The pandemic has changed the nature of work, accelerating the adoption of digital technologies by at least a decade and ushering in a hybrid model, the head of India’s biggest private-sector employer told the Qatar Economic Forum.
Earlier on Tuesday, acting Qatari finance minister Ali Al Kuwari said the Gulf nation won’t need to return to debt markets any time soon, though it may choose to take advantage of low-interest rates. Speakers for the morning session include Swiss Re AG Chairman Sergio Ermotti, billionaire investor Michael Novogratz and Binance Holdings CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The three-day event kicked off on Monday, with billionaire investor Ray Dalio and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers telling the Forum the U.S. is headed for a period of overheating and inflation that could threaten the recovery.
The Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Investment Promotion Agency Qatar and Media City Qatar are underwriters of the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg.
Years of bruising price competition has left only “two-and-a-half operators” in India’s telecom sector and it would be “tragic” if that reduced to two, Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd., India’s second-largest wireless operator, told the forum.
While billionaire Mittal’s firm has been gaining market share, it lags Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., India’s largest network by subscriber numbers. A third player, Vodafone Idea Ltd., is hanging by a thread, with senior executives warning in the past that it may slip into bankruptcy.
That would not be a good result for the telecom sector or Indian consumers, Mittal said. “India is a very large country. It deserves to have three private sector players.”
India’s Top Private Employer Sees More Flexibility
The world of work won’t go back to pre-Covid norms, Tata Sons Pvt Ltd Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said, while insisting that the office remains a critical hub and staff will gradually return. Chandrasekaran, head of India’s biggest private-sector employer, said workplaces will benefit from allowing staff greater leeway with the help of technology.
When the pandemic hit India in early 2020, the 150-year-old steel-to-airlines conglomerate scrambled to adapt to lockdown restrictions. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. — its largest company by employee numbers and profitability — nearly half a million workers shifted to working from home.
Google Sees AI Driving Cloud Business
Google expects artificial intelligence and data analytics to drive opportunities in its cloud business, its Chief Financial Officer said.
“What we’re really excited about is the investments and opportunity in our cloud business,” Ruth Porat said in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum. “Our cloud business really is benefiting from extraordinary data analytics, the AI behind that, and then we’ve brought in talents to focus on very industry-specific solutions.”
Porat noted how Google’s cloud business has prioritized targeting financial services and retail to win more business, after being asked what differentiates the company from its competitors such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.
Qatar May Sit Out Gulf Debt Binge
One of the Gulf’s largest and highest-rated borrowers won’t need to return to the debt market any time soon, though it may choose to take advantage of low interest rates.
“The only time we might need financing is just to improve our financial position” like refinancing outstanding debts more cheaply, said Ali Al Kuwari, Qatar’s acting finance minister and the Minister of Commerce and Industry. A rise in global energy prices has helped the tiny country generate a first-quarter surplus of 200 million Qatari riyals ($54 million) as opposed to the 54 billion riyal deficit it had anticipated.
If the situation continues, investors should expect Qatar to tap bond markets “only to be opportunistic,” he said in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum that airs in full on Tuesday.
(With assistance from Shaji Mathew, Simone Foxman, Farah Elbahrawy, Erik Schatzker and Saritha Rai)