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Tuesday, October 9, 2018 Moharram 29, 1440 AH

GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: Page 3 GULF TIMES QFC eyes ‘mutual recognition frameworks’ in Islamic fi nance BUSINESS with leading global bourses

Moody’s outlook upgrade reflects confidence in Qatar budget to see Qatar banking sector, says QNB chief executive

By Peter Alagos surplus on higher oil Business Reporter

Qatar’s banking sector, which was upgraded recently to “stable” from “negative” by global credit rating agency Moody’s, remains as “the best” prices: Al-Emadi performing in the region, QNB Group CEO Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari has said. By Santhosh V Perumal The latest outlook shows “confidence Business Reporter in the local system,” which had also witnessed a “12% year-on-year” growth, according to al-Kuwari, who was atar’s upcoming general budget is all slated to among the panellists in the discus- see surplus and the government will continue sion ‘Strategies and Initiatives towards Qwith capital spending, even as projects relat- National Vision 2030’ held yesterday at Al-Kuwari: Qatar’s banking sector ing to 2022 are nearing completion, according to HE the ‘International Products Exhibition profitability will remain “stable”. the Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi. and Conference’ (IPEC 2018) at the Doha PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil Addressing the International Products and Exhibi- Exhibition and Convention Centre. tion Conference (IPEC), he said the budget surplus “In terms of non-performing loans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, supporting expectations come amidst conservative assumed (NPLs), Qatar’s banking system is one of the resilience of the operating environ- price for oil. the best in the world…1.8% in aggregate. ment and the banking system. He said Qatar achieved a fi nancial surplus during the The capital adequacy of the local banks “So, we have an excellent banking fi rst nine months of this year for the fi rst time in two is north of 16.5%, which is higher than system, which is really supporting the years. The previous year’s general budget, which fol- the Basel III requirement of 12.5%, so this Qatar National Vision 2030, and our lows the January-December format, had set the price reflects how strong the banking system role is to support the private sector. We of oil at $45 a barrel; even as the prices now exceed $80. is in Qatar,” al-Kuwari said. have already seen excellent results: in “We are giving fi nal touches,” he said, adding the Earlier, Moody’s said the upgrade of Qa- terms of GDP contribution, the private continued focus of the budget on capital expenditure, tar’s banking sector outlook to “stable” sector has 68%, while the hydrocarbon especially in the health, education and infrastructure from “negative”, reflects the resilience sector only has 32%, so we are on the projects, will see an increase, and revenues will see of the country’s economy and banking right direction in achieving our goal,” also recovery in 2019. system to the ongoing economic and al-Kuwari stressed. Qatar’s external and fi scal balances are expected diplomatic blockade. Speaking on the blockade, al-Kuwari to show marked improvement this year despite the It also noted that Qatar’s banking sector said it had opened “many opportunities ongoing regional tension and growing emerging mar- profitability will remain “stable” with for the economy.” ket stress, the US-based economic think-tank Insti- HE al-Emadi: Government to continue with capital spending. capital buff ers remaining “strong.” “We had the chance to accelerate tute of International Finance (IIF) had recently said; Moody’s, which highlighted that the certain elements of Qatar National forecasting the surplus to be 3.5% of gross domestic output to 110mn tonnes per annum from the present development of legislation to stimulate investment, banks’ operating environment stand to Vision 2030 – the transport sector, food product (GDP) this year and 3.7% in 2019 compared 77mn tonnes. and has signed trade exchange agreements with more benefit from higher economic growth, security, and logistics. And we see now with fi scal defi cit of 2.7% in 2017. Qatar’s growth performance remains resilient and than 100 countries, and other agreements to prevent forecasts Qatar’s real gross domestic opportunities to position Qatar as a Growth in Qatar is largely driven by the private sec- the direct economic and fi nancial impact of the Gulf double taxation with more than 70 countries. product (GDP) to grow 2.7% in 2018 global trading hub…it is now an open tor, whose growth was more than 4%, exceeding the crisis has been “manageable”, the International Mon- Qatar recently allowed up to 100% foreign invest- (against 1.6% a year ago), supported by market and we are open to the world,” offi cial expectations, al-Emadi said, adding it is ex- etary Fund (IMF) had said in its recent Article IV con- ment in almost all the economic sectors, excepting high levels of public spending. al-Kuwari added. pected to continue. sultation with Qatar. banking and insurance, where Prime Minister’s ap- In a report, Moody’s said Qatar remains The IIF forecasts show that Qatar’s growth is likely The IMF directors had noted that strengthened proval are required. among the fastest growing economies to rise from 1.6% in 2017 to around 2.3% in 2018, pri- expenditure control, with emphasis on further pub- The minister highlighted that Doha occupies ad- in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), marily on the back of the non-hydrocarbon sector lic-service reform and accelerated reform of the pub- vanced positions in many international classifi ca- with momentum fuelled by govern- (driven by construction), but aided by stable hydro- lic utility companies, would help Qatar improve eco- tions that refl ect the advantages of the investment ment-financed infrastructure projects carbon production after several years of contraction. nomic effi ciency. climate in Qatar such as the competitiveness in- both as part of the country’s National Qatar Petroleum, the country’s hydrocarbon bell- Al-Emadi, the former chief executive of the coun- dex, freedom of business and ease of entry into the Development Strategy and preparations wether, recently announced the plan to increase LNG try’s largest lender QNB, said Qatar is working on the country. Pages 2, 3

Qatar-Turkey trade set to reach $2bn by end-2018 Qatar seeks to promote sustainable QNA Doha development, says Sheikh Ahmed Trade exchange between Ankara and Doha is expected to reach about $2bn by the end atar, an active partner in global The minister expressed hope in the de- of this year, up from around trade and a key regional and global velopment of bilateral trade agreements, $1.5bn in the first eight months Qeconomic player, is seeking to pro- considering that Qatar and participating of 2018, Turkish Deputy mote sustainable development, which will countries are bound by agreements con- Minister of Trade Gonca Yilmaz benefi t both Qatar and its partners on the cluded within the framework of the Gulf Batur (pictured) has said. economic level. Co-operation Council (GCC) and the Arab During the opening session This was announced by HE Minister of League, namely within the framework of of the International Products Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed the Greater Arab Free Trade Area. Exhibition and Conference (IPEC) in Doha yesterday, Batur called bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani at the Qatar could also capitalise on its agree- for deepening economic relations between Qatar and Turkey International Products and Exhibition ments on economic and trade co-oper- and promoting them towards having stronger and more resilient Conference (IPEC), which got underway ation and the promotion and protection prospects. in Doha yesterday. of mutual investments in addition to the She said this would positively aff ect the volume of trade He said participating countries, which Commercial Corridor Agreement between exchange between the two countries, which had “already grown represent a market of 400mn people with Qatar and Turkey through Iran, as well remarkably” and amounted to $1.3bn in 2017, driven by several signifi cant purchasing power, have traded as the Trade and Economic Partnership bilateral agreements and partnerships. She pointed to a new goods and services worth over $1tn with Agreement between Qatar and Turkey. agreement to be signed between Qatar and Turkey in December the rest of the world. “Qatar off ers promising investment in this regard. The IPEC 2018 kicked off with the opportunities to its trading partners after Batur praised the strategic ties between her country and Qatar participation of politicians, entrepre- modernising its legislative and legal struc- that have been developed into a fraternal relationship, praising in neurs, businessmen and government of- ture to welcome investors and provide fa- this regard the $15bn investment package announced by Qatar. fi cials from Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Mo- cilities and incentives to facilitate access She stressed that the two countries have developed a solid rocco, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, the Qatari market within the framework of ground for promoting these investments to contribute to Tajikistan, Jordan and Pakistan. a healthy, attractive and friendly invest- building a long-term economic relationship in various economic “The total trade volume between Qatar ment environment,” he said. fields. and participating countries is estimated at HE Sheikh Ahmed pitching for sustainable development that benefits both Qatar and its Sheikh Ahmed noted that the govern- Batur highlighted Turkey’s economic and investment advantages $5.5bn,” he said, hinting at the promising partners at the IPEC, which got underway in Doha yesterday. ment has also endeavoured to develop free and noted that it had witnessed significant growth over the past potentialities, especially in view of robust zones and modernise laws and regula- 15 years. She added that Turkey has achieved growth rates over growth trajectory of the country despite “Qatar’s economy has made signifi cant Qatar’s foreign trade has also shown tions, which led to Qatar’s ranking in the the past two years that are described as the biggest among an unjust economic blockade. Quoting the gains which demonstrate that the country remarkable growth, increasing by 16% in fi rst place in the Arab world on the 2018 the Group of 20 countries, following its launch of an economic latest report released by the World Bank, has not only weathered the blockade, but 2017, while total exports increased by 18%, Global Entrepreneurship Index, issued by programme based on stability, discipline and transformation. he said Qatar’s real gross domestic prod- was also able to turn a new page and open which resulted in a surplus of 49% in the the Global Entrepreneurship and Devel- uct is expected to grow 2.8% in 2018. up to new markets,” he said. trade balance. opment Institute 2018. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, October 9, 2018 BUSINESS

The exhibition on the sidelines of the International Products Exhibition and Conference (IPEC 2018), hosts a Qatari pavilion that brings together representatives of several ministries and government bodies as well as a number of local companies supervised by the Qatar Chamber and Qatar Development Bank. In total, the exhibition features more than 360 companies from Qatar as well as the participating countries. The exhibition, which is attended by several representatives from Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, presents a key opportunity to strengthen Qatar’s relations with its leading trade and business partners from around the world. Pictures by Jayan Orma and Noushad Thekkayil Gulf Times Tuesday, October 9, 2018 3 BUSINESS

Qatar forges stronger trade ties with other countries: Sheikh Khalifa

Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh in IPEC stood at QR20bn ($5.5bn), He underscored the key role played Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani has said the adding that the expo would be a good by the Qatari private sector during the inaugural edition of the ‘International opportunity to bring trade exchange to siege: “It managed to enhance trade Product Exhibition and Conference’ higher levels. relations with world countries and (IPEC 2018) represents an essential Sheikh Khalifa said the exhibition alternatives for Qatar’s imports and platform for developing Qatar’s represents an integrated platform exports on the heel of the siege.” economic and trade relations with that brings together local and foreign During the siege, Sheikh Khalifa participating countries. investors, businessmen, producers, and said Qatar Chamber signed 15 MoUs He said the conference would consumers under one umbrella. with its counterparts and hosted contribute to deepening co-operation “It provided a brilliant opportunity for many meetings with foreign trade ties between business sectors in Qatar Qatari businessmen to meet with a delegations. It also organised business and that these countries and would large number of global partners and visits to many of its friendly countries to lead to trade alliances and partnerships importers to increase their projects help Qatari companies find new import between Qatari companies and their and businesses for the benefit of Qatar and export destinations. counterparts. economy,” he said. Qatar Chamber visited Oman, Kuwait, “It would also help in establishing He also underscored the conference’s Turkey, Pakistan, and many other joint ventures that boost economic importance in providing a chance countries wherein Qatari businessmen development and trade co-operation,” for participants to discuss ways of concluded trade transactions and he noted. Sheikh Khalifa stressed the enhancing their economic and trade partnerships with their counterparts, chamber’s interest in strengthening ties and best practices and notions he said. its relations with world chambers, in global trade, signing MoUs and Qatar’s non-oil exports recorded a 34% especially with those that showed announcing future plans and projects. growth during the siege. In the first “support and openness” with the Qatari The Qatar Chamber off icial also half of 2018, non-oil exports stood at private sector during the siege, citing aff irmed that Qatar “is on the right QR11.5bn compared to QR8.6bn in 2017. countries like Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, track” in developing its relations with “The siege highlighted the real value of Turkey, and some Asian countries. “friendly and brotherly countries,” in the Public-Private Partnership, which He said the trade exchange between line with its economic strategies and played a key role during this period,” Sheikh Khalifa: A brilliant opportunity for Qatari businessmen. Qatar and the 11 countries participating the Qatar National Vision 2030. he noted.

QFC connects with QFC plans to build ‘mutual high-level business leaders and foreign recognition frameworks’ investors at IPEC The Qatar Financial Centre fostering an ecosystem that (QFC) has participated in fully-supports businesses in the ‘International Products realising their growth potential Exhibition & Conference’ (IPEC and contributing to the 2018), which is being held diversification of the economy, in Islamic fi nance with until October 10 at the Doha and thereby support Qatar Exhibition and Convention in its eff orts to achieving the Centre. objectives set out in the Qatar As part of the event, QFC took National Vision 2030.” part in the Qatar Pavilion, which The QFC is an onshore brought together key Qatari jurisdiction, allowing companies other bourses worldwide ministries and administrations to operate in and from Qatar that play a key role in Qatar’s within the QFC legal and By Peter Alagos economic growth and bilateral tax environment. The QFC Business Reporter and international trade endeavours to promote Qatar relations. as an attractive business In addition, IPEC 2018 hosted destination. nderscoring the signifi cant role a conference that explored Companies that wish to of government-to-government Qatar’s achievements, projects establish a business in the QFC U(G2G) relations, the Qatar Financial and plans towards realising are guided throughout by a Centre (QFC) plans to build ‘mutual rec- the Qatar National Vision dedicated QFC relationship ognition frameworks’ with other bourses 2030, and trade and economic manager who assists in the worldwide in the area of Islamic fi nance, development. process of obtaining a license QFC CEO Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida has QFC CEO Yousuf Mohamed and off ers support in matters said. Speaking yesterday at a panel dis- al-Jaida participated in a panel related to operating a business cussion at the International Products Ex- discussion titled ‘Strategies in Qatar. The QFC firms enjoy hibition & Conference (IPEC 2018) titled and Initiatives towards National competitive benefits, such ‘Strategies and Initiatives towards Nation- Vision 2030’, which focused as working within a legal al Vision 2030’, al-Jaida noted that Qatar on upcoming projects and environment based on English has forged “stronger” relationships with opportunities on the road common law, the right to many “friendly nations,” especially after to the FIFA World Cup 2022, trade in any currency, up to the 2017 economic blockade on Qatar. and strategies and initiatives 100% foreign ownership, 100% “Friendly nations have formed stronger towards the National Vision repatriation of profits, 10% relations with the state of Qatar…as a fi - 2030. Al-Jaida joined Qatar corporate tax on locally sourced nancial centre, we think there is an op- Airways chief executive Akbar profits, and an extensive double portunity on these G2G relations,” al-Jaida al-Baker, QNB Group CEO Ali tax treaty agreement network pointed out during the discussion. Ahmed al-Kuwari, and Qatar with more than 60 countries. “One area that we are currently looking Tourism Authority acting In addition, the independent at very closely is the fi nancial centres in chairman Hassan Abdulrahman Employment Standards Off ice friendly nations, and we’re trying to form al-Ibrahim. of the QFC embodies a unique mutual recognition frameworks in the Al-Jaida: ‘Stronger’ relationships with many ‘friendly nations’. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil The QFC chief said: “We are Administrative Employment area of Islamic fi nance, meaning if you’re honoured to take part in IPEC Dispute Resolution Centre a fi nancial institution…these nations can of Qatar’s sports sector, al-Jaida said the the sports industry,” al-Jaida stressed. that we’re open for that sector, and we’re 2018, a unique event that brings accredited by the International build similar legal frameworks and mutu- centre has identifi ed focus areas in this in- According to al-Jaida, the QFC has col- looking at the entire value chain and we’re together key local drivers of Labour Organisation (ILO), ally recognise each other, which means en- dustry. The QFC is also collaborating with laborated with the government and “allo- incentivising it. With an event as big as the Qatar’s economic development providing conciliation and try to those markets without any restric- various sports authorities in the country cated certain funds to incentivise this sec- 2022 FIFA World Cup, it becomes an easy, alongside our international adjudication services free tions,” he continued. for the creation of sports clusters, al-Jaida tor,” adding that there are currently two or focused, and quick win for the state of partners to discuss and explore of charge to help resolve Also, al-Jaida said the QFC had signed 21 also said. three sporting clusters that are being dis- Qatar.“I think with our environment, we future opportunities for workplace conflicts. memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with “But what QFC has done diff erently is cussed with the Supreme Committee for can defi nitely attract best-in-class sports investment and sustainable The ESO is fully-aligned with the several European countries in the area of that we’ve opened up to an industry that Delivery & Legacy (SC) and Aspire. companies from all over the world, wheth- growth across diff erent sectors Qatar National Vision 2030 and asset management. The MoUs, he noted, was not an area of focus in the past, and so “We’re working on to build these clus- er they are trainers, agents, event man- of the economy.” aspires to promote international would provide Qatar-based asset manag- we are looking at the entire value chain for ters around the stadiums; we’re looking agement, or sporting design companies. I Al-Jaida added: “At the QFC, best practices in the field of ers “easy access” to other markets in Eu- the sporting industry – trainers, agents, at building a sports city with one of our think this will be a much focused area for we remain committed to human capital. rope. On QFC’s contribution to the growth and event management companies within partners, as well. But the bottom line is the QFC for the next fi ve years.

