CHINA MOVE | Page 3 Q1 HIT | Page 10 First steps to Barclays to pay for oil in pay $2bn yuan in 2018 fi ne in US

Friday, March 30, 2018 Rajab 13, 1439 AH LOSING MOMENTUM: Page 12 Consumer spend GULF TIMES up slightly in US; jobless claims BUSINESS at 45-year low Banks, industrials help QSE-listed firms enhance 2017 profitability

By Santhosh V Perumal in the corresponding period of the The sector, whose share was 55% in listed entities, witnessed its net profit profitability, saw its index shrink 15.85% listed companies, recorded a 18.16% Business Reporter previous year. The Qatar Index, the the overall net profitability, witnessed drop 3.71% to QR3.98bn compared to year-to-date ended December 31, 2017. shrinkage in cumulative net profit to headline index of the bourse, fell more its index trim 7.9% year-to-date ended more than 25% slump a year ago. However, the insurance sector, which QR1.53bn against a 17.27% fall in the than 18% year-to-date ended December December 31, 2017. The sector, which constituted 10% of has five listed companies, reported previous year. The improved earnings performance 31, 2017. The industrials sector, which has nine the overall net profitability, witnessed the maximum decline of 39.83% in The sector, which contributed about 4% of the banking and industry helped The listed companies’ net profit listed constituents, saw its cumulative its index register a 14.66% shrinkage cumulative net profit to QR0.84bn in to the overall net profitability, saw its Qatar Stock Exchange-listed companies cumulated at QR38.56bn during 2017 net profit grow 5.99% to QR7.43bn year-to-date ended December 31, 2017. 2017 compared to 36.42% decline in index maximum fall 30.6% year-to-date enhance their net profitability during against QR38.14bn in 2016. At present, against a 25.43% plunge in the previous The consumer goods and services the 2016. ended December 2017. 2017, notwithstanding the economic the bourse has 45 listed entities. year. sector, which has nine listed entities, The sector, which contributed more The telecom sector’s (Ooredoo) blockade imposed by the siege The banking and financial services The sector, which contributed about witnessed a 5.54% slump in cumulative than 2% to the overall net profitability cumulative net profit shrank 10.31% to countries. sector, which has 13 listed constituents, 19% to the overall net profitability of net profit to QR1.94bn in January- of the listed companies, saw its index QR1.97bn in January-December this The QSE-listed firms’ 2017 net profit saw a 6.6% expansion in cumulative the listed companies, saw its index tank December 2017 against a 9.75% fall a plummet 21.54% during January- year compared to a 3.51% expansion in showed a more than 1% growth year- net profit to QR21.06bn compared to a 20.77% in January-December 2017. year ago. The sector, which contributed December last year. 2016. The sector index had fallen 8.9% on-year compared to a 12% plunge 1.55% decline in 2016. The real estate segment, which has four more than 5% to the overall net The transport sector, which has three year-to-date in December 31, 2017.

Oil seen rising in 2018 as Opec wages tug-of-war Qatar posts 2% real with US shale fi rms

Reuters London growth in Q4 on il prices are likely to rise this year thanks to supply dis- ruptions and an Opec-led deal to limit production, but Odoubts over the future of compliance with the multilat- eral agreement and rising US production could stem the upward momentum, a Reuters poll showed yesterday. A survey of 31 economists and analysts polled by Reuters showed Brent crude would average nearly $64 a barrel in 2018, versus $63 forecast in the February survey, but below the $67.18 non-hydrocarbons average for the benchmark so far in 2018. Brent prices have risen 4% this year, supported by a deal be- By Santhosh V Perumal Qatar’s GDP is estimated to have grown tween the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Business Reporter 9.4% and 5.7% year-on-year and quarter- and non-Opec producers led by Russia to curb output by about on-quarter respectively. The hydrocar- 1.8mn bpd through 2018. bons saw 15.2% and 7.1% surge on yearly The price briefl y rose above $70 a barrel this week, supported 4% expansion in non-hydrocar- and quarterly basis and non-hydrocarbons by tension in the Middle East and declining output in Venezuela, bons completely masked the mar- 6.7% and 5% respectively. one of the group’s largest producers, where economic crisis has Aginal 0.4% dip in hydrocarbons, The yearly nominal growth in the non- cut production to its lowest in nearly 30 years. thus helping Qatar register an healthy mining sector during Q4, 2017 was mainly A sustained drawdown in US inventories also helped push the about 2% year-on-year real growth in the due to the manufacturing sector, which price up towards $70, a peak last seen in December 2014. fourth quarter (Q4) of 2017, according to witnessed a 21.9% surge, followed by con- “We view it rather unlikely that Opec will exit already by mid- the offi cial fi gures. struction (17.4%), utilities (6.9%), trans- year. However, talking about a possible extension of the deal be- The country’s gross domestic product, port and storage (6.6%), wholesale and yond 2018, we are rather sceptical,” Hannes Loacker of Raiff eis- or GDP, at constant prices (base year 2013) retail trade (1.1%) and fi nance and insur- en Capital Management said. “We see a big challenge in bringing fell 2.3% compared to the third quarter of ance (0.5%); even as accommodation and in Russia once more. Without Russian participation, the will of 2017 despite stronger non-hydrocarbons; catering growth shrank 6.2%, information some other Opec members may also be abating somewhat.” said the fi gures released by the Ministry and communication 3.2% and real estate Saudi Arabia and Russia are working on a long-term pact that of Development Planning and Statistics People take part in the Qatar National Day celebrations in Doha on December 18, 2017. 3%. could extend controls over world crude supplies by major ex- (MDPS). Qatar’s year-on-year growth trajectory during Q4 indicates the inherent buoyancy in the On a quarterly basis, the transport and porters for many years. Qatar’s year-on-year growth trajectory economy in spite of the blockade imposed by the siege countries. storage grew 7.3%, construction (7.1%), “Even if Opec compliance with pledged supply remains el- during Q4 indicates the inherent buoyan- wholesale and retail trade (6.9%), manu- evated through the balance of 2018, the explosive growth in US cy in the economy in spite of the blockade On a quarterly basis, mining and quar- communication 2.9%, utilities 1.9% and facturing (6.2%), fi nance and insurance shale oil supply accompanied by growth in crude oil export imposed by the siege countries. rying sector is estimated to have deceler- accommodation and catering 1.7%. (6%), accommodation and catering (1.2%) capacity will likely tip the balance towards lower oil prices in the A self-imposed moratorium on new ated 6.4%; whereas non-hydrocarbons On a quarterly basis, the fi nance and in- and real estate (0.9%). Nevertheless, there second half,” BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchilinguirian said. projects in the North Oil Field until the rose 1.6% during Q4, 2017, MDPS said. surance sector is estimated to have grown was a 22.1% fall in the growth of utilities Analysts expect US production to grow by at least 1mn bpd second quarter of 2017 and the oil produc- Within non-hydrocarbons, the con- 6.4%, wholesale and retail trade (6.2%), and 1.2% in information and communica- this year. US output now stands at nearly 10.4mn bpd, taking it ing and exporting countries’ deal had re- struction sector’s real growth year-on- transport and storage (4.4%), accom- tion. past top exporter Saudi Arabia and within reach of biggest pro- strained the growth of hydrocarbon output, year is estimated to be 14.2%, manufactur- modation and catering (3.9%); where- The import duties, on real terms, are es- ducer Russia. resulting in an estimated overall real GDP ing (6.2%), fi nance and insurance (5.9%), as utilities’ growth plummeted 22.1%, timated to have grown 14.3% and 27.5% on “The balance between strong production growth in the US, on growth of 2.1% in 2017, the International real estate (3.9%) and transport and stor- manufacturing 2.7% and information and yearly and quarterly basis respectively. On the one hand, and continued restraint by Opec and Russia, on Monetary Fund had recently said after its age (0.8%); while that of wholesale and communication 1.1%. nominal terms, their growth is forecasted the other, remains the key factor on the supply side,” said Cailin recent Article IV consultation with Qatar. retail trade shrank 3.6%, information and On a nominal basis (at current prices), at 16.5% and 28.2% respectively. Birch, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Canadian Business Council Qatar registered with QFC

The recently-established Canadian Seetharaman, Doha Bank Group chief Business Council Qatar (CBCQ) has executive officer. CBCQ board of been registered with the Qatar Financial directors’ secretary and CNA-Q chair, Centre (QFC). Business Studies, Brenda Lockyer said, The council’s goal is to provide a forum “It has taken years of hard work to get for Canadian Business Executives and us to this point. However, this is just other invited members in Qatar to the beginning. The formation of the identify, discuss and pursue common CBCQ means visibility and prominence interests regarding their activities. in the Qatar business sector.” The CBCQ also aims to provide a Ambassador Norfolk said, “The Embassy forum for members to network of Canada is looking forward to working and exchange information and with the CBCQ to raise Canada’s profile experiences and promote commercial, and further develop our brand here in economic, technical, sport and cultural Qatar. At this time, with the still ongoing relationships as well as bilateral trade adaptations to the changed economic and investment between Canada and geography that the country has faced Qatar. since June 5 last year, there continue Attending the public launch of the CBCQ to be considerable opportunities and on Wednesday at an event held at the potential for Canadian and Qatari Intercontinental Doha the City Hotel, partnerships, and we at the Embassy were founding members from Doha and the Government of Canada remain Bank, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar committed to further growing our (CNA-Q), The Look Company, Stantec, bilateral relationship – together with the Multiplex, and Apparel Qatar. CBCQ.” Among those present at the There are diff erent membership levels event were Adrian Norfolk, for Individuals, Canadian and non- Canada’s ambassador to Qatar; Canadian companies. Youssef Mohamed al-Jaidah, QFC More information can be had from the CBCQ’s goal is to provide a forum for Canadian Business Executives and other invited members in Qatar to identify, discuss and pursue chief executive officer and Dr R CBCQ website http://www.cbcqatar.org common interests regarding their activities Gulf Times 2 Friday, March 30, 2018 BUSINESS Turkish economy expands 7.4% in 2017, beating forecasts

Reuters That growth, which beat a forecast of monetary policy. Erdogan, a self- side of the coin, there is a high increase On a yearly basis, it grew 7.3%. Third- indicators for the Q1 2018 show that the Ankara 7.2% in a Reuters poll, is likely to be described “enemy” of interest rates, in imports due to strong domestic quarter GDP growth was revised up to growth continues to be in line with our welcome news for President Tayyip has repeatedly called for lower rates to demand. The trend in imports will 11.3% year-on-year from an initial 11.1%. targets.” Erdogan in the run-up to presidential boost growth. also be important for 2018. The “The strong course of investment and The lira was little changed at 4.0090 Turkey’s economy expanded 7.4% last and parliamentary elections in 2019. The bank’s reluctance to increase its current account deficit may be further employment will continue to support to the US dollar at 0736 GMT. The year, off icial data showed yesterday, Foreign sentiment has generally soured main policy rate has fuelled concerns. pressured by this.” growth in 2018 with domestic demand,” currency recently touched a record low marking its fastest expansion since on Turkey, helping send the lira to a “The biggest contribution to growth Fourth-quarter GDP expanded a Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek of 4.0375. It is down around 5% against 2013 on robust growth in industry series of record lows, on concerns comes from domestic demand,” said seasonally adjusted 1.8% from the said, adding Turkey was one of the the dollar this year, making it one of and construction, and beating market about double-digit inflation. Muammer Komurcuoglu, research previous quarter, the Turkish Statistical fastest-growing economies in the G-20 the worst performing emerging market expectations. Investors are particularly worried by manager at Is Invest. “On the other Institute said. group of nations last year. “Preliminary currencies.

Saudi bourse dips despite emerging market designation

AFP Riyadh

he Saudi stock market dipped yes- terday, despite news the kingdom Thad been granted secondary emerg- ing market status by the global FTSE Russel index. The status is one Riyadh has long sought in order to attract needed foreign invest- ment, as the kingdom seeks to diversify its oil-dependent economy. After rising 1% at the start of trading, Traders speak with each other as they sit behind their desks in front of the QSE board in Doha (file). Heavy demand, especially at the insurance, telecom and consumer goods counters, led the 20-stock Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index Qatar Index to gain 0.24% to 8,573.99 points yesterday. slipped into negative territory one hour af- ter the opening. Tadawul welcomed in a statement yes- terday the announcement made by FTSE Russell to include it in the FTSE Global Eq- uity Index after it has been on the watch- list since September 2015. The actual procedures of joining will start in March 2019. Qatar shares snap 6-day Tadawul, the largest Arab bourse with a capitalisation of over $460bn, joins the stock markets of Qatar and the UAE which have been accorded the status in 2014. “FTSE’s announcement today is signifi - cant for Tadawul in that it indicates grow- losing run on institutionals ing investor confi dence in the Saudi capital market and recognition that we are among By Santhosh V Perumal Midcap equities witnessed ro- Zad Holding, Qatari Investors Group, QR24.3mn the previous day. to QR119.65mn and 27% in deals to the largest and most liquid emerging mar- Business Reporter bust buying interests in the bourse, Doha Insurance, Gulf Warehousing, Gulf individuals turned net sell- 1,696. kets in the world,” Tadawul CEO Khalid al- whose capitalisation gained 0.09% Barwa, Woqod, Qatar Islamic Bank, ers to the extent of QR0.42mn com- The insurance sector’s trade vol- Hussan said. to QR470.52bn. Dlala and Alijarah Holding. pared with net buyers of QR0.81mn ume grew 18% to 0.67mn equities, Gaurav Shah, CEO of Saudi Al Rajhi Cap- he Qatar Stock Exchange yes- Trade turnover and volumes were Nevertheless, Mazaya Qatar, Mi- on March 28. value by less than 1% to QR19.04mn ital described the decision as “a watershed terday snapped six consecu- on the increase in the market, where laha, Ezdan, Industries Qatar, QIIB, Local retail investors’ net buying and transactions by 5% to 232. moment for the Kingdom”. Ttive days of bearish spell to the banking, industrials and real es- Qatar National Cement, Qatar In- weakened signifi cantly to QR3.33mn The market witnessed a 17% in- “The decision will further improve li- settle higher on strong buying sup- tate sectors together accounted for dustrial Manufacturing and Qatar against QR26.13mn on Wednesday. crease in the industrials sector’s trade quidity, lower equity risk premium associ- port from Gulf and foreign institu- about 81% of the total volume. First Bank were among the losers. Total trade volume rose 21% to volume to 1.98mn stocks to more ated with the Saudi stock market, improve tions. The Total Return Index rose 0.24% The Gulf institutions’ net buying 9.78mn shares, value by 51% to than double value to QR98.51mn on a corporate governance and is an important Heavy demand, especially at the to 15,105.76 points, the All Share In- shot up infl uentially to QR26.3mn QR297.27mn and transactions by 30% jump in deals to 862. step to further institutionalise the market,” insurance, telecom and consumer dex by 0.21% to 2,525.17 points and compared to QR18.88mn the previ- 28% to 4,665. The transport sector’s trade vol- Shah said. goods counters, led the 20-stock Qa- the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by ous day. The telecom sector reported a 56% ume was up 10% to 0.34mn shares, The decision was taken following a series tar Index to gain 0.24% to 8,573.99 0.07% to 2,194.02 points. Non-Qatari funds turned net buy- surge in trade volume to 0.67mn eq- value by 46% to QR8.31mn and of stock market reforms by Tadawul and its points. The insurance index soared 1.85%, ers to the tune of QR23.84mn against uities but on a 10% fall in value to transactions by 34% to 259. regulator Saudi Capital Market Authority to The Doha Bank and Masraf Al Ray- followed by telecom (1.08%), con- net sellers of QR23.67mn on March QR10.9mn despite 33% higher deals However, there was a 45% plunge make it easier for foreigners to invest. an sponsored exchange traded funds, sumer goods (1.05%), transport 28. to 362. in the consumer goods sector’s trade In 2015, it introduced the qualifi ed for- QETF and QATR , saw 0.16% and (0.42%) and banks and fi nancial Non-Qatari individuals’ net buy- The real estate sector’s trade vol- volume to 0.21mn equities, 17% in eign investor programme allowing large 0.39% gains respectively. services (0.07%); whereas realty ing grew perceptibly to QR8.74mn ume soared 28% to 1.61mn stocks, value to QR19.19mn and 1% in deals international institutions to invest on the The increased buying support and industrials declined 0.27% and compared to QR2.17mn on Wednes- value by 19% to QR21.67mn and to 397. market. from non-Qatari individuals also 0.13% respectively. day. transactions by 53% to 857. In the debt market, there was no Since then, 120 international fi nancial helped maintain the bullish momen- More than 53% of the stocks ex- However, domestic funds’ net The banks and fi nancial services trading of treasury bills and sover- institutions have joined Tadawul and 180 tum in the market, which is up 0.59% tended gains with major movers be- profi t-booking strengthened sub- sector saw a 24% expansion in trade eign bonds. others are in the process of joining, Tad- year-to-date. ing Qatar Insurance, Vodafone Qatar, stantially to QR61.8mn against volume to 4.3mn shares, 53% in value awul said. GCC banks to benefi t from improving macroeconomic environment in 2018: BMI

