To keep air travel alive and well in the age of social distancing and environmental responsibility, carriers and aircraft manufacturers must rethink how they do business. That will require more investment and new paradigms. As governments announce ambitious vaccine rollouts, aviation experts predict the resulting boost in public confidence will fuel a recovery in the airline business. “A vaccine is on the horizon, and travelers are already feeling more optimistic about flying in 2021,” wrote Jessica Puckett, a journalist for Condé Nast Traveler, in December. Online flight searches and bookings on platforms such as Skyscanner and Kayak increased by more…
Author: Tamer Hafez
President Joe Biden has already signed off on far more executive orders than former presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, or George W. Bush did in comparable periods at the beginning of their terms. As of Feb. 25, Biden has already inked 63 executive orders, with implications spanning various vital industries and sectors. His ‘’Buy American’ plan is a continuation of the 1933 ‘Buy American Act.’ It requires “federally funded public projects use domestically produced iron, steel and manufactured goods unless doing so increases project costs by 25% or more,” noted a February report by Scott Beyer and Ethan Finlan in…
Last year, organizations were put to the test, upending operations to balance employee well-being, government regulation and making money. Those that successfully navigated COVID-19’s disruptions believed large-scale change was inevitable. “Companies that took steps to prepare for future disasters prior to 2020 were more likely to say they are weathering the pandemic better than their peers,” said the 2021 Deloitte Global Resilience Report. Last year, organizations were put to the test, upending operations to balance employee well-being, government regulation and making money. Those that successfully navigated COVID-19’s disruptions believed large-scale change was inevitable. “Companies that took steps to prepare for…
Managers need to change their mindsets in response to different team dynamics and priorities. Last year, employees were forced to carry out their work with offices shut down to curb the spread of COVID-19, while at the same time decision-makers were demanding no disruption to “business as usual.” “That was the challenge in the local business environment,” said Sherine Zeidan, HR business partners manager at Commercial International Bank, during a Feb. 10 AmCham webinar featuring a panel of human resources professionals and executives. Most employees have settled into working remotely and virtual meetings, for better or worse. However, as managers…
Managers need to change their mindsets in response to different team dynamics and priorities. Last year, employees were forced to carry out their work with offices shut down to curb the spread of COVID-19, while at the same time decision-makers were demanding no disruption to “business as usual.” “That was the challenge in the local business environment,” said Sherine Zeidan, HR business partners manager at Commercial International Bank, during a Feb. 10 AmCham webinar featuring a panel of human resources professionals and executives. Most employees have settled into working remotely and virtual meetings, for better or worse. However, as managers…
The idea of issuing Islamic bonds, better known as sukuk, in Egypt has been nearly nine years in the making. In April 2012, experts speaking to Business Monthly warned against rushing into such products, yet highlighted their necessity. “Leave these decisions to the future government,” Sherif Delawar, a finance professor at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, said at the time. “They need to have the option to determine what is best for Egypt.” Sukuk didn’t resurface until 2018, when the current administration announced it would start drafting a law. At press time, the draft law was not ready for…
Trying to maintain economic activity and jobs throughout the first year of the pandemic topped the agendas of countries around the world. To that end, states borrowed from international financing institutions enacted stimulus packages and led infrastructure investments. Egypt’s government received facilitations from the IMF worth a total of $8 billion in May and June, and is still offering financial support to tourism companies and other eligible sectors. At the same time, work continues on building new cities and the country’s first high-speed rail, along with plans to manufacture Egypt’s first electric vehicle within 12 months. Egypt might be the…
Trying to maintain economic activity and jobs throughout the first year of the pandemic topped the agendas of countries around the world. To that end, states borrowed from international financing institutions, enacted stimulus packages and led infrastructure investments. Egypt’s government received facilitations from the IMF worth a total of $8 billion in May and June, and is still offering financial support to tourism companies and other eligible sectors. At the same time, work continues on building new cities and the country’s first high-speed rail, along with plans to manufacture Egypt’s first electric vehicle within 12 months. Egypt might be the…
One barometer for how well the Egyptian economy is performing is which cars are being assembled locally. Despite declining sales since 2015, the auto industry more than held its own during the year of COVID-19 and the government has accelerated its efforts to boost both production and investor interest. In 2008, when GDP growth was 7.2 percent, the top two German carmakers were racing to locally produce top-of-the-line models and putting their most potent and costly engines in smaller vehicles. During the next five years, sales of passenger cars went from 160,000 to 273,500. But after the foreign currency shortage…
In the mid-1940s, Europe was left in rubble after two world wars in 31 years. The only way to rebuild was the Marshall Plan, a $15 billion program sponsored by the United States. The four-year plan helped rebuild cities, industries and infrastructure. Today, Europe is a superpower economy that benefits from a single currency and open borders among its 27 member states. Almost 70 years later, the world could use another “Marshall Plan” to build sustainable, environmentally friendly cities, industries and infrastructure from the ground up. “We set up a world order after WWII,” Jenefer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace…