BARCELONA // Sony’s Mobile Communications chief executive, Hiroki Totoki, says he expects the division to break into a profit this year, as its extensive cost-cutting programme nears completion.
"The transformation programme that we launched last year is almost at an end," Mr Totoki told The National in an exclusive interview.
“We have achieved what we set out to achieve for 2015 and I think in 2016 we can expect to make a profit,” he said.
“Our financial strength has come back and lots of areas of our operations are improving.”
The mobile division’s operating income more than doubled last quarter to ¥24.1 billion (Dh791.9 million), following Sony’s decision to withdraw from the lower-end smartphone market.
Mr Totoki said that the company might continue distributing its budget-level Xperia C range of devices, depending on demand from operators and distributors.
Mr Totoki said that Sony’s initiatives in the field of virtual reality would remain confined to its long-awaited PlayStation VR platform in the short term, with no current plans for a mobile offering.
“Within our gaming and network services division we have lots of users who are keen to have VR as an experience, so we will focus on that area first,” he said in the interview.
“We will work on creating good-quality content in the gaming arena first within the Sony group, create a new market and then we, as Sony Mobile, would think about how to work alongside. That is the right order I believe.”
Sony began work on its PlayStation VR platform, originally known as Project Morpheus, in 2014.
The company, which has not given any details about launch dates or pricing, will showcase the technology at next month’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (March 14-18).
In addition to its new Xperia X range, Sony has used this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to showcase a range of smart home “concept” products.
These include the Xperia Agent, a smart home hub featuring a microphone and rotating camera, and the Xperia Projector, which projects images and information on to a vertical or horizontal surface, which in turn acts as a user interface.
Mr Totoki said it was too early to tell whether such products would see the light of commercial release in their current form.
“We have had a number of meetings with operators and distributors and they have welcomed this sort of concept,” he said.
“They are very excited to be involved with these products, so we are confident we can develop a new market with them.”
jeverington@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
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“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
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Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
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Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
