A Union of Minds, Methods, and Values Keeps Singapore’s Unique Skyline Alive

Singapore Land Group’s praises are sung — by peers and award bodies

Singapore Land Group Ltd — SingLand — has a simple, and admirable, focus: to create inclusive urban spaces that empower people, businesses, and communities to thrive.

And its success in that has been recognised by its peers, and by CFI.co. The awards judging panel unanimously named Singapore Land Group as the Best Commercial Real Estate Developer in Singapore for the 2023 Real Estate Awards.

Working across a diverse portfolio, including commercial offices, retail properties, residential developments, and hotels, SingLand takes a holistic approach to development. Its commercial assets in Singapore include 2.7 million square feet of office space, and one million square feet of retail space. The Group also owns overseas investment assets in China and the UK.

“We recognise that as a leading developer in Singapore, it is not enough to make decisions based solely on the bottom line. We want to create positive social, environmental and economic change that is sustainable in the long run,” says Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Eu.

To achieve this, SingLand has a playbook which has stood it in good stead over the years; it leverages its existing strengths and adopts an ESG-first approach in all business matters. It has been transforming office properties through refurbishment, asset-enhancement or redevelopment initiatives to meet the growing demand for well-located, modern, sustainable workplaces.

The group has been elevating retail experiences by transforming malls into vibrant “eat, shop and play” destinations, by adding diversity to the mix and introducing new food and beverage and lifestyle options.

Singapore Land Group collaborates with strategic partners to create best-in-class residential properties that fulfil the aspirations of homeowners and investors. It has firmly entrenched an ESG-first approach as one of its foundations.

This is no passing fancy for the group. Its environmental footprint has been minimised via reductions in energy and water consumption, and the careful management of waste. To date, over 85% of SingLand’s current portfolio of properties by gross floor area have achieved Singapore’s Building Construction Authority’s Green Mark certification.

A value-based workplace culture has been built by an initiative called SingLand Empowers, which advances diversity, equity, and inclusivity issues. The focus has been on creating a caring environment where employees help one another, and grow together.

Positive community impact is ensured via two initiatives, SingLand Elevates and SingLand Inspires. SingLand Elevates supports underprivileged communities and individuals, such as low-income families, children with special needs, and low-wage migrant workers. SingLand Elevates makes financial contributions and encourages staff volunteerism.

SingLand Inspires uses art to enhance its place-making efforts.

 “Having shaped Singapore’s skyline for 60 years, we aspire to go beyond building well-designed spaces to creating a platform for artists to showcase their talent and creativity. We seek to bring art into everyday spaces, igniting conversations and sparking the curiosity and imagination of people who visit our properties,” says Mr Eu.

Apart from adding character and vibrancy to the properties, the installation of artworks from local and regional artists creates a platform for them to showcase their talent.

To achieve the corporate goal of creating inspiring and inclusive urban spaces, Singapore Land Group pulls out all the stops and focuses its energy and expertise on finding effective, affordable, and workable solutions.

A glance through the group’s annual report for 2022 is highly recommended to get a fix on how the initiatives are achieved.

Apart from disclosing the group’s performance for the financial year, the report celebrates SingLand’s contributions to shaping Singapore’s skyline by taking stock of what has been achieved over its six-decade history — the group was founded in 1963.

Going forward, the group aims to unlock further value from its diversified property portfolio. It also seeks to further embed environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in its business.

“The next phase in our sustainability blueprint will involve various stakeholders in our value chain. It is only when we adopt a holistic approach to address ESG issues such as climate change, social issues, and a sustainable supply chain, that we can effect meaningful impact through championing a net positive mindset,” says Mr Eu.

Singapore Land Group is a subsidiary of UOL Group Ltd. The organisations leverage each other’s strengths to drive sustainable growth for all stakeholders.

[caption id="attachment_25700" align="aligncenter" width="900"] View of the Marina Bay waterfront including an artist’s impression of the refreshed façade for Singapore Land Group Tower.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_25697" align="aligncenter" width="900"] SingLand commissioned and installed artworks from a regional artist at SGX Centre 2 in 2022.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_25698" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Solar panels at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_25699" align="aligncenter" width="900"] As part of SingLand Elevates and in celebration of the Singapore Land Group turning 60 this year, SingLand donated $60,000 to the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund which provides pocket money to children from low-income families in March 2023.[/caption]


Video Gaming Firm Forced to Cut Staff — Despite Cult-like Following for a Franchise that Just Won’t Die

Q: How do get 1,000 Pikachu on an aeroplane?

A: You Pokémon.

Hal Williams reports on the enduring — or is it? — appeal of a video gaming phenomenon...

Pokémon Go has been a mysterious and enduring phenomenon since its release in 2016. It caught like wildfire. It got very big, very fast. It broke the Apple app store weekly download record. It’s been blamed for car crashes, muggings, assaults, relationship break-ups, injuries and fatalities — and not many video games can say that. Or would want to, perhaps.

The point is: Pokémon Go was — some say is — huge.

It’s an augmented reality game; as users travel about in the real word, Pokémon characters appear on a digital map. Get close enough and you can throw poké balls at them in the hope of capturing them. The aim is to collect as many as possible. It may sound humdrum enough to a Boomer, but it became an international sensation before they’d poured the tea.

Google the words “Strange stories Pokémon Go” and you’ll be rewarded with gems such as these (compiled by gameinformer.com, and worth reading in full):

Woman Gets Stuck in Tree Searching for Pokémon

Two Guys fall off a cliff while Playing Pokémon Go

Teens get stuck 100 feet Underground In Caves

Woman Finds a Dead Body Instead of a Pokémon

Tons of Pokémon Appear at Holocaust Museum

People are Naming their Babies after Pokémon

If that last one doesn’t underscore a trend that had become too popular for its own good, the next one does:

Saudi Arabia Instates Pokémon Go Ban

So: huge, right? But now Pokémon Go maker Niantic is cutting its workforce by 25 percent, closing its Los Angeles studio, and cancelling two games. The reasons? A slowdown in demand, and allowing “our expenses to grow faster than revenue”, as CEO John Hanke put it in a statement. Fear not, Pokémon Go isn’t affected — but it has become less profitable. Revenue flowing from the land of Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and the rest has fallen.

That dip, and the Niantic cutbacks, come as a surprise to many, presumably including the 230 people whose jobs will be affected. The gaming industry had been riding a colourful and profitable CGI wave as the perfect antidote to pandemic doldrums. A study found that 82 percent of global consumers played video games or watched video game content at the height of lockdowns. Research by Nielsen Games Video Game Tracking (VGT) confirmed that more gamers were playing, more often. The increase was highest in the US (46 percent), followed by France (41), UK (28) and Germany (23).

The symbiosis between lockdown blues and gaming may have been more important than at first realised. With home imprisonment just another suppressed memory, are we at last wandering, blinking, into daylight, a wee bit sick of screens? The industry must have been hoping that the tsunami of exposure during Covid would lead to new gaming converts, who would then forge ahead with their own digital quests and conquests.

But the line hasn’t held, at least in Niantic’s case. When it comes to launching new games, Hanke has found that things don’t always run smooth. He has called the free-to-play Pokémon Go “a forever game” — and in 2023, it certainly still has followers. Niantic doesn’t release data on that, but Business of Apps estimates that at its peak, it attracted 232 million players. That’s for the first year, 2016, and despite its enduring popularity, it’s been all downhill since. In June 2023, ActivePlayer puts the figure at a mere 79,669,226.

So, uh, still huge. Estimates put Pokémon Go earnings at $703m for 2022, down on 2021’s $877m — and evidently not enough to support games that aren’t cutting it. The recently released NBA All-World and Marvel World of Heroes are gone from the Niantic catalogue.

The Pikachu and their friends? They live on.

For now, at least.


You Can Take This to the Bank: Online Gaming is Here to Stay

B2B GAMING SERVICES: WINNER Best Online Gaming Platform Solution – Europe 2023

CFI.co in conversation with Gabriel Chaleplis, Founder of B2B GAMING SERVICES: Gaming forward in the innumerable ways people understand, use and enjoy technology.

[caption id="attachment_25707" align="alignright" width="300"] B2B GAMING SERVICES Founder: Gabriel Chaleplis[/caption]

B2B Gaming Services (Malta) Ltd is an industry-leading provider of comprehensive platform solutions to sports betting, casino, and games in regulated markets.

Its omni-channel offering and fully managed service packages have for more than two decades made the company the partner of choice for top-tier clients.

Founder Gabriel Chaleplis has an unrivalled understanding of the gaming world, and an appreciation of the benefits that AI can bring to the sector.

What excites you about the business world in general?

The fact that one needs to be a pragmatist and a visionary at the same time. The world of business is never at a standstill, it is continuously elaborated with unknowns. The constant in this equation should be ethics and respect for one’s values. Every business decision is deemed to have circular effects, and leaves a footprint to society.

We need to be pragmatic on how we modulate the puzzle towards our business objective, and visionary as to what the end result will contribute to the “big picture”.

What lessons have you learned over the course of your career?

The key learning is that as we are in a technology-intensive business, we need to always stay ahead of our customers’ needs — and surprise them with innovation.

