Chelsea willing to listen to Ramires offers

EXCLUSIVE: The Blues could be prepared to sell the Brazilian as early as January should a replacement be found, with Real Madrid understood to be among those interested

By Wayne Veysey

Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for Ramires and could be prepared to sell him in January.

Jose Mourinho has told Stamford Bridge chiefs that he would be prepared for the Brazilian to leave if a proven midfield replacement can be found.

Spanish clubs, led by Real Madrid, are understood to be monitoring Ramires' situation closely.

The 27-year-old has struggled with injury and poor form this season, starting just three of the team's 16 matches in all competitions.

He has been overlooked in favour of Premier League ever-presents Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas for the central midfield slots and has had to fight with the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian and Andre Schurrle for an attacking midfield position.

• General

  Games Played

  6

  Minutes Played

  279

  Starts

  3

  Interceptions

  1

  Substitution On

  3

  Substitution Off

  2

  Duels Won

  30.4%

  30.4%

  Aerial duels won

  0%

  0%

Ramires's contract expires in 2017 and, if he does not extend next year, Chelsea would regard it as a good time to cash in on a player signed from Benfica in January 2010.

Since returning to Stamford Bridge last season for his second spell at the helm, Mourinho has been ruthless in discarding high-profile players whom he does not regard as automatic starters.

Juan Mata, David Luiz and Romelu Lukaku are among the big names to have been sold on for considerable profit, while the likes of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Kevin De Bruyne have also been shown the exit door.

Speaking about Ramires last week, Mourinho said that he was pleased to have the Brazilian available again.

"Ramires is very important to us," the manager observed. "He is good tactically and can play in multiple positions with the same intensity.

"He's a dangerous guy when attacking and has a good defensive transition. He has a fantastic engine when pressing and that is important to us. The balance between the technical players like Ramires and the athletes is important."

Reus could stay at Dortmund, claims Bierhoff

The Germany team manager believes that the 25-year-old has an emotional connection to his current club and could snub interest from elsewhere to stay put

Germany legend Oliver Bierhoff believes that Marco Reus could well stay at Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.

The 25-year-old has been closely linked with the likes of Bayern Munich, a number of Premier League clubs and Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

However, Bierhoff, who works with Reus as part of the national team's backroom staff, thinks he could snub the interest in order to stay with his boyhood club.

"I could imagine him staying at Dortmund very easily," he told Sky90.

"Dortmund are like a bank for him. Marco's heart is at Dortmund. He knows what he's done there and that he is appreciated.

"Marco is someone who needs a harmonious environment.  But you also look at your colleagues and see who has won the DFB Pokal and the Bundesliga.

"Financially, Reus would get more anyway if he stayed at Dortmund.

"[A transfer abroad] will already be a risk but there's also great incentive. If you're top of Real Madrid or Barcelona's shopping list, you wonder whether this opportunity will come again."

Reus is under contract at BVB until June 2017 but has a €25 million buyout clause which becomes active next summer.

Bayern interest in Ramos is pure rumour - Sammer

The reigning German champions' sporting director has denied the club have shown any real interest in the Real Madrid defender

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has played down speculation linking the German champions with a move for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos .

Reports in the Spanish media have suggested the Bundesliga leaders are keen to add the 28-year-old stopper to the squad, despite splashing out €26 million to sign Mehdi Benatia from Roma in August.

But Sammer has denied any interest in the Spain international, insisting the rumours that Ramos could be brought into the club to help replace injured duo David Alaba and Javi Martinez are nonsense.

"If the rumours in Spain were true, we'd be made up of four teams and have another Spanish sporting director," Sammer told Sky .

"Ramos has a long-term contract with a pretty club."

Austria international Alaba suffered a knee ligament injury during Bayern’s Champions League victory over Roma last week.

The 22-year-old underwent surgery on Friday and the club are hopeful his recovery will proceed according to plan.

"FCB chief medical officer Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt said the operation was completed without complications," read a statement on the club website.

"Alaba will be discharged form hospital on Saturday and will wear a protective plaster cast on the knee for the next 14 days

Conference calls for ban on harmful chemicals

“The use of unapproved chemicals and dyes has been reported to be the main cause of skin cancer,” a textile manufacturer cautioned. PHOTO: NNI

KARACHI: 

An international conference on resource efficiency here on Thursday called for strict application of regulations and introducing a new legislation to stop the use of restricted and unapproved chemicals and dyes in the textile industry.

Additionally, it has been observed that many textile units in different processes make unnecessary consumption and waste a lot of chemicals and dyes, which creates serious environmental and health problems besides adding to the cost of production.

Many textile manufacturers use substandard and banned chemicals and dyes to produce and sell finished products at cheaper prices in the local market. “The use of unapproved chemicals and dyes has been reported to be the main cause of skin cancer,” a textile manufacturer cautioned.

International and European Union conventions signed by Pakistan strictly restrict the use of unapproved chemicals and dyes, wastage of these and disposal of textile raw material without proper treatment.

In the conference, textile experts from Germany, Austria and Bangladesh emphasised that resource efficiency was a key to reducing cost in manufacturing industries and crucial for compliance with the demand of international buyers.

The event was organised by bfz gGmbH (Germany) in collaboration with Pakistani business associations including Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA). About 150 representatives of the industry as well as representatives of the academia and public sector participated in the deliberations.

The main session was on chemical management with keynote speakers Kazy Mohammad Iqbal Hossain from C&A, one of the biggest European retailers, and Dr Jurgen Hannak, an expert on resource efficiency and environmental management.

Hossain highlighted the increasing requirements and strict conditions of international buyers in respect of chemical management in the textile value chain.

