(عربي)

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global)

In an exclusive interview with the founder and Chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), H.E.Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh talks about the first Arab laptop and tablet

As part of the interviews conducted by the Swiss-Arab Entrepreneurs Platform with influential Arab and foreign economic figures, we interviewed Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and Chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global).

In this interview, Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh highlights the new computer that his group has produced completely. It reviews the origins of the dispute between America and China and the desire to find a new world order and reduce Chinese influence.

He then introduces a general principle of intellectual rights principles that allows any individual or country to inspire new ideas through existing products and develop them to register a new invention. Hence, he talked about China's economic renaissance and how China has used this principle to develop its own technology and excel the American Technology.

Regarding the Arab world, he considered there is no unified Arab economy or even a common Arab market because of the differences between the Arab countries and the weakness of the inter-exchanges among them, expressing regret of the lack of the economic integration among Arab countries and the lack of an effective role for Arabs at the international level.

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh also briefed us on the current important trends of economic growth, given the current industrial revolution based on cognitive technology. Knowledge is the real wealth. The human being is its pillar and its basic material.

Regarding the economic sectors that need investments, he said there is no need to waste time in the search for foreign investments, stressing the necessity of self-reliance, expressing his full support for entrepreneurship and creativity. He concluded by saying there is no limit to the creation of the human mind. A creative idea imagined by the mind can form the nucleus of a successful invention and tremendous wealth.

See the video

We had this interview with HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh

Founder, Mr. Ayman Abualkhair with HE.Dr. Talal Abu Ghazaleh in his headquarter in Amman - Jordan

SAE: Talal Abu-Ghazaleh is one of the most prominent economic figures in the Arab world and a pioneer of intellectual property in the world, if you would kindly give us a summary of your most important achievements.

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: From about twenty years we have moved from the major institution in the Arab world to become global. For example, you have mentioned intellectual property, we are the largest intellectual property institution in the world, so our name is Tag Global, and we have over 110 offices around the world. We practice all activities; professional audit, consulting, training, capacity building, in all professional areas and this month we started a new activity, we started the production of technical tools, whether Tablets or laptops.

SAE: Actually, we read about this in the media if you can give us an explanation about the different products you produce?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: We feel that our region needs to be involved in the computer industry because there is no reason why the Arab world should not enter this industry; the Arab world deserves to have a computer industry as other countries.

We have made studies and experiments during a period of several years, until we produced a Tablet and the goal of producing it, in addition to that it is a multitask device, is to be a smart school bag. For the state, the cost of schools is very high (facilities, professors, students, books and the necessary equipment) while using this technology can save a lot through intelligent cognitive study.

In addition to this device, we have completed two laptops of our design and our own manufacturing, and we are not producing through another manufacturing institution. We produce and market, and we have our own brand, and we do not have a partner, our brand is TAG Tech (Talal Abu-Ghazaleh For Technology (TAGTech)) and is produced entirely by us. At first, we wanted something that reduces the cost, as our mission is to spread knowledge in the Arab world, and in the world in general. We wanted to offer a computer with a lower cost than any other company in the world, but at the same time, we wanted to honor our name as Talal Abu Ghazaleh Global, so we could maintain low cost but we maintained high quality to be competitive at the international level.

We have two devices with specifications higher than what exists in the market. I am talking about the major producers in the world. We have technologies with higher specifications than what exist in the world or in terms of price. The fact that the objective of this project is to serve the society, Talal Abu Ghazaleh Foundation, which is the arm of Talal Abu Ghazaleh Global, funded this project with the aim that its price becomes competitive and at the same time high quality, so do not believe me but believe the truth and look at the device and compare it. Our slogan is (compare and then decide). Compare our device with the best devices in the market, if you do not find it as the best then do not buy: And compare its price, if it’s not the cheapest one do not buy it. We have achieved the device with the highest specifications and almost half the price. This device will be in use soon. We will start from a certain area. It is the Arab region, but our goal is not only this region. Abu Ghazaleh Intellectual Property and many other activities are leading the world, I see no complexity or shame to say we want to become an international producer of information technology.

