Saudi Arabia to invest $64 bn in Western-style entertainment in next decade

Saudi Arabia announced plans today to spend billions on building new venues and flying in Western acts, in a total overhaul of its entertainment sector that would be unthinkable not long ago.

Long known for its ultra-conservative mores, the kingdom has embarked on a wide-ranging programme of social and economic reforms driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
At a glitzy press conference in Riyadh, General Entertainment Authority chief Ahmad bin Aqeel al-Khatib told reporters the kingdom is set to invest $64 billion in its entertainment sector over the coming decade.

"We are already building the infrastructure," Khatib said, adding that ground had been broken for an opera house.
"God willing, you will see a real change by 2020," Khatib said, adding that more than 5,000 events were planned for the coming year.

'Pleas in Zara apparel': Why fashion labels can't fix labour exploitation

Worker exploitation is rampant in the global fashion industry, according to countless investigations, studies and reports. So why haven’t fashion brands cleaned up their acts?

Even if brands want to be part of the solution (as they are frequently asked to be) they are hindered by the current legal system. The problem is if brands are to eradicate labour exploitation, they must take more control of their supply chains. But if they take more control over their supply chains, they open themselves up to the risk of tremendous legal liability.

To effect real change in the global fashion industry, the countries where brands are headquartered need to reconsider their legal policies. The existing liability rules need to be amended to incentivise the brands’ direct involvement in labour issues in their chains.

A recent report from Oxfam found that garment workers earn as little as 2% of the price of clothing sold in Australia - a A$27 billion industry.

Earlier this month, shoppers at a Zara store in Istanbul allegedly found messages in the clothing that garment workers had hidden in protest of unfair wages. The messages read “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it”.

The Rana Plaza tragedy saw more than 1,000 people killed when a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed. This occurred more than four years ago.

These are just a few examples from a long list of horrors. But still the problem has not been fixed.
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UK industrial output rises in September; trade gap narrows

British industrial output increased in September at the fastest pace this year and the goods trade deficit improved, mostly upbeat official data showed on Friday.

Despite also showing a sharp downturn in construction, the figures as a whole are likely to hearten Bank of England officials who last week voted to raise interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years.

The Office for National Statistics said the data for September did not imply any change to its preliminary estimate that Britain's economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, picking up a bit of speed from earlier in 2017 but still slower than growth in the euro zone.

The ONS said industrial and manufacturing output shot up by a monthly 0.7 per cent in September, the fastest growth for each sector since December last year and above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

The consensus had pointed to a reading of 0.3 per cent for both.

Industrial output, which includes manufacturing, accounts for 14 per cent of Britain's overall economic output.
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IT woes: Indian engineers to lose 2 lakh jobs annually, says Head Hunters

Executive search firm Head Hunters India said the job cuts in IT sector will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies.

"Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies," Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and MD K Lakshmikanth told PTI, analysing a report submitted by McKinsey & Company at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum on February 17.

McKinsey & Company report had said nearly half of the workforce in the IT services firms will be "irrelevant" over the next 3-4 years.

McKinsey India Managing Director Noshir Kaka had also said the bigger challenge ahead for the industry will be to retrain 50-60 per cent of the workforce as there will be a significant shift in technologies. The industry employs 3.9 million people and the majority of them have to be retrained.

ALSO READ: Carnage in Indian IT: Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant slash jobs

"So, when we analyse these figures, it is clear that 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce cannot be retrained or re- skilled. So, assume that half of this workforce can continue to work on old skills, then balance will become redundant.

"So, the number of people who will become redundant in the next three years will be about five to six lakhs. This will work out to, on an average, between 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh per year for next three years," Lakshmikanth explained.

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'IT sector to layoff up to 2 lakh engineers annually for next 3 years'

Executive search firm Head Hunters India said the job cuts in IT sector will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies.

"Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies," Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and MD K Lakshmikanth told PTI, analysing a report submitted by McKinsey & Company at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum on February 17.

McKinsey & Company report had said nearly half of the workforce in the IT services firms will be "irrelevant" over the next 3-4 years.

McKinsey India Managing Director Noshir Kaka had also said the bigger challenge ahead for the industry will be to retrain 50-60 per cent of the workforce as there will be a significant shift in technologies. The industry employs 3.9 million people and the majority of them have to be retrained.

