Business & Economy - Issue 38

38 - September 17, 2001 thru 23 September, 2001, Vol XI

Yemen to Inaugurate the First Bank of the Poor

Preparations are underway to launch the first bank of its kind in Yemen, to be called Bank of the Poor in mid-October. The establishment of the bank is just another contribution to the social security net with the view of alleviating the growing poverty arising from the economic reform program Yemen has been implementing since 1995.
Banking sources noted that Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Sua'ad, who has been chosen as the honorary president of the bank, is due to take part in the inauguration ceremony. Banks of the Poor have achieved success in more than 65 countries worldwide, which are supported by the Arab Gulf Fund chaired by Prince Talal. The establishment of the bank aims at offering the poor groups within the society small loans, enabling the poor to raise their standard of living. This will create new job opportunities as well as contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation.
Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Chairman of the Arab Gulf Fund, in October, 2000, signed a memorandum of understanding with the former Yemeni minister of Insurance and Social Affairs Mohammed Abdulah al-s, for the establishment of a Bank of the Poor in Yemen with the capital of USD 5.5 million. The Arab Gulf Program will offer technical assistance and consultation as well as USD 1 million to the capital of the bank. The memorandum of understanding stipulated that the government of Yemen shall ensure the continuity and independence of the bank as well as offer the necessary facilities. Furthermore, they will contribute USD 2.5 million, while the private sector will provide USD 1 million.
A committee from the three parties has been set up for preparing the working plan of the bank as an independent entity taking into account the peculiarities of Yemen. This kind of bank has social objectives and aims at encouraging the poor to save money and allowing them to be shareholders at the bank. The Arab Gulf Fund for supporting UN agencies contributed to supporting and financing 693 projects in 126 developing countries, including 79 projects in Yemen. These projects have been implemented in cooperation with different UN agencies, the Yemeni government, community organizations and the private sector. It is worth mentioning that Yemen is one of the Arab states that welcomed the call of Prince Talal to establish Banks of the Poor, in addition to Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.

Commercial Exhibitions Not Very Good

Muhammed Shouaee Hassan
The Commercial Exhibitions are forming useful markets that combine diversity of goods, foodstuffs and other consumption materials. These exhibitions meet the demands and tastes of the people throughout offering goods of high quality and international specifications.
Manager of the Syrian exhibition believes that the Yemeni people are welcoming the productions offered by the Syrian corporations.
During the summer exhibition held at EXPO center Saeed Taha, a manager of one of the wings, said the exhibition is offering foodstuffs and other consumables presented by Yemeni and Foreign commercial agencies and corporations. These goods, he added, are distinguished with high quality and low price. On some occasions, reductions reach up to 30%.
Muhammed Najeeb, one of the consumers visiting the exhibition, said that there is no doubt the exhibitions form good markets for the people, which give them a chance to make their choice and find their tastes between the accumulated goods. It also gives them a chance to get to know the new productions of the local and foreign corporations. However, in this exhibition he could not find the materials he used to purchase which meet his tastes. The reason, he added, is that the materials offered in the exhibition not used in preparing Yemeni food.
Regarding the nonessential materials, Muhammed Najeeb said the price of the furniture, electronics and other luxurious goods is expensive, which people with limited incomes cannot afford.
Another visitor said that he found many materials in the exhibition, but he did not purchase any because they did not meet his taste.
Saeed Taha, one of the organizers of the exhibitions at the expo center, said that the products offered are among the best manufactured by international corporations according to the highest standards.
Regarding the high price of the materials, Saeed Taha believes that producing the materials, transporting them to the exhibition, and distributing them cost the organizers a lot. Also, those who are dreaming of profits made the price of the materials a little bit high.

Low incomes:
Another visitor, an employee at the ministry of education, said that there was a sort of reduction in the price of the materials offered during the exhibition, but not encouraging in comparison to the prices before reduction. He added that the low incomes of the people who form the majority of the visitors did not allow them to purchase more than a few materials.
Thus, the commercial exhibitions would keep fluctuating between the organizers and the consumers who made contradictory views regarding the price and the new materials of high quality. Throughout their exhibition, the organizers should take into consideration the demands and tastes of the consumers who they are targeting.
Also, the exhibitions should focus on people with limited incomes, who form majority of the visitors, interested in getting lower prices for their daily consumer goods.

