.

Benlysta is an injectable drug developed over 15 years by US biotech Human Genome Sciences.

It is estimated that this chronic and often disabling autoimmune disease affects more than 1.5 million Americans, 90 per cent of whom are women. Symptoms include fever, exhaustion, fatigue, joint pains and skin rashes, and there is no known cure for the disease. PH

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art + culture

If thoughts about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia only evoke images of vast deserts, great wealth and limitless reserves of crude oil you should think again.

An unexpected side of Saudi Arabia has been revealed through the efforts of Edge of Arabia, a grassroots initiative that allows global audiences to better engage with the country’s relatively unknown art culture. The non-profit organisation brings together a new generation of artists from all over the

Kingdom, ranging from the mountains of Aseer to the backstreets of Jeddah.

It all started back in 2003, when British artist Steven Stapleton embarked on a bumpy bus ride across Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia. His journey introduced him to young artists at the Al-Miftaha Arts Village in Abha and ultimately welcomed an isolated arts community into mainstream conversation. Launched in London in 2008, Edge of Arabia aims to enhance

international cultural relationships, and stimulate interest and investment in Saudi art.

Following successful exhibitions in Venice, Riyadh, Berlin and most recently Istanbul, Edge of Arabia kicked off 2011 with its first major exhibition in the Gulf from March 14-April 15 at the Dubai International Finance Centre.

Entitled TERMINAL, the highly conceptual and experiential exhibition

addressed concepts of travel, bureaucracy, privacy and identity through the eyes of eight leading Saudi contemporary artists. The artworks, all commissioned for this show, ranged from photography and sculpture to performance, video and installation.

The issue of travelling for people from the Middle East, especially Saudi, has changed drastically post 9/11. Having said that, more Saudis are now travelling than ever before,

TErMINAL, THE GroUNdBrEAKING ExHIBITIoN By EdGE oF ArABIA, IS HELPING To PUT SAUdI ArABIAN ArTISTS oN THE MAP ANd SHoWING oFF THE CoUNTry’S FLoUrISHING CULTUrAL CrEdENTIALS.wrIttEN bY sAMIA QAIYUM

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absorbing new ideas and challenging their own ideologies in the process. Both dynamics were reflected in the artworks; and the results were as educational as they were inspiring, as unpredictable as they were beautiful.

Upon arrival at the exhibition, a “passport” was provided to take one through the airport setting that candidly mirrored the discomforts of travelling in today’s world. Viewers were guided from check-in through to security and immigration, before allowing them a moment to pause and reflect in the first class lounge. Contemporary art in Saudi Arabia may be nascent, but TERMINAL proved to be surprisingly vibrant, critical and innovative.

Curator Bashar Al Shroogi commented: “Edge of Arabia has come a long way in terms of the development of the exhibition as a whole, as well as the individual growth of artistic expression of the artists themselves. TERMINAL pushes curatorial boundaries in dialoguing with audiences via an experiential installation. It also marks a maturity in the relationship between artists and curators working within very tightly defined parameters. It is fantastic to see the artists of Saudi Arabia pioneering this curatorial relationship for the first time in the Gulf.”

The Edge of Arabia world tour is globally sponsored by ALJ Community Initiatives and undertaken in partnership with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

Art AgENDAMiróApril 14 – September 11Tate Modern, London, England

Rembrandt and the Face of JesusApril 21 – July 18Louvre, Paris, France

Art BrusselsApril 28 – May 1Brussels Expo, Halls 1 & 3, Brussels, Belgium

Art ChicagoApril 29 – May 2 The Merchandise Mart, Chicago, US

Art BeijingApril 29 – May 2China National Agriculture Exhibition Centre, Beijing, China

CONTACT Photography FestivalMay 1- 31Multiple venues, Toronto, ON Canada

Alexander McQueen: Savage BeautyMay 4 - July 31Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US

Art AmsterdamMay 11- 15 Amsterdam RAI, Parkhal (hal 8), Amsterdam, Holland

SP-ArteMay 12 – 15Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, São Paulo, Brazil

Art MelbourneMay 19 – 22Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia

arteBAMay 19 to 23La Rural, Pabellones Azul y Verde, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Art HKMay 26-29Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

Tim BurtonMay 29 – October 31Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, US

54th International Art Exhibition – Venice BiennaleJune 4 – November 27Multiple venues, Venice, Italy

Photoespana June 9 – July 25Paseo de Castellana, Madrid, Spain

Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée June 11 – October 9National Picasso, Paris De Young Museum, San Francisco, US

Art BaselJune 15-19Messe Basel, Halls 1 & 2, Basel, Switzerland

Taking viewers on a journey of exploration and illumination between Makkah and venice will be the Saudi pavilion at the 54th venice Biennale.

Entitled The Black arch, the exhibition will showcase work by Shadia and raja Alem, two artists who offer two different visions of tradition, memory and contemporary issues – one as a novelist and the other as a visual artist. They were chosen after their proposals were considered to be the most appropriate for the biennial’s theme, which this year is “Illumination”.

The sisters grew up in Makkah and studied classical literature, but it is their everyday experiences in the city (that annually hosts millions of people from all over the world) that dominates their work at the pavilion. Saudi traditions and the Muslim pilgrimage form the exhibition’s backdrop.

“I grew up aware of the physical presence of black all around – the black silhouettes of Saudi women, the black cloth of the Kaaba and the Black Stone,” raja explains.

In turn, the colour becomes the main theme of the exhibition itself and also works to contrast the other part of the work, a mirror image reflecting the present. Black also represents the rich life the sisters lead in Makkah; the past full of people, mostly pilgrims, stories told by grandmothers and the rich traditions of Islam’s holiest city.

This is Saudi Arabia’s debut at the venice Biennale. Its mere presence is important on many levels, but it is vital for Saudi artists, who have gained considerable confidence in the wake of the rise of the contemporary Khaleej art market.The 54th International art Exhibition will run from June 4 to november 27.

Official partners for the saudi arabian pavilion include The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Kingdom of saudi arabia, the saudi arabian General Investment authority (saGIa), saudi aramco, and the saudi research and Marketing Group.

1. inside TERMINAL2. curator bashar al Shroogi 3. Brainwash, 2011hala ali4. Concrete Block IV2010abdulnasser gharem

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Edge of Arabia continues its commitment to reinvest in the future of arts and culture in Saudi Arabia by auctioning six works of contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art on April 19 in Dubai. Held in conjunction with the region’s leading art auctioneer, Christie’s Dubai, at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, the sale is a fundraiser to enable the expansion of Edge of Arabia’s education programme and art workshops in Saudi schools and universities.

The auction reflects the surge of interest in the region’s arts during the past few years. Local art shows are on the rise, more Saudi artists are participating in overseas exhibitions and more educational institutes are now offering arts degrees. This group of iconic works feature highlights from previous international exhibitions and it is estimated it will raise in the region of $150,000:

1. The highlight of the sale is a wood and copper dome symbolising theDome of the Rock in Jerusalem by Abdulnasser Gharem, a pioneer of conceptual art in Saudi Arabia and co-founder of Edge of Arabia. Entitled Message/Messenger and created in 2010, it hides beneath its vast diameter a small dove, the symbol of peace. Estimated at $70,000-$100,000.

2. Edge of Arabia co-founder Ahmed Mater lives in southern Saudi Arabia and is much celebrated for his X-Ray Illumination series. The work offered for sale, Evolution of Man, is a series of five light boxes showing a petrol pump in x-ray form slowly evolving into the head and torso of a man pointing the pump nozzle and then a gun to his head. Estimated at $22,000-$28,000. 3. Maharem, a play on the Arabic word used to describe tissues and your close family, is by Ayman Yossri. In this work, the Jeddah-based artist has taken a group of tissue boxes, decorated them with posters advertising classic Arabic films from the 1940s or 1950s and stacked them beside and on top of one another. Estimated at $20,000-$25,000.

going once,going twice

4. Manal Al Dowayan, a leading Saudi lens-based artist known for her depiction of Saudi women’s issues through art, is offering the Time Seduces and Time Betrays triptych. This monumental piece is from her recent series, which depicts an imagined conversation between urban inhabitants and their cityscape, confronting the complex issues of uncertainty, conflict and constant flux in the relationship. Estimated at $15,000-$20,000.

5. Maha Malluh is a photographer based in Riyadh. Since recently, she has begun to work with photograms – one of the oldest forms of photography using photographic paper exposed to light. Unveiled is a large lightbox containing a group of kitchen utensils animated with smiling faces. Estimated at $5,000-$7,000.

6. A Lambda print mounted on aluminium by Sami Al-Turki entitled Marhabba from the series Washaeg. It depicts two figures in the desert before an expansive sky pierced with sunlight, and became iconic as the marketing image for Edge of Arabia Dubai. Estimated at $5,000-$7,000.

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wrIttEN bY JoANNE MolINA

SoME oF THE WorLd’S MoST PoWErFUL BUSINESS, PoLITICAL ANd ENvIroNMENTAL LEAdErS GATHErEd For THE FIFTH TIME IN SAUdI ArABIA To dISCUSS HoW CoUNTrIES ANd LEAdING BUSINESSES CAN FoSTEr INNovATIoN.

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cElEbrAtINg its fifth anniversary, the conference, this year’s theme was Innovation as a Means to Competitiveness, built upon last year’s conference discussion that focused on balancing economic growth and sustainability through competitiveness.

The GCF theme was particularly relevant as Saudi Arabia continues its unprecedented economic growth and continues to build upon the last five years of social and political reforms. For the past four years, participants at the GCF discussed innovation as a means of developing competitiveness in order to build sustainability, drive economic growth and promote responsible development. This year’s GCF was the first paperless forum of its kind as all participants had iPads and paper was banned.

His Excellency Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of the Board, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, explained the importance of the conference for Saudi Arabia and the world. “While the GCF is global in scope, it has special relevance for us here in Saudi Arabia. In defining the country’s development strategy, the Supreme Economic Council through the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, has committed to achieving world-class economic competitiveness as the platform for enhanced prosperity.” But he also emphasises that this prosperity should not come at any price. “To deliver sustainable prosperity, capitalism must be attentive to social, environmental, political and financial systems, with which it is intertwined. This imperative is reinforced daily by the pressure placed on the foundations of the world’s economic well-being. Achieving sustainable competitiveness has never been a more pressing challenge, neither for Saudi Arabia nor for other forward-looking nations.”

According to Citibank’s forecast, Saudi Arabia is set to be the Middle East’s richest economy in terms of GDP per capita by 2050. Citibank also reported that Saudis will have an average wealth of $98,311 by 2050, nearly four times the current rate of $24,200 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, according to the CIA World Factbook. Saudi Arabia tops the rankings for the Middle East and will be sixth overall on the global list by 2050, the forecast showed. In total, the Gulf is estimated to contribute four per cent of global GDP by 2030 and by five percent by 2050.

The GCF launched in 2006 in Riyadh under the patronage of HM King

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) was pleased at the enormous success of the world’s premier conference about competitiveness: the Fifth Annual Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF), which was held on January 22-25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. It started as a gathering of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) experts, including Bill Gates, as a vehicle to discuss how these technologies enable and encourage competitiveness. Since the success of its launch, the GCF has been the only event of its kind, functioning as an annual meeting of global business leaders, international political leaders and selected intellectuals and journalists to create a dialogue with respect to the positive impact organisational and national competitiveness can have on local, regional and global economic and social development.

Its vision and mission continue to be the same: an annual programme of activities attended by global business leaders, international political leaders and selected intellectuals who share a common interest in competitiveness. The forum is dedicated to fostering awareness and enthusiasm around the issue of competitiveness, evaluating the applicability of competitiveness theory and practice as a tool for generating real solutions to contemporary global challenges.

thIs YEAr’s first conference panel, Innovation as a Means of Competitiveness, started by delving directly into the theme of innovation, asserting that the future will reward those countries whose competitiveness drives them to create and think ahead. “Innovation is the best way to compete for companies as well as countries,” said panelist David Drummond, Google’s senior vice-president of corporate development.

During the course of the discussion, four key factors that foster innovation were established: an ecosystem that fosters change, a culture of tolerance towards failure, a supportive regulatory environment and availability of risk capital. “These add up to creating the environment that induces innovation,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing.

John Rose, CEO of Rolls Royce, raised in important point, reminding the panel that “not all innovation is good innovation” and that often innovations aren’t commercially viable. Albaugh supported Rose’s observation, citing his experience with engineers at Boeing. He discussed how each innovation an engineer makes should be respected so as not to discourage the engineer to innovate in the future. Andy Bird, chairman of

Walt Disney International, agreed saying: “The ecosystem should lay the groundwork for innovation, then management should allow innovators free reign to come up with ideas and be supportive even if they fail.”

Former US President Bill Clinton gave one of the most talked-about keynote speeches on the third day of the conference. “In an interdependent world, innovation has to be built into the model and structure of operations,” he said. Clinton spoke about innovation and competitiveness around the globe and how it all relates to Saudi Arabia. Often the best innovation isn’t dramatic but rather just “doing what we already do better”, he continued. “The iPad is an incredible innovation, but only 15 per cent of the world’s population has the capabilities to use it.”

At this year’s GCF, the spotlight was turned on five groundbreaking initiatives. The first initiative, The Saudi Fast Growth Awards (SFG), an annual ranking of the fastest-growing companies in Saudi Arabia, launched by SAGIA, awards and highlights Saudi companies that are creating jobs and spurring innovation. The top three winners for 2010 were the First Gulf Company, Dnata Travel and Waseel ASP Ltd, respectively. The second initiative, The Saudi Responsible Competitiveness Index (RCI) analyses how Saudi companies are building competitive advantage by managing their social and environmental impacts. Led by the King Khalid Foundation and SAGIA, it is supported by the international think-tank AccountAbility. This year’s winners of the King Khalid Responsible Competitiveness Award were Saudi Basic Industrial Company, SABIC (first), National Commercial Bank (second), International Medical Centre and Dr Fakeeh Hospital (sharing third place).

The third initiative, The Most Competitive Youth (MCY), is a strategic initiative to engage Saudi youth in applying 21st-century skillsets to improving their communities; inspiring creativity, promoting innovation, and bringing Saudi Arabia’s economy to the forefront of competitiveness. Rayan Al-Dafas, a 15-year-old Saudi student, bagged top honours this year. The fourth initiative, The Top 100 FDI initiative, was introduced by SAGIA to recognise top FDI companies, and highlight their contribution to the Kingdom, the largest recipient of FDI in the region and the eighth largest in the world. The fifth initiative, Saudi

1. Sagia governor amr al Dabbagh and former uS president bill clinton at the SFg gala dinner 2. paul hawken, environmental activist and author 3. Former uK prime minister tony blair 4. adel m. Fakeih, mayor of Jeddah 5. chrystia Freeland, global editor-at-large, reuters6. ulf henriksson, chief executive and director, apv uK limited7. his excellency Dr. muhammad Sulaiman al-Jasser, governor, Saudi arabian monetary agency (Sama)8. helmut Schuehsler, managing partner, tvm capital 9. James S. turley, chairman and ceo, ernst & young 10. andy bird, chairman, Walt Disney international

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Oxford Leadership, was launched in 2009 as a joint initiative by SAGIA, North Development Program, and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. The Saudi Oxford Leaders Event at GCF 2011 highlighted the objectives and strategy behind the creation of SOAMLP, the connection between leadership development and competitiveness, and showcased the alumni’s community-based projects for improving Saudi society.

In celebration of Saudi Arabia’s improving to 11th place in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking and eighth in global inflows of FDI, the GCF panel on 10x10: A Case Study highlighted how accomplishments over the past five years have laid an excellent foundation for Saudi Arabia’s future and it’s global presence.

President Bill Clinton said, “The 10x10 programme represents Saudi Arabia’s commitment to thinking in terms of the future — not just thinking of the present.”

Amr Al-Dabbagh praised the success of 10x10, but he also said “this is not the end of our competitiveness journey; the future will be even more interesting. The Economic Cities will become new benchmarks recognising Saudi Arabia’s second phase competitiveness.”

