FW:

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Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:19:37 +0000
Subject:
From: jaouher.m@gmail.com
To: hamid_choukri@hotmail.com; issamdown@hotmail.com

hi

hi

Trade balance surplus in Germany unexpectedly down in February

The surplus of trade balance in Germany unexpectedly declined in February to EUR14.2bln, the Federal Statistical Office reported today. In January the surplus of German trade balance was 16.2bln. The index was expected to decrease to 16.0bln.

Upon calendar and seasonal adjustment, exports rose by 1.9% and imports by 5.6% in February on month.

The current account of the balance of payments was EUR8.4bln in February, compared with 11.2bln in the preceding month. The analysts estimated the decrease to 10.1bln.

Source : www.northfinance.com

What is the role of business in advancing economic development and social progress?

The challenges in our world cannot be met by governments, business or civil society alone. The UN’s Millennium Development Goals of 2015 will be a challenge to meet, but business partnerships hold significant potential for accelerating progress.

The Centre for Public-Private Partnership combines the thought leadership of research institutes with the practical perspectives of executives from business, government and civil society institutions.

Harnessing Private Sector Capabilities to Meet Public Needs: The Potential of Partnerships to Advance Progress on Hunger, Malaria and Basic Education
This report shows that there is significant potential for the private sector to help meet the Millennium Development Goals on hunger, malaria and basic education. It identifies priority actions for companies to take and presents over 45 examples of ongoing corporate efforts on these three issues.
Full report I Executive summary I Press release

In what ways can the private sector contribute?
The private sector develops new technologies, provides essential goods and services, and manages large-scale operations efficiently. Business competencies can improve the effectiveness of development programmes.

Multinationals have a particularly important role to play in upholding and advancing principles on human rights, labour, environmental and anti-corruption practices in countries with weak regulatory capacity.

Public-private partnerships between businesses and other stakeholders, such as NGOs or governments, can apply the resources and competencies of business for social gain.

Corporate philanthropy is growing, but only a small portion of this is directed towards developing countries. Corporate foundations can target more funds towards MDG-oriented programmes and also help to fill the financing gaps that often constrain public-private partnerships.

Business can help to improve governance for the MDGs. Involving business in policy dialogues also enables stakeholders to work together more effectively on implementation. And businesses can also help build public awareness and support for the MDGs, through media outreach and consumer education.


Companies and organizations wishing to work with the Centre for Public-Private Partnership should contact Richard Samans, Managing Director, or Associate Directors Lisa Dreier and Pratik Bhatnagar.


Source: www.weforum.org/initiatives

United Arab Emirates is the most competitive economy in the Arab world

Tunisia and Egypt are the most competitive Arab countries in their peer groups.

Doha, Qatar 10 April 2007 – United Arab Emirates is the most competitive economy in the Arab world among the countries at the third and most advanced stage of development according to The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007, released today by the World Economic Forum. It is followed by Qatar and Kuwait. Among countries at the second stage of development, Tunisia and Oman are the best performing Arab economies while Egypt is the regional best performer in the third group of countries.

This year’s report has expanded coverage to 13 Arab economies – Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates. Libya, Oman and Syria are assessed for the first time. Rankings are presented in three country groups according to the stage of development to enable benchmarking against peers in other parts of the world.

Download the full Global Competitiveness Rankings for the Arab world in Excel format.

“Today, the Arab world is at a critical juncture. Although the region’s economies are currently very dynamic and offer tremendous business opportunities, there is no doubt that improvements to national competitiveness and closer integration with the global economy and within the region are necessary if this growth momentum is to be sustained.” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“The Report underscores the importance of a profound change in mindsets in order to realize the region's full potential. Entrepreneurship, an element that is often cited as the key to unlocking the potential of the Arab economies, can only take root in societies where freedom of thought, enthusiasm for inquiry and critical thinking are popular values. To that end, the pace at which the leaders of the region will address educational reform and the route that this reform will take are the determining factors when it comes to ushering in the productive power of Arab entrepreneurship. Diversification of Arab economies and improving business competitiveness are a direct function of education reform” said Sherif El Diwany, Director, Middle East , World Economic Forum.

