THE ARBITRAGEUR

Congratulations to our winners:

1st: Rohith D

2nd: Shubh Panchal

3rd: Lakshya

A special mention to Suraj and Pranshul for their hardwork, dedication and extra ordinary performance.

"Champions don't show up to get everything they want; they show up to give everything they have"

The African continent is one of the most developing regions in the entire world. It is sometimes called as China’s China. Africa has an immense potential for growth due to cheap labor, large pool of natural resources and a favorable Government. China has traded goods worth $128 Billion in a year whereas, the USA stood at just $48 Billion. China funds various infrastructure projects in the African Continent by providing them low/no interest long term loans. China does not expect to earn back this loaned amount but instead benefits from the control it gains in Africa. Many Chinese companies are running extremely profitable ventures in Africa. By providing immense support to African nations, China also gets support for UN resolutions it wishes to pass. Africa is slowly falling into China’s debt trap. The influence of China in Africa threatens Western Powers. Chinese expansion in an area with maximum growth potential threatens the growth of Western Powers. It also reduces the support Western Powers receive in the United Nations. 

You are the members of NATO – United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Canada. The USA is an observer nation in this meeting. You, being a NATO member need to devise a plan of action to increase Western influence in the African Nations and ensure that there is a shift of power and influence.

China’s intention is clear – to get rid of the Uyghurs and their ethnic heritage. In western China,at Xinjiang, a large minority are silenced as they are brutally subjugated by the State. Extreme surveillance, accounts of torture and the detention of up to a million Uyghurs is just the tip of the iceberg. The Uyghurs have a very rich culture which China exploits to boost tourism and industrial growth. The Han Chinese (China’s dominant ethnicity) started migrating to Xinjiang to set up industries The Han community annexed the Uyghurs land and profit from it today. Xinjiang is extremely rich in natural resources and has 150 Billion barrels of oil reserves, 40% of China’s coal and lot of Natural Gas reserves. Everyone in China benefits from these resources except the Uyghurs who are not even provided fair employment opportunities. Due to the increase of the rich Han population, basic staples became expensive and the Uyghurs became poorer. This discrimination has led to violent outbursts as well. The Chinese Government has put identifying QR codes in all knives purchased by the Uyghurs. Uyghur women have been banned from wearing the Hijab and young men are not allowed to grow long beards. Fasting is prohibited as are certain Islamic names for newborns. Parents are forbidden from providing their own children Islamic or Uyghur education. Youth under 18 are not allowed in Mosques during sermons. The holy books must be approved by the State. The Chinese Government has modified the holy books of the Uyghurs to match Chinese ideology. There is restricted freedom of movement and the Hajj pilgrimage too is prohibited. The Chinese government has confiscated passports of various Uyghurs as well. China uses advanced technology, propaganda and fear of imprisonment to control the actions and thoughts of the Uyghurs. When Uyghurs go to the mosque, they are stopped by Chinese authorities and undergo an iris scan and a full body scan. These mosques even have pictures of Xi Jinping and the flag of China, so essentially, the Uyghurs pray to Xi Jinping and to China. China has spent over $8.5 Billion just to monitor the movements of the Uyghurs. There are several CCTV cameras capable of facial recognition and the vehicles of the Uyghurs too are tracked. The Government has made it mandatory for all Uyghurs to install an app on their phones which essentially surveilles the e-communication of the Uyghurs. They are forced to provide basic information, DNA and biometrics and after receiving all this information, the Chinese Government decides whether the Uyghurs are ‘safe’. The ‘not safe’ Uyghurs are sent to the ‘re-education’ camps called as internment camps by many. There are various testimonies that the Uyghurs are tortured in these camps. The Uyghurs are not receiving any support from any other Islamic nations due to those countries losing out on the Belt Road Initiative Program of China. Over 3/4ths of the Belt Road Initiative passes through Xinjiang.

Your Task: You are representing the Chinese Government. You have a negotiation round with the United Nations Human Rights Council. The UNHRC condemns China for its actions against the Uyghur community. You need to justify your actions and defend the reputation of your nation.

Reporting time is 8AM near Birds Park.

All the participants are to carry three spiral bound reports and have to submit it to us by 8:30. Failing to do so will result in forfeit of your stage round.

Participants are required to come in proper dress code and be proper groomed.