SAE: Thank you for this initiative, because the question really why the Arab world does not enter technical manufacturing in the field of computers, phones or tablets?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: All the Western and Eastern countries produce these technologies, is it forbidden for the Arabs alone to produce? Is there a decision to ban the production of equipment in the Arab world, and I say this, because this is the first Arab production from the private sector.

SAE: Regarding the competition, I heard your comparison between price and quality, we hope to see a presentation about the advantages of the device.

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: we have the best device with the best quality and the most competitive price. Because our international name and reputation are all integrated. We are keen to produce high-quality devices to reflect our reputation as one of the largest accounting companies in the world and auditing, consulting and translation, we are the largest translation company in the world. We are the largest company in the provision of training programs, qualification and capacity building in the world. We are the largest company in the field of intellectual property, so we cannot produce a product that is not the highest level, our reputation is a very important issue. All our activities are under the name TAG so we can only be producers of the best device. Supported by Tag Foundation, we have been able to minimize the cost of production.

SAE: Thank you very much for this introduction about this invention, this Arab production in the field of computers and tablets for the first time. Abu-Ghazaleh is said to be the largest company in the world. Is it the largest company in intellectual property or accounting?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: It is the largest intellectual property company ever. In accounting, there is the Forum of Firms, under the umbrella of the International Federation of Certified Public Accountants (IFAC) in New York, it founded the Forum of Accounting Firms abbreviated to (FOF). It contains twenty companies, it is known under the G20, in which our company is a member, and we are the only one from the region. This Forum of Forms includes international companies that are committed to applying international accounting standards and principles, whether as standards or principles of transparency. The focus is on adherence to principles and transparency. Who applies these conditions joins this forum. We are a member since its establishment until now.

SAE: Regarding your personal career, what are the most difficult moments you have faced?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: For me, the most difficult moments are the sweetest moments. I believe that problems make success and that suffering is a blessing. When my colleagues come to me saying: we have a problem, I thank God for that. They say, director, we have a problem, I say I hear you completely. The problem means there is a solution, which means that there is success when you have a problem and you can find solutions and solve them. This is an opportunity, the problem is an opportunity and not only a problem.

I also talk about the global economy now and I have released a full report about the next global crisis, it explains this crisis and how it will end. I expect it will happen next year, i.e., 2020, it will end with the so-called (stagflation) or recession and high prices at the same time. This is a deadly and very bad recipe to have a recession with high prices. So, I pretend I am not inventing this thing or dreaming. I study and analyze phenomena and centers of studies in the world, especially in America talk about that. I say this crisis will force America to enter a war. This war is not with Iran. The importance of Iran comes from it being a supplier of China with oil. The problem is in my personal discretion, in preventing Iran from exporting oil, it’s not because of nuclear weapons. There are many countries in the world that have nuclear weapons, the problem is not the problem of a nuclear bomb. The problem is that America wants to put an end to the rise of China technically and economically and this is its right. If I am America, I cannot allow a country to outdo me. This is not my opinion, but I summarize what the research centers say.

America wants to sit down with China, but China is not willing to sit down to create a new world order, the United States of America, and this is its diligence and it may do so. It says that the current system developed after World War II in 1948 and the resulting Bretton Woods and all the other consequences is no longer valid. It wants to sit down with China to forge a new world order. China says it has no ambitions to control the world, politically, militarily, or administratively. Chinese adhere to the existing standards because it suits them. America and I repeat it has the right to do whatever it deems appropriate, says that we need a new order. Therefore, we see that all American decisions and I do not say Trump, Trump represents this important institution “America”, the issue is not a personal battle with Trump. There are centers for decision-making. The way decisions are presented varies from president to president, but decision-making is not the choice of the president. So, there is an American approach that we want a new world by all standards, for example, we do not accept attempts to depart from the dollar's control over global transactions, this is a very important and sensitive issue and there is no room for maneuver. And when Macron calls for new international currency, I think the anger on Macron is based on his declarations when he said it is time for a new world currency, this talk is not a music which suits the USA, never.