“The rankings highlight the diversity of Arab economies and the divergent performance in terms of national competitiveness. A closer look at the results reveals that although most countries have achieved significant progress with respect to their own past, many challenges remain to be addressed. The most important weaknesses are to be found in the areas of education, low efficiency of goods markets as well as labour markets and, for the more advanced economies the very weak innovative capacity.” said Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Senior Economist at the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network and Co-Editor of the Arab World Competitiveness Report.

“The current situation provides an opportune moment for forging ahead with reforms to improve national competitiveness. Educational reform is a high priority in the region, given the high unemployment rates among educated youth. Educational outputs remain mismatched with the needs of the business sector, depriving the economies of the trained talent needed to raise productivity and move up the value chain. At the same time, high unemployment and labour force growth require that governments overhaul the regulation of labour markets that rely heavily on the public sector and migrant workers.” said Tarik Yousef, Dean, Dubai School of Government.

The Arab World Competitiveness Report series serves as a platform for public-private dialogue on issues related to competitiveness as is being witnessed at the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable in Doha in 2005. These high-level discussions use the findings of this report as a basis for competitiveness benchmarking and for advancing policy discussions.

This year’s Arab World Competitiveness Report features a progression in the methodology with respect to how the competitiveness of resource extracting economies is assessed, based on the methodology of The Global Competitiveness Report, the Global Competitiveness Index. Developed for the World Economic Forum by Professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin of Columbia University, this index provides an excellent tool for assessing and analyzing national competitiveness.

The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the Report and other nations worldwide. Over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 128 economies worldwide. The survey questionnaire is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy’s business climate that are critical determinants of sustained economic growth. The Forum annually delivers a comprehensive overview of the main strengths and weaknesses in a large number of countries, making it possible to identify key areas for policy formulation and reform.

This year’s Report features a number of external studies on pertinent issues related to global competitiveness and, more generally, themes which emanate from the World Economic Forum’s concern with growth and development. The Report contains a detailed country profile for each of the 13 economies featured in the study, providing a comprehensive summary of the overall position in the Index rankings as well as a guide to what are considered to be the most prominent competitive advantages and competitive disadvantages of each. Also included is an extensive section of data tables with regional rankings covering 90 indicators.

Highlights

• United Arab Emirates is at rank 29 the best performing Arab country among the 40 most advanced economies. Sound economic management has contributed to stabilizing the macroeconomic environment and strengthening public institutions. Areas of concern include educational attainment, in particular at the primary and secondary levels. These need to be tackled on a priority basis, as lack of educated workforce could put current diversification efforts at risk. For the same reasons, the country will have to increase efforts to promote innovation and tertiary education and combat red tape that constraints competition on markets for goods and services.

• Qatar ranks 32nd in the group of 40 most advanced economies. In regional comparison, it shows a relatively good track record with respect to education at all levels, yet for the country to move ahead a higher turnout of university graduates will be necessary. Qatar’s ranking among the 128 countries on this category is only 77th. Macroeconomic management has been good so far and current public investments appear to be made in the right areas, for example for improving transport infrastructure, which lags behind other countries in the region. Going forward, the capacity for innovation in the public and private sectors will have to be upgraded.

• Kuwait occupies the 37th place out of 40 countries in this group. The macroeconomic environment has markedly improved in the past few years and the country ranks first within the group on this indicator. It equally boosts a very good financial infrastructure. At the same time, improvements to the country’s higher education institutions and an enhanced innovation capacity would benefit the country’s business sector. The business community also highlighted pervasive red tape and the relatively closed nature of the economy as areas of competitive weakness – entrepreneurs find it difficult to set up shop and the country foregoes the benefits of intense competition for goods and services.

