Author: The New Economy

The four countries most impacted by cashless payments

Posted on by The New Economy

A ‘cashless economy’ used to refer to a society that simply bartered for goods but, in the modern day, the rise of electronic payment methods has made the exchanging of paper notes seem just as antiquated. Credit card payments and, more recently, online and mobile transfers have rendered transactions more secure, minimising the time spent queuing at shop tills.

A study conducted by ForexBonuses found Canada, Sweden and the UK to be the most ‘cashless’ countries in the world, with the analysis focusing on criteria such as the number of credit cards per inhabitant and total cashless transactions. But, away from these western states, new payment models are also having a dramatic effect in Asian and African economies.

Here, we outline four countries that have been economically and socially transformed by the uptake of cashless payments:

Sweden
Sweden has become the benchmark for cashless economies with more than 59 percent of transactions completed without physical money. According to Riksbank, there are 70 million fewer notes in circulation than four years ago; even local flea markets use Sweden’s homegrown mobile payment app, Swish, in place of cash, and it is impossible to buy a bus or metro ticket with physical money.

The increased opportunity for small businesses and the elimination of fraudulent hard currency makes cashless payments an attractive proposition

But the most dramatic change has been that of the Swedish finance sector. Swish, which identifies bank accounts via phone numbers, was created in collaboration with major banks including Swedbank, Nordea and SEB. By 2016, 900 of Sweden’s bank branches had stopped dispensing cash or taking deposits of it, with many removing their ATMs altogether.

Sweden’s forward-thinking banks have ensured its status as a leading cashless economy for over half a century now, having persuaded Swedish businesses to start paying their staff electronically in the 1960s – years ahead of other European countries.

China
Despite the government’s decision to ban cryptocurrencies last year, the Chinese population’s appetite for cashless payments continues to grow. The WePay and Alipay apps – introduced by Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba, respectively – continue to dominate the market. In fact, mobile payments in China reached a whopping $5trn in 2016.

The QR codes scanned by payment apps have become common fixtures in shops throughout the country, with vendors of anything from rental bikes to clothing embracing cashless payments. The emergence of Didi, China’s answer to Uber, has also spurred cashless payments in the transportation industry, encouraging the use of mobile and online payment services in place of physical transactions.

Notably, this appetite for digital payments has also impacted neighbouring countries: the number of Japanese stores accepting Alipay doubled in 2017 in order to cope with the demand from Chinese visitors.

Kenya
The advent of virtual payments in Kenya some 10 years ago produced remarkable results. Mobile payment app M-Pesa was launched by Vodafone’s Safaricom to allow quick transfers of small payments via text message. The system proved overwhelmingly popular: it now has 30 million users, with 529 transactions processed per second in 2016.

A study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the mobile payment service has also helped lift two percent of Kenyan households out of extreme poverty, equating to roughly 194,000 people.

M-Pesa eased transactions for local businesses and led to an estimated 185,000 women taking up business occupations in Kenya

Further, M-Pesa eased transactions for local businesses and led to an estimated 185,000 women taking up business occupations. The cashless economy continues apace as the 46-member Kenya Bankers Association plans to introduce a mobile payment platform to rival M-Pesa.

India
In a 2013 report, MasterCard concluded India was not properly prepared to take up cashless payments and, indeed, the past four years have witnessed a flawed transition. The government’s Cashless India initiative aimed to create a “digitally empowered society and knowledge economy” but it has achieved mixed results.

As part of the initiative, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a blanket ban on the highest denomination banknotes (500 and 1,000 rupee bills) in 2016. The Bank of India claimed this would curb the funding of terrorism through forged currency, but the snap decision caused a brief drop in GDP as panicked customers queued outside banks in their droves to deposit notes before the cut off.

Nonetheless, the push to deposit currency has recapitalised India’s banks and the Nifty 50 index, India’s benchmark stock market indicator, rose 30 percent in the first half of 2017. Meanwhile, the development of Aadhaar, a vast biometric database that assigns users a 12-digit identity number, has helped ease the transition. Introduced in 2009, Aadhaar has enabled many Indians with no identity records to open bank accounts and use cashless payment systems, easing secure payments for both individuals and international traders.

The race to go cashless inevitably has some disadvantages: principally, an entirely cashless system means people cannot hold capital outside of banks, putting them at the mercy of fluctuating interest rates. However, the increased opportunity for small businesses and the elimination of fraudulent hard currency makes cashless payments an attractive proposition, and the cashless revolution looks set to gain further sway in the near future.

