Arab world (116)
What is Social Media's Most Sharp Secret Weapon for entrepreneurs in the Arab Gulf markets?
13 Dec 2020 Written by Admin AdminThe utilization of social media as a marketing tool has become an inescapable need for any organization looking for progress and development in its business. The total number of social media users was estimated at 3.8 billion users over a total number of a global population of about 7.75 billion in 2020 (i.e. 49%), with an annual growth rate of 9.2% compared to 2019. On the other hand, mobile users were estimated at about 5.2 billion (about 67% of the total population). The evolution of the global mobile data consumption is increasing exponentially. (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).
Social media delivers a new way to businesses that are interactive with the customers; it will completely convert the way of business.
In the meantime, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the users’ behaviors shifted, sometimes starkly, toward more use of devices for work, play and connecting. With the rise of social distancing, people are seeking out new ways to connect, mostly through video chat. If at all the year 2020 offered something good to someone, it is certainly to the social media industry. For example, Facebook alone has attracted 100 million new users in 2020.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
The value of the total digital advertising market reached $334 billion, of which $89.9 billion spent on social media compared to $127.9 billion spent on digital search ads in 2019. According to the data about advert expenditure, Google is the most popular advertising tool, the total expenditure reached about $103.7 billion in 2019 followed by Facebook ($67.4 billion), Alibaba ($29.2 billion) and Amazon ($14.0 billion).
Nevertheless, entrepreneurs and companies, including enormous and well established companies, face difficulties and real challenges in the web-based social media advertising tools, and at the forefront of these challenges is picking a social media platform or platforms that accomplish the marketing targets most productively. (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).
Source : https://datareportal.com/
The Middle East is not an exception of this digital trend, where the total number of social media users was estimated at 125.4 million users over a total number of a total population of about 258.8 million in 2020 (i.e. 48%) (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Two difficulties arise here, the first concerns identifying the media platforms that are generally favored by the company's audience, in addition to its current and expected customers. The second relating to investigating the tendencies and interests of the target audiences within each social media platform.
In this article, we present to our readers the most recent insights related to the use of social media in the Arab countries of the Gulf region. We will present more specifically the tendencies and interests of the users from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the State of Kuwait. Moreover, the readers will find the mains statistics about internet and Facebook users in the Arab world as a whole for 2020.
Two difficulties arise here, the first concerns identifying the media platforms that are generally favored by the company's audience, in addition to its current and expected customers. The second relating to investigating the tendencies and interests of the target audiences within each social media platform.
In this article, we present to our readers the most recent insights related to the use of social media in the Arab countries of the Gulf region. We will present more specifically the tendencies and interests of the users from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the State of Kuwait. Moreover, the readers will find the mains statistics about internet and Facebook users in the Arab world as a whole for 2020.
* For the population it is the Urbanisation rate, for mobile connections: rate vs. population, the other numbers are the penetration rates.
Youtube, Facebook and Instagram has relatively high shares of population that marketers can reach with adverts (population aged 13+); with a percentage of reach of 33%, 32% and 15% respectively. LinkedIn, Snapchat and Twitter have relatively lower rates: with a percentage of reach of 12%, 6.3% and 5.6% respectively. With about 2.8% of share of population that marketers can reach, Pintrest has a relatively very low share (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).
On the other hand other, there exists less popular social media platforms, but have relatively high shares of population that marketers can reach with adverts such as Wechat, QQ and QZone with a percentage of reach of 19%, 12% and 8.6% respectively. (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).
For entrepreneurs and startups, these social media platforms are indispensible sources to create awareness about their brands within their target customers.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Hereafter we will explore the use of social media in the Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
First: Kingdom Saudi Arabia
The total number of internet users in Saudi Arabia is about 32 million users, or 93% of the total population. Saudi Arabia ranks 5th within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).
Source : https://datareportal.com/
According to communications and information technology commission (CITC) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom is the region’s largest ICT market and ranks 13th globally, with a value of $28.7 billion in 2019 and strong growth in both the consumer and enterprise segments. Saudi Arabia is a market of early technology adopters, with one of the highest social media penetrations in the world. Mobile subscribers stood at 43.8 million in 2019, representing a 129% penetration of the total population, Facebook being the most used social media followed by Instagram and Snapchat.
The below figure present the percentage of internet users aged 16 to 64 years old who report using each platform in the past month.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Social media platforms in Saudi Arabia
1. Facebook
With 13 million users, Facebook ranked third in terms of the number of users in Saudi Arabia, most of them are males, or about 78% of the total users.
As for the age group, the statistics indicate that more than half of the users were aged between 26 and 40 years.
The top reasons for using Facebook in the Kingdom are for marketing, fashion, movies, travel purposes, sports, music and games. The total number of users per category ranges from 8 to 10 million, whereas watching television comes at the end with 6.5 million users. More than one tenth of the users are using the platform specifically to shop or find new products.
2. Instagram
Instagram is behind Facebook as the fourth most used social media platform in Saudi Arabia, with 12 million users, a third of whom are male. As for their interests, they appear similar to those of Facebook users. According to Hootsuite report, Saudi Arabia ranked 17 internationally in terms of Instagram reach.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
3. Twitter
Twitter is ranked second in the ranking of the most used social media in the Kingdom, as the number of its users exceeds 14 million users, and contrary to the gender distribution of the Facebook and Instagram platforms, the distribution by gender in Twitter is very close, females being about 48% of the total Twitter users. According to Hootsuite report Saudi Arabia ranked first in terms of eligible audience reach rate on twitter with a total potential twitter advertising reach of 53% compared to population aged 13+.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
As for the main reasons for using Twitter, there is a big difference compared to Instagram and Facebook, data show a great interest for games, this is clear from the big number of users as it reaches more than 10 million. On the other hand, with the exception of high interest for the television and music, with about 7.6 million and 2 million users for each, the other topics, such as travel and shopping, do not receive great attention from the users.
