Special report on Kuwait published within the USA Today, by AFA Press partner agency

When most of the population listen the name Kuwait, the first word that comes up to their mind is oil. Petroleum, if you prefer. Well, the country has been putting all its recent efforts on diversifying its economy, focusing on structural key areas as education. One of AFA Press partner agencies, United World, was there to check on site the evolution of this process, to gather real information on the country’s economy and business and to interview some of the most relevant personalities and businessmen in Kuwait. As a result, the agency produced a special country report based on its on-the-field experience and conclusions and showing a portrait of the current situation and evolution of the country. This special report was published within the USA Today on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 and can be read on-line at Worldfolio.

As defended by Bayan Investment founder Faisal Ali Al-Mutawa, “Kuwait is a country with about 1 million citizens, 2 million expatriates and less than 9,000 square miles floating on 10% of the world’s proven oil reserves. […]It is one of the world’s richest countries with a third of a trillion dollars in assets, producing about 3 million barrels of oil a day which translates into a daily income of $300 million.” But during the last years oil is not enough for this Western-oriented emirate. In order to guarantee and propel its future in the current century, it is taking big efforts in developing proper health and education systems, modifying its political structure, promoting and adapting development plans or focusing on wealth management, among other relevant measures.

Power sector in Nigeria, by AFA press partners

One team: one country. One country: one objective. In this case, the objective was to offer to the readership of The Times an advanced and actualized view on Nigeria’s economy, prospectus, situation and opportunities. For that purpose, a team from Upper Reach, one of AFA Press partner agencies, was sent to the country where they were living for several months in order to understand the country’s reality, investigate its economy and businesses and interview the main characters and decision makers on the country. After all their efforts, an special country report was distributed within the aforementioned media on Monday, December 10, 2012, and it’s also available at Worldfolio, the digital platform where the journalistic projects of this AFA Press partner can be read on-line.

As reflected in the publication, one of the main aims of the country’s government is to reduce the monopoly of the administration in the energy sector through a privatization of part of its energy estate-driven companies, in order to pursue efficiency, while offering an already established infrastructure. Nigeria owns 6 energy generating companies and 11 distributors: the purpose is to privatize all but one in both cases.

About this project, in which he was involved, former Minister of Power Barth Nnaji explains: “We are not preoccupied with just power generation, but also committed to the development of the entire value chain in the sector. With the gradual but steady improvement in power we expect a dramatic increase in the demand for electricity because our nation currently experiences significant suppressed demand.”

Angola, by AFA Press partners Globus Vision

AFA Press partners Globus Vision had the chance to deeply investigate the Angolan business sphere. One of the teams of the agency settled in the country in order to get to know better the country’s economic reality through their investigations and interviews with the most relevant characters on the country. Their efforts where afterwards published in a special country report on Angola delivered within Capital, on Thursday, October 18, 2012. The report can also be read on-line at Worlfolio.

The AFA Press partner’s team had the chance to interview, for example, General Director of Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicaciones de Angola Americo Antonio Dos Santos, who made the emphasis on the necessity of education, remembering today’s Angolan students will become tomorrow’s professionals. About potential German investment in the country, his words were: “ITEL is working to develop the knowhow of its workforce, and there are many opportunities in the sector of telecommunications that have to be addressed. In order to know exactly where this investment could go to in relation to ITEL we should need to do a study and draw conclusions.”

Globus Vision also interviewed General Director of INATEL Alberto Baltazar de Almeida, Director General de Corpo de Segurança e Fiscalizaçao dos Diamantes Antonio Romero, Director General Maxam Carlos Aguincha or President of SANZI GROUP Mr. Farid Rahmani, among others.

Julio Luis Martínez, ICAI-ICADE Rector, talks with AFA Press

AFA Press had the chance to interview Rector of Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE Julio Luis Martínez. The institution is a Jesuit-administered Catholic institution located in the middle of Madrid which has more than seven thousand collaborative agreements with international and Spanish companies, apart from 240 universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Shanghai International Studies University and King’s College London included.