Facebook faces fake news backlash following algorithm change

Posted on by The New Economy

Facebook’s battle against fake news does not appear to be getting any easier after Brazil’s most popular newspaper announced it would no longer publish content on the site. On February 8, Folha de S Paulo argued recent changes to the social network’s algorithm prioritised misinformation over professional journalism, leaving the newspaper with little choice but to halt the posting of its content to the social network.

Last month, Facebook announced changes to its News Feed algorithm, reducing the amount of news in favour of more social interactions between family and friends. Ironically, this was intended to reduce the spread of misinformation on the platform by also prioritising high-quality sources.

However, it seems the reduction in news content has not gone down well with all publications, with Folha de S Paulo claiming it will facilitate the development of echo chambers or “bubbles of opinion”.

Online platforms know they now face greater pressure than ever to tackle the fake news phenomenon, but prioritising one source over another often leaves them open to accusations of “liberal bias”

On the same day the social network lost the support of Brazil’s most popular newspaper, it also faced accusations from a group of British MPs, who claimed the platform was not taking enough responsibility for the spread of fake news. The Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee held a hearing in Washington DC to discuss Russian interference in the Brexit referendum and the 2017 US election, during which Facebook, Google and Twitter were all criticised.

Online platforms know they now face greater pressure than ever to tackle the fake news phenomenon, but prioritising one source over another often leaves them open to accusations of “liberal bias”. Nevertheless, Facebook has announced it will ramp up investment in security personnel, AI and original content in order to stem the flow of propaganda and out-right lies.

More worryingly, there is a fundamental issue at the heart of Facebook’s business model that makes tackling misinformation difficult. Platforms driven by advertising revenue will always value clicks over quality content and, as long as this remains the case, fake news will prove difficult to shift.

Top 5 myths about migrating to the cloud

Posted on by The New Economy

The cloud journey is an imperative part of any businesses’ IT strategy and everything the cloud promises should be considered as the ultimate endeavour. For many companies, migration to the cloud is already well underway but, for others, the journey is just beginning.

Like any great technological change, there are lessons to be learned from those who paved the way. Cloud services can be extremely beneficial, but there are still a number of areas that need significant review, and enthusiasm should be tempered to ensure correct decisions are made at the right time and for reasons that benefit the business.

With this in mind, we outline five incorrect assumptions that can lead to problems when migrating to the cloud:

Everything can be moved to the cloud
Many businesses are being driven to use cloud services without a proper understanding of what they are actually trying to achieve. Without a proper cloud readiness assessment this can stall or halt their progress and, in some cases, a migration may have to be aborted or even reversed.

Each system, application, service or product needs to be considered not only on its individual requirements but also on the interdependencies it has with other components of the existing infrastructure.

The internet supports all needs
The omnipresent nature of cloud services lends a lot of its capability to the internet, which typically allows easier access to services and a more flexible platform to manage them. However, attempting to manage a service this way may not always be the right thing to do.

A lot of existing applications don’t have the appropriate encryption or security considerations required for a safe transition to the cloud

A lot of existing applications don’t have the appropriate encryption or security considerations required for a safe transition to the cloud, while others do not perform across NAT boundaries. Put simply, these applications are better served by older protocols. Companies should, therefore, consider ways a move to the cloud can be facilitated without internet connectivity.

Networking is dead
Cloud service providers have made a concerted effort to ensure connectivity is a simple thing. Anybody who understands infrastructure, code, automation and scripting can get things working with relative ease. But it’s important to note networking isn’t dead, and a lack of skill can often create environments where ‘things just work’ without any real understanding of the best architecture from a networking perspective.

The basic networking components (e.g. network containers, routers, gateways, load balancers and security groups) offered by the major cloud service providers are functional but too simplistic.

A strong network architecture is arguably more important in cloud computing than it has been in more traditional environments, especially as there will likely be a ‘hybrid architecture’ in most organisations for a long period of time.

Security is just NSGs
Network security groups (NSGs) can be considered the most basic of Layer 4 firewalls. They serve in the main to shape the permissions for who or what can consume a service or application within a given part of the cloud environment. They are, however, not even remotely close to being appropriate for consideration as a valid security device. Despite this fact, they are often implemented as the only means of securing an infrastructure.

With a number of services being exposed to the internet, and with cyberattacks on the rise, security in cloud is paramount – and NSGs just do not cut it. They are too often used as an excuse to bypass the security posture within an organisation by falsely being represented as having dealt with security concerns.

With a number of services being exposed to the internet, and with cyberattacks on the rise, security in cloud is paramount – and NSGs just do not cut it

There are a wealth of security options within cloud services and these need to be considered in line with the network architecture, so as to provide the most appropriate protective measures for the business.

