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Monday, September 1, 2025 | MIDDLE EAST

Dubai Olympics 2024

The Dubai Olympics was quite a spectacle to behold at the cost of large financial commitments. Was it truly worth it? Page 2

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GLOBAL WARMING ON THE RISE. WHICH CURRENCY WILL GO NEXT? G R E E N P E A C E

RMG Group and CMN Islamic bank to merge and

create an $800bn Islamic Banking entity

Merger to be approved by

shareholders

By Luqman Hakim Ilham

Middle East‟s RMG Group and Malay-

sia‟s CMN Islamic bank announce on

Monday a merger deal that will include

share swaps and capital boosts from

Khazanah Nasional to create the largest

Islamic Banking entity the world has ever

seen.

The merger, if approved by share-

holders, will create an entity with more

than 800 billion dollars worth of assets

and will go down as a huge milestone for

the Islamic Banking industry.

“We are very happy to announce this

merger of two Islamic banking giants.

The merger will involve share swaps,

followed by a rights issue, in cash. The

past decade has seen large developments

in shariah space, both in the Middle East

and Asia. We believe that the merger will

bring global benefits and increase

integration between the two main Islamic

hubs. This day will go down in history as

a milestone for the industry. ” Syed

Al-Hamdi, CEO of RMG bank told FT on

Sunday.

The Islamic banking industry has

experienced a large consolidation phase

in the past decade. RMG Group is a

product of the 2020 merger of the Saudi

based Al-Rajhi Bank, Bank Melli of Iran

and the Gulf-Kuwait Banking Corpo-

ration, each having made many small

acquisitions along the way. CMN bank is

currently the largest Islamic bank in Asia

and represents the first major break-

through in a Malaysian government led

initiative to strengthen its Islamic banking

sector. CMN Islamic bank is a product of

the 2016 merger of the Islamic arms of

CIMB, Maybank and Bank Nasional

Berhad.

The meteoric rise of Islamic banking is

a wondrous story to behold. Analysts

believe the US credit crisis of 2007-08

became the bedding ground that sowed

the seeds of the current success as

consumers began to notice more socially

responsible alternatives to conventional

banking. The large awareness campaigns

in the years that ensued were successful in

decoupling religious links and reshaped

perceptions of shariah compliant banking.

“There was no turning back once mass

consumers broke the religious stigma

associated with shariah compliant

banking. Islam is composed of many

fundamental principles that are common

to the other major religions and Islamic

banking presented an attractive and viable

option, driven by its socially supportive

elements, within the responsible banking

arena.” - a quote from prominent Islamic

banking analyst Gale Abu Bashreeq of

Credit Suisse AG, in his opening address

at the 16th Annual World Islamic Retail

Banking Conference held in Kuala

Lumpur late last year.

The Malaysian government has never

hidden its efforts to encourage the growth

of Islamic banking and has been very

successful in spurring innovation in

product structuring area. The KLSE is

home to 79% of sukuk issuance in Asia,

and is a top choice for multi-national

banks to conduct its Islamic window

operations due to the abundance of talent.

Government representatives have prev-

iously hinted at talks with the Middle East

for collaboration to speed up the proli-

feration of shariah compliant banking

globally. Linking the two main Islamic

hubs is part of the country‟s masterplan to

increase its Islamic banking dominance in

Asia. The country‟s majorly Islamic

population and its close ties with

Indonesia and Pakistan have helped it

trounce Singapore as the favoured

destination for Islamic investments.

Banking officials first gave news of

the merger on Thursday, saying the

boards of the two lenders would sign on

the terms of the deal on Monday morning,

with Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the

investment holding arm of the

Government of Malaysia, set to become a

major shareholder.

Malaysia will inject capital via a 3.6

billion dollar convertible bond, another

banking official involved with the deal

said on Sunday, and an 8 billion dollar

rights issue will follow.

The new entity, which will form the

biggest Islamic bank in the world, will

have assets over 800 billion dollars and

500 billion worth of deposits, banking

officials said. The deal, which will need

shareholder approval once it has been

backed by the bank‟s boards, is likely to

fuel increased Islamic banking related

activity worldwide.

The Bloomberg ISLM Global Sukuk

index and the ISLM Shariah Equity index

has risen over 19% and 27% respectively

since the beginning of the year, as

growing confidence encouraged conv-

entional banking fund flows into the

Shariah compliant space. The merger

comes at a perfect time and sheds light on

the growing optimism on the future

prospects of the industry.

Google Auto Beats Toyota, becomes

Number 1 car company in the World

By Ritish Puttaparthi

Toyota Motors is no longer the largest car manufacturer in the

world, if we are to believe a report by NDTV News. From 1st

Jan 2025 to 30th June 2025, Toyota Motors sold 6.71 million

vehicles and for the same period, Google sold over 8.5 million

cars.

Google recorded a record increase in sales of

approximately 100% in the year to date sales figures, whereas,

its Japanese counterpart failed to show a similar progress,

instead Toyota sales declined by 45% in the same period.

Largely due to the cannibalization of the Toyotas car market

share by Google‟s Unmanned automated robo car „The Bot‟.

According to auto analyst, Mr.Luqman Hakim, working

with the Tokyo based Carnorama, suggests, "It is highly

unlikely that the sales of Toyota will recover anytime soon.

Their decline is primarily due to the status quo maintained by

Toyota over the years. The Unmanned commercial vehicle‟s

being manufactured by Google which have taken over the

world by storm have been developed over the last 20 years.

Toyota never believed in this ideology of Unmanned vehicle

and now its paying the price. There is further downside risk

for Toyota as the demand for Hybrid manned cars where

Toyota holds the forte is shrinking day by day. Though

Toyota started focussing on the development of the

commercial Unmanned vehicle in the last 18 months, It will

take years before they can actually hit the markets."

There is more bad news in store for Toyota Motors, after

getting dethroned from their No 1 spot, they do not get the 2nd

spot, instead they slip to the 3rd spot as Tesla Auto which

recently acquired Honda motor corp has higher who sold 6.8

million units in the same period has taken the second spot.

Tesla which was seen by many as the potential automaker to

take the top spot is also likely to lose its market share to the

Google Auto phenomenon unless they come up with some

Unmanned vehicle lineup.

