Vicat Group to inject $34mln into Egypt’s cement sector

These investments will cover the market’s demand for cement, says company official

Vicat Group, the main developer and partner of Sinai Cement, is planning to invest EUR 30 million (EGP 615 million) in the Egyptian market over the coming period, Vicat Egypt’s CEO said.

These investments will cover the market’s demand for cement, Tamer Magdy added during a celebration at the French embassy in Giza.

For his part, the chairman of France’s Vicat said that the company will continue investing in Sinai despite the current situation.

The Egyptian economy has the potential to recover as it is moving forward on the back of the country’s policies, Guy Sidos stressed.

Source: zaway

WEF: Dubai shows the way to growth in Middle East

Emirate a global magnet for international firms, helping transform plans and ideas to reality

The only way for the Middle East to address economic challenges is to open up an economy like Dubai, which has set an example and showed the world how to achieve sustainable growth despite geopolitical and financial headwinds that the region faced over the past decades, minsters and private sector executives said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

At Davos, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, met Apple CEO Tim Cook and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, where the Crown Prince affirmed that the UAE and Dubai's experiments present a model for development and offer an incubator for innovation and technology.

He said Dubai became a global magnet for international companies and entrepreneurs as the emirate offers good opportunities to help business leaders to transform their plans and ideas to reality.

Sheikh Hamdan also attended the signing of an agreement to establish the Emirates Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the UAE. The agreement was signed by Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, vice-chairman of the board of trustees and managing director of Dubai Future; and Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF.

Mohammad Al Tuwaijri, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Economy and Planning, said Dubai has set an example for the Arab world on how to achieve growth despite political, economic and financial headwinds.

"Talking about practical solutions for the region, if I take Dubai as an example, they started their [growth] journey in late-80s and I can't count negative events that took place in the region during this period from the Gulf war to Asia crisis and oil volatility," he said. "Yet, Dubai is here, growing and showing the world an example what it could achieve. Dubai has established a role model and has done a great job."

Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim, said solutions of economic problems for the Arab world will come only from the private sector and regional governments should open up their economies just like Dubai.

"The only solution for the region is to open up the economy - just like Dubai. The private sector in Middle East countries will come and invest. We know what are the investment opportunities; the government doesn't need to tell us. Put aside Saudi Arabia and the UAE, there is no government in the Arab world that has ability to deal its issues on its own," Bejjani said during a panel discussion.

According to Dubai FDI figures, Dubai remains a magnet for global foreign investors, especially in new-age sectors such as e-commerce, AI, blockchain and fintech, as the emirate recorded a 26 per cent increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of 2018, reaching Dh17.7 billion. The number of FDI projects surged 40 per cent year-on-year to 248 during H1 2018, reflecting growing confidence in the emirate's economy and its policies. Backed by accelerated government spending prior to Expo 2020 Dubai, the International Monetary Fund had predicted Dubai's economy to expand 3.3 per cent in 2018 and 4.1 per cent in 2019.

The Saudi minister also pointed out that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are working hard to ease and digitise cross-border trade and remove barriers.

"Recent joint efforts with the UAE are significant that two countries can sit down and agree on very specific targets, measures where they can show the world how and issues can be resolved. For example, between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, we decided that borders will be easier, digitised and quicker accessibility of trucks, etc. Instead of taking more than 72 hours, they will hopefully take three to four hours," Al Tuwaijri said.

He hoped that other regional countries will join the UAE and Saudi Arabia when they see this model working.

"We want to establish a reference for others to follow. If two big nations with big GDPs succeed, I think we will have a better chance and opportunity."

Bejjani said after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, vision 2030 by Saudi Arabia has been a whiff of fresh air.

"What is happening between the UAE and Saudi Arabia is exemplary. If this [removal of trade barriers] becomes reality and it is moving fairly at quite a rapid pace, the private sector we will invest in the Arab world," he added.

He said scale and global relevance and competitiveness are the two biggest problems when it comes to entrepreneurship, startups or corporates in the Arab world.

"During the past century, some of our countries gained independence and some were formed. And we have been working ingeniously on making sure that we put barriers across the Arab world. And the reality is that we have a market that is as big as most of largest markets in the world such as Western Europe and the US; but we are not smart enough to work together... We didn't do enough and if we want to promote innovation and promote growth we need to give market to the people who want to invest in it," Bejjani said during the panel discussion.

Citing examples of San Francisco and Palo Alto, he said Silicon Valley exists not because that people born there were smarter but simply because they have good education system and have market.