• Bahrain is ranked 39th out of 40 countries in this group and displays a number of notable strengths and weaknesses. One particular area of strength is the excellent performance on health indicators and primary education. Yet, schools could improve the preparation of graduates for positions in the private sector as well as for establishing a strong foundation for innovation. Further increases in competitiveness could be achieved through leveraging the good technological capacity of the country as well as the well developed financial markets.

• Tunisia is at 3rd place the highest ranking Arab economy among the 40 countries at the middle stage of development. Tunisia’s good results are based on strengths in the area of education, where quality is assessed as very good and universal primary education has been reached. The country also benefits from stable and efficient public institutions and shows further strengths in innovation and business sophistication. Yet, a high budget deficit and public debt coupled with weak infrastructure and a low level of sophistication of financial markets prevent the country from reaping the full benefits of a more competitive economy.

• Oman is the second best ranked Arab country in the group of countries at the middle stage of development, coming in at a 8th rank. The country’s solid outcomes on macroeconomic indicators, its well-developed institutions and high level of efficiency of labour markets contribute to this good result. The country’s competitive position is weakened by low levels of education and technological readiness as well as weak business sophistication and low capacity for innovation.

• Jordan ranks 13th among the 40 countries at the middle stage of development and the third best Arab economy in this group. Its strong performance is linked to transparent public institutions and business-friendly regulations that are easy to comply with. And the Jordanian economy is fairly open to trade and foreign participation. Yet, the macroeconomic environment remains fragile, labour markets over-regulated and latest technologies largely unused by consumers and business.

• Libya, at its first inclusion into this report, comes in at rank 26 in the group of countries in the middle stage of development. Thanks to the recent oil boom, the country excels on macroeconomic indicators, with one of the highest budgetary surpluses and one of the lowest government worldwide. Libya has only recently embarked on the process of economic reform and the list of challenges to be addressed is long. Underdeveloped physical infrastructure, weak public institutions, and low penetration of latest technologies are the most pertinent among them. But to improve its competitiveness, the country will also have to open to international competition and improve the overall level and quality of education.

• Algeria occupies the 29th rank among the 40 countries at the middle stage of development. The macroeconomic environment improved significantly with rising energy prices, public institutions are fairly sound and the population benefits from good health services and education. Making the country more competitive will require a number of basic reforms, in particular with respect to opening the country to international competition, strengthening the banking system and increasing the use of advanced technologies.

• Egypt is the best performing Arab country among the countries at the lowest stage of development, ranking 4th out of 48 countries. The well-developed physical infrastructure serves the economy well and good progress has been achieved with respect to primary education. But to fully utilize the country’s competitive potential, enhance growth and create urgently needed jobs, a number of fundamental challenges will have to be addressed, such as a soaring budget deficit, rigid labour markets and financial markets that are ill-equipped to channel financial resources into investments. Equally, the potential of latest technologies is not fully used.

• Morocco occupies the 7th place among the 48 economies at the lowest stage of development. Among the country’s strengths are the good quality of infrastructure and the relatively solid public institutions. And although penetration rates for most advanced technologies are fairly low, companies are aggressive at absorbing technology from abroad. And although local firms are sheltered from international competition administrative barriers to setting up new businesses have been reduced. Last but not least, diversification efforts will only be successful, if access to finance is facilitated and human capital advanced.

• Syria, which ranks 12th among the 48 economies at the lowest stage of development has only recently embarked on the path of economic reform. Among the country’s notable strengths are the relatively low levels of corruption and infrastructure facilities are considered to be efficient with the exception of air and sea ports. Progress has also been made with respect to health and primary education. But Syria achieves only inferior results on macroeconomic indicators with a high budget deficit and considerable public debt. Any future reform agenda should envisage a comprehensive liberalization of foreign trade and labour markets, facilitating access to finance for business as well as fostering the use of latest technologies.