In his keynote speech, His Excellency Adel M Fakeih, the current Minister of Labour, addressed labour force reform in Saudi Arabia. According to HE Fakeih, five million jobs need to be created in 20 years to keep up pace with work force growth. He reassured the audience that the Saudi Government is working to fix this problem and he made three main recommendations: 1) focus on job intervention policies that are “Saudisable” (industries where Saudis want to work), 2) create economic activities and opportunities that deliver high salary jobs and 3) increase nationals’ participation in the private sector by creating an equal playing field and restoring fair competition between nationals and expats. Other items that HE Fakeih put on the reform agenda were increasing the cost of foreign workers, giving youth incentives to work in the private sector, making the labor market more transparent and creating a social welfare system.

IN hIs keynote speech on the global energy outlook 2011, His Excellency Ali bin Ibrahim Al Naimi, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Minerals said, “The world has clearly passed the global economic and financial crisis and deep recession it experienced in 2008-2009 and entered as of last year a stage of growth which is expected to continue this year.” He added: “This year might mark an important turning point in this direction, as oil demand in the emerging economies and developing

countries is nearing its level in the OECD industrialised countries and will surpass it by 2013.”

The future of innovation in the energy field was also a hot topic at the conference. The panel The Shift in the Energy Landscape addressed how diverse technologies to develop clean energy are on the rise. Joe Stanislaw of the JA Stanislaw Group discussed how the future is “clean” and Sandra Wu of Koksai Kogyo Group urged Saudi Arabia to utilise advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in building solar power plants. She said that satellite technologies will be crucial for selecting land and positioning solar panels, and that, using GIS, Saudi Arabia would be able to maximise the productivity of its plants.

Art was also the topic of spirited discussions at the GCF. Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art; Jake Eberts, the award-winning movie producer of A Journey to Mecca; Jitesh Gadhia, managing director of The Blackstone Group; Mona Khazindar, Curator of the Museum of the Institut du Monde Arabe; and Venetia Porter, Curator of Islamic and Contemporary Middle East at The British Museum, each presented their views during the panel, Creative Capital.

Panelists discussed how art plays an important role in creating a competitive atmosphere. Khazindar showed slides of public art projects and Porter gave an overview of important contemporary Saudi artists, including Manal Al-Dowayan, who is supported by the Edge of Arabia platform for promoting Saudi art. Eberts reflected on how business philanthropy can turn creative ideas into powerful cultural forces, emphasising how “we are able to develop a sense of identity because of social interactions”. Gadhia explained how innovation and artistic creativity are inseparable and offered suggestions for how the arts can create growth in private-sector competitiveness.

Other speakers included Janine Benyus, Rahul Singh, Mohammed Rezwan, Jack Simm. Klaus Kleinfeld, Marco Tronchett-Provera. Jean Pascale-Tricoire, Ulf Henriksson, James Wolfensohn, Professor Michael Porter, Linda Rottenberg, Paul Hawken, Jean Chrétien, Andy Meyers, Amy Zhou, James Carpenter, Atul Punj and John C. Warner, among others.

“The insights that emerged during the conference were a testament to the growth and global scale of the GCF 2011,” says HE Amr Dabbagh. Next year’s theme will build upon these insights. “The theme will be “Competitive Entrepreneurship.” This is not the end of our competitiveness journey; the future will be even more interesting.”

1. abe m. Sher, founder, chairman and ceo of aqua Sciences, inc. 2. Steven mills, senior vice president, ibm 3. canadian senator, marie-paule poulin

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MAgAttE Wade-Marchand, raised in Senegal,

educated in Germany and France, and now living in the United States, is getting ready to launch her latest venture, a high-end cosmetics label that takes traditional beauty recipes from her homeland, and brings them into 21st century. Wade-Marchand has high-expectations for Tiossano Tribe, as her collection is dubbed.

Wade-Marchand is part of a growing number of entrepreneurs who believe that profits do not have to be made at the expense of others and the environment, they understand that every participant, from CEO to local workers, must reap the rewards of success. Consider it a corporate culture with soul; conscientious capitalism is what these entrepreneurs, including Wade, ascribe to and they hope it will become the next major chapter in economics.

So when it comes to establishing her latest proposal, Wade-Marchand is banking on Tiossano to not only help Senegalese workers earn a comfortable living but also to provide them with the tools they need to turn Senegal into a haven of entrepreneurship. “Conscious capitalism is capitalism that’s conscious of its deeper purpose,” she says. “My purpose has always been to transform Africa by providing jobs, by providing innovative education and, most importantly, by providing a new identity for what it means to be African that will change both Africans and non-African perceptions.”

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At just 35, Wade-Marchand already has one flourishing company under her belt. Founded in 2004, Adina World Beverages introduced an original Senegalese drink to US consumers, who have become increasing thirsty for esoteric, organic beverages. The market penetration of Adina in less than 10 years is impressive: the drink is now distributed through most Whole Food supermarkets (the owner of which counts himself among the ranks of conscientious capitalists and was among the first to adopt this new business model) and was recently introduced to mainstream grocery chains such as Safeway, Publix and Raley’s.

Yet while establishing Adina in the marketplace, Wade-Marchand lost touch with one of her original goals of the company and she feels the founding of Tiossano is her way back. “Adina was founded after visiting Senegal and discovering that the traditional hibiscus beverage that I had been raised with was being replaced by Coke and Fanta,” notes Wade-Marchand, who is now based in the US but makes several trips a year back to her homeland, where her family still lives.

“I knew the only chance that our beverage had of being respected by Senegalese people would be if it became popular in the West. When I created Adina, hibiscus growing was in steep decline, and by partnering with (Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant

MAGATTE WAdE-MArCHANd EArNS A LIvING By INTrodUCING AMErICANS To SoME oF HEr

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Products) and the first lady of Senegal we were able to create a thriving organic hibiscus industry that now employs thousands of women. Since then many organisations have been inspired by our visionary approach.”

As Adina, which received a $30 million venture capital infusion, grew into a mainstream product, it began drifting away from its initial focus on indigenous African recipes, prompting Wade-Marchand to leave the company, although she remains the largest individual shareholder.

“The great irony is that while I have probably founded the most successful US consumer brand ever created by an African, the African component of the brand has steadily shrunk as the brand became more successful,” she says. “Tiossano has been designed to ensure that will not happen again.”

sENEgAl, wIth Its population of more than 12 million, sits on the western most tip of Africa. One of the continent’s most stable democracies, Senegal, with its low, rolling plains rising to foothills in the southeast, is nonetheless plagued by some of the same problems as other African nations. Nearly half of the population is unemployed and of those that do work, 77 per cent rely on agriculture to eke out a living, according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook.

What’s more the country exports slightly more than $2.1 billion (chiefly in fish, groundnuts, petroleum products, phosphates and cotton) while importing more than double that amount in food and beverages, capital goods and fuels. The nation has been struggling for decades to create an economy that can boost employment rates and income levels, yet change has come slow.

Often relying on hand-outs of foreign aid for survival, Senegal – and most other African nations, Wade-Marchand contends – would do far better by fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship and enterprise instead. Furthermore, many non-government initiatives that attempt to create jobs in Senegal and Africa fail due to a lack of understanding by implementers that to get a crop like hibiscus grown is just one small factor in the success of an agricultural project. It proves far more challenging to get crops to market rather than having them rot in the field without a strong, saleable concept, such as Adina, which serves as the buyer.

“After 40 years of socialism, there was much optimism in 2000 when President Wade was elected,” Wade-Marchand recalls. “Although he made some reforms which made it easier to start businesses in Senegal, in more recent years reforms have gotten bogged down in politics and corruption. Senegal is a beautiful country with hard-working, respectful, decent people.

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1. magatte Wade with hibiscus women co-op growers in Senegal.2. the new product tiossano from Wade.3. a renewable energy power station in a remote village.

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“We have never had a coup nor civil war, our AIDS rate is similar to that of the US, we have none of the usual problems associated with Africa. If we can create a successful manufacturing sector we can become the first African success story. In addition to the jobs created directly by my company, I wanted to serve as a model to the Senegalese of how it is possible to create a world-class company.

“I know many Indian entrepreneurs who said that when [IT and consulting company] Infosys became a global brand it inspired them to create globally competitive companies as well. Today we all consider Indians as entrepreneurial, but that was not the case 30 years ago… I want to do the same for Senegal.”

wIth thE fIrst Tiossano beauty products coming to market this spring, Wade-Marchand has big plans for her current project. Based just outside of New York, she apprenticed with a tradipractitioner in Senegal to learn all she could about traditional recipes and techniques. She then collaborated with a professional green chemistry lab in

California to adapt those beauty potions to American product standards. In fact, in the initial viability phase, Tiossano will be produced, marketed and sold exclusively in the US.

“Once we have adequate sales volume to justify moving production to Senegal we will do so,” Wade-Marchand says, noting that she expects it will take about 18 months to build up enough capital to set up a production facility in Senegal. “Thus our first impact [on Senegal] will be to create jobs. In addition, we are devoting 10 per cent of product revenues to the creation of innovative education in Senegal, which will empower Senegalese young people to become creators, innovators and entrepreneurs.

“In order for Africans to obtain the respect and dignity they deserve, it is important that Africans not only escape poverty, but that they also become competitive globally. By means of the example of my company, by the experience of working in my company and by means of the schools we will create, we will provide a new generation of Senegalese with the skills and inspiration to become globally competitive.”

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1. the Senegal countryside.2. a salesgirl in Dakar.3. a hotel in the Saly portudal area on the petite cote.4. a coastal town in Senegal.

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MINEr IssUEs – MAJor ProblEM

WIdESPrEAd ABUSES IN THE PAST HAvE EArNEd THE MINING INdUSTry A dIrTy rEPUTATIoN. THE qUESTIoN NoW IS: CAN MINING CLEAN UP ITS ACT?

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MAJor AccIDENts in coal mining have made the front pages of the world’s newspapers because of the tragic numbers involved and the heroic rescue attempts. The reality is that the mining of coal and other minerals frequently takes its toll, not just in terms of lives lost, but also on the environment.

Minerals harvested through mining are vital for almost all human activities today from agriculture to manufacturing to the technology required for alternate energy sources, and the demand for them continues to escalate. In an effort to extract these valuable natural resources from the earth, the mining industry has gained a reputation for the exploitation of both its workers and the environment. So is safe, clean mining possible?

With the price of gold skyrocketing, its mining is taking on new significance today. Unlike the popular Wild West image of a lone 49er panning for chunks of gold in a California stream, most of the supply that is excavated today is in the form of tiny particles mixed with mud and dirt. The traditional process uses a cyanide solution to extract the particles. Contamination affecting the surrounding ecosystems occurs if water utilised in this process leaks into the environment, causing substantial damage to the local ecosystems, often destroying the livelihood of the inhabitants while exposing them to a variety of serious health conditions.

In 2000, a pipe carrying cyanide solution burst in Romania, sending the rancid chemicals down to the rivers and villages below the mining site. Eleven years later, people living in the area continue to suffer, with drinking water cut off and nearly all the fish in the area killed. 

Residents in western Turkey recently protested about a gold mining project in their area. “This process brings an end to vegetable and fruit farming and stock-breeding. The cyanide mixes with the atmosphere and comes back to the soil in the rain,” says Bayramiç District Mayor İsmail

Sakin Tuncer. Of particular concern is the damage to the olive trees in the area.

“Olive trees have been [benefiting] humankind for the past 6,000 years, whereas the average activity of a mine is around 10 years,” says Mustafa Tan, head of Turkey’s National Olive and Olive Oil Council. “And at the end of that 10 years, the mines leave behind environmental damage that takes hundreds of years to heal.”

AlthoUgh mining has been conducted for centuries, prior to recent years there has been little worry about the safety of people or the environment. Today, these are growing concerns. International organisations such as the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), an organisation comprised of 18 mining and metals companies plus 30 national and regional mining associations and global commodity associations, have been formed by those involved in this sector to voluntarily address core sustainability issues including the health and safety of workers and the environment. The list of yearly conferences devoted to these issues is continuously growing as a testament to the current anxiety.

The ICMM in a recent survey found that environmental concerns (40 per cent) followed by social concerns (28 per cent) were the top sustainable development issues for the mining and metals industry.

In the late 1930s, deaths from all mining activity in the US averaged over 1,500 annually, considerably more than the 71 fatalities in 2010. Improved safety policies and enforcement of government regulations have helped reduce these numbers. If regulations are strengthened throughout the world, and effectively and consistently enforced, more fatalities can be prevented and the affects on the environment should be

mining

The world watched anxiously as 33 trapped Chilean miners were dramatically rescued after an accident last October. Unfortunately, this was but

one of a deluge of mining accidents that occurred in 2010, and tragedies continue

to occur. As of early March this year there have been 11 additional fatal mining accidents in Chile alone.

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1. anglogold mining operations in South africa2. open pit mine with half full of water in north america3. anglogold’s underground mining operations in brazil4. a view of the plant at crixas mine Serra grande in brazil

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less destructive moving forward. Many mining companies, especially the larger, more heavily regulated ones, have developed official sustainability statements voicing their concern for safety and the environment, a small but vital first step.

According to Martin Jones, director of the Banro Foundation, which is involved in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: “With reputable mining companies that (destruction) almost never happens. Any mine being built today has to be built to global standards. In the Congo, the Mining Code of 2003 is quite advanced. It is based on the best mining practices in Africa and was put together with help from the World Bank. If you do [build according to World Standards] there shouldn’t be any environmental issues.”

The increase in awareness in the past few years has also inspired responsible companies to take their own initiative to prevent these disasters. Among advances being made are those by European Nichol, which has developed heap leach technology that, in addition to being effective and cost-effective in extracting the mineral that is used in making stainless steel, is a method that considerably reduces carbon dioxide emissions when compared with conventional processes. The sulphuric acid used in the process is recycled to generate steam, which in turn generates more electricity than the project needs. The excess is then supplied to the local energy grid, thus reducing the need for fossil fuels.

Another reportedly more environmentally friendly technology for extracting minerals is the bioleaching utilised by BacTech Environmental, which uses naturally occurring bacteria rather than chemicals such as cyanide and is purported to be a safer method of neutralising arsenic and other toxins in mine site debris or “tailings”.

wAtEr MANAgEMENt is another vital aspect of the mining process and involves recycling, conservation, quality-testing and storm water management. Xstrata, which has 40 operations worldwide, with close to half in arid regions, is working to lessen their demands on water

sources through conservation and the increased use

of recycled water. Approximately 60 per cent of the water used in 2009, the last year statistics are available for, was

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recycled. For one operation in Chile, treated wastewater accounts for 70 per cent of the overall water consumed.

Additional pressure to clean up the environment is coming from other sectors of the economy as well. Zale Corporation and 53 other jewellery companies with annual sales of more than $5.75 billion are boycotting gold from the open-pit Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska, United States.  Open pit mining is a surface mining practice that leaves a huge pit in the earth. “Such a large number of jewellers have never taken a stance on a particular place before,” Earthworks spokeswoman Bonnie Gestring says.

Some lenders are also taking a stand on mining practices. The loan

bANro is a Canada-based gold exploration and development company that is constructing a “phase one” gold mine in the democratic republic of the Congo, the first of a number of projects there. The Banro Foundation was created to promote the social and economic development of the local communities, to create jobs and training for Congolese citizens, to protect

the environment and to promote workplace safety.

Martin jones, chairman of the Banro Foundation, spoke to thINK.

“When we first went to the Congo in the autumn of 2004, the first thing we did was to meet with the tribal and administrative leadership in the regions where we were going to be active, as well as the government and church officials, and explained to them what our goals were going to be. We asked them how we could best work with them to make the most effective contributions to these communities,” he said.

“We are dealing with a population that really wants to see progress. They are perfectly aware the Congo has been left behind. They know they have limited opportunities and that the rest of the world has a higher standard of living, and more opportunities in life. The know they have a limited skills base.”

The local leaders identified three areas they specifically wanted the Foundation to address:1. Education2. Healthcare3. Social infrastructure

getting it right

1. a view of the plant at crixas mine Serra grande in brazil2. martin Jones, chairman of the banro Foundation

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application process for mining activities instituted by the US financial institution Wells Fargo requires input from Environmental Affairs and a review of the applicant’s track record on these issues.

Localities are becoming more involved in the developmental phase of an operation. Especially in the poor and underdeveloped areas of emerging economies where many of the new projects are located, the local communities are expecting such basic services as healthcare and clean water from the mining companies. Understanding these concerns, along with the local political situation, will be critical to the success of projects in so-called frontier markets, according to Pricewaterhouse Canada. “It is a complex and sensitive area, where mining companies have not always gotten it right,” says Aidan Davy of the ICMM.

to hElP companies get it right, the ICMM has published guidelines for dealing with local peoples. Mick Davis, CEO of Xstrata, an ICMM

member, says in its Sustainability Report: “We must equally demonstrate to communities and host nations that our presence delivers sustainable benefits that extend beyond simply providing jobs or paying taxes.” To that end, the company dedicates millions of dollars for projects to help the local communities that include infrastructure development, health services, education, environment and cultural involvement.

Governments around the world are also evaluating common practices and setting new standards. Expected among the new provisions being developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China are greatly reduced allowable levels of contaminants in water in the production of rare earth minerals, which are used in a number of high-tech processes including wind turbines and hybrid cars. Cracking down on artisanal mining operations, which are often illegal and are among the worst offenders not just in China but globally, is also high on their priority list.

The UN, World Bank and industry organisations are working to set standards for safe, ecological mining practices that will hopefully pave the way for higher industry standards. These examples indicate that many efforts are being made to combat the current perception of mining as a dirty industry. At the very least, current global best practices must be followed at every site and innovative technological advancements must continue to insure that mining becomes safer and cleaner than it is now. There is still room for improvement

Mining involves inherent dangers, but the goal is to make all types of mining as safe and environmentally responsible as possible.

Committing to one major capital investment project a year in each community, but admitting that some very expensive projects may take longer, each community decides what they want built. Among the foundation’s projects have been the building of four schools that now serve 1,500 students, a potable water delivery system serving 18,000 people in four villages, the construction or re-construction of more than 100km of roads and bridges and the construction of a hospital

one school designed for 300 students was officially dedicated on Saturday, october 3, 2009. At the ceremony jones

thought to himself: “How will they ever find 300 children from this community to fill this school? We have really overbuilt this thing.” But on the following Monday morning, 700 students showed up and some had walked as far as 50km. “That number has settled down to 600, but that is still twice

the number it was built for. That shows how eager people are to get an education.”

The communities also “stressed the importance of job creation and on-the-job training and that pretty much coincided with what we wanted to do as well”, jones said. Among the more than 3,000 Congolese directly or indirectly employed by Banro are 40 recent geology graduates from a local college, many of whom have advanced to senior positions in just a few years. “People want to learn English so we have put English programmes in place,” he added.

Another concern were the artisanal miners in the area. of the 200 children involved,

about half were integrated into the school system while the older ones elected to go into skills training programmes where they learned such things as motor mechanics, sewing, masonry and carpentry.

This and some of the other programmes were accomplished by the foundation working in tandem with local NGos who occasionally request help for one- off projects. one of these involved feeding a baby chimp, something the employees were very proud of doing, especially since most of the wildlife in the area was killed off during the Congolese Civil War.

1. the ore sample yard in a tanzanian mine 2. transport by train at main level, Kiruna iron ore mine, Sweden 3. conveying belt with pellets, geita mine, tanzania4. geologists prospecting for gold

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EEX – a 36-cent discount to the Dec-11 EUA price at the time. The European commission, as part of its 2050 Roadmap, proposed that the EU should consider withholding some EUAs from phase three auctions to bolster carbon prices.

Carbon’s current stability in the energy market is a good sign, especially after recent concerns about the security of carbon credits. This January, after years of VAT-fraud and illegal activity in the carbon market, the European Commission suspended all transactions, except for the allocation and surrender of allowances, in EU ETS national registries. The most recent incident that challenged the integrity and safety of the system occurred when 475,000 EUAs were stolen from the Czech Republic’s carbon registry and illegally sold to the Estonian registry.

However, despite reasonable assurances that the minimum security requirements are in place, there are many questions surrounding the future of the carbon trading market. Many still have doubts about the effectiveness and long-term stability of the carbon trading system and have raised issues on the need to streamline and reorganise the security and management of carbon credits.

thE hIstorY of cArboN crEDItsCarbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The goal is to

allow market mechanisms to drive industrial and commercial processes in the direction of low emission and less carbon-intensive approaches.

Carbon credits create a market for reducing greenhouses emissions by giving a monetary value to the cost of polluting the air: emissions become an internal cost of doing business and are visible on the balance sheet along side raw materials and other liabilities and assets. Since GHG mitigation projects generate credits, this approach can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world.

Launched in 2005, the Kyoto carbon credit mechanism for CO2 trading has been adopted by all the countries within the EU under its ETS. About two billion EUAs are issued each year to included companies, which establish a cap on total aggregate emissions from these companies.   

According to the ETS, the system works on the “cap and trade” principle. This means there is a “cap”, or limit, on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases that can be emitted by the factories, power plants and other installations in the system. Within this cap, companies receive emission allowances which they can sell or buy from one another as needed. The limit on the total number of allowances available ensures that they have a value.

At the end of every year, each company must surrender enough allowances to cover all its

rEcENt instances of multi-

million-dollar carbon credit fraud and cyber-theft in Europe have drawn attention to the expanding global carbon credits market.

Carbon is poised to be the world’s biggest commodity and the managing of carbon credit is one of the fastest growing financial services markets, estimated to be worth in excess of $41bn. The ETS (European Trading Scheme) predicts that the number of allowances will be reduced over time so that total emissions fall. In 2020, emissions will be 21 per cent lower than in 2005.

As Michael Szabo’s report for the UK-based Thomson Reuters Point Carbon has recently surmised, carbon is presently holding up despite tumbling energy prices. According to the report, front-year EUAs finished near their session high, climbing 5 cents to €15.91 by 1700 GMT after trading as low as €15.71 earlier in the day. Traders noted that the gains in EUA prices were made in light of a significantly weaker energy complex.

Volumes on the ICE ECX December 2011 contract were healthy at 10.4 million units traded, while a total 17.4 million EU carbon dioxide emissions allowances (EUAs) were transacted across all vintages and exchanges. The report also stated that the German government (one of the nations that has been the victim of carbon credit fraud) sold 300,000 spot EUAs at €15.44 each earlier on Tuesday in its weekly auction on Leipzig-based bourse

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Tvinnereim is also quick to address a major misconception about the carbon market: the idea that it is mostly about speculation and little about reducing emissions. “In fact, most trading in the EUETS is done by power companies that have a legal obligation to procure emission permits to cover their emissions under the ETS,” he says.

 cArboN crEDIt frAUDBut this seemingly benevolent market strategy has been responsible for more than an estimated $6.9bn in tax fraud damage for European taxpayers, according to Europol.

Recent headlines about carbon credit fraud have splashed this market across financial headlines across the globe. Still, the exact nature of this fraud is often misunderstood and the details elusive. VAT fraud, cybertheft and

the effects of this fraud on the market and the defrauded countries have hit major and minor financial capitals, including a $61bn scam in the City of London where seven people have been charged and are awaiting a trial in February 2012.

Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, says: “Organised VAT fraud remains a significant criminal activity in Europe. It is responsible for draining huge resources from central government revenues and undermining the objective of transforming Europe into a competitive and greener economy. Europol is determined to crack down on the organised crime groups involved and is pleased to have assisted a number of successful operations this year, carried out by law enforcement authorities in EU member states. Europol is also currently monitoring apparent new trends in this criminal activity, including possible organised crime infiltration of the gas and electricity markets.”

The cyber-theft of $9.48m of carbon allowances from a Czech firm has made the most headlines. As Thomson Reuters Point Carbon reported, EUAs left the national registry in the Czech Republic and were transferred to an account in Poland, and then moved to one in Estonia, then to Lichtenstein. Then the credits seem to have disappeared. 

Kjersti Ulset, manager for the European Carbon Market at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, immediately suggested that “hacking attacks of this type have also occurred elsewhere within the EU in the recent past. Although such incidents are negligible in terms

emissions – otherwise heavy fines are imposed. If a company reduces its emissions, it can keep the spare allowances to cover its future needs or sell them to another company that is short of allowances. The flexibility that trading brings ensures that emissions are cut where it costs least to do so. Market players include large greenhouse gas emitters from the power sector and industry, banks, hedge funds and other traders who provide liquidity and increase market efficiency.

Endre Tvinnereim, senior analyst at the UK-based Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, explains the rapid rise of the global carbon market: “The global carbon market has grown rapidly because climate change is a major global problem and deep cuts in GHG emissions are needed, while carbon trading offers an opportunity to reduce emissions at the lowest possible cost. The carbon market has also unlocked billions of dollars in private sector funding for emission reduction projects in developing countries.”

But Tvinnereim sees challenges ahead. “The major challenge for the market is the political framework, as the market is created by governments putting a declining cap on emissions. Since governments may change their minds about how best to regulate greenhouse gases, policy frameworks are also subject to change. However, we see that a system such as the EUETS has been relatively stable since it was made law in 2003, in part because of the large amounts of money at stake in carbon assets. Thus, carbon trading is probably a more predictable framework than a carbon tax, which has fewer stakeholders.” ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10

other Carbon MarketsUS MarketsKyoto Country Permits (AAUs)joint ImplementationClean development MechanismEuropean Cap-and-trade

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fix most of the security issues. In the meantime, member states should learn from online banking and implement security solutions available today.”

Germany was also a victim of VAT tax fraud. The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said that. according to Frankfurt’s attorney general and general prosecutor, the German Government lost $1.18bn due to VAT fraud in the EU ETS. As Thomson Reuters Point Carbon’s Michael Szabo reported, this was markedly higher than the $279m loss estimated by the government last July.

“A total of 50 companies are said to have cheated the tax authorities. The total damage amounts to $1.18bn. The Frankfurt-based special commission investigating the crime, codenamed Odin, identified more than 150 suspects, mostly CEOs and other businessmen. He adds that at least four suspects remained in custody, some for almost a year.”

Szabo explained that “German authorities in April 2010 raided over 50 businesses and 150 homes, including offices at German investment bank Deutsche Bank. The report also said the investigation led to as far away as Dubai, Hong

Kong and the Seychelles, and that some of the emissions trading companies involved had now re-branded themselves as traders in power, metal and gold.”

Tvinnereim explains how VAT tax fraud happens so easily. “The VAT fraud arising from trading carbon allowances generally involved a seller charging VAT as normal, but then failing to pay the VAT to the tax authorities.” But there have been important developments to eliminate fraud. “Since the emergence of this kind of fraud in 2009, many countries have introduced a reverse-charge mechanism between taxable counterparties, eliminating the problem,” he says.

The EU Commission for Climate Action issued a plan to combat future theft. Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, says: “The commission has identified a range of actions that member states can already take in the short term to further improve security – for example, regularly reviewing security plans, reinforcing registry account policies and identity checks, training registry users etc. For the medium and long-term we reinforce efforts to identify solutions

of actual market impact they will over time undermine the credibility of carbon trading as a policy measure to reduce emissions in Europe. Immediate actions to improve the security of EU registries are thus needed.”

Ultimately, it was the Czech Government that had to pay for the theft. The report also disclosed Prime Minister Petr Necas’ statement about how the government would supply state-owned utility CEZ and emissions traders Blackstone Global Ventures with around $25.3m in EU allowances to replace those stolen from them in January.

The cyber-theft of carbon credits can largely be attributed to the lack of experience of countries trying to monitor the market. Thomson Reuters Point Carbon senior analyst Tvinnereim explains: “A general reason why cyber-theft was possible is that the emission trading infrastructure has been set up by the environment authorities of individual European member states. These government agencies are good at monitoring pollutants, but less experienced with financial markets. The creation of a centralised European registry from the third trading period should hopefully

for thE MEDIUM AND loNg-tErM wE rEINforcE

Efforts to IDENtIfY solUtIoNs both bY co-oPErAtIoN wIth MEMbEr stAtEs AND A rEgUlAr DIAlogUE wIth stAKEholDErs.”

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1. connie hedegaard, minister for climate and energy of Denmark2, 3 and 4: a major misconception about the carbon market is that it is about speculation and not so much about reducing emissions

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report, it strongly suggests a quick investigation of three points of interest if the market is to take comfort in the work being done following the suspension: first, an investigation of the actual causes of the alleged thefts; second, the measures that the commission had repeatedly asked national registries to take before their suspension by the commission; and third, whether the introduction of those measures by the registries would have prevented the causes of the various alleged thefts previously.

As the IETA shows, there is currently no clear legal jurisdiction in many of the member states. According to research by the group, one of the biggest concerns facing market participants is what rights and liabilities (including criminal liabilities) attach to the inadvertent receipt or purchase of an allegedly stolen carbon credit.

It is currently not possible to give such market participants clear advice on this, as the legal nature of a carbon credit is not a matter explicitly dealt with by the laws of most member states.

The IETA remains concerned and suggests that an in-depth, EU-wide screening of existing registry account holders according to KYC (“Know Your Customer”) criteria is urgently required. This screening would be indispensable for restoring confidence.

Other recommendations from the IETA include making available as soon as possible an official, comprehensive and up-to-date list of affected allowances. In the absence of such a list, market participants will be exposed to significant and continuing uncertainty when acquiring EUAs on the spot market. The IETA also recommends establishing full clarity on the legal status of stolen EUAs and the development of a set of common protocols and mitigation measures to protect market participants from suffering financial loss if they have exercised all prudent measures to prevent the theft of credits or the receipt of stolen credits.

both by co-operation with member states and a regular dialogue with stakeholders.”

The commission suggested the following short-term solutions for restoring faith in the carbon trading market: regular reviews and updates of registry security plans; a review and strengthening of policies concerning the opening of registry accounts; building on best practices; a risk-based review of existing registry account holders; the facilitation of information exchange between member states regarding suspicious requests to open an account; better training for registry users; and better use of options in existing EU legislation to prevent VAT fraud. Not all member states have yet eliminated the risk of VAT fraud, despite the existence of enabling legislation at the EU level to do so.

The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) was quick to comment on the lack of clarity regarding the new minimum-security requirements after the re-opening of the market. “Given that the minimum security requirements recently agreed to by European authorities to lift a registry suspension remain confidential, only time will tell if they are sufficient.” said Henry Derwent, the IETA’s CEO and president.

While the IETA commends the commission’s

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fIvE years ago, the Nasdaq ignited fury. The US upstart had attempted a takeover of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) but its overtures were soundly rebuffed. Nonetheless, while the electronic stock exchange, which has 2,872 listings today and the largest trading volume of any other electronic exchange in the world, may have felt the sharp sting of rejection, the move

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touched off a wave of consolidation culminating in the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE’s) $10.2 billion tie-up with European exchange operator Euronext, in a deal that was heralded as creating the first global bourse.

Around the same time, Nasdaq bought OMX, a Scandinavian firm; Chicago’s two big exchanges merged; and in 2007 the LSE scooped up Borsa Italiana. Still, the massive worldwide recession that pounded economies around the globe saw an end to the hustling, a temporary truce followed by four years of relative silence. However, those days are now gone and the next chapter of the “bourse wars” has begun in earnest.

The London Stock Exchange has been making headlines again, only this time for eyeing a takeover of its once-rejected suitor Nasdaq, according to reports in British newspapers. That news came just a few weeks after a surprise announcement by the LSE of a $6.9 billion tie-up with Canadian exchange operator TMX. Yet within 30 minutes of making their planned merger known, the deal was blown out of the water with Deutsche Börse confirming

it was in advance talks with NYSE Euronext to create the world's largest exchange operator worth a staggering $24 billion. (That offer hasn't come without some rivalry and Nasdaq, along with IntercontinentalExchange, was making a play for NYSE as well, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal at press-time.) It seems the race among global exchanges to reposition themselves and tap emerging opportunities is again moving full-speed ahead.

In fact, as established exchanges in Western nations continue to see market share erode as both trading and listing happen increasingly on cost-saving platforms or on exchanges in emerging countries throughout Asia and the Middle East, industry players agree that consolidation will continue.

