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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects to keep investments in Egypt at over 1 billion euros this year, boosting its equity portfolio through a delayed privatisation programme, its regional director said.
The bank intends to participate in an expected share offering for state-run Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company, among the first of dozens of state-run companies planning to sell stakes, Janet Heckman, managing director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean, said in an interview on Wednesday.
It also hopes to help finance a monorail project that will link Cairo to a new capital being built in the desert, and for which a consortium led by Bombardier has been identified as the preferred bidder, she said.
Set up in 1991 to help ex-communist countries of eastern Europe shift to market economies, the London-based EBRD has extended its operations over the last decade to more than 35 countries, from Morocco to Mongolia.
It started operating in Egypt in 2012, a year after the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak and threw the country into turmoil.
Last year Egypt overtook Turkey as the EBRD’s largest country of investment, with about 1.2 billion euros invested in renewable energy, power, property and tourism, agribusiness and transport.
“It’s been quite a quick ramp-up. As of last month we’ve invested roughly a little over 5 billion euros ... in 95 projects, all but 11 of which are private sector,” said Heckman.
More than half those investments have come since 2017, a year after Egypt began implementing a three-year economic reform programme tied to a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
The reforms included a sharp devaluation of the Egyptian pound that made Egypt more attractive to private capital.
Equity only makes up about 5% of the EBRD’s portfolio in Egypt, but that share was expected to rise, said Heckman.
“This year in conjunction with the IPOs and other investments we’re looking at, we expect it to shift significantly,” she said.
The state owns vast swathes of Egypt’s economy.
A programme to launch share sales has been held up since last year, partly due to emerging market uncertainty.
Egypt has been praised by international lenders for its speedy reforms, though austerity measures and inflation have left many Egyptians struggling to get by.
Gross domestic product is forecast to top 5% for a second year running, but investment outside the energy sector has been falling.
“People want to see a period of continued stability and progress, because it’s a big decision to begin significant manufacturing facilities in a country,” said Heckman.
She said she was encouraged by the start-up scene, signs big Egyptian companies are investing more domestically and expanding infrastructure for investors such as legal and consulting firms.
“We continue to be quite bullish and optimistic about Egypt ... it’s a big country, almost 100 million people and at the same time it’s greatly positioned in terms of export opportunities, which I think have been highly underdeveloped,” Heckman said.
source: reuters
Last year, Morocco witnessed a 36% increase in foreign investments to reach $3.6 billion, primarily in the finance and automotive sectors.
The significant jump in foreign direct investment in Morocco confirms the growing confidence of international corporations in the country’s business climate. Morocco ranked fourth in Africa in their amount in the latest ranking by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) thanks to last year’s whopping 36% increase over 2017 to reach $3.6 billion, primarily in the finance and automotive sectors.
Data show that the flow of foreign investment to North Africa increased by 7% to reach $14 billion, the largest share of which went to Egypt and Morocco, while Algeria and Tunisia received between $1 billion and $2 billion in investments.
UNCTAD said Morocco continues to benefit from a relatively stable economic performance, in addition to having a diversified economy that is appealing to foreign investment in finance, renewable energy, infrastructure and the automotive industry.
The largest investment made last year in the country was the acquisition of 53% of Saham, Morocco’s largest insurer, for $1 billion by the South African Sanlam Group.
African countries, including Morocco, are increasingly relying on special economic zones, including free zones, with the availability of 237 such areas on the continent providing a special tax environment to attract foreign investment in various value-added industries.
According to UNCTAD, special economic zones represent an important means of export promotion for most countries, especially those of manufactured goods. For Morocco, these zones represent about 60% of the net non-oil exports.
In a new initiative that reflects the solidity of the Moroccan business climate, the Casablanca Financial Pole and the World Financial Centre in Toronto, Canada, signed a partnership agreement to promote sustainable investment opportunities between Canada, Morocco and the rest of Africa.
According to Manal Bernoussi, director of strategy, marketing and communications at Casablanca Finance City, this “agreement will open the door to exploring opportunities for cooperation between North America, Morocco and Africa.” She also noted that this new partnership with the Canadian financial institution would allow Casablanca’s financial pole to reinforce its network of partners and strengthen its international cooperation.
The agreement reflects both Rabat’s interest in the Canadian market and the attractiveness of the African continent to investors from North America. The agreement will provide a platform to promote best practices in green financing and environmentally friendly infrastructure, in addition to sharing knowledge and expertise to accelerate the development of professional, educational and training programmes in finance.
Jennifer Reynolds, president & CEO of Toronto Finance International, said that through cooperation with Casablanca’s financial hub, her company will facilitate the exchange of information and expertise to create new opportunities for enhanced international cooperation. “Africa is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world and its trade and investment relations with Canada are improving,” said Reynolds during the signing ceremony.
