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FINANCIAL TIMES
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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
© THE FINANCIAL TIMES
LIMITED 2025 No: 86,584
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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
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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
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India RUP 12 Sweden SKR 22
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Jordan JD 0.45 Ukraine EUR 9.00
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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?
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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