SAE: For the dollar, you mentioned a very important issue, which is linked to the Bretton Woods system, many economists talk about the petrodollars?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: There is no such thing as the petrodollar. This means that oil is sold in dollars. There is no dollar on which it is written “oil”. As the American proverb says, the US dollar is green and has no other colors.

Also, I laugh when it is said that oil prices are determined by supply and demand. For example, we note in a certain month that oil prices are falling by 50% and this happened really, and the price dropped to 20 dollars. Does the consumption of the world fall by 50% in one day or one month, and then rise once, these days oil prices rise on a daily basis. Is there a measure of supply and demand for oil?! Of course not. These are political decisions.

SAE: Is there a possibility for a particular entity to compete with the dollar?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: I do not disclose secrets. Today some countries started to deal bilaterally with their own currencies; this is not acceptable for the USA. In Bretton Woods, the dollar became the only currency to deal with, as a measurement currency and as a reserve currency. This is now under discussion. China and all the BRICS said, "The time has come". The World Bank is looking at other currency formats. There are a lot of transactions going on between countries. We went back to Barter's theory. This is a departure from the dollar's control of the world, and we must consider certain circumstances.

In my view, the issue is not only the uniqueness of America in the decision-making, America feels that the world we live in now no longer fits what was formulated 70 or 80 years ago. We know that wars end with meetings, negotiations and agreements. There is no local, regional or international war unless it ends with meetings to negotiate and take new decisions. That is what is required: a war to force America, Britain, China and Russia to sit at the negotiating table to find new solutions for the world.

SAE: Regarding IP, economists say that IP is being used as a weapon to undermine small businesses and prevent new competitors from entering.

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: There are no big and small companies. I served on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) system, which is responsible for intellectual property, and on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Council of Experts, to discuss intellectual property. Intellectual property systems and agreements are clear, there is no small or large.

There are laws that determine how to register your invention, how to protect your invention, how to file claims and procedures for those who infringe your invention. There is a new look at this subject led by America. America thinks this system is flawed, when I invented a mobile phone, for example, and you invent a better mobile,

As we are now making an IT device laptop or tablet better than the existing ones, this is an exploitation of the existing product, and is not a new invention. The WTO agreements in the TRIPS Council and the World Intellectual Property Organization, and intellectual property agreements in the whole world, say that any update on something that exists is a new invention, this is the current system.

Now there is an American point of view that says: when it put Apple products in China to delocalize the production, China took the technology of Apple and made a new invention. This invention is an infringement on the USA, though China has to pay compensation for that, this is a view I don't want to look into, because this is a conflict between big countries, and by the way, no one is talking about it. The dispute between China and the USA is, in my opinion, not about product taxes, customs or economic sanctions, but about this invention.

Because if you want to talk about the theft or aggression of American technologies by China you are talking, and I use these words from an American point of view, you are talking about not only billions, but trillions of dollars. We are talking about all fields and not just IT tools, for example, the Internet, is an American invention and in return there is a Chinese Internet. America considers this infringement of its rights from its point of view. From the Chinese point of view, intellectual property agreements say that any different invention or so-called innovation, with modernization, is a new invention and this is the biggest problem.

SAE: By the way, I read an economic book in which the Chinese economy is mentioned as a new paradigm, it has changed the Western economic model based on creativity, by relying on imitation and led to a new economic revolution.

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: I feel this is the main problem, the rest is only details. Because in this world, in my opinion, power, domination and control over the world are the product of technology, and it is no longer the same as before, i.e., as a result of the economic, political and military power, this was before. The most important criterion now is not military power, but two things: technical power and economic power, and technical power is the one that leads to economic power. It can be summed up that technical superiority is the leadership of the world.