News Briefing

Africa: The Eternal Divide

Corruption, health, politics. We

look at some of the problems

plaguing Africa Page 5

China: One-child policy

We take a look at how China’s

one-child policy turned from a

gradual controlled growth policy,

to one that risks dethroning the

dragon. Page 4

GCC: Solar value chain

Will alternative energy be the

answer to sustainability in oil rich

regions? Page 2

Monday Meeting

Karel Mogensen, CEO of Ethiqa Group speaks to us ahead of the company’s 10

th Anniversary Page 5

SudAmericana

The latest common currency makes its debut. A day closer to a universal currency? Page 3

www.ft.com/spend

Aug-31 prev %chg Aug-31 prev Aug-31 prev price yield chg

S&P 500 4234.67 4323.66 -2.06 $ per € 2.456 3.455 € per $ 3.455 2.456 US Gov 10 yr 17.45 0.09 -0.007

Nasdaq Comp 324.78 331.56 -2.04 $ per £ 1.700 5.666 £ per $ 5.666 1.700 UK Gov 10 yr 32.66 0.89 -0.004

Dow Jones Ind 4234.78 7657.77 -44.70 £ per € 0.988 0.666 € per £ 0.666 0.988 Ger Gov 10 yr 32.55 0.77 0.003

FTSEEurofirst 300 432.56 560.55 -22.83 ¥ per $ 321.660 455.667 ¥ per € 455.667 321.660 Jpn Gov 10 yr 54.77 0.55 -0.223

Euro Stoxx 50 3676.78 3213.44 14.42 ¥ per £ 454.770 111.677 £ index 111.677 454.770 Us Gov 30 yr 13.55 0.44 -0.055

FTSE 100 3242.89 2113.56 53.43 $ index 55.667 44.556 € index 44.556 55.667 Ger Gov 2 yr 44.55 0.33 -0.008

FTSE All-Share UK 1868.45 1211.22 54.26 SFr per € 12.403 34.780 SFr per £ 34.780 12.403 Aug-31 prev chg

CAC 40 4323.67 5898.98 -26.70 Fed Funds Eff 0.009 0.009

Xetra Dax 8768.66 2678.33 227.39 Aug-31 prev %chg US 3m Bills 0.003 0.003

Nikkei 2313.88 4324.77 -46.50 77.65 78.77 -1.42 Euro Libor 3m 0.004 0.004

Hang Seng 1475.77 1345.67 9.67 112.56 114.67 -1.84 UK 3m 0.55 0.55

FTSE All-World $ 1254.77 1424.66 -11.92 1,763.66 1,456.78 21.07

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2025 FINANCIAL TIMES

Middle East

As the sun sets on the Olympic movement in Dubai late

in August 2024, the question on everyone‟s mind was

whether the entire spectacle and its impending legacy

was worth it. One year on, we assess the impact of the

„Games for a Peaceful tomorrow‟.

As Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al

Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and the head of

the Dubai Olympic Games Organizing Committee

(DOCOG), addressed the coterie of international

journalists, one saw the pride in this sense of

achievement for the city of Dubai. “The impact of the

Olympic Games has not only galvanized Dubai, it has

had an important effect on the Arab world. Everything

we set out to do and achieve since 2009 has been

accomplished.”

Dubai‟s Olympic journey since 2009 has been an

interesting one. As the global economy was dealing

with the effects of the sub-prime crisis of 2008, Dubai

seemed relatively immune – at least that was the belief.

But a statement on November 25, 2009 from the Dubai

government, asking all the all „providers of financing to

Dubai World and [its subsidiary] Nakheel to 'standstill'

and extend maturities until at least 30 May 2010‟,

created ripples in the European and Asian stock

markets. It only served to elaborate the extent of the

recession that emanated from the USA.

As Dubai and the entire Middle East started to take

systematic steps to recovering from the crisis, the Arab

Spring of 2011 dawned. And while Dubai, and the

UAE, weren‟t impacted negatively by the political

uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Syria, it still

added uncertainty to an already volatile region. The

thought of hosting the Olympic Games in such an

environment wouldn‟t be at the forefront of many

leaders‟ thoughts even if the event was still 13 years

afar.

Back in 2011, Sheikh Hamdan had a differing view.

“Hosting the Olympic Games in the Middle East would

be a dream come true for the entire region, and we fully

intend to place a bid once I am totally satisfied that we

are prepared to host the greatest sporting event in the

history in a way that would add value to the Olympic

Dubai Olympics 2024: The Aftermath By Karan Menon movement itself, as well as the youth of the Arab World.

Whilst I am satisfied that infrastructure and Dubai‟s

experience in hosting top class sports events would see

us well placed to win a bid, I do believe that much more

has to be done in order to leave the lasting human legacy

that celebrates the Olympic values.”

“I believe that a concentrated effort must now be

made on grass roots sports activities, building our

human resources and administrative framework. The

Arab Region is known for its hospitality and I do not

believe that our region is placing sports as a priority in

these turbulent times. Peace is one of the main ambitions

of the Olympic movement and has been since the

Olympic truce of 776 BC. Our energy needs to go first

and foremost to achieving a just and lasting peace for

our youth as the bedrock to a future bid which is most

likely for the 2024 Olympic Games.”

While the concept of creating a legacy is an oft

repeated Olympic bid mantra, and Dubai‟s would be no

different (even if the Arab Spring ushered in a new

regional dynamic), for Dubai the Olympics was simply

another step in the plan to establish the city state as an

important tourist and economic destination.

On the eve of the 129th IOC session in Barcelona

(July 2017), there was a quiet confidence within the

Dubai camp. Was Dubai ready? After all this would be

the first major global sporting spectacle that the city

would host. According to the DOCOG and the IOC they

were. The level of sanctity involved in the selection of

an Olympic venue was always of the highest standards

and it ensured Dubai‟s bid had won enough credibility

to secure votes over Durban and Toronto.

The 2024 Olympics followed in the footsteps of

the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, showcasing the

Middle East‟s rich heritage and progress over the years.

The IOC President, Thomas Bach, in Dubai as a part of

the „legacy visit‟ believes that following Qatar was a big

step for Dubai and indeed the UAE. “Qatar‟s World Cup

bid had problems since the very beginning but they

managed to pull it off despite the reservations of many.

