Thursday 5 June 2014 7 Sha’baan 1435 Volume 19 Number 6087 Price: QR2 QP holds meet for suppliers, contractors Business | 21 10 47 DAYS TO GO www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Minimum wage Emir receives new envoy Assad wins with Exit permit to for Indonesian 88.7pc votes BEIRUT: Bashar Al Assad maids raised won 88.7 percent of the vote DOHA: Indonesia has increased in Syria’s presidential election, be decided by the minimum monthly wage parliament speaker Mohammad for their women to work here Al Laham said yesterday, secur- as maids to QR1,200 ($332) ing a third term in office despite for inexperienced hands and a raging civil war which grew QR1,500 ($412) for those out of protests against his rule. job contract experienced. Assad’s foes had dismissed the The Indonesian government election as a charade, saying the has, though, imposed a tempo- two relatively unknown challengers Wage protection system in last stages rary ban on the export of maids offered no real alternative and that here, as also to the neighbour- no poll held in the midst of civil war DOHA: Whether an expatriate also be decided by this contract.” ing UAE, due to what it says could be considered credible. worker would need exit permit The wage protection system are problems related to working “I declare the victory of Dr or not to travel overseas would (WPS) for workers is being final- conditions. Bashar Hafez Al Assad as presi- be decided by the job contract ised. “It is in the last stages.” An official from the Indonesian dent of the Syrian Arab Republic he signs with his employer Exchange houses are also being embassy told this newspaper yes- with an absolute majority of the once the sponsorship system is made part of the WPS network terday that the above ban was votes cast in the election,” Laham changed. along with banks, said the Minister. imposed last April. The embassy, said in a televised address from The worker can also put a con- It will be mandatory for companies however, stopped endorsing job his office in the Syrian parliament. dition in the contract, subject to to transfer their workers’ salaries requests for Indonesian maids in Syria’s constitutional court ear- approval of his employer, that he to banks or exchange houses every November 2013 itself. lier said that turnout in Tuesday’s would be changing the job at the month. If a worker wants and pro- Novi Faitmawti, second secre- The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani receiving the creden- election and an earlier round of end of his contractual period. vides his bank account details in tary at the mission, said that the tials of new Swedish envoy Ewa Ulrika Polano at the Emiri Diwan yester- voting for Syrian expatriates This was disclosed by the home country, his salary could be other condition for Indonesian day. The Emir also received credentials of Dr Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu of stood at 73 percnt. REUTERS Minister of Labour and Social credited into this account directly, maids to work here is that they Uganda, Martin Vitek of the Czech Republic and Andre Pung of Estonia. Affairs, H E Dr Abdullah bin said Al Khulaifi. be given a day off in the week. Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, at an Relevant provisions of the She insisted that unless the International Labour Conference labor law are being amended to above conditions are met, the in Geneva yesterday. facilitate the launch of the WPS, temporary ban was unlikely to The Minister said procedures according to him. “Work on the be lifted. to remove the sponsorship system WPS is proceeding very fast.” THE PENINSULA Plan to change fiscal year (regulated by Law Number 4 of This was the 103rd ses- 2009) were on at a quick pace. sion of the International Labor DOHA: Qatar has plans to the country’s financial system and have actually been from January After the sponsorship system is Conference (May 28 to June 12) he Truce in Yemen change its financial year to making public finance efficient to December, he added. gone, a contractual system would was speaking at, Qatar News Agency January to December from in line with best international The business sector, banks and be put in place. The contract (QNA) reported. For the WPS a after fresh strikes the current April to March to practices. all financial institutions barring inked between a foreign worker separate office is being set up at SANA’A: A ceasefire between ensure compatibility with the Contacted for comment, invest- state institutions have all have and his employer would regulate the labor ministry. It would have Shia rebels and government private sector and the listed ment and finance expert, Abdullah January to December