To make this happen, we abide by an agile operational matrix and always think of ourselves as “servant-leaders”. B2B Gaming Services was a “start-up” well before the invention of the term. We have maintained the same enthusiasm through the years, and we are always in the action process, setting new things in motion. It’s a matter of attitude.

What motivates and enthuses you about the business you now lead?

That leadership is something you earn every day. Through the years, we have abandoned more than we have adopted. We value emotional intelligence and act by it. We have stayed prudent, low profile, and resilient through numerous challenges.

I surely take pride in that, but we never rest on past accomplishments. We act by reciprocity, and will continue to do so for society at large.

What is special about your organisation’s management style?

We act with organisational agility. We have long abandoned pyramid leadership. Every role in the organisation is transformed to a “servant-leader” function. That’s not just to satisfy company objectives, but also enable overall structures, think “outside-in”, and effectively react to broader challenges.

How do you foster innovation within your organisation?

We are committed to deciphering the macro challenges and staying agile. The ultimate value of this culminates in the fact that time alone renders much of the planning obsolete, primarily because by the time any project is ready for delivery, the conditions are altered, and the offer no longer matches what the customer wants.

What are the key strengths of the team you lead? How important is your support team?

Teams make it happen! We are organised along a “businesses and functions” matrix. A project leader in one project may at the same time serve in the function of consultant in another, and have an operational support role in a third. We have seen that silos have helped no one, and working with us is, above all, an educational experience — for everyone, including myself.

What are the key traits of a good corporate leader?

Besides integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, empathy, and gratitude, a good corporate leader needs to be a good listener, to give clear instructions, to devote time to problem resolution, and to offer suitable rewards.

What is the most important question people should ask about your business?

How does one achieve and maintain the respect of customers, partners and competitors?

The story of B2B Gaming Services isn’t a story about overriding competition, or development to its detriment. It is a common path and parallel development — because the future is always shared.

Gabriel Chaleplis, founder of B2B GAMING SERVICES, is a multi-awarded international entrepreneur of pioneering large-scale operations, fostering the future in the fledgling online betting and gaming sector (Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, South Africa, Spain, The United Kingdom), merging mutual core capabilities to global leadership.

B2B GAMING SERVICES (MALTA) LTD is an industry-leading provider of comprehensive platform solutions to sports betting, casino, and games in regulated markets. b2bgamingservices.com


Online Gaming Sector Quick to Appreciate Role of AI to Reduce Risk — and Empower Growth

B2B GAMING SERVICES: WINNER Best Online Gaming Platform Solution Europe 2023

Gabriel Chaleplis, founder of B2B GAMING SERVICES, commenting on fostering AI: ‘The plough did not replace the farmer.’

Artificial intelligence is taking every industry by storm — and online gaming has been right there, ready and waiting.

[caption id="attachment_25725" align="alignright" width="217"] Gabriel Chaleplis[/caption]

In these fluid times, all industries are experimenting with AI — but Malta based B2B Gaming Services had already charted its own path, and clearly saw the technology’s role as an enabler for growth.

Since it began operation in the UK in 1997, the company has adopted an agile operational matrix which has differentiated it from competition — and led to some notable achievements over the years.

That operational matrix is iterative, non-linear, and delivers the objective throughout its lifecycle. The company’s core is centred on values of trust, flexibility, empowerment, and co-operation.

"The challenge is to 'Be the change' in the AI revolution."

It has realised projects relating to its gaming system, operation and management services, system licensing, software design and development, product installation, and tech support.

There is an in-depth understanding of gaming as a service, and of the company’s cultural role as a “servant-leader” for the customer. This has brought about a series of innovations across the business.

Servant leadership is a philosophy built on the awareness that the most effective leaders are those who strive to serve stakeholders — customers, partners, employees, and the community at large — rather than accrue power or assume control.

B2B Gaming Services has long recognised this approach, which is apparent in the innovations it has introduced.

Enhanced Data Security

The online betting and gaming customer needs sophisticated protection measures to safeguard play and ensure responsible gambling.

B2B Gaming Services increased system sensitivity and response to observed and predicted threats. The architecture incorporates direct mechanisms to compile threat information — and eliminate them with a response rate that can be counted in seconds. The architecture also provides active detectors to lessen threat exposure and reciprocate with sustainable loops. Data robots are employed, and a series of shields have been developed to address security at every level.

That architecture is rapidly progressing towards its “intelligent” future. What this means, in practical terms, is that the system will be able to use great volumes of data history and minimise the need for human intervention to detect risk factors and reduce them to almost zero.

Enhanced Customer Protection

During the insular social conditions of the pandemic, it was predicted that people would be more likely to expose themselves to irresponsible gaming. The company adopted machine learning to understand customer behaviour, catch signs of addiction, and help customers to self-impose safe limits.

Enhanced Gaming Options

With betting on many sports events suspended or cancelled due to lockdown measures — and with customer psychology progressively rooted in the market — a new environment was developed.

B2B Gaming Services relaunched its entire mobile and desktop platform, increased its investments in livestreaming, boosted streaming coverage, released electronic and simulated reality leagues (eSports), improved content suggestions based on big data, and mitigated data-feed disruptions.

Enhanced Customer Focus

Time and resources were dedicated to further empowering customer experience, with new payment methods, customer verification and CMS Apps, a new design for cash-out and betting slips, and a unique bonus wallet.

The company tackled major issues of the traditional project management approach (Waterfall) by adopting progressive web app (PWA) technology. B2B Gaming Services launched a PWA to address the fact that 53 percent of mobile visits are abandoned if a site takes longer than three seconds to load.

The PWA is a website that looks and behaves like a mobile app. Users can add it to the main screen of their smartphones and access it exactly as they would with any other app. There are benefits for connectivity issues, and — most importantly — it combines the advantages of the web and mobile apps for a better and seamless user experience, regardless of platform.

It uses less data than native mobile apps, and there is no need for customers to find it in the app store. It can navigate to the site on any browser, including Chrome and Safari. It focuses on reliably loading faster, even working offline, and uses fewer data.

Novel Portfolio Options

To improve cross-selling to sports betting and female customers, the company presented novel portfolio aggregates, customised to customer needs.

Reshuffling of Casino Providers

To optimise the changing needs of casino customers, B2B Gaming Services reshuffled its partnerships. It prioritised casino providers with expertise in virtual sports offerings, and acquired the best virtual sports offerings.

Abandoning Waterfall

Pyramid leadership structures and traditional management schemes were recharted. Every role across the organisation transformed to a “servant-leader” model. This satisfied company objectives, and enabled “outside-in” thinking to tackle broader challenges.

The ultimate value of being agile and understanding the servant-leader role rests on the fact that time alone renders a lot of planning obsolete. By the time the project is ready for delivery, the conditions have altered and the offer no longer matches customer wants.

B2B Gaming Services sees AI as an opportunity to avert enfeeblement of the industry, and foster empowerment.

While the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, driven by AI, will continue to change the way we work and live, it’s important to remember that the disruptive technology lacks emotional intelligence. AI can work only with inputted data, and its creative process is limited to data received. Nor does AI have soft skills: humans make AI functional.

According to B2B Gaming Services founder Gabriel Chaleplis, the challenge is to “be the change” of the AI revolution, and ensure ethical, responsible, and inclusive action. Chaleplis believes that progress is impossible without disruption, and the applicable discipline is that of being agile. AI is understood and utilised as an enabler for growth.

To illustrate how this approach is being implemented in practice, B2B Gaming Services is helping bettors to access a wealth of information and data usually available only to bookmakers. This will empower them to make informed decisions, using data and analytics to assist their betting strategies. The use of advanced algorithms and machine learning will enable the provision of personalised recommendations and insights to individual users. Most importantly, with responsible gambling features such as self-exclusion and deposit limits embedded in the very foundation of the company, risks will be mitigated.

B2B GAMING SERVICES (MALTA) LTD is an industry-leading provider of comprehensive platform solutions to sports betting, casino, and games in regulated markets. www.b2bgamingservices.com


UNCDF: Time to ‘Youth-Up’ - the Status Quo Simply Has to Be Adjusted

“It’s time to sustainably invest in youth affairs and future generations”, argues Edoardo Tancioni.

As the world grapples with conflict, climate change and Covid, one thing is abundantly clear: the exigency to focus on youth.

International forums increasingly feature the perspectives and ideas of precocious entrepreneurs, innovators, and aspiring policymakers. This is timely recognition of their role in supporting social, technological, and financial revolutions. But while some are finally receiving deserved attention, millions in the global south are being denied the opportunity to chart the course of their own lives.

They still face barriers to crucial financing, barriers that impede early investment in promising business models, skills development, and the broadening of networks. Despite appeals that no one be left behind, youth populations in emerging economies remain overlooked by the international financial architecture.

On one hand, youth populations have effectively been marginalised by commercial capital markets. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports that some 41 million people aged 15 to 24 in low-income countries were not involved in education, employment, or training (NEET), lacking the assets to serve as loan collateral. A separate ILO report found that 95 percent of Africans, and 86 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage in the same age group, worked in the informal sector. The result is a lack of credit history to acquire bank funding — even with savings to support future deposits.

These realities hold back millions of young people. Concessional finance has not picked up the slack, despite its purpose — servicing the needs of those who are financially under-served. Blended finance network Convergence estimates that youth accounted for just four percent of total end beneficiaries of blended finance transactions (using concessional finance to attract follow-on commercial capital) between 2014 and 2019.