CC commercial banks will from recovering economic ac- crease, supporting loan growth. creasingly boosted domestic benefi t from the improving tivity, we caution that growth Meanwhile, BMI also expects debt issuances to finance fiscal Gmacroeconomic environ- in the GCC banking sector will governments’ ambitious economic shortfalls. Commercial banks, ment across the region in 2018 and remain modest compared with transformation programmes to be looking to move into assets per- beyond, which will have a positive the pre-oil slump boom years,” a long-term driver of loan growth, ceived as less risky substantially impact on credit demand, BMI Re- points out BMI, a Fitch Group as they put a strong emphasis on increased their expose to the Bahrain wakes up to bond reality search has said in a report. company. supporting the development of government debt. Slowly rising interest rates and All the GCC countries look set non-oil industries and improving Indeed, bonds accounted for governments’ provision of fund- for an uptick in economic activity the region’s infrastructure net- only 2.5% of assets held by com- as secondary market hit ing will support deposit growth, in 2018, which BMI believes, will works – a precondition to attract mercial banks in Saudi Arabia in ensuring broad sector stability, it be a boon for the banking sectors investment and grow these coun- 2014, but this proportion reached Bloomberg from the region have seen a drop off in bids said. of these countries. tries’ non-oil sectors. 7.9% of the total in 2016, as claims Dubai as appetite for Gulf deals flagged amid tight GCC (Gulf Cooperation Coun- “We forecast average weighted This will be a particularly sig- on the public sector expanded by pricing. Weak global markets are also adding to cil) commercial banks will benefi t real GDP growth of 2.3% in 2018 nifi cant driver of loan demand 82% in 2016. the jitters. from an improving operating envi- and 2.7% in 2019 across the block, in the UAE and Qatar, which are While public sector borrowing Bahrain reined in its bond-sale plans as inves- Bahrain’s decision to not issue the longer-tenor ronment in 2018, largely owing to after bottoming at an estimated respectively organising the Expo slowed across the bloc in 2017, as tors sought higher yields amid a surge in issu- conventional bonds is because “it seems inves- the economic recovery underway 0.4% in 2017,” BMI said. 2020 in Dubai and the 2022 FIFA gains in oil prices supported fi s- ance from the Gulf. tors’ feedback regarding pricing didn’t match across the region. The recovery will be largely World Cup. cal revenues and as government After indicating last week that the kingdom up to what the issuer was willing to off er,” said Rising oil prices will enable gov- driven by further gains in oil prices In both countries, these events sought to limit liquidity pressures could sell as many as three diff erent tenors in Hakki Kalsen, a portfolio manager for emerging- ernments to move away from aus- – the BMI Research team forecasts are seen as catalysts for economic in the domestic banking sectors, a mix of conventional and Islamic debt, it only market debt at Union Investment Privatfonds in terity, which support consumer Brent to average $65 per barrel diversifi cation, and will support governments will remain a key off ered a 7.5 year sukuk on Wednesday. Frankfurt. and business confi dence and have in 2018 and $69 in 2019, up from economic activity – and therefore source of asset growth for com- The kingdom raised $1bn from the sale of The Gulf’s smallest economy and a close Saudi a positive impact on credit de- $54.7 in 2017, which will support credit growth – in several sector mercial banks, as BMI still fore- Islamic bonds at 6.875%, compared with initial ally, Bahrain has been borrowing regularly from mand. confi dence in the economy, and including construction, tourism casts the bloc to stay in defi cits (on price guidance in the 7% area, people familiar the international debt market. Investors, count- Meanwhile, government ef- enable governments to move away and retail, BMI said. an aggregate level) over the next with the matter said. The order book, includ- ing on the implicit support from its neighbours, forts to support domestic banks from austerity. Meanwhile, asset growth will fi ve years. ing interest from the joint lead managers, was have so far shown support for the kingdom through capital injections, com- The improving consumer and also be supported by greater lend- However, BMI cautions that around $2bn for the debt, the people said. despite sluggish economic conditions. Late bined with rising interest rates, business confi dence will translate ing to the public sector will remain the growing importance of pub- Bahrain last borrowed $3bn in its biggest-ever last year, Bahrain was said to ask Gulf allies for will support deposit growth, en- into increased demand for credit a key source of asset growth over lic sector borrowing in banks’ as- syndicated debt sale in September. financial assistance as it sought to replenish its suring suffi cient funding to grow in 2018 and beyond. As confi dence the coming years. set portfolios will be negative for Bahrain’s yields had jumped since the roadshow foreign-exchange reserves and avert a currency banks’ loan books without ham- rises, businesses will resume their Following the slump in oil overall profi tability, as debt tends details were shared with investors. Recent sales devaluation. pering overall sector stability. expansion plans, while consumer prices since H2, 2014, govern- to be safer, and therefore associ- “That said, despite tailwinds demand for credit will also in- ments across the region in- ated with lower interest rates. Gulf Times Friday, March 30, 2018 3 BUSINESS How world’s newest oil futures fared this week

Bloomberg Singapore

The burden of a quarter century of expectations is weighing on China’s oil futures. The yuan-denominated contract that was launched this week has lofty goals – from providing a benchmark for buyers in the world’s biggest oil-consuming region to challenging the dominance of the dollar and encouraging the Chinese currency’s use in global trade. The debut on Monday, which ended years of delays and setbacks since China’s first attempt to list the securities in 1993, was given a hand by some of oil’s biggest names including Glencore and Trafigura Group. Yet data from the first few days of trading signal the futures have a ways to go for success. A costly contract Higher transaction fees and margin requirements are likely to limit foreign participation in the Chinese market, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The transaction fee for Shanghai futures is about $3.20 per lot, compared with about $1.50 for US oil contracts, the bank said. The margin required to participate in China’s futures is 7% of the contract value, rising to 10% the month before delivery and 20% in the last three days before delivery. In the US, the margin is $2,100 a lot, or about 3.4% of the contract value, according to Goldman. “Elevated transactions fees, margin requirements and position limits may ultimately dampen the size and price impact of INE speculative flows, with the exchange already publicly stating its desire to limit volatility and large price moves,” Goldman analysts including Damien Courvalin said in a March 28 note. A question of price Texas Intermediate. On Monday, traders market participants are still assessing participants - drillers, refiners and fuel Fickle speculators significantly lower than that of DME. brought down the price for September- the appropriate value for the Shanghai purchasers such as airlines - to hedge That “points to too much speculative Traders were watching for how the delivery futures to levels close to Brent contract. future production or consumption. On day two of trading in the Shanghai trading on the China oil futures,” contract would be priced relative to for that month. The Shanghai contract Selective liquidity “One of the concerns for China’s International Energy Exchange (INE), said Yang. Chinese exchanges are other benchmarks, given its unique traded at a similar level, when adjusted oil futures is the extremely high volumes on the bourse were more than notoriously volatile; take for example characteristics. While the futures for currency, for the rest of that session Ideally, the futures would be used to concentration on the nearby futures four times as much as levels for Dubai its apple futures, where almost 1mn were expected to be propped up by and Tuesday. protect against price fluctuations down contracts,” said Jian Yang, JP Morgan Mercantile Exchange’s Oman crude contracts – the equivalent of $11bn freight costs for transporting supply On Wednesday, though, the Chinese the line. However, trading in Shanghai endowed chair and research director at contract. A closer look at open interest, worth of the fruit – traded on a single to China, the relatively lower quality of futures broke down sharply and has so far been concentrated in the the JP Morgan Center for Commodities however, points to a less positive day in March. That’s the kind of frenzy oil delivered into the contract signalled found a new level, lower than Brent front-month contract more than it is in in the University of Colorado Denver. picture for the Chinese exchange. that Chinese regulators want to avoid it would be dragged down versus and higher than WTI. The fluctuations other markets. The lack of liquidity for “It could be an indication of the lack of Open interest, a proxy for the amount because it undermines the reliability of European Brent and American West relative to the other benchmarks signal further out hurts the ability for industry participation by hedgers.” of hedging activity, in the INE is the futures as a benchmark. ‘China taking first steps to pay for oil in yuan this year’

Reuters equivalent to China’s gross domestic product on the matter by Chinese authorities. The move would mark a major step in reviving which many expect to become a third global Hong Kong/Beijing last year. China is the world’s second-largest oil usage of the currency of the world’s second- price benchmark alongside Brent and West A pilot programme for yuan payment could consumer and in 2017 overtook the US as the largest economy for off shore payments after Texas Intermediate crude. Shanghai’s new be launched as early as the second half of this biggest importer of crude oil. several years of on-again, off -again measures. crude contract is traded in yuan. China is taking its first steps towards paying year, two of the people said. Its demand is a key determinant of global oil If successful, it could also trigger shifting Besides the potential of giving China more for imported crude oil in yuan instead of the Regulators have informally asked a handful prices. other product payments to the yuan, including power over global oil prices, “this will help US dollar, three people with knowledge of of financial institutions to prepare for pricing Under the plan being discussed, Beijing could metals and mining raw materials. the Chinese government in its eff orts to the matter told Reuters, a key development China’s crude imports in the yuan, said the possibly start with purchases from Russia and All three sources, who spoke to Reuters on internationalise renminbi (yuan),” said Sushant in Beijing’s eff orts to establish its currency three sources at some of the financial firms. Angola, one of the people said, although the the condition that they not be named, said the Gupta, research director at energy consultancy internationally. “Being the biggest buyer of oil, it’s only natural source had no details of anything in the works. plans were at early stages. Wood Mackenzie. Shifting just part of global oil trade into the for China to push for the usage of yuan for Both Russia and Angola, like China, are keen to Off icials at some of China’s state oil companies Unipec, trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner yuan is potentially huge. payment settlement. break the dollar’s global dominance. said they had not heard of such plans. Sinopec, has already inked a first deal to import Oil is the world’s most traded commodity, with This will also improve the yuan liquidity in the They are also two of the top suppliers of crude The plans coincide with this week’s launch of Middle East crude priced against the newly- an annual trade value of around $14tn, roughly global market,” said one of the people briefed oil to China, along with Saudi Arabia. the first Chinese crude oil futures in Shanghai, launched Shanghai crude futures contract.

Bloomberg QuickTake Q&A China oil futures are here: What you need to know

By Grant Clark and Sungwoo Park Why now? which trades on ICE Futures Europe in Singapore London. The push for oil futures gained How will Shanghai futures impetus in 2017 when China surpassed work? It’s taken a quarter of a century, but the US as the world’s biggest crude China finally has its own oil futures. importer. The Asian nation’s purchases Trading hours will be 9am-11.30am At 9 am local time on Monday, reached a record high in January. and 1.30pm-3pm local time and, at crude contracts began trading on Lower crude prices have played a night, 9pm-2.30am. The daily trading the Shanghai International Energy part as to why not earlier. Chinese band has been set at 5% on either Exchange. Futures for September oil futures were proposed in 2012 side, and 10% on its debut day, while settlement opened at 440 yuan a following spikes above $100 a barrel, margin requirements are at 7%. Seven barrel, up from a reference price of 416 but prices in 2017 have averaged little grades will be deliverable, including yuan. The world’s biggest oil buyer is more than $50. There’s also concern Dubai crude, Basrah Light and China’s off ering yuan-denominated futures over volatility. China introduced Shengli. The contracts will have 36 that foreigners can buy and sell - a first domestic crude futures in 1993, delivery months with the first 12 in Chinese commodities. Among the only to stop a year later because of months as rolling contracts. The daily most intriguing questions is whether volatility. In recent years, it repeatedly cost to store crude for delivery into the traditional benchmarks of Brent delayed its new contract amid turmoil the Shanghai exchange is set at 0.2 crude in London and West Texas in equities and financial markets. yuan a barrel, or at least twice the rate Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in a counting machine while a clerk counts them at a branch of a commercial Intermediate in New York will face a Such destabilizing moves have often elsewhere, in a move seen as deterring bank in Beijing. China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer and in 2017 overtook the US as the biggest importer serious challenger. Here are some of prompted China’s government to excessive price swings. of crude oil. the other key questions. intervene in markets in one way or What’s China’s track record Why is this important for another. in commodities? relented when China intervened with kept foreign investors as bit players in look at transactions in yuan because China? How do oil futures work? tighter trading rules, higher fees and China’s giant stock and bond markets. China is a key market, but it will take Nickel was the last major commodity shorter trading hours. As of March 21, a total of 19 overseas years. Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Futures trading would wrest some Futures contracts fix prices today for to be listed there in 2015; within six Will foreigners buy in? brokers have registered with the David Fickling argues that China control over pricing from the main delivery at a later date. Consumers weeks, trading in Shanghai surpassed Shanghai exchange for dealing the oil doesn’t have “nearly the influence in international benchmarks, which are use them to protect against higher benchmark futures on the London That remains to be seen. Overseas oil futures contract. the oil market needed to carry out based on dollars. Denominating oil prices down the line; speculators Metal Exchange, or LME. In China, producers and traders would need to Could the yuan challenge such a coup.” On the other hand, contracts in yuan would promote the use them to bet on where prices are speculators play a far greater role, swallow not just China’s penchant for the dollar’s dominance in paying in yuan for oil could become use of China’s currency in global trade, headed. In 2017, oil futures contracts boosting trading volumes but making occasional market interventions but oil? part of President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, one of the country’s key long-term in New York and London outstripped markets susceptible to volatility. In also its capital controls. Restrictions One Road” initiative to develop ties goals. And China would benefit from physical trading by a factor of 23. early 2016, the then-head of the LME on moving money in and out of Not any time soon, since paying for oil across Eurasia, including the Middle having a benchmark that reflects Crude oil is among the most actively said it was possible some Chinese the country have been tightened in dollars is an entrenched practice, East. Chinese participation in Saudi the grades of oil that are mostly traded commodities, with two key traders did not even know what they in the past two years after a shock according to some analysts. Shady Aramco’s planned initial public off ering consumed by local refineries and diff er benchmarks: West Texas Intermediate, were trading as investors piled into devaluation of the yuan in 2015 Shaher, head of macro strategy at could help sway Saudi opinion toward from those underpinning Western or WTI, which trades on the New York everything from steel reinforcement prompted a surge in money leaving Dubai-based lender Emirates NBD, accepting yuan, which is used in only contracts. Mercantile Exchange, and Brent crude, bars to iron ore. Steep price rises the mainland. Similar hurdles have says it makes sense in the long run to about 2% of global payments. Gulf Times 4 Friday, March 30, 2018 BUSINESS

Concerns over Hyundai Motor China warns US not to Group overhaul rattle Mobis investors

Reuters open ‘Pandora’s Box’ Seoul Worries that Hyundai Motor Group’s planned Reuters restructuring will benefit the controlling family Beijing ahead of some shareholders have hit Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd, which is set to be the group’s de facto holding firm, sending its shares sharply hina warned the United States yes- lower yesterday. terday not to open Pandora’s Box and The parts supplier’s shares fell 3% as investors Cspark a fl urry of protectionist practices fretted it may be forced to hand over a lucrative across the globe, even as Beijing pointed to US business to Hyundai Glovis, another group firm, goods that it could target in a deepening too cheaply as part of the structural overhaul. Sino-US trade dispute. At one point, it tumbled as low as 8%. China could target a broad range of US busi- “From the perspective of the biggest share- nesses from agriculture to aircraft, autos, holders, this is a satisfying deal...but for minority semiconductors and even services if the trade shareholders, there seems to be nothing for now,” confl ict escalates, the offi cial China Daily said Lee Hae-chang, a portfolio manager at Fran- newspaper said in an editorial yesterday. klin Templeton Investment Trust Management. President Donald Trump’s move last week Lee, who attended an investor conference held to slap up to $60bn in tariff s on some Chinese by executives of both Mobis and Glovis, was one imports has since provoked a warning from of many participants questioning whether the Beijing that it could retaliate with duties of up deal will be beneficial to smaller Mobis investors. to $3bn of US imports. Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s second- China’s biggest US imports are aircraft and biggest family-owned conglomerate, said on related equipment, soybeans and autos, with Wednesday it planned to streamline its complex the total bill about $40bn last year. ownership structure in response to pressure from “The malicious practices of the United the government and investors. States are like opening Pandora’s Box, and The chief of South Korea’s antitrust agency, there is a danger of triggering a chain reaction Kim Sang-jo, said the plan was a “positive” that will spread the virus of trade protection- step towards improving the group’s ownership ism across the globe,” a commerce ministry structure. spokesman said. Under the plan, which needs the approval of The offi cial line from China continues to be both companies’ shareholders on May 29, Hy- stern even as Beijing says it is all for dialogue undai Mobis will spin off its domestic module and and negotiations. after-service parts businesses and merge them The feedback from US and Chinese offi cials with Glovis, a logistics firm. on the nature and extent of trade talks remains Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong- mixed, media reports show. koo and his son and vice chairman Chung Eui-sun The Financial Times reported only on Mon- plan to sell their shares in Glovis to buy stakes in day that China had off ered to buy more US Mobis. micro-chips and move more quickly to fi nal- Aff iliates Kia Motors, Glovis and Hyundai ise rules allowing foreign fi rms to take major- Steel will sell their stakes in Mobis as part of the ity stakes in Chinese securities fi rms, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his speech at the closing session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. exchange. people briefed on the negotiations. China’s commerce ministry said yesterday the US approach to trade could trigger a domino eff ect and US trade protectionism will only hurt US Hyundai Glovis shares closed up 4.9%, having Chinese customs data shows the US ac- consumers. earlier surged as much as 23.6% to their highest counted for just $2.6bn, or 1%, of China’s to- intraday level since October 2015. tal semiconductor imports last year by value, said, referring to concerns over Chinese re- a domino eff ect and US trade protectionism measures”. It warned that if the confl ict con- At least one fund manager said he would be with suppliers in South Korea, Taiwan and taliation. China has long said it would like will only hurt US consumers. tinued to escalate “China could consider tak- opposing the deal. Japan commanding a bigger share. to import more US high-tech goods, includ- While China hopes the US will resolve trade ing reciprocal measures against US imports “This is passing too big a piece to Glovis,” the But a source in the US semiconductor in- ing high-end chips, but has been stymied by confl icts with China through dialogue, it will of agricultural products besides soybeans, as fund manager told Reuters ahead of the investor dustry said US companies have slightly more US export controls set on national security take all possible steps to protect its interests, well as aircraft, automobiles and semicon- conference, declining to be identified as he was than 50% of China’s market for chips, though grounds. ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular ductors.” not authorised to speak to media. export data does not refl ect that because The Trump administration is accusing briefi ng in Beijing. “And should the Trump administration Park In-woo, an analyst at Mirae Asset Daewoo, much of the product is sent off shore for low Chinese fi rms of stealing intellectual prop- “Negotiations must be equal, and China further obstruct Chinese investments in the said that while the valuation for the after-service value added processing. erty and forcing US fi rms to share commercial will not accept any consultation under uni- US, even tougher measures such as restric- parts business seemed a bit low, the mid-to-long The source said the US semiconductor in- secrets – allegations that China denies. lateral coercion,” Gao said. tions on imports of US services and similar term view for Mobis was positive. dustry had not asked the Trump administra- Yesterday, China’s State Council, or cabi- On Wednesday, Trump’s top trade envoy investment reviews would likely be on the “After the spin-off and merger, Hyundai Mobis tion to urge China to buy more US chips and net, said transfers of Chinese intellectual said he would give China a 60-day window table,” it said. Separately, Hong Kong’s South will be on the top of the group’s ownership struc- had been told by senior US offi cials that the property rights to foreign investors will be before tariff s on Chinese goods take eff ect, China Morning Post reported yesterday that ture and will be able to expect eff ects such as US government had not made such a request reviewed if national security is determined to but added that it would take years to bring the US and Chinese offi cials had been holding boosted shareholder returns,” Park added. to Beijing. be at stake, or if core technological innova- two countries’ trading relationship “to a good talks to shield American soybeans and other In addition to resolving the group’s cross- “We don’t need China to buy more chips,” tions are involved. place.” agricultural products from trade sanctions. shareholdings in response to regulatory pres- the source said, adding that US industry was Government approval will also be needed The tariff list is expected in the next several China is still considering import curbs on sure, the restructuring plan also paves the way concerned about being targeted by Chinese for intellectual property transfers involving days. The China Daily yesterday quoted Pre- US soybeans, US Soybean Export Council to building up capital for the junior Chung to non-tariff barriers. semiconductors, software and agriculture. mier Li Keqiang as telling a US Congressional Asia director Paul Burke said yesterday, fol- ultimately gain control of the group, investors “It’s more about (Chinese) subsidies, IP China’s commerce ministry said yester- delegation this week that China was open to lowing a meeting with the Ministry of Agri- and analysts said. protection, and cyber rules,” the source day the US approach to trade could trigger dialogue but “fully prepared with counter- culture.