While it‟s true we had similar reservations about Dubai,

especially with the heat, the Olympic calendar did allow

for certain flexibility. Plus Dubai‟s infrastructure was

already of a high standard. Dubai, UAE and the entire

Gulf can be proud of the significant sporting and human

Event costs are more short term and specific but their

benefits would include more intangibles. Some of the

key event costs for the DOGOC were security,

insurance, advertising and promotions in addition to the

bid costs. The benefits of the event were more revenue

generated for the Dubai Tourism industry. Since the

mid-1990s Dubai, with its declining oil resources,

wanted to position itself on a level similar to that of

Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore. The city‟s economy

was to be fuelled by tourism, which generally meant

shopping and a visit to some of the more exotic spas and

health resorts. The Olympic Games with the promise of

more sporting events locked into the calendar year,

especially the IAAF Athletics Grand Prix in December,

has now resulted in a new concept of „Sport Tourism‟.

Athletes from all round the world now tend to prefer the

cooler climes of Dubai‟s winter (November to

mid-February) for their yearly preparations implying

the use of the already existing sporting facilities.

A key worry for any nation, city and organizing

committee is the resultant decrease in usage of venues

once the grand spectacle of an Olympic games is over.

Dubai‟s strategy to renovate the current facilities and

only add relevant and key venues was something that

worked in the city‟s favor.

The biggest impact that the Olympic Games have

had though, have come through the various youth sports

and education schemes. With an emphasis on

empowering the youth of the region and providing them

with more high quality opportunities the city and in turn

the UAE may have benefitted with a population base of

locals expected to grow over at 8% over the next 4

years.

Dubai‟s gamble in bidding for the Olympics, as it did

seem at the time, was to re-invoke that spirit of

entrepreneurial confidence which was lost after the

2009 crisis. It took years for the city to regain economic

credibility but winning the bid albeit at a marginally

higher cost (a point of debate at the time) than its rivals

ensured that what was set in motion for the next few

years was something more tangible. The overall impact

and success of Dubai 2024 may have created a „halo

effect‟ and a sense of pride for the region but Dubai‟s

success is more to do with the sensible economic plan

that catered to a relatively profitable Olympic Games.

progress they‟ve made over the last decade.‟

An event such as the World Cup and the Olympic

Games is always seen as a way to redevelop or define a

city. For Dubai, it was more than just a simple

infrastructure project. Each one of the 32 sporting

disciplines had at least one arena/stadium/complex of an

international standard within the city. The key aspect of

Dubai‟s bid was to ensure that the Olympic venues

underwent sufficient and rigorous quality checks and

and also any additional renovation or venue creation

would not be built for simply „acquiring the games‟.

Construction costs in the UAE were at a more stable

market price than the inflated prices in the pre-2009

boom days. Even then the DOGOC had to ensure that

any additional projects, that weren‟t of significance later

on weren‟t added to the Olympic Bid book, as they

would add a negative factor to the entire project‟s NPV.

The costs of bidding, planning and organizing an

Olympic games could be structured into two basic

components: Event & Infrastructure. Infrastructure

costs would include construction of „major venues,

transit infrastructure (highways, road networks) and

housing.‟ Dubai‟s need to extend the city‟s boundaries

beyond the core trading base to cater to a growing

expatriate working population and new foreign

investment had meant the construction and

improvement of a more sophisticated transport system.

While this isn‟t attributed as an Olympic Cost it

certainly was one aspect which did add credibility to the

bid.

The major infrastructure costs were mainly in the

creation of the magnificent 78600 capacity H.H. Sheikh

Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Olympic Stadium.

Another key component of infrastructure costs was the

procurement of the latest Photovoltaic Solar panels to

power the stadium and other venues lighting, air

conditioning. Investing in solar technology has seen a

rapid surge over the last few years especially with the

generally inflated oil and gas prices and also the

declining cost of components required to manufacture

PV solar panels. In addition the Middle East‟s strong

Value chain dynamic, from manufacturing in Saudi

Arabia to key Concentrated Solar Powered plants across

the region provided an extended benefit in reducing the

costs.

The 78,600 capacity H.H. Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Olympic Stadium, one of many sports related infrastructure projects

The GCC’s Solar Value Chain By Karan Menon

The call for alternative energy sources to replace oil has

often been a „dream‟ rather than a practicality, mainly

because of a lack of sustainability. However, the GCC

region is now leading the way in creating a mechanism

that may lead to a more sustainable alternative energy

future.

Ask the locals in the GCC on their country‟s key

natural resources and they‟ll promptly tell you: „Oil

and the sun‟. Oil has been the Arab world‟s trump card

ever since the 1970s when they used the natural

resource as a mechanism to influence the global

political and economic scene for better and worse.

Petrodollars were also influential in the region‟s rapid

infrastructural development over the late 1990s and

early 2000s. But the dependence on oil wouldn‟t last

for long, or at least one couldn‟t count on it forever.

Add in factors such as carbon emissions from fossil

fuels creating a climatic issue and suddenly the call for

alternative energy sources grew higher.

Step in the Gulf‟s largest energy source and that too

with Zero carbons: Solar radiation. The „Rub Al

Khali‟ or the Empty Quarter is a 650,000sq km patch of

land which encompasses most of the southern third of

the Arabian Peninsula (including southern Saudi

Arabia, and certain regions of Oman, and Yemen).

According to the Emirates Solar Industry Association

(ESIA) it receives enough solar energy per day to

power two earths. Impressive as it does seem the

abundance of such a resource needed to be channeled in

a sustainable manner.

Numerous stand-alone projects such as the famous

Masdar City project, outside Abu Dhabi, UAE were

considered grand initiatives into a „bright renewable

energy future‟. But what was simply lacking was a

national policy in each of the GCC countries. Saudi

Arabia‟s renewable energy policies initiated in 2015

was the first time a key player in the region took the

initiative and that provided the catalyst for a region

wide regulatory solar framework.

But why did it take so long to initiate such a policy

for the GCC? One answer was that the region was

waiting for the prices of components of Solar

Photovoltaic technology to decline. Saudi Arabia was

not too keen on undertaking vast projects in the region

which would essentially be funding another country‟s

manufacturing process, specifically China. Also, solar

energy projects in the region were treated more on

„Low Cost‟ basis than a „Life Cycle Cost‟ basis,

implying that Solar PV technologies/panels were

looked at as a construction contract component instead

of a more sustainable ROI generating project.

In February 2015, Saudi Arabia‟s Renewable

Energy policy specifically dictated that companies

wanting to invest in its solar energy capacity had to set

up a base in the country as a part of „Off-Set‟

investment. Such projects would provide economic and

commercial value to the economy, equivalent to a

substantial percentage of the cost of a contract. Other

countries such as the UAE and Qatar followed suit with

similar manufacturing policies insisting that at least

35% of the project had to be domestically produced –

the two country‟s successful Olympic 2024 and World

Cup 2022 construction projects included Solar panels.

