Mining

Client team: Political risk

Issue: Willis Towers Watson and Oxford Analytica conducted structured interviews with executives at a cross-sector group of leading global firms with a strong track record in political risk management, to discover how leading companies are responding to recent tumultuous political events.

Engagement: One-hour structured interviews were conducted with twenty panellists. The majority were Forbes Global 500 companies. The firms represented a cross section of industries including food and beverages, oil and gas, mining, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and utilities. The companies are mainly headquartered in North America, Europe and Japan and have extensive global operations, including in “risky” countries.

Result: The survey found that investors are increasingly holding management accountable for losses experienced due to political risk exposure. Importantly, growing investor pressure to account for political risk exposure is likely to mean that companies will increasingly be compelled to benchmark such capabilities against their peers.

Client team: Strategy

Issue: What will cities look like in 2040 and how will their infrastructure needs drive demand for natural resources?

Engagement: Econometric forecasting and trend analysis from our Advisory macro strategy team

Result: The client developed new strategies to seize emerging opportunities and mitigate potential risks.

Client team: International Government Affairs

Issue: How does the interplay between political and economic actors in Russia influence policy towards the extractive sector?

Engagement: Stakeholder mapping from the policy analysis team of our Advisory practice, supplemented by the Russia/CIS edition of The Daily Brief to provide daily monitoring of the political environment

Result: The client strengthened its government relations and engagement in Russia.

Client team: Risk Management and Finance

Issue: A global miner needs a way to incorporate political risk into discounted cash flow projections.

Engagement: The Value at Political Risk interactive system allows risk and finance teams to produce estimates of expected loss and probable maximum loss from political risk specific to the mining industry and the firm's country exposures, and incorporate them into their financial projections.

Result: The client's financial projections incorporate provision for political risk based on a sound methodological footing.

Client team: Geopolitical Risk

Issue: What impact could growing resource nationalism have on the client’s strategy and operations in key markets in Africa and South-east Asia?

Engagement: Macro-risk horizon scanning from our Advisory country risk team

Result: The client better anticipates and prepares for the type, probability and impact of political risks.

Client team: Political Risk, International Government Affairs, Corporate Security

Issue: A mining company needed a daily assessment of the significance and impact of critical events and trends in their key countries of operation.

Engagement: Subscription to The Daily Brief, with customised email to provide high-priority notification of critical events and curated content to drill down into deeper background and analysis.

Result: Analysis from The Daily Brief is integrated into the client's decision-making process.