Economic deterioration of emerging markets is causing alarm among Korean enterprises. With the financial markets in emerging economies in chaos, there is growing concern for those companies that have already made investments or have been exporting to those markets, since they can be hit by rapid decrease in local spending. Domestic exporters have invested heavily in the region in an attempt to lower their dependency on the US and Chinese markets. Their direct investment in India, Indonesia and Brazil for eight and half years from 2005 to June 2013 amounts to 12.8 trillion won.
In particular, the Hyundai Motor Company is in trouble since India and Brazil are two major markets in the volatile region. It has a plant in India with 600,000 units of annual production capacity, which makes it the second largest among overseas manufacturing bases. Last year, it completed a factory in Brazil that can produce 150,000 units a year in order to enter the South American market.
In India, Hyundai Motors sold 220,000 units in January-July 2013, 5 percent yearon-year drop. That is still an increase in sales, given that the country’s total auto sales in the same period fell 10% to 1,450,000 units compared with last year. But there is possibility of production cuts in the event that demand is further easing.
This year, the company has seen an increase in sales: Russia with a year-on-year increase of 2.1%, Brazil with 128.3%, and China with 30.4%. And yet, Hyundai is nervous about whether an economic crisis will be expanded to other emerging markets.
Hyundai Motors is less worried about its plant in Brazil, but feeling a sense of crisis. Hyundai’s model named HB20, which is specifically designed for the Brazilian market and introduced at the end of 2012 after opening a new plant in the country, has been so popular that more than 70,000 units were sold until June2013. Nevertheless, the company is still concerned that its auto sales might lose momentum.
Meanwhile, it is difficult for domestic steel makers to export their products to faraway countries, such as Brazil and India. Therefore, steel exporters are experiencing poor sales performance in those nations. The industry is keeping a close watch on the situation in emerging economies because economic slowdown can affect their plan to build production facilities in Brazil and India.
Since 2005, POSCO, the world’s fifthbiggest steelmaker, has been proceeding with a steel mill project in Odisha, India with US$12 billion in investments. But the company has yet to set the start date of the offshore merchant account. In addition, the Korean steelmaker announced in July that it decided to pull out of its second steel mill development in Karnataka. Even though local residents’ opposition was the main reason behind POSCO’s decision, the choice can be interpreted in a way that faltering economy in India is a hindrance to its steel mill project. In other words, the company isin disadvantageous situation because a strong dollar will lead to the increase in raw material prices in the event of a financial crisis in emerging markets. Recently, the company’s direct investments in foreign markets jumped 40%.
The domestic electronics industry also began to keep a close eye on the situation. Samsung Electronics is running seven factories that manufacture TVs, mobile phones and home appliances in Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, and India although the company is exporting massive volumes of its products to those countries. A spokesperson for Samsung Electronics said, “We think that fluctuations in currency can have a negative effect on our export performance. So, we are closely monitoring the situation,” adding, “We anticipate that the rise in raw material prices will eventually happen.”
LG Electronics is in trouble as well. Since 2009, the company has concentrated on the expansion of its brand shops in rapidly growing and volatile economies of some Asian and Latin American countries. LG has been heavily involved in those markets due to the financial crisis in the US and the EU.
For mobile phone makers, the smartphones market in India, one of the world’s major markets together with China and the US, is of concern. According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics (SA), Samsung’s market share in India was 42%, ranking top in the first quarter of this year. Until last year, its annual growth rate for the Indian mobile phone market was 163%, surpassing that of markets in China (86%), Japan (24%), and the US (19%). But the market research firm says that in case of contraction in local demand, it is difficult to expect rapid growth.
Construction companies, chemical suppliers, and shipping companies in Korea, for which emerging markets are of little importance, are also keeping a close watch over the situation while anxious about the global economic contraction arising from those countries’ currency crisis.
However, the construction sector does not think that they are highly vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations since they are mostly paid in dollars. An industry source remarked, “We are not heavily affected by exchange rate volatility in that we mostly purchase materials in neighboring countries in dollar. But we think that shrinking economy may cause a slight decrease in demand.”The chemical industry is not feeling the economic pain, either. Exports to certain Asian and Latin American countries are miniscule amounts. Besides, locally made products are consumed by local people.
The shipping sector, like the chemical industry, is not directly hit by economic woes of rapidly growing and volatile economies. Nonetheless, shipping companies consider the possibility of some reduction in commercial traffic caused by economic slowdown. An official in Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) pointed out, “The emerging markets account for merely 10% of the total markets. But there is possibility of reduced commercial traffic and a decrease in ocean freight rates. So, we will wait and see what happens next, and prepare for measures if necessary.”
The Korean securities industry also believes that the impact of speculation about emerging economies on the shipping industry is minimal owing to increasing freight rates, as well as expectations that the condition in the shipbuilding industry will improve thanks to economic recovery of the Euro zone. Analyst Lee Kang-rok from Kyobo Securities said, “We are temporarily witnessing the stock price adjustment process for the shipping industry caused by rumors about economic crisis in volatile markets in Southeast Asia. But Korean companies are expected to win more contracts in September when the vacation for European ship-owners is over.”
The situation in some Asian and Latin American countries is affecting our exports at the moment. According to Korea’s export performance from January to July 2013 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the growth of Korean exports to India fell 7.1%from a year ago. Korea also saw a year-on-year decrease of 15.7% and 15.1%in exports to Indonesia and Brazil respectively. Given that Korean exports grew 0.5%so far this year, exporters find themselves floundering in those markets for seven months.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
2013年9月2日星期一
Somalia nationals jailed for firing
Three Somalia nationals were sentenced to 10 years' jail each, while four others to eight years imprisonment by the High Court here today after they pleaded guilty to firing at Malaysian soldiers in the Gulf of Aden two years ago.Judge Datuk Mohd Azman Husin handed down the 10 year-jail on Ahmed Othman Jamal, 30, Abdil Eid Hasan, 22, and Abdi Hakim Mohd Abdi, 22.
The four Somalis who were sentenced to eight years' jail were underage individuals. He ordered all of them to serve the jail sentence from the date of their arrest on Jan 20, 2011. The charge against them was read in English and translated into Somali.
When handing down the decision, Mohd Azman said the court took into account their guilty plea, background, threat to the world community and other factors, and found the jail sentence meted on all the accused, including the juveniles, was apt.
All the accused were seen smiling after Mohd Azman handed down the sentence.The Somalis were initially charged under Section 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 with discharging firearms with intent to cause death or hurt on the Malaysian soldiers during a robbery onboard Bunga Laurel vessel.
The charge provides for the death sentence upon conviction. However, the charge was amended today and all of them, including a few others who are still at large, were charged with discharging firearms at the Malaysian soldiers to avoid them from being lawfully arrested by the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM).
The offence was committed on board the Bunga Laurel vessel at 250 nautical miles of Oman between 8.10 and 10pm on Jan 20, 2011. The charge, under Section of the Arms Act 1960, read together with Section 34 of the third party merchant account, which carries a life imprisonment or for a term not exceeding 14 years.
Today, the case was fixed for hearing, but the prosecution, headed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas amended the charge against all the accused after discussing the matter with the defence counsel.Meanwhile, in mitigation, lawyer Imran Hadzalie Abdul Hamid, representing Ahmed Othman, Abdi Hakim and an underage accused, said his clients had extended their full cooperation during investigation of the case.
Lawyer Edmund Bon, representing another of the underage individual, said the court should consider the accused guilty plea and that none of the Malaysian soldiers were injured. However, Mohamad Abazafree asked for a heavy sentence as the offence was a serious one.
"Based on the facts of the case, all the accused were arrested while attempting to rob the Bunga Laurel vessel in the Gulf of Aden. They were not normal robbers, but a group of pirates who was in the gulf, an area known for pirate attacks on merchant vessels.
"They also used firearms to attack ATM and attempted to capture the crew on board," he added.Citing the 'Reports on Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships -Annual Report 2011', Mohamad Abazafree said there were 286 incidents reported.He said Malaysia was not the only country to detain and brought back the pirates to be tried as the Somali pirates had been prosecuted in several other countries, including South Korea, Holland, United States of America and Kenya.
