WHY KUWAIT? 2018
From oil and gas to cloud solutions, business leaders are optimistic about Kuwait's growing profile in the region.
Baker Hughes, a GE company is a unique company that touches on upstream, midstream, as well as downstream. The merger was extremely important for both companies to create a full-stream vision. Baker Hughes' strength was mainly in upstream, reservoir studies, and services. The oil and gas section of GE had an upstream portfolio, pipeline solutions in the midstream segment, as well as strength in downstream with turbo machinery solutions, valves, compressors, and pumps. Today, the new company links all that with strong digital offerings. That has created a great deal of strength for us to tackle the markets and be a real partner to the oil sector, and not just in upstream. We touch all the pieces of the oil sector and partner efficiently with all our customers. Together, both companies have over 125 years of experience worldwide and we bring that to Kuwait today. Kuwait is one of the key players in the region when it comes to oil and gas. Kuwait is one of the countries that continued to invest during the downturn, unlike many places where CAPEX slowed down and projects were canceled. Kuwait Oil Company plans to increase the number of rigs and build new production facilities. We expect to see new petrochemical complexes and a new refinery. The Kuwaiti market is healthy compared to many other places in the world.
Kuwait is going through a transitional change, and a particular problem of the country is that insurance companies have their own sales force. In other countries such as the UAE, companies run through brokers or the bank insurance sector. In Kuwait, companies are not allowed to provide a mix of banking and insurance. To date, insurance companies had their own sales force and competed for market share. We are bringing change to the system here. There is huge opportunity for large brokers like us to have presence in the country. At the moment the size of our operations in Kuwait is limited; however, among brokers we are the largest. We are already big in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and other countries, and in Kuwait we want people to be aware of the quality they should seek if they require financial advice. We are a growing company in Kuwait and expect to have more advisors, more interaction with the consumers, and more business activity. We are ahead of competition because the theme of insurance brokerage comes from other Gulf countries where we already have developed significantly; we can follow the innovation that Nexus has brought in other GCC countries. There is a huge scope in Kuwait, and we have not even scratched the surface.
The three pillars under my management are document management, technology, and lighting. The document management division is represented by the Xerox business in Kuwait. The printing industry is declining because of the digital transformation, so we will not see a great deal of action in that area. Within the document management business in Xerox, digital transformation is a key pillar of growth, while traditional copying and printing is declining. We have different value offerings for our existing clients. Book publishing and digital printing is seeing great demand. 2016 was a slow year, though we are anticipating some recovery. With the stabilization of the oil price, everything is steadier now. Despite the difficult economic climate, we have some megaprojects that were launched in Kuwait. The airport expansion is coming up, and we have many great project developments for hospitals and hotels. There has been fantastic growth in the infrastructure of Kuwait, so this demonstrates the direction we are heading in. It provides an optimistic outlook for the future and inspires us to continue to be innovative, adding to our portfolio solutions and partnerships with other vendors and manufacturers. With these changes in infrastructure comes great opportunity for innovation. We have a strong economy in Kuwait, and I am positive about the future of our business and the country as a whole.
WHY KUWAIT? 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Guest Speaker
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Turkey
TBY talks to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, on further developing relations in a variety of fields, strengthening economic cooperation with Kuwait, and working together on the refugee crisis.
read articleInterview
Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA)
TBY talks to Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Director General of Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), on progress thus far, as well as continuing efforts for the year ahead.
read articleInterview
Dr. Khaled A. Mahdi, Secretary General , Supreme Council for Planning and Development
TBY talks to Dr. Khaled A. Mahdi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, on progress in Kuwait's National Development Plan, investing in human capital, and supporting SMEs.
read articleFocus: New Kuwait 2035 Development Plan
Potential for Revolution
The "New Kuwait" 2035 Development Plan was announced in January 2017 with the goal of revolutionizing Kuwait's economy in the next 20 years, diversifying it and making it competitive on the world stage. But revolutions do not come easy.
read articleInterview
Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan, Chairman & President, The National Fund for Small & Medium Enterprise Development (National Fund)
TBY talks to Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan, Chairman & President of The National Fund for Small & Medium Enterprise Development (National Fund), on increasing support for SMEs, technology overhaul, and sectors with potential.
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Dr. Osamah A. Alsayegh, Executive Director , Energy and Building Research Center (EBRC)
TBY talks to Dr. Osamah A. Alsayegh, Executive Director of the Energy and Building Research Center (EBRC), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), on increasing renewable energy generation capacity, improving energy security, and striving to align KISR with national development plans.
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Bakheet Al-Rashid, former President & CEO , Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI)
TBY talks to Bakheet Al-Rashidi, former President & CEO of Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), on the company's successful operations in the past year, its investment plans, and opportunities in the sector.
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Ibrahim Al-Musaiteer, Deputy CEO, Administration and Finance at Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC)
TBY talks to Ibrahim Al-Musaiteer, Deputy CEO of Administration and Finance at Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), on its contributions to add value to Kuwait's hydrocarbons.
read articleInterview
Qusai Al Shatti, Deputy Director General, Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT)
TBY talks to Qusai Al Shatti, Deputy Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), on implementing e-government initiatives, measuring progress, maintaining security.
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Sheikh Yousef Abdullah Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA)
TBY talks to Sheikh Yousef Abdullah Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, Director General of the Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA), on the Kuwait Logistics City Project, plans to increase capacity, and digitalization.
read articleFocus: Healthcare Costs
The Costs of Living
Kuwait's health infrastructure and workforce is relatively small, while major health problems have arisen over the past decades. The state is still the dominant force in health expenditure, but private-sector participation is the key to expanding the healthcare sector.
read articleInterview
Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari, Vice Chairman & CEO , United Facilities Management (UFM)
TBY talks to Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari, Vice Chairman & CEO of United Facilities Management (UFM), on weathering the storm, freeing up client potential, and laying the groundwork for successful organizational structure.
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Ali Hussein Al-Yoha, Secretary General, National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL)
TBY talks to Ali Hussein Al-Yoha, Secretary General of National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL), on protecting Kuwaiti folklore, encouraging investment in cultural tourism, and bringing the benefits of culture to every Kuwaiti's doorstep.
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Rana A. Al Nibari, General Manager, The Scientific Center Kuwait (TSCK)
TBY talks to Rana A. Al Nibari, General Manager of The Scientific Center Kuwait (TSCK), on rousing people's curiosity for science and technology, connecting with students and their families, and encouraging sustainability.
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