Everything is cheaper
Cloud computing has provided a wealth of commodity offerings. Businesses can scale up their infrastructure on demand, paying for only what they use at the times they need to use it. There are no costs to be considered for hosting and long-term contracts are limited or don’t exist, meaning no extended tie-ins.

With this in mind, the governance and control over spend is often overlooked or lost altogether. While a physical piece of infrastructure used to be subjected to rigorous spend controls before any purchase order was raised, purchases can now be achieved with the click of a button. This means financial controllers rarely have a firm grip on what is being purchased and why.

Carelessness can also creep into an organisation, with resources being wasted when they are not being used or simply not needed. Cloud service providers do have tools that can assist in alerting administrators to this fact but, as resources grow, it can become increasingly difficult to understand the landscape.

The most overlooked of all costs is egress data. For every gigabyte of data transferred out of a cloud service environment (sometimes even within the environment) there is a small charge. These charges quickly add up and are often completely ignored, sometimes even assumed to be a ‘necessary evil’ of using cloud services.

Depending on the business requirements for an application or service, migration to the cloud may not actually be the right thing to do.

Electricity in the air: how ambient energy can ease consumption concerns

Posted on by The New Economy

The world currently uses 607 quintillion joules of energy per year. By 2040, this figure will have increased to 777 quintillion joules. Both are staggering figures, but ones that are hardly surprising considering some economies are still developing and others seem hell-bent on rampant consumerism. With environmental concerns mounting and fossil fuel reserves on the wane, meeting energy demands will become one of the most significant challenges of the next few decades.

The key to overcoming this challenge may lie all around us: radio waves, Wi-Fi signals, kinetic energy and solar power are just a few examples of the types of energy that are being generated in vast quantities on an almost constant basis. These power sources, which are already present within a given system, are collectively known as ‘ambient energy’ and, despite their ubiquity, are going largely untapped.

Although plentiful, the majority of ambient energy is currently being wasted; lost as heat, light or other impractical forms. If the ambient energy that surrounds us can be collected and converted into electricity, then a solution to our energy needs, even if only a partial one, could be found. With our thirst for consumer goods showing no end and the Internet of Things (IoT) promising to deliver a host of new low-power sensors, our need for ambient energy appears greater than ever.

Starting small
While global annual revenues from energy harvesting systems are set to reach a value of almost $375m by 2020, the technology can hardly be described as mature. The energy levels being demanded by consumer electronics mean it remains difficult for ambient energy to compete with the robust infrastructure of well-established national electricity grids. This is also why we are seeing a decrease in battery life, despite the technology’s overall improvement.

“Single energy form harvesters cannot typically satisfy the needs of 24/7 operability, thus a combination of multiple forms of harvested energy is required for the majority of practical devices,” noted Manos Tentzeris, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech. “The number of companies currently offering harvesting products remains small, but it is growing.”

Battery firms need not fear ambient energy… It could be used to augment their existing offering

A major stumbling block to the development of the ambient energy market is the requirement for energy to be generated locally. While existing companies like Wi-Charge and WiTricity – which use infrared light and magnetic resonance, respectively – are able to charge devices wirelessly, they require the installation of a powered energy transmitter.

Conversely, true ambient energy emerges when forms of energy are already present in the environment, such as solar power or Wi-Fi signals. Although commercial activity remains limited, Joshua R Smith, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington, believes genuine examples of ambient energy harvesters are beginning to be developed.

“I think the technology is just at the cusp of practicality,” Smith said. “There are a lot of potential applications that could create totally new market categories or products. For example, if it’s possible to build sensors into walls, roofs, roads or other places where batteries or wires are not practical, then it potentially becomes possible to do things that you would not even think of doing today.”

The energy harvesting market is expected to expand rapidly in the next few years. In the near future, an increasing number of products will need to be autonomous, miniaturised and easily scalable – pushing manufacturers towards ambient energy. Already, companies like EnOcean in Germany and Mide Technology in the US are developing ways to invigorate the market by taking the energy around us and making it usable.

Crossed wires
One of the major driving forces behind the growth of ambient energy technology is the increasing efficiency of consumer devices. “Since around 1945, the energy efficiency of electronics has been improving exponentially,” Smith said. “Computers today are more than a trillion times more energy efficient than their early ancestors. As energy efficiency continues to improve, the amount of workable applications will grow dramatically.”

$375m

Projected annual revenues of energy harvesting systems by 2020

3.5µW

Energy required to power the University of Washington’s battery-free, wireless phone

In fact, this is already starting to bear fruit: Smith’s team at the University of Washington has begun to develop a battery-free, wireless mobile phone that operates exclusively by harvesting radio and light signals. Part of the team’s success stems from developments in ambient sensors, but energy efficiency also plays a huge part. The telephone is capable of operating from just 3.5 microwatts of power and, despite its limitations, can be used to make and receive calls, as well as connect to Skype.

