Business

Interview: Ciarán Hayes, Chief Executive, Sligo County Council

Sligo Witnessing Unprecedented Investment Ireland’s new hub for innovation? Sligo is not only a stunning location for tourism, but also a highly practical destination for business, with attractive incentives, high levels of infrastructure, and the ambition to become a ‘smart city.’ What is Sligo’s track record for attracting multinationals? Sligo has an established track record of…
Interview: Seamus Neely, Chief Executive, Donegal County Council

Donegal’s FinTech Hub Develops Letterkenny designated Regional Growth Center in the National Planning Framework How do you assess Donegal’s economy? Donegal’s economy is performing strongly, and employment is on the rise. The county has a thriving fin-tech hub, and a significant FDI track record. 75% of investors are continuously growing their operations and Donegal’s indigenous…
Ireland’s Regions Seek Investment

Interview: John Mulholland Chief Executive Laois County Council What is your economic forecast for County Laois? County Laois has benefited from nearly 700 million euro in public national infrastructure projects over the past two decades. These projects connected Laois’ central location to Ireland’s west and east coasts. The county benefitted from its strategic location in…
Interview: Dr. Pat Gallagher, Chief Executive, Westmeath County Council

Westmeath: In the Heart of Ireland How do you assess Westmeath’s economy? Westmeath’s two biggest towns, Athlone and Mullingar, have their own distinct economies that have developed backed by the regions central location, developed motorway network, excellent utilities, and highly educated workforce. Mullingar is one hour from Dublin by car, train or bus and has…
Interview: Joan Martin, Chief Executive, Louth County Council

Louth County: The Land of Legends Although Louth may be Ireland’s smallest county, it has plenty to offer. It is the second most densely populated county in the nation, outside of Dublin. The majority of Louth’s population resides in its two largest towns of Drogheda and Dundalk. Joan Martin, Chief Executive of Louth County Council…
Interview: Moira Murrell, Chief Executive, Kerry County Council

Kerry: A Stunning Place to Work Quality of life, the availability of a skilled workforce, ease of access, fiber-based broadband and government incentives combine to provide a positive business environment How are Ireland’s rural regions developing? There currently is a strong national focus on the development of Ireland’s regions and their improved interconnectivity. Kerry increasingly…
Interview: Daniel McLoughlin, Chief Executive, South Dublin County Council

How is SDCC preparing to accommodate future FDI? SDCC is home to Grange Castle Business Park, the largest wholly owned local authority FDI site in Ireland. It has become the location of choice for world-class multinationals such as Pfizer, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. It is a world class facility with investments of over 5 billion…
Ireland’s Booming Data Center Scene

New design and build model leads to fastest delivery of a 10 MW data center in Europe By the end of 2019, Dublin is set to outstrip London as the biggest European data center market by take-up of data center space – both colocation hubs and hyper scale self-builds. Within this thriving sector, business success…
Interview: Michael McAteer, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton Ireland

Grant Thornton Ireland: Driving Business with Purpose How do you assess Ireland’s economy? Ireland is a small and open economy that it is heavily affected by global economic events. It is the reason why our economy was severely impacted a few years ago, and is now experiencing such a strong rebound. Brexit is Ireland’s biggest…
At the Forefront of a Low-Carbon Revolution

Ireland is allocating 22 billion euro to transform into a low-carbon economy by 2050. The private sector in turn is doing its part to export its own expertise globally Martin Naughton is one of Ireland’s most prominent industrialists and philanthropists. His efforts in promoting the private sector’s contribution to peace and environmental sustainability led him…
Interview: Nicholas Butcher, Managing Partner, Maples and Calder Dublin, Maples Group

Ireland Set to Become the Largest Common Law Jurisdiction in the EU Post-Brexit There is a strong initiative across the Irish legal sector to promote Ireland as a convenient and appropriate hub for international transactions Maples Group is a leading service provider offering clients a comprehensive range of legal services for the British Virgin Islands,…
Interview: Martin McVicar, Co-Founder and CEO, Combilift

Innovative Solutions for Warehouse Management Combilift’s space saving solutions captivate European clients, while improved safety allures US clients How is Combilift developing its business services to bring additional value to clients? We have an established warehouse design department with nine engineers exclusively working on aiding our clients to design and create more efficient warehouses, saving…
Interview: Joe McGinley, CEO, Iconic Offices

