Page 50 - UBP - IR2020
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MANAGEMENT APPROACH
1 THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES
Developed countries are getting older and so is Mauritius a a a a worrying trend for a a a a a a a a country that has not accumulated the same amount of wealth as its Western counterparts Governments in Europe and Japan give us a a a a a a glimpse of our future: attempts to address fertility rates through flexible working hours advancements in in robotics and more retirement homes As the the productive tissue of Mauritius is is set to decrease in in the the coming decade more than half of the projected global population rise up to 2050 will be concentrated in in just nine countries namely: India Nigeria Pakistan Congo Ethiopia Tanzania Indonesia Egypt and the the US In In these same countries we also witness an an an increase in in urbanisation and consumption RISING INEQUALITIES
AND ‘THE LOSS OF FUTURE’
Despite rising global prosperity the the division between the the wealthy and poor is widening and so are the the inequalities between generations Across the the globe countries are expecting the the next generation to be be poorer than they are are “Millennials are are 10% less likely to sit in the same economic bracket than Baby Boomers were at their age ” (IPSOS) The 2017 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report ‘The World in in 2035: Paradox of Progress’ underlines that for the first time a a a a a worse future seems inevitable This is is a a a a a massive shift from the last half-century of post-World War II optimism Over the past decade Mauritius has experienced an an average annual per per capita growth of 3 6% with an an an increase in in in purchasing power and urbanisation for middle-class families This was however accompanied by increasing inequality inequality The World Bank (2017) shows that household income inequality inequality has widened significantly from 0 0 0 0 0 36 in in in 2001 to 0 0 0 0 0 42 in in in 2015 particularly in in in the the aftermath of of the the global economic downturn and terms-of-trade shock that hit Mauritius between 2008 and 2015 As it it it it battles with the effects of COVID-19 and of being placed on the EU’s risk blacklist combined with an an expected rise in in in inflation and and import costs and and the potential loss of certain financial and and investment companies and and services – Mauritius may well join the the West in its anxiety about the the future TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
Today technology and and its increased ability to connect and and communicate is leading to unprecedented socio-economic change The 2020s will be the decade in in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) geodata the Internet of Things (IoT) bioscience and quantum computing will be given the opportunity to reshape our our world Automation will make production more resource and time efficient but it it will also change the labour market and it it is unlikely to benefit the disadvantaged While technology may change work-life patterns facilitating more flexibility it it it will erase jobs from the economy in the medium term COVID-19 has offered us an unexpected glimpse o of how our lives will look in in the future in in terms of what technology can and cannot achieve especially in our work life patterns and the e-commerce space There is a a a a a a a general feeling that technology can enable efficiency and freedom but that the ‘human touch’ and spontaneity are not yet replicable by robots and digitalisation Regardless both the the speed of of the the evolution of of technology and and its ubiquity are likely to impact our economy and and how we organise our work life 2 3 Drivers of change Every year in in our integrated report we provide a a section on on the major ‘drivers of change’ that may affect our business These global macro forces shape socio-cultural and and economic trends (and vice-versa) which directly impact our business 2020 marks the beginning of a a a new decade punctuated by an unprecedented health crisis a a a resulting global economic downturn increasing climate emergencies and and political and and social fragmentation at at the global level As our world increases in in in complexity and uncertainty this section of our report is ever more important Our short analysis is is based on sources such as as the the latest IPSOS report the the World Economic Forum World Risk Report various sources on global industry trends and and the local news and and social media platforms – including of course the 2020 National Budget The selection of of ‘drivers of of change’ below is not meant to be exhaustive rather we have singled out those we believe will have a a a a greater impact on our industry and businesses Predicting the the full breadth of of impact of of the the pandemic and and the success or failure of both global and and local responses is not possible at the time of writing At this stage we may only infer certain short and medium term possibilities 50 - UBP INTEGRATED REPORT 2020 




























































































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