According to Deloitte, the long-standing trade and investment partnership between Germany and China has built a solid foundation for Chinese companies to invest in Germany. Germany is China’s largest European trading partner, and Chinese entities have been increasingly involved in mergers and acquisitions in Germany since 2010. Chinese investment is being welcomed by many German…
The post-Brexit fallout has included reports that several investors are planning to withdraw from the UK – but for many Chinese investors, Brexit represents a rare opportunity to enter or expand their presence in the UK property market. Chinese investors remain interested in UK property despite the recent political and economic turmoil caused by the…
The Middle Eastern technology market is growing rapidly, and there is now a significant risk that demand will soon begin to outpace supply. The e-commerce market in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is set to be worth 15 billion USD. Homegrown e-commerce enterprises like Souq.com have already caught the attention of…
Olof Zetterberg has served as the CEO of Stockholm Business Region for nearly a decade. During that time, he has been instrumental in developing the city’s business-friendly regulatory environment and its image as an attractive investment destination. He began his career as a Revenue Manager at the Department of Social Services in 1981, and has…
Cloud computing has been slowly but surely taking over the hospitality industry over the past few years. In 2012, it was touted as “the today and tomorrow of hosted hospitality”. Its reach is extensive, covering every type and size of hotel accommodation. This variety was highlighted in an article in the Journal of Instructional Pedagogies:…
The UAE’s financial sector is set for major changes ahead of what Bloomberg has called the biggest M&A deal in the Middle East. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and First Gulf Bank (FGB) have agreed to merge, creating “the region’s largest lender”. The merger is expected to become effective in Q1 2017. According…
Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows peaked in 2015 to 1.76 trillion USD – the highest investment levels seen since the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The UN expects this figure to decline by between 10 and 15 percent this year. When FDI is broken down by sector, however, certain sectors are expected to do very well…
Venture capitalists based in the US are increasingly passing up the chance to invest in young startups, and choosing to invest into mature companies, preferably with proven business models. According to a report by research firm PitchBook Data, Q1 2016 saw the fewest number of seed-stage venture deals since 2013, with over half of all…
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) recently invested 2.45 billion USD into acquiring an office building in Singapore. QIA bought the 43-storey building, Asian Square Tower 1, from US based private equity firm BlackRock. It is the largest single-tower real estate transaction in the Asia Pacific region. The office tower is home to multiple well-known tenants,…
Ever since the historic Brexit vote, property firm Select Property has reportedly seen a 200 percent increase in enquiries about UK real estate from investors based in the GCC (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman). According to global financial advisory firm deVere, there was a 60 percent month-on-month increase in…