Spain urges Qatar to play key role in Bedaya Centre announces participation of final push to Doha Round of WTO 21 entrepreneurial projects at ‘IPEC 2018’ By Santhosh V Perumal Business Reporter he Bedaya Centre for Entre- preneurship and Career De- Tvelopment (Bedaya Centre), a Spain has urged Qatar to shoulder more responsibility in bringing joint initiative by Qatar Development the global leaders to Doha to give a final push to Doha Round Bank and Silatech, has announced in the WTO (World Trade Organisation) as part of strategies to the participation of 21 entrepre- achieve meaningful and eff ective multilateralism. neurial projects at the ‘International “Qatar has a role to play, it has the responsibility and the friends Products Exhibition and Conference’ of Qatar have to support the country in achieving multilateralism,” (IPEC 2018) being held until October Spain’s former foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos yesterday 10 at the Doha Exhibition and Con- told the International Products and Exhibition Conference (IPEC), vention Centre. in the presence of Prime Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser The participating pioneering bin Khalifa al-Thani and Minister of Economy and Commerce HE projects under the Bedaya Centre Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani. umbrella work in different fields He said it is going to be 20 years in 2021 after the ministerial con- and have diverse ranging prod- ference of WTO launched the Doha Round, which aims to achieve Moratinos: Significant role for Qatar. ucts. They are Krzqtr, Reem Cover, major reform of the international trading system through the intro- Ronza for Perfumes and Incense, duction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules. The round goals links perfectly with the economic world. In 2016, WTO had Hand Magic, Ay Al Hajri, My Sug- was off icially launched at the WTO’s fourth Ministerial Conference asked Qatar to ratify trade facilitation agreement in order to reap ar, Nama Couture, Asawer Qatar, in Doha, in November 2001. The Doha Ministerial Declaration pro- the benefits of economic diversification and hoped that Doha Dar Oudi Qatar, Queue Hats, Atr Al vided the mandate for the negotiations, including on agriculture, would vociferously pitch for tackling the big, outstanding world Mulook, Zkhrfat, Opal Qatar, Ma- services and an intellectual property topic, which began earlier. trade issues. hara, Dee Truffles, Reem Al Gha- “In 2001, I was here during the launch of Doha Round in order During a meeting with WTO director general Roberto Azevêdo, laAbayat, Al Reem Dairy, Asawer to have a framework for multilateralism in the trade aff airs. and Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani had Qatar, Al Ghla Jewellery, Glitter very soon in 2021, we will be 20 years after Doha rounds, why said Qatar attaches great importance to international multilateral Café, Moon Collection and Mairu A view of the participating projects at ‘IPEC 2018’. Qatar is not taking this opportunity to call upon the organisers, trading systems and said “Doha Works Programme is one of our Collection. participants, to come back to Doha in 2021 to give a finally push to priorities as based on supporting development”. Bedaya Centre general manager exhibition as well as have the oppor- ity, not a virtual one which helps to have a fantastic multilateral system working for the benefit of the Qatar Chamber and International Chamber of Commerce had Reem al-Suwaidi: “The participa- tunity to have a real-life experience. increase the participants’ entrepre- human kind,” he said. helped broker a deal on trade at the 2013 Bali WTO ministerial tion of our entrepreneurial projects “Moreover, the expo provided a neurial experience and motivates He said Qatar’s National Vision 2030 and the United Nations’ conference, which is expected to generate $1tn trade and 21mn at ‘Ipec 2018’ is a great opportunity perfect platform for visitors to learn them to move forward in expanding 2015 Millennium Development Goals for sustainable development jobs as well drastically reduce cross-border transaction costs. to display their products and deal about the nature of these projects, their business base and upgrading directly with customers during the which has become a tangible real- their products.” Gulf Times 4 Tuesday, October 9, 2018 BUSINESS Worst week in two years has Shanghai leads Asia India investors taking cover markets’ sell-off Bloomberg when the index sank the most Mumbai in almost two years, jumped to AFP 3.25mn contracts, compared Hong Kong with an average 2.56mn in the The best-performing stock previous 20 days. market in Asia for much of this Even persistent buying by local sian markets fell yesterday, ex- year has lost that title in less equity mutual funds – which tending last week’s sell-off as than a month. has time and again provided a Aanother strong US jobs reading As the S&P BSE Sensex Index buff er against foreign outflows further fanned expectations the Fed- sank into a correction on Friday, – has slowed. “What may eral Reserve will hike interest rates at a posting its biggest weekly slow down are investments quicker pace. plunge in more than two years, from new investors that are Shanghai led the retreat as mainland investors began paying up to booking losses for the first investors returned from a week-long hedge against more declines. time,” said Chakri Lokapriya, break, during which time China was ac- The cost of bearish NSE Nifty managing director at TCG Asset cused of using microchips in computer 50 Index options jumped to its Management. equipment sold in the US as part of a highest level since August of Profits: For Sunil Sharma, chief drive to steal technology secrets. last year relative to the price of investment off icer of Sanctum The losses in China also came despite bullish contracts, data compiled Wealth Management, the a cut in the amount of cash the country’s by Bloomberg show. upcoming earnings season commercial banks must keep in reserve, The benchmark Sensex swung will be a good indicator of which its central bank says will pump between gains and losses where India’s stock market is more than $100bn into fi nancial markets. yesterday, ending the day up headed. “We will await company Dealers were given a negative lead from 0.3%. Volatility in Indian stocks, earnings and future guidance Wall Street, where all three main indexes which started spiking at the end from companies to better ended with sharp losses following news of August, hit its highest level assess the situation,” he said. that unemployment had hit a 49-year since February 2016 as traders In the last reporting season low and wages saw healthy gains. digested a long list of reasons that ended in the June The report, which followed a slew of to sell: quarter, about three-fourths strong indicators on the world’s top econ- Investors look at computer screens showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai. The Composite index closed „ The rupee is Asia’s worst of Nifty 50 members posted omy, saw yields on benchmark 10-year down 3.7% to 2,716.51 points yesterday. currency this year and slumped results that either beat or Treasuries rise for the third straight day, even further on Friday after met profit estimates, the hitting a fresh seven-year high with the will lift mortgage rates again as they track Kong and Taipei including Lenvo and access spare capacity to fi ll in for any the Reserve Bank of India highest proportion in at least Fed expected to stick to its rate hike drive. a likely Fed hike. The Hang Seng has lost Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shortages from Iran when US sanctions chose to keep its interest rates three quarters, according to Analysts said the sudden surge in in- more than 5% over the past fi ve trading also extended Friday’s sharp losses. are imposed on the country next month. unchanged and lowered its calculations by Bloomberg terest rates had deepened worries about days. Sydney retreated 1.4%, Singapore The selling trumped news that the Adding to the weakness were reports inflation forecast for the second Quint. Tata Consultancy higher infl ation and an uptick in costs for eased 0.5%, and Taipei and Seoul were People’s Bank of China had lowered the that Washington was holding discus- half of the year ending March Services kicks off the earnings loans and mortgages. each 0.6% lower. required reserve ratio (RRR) as it looks sions with countries that want to carry „ A steady climb in the price season this week. Richard Jerram, chief economist at Tokyo was closed for a public holiday. to shore up the economy after a series of on buying crude from Iran past the No- of oil – India’s biggest import – Others are cautiously buying Bank of Singapore, said while the Fed Chinese dealers were playing catch- weak data, while it also battles a long- vember 4 imposition of sanctions. and the government’s request quality stocks as valuations would not be panicked by the increase in up with sharp losses last week, when running trade row with the United States. “It’s still a wait-and-see as to how that state-run refiners absorb a have dropped. wages “evidence that tight capacity con- Bloomberg reported that Beijing inserted However, Stephen Innes, head of Asia- much production will be boosted, so in- portion of sweeping fuel price “We’re looking at this period ditions — such as a low unemployment microchips into equipment made in Chi- Pacifi c trading at OANDA, said: “It’s not vestors are likely to be cautious and trade cuts have raised speculation over the next six months as rate — are pushing prices higher will keep na for Amazon and Apple, and possibly too much of a stretch to assume markets in a narrow range until we get some more that price controls may be a good time to increase your them on the current tightening path. for other companies and government should expect more policy easing measures clarity next month,” Will Yun, a com- reintroduced position in India on weakness,” “Another rate hike in December seems agencies. and increased infrastructure spending. modities analyst at Hyundai Futures, told „ A recent default by a major said Tom Masi, a fund manager very likely, and we expect four more in It claimed a unit of the People’s Liber- The RRR cut will help but the China Bloomberg News. infrastructure financier for Trilogy Global Advisors, 2019.” The losses in New York seeped ation Army was involved in the operation economy will need more monetary policy In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed prompted the RBI to caution who added Indian stocks to into Asia, where Shanghai sank 3.7%, that looked to steal tech secrets. persuasion to snap its current funk.” down 1.4% to 26,202.57 points and non-bank lenders about relying his exposure last week while while Hong Kong lost 1.4% with property Mainland tech fi rms tumbled across Oil prices fell after the crown prince of Shanghai — Composite ended down too much on short-term steadily increasing his position fi rms hit by expectations the city’s banks the board, while companies in Hong major producer Saudi Arabia said it could 3.7% to 2,716.51 points yesterday. borrowings and warned to throughout the year. “You’re brace for tighter regulations going to be well rewarded „ That, and the central bank’s probably on a 12- to 24-month decision not to extend the time frame from getting tenure of the heads at Yes Bank positioned, but certainly on a and Axis Bank have pushed the three- to five-year perspective,” Sensex snaps losing streak; rupee weakens further S&P BSE Bankex Index down he added. 15% since an August peak The Sensex trades at 16.6 times Goldman Sachs Group Inc and profits estimated in the next Bloomberg, Reuters a technical indicator that some inves- Index climbed to its highest close since infl ation projections. The MPC lowered Bank of America Merrill Lynch year, the lowest since February Mumbai tors read as a sign that declines are over- February 2016. its infl ation projection to 3.9-4.5% from called time on the nation’s 2017. At its peak, its valuation done. Metal miner and producer Vedanta Meanwhile the rupee the rupee fell 4.8% for the second half of the current shares over the last couple of was the highest in at least a was the worst performer on the Sensex, against the US dollar for the fi fth con- fi nancial year. weeks decade. “We will advise clients ndian stocks advanced as some in- dropping as much as 15%, the most since secutive session after the Reserve Bank The 10-year gilt yield stood at 8.02% “The way things have panned to stick to quality names which vestors viewed the benchmark equity August 2015. of India on Friday kept interest rates from its previous close of 8.025%. Bond out on both domestic and global are available right now at a Iindex’s decline into correction as an “A confl uence of factors is weigh- unchanged, defying forecasts for an in- yields and prices move in opposite direc- front, we do not see any chance reasonable price,” said Naveen opportunity to buy. ing on the market,” said Viraj Mehta, a crease. tions. of overnight reversal,” said Jayant Kulkarni, head of research at The BSE Sensex closed up 97.39 points fund manager at Mumbai-based Equirus Traders remained disappointed after So far this year, the rupee has declined Manglik, president of Religare Reliance Securities. to 34,474.38, while the Nifty 50 settled Capital. “These have reduced the premi- RBI failed to provide concrete solutions 13.4%, while foreign investors have sold Broking. While the possibility Still, most are staying on the at 10,348.05 points, up 31.60 points or um over the long-term average at which to stop the depreciation of the currency $2.74bn and $7.33bn in the equity and of a technical bounce can’t be sidelines for now. “We’ve been 0.31% yesterday. However, the BSE Mid- companies were trading.” and resolve concerns over non-banking debt markets, respectively. ruled out, “sentiment is bearish underweight India all year, so Cap and SmallCap indices fell 1.99% and As equities fell on Friday, volatility fi nance companies last week. Asian currencies were trading lower. and traders should continue clearly that hurt us up until 2.01%, respectively. rose after the central bank chose to keep The home currency was trading at China renminbi was down 0.42%, Tai- with ‘sell on rise’ approach while recently,” said Rob Young, The gauge on Friday completed its its interest rates unchanged, triggering 73.88 a dollar, down 0.12% from its Fri- wan dollar 0.21%, Indonesian rupiah maintaining caution in stock a money manager at Icon biggest weekly plunge in more than two a weakening in the local currency, Asia’s day’s close of 73.77. The currency opened 0.19%, Japanese yen 0.13%, South Ko- selection,” he said. Advisers. “We need to see a years. Seven of 19 sector sub-indexes worst performer this year. at 73.96 against dollar and touched a low rean won 0.13%, Thai baht 0.12%, Ma- India’s stock market held the more positive earnings picture compiled by BSE advanced yesterday, led A climb in the price of oil – India’s of 73.97. laysian ringgit 0.06%. Asian crown up until August, or credit markets. We are by a gauge of energy companies. top import – has fuelled the rupee’s Bond yield opened below 8% after RBI The dollar index, which measures when the reasons listed above tactically managing cash in the Reliance Industries was the biggest depreciation and sparked concern eco- kept repo rate unchanged against expec- the US currency’s strength against ma- created the perfect storm. Nifty fund as we generally see EM at boost to the broader gauge, climbing as nomic and company earnings growth tation of rate hike citing a benign infl a- jor currencies, was trading at 95.701, up 50 options volume on Friday, fair value.” much as 6.5% after last week breaching may be hurt. The India NSE Volatility tion trajectory and downward revision to 0.08% from its previous close of 95.624.

Indonesia policymakers allay fears over rupiah’s slump China stocks cast gloom over EMs Reuters Nene had been under pressure Bloomberg slumping to 15,248 per dollar yesterday, the lowest London to resign after his testimony at a Jakarta since July 1998 when the economy was at the center corruption inquiry last week. of the Asian financial crisis. Yields on South African sov- Still, Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo is merging-market stocks ereign bonds between two and Indonesian policymakers wrestling with a weaker adamant that it’s not so much where you are, but hit 17-month lows yes- 10-year maturities rose, while an currency have a message for the market: welcome how you get there. Eterday as Shanghai’s main index of local blue-chip stocks to the new normal. Speaking to foreign media last week, Warjiyo index resumed trading after a fell to its lowest since early April. As the rupiah languishes near levels last seen in questioned whether it was fair to compare the long holiday and mainland blue Brazilian assets looked set for a 1998, Indonesian off icials are making it clear they rupiah’s current value to 1998, when the decline was chips sank 4.3% on concern over boost after far-right presidential see the situation as manageable. Rather than hit the much greater and the situation much more volatile. growth and an intensifying trade candidate Jair Bolsanaro made a panic button, both the central bank and government “Of course, our rupiah is under firing,” he said, add- row with the United States. stronger-than- expected show- maintain Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is on ing however, that it had depreciated less than cur- South African blue-chip ing in Sunday’s fi rst round of solid ground, and could even benefit from the rout. rencies in India, South Africa, Turkey and Argentina. stocks dropped to a six-month presidential elections. “In terms of stability, Bank Indonesia will certainly While the rupiah is this year’s worst-performing low on a report that Finance A Brazil-focused exchange- keep managing the exchange rate so that we will be currency in Asia after the Indian rupee, the Argentin- Minister Nhlanhla Nene had traded fund rose 6.2% to around able to guard the economy and adjust to a new equi- ian peso is down more than 50%. The rand has asked President Cyril Ramapho- four-and-a-half-month highs. librium level,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati weakened more than 16% while the lira has plunged sa to remove him. Privatisation-keen Bolsonaro, said last week. about 38% against the dollar. A meeting of US and Chinese who was stabbed at a rally last “We must cautiously monitor this level. But I also “Our depreciation is still manageable,” Warjiyo diplomats got off to a frosty start month, won nearly half the votes see that the adjustment in our economy to the nor- said. The rupiah swung wildly during the Asian crisis, with US Secretary of State Mike in the fi rst round, far ahead of malisation level of US monetary policy, which aff ects going from a regulated rate below 3,000 versus the Pompeo and Chinese Foreign the 29% his closest rival received the rupiah value, can go quite well.” dollar to almost 17,000 when a flexible exchange Minister and State Councillor but short of the outright ma- Indonesia’s economy has been one of those rate was implemented. Wang Yi taking each other to jority needed to avoid a second hardest hit by a stronger dollar and rising US interest The five rate hikes since May form part of a co- task amid worsening bilateral round. rates – its currency has slumped 11% against the ordinated response with the government, as well relations. Turkey’s lira weakened 0.9% greenback this year. Yet at the same time, there as an eff ort to lower the current-account deficit, ac- A move on the weekend to cut after the government eased its are signs of global investors coming back: funds cording to Warjiyo. The deficit, at about 3% of gross the level of cash Chinese banks ban on using foreign curren- have bought about $870mn of government bonds domestic product, has been cited as a key reason must hold as reserves, sending probably at this moment doing a plagued former leader Jacob cies in business deals, includ- this year as foreign ownership rebounds from last why Indonesia has been punished by the emerging- extra funds coursing through the bit of a catch up. Zuma.“Whether he’s replaced ing export-related contracts, month’s low. market selloff . economy, wasn’t enough to bol- Last week wasn’t a good week or he continues in office, Pres- capital market instruments and Indonesia’s central bank has mounted an aggres- The rupiah weakness, however, could ultimately ster sentiment. for EM as a whole.” ident Ramaphosa will make employment contracts involving sive response to the emerging-market rout, raising help turn around the current-account shortfall, The blue-chip CSI300 index South Africa’s rand weakened the decision based on what is foreigners. its key reference rate by 150 basis points since May. according to Suahasil Nazara, head of fiscal policy posted its biggest daily decline in as much as 1.4% after a report more convenient in terms of Economists and industry Bank Indonesia has also been intervening in the cur- off ice at the Finance Ministry. Exports would likely more than two and a half years. that Finance Minister Nhlanhla external image of the govern- participants doubted the move rency and bond markets to stabilise the rupiah, with become more competitive, but at the same time “I’m not sure what we’re see- Nene had asked President Cyril ment than the goals they are would have a permanent positive its stash of foreign reserves falling about 13% this imports will be more expensive, he said. ing now is the result of the moves Ramaphosa to sack him. trying to achieve...the prob- impact, saying it hampered pre- year from a record amount in January. “In terms of the budget, we are looking at the in China,” said Cristian Maggio, Nene had admitted to vis- lem is currently being over- dictability and was likely to bring The rupiah, meanwhile, has continued to weaken, impact,” he said. “But the impact is manageable.” head of emerging markets strat- iting the home of the Gupta stated by the market,” said TD additional burdens for fi rms egy at TD Securities. “China is brothers, friends of scandal- Securities’ Maggio. with foreign currency debt. Gulf Times Tuesday, October 9, 2018 5 BUSINESS