According to the facts of the case, all the accused were in a small boat, which then approached Bunga Laurel with an intention to rob the vessel, but their action was discovered by an officer-in-charge who saw, through a binoculars, one of the pirates getting into the vessel.
The assault on the pirates was carried out from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Bunga Mas 5 vessel and the team won over possession of Bunga Laurel, within two hours after it was hijacked by the Somali pirates.Following a search, the RMN found several firearms, including two AK47 rifles, a pistol, more than 150 rounds of ammunition, hammer and a ladder used to climb into Bunga Laurel.
The prosecution team also comprised deputy public prosecutors Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim and Lailawati Ali, while other lawyers representing the accused were Lee Teong Hui, Saha Devan A.Arunasalam and Ameenudin Ibrahim.
A fixed Ujrah fee is levied by the bank in exchange of the services, features, benefits and privileges enjoyed by cardholders. The credit limit granted to the cardholder is based on Qardh al Hasan. The Meethaq MasterCard credit card allows access to almost anything – shopping, travel and bill payments without the need for cash or cheques.
The card is accepted globally at over 32 million merchant establishments and ATMs. Customers receive SMS alerts for every card usage and cash withdrawal regardless of any transaction amount. The chip and PIN card ensures secure transactions, especially online transactions. MasterCard Secure code allows cardholders to use a personal password/secure code which provides added security for online transactions.
Sulaiman al Harthy, group general manager - Islamic banking, said, “Meethaq is proud to launch the first Sharia based credit card in Oman as part of its focus to take the lead in offering a suite of banking products which combine traditional values with modernity and ensure the choice of staying true to one’s values. Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Islamic banking and finance worldwide to combine a robust model which protects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry. The Meethaq strategy is to attract customers through innovative Sharia based products and services.”
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
The four Somalis who were sentenced to eight years' jail were underage individuals. He ordered all of them to serve the jail sentence from the date of their arrest on Jan 20, 2011. The charge against them was read in English and translated into Somali.
When handing down the decision, Mohd Azman said the court took into account their guilty plea, background, threat to the world community and other factors, and found the jail sentence meted on all the accused, including the juveniles, was apt.
All the accused were seen smiling after Mohd Azman handed down the sentence.The Somalis were initially charged under Section 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 with discharging firearms with intent to cause death or hurt on the Malaysian soldiers during a robbery onboard Bunga Laurel vessel.
The charge provides for the death sentence upon conviction. However, the charge was amended today and all of them, including a few others who are still at large, were charged with discharging firearms at the Malaysian soldiers to avoid them from being lawfully arrested by the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM).
The offence was committed on board the Bunga Laurel vessel at 250 nautical miles of Oman between 8.10 and 10pm on Jan 20, 2011. The charge, under Section of the Arms Act 1960, read together with Section 34 of the third party merchant account, which carries a life imprisonment or for a term not exceeding 14 years.
Today, the case was fixed for hearing, but the prosecution, headed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas amended the charge against all the accused after discussing the matter with the defence counsel.Meanwhile, in mitigation, lawyer Imran Hadzalie Abdul Hamid, representing Ahmed Othman, Abdi Hakim and an underage accused, said his clients had extended their full cooperation during investigation of the case.
Lawyer Edmund Bon, representing another of the underage individual, said the court should consider the accused guilty plea and that none of the Malaysian soldiers were injured. However, Mohamad Abazafree asked for a heavy sentence as the offence was a serious one.
"Based on the facts of the case, all the accused were arrested while attempting to rob the Bunga Laurel vessel in the Gulf of Aden. They were not normal robbers, but a group of pirates who was in the gulf, an area known for pirate attacks on merchant vessels.
"They also used firearms to attack ATM and attempted to capture the crew on board," he added.Citing the 'Reports on Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships -Annual Report 2011', Mohamad Abazafree said there were 286 incidents reported.He said Malaysia was not the only country to detain and brought back the pirates to be tried as the Somali pirates had been prosecuted in several other countries, including South Korea, Holland, United States of America and Kenya.
According to the facts of the case, all the accused were in a small boat, which then approached Bunga Laurel with an intention to rob the vessel, but their action was discovered by an officer-in-charge who saw, through a binoculars, one of the pirates getting into the vessel.
The assault on the pirates was carried out from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Bunga Mas 5 vessel and the team won over possession of Bunga Laurel, within two hours after it was hijacked by the Somali pirates.Following a search, the RMN found several firearms, including two AK47 rifles, a pistol, more than 150 rounds of ammunition, hammer and a ladder used to climb into Bunga Laurel.
The prosecution team also comprised deputy public prosecutors Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim and Lailawati Ali, while other lawyers representing the accused were Lee Teong Hui, Saha Devan A.Arunasalam and Ameenudin Ibrahim.
A fixed Ujrah fee is levied by the bank in exchange of the services, features, benefits and privileges enjoyed by cardholders. The credit limit granted to the cardholder is based on Qardh al Hasan. The Meethaq MasterCard credit card allows access to almost anything – shopping, travel and bill payments without the need for cash or cheques.
The card is accepted globally at over 32 million merchant establishments and ATMs. Customers receive SMS alerts for every card usage and cash withdrawal regardless of any transaction amount. The chip and PIN card ensures secure transactions, especially online transactions. MasterCard Secure code allows cardholders to use a personal password/secure code which provides added security for online transactions.
Sulaiman al Harthy, group general manager - Islamic banking, said, “Meethaq is proud to launch the first Sharia based credit card in Oman as part of its focus to take the lead in offering a suite of banking products which combine traditional values with modernity and ensure the choice of staying true to one’s values. Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Islamic banking and finance worldwide to combine a robust model which protects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry. The Meethaq strategy is to attract customers through innovative Sharia based products and services.”
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
2013年8月28日星期三
Inside SnapScan
Stellenbosch’s SnapScan, whose smartphone application won MTN Business’s 2013 App of the Year award this week, is betting that consumers will take to the idea of making in-store payments using their mobile phones instead of credit or debit cards.SnapScan falls under FireID, the company that now houses six start-up technology businesses, SnapScan being the most recently launched.
FireID started life as an information security company specialising in “two-factor authentication” technology for mobile phones. It was funded by billionaire Johann Rupert, through Reinet. Justin Stanford, one of FireID’s co-founders, was instrumental in securing the initial capital injection. However, Stanford was unable to convince Reinet’s investment committee to continue investing and in 2011 it pulled its funding of FireID, forcing the company to lay off its 40 employees. A month later, former Mxit boss Alan Knott-Craig, through World of Avatar, came to the rescue, but the terms of the arrangement were not made public.
SnapScan co-founder, 28-year-old Kobus Ehlers, says there are a number of benefits to this approach for retailers. “It takes about 30 seconds to sign up. We issue a QR code, which you print, and you’re done.”Merchants without bank accounts can cash out their takings at the end of the day. “Customers can pay with the app, the retailer can then get a voucher code at the end of the day that they can punch in at a Standard Bank ATM — or hand over at a Spar — and get cash.”
If customers don’t have the app installed, scanning the QR code will take them to the relevant app store where they can download it.“Payment information sits securely in the app,” Ehler says. “So, your card details only have to be put into the app once and thereafter all you have to do is enter your Pin. This means we never transmit your card details to the merchant.”
The company makes its money by charging a small transaction fee to the retailer on each purchase. This fee varies. “We take a small transaction fee, much like the acquiring component to third party merchant account,” Ehlers says. SnapScan has a partnership with Standard Bank, which means it can process transactions at “competitive rates”, he adds.In addition to transaction fees, SnapScan offers its customers the option of accessing analytics or running loyalty programmes, both of which are billed as add-ons.
The company offers three products. The first is an “instant merchant product” aimed at informal retailers who want their takings in cash. The second is the “standard” product that settles into a bank account like a traditional point-of-sale (POS) unit. The third is an “enterprise solution” designed to integrate with existing POS systems.
