Banking

Saudi Arabia – Kingdom holds the fort

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

The ongoing global financial crisis has had limited effects on the Saudi banking sector. Fighting through recent years — with the 2006 stock market crash and a bullish year in 2007 — Saudi banks in 2008 have “performed relatively well,” noted Murad Ansari, vice president at EFG-Hermes KSA. Saudi banks are not immune to the global troubles, but they are definitely less exposed than other banks around the world, especially since “almost 86% of total assets of the banking sector are invested in domestic assets,” as described in a recent EFG-Hermes report.

Due to their low exposure to international credit, equity, and property markets, Saudi banks have been able to insulate themselves from the storm of the international crisis. And thus, according to EFG-Hermes, “Saudi banks are relatively well positioned to weather the impact of the ongoing financial turmoil.” Also sheltering Saudi banks from the global chaos is the minimal exposure they have to equities and real estate. “Over the last 12 months,” contends EFG-Hermes, “rising cash reserve requirements of the central bank coupled with strong loan growth has meant that most of the banks have reduced their exposure to international assets.”
While most of the top banks reported mixed quarterly results, “overall the listed Saudi banks (nine month profitability) recorded [a year-on-year] increase of 1.6%”, said Global Investment House. The Saudi central bank has voiced willingness to help the kingdom’s banks if necessary, by injecting a proposed $40 billion of liquidity into the financial institutions. As of now, the central bank is yet to pour funds into the banking sector but, theoretically, by pumping liquidity into the banks, the central bank could buffer the consequences created by the financial distress, whilst guaranteeing bank deposits to boost confidence levels. Nonetheless, EFG-Hermes disclosed, “the central bank has lowered the cash reserve requirements of commercial banks by 300 basis points, freeing up an estimated SAR10 billion [$2.7 billion] in liquidity that had been with the central bank in cash reserves.”

What crisis?
According to Ansari, even though the growth rates in neighboring countries, such as the UAE and Qatar, have surpassed those of the kingdom, the balance sheets of Saudi Arabia’s banks have grown at an impressive 28% thus far this year. Third quarter results for 2008 show that the crisis has only affected selected banks and not the system in its entirety. EFG-Hermes also asserted, “Banks which had relatively higher asset exposure to North America and had higher investment equities have seen the impact in their 3Q 2008 results. However, even in [those cases], the impact has not been significant enough to wipe out profits.” Thus, even with a few dips in some banks’ profitability, such occurrences were not significant enough to lower confidence levels across the sector.
EFG-Hermes indicated a couple of “medium term challenges” confronting the Saudi banking sector. First and foremost, Saudi banks will have to face “arranging required funding to finance the aggressive domestic investment plan.” Secondly, they will have to figure out “funding to smaller corporate clients/sole proprietorships where owners can potentially have exposure to international equity markets.” However, such obstacles are not believed to be strong enough to weigh down earnings in the form of credit provisions for the sector.
The pivotal drivers of banking sector growth, as outlined by Ansari, are the corporate credit demand, an increase in government spending as well as expansions by large corporations and a surge in the demand from smaller corporations. The liquidity of the Saudi banking sector has also helped it stay afloat and perform decently. Hamad Saud Al Sayari, governor of the Saudi central bank, concurred, saying that the local banks are “highly liquid” and possess “good capital adequacy.” The total deposit growth by the third quarter of this year “surged by 9% [quarter-on-quarter] compared to 1% in [the second quarter of 2008] despite the fears of an outflow of funds following reduced speculation on the de-pegging of the Saudi Riyal to the US Dollar,” EFG-Hermes observed.

Forecasts
For the most part, the Saudi banking sector is predicted to slow in 2009. Ansari feels there are two sides to the story in 2009, assets and liabilities. Believing banks should be “extra cautious” now on the asset side, the VP outlined that the “financial viability of projects, and hence asset quality, will once again become the prime concerns for banks.” In terms of liabilities, banks are likely to seek new options to raise funds, and thus deposit mobilization will be a chief concern for the kingdom’s banking sector next year. Although such issues were present in 2008, Ansari reckoned that their relative importance in 2009 is “likely to increase significantly.” Overall, even at a slower pace, the Saudi banking sector is predicted to perform well next year. While the kingdom’s banks are not likely to face a “total meltdown,” Ansari feels that “the overall environment requires banks to be more prudent while lending.”

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tourism

Lebanon – Vacation of the state

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

Lebanese officials are the kings of temporary fixes. For years now government employees have turned a blind eye on infrastructural problems plaguing the country’s various economic sectors. The Lebanese tourism sector is no exception.

According to Mohamad Chamsedine of Information International, before the civil war Lebanon boasted some 362 hotels with 28,000 beds. Today only 124 hotels with 8,000 beds remain. Figures vary, however, from one source to another. Pierre Achkar, head of the Lebanese Hotel Association, puts the number of rooms available in Lebanon at about 20,000 with 6,000 rooms in the Beirut region alone, of which 3,000 are in five-star hotels.
Inaccurate hotel classification is also a problem for industry players in a country where international norms are often not met by establishments, especially ones located outside Beirut. “We have requested a review of the norms and regulations adopted by the hotel industry,” Achkar said, explaining that many of the establishments that had obtained their classification before the civil war do not exist anymore, while others have not been renovated in years. As he pointed out, “This type of information is impossible to gather in the absence of proper inspections by the Ministry of Tourism, which unfortunately has neither the budget nor the technical staff necessary for such a task.” Inspectors usually develop their knowledge about international standards by training in international hotels, a process that is long and costly.

