Latest news with #JohnBrowne
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Starmer government ‘trying to fix wings of a plane while already in flight', veteran political adviser says
Veteran political adviser John Browne has described Sir Keir Starmer's premiership as 'trying to fix the wings of an airplane while you're already in flight,' after The Independent revealed plans of a plot within Labour to oust the PM. The cross-bench peer and former BP boss was speaking at the 2025 Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, which is partnered with The Independent for the second year running. He was appearing on a panel alongside climate expert Friederike Otto and leading women's rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich, as part of the festival's daily 'News Review' event, chaired by The Independent's chief book critic Martin Chilton. Responding to The Independent's report on disquiet within Labour over Sir Keir's premiership, Lord Browne, who advised five prime ministers including Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, said the government should counteract 'uncertainty' with a plan. 'And I mean a plan, not just a vision,' he said. 'I was surprised that, despite the number of experienced people in government, it wasn't evidently clear that this particular administration came in with a plan. 'It's very difficult when you're trying to fix the wings of an airplane while you're already in flight – and that is a really dangerous thing to do. 'Let's see, maybe it's early days and maybe the learning will take place during the process of government.' The comments come after The Independent revealed that a large number of MPs from the so-called 'soft left' of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction within the party. Sir Keir's turbulent first 10 months as prime minister have prompted growing questions about his leadership, magnified by the party's recent losses at local elections, in which they lost two-thirds of the council seats they had in 2021. He has also sparked controversy over his stance on migration, welfare cuts and the decision to cut winter fuel payments. During Sunday morning's event, the panel discussed a wide range of topics inspired by the day's headlines, including climate policy around the world, the Post Office scandal, and violence against women and girls (VAWG). Ms Wistrich, founder and director of the Centre for Women's Justice, told the audience that the government's progress on VAWG targets had been 'disappointing', while Ms Otto warned Donald Trump's cuts to US meteorologist jobs could cost lives in parts of the country. Spread over 11 days, the 38th spring edition of the annual cultural event is set in Hay-on-Wye, the idyllic and picturesque 'Town of Books'. Among the star-studded lineup are Mary Trump, Michael Sheen and Jameela Jamil. The Independent has partnered with the festival once again to host 'The News Review', a series of panels where our journalists explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning.
Irish Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish companies doing business in China: ‘The revenue potential for us is €300 million'
John Browne had spent the day at a solar glass panel factory outside Shanghai, making the case for Kastus, a water-based solution that makes solar panels more efficient. China dominates the global solar panel market and eight out of the world's top 10 producers are based in a couple of provinces in the southeast of the country. 'We were down here six months ago and the reception, I would say, was lukewarm,' he says. 'Six months later, it's very warm. 'The scale of these things is incredible. The factory is a kilometre long but there were only 20 people working in the actual factory. Fully robotic. Glass coming up from one level on elevators. It's just absolutely incredible. Their major client is their next-door neighbour so they're so efficient.' Kastus is a photocatalytic coating which, when sprayed on glass, breaks down organic material and keeps the surface clean, making it harder for dirt to cling to it. Less dirt means less interference in light transmission, meaning the solar panel is more efficient and capable of generating more energy. READ MORE There are so few solar panel manufacturers in Europe that if Dublin-based Kastus is to succeed, it must find a market among producers in China, and Browne, its founder, is hoping to establish a presence in the southeast of the country. He is trying to persuade Chinese manufacturers that, in a fiercely competitive market which will produce two billion solar panels this year, coating their glass with Kastus will give them an edge. 'The revenue potential for us will be €200-€300 million if we were adopted as a standard. Anti-reflective coatings, as an example, are another technology that increases solar power and efficiency by about 2 per cent. It's a coating that makes slightly more light,' he says. 'It's ubiquitous. Eighteen months ago that coating wasn't, and now it's the standard. So that's our goal.' Branca Bunús founders Hongyun Tai and Wenxin Wang in Shanghai. Branca Bunús is a Dublin-based gene therapy company founded by two Chinese-born scientists who have lived and worked in Ireland for many years. Wenxin Wang is a professor of skin research and wound healing at the UCD School of Medicine and Hongyun Tai is a scientist and entrepreneur with a background in polymer chemistry and gene therapy. Their Chinese background and Mandarin language skills give Wang and Tai an advantage over most Irish entrepreneurs when it comes to entering the market in China. They have already tested and validated their product with Chinese regulators but, for them, China is not an end in itself but a gateway to the rest of the world. 