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Day: 20 September 2017

Record turnout for MEB, with new features

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/09/2017
MEB's Michel Dotta. Photo: Stéphane Danna/Realis
MEB’s Michel Dotta. Photo: Stéphane Danna/Realis

Nearly 350 economic players from the Principality were gathered for the 30th Monaco Economic Board’s Members Rendez-Vous on Monday, September 18, to enjoy an event optimised for business meetings.

Originally planned on the terraces of the Observatory Deck of the flagship of the Yacht Club of Monaco, it took place on the no less elegant Ballroom due to unstable weather conditions. For this new edition, the Monaco Economic Board has brought innovation to the forefront.

Companies took part in BtoB meetings on the sidelines of the cocktail networking, a novelty unanimously welcomed by members. A total of 70 meetings were held, connecting 90 entrepreneurs for 57 companies.

MEB Rendez-Vous at Yacht Club. Photo: Stéphane Danna/Realis
MEB Rendez-Vous at Yacht Club. Photo: Stéphane Danna/Realis

The first selected start-ups from the MonacoTech Incubator Accelerator program, created by the Monegasque state in partnership with Monaco Telecom and Xavier Niel, were invited also, in the presence of Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy.

Fabrice Marquet, Managing Director of MonacoTech, testified to the virtuous dynamics surrounding this project, whereas the second session of selection of start-ups by the Jury, which once again praised the quality of the candidates, took place on the same day.

In his speech, Michel Dotta then discussed the current situation of the MEB.

The programme includes a follow-up economic mission to Moscow (October 4-6) within the framework of the Monaco Days organised by the Ambassador of Monaco in Russia HE Mireille Pettiti, in partnership with the DTC, the Monte Carlo Ballets and the Monte-Carlo Princess Grace Check-Up Unit; the hosting of a Swedish economic delegation (October 12), as part of Prince Carl Philip’s visit to the Principality; the conference of Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist of Euler Hermes and Allianz, in partnership with JCEM, on the theme “The United States at the Foot of the Wall” (October 17); and the Eco Club of Monaco Awards in partnership with the Nice-Matin Group (November 28).

READ MORE: Economic board in top gear

Photo: MEB/Réalis
Photo: MEB/Réalis

Transatlantic first for Monaco yacht

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/09/2017

Screen Shot 2017-09-20 at 8.23.44 PMFollowing his third place in the Rolex Fastnet Race, Pierre Casiraghi has entered the IMOCA 60’ Malizia II – Yacht Club de Monaco for the 13th Transat Jacques Vabre later this year.

The demanding biennial race for double-handers leaves Le Havre on November 5, although the grandson of Princess Grace will not be on board. The race will be a first for a Monegasque boat supervised by Pierre Casiraghi and led by German sailor Boris Herrmann.

“In line with our Club’s sailing policy, as well as preparation for the Vendée Globe, it seems important to me that the Yacht Club de Monaco’s offshore flagship Malizia II is able to compete in internationally renowned events to inspire our young sailors to dream big and get them considering used vocations,” said Pierre Casiraghi, YCM Vice-President.

To complete the team, he has chosen Frenchman Thomas Ruyant, who has three Transat Jacques Vabre under his belt and the last Vendée Globe on Souffle du Nord. The Dunkirk sailor is an experienced ocean racer.

“With this young team, our ambition is to be there on the start of the most prestigious races, be it GC32 regattas or offshore races on the IMOCA 60’. Both are high performance foiling boats which epitomise modern sailing,” added the Prince, who just turned 30 on September 5.

Malizia symbolises the Grimaldi family’s attachment to the sea, a tribute to Francesco Grimaldi “The Cunning One” (La Malizia in Monegasque), the Genovese who arrived by sea in 1297 and established the Grimaldi dynasty.

The Transat Jacques Vabre involves 4,350 nautical miles ending in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, with thirteen IMOCA 60s competing.

READ MORE: Dynamiq sponsors Casiraghi’s sailing team

Photo: M32 Series
Photo: M32 Series

Tenth anniversary of Australian relations

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/09/2017
Photo: DC
Photo: DC

The Principality of Monaco and Australia are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries. To mark the occasion, the Embassy of Monaco in Australia is organising a “Monaco Week”, which is currently taking place in Sydney.

