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Gulf Daily News Monday, 7th July 2014
19
on how to
Premier backs top Tips
beat inflation...
aluminium forum
MANAMA: The patronage
of His Royal Highness Prime
Minister Prince Khalifa
bin Salman Al Khalifa for
the 18th International Arab
Aluminium
Conference
(Arabal) 2014 underlines
the importance of the industry for the country, Alba
chairman Shaikh Daij bin
Salman Al Khalifa has said.
The conference will be hosted by Alba on November 25
and 27 at the Gulf Hotel under
the theme ‘GCC: An aluminium powerhouse’.
“Alba is truly honoured
by the patronage of HRH the
Premier,” Shaikh
ed to attract more
Daij said.
than 700 delegates,
“We are proud to
including key decihost Arabal 2014
sion makers and
in the kingdom,
industry leaders from
which reaffirms that
all sectors of the aluBahrain has made
minium industry in
significant strides
the region and across
across all industhe world.
tries, especially in
Arabal is the prethe aluminium secmium trade event for
tor and downstream
n Shaikh Daij
the Middle East’s
industries under the
aluminium industry
visionary leadership of His and the only conference in the
Majesty King Hamad.”
world attended by every single
Shaikh Daij said Bahrain is primary aluminium manufachosting Arabal for the fourth turer in the region.
time, and this year, it is expectTherefore, it is the con-
ference of choice for anyone
interested in the Middle East
aluminium industry.
Arabal first began in 1983
with Kuwait Aluminium
Company bringing together the
leading figures in Middle East
Aluminium to strengthen ties
and discuss the issues of the day
to provide an overview about
the entire aluminium industry.
Over the past three decades, it has become an event
of international repute, bringing together leaders from the
aluminium industry across the
world to attend, speak, and
exhibit, at the event.
Asheer elected
BMI chairman
MANAMA: Bahraini banker Salah
Saleh Asheer has been elected chairman of BMI Bank, a subsidiary
of Al Salam Bank Bahrain, it was
announced yesterday.
The bank’s newly
appointed board of
directors at their first
meeting also unanimously resolved to
elect Habib Ahmed
Kassim as the deputy
chairman.
Ahmed Al Abri,
Sunder
George,
Mohammed Tariq
Sadeq,
Yousif
Abdulla Taqi, Jamal
n Mr Asheer
Al Hazeem and Dr
Anwar Khalifa Al Sadah are the other
members of the board and represent
key figures within the banking industry.
BMI Bank will continue to focus on
providing customers with competitive,
unique and innovative financial solutions as its moves forward towards
streamlining the operational aspects
of its business combination with Al
Salam Bank Bahrain, the statement
added.
n Hilal Computers Enterprise System Group members receive a memento from Vision
Solutions regional sales director Mahesh Atre
Hilal Computers in key deal
MANAMA: A disaster recovery solution to
provide full-scale protection to businesses
from data loss will be provided by DoubleTake through Hilal Computers in Bahrain.
It will protect businesses from the costs
and consequences of downtime and data
loss. These solutions are ready to handle any
challenge, on any platform, in any combination of physical, virtual or cloud servers,
said company officials.
Double-Take software for Windows
delivers simple high availability for phys-
ical, virtual and cloud-based environments
across various sizes of business.
Hilal Computers with its certified engineering capabilities are offering consultancy, implementation and after sales support
services for above solutions for the past
decade.
Hilal Computers recently received the
partner award for the Bahrain market during
an annual partner event in Dubai.
For more details about solutions please
send an email to hilalcts@batelco.com.bh
Report to focus on Bahrain growth
MANAMA: A special report on Bahrain’s
economic development over the past decade that highlights the latest investment
opportunities has been put together by
global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG).
The Report: Bahrain 2014 will chart the
country’s progress in diversifying its economy and creating an investor-friendly environment, which has led to the emergence
of several now well-established industries,
including financial services, real estate and
manufacturing.
The publication will also explore
Bahrain’s recent efforts to address key
social issues, spearheaded by educational
reforms and the rolling out of affordable
housing.