Dublin’s Most Iconic Flexible Workspace Increases its Unique Property Portfolio In a complicated business world, flexible workspace solutions are a tactical advantage How do you evaluate Dublin’s property market? Dublin is in the latter stages of a cycle, and sourcing new locations is increasingly complicated. Wealthy, primarily technology, companies are driving up prices and tenants…
Interview: David McRedmond, CEO, An Post

Building a European E-commerce Logistics Hub The development of ‘An Post Money’ and ‘An Post Commerce’ is future proofing the business for the long term How has the digital age impacted An Post’s development? Digital communication has substituted physical letters, which translated into a fall in revenue for An Post in the letter delivery business.…
Interview: Anthony Smurfit, Group CEO, Smurfit Kappa

Irish Roots with Global Reach From humble beginnings as a small box-making factory in Rathmines, to becoming the first Irish multinational, Smurfit Kappa is an innovative world leader in corrugated packaging How has Smurfit Kappa evolved across the years? We have been in business since 1934, starting out making cardboard boxes and packaging for the…
Interview: Mark O’Sullivan, Partner, Matheson

A decade after the financial crisis, Ireland retains a strong globalized business model. Corporate business investment is at record levels and collectively, US multinational investments amount to $387bn, representing 67% of all foreign direct investment in Ireland and 12% of US investment in the EU. What core facts best highlight Ireland’s role as a gateway…
Interview: Osama Bishai, Chief Executive Officer, Orascom Construction

Orascom Construction is a leading global engineering and construction contractor primarily focused on infrastructure, industrial and high-end commercial projects in the Middle East, North Africa, the United States, and the Pacific Rim for public and private clients. The Group also develops and invests in infrastructure opportunities. What is your outlook for Egypt’s economy? We see incredibly…
Interview: Prof Ismail Abdel Ghaffar Ismail, President, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASMT)

The Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport is a regional university operated by the Arab League which runs programs in marine transportation, business, engineering and is quickly growing its curriculum to ensure recent graduates meet labor market requirements. Established in 1972, the multi-purpose & multi-task institution specialized on offering its services to Arab…
Interview: Albert Gress, Country Manager Egypt, SDX Energy

SDX Energy is a North Africa focused international E&P business with high margin producing assets and a transformational exploration upside. It engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas primarily in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Morocco. Net production: 3,237 boe/d, 2P reserves: 13.5 mmboe. The company is cash flow…
Interview: Maged Ezz Eldeen, Country Senior Partner, PwC Egypt

How have Egypt’s economic reforms affected the competitiveness of the economy? Egypt’s unprecedented macroeconomic and business legislation reform measures are bearing positively on the country’s competitive standing. For the first time in eight years, Egypt’s ranking on the global competitiveness report witnessed a significant jump of 15 places in 2017. Underpinning this was a remarkable…
Interview: Mr. Mohamed Hamza Talaat, Managing Partner, Baker & McKenzie Egypt – Helmy Hamza & Partners

A market leader in mergers and acquisitions, project finance and capital markets. Named IFLR Egypt’s “Law Firm of the Year” six times, with its Cairo office, ranked Tier 1 by IFLR1000, Legal500 and Chambers & Partners for Banking & Finance and M&A. With 40 years’ experience in the local market, they are the go-to firm…
Interview: Hala Helmy El-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform of Egypt

The Ministry of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform’s vision is to ensure efficient planning and management of the state’s public investments. It seeks sustainable economic development by ensuring the state’s administrative body becomes increasingly more effective, efficient, and capable of managing state resources to provide quality services to citizens. How do you assess Vision 2030’s…
Eight percent of global shipping transits Egypt’s Suez Canal

The Egyptian government is implementing an ambitious strategy to improve and develop the transport sector to enhance the state resources and benefit on Egypt’s strategic location. Egypt has 108 000 kilometers of roads and 9 750 kilometers of railways, along with 20 airports, 15 harbors and a series of land ports. Transport and logistics represented…
New sector specific mega industrial zones in Egypt seek to improve valued added export capabilities

Egypt streamlined its industrial licensing processes to boost investment. They slash bureaucracy and decrease the waiting time for new projects. The industry sector is the second biggest economic sectors in the country representing more than a third of the GDP and more than 13% of the total labor force. In 2014, Egypt started a series…