Standardized criteria
According to Norms 2000, published by the Swiss Society of Hotel Keepers and the Stanford Research Institute, norms are granted according to the infrastructure, the service and level of specialization. Among the characteristics featured for hotel infrastructure requirements are size of rooms, polyglot reception, breakfast buffet, mini-bar and room service. “The condition of the building, room equipment and décor definitely affect ratings,” said Achkar.
In luxury hotels around the world, quality of service remains the linchpin of the industry. As Achkar explained, “As an example, one can usually compare quality of service by taking a look at the number of employees a hotel has. Some hotels in Lebanon run 100 rooms with a staff of 150, while a 72-room hotel might be managed with 220 employees. The number of employees, reflecting in its turn on the quality of service rendered, makes the difference between a five-star hotel and others.”
Achkar added that over the last few years the hotel sector has evolved with the emergence of boutique hotels, which may only have 30 bedrooms and a small pool but are providing a five-star service. “The focus today is on quality instead of the actual facility,” insisted the hotelier. For Chamsedine, Lebanese hotels certainly have a competitive advantage relative to neighboring countries, despite the lower investments poured into the sector.
So how does this affect the hotel landscape in the country? There are more three and four-star hotels than five-star facilities in Beirut, but the latter have more capacity in terms of number of rooms than three and four- star hotels combined. Compared to neighboring Syria, five- star hotels are also more numerous. According to Chamsedine, over the last five years, a number of five- star hotels opened in Lebanon, while only one set up shop in Syria.
Achkar pointed out, however, that the three and four- star hotels outside the Beirut region do not generally correspond to international standards. Around the capital, the biggest concentration of hotels is in the Kesrouan and Metn regions of Mount Lebanon.
Many underlying problems related to infrastructure, electricity, social security and obtaining permits also plague the hotel industry. Often, regions far from the capital may not offer sufficient sources of entertainment for tourists who look for shopping areas, restaurants and pubs. Other problems pinpointed by Nada Sardouk, general director at the Ministry of Tourism, is the underdevelopment of certain areas in terms of road infrastructure, which she said is usually the responsibility of the local administration or municipality.
For Chamsedine, another difficulty faced by the tourism industry resides in the frequent power cuts, which reflect on hotel expenses. Soaring oil prices have weighed heavily on hotel balance sheets with establishments having to buy fuel for their electrical generators. High expenses are also tied to social security, accounting for up to 23.5% of employees’ salaries paid directly by the employer, according to Chamsedine.

Other challenges
Major cities such as Saida and Tripoli also have an insufficient number of venues relative to their population and are not properly promoted by tour operators. Other problems reside in slow permit procedures, which may require up to a year due to red tape caused by the involvement of multiple parties whether the municipality, or the ministries of tourism and development.
How does the restaurant industry, one of the backbones of Lebanon’s tourism sector, fare in the presence of so many challenges? Paul Ariss, president of the Syndicate of Restaurant and Café Owners, believes it is very difficult to estimate the number of restaurants in Lebanon as the last serious national survey performed by the Ministry of Tourism was done in 1997 and has not been updated since. “We believe that there are more than 6,000 restaurants, cafés, pubs, night clubs, discotheques of all types, in all of the Lebanese mohafazats. This figure excludes, however, catering companies and snack vendors, which do not offer seating arrangements,” he said. Some 60- 70% of such venues are operational all year long, while the rest are run seasonally. Greater Beirut (including Antelias and Dbayeh) boasts 55% of all Lebanese restaurants, the rest being divided into 15% each for Mount Lebanon (Kesrouan, Metn, Aley and Chouf), northern and southern Lebanon, while the Bekaa has the remaining 5%.
Ratings applied to the restaurant industry are, as with hotels, quite blurry since most have not been revamped since the 1960s. “The number of stars provided to every institution traditionally depends on various criteria such as the size of the space, the operational space, the décor, the furniture and equipment, etc. This rating is purely administrative and no ‘gastronomy’ ratings, such as the Guide Michelin or Gault & Millaut, adopted in France, are available in Lebanon,” Ariss added.
The restaurant industry currently employs about 50,000 people, of which 35-40,000 are permanent staff. The percentage of Lebanese nationals employed hovers over 90%, which is much higher than in others sectors such as industry and agriculture. This should give food for thought to state officials, in order to find new ways to further develop such a vital sector.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Private Equity

Financial crisis survival guide

by Imad Ghandour
written by Imad Ghandour

It was another sunny day as I climbed towards the base camp of the majestic Mount Everest on September 15, with a few distant clouds lingering on the horizon. I never expected that this date, when Lehmann Brothers fell in bankruptcy, would mark one of the sharpest economic turning points in history and the commencement of an economic tumble never before experienced in our lifetime.

It would be foolhardy to try to assess the impact of the financial crisis on our region or on our business of private equity. Doing projections and predictions is a fruitless intellectual exercise at this point. Prophecies of yesterday are proven by tomorrow.
Private equity players are reacting to the crisis in various ways and styles. Some have sized-up the crisis incorrectly and invested in what turned to be bottomless financial companies like Washington Mutual, where a private equity house saw $2 billion wiped out in no time. But most players are being very cautious, while recognizing that good deals done in the next year or two may yield exceptionally high returns.
Yet the immediate focus is on the health of existing portfolio companies. As an active shareholder, PE teams are monitoring their portfolio companies very closely and are more focused on the health of their existing companies than on closing new deals. Liquidity in particular is monitored very closely, sometimes on a weekly basis.
The three priorities that have made the most sense to me so far are the following:
1. Increase productivity: It is the best positive reaction to survive the crisis. Corporations need to strive to make optimum use of their resources, both human and capital. Staff productivity has to be pushed even further, without necessarily meaning layoffs. If 1,000 employees are needed to carry $100 million of sales, then management should be focusing on how to sell $150 million with the same workforce. In some sectors where the pie has shrunk considerably, like construction, layoffs are necessary.
2. Preserve liquidity: Cash has proven to be one of the scarcest resources today and it is expected to remain so in the future. Preserving liquidity is a priority over growth. One company in our portfolio, for example, is only accepting projects that are cash flow positive and is turning down projects from clients that do not have acceptable credit worthiness.
3.Survival is a priority: Major corporations around the globe are focusing on survival — just witness the freefall of the world’s largest bank Citigroup — and that should be the focus of portfolio companies. Burdening the company with additional obligations needs to be avoided as much as possible.
Over the medium-term, deal valuation will decrease substantially. It may take owners of private companies some time to adjust to the new realities. But in the next few months, owners of such companies will realize that they are competing for a very limited pool of capital and as such they will have to value their companies accordingly.
More importantly, new investments and valuations have to take into account the scenario of declining earnings and revenues. The nice graphs that have all revenues and profits pointing upward will be seriously challenged by investment committees, as well as real life.
The light at the end of the tunnel is that the survivors will be stronger when the world begins doing business again. Private equity players that weather this storm and invest prudently will see their portfolio value grow substantially as the world economy emerges from its long, cold winter.