They lag behind other blended finance deals for MSMEs, and youth finance has become tokenistic and largely driven by grants and challenge funds. The implications, however, are not confined to the young.

"But while some are finally receiving deserved attention, millions in the global south are being denied the opportunity to chart the course of their own lives."

Overlooking youth when financing sustainable development in the countries where the needs are greatest can have crippling effects on markets and wider macro-economic stability. An estimated 28 million jobs will be needed each year to provide livelihoods for those entering the workforce in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Flexible finance is indispensable in conflict zones, where youth groups are often excluded or considered possible perpetrators of instability. Localised, youth-specific sustainable financing models become essential to supporting “peace-positive dividends” and livelihoods.

Such models are only transformative if finance is accessible, and there is a need for a strategic rethink. A promise that puts young people at the forefront of decision-making processes — and at the receiving end of technical assistance and financing opportunities — should reflect the intensity of focus needed to achieve sustainable development and peace.

It is time to embrace the fullest extent of innovation, both digital and financial, to connect youth entrepreneurs with capital markets. The “how” is as important as the “how much”. Through the Jobs, Skills and Finance programme in The Gambia, UNCDF partnered with crowdfunding platform Thundafund. It offered support to 3,000 projects, trained more than 5,000 businesspeople, and engaged local partners.

[caption id="attachment_25730" align="alignright" width="300"] By Edoardo Tancioni Programme Officer at the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)[/caption]

Development impact bonds are incentivising funders to invest in young founders in emerging markets. Philanthropic investor Acumen and Grameen Impact Investments in India released a bond worth about $1.43m. Such innovation is the only way that youth finance can be inclusively delivered at the necessary speed and scale.

It is also time to commit to financial instruments that connect youth in low-income countries with capital levels that can support local economic transformation. This means moving beyond small grants and challenge funds to include long-term financing: sovereign-backed loans, guarantees, and blended finance — co-defined by young people and customised for their needs.

The Youth Empowerment Bank provides concessional loans to young entrepreneurs and marginalised Zimbabweans starting out in business. With entrepreneurial training, the state-owned bank has upskilled over 65,000 young people and disbursed more than $145m as of July last year — a tangible example of putting aspirations into action.

As we look ahead to an array of high-level UN meetings focusing on the future of development, a youth-centric approach to financing must be embraced. Not just any finance, but sustainable finance that speaks to the priorities and needs of young people, especially in low-income countries.

Peace and prosperity depend on it. The clock is ticking, it is time to “youth-up”.


Financial Inclusion for All and Excellence in Operations: El Salvador’s Central Bank Sets the Bar High — for Others to Follow

No Salvadoran should be left unbanked thanks to the bank’s ongoing drive for inclusion...

The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador (Banco Central de Reserva, or BCR) plays a major role in the Central American country’s economy and financial structure.

The fundamental pillar of the BCR's management is the promotion of financial inclusion, education, and innovation. It’s winning acknowledgement, recognition, and endorsement from international organisations — whose economic growth stats are remarkably close to the bank’s official projections.

It has earned a reputation for being credible and dependable, and controls the currency rate and issues regulations on economic activities. Once privately owned, it is now under state control. The BCR believes in financial inclusion for all, and — under the guidance of the El Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, who sets out statutory laws — contributes to the overall economic and social development of the country.

The bank powered its way to the forefront of issues related to modernising payment systems by promoting a system known as Transfer365. This innovation enables free inter-bank transfers 24/7, 365 days a year — with positive effects on the daily lives of Salvadorans. Time is no longer wasted standing in queues at bank branches, or get stuck in traffic jams to find an ATMs or agency. Transfer365 is the largest network in the country — all financial institutions take part, including co-operative and commercial banks and savings and loans companies.

Since its release Transfer365 benefited the entire Salvadoran population, who collectively saved over US$35m — money they were previously obliged to part with for payment and money transfer commissions. Now, the only limit for their transactions is the balance in their accounts.

Transfer365 Business is one service that has provided solutions to ease the execution of high-value and urgent transfers with greater efficiency, and improved user-friendliness. The system is available for all types of business, from SMEs and micro-companies to large corporations.

During its first year of operation, Transfer365 Business channelled 20,110 transfers, a total amount of US$6,200m.

The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador guarantees the generation and publication of El Salvador macro-economic statistics on its website and the International Monetary Fund bulletin board. It complies with all guidelines of the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS), issued by the FMI, and develops research-supporting analyses and decision-making for various economic agents.

It again showed its innovative streak by expanding its statistical offer disclosing new information on local account variables and the external sector. This launched El Salvador to a higher stage in national statistical development.

The central bank periodically discloses projections of the expected behaviour of economy and other relevant macro-economic variables. El Salvador’s retired citizens received a direct and immediate benefit in the form of a 30 percent increase in pensions. That windfall was thanks to the approval of the Comprehensive Pension System Law, whose implementation required BCR to issue technical regulations — in just two short weeks.

Another key regulatory role of the central bank was the creation of economic support mechanisms during the pandemic. It approved measures to boost post-pandemic economic recovery, and strengthened the lines of defence for liquidity risk-management, credit, and economic growth.

To complete this strategy, the BCR approved high-impact regulations related to the pension system, credit bureaus, the credit card system, financial education programmes or initiatives, and money-laundering prevention.

One of the central bank's priorities is to promote and maintain the stability of the financial system. In its role as a Lender of Last Resort, it has managed the renewal of a US$200m credit line with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). It permanently monitors the performance of all institutions in the financial system.

In its drive for financial inclusion, the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador launched a national policy and an education strategy. The Financial Capabilities Survey, and another on financial products and services, both showed improvements — countrywide. The surveys were conducted with a grant from the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), which supports developing countries on designing inclusive policies.

The central bank is active in external asset-management. “We are constantly learning new plans of action,” says BCR president Douglas Rodríguez. “This enables us to strategically allocate assets to be implemented within the framework of BCR investment objectives while considering international market conditions.”

A highlight in the BCR’s management of internal assets is the structuring and placement of bonds for US$275m. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were issued by the state. BCR also supports negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for conversion of SDRs and a transfer of US$365.14m to the Ministry of Finance.

Acting as the State Financial Agent, the BCR has streamlined the process and provides technical advice to the Ministry of Finance for the issuance of securities in the local market. It has also provided support to manage the Eurobond debt in the international capital markets.

When it comes to advocacy and facilitation of foreign trade, the bank makes use of its Centre for Import and Export Procedures (CIEX El Salvador). This implements action to modernise and ease export and import operations — reducing service times to a mere 37 seconds, and extending opening hours to a 24/7, 365 days-a-year format.

The BCR ensures the effective operation of the wordy-but-worthy Management of Asset Money Laundering Risk, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Financing Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (AML/CFT/FPWMD). It consists of an organisational structure, policies, processes and procedures, documentation, control bodies, automated tools, dissemination mechanisms, and training. This is part of the country team dedicated to developing GAFILAT Mutual Evaluation and to implement the National AML/CFT/FPWMD Laundering Risk Assessment in compliance with Recommendation 1 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

BCR insists on excellence and an effective technical capacity. It follows the highest international standards and statistics methods, and from the start of this year, the Central Reserve Bank was entrusted with generating basic statistics in El Salvador.

It complied this task using resources allocated in the National Statistics and Census Office (ONEC), including specialised technical staff, facilities, and state-of-the-art technology. This has guaranteed a continuous process of innovation, quality, and timeliness in the generation and dissemination of stats.

It receives international support and co-operation from organisations such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the US Census Bureau. BCR leads the preparations of the Nationwide Census Programme.

It is also committed to social responsibility, using initiatives such as "Soy Becado BCR" (“I’m a BCR Scholarship Holder”), which has helped over 5,000 young people on low-incomes to achieve outstanding academic performance via scholarships for technical and university studies.

And, the happy ending: all these institutional efforts have paid off. In 2022, the BCR received the National Award for Decent Work, recognising the highest standards of working conditions, occupational safety, healthcare, and social safety.

Its excellence in social security and the provision of social security services to all employees has also been acknowledged.

Through the efficient, safe, and timely compliance with its legal duties, the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador promotes excellence, and provides innovative products and services.


Unerring Drive and Determination Pay Off for Kuwait’s Stock Exchange

Transparent, robust, and dedicated to ESG and sustainability, Boursa Kuwait has changed the state’s capital market

Boursa Kuwait has demonstrated a relentless commitment to excellence and progress — and is reaping the rewards.

With a forward-thinking strategy, the official stock exchange of the State of Kuwait has achieved remarkable milestones and played a pivotal role in transforming the Kuwaiti capital market from "frontier" to an "emerging market" status, as recognised by index providers such as FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones International, and MSCI.

The exchange's strategy has been instrumental in driving positive change. Since its establishment, Boursa Kuwait has strived to develop a transparent and robust capital market. It has implemented a range of enhancements and regulatory projects, coupled with cutting-edge technology, to elevate the reputation and visibility of the capital market — locally, regionally, and globally.

[caption id="attachment_25774" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Boursa Kuwait[/caption]

These efforts align with the New Kuwait 2035 vision and the country's National Development Plan, reflecting a dedication to contribute to the state’s economic growth and progress.