MErgEr ActIvItY in Asia has already begun with Singapore and Australia's exchanges signing a major deal, and Hong Kong announcing that it would also like to be involved in consolidation. The London-Toronto merger also had the Gulf nations once again debating the merits of mergers. Cost-savings have been the common denominator of most of these deals, as has the heated battle to gain market share.

“Often these long-standing monopolies are under severe pressure from new, low-cost entrants – which is why sales have been falling in bread-and-butter businesses like cash equities,” states The Economist in a report.

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“Joining forces does not in itself realise revenue gains or alter this decline. But it may make it possible to combine the technology and back-office platforms being used by different exchanges, cutting costs. Efficiency savings are the one element of the last round of consolidation that did arrive as promised.”

The two chief dealmakers of the London-Toronto merger, the CEOs of TMX and LSE, extolled the virtues of the merger through cost synergy and increased strength in the resources sector and emerging markets. In fact, the union would marry the world's two largest exchanges for the shares of mining, oil & gas and other resources companies, and dominate the listing and trading of financial instruments in the booming global commodities and natural resources sector. And according to LSE CEO Xavier Rolet, the tie-up with Toronto's exchange would achieve $56 million cost savings in a year and $160 million in five years. Likewise the hotly contested NYSE-DB deal is expected to generate annual cost savings of some $400 million, principally from information technology, clearing, and market operations, as well as from corporate administration and support functions.

“This new international leader, marrying the right cost structure, financial strength, technological expertise and product portfolio, will be

strongly positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities in emerging markets and deliver them to our customers in North America, Europe and beyond,” Rolet says.

thoMAs KloEt, the CEO of TMX, adds: “We are creating an international group with deep expertise, undeniable leadership in key sectors and the ability to compete and win on the global stage. Canadian customers will benefit from access to one of the world's deepest capital pools while European issuers will have an effective gateway to North American financial markets.”

Yet such unions are not always made in heaven and with so much at stake, whether in the form of lost business at home, the fear of dwindling local employment and even wounded national pride, the long road to globalisation is lined with regulatory and political setbacks. Raymond Bachand, Quebec's finance minister, says of the deal: “We are going to take our time to study the details of this transaction to be sure that this meets Quebec’s economic needs. We need to assure that access to capital is maintained for Quebec businesses, if not improved.”

Furthermore, Canadian financial institutions, including TD Securities,

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CIBC and National Bank, issued a public letter warning that Canada risks losing its clout as a financial centre if the merger goes through. “We do not believe this takeover offer is the right solution to creating a globally sustainable exchange and nor will it allow Canada to achieve the benefits of globalisation offered,” notes Bob Dorrance, head of TD Securities.

“Although certain aspects of the listing business are to be maintained in Canada, there is no guarantee that this will continue to be the case in the future,” according to a commentary signed by Dorrance, CIBC World Markets chief executive Richard Nesbitt, National Bank co-chief executive Ricardo Pascoe, AltaCorp Capital's George Gosbee and Casgrain chief executive Guy Casgrain run in the National Post. “As the new entity inevitably does future acquisitions, the derivatives specialty in Montreal, venture capital expertise in the West and Toronto’s hopes to be a global financial services hub could suffer a severe and potentially irreversible setback.”

stIll, toroNto and London have faced increasing competition from alternative trading venues. In fact, major global stock exchanges have been reeling from losses of market share to smaller rivals in recent years, as traders turn to new platforms that operate in faster, cheaper and, quite often, less transparent venues. Recouping some of that lost market share has proven a major contributor to this current rash of deal making and might wind up being a merger’s saving grace.

Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext at the time of the Deutsche Börse bid, noted: “The increasing globalisation and interconnectedness of capital markets, and the rapidly growing presence of alternative trading

venues that operate with less transparency and far fewer regulatory requirements, will position the new company as a true global player well placed to drive the long-term strength and competitiveness of transparent and regulated markets.”

Just one example among many, the New York Stock Exchange handled a meagre 35 per cent of NYSE-listed shares in December 2010. That’s down just slightly from a year earlier, but reflects a huge erosion over the years due to competitors such as Nasdaq OMX, as well as next-generation rivals, such as BATS and Direct Edge. Deutsche Börse has only a 70 per cent share of the trading in its own listed stocks, down from 90 per cent just a few years ago. For Euronext, the percentage is even lower.

“In order to increase market share, the exchanges have to cut trading costs, and one way to do that is to consolidate trading systems and possibly clearing systems,” says Benn Steil, director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and author of Money, Markets and Sovereignty. “Broadly speaking, trading volumes are extremely sensitive to trading costs.”

Andreas Preuss, who is slated to serve as deputy CEO under the planned merger of Eurex parent Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, should it succeed, says: “The increasing globalisation of the trade-matching and clearing business builds pressure on exchanges to drive a greater level of activity through their electronic platforms and reduce costs. For all of us this is a scaling business, under constant need to get more [trading volume] onto our existing infrastructure.”

So while local communities and politicians may call foul, there is no doubt that business has already begun looking, and moving, elsewhere.

1. Xavier rolet, ceo, london Stock exchange.2. Duncan niederauer, ceo of nySe euronext.3. andreas preuss, Deputy ceo of Deutsche börse ag.

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thE People’s Republic of China has leapfrogged from an impoverished Communist state to an international economic powerhouse in 30 years, becoming an unavoidable player in global politics.

With a population of 1,330,141,295 (July 2010 est) and a growth rate of 0.494 per cent (2010 est), it is currently the world’s largest exporter and second-largest economy, recently overtaking Japan. The EU is China’s biggest trading partner, while China is the EU’s largest source of imports and second largest two-way trading partner. China is currently positioned to overtake the United States as the world’s number one economy around 2025, according to the World Bank and the global investment firm Goldman Sachs.

As Vivek Arora, assistant Director in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) Asia and Pacific department, and Athanasios Vamvakidis,

deputy division chief in the IMF’s strategy, policy, and review department report: “China’s share in world trade has increased nearly tenfold over the past three decades, to about nine per cent, while its share in world gross domestic product has risen to 13 per cent from less than three per cent. Real GDP has grown by about 10 per cent annually, implying a doubling every seven to eight years. The resulting 16-fold increase in a major economy’s national income during a single generation is unprecedented. In 2010, the gross domestic product of the year was $6.05 billion, up by 10.3 per cent over the previous year.”

The US-based Brookings Institute economist Hu Angang, who is also professor of Economics and director of the Center for China Studies at Tshingua University in Beijing, forecasts that by 2020 China will become a “mature, responsible and attractive superpower” that will contribute, alongside the

EU, to the “end of the unipolar era dominated by the United States”.Daniel Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies

at the Cato Institute in Washington DC and author of the book Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalisation, explains the three primary reasons behind China’s exceptional growth. “It began in 1978 when farmers were allowed to keep and sell a share of their output,” he says. “Other important reforms were the lowering of barriers to international trade and foreign investment, the deregulation of domestic prices, and the freedom of Chinese in urban areas to start their own businesses and own their own homes.”

Griswold reflects on the historical momentum to place China’s success in a broader framework. “I don’t think we need to fear China’s rise in the global economy. After all, China includes one-fifth of mankind. Up until the 1800s, China had been the world’s largest economy and the reforms

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the Shanghai skyline, china’s fastest-growing city.

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of the past 30 years are only allowing China to regain its rightful place,” he asserts. “Even if China’s economy becomes larger than that of the US, its standard of living will still be only one-quarter of that enjoyed by Americans.”

Analysis of different types of enterprises showed that in the first two months of 2011, the year-on-year growth of state-owned and state holding enterprises went up by 10.6 per cent; collective enterprises, 10.5 per cent; shareholding enterprises 15.6 per cent; and 12.2 per cent growth for enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan province. The year-on-year growth of heavy industry in the first two months was 14.4 per cent, and 13.3 per cent for light industry.

“That these improvements involve one-fifth of the world’s population highlights the vast human scale of the achievement. Several hundred million people have been lifted out of poverty, and living conditions have improved for many more people in a shorter period of time than ever before,” conclude Arora and Vamvakidis.

brooKINg INstItUtE policy analyst and contributor Willy Lam, also a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a professor of China Studies at Akita International University, Japan, and an adjunct professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, describes the country’s momentum in his report China’s Quasi-Superpower Diplomacy, Prospects and Pitfalls. “The diplomatic and geopolitical implications of China’s precipitous rise are thoroughly appraised. With its economy predicted to grow at eight per cent despite the world financial crisis, China is widely regarded as a prime locomotive for economic recovery worldwide,” he says.

“The People’s Liberation Army is building nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, and the country’s first astronaut is expected to set foot on the moon before 2015. Taking advantage of the damage that the financial crisis has dealt the American laissez-faire system, the Chinese Communist Party is also gunning for a novel international financial architecture, or one that is not dominated by the US.”

EU nations and the US have expressed great concern about the rapid rise of China’s economy, often citing the abundance of exports and an increasing trade deficit as legitimate threats to their own economies. But as Griswold suggests, there is a difference between what lawmakers claim is a healthy economic policy that will protect domestic economies and the actual spending patterns of consumers in those countries.

“Imports from China arouse political opposition because they are so visible to consumers, and they do compete against such powerful, entrenched interests as steel and textile companies and their unions,” he says. “It doesn’t help that China is so big and its government so oppressive of political and civil freedoms. Politicians in the US often look for foreign scapegoats to distract attention from their own domestic policy mistakes. Japan was the target 20 years ago. Now it’s China’s turn.”

Stereotypes about the Chinese are also a driving force behind recent scandals in the luxury goods community. Many companies, including

Prada and Gucci are still recovering from reports of merchandise being made in China instead of in EU countries such as France and Italy, the presumption being that when goods are crafted in China, they are automatically inferior. Chinese immigrant communities in Italy are also being eyed suspiciously, although their presence is largely due to the fact that they work for less than typical wages and that Chinese entrepreneurs are buying formerly Italian-owned businesses largely because the owners were looking to sell at a high rate, regardless of the buyer.

Griswold notes: “While politicians and voters express worry about imports from China, American consumers have voted with their dollars to embrace lower-cost goods from China. Access to low-cost imports from China helps Western countries keep a lid on inflation. Those goods are especially important in the budgets of lower-income workers.  Income inequality would actually be greater in the US if poor families could not buy more affordable clothing, shoes, and consumer goods from China.”

The IMF research by Arora and Vamvakidis also supports the claim

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1. Daniel griswold, Director, centre for trade policy Studies at the cato institute.2. the guangzhou opera house by Zaha hadid.3. the Forbidden city, beijing4. industrial pollution is the bane of china’s fast growing cities.5. new hotels opening up all over china include the ritz-carlton, pudong Shanghai.

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that China’s growth could have positive benefits for other countries. “Our empirical results suggest that the role of China’s growth in explaining output fluctuations in other countries is sizable and has increased substantially in recent decades. The results include effects both during the one to five-year period typically associated with business cycles and over the longer term,” the pair says.

“In the short and medium term, our results suggest that a one percentage point shock to China’s GDP growth is followed by a cumulative response in other countries’ growth of 0.2 percentage point after three years and 0.4 percentage point after five. What accounts for this impact? Our analysis suggests that initially almost all of the impact is felt through trade channels. But, over time, the impact of non-trade channels increases.

“Over a full five years, about 60 per cent of the impact of China’s growth on other countries seems to be transmitted through trade channels and the remaining 40 per cent through other channels. Examples of these other channels include capital flows, tourism [which is particularly

important for some of China’s neighbours] and business travel, and consumer and business confidence.”

 There has been much accusation recently that the Chinese Government has been hoarding reserves in order to “manipulate” the value of its currency, the yuan, and maintain a favourable trade balance. Many consider this tactic a threat not to just to international economic stability, but to the financial well-being of the Chinese people.

IN JANUArY, New York Times economic columnist Paul Krugman suggested that “Chinese currency policy is a lose-lose proposition, simultaneously depressing employment here and producing an overheated, inflation-prone economy in China itself… China has been using a weak currency to keep its wages and prices low in dollar terms; market forces have responded by pushing those wages and prices up, eroding that artificial competitive advantage. Some estimates I’ve heard suggest that at current rates of inflation, Chinese undervaluation could

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be gone in two or three years – not soon enough, but sooner than many expected.

“China’s leaders are, however, trying to prevent this outcome, not just to protect exporters’ interest, but because inflation is even more unpopular in China than it is elsewhere. One big reason is that China already in effect exploits its citizens through financial repression (other kinds, too, but that’s not relevant here). Interest rates on bank deposits are limited to just 2.75 per cent, which is below the official inflation rate – and it’s widely believed that China’s true inflation rate is substantially higher than its government admits. Rapidly rising prices, even if matched by wage increases, will make this exploitation much worse. It is no wonder that the Chinese public is angry about inflation and that China’s leaders want to stop it.”

The rise of inflation in China will have a particularly harmful effect on the country’s rising middle class, whom Griswold claims hold the greatest potential in China’s rapid growth. He also projects that this middle class will be the source of many benefits to the EU and US.

 “Within the next decade or two, China will become a middle-income, middle-class economy. This will mean greater global demand for all the tokens of middle-class life – cars, appliances, travel, higher education,

financial services. This will mean more business for companies and workers in the West. As Chinese companies move up the value chain, they will start producing innovative products and not just assembling iPhones and other products created outside China.”

The rise of the middle class will also mean a dramatic increase and change in important industries. “While it’s hard to predict,” Griswold says, “it’s safe to say that as incomes and education levels in China rise, the goods it produces will look more like the products now being made in Malaysia and other more developed nations in the region. I expect China will be a major global producer of automobiles, civilian aircraft, that sort of stuff.”

thE IMf says China now accounts for nearly one-tenth of global demand for commodities and more than one-tenth of world exports of medium and high-technology manufactured goods. It has also become a major exporter of electronics and information technology products and is the largest supplier to the US of consumer electronics products such as DVD players, notebook computers and mobile phones.

The National Bureau of Statistics in China further supports his claim with the most recent data on consumer spending and real estate.

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According to its report, in the first two months of 2011, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached $442.5 million, a year-on-year rise of 15.8 per cent, or 3.3 percentage points lower than that in December 2010. Of this total, the retail sales of the units above designated size stood at $193.49 million, up by 20.7 per cent. One of the fastest growing internal investments was real estate. In the first two months of 2011, the investment in real estate development was $64.6 billion, a year-on-year growth of 35.2 per cent. Of this total, the investment in residential buildings reached $45.8 billion, up by 34.9 per cent.

Industrial growth is also an important factor in contributing to and maintaining the economic viability of the new middle class. The NBSC reported that, grouped by different sectors, in the first two months of 2011 all of China’s 39 industrial divisions kept year-on-year growth. Of this total, the growth of textile industry was 7.7 per cent; the manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products was up by 15.3 per cent; the manufacture of non-metallic mineral products was up by 17.8 per cent; the manufacture of general machinery was up 22.4 per cent; the manufacture of transport equipment was up 14.4 per cent; the manufacture of electric machinery and equipment was up 17.7 per cent; the manufacture of communication equipment, computers and other

electronic equipment was up 14.3 per cent; the production and supply of electricity, gas and water was up 9.7 per cent; and ferrous metal smelting and pressing was up by 8.6 per cent.

The sales ratio of industrial products in the first two months of 2011 was 97.7 per cent, or 0.4 percentage points higher than that in the same period of last year. The total export delivery value of industrial enterprises was $201.2 billion, up by 20.2 per cent year-on-year.

The NBSC report also says that in terms of 468 products measured, the output of 397 of those products in the first two months showed a year-on-year growth. Of this total, the output of crude oil was 33.72 million tons, up by 5.5 per cent; that of electricity was 677.3 billion kilowatt-hours, up by 11.7 per cent; that of pig iron was 114.18 million tons, up by 12.6 per cent; that of cement was 204.29 million tons, up by 9.1 per cent; that of motor vehicles was 3.13 million, up by 10.3 per cent, of which, the output of cars was 1.67 million, up by 10.8 per cent.

China’s exponential growth has important lessons that other economies, such as those of the Gulf region, can absorb. Griswold explains: “China’s growth has sprung from freeing its domestic economy and opening itself to the global economy. The Gulf region states need to deregulate their domestic economies so that local entrepreneurs and companies can flourish. They need to open themselves more widely to foreign goods and investment. Just relying on the sale of petroleum will not create the kind of challenging and rewarding jobs that their young workers need to be fulfilled.”