You are required to make a PPT of all the necessary deliverables and your keen strategies.

Bout to Rot is an background task and there is no requirement of making any PPT or Report.

Your main focus should be on your stage round report.

Good Luck’

In August 2018, Apple became the first U.S company to be valued at a trillion dollars. However, lately things have not been as great for Apple as it would have wished for.  

Apple's rare warning on revenue has rocked financial markets, reigniting concerns about slowing global economic and corporate growth and potential damage from Washington's protracted trade row with Beijing.

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, stated reasons for the slump in the revenue in a letter addressed to the investors. Some of the important points that he wanted to address are mentioned below:

Poor innovation Occasional minor innovations by Apple to its primary product line, the iPhone, has led to consumers preferring more affordable and better Chinese alternatives. Tim Cook, in his letter, states that there have been fewer iPhone upgrades than they had projected.

Emerging market challenges Apple also blamed the economic deceleration across the world, for the revenue decline. It is believed that the economic slowdown in Greater China led to over a 100% revenue decline year on year across iPhone, Mac and iPad. Market data has shown that the contraction in Greater China’s smartphone market has been particularly sharp.

Low iPhone Revenue  The new flagship iPhone models, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, shipped in Q4 2018,  placing the channel fill and early sales in that quarter, whereas last year the iPhone X shipped in Q1 2018, placing the channel fill and early sales in the December quarter.

Supply constraints Many new products were introduced in the previous quarter including the all new Apple Watch Series 4, iPad Pro, Macbook Air and Air Pods. The supply constraints to meet the demand across the world, led to lower sales across Apple’s line of products and not just the iPhone.  

Trade war Cook highlighted the trade war's impact on Apple's sales in a letter to the shareholders announcing the reduced revenue target.  

"And what I believe to be the case is the trade tensions between the United States and China put additional pressure on their economy," Cook said. "So we saw as the quarter went on things like traffic in our retail stores, traffic in our channel partner stores, the reports of the smartphone industry contracting, particularly bad in November. I haven't seen a December number yet, but I'd bet it would not be good either."

Behind Apple's disconcerting news of weak iPhone sales lies a more sobering truth: The tech industry has hit “Peak Smartphone”, a tipping point when everyone who can afford one already owns one and no breakthroughs are compelling them to upgrade as frequently as they once did.

In May 2019, the US government banned all the US companies to work with Huawei over security purpose which means giants like Google, Intel, Microsoft and other companies will not be allowed to provide their services or products to Huawei which is a major blow for Chinese giants.

Post this event which had nothing to do with apple, the boycott of Apple products and services are on a new high level in China. This has become another major threat for the company

TASK AT HAND:

As the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. you have gathered for a meeting regarding the future course of action for the company. The agenda of the meeting is as follows:

 Recommended key areas that Apple should focus on.

 Strategies that would boost sales of Apple’s products internationally, with key focus on the Asian market.  

 Key investment and disinvestment decisions to be taken in the next two fiscal years.

 Any other decisions that will help Apple in the future.

For any queries, contact:

Aditya Bihani: 8861836837

There will be no presentation for America Made. Submit the PPT's by 3AM.

The coca plant is known throughout the world for its psychoactive alkaloid. Colombia is the highest producer of coca in the world. According to the U.N Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, the coca production acreage in Colombia in 2017 was the highest ever recorded level, increasing by 25,000 hectares from 2016. The total acreage under coca cultivation was an estimated 17% higher in 2017 than 2016.

Colombia is trying to tackle this problem through “forced manual eradication” and “aerial fumigation” (through planes and now drones). These methods are ineffective and have attracted a lot of criticism regarding environmental impact and health issues.

The country has fought for years against cocaine production, with the US providing around $400m annually to assist in Colombia's war on drugs. Last year, Colombia also signed a $300m agreement with the UN aimed at reducing the production of cocaine by compensating farmers who agree to switch from growing coca to safer crops. This South American country has likely spent more than any other country in the world on crop-substitution programs.

The National Substitution Program (PNIS) achieved an enrolment rate of 54,027 families in 2017. By June 2018, this amount increased to 77,659 families. Families that have actually made the switch are suffering from low prices of other legal crops or are waiting to be compensated through the corruption ridden government. Isolated rural economies will suffer due to the sudden drop in income levels, since most of these villages are mostly dependent on coca cultivation. Transformation of the territory is key to achieving sustainable peace and development of the areas with coca crops.

