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Hong Kong – Pure Western Insanity

By Peter Koenig

The impunity with which the US aggresses Hong Kong is insane. Equally or more insane is western media coverage of what is going on in Hong Kong. Not one word on how the incredible “pro-democracy” vote of the rather unimportant District Council Elections was achieved. Of the 18 District Councils, 452 of 479 seats (71%) went to “pro-democracy” candidates. Such an extreme anti-Beijing vote could only be obtained by massive western propaganda at the cost of millions of dollars, targeted with algorithms, developed on the principles of the now (apparently) defunct Cambridge Analytica. And this with 70% of eligible voters going to the polls.

None of this practically non-realistic result was analyzed by the west and reported on.

None of this practically non-realistic result was analyzed by the west and reported on. In reality, the vast majority of Hong Kongers is sick and tired of the western inspired violence, but are very much proud of being Chinese citizens. They were told by the propagandists that voting for ‘democracy’ candidates was the way to bring peace. And Peace is what everyone wants. After all, integrated into China in 1997, they have enjoyed much more freedom than under British colonialism, where they were not even allowed to vote for their district councils.

The absurdity does not stop here. The US Congress has recently passed legislation that would allow the US monitoring ‘democracy’ and human rights in Hong Kong, the so called “Human Rights and Democracy Act”, with the caveat of imposing sanctions, if Beijing would transgress on the US imposed rules. Can you imagine? Can anyone imagine this all-overarching arrogance?

The US Congress passing legislation to control another foreign territory? And the west goes along with it. It may happen soon in Europe too that the US dictates what sovereign nations are allowed to do and not to do. It is already happening. The US prohibits Europe to do business with whom they want – i.e. Iran, if not, they are being punished. No comments. It’s just the new normal. In the case of Hong Kong, Beijing has protested, called the US Ambassador twice to discuss the matter – to no avail.

It gets even more ludicrous. Madame Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, has published in the Saturday issue of the South China Morning Post an article seeking full and “independent and impartial judge-led investigation” into police conduct at protests as part of confidence-building measures. The statement in itself already takes sides, as it does in no way address the foreign-inspired violence of protesters, who, for example, are using a university campus to build Molotov-type bombs and other incendiary devices. The Chinese Government immediately rebuked the article accusing Ms. Bachelet of further inflaming ‘radical violence’.

The statement in itself already takes sides, as it does in no way address the foreign-inspired violence of protesters.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Chen Yaou, spokesman for China’s permanent mission to the UN, launched a scathing attack on what he called an “erroneous article” by Michelle Bachelet. Chen emphasized that China “strongly opposed” Bachelet’s article, saying she had interfered in the internal affairs of China and would only encourage protesters to use more radical violence. Mr. Chen added that “the protesters were seeking to create chaos in the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region), paralyze the HK SAR government and seize the administrative power of the Hong Kong SAR with the aim of rendering the ‘one country, two systems’ principle defunct.” Cheng also said that his government stands fully behind Ms. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive.

Despite the overwhelming pro-democracy vote on 24 November 2019, protests continue. Thousands took to the streets on Saturday afternoon assembling before the United States Consulate in Central, to “express gratitude” for passing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. They were waving US flags, chanting the Star-Spangled Banner and are asking for more support. They pledge not to let go until all their demands are met.

Essentially, they want total independence from Beijing and become a US colony. They should look at Puerto Rico, what it means to be a US colony, what Washington has in store for its colonies. Or closer to their own history, they should look at their UK colonial past – and remember their state of oppression, the almost zero rights they had then.

What does this all mean for Hong Kong? At the time of the UK handover to China in 1997, Hong Kong contributed about 18% to China’s GDP. Already before the protests began some 6 months ago, it had shrunk to a mere 3%. Within the last few months HK’s economic output has further declined, as key financial institutions want stability and therefore are leaving Hong Kong for safer venues, i.e. Singapore, and, indeed, for Shanghai which is rapidly becoming the financial hub of the east.

The real purpose of the 50-year special status of Hong Kong that the UK (and US) negotiated with Beijing, was to keep this unregulated eastern financial paradise alive for western oligarchs’ often illicit and tax-evading financial transactions of which the western – UK and US – bankers and financiers were the key beneficiaries and profiteers. These US-inspired violent protests are meant to destabilize the Government of Beijing – which is, of course, a pipedream – when in fact, they are committing slowly suicide. Washington and London are disabling Hong Kong of her west-serving money-laundering capacity.

And if it comes really down to the level of intolerant crime and violence against the majority of HK citizens by this foreign-inspired and funded disruption of SAR, Beijing could in less than 24 hours put an end to it. So simple. The west could just gape, but say nothing, because it is in Beijing’s full right to restore law and order in their territories.

Now, let’s look again at the US arrogance to pass legislation to control a foreign territory. Could anyone imagine the logical opposite? China passes legislation to ban any foreign interference in their territories with the threat of sanctions. These could include outright import bans for certain US goods, for example agricultural produce, or stopping crucial exports to the US (iPhones, computers, other US-outsourced manufactured-in-China goods), barring certain US citizens from entering China – or, god forbid, building a military base in Venezuela and / or Mexico; Mexico being the latest Latin American country being harassed by the US for Mexico’s left-leaning government.

It is only by equals facing equals that maybe, just maybe can achieve harmonious and peaceful coexistence. This applies politically as much as it does economically – and in economics, China is the unspoken front-runner with a strong and stable currency backed by her economic output and by gold, versus an entire not only US, but western economy based on fiat money.

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About the Author

Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a water resources and environmental specialist. He worked for over 30 years with the World Bank and the World Health Organization around the world in the fields of environment and water. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research; ICH; RT; Sputnik; PressTV; The 21st Century; Greanville Post; Defend Democracy Press, TeleSUR; The Saker Blog, the New Eastern Outlook (NEO); and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed – fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance.
Peter Koenig is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

First published by the New Eastern Outlook – NEO

Can AI really Make Compliance Easy?

By Colin Bristow

AI is fast becoming a cornerstone of new organisational strategies. Of the many business practices that AI is augmenting, compliance is perhaps the least riveting; it’s necessary, without much potential for excitement. But there is high potential for value. To reduce the chances of compliance practices becoming a cost centre1, businesses must learn how they can extract maximum value from them.

Long and arduous compliance processes can tie businesses in knots, but technology can help untangle this. No business is irredeemable, with variated and tailored solutions available for multinationals and SMEs alike. Understanding the pressures that individual businesses are under is vital when it comes to finding solutions that offer ease and add value to each organisation.

 

New routes to efficient compliance

The burgeoning RegTech (regulatory technology) industry is seeking to highlight how AI can be at the forefront of augmenting compliance practices. RegTech partly focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of existing processes. As part of that improvement, organisations are starting to use AI, machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA) to smooth the integration and processes between new RegTech solutions, existing legacy compliance solutions and legacy platforms.