SAUDI ARABIA KUWAIT OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Solidarity Saudi Takaful Co 16.28 -0.97 121,678 Specialities Group Holding C 70.00 -2.78 150,100 Aloula Co 0.53 0.00 - Amana Cooperative Insurance 15.60 -0.38 141,361 Abyaar Real Eastate Developm 18.00 1.12 2,188,500 Al-Omaniya Financial Service 0.28 0.00 - Alabdullatif Industrial Inv 11.30 1.62 367,854 Kgl Logistics Company Kscc 43.90 -0.90 250,050 Al-Hassan Engineering Co 0.03 0.00 - Saudi Printing & Packaging C 16.70 -0.12 125,686 Combined Group Contracting 359.00 -0.55 300 Al-Fajar Al-Alamia Co 0.75 0.00 - Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co 11.90 -2.94 996,071 Jiyad Holding Co Ksc 80.60 2.03 650 Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co 0.09 0.00 78,500 Alinma Bank 21.52 0.37 18,585,600 Boubyan Intl Industries Hold 28.00 3.70 236,010 Al Suwadi Power 0.12 0.00 - Almarai Co 45.45 -2.88 743,874 Gulf Investment House Ksc 15.00 1.35 616,000 Al Sharqiya Invest Holding 0.10 0.00 - Falcom Saudi Equity Etf 31.10 -1.58 165,670 Boubyan Bank K.S.C 556.00 0.54 281,726 Al Maha Petroleum Products M 0.92 0.00 5,000 United International Transpo 26.00 0.78 293,173 Ahli United Bank B.S.C 208.00 0.00 1,141,350 Al Maha Ceramics Co Saoc 0.21 0.00 24,271 Hsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf 31.00 0.00 - Osos Holding Group Co 90.00 0.00 29,999 Al Madina Takaful Co Saoc 0.09 -1.06 245,000 QATAR Saudi International Petroche 21.28 -2.39 775,251 Al-Eid Food Ksc 60.00 0.00 3,000 Al Madina Investment Co 0.04 0.00 205,000 Falcom Petrochemical Etf 34.10 0.00 - Qurain Petrochemical Industr 369.00 2.22 1,050,244 Al Kamil Power Co 0.38 0.00 - Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Walaa Cooperative Insurance 21.68 -0.09 150,588 Ekttitab Holding Co Sak 23.30 -2.10 134,906 Al Jazerah Services -Pfd 0.55 0.00 - Bank Al-Jazira 14.40 0.98 2,248,131 Real Estate Trade Centers Co 24.80 5.53 200 Al Jazeera Steel Products Co 0.28 0.00 10,000 Zad Holding Co 104.00 -0.48 10 Al Rajhi Bank 88.80 1.60 3,114,906 Acico Industries Co Kscc 205.00 0.00 2,750 Al Jazeera Services 0.11 -0.91 103,500 Widam Food Co 73.51 0.01 3,164 Samba Financial Group 31.95 1.59 844,571 Kipco Asset Management Co 71.00 9.23 25,100 Al Izz Islamic Bank 0.09 0.00 486,980 Vodafone Qatar 8.69 0.23 383,471 United Electronics Co 56.80 1.97 450,427 National Petroleum Services 830.00 0.48 2,000 Al Buraimi Hotel 0.88 0.00 - United Development Co 13.98 0.50 161,365 Allied Cooperative Insurance 15.96 1.27 15,807 Alimtiaz Investment Group 131.00 0.00 443,341 Al Batinah Power 0.12 0.00 5,000 Salam International Investme 4.90 -1.61 13,509 Malath Insurance 11.38 -1.04 415,580 Ras Al Khaimah White Cement 75.00 0.00 9,285 Al Batinah Hotels 1.13 0.00 - Qatar & Oman Investment Co 5.93 0.17 630 Alinma Tokio Marine 18.48 0.65 103,245 Kuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc 0.00 0.00 - Al Batinah Dev & Inv 0.09 0.00 - Qatar Navigation 67.62 0.18 42,805 Arabian Shield Cooperative 18.52 -0.96 176,389 Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport 100.70 0.90 20,936 Al Anwar Holdings Saog 0.11 -1.74 168,369 Qatar National Cement Co 55.49 -0.45 8,630 Savola 28.85 0.00 709,929 Humansoft Holding Co Ksc 3,240.00 -1.76 74,198 Al Ahlia Insurance Co Saoc 0.35 0.00 - Qatar National Bank 177.00 -1.06 78,048 Wafrah For Industry And Deve 14.88 -0.67 106,328 Automated Systems Co Kscc 124.00 0.00 1 Ahli Bank 0.16 -0.63 2,000,000 Qatar Islamic Insurance 52.00 2.87 10,886 Fitaihi Holding Group 11.56 1.40 48,953 Metal & Recycling Co 68.00 0.00 37 Acwa Power Barka Saog 0.72 0.00 - Qatar Industrial Manufactur 42.10 0.00 - Tourism Enterprise Co/ Shams 31.45 0.00 44,244 Gulf Franchising Holding Co 90.00 0.00 1,771 Abrasives Manufacturing Co S 0.05 0.00 - Qatar International Islamic 57.63 -0.33 38,767 Sahara Petrochemical Co 17.50 -1.13 2,601,222 Al-Enma’a Real Estate Co 31.40 1.29 166,073 A’saff a Foods Saog 0.61 0.00 - Qatari Investors Group 29.83 -1.55 40,990 Herfy Food Services Co 41.80 -0.48 28,403 National Mobile Telecommuni 768.00 1.72 15,104 0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref 0.25 0.00 - Qatar Islamic Bank 138.71 -0.07 55,255 Saudi Ind Investment Group 25.50 0.00 1,368,901 Unicap Investment And Financ 60.50 0.00 170,000 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar Gas Transport(Nakilat) 17.86 -0.22 331,062 Salama Cooperative Insurance 15.98 -1.72 432,802 Al Salam Group Holding Co 32.70 1.55 367,100 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar General Insurance & Re 48.00 0.00 - Emaar Economic City 9.44 1.61 774,965 Al Aman Investment Company 48.50 0.00 84,000 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar German Co For Medical 4.93 1.23 7,416 Alahli Takaful Co 25.75 -0.19 81,106 Mashaer Holding Co Ksc 44.40 0.91 161,177 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar Fuel Qsc 167.03 1.24 98,456 Anaam International Holding 10.54 0.57 86,544 Manazel Holding 29.80 -2.30 195,000 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar First Bank 4.80 -0.41 561,967 Saudi Telecom Co 83.80 1.58 145,135 Tijara And Real Estate Inves 49.00 0.00 19,267 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar Electricity & Water Co 190.05 -0.50 20,804 Al Alamiya Cooperative Insur 37.00 0.00 64,003 Jazeera Airways Co Ksc 748.00 -0.13 15,499 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Qatar Exchange Index Etf 97.30 0.15 500 Saudi Industrial Services Co 12.92 0.62 46,396 Commercial Real Estate Co 79.90 2.44 4,364,690 Qatar Cinema & Film Distrib 15.03 0.00 - Al-Ahsa Development Co. 10.20 2.31 225,781 National International Co 67.00 -2.47 7,000 Al Rayan Qatar Etf 23.42 -0.09 548 National Co For Glass In/The 18.40 1.32 11,593 Taameer Real Estate Invest C 28.00 -2.78 107,600 Qatar Insurance Co 37.16 -0.91 39,642 Dur Hospitality Co 21.00 -1.78 138,313 Gulf Cement Co 77.50 -0.64 7,005 Ooredoo Qpsc 66.44 0.15 36,534 Tabuk Cement Co 12.16 -0.16 245,530 Heavy Engineering And Ship B 478.00 1.27 1,155,102 UAE National Leasing 8.77 -0.34 13,295 Sasco 15.42 0.13 55,092 National Real Estate Co 96.90 0.21 270,150 Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev 6.61 0.15 48,859 Saudi Cement 44.20 1.61 30,913 Al Safat Energy Holding Comp 27.80 -2.46 113,887 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Mesaieed Petrochemical Holdi 17.10 1.18 373,346 Aseer Trading Tourism & Manu 10.06 0.80 317,138 Kuwait National Cinema Co 999.00 0.00 906 Al Meera Consumer Goods Co 152.00 0.66 25,218 Nama Chemicals Co 28.95 3.39 823,404 Danah Alsafat Foodstuff Co 40.50 0.00 129,224 Waha Capital Pjsc 1.90 0.53 266,272 Medicare Group 64.88 -0.17 6,714 Saudi Arabian Mining Co 51.50 -0.39 352,500 Independent Petroleum Group 421.00 0.00 58,212 United Insurance Company 2.00 0.00 - Mannai Corporation Qsc 57.01 0.02 9,010 Yanbu Cement Co 22.16 1.65 138,399 Kuwait Real Estate Co Ksc 45.30 -0.66 1,997,160 United Arab Bank Pjsc 1.20 0.00 - Masraf Al Rayan 37.15 -0.72 145,159 Saudi Fisheries 17.20 0.23 401,337 Salhia Real Estate Co Ksc 328.00 0.00 100,000 Union National Bank/Abu Dhab 4.95 0.41 1,102,000 Al Khalij Commercial Bank 11.00 0.36 28,120 Ash-Sharqiyah Development Co 47.50 -0.31 36,406 Gulf Cable & Electrical Ind 385.00 -0.52 20,516 Union Insurance Co 1.33 0.00 - Industries Qatar 128.43 -0.33 120,472 Makkah Construction & Devepl 81.20 -0.73 33,898 Kuwait Finance House 0.00 0.00 - Union Cement Co 0.00 0.00 - Islamic Holding Group 25.50 0.67 7,860 Al Jouf Cement 8.53 0.00 219,773 Gulf North Africa Holding Co 48.90 0.00 150,000 Umm Al Qaiwain General Inves 1.00 0.00 - Investment Holding Group 5.33 0.19 76,705 Abdullah A.M. Al-Khodari Son 7.24 0.00 - Hilal Cement Co 0.00 0.00 - Sudan Telecommunications Gro 0.45 -5.05 546,672 Gulf Warehousing Company 40.20 -1.23 1,620 Knowledge Economic City 11.08 -0.89 359,808 Osoul Investment Kscc 53.30 0.00 10 Sharjah Islamic Bank 1.19 0.85 311,000 Gulf International Services 21.00 6.06 676,831 Al-Ahlia Cooperative Insuran 10.38 0.58 159,335 Gulf Insurance Group Ksc 630.00 -1.25 2,050 Sharjah Insurance Company 2.84 0.00 - Ezdan Holding Group 10.26 0.00 206,705 Al Rajhi Co For Co-Operative 55.70 -1.24 153,611 Umm Al Qaiwain General Inves 59.10 0.00 58,406 Sharjah Group 1.30 0.00 - Doha Insurance Co 12.81 0.00 3,117 Alkhodar Ab Equity 51.70 -2.08 200,927 Aayan Leasing & Investment 35.60 0.00 739,937 Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel 1.00 0.00 - Doha Bank Qpsc 21.55 -1.51 360,544 Kec Ab Equity 21.04 -0.94 104,122 Alrai Media Group Co Ksc 49.50 0.00 207,020 Ras Al-Khaimah National Insu 3.20 0.00 - Dlala Holding 11.25 -0.27 12,360 Alahlia Ab Equity 24.16 0.67 49,099 National Investments Co 80.00 -3.61 673,356 Ras Al Khaimah White Cement 0.88 0.00 - Commercial Bank Pqsc 39.00 -1.39 19,885 Arcci Ab Equity 7.95 0.25 389,074 Commercial Facilities Co 172.00 0.00 40,242 Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics 2.20 0.00 - Barwa Real Estate Co 35.45 0.08 148,557 Appc Ab Equity 22.56 0.36 600,222 Yiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C 130.00 0.00 21,188 Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co Psc 0.73 6.15 45,601 Al Khaleej Takaful Group 9.30 0.87 1,050 Albabtai Ab Equity 45.75 0.77 287,192 Munshaat Real Estate Project 110.00 0.00 300,800 Ras Al Khaima Poultry 1.89 0.00 - Aamal Co 9.61 -0.21 10,344 Noor Financial Investment Co 51.60 -1.71 25,100 Rak Properties 0.61 -1.13 1,476,337 Al Tamdeen Investment Co 280.00 0.00 11,500 Ooredoo Qpsc 65.65 0.00 - KUWAIT Credit Rating & Collection 21.30 9.79 10 Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50% 0.50 0.00 - Ifa Hotels & Resorts Co. K.S 96.90 0.00 7,761 National Takaful Company 0.53 0.00 - SAUDI ARABIA National Marine Dredging Co 2.85 0.00 - Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Sokouk Holding Co Sak 46.40 0.00 350,715 Warba Bank Kscp 232.00 0.00 194,171 National Investor Co/The 0.58 0.00 - Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Sultan Center Food Products 57.00 0.88 1,000 Viva Kuwait Telecom Co 719.00 -0.28 50,310 National Corp Tourism & Hote 1.98 0.00 - Kuwait Foundry Co Sak 188.00 -1.57 800 Mezzan Holding Co Kscc 661.00 0.15 520,627 National Bank Of Umm Al Qaiw 2.59 0.00 - United Wire Factories Compan 15.38 -0.52 18,597 Kuwait Financial Centre Sak 92.00 -1.08 1,135,050 National Bank Of Ras Al-Khai 4.05 -0.98 105,000 Etihad Etisalat Co 17.70 -2.32 2,092,019 Ajial Real Estate Entmt 148.00 0.00 94,052 National Bank Of Fujairah 3.40 0.00 - Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev 10.02 3.83 18,363,103 Kuwait Finance & Investment 48.00 0.84 39,168 Methaq Takaful Insurance 0.80 1.92 60,000 Alawwal Bank 14.64 1.95 398,643 National Industries Co Ksc 178.00 0.00 950 OMAN Manazel Real Estate Pjsc 0.43 1.18 1,843,576 Rabigh Refining And Petroche 24.20 0.58 626,524 Kuwait Real Estate Holding C 31.50 0.00 100 Invest Bank 2.50 0.00 - Banque Saudi Fransi 31.95 1.11 131,265 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Securities House/The 48.90 0.20 427 Intl Holdings Co Pjsc 1.20 0.00 - Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insu 19.20 -0.21 92,277 Voltamp Energy Saog 0.00 Boubyan Petrochemicals Co 1,020.00 -1.83 444,818 0.29 5,000 Insurance House 0.85 0.00 - Mediterranean & Gulf Insuran 14.30 -2.46 338,168 Vision Insurance Saoc 0.00 Al Ahli Bank Of Kuwait 291.00 0.00 264,060 0.14 - Gulf Pharmaceutical Ind Psc 2.00 0.00 - Saudi British Bank 31.95 1.75 331,898 United Power/Energy Co- Pref 0.00 Ahli United Bank (Almutahed) 288.00 0.00 43,913 1.00 - Gulf Medical Projects 1.98 0.00 - Red Sea International Co 15.26 0.79 28,215 United Power Co Saog 0.00 National Bank Of Kuwait 829.00 0.36 1,704,517 3.44 - Gulf Cement Co 0.90 -3.95 584 Takween Advanced Industries 10.34 0.98 238,375 United Finance Co -1.09 Commercial Bank Of Kuwait 510.00 -0.97 15,405 0.09 29,049 Fujairah Cement Industries 1.20 0.00 - Sabb Takaful 18.64 -0.53 125,265 Ubar Hotels & Resorts 0.00 Kuwait International Bank 234.00 0.86 1,028,179 0.13 - Fujairah Building Industries 1.56 0.00 - Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co 78.00 -1.27 470,203 Takaful Oman 0.00 Gulf Bank 253.00 0.40 622,035 0.13 - Foodco Holding Pjsc 3.35 0.00 - National Gypsum 12.62 2.27 142,548 Taageer Finance 0.00 Al-Massaleh Real Estate Co 42.00 -6.67 5,000 0.10 - First Abu Dhabi Bank Pjsc 14.78 1.09 2,011,479 Saudi Ceramic Co 17.50 1.98 50,566 Sweets Of Oman 0.00 Al Arabiya Real Estate Co 29.00 -2.36 45,101 0.55 - Finance House 1.68 0.00 - National Gas & Industrializa 27.45 0.92 32,339 Sohar Power Co 0.00 Kuwait Remal Real Estate Co 32.00 0.00 122,401 0.11 - Eshraq Properties Co Pjsc 0.58 1.94 3,693,728 Saudi Pharmaceutical Industr 31.15 0.48 17,602 Sohar Poultry 0.00 A’ayan Real Estate Co Sak 60.00 0.67 215,000 0.21 - Emirates Telecom Group Co 16.60 -0.48 1,162,366 Thimar 26.40 0.19 93,665 Smn