MICHIGAN, US: Perry Porikos sat in the street outside one of his five businesses, in a makeshift patio area that didn’t exist before the COVID-19 pandemic sent his best customers — University of Michigan students — back home in mid-March.
The Greek immigrant arrived here more than four decades ago as a 20-year-old soccer player for the Wolverines and part-time dishwasher at The Brown Jug Restaurant, which he now owns. He drops the names of sports stars such as Michael Phelps, one of the many former Michigan students he counts as friends, and recalled hustling enough to own more than 10 businesses at one time.
“Living the dream that people talk about, especially if you live in Europe and you come here,” Porikos said. Lately, though, it has been difficult for Porikos to rest easy. And he’s not alone.
The stakes are high for all the small business owners near the Michigan campus in this city of about 120,000 residents — about one-third of them students.
Small businesses around the world are fighting for survival amid the economic fallout from the pandemic. Whether they make it will affect not just local economies but the fabric of communities.
The fall term will begin on Monday with some in-person classes on campus, which has generated equal parts of hope and anxiety for those who need students to return to pay the bills.
Will students take the measures essential to keep infections from surging? The early signs aren’t promising. Alarmed by pictures of unsafe partying, the Ann Arbor City Council this week enacted an emergency ordinance that reinforces the state’s requirement to wear masks and also places restrictions on gatherings.
Across the country, business owners in college towns share the fear that student support could dry up almost entirely, and many are scrambling for survival strategies.
Nick Ducoff, co-author of “Better Off After College,” said businesses catering primarily to students might be able offset some losses through delivery and e-commerce, but that many could find the effects devastating.
“Smaller town-and-gown communities will suffer if students stay with their parents and don’t return to campus, but colleges in cities with larger populations and more diversified economies like Austin and Boston will be less affected,” Ducoff said.
In Ann Arbor, Espresso Royale Coffee — just steps from an arched walkway on The Diag, a collection of diagonal sidewalks in the middle of campus — already has its windows covered by brown paper. The once-successful shop closed and is not coming back due to the pandemic, according to its website.
“Espresso Royale is the first place that you see when you come through that arch,” 22-year-old University of Michigan graduate Chris Young said as he dined with friends at Good Time Charley’s patio. “To hear that was gone was really, really surprising to me. Also, just really sad because it shows the impact that all of this has had on something that’s so central and personal to so many students.”
About two blocks down, a sports bar and a nightclub that Porikos owns are at least temporarily shuttered due to an executive order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer because alcohol accounts for at least 70 percent of their gross receipts.
Others who own businesses on or near the three-block stretch known as South U are praying that they can hang on long enough to still be standing whenever it becomes business as usual again.
“This is going to be an unprecedented time that we’re entering into to see if this street can survive,” said Justin Herrick, the co-owner of Good Time Charley’s, a neighborhood staple since the late 1970s.
When the pandemic sent many of the school’s 40,000-plus students back to all parts of the globe earlier this year, the center of the college town’s small-business district became eerily quiet.
“It was like a three-foot blizzard without snow,” recalled Richard Schubach, who owns Replenish, a small grocery store across the street from campus, on the ground floor of a high-end apartment complex that caters to students.
While The Brown Jug and Porikos’ Backroom Pizza have been open and are expected to survive, the doors at the nearby Blue
Leprechaun and Study Hall Lounge that he also owns may stay closed for good. “If I don’t have higher capacity, I cannot make it,” Porikos said.
Small businesses in college towns struggle without students
https://arab.news/87xtv
Small businesses in college towns struggle without students
- Small businesses around the world are fighting for survival amid the economic fallout from the pandemic
Saudi Arabia is a model of sustainable aviation practices: ICAO official
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is a “model” for sustainable practices in the aviation section, said president of the International Civil Aviation Organization Council.
In an interview with Arab News during the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, Salvatore Sciacchitano emphasized the Kingdom’s position as an emerging leader in sustainable aviation.
Speaking about the global agenda to reduce carbon emissions, Sciacchitano said: “Saudi Arabia is in this sense a model because their plan of development is in the perspective of sustainability. This is very positive.”
“They have projects for low-carbon emission fuels. That means fossil fuels but to produce reduced emissions thanks to green energy that is used for the production. So this is a good direction,” he added.
The ICAO official highlighted the importance of adhering to international standards and practices, saying that Saudi Arabia’s aviation growth aligns with global standards.
He stated: “The regulations are there, we call SARPs, standards and recommended practices, these are applicable all over the world to all 193 (member) states of ICAO.”