Imad Ghandour is chairman of the Information & Statistics Committee – Gulf Venture Capital Association.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Comment

Mr. Iran sinks with oil’s prices

by Gareth Smith
written by Gareth Smith

Change in the White House looms as Washington’s political class senses that the old adversary Iran is more open to pressure. There is a tempting parallel with the collapse of the Soviet Union, when a period of high oil prices encouraged the Communist state to overextend fiscally and politically, making it vulnerable when prices fell.

A timely IMF Regional Economic Outlook, released in October, calculated Iran needs an average annual oil price above $90 per barrel (on the fund’s own benchmark) to avoid a budget deficit in 2008. Ramin Pashaifam, an Iranian central bank vice governor, said last month the economy faced “big problems” if Iranian oil — typically selling 10% under the main benchmarks — remained below $60 per barrel for the rest of the Iranian year.
The falling price of oil — remember it was near $150 in July — is a serious challenge for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who faces re-election in June 2009. Critics charge that Ahmadinejad has squandered oil revenue during the good years and left the state coffers bare.
Quite how bare is hard to tell. Iran still has a cushion, with foreign reserves held at the central bank estimated at just under $82 billion in March 2008.
But the Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF), designed to collect and store windfall oil revenues for difficult times, looks threadbare. Even before Ahmadinejad, it was customary for the president or parliament to raid the OSF for pet projects, but Ahmadinejad has used the fund to finance a welter of commitments made largely on his high- profile tours around the country.
The president is hardly the man to lead Iran towards belt-tightening. From his election in 2005, Ahmadinejad encouraged popular expectation with his slogan of putting “oil money on the people’s sofreh [dining cloth].”
But what remains in the OSF has become a mystery, with the president warning that speculation equals treason. Shamseddin Hosseini, the economy minister, claimed in early November that the fund contained $25 billion, a figure doubted by economists both in Iran and internationally who put the OSF as low as $5 billion. In any case, the lines between the OSF and the budget have become very blurred.
Declining oil revenue is also reducing banking liquidity. Facing a government-imposed lending rate well below inflation of 30%, the country’s 17 state and private banks are struggling to raise capital, and the largest — Melli, Saderat and Sepah – have been hit by UN sanctions over their alleged links with Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
Ahmadinejad has admitted there has been abuse of loans and promised a crackdown. But banks simply lack the capacity to assess or monitor subsidized lending, while their resources are drained by lending rates of 12% — only 2% of which is covered by the government.
Not only the bankers are restive. A strike by bazaar merchants had led the government to postpone introducing VAT, and an increasingly assertive parliament in October impeached the interior minister for falsely claiming a degree from Oxford University.
As far as re-election goes, Ahmadinejad has history on his side. Every president of the Islamic Republic with the exception of the first, Abolhassan Banisadr, has won a second term.
With six months left to go, he is the only clear candidate. Former president Mohammad Khatami is pondering standing just four years after he left office with his reputation in tatters. Many of Khatami’s allies believe he is the reformist best placed to defeat Ahmadinejad, which in itself betrays the reformists’ weakness. Mehdi Karrubi, leader of the reformist National Trust party, has said he will not run against Khatami.
Moderate conservatives also await Khatami’s decision. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former president and current head of the Experts Assembly, is privately encouraging Khatami to run — which means Hassan Rouhani, the former top security official close to Rafsanjani, is delaying his own decision.
Another contender may be Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, who attracted over 4 million votes in the 2005 election running as a conservative modernizer.
While the economy will dominate the election, the international situation is a secondary factor. Ahmadinejad has helped elevate Iran’s nuclear program into a matter of national pride, and there is widespread hope in the country that Barack Obama may be open to reconciliation.
Ahmadinejad wrote to Obama on his victory, but a warmer reaction has come from the reformists, with Khatami saying, days before the US poll, that it might open the way for “new efforts to establish relations.”
Controlling any dialogue with the US, and gaining credit for any success in improving relations, is as much a matter for factional conflict as the economy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already signaled his fear of infighting, warning that “some candidates have launched their [presidential] campaigns hastily, distracting … attention from the country’s main issues.”
For Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, custodian-in-chief of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, things may be moving just a little too fast.

Gareth Smyth recently returned to London after seven years in Lebanon and four in Iran. He has worked mainly for the Financial Times in 15 years reporting on the Middle East.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Banking

Kuwait – A sinking ship in the fleet

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

The Kuwaiti banking sector has learned a great lesson in the immediate aftermath of the global crisis. Financial challenges began in the third quarter, when the central bank decided to increase banks’ reserve requirements. This stipulation limited liquidity and curbed inflation, which had reached an approximate 10.7% by July 2008 — almost 100% higher than 12 months before, when it stood at 5.6%. Global Investment House (GIH) reported that in the first nine months of 2008 profitability of the listed banking sector grew by 14% year-on-year. This was somewhat lower than GIH’s expectations of 16% but, with limited exposure to the infectious subprime crisis, Kuwaiti banks have stayed “relatively immune to the worst that the sub-prime mortgage crisis and what the ensuing debacle had to offer,” GIH said. Aftershocks of the sinking global markets took quite a toll on the Kuwaiti bourse, “which has lost substantial ground as yet,” noted GIH, “with little hope for any sudden respite.” Unfortunately, local banks that procure significant amounts of their bottom- lines from capital gains on investment securities are the ones who have been most affected by the circumstances.

