16
tuesday, DECember 17, 2013
guyanatimesgy.com
Africa
Caribbean
TT moves toward business Ghanaian mining firm requests cancelation of workers’ permit in Liberia outsourcing
T
he TT International Financial Centre (TTIFC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Quatrro Global Services (QGS) and Caribbean Electronic Payments Systems (CEPS) – a major step toward development of a financial business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in TT. QGS and CEPS will be working with the TTIFC in a pilot project to launch the card processing aspect of BPO. BPO is categorised into
back office outsourcing, which includes human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing, which includes customer-related services, such as contact centre services. Speaking at the signing ceremony, TTIFC chairman Franco Siu Chong, said the signing marked a cornerstone in the work of the agency. “These MoUs embody the essence of the need for TT to partner with global finance and accounting BPO providers to drive this thrust. These
MoUs are also proof that our value proposition has merit for the international financial services BPO community and that TTIFC is on the right track,” he said. In August, Scotiabank opened its back office operations in Chaguanas to consolidate its financial services operations across the Eastern Caribbean. The back office operations centre was named Operations and Shared Services Company Limited. (Trinidad Guardian)
North America
Canada’s competition watchdog challenges Google’s search dominance
C
anada’s Competition Bureau has filed a legal motion against Google Inc alleging that the company is abusing its dominant position in online search, joining U.S. and European anti-trust authorities in challenging the practices of the web giant. The bureau commissioner, in a federal court filing dated December 11, is seeking an order requiring Google hand over information about its business practices, including contracts.
A spokeswoman for the Competition Bureau said the decision to seek the order was based on the fact that Google has, or is likely to have, information relevant to the bureau’s probe of the company’s practices. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The scope of the Canadian investigation is similar to those being conducted in the United States, European Union and elsewhere. The bu-
reau said it has reason to believe Google has, since at least 2005, engaged in anti-competitive behaviour. That includes signing exclusive deals with mobile operating system developers, web publishers and web browser developers, and giving preference to its own services, such as Google News, over its competitors’ content. It also said Google has in the past restricted the use of data from its AdWords programme to licensees. (Reuters)
Europe
Eurovegas giant casino plan in Spain cancelled
A
plan to create a giant casino complex – called Eurovegas – near Madrid has collapsed after disagreements between the developer and Spanish authorities. U.S. casino operator Las Vegas Sands has pulled out of the US$30 billion (£18 billion) project which included six casinos, 12 hotels and many shops.
Directly and indirectly the project was supposed to create up to 250,000 posts. That was an important selling point in Spain where the jobless rate currently stands at 27 per cent. However, Spanish authorities would not agree to several demands from the US company. Las Vegas Sands wanted
the government to insure it against future changes in policy which could damage the resort’s profitability, as well as a lower tax on gambling. There was also a disagreement over smoking at the resort, with Las Vegas Sands asking for the resort to be exempted from Spanish rules on smoking. (BBC News)
Market statistics Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board
Cambio Rates
Fixed as at July 24, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity
Bank of Guyana Cur
Buying
Selling
GBP
$334.43
$338.62
CAN
$192.86
$195.09
USD
$205.49
$207.93
U.S.
$1335.00
Cambio
$202.67
Gross
$254,331
Net
$236,527
Selling
$262,426
Indicators as on December 16, 2013 Live Spot Gold
USD Per Once
Bid/Ask
$1240.70
$1241.70
Low/High
$1233.00
$1252.90
Change
+2.00
+0.16
USD GBP EUR
AM
PM
1229.50 754.57 892.62
1234.75 757.38 897.28
AM
PM
Dec 14
USD GBP EUR
1222.75 750.89 891.22
Price Silver
Platinum
London Gold Fix
Dec 16
Indicators Crude Oil
Last: 15884.57
1232.00 756.94 987.50 Changes: +129.21
Open: 15760.24
High:15930.31
% YTD: 21.22
52Wk Hi: 16174.51
US$ per barrel
$108.83 USD per Ounce
$19.97 $1358.00
Change %
+0.15 Change %
+0.28 -3.00
% Change: +0.82 Low: 15760.24 52 Wk Lo: 12471.49
D
ocuments in the possession of FrontPage Africa suggest that Engineer and Planners (E&P), a Ghanaian based mining contracting firm has requested the Justice Ministry through the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalisation to cancel the work and resident permits of seven Ghanaian expatriates who recently resigned from the company for various pressing family issues among others.
It is not clear whether the Bureau of Immigration has formally granted the request of the E&P management to shutdown all employment records of the seven Ghanaians associated with the company but a source at immigration told FPA that the seven nationals have been ordered to leave the country, suggesting that the cancelation request was granted. A communication from Harrison K Aggama, senior
human resource administrator to the Commissioner of Immigration reads: “We write to inform your good offices that, the below passport and resident permit holders have resigned, hence, are no more in the employs of the company. We therefore request that you cancel their names from our records with you and also cancel the good behaviour bond furnished by us in their favour.” (allAfrica)
Asia
Japanese business mood rises to six-year high
J
apanese business confidence has soared to its highest level in six years, according to the Bank of Japan’s latest Tankan survey. The big manufacturers’ index rose to plus-16 from plus-12 in September’s survey, exceeding market forecasts. Large companies also plan to increase their capital spending by 4.6 per cent next year, the survey showed. The results indicate the government’s stimulus pol-
icies, aimed at spurring growth, may be starting to take effect. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has taken aggressive steps in recent months to end nearly two decades of deflation – or falling consumer prices – in the economy. Analysts said the survey’s results indicate his policies, also known as Abenomics, were starting to have an impact. “The general Abenomics-related boost and the weak yen have helped, along with the monetary eas-
ing by the Bank of Japan” said Marcel Theliant, Japan economist at Capital Economics in Singapore. “We had a lot of fiscal and monetary stimulus. These measures have certainly helped in the short term.” However, the key question was whether the measures can create a longer term improvement in the economy. “The structural reform measures have been rather disappointing so far,” he said. (BBC
News)
Middle East
BP signs deal to develop US$16B Oman Shale gas project
B
P has signed 30-year gas production sharing and sales deals to develop Oman’s Khazzan tight gas project at an estimated investment of US$16 billion, the UK energy giant and Omani government announced on Monday. The Khazzan gas project, which aims to extract around one billion cubic feet (bcf) per day of gas from deep under central Oman, is a showcase for BP’s tight gas extraction technology and its success is
vital for Oman’s economy. “Today’s signing is an important step in the Sultanate of Oman’s plans to meet growing demand for energy over the coming decades and to contribute to economic development in Oman,” Oman oil and gas minister, Mohammed Al Rumhy, said in a statement after the signing in Muscat. “The Khazzan project is the largest new upstream project in Oman and a pioneering development in the re-
gion in unlocking technically challenging tight gas through technology.” BP has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project since winning the concession in 2007. It expects total investment of around US$16 billion, equivalent to about a fifth of Oman’s annual economic output, and hopes to extract enough fuel to meet around a third of Oman’s current domestic gas needs. (Gulf Business)
Investors' guide
Traditional vs online universities – what’s the difference? (Continued from Saturday)
Curriculum – where the buck stops
Similar to buying a car or a new computer, different universities vary wildly in the value they offer with respect to their online courses. So when trying to determine which one is right for you, it’s important to know that the main difference between the two is in the curriculum… and how it’s presented. In fact, this is often cited as the primary difference between online universities and courses offered in traditional classrooms. And depending on the university, the difference can be vast.
Coursework that’s offered online attempts to use a formal education process through which the students and instructor interact via the web even though they are not in the same place (and many times not even in the same country). This means all exams, quizzes, lectures and reading are completed online, with course materials delivered via websites, electronic textbooks and streaming lectures, typically provided in an on-demand format. More so than any other consideration, this structure represents the biggest difference between the two styles of learning,
specifically because it may have less of a lasting impact on some students due to the limitations of the electronic medium. It’s been reported that many people require interpersonal interaction to learn effectively and when that connection is removed, as it is through online universities, it alters both the learning experience and potential for retention of the material. This system of curriculum distribution is very different from that provided through the traditional college classroom. (Business Dictionary) TO BE CONTINUED
Business concept – Service 1. A valuable action, deed, or effort performed to satisfy a need or to fulfil a demand. 2. Law: Formal delivery of a notice, summons, or writ. 3. Banking: Payment of interest or loan instalment, or dividends, as scheduled.