CMYK

04 the himalayan timessunDay , october 11, 2015perspectives

global

Santosh ShahKathmandu

Within the fast spin-ning global business dimension, intercul-tural behaviours and interna-

tional communication have become extreme-ly complex topics,” re-flects Daniel Tschudy, a renowned author, speaker and lecturer from Switzerland, dur-ing a short visit to Ne-pal. “And we see, around the globe, a res-urrection of national, regional and local sen-sitivities; be it in Cata-lonia, Crimea, or be-tween Japan and Chi-na; only to mention a few.”

Cross-culturist Ts-chudy visited Kath-mandu to speak at the ‘Asia-World Futuristic Talk Series’ launched by Today’s Youth Asia. The events coincided with the introduction of the new Nepal Constitution and gave ample grounds for reflection, about how international cross-cultural competence can or could be applied in Ne-pal too. Cross-cultural compe-tence can play a vital role not only across nations and ‘busi-ness-borders’ but also within a country. He talked about his home-country and how, over the past 167 years, the coun-try learned to reunite its peo-ple with many different needs and behaviour from the various cultural back-grounds.

Today, one out of four is a foreigner in Switzerland, which is one of the highest shares in the Western world. Immigration has been a regu-lar element in the tiny Alpine country. The immigration processes were not always easy but the nation managed through intensive and long-

winded discussions; and somehow managed well.

Freedom of speech and be-lief, and the ability to com-municate while being on con-flicting positions, are some of the key tools for the country

now trying to face the latest migration and refugees’ crisis in the very same fash-ion. “Basic respect is key too,” Tschudy adds.

A globAl citizen

Based in his hometown Zu-rich, he has been involved in the international tourism and hospitality industries for more than four decades. During his career, he lived and worked in various cities in the world where he served both as an entrepreneur and a Swiss governmental em-ployee. “Those years have allowed me to collate exper-tise about people and nations, about organisations and enterprises, and about how they all conduct their business cross-borders and cross-cultures.”

In his presentations in Kathmandu, the cross-cultur-ist explained that ‘global

understanding’ has dramati-cally changed. During the last century, it was about the dif-ferences between developed and emerging countries; with language, race and religion as dominating comparisons. To-

day, says Tschudy, it is a wild matrix of values, interests and objectives among the 200 nations and even more major ethnicities. EQ (Emotional In-telligence) is not enough any-more; it now needs CQ (Cul-tural Intelligence) too. CQ has become a key tool to under-stand foreign clients, stake-holders, suppliers, competi-tors, employees, and media bodies. Today, it is about each culture’s values of status, time, space, communication, and leadership.

Diversity is An Asset

Here comes a basic element

of how Tschudy sees cross-culture competence: under-standing and respecting a for-eign person or business part-ner is truly possible only if one understands and respects its own culture. To know where you come from, to ap-preciate your identity and to respect your own culture and nation it is vital to do the same with others. “You are who you are and that’s fine.” is a repeated statement of the

60-year old global citi-zen. Or, in full view and respect to his home-country’ val-ues, “I am who I am and that is okay.” For countries like Swit-zerland, its multi-cul-tural background and diversity has become a true USP (unique selling proposition) and it is being used to move the nation for-ward. He reflects that this might just be the chance for Nepal’s fu-ture: using its many peoples, its histories, its experiences, its talents, its languages, and its many differ-ent cultural and reli-gious values to form

one great nation. Of course, the processes are never sim-ple. It needs respect, first of all, and then time, patience, and the ability to communi-cate. And, like in Switzer-land, people have to find and focus on their common inter-ests, rather than linger on their differences.

Before returning to his home-country, Tschudy re-peated his main thought: “Cross Culture competence is not only ‘nice to have’ but crucial when doing business, or politics, in a friendly, sustainable and successful way. Be it around the globe, or within a nation.”

BANGLADESH

according to the Daily star, losses of shrimp growers and processors are piling

up in the face of sluggish global demand for

black tiger bagda of bangladesh amid ample supply of the vannamei variety and weak cur-rencies of major export destinations against the dollar. “We are going through a rough time,” said atiar rahman, a shrimp farmer from rampal in the southwestern district of bagerhat. rahman is one of the 8.33 lakh farmers who culture shrimp on 2.75 lakh hec-tares of land in the coastal regions and help the country earn more than half a billion dol-lars in export receipts every year. “almost all of us are making losses for weak prices and mortality,” said rahman, who managed to recover only one-fifth of his investment last year.

according to the Daily star, the govern-ment plans to set up an agro-processing

economic zone in natore to ensure fair prices for farmers and encourage cultivation of food items that are free from pesticides and chemi-cals, officials said. the asian Development bank has expressed interest to help bangla-desh economic Zones authority (beZa) estab-lish the zone in the northern district. the aDb may also lend to industries that will set up factories in the zone, an official of beZa said. in recent years, northern bang-ladesh has be-come a major hub for producing vegetables, spices and cereals. but farmers often do not get fair prices because they are unable to sell their produce directly to retail customers or chain superstores that offer better prices than the wholesalers.