Power Holding Saog 0.00 Investors Holding Group Co.K 13.20 0.76 1,680,900 0.54 - Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc) 6.50 0.00 - National Industrialization C 19.40 -0.82 1,563,349 Shell Oman Marketing - Pref 0.00 Al-Mazaya Holding Co 75.00 -0.13 36,491 1.05 - Emirates Driving Company 6.57 0.00 - Batic Investments And Logist 37.00 -1.46 88,743 Shell Oman Marketing 0.00 Al-Madar Finance & Invt Co 148.00 0.68 865,429 1.49 1,780 Dana Gas 1.15 0.00 12,998,900 Saudi Electricity Co 16.16 0.37 979,551 Sharqiyah Desalination Co Sa 0.00 Gulf Petroleum Investment 25.40 0.40 456,430 3.02 - Commercial Bank Internationa 0.57 -9.52 500 Saudi Arabia Refineries Co 40.00 -0.25 96,300 Sembcorp Salalah Power & Wat 0.00 Mabanee Co Sakc 628.00 -0.32 67,000 0.21 - Bank Of Sharjah 1.09 0.00 360,000 Arriyadh Development Company 15.86 -0.63 749,882 Salalah Port Services 0.00 Inovest Co Bsc 84.90 0.00 20,010 0.60 - Axa Green Crescent Insurance 0.50 0.00 - Al-Baha Development & Invest 15.42 0.65 155,740 Salalah Mills Co -0.52 Al-Deera Holding Co 16.40 1.86 31,620 0.77 6,000 Arkan Building Materials Co 0.52 -1.33 73,500 Saudi Research And Marketing 100.80 0.90 77,996 Salalah Beach Resort Saog 0.00 Mena Real Estate Co 26.00 0.39 100 1.38 - Alkhaleej Investment 2.10 0.00 - Aldrees Petroleum And Transp 28.70 -0.69 176,506 Sahara Hospitality 0.00 Amar Finance & Leasing Co 35.10 0.00 2,000 2.38 - Aldar Properties Pjsc 1.71 -0.58 5,721,826 Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe Co 46.50 -1.06 2,655 Renaissance Services Saog -0.99 United Projects For Aviation 630.00 -1.56 11,500 0.40 55,201 Al Wathba National Insurance 12.76 0.00 - Jarir Marketing Co 188.00 2.17 160,156 Raysut Cement Co 0.00 National Consumer Holding Co 0.00 0.00 - 0.39 138,923 Al Qudra Holding Pjsc 0.90 0.00 - Arab National Bank 32.40 0.31 51,365 Phoenix Power Co Saoc -0.88 Amwal International Investme 64.30 0.00 338,526 0.11 64,320 Al Khazna Insurance Co 0.25 0.00 - Yanbu National Petrochemical 68.60 0.59 434,619 Packaging Co Ltd 0.00 Equipment Holding Co K.S.C.C 28.30 1.43 3 2.21 - Al Fujairah National Insuran 300.00 0.00 - Arabian Cement 19.48 0.00 64,721 Ooredoo 0.00 Arkan Al Kuwait Real Estate 77.00 0.00 10,000 0.53 - Al Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S. 3.85 0.00 - Middle East Specialized Cabl 6.95 0.14 201,116 Ominvest -3.19 Gfh Financial Group Bsc 100.00 0.40 1,160,505 0.36 561,270 Al Buhaira National Insuranc 2.21 0.00 - Al Khaleej Training And Educ 11.86 1.19 292,798 Oman United Insurance Co 0.00 Energy House Holding Co Kscp 37.90 -1.30 179,008 0.31 - Al Ain Ahlia Ins. Co. 38.00 0.00 - Al Sagr Co-Operative Insuran 12.14 -0.98 219,520 Oman Telecommunications Co 0.48 Kuwait Co For Process Plant 238.00 2.15 65,486 0.84 16,467 Agthia Group Pjsc 4.07 11.51 88,051 Trade Union Cooperative Insu 22.70 1.34 98,644 Oman Refreshment Co 0.00 Al Maidan Dental Clinic Co K 1,220.00 0.00 500 1.75 - Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co 1.02 0.00 - Arabia Insurance Cooperative 19.98 -0.20 29,516 Oman Qatar Insurance Co 0.00 National Shooting Company 16.40 0.00 49,999 0.12 - Abu Dhabi Natl Co For Buildi 0.47 0.00 - Saudi Chemical Company 33.00 0.30 24,261 Oman Packaging 0.00 Al-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp 416.00 0.00 1,502 0.28 - Abu Dhabi National Takaful C 4.40 0.00 - Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C 22.14 0.18 262,464 Oman Oil Marketing Company 0.00 Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co 27.00 -10.00 91,100 1.13 - Abu Dhabi National Oil Co Fo 2.34 0.00 574,525 Bupa Arabia For Cooperative 103.40 0.19 75,891 Oman National Engineering An 0.00 Salbookh Trading Co Kscp 44.00 0.00 500 0.18 - Abu Dhabi National Insurance 3.75 0.00 - Wafa Insurance 11.08 -0.18 248,764 Oman Investment & Finance 0.00 Aqar Real Estate Investments 61.70 0.00 36,000 0.10 57,004 Abu Dhabi National Hotels 3.19 0.00 - Jabal Omar Development Co 38.95 -0.13 365,318 Oman Intl Marketing 0.00 Hayat Communications 77.00 0.00 150 0.52 - Abu Dhabi National Energy Co 1.14 0.88 75,000 Saudi Basic Industries Corp 124.00 0.16 3,253,050 Oman Flour Mills 0.00 Soor Fuel Marketing Co Ksc 118.00 -0.84 9,835 0.72 - Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co 16.92 1.68 15,577,033 Oman Fisheries Co -2.30 Tamkeen Holding Co 10.70 -4.46 10,000 0.09 840,691 Etihad Atheeb Telecommunicat 5.35 0.00 - Oman Europe Foods Industries 0.00 Burgan Co For Well Drilling 112.00 0.00 32,200 1.00 - Co For Cooperative Insurance 55.20 -0.54 62,856 Oman Education & Training In 0.00 BAHRAIN Kuwait Resorts Co Kscc 56.30 -0.71 903,611 0.22 - National Petrochemical Co 25.40 -1.36 336,539 Oman Chromite 0.00 Oula Fuel Marketing Co 115.00 0.00 6,179 3.64 - Gulf Union Cooperative Insur 12.80 0.79 49,039 Oman Chlorine 0.00 Palms Agro Production Co 80.00 0.00 10,380 0.30 5,352 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Gulf General Cooperative Ins 13.40 -2.76 77,585 Oman Ceramic Company 0.00 Mubarrad Holding Co Ksc 57.60 -0.86 5,000 0.42 - Basic Chemical Industries 22.68 2.62 61,527 Oman Cement Co 0.00 Zain Bahrain Bscc 0.09 0.00 80,000 Shuaiba Industrial Co 198.00 0.00 2,663 0.34 - Saudi Steel Pipe Co 20.80 -1.05 134,064 Oman Cables Industry 0.00 United Paper Industries Bsc 0.00 0.00 - Aan Digital Services Co 19.00 3.83 4,664,208 1.03 - Buruj Cooperative Insurance 23.48 0.00 41,503 Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50% 0.00 United Gulf Holding Bsc 1.02 0.00 1,500 First Takaful Insurance Co 44.50 0.00 8,000 0.13 133,863 Mouwasat Medical Services Co 78.80 -1.38 31,356 Natl Aluminium Products 0.00 Trafco Group Bsc 0.32 0.00 100,250 Kuwaiti Syrian Holding Co 33.70 0.00 323,900 0.38 - Southern Province Cement Co 34.05 0.15 62,999 National Securities 0.00 Takaful International Co 0.09 0.00 166,491 National Cleaning Company 59.30 0.00 13,724 0.04 - Maadaniyah 18.16 0.33 38,915 National Real Estate Develop 0.00 Seef Properties 0.22 0.00 65,000 United Real Estate Company 60.10 -4.45 5,000 5.00 - Yamama Cement Co 13.48 0.15 79,883 National Pharmaceutical 0.00 National Bank Of Bahrain Bsc 0.60 0.00 200,000 Agility 836.00 -0.24 757,282 0.12 - Jazan Energy And Development 15.32 0.92 46,466 National Mineral Water 0.00 Nass Corp Bsc 0.10 0.00 26,236 Kuwait & Middle East Fin Inv 29.40 -1.01 11 0.10 - Zamil Industrial Investment 18.80 0.00 47,372 National Life & General Insu 0.00 Khaleeji Commercial Bank 0.09 0.00 56,503 Fujairah Cement Industries 61.00 -6.73 6,529 0.34 - Alujain Corporation (Alco) 24.92 -6.49 7,358,146 National Gas Co 0.00 Ithmaar Holding Bsc 0.10 0.00 620,000 Livestock Transport & Tradng 201.00 0.00 64,161 0.33 - Tabuk Agricultural Developme 10.06 1.11 54,145 National Finance Co 0.00 Investcorp Bank -$Us 0.00 0.00 - International Resorts Co 20.40 0.00 8,800 0.13 - United Co-Operative Assuranc 12.52 -0.16 465,216 National Detergent Co Saog 0.00 Inovest Co Bsc 0.00 0.00 - National Industries Grp Hold 159.00 0.00 998,201 0.70 30,000 Qassim Cement/The 32.90 0.61 15,867 National Biscuit Industries 0.00 Gulf Hotel Group B.S.C 0.00 0.00 - Warba Insurance Co 77.50 -8.50 1,247 3.75 - Saudi Advanced Industries 12.34 0.49 50,556 National Bank Of Oman Saog 0.00 Gfh Financial Group Bsc 0.37 -1.35 4,562,000 First Dubai Real Estate Deve 39.70 -0.25 106,000 0.18 - Kingdom Holding Co 8.33 -0.83 41,673 Muscat Thread Mills Co 0.00 Esterad Investment Co B.S.C. 0.11 0.00 3,135,838 Al Arabi Group Holding Co 65.50 0.00 1,400 0.08 - Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co 5.69 -0.35 365,578 Muscat Insurance Co Saog 0.00 Eskan Bank Realty Income Tr 0.10 -1.04 50,000 Mobile Telecommunications Co 469.00 -0.42 1,921,859 0.80 - Al Jouf Agriculture Developm 22.40 -0.80 15,661 Muscat Gases Company Saog 0.00 Delmon Poultry Co 0.00 0.00 - Eff ect Real Estate Co 14.30 0.00 71,853 0.28 - Saudi Industrial Development 8.50 0.71 129,325 Muscat Finance -1.12 Bmmi Bsc 0.72 0.00 5,000 Tamdeen Real Estate Co Ksc 0.00 0.00 - 0.09 20,000 Riyad Bank 16.96 2.42 1,440,013 Muscat City Desalination Co 0.76 Bbk Bsc 0.44 0.00 20,000 Al Mudon Intl Real Estate Co 28.50 0.00 50,010 0.13 50,264 The National Agriculture Dev 30.70 -1.60 27,344 Majan Glass Company 0.00 Bahrain Telecom Co 0.24 0.00 52,000 Kuwait Cement Co Ksc 370.00 -2.63 3,846 0.18 - Halwani Bros Co 45.25 -0.98 3,562 Majan College 0.00 Bahrain National Holding 0.00 0.00 - Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel 72.10 0.00 54,856 0.45 - Arabian Pipes Co 10.06 -0.79 576,295 Hsbc Bank Oman 0.00 Bahrain Kuwait Insurance 0.00 0.00 - Kuwait Portland Cement Co 1,041.00 0.00 19,585 0.12 260,000 Eastern Province Cement Co 20.06 -0.99 22,692 Hotels Management Co Interna 0.00 Bahrain Islamic Bank 0.13 0.00 50,348 Educational Holding Group 312.00 0.65 2,000 1.25 - Al Gassim Investment Holding 10.38 -0.38 37,569 Gulf Stone 0.00 Bahrain Flour Mills Co 0.00 0.00 - Asiya Capital Investments Co 34.20 0.29 2,829 0.12 - Filing & Packing Materials M 36.20 0.56 49,613 Gulf Mushroom Company 0.00 Bahrain Duty Free Complex 0.71 0.00 38,500 Kuwait Investment Co 120.00 0.00 226,709 0.31 - Saudi Cable Co 26.50 -3.99 379,565 Gulf Investments Services 0.00 Bahrain Commercial Facilitie 0.76 0.00 2,850 Burgan Bank 268.00 0.37 3,977,656 0.09 177,350 Tihama Advertising & Public 40.25 1.26 394,731 Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-Shar 0.00 Bahrain Cinema Co ` 0.00 1,700 Kuwait Projects Co Holdings 211.00 0.96 514,185 0.11 - Saudi Investment Bank/The 17.96 -0.11 21,560 Gulf International Chemicals 0.00 Arab Banking Corp Bsc-$Us 0.40 0.00 82,051 Al Madina For Finance And In 25.60 -1.54 6,210,100 0.20 - Astra Industrial Group 17.64 -1.12 75,035 Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co Ltd 0.00 Aluminium Bahrain Bsc 0.60 0.00 261,000 Kuwait Insurance Co 308.00 0.33 140,560 9.50 - Saudi Public Transport Co 14.06 0.14 334,473 Global Fin Investment 0.00 Albaraka Banking Group 0.28 0.00 182,498 Al Masaken Intl Real Estate 41.80 10.00 2,055 0.09 - Taiba Holding Co 29.00 0.35 15,699 Galfar Engineering&Contract -0.95 Al-Salam Bank 0.10 0.00 100,000 Intl Financial Advisors 23.30 3.10 221,032 0.10 748,164 Saudi Industrial Export Co 237.80 -1.00 77,151 Galfar Engineering -Prefer 0.00 Ahli United Bank B.S.C 0.68 0.75 100,000 First Investment Co Kscc 39.90 -0.25 100,000 0.39 - Saudi Real Estate Co 14.18 0.14 213,736 Financial Services Co. 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Al Mal Investment Company 19.30 2.66 2,454,709 0.18 - Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Co 88.00 -0.23 7,541 Financial Corp/The 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Bayan Investment Co Kscc 49.00 0.00 161,127 0.10 - National Shipping Co Of/The 34.90 0.72 1,489,683 Dhofar Tourism 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Egypt Kuwait Holding Co Sae 341.00 0.00 13,952 0.49 - Methanol Chemicals Co 12.30 -0.65 4,665,469 Dhofar Poultry 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Coast Investment Development 31.00 -0.64 202,200 0.18 - Chubb Arabia Cooperative Ins 18.50 0.00 36,203 Dhofar Intl Development 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Privatization Holding Compan 52.00 -5.45 100,000 0.28 - Mobile Telecommunications Co 6.41 -0.31 2,396,020 Dhofar Insurance 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Injazzat Real State Company 83.00 0.00 23,035 0.14 - Saudi Arabian Coop Ins Co 12.10 0.83 60,633 Dhofar Fisheries & Food Indu 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Kuwait Cable Vision Sak 11.00 0.00 13 1.28 - Axa Cooperative Insurance 20.68 -0.10 47,232 Dhofar Cattlefeed 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Sanam Real Estate Co Kscc 48.00 0.00 1 0.17 - Alsorayai Group 12.08 0.33 240,536 Dhofar Beverages Co 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Ithmaar Holding Bsc 30.10 -0.33 1,096,590 0.26 - Bank Albilad 25.40 1.20 355,790 Construction Materials Ind 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Aviation Lease And Finance C 325.00 -0.61 94,018 0.03 - Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker Co 8.30 -0.72 305,341 Computer Stationery Inds 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Arzan Financial Group For Fi 26.90 1.51 315,200 0.26 - Wataniya Insurance Co 24.88 -0.08 9,619 Bankmuscat Saog 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co 22.00 -0.45 130,962 0.42 423,794 Abdullah Al Othaim Markets 69.10 -0.58 21,454 Bank Sohar 0.00 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Kuwait Business Town Real Es 48.00 0.00 31,253 0.13 1,131,000 Hail Cement 7.92 -0.13 39,469 Bank Nizwa -1.15 Future Kid Entertainment And 88.00 0.00 12,187 0.09 204,680 Saudi Re For Cooperative Rei 7.11 -0.56 192,603 Bank Dhofar Saog 0.16 1.89 51,342 LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES Gulf Times 6 Tuesday, October 9, 2018 BUSINESS