American corporation Keller Williams, a global real estate network, recently announced that it had chosen Morocco as a new centre for its business. The company said it would launch its business from Casablanca after being encouraged by Morocco’s previous ranking on the 2018 Africa Investment Index, issued by the international group Quantum Global Research Lab, as the most attractive destination for business.
In order to ensure the development of the future structure for investments, the Moroccan government has launched the activity of collective real estate agencies, as this type of move has proven effective globally as an investment mechanism.
Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun said the activity of these agencies will contribute to modernising financing methods and instruments and will help create a dynamic in the financial markets so that the latter can play their role in mobilising savings and using them efficiently in investment.
The agencies operate according to strict rules in terms of governance, supervision and investment, making them modern investment tools of high quality. They also meet the needs of some companies in terms of long-term investment backed by real estate assets based on rental income, as well as providing flexibility in terms of access to various real estate markets.
These agencies are expected to contribute to the development of a sufficient and good supply of leased properties in the areas of trade, services, industry and hotels, as well as mobilising new financial resources for companies and helping them restructure their financial positions.
Nezha Hayat, head of the Moroccan Capital Markets Authority, said the launch of the initiatives is part of a strategy to diversify financial instruments that respond to the needs of investors. These initiatives are “a key backing of real estate financing and constitute an essential stage in implementing the specific vision for developing capital markets in order to effectively contribute to financing the economy,” she said.
Source: Thearabweekly
Last month the World Bank released its flagship World Development Report entitled “Digital Dividends”.
The report is appealing because it does more than simply celebrate all the ways that digital technology has made the world a better place.
It also laments and warns against outcomes where the digital economy becomes divisive and exclusionary.
Unlike Professor Pangloss in Voltaire’s Candide, the World Bank does not believe that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. While few would argue with the good news, the less good news is often not so well understood.
First the good news. According to the report, more than 40 per cent of humanity has access to the internet.
Internet use has tripled from 1 billion to 3.2 billion people just in the last decade. Mobile phones are owned by more people in the poorest households than those that have running water, electricity and modern sanitation.
The digital economy has connected people, business and governments in multiple ways, creating a host of new production opportunities, expanded consumer choice, and the scope for entrepreneurship and self-employment.
Small enterprises with very few personnel can reach numerous customers in any number of locations through internet platforms.
As the report emphasises, at its best information and communications technology is a source of growth via increased trading opportunities, productivity, competition and employment.
Among the drivers of increased trade are lower transactions and capital costs, improved information flows, and product and process innovations.
Digitisation and the development of algorithms to perform routine tasks increase productivity.
Lower entry costs and more readily available information foster competition, which in turn spurs innovation.
Direct employment in information and communications technology activities does not involve large numbers, but activities enabled by it create many more jobs.
It has been estimated that each information and communications technology job in the United States creates five additional jobs. In China, the e-commerce sector has reputedly generated 10 million jobs in related services, accounting for 1.3 per cent of overall employment.
Dozens of governments have developed e-government platforms, with facilities for interactive communication.
These can be used to transact regulatory obligations, disseminate information, and communicate with citizens for a variety of purposes.
All this suggests that the digital economy is a valuable vehicle for development and one that reduces inequality in a world where inequality is on the increase.
But not necessarily so, according to the World Bank.
While the digital economy can have all the positive benefits enumerated above, the absence of what the World Bank calls an analogue policy foundation means that reality lags behind the promise.
If 40 per cent of the population has access to internet, it follows that 60 per cent does not. They are excluded and further marginalised precisely because of the rich opportunities offered by digital technology. What is needed to address exclusion, argues the World Bank, is a sound business climate, adequate human capital, and good governance.
The economics of the internet suggest a tendency towards monopoly, not so much in the case of hardware, but with software platforms such as Google and Amazon.
The sources of potential monopolistic power reside in incumbency advantages linked to information, economies of scale and lock-in effects linked to complex customised operating environments.
Vested interests, a poor regulatory environment and bad governance can sustain and reinforce these barriers to entry. Labour-saving technology can reduce employment opportunities. Lagging or underfunded education hampers skill development, intensifying the struggle between capacity and technological sophistication.
Technology then further emphasises skill differentials and deepens inequality.
As for e-government, the same exclusions based on digital access and skill levels arise.
Another problem in some jurisdictions is linked to the quality of governance. Instead of serving the citizenry, the personal information requirements needed for digital interaction can be used for control and repression.
Nobody is arguing for arresting the progress of the digital economy or that its huge benefits should be compromised. Rather, the argument is that the benefits fall short because policy failures mean they are poorly shared.
Source: scmp
Cities do not have to expand higher and lower, they can grow in the use of time.
