Greek OBOR role could spark wider Chinese investment

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Investment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Cultural Exchanges ◽  
Global Logistics ◽  
Ship Repair

Subject Growing economic cooperation between China and Greece. Significance Chinese capital could help generate the domestic investment and employment necessary for Greece’s long-awaited economic growth revival. Stable investment focused on such sectors as infrastructure, energy and telecommunications, applied consistently along the new ‘Silk Road’, could isolate Chinese investment in Greece from short-term political disturbance. Moreover, re-establishing a good track record for investment projects could bring Greece back onto the radar of European investors, who have lately shown only limited interest. Impacts Chinese investment in Greece will allow further expansion into the Balkans capitalising on location and Greek regional business experience. Chinese involvement may improve Greece’s position in global logistics routes and global supply chains, such as ship repair in Piraeus. Stronger cultural ties are being established, including twin-city cooperation and cultural exchanges.

Chinese investment in India will fall sharply

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Direct Investment ◽  
Fast Track ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Exchange Management ◽  
Roll Out ◽  
Share Value

Subject India's new policy on FDI and its impact on Chinese investment. Significance India last month introduced stricter rules for investment from bordering countries, saying it wanted to prevent “opportunistic” takeovers and acquisitions at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing down the share value of major Indian companies. The move, notified under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, was almost certainly made with China in mind. China is one of India’s fastest-growing sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). Impacts Chinese manufacturers will favour investment in certain South-east Asian countries rather than India in the short term. India may fast-track Chinese investment in infrastructure while putting those in fintech under greater scrutiny. Once the pandemic crisis dissipates, India will roll out ambitious plans to attract foreign factories relocating from China.

Pyongyang finds few alternatives as China ties fray

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Relations ◽  
North Korea ◽  
Political Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Kim Jong Il ◽  
Investment Opportunities ◽  
Potential Alternative ◽  
Korean State

Subject The outlook for China-North Korea foreign relations. Significance A ceremony in Pyongyang on December 17 marked the third anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il. Unlike on previous occasions, no Chinese delegation was invited. Official exchanges between North Korea and its sole ally have slowed to a trickle. Beijing has frozen investment in North Korean infrastructure. Chinese and North Korean state media exchange critical remarks. Frustrated with Pyongyang's snubs and its perseverance with its nuclear weapons programme, Beijing is putting more pressure on North Korea than ever before -- while Pyongyang attempts to reduce China's ability to do this and retaliates in kind. Impacts North Korea's dire track record vis-a-vis foreign investors will hamstring its attempts to drum up investor interest more widely. Despite China's presumed influence, Chinese investors are far from immune to political risk. Political risk has increased for Chinese investors in North Korea, but has not fallen for non-Chinese investors. Russia will be offered investment opportunities in North Korea, but will accept only projects viable on purely commercial grounds. Though disappointment has repeatedly followed promising signs, South Korea offers the highest-potential alternative to Chinese investment.

Chinese BRI in Balkans will rouse West’s concerns

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Economic Diplomacy ◽  
Low Profile ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
High Level

Subject Chinese projects in Balkans. Significance China’s growing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) footprint in South-Eastern Europe has put the EU and the United States on alert. Coupled with traditional Russian and Turkish influence in the region, Beijing’s economic diplomacy fuels fears of escalating geopolitical competition. Impacts Chinese investment projects will face greater EU scrutiny. Infrastructure development remains central to China’s presence but also raises concerns about high-level corruption and the rule of law. Unlike Russia, China will keep a low profile on political issues such as Kosovo.

