Wednesday, October 10, 2018Safar 1, 1440 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

IPEC: Promising business opportunities

2021 IPO deadline is a daunting test

QDB INITIATIVE | Page 3 ARAMCO FEARS | Page 4

QCB chief urges Islamic fi ntech focusHE the Governor of the Qatar Central

Bank Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud al-Thani has outlined opportunities

and challenges facing the development of Islamic fi nancial technology (fi ntech) amid global and regional economic uncertain-ties.

Speaking at a lecture hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), the governor said some of the challenges facing fi ntech startups include a reticence from the fi nance industry to adopt new technol-ogies, a need to modify the behaviours of users, and a limited access to funding.

At the same time, these challenges also present opportunities for growth in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) re-gion, he continued. Sheikh Abdulla noted that the Middle East accounted for only 1.8% of global fi ntech investments over the past fi ve years. As of 2016, the Mena region was home to only 105 fi ntech startups.

CMU-Q Dean Michael Trick said,

“Sheikh Abdulla provides an important perspective for our students, especially those who are studying business adminis-tration, computer science, and information systems.

“The area of fi ntech is transforming the global economy, and our students have tremendous opportunities to harness technological tools and create ways for in-ternational fi nance to be more effi cient, profi table, and secure.”

While CMU-Q off ers undergraduate pro-grammes in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science, and information sys-tems, all students are encouraged to reach across disciplines for projects, research, and study. This interdisciplinary climate has inspired several alumni teams to pursue careers in entrepreneurship, including in the area of fi ntech.

For more than a century, Carnegie Mel-lon University has challenged the curious

and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters. A private, top-ranked and global university, Carnegie Mellon sets its own course with programmes that inspire creativity and collaboration.

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation began a partnership to deliver select programmes that will contribute to the long-term development of Qatar. To-day, CMU-Q off ers undergraduate pro-grammes in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science, and information sys-tems.

Nearly 400 students from 38 countries call CMU-Q home. Graduates from CMU-Q are making a deep impact in Qatar and around the world. Most choose careers in top organisations, and many have com-pleted graduate studies. A growing number are pursuing entrepreneurial projects. With 11 graduating classes, the total number of alumni is nearly 800.

STRENGTHENING CHINA TIES: Page 16

QFC is keen on attracting more investments from Asian businesses

HE Sheikh Abdulla receives a token of recognition from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar dean Trick during a lecture hosted by CMU-Q yesterday.

2 ISLAMIC FINANCE GULF TIMESWednesday, October 10, 2018

Malaysia leads global sukuk, Islamic wealth management industryBy Arno MaierbruggerGulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

The Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia with its more than 17mn Muslims – which make

around 61% of the country’s popu-lation – is maintaining its leading role in core sectors of the global Is-lamic fi nance industry, participants at the Global Islamic Finance Forum 2018 (GIFF 2018) held on October 3 and 4 in Kuala Lumpur learnt.

According to Malaysia’s Deputy Finance Minister Amiruddin Ham-zah, the country continued to be the main driver for the worldwide sukuk market, holding $396bn of global outstanding sukuk, or 51% of the world’s total, by the end of last year, while continuing to lead in the Islamic wealth management indus-try with 36.5% of the global market share at that time.

“Our Islamic fi nance sector has matured to become vibrant with a diverse set of industry players since its inception over 30 years ago,” he said, adding that those players in-clude legal, accounting, technol-ogy and rating companies, as well as commodity trading platforms, all providing services for the country’s steadily growing Shariah-compli-ant banks and fi nancial institutions.

In terms of global Islamic fi nance assets, which are believed to have crossed the $2.3tn-treshold earlier this year, Malaysia maintains its solid fourth place with a market share of about 9.1% behind the UAE with 9.3%, Saudi Arabia with 20.4% and Iran with 34.4%, and ahead of Kuwait and Qatar with 6% each, according to data by Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board.

The growth rate of the industry in Malaysia has been around 20% an-nually in average over the past dec-ade, a rate that has been among the fastest in the world in the period.

Hamzah also pointed out that Malaysia spearheaded a number of innovative developments in Is-lamic fi nance, including new types of Islamic bonds such as the fi rst “sustainable and responsible in-vestment sukuk” and “green su-kuk,” as well as the introduction of waqf funds to develop the Muslim economy.

Meanwhile, the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial In-stitutions Malaysia said it was con-fi dent that the target of the coun-try’s central bank for the domestic Islamic banking industry to have 40% market share in total banking assets by 2020 is achievable. The market share of Islamic banking assets in Malaysia leapt to a high of

slightly over 30% in mid-2018 from 7.1% in 2010.

This development calls for an assessment of the impact Islamic fi nance has on the economy and well-being of the society and com-

munities and the environment, said Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former governor of Bank Negara, Malaysia’s central bank, in her keynote at the forum.

She noted that Islamic fi nance registered more interest after the

2008 fi nancial crisis when the in-dustry began to look for more re-sponsible and ethical fi nance solu-tions, which was advantageous to Islamic banking as such.

In addition, the impact of the cri-sis on Islamic banks was much soft-er than on the conventional fi nan-cial system. Furthermore, Islamic fi nance diff erentiates itself through practices, conduct and off erings that generally create a positive and sustainable impact on society and economy, which, however, has not been analysed in a methodical way yet, she said.

Aziz suggested that there should universally-valid parameters and determinations be developed to as-sess this impact of Islamic fi nance.

This is to support its future devel-opment into a system that is both “value-based” and “value-adding,” whereby value-based Islamic fi -nance refers to its compliance to Shariah as a framework of societal rules and ethical standards. Islamic fi nance also adds value by con-tributing to economic activity by strengthening communities with economic empowerment, inclu-sion and basic facilities, as well as addressing wider societal problems such as reducing the carbon foot-print and inequality.

Aziz received the Royal Award for Islamic Finance 2018 for her achievements and leadership in Is-lamic fi nance, both domestically and globally, at the GIFF 2018.

EDUCATION/FAQ on Mudarabah

Is it permissible for a bank to set aside a certain percentage of investors’ money for the creation of a reserve fund as a remedy against investment risks?It is permissible to create a fund out of the investors’ money in order to mitigate risks arising out of investments. The terms and conditions of the investors’ contribution, including the percentage to be deducted, are mentioned in the Mudarabah contract. The money so contributed by each investor is in the form of a gift, such that the investor will have no further claims on that money. The reserve fund is managed by the bank (working partner) and will be used either when the investors’ money is at risk or when the return on investment is so low that it adversely aff ects the bank’s reputation. It is the bank’s responsibility, as working

partner of the reserve fund, to invest the fund’s resources in suitable and profitable ventures. All yields from such investments are added to the reserve fund. The bank continues to operate the fund for as long as it remains in operation. In the event of the bank’s winding up, the fund is dissolved and all proceeds are donated to charity

Is it permissible for the working partner of funds in a Mudarabah to transfer the funds collected to an agent for investment?It is permissible for the working partner to appoint an agent for investing the money collected.

Is it permissible to pool the profits of working partners?It is forbidden to pool the profits of working partners, though it is

acceptable for individual working partners to share their profits after distribution.

In case of long-term Mudarabah contracts, is it permissible to periodically distribute profits among investors instead of a bulk distribution at the conclusion of the Mudarabah contract?It is permissible, with mutual agreement among investors, to periodically distribute profits instead of a bulk distribution at the conclusion of the contract.

In case of termination of a Mudarabah through the investor buying all the assets of the partnership, is it permissible for that investor to sell such assets under a Murabaha?

In the case described above, the Mudarabah operation has ceased to exist and all assets belonging to the Mudarabah operation are now in the custody of the investor. It is permissible for the investor to dispose of the assets in any manner he deems suitable, including Murabaha. However, care must be taken to comply with all the requirements of a valid Murabaha sale, including disclosure of the exact purchase price of goods from the partnership, as well as any ancillary expenses.

Is it permissible for the investor to demand from the working partner a certain percentage of each investment to be made, in addition to his share of proceeds of investment?It is not permissible for the investor to

demand such money from the working partner. The role of the working partner is that of a trustee, and a trustee cannot be required to pay any amount to the investor except in case of the trustee’s negligence.

Is it permissible to categorise investors in a single Mudarabah, with diff erent profit rates for each category?It is permissible to categorise investors in order to have diff erent profit rates for each category of investors. The categories may be made on any just and sound basis, such as the period of investment or the amount of investment. However, it is necessary that the investor and the working partner both agree and understand the implications of such categorisation, and that it is

mentioned clearly in the Mudarabah contract.

In a Mudarabah agreement, who has the primary liability for loss?The investor bears all losses barring negligence, in which case the negligent party is financially liable.

To what extent may a mudarib exercise his authority independent of the investor?Without the investor’s consent, even in an unrestricted Mudarabah, the worker may not lend the Mudarabah’s money, invest the capital, invite new partners or otherwise do anything contrary to what is reasonably considered to be normal business practice for his chosen industry.

Source: Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance via Bloomberg

Gulf TimesExclusive

Morocco mulls global sukuk after debut local issueBloombergCairo

Morocco is weighing an inter-national sukuk after kicking off a long-awaited maiden

domestic sale on Friday that may act as a benchmark for more local issuance.

The 1bn-dirham ($106mn) Ijara do-mestic issue will be sold by the fi nance and economy ministry’s treasury and external fi nancing department via the FT Imperium Sukuk CI special purpose vehicle, El Hassan Eddez, who heads the ministry’s debt management, told reporters in Rabat on Friday.

The sale “sets a benchmark for fu-ture dirham-denominated issues by Moroccan Islamic and conventional banks, public fi rms and even regions to fund infrastructure projects or renew-able energies,” he said. It also “allows the option of an international sover-eign sukuk should we decide to tap the international bond market,” he said.

An initial pricing target of 2.72%, or 3 basis points above the yield for fi ve-

year treasury bills, was fi xed as a ceiling for the sale, which will have a maxi-mum fi ve-year maturity. The state ex-pects to cash in the receipts of the sale on October 15, Eddez said. The paper can be traded on the secondary market.

Eddez declined to discuss potential future international debt sales. There are no plans to issue more domestic su-kuk this year, he said.

Global sukuk sales reached a record $55.7bn in 2017, eclipsing the previous record of $51.6bn raised in 2012, ac-cording to data compiled by Bloomb-erg. Islamic bonds use a variety of structures to link returns to assets in order to comply with the ban on inter-est. The securities were pioneered in Malaysia in the 1980s.

Eddez’s department issues at least 100bn dirhams in domestic treasury bills each year. It plans to review is fi -nancing strategy between a mix of con-ventional bill and sukuks, he said.

“We have the ambition to create a domestic sovereign sukuk market that is as liquid as the T-bills market,” he said.

World’s top sukuk arranger says issuance is likely past its peak

BloombergKuala Lumpur

Global sales of Islamic bonds have peaked and are expected to retreat this year following record issuance in 2017, according to the debt’s top arranger.Weaker growth prospects in the Middle East and rising US interest rates will see issuance shrinking to $40bn to $45bn in 2018, compared to $56bn last year, said Rafe Haneef, chief executive off icer at CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd. At least Malaysia, which pioneered Islamic bonds, should see sales holding up well as consumer sentiment stays positive, he said.Gulf Co-operation Council countries, which account for about half of sukuk issuance, are still grappling with the collapse of crude prices four years ago. Saudi Arabia’s economic growth is still below the 4% average in the decade before 2014 when Brent crude halved. Oil has rebounded 27% in 2018. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is leading rich nations out of the near-zero-rate era, which is raising global borrowing costs.“At the beginning of the year, we were targeting $45bn to $50bn but we didn’t factor in the impact of a much bigger slowdown in the Saudi economy,” Rafe said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. Issuance next year “could be bigger than 2018 because the core markets, like Saudi and the GCC generally, are planning for bigger public sector investments to boost the economy, given the oil price rally.”Sales of the notes, which comply with the ban on interest by paying a share of profits, have dropped 23.5% so far this year to $34.87bn, data compiled by Bloomberg show. CIMB has been the world’s top sukuk arranger in four out of five years through 2018.A gauge of the cost of financing using Islamic bonds is hovering near a four-year high. The JPMorgan MECI Sukuk Current Yield Index climbed 10 basis points this year to 4.27% on Friday, close to the peak of 4.36% reached in May, which was the highest level since October 2013.Malaysia, the world’s biggest sukuk market, may be the bright spot amid the gloom. Issuance from GCC countries was boosted by a $2bn off er from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, $1.3bn from Islamic Development Bank and $500mn from Al-Hilal Bank last month. But the Southeast Asian nation should be able to overtake the Middle East in the next three months as it’s set to reach 60bn ringgit ($14.5bn) to 65bn ringgit of sales for the entire 2018, Rafe said.Malaysia’s local-currency off erings were slow at the beginning of the year amid uncertainty surrounding the general election in May, but the pipeline has since picked up, he said. The outlook for 2019 will depend on the state budget that’s set to be announced on November 2, Rafe said, adding that the government “never said they are going to totally stop” infrastructure development.

Delegates wait in line to attend a seminar at a previous edition the Global Islamic Finance Forum in Kuala Lumpur. According to Malaysia’s Deputy Finance Minister Amiruddin Hamzah, the country continued to be the main driver for the worldwide sukuk market, holding $396bn of global outstanding sukuk, or 51% of the world’s total, by the end of last year.

A trading room at a bank in Casablanca, Morocco (file). Morocco is weighing an international sukuk after kicking off a long-awaited maiden domestic sale on Friday that may act as a benchmark for more local issuance.

BUSINESS3Gulf Times

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Single window panel outlinesmilestones at IPEC 2018Qatar’s investor-friendly business environment

and the solid economic growth rates and the ef-

forts to enhance co-ordination and co-operation

among all government and private agencies to

promote the country as an attractive investment

environment has been highlighted at the Inter-

national Products Exhibition and Conference

(‘IPEC 2018’), which concludes today.

The co-ordinating committee for the Single Win-

dow System Management, which was established

in 2016 based on a decision by the off ice of the

Prime Minister to redesign, facilitate, and acceler-

ate all operations related to business services for

all sectors, highlighted its achievements and its

future goals to attract investments to Qatar.

The committee represents one of the key

government initiatives launched to develop

Qatar’s business environment, stimulate real

participation of the private sector, encourage

domestic and foreign investments, and channel

them towards sectors with added value to the

national economy in line with Qatar National

Vision 2030.

The committee’s first initiative was the launch

of the Single Window System, which streamlines

the administrative procedures in the state. The

second initiative, the ‘Own your Factory in Qa-

tar’, helps investors in the industrial sector get

all the necessary facilities to start a business in

just 72 hours. Realising a slew of achievements,

the committee managed to establish more than

5,000 local companies and 80 international to

date, as well as reducing the time spent on the

process of issuing licenses from one year and

half to only 72 hours to fast track the establish-

ment of 60 factories in eight diff erent sectors

such as food, metal, paper, rubber and plastic,

chemical, electric, medical, machinery, and

vehicles; a total of 8,000 applications were

submitted by investors so far.

In a panel discussion during ‘IPEC 2018’,

Salman Mohamed Kaldari, the chairman of the

Co-ordinating Committee for the Single Window

System Management, gave an overview of the

privileges provided for the foreign investors.

He said the Single Window System is based on

two main pillars: to facilitate, simplify, and link all

the procedures provided by 21 governmental en-

tities related to establishing or issuing a licence

for a new business; the other pillar is to facilitate

the dealings of the local and foreign investors at

a single window.

The committee’s ultimate goal is to become

an ideal platform for foreign investor to benefit

from a broad range of services that helps them

complete all their operations and communi-

cating with 21 diff erent governmental bodies

through a single window, and grant them access

to information and investment opportunities

for entering the Qatari market in best interna-

tional practice. Kaldari said Qatar, through the

Single Window System, off ers a wide range of

privileges for qualified investors, which includes

helping investors get all the necessary facilities

to start a business in just 72 hours, providing

immediate access to visas, off ering guarantees

with land readiness of industrial infrastructure

like water, electricity, gas, and near to Hamad

Port, and the air cargo network, in addition to

giving priority in government procurement to

national products.

He also stressed the importance of the Single

Window System’s role as knowledge base in

providing information about investment oppor-

tunities from governmental entities concerned,

and therefore contributes to the development

of the national economy, and enhances its com-

petitiveness and ability to attract foreign direct

investment.

QBA, MUSIAD sign pact to boost trade

The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) has entered into a pact with the Asso-ciation of Independent Businessmen and

Industrialists of Turkey (MUSIAD) as part of broader steps to promote trade and investment co-operation between the two countries. The Turkish association will soon establish a repre-sentative offi ce here.

The pact – which encourages and facilitates di-rect contact between the businessmen of both as-sociations, promote and develop trade activities and work together to increase trade exchange and create favourable conditions and provide all the necessary assistance for companies and investors from both countries – was signed on the sidelines of their recent meeting here.

The QBA delegation comprised Salah al-Jaid-ah, Saud al-Mana, Mohamed al-Rabban, Abdul-lah al-Kubaisi, Mohamad Althaf, Ihsan al-Khiya-mi and Sarah Abdullah, deputy general manager; while Turkish side comprised Laura Gok, Direc-tor of MOUs at MUSIAD, Seyma Behar (member of the committee that is responsible for Qatar in MUSIAD), Cahid Usta, Director of MUSIAD Mid-dle East and Omar Jawash, Director General of BrandCenter company.

Highlighting the initiatives provided by Qatar

to foreign investors such as the new investment law allowing 100% ownership in most economic sectors, state-owned logistics facilities such as free zones, Hamad International Airport and Qa-tar Port; al-Jaidah urged Turkish investors to in-vest in Doha.

The Turkish delegation presented the future plans of their association, where they are estab-lishing a representative offi ce in Qatar in order to

expand their business and economic activities by bringing Turkish brands, including clothes and furniture, with an aim to capture better market share. Al-Mana also spoke about the mutual in-terest between the two sides to explore more op-portunities for trade and economic co-operation and to open up new fi elds to promote joint invest-ments in light of the economic and trade signifi -cant potentials.

QBA and MUSIAD off icials after signing the agreement.

Qatar Chamber seeks to strengthen ties with Turkey exporters association

QNADoha

Qatar Chamber discussed yesterday

ways to enhance co-operation with the

West Mediterranean Exporters Associa-

tion in Turkey, on the sidelines of the

association’s participation in the First

International Products Exhibition and

Conference (IPEC), currently in session

in Doha.

During the meeting, the Turkish side

invited Qatar Chamber to participate

in a specialised exhibition organised

by the association in April in Antalya,

which will be focusing on the health,

sports and tourism sectors.

Director-General of Qatar Chamber

Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi praised the

strong relations between Qatar and

Turkey, which pave the way for greater

co-operation between businessmen

in the two countries, while also noting

the keenness of Qatar Chamber on

strengthening co-operation with the

West Mediterranean Exporters Associa-

tion in Turkey.

Al-Sharqi added that the conferences

and exhibitions provide an opportunity

to hold bilateral meetings between

Qatari and Turkish companies, and es-

tablish partnerships and trade alliances.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Board of

the West Mediterranean Exporters

Association Hakki Bahar expressed the

interest of Turkish exporters in enhanc-

ing co-operation with their Qatari

counterparts, noting that the exhibition

which will be held in April is a vital

opportunity to hold bilateral business

meetings between the two countries

in order to seek and create mutually

beneficial partnerships.

He added that the Antalya-based

association is increasing export-ori-

ented production through organising

seminars in production areas, as well

as monitoring and advertising data on

production and export, while informing

members about competitors in foreign

markets.

Trade exchange between Qatar, Tunisia increases by 250%

QNADoha

The Minister of Commerce of the Republic of Tunisia Omar Behi revealed that the Qatari-Tunisian Economic Forum, which was held in Doha last year, contributed to increasing the trade exchange between the two countries by 250%, reflecting the important role the private sector in developing trade between the two countries.Speaking in an opening session at the First International Product Exhibition and Conference (IPEC 2018), the Tunisian minister praised the distinct and strong relations between Qatar and Tunisia which would contribute to upgrading the bilateral relations to a promising levels in the fields of economy, politics and culture.He underlined the important role of the Qatari-Tunisian Economic Forum in raising the levels of bilateral trade, enhancing the partnership between the two countries and opening up new horizons for co-operation for the private sector.For his part, chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Qais bin Mohammed al-Yusuf said that trade exchange between the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar registered a remarkable growth during the past period.However, he noted that Omani imports to Qatar do not exceed 4.6% of total Qatari imports.He called for increasing the Omani imports and giving a bigger opportunity for the national products both in the Qatari or Omani markets.He said that the relationship between the private sector in the two countries is a

solid and renewable, and has witnessed a remarkable development in the recent period following the participation of the two sides in the bilateral exhibitions organised from time to time, looking forward to increase the volume of trade exchange in the future, thanks to the joint projects and the opportunities available to localise industries and push the private sector to play a greater role in economic activity.He noted that there are 70 Omani companies participating in the IPEC 2018 that can meet the growing demand for Omani products in the State of Qatar covering many sectors including building materials, marble, logistics, services, food and others.Meanwhile, the minister of economic development and trade of the Republic of Tajikistan Nematullo Hikmatullozoda said that his country is keen on creating new partnerships to develop trade relations with the State of Qatar.He underlined that Tajikistan, which enjoys considerable resources in the field of energy and promising investment opportunities, gives priority to Qatari investors to take advantage of these opportunities.He noted that Qatari investors can explore investment opportunities in Tajikistan, mainly in the agricultural sector which is vital in Tajikistan, as well as the export of natural products produced in the country without the use of any chemicals, in addition to the mining sector.He underlined that his country has worked to create an appropriate legislative environment to attract foreign investment, and supported the private sector to play a key role in the development of the country’s economy.

‘Improved ports connectivity enhances Qatar, Pakistan trade’By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

The improved ports connectivity between

Qatar and Pakistan will play a significant

role in expanding the two countries’ trade

relations, Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce

Additional Secretary (Trade Diplomacy)

Javed Akbar Bhatti said.

“We are developing and improving

this network, apart from our Karachi port

which is already functional and has con-

nectivity with the Hamad Port,” he told

attendees at a panel discussion during

the International Product Exhibition and

Conference (IPEC 2018) yesterday.

Bhatti joined Qatar’s Minister of Trans-

port and Communications HE Jassim Seif

Ahmed al-Sulaiti, Public Works Authority

(Ashghal) president Dr Engr Saad bin

Ahmad al-Muhannadi and Iran’s Bushehr

Province Governor Abdul Karim Grawend

in discussing ‘The Role of Infrastructure in

Determining Export and Imports Competi-

tiveness’ at the session.

The panel also tackled infrastructure

projects to facilitate and increase the ex-

ports and imports in Qatar, and outlining

regulatory compliance with the new trade

partners within the Qatar market. Bhatti

noted that their trade with Qatar has

improved substantially, with both import

and export showing an upward trend due

to the Gwadar port’s commissioning.

Besides Gwadar, he said the Pakistan

– China Economic Corridor is also paving

the way for the establishment of many

economic zones in other parts of Pakistan.

“We have improved that road con-

nectivity in Pakistan, we plan to provide

all the infrastructure facilities to the

potential investors,” stressed Bhatti. “Our

new government aims to promote more

investments especially with our brotherly

countries.” “We look forward to Qatar as a

major investor, we had very good discus-

sions with Qatari authorities, the Qatar

Financial Centre and other institutions,” he

said, adding that Pakistani businessmen

also took part in several B2B meetings on

the sidelines of IPEC. Bhatti thanked Qatar

for supplying Pakistan with energy, which

significantly helped in overcoming their

power crisis and ensuring the smooth

supply to its industries. He said Pakistani

companies have been closely collaborat-

ing with Qatar authorities, presenting

three large projects.

Like Pakistan, Grawend said Iran is also

wooing Qatar to invest in Bushehr Prov-

ince, a move that will further create trade

opportunities between the two countries.

This Iranian province boasts a long

coastline, produces and exports tonnes of

various agricultural and food products such

as shrimp and other seafood, chicken and

other meat, he added. “It is the shortest dis-

tance connecting Qatar’s market to Iran, and

this short distance has eliminated all of the

limitations of doing business and economic

relationship,” he pointed out, noting that

such huge potential can be very important

for Qatari businessmen.

Grawend (left): Wooing investments from Qatar. Bhatti: Looking forward to Qatar as a major investor. PICTURES: Jayam Orma

Kaldari: Off ering a wide range of privileges for qualified investors.

QDB showcases promising business opportunities to foreign investors at IPECBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

Qatar Development Bank (QDB), which is in the forefront of the country’s

diversifi cation path, yesterday showcased before foreign inves-tors, particularly from the fra-ternal and friendly countries, the increasing opportunities in Doha, especially in the areas of chemi-cals, plastic products, aluminium and aluminium products, food and beverages, and pharmaceuti-cals despite the unjust economic blockade.

Moreover, post blockade, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been able to get better op-portunities especially from the big government agencies like Ashghal and Kahramaa, and also to others in the private sector, QDB chief execu-tive Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa told the International Products and Exhibition Conference (IPEC), which will conclude today.

The selection of sectors for foreign participation came after QDB’s evaluation based on two dimensions with one assessing the importance of the sector to the government, and how attractive the sector is to the private inves-tors, he said.

“I encourage foreign inves-

tors to think about these sectors. There are lots of opportunities for foreign companies to invest in Qatar and they are chemicals, plastic products, aluminium and its products, food products and beverages and pharmaceuticals,” he said.

The IPEC 2018 saw participa-tion of politicians, entrepreneurs, businessmen and government of-fi cials from Turkey, Tunisia, Alge-ria, Morocco, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Jordan and Pakistan.

QDB, which now has a capital base of QR10bn, play a big role in supporting the private sector eco-system, he said, stressing on the

importance of SMEs and their role in supporting and promoting the local economy.

QDB focuses on supporting the private sector in general and SMEs in particular, adding that the bank, in its engagement with SMEs, focused on key trends to support this sector and identi-fi ed fi ve main activities: access to information and training, access to fi nance, access to markets, the working environment and the le-gal framework for action.

Elaborating on its initiative ‘Moushtrayat’, an initiative that provides local SMEs access to large government projects, al-Khalifa said the fi rst edition in

2016 saw 450 biz opportunities worth QR3bn, but only QR42mn was awarded to SMEs, which led QDB to “dig deeper to know why the SMEs were not able to get more.”

In the subsequent version, there were more than 2,000 opportuni-ties valued at QR2.5bn, of which QR700mn went for the SMEs and the third edition of 2018 saw more than 2,000 opportunities worth QR6.5bn.

Al-Khalifa stressed that Law No 24 of 2015 (a law regulating tenders and auctions), issued in December by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, allows QDB to exempt SMEs from prerequisites like ad-vanced payment guarantees and bid bonds or performance bonds.

Moushtrayat creates a platform for matchmaking between SMEs and government and semi-gov-ernment procurement require-ments. Through this platform, QDB can explain the requirements and needs of these agencies, and match them with SMEs that can supply accordingly.

“We are encouraging SMEs to capitalise on the services provided by free economic zones and fi nan-cial centre,” he said, adding Qa-tar could also play a great role (in digitisation) and serve the neigh-bouring countries.

Al-Khalifa: Playing a big role in supporting the private sector ecosystem.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, October 10, 20184

Saudi crown prince’s 2021 Aramco IPO deadline stays a daunting testMohammed bin Salman plans IPO in 2021 at $2tn valuation despite rising doubts; Aramco first needs to complete a deal to buy a stake in Sabic

BloombergLondon

One of the biggest-ever mergers in the oil industry. The largest corporate bond sale on record. The most lucrative initial public off ering in “human history.” The timetable: two and a half years.After a summer when the IPO of Saudi Arabia’s state oil-giant Aramco appeared set for semi-permanent limbo, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not only revived it, but imposed a schedule for achieving a series of deals that would test any management team.The 33-year-old heir to the Saudi throne wants Aramco to complete a deal to buy a $70bn stake in the kingdom’s biggest petrochemical company, Sabic, issue debt to finance the acquisition and go public by late 2020 or early 2021.“He’s showing leadership,” said Nasser Saidi, president and founder of Nasser Saidi & Associates, an economic and business consultant active in the Middle East.But Saidi, a former central banker and economy minister in Lebanon, said the new deadline was ambitious: “Does he have the apparatus? Do you have ministries that can carry through? I don’t think they are prepared. This has never happened in Saudi Arabia.”Prince Mohammed, who controls the levers of power in the kingdom, wasn’t doing anything to talk down the scale and significance of the IPO. “You’re talking about the biggest share sale in human history,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg in Riyadh.The interview made clear bringing the world’s biggest oil producer to public markets remains central to the crown prince’s ambitious economic agenda, Vision 2030, and his credentials as a serious reformer. But meeting his new schedule will be tough. If Saudi off icials are able to deliver, the process will be as follows, according to people familiar with the plan who asked not to be named because the details are private.Before the end of the year, Aramco will off icially announce its plan to buy a strategic stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp, commonly known as Sabic, most likely the 70% owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund. During the first half of 2019, Aramco and Sabic need to clear all regulatory and antitrust hurdles – particularly in Europe – and close the deal.Soon after, Aramco, which the crown prince emphasised has little debt, needs to tap the bond market to finance the acquisition. The current plan calls for some bridge loans to give time to prepare for a multi-tranche bond. It’s likely to surpass the record set by Verizon Communications Inc in 2013

when it raised $49bn to buy Vodafone Group Plc’s stake in its cellular phone unit. The company then needs a full financial year before going public, so the deal with Sabic, and most likely the bond, need to close before the beginning of 2020 so Aramco can hold its IPO by early 2021.All the tasks above aren’t just time consuming – some are beyond the control of the Saudis.Take clearing antitrust for the Aramco-Sabic deal. The European Union will have a say as Sabic recently took control of Swiss-based chemical company Clariant AG. In America, regulators may also insist in taking a look at the deal.

Although much of the Aramco’s IPO preparation has already been done – simplifying the corporate structure and preparing financial statements, for example – key decisions about the deal have yet to be made. Most importantly, where it takes place. Prince Mohammed is keen to list Aramco in New York, but advisers are wary of opening up the company to the risks of US litigation.It’s going to be a long slog for those banks advising on the IPO, including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and HSBC Group Plc.“There is a logic to keeping expectations up on the IPO, as it dangles the possibility of fees, and keeps interest on and press attention

on Vision 2030,” said Karen Young, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington and a specialist in the political economy of the Middle East.But “some advisers may be frustrated at the pace, as they need to demonstrate the value of the engagement without a return now in two years,” she said.Then there’s the most significant issue of all: valuation. Although Prince Mohammed said in the recent Bloomberg interview the market would ultimately decide how much Aramco is worth, he didn’t backtrack on the $2tn forecast he first put forward 2016.Since the IPO plan was first announced,

however, almost every consultant, investor and analyst who’s run the numbers concluded that the company is worth between $1tn and $1.5tn. Enough to make Aramco the world’s most valuable enterprise, but a long way from the prince’s target.It’s true, as the prince pointed out in the interview, that buying Sabic will enlarge the company, but taking on debt to do the deal will limit the increase in equity value. The recent rally in the oil price to a four-year high above $85 a barrel may have a bigger impact, though based on the recent performance of competitors like Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc it’s unlikely to make enough of a diff erence. There

are options for boosting the value of the Aramco. The government could reduce the tax burden on the company, which currently rises with crude prices, leaving more money for investors. But by doubling down on his $2tn valuation, the prince has made a successful share sale considerably harder.“The Sabic deal does add to the value of Aramco, but not enough to close the gap” said Robin Mills, who runs Dubai-based oil consultant Qamar Energy. “Higher oil prices don’t help the valuation that much, partly because of the increasing royalty rate payable under higher oil prices, and partly because higher oil prices will choke off future demand.”

Private sector agrees 10% price cuts as Turkey steps up infl ation fi ghtAlbayrak promises full fight against inflation; investors want to see orthodox policy, reform

ReutersIstanbul

Turkey’s private sector has agreed to cut prices on the goods it sells by at least 10% across the board, Fi-

nance Minister Berat Albayrak said yes-terday, as he called on businesses to join a national struggle to tamp down runaway infl ation.

Financial markets gave a lukewarm ap-praisal to the programme, which includes a freeze in energy prices.

Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law, has promised a “fully fl edged fi ght” against infl ation — but investors say delivering that would require aggressive interest rate hikes and a more orthodox approach to monetary policy.

The lira has fallen some 40% this year, driving up the price of everything from food to fuel and sending infl ation to 25% last month, its highest in 15 years.

A self-described “enemy of interest rates”, Erdogan wants borrowing costs lowered.

“It is not suffi cient to cope with infl a-tion,” said Kaan Nazli, a senior economist at asset manager Neuberger Berman. “What you really need to do is to engineer a continuous slowdown in the economy, keep monetary policy tight and do things

that way.”The lira weakened slightly af-ter Albayrak’s presentation in Istanbul. It was at 6.1450 to the dollar at 1404 GMT, about half a percentage weaker on the day.

“The fi ght against infl ation and for price stability is not a fi ght that can be conducted by the state and institutions alone,” Albayrak said.

The voluntary discount would be re-fl ected in all the goods that make up the infl ation basket, and prices would be lowered by a minimum 10% until the end

of the year, he said. Banks will also off er 10% discounts on their highest interest rates, he said.

It was not immediately clear how many goods would ultimately be impact-ed, or how many companies would take part, but Albayrak called on the public to support those that did push through the price cuts.

For years, volatile food prices have vexed policymakers’ attempts to rein in infl ation.

Ankara’s inability to cool the rise has

fuelled a blame game among food pro-ducers and retailers, with each accusing the other of hiking prices.

Industry offi cials and economists say there are deeper structural problems, from the lack of a long-term agricultural policy to a supply chain hindered by mid-dlemen and arcane bureaucracy.

In September, the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose more than 6% from a month earlier, heaping more pres-sure on consumers.

“What is missing is structural reform to solve issues of persistently high food infl ation, which to a large extent is caused by the fact that Turkey imports a signifi -cant amount of food,” said Piotr Matys, an emerging markets foreign exchange strategist at Rabobank. “It looks like these are pretty temporary measures. What we really need is a long-term solution to pre-vent food prices from rising again.”

Erdogan has called on Turks to report unusual price hikes in shops, saying it was the government’s responsibility to raid the inventories of stores if necessary.

The trade ministry said on Monday it had asked more than 100 companies to explain what it says were excessive price increases of goods, in a probe into sus-pected price gouging after it inspected more than 69,000 products at nearly 4,000 companies.

As the currency crisis deepened in Au-gust, the government made it illegal for companies to arbitrarily impose price increases if they were not impacted by a rise in input costs or the exchange rate.

Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak speaks during an event to announce his programme to fight inflation in Istanbul yesterday.

IMF cuts Iran growth forecast on sanctionsAFPDubai

The International Mon-etary Fund yesterday predicted Iran’s economy

will sink deep in the red due to renewed US sanctions.

In its World Economic Out-look, the IMF said the oil-de-pendent economy of Iran is expected to shrink by 1.5% this year and by 3.6% in 2019.

In May, before US President Donald Trump announced re-instating sanctions against Te-hran, the IMF had projected Iran’s economy would grow by 4.0% in 2018 and again next year.

The IMF said the Iranian economy was now expected to contract over the next two years “on account of reduced oil pro-duction, before returning to modest positive growth in 2020-23”.

Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May, and his administration reim-posed a round of sanctions on the Islamic republic in August.

Iranian crude exports, which reach some 2.5mn bpd normal-ly, have plunged by over half a million bpd and are expected to dive further when expand-ed sanctions on oil take eff ect next month, depriving Tehran

of its main source of income. The IMF also sharply slashed growth forecasts for the whole Middle East and North Africa region due to the slump in the Iranian economy and increased energy costs.

It now projects the Mena re-gion to grow by 2.0% this year and 2.5% in 2019, 1.2% and 1.1% lower, respectively, than it fore-cast in April.

“The downward revisions re-fl ect to an important extent the worsening of growth prospects for Iran, following the reimposi-tion of US sanctions,” it said.

The IMF, however, lifted its projections for economic growth in Saudi Arabia, the region’s big-gest economy, and its oil-rich neighbours in the Gulf.

It said the Saudi economy, which contracted by 0.9% last year, is expected to grow by 2.2% in 2018 and 2.4% next year, raising previous projections by 0.5%.

The growth is being “driven by a pickup in non-oil economic activity and a projected increase in crude oil production in line” agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries and independent produc-ers, the IMF said.

Oil prices, which account for about 80% of Saudi public in-come, have increased by more than 70% since June last year to over $80 a barrel.

A logo sits on an electronic display at the company’s corporate pavilion during the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul on July 12, 2017. Although much of the Aramco’s IPO preparation has already been done - simplifying the corporate structure and preparing financial statements, for example - key decisions about the deal have yet to be made.

BUSINESS5Gulf Times

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Banks, brokerages cut forecasts for emerging market fi rmsStrong dollar, higher interest rates, trade tensions hit profit; industrial and tech firms suff er biggest profit declines; analysts cut profit view for the next four quarters

ReutersLondon

Slower growth at the developing world’s big homegrown com-panies in the second quarter

has led analysts to cut their profit and price estimates sharply since the end of June, according to a Reu-ters analysis of data on thousands of listed firms.

The combined profit for 7,000 firms covered by Refinitiv data, measured in US dollars and including Asian, European and Latin American firms, rose 14.5% in the April-June quarter compared to the same quar-ter of 2017, the weakest in a year and down from 19.5% in the first quarter.

That reflected a cocktail of factors led by the dollar’s strength against all but a handful of currencies, rising US and European interest rates and the impact of the intensifying trade war between the United States and China.

Major companies from four coun-tries — Malaysia, Argentina, Mexico and South Korea — actually showed

declines in overall profit compared to a year earlier. By sector, industrial and tech firms had the biggest falls, hinting at a drop-off in demand for cheaply assembled exports from China and other Asian economies, while consumer firms also saw de-pressed profits.

More pressure is building, with analysts cutting their profit esti-mates for the next four quarters.

Refinitiv data shows earnings forecasts for the current fiscal year at a larger group of 13,000 firms are down by 5.5% on average in the last 90 days.

For now, relatively small con-tractions in local currency earnings

suggest the dollar’s strength is at the heart of these moves. However, fear around the impact of the tariffs placed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods by China and the United States is also growing.

“Our baseline view is shifting in the direction of a deeper and more prolonged conflict, where the im-pacts on China, US growth and com-modity and FX pricing could be more disruptive,” said JP Morgan analysts in a note.

