Expansion outside their traditional boundaries
Growth rates exceeding 15% year-on-year
Revenues typically between US$ 100 million and US$ 2 billion
Demonstrated leadership in a particular industry

Based on the final selection, more than 1,500 participants are expected in Dalian at the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions. CEOs will be joined by international political figures, leaders of the world's most competitive cities and fastest-growing regions and states, experts of the Web 2.0 world, personalities from the Forum's Community of Young Global Leaders and the international media to exchange ideas, network, cooperate and share new perspectives.

"While the main theme in Davos was the shifting power equation, Dalian will be an opportunity to find out how emerging global players are doing exactly that: changing the competitive landscape, reshaping business and transforming society," said Peter Torreele, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum and responsible for the Dalian programme.

"The New Champions are companies that are fast growing, expanding outside their traditional boundaries and changing the business reality of their industry sector. Over the next 10 years, we expect them become the world's top 500 corporations; so, in Dalian, participants will get a clear perspective on how current trends are shaping the future of business," he added.

The World Economic Forum will open media accreditation for the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions on 1 June 2007. Journalists who wish to cover this event should sign up and submit their accreditation request on the Forum's online registration website at http://www.weforummedia.org by 17 August 2007.

Will GCC countries be able to maintain internal order and stability, in particular vis-à-vis a complex and uncertain regional situation?

The report (www.weforum.org/scenarios) presents three possible scenarios for the region over the next 20 years: Oasis, Sandstorm and The Fertile Gulf. Oasis describes a scenario where regional stability continues to be a challenge for the GCC countries, but they are nevertheless able to achieve substantial institutional reforms. The GCC countries develop strong identities and work together to coordinate diplomatic and economic policies through technocratic governance and a stronger internal market. Sandstorm describes a future where regional instability is the defining factor affecting the ability of GCC countries to effectively carry out much-needed institutional reforms. This scenario sees a number of conflating factors that make the surrounding region significantly turbulent, including conflict between the US and Iran, and spillover of violence from Iraq. The Fertile Gulf describes the rise of the GCC countries as innovation hubs in a global environment characterized by robust demand for energy and increasing globalization. Regional stability gives the GCC countries the opportunity to focus on enhancing their human capital at all levels, investing heavily in education while proceeding carefully with political and institutional reforms to support their growing economies and societies.

“Over the next 20 years the region will continue to draw the world’s attention not just in terms of energy security, but also due to its fast-growing capital markets and innovative cities. The world needs to anticipate what forces may throw the region off track, and what opportunities exist to help the GCC countries and the broader Middle East region exceed our expectations,” noted Nicholas Davis, Global Leadership Fellow and Project Manager at the World Economic Forum.

The scenarios are a result of a multi-stakeholder project involving participants and entities from the private, public and non-governmental spheres. The Economic Development Board of Bahrain and the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi are using the scenarios to generate a common basis of understanding with the private and public sectors in their countries, as well as with foreign investors and other stakeholders, in their work towards a positive scenario for the GCC countries. The Olayan Financing Company is committed to contributing to the well-being of both the country and the region and is using the scenarios to generate new ways of thinking about the future.

To explore the deeper issues and ramifications of the region’s development, the World Economic Forum will take the results of the GCC Country Scenarios to international audiences at its numerous regional meetings, including the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, 6-8 September 2007 and the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 in January in Davos.

The World Economic Forum’s World Scenario Series also includes previously-published scenarios on India, China, Russia, the Digital Ecosystem and Technology and Innovation in Financial Services.

HONG KONG - Foreign buyers of Chinese food are asking for safety tests following the melamine pet food debacle, threatening the country's competitive position in a wide range of markets, including organic ingredients.

Industry officials said U.S. and other firms had demanded a certificate that farm products were free of melamine.

Their comments came after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration team visited China to investigate how melamine, a chemical product, got into pet food, killing at least 16 pets in the United States and leading to a recall of more than 100 brands of pet food.

