3 December, 2019 – The oil and gas industry in the Middle East region stands to potentially lose trillions of dollars by not fully embracing digital, says the Fall 2019 issue of Deloitte’s Middle East Point of View magazine. 

Topics discussed by Deloitte’s experts in the latest edition include: The oil and gas industry in the Middle East, smart cities, digital service tax, and national mandates, along with a special focus on Cyprus.

In their article Standing still is not an option, Bart Cornelissen, Energy, Resources and Industrials Leader and Youssef Barkawie, Partner, Consulting, note that the oil and gas industry is potentially losing trillions of dollars by not fully embracing digital.

“The oil and gas industry needs to fundamentally re-imagine and change how operations are conducted and managed across the entire value chain and do so without constraint,” say the authors. 

“A digital strategy based on strong digital leadership, combined with skilled and capable resources, and an effective operating model, can then allow organizations to harness the full capabilities of digital and generate significant value for all stakeholders involves.”

In her article on delivering sustainable solutions for cities of the future, Manika Dhama, Assistant Director, Financial Advisory, Deloitte Middle East, examines how governments in the Middle East region can harness the value of people, data and real estate to create the sustainable cities of the future.

Aydin Akca, Partner, Consulting, Bilal Mansour, Senior Manager, Consulting, and Laura Jepson, Manager, Consulting, Deloitte Middle East, also look to the future in their article on national mandates, Realizing the Vision: research, development and innovation mandates in the GCC. In the article they examine the opportunities and challenges GC governments face in their quest to appropriately support the development of their RDI systems.

Shiv Mahalingham, Partner, Middle East Transfer Pricing Leader, and Abi Man Joshi, Principal, Tax, Deloitte Middle East, explain how the Digital Service Tax will impact the Middle East region and offer key takeaways for Middle East-based multinationals in their article How much I love you, let me count the ways.

This issue of the ME POV also focuses on Cyprus which has reinvented itself as a safe financial hub in the region. 

Panikos Teklos, Partner, Risk Advisory and Wealth Advisory Services Leadeer, Deloitte Cypurs and Pieris Markou, Partner, Tax & legal Services Leader, Deloitte Cyprus, provide an in-depth look at the country’s growing fund market and FDI climate, and Stavri Frangou, Senior Manager, Financial Risk, Deloitte Cyprus, takes a closer look at the IFRS 9 standard for corporates.