“We expect some slowdown in capital equipment spending in tariff-related sectors in (emerg-ing Asia), with some pushback on growth and employment.” The boom

in investment in the high yields of the developing world, funded by cheap and plentiful capital pumped into the economy by major central banks since 2008, has ground to a halt this year as US interest rates be-gan to rise.

By contrast, the Refinitiv data showed US companies’ profits were expected to grow 24% on average in 2018, the fastest since 2010.

“The primary symptoms of the post-January tribulations of emerg-ing equities are their inferior outlook for US dollar EPS growth versus that of the US itself,” said Alexander Red-man, global emerging market strat-egist at Credit Suisse. Crucially for

countries like Turkey or India, which import most of their oil, higher US rates have come along with a re-covery in global crude prices to $80 while also driving the US dollar — in which oil is priced — broadly higher.

Against the MSCI index of emerg-ing market currencies, the dollar is up more than 5% since early May and 7.5% since February, accounting for much of the change in forecasts.

“Rising oil prices will affect cor-porate margins and a stronger US dollar will increase the FX volatility, which means higher hedging costs and earning volatility,” said Willie Chan, a strategist at Maybank Kim Eng Securities.

EM equities fall near 17-month lowsReutersLondon

Emerging market stocks dipped close to 17-month lows yesterday

as the IMF cut its 2018 and 2019 global growth forecasts, putting

more pressure on developing economies already facing tighter

financial conditions and capital outflows.

The International Monetary Fund’s chief economist, Maurice

Obstfeld, said the susceptibility of emerging markets to large

global shocks has risen.

MSCI’s main emerging market stocks index was 0.1% lower,

around levels last hit in May 2017.

Blue-chip Chinese stocks extended losses a day after their

biggest one-day decline in more than two years, on concerns over

growth despite Beijing’s steps to support the economy amid an

escalating trade war with Washington.

The dispute has hurt sentiment towards emerging market

currencies, especially those of oil-importing countries like Turkey

and India, which have been pinched by crude prices rising to

multi-year highs in recent months.

China’s yuan steadied yesterday after hitting its lowest off icial

close in seven weeks on Monday, as Obstfeld said he was not

concerned about the Chinese government’s ability to defend its

currency. “Coupled with the shaky general risk appetite, this poses

headwinds to EM FX for the time being,” wrote Chris Turner, ING’s

head of foreign exchange strategy, in a note.

“The case to turn bullish on emerging markets FX isn’t strong

enough, due in part to the domestically focused Fed steaming

ahead and continuing increasing interest rates.” A strong US

economy has led the Federal Reserve to raise rates multiple times

this year, increasing the yield on holding dollars and making

riskier emerging market assets less attractive.

The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest

since May 2011 yesterday.

Turkey’s lira weakened 0.2% amid an escalating row over miss-

ing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and as its finance minister

prepared to announce the start of a “full-fledged fight against

inflation” later. Turkish inflation hit nearly 25% in September, a

15-year high. “If the plan were to include a government pledge to

increase public sector wages in line with targeted inflation, that

should be taken positively,” Credit Suisse’s Berna Bayazitoglu

wrote in a note.

South Africa’s rand was slightly firmer as a Treasury spokes-

man said Finance Minister Nene would travel to Indonesia for an

IMF meeting, a day after a media source reported him as asking

President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack him.

Pakistan’s rupee plunged about 7% in a de facto devaluation,

while local stocks snapped a six-day skid after the government

said it planned to seek a bailout from the IMF.

Brazil’s real firmed to a more than two-month closing high on

Monday after far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro ran

up a huge lead in the first round of voting, boosting hopes that he

will tackle a growing fiscal deficit.

Asia bourses remain cautious amid US-China tensionsAFPHong Kong

The sell-off in Asian mar-kets slowed yesterday, with most markets seeing

little movement as ongoing US-China tensions simmer.

A testy public interaction be-tween Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Beijing on Monday refuelled market wor-ries about China-US relations, which have taken a hefty knock from tit-for-tat tariff s.

“A possible train wreck on the negotiation front could com-pletely derail global markets,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacifi c trading at OANDA.

Adding to economic uncer-tainty yesterday was a bearish report from the International Monetary Fund, which lowered its forecast for Chinese econom-ic growth in 2019 and warned that escalating trade tensions would drag on the world’s sec-ond-largest economy.

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook predicted China’s econ-omy would grow 6.2% next year, down from an previous forecast of 6.4%. Both of those fi gures would mark the slowest rate of expansion for China since 1990.

After the biggest sell-off in three months on Monday, Shanghai’s stock market — which led the retreat following

a week-long public holiday — was largely fl at through Tues-day, fi nally closing up 0.2%. “If the trade confrontation con-tinues, the Chinese currency will go lower and that will cre-ate a whole host of problems for the global economy,” Alicia Levine, chief strategist at BNY Investment Management, told Bloomberg News.

Hong Kong edged down, slip-ping 0.1% in late trading after spending much of the day in positive territory.

“The relative calm in today’s Asia session belies the eerie sense of foreboding that contin-ues to hang over equity markets,” said Innes.

Markets slumped in Tokyo for a fourth consecutive session, falling 1.3% as traders returned from a long weekend, with stocks dragged down by a higher yen, worries over China, and a trading system glitch which af-fected part of the trading day.

Toyota, which announced a massive recall of its hybrid cars on Friday, plunged 3%. Europe’s main stock markets staged a modest rebound yesterday to rise by about 0.1% at the open-ing bell.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed down 0.1% to 26,172.91 points; Shanghai — Composite closed up 0.2% to 2,721.01 points and Tokyo — Nikkei 225 closed down 1.3% to 23,469.39 points yesterday.

Sensex sheds 175 points; rupee weakens to fresh low against the dollarBloomberg, ReutersMumbai

The Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and the NSE’s Nifty 50 closed lower after a volatile ses-

sion yesterday dragged mainly by FMCG and auto stocks.

Tata Motors shares plunged over 13% after Jaguar Land Rover reported a de-cline in global sales and a shutdown of its UK plant for two weeks.

The rupee plunged to a fresh record low against the US dollar, tracking loss-es in global currencies due to deepen-ing trade tensions between the US and China. The IMF yesterday maintained India’s growth forecast for 2018-19 un-changed and called for further tightening of monetary policy.

The BSE Sensex closed 174.91 points, or 0.51%, lower at 34,299.47, while the Nifty 50 ended 47 points, or 0.45%, to down at 10,301.05. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 0.16% and 0.45%, respectively.

Fourteen out of 19 sectoral indices on the BSE ended lower with consumer durables and auto losing most at 3.91% and 2.62%, respectively. On the other side, metal and healthcare gained over 1%.Adani Ports, HDFC, Vedanta, Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel were among the major gainers, whereas Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Titan, HPCL, Maruti Suzuki and Hindustan Unilever were major losers.

European stocks gained lifted by oil and banking stocks, while Asian shares slumped to a 17-month low after China briefl y allowed its currency to slip past a psychological bulwark.

On Wall Street, futures were pointing lower again. Oil prices rose above $84 a barrel as more evidence emerged that crude exports from Iran are declining in the run-up to the re-imposition of US sanction.

The IMF downgraded its global growth forecast for the fi rst time since 2016.

Meanwhile the rupee yesterday closed at a fresh low of 74.39 against the US dol-lar amid high crude oil prices, strength-ening of the greenback and unabated for-eign fund outfl ows.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee made a cautious recovery of 18 paise to 73.88 against the dollar in early trade on fresh selling of the American currency by banks and exporters. It fi nal-ly closed at 74.39 against the greenback, down 32 paise, marking its sixth straight session of decline.

The domestic currency failed to sus-

tain the momentum after Brent crude breached the $84-per-barrel-mark again and the US dollar strengthened overseas. Traders said unabated foreign fund out-fl ows, too, weighed on the rupee.

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth a net of Rs 1,805 crore on Monday, provisional data showed. For-eign exchange dealers said concerns over rising fi scal defi cit and capital outfl ows impacted the domestic currency.

The global brokerage said policy re-sponses to the depreciating currency have been muted so far and with limited

policy response, concerns on the rupee have risen signifi cantly. “We believe a fall in oil prices will only possibly help stabi-lise the rupee.”

Traders said higher US bonds yields resulted in the weak Indian currency. “Interest rates are headed higher in the US. The US 10-year bond yields surged to 3.26%. Fears that global investors will withdraw their funds from global mar-kets and park in US Treasuries is aff ect-ing the global markets,” said VK Sharma, head PCG and capital markets strategy at HDFC Securities.

The rupee closed at a fresh low of 74.39 against the US dollar yesterday amid high crude oil prices, strengthening of the greenback and unabated foreign fund outfl ows

Pedestrians walk past a share prices board in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 closed down 1.3% to 23,469.39 points yesterday.

China’s yuan regains footing amidoff shore liquidity squeezeReutersShanghai

China’s yuan firmed against the dollar yesterday after falling to seven-week lows

the previous session, as a liquidity squeeze in the offshore yuan mar-ket in Hong Kong helped stabilise sentiment.

The spot market opened at 6.9257 per dollar and was changed hands at 6.9235 at the official market close, slightly firmer than the pre-vious late session close of 6.9285.

Stephen Innes, head of trading APAC for OANDA, said the relative calm on Tuesday was “a pause on the bumpy road to 7” per dollar.

Although the market expects the yuan to trend lower in the backdrop of a broadening Sino-US trade war and surging US Treasury yields, some analysts warn that expecta-tions of one-way yuan deprecia-tion could trigger capital flight and jeopardise China’s growth.

“It seems the market is not ready to embrace the RMB weakening to above 7 level in the rest of this year,” wrote Ken Cheung, strategist at Mizuho Bank.

“Mitigating the adverse impact

of RMB depreciation and achiev-ing the soft-landing of RMB depre-ciation will be the top priority task” for the People’s Bank of China, he said.

On Monday — the first trading day in China following a weeklong holiday — the yuan hit its lowest official close in seven weeks after a cut in bank reserve requirements (RRR) raised expectations of fur-ther yuan weakness, in part fuelled by concerns the Sino-US trade war is weighing on the economy.

But sentiment stabilised yes-terday, even as the People’s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.9019 per dollar prior to market’s open, fixing the yuan above the 6.90 handle for the first time since May 2017.

In Hong Kong, the overnight cost of borrowing offshore yuan surged by 326 basis points to 5% yesterday, the highest level since late May, amid signs Chinese state-owned banks were squeezing liquidity to make yuan-shorting more costly.

“It is no secret that local banks are buying CNH in the market, and are using FX swaps to stabilise CNH,” said one head of trading at an international bank.

A second trader said that in line

with previous interventions, the lenders were swapping US dollar for offshore yuan, driving up bor-rowing cost and guiding spot rate lower. “We’ve seen this before.

When the authorities try to move the offshore market, they squeeze offshore forwards markets to make the rates high, which makes short-ing the currency more expensive,” said a cross-asset strategist.

Mizuho’s Cheung said that the CNH liquidity squeeze will be the most likely policy tool to stabilise RMB sentiment in the near term, as China needs easing policies to support its economy, while direct foreign intervention would offset the liquidity injection released by RRR cuts.

He added though that the RMB depreciation pressure remains el-evated on the US dollar rally, surg-ing US treasury yields and soften-ing China growth outlook. Forward rates are already factoring in fur-ther weakness in the yuan.

The offshore one-year non-de-liverable forwards contract (NDFs) traded at 7.0405, roughly 2% below the mid-point.

One-year NDFs are settled against the midpoint, not the spot rate.

Zad Holding CoWidam Food CoVodafone Qatar

United Development CoSalam International Investme

Qatar & Oman Investment CoQatar Navigation

Qatar National Cement CoQatar National Bank

Qatar Islamic InsuranceQatar Industrial Manufactur

Qatar International IslamicQatari Investors Group

Qatar Islamic BankQatar Gas Transport(Nakilat)Qatar General Insurance & ReQatar German Co For Medical

Qatar Fuel QscQatar First Bank

Qatar Electricity & Water CoQatar Exchange Index Etf

Qatar Cinema & Film DistribAl Rayan Qatar Etf

Qatar Insurance CoOoredoo Qpsc

National LeasingMazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev

Mesaieed Petrochemical HoldiAl Meera Consumer Goods Co

Medicare GroupMannai Corporation Qsc

Masraf Al RayanAl Khalij Commercial Bank

Industries QatarIslamic Holding Group

Investment Holding GroupGulf Warehousing Company

Gulf International ServicesEzdan Holding Group

Doha Insurance CoDoha Bank Qpsc

Dlala HoldingCommercial Bank Pqsc

Barwa Real Estate CoAl Khaleej Takaful Group

Aamal Co

100.50

74.50

8.70

13.99

4.90

6.02

67.51

55.50

176.10

52.00

42.10

58.44

30.20

139.50

17.91

48.00

4.85

167.55

4.83

190.11

97.30

15.03

23.42

37.50

66.96

8.75

6.60

16.98

153.00

64.30

57.00

37.27

11.05

129.00

26.40

5.27

40.20

21.01

10.25

12.60

21.57

11.50

38.61

35.80

9.30

9.62

-3.37

1.35

0.12

0.07

0.00

1.52

-0.16

0.02

-0.51

0.00

0.00

1.41

1.24

0.57

0.28

0.00

-1.62

0.31

0.63

0.03

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.91

0.78

-0.23

-0.15

-0.70

0.66

-0.89

-0.02

0.32

0.45

0.44

3.53

-1.13

0.00

0.05

-0.10

-1.64

0.09

2.22

-1.00

0.99

0.00

0.10

6,060

3,572

197,694

62,485

-

980

1,000

51

57,291

-

150

26,540

6,053

27,171

60,933

-

5,949

73,071

393,436

15,678

-

-

523

268,004

10,011

49,475

60,567

190,591

7,422

4,555

2,762

84,104

4,087

25,750

87,824

213,837

35

491,254

100,777

21,934

167,739

48,728

47,817

135,836

-

5,702

QATAR

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

SAUDI ARABIA

United Wire Factories CompanEtihad Etisalat Co

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate DevAlawwal Bank

Rabigh Refining And PetrocheBanque Saudi Fransi

Saudi Enaya Cooperative InsuMediterranean & Gulf Insuran

Saudi British BankRed Sea International Co

Takween Advanced IndustriesSabb Takaful

Saudi Arabian Fertilizer CoNational GypsumSaudi Ceramic Co

National Gas & IndustrializaSaudi Pharmaceutical Industr

ThimarNational Industrialization C

Batic Investments And LogistSaudi Electricity Co

Saudi Arabia Refineries CoArriyadh Development Company

Al-Baha Development & InvestSaudi Research And MarketingAldrees Petroleum And Transp

Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe CoJarir Marketing Co

Arab National BankYanbu National Petrochemical

Arabian CementMiddle East Specialized Cabl

Al Khaleej Training And EducAl Sagr Co-Operative Insuran

Trade Union Cooperative InsuArabia Insurance Cooperative

Saudi Chemical CompanyFawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C

Bupa Arabia For CooperativeWafa Insurance

Jabal Omar Development CoSaudi Basic Industries Corp

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical CoEtihad Atheeb Telecommunicat

Co For Cooperative InsuranceNational Petrochemical Co

Gulf Union Cooperative InsurGulf General Cooperative Ins

Basic Chemical IndustriesSaudi Steel Pipe Co

Buruj Cooperative InsuranceMouwasat Medical Services Co

Southern Province Cement CoMaadaniyah

Yamama Cement CoJazan Energy And Development

Zamil Industrial InvestmentAlujain Corporation (Alco)

Tabuk Agricultural DevelopmeUnited Co-Operative Assuranc

Qassim Cement/TheSaudi Advanced Industries

Kingdom Holding CoSaudi Arabian Amiantit Co

Al Jouf Agriculture DevelopmSaudi Industrial Development

Riyad BankThe National Agriculture Dev

Halwani Bros CoArabian Pipes Co

Eastern Province Cement CoAl Gassim Investment Holding

Filing & Packing Materials MSaudi Cable Co

Tihama Advertising & PublicSaudi Investment Bank/The

Astra Industrial GroupSaudi Public Transport Co

Taiba Holding CoSaudi Industrial Export Co

Saudi Real Estate CoSaudia Dairy & Foodstuff Co

National Shipping Co Of/TheMethanol Chemicals Co

Chubb Arabia Cooperative InsMobile Telecommunications Co

Saudi Arabian Coop Ins CoAxa Cooperative Insurance

Alsorayai GroupBank Albilad

Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker CoWataniya Insurance Co

Abdullah Al Othaim MarketsHail Cement

Saudi Re For Cooperative Rei

15.48

18.04

10.14

14.60

23.70

31.80

19.40

15.22

32.00

15.08

10.24

18.72

77.80

12.50

17.32

27.40

30.90

26.30

18.94

36.40

16.04

39.90

15.82

15.56

99.80

29.35

46.50

188.00

32.15

67.90

19.48

6.95

11.82

12.14

22.50

20.00

33.15

22.00

103.80

11.34

38.75

124.00

16.68

5.35

56.40

25.00

12.92

13.68

22.32

20.42

23.14

78.60

34.30

18.00

13.42

15.00

18.38

24.92

10.04

12.42

32.95

12.28

8.34

5.72

22.80

8.44

16.70

30.40

44.80

10.06

20.00

10.36

36.05

29.00

40.00

17.80

17.30

14.00

29.00

234.80

14.14

87.30

34.10

12.08

18.70

6.33

12.02

20.58

12.06

25.50

8.40

24.34

68.90

7.90

7.11

0.65

1.92

1.20

-0.27

-2.07

-0.47

1.04

6.43

0.16

-1.18

-0.97

0.43

-0.26

-0.95

-1.03

-0.18

-0.80

-0.38

-2.37

-1.62

-0.74

-0.25

-0.25

0.91

-0.99

2.26

0.00

0.00

-0.77

-1.02

0.00

0.00

-0.34

0.00

-0.88

0.10

0.45

-0.63

0.39

2.35

-0.51

0.00

-1.42

0.00

2.17

-1.57

0.94

2.09

-1.59

-1.83

-1.45

-0.25

0.73

-0.88

-0.45

-2.09

-2.23

0.00

-0.20

-0.80

0.15

-0.49

0.12

0.53

1.79

-0.71

-1.53

-0.98

-0.99

0.00

-0.30

-0.19

-0.41

9.43

-0.62

-0.89

-1.93

-0.43

0.00

-1.26

-0.28

-0.80

-2.29

-1.79

1.08

-1.25

-0.66

-0.48

-0.17

0.39

1.20

-2.17

-0.29

-0.25

0.00

33,862

1,919,615

30,034,112

631,429

598,171

149,108

235,135

1,004,537

159,301

11,675

218,760

143,352

137,393

91,988

238,015

35,846

42,873

142,472

1,513,421

62,752

1,473,501

66,268

237,449

171,527

42,130

634,693

3,189

176,095

100,731

365,111

32,643

272,923

145,783

125,046

80,207

59,552

62,775

219,852

60,087

1,437,006

399,961

2,607,402

11,415,137

-

277,715

279,534

44,034

68,544

25,974

160,424

75,604

27,112

122,657

91,883

308,986

146,511

402,004

2,167,871

190,223

502,693

18,598

75,773

43,512

456,007

9,288

94,361

1,705,006

26,553

4,230

387,986

18,429

34,647

31,374

1,182,771

165,195

88,594

121,404

222,184

44,443

102,424

156,528

2,142

1,560,968

3,960,460

21,640

1,861,832

113,847

109,709

380,902

418,620

244,183

32,733

10,822

104,826

252,853

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Solidarity Saudi Takaful CoAmana Cooperative Insurance

Alabdullatif Industrial InvSaudi Printing & Packaging C

Saudi Paper Manufacturing CoAlinma Bank

Almarai CoFalcom Saudi Equity Etf

United International TranspoHsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf

Saudi International PetrocheFalcom Petrochemical Etf

Walaa Cooperative InsuranceBank Al-Jazira

Al Rajhi BankSamba Financial Group

United Electronics CoAllied Cooperative Insurance

Malath InsuranceAlinma Tokio Marine

Arabian Shield CooperativeSavola

Wafrah For Industry And DeveFitaihi Holding Group

Tourism Enterprise Co/ ShamsSahara Petrochemical Co

Herfy Food Services CoSaudi Ind Investment Group

Salama Cooperative InsuranceEmaar Economic City

Alahli Takaful CoAnaam International Holding

Saudi Telecom CoAl Alamiya Cooperative Insur

Saudi Industrial Services CoAl-Ahsa Development Co.