Costs for such safety checks are expected to soar, especially as it would take time for the country to build up reliable nationwide quality controls.

"This scandal has had severe consequences for the whole industry," said Chuk Ng, general manager of Nutrogen (Dalian) Co. Ltd, a company specialising in organic and non-genetically modified (GMO) farm products.

"Now the European and U.S. clients are checking every batch of products coming from China ... The GMO test is one. Now you add tests for melamine or other heavy metals or pesticides, the costs are very high, too high," Ng said.

Pressured by the U.S. government after the melamine breaches, Beijing has pledged to act on food safety and announced an industry clean-up that would bring inspections for fertiliser, pesticides and additives in livestock feed.

Foreign buyers, reluctant to take risks, are sending large quantities of food samples to international testing specialists such as Eurofins Scientific or SGS Group.

Japan, own systems

The industry officials said Japan, which accounts for about a quarter of China's farm product exports, had also recommended importers check for melamine in Chinese products, such as rice flour or wheat gluten, for use in animal feed.

"The safety tests for raw materials are likely to get tougher," said a senior official from a Japanese food processing plant in China.

"Eventually they could demand traceability similar to that for non-GMO products ... which would raise costs. Given higher costs and credibility, there's a question if you would still want to buy raw materials from China."

A year ago Japan tightened safety checks on farm products from China, which has angered Beijing. The new rules require checks for nearly 300 pesticides and chemicals residues at loading ports as well as at discharging ports.

Asked how to guarantee the quality of food imported from China, an official in charge of food safety at one of Hong Kong's largest food retailers said: "It's very important to get system in place for traceability all the way back in the supply chain.

"When you have traceability, you can then have accountability. I think this is what China lacks."

Copyright Reuters

WATERLOO — The Afghan Northern Alliance and the American-led multinational force that defeated the Taliban in 2001 and drove the remnants of al Qaeda into the mountains didn’t go far enough, according to a panel of experts on Afghanistan who spoke at a public lecture at Laurier Monday.

The panel also concluded that while the international community was successful militarily, it did not put enough effort into providing security for ordinary Afghan citizens and building the political structure that would provide a solid basis for a stable national government.

The panellists included Dr. William Maley, director of the Asia-Pacific School of Diplomacy at the Australian National University; Dr. Ramesh Thakur, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo and a professor at the University of Waterloo; and Prof. Terry Copp, director of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies.

The panel discussion was part of a two-day workshop at Laurier that brought together high-level experts from around the world to discuss the role of Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan. It was the fourth in a series of workshops on Afghanistan organized by the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and the Academic Council on the United Nations System.

The three panellists who spoke Monday night were united in saying the continued involvement of Canada and other states in nation-building exercises in Afghanistan is a worthwhile exercise.

“Afghanistan is not Iraq,” said Maley. “There is a real possibility for well-targeted and well-structured forces to make a real difference there.”

Thakur said “Iraq will prove to be one of the great disasters of foreign policy, worse than Vietnam for the Americans, worse than Suez for the British. Osama bin Laden became Osama bin Forgotten when the emphasis shifted to Saddam Hussein.”

That was unfortunate for Afghanistan, Thakur said, because the important work of restructuring the country was all but forgotten in the Americans’ rush to invade Iraq.

However, it is not too late to work towards stability in Afghanistan, he said.

“We need real progress,” Thakur said, “and it is worth doing. The people of Afghanistan have suffered a lot through no fault of their own. They need a better future.”

In listing some of the problems that face Afghanistan, Maley listed a lack of consensus among the political elite, the dislocation of perhaps six million of the country’s 30 million people, and “meddling neighbours,” particularly Iran and Pakistan.

“The insurgent problem is externally driven,” he said. “Pakistan should be pressured to decapitate the Taliban leadership.”