Singapore says it is beating Hong Kong Japan govt lays groundwork for more as Asian business hub stimulus spending to off set tax hike Bloomberg to base those operations. Hong Hong Kong Kong is still a leader when it comes Reuters to financial activity, boasting Tokyo the world’s fourth-largest stock Hong Kong has become more market. While Singapore’s is a “China-centric,” enabling Singa- fraction of the size, it’s the largest apan’s government began laying the pore to take the lead when mul- in Southeast Asia. groundwork yesterday for big spend- tinational companies look to set Beh sees Singapore’s lead as a Jing next year to off set the impact of a up their Asian headquarters in the magnet for multinationals continu- planned nationwide sales tax hike. region, according to the country’s ing to widen as it bills itself as an The government should manage fi scal Economic Development Board. innovation-led economy, attracting policy to prevent growth from collapsing With Hong Kong becoming investors with its strong spending and should keep the impact of past sales more focused since 1997 on servic- on research and development, tax hikes in mind when it compiles the ing the massive Chinese economy, a still-generous tax regime, and fi scal 2019 budget, a mid-term report it’s given Singapore a leg up as a targeted labor laws. presented at the government’s top advi- hub for companies’ Asia-Pacific “We’re a small country – we’ll sory panel showed. operations, said Beh Swan Gin, never be a self-suff icient Silicon The government also conceded yes- chairman of the EDB, a government Valley that constantly just gener- terday that it will miss a fi scal discipline agency that helps attract invest- ates from within,” Beh said. “We target for fi scal 2018, which starts on ment to the Southeast Asian city. believe we’ll always need to attract April 1, due to a dip in tax revenue and “The importance of China to the industry leaders from outside.” past stimulus spending. Hong Kong economy has grown Singapore’s government spends Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet is disproportionately,” Beh said in the equivalent of about 1% of gross likely to adopt the report’s advice on fi s- an interview with Bloomberg on domestic product on research and cal policy, setting the stage for another Tuesday. “If you’re a company development, while the private year of big spending that many policy- that’s thinking about coordinating, sector contributes about 1.3% makers say is needed to prevent growth managing your activities across of GDP, said Beh. Authorities are from slowing. Asia, then Hong Kong becomes, I focused on raising the overall R&D “It is undeniable that past tax hikes suppose, more and more China- expenditure to about 3% of GDP, in had aff ected the economy, so we need to centric and it becomes perhaps line with other small, innovation- be mindful of the lessons from the past less suitable for those activities.” focused economies like Sweden when managing future fi scal policy,” About 37,400 international and Switzerland, Beh said. Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu companies base their operations Switzerland tallied about 3.4% Motegi said after the meeting of the ad- out of Singapore, including 7,000 in 2015 while Sweden was at 3.3%, visory panel. The government is sched- multinational corporations, with according to figures from the uled to raise the nationwide sales tax to more than half of those running Organisation for Economic Co- 10% from 8% in October 2019. their Asia-Pacific businesses from operation and Development. A similar hike in 2014 from 5% caused the city state, according to the EDB Businesses scored an extra a big decline in consumer spending and website. “The numbers speak for incentive from Singapore’s 2018 tipped the economy into recession. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends at an upper house parliamentary session in Tokyo. Abe’s cabinet is likely to adopt the themselves,” he said. “More com- budget to boost that spending: Some policymakers say the sales tax advisory panel report’s advice on fiscal policy, setting the stage for another year of big spending that many policymakers say is panies are now having their APAC The tax deduction for R&D project increase in 2014 also made it more diffi - needed to prevent growth from slowing. headquarters, or at least APAC non- costs and consumables was raised cult for the Bank of Japan to meet its 2% China headquarters, in Singapore.” to 250% from 150%. infl ation target. tegi said yesterday, which is worse than public debt burden is the worst in the On Wednesday Japan’s parliament Beh said he sees Hong Kong While some, particularly smaller, The chance of another huge budget or the government’s goal of 1%. world at more than twice the size of its passed a record ¥97.7tn ($917.28bn) state continuing to “grow in impor- firms have reported diff iculty in a new stimulus package for the fi scal year Originally, the government had a goal economy. budget for next fi scal year, which starts tance,” and that companies hiring staff amid stricter rules for starting in April 2019 could raise some of swinging to a primary budget sur- Since taking offi ce in late 2012, Abe has on April 1. The budget features a large looking to tap the Chinese market foreign workers since 2011, Beh concerns about fi scal discipline. plus in fi scal 2020, but now that this is made some progress in raising tax reve- welfare outlay to respond to a fast-age- will probably consider Hong Kong, said he’s confident that hasn’t hurt The ratio of the primary budget defi cit unachievable, the government will come nue and lowering new debt issuance, but ing population and a record military out- along with Shanghai or Beijing, Singapore’s competitiveness. to gross domestic product (GDP) is ex- up with new fi scal discipline targets by many economists worry this progress is lay to cope with regional tension related pected to reach 2.9% in fi scal 2018, Mo- June, Motegi said. Japan’s outstanding not enough to control the debt burden. to China and North Korea. Gulf Times Friday, March 30, 2018 5 BUSINESS

Debt sale drop hits China’s Ant Malaysian central bank says Financial

Bloomberg Hong Kong foiled attempted cyber-heist Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Finan- cial, the world’s biggest fintech Reuters firm, may have a problem. Kuala Lumpur/London Financing from an obscure part of the debt market that the company has relied heavily on alaysia’s central bank said for its key consumer lending yesterday it was the victim business is drying up. Mof a cyber attack in which It’s sold only 22.8bn yuan hackers sought to steal money us- ($3.6bn) of asset-backed securi- ing fraudulent wire transfers, the ties tied to consumer lending in latest in a series of electronic heists the first quarter, down 74% from at financial institutions around the the previous three months, world. according to data compiled by While Bank Negara Malaysia said Bloomberg and China Securiti- no funds were lost in the incident, zation Analytics. which it identified on Tuesday and China’s tech giants led by Ant involved falsified wire-transfer re- Financial have been ramping up quests over the SWIFT bank messag- consumer lending to meet surg- ing network. ing demand from cash-strapped It is the second known hack of a millennials buying everything central bank after the 2016 theft of from iPhones to hairdryers on $81mn from Bangladesh Bank. online shopping platforms. The Bangladesh heist, which also The firms then package involved fraudulent SWIFT transfer the lending into ABS, complex requests, led financial institutions financial products that they sell around the globe to bolster security. on to investors. Authorities have yet to capture the The micro-lending driv- masterminds behind that attack. ing such debt sales, though, The renewed targeting of a central has increasingly been in the bank is likely to prompt financial in- crosshairs of regulators as the stitutions around the globe to review industry is criticised for some- cyber defences. times high interest rates and “You thwarted an attack but you underhanded lending practices. didn’t actually catch the hackers,” Ant’s ABS issuance began said Tom Kellermann, a former mem- cooling in December when ber of the World Bank security team. authorities stepped up require- “That adversary is still out there at- ments for deleveraging. tempting to exploit the system.” Authorities also required Bank Negara did not say who was some lenders to consolidate behind the hack or how they accessed securitised products on their its SWIFT servers. books, instead of keeping them The central bank, which supervises off their balance sheets. 45 commercial banks in Malaysia, That could push up debt ra- said there was no disruption to other A general view of the headquarters of Bank Negara Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian central bank said no funds were lost in the cyber attack. tios at micro- lenders, making it payment and settlement systems the harder to meet local restrictions central bank operates because of the stitutions,” it said in a statement dis- have been compromised,” it said in an to protect the system globally but yet some banks used to access the net- on such figures. cyber attack. closing the hack. e-mailed statement. It was unclear this is happening, meaning criminals work have been compromised in the “Ant Financial’s golden days It did not respond to requests for Malaysian police and the US Fed- whether funds were paid out but in- have more ability and more capable past couple of years. of taking advantage of easy more details on the falsified messages eral Bureau of Investigation, which is tercepted at another bank. weapons,” Razee Hassan told Reuters Brussels-based SWIFT said late money from the debt market and how other banks were involved. conducting a probe into the Bangla- Previous thefts have involved sto- in Dhaka. “So this is the time to fur- last year digital heists were becom- probably won’t return anytime It did say it had taken additional desh Bank heist, could not immedi- len money being transferred to a ther improve the financial transfer ing increasingly prominent as hack- soon,” said Yang Junmin, an safeguards to protect stakeholders ately be reached for comment. number of banks before arriving at system globally.” ers use more sophisticated tools and analyst at internet finance and was investigating the attack with SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide its final end destination.Abu Hena In February, the Russian central techniques to launch new attacks. research firm Shanghai Yingxun help from local and international law Interbank Financial Telecommunica- Mohd Razee Hassan, deputy governor bank said unknown hackers stole SWIFT has declined to disclose the Technology Co in Shanghai. enforcement agencies. tion, declined comment on the inci- of Bangladesh Bank, said the latest 339.5mn roubles ($6mn) from a Rus- number of attacks or comment on the “The declining issuance may “All unauthorised transactions dent, saying it does not comment on attack showed that the SWIFT plat- sian bank last year in an attack using handful of cases that have become limit loan growth and even hurt were stopped through prompt action individual entities. form remained vulnerable. the SWIFT system. SWIFT has said in public, including attacks on Taiwan’s the company’s profits.” in strong collaboration with SWIFT, “We have no indication that our “After the attack on our central the past its central network has never Far Eastern International Bank and Ant Financial declined to other central banks and financial in- network and core messaging services bank, SWIFT took several measures been hacked, but terminals within Nepal’s NIC Asia Bank. comment. The local regulation Ant must heed is in the south- western city of Chongqing, where the two entities it uses to issue ABS are based. In general, micro-lender’s debt shouldn’t exceed approxi- Pakistan to shelve Rs100bn development plans mately 230% of net capital. While details on Ant’s debt-to-net-capital ratio aren’t Internews Public Sector Development Programme In the outgoing fi scal year for 2017- All ministries/divisions and depart- increase allocation for the next PSDP. publicly available, its sales of Islamabad (PSDP) to the tune of Rs745bn for up- 18, the government had allocated ments had faced cuts in their develop- When contacted to Planning Com- ABS surged to a record last year, coming budget, including Rs108bn for Rs115bn for special discretionary pro- ment budget, but the special discre- mission’s Chief Economist Dr Na- potentially pressuring debt internally displaced persons against grammes, including Rs30bn for Prime tionary programmes were protected deem Javed on Wednesday, he said that ratios under the new account- he Pakistan government has de- budgetary allocation of Rs1,001bn for Minister’s Global Sustainable Devel- for obvious political gains. the budgetary process kick-started ing rules. cided to abolish all controversial the outgoing fi scal 2017-18. opment Goals (SDGs), Rs40bn for Spe- The overall PSDP at the federal level and the Planning Commission would The company issued a record Tdiscretionary programmes worth Such discretionary programmes have cial Federal Development Programme, was slashed down by Rs200bn in order present its demands after holding con- 258.8bn yuan of consumer over Rs100bn in the name of develop- always faced criticism in Pakistan with Rs12.5bn for Energy for All, Rs12.5bn to restrict the budget defi cit within the sultations with relevant stakeholders. loan ABS last year, almost three ment from the upcoming budget for the experts arguing that taxpayer money for provision of clean drinking water desired limit of 5.3% of the GDP on end To another query regarding increas- times all similar issuance in fi scal 2018-19, which begins on July 1. was doled out to reap political benefi ts and Rs20bn for Prime Minister’s Youth June 2018. ing current account defi cit, he replied the US in the period, according This has been confi rmed by adviser at expense of national exchequer. Initiatives. Budget makers at the Planning Com- that there was need to bring major to data compiled by Bloomb- to prime minister on fi nance Miftah Is- The government had earmarked Rs- In line with broader consensus mission said that they would kick- shift in agriculture policies and cited erg and China Securitization mail, when contacted, who added that 115bn for discretionary funding on the reached with the IMF through post start consultation with the ministries/ examples that agriculture imports Analytics. the abolition will include Prime Minis- name of diff erent initiatives during the programme monitoring (PPM) report, divisions and departments from next could be reduced by $1.5bn if under- As the pace of such fundrais- ter’s Special Programmes. outgoing fi scal year-2017-18, and most the government has slashed down its week after which they would prepare took substitution carefully by doing ing slows, there are signs it will In the wake of fi nancial constraints, of these discretionary programmes had federal development programme from three diff erent scenarios for presenting away with support price of sugarcane remain sluggish. the government has proposed massive never faced cut down against the allo- Rs1,001bn to Rs800bn for outgoing before the PM with the hope that he and provided to growers of pulses and cut in the proposed allocation of the cated amounts. fi scal year. might direct the Ministry of Finance to edible oil.

‘Deutsche, Bank of America Thyssenkrupp is said to oppose violated antitrust laws’ Reuters however, said it would not Tokyo take further action against the banks because the five- year statute of limitations Dutch plant plan in Tata merger Japanese regulators yesterday had expired, and that it said Bank of America Merrill had judged the banks were Bloomberg Tata are looking at how to resolve the is- Lynch and Deutsche Bank had taking steps to prevent future Frankfurt sues, the people said. violated antitrust laws in the violations. Company Response A spokesman for alleged fixing of bond prices. The banks could have Thyssenkrupp declined to comment. Japan’s Fair Trade Commission been ordered to improve he planned merger between Thys- Spokesmen for Tata Steel and the said it had found that London- internal compliance or pay senkrupp AG and Tata Steel Ltd’s fi rm’s external communications agency based traders for the banks a fine if the violation had TEuropean steel businesses risks didn’t immediately respond to e-mails in 2012 had exchanged been determined earlier, being derailed by issues related to Tata’s seeking comment. information and agreed prices Okumura said. A Tokyo-based main Dutch plant, according to people German labour union IG Metall has on US-dollar bonds issued by spokeswoman for Deutsche familiar with the matter. threatened to reject the merger over the the European Investment Bank. said the bank had already The fi rms are hashing out details of the plans for the structure of the Ijmuiden, Tsuyoshi Okumura, a senior taken measures to prevent a joint venture, which was announced last WAZ newspaper reported Wednesday, investigator for the FTC’s recurrence. year and would consolidate the units into citing a union representative. International Antitrust A Tokyo-based spokesman for Europe’s No 2 steelmaker. Thyssenkrupp’s works council can’t Investigation Bureau, said Bank of Japan Merrill Lynch But a plan to give Tata’s Dutch plant agree to the merger under the current this violated Japan’s anti- declined to comment. certain operational privileges after the conditions, said Wilhelm Segerath, the monopoly laws because Various banks were sued by merger has become a sticking point for council’s chairman and a member of the a Japanese bank, Bank of US investors for colluding Thyssenkrupp, said the people, who supervisory board. The merger still needs Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, was the to fix bond prices, which asked not to be identifi ed because the in- approval by Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory purchaser of the bonds. investors argued forced them formation is private. board as well as Tata. It’s the first time the FTC came to accept unfair prices on The special rights would allow man- The hiccup comes as Thyssenkrupp’s up with such a finding against securities. agement at Tata’s Ijmuiden plant to re- A logo of ThyssenKrupp is seen outside its headquarters in Essen, Germany. The top management has come under pres- foreign banks for offences Last year, Deutsche Bank tain cash fl ow and keep the current setup company’s top management has come under pressure from some shareholders to sure from some shareholders to improve committed outside Japan, and Bank of America agreed of the operations after the joint venture is improve results and streamline the conglomerate’s sprawling operations. results and streamline the conglomer- Okumura said. to pay a combined $65.5mn completed, according to documents seen ate’s sprawling operations. “Fixing prices means to settle investor litigation by Bloomberg. memo dated February 21 and obtained by use profi ts. Those conditions could af- The company’s second-biggest share- competition was undermined accusing large banks of “The current policy of cash fl ow move- Bloomberg. In a separate memo, labour fect synergies, which have been pegged holder, activist investor Cevian Capital, and it could distort fair rigging the roughly $9tn ments of Tata Steel Netherlands will also representatives for Tata’s Dutch opera- at as much as €600mn ($740mn) a year, earlier this year said it expects the steel- business practice,” he told market for US government continue in the future,” Tata Steel Ned- tions told staff that Ijmuiden will be able as well as the venture’s ability to service maker will fi x a complicated structure a media briefing. The FTC, agency bonds. erland BV’s board said in an internal to run itself, with its own say on how to debt, the people said. Thyssenkrupp and that’s to blame for poor investor returns. Gulf Times 6 Friday, March 30, 2018 BUSINESS

Asian stock markets CME Group to take over swing as uncertainty rules ahead Britain’s NEX for $5.5bn of Easter Reuters London holiday