financial the relationship between the two, adequate staffing and people would forces went into effect yes- entities that have their fiscal Al Khater, told this newspaper year. said Al Khulaifi. be trained to handle the system. terday, the Yemeni Defence year beginning from January. that Qatar was taking the right “Companies wait until April “The contract will decide The number of inspectors at the Ministry said, after fresh fight- Qatar News Agency (QNA) step by changing the financial every year to know public spend- whether a worker needs exit per- Ministry has been raised from 150 ing and air strikes killed a total reported that the weekly Cabinet year to January-December. ing figures and development mit or not to leave the country. to 200 in the past three months. of 19 people from both sides. approved a draft law yester- “We don’t know what was the project details whereas their own And whether he gets no-objection The plan is to double the number, Nearly 140 people have died in day incorporating the proposed basis of having fiscal year from financial year ends on December certificate to take up another job to 300, in the near future. three days of fighting near the change in the budget year. April to March,” said Al Khater. 31,” said Al Khater. at the end of the contract would THE PENINSULA town of Omran. REUTERS The draft talks of streamlining The state’s budget year should THE PENINSULA Huge rise in Tunnel boring machine property sales DOHA: Real estate sales peaked at a historic high recently, with transactions totaling QR2.3bn in the last week of May (May 25 to 29), up a huge 63.8 percent over the previous week. Real estate giant, Ezdan, said in a report that a total of 388 trans- actions took place in the week, with the maximum being in Umm Salal Ali, at 197. Ezdan didn’t give reasons for the huge rise in trans- actions but said five massive deals worth QR900m concluded in the week took the total of QR2.3bn. The largest deal worth a stag- gering QR290m was concluded in Umm Salal Ali. It was a plot land admeasuring a huge 145,000 sq meters. The second largest deal was concluded in Doha with the A German-made tunnel boring machine (TBM) being delivered at the value of QR250m. Doha Port yesterday. Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) has received THE PENINSULA four more TBMs for phase one of the Doha Metro project. Report on page 5 Qatari index continues to fall DOHA: Investors’ wealth on ($203.2bn), and it climbed down June 1, the stocks lost a huge 4.6 the Qatari equity exchange is to QR732.16bn the next day. The percent, to QR143.10. The decline down by a massive QR23.9bn decline continued and yesterday, on continued with the shares even- ($6.6bn) in the past three trad- the third day of continuous decline, tually falling to QR131.70 at the ing days, with cement stocks the capitalization figure fell to close of trading yesterday. being one of those shares that QR715.87bn — a drop of QR23.9bn. Qatar National Cement have shed substantial value in The main index of the bourse Company (QNCC) is, though, the period. has been losing, and yesterday it not part of the 10 most prized The downward trend on the was 13, 142.69, having shed more shares that are included in the Qatar Exchange (QE), surprisingly, than 550 points, or slightly more MSCI EM Index. Most of these 10 began on the day (June 2) it was than four percent, in the past there shares have been losing since June expected by investors and analysts days, figures show. Cement shares 2. Yesterday, the trading value, alike to witness considerable gain have been on a losing spree since volumes and number of transac- since 10 of its 43 listed shares were June 1. The stocks were actually tions all came down as compared to be included in the coveted MSCI ruling at a high of QR150 on May to the previous days. The trading Emerging Markets Index. 29, the last day of trading in May. value was QR935.99m, while vol- The market capitalization of However, when the market umes totaled 18.27 million shares. the QE on June 1 was QR739.81bn reopened after weekly closure on THE PENINSULA THURSDAY 5 JUNE 2014 04 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com HOME No new cases of MERS in Qatar: SCH Qatar to ban camel imports from outside GCC; HMC lab tests 14,000 human and animal samples BY FAZEENA SALEEM Pilgrims urged to take precautions DOHA: The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) said yester- DOHA: The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) advised pilgrims day that there were no new returning from Umrah or Haj to seek medical attention if they cases of MERS — Middle East have fever within two weeks as they could be screened for MERS.