IN coMPArIsoN to other BRIC countries, Griswold says: “All four BRIC countries are following their own path to development. Russia is probably the least promising. Its population is declining and it is overly reliant on natural resources. Brazil will remain a major agricultural exporter as its industrial sector continues to grow. India is far ahead of China in its services and IT sectors, but it lags in manufacturing because of continued over-regulation. India’s biggest advantages over China are its demography, its English-language heritage, and its democratic system.”

Despite the optimistic claims about the rising middle class and the international economic benefits that follow their strengthening economy, China’s human rights violations should give pause to consumers, nations and companies that make the decision to do business in China.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a non-governmental international organisation dedicated to monitoring human rights violations throughout the globe, recently offered an analysis of China’s first-ever National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010), in which the Chinese Government recommitted to existing human rights protections in domestic and international law. According to HRW, at the same time the Chinese Government has touted its commitment to human rights through this document, it has also continued to egregiously violate those obligations in practice, perhaps most notoriously through its persecution of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, but also in the case of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who says he was recently put under house arrest by the authorities.

Amnesty International, another non-governmental agency, reports that regular human rights violations by the Chinese Government include arbitrary detainment, harassment, house arrest and incommunicado detention, as well as the imprisonment of human rights defenders, including lawyers, journalists, environmental activists and proponents of democratic reform. Amnesty also points out China’s use of the death penalty for non-violent crimes and extensive evidence of unfair trials and the use of torture in places of detention, including beatings, hanging by the limbs, force feeding, injecting unknown drugs and sleep deprivation. Statistics on death sentences and executions remain classified as state secrets.

1. uncontrolled development and pollution threatens heritage sites such as the Forbidden city.2. economists say low-cost chinese goods have helped Western countries control inflation.3. Shanghai’s industrial area: industrial growth has maintained the middle class.

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globAl economies are now so tightly interconnected that companies, governments and industries are beginning to interact in ways we could not have imagined just a few years ago. Ernst & Young has tracked the rise of six key developments that are shaping the international business world. We’re clearly seeing increased complexity in economic and social environments, with companies and economies having to adapt to increasingly interlocking systems. Regional corporations need to be aware of these trends and be prepared to respond rapidly.

emerging marKetS increaSe their global poWerEstimates show that 70 per cent of world growth over the next few years will come from emerging markets, with China and India accounting for 40% of that growth. The IMF forecasts that the total GDP of emerging markets could overtake that of the developed economies as early as 2014. As emerging markets gain in stature, new companies are taking center stage. The rise of these emerging market leaders will constitute one of the fastest-growing global trends of this decade.

In light of the economic expansion in rapidly developing economies, local and regional companies will need to reassess their business models and partnerships. Other emerging markets will provide opportunities for significant revenue growth as well as a source of talent, true innovation and ground-breaking approaches to business.

cleantech becomeS a competitive aDvantageThe Cleantech-enabled transformation to a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy may be the next industrial revolution. As this transformation accelerates, regional corporations are increasingly realizing that they must understand the impact of Cleantech on their industries and develop strategic plans to adapt to this change. As global Cleantech investment surged 30% in 2010 to US$243 billion, we expect more investments to be made in the region as companies try to sustain competitiveness.

MENA countries need to balance environmental goals with providing a sustainable future for their rapidly growing populations. As costs decrease, supply chains globalize and ever more energy is derived from renewables, new business opportunities arise and existing business are transformed.

banKing SeeKS recovery through tranSFormationThree years after the financial crisis began, the global financial system remains in flux. Regulatory clarity is nearing but many issues remain unresolved. Not surprisingly, financial institutions cite regulatory uncertainty

as the biggest challenge they face and are in anticipatory mode. The recent ban on bank telesales in the UAE and lockdown of Islamic windows in conventional banks in Qatar are examples of game-changing regulation. Financial sector change will continue throughout this year and the next, with banks adopting the flexibility approach in strategy until the dust settles.

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governmentS enhance tieS With private SectorAs a result of the global recession, many governments are trying to further their national interests through diverse vehicles and activities, including state-owned corporations, sovereign wealth funds (SWF) and industrial planning and regulation. The total assets of SWFs are expected to climb from roughly US$3.5 trillion in 2010 to US$8 trillion by 2015, giving GCC governments increasing influence in the corporate world. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are becoming larger and more globally competitive. Companies can expect

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more government competition and intervention through industry in their own backyards.

rapiD technology innovation createS a Smart, mobile WorlDIn spite of the digital revolution of the past 25 years, consumers still want more powerful devices and applications, while businesses seek more cost-effective technology to cope with increasingly complex challenges. Satisfying these demands will lead to explosive growth in data and analytics, to new competition in almost every field and to the disruption and realignment of many industries. Welcome to the world of cyber competition. Evidence of the impact of the rapid adoption of the digital revolution has been emphasized by commentators who see regional youth increasingly driving not only perception and opinion in the region but also demand and activism.

Demographic ShiFtS tranSForm the global WorKForceDespite a growing population, the availability of skilled workers is actually shrinking. A ‘demographic divide’ will soon arise between countries with younger skilled workers and those that face an aging and shrinking workforce. The war for talent will become increasingly acute in certain sectors, especially areas requiring high skill levels and more education. Regional companies could see flight of talent outwards and a lack of talent coming into the region. Skilled youthful people of the region will be lured away by exciting new opportunities elsewhere.

Regional companies would need to build in a buffer of qualified workers who are up-skilled periodically. Our recent report, Leading across borders: inclusive thinking in an interconnected world, outlines three actions that leaders can take to position their organizations for future success: collaborate in the face of uncertainty; seek out new cultures and experiences; and sponsor rising stars who look, think, and act differently.

Philip Stanton is the Chief operating officer at Ernst & young MENA

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AroUND the world, the food system is in crisis. Prices have skyrocketed and are higher now in real terms than at any time since 1984. If expected droughts devastate China’s wheat harvest, the world’s largest producer, as many fear, prices will climb even higher. The increased prices, the second spike in less than four years, are adding millions to the number of people who go hungry each day.

fooD INsEcUrItYWITH Food PrICES rISING To dANGEroUS LEvELS, Food SECUrITy THrEATENS GLoBAL GroWTH ANd SoCIAL STABILITy AS Poor HArvESTS, CIvIL UNrEST ANd SoArING dEMANd STrAIN rESoUrCES AroUNd THE WorLd.

Experts are sounding the alarm and the G20, a grouping comprised of the world’s largest economies, has placed “food security” at the top of its agenda for 2011, the year in which the global population is expected to rise to seven billion. The current crisis poses a tremendous issue for world leaders, policy-makers and corporations, for if we cannot feed our current population, how could we possibly feed the nine billion expected by 2050?

According to some, solutions to the current food problem do exist. “Agricultural productivity growth is only one to two per cent a year,” warned Joachim von Braun, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC, at the height of the 2007-08 crisis. “This is too low to meet population growth and increased demand.”

Von Braun and his colleagues at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

have been wrestling with that reality since the spike in food prices four years ago. This is the group of world-renowned agricultural research centres that helped more than double the world’s average yields of corn, rice, and wheat between the mid-1950s and the mid-1990s – an achievement so tremendous that it became known as the Green Revolution. With world population set to increase by two billion by mid-century, these experts now say we need a repeat performance and must

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Earth every day,” says Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s CEO. “The new vision for agriculture focuses not just on small-holder agriculture but agriculture in its entirety around the world. It’s a big subject and will involve many, many people. It’s a question of how to improve policy, how to broaden infrastructure and strengthen the markets for the products and crops these farmers grow. When you bring together all those pieces it’s a daunting challenge but it’s achievable.”

In fact, the complexity of food security is immense. Consider the simple fact that demand in India and China is shifting away from cereals and towards meat and vegetables; or that obesity rates around the world are surging. In China, writes PBS commentator Ray Suarez in a report on the rising rate of obesity in China, “portion sizes are getting bigger, Western-style food is widely available in urban areas, and people are eating out more often”. Changes in lifestyles, hence, are further straining a system pushed

to the limit and placing public education in the equation as well.

Many players currently at the table are proposing following the route already taken, where modern farming techniques, which introduced pesticides, synthetic fertiliser, irrigation projects and genetically modified crops are expanded. Food companies, plant breeders and international development agencies are all pinning their hopes on a repeat performance of the Green Revolution, which began five decades ago.

IN AfrIcA, the only continent that was passed over by the agricultural transformation, Annan is working to build a rich breadbasket. “Africa is the only continent which does not grow enough food to feed itself,” notes Annan, who is the chairman of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). “It alone has failed, in recent decades, to see agricultural productivity keep pace with its growing

double current food production by 2030, yet how to achieve this is the centre of considerable debate.

During the 2007-08 crisis, export bans, food riots, panic buying and emergency price controls added fuel to the fire, something we are again beginning to witness with the current surge in food prices. Riots in Algeria and Tunisia kicked off the new year, while in the US food reserves are already disturbingly low, says Dennis Conley, an agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska. At the same time, the world’s agricultural systems are increasingly challenged by water scarcity, climate change and volatility, raising the risk of production shortfalls. There is no simple solution to the hurdles faced by the international community.

YEt, fINAllY, more global leaders are beginning to acknowledge the magnitude of the situation and in 2009 the assembled leaders of the G8 put food security at the top of the list, promising to find $20 billion for agriculture over three years (as of last year, $6.5 billion had been deployed). This year, the current president of the G20, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, made food security a priority and the Gates Foundation, the world’s richest charity, which had previously focused on health and development generally, has begun to focus more on feeding the world. While Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the UN, joined the gathering of businesspeople and policy-makers at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, in January to launch what’s being dubbed a “new vision for agriculture”.

This roadmap focuses on three pillars – creating food security; driving economic growth – especially in rural areas, where three-quarter’s of the world’s poor live; and protecting the environment (agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of water use and up to 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions). Aspirations are high with a goal of increasing production by 20 per cent, while decreasing green house gas emissions by 20 per cent and reducing the prevalence of rural poverty by 20 per cent every decade, according to the World Economic Forum. However, these milestones cannot be achieved without public and private partnerships.

Seventeen global companies have signed on, signaling rising alarm in the private sector. Included in the initiative are corporate players Archer Daniels Midland, BASF, Bunge Limited, Cargill, the Coca-Cola Company, DuPont, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Metro AG, Monsanto Company, Nestlé, PepsiCo, SABMiller, Syngenta, Unilever, Wal-Mart and Yara International. “The challenge really is how we are going to feed 200,000 new people on

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population. Africa was bypassed by the science-based agricultural development, built on the ideas of Norman Borlaug, which so dramatically transformed food production in Asia.”

Annan and AGRA are seeking to transform Africa from food importer to self-sufficiency, hoping that one day soon not only will the region feed its own citizens but others around the world, too. The organisation has assisted farmers in getting the supplies needed including higher-yielding seeds and fertilisers; putting in place networks of agro-businesses and retailers; and giving young businesses access to capital. “We are bringing governments, development partners, farmer organizations and the private sector together in an integrated and comprehensive way to provide the financial and technical support needed,” he says. Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania have all begun to reap the benefits of a modernised approach to farming, which includes increasing land productivity and tapping new plant technologies.

Last year, a public-private partnership in Tanzania was set in motion by an international partnership of global agriculture businesses (including Unilever, Yara International, Diageo, Syngenta, Dupont and Monsanto), donor agencies (such as USAID, AGRA and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation), and the Tanzanian government. The Tanzania experiment is being watched carefully as a fast track to the Green Revolution, with some banking on achieving success within one generation.

Yet others in the industry are looking toward more unexplored, 21st-century territory to alleviate the world’s food problems. One proposed sustainable food project by Dickson Despommier, a professor of microbiology and public health, offers an alternative to established agricultural practices, which have helped feed the masses but often at steep costs to the environment and local communities. Despommier likens his vision to the stacking

of greenhouses, one on top of the other, into vertical farms for densely populated urban locales, where nearly half of the world’s population now lives.

“High-rise food-producing buildings will succeed only if they function by mimicking ecological process, namely by safely and efficiently re-cycling everything organic, and re-cycling water from human waste disposal plants, turning it back into drinking water,” he says. Abandoned skyscrapers could be retrofitted into these multi-level farms with food grown using sustainable greenhouse and hydroponic techniques.

bY 2050, nearly 80 per cent of the world will be living in urban areas and the necessity for cheaper, locally grown food will help to reduce carbon emissions, make agricultural production less vulnerable to harsh weather, and help control fluctuations in food prices, Despommier says. “The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue for some time,” he notes.

“What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting-edge technologies. Vertical Farms must be efficient [cheap to construct and safe to operate], many storeys high and situated in the heart of the world’s urban centres. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe, year-round and varied food supply, and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.”

Yet until productions levels rise, in the short term, agencies and governments are beginning to act. The G20 is looking at some stopgap measures to avoid a repeat of 2007-08 and France is close to giving a green light on plans to improve transparency on agricultural data, increase co-ordination on export policies and launch emergency wheat and rice stocks, according to France’s Agricultural Minister, Bruno Le Maire. But getting nations to regulate financial commodities markets, which Nicolas Sarkozy blames for exacerbating surges in food prices, will be far more difficult to realise.

“We really fear that the world might live exactly the same kind of situation it faced in 2008 with food riots and instability in some parts of the world,” Le Maire says. “We are in a situation where we have to take decisions, concrete decisions.”

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thE list of famous people with dyslexia is a long one and

contains many of the greatest artists, entrepreneurs and creative talents that the world has ever known: Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Tom Cruise, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Uma Thurman, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Winston Churchill and chef Jamie Oliver to name but a few.

Many of these people failed spectacularly at school, were written off by their teachers and succeeded only because of their parents’ belief in them. According to The Dyslexia Research Institute, 10 to 15 per cent of the US population has dyslexia, yet only one-third of them are recognised and receive assistance. Without proper diagnosis and help, dyslexics remain only functionally literate, limiting their ability to find jobs.

However, when they do find the support to start something on their own, dyslexics are five times more likely to become successful entrepreneurs than the general population. Last year, Simfonec, a science research centre based at London’s Cass Business School, surveyed 300 entrepreneurs and found that 20 per cent of those studied were dyslexic. A 2003 report by Tulip Financial Research showed that nearly 40 per cent of Britain’s self-made millionaires were dyslexic – this included chef Oliver, businessman Lord Michael Heseltine and model Jodie Kidd. Simfonec’s study also showed that dyslexic entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of creativity then others.

In a damning indictment of current educational systems, the research found that 70 per cent of dyslexic entrepreneurs did not succeed at school. Dr Julie Logan, director of Simfonec, says this research not only links dyslexia and entrepreneurship for the first time, it also has fundamental implications about how entrepreneurship should be fostered.

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“One of the most interesting findings of our research has been that dyslexics can grow their businesses quickly because they are able to delegate, something that many managers find difficult. They delegate to cover their own weaknesses, but this helps them get the best out of people,” Dr Logan says.

“The dyslexic entrepreneur uses unique, creative ways to motivate staff and is also very good at communicating the mission. They are quite confident – which is unusual for a dyslexic. But when put in a situation that required them to write, that confidence quickly evaporated.

“The other finding that is interesting is that the entrepreneurs felt they were successful in their own business because they had control and did what they were good at, finding other people to do what they were not good at. That control is very difficult in a corporate environment.”

ZENNA AtKINs, managing director of Zail, a start-up providing consultancy and delivery in education and health, remembers that as a schoolgirl she often missed when she clapped and wasn’t very good at reading or writing. Atkins only learned to read at 12, left school with a single O-level, turned entrepreneur at 16 and went on to be chairwoman of the UK schools inspection authority, Ofsted.

Her dyslexia diagnosis came later in life, but her mother never doubted her intelligence. Atkins says that was responsible for her robust self confidence. “I was one of the first people to get an educational statement for dyslexia in the UK; until then schools did not recognise if you were dyslexic,” she recounts.

In hindsight, Atkins says dyslexia has been a gift. “Because you cannot read very well, you learn to read body language, to listen astutely and if asked to read aloud by a teacher, you can predict what might be in the text and respond. The last thing you want to do is admit you cannot read. So you learn to hold your nerve, become adept at storytelling and public speaking.”