There will be “no lasting solution in Afghanistan if we ignore the interests of Pakistan and Iran,” Thakur said. “Cutting them out (of future discussions and negotiations) is no solution. Allowances must be made for their interests without letting them spoil a preferred outcome.”

“We are not going to achieve anything by ignoring the issues of governance in Afghanistan and its provinces,” he added.

Copp said that while the era of U.S. President George W. Bush is coming to an end, nobody knows what will happen in the future.

“There is a need for Canada to debate and discuss foreign and defence roles in roughly the next decade,” he said. “What can we (Canada) do effectively and well?”

None of the panellists thought it would be wise to pull troops out of Afghanistan in the near future.

“I don’t think a withdrawal from ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force) is either desirable or likely in the next four to 10 years,” said Copp, “but a redefinition of their role is likely.”

Strategic partners and supporters of the meeting include: Audi, Bain & Company, Barclays, CA, Credit Suisse, Infosys Technologies, Manpower, METRO Group, The Coca-Cola Company, WPP, Zurich Financial Services, GeoPost Intercontinental, Lippo Group and UPS. Thai Airways International is the official carrier of the 2007 World Economic Forum on East Asia.

Waterloo - Ramesh Thakur, Distinguished Fellow at CIGI (Centre for International Governance Innovation) and former senior vice-rector of the United Nations University, releases two new publications that probe the current debate in international affairs: War in Our Time: Reflections on Iraq, Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction and Unintended Consequences of Peacekeeping Operations.

War in Our Time brings together a collection of Thakur's own opinion articles from a number of newspapers around the world, among them The Hindu, The Japan Times, The International Herald Tribune and The Globe and Mail. This latest publication by Thakur offers a well-considered analysis of the critical security issues surrounding the Iraq war, the war on terror and weapons of mass destruction. War in Our Time is garnering attention from some of the leading academics and practitioners in international affairs. Richard Falk from Princeton University comments that the publication "provides an invaluable resource that should be made required reading for leaders and citizens alike."

The second volume, Unintended Consequences of Peacekeeping Operations, edited by Chiyuki Aoi, Cedric de Coning and Ramesh Thakur, is one of the first attempts to improve understanding of the unplanned impacts of peacekeeping operations by drawing together in-depth academic study and first-hand accounts from the field. By profiling the experiences of the host country and troop-contributing countries, the contributing authors expose the often unseen face of peacekeeping that can involve corruption, sexual abuse and exploitation, and the creation of a shadow economy. Taken together, the chapters in this volume offer penetrating insights into peacekeeping operations and aim to point to ways to improve the planning and management of peacekeeping operations.

These two new books add to the long list of over thirty publications Ramesh Thakur has authored or edited, as well as 300 articles and book chapters. Both publications are available through United Nations University Press: War in Our Time: Reflections on Iraq, Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction, ISBN 978-92-808-1145-2; Unintended Consequences of Peacekeeping Operations, ISBN 978-92-808-1142-1.

Raul Sanchez, director of the U.S. division of the island's food import company Alimport, said Friday the ban was lifted earlier this month. He said that in recent weeks Cuba has imported 30,000 tons of long-grain U.S. rice and expects to import 10,000 more soon.

A U.S. announcement in August that American long-grain rice samples had tested positive for trace amounts of a genetically modified strain not approved for consumption prompted Japan to suspend its U.S. rice imports. Cuba imposed a ban of its own after conducting independent testing, Sanchez said.

Sanchez, who spoke during a meeting with U.S. medical company representatives, did not provide details about exactly when or why the ban was lifted, suggesting only that U.S. long-grain rice no longer appeared to be a problem.

Washington's 45-year-old embargo against communist Cuba chokes off most trade between the two countries but U.S. companies can sell medicine and medical supplies directly to the country under the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act. A law approved in 2000 authorized cash-only payments for U.S. food and agricultural products.

Sanchez said that so far this year Cuba has spent $196.8 million on American food and agricultural products after spending $578.8 million for all of 2006. Cuba includes the amounts it pays for shipping and other logistical costs when divulging the total amount paid for U.S. goods.