Health in question
In October 2008, Moody’s credit rating agency registered doubt about the health of the Kuwaiti banking sector, due to fears of exposure to dwindling house prices as well as local equity markets. But the surpluses generated by record high oil prices earlier this year have kept the sector going. Kuwait’s economy is undiversified as more than half of its GDP hails from oil-related activities. This high dependency on oil and Kuwaiti banks’ high exposure to a shrinking property market are the main reasons why Moody’s gave the Kuwaiti banking sector a “stable to negative rating” in the fall. However, the credit rating agency’s recent report underlined that the overall operating climate within the banking system was “strong” because oil prices with net interest margins were also vigorous. Lending opportunities, however, are poor, leaving banks subject to real estate and construction sectors. For 2008, most of Kuwait’s top banks performed quite well, with the exception of Gulf Bank.
National Bank of Kuwait made up the highest contribution to the banking sector’s profitability, reporting a rise of 11% year-on-year by the end of the third quarter. Having the second largest contribution to the sector’s profitability, Kuwait Financial House exhibited results of 25% year-on-year growth. The Commercial Bank of Kuwait, the last of the three contributing musketeers, reported an earnings growth of 14% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2008. Gulf Bank regrettably reported negative earnings of 18% year-on-year for the same period, being the only bank in the country to do so. While most of the sector’s banks have not incurred unsustainable losses, they all witnessed one of its largest lenders, Gulf Bank, lose $1.4 billion as of October 2008.

That sinking feeling
Initially, the bank insisted it had only lost a few million dollars, but after an in-depth investigation by auditors and the central bank, the truth came out. This momentous loss has practically eliminated the bank’s Tier 1 capital. The worst development in this episode occurred on October 26 when the central bank was forced to step in and indefinitely suspend the bank’s trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). The lender explained that the losses were made up of “financial derivatives for its customers’ account, trading in financial instruments, as well as the provisions of loan and investment portfolios.” The money will now be recovered via an emergency capital subscription — the bank will issue 1,250 shares at a premium value of 200 fils ($0.73), permitting current shareholders first pick. The remaining unsold shares will be bought by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Kuwait Investment Authority. The bank’s old board has resigned and a new board will be elected on December 2, 2008. After the bailout of the bank, the Kuwaiti government ensured all deposits, while cautioning that concerns prevail over the well-being of the country’s banking sector. Such comments have not boosted customers’ confidence levels, as many have panicked and withdrawn large amounts of cash from their Gulf Bank accounts. While the bank’s operations have continued, its shares on the KSE have remained suspended until its restructuring is stabilized. However, Saleem Abdelaziz Al-Sabah, governor of the central bank, believes the Gulf Bank chaos is “under control.” But such obscurity has done next to nothing to restore investor confidence levels in the bourse. Around one quarter of the 200 listed companies on the KSE have dropped below 100 fils ($0.37) per share, driving confidence levels down across all sectors, including the country’s banking sector. Many feel that a lack of confidence — backed by a lack of transparency — is at the root of the crisis. Kuwait’s banks will need to tighten regulations and know when and where to invest better. While the Kuwaiti economy gets back on track in the next few months, banks are hoping to continue to perform relatively well, given the insipid financial conditions.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Insurance

GCC & Levant – The fog of financial crisis

by Executive Staff
written by Executive Staff

The long-term effects of the global financial crisis have already begun to take hold of the industry as lower demand for oil, resulting from the effects of a global financial crisis, has pulled the rug from under the inflated oil revenues the region was lavishing in only a few months ago — albeit with double-digit inflation. Oil-rich governments do have a certain amount of financial cushion hoarded in their sovereign wealth funds, but individual disposable income will suffer as a result of lower cash flow in the region. Oil-poor nations will also be directly affected by less disposable income in places like the GCC, as their residents will be less able to send remittances to countries such as Lebanon, where remittances constitute around 25% of GDP. The decrease in regional disposable income will prove another substantial hurdle for a regional insurance industry already dealing with low demand and penetration.

For an industry that depends heavily on investment revenues, it comes as no surprise that Return on Investments (ROIs) have suffered greatly as a direct result of the global financial crisis. “Some of the largest players’ 2008 Q3 year-on-year income came down by 70% or more,” said Thomas Schellen, publishing editor at Zawya Dow Jones. Previous statements touting the region’s relative immunity to the effects of the financial crisis have proved to be nothing more than wishful thinking, as the Middle East’s equity markets have tumbled subsequent to the collapse of Lehman Brothers, exacerbating an already unstable market environment. As Executive went to press, the Tadawul, the largest Arab bourse by capitalization ($296 billion), had lost half its value in 2008. Other regional equity markets have followed suit creating a situation where the regional insurance industry will be hard pressed to find lucrative investment opportunities to prop up their recent profit losses in 2009. “The whole investment philosophy is changing […] what we see now is that whatever diversification you do or assets you acquire, everything is going down,” explained Farid Chedid, managing director at Chedid Re.