SnapScan started out operating in a number of stores around Stellenbosch. Ehlers was surprised by the good response and the company is now planning to expand to Cape Town and Johannesburg. However, the timing isn’t confirmed yet. Expansion will be gradual and carefully monitored, he says.
“We work very iteratively. We want to understand the market really well. We’ve been really impressed with amount of repeat purchases we’ve seen in Stellenbosch along with the low rate of people abandoning it. To maintain that momentum we need to do a controlled roll-out.”Part of that means making sure SnapScan is accepted in multiple stores. “No one’s going to commit to an app if they can only use it in one store.”
Alipay, China's largest third-party e-payment provider, announced on Tuesday it will discontinue its still-nascent offline-payment service, a move widely perceived as a capitulation to its State-backed rival, China UnionPay.
While the company declined to elaborate on its reasons, industry observers believe Alipay's encroachment into the business of offline payments was eating away market share once firmly held by the country's largest card processor. UnionPay has recently insisted that its services are still required to conclude all bank transactions.
The abrupt cancellation of the collect-on-delivery service stands in stark contrast to Alipay's bold entry into the market last year, when it unveiled a 500 million yuan ($81.7 million) investment plan with the introduction of a handheld device to consolidate package tracking records with card payment functions.
The rollout was part of the broader strategy of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Alipay's parent, to grab a bigger share of business in the financial sector and satisfy soaring demand for package-tracking from China's booming e-commerce industry.
According to iResearch, a Beijing-based IT consultancy, online payments are expected to account for only 15.8 percent of all online transactions in 2015. About 70 percent of all online purchases made on China's business-to-customer sites are paid on delivery.
While Alipay holds almost half of the online-payment market, that has failed to translate into even bigger revenue, given consumers' preferences to pay for online-purchased, big-ticket items at the time of third party payment gateway.
Delivery people in China typically carry two devices, one for tracking and the other a portable POS terminal. Alipay's wireless device was able to combine both functions into one machine, ensuring that merchants receive payment within 24 hours of delivery.
Zhu Zhu, a Hangzhou-based company spokeswoman, said that over 10,000 such devices, which cost less than its competitors, were installed nationwide to cover e-commerce logistics, airlines operators, hotels, and similar businesses.
According to a news release by Alibaba's public relations team in Hong Kong in March, each Alipay device cost 3,000 yuan. To encourage use of the device, Alipay allowed package delivery services and e-commerce sites to use them for an unlimited period of time by paying a 500-yuan-per-device deposit.
Alipay said at the time that it was "essentially giving away these devices ... and is showing it's willing to lose money on hardware in exchange for a piece of the potentially vast revenue stream from COD processing fees," it said.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
FireID started life as an information security company specialising in “two-factor authentication” technology for mobile phones. It was funded by billionaire Johann Rupert, through Reinet. Justin Stanford, one of FireID’s co-founders, was instrumental in securing the initial capital injection. However, Stanford was unable to convince Reinet’s investment committee to continue investing and in 2011 it pulled its funding of FireID, forcing the company to lay off its 40 employees. A month later, former Mxit boss Alan Knott-Craig, through World of Avatar, came to the rescue, but the terms of the arrangement were not made public.
SnapScan co-founder, 28-year-old Kobus Ehlers, says there are a number of benefits to this approach for retailers. “It takes about 30 seconds to sign up. We issue a QR code, which you print, and you’re done.”Merchants without bank accounts can cash out their takings at the end of the day. “Customers can pay with the app, the retailer can then get a voucher code at the end of the day that they can punch in at a Standard Bank ATM — or hand over at a Spar — and get cash.”
If customers don’t have the app installed, scanning the QR code will take them to the relevant app store where they can download it.“Payment information sits securely in the app,” Ehler says. “So, your card details only have to be put into the app once and thereafter all you have to do is enter your Pin. This means we never transmit your card details to the merchant.”
The company makes its money by charging a small transaction fee to the retailer on each purchase. This fee varies. “We take a small transaction fee, much like the acquiring component to third party merchant account,” Ehlers says. SnapScan has a partnership with Standard Bank, which means it can process transactions at “competitive rates”, he adds.In addition to transaction fees, SnapScan offers its customers the option of accessing analytics or running loyalty programmes, both of which are billed as add-ons.
The company offers three products. The first is an “instant merchant product” aimed at informal retailers who want their takings in cash. The second is the “standard” product that settles into a bank account like a traditional point-of-sale (POS) unit. The third is an “enterprise solution” designed to integrate with existing POS systems.
SnapScan started out operating in a number of stores around Stellenbosch. Ehlers was surprised by the good response and the company is now planning to expand to Cape Town and Johannesburg. However, the timing isn’t confirmed yet. Expansion will be gradual and carefully monitored, he says.
“We work very iteratively. We want to understand the market really well. We’ve been really impressed with amount of repeat purchases we’ve seen in Stellenbosch along with the low rate of people abandoning it. To maintain that momentum we need to do a controlled roll-out.”Part of that means making sure SnapScan is accepted in multiple stores. “No one’s going to commit to an app if they can only use it in one store.”
Alipay, China's largest third-party e-payment provider, announced on Tuesday it will discontinue its still-nascent offline-payment service, a move widely perceived as a capitulation to its State-backed rival, China UnionPay.
While the company declined to elaborate on its reasons, industry observers believe Alipay's encroachment into the business of offline payments was eating away market share once firmly held by the country's largest card processor. UnionPay has recently insisted that its services are still required to conclude all bank transactions.
The abrupt cancellation of the collect-on-delivery service stands in stark contrast to Alipay's bold entry into the market last year, when it unveiled a 500 million yuan ($81.7 million) investment plan with the introduction of a handheld device to consolidate package tracking records with card payment functions.
The rollout was part of the broader strategy of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Alipay's parent, to grab a bigger share of business in the financial sector and satisfy soaring demand for package-tracking from China's booming e-commerce industry.
According to iResearch, a Beijing-based IT consultancy, online payments are expected to account for only 15.8 percent of all online transactions in 2015. About 70 percent of all online purchases made on China's business-to-customer sites are paid on delivery.
While Alipay holds almost half of the online-payment market, that has failed to translate into even bigger revenue, given consumers' preferences to pay for online-purchased, big-ticket items at the time of third party payment gateway.
Delivery people in China typically carry two devices, one for tracking and the other a portable POS terminal. Alipay's wireless device was able to combine both functions into one machine, ensuring that merchants receive payment within 24 hours of delivery.
Zhu Zhu, a Hangzhou-based company spokeswoman, said that over 10,000 such devices, which cost less than its competitors, were installed nationwide to cover e-commerce logistics, airlines operators, hotels, and similar businesses.
According to a news release by Alibaba's public relations team in Hong Kong in March, each Alipay device cost 3,000 yuan. To encourage use of the device, Alipay allowed package delivery services and e-commerce sites to use them for an unlimited period of time by paying a 500-yuan-per-device deposit.
Alipay said at the time that it was "essentially giving away these devices ... and is showing it's willing to lose money on hardware in exchange for a piece of the potentially vast revenue stream from COD processing fees," it said.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
Marketing in the New Cardless Society
If you walk into a Starbucks today, people are paying not with just their cards and cash anymore, but their phones, too. Consumers – at least in most parts of the world – are still getting used to the idea that their phones can function as debit or credit cards, but attitudes toward mobile money is going to change rapidly in the next few years.
The transition to mobile payments is by no means a bad thing, though. This presents unprecedented opportunities for card issuers as the marriage of mobile and payment technologies open a huge array of new location-based service options to reward loyalty, prevent fraud and create powerful partnerships.This has big implications for marketers. But as we move toward the reality of a cardless society, this new dynamic means card issuers must rethink branding, tracking, loyalty and monetization options that will no longer be possible without a physical card.
Many businesses are adapting to that new reality. For example, in January 2013, ATM maker Diebold debuted an ATM that allows consumers to scan their phones to withdraw cash, completely forgoing cards. Millennials, too, are putting pressure on companies to go digital. As online natives, they’re more accustomed to digital activities and more likely to adopt new digital payment forms such as mobile applications like LevelUp, which reward loyalty and change marketing dynamics. PayPal is moving into the mobile space, too, alongside Google and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Square. With digital technology, financial institutions will lose traditional customer touchpoints such as direct mailings, disclosures and the delivery of third party merchant account. Brand and image will be relegated to the screen, rather than a card, so there will be a need to deliver value in real-time in order to connect with consumers.