Boursa Kuwait was one of the first government entities to undergo privatisation. The exchange self-listed on its flagship "Premier" Market, and is fully owned by the private sector. This was achieved via a two-phase process.

In the initial phase in February 2019, a consortium of investment companies and the Athens Stock Exchange acquired a 44 percent stake. Between September and December of the same year, the Capital Markets Authority offered 50 percent ownership to Kuwaiti citizens through an initial public offering, which received an oversubscription rate of 850 percent.

Boursa Kuwait's commitment to creating an attractive investment environment is underlined by its ongoing restructuring process. It has assumed all responsibilities related to the management of the Kuwaiti stock exchange. The exchange has aligned itself with international practices and standards, positioning Kuwait as a regional investment hub.

It has achieved this by implementing market segmentation and new listing rules, fostering liquidity growth, and attracting companies to list on the stock exchange. Boursa Kuwait has introduced alternative investment opportunities, such as the over-the-counter platform, to diversify investment options.

To expand its investor base, Boursa Kuwait has embraced best-in-class international practices and standards. The exchange launches campaigns, sponsors conferences, and conducts roadshows and corporate events worldwide to showcase opportunities and attract global investors. Boursa Kuwait aims to foster a vibrant investment ecosystem and broaden its investor base.

The exchange's comprehensive approach includes a diverse product line, with enhanced offerings and regulations to provide still more opportunities for profitability. Boursa Kuwait has focused on improving its infrastructure and cultivating a world-class working environment. It has implemented streamlined listing procedures, strengthened its relationship with the Capital Markets Authority and other market participants, and prioritised transparency via its disclosure procedures.

The exchange also mandates quarterly analyst conferences for companies listed on the "Premier" Market, boosting communication with the investment community.

The company has a steadfast commitment to the reporting of implementation of ESG metrics and corporate sustainability. Since joining the UN-led Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) initiative in 2017, Boursa Kuwait has made a formal commitment to both areas. It has drafted a focused sustainability strategy aimed at educating capital market participants of all asset classes, as well as aiming to make a positive impact on the local community.

To fulfil its sustainability goals, the company has implemented a three-pronged approach. Boursa Kuwait seeks to align its efforts and initiatives with the company’s overall business strategy and purpose, ensuring co-ordination with corporate governance, industry best-practice, and investors’ expectations.

It seeks strong and sustainable partnerships that allow it to leverage the capabilities, strengths, and experience of other companies and organisations to deliver long-term impact. These programmes and activities are integrated with its corporate culture to create sustained employee engagement and instil a sustainability focus across day-to-day operations.

The company has been recognised over the years for its sustainability practices, initiatives, and ESG-disclosure methods, underscoring Boursa Kuwait's commitment to continuous improvement.

This relentless pursuit of excellence, commitment to transparency and progress, and status as a self-listed exchange highlight the company’s dedication. By implementing strategic initiatives, fostering liquidity, attracting international investors and continuously enhancing its infrastructure and products, Boursa Kuwait is realising its mission and vision, aligned with the state’s broader economic development plans.


Paolo Sironi, IBM: 7 Bets for 7 Trends That’ll Future-Proof Industries and Society

From generative AI to quantum technology, things are moving on a-pace.

When US President John F Kennedy gave his famous “Moon speech” in September 1962, against the backdrop of the Cold War, he described “an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance”.

Those words could well have been uttered today. JFK acknowledged a pervasive anxiety and uncertainty that had taken hold, straining conventional approaches and systems. But rather than succumbing to this environment, he set out a vision of hope, inspiring progress to meet societal, technological, and business challenges.

Sixty years later, as climate change, economic turmoil and geopolitical conflict converge in the aftermath of a pandemic, businesses need an optimistic vision of progress to rally around — and leaders willing to bet on the future.

[caption id="attachment_25777" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Author: Paolo Sironi[/caption]

Technology is developing faster than ever, sparking debate about potential impact — whether positive or negative. Generative AI represents a significant inflection point, but its abrupt public availability has raised fears, and government eyebrows. ChatGPT has earned global media coverage, and is shaping a regulatory and political debate. It has inspired science fiction art and triggered intense debate about ethics and governance.

And it’s not just AI. Quantum computing has been a holy grail of tech: it would change everything, if it ever moved from the theoretical realm to the practical. Despite billions of dollars spent on research, it has remained an arcane and distant pursuit for academics and theorists. But we are entering a decade when we begin to see business value from it. Quantum computers are getting ready to over-perform their classical cousins in a set of meaningful tasks.

Leaders who fail to understand and adapt will find themselves flailing in a changing world. In coming years, a profound computing revolution could disrupt established business models and redefine entire industries.

It's time to understand the now, the new, and the next of technology disruption — and embrace the opportunities, while protecting against the risks. This is particularly relevant for financial institutions, which need to manage risk, boost resiliency, and stay continuously compliant in a tumultuous macro-economic environment. But they must evolve by exploring new technologies and sources of revenue as they contend with non-traditional competitors.

This evolution can potentially intensify existing risks and create new ones which could be systemic if not properly managed. The question is how to stay ahead of the curve while being protected from cyber-attack vulnerabilities.

By working with the technology, businesses, scientists, regulators and policymakers should be able to slow global warming, prevent the next pandemic, manage systemic financial risks, and create a more sustainable future. The bets we make today redefine what’s possible tomorrow. Drawing on real-world experience and in-depth research, IBM has identified seven business trends that are expected to shape the world in the next three years — and seven bets worth making to benefit from them.

Forward-looking businesses will focus on AI, sustainability, product engineering mindsets, design thinking for employees and client experiences, combining virtual and physical worlds, partnering to build resilient enterprises across ecosystems, and creating a new work-life continuum.

1 Implement secure, AI-first intelligent workflows to run the enterprise.

For years, we have known that AI would transform business in most industries, but adoption – while accelerating - has been slow and expensive. Foundation models change that: pre-trained AI can be used almost “out of the box” for tasks that can be automated and improved with minimum additional training.

Generative AI expands the scope of automation in administrative, marketing and service fields. User-friendly interfaces, such as chat or voice, have eased adoption. CEOs and boards of directors must understand how to seize opportunities and also make sure they mitigate risk. Corporate spend on AI ethics doubled between 2018 and 2021, rising from three to six percent of overall AI spend. According to the IBM Institute for Business Value research, organisations expect to increase investment by 40 percent over the next three years, as AI ethics laws are passed and regulatory oversight increases.

2 Avoid false choices between sustainability and profit — deliver both.

Many executives still see sustainability and profitability as conflicting, rather than complementary, but 80 percent of CEOs expect sustainability investments to deliver business results within five years. Many businesses set out aggressive decarbonisation targets before they knew how they would be achieved. Those commitments need to be made operational and economically viable. Integrating sustainability goals into operational metrics is still a limiting factor. Businesses need to to operationalise their goals today, and adopt technology to support automation, transparency, and accountability.

3 Invest as much in your software supply chain as your physical supply chain.

Every product becomes digital. Marc Andreessen’s famous prediction has come true: software is eating the world — and AI is eating software. Companies will use AI to compose and reuse software from multiple sources, integrating a bill of materials into their own product development processes. They will use platforms to manage the end-to-end software lifecycle. That’s why savvy executives are building a product engineering mindset. They understand that adoption is critical for success, and employees and customers expect a great digital experience.

4 Apply design leadership to change every aspect of the enterprise.

Experience matters more than we think. The best experiences create passionate customers — that might last a minute. A flash of genius isn’t worth much on its own. It’s the painstaking process of implementation that turns it into profit.
Getting there requires a keen understanding of human behaviour and relentless focus on design thinking. A great client experience starts by helping employees improve productivity and adopt new ways of working.

5 Invest now in augmented reality solutions with clear benefits.

The metaverse will enhance, not replace, the physical world. Hype has obscured momentum for augmented and virtual reality and AI, which can combine to bridge virtual and physical worlds as the latest Apple headset demonstrates. Executives should be preparing, with skills development front and centre.

6 Simplify, digitalise, and partner for a resilient enterprise.

Social, political, and economic environments are undergoing a radical transformation, impacting trade, talent, and the drivers of success. At the centre of this vortex are disruptive forces that need to be navigated.

The era of stable inflation and geopolitical relationships is gone for the foreseeable future, inviting supply chains to adapt to new geopolitical and economic cycles. In a fast-shifting world, no single company owns innovation, or has all the answers. Success is less about reinventing the enterprise and more about reinventing the ecosystem. In a time of challenge and change, rethinking legacy practices and embracing a new set of priorities will drive competitive advantage.

7 Embrace the new work-life continuum in a tech-enabled workplace.

Few executives have figured out the future of work: how to address the qualified skills shortage, or keep a talent pipeline of engaged, inspired, and inspiring teams. Human workers and AI are changing the nature of work and the skills required, particularly in creative, service, and administrative jobs. The impact will equal that of the Third Industrial Revolution.

At the heart of the new way of working is a social contract that adapts to new priorities and the realities of the post-pandemic workplace. Leaders must adopt talent approaches that make employees feel like strategic business partners, and enable them to cope with, and embrace, productivity-enhancing technologies.