• Mauritania, the country with the lowest per capita income in the Arab world and placed at 38th place out of 48 countries. The recent discovery of off-shore petroleum fields will bring strong growth over the next years and make funds available for investment in competitiveness-enhancing reforms. Mauritania suffers from a low assessment on virtually all pillars of the Index. On a positive note, public institutions are assessed as fairly well functioning given the country’s level of development with an independent jovial system in place and low distortion resulting from government regulation. Flexible labour markets complement this positive picture. The newly elected government will have to focus on stabilizing the macroeconomic environment and upgrading infrastructure, education, and health. To boost productivity and create jobs, any future reform programme should include a significant liberalization of foreign trade.

Notes to Editors:

Click here to read the Preface, the Executive Summary and the first chaper and the full rankings in Excel format.

Should you require specific information, please contact gcp@weforum.org

For more information you can watch video interviews with the authors of the Report on our website at http://www.weforum.org/arabcompetitiveness

For contact details of any of our Partner Institutes go to http://www.weforum.org/PartnerInstitutes

Feel free to download print-quality high resolution photographs of the cover and the authors of the Report at http://www.pbase.com/forumweb/awcreport

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org)
- Over 150 top policy-makers, business leaders and public figures from the Arab world will gather in Doha, Qatar on 9-10 April for the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable. The participants at this exclusive regional meeting of the World Economic Forum will discuss how to sustain the momentum of growth in

Source :www.weforum.org

Arab competitiveness roundtable begins in Doha

Over 150 participants and a number of public figures are registered for the exclusive meeting in Doha

Doha, Qatar 8 April 2007 - Over 150 top policy-makers, business leaders and public figures from the Arab world will gather in Doha, Qatar on 9-10 April for the Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable. The participants at this exclusive regional meeting of the World Economic Forum will discuss how to sustain the momentum of growth in the Arab world. What policies will be most effective in improving the competitive environment in the region? Which regional and global trends will open up new opportunities for Arab businesses in the coming years? How can targeted reforms support promising sectors?

The programme of the two-day meeting will focus on three sectors of Arab economies – travel and tourism, healthcare and insurance services – and discussions on the wider regional environment, including the growing role of Iran, future evolution scenarios for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and the challenges ahead for the new generation of Arab companies that are growing globally.

"As Arab countries continue to make significant progress in getting the market fundamentals right, liberalizing trade and encouraging private investment, a new generation of Arab companies is emerging as global players. The next challenge for Arab corporations will be to develop their own risk management know-how in order to sustain their capacity to compete. The Roundtable will dedicate a session where CEOs and experts will take stock of the types of risks Arab corporations are, or will be, facing and explore the alternative risk mitigation techniques that would be suitable for them," said Sherif El Diwany, Director, Head of Middle East, World Economic Forum. (Watch the full interview)

On this occasion, the World Economic Forum will launch its third Arab World Competitiveness Report, which is intended to support policy-makers and business leaders alike in their endeavour to enhance competitiveness in the region. This year’s report has expanded coverage to 13 Arab economies – Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates. It provides an in-depth assessment of the competitiveness of Arab economies vis-à-vis the rest of the world, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of individual countries while offering a tool to assess efficiency of measures and overall progress.

Since the last edition of the Arab World Competitiveness Report two years ago, the global economic environment has continued to benefit the Arab world economies. And despite a precarious geopolitical environment, many economies in the region have grown faster than in the last three decades. The previous edition of the report called for more intense reform efforts and, indeed, many countries have made significant progress in reforming and diversifying their economies.

"The report contains a number of policy recommendations that governments can take up directly. They can use the rankings to get an overview of competitiveness in specific Arab countries as well as what the business sector thinks about the competitive environment," said Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Senior Economist at the World Economic Forum and co-author of the Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007.

Co-Chairs of the Roundtable are:
Mazen S. Darwazeh, Chairman, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Jordan
Zoheir Garranah, Minister of Tourism of Egypt
Yousef Hussain Kamal, Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of the Economy and Commerce of Qatar
Tarek Sultan Al-Essa, Chairman and Managing Director, Agility, Kuwait

Other notable participants registered for the meeting include: H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar; Alireza Sheikh Attar, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Mohammed J. A. Larijani, Director, Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM), Islamic Republic of Iran; Hassan Rowhani, Head, Center for Strategic Research, Islamic Republic of Iran; Sheikha Hissah Saad Al Sabah, President, Council of Arab Businesswomen (CABW), Kuwait; Anwar K. E. Al Sadah, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain; and Ghalia M. bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson, National Health Authority, Qatar.

Another highlight of the meeting is a televised debate on Tuesday at 12.15 - 13.00 on Al Jazeera television, the official host broadcaster of the meeting. The debate, part of the official programme, will analyse whether Iran's economic and political relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have a positive impact on the business environment in the region.

Notes to Editors:
For more information about the meeting, please visit the Forum’s website at http://www.weforum.org/awcr

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or
tudy is not a ‘beauty contest’, or a statement about the attractiveness of a country. On the contrary, we aim to measure the factors that make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism industry of individual countries. The top rankings

Source: www.weforum.org

President Lula to participate at the World Economic Forum on Latin America

Co-Chair Interviews

Andrónico Luksic Craig, Vice-Chairman, Banco de Chile, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Latin America, answers questions on Chile's economy and his hopes for the summit.

Zhou Zhongshu, President, China Minmetals Corporation, People's Republic of China, Co-Chair, The World Economic Forum on Latin America, discusses the developing relationship between China and Latin America.

By the end of 2007 there will be twelve democratically elected heads of government engaged in bringing change to Latin America. The World Economic Forum for Latin America in Santiago de Chile will provide a unique setting for understanding recent power shifts in the region, identifying new business opportunities, and drawing up economic policies to shape regional development.

Despite many economic challenges, Latin America has been able to take advantage of positive international trends, such as lower interest rates and higher prices of commodities like oil, copper, and agricultural products. As a result, the region has had three years of strong economic growth: nearly 6% in 2004, an average of 4.5% in 2005/2006, and an expected 4.2% for 2007. An increase in international trade, renewed capital flows, greater fiscal responsibility, improved current account management as well as higher reserves have helped to reduce the spreads on the Latin American debt.

The World Economic Forum’s roundtable key purpose is to assist Latin America’s well-established and growing industries to compete globally. Risk analysis and scenarios will reveal the opportunities and identify the challenges to shape the business environment in the future. The program revolves around world trends and issues, Latin America’s changing perspectives, recently elected government priorities, China-Latin America economic relations, infrastructure investments and equitable income distribution. The roundtable’s ultimate objective is to promote regional sustained economic growth along with equitable income distribution.

While Latin America’s main concerns continue to focus on risks management, enhanced competitiveness, trade integration and new investments, the 2007 roundtable’s program is designed around five guiding tracks.

1) World trends and issues
An update on the most recent global economic trends, the global energy outlook and a Global Risk Briefing Report focusing on business-critical regional risks and actionable mitigation strategies.

2) Changing perspectives and priorities in Latin America
In-depth analysis of power shifts in the region and their implications for regional competitiveness enhancement.

3) China and Latin America interregional trade and investments trends
Investments in Latin American infrastructure and energy are to be addressed, bearing in mind China’s top priorities and Chinese business strategies.

4) Understanding the mindset of Latin American policy-makers and business leaders
Covers an understanding of Chile’s challenges regarding political stability, macroeconomics management and poverty reduction.

5) Achieving equitable distribution of income in Latin America
Some of the priorities for action to be addressed are quality education for all, digital ecosystems for societal needs and innovation capabilities to tackle socio-economic imbalances.

Interview
Emilio Lozoya, Head of Latin America, World Economic Forum, gives a preview of the upcoming regional meeting of the World Economic Forum in Santiago de Chile.
En Espanol

Source : www.weforum.org