TASK AT HAND:

As the advisor to the Colombian government from the UNODC, you are required to formulate policies for the following:

·     A revamped crop substitution program.

·     Shift the focus of rural economies to make them less dependent on agriculture.

·     Phase wise execution plan.

Deliverable:

A PPT of not more than 4 slides to be submitted online by 1:45 AM on [email protected] and following that you will have presentations starting from 2AM on video call in any order. 

Please be near your smartphone.

For any queries contact,

Aditya Bihani: 8861836837

The top 5 (in no particular order):

14

20

21

24

32

Special mention to CORP 19 and CORP 23 for their great effort and tremendous performance throughout the event. Your effort has been duly recognized and appreciated. Making it to top 7 out of 50 odd teams is a great achievement and if you've learnt something, you're not a loser.

To the top 5: "It's the beginning of the end"

Topic to study for tonight: Asset Backed Securities.

You've a long night ahead. Good luck

Follow the given link for your group task and other updates. Your task has been uploaded there already.

SYNERGY

Find your allocation below:

For Top 7 only:

Saudi Vision 2030 is a plan to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism. Goals include reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil industry trade between countries through goods and consumer products, and increasing government spending on the military, manufacturing equipment and ammunition. The first

details were announced on 25 April 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS). 

At the centre of Vision 2030 lies Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company and perhaps the world’s largest company as well, as its $2 Trillion valuation says. 42% of Saudi’s GDP is from Oil. 90% of exports of Saudi Arabia are oil. 87% of budget revenues of Saudi Arabia is from oil. Towering these numbers is the company that digs out, refines and exports this oil. 1 out of every 8 barrels of oil in the world is produced by Saudi Aramco. Saudi is planning an IPO for Aramco, initially selling 5% stake for $100 Billion. Like any other oil company,

Aramco’s main asset is its underground oil reserve which it claims is 261 Billion barrels, this number, without any third party audit has remained constant for nearly 30 years. Aramco is the only company in the world to supposedly produce oil for under $10/barrel and produces approximately 9 Million barrels a day which sums up to roughly 100 Billion barrels over the last 30 years without creating a dent in the 261 Billion barrel number. Listing of Aramco on

stock exchanges like the New York and London Exchanges would require Aramco to disclose its entire financials to the world – something it has never done before and would also attract independent third party audits of its oil reserves. Everyone in Saudi Arabia is in one way or the other a beneficiary of Saudi Aramco. The failure of this IPO makes Vision 2030 a blurry one as the capital required for Vision 2030 needs to come from Aramco.

Over the past year, the government has detained Saudi business people, journalists and social activists who have not responded in the desired way to Riyadh's reform efforts, proving that the state is still the only permissible engine for change and growth in the country. In such an unstable environment, where the government still retains so much control despite trying to foster a private sector, individual Saudis and individual Saudi companies are naturally hesitant

to invest in the country in the long term. This has left the Saudi government as the major source of investment in the Saudi economy, which, ultimately, defeats the objectives of diversification and privatization. Government investment can make Saudi economic numbers look good on paper, but it is a risky strategy. When oil prices fall so does government spending (meaning government spending does not lead to diversification).

Without assurances that the rule of law is respected in Saudi Arabia, foreign businesses will consider Saudi Arabia too risky to enter. Saudi Arabia has tried centralized economic plans before. As in the Soviet Union and China, the centralized plans in Saudi Arabia never quite worked. This plan, Vision2030, seems headed down a similar path. It may be time for Saudi Arabia to rethink the strong hand approach.

Many journalists say that Saudi Arabia has ‘bitten off more than it can chew’. Its Vision 2030 is a very ambitious plan, however, due to various issues within the Kingdom, might not be implemented the way it was initially planned.