The bottom line dropping out
The perilous financial environment prevailing today has undoubtedly prompted regional insurers to shift their focus from investment income to technical underwriting, but they will be unable to completely retrench from the investment side of the industry, as “there will be no escape from their [insurer’s] financial dependency [and] this will affect the bottom line of insurers very directly,” Schellen said. Thus, all regional insurance companies can do to shield themselves somewhat from the effects of the global financial crisis is to change their bullish investment strategy to one that mitigates risk and, where possible, pulls out completely. “The average rate of investment income will drop heavily and become very conservative,” said Elie Nasnas, director general of AXA Middle East. According to Michael Bitzer, CEO of Daman, “People will start to reevaluate how they invest for retirement. In the past they were investing in real estate and stock markets here and in their own countries, and now I think that they will be looking for a more stable form of investment and return so this might spur more demand for such products.” Bitzer explained that risky investment products will also make up much less of a proportion of insurers portfolios as customers are less willing to embrace risks under the current financial circumstances.
Furthermore, the exposure of the American Insurance Group (AIG) to subprime losses has tarnished the image of insurance agencies in the public consciousness in the West but has yet to significantly affect the regional insurance environment. “People do not realize that this might affect their local insurer,” Bitzer said. “I think that the majority of our clients are not educated enough to understand that even AIG has a problem and maybe they should check with their own insurer.” Moreover, there is a perceived notion that the losses at AIG have aided many of their competitors in the region. “The troubles at AIG have helped their competitors; there is no doubt about that,” said Chedid. However, if the financial crisis continues to affect AIG the outlook for many regional insurance markets does not look promising, as “there are territories where if, God forbid, AIG falls you will have a crisis, like Lebanon, where their market share is huge and this would become a social problem,” Chedid concluded.
Both AIG and Alico Lebanon (a subsidiary of AIG) declined to be interviewed for this article. However, Osama Abdeen, executive vice president of AIG MEMSA released a statement to Executive saying, “AIG’s insurance companies remain financially healthy and are meeting all policyholder obligations. Insurance is a regulated business. Regulators ensure that each AIG member insurance company has adequate assets to back each policy and meet all policyholder obligations. Policyholders are protected and their policies are safe.”

Losses? What losses?
The unwillingness to divulge information to the public and press about profits and losses during a global financial meltdown is suspicious, as well as indicative, of a general industry slowdown and a loss of profit growth. “Numerous companies in the GCC have put off their announcements of their 3rd quarter results as far back as they can, to as much as 45 days, rather than 10 or 20 days” said Schellen. “This is an indicator that they are not really happy about what they will have to say.”
The lack of transparency in an industry that operates using reserves from their clients to attain ROIs seems contradictory to the interests of the industry as a whole. “The success of the insurance industry is linked to its transparency,” Chedid said. “There is definitely a need for better regulation and automatically more access to information.”
Countries like Qatar, Jordan and the UAE increased their transparency rating in 2008 according to Transparency International (TI), the global organization that monitors transparency and corruption. This, however, is not indicative of wider regional reform and the effects of the sector’s opaqueness are being felt in the regional insurance industry.
“One indicator is that there are laggards currently in announcing quarterly results,” said Schellen. “It took a lot of convincing in order for companies to tell us their breakdown figures in terms of the real benchmarks, like how much revenue comes from underwriting and how much comes from investment. In some countries, like the UAE, they won’t do it by line of business; they will give us technical results but will not announce them for each line of business,” he explained. In Lebanon this trend is proving to be a huge impediment to the growth of the local market, as current legislation is deemed inadequate and government is uncooperative in providing information to local insurers.
“Legislation only goes so far as to require companies to publish their financial statements,” said Nasnas. “We used to compile a report for the Lebanese market, but this year we still have not gotten the consolidated figures from the Ministry of Economics for us to carry on in making the report. Many reinsurers and insurers, both regional and international, as well as many international groups are asking for the figures from Lebanon for 2007 and we don’t have them.”
With the need for growth potential as high as ever, one can only hope that governments increase their efforts to increase transparency in the region for the good of the insurance industry and us all.

Propping up the industry
In times of crisis, the need to stay ahead of the competition is even more pertinent to a company’s operations and the insurance industry is no different. “Modernization is a necessity for local companies to be able to survive if we have an economic downturn in the region,” said Chedid.
To stay ahead, many regional organizations are making blanket investments in the modernization of business sectors and processes. One of the main areas in which the regional insurance industry is undergoing an overhaul is in the IT sector.
“Any company that wants to be significant has to beef up their IT and bring it up to global standards — this started in 2008 and will definitely continue in 2009,” Bitzer asserted. “Companies are focusing more on this, especially regional companies, because when you are of a certain size you cannot operate without a very efficient IT system,” added Nasnas.
Another area of the industry where companies are suffering is in the lack of adequate human resources for regional markets to accommodate the needs of the regional insurance industry, which is “an issue weighing heavily on the back of insurance companies in the region,” according to Schellen. Today, except for Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, most of the insurance staffing is imported from outside the region. Furthermore, within the region itself local talent is being uprooted from countries in the region where insurance penetration and expertise is concentrated to the more lucrative areas in the region, inevitably causing a brain drain on many local markets. “In Lebanon we had a huge HR problem in 2008 because all the people we train get great offers from the Gulf and leave,” Nasnas said. Also, within the Gulf states many traditional staffers from the Indian subcontinent are moving back to their home countries, now that the opportunity cost of returning has decreased as a result of the emerging nature of these economies. The void created further exacerbates the human resource shortage in countries like Lebanon. “There is a need to replace [the workers from South Asia] and they are doing it with highly qualified human resources that mostly come from Lebanon,” Nasnas said.
At the end of the day, however, it is growth which will accommodate for any pitfalls in the insurance industry. The implications of lower oil prices will have their ramifications on growth capabilities across the region in 2009. However, the nature of the regional insurance environment has the ‘wiggle-room’, as well as the willpower to endure the effects of a global financial crisis and come out on the other end looking better off than when this whole mess began.

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
The Buzz

Surviving the downturn with intelligent branding

by Joe Ayoub
written by Joe Ayoub

With the global financial downturn impacting on all markets, everyday business challenges have become compounded by reduced customer spending power, budget constraints and more cautious investor confidence. Companies may be turning to downsizing, or outsourcing to meet these challenges yet their biggest asset — their brand — cannot be approached in the same way. True, they can choose to stop spending on their brand, but in a time of crisis, there is actually no better time to leverage their brand assets to produce greater value.

Not just a name

First, it is important to understand what exactly is a brand. With branding still a fledgling topic in terms of awareness among local businesses, many mistakenly believe it means having a strong name in the market. Companies in Lebanon often think, “I have a famous name and it is selling well so this is a brand.” But often it’s selling because there is no real competition, or the product or service is cheap. When a serious competitor appears, they lose market share. In fact, a brand is a total experience: it’s the name plus the logo plus the brand promise and the delivery of that promise — brand equals trust.