DJIA WORLD INDICES Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Indices Lt Price Change Dow Jones Indus. Avg 26,288.56 -158.49 Apple Inc 221.34 -1.32 12,823,321 S&P 500 Index 2,885.57 -18.35 Microsoft Corp 110.28 -1.65 11,546,717 Nasdaq Composite Index 7,684.97 -103.47 Exxon Mobil Corp 85.38 0.05 3,516,983 S&P/Tsx Composite Index 15,946.17 -60.50 Johnson & Johnson 138.94 -0.12 1,107,172 Mexico Bolsa Index 48,082.89 +30.04 General Electric Co 13.48 2.28 89,181,146 Brazil Bovespa Stock Idx 85,352.21 +3,030.69 Jpmorgan Chase & Co 113.63 -0.86 4,876,742 Ftse 100 Index 7,233.33 -85.21 Procter & Gamble Co/The 82.47 0.39 2,311,066 Cac 40 Index 5,300.25 -59.11 Walmart Inc 94.30 1.06 2,168,128 Dax Index 11,947.16 -164.74 Verizon Communications Inc 55.07 0.23 7,574,782 Ibex 35 Tr 9,199.20 -54.70 Pfizer Inc 45.05 0.30 9,115,342 Nikkei 225 23,783.72 -191.90 Visa Inc-Class A Shares 141.45 -2.69 4,640,595 Japan Topix 1,792.65 -8.54 Chevron Corp 124.62 -0.57 1,355,337 Hang Seng Index 26,202.57 -370.00 Coca-Cola Co/The 46.41 1.16 3,218,324 All Ordinaries Indx 6,218.63 -82.49 Intel Corp 46.67 -0.77 6,850,064 Nzx All Index 1,600.72 -11.19 Merck & Co. Inc. 71.33 0.42 2,405,058 Bse Sensex 30 Index 34,474.38 +97.39 Cisco Systems Inc 47.33 -1.67 7,403,821 Nse S&P Cnx Nifty Index 10,348.05 +31.60 Home Depot Inc 196.28 -0.05 1,203,929 Straits Times Index 3,181.45 -28.34 Intl Business Machines Corp 147.62 -0.95 1,200,397 Karachi All Share Index 27,943.10 -852.89 Walt Disney Co/The 114.90 0.10 1,807,452 Jakarta Composite Index 5,761.07 +29.14 Unitedhealth Group Inc 266.39 -1.04 457,547 3M Co 212.38 -0.38 534,481 Mcdonald’s Corp 166.96 0.23 947,350 Nike Inc -Cl B 79.48 -0.80 2,513,936 TOKYO United Technologies Corp 138.17 -0.64 1,260,551 Boeing Co/The 381.09 -1.39 1,439,801 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Goldman Sachs Group Inc 224.24 -0.65 733,681 Sumitomo Realty & Developmen 3,935.00 -0.35 1,775,200 American Express Co 105.92 -1.23 887,709 Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd 3,923.00 -2.78 2,010,600 0.00 0.00 - Orix Corp 1,836.50 1.16 5,069,200 Caterpillar Inc 151.90 -0.92 1,156,303 Daiwa Securities Group Inc 693.30 1.01 7,873,300 Travelers Cos Inc/The 131.09 0.74 267,918 Softbank Group Corp 11,075.00 -1.12 5,827,800 Visitors exit the Borsa Italiana in Milan (file). The FTSE MIB closed down 2.4% to 19,851.0 points yesterday. Mizuho Financial Group Inc 199.80 0.50 147,848,800 Central Japan Railway Co 23,540.00 1.33 361,200 FTSE 100 Nitori Holdings Co Ltd 15,815.00 -0.66 478,300 T&D Holdings Inc 1,995.50 1.47 3,921,100 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Toyota Motor Corp 7,002.00 -0.04 6,982,600 Hoya Corp 6,841.00 0.15 1,140,200 Wpp Plc 1,110.00 -2.03 2,130,131 Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin 4,729.00 1.52 1,279,900 Worldpay Group Plc 0.00 Europe markets sag on China 0.00 - Japan Tobacco Inc 2,941.00 -0.42 4,506,500 Wolseley Plc 0.00 0.00 - Osaka Gas Co Ltd 2,192.00 -0.20 1,179,700 Wm Morrison Supermarkets 249.95 -1.05 5,069,586 Sumitomo Electric Industries 1,722.00 -1.09 2,483,700 Whitbread Plc 4,570.00 0.18 596,888 Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 3,209.00 -1.44 2,761,400 Vodafone Group Plc 154.58 -3.52 102,499,314 Ajinomoto Co Inc 1,902.50 -1.55 2,261,700 United Utilities Group Plc 0.43 and Italy economic worries 702.00 1,506,208 Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd 2,629.50 0.46 3,311,700 Unilever Plc 4,043.50 -0.23 2,044,978 Daikin Industries Ltd 14,910.00 -0.43 1,227,700 Tui Ag-Di 1,405.50 -0.50 1,179,954 Toray Industries Inc 852.10 -0.93 4,856,500 “It’s an all-round selloff : the pros- ed that the government will “not re- Travis Perkins Plc 1,014.50 -0.29 866,354 AFP Bridgestone Corp 4,315.00 -0.76 2,324,200 Tesco Plc 210.10 -2.19 30,022,760 pect of high interest rates from the Fed treat” on spending plans. Sony Corp 6,596.00 -0.26 7,257,100 London Taylor Wimpey Plc 164.75 -0.27 8,368,139 could not come at a worse time, given Fellow deputy PM Matteo Salvini Astellas Pharma Inc 1,975.50 -0.68 7,568,500 Standard Life Plc 0.00 0.00 - the slowdown in the Chinese economy ramped up the war of words, attack- Jxtg Holdings Inc 860.30 -1.38 14,162,300 Standard Chartered Plc 591.20 -2.39 5,609,496 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta 2,367.00 -1.21 2,704,500 orld stock markets slid yes- and other emerging economies as well ing EU Commission head Jean-Claude St James’s Place Plc 1,100.00 -2.35 895,786 Suzuki Motor Corp 6,200.00 -2.96 3,286,100 terday on economic worries as the Italian debt and fi scal crisis,” Juncker and EU Economics Commis- Sse Plc 1,125.50 0.58 2,257,026 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone 5,062.00 0.38 2,926,200 over China and Italy, allied to CMC Markets analyst David Madden sioner Pierre Moscovici directly. Smith & Nephew Plc 1,333.50 -1.33 1,181,284 W Sompo Holdings Inc 4,785.00 -0.21 962,100 Sky Plc 1,725.50 -0.03 1,189,521 the prospect of rising US interest rates, told AFP as Shanghai skidded to close “Europe’s enemies are those cut off Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd 3,336.00 -0.60 1,975,500 Shire Plc 4,388.00 -0.43 916,486 dealers said. 3.7% down. in the bunker of Brussels,” said Salvini, Komatsu Ltd 3,400.00 -1.39 4,490,500 Severn Trent Plc 1,824.00 0.66 705,758 Wall Street dipped at the opening The People’s Bank of China had low- blasting “the Junckers, the Moscovi- West Japan Railway Co 7,757.00 0.87 588,000 Schroders Plc 2,977.00 -0.77 372,044 bell and was off 0.6% two hours into ered the required reserve ratio (RRR) as cis, who brought insecurity and fear to Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd 17,110.00 -3.90 1,407,800 Sainsbury (J) Plc 313.50 -0.51 3,812,916 Kansai Electric Power Co Inc 1,726.00 1.23 2,566,100 trading, with strong jobs data fanning it looks to shore up the economy after Europe and refuse to leave their arm- Sage Group Plc/The 554.80 0.47 3,058,635 Denso Corp 5,679.00 -1.15 1,445,800 expectations that the Federal Reserve a series of weak data, amid Beijing’s chairs.” Abi Sab Group Holding Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Dai-Ichi Life Holdings Inc 2,447.00 0.82 4,993,800 will hike rates at a quicker pace than trade war with Washington. Fawad Razaqzada of FOREX.com Rsa Insurance Group Plc 565.40 -1.84 2,346,959 Mazda Motor Corp 1,341.50 0.00 3,675,100 Royal Mail Plc 338.40 -1.91 5,235,651 previously thought. “The fact the authorities are cut- found that “risk appetite remained Mitsui & Co Ltd 2,098.00 -0.40 5,466,800 Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs 2,611.50 -0.89 3,499,289 In Milan, the FTSE MIB closed down ting the amount of capital banks need largely non-existent at the start of the Kao Corp 8,871.00 -0.95 1,488,000 Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs 2,571.00 -1.04 4,160,811 2.4% to 19,851.0 points; London — to hold in relation to their loan book new week (after) a series of events late- Sekisui House Ltd 1,691.00 -0.70 3,539,100 Royal Bank Of Scotland Group 245.80 -1.48 9,893,292 ly including trade disputes, emerging Oriental Land Co Ltd 11,365.00 -0.57 683,900 FTSE 100 ended down 1.2% to 7,233.33 suggests they are worried about the Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc 922.00 -3.98 4,032,255 Secom Co Ltd 9,524.00 -0.07 596,600 points; Paris — CAC 40 closed down economy,” Madden said. market currency crises and concerns Rio Tinto Plc 3,733.50 -0.29 2,932,484 Tokio Marine Holdings Inc 5,618.00 0.70 2,690,200 1.1% to 5,300.25 points and Frank- “It gives off the impression the over interest rate hikes in the US as well Rexam Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Aeon Co Ltd 2,692.00 0.58 2,611,600 as tightening of monetary conditions Relx Plc 1,525.00 -0.81 3,338,654 furt — DAX 30 ended down 1.4 % to country is gearing up for a protracted Fanuc Corp 21,345.00 -1.59 1,049,400 Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc 6,662.00 -1.86 1,019,700 11,947.16 points yesterday. trade spat.” elsewhere.” Daito Trust Construct Co Ltd 14,885.00 0.78 456,300 Randgold Resources Ltd 5,290.00 -1.89 339,580 In Europe, banks headed the day’s European investors are meanwhile Wall Street marked Columbus Day Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd 5,717.00 -0.02 1,245,300 Prudential Plc 1,667.50 -1.62 4,062,769 losers in a rocky Milan session during concerned about Italy, which sparked by retreating as the Dow Jones and Resona Holdings Inc 652.90 2.08 17,337,300 Provident Financial Plc 566.40 -2.01 442,493 Asahi Kasei Corp 1,708.50 -1.84 3,962,600 which stocks tumbled 2.4% on con- disquiet last week by unveiling a budg- Nasdaq fell back by 0.6 and 1.1% re- Persimmon Plc 2,283.00 -1.21 606,877 Kirin Holdings Co Ltd 2,820.00 0.28 2,425,800 cerns that Italy could face a sovereign et that set the public defi cit at around spectively despite news of unemploy- Pearson Plc 816.80 -1.94 3,140,967 Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro 732.70 0.65 86,808,000 debt crisis after its populist govern- 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) ment at a 49-year low and of rising Paddy Power Betfair Plc 6,500.00 -0.99 185,561 Marubeni Corp 1,043.00 -1.32 9,244,300 Old Mutual Plc 0.00 0.00 - ment passed a purse-busting budget for the next three years, earning a re- wages. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings 1,065.50 -3.27 8,011,100 Next Plc 5,424.00 1.57 783,443 last week to the chagrin of the EU. buke from Brussels and forcing it to Bucking the sagging trend was Bra- Fast Retailing Co Ltd 57,750.00 -0.96 856,900 National Grid Plc 786.50 0.01 8,692,857 A frosty exchange in Beijing over row back slightly. zil, where the Ibovespa index rose 6% Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdin 3,819.00 1.22 1,709,300 Mondi Plc 1,968.50 -1.38 1,452,836 trade tensions between US Secretary of The European Commission wrote on the Sao Paulo exchange after far- Kubota Corp 1,967.00 0.61 3,806,300 Merlin Entertainment 382.90 -1.03 1,234,515 Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd 5,114.00 -0.31 2,900,700 State Mike Pompeo and Chinese coun- last week to Italian economy minis- right candidate Jair Bolsonaro topped Mediclinic International Plc 451.10 1.67 1,449,965 Inpex Corp 1,426.00 -1.69 5,719,000 terpart Wang Yi, who indicated a falloff ter Giovanni Tria outlining “serious” fi rst-round voting in Sunday’s presi- Marks & Spencer Group Plc 285.90 0.78 6,480,328 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr 4,722.00 1.33 9,694,400 in “mutual trust,” only soured global concerns about the budget, but deputy dential election before the gain tapered London Stock Exchange Group 4,430.00 -1.82 621,831 Ana Holdings Inc 3,777.00 -0.45 1,408,700 Lloyds Banking Group Plc 58.16 -1.31 104,048,783 sentiment further. prime minister Luigi Di Maio respond- off to 3.7% mid-session. Mitsubishi Electric Corp 1,532.50 -1.22 4,979,200 Legal & General Group Plc 257.60 -0.35 18,184,781 Honda Motor Co Ltd 3,326.00 -0.60 4,682,100 Land Securities Group Plc 846.40 -0.26 2,036,340 Tokyo Gas Co Ltd 2,799.50 0.43 1,270,900 Kingfisher Plc 249.80 -0.04 7,100,771 HONG KONG HONG KONG Tokyo Electron Ltd 15,200.00 -2.63 2,010,000 Johnson Matthey Plc 3,327.00 -1.01 427,901 Panasonic Corp 1,334.50 -1.62 8,948,900 Itv Plc 158.20 -1.59 7,964,653 Fujitsu Ltd 7,678.00 -1.26 722,300 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Intu Properties Plc 184.95 -2.14 8,207,631 East Japan Railway Co 10,235.00 0.34 821,800 Intl Consolidated Airline-Di 607.40 -0.65 5,964,879 Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-H 3.27 -14.62 106,494,341 Hong Kong & China Gas 14.90 -0.13 11,149,754 Itochu Corp 2,272.50 0.49 6,144,800 Intertek Group Plc 4,642.00 -2.29 265,661 Bank Of East Asia Ltd 27.60 -1.25 953,124 Hong Kong Exchanges & Clear 210.60 -1.50 4,249,380 Fujifilm Holdings Corp 5,237.00 0.08 1,613,500 Intercontinental Hotels Grou 4,479.00 -0.93 422,607 Bank Of China Ltd-H 3.31 -0.60 305,245,178 Hsbc Holdings Plc 68.05 -0.58 18,463,655 Yamato Holdings Co Ltd 3,436.00 0.53 1,248,900 Inmarsat Plc 498.70 0.12 1,960,269 Bank Of Communications Co-H 5.63 0.90 26,575,872 Hutchison Whampoa Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Chubu Electric Power Co Inc 1,751.00 1.98 1,619,900 Informa Plc 738.40 -1.34 2,052,853 Belle International Holdings 0.00 0.00 - Ind & Comm Bk Of China-H 5.28 -1.12 311,638,854 Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd 1,841.50 -0.86 4,187,100 Imperial Brands Plc 2,650.50 0.17 837,216 Boc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd 35.45 -0.70 11,177,019 Li & Fung Ltd 1.77 -0.56 14,290,605 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 4,458.00 0.47 1,780,300 Hsbc Holdings Plc 654.50 -0.95 28,234,513 Cathay Pacific Airways 11.20 -1.75 1,130,315 Mtr Corp 40.40 0.37 2,979,651 Shiseido Co Ltd 8,084.00 -3.47 3,831,300 Hargreaves Lansdown Plc 2,039.00 -3.27 1,185,055 Ck Hutchison Holdings Ltd 83.25 -2.23 7,051,078 New World Development 10.36 -0.77 14,622,704 Shionogi & Co Ltd 7,498.00 0.66 1,656,400 Hammerson Plc 442.60 0.50 3,793,875 China Coal Energy Co-H 3.41 -1.45 14,570,214 Petrochina Co Ltd-H 6.12 -1.77 167,077,732 Recruit Holdings Co Ltd 3,694.00 0.19 3,409,800 Glencore Plc 321.70 -1.02 37,758,843 China Construction Bank-H 6.27 -1.72 483,444,206 Ping An Insurance Group Co-H 74.75 -2.29 54,551,794 Japan Airlines Co Ltd 4,000.00 -0.12 1,128,900 Glaxosmithkline Plc 1,487.20 -1.34 5,496,689 China Life Insurance Co-H 16.98 -0.59 28,336,962 Power Assets Holdings Ltd 53.25 -0.47 2,476,193 Nitto Denko Corp 8,652.00 -1.27 828,000 Gkn Ltd 0.00 0.00 - China Merchants Port Holding 14.06 -1.54 2,693,403 Sino Land Co 12.66 -0.63 3,115,767 Kddi Corp 2,978.50 -0.08 7,650,400 Fresnillo Plc 778.00 -2.06 819,667 China Mobile Ltd 78.05 0.64 21,462,303 Sun Hung Kai Properties 108.90 -0.64 3,386,633 Rakuten Inc 852.00 -0.78 4,879,400 Experian Plc 1,861.00 -1.82 1,477,233 China Overseas Land & Invest 23.05 -1.91 12,821,853 Swire Pacific Ltd - Cl A 82.75 -0.12 660,855 Kyocera Corp 6,627.00 -2.13 1,422,600 Easyjet Plc 1,213.00 0.37 2,397,544 China Petroleum & Chemical-H 6.96 -4.53 238,740,537 Tencent Holdings Ltd 299.00 -1.97 22,217,251 Nissan Motor Co Ltd 1,037.00 -0.14 10,780,400 Dixons Carphone Plc 155.55 0.35 1,859,670 China Resources Beer Holding 28.25 -0.88 7,458,200 Wharf Holdings Ltd 20.05 0.75 2,171,975 Direct Line Insurance Group 323.00 -0.52 3,424,189 China Resources Land Ltd 25.15 -2.33 13,792,939 China Resources Power Holdin 13.22 -1.20 5,847,305 Diageo Plc 2,694.50 0.54 4,130,587 SENSEX Dcc Plc 6,645.00 -3.13 266,140 China Shenhua Energy Co-H 17.20 -1.38 20,112,335 GCC INDICES Crh Plc 2,445.00 -1.33 1,288,198 China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd 8.97 -0.99 19,332,236 Compass Group Plc 1,609.00 0.88 2,176,049 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Citic Ltd 11.80 0.68 9,633,548 Indices Lt Price Change Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-Di 2,379.00 -2.82 760,907 Clp Holdings Ltd 87.30 0.23 3,046,081 Doha Securities Market Zee Entertainment Enterprise 414.05 -1.95 2,219,531 9,819.74 -27.31 Centrica Plc 152.00 1.00 15,323,980 Cnooc Ltd 14.40 -2.83 162,792,528 Saudi Tadawul Yes Bank Ltd 221.20 7.38 67,496,441 7,939.17 +45.55 Carnival Plc 4,515.00 -0.73 676,636 Cosco Shipping Ports Ltd 8.18 -2.15 4,818,290 Kuwait Stocks Exchange Wipro Ltd 317.50 -2.40 3,806,380 #N/A N/A #N/A N/A Capita Plc 133.60 -0.41 5,201,421 Esprit Holdings Ltd 2.01 -2.43 2,892,778 Bahrain Stock Exchage Vedanta Ltd 206.75 -10.75 40,229,380 1,325.26 +1.32 Burberry Group Plc 1,849.00 -2.89 2,078,646 Fih Mobile Ltd 0.81 -4.71 16,157,655 Oman Stock Market Ultratech Cement Ltd 3,758.90 -0.92 438,403 4,505.35 -10.78 Bunzl Plc 2,268.00 -1.35 822,536 Hang Lung Properties Ltd 14.78 -0.67 6,703,866 Abudhabi Stock Market Tech Mahindra Ltd 694.90 -2.74 2,817,010 5,003.38 +13.13 Bt Group Plc 231.35 0.54 23,573,980 Hang Seng Bank Ltd 210.20 0.29 1,265,240 Dubai Financial Market Tata Steel Ltd 559.80 -1.44 9,921,225 2,774.62 -15.55 British Land Co Plc 582.60 -0.44 3,261,156 Henderson Land Development 38.65 -0.26 2,169,682 Tata Power Co Ltd 61.50 -2.15 5,511,335 British American Tobacco Plc 3,422.00 -0.07 3,138,398 Tata Motors Ltd 212.35 -1.80 13,197,022 Bp Plc 576.60 -2.02 23,906,179 Tata Consultancy Svcs Ltd 2,077.55 -1.19 2,112,892 Bhp Billiton Plc 1,618.80 -1.03 4,492,663 Sun Pharmaceutical Indus 604.25 1.05 4,727,341 Berkeley Group Holdings/The 3,494.00 -1.33 366,250 “Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The State Bank Of India 265.75 2.86 22,178,324 Barratt Developments Plc 553.40 -0.61 4,938,777 Reliance Industries Ltd 1,109.40 5.77 26,010,062 accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended Barclays Plc 169.00 -2.28 28,093,860 Punjab National Bank 62.85 -1.57 32,653,502 as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank Bae Systems Plc 603.20 -1.76 6,351,582 Power Grid Corp Of India Ltd 186.65 -0.35 2,706,728 or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on Babcock Intl Group Plc 682.00 -3.29 1,411,068 Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd 149.80 1.87 12,604,130 this data.” Aviva Plc 465.20 -1.92 6,383,056 Ntpc Ltd 163.45 0.34 4,197,404 Astrazeneca Plc 5,768.00 -1.94 2,053,306 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd 6,889.75 -0.21 1,492,568 Associated British Foods Plc 2,303.00 0.61 609,893 Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd 774.85 0.69 4,144,777 Ashtead Group Plc 2,181.00 -5.26 1,811,252 Lupin Ltd 850.00 1.34 2,197,086 CURRENCIES Arm Holdings Plc 0.00 0.00 - Larsen & Toubro Ltd 1,215.35 -0.98 4,302,233 DOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI KUWAITI Antofagasta Plc 813.20 -1.67 2,935,815 DINAR DINAR Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd 1,104.30 4.95 4,518,905 Anglo American Plc 1,646.80 -1.34 3,820,980 Itc Ltd 273.20 -1.19 17,198,041 Admiral Group Plc 2,015.00 -0.44 436,632 Infosys Ltd 714.45 -1.40 7,487,580 3I Group Plc 917.80 -0.56 1,341,440 Indusind Bank Ltd 1,600.00 -0.46 2,470,310 #N/A 0.00 0.00 - Vodafone Idea Ltd 33.65 0.30 24,024,953 Icici Bank Ltd 310.85 1.16 22,093,615 TOKYO Housing Development Finance 1,667.70 -2.40 5,537,975 Hindustan Unilever Ltd 1,559.35 0.05 2,171,720 Hindalco Industries Ltd 222.55 -7.67 26,240,541 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Hero Motocorp Ltd 2,873.05 4.83 832,253 Hitachi Ltd 3,797.00 -0.11 2,811,200 Hdfc Bank Limited 1,945.00 -1.03 5,398,772 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 4,556.00 -2.02 6,159,800 Hcl Technologies Ltd 1,072.10 -1.10 1,181,762 Jfe Holdings Inc 2,582.00 -0.73 1,825,100 Grasim Industries Ltd 921.05 -0.18 1,171,694 Sumitomo Corp 1,916.00 -0.08 5,012,100 Gail India Ltd 343.90 3.57 6,201,715 Canon Inc 3,617.00 0.19 2,952,900 Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories 2,340.10 -2.27 645,648 Nintendo Co Ltd 41,180.00 0.96 1,580,000 Coal India Ltd 267.90 1.86 3,635,664 Eisai Co Ltd 10,910.00 -1.13 910,600 Cipla Ltd 638.80 0.34 1,624,362 Isuzu Motors Ltd 1,731.50 -0.12 2,853,900 Cairn India Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Unicharm Corp 3,498.00 -0.46 2,189,800 Bosch Ltd 18,361.40 -2.41 29,841 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd 9,924.00 -1.11 1,301,300 Bharti Airtel Ltd 295.20 -1.14 9,168,564 Smc Corp 36,320.00 -1.41 219,800 Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd 264.90 -0.15 28,024,991 Mitsubishi Corp 3,617.00 0.44 5,044,600 Bharat Heavy Electricals 69.60 -1.14 9,825,272 Asahi Group Holdings Ltd 4,907.00 0.00 1,574,300 Bank Of Baroda 97.50 -1.61 30,888,454 Keyence Corp 65,200.00 -0.75 405,300 Bajaj Auto Ltd 2,584.10 1.61 709,524 Nidec Corp 15,640.00 -1.73 1,229,700 Axis Bank Ltd 556.55 -2.10 13,430,413 Nomura Holdings Inc 562.40 1.52 24,350,100 Asian Paints Ltd 1,247.80 3.17 1,158,997 Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4,858.00 0.10 2,019,700 Ambuja Cements Ltd 208.10 -0.17 2,766,280 Subaru Corp 3,454.00 -0.58 3,108,500 Adani Ports And Special Econ 304.35 0.84 6,193,488 Ntt Docomo Inc 2,970.00 -0.65 4,288,400 Acc Ltd 1,474.65 -0.27 763,588 Gulf Times 12 Tuesday, October 9, 2018 BUSINESS