Why look to AI for help? Recent regulations, such as GDPR or PSD2, are handed down in the form of large and extremely dense documentation (the UK government’s guidance document for GDPR alone is 201 pages). Identifying the appropriate actions mandated by these lengthy documents requires a great deal of cross-referencing, prior knowledge of historical organisational actions, and knowledge of the relevant organisational systems and processes.

The practical application of regulations currently relies on human interpretation and subsequent deployment of a solution, with heavy penalties for noncompliance. This is where AI can help.

What’s more, several regulations attract fines or corrective actions if not applied properly (like the infamous “4% of company turnover” penalty attached to GDPR).

In short, the practical application of regulations currently relies on human interpretation and subsequent deployment of a solution, with heavy penalties for noncompliance. This is where AI can help, reducing the workload involved and improving accuracy. Here are three key examples of how AI can help companies turn compliance into a value-added activity.

 

1 Allow AI to help reduce risk

Following the deployment of compliance processes, there is often residual risk. This can be as a result of unforeseen gaps in compliance processes, or unexpected occurrences that become apparent when operating at scale.

That’s partly because there are usually a lot of steps and processes to be carried out during the data collation stage of compliance programmes. RPA can help reduce administrative load associated with these processes that include a high degree of repetition – for example, copying data from one system to another. AI can then help process cross-organisational documentation, combining internal and external sources and appropriately matching where necessary.

AI can also help to reduce companies’ risk of noncompliance with, for example, privacy regulations2. Furthermore, using AI techniques, organisations can automate transforming and enhancing data3. Intelligent automation allows companies to carry out processes with a higher degree of accuracy.

 

2 Maximise efficiencies with a hybrid approach

Inefficient processes can also hinder compliance. For example, automated systems that detect suspicious transactions for anti-money laundering (AML) processes are sometimes not always as accurate as they could be. A recent report highlighted that 95% of flagged transactions4 are closed in the first stage of review. Effectively, investigators spend most of their day looking at poor quality cases.

Use of an AI hybrid approach to detection ensures there are fewer, higher quality alerts produced. Furthermore, it is possible to risk-rank cases which are flagged for investigation, speeding up the interaction and relegating lower-risk transactions. Although AI forms an underlying principle across most modern detection systems, maintenance is key to managing effective performance.

AI can also be used to bolster AML and fraud measures more widely. For example, applying AI to techniques such as text mining, anomaly detection and advanced analytics can improve trade finance monitoring5. This, in turn, can improve the regularity for document review and consignment checking, improving the validation rates of materials as they cross borders.

 

Businesses have to contend with a constantly evolving landscape, potentially across several regions. AI can help to optimise the processing of these regulations and the actions they require, helping companies keep up to date.

3 Monitor regulations closely

Compliance never stands still. Businesses have to contend with a constantly evolving landscape, potentially across several regions. AI can help to optimise the processing of these regulations and the actions they require, helping companies keep up to date. Companies that need to effectively comply with several differing regulations require a wide range of understanding across all parts of the business. The size, complexity and legacy systems of the business can be significant obstacles.

To mitigate this risk, companies can use natural language processing6 (NLP) to automate aspects of regulatory review, identifying appropriate changes contained in the regulation and then relaying potential impacts to the appropriate departments. For example, AI could help geographically diverse companies determine whether changes in the UK have an impact on their Singapore office.

 

Working together with tech

AI and RegTech are not the enemies of humans in the job market. These systems are designed to integrate into existing teams to boost our productivity7. In fact, they’re already helping to automate low-level, repetitive tasks. Questions still remain: could some AI systems be biased8? Who has control over these systems? How can transparency be increased? Consequently, AI’s role in simply acting as an assistant to existing teams should be maintained, balanced carefully with a good level of manual oversight.

Compliance is easier with AI involved. Documents can be reviewed quicker, fraud can be prevented at a deeper level, and new insights can be uncovered. Not only can it sort through a wealth of complex transactions, but it is also helping workers to reduce monotony and complexity in their roles. SAS is using these very techniques to assist international banks in adopting AI and advanced analytics. Throughout the whole compliance process, AI aims not only to increase efficiency but, crucially, to add value as a team member, fully focussed on the unique goals of each business.

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About the Author

Colin Bristow is a Customer Advisory Manager at SAS UK & Ireland. With over 18 years of experience working in the financial services sector, Colin has spent time advising organisations in usage of machine learning, intelligent systems technologies and analytics for improvement and business advantage. Colin joined SAS in 2012 and since then, he has been responsible for leading the customer advisory team for insurance firms, discussing strategy and direction for usage of advanced analytics.

References
1. http://www.acamsriskassessment.com/pdfs/Compliance-is-NOT-a-Cost-Center.pdf
2. https://www.freestyle.agency/blog/gdpr-artificial-intelligence/
3. https://support.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/support/en/books/free – books/artificial – intelligence – with – sas.pdf
4. https://www.reuters.com/article/bc-finreg-laundering-detecting/anti-money-laundering -controls-failing-to-detect-terrorists-cartels-and-sanctioned-states-idUSKCN1GP2NV
5. https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_gb/doc/other1/pointofview/trade – finance – fraud.pdf
6. https://www.allerin.com/blog/applying-deep-learning-to-natural-language-processing
7. https://www.sas.com/en_gb/customers/swisscom.html
8. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/artificial-intelligence/tackling – bias – in – artificial – intelligence-and-in-humans

New USPS Service Gives You a Peek into Your Mailbox

All customers of the U.S. Postal Service have something to be happy about with the new company revolutionizing service called Informed Delivery. The ID (Informed Delivery) helps to send users an email with scanned previews of the letter-size mail planned to be delivered one to three days.

The new idea displays a somehow similar innovation-driven by Richard Alden, and although people are so much into digital, USPS is bridging that idea to its customers. What Postal service does is scan all letter-size mail, which is part of the sorting process. So, as a customer, you will receive scanned images every morning.

 

New Experience

The traditional mail was phased out by the entry of emails, which people see as more efficient. In fact, a number of things have changed with the postal services Company, but it is no longer interesting for most people who have moved on with the digital era. But for the introduction of ID might be an attempt to get back the magic. The new experience will allow users to check their mail before it is delivered to their addresses. The peek into the mailbox shows up to 10 grayscale images in every email with a link at the bottom so you can see the rest.

Users have the ability to view the images on their dashboard for seven days. The program is only available for selected addresses only.

 

How It Started

The Informed Delivery idea started way back in 2014 as a pilot program in Northern Virginia, and it was designed to help post office box customers by then when they had something in their P.O. Box. According to ID executive program director, Bob Dixon and other users have seen the new idea transform their lives as you only need a cellphone, tablet, or any other digital medium to learn about your delivery. This technology is allowing people to get notified about their delivery regardless of their busy schedules. Everyone can receive the notification wherever you may be.

During the trial period back in 2014, some of the participants said the idea was great for those who misplaced their mail. Also, for those who travel frequently appreciated the innovation of sending them messages daily as very helpful.

The new technology is just an improvement of a system Postal Service used to do back in the 1990s. The mail used to be scanned by taking photos of the exterior of the most mail pieces to sort and then route the mail. In the year 2013 New York Times reported that the United States Postal Service occasionally used to provide photos to law enforcement that would request them as part of criminal cases.

 

Mail Transformation

A while ago, many people did not see a way in which technology was to impact mail. But they have been proved wrong as a dramatically introduction of ID was something unexpected by many.

Mail until today, it has the highest response rate channels, especially for marketing messages. USPS executive Director says it is important as the company continues to demonstrate the mail relevance, but provide the convenience of a digital response channel.

 

Conclusion

According to USPS director, the idea of mail going digital allows users to always plan for the day ahead. Also, he says the situation may not be magical to some but excited that bridging the gap with the digital one makes the mail to remain relevant.

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What Kind of People Hires Private Investigators?

You must have seen a lot of private investigators in the movies, and you may also have come across a person who has hired one to tail someone. Private investigators are trained, and sharp professionals, and they know how to get the information on anyone. But do you ever wonder what kind of people hire private investigators and in what circumstance could you need one? In this article I have mentioned the types of clients a private investigator comes across.

 

Insurance Companies

It is common for an insurance company to hire a private investigator these days. In USA, the number of fraudulent insurance claims is rising every day. Be it health care, road accidents, or arson, a lot of people have been filing fake claims lately, and this is causing billions of dollars’ worth of damages. This is precisely why insurance company has turned towards private investigators, so they can avoid fraudulent insurance claims by investigating the insured party. Now, you must be wondering how they hire private investigators. There are several private investigation firms in USA, and one can call them and book an appointment to hire an investigator. Some of the trusted private investigation firms include Investigation Hotline and Pinkerton.

 

Lawyers

This one is no surprise. Lawyers deal with complex cases daily, and they could get into a situation where they will need to investigate a particular aspect to make their case stronger. So, to get answers and build solid arguments, lawyers hire private investigators to do the legwork. Private investigators are excellent and unearthing witnesses and can also perform thorough background checks on the party being investigated.

 

Human Resource Professionals

It is the responsibility of a human resource professional to bring good quality employees to the company. And to ensure that, sometimes have to hire a private investigator to perform a little background check. While hiring a new resource, HR professionals have to make sure that their resume checks out, and they have not provided any wrong information. They also make sure that the candidate does not have any criminal background. Private investigators are hired solely to help them out in this entire process.

 

Property Owners

No landlord wants to hire a tenant that can cause stress for them. Property owners like to do a proper background check on tenants and to be on the safer side some even hire private investigators. If you are letting someone stay on your property, it is your right to make sure that they are clean. It is common for private investigators to investigate a tenant. They can paint a picture for the landlord by looking into tenant’s criminal records, prior convictions, or any civil suits.

 

Business Owners

Business owners also hire private investigators when they are doing big business deals or are going into a partnership agreement with another business. The private investigators are hired to check the credits of the partners and their reputation. They can also find out about the other companies with which the partners are involved to make sure that nothing is in the wrong. Some business owners also hire private investigators to do an integrity or security audit.

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Financing the SDG Agenda: The Potential of Sukuk The Indonesia Case

By Dalal Aassouli and Ebi Junaidi

Indonesia, the largest Muslim population country claims to first issue green Sukuk worth USD 1.25B, significantly contributing to the country’s national economic development and putting Indonesia as the world centre for Islamic economics and finance. “Sukuk” is a Shariah compliant, growing source of funding for development with key principles in financing projects that target climate change, women empowerment, agriculture, education, poverty alleviation, and accountability – seen to have a natural connection to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors discuss here how Indonesia, the first of the two countries to promote Sukuk transformed its economy and the vital role that Islamic finance plays in achieving the SDGs and market stability.

 

The Sukuk market is one of the fast growing segments in the Islamic financial industry with 24.2% of Islamic finance global assets in 2018 and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.6% – between 2003 and 20181. The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic financial Institutions (AAOIFI) defines Sukuk as certificates of equal value representing undivided shares in ownership of tangible assets, usufructs and services or (in the ownership of) the assets of particular projects or special investment activity.  Since its inception in 2001, the market witnessed new entrants from non-Islamic sovereigns and corporates, increasing cross border transactions and has become an important source of funding for several countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. As a result, global Sukuk issuance is expected to reach $783 billion by 20232.

Sukuk, often qualified as Islamic bonds, present two key features that position them as a viable option for financing sustainable development projects. First, the asset-backing requirement facilitates their link to the real economy and therefore widens the scope of sectors that can be financed. Indeed, Real asset backing is one of the key principles of Islamic finance whereby financing is based on real economic activities rather than pure financing. These could include financing projects that target climate change, refugees, women empowerment, agriculture, education, poverty alleviation, etc.

Second, Sukuk can be structured in various ways using single or hybrid Islamic contracts such as wakala, musharaka, mudaraba, ijara, etc. This flexibility offers tremendous opportunities for innovation and for addressing specific financing needs, even though this complexity may lead to a lack of standardisation and therefore higher transaction costs.

However, the analysis of the global Sukuk market shows the lack of sector diversification. At end of 2018, governments led the total Sukuk outstanding (54.96%), followed by financial services (24.17%) and utilities (6.19%), with the three sectors representing more than 85% of Sukuk issuances. On the other hand, sectors such as healthcare and energy represented only 0.54% and 1.87% respectively of the global Sukuk issuances.

 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Financing Gap

A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) argues that about $2-3 trillion of additional investments per annum are required to meet the SDGs, which according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) could open up $12 trillion of market opportunities in food and agriculture, cities, energy and materials, and health and well-being alone.

The private sector can play a pivotal role in meeting this financing gap. In this regard, Islamic finance – as put forward at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July 2015 – can both complement and provide an alternative to traditional sources of funding to realise the SDGs. Sukuk have played a key role in infrastructure financing for public and private projects. An estimated $73.1 billion worth of infrastructure Sukuk were issued by more than 10 countries between 2002 and the third quarter of 20153.

 

The Sukuk market witnessed several innovations in the past years in the form of green and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk to meet the SDGs with dedicated local frameworks.

Recent innovations in the Sukuk market and the Potential for SDG financing

The Sukuk market witnessed several innovations in the past years in the form of green and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk to meet the SDGs with dedicated local frameworks. These include green and SRI Sukuk issuances in Malaysia between 2015-2018 under the SRI Sukuk framework4, the republic of Indonesia green Sukuk in 2018 under the green bond and green Sukuk framework and the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) debut Sukuk in 2014 targeting vaccination programmes and health system strengthening in poor countries. These issuances are expected to influence the future developments of the Sukuk market and direct efforts towards ethical and responsible finance as it is the case in the bond market. It is important to note that themed bonds such as green, water, vaccine, microfinance and green banking on women were developed since 2000, aiming to meet specific financing needs and development objectives.