This not only facilitated a strong Crystalline Wafer and

Thin Film manufacturing base in the region but also

helped establish a region wide Solar Value Chain. The

rising prices of oil also helped in that selling a barrel on

the open market allowed for the likes of Saudi Arabia

and the UAE to cover the setup costs of solar projects.

In addition the availability of cheap power in the GCC

had given the manufacturers the possibility of

producing cheaper modules providing competition to

the likes of China on the global stage. The UAE, with

Dubai & Fujairah as key port and logistics hubs, has

also been pro-active in establishing a strong exporting

base for solar energy technology equipment catering to

Indian Sub-continent, Africa and Europe.

Currently Solar energy has an availability factor of

45% as compared to Liquefied Petroleum Gas which

has an availability of 91%, as per 2023 figures. And

while there‟s still a long way to go for solar energy to

become the truly sustainable energy source and a key

alternative to oil, the region‟s key value chain

dynamics has provided the GCC with another strong

exporting mechanism that could influence global

economic policies for the next few decades.

Masdar City project, one of the many solar panel hubs

scattered across the GCC

2

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2025 FINANCIAL TIMES

Editorial

“Geo-Politics is an unsentimental discipline, constantly

morphing and changing the world. We’re constantly

searching for equilibrium in how we divide ourselves

across the planet. There now needs to be a focus on cross

border and infrastructure lines.”

Parag Khanna, International Relations Expert, TED

Conference 2009

Wednesday‟s landmark judgment, in Caracas,

Venezuela, saw 1st January 2027 as the official date set for

the launch of the common currency of the Union of South

American Nations (UNASUR). After much deliberation

and ironing out of the many legalities raised by Guyana,

Surinam and Bolivia, the BancoSur Working Committee

finally ratified the official launch date of the

„SudAmericana‟. All 12 members of the UNASUR agreed

that the SudAmericana would be the key step to strengthen

the Integration Initiative for South America, which has

already led to considerable economic benefits for the

region and also served as a considerable leverage for

trading with the USA and Canada.

The SudAmericana is the latest in a series of common

currencies that are now becoming a key economic

representation of Trade blocs or zones across the world.

The overall success of the Euro, now comprising of 25

member nations, despite the European sovereign debt crisis

of 2008-2017 led to many regions across the world

attempting to replicate such a model.

2020 finally saw the launch of the Khaleeji, the

common currency unit of the GCC region with both Oman

and the UAE settling their issues on the concept. With the

The Cluster of Currencies SudAmericana: Latest common currency.

Will it be a precursor to the Bancor?

By Karan Menon

exception of Kuwait the idea was for the remaining

members of the 6 nation bloc to delink from the US Dollar.

Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq joined the Khaleeji in late 2022,

with Syria and Yemen being currently for entry over the

next 5 years. Over in the Far East, the 11 members of the

ASEAN joined forces to form the basis of the Asean

currency unit in 2018. Japan and South Korea are still

trading in their domestic currencies but have also set up

reserve accounts backing up the Asean, with a promise to

join the currency sometime in the future. While Africa‟s

two common currencies the West African CFA Franc and

the Central African CFA Franc, along with the Eco

eventually amalgamated into the African Monetary

Union‟s „Afro‟ in 2023. At present members of the

Commonwealth of Independent States, are in advanced

talks to accelerate the formation of the „Som‟, a proposed

common currency for the former Soviet States in a bid to

strengthen their bargaining power in the region.

Are common currencies beneficial? In theory a common

currency for a particular zone, should end instability by

fixing exchange rates between currencies and prevent

whirlwind speculation that can unhinge individual

currencies. It also enhances the trade blocs or unions‟

ability to project future market growth opportunities with a

lesser degree of uncertainty. Unlike the Euro, which had

diverse economies at its inception, the likes of the Afro,

Khaleeji, Asean and now the SudAmericana have common

economic resources and trade objectives backing them.

But not all economies are sold entirely on this concept.

The North African countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria,

Libya & Morocco) have not yet been sold on the merits of

the Afro, citing incompatibilities with their current

political and trading conditions. These countries however

are now looking at setting up reserve accounts with the

Khaleeji, and have also been encouraged to join the Gulf

currency unit to strengthen the co-operation between the

Arab nations. Two of the world‟s strongest economies,

China & India, are procrastinating on the merits of aligning

with the Asean, whereas Australia and New Zealand have

forwarded proposals to co-operate with the Asean as well.

Over 50% of the countries across the world are now

under the umbrella of a regional common currency. The

remaining 50% though include some of the most powerful

economies in the world today namely China, India, Russia,

Iran and the USA; with the first 3 now having substantial

representation in the IMF backed Special Drawing Rights

along with the Asean, Khaleeji and the Afro.

With the trend now towards a common currency, many

developing nations are seeing a merit in joining a common

interest trade bloc and subsequently a common currency.

Borders are being transcended and perhaps now we‟re

seeing a version of John Maynard Keynes‟ vision of a

supranational currency being implemented on a more

intra-regional basis. It may still be a utopian vision, but is

this trend a precursor to the eventual formation of a

Bancor?

TODAY ON FT.COM

Solar holiday

Video: Gregory Lam

visits the Palma do Sol,

a new boutique resort in

Brazil, located at the

beautiful beach of Praia

de Pipa, albeit with a

twist. It self- generates

100% of its energy

requirements.

www.ft.com/luxury-travel

UNSC: India wields its might

India, in an act of what experts described as political

audacity, used its veto power in the United Nations

Security Council against imposing further sanctions on

Iran.

Half of the world woke up today with the news that

India‟s representative to the UNSC, Mr Mandeep Singh

had cast India‟s first ever veto against imposing sanctions

against Iran under section on August 31st.

India, the newest member of the United Nations Security

Council, had obtained the permanent seat on June 28th,

2018. It was obtained with the clause that veto power

would not be granted for the first five years of its

membership (2018-2023), as this was a part of UNSC

reforms - initiated by India, Germany, Japan and Brazil - to

not allow new Security Council entrants to wield the veto

in its initial years.