4. Snapchat
This platform is ranked first in Saudi Arabia in terms of the number of users ranging from 15.5 to 16.1 million users. While the percentage of female users is equal to that of male, this platform is the most used social media by females.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Source : https://datareportal.com/
As for the main reasons for using Snapchat in Saudi Arabia, data show several fields of interests from travel, with total users ranging from 7.6 to 7.94 million, to sport with total number of fans ranging from 7.4 to 7.7 million, to music, games, and food. Surprisingly important number of users shows interest in investment and entrepreneurship, ranging from 3.6 to 3.76 million users.
5. LinkedIn
The LinkedIn platform has 2.4 million users from the kingdom, males being the first using this platform, with 81% of the total number of users compared to only 19% for females.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Second: United Arab Emirates
According to the latest statistics, a whopping 99% of the UAE population remains active on internet. In 2020, an eyeball popping 9.73 million people come online on social media almost every day, this represents 99% of the population of 9.83 million people.
Youtube is the most popular social media platform in 2020 with 8.65 million users. Facebook has found favor among the commercial entities, the political class as well as the masses of the country. The latest data for 2020 show that, with 7.77 million users, Facebook is expected to remain a main social media force for many years to come. Several popular brands use Facebook to reach out to fans, though providing them unique offers.
With 3.8 million users most are young people, especially teenagers, Instagram emerged as a substantial competitor to Facebook. Other few social media platforms that are popular in the UAE are Twitter (53% penetration), LinkedIn (45% penetration), Pinterest (25% penetration) and Tumblr (20% penetration).
Source : https://datareportal.com/
1. Facebook
The number of Facebook users in the United Arab Emirates stands at about 9 million, meaning 92% of the current UAE population consumes Facebook content, and thus it is the largest social media in the UAE. Although Facebook is the most popular social media among females in the UAE, the gender gap is apparent with men thrice as much as women. The current male and female Facebook users are pegged at 74% and 26% respectively.
The main motivations for using Facebook are shopping, fashion, travel, sports, food and drink, movies and music. The estimated numbers of users ranging per category range from 6 million to 7 million, and at the top of these reasons are shopping and fashion. In addition to the previous topics, Facebook users in the UAE are interested in television and games, with an estimated numbers between 4.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively.
2. Instagram
With about 3.8 million users, Instagram platform ranks second after Facebook in terms of number of users, most of them are males, or 63% of the total users compared to 36% for females. The main motivations for using Instagram appear very close to that of Facebook. Shopping, fashion, travel, sports, food, and drink, as well as movies, are at the forefront of the interests of Instagram users, followed by games and TV respectively.
3. Twitter
The total number of users on Twitter is 3 million, this put Twitter in the fourth rank behind Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In contrast to Instagram and Facebook, the Twitter users are more gender-equal distribution, with about 42% of female using this platform.
Like all other social media in the UAE, the number of users in English exceeds those in Arabic.
It is noticeable that Twitter users in the UAE are more interested in news channels, as Sky News Arabia, Al Arabiya, and Al Hadath, as they are the largest number of followers, this seams coherent with when we know that the number users interested with television is 2 million, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the users in Twitter. Films come in the top of the list with 3 million users. In other words, all Twitter users in the UAE show some degree of interest in movies.
4. Snapchat
The number of Snapchat users in the UAE ranges between 2.1-2.3 million, and it is the least used social media in the UAE.
In contrast to the rest of social media, in Snapchat the number of female users exceeds that of males. The number of female Snapchat users is more than 1.1 million.
The Snapchat is distinguished from other platforms in the United Arab Emirates, by the diversity of interests of its users between fashion, shopping, games, music, entrepreneurship, investment, health, and lifestyle. The number of those interested in these topics ranges from 500 thousand to one million users.
5. LinkedIn
The number of LinkedIn users in the United Arab Emirates is about 3.4 million, and thus it is ranked third among the most used social media in the UAE after Facebook and Instagram, with a difference of 400,000 users with the latter.
Statistics also indicate that most users of LinkedIn in the Arab Gulf states are from the UAE. As per gender distribution, the majority of users are male, where their percentage is 70%.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Third: State of Kuwait
The State of Kuwait ranks second in terms of the percentage of users connected to the Internet in the Arab Gulf states, as the percentage of those connected to Internet out of the total population is about 99.1%. Facebook is ranked as the most used social media platform in Kuwait with a total of about 3.00 million active users. Instagram is ranked as the second most used with about 2 million monthly active users. Twitter comes next with about 1.7 million monthly active user. Snapchat also is one of popular social media platforms in Kuwait with total users of about 1.7 million monthly active users.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Social Media Penetration Rankings by country, January 2020
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Social media platforms in Kuwait
1. Facebook
With a total number of users of more than two million and 700 thousand users Facebook ranks first among social media in the State of Kuwait, which is equivalent to half the population of Kuwait, of whom 1.9 million are female users, which is the largest percentage of females participation on social media in the Arab Gulf region.
The main motivations for using Facebook in Kuwait are shopping and fashion in addition to music. The number of users interested in these two topics is more than two million users each, followed movies, food, drink, sports, travel, and games with about 2 million users for each. Finally comes the interest for the television with a difference of 500 thousand users with the previous topics.
It is also noted that the number of Facebook users in English is twice the number of users in Arabic.
2. Instagram
Instagram ranks second, along with Twitter, as the most used social media in Kuwait, with about two million users, most of them are males, i.e. about 1.3 million users compared, to 300 thousand users for females (64% and 36% respectively). As per the main motivations for using Instagram in Kuwait, data show a very close trend as for Facebook.
