Belgium promoted this week a new Humanitarian Impact Bond that the nation has been developing in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
As reported by Euractiv.com, private investors will invest in three new physical rehabilitation centers to be built in Africa over five years. The private investments are intended to encourage efficiency and good management, so that projects will be sustainable over time. If the developments meet all their management targets, investors could receive a 7% return on their capital. If they do not reach the targets, investors will receive 70% back, including a 10% penalty paid by the ICRC.
“This is the first time in the humanitarian world that we have built a system where we say we want to pay for the results that we get,” said Alexander De Croo, Belgium’s Minister for Development Cooperation.
Croo said that “important not to create an environment in which profits go to private companies, and losses are borne by the public sector,” reported Euractiv.com.
Emirates Airlines announced recently that it will buy 40 new Boeing 787-10 airplanes. Built exclusively at Boeing’s plant in Charleston, SC, the planes are valued at more than $15 billion.
“The Emirates deal brings the total order book for the 787-10 to 217 airplanes,” the Post and Courier reports. “Emirates also is the world’s largest Boeing 777 operator, with 165 in service.”
Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome predicts continued growth into the new year, driven in part by Samsung, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. All have plants coming online next year.
Charleston’s closest competitor, the Port of Savannah in Georgia, is also growing. Officials there credit the recent widening of the Panama Canal for their continued success.
As 2016 drew to a close, the Upstate SC Alliance was reflecting on its growth, and considering how to build upon it in 2017.
For the past decade, the economic development group representing 10 counties and about 1.5 million people had averaged more than $1 billion in new foreign direct investment each year. Home to BMW’s largest manufacturing facility and the North American headquarters of Michelin, the Alliance and its leaders sought to attract new international companies.
Jacob Hickman, Business Development Manager, Upstate SC Alliance
“The idea was to focus on certain geographies where we haven’t spent a lot of time and energy in the past. We really wanted to invest in new markets and build new strong long-term relationships,” said Jacob Hickman, the Alliance’s director of business development.
For help, the Upstate SC Alliance turned to SC Connect.
“SC Connect is able to align the Upstate SC Alliance with potential new investment opportunities, through direct interaction with companies and industry associations,” Hickman said. “They truly understand the dynamics of the Belgium market and where the best synergies reside.”
In preparation for a summer trip by Alliance representatives, SC Connect focused on matching growing Belgian companies with the Upstate’s target sectors – advanced materials, aerospace, automotive, bioscience and energy.
At about the same time, AGORIA – Belgium’s largest employer and trade association – had created a new focus group on transport and mobility. Determined to be more than a network, the new group developed a strong mission-focused vision to increase business, particularly in the United States.
SC Connect met with the group’s leader, who was cautious at first. But over time, the group warmed to the idea and hosted a meeting between members of the group and the Upstate Alliance during the Belgian visit in June.
Building A Business Partnership
Gathering at the transport group’s modern offices in downtown Brussels, Hickman and Upstate representatives outlined the scope and depth of South Carolina’s automotive industry, and the opportunities for Belgian ingenuity.
Both groups left feeling that partnerships were possible.
Through the summer of 2017, the Upstate SC Alliance, AGORIA’s Transport and Mobility Club and SC Connect worked to connect the Belgian group to the South Carolina automotive sector.
As a result, Belgian industry representatives will travel to the SC Automotive Council’s annual conference in 2018 and present to state leaders on agile manufacturing, one of the group’s specialties.
“The success of that trip was first, getting a good understanding of the genetic makeup of Belgium,” says Hickman. “And, second, we’re going to have a delegation from the Belgian mobility sector coming in February, so Belgian companies will be interacting with South Carolina companies.”
“You’re not always going to get projects out of trips like that,” he said. “But now that there are boots on the ground in the form of SC Connect, there’s a connectivity that hasn’t been there before.”
Testing is expected to occur next year on the turbine, which can power up to 8,000 homes, the paper reported.
The turbine is part of Clemson’s wind -turbine research facility dedicated in late 2013. The 82,000 square foot facility’s mission is to help create the next generation of wind technologies and reduce energy costs.
The new inland port slated for Dillon, SC will have five-day/week service, instead of the originally planned two-three day/ week service, authorities said.
“Forest products and agriculture products are both target export commodities for the facility,” a state ports authority spokesman said.
According to Charleston newspaper The Post and Courier:
The Dillon facility will handle about 45,000 containers in its initial full year of operations, with the SPA hoping to boost capacity to 220,000 cargo boxes annually as the area attracts new distribution centers and manufacturers. The Upstate facility, by comparison, handled 121,761 containers in fiscal 2017, which ended June 30.
Congratulations to Augusta Fiberglass Coatings, Inc. for its continued growth, resulting in 12 more jobs and another $625,000 investment in its operations in Blackville, SC. For more information, click here.
Dillon County, right on Interstate 95 and site of South Carolina’s new inland port, will be the location of American Scrappers’ new distribution and logistics center for the U.S. East Coast.
The company says it will invest $15.5 million and bring 200 new jobs to the area.
As reported by Euractiv.com, private investors will invest in three new physical rehabilitation centers to be built in Africa over five years. The private investments are intended to encourage efficiency and good management, so that projects will be sustainable over time. If the developments meet all their management targets, investors could receive a 7% return on their capital. If they do not reach the targets, investors will receive 70% back, including a 10% penalty paid by the ICRC.