Winners and losers

Competition can quickly sort the winning brands from the losers, but a crisis is another force to reckon with. In an economic downturn, consumer spending falls and purchasing shifts away from those brands which lack a strong bond with their customers. Many Gulf real estate developers have already learned this lesson, having spent lavishly on logos and communications but overlooking the need to bond with consumers. Thus, at the first sign of economic pressure, they began to suffer as investors sold their shares.

The new market reality is that consumers are not only spending less, they are  re-examining every single purchasing decision. One global trend also emerging in Lebanon is for strong brands to reach out to consumers in a way that takes advantage of the economic climate but avoids diluting the brand value. These brands are opening new stores, often referred to as outlets, where customers have access to discounted luxury goods. This drives sales for the known brand but by using an alternative name for the outlet, it avoids diminishing the perception of the brand.

This trend is a prime example of well-positioned brands creating value by driving demand. What all successful brands require is a deep understanding of brand mechanics, how their brands influence customer behavior and choice. Understanding the process of brand value creation is vital not only to drive demand but also to improve decision-making and budget spending.

Digging for value

A successful brand strategy consists of determining the brand essence — which is what the brand stands for — and the brand promise, which is what the customer expects to be delivered when they buy the product or service. The branding process starts with an internal brand audit. Working with the company’s management, the audit sets out to discover the core strengths and fundamentals of the brand, what makes it unique and how it reached its current status. Once this is identified, strategies are devised around the brand foundations.

The corporate strategy starts with a vision, a mission, a set of beliefs and the corporate attitude or personality of the company. Once these are set they should first be shared and believed by all employees working in the company so they can deliver in their daily work.

But branding doesn’t stop there; brand management is essential for it to be effective. If you have a car, you change the oil, maintain and clean it so that it always performs. A brand is the same; you manage its image, its performance, and you keep on improving the service or product formula, so that it consistently delivers on its promise.

Sending the right message

All of these are essential before a company should think about advertising. Companies suffering from ineffective advertising shouldn’t blame the ad agency but look internally and see if they have a clear message, brand promise, employee and customer satisfaction. Only once these are really well covered should they consider advertising.

So, in times of crisis, instead of focusing purely on where and how to cut costs, companies should use the period of uncertainty to look at their brand value and strategy, look internally and question everything they have been doing: At the brand level, are your customer touch points well structured? Are your employees motivated and happy? Do they believe in your brand and your company? Then look outward at the customer: are they having a positive experience with your brand? What should you improve?

With companies increasingly focused on the bottom line, the good news is that branding drives up the brand value; the more positive a connection with customers, the more customers will remain attached to the brand and be prepared to spend money on it. Many companies may be looking to outside investors to inject funds into their business, and with a good brand strategy, they can sell at a premium. Even for companies not looking for outside investment, branding done correctly is one way to ensure that once the crisis eases, not only will they still be standing but they will also be among the first to reap the rewards. 

JOE AYOUB is CEO of BrandCell

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Society

Lebanon – Aging potential

by Brooke Anderson
written by Brooke Anderson

A mid a global recession and a decline in wine consumption worldwide, Lebanese are raising their glasses as the country’s $25 million wine sector continues to grow at a steady pace. But experts say that despite Lebanon’s ideal climate for viticulture and a high level of expertise, the sector is still not living up to its potential.

 

World wine consumption dropped by 0.8 percent last year, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine. But New World wine consumption has increased, and so has Lebanon’s, rising by 1.5 percent during the same period. 

“I think people are searching for a new taste. The wine consumer is always looking for a new product, and Lebanon is benefiting,” says Lebanese restaurant consultant Nagi Morkos. “Worldwide, there is a trend toward ethnic wine and food.”

With domestic consumption still relatively low, the country has relied on exports for most of its profits. Between 2002 and 2003, Lebanese wine exports doubled, and today they continue to increase. According to figures from the Lebanese customs, official wine exports totaled $13.1 million, up from $9.8 million in 2006. The United Kingdom, the biggest importer, bought $4.6 million worth of wine in 2008, compared with $2.6 million in 2006.

Even with the ongoing global recession, some vineyards are opening up to new markets, compensating for a drop in sales to their established buyers.

“We can’t say we’re not affected by the crisis,” says Emile Majdalani, marketing director at Kefraya, one of the country’s top producers. “But our brand is well established and we’re always working on long-term business plans. We’ve never opened so many markets as we have this year — a total of six new countries.”

Kefraya is now exporting to Australia, Benin, Cyprus, Nigeria, Mexico, Poland and Togo.

“We felt the crisis in certain countries, mainly the United States, Russia and Western Europe,” says Majdalani. “But our main markets are more or less compensated. We’ll close the year with no decrease in exports.”

As for wine sales in Lebanon, which has been relatively unscathed by the global financial crisis, he says business is booming, up 15 percent from last year.

From one resilient war-torn country to another

Last year saw a major increase in exports to Iraq, after five years of decline following the US-led invasion in 2003. In 2008, Iraq imported $158,000 worth of Lebanese wine, up from $88,000 in 2006.

“The Iraqi market fluctuates,” says Ramzi Ghosn, winemaker and co-owner of Massaya winery in the Bekaa Valley. “It could be an index of stability in Iraq, according to wine sales.”

Like Kefraya, Massaya is always looking at new markets and trying not to rely too heavily on its established ones.

Lebanese wine is a $25 million industry, large by Middle East standards but small compared with major wine-producing countries such as France, Italy and the US. Since 2005, the number of vineyards in Lebanon has doubled — from 15 to 30. Still, that’s small compared to neighboring Cyprus, whose vineyards number 60, and which attracts an international crowd to its annual wine festival in August.

Observers have pointed to Lebanon’s shift over the past several years from a whisky and arak society to a wine culture, and attribute this to the country’s relative stability over the past couple of years. An example of this is the opening of the first commercial winery in South Lebanon in 2003.