3. Twitter
As mentioned above, Twitter along with Instagram ranks second, as the most used social media in Kuwait, with about two million users, most of them are males (65%) compared to only 35% for females.
As per the main motivations for using Twitter in Kuwait, they are not much difference from the users of Facebook and Instagram.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
4. Snapchat
With a number of users which ranges between 1.6 and 1.7 million, Snapchat ranks before the last in terms of the number of users in Kuwait. As can be seen, the number of users is slightly lower than the users of Twitter and Instagram, not more than 300,000 users. It is the second most used social media by females after Facebook in Kuwait. The number of females using Snapchat has been estimated at about 780,000, i.e. 46% of the total users.
As per the main motivations for using Snapchat in Kuwait, they are more diverse than the other social media platforms, where the users of this platform show an interest in entrepreneurship, investment, cars, TV news, and lifestyle whether men or women. Snapchat users also show an interest in health topics. The estimated number of interested users ranges between 350 thousand and 900 thousand. Finally fitness is another topic of interest, with an estimated number of users of between 195 thousand and 203 thousand.
5. LinkedIn
The total number of LinkedIn users in Kuwait is about 530,000, most of them are males, or about 75% of the total users.
Fourth: Sultanate of Oman
Oman ranked last in the Arab Gulf states in terms of the percentage of users connected to the Internet out of the total population, which were estimated at Oman has 3.9 million internet users, about 78.5% of the total population.
According to a report of the National Centre of Statistics and Information (NCSI), based on a survey on social media behaviour an applications use, conducted in March 2019, most of Omanis, or 94%, own or use social media accounts. They spend up to six hours daily on social media. The report showed that 36% cent of Omanis trusts social media as a source of news and information about important events, compared with 35% who do not trust it.
Data of Hootsuite indicate that Facebook is the most common social media app in Oman, with about 1.5 million users, followed by Instagram with 1.4 million and Twitter with about 1.3 million users.
Social media platforms in the Sultanate of Oman
Source : https://datareportal.com/
1. Facebook
Facebook ranks top among all social media networks. The total number of users was estimated at about 1.5 million users, men represent the majority of the facebookers in Oman with about 78.4% compared to 21.6% for females.
2. Instagram
Data shows that Oman had 1.4 million users on Instagram, covering a total of 36% of the Sultanate’s total users of social media networks, of which 67.2% are males and 32.8% are females.
3. Twitter
The Twitter platform comes in third place after Instagram, with a total number of about 1.3 million users, of which about 70.4% are males and 29.6% are females.
4. Snapchat
Snapchat ranks just before the last place, with about 1.2 million users, of which 52.7% are females, and 45.6% males. In contrast to the rest of social media networks, the number of female users in Snapchat exceeds that of males in Oman. That was the case as well in the UAE.
5. LinkedIn
The Sultanate of Oman shows a wide use of the LinkedIn. The total number of LinkedIn users reaches 520,000 users. The distribution of users by gender does not differ much from the rest of the Arab Gulf states. Statistics show that 76.7% of LinkedIn users are males compared to 23.3% for females.
Fifth: State of Qatar
Qatar ranked in the top in terms of the percentage of those connected to Internet out of the total population within the Arab Gulf states. The percentage of those connected to Internet in Qatar reaches 99.6%.
Accoring to a report of focus on Qatar, of the web site Middleeastmedia, the top social networking sites used in Qatar are Facebook, with a total of 2.4 million active users, Twitter ranked second with total number of users of 974,000 users, and Instagram. Instagram is ranked third with total users of users of 960,000 users. LinkedIn is ranked fourth with an estimated total number of users of 840,000.Snapchat.
However, use of these sites differs considerably according to the population subsets. For example usage of Facebook is nearly universal across all expat groups in Qatar. Qataris, however, have not embraced Facebook for social networking to the same degree; only one third of Qatari nationals are on Facebook. In fact, Qataris are more likely to use Instagram (46%), they are using Twitter and Facebook in same way (37% and 36%).
Almost all internet users pass time online for leisure (94%), entertainment (71%). A similarly high level watch online videos (83%).
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Social media platforms in Qatar
1. Facebook
Facebook ranks first in Qatar as the most used social media medium, as the number of users of this platform is about 2.4 million users Facebook, of whom 76.3% are males, and 23.7% are females.
2. Instagram
Instagram ranks third behind Facebook and Twitter with a total number of users of about 960,000 users, of which 64.2% are males compared to 35.8% for female users.
3. Twitter
Twitter is the second most used social media platform after Facebook, with total users of about 974,000, of which 67.4% are males and 32.6% are females.
4. Snapchat
As for Snapchat, it is ranked last among social media platforms, with a number of users not exceeding 585 thousand, but what distinguishes this platform in Qatar is the greater percentage of female users which reaches 52.6% of the total users. This tendency could be seen as well in Oman and UAE.
5. linkedIn
LinkedIn ranks fourth within other social media networks most used in Qatar. The total number of users was estimated at about 840,000 users. This is about 150,000 lower than the other social media network such as Instagram and Twitter. Most of LinkedIn users are men with a total percentage of about 76.6% out of the total users.
Sixth: Kingdom of Bahrain
Bahrain ranks fourth compared to the Arab Gulf states in terms of the share of the population with internet connection, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
The percentage of users with internet connection in Bahrain to the total population is about 99%.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
Social media platforms in Bahrain
1. Facebook
The social media platforms in the Kingdom of Bahrain are characterized by the absence of significant differences in terms of the total number of users, consequently it is not possible to classify them in terms of the most popular network, except for LinkedIn which is the least popular. The differences in the number of users between each type of network do not exceed tens of thousands. The number of Facebook users in the Kingdom is estimated at about 840,000, of which 73.8% are males, and 26.2% are females.