Iran, over the last few years had stopped the

development of Nuclear Missiles. But things changed

when the president Omar Khorestani (who succeeded

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), a moderate liberal who brought

about various reforms in Iran and helped strengthen Iran‟s

foreign relationships was overthrown last year by the rebel

Ayatollah Bilal Larijani, who headed the Green Movement

against the government. After taking charge Larijani

distanced Iran from what he proclaimed as the

undemocratic world; he resumed the nuclear program and

further, as the US claims, fortified its arsenal with new age

By Anantha Sriram biological warfare. The US furthered obtained the support

of UK and France who have long since advocated

sanctions against Iran. India meanwhile has its own set of

interests in the Iran- Pakistan region mainly to the Oil

Pipelines carrying Natural Gas from Iran to India and

Pakistan. And though it has opposed to Iran developing

Nuclear and Biological Warfare, it has maintained that

issues with Iran can be resolved by diplomatic initiatives, a

proces initiated in January.

Notwithstanding the slow process of negotiations with

Iran, the western heavyweights US, UK and France tabled

a draft council resolution in the United Nations Security

Council. While China and Russia abstained, India vetoed

causing stunned gasps around the world. China and Russia

under considerable pressure from the western

heavyweights chose to abstain from the vote.

The US immediately summoned the Indian ambassador,

protested and charged India with irresponsibly using its

veto power. It is important to note that India‟s veto power

was only available to it since June 28th, 2023 little before 2

years from today.

As the world woke up to this decision, in between some

silent rumbles and mumbles, there were mostly positive

comments among the world leaders to say about India‟s

audacious attempt to behave as a responsible United

Nations Permanent member. What remains to be seen is

the reaction of the western world against India. Can they

afford to protest this much, given India‟s economic might?

Which countries

tax the rich?

Some wealthy

individuals have called

for higher taxes and this

interactive graphic

explores what

high-earners pay in

personal tax around the

world

www.ft.com/taxation

Fears rise over China’s

woes

Social Private Equity

making headways

Holography and how it

can help your business

Stuck on where to

holiday? Ask the crowd

Will our children

remember terrorism?

1

2

3

4

5

3

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2025 FINANCIAL TIMES

China

In 1979 China‟s one-child policy was born as a result of

the Chinese government‟s move to tackle economic

stagnation post the Cultural Revolution. In that year,

China housed a quarter of the world‟s population. Two

thirds of the population were under the age of 30 years

and the baby boomers of 1950-1960 were on the

threshold of their productive years. These facts were

reasons enough for the Chinese government to bring in

a policy for population containment – the one-child

policy. Though China finally decided to give up on the

one-child policy sometime early this year, it is too little

too late. The policy today has probably become an

albatross around the Chinese neck.

The policy regulated size of the Chinese families by

restricting the family size and spacing of children in

cases where the second child is permitted. The State

Family Planning Bureau set the overall targets and the

Family Planning committees at provincial and county

levels devised strategies for implementation. The

one-child policy applied only to a minority of the

population – the urban residents and government

employees. It was garnished by a system of rewards

and penalties which was largely meted out at the

discretion of local officials. It ranged from economic

incentives for compliance to substantial fines and

dismissal from work for non-compliance. Such was the

complexity of the policy that it had come close to

resemble the US tax code.

The implication of the policy on the demographics

has been phenomenal. The total fertility rate, which is

One-Child Policy: an albatross around the Chinese Neck

The policy that helped China achieve

controlled growth is backfiring

By Manjunath Tarikere

defined as the mean number of children born per

woman, decreased from 2.9 in 1979 to 1.7 in 2011, with

a rate of 1.3 in urban areas and just under 2.0 in rural

areas. This trend in due course of time created a distinct

demographic pattern of urban families with

predominantly one child and rural families with

predominantly two children. The policy also toyed with

the sex ratios. The picture that emerged is that

decline, elderly parents were reliant on their children for

support. But the one-child policy has robbed the elderly

of the support they were entitled to. They were

dependent on communes in the country side and work

organizations in urban areas for some economic support

until the economic revamp ended that lifeline too.

Welfare provisions from communes and work

organizations are history. Today, a socialized pension

scheme takes care of a small portion of the urban

population but it is grossly underfunded. The liabilities

of the program are estimated to be around 200 per cent

of the GDP. The lopsided and skewed sex ratio has

made brides so scarce that today it has left a large

number of Chinese men unmarried.

China could have started phasing out the one-child

policy as early as in 2015, but alas, thanks to the

bureaucratic inertia it took them 45 years to realize the

magnitude of the social calamity and its undercurrents.

So what is the way ahead? It would require a lot of

political courage and wisdom to get rid of the fertility

plan that is deeply ingrained in the Chinese

socio-economic fabric. Better late than never. A

two-child policy would probably be a good option to

start with. Even if the two-child policy results in a larger

overall population, the proportionately greater increase

in the working population would help offset

dependency costs at the individual level. A larger youth

population would augur well for the future workforce

population, thereby giving a chance for the government

to gradually transfer to families the financial

responsibilities of the elderly. A larger workforce would

also help prop up the GDP and rev up the economic

growth engine. They say – a stitch in time saves nine!

But with the Chinese socio-economic fabric so badly

damaged in 2025, this step would help weave it back

together in due of course of time.

Chinese communist regime,

the beginning of the end?

In 2011, the Jasmine Revolution rocked Tunisia and it soon engulfed

a string of countries in the Middle East. And it just did not stop there!

The fragrant revolution spread ripples across countries and had

„flagrant‟ consequences in China too.

The Chinese pro-democracy protests of 2011 were reminiscent of

the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. A student-led,

pro-democracy movement in 1989 was crushed by the military and

hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed. In Feb 2011, the jittery

Chinese authorities wary of any domestic dissent staged a concerted

show of force to squelch a mysterious online call for a “Jasmine

Revolution” apparently modeled after pro-democracy demonstrations

sweeping the Middle East. Authorities detained activists, increased

the number of police on the streets, disconnected some mobile phone

text messaging services and censored Internet postings about the call

to stage protests in Beijing, Shanghai and 11 other major cities. The

campaign did not gain much traction among ordinary citizens and the

chances of overthrowing the Communist government seemed slim

then, considering Beijing‟s tight controls over the media and Internet.

The Chinese thought they had done everything possible then to quell

these protests but little did they realize that the protests had already

sown seeds of democracy not only in the minds of the young Chinese

in China but also in the minds of those around the world!

