Monaco’s electric taxis have been deemed a huge success and improvements are already being tabled for 2020, including a longer summer service.
The fleet of electric taxis was unveiled in July 2019 with the aim of providing a clean transport alternative while boosting taxi services during the busiest period of the year in the Principality.
The summer program concluded its annual service in October and Government Advisor for Finance and the Economy Jean Castellini recently released key figures.
During the four months of operation, 32,870 trips were accepted and recorded through the call center. Compared to the previous summer season, this is an increase of 13% – equivalent to 8,555 more trips.
Meanwhile, there has been a 73% decrease in the number of cancelations – which was a result of requests not being processed. This means that the waiting time has also decreased and now stands at less than five minutes.
The 100% electric vehicles allow travel throughout Monaco at the basic fixed price of 15€ and, like normal taxis, customers can hail the vehicle in the street. People are also able to download the ‘Taxis Monaco’ app for fast booking.
In addition to the positives of the electric taxi service, areas of improvement are also being addressed, including the need to increase the number of fast-charging stations; the number of vehicles; a modification of the texts concerning the use of electric vehicles, in particular as a replacement vehicle or as the 2nd main vehicle; and the need to extend the taxi’s period of operation in the summer of 2020 to start from the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament in April.
Meanwhile, drivers of electric cars are being urged to avoid using charging stations for longer than necessary.
“The Prince’s Government would like to remind people that the charging stations are not parking spaces and that once the vehicle is recharged, it must be moved,” said the government in a statement. “The electric terminals reserved for taxis cannot be used by the general public.”
The ongoing criminal case between Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier and Russian collector and owner of the AS Monaco football club Dmitry Rybolovlev has been thrown out by Monaco’s court of appeals.
The case, which was filed in 2015, stemmed from an accusation made by Rybolovlev that the Swiss dealer defrauded him by swindling him out of nearly €1 billion by inflating the prices on 38 art deals, including Leonardo da Vinci’s now infamous Salvator Mundi.
The da Vinci made headlines in 2017 when Rybolovlev resold the painting to a member of the Saudi royal family for a jaw-dropping $450 million, making it the most expensive art sale in history. This sale prompted US investigators to drop fraud charges against Bouvier there, though the Monaco case and others remained open.
The court made no judgement on the case, they simply declared the entire criminal investigation invalid, though they have not publicly explained the decision of the ruling except to say that they accepted proof that the rights of the accused had been compromised due to personal connections with the plaintiff and his lawyer that may have hindered all the facts from becoming available.
Attorneys for the defendant maintain his innocence, saying he was charging market value prices for these rare works, and that the cut he took in procuring them was reasonable and usual for a middleman in these transactions.
If upheld, this decision could affect Rybolovlev’s other court cases, leaving Sotheby’s New York, who also had targets on their backs in this matter, cheering as the Monegasque court has forbidden any parties to use the acts declared null and void in this case in any other proceedings pertaining to this case.
Regardless, the Russian’s Paris-based lawyer, Hervé Temine, declared their intent to appeal. Legal actions are still being pursued against Bouvier in the US, Paris, Geneva and London.
Negotiations at the COP25 Climate Conference held in Madrid wrapped up on Sunday with a disappointing stalemate on an overall deal covering the biggest and most controversial issues, though many important breakthroughs were made.
Representatives found themselves stuck on loss and damage brought on by climate change and financing for adaption measures, but released a preliminary version of the outcome on Saturday leaving all parties involved “underwhelmed”, with delegates from NGOs and other organisations declaiming it as one step forward two steps back, and a betrayal of the commitments made under 2015’s Paris Climate Agreement.
By Saturday night, the standoff prompted Greta Thunberg, the 16-year old face of climate change activism, to announce: “It seems like the COP25 in Madrid is falling apart right now. The science is clear, but the science is being ignored.”
Monaco’s Ambassador to Spain, Jean-Luc Van Klaveren, addressed the conference last week, laying out the actions currently being undertaken by the Prince’s government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reiterating the Principality’s commitment to assisting developing nations reach their goals.
Despite the setbacks, several announcements were made during the two week conference that showed promise. The European Union committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 and 73 countries vowed to offer improved climate action plans, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions.