National Co For Glass In/TheDur Hospitality Co

Tabuk Cement CoSasco

Saudi CementAseer Trading Tourism & Manu

Nama Chemicals CoSaudi Arabian Mining Co

Yanbu Cement CoSaudi Fisheries

Ash-Sharqiyah Development CoMakkah Construction & Devepl

Al Jouf CementAbdullah A.M. Al-Khodari Son

Knowledge Economic CityAl-Ahlia Cooperative Insuran

Al Rajhi Co For Co-OperativeAlkhodar Ab Equity

Kec Ab EquityAlahlia Ab Equity

Arcci Ab EquityAppc Ab Equity

Albabtai Ab Equity

1.72

1.41

-1.42

-0.96

1.18

0.19

0.77

0.64

2.12

0.00

0.09

0.00

-0.83

-0.69

-0.45

-1.41

0.53

0.25

1.41

-0.76

-0.86

0.00

1.48

-1.38

-0.95

-0.34

0.12

0.00

0.38

-0.74

0.78

-0.57

-0.60

-0.27

3.72

-0.98

-0.11

-2.00

-0.66

-0.13

-0.23

-0.70

-1.90

-0.39

0.18

-0.23

-0.32

0.12

-0.47

0.00

-0.36

-0.19

0.90

-2.51

0.29

0.33

0.13

-0.71

-0.44

285,694

390,754

76,641

157,629

605,310

16,464,411

428,653

18,974

363,414

-

625,773

-

218,686

1,602,238

1,709,471

720,872

367,320

43,924

853,080

113,357

202,885

414,072

338,651

63,287

67,426

1,374,884

92,808

681,002

466,108

595,279

34,926

138,107

186,288

37,944

628,678

295,701

40,022

74,938

205,594

124,655

31,969

167,292

422,655

525,816

119,363

187,604

39,832

6,573

194,239

-

118,687

239,098

109,357

677,053

54,409

81,044

156,978

2,447,095

499,632

SAUDI ARABIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Sultan Center Food ProductsKuwait Foundry Co Sak

Kuwait Financial Centre SakAjial Real Estate Entmt

Kuwait Finance & InvestmentNational Industries Co Ksc

Kuwait Real Estate Holding CSecurities House/The

Boubyan Petrochemicals CoAl Ahli Bank Of Kuwait

Ahli United Bank (Almutahed)National Bank Of Kuwait

Commercial Bank Of KuwaitKuwait International Bank

Gulf BankAl-Massaleh Real Estate Co

Al Arabiya Real Estate CoKuwait Remal Real Estate Co

A’ayan Real Estate Co SakInvestors Holding Group Co.K

Al-Mazaya Holding CoAl-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment

Mabanee Co SakcInovest Co Bsc

Al-Deera Holding CoMena Real Estate Co

Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation

National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International InvestmeEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C

Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc

Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co KNational Shooting CompanyAl-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp

Wethaq Takaful Insurance CoSalbookh Trading Co Kscp

Aqar Real Estate InvestmentsHayat Communications

Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscTamkeen Holding Co

Burgan Co For Well DrillingKuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co

Palms Agro Production CoMubarrad Holding Co Ksc

Shuaiba Industrial CoAan Digital Services Co

First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co

National Cleaning CompanyUnited Real Estate Company

AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv

Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng

International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold

Warba Insurance CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve

Al Arabi Group Holding CoMobile Telecommunications Co

Eff ect Real Estate CoTamdeen Real Estate Co KscAl Mudon Intl Real Estate Co

Kuwait Cement Co KscSharjah Cement & Indus Devel

Kuwait Portland Cement CoEducational Holding Group

Asiya Capital Investments CoKuwait Investment Co

Burgan BankKuwait Projects Co Holdings

Al Madina For Finance And InKuwait Insurance Co

Al Masaken Intl Real EstateIntl Financial Advisors

First Investment Co KsccAl Mal Investment Company

Bayan Investment Co KsccEgypt Kuwait Holding Co Sae

Coast Investment DevelopmentPrivatization Holding Compan

Injazzat Real State CompanyKuwait Cable Vision Sak

Sanam Real Estate Co KsccIthmaar Holding Bsc

Aviation Lease And Finance CArzan Financial Group For Fi

Ajwan Gulf Real Estate CoKuwait Business Town Real Es

Future Kid Entertainment And

57.00

188.00

90.00

145.00

48.00

178.00

31.20

48.70

1,034.00

290.00

290.00

832.00

510.00

233.00

253.00

41.00

28.60

32.00

60.70

13.10

76.00

148.00

25.90

625.00

81.00

16.50

27.00

32.80

630.00

0.00

64.30

28.20

78.00

99.90

36.70

233.00

1,220.00

16.40

416.00

28.00

44.00

61.70

77.00

120.00

11.00

105.00

56.70

115.00

80.00

59.50

198.00

19.50

44.50

34.20

56.30

61.00

835.00

29.70

61.00

200.00

20.40

158.00

77.50

39.70

65.50

469.00

15.30

385.00

27.00

370.00

72.10

1,060.00

312.00

33.80

119.00

261.00

211.00

25.40

310.00

41.80

23.40

39.90

20.40

47.90

342.00

30.90

52.00

83.00

11.00

48.00

30.00

325.00

27.10

21.50

48.00

88.00

0.00

0.00

-2.17

-2.03

0.00

0.00

-0.95

-0.41

1.37

-0.34

0.69

0.36

0.00

-0.43

0.00

-2.38

-1.38

0.00

1.17

-0.76

1.33

0.00

1.97

-0.48

-4.59

0.61

3.85

-6.55

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.35

1.30

-0.10

-3.17

-2.10

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.70

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.69

2.80

-1.56

0.71

0.00

0.00

3.30

0.00

2.63

0.00

1.48

-5.06

1.50

-0.12

1.02

0.00

-0.50

0.00

-0.63

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

6.99

1.32

-5.26

0.00

0.00

1.83

0.00

-1.17

-0.83

-2.61

0.00

-0.78

0.65

0.00

0.43

0.00

5.70

-2.24

0.29

-0.32

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.33

0.00

0.74

-2.27

0.00

0.00

500

800

434,150

10,000

39,168

950

7,050

801,918

1,110,732

35,940

60,592

783,241

20,431

1,010,721

868,831

43,060

103,700

246,776

218,750

1,789,838

159,388

621,977

1,314,098

256,189

16,500

89,000

100

43,000

17,119

-

338,526

240,010

1,355,400

383,263

200,100

50,598

500

49,999

1,502

100

500

36,000

150

15,860

10,200

5,000

208,601

159,531

10,380

100

2,663

6,911,966

8,000

1,349,137

45,001

30,192

788,195

31,894

6,529

36,039

15,500

488,082

1,212

106,000

1,400

878,242

97,828

2,960

25,510

7,102

54,856

21,299

2,000

678,531

55,107

3,619,461

453,792

939,250

50,000

2,055

406,672

30,000

7,694,503

100,000

36,500

228,167

100,000

23,035

13

1

1,162,175

700

439,900

1,870,357

12,498

100

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Voltamp Energy SaogVision Insurance Saoc

United Power/Energy Co- PrefUnited Power Co Saog

United Finance CoUbar Hotels & Resorts

Takaful OmanTaageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co

Sohar PoultrySmn Power Holding Saog

Shell Oman Marketing - PrefShell Oman Marketing

Sharqiyah Desalination Co SaSembcorp Salalah Power & Wat

Salalah Port ServicesSalalah Mills Co

Salalah Beach Resort SaogSahara Hospitality

Renaissance Services SaogRaysut Cement Co

Phoenix Power Co SaocPackaging Co Ltd

OoredooOminvest

Oman United Insurance CoOman Telecommunications Co

Oman Refreshment CoOman Qatar Insurance Co

Oman PackagingOman Oil Marketing Company

Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance

Oman Intl MarketingOman Flour Mills

Oman Fisheries CoOman Europe Foods Industries

Oman Education & Training InOman Chromite

Oman ChlorineOman Ceramic Company

Oman Cement CoOman Cables Industry

Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50%Natl Aluminium Products

Celebrity National FinancialNational Real Estate Develop

National PharmaceuticalNational Mineral Water

National Life & General InsuNational Gas Co

National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog

National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog

Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat Insurance Co Saog

Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance

Muscat City Desalination CoMajan Glass Company

Majan CollegeHsbc Bank Oman

Hotels Management Co InternaGulf Stone

Gulf Mushroom CompanyGulf Investments Services

Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-SharGulf International Chemicals

Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co LtdGlobal Fin Investment

Galfar Engineering&ContractGalfar Engineering -Prefer

Financial Services Co.Financial Corp/The

Dhofar TourismDhofar Poultry

Dhofar Intl DevelopmentDhofar Insurance

Dhofar Fisheries & Food InduDhofar Cattlefeed

Dhofar Beverages CoConstruction Materials Ind

Computer Stationery IndsBankmuscat Saog

Bank SoharBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar Saog

0.29

0.14

1.00

3.44

0.09

0.13

0.13

0.10

0.55

0.11

0.21

0.54

1.05

1.49

3.02

0.21

0.60

0.77

1.38

2.38

0.41

0.40

0.11

2.21

0.54

0.36

0.31

0.84

1.75

0.12

0.28

1.13

0.18

0.10

0.52

0.72

0.09

1.00

0.22

3.64

0.30

0.42

0.34

1.03

0.13

0.38

0.04

5.00

0.12

0.10

0.34

0.33

0.13

0.70

3.75

0.18

0.08

0.80

0.28

0.09

0.13

0.18

0.45

0.12

1.25

0.12

0.31

0.09

0.11

0.20

9.50

0.09

0.10

0.39

0.18

0.10

0.49

0.18

0.28

0.14

1.28

0.17

0.26

0.03

0.26

0.42

0.13

0.09

0.16

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.00

2.54

-0.88

0.00

1.50

0.00

0.00

0.48

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.18

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.52

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.47

0.00

2.33

-0.62

741

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

60,890

39,963

21,799

-

70,383

-

-

40,061

-

5,000

-

-

-

53,000

-

-

329,930

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

350

-

-

-

1,000

4,000

30,000

-

-

299,600

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

23,155

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

93,160

200,000

313,986

23,652

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service

Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co

Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power

Al Sharqiya Invest HoldingAl Maha Petroleum Products M

Al Maha Ceramics Co SaocAl Madina Takaful Co Saoc

Al Madina Investment CoAl Kamil Power Co

Al Jazerah Services -PfdAl Jazeera Steel Products Co

Al Jazeera ServicesAl Izz Islamic Bank

Al Buraimi HotelAl Batinah PowerAl Batinah Hotels

Al Batinah Dev & InvAl Anwar Holdings Saog

Al Ahlia Insurance Co SaocAhli Bank

Acwa Power Barka SaogAbrasives Manufacturing Co S

A’saff a Foods Saog0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref

#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security

0.53

0.28

0.03

0.75

0.09

0.12

0.10

0.92

0.21

0.09

0.04

0.38

0.55

0.28

0.11

0.09

0.88

0.12

1.13

0.09

0.11

0.35

0.16

0.72

0.05

0.61

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.92

0.00

0.00

-0.85

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

-

-

-

-

35,222

-

3,000

194,241

1,637,083

-

-

-

-

15,000

888,575

-

34,644

-

-

25,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Waha Capital PjscUnited Insurance Company

United Arab Bank PjscUnion National Bank/Abu Dhab

Union Insurance CoUnion Cement Co

Umm Al Qaiwain General InvesSudan Telecommunications Gro

Sharjah Islamic BankSharjah Insurance Company

Sharjah GroupSharjah Cement & Indus DevelRas Al-Khaimah National Insu

Ras Al Khaimah White CementRas Al Khaimah Ceramics

Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co PscRas Al Khaima Poultry

Rak PropertiesOoredoo Qpsc

Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50%National Takaful Company

National Marine Dredging CoNational Investor Co/The

National Corp Tourism & HoteNational Bank Of Umm Al Qaiw

National Bank Of Ras Al-KhaiNational Bank Of Fujairah

Methaq Takaful InsuranceManazel Real Estate Pjsc

Invest BankIntl Holdings Co Pjsc

Insurance HouseGulf Pharmaceutical Ind Psc

Gulf Medical ProjectsGulf Cement Co

Fujairah Cement IndustriesFujairah Building Industries

Foodco Holding PjscFirst Abu Dhabi Bank Pjsc

Finance HouseEshraq Properties Co Pjsc

Emirates Telecom Group CoEmirates Insurance Co. (Psc)

Emirates Driving CompanyDana Gas

Commercial Bank InternationaBank Of Sharjah

Axa Green Crescent InsuranceArkan Building Materials Co

Alkhaleej InvestmentAldar Properties Pjsc

Al Wathba National InsuranceAl Qudra Holding Pjsc

Al Khazna Insurance CoAl Fujairah National Insuran

Al Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S.Al Buhaira National Insuranc

Al Ain Ahlia Ins. Co.Agthia Group Pjsc

Abu Dhabi Ship Building CoAbu Dhabi Natl Co For Buildi

Abu Dhabi National Takaful CAbu Dhabi National Oil Co Fo

Abu Dhabi National InsuranceAbu Dhabi National Hotels

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co

1.88

2.00

1.20

4.90

1.33

0.00

1.00

0.46

1.19

2.84

1.30

0.93

3.20

0.88

2.25

0.73

1.89

0.61

68.30

0.50

0.53

2.85

0.58

1.98

2.59

4.05

3.40

0.78

0.44

2.50

1.19

0.85

2.00

1.98

0.90

1.20

1.56

3.35

14.84

1.68

0.58

16.66

6.50

5.92

1.16

0.57

1.10

0.50

0.52

2.10

1.73

12.76

0.90

0.25

300.00

3.85

2.21

38.00

4.00

1.02

0.49

4.40

2.35

3.75

3.19

1.13

-1.05

0.00

0.00

-1.01

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.44

0.00

0.00

0.00

-6.90

0.00

0.00

2.27

0.00

0.00

0.16

4.04

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.52

2.33

0.00

-0.83

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.41

0.00

-0.17

0.36

0.00

-9.89

0.87

0.00

0.92

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.17

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.72

0.00

4.26

0.00

0.43

0.00

0.00

-0.88

19,766

-

-

508,475

-

-

-

532,983

11,100

-

-

549

-

-

276,435

-

-

835,262

200

-

-

-

-

-

-

121,100

-

197

1,098,044

-

129,418

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2,651,390

-

2,624,782

598,133

-

3,300

2,538,781

-

213,500

-

13,500

-

6,072,169

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

34,626

-

60,500

-

1,718,176

-

-

70,872

UAE

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Zain Bahrain BsccUnited Paper Industries Bsc

United Gulf Holding BscTrafco Group Bsc

Takaful International CoSeef Properties

National Bank Of Bahrain BscNass Corp Bsc

Khaleeji Commercial BankIthmaar Holding Bsc

Investcorp Bank -$UsInovest Co Bsc

Gulf Hotel Group B.S.CGfh Financial Group Bsc

Esterad Investment Co B.S.C.Eskan Bank Realty Income Tr

Delmon Poultry CoBmmi Bsc

Bbk BscBahrain Telecom Co

Bahrain National HoldingBahrain Kuwait Insurance

Bahrain Islamic BankBahrain Flour Mills Co

Bahrain Duty Free ComplexBahrain Commercial Facilitie

Bahrain Cinema CoArab Banking Corp Bsc-$Us

Aluminium Bahrain BscAlbaraka Banking Group

Al-Salam BankAhli United Bank B.S.C

#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security

0.09

0.00

1.02

0.32

0.09

0.22

0.60

0.10

0.09

0.10

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.37

0.11

0.10

0.00

0.70

0.44

0.24

0.00

0.00

0.13

0.00

0.71

0.76

`

0.40

0.61

0.29

0.10

0.67

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.78

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.83

3.57

0.00

-0.74

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

80,000

-

1,500

100,250

166,491

65,000

100,000

26,236

56,503

237,000

-

-

-

30,000

3,135,838

50,000

-

5,314

20,000

40,450

-

-

50,348

-

50,000

2,850

1,700

100,000

5,000

160,000

100,000

1,217,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

BAHRAIN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Specialities Group Holding CAbyaar Real Eastate Developm

Kgl Logistics Company KsccCombined Group Contracting

Jiyad Holding Co KscBoubyan Intl Industries Hold

Gulf Investment House KscBoubyan Bank K.S.C

Ahli United Bank B.S.COsos Holding Group Co

Al-Eid Food KscQurain Petrochemical Industr

Ekttitab Holding Co SakReal Estate Trade Centers Co

Acico Industries Co KsccKipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum Services

Alimtiaz Investment GroupRas Al Khaimah White Cement

Kuwait Reinsurance Co KscKuwait & Gulf Link Transport

Humansoft Holding Co KscAutomated Systems Co Kscc

Metal & Recycling CoGulf Franchising Holding Co

Al-Enma’a Real Estate CoNational Mobile Telecommuni

Unicap Investment And FinancAl Salam Group Holding Co

Al Aman Investment CompanyMashaer Holding Co Ksc

Manazel HoldingTijara And Real Estate Inves

Jazeera Airways Co KscCommercial Real Estate Co

National International CoTaameer Real Estate Invest C

Gulf Cement CoHeavy Engineering And Ship B

National Real Estate CoAl Safat Energy Holding Comp

Kuwait National Cinema CoDanah Alsafat Foodstuff Co

Independent Petroleum GroupKuwait Real Estate Co Ksc

Salhia Real Estate Co KscGulf Cable & Electrical Ind

Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co

Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc

Gulf Insurance Group KscUmm Al Qaiwain General Inves

Aayan Leasing & InvestmentAlrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities CoYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C

Munshaat Real Estate ProjectNoor Financial Investment Co

Al Tamdeen Investment CoCredit Rating & Collection

Ifa Hotels & Resorts Co. K.SSokouk Holding Co Sak

Warba Bank KscpViva Kuwait Telecom Co

Mezzan Holding Co Kscc

70.50

17.60

44.00

359.00

80.60

28.00

14.50

552.00

207.00

90.00

60.00

389.00

23.50

24.90

204.00

71.00

830.00

129.00

75.00

0.00

102.00

3,199.00

117.00

68.00

90.00

31.40

770.00

59.90

32.70

51.80

44.00

29.80

52.00

748.00

79.50

64.50

28.30

77.50

473.00

95.70

28.80

999.00

39.80

421.00

45.30

329.00

386.00

0.00

48.90

0.00

53.30

630.00

59.10

35.00

50.20

80.00

172.00

130.00

110.00

52.00

280.00

21.30

96.90

46.40

231.00

730.00

662.00

0.71

-2.22

0.23

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.33

-0.72

-0.48

0.00

0.00

5.42

0.86

0.40

-0.49

0.00

0.00

-1.53

0.00

0.00

1.29

-1.27

-5.65

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.26

-0.99

0.00

6.80

-0.90

0.00

6.12

0.00

-0.50

-3.73

1.07

0.00

-1.05

-1.24

3.60

0.00

-1.73

0.00

0.00

0.30

0.26

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.69

1.41

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.78

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.43

1.53

0.15

134,047

2,464,916

925,325

10,500

650

418,231

211,928

595,250

4,429,288

29,999

3,000

2,939,896

35,300

100

18,281

3,830

2,000

1,045,409

9,285

-

20

28,035

11,293

37

1,771

10,000

10,352

35,000

367,100

195,500

93,401

170,460

22,172

415

1,572,500

51,150

224,144

33,934

179,309

470,176

53,097

906

160,253

58,212

2,945,717

15,000

10,100

-

150,000

-

8,356

10

58,406

1,678,210

29,000

361,501

40,242

21,188

300,800

128,955

11,500

10

8,300

350,715

574,185

138,187

138,849

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

Gulf Times Wednesday, October 10, 2018

BUSINESS6

16.56

15.82

11.14

16.54

12.04

21.56

45.80

31.30

26.55

31.00

21.30

34.10

21.50

14.30

88.40

31.50

57.10

16.00

11.54

18.34

18.36

28.85

15.10

11.40

31.15

17.44

41.85

25.50

16.04

9.37

25.95

10.48

83.30

36.90

13.40

10.10

18.38

20.58

12.08

15.40

44.10

9.99

28.40

51.30

22.20

17.16

47.35

81.30

8.49

7.24

11.04

10.36

56.20

50.40

21.10

24.24

7.96

22.40

45.55

CURRENCIESDOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI

DINARKUWAITI

DINAR

Europe stock markets enjoy laterebound as tech stocks recoverAFPLondon

European stock markets ended a rollercoaster session higher as tensions lessened in the bond

markets and tech stocks recovered, dealers said.

