As we head into the final quarter of the year, global risk remains a focus – even a preoccupation – for many of us with little in the way of resolution around the key issues that are exercising policymakers and the business world.
Brexit is an obvious case in point. Although the possibility of a UK exit from the European Union sans deal begins to look a shade more likely under the premiership of Boris Johnson, Brexit is not the only risk area or concern, of course. As Jonty Bloom, former business correspondent at the BBC, points out on page 14, low growth in the UK and elsewhere, trade wars that look to be escalating and threats to liberal democracy in Europe and Turkey are all focal points. Do these ominous signs point to a crunch or crisis point for the global economy? Certainly the difficulties are intractable enough, but politicians have it within their gift to pull back from the brink, as our economist Kallum Pickering argues on page 10.
In this issue we look specifically at the features and challenges of the Middle East. The prospect of trade wars and tensions focused around Iran are filtering down to businesses, with pressure on liquidity and funding always in the background. But there is much to celebrate in the region, too, as with fintechs and other systems providers poised to deliver digital transformation to corporates across the Middle East and North Africa. Our focus section begins on page 21.
The subject of our profile in this issue is Ian Cooper, who appeared in the 2013 edition of The Treasurer’s Ones to Watch publication, featuring the profession’s rising stars. Cooper found his way to treasury early in his career, distinguished himself in his AMCT examinations and became a group treasurer at the age of just 34 in 2017. His time at UK listed private equity firm 3i has been marked by regulatory impacts – 3i is a financial counterparty – plus the disposals and acquisitions that mark the story of any private equity firm. Cooper’s story can be found on page 16, while 2019’s Ones to Watch will be celebrated in a special supplement with the December issue of The Treasurer.
Elsewhere in this issue, we explore the UK’s Prompt Payment Code, the potential for automation within the institutional money markets, problem-solving, mentoring and the art of delegation.
I hope you enjoy the issue.
- Liz Loxton