There was one prominent man who really wanted to see the seeds

sprout and eventually turn into a green democratic expanse. Xui Li

landed in Beijing in the mid of 2020 and that was probably the

moment the torch of pro-democracy got lit. Harvard educated and

aged 34, this young man came back to China after a span of 10 years.

With splinters of a revolution in his heart he got into action

immediately and met all the pro-democratic student community

leaders. Li had kept track of all the pro-democratic protests that have

been happening in China each year like an annual event. The

pro-democratic protests over a period of time has weakened the

Chinese strangle hold on the media. The fact that a lot of Chinese

youth are leaving the country in search of better prospects has further

forced the Chinese government to relax policies. Li had networked

with the student community leaders and other pro-democratic leaders

across China while he was in the US. He used the social media

extensively to garner support from young Chinese across the country.

Over the past five years he has been able to influence the Chinese

youth to such an extent that even the youth that is getting into active

politics wants democracy in China. A recent survey reveals that 90%

of the aging population believes that the Communist regime and its

policies like the one-child policy are mainly responsible for their

financial miseries today. Hence they are also behind the young

Chinese in their pursuit of envisaging a democratic China. Majority of

the Chinese today feel that policies of the Communist Party have been

a road block to the growth of the economy over the past many years

and believe that if democracy is ushered in it would work wonders for

the Chinese economy putting it alongside other democracies like

India which is chugging on at a healthy growth rate of 11%. With Xui

Li rallying support from human right organizations the world over

and other major powers like Brazil, Russia, India and the Middle East

pushing the center for political reform, the Communist Party is in

handcuffs and is not able to dismantle dissident groups which are

mushrooming all over China.

All these developments indicate the beginning of the end of the

Communist rule. And with young revolutionaries like Xui Li and

pro-democratic, young Chinese politicians spearheading the

movement, the twilight for the Communist Rule seems to be not too

far away.

By Manjunath Tarikere

some urban Chinese made the choice to perform sex

selection with the first pregnancy.

Today, China is a middle aged kingdom. The policy

has wreaked havoc over the years and today 13% of the

country‟s population is constituted by an aging

population of 65+ years. 30% of the Chinese women are

grandmothers aged 60 who have no sons. China is now

grappling to deal with them. Prior to the modern fertility

A woman and her daughter touch a structural model of the earth’s core at Nanjing Geological Museum in Nanjing,

Jiangsu province. Daughters are dwindling, with many families favouring sons as their sole child.

4

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2025 FINANCIAL TIMES

World News

Last week, the Berlin-based international anti-

corruption organization, Transparency International

(TI) has released its annual Corruption Perception

Index (CoPI) for 2025. The index provides the

international ranking of countries in terms of perceived

degree of prevalence of political and administrative

corruption (with the least corrupt countries at the top of

the index). The Scandinavian neighbours continue to

hold sway within the top ten positions, with European

and North-American heavyweights closely following

them.

But for the first time, in the history of the CPI, 2

African countries Botswana and Tunisia took positions

in the top 10. Overall a total of 5 African nations figure

in the top 25 which includes Ghana, Namibia and South

Africa.

FT‟s Political Analyst for the African region Dr.

Tatenda Taibu goes on to say “What really catches the

eye of the reader is the huge divide between the African

countries when one notices how far countries like the

Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Angola and

Somalia are languishing at the bottom compared to

their more illustrious neighbours.” The

aforementioned four have been deemed the most

corrupt countries in the world with ranks of 161, 170,

175 and 178 respectively. The disparity has increased,

especially from the previous year 2024.

These days, the African continent is remembered for

its unending supply of Hydrocarbons to satisfy the

seemingly insatiable appetite of the Asian and South

American Countries and to some extent that of Europe

and the North Americas. But the stark reality is that

the continent‟s growth and prosperity has been

concentrated only in a few countries. Political factors

have played a huge measure in this wide disparity.

Democratic changes happening over the last few

decades on the continent have meant that economic

growth, poverty reduction and democracy and

improved governance may be connected to one another

in a virtuous circle. Improvements in the quality of

governance almost certainly have helped to sustain

democracy. But for some countries this process has

been fragile. Countries like South Sudan (which

seceded from Sudan almost 15 years ago) have slipped

back into stagnation after having initially promised

growth. In most cases political instability and the

Africa: the eternal divide By Anantha Sriram continued devastation of HIV/AIDS have affected the

prospects. Taibu goes on to say that people are quick to

point out that Africa has become a democratic continent.

But they fail to understand that the African imprint on

these democratic experiments has yet to be that

significant. If democracy in Africa is going to succeed,

African countries must develop distinctive democratic

practices and institutions that are appropriate for their

own social, historical, and political milieus. Taibu

argues that the incorporation of traditional leaders have

been a problem. Though such leaders have sufficient

local legitimacy, one has to realize that they are

inherently non-democratic. These Chiefs, Kings,

Sultans and obas fit uneasily into traditional western

forms of democracy.

One tends to feel that for Africa as a continent to

„take charge‟ the big states of Africa have to be the

exemplars of success. Excellent domestic leadership of

course is an inescapable requirement for countries to

succeed. But in case of Africa, there needs to be better

continental leadership.

Regional institutions like AU/NEPAD have been

applying pressure on national leaders to improve their

performance. The African Union (AU) is increasingly

focused on accelerating the economic and political

integration of the continent, and the single currency

„Afro‟ implemented in 34 countries is a key step in this

direction. Despite some progress on the development

of free trade areas, key challenges remain – particularly

the limited technical and regulatory capacity of regional

institutions, overlapping membership, and variable

political commitment to implement critical integration

agreements at the national level.

Africa today in 2025 is a more diverse, more hopeful,

but at the same a more dangerous place, because of how

individual African countries have fared in the past few

decades. The trend since independence in the 1960s has

been for the continent to become more heterogeneous.

More countries have collapsed under the devastating

burden of civil strife, economic bankruptcy, and disease.

However, there is also the prospect that some other

countries will begin to consolidate their political order,

engage in the global economy, and develop a

comprehensive set of governance practices that will

allow their citizens to prosper. What remains to be seen

is the balance between those who prosper and those who

collapse and how many countries manage to do no more

than simply muddle through the rough waters.

Three young obas thugs pose for a portrait

A Global “Meltdown” By Sneha Kandian

Ethiqa Group‟s Pasedena headquarters are a blur of

earth tones and cloudless sky. Bathed in southern

California sun, the offices hold a glow befitting the

gilded career of the company‟s CEO, Karel Mogensen.

