Business

It is anticipated that there will be a 50pc growth in smartphone ownership in the next 12 months in the Irish market. The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Irish branch has published a mobile advertising handbook aimed at helping marketer’s plan their mobile strategy. For Ireland, where the traditional Irish advertising industry is still struggling to catch up with their international counterparts in grasping internet advertising, never mind social and mobile, the handbook could prove very timely. The acceleration of smartphone ownership in Ireland – expected to grow 50pc in the year ahead according to Red C – prompted the local Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to produce the guide, which is sponsored…

PM Group, which is currently working on a range of projects in the Gulf region with a capital value close to €360m, has started work on a €45m food facility in Saudi Arabia, the company announced today. The announcement was made during this week’s Enterprise Ireland trade mission of 45 companies to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which is being led by Minister of State for Trade and Development, Jan O’Sullivan. The new facility is being developed for Halwani Bros, one of the Gulf’s oldest food manufacturing companies with major production plants in Jeddah and Egypt.  The complex incorporates separate sections for tahina and halawa; jams and foods; dairy and cheese…

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has today welcomed the successful conclusion of the acquisition of 10.51bn Bank of Ireland shares by a group of investors led by Fairfax Financial Holdings, and including WL Ross, Capital Research (part of The Capital Group), Fidelity Investments and Kennedy Wilson, from the National Pensions Reserve Fund. The investors paid 10c per share or a total of €1.051bn. As a result of this disposal the State’s holding in Bank of Ireland will drop from 36pc to 15.13pc. The investors now own a 34.96pc stake in the bank. “As I noted on 25 July 2011, the commitment by a number of significant private sector investors to…

Thirteen new licences for oil and gas exploration off Ireland’s coasts have been granted to 12 companies by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte TD. Speaking this morning at the opening of a petroleum research conference in Dublin, the Minister said the State didn’t have the resources to fund the exploration and that he was pleased at the response from the international exploration industry to the 2011 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round. The options are for a two-year period during which time the exploration companies will have to complete an agreed work programme. The companies involved include both new entrants to Ireland, together with companies already active in…

With its rate of 12.5pc, Ireland has the second lowest corporate tax burden in Europe behind Estonia which currently has zero corporate tax, according to new research from accounting and consultancy network, UHY. The firm looked at tax data in 21 countries across its international network and found that Ireland has the third lowest tax rate, with both Estonia and Dubai have a rate of zero. “Ireland has kept corporate taxes low and has successfully enticed large multinational businesses such as Microsoft and Google to place their headquarters here and to remain here,” said Alan Farrelly, partner, UHY Farrelly Dawe White. “The low 12.5pc tax rate applies to all businesses…

Is this guy a Yes Man or a real-life trader? Calling himself an “experienced, independent” trader, Alessio Rastani appeared on BBC News yesterday and his interview has since become a viral Internet hit. In a frank and candid interview, Rastani said he had been dreaming of a recession for three years as he used it – like other traders – to make money. He also told the public that Government’s don’t rule the world, but Goldman Sachs does. Here’s the interview in full: Since the broadcast, there has been public outrage at the trader’s comments but now it appears that Rastani may not be who he says he is. The…

Ireland’s Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD this morning announced that world-leading biopharma company Pfizer is to inject $200m, or €145m, into its Dublin biotech manufacturing facility in Grange Castle – one of the largest biotech manufacturing sites in the world – creating up to 400 jobs during the peak of the construction phase. The investment will enable Pfizer to introduce two new processing suites to the site and expand current production and product testing capabilities. Pfizer’s Grange Castle facility in Clondalkin, Co Dublin, currently produces two of the pharama giant’s blockbuster medicines – Enbrel and Prevenar 13. The Grange Castle facility is strategically important to Pfizer globally. Since opening in 2005,…

Dublin Airport Authority and Irish business organizations have welcomed yesterday’s announcement from Emirates Airline that it will begin a new daily Dublin-Dubai service from January. The new long-haul service, which will operate from Terminal 2, will expand Dublin Airport’s direct links to the Middle East and its onward connections into India, Africa, South East Asia, Australasia and China. “We are delighted to welcome Emirates to Dublin and we look forward to a long and successful partnership with our newest customer,” said DAA Chief Executive Declan Collier. “The improvements in Dublin Airport’s facilities in recent years, including the opening of Terminal 2, and our new long-haul gates in Pier E, was…

Call Centre Closure vs. Contact Centre Industry Growth Despite the announcement yesterday that Waterford-based call centre Talk Talk is to close within a month with the loss of 575 jobs, the contact centre industry this morning reported that it is in a significant period of growth. Employment and Operations Research carried out by Amárach Research for the Contact Centre Management Association of Ireland (CCMA), with the support of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, reveals that the sector employs more than 29,000 people, with a spread of over 100 contact centre operations nationwide. Revenue Growth The research was conducted in Q2 2011 and involved involved 52 participants in the contact centre,…

Bank of America’s MBNA business in Carrick-on-Shannon has caught the eye of Richard Branson as a potential acquisition by his operation Virgin Money, according to reports today. Bank of America announced earlier this month it was withdrawing its business in Ireland and the UK, arousing fears for the 1,000 people employed at its offices in Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim. IDA Ireland is identifying potential bidders for the Carrick-on-Shannon business, but must await a decision from Bank of America on what it plans to do with it, ie whether it will be sold as a going concern or whether it will wind down or sell its $19 billion loan book. Virgin Money already has a long relationship with MBNA,…