A cleaner economy also received positive reactions from both local and regional entities, with 14 regions, 398 cities, 786 businesses and 16 investors working towards achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
Additionally, the science behind climate change was made clearer, lighting a fire under many to lobby for immediate changes. The UN Global Compact, which works with the private sector, stated that 177 companies have now agreed to set targets in alignment with the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C and reaching zero-emissions by 2050. This is more than twice the number of companies who signed onto the Climate Action Summit and their pledge will reduce the amount of CO2 emissions equivalent to France’s annual output.
Monaco was an active participant in COP25, taking part in intergovernmental negotiations, both as a member state and as part of the Environmental Integrity Group, along with the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Mexico, Georgia and Liechtenstein.
The COP26 has been scheduled for December 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland, and is highly anticipated as nations will be presenting updated climate action plans going beyond previous commitments made at the 2015 Paris Agreement meetings.
Two teams running neck and neck in the standings, the match between AS Monaco and Angers was bound to be a nail biter. Despite ending in a tie, the game was a victory for Monaco for not conceding a single goal in their last three games.
The Red and Whites have clawed their way from relegation zone to 9th in the Ligue 1 standings, and the hard work showed in this tough match Saturday night against Angers, who had the home turf advantage.
Angers played a tough defence the entire game and were able to stave off any shots on goal made by Monaco, notably a missed opportunity by Islam Slimani after a brilliant pass from Aleksandr Golovin in the first half.
“I know Angers and their coach well,” said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim, “I think Angers has progressed in the last four seasons. Before that, they played more directly, relying on big players. They have more dynamic play today.”
Benjamin Lecomte was the undisputed player of the night for Monaco, intercepting a shot by Sada Thioub in the 56th minute, another by Vincent Manceau in the 65th, and making an incredible save on a shot by Angel Fulgini in overtime.
This is 27-year old Lecomte’s first season with Monaco after two successful seasons in Montpellier, and he now is clearly finding his feet with the Red and Whites.
Monaco face third place Lille OSC twice this week. First on Wednesday for the League Cup and then again on Saturday. Both matches will be played at home at Stade Louis II.
The week ahead is set to be dominated by sentiment towards the US-China trade dispute, though on the data front looks quieter than previous weeks as we enter the festive period.
Eurozone manufacturing rebounded in recent months, due to stronger domestic and foreign demand, while services activity showed signs of contagion as business confidence was depressed. Unlike the eurozone, the UK manufacturing and services PMI has remained lacklustre around Brexit uncertainty of late. We believe that until clarity emerges on the political front, the reading will likely continue to contract.
On Thursday, the Bank of England has its December monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting. In November, the MPC appeared to shift to a more dovish tone, with two members dissenting in favour of a rate cut as a result of the weakness from Brexit and a slowing labour market.
Finally, the final estimate of UK and US gross domestic product growth for the three months to September is expected on Friday.
Is it time to hedge inflation risk?
One of the most influential US economic advisors and policymakers, Paul Volcker, died on 8 December at the age of 92. He was perhaps best known because of the “Volcker rule”, banning proprietary trading by large banks, implemented among banking reforms after the 2008 credit crisis.
Volcker’s defining achievement was his success in ending an extended period of high inflation as US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman under presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. His aversion to inflation became evident during his college days at Princeton University when he tried to convince his mother, without success, that he should receive a bigger allowance than his sisters’ received years earlier.
The Fed again faces a tough challenge, this time trying to avert a prolonged period of low, rather than excessive, inflation. In doing so, the central bank plans to implement a new inflation framework in 2020 with the aim of letting inflation rise above the target rate temporarily. While the intention does not necessarily translate in higher inflation, it should justify some premium when forecasting US inflation.
Inflation data have lately recovered from their 2019 lows and are likely to enjoy some support due to the “base line” effect. However, the core personal consumption expenditures deflator, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, is still below the central bank’s 2% target and is unlikely to accelerate in the medium term. This is reflected in the lower 10-year breakeven inflation rate (see chart), or the difference between nominal and inflation-adjusted bond yields, that is 1.70%.
Given the relatively low level of breakeven rates, inflation-linked bonds, which protect against an unexpected rise of inflation, seem attractive in our view.