You are the CSO of MBS and your task is to create a report of not less than 20 pages including but not limited to:

• Brief of Vision 2030

• Tier-wise objectives of Vision 2030

• Listing and prioritising issues related to Vision 2030

• Strategies to resolve the Saudi Aramco IPO keeping in mind volatility of oil prices

• Strategies to develop the private sector

• Strategies to create an environment suitable for stakeholders interest and not just the interests of the Kingdom

• Potential changes in the Government of Saudi Arabia

• Main objectives of Neom and funding structure

• Strategies to attract investors to Neom

• Strategic alliances for Vision 2030

• Strategies to develop Health, Education and Tourism sectors in Saudi Arabia

• 10 year forecasted real GDP and GDP growth rate of Saudi Arabia from 2020-2030

• Extensively detailed phase wise plan for Vision 2030. (Extensive details of each phase)

Submission details: Hard copy at 4 PM tomorrow.

For any queries, contact: Aadit Daphatary: 9945500696

Our top 7 (in no particular order):

14

19

20

21

23

24

32

“War does not determine who is right, but who is left”

Congratulations, you are two nights away.

Special Mention to CORP 16 and CORP 33, your hard-work, zeal and enthusiasm is inspiring. We are proud of you. 

Don’t ever give up. 

The provision empowering the State of Jammu & Kashmir with the ‘special status’ has always been the elephant in the room. J&K like its sensitive topography appears like a foreign policy issue rather than a domestic issue and at the center of this chaos is Article 370 and Article 35a.

Article 370 details the relationship Kashmir will share with the rest of the country. Article 370 of the Indian constitution is an article that gives autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Included in the Constitution on October 17, 1949, Article 370 exempts J&K from the Indian Constitution (except Article 1 and Article 370 itself) and permits the state to draft its own Constitution. It restricts Parliament’s legislative powers in respect of J&K. Article 35-A grants permanent residents of Kashmir some special rights. Article 35A is a provision incorporated in the Constitution giving the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature a carte blanche to decide who all are ‘permanent residents’ of the State and confer on them special rights and privileges in public sector jobs, acquisition of property in the State, scholarships and other public aid and welfare. You are an influential individual of India. You along with 4 allies have the opportunity to finally putting an end to the debate on these articles. You are in a boardroom and you need to debate and discuss with the opposition to try and come to a consensus.

“Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.” - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi.

Cuba is a small country located in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea. It is a country comprising the Island of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud Island and several small archipelagos. The country is ruled by an independent socialist government that is controlled solely by The Communist Party of Cuba.  

In 1962 the Government of Cuba enacted a rationing system known as the “Libreta de Abastecimiento” or the supplies booklet system. This was a food distribution system that was enacted by the government which guaranteed ration and supplies to citizen at a subsidized rate. This system establishes the amount of rations each person is allowed to buy, and the frequency of supplies depending on factors such as age and gender. Most of these products are distributed at the local “bodega” or stores where citizens are required to carry their supply books each time they visit the ration stores and make an entry of the transaction in the registers.  

This system does not provide sufficient access to food and commodities today as the Government has cut down it’s spending on the ration system from $2-4 billion to $1 billion. Additionally Cuba has a severe corruption problem in the supply chain. The government officials working at the ration store smuggle food and goods creating a shortage of supplies for the citizens. The average income of Cubans is 687 pesos or $25 which is not sufficient for an average house hold to support its livelihood. When the government ration falls down, the citizens turn to the black market - the quasi-legal exchange that is pervasive throughout the country to meet their needs. Nearly every Cuban, regardless of job or social standing, conducts business or makes purchases in the black market either to supplement their income or to circumvent restrictions. While the government opposes the existence of the black market, the anti-black market laws are rarely enforced. The Cubans believe that the black market solves the problem that the government cannot solve-making it more of a solution, or a consequence of the lack of a solution in the state.

The existence of the black market affects the trade movement within the country because the products are bought in bulk - out of which some is hoarded and sold later at a higher price. When it comes to the supply chain of the commodity, at every level a part of the commodity is hoarded which in return affects the economy of Cuba. The entire distribution system is disturbed because of this process and the government is trying to curb this with possible solutions.  

TASK AT HAND:

As the Cuban Minister, keeping in mind the current situation of the country, you aim to curb the functioning of the black market in the country and are required to:

·       Situation Analysis.

·       Revamp the distribution model to eliminate black market.

·       Strategies to improve the operational efficiency.

·       Comprehensive phase wise execution plan.

Deliverable:

Report of not more than 12 pages and soft copy to be submitted by 9AM tomorrow (9th July 2019).

For any queries, contact:

Aditya Bihani: 8861836837 ( Call after 9:30 only)