Expanding night time creates jobs and supports social inclusion
The Evening Economy (EE) is increasingly capturing the attention of researchers, policymakers, private business, public agencies, the media and the wider community.
The UK’s EE alone supports 1.3 million jobs and creates $100 billion per year in revenue. The EE accounts for 10-16 percent of town center jobs in Sydney. New York’s EE supports around 300,000 employees.
Last week, the Saudi Council of Ministers endorsed the regulation to grant the private sector the right to extend business hours to 24 hours.
This will have a positive impact on the economy by increasing employment opportunities, consumption and disposable income, and allowing new small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially restaurants and retail operators, to participate in evening hours.
Due to the recent deregulation of business hours, there will be 45,000 direct jobs created in the restaurant and retail sectors, and 20,000 indirect jobs created, over the short to medium term.
An estimated 30,000 part-time jobs could be established.
Female and youth employment could also be encouraged over time. Female unemployment is still high at
31.7 percent but is down from the fourth quarter of 2018.
SMEs could see an uptick in business activity by 6-8 percent, and an increase of 5-6 percent in terms of new establishments.
Restaurants could see an increase in 7-9 percent of their annual business turnover, which could translate to SR68 billion ($18 billion).
Total non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) would amount to an increase of 0.4-0.5 percent of additional value added over the next three years. In terms of gross value added, it translates to SR90-100 billion per annum.
The impact on tourism GDP would amount to an increase of 2.4 percent. The entertainment sector could see an increase of 4 percentage points in value-added terms.
Deregulated business hours is the direction that most developed economies worldwide are taking.
The effects of deregulating business hours are unequivocally positive on the overall economy.
Deregulation will have a negligible effect on inflation on average prices throughout the economy, even as more recently the food and beverage sector has seen prices rise by 1.1 percent.
International agricultural prices have been rising in conjunction with an uptick in some local food items.
Throughout history, towns and cities have had some manifestation of an economy that operates in the evening and at night.
In ancient Greece (and probably before), people traded objects and services beyond the end of the commonly understood working day.
In Asia, night markets selling domestic goods, medicines and food have existed for thousands of years.
But in the 21st-century leisure or post-industrial age, the transactional nature of the evening and night has appeared to grow in importance to the functioning of towns and cities.
So while not having the same weight of economic contribution as daytime activity, what happens “after dark” has greater strategic interest than ever before.
This makes the importance of measuring the location, makeup and economic significance of the EE relevant to a range of policymakers and planners.
This is particularly true in Western and Western-influenced nations, where regenerated post-industrial areas have developed a strong focus on leisure consumption linked to the rise of complimentary changes such as the increase in city-center living, agglomeration of industries attracting mobile young professionals in the new economies and the rise of urban tourism.
The many potential benefits of a vibrant EE have been underemphasized.
There have been no studies of the wellbeing and mental health benefits that may come from enjoying a city’s EE provision.
With Vision 2030 targets to raise female participation rates, working hours in the retail sector gain extra significance. Youth unemployment and part-time employment would also be supported over time.
Businesses are expected to extend their working day by an average of three hours.
This should give people more opportunities to shop in the evening.
Unlike other countries, Saudi Arabia’s peak hours tend to center around the late evening window (around 9 p.m.) for climate and social reasons.
According to the UN, by 2050 more than 80 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas.
This can be seen as a challenge or an opportunity. To feed and house people, cities will have to create more on the same land.
Cities do not have to expand higher and lower, they can grow in the use of time. Expanding night time creates jobs and supports social inclusion.
Source: zawya
Bahrain launched rules in February for cryptocurrency companies such as trading platforms, including rigorous customer background checks, governance standards and controls on cyber security risks
When Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya in March 2017, their discussion was scheduled to last for an hour but went on for three times that long.
The meeting, Prokopenya said, ended with Lukashenko asking him to propose regulations to boost the country's tech sector. Prokopenya worked with IT firms and lawyers to draft guidelines to cash in on an emerging digital industry: cryptocurrencies.
Some two years later, the rules are in place. Investors can trade bitcoin on an exchange run by Prokopenya, while other companies are launching their own cryptocurrency platforms.
"The idea was to create everything from scratch," Prokopenya told Reuters in an interview in London. "To make sure that it is free in some of the aspects it needs to be free, and very stringent in other aspects."
Contacted for comment, Lukashenko's office directed Reuters to an account of the meeting on the president's website.
Belarus is among a handful of smaller countries coming up with specific rule books for digital currencies. Their efforts could help shape the development of the global market and the growth of industry players, from exchange platforms to brokers.
So far, cryptocurrency companies have often had to choose between two extremes when deciding where to set up shop.
Major financial centres like London and New York, which apply traditional financial services rules to the sector, might be attractive to big institutions seeking safety but the compliance complexity and costs preclude many of the startups at the heart of the fledgling industry.