Highlighting the role of the Kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation, Sciacchitano praised the support of the authority to the Regional Safety Oversight Organization, which is a way to put resources together at the regional level.
“Let me say that the GACA is well advanced in terms of programs, projects, training, and also providing support at (the) regional level,” he said.
“In this sense, Saudi Arabia is well prepared, not just to support its own development, but also to support the development of the region,” he added.
Sciacchitano said ICAO is there to support its member states. Although he believes that the Kingdom is fully capable of achieving its goals independently. “We absolutely support them with our expertise,” he added.
Sciacchitano predicted a significant increase in global air traffic, with the number of passengers expected to reach 11.5 billion by 2050, up from the current 4.6 billion.
He emphasized the need for technological advancements to accommodate this growth, stating that technologies will allow the world to accommodate more airplanes in the air and more space on the ground.
Pakistan approves petrol, diesel supply deal between Aramco, GO Petroleum
KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan has granted a time-bound exemption on relevant clauses of a product supply agreement between Saudi oil giant Aramco and Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd., known as GO Petroleum, for the import and sale of petrol and diesel products to Pakistan, the CCP said on Tuesday.
Aramco Trading Co. Fujairah FZE Ltd. is one of the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies, while GO Petroleum is an oil-marketing company registered in Pakistan that operates a network of retail outlets across the country that sell petrol, diesel and lubricants.
Under the agreement, ATC Fujairah intends to meet GO Petroleum’s demand for essential petroleum products for its outlets, which primarily includes petrol and diesel.
“The parties submitted to the CCP that this arrangement is expected to achieve economies of scale in procurement for GO Petroleum, potentially resulting in better prices for Pakistani consumers,” the CCP said in a statement.
“The exemption sought was on exclusivity aspects of the commercial agreement to supply 100 percent demand of imported products for GO Petroleum’s retail outlets. The CCP has accordingly granted exemption on the product supply agreement with certain conditions included therein.”
The CCP grants exemptions pursuant to Section 9 of the Competition Act, 2010, ensuring that such exemptions have economic benefits that outweigh anti-competitive effects.
“The CCP’s conditions stipulate that both parties must refrain from engaging in anti-competitive activities. Importantly, the exemption does not include approval on any pricing terms and mechanisms related to the products,” the CCP statement read.
“Additionally, as the agreement has referred to certain off specification products, however approval of concerned sector regulator should be ensured for import and sales. The applicants have also been directed to ensure required approvals on their terminals and storage facilities by relevant authorities to be used in the execution of this agreement.”
Subject to the conditions, the CCP said, it had granted the exemption until June 2026 and both applicants could approach it for an extension with required details and also identifying the benefits that have accrued to the improved distribution network of petroleum products and enhanced competition in the market.
Last month, the CCP approved Saudi oil giant Aramco’s move to acquire a 40 percent stake in Go Petroleum, officially marking the Saudi company’s entry into Pakistan’s fuels retail market.
The CCP said it had authorized the merger after determining the acquisition would not result in the acquirers’ “dominance” in the relevant market post-transaction. The acquisition would help bring much-needed foreign direct investment in Pakistan’s energy sector, contributing to economic growth and development of the country, it added.
In February 2019, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inked investment deals totaling $21 billion during the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Islamabad. The agreements included about $10 billion for an Aramco oil refinery and $1 billion for a petrochemical complex at the strategic Gwadar Port in Balochistan.
Both countries have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
Saudi Arabia to reveal new innovative tourism strategy in 2024: top official
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is set to unveil a new tourism strategy this year utilizing artificial intelligence and seamless technology, according to a top official.
Speaking to Arab News in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Aviation Forum 2024, Gloria Guevara Manzo, chief special adviser at the Ministry of Tourism, noted that the plan seeks to maximize the Kingdom’s assets including culture, history, heritage and hospitality.
“Right now, the ministry, under the leadership of his excellency, is developing the new strategy, and that new strategy is going to include several new things, such as the use of AI, for instance, seamless and many other technologies that are important for growth,” Manzo said.
She added: “(The) strategy, hopefully is going to be released this year and is going to be shared with the world. The strategy that we have right now was developed in 2019. We accomplished the milestone of the 100 million tourists, domestic and international, seven years ahead (of schedule).”
Manzo also discussed the importance of sustainability so people are still “enjoying” the world today while ensuring resources are preserved for future use
This concept involves multiple facets, including economic, environmental, and social considerations.