Although still worried about Italy’s fi scal stability, investors breathed a sigh of relief as bond yields eased and the euro slipped against the dollar.

“European equities have turned to the upside in late-day action, with the euro losing ground on the US dol-lar, with technology issues recover-ing and US bond yields giving back a recent jump that has been a source of global market uneasiness,” analysts at the Charles Schwab brokerage said in a market comment.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,237.59 points, Paris’s CAC 40 gained 0.4% at 5,318.55 and Frank-furt’s DAX 30 gained 0.3% to 11,977.22 points at the close yesterday.

On Wall Street, the Dow index re-covered ground lost at the opening to show little change in the late New York morning.

Earlier, the Italian government ap-peared to have some success in talking yields down, with Finance Minister Giovanni Tria saying that fears over his country’s fi nancial health – and the consequent spike in borrowing costs for Rome – did not fairly refl ect the

situation in the eurozone’s third larg-est economy.

“Recent levels of government bond yields do not refl ect the fundamen-tals of the country, and once the eco-nomic policy agenda is approved by parliament, the uncertainty that has weighed on government securities in recent months will disappear,” Tria told parliament’s fi nance committee.

The closely watched spread between the rates on 10-year bonds paid by Italy compared with those off ered by Ger-many, which is a measure of the added risk perceived by investors to holding onto Italian debt, had hit the highest level since April 2013 on Monday.

Early yesterday, the Italian bench-mark 10-year bond yield rose another nearly four basis points to 3.60%, compared to Germany’s 0.55%, but then slipped back to 3.51% – still the second-highest government bond yield in the eurozone after Greece.

Brussels and Rome are at logger-heads after Italy’s populist government passed a purse-busting budget last week, to the annoyance of EU offi cials.

Elsewhere, the sell-off in Asian mar-kets slowed yesterday, despite sim-mering US-China trade tensions.

A testy public interaction between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Beijing on Monday refuelled mar-ket worries about China-US relations, which have taken a hefty knock from tit-for-tat tariff s.

“A possible train wreck on the ne-gotiation front could completely derail global markets,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacifi c trading at OAN-DA.

“We should not underestimate the potentially destabilising eff ect... a weaker yuan will have on regional mar-kets, if not global markets.”

Adding to economic uncertainty yesterday was a bearish report from the International Monetary fund, which lowered its forecast for Chinese economic growth in 2019 and warned that escalating trade tensions would drag on the world’s second-largest economy.

The IMF’s World Economic Out-look predicted China’s economy would grow 6.2% next year, down from a pre-vious forecast of 6.4%.

Both of those fi gures would mark the slowest rate of expansion for China since 1990.

The South African rand, which had fallen earlier Tuesday amid uncer-tainty about the fate of the country’s respected fi nance minister, recovered after Nhlanhla Nene resigned over undisclosed meetings with the busi-ness family at the heart of a corruption scandal.

Although the move was seen as a blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa, investors appeared to welcome his rapid decision to name former central bank governor Tito Mboweni as Nene’s successor.

Traders at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX 30 gained 0.3% to 11,977.22 points yesterday.

BUSINESS7Gulf Times

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Apple IncMicrosoft Corp

Exxon Mobil CorpJohnson & JohnsonGeneral Electric Co

Jpmorgan Chase & CoProcter & Gamble Co/The

Walmart IncVerizon Communications Inc

Pfizer IncVisa Inc-Class A Shares

Chevron CorpCoca-Cola Co/The

Intel CorpMerck & Co. Inc.

Cisco Systems IncHome Depot Inc

Intl Business Machines CorpWalt Disney Co/The

Unitedhealth Group Inc3M Co

Mcdonald’s CorpNike Inc -Cl B

United Technologies CorpBoeing Co/The

Goldman Sachs Group IncAmerican Express Co

Caterpillar IncTravelers Cos Inc/The

226.19

112.74

86.41

139.06

13.74

114.98

82.59

96.96

55.01

45.50

142.82

126.50

46.47

47.14

72.13

47.78

197.91

147.75

117.31

271.39

212.08

169.95

81.27

136.88

386.23

224.38

106.72

150.25

131.75

1.08

1.71

0.33

-0.24

0.98

-0.30

0.23

2.40

-0.01

0.47

0.66

1.33

-0.02

0.23

0.94

0.54

-0.25

-0.43

1.11

0.88

-1.07

1.30

1.30

-1.94

0.12

-0.43

-0.25

-2.02

0.06

13,635,888

11,295,593

3,444,835

1,501,698

57,863,690

6,236,988

2,054,747

4,487,897

8,100,202

7,703,125

2,560,598

2,207,117

3,140,727

7,953,978

2,766,517

6,208,192

1,432,807

1,010,211

2,950,881

803,061

951,761

1,567,551

3,278,912

1,643,675

1,135,688

841,000

963,108

2,438,042

273,614

DJIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Wpp PlcWorldpay Group Plc

Wolseley PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets

Whitbread PlcVodafone Group Plc

United Utilities Group PlcUnilever Plc

Tui Ag-DiTravis Perkins Plc

Tesco PlcTaylor Wimpey Plc

Standard Life PlcStandard Chartered Plc

St James’s Place PlcSse Plc

Smith & Nephew PlcSky Plc

Shire PlcSevern Trent Plc

Schroders PlcSainsbury (J) Plc

Sage Group Plc/TheAbi Sab Group Holding Ltd

Rsa Insurance Group PlcRoyal Mail Plc

Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B ShsRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs

Royal Bank Of Scotland GroupRolls-Royce Holdings Plc

Rio Tinto PlcRexam Ltd

Relx PlcReckitt Benckiser Group Plc

Randgold Resources LtdPrudential Plc

Provident Financial PlcPersimmon Plc

Pearson PlcPaddy Power Betfair Plc

Old Mutual PlcNext Plc

National Grid PlcMondi Plc

Merlin EntertainmentMediclinic International Plc

Marks & Spencer Group PlcLondon Stock Exchange Group

Lloyds Banking Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLand Securities Group Plc

Kingfisher PlcJohnson Matthey Plc

Itv PlcIntu Properties Plc

Intl Consolidated Airline-DiIntertek Group Plc

Intercontinental Hotels GrouInmarsat Plc

Informa PlcImperial Brands Plc

Hsbc Holdings PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc

Hammerson PlcGlencore Plc

Glaxosmithkline PlcGkn Ltd

Fresnillo PlcExperian Plc

Easyjet PlcDixons Carphone Plc

Direct Line Insurance GroupDiageo Plc

Dcc PlcCrh Plc

Compass Group PlcCoca-Cola Hbc Ag-Di

Centrica PlcCarnival Plc

Capita PlcBurberry Group Plc

Bunzl PlcBt Group Plc

British Land Co PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc

Bp PlcBhp Billiton Plc

Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBarratt Developments Plc

Barclays PlcBae Systems Plc

Babcock Intl Group PlcAviva Plc

Astrazeneca PlcAssociated British Foods Plc

Ashtead Group PlcArm Holdings Plc

Antofagasta PlcAnglo American Plc

Admiral Group Plc3I Group Plc

#N/A

1,095.00

0.00

0.00

250.05

4,562.00

150.72

697.60

4,053.50

1,391.00

993.00

215.30

164.85

0.00

589.10

1,100.50

1,134.00

1,330.50

1,726.50

4,379.00

1,836.50

3,043.00

313.10

546.60

0.00

563.40

353.00

2,638.00

2,594.50

245.50

929.80

3,793.50

0.00

1,526.50

6,674.00

5,346.00

1,663.50

554.80

2,276.00

820.60

6,175.00

0.00

5,470.00

785.10

1,945.50

386.30

451.10

287.30

4,356.00

57.30

256.20

857.40

251.90

3,300.00

159.05

185.00

607.60

4,582.00

4,465.00

505.00

731.00

2,648.00

655.70

2,042.00

445.60

326.15

1,486.20

0.00

779.00

1,871.00

1,211.50

153.50

327.10

2,682.00

6,540.00

2,457.00

1,603.00

2,376.00

151.95

4,530.00

127.25

1,880.00

2,287.00

228.70

588.20

3,417.50

579.00

1,641.00

3,468.00

552.60

167.76

602.60

677.80

463.10

5,718.00

2,305.00

2,187.00

0.00

825.20

1,692.40

2,025.00

912.60

0.00

-1.35

0.00

0.00

0.04

-0.18

-2.50

-0.63

0.25

-1.03

-2.12

2.48

0.06

0.00

-0.36

0.05

0.76

-0.22

0.06

-0.21

0.69

2.22

-0.13

-1.48

0.00

-0.35

4.31

1.01

0.91

-0.12

0.85

1.61

0.00

0.10

0.18

1.06

-0.24

-2.05

-0.31

0.47

-5.00

0.00

0.85

-0.18

-1.17

0.89

0.00

0.49

-1.67

-1.48

-0.54

1.30

0.84

-0.81

0.54

0.03

0.03

-1.29

-0.31

1.26

-1.00

-0.09

0.18

0.15

0.68

1.38

-0.07

0.00

0.13

0.54

-0.12

-1.32

1.27

-0.46

-1.58

0.49

-0.37

-0.13

-0.03

0.33

-4.75

1.68

0.84

-1.15

0.96

-0.13

0.42

1.37

-0.74

-0.14

-0.73

-0.10

-0.62

-0.45

-0.87

0.09

0.28

0.00

1.48

2.77

0.50

-0.57

0.00

2,730,690

-

-

6,782,234

337,964

99,074,789

2,712,484

1,878,863

1,164,550

830,777

26,683,799

10,461,952

-

7,565,020

1,050,205

3,001,162

3,225,495

1,136,815

1,532,617

1,160,782

496,578

5,821,382

5,013,048

-

2,137,151

7,264,694

3,989,599

4,171,965

11,658,679

4,361,048

4,520,283

-

7,219,877

1,622,704

652,278

4,132,645

440,281

646,906

2,734,450

382,195

-

418,050

7,940,185

1,784,055

1,434,924

1,191,123

6,268,815

698,862

156,904,251

11,424,590

2,213,079

8,118,737

606,027

9,280,852

5,704,705

4,057,512

473,561

353,916

2,154,402

1,782,768

1,120,853

16,701,867

602,609

3,078,783

36,990,688

5,613,291

-

853,509

2,466,874

2,108,898

1,664,997

4,768,273

3,254,453

554,156

1,375,664

1,629,976

1,197,212

15,880,465

661,172

7,083,571

1,445,139

961,376

18,459,548

3,021,851

2,964,525

24,503,481

7,998,149

658,360

4,581,693

27,544,846

6,005,771

2,431,761

10,206,743

2,392,757

800,098

1,860,043

-

2,942,700

3,841,524

724,251

1,384,754

-

FTSE 100

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Hitachi LtdTakeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd

Jfe Holdings IncSumitomo Corp

Canon IncNintendo Co Ltd

Eisai Co LtdIsuzu Motors Ltd

Unicharm CorpShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd

Smc CorpMitsubishi Corp

Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp

Nidec CorpNomura Holdings Inc

Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdSubaru Corp

Ntt Docomo Inc

3,651.00

4,500.00

2,558.50

1,904.50

3,535.00

40,140.00

10,710.00

1,695.50

3,495.00

9,511.00

34,030.00

3,627.00

4,815.00

61,610.00

15,270.00

557.30

4,775.00

3,372.00

2,953.50

-3.85

-1.23

-0.91

-0.60

-2.27

-2.53

-1.83

-2.08

-0.09

-4.16

-6.31

0.28

-1.87

-5.51

-2.37

-0.91

-1.71

-2.37

-0.56

4,065,700

6,194,200

2,683,300

5,555,200

3,972,900

1,669,800

1,051,900

2,406,700

2,769,000

2,156,900

398,000

5,623,800

1,721,700

662,700

1,055,100

19,726,800

2,019,600

4,043,500

4,664,000

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Sumitomo Realty & DevelopmenSumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd

Orix CorpDaiwa Securities Group Inc

Softbank Group CorpMizuho Financial Group Inc

Central Japan Railway CoNitori Holdings Co Ltd

T&D Holdings IncToyota Motor Corp

Hoya CorpSumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin

Japan Tobacco IncOsaka Gas Co Ltd

Sumitomo Electric IndustriesOno Pharmaceutical Co Ltd

Ajinomoto Co IncMitsui Fudosan Co Ltd

Daikin Industries LtdToray Industries Inc

Bridgestone CorpSony Corp

Astellas Pharma IncJxtg Holdings Inc

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo MetaSuzuki Motor Corp

Nippon Telegraph & TelephoneSompo Holdings Inc

Daiwa House Industry Co LtdKomatsu Ltd

West Japan Railway CoMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd

Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp

Dai-Ichi Life Holdings IncMazda Motor Corp

Mitsui & Co LtdKao Corp

Sekisui House LtdOriental Land Co Ltd

Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc

Aeon Co LtdFanuc Corp

Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd

Resona Holdings IncAsahi Kasei Corp

Kirin Holdings Co LtdMitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro

Marubeni CorpMitsubishi Chemical Holdings

Fast Retailing Co LtdMs&Ad Insurance Group Holdin

Kubota CorpSeven & I Holdings Co Ltd

Inpex CorpSumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr

Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp

Honda Motor Co LtdTokyo Gas Co Ltd

Tokyo Electron LtdPanasonic Corp

Fujitsu LtdEast Japan Railway Co

Itochu CorpFujifilm Holdings Corp

Yamato Holdings Co LtdChubu Electric Power Co Inc

Mitsubishi Estate Co LtdMitsubishi Heavy Industries

Shiseido Co LtdShionogi & Co Ltd

Recruit Holdings Co LtdJapan Airlines Co Ltd

Nitto Denko CorpKddi Corp

Rakuten IncKyocera Corp

Nissan Motor Co Ltd

3,989.00

3,856.00

1,836.00

687.50

10,700.00

198.30

23,330.00

15,245.00

1,947.50

6,786.00

6,509.00

4,659.00

2,918.00

2,169.50

1,698.50

3,151.00

1,888.50

2,638.50

14,570.00

845.70

4,300.00

6,577.00

1,932.00

847.50

2,349.00

6,071.00

4,986.00

4,766.00

3,337.00

3,390.00

7,739.00

16,740.00

1,715.00

5,468.00

2,406.00

1,320.50

2,076.00

8,790.00

1,672.00

11,160.00

9,591.00

5,555.00

2,674.50

20,820.00

14,930.00

5,681.00

636.90

1,704.50

2,795.00

724.30

1,049.00

1,056.50

58,430.00

3,769.00

1,928.00

5,088.00

1,389.50

4,665.00

3,723.00

1,478.50

3,223.00

2,753.00

14,520.00

1,308.50

7,584.00

10,190.00

2,241.50

5,033.00

3,396.00

1,720.50

1,867.00

4,446.00

7,959.00

7,340.00

3,637.00

3,874.00

8,398.00

2,971.50

824.40

6,521.00

1,029.00

1.37

-1.71

-0.03

-0.84

-3.39

-0.75

-0.89

-3.60

-2.41

-3.08

-4.85

-1.48

-0.78

-1.03

-1.36

-1.81

-0.74

0.34

-2.28

-0.75

-0.35

-0.29

-2.20

-1.49

-0.76

-2.08

-1.50

-0.40

0.03

-0.29

-0.23

-2.16

-0.64

-3.72

-1.68

-1.57

-1.05

-0.91

-1.12

-1.80

0.70

-1.12

-0.65

-2.46

0.30

-0.63

-2.45

-0.23

-0.89

-1.15

0.58

-0.84

1.18

-1.31

-1.98

-0.51

-2.56

-1.21

-1.43

-3.52

-3.10

-1.66

-4.47

-1.95

-1.22

-0.44

-1.36

-3.90

-1.16

-1.74

1.38

-0.27

-1.55

-2.11

-1.54

-3.15

-2.94

-0.24

-3.24

-1.60

-0.77

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-HBank Of East Asia Ltd

Bank Of China Ltd-HBank Of Communications Co-H

Belle International HoldingsBoc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd

Cathay Pacific AirwaysCk Hutchison Holdings Ltd

China Coal Energy Co-HChina Construction Bank-H

China Life Insurance Co-HChina Merchants Port Holding

China Mobile LtdChina Overseas Land & Invest

China Petroleum & Chemical-HChina Resources Beer Holding

China Resources Land LtdChina Resources Power Holdin

China Shenhua Energy Co-HChina Unicom Hong Kong Ltd

Citic LtdClp Holdings Ltd

Cnooc LtdCosco Shipping Ports Ltd

Esprit Holdings LtdFih Mobile Ltd

Hang Lung Properties LtdHang Seng Bank Ltd

Henderson Land Development

3.33

27.70

3.33

5.63

0.00

35.25

11.32

83.30

3.39

6.30

17.04

14.06

78.40

23.00

6.88

28.40

25.30

13.50

17.58

8.88

11.90

87.90

14.70

8.31

2.04

0.79

14.94

210.20

38.90

1.83

0.36

0.60

0.00

0.00

-0.56

1.07

0.06

-0.59

0.48

0.35

0.00

0.45

-0.22

-1.15

0.53

0.60

2.12

2.21

-1.00

0.85

0.69

2.08

1.59

1.49

-2.47

1.08

0.00

0.65

43,122,940

1,476,652

173,730,676

17,298,984

-

6,593,977

1,486,000

3,362,807

8,432,344

291,576,527

25,072,856

4,039,213

14,230,222

19,883,083

191,751,493

5,012,454

12,974,093

7,170,888

22,533,237

32,520,014

8,393,000

2,244,729

71,865,580

5,307,260

3,138,464

7,081,837

2,932,334

1,114,815

3,195,442

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Hong Kong & China GasHong Kong Exchanges & Clear