"So, when we analyse these figures, it is clear that 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce cannot be retrained or re- skilled. So, assume that half of this workforce can continue to work on old skills, then balance will become redundant.

"So, the number of people who will become redundant in the next three years will be about five to six lakhs. This will workout to, on a average, between 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh per year for next three years," Lakshmikanth explained.

However, he said job cuts will not take place in major cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru, but cities like Coimbatore or a few remote places, he said.

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Indian IT eyes crores of rupees in revenue as firms rush to get GST-ready

India's information technology (IT) industry is likely to benefit in a big way as the goods and services tax (GST) roll-out leads to companies spending a few thousand crores of rupees in becoming GST-ready.

While many large businesses, with thousands of partners and customers spread across the country, are spending “significantly” to upgrade their IT infrastructure, the Union government will also invest in setting up the technology infrastructure for GST and its maintenance.

GST is slated to be rolled out from July 1 and will replace the existing tax compliance system for businesses.

“For the GST regime, businesses and organisations will have to upgrade the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and billing systems. It will be a very large and complex transformation and, therefore, it will create a huge opportunity for the IT services companies,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief executive, Greyhound Research.

Gogia believes that it would not only bring in opportunities for technology services, but also for professional services to simplify the taxation and compliance processes for various organisations. In fact, technology services, professional services and necessary hardware upgradation put together, businesses may spend, Gogia added, few thousand crore rupees.

Infosys, India’s second largest IT services firm, bagged a five-year contract worth Rs 1,380 crore in 2015 to implement the GST Network — the nodal agency that will implement the technology and the IT backbone for the unified tax regime, along with the maintenance for it.
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Embracing the bots: How direct to consumer advertising is about to change

LATEST NEWS - The tech revolution is coming to advertising. Chatbots are replacing humans, big data threatens our privacy, and the blockchain is linking it all together. In our series on tech and advertising, we’re taking a look at how the industry is being reshaped.

Soon, advanced computers won’t just be driving you to work, they’ll be selling you stuff as well. We can already see this in the form of chatbots.

Chatbots are artificially intelligent pieces of software, capable of maintaining a conversation with a human. While they aren’t perfect yet, they have markedly improved in recent years, leading some to claim 2017 will be the year that we finally see mass adoption.

Chatbots can already do some incredible things, such as operating a medical helpline, helping you plan your vacation, and even talking with you when you can’t sleep.

In the world of advertising, this represents a huge step. Chatbots are personalised, to the point, and all knowing, thanks to consumer tracking, big data, and machine learning. With the likes of Facebook jumping aboard, all of this is right in your pocket.

The rise of chatbots

According to American research firm Gartner, 85% of customer interactions will be managed without a human by 2020. Given this, businesses are beginning to invest and experiment in the space. Their bots have the capacity to do a great many things - provide personalised support for many customers at once (not just VIPs), recommend products and services, and assist during and after a sale. All without the need for humans.

The strength of bots is their ability to have tailored conversations, give personalised offers, and offer convenient purchases. Armed with data and serious computing, they can analyse patterns in our speech to decide when and what to advertise. They can also increase engagement and bring your brand personality to life.

In addition to all of that, bots are novel and a little bit human. This means we are less likely to get distracted than we would be with other digital options, like banner ads. (READ MORE)

Amazon Fashion claims top spot, ahead of Flipkart, Jabong & Myntra combined

Staking claims on the top spot in the fashion marketplace ecosystem with triple digit growth month-on-month, Amazon Fashion on Wednesday said that it is far ahead of its main competitors in India Flipkart and its two subsidiaries Myntra and Jabong.

Capitalising on its more than a million strong 'Amazon Prime' membership base, its fashion vertical has increased the assortments of products eligible for 'Prime' deliveries and service. According to the company, the move has helped in making more Prime members shop for fashion on the portal and is even helping it in increase its membership base as more people are looking for exclusive services.

"We are the biggest brand with the largest selection of products in the country. We continue to grow the traffic on the site and are the largest visited e-commerce destination. One out of three people who come to the site check out a fashion product. If you look at 'Prime' already a fourth of fashion deliveries are on it," Arun Sirdeshmukh, Head, Amazon Fashion India.

Amazon Fashion has an assortment of overall 15,000 brands and around 1,000 exclusive international brands the latest entrants being Marks and Spencer's and sports activities brand Under Armour. (READ MORE)