Addressing representatives from Mercury Medical, a Florida medical supply company spending two days in Cuba to show off some of its equipment, Sanchez said that since 2001, Cuba has spent $2.2 billion on American food and farm products, but nearly $340 million of that went to shipping.

The New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council attempts to estimate the amount Cuba spent on U.S. imports without taking into account logistical costs.

It reported that the island bought about $340 million in American food and agricultural products last year - down about 3 percent from 2005. The council puts the total amount Cuba spent on U.S. food and agricultural products at $1.5 billion since December 2001.

"Despite all the limitations that have been imposed on these (exports), Cuba and Alimport have been able to fulfill every one of their U.S. contracts. Not one single contract has been canceled," Sanchez said. "We have been able to convey to the agricultural community of the United States just how professional and serious this country's organizations are."

© 2007 The Ibtimes Company.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - ISK 7.0 Billion (EUR 78 m) Profit after Tax - - 20.5% Return on Equity. Highlights of Glitnir Bank's financial statements for the first quarter of 2007 are as follows:

-- After-tax profit for the first quarter was ISK 7.0 billion, as compared to ISK 9.1 billion in Q1 2006. After-tax profit was ISK 9.3 billion in Q4 2006.

-- Pre-tax profit for the first quarter was ISK 8.4 billion, as compared to ISK 11.2 billion in Q1 06. Pre-tax profit for Q4 2006 was ISK 11.6 billion.

-- During the first three months of 2007, 42% of the Bank's pre-tax profit was generated outside Iceland, or ISK 4.8 billion.

-- Net interest income for Q1 was ISK 7.9 billion, as compared to ISK 7.8 billion in Q1 2006. Net interest income was ISK 8.4 billion in Q4 06.

-- Fees and commissions for Q1 2007 were ISK 7.3 billion, increasing from ISK 5.6 billion in Q1 2006. Fees and commissions was ISK 10.3 billion in Q4 2006.

-- Earnings per share for Q1 2007 amounted to ISK 0.46.

-- After-tax ROE in Q1 was 20.5%, as compared to 42% in Q1 2006. After- tax ROE for the quarter, excluding trading gains in equities and capital gains, was 18.5%.

-- Total assets grew by ISK 9.6 billion to ISK 2,256 billion over the quarter. Of this figure, loans to borrowers other than credit institutions were ISK 1,521 billion, down by ISK 85 billion, or 5.6%, including BNbank's loans at fair value. This decrease reflects the strengthening of the ISK.

-- The refinancing need for 2007 was EUR 2.7 billion and has been completed. Wholesale deposits in the UK which were started in October 2006 and amounted to EUR 1 billion at the end of April 2007.

-- Assets under management grew by 10% over Q1, bringing AUM to ISK 541 billion. Glitnir acquired 68.1% of FIM Group in February 2007 and FIM will enter the Group's consolidated accounts as of 1 April 2007.

-- Book equity was ISK 153 billion at the end of March, up by 5% from the beginning of the year. The CAD ratio was 14.2% with Tier 1 ratio at 11.6%.

Bjarni Armannsson, CEO: "The year starts well for Glitnir bank. The financial performance is solid and the bank is running at a strong pace. Our acquisition of FIM and the build up of Investment management services signifies our commitment to fee generating services and our continued commitment of building a true Nordic player in the financial markets. Increased cost in the first quarter both signifies more operations and focus on building the banks' infrastructure, but also investments into future growth. We are therefore optimistic as we go into the second quarter and see a healthy build up of our business model." The accounts of the Bank are available on its website: www.glitnirbank.com.