Hsbc Holdings PlcHutchison Whampoa Ltd

Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HLi & Fung Ltd

Mtr CorpNew World Development

Petrochina Co Ltd-HPing An Insurance Group Co-H

Power Assets Holdings LtdSino Land Co

Sun Hung Kai PropertiesSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl ATencent Holdings Ltd

Wharf Holdings Ltd

14.90

210.60

67.65

0.00

5.32

1.73

40.05

10.52

6.22

74.60

53.60

12.66

109.50

83.95

293.80

20.40

0.00

0.00

-0.59

0.00

0.76

-2.26

-0.87

1.54

1.63

-0.20

0.66

0.00

0.55

1.45

-1.74

1.75

8,820,599

4,296,880

22,500,606

-

213,744,426

13,175,115

3,177,976

16,871,366

159,582,157

29,939,260

3,467,349

3,233,560

3,550,272

1,279,821

26,099,026

4,565,213

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Zee Entertainment EnterpriseYes Bank Ltd

Wipro LtdVedanta Ltd

Ultratech Cement LtdTech Mahindra Ltd

Tata Steel LtdTata Power Co Ltd

Tata Motors LtdTata Consultancy Svcs Ltd

Sun Pharmaceutical IndusState Bank Of India

Reliance Industries LtdPunjab National Bank

Power Grid Corp Of India LtdOil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

Ntpc LtdMaruti Suzuki India Ltd

Mahindra & Mahindra LtdLupin Ltd

Larsen & Toubro LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Itc LtdInfosys Ltd

Indusind Bank LtdVodafone Idea Ltd

Icici Bank LtdHousing Development Finance

Hindustan Unilever LtdHindalco Industries Ltd

Hero Motocorp LtdHdfc Bank Limited

Hcl Technologies LtdGrasim Industries Ltd

Gail India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Coal India LtdCipla Ltd

Cairn India LtdBosch Ltd

Bharti Airtel LtdBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd

Bharat Heavy ElectricalsBank Of Baroda

Bajaj Auto LtdAxis Bank Ltd

Asian Paints LtdAmbuja Cements Ltd

Adani Ports And Special EconAcc Ltd

432.80

224.65

321.65

212.10

3,782.00

696.10

572.50

60.95

184.35

2,091.80

609.75

262.95

1,090.05

62.65

186.55

146.65

161.70

6,699.45

764.80

868.90

1,221.05

1,108.45

268.50

717.75

1,607.90

34.45

306.25

1,712.75

1,512.45

224.25

2,891.75

1,940.60

1,068.40

902.05

333.50

2,454.15

273.95

639.35

0.00

18,444.45

289.00

257.20

70.25

93.25

2,548.85

552.85

1,201.40

204.70

318.75

1,465.85

4.53

1.56

1.31

2.59

0.61

0.17

2.27

-0.89

-13.19

0.69

0.91

-1.05

-1.74

-0.32

-0.05

-2.10

-1.07

-2.76

-1.30

2.22

0.47

0.38

-1.72

0.46

0.49

2.38

-1.48

2.70

-3.01

0.76

0.65

-0.23

-0.35

-2.06

-3.02

4.87

2.26

0.09

0.00

0.45

-2.10

-2.91

0.93

-4.36

-1.36

-0.66

-3.72

-1.63

4.73

-0.60

SENSEX

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

WORLD INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

GCC INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

Dow Jones Indus. AvgS&P 500 Index

Nasdaq Composite IndexS&P/Tsx Composite Index

Mexico Bolsa IndexBrazil Bovespa Stock Idx

Ftse 100 IndexCac 40 Index

Dax IndexIbex 35 Tr

Nikkei 225Japan Topix

Hang Seng IndexAll Ordinaries Indx

Nzx All IndexBse Sensex 30 Index

Nse S&P Cnx Nifty IndexStraits Times Index

Karachi All Share IndexJakarta Composite Index

26,523.74

2,888.23

7,780.67

15,874.95

48,270.03

86,430.70

7,237.59

5,318.55

11,977.22

9,260.50

23,469.39

1,761.12

26,172.91

6,155.46

1,587.07

34,299.47

10,301.05

3,166.60

28,299.34

5,796.79

+36.96

+3.80

+44.72

-71.22

+176.93

+346.79

+4.26

+18.30

+30.06

+61.30

-314.33

-31.53

-29.66

-63.18

-13.66

-174.91

-47.00

-14.85

+356.24

+35.72

Doha Securities MarketSaudi Tadawul

Kuwait Stocks ExchangeBahrain Stock Exchage

Oman Stock MarketAbudhabi Stock MarketDubai Financial Market

9,840.18

7,904.74

#N/A N/A

1,324.26

4,517.38

5,020.52

2,777.82

+20.44

-34.43

#N/A N/A

-1.01

+12.03

+17.14

+3.20

“Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on this data.”

2,226,100

1,762,400

5,376,500

7,560,400

6,174,100

124,824,800

339,900

647,500

3,099,000

10,222,000

1,667,100

1,211,400

6,311,000

1,194,800

3,125,300

2,661,600

1,802,000

5,776,900

1,128,000

6,357,600

2,627,900

6,359,800

8,228,300

13,733,200

2,867,000

2,996,400

3,544,300

1,417,400

1,943,200

6,140,500

516,800

1,268,400

2,625,900

2,040,600

5,893,800

4,641,500

5,609,100

1,442,000

3,582,600

716,400

1,145,600

2,677,300

2,649,000

1,333,200

806,800

1,183,600

16,153,300

4,877,300

2,387,100

84,385,400

11,720,500

5,919,800

865,100

1,782,700

3,525,500

2,427,100

7,375,200

8,606,900

1,326,900

6,606,200

6,447,500

1,574,900

2,163,400

10,137,600

1,000,600

1,186,600

6,561,800

2,603,900

1,066,500

1,768,800

6,203,200

1,352,300

3,154,400

1,752,900

5,013,800

2,397,800

931,100

7,062,700

9,652,200

1,566,200

12,399,100

5,672,793

53,313,027

4,902,696

19,293,223

225,287

2,810,338

8,305,798

5,434,623

156,014,406

1,994,408

4,840,484

17,155,998

11,611,326

26,930,628

3,179,267

7,145,340

4,896,661

1,190,193

3,157,602

2,810,709

2,779,407

3,819,471

10,972,438

7,214,490

1,096,813

21,171,232

15,793,312

3,175,589

1,700,301

11,284,788

731,664

3,467,504

1,374,450

1,837,572

5,341,023

1,192,444

4,497,299

1,623,057

-

11,655

9,243,402

13,129,527

8,536,302

25,535,786

338,258

8,469,424

1,192,137

1,945,609

7,042,727

544,178

Volume

Volume

BUSINESS13Gulf Times

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

ReutersNusa Dua, Indonesia

International Monetary Fund chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said yesterday that he was not concerned

about the Chinese government’s ability to defend its currency despite the recent de-preciation of the yuan.

“No, I don’t think it’s a problem,” Obst-feld said when asked about the issue on the sidelines of a news conference at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bali.

But Obstfeld also told the news confer-ence that Beijing would face a “balancing act” between actions to shore up growth and ensure fi nancial stability.

China’s yuan currency has faced strong selling pressure this year, losing over 8% between March and August at the height of market worries, though it has since pared losses as authorities stepped up support.

Yesterday, China’s central bank fi xed the yuan’s offi cial mid-point for trading at 6.9019 per dollar, edging close to the psychologically important 7.0 barrier and helping to send Asian stocks to a 17-month low.

Obstfeld said fi nancial markets have overly emphasised short-term move-ments in China’s currency, adding that the yuan has often quickly recovered from pe-riods of volatility in recent years.

A US Treasury offi cial on Monday re-peated that the Trump administration was concerned about the yuan’s recent weak-ening as the department prepares a semi-annual report on currency manipulation due out next week.

“More broadly, we’re concerned about China’s turn away from more market-ori-ented policies and continued reliance on non-market mechanisms that impact the macroeconomic and trade environment,” the Treasury offi cial said.

Asked about the Treasury offi cial’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said: “We have no in-tention of promoting exports through the competitive devaluation of our currency, and will not use the renminbi (yuan) ex-change rate as a tool to respond to disputes in trade or other areas.”

“I also want to say that these types of remarks are just some people making groundless speculation, and they are ir-responsible remarks,” Lu said at a daily briefi ng in Beijing.

The IMF has been recommending that Chinese authorities de-emphasise the quantity of growth to focus more on its quality and sustainability to allow the economy to better withstand shocks, Ob-stfeld said.

The IMF chief economist said that while government offi cials have been moving

to rein in China’s credit expansion, it was understandable they would take steps to boost growth in the face of trade tensions with the US, and these have impacted short-term economic growth, aff ecting the yuan.

“They do have to balance those actions against the need to achieve a more stable fi nancial sector, to achieve more delever-aging, and they have to exert better con-trol over local government fi nancing. It’s defi nitely going to be a balancing act for them.”

Despite a larger than expected drop in China’s foreign exchange reserves in Sep-tember, the government is still equipped with ample reserves of over $3tn.

There have been few signs of a spike in capital outfl ows like those seen in 2015 af-ter a surprise devaluation by the People’s Bank of China.

Beijing has put tight capital controls in place to prevent capital fl ight and the cen-tral bank has said it expected the scale of China’s foreign exchange reserves to re-main stable despite fl uctuations.

IMF chief economist not concerned about China’s ability to defend currency

‘Pakistan has not approached IMF for fund’AFPBali, Indonesia

The International Monetary Fund said yesterday Pakistan has not approached it to begin negotia-

tions for a possible bailout to stem a bal-ance of payments crisis, hours after Is-lamabad announced it will enter talks.

Former cricketer Imran Khan’s new administration took offi ce in August vowing to weigh up whether to seek an IMF bailout to stabilise its economy as it sought other avenues of fi nancing.

For weeks analysts have warned that a new current account crisis could under-mine Pakistan’s currency and its ability to repay billions in debts or purchase im-ports. Late Monday the country’s fi nance ministry announced that it would be-gin bailout talks with the IMF. “We have

not been formally approached yet,” said Maurice Obstfeld, the IMF’s top econo-mist, during the fund’s annual meeting in Bali yesterday.

The IMF’s comments added to the appearance of confusion around the abruptly announced decision.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar told the daily Dawn newspaper as late as Saturday that the government had not yet decided whether it would go to the IMF, and had not sketched out a for-mal proposal to the Fund ahead of the Bali summit.

“We will be listening very, very atten-tively when and if they come to us,” said Obstfeld.

“Pakistan is suff ering from a number of imbalances: A very large fi scal imbal-ance. A large current account imbalance.

They also have a low level of reserves and a currency that is too rigid and over-

valued,” he added. Khan came to power on an anti-corruption agenda, vowing to build an Islamic welfare state.

He has sought loans from friendly countries, promised to recover funds stolen by corrupt offi cials, and embarked on a series of populist austerity meas-ures such as auctioning buff alo and lux-ury cars owned by the prime minister’s house, and crowdfunding to build a dam in the country’s north.

But economists’ warnings have grown increasingly urgent, and the uncertainty saw the country’s stock exchange lose 3.4% of its value on Monday.

The announcement hours later that Is-lamabad would begin IMF talks sparked a devaluation of the rupee, with the cur-rency trading at 134 for a dollar at the of-fi cial rate yesterday, against 124 the day before. The drop in the currency’s value shows the government is willing to take

tough measures, said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of the Topline Securities, a Pakistani brokerage house.

Pakistan has gone to the IMF multiple times since the late 1980s.

The last time was in 2013, when Islam-abad got a $6.6bn loan to tackle a similar crisis.

Analysts say Pakistan needs a loan of around $12bn to turn the corner, but a diplomat told AFP in August that Islama-bad is betting on a loan of at least $6.5bn to get it through the crisis.

However the US, one of the IMF’s big-gest donors, has raised fears Pakistan could use any bailout money to repay mounting loans from China, sparking criticism from Islamabad.

That has also increased fears that the terms of any IMF programme could be more restrictive than in the past, under-cutting Khan’s welfare drive.

International Monetary Fund chief economist Maurice Obstfeld (centre), deputy director Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti (left) and communications off icer Wafa Amr, answering questions during the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Obstfeld said financial markets have overly emphasised short-term movements in China’s currency, adding that the yuan has often quickly recovered from periods of volatility in recent years.

IMF-World Bank meetings will warn againstprotectionism: IndrawatiReutersNusa Dua, Indonesia

Economic policymakers gathering

in Indonesia for this week’s an-

nual meetings of the International

Monetary Fund and World Bank

should highlight risks to the global

economy posed by rising protec-

tionism, the host nation’s finance

minister said.

The prospect of a further

escalation in the trade war between

the United States and China – the

world’s two largest economies – will

haunt finance ministers, central

bankers and economists flocking to

the resort island of Bali to attend the

meetings, which begin on Thursday.

In an interview with Reuters yester-

day, Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri

Mulyani Indrawati aired her fears

that US President Donald Trump’s

pursuit of a better deal for US

companies and farmers had started

a slide towards protectionism.

“I think many countries had

already adopted lower tariff s

until President Trump imposed

tariff s,” she said, and now there

was question of whether countries

were becoming “more comfort-

able” with the idea of increasing or

adding tariff s. Indrawati, a former

World Bank managing director, said

she hoped policymakers would

“articulate more of those risks”

during the forthcoming meetings,

and encourage “countries to be

more restrained in using those kind

of measures”.

“Because when all economies

start to implement protectionism,

the global economy is going to be

worse off , because the volume of

trade is going to drop. Growth is

going to also decline,” she said.

Indeed, the IMF yesterday cut its

global economic growth forecasts

for 2018 and 2019, saying that the

US-China trade war was taking a

toll and emerging markets were

struggling with tighter liquidity and

capital outflows. The multilat-

eral lender also predicted severe

repercussions for the United States

and China if they slid into an all-out

trade war. While so many countries

shared common fears, Indra-

wati said it was diff icult to forge

co-operation to counter the risks.

“It’s not really clear how the

world is going to co-ordinate more

eff ectively, especially when each

country has their own domestic

issues,” she said.

Emerging economies including

Indonesia have also been suff ering

from a rise in US interest rates

that has triggered a sell off in their

assets, with the rupiah currency

hitting its lowest since the Asian

financial crisis in 1998.

Indrawati, who is due to meet US

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

later this week, hoped the United

States and its central bank would

listen to other countries concerns

over the impact of US policies,

regardless of the strong growth the

US economy is currently enjoying.

Referring to the potential impact

on Indonesia from any sharp slow-

down in China, she said this would

depend on how China’s eff orts to

cushion its economy pan out.

China is Indonesia’s biggest

trade partner and its strong eco-

nomic growth has in the past cre-

ated a large market for Indonesia’s

natural resources.

International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde (left) laughs as she talks with Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati during IMF-World Bank meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Indrawati aired her fears that US President Donald Trump’s pursuit of a better deal for US companies and farmers had started a slide towards protectionism.

Rupee plunges in de facto devaluationReutersIslamabad

The Pakistani rupee plunged about 7%

yesterday in an apparent central bank de-

valuation, while the stock market snapped

a six-day skid after the government said it

plans to seek a bailout from the Interna-

tional Monetary Fund (IMF).

The country’s fifth devaluation since De-

cember, taking rupee losses to about 26%,

had been expected and seen as a prerequi-

site for another IMF rescue package.

In 2013, the IMF lent Islamabad $6.7bn.

It is expected Pakistan will need a

bigger sum this year to avoid a balance

of payments crisis and stabilise a wobbly

economy hurt by a shortage of dollars

plus ballooning current account and fiscal

deficits.

But the IMF is likely to demand painful

structural reforms that would clash with the

political agenda of new Prime Minister Im-

ran Khan, who on the campaign trail vowed

to build an Islamic welfare state.

Pakistan’s stock market index, sliding

since October 1, shot up nearly 3% on news

Islamabad plans to seek its 13th IMF bailout

since 1988.

At 3pm local time (1000 GMT), the main

index was 1.3% higher. “Going to the IMF

is a positive trigger because it will remove

the underlying causes for concern, which

is that government targets will further

weaken,” said Suleman Maniya, head of

research at local brokerage house Shajar

Capital. “It’s a positive rather than a nega-

tive thing for a country like Pakistan where

you generally see targets not being met.”

Pakistan’s fiscal deficit was on target to hit

7.2% of gross domestic product in the fiscal

year ending in June 2019, but the govern-

ment has introduced measures to bring it

closer to 5%.

It’s the economy’s dollar shortage that

presents a bigger problem.

The current account deficit widened 43%

to $18bn in the year that ended June 30,

while the fiscal deficit ballooned to 6.6%.

Foreign currency reserves dropped in

late September to $8.4bn, covering less

than two months’ imports.

The finance ministry has not said how

much money Pakistan needs but the min-

ister, Asad Umar, said it has external debt

payments of about $8bn due by December.

Pakistan’s government had previously

said seeking help from the IMF was the

last option and would prefer succour from

friendly nations, widely interpreted as a

reference to traditional allies China and

Saudi Arabia.

China, Islamabad’s closest ally, has

pledged about $60bn in infrastructure

spending in Pakistan as part of its Belt and

Road initiative.

It has also loaned billions to Pakistan

to help ease the pressure on the foreign

currency reserves, which are used to

defend the currency. Pakistan’s economic

downturn has also coincided with a fissure

in relations with the United States, which

has cautioned that it did not want IMF

bailout money be used to pay off Chinese

loans, which Washington calls debt trap

diplomacy.

In Bali yesterday, IMF chief economist

Maurice Obstfeld said the rupee was “too

rigid and overvalued”.

The rupee tumbled to about 134 per dol-

lar by 0530 GMT, after closing at 124.26 on

Monday, in what market participants called

a de facto devaluation.

At 0930 GMT, it was down about 7%.

“The central bank has given an indication

to let the rupee go with market forces,” said

one broker.

A second market participant confirmed

the central bank was keeping out of the

market, eff ectively letting the currency

devalue.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) runs

what is widely seen as a managed float,

though its off icial stance is that the cur-

rency freely trades.

SBP spokesman Abid Qamar told Reuters

“the market is aware about the overall

macroeconomic conditions and based on

those conditions, they are having their own

expectations about the exchange rate,

so that is driving (the rupee valuations)

currently.”

A Pakistani dealer counts US dollars at a currency exchange shop in Islamabad. The rupee plunged about 7% yesterday in an apparent devaluation.