At Karam Winery in Jezzine, founder Habib Karam is basking in the relatively newfound popularity of Lebanese wine.

“Today, if you are a wine importer in America or the UK, it’s your responsibility to have Lebanese wine. Otherwise your list won’t be complete,” says Karam, who exports 50 percent of the 55,000 bottles he produces annually. “We are becoming like Chile and South Africa. Lebanese wines are in demand.”

At Nabise, a boutique winery in Mount Lebanon near Aley, which opened in 1999, the husband and wife co-owners Nazih and Mai Metni proudly note that their vineyard is in an area slowly recovering from sectarian conflict. Since they started a decade ago demand has steadily increased, although this year they admit they have been affected by the recession, as 70 percent of their exports go to the US. But Mai Metni is confident wine is a sustainable export, particularly as there has been a steady increase in foreign demand for their wine ever since they opened. “I’d like to see a hundred wineries open in Lebanon. We need exports for our economy to grow. What else are we going to export? Oil?”

New grapes for an expanding palate

But as demand grows, vineyards continue to open. In April, the Saade Group, a Beirut-based family business that primarily works in real estate and tourism, unveiled their new wine, Marsyas. In November, they will introduce their new Syrian wine Bargylus in the coastal province of Latakkia. Both wineries use their own grapes and are being bottled according to international standards. This is the first time that a company opens a winery in both Lebanon and Syria, another sign of Lebanon’s increased stability.

“Wine is good for Lebanon’s reputation,” says Sandro Saade of Saade Group. “The downside is that there needs to be more regulations that ensure quality.”

For now, most of Lebanon’s commercial wineries buy the majority of their grapes from farmers instead of using those grown at their vineyards.

“Lebanon’s wineries should start investing more in their own vineyards,” says Saade. “All of the wineries have done a good job so far. But we can take the wine-making sector to the next level.”

Despite the competition between Lebanon’s various wineries, Saade hopes to see more cooperation between them.

“What is a pity is that nobody is coordinating,” he says. “In Lebanon, we have everything on our side, and we’re not exploiting it. We need a common vision for the country.”

Unfortunately, right now, he says, “There’s a lack of strategic thinking in Lebanon for everything, including wine. There’s no Lebanese flag on Lebanese wine.”

But this lack of national unity might not be entirely the fault of Lebanon’s wineries.

In the summer of 2006, a National Institute of Wine was slated for opening but has been put on hold ever since the July 2006 war. The purpose of the institute, which would be a partnership between the ministry of agriculture and the private sector’s Union Viticole du Liban (UVL) would be to study wine and enforce regulations to protect the quality of Lebanese wine.

But as the project continues to get delayed, so wanes the momentum to get it started.

The UVL, which is supposed to represent all of Lebanon’s wine producers has only managed to attract 11 wineries, at least two of which have left the union over the past two years. They cite the group’s lack of vision and unity.

 Growing the fruits of success

However, despite the challenges facing Lebanon’s wine industry the ministry of agriculture sees it as a success story. “The wine industry is better than others in Lebanon. There’s competition,” says Mariam Eid, head of the agro-industry department at the ministry of agriculture. “You can’t compare it with olive oil, where they still use out-of-date technology. Wine has an important future in Lebanon. I hope the institute will open soon.”

Other people see the future of Lebanon’s wine industry in “enotourism.” Over the past year, Lebanon’s producers have stepped up their efforts to attract tourists to their vineyards, although it appears to be without coordination. The Saade Group is planning a hotel and wine museum in the Bekaa Valley, both slated to open in 2011. Kefraya says it is also opening a wine museum, which it expects to open next year. Carlos Adem, owner and founder of Chateau Faqra, a boutique winery in Kfardebian, is building a small hotel near his vineyard, which he plans to open next year.

This appears to fit well with a recent initiative by the Ministry of Tourism to promote rural Lebanon.

“Wine tourism is a part of agro-tourism in Lebanon,” says Nada Sardouk Ghandour, general director of the Ministry of Tourism. “When people see the wine label, they also see the name of the village.”

The home front first, then the world

But with all of the recent international recognition of Lebanese wine, it’s the Lebanese themselves who might be the ones preventing their local wines from receiving the domestic praise it deserves.

“In Lebanon there’s a snobbish attitude that everything imported is better,” says Ghosn of Massaya. “For them, it’s not always about pleasure. It’s about having French wine at the table so they can say, ‘I drink French wine.’”

Carlos Khachan, a Lebanese wine expert who leads tours of Lebanon’s vineyards with his group Club Grappe, agrees. He believes that if the Lebanese themselves have confidence in their own country’s products, non-Lebanese will follow suit.

“[The late industry minister] Pierre Gemayal told people to buy national products. If you love your country, you should consume its products,” Khachan says. “Why not apply that to wine?”

If Lebanon is to succeed in attracting more domestic consumption it will have to do so soon as tariffs on foreign wine have been decreasing, making the domestic market even more competitive. Several years ago, tax on foreign wine in Lebanon was 70 percent, but it is now only 40 percent.

“They keep on reducing taxation. In two years, there will be no duties [on foreign wine coming into Lebanon],” predicts Adem. “Lebanon will face more international competition. But this will make us produce more high-quality wine. With taxes getting lower on imported wine, we’ll have no choice.”

Still, to really get Lebanese wine on the map, it will take more than good quality, but also good name recognition. Michael Karam, author of the book “The Wines of Lebanon” agrees that “Lebanon will never make a genuine impact on the international wine market unless it embarks upon a proper generic campaign. By that I mean selling Lebanon — not Musar or Kefraya or Ksara or Massaya — as a wine producer.”

If Lebanon does not address this soon, he believes Lebanese wine “will remain nothing more than an ethnic curiosity, living on the reputation of Chateau Musar, which only appeals to a few devotees and does not represent the new generation of Lebanese wine. We are being left behind.”