As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that is a platform revolution, the world goes digital but digital transformations have not been easy for many businesses. Limited success is often a reality before coding even begins. Several reasons rise to the fore. First, C-suites need board engagement, particularly to help them address skills gaps within their workforce. Second, digital transformations require funding, but in ways that differ from traditional growth strategies, which can be challenging. Risk also must be managed - but in a new operational space, firms have limited experience dealing with a host of new vulnerabilities. Facing these decision-making challenges, the Seven Bets can help C-suites systematise their strategic approach and get organised to transform the way their firms do business, the way they add client value with technology inside ethical frameworks, and the way they collaborate across firms and industry borders to create a more sustainable future for the planet and humankind.

It’s time to bet on the future, as our future is coming to us.

To learn more, access IBM Seven Bets.

About the Author

Paolo Sironi is the global research leader in banking at IBM, the Institute for Business Value, and he is author of business literature. His latest Banks and Fintech on Platform Economies has been Amazon bestseller in banking books worldwide.


Data-Sharing: Privacy Agreement to Limit Prying by US Intelligence

Europeans can now complain if they think intelligence services gathered their data — and it’s business as usual for tech firms.

The EU Commission and the US are creating a data privacy framework to ease concerns over the sharing of personal information with American intelligence agencies.

The agreement means Europeans can now object if they suspect that their data was collected by intelligence services — and that tech giants such as Meta and Google can continue sharing info with the US.

The news follows the announcement of a UK and US “Data Bridge”, an extension of the Data Privacy Framework, which aims to boost data exports by £79m.

The privacy framework pledges that only “necessary and proportionate” data will be collected. A data-protection review court, made up of US judges, will be created to hear objections.

Sridhar Iyengar, MD of Zoho Europe, describes data as “a central business tool across many sectors”. He said it was “encouraging to see the EU and US collaborating to further enhance” its benefits. “It has become one of the most valuable resources that businesses can use,” he said, “informing strategic decision-making from forecasting to addressing operational inefficiencies to customer preferences.”

Ensuring a safe and ethical approach to the collection, storage and use of personal data was essential, he added. “It’s great to see data regulation on the radar of many governments around the world. While this is a good starting point, organisations should create their own data policies that are transparent, and safeguard customers.” Maintaining public trust and a good customer experience while ensuring ethical use was “critical”.

The UK-US Data Bridge was set up to facilitate the free flow of personal data between the countries, speeding up data-enabled services to the US. The UK has been given Associate status in terms of the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules.


AI Set to Drive Nail in Coffin of Long Stagnation

From Excited to Ecstatic: Expectations of AI Drive Perception

Recognised as one of the world’s most prestigious management consulting firms, though no stranger to controversy, McKinsey & Company is quite sanguine about the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to the economy. Early adopters of the technology could see productivity gains of up to 25 percent by 2030. Over the next seven years, gross world GDP could rise by as much as 26% according to projections of the McKinsey Global Institute.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs is even more buoyant and suggests that the “widespread adoption” of AI may well drive a 7 percent per annum increase of global GDP with the boomtimes lasting a decade or longer. The bank points to the near-limitless upside for labour productivity and cites the electric motor and personal computer as precedents for such significant hikes in output.

A few economists go all-out in their predictions and (seriously) expect an era of infinite incomes to arrive before long – forcing an end to the Long Stagnation. They expect capital to replace labour altogether – a Marxist’s worst nightmare – unlocking a counterintuitive, almost utopian, world that handsomely rewards slacking, chilling, lounging, gallivanting, and other forms of relaxation and/or self-indulgence.

The Impact

Leaving that enticing mirage aside, labour markets are set for major disruption. Goldman Sachs economists Joseph Briggs and Devesh Kodnani found that some two-thirds of present jobs will likely be impacted by AI. The technology, they guesstimate, may fully replace up to one quarter of the current global workload.

However, to soften their findings the bank’s economists also note that 60 percent of today’s workers are employed in jobs that did not exist in 1940. This implies that over the past 80 years, new technologies have been responsible for over 85 percent of employment growth. They see no reason why AI should not have a similarly positive impact on employment.

Whilst economists and researchers are mostly exuberant, if not ecstatic with some turning pirouettes of joy, markets seem less impressed. Companies involved in AI have significantly underperformed lagging the global average (MSCI World) and have only recently attempted to claw back some of their losses. Market analysts seem nonplussed as investors remain sceptical and do not appear to expect an AI-powered boom even on a 30-to-50-year time horizon.

Historically, major technological breakthroughs have not sparked abrupt and radical change. Even the Industrial Revolution, which may have started with the invention of the spinning jenny, was ultimately pushed forward by the advent of steam power, a strengthening of property rights, and the rise of a scientific ethos, amongst others – a fortunate confluence of events and inventions.

Fears that Big Tech may dig a moat around AI and keep the technology under its proprietary wrap seem likewise overblown. Goldman Sachs research expects AI to add some $430bn to enterprise-software revenues in a best-case scenario. Whilst a fabulous sum for any company to claim, the amount is reduced to insignificance when set against global GDP. It certainly is not going to move the dial.

Wait and See

The hesitancy of private and institutional investors to shower big money on AI may be due to the unlikelihood of any single company attaining a monopoly in the sector. Whilst it costs a hefty sum to train an implementation of generative AI – GPT-4 reportedly cost $100m to properly coach – all iterations of the technology use remarkably similar models and run on generic, albeit exceedingly powerful, computers. Moreover, the code employed is mostly open source allowing amateurs to successfully build their own models.

The low threshold to manipulating generic artificial intelligence causes Anthropic, a San Francisco-based start-up, no end of worry and motivates the company to develop a safer and more robust alternative, less prone to being manipulated by those who dwell on the darker side of human nature.

The company, with just 160 employees, raised $1bn from investors including Google and Salesforce. Anthropic was founded on the fear that AI models may soon approach artificial general intelligence (AGI) defined as machine intelligence on a human level. According to Anthropic Chief Scientist Jared Kaplan, “soon” equates to just five to ten years.

Anthropic considers AI an “existential risk” to humanity even as the company works on a perfected version of its chatbot Claude. The first one was never publicly released for fear that it could be misused. Branded an AI Safety Lab, Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of OpenAI employees who grew concerned that their research was being exploited for commercial purposes only and without much regard for social consequences.

AI Constitution

Claude 2.0 is as functional and versatile as other AI chatbots derived from large language models. However, it conforms to an exhaustive list of written principles – akin to a constitution – which it must follow closely. A second AI model is layered on top to check responses against that constitution and provide corrections where necessary.

Anthropic, registered as a public benefit corporation which matches the pursuit of profit to social responsibility, ultimately seeks to eliminate doom scenarios such as Skynet from the Exterminator film franchise which launches a nuclear war to get rid of its human masters. US venture capitalist Marc Andreessen does not subscribe to such apocalyptic visions and predicts a formidable boost to productivity, pushing economic growth to heights unvisited and heralding an era of abundant and universal material prosperity.

However, as noted, investors seem reluctant to commit to AI, instead nibbling away at its fringes such as graphic processing unit (GPU) manufacturer Nvidia which saw second-quarter revenues jump by almost $4bn (approx. +55%), becoming only the sixth publicly traded company with a market cap north of $1tn. Companies that may successfully leverage the power of AI such as Priceline, Expedia, Booking.com, United Healthcare, and Trivago have also been tagged as early winners.

Dotcom 2.0?

Senior investors, those aged over 40, may fear a repeat of the infamous dotcom bubble that marked the late 1990s and deflated spectacularly in the early 2000s.

Redwood City-based C3.ai, an artificial intelligence pioneer trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AI), is a textbook example of great expectations gone awry. After watching its shares plunge from a post-IPO high of $161 in December 2020 to a miserable $11 at the start of 2023, the company got a second wind from bargain hunters. Since that record low, C3.ai shares gained a staggering 258% (YTD) even as its revenue only increased 6%.

In their periodic market reports, Morgan Stanley analysts have repeatedly cited Amara’s Law – named after US scientist and futurologist Roy Amara (1925-2007) – who concluded that “we tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

Over the past centuries, transformative technologies have been few and far between. The steam engine, internal combustion engine, and widespread electrification saved considerably on labour and resulted in distinct productivity gains. However, the personal computer, the internet, and the smartphone did not. For the past twenty or so years productivity growth has been rather lethargic. In fact, entire treatises have been written to prove that the humble washing machine had a greater impact on productivity than the internet.

Distractions

One reason for this may be the entertainment value of new technologies which often provide a great many distractions instead of focusing the user’s mind on the job at hand. Also, the constant bombardment of frivolous and superfluous emails, private messages, and silly management edicts suffered by office workers, who are often tormented by a cacophony of ‘pings’ in a digital version of Chinese water torture, severely undermines output.

For now, investors yearning to catch a ride on the AI bandwagon mostly do so by turning their attention to Big Tech – Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google), and Meta (Facebook) – considering that it requires deep pockets to compile and train large language models.

However, that supposition may be flawed. There is no shortage of start-ups in the US or Europe successfully raising $100m+ in venture capital. The flipside for retail and institutional investors is, of course, that these nascent companies will take years to debut on the stock exchange.

Cashing in on the AI boom thus requires a fair degree of human intelligence, a pinch of wariness, and a very unscientific measure of intuition. Also, keep an eye out for regulation.