2. Instagram
The number of Instagram users in Bahrain is about 720,000, of which 62% are males and 38% are females.
3. Snapchat
Snapchat is the most used social media platform in Bahrain by females, as their percentage to the total number of 885,000 users, is about 47.9%.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
4. Twitter
The number of Twitter users in Bahrain is about 818,000, of which 65.1% are males and 34.9% are females.
Source : https://datareportal.com/
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn platform is ranked last in terms of the social media popularity in Bahrain. The total number of users is estimated at about 340,000 users, of which70.9% are males and 29.1% are females.
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Global Investment Outlook - Webinar
18 Nov 2020 Written by Admin AdminThe Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group hosted a webinar on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global investment outlook, which was organized in collaboration between the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Country Strategy and Cooperation (CSC) Department, IsDB on 17th November 2020 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on FDI and trade in OIC member countries.
The main objective of the webinar is to present the key findings of the World Investment Report 2020 - International Production Beyond the Pandemic with a highlight on FDI trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) worldwide, at the regional and country levels and emerging measures to improve its contribution to development.
In addition to presenting IsDB Group Strategy during COVID-19 and its impact on OIC Member Countries and Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs).
The Webinar also proposed adopting policies and strategies to revive investment and trade in member states to advance investment promotion activities, in order to support the IsDB Group efforts to assist Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in member countries by assisting them in devising appropriate investment and trade policy responses to the ongoing pandemic
Mr. Oussama Kaissi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), stated that “the COVID-19 pandemic has created a devastating global health crisis. According to UNCTAD’s 2020 World Investment Report, global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) will be under acute pressure this year as a direct result of the pandemic.
In order to combat these implications in member countries, IsDB and its group members have implemented a number of initiatives to maintain trade and investment flows. ICIEC will be an important part of the long-term recovery, supporting the growing demand for risk mitigation solutions”.
Mr. James Zhan, Director, Investment & Enterprise Division, UNCTAD, made a presentation which highlighted the key findings and policy recommendations found in its World Investment Report 2020: International Production Beyond the Pandemic.
Mr. Amadou Diallo, the Acting Director-General, Global Practices at the Islamic Development Bank in his speech stated that during COVID-19, the Bank provided technical assistance programs for the Islamic Development Bank Group such as RCI and ITAP to support the Member Countries by assisting them in developing suitable plans for investment and trade policy to confront the ongoing Corona pandemic.
This is in the framework of a tripartite approach centered around the "response, recovery and rebuilding" pillars.
Mr. Mohammed Bukhari, Senior Investment Promotion & Regional Cooperation Specialist, CSC Dept., IsDB delivered a presentation on the impact of COVID-19 on MCs, particularly in foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic investment and investment promotion agencies (IPAs).
It is noteworthy that the private sector institutions of the Islamic Development Bank Group played an important role during COVID-19, as Mr. Asheque Moyeed, Division Head, Infrastructure & Corporate Finance, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) made a presentation which focused on the efforts related to promoting investment in member countries, where the IsDB Group private sector institutions pledged with IsDB to provide $ 700 million to stimulate investment, finance trade, investment insurance and export credit in member countries.
Two D-8 Egypt and Turkey are going to utilize around $270 million of this package.
The webinar brought together over 500+ participants from 113 countries, including government officials, Presidents & CEOs of local/international private sector companies, multilateral and financial institutions, individual investors, entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce & Industry, business associations, and investment promotion agencies
استضافت مجموعة البنك الإسلامي للتنمية ندوة عبر الإنترنت بشأن تأثير جائحة كورونا على آفاق الاستثمار العالمي والتي نظمتها مجموعة البنك الإسلامي للتنمية بالتعاون بين مؤتمر الأمم المتحدة للتجارة والتنمية (الأونكتاد) وإدارة الاستراتيجية القطرية والتعاون بالبنك الإسلامي للتنمية في 17 نوفمبر 2020م وذلك لمناقشة تأثير جائحة فايروس كورونا المستجد (COVID - 19) على الاستثمار المباشر والتجارة في الدول الأعضاء لمنظمة التعاون الإسلامي.
بدأت الندوة بالترحيب بالمنظمين والمشاركين في الندوة، حيث تم تسليط الضوء على مواجهة الانخفاض الهائل في نقص الاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر الناجم عن COVID-19، والذي يُمثل تحديًا كبيرًا للخطط الإنمائية للدول النامية. وأيضاً تم التركيز على كيفية هبوط تدفقات القطاع الخاص الدولي مما أعطى أهمية للندوة في تقييم انعكاسات التغيرات المتوقعة في المشهد الاستثماري خلال السنوات القادمة. واقترحت الندوة أيضاً تبني سياسات واستراتيجيات لإحياء الاستثمار والتجارة في الدول الأعضاء للنهوض بأنشطة ترويج الاستثمار، وذلك من أجل دعم جهود مجموعة البنك لمساعدة وكالات ترويج الاستثمار (IPAs) في الدول الأعضاء في كيفية التعامل مع تحديات تشجيع الاستثمار فيما يتعلق بأزمة COVID-19.
