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SAFAR 24, 1439 AH MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 Max 28º 32 Pages 150 Fils Established 1961 Min 14º ISSUE NO: 17380 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Amir launches conference on Hariri says he’s free in Saudi Isolated Qatar campaigns Golden State hit stride; Wizards 3 Palestinian children’s plight 11 and will return home ‘soon’ 11 to protect 2022 World Cup 16 stop Hawks; Ball makes history People rush out on streets after tremor jolts Kuwait Strong earthquake hits Iraq-Iran border, several killed Omantel announces trust in Bader Al-Kharafi on top of Zain pyramid for years to come Strategic acquisition creates synergies between Zain and Omantel KUWAIT: Oman Telecommunications Prior to this transaction, Omantel was operat- (Omantel) will pay $1.35 billion to buy a ing in a single market, namely Oman, and Zain further 12.1 percent stake in Kuwaiti tele- Group operates in nine markets.” coms company Zain in a deal that will Omantel purchased the stake from invest- expand its reach to nine Middle Eastern ment vehicles linked to Kuwait’s Al-Kharafi and North African countries. Omantel CEO merchant family, following its acquisition of a KUWAIT: People stand in the street after a tremor hit Kuwait yesterday. Talal Al-Mamari announced Zain Vice 9.8 percent stake in Zain in August. The pur- Chairman and Group CEO Bader Al- chase is aimed at creating value for Omantel’s Kharafi will continue leading the Kuwait- shareholders, diversifying its revenue sources By Shakir Reshamwala and Agencies impacted by the earthquake. Iraqi health and based telecom, trusting his vision for the and raising its regional scale, Omantel said in local officials said at least one person was firm’s future expansion plans. the bourse statement. The company has no KUWAIT: People rushed out of their killed and 50 wounded in Darbandikhan, 75 “We trust Bader Al-Kharafi and we rely on immediate plans to raise its stake further and homes in panic yesterday night as a tremor km east of the major city of Sulaimaniyah in his leadership at Zain Group for several years its priority is to accelerate the leveraging of shook Kuwait, after an earthquake with a the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. to come, and we do not have plans to make the company’s debt, Mamari said. magnitude of 7.3 struck neighboring Iraq. An All across Kuwait, buildings were swiftly any changes in the executive administration,” Omantel financed the deal with a combi- Iraqi meteorology official said the earth- evacuated as people rushed out onto the Mamari told CNBC Arabia. Mamari was nation of long-term and bridge loan facilities, quake hit large parts of Iraq, including the streets, with images and videos of jittery speaking at the Kuwait Boursa after the auc- led by Citigroup and Credit Suisse, with capital Baghdad. The US Geological Survey residents immediately circulating on social placed its epicenter at around 32 km outside media. Unconfirmed reports warned after- tion of the Zain treasury shares, adding that Zain Vice Chairman and Group CEO HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank Muscat and the Iraqi city of Halabja along the Iraq-Iran shocks were expected, causing further anx- Omantel will have five seats on the board of Bader Al-Kharafi Arab Banking Corporation also participating. border, issuing an “orange” alert for “shak- iety. The Kuwait National Seismic Network directors. “We are keen on strengthening the The syndication for the bridge loan was ing-related fatalities and economic losses”. confirmed that a tremor with a magnitude group’s operations, as we expect the deal to expected to be completed by the end of the Iran’s state TV said at least six people between 4 and 5 degrees was felt in achieve integration opportunities of a value That will make it the second largest share- year, said Mamari. That will be followed by a were killed and many injured in the Western Kuwait. The fire department said in a state- of $400 million over the next five years,” holder after Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, roadshow early next quarter to convert Iranian town of Qasr-e Shirin. Eight villages ment the quake did not cause any harm, Mamari said. the Kuwait Investment Authority. “The multi- around $1.4 billion of the debt into a bond or were damaged, while electricity and water adding it received more than 40 calls from Omantel paid 0.781 Kuwaiti dinars ($2.58) ples paid by Omantel are equivalent or less sukuk, or a mix of both, with maturities of five was cut in some villages. Rescue teams have people saying they felt the tremor. Interior per share, around 74 percent above the cur- than those paid for a similar transaction in the and 10 years. The capital market instrument been dispatched to those areas, it added. ministry officials also assured residents that rent listed price, for