Conservation Efforts Working in Harmony with Economic Growth

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi maintains its focus on conservation, species reintroduction, monitoring and protecting marine and air quality, climate change action, environmental education and outreach and youth empowerment

The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi possesses a dramatic setting on an island in the Arabian Gulf. It is, in part, a picture of modernity with a stunning skyline. However, if we look closely at the island itself, it is also surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes.

Abu Dhabi’s leading environmental regulator, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), has for decades been ensuring the focus stays on the conservation of nature and protection of the emirate’s environment. The Agency — winner of CFI’s 2023 award for Best Regional Environmental Agency in the Middle East and Africa — is determined that its natural surroundings will be neither ignored nor forgotten.

There are majestic sand dunes, to be sure, but they are not the limit of the terrestrial and marine ecosystems on offer. From mountains and wadis to coastal and inland sabkhas to coral reefs and mangroves, Abu Dhabi is home to biologically rich ecosystems that support thousands of species, plants and animals.

[caption id="attachment_25754" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Abu Dhabi is home to biologically rich ecosystems that support thousands of species, plants and animals[/caption]

Founded in 1996 by scientists dedicated to protecting this rich biodiversity, and preserving quality of life, EAD is now the largest environmental regulator in the Middle East. The Agency focuses on the development and enforcement of environmental regulations and policies, employs data-backed research to track environmental progress, habitat and biodiversity conservation, as well as organising educational and outreach programmes.

The Agency leverages scientific findings to create policies that set a holistic environmental direction for Abu Dhabi’s government, businesses and communities — without compromising growth and development. It also monitors, analyses, and manages environmental data for biodiversity, climate change, air and water quality, and the sustainable management of waste and groundwater resources. The EAD uses modern tools and technologies for environmental and biodiversity monitoring and undertakes initiatives to boost the accessibility and assessment of innovations in environmental data collection.

And EAD always takes pro-active steps towards to the relatively recent, but rapidly growing, worldwide awareness of the need for planet-wide protection. The Agency sees terrestrial and marine ecosystems as two of the main precursors for human health and wellbeing.

The EAD team follows the conservation legacy of the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He is credited with unifying the seven emirates into one nation, and was the UAE's first president from its formation. Known as the First Environmentalist, he also pioneered conservation efforts in the UAE to restore endangered species numbers and protect their habitats. Rare, almost mythical creatures such as the Arabian and Scimitar-Horned Oryx (SHO) were recognised for their incalculable value to the world.

Thanks to this extremely successful international reintroduction programme in partnership with the government of the Republic of Chad, the number of the SHO roaming freely in the wild in the Republic of Chad has so far reached more than 550 heads. Furthermore, Abu Dhabi is home to the largest population of Arabian Oryx with more than 5,000 heads. Some have been fitted with satellite tracking collars to monitor their progress and wellbeing.

And that’s not all – Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi is the prime climate action authority in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. One of the Agency’s key initiatives to mitigate the effects of this threat, is a series of mangrove restoration programmes. The trees are the most efficient natural carbon capture and storage systems on the planet, currently storing carbon equivalent to over 21 billion tonnes of CO2 globally.

Over the past 10 years, 40 million mangrove trees were planted in Abu Dhabi, contributing to more than a 35 per cent increase in the emirate’s total mangroves area, which today exceeds 176 square kilometres, including natural and cultivated trees. This is in line with the UAE’s aim of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030 to help achieve Net Zero by 2050.

Studies conducted by the EAD team discovered that mangroves in Abu Dhabi have the capability to store carbon at a rate of 0.5 tonnes per hectare annually, which is equivalent to 8,750 tonnes at the emirate level, and to the energy consumption of 1,000 homes per year.

The Agency’s restoration efforts are not just limited to mangroves, but the entire coastal and marine ecosystems. Due to this colossal effort, last year EAD won recognition from the United Nations, which named an Abu Dhabi initiative as one of the top 10 global restoration flagship projects in the UN Decade on Restoration.

Furthermore, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of EAD, and the leadership of Secretary General Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, the Agency has built the Middle East's most advanced research vessel.

The 50-metre state-of-the-art, multipurpose marine conservation and fisheries vessel will use environment-friendly technologies to conduct specialised research in the Arabian Gulf – the hottest sea in the world and a natural climate change laboratory – as part of the UAE’s scientific and innovative forward-looking initiatives.

[caption id="attachment_25757" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi has built the Middle East's most advanced research vessel[/caption]

The vessel is undertaking new marine and fisheries scientific research in the previously largely unstudied waters deeper than 10m, and in the longer term will also enable EAD to respond to the threats facing the marine environment including marine debris; climate change and invasive marine species.

The ship was built in Spain and on its maiden voyage to the UAE the vessel hosted the Atmospheric Research Expedition to Abu Dhabi (AREAD), in collaboration with Max Planck Society and The Cyprus Institute.

The expedition was a world first, conducting atmospheric monitoring through eight seas – the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Sea of Oman and Arabian Gulf – and covering three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia.

Other pioneering initiatives undertaken by EAD that attracted the attention of CFI judges was the launch of its comprehensive Single-Use Plastic Policy in 2020. The UAE was the first country in the region to make this bold move to reduce the dependence on single-use plastic items and to nurture and encourage a culture of sustainability and recycling in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

[caption id="attachment_25756" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The carbon footprint of the eliminated plastic is the equivalent to 272,000 tons of CO2 equivalent[/caption]

As part of this policy, last year on June 1st, EAD announced the ban on single-use plastic bags and the Agency announced that after one year more than 172 million single-use plastic grocery bags have been prevented from harming the environment. This means that 450,000 single-use plastic bags have been stopped from entering the waste cycle every single day.

Retailers who helped implement the ban documented incredible results, such as reducing by 95 per cent the number of plastic bags provided at the cash counters of some of the major retailers. This reduction in the number of bags that despite the increase in demand for reusable bags resulted in an overall reduction of the weight of plastic consumed by 77 per cent. This is the equivalent to a reduction of over 1,000 tons of plastic eliminated in just 12 months. The carbon footprint of the eliminated plastic is the equivalent to 272,000 tons of CO2 equivalent, or emissions from 629,000 barrels of oil.

The Agency does not only think about emulating the past or focusing solely on the present, but always has a visionary eye peering into the future. As such, the Agency has a very strong focus on youth. Currently there are 222 youth volunteers who are part of a Green Youth Majlis who actively take part in environmental and sustainability actions that serve the local environment and community. EAD has always identified youth as future leaders and agents of change who prioritise the conservation of the environment in all aspects of their lives, leading to a more sustainable future for all.

The Agency has decades of experience in environmental education. In 2009, EAD launched the Sustainable Schools Initiative (SSI) and Sustainable Campus Initiative, (SCI) created to teach sustainability in schools and universities and to help young people commit themselves from an early age to conserving the environment and adopting eco-conscious habits in their daily lives.

[caption id="attachment_25760" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The Sustainable Campus Initiative has 25 colleges and universities from all over the UAE[/caption]

The successes of SSI are remarkable, with 153 schools and 267,919 students reached since 2009. On another note, 21,3469 students experienced practical field trips and EAD provided training and resource material for 4,646 teachers. A total of 24,750 students assessed their own environmental footprint and 29,700 students were inspired to reach out to the community through the Eco-club – an SSI initiative. The programme has conducted a total number of 2,081 community outreach projects and SSI members have been responsible for a reduction of 97,200 kg of CO2.

In 2013, SSI won the Green Middle East Award for Best Environmental Awareness and Education Project and in 2015, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) acknowledged SSI as an innovative model for education in sustainable development and recommended that it be matched all around the world.

The SCI has 25 colleges and universities from all over the UAE, trained 1,276 student and faculty members through a series of workshops, and 104 action projects and audit reports on the sustainability of university campuses were submitted by the participant colleges and universities.

With all this in mind, and more, the CFI.co judging panel announced EAD as the worthy winner of the 2023 Best Regional Environmental Agency (Middle East and Africa) award. This year there is a specific focus on these efforts, and those of environmental guardians worldwide, at the Cop 28 conference to be hosted in Dubai in November. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi will be on the world stage, representing the UAE in its efforts to mitigate climate change and ensure a brighter future.

Development in Abu Dhabi is unavoidable, and even desirable, but Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi ensures that nature is never left behind in the rush.


Pioneering, Principled and Passionate Champion of UAE’s Natural Heritage

Her aim is for sustainability and balance

Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, the Secretary General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), has her work cut out for her.

[caption id="attachment_25755" align="alignright" width="400"] Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri[/caption]

Her Excellency is in charge of a major environmental regulator and, as a leader, she has played a defining role in establishing a clear vision for the sector to facilitate a sustainable environment and future for Abu Dhabi.

Her Excellency explained to CFI: “Although our work is primarily focused on the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, we also work with a range of international organisations and governments on critical environmental issues and programmes.”

[caption id="attachment_25753" align="alignleft" width="500"] Her Excellency is facilitating a sustainable environment for Abu Dhabi[/caption]

The organisation was established in 1996 by a small and dedicated team of environmental scientists. From a humble beginning, the Agency has grown to become the largest specialised environmental regulator in the Middle East.