Smith recognises that the potential for battery-free technology extends far beyond telecommunications: “When you are using low-end devices, batteries can represent a significant fraction of the cost. There are a lot of high-volume things that today are not electronic at all, but you could potentially give some smarts to them if you didn’t have to pay for a battery.”

With IoT and ambient energy working in tandem, sensors could be embedded into homes, offices and public infrastructure, with zero cost to power or maintain them. The IoT sensor market is expected to reach $38.4bn by 2022, but practical questions remain about powering the expected influx of new gadgets. Ambient energy promises a greener solution to this problem, reducing waste and creating a more energy efficient environment.

Taking charge
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the ambient energy market is one of simple economics. With energy already so prevalent, it seems difficult to imagine a world where harvesting solar, Wi-Fi or kinetic energy actually makes much money.

One potential way of monetising this energy source is for existing players to get on board now. Battery firms need not fear ambient energy when it could be used to augment their existing offering. “Modules requiring continuous operability, such as wireless pacemakers, could utilise ambient energy harvesters for quick and continuous battery recharging or as a complementary emergency power source,” Tentzeris explained.

Traditional power companies could likewise embrace ambient energy as a new revenue stream. Smith has found Wi-Fi traffic sometimes requires a boost in order to power consumer electronics, so an online provider could simply deliver an enhanced wireless signal in exchange for an increased fee. Hardware firms also have a chance to grow their profits by including energy sensors or emitters. As such, market opportunities are present, but there could be a battle between well-established power firms and innovative start-ups to make the most of them.

“If you think about your own smartphone, there’s already an existing market case present,” Smith said. “You are probably always going to want a battery in your smartphone, but at the same time you may want the phone to still be usable in some way even if you have no battery. If you have a flat tyre or want to call for help, you don’t need all the power of a smartphone, you just need to be able to call or text somebody.”

If growing energy consumption offers cause for concern, then improvements to energy efficiency provide plenty of reasons for optimism. The latter is already ensuring ambient energy has more applications than ever before. With further research, this technological phenomenon promises a future free from the tethers of batteries and wires. The power is already out there; it simply needs to be put to good use.

Sustainable by design: the cutting edge of commercial real estate

Posted on by The New Economy

The gradual global economic upturn of recent years has aided a construction boom. In the US alone, new developments contributed over $647bn to the economy in the third quarter of 2017, after several bullish years.

This trend shows no sign of abating: in 2018, we will see a series of innovative and expensive commercial real estate projects set new records. For instance, the world’s tallest building will be erected in Dubai, and there are plans to construct a skyscraper town around it.

Among such developments, striking new builds demonstrate how design is adapting to changing commercial and environmental demands.

Raising the roof
For Daniel Safarik, Editor at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the enduring interest in skyscrapers goes beyond the simple economic advantage of using less land and results from the buildings’ intrinsic appeal. Safarik told The New Economy: “[A marketable, iconic skyline is about] monetising the emotional resonance of building towards the sky that has occupied the human imagination since the Tower of Babylon.”

Radical new projects are seeking to capitalise on this effect: New York’s emerging Steinway Tower is set to become the world’s thinnest skyscraper, while St Petersburg’s 462m-high Lakhta Centre will make a prominent stand for the enduring status of these ambitious builds and their allure for investors.

But increased infrastructure budgets seem to be paying dividends in innovation too, as bold designs replace traditional models. Portland, for example, will house the world’s first timber skyscraper when Lever Studio’s $29m construction, Framework, is completed this year.

The purpose skyscrapers fulfil has changed, from demonstrating the power of individual corporations to projecting the growth ambitions of nations

Then there’s the Vessel, a honeycomb-shaped tower of interlocking stairs in New York’s Hudson Bay, which features in the largest private real estate project in US history and is tipped to become the city’s Eiffel Tower.

Although Thomas Heatherwick’s Vessel is no skyscraper – standing at just 150ft, it’s relatively modest when compared with Steinway Tower’s 1,428ft drop – the creative design at the centre of this $20bn development reinforces the centrality of monumental design to new commercial projects.

Built for good
Sustainable architecture is becoming pertinent for commercial real estate, with targets for CO2 emissions increasingly applied through building regulations. Niall Healy, Managing Director of Healy Cornelius Design and a member of the Chartered Institute for Architectural Technologists, said: “There are many examples of technical development which address how to consume energy efficiently.

“For example, there have been significant developments in the use of ground source and air source heating, where the energy consumed to operate the heating plant is a small proportion of [the] energy output they deliver.”