Card issuers will need to work hard to make sure their brand doesn’t get eclipsed by the device delivering it. With no physical presence in a wallet, businesses can turn to digital services to differentiate. The organizations that establish an early presence with applications that touch a large number of consumers will have a significant competitive advantage over the next decade, especially when it comes to delivering location-based services. Through mobile payments, organizations can create campaigns that are truly relevant to a consumer’s location.
For example, if a family visits a college, the card issuer can offer real-time discounts on that brand of college merchandise. This location could also indicate that the consumers may be interested in a student credit card account. By working with retailers and other merchants to capitalize on location intelligence campaigns, card issuers can delight consumers as they walk in the door by offering a real-time discount on that specific merchant’s products. Coupling these campaigns with geo-fencing empowers consumers to disable location-based services when they’re not wanted, too. Not only that, when card issuers partner with other businesses, it’s possible to monitor activity for fraud more effectively. If an issuer’s card or service is used to pay at a a destination that isn’t recognized as an authorized retailer, financial institutions can analyze the transaction for potential theft or fraud.
When I was 15 or 16 I needed my mom to create a PayPal account using her credit card, so I could bid on something on eBay. Like many parents her age at the time, my mom held an unwavering fear of using her credit card online, likely fuelled by pre-2004 horror stories of people being duped into releasing their information to online scams.
Nearly ten years later those fears have completely diminished for the average consumer, regardless of age. We’re in the age of mobile commerce and today two Canadian companies have bridged the gap between online and offline payment for merchants. Along with Shopify’s announcement this morning, PayPal Canada announced an agreement with restaurant technology provider TouchBistro to allow customers to use their smartphone to check-in and pay with PayPal at cafés and restaurants at the POS.
The two competitors are both unveiling products in a space they envision to take off, one that hasn’t been taken advantage of by online retail solution providers. Why only offer merchants online stores when Shopify and PayPal can allow those stores to streamline operations?
Shopify is targeting its 65,000 merchants, as about one third of them also operate brick-and-mortar locations. It’ll cost merchants an additional $49 per month, while the hardware costs range from $19 for a credit-card reader to $499 for the whole nine yards. That includes a cash drawer, a bar code scanner, a receipt printer and aforementioned credit card reader.
“…the future of retail isn’t online versus in-store, it’s a seamless combination of both. Shopify has transitioned from simply powering online sales to powering all commerce: online, offline, third party payment gateway, and everything in between,” said Adam McNamara, Shopify's vice president of product.Shopify appears ready to initially bring in higher revenues from its offerings than PayPal. But PayPal may be the one who benefits most down the road.
PayPal is not only targeting a different clientele, but is executing a pilot program using TouchBistro for select restaurant locations in Toronto. TouchBistro provides a popular POS app used by over 1,000 restaurantss, cafes and food trucks. It is currently the top-grossing food and beverage app in 18 countries on the App Store. Using the PayPal mobile app, customers can check-in to these cafés or restaurants (even before they arrive) and pay using their PayPal account, where their name and profile picture shows up for cashiers.
They’ve even convinced popular startup coffee spot Jimmy’s Café, near Project RHINO, to accept PayPal mobile payments at their TouchBistro iPad POS. Unlike Shopify’s new offering, PayPal is betting on a hardware-independent approach.
"We're collaborating globally with existing POS providers so that businesses don't have to rip or install new hardware to deliver unique and useful mobile payment experiences for their customers,” said PayPal Canada’s Darrell MacMullin. “We're thrilled to work with TouchBistro…for our five million active PayPal users in Canada.”
Matthew Braga of the Financial Post wrote today that the iPad, which both Shopify and PayPal are using as the basis of their POS systems, “has quickly become a point-of-sale industry mainstay amongst hospitality and retail clients.”
While traditional debit and credit terminals offered by banks offer scant analytical insight, the iPad systems promise more comprehensive options for “measuring sales analytics, maintaining customer databases, managing inventory and processing non-traditional forms of payment (such as devices using near-field communication or digital wallets).”
Braga wrote that the two companies are certainly targeting different audiences: Shopify is targeting its merchant customers who are already using its services, while PayPal is going after individual consumers.We’ll be sure to keep an eye on both these companies over the next six months as time will tell who ends up ahead of the other.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
The transition to mobile payments is by no means a bad thing, though. This presents unprecedented opportunities for card issuers as the marriage of mobile and payment technologies open a huge array of new location-based service options to reward loyalty, prevent fraud and create powerful partnerships.This has big implications for marketers. But as we move toward the reality of a cardless society, this new dynamic means card issuers must rethink branding, tracking, loyalty and monetization options that will no longer be possible without a physical card.
Many businesses are adapting to that new reality. For example, in January 2013, ATM maker Diebold debuted an ATM that allows consumers to scan their phones to withdraw cash, completely forgoing cards. Millennials, too, are putting pressure on companies to go digital. As online natives, they’re more accustomed to digital activities and more likely to adopt new digital payment forms such as mobile applications like LevelUp, which reward loyalty and change marketing dynamics. PayPal is moving into the mobile space, too, alongside Google and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Square. With digital technology, financial institutions will lose traditional customer touchpoints such as direct mailings, disclosures and the delivery of third party merchant account. Brand and image will be relegated to the screen, rather than a card, so there will be a need to deliver value in real-time in order to connect with consumers.
Card issuers will need to work hard to make sure their brand doesn’t get eclipsed by the device delivering it. With no physical presence in a wallet, businesses can turn to digital services to differentiate. The organizations that establish an early presence with applications that touch a large number of consumers will have a significant competitive advantage over the next decade, especially when it comes to delivering location-based services. Through mobile payments, organizations can create campaigns that are truly relevant to a consumer’s location.
For example, if a family visits a college, the card issuer can offer real-time discounts on that brand of college merchandise. This location could also indicate that the consumers may be interested in a student credit card account. By working with retailers and other merchants to capitalize on location intelligence campaigns, card issuers can delight consumers as they walk in the door by offering a real-time discount on that specific merchant’s products. Coupling these campaigns with geo-fencing empowers consumers to disable location-based services when they’re not wanted, too. Not only that, when card issuers partner with other businesses, it’s possible to monitor activity for fraud more effectively. If an issuer’s card or service is used to pay at a a destination that isn’t recognized as an authorized retailer, financial institutions can analyze the transaction for potential theft or fraud.
When I was 15 or 16 I needed my mom to create a PayPal account using her credit card, so I could bid on something on eBay. Like many parents her age at the time, my mom held an unwavering fear of using her credit card online, likely fuelled by pre-2004 horror stories of people being duped into releasing their information to online scams.
Nearly ten years later those fears have completely diminished for the average consumer, regardless of age. We’re in the age of mobile commerce and today two Canadian companies have bridged the gap between online and offline payment for merchants. Along with Shopify’s announcement this morning, PayPal Canada announced an agreement with restaurant technology provider TouchBistro to allow customers to use their smartphone to check-in and pay with PayPal at cafés and restaurants at the POS.
The two competitors are both unveiling products in a space they envision to take off, one that hasn’t been taken advantage of by online retail solution providers. Why only offer merchants online stores when Shopify and PayPal can allow those stores to streamline operations?
Shopify is targeting its 65,000 merchants, as about one third of them also operate brick-and-mortar locations. It’ll cost merchants an additional $49 per month, while the hardware costs range from $19 for a credit-card reader to $499 for the whole nine yards. That includes a cash drawer, a bar code scanner, a receipt printer and aforementioned credit card reader.
“…the future of retail isn’t online versus in-store, it’s a seamless combination of both. Shopify has transitioned from simply powering online sales to powering all commerce: online, offline, third party payment gateway, and everything in between,” said Adam McNamara, Shopify's vice president of product.Shopify appears ready to initially bring in higher revenues from its offerings than PayPal. But PayPal may be the one who benefits most down the road.