CHINA

china must make green investments of be-tween two trillion and four trillion yuan

per year over the next five years, but the gov-ernment can only cover 15 per cent of that, china’s central bank deputy governor, yi Gang, said on thursday. “most of the finance has to come from the private sector, so we have to provide a positive incentive mecha-nism,” yi said on the sidelines of international monetary Fund meetings in lima. earlier this week, china confirmed it would launch a na-tionwide ‘cap-and-trade’ program in 2017 to force big greenhouse gas emitters to buy credits to meet pollution reduction targets. carbon market schemes aim in part to en-courage low-carbon investments. china will also make ‘green finance’ a top priority of the Group of 20 when it takes up the G20 chair next year, yi said.

central banks have little room for error in a low-growth world in which over-leveraged

and commodity-dependent emerging econo-mies and a slowing china are major risks, top international financiers told the international

monetary Fund’s meeting. Despite UsD seven trillion in quantitative easing from banks in in-dustrial nations since the global financial cri-sis, the world is stuck in a ‘new mediocre’ growth pattern, imF chief christine lagarde said on thursday. in a bid to shore up finances and punish companies that arbitrage tax re-gimes, governments pushed ahead with plans to improve tax collection. the imF meeting comes as the bank of Japan looks poised to extend its money printing program, known as quantitative easing, as it stares down the bar-rel of a fifth year of recession.

EUROPE

Gaming technology company Playtech Plc said it intended to challenge a central

bank of ireland (cbi) decision opposing its UsD105-million acquisition of ava trade. Play-tech, founded by israeli billionaire teddy sagi,

said cbi had reverted to company’s irish legal advisers and clarified its position. the compa-ny had said on monday that it would try to discuss certain issues raised by the bank, which it believed could be addressed to cbi’s satisfaction. Playtech, however, did not say what the issues were. Playtech, which counts betfair Group Plc, William hill Plc and Paddy Power Plc as its licensees, agreed to buy online derivatives broker ava trade in July to strengthen its position in the forex trading market.

Deutsche bank’s new boss John cryan set about cleaning up Germany’s biggest bank

on thursday, revealing a record pre-tax loss of six billion euros in the third quarter and warn-ing investors of a possible dividend cut. Write downs, impairments and litigation costs all contributed to the loss, the bank said. cryan became chief executive in July with a promise to cut costs. the briton is accelerating plans to shed assets and exit countries to shrink the bank and is preparing to ax about 23,000 jobs, or a quarter of the bank’s staff, sources told reuters last month. “the news is not good, and i expect a number of you will be very dis-appointed by it,” cryan, who has a reputation for swift action and straight talk, said in an open letter to staff.

INDIA

two years ago india was a ‘fragile five’ emerging economy growing at five per-

cent, grappling with a severe current account deficit, near double-digit inflation, and the ru-pee at record lows as the Us Federal reserve prepared to taper its stimulus programme. to-day, two years into the term of reserve bank of india (rbi) Governor raghuram rajan, the rupee has shrugged off its taper tantrum, infla-tion is tamed, and india has lifted foreign in-vestment limits to confidently face the Fed’s first rate rise since 2006. officials familiar with the bank’s thinking say investors are expected to take profits out of emerging markets when the Fed raises interest rates, but they also ex-pect investors to return swiftly to india which Governor rajan has called ‘an island of rela-tive calm’ among emerging markets.

the promoters of DlF ltd, india’s biggest listed property developer, will sell their 40

per cent stake in the company’s rental busi-ness to institutional investors, DlF said late on

thursday. the parent company will continue to hold its 60 per cent stake in DlF cyber city Developers ltd, the rental business, DlF said in a filing. market regulator securities and ex-change board of india had imposed a ban on DlF last year for allegedly misleading inves-tors by withholding information about some of its units and the criminal cases pending against them in its iPo prospectus. the debt-laden developer later won its appeal against the three-year ban from accessing capital markets imposed by the regulator, a decision that overturned the country’s harshest ever regulatory punishment.

JAPAN

a new Japanese cabinet minister tasked with finding ways to boost the birthrate

and keep a shrinking population from falling below 100 million said on thursday he hoped

to win over more Japanese to his view that childrearing is rewarding. solutions to Japan’s population slide have eluded policy makers for decades. Forecasts based on current trends expect the population to fall below 100 million in 2048, and to about 87 million by 2060, when 40 per cent of people will be 65 or older. Katsunobu Kato was promoted to a new post in a cabinet reshuffle this week as Prime minister shinzo abe moved to showcase his newly-minted slogan, “society in Which all 100 million People can be active.”