Hot air generated by air conditioning can also be redirected to heat swimming pools, as new technology continues to cut the energy buildings consume.

Other developers have taken a more literal approach to ‘green’ architecture, as demonstrated by Stefano Boeri’s upcoming Green Towers in Nanjing, China. The towers are based on the same principle as the Italian architect’s Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) in Milan, which is cloaked in 2,500 hanging plants and incorporates 1,100 trees from 23 different local species. The construction of naturally-carbon-dioxide-cleansing towers follows China’s nationwide drive to reduce pollution.

Meanwhile, in snowy Copenhagen, Bjarke Ingels’ power plant will prove industrial builds can afford to be playful. Amager Bakke’s quirkiest feature is a ski slope that employees can access via the roof. But the plant still has profitable sustainability at its core: the aluminium-coated structure is expected to burn 400,000 tonnes of waste, creating enough clean energy to service 60,000 local homes per year. Architectural choices thus embody changing government policy here too, as Copenhagen has committed to become the first zero-carbon city by 2025.

In contrast with ambitious construction projects like the Hudson Yards development, the average Manhattan building is 56 years old – and many of the city’s structures are starting to show their age. In another sustainable trend, developers are seeking to renovate these stale commercial properties – which have low ceilings, thin glass, cellular structures and a generally out-dated corporate feel – rather than demolishing them and starting from scratch.

Boston Properties, for example, is investing close to $100m in order to revitalise the ageing 399 Park Avenue skyscraper, which will include a bicycle valet service for employees.

Thomas Heatherwick (C) unveils plans for his art installation, the Vessel, at the Hudson Yards development in New York

Renovation innovations
As well as putting a squeeze on pay rates, the 2008 financial crisis witnessed office space diminish, with organisations leasing fewer square feet per employee. The average space allotted per US worker has been reduced by nine percent in the past seven years, falling to 181sq ft. But today, generally improved employment rates mean firms are increasingly investing in building design to attract and retain talent.

An evolving workforce has also driven demand: Millennials became the most-represented generation in the US labour force in 2015, and a Deloitte survey has suggested this demographic prefers flexible working environments. Although office space has been reduced, the collaborative spaces preferred by Millennials have, in fact, offset some of the impact.

US start-up Convene specifically redesigns buildings with Millennial-pleasing features, such as conference rooms stocked with gourmet food and micro-brew coffee bars. CEO Ryan Simonetti told The New Economy: “[Convene] is pioneering the concept of ‘workplace as a service’.”

While the company primarily serviced Fortune 500 companies initially, the economic upturn has prompted a rise in demand from a variety of employers. Simonetti said: “Our future workplaces won’t just be desks that we go to, but places we are inspired to be in – and we can’t get there without massive changes in physical space and services provided at office buildings.”

While designers will consistently produce ambitious plans, the speed of their implementation depends on economic cycles

The employee-centric model features atria, pop-out spaces and sky gardens. “[This will] accommodate a greater desire for connectivity – between street life and the commercial life of the building, and between occupants,” Safarik said.

These renovations are less gimmicky than the office slides and indoor lawns of the 2000s, with developers favouring more pragmatic perks, such as on-site showers for those cycling or running to work.

Building futures
Many of the breathtaking builds set for completion this year took years to develop and were designed before the upturn in the wider economy. According to Healy: “Construction in general is one of the earliest sectors to be influenced by a shift in the economy.

“Even projects which are on the drawing board for a very long time will not necessarily be implemented until the economics point in the right direction.”

The long delay in the development of London’s Canary Wharf after Canada Tower’s erection was a consequence of developers waiting for such an economic upturn. While designers will consistently produce ambitious plans, the speed of their implementation depends on economic cycles.

Sustainable trends are not just consumer friendly, but profitable too. Developers choosing to renovate instead of demolish old builds waste less capital, while the demand for sustainable design is growing. Last year, there were 65,000 LEED-certified projects in the US, representing a market of $81bn.

A significant development in commercial real estate is that of shifting attitudes. Safarik notes the purpose skyscrapers fulfil has changed, from demonstrating the power of individual corporations to projecting the growth ambitions of nations. Current sustainable design trends, therefore, reflect an environmentally-focused national agenda.

Crucially, architects producing pioneering commercial structures and developers reimagining offices for a new generation of employees echo that change too. From architecture to interior design, a traditionally corporate focus is giving way to the comfort – and even inspiration – of the employee.