Source: zawya

Saudi Arabia unveils seven principles to raise investment

Saudi Arabia has unveiled seven investment principles, issued by royal decree and based on international best practice, that will support the development of a competitive investment environment in the Kingdom.
“The rapid pace of economic transformation in the coming years is opening exciting investment opportunities, both in Saudi — a G20 economy opening up to international businesses — and in the broader Middle East,” said Ibrahim Al-Omar, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
The investment principles are:

Ensure equality between Saudi and foreign investors; ensure protection of investments.

enable sustainability of investment; provide access to equal investment incentives

implement social and environmental standards and ensure investor compliance with Saudi health, safety and environmental regulations

 facilitate access procedures for foreign workers and their families; and ensure a solid transfer of knowledge

technology and enhancement of local human capital.

Source: Arab News

Direct investments in Abu Dhabi’s Kizad hit $19bln

Khalifa Industrial Zone has attracted more than 200 national and foreign investors

The volume of direct investments in Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad) has reached Dh70 billion ($19 billion), Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports was quoted as saying in a media report.

It has attracted more than 200 national and foreign investors, and contributed to building a diversified, sustainable and knowledge-based economy, reported state news agency Wam.

In a press statement on the sidelines of groundbreaking ceremony of the Chinese Roadbot Tyre Project Kizad (Roadbot) - which is the first tyre manufacturing plant in the UAE, Al Shamisi said that there are 45 companies and factories operating in the industrial zone.

He affirmed that Abu Dhabi Ports maintained steady growth, with its contribution in 2017 to Dh19.6 billion or 3.6 per cent of non-oil GDP in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. He pointed out that the company aims to achieve balanced growth in the coming years to contribute 15 per cent of Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP by 2030.

Abu Dhabi Ports CEO said that Roadbot has become the first Chinese firm to set up there since JOCIC and Abu Dhabi Ports signed a 50-year agreement in 2017.

He pointed out that the factory will meet the global tyre industry's highest standards of design and construction, and, when completed, be an intelligent, fully automated, and eco-friendly plant.

Al Shamisi went on to say, that the factory is at the centre of the Belt and Road initiative, and is the result of excellent partnership between the UAE and China. It also reflects the deep relations between the two countries. He added that the products manufactured in the plant will be sold in the Middle East, Africa, the United States, and Europe.

Source:zaway

Qatar fast tracking policies to tap more fdis

Qatar has begun fast-tracking the implementation of “progressive policies” to further attract foreign direct investments (FDIs), HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari has said.

FDIs increased by 4% ($7.8bn) to $186bn at the end of the first quarter of 2018 from $178bn in end-2017, al-Kuwari said at a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

This increase is driven by Qatar’s “revised legislations and regulations” to provide further incentives to foreign investors and allow up to 100% ownership in all sectors, which benefit from income tax exemptions as well as exemptions from customs duties on the import of goods for production.

Qatar is also allocating lands by way of rent for up to 50 years to foreign investors to establish their projects while allowing foreign companies to transfer their investment returns to their home countries in any convertible currency and investors to transfer the ownership of their companies to a Qatari or foreign investor in accordance with applicable laws.

Qatar now allows investors up to 100% ownership in free zones and offers tax exemptions for up to 20 years without restrictions on the repatriation of capital, the minister said.

Investors in these areas can export to local markets, tap investment funds and enter into joint ventures with local state-backed companies.

Al-Kuwari said Qatar was also in the process of drafting a public and private partnership law to pave the way for the launch of major new projects as the government bolstered spending on state-of-the-art infrastructure and logistics conforming to the highest international standards.

atar’s 2018 annual budget allocated $25.5bn for spending on major projects, the minister said, noting that these include projects related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well as sustainable development projects implemented within the framework of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

These projects will further promote Qatar’s tourism sector and realise plans to attract 5.6mn visitors annually by 2023 - double the number the country welcomed in 2016.

Al-Kuwari noted Qatar’s GDP increased to $222bn in 2017 compared to $218bn in 2016, growing at an annual rate of 1.6%, and expanding by over 5% in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period in the previous year.

Quoting the World Bank, the minister said growth was estimated at 2.3% in 2018 and expected to increase to 2.7% in 2019 and 3% in 2020, mainly driven by Qatar’s “attractive” business-friendly environment.

This is evident in the ranking of Qatar on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018, he said.

Globally, Qatar ranks first in terms of low inflation rates, sixth in terms of the effect of taxes on competition, eighth in terms of venture capital availability, ninth in terms of financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and tenth for growth of innovative companies while regionally the country ranks first on the Global Entrepreneurship Index, al-Kuwari added.