There are several developments that could enhance the contribution of the Sukuk market to sustainable development financing and thus comply with the “maqasidi”5 approach of development. First is the development of green Sukuk for climate and environmentally friendly projects. The potential of green Sukuk has long been discussed in recent months and dedicated frameworks were developed by countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to promote standardisation and investor confidence. The Malaysian SRI Sukuk framework distinguishes two key categories of eligible SRI projects (i) green projects and (ii) community and economic development and waqf properties/assets whereas the Indonesia green bond and green Sukuk framework highlights nine eligible sectors. These are renewable energy; resilience to climate change for highly vulnerable areas and sectors/disaster risk reductions; sustainable transport; waste to energy and waste to management; green tourism; sustainable agriculture; energy efficiency; sustainable management of natural resources and green building.

Second, greater development of retail Sukuk could reduce the dependence on foreign investors for infrastructure financing and promote retail participation in sustainable development financing while enabling investors to diversify their investment portfolio, thus facilitating a transition from savings-oriented societies to investment-oriented societies. This is the case for example in Indonesia where retail Sukuk have been used for infrastructure financing since 2009. This was facilitated by the improving investment conditions of the Sukuk market in general.

Greater development of retail Sukuk could reduce the dependence on foreign investors for infrastructure financing and promote retail participation in sustainable development financing.

However, Green, SRI and retail Sukuk require a large ethical investor base that is conscious about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors. This means greater emphasize on transparency, traceability and impact assessment. Furthermore, tremendous education and marketing efforts are still required in spreading a sustainable investment culture among retail investors, and in some cases a financial and investing culture. Sukuk innovations could be labeled as new asset classes that target both SRI and Islamic investors. Given the global development challenges and their impact especially on the poorest populations as well as the magnitude of the sustainable development investments needed across various sectors, investor activism reuniting both SRI and Islamic investors could drive the transformation towards sustainable economies in the future.

Finally, promoting these themed issuances cannot be achieved without multilateral development banks (MDBs) support. In the case of the themed bonds market, for example, the role of the World Bank and the other MDBs like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) was instrumental in the development of these markets. Their inaugural issuances gave a good signal to the market, which subsequently attracted other issuers and investors. MDB’s support can take the form of technical assistance, credit enhancement or inaugural issuances. In fact, MDBs have the ability to leverage their status, rating and expertise to provide policy guidance, technical assistance and financial support. Their unique business model enables them to leverage their limited capital in order to mobilise private sector financing as well to support sustainable development projects.

 

The Indonesia case 

Indonesia has indeed been widely claimed to be among the first two countries – together with Malaysia – who issued green Sukuk. It was back in February 2018, that the government of Indonesia, through its Ministry of Finance, issued the first world sovereign green Sukuk worth USD 1.25 billion. The green projects to be financed are twenty-three green projects consisting of 727 kilometers of train double lines, 121 units of solar power plants as well as waste management facilities for around 3.4 million households.

A year after, Indonesia issued the second global sovereign green Sukuk. This time, the issuance proceeds amounted to USD 2 billion divided into 5,5 years USD 750 million and ten years 1.25 billion Sukuk. It is important to note that both issuances were oversubscribed, securing around 146 investors on the first green Sukuk and 183 institutional investors on its second issuance. This has shown that targeting an institutional investor base might not be a big deal in Indonesia. As for the government, in line with Deloitte and ISRA’s “sustainable finance report”, the use of green Sukuk was done as it allows the government to raise funds at low cost, promote green financing as well as develop the sharia-compliant market and broaden alternative sources for state budget funding.

Following the national news coverage of the global green Sukuk issuance, many Indonesian retail investors contacted banks to invest in the instruments. Retail Sukuk is indeed a success story of Indonesia which started offering them to the public in 2009. Retail Sukuk have been instrumental in achieving the government’s objectives of domestic financial markets deepening, financial inclusion as well as the transformation of Indonesia from a saving-oriented society into an investment-oriented one.

Following Indonesia’s success in retail Sukuk, the government is now initiating the possibility of issuing retail green Sukuk, taping the potential of retail investors, especially the millennials. During the previous Indonesia’s Annual Islamic Finance Conference (AIFC) in Surabaya, East Java, the Ministry of Finance has indicated that a study over this plan has been requested through United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Indonesia. This optimistic move was indeed reasonable as investors in recent retail Sukuk issuances were dominated by the millennials.

While we witnessed the exemplary role from the government side in Indonesia, the private companies are unfortunately not keen enough to follow suit. This point has already been identified by key Islamic finance stakeholders in Indonesia.  Junino Yahya, for instance, former finance director of PT. Indonesian Satellite Corporation (Indosat), in the seminar held by Indonesian Islamic Economics Society in Durham University Business School several months ago, indicated that the high cost of Sukuk issuance compared to conventional bonds has contributed to the low interest of corporations in using Sukuk for fund raising. As the man behind the first corporate Sukuk issuance in Indonesia, back in 2002, he stressed the need to create the same level of playing fields for both financial instruments. He argued that the “infant-industry argument”, the rationale to justify the incentives given to a new established company/industry to promote its growth and ability to compete against established companies/industries, might be used for the case of Sukuk against conventional bonds.

The expectation of corporations of a better conducive environment for Sukuk has been captured by the Indonesia National Islamic Finance Committee (KNKS). This newly launched institution led directly by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, aims to accelerate the development of Islamic finance in contributing to Indonesia’s national economic development as well as to be the world center for Islamic economics and finance. In achieving this objective, KNKS then developed the Indonesia master plan for a sharia economy of 2019-2024. Aside from the fundamental strategy, programs and targets, the master plan also set several quick wins of each sectors of Islamic economics and finance. These quick wins are targets to be reached within short time periods.

For capital markets, quick wins number three (out of 5 points), the committee has developed several solutions to promote Sukuk issuance by proposing a greenlane or fast tract for corporate Sukuk. This proposal is expected to shorten the time needed for Sukuk issuance as well as cutting the bureaucracy by facilitating the issuance license for Sukuk.

Another interesting quick win in line with SDGs that needs to be noted in this masterplan, is the effort made to tap into sovereign social Sukuk of waqf-linked Sukuk. This is, in fact, the number one quick win for sharia capital markets. Waqf is a charitable endowment that plays a great role throughout the history of Muslim civilisation. In this initiative, Indonesia Waqf Board (BWI), a state independent institution in charge of revitalizing Indonesia waqf potential, together with ministry of finance will utilise idle temporary waqf fund for state budget funding through private placement. It is expected that projects in line with the SDGs as well as BWI’s mission of community empowerment, can be realised under this initiative.   