Hannak explained how manufacturers could tackle these challenges and ensure safe consumption, storage, transport and disposal of chemicals.

“International requirements are complex and enforcement is getting stricter,” Hannak said while pointing to the challenges. “But with proper chemical management, industries can meet the demand of buyers and save money.” He also presented various solutions for the textile manufacturers.

In the second session, Dr Bilquis Yasmeen, senior consultant at VRI-USA Inc, gave an introduction to productivity enhancement through material efficiency.

The third session focused on Good Housekeeping where Principal Consultant from Quality International Consultants Arshad Ali introduced practical approaches in the industries and their benefits.

The team of bfz gGmbH presented the services offered by project ESPIRE to support the industry in a bid to improve resource efficiency and occupational health and safety.

The participants had the opportunity to present their demands and suggest changes to the support offered.

Game plan: Pakistan can profit from relocation of Chinese firms

“Pakistan can make its unemployed manpower effective in the current scenario by providing technical training in industry-related work ambits,” said Afridi.. PHOTO: STOCK IMAGE

LAHORE: 

China’s decision to relocate part of its manufacturing sector to cost-effective locations should help Pakistan if the country can chalk out a strategy and train its labour according to the industry’s needs.

This was stated by Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry President (PCJCCI) Shah Faisal Afridi after a meeting with his Chinese counterparts.

China is witnessing an economic transformation, following Europe’s model of relocating part of its manufacturing sector to economically viable places that offer skilled labour at cheap wages. Afridi said technical training should be provided to labour so that they can take advantage of China’s move.

“Pakistan can make its unemployed manpower effective in the current scenario by providing technical training in industry-related work ambits,” said Afridi.

He was confident that Pakistan can attract the Chinese manufacturing sector by developing a trained workforce for industries.

He termed this phenomenon a great industrial transfer, which has brought in plenty of opportunities. “One-third of Chinese manufacturers for textiles, garments, shoes and hats had already moved all, or part, of their production centres outside China,” he said.

Around 40% of the major companies had planned to move factories from China to other locations, which include Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Philippines, said Shandong Shifeng Group General Manager Yuan Lee.

The movement has also been verified by a survey conducted by the ‘Capital Business Credit’, a US-based financial consultancy firm, he added.

Pakistan has the ninth largest labour force in the world, according to the labor force survey 2013-14, clocking in at 57.24 million. Out of this, 3.4 million people are unemployed, while many are employed in areas not relevant to their expertise.

Afridi pointed out that the export of quality manpower is the main driver in growth of remittances, adding that the country has a 60% economically active population that can increase productivity if their services are properly utilised

Philips’ innovation can come in handy

Philips Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten says the company is in a transition phase of developing products and services that not only focus on innovation but the overall improvement of lifestyle as well. PHOTO: PHILLIPS

KARACHI: 

Pakistan has been found wanting when it comes to adopting modern technology. Innovative solutions in the field of health care and energy hardly make their way to the mainstream.

For an energy-starved country that consists of a predominantly rural population, innovations in health care could provide people in remote areas with facilities that are literally out of reach.

The recently-held Philips Innovation Experience, held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, highlighted such innovations that could come in handy for the Pakistani market as well.

Health care innovations and lighting solutions were emphasised as the company wanted to showcase ways to improve the standard of living.

According to Philips Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten, the company is in a transition phase of developing products and services that not only focus on innovation but the overall improvement of lifestyle as well.

Incorporating technology into health care

In terms of health care, Philips showcased cTnI (Minicare Cardiac troponin-I), a small device that can allow doctors lab-equivalent results in blood tests for instant patient diagnoses and treatment decision making. This device could be utilised in rural areas where hospitals are hard to find.

Visiq, a portable ultrasound device that can be linked to a tablet, allows one to perform diagnostic obstetric, gynaecological and abdominal scans on the spot.

In collaboration with clinical partners, the company is developing solutions that help to treat cancer in more personalised ways.

Another similar device that Philips developed was the BlueControl – a wearable drug-free therapy that controls mild to moderate psoriasis vulgaris with blue LED light – reducing the redness, scaling, thickness and extent of psoriasis vulgaris plaque across the body.

The eCareCompanion and eCareCoordinator are the first two clinical applications developed to be used on the cloud based Philips digital health platform to help monitor and engage patients with multiple chronic conditions in their homes.

Pakistan takes EU to WTO over plastic trade

European Union flags fly in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. PHOTO: REUTERS

GENEVA: Pakistan launched a trade dispute at the World Trade Organisation on Wednesday to challenge the European Union’s punitive duties on Pakistani exports ofpolyethylene terephthalate (PET), the WTO said in a statement.

Pakistan says the EU has broken WTO rules in the way that it imposed anti-subsidy duties on PET, which is used in synthetic fibres, plastic bottles and food containers.

Under WTO rules, the EU has 60 days to try to settle the dispute in direct talks, after which Pakistan could escalate the issue by asking the WTO to set up a panel to adjudicate.

Pakistan’s exports of PET were worth just over $200 million last year, according to data from the International Trade Center, a UN-WTO joint venture.

Although its exports have grown, sales to the EU have dwindled in the past few years. The EU accounted for over 80 per cent of Pakistan’s foreign sales of PET a decade ago, but less than 10 per cent of Pakistani PET exports went to the EU in 2013, a tiny slice of the EU’s $4.3 billion imports of the material.

The dispute is the first that Pakistan has initiated in almost a decade and its first against the EU. It previously launched three disputes – two against the United States and one against Egypt, which was settled in 2006.