Source: gulf times

How Ad Tech Entrepreneurs Can Combat Google and Facebook's Dominance

The best way to secure a share of the growing market? Avoid head-to-head competition with the duopoly and instead seek out new opportunities -- like these.

Although few consumers have heard of them, ad tech firms have been operating behind the scenes for the past decade or more, creating innovative processes such as programmatic advertising (automated ad buying) and header bidding. Once fueled by the huge growth in online ad spend and an abundance of cheap venture capital, the rise of ad tech startups is now waning thanks to the duopoly held by Facebook and Google.

2017 saw global digital ad spend reach new heights -- $88 billion, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Of course, of the 21 percent market growth over the previous year, 90 percent went to Google and Facebook. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that the number of independent ad tech firms has shrunk by 21 percent since 2013. In fact, the only thing that’s shrinking faster is the investment in it. Stats collected by Crunchbase analyzing almost 2,000 venture capital deals in ad tech reveal that, by the first half of 2017, investment had dropped close to 80 percent from the peak in the first half of 2013.

Google is notorious for identifying up-and-coming competitors early and pursuing aggressive acquisition strategies. At the same time, Facebook’s 2.27 billion monthly active users mean that the social network is sitting on a goldmine of market research. It’s counterintuitive, but in a space dominated by two hungry giants, ad tech entrepreneurs need to think small to stay around.

Dodging the duopoly

The best way for ad tech entrepreneurs to secure a share of the growing market is by seeking out new opportunities instead and avoiding head-to-head competition with Facebook and Google. For example, linking data from offline purchases at brick-and-mortar retailers with online consumer data can create cross-platform identifiers that deliver tremendous value.

Streaming video is also quickly emerging as a space where startups can find potential in new revenue channels. As Amazon enters the ad business, devices such as the Echo and FireTV can enable startups to deliver ads right into customers' homes.

While there’s no guaranteed way to regain investor confidence, ad tech startups and independent firms should keep in mind that market dominance doesn’t necessarily equate to either quality or preference. In light of the slew of scandals that have rocked Facebook, concerns of consumers and regulators are rising. By focusing on transparency and vetted data alone, it might be possible for ad tech companies to win over new customers.

To further differentiate themselves from the duopoly, ad tech firms should take the following three steps:

1. Consolidate with the competition.

Viable companies in the ad tech space are beating Google and Facebook to the punch and consolidating with one another before they get swallowed up by the duopoly. Not surprisingly, the prevalence of this practice is contributing to a stark decline in the number of independent ad tech firms.

Based on research by LUMA Partners, The New York Times reports that just 185 firms remain as of the second quarter of 2018. Terry Kawaja, who led the research group, explains that “While all industries go through a maturation curve, this one faces a particular need for consolidation. So many of these companies were not profitable.”

2. Target audiences outside the duopoly.

A recently formed ad tech consortium including AppNexus, MediaMath and LiveRamp is attempting to target audiences interacting outside of Google and Facebook through the use of cross-platform identifiers. The two tech giants command tremendous value because their logged-in user bases have historically been easier to target, but the new consortium should make media investment outside the control of Facebook and Google more efficient.

To increase investor confidence, the consortium has adopted a self-imposed code of ethics covering critical issues such as privacy and security. These topics are a growing concern among those using the dominant platforms, adding another differentiator for the consortium’s consumers.

3. Identify niche markets.

To win precious ad tech dollars, entrepreneurs must do something that’s difficult for massive companies to pull off -- focus on niche markets that are high-value and low-volume. For example, Israel-based navigation app Waze targets users who want to optimize their travel and avoid speed traps. Because users rely heavily on location services to get value from the app, Waze can target them with highly customized, location-specific ads.

Google Maps couldn’t compete with the unique and high-value feature offered by Waze, so the tech giant bought the ambitious young upstart for a figure reported by TechCrunch to be $1.1 billion back in 2013.

Advertising is a lucrative market. As ad tech spending continues to rise, Europe’s implementation of the GDPR brings hope to startups and smaller companies that regulations might slow the pace of acquisition established by Facebook and Google. The window could be brief as the giants adjust to the learning curve, but if there was ever a time for disruption in the ad tech space, it’s now.

Source: entrepreneur

4 Ecommerce Trends to Watch Carefully for in 2019

As the online retail space grows ever more competitive, entrepreneurs will need to adapt.