Waqf-linked Sukuk is not only interesting since it combines the classic financial instruments in Islam, waqf, together with the modern innovation financial instruments, Sukuk. It can also be regarded as a reminder that in the end, Sukuk, as part of the instrument developed in Islamic finance, cannot be separated with the idealism Islamic finance and economics, once initiated by the Islamic finance founding fathers, that is to create the welfare of the people, to empower them. As argued by Professor Mehmet Asutay (2013)6 the objective of Islamic finance is to achieve the human fallah; the walfare or prosperity. Above all, the Qur’an (Surah Al-Baqarah/2.30) mentioned that the human was created as the khalifatul ardh; the steward, the care taker or those who give prosperity in this universe. In this case, as targets in SDGs are in line with Islam, therefore Islamic finance should play an important role in achieving them.

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About the Authors

Dr Dalal Aassouli is currently an assistant professor of Islamic finance and Program Coordinator at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in Qatar. She is also an Islamic finance trainer and advisor. Previously, she was a visiting academic at the Durham Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance, Durham University Business School. Prior to that, she worked at the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) in Malaysia where she assisted with the establishment of the IILM’s Sukuk programme. Before that, she held several positions in Europe where she had exposure to the African, European and Latin American markets.
Her areas of research interest include Islamic finance in general and its implications for corporate finance, ethical finance, development finance, green finance, sustainable development and socially responsible investing.

Ebi Junaidi is School of Economics Lecturer at Universitas Indonesia. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Islamic Finance at Durham University Business School. Prior to his academic career, he was researcher in ING – Baring Securities, Indonesia. His research area are Waqf, Trust, Venture Capital, Sukuk, Risk, Time Preference and Financial Decision Making. He is the Chairman for Indonesia Islamic Economics Society-United Kingdom Chapter (MES UK) 2017-2019.

References
1. Islamic Financial Services Board (2019). Islamic Financial Services Industry Stability Report 2019. Kuala Lumpur: IFSB.
2. Thomson Reuters (2018). Islamic Finance Development Report Building Momentum.
3. Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (2015). Role of Islamic Finance in Infrastructure Financing. Presentation at the Sub-Regional Expert Group Meeting for South-East Asian Countries. Kuala Lumpur.
4. These include Tadau Energy Sdn Sukuk, Quantum Solar Park Sdn Bhd Sukuk, PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd Sukuk, Sinar Kamiri Sdn Bhd Sukuk, UiTM Solar Power Sdn Bhd and Sukuk Ihsan.
5. The term “maqasid” in plural means objective. It is a science that analyses the purpose behind the rules and prescriptions of Islamic law.
6. Islamic moral economy as the foundation of Islamic finance, in Islamic Finance in Europe: Towards a Plural Financial System, edited by Valention Cattelan, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.

How are ASEAN Countries Leading the Digital Transformation Wave

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has one of the most robust economies in Asia. The regional intergovernmental organization has 10 member countries whose combined GDP is in excess of US$2.5 trillion. The region’s economy is currently growing at a steady rate of 6% per year, with the impressive growth being mostly fuelled by the rapid penetration of smartphones and smart technology in the region. This trend is known as the ASEAN digital transformation.

The ASEAN digital transformation is characterized by a well-developed and innovation-driven information and communications tech infrastructure. The middle class in this region is expanding by the day, e-commerce and social media are gaining popularity at a steady rate, and tech devices are becoming more and more affordable. Also, the region has a huge youthful population and a strong startup sector. All these factors combined give birth to a digital wave that is promising to transform Southeast Asia.

 

An Economy on the Verge of Takeoff

The internet economy is taking shape in ASEAN. The region’s small and medium enterprises now have a strong platform from which they can launch themselves into global supply chains. The region’s diverse economies are also on the verge of uniting and forming one inseparable economic bloc. When this happens, the region will be ripe for economic take-off.

Multinational companies are already trying to penetrate the ASEAN market in readiness for this takeoff. For instance, PEOs in Singapore are investing in the right technologies that will help them find and recruit the right employees for the region’s expanding job market. If you dream of expanding your business to the ASEAN market, you will need the services of a translation company in understanding and interacting fruitfully with the ASEAN customers.

To aid this takeoff, the ASEAN member countries are working towards creating a seamless e-commerce space that will allow traders in the region to market and sell their products without any tariff or international trade restrictions. There is also the ASEAN Economic Blueprint 2025 that seeks to tap technology and leverage its power in an effort to close the gap between the member states and the top economies such as China, the US, and the EU. The ASEAN economic takeoff is also boosted by a Smart Cities Network that comprises of 26 cities in the region. If these cities become smart by 2025, the region will be ripe for industrial transformation.

 

The Master Plan on Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and Industry 4.0

The key aim of the MPAC 2025 is to promote economic integration amongst member nations as a way of creating an inclusive and competitive trade bloc before the year 2025. This goal will only be achieved by improving cross-sectoral connectivity across the region. The plan has already given birth to an ASEAN digital data governance framework that seeks to drive digital innovation and create a stronger digital agenda in the region.

If the MPAC 2025 is implemented successfully, digital technologies in ASEAN will have grown to more than US$500 billion by 2025. Technology will be adopted in the region in a bigger scale, efficiency in business and governance will be a notch higher, and products and services from the region will stand a stronger chance of competing in the global market.

“The ASEAN digital transformation wave is also supported by the Industry 4.0, a digitization phase that seeks to transform the way ASEAN citizens live and work. It is a building block that has led to increased adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, 3D printing, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence (AI), among other revolutionary technologies” explains New Horizons Global Partners.

This widespread adoption of new and advanced tech tools will help the region to leapfrog many regional trade blocs in terms of customer satisfaction and service delivery. Education systems in the region are also likely to improve as a result of AI integration.

 

Are There Any Challenges to Southeast Asia’s Digital Transformation?

The digital revolution in Southeast Asia is far from completion due to many teething problems. The greatest among these problems is the fact that the digital landscape in some of the member states is in deplorable conditions while other states are almost at par with the world’s developed economies. Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia, for example, have been developing at a very slow pace as compared to their peers in the trade bloc, e.g. Malaysia and Singapore. This sharp contrast could easily lead to the ultimate failure of the digital revolution.

 

Conclusion

If the ASEAN region continues in the current digital trajectory, its member states will most likely join the largest global economies by 2030. Countries such as Singapore will edge closer to big economies such as the United States and China and even leapfrog some economic giants in the European Union. It is a good thing that the region has a huge young and educated workforce which is prepared and comfortable to run away with new technologies as they come. Indeed, the full potential of the ASEAN digital transformation still lies in the future.

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Best Slot Games Released by Yggdrasil Gaming

Malta-based developer Yggdrasil is a mainstay in the online gaming world due to countless hit releases, a developer that isn’t afraid to experiment every now and again to bring its player base something unique to experience! We consider Yggdrasil Gaming to be one of the best in the game right now, ask any avid online gaming enthusiast, they’ll tell you everything you need to know about these guys and more! 