ذكر الأستاذ/ أسامة عبد الرحمن القيسي، الرئيس التنفيذي للمؤسسة الإسلامية لتأمين الإستثمار وإئتمان الصادرات (ICIEC) في مستهل حديثه أن المخاطر المرتبطة بالتجارة والاستثمار قد تفاقمت بسبب جائحة COVID-19. وأنه وفقًا لتقرير الاستثمار العالمي لعام 2020 الصادر عن الأونكتاد، تتعرض التدفقات العالمية للاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر (FDI) لضغوط شديدة هذا العام كنتيجة مباشرة للوباء. وأفاد بأن مجموعة البنك الإسلامي للتنمية قد قامت بتنفيذ عدد من المبادرات للحفاظ على تدفقات التجارة والاستثمار من أجل مكافحة هذه الآثار في الدول الأعضاء. وشدد خلال حديثه على الدور الفاعل الذي تقوم به المؤسسة الإسلامية لتأمين الاستثمار وائتمان الصادرات لدعم الطلب المتزايد من قبل الدول الأعضاء على حلول الـتأمين والإئتمان لتحقيق التعافي على المدى الطويل الأجل.
قام أيضاً الأستاذ / جيمس زان، مدير شعبة قطاع الاستثمار والمشاريع بمؤتمر الأمم المتحدة للتجارة والتنمية )الأونكتاد( بعمل عرض تقديمي مميز حيث سلطت الضوء على النتائج الرئيسية وتوصيات السياسة العامة الواردة في تقرير الاستثمار العالمي لعام 2020م "الإنتاج الدولي بعد الوباء".
وفي كلمته التي تضمنت إستراتيجية مجموعة البنك الإسلامي للتنمية، ذكر الأستاذ/ أمادو ديالو، المدير العام بالإنابة لإدارة الممارسات العالمية بالبنك الإسلامي للتنمية، أنه خلال COVID-19، قامت مجموعة البنك بتقديم برامج المساعدة الفنية الخاصة بمجموعة بالبنك الإسلامي للتنمية مثل RCI وITAP في دعم الدول الأعضاء من خلال مساعدتها في وضع خطط مناسبة للسياسة الاستثمارية والتجارية لمواجهة جائحة كورونا المستمرة. وذلك في إطار نهج ثلاثي يتمحور حول ركائز "الاستجابة والاستعادة وإعادة البناء".
وقدم الأستاذ/ محمد بخاري، خبير ترويج الاستثمار والتعاون الإقليمي بالبنك الإسلامي للتنمية ، عرضًا تقديميًا حول تأثير جائحة كورونا على الدول الأعضاء ، لا سيما في الاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر (FDI) ، والاستثمار المحلي ووكالات ترويج الاستثمار (IPAs).
والجدير بالذكر أن مؤسسات القطاع الخاص بمجموعة البنك الإسلامي للتنمية قد لعبت دورًا مهمًا خلال COVID-19 ، حيث قام الأستاذ/ محمد عاشق مؤيد، رئيس شعبة البنية التحتية والتمويل المؤسسي بالمؤسسة الإسلامية لتنمية القطاع الخاص (ICD) بتقديم عرض خلال هذه الفعالية ألقت من خلاله الضوء على الجهود المتعلقة بتعزيز الاستثمار والتجارة في الدول الأعضاء، حيث تعهدت مؤسسات القطاع الخاص بمجموعة البنك بتقديم 700 مليون دولار لتحفيز الاستثمار وتمويل التجارة وتأمين الاستثمار وائتمان الصادرات في الدول الأعضاء.
حضر الندوة عبر الإنترنت أكثر من 500 مشارك من 113 دولة من المسؤولين الحكوميين، والرؤساء والمدراء التنفيذيين لشركات القطاع الخاص المحلية والدولية، والمؤسسات المالية الدولية، والمستثمرين الأفراد ورجال الأعمال، وغرف التجارة والصناعة، ووكالات تشجيع الاستثمار، وحُظي الملتقى بتغطية إعلامية مميزة محلية وإقليمية ودولية.
يحمل الاستثمار الأجنبي فرص كبيرة لتوسيع الأعمال وتحقيق أرباح مضاعفة، كما يحمل بالقدر نفسه، مخاطر مرتفعة، في هذه المقالة سنقدم لك أربعة مؤشرات يجب أن تضعها في الحسبان قبل اختيار البلد الذي ستبدأ الاستثمار به.
تشكل المؤشرات الاربعة الآتية معايير لاتخاذ قرار الاستثمار في بلد أجنبي من عدمه، كما تشكل معياراً للمفاضلة في اختيار البلد الذي سوف تستثمر به.
أولاً: مؤشرات سهولة البدء بالعمل
يرتبط هذا المؤشر في بيئة الأعمال القانونية والتنظيمية والتي تشمل عدد من المسائل منها المدة المتوقعة لإنهاء الإجراءات القانونية لفتح مشروع جديد، واستخراج الترخيص، وحماية حقوق الملكية للمستثمرين، وغيرها من الأمور.
وفقا لمؤشر ممارسة أنشطة الأعمال الصادر عن البنك الدولي، والذي يوفر مقياس موثوقا عن سهولة ممارسة الأعمال التجارية من خلال تقييم المستوى المطلق للأداء التنظيمي بمرور الوقت، ويرصد فجوة كل اقتصاد بالمقارنة مع أفضل الأداء التنظيمي. وقد اوردنا لك فيما يلي ترتيب الدول العربية وفقا لبيانات البنك الدولي:
المصدر: البنك الدولي (https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/doing-business-score )
ثانياً: مؤشرات الاستقرار الاقتصادي
يعد الاستقرار الاقتصادي من أهم المؤشرات التي يجب أخذها في عين الاعتبار قبل اتخاذ القرار بالبدء بالاستثمار في بلد ما، فالخطأ في تقدير مستقبل الأوضاع الاقتصادية قد يكلف المستثمر خسارات غير متوقعة.