Japanese government bond prices were little changed across the curve on Friday, with

regular debt purchases by the bank of Japan helping offset negative pressure from a surge in tokyo stocks and an overnight drop in Us treasuries. expectations that the bank of Ja-pan could ease policy again, possibly as early as its october 30 board meeting, also under-pinned JGbs. the benchmark 10-year JGb yield stood unchanged at 0.325 per cent, while the 30-year yield dipped half a basis point to 1.345 per cent. the boJ bought 380 billion yen of 10 to 40-year bonds on Friday as a part of its bond-purchasing scheme. the nikkei rose 1.4 per cent as Wall street gained after the Feder-al reserve’s september meeting minutes sug-gested Us interest rates will remain near zero for the time being.

PAKISTAN

according to the express tribune, diverting attention to a sector that has been ne-

glected for long, the Punjab government has announced setting up a fish-export process-ing zone in the southern part of the province. the decision is aimed at helping the dwindling industry and encourage local investment in the sector, bringing the standard and scale of exports to a global level. Punjab fisheries de-partment Director General muhammad ayub said Pakistan’s strategic location, coupled with a coastline of 1050km and inland water resources, offers great opportunity for invest-ments and starting lucrative high value fish and shrimp aquaculture. “such aquaculture zones can be an asset in terms of exports and can also take advantage of the GsP Plus sta-tus,” he added.

according to the express tribune, senate panel on thursday approved the state

bank of Pakistan (sbP) amendment bill 2015, giving more autonomy to the central bank (cb) in monetary policy decision-making, be-sides extending a four-year lease to the feder-

al government in retiring its borrowings from the sbP. the government, for the time being, also remained successful in keeping its hold over the sbP, as it did not remove the federal secretary finance from the sbP board despite it being demanded by the international monetary Fund (imF). the senate standing committee on Finance approved the bill with certain amendments and the govern-ment will now have to seek a fresh vote from the national assembly standing committee on Finance.

WORLDcoca-cola singapore beverages to shut tuas plant — business times

coca-cola singapore beverages will wind down manufacturing operations

at its bottling plant in tuas ahead of a planned full closure in February next year,

but the firm will invest more than UsD 100 million in singapore over the next five years, the business times reported. “to better position itself for future growth, co-ca-cola is adjusting its strategy in singa-pore to focus on high-value added services such as new technologies, innovation and research,” said stephen lusk, chief execu-tive of coca-cola singapore beverages & coca-cola bottlers malaysia. about 200 employees will be affected by the closure of the bottling plant in singapore. coca-cola will move its bottling plant operations to malaysia.

Asia stocks shine as Fed minutes hint at patience on hike

asian shares rose on Friday, taking their cue from a jump in oil prices and Wall

street gains after minutes of the Federal reserve’s latest meeting damped down expectations of an imminent Fed rate hike. the Fed minutes revealed the extent to which policymakers are concerned that a global economic slowdown might threaten the Us economic outlook. though they said overseas turmoil had not ‘mate-rially altered’ economic prospects, they opted to hold interest rates steady last month. riskier asset markets, which had risen when the Fed held off raising rates in september, got a further boost on confirmation policy makers won’t rush to tighten policy at a time of slackening glob-al growth.

USrepublicans in chaos as favorite quits House leadership race

republicans in Washington struggled to fill a leadership void on thursday as the

front-runner to take control of the house of representatives, Kevin mccarthy, quit the race in a surprise announcement that heightened concerns about the party’s ability to govern effectively. representa-tive mccarthy, the no 2 house republican, had been expected to win thursday’s con-test for the nomination to succeed retiring speaker John boehner despite opposition from more conservative lawmakers de-manding a harder line against Democratic President barack obama’s agenda. but mccarthy stunned colleagues by bowing out before the vote, saying he was still short of the support needed to be an effec-tive speaker.

clinton courts left with promise to break up risky banks

Us Democratic presidential hopeful hillary clinton on thursday called for

the breakup of large banks that take ex-cessive risks as part of a sweeping plan to curb what she says are Wall street abuses. Under the proposal, large financial firms would need to demonstrate to regulators that they can be managed effectively, with appropriate accountability, across all of their activities. if they fail to do so, regula-

tors would have the power to make them reorganize, shrink, or break apart. such a law would strengthen the government’s ability to break up banks it deems a threat to the financial system. “it’s not pure size, its bad management, excessive risk and things like that, lack of controls,” said alan blinder, a Princeton economist who helped formulate the plans.

worldthisweek - key news Crossing the cultural divide

The author is the anchor and producer for the television show ‘Power Talks’ and the President of Today’s Youth Asia, Kathmandu-based international think-tank. You can reach him at TodaysYouthAsia@gmail.com

shrimp industry’s woes see no end

Democratic presidential candidate clinton

iMF Managing Director christine lagardeDlF promoters to sell stake in rental business

Japan seeks to stem shrinking population

senate panel gives more autonomy to cb

globaloutlook

Playtech challenge irish central bank decision

coca-cola adjusts its strategy in singapore

Cross-Cultural CompetenCe Can play a vital role not only aCross nations and ‘business-borders’ but also within a Country