Today, Atkins is on the board of the Royal Navy, sits on the audit committee of the Treasury, has founded four successful companies and is a regular speaker on leadership, CSR, innovation, and governance.

Can dyslexia, which has been categorised as a learning disability in many quarters, really be a gift?  And if so, why isn’t more being done to nurture the uniquely individualistic talents of dyslexics?

“As a dyslexic, I can memorise a lot as I know reading the text again will take me too long. This has been a very effective skill for the boardroom. Dyslexia is still a hindrance to me in some ways – spell check, for instance, is useless to a dyslexic, but I’ve learned early on in life to find my way around barriers,” Atkins says.

Indeed, while dyslexics can find it tough going in conventional schools, they often flourish outside of regimented academic environments. Nineteen-year-old chocolate entrepreneur Louis Barnett (see box) remembers the “massive relief ” he felt when his dyslexia was diagnosed.

“I always found school difficult and didn’t enjoy it,” he says. “I have dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and short-term memory loss. I owe all my success to those so-called liabilities. Dyslexia teaches you problem solving, to be an innovator, to think of products that no one has tasted

Neurologist dr Natasha Campbell-McBride was prompted to study the relationship between neurological disorders and nutrition, when her son was diagnosed autistic. dr Campbell-McBride, who runs the Cambridge Nutrition Clinic, specialises in using the nutritional approach as a treatment.

In her book Gut and Psychology syndrome (GaPs). natural Treatment Of autism, aDHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression and schizophrenia, dr Campbell-McBride details the GAPS Nutritional Protocol she uses to treat patients with learning disabilities.

“Children with dyslexia are often very bright, but many of them suffer typical GAPS physical problems, such as allergies, asthma, eczema, bedwetting and hay fever. They are usually malnourished: when we test them we find the same typical GAPS nutritional deficiencies,” she says.

“Testing for gut flora shows that they have gut dysbiosis. So, the gut-brain connection in dyslexia is the same as in the other GAPS conditions, described in my book and on www.gaps.me.”

dr Campbell-McBride recommends that all processed carbohydrates, processed foods, artificial fats, cooking oils, grains and sugar be cut out for dyslexic children. “dyslexia is not incurable! By changing your child’s diet you will change your child’s life, and not only today but for many years to come.”

a dietary approach to dyslexia

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Louis Barnett is a 19-year-old entrepreneur, who became the youngest supplier of supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Waitrose at the age of 14. At 11, Barnett left school because of learning difficulties and was later diagnosed with dyslexia.

His parents continued homeschooling and he became a certified chocolatier and founded Chokolit (named thus because that was how he spelled chocolate due to his dyslexia). Today, Barnett is also a brand ambassador for the British dyslexia Association.

dyslexia comes from the Greek for “difficulty with words”. dyslexics are challenged when it comes to reading, spelling, writing and numeracy, or all of these.

dyslexia does not reflect the individual’s intelligence; it is often hereditary and a life-long condition that cannot be cured, but can be managed.

Common signs of dyslexia in school-going children:n difficulty in reading single words, not

surrounded by other words.n Slow to learn the connection between

letters and sounds.n Confuses small words and rhyming

words, such as cat and bat, goes and does.

n Consistently makes reading and spelling errors, such as letter reversals (d for b), and inversions (m and w, u and n).

n Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colours, shapes, how to spell and write his or her name.

n Slow in developing fine motor skills, compared to peers.

What is dyslexia?

before. Dyslexia also accelerates certain thought processes; for instance when I want to learn about something, I can pick it up much faster than my peers.

“For me, dyslexia is not a challenge any more as I now have employees to take care of things. I have to do things in a slightly different way – I use a Dictaphone when required to give instructions to my staff.”

Dyslexia can vary from mild to severe, hence many dyslexics fly under the radar and may only know years later when their own children face the same difficulties in school, but the price that a society pays for not recognising dyslexia is quite high.

A 1996 stUDY by the UK’s National Probation Service found that more than half the prisoners in London exhibited signs of dyslexia, and the numbers are somewhat similar among juvenile offenders. Educationist Anita Singhal, regional tutor for the Hornsby International Distance Learning Course and associate member of the British Dyslexia Association, stresses the importance of early and appropriate intervention.

“Today, there is definitely more awareness and schools are doing more to identify students with learning difficulties. However, it’s far from satisfactory. Schools still do not have adequate infrastructure to cope with children with learning difficulties,” Singhal says.

In reality, a majority of dyslexics can remain undiagnosed until they

are adults. Both parents and teachers misconstrue the signs when dyslexic children cannot cope with regular academic workloads, become unhappy, introverted or disruptive.

“Children with mild to severe dyslexia should be mainstreamed,” Singhal says. “Children should not be made to feel different or abnormal because of their literacy skills. The biggest mistake that parents and teachers can make in dealing with dyslexic children is to label them lazy or stupid.”

Dr Logan speaks of the enormous waste in human capital when dyslexia is not understood. “It is deeply saddening that so many bright people are not working because they feel worthless. A situation made worse now by the recession – it’s going to be even harder to get or keep a job if you’re dyslexic,” she says. 

“In order to keep up in the workplace, dyslexics have to put in so many hours that they burnout and feel depression. It’s very important that not only business be educated about what is happening, but the dyslexic knows about what can happen – a mentor can do that.

“In terms of the education system, it is really geared to the left brain, which is why it is so difficult for dyslexics [many entrepreneurial people who are really right-brained]. We need to bring a lot more right-brained, practical activities into our education curriculum and allow people to shine in different ways.”

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IN December last year, an author in the United States published a

piece of non-fiction for Apple’s iPad tablet computer. It was the first book in the world to appear as software, not hardback in its first edition. David Eagleman’s Why the Net Matters is part of a wider phenomenon impacting on our lives, because it is an app, one of hundreds of thousands to have become available for download over the past couple of years that allow us to carry out a growing number of daily activities on a smartphone or computer.

An app is a piece of software that can be downloaded from an online store, the biggest of which is the Apple App Store. Some apps, like maps and calculators, are practical, while others, mainly games, are for fun. Some, like social networking sites, are a bit of both.

Social networking apps can be platforms for other apps. For example, 250 million people play games on Facebook, making it the largest gaming platform in the world.

Some apps are free, some must be paid for. Paid apps can cost as little as 99 cents, but prices are creeping up, especially following the launch of tablet computers – prices for some iPad apps touch US$14.99. The top five paid apps downloaded from Apple in 2010 were all games, with Angry Birds taking the number one spot. The most popular free apps in 2010 included Facebook, Angry Birds Lite, Words With Friends, Skype, and Tap Tap Revenge 3.

The proliferation of apps has been sudden. In July 2008, only 500 were available from Apple’s App Store, now it has 300,000. The number for non-Apple mobile devices has also grown rapidly and the overall apps market will expand even faster over the next couple of years, analysts say.

The apps industry will be worth US$17.5 billion next year, a report published by research company GetJar forecasts. It says 50 billion applications will be downloaded by mobile phone users in 2012, a seven-fold increase on the seven billion downloaded in 2009.

The apps boom has occurred during the most acute global economic crisis since the Great Depression of the early 1930s, which makes its rapid growth all the more remarkable. Whether the internet will save civilisation as Eagleman argues in his iPad book is debatable, but the contribution of apps like his to saving the United States economy is increasingly important.

The state of California may follow many United States banks into bankruptcy, but Silicon Valley, its high-tech business community near San Francisco, is booming, partly because it is at the heart of the multi-billion dollar global apps industry. Silicon Valley’s totem, Apple, is a huge beneficiary as its cut from each app sold at its store is 30 per cent.

Apple’s dominant position among apps stores is challenged mainly by US competitors, including Google’s Android Market, which has 70,000

apple’s iphone and ipad have revolutionised the apps industry.

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apps available for the Android smartphone. Research company Gartner forecasts Microsoft SharePoint’s business apps will be as popular as those on iPhone by 2015, when it will have 20,000 applications available.

The United States dominates apps development. About two-thirds of apps sold by Apple are developed in the US, and most of the rest are created in Europe and Japan. China’s apps industry is developing and the country’s officials have urged their mobile telephone companies to co-operate with each other to match the success of US firms like Google and Apple in providing apps to Chinese consumers.

Asia is the world’s biggest mobile app consumer, accounting for 37 per cent of downloads in 2009, according to GetJar. However, North American consumers spent the most money on apps, generating 50 per cent of apps revenue, in 2009.

thE MIDDlE East’s apps market was slow to develop initially, but the pace of growth is quickening. Apps developed by and for the Middle East market include Etisalat’s Yellow Pages, which had 10,000 downloads after it was launched in spring 2010. AppsArabia, the Middle East’s first and only investment fund financing apps development in the region, launched its first app, Kalimat, a collaborative iPhone game, in December 2010.

Games apps development has become an early 21st-century gold rush. Non-existent in 2007, social gaming is now worth US$640 million worldwide and will be valued at US$1.5 million in 2014, analysts at Screen Digest forecast.

The world’s largest games app maker is California’s three-year-old Zynga, which is growing at a faster rate than Google did during its formative years. Zynga has more than 215 million monthly active users playing its games, which include FarmVille, Mafia Wars and Café World.

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1. apple’s iphone gave rise to a multi-billion dollar apps industry.

2. Facebook co-founder mark Zuckerberg, co-inventor of the game-changing social networking app.

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Most of the company’s competitors are from the US, although London-based Playfish was a challenger before it was bought out by California’s Electronic Arts in 2009. As a subsidiary, Playfish remains the world’s second largest social gaming company.

More money will flow into the coffers of apps makers and sellers over the next couple of years. Revenue from European sales will rise from US$1.5 billion in 2009 to US$8.5 billion in 2012, forecasts GetJar. Meanwhile, US sales revenue will more than treble from US$2.1 billion in 2009 to US$6.7 billion in 2012, the company says.

Apps are popular because they allow a smart phone or tablet user to do much more than make a phonecall. They can search the internet, send email, swap photos, read a book and carry out a multitude of other tasks. Moreover, apps possess a flexibility that non-digital media does not. For example, Eagleman will send updated content of his iPad book direct to readers via the internet over the coming years.

The popularity of applications is also helping traditional businesses. Publishers are using apps to boost the sales of books, magazines

and newspapers. Faber and Faber, and Bloomsbury Book publishers produced their first ever iPad editions in time for the Christmas sales rush in 2010. Newspaper owners hope apps will help reverse declining sales revenues. From The Times in Britain to The Daily Telegraph in Australia, newspapers are producing apps for iPads that take readers to their pay-to-view websites.

Alongside a rapid expansion in the number of apps is the growing popularity of social networking sites, the biggest of which is still Facebook. Launched in 2004, Facebook had more than 500 million active users by July 2010. Networking sites like this have developed rapidly in nations that are not seen as traditionally high tech. Indonesia has the second largest number of Facebook users after the United States. Twenty-four million Indonesians, 10 per cent of the country’s population, tag photos, write wall postings and send messages to their friends on this site.

They may also discuss Eagleman’s book, and one or two may consider whether it could be turned into a computer game. The opportunities for creating new apps appear endless.

Software entrepreneurs are among the world’s most soft hearted business people. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given US$24 billion in grants to anti-poverty schemes since it was launched in 1994; Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s

donations include US$100 million to help improve run-down schools in the United States and he has signed the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic scheme for billionaires initiated by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, which commits him to give away more than half of his US$7 billion fortune.

Aside from providing Zuckerberg with the means to accumulate great wealth to share with others, Facebook and other social media sites are becoming a force for good in their own right, as a means of promoting causes, raising funds and providing discussion forums.

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes set up jumo in February last year as “a social network connecting individuals and organisations who want to change the world”. Its news service brings visitors up to date on global health and poverty issues, and how projects aimed at alleviating these problems are progressing.

Zoetica provides charities and social enterprises with communications services. Its social networking site, Zoetica Salon, is an online community where charity workers can swap ideas, ask each other questions and make new contacts.

Skype provides free and low cost phone and video calls via the internet, and it has developed software that allows UNHCr refugee aid workers, who often work in remote, inaccessible locations, to communicate with loved ones back home.

Twitter, the social networking and microblogging service has 175 million users worldwide. Charities campaigning on issues ranging from ending malaria to building libraries have tweeted to raise funds from fellow tweeters using its TwitPay platform to collect donations.

1. Frontierville and treasure isle: two of the most popular apps.

2. bill gates, founder of microsoft.

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WHat do you tHinK?WHAT DO YOU THINK?STUdENTS dISCUSS WHETHEr SPorT CAN BE A PoSITIvE vEHICLE For SoCIo-ECoNoMIC dEvELoPMENT

loNDoN tourism agency,

Visit London, puts the estimated additional tourism revenues from the London 2012 Olympic Games at $2.4 billion over 10 years.

This has been regarded with some scepticism by tour operators who cite the example of China, where tourism was down both before and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to data from the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA). It also added that in the five years prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Australia’s and New Zealand’s tourism was growing at the same rate but Australia’s growth lost ground significantly straight after the Games.

There is no denying the fact that sporting events bring a certain cachet to host cities. However, not all countries have learned to maximise the benefits – case in point being India’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games that was mired by allegations of corruption. According to a report, delays, administrative inefficiency and wasteful spending cost the government $355 million. However, the Games did succeed in creating an infrastructure that will engender a culture of sports among schoolchildren, the benefits of which cannot be quantified.

Sports and sporting events have served as an engine for growth in many disadvantaged societies. We asked our panel to discuss what value sports can bring to a society.

The rollercoaster of a tournament that was the 2011 Cricket World

Cup brought together people of different nationalities, cultures, religions and even convinced the Prime Ministers of dueling nations to sit side-by-side and watch their

teams compete for glory. The economic impact of the tournament was not limited to the bank accounts of the players on the field: from the construction workers who built the venues to the scalpers who sold last-minute tickets at highly inflated prices, everyone got their piece of the pie. All of this would have been impossible without the existence of sport, a powerful vehicle of socio-economic development.

“The value of sport lies as much in the before and after as in the game itself. While only 11 players make it to a country’s football team, every single person who ever practiced to be among the chosen 11 has, to some extent, imbibed the qualities of sportsmanship, teamwork and commitment. The handshake that follows even the most hotly contested game demonstrates that despite our differences, we can be one. On the economic front too, sport can transform. The 2008 Olympics heralded China’s arrival on the world economic stage. The 2022 Soccer World Cup will provide a fillip to the Qatari economy through the influx of tourists from across the world. History is dotted with remarkable rags-to-riches stories of personal accomplishment. Usain Bolt, the son of the owners of a mom-and-pop grocery store, achieved immortal fame and success by becoming the fastest man on earth. While sport may not be as impactful on people’s economic conditions as, say, large-scale industrialisation, it offers many that one invaluable opportunity to rise way above one’s station solely through grit and determination, and that alone makes sport impactful enough.

“Unfortunately, recent trends and events have grossly undermined sport’s contribution to society. Parents question if children should spend hours practicing on the field chasing an improbable dream, or instead devote their time to safer academic pursuits. Fiscally-challenged governments are putting athletic programmes on the chopping block in the wake of deep cuts to public education. However, think of a world in which a young Roger Federer was forced to study chemistry instead of being allowed to practice his game. Or one in which every child graduated with an education deprived of the values that only sport can teach. A society without sport would be just like that education: incomplete.vidur Sehgal graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Studies from yale University, USA. originally from India, he did his schooling from the The doon School in dehradun. He is currently working in Washington, dC at the Analysis Group, a leading economic, financial and strategy consulting firm.

The sports industry continues

to grow outside fields and stadia. Due to the influx of money, sports organisations are expected to contribute to the community while sportsperson are expected to be role models. From a young age, professional players are now receiving an all-round education where they are groomed and nurtured to be model citizens and athletes. The money invested in youth development provides previously inaccessible opportunities for a better future to families

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1. King Fahd Stadium in riyadh, venue of many world-class events.2. the international rugby board invested $247 million in rugby from 2009 to 2012.3. large-scale football projects have created jobs and housing in poor districts.4. cricket has enriched many players in developing countries.5. the cambridge university rowing team, likened to the best business teams in the world.