Younger Canadians will seek new housing markets

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Housing Market ◽  
Consumer Price Index ◽  
Housing Markets ◽  
Real Estate Investment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Mortgage Interest ◽  
Home Values ◽  
Interest Payments

Subject Canada's housing market. Significance Data released on December 19 showed that consumer price index (CPI) inflation slowed to 1.7% year-on-year in November, the slowest since January 2018. However, mortgage interest payments were one source of upward pressure. Impacts Foreign real estate investment will move from Vancouver and Toronto to Montreal and Ottawa, raising home values. Home prices in suburban Toronto and Vancouver will rise as urbanites seek cheaper alternatives to downtown housing. Canada-China tensions could reduce Chinese investment in Canada’s housing market in the short term.

scholarly journals Researching the researcher: the heart and mind in sub-prime times

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
elke emerald ◽  
Lorelei Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Personal Investment ◽  
External Accountability ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Heart And Mind ◽  
Professional Contexts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gather research-stories, that is, the stories of the researcher themselves. The authors gather stories that situate researchers in their social, political, personal and professional contexts to learn about being a researcher in a University at this particular historical moment. Design/methodology/approach – The authors’ stories began with the naive question – “What is it like to be a researcher in a University right now?”. The authors asked this question of Julie White’s (2012) “disposable academics” (p. 50); short-term and casualised staff with insecure teaching or research contracts. They asked White’s (2012, p. 48) “academic infantry” the mid-career researchers who have felt the labour intensification of recent times. They also asked senior academics, established professors with established research histories and the security (they hope) of a steady track record and a list of external grants. Findings – The answers were not simple. They were stories of the pragmatics of managing the new academic scene; maintaining a research passion despite the pressures of new managerialism’s focus on certain forms of efficiency, external accountability and monitoring; resolving the apparent losses of autonomy, academic freedom, support, security and academic dignity. The authors heard emotional and vulnerable stories, stories of personal investment and emotionally and physically risky and dangerous encounters. The authors learnt something of the complex business of negotiating personal and professional subjectivities. Originality/value – The authors heard emotional and vulnerable stories, stories of personal investment and emotionally and physically risky and dangerous encounters. They learnt something of the complex business of negotiating personal and professional subjectivities.

Patience may pay dividends for Tanzania's gas sector

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Mining Companies ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Slow Progress ◽  
Better Than

Significance The warning is only the latest in a series of moves by President John Magufuli’s government to tighten its control over the mining sector, where it alleges fraud and underreporting of production and profits is rife. However, dramatic headlines about Tanzania’s rows with mining companies mask a more complex reality in which some foreign investment projects are working markedly better than others. Despite slow progress, the most important may include plans to develop Tanzania’s estimated 57 trillion cubic feet of offshore gas -- and build a 30-billion-dollar domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plant. Impacts October's separation of the energy and mining ministries will enhance specialisation and firewall the energy sector from mining conflicts. Relations with mining companies will probably remain fractious, despite the recent financial settlement with Acacia Mining. Energy projects will likely make only slow progress in the short term as new Energy Minister Medard Kalemani transitions into his new role. Neighbouring Mozambique’s more advanced LNG development may provide a useful template for Tanzania to follow.

Reality bites in Argentina's search for foreign funds

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Projects

Significance Argentina has followed Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela into the AIIB as President Mauricio Macri seeks increased foreign investment. With the arguable exception of China, many of Macri’s overseas interlocutors have proved more interested in trading opportunities than investment projects, while the resolution of pending debt disputes has also failed to redress investment shortfalls. Impacts Failure to show benefits from much-vaunted foreign policy ‘openness’ will undermine Macri’s mid-term election hopes. Rising debt is a medium-term concern, and in the short term is financing the deficit rather than investment. Greater dependence on China may raise eyebrows even among Macri’s constituency.