Greek bank shares Air France KLM passenger slip again Reuters Athens

Greek bank shares came under renewed selling pressure yes- traffi c rises 2.7% in Sept terday as a rout in Italy’s bond market eroded appetite for Reuters riskier eurozone assets. Paris Piraeus Bank, Greece’s big- gest bank by assets and already the subject of recent selling on ir France KLM reported yesterday a rise in concerns over its plan to issue passenger traffi c in September, with the air- subordinated debt, tumbled Aline aiming to improve its business perform- more than 8% as did No 3 ance after strikes earlier this year cost it millions of lender Eurobank. euros and led to a management shake-up. They helped push the Greek Air France KLM said it carried a total of 9.1mn banking sector index down 6% passengers last month across the group’s various by 1103 GMT. airline brands, up 2.7% from a year ago. “We are in a risk-off environ- Its load factor – a measure of how full an air- ment as long as bonds remain line’s planes are – increased 0.2 percentage points under the hammer. This to 88.6%. hits bank shares across the Canadian Benjamin Smith took over as Air France European south,” said a Greek KLM’s new group chief executive last month. bank treasurer. “We have been Smith faces the task of having to overcome union aff ected by the Italian virus.” resistance to shrink the French unit’s swollen cost A selloff in Italy’s bond mar- base while keeping increasingly frustrated Dutch ket gathered pace, and the euro staff on side. weakened, as comments from Shares in Air France KLM were down 0.5% at Italian Deputy Prime Minister €8.40, with the stock having fallen around 40% Matteo Salvini fuelled concern so far in 2018, mainly due to the impact of those about a clash with the European strikes. Union over Italian budget plans. “At fi rst sight, the numbers look uninspiring, but In the fixed income market, decent,” said Pierre Willot, fund manager at Paris- the yield on Greece’s 10-year based fi rm Montaigne Capital, which has a small benchmark bond jumped 14 holding in Air France KLM. basis points to 4.65%. “The bright spot is Transavia, with fairly solid The Greek banking index has numbers. now shed more than 37% this This low-cost subsidiary now represents 1.7mn year with the selloff intensifying passengers for the month compared to 9.1mn for in early October on fears that the AF-KLM group in September. banks’ eff orts to reduce their This is defi nitely one of the assets that could help bad loans burden will prove Air France to become structurally profi table,” he diff icult, aff ecting profitability added. prospects. Strikes this spring cost the group some €350mn “The pathology is known, ($403mn) and led to the departure of Smith’s pred- what triggered the selloff was ecessor. the market’s magnifying glass The French state has a 14% stake in Air France which focused on the tough KLM, while Delta Airlines and China Eastern Air- The Air France Airbus A319-113 takes off from Nice International airport in France. The airline said it carried a total of 9.1mn passengers last month across the part ahead to reduce bad loans lines each hold an 8.8% stake in the group. group’s various airline brands, up 2.7% from a year ago. as a war of words erupted between Rome and the EU over budget plans,” the treasurer said. Last week bankers and government off icials confirmed Daimler CFO to leave aft er missing out on top job in revamp that Athens is considering an asset protection scheme to help Bloomberg hicles by revenue. The challenges were evident proposed revamp should boost eff iciency and its banks off load soured loans Frankfurt Monday when Mercedes said September de- help to eventually turn around a stock slide and speed up the clean-up of liveries slumped 8%. More complex emissions that’s erased a fifth of the company’s value balance sheets. procedures took eff ect in Europe that month, this year. The shares fell 1% to 55.07 euros at The scheme may involve Daimler AG chief financial off icer Bodo Ueb- triggering production bottlenecks that contrib- 12:05pm in Frankfurt, taking losses to 22% state guarantees. ber’s decision to leave the maker of Mercedes- uted to the decline. Audi was even harder hit, since the start of the year. “The creation of an asset Benz luxury cars marks the first top-level with its worldwide deliveries tumbling 22%. Investors have balked at the new structure protection scheme, in which departure after the German manufacturer Mercedes sales were also hit by delays in and called for deeper changes, including the Greek government provides picked Ola Kallenius as chief executive off icer certification in some international markets and separate listings of the trucks division or parts insurance for the sector’s bad next year. by model changes, the company said. of the mobility-services operations. Daimler of- debts, would go some way to Uebber, 59, informed supervisory board Uebber has been one of the key archi- ficials have denied plans for a complete divest- stem the sell-off in Greek bank chairman Manfred Bischoff that “he is not seek- tects behind Daimler’s new group structure, ment of any subsidiary but left the door open shares, were it to not require ing to extend his current appointment,” Daim- which was created to give its cars, trucks and for a partial sale. The overhaul has also been any losses from private sector ler said in a statement late Sunday. It didn’t mobility-services units more independence. criticized for its cost, earmarked at around investors,” Fitch Solutions, a provide a reason for the planned departure. His Shareholders are set to vote on the changes at €1bn ($1.2bn), and for having too little instant unit of Fitch group, said in a contract expires in December 2019. the annual general meeting in May next year. benefit to the company’s valuation. report. Uebber was seen as a candidate to lead a “Given his experience, leadership and repu- Uebber joined Daimler’s management board “Such a situation would shift holding company that bundles the three sepa- tation in the financial community, his departure in 2003 and took over responsibility for finance risks from the Greek banking rate Daimler units. But the supervisory board’s will be a big loss for Daimler,” Arndt Ellinghorst, a year later. sector to the Greek govern- decision last month to give Kallenius, 49, the a London-based analyst at Evercore ISI, said Kallenius, the first non-German to take the ment,” it said. same dual responsibility that veteran leader, in a note. “Uebber was supporting a stronger helm of Daimler, will become CEO in 2019. But any depletion of Greece’s Dieter Zetsche, currently has as CEO and head holding model with a separation of Daimler The Swede was already the heir apparent to own funding buff er or a solution of the Mercedes-Benz cars unit indicated this Group and operating business management long-serving Zetsche, who has faced increasing that may involve government scenario was unlikely to materialise. functions.” headwinds this year with the adoption of new funding over the coming years The management change comes at a criti- Zetsche last week defended the strategic emissions tests, a German probe into Mercedes would likely bring its own fiscal Uebber: A candidate to lead a holding company that bundles the cal time for the world’s bestselling luxury-car logic behind the biggest corporate overhaul diesel engines and growing trade barriers position into focus, Fitch Solu- three separate Daimler units. maker and biggest producer of commercial ve- in a decade. He told reporters in Paris that the between key sales regions. tions said. Gulf Times Tuesday, October 9, 2018 13 BUSINESS

Japan’s PM welcomes Britain to KKR makes $1.2bn off er join Pacific trade pact post-Brexit for Australia fi rm MYOB AFP Tokyo Reuters Sydney Japan would welcome Britain to the Pacific trade deal “with KR & Co has launched a A$1.75bn open arms” after Brexit, Prime ($1.24bn) takeover off er for Minister Shinzo Abe has said KMYOB Group after buying al- in an interview published most a fi fth of the Australian account- yesterday. ing software provider, as the US private Abe told the Financial Times equity fi rm grows its portfolio of tech that Britain would lose its businesses. role as a gateway to Europe The MYOB bid, if successful, would after Brexit, but would still become one of KKR’s biggest ac- be a country “equipped with quisitions in Australia and add to its global strength.” 10-strong stable of technology-driven Eleven countries circling the businesses in the Asia-Pacifi c region. Pacific signed a slimmed- KKR last year raised $9.3bn – a re- down version of the Trans- gional record – in its third Asia-focused Pacific Partnership or TPP in buyout fund. March – opting to proceed MYOB disclosed the proposal in a with the trade deal after it statement and said its board was study- was left for dead when US ing the non-binding off er, which was President Donald Trump conditional on KKR obtaining fi nanc- pulled out to pursue his ing for the deal and getting a unanimous “America First” agenda. recommendation from the target’s di- The US president has since rectors. sparked fears of a trade war A spokeswoman for KKR confi rmed by levying steep tariff s and the A$3.7 per share off er for the remain- denouncing unfair trading ing 80.1% of the company, and declined practices. to comment further. In the interview, Abe also The off er price, a premium of 24% urged Britain and the EU to to MYOB’s last closing price, values it make a compromise to avoid at A$2.18bn. In building its stake, KKR a no-deal Brexit. paid A$327mn to buy 17% of MYOB “I hope that both sides can from its biggest shareholder, an affi li- contribute their wisdom and ate of private equity fi rm Bain Capital, at least avoid a so-called leaving the affi liate with a 6.1% stake, disorderly Brexit,” Abe said. MYOB said. “I truly hope that the negative MYOB shares soared by over a fi fth impact of Brexit to the to A$3.6, their highest intraday price in global economy, including almost nine months, after news of the Japanese businesses, will be unsolicited off er. minimised,” he added. But they stayed below the KKR off er Negotiations between Britain price, indicating investors did not think and the EU are currently a higher counteroff er was on the anvil. Trading information for KKR is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. KKR last year raised $9.3bn, a regional record, in its third Asia-focused gridlocked after Brussels They closed at A$3.55. buyout fund. rejected Prime Minister “With 19.9% of the register, KKR ef- Theresa May’s post-Brexit fectively own a blocking stake in the nant provider of accounting software outpaced MYOB’s. Xero’s market value, spokeswoman for Intuit said it did not ing bigger again as private equity seeks plan, with the clock ticking company. We think this could be enough to small and medium-sized businesses at around A$6.88bn, is more than thrice comment on market speculation. to put a record $1tn of unused investor down until departure in of a deterrent for a potential interloper,” in Australia, MYOB has in recent years MYOB’s. Spokespeople for Sage did not return money to work. March 2019. JPMorgan analysts said in a note. struggled to compete for market share JPMorgan analysts said KKR’s stake an email seeking comment outside of For KKR, the more than A$2bn price Last month Japanese car MYOB did not specify if Bain, which with cloud-based administrative soft- would make it hard for strategic inves- offi ce hours. tag for MYOB would make it one of its giant Toyota warned that acquired the then privately owned ware company Xero Ltd. tors such as Sage Group, which had The proposed deal comes after KKR largest takeovers in Australia. a no-deal Brexit would MYOB in 2011 and listed it in 2015, was Together they service more than attempted to buy MYOB back in 2011, acquired US business software com- Its fi rst foray in the country was a temporarily halt production endorsing KKR’s takeover off er, and a 80% of the local market, according to and American peer Intuit Inc, maker pany BMC Software in May in its larg- A$1.83bn acquisition of Brambles In- at its plant in Derby, central spokesman for Bain did not return calls Wilsons Equity Research, though the of popular software QuickBooks, to est deal since the 2008 fi nancial crisis, dustries’ waste management and in- England. seeking comment. Once the domi- research also showed Xero’s growth has rival KKR’s bid. An Australian-based underscoring how deal sizes are grow- dustrial services businesses.

GM China sales go into Indonesia to seek policy co-ordination at IMF-World Bank meet reverse as Reuters governor Perry Warjiyo told a willing to accept slightly lower market stalls Nusa Dua, Indonesia news conference. “We will voice economic growth to stabilise the interest of Indonesia in the the market. Indonesian Finance context so that global economic Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a Reuters ndonesia plans to use meetings recovery can be more balanced, former managing director of the Shanghai between global fi nance minis- there can be more clarity on the World Bank, defended multilater- Iters and central bank chiefs on path of rising interest rates in al gatherings like the IMF-World the island of Bali this week to push advanced economies and a reso- Bank meetings and said they were General Motors Co’s quarterly for more clarity on the path of in- lution for rising tension in glo- a way for global policy makers to sales in China fell for the first time terest rates in advanced countries, bal trade,” Warjiyo said. build understanding. in over a year, hit by faltering the country’s central bank gover- He called for more policy co- “I don’t underestimate meet- economic growth and a wider nor said yesterday. ordination and harmonisation ings like this, although it is often slowdown in the world’s biggest Indonesia and some other between countries so that emerg- hard to communicate these things auto market amid a whipsawing emerging economies have been ing markets can lead global growth easily. trade war with the US. hit hard as investors cut their risk alongside a recovery in the US But if we don’t participate and The US carmaker sold appetite for assets amid a rise in economy. we don’t present our actual prob- 835,934 vehicles in the third US interest rates and an intensify- The Indonesian rupiah has lems, each country will go in their quarter ended September, ing trade war between Beijing and weakened around 10% so far this own direction and this can create down a sharp 14.9% from a year Washington. year, touching its lowest in over danger,” she said, speaking along- earlier, which the firm said was Indonesia, which is hosting 20 years yesterday at 15,245 to the side Warjiyo. due to a “softening” vehicle the annual meetings of the In- dollar before recovering slightly. “Each country basically cares market and issues shifting to ternational Monetary Fund and Bank Indonesia has raised inter- for its own domestic problems a new engine system with its the World Bank Group, expects est rates fi ve times since mid-May, before looking after the world’s, Buick brand. Bank Indonesia’s new governor Perry Warjiyo gestures during an interview in Jakarta. Indonesia, talks to cover rising US interest while the government has lifted but if we communicate often, “The major reasons are a which is hosting the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank rates, as well as the global trade import taxes and delayed infra- people will know that one coun- softening market, slowing Group, expects talks to cover rising US interest rates, as well as the global trade war and its impact war and its impact on emerg- structure projects to curb imports. try’s policy can have a spillover lower-tier cities, Buick’s engine on emerging markets, Warjiyo said. ing markets, Bank Indonesia Authorities have said they are dimension.” change-over and a strong Q3 last year,” a Shanghai-based GM spokeswoman said. She added the fall was not linked to trade tensions. The fall marks Tencent reaches into London’s tech hub for Parkinson’s treatment the maiden drop since the first quarter of 2017, when GM’s Chi- Bloomberg February that it had signed deals worth diabetes, cancer, heart disease and that changes in disease status are including the creation of software na sales fell 5.2%. GM switched London £100mn ($131mn) with a number of rare diseases. addressed promptly, Vahdat said. that can diagnose skin cancer from a to reporting only quarterly Chinese companies, including Tencent. For Parkinson’s patients, Medopad has “We can raise an alert,” he said in an photograph taken with a mobile phone. China sales earlier this year, Tencent is shopping around the developed apps to allow doctors to interview. “It all happens through your Most AI software requires large scrapping monthly sales figures One of China’s tech mammoths is world for partners in revolutionising replicate strength and movement tests phone, no matter where you are. You quantities of data to train. it had previously revealed. tapping into the London digital hub for medicine. that they normally observe in person. get flagged and your doctors say you And China, with its massive population China’s automobile sales help with using artificial intelligence to The maker of the WeChat social media The centrepiece is a video test of should come in.” and fewer qualms about data privacy have been falling more broadly improve Parkinson’s disease treatment. and payment app has already forged fine hand movements – opening Fan and Vahdat envision the same than in Europe or the US, has been in recent months, with a slowing Tencent Holdings Ltd is teaming with agreements with drug giants Novartis and closing the patients’ fists – that remote technology being applied pushing aggressively to use data economy and trade frictions closely held Medopad Ltd to develop AG and AstraZeneca Plc to help address Medopad analyses digitally for range childhood brain cancers, where young on that population to train artificial- making consumers cautious a system to remotely monitor patients product quality and spot dangerous and speed. patients’ movements are studied to intelligence algorithms. about spending, an industry with the severe movement disorder. counterfeits. The AI software Medopad is make sure that medications aren’t Some medical researchers have raised body said last month. Their goal, according to Wei Fan, It’s backing WeDoctor, the $6bn developing will eventually be taught to harming mobility and dexterity, and concerns that AI software trained GM has been shifting its executive director for medical AI AI-enabled startup that helps detect automatically score these tests. management of knee surgeries. exclusively on Chinese patients may Buick cars to a new type of research at Shenzhen-based Tencent, is disease by analysing streams of patient For the moment, though, the Similar systems could be used to not be accurate for treating those more eff icient three-cylinder to allow doctors to set drug doses and data, and Blue, the insurer off ering technology is primarily used to watch children for signs of developing from other ethnic or demographic engine to meet emissions tar- modify care without patients coming health policies via apps. translate the video images from a scoliosis, Fan said. backgrounds. gets, which Chinese dealers told into the hospital. The collaboration with Medopad, patient’s smartphone into a graph that Computer vision, a type of AI that Tencent and Medopad want to conduct Reuters had hit sales because Healthcare is increasingly “not only along with Ray Chaudhuri, director of doctors can then use to evaluate the can analyse images, is making rapid a “multicultural, multicentre” test of consumers were not yet con- about what happens in the clinic, the Parkinson’s Center of Excellence patient’s performance. inroads into healthcare, with dozens their software, Fan said, working with vinced by the smaller engines. but what happens in the real world,” at King’s College Hospital in London, Trials are under way to study whether of companies working on AI software hospitals in the US, New Zealand and “Many consumers still have Fan said in an interview before the is another tech eff ort to give doctors the approach can show whether that can read X-rays, mammograms, China. A large-scale clinical trial of concerns because they read announcement. “The reason we want to meaningful information about patients patients’ symptoms are worsening or CT scans and other sorts of medical the Parkinson’s product would begin negative comments about three- work with Medopad is they’re experts who may be hundreds of miles away, improving, allowing doctors to tweak imaging. later this year, he said. “AI is very hot cylinder technology online, which in monitoring patients.” cutting out cumbersome travel and treatment doses, said Dan Vahdat, In addition to its work with Medopad, right now,” he said. “It doesn’t solve all aren’t really fair,” said a sales Medopad, which was founded in 2011 clinic scheduling. Medopad’s chief executive off icer. Tencent’s AI medical research group the problems. But where I see an area manager surnamed Hu at a Buick and has received funding from German Medopad has developed mobile Ideally, it would help prevent has several other projects under where it can help, we really need to use dealer in Zhejiang province. pharmaceuticals firm Bayer AG, said in apps for monitoring patients with severe complications by ensuring way using computer vision, Fan said, it to help people.” Gulf Times 14 Tuesday, October 9, 2018 BUSINESS