‘Nutella riots’ prompt French crackdown on bargain deals

Posted on by The New Economy

On January 31, the French Government proposed a bill seeking to restrict supermarket-pricing strategies, banning ‘buy one, get one free’ deals and discounts of over 34 percent on food products. The move follows what has been dubbed the ‘Nutella riots’, a series of chaotic scuffles that broke out in a supermarket chain when the price of Nutella was slashed by 70 percent. Viral videos depict frenzied scenes in the Nutella isle as shoppers brawl to get their hands on a low-priced jar.

The commotion was not restricted to Nutella, however, with heavy discounts on other items such as coffee and nappies inciting similar behaviour over the past week. In the wake of the incidents, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met with the chief executive of Intermarché, the supermarket chain responsible for many of the deals.

The bill seeking to ban discount deals has been crafted to put more pricing power in the hands of farmers and producers, who are often the victims of price battles

Referring to the meeting on RTL radio, Le Maire said: “I told him this can’t happen again, that we can’t see these kind of scenes in France every five minutes.” Le Maire went on to argue similar deals should be stopped and that the shoppers’ disorderly behaviour must not be “normalised”.

However, the idea of a government-issued rule to bar deals is not just designed to protect consumers from themselves: the bill has been crafted to put more pricing power in the hands of farmers and producers, who are often the victims of price battles between retailers. A further measure in the bill aims to bolster the minimum price supermarkets can sell food products for, with the hope of preventing price wars from breaking out in the first place.

French Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Travert commented: “It will be a breath of fresh air for retailers, who will be able to trim their margins on other products and pay producers better.”

South Korea will not ban cryptocurrencies, but plans to ramp up regulation continue

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On January 31, South Korea’s Finance Minister, Kim Dong-yeon, confirmed the government would not be banning cryptocurrency exchange platforms, but reiterated the country’s stance on enhancing trading regulations remained firm. The news came as the South Korean customs department revealed a broad investigation into cryptocurrency activity found evidence of $600m worth of illegal trading on exchange platforms.

The crimes uncovered by the customs department primarily concerned the illegal use of cryptocurrencies for foreign exchanges that should have been overseen by licensed brokers and banks. The trading violated South Korean law, which stipulates overseas exchanges of over $3,000 require extensive documentation to be supplied to tax authorities. The investigation found Korean investors purchased KRW 1.7bn ($1.6m) worth of cryptocurrencies that were illegally transferred to foreign companies via virtual wallets.

South Korea’s statement will likely mollify investors, who have been wary since the country’s justice minister indicated cryptocurrency exchanges could be banned

South Korea’s statement will likely mollify investors, who have been wary since the country’s justice minister indicated cryptocurrency exchanges could be banned as they have been in China. A petition opposing the ban collected over 200,000 signatures, prompting the government to soften its stance to one of increased regulation instead. As part of this drive, a new law forcing crypto-traders to use bank accounts with real identities on the country’s platform came into force on January 30.

Amid the mixed messages from South Korea, the value of cryptocurrency has plummeted. Bitcoin fell by 29 percent this month, in no small part due to concerns the South Korean market would close. South Korea controls nearly 12 percent of global crypto-trade, and is Asia’s fourth-largest economy. As such, crypto-enthused investors are willing to pay a premium of nearly 40 percent on coins due to the extraordinary demand in the country.

The appeal of cryptocurrencies has often been their perceived freedom from government regulation and the additional bank charges levied on the exchange of traditional currencies. However, government action in Asia could permanently undermine this.

With Facebook banning cryptocurrency advertisements after reviewing its financial products services and South Korea poised for further regulation, blockchain-based currencies may struggle to replicate the popularity and growth of years gone by.

Google finalises $1.1bn HTC acquisition

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Google has finalised a $1.1bn deal to acquire a significant portion of HTC’s hardware business, it was announced on January 30. The transaction was first agreed in September but has now formally closed.

As part of the deal, Google will acquire more than 2,000 engineers and gain non-exclusive rights to HTC’s intellectual property. The staff members being transferred are unlikely to experience too much of shock, given many of them were part of the HTC hardware team recently involved in several Google projects.

The HTC acquisition gives Google a huge new engineering base in Taiwan, which will become the company’s largest in the Asia-Pacific region

Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president for hardware, announced the company was delighted to welcome the team on board in a more permanent capacity.

“These new colleagues bring decades of experience achieving a series of ‘firsts’ particularly in the smartphone industry – including bringing to market the first 3G smartphone in 2005, the first touch-centric phone in 2007 and the first all-metal unibody phone in 2013,” Osterloh said. “This is also the same team we’ve been working closely with on the development of the Pixel and Pixel 2.”

The HTC acquisition also gives Google a huge new engineering base in Taipei, Taiwan, which will become the company’s largest in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s hoped the facility will become a hub for future hardware products and help to build on a number of other recent developments in the area. In December, the search engine firm announced plans to open an AI centre in Beijing, and last week confirmed a new cross-licensing deal with Chinese tech company Tencent.