Mr Mogensen, best known as the man who secured half

of the late Warren Buffett‟s estate, the quintessential

man behind the famous Berkshire Hathaway, is settled

deep into his chair. His lips parted to a wide smile, the

59 year old billionnaire peers through thick glasses.

Over years, the community of investors, chief

executives and journalists have wondered why Mr

Mogensen has shyed away from media spotlight and

stayed happily in the background for almost a decade,

especially in a philantropic industry where limelight is

a de facto reward.

“Well, you can say I‟m the silent protagonist in this

play called „The Altruist‟,” says Mr Mogensen, after a

muted chuckle that seemed to exude a calming

atmosphere to the room. “I‟d like to think that the cause

is more important than the ones responsible. It has

always been about fulfilling a greater purpose and I

don‟t see why basking in the limelight is necessary. I

don‟t want people to associate what we do at Ethiqa

with me, but rather to the beliefs we all share. And I

guess we all like it that way.”

It is a charming story of a stubborn idealist, who

clung strongly to his utopian views and vehemently

looked for ways to incorporate it into business. Mr

Mogensen is a well known veteran in private equity and

has an impressive CV, boasting stints in The Carlyle

Group and Goldman Sachs. His turning point came

after leaving Goldman Sachs to pursue an MBA at

Harvard. “I never really understood the corporate race

these American bankers put themselves to. They try so

hard to get ahead to a point where waking up is a chore.

I suppose we Danes are different. We‟re very much

happier. After the credit crisis, I became disillusioned

with all that was Wall Street. Bankers were at each

other‟s throats, all crying foul at the lucky few who

were in more sheltered business units. What‟s the point

of a good life if all your neighbours are struggling?”

Mr Mogensen knew that he could no longer be

associated with such a profit orientated industry and his

big break came after The Blackstone Group invited him

to head their newly established socially responsible

investment (SRI) division, a role that propelled him to

maverick status. Within a year, he managed a 77%

return for the division‟s account. They were doing very

well, and started a new expansion initiative delving for

opportunities in frontier markets.

In one of the due diligence drives conducted by his

team, he was invited to come down to Africa to speak

with several business associations. “That was in 2014.

Africa was starting to come to terms with its own

poverty and some of the bigger conglomerates decided

it was time to take action. I never really knew how poor

the country was until the visits to their rural villages. It

was heart wrenching.”

He returned to headquarters and pitched the board

the idea of supporting the social movement by

investing into communally supportive fledgling

businesses. “They turned me down that day and I

realised the whole SRI thing was just a fad. It was

always about profits, only with a stricter investment

mandate. I resigned the next morning, but I guess I

made enough of a name for myself that word got

round.”

Word did get around and he received a call from the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a week later. “Bill

and Melinda met me and spoke about my achievements

in the SRI space. The great Warren Buffett had passed

on two weeks ago and had donated a large portion of

his estate to the foundation. They wanted me to have

half of it.”

Ethiqa Group was incorporated in October 2015,

with a seed capital of 20 billion. The resulting media

buzz made the front page in all of the major

newspapers. The Morgensen, Buffett and Gates names

Late in August 2011, the world was introduced to

Hurricane Irene, which unleashed havoc and

destruction in its wake in the Caribbean and eastern

cities of USA. As the days developed,Irene was billed

to be amongst one of the costliest catastrophes to hit

USA with the cost of the storm pegged at

approximately 7-10 billion USD. As natural calamities

are becoming a way of life, it compels us to look

beyond the usual for answers. A study by a team of

budding economists from the Sloan School of

Management, MIT, 2024 have uncovered the link

between global warming and the ever increasing

inflation across the globe.

Greenhouse gas emissions are undoubtedly on a

rise. With the consequence that the polar ice caps are

melting, twisting the oceanic currents which regulate

climate, leading to hurricanes and floods and cold

waves and thus bringing with it large scale destruction

of man and property, disruption of transportation on

one end and rising global temperatures on the other.

Consequences are tremendous: losses in real estate,

scarcity of water and dwindling natural resources

including oil and food, leading to migration, diseases

and rising energy costs. Governments are pushed into

spending more revenue into energy and water resources

and public health domains in between beefing up the

security of their borders and/or diffusing tensions

within them. The overall cumulative costs incurred by

the US government alone over the past decade has

been, 12 billion USD in hurricane costs, 36 billion USD

in real estate losses, 28 billion USD in energy sector

costs and 220 Billion USD in water shortage costs.

The fundamental reason for the inflation is the

excess in demand as compared to the available supply

of especially food items. The global population has

been on a steady rise and has crossed the nine billion

mark in the previous census of 2024. At the same time,

the rising temperatures and scarcity of water has led to

poor yield of crops overall. While the population has

been growing at the rate of 1.3%, the crop yield, despite

the technological advances in agriculture, has not

increased proportionately, leading to a global rise in

food prices by 14.3%. The most significantly hit by this

inflation is the United States; problems are further

aggravated by the struggling economic situations in the

US. Other regions bearing the brunt of the food

inflation are Saharan Africa, countries in South

andSoutheast Asia (such as Bangladesh, India, and

Vietnam), and some countries in Latin America.

Undoubtedly, global warming a threat that has been

looming large over our heads for the past few decades

has an adverse snowball effect on an already struggling

global economy which is then translated into inflation.

The ghost of our mistakes, past and present, which led

to this precipitous global warming seems to be

haunting us.

Mr Karel T. Mogensen, CEO of Ethiqa Group

Monday Interview: Karel T. Mogensen,

Social Private Equity’s White Knight

By Luqman Hakim Ilham

were the talk of the town and journalists dived into the

publicity. “That will probably be the last time you will

catch me giving a press conference in front of a huge

crowd. I was never really hooked on public speaking,

even after HBS,” says Mr Morgensen after a round of

laughter.

It took him only 4 months to fully assemble his

team, a major feat in such short notice, largely due to

his burgeoning reputation. “There I was with a kitty of

20 billion, more than 10 times what I had managed at

Blackstone. I didn‟t really know where to start, so I

returned to where I left off. I remember the first

company we bought. It was a major manufacture of

mosquito nets in Africa and after a year, we made it

into the 3rd largest exporter of mosquito nets and low

cost weather proof tents. It still supplies over 50% of

the third world and mercy relief demand for free.”