ومن أهم المقاييس التي يجب الاطلاع عليها في الجانب الاقتصادي هي استقرار سعر الصرف، ومعدل نمو في إجمالي الناتج المحلي، ومؤشر الائتمان المالي، وحجم الاحتياطي من النقد الأجنبي في البنك المركزي، ومعدلات الفائدة، فهي تعكس حالة الاستقرار الاقتصادي الذي تعيشه البلاد.
ثالثاً: مؤشرات الاستقرار السياسي
قد تبدو لك مؤشرات سهولة ممارسة الأعمال والمؤشرات الاقتصادية ملائمة للبدء بالاستثمار في بلد ما، لكن إغفال مؤشرات الاستقرار السياسي قد يؤدي إلى إنهاء العمل بالاستثمار بشكل مفاجئ، وبطريقة لا يمكن فيها تعويض الخسائر، لذلك سيكون من المهم الاطلاع على الحالة الاستقرار السياسي، بالإضافة إلى معرفة طبيعة العلاقات الثنائية بين البلد المستثمر به والبلد الذي تحمل جنسيته.
رابعاً: مؤشر ثقافة البلد
يرتبط هذا المؤشر بدراسة الجدوى الاقتصادية وتقديرات حجم الطلب في السوق، فقد يشكل الاختلاف في ثقافة المجتمع والأعمال حاجزاً يمنع من دخول المنتج أو الخدمة الى السوق المحلي، كما قد يشكل حافزا لذلك.
كذلك يشمل مؤشر ثقافة البلاد على العديد من الأمور المرتبطة بثقافة العمل، وجميع الاختلافات التي تنشأ عن التباين الثقافي بين بلدك الأم والبلد الذي ترغب بالاستثمار به، باختصار يجب أن تكون على استعداد لاستثمار وقتك وجهدك من أجل فهم ثقافة البلد، وخلق روابط جيدة مع مجتمع الأعمال والمجتمع المحلي في سبيل رسم صورة حسنة لعلامتك التجارية.
واخيراً عزيزي القارئ(ة) توفر لك منصة رواد الأعمال العرب- السويسريين عدداً من أدلة الأعمال الخاصة بالاستثمار في الدول العربية وسويسرا ستجد على موقعنا مجموعة كاملة من "ادلة ممارسة الأعمال في العالم العربي"، والتي تتضمن صورة بانورامية عن بيئة وثقافة الأعمال في العالم العربي بالإضافة إلى الخرائط وقاموس مصغر واحصاءات التبادل التجاري بين كل بلد عربي وسويسرا والعديد من الروابط المفيدة لبدء استثمارك في الدول العربية وسويسرا.
احصل على نسختك من دليل اداء الأعمال في العالم العربي
تم الانتهاء من "دليل ممارسة الأعمال" لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة والذي يمكن تحميله نسخة مختصرة منه مجاناً! فيما يمكن الحصول على النسخة الكاملة التي تحتوي على إحصاءات التجارة الإمارات العربية المتحدة وسويسرا وأهم الأصناف المتداولة بين الإمارات العربية المتحدة وسويسرا والنظام البيئي للشركات الناشئة بالاضافة الى دليل الأعمال.
Out of the 998 projects financed by foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa last year, Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco were responsible for the greatest share, according to a recent report by fDi Intelligence.
Egypt replaced South Africa as the top ranked destination by projects in the region, experiencing a 60% increase from 85 to 136 projects in 2019, the report said.
Along with a $12bn IMF-mandated reform programme, the government has embarked on massive infrastructure spending in sectors ranging from energy to construction.
South Africa follows Egypt at 123 projects, though it easily outdoes all other African countries in terms of the number of projects it financed outside its own territory last year.
fDi Intelligence, a product of the Financial Times, found that South Africa invested in 81 projects outside the rainbow nation in 2019 compared to just 29 in Morocco, the second most out of any African country.
Morocco had 102 projects financed by FDI last year, making it the third largest on the continent. Other countries with large numbers of externally financed projects include Kenya (87), Nigeria (73), and Ghana (42).
In fact, Nigeria and Ghana each attracted more FDI by capital investment than South Africa, but the investments were spread among fewer projects. Egypt topped the list both in terms of the number of projects and amount invested.Ghana entered the top 10 destinations by the number of FDI projects in the Middle East and Africa.
It saw a 56% increase on 2018 figures, equivalent to 15 additional projects.Ghana also saw capital investment growth of 479%, an increase to $4.8bn.
This was driven by projects such as a $2.8bn production facility being developed by Sweden-based Greenland Resources as part of a public-private partnership with the government of Ghana.
Other large projects in Africa last year included the establishment of a $2bn phosphate fertiliser plant in Togo by the Dangote Group.
The Egyptian government also established a $848m phosphoric acid plant in the New Valley Governorate as part of a joint venture with several Chinese companies and the Egypt-based Phosphate Misr.
source: africanbusinessmagazine
A framework agreement of cooperation between IsDB and Standard Chartered Bank
27 Oct 2020 Written by Admin AdminIsDB President Dr. Bandar Hajjar and M. Sunil Kaushal, CEO for Africa and Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), signed a Memorandum of Agreement to participate in IsDB’s Restore Track Program aimed to supporting IsDB’s member countries’ private sector through stimulus packages to the economic sectors most impacted by the CoVID19 pandemic.
This agreement leverages on IsDB’s $2Bn “COVID Guarantee Facility” to establish an operational cooperation framework for IsDB and SCB to facilitate financing arrangements to IsDB’s Member Countries.
The COVID pandemic has disrupted international financial channels and put pressure on hard currency inflows to Emerging Markets. This pressure led to considerable limitations of the private sector’s access to financial liquidity.
Combined with the loss of income due to reduced demand, the health crisis poses unprecedented challenges to the private sector and especially SMEs.
Through its cooperation with Standard Chartered Bank, IsDB aims to help alleviate some of these pressures by providing blended lines of finance to local banks at competitive prices.