S exchange operator CME Group AFP has agreed to buy NEX Group for Hong Kong U$5.5bn to create a cross-border powerhouse for investors trading in the multi-trillion dollar foreign exchange sian stocks fluctuated and government debt markets. yesterday as a vola- A union of the two fi rms would ena- Atile week drew to an ble investors to access cash and futures early close in many markets, trading and over-the-counter serv- while bubbling trade ten- ices via one provider for the fi rst time, sions and another painful improving access to markets, NEX’s day for Wall Street technol- founder and chief executive Michael ogy shares continued to feed Spencer said in a statement. uncertainty. Spencer is a high-profi le fi gure in While news of Kim Jong Un’s London’s fi nancial industry and previ- visit to China fuelled fresh ously served as treasurer for Britain’s hopes for stability on the Ko- ruling Conservative party. rean peninsula, investors have He will join CME’s board and become been more occupied with fears a special adviser to the company after about a possible global trade the deal goes ahead, CME said. war and a sell-off in the tech “CME’s decision to choose London sector. as its European headquarters is also a However, the South Korean signal of tremendous support for Brit- won built on Wednesday’s ain’s fi nancial services sector,” Spencer gains. said. Market titan Facebook has The combined headquarters will be led a plunge in big-name in Chicago. stocks on worries about a reg- Spencer, who holds a 17.62% stake ulatory clampdown following in NEX according to Thomson Reu- a massive data breach at the ters Eikon data, stands to make about social media site. £670mn from the deal. Tesla, Amazon, Twitter and CME chairman and CEO Terry Duff y Google parent Alphabet have said the new entity would help inves- also come under the cosh, tors lower trading expenses and better sending the tech-rich Nasdaq manage risk. southwards, with the index Shareholders in NEX, which matches losing 0.9% on Wednesday. buyers and sellers of bonds, swaps and Men enter the CME Group off ice in New York. CME said yesterday its plan to buy NEX would expand its presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific. The Dow and S&P 500 also currencies, will receive 500 pence in ended in the red. cash for each NEX share and 0.0444 He said potential bidders could in- ing platform, allows banks and other It expects the acquisition to generate The deal to buy NEX is CME’s largest There was little movement new CME shares. clude ICE, Deutsche Boerse and Lon- major institutions to trade the euro, run rate cost savings of $200mn by the since the fi nancial crisis. on news that the US economy Each NEX share would be valued at don Stock Exchange (LSE), with ICE the yen and Swiss franc against the dollar, end of 2021. It bought NYMEX in 2008 for $11bn. had grown a lot faster in Octo- 1,000 pence, CME said. most likely frontrunner. connecting buyers and sellers of cur- The deal will add to its cash adjusted “CME do not seem to be planning ber-December than previously The off er by CME, one of the world’s Nick O’Donnell, M&A partner at rencies in more than 50 countries. earnings per share from 2019, with a any divestments, which may disap- thought. biggest exchange groups and owner of law fi rm Baker McKenzie, said that as BrokerTec is the market leader for one-time cash cost of $285mn, CME point the European exchanges,” a re- In Asia, Hong Kong swung the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the bid had a large paper component, electronic trading in many US and Eu- said. search note by Exane BNP Paribas said. through the day and finished Chicago Mercantile Exchange, repre- competing off ers from rivals using ropean fi xed income products, includ- The takeover could spook regulators A marriage of CME’s clearing house up 0.2 % at 30,093.38, follow- sents a 2.9% premium to Wednesday’s cash, usually preferred by sharehold- ing US Treasuries, European Govern- concerned about the potential domi- and NEX’s TriOptima compression ing the previous day’s 2.5% share price close of 972 pence. ers, could emerge. ment Bonds and European Repo. nance of a new entity in some markets, service will allow CME to compete dive, while Shanghai finished Analysts said CME may have been NEX was trading below the off er “It’s a company that has always especially US government debt, where against the dominance of LCH in the 1.2% higher at 3,160.53. prompted to bid now to avoid losing out price at 972 pence at 1217 GMT yester- been ripe for acquisition,” Matthew CME is already in the top position. OTC clearing market, the note said. Tokyo ended 0.6% higher at to a rival, as global exchanges face rising day. Page, fund manager at Guinness As- Previous big exchange mergers, such LCH, part of the LSE, dominates 21,159.08 thanks to a weaker competition for business amid shrink- It has risen more than 30% in 2017. set Management and one of NEX’s 25 LSE and Deutsche Boerse, have hit an- clearing in euro-denominated instru- yen, while Singapore was up ing trade volumes. NEX, known as ICAP before the largest investors, told Reuters, adding titrust buff ers. ments such as debt repurchase agree- more than 1%. “This is a good price,” Liberum ana- sale of its voice-broking business to CME probably thought “they’ve got to But the collapse of the LSE-Deut- ments and interest rate swaps. Seoul added 0.7% following lyst Justin Bates said, but added that the TP ICAP in 2016, provides foreign ex- make a move for it now or it might get sche Boerse deal did not stem the ap- “Whatever happens, whether there news that North Korean leader 50% cash component might disappoint change and fi xed income trading tech- snapped up by someone else.” petite for exchange deals. is a competing bid for (NEX) or not, Kim and South Korea’s Presi- some investors leaving “the door ajar nology via its EBS and BrokerTec plat- CME said the deal would expand its Pan-European exchange Euronext you will see continued consolidation dent Moon Jae-in will hold a for a competing off er with a higher cash forms. presence in Europe, the Middle East bought the Irish Stock Exchange for in the exchange space,” Liberum ana- summit on April 27. component.” EBS, a foreign exchange match- and Africa and Asia Pacifi c. €137mn ($168.88mn) last year. lyst Bates said. The announcement – just the third meeting between the heads of both countries – is the latest development in the saga that has fuelled optimism for the future. China’s crude oil futures contract should confound sceptics Wellington, Taipei, Jakarta and Bangkok fell. By John Kemp need for hedging. It must succeed in attract- sulphur content. The new futures contract which should help the new contract suc- tinctive characteristics and restrictions that Traders in Hong Kong, Syd- London ing a pool of speculators. And public policy approximates the sort of crudes that China ceed. have drawn adverse comment. ney, Singapore and Welling- must not be too adverse. is importing much more closely than Brent China has many of the network charac- There are strict limits on the number of ton, among others, were also China’s new oil futures contract clearly or WTI. teristics that have made Chicago, New York, cancelled orders to curb spoofing but which moving to close their positions China’s new crude oil futures contract, meets the first two criteria and has a fair Foreign crudes deliverable against the London and Singapore successful futures may deter computer-driven high-frequency before the end of the January- which began trading this week, has a good chance of succeeding on the third as well. contract include oils from the United Arab trading hubs. traders. March quarter, with the Easter chance of confounding the doubters and China has already overtaken the United Emirates, Oman and Iraq, which all trade The biggest source of uncertainty Trading is restricted to three distinct break beginning today. becoming a regional benchmark where States to become the world’s largest crude freely. surrounds the attitude of the government periods each day, rather than being nearly Global markets have taken a other contracts have failed. importer, so there is a clear need to hedge But they also closely resemble other towards price volatility and its willingness to continuous, and there will be lengthy non- hit in recent weeks on fears of The history of futures and options trad- the resulting price risks. grades China imports in significant volumes, allow fairly unrestricted futures trading. trading periods during national holidays. a trade war as Donald Trump ing is littered with new contracts launched The need for a new contract and its basic including crude from Saudi Arabia, Iran and China’s government has not always been But most of these restrictions have a pushes through his protec- amid great fanfare but which subsequently features were showcased two years ago Russia. comfortable with extreme price swings and sound rationale, including concentrating tionist agenda while the Fed- failed to develop suff icient liquidity and in a presentation by China’s leading crude The new contract is denominated in yuan high levels of speculative activity, and has liquidity, and they are likely to be relaxed as eral Reserve prepares to lift have been discontinued or faded into importer. rather than US dollars, allowing refiners to periodically intervened in the markets. the contract becomes more established. interest rate hikes and other irrelevance. China’s refiners import mostly medium manage their price risks more eff ectively. But the same impulses have been seen None of them appears likely to deter central banks also look to But the new crude futures contract and heavy sour crudes, which trade at a The contract should have no diff iculty in in other futures trading centres, at least liquidity. tighten monetary policies. launched on the Shanghai International substantial discount to lighter and sweeter attracting a pool of speculators to provide historically, and China’s regulatory interven- China’s new crude futures are unlikely And analysts predict further Energy Exchange comes after years of me- oils. liquidity since China has a large number of tions have not prevented the successful to displace the Brent and WTI light sweet ructions. ticulous preparation and has many of the The two main existing benchmarks, domestic traders and brokers familiar with development of contracts for other com- benchmarks in the United States and “We’ve done some damage ingredients needed to be successful. Brent and US light sweet crude, also known commodity markets. modities. Europe. But they have a fair chance of suc- with the correction and it’s Three elements determine the success or as WTI, are based on light low-sulphur crude China has already launched several Given China’s increasing dependence on cessfully becoming a regional benchmark going to take some time to re- failure of a new futures contract, according oils. highly successful contracts, including steel, crude imports and ambition to be a global for the medium and heavy sour crudes pair,” Bob Doll, portfolio man- to an extensive literature review prepared In contrast, the new Shanghai futures iron ore and copper, all of which have financial centre, the government has a favoured by refiners in Asia. ager and chief equity strategist for the Shanghai Futures Exchange three contract is based on a basket of medium become liquid benchmarks. strong strategic interest in ensuring the new at Nuveen Asset Management, years ago. and heavy crudes from the Middle East There is a large community of domestic contract becomes a successful benchmark. „ John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. told Bloomberg TV. The contract must fulfil a commercial and China itself with a significantly higher speculators and a network of brokerages, The new crude contract has some dis- The views expressed are his own. “Expect choppy, sideways volatility.” Emerging stocks suff er 2nd monthly loss

Reuters US President Donald Trump jolted global ment Management. “The dollar index has key well at the top of the European growth London markets when he moved to impose tariff s on been hovering around the 90 for some time stakes, and I guess in the same stratosphere Chinese goods and while Beijing threatened now – this may indicated the bottom of the as the likes of China and India,” said Tim to retaliate. dollar depreciation, and if that is the case Ash at BlueBay Asset Management. merging stocks were on track for a And possible government regulation of we have a big challenge on our hands in the “Most economists would question how second month of losses in March as the tech sector ruffl ed tech stocks, with second quarter.” sustainable this pace of growth is, given the Etrade war fears, falls in tech stocks and Amazon losing over $30bn of market value Russia’s rouble and Brazil’s real were on widening current account defi cit, double the prospect of higher borrowing costs rat- in overnight trade on a report that Trump track for a monthly loss of more than 2%. digit infl ation and large external fi nancing tled markets, with Turkish assets headed for wanted to rein in the growing power of the The Hong Kong dollar was in line for its gap.” some of the heftiest falls. world’s largest online retailer. worst month in more than two years. Meanwhile index compiler FTSE Rus- On the day, MSCI’s emerging markets While US 10-year Treasury yields hov- But Turkey, vulnerable to higher borrow- sell said it would upgrade Saudi Arabia to benchmark rose 0.3%, bouncing back from a ered at a decade low, emerging markets ing costs due to heavy reliance on external emerging market status, a move expected near 2% loss in the previous session. borrowing costs revisited the seven month fi nancing to plug its current account gap, to draw billions of dollars of fresh foreign However, the index looked to chalk up highs touched last week. looked set for some of the biggest monthly money in the next two years. losses of 2.4% in March – its second straight Currencies were mixed, with many suf- losses, with the lira in line to weaken more Index provider MSCI is expected to pub- month in the red – and has risen just 0.3% fering despite the dollar weakening against than 5%. lish its decision on whether to upgrade since the start of the year. a basket of currencies in March. Data showing Turkey’s economy ex- Saudi Arabia to emerging markets status in Asia ex-Japan stocks looked poised for an “The most important thing is the US dol- panded at 7.4% in 2017 – its fastest ex- June. even bigger hit on the month, having suf- lar and what happens to it going forward,” pansion in four years on robust growth in Saudi Arabia’s main equity index fell fered from a mixture of trade war fears and said Simon Quijano-Evans, emerging mar- industry, services and construction – did 0.8% on the day, but has soared nearly 10% an extended sell-off in tech firms. kets strategist at Legal & General Invest- little to sooth nerves. “(That) puts Tur- since the start of the year. Gulf Times Friday, March 30, 2018 7 BUSINESS

SAUDI ARABIA KUWAIT OMAN

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

Saudi Re For Cooperative Rei 9.08 0.55 1,650,391 Boubyan Intl Industries Hold 25.00 -4.58 105,000 Areej Vegetable Oils Saoc 0.00 0.00 - Solidarity Saudi Takaful Co 22.24 -0.27 210,474 Gulf Investment House Ksc 13.50 -12.34 626,450 Aloula Co 0.53 0.00 - Amana Cooperative Insurance 19.61 -0.71 117,706 Boubyan Bank K.S.C 483.00 0.63 427,881 Al-Omaniya Financial Service 0.28 0.00 - Alabdullatif Industrial Inv 13.08 -0.15 142,424 Ahli United Bank B.S.C 209.00 -0.95 3,663,384 Al-Hassan Engineering Co 0.04 -2.78 30,071 Saudi Printing & Packaging C 19.08 0.37 670,241 Osos Holding Group Co 92.00 0.00 22,600 Al-Fajar Al-Alamia Co 0.75 0.00 - Sanad Cooperative Insurance 0.00 0.00 - Al-Eid Food Ksc 60.00 0.00 22,000 Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co 0.12 -0.83 191,900 Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co 8.16 0.74 361,003 Qurain Petrochemical Industr 338.00 -3.98 2,915,047 Al Suwadi Power 0.14 0.00 - Alinma Bank 20.59 -0.96 29,621,843 Advanced Technology Co 0.00 0.00 - Al Shurooq Inv Ser 0.00 0.00 - Almarai Co 55.38 -1.05 609,765 Ekttitab Holding Co Sak 27.00 0.00 3,179 Al Sharqiya Invest Holding 0.12 0.00 117,583 Falcom Saudi Equity Etf 30.50 -0.65 112,660 Kout Food Group Ksc 0.00 0.00 - Al Maha Petroleum Products M 0.97 0.00 20 QATAR United International Transpo 37.90 3.78 790,290 Real Estate Trade Centers Co 26.10 3.98 15,675 Al Maha Ceramics Co Saoc 0.26 -9.34 42,024 Hsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf 30.35 0.00 20 Acico Industries Co Kscc 247.00 -0.40 400 Al Madina Takaful Co Saoc 0.09 -1.11 623,601 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Saudi International Petroche 21.19 -1.99 1,781,261 Kipco Asset Management Co 69.00 0.00 18,750 Al Madina Investment Co 0.05 0.00 191,545 Falcom Petrochemical Etf 29.80 0.00 27 National Petroleum Services 785.00 -1.26 19,548 Al Kamil Power Co 0.36 0.00 - Qatar National Bank 130.00 -0.01 378,197 Walaa Cooperative Insurance 32.87 1.51 318,761 Alimtiaz Investment Co Kscc 139.00 1.46 377,215 Al Jazerah Services -Pfd 0.55 0.00 - Industries Qatar 105.10 -0.71 328,376 Bank Al-Jazira 11.20 -1.50 8,468,035 Ras Al Khaimah White Cement 81.20 8.27 7,100 Al Jazeera Steel Products Co 0.32 1.27 140,548 Masraf Al Rayan 35.34 -0.17 487,832 Al Rajhi Bank 75.47 0.57 6,129,155 Kuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc 0.00 0.00 - Al Jazeera Services 0.18 -2.73 39,414 Ooredoo Qpsc 82.52 -0.04 69,622 Samba Financial Group 26.74 -1.26 1,747,507 Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport 100.90 -1.08 58,261 Al Izz Islamic Bank 0.08 1.27 1,529,553 Ezdan Holding Group 10.50 -0.94 243,414 United Electronics Co 67.99 1.22 496,912 Human Soft Holding Co Ksc 3,901.00 -1.22 27,277 Al Buraimi Hotel 0.88 0.00 - Qatar Islamic Bank 97.50 1.03 98,580 Allied Cooperative Insurance 17.18 1.96 107,783 Automated Systems Co Kscc 145.00 -13.17 6,889 Al Batinah Power 0.14 0.00 - Qatar Electricity & Water Co 188.00 0.00 198,158 Malath Insurance 14.99 -0.86 763,585 Metal & Recycling Co 65.00 1.56 2,509 Al Batinah Hotels 1.13 0.00 - Mesaieed Petrochemical Holdi 14.69 0.96 300,013 Alinma Tokio Marine 23.68 0.00 34,093 Gulf Franchising Holding Co 49.20 0.00 100 Al Batinah Dev & Inv 0.09 -1.11 9,000 Barwa Real Estate Co 33.50 1.21 268,606 Arabian Shield Cooperative 46.07 -0.50 186,405 Al-Enma’a Real Estate Co 31.90 0.00 20,250 Al Anwar Holdings Saog 0.15 -0.65 521,943 Qatar Insurance Co 37.50 2.46 430,083 Savola 44.22 2.53 974,005 National Mobile Telecommuni 979.00 -1.01 9,221 Ahli Bank 0.16 0.00 2,792 Qatar Fuel Qsc 109.97 2.08 108,395 Wafrah For Industry And Deve 16.29 -2.75 431,744 Al Bareeq Holding Co Kscc 0.00 0.00 - Acwa Power Barka Saog 0.75 -2.09 30,000 Commercial Bank Pqsc 30.00 0.98 105,857 Fitaihi Holding Group 11.92 -0.50 122,684 Housing Finance Co Sak 0.00 0.00 - Abrasives Manufacturing Co S 0.05 0.00 - Doha Bank Qpsc 27.00 0.37 328,811 Tourism Enterprise Co/ Shams 34.00 -0.32 188,308 Al Salam Group Holding Co 31.00 -2.82 61,700 A’saff a Foods Saog 0.60 0.00 - Qatar Gas Transport(Nakilat) 15.28 0.86 258,639 Sahara Petrochemical Co 17.58 -0.51 2,293,182 United Foodstuff Industries 0.00 0.00 - Oman Oil Marketing Co-Pref 0.25 0.00 - Qatar International Islamic 50.01 -2.08 245,618 Herfy Food Services Co 47.50 -0.52 84,456 Al Aman Investment Company 52.00 0.00 144,046 Qatar Navigation 56.50 -0.86 56,964 Mashaer Holding Co Ksc 56.90 9.42 7,092 Al Ahli Bank 31.50 -3.34 3,391 Manazel Holding 30.00 14.50 1,320,012 Vodafone Qatar 8.69 3.08 601,688 Mushrif Trading & Contractin 0.00 0.00 - Aamal Co 9.68 -0.21 411,817 KUWAIT Tijara And Real Estate Inves 56.90 7.36 20 United Development Co 14.91 0.74 265,786 Kuwait Building Materials 0.00 0.00 - Al Khalij Commercial Bank 11.06 0.55 134,687 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Jazeera Airways Co Ksc 635.00 -0.78 187,781 Qatar General Insurance & Re 45.00 1.24 850 Commercial Real Estate Co 83.40 -0.71 302,821 Qatari Investors Group 33.88 6.51 94,524 Securities Group Co 0.00 0.00 - Future Communications Co 0.00 0.00 - Qatar National Cement Co 56.01 -3.43 171,024 Sultan Center Food Products 28.90 -7.67 1,077,942 National International Co 55.00 0.00 1,585 Gulf International Services 18.36 -0.22 68,313 Kuwait Foundry Co Sak 252.00 0.80 420,000 Taameer Real Estate Invest C 23.30 -14.02 10,000 UAE Al Meera Consumer Goods Co 142.00 0.40 12,717 Kuwait Financial Centre Sak 107.00 0.00 30,000 Gulf Cement Co 80.50 -1.83 99,750 Company Name Mannai Corporation Qsc 56.20 0.00 - Ajial Real Estate Entmt 147.00 2.08 11,325 Heavy Engineering And Ship B 202.00 -0.49 301,717 Lt Price % Chg Volume Gulf Warehousing Company 40.50 2.17 27,852 Gulf Glass Manuf Co -Kscc 0.00 0.00 - Refrigeration Industries & S 0.00 0.00 - Medicare Group 68.58 0.85 21,056 Kuwait Finance & Investment 45.00 0.00 2,000 National Real Estate Co 123.00 14.95 1,722,383 Waha Capital Pjsc 2.18 1.40 3,196,863 Qatar Industrial Manufactur 39.00 -2.50 49,580 National Industries Co Ksc 178.00 11.25 157,130 Al Safat Energy Holding Comp 29.90 0.00 396,815 United Insurance Company 2.00 0.00 - Qatar First Bank 6.38 -4.63 2,344,758 Kuwait Real Estate Holding C 26.50 9.05 103,133 Kuwait National Cinema Co 1,098.00 0.27 222 United Arab Bank Pjsc 1.22 0.00 - Zad Holding Co 101.00 5.52 26,230 Securities House/The 45.50 -3.19 10,100 Danah Alsafat Foodstuff Co 71.50 -2.05 613,797 Union National Bank/Abu Dhab 3.55 0.00 130,127 Widam Food Co 59.00 -1.65 23,492 Boubyan Petrochemicals Co 768.00 0.00 598,210 Independent Petroleum Group 380.00 0.00 515 Union Insurance Co 1.32 0.00 - Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev 7.32 -6.15 833,764 Al Ahli Bank Of Kuwait 335.00 1.52 90,800 Kuwait Real Estate Co Ksc 47.60 -2.86 10,569,353 Union Cement Co 1.85 0.00 - Qatar Islamic Insurance 48.20 -6.41 14,192 Ahli United Bank (Almutahed) 320.00 -1.23 68,275 Salhia Real Estate Co Ksc 341.00 3.65 363,642 Umm Al Qaiwain Cement Indust 1.01 0.00 - Doha Insurance Co 14.10 4.68 8,553 National Bank Of Kuwait 750.00 2.18 4,663,673 Gulf Cable & Electrical Ind 430.00 3.61 216,400 Sharjah Islamic Bank 1.24 -0.80 500,000 Salam International Investme 5.81 0.17 3,431 Commercial Bank Of Kuwait 449.00 -0.22 37,451 Al Nawadi Holding Co Ksc 0.00 0.00 - Sharjah Insurance Company 3.49 0.00 - Investment Holding Group 6.07 2.02 356,809 Kuwait International Bank 231.00 0.43 1,483,902 Kuwait Finance House 593.00 0.17 8,622,159 Sharjah Group 1.15 0.00 - National Leasing 10.29 1.38 33,297 Gulf Bank 256.00 0.39 4,004,172 Gulf North Africa Holding Co 37.00 -1.33 685,000 Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel 1.09 0.00 - Dlala Holding 11.81 1.81 109,822 Al-Massaleh Real Estate Co 39.00 11.75 77 Hilal Cement Co 63.00 8.62 9,658 Ras Al-Khaimah National Insu 3.68 0.00 - Al Khaleej Takaful Group 10.30 -0.19 214,773 Al Arabiya Real Estate Co 29.20 -13.10 11,692 Osoul Investment Kscc 61.00 -0.81 50,001 Ras Al Khaimah White Cement 0.94 5.62 - Qatar & Oman Investment Co 7.29 -4.08 21,277 Kuwait Remal Real Estate Co 31.50 -1.56 324,940 Gulf Insurance Group Ksc 630.00 -9.61 38,000 Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics 2.50 0.00 72,250 Islamic Holding Group 30.20 -0.92 4,000 Alkout Industrial Projects C 0.00 0.00 - Kuwait Food Co (Americana) 1,372.00 40.00 1 Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co Psc 0.81 0.00 - Qatar Cinema & Film Distrib 25.18 0.00 - A’ayan Real Estate Co Sak 62.00 0.00 15,000 Umm Al Qaiwain Cement Indust 0.00 0.00 - Ras Al Khaima Poultry 3.00 0.00 - Investors Holding Group Co.K 14.00 -1.41 2,347,293 Aayan Leasing & Investment 28.90 8.24 8,851,149 Rak Properties 0.68 -1.45 16,391,410 Al-Mazaya Holding Co 109.00 0.00 320,343 Ooredoo Qpsc 90.00 0.00 - SAUDI ARABIA Al-Madar Finance & Invt Co 27.00 0.00 1,000 Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50% 0.50 0.00 - Gulf Petroleum Investment 24.40 1.67 165,200 Nbad Oneshare Msci Uae Ucits 6.20 0.00 - National Takaful Company 0.00 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Mabanee Co Sakc 714.00 -0.28 277,747 OMAN 0.48 - City Group 0.00 0.00 - National Marine Dredging Co 3.50 0.00 - National Investor Co/The 0.51 0.00 - United Wire Factories Compan 15.69 0.06 232,716 Inovest Co Bsc 65.50 3.15 274,014 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Etihad Etisalat Co 15.14 -1.17 1,946,544 Kuwait Gypsum Manufacturing 0.00 0.00 - National Corp Tourism & Hote 2.00 0.00 - Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev 12.54 1.13 40,887,318 Al-Deera Holding Co 22.00 0.00 5,400 Voltamp Energy Saog 0.42 0.00 978 National Bank Of Umm Al Qaiw 2.97 0.00 - Saudi Hollandi Bank 0.00 0.00 - Alshamel International Hold 0.00 0.00 - United Power/Energy Co- Pref 1.00 0.00 - National Bank Of Ras Al-Khai 4.35 0.00 20,000 Rabigh Refining And Petroche 24.83 -0.68 1,750,369 Mena Real Estate Co 23.10 -11.15 32,240 United Power Co Saog 4.10 0.00 - National Bank Of Fujairah 2.99 12.83 5,000 Banque Saudi Fransi 29.35 -0.20 303,191 National Slaughter House 0.00 0.00 - United Finance Co 0.11 0.00 - First Abu Dhabi Bank Pjsc 0.00 0.00 - Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insu 16.07 0.25 112,425 Amar Finance & Leasing Co 49.00 16.67 436,753 Ubar Hotels & Resorts 0.13 0.00 - Methaq Takaful Insurance 0.81 1.25 17,044 Mediterranean & Gulf Insuran 25.53 -2.59 128,989 United Projects For Aviation 706.00 -0.28 2,000 Takaful Oman 0.16 0.00 - Manazel Real Estate Pjsc 0.55 0.00 5,739,012 Saudi British Bank 31.33 0.42 131,491 National Consumer Holding Co 95.00 3.26 100 Taageer Finance 0.11 0.00 - Invest Bank 2.40 -4.00 605,000 Mohammad Al Mojil Group Co 0.00 0.00 - Amwal International Investme 51.50 -4.63 63,410 Sweets Of Oman 1.34 0.00 - Intl Fish Farming Co Pjsc 1.48 0.68 112,000 Red Sea International Co 17.83 0.68 58,966 Jeeran Holdings 0.00 0.00 - Sohar Power Co 0.11 0.00 56,470 Insurance House 0.85 0.00 - Takween Advanced Industries 9.34 -0.85 301,786 Equipment Holding Co K.S.C.C 30.00 0.00 54,000 Sohar Poultry 0.21 0.00 - Gulf Pharmaceutical Ind Psc 2.30 0.00 - Sabb Takaful 21.96 0.18 53,534 Nafais Holding 0.00 0.00 - Smn Power Holding Saog 0.66 0.00 - Gulf Medical Projects 1.90 0.00 - Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co 71.00 -0.77 225,135 Safwan Trading & Contracting 0.00 0.00 - Shell Oman Marketing - Pref 1.05 0.00 - Gulf Cement Co 1.06 0.00 193,000 National Gypsum 12.10 -0.41 204,807 Arkan Al Kuwait Real Estate 78.00 0.00 16,432 Shell Oman Marketing 1.74 0.00 - Fujairah Cement Industries 1.09 0.00 15,000 Saudi Ceramic Co 23.53 -3.57 312,149 Gfh Financial Group Bsc 111.00 1.83 354,170 Sharqiyah Desalination Co Sa 3.96 0.00 - Fujairah Building Industries 1.56 0.00 - National Gas & Industrializa 30.25 0.13 25,324 Energy House Holding Co Kscp 27.50 0.00 400 Sembcorp Salalah Power & Wat 0.22 0.00 10,129 Foodco Holding Pjsc 4.77 0.00 - Saudi Pharmaceutical Industr 30.70 -0.20 51,620 Kuwait Slaughter House Co 0.00 0.00 - Salalah Port Services 0.60 0.00 - First Gulf Bank 0.00 0.00 - Thimar 30.08 -0.53 190,091 Kuwait Co For Process Plant 160.00 0.00 63 Salalah Mills Co 1.33 0.00 - Finance House 1.70 3.03 - National Industrialization C 19.87 -0.50 2,841,986 Al Maidan Dental Clinic Co K 1,220.00 0.00 533,478 Salalah Beach Resort Saog 1.38 0.00 - Eshraq Properties Co Pjsc 0.72 2.86 4,769,601 Saudi Transport And Investme 0.00 0.00 - National Shooting Company 0.00 0.00 - Sahara Hospitality 2.38 0.00 - Emirates Telecom Group Co 17.65 2.02 1,006,590 Saudi Electricity Co 20.74 -2.17 2,282,039 Al-Themar Real International 0.00 0.00 - Renaissance Services Saog 0.36 2.30 1,552,843 Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc) 7.00 8.53 - Saudi Arabia Refineries Co 41.04 9.91 1,807,001 Al-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp 540.00 0.00 100 Raysut Cement Co 0.73 -1.62 20,000 Emirates Driving Company 8.60 0.00 - Arriyadh Development Company 19.94 -0.45 500,477 Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co 29.00 0.00 1,500 Port Service Corporation 0.00 0.00 - Dana Gas 0.92 4.55 34,871,334 Al-Baha Development & Invest 21.23 -0.52 121,920 Salbookh Trading Co Kscp 50.00 6.61 11,100 Phoenix Power Co Saoc 0.14 0.00 13,261 Commercial Bank Internationa 0.76 0.00 - Saudi Research And Marketing 78.53 0.77 290,811 Aqar Real Estate Investments 77.50 0.00 100,000 Packaging Co Ltd 2.21 0.00 - Bank Of Sharjah 1.10 0.00 151,734 Aldrees Petroleum And Transp 26.77 0.49 180,395 Hayat Communications 86.00 1.18 14,100 Ooredoo 0.50 -0.79 284,298 Axa Green Crescent Insurance 0.95 0.00 - Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe Co 51.70 -0.86 23,179 Kuwait Packing Materials Mfg 0.00 0.00 - Ominvest 0.36 -0.55 150,000 Arkan Building Materials Co 0.68 3.03 1,338,197 Jarir Marketing Co 176.95 -2.73 140,989 Soor Fuel Marketing Co Ksc 113.00 0.00 7,940 Oman United Insurance Co 0.34 2.42 169,500 Alkhaleej Investment 2.00 0.00 - Arab National Bank 29.27 -0.41 214,457 Alargan International Real 0.00 0.00 - Oman Textile Holding Co Saog 0.00 0.00 - Aldar Properties Pjsc 2.13 1.91 10,928,648 Yanbu National Petrochemical 73.05 -0.01 550,933 Burgan Co For Well Drilling 87.00 0.00 827,144 Oman Telecommunications Co 0.91 4.59 202,292 Al Wathba National Insurance 12.75 0.00 - Arabian Cement 35.42 -0.62 56,338 Kuwait Resorts Co Kscc 68.00 0.00 10,000 Oman Refreshment Co 1.85 0.00 - Al Khazna Insurance Co 0.26 0.00 - Middle East Specialized Cabl 8.21 -2.03 536,377 Oula Fuel Marketing Co 113.00 -0.88 12,591 Oman Packaging 0.28 0.00 - Al Fujairah National Insuran 300.00 0.00 - Al Khaleej Training And Educ 19.44 0.62 208,727 Palms Agro Production Co 0.00 0.00 - Oman Orix Leasing Co. 0.18 0.00 - Al Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S. 3.85 10.00 - Al Sagr Co-Operative Insuran 22.02 -0.32 52,791 Ikarus Petroleum Industries 0.00 0.00 - Oman Oil Marketing Company 1.46 0.00 204 Al Buhaira National Insuranc 2.20 0.00 - Trade Union Cooperative Insu 21.65 -1.55 108,187 Mubarrad Holding Co Ksc 66.80 0.45 50,100 Oman National Engineering An 0.18 0.00 100,000 Al Ain Ahlia Ins. Co. 38.00 0.00 - Arabia Insurance Cooperative 16.20 -0.18 27,752 Al Mowasat Health Care Co 0.00 0.00 - Oman Investment & Finance 0.13 -0.76 736,580 Agthia Group Pjsc 4.40 0.46 315,790 Saudi Chemical Company 33.09 0.79 203,909 Shuaiba Industrial Co 245.00 0.00 10,000 Oman Intl Marketing 0.52 0.00 - Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co 2.14 0.00 - Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C 26.76 -1.58 270,303 Aan Digital Services Co 0.00 0.00 - Oman Hotels & Tourism Co 0.00 0.00 - Abu Dhabi Natl Co For Buildi 0.50 0.00 - Bupa Arabia For Cooperative 94.69 0.32 163,754 First Takaful Insurance Co 53.50 8.08 20,006 Oman Foods International 0.00 0.00 - Abu Dhabi National Takaful C 4.64 0.00 - Wafa Insurance 17.06 -0.76 152,987 Kuwaiti Syrian Holding Co 33.40 -0.30 20,434 Oman Flour Mills 0.68 -0.59 39,655 Abu Dhabi National Insurance 3.42 0.00 - Jabal Omar Development Co 50.49 0.04 672,070 National Cleaning Company 52.20 -7.61 318,196 Oman Fisheries Co 0.13 -2.33 1,456,805 Abu Dhabi National Hotels 2.80 0.00 - Saudi Basic Industries Corp 116.41 -0.82 8,049,101 Eyas For High & Technical Ed 0.00 0.00 - Oman Fiber Optics 0.00 0.00 - Abu Dhabi National Energy Co 0.80 6.67 4,173,701 Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co 13.68 -0.36 10,261,483 United Real Estate Company 67.90 4.46 292,006 Oman Europe Foods Industries 1.00 0.00 - Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank 3.71 -0.84 735,303 Etihad Atheeb Telecommunicat 6.13 0.33 419,897 Agility 865.00 1.05 1,833,661 Oman Education & Training In 0.16 0.00 - Co For Cooperative Insurance 75.13 -2.30 580,474 Kuwait & Middle East Fin Inv 22.00 10.00 160,494 Oman Chromite 3.64 0.00 - National Petrochemical Co 24.72 -0.64 333,476 Fujairah Cement Industries 77.00 0.00 320,000 Oman Chlorine 0.44 3.53 - BAHRAIN Gulf Union Cooperative Insur 17.57 0.00 72,799 Livestock Transport & Tradng 223.00 6.19 18,790 Oman Ceramic Company 0.42 0.00 - Gulf General Cooperative Ins 16.70 0.00 73,547 International Resorts Co 25.00 -10.71 190,000 Oman Cement Co 0.36 0.55 21,000 Basic Chemical Industries 22.36 -0.62 97,500 National Industries Grp Hold 149.00 1.36 3,876,768 Oman Cables Industry 1.13 0.00 - Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Saudi Steel Pipe Co -0.82 Marine Services Co Ksc 0.00 21.90 426,522 0.00 - Oman Agricultural Dev 0.00 0.00 - Zain Bahrain Bscc 0.00 0.00 - Buruj Cooperative Insurance 0.49 Warba Insurance Co 12.71 34.61 144,449 66.50 525 Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50% 0.11 0.92 786,597 United Paper Industries Bsc 0.00 0.00 - Mouwasat Medical Services Co 0.45 Kuwait United Poultry Co 0.00 176.23 10,088 0.00 - Natl Aluminium Products 0.32 4.55 270,596 United Gulf Investment Corp 0.00 0.00 - Southern Province Cement Co -1.21 First Dubai Real Estate Deve -7.00 49.87 59,338 37.20 109,810 National Securities 0.04 0.00 - United Gulf Bank 0.00 0.00 - Maadaniyah -0.21 Al Arabi Group Holding Co 2.57 18.94 89,149 75.90 3,000 National Real Estate Develop 5.00 0.00 - Trafco Group Bsc 0.33 0.00 20,000 Yamama Cement Co -0.31 Kuwait Hotels Sak 0.00 15.92 121,682 0.00 - National Pharmaceutical 0.11 0.00 - Takaful International Co 0.00 0.00 - Jazan Energy And Development 1.01 Mobile Telecommunications Co 1.91 17.01 144,967 480.00 4,785,709 National Mineral Water 0.07 0.00 6,000 Taib Bank -$Us 0.00 0.00 - Zamil Industrial Investment -0.04 Al Safat Real Estate Co 0.00 25.50 124,519 0.00 - National Hospitality Institu 0.00 0.00 - Seef Properties 0.21 -0.95 283,572 Alujain Corporation (Alco) 0.45 Tamdeen Real Estate Co Ksc 0.00 24.65 4,487,286 341.00 7,174 National Gas Co 0.25 3.31 38,600 Sico Bsc 0.00 0.00 - Tabuk Agricultural Developme -0.58 Al Mudon Intl Real Estate Co 0.00 12.08 341,250 27.60 134,736 National Finance Co 0.14 0.00 - National Hotels Co 0.00 0.00 - United Co-Operative Assuranc 0.33 Kuwait Cement Co Ksc 5.62 12.10 370,679 470.00 221,100 National Detergent Co Saog 0.65 0.00 - National Bank Of Bahrain Bsc 0.61 1.67 35,324 Qassim Cement/The 0.05 Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel 5.29 43.28 26,993 89.50 27,887 National Biscuit Industries 3.75 0.00 - Nass Corp Bsc 0.11 0.00 174,000 Saudi Advanced Industries -0.66 Kuwait Portland Cement Co 12.37 13.55 300,735 1,190.00 546,978 National Bank Of Oman Saog 0.18 -0.54 296,010 Khaleeji Commercial Bank 0.09 0.00 35,000 Kingdom Holding Co -0.44 Educational Holding Group -0.65 9.02 919,357 308.00 7,945 Muscat Thread Mills Co 0.08 0.00 4,000 Ithmaar Holding Bsc 0.11 0.00 49,000 Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co 0.52 Bahrain Kuwait Insurance 0.00 7.76 709,536 0.00 - Muscat National Holding 0.00 0.00 - Investcorp Bank -$Us 8.95 0.00 7,600 Al Jouf Agriculture Developm 0.37 Asiya Capital Investments Co 0.00 30.03 16,621 39.00 192,456 Muscat Gases Company Saog 0.56 0.00 - Inovest Co Bsc 0.00 0.00 - Saudi Industrial Development 1.39 Kuwait Investment Co 0.00 9.45 435,843 139.00 323,014 Muscat Finance 0.10 0.99 14,739 Gulf Monetary Group 0.00 0.00 - Bishah Agriculture 0.00 Burgan Bank 0.00 0.00 - 280.00 870,668 Majan Glass Company 0.18 0.00 - Gulf Hotel Group B.S.C 0.53 0.00 328,783 Riyad Bank -0.07 Kuwait Projects Co Holdings 0.00 13.87 709,824 285.00 545,278 Majan College 0.44 0.00 - Gfh Financial Group Bsc 0.37 1.39 70,000 The National Agriculture Dev -0.13 Al Madina For Finance And In 3.10 39.03 230,909 29.90 20,100 Hsbc Bank Oman 0.11 0.00 277,993 Esterad Investment Co B.S.C. 0.11 0.00 21,297 Halwani Bros Co 1.20 Kuwait Insurance Co 0.00 57.57 74,675 289.00 1,000 Hotels Management Co Interna 1.25 0.00 - Delmon Poultry Co 0.00 0.00 - Arabian Pipes Co -0.31 Al Masaken Intl Real Estate 0.00 12.83 390,468 70.00 35 Gulf Stone 0.12 0.00 - Bmmi Bsc 0.69 -4.17 24,401 Eastern Province Cement Co -1.79 Intl Financial Advisors -2.60 25.26 96,437 26.20 1,536,872 Gulf Plastic Industries Co 0.00 0.00 - Bmb Investment Bank 0.00 0.00 - Al Gassim Investment Holding 0.00 First Investment Co Kscc 0.00 0.00 - 38.50 100 Gulf Mushroom Company 0.31 0.00 - Bbk Bsc 0.45 0.00 45,636 Filing & Packing Materials M 3.96 Al Mal In -4.88 33.84 524,222 vestment Company 23.40 226,200 Gulf Investments Services 0.09 -1.08 973,009 Bankmuscat Saog 0.00 0.00 - Saudi Cable Co 0.00 -1.59 10.81 - Bayan Investment Co Kscc 30.90 511,201 Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-Shar 0.11 0.00 - Banader Hotels Co 0.00 0.00 - Tihama Advertising & Public 1.47 0.00 43.52 522,733 Egypt Kuwait Holding Co Sae 294.00 15,000 Gulf International Chemicals 0.21 0.00 1,000 Bahrain Tourism Co ` 0.00 - Saudi Investment Bank/The 0.26 0.00 15.48 144,148 Coast Investment Development 29.50 210,050 Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co Ltd 10.50 0.00 - Bahrain Telecom Co 0.22 0.00 42,682 Astra Industrial Group 5.10 3.15 16.69 2,487,271 Privatization Holding Compan 55.60 992,195 Global Fin Investment 0.11 0.00 - Bahrain Ship Repair & Engin 1.52 0.00 1,345 Saudi Public Transport Co -1.10 0.00 16.18 469,165 Kuwait Medical Services Co 0.00 - Galfar Engineering&Contract 0.11 1.89 8,052,932 Bahrain National Holding 0.43 0.00 7,359 Taiba Holding Co 0.58 0.00 30.98 171,419 Injazzat Real State Company 92.00 100 Galfar Engineering -Prefer 0.39 0.00 - Bahrain Kuwait Insurance 0.30 9.63 6,712 Saudi Industrial Export Co -0.91 0.00 269.93 77,633 Kuwait Cable Vision Sak 11.40 10,000 Financial Services Co. 0.18 0.00 - Bahrain Islamic Bank 0.13 0.00 13,740 Saudi Real Estate Co 2.98 0.00 21.74 427,790 Sanam Real Estate Co Kscc 32.00 24,799 Financial Corp/The 0.10 0.00 - Bahrain Flour Mills Co 0.00 0.00 - Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Co 0.47 1.19 117.89 106,796 Ithmaar Holding Bsc 33.90 480,400 Dhofar University 0.00 0.00 - Bahrain Family Leisure Co 0.00 0.00 - National Shipping Co Of/The -0.48 0.00 31.35 767,460 Aviation Lease And Finance C 375.00 49,500 Dhofar Tourism 0.49 0.00 - Bahrain Duty Free Complex 0.76 0.00 8,254 Methanol Chemicals Co 0.49 1.32 10.27 1,421,523 Arzan Financial Group For Fi 30.80 100 Dhofar Poultry 0.18 0.00 - Bahrain Commercial Facilitie 0.71 0.00 25,000 Chubb Arabia Cooperative Ins -0.30 15.26 23.30 96,078 Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co 21.90 3,109,681 Dhofar Intl Development 0.31 0.00 - Bahrain Cinema Co 0.00 0.00 - Mobile Telecommunications Co -2.05 -1.58 7.17 3,372,372 Kuwait Business Town Real Es 49.70 466,781 Dhofar Insurance 0.20 0.00 - Bahrain Car Park Co 0.00 0.00 - Saudi Arabian Coop Ins Co -0.47 0.00 19.08 312,538 Future Kid Entertainment And 110.00 6,000 Dhofar Fisheries & Food Indu 1.28 0.00 - Arab Insurance Group(Bsc)-$ 0.42 0.00 100,000 Axa Cooperative Insurance -0.26 0.00 26.66 118,131 Specialities Group Holding C 56.00 28,100 Dhofar Cattlefeed 0.19 0.00 - Arab Banking Corp Bsc-$Us 0.31 0.00 100,000 Alsorayai Group -2.08 0.56 11.78 314,562 Abyaar Real Eastate Developm 18.10 513,850 Dhofar Beverages Co 0.26 0.00 - Aluminium Bahrain Bsc 0.56 0.90 109,330 Weqaya For Takaful Insurance 0.00 0.00 0.00 - Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate C 0.00 - Construction Materials Ind 0.03 0.00 - Albaraka Banking Group 0.36 0.00 41,840 Bank Albilad -3.23 0.00 22.78 1,296,548 Al-Dar National Real Estate 0.00 - Computer Stationery Inds 0.26 0.00 - Al-Salam Bank 0.12 -2.46 200,000 Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker Co -0.95 -3.89 10.46 366,692 Kgl Logistics Company Kscc 47.00 2,518,205 Bankmuscat Saog 0.37 1.67 1,589,479 Solidarity Bahrain Bsc 0.00 0.00 - Wataniya Insurance Co 1.51 -0.92 28.28 149,544 Combined Group Contracting 430.00 9,900 Bank Sohar 0.15 0.00 2,662,813 Ahli United Bank B.S.C 0.71 0.00 742,143 Abdullah Al Othaim Markets 154.06 -1.23 36,279 Jiyad Holding Co Ksc 0.00 0.00 - Bank Nizwa 0.09 0.00 1,087,464 Hail Cement 9.27 -0.22 174,986 Qurain Holding Co 0.00 0.00 - Bank Dhofar Saog 0.20 -3.88 55,000 LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES Gulf Times 8 Friday, March 30, 2018 BUSINESS