the stake, which will take region,” Mamari was quoted by Reuters as should be completed by the end of the first The semi-official Iranian ILNA news agency the tremor did not cause any damage or its total shareholding in Zain to 21.9 percent. saying. “This transaction will bring in scale. quarter next year, he said. —Agencies reported that at least 14 provinces had been traffic incidents. power in the country and make proposals to resolve key Trump offers to Panel to resolve labor problems, especially visa trading and the recruit- ment of unskilled expatriate workers. The committee will also study issues notified by the mediate in South labor problems; minister. Board members of the committee will include the head of the manpower department, three of his assis- China Sea row work to begin on tants, representatives of the ministries of interior and commerce and the municipality, in addition to two mem- MANILA: US President Donald Trump offered yester- expat hospital bers each from the chamber of commerce and trade day to mediate in a territorial dispute over the resource- unions, and two experts in the field. Meanwhile, the new hospital for expatriates only will rich South China Sea, after years of Chinese island-build- By B Izzak ing in the contested waters. Trump’s surprise proposal to be constructed south of Sabahiya by the Health Assurance Hospitals Co (Daman), a public private part- insert himself into the decades-long row risked a back- KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind lash from China, which has repeatedly said the United nership (PPP) company. The company aims to privatize Al-Sabeeh yesterday formed a supreme consultative health services provided to expatriates through the pay- States has no role to play in what it insists is a series of committee to look into and resolve problems of man- bilateral issues. “If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please ment of health insurance. The first hospital is expected to power in the country, with the main aim of fighting visa become operational by 2020. let me know... I am a very good mediator,” Trump told trading. Health Minister Jamal Al-Harbi meanwhile will MANILA: US President Donald Trump shakes The company plans to build several other hospitals in Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi during an lay on Wednesday the foundation stone of the first hands with Philippines President Rodrigo other governorates with the ultimate objective of reliev- official state visit. hospital run by a private company to provide medical Duterte during a gala dinner marking ing public hospitals to provide medical care to citizens Hours later, the Communist leaders of China and care to expatriates. Vietnam said they had reached a “consensus” on handling ASEAN’s 50th anniversary yesterday. — AP only. The new medical system for expatriates was The supreme labor committee consists of representa- approved by the National Assembly amid increasing calls the disputed waters during a state visit by Chinese tives of the government and also employers and workers President Xi Jinping to Hanoi, according to the official two parties and countries, to appropriately manage mar- to allocate public hospitals for the treatment of Kuwaitis as well, in addition to manpower experts. The committee only. The new system requires expatriates to pay health Chinese news agency Xinhua. The countries “reached an itime issues, steadily advance all forms of maritime will be entrusted to study all problems relating to man- important consensus in accordance with leaders of the Continued on Page 11 premiums to benefit from the Daman hospitals. Dubai Air Show Qatar investigates opens with Emirates’ alleged currency $15.1bn Boeing buy manipulation plot DUBAI: Long-haul carrier Emirates But instead, Emirates CEO and Chairman purchased 40 American-made Boeing Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum DOHA: Qatar is investigating an alleged attempt to 787-10 Dreamliners yesterday at the explained how the airline considered the manipulate its currency during the early weeks of a start of the biennial Dubai Air Show, a Airbus A350 and decided to pick the Gulf political crisis, now in its sixth month, a gov- $15.1 billion deal certain to please US Boeing 787-10. ernment spokesman said yesterday. The director of President Donald Trump who has touted “We were comparing the two apples,” Qatar’s government communications office said an the plane’s sales as a job creator in he said, but found that the Boeing 787 is unnamed global financial institution - partly owned America. The deal appeared to surprise “the best option” for Emirates “given its by United Arab Emirates investors - had been Boeing’s archrival Airbus, whose staff maintenance and so on”. It’s the second instructed to stop trading Qatari riyals across had attended a long-delayed news con- time Airbus has lost out on selling the Europe and Asia.