'The key market will be three regions. One is China, the others are Europe and United States. The biggest market is in the United States, because of the payment system and everything but it's difficult for us to go to the United States straight away. So our strategy is to best use the resources available to us and our connections. [ Irish abroad: I really believe in 'one world, one family' Opens in new window ] 'So we do the beachhead market here to validate our technology, which is already done and completed. Now we're trying to expand the market here in China. But in the meantime, we're expanding the market in Europe, and the next step is go to United States. So that's the step-by-step thing when we're doing that,' Tai says. Exports from indigenous Irish businesses to China were worth almost €1 billion in 2023, accounting for 40 per cent of Irish exports to the Asia-Pacific region. Irish companies including Icon, Keywords International, Kerry and PM Group employ more than 5,000 people in China. Kastus and Branca Bunús are both clients of Enterprise Ireland, which has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and a pathfinder consultant based in Shenzhen. Enterprise Ireland's China director, Patrick O'Riordan, says that most Irish companies coming to China are experienced exporters for whom China will not be their first overseas market. 'We provide market intelligence, we provide contacts, and we provide advisory services, and probably capturing the aggregate experience of Irish companies in China over a long period of time,' he says. 'You either do the right things as other companies have done or maybe learn from some of the mistakes of companies over a long period.' Since it came to power in 1949, the Communist Party has set out China's economic priorities in a series of five-year plans, the 14th of which began in 2021. The current plan focuses on upgrading supply chains in key industries in order to make China a global technology leader with a particular emphasis on green technology and renewables. Some European companies have reduced their presence in China in recent years, partly because of geopolitical tensions that have seen the United States and the European Union citing national security concerns as they impose restrictions on trade with the country. O'Riordan says that Irish businesses in China tend not to be operating in geopolitically sensitive sectors so they have not been affected by sanctions, although US president Donald Trump's tariffs are likely to exacerbate an already tricky economic environment that has seen Chinese domestic demand struggle. [ The old global economic order is dead Opens in new window ] Many of the Irish companies coming to China are offering something that chimes with strategic priorities of the 14th five-year plan, one of which is food security. This has benefited Irish food producers and exporters of agricultural machinery but an extended property market slump has hit the revenue available to local governments to subsidise the mechanisation of Chinese agriculture. 'For companies who were benefiting from grants that were used for farm equipment, it's a bit tighter these days,' O'Riordan says. 'I suppose your view on China is: what's your perspective on a medium- to long-term view? And is the sector that you're operating in sustainable into the future? Is the market going to be recoverable?' Peter Markey, who has spent 30 years in China Peter Markey first came to China 30 years ago and has spent much of the past two decades in Shanghai, where he was a partner at EY until he retired in 2018. Markey now chairs the Irish Chamber of Commerce in China, which was established in 2010 and has more than 50 members – all individuals rather than companies. 'We have some entrepreneurial types working for themselves or freelancing, we have some working for multinationals, a bit like I did, and one or two academics,' he says. 'We have people in advertising, accounting, finance, manufacturing, research, fashion, supply chain.' Markey sees opportunities for Irish businesses in China, not only in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and technology but also in services such as education and healthcare. But companies need to think carefully, research the market and establish local contacts before they plunge into the Chinese market. 'A common misperception is that you're going to China. China is just way too big. It's like saying, I'm going to Europe to develop a business,' he says. 'You can't just say China. You need to have a lot more focus on what it is you want to do, where you're going and why, and what really will work in that particular market.' Although many Chinese people don't know much about Ireland, and the cultural differences and language barriers are considerable, Markey believes the Irish and the Chinese get along well. 'The Chinese have this reputation of working crazy hours and all the rest of it but that's not the whole story,' he says. 'They quite like going out for a nice dinner and having fun with people. 'That's really when the Irish attitude to having fun and letting the hair down a bit can really help with developing relationships.' Ireland's ambassador to China, Nicholas O'Brien (left) and Ian Lahiffe launching Just Be Cha kombucha at the Irish Ball in Beijing On a visit to Australia last year, Ian Lahiffe noticed how many brands of kombucha were on sale, each making claims about its health benefits. In China, where Lahiffe has lived for 14 years and where the concept of fermented tea originates, the product is scarcely available at all and he saw an opportunity. Working with his friend Enda Winters, a brewer who lived in China but now works at Teeling Whiskey in Dublin, Lahiffe decided to develop his own brand of kombucha called Just Be Cha. 'We started with the very best tea we could find in China, which is this green tea in Chongqing that has the highest levels of polyphenols and the clearest health benefits,' he says. 