SAE: Regarding the Arab economy, what is your assessment of the Arab economy? There are strong factors of natural resources and population. How do you evaluate the Arab economies in general and what are the obstacles to the renaissance and economic development?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: The problem I say with pain, there is not a single Arab economy and there is no Arab economic integration. The Arab League, although having an important role, does not achieve economic integration, however it is a house for Arabs and represents a symbol of our Arab unity, but there is no such thing as the Arab economy. The Arab countries deal with foreign countries far more than they do with each other. Second, there is no similarity between the economy in any Gulf state, with Morocco, or with a country in the middle of the Arab world. The problem now is, according to a recent study, you will see in my report on the world economy that in 2030, the Chinese economy will become twice the size of the US economy, 2030 means tomorrow.

SAE: Actually the Chinese economy surpassed the US economy.

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: But it will be twice the US economy and what will become the second economy? then India, then Indonesia. We are facing a changing world because the criteria for growth is not traditional standards that were in the past, now it depends on: first, the size of the population, and I wish we can say that the size of our population is such, because there is no relationship between the size of the population in any country with any other Arab country, while when we talk about Indonesia the size of its population or India the size of its population. In the world productive knowledge is per capita and therefore the size of the population is very important. And secondly that you can act by turning your country into a state technical knowledge that can compete with technology and this is a very important subject, because we still think that’s the power to attract investment. We invoke our time in calling for investment and bringing in foreign investments, while one invention, for example, Google is a computer application that does not require raw materials, investment, foreign capital, government capital or anything like that. We do not even know where it is located, it is worth about one trillion dollars, the size of the Arab economy.

SAE: Actually we cannot talk about a unified Arab economy, but because of language factors, you can talk about one Arab market, for example, your invention could target the Arab world as a single market?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: It is not possible to think of the Arab region as a single market, because every country has its own systems, borders, requirements, standard of living, own capabilities, there is no one country, we are not India. And even the Common Market Agreement, of course, a dream has not been achieved, let us start again, if we want to become one market and one force, we must start again and stop dreaming and say what we must do to become so.

SAE: Concerning the entrepreneurship, what is your point of view of the entrepreneurship in the Arab world? It is generally said that the future is not for jobs but for independent careers or entrepreneurship, what is do you think of this and what sectors can be worked on and developed?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: Entrepreneurs are part of the country's economy. For example, when Bill Gates succeeds, the entire US economy benefits, so I strongly support entrepreneurs, I was yesterday in a ceremony to honor the first students of the Tawjihi (High school) in Jordan. And I honored the outstanding students and I gave them honorary shields and discussed with them because they are the ones who can make the future.

SAE: Are there specific sectors you recommend to invest in?

Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh: Never, any invention in the world, who can imagine that an invention such as a telephone will change the world?! I was, of course, involved in the development of information technology strategies when I was elected at the United Nations in 2001 as the head of United Nations’ IT team that developed the IT strategy of mobile phones, laptops, etc. Any innovation is an invention. If you invent a system to protect cyber security, it's an invention. And if you invent something in genetics, it is an invention, an innovation in robots is an invention. There are no limits for innovations. Entrepreneurs have infinite initiatives. They have a sea of ​​inventions to do. I have referred to this during my meeting with the students yesterday. I said you cannot imagine how many areas you have to invent, if you are an engineer you have areas for inventions in engineering by applying artificial intelligence, there are countless possibilities to invent. In this field there are more than 1000 projects and ways to develop the engineering system. I said a sentence and I want to conclude by it. All what the human mind can imagine as a dream or imagination is a reality waiting for the realization. Almighty when he created man, he makes his mind as the leadership of creativity. I mean, if you think that there is something to happen and it will happen, when we were thinking about making a plane that could fly, it was a joke, how could an iron object fly in the air? Science fiction in the past was for entertainment, but today it has become a fact. So, all that the human mind can imagine is a fact waiting for the realization.