PayPal is not only targeting a different clientele, but is executing a pilot program using TouchBistro for select restaurant locations in Toronto. TouchBistro provides a popular POS app used by over 1,000 restaurantss, cafes and food trucks. It is currently the top-grossing food and beverage app in 18 countries on the App Store. Using the PayPal mobile app, customers can check-in to these cafés or restaurants (even before they arrive) and pay using their PayPal account, where their name and profile picture shows up for cashiers.
They’ve even convinced popular startup coffee spot Jimmy’s Café, near Project RHINO, to accept PayPal mobile payments at their TouchBistro iPad POS. Unlike Shopify’s new offering, PayPal is betting on a hardware-independent approach.
"We're collaborating globally with existing POS providers so that businesses don't have to rip or install new hardware to deliver unique and useful mobile payment experiences for their customers,” said PayPal Canada’s Darrell MacMullin. “We're thrilled to work with TouchBistro…for our five million active PayPal users in Canada.”
Matthew Braga of the Financial Post wrote today that the iPad, which both Shopify and PayPal are using as the basis of their POS systems, “has quickly become a point-of-sale industry mainstay amongst hospitality and retail clients.”
While traditional debit and credit terminals offered by banks offer scant analytical insight, the iPad systems promise more comprehensive options for “measuring sales analytics, maintaining customer databases, managing inventory and processing non-traditional forms of payment (such as devices using near-field communication or digital wallets).”
Braga wrote that the two companies are certainly targeting different audiences: Shopify is targeting its merchant customers who are already using its services, while PayPal is going after individual consumers.We’ll be sure to keep an eye on both these companies over the next six months as time will tell who ends up ahead of the other.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
2013年8月26日星期一
Navigating The Arctic's Icy Waters
Over the last few decades the Polar Regions have been experiencing an accelerated decline in ice cover due to global warming. Whilst the opening of arctic trade routes, most notably the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage, may bear bountiful fruit for the shipping industry, the sector is also at the centre of much controversy over the use of these routes due to the huge potential and actual environmental impact that the movement of freight through these waters brings.
The shipping industry has often been blamed as a leading contributor to the increased carbon emissions, however the resultant melting of the Arctic ice actually poses huge opportunity for the industry.
The prospect of cutting voyage time is luring many owners to navigating their ships and cargo through the arctic region, due to the economic opportunity it presents. Therefore, this week Fathom takes a look at the exploration of the new shipping routes across the Arctic and the issues and benefits that ship owners face when it comes to thinking about navigating through the extreme conditions presented in the region to seek aforementioned economic opportunities.
We also study the future regulations that The International Maritime Organization (IMO) are currently exploring in order to protect the fragile environment and to mitigate the risks associated with moving freight across the arctic trade routes.
Black carbon (BC), also known as soot, is strongly light-absorbing carbonaceous material emitted as solid particulate matter (PM) and is formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass. BC is the most effective PM, by mass, at absorbing solar energy and is one of the major causes of global warming. When BC is deposited on snow and high risk merchant account, it causes more sunlight and heat energy to be absorbed, resulting in surface warming. The potential rise in shipping traffic will result in further deposition of BC and therefore the risk of further melting is greatly increased.
The shipping industry is a contributor of marine ecosystem degradation and therefore any increase in marine traffic within Polar Regions has the potential to cause major impacts to the ecosystems. These impacts could include oil spills, invasive species, marine mammal strikes, air, water and noise pollution and accelerated arctic warming from BC deposition.
The commercial shipping industry is thought to contribute about 1-2% of global BC emissions.Ships emit more PM and BC per unit of fuel consumed than other fossil fuel combustion sources due to the quality of fuel used.
Therefore, with the exposure of the Polar Regions, namely the Arctic, to increased levels of marine freight movement, the regulation and legislation around aforementioned impacts is under close scrutiny and development.
This increase in ice melt as a consequence of global warming and BC deposition has resulted in and will continue to result in the opening and expansion of passages that were once blocked by ice. The shipping community is fast jumping on the possibility of saving huge amounts of money on fuel and time by utilising these new routes.
2013 seems set to be a record year for maritime activity on the 'Northern Sea Route'. There has been a tenfold increase in the number of vessels using the route during recent years. In 2012, 46 vessels sailed the whole route, compared to 34 in 2011 and only four in 2010.
As the Lloyd's Register Global Shipping Trends 2030 report points out, in future summer months when the ice has melted to a far more significant extent than today, it will be possible to cut journey times between Europe and Asia by up to a third by using Arctic routes.
The Northern Sea Route along the arctic coast of Russia reduces journeys between East Asia and Western Europe by 21,000 km, in other words, 10-15 days. The opening up of the Northwest Passage, which is currently only navigable one year in seven and crosses Canada's Arctic Ocean, would make a journey between East Asia and Western Europe about 13,600 km long as opposed to 24,000 km when using the Panama Canal. The Arctic Bridge linking Russia to Canada, and the Transpolar Sea Route linking the Arctic to the Strait of Bering and the Atlantic Ocean of Murmansk, would also be potentially usable.
Whilst shortening the voyage in theory is wonderful news for an operator looking to limit fuel costs and emissions; service providers and original equipment manufacturers need to understand how their products will operate under Arctic conditions, or even whether they need to start designing and testing new solutions in advance – though the IMO does not yet have an official set of guidelines that describes the requirements of offshore merchant account.
Inadequate navigational aids, poor or non-existent charting, extreme cold and darkness, and lack of infrastructure are all concerns. The level of isolation means that should a vessel get into trouble, it will be difficult to secure a timely emergency response. Bunkering facilities, port reception facilities for ship's waste, pilotage in shallow passages, possible ice-breaking assistance all require further development.
This lack of experience in extreme and rapidly changing weather conditions could result in disaster and with polar regions being a hot topic, eyes will be watching the shipping community if vessels start utilising these channels.
The IMO is working with Member States and other interested stakeholder (such as NGOs) to develop a mandatory Polar Code to control the expected increase in shipping traffic in the polar waters. It is also intended to function alongside existing IMO conventions, such as SOLAS and MARPOL. The Polar Code will have to control traffic to mitigate against potential accidents. This will be achieved by drawing up traffic routeing and separation schemes, areas to be avoided, speed restrictions, and mandatory ship location reporting. The increased volume of traffic will however improve search and rescue capabilities in the Arctic waters.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
The shipping industry has often been blamed as a leading contributor to the increased carbon emissions, however the resultant melting of the Arctic ice actually poses huge opportunity for the industry.
The prospect of cutting voyage time is luring many owners to navigating their ships and cargo through the arctic region, due to the economic opportunity it presents. Therefore, this week Fathom takes a look at the exploration of the new shipping routes across the Arctic and the issues and benefits that ship owners face when it comes to thinking about navigating through the extreme conditions presented in the region to seek aforementioned economic opportunities.
We also study the future regulations that The International Maritime Organization (IMO) are currently exploring in order to protect the fragile environment and to mitigate the risks associated with moving freight across the arctic trade routes.
Black carbon (BC), also known as soot, is strongly light-absorbing carbonaceous material emitted as solid particulate matter (PM) and is formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass. BC is the most effective PM, by mass, at absorbing solar energy and is one of the major causes of global warming. When BC is deposited on snow and high risk merchant account, it causes more sunlight and heat energy to be absorbed, resulting in surface warming. The potential rise in shipping traffic will result in further deposition of BC and therefore the risk of further melting is greatly increased.
The shipping industry is a contributor of marine ecosystem degradation and therefore any increase in marine traffic within Polar Regions has the potential to cause major impacts to the ecosystems. These impacts could include oil spills, invasive species, marine mammal strikes, air, water and noise pollution and accelerated arctic warming from BC deposition.
The commercial shipping industry is thought to contribute about 1-2% of global BC emissions.Ships emit more PM and BC per unit of fuel consumed than other fossil fuel combustion sources due to the quality of fuel used.
Therefore, with the exposure of the Polar Regions, namely the Arctic, to increased levels of marine freight movement, the regulation and legislation around aforementioned impacts is under close scrutiny and development.