“I am glad to see our, already strong, relationship with Standard Chartered Bank further strengthened with this unique and innovative partnership” stated H.E IsDB’s President, Dr. Bandar Al Hajjar.
He also expressed his firm conviction that SCB’s funding expertise added to IsDBG de-risking guarantees will make a lasting impact for IsDB’s Members Countries.
Sunil Kaushal expressed his thanks to IsDB for the developing partnership between the two institutions noting that IsDB is the first Bank to sign such agreement with SCB. He also expressed his strong commitment to support IsDB member countries to fight COVID-19.
Both agree that this “out of the box” partnerships between MDBs and the private sector are now necessary to overcome the challenges of our times.
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is a multilateral development bank (MDB) counting 57 member countries across four continents - touching the lives of 1 in 5 of the world’s population.
IsDB works to improve the lives of those it serves by promoting social and economic development, delivering impact at scale. IsDB is one of the world’s most active MDBs, and global leaders in Islamic Finance, with a AAA rating.
Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, IsDB is a truly global institution with major hubs in Morocco, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Senegal; and gateway offices in Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nigeria.
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is a leading international banking group, with a presence in 60 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85.
SCB’s purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through it unique diversity, and heritage; and values are expressed in it brand promise, “Here for good”.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
ICA Teams up with the Insurance Institute of East Africa to Offer Financial Crime Prevention Education in East Africa
02 Oct 2020 Written by Admin AdminICA Teams up with the Insurance Institute of East Africa to Offer Financial Crime Prevention Education in East Africa
Partnership comes at a time of increased need for effective financial crime prevention training and education globally
30 September 2020 – The International Compliance Association (ICA), the leading professional body for the global regulatory and financial crime compliance community, has signed a partnership with the Insurance Institute of East Africa to provide ICA education in financial crime prevention and governance, risk and compliance in the East African region.
The need for effective financial crime prevention training has never been more pronounced, as local media reported last week on the FinCEN Files. While the emerging narrative is especially complex and continues to evolve, around 53 Kenyan companies and individuals appeared in a leak of banking records as suspicious financial activity amounting to $60 billion[1].
East African jurisdictions Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda remain particularly vulnerable to money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing, and are amongst the lowest scoring countries in the 2019 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
ICA’s suite of accredited qualifications are designed for every level of expertise and aim to equip regulatory and financial crime compliance professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to mitigate the threat of financial crime, better analyse situations and consider appropriate risk controls.
As part the new partnership between ICA and the Insurance Institute of East Africa, professionals in the insurance, banking and finance, telecommunications and other sectors in the region will now have access to ICA qualifications in a range of key subjects including compliance, anti money laundering, managing sanctions risk and customer due diligence, joining ICA’s global community of over 150,000 compliance professionals.
[1] ‘FinCEN files: 53 Kenyan banks, individuals made illicit transactions worth Ksh.6 trillion’ Citizen TV, Kenya, Last Accessed: 25/09/2020 Link
ICA President Bill Howarth commented: ‘We are pleased to partner with the Insurance Institute of East Africa, combining ICA’s international expertise with their local knowledge, to effectively raise compliance standards in the region and help organisations mitigate and detect risk more effectively at their firm. Our internationally recognised professional qualifications include real-life examples and case studies with a real emphasis on application of knowledge, helping to upskill employees and safeguard businesses and communities from financial crime risk.’
Elijah Mogere, Director, Insurance Institute of East Africa, added: ‘We are delighted to partner with ICA as this gives us the opportunity to deliver high quality and internationally recognised financial crime prevention qualifications in the region to develop capacity for banks, insurance companies, and telecommunication providers, among other sectors, to mitigate the threat of financial crime, better analyse situations and consider appropriate risk controls.’
ICA qualifications are awarded in association with The University of Manchester, Alliance Manchester Business School.
To view the full suite of qualifications, visit: https://www.int-comp.org/course-finder/
New programme looks at the initiatives leading compliance into the future
18 Sep 2020 Written by Admin AdminThe International Compliance Association (ICA) and ITN Productions Industry News have co-produced “Compliance: the new decade” a series of reports addressing the role of the compliance professional and the latest insights, challenges and opportunities for business growth.
Anchored by Michael Underwood, the new-style programme will explore the vital role of RegTech in accelerating compliance efficiencies; the technology and expertise needed to tackle financial crime and money laundering; how AI can be applied to identify risk and sustainable finance solutions and best practice to future-proof the compliance function.
The first report will premiere at The BIG Compliance Festival, ICA’s virtual summit for compliance and financial crime professionals on 17 September 2020. The series will form part of an extensive communications campaign to ICA members and professional partners throughout September and October 2020.
Bill Howarth, President of the International Compliance Association said: “We’re really pleased to be working with ITN Productions again on a film focusing on future-gazing topics that will resonate with our members and the global compliance community. The pace of change never slows down and it’s vital that compliance and AML professionals have the right skills and technology to help them stay ahead.”
Elizabeth Fisher-Robins, Head of ITN Productions Industry News said: “We are really excited by the opportunity to partner again with the International Compliance Association to create a series that we hope will educate and inform viewers about the key role compliance plays in managing risk and delivering commercial advantage in an ever-changing digital environment.”
The progamme features key industry interviews, news-style reports and sponsored editorial profiles from the following leading organisations:
- Encompass
- Refinitiv
- Napier
- Capnovum
View the first report for ‘Compliance: the new decade’ here.
About the International Compliance Association
The International Compliance Association is the leading professional body for the global regulatory and financial crime compliance community. Since 2001, ICA has enhanced the knowledge, skills and behaviour of over 150,000 professionals all over the world either through their internationally-recognised portfolio of professional qualifications (awarded in association with Alliance Manchester Business School, the University of Manchester) or through accredited in-company training.