Conversely, lightly-regulated jurisdictions like the Seychelles and Belize allow far easier market access. But states with light rules can offer less protection for investors and have looser checks on money laundering, lawyers say.
The likes of Belarus and other newer entrants - including Bahrain, Malta and Gibraltar - are seeking to offer a third way: crafting specific rules for the cryptocurrency sector, betting they can attract companies by providing regulatory security as well as perks like tax breaks.
While there is no guarantee of success, cryptocurrencies represent a rare chance for these states or territories to grab a slice of an emerging market, potentially attracting investment and creating jobs, at a time when big financial hubs are adopting a more conservative, "wait-and-see" approach.
"There are jurisdictions in the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil camp," said Jesse Overall, a lawyer at Clifford Chance in New York specialising in crypto regulation. "On the other end there is the U.S., UK, EU. In the middle, that's the juicy part of the spectrum."
Overall said both countries and companies could benefit from the emergence of frameworks specifically for cryptocurrencies. But states that get the rules wrong could fall foul of global rules to stamp out illicit use of digital coins, he added.
Indeed, there are major questions over whether these nations will be able to consistently prevent the hacks and illegal activities, such as money laundering, that plague the opaque sector and could hammer their reputations as secure centres.
Another risk of building rules for an unpredictable and rapidly evolving industry is that they could soon become outdated.
'CARROTS WITH NO STICKS'
ZPX, a Singapore-based crypto firm, will launch a cryptocurrency trading platform, Qume, next month catering to institutional investors such as high-frequency proprietary trading firms and hedge funds.
It has decided to base the business in Bahrain's capital Manama - and the considerations it faced are emblematic of the quandary confronting many players across the industry.
ZPX's CEO Ramani Ramachandran said it decided against operating in a so-called offshore jurisdiction with low or no regulation. Such a base could deter big investors as scrutiny of digital coins heats up from global regulators and politicians, he said.
"As the market matures analogous to traditional capital markets, mainstream institutional capital will increasingly look to come to regulated exchanges such as Qume as opposed to 'light-touch' venues in offshore jurisdictions."
Bahrain launched rules in February for cryptocurrency companies such as trading platforms, including rigorous customer background checks, governance standards and controls on cyber security risks.
It's also usually far cheaper in terms of compliance and administration costs to set up in smaller locations like Bahrain than in major financial hubs, said Ramachandran.
ZPX estimates such costs would come to around $200,000 a year in Bahrain, versus at least $750,000 a year in London.
Another advantage of setting up in a smaller country, said ZPX co-founder Aditya Mishra, was the close communication companies could have with regulators, something that would be difficult in a big financial centre. Bahrain also offered good access to Gulf markets, he added.
Another cryptocurrency trading platform, iExchange, began operating in the Belarusian capital Minsk this month, aiming to attract investors from the CIS market of Russia and the former Soviet states.
Co-founder Igor Snizhko said Belarus was the best option because it had a regulatory framework that other countries in the region lacked.
Belarus demands audits of issuers of digital coins and details of the projects underpinning any issuance. For trading platforms, the rules include keeping tabs on suspicious transactions to meet international money laundering standards.
"For many the CIS market is very promising and very dangerous at the same time," he added. "Many large and accomplished players are still afraid of one factor - a lack of transparency. We didn't want to work in any 'grey' jurisdiction."
Sweeteners offered by Belarus include tax breaks for companies mining or trading cryptocurrencies. The rules, described by PwC as "carrots with no sticks," also give firms looser rules on currency controls and visas.
In the United States, by contrast, digital coin transactions are taxable. In Britain, capital gains taxes apply.
iExchange said it had also initially looked at other countries including Estonia and Malta, but chose Belarus because of its proximity to its target market.
BESPOKE APPROACH
The size of the global cryptocurrency sector is hard to gauge because of its complexity and lack of transparency. Still, Ireland-based Research and Markets reckons the sector will grow to $1.4 billion by 2024 from $1 billion this year. Other estimates see a faster rate of growth.
Crypto regulations vary through the world. While Facebook's unveiling of its Libra coin has prompted signs of a coordinated backlash against cryptocurrencies by major economies, a patchwork of approaches still rules from country to country.
China has even banned cryptocurrencies outright, while an Indian government panel last week recommended a similar measure.
Sui Chung of Crypto Facilities, a London-based cryptocurrency futures exchange, said there were clear benefits to being in a major financial hub, including having access to highly skilled employees.
"You need to be in place where you can get the staff," he said. "Our product teams, development teams have financial institution experience."
Being regulated in an established centre can also allow companies access to deeper, more liquid markets and provide greater certainty on securities law, said Ann Sofie Cloots, one of the authors of a Cambridge University study on cryptocurrency regulation.
"It may mean you have a more sophisticated investor base, greater access to capital," she said. "It's also a reputational thing."
To be sure, it is not just the likes of Belarus and Bahrain that have coined their own crypto rules: Some larger countries like France and Japan have also made moves in that direction.
But it's the smaller countries that have tended to launch the most sophisticated "bespoke" approaches, according to the Cambridge University study.
That could bring clarity to both cryptocurrency companies and related services like banks previously wary of the sector's unclear legal status, said Cloots.
Belarus entrepreneur Prokopenya, whose Instagram posts of sports cars in Cyprus and beaches in Dubai are followed by 5.6 million people, acknowledged the risks that came with blockchain technology, including the potential for money laundering.
But he said these could be mitigated with clear regulation, and that countries like Belarus should not miss out on a chance to grab a slice of an emerging market.
"The biggest risks come from not taking any risks," he said.
Source: zaway
The main difference between traditional trade activity and e-commerce in the market. The market in essence is the space that provides information about the goods or services available by the producers.
Here lies the difference and importance of e-commerce at the same time. The consumer does not need the physical presence of the spatial space in which information is available about the item or service he wishes to purchase.
The "cash for product or service" deal between the product and the consumer can also be done via digital tools. This e-commerce feature provides the hassle of moving to the market, which may be in another country, and provides the ability to identify products that are much broader than those offered by the market Traditional Which is limited to limited geography while the electronic market is a global market without limits, but one of the most prominent obstacles to the electronic market appear in the reliability, in the sense that is the guarantor of the consumer that the product or service that will pay for it will be identical to what is displayed on the electronic platform, The case for the product provider, which wishes to receive the amounts due for its producer from the problem of reliability, which still hinder the expansion of e-commerce in the Arab region.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Commerce and Investment has issued a new law regulating the electronic commerce process to enhance the reliability of electronic commerce in order to increase its contribution to the national economy to achieve the objectives of the vision of the Kingdom in 2030, according to the ministry's statement.
As for article 26 of the new law, the service provider is required to use the means necessary to protect the consumer data and not to keep it. And the responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of personal data declared by the consumer and to prevent any process of disclosure to any other entity without the consent of the consumer, as regards data on the service provider, Article VI requires the service provider to disclose the procedures B on the buyer to take to the conclusion of the contract and data relating to the service provider, the basic characteristics of the products or services, in addition to the total price, which includes all additions of fees or taxes and arrangements for payment, delivery and implementation.
The law also guarantees the right of the consumer to cancel the purchase of the "contract termination" within seven days from the date of contracting or receipt of the service, if not benefited from it, and to ensure the refund of payments in case the service provider delayed delivery of the goods / service for more than 15 days.
The details of the new law’s articles mentioned above and other articles indicate the possibility of expanding e-commerce exchanges in the Saudi market , while providing more reliability and transparency in electronic activity, which are essential requirements in the market ranked among the top ten countries in terms of growth of the e-commerce sector, The growth rate of e-commerce in the Kingdom to more than 32%, with a total volume of trade amounting to 80 billion Saudi riyals (about 21 billion dollars) in 2018.
يكمن الاختلاف الرئيسي بين نشاط التجارة التقليدية والتجارة الإلكترونية في السوق، والسوق بجوهره هو الحيز الذي يوفر المعلومات حول السلع او الخدمات المتوفرة من قبل المنتجين، وهنا بالذات يكمن اختلاف واهمية التجارة الإلكترونية في آن، فالمستهلك ليس بحاجة للحضور الفيزيائي للحيز المكاني الذي تتوفر فيه المعلومات حول السلعة او الخدمة التي يرغب في شرائها، كما ان عملية انجاز الصفقة (النقد مقابل السلعة او الخدمة) بين المنتج والمستهلك هي الاخرى يمكن ان تتم عبر أدوات رقمية، هذه الميزة للتجارة الإلكترونية توفر عناء الانتقال الى السوق، الذي قد يكون في بلد اخر، كما توفر إمكانية التعرف على منتجات أوسع بكثير من تلك التي يوفرها السوق التقليدي الذي ينحصر بجغرافية محدودة، بينما السوق الإلكترونية هي سوق عالمية بلا حدود، إلا ان احدى ابرز معوقات السوق الإلكترونية تظهر في الموثوقية، بمعنى ما هو الضامن للمستهلك ان السلعة او الخدمة التي سوف يدفع ثمنها سوف تكون مطابقة لما هو معروض على منصة البيع الإلكترونية، كذلك الحال لمقدم المنتج، الذي يرغب من جهته بتلقي المبالغ المستحقة مقابل منتجه. انطلاقا من مشكلة الموثوقية التي مازالت الى الان تحد من عملية توسع التجارة الإلكترونية في المنطقة العربية، أصدرت وزارة التجارة والاستثمار السعودية قانوناً جديداً ينظم عملية التجارة الإلكترونية الذي اتى ليعزز موثوقية التجارة الالكترونية بهدف زيادة مساهمتها في الاقتصاد الوطني لتحقيق اهداف رؤية المملكة لعام 2030، وذلك حسب بيان الوزارة.