Pakistan govt set India wants US sanctions to approach IMF for $8bn package waiver after cutting Iran Internews Pakistan credibility at the inter- Islamabad national level. It was also learnt that the team, headed by the finance After weeks of dithering, Paki- minister, believes that engaging stan has decided to approach with the IMF was a requirement oil imports, say offi cials the International Monetary to portray Pakistan’s image as a Fund (IMF) for $8bn to $10bn serious country trying to keep programme to overcome the the house in order on financial Reuters acute financial problems and issue and economic side. New Delhi improve its credibility at the When you are engaged international level. with the IMF, the international It was learnt that Prime Min- financial institutions start to ndia hopes to secure a waiver from ister Imran Khan has already take you seriously, said a senior US sanctions on Iran before they take been briefed about the coun- bureaucrat working with the Ieff ect on November 4, as it had sig- try’s financial condition ahead economic team of the country. nifi cantly cut Iranian oil imports before of the decision. It was also learnt that after the deadline, offi cials said yesterday. However, Finance Minister taking the decision to approach The United States is imposing new Asad Umer is still reluctant to the IMF, the government was sanctions on Iran’s oil industry after concede it. working for the timing to sub- Washington withdrew from a nuclear “No decision yet! Will be mit a proper request for a pack- deal between Tehran and other global taken soon,” Asad Umar told age, which had to be submitted powers. this reporter tersely when ap- in this calendar year. Washington said on Friday it was con- proached. Knowledgeable sources in the sidering waivers for nations that were While Asad still takes time finance ministry informed this reducing imports of Iranian oil. to make the announcement, it reporter that the IMF was more The announcement, the fi rst indica- has been learnt that he, along than willing to accept Pakistan’s tion Washington was considering such with his team, had briefed the request for a fresh programme waivers, followed a Reuters report that prime minister on the country’s but the government was reluc- India planned to lift some Iranian oil in financial position and presented tant to announce the decision to November although it has been cutting a plan to approach the IMF for approach it in the first 100 days, back on Iranian imports recent months. a package the ministry is reluc- said a senior retired bureaucrat India has cut back on Iranian crude tant to call a “bailout”. working with Imran Khan led-PTI imports in recent months, but plans to It has also been learnt that government. lift some oil in November. Indian Oil the proposed IMF package is It was also learnt that in the Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told re- sought to give the economy the next two months Pakistan will porters that New Delhi was discussing much-needed relief, espe- work out a proposal made by the issue of a waiver “with all the au- cially in terms of shoring up the the recently visiting delegation thorities concerned”. country’s fast depleting foreign of the IMF under Article 6. “We have to fulfi ll all our domestic re- reserves. The IMF team last week quirements,” Pradhan said, confi rming The package would also serve concluded Pakistan’s tour for the plan to buy some Iranian crude after to improve Pakistan’s credibility post-programme review of the US sanctions kick in. in the eyes of international fi- economy. India, Iran’s No 2 oil client behind nancial institutions, particularly The team has proposed tak- China, does not recognise the US sanc- India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi. India has cut back on Iranian crude the World Bank and Asian De- ing decision on the Pakistani tions. imports in recent months, but plans to lift some oil in November, Pradhan said, adding that New Delhi was discussing the issue of a velopment Bank, to consider the Rupee, reforms in different But New Delhi needs a waiver to en- waiver “with all the authorities concerned”. country’s economy potentially departments especially in the sure its wider exposure to the US fi nan- capable of handling its financial FBR and to handle state-owned cial system is not aff ected. to eff orts to diversify supplies and re- he said. US Secretary of State Mike Pom- major oil producers to add 1mn bpd to woes, the premier was reported entities running into losses India has been curtailing oil imports duce Iranian imports. peo said in New Delhi that the US ad- the oil market. to have been informed. and eating up at least Rs300bn from Iran since September. “We were trying to balance our re- ministration acknowledged some buyers “Oil should not only be priced from a Sources in the Finance and annually. These sources made it India would lift 9 mn barrels of Irani- lationship with the US and Iran, at the of Iranian oil would take a “little bit of producers’ point of view consumers in- Economic Affairs Division said clear that the decision to go for an oil in November, equivalent to about same time keeping our energy and secu- time” to unwind their trade with Iran. terest should also be taken care of,” he the prime minister was con- the IMF programme had no link 300,0000 barrels per day (bpd), com- rity interest in mind,” he added. “We expect the global leadership to said. vinced after the briefing that with the negotiations held last pared to an average of about 658,000 India had diversifi ed its oil supplies to acknowledge India’s need for Iran’s oil,” Some Indian refi ners recently made the main reason to approach week with the IMF. bpd from April to August, according to cushion the impact of sanctions, he said. Pradhan said, adding that he wanted payments for Iranian oil in rupees, and the IMF was that it will improve The staff level negotiations data available with Reuters. He said Indian refi ners had started major oil producers like Saudi Arabia to could use the same mechanism in future the balance of payments, timely took place under Article 4, “It has been quite a tough process to importing oil from the United States but raise production. to settle trade with Tehran if no other al- payments to meet international which is called the post-pro- negotiate,” said Sanjay Sudhir, a joint purchases were constrained by US in- Pradhan said he had spoken to Saudi ternatives were found, state-run Indian obligations, bring discipline in gramme talks, clarified these secretary handling international coop- frastructure. “As US infrastructure im- Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih two day ear- Oil Company (IOC) chairman Sanjiv financial matters and improve sources. eration in the Oil Ministry, in reference proves, India has a potential to lift more,” lier about the June decision by Opec and Singh said.

China’s evolving pro-gas policy gives distributors a wild ride Why are investment banks nervous Bloomberg new connection fee is low.” Hong Kong But the selloff accelerated Tues- day after Citigroup analysts said China’s top economic planner, the about Australia fi nancial cartel case? China’s natural gas distributors National Development & Reform are finding out the policies that Commission, may cap connec- boosted use of the fuel and pro- tion fees for city gas customers at Reuters been brought against six executives – ANZ’s pelled their shares higher may also about 30% below current rates, Hong Kong/Sydney former treasurer Rick Moscati; Citi’s former send them crashing back to earth. citing a consultation paper. Australia head Stephen Roberts, current lo- Distributors including ENN The NDRC didn’t respond to cal head of capital markets John McLean, Energy Holdings Ltd and China requests seeking comment. nvestment bankers are bracing for the London-based head of foreign exchange Resources Gas Group Ltd have After ENN Energy in Hong Kong start of a landmark legal case about al- trading Itay Tuchman; and Deutsche’s been pummeled in the past two plunged Tuesday by the most Ileged cartel activity in Australia’s fi nan- former local chief Michael Ormaechea as weeks on speculation policymak- since 2002, and China Gas Hold- cial sector, nervous the proceedings could well as former local capital markets head ers may cap the fees they charge ings Ltd and China Resources Gas lead to increased scrutiny and tougher Michael Richardson. for connecting customers in urban both posted the biggest declines measures from regulators worldwide. None of the executives have commented areas, which have recently been a in more than a year, shares recov- Australian authorities fi led criminal publicly so far. An ANZ spokesman de- large profit driver amid booming ered some lost ground as analysts charges in June against the local units of clined to comment on behalf of Moscati demand for the fuel. cautioned the selloff was likely Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Australia and when Reuters contacted the bank on Friday. ENN shares have lost almost overdone. New Zealand Banking Group and six bank- For investment banks, the case will set 19% over that period even as Analysts at Bocom International ers over a $2.3bn stock sale. a precedent in an area of fi nancial markets analysts have sought to calm in- Securities Ltd said Wednesday Most past investigations into cartels by activity that lacks clear rules and has never vestors’ concerns and characterise that neither ENN nor China the Australian Competition and Consumer been tested in the courts, according to Citi. the selloff as an overreaction. Resources Gas has seen such a Commission (ACCC) have looked at trade “Underwriting syndicates exist to pro- The possible fee cap, which document, citing discussions with in goods. This is the fi rst time a probe has vide the capacity to assume risk and to would help reduce costs for cus- the companies. led to charges alleging criminal cartel con- underwrite large capital raisings, and have tomers by lowering what they’re Jeff eries Group LLC said the duct in the fi nancial sector. A pedestrian is reflected on the window of a branch of the Australia and New Zealand operated successfully in Australia in this currently charged, would build on slump may provide a good buying Lawyers representing the banks and the Banking Group in central Sydney. Australian authorities filed criminal charges in June manner for decades,” Citi said when the the government of President Xi opportunity. six bankers are due to appear in court in against the local units of Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Australia and New Zealand case was fi rst made public. A Citi spokes- Jinping’s eff orts to encourage con- Mainland China exchanges Sydney today, although hearings are not Banking Group and six bankers over a $2.3bn stock sale. woman declined to comment any further sumption of the cleaner-burning closed lower Monday after the expected to begin for several months. when contacted by Reuters. The fear is that fuel as a replacement for coal. country returned from a week- The charges are linked to an August 2015 by two of the underwriters – Deutsche Bank JPMorgan, which also underwrote the capi- a court hearing involving such high-profi le The drive has already spurred a long holiday. sale of $2.3bn worth of new ANZ shares and and Citigroup. All three have denied wrong- tal raising, has not been charged and has not fi rms and individuals might prompt regu- 20% jump in natural gas use in the In Hong Kong, ENN Energy and the subsequent trading of some of the shares doing and said they will fi ght accusations. commented on the case. Charges have also lators to take a fresh look at equity deals. first eight months of this year, after China Gas both closed down 1.1%, a 15% surge in 2017. while China Resources Gas slid That boom has bolstered earn- 1.3%. ings for the firms that deliver the Other losses in the sector fuel to homes and businesses and included Towngas China Co at China’s credit loosening may not do much for commodity demand sent their shares soaring. 3.9%, Kunlun Energy Co at 3.3% But the latest policy changes, if and Beijing Enterprises Holdings By Clyde Russell pain from the tariff barriers being erected, mand for thermal power generation, as well as tonnes being the softest and May’s 91.3mn adopted, may erode average profit Ltd at 1.1%. Launceston, Australia with equity prices struggling and certain robust steel output and production restrictions tonnes being the strongest. What the data margins of distributors to 46% The city’s benchmark Hang indicators, such as fixed asset investment, on the domestic industry. suggests is that China’s demand for iron ore from 62%, Citigroup Inc estimates. Seng Index slipped 1.4%. trending weaker. In prior years, relaxing Off icial trade data for September has hasn’t been much aff ected by either the trade Investors first became spooked Given the diff erent exposure China’s commodity imports may get a shot credit conditions has resulted in much of the yet to be released, but vessel-tracking data dispute with the United States, or by earlier at the end of September amid Chinese gas distributors have to in the arm from Beijing’s decision to ease freed-up cash being used for infrastructure compiled by Refinitiv suggests a pullback in stimulus eff orts. Iron ore prices in China were reports the Chongqing municipal urban customers, the potential credit conditions in the world’s second-largest and housing construction, thereby boosting seaborne coal imports in the month. also largely unmoved by the easing of credit, government plans to cancel instal- policy changes on connection fees economy, but it may not be as big a boost as demand for raw material such as iron ore, China’s seaborne coal imports were 16.3mn with Dalian Commodity Exchange futures lation fees, which are diff erent may impact their earnings and followed prior monetary loosening. steel and copper as well as thermal and cok- tonnes in September, the data showed, down opening slightly stronger after the week-long from connection fees. outlook to varying degrees. The People’s Bank of China on Sunday ing coal for energy to process them. sharply from 19.9mn tonnes in August and national day holidays. Installation fees are paid to China GasCredit Suisse Group announced a steep 100 basis point cut in There is generally some expectation the weakest month since February last year. The front-month contract rose as high as the government, while connec- AG says while the company’s con- the level of cash that banks must hold as that the extra cash in the economy will flow A drop in coal imports may not be too 499.5 yuan ($72.40) a tonne in early trade tion fees are collected by the gas nection revenue may look higher reserves, matching a similar move in April. through to additional spending on commodi- surprising given it’s currently the shoulder yesterday, up from a close of 493 yuan on companies. Analysts, including at than peers, urban connections The easing of the reserve requirement ty-intensive activity, such as building railways season between the summer and winter September 28, but by midday it was trading DBS Group Holdings Ltd, sought only account for about 9% of total. ratios (RRRs) will inject a net 750bn yuan and apartment buildings. power demand peaks, and higher prices may around 494 yuan. This is perhaps recognition to ease concerns by clarifying the Gas connection accounts ($109bn) into the banking system, making it But it’s worth noting that April’s lowering also have caused some reluctance among that any stimulus will take some time to work diff erence. for 21% of revenue and 54% of easier for banks to extend credit. of the RRRs didn’t really do much for the level Chinese buyers. Iron ore imports also tracked its way through the system and if there is “The sector’s share price decline profit, according to its 2017 annual The loosening of monetary conditions ap- of iron ore imports, which have remained in weaker in September, but not by much, with any boost to commodity demand, it will take has overreacted to the news,” DBS results. pears to be aimed at shoring up confidence in a narrow band for much of the year, and are the Refinitiv data estimating 86.4mn tonnes, several months to materialise. analysts including Tony Wu wrote Focuses on rural coal-to-gas China’s economy, which has been battered by down 0.5% in the first eight months of the year down from August’s 87.3mn tonnes. September 28. “The government is conversion projects.Expanding the escalating trade war with the administra- compared with the same period in 2017. Coal Iron ore imports this year have held in a „ Clyde Russell is a columnist for Reuters. likely to sort out unnecessary fees gas storage facilities in northern tion of US President Donald Trump. There are imports have been stronger so far in 2018, but remarkably steady range, according to the The opinions expressed here are those of involved, but risks in adjustment of China, signs that China’s economy is feeling some this is more likely a reflection of stronger de- vessel-tracking data, with March’s 81.4mn the author. Gulf Times Tuesday, October 9, 2018 15 BUSINESS

Europe Android ruling has given Google rivals a glimmer of hope

Bloomberg “Something has changed,” Leandri Google didn’t respond to requests for 28, potentially opening up billions of of anonymity because the company’s everyone, this is where the EU ruling Brussels says. comment for this story. dollars’ worth of digital real estate. agreement with Google is confidential. is pretty weak,” says Marc Al-Hames, That something is the European Union’s The EU antitrust ruling turned in large Google is “still figuring out what The person says the phone maker’s managing director for German search antitrust landscape. The EU’s $5bn part on the contracts that require we need to do,” company attorney executives believe their current deal engine Cliqz. Believe it or not, there are still would- July ruling against Google’s Android Android phone makers to preinstall Tero Louko said last month. He also is already flexible enough to install Still, the dramatic rise in Google’s be Google challengers in Europe. One operating system also demanded Google’s search engine and Chrome suggested that the company might the apps they want on their phones, costs is a testament to the potential of them is Qwant, a French startup changes to reduce the company’s self- browser on their devices in exchange charge manufacturers to use Android, including rivals’ software. for competition, according to Pivotal that says its search engine doesn’t promotion on Android devices, and it’s for the use of Google’s app store, Play. which could come without some Google can also simply pay Research Group analyst Brian Wieser. track users or filter search results. giving beleaguered rival search engines The agreements essentially guarantee built-in Google apps, a cost that he manufacturers to make its search “Various partners are exerting Earlier this year, when chief executive and web browsers a rare chance to that the company’s search engine and noted would likely be passed on to engine and apps the default. Google their power,” Wieser says. The officer Eric Leandri pitched phone compete. They aren’t getting their browser are prominently displayed consumers. Google still has to make will pay Apple Inc as much as $9bn manufacturers know, he adds, that if makers on shipping their devices with hopes up too much, of course. Google when users fire up their phones. That’s the changes, even if it appeals as this year for its search engine to be the Google doesn’t pay, “then Microsoft his search engine installed on them, parent Alphabet Inc has said it would helped Alphabet lock down more than expected. default on many parts of the iPhone, will.” At Qwant, Leandri says he’s also “the answer at that time was ‘zero appeal the ruling before an October 10 97% of European mobile searches and There are additional reasons why at Goldman Sachs Inc estimates. In just offering phone makers a better deal, chances,’ ” he says. Following a swell deadline. It has been so dominant for so almost two-thirds of the mobile browser least one of the largest manufacturers the second quarter of 2018, Google because he’s not trying to build an of interest this summer, he’s been long that hardly anyone is left in Europe market, according to internet traff ic of Android phones will likely keep paid $3bn to phone makers and app ecosystem that locks in users working on a deal to install Qwant on to mount a credible off ensive. Still, analyst Statcounter. Google apps on future devices, other partners to distribute its search and their ad dollars. Now he and his one big brand, which he declined to this is the best chance that potential In July, the EU ordered Google to according to a person familiar with engine, up from about $2bn a year product will just have to convince name, that turned him down in March. competitors have had in many years. change these contracts by October the matter, who spoke on condition earlier. “Because Google can outpay everybody else.