“For 30 years, we have been measuring and that’s why we know that 10 percent of the global gross domestic product before the pandemic (came from travel and tourism), and we’re going to reach that number this year again,” Manzo said.
She added that before the COVID-19 outbreak there were 330 million jobs in the industry, adding: “This year, we’re hoping to break a record with 348 million. One out of 10 jobs depends on this sector, so the economic aspect is very clear. The social aspect also is quite interesting — 54 percent women, 30 percent youth.”
Manzo emphasized the positive social impacts of travel and tourism, such as poverty reduction and the prevention of illegal migration by providing local job opportunities.
Despite these benefits, there had been a lack of clear measurement regarding the sustainability of this industry.
However, a significant study sponsored by Saudi Arabia, particularly by Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb and the ministry, addressed this gap.
Released last year, this provided comprehensive insights into the environmental impact of travel and tourism, revealing that 8.1 percent of greenhouse emissions are attributable to this sector.
“Now that we know that, then we can go industry by industry to understand what is the impact, and from that 8 percent, 47 percent is due to transportation and it could be aviation, it can be road, it can be cruising all the different aspects,” she said.
Manzo added: “Now, the reality is that aviation counts between 1.5 and 2 percent of the global emissions. But as I said in the panel, we cannot see this in an isolated approach. We need to see this from a holistic point of view. We need to understand what are the quick wins.”
Therefore, she noted that this does not mean stopping flying is the solution, as it has “very severe consequences.”
She said: “Millions of people can lose their jobs. We saw that during the pandemic, travel provides food on the table to millions of people from around the world. That’s a factor that we have to consider.”
Mazo stated that the right approach should be finding ways to travel in a more sustainable way, as she referred to a statement by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman ,when he said that the Kingdom is leading this transition.
Furthermore, the adviser stressed the importance of the Future Aviation Forum as it reflects the significance of connectivity within and outside the Kingdom as emphasized by Al-Khateeb on the first day.
“We need to increase the connectivity within the Kingdom, to the Kingdom and of course outside in order to increase the trade and do business and have more exports, more imports, and all of the above,” she stated.
Manzo continued: “In that regard it is very important to continue with the partnerships, not only at the destination level, but also at the corporate level and with the different entities, with the government. Without transport, we don’t have tourism, and tourism is very important for transport also to grow.”
Saudi Arabia closes May sukuk issuance at $860m
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has completed its riyal-denominated sukuk issuance for May at SR3.23 billion ($860 million), according to the National Debt Management Center.
In April, Saudi Arabia issued sukuk amounting to SR7.39 billion, while it was SR4.44 billion and SR7.87 billion in March and February respectively.
NDMC revealed that the Shariah-compliant debt product for May was divided into two tranches.
The first tranche valued at SR71 million is set to mature in 2029, while the second one amounting to SR3.16 billion is due in 2036.
In March 2024, NDMC concluded its second government sukuk savings round, with a total volume of requests reaching SR959 million, allocated to 37,000 applicants.
NDMC, at that time, said that the financial product, also known as Sah, offers a return of 5.64 percent, with a maturity date in March 2025.
In April, a report released by S&P Global said that sukuk issuance globally is expected to hover between the $160 billion to $170 billion mark in 2024, representing a steady momentum from $168.4 billion in 2023 and $179.4 billion in 2022.
According to the US-based firm, the issuance of this Shariah-compliant debt product began on a strong footing in 2024, with Saudi Arabia becoming a key contributor to the performance.
The credit rating agency also noted that the sukuk market will continue to grow in the near term driven by financing needs in core Islamic finance countries, along with the ongoing economic transformation programs which are currently underway in nations like Saudi Arabia.
“The market has started 2024 on a strong footing, with total issuance reaching $46.8 billion at March 31, 2024, compared with $38.2 billion at March 31, 2023. Saudi Arabia was a key contributor to this performance,” said S&P Global.
It added: “The drop in issuance volumes in 2023, which mainly resulted from tighter liquidity conditions in Saudi Arabia’s banking system and Indonesia’s lower fiscal deficit, was somewhat compensated by an increase in foreign currency-denominated sukuk issuance.”
In April, another report released by Fitch Ratings also echoed similar views and noted that global sukuk issuance is expected to continue growing in the coming months of this year.
Fitch noted that economic diversification efforts and the rapid development of the debt capital market in the Gulf Cooperation Council region will propel the growth of the sukuk market in the coming months.
SAFE unveils expansion plans to transform aviation security: CEO
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector is set for substantial safety and security enhancements as the National Security Services Co. prepares to embark on an ambitious expansion plan, its CEO told Arab News.