Comment on this posting editor

Santiago de Chile, Chile – Chile , Brazil, Colombia and Peru lead the region with respect to the attractiveness of their private investment climate for infrastructure. Covering 12 economies in Latin America and the Caribbean, the study, “Benchmarking National Attractiveness for Private Investment in Latin American Infrastructure”, assesses the main drivers of private investment in infrastructure projects for ports, airports, roads and electricity. This is the first time that the World Economic Forum has developed an index specifically analysing the investment environment for infrastructure.

The World Economic Forum on Latin America 2006 in São Paulo identified poor infrastructure as a major obstacle to the region’s ability to compete globally and as one of the priority areas in which the World Economic Forum needed to explore alternatives and catalyse actions to overcome the current shortcomings.

The study features the Infrastructure Private Investment Attractiveness Index (IPIAI), a customized, methodological tool gauging the institutions, factors and policies making it attractive for private investors to invest in infrastructure projects . An assessment of infrastructure investment opportunities is also performed for each of the countries covered.

The eight pillars measured by the IPIAI are:

• Macroeconomic environment: economic stability, market size and growth prospects

• Legal framework (rule of law), including regulatory efficiency, public ethics and the effectiveness of dispute settlement procedures

• Political risk

• Ease of access to information

• Sophistication and development of the financial markets that enable infrastructure financing

• The country’s track record on private investment in infrastructure over the past 15 years

• Relations between government and society, including society’s willingness to pay for the services related to infrastructure

• Government readiness to deal with and ability to facilitate private investment in infrastructure

"The IPIAI provides country-specific diagnostics about relative national strengths and weaknesses in attracting private infrastructure investment," said Irene Mia, Senior Economist at the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network.

From an investor's perspective, the IPIAI provides a customized toolkit for investment decisions and location choices in Latin America while it guides policy-makers in the choice of the best policies to foster their national attractiveness for private investment in infrastructure and in prioritizing sectors and measures," said Julio Estrada, Research Projects Manager for Latin America at the World Economic Forum.

The twelve countries included in the study were grouped into four different clusters, each showing a specific attractiveness profile. The classification under a particular cluster has specific policy implications for a given country in that it indicates the reforms and policies to prioritize to catalyse high volumes of private investment in infrastructure, which differ from those for countries in other clusters.

With an environment extremely conducive to private investment in infrastructure, Chile is in a class of its own in the region. It is therefore no surprise that Chile has been one of the most salient countries worldwide in terms of the amount of private investment in infrastructure made in the past two decades.

There are certainly signs that Latin America is changing, said Luis A. Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC. He pointed to the growing investment in green energy. “The issue for Latin America is not the diagnosis but rather it is a problem of action and management,” said Furlan. “We know what to do and need to get down to it before we lose momentum.” A major challenge is for policy-makers and voters to think long term, concluded Moisés Naím, Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy Magazine, USA. “How can we extend the time horizon for decisions? Everyone has short time horizons.”

The World Economic Forum on Latin America closes tomorrow with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and her Brazilian counterpart President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addressing participants. Supported by ICARE and the G-50 (Group of Fifty), the theme of the gathering is The Power of a Positive Regional Agenda. The meeting Co-Chairs are José C. Grubisich, Chief Executive Officer of Braskem, Brazil; Andronico Luksic Craig, Vice-Chairman of Banco de Chile; and Zhang Shoulian, President of China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals, People's Republic of China. The host broadcaster of the meeting is Television Nacional de Chile – TVN.

The report notes the increasing strength and robustness of Latin America’s economies, while exploring the key economic, environmental, geopolitical and societal issues that put that progress at risk. While all four of these issues emerge from the broader global risk environment, the regional manifestations present particular challenges for governments, industry and civil society throughout Latin America.

“Global risks play out uniquely in Latin America, but also differently across the region, which is incredibly diverse,” notes the Global Risk Network’s Gareth Shepherd, co-author of the report. “But these four issues – social inequality, political instability, economic vulnerability and climate change – are on the radar of all of the region’s strategic thinkers.”

The report argues that Latin American economies are much less vulnerable to sudden disruption than they have been in past decades, thanks primarily to improved fiscal positions. But with much incremental growth arising from commodity exports, global risks such as a hard landing of the Chinese economy or rising protectionism from the United States create new challenges for the region. Fiscal discipline and counter-cyclical policies must be strengthened to build the region’s “margin of safety”.

Likewise, while democracy and political stability remain at historically high levels across the region, pockets of populist/anti-globalist storm clouds threaten to spread throughout the highly interdependent region. Meanwhile, global climate change presents serious trade-offs for the region – not least between the seizing of opportunities (e.g. aggressive expansion of biofuel production) and the management of life-sustaining resources (e.g. rainforest and freshwater).

Perhaps the region’s greatest ongoing concerns are social and economic inequalities – which remain the most significant in the world. Globalization continues to drive both real inequalities, via income stratification within the region, and perceived inequalities, as local populations observe fast growth elsewhere. Many Latin Americans continue to suspect that global prosperity is leaving them behind, a perception seemingly resistant to decreases in absolute poverty. Political reform, the encouragement of small and medium enterprises and, crucially, education, remain the region’s best mitigators of inequality-driven populist backlash.

More than 20 contributors from leading businesses, academic institutions and think tanks in the region contributed to the report, which is published ahead of the World Economic Forum on Latin America, which will take place from 25-26 April 2007 in Santiago de Chile.

The paper, "'Slipping into Obscurity? Crisis and Reform at the IMF", is part of an ongoing CIGI working series intended to disseminate preliminary research findings on global governance issues. The paper is authored by Eric Helleiner, CIGI chair in international governance and associate professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, and Bessma Momani, senior fellow at CIGI and assistant professor of political science and history at the University of Waterloo, two globally recognized experts on international financial institutions.

The authors note that only ten years ago, the IMF was considered the guardian of the international financial system-among the strongest in its class. Now, at the dawn of a new century, the Fund's popularity is plummeting. Big borrowers- including Argentina, Brazil, and Indonesia-are ready to repay their loans early (and not renew) while would-be borrowers are favouring other financial institutions that offer fewer conditions on their loans. This denotes a lack of trust in the institution, say the authors.

In their paper, Helleiner and Momani offer two types of IMF reform: those that relate to its structure and those that relate to its policies. If the Fund opts for the former, it will get a taste of its own medicine-conforming to more "market-friendly" conditions by making budget cuts and trimming excesses. The latter type of reform would carry much potential since, "growing dissatisfaction with IMF advice...helps to explain declining use of IMF loans."

Either way, the now over 60-year-old Fund will have to learn how to make the organization relevant in the current global economic environment. In the meantime, one thing is certain, say Helleiner and Momani: without reform, the Fund, it seems, will not only to be slipping, but also shrinking into obscurity.

The Helleiner and Momani paper is the lead study in a series of four published simultaneously by CIGI on the existing and future role of the IMF. The four studies are available for download free of charge from CIGI's website at www.cigionline.org .

GENEVA - The United States took action on Tuesday at the World Trade Organization against Beijing for piracy and blocking access for U.S. films, books and software.

Charging that China was breaking its 2001 WTO entry agreement, Washington sought consultations with Beijing over the twin complaints, which could lead to a formal case being brought if no deal can be struck within 60 days.

"They have come in," a trade official said referring to the requests. President George W. Bush is under pressure from Congress over trade with China.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab announced on Monday that Washington intended to go to the WTO, saying "inadequate protection" of U.S. intellectual property rights in China was costing U.S. firms billions of dollars a year.

The U.S. move came as congressional anger over last year's record $232 billion U.S. trade deficit with China hampers efforts to win renewal of trade promotion authority, which the White House needs to finish negotiations on the WTO's Doha round of global free trade talks.

China said it regretted the decision and warned that it could seriously damage cooperation and hurt bilateral trade.

Schwab said that action should not be viewed as hostile and denied the two countries risked slipping into a trade war.

Washington remained open to