Augmented reality Facebook launches new headset for over $11,000 is AI video-calling device winning investors AFP London Bloomberg erg reported in September that London Magic Leap Inc is pushing to land a contract with the US acebook yesterday launched a range Army to build augmented- of AI-powered video-calling de- ost virtual real- reality devices for soldiers to Fvices, a strategic revolution for the ity headsets aimed at use on combat missions. Magic social network giant which is aiming for Mconsumers are be- Leap’s main rival is Microsoft’s a slice of the smart speaker market that coming cheaper. One Finnish HoloLens, and employees for is currently dominated by Amazon and startup is winning over inves- both companies attended an Google. tors by going the other way. Army meeting in August as “It’s been a big shift for the company,” Helsinki-based Varjo Tech- potential bidders for a govern- Facebook’s vice-president of consumer nologies Oy announced has ment contract that could lead hardware Andrew Bosworth told AFP be- raised $31mn in a funding round to the military purchasing over fore the launch of “Portal”. led by Atomico. Other investors 100,000 headsets. “We’ve seen a rise of video calling, on in the company include EQT In 2016, the Israeli army’s both Messenger and WhatsApp — it has Ventures and Lifeline Ven- C2 Systems Department pur- been a tremendous trend,” he said. tures, a Helsinki venture fund chased two HoloLens glasses But the launch of a product putting a whose advisers include Ilkka in order to help improve bat- camera into people’s homes is likely to Paananen, the co-founder and tlefi eld strategy and train fi eld raise privacy issues for the social media CEO of Finnish gaming sensa- personnel. giant, which has suff ered several major tion Supercell Oy. Varjo was founded by engi- data breaches this year involving tens of Varjo — founded by Nokia Oy neers who worked on an early millions of user accounts. and Microsoft Corp alumni — is version of the HoloLens, after The device, which will be available for developing an augmented-re- joining Microsoft from No- pre-order in the United States from Mon- ality headset with a signifi cant- kia’s handset division when day, is designed to allow users to make ly higher image resolution than the software-maker acquired video calls at home without having to those produced by its rivals, it. When Microsoft eventu- stand immediately in front of the screen and will cost between €5,000 ally shuttered the Helsinki re- or hold a phone at arm’s length. ($5,768) and €10,000. search division, the engineers Although the social media giant ac- Facebook Inc launched Oc- decided to create their own quired virtual reality headset manufac- A smart speaker device by Facebook called ‘Portal’ is seen in this photo released by Facebook from Menlo Park, California. The ulus Go, a $199 headset that company. turer Oculus in 2014, this is the fi rst time device, which will be available for pre-order in the US from Monday, is designed to allow users to make video calls at home without works without being tethered Unlike many augmented re- it has developed a consumer hardware having to stand immediately in front of the screen or hold a phone at arm’s length. to a computer, in early 2018. ality goggles, which have trans- product in-house. The company also trimmed parent lenses, Varjo’s goggles “At some point, we realised that if we over background noise. But Facebook has A British company, CA has been ac- ness models and profi ts, but it is clear that the price of its high-end Ocu- are completely opaque and look want to continue to advance our mission, moved to quickly allay security fears, say- cused of collecting and exploiting users’ wireless speakers and video calls repre- lus Rift headset and controllers more like virtual reality head- the hardware we’re dealing with... is lim- ing that by keeping the processes on the personal data for political purposes with- sent a growing market. by $100, to $399, while HTC sets from companies such as iting, and so we fi nd ourselves building actual device rather than in the cloud, the out their consent. There were 17bn video calls made on Corp’s Vive VR headsets also HTC and Oculus. The headset our own hardware to try and accomplish risk of hacking is lower than with a smart- Facebook has since reasserted itself as a Messenger in 2017, double the number in retail for a few hundred dol- is fi tted with ultra high-reso- that mission,” Bosworth said. phone or computer. guarantor of privacy. 2016, according to offi cial data. lars. lution cameras to capture the Off ering hands-free voice control, Por- Calls will be encrypted, and the AI “Frankly if we don’t build the hardware, More than 60mn people in the US will But Varjo isn’t pitching its outside world, and the goggles tal comes in two sizes, a 10-inch screen technology runs locally on Portal, not I do have concerns,” Bosworth admitted, use wireless speakers in 2018, a fi gure ex- product, currently in the proto- also track a user’s eye move- which retails at $199 (€173) and a 15-inch on Facebook servers, with it only send- saying it was crucial to put “people fi rst” pected to rise to 76.5mn by 2020, accord- type stage, to the mass market. ments. version will go for $349. And to start the ing voice commands to the servers after whether delivering a platform for virtual ing to eMarketer. It’s aimed at the auto industry, This lets the headset produce call, all it takes is: “Hey Portal.” hearing, “Hey Portal”. The camera can be reality or augmented reality. But analysts reacted cautiously to the architecture, and the military, images — both of the real world During calls, it can also play music on blocked by a cover and the device has a “You need to have abuse prevention announcement. rather than the consumer. Both and of virtual objects — in the Spotify or videos from Facebook Watch, button for disabling both the lens and the very early on, you need to have security “Facebook is a little bit late to the mar- BMW and the US Air Force are centre of a user’s fi eld of vision, as well as tell children stories via aug- microphone. built in early on.” ket for smart speakers,” said Tom Morrod, among those signed up to test closely mimicking the way the mented eff ects app Story Time. Security is a sensitive issue for Face- The company worked with a US fi lm di- a research director for consumer elec- the gear. human eye naturally processes And it also comes bundled with Ama- book which had 50mn of its user accounts rector in order to make the camera move- tronics and telecoms at IHS Markit. “By being focused on en- light. zon’s voice interface “Alexa”, enabling breached by hackers at the end of last ments feel natural, said Nick Fell, market- “They’re going to fi nd that selling hard- terprise, these headsets are Varjo said in a statement it users to shop or control household appli- month in the latest privacy embarrass- ing director for Facebook’s Portal team. ware scales quite diff erently from selling not as price sensitive as con- would use its new funding to ances. ment. “We set out to try and make video call- platform services.” sumer headsets,” said Niklas support its hiring ambitions During a conversation, the integrated Earlier in the year, it was forced to ad- ing so good that it feels like you’re sharing The social network does not intend to Zennstrom, the billionaire and a global product launch. camera can automatically zoom out to mit that the personal data of tens of mil- the same physical space as someone else,” stop with Portal, promising to “invest Swedish co-founder of Skype A spokesman for Atomico de- include a second person, or be instruct- lions of users had been hijacked by Cam- he explained. very heavily, not just hardware through and CEO of Atomico. clined to comment on how ed to follow a certain individual as they bridge Analytica, a political fi rm working Facebook representatives prefer to talk Oculus but also through Facebook,” Bos- Other players have spotted much it invested of the $31mn walk around, even picking out their voice for Donald Trump in 2016. about their “mission” rather than busi- worth said. the opportunity too. Bloomb- total, or at what valuation. Goldman is said to reduce Marcus lending goal on credit caution London banker wins

Bloomberg in 2015 to help build a digital consumer business. Marcus started unfair dismissal case New York making loans in 2016 and this year expanded its deposit business into the UK. The firm also created a separate division for its lending activities overseen by Stephen Scherr, who last month was named Bloomberg more experienced off shore staff .” employees and does not com- Goldman Sachs Group Inc is looking to restrain the rapid expansion Goldman’s chief financial off icer. London “This restructuring was ac- ment on specifi c matters.” of its online lending platform as the firm grows more cautious on Solomon said in May he expects Marcus to get “very big, very companied by the move to Lon- UK employment tribunal law- the consumer debt market that’s a key area of growth. profitable” and has likened the consumer bank to the start of don of the candidate that Mr Do- suits have an £83,700 cap on The firm’s Marcus unit cut its loan-originations target for next year, Goldman Sachs’s investment-management business 30 years ago. former Commonwealth cherty favoured,” Pearl said in his damages. Awards are normally according to people with knowledge of the plans. The revision While US unemployment is the lowest in almost half a century, some Bank of Australia banker decision. “He decided to install limited to that amount unless a reflects concern about the stage of the credit cycle and changes lenders have expressed concern about the potential for increased Awho was let go in London her in the new role and there was former employee can prove they in market data, the people said, asking not to be identified as the losses in consumer credit as interest rates rise. Total household after the company brought in a not even the modicum of a fair were the victim of discrimina- information isn’t public. debt in the US hit a record earlier this year, according to the Federal younger colleague from Sydney procedure.” tion or a whistleblower who’d Goldman Sachs leaders including new chief executive officer Reserve Bank of New York. was unfairly dismissed, a judge CBA said Docherty was at- made a public-interest disclo- David Solomon have made Marcus a pillar of their plan to boost Personal loans have surged to a record and are the fastest- ruled. tempting to restructure Mar- sure. revenue over the next several years. The unit has grown quickly growing US consumer-lending category, according to data from While John Marshall, who shall’s unit “and was required Marshall said in court fi lings — lending more than $4bn in under two years — prompting credit bureau TransUnion. Outstanding balances stand at about was 59 when he left the bank, to cut costs generally.” Eighteen that before he left he found an questions from analysts and investors on how the portfolio will $125bn. And a lot of that growth is coming from fintech companies, couldn’t prove that he suff ered months before Marshall was dis- organisational chart in Lotz’s perform in a downturn when more consumers have trouble which originated more than a third of total personal loans in 2017 age discrimination, his depar- missed, Docherty tried to reas- drawer that set out plans to let paying off debt. compared with less than 1% in 2010. ture “was self-evidently unfair sure him, saying: “Please don’t him go alongside fi ve London Marcus represents a major departure from Goldman Sachs’s Marcus competes against the likes of web-based firms including on procedural grounds,” employ- assume that because Debbie will colleagues. “I was hurt that the traditional focus on major Corps and investors through its LendingClub Corp, Prosper Marketplace Inc and Social Finance Inc. ment judge David Pearl said in have to be based in London that plan to dismiss me had been so investment bank and trading business. Competitors have wondered The bank has said that it’s under no pressure to hit any milestones his ruling. Marshall was awarded it is more focused on your team clear and long term,” he said. if the firm was outside its expertise in the consumer space, for loan originations and will make decisions based on risk metrics £79,000 ($103,000). than any other as that is not the The judge called his evidence particularly almost a decade into the economic recovery, while and the state of the markets. Marshall, the former chief intent!” that he was conducting a “clean Goldman Sachs executives maintain that new technology has The loss rate on the Marcus loan portfolio was around 5%, CFO fi nancial offi cer of CBA’s Euro- A spokesman for CBA said the desk review” implausible. turned unsecured personal loans into a math problem. Marty Chavez said on the most recent quarterly earnings call in July. pean operations, was dismissed bank doesn’t comment on indi- “A much more straightforward The reduction in 2019 plans is based on current market conditions Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd Blankfein laid out a case for the in December 2016 after 27 years vidual employment issues. explanation is that he took ad- for consumer lending and could still change, said the people, who bank’s caution at an event in June: If customers can’t pay unsecured at the lender. His manager, Alan “We respect the decision of vantage of being in a quiet offi ce didn’t provide exact figures. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs loans, the firm eats the loss. There’s no home to repossess. Docherty, relocated another col- the tribunal,” the spokesman that day to see if he could fi nd declined to comment. “We will be the ones that will suff er,” he said. “If they don’t pay us league Debbie Lotz from Aus- said in an e-mail. “The Com- any useful documents to aid him Goldman Sachs hired Harit Talwar from Discover Financial Services back, we will be the ones on TV you’ll feel sorry for.” tralia, in what Marshall said was monwealth Bank also respects in his dispute with the bank,” the a campaign to get rid of “older, the confi dentiality of previous judge said. Tuesday, October 9, 2018 GULF TIMES BUSINESS Oil prices climb on perceptions of supply shortages

www.abhafoundation.org returning back to the levels of the Monday the final investment decision second half of August. Abundant for two trains of 14 mtpa, with first supply and a perceived well-supplied LNG expected in 2025. Oil market are the main reasons of In the US, Henry Hub natural gas Benchmark crude futures rose last the downward trend, even though futures rose last week by 4.5%, week by nearly 1.5%, with Brent the demand is seen as strong with chasing levels not seen since reaching $86, a level not seen since North Asia forecasted to experience last January. Natural gas stocks late October 2014. The price boost a regular winter in the coming rose the week earlier by a higher- from the upcoming US sanctions six-seven weeks. High oil prices than-average level of 98 bcf. on Iran’s oil sector next month also supported LNG prices but not However, stocks are still hanging was still overshadowing the other enough to counter the ample supply at their lowest level since 2003, downward factors. Iran’s current eff ect. 8.9 mtpa Ichthys LNG project which supported the last price crude production is already falling by in Australia shipped its first products increase along with hotter-than- around 0.4 mbpd since its peak last last week, with first LNG to follow usual weather in some regions. March of 3.83 mbpd, as some buyers before the end of the year. Following Meanwhile, UK gas futures rallied High European coal and gas prices next week as temperatures are Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah started to limit their Iranian crude Qatar’s gas expansion, LNG Canada by near 5% last week erasing most prompted the price upside, but forecast to be warmer. International Foundation for Energy supplies. Prices were also supported project led by Shell received last of the decline of the week earlier. power demand is expected to drop „ This article was supplied by the and Sustainable Development. by the new economic trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada called USMCA, replacing the old agreement. However, price gains were limited by a report indicating an informal deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia to lift output by at least 0.5 mbpd, and due to a significant draw of 8mn barrels in US crude stocks in the week to September 28. Profit-taking and US equity weakness also pressured the crude prices. The oil market is currently shrugging off the bearish factors and keeping focus on the impact of the US sanctions on Iranian oil sector. This situation is leading to an overbought market, as we still do not know: to which extent Iran’s production will fall, or how much the KSA and Russia would compensate for that fall, and the impact on global demand.

Gas Asian spot LNG prices declined for a third straight week last week,

Milaha gets five-star grading in occupational Doubts grow, even as Saudi health and safety from British Safety Council

Milaha has successfully occupational best practice completed ‘Five Star health and safety audit, is an crown prince says jobs, Occupational Health and outstanding achievement Safety Audit’ conducted by and is reflective of a the British Safety Council, proactive organisation that making it one of the very is committed to continual few companies in Qatar to improvement in its health hold the coveted five-star and safety arrangements investment ‘on track’ grading. and managing risks to This achievement workers’ health, safety and Bloomberg outs have long been seen as key to Saudi a 90% rebound in FDI in the fi rst half of ing in 2017 for the fi rst time since the af- demonstrates Milaha’s welfare. Dubai Arabia’s stability. The 33-year-old crown this year. That would still leave the fi gure tershock of the global fi nancial crisis in commitment towards the prince aims to show that the kingdom’s well-short of 2016 levels. 2009. Yet offi cial estimates show growth continuous improvement As part of the audit, youthful population can prosper without More broadly, Prince Mohammed said staying below 2.5% through 2021. At that of its health and safety Milaha underwent audi Arabia’s ambitious attempt to them. the central elements of his Vision 2030 pace, many economists say, the economy management systems and a comprehensive, overhaul its oil-dependent econ- Economists who support that goal have plan, including the $100bn Aramco sale won’t create enough jobs for young Sau- associated arrangements. quantifi ed, and robust Somy is on track and indicators that seen evidence of backsliding, citing plans to and the eff ort to boost non-oil revenue, dis. “Health and safety are of evaluation of its suggest otherwise — like a surge in unem- boost public hiring, and the reversal of pay remain on course. He described the rise in From 2000 to 2014, the Saudi economy paramount importance to us occupational health ployment and a slump in foreign invest- cuts for civil servants. Prince Mohammed unemployment as an inevitable side eff ect grew an average of 4% a year, according to at Milaha, which is why we and safety policies, ment — will soon change direction, the said private business will also be hiring, and of the decision to change direction after the International Monetary Fund. actively seek to implement kingdom’s crown prince said. he dismissed the criticism. “So what should the 2014 oil crash. Part of Prince Mohammed’s turn back best practice policies in As part of the audit, The jobless rate, now the highest in we do?” he said. “Should we not use the In the three years that followed, au- towards government stimulus will be line with international Milaha underwent a more than a decade at 12.9%, will start money that is coming from oil?” thorities slashed spending, cut subsidies fi nanced by the proceeds of what was standards. The British Safety comprehensive, quantified, falling next year as higher oil prices permit and imposed value-added taxes. “You billed as a drive against corruption. Doz- Council five-star grading and robust evaluation of more government spending, Mohammed The prince’s crackdown on cannot do the restructuring without the ens of royal family members and business underlines our commitment its occupational health bin Salman said in an interview in Riyadh. business leaders accused of side eff ects,” said Prince Mohammed, leaders were rounded up and detained at to achieving excellence in and safety policies, During an 80-minute conversation, the corruption, and his aggressive surrounded by a handful of advisers in his the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, during health and safety standards processes, and practices. kingdom’s de facto ruler sought to dis- response to critics at home and offi ce. “The unemployment rate will start a purge that sent shock waves through to our employees, clients, The audit process included pel suggestions that his economic reboot abroad, have added to investor to decline from 2019.” business circles inside and outside the and other stakeholders, documentation review, has stalled. Scepticism has grown amid jitters The prince shrugged off concerns — kingdom. and it goes far beyond the interviews with senior delays in what was supposed to be the shared even by some of his supporters — Prince Mohammed said that more than requirements of health management, employees plan’s centrepiece, a $100bn share sale The prince said the fi gure he’s watch- that by raising expectations so high, he’s $35bn has been collected from settlement and safety management and other key stakeholders, in oil giant Saudi Aramco. The prince’s ing is the share of wages in the budget. He setting the entire project up for a fall if he deals that offi cials predict will eventually systems,” said Milaha’s in addition to sampling of crackdown on business leaders accused of said it’s down from 50% in 2015 to 42% can’t deliver. reap more than $100bn. senior vice-president for operational activities. corruption, and his aggressive response to today, and “in 2020, I believe it will be be- “If you aim low, that means it’s an easy He said 40% of the amount “is being Support Services Saleh al- The audit measured critics at home and abroad, have added to low 40%.” target. That means no one will try to work transferred in cash, and 60% is mostly Haroon. performance against investor jitters. Foreign direct investment into Saudi hard to achieve it,” he said. “We aim high. assets.” The former is going to the Saudi David Parr, Policy and key health and safety While Aramco has grabbed headlines, Arabia plunged about 80% last year, ac- If we achieve 100%, great. If we achieve treasury, Prince Mohammed said, while Technical Services director management best practice unemployment may be the most crucial cording to a UN report. That’s a net fi gure, more, even greater. If we achieve 50%, the confi scated companies and properties at the British Safety Council, indicators and a detailed measure for Prince Mohammed. He’s and the prince said it was largely driven by great. Better than achieving nothing.” are being managed by a state entity called said: The award of a five- review of over sixty trying to trim a welfare system based on the sale of a foreign-owned bank stake to The government expects the economy Istidama. “Two years from now and the star grading, following its component elements. state distribution of oil revenues — hand- Saudi investors. He said early data show to expand 2.1% this year, after contract- case will be totally closed,” he said.

Egypt to receive fi rst Israeli gas as early as March 2019

Bloomberg to buy 39% of the East Mediter- those stoppages that Egypt was Cairo ranean Gas Co, which owns the embroiled in arbitration cases pipeline connecting southern with some of EMG’s owners, Israel to Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, which had threatened to delay gypt will begin import- clearing the main legal obstacle the export plans. ing natural gas from Israel to the 10-year export contract Those issues have been all but Eunder a $15bn deal as early signed in February. East Gas resolved because East Gas and its as March if an undersea pipeline separately made a deal to buy a partners bought out the litigants, connecting the Mediterranean further 9% from MGPC. but northern Sinai remains un- neighbours is found to be in good The EMG pipeline was origi- stable. The army embarked on condition, moving the country nally built to export Egyptian a months-long campaign this closer to its goal of becoming an gas to Israel, but has been idle year to root out militants who energy-exporting hub. for about six years. killed more than 300 people at a Mohammed Shoeib, chief ex- The partners expect to begin mosque in November. ecutive offi cer of East Gas Co, testing the pipeline soon before “We are not worried about a major Egyptian partner in the modifying facilities to reverse the security issue,” said Shoeib, pipeline, said supplies would be- the fl ow, Shoeib said in his fi rst who headed Egypt’s state gas gin at 100mn standard cubic feet public comments since the deal company EGAS when the coun- of gas per day in the fi rst quarter was announced, adding that try decided to halt its exports. of 2019 and gradually rise to a the procedures were expected “We’re confi dent that the army maximum of 700mn scf a day. to take three to four months. and police have secured the “We expect the pipeline is Once the gas has been fl owing area well.” in good condition,” he told for 30 days, the deal will close, Shoeib, whose East Gas Co Bloomberg in an interview. “We he said. also owns and operates a sepa- aim to reach the pipeline’s full Egypt halted supplies to Is- rate pipeline through Jordan, capacity or maximum fl ow rate rael in 2012 due to a domestic said that link could be used as within three years.” gas shortage and repeated at- a backup in case of problems East Gas and the companies tacks by militants on a connect- with the EMG infrastructure or developing Israel’s largest natu- ing overland stretch of pipeline to pump additional quantities if ral gas fi elds agreed last month in the Sinai. It was because of needed.