اما عن اهم ما جاء في المواد الـ 26 المنظمة للتجارة الإلكترونية، فكانت تتمحور بمجملها حول الشفافية والافصاح في النشاط الإلكتروني وحماية البيانات الشخصية للمستهلك، حيث جاء في المادة الخامسة من القانون الجديد إلزام موفر الخدمة (مقدم الخدمة) استخدام الوسائل اللازمة لحماية بيانات المستهلك وعدم الاحتفاظ بها، وتحميله مسؤولية الحفاظ على سرية البيانات الشخصية المصرح عنها من قبل المستهلك ومنع أي عملية افصاح عنها لأي جهة أخرى دون موافقة المستهلك، اما بخصوص البيانات المتعلقة بموفر الخدمة فتلزم المادة السادسة موفر الخدمة على الإفصاح عن الإجراءات الواجب على المشتري اتخاذها لابرام العقد والبيانات المتعلقة بموفر الخدمة، والخصائص الأساسية للمنتجات او الخدمات، بالإضافة الى اجمالي السعر التي تشمل جميع الإضافات من رسوم او ضرائب وترتيبات الدفع والتسليم والتنفيذ.
كما يضمن القانون حق المستهلك في إلغاء عملية الشراء (فسخ العقد) خلال سبعة أيام من تاريخ التعاقد او تسلم الخدمة، في حال لم يستفد منها، وضمان استرجاع المبالغ المدفوعة في حال تأخر موفر الخدمة عن تسليم السلعة/الخدمة لمدة تزيد عن 15 يوماً.
تشي تفاصيل مواد القانون الجديد الواردة أعلاه، والمواد الأخرى، عن إمكانية توسع تبادلات التجارة الإلكترونية في السوق السعودية، وذلك مع توفير المزيد من الموثوقية والشفافية في النشاط الإلكترونية، وهي متطلبات أساسية في سوق يصنف من بين اعلى عشر دول من حيث نمو قطاع التجارة الإلكترونية، حيث وصلت معدلات نمو التجارة الإلكترونية في المملكة لأكثر من 32%، بإجمالي حجم تداولات تصل الى 80 مليار ريال سعودي (اي حوالي 21 مليار دولار) وذلك خلال عام 2018.
تعتبر القدرة على الوصول الى خدمة الانترنت من اهم محددات التحول الرقمي، اذ لا يمكن الحديث عن نمو الاقتصاد الرقمي دون التوسع في انتشار خدمة الانترنت، اي انه يوجد ارتباط رئيسي بين مدى انتشار خدمة الانترنت وامكانية التحول الرقمي. ولقد شهد العالم العربي في السنوات الاخيرة نموا كبيرا في معدلات انتشار الانترنت وتدفق البيانات. كما وصلت كل من قطر والامارات العربية المتحدة إلى قائمة أفضل عشرة دول من حيث سرعة الانترنت.
يوضح الجدول التالي اعداد مستخدمي الانترنت في العالم عام 2019 ونسبة المستخدمين الى عدد السكان، ومستخدمي موقع "الفيسبوك" الذي يتصدر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي من حيث الانتشار في العالم العربي.
تعد نسبة انتشار خدمة الانترنت في العالم العربي الى اجمالي عدد السكان مرتفعة لاسيما اذا ما قورنت باقاليم اخرى، كدول افريقيا جنوب الصحراء، فيما تعتبر نسبة انتشار الانترنت في دول الخليج العربي من اعلى النسب في العالم، فهي توزاي تلك النسبة الموجودة في اكثر الدول تقدما، كالولايات المتحدة الامريكية (96%) وفرنسا (92 ٪) وألمانيا (96 ٪) وغيرها من الدول المتقدمة. إلا أن انتشار الخدمة الانترنت لا يعني بالضرورة ازدهار الاقتصاد الرقمي، فالامر مرتبط بمجموعة من المحددات المتصلة بهذه الخدمة، كمدى جودة خدمة الانترنت نفسها، ومدى تفعيل الخدمات الحكومية الرقمية في الصحة والتعليم والخدمات العامة، والى اي حد تنتشر ثقافة التعامل الرقمي بين المنتجين والمستهلكين، كل تلك المحددات وغيرها تلعب دورا في ادخال عملية انتشار خدمة الانترنت في اطار التحول الرقمي، اي تجعل منها عملية اقتصادية.