Her Excellency holds two Master’s degrees, one in Environmental Science from UAE University (UAEU) in Al Ain, and the other in Biological Conservation From Britain’s University of Kent. As if that wasn’t enough, she has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Species, also from UAEU.

She also holds a PhD in Wildlife Conservation and Protection from the University of Aberdeen in the UK –  the first Emirati woman to do so.

Her Excellency began her career at EAD as a research assistant in the agency’s Terrestrial Environment Research Centre in 2000 and went on to become  the Executive Director of the Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector in 2012, spearheading initiatives to promote a comprehensive understanding of Abu Dhabi’s biodiversity and taking actions to protect it.

Her Excellency has been recognised for her innovations and solutions in the field of environmental protection and species conservation. She has overseen biodiversity programmes for the protection of threatened species and fisheries.

[caption id="attachment_25758" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Her Excellency has overseen biodiversity programmes for the protection of threatened species like the Scimitar-Horned Oryx[/caption]

In addition to her role as Secretary General, Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri serves on several UAE committees and councils. She is a Board Member of Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company, Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort, Emirates Nature-WWF, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, the Advanced Technology Research Council and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation. She is also member of Abu Dhabi University Board of Trustees.

Her Excellency is also an active member of many international organisations. In 2021, she was re-elected as a Regional Councillor to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Western Asia. She is also the chair of the IUCN UAE National Committee, and a member of the Advisory Board for the UN’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri won the Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance in 2015 and the Al Dana Excellence Award in 2014.


A Focus on People and Productivity Has Taken this El Salvador Bank to New Heights — in Just Three Years

Brand new and eager to achieve noble ambitions, Banco Hipotecario is going from strength-to-strength

Since June 2019 and the installation of the administration of President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s Banco Hipotecario has been tweaking the function of banking.

The state bank put its focus on all the productive sectors of El Salvador, and embraced the challenge of boosting the country’s economic development. And that’s why Banco Hipotecario has become the bank of Salvadoran people.

It constantly strives to be more profitable and more efficient. It is always looking for talent, seeking ways to improve customer service and provide top-notch assessment and advisory services.

The bank puts an emphasis on providing access to all its products and services — to all people. Banco Hipotecario set about taking care of those people who had previously been excluded from the banking and financial systems.

Its financial performance and growth have been epic since the installation of the new administration. The deposit portfolio in 2019 amounted to more than $762m; by the end of 2022, that had risen to more than $1.4bn. Total assets in 2019 were $1.056bn, in 2022 they amounted to more than $1.725bn. In just three years, Banco Hipotecario had become a solid financial institution.

As proof of its commitment to the productive sectors of the country, by 2022, the gross loan portfolio presented a growth of 8.2 percent over the previous year, with a total portfolio of $1.091bn. That was the result of a placement for $465.7m, disbursed and diversified in all economic sectors. Of those disbursements, 89.4 percent was concentrated in productive activities. The remainder was shared between consumption and housing.

By the end of 2022, Banco Hipotecario had become the fifth-largest entity in the Salvadoran financial system.  In that year, it had developed prominence by promoting financial education and financial inclusion. As a result, more than 15,000 simplified savings accounts were opened, and the Cero Usura credit line was launched. This was created as protection for those who had previously had to seek out illegal lenders for their financial needs.

New agencies and service centres were opened, and an alliance of more than 300 financial correspondents was formed with Punto Xpress. Borders were transcended, and the Salvadoran diaspora has been supported by three information windows at consulates in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Long Island, New York.

While 2022 was a year of goals and accomplishments, the state bank is now, step-by-step, continuing to make history. With effort and commitment, it aims to reach all of Salvadorans. Banco Hipotecario is a solid and prestigious institution at the service of the people, making difference in banking business and prioritising its social purpose.

This year, Banco Hipotecario has no intention of putting on the brakes. Its message? “We´ll keep working hard, guided by the same nationwide approach, for all the Salvadoran people.”


Middle-Market Direct Lending

A Lucrative Alternative Asset Class

The US is home to some 200,000 companies dubbed “middle-market” — typically with EBITDA up to $150m.

On a stand-alone basis, America’s middle-market represents a $6.3tn economy, third-largest in the world. Non-bank lending to these middle-market companies is referred to as direct lending or private credit and represents a 75 percent market share.

Middle-market companies seek loans from non-bank financiers, because they provide distinct advantages that align with growth strategies and operational requirements. They include:

Growth. Opportunities to expand operations, invest in new technologies, enter new markets, support strategic acquisitions, and more.

Financing structures. Customisable loan structures tailored to meet the specific needs of individual companies.

Committed capital. Bank lenders typically need to syndicate or sell a portion of their middle-market loans, while non-banks do not.

Experience. Specialised knowledge with a deep understanding of challenges faced by middle-market companies, as well as niches by industry and geography.

Speed. Focused approach enables faster and more efficient access to capital.

Relationship-orientated. Facilitates ongoing communication and collaboration, which results in support beyond the initial financing.

Middle-market direct lending exhibits strong defensive traits, enabling the strategy to adeptly navigate the current uncertain environment:

Attractive income. Higher annualised yields relative to fixed income instruments such as high yield and treasuries.

Risk-adjusted returns. Attractive historical performance relative to fixed-income instruments (again, such as high yield and treasuries).

Hedge against rising rates. Floating rate structure neutralises duration risk from interest-rate movement.

Senior and secured. Priority in the borrower’s capital structure with robust lender protection through covenants to reduce risk.

Because of Prospect Capital Management’s achievements in middle-market direct lending, investors have placed their trust in the firm’s long-term expertise and track record to protect their capital and generate returns. The firm has over 100 employees and $11.5bn in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

Prospect is currently offering an institutional-calibre middle-market direct lending solution for income-focused retail investors. Prospect Floating Rate and Alternative Income Fund (PFLOAT) is a non-traded business development company. PFLOAT invests primarily in the debt of privately-owned US middle-market companies and seeks to provide income largely from investing in senior and secured floating rate credits.

PFLOAT’s common stock pays a monthly dividend.


Poles Apart: TGE has Created its Own Space in the Energy Market

Towarowa Giełda Energii (TGE) is a key institution in the Polish energy landscape. CFI talks with chief executive PIOTR ZAWISTOWSKI.

[caption id="attachment_25824" align="alignright" width="400"] CEO: Piotr Zawistowski[/caption]

For more than two decades, TGE has been implementing innovative wholesale trading solutions focusing on energy products.

It has become a source of reference prices and reliable market information. As an industry integrator, the exchange ensures the security of trades in its markets. Thanks to its credibility, it has remained a first-choice venue.

TGE constantly develops its range of services. The Polish commodity exchange enables trading in electricity, natural gas, property rights, CO2 emission allowances, and agri-food commodities.

TGE has been leveraging its expertise is projects at European and local levels to develop a market for renewable and low-carbon gases — in particular biomethane and hydrogen.

CFI wanted to find out more, and the obvious person to fill us in was CEO Piotr Zawistowski. He has more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry. He specialises in strategic planning and management, and the identification of global markets.

His expertise, experience, and in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms of the energy markets' functioning has been confirmed by a position on the board of the Europex, an organisation bringing together 27 energy exchanges and market operators from across Europe.

CFI: How have recent legislative changes affected TGE?

PZ: The year 2022 brought about a legislative revolution in Poland and, as a result, turned around the energy market. This was largely driven by Europe-wide trends and TGE had to face up to and adapt its operations to these regulatory changes.

Over the course of the past year, we saw a shift in the trading strategies of participants, who increasingly focused on spot, rather than forward, markets. Despite these developments, it is safe to say that the exchanges have been fulfilling their role in terms of security and transparency. The Polish commodity exchange has been the preferred trading venue for more than 20 years.

CFI: How do ESG parameters and sustainability principles affect the way your industries are run?

PZ: TGE and the GPW Group focus on shaping business in a sustainable way, while promoting responsible behaviour. That entails, among others, educating market participants and promoting value-based attitudes. In developing the ESG strategy within the GPW Group, TGE puts particular emphasis on environmental and social aspects. As the group employees mainly work remotely, regular webinars are a held to promote education and self-awareness, including topics related to physical and mental health.

CFI: How are you planning to develop the offering?

PZ: TGE has been doing that continuously, by listening to the needs of market participants and observing global trends.

Solutions for the RES sector have been implemented for some time, as exemplified by the launch in 2022 of SPOT indices based on the production profiles of wind and PV generation, and the introduction in 2023 of two new instruments in the electricity forward market: “lowPeak” and “highPeak”.

TGE representatives are involved in working groups within the framework of the Co-operation Agreement for the Development of the Biogas and Biomethane Sector in Poland and Sectoral Agreement for the Development of the Hydrogen Economy in Poland.

CFI: How does TGE approach the concept of building a common European energy market?

PZ: We have been working towards the integration of the international energy market for years, at European and regional levels.

Since 2015, the exchange has been acting as the nominated electricity market operator (NEMO) for the Polish bidding zone. It is also active on the cross-border spot market (Single Day-Ahead Coupling and Single Intraday Coupling). TGE is also active in Europex, the European Association of Energy Exchanges, where legislative changes under development will be subsequently presented to the European Commission and the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

Work is under way on the SEEGAS project, initiated by the Energy Community. Towarowa Giełda Energii is part of this initiative, and in April we signed a Memorandum of Understanding to exchange experiences with the Moldovan state-owned company Energocom SA.