Various events are also planned to promote the Principality, in particular through the participation of the the Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene Foundations, the Directorate of Tourism and Conventions as well as the SBM.

In May 2007, the two countries decided to establish Diplomatic Relations. Currently, the Ambassador of Australia to Monaco, posted in Paris, since September 4, 2014, is HE Stephen Brady. Reciprocally, HE Catherine Fautrier was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Monaco to the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia on June 16, 2011.

Today, Monaco has two Honorary Consuls in Australia: Andrew M Cannon, appointed in 2002 and based in Melbourne, which covers Victoria (VIC), Tasmania (TAS), South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA), and Hadrien Bourely, appointed in 2016 and based in Sydney, which covers the states of New South Wales (NSW), Northern Territories (NT) and Queensland (Q)

About 150 Australians currently reside in the Principality of Monaco and more than 10,000 of them come to visit the Principality every year. In 2010, the Directorate of Tourism and Congress opened a Representative Office, based in Sydney, which covers Australia and New Zealand.

Two major cultural exhibitions have strengthened the ties between the two countries. In March 2012, Princess Charlene officially opened the “Princess Grace” exhibition in Bendigo (VIC), which was a huge success. In addition, from March to September 2016, the Monaco Oceanographic Museum hosted the exhibition “TABA NABA”, made up of pieces of Australian aboriginal art on the theme “Man and the Ocean”.

READ MORE: Week in review: Australia Day packs StarDeck, CREM hosts think tanks Monaco-style

Monaco Australia Association's Beverley Holt with Annette Anderson of Stars'n'Bars and Brian Holt.
Monaco Australia Association’s Beverley Holt with Annette Anderson of Stars’n’Bars and Brian Holt.

 

Monaco’s Mimran Group agrees African sale

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/09/2017
Steven J. Bresky, Seaboard President & CEO
Steven J. Bresky, Seaboard President & CEO

The Monaco-based Mimran Group has agreed a memorandum of understanding with Seaboard Corp. under which Seaboard intends to acquire the flour milling and associated businesses of Groupe Mimran in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Monaco.

The businesses would increase the flour and feed milling capacity of its businesses by about 15 percent, to more than 24,000 tonnes per day, and its grain trading volume by approximately 9 percent, to 10.5 million tonnes per year, Seaboard said.

“We are excited to further our investment in sub-Saharan Africa with this acquisition and believe the culture and operations will be a great fit with our existing structure,” said Steven Bresky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaboard.

“Seaboard has had commercial ties with the Mimran Group for almost 40 years, and we look forward to integrating the business into our existing trade strategy and expand our cargo and trade opportunities as a result of this transaction. We expect to continue to work closely together with the Mimran Group by leveraging our existing strengths into a better industrial and trade-based business.”

The Mimran Group is one of the leading agri-food groups in West Africa, operating sugar refining, flour milling and animal feed businesses. Its main companies in flour milling and sugar refining include Grands Moulins de Dakar, Grands Moulins d’Abidjan, and Compagnie Sucriere Senegalaise.

Jean Claude Mimran, the Group’s president, was born in 1945 and has been described as the Sugar King of Africa. The Monaco-based Mimran Group is reported to be the second-largest employer in Senegal after the government. A Swiss resident, Mimran is worth two billion Swiss francs (€1.7 billion), according to Swiss business magazine Bilanz.

“We are delighted to enter into this memorandum of understanding with Seaboard,” said David Mimran, President and Director General of Grands Moulin d’Abidjan and Grands Moulins de Dakar.

“An important consideration for us was that any new owner shares the same values and culture that we have instilled within our businesses over the years. Just like ourselves, Steve Bresky is the third generation of his family running a substantial business, and I very much look forward to assisting Mr Bresky and his team in any way we can with respect to this new chapter in the development of the business.”

The Memorandum of Understanding precedes the negotiation and execution of a definitive purchase agreement and due diligence by the buyer.

READ MORE: Out of Africa and The Power of Now

Boschendal
Boschendal

 

Carpooling helps the environment: monacovoiturage.mc or 0800 91 28 18

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/09/2017