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from poor and underprivileged backgrounds. Sport has become a viable career allowing people to pursue their passion professionally.

“Large-scale projects such as the Football for Hope festival in South Africa and Arsenal FC creating 2,500 new jobs and 2,500 affordable homes in North London illustrates how money in sports can have a positive impact on people’s lives. In India, the rich Board for Cricket Control of India (BCCI) has donated money for promotion of football, a previously underdeveloped sport. These are just a few of the many examples that can be seen on a daily basis.

“The sports industry, now more than ever, needs to re-evaluate the importance of managing money responsibly and understanding the effects of the globalised economy. Although a downturn in any of the fundamental industries has an adverse affect on sport, the money generated from sports through broadcasting, sponsorship deals and prize money is increasing exponentially even through these financially hard times.

“On the downside, the money used in sport today is mostly raised on credit. The English football team Portsmouth FC is just one of the clubs enduring financial turmoil and might fall into serious financial difficulties because of over-extending themselves.

“The social costs of sports arise from fiercer competition and higher expectations that lead to extreme pressure on and off the field. Doug Barron [golf] for performance enhancing drugs and Robert Enke [football] committing suicide are just the more recent examples. No sport is immune; however, the worst hit is athletics, where the list is endless.taha Dalal is an Indian postgraduate student of sports administration at the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology, Lausanne. He earned his Bachelors in computer engineering and is currently pursuing his MSA (Master of Advanced Studies) in sports administration and technology.

The United Nations considers

sport to be a healthy and potential means for implementing the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in the developing world. The very nature and goal of sport is to overcome the various segregations in the community and can be summed up in one word: participation.

“Participation of not only the few members of the team but participation of the local community, city, state and country. Participation and involvement of the masses

allows for the government and organisations to spread awareness through campaigns ranging from health, employment to education.

“Herein lies the fruit of socio-economic development. On the flip side of increasing development and involvement of sports, if an ordinary boy or girl were to make it through and get selected to play the sport at a national or international level, he or she is immediately lifted from the realm of the private to that of the public domain. They are likened to gods, which is mostly the case in developing countries, as people are easily swayed by the prestige and status of others so that they can forget about the difficulties of their own life.

“Reaching such a high level always has pitfalls. However, if one boy or girl can make it, then so can the rest. This is the principle followed by all, forgetting the fact that only a handful of players are selected to be on the team. The question pops up: is it worth it? In my opinion, in the case of sports, where skill and talent are not the only factors involved in one’s selection and added to the shelf life of the professional period of a sportsman, perhaps, it is not worth it.

“If more people dream about finding the cure for cancer rather than being the next David Beckham or Sachin Tendulkar, not only will the future of their own life and family be secured, but also the future of the world.”Sagarika milind gujar is an international student from India at Seton Hall University in New jersey, USA. Currently a sophomore at the Whitehead School, she is majoring in diplomacy and International relations with honours.

Sports give participants and

fans enjoyment and often an opportunity to set aside their disadvantages. In addition, sports can provide economic benefits to participants and their communities. I believe that for some who choose sports as a career, it not only can improve their personal financial situation, but also have a positive impact on their stakeholders, such as families, schools, and nations.

“It is true that the actions of people determine their own success and the success of their individual nations. That being said, athletes should not limit pursuits to their sports alone. They should aspire to be educated because education is an investment that can be used at any circumstance or age.

“The Olympics and Commonwealth Games bring many benefits to hosting countries. However, such benefits may be overrated,

since athletes in such games are not rewarded consistently. The events themselves do not always provide positive social, cultural, and economic paybacks to the participating teams or nations. As such, events of this kind should not be considered as a steady and trusted source of income. However, I do believe such events often give a boost to the reputation of a nation and its citizens.

“Nelson Mandela said: ‘After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.’ I would encourage young people worldwide to apply the greatness of Nelson Mandela, by pursuing sports as a hobby and developing other interests as professions.”Sultan al-Saif is a Saudi senior at the University of denver and majoring in finance. He is also a Microsoft office Specialist (MoS).

Only in the world of sport

can stars be made out of the blue specifically from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, sport as a profession is neither economically nor professionally secure; as sportspersons age, they gradually start losing opportunities due to their declining abilities, consequently limiting earnings. It makes for economically vulnerable stars, especially those who neglected good education for sports. I think any sportsperson should have a back-up plan where another source of income, when a sporting career reaches an end.

“It is certain that hosting countries of some sports events benefit in many ways: opening doors for tourism, business and investment. Yet the cost of hosting such an event can be much more than the revenue earned from it. “Big achievements on the sports field don’t necessarily translate into economic benefits. The Brazilian national football team is one of the best in the world, yet Brazil remains a developing country.

“Nowadays, sports are an essential part of our daily life, thanks to the media has been advertising for it until this was achieved.

“However, sports whether being a profession or a hobby, watched or practiced, should be balanced out with other life essential and not come on the way of gaining a reasonable level of education and achieving a career and a secure source of income. Sports cannot be taken as a main source of income, whether for a person or an entire nation.”Deema alomar is a Saudi student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in computer science with a minor in religious studies.

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thE NUMbEr of student enrollments in China’s 2,000 universities and colleges has surged since the nation decided to transform its higher education system more than a decade ago, with gross enrollments ballooning to more than 20 million last year from just 3.4 million in 1998.

To support such expansion, part of its overall efforts to reform its education system, the Chinese government adopted a more-Westernised approach to tertiary schooling and began allowing colleges and universities to charge tuition fees, a move that helped fund the growing system yet shut the

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door to higher learning for many lower-income families.

In fact, some 50 million Chinese cannot afford college and as the nation continues to revamp its system to a more market-driven model, the student-loan system remains largely underdeveloped. Yet recently, market-minded entrepreneurs have begun stepping up and Calvin Chin, the CEO of Shanghai-based Qifang, is a pioneer in the field.

hE DEvEloPED a technology-driven peer-to-peer (p2p) system that connects students who need financial

assistance to go to college with eager lenders, a business he hopes will prove a sustainable model. Chin estimates that 25 million Chinese students now pay $400 to $2,200 a year in college tuition. If 40 per cent of eligible college students (only about 15 per cent of students in China enroll in college today) were able to finance their education through loans, this could add up to $10 billion in loans annually, Qifang states.

An online p2p lending service, it gives students the means to find friends, employers, agencies or philanthropists willing to help fund their education. Any Chinese undergraduate who

has received an admission letter or valid student ID can post their needs at Qifang. Lenders (including banks, companies, non-government organisation, non-profit organisations, philanthropists and individuals) then select whom they want to assist from online listings.

The company is based on the rural credit cooperative model in China, which is a common way for students to take out loans from their own local community, yet has taken the concept national so that students can find lenders anywhere in China.

Launched in August 2007, Qifang has brokered some 3,000 loans on its site, Chin says. Partnering with established universities in China, Qifang sends the loan directly to the university, which has built trust in the process. “Qifang aims to target the population of high school students for whom it wouldn’t even occur that attending college could be a option,” Chin says.

thE 35-YEAr-olD Chin, who spent time teaching maths in New York, worked on Wall Street prior to joining several Silicon Valley startups, but in 2004 he decided to move to China. “Seeing so many young Chinese people aspire for education that they can’t always afford was a key catalyst,” he recalls. “But we were also inspired by concepts and innovators from other markets like Nobel Laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, Kiva.org and Prosper.com. These inspirations require us to make smart choices about what might and might not apply to our situation, to our market, to our company, but they have been an important way for us to leverage the creativity and innovation from other places to help us build a better service and company.

“People and companies are hungry for new models that go beyond social responsibility to include changing the world for the better in their core operations. Because the growth of our service directly translates to more students being able to stay in school, we consider ourselves part of a new breed of social ventures who recognise social value and impact along with our profitability and other traditional business metrics.”

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hotElIErs around the world are feeling

a bit more confident these days as guests are filling up more and more once-empty rooms. The note of optimism follows on the heels of a strong comeback in international tourism last year – and things are already beginning to look up for 2011, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organisation (WTO).

International tourist arrivals jumped by seven per cent to 935 million last year, following a four per cent drop in 2009 (the year hardest hit by the global economic crisis), with most destinations worldwide recording increases in visitors large enough to offset the losses they had suffered in recent years, the WTO states. Tourism is expected to continue to grow this year, albeit at a more moderate pace of between four per cent and five per cent, but the hotel industry still isn’t fully out of the woods.

Boosted by improved economic conditions worldwide, international tourism has recovered faster than expected from the financial crisis. Despite the relative sag in Europe (up just three per cent), strong growth in the Asian (more than 13 per cent) and the Americas (up eight per cent) vaulted the worldwide number of tourist arrivals to 935 million, 22 million more than the pre-crisis peak of 2008.

Hotel rooms may be filling up again, but new hotel openings continue to flounder. The recovery remains bumpy and declines in new hotel developments worldwide are anticipated in the foreseeable future. According to global real estate consultancy Lodging Econometrics, new hotel openings in 2011 and 2012 will continue to dwindle, with 1,559 hotels expected to open in 2011, down from 2,148 in 2010, with a further contraction to openings 1,411 forecast for 2012. The US, Europe and the Middle East have all proceeded sluggishly, with new project announcements continuing to shrink from peak-levels three years ago.

Still, many of the world’s most prestigious hotel brands are not giving up on their efforts to expand, with much of the activity centered in emerging markets, such as China, India and Brazil. China led the world in new hotel construction and is a driving force of the industry’s development, notes the US-based Lodging Econometrics. With a staggering 1,182 projects in the pipeline, the country opened the doors to 900 hotels last year and expects to introduce another 601 in the next 12 months.

Luxury brand Ritz-Carlton continues to blaze forth with its expansion plans this year, adding numerous properties to its portfolio. At the

beginning of 2011, it opened its second UAE property in Dubai’s prestigious DIFC, followed by another in Toronto. Most recently, it opened the world’s tallest hotel in Kowloon, The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. Located in the 484 metre-high International Commerce Centre (ICC), the 312-room hotel, with a lobby 425 metres from the ground, occupies the top floors of the ICC designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in association with Wong and Ouyang. A spokesperson for Ritz-Carlton confirmed that the chain expects to open two additional properties in the Middle East before the end of this year.

There is plenty of excitement this year as a slew of highly anticipated new hotels open and completed renovations come online. Renovations of landmark buildings such as the St Pancras, London; Le Royal Monceau, Paris; and the Shanghai Club, Shanghai, are giving travellers something to dream about.

As are a slew of upscale new developments around the world. Bulgari Hotels & Resort – which currently has properties in Milan and Bali, recently signed a deal with Ritz-Carlton to open a third hotel in 2012 in the Knightsbridge, London. Contemporary luxury brand Conrad Hotels & Resorts, which currently operates 15 hotels across the world, announced a bold expansion plan to double its portfolio in the next several years. Four new locations in the Algarve, Portugal; Koh Samui, Thailand; Dubai; and New York are slated to open this year and 14 more are in the pipeline.

W Hotels will continue to showcase its design-oriented approach with the opening of six new establishments this year. It recently opened the W London alongside hotels in Taipei, Bali and St Petersburg, with future projects in the works for Paris, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, and Athens.

hotEl roUND UP:the ritZ-carlton Shanghai, puDongParent Company: ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Total Properties: 75Total openings in 2011: Five, to-date three including Toronto Hong Kong and dubai, two more scheduled in the Middle East.In the Pipeline: More than 30 hotel and residential projects With a luxurious art deco interior with a contemporary twist designed by Richard Farnell and panoramic views over the Huangpu River and

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the historic Bund, the new Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, has wasted no time in making its presence felt in China’s most dynamic and fastest-growing city.

Located in Shanghai’s sophisticated Lujiazui central business district, in the IFC South Tower, the 285-room hotel recently won the Robb Report Lifestyle award as the ‘Best City Hotel- Best of the Best 2010’.

The hotel boasts numerous popular restaurants including Flair, the city’s highest alfresco dining venue, and Scena, both designed by Japanese design firm Super Potato, as well as the Chinese fine dining restaurant Jin Xuan, designed by Steve Leung. The hotel is proving to be popular with visiting gourmands and China’s growing number of wealthy trendsetters.

The five-star business hotel is the epitome of style and luxury from the marble floors to the rich silk drapes. The slipper-shaped designer copper bathtubs in the guestrooms are much talked about, as is the ESPA spa and gym on the 55th floor.

Under the same roof is the prestigious new all-designer IFC Mall featuring a cult Apple Store and the best of the word’s shopping, a worthy complement to the overall luxury experience that is the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong.

The company also manages The Portman Ritz-Carlton across the river in Nanjing, the bustling older part of the city. It plans to open a new property in Macau, China soon and two more in the Middle East before the end of this year.

hotel miSSoni KuWaitParent Company: rezidor Hotel GroupTotal Properties: TwoIn the Pipeline: Missoni oman/Antalya, Turkey; Ilja de Cajaiba, Brazil The iconic Italian fashion-house Missoni opened the doors of its first hotel in June 2009 in Edinburgh. Now it has rolled out a second: the Hotel Missoni Kuwait, part of the Symphony Centre, a boutique emporium located in the shopping district of Kuwait City.

Missoni creative director Rosita Missoni combined her signature use

of vibrant patterns and vivid colour to imbue the hotel with local flavour. The 169 sea-facing room property is part of a hotel trend that began in the mid-Noughties in which prominent couturiers, such as Moschino, Armani and Versace, extended their brands into the hotel segment.

Missoni Kuwait’s amenities include a 1,500sq/m Six Senses Spa, a cutting-edge fitness facility, yoga studio, separate ladies gym, sauna, steam room and a swimming pool overlooking the Gulf.

W lonDon – leiceSter SQuareParent Company: Starwood Hotels & resortsTotal Properties: 40Total openings in 2011: FiveIn the Pipeline: 15The much-awaited opening of W Hotel’s latest location in London is the 40th stylish property to be added to the company’s holdings. Designed by London architects Jestico + Whiles and Dutch interior design agency Concrete, the 10-storey W London, hopes to cash in on the brand’s spirit of urban cool, first ushered in 12 years ago when the W unveiled its first location, designed by David Rockwell, in New York.

The London location features: five “Fantastic Suites”, two “Marvellous” ones, three Spa Suites, seven Studio Suites, three Wow Suites and one E-Wow Suite, all appointed with custom-made furnishings and accents unique to London. The hotel also houses a signature spa, fitness facility, a world-class destination restaurant and the W Lounge.

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monDrian Soho, nycParent Company: Morgans Hotel GroupTotal Properties: ThreeTotal openings in 2011: oneIn the Pipeline: doha, qatarCredited as being the first boutique hotel, Morgans in New York revolutionised the hospitality industry in 1984, introducing the world to a more intimate, personal setting. Since then, the company has developed a series of boutique brands throughout the US and Central America, and the opening of imaginative Mondrian SoHo is the third to carry the Mondrian label. The hotel features a modern sustainable seafood restaurant, Imperial No. Nine, by chef Sam Talbot; Mister H, an intimate downtown nightlife concept; and 270 guest rooms. Looking ahead, Morgans plans to export its concept with a Mondrian Doha, Qatar, and a Delano Hotel in Turkey.

le royal monceau, raFFleS pariSParent Company: Fairmont raffles Hotels InternationalTotal Properties: EightTotal openings in 2011: ThreeIn the Pipeline: FiveParis is still buzzing from the recent re-opening of the 1930s legend Le Royal Monceau, which was completely transformed by renowned designer Philippe Starck. The two-year renovation of this elegant Parisian

palace on Avenue Hoche, near the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees, in addition to featuring 149 rooms and suites; two restaurants (La Cuisine, the French fine-dining restaurant and Il Carpaccio, an Italian gastronomic eatery); the Spa My Blend by Clarins, which boasts an impressive art collection; and La Librarie des Arts bookstore, with a collection of 700 books and collectibles dedicated to contemporary art, design and architecture, a well-appointed screening room and art gallery.

Four SeaSonS hotel, guangZhouParent Company: Four Seasons HotelTotal Properties: 84Total openings in 2011: SixIn the Pipeline: Eight (China only)Four Seasons Hotels has made China its top priority: the Guangzhou property, the company’s fourth in the country, is coming online to receive guests by this summer. Part of a soaring, tapering triangular tower designed by HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates, the Four Seasons will occupy the top-third of the building. The privately held company, which entered the Chinese market in 2002, plans to add another eight hotels in this surging market.