He notes that even Brazil, which is not known as a wine-producing country, has a national wine campaign.

“We need to take on the world with our six million bottles, but if we don’t act soon we will have missed the boat,” says Karam.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Editorial

The silver lining of crisis

by Yasser Akkaoui
written by Yasser Akkaoui

It’s that time of year again, but this time the party hats and horns are being distributed with a bit more caution than in previous years. Depending on who you listen to, the world is sinking into an economic crisis that could match the great depression that followed the Wall Street crash of 1929.

Certainly as I sit here in Dubai, writing this last editorial for 2008, the buzzword is restructuring. Every company is doing it in preparation for a 2009 that is yielding little in terms of economic and financial outlook. This was an economic crisis that began in America and it is the ripples of this crisis that are now beginning to lap the shores of the Arabian Gulf. Whether it becomes a tidal wave remains to be seen but cautious businessmen and financiers are battening down the hatches nonetheless.

This current restructuring will be accompanied by the inevitable layoffs that will see the departure of many skilled people from countries — Lebanon, Jordan and India — with a tradition of exporting human talent, depriving those economies of much needed remittances.

The potential upside to this rather dark development is that they will no doubt eventually be deployed to areas of fresh opportunity, such as Iraq, a nation that Executive has earmarked for considerable growth in 2009. It is a country rich with oil, minerals, agriculture and an educated workforce. It is high risk, but high-risk means high reward. As companies in the Gulf try to speculate by how much revenues will drop in 2009 – 10%, 20% or even 50% — such opportunities cannot be scoffed at.

Executive knows a bit about crises. It knows that publishing is not just about the good times when the ad revenues come in thick and fast. We stood by our readers during the 2006 Lebanon war and now we do not flinch in standing by our loyal subscribers across the Levant, the Gulf, Sudan and the Maghreb in this latest test of will and character.

Executive reiterates its commitment to the private sector, be it, banking, real estate development or trade and encourages the tireless pursuit of sustainable development. It is in these areas that we will channel our own energy; for the passion of those with the vision to achieve new goals will outlast even the gloomiest economic downturn.

Yasser Akkaoui Editor-in- chief

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Comment

Off the people, buy the people

by Riad Al-Khouri
written by Riad Al-Khouri

The past year appears to have been a good one for Jordan; was the same true regarding the well-being of average Jordanians? On the positive side, the country continues opening up to the rest of the region and the world economy. This can be felt in the boardrooms of Amman — though to a lesser extent on the street — and was confirmed by Jordan ranking a phenomenal ninth globally (and first among Arab states) in the Globalization Index for 2007, released last month. Developed by Foreign Policy magazine (published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) in collaboration with consultants A.T. Kearney, the index measured economic, personal, technological, and political integration in 72 countries accounting for 97% of world gross domestic product and 88% of the earth‘s population. The index looks at 12 variables in four baskets: economic integration, personal contact, technological connectivity, and political engagement. Jordan led all of the index’s Arab countries, among which Morocco was 40th worldwide, Tunisia 46th, Saudi Arabia 52nd, Egypt 55th, and Algeria 70th.

In the political dimension, Jordan topped the countries covered by the index, and did well in the personal sphere and in economic integration. A look at Jordan’s foreign partnership agreements confirms the latter element. It is the only Arab country that simultaneously has free trade with the United States, a partnership accord with the European Union, a Qualifying Industrial Zone arrangement with Israel and the US, and membership of the Agadir agreement to facilitate trade among Arab states and the EU. These arrangements put Jordan firmly inside the Western economic and political sphere, but the kingdom also boasts a widening range of links with other countries, as well as membership in international bodies such as the World Trade Organization.

However, in the index’s technological dimension, the country ranked 50th, in stark contrast to other indicators. This combination of high marks in some areas and a dismal showing in another typifies the contradictions in Jordanian life today, which became even more apparent in 2007. For all its development, Jordan still has a way to go in assuring sustainable development, cutting unemployment, and reducing poverty. Given the continuing Jordanian real estate boom, the influx of Gulf and foreign capital into the country, and the presence in the kingdom of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are mainly not poor, Jordan may this year have evolved more than at any other time in the past half-century. Yet underneath, the country’s traditional core remains.

Among many other spheres, this traditionalism reflects in the country’s parliament as seen once again this year when Jordanians elected a new Chamber of Deputies, comprised of 110 members from 45 electoral districts. Although political parties and movements participated, they won few seats due to the country’s tribal fabric, and Jordan’s electoral law, which adopts the uninominal principle — voting for a single candidate only, rather than for a list, even when the electoral district (as most do) has more than one seat. Vote buying is also important and helps plutocrats win elections. (The government does not deny the existence of such a phenomenon, only saying that the media has exaggerated it.) As a result, the outcome of the November 2007 elections was similar to those of others since 1993, with tribal and traditional figures continuing to dominate, even as globalization sweeps through the country with greater force than ever.

Examples of this contradiction are apparent in Amman: In the midst of dramatic construction activity and demographic growth, the Jordanian capital is acquiring a modern veneer that hides its traditional fabric. Among many other features of globalization, branding is a feature of daily life in Amman, with massive advertising spending on new or existing brands. However, many of these products are imported, a phenomenon which, coupled with weak exports, exacerbates the country‘s chronic trade gap. In that respect, the latest figures available for the kingdom’s foreign trade are not encouraging. Although the value of exports increased by over 11% during the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2006, the much larger figure for imports rose close to 12%, resulting in an increase in the already yawning trade deficit by more than 12%.

In sum, given this volatile mixture of rapid but sometimes superficial development coupled with entrenched traditionalism and a shaky economic base, I predict that in 2008 many Jordanians will continue to feel left behind in the country’s surge toward globalization. The new government formed after the elections must keep the social lid on, especially with fuel price hikes coming from the elimination of subsidies. That will be tough going, but with the US and Israel underwriting the country’s stability, Jordan next year will probably stay the course. Anyway, watch this space.
 

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail