BAHRAINOMAN
30
30 seconds to make sense of… the coffee business.
Kim Thompson gulfpics
Owner and manager, Raw Coffee Company
Nawras celebrated its first day of trading on the Muscat Securities Market .
Nawras lists on Oman Nawras has completed its IPO, which raised OMR182 million ($472 million) and has listed on the Muscat Securities Market under the ticker symbol, ‘nwrs’. The initial market capitalisation of Nawras was OMR456 million, positioning Nawras as a top five Omani company by market capitalisation. The IPO is the largest to take place in the GCC since July 2009 and was also the first offer in Oman to be completed using the book build method.
Al Khalili to revive IPO plans Al Khalili United Enterprise, the flagship company of the Al Khalili Group, will revive its plans to float an IPO, after seeing response to the Nawras share offer. The company is planning to offer 40 per cent of its stake in the IPO, which was postponed last year due to sluggish market conditions. The group will follow the traditional fixed price method, unlike Nawras’ book building process. Oman Arab Bank is the financial adviser and lead manager of the proposed IPO.
Bahrain is most tax-friendly state Bahrain has the most cost-competitive tax environment in the world and the most liberalised domestic financial sector out of 57 leading economies, according to the 2010 Financial Development Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Bahrain’s banking system was also ranked as first in the lack of frequency of banking crises. The report puts Bahrain 23rd in the financial development index, an improvement of four places from 2009.
INNUMBERS
8 out of 10
Bahrain’s score in the Economic Freedom of the Arab World: 2010 report, making it the most free economy in the Arab world.
20 gulfbusiness December 2010
How was the coffee business affected by the recession? We have not been affected by the economic recession because we are a gourmet niche business. If people are looking to reduce their big expenditure items, maybe they didn’t buy the home espresso machine package from us, but they will still pop in and buy a coffee each day. As an export commodity, the price of coffee in the global market is volatile. How do coffee shop owners respond to these price movements? We have been able to hold our roasted coffee price fixed since inception three years ago. Coffee pricing is controlled on a daily basis by the New York Coffee Exchange, and as a company we have had to absorb the variances.
F
You import coffee beans from Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, East Timor and Mexico. How do they differ from one another? The taste profile of the green coffee beans varies by origin, due to the microclimate of each area – soil type, rainfall, sunshine, temperature, age of plants, etc. All Raw Coffee Company product is certified organic and fairly traded at origin and all from the Arabica coffee bean family. For example African beans tend to have a floral citrus flavour and South American beans will have a more chocolate-nutty flavour. How do you spot a good coffee? There are so many contributing factors that go into a good coffee. Fresh beans, good equipment and good training. Good coffee should be roasted fresh and is at its peak at about seven to 14 days after roasting. When you order a coffee in a café or restaurant, check to see that the coffee hopper is not full of ground coffee and that the portafilters (the handles that you put the ground coffee into) of the espresso machine are sitting in place, and therefore at the correct temperature. How does the healthy lifestyle trend affect your business? Coffee is classified as one of the 20 super foods – as with many food groups, moderation is sensible. Freshly extracted espresso is high in antioxidants, it has anticarcinogenic properties, specifically for the prostate, is used in skin products in Japanese health spas, and has stimulant properties, with caffeine found in many pharmaceutical products such as Panadol Extra.