For more information contact Barclays Private Bank in Monaco by clicking here or on +377 93 15 35 35
The Monaco Economic Board is the entity responsible for developing business within Monaco and internationally, and for also luring business to Monaco. Prospecting missions take them all across the globe, from Australia to Germany. But who exactly is the MEB and what type of businesses are they trying to bring to the Principality? Monaco Life sat down with Director Justin Highman to find out more about one of Monaco’s most important non-profit associations.
Monaco Life: What is the Monaco Economic Board and why was it created?
Justin Highman: The MEB is in charge of promoting and developing the economy of the Principality. It was previously known as the Chambre de Développement Economique, but the Prince’s Government changed it to the Monaco Economic Board in late 2015. They also renamed and rebranded its two existing departments: Monaco Chamber of Commerce (MCC) and Monaco Invest (MI). The Monaco Chamber of Commerce today has around 530 members – businesses of all sectors and sizes. The Chamber of Commerce is responsible for creating networking opportunities for its members. It’s curious that even though Monaco is only two-square kilometres in size, the entrepreneurs and heads of business do not actually know each other well. Every year, the MCC also invites several international keynote speakers for tailored events, like the ambassador of a country or a renowned chief economist, and also does several international trade missions, including the recent trips to Rostov, Seoul and Shanghai.
Guillaume Rose (left) and Frédéric Genta meet with Ban Ki Moon (centre), former UN Secretary General.
The second department is Monaco Invest, which primarily reaches out to entrepreneurs, business owners, CEOs, and high-net worth individuals looking to set up an entity or structure in continental Europe, and then making the case for Monaco as a viable business destination. We promote it as a mini economic hub just like other successful city-states such as Singapore, Hong Kong or the United Arab Emirates. So, with these two departments – one dealing with outbound investment and the other dealing with inbound investment – we are actively working on promoting every part of the economy of the Principality.
How many people make up the MEB?
We are roughly a dozen people here at the MEB, including our chairman Michel Dotta and CEO Guillaume Rose, who is also a member of Monaco’s parliament. We are all very focused, just like Monaco’s population, on the international. That’s why, if you look at our calendar, you will see that it is quite full of international operations. Moreover, as we are a not-for-profit association we operate on members’ annual fees through the Chamber of Commerce and a subsidy from the Prince’s Government.
How has this new entity reinvigorated the business sector of Monaco?
It’s quite impressive the growing number of people that come to our different events in the last few years both nationally and internationally. We aim to provide useful links for business orientated people and entrepreneurs to meet, network and learn, and hopefully do some business. A little but interesting anecdote: participants in our trade missions also create a considerable amount of business that is done within the delegation. Indeed, during the mission the participants get to know each other and realise there are some avenues of business locally, not only internationally, and end up signing contracts between themselves. It happens all the time!
How many events does the MEB do a year?
We do roughly 50 events overall – around 30 by the Chamber of Commerce, 20 organised by Monaco Invest, and the ratio is 70:30 of international events. For example, in the case of a trade mission abroad, the Monaco Chamber of Commerce will get in touch and work with its counterpart in the other country as we are a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) which allows us to work with other CC’s around the globe. We are also very privileged to be asked sometimes by HSH Prince Albert II to accompany a State visit, such as in India earlier this year and China last year.
Can you tell us more about Monaco Invest?
Monaco Invest does a lot of prospective work. We concentrate our efforts on targets from a choice of sectors that the Principality is renowned for, such as financial services (single family offices in particular), trading, yachting, shipping, healthcare and well-being, and more recently innovation and technology. We work in close cooperation with partners such as MonacoTech, Monaco For Finance / Monaco Association for Financial Activities, Cluster Yachting, the Monaco Yacht Club and the Princess Grace Check Up Unit etc. We, at the same time, choose destinations according to the economic situation and forecasts. We then combine all this in order to unearth and invite to our tailored seminars the targets who could be interested in finding out more about a new international business platform to thrive from. For example, the UK has a successful community in Monaco and significant potential because of the recent changes in the status of non-doms and the political instability surrounding Brexit and its aftermath.
In addition, the MEB works closely with the 10 Promotion Bureaux of the Principality of Monaco located abroad.