Smuggled Products... Where to?

Nowadays the international markets have become an open market to exchange products and goods among their markets. Within the framework of the market economy. It is necessary to supervise the market products closely. As a result of the global changes in technology and information, the advanced counties with its huge economy controlled the international markets and seeking to flow its products to the third world countries markets. This in turn greatly affects our local products. Smuggling and the random access of products to our markets legally or legally has become a habit in our markets. Our markets are abounded with the imported foreign products and goods. It is true that we couldn't change the international and trade agreements with governments, but we have the right to protect our children from these smuggled and expired products. Nowadays we are in dire need to issue laws which ensure and organize our markets as the other international markets do. We have to renew and reorganize the national mechanisms of the products in order to compete with other markets.

Consumer, Local product and International economy
We are in dire need to discuss the issues undergone by different social and economic sectors. The question which poses itself what is the role of played by the concerned bodies. As a matter of fact, what we see is that the non-governmental organization does better than the official bodies.
There is a confusion between the foreign trade and smuggling. Specialists in the economy says that one of the aspects of globalism is the trade exchange among the countries of the world. The countries can be divided into two countries:
• Weak countries, these countries are characterized by the trade surplus capacity and huge productions of its markets.
• Strong countries, these countries are the countries which has low production and couldn't compete with other countries. They are called consuming countries.
It is true that around ( 100 - 200) tones of insecticides are smuggled and entered to our country illegally. Majority of these insecticides are used randomly and unscrupulously by the farmers.
The Secretary General of the Yemeni Manufacturer Association says that a number of companies depends on flooding the products into the markets. These in turn will affect on the local products. He added that the smuggled products could affect the trade balance of the imported and exported countries and Yemen is among of these countries.

Economic News

Yemen and Saudi Arabia Signs Loans Agreements
Two loans agreements were signed between Yemen and the Saudi development fund. The two loans will be used to finance the expansion of Sana'a electricity project and Al-Hiswa station in Aden. The two loans are estimated at 187.5 million Saudi riyals. The two agreement were signed by the Yemenis minister of planning and development Ahmed Soffan and the managing director of the Saudi development fund Mr. Ebrahim Al-Bassam.

Radio and Television Broadcast to Cover the Whole Country
The Cabinet approved the final accounts of economic and mixed sector units for the year 2000 which includes revenues, current expenditures and capital investment and surplus as a result of the units activities.
The cabinet also approved a project for coverage of the entire country by radio and television broadcasts which was presented by the Ministry of Information. The project aims at reaching remote areas.
The Cabinet also discussed a report by the Ministry of Finance regarding the country's foreign debt which has been reduced from over nine Billion U dollars to just over four billion dollars by The cabinet praised highly president Ali Abdullah Saleh wise instructions to the government regarding policies adopted by the government especially the impact on the economic revival and the cut reduction of foreign debt. The cabinet adopted a decision to form a Ministerial committee to manage foreign debt to be headed by the deputy prime minister and finance minister.

Yemen Exports Salt to Ethiopia
About 3750 tons of salt, totaling YRs 110 million, was exported to Ethiopia from January to August 2001.
Studies show that salt production of the General Authority of Salt in Aden has been in high demands by many international markets. They add that the authority has been recommended to obtain the Gold prize of the Trading Club in Europe and the Egyptian Al-Fares Gold Prize in recognition of the high quality of its production.
The first prize will be received in October, 2001 in Paris, while the second will be received in November, 2001 in Cairo.

Yemeni-Kenyan agricultural cooperation
Mr. Abdulrahman b. Bureik, Chargé d' Affaires of the Yemeni Embassy in Kenya discussed with the Kenyan Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development means of cooperation in the agricultural domains.

Workshop on Child covenant
In cooperation with the Supreme Council of Motherhood and Childhood, the International Council of Muslim female Scholars organized a workshop on the Child Covenant presented in the New York Conference.
The workshop discussed the concept of children's rights in Islam, articles of the covenant, agenda of the conference and coordination with governmental and Non-governmental organizations.