Iran tanker discharges oil into storage in China ahead of US sanctions

ReutersBeijing

A vessel carrying 2mn barrels of Iranian oil discharged the crude into a bonded storage tank at the port of Dalian in northeast China on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and a shipping agent with knowledge of the matter.Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), is finding fewer takers for its crude ahead of US sanctions on its oil exports that will go into eff ect on November 4.The country previously held oil in storage at Dalian during the last round of sanctions in 2014 that was later sold to buyers in South Korea and India.The very large crude carrier Dune, operated by National Iranian Tanker Co, offloaded oil into a bonded storage site at the Xingang section of the port, according to a shipping source based in Dalian, adding this was the first Iranian oil to discharge into bonded storage in nearly four years.The tanker left the Iranian oil port at Kharg Island on September 12, according to ship-tracking data.The Xingang area is home to several tank farms including commercial and strategic reserves.China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Dalian Port PDA Co Ltd both operate commercial storage in the area, according to information on their company websites.An investor relations official at Dalian Port declined to comment.A manager at the bonded crude storage site operated

by Dalian Port declined to comment whether Iranian oil were moved to the tanks, calling it the “worst time” to give any comment regarding Iranian crude because of the US sanctions.A person at the CNPC-owned storage site who refused to identify himself when contacted by Reuters said it is “impossible” that the oil is stored there. A spokesman for CNPC said he had no information on this matter.An executive with the China office of National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) declined to comment.NIOC also did not respond to an email request seeking comment if it is storing oil at Dalian.The shipping source said there is no buyer earmarked for the cargo.Three other NITC tankers are set to arrive in Dalian in the next week or two, the ship-tracking data shows.Some of those cargoes are also likely to end up in bonded storage as the refineries in the region, controlled by CNPC, are not equipped to process Iranian oil, said three sources at state-run Chinese refiners.China’s Iranian oil buyers, including state-owned refiner Sinopec and state trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, have shifted their cargoes to vessels owned by NITC since July to keep supplies flowing as the US sanctions have been re-imposed.Keeping oil in bonded storage gives the shipment owner the option to sell into China or to other buyers in the region.In early 2014, NIOC leased bonded tanks in Dalian and oil from there was shipped to South Korea and India, Reuters reported.

China’s HNA lists propertyassets worth $11bn for saleReutersHong Kong

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has put up for sale prop-erty assets worth at least $11bn,

according to documents seen by Reu-ters, accelerating a push to cut its large debt and restructure.

Two sets of documents reviewed by Reuters listed more than 80 assets that HNA has either put up for sale or in-tends to sell, including hotels, commer-cial and residential buildings.

They are mostly within China, with the bulk of them located in Hainan Is-land, where HNA is headquartered.

The documents were sent to prospec-tive investors in August, said sources.

Under pressure from Beijing, the aviation-to-hotels conglomerate has in 2018 sold real estate, stakes in overseas companies and aviation-related assets after a $50bn acquisition spree in recent years.

Since January, HNA has sold or agreed to sell over $20bn worth of as-sets, including real estate in Sydney, New York and Hong Kong, according to Reuters calculations and media reports.

“We are strategically exiting some areas but it’s not a fi re sale,” said a com-pany source familiar with the group’s plans.

It was not immediately clear if some of the assets listed in the two sets of documents have been already sold.

An HNA spokeswoman declined to comment. The sources declined to be identifi ed as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

HNA’s total debt stood at 657.41bn yuan ($94.96bn) at the end of the fi rst half, down 10.7% from end-2017.

Despite the decrease, the group’s to-tal debt to EBITDA stood at 21.36 times at the end of the fi rst half.

In one set of the documents, HNA listed 24 assets in China and 11 overseas, including HNA International Plaza, a commercial-to-residential landmark complex in Haikou, and 850 Third Av-enue in New York, which came under

scrutiny by the US government because of its proximity to the Trump Tower, ac-cording to a media report.

It estimated the total value of 26 as-sets listed in this set of documents as $10.5bn but didn’t give the estimated valuations of the remaining assets.

In a separate set of documents sent to

another potential investor, HNA listed 57 domestic property assets as “planned for sale”, 10 of which also appear in the fi rst set of documents.

The assets listed in the second set of documents include hotels in Hainan, Beijing and Shanghai, as well as resi-dential buildings in Hainan, Tianjin and

Tangshan in northern China’s Hebei province. The second set of documents did not give the estimated valuations.

It, however, set a time frame for sales of most of the assets, with 18 targeted to be sold in the second half of 2018 and 23 in 2019.

Earlier this year, HNA sold a 25%

stake in Hilton Grand Vacations Inc, trimmed shares held in Deutsche Bank and sold three land parcels in Hong Kong, among other sales.

The group is also exploring the sale of its newly acquired CWT logistics unit, people familiar with the situation told Reuters last month.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, October 10, 201814

Citigroup, Deutsche Bank face Australian court in cartel caseReutersSydney

The Australian units of Citigroup and Deutsche Bank faced court in Sydney yesterday accused of

criminal cartel conduct over a A$3bn ($2.1bn) stock issue, in a landmark case being watched around the world.

Australian authorities fi led criminal charges in June against the two sub-sidiaries as well as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and six senior bankers over the sale of ANZ shares in 2015, and subsequent trading by the un-derwriters.

Lawyers jammed into the courtroom in downtown Sydney for the fi rst ad-ministrative hearing of the case, which could have major implications for the underwriting business and lead to in-creased scrutiny from regulators world-wide. The government accuses the banks of forming a criminal cartel to ei-ther “directly or indirectly” restrict the supply of ANZ shares or maintain the price of ANZ shares, according to court documents.

The banks have denied wrongdoing.JPMorgan, which underwrote the

capital raising along with Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, has not been charged and has not commented on the case.

Charges have also been brought against six executives – ANZ former treasurer Rick Moscati; Citi former Australia head Stephen Roberts; Citi’s current Australia head of capital mar-kets, John McLean; Citi’s London-based head of foreign exchange trad-ing, Itay Tuchman; Deutsche’s former Australia chief, Michael Ormaechea; and Deutsche’s former Australia capital markets head, Michael Richardson.

If convicted, the companies could face penalties of up to A$10mn or triple the benefi t of the conduct.

The individuals charged could face 10 years in jail. The matter was adjourned until February 5 and the prosecution or-

dered to fi le the full details of their case by December 11.

The allegations stem from an inves-tigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the country’s competition watchdog.

ANZ, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup declined to comment on the case, but Citigroup referred Reuters to a previous statement in which it said it had “op-erated successfully in Australia in this manner for decades”.

“This is a highly technical area and if the ACCC believes there are matters to address, these should be clarifi ed by law or regulation or consultation,” it added.

All six bankers were excused from

appearing personally and none were present.

Lawyers on their behalf pressed the prosecution to fi le a statement of facts, which would disclose in detail exactly what the banks and bankers are accused of.

Prosecutor Ruth Higgins said there was “no present obligation” to fi le the details while they were still being com-piled.

None of the executives charged in the case has commented publicly.

The case comes as Australia’s fi nan-cial sector comes under intense scru-tiny from a separate public inquiry that has uncovered widespread misconduct.

HNA Group’s total debt stood at 657.41bn yuan ($94.96bn) at the end of the first half, down 10.7% from end-2017. Since January, HNA has sold or agreed to sell over $20bn worth of assets, including real estate in Sydney, New York and Hong Kong, according to Reuters calculations and media reports.

Amazon India denies it givesselect sellers preferential treatment

ReutersBengaluru/Mumbai

Amazon’s Indian business

has denied accusations that

it favours select merchants

and brands, responding to a

complaint lodged by an Indian

lobby group.

The All India Online Vendors

Association (AIOVA) on Friday

filed a petition with the Compe-

tition Commission of India (CCI)

alleging that the online retailer

favours merchants that it partly

owns, such as Cloudtail and

Appario.

The company said on

Monday that all sellers on its

platform are treated equally.

“Amazon has an equal

relationship with all the sellers

on our marketplace,” Amazon

India spokeswoman Bhumika

Shah said in an e-mail, adding

that the company is “absolutely

committed” to compliance with

local laws.

AIOVA, which represents

more than 3,500 online sellers,

said that large sellers such as

Cloudtail and Appario were

being charged significantly less

than Amazon’s advertised rates.

Cloudtail is owned by Prione

Business Services, which is a

joint venture between Amazon

and Infosys co-founder NR

Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran

Ventures. Appario is a joint

venture between Amazon and

Patni group.

“There should not be any

preferential treatment,” AIOVA’s

lawyer, Chanakya Basa, said on

Monday.

India has a burgeoning e-

commerce market, with almost

500mn Indians using the Inter-

net in 2018 and the e-commerce

market is tipped to grow to

$200bn in a decade, according

to Morgan Stanley.

AIOVA has asked the antitrust

regulator to impose a “severe

penalty” for unfair practices

and to restrict what it says

are “preferred sellers” from

participating in Amazon India’s

annual festival sales, which start

this week.

The lobby group filed a simi-

lar petition against Walmart-

owned Flipkart in May, alleging

violation of competition rules

through preferential treatment

for select sellers.

AIOVA also asked for restric-

tions to be placed on Flipkart’s

festival sale this week.

Flipkart did not immediately

respond to a Reuters request

for comment.

Amazon has scheduled its

Great Indian Festival sale over

October 10-15 and Flipkart’s Big

Billion Days sale is scheduled

for October 10-14, according to

their websites.

‘It is foolish to stick to earlier fi scal goals’ReutersKuala Lumpur

Malaysia’s Finance Min-ister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday that

maintaining earlier fi scal tar-gets would be “foolish”, as the government struggles with li-abilities of around 1tn ringgit ($240.67bn).

Prime Minister Mahathir Mo-hamad, who unexpectedly won a general election in May, has blamed the previous adminis-tration of Najib Razak for tak-ing the country into such heavy debt, partly as a result of 1MDB, a failed state fund which is now the focus of corruption and money laundering investigations in Ma-laysia and other countries.

The government is also look-ing for alternative sources of revenue to make up the shortfall that it is expected to face after scrapping an unpopular goods and services tax.

“The fi scal targets set by the previous administration are hence unrealistic in the short-term and it would be foolish for this government to maintain these targets,” Lim said at an in-vestor conference.

“Over the medium term, how-ever, we will remain strictly on the path of fi scal consolidation.”

The Najib government had forecast fi scal defi cit of 2.8% this year, lower than last year’s 3%. The fi nance minister had told Reuters in an interview in June that Malaysia can achieve 2.8% this year but reducing it further would be a challenge.

The new administration will announce its 2019 budget on No-vember 2 when it is expected to spell out its fi scal targets. Ratings agencies have said Malaysia faces challenges in further narrowing its fi scal defi cit. Moody’s said in February that further fi scal consolidation is likely to be very slow in the absence of meaning-ful revenue-raising measures.

Earlier at the conference yes-terday, Mahathir said Malaysia may introduce new taxes and sell assets such as land to pay off debt. “We may have to devise new taxes in order to have the money to pay our debts.

The other thing we can do is to sell our assets. Land is one of them,” the prime minister said.

“Beyond that we may have to sell some of our valuable as-sets in order to raise funds to pay the debts.” He did not identify or elaborate on what these assets would be. Finance Minister Lim, however, indicated the govern-ment may reduce its stake in com-panies in which it owns shares through state-owned fi rms.

War on coal is heating up, but China is still the keyBy Clyde RussellLaunceston, Australia

Coal-fired power has to end by 2050 to save

the planet.

That seemingly simple but bold sentiment

is likely to set much of the political, social and

economic agenda for the coming decades,

but in the end it will come down to what China

does.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Pan-

el on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a report

on Monday that “unprecedented” changes

will have to take place to limit the rise in the

Earth’s temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7

degrees Fahrenheit), warning of devastating

weather events and species loss if the target

is exceeded.

In order to achieve the goal, the IPCC said

coal burning would have to drop to between

0% and 2% by 2050, while even natural gas,

coupled with carbon capture and storage

(CCS), would have to decline to 8% of electric-

ity generation by the middle of this century.

While coal has long been the bogeyman of cli-

mate activists, the IPCC has eff ectively thrown

down the gauntlet and given world leaders a

little over 30 years to phase it out entirely.

Initial reaction to the IPCC report has been

predictable, with supporters of renewable

energy cheering it, and backers of fossil fuels

resorting to the familiar arguments that some-

how the science is either wrong or a hoax.

Australia’s Environment Minister Melissa

Price told ABC radio on Tuesday that the IPCC

was “drawing a long bow” by calling for an

end to coal by 2050, and touted new tech-

nologies as a way of saving the polluting fuel.

Australia is the world’s largest exporter of

coal and relies on the fuel for more than 70%

of its electricity generation.

Price isn’t alone in touting CCS and other

technologies, with the World Coal Association

responding to the IPCC report by saying in a

statement on its website that CCS is “vital” and

that the coal lobby group will push for it to be

adopted.

However, elsewhere on the group’s website

it acknowledges that currently progress of

CCS “is too slow to allow necessary emissions

reductions goals to be achieved”.

Its solution is to spend more on research

and development. But it’s here that the coal

lobby will run into problems.

Already renewable technologies, which

have benefited from subsidies, are becoming

cheaper than conventional coal-fired power

generation, a trend likely to continue.

Coal-fired generation with CCS would likely

require huge subsidies in order to be cost-

competitive, and selling such largesse with

public money will be incredibly hard for gov-

ernments in democracies. It’s therefore likely

that the scenario currently being played out in

Europe will be extended to other parts of the

world, with coal-fired power being replaced by

a combination of renewables, battery storage,

gas-fired back-up and even nuclear.

Coal will further be hamstrung by the flight

of capital from the sector, with commercial

and development banks, insurers and trading

companies starting to retreat from financing

and insuring mines and power plants.

While it’s likely that the developed world

will witness ongoing bitter debates over policy

toward fossil fuels, the actual key to the IPCC

target is China, and to a lesser extent the rest

of developing Asia. China is the world’s largest

producer, consumer and importer of coal and

any genuine attempt to remove coal from the

world’s energy mix by 2050 will require mas-

sive commitment from Beijing.

While the Chinese government has a policy

of limiting the use of coal and of boosting the

use of renewables and natural gas, it’s well

within the realms of wishful thinking to imag-

ine the world’s second-largest economy is on

track to abandon the use of coal by 2050.

According to the Global Coal Plant Tracker,

China currently has 957 gigawatts (GW) of

coal-fired power operating – more than four

times India’s 219 GW.

The positive news for both China and India,

the world’s second-biggest coal importer, is

that the pipeline of coal-fired plant construc-

tion has been consistently shrinking and re-

tirements of older units has been accelerating.

But given that once built, coal-fired plants

generally operate for at least 30 years, it

would be imperative that virtually all construc-

tion is halted now, and no new plants commis-

sioned. In reality, China currently has 126 GW

of coal-fired power in construction and 76 GW

either announced, in pre-permit phase or with

permits already in place.

India has 39 GW being built and 63 GW in

the approval process. There are also new coal

plants being built or planned in numerous

other Asian countries, including Indonesia,

Pakistan and the Philippines.

What the IPCC report may do is acceler-

ate pressure on those countries to re-think

their power generation plans, especially if

renewables can be shown to be as cheap and

as reliable. It’s also likely that any technologi-

cal advances in energy in the next decades

will not be in favour of coal, given that vast

sums are being invested in renewables and

comparatively little in CCS or other coal-

friendly technologies.

The IPCC report highlights that coal now

has its back very much against the wall, but

equally that the real power for change lies in

Beijing.

Natural gas also tends to get off lightly in

much of the media reporting about climate

change, especially given the obvious target

of coal. But like silent flatulence in an elevator,

eventually natural gas will be unable to avoid

the attention that is making life so diff icult for

the coal industry.

Clyde Russell is a columnist for Reuters.

The opinions expressed here are those of the

author.

BUSINESS15Gulf Times

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

BoE tells EU to move now to avoid hard Brexit hit to marketsEuropean Commission says it is analysing situation; financial sector calls for end to “poker game”; banks’ capital buff ers to be reviewed in November

ReutersLondon

The Bank of England has urged the European Un-ion yesterday to do more

to protect cross-border fi nan-cial services from the risks of a “cliff -edge Brexit”, saying the need for action was now press-ing.

Less than six months be-fore Britain is due to leave the EU, creating the potential for new barriers for companies do-ing business across the Eng-lish Channel, the BoE said in its

strongest warning so far that it saw risks for insurance, deriva-tives and the transfer of data.

London and Brussels have yet to agree the terms of Britain’s departure from the bloc and their new relationship, a deal that would mean business as usual until the end of 2020. “There has been considerable progress in the UK to address these risks, but only limited progress in the EU,” the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said in a statement published yesterday after a meeting on October 3. “In the limited time remaining, it is not possible for companies on their own to mitigate fully the risks of disruption to cross-bor-der fi nancial services. The need for authorities to complete miti-gating actions is now pressing.”

Bankers say Brussels wants to pile pressure on banks, insurers

and fund managers in London to open up new hubs in rival EU fi nancial centres such as Frank-furt, Paris and Dublin.

The European Commission said yesterday it has consistent-ly encouraged all stakeholders in fi nancial services to prepare for Brexit, and that it continued to analyse with the European Central Bank possible risks for markets.

The EU executive will review the situation after an EU summit next week that seeks to fi nalise Britain’s exit deal and transition period, a Commission spokes-man said. The industry is also waiting to see what steps if any a joint BoE and ECB working group will take to keep markets orderly around Brexit Day.

Derivatives with a nominal value of 41tn pounds would face legal uncertainty if the EU took

no action in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the BoE said.

On insurance, even if compa-nies based in Britain complete planned moves of their Euro-pean business to the EU before March, around 9mn policyhold-ers in the bloc would still be un-der the shadow of uncertainty after March, it said.

Britain is approving a law that would temporarily allow EU fi -nancial fi rms to continue doing business here in the event of a no-deal Brexit and wants the EU to do likewise, but Brussels has so far refused. “Financial stabil-ity should not be jeopardised in a game of high-stakes political poker,” said Catherine McGuin-ness, political leader of the City of London fi nancial district.

LCH in London, which clears most euro-denominated inter-est rate swaps, faces having to

force EU-based members to shift their contracts to rivals in the bloc, a costly undertaking.

LCH had no immediate com-ment. The FPC also said it was keeping its capital buff er rate for banks unchanged, noting restraint among borrowers, al-though it said it was concerned by fast growth in lending to riskier, highly indebted compa-nies.

Banks generally hold enough core capital to cope with a dis-orderly Brexit, it said.

Britain’s banks are required to meet a so-called countercy-clical capital buff er (CCyB) of 1% of their risk-weighted assets as part of BoE eff orts to avoid a repeat of the taxpayer bailouts after the global fi nancial crisis.

The FPC said it would review the CCyB level at its next meet-ing on November 28.

A view of the BoE building in London. Less than six months before Britain is due to leave the EU, creating the potential for new barriers for companies doing business across the English Channel, the BoE said in its strongest warning so far that it saw risks for insurance, derivatives and the transfer of data.

UK watchdog opens fast-track review ofaudit sectorReutersLondon

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a fast-track

review of the audit sector with all options on the table to im-prove choice and book-keeping quality for companies.

The review announced yes-terday follows calls this year by British lawmakers who wanted the CMA to consider break-ing up the Big Four accounting fi rms, EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC, who check the books of nearly every big listed company in Britain.

The CMA said it has launched a detailed study after concerns over the collapse of construc-tion company Carillion and poor results from reviews of audit quality.

“As part of its review, the Competition and Markets Au-thority will investigate whether the sector is competitive and resilient enough to maintain high-quality standards,” the CMA said in a statement.

The CMA’s predecessor, the Competition Commission, rec-ommended fi ve years ago that Britain’s top 350 listed compa-nies put their audit work out to tender at least every decade, but the result has been a Big Four merry-go-round, with smaller rivals such as Grant Thornton and BDO making little headway.

“Given the in-depth think-ing already done by the CMA and the Competition Commis-sion before it, we plan to move swiftly and to issue our provi-sional fi ndings before Christ-mas,” said CMA Chief Execu-tive Andrea Coscelli.