DJIA WORLD INDICES Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Indices Lt Price Change Dow Jones Indus. Avg 24,054.67 +206.25 Apple Inc 169.86 2.03 12,757,450 S&P 500 Index 2,635.74 +30.74 Microsoft Corp 90.17 0.87 18,358,727 Nasdaq Composite Index 7,011.45 +62.22 Exxon Mobil Corp 74.31 2.06 5,747,329 S&P/Tsx Composite Index 15,294.28 +124.34 Johnson & Johnson 127.50 0.04 2,096,192 Mexico Bolsa Index 46,124.85 -668.73 General Electric Co 13.43 -1.86 29,724,880 Brazil Bovespa Stock Idx 85,129.02 +1,254.89 Jpmorgan Chase & Co 108.59 0.55 4,199,645 Ftse 100 Index 7,056.61 +11.87 Procter & Gamble Co/The 79.65 1.03 3,726,258 Cac 40 Index 5,167.30 +36.86 Walmart Inc 88.84 1.22 3,303,464 Dax Index 12,096.73 +156.02 Verizon Communications Inc 48.09 0.19 6,563,382 Ibex 35 Tr 9,600.40 +45.40 Pfizer Inc 35.18 -0.34 6,255,727 Nikkei 225 21,159.08 +127.77 Visa Inc-Class A Shares 118.15 0.99 3,909,294 Japan Topix 1,704.00 +4.44 Chevron Corp 113.64 1.37 2,489,350 Hang Seng Index 30,093.38 +70.85 Coca-Cola Co/The 43.55 0.53 2,930,862 All Ordinaries Indx 5,868.91 -30.33 Intel Corp 50.40 1.61 10,669,096 Nzx All Index 1,482.25 -12.03 Merck & Co. Inc. 54.86 -0.43 2,562,843 Bse Sensex 30 Index 32,968.68 -205.71 Cisco Systems Inc 42.04 0.91 9,921,427 Nse S&P Cnx Nifty Index 10,113.70 -70.45 Home Depot Inc 176.94 1.25 1,294,118 Straits Times Index 3,427.97 +45.19 Intl Business Machines Corp 152.39 -0.09 1,329,304 Karachi All Share Index 32,739.94 +338.53 Walt Disney Co/The 100.92 2.42 3,384,020 Jakarta Composite Index 6,188.99 +48.15 Unitedhealth Group Inc 220.80 1.05 1,169,738 3M Co 219.26 1.26 750,607 Mcdonald’s Corp 158.97 0.35 1,201,822 Nike Inc -Cl B 66.13 1.05 2,766,826 TOKYO United Technologies Corp 125.48 0.83 944,621 Boeing Co/The 324.94 1.54 1,454,168 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Goldman Sachs Group Inc 249.16 -0.08 1,151,333 Rakuten Inc 872.80 -2.58 13,651,200 American Express Co 93.18 1.05 1,375,155 Kyocera Corp 5,927.00 -0.67 1,619,700 Caterpillar Inc 146.64 1.02 1,576,483 Nissan Motor Co Ltd 1,094.50 -0.45 17,148,000 Travelers Cos Inc/The 139.28 0.35 377,059 Hitachi Ltd 763.10 -1.20 19,168,000 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 5,120.00 -7.45 6,902,500 Jfe Holdings Inc 2,117.50 -0.26 2,899,500 Ana Holdings Inc 4,083.00 -0.41 1,322,600 FTSE 100 Mitsubishi Electric Corp 1,699.50 -0.79 4,403,600 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr 4,451.00 -0.51 5,186,900 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Honda Motor Co Ltd 3,641.00 -0.36 5,653,800 The Euronext logo is seen on the exterior of the Paris Stock Exchange. Paris’ CAC 40 closed 0.7% up at 5,167.30 points Fast Retailing Co Ltd 41,940.00 2.54 850,900 yesterday. Wpp Plc 1,132.50 -0.53 3,492,409 Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdin 3,276.00 0.15 1,737,700 Worldpay Group Plc 0.00 0.00 - Kubota Corp 1,845.00 0.85 3,944,200 Wolseley Plc 0.00 0.00 - Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd 4,532.00 1.48 3,057,100 Wm Morrison Supermarkets 213.50 2.40 18,549,138 Inpex Corp 1,296.50 -0.99 5,246,700 Whitbread Plc 3,700.00 -0.27 648,152 Resona Holdings Inc 564.90 -0.69 10,268,100 Vodafone Group Plc 194.22 0.18 55,390,233 Asahi Kasei Corp 1,398.50 -0.57 4,589,800 United Utilities Group Plc 715.40 -1.19 4,115,963 Kirin Holdings Co Ltd 2,813.50 1.55 3,983,400 Unilever Plc 3,955.50 1.02 3,051,113 Marubeni Corp 766.70 -0.09 5,295,500 Tui Ag-Di 1,528.00 -0.26 1,266,410 Equities push higher Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro 696.30 -0.87 56,649,800 Travis Perkins Plc 1,234.00 -0.92 1,264,120 Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings 1,020.00 0.79 6,279,000 Tesco Plc 205.90 0.15 26,076,329 Fanuc Corp 26,570.00 -0.39 1,244,100 Taylor Wimpey Plc 184.60 -0.46 8,559,437 Daito Trust Construct Co Ltd 18,010.00 0.70 244,500 Standard Life Plc 0.00 0.00 - Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd 5,293.00 -0.06 1,174,600 Standard Chartered Plc 712.70 -0.34 8,000,538 Oriental Land Co Ltd 10,790.00 0.84 571,800 St James’s Place Plc 1,086.50 -0.32 1,266,380 before Easter break Sekisui House Ltd 1,932.00 0.91 2,458,300 Sse Plc 1,276.00 -1.39 5,623,218 Secom Co Ltd 7,830.00 0.84 723,600 Smith & Nephew Plc 1,331.00 -1.37 3,516,565 Tokio Marine Holdings Inc 4,773.00 -1.71 2,996,300 Sky Plc 1,297.50 -1.44 3,409,902 AFP of 1.8% also comforted investors, help- 50 climbed 1.1% at 3,367.13 points yes- Aeon Co Ltd 1,879.50 -0.19 3,229,000 Shire Plc 3,570.50 2.01 4,728,275 ing Wall Street push higher, with the terday. Mitsui & Co Ltd 1,810.00 0.56 6,925,400 London Severn Trent Plc 1,844.00 -0.22 1,290,831 Dow up 1.0% in midday trading. Frankfurt, Paris and London will Kao Corp 7,932.00 2.18 1,923,100 Schroders Plc 3,192.00 0.16 324,111 Paris stocks revved higher on a 5.8% shut up shop for a four-day Easter Dai-Ichi Life Holdings Inc 1,945.00 -0.23 5,925,400 Sainsbury (J) Plc 238.80 1.83 13,264,801 Mazda Motor Corp 1,409.50 0.75 5,314,700 uropean and US stock mar- gain in Renault shares. holiday weekend at the close of play Sage Group Plc/The 639.20 -0.71 3,331,870 Komatsu Ltd 3,505.00 0.00 3,774,600 kets rose yesterday as investors Shares in the French automaker yesterday, and will reopen for business Abi Sab Group Holding Ltd 0.00 0.00 - West Japan Railway Co 7,475.00 -0.52 909,000 closed positions before the long reached the highest level in a decade on Tuesday. Rsa Insurance Group Plc 630.00 -0.25 1,915,168 E Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd 14,490.00 0.10 907,300 Royal Mail Plc 540.80 0.93 3,834,835 Easter holiday weekend. at one point after the Bloomberg news US markets will be closed today but Kansai Electric Power Co Inc 1,379.00 2.19 3,655,000 Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs 2,277.00 -0.35 5,646,802 The mood has improved this week agency said that Renault was talking open on Monday. Denso Corp 5,782.00 -0.05 1,945,100 Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs 2,233.50 0.09 5,823,868 but worries remain over Wall Street’s to its alliance partner Nissan about a Tech sector jitters weren’t calmed Sompo Holdings Inc 4,241.00 1.12 1,127,800 Royal Bank Of Scotland Group 258.80 0.70 11,705,292 Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd 4,040.00 0.52 1,359,400 recent tech-based sell-off and trade merger that would create a new group yesterday when US President Donald Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc 871.60 -0.14 3,562,220 Jxtg Holdings Inc 637.60 0.69 20,666,400 war fears, dealers said. trading as a single stock. Trump took aim at Amazon, claiming Rio Tinto Plc 3,611.00 2.50 4,287,650 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta 2,308.00 -0.75 2,969,000 Sentiment was lifted after Chicago- The London stock market edged the US online giant pays too little in Rexam Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Suzuki Motor Corp 5,703.00 1.17 2,005,700 taxes and hurts other retailers. Relx Plc 1,465.00 -0.27 3,644,194 based US exchange giant CME Group higher as offi cial data showed that the Nippon Telegraph & Telephone 4,902.00 0.04 3,852,300 Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc 6,034.00 0.62 2,379,976 bought British operator NEX yesterday British economy grew by 1.8% last “Unlike others, they pay little or no Ajinomoto Co Inc 1,918.50 1.70 2,004,600 Randgold Resources Ltd 5,882.00 0.89 354,927 for about £3.9bn ($5.4bn, €4.4bn) in a year. taxes to state & local governments, use Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd 2,532.00 0.96 2,843,100 Prudential Plc 1,778.50 -1.55 5,538,867 deal aimed at cost-cutting and diversi- That was an upgrade from the prior our Postal System as their Delivery Boy Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 3,353.00 1.88 2,014,800 Provident Financial Plc 681.60 -0.12 1,038,956 Daikin Industries Ltd 11,645.00 2.15 898,800 fying their businesses. estimate of 1.7%. Shares in car mak- (causing tremendous loss to the US), and Persimmon Plc 2,530.00 -0.55 979,483 Bank Of Yokohama Ltd/The 0.00 0.00 - In other M&A news, a majority of ers drove the DAX 30 higher in Frank- are putting many thousands of retailers Pearson Plc 749.00 -0.32 3,081,490 Toray Industries Inc 1,001.00 -1.09 5,329,700 shareholders in British engineering furt after Volkswagen made an off er to out of business!” Trump tweeted. Paddy Power Betfair Plc 7,300.00 0.21 124,033 Astellas Pharma Inc 1,616.00 1.51 9,237,400 Old Mutual Plc 239.30 0.93 12,849,791 group GKN accepted an £8.1bn takeo- change diesels hit by pollution, with Amazon fell 4.4% on Wednesday Bridgestone Corp 4,628.00 1.07 2,605,000 Next Plc 4,759.00 -1.51 599,163 ver off er from investment firm Melrose Daimler and BMW teaming up in car- following the report and dropped an- Sony Corp 5,110.00 -1.24 6,988,400 National Grid Plc 802.20 -0.38 10,820,520 after a long-running battle, sending sharing. other 1.0% in yesterday trading. Hoya Corp 5,309.00 -1.45 1,576,800 Mondi Plc 1,915.00 -0.26 1,442,916 GKN’s shares soaring over 9%. London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.2% up Market titan Facebook has led a Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin 4,303.00 -0.28 1,465,700 Merlin Entertainment 346.60 -1.14 2,157,452 Japan Tobacco Inc 3,035.00 0.46 7,491,000 Meanwhile, data showing fi rst-time at 7,056.61 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 plunge in big-name stocks in recent Mediclinic International Plc 601.00 5.11 1,892,258 Osaka Gas Co Ltd 2,097.00 -0.45 1,284,100 claims for unemployment benefi ts hit- ended 1.3% higher at 12,096.73 points, days on worries about a regulatory Marks & Spencer Group Plc 270.20 1.12 8,450,319 Sumitomo Electric Industries 1,606.50 0.85 2,381,000 ting a 45-year low last week and the US Paris’ CAC 40 was 0.7% up at 5,167.30 clampdown following a massive data London Stock Exchange Group 4,126.00 -0.07 1,002,117 Daiwa Securities Group Inc 676.30 -0.41 6,645,000 Lloyds Banking Group Plc 64.66 -0.39 140,773,801 infl ation rate hitting an 11-month high points at close, while the EURO STOXX breach at the social media site. Softbank Group Corp 7,806.00 -1.46 6,446,500 Legal & General Group Plc 257.80 0.16 16,468,174 Mizuho Financial Group Inc 191.50 -0.57 106,165,900 Land Securities Group Plc 937.10 0.22 2,324,148 Nomura Holdings Inc 611.20 0.10 17,529,800 Kingfisher Plc 292.50 0.69 11,792,506 HONG KONG HONG KONG Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 3,535.00 -0.65 1,683,900 Johnson Matthey Plc 3,042.00 -1.62 569,428 Subaru Corp 3,489.00 0.40 3,401,700 Itv Plc 144.15 -0.59 12,285,751 Ntt Docomo Inc 2,689.50 0.30 5,070,000 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Intu Properties Plc 207.70 0.48 3,428,953 Sumitomo Realty & Developmen 3,924.00 1.82 1,758,000 Intl Consolidated Airline-Di 614.60 2.95 4,954,342 Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-H 4.35 1.40 25,225,560 Hong Kong & China Gas 16.12 -0.62 19,653,128 Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd 4,325.00 -1.55 1,870,000 Intertek Group Plc 4,660.00 -0.49 578,605 Bank Of East Asia Ltd 31.30 -0.95 2,054,976 Hong Kong Exchanges & Clear 255.20 0.00 7,101,895 Orix Corp 1,878.50 0.83 3,942,500 Intercontinental Hotels Grou 4,268.00 -0.59 650,726 Bank Of China Ltd-H 4.22 0.00 285,918,877 Hsbc Holdings Plc 74.00 0.00 20,383,080 Asahi Group Holdings Ltd 5,690.00 3.51 1,593,300 Inmarsat Plc 362.10 -2.77 2,839,653 Bank Of Communications Co-H 6.15 0.16 35,184,488 Hutchison Whampoa Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Keyence Corp 65,500.00 0.92 316,300 Informa Plc 718.60 0.25 3,933,675 Belle International Holdings 0.00 0.00 - Ind & Comm Bk Of China-H 6.73 0.45 263,925,374 Nidec Corp 16,100.00 -0.86 824,000 Imperial Brands Plc 2,426.00 0.79 3,418,474 Boc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd 38.20 -0.52 9,104,261 Li & Fung Ltd 3.84 -2.04 27,218,868 Isuzu Motors Ltd 1,609.00 0.22 1,364,500 Hsbc Holdings Plc 665.40 -0.64 28,634,452 Cathay Pacific Airways 13.54 1.20 4,398,626 Mtr Corp 42.20 -1.52 4,468,213 Unicharm Corp 3,049.00 1.16 1,783,000 Hargreaves Lansdown Plc 1,633.00 -0.06 826,973 Ck Hutchison Holdings Ltd 93.90 0.11 3,770,793 New World Development 11.08 0.36 15,363,020 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd 10,875.00 -0.55 1,160,700 Hammerson Plc 536.60 -0.37 4,392,197 China Coal Energy Co-H 3.14 -1.57 21,937,880 Petrochina Co Ltd-H 5.39 -1.82 132,312,210 Smc Corp 42,590.00 -0.09 188,800 Glencore Plc 353.80 0.18 49,038,705 China Construction Bank-H 8.06 0.25 373,544,634 Ping An Insurance Group Co-H 79.80 -0.44 107,785,230 Mitsubishi Corp 2,825.50 -0.30 4,539,500 Glaxosmithkline Plc 1,394.00 -0.24 12,012,740 China Life Insurance Co-H 21.60 -0.92 43,185,042 Power Assets Holdings Ltd 69.95 0.07 20,929,138 Nintendo Co Ltd 46,660.00 0.02 1,926,700 Gkn Plc 463.00 9.46 38,231,198 China Merchants Port Holding 17.30 -0.46 8,720,396 Sino Land Co 12.70 -1.09 5,488,856 Eisai Co Ltd 6,786.00 0.58 1,196,900 Fresnillo Plc 1,268.50 2.92 1,135,226 China Mobile Ltd 71.95 0.91 16,700,994 Sun Hung Kai Properties 124.00 -0.64 3,497,406 Sumitomo Corp 1,759.00 0.31 3,245,000 Experian Plc 1,537.50 -0.45 2,434,328 China Overseas Land & Invest 27.25 -0.18 20,156,080 Swire Pacific Ltd - Cl A 79.15 -0.94 967,871 Canon Inc 3,850.00 0.00 3,603,300 Easyjet Plc 1,604.50 2.46 1,830,650 China Petroleum & Chemical-H 6.89 2.07 211,238,977 Tencent Holdings Ltd 409.60 -0.63 41,115,421 Japan Airlines Co Ltd 4,289.00 0.54 1,885,600 Dixons Carphone Plc 186.55 1.66 4,043,335 China Resources Beer Holdin 34.00 0.74 4,300,794 Wharf Holdings Ltd 26.95 -0.55 6,332,437 Direct Line Insurance Group 381.30 0.98 6,802,282 China Resources Land Ltd 28.55 1.24 12,679,139 China Resources Power Holdin 14.32 0.42 10,588,514 Diageo Plc 2,412.00 0.31 4,407,994 SENSEX Dcc Plc 6,560.00 -0.83 243,593 China Shenhua Energy Co-H 19.50 0.52 43,300,938 GCC INDICES Crh Plc 2,409.00 -0.21 2,172,332 China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd 9.90 1.96 66,311,826 Compass Group Plc 1,455.50 -1.99 5,920,313 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Citic Ltd 10.98 1.48 11,870,222 Indices Lt Price Change Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-Di 2,634.00 1.97 1,396,883 Clp Holdings Ltd 79.90 0.50 3,434,421 Doha Securities Market Zee Entertainment Enterprise 575.50 -1.88 2,104,261 8,573.99 +20.85 Centrica Plc 142.20 0.53 25,632,563 Cnooc Ltd 11.56 -0.52 63,972,987 Saudi Tadawul Yes Bank Ltd 304.85 0.44 17,421,408 7,870.87 -29.41 Carnival Plc 4,580.00 0.70 724,439 Cosco Shipping Ports Ltd 6.60 -1.79 24,421,849 Kuwait Stocks Exchange Wipro Ltd 281.15 2.59 5,351,133 6,633.44 +29.93 Capita Plc 144.05 -4.60 11,332,639 Esprit Holdings Ltd 2.67 -1.84 6,328,927 Bahrain Stock Exchage Vedanta Ltd 277.85 -3.19 15,100,359 1,318.40 +3.27 Burberry Group Plc 1,696.00 -0.09 1,986,071 Fih Mobile Ltd 1.70 -0.58 9,290,371 Oman Stock Market Ultratech Cement Ltd 3,950.00 -0.72 467,035 4,773.51 -0.53 Bunzl Plc 2,095.00 1.35 1,582,599 Hang Lung Properties Ltd 18.28 -0.65 5,593,260 Abudhabi Stock Market Tech Mahindra Ltd 638.70 2.74 5,711,706 4,585.40 +34.81 Bt Group Plc 227.50 0.78 29,682,697 Hang Seng Bank Ltd 181.60 -0.82 1,355,225 Dubai Financial Market Tata Steel Ltd 571.05 -3.21 19,297,629 3,108.53 +17.99 British Land Co Plc 642.00 0.77 3,688,911 Henderson Land Development 51.10 0.20 3,213,479 Tata Power Co Ltd 79.00 -1.37 10,932,577 British American Tobacco Plc 4,131.00 1.15 7,582,654 Tata Motors Ltd 326.85 -1.30 11,470,306 Bp Plc 479.25 1.67 47,574,607 Tata Consultancy Svcs Ltd 2,849.15 0.05 3,514,884 Bhp Billiton Plc 1,403.60 1.93 7,155,153 Sun Pharmaceutical Indus 495.10 -1.98 7,071,853 Berkeley Group Holdings/The 3,789.00 0.19 585,609 “Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The State Bank Of India 249.90 -1.75 37,768,876 Barratt Developments Plc 530.40 -0.34 3,247,488 Reliance Industries Ltd 882.70 -1.90 9,083,823 accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended Barclays Plc 206.50 0.24 55,691,064 Punjab National Bank 95.30 -4.17 31,812,719 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 581.40 1.01 9,201,906 Power Grid Corp Of India Ltd 193.25 -1.38 9,806,416 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 668.80 1.15 1,562,048 Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd 177.80 -1.00 6,392,392 this data.” Aviva Plc 495.90 -0.38 8,671,779 Ntpc Ltd 169.70 -0.79 8,579,431 Astrazeneca Plc 4,895.50 -0.98 2,331,727 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd 8,861.10 0.10 1,238,276 Associated British Foods Plc 2,491.00 -0.44 1,103,172 Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd 738.90 -0.81 3,353,571 Ashtead Group Plc 1,940.00 0.10 1,338,716 Lupin Ltd 735.85 -1.72 2,322,349 CURRENCIES Arm Holdings Plc 0.00 0.00 - Larsen & Toubro Ltd 1,310.90 0.26 4,109,419 DOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI KUWAITI Antofagasta Plc 921.00 1.12 2,591,666 DINAR DINAR Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd 1,047.80 -0.20 5,978,620 Anglo American Plc 1,661.00 2.73 4,844,956 Itc Ltd 255.50 -1.31 12,711,118 Admiral Group Plc 1,844.00 -0.83 608,730 Infosys Ltd 1,131.80 -1.92 6,374,894 3I Group Plc 859.00 -1.11 3,272,365 Indusind Bank Ltd 1,796.75 0.48 2,420,701 Idea Cellular Ltd 75.90 -5.83 22,974,567 Icici Bank Ltd 278.35 -1.95 27,658,505 TOKYO Housing Development Finance 1,825.60 0.13 4,077,758 Hindustan Unilever Ltd 1,333.35 0.04 1,433,430 Hindalco Industries Ltd 214.55 -1.81 14,163,897 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Hero Motocorp Ltd 3,542.80 2.25 806,150 East Japan Railway Co 9,872.00 -0.53 1,139,600 Hdfc Bank Limited 1,886.10 -0.34 2,292,589 Itochu Corp 2,051.50 0.61 4,569,100 Hcl Technologies Ltd 968.60 -0.35 2,347,761 Fujifilm Holdings Corp 4,196.00 0.05 1,567,000 Grasim Industries Ltd 1,050.90 -3.49 7,163,230 Yamato Holdings Co Ltd 2,649.50 0.42 1,805,200 Gail India Ltd 328.55 2.37 9,821,173 Chubu Electric Power Co Inc 1,517.00 4.62 2,388,900 Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories 2,080.55 -1.04 684,169 Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd 1,750.00 0.32 6,336,200 Coal India Ltd 283.30 2.57 7,118,099 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 4,059.00 0.64 1,530,400 Cipla Ltd 545.45 0.07 2,721,264 Toshiba Corp 306.00 -1.29 31,339,000 Cairn India Ltd 0.00 0.00 - Shiseido Co Ltd 6,788.00 1.60 2,714,900 Bosch Ltd 18,017.55 1.86 175,836 Shionogi & Co Ltd 5,485.00 0.70 1,169,600 Bharti Airtel Ltd 398.70 -3.51 10,590,864 Tokyo Gas Co Ltd 2,818.00 0.28 1,501,100 Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd 427.45 1.59 5,976,914 Tokyo Electron Ltd 19,215.00 -1.91 1,693,500 Bharat Heavy Electricals 81.35 -1.75 5,678,540 Panasonic Corp 1,503.50 -3.96 21,889,300 Bank Of Baroda 142.30 -0.97 94,497,928 Fujitsu Ltd 639.00 -0.64 14,652,000 Bajaj Auto Ltd 2,744.70 -1.92 693,943 Central Japan Railway Co 20,110.00 -0.81 326,700 Axis Bank Ltd 510.50 -0.33 11,186,276 T&D Holdings Inc 1,673.50 -0.89 2,962,500 Asian Paints Ltd 1,120.40 -0.95 740,213 Toyota Motor Corp 6,842.00 -0.29 6,205,100 Ambuja Cements Ltd 232.95 0.54 17,356,444 Kddi Corp 2,705.50 1.39 6,178,600 Adani Ports And Special Econ 354.10 -3.12 7,399,984 Nitto Denko Corp 7,912.00 1.23 1,297,400 Acc Ltd 1,507.50 -1.08 848,158