Despite being one of the most recognisable companies in the world, Google remains a relatively small player in the smartphone hardware market. The devices the company has made so far – often in partnership with other manufacturers – have generally been well received, but haven’t exactly recorded earth-shattering sales figures. If the HTC acquisition can change that, then the likes of Apple and Samsung may begin to regard Google as a serious rival.

WTO rules against EU ‘anti-dumping’ duties on Indonesian biofuel

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On January 25, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) revealed it had ruled against EU duties on Indonesian biofuels following an appeal made by Jakarta in 2014. The rates currently imposed on the palm-oil-based product range between 8.8 and 20.5 percent. The WTO’s ruling is the latest challenge to the ‘anti-dumping’ duties sanctioned by the EU’s General Court in 2013. The EU withdrew its plan to appeal the WTO ruling earlier this week.

The measures enforced by the EU were introduced to combat competition concerns in the global trade of biofuels. Indonesia levies an export duty on the palm oil used to make fuel. With Indonesia producing almost 90 percent of the world’s palm oil, the EU argued the levy allowed Indonesian biofuel manufacturers to incur fewer costs than producers in other countries – ultimately allowing them to ‘dump’ products in the market at disruptively low prices.

While EU authorities argued the anti-dumping duties were introduced to establish a standard value for biofuels, Jakarta felt they represented an illegitimate, protectionist trade ruling

While EU authorities argued the duties were introduced to establish a standard value for biofuels, Jakarta felt they represented an illegitimate, protectionist trade ruling. The WTO panel agreed with the latter, ruling the EU should have referenced prices recorded by local producers, and the profit margin calculated in the EU’s standard price was incorrect.

The ruling has been celebrated in Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of palm oil. Revenues from the edible oil had plummeted as a result of the duty, falling drastically from $648m in 2013 to just $150m last year. Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Enggartiasto Lukita, has optimistically projected biofuel exports to the EU will reach $1.7bn by 2020.

However, it remains an uncertain time for the industry, with the deforestation resulting from the production of palm oil a growing point of contention. In January, the EU discussed plans to ban the use of palm oil in biofuel altogether, in a bid to achieve its sustainability goals. If the plans go ahead, palm oil will be removed from European motor fuel as soon as 2021.

Alphabet hopes to change the face of cybersecurity with the launch of Chronicle

Posted on by The New Economy

On January 24, Alphabet, the parent company of search giant Google, announced the launch of an independent cybersecurity wing that will sell its services to Fortune 500 companies. The new company, Chronicle, has been developed in Alphabet’s exploratory research arm, known simply as ‘X’. Stephen Gillett, who formally held a senior position at cyber firm Symantec and transferred to X from Google’s venture capital arm, will assume the role of CEO.

In addition to the newly developed technology, Chronicle will incorporate VirusTotal, a malware detection service acquired by Google in 2012. Chronicle has not released specific details of how its technology works or which companies have agreed to use it, but it has confirmed it aims to give a clearer view of businesses’ security status by harnessing the power of Google’s machine-learning technology.

Chronicle has confirmed it aims to give a clearer view of businesses’ security status by harnessing the power of Google’s machine-learning technology

The unit hopes this technology – a form of AI – will sort and analyse vast stores of data to identify cyber threats faster. Astro Teller, the head of X, has previously emphasised the benefits of cybercrime prevention, and this technology could allow companies to target hackers while they are still active.

Chronicle will also attempt to curtail the rising cost of computing power and storage space required for effective cybersecurity. In the blogged announcement, Astro Teller stressed the face of commercial cybersecurity is changing, with companies struggling to analyse the volume of security warnings they receive: “Many investigations are hampered by the gaps in available information, simply because the cost of storing all the relevant data is increasing far faster than a typical organisation’s budget.” Chronicle, he claims, will lower customers’ data storage costs to ease this issue.

The development of Chronicle is a mark of Alphabet’s efforts to expand beyond online advertising into the burgeoning corporate computing market. In January, Kroll’s annual Global Fraud & Risk Report found that 86 percent of companies reported they experienced at least one cyber incident in 2017, compared with 75 percent in 2015. Further, companies have been urged to adopt more sophisticated security measures in the wake of a vulnerability scandal concerning chips produced by Intel, AMD and ARM.

The cybersecurity market is crowded, with bigger players such as McAfee struggling to compete with the sophisticated technology of nimbler start-ups. However, Chronicle’s advanced technology – backed by Alphabet’s wealth of capital, data and existing customers – is likely to be a formidable force in the expanding cybersecurity industry moving forward.