'We developed something, I think, that means that when people now engage with kombucha, hopefully in China, it might be a pleasant experience.' Lahiffe launched his kombucha last month and a number of bars in Beijing and Shanghai are stocking it. Most of the marketing and sales are on social media and ecommerce platforms. These facilitate distinct marketing strategies for specific demographics, including women between 35 and 50, older people who remember drinking home-made kombucha as children and teenagers, who are the biggest consumers of the drink in the United States. 'The beverage market is still quite strong. So while obviously it's going to be a challenge to get the price point and the volume, I think we're very positive about it,' he says. Born in Gort, Co Galway, Lahiffe studied music at Trinity College Dublin and international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London before working as an intern at the European Union delegation in Beijing. After a year there, he won a scholarship to study Mandarin full-time at a Chinese university, becoming proficient in the language. After working in Beijing for a number of companies, including Alltech and Merck, Lahiffe started his own advisory business in 2021, representing a number of Irish companies in China and investing in different types of technologies. He has now invested in nine companies, including one that uses artificial intelligence to control lasers to scare birds away from farm land and others that make different technologies for large farms. He says most Irish companies will need a budget of about €1 million to make a proper market entry and that if they are not already exporting successfully in Europe, they are unlikely to succeed in China. He also warns against choosing the first English-speaking person you meet at a trade fair as your representative in the Chinese market. Lahiffe identifies the work ethic and the speed of decision-making and action among the advantages of doing business in China, but fierce competition has led to overcapacity in many industries. He warns of what he calls the 'grey zone', where contracts remain negotiable after they are signed, and capricious government bureaucracy which can be challenging. 'What I look for in a business partner is somebody who has that, I wouldn't say demented energy, but somebody who would thrive in a Kafka novel. I think that's what I look for,' he said.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Committee approves preliminary plan for new TIF district
Jan. 30—A review committee voted to agree in principle for a Tax Increment Financing district project preliminary plan that could potentially bring new businesses and housing to McAlester. The committee began to meet last year to begin discussions aimed to incentivize a developer to invest in the community after city councilors voted in September 2024 to for the committee. According to the City of McAlester, the development aims to bring 128 town homes, a major sporting goods retail company, and a few more stores in the area. The proposed housing district will encompass a 12-acre parcel, zoned for residential use but underdeveloped. The proposed retail development district will be located within a three-acre commercial parcel and a separate eight-acre commercial zone near the town's central business district. This proposed project area is along U.S. Highway 69 near Lakewood Christian Church and School. Developers said the estimated total cost of the project is about $48 million and that they were looking for $10-11 million out of the TIF district. According to a press release from the City of McAlester, the projected plan encompasses three major parcels already under discussion, with no immediate plans to expand the district boundaries. The committee determined that any future modifications, such as incorporating additional properties, will be revisited only if new developments are completed and deemed beneficial for the community. Highlights of the preliminary plan state the TIF district would operate for eight years "or until it generates $10 million in funding," whichever comes first. The Ad valorem tax apportionment will begin immediately upon ordinance approval, ensuring the city captures the lowest base value for properties in the district. Sales tax collection will start either with the first sale within the district or by July 15, 2026, aligning with projected openings of key retailers. A portion of the funding, $30,000 annually for the life of the TIF, will be directed to the local school district to support portable facilities and other educational needs, according to the plan. "This plan allows us to stay focused on the projects we've thoroughly vetted while leaving the door open for potential future opportunities," said TIF Committee Chairperson John Browne in the press release. "Our priority is to ensure responsible growth that benefits the community without overextending our resources." McAlester City Manager Dave Andren said in the release the city is committed to delivering "meaningful results" through the TIF district while keeping the process transparent. "Our approach balances the need for immediate action with the flexibility to adapt as new opportunities arise," Andren said. According to the city, current plans call for the major sporting good retail company to begin operations by mid-2026 "contributing significantly to both sales tax and property tax growth within the district." "The committee emphasized its commitment to ensuring that any changes to the TIF district will undergo thorough review and public consultation," the city said in its press release. "For now, the focus remains on executing the current plan and securing a solid foundation for the city's economic future." Before the TIF district becomes active, several steps will still need to be taken including public notification, public hearings, city council approval, and more.