Gulf Times 10 Friday, March 30, 2018 BUSINESS

Linde, Praxair said to face rough ride in EU merger review

Bloomberg identified because the process isn’t ditched a deal last week after regulators European and US assets that could The European Commission warned in Bayer’s sale of businesses to bolster Munich public. demanded what the companies said fetch about $8bn, people familiar with February that combining Praxair and BASF SE in order to win clearance for These concerns grew after a March were “excessive” divestments to allay the matter have said. Linde would cut down major providers the Monsanto takeover. This may not 23 meeting between off icials and the antitrust concerns. Bayer AG had to The European Commission declined to in Europe for gases such as oxygen and be an easy solution for industrial gases Linde AG and Praxair Inc face a companies, two of the people said. off er up more sell-off s to win approval comment on the review. Linde declined helium to just three. The new company as regulators may also see possible struggle to win the European Union’s Linde warned last month that the deal to buy Monsanto Co last week and to comment. Praxair didn’t immediately may have the power to increase prices antitrust concerns with a sale to either blessing for their $41bn merger, four faced “more onerous” requirements DuPont Co sacrificed large parts of its respond to a request for comment and coordinate supplies with its only Air Liquide or Air Products. people with knowledge of the matter from watchdogs globally than the firms pesticide business to win clearance to outside of normal business hours. two main rivals, Air Liquide SA and The divestment portfolio has said, as the companies weigh whether had previously assumed. merge with Dow Chemical Co last year. Company concerns come at a very Air Products & Chemicals Inc, it said. attracted interest from Air Liquide, divestments required by regulators Linde tendered shares extended losses Linde and Praxair set hard limits when early stage in the EU process. Serious Regulators saw no signs that any new Air Products, Germany’s Messer could exceed what they’re prepared yesterday, dropping as much as 3.5%. they first hashed out their merger plan, negotiations on divestments often companies would emerge to compete Group GmbH and Taiyo Nippon Sanso to yield. The company traded at €166.30 at capping what they would sell and fixing come after the EU issues a statement with these four firms. Corp’s Matheson Tri-Gas unit, people Linde and Praxair representatives are 2:34pm in Frankfurt trading. Praxair an October deadline to get antitrust of objections laying out potential The EU may be concerned about the said earlier this month. Private equity increasingly worried that they might shares fell 2.4% in US pre-market approvals. Combined, the assets can’t problems with the deal. The EU’s review companies’ plans to sell parts of their firms including KKR & Co and Carlyle not be able to off er the sell-off s that trading. have more than €3.7bn ($4.6bn) in of Linde and Praxair currently has an business to an array of companies. It Group LP are also weighing bids, would satisfy regulators even though The EU has increasingly become a annual sales or earnings before interest, Aug. 9 deadline which would usually often prefers to strengthen a smaller they said. Buyout firm CVC Capital the review is still at an early stage, tough obstacle for global mergers. depreciation and amortization of €1.1bn. mean that any objections would be rival who can step up to compete Partners is working with Germany’s said the people who declined to be Blackstone Group LP and Celanese Corp They have already started the sale of likely to be sent by the end of May. against the merged firm, such as Messer, they said.

Melrose rules out reorganisation of GKN if hostile bid succeeds

Reuters London

ritish turnaround special- ist Melrose said yesterday Bit would not embark on a reorganisation of British en- gineering company GKN if its hostile bid succeeds, part of an agreement with the UK takeover watchdog. Melrose’s £7.9bn ($11.19bn) bid for GKN has become one of Britain’s most tightly fought corporate battles for years and Melrose has had to engage with politicians who have expressed concern about any future break up of GKN and sale to foreign buyers. The political criticism prompted Melrose boss Simon Peckham to make so-called post-off er undertakings — which are legally binding under Britain’s takeover rules — on keeping GKN’s British base and maintaining at least the levels of research and development in- vestment made by GKN between 2014 and 2016. Melrose said that throughout the fi ve-year post-off er under- taking period it would keep the A London taxi cab is seen in front of the Barclays headquarters in the Canary Wharf business, financial and shopping district of London. The bank denied misleading investors about the quality of the mortgage headquarters of the combined loans backing the instruments and allegations it committed mail fraud and bank fraud. group in Britain and the business would continue trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market. It also said Melrose would not seek to create a new holding company above Melrose unless the same post-off er undertak- ings were provided. Barclays $2bn fraud fi ne Melrose has been trying to win over shareholders and over- come a competing plan from GKN. GKN shareholders have until 1200 GMT on March 29 to de- cide whether to take Melrose’s resolves US legal issue cash-and-stock offer or stick with GKN’s plan to sell off its Bank allegedly mis-sold toxic The British bank denied misleading at Investec Bank in London, said. “It against them being dismissed, the Jus- ing such claims, with Credit Suisse automotive unit to US group mortgage securities; disputes DoJ investors about the quality of the mort- has been a priority for this manage- tice Department said. “Solely to put agreeing in December 2016 to pay out Dana and focus on aerospace. allegations; bank to take 0.45% gage loans backing the instruments and ment team from the start to resolve this matter behind him, Mr Menefee a combined $5.3bn in settlements and Melrose has also promised to CET1 hit in Q1 allegations it committed mail fraud and these historic issues in a timely and ap- has agreed to a settlement in which consumer relief, while Deutsche Bank keep the aerospace division of bank fraud. propriate manner wherever possible,” he has not admitted any wrongdoing,” settled for $7.2bn in January last year. GKN for at least fi ve years and Reuters The settlement, described by Bar- Staley said. lawyers representing Menefee said. The actions against the banks over increase spending on appren- London/Washington clays chief executive Jes Staley as “fair Barclays shares were up 1% by 1445 A lawyer representing Carroll said that mortgage securities stem from a 2012 tices. and proportionate”, resolves the bank’s GMT following the announcement. his client denied any wrongdoing and initiative by US President Barack As another sign of commit- largest outstanding legal issue in the The bank said paying the fi ne would had settled to put the case behind him. Obama to pursue the misconduct that ment to Britain, Melrose said arclays will pay $2bn to settle United States, and could reassure in- hit its core capital ratio, a key measure Barclays, unlike rival banks facing helped lead to the fi nancial crisis. yesterday that no director would claims for billions of dollars of vestors who had been braced for a po- of fi nancial strength, by 0.45 percent- similar claims by the Justice Depart- Barclays’ settlement could encour- be appointed or reappointed, Blosses suff ered by investors who tentially larger fi ne. age points. ment, was sued in December 2016 after age its rival Royal Bank of Scotland, or even recommended, to the bought toxic mortgage-backed securi- “The settlement is at the bottom end Two former Barclays executives, resisting a penalty proposed in initial which has been frustrated by a lack of Melrose board if the majority of ties in the run-up to the 2007 fi nancial of expectations and has come sooner Paul Menefee and John Carroll, who settlement negotiations. progress in settling its own case that is the Melrose directors would not crisis, the US Justice Department said than expected, so this is a good out- worked on the RMBS deals paid a com- The Barclays settlement is one of blocking the bank from resuming divi- be resident in Britain following yesterday. come for Barclays,” Ian Gordon, analyst bined $2mn in exchange for claims the lower payouts made by banks fac- dend payments. such a move. Draghi studies Fed exit as ECB’s guide on what to do and avoid