Ecommerce enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2018, with global sales revenues estimated to have reached $2.8 trillion, according to Statista. This year, this figure is expected to rise to $3.5 trillion. To put this in perspective, if the ecommerce industry were a country, it would slot into the fifth spot, ahead of the United Kingdom, whose GDP as of April 2018 was $2.61 trillion.

With such eye-opening figures, it’s little wonder there’s so much excitement surrounding the future of online retail. Amid all the hype about ecommerce, it’s easy to forget that this segment accounts for just 11.9 percent of the total retail sales around the world. Therefore, the market holds an extraordinary capacity for growth over the next decade. 

Below, I identify the four trends that ecommerce entrepreneurs should pay the closest attention to: 

1. Smaller businesses using big data 

Yes, we’ve heard quite a lot about big data over the past two years, but it’s not going away. As more people come to grips with this new resource, this effort will increasingly separate the successful from the less successful ecommerce businesses. And this division will not be limited to behemoth ecommerce businesses either, because mid-range competitors too are now using their data reserves to mine unique insights. 

Big data, in fact, helps entrepreneurs analyze shopping behavior, trends and what products it is that are selling. It's been proven to help ecommerce businesses make improvements in customer service, security and mobile commerce. It also powers the AI which is revolutionizing the industry (more on this below).  

In short, big data is likely to power future developments in your ecommerce business. If you are planning on staying in the industry long term, you would be wise to study the latest developments.  

2. Excellent customer service 

Shoppers are growing used to the convenience of ecommerce, and entrepreneurs need to ensure that the customer experience meets those people's growing expectations. The purchasing journey needs to be smooth, reassuring and secure. Stores also need to be quick to respond to queries and resolve issues. 

One American Express study has found that more than half of Americans surveyed had canceled a purchase due to bad service. But take heart; you needn't be the entrepreneur on the other end of that type of transaction. Instead, there are a number of ways you can deliver outstanding customer service: 

Ensure a smooth checkout: Too many ecommerce stores still have unnecessarily drawn-out checkouts. Consider whether you need any more than two stages, i.e., you can fill in the details on one page; then confirm those details and items on the next.  

Be responsive: Whether it’s on social media or your website or via email or phone, your business should respond to any queries in a timely and professional manner. An increasing number of stores offer live chat on their sites, and the response of customers has been overwhelmingly positive. 

Deliver a personalized experience: Use your customer’s browsing and purchase history to deliver a personalized shopping experience. This is something Amazon has turned into an art form in recent years, directing its customers to the products that are most relevant to them and that they are more likely to buy.  

Listen to your customers: Be proactive in looking for feedback and asking your customers about their experience. By asking for feedback, you’ll shape a more holistic view of your business and how it is perceived. Don’t be afraid to address criticism, either, even if it’s in public. In this way, you'll identify your weaknesses and prove to customers that you take complaints seriously. 

Above all, understand that providing excellent customer service is no longer a bonus for an ecommerce business. It’s now the norm. 

3. Enhanced AI 

Without good, well-ordered data, you will not be able to embrace the latest technologies that can drive revenue to your ecommerce store. AI is already evident in many ecommerce stores. Those automated live chatbots, advanced data analytics and inventory management tools? They are all powered by AI.  

However, there are examples of stores taking it to the next level to deliver a highly personalized experience. Outdoor wear brand, The North Face, has recently unveiled a digitalized personal shopper which can guide customers to products. There are also voice search and mobile shopping, which enable people to shop on the move. 

4. Improved personalization 

One of the factors behind Amazon’s success is its advanced product recommendations algorithm, which drives up to 35 percent of the company’s total sales. Using the buyer’s shopping habits, interests and even browsing history, the ecommerce giant is able to promote the products the buyer is most likely to purchase. 

Looking beyond Amazon, product recommendation engines have proven effective at delivering a personalized shopping experience and driving up revenue for stores. The key is to place those recommendations at optimum points in the purchasing process.

First, ensure you have recommended products visible to your shoppers on the home page or after the point that they sign in. Then, once they have added items to their basket, ensure you have suggested complementary items. You can also suggest items at checkout.  

Final thoughts

Entrepreneurs who take the proactive approach, embrace the latest advances in tech and make use of data will reap the rewards in ecommerce. As AI becomes more mainstream, it is essential that ecommerce business owners take personalization to the next level. Simply having a product recommendation plugin is no longer enough; you need to be proactive and utilize tools in the right way, with well-curated data, to maximize their potential.

Source: entrepreneur