For more information visit: www.int-comp.org
About ITN Productions Industry News
ITN Productions Industry News produces bespoke creative and commercial content for broadcasters, businesses, brands, rights holders and digital channels. Industry News forms part of this offering and is a communications tool for leading industry bodies and national associations produced in a broadcast news-style programme format, including interviews, news items and sponsored editorial profiles.
For more information visit: www.itnproductions.co.uk
Manama named most financially attractive city, Riyadh 4th on list
30 Aug 2020 Written by Admin AdminThe GCC cities dominated the global Financial Attractiveness Index list with Bahrain’s capital Manama being named the world's most financially attractive city in AIRINC’s latest Global 150 Cities index. Riyadh is in 4th place, Kuwait City in 6th, Abu Dhabi in 7th, and Dubai in 12th on the list.
The index https://www.air-inc.com/global-150/ ranks 150 of the top global locations according to financial attractiveness and lifestyle attractiveness. It combines local salary levels, tax rates, living costs, and living conditions to assess how appealing each location is to live in.
Every single GCC member was represented in the top 20 most financially attractive cities in the world, according to AIRINC’s latest Global 150 Cities Index.
The data is collected by AIRINC’s own in-house survey team, who continuously research the costs and living conditions of many cities around the world to evaluate international mobility.
GCC economies have invested considerable sums in making themselves more attractive to international businesses in line with ambitious region-wide economic diversification efforts, it stated.
As the first GCC member to begin diversification, Bahrain offers one of the easiest and most cost-effective environments to set up and operate a business in the world.
Businesses operating in the Kingdom enjoy 0% tax and 100% foreign ownership allowed.
Thanks to its comprehensive programme of reforms, increasingly digital Bahrain was recently named the fourth most improved economy in the world by the World Bank’s latest Ease of Doing Business report.
As well as ranking first in the world for financial attractiveness in the AIRINC index, Manama also jumped 15 places for overall attractiveness, to 48th.
source: tradearabia
Competitive Advantage: Exploring The Middle East's Potential To Become A Global Fintech Hub
04 Jul 2020 Written by Admin AdminInvestment in Middle Eastern fintech companies is expected to grow to around US$2 billion in venture capital by 2022, which will fund 465 fintech companies, an increase from $80 million that was raised by 30 fintech companies in 2017.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the fintech scene has boomed in the past few months, with the world adapting to a new digital and economic environment. According to new research by financial consultancy deVere Group, the COVID-19 crisis has driven a gigantic 72% increase in the use of fintech apps in Europe alone. Meanwhile, fintech companies in Asia and the Middle East have also seen strong increases in the use of their apps.This growth comes as no surprise, since people are now having to rely on digital technology to work, communicate, and entertain themselves during the pandemic.
For the Middle East, the demand for e-commerce has particularly contributed to the rise of fintech in this region, with store closures moving purchases online. Indeed, although the COVID-19 crisis has encouraged fintech innovation to rocket across the globe, the Middle East continues to be at the forefront when compared to other countries. With one of the youngest tech-savvy youth populations, strong international talent, and significant funding from venture capital, the Middle East has the competitive edge it needs to accelerate innovation and consolidate its position on the global fintech stage.
The Middle East and North African region has the largest youth population in the world with two out of every three people being under 24. This equates to approximately 300 million young people in the region. This huge youth population presents an opportunity for the Middle East to be innovative, and to reconstruct their economy, with the number of fintech startups in the Middle East expected to exceed 250 this year. The youth are also more likely to embrace tech/digital products, presenting significant potential demand for fintech companies looking to emerge in the region.
What’s more, a young population translates into a digital native generation. According to GSMA Intelligence, a mobile industry trade body, the number of unique mobile subscribers is predicted to rise from 275 million in 2017 to 459 million by 2025. Smartphone connections are predicted to rise from 49% of all connections to 74% over the same period. This will be important for fintech companies to evolve in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, investment in Middle Eastern fintech companies is expected to grow to around US$2 billion in venture capital by 2022, which will fund 465 fintech companies, an increase from $80 million that was raised by 30 fintech companies in 2017. The Milken Institute Centre for Financial Markets reported that the fintech sector in the Middle East is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 30% due to the acceleration of fintech and the adoption of technology in the region. The average deal size is currently at $2.5 million, with the UAE accounting for 47% of all fintech deals in the region in 2019.
Countries across the Middle East such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also receiving substantial support from their governments when it comes to developing the fintech sector. The largest fintech hub in the Middle East, Dubai established the Dubai International Financial Centre that launched a $100 million fund in 2017 to support fintech startups. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Association launched Fintech Saudi to develop fintechs in the kingdom as well as supporting fintech companies to join the sandbox, an experimental environment for fintech services.
A number of countries in the Middle East are particularly keen to attract international talent as a way of instigating fintech innovation domestically. For example, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have both established a visa system expansion scheme to make it easier for foreign nationals to reside in their countries. In addition, Abu Dhabi launched Tomorrow 2021 in 2018, a three year vision which focuses on attracting and retaining international talent. The outcome of these initiatives have resulted in many Middle Eastern countries to have populations made up of mostly foreign nationals. In fact, last year, there were 35 million international migrants in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, transforming the region into an international talent hub.
The coronavirus pandemic has undeniably played a role in the rise of fintech across the world. The Middle East, however, still has an advantage in becoming a global fintech hub due to its large youth population, considerable venture capital funding, government support and international talent. With the MENA fintech market set to reach $2.5 billion by 2022, the Middle East is developing a fintech industry at a staggering rate.
source: entrepreneur