There were many other similar investments and his

talented team soon found more businesses that could

generate profits while uplifting society. The first 3

years saw Ethiqa Group generate 22% annualised

returns, putting it within the running pack of hedge

funds. “We weren‟t bound by profit mandates common

to SRI players and the sheer size of our resource pool

allowed us to enter into businesses that required longer

periods to achieve success. It wasn‟t before long that

the Stichting INGKA and Li Ka Shing Foundations

came aboard. Shortly after that came the flows

ofMiddle Eastern money. I always thought Islamic

money had to revolve around religion and never

realised that its socially supportive elements were so

similar to ours.”

Ethiqa Group will mark its 10th anniversary in a

month‟s time, and the 60th birthday of its founder and

CEO Mr Morgensen, soon after. It has achieved an

annualised return of 26%, and has over 200 billion

invested in socially supportive businesses worldwide.

Today, it symbolises the pinnicle of altruism,

philantropy and socially responsible business.

“In the end, it has always been about the cause. I

want to be remembered as the man who left the legacy

of hope and belief,” Mr Morgensen says. “Utopia may

never truly exist in this modern world, not in a very

long time. But we sure as hell can get very close.”

A mother and her children who recently fled heavy fighting stand inside a schoolroom

5

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2025 FINANCIAL TIMES

Technology

"The breakthrough in the next generation of Virtual

education has finally arrived" announced Joe Rickson

of CAM corp. Joe will not only be taking the

CAMTech stage for the first time after he took over the

mantle from Tim Cook but also he will be showcasing

the first major product launch from CAE corp after the

three major corporations Cisco, Apple and Educomp

solution joined hands to form CAM corp amidst falling

revenues. The success of this launch is crucial for the

survival of entity as a whole especially in the backdrop

of the heavy investments made by the consortium over

the last 3 years in the product development.

Early reports last week have showed that the product

has been tested by around 1000 students of S.P.Jain

center of management in countries such as India, UAE,

Singapore and Sydney. The reports that we are getting

from the participants of this pilot testing have been

highly positive.

As a part of pilot testing done by CAM corp, the

holographic projections of around 1000 students were

beamed into a single class room and these projections

of 1000 students were able to interact with each other

like in real life.

“Now children in remote areas of Africa and Kenya

who have limited access to educational facilities can

World’s first commercial Holographic Virtual Environment

CAM Corp to unveil simulator at this

year‟s CAMTech Summit in October

By Ritish Puttaparthi

use this technology and beam their projections to a

virtual class room and attend a lecture at Stanford

University. A soldier sitting in US will be able to cond-

uct a rescue operation in Iraq without he being

physically present in the location. The kind of

applications that we are talking about today were just

unthinkable a few years ago, But now it‟s a reality and

what we will be witnessing in the CAMTech summit

will mark the beginning of new era in the field of virtual

communication” said Ravi Chandra, Chief Technology.

Government of India

will invest another

$100m in Telemedicine

and Telediagnosis

Telemedicine the much hyped idea floated in the

beginning of this century is now a reality. Critics came

down heavily saying that machine could never replace

the human touch. Moreover, using a computer requires

some amount of technical knowhow. India, like most

developing countries exists in a state of paradox.

Though many a times there is often lack of secondary

and tertiary health care centers accessible to the

common man, technology especially in the forms of

mobiles and its myriad applications has percolated to

every single family in every single village in this

country thanks to the aggressive marketing and network

coverage provided by the telecom companies. It has

been estimated that there are 5 major service providers

in India with an average 89% of people using a mobile

telephone. Thus here is a goldmine just waiting to be

tapped. As Dr. Alok Rasal, Senior Consultant

Cardiologist, AIIMS, Delhi states “Yes, human touch is

of supreme importance; but people suffering from

chronic illness like asthma, diabetes, hypertension and

other lifestyle disorders require periodic review.

Majority of the times this review though necessary is

meant only for consolidating the well being of the

patient or to tinker the dosage of drugs. Patients have to

travel miles and then wait for prolonged periods to meet

the doctor just for this „touch‟, leading to loss of time,

money and man-hours. A more convenient option for

both the parties would be to contact each other over

some method that is universal, convenient and

cost-effective. Telemedicine is the perfect solution for

better time management.”

Governments of then, whose political theme was

„aam adami’ (the common man) knew that if this option

proved successful it could change the medical scenario

and be a win-win situation for them. Industry giants

such as Infosys Technologies Ltd. were roped in and it

is to their credit that they brought this humungous task

to fruition. Now that the Government of India in willing

to invest another 100 million USD after an initial

investment of 10 million USD last year goes on to show

that this project has gone down well with the Indian

population over the past few years.

Telemedicine has also extended to telediagnosis

with the availability of mobile camera mounted

microscopes allowing for diagnosis. Images could now

be digitized leading to enumeration in the number of

parasites or bacteria especially in cases of malaria and

tuberculosis wherein the most sensitive and specific test

even in this age remains smear microscopy. As Dr.

Jaspreet Bhatia, Infectious Disease Specialist,

PGIMER, Chandigarh says “A technician in the field

collects the sample and processes it, pictures taken and

the specialist sitting far away can interpret the slides

leading to early diagnosis and faster initiation of

therapy even without the patient having to enter a

tertiary care centre!”

Many of us who have been unfortunate enough to

have had to experience long waiting time outside the

doctor‟s office or a few minutes of consultation will

vouch for the fact that telemedicine is a boon. This

technology will make our lives simpler.

By Sneha Kandian

Officer at CAM Corp.

“The beauty of this technology is that the hardware

that the user needs to posses to beam himself into the

virtal classroom is very minimalistic and moreover this

technology has been built on the open source platform

which makes it open for developers to tweak with and

bring in more applications more exciting”

Many technology blogs around the world including

Engadget and Gizmodo who were invited for the demo

earlier this year have given rave reviews for the product.

Early stage test photos of the lab simulated environment,

6

MFP: FINANCIAL TIMES – 2025 ASSIGNMENT

GMBA APRIL 2011

SP Jain Center of Management, Dubai

GROUP - 16, Division B

Group Member Roll No

Karan Menon GAPR11IBWM022 Ritish Puttaparthi GAPR11ACFBM010

Luqman Hakim Bin Ilham GAPR11CM098

Anantha Sriram GAPR11IT042 Sneha Kandian GAPR11IT085

Manjunath Tarikere GAPR11IT059