Bloomberg Merrill Lynch in London and a former Bank of until “well past” a fall in unemployment below policy too quickly,” said David Powell, Bloomb- Frankfurt France economist. “The ECB has no possibility 6.5%. Yet as joblessness rapidly headed for the erg Economics. to get it wrong.” fi gure without any sign of infl ation, policy mak- “There is a debate over the underestimation Here are some Fed exit lessons for the ECB, as ers were forced to stress that rates probably of economic slack, both in the US and in Eu- ario Draghi has six months left to pre- seen by economists. wouldn’t rise until a “considerable time after” rope where unemployment keeps falling with- pare a retreat from ultra-loose mon- Watch your language QE stopped. out pushing wage growth and infl ation higher,” Metary policy, and he has a readymade When then-Chairman Ben Bernanke said in The ECB adopted that approach from the start, said Frederik Ducrozet, an economist at Banque roadmap on hand. May 2013 that Fed asset purchases could be ta- saying it doesn’t expect to raise rates until “well Pictet & Cie in Geneva. The US Federal Reserve’s experience of halt- pered, investors took fright and the market rout past” the end of net asset purchases. That vague “I’d expect the ECB to use this argument to be ing quantitative easing, raising interest rates was felt globally. Draghi took note, assuring in- term may need to be clarifi ed further though. even more cautious.” and starting to shrink its balance sheet provides vestors in the summer of that year that if ECB While the Fed hiked borrowing costs one year af- Like the Fed, the ECB intends to maintain the both a blueprint and a cautionary tale for the interest rates changed at all, they’d be cut. Such ter the end of QE, investors are betting on a gap size of its QE holdings — set to reach at least European Central Bank president. It’s an easy forward guidance would become a key plank of of just six months at the ECB, which — unlike the €2.55tn — by reinvesting the proceeds of ma- example of what he and his colleagues should his strategy. Fed — will start from below zero. turing debt. The Fed has barely started curbing aim for, or avoid. ECB president Mario Draghi speaks during a Since then, Draghi has repeatedly pledged to “The Fed didn’t prepare markets enough to its reinvestments to shrink its balance sheet, “It’s no secret,” Governing Council member news conference following the bank’s interest keep pumping in stimulus. He avoided the T- the end of QE, and they assumed that rate hikes a gradual work-in-progress that offi cials in Ewald Nowotny said on Tuesday. “We’re moni- rate decision at the ECB headquarters in word even as the ECB slowed the monthly pace were soon to follow,” said Nick Kounis, an econ- Frankfurt will closely monitor. It just goes to toring closely what the Fed did, and is doing.” Frankfurt on March 8. Draghi has repeatedly of its own bond-buying program from €80bn omist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam. “The ECB show that while Draghi took the euro area into The ECB has largely followed in the footsteps pledged to keep pumping in stimulus. ($99bn) to €60bn and then €30bn. Purchases worked hard to disentangle the two.” extraordinary stimulus, it’ll be his successor in of its US counterpart, committing to keep rates still don’t have a fi rm end-date. “While the ECB is likely to base the timing November 2019 who has to lead the way out. unchanged until well after asset purchases stop ing: robust growth is no guarantee of infl ation. “The Fed got its communication wrong and details of its exit from QE on the economic “Draghi may want to communicate clearly on and to reinvest maturing debt. It also learned For Draghi, who used up so much of the ECB’s in 2013,” said Marco Valli, an economist at conditions of the euro area, it will probably take the exit strategy, but he may not be able to tie from the “taper tantrum” — when bond yields fi repower to stave off the threat of defl ation, UniCredit in Milan. “As a response, the ECB comfort from the Federal Reserve’s broad expe- his successor’s hands,” said Richard Barwell, an surged on the Fed’s fi rst mention that buy- that’s one more reason to be patient. emphasised its rhetoric of calm and prudence.” rience and emulate its sequencing. In addition, economist at BNP Paribas Asset Management in ing might be phased out — that policy changes “The Fed could have reversed at any time, Don’t tie your hands the centrist and dovish members of the Govern- London. should be signalled well in advance. they could stop and correct,” said Gilles Moec, When the Fed began reducing bond purchas- ing Council will probably look at the case of the “The question is whether the next ECB chief The Fed’s experience carries another warn- chief European economist at Bank of America es, it promised to keep interest rates unchanged US and emphasise a need to avoid normalising will stick to it or choose a diff erent mix.” Gulf Times Friday, March 30, 2018 11 BUSINESS

Amazon’s next challenge: Teens without the plastic to buy online

Bloomberg familiar with the matter who requested streaming video so young adults will 2004, when many of these potential new said Eric Marks, a senior director at the said Marielle Schurig, a financial adviser New York anonymity. Amazon aims to tailor the ac- already be Amazon shoppers when they customers were born. financial consultancy West Monroe at UBS Group AG who works with high- counts to appeal especially to youngsters start making more of their own spending Children under the age of 18 typically Partners. net-worth millennials. “A lot of monthly and those who own no plastic in their decisions. aren’t able to sign up for a bank account Amazon might also entice teens with its statements don’t off er insights or tools Amazon.com Inc has millennial shoppers wallets, the people said. Since many young people don’t qualify for without parental consent. Checking personal assistant Alexa. Such devices are to manage your records or analyse nailed down. And their parents. And most “The sooner you can start collecting credit cards, Amazon created a pseudo- accounts for high school students often popular among teens looking for a con- your spending to budget or save for of their grandparents. information on them, the better prepared debit card called Amazon Cash that lets come with monthly service charges and venient way to pay, said Gavin Rosenberg, the future” — something Amazon might But one group of potential customers you are,” said Tim Barefield, a managing teenagers drop off money at drugstores overdraft fees. a senior director at the payments proces- provide. has eluded the world’s biggest Internet director at the consulting firm Kotter Inter- such as 7-Eleven Inc and CVS Health Corp So there’s a chance for Amazon to improve sor Total System Services Inc. Even with as much as a $10 monthly fee, retailer. national. “For Amazon, it’s another way to and add it to an Amazon wallet they can the banking experience, said Stuart Sopp, “The younger generations are less con- 27% of young millennials polled said they Teenagers, otherwise known as Genera- expand their brand. Their brand is reach- use online. chief executive off icer of Current, a startup cerned about privacy, so they’re more apt would open an additional checking ac- tion Z, with their lack of debit and credit ing out every place that their tentacles can But Amazon has long known the process that off ers debit cards to teens. to use them,” Rosenberg said. count with Amazon. One-tenth said they cards, their absence of bank accounts and reach out to.” is clunky and has wanted to take steps to “I’m sure Amazon is scaring the hell out The marketing opportunity doesn’t end would close their existing account and go their overwhelming preference for actually The move shows Amazon’s recognition make it easier for customers without bank of every single regional bank and credit with teenagers. The e-commerce giant with Amazon. putting on clothes and going to physical that digital accounts for minors potentially accounts to shop on its website. Walmart union right now,” Sopp said. “The banks could also end up persuading people to “This is music to Amazon’s ears,” Corner- stores to buy things they could purchase lock in lifetime customers before they Inc and American Express Co off er ac- have very clearly not serviced these de- close their existing bank accounts and stone said in its report. online, pose a big challenge to Amazon. even leave their parents’ house. Amazon counts called Bluebird that have made mographics, so there’s opportunity.” open a new one with Amazon, according “Why would they want to off er a free Amazon’s answer: The Internet behemoth is savvy about its users’ life cycles. It inroads with teens. If Amazon could deliver a better banking to a Cornerstone Advisors study published checking account when they can bundle is in early discussions with banks including off ers new parents discounts on diapers Amazon, led by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is experience for digitally savvy youngsters in January. It would also be a chance for a the services of various providers on their JPMorgan Chase & Co and Capital One and baby food. It gives college students trying to stay on top even as it had rev- who are used to getting what they want bank to partner with the online gargantuan. platform — merchants and financial serv- Financial Corp to create a product similar discounted Amazon Prime memberships, enue of $178bn last year, a 31% jump from with a few swipes or clicks, they might “Right now, banks might not be off ering ices providers — and charge a fee for it. A to checking accounts, according to people providing free shipping and access to 2016 and an almost 2,500% increase from have banking customers for a long time, exactly what millennials want or need,” fee that consumers are willing to pay.”

Facebook and Amazon reveal Germany’s jobs bonanza keeps gender pay gap of their economy swinging into spring UK workforces

Unemployment total falls more Bloomberg than expected; jobless rate hits London record low in March; long-term unemployed also benefiting from upswing; inflation weaker Facebook Inc pays female staff in Britain just than expected in March 0.8% less on average than male employees, but womens’ bonuses are almost 40% lower. Reuters The mean average disparity in pay at Facebook Berlin is an improvement compared to Google’s UK arm, where women are paid on average 17% less than men. Google’s average bonus for ermany’s jobless total female staff is 43% lower than male staff . dropped more than expected Amazon.com Inc also released gender pay gap Gin March and unemployment figures yesterday for its various UK subsidi- hit a record low, adding impetus to a aries. Amazon Video Ltd, for instance, pays labour market that has already be- women 40% less than men, using the mean come the linchpin of a consumer-led calculation, whereas its Amazon UK Services upswing. Ltd business pays women only 2.1% less. Household spending has turned Among Facebook’s top quartile — or highest paid into the main source of growth in staff — about 30% are women. This decreases to Europe’s biggest economy, propelled just 19% in the second quartile, according to data by rising employment, infl ation- published by the company. For Amazon Video, busting pay hikes and low borrowing the figures are about 39% and 50% respectively, costs. while Amazon UK Services hovers about the Federal Labour Offi ce data yester- 30% mark for both of the top two quartiles. day showed the seasonally adjusted The largest diff erence in Amazon’s report was jobless number fell by 19,000 on the within its London Development Centre unit, month to 2.373mn, more than the where just 8.2% of the highest earners are 15,000 forecast in a Reuters poll. women. Within this division, more women re- Separately, data from the statistics ceive bonuses compared to men — 98% versus offi ce showed that infl ation acceler- 95% — but female employees received a mean ated more slowly than expected in bonus pay 12% lower than male colleagues. March, suggesting that price pres- In a statement yesterday, the e-commerce giant sures remain fairly moderate despite said that using the median average rather than the broad-based upswing and un- the mean, its own gender pay gap analysis for precedented monetary stimulus. the collective Amazon UK workforce showed it Unemployment dropped to 5.3% paid women 0.7% more than men, however. last month from 5.4% in February, An employee works on the production line at the Burger Group gear maker and automobile component factory in Schonach, Germany. The Federal Labour “We have programs that we’re continually the lowest since Germany reunifi ed Off ice data yesterday showed the seasonally adjusted jobless number fell by 19,000 on the month to 2.373mn. working to further improve, to actively recruit in 1990. and help advance more women into senior and Employment as measured by the to 845,000. Opposition parties have growth driver. The government has “The losers of a spiral of protec- Still, it marked the fi rst rise in the technology-focused roles as we grow our busi- International Labour Organisation accused Chancellor Angela Merkel forecast a 2.4% expansion for this tionism between the US and the EU headline rate of infl ation since No- ness here in the UK,” an Amazon spokesman climbed to a record 44.59mn in Feb- of neglecting the long-term unem- year, which would be the fastest rate would be consumers and employees vember when it stood at 1.8%. The said in the statement. ruary, seasonally adjusted data from ployed at a time when German fi rms since 2011. on both sides of the Atlantic,” Ze- increase was mainly driven by higher Staff at the US tech giants are among some of the Federal Statistics Offi ce showed are struggling with unprecedented Consumer sentiment rose un- uner said. food costs and prices for holiday the best paid in the UK Around 1,000 people yesterday. labour shortages. expectedly heading into April, ac- Household spending has also been package deals ahead of Easter. work for Facebook UK Ltd, sharing pay of “The positive development of the In the coalition deal signed this cording to a GfK survey released on helped by moderate infl ation, which “At fi rst glance, stronger German £207mn ($290mn) over 2016, according to the labour market continued in March,” month, the centre-left Social Dem- Wednesday, as shoppers became has broadly undercut average pay infl ation data looks like a welcome latest available accounts. Labour Offi ce head Detlef Scheele ocrats (SPD) persuaded Merkel’s more upbeat about their income and settlements to leave employees with argument for ECB hawks as it seems Fiona Mullan, head of European human re- said. conservatives to help integrate the were more willing to spend. more disposable income. to confi rm their view that prices are sources at Facebook, said the pay gap was due He said companies created more long-term unemployed by creating “Full order books and the strong Yesterday’s preliminary infl ation fi nally accelerating,” ING-Diba ana- to the company’s engineering workforce, which jobs with full social benefi ts and 150,000 subsidised jobs at a cost of growth of the global economy make data showed consumer prices, har- lyst Carsten Brzeski said. represents over half of Facebook’s employees were continuing to look for more 4bn euros ($4.9bn). it unlikely that the job boom will monised to make them comparable But at a second glance, Brzeski in the UK, and that more men are in senior staff . The rock-solid labour market is come to an end in spring,” KfW with data from other European Un- added, the fi gures provided further leadership positions. The data showed that Germa- likely to further boost consumer chief economist Joerg Zeuner said — ion countries, rose 1.5% year-on- evidence that a wage-price-spiral “Technical roles also tend to drive higher ny’s prolonged upswing is now also confi dence and household spend- though the threat of a trade dispute year after an increase of 1.2% in the was hardly noticeable even in Ger- market rates of pay, both in terms of salary and pushing down the once stubbornly ing in Europe’s biggest economy, with the United States had made previous month. many, which he described as the cy- total compensation, due to the demand for high number of long-term unem- where domestic demand has tak- fi rms far less optimistic about future The March reading undershot a clically most advanced economy of specialised skills,” Mullan said. ployed, which fell by 9% on the year en over from exports as the main business. Reuters consensus forecast of 1.6%. the 19-member bloc.

Aetna will pass along discounts as drug price scrutiny increases

Bloomberg CVS Health Corp, and insurer Cigna sion in a statement earlier this month, New York Corp is buying the PBM Express Scripts calling it “a prime example of the type Holding Co of movement toward transparency and “There’s a whole lot in the chain of lower drug prices for millions of pa- etna Inc will pass on the dis- control of drugs in the way of middle- tients that the Trump Administration counts it negotiates on prescrip- men that drive up these costs,” Berto- is championing.” Ation drugs to about 3mn of its lini said. “That’s why you’re seeing the Aetna had already allowed large em- members, the latest move by a health standalone PBM model disappear.” ployers who use the company to manage insurer to address Americans’ com- The moves by Aetna and United- their health insurance but pay their own plaints about the cost of medicine. Health address a complaint by the drug claims to pass along drug maker rebates The discounts, which can amount to industry, that the discounts pharma- to consumers. The change announced more than half a drug’s list price, will be ceutical companies off er on their treat- on Tuesday applies to companies that passed on at the pharmacy counter for ments don’t reach consumers, distort- pay premiums to Aetna to take on the many people starting next year, Aetna ing the price patients pay. Industry insurance risk as well as manage claims. chief executive offi cer Mark Bertolini groups for drug makers have supported The three largest PBMs — CVS, Ex- said in a telephone interview. The move passing on the discounts. press Scripts, and UnitedHealth’s Op- by the No 3 US health insurer follows a Insurers and pharmacy benefi t plans tumRx unit — let employers decide similar decision earlier this month by have received scrutiny for their role in whether to keep pharmaceutical re- its larger peer, UnitedHealth Group Inc drug spending. Top Trump adminis- bates or give them to patients. CVS has Over the last year, drug makers, in- tration offi cials have said insurers and been allowing commercial clients to surers and pharmacy benefi t plans, or pharmacy benefi t managers bear some pass on the rebates since 2013, and has PBMs, have blamed one another for of the blame for high drug costs and said that 12mn individuals are covered the cost of prescription drugs in the that making the system more transpar- under plans that have chosen to do so. US PBMs and insurers have said it’s the ent can help bring down prices. The Insurers have said that when they fault of the pharmaceutical companies government is also weighing whether hold on to the rebates, they use them to that frequently raise their list prices. to make a change in Medicare’s pre- reduce the total premiums they charge Drug makers blame insurers and scription-drug program similar to what to workers and companies. That ar- pharmacy benefi t plans for high co- UnitedHealth and Aetna are doing, rangement can leave the sickest pa- pays, and for not passing on to patients which would help lower out-of-pocket tients exposed to the highest out-of- the discounts they negotiate. People and now they see it,” Bertolini said. Aetna’s decision also refl ects the for each player to hang on to its own costs for seniors. pocket drug costs, particularly in plans with high deductibles or co-pays are “When drug prices keep going up, and consolidating US healthcare supply slice of fees and rebates. Aetna last year Alex Azar, the Trump administra- with high deductibles where people pay often hurt the most. drug costs keep going up, they’ll have chain. Drug plans, pharmacies and in- agreed to be bought by the pharmacy tion’s Health and Human Services the full cost of products and services “We want people to see the truth, one place to look.” surers are merging, lessening the need benefi t manager and drugstore chain secretary, praised UnitedHealth’s deci- before coverage kicks in. Friday, March 30, 2018 GULF TIMES BUSINESS

Nissan, Renault are said in merger talks after two-decade union

Bloomberg dable rival for Volkswagen AG and Toyota in the new company in exchange for their One possibility would be to base the any discussion about a share transaction “To compete against the Toyotas, New York Motor Corp, allowing the partners to bet- holdings, they said. The automaker may company in London or the Nether- involving the parties was “pure specula- Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi very much has ter pool resources as the industry shifts maintain headquarters in both Japan and lands, where cross-Atlantic carmaker tion.” to do it as one big group,” Macquarie’s towards new-energy vehicles, autono- France. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has its Ghosn has pledged to cement Renault’s Lewis said. Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co are in mous driving and car-sharing services. Renault shares jumped as much as 8.3%, corporate charter. Fiat Chrysler maintains partnership with Nissan, saying in Febru- While the companies have claimed a mul- talks to merge, seeking to solidify their While the alliance of Renault and Nissan hitting the highest intraday level in more headquarters in both Italy and the US. ary that the companies would devise a titude of benefits from their partnership, two-decade-old alliance under a single has brought savings, the fragmented than a decade. They were up 4.5% at No final decisions have been made and plan to “make the alliance irreversible.” its staying power could be complicated stock as an unprecedented shift towards ownership structure has prevented the 11:25am in Paris, giving the company a the talks, which have been ongoing for The 64-year-old relinquished the chief until imbalances in the companies’ own- electric and shared cars transforms the companies from reaping full benefits market value of about €29bn ($36bn). several months, may not result in a deal, executive off icer role at Nissan last year ership structures are resolved. industry, people with knowledge of the from their union. Nissan shares are down nearly 2% over they said. to focus on the partnership. Ghosn reiterated last month that Japan matter said. “Size matters in the auto industry,” said the past year, giving the company a valu- A spokesman for the Renault-Nissan alli- The companies are seeking to double wouldn’t agree to a tighter structure if A deal would end the current alliance be- Janet Lewis, an analyst at Macquarie in ation of ¥4.6tn ($43bn). ance said the group doesn’t