Piotr Zawistowski has held top positions in key institutions and entities related to the energy sector. He has served as chair of the Management Board of the Association of Energy Trading, is a member of the Management Board of the Polish Electricity Committee, and sits on the Supervisory Board of TGE. He is a graduate of the University of Economics and the Wrocław School of Banking.


Trusting AI in International Trade — the Road to Failure, or the Future?

Lord Waverley dons his techie hat and has a closer look at the potential applications of artificial intelligence...

Generative AI is vital to national interest, regional prosperity, and tackling shared global challenges.

It can help to grow economies, quickly and fairly, by identifying the risks entailed in a long-chain transaction or a complex supply chain. So far, so good — but there is no system in place to monitor and pinpoint suspicious global trade patterns. Nor is there any mapping of complex international trade flows, or overall analysis of trading patterns.

Every data point, each statistical analysis and prediction model, must be spot on. Over-reliance on unverified data, or information that is inaccurate or misleading, can have dire consequences. A simple misunderstanding of context can result in AI’s notorious “technological hallucinations”. Errors can multiply through a supply chain, posing risks that can have far-reaching effects on the economy — such as covering up dumping, counterfeiting, or sanctions avoidance.

AI can play a vital role in monitoring compliance, analysing trends, and assessing the impact of policies. It provides transparency and engenders trust and accountability. AI-driven decisions and recommendations produce credible, far-reaching results. It can tell us where to seek proof of reliability, raise red flags, and shed light on previously invisible interconnections of the global economy. It assists in furthering our understanding of the complexities of trade dynamics.

But it’s crucial to see AI for what it is: a tool for augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them. Take this example. Over 200 million bills of lading, crucial papers in international trade, were recently reviewed by the International Centre for Trade Transparency (ICTTM). It found that 13.6 percent contained at least one error. The OECD decrees that 2.5 percent of global trades, and up to 5.8 percent of EU imports, are counterfeit. The documents provide particulars about country-of-origin, product codes and descriptions, quantities, and costs. Certifications, health and safety requirements, regulatory controls, anti-dumping measures, and taxation are all set by the data collected.

Again, any mistake can have dire results.

ICTTM research shows that goods produced with slave labour still appear on international markets; companies are bypassing safety standards by intentionally mislabelling products as requiring no certification. There have been exports of semiconductors pushed through in this way by dubious actors. Traceability becomes more muddied with each step of the transaction.

There’s clear evidence that some offenders re-incorporate in new jurisdictions as soon as they are caught — still selling to the same importers. This basic move, because of the lack of international oversight, makes these actions almost untraceable.

When error, fraud, and counterfeit percentages are multiplied over a complex supply chain many layers deep, the dangers become apparent. These “mistakes” have serious repercussions for society — and can even put lives at risk. There is an enormous, hidden, problem in our global supply chains and individual “empires” of technology have no way of solving it.

Nationally built systems, siloed in their own technological and political kingdoms, are not a suitable response to these problems. Countries inspect a small percentage of imports, and almost no exports. There is no system in place to monitor global trade patterns, no mapping of international trade flows.

And this is where AI can be of use. The international commerce ecosystem is complex, and bots have the capacity to spot macro- and micro-trends across the entire system, rather than just between two trading partners. The fact that we can exercise some control over our interactions with AI is significant. It can help us spot potential threats and zero-in on the primary papers that need closer inspection. It is a tool to identify and chart patterns and act as an early warning system, while keeping faith in the reliability of source materials. Once we know where to look, locating bad actors and verifying documents becomes simpler.

The boundaries of AI are still expanding. Once we are able to recognise global macro trends, we can use it to our advantage. It can shed light on our reliance on specific vendors and suppliers. It can help us to evaluate the economic risks associated with our suppliers, as well as learn how our products fit into global supply networks. With AI, a component that poses a security concern can be identified and rapidly removed from the supply chain. Without it, such problems may remain hidden.

[caption id="attachment_13312" align="alignleft" width="243"] Author: Lord Waverley[/caption]

Human and computer error, and intentional fraud in supply chains, can all be distinguished. AI's potential lets us conduct comprehensive analyses down to the smallest of details, leading us straight back to the original suppliers, buyers, and documents. The goal is for a zero-trust approach in which papers and records are verified and analysed.

Applying AI to international trade provides a workable answer to the growing difficulties and risks associated with internationally integrated markets. By embracing it, we are not advocating for unquestioning faith in an unknown system. We are suggesting its use as a tool to draw focus to specific areas. If we continue to adopt and use AI with a zero-trust, verify-and-confirm methodology, the transparency, accuracy, and efficiency it can bring could become essential in navigating the global commerce system.

Right now, at the intersection of science and business, artificial intelligence presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Used wisely, it has the potential to help overcome some entrenched problems. Its potential extends beyond the cutting of human labour or the generation of otherwise unpredictable results. It gives us a new perspective, an analytical tool that could radically alter how we think about international trade. It could help our economies to flourish in ways that are beneficial to all involved.

There's no tolerance for AI hallucinations here. Precision, clarity, and faith in human scrutiny are front and centre. ESG reporting is becoming the new norm. Interoperability affords legal protection and a process that safeguards SMEs and banks. Collaborative efforts such as Project Perseus bring together technology, finance, and policy to unlock sustainable access for SMEs via data-sharing. This is critical for stakeholders in the business and banking worlds.

Nationally built systems in technological and political silos must be avoided to combat these challenges. Collaborative efforts between nation states would enable a comprehensive understanding of patterns and targeted strategies. Artificial intelligence should be seen as an instrument that shows us the bigger picture of a vast chain over which no single country, or corporate, should ever have total control.

So, where do governments, regulators, and the private sector go from here? Frameworks and processes are in place to deliver success — and the time for theory is over.

By Lord JD Waverley


Tech-Up Transition for Philippines Bank has Swept the Nation Along Towards an Enticing Digital Future

UnionBank is a pioneer of digital technology with a focus on inclusion and customer service

UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has always been quick to embrace technological innovations that will empower its customers.

As the Philippines' pioneer in digital banking, UnionBank stands firm in its promise to power the future of banking. It is committed to being the region's trailblazer to best serve the needs of Filipinos — wherever they may be. UnionBank is one of just six financial institutions licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Philippines Central Bank) as a digital bank.

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UnionBank has earned numerous awards and recognition as one of Asia’s leading companies, ranking with the country’s top universal banks in terms of profitability and efficiency. Its digital transformation strategy underscored its commitment to a quality customer experience, and furthered its resolution to promote inclusive prosperity for the Philippines. With a tech-focused drive, it is working to enable the national push to be a G20 country by 2050.

The bank was incorporated as the Union Savings and Mortgage Bank in 1968. After the initial public offering, shares were listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange in 1992. It was licensed to operate as a universal bank in the Philippines, and the name was changed to Union Bank of the Philippines.

In 1993, UnionBank merged with International Corporate Bank; in 2006, a merger with International Exchange Bank followed. In 2013, UnionBank acquired City Savings Bank. In 2021, UnionBank acquired Citibank Philippines, a deal which closed in 2022.

UnionBank is one of the country’s first financial institutions to adopt cryptocurrency — and it released its own stablecoin, PHX, in 2019. It also has crypto ATMs that allow its crypto wallet-holders to withdraw cash converted from crypto, and trade instantly.

UnionBank is a publicly listed universal bank with some five million customers, 200 branches nationwide, and 7,000 ATMs. It has distinguished itself from its competitors by the use of superior technology, bolstered by branch sales and an excellent service culture.

UnionBank stands firm in its promise to power the future of banking through "Tech-Up Pilipinas" while pioneering innovations for a better world.

Over the years, UnionBank has garnered a record-breaking number of awards and recognition including "Asia Trailblazer Institution of the Year" from Retail Banker International; 6-Time "Digital Bank of the Year (2018-2023)" from The Asset Triple A; "Most Recommended Bank in the Philippines 2023" and 4-time "Best Retail Bank in the Philippines" from The Asian Banker; "Best Digital Bank in Southeast Asia 2022" from Capital Finance International; back-to-back "Best Bank for Customer Experience in Southeast Asia" from Global Brands Magazine; "Best Bank Transformation in South East Asia 2021" from Global Banking and Finance; "Most Recommended Retail Bank in Asia Pacific 2021" from BankQuality.com; "Fastest Growing Fintech Company, South East Asia 2021" for UBX from Global Banking and Finance; "Best Bank for ESG 2022" from Asiamoney; back-to-back "Best Bank for SMEs" (2020-2021) from Asiamoney; "SME Bank of the Year - Philippines 2021" from Asian Banking and Finance; back-to-back "#1 Best Service Domestic Bank in the Philippines 2020-2021" at the Asiamoney Cash Management Survey; “Asia’s Best Bank Transformation” from Euromoney; "Asia-Pacific Retail Bank of the Year" from Retail Banker International; "Top 2 Most Helpful Banks in Asia Pacific during COVID-19" from BankQuality.com; 3-time "Best Digital Bank Philippines" from Asiamoney and International Finance Magazine; and "Employer of the Year" awards from Stevie Awards for Great Employers, Asian Banking and Finance, and HR Asia.