Longitudinal evaluation of efficiency in a petrochemical company

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1786-1813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Von Gilsa ◽  
Daniel Pacheco Lacerda ◽  
Luis Felipe Riehs Camargo ◽  
Iberê Guarani Souza ◽  
Ricardo Augusto Cassel
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Malmquist Index ◽  
Internal Reference ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Actual Change ◽  
Petrochemical Company ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally assess the technical efficiency and productivity, considering investment projects and technological change, in a second-generation petrochemical company. Design/methodology/approach The study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) together with the Malmquist index to measure efficiency during the analysis periods. The working method consists of four main phases, namely development of the conceptual model, construction of the mathematical model, application of model to the case, and analysis of the results. The study utilizes a quantitative approach with descriptive goals seeking to evaluate the impacts of technical changes on the operational efficiency and productivity of the production process. Findings The use of DEA associated with the Malmquist index proved to be viable for analyzing a single company and identifying efficiency improvements, as well as the impacts of the learning process and the implementation of improvement projects. However, the results of the improvement projects and learning process were not representative and had no statistical significance on the actual change in efficiency of the company during the periods analyzed. For the case in question, the learning process and continuous improvement were not observed during all study periods. Practical implications The proposition that the improvement projects and investments implemented increased the efficiency of the company was rejected. Hence, with this work, it was possible to determine that the company unnecessarily invested resources in projects to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the company could have explored more internal resources before making significant investments in increased efficiency. Originality/value As for the value of this research in the theoretical and academic scope, this paper advances knowledge on the application of DEA because it proposes to establish an internal reference benchmarking for comparison. The literature contains few studies that analyze organizations using continuous processes, such as petrochemical processes, in longitudinal studies as a function of time, especially with the use of DEA.

Investigating emergency room service quality using lean manufacturing

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 510-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelhakim Abdelhadi
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Relative Efficiency ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Healthcare Facility ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Takt Time ◽  
Evaluation Measure ◽  
Benchmark Evaluation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a lean manufacturing metric called Takt time as a benchmark evaluation measure to evaluate a public hospital’s service quality. Lean manufacturing is an established managerial philosophy with a proven track record in industry. A lean metric called Takt time is applied as a measure to compare the relative efficiency between two emergency departments (EDs) belonging to the same public hospital. Outcomes guide managers to improve patient services and increase hospital performances. Design/methodology/approach – The patient treatment lead time within the hospital’s two EDs (one department serves male and the other female patients) are the study’s focus. A lean metric called Takt time is used to find the service’s relative efficiency. Findings – Findings show that the lean manufacturing metric called Takt time can be used as an effective way to measure service efficiency by analyzing relative efficiency and identifies bottlenecks in different departments providing the same services. Originality/value – The paper presents a new procedure to compare relative efficiency between two EDs. It can be applied to any healthcare facility.

Short-term effects of milkshake containing polydextrose and maltodextrin on subjective feelings of appetite, energy intake and blood glucose in healthy females

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
İsmail Mücahit Alptekin ◽  
Ece Erdoğan ◽  
Aylin İşler ◽  
Esma Cansu Yanalak ◽  
Funda Pınar Çakiroğlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
Energy Intake ◽  
Postprandial Blood Glucose ◽  
Dietary Fibers ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Desire To Eat ◽  
Healthy Females

Purpose Previous studies have reported that dietary fibers such as polydextrose and maltodextrin can reduce food intake; however, the studies on the differences of this effect are insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effects of dietary fibers maltodextrin and polydextrose on alterations of short-term satiety, energy intake and postprandial blood glucose in healthy females. Design/methodology/approach This study was designed as a randomized, crossover and double blind research. For this purpose, 21 healthy females consumed a milkshake containing 0 g (control), 15 g polydextrose (PDX) and 15 g maltodextrin (MDX), and an ad libitum lunch meal was served 150 min later. Subjective appetite scores (hunger, satiety, prospective food consumption and desire to eat) were measured using a visual analog scale. Appetite scores and blood glucose were measured before preload and once per 15 min after milkshake consumption. Findings Visual analog scale scores showed that PDX had an improved effect on satiety and hunger feelings. Compared to the control, dietary fiber increased the Area Under Curve (AUC) scores of satiety (p < 0.001) and decreased the AUC scores of hunger (p < 0.001), prospective food consumption (p < 0.001) and desire to eat (p < 0.001). Energy intake during ad libitum meal was significantly lower in PDX (Control: 862 (54.3) Kcal versus PDX: 679 (35.4) Kcal and MDX: 780 (49.3) Kcal. Moreover, the blood glucose levels were significantly lower in MDX. Originality/value This study conducted with healthy females demonstrated that PDX was more effective in inducing satiety during subsequent food intake, and that postprandial blood glucose were within more healthy levels in MDX.

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