This increase in ice melt as a consequence of global warming and BC deposition has resulted in and will continue to result in the opening and expansion of passages that were once blocked by ice. The shipping community is fast jumping on the possibility of saving huge amounts of money on fuel and time by utilising these new routes.
2013 seems set to be a record year for maritime activity on the 'Northern Sea Route'. There has been a tenfold increase in the number of vessels using the route during recent years. In 2012, 46 vessels sailed the whole route, compared to 34 in 2011 and only four in 2010.
As the Lloyd's Register Global Shipping Trends 2030 report points out, in future summer months when the ice has melted to a far more significant extent than today, it will be possible to cut journey times between Europe and Asia by up to a third by using Arctic routes.
The Northern Sea Route along the arctic coast of Russia reduces journeys between East Asia and Western Europe by 21,000 km, in other words, 10-15 days. The opening up of the Northwest Passage, which is currently only navigable one year in seven and crosses Canada's Arctic Ocean, would make a journey between East Asia and Western Europe about 13,600 km long as opposed to 24,000 km when using the Panama Canal. The Arctic Bridge linking Russia to Canada, and the Transpolar Sea Route linking the Arctic to the Strait of Bering and the Atlantic Ocean of Murmansk, would also be potentially usable.
Whilst shortening the voyage in theory is wonderful news for an operator looking to limit fuel costs and emissions; service providers and original equipment manufacturers need to understand how their products will operate under Arctic conditions, or even whether they need to start designing and testing new solutions in advance – though the IMO does not yet have an official set of guidelines that describes the requirements of offshore merchant account.
Inadequate navigational aids, poor or non-existent charting, extreme cold and darkness, and lack of infrastructure are all concerns. The level of isolation means that should a vessel get into trouble, it will be difficult to secure a timely emergency response. Bunkering facilities, port reception facilities for ship's waste, pilotage in shallow passages, possible ice-breaking assistance all require further development.
This lack of experience in extreme and rapidly changing weather conditions could result in disaster and with polar regions being a hot topic, eyes will be watching the shipping community if vessels start utilising these channels.
The IMO is working with Member States and other interested stakeholder (such as NGOs) to develop a mandatory Polar Code to control the expected increase in shipping traffic in the polar waters. It is also intended to function alongside existing IMO conventions, such as SOLAS and MARPOL. The Polar Code will have to control traffic to mitigate against potential accidents. This will be achieved by drawing up traffic routeing and separation schemes, areas to be avoided, speed restrictions, and mandatory ship location reporting. The increased volume of traffic will however improve search and rescue capabilities in the Arctic waters.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
Middle East vandalism is destroying centuries
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, for example, shows no regard for either Christian or Islamic heritage.Since violence erupted across Egypt over the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi, looting and destruction of historical relics have been commonplace. In the city of Minya more than 1,000 artifacts were stolen from the Malawi Museum, including a priceless 3,500 year old statue, pottery and coins.
Similar destruction has also been taking place elsewhere. After Islamists moved into Northern Mali, the great cultural city of Timbuktu was seized by an Islamic faction called the Ansar Dine. Referring to the ongoing demolition of property in Timbuktu, an Ansar Dine spokesman said, “The destruction is a divine order. It’s our Prophet who said that each time that someone builds something on top of a grave, it needs to be pulled back to the ground.”
Such events are not without precedent in Egypt. The Ancient Library of Alexandria which contained irreplaceable scrolls and manuscripts dating as far back as 300 BC. was forever lost in a devastating fire. Even today the library is regarded as a symbol of “knowledge and culture destroyed.”
Though four theories exist about the cause of the library fire, most Western scholars do not believe the blaze was the result of the Muslim invasion and conquest of Egypt in 641. Early Muslim writers, third party merchant account, claim the conflagration was ordered by Caliph Umar.
As Robert Spencer notes in his book Not Peace but a Sword, when Umar was asked why the library should be burned, he replied, “If the books in it agree with the Qur’an, they are superfluous. If they disagree with the Qur’an, they are heretical. Only one book was needed.”Even if the theory about the Alexandria library is not true, there are other examples that of similar destruction. Less than two years ago, nearly 200,000 books were destroyed in the Egyptian Scientific Institute in Cairo.
Religious icons, statues, paintings and the like are regarded as apostasy by Islamic purists. That is why representations and cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are so inflammatory to the true believers.Mosques in Saudi Arabia are completely devoid of any ornamentation for that reason.After Mohamed Morsi became president of Egypt in the summer of 2012, some followers called for the destruction of the Great Pyramids. The idea had been proposed in the past, but the lack of technology served as a preventative.
The most popular story about the Sphinx at Giza losing its nose is that it happened during the Napoleonic Wars. Other sources attribute the de-nosing to an incident in the 14th century when local peasants were found making offerings at the base of the Sphinx with the hope that Nile floods would improve their harvest. When a Sufi Muslim learned of the offerings, he became so angry that he destroyed the nose.
As so frequently happens in the chasm between Islam and the West, such concepts are completely alien to our way of thinking. Why would Muslims want to destroy Islamic culture?Much of the reason relates to ancient tribal traditions of the desert which are still very much in evidence in the Middle East today. Because of that tribal heritage, Islamists have no true national identity. They only relate the “culture” of Islam which is contained within the pages of the Koran. Nothing more is necessary.
Robert Spencer explains, “You can pretty much correlate in Islamic history the strength and aggression and rise of the great Islamic empires of the past with the size of the Jewish and Christian communities that were subjugated within those empires and were paying for that imperial expansion. When those communities were exhausted economically, then the Islamic empires went into decline. This is an absolute correlation.”One need only look at Detroit and it neighbors here in the United States for validation. Once the fourth largest city in the country, it has become so heavily influenced by Muslims that some have nicknamed it “Dearbornistan.”
As long as Islam remains a one way street, there can be no compromise with the West. As Spencer points out, “In Islam, any moral law can be set aside for the good of the Muslims. This is Islam’s only functional moral absolute.”Flipkart recently raised $200 million from existing investors, making it the single largest round of funding in the Indian ecommerce market. The Bangalore-based company is on a growth track without worrying about profits for a next few years. It is bracing itself for challenges arising from its transition to being a market place from being just a book e-tailer.
Sachin Bansal, founder and CEO, speaks to Business Line on its evolution, expansion and innovations that could be a game changer for any e-commerce company. Edited excerpts:You have been talking about changing your business model. What does that mean for the third party payment gateway? Has the process started? Of late, there have been several consumer complaints on non-delivery, delayed delivery and cancellation as well. Is this due to the transition? How are you tackling the issue?
Every time we make changes, there are challenges. We are facing some problems as we overlooked a few things. Service is in our blood and we are very proud of it. Recently, I would admit that there were a few problems and we are agonised due to this. But we will bounce back. It is a temporary mess on the supply chain side. We are working towards fixing the problems in a few weeks time.
The last round of funding will be used in setting up a good supply chain and logistics infrastructure. It will also help filter out good sellers from bad sellers. Also invest in creating a process that will manage the same and also develop talent.Does moving to a market place mean more profits? Is the company nearing the breakeven point?
In India e-commerce has happened, but it is still far behind the developed countries. Currently, it is at $1 billion and is expected to reach $76 billion by 2020. Our funding proves that investors are now willing to put their money in this growth story. The focus at this point in time is to get more customers to shop online and make it a regular activity. Right now, it is about achievements and not thinking about profits for the next few years.
We keep looking at opportunities. We are interested in two types of companies – a company which is doing something we haven’t or can not do; second, companies with technical expertise that can help us scale up. We are in talks with 20 companies at the moment.You have discontinued selling consumer durables, any specific reason?
We will be soon coming back with consumer durables. We are building a different supply chain for shipping large and bulky items, this will also include furniture.We will soon have furniture as a category. We are shipping electronics items to only 50 cities as of now. With the new supply chain, we will be able to serve to each and every customer having a broadband connection.There have been rumours of several e-commerce firms trying to get into pharmacy. Any plans on that front?