The company opened their digital doors all the way back in 2013 and have only grown exponentially as time has gone on, finding new footing in various new markets that had otherwise gone without previous! Their logo is almost as distinct as the slots/casino games they produce, a tree that looks just as rich as the last time we laid eyes on it spinning one of their games! 

Knowing where to start in the Yggdrasil Gaming catalogue can be difficult, especially to an outsider that might not know where to start — right now we count around a hundred new slot games in their catalogue, this can make choosing the right one without outside bias somewhat difficult. Thankfully you’ve stumbled across this article, one written by a slot machine expert, now, let’s dive in shall we, here are the best slot games released by Yggdrasil Gaming! 

 

Vikings Go Berzerk Slots game

A viking epic fit for any scallywag who dares take to the seven seas! Compared to some of the other slots in their catalogue, this is an example of one of their best — one that has amassed quite the following since its initial release! One of the major highlights here is the RTP percentage, a number that sits pretty at around 95% or so, thus meaning every penny you spend will be returned with interest. 

Whenever the player can hit the free spins, they will also be gifted with a random bonus of some kind. In the Ragnarök free spins, multiple icons will go rampant, causing the entire game to shake pretty much, granting you access to countless boosts to scores. We should also mention the treasure chest you see on the reels from time to time, try matching it on the fifth reel exclusively for a bigger bonus! 

 

Orient Express Slot

Who wouldn’t want to take a ride on the Orient Express? This 20 payline game is one of the most prestigious of all slots from Yggdrasil Gaming, one that doesn’t require a ticket but will need your undivided attention if you hope to succeed where so many have failed! Like the previous slot machine in our list, Orient Express is all about giving the customer what they want with a 96% RTP percentage! 

Some of the various bonuses here can change your financial situation in an instant if you’re playing on a larger amount. Walking wilds, win multipliers, wild reels and random wilds are all at your disposal here, available from the jump! You don’t have to be posh to be privileged here people, now come on, all aboard the Orient Express, choo choo! 

 

Gem Rocks – New online slot

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, Yggdrasil Gaming go and create something very unique, so unique in fact that various other developers have tried to recapture the same sort of magic, introducing, Gem Rocks! The story of this slot alone is worth the price of admission in all honesty, a slot that depicts various rock monsters living in perfect harmony amidst the mountains, help them and they’ll pay you handsomely! 

If you have never played a cluster slot before then you are in for a real treat here. Cluster slots aren’t like your run of the mill, left-to-right slot machine, no, they require a lot more attention — not to worry, since this is an incredibly unique slot to say the least. In a cluster slot you can match symbols both horizontally and vertically with a minimum of 4×4 symbols needed to form a winning combination. Expect only the unexpected from Yggdrasil Gaming’s best kept secret in Gem Rocks. 

 

Double Dragons Casino Slot

Game of Thrones made dragons cool again, but Double Dragons never needed the rub. In Double Dragons you enter the lair of two dragons, one made of fire, the other of ice. It is up to you to navigate your way through their domain to grab the gold! The first thing you’ll notice about Double Dragons is just how detailed it is, the gameplay ain’t half bad either guys! Think you’re up for the challenge? You best be sure because you’ll be eaten alive otherwise. 

One of the best features in Double Dragons comes via the two beasts themselves. Whenever you activate these two you’ll be given something unique to play with. The fire dragon here will give you random wilds to play with, while the ice dragon will give punters a 2x multiplier to mess around with! The goal of anyone brave enough to see these dragons should be to enter the free spins mode, it comes with all sorts of multipliers to help you on your way to legendary status! 

 

Penguin City 

Penguin City is so like our own you don’t even know! This slot is all about helping some overworked penguins break free from their boss, an emperor penguin that is clearly taking the Mick! As far as looks go, Penguin City is definitely up there with some of the best games in their catalogue that’s for sure, looking almost like the infamous penguins from the Madagascar movies. 

So what can you expect to see on the bonus front in Penguin City? Quite a lot actually, everything from sticky wilds to a free spins and all that good stuff! Be sure to look out for the dastardly emperor penguin here, he is a stacked wild icon that can cause your scores to skyrocket if you can find him!

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Strategies for Managing the Cyber Security Risk

By Anthony Young

The financial services industry is used to regulation, but having an effective cyber security strategy is not as simple as ticking the boxes – it needs to constantly evolve. This is especially true when organisations build competitive scale by undertaking mergers, acquisitions and increasing their third-party suppliers. Organisations need to understand the threats, regularly testing their own defences in order to best protect themselves from attack.

 

The financial services sector is an obvious target for cyber criminals because of the sheer volume of personal data that it holds, as well as the amount of money that it controls. The frequency of these attacks, or at least the reporting of them, seems to be increasing. According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), reported cyber attacks on financial firms increased by 12 fold in 2018 when compared to the previous year1. Retail banking was cited as the most affected sector, with the primary cause of these cyber incidents being attributed to third-party failure, closely followed by hardware and software, and change management.

This high incidence of attacks attributed to third-parties is supported by findings from the Ponemon Institute2. It found that although many financial services organisations still develop their own software, many are becoming reliant on third-party independent vendors to deliver the latest technology. However, according to the same report, many organisations do not require third-parties to adhere to the same cyber security measures as themselves.

But for established organisations to remain competitive, particularly against the challenger banks, they need to update their legacy systems. Investing in new technologies and transforming the customer experience is key to survival and third-party vendors are an important enabler in making this happen. Therefore, these suppliers need to be managed – it’s not enough to transfer the cyber responsibility to them alone.

 

Understanding the threats

This is also something recognised by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), who provide advice to the European Commission on strengthening EU cyber and IT security regulation in the financial sector3. It highly recommends that the commission should develop an EU oversight framework for third party providers active in financial services, with a particular focus on cloud service providers (CSPs).

But third-parties are not the only risk for cyber security firms. Phishing email rates continue to rise at an alarming rate according to Infoblox, meaning that approximately one out of every 200 emails received by users worldwide is a phishing email4.

And within the financial sector there are also a number of different threat actors who may have different motivations for the attack. For example, state-sponsored attacks may steal financial data to monitor the activities of individuals, governments and industry, whereas cyber criminals could be more interested in financial theft. In addition, insider threats need to be considered – trusted employees could be in it for the long game when the financial rewards can be so large.

 

Protecting assets

Being an attractive target to such a variety of threat actors means that any vulnerabilities will be sought out and exploited to the maximum. But financial institutions need to enable both their employees and clients to access data while maintaining confidentiality at all times. Keeping to these commitments while staving off cyber threats is complex, but, with reputations easily damaged and large fines at stake, it needs to be managed effectively.