يمكن العودة إلى سلسلة " العالم العربي خطوات نحو التحول الرقمي" لمعرفة المزيد من الاحصاءات والمعلومات حول واقع الاقتصاد الرقمي في العالم العربي وخطوات التحول.
تواصل الإمارات العربية المتحدة بخطوات ثابتة وسريعة المضي قدماً في عملية التحول الرقمي فقدت حققت قفزات مهمة خلال العامين السابقين فقط ويظهر ذلك في مؤشرات دولية عديدة لعلى أهمها مؤشر التنافسية الرقمية (world competitiveness center) الصادر عن مركز التنافسية العالمي التابع للمعهد الدولي للتنمية الإدارية بمدينة لوزان السويسرية، حيث قفز ترتيبها حسب التقرير الأخير (2018) من المرتبة ال25 (2016) الى المرتبة ال17 متفوقةً بذلك على العديد من الدول المتقدمة أهمها ألمانيا واليابان وفرنسا.
كما يبرز التقدم الاماراتي في عملية التحول الرقمي من خلال تطوير البنى التحتية الرقمية لاسيما في مجال الإدارات الحكومية المختلفة التي وضعت استراتيجية طويلة الأمد تهدف الى انجاز عملية التحول الرقمي بمواصفات عالمية عبر خطة "نموذج الامارات لنضج الحكومة الرقمية" التي تم الإعلان عنها في ابريل/نسيان 2018 وتأتي هذه الخطة في اطار استراتيجية عامة وشاملة للتحول نحو الاقتصاد الرقمي الى جانب الخطط الاستراتيجية الأخرى في مجالات الثورة الصناعية الرابعة والذكاء الاصطناعي والتعاملات الرقمية (بلوك تشين) والاستراتيجية الوطنية للابتكار ويظهر اهتمام وجدية العمل الحكومي والخاص عبر الانفاق الضخم في القطاعات الرقمية الذي وصل في عام 2018 الى 17 مليار دولار امريكي(بنسبة نمو 3% عن عام 2017 ) و يعادل الانفاق الاماراتي في القطاعات الرقمية 27% من اجمالي انفاق دول الخليج مجتمعه وهي بذلك تحتل المرتبة الخامسة في الانفاق الرقمي بين دول منطقة الشرق الأوسط.
انعكس التخطيط السليم والانفاق الكبير على حجم مساهمة الاقتصاد الرقمي في إجمالي الناتج المحلي الإماراتي الذي بلغ 4,5% في عام 2018، وتطمح الحكومة الإماراتية حسب الاستراتيجية الموضوعة بأن تصل مساهمة الاقتصاد الرقمي في إجمالي الناتج المحلي الـى 5% بحلول عام 2021، ومن المرجح أن يحقق الاقتصاد الرقمي في الامارات نمواً أكثر من المخطط له في عام 2021 فهو ينمو بأضعاف عن نمو الاقتصاد التقليدي حسب دائرة التنمية الاقتصادية في أبو ظبي، وتأتي خطة الامارات للتحول نحو الاقتصادي الرقمي بهدف زيادة الفرصة الحقيقية للاستثمار الأجنبي والمحلي على اعتبار ان الاقتصاد الرقمي اليوم هو الركيزة الأساسية للاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة، فبيئة الاعمال الرقمية تساهم في نقل رؤوس الأموال البشرية والمادية، ولقد حققت الامارات نجاحا كبيرا في تحولها لنقطة استقطاب للشركات الناشئة لاسيما تلك الشركات التي تعتمد على البنية التقنية الحديثة في تقديم الخدمة و التفاعل مع الزبائن، اي وفقا لنموذج الاعمال الرقمي لذلك لا عجب بان تستحوذ الامارات على 35% من اجمالي عدد الشركات الناشئة في العالم العربي في عام 2018 اختيرت منها 21 شركة ناشئة من اصل 100 شركة عربية من قبل المنتدى الاقتصاد العالمي كشركات تمثل الثورة الصناعية الربعة في العالم العربي.
اما على صعيد التجارة الإلكترونية فقد بلغ حجمها حوالي الـ 16 مليار دولاراً في عام 2018 ومن المتوقع أن يصل إلى 27.1 مليار دولاراً بحلول عام 2022 وفقا لمؤشر وكالة "فيتش" للتجارة لإلكترونية حيث توقعت الوكالة نمواً سنوياً للتجارة الإلكترونية في الإمارات بمعدل 28%.