No, we have not considered it as a category.Amazon has entered the Indian market and many others are planning to enter. Besides, several offline players are also betting big on e-commerce. Does this bother you?We were very sure that as soon as the market starts getting bigger, several players, including the brick and mortar players, will be making plans. This means that the market is on an upswing and we are well prepared for that. Competition is expected and our strategy will be to maintain our leadership position.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
Similar destruction has also been taking place elsewhere. After Islamists moved into Northern Mali, the great cultural city of Timbuktu was seized by an Islamic faction called the Ansar Dine. Referring to the ongoing demolition of property in Timbuktu, an Ansar Dine spokesman said, “The destruction is a divine order. It’s our Prophet who said that each time that someone builds something on top of a grave, it needs to be pulled back to the ground.”
Such events are not without precedent in Egypt. The Ancient Library of Alexandria which contained irreplaceable scrolls and manuscripts dating as far back as 300 BC. was forever lost in a devastating fire. Even today the library is regarded as a symbol of “knowledge and culture destroyed.”
Though four theories exist about the cause of the library fire, most Western scholars do not believe the blaze was the result of the Muslim invasion and conquest of Egypt in 641. Early Muslim writers, third party merchant account, claim the conflagration was ordered by Caliph Umar.
As Robert Spencer notes in his book Not Peace but a Sword, when Umar was asked why the library should be burned, he replied, “If the books in it agree with the Qur’an, they are superfluous. If they disagree with the Qur’an, they are heretical. Only one book was needed.”Even if the theory about the Alexandria library is not true, there are other examples that of similar destruction. Less than two years ago, nearly 200,000 books were destroyed in the Egyptian Scientific Institute in Cairo.
Religious icons, statues, paintings and the like are regarded as apostasy by Islamic purists. That is why representations and cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are so inflammatory to the true believers.Mosques in Saudi Arabia are completely devoid of any ornamentation for that reason.After Mohamed Morsi became president of Egypt in the summer of 2012, some followers called for the destruction of the Great Pyramids. The idea had been proposed in the past, but the lack of technology served as a preventative.
The most popular story about the Sphinx at Giza losing its nose is that it happened during the Napoleonic Wars. Other sources attribute the de-nosing to an incident in the 14th century when local peasants were found making offerings at the base of the Sphinx with the hope that Nile floods would improve their harvest. When a Sufi Muslim learned of the offerings, he became so angry that he destroyed the nose.
As so frequently happens in the chasm between Islam and the West, such concepts are completely alien to our way of thinking. Why would Muslims want to destroy Islamic culture?Much of the reason relates to ancient tribal traditions of the desert which are still very much in evidence in the Middle East today. Because of that tribal heritage, Islamists have no true national identity. They only relate the “culture” of Islam which is contained within the pages of the Koran. Nothing more is necessary.
Robert Spencer explains, “You can pretty much correlate in Islamic history the strength and aggression and rise of the great Islamic empires of the past with the size of the Jewish and Christian communities that were subjugated within those empires and were paying for that imperial expansion. When those communities were exhausted economically, then the Islamic empires went into decline. This is an absolute correlation.”One need only look at Detroit and it neighbors here in the United States for validation. Once the fourth largest city in the country, it has become so heavily influenced by Muslims that some have nicknamed it “Dearbornistan.”
As long as Islam remains a one way street, there can be no compromise with the West. As Spencer points out, “In Islam, any moral law can be set aside for the good of the Muslims. This is Islam’s only functional moral absolute.”Flipkart recently raised $200 million from existing investors, making it the single largest round of funding in the Indian ecommerce market. The Bangalore-based company is on a growth track without worrying about profits for a next few years. It is bracing itself for challenges arising from its transition to being a market place from being just a book e-tailer.
Sachin Bansal, founder and CEO, speaks to Business Line on its evolution, expansion and innovations that could be a game changer for any e-commerce company. Edited excerpts:You have been talking about changing your business model. What does that mean for the third party payment gateway? Has the process started? Of late, there have been several consumer complaints on non-delivery, delayed delivery and cancellation as well. Is this due to the transition? How are you tackling the issue?
Every time we make changes, there are challenges. We are facing some problems as we overlooked a few things. Service is in our blood and we are very proud of it. Recently, I would admit that there were a few problems and we are agonised due to this. But we will bounce back. It is a temporary mess on the supply chain side. We are working towards fixing the problems in a few weeks time.
The last round of funding will be used in setting up a good supply chain and logistics infrastructure. It will also help filter out good sellers from bad sellers. Also invest in creating a process that will manage the same and also develop talent.Does moving to a market place mean more profits? Is the company nearing the breakeven point?
In India e-commerce has happened, but it is still far behind the developed countries. Currently, it is at $1 billion and is expected to reach $76 billion by 2020. Our funding proves that investors are now willing to put their money in this growth story. The focus at this point in time is to get more customers to shop online and make it a regular activity. Right now, it is about achievements and not thinking about profits for the next few years.
We keep looking at opportunities. We are interested in two types of companies – a company which is doing something we haven’t or can not do; second, companies with technical expertise that can help us scale up. We are in talks with 20 companies at the moment.You have discontinued selling consumer durables, any specific reason?
We will be soon coming back with consumer durables. We are building a different supply chain for shipping large and bulky items, this will also include furniture.We will soon have furniture as a category. We are shipping electronics items to only 50 cities as of now. With the new supply chain, we will be able to serve to each and every customer having a broadband connection.There have been rumours of several e-commerce firms trying to get into pharmacy. Any plans on that front?
No, we have not considered it as a category.Amazon has entered the Indian market and many others are planning to enter. Besides, several offline players are also betting big on e-commerce. Does this bother you?We were very sure that as soon as the market starts getting bigger, several players, including the brick and mortar players, will be making plans. This means that the market is on an upswing and we are well prepared for that. Competition is expected and our strategy will be to maintain our leadership position.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
2013年8月19日星期一
Narendra Modi–the idea whose time
How ironical it is, that the touted dream team of Indian economy - Dr Manmohan Singh, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and P Chidambaram will leave a legacy of terrible growth deceleration, persistently high inflation, rising unemployment, and a depreciating currency after 10 years in office. But the "lost decade" under UPA is not just an economic disaster. This total economic collapse is only a natural consequence of appalling lack of leadership, absolute breakdown of authority, directionless decision making, zero accountability, and complete disregard for integrity and ethics.
Ten years ago, an India that was racing towards a global superpower status, and striving to reclaim its position in the league of world nations, has been plunged into an abyss of hopelessness and despair. The confidence, enthusiasm and vigor that were the catalysts of India's resurgence seem to have suddenly evaporated. And in this scene, the man emerges. History bears witness that time and again effective leaders, who can mobilize people, tackle tough problems and spot opportunities in crises emerge in times of great stress, change and uncertainty.
In India too, a fierce wild wind that is blowing from the western state of Gujarat has already rustled many dead feathers in Delhi; the name is Narendra Modi. The man's emergence on national horizon is not an overnight phenomenon. It is a result of a life lived completely in the service of the motherland, years of devoted work at grassroots level, and a decade of governance with administrative acumen and effective leadership.
Unlike the Congress and most regional parties where leadership is hereditary and an election ticket is taken as a birthright, Modi's claim to fame is only one factor - performance. Even in this atmosphere of gloom, Gujarat under his stewardship stands out as a beacon of third party payment gateway. As the reputed global news magazine the Economist puts it - "So many things work properly in Gujarat that it hardly seems like India." With 5% of India's population, Gujarat today accounts for 16% of country's industrial output and 22% of exports.
The state has consistently maintained a double digit GDP growth over the past decade, with agriculture growing at 10% consistently even as India struggled to achieve a low bar of 3%. As a result of sustained efforts undertaken by Modi and his team, Gujarat today has minimal labor issues, state-of-the-art infrastructure, uninterrupted power supply and supportive bureaucracy. The state known for traders only a few years back has made rapid strides in agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors. The average citizen so awfully let down by the current national leadership is naturally looking at Modi to steer India out of the current crisis, and his stellar track record obviously puts him ahead of others in the race.