Top 5 uses for blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrencies

Posted on by The New Economy

The meteoric rise of bitcoin has put blockchain technology in the media spotlight. But as well as underpinning headline-grabbing cryptocurrencies, blockchain is being used to solve a variety of issues across a number of industries.

The key advantage of blockchain is that data can be shared quickly between parties, while also being time-stamped and secured through cryptography. This makes it useful for industries that regularly deal with data-heavy and secure transactions, such as finance.

But new players are racing to close in on the market too, with a wide range of companies developing blockchain systems to improve security and time efficiency in their respective fields. In fact, blockchain start-ups amassed over $3.7bn in funding through token sales last year.

With many projects still in the early stages of development, we can expect to see the technology revolutionise a number of industries in the coming decades. Here, we outline five ways blockchain technology is set to be used beyond the world of cryptocurrencies:

Secure trade deals
On January 22, Louis Dreyfus announced it had completed the world’s first agricultural transaction using blockchain technology. The landmark deal, carried out with Shandong Bohi Industry, concerned a shipment of soybeans from the US to China.

With the help of the Easy Trading Connect blockchain platform, the paper documents that usually slow down agricultural transactions – such as sales contracts and letters of credit – were fully digitalised. As a result, form processing was completed five times faster than usual, with data being matched in real time. The transaction was also completed in half the usual time.

The key advantage of blockchain is that data can be shared quickly between parties, while also being time-stamped and secured through cryptography

International cybersecurity
Amsterdam-based group Guardtime is also putting the enhanced security of blockchain platforms to use on an ambitious scale. Established by cryptographers in 2007 to create a blockchain-based security system for the Estonian Government, the group is now working to create a blockchain-centric signature infrastructure that removes the need for cryptographic keys to authenticate data.

Ballot boxes
While problems with counting paper votes have historically slowed the democratic process, converting to an electronic system has often been dismissed for being too vulnerable to hacking.

Start-up Follow My Vote, however, is developing a blockchain-based online voting system that eliminates the possibility of data being manipulated and hacked. The technology would also rule out the human error found in counting votes, eliminating the need for lengthy re-counts.

Real estate
Technology and finance start-up Ubitquity has become the first company to offer a blockchain platform aimed at real estate traders. Its software-as-a-service platform is designed to be a parallel recording and tracking system for properties, and is aimed at mortgage, title and financial companies.

The service provider is currently piloting its system in Brazil, gathering property documents and information from a local land records bureau.

Pharmaceuticals
Announced in September, the MediLedger Project aims to use blockchain technology to prevent stolen or counterfeit drugs from entering supply chains. The project is backed by a number of pharma giants – including Gentech and Pfizer – and represents a huge industry endorsement for the blockchain model.

If the MediLedger Project is successful, a blockchain database will ensure drug deliveries are securely recorded and time-stamped at every stage of the process, from manufacture through to hospital use.

China becomes world’s second largest importer of LNG

Posted on by The New Economy

On January 23, data released by China’s General Administration of Customs revealed the country has become the world’s second largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). China imported 38.1 million tonnes of LNG in 2017, representing an increase of 12 million tonnes on the previous year. The data also showed a surge in the export of gasoline and diesel, with China producing a greater surplus of oil.

According to the customs report, Chinese diesel exports jumped by 11.6 percent last year to reach 351,335 barrels per day, while gasoline shipments also rose by 8.5 percent to 240,434 barrels per day.

The surge in Chinese gas imports has largely been driven by changes in domestic policy. President Xi Jinping’s initiatives to reduce the overwhelming smog caused by pollution in Chinese cities have proved effective, with an estimated 20 percent improvement in the quality of Beijing’s air last year. This has coincided with drastic national caps on coal consumption, which continue to underpin the increased use of natural gas as a heating alternative.

Chinese imports of LNG are expected to rise again next year, as its infrastructure of gas pipelines improves

Despite some analysts predicting China’s restricted coal use would see the country become the world’s largest importer of LNG in 2017, Japan maintained its top spot, importing 72.3 million tonnes of the gas by the end of November. However, Chinese imports of LNG are expected to rise again next year, as its infrastructure of gas pipelines improves.

Meanwhile, China’s overcapacity for oil production has been achieved after expansion of its refinery industry led to increased yields. An annual research report released by China National Petroleum estimated China’s net oil-product exports would rise by 31 percent in 2018, as production continues to dramatically outstrip demand.

These fluctuations in Chinese fuel oil production may take their toll on global market prices, which have been experiencing a four-year high following increased demand. The impact of hiked gas prices has been felt in China most severely, with prices having doubled in Asia since last June. For now, it seems cleaner air has come at a hefty price to Chinese consumers.