Turki Matooq Al-Thonayan explained how the company, also known as SAFE, already has operations spanning multiple countries and a workforce exceeding 10,000 employees.
The comments came on the sidelines of the Future Aviation Forum, which saw over 5,000 industry experts and leaders from more than 120 countries gather in Riyadh to discuss issues facing the sector.
In his interview with Arab News, Al-Thonayan emphasized the strategic integration of SAFE’s plans with the aviation sector, aligning with broader transportation goals, saying: “The plan of expansion is totally integrated with aviation. Why we are here is because of transportation, talking about aviation, land, and maritime.”
Al-Thonayan went on explaining that the company is also targeting Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects like NEOM, the Red Sea and Qiddiya.
“We are targeting the mass event in VIP protection, industrial facilities. And moreover, we are trying to support the government and their initiative to privatize the security services,” he added.
SAFE was launched in 2021 and is totally owned by the Public Investment Fund.
According to the CEO, the company was initially focused on security services but has since added firefighting, safety, and critical facility management to its remit.
“We are working in more than 37 governments within the Kingdom, we are working in Bahrain and we launched our office in the UAE, and we are planning for more expansion in the future,” Al-Thonayan said.
The focus on customer experience is at the heart of SAFE’s operational ethos. “Because if we are providing the services like the firefighting, the facility management, the security, this affects the passengers and the customers and the airports,” he said.
“The engagement between the passengers and the services is going to be for security and verification. Our goal is how to make this experience excellent, how we address the goal of the passengers,” Al-Thonayan explained.
Understanding the needs of passengers and ensuring their swift and efficient movement through airports is a priority for SAFE. “Sometimes their goal is to move as fast as possible to their businesses, to their collaboration within the Kingdom. So we would like to enhance the process. We would like to improve the efficiency of the services within the airport,” the top official noted.
“Our goal is to be the ultimate security, safety, firefighting partner,” he emphasized.
Al-Thonayan outlined the firm’s key objectives, which revolve around enhancing service efficiency and generating revenue, and said: “Our success is to be a reliable enabler. So how we can enable the ecosystem of aviation to move faster toward their targets, how we can make them do more.”
He highlighted that SAFE aims to offer comprehensive solutions that streamline services and ensure reliability, saying: “We are planning to offer and make a commercial offering for a total solution. So instead of having scattered services among these suppliers, we will have one quality service provider that is reliable from the ecosystem, from the government, from the client, from the service provider.”
The concept of integration is central to the company’s approach, as Al-Thonayan noted.
“Being in Bahrain or being in the UAE, or being in Saudi Arabia, the added value here is to have an integrated service. Door to door, which enables the network to do the business and do smooth and efficient logistics where it contributes and operation excellence, and cost efficiency,” the CEO explained.
Al-Thonayan stressed the importance of global operations and the role SAFE plays in facilitating seamless travel experiences. “Our target is to make smooth, excellent, and efficient operations with our destination all over the globe. Today we are talking about the globe coming to Saudi Arabia. How can I enhance this process to make their life easy? How we can contribute and the quality of the lifestyle. This is our role,” he said.
Highlighting recent partnerships, Al-Thonayan mentioned significant agreements aimed at enhancing the aviation network within the Kingdom.
“The ecosystem in aviation consists of airlines, logistics, and airports. So we have signed (an MoU) today with Dammam Airport Co., DACO and Cluster 2, which is another 22 airports,” he added.
These collaborations are going to enhance the network within the Kingdom, according to the CEO. “Our role here is to provide security solutions for our safety solutions, and how can we succeed to transform the model and the business operation from scattered business to a total solution business,” he added.
Al-Thonayan underscored the significance of accredited training and technology integration to enhance services. By shifting security’s role from a cost center to a value generator, SAFE aims to cultivate data networks for expanded services. This vision was demonstrated through recent agreements that are viewed as a starting point for further success and collaboration.
Al-Thonayan reiterated SAFE’s commitment to setting high standards in the aviation sector and ensuring an exceptional customer experience.
“We would like to say to our colleagues in the sector, we are the front or the national front. Passengers, travelers, airport companies, airline companies, will see first our employees, the security, the customer service, and they will make the impression,” he said,
“We are obligated and committed to deliver the best customer experience for the globe,” the CEO concluded.
With these comprehensive strategies and partnerships, SAFE is poised to play a pivotal role in the future of aviation security and customer experience, both within the Kingdom and beyond.