When corruption seems to be the order of the day, Modi's personal integrity and honesty stands out. Modi, his personality, his style of functioning and his growth model have been subject to unprecedented scrutiny and analysis in the past few years. Any strong leader will have his share of adversaries in politics and media, and frankly speaking, Modi has more than his fair share of them.
But even Modi's most stringent critics and political opponents will admit that the man does not a have single blot of corruption or scandal to his name. Check this out - in the recent Wikileaks controversy over leaking of US diplomatic cables, every politician whose name figured in the cables stood exposed and tarnished. Modi's name was mentioned about 100 times in the cable, but he was the only politician, not just in India, but across the world whose name but did not contain a single negative reference. When politics India has become synonymous with dynasty and nepotism, how pleasantly surprising it is to know that the family of the chief minister of one the richest states in the country lives in a modest 2 bedroom apartment, away from the glamour and clout that they could have so easily commanded!
There goes a saying in India - good politics is not good economics, and good economics is not good politics. This is because when the focus of a political party is so jaundiced on winning the next election by hook or by crook, it leaves very little scope for pursuing an economic policy that take years to show results and bear fruits. Our economic disaster can partly be traced to the lack of political willingness to take tough, visionary decisions.
The UPA in past has resorted to disastrous schemes like farm loan waiver and NREGA with dire consequences to the economy. Their new initiatives like direct cash transfer and food security bills are steps in the same direction, taken only with a view on the coming general elections. Who cares about fiscal discipline? This is even after all policymakers have acknowledged that without proper infrastructure for third party merchant account, such schemes result in huge leakages and losses to public exchequer without bringing any tangible benefits to the lives of intended beneficiaries.
A politician's true test will lie in being able to take difficult, enduring decisions even if it requires risking short term political gains. Modi has demonstrated this in Gujarat time and again. In his tenure right from 2001, he has desisted from taking populist decisions or giving freebies. When he faced considerable opposition in the last state elections in 2012, he could have easily added a few more seats to his tally by announcing some freebies and subsidies here and there, but he resisted taking that path. Instead, Modi has always focused on generating investment which eventually leads to more growth, employment and better standard of living in the long run. It takes tremendous discipline and confidence in oneself to do this, especially when short term rewards are so attractive. No other politician in India except Modi had courage to oppose the proposed Food Security Bill, for the risk of losing some vote share.
But Modi's single biggest achievement has been to aggressively steer the national discourse from vote bank politics to development politics. One of the biggest drawbacks of Indian democracy is that electoral outcome is still based on caste/religious blocks voting en masse in favor or against a particular candidate. This remains the primary factor above all everything else, and the candidate's track record, integrity and other real issues get overshadowed. Modi has sounded a death knell to politics based on such narrow identity considerations. In the past ten years, he has never tried to polarize the electorate through caste-based references or policies. Elections in Gujarat have been fought purely on the basis of what the government has done in past 5 years and how that has affected the lives of people. In the process, he has offered himself, his government and his policies for unparalleled examination, criticism and debate. Every possible social/development indicator has been brought out and analyzed threadbare. If previous central and state governments had been subjected to even a fraction of assessment and scrutiny by the yardsticks that have been applied to Gujarat, India's situation today would have been radically different.
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Ten years ago, an India that was racing towards a global superpower status, and striving to reclaim its position in the league of world nations, has been plunged into an abyss of hopelessness and despair. The confidence, enthusiasm and vigor that were the catalysts of India's resurgence seem to have suddenly evaporated. And in this scene, the man emerges. History bears witness that time and again effective leaders, who can mobilize people, tackle tough problems and spot opportunities in crises emerge in times of great stress, change and uncertainty.
In India too, a fierce wild wind that is blowing from the western state of Gujarat has already rustled many dead feathers in Delhi; the name is Narendra Modi. The man's emergence on national horizon is not an overnight phenomenon. It is a result of a life lived completely in the service of the motherland, years of devoted work at grassroots level, and a decade of governance with administrative acumen and effective leadership.
Unlike the Congress and most regional parties where leadership is hereditary and an election ticket is taken as a birthright, Modi's claim to fame is only one factor - performance. Even in this atmosphere of gloom, Gujarat under his stewardship stands out as a beacon of third party payment gateway. As the reputed global news magazine the Economist puts it - "So many things work properly in Gujarat that it hardly seems like India." With 5% of India's population, Gujarat today accounts for 16% of country's industrial output and 22% of exports.
The state has consistently maintained a double digit GDP growth over the past decade, with agriculture growing at 10% consistently even as India struggled to achieve a low bar of 3%. As a result of sustained efforts undertaken by Modi and his team, Gujarat today has minimal labor issues, state-of-the-art infrastructure, uninterrupted power supply and supportive bureaucracy. The state known for traders only a few years back has made rapid strides in agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors. The average citizen so awfully let down by the current national leadership is naturally looking at Modi to steer India out of the current crisis, and his stellar track record obviously puts him ahead of others in the race.
When corruption seems to be the order of the day, Modi's personal integrity and honesty stands out. Modi, his personality, his style of functioning and his growth model have been subject to unprecedented scrutiny and analysis in the past few years. Any strong leader will have his share of adversaries in politics and media, and frankly speaking, Modi has more than his fair share of them.
But even Modi's most stringent critics and political opponents will admit that the man does not a have single blot of corruption or scandal to his name. Check this out - in the recent Wikileaks controversy over leaking of US diplomatic cables, every politician whose name figured in the cables stood exposed and tarnished. Modi's name was mentioned about 100 times in the cable, but he was the only politician, not just in India, but across the world whose name but did not contain a single negative reference. When politics India has become synonymous with dynasty and nepotism, how pleasantly surprising it is to know that the family of the chief minister of one the richest states in the country lives in a modest 2 bedroom apartment, away from the glamour and clout that they could have so easily commanded!
There goes a saying in India - good politics is not good economics, and good economics is not good politics. This is because when the focus of a political party is so jaundiced on winning the next election by hook or by crook, it leaves very little scope for pursuing an economic policy that take years to show results and bear fruits. Our economic disaster can partly be traced to the lack of political willingness to take tough, visionary decisions.
The UPA in past has resorted to disastrous schemes like farm loan waiver and NREGA with dire consequences to the economy. Their new initiatives like direct cash transfer and food security bills are steps in the same direction, taken only with a view on the coming general elections. Who cares about fiscal discipline? This is even after all policymakers have acknowledged that without proper infrastructure for third party merchant account, such schemes result in huge leakages and losses to public exchequer without bringing any tangible benefits to the lives of intended beneficiaries.
A politician's true test will lie in being able to take difficult, enduring decisions even if it requires risking short term political gains. Modi has demonstrated this in Gujarat time and again. In his tenure right from 2001, he has desisted from taking populist decisions or giving freebies. When he faced considerable opposition in the last state elections in 2012, he could have easily added a few more seats to his tally by announcing some freebies and subsidies here and there, but he resisted taking that path. Instead, Modi has always focused on generating investment which eventually leads to more growth, employment and better standard of living in the long run. It takes tremendous discipline and confidence in oneself to do this, especially when short term rewards are so attractive. No other politician in India except Modi had courage to oppose the proposed Food Security Bill, for the risk of losing some vote share.
But Modi's single biggest achievement has been to aggressively steer the national discourse from vote bank politics to development politics. One of the biggest drawbacks of Indian democracy is that electoral outcome is still based on caste/religious blocks voting en masse in favor or against a particular candidate. This remains the primary factor above all everything else, and the candidate's track record, integrity and other real issues get overshadowed. Modi has sounded a death knell to politics based on such narrow identity considerations. In the past ten years, he has never tried to polarize the electorate through caste-based references or policies. Elections in Gujarat have been fought purely on the basis of what the government has done in past 5 years and how that has affected the lives of people. In the process, he has offered himself, his government and his policies for unparalleled examination, criticism and debate. Every possible social/development indicator has been brought out and analyzed threadbare. If previous central and state governments had been subjected to even a fraction of assessment and scrutiny by the yardsticks that have been applied to Gujarat, India's situation today would have been radically different.
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