Deals worth billions to be struck this year October 28, 2013 An estimated £5.8bn worth of deals were struck at the eighth World Islamic Economic Forum, held last year in Malaysia. The biggest involved Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, who agreed to build a motorsports hub in Iskandar, Malaysia, for $1.4bn (£870m). And with a record number of delegates set to attend this year’s event – around [...]
WIEF 2013 today October 28, 2013 Opening Session ■ 9am to 12.45pm. ■ Qu’ran Recitation and welcoming remarks by WIEF chair Tun Musa Hitam and Islamic Development Bank president Ahmad Mohamed Ali. ■ Opening address by Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak. Business Networking Lunch ■ 12.45pm to 2pm, Capital Hall. Ministerial Panel: Policy Framework for Growth [...]
WIEF Diary October 28, 2013 Olympic Village Tour The London 2012 Olympic Village has taken on new life as a showcase for Qatari investment in the UK. In alliance with real estate investment company Delancey, Qatari Diar – Qatar Investment Authority’s property investment company – bought the site in 2011 for £557m, with a promise to build 2,818 new homes [...]
Tech whizz who knew online video was more than a fad October 27, 2013 Blinkx founder Suranga Chandratillake talks to Annabel Palmer about his success in Silicon Valley THE MAN behind video media company Blinkx, Suranga Chandratillake has strong views about why Britain lacks its own Facebook. Negative perceptions of tech engineers and software developers are holding people back. Whether this would mean all eight-year old schoolboys, when given [...]
Innovation Diary: Literary crowdfunding: How to create value in a demanding industry October 27, 2013 DEMOCRATIC publishing has arrived. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to upload e-books, earn royalties from sales, while bypassing traditional publishing industry gatekeepers. Createspace does the same for physical books. Gumroad, meanwhile, lets designers, game developers, and musicians join writers in uploading digital files for sale. But it’s hard to make money. Taleist found in [...]
The range of premium mixers produced to raise gin’s spirits October 21, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks luck, liquor and a lightbulb moment with Charles Rolls, co-founder of drinks label Fever-Tree WHILE gin may not be the most popular global spirit (that prestigious title goes to Korean rice wine brand Jinro), the world consumes 440m litres of it each year. But back in 2000, Charles Rolls, co-founder of the [...]
UK efforts to nurture a tech startup revolution are worryingly trivial October 20, 2013 IF THE government thinks investing in Silicon Roundabout is the best way for the UK to produce the next Facebook or Twitter, it’ll be waiting a long time. As a Brit at the helm of a software company co-headquartered in California and Sheffield, I’m often asked my thoughts on what the UK should do to [...]
The real McHoy October 20, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to Sir Chris Hoy: Olympic athlete turned entrepreneur BRITAIN has caught the cycling bug. Close to 7m people hop on a bike once a month, a rise of 1m in four years. Not only are City professionals now donning full lycra for their daily commutes, but the craze has inspired entrepreneurial flair [...]
Innovation Diary: Why one company has chosen crowdfunding over venture capitalists October 20, 2013 HOW CAN you decide on the best method of financing your business’s growth? The Harvard academic Paul Gompers, in his prescient The Rise and Fall of Venture Capital (first published in 1994), explained the close interplay between the most suitable type of investment and the model of the firm concerned. Bank loans will be useful [...]
Going West: London welcomes a new FX brokerage October 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets the founders of Monex Capital, who are targeting tech savvy traders DESPITE the Asian Development Bank lowering its growth forecasts for emerging nations in the region earlier this month, European brokers are launching Asian-based subsidiaries in droves (forex and commodities brokerage MIG Bank, for example, opened a Hong Kong arm this year). [...]