Britain’s business minister, Greg Clark, welcomed the re-view, saying: “I would encour-

age the CMA to be ambitious in its thinking and move swiftly on this issue.”

The CMA market study will examine how easy it is for com-panies to switch auditor and whether the Big Four’s domi-nance threatens long-term competition.

The watchdog will also con-sider whether big listed compa-nies should be prevented from choosing their own auditors.

One alternative suggested al-ready is for such companies to have auditors appointed by an independent body. “If the CMA fi nds evidence that the market is not working well after exam-ining these areas, it will scru-tinise all proposals for tackling them,” the watchdog said.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which polices au-dits, said it has already expressed concern about concentration at the top end of the market.

Britain’s leading accounting fi rms have previously proposed voluntary caps on audit market share, but Tuesday’s announce-ment of a formal review suggests tougher action is more likely.

The FRC’s powers are being reviewed independently after lawmakers said it was too timid in how it dealt with poor audits from the Big Four.

CMA Chairman Andrew Tyrie said the review of the FRC is a “big step” in the right direction.

“The CMA will now examine the market carefully to estab-lish what contribution more ef-fective competition could make to improving audit quality,” said Tyrie, who criticised the FRC for being ineff ective when he was a lawmaker.

The watchdog has written to the government to say that leg-islation may be needed to im-plement its fi ndings and those of the review into the FRC.

Google goes global with10 events for new phonesReutersSan Francisco

Alphabet Inc’s Google was scheduled unveil the third edition of its Pixel smartphone at 10 media events across the world later yesterday, a hint that it is prepared to expand geographic distribution of a device it hopes someday is as popular as Apple Inc’s iPhone.Google’s free Android software operates most of the world’s smartphones.But the company three years ago branched into hardware to have products where, like Apple, it could have full control of the performance of its applications and the revenue they generate.Though Google has succeeded in selling lower-priced devices such as smart speakers and home routers, the phones have been a tougher sell.Google shipped 2.53mn Pixel 2 and 2 XL devices through the nine months ended June 30, garnering less than 1% of the global market for smartphones, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.The first Pixel devices reached 2.4mn shipments in the nine months ended June 30, 2017, the firm said.Limited adoption has reflected Google’s hesitancy to go as wide and big in distributing and marketing the Pixel as Apple, which launched its last two iPhone line-ups in about 50 countries.

Going from a small experiment to a polished product backed by large sales, support and technical teams has been part of Google’s challenge.Last year’s Pixel 2 arrived with bugs that prompted user complaints about unwanted noises during calls, a crashing camera app and an unexpected screen tint.Google initially sold the Pixel 2 and its larger-sibling, Pixel 2 XL, in six countries, including the United States, Australia, Germany and India, after an unveiling in San Francisco.This year, Google is hosting events for the Pixel 3 in cities such as New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore, spokesman Kay Oberbeck said.Google Assistant, the signature virtual helper feature on the Pixel that was available in six languages a year ago, now supports 16.Privacy and security features also could be top talking points about the Pixel 3 as Google and other big US tech companies try to bounce back from recent data breach scandals.A US regulatory filing points to Google’s matching rivals Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc with a smart speaker that has a display to show visual responses to voice commands.Amazon shipped 21.5mn smart speakers, including those with displays, in the year ended June 30, compared with 18.3mn for Google, according to research firm Canalys.

IMF slashes eurozone growth outlookAFPBrussels

The IMF downgraded its growth estimate for the eu-rozone yesterday as trade

tremors and Brexit fears took an unexpected toll on the economy in Europe.

Within the zone, export power-house Germany also saw its growth estimate knocked lower as investor sentiment sours in the face of US President Donald Trump’s protec-tionism. “These more moderate growth numbers and the weaker incoming data that underpin them owe, in part, to a sharp rise in policy uncertainty,” said Maurice Obst-feld, the IMF’s chief economist.

“The possible failure of Brexit negotiations poses another risk,” he added.

The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook predicted growth of 2.0% this year for the 19-country area that uses the euro single currency.

This was 0.2 points lower from its July estimate of 2.2% growth and a further slowdown was predicted for

2019, to 1.9%. For Germany, growth was revised down to 1.9% in both 2018 and 2019 because of a slow-down in exports and industrial pro-duction, the IMF said.

The fi gures help explain Germa-ny’s strong desire to end the trade war with the US, with Berlin the key backer of a truce negotiated between Trump and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker in July.

Trump has kept his promise of leading an aggressive trade policy, slapping punitive tariff s on partners he accuses of taking advantage of American workers.

Despite the trade headwinds, IMF insisted that growth in the eurozone was still solid, and “is projected to remain strong”.

“Healthy consumer spending and job creation” as well as a “support-ive monetary policy” are expected to provide strong demand across most of Europe, even if at a lower pace, the IMF said.

The growth projection for Brit-ain, which is not a member of the eurozone and will leave the Euro-pean Union on March 29, has re-mained unchanged since July.

The British economy expected to grow 1.4% this year and 1.5% in 2019, some distance behind much of Europe, save heavily-indebted Italy.

Britain has struggled to keep pace with the eurozone as the uncertain-ties of Brexit weigh on the economy and has seen jobs from its key fi nan-cial sector move to the EU.

The Italian economy will reach only middling growth in the coming years, with IMF slating an expansion of 1.2% in 2018 and just 1.0% in 2019. This is way off the forecast of 1.5% growth for 2019 by Rome’s populist government, a prediction that has drawn ridicule from Brussels.

The IMF said France’s “welcome strides” in pushing through eco-nomic reforms could help growth down the line.

However, despite the eff ort the IMF downgraded France’s growth projection to 1.6% this year and next.

The IMF said infl ation in the eu-rozone would pick up marginally in the next two years to 1.7%. This was lower than the target 2.0% of the European Central Bank, but still an improvement from the near defl a-tionary levels seen in recent years.

Google wins dismissal of privacy case filed by iPhone users

BloombergLondon

A UK lawsuit filed against Google

by millions of iPhone users over

data-collection claims was thrown

out by a London judge.

The group, known as Google You

Owe Us, were seeking as much as

£3.2bn ($4.2bn), according to docu-

ments filed with the court in May.

The organisation, which represents

more than 4mn people, said the

Alphabet Inc unit unlawfully

gathered personal information

by bypassing Apple Inc’s iPhone

default privacy settings.

Led by consumer advocate

Richard Lloyd, the group was

seeking permission to hear the

case as a “representative action”

that is akin to a US class action.

While Judge Mark Warby said

that Google’s actions were argu-

ably “wrongful, and a breach of

duty,” he ruled that the members

of the group do not have the

“same interest” when it comes to

proving harm.

Trump is still losing millions at his golf resorts in ScotlandBloombergLondon

After sinking more than £150mn

($196mn) into his Scottish golf

courses, President Donald

Trump is yet to make a profit.

His two resorts posted a com-

bined loss of £4.64mn in 2017,

according to the latest filings

in the UK. Of that, Trump’s flag-

ship Turnberry 800-acre resort

on Scotland’s west coast lost

£3.38mn, the fourth consecutive

annual deficit since he bought

the club in 2014.

The results, some of the few

that have been disclosed for

Trump’s businesses worldwide,

show he’s had to pump millions

into the resorts to cover short-

falls while trying to cap costs.

Eric Trump, who was upbeat

last year about the prospects

for Turnberry to make a profit,

this year called the Scottish

golf business “competitive and

challenging, factors that can be

heightened by adverse weather

conditions.”

It raises questions about

whether the backlash against his

divisive presidency has harmed

the business. Trump’s visit to his

Scottish resorts in July sparked

demonstrations in Glasgow and

Edinburgh.

BUSINESSWednesday, October 10, 2018

GULF TIMES

Global growth drivers are curtailed by headwindsBANKING ON KNOWLEDGE

By Dr R Seetharaman

The IMF and World Bank annual meeting

is happening this week at Bali Nusa Dua,

Indonesia. Some of my areas of interest

which are expected to be discussed at

this meeting include key developments

impacting global economy arising from

global trade issues, fiscal and monetary

policies, trends impacting financial serv-

ices, disruptions expected from technol-

ogy, sustainable development and youth

empowerment and people.

Global growth is projected at 3.7% for

2018 and 2019. Growth in advanced

economies will remain well above trend

at 2.4% in 2018, before softening to 2.1% in

2019. In the US, momentum is still strong

as fiscal stimulus continues to increase,

but the forecast for 2019 has been revised

down due to recently announced trade

measures, including the tariff s imposed

on $200bn of US imports from China.

In 2019, recent trade measures are

expected to weigh on economic activity,

especially in the US, where the 2019

growth forecast has been revised down

by 0.2 percentage point to 2.5%. Growth

projections have been marked down

for the euro area to 2% in 2018, follow-

ing surprises that suppressed activity in

early 2018. Japan growth was marginally

revised upwards in 2018 to 1.1% due to the

uptick in growth and domestic demand in

the April-June quarter.

Growth in the emerging market and de-

veloping economy group is set to remain

steady at 4.7% both in 2018 and 2019.

Among emerging market and developing

economies, the growth prospects of many

energy exporters have been lifted by

higher oil prices, but growth was revised

down for certain countries, reflecting

country-specific factors, tighter financial

conditions, geopolitical tensions, and

higher oil import bills.

The global growth drivers are curtailed by

headwinds. Key challenges to the global

economy include rising trade barriers and

a reversal of capital flows to emerging

market economies with weaker funda-

mentals and higher political risk.

While financial market conditions remain

accommodative in advanced econo-

mies, they could tighten rapidly, if trade

tensions and policy uncertainty were to

intensify. Monetary policy is also another

potential trigger. Tighter financial condi-

tions in advanced economies could cause

disruptive portfolio adjustments, sharp

exchange rate movements, and further

reductions in capital inflows to emerging

markets, particularly those with greater

vulnerabilities. Avoiding protectionist

reactions to structural change and finding

cooperative solutions that promote con-

tinued growth in goods and services trade

remain essential to preserve and extend

the global expansion.

With global debt levels well-above those

at the time of the last crash in 2008, the

risk remains that unregulated parts of the

financial system could trigger a global

panic.

Qatar is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2018

and 2.8% in 2019 respectively.

The topics of my interest in financial

services which are expected to be

discussed at the World Bank-IMF meeting

include, ‘The future of finance: Charting

new waters in the next decade’ and ‘The

Bali fintech agenda.’ Population ageing,

climate change, increasing credit interme-

diation through nonfinancial firms, and

changes in global economic integra-

tion will continue to shape the future

of finance. How can policymakers and

financial institutions best deal with these

changes and help improve economic

outcomes while adequately safeguard-

ing the stability of the financial system?

Fintech can support growth and poverty

reduction by strengthening financial de-

velopment, inclusion, and eff iciency, but

may also pose risks to financial stability

and integrity, as well as to consumer and

investor protection.

The topics of my interest in ‘technology’,

which are expected to be discussed at this

meeting include, ‘Disrupting develop-

ment: How digital platforms and innova-

tion are changing the future of developing

nations’ and ‘Harnessing technology for

inclusive growth.’

Key themes to be explored will include

the potential of disruptive technologies

to solve existing and emerging develop-

ment challenges, proven pathways and

strategies for countries to pursue, and

the implications for governance, human

capital, job creation, and social inclusion.

The topics of my interest in ‘sustainable

development’, which are expected to

be discussed at this meeting include,

‘Leveraging policies for sustainable devel-

opment goals’, ‘Investing in a climate-

adapted world’ and ‘Building resilience to

climate change and the role of regulators

and central banks in scaling up green

finance.’

Discussions are also going to be held on

‘Youth empowerment’ and people on ses-

sions such as Youth Dialogue 2018: ‘Youth

at work’, ‘Global financing facility: Invest-

ing in people and empowering women in

the workplace.’

The key dimensions of youth employ-

ment, including trends in labour markets,

gender roles and informality, as well as

their economic and social implications are

also expected to be discussed.

The author is Group CEO of Doha

Bank.

QFC is keen on attracting more investments from Asian businesses: Al-JaidaClose on the heels of Bank

of China joining the Qatar Financial Center

(QFC), Doha has said it is keen on attracting more investments from Asian businesses in view of the strengthening economic ties between the two countries.

“The Bank of China joining the QFC comes at a time where we are seeing more and more interest from Asian businesses,” QFC Authority chief executive Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida told professionals from Chinese cor-porations in Xiamen, Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin at its China roadshow.

The move by the fourth-larg-est bank in the world reaffi rms QFC’s position as the region’s fi nancial centre of choice for fi nancial services institutions looking to expand their business to Qatar and to the Middle East.

Following the QFC’s 2016 and 2017 Asian roadshows, the QFC has seen a sharp rise in interest from Chinese and Asian busi-

nesses looking to join its onshore platform. QFC hosts several Chinese entities including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Situated in the ‘One Belt, One Road’ region, Qatar and China continue to strengthen econom-ic and bilateral trade ties, with

a 45% year-on-year increase in Qatar-China trade volume in the fi rst quarter of 2018.

In addition, Qatar is the only country in the region to have a currency-swap agreement with the Chinese central bank and the fi rst to host a Renminbi clearing and settlement centre.

“China is a key region for Qatar and our bilateral rela-tions continue to strengthen. Our China roadshows come following the recent announce-ment that Qatar and China have signed an agreement to enhance co-operation within the private sector to attract more partner-ships between both the coun-tries,” al-Jaida said.

Abdulla al-Misnad, deputy chief executive, Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), who was also present at the meet-ing, said Qatar free Zones will provide China a central hub to extend its new investments tar-geted for the growing markets of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

“QFZA eyes prominent Chi-nese industries who can add val-ue to our national economy and can harness the latest disruptive technologies in logistics, phar-maceuticals, aviation and other international businesses, and set up in Qatar to build the next

generation business models,” he said.

As a growing market, Qatar’s fl ourishing opportunities of-fer the Bank of China the right environment for investment in Qatar and to help expand its presence to the wider region, according to Yao Liu, general manager and corporate fi nance director, Bank of China (QFC Branch).

“By operating from within the QFC, the Bank of China will benefit from its unparalleled business environment and platform and allow us to serve our Mena clients,” he said.

For anyone investing in Qa-tar, the QFC, with its business friendly laws, world class fa-cilities and access to top tier professional services, is an ex-cellent place to set up and reap the rewards of doing business in this prosperous and ambi-tious country, said Richard Bell, managing partner, Clyde & Co (Shanghai offi ce).

Al-Jaida addressing professionals from Chinese corporations.

PwC appoints Hajhamad senior partner in QatarGlobal consulting major PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has appointed Bassam Hajhamad as the new country senior partner in Qatar. He will be leading a large team of advisers, who are committed to delivering strategy-to-execution professional services to key clients in Qatar. He brings with him more than 20 years of experience in management consulting, digital and business transformation, and private equity, having served clients across the Middle East, North America and Africa.His areas of expertise include corporate strategy and strategy-based transformation, sector policy and development, digital innovation, and investment management. Bassam has worked closely with senior leaders in Middle East and

North African governments and large private businesses on solving complex strategic problems and leading large-scale transformations.Bassam is currently an active

member of the World’s Economic Forum’s Digital Policy and Governance Council. He holds a Master’s of Science from the University of Detroit and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Qatar banking sector not aff ected by blockade: UAB secretary-generalQNAAmman

Secretary-general of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), Wissam Fat-

touh, has said that the banking sector in Qatar is “solid and strong”, and enjoys high fl ex-ibility as a result of the prudent monetary policy, which made it on the top of the Arab bank-ing systems.

Fattouh said in a statement to the Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar did not aff ect its banking system, pointing out that Qatar National Bank ranks is the top ranking among large Arab banks.

He pointed out that the ef-fects of the blockade were limited as a result of its strat-egy of not relying completely on the basic segment of the economy, which is LNG. The official pointed out that the diversification of Qatar’s in-ternal and external invest-ments gave its economy greater flexibility, which ena-bled the sector to respond to economic crises.

He added that the Qatar Central Bank has a very high re-serve level of foreign currency, which is the main pillar of the Qatari riyal.

A study issued a week ago by the General Secretariat of the Union of Arab Banks, based in the Lebanese capital Bei-rut, concluded that the Qa-tari banking sector ranks third

among Arab banking sectors in terms of asset size, accounting for about 11% of the total assets of the Arab banking sector, and 10% of its deposits.

The study also stressed that the total assets of the Qatari banking sector stood at about $382.5bn at the end of the second quarter of 2018, rep-resenting a 2.1% growth over the end of 2017, and public infrastructure investments in preparation for the 2022 World Cup and the economic diversification programme have provided an environ-ment for sustained growth for the banking sector.

The study added that the banking sector’s assets-to-GDP ratio stood at 225% in 2017, compared to 186% in 2015, and this indicates that the banking sector has contrib-uted signifi cantly to the Qatari economy, while public and pri-vate sector deposits reached about $224.8bn, and the depos-its in Qatari banks are expected to grow further next year, sup-ported by higher oil and gas revenues.

These figures and good growth ratios indicate the ro-bustness and the flexibility of the Qatari banking sector de-spite the challenges and pres-sures surrounding it, reflect-ing confidence in the sector, as well as the actions of the monetary authorities to pro-vide foreign exchange to indi-viduals and companies and to protect the local currency, the study said.

Hajhamad: Vast experience.

Qatar Chamber chairman inaugurates Al Amodi CentrePrivate sector leader Qatar Chamber has remained a strong ally of local companies and Qatari businessmen, according to Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani.Sheikh Khalifa made the statement after inaugurating the Al Amodi Centre on Salwa Road. It specialises in building and decoration materials, gypsum products, accessories, sanitary wares, and tiles, among others.The Qatar Chamber off icial said the new centre, which is a subsidiary of Al Amondi Group, showcases a wide range of products “that are of crucial importance to the country’s construction market.”“It includes a distinguished selection of

products that are of high quality and scope amid the great development in the construction field and the mega projects implemented in the country,” Sheikh Khalifa said.Al Amodi Group managing director Khalid Abdulrahman al-Naemi said, “The group, which was established in 1957, is honoured by Sheikh Khalifa’s presence. It is also assuring that the Chamber continuously supports Qatari businessmen and companies to boost the national economy.”Al-Naemi said the group imported many of leading international brands to be used in the public and private sector projects being implemented in Qatar,

including the 2022 FIFA World Cup projects, Doha Metro, some projects for Lusail and Public Works Authority (Ashghal).He said the centre has two branches for sanitary products and another two for decorations. With an area of 1,683sq m, the centre off ers international brands like Villeroy & Boch, Graniti Fiandre, Grohe, Bobrick, Everest, Nahm, Franke, Kalekim, Panaria, Daejin, and Lincrusta, among others.The centre’s director, Ahmed al-Kabbash, thanked Sheikh Khalifa and said the group keeps pace with the construction boom and projects being implemented in the country.

He noted that the showroom includes sophisticated selections of decorations and building materials that are manufactured of high-level of elegance and technological development to meet all requirements.Al-Kabbash said the group participated in many of the important projects in the country such as Baladna Farm, Barwa Al Saad 5, Al Ghanim Building, Al Khaiji Tower, Arab Research Centre, Azdan Palace Hotel, Fox Hills Lusail, Doha Festival City, Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, Holiday Inn, Gull Mall, Health Care Centre, Lekhwiya, Khalifa and Rayyan Stadia, among other projects.

Sheikh Khalifa leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open Al Amodi Centre.