In the last times ICAI-ICADE has signed collaborative agreements with four top Chinese Universities. According to Martínez, “These agreements are working very well; however we would like to extend them. Initially, the Chinese government only wished to sign agreements with public universities, although they now want to give their students the option to come and study here. A representative from the Chinese Embassy came to Comillas to visit the university and find out more about it, with a view to bringing us on board. This is the first step for us: once we are authorized by the Chinese government to receive graduate-level exchanges, we will be able to work with more universities”.

He explains there are two main key factors for the success of his University (ranked 4th in industrial engineering in all Europe). These are high academic standards and employability. These two factors are well sided by an individual attention to all students, business contacts, professors with experience in companies and a tough selection process in order to full the university with the best students.

AFA Press interviews Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia

AFA Press had the occasion to interview recently Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia Branko Brcic under the government of Zoran Milanović. He assumed the office on December 2011, as well as the newly-created position of Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds.

One of the points he highlights is that one of Croatians priorities nowadays is to ease and empower foreign private investment. In his own words, they are “trying to do whatever we can within the framework of our macroeconomic policy to create better connections in terms of enhancing the business climate and removing specific obstacles,” he said. One of Brcic’s roles is to coordinate economic investment and EU funds.

In order to prioritize, classify and structure, he has established three operational groups whose main aim is eliminating the obstacles and barriers investors may find when in Croatia.

Brcic also had time to thank Great Britain’s attitude in the Croatian process to reach the EU, especially in the issues related with the confrontation with Slovenia, frontier-related problem that, as he recognized to AFA Press, the Deputy Prime Minister identifies as one of the main barriers for the Croatian incorporation.

Bangladesh, by AFA Press partner United World

United World, an AFA Press partner agency with a special agreement with USA Today, published a special country report on Bangladesh within the North-American daily newspaper on Monday, November 19, 2012. This report was elaborated by one of the agency’s teams, which traveled to the country in order to imbibe the cultural, economical and business uses and realities. During their stay, they had the chance to inquire the reality of the country and to interview some of its most relevant personalities. These interviews, along with other key pieces of news, can be read on-line at Worldfolio, as well as the whole report on Bangladesh.

Among the different leaders AFA Press partners interviewed in the country it was Chairman of Pacific Jeans, Nasir Uddin. His company is a leader in the exporting sector, specifically in the ready-made garment (RMG), and a Bangladeshi pioneering premium jeans manufacturer. According to his words, Bangladesh is capable of accommodating the needs of the top-tier international premium brands. In fact, up-market retailers are already sourcing from Bangladesh.”

In the same line, he defends “Made in Bangladesh” as a synonym of quality and efficiency and, as many other manufacturers, fight against the general image of a low-priced garment production associated with some Asian markets. He defines his country as an upscale, quality high-street manufacturing hub.

AFA Press publishes special report on Ghana

The Financial Times Deutschland published last April 13, 2012 a special report on Ghana. The country report was produced and edited by AFA Press. One of our teams was sent to the country in order to gather all the fundamental information about Ghana’s economy and culture, while interviewing the most relevant characters of its political, economic and business arenas and discovering on site the functioning and development of its main industries and companies. This special country report can also be read on line at Worldfolio.

Ghana is becoming the focus points for foreign investment in the Gulf of Guinea’s area. As a matter of fact, in the 2010-2011 period Foreign Direct Investment Grew by a 500%. Other features, as an expected average growth of 7.5% in the period 2013-2016 or a 13.6% GDP growth in 2011 help to identify the country as a potential winning bet.

Mining is one of the main pillars on the country’s economy. Ghana has two billion ounces of gold, 100 million karats of diamonds (4th in the world), 400 million tons of bauxite, and 49 million tons of manganese (third in the world) in reserves.

Furthermore, Ghana’s current and planned port installations are driven in the way to make the country the main maritime transportation hub in the region.

The country is enjoying a big renewal energies development, focused the solar energy systems, with an installed capacity of 3.2MW, and its wind power. Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy Professor Thomas Mba Akabzaa places the gross wind electric potential in about 5,600MW. The country is also making efforts on bio-energy potential and bio-mass energy and the different dams distributed along the country raise the hydroelectric potential production of the country up to 2500MW.