لا تقتصر مظاهر التحول الرقمي في الإمارات العربية المتحدة على الجانب الاستثماري والتجاري بل يمتد إلى العمل الحكومي حيث تشير الإحصاءات الرسمية بأن 40% من الإماراتيين يستخدمون خدمات الحكومة الإماراتية مرتين على الأقل أسبوعياً حيث تسعى الاستراتيجية التي تقودها الحكومة الإماراتية بالتشارك مع القطاع الخاص لنقل خدمات الحكومة الإلكترونية إلى الهواتف الذكية حيث تصل نسبة مستخدميه إلى 100% وهي النسبة الأعلى في العالم.
تشير المعيطات السابقة إلى البيئة الاعمال المشجعة على الاستثمار في عملية التحول الرقمي و الإمكانيات الواعدة مستقبلاً للاستثمارات المحلي والاجنبي في الاقتصاد الرقمي الاماراتي.
Building a business in the modern world can be hard due to the fierce competition in all industries. This competition often forces small-scale businesses, who lack funding, to shut down.
We all know the commonly told statistic that around 90% of startup companies fail within their first few years. Although this may sound daunting, it does not mean that all innovators need to abandon their business dreams—quite the opposite really.
Those individuals who are interested in the business world simply need to understand how much it costs to start up a business.
By knowing the relative costs, they will be able to spend their money wisely and hopefully turnover more profits. This, in turn, ought to allow them to survive in this harsh business climate.
Quite often we see businesses failing as they have failed to pay attention to the finer details. As such, I would like to explore the costs of these finer details which, more often than not, can determine the success or failure of a newly founded firm.
The first thing that any startup business will need is a good website and domain. A website enables you to provide a source of information about your company which is easily accessible for potential consumers. Moreover, a website is easily shareable therefore meaning that it can enable your business to gain more attention from all around the world. Quite often we see websites being created by web designers—individuals who specialize in creating attractive websites.
These individuals are responsible for setting up, designing, building and maintaining your website. The best thing about such individuals is that they can give you a unique design which will make your website stand out. The downside is, however, that they can be quite expensive which can make life tough for startup business owners. According to Website Builder Expert, a web designer has the potential to charge you around $7000 in your first year, however, in my experience, a decent website for a startup is around £750-1500.
Alternatively, you may decide to use a website builder which is far cheaper. These sites offer you templates from which you can build your website and organize your content as you so please.
The issue here is that you will be required to do more work, and your website could come across as far more generic and potentially less professional. Nonetheless, it could be a good strategy for individuals that are interested in bootstrapping in order to save as much money as possible and get the business going.
Another potential cost could be that of business cards. Business cards are an excellent way of spreading the word about your services in a personal manner. They are also useful because they enable potential clients to know exactly how they could contact you.
Just like websites, business cards can be intricately designed or make use of basic templates. Hence, they can cost anywhere in the range of £10-£40 per 100 cards. The important thing to remember about business cards is that they should be straightforward and easy to interpret. You could, for example, outline your basic services and contact details (use a professional email address with your business domain) and then go into greater detail by using a LinkedIn page or through your website. Whichever you go, remember to stick to a clear and precise message.
But I would add as a note, that a business card is a reflection of you and your brand so it makes sense to invest in a designer and a good quality print and card. It says a lot about you!
When you’re starting up your business you may also wish to spend time with a business mentor who will guide you through the early stages of your businesses’ development. Business mentoring is a useful tool to invest in because it can enable business growth, prevent mistakes and develop your knowledge of the business world. According to The Business Mentors, mentoring programs can cost anywhere in the range of £400-£4000 depending on the level of input required.
Consultancy is another essential service that all business owners will require because it means that businesses can receive more expert advice. Consultancy firms often charge large sums of money for their services, but are well-known for providing a good service.
I believe in a consultative mentoring experience with the mentees that I support because want to be able to share my experience, expertise and embed them into a community of like-minded people. Who you surround yourself with in business, is an essential part of your business development. The wrong people, the wrong advice or no advice–can end up costing your £000s.
With all of this in mind, the question is: can you afford a business simply through bootstrapping? Could you, for example, start your business from your kitchen with the aim of spending as little as possible? Although it may be somewhat tougher than starting your business in the regular fashion, I believe that you could bootstrap and start your business from home.
This will, however, require you to do lots of research beforehand. It may also require you to develop some sort of side hustle, in order to accumulate enough funds to build your business. I strongly believe in starting on the journey with a survival budget spreadsheet so that you know exactly how much money you need to have saved or coming in to ‘survive’ during the business development process.
There will, of course, be other expenses but these are the ones which you will have to take care of right at the beginning. There are also other elements required for the business that don’t cost anything to set up like social media but can still be very time consuming and therefore costly–so use it wisely!
It will inevitably be a difficult thing at first; however, through hard work you will be able to succeed. Just like anything else, success in the business world is reliant on four key things: determination, hard work, a decent idea and passion!
source: forbes