The FCA offers a framework of advice to ensure good practice which includes:

  • Putting good governance in place so that cyber security is on the executive agenda Identifying what needs to be protected, including third party suppliers Protecting assets appropriately, which includes adopting long-term user education and awareness
  • Using good detection systems to tackle the insider threat
  • Being aware of emerging threats and issues by sharing intelligence, insights and practices
  • Being ready to respond and recover by learning lessons from every incident
  • Testing and refining defences

In fact, this last step is vital to ensure that organisations improve their resilience to attack as well as their speed of recovery in the event of a breach. The best way to do this is with ethical hacking.

 

Ethical hacking is a way for financial organisations to test a particular element of their business and see how resilient it is to attack.

Hacking to ensure resilience

Ethical hacking is a way for financial organisations to test a particular element of their business and see how resilient it is to attack. Essentially, the ethical hacker will assess the system’s security and report back in terms of what they saw, what they were able to do and how much went unnoticed. Typically, the test will involve web application penetration testing, infrastructure penetration testing or mobile device and mobile application penetration testing.

However, to fully test all areas of the financial organisation, a red team engagement is required which takes things a step further. It doesn’t just focus on the technology elements. A full-attack simulation focuses on all areas of the organisation and could include social engineering, physical access attempts, active reconnaissance and the full suite of technical penetration testing techniques.

A typical engagement is likely to take several months and should include some typical milestones such as an assessment with agreed objectives and safeguards, start and end dates, as well as a time to present the findings to the Executive Board. And if vulnerabilities are detected, it means that the organisation can address them before being exploited by a cyber attack.

 

Conclusion

In a recent Ponemon report, the financial services industry demonstrates that there needs to be more focus on cyber security as the industry continues to be more dependent on new technologies and systems in order to improve margins and agility5. Over 70 per cent of respondents stated using financial systems and software supplied by a third-party, yet only 31 per cent thought that their organisation was effective in preventing cyber attacks.

Red teaming is an excellent way to approach these expectations and then address any gaps with the right security protocols and processes.

This is something which the European Central Bank recognises only too well. Through its banking oversight arm, the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), it is currently pursuing expectations for the cyber resilience of large Eurozone banks. These expectations will have to address a number of challenging issues, including questions about the governance of cyber risk, the expected speed of recovery from cyber breaches, and the information that supervisors expect firms to share with the rest of the market6.

Red teaming is an excellent way to approach these expectations and then address any gaps with the right security protocols and processes. There’s no easy answer though – it’s an ongoing cycle because as technology advances and is used to boost security, it can also be used by attackers to improve attack methods and create new threat vectors.

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About the Author

Anthony Young is a Founding Director at Bridewell Consulting, one of the UK’s leading independent cyber security companies. He has been involved in cyber security for more than 16 years, with a background in information security, governance, risk and compliance. Starting his career with a small consulting company, he joined Barclay Simpson to develop its contract information security division. Anthony founded Bridewell Consulting in 2013, and built a world-class cyber security company that focuses on customer satisfaction and long-term relationships.

References
1. https://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/3078272/12-fold-increase-in-cyber- crime-financial-services
2. https://www.synopsys.com/content/dam/synopsys/sig-assetsreports/software-security-financial-services-ponemon.pdf
3. https://blogs.deloitte.co.uk/financialservices/2019/05/blog-eu
-regulators-recommend-fresh-legislation-on-cyber-and-it-risk-in-the-financial-sector-.html
4.http://www.infoblox.com/wp-content/uploads/infoblox-whitepaper-sans-top-new-attacks-and-threat-report.pdf?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWVdZeVpXSm1ObVEyTkRVMiIsInQiOiJPeHEwbXF2YXE2Z0VPWFRyMmYrclwvTzJVa3JhTkUyTEp3VG1iVno0N0ZBUUNGV0lGWm4zUW5mNnFRamlSZTRFU3NZenFLVFhsQTFFbnhXVmt3c29Hb3d4elpLWThqOVFkRllPT3NwcFpMdU1NemI3RnU1UUlCZEt5aWVnSm5EY1MifQ%3D%3D
5. https://www.synopsys.com/content/dam/synopsys/sig-assets/reports/software-security-financial-services-ponemon.pdf
6. https://blogs.deloitte.co.uk/financialservices/2018/05/cybe
r-resilience-and-the-european-central-bank-.html

Las Vegas Hotels Believed to be Haunted

Las Vegas has a reputation around the world as a playground for adults. It is thought of as one of the leading destinations for gambling, entertainment, and partying. People from all over the world flock to its renowned casinos, live shows, and venues looking for a good time and to let loose.

A lesser-known fact about “Sin City,” however, is that suspected haunted Las Vegas hotels have a widespread reputation as a home for the supernatural. Perhaps it’s the many misadventures that have been had there, or perhaps it’s the peculiar positioning of Vegas as a hive of bright shining lights in an otherwise remote desert environment. Either way, it’s likely that supposedly haunted Las Vegas hotels haven’t earned a reputation as a magnet for ghosts, hauntings, and paranormal activity by accident.

Some haunted Las Vegas hotels have had dark histories, and rumors have spread from past guests that have stayed in their rooms. In fact, many tourists also flock to Nevada to get a glimpse of these haunted hotels in Las Vegas.

So-called “dark tourism,” or tourism geared toward exploring the darker aspects of a destination, has become common. Travelers don’t just visit cities to experience their positive qualities any longer.  Many tourists are interested in peering into the darker underbelly of a city’s history.

In Nevada, this often takes the form of staying in one of its many haunted hotel rooms in Las Vegas. Let’s take a look at some of the most notorious among them in case you should ever have the courage to stay in one.

 

1. The Luxor

If you’ve ever visited Las Vegas, chances are that you’ve caught a glimpse of this ominous, pyramid-shaped structure. With a massive Sphinx at its forefront and an enormous pyramid with a beaming light shining powerfully into the sky, The Luxor hotel and casino is hard to miss. Luxor’s design is modeled after the architecture of ancient Egypt. 

While its impressive design is internationally renowned, not many people know that the hotel has a dark history. Many construction workers died while it was being built. Many superstitious Vegas-goers believe that it’s the ghosts of many of these workers that haunt its illustrious halls.

Perhaps it’s for this reason that the hotel and casino are included in reviews and blogs by dark tourists that visit and stay in its hotel, hoping to have an experience of the paranormal.

Other accounts of paranormal activity at The Luxor mention the ghost of a teenage girl that is rumored to haunt the premises, wandering through its sizable rooms and terrorizing its guests.

All that being said, The Luxor still maintains a dedicated following and continuous patronage of clients, many of whom are completely unaware of its dark history. Aside from being one of the most well-known haunted establishments in Vegas, it’s also a beloved hotel and casino. In fact, it’s included in many lists of some of the best hotels in Las Vegas.