St pancraS renaiSSance hotel, lonDonParent Company: Marriott International Total Properties: 145Total openings in 2011: ThreeIn the Pipeline: 17Known for its collection of original, architectural gems, Renaissance Hotels recently added a number of new holdings to its global collection, including the Renaissance Malmo hotel in Sweden, Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel and the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel. Yet it has been the group’s massive renovation of the St Pancras in London that has been most anticipated. After more than 10 years of painstaking effort, the landmark St Pancras’ long-awaited opening is finally nearing completion. The 245-room hotel, a superb example of high Victorian Gothic architecture, consists of the historic St Pancras Chambers, which will house 38 elegant Victorian suites.

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lAst YEAr, Saudi Arabia’s newly formed Economic Cities Authority (ECA) marked its establishment with the launch of an innovative new art scheme that showcases the very best in contemporary art from the Kingdom.

Designed to support the cultural development of Saudi Arabia’s economic cities, Project 60 invites contemporary Saudi artists to lend their artwork – 60 pieces in total – to the new ECA offices in King Abdullah Economic City for a three-month display. The ECA headquarters served as a platform for Saudi art to be showcased to the diverse audience of business and political figures who frequent the offices on a daily basis in addition to contributing to an innovative work environment for the ECA employees.

Project 60 also serves to highlight one of the ECA’s most exciting initiatives, 60/24/7, a service to make government and non-governmental services available to residents and expatriates, individuals or businesses, within 60 minutes of their request, at anytime of the day.

Going forward, there are more art and cultural events planned under the aegis of Project 60. There are plans to tweak the present format and open up Project 60 to group exhibitions (not limiting the showcase to one artist at a time). The project would

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also be expanded to include a lecture series with artists’ talks, moderated by a curator or art expert. The ECA is mindful of incorporating culture and creativity in the urban development plans for King Abdullah Economic city, with Project 60 representing the first of several long-term plans to include other cultural landmarks, such as museums and art centres.

Jeddah-based Saudi artist Abdullah Hamas is the second artist to participate in Project 60. He grew up in a small village near Abha – a hilly city sited in

a verdant corner of the Kingdom, with a culture and landscape all of its own – and knew since he was a child that all he wanted to do was paint.

hE stUDIED at Riyadh’s Art Education Institute, graduating in 1973. Then, in 1983, he chaired the arts committee at the Fine Arts & Culture Organisation in Jeddah and enrolled in a course designed for leading artists in Riyadh. Hamas worked as an art teacher in schools in Riyadh and Jeddah

(where he now lives) for more than 30 years, before turning into a full time artist. However, the scenes of his idyllic childhood continue to be his muse even today; his art is inextricably tied to the soil of his native Saudi Arabia.

“We have trees, water and clouds in Abha – these are precious in Saudi Arabia. It’s a colourful province and my heritage is a recurrent theme in my work. Some of the themes I touch upon are nature in Asir, my hometown, the customs and traditions of Saudi Arabia and some of the icons convey more abstract symbolic art,” Hamas says.

Hamas’ paintings are memorable for their use of colour and pattern. In several paintings he depicts Abha’s distinctive architecture and lifestyle – stone-and-mud buildings that look like truncated pyramids, bejewelled women wearing their sombrero-style hats and men in colourful traditional garb. His narrative style is folksy and charming, with flattened perspectives and blocks of bright colours. He describes it as an abstract figurative style, which harks back to the innocence of childhood when one drew as one saw. Preferring to eschew political commentary, Hamas says he strives to portray a distinctly Saudi identity in the work that he creates.

“When children paint something from nature, they do it in a manner devoid of details. For example,

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a tree would simply be drawn as a rectangle of brown or beige and green circle above,” he explains. “This is what attracted me to art. As such, I have developed my art in the genre of ‘figurative formal abstraction’.”

A self-taught artist, Hamas developed his style through diligent drawing and, being a lifelong student of art, he refined his craft by attending exhibitions, visiting museums, and being featured in as many exhibitions as possible.

When he began over four decades ago, Hamas faced numerous challenges. At his first solo exhibition in Riyadh in 1974, half the paintings on show were in an abstract figurative style and the other half realistic. This was the first time abstract paintings had gone on show in Saudi Arabia and the unfamiliar style had few takers among an audience brought up on a diet of realistic and classical painting. Since then, he has held several solo

exhibitions in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Paris, Jordan and Kuwait.

“No one paid attention to my work and I didn’t sell a single piece,” Hamas recalls. “However, I’ve come a long way since then and have worked hard on fine tuning my skills and artistic style to the point where my artwork is readily recognised without it even being signed by me.” His style is indeed quite distinctive; the geometric merges with the realistic: vernacular architecture, people and landscapes are rendered in triangles, rectangles, squares, and circles.

So what would he describe as his greatest strengths as an artist? “From my first exhibition presented in 1974, I developed my signature formal abstraction technique. I continue to develop and improve my technique in step with the evolution of art at the local, regional and global levels,” Hamas says. “I have distinguished myself as mastering the use of colour directly on the surface of

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the painting without flaws.“I was inspired to work so

prominently with colour due to the inspiration I drew from living in a small village near Abha in south-western Saudi Arabia. The region is known for its mild climate, fertile landscape and beautiful countryside, and this inspiration turned into a full-time occupation as I am singularly dedicated to my work.”

Hamas has also mastered larger formats, having executed several

large-scale murals for public spaces; including a 30m-long painting that he sent in for the Cairo Biennale in 1995, asking the organising committee to divide it as it thought appropriate.

thE contemporary art scene in Saudi Arabia today is quite different from when Hamas started painting four decades ago. “It has developed rapidly with the development and evolution of specialised arts and culture institutes,” he says. “Young men and women

have been exposed to the world of contemporary art in Saudi Arabia by visiting exhibitions and broadening their horizons through the internet. These developments have seen many artists make a name for themselves on the international art scene and Saudi Arabia will have its first official participation at the Venice Biennale in 2011, in addition to a number of other exhibitions elsewhere.”

As a successful artist in today’s Saudi Arabia, Hamas sees himself as a

role model for a younger generation of artists. “I’m very thankful for my position as a successful Saudi artist, as my works are collected locally and internationally. Also, I have been able to serve as a role model to aspiring art students, as they still seek out my teaching programme at the university and I always welcome students to my studio,” he says.

“Painting is like oxygen to me and I consider art to be an immeasurable pleasure.”

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bEYoND thE boArDrooMSPrING IS HErE, GIvING yoU THE PErFECT ExCUSE To rEvIvE yoUr WorK WArdroBE WITH A ToUCH oF rELAxEd, UPBEAT FEMININITy ANd MUCH-NEEdEd SPLASH oF CoLoUr. ExPLorE THESE KEy TrENdS To STEP INTo THE oFFICE, ANd THE NEW

SEASoN, IN STyLE.

usher in the warm, sunny days ahead with a subtle scent for spring. Flora eau Fraiche by gucci is a fresh and sparkling composition of citrusy top notes, a velvety rose heart, and evocative sandalwood and patchouli base.

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embrace your inner fashion magpie with a feather-light silk scarf by pucci, complete with colour, embellishment and the brand’s signature bold print. throw it on to inject a carefree dose of 1970’s sensibility into your look.

balenciaga bags are globally renowned as the go-to choice for cutting edge fashionistas, celebrities and jet set women alike. opt for one that is roomy, colourful and loaded with texture, like the über-chic croc papier tote.

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business travel dominating the agenda in the upcoming months? invest in an iconic piece of luggage by louis vuitton – this spacious and elegant carryall is cabin-sized, made with supple debossed monogram révélation leather and sure to stand the test of time.

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the world’s thinnest notebook, macbook air is the very definition of ultra-portable, weighing an unprecedented 1.3kg. its stunning 13.3in, backlit widescreen display, full-size keyboard and built-in camera for video conferencing render your location irrelevant when there are decisions to be made.

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There’s nothing but good news for modern professionals. The future is designed with your business and lifestyle in mind, rife with opportunities to maximise your daily productivity. Combining sleek, minimalist aesthetics with superior-quality performance, here’s a glimpse at the latest must-haves from the world’s most coveted brands.

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the decadent new c-class by mercedes-benz will rapidly find its way to the top of your wishlist for spring. lower fuel consumption, nine new driving assistance systems and a host of new-generation telematics have been supplemented by a strikingly designed exterior that will make your arrival unmistakable from a distance.

thinner, faster and lighter than its predecessor, the ipad 2 is packed with new features yet still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life. Stay connected with this wonder device that allows you to browse the web, send emails, exchange photos, watch videos, read e-books and so much more.

pick your favourite room, find a power outlet and choose a musical genre of your choice. now add the powerful new beoSound 8 speaker dock to discover the big style and even bigger sound performance that has made bang & olufsen one of the most sought-after names in home audio.

Ward off chaos with office supplies

that blur the line between fashion and

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orDning&reDa produces an extensive range of premium stationery products including diaries, albums, notebooks, desktop accessories and more.

in a fast-paced world where things come and go, mont blanc remains a bastion of timeless elegance. celebrating the musical genius John lennon, this special edition pen features a handcrafted rhodium-plated 18K gold nib and is rounded off with a platinum-plated plaque, engraved with the beatle’s famous self-portrait.

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Shake off the midweek blues with the contemporary petrol morini sofa by boconcept. rich in detail and comfort, it features extra wide seating units and light, thin legs that accentuate its smooth, sleek design.

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a table intended for the office need not be predictable and prosaic. Designed by the renowned Karim rashid for christofle, the limited edition KasKade side table is a sculptural work of art, featuring strips of metal layered in a spiral.

brighten up the vibe in your office in time for spring with the addition of just a single accent. a table lamp full of pep and personality, such as the futuristic Soffioni in murano glass by roche bobois, will do the trick.

outfit your workplace with a refreshing scent by using citrus fruits or tealight candles. they won’t steal focus when housed in the porcelain, peek-a-boo baby range by design duo massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas for alessi.

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DEvAstAtIoN caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami led to the launch of an international design competition for a marine research centre in Bali.

And Solus4, an architectural company based in Maine, took inspiration for their entry from the structure of a tsunami wave, the shapes of which have been incorporated into its futuristic building form.

Its design team sought to understand the wave dynamics and the resulting force patterns that are generated as tsunami waves are created and radiate out from an epicentre. The wave forces, when

translated to linear patterns, inform the shapes that are integrated into the building form and result in patterns that seem to be born of the sea.

The 2,500sq/m structure was designed to be located 150m offshore from Kuta Beach, and would feature research labs, accommodation for scientists, seawater pool, aquatic garden library and an auditorium.

Laboratories, a gym, bedrooms and the aquatic garden would be located under the waterline of the structure, which is intended to be totally energy efficient. Large glass-based panels form the skin – both transparent and opaque as well as embedded with PV

cells, while the close-to-shore location allows for tidal/current generators to serve the power requirements.

Rainwater collection and seawater conversion systems would take care of domestic water requirements while deeper source seawater is circulated through the skin for radiant cooling and temperature control of the overall anthropomorphic shape.

Solus4 also felt that the unique shapes and programmatic requirements would serve as an icon for scientific study and tourism in this part of Indonesia.

MAINE-BASEd ArCHITECTUrAL CoMPANy SoLUS4 HAS rEvEALEd AN ENErGy EFFICIENT vISIoN For A MArINE rESEArCH CENTrE IN BALI.

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thE PowEr of PosItIvE DEvIANcEby richard pascale, Jerry Sternin and monique SterninIn this book, the authors make a case for challenging the status quo through positive deviance (Pd).

Pd is founded on the principle that one person in a community, working with the same resources as everyone else, has solved a problem that confounds others. Pd has helped alleviate seemingly intractable problems – be they staph infections in hospitals or infant mortality in Pakistan’s highland Pashtun tribe.

The authors outline how Pd methodology can be practised at the grassroots level in disparate communities – by identifying the solutions within their midst and getting the community to adapt these practices.

oblIQUItY by John KayThe central argument at the heart of this book from renowned economist john Kay is that profits and happiness are the side effects of aiming for something else.

The richest people are not the most materialistic, the happiest are not those who chase happiness and the most profitable companies are not profit oriented. This is the concept of obliquity and Kay puts forth numerous examples from the world of business, sports and arts to illustrate his point.

Written in a lucid, engaging style, Kay wears his erudition lightly, making this book accessible yet thought provoking.

coNfEssIoNs of AN ArAbIc INtErPrEtErby leslie mcloughlinHaving lived in the Arab world for over 50 years and taught Arabic at several universities, McLoughlin’s love of Arabic in all its forms, its nuances and subtleties, shines through in this memoir.

Published by Motivate Publishing, this book is rich in detail and wry humour. Having interpreted for HM The queen and the British government from 1983-2004, McLoughlin offers us a ringside view of the art of interpreting during the course of several historic talks. There are many fascinating vignettes of the real personalities behind the British and Arab leaders of the 1980s. An interesting and enriching read for anyone interested in Anglo-Arabian political relations.

thE fINE Art of sUccEssby Jamie anderson, Jorg reckhenrich and martin KuppWhen it comes to business gurus, damian Hirst, Madonna and Picasso seem a rather unorthodox choice. This book attempts to bridge the yawning divide between the arts and business.

The authors have selected artists from the renaissance to modern times, for the valuable business lessons they can impart to today’s businesses – companies can learn about the power of strategic vision from pop star Madonna, for instance, or about creating new markets from artist damien Hirst, who sold $270 million of art in a single day at auction, in the midst of a recession. There are some fresh perspectives to be enjoyed here for those who count creativity as a critical skill.

With meeting rooms for small business owners, a performance space for the Surrey Symphony, wi-fi access, online collections, Facebook and twitter profiles, canada’s $36-million Surrey city centre library (designed by bing thom architects) is the new face of libraries, an environment-friendly hub for the whole community.

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wANgArI Maathai’s life story is an extraordinary example of the power of a simple idea. For this Kenyan Nobel Laureate, planting trees led to political activism and ultimately the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, making her the only African woman to win the prestigious accolade so far.

Maathai grew up in rural Kenya but won a scholarship to study in the United States. Returning to Kenya in the 1960s, she discovered the devastating effects of deforestation on the once-lush rural communities where she had spent her childhood. Women had to walk greater distances to fetch water and their children were malnourished as once-fertile farms turned to dust on account of soil erosion.

Maathai thought the best solution was to plant trees – they would provide sustenance, arrest soil erosion and create new means of livelihood for an increasingly impoverished population. Thus was born the Green Belt Movement: a grassroots organisation that encouraged rural women to plant trees.

As her movement grew, empowering women across Kenya and uniting them into a sizeable political force, it came into conflict with Kenya’s then-dictatorial regime, headed by President Daniel arap Moi. Maathai was jailed, beaten and divorced by her politician husband for being such an outspoken critic of the regime.

“It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change. And we cannot be intimidated. So we must stand up for what we believe in,” she said.

When Moi was finally ousted and Kenya became a democracy in 2002, Maathai became a member of the new parliament and Assistant Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources. In 2004, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Some criticised the fact that she had won a prize for planting trees. She responded in her Nobel speech: “Although initially the Green Belt Movement’s tree planting activities did not address issues of democracy and peace, it soon became clear that responsible governance of the environment was impossible without democratic space. Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in Kenya.”

Today, Maathai’s organisation has planted more than 35 million trees throughout Kenya. The Green Belt Movement also teaches women about indigenous foods, income generating activities, AIDS and self-empowerment.

This sexagenarian environmentalist continues to be vocal about the issues she is passionate about. As she recently said: “We have a responsibility to protect the rights of generations, of all species, that cannot speak for themselves today. The global challenge of climate change requires that we ask no less of our leaders, or ourselves.”

A PLAN To HELP SAvE THE PEoPLE oF HEr NATIvE KENyA By PLANTING TrEES ACroSS THE dESTITUTE BUT oNCE FErTILE CoUNTry LEd To A NoBEL PEACE PrIZE For WANGArI MAATHAI.

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