MEB in Russia
Finally, the MEB increasingly focuses on and works very closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially our extensive diplomatic corps. This includes the 20 or so Ambassadors of Monaco throughout the world and around 130 Honorary Consuls. It is a very interesting and stimulating global network. We have, in addition, tended to focus on continental European countries including Russia and ex-CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), because as you know a lot of the entrepreneurs and residents of Monaco are from that zone, so that’s what works best in the Principality to date. However, we know things are evolving and we are and will increase operations in Asia and the Americas and other opportunities as they may arise.
What type of business are you looking to attract to Monaco?
We try to look for entities in sectors that we believe are relevant to the economy of Monaco as mentioned above, but at the same time entities that don’t require large amounts of square meterage, who will create and employ high value jobs.
For example, when we look at family offices, then the ideal target would be single family offices, because we really believe the ecosystem here is perfect for the family members but also their principals to live and work in.
Other major sectors of interest include international trading, healthcare, shipping and yachting. As mentioned, we work hand in hand with the Cluster Yachting and the Monaco Yacht Show on several events each year, including the Dubai Boat Show and the Singapore Yacht Show. There are already around 300 companies and 1,500 jobs related to yachting in Monaco, but we feel there is more to be done. For example, we would like to have more captains and owners consider Monaco as a viable destination.
And finally, digital innovation is a sector that we are focused on, driven by the Monaco government’s digital transition, most notably the unique Extended Monaco program pushed by the Delegate for Digital Affairs, Frédéric Genta. There is also the very successful centre of excellence MonacoTech. At the moment, ICT represents around 5% of GDP, but we really feel that this sector has a lot of scope and margins for progression.
What do you see as the biggest trend in the business world?
Innovation and notably digitalisation, and Monaco is in fact playing rapid catch-up right now. There was no MonacoTech two years ago. But the great thing about Monaco is that the intermediaries are scarce so things can go fast; there are very sound finances with surplus budgets for the 9th year in a row and reserve funds equivalent to four years’ state expenditure, so things can also move swiftly on that front. In two or three years’ time, we will not only catch up, but more importantly we will go beyond.
You just have to look at the different steps that have already been implemented since the Extended Monaco / Smart Principality program was launched just over a year ago. We have a new one-hour coding class for all schools wwhich is a unique initiative because it will create some great talents locally. We are one of the very few countries in the world to harness 5G, and the e-government initiatives will definitely facilitate the administrative process online next year. We have also launched this year, in the field of sustainable mobility, a successful MonaBike network as well as electric taxis and buses and we even held a test drive for autonomous vehicles as well as creating connected bus shelters. We are also studying, with the help and experience of Estonia, the development of an e-identity for residents and nationals. These are just some of the initiatives currently being undertaken by Mr. Genta and his dynamic team. He has the experience, connections and ideas and we will see a lot of movement over the next few years.
So, in other words, it’s a very exciting time to be setting up business in Monaco?
We have very sound metrics, and our message is always the same – Monaco has unique stability thanks to seven centuries of the same ruling family. Our political system is very stable – there are very few social movements, workers’ strikes and elections issues.
You can also plan ahead thanks to the unique economic stability and growth as well as diversity of the economy not just in terms of GDP but also in the number of companies and jobs in different sectors created year on year. Everything is secure and safe in the ever more challenging world we live in. It is not just an economic hub but also a safe destination.
Real estate may be expensive, but you can always look at renting out space in a business centre where prices are more reasonable. We have around 14 business centres which can be ideal for small and medium sized companies. Innovative start-ups can apply to MonacoTech. So, it is possible to come and test the market at a reasonable cost and see how it goes.
Welcome Office in Monaco
That’s why our main partner the Welcome Office is also present, to advise and help find the right contacts, if you have the right project. Understandably, there are some sectors which are not suitable, for example, certain liberal professions like real estate as the market is completely saturated and over-represented. However, that way, the economy and ecosystem are able to keep giving value. And it’s working. The latest figures show GDP in 2018 at over 6%, with an average of 5% over the last five years. We have over 55,000 jobs in the private sector and a six-billion-euro economy. Yes, it is a great time to be setting up business in Monaco. Finally, our services at the MEB are free and confidential so why not give us a buzz!