 

2. Bally’s (The Old MGM Grand)

When searching for the latest and greatest haunts in Vegas, many tourists might not think to consider the MGM Grand. This is because many people don’t realize that the MGM Grand’s original location was rebranded to cover up a dark past. In fact, the MGM Grand fire in 1980 was the hotel fire with the second-largest death toll in United States history.

With a sticker price of $107 million, the original MGM Grand hotel and casino was one of the first luxury establishments of its kind on the Las Vegas strip.

The fire took 87 lives. Many died in horrific and gruesome fashion, suffering from life-ending burns, skull fractures, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Many victims, overwhelmed by the carnage, jumped from the top floors of the hotel to their death.

To make matters worse, many experts today believe the fire and its horrific effects could have been prevented. The combination of ignored safety protocols, cheap synthetic materials to make the hotel appear lavish, and lack of an adequate number of sprinklers caused the fire to spread quickly and suddenly. Had proper regulations been followed, the fire could have likely been prevented from spreading.

As a result, dozens of lawsuits filed against the establishment were settled for an amount totaling $223 million. According to Gamblers Daily Digest, so widespread were the rumors of ghosts haunting the premises after the fire that MGM Grand opened their current location down the block, where it still exists to this day. The original MGM Grand was renamed Bally’s after being sold to a new owner, where it still attracts dark tourists from around the globe.

 

3. Caesar’s Palace

One of the major staples and household names of the city, Caesar’s Palace is an extremely popular destination in Las Vegas. Gamblers from around the world come to test their luck in their renowned casinos. Behind its luxurious, larger-than-life appearance, however, lurk rumors that the famous hotel and casino is haunted.

When asked for his opinion on Caesar’s, casino expert Adrian Sireca of Online Casino Gems said that “Caesar’s Palace is one of the most fun casinos in Vegas, and one of the most sinister. Many gamblers with a penchant for the dark and mysterious have been drawn to it and I expect that many more will in the future as well.”

Most rumors stem from its eerie sense-activated fountains turning on and off on their own volition. Many believers in the paranormal also point to a crap table that was thought to be haunted for years, paying off a profit to gamblers for 13 months in a row – an event that is unheard of in the world of casino owners. 

In fact, some sources report that casino staff members were so unsettled by the table that one day it was taken out and burned. The statue-laden, Roman-influenced architecture of Caesar’s Palace also creates a creepy, somewhat disarming aura, and gives the location a sinister demeanor. According to Gambling News Magazine, it remains one of the oldest and most popular destinations in Las Vegas to this day.

In conclusion, if you consider yourself a fan of the supernatural, weird, paranormal, and mysterious, Las Vegas might be a good place to plan your next trip. Aside from its reputation as a playground for grown-ups, it offers just what dark tourists look for in some of its most historical landmarks.

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Cedar Rose Positioned as Leader in Know Your Customer & Entity Verification in One World Identity’s 2019 Identity Industry Landscape

Cedar Rose Recognized for KYC & KYB Deterministic Data

New York City, New York — November 21, 2019 – Cedar Rose today announced that it was recognized as a leader in Know Your Customer (KYC) & Entity Verification (KYB) by One World Identity (OWI). OWI is a market intelligence and strategy firm focused on identity, trust, and the data economy. Each year, OWI designs an Identity Landscape, providing a comprehensive and holistic view of leaders in the identity space. As the identity industry is rapidly developing, OWI’s landscape provides an unparalleled overview of how digital identity applications are evolving and the companies and markets shaping next-generation digital identity.

With over 400 companies and 35 market segments, the 2019 Identity Landscape visually depicts a growing and maturing industry. The new, unique landscape format allows companies to touch multiple market segments, reflecting on the dynamic nature of digital identity applications. The OWI team selected 415 identity companies from a pool of over 2,000 based on several factors.

• Each company must be an identity company OR have a distinguishable line of business focused on identity.
• Each company must be at least 3 years old or have raised $3 million.
• Each company must have a functioning product in the market.

“Since 2017, the number of identity companies has more than quadrupled, from 500 companies to over 2,000,” said Travis Jarae, CEO and Founder of OWI. “With the wave of data breaches and privacy scandals, there is a rapid expansion of identity products and solutions. The OWI team interacts with identity companies every day, from startups to enterprise. We’re proud to share the Identity Landscape each year to distill how new companies, products, and solutions are shaping the future of identity.”

Cedar Rose has been recognized as a leader in Know Your Customer (KYC) & Entity Verification (KYB). The company provides business intelligence solutions which include electronic identity verification for both people and businesses. Cedar Rose has uniquely covered one of the more difficult geographical regions for KYC and KYB including many countries in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Russia, Romania and Turkey. The company has also recently been recognized by the European Business Awards as “Ones to Watch” and awarded the National Winner prize for Digital Technology, with the final judging to take place in December.

Antoun Massaad, Cedar Rose’s founder and CEO said, “The region we have traditionally been covering for business intelligence, Know Your Customer and Entity Verification data has certainly had its share of challenges and we are working hard every day to not only increase our coverage in these difficult regions, but to expand our services to offer global entity verification very soon. To be recognized by organizations like One World Identity and to be included on their 2019 Identity Industry Landscape is testament to the hard work our teams are putting in every day. It makes me very proud for Cedar Rose to be included amongst the top companies in the world for our KYC and KYB identity verification services as well as for the digital technology that enables them. Having traditionally been providing credit reporting and due diligence services for over 20 years, electronic identity verification is a fairly new line of business for us since 2016 and I’m glad that we grasped the opportunity to be at the forefront of this exciting new industry.”

Digital identity is the core of digital transformation. From personal to professional applications, identity is the foundation for how we connect, engage, and interact in the digital economy. As there is increasing consumer demand for privacy and security, digital identity is no longer a nice-to-have; it is a pillar of success. The OWI Identity Landscape is a tool to help companies keep track of market growth and trends and understand the strategic importance of digital identity moving into 2020 and beyond. OWI will be releasing a more detailed research report delving into the details of each market segment and how companies within the industry overlap and intersect in upcoming months.

Download a complimentary copy of OWI’s 2019 Industry Landscape at www.oneworldidentity.com/landscape.


About Cedar Rose

Cedar Rose is an innovative, digital technology focused business intelligence agency providing company profiles, credit reports, due diligence, data subscriptions and electronic identity verification services for companies and individuals. The company has traditionally covered the Middle East and North Africa, though has been expanding to offer global coverage in many services over recent years. Cedar Rose was founded in the UK in 1997, and is now based in Cyprus and Lebanon.

About OWI

OWI is a market intelligence and strategy firm focused on identity, trust, and the data economy. Through advisory services, events and research, OWI helps a wide range of public and privately held companies, investors and governments stay ahead of market trends, so they can build sustainable, forward-looking products and strategies. OWI was founded in 2015 and is the host of the KNOW Identity Conference that takes place in Vegas April 5-8, 2020.

 

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