OBG regional director Jana Treeck said
since arriving in Bahrain, OBG’s team had
witnessed the kingdom move towards the
goals mapped out in its long-term development strategy, Economic Vision 2030.
“Bahrain’s push to begin broadening its
economic base some years ago, ahead of
its neighbours, has given the country an
edge in seeking out investors, as we have
documented,” she said.
“Our tenth-anniversary report will look
at fast-growth areas of the economy, such
as Islamic finance, while also considering
the part that the country’s business-friendly environment, particularly its tax regime,
continues to play in increasing investment.”
OBG country director Lila Benyelles
said The Report: Bahrain 2014 would also
pinpoint the hurdles which the kingdom
currently faces, including a drop in non-oil
activity last year, and the steps being taken
to overcome them, led by capital spending
on infrastructure.
“Bahrain has redefined its economic
landscape during our decade here, bringing
through new areas of the economy for
development, while also moving forward
with plans for its oil sector,” she said.
The Report: Bahrain 2014 will contain
a wide range of interviews with leading
political, economic and business representatives, together with a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors.
The publication assesses trends and
developments across the economy, including macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments.
The report will be produced with the
Information Affairs Authority and the law
firm Zu’bi Partners and will be available in
print or online.
With inflation and the rise in the
cost of living, what can savers in
the Mena region do to limit the
real value of their assets being
gradually eroded over time?
MIKE LONERGAN regional
sales director at Takaud, the
specialist savings and pensions
provider for the region, discusses the issue.
A
ccording to the
latest IMF World
Economic Outlook,
consumer price inflation
averaged 11.5 per cent
in the Mena region in
2013.
Experts say it will stay
above 8pc for the next
five years, at least.
So leaving savings in a
bank account with minimal interest rates or returns will mean that the
actual value and buying
power of this money will
reduce.
So, what can investors
and savers do to limit
the downside of the real
value of their assets
being gradually eroded
over time without exposing their hard-earned
cash to too much risk?
Fixed interest savings accounts
For those who are content to lock their savings away in banks for
example, there are lowrisk savings accounts
that can pay higher
rates of interest
than instant or easy
access accounts.
Index-linked bonds
An inflation-linked
bond or index-linked bond is
similar to a nominal
bond such as a
treasury bond.
This means that the
investor receives the
real (i.e. adjusted for
inflation) face value of
the bond at maturity,
and the real value of
the interest rate in the
meantime.
At the moment, demand
for these types of bonds
is high and this has
pushed the prices up
to the extent that yields
are currently negative.
But, over the long term
they can offer a way to
spread risk, particularly
if you think that inflation
is going to go higher.
Equities
To attempt to beat inflation, it’s important
to have growth assets,
such as shares, in your
portfolio.
Look for shares that pay
strong dividends, as this
money, if reinvested,
accounts for the lion’s
share of total returns
from equities so should
help.
Today, a portfolio of glob-
al stocks is particularly
attractive from both a
growth and diversification viewpoint.
Real Estate
Opinion is divided over
the effectiveness of
real estate as a hedge
against inflation.
As a traditional real asset, it can help diversify
risk as it is lowly correlated to both equities
and bonds.
It is not, however, seen
as being as effective as
equities over the longer
term.
Gold
Investing in gold is often
seen as a good way to
help protect investment
portfolios against inflation because it is not
tied to the fortunes of
the economy or direction of a currency.
Like other real assets, investors believe gold has
an intrinsic value and
as a result is somewhat
insulated from market
Monday’s
AGENDA
volatility.
According to the World
Gold Council, demand
for bars and coins accounted for 79pc of
gold demand in general
last year, making physical gold significantly
more popular among
savers than investing in
related equities such as
gold miners.
Art
Art has proved recession-proof over the last
few years with prices
going ever higher.
Yet the costs of ownership can be significant
and there are expensive
commissions when
dealing with auction
houses.
Conclusion
Out-running inflation is
no easy task and taking
expert advice is always
sensible.
The key is to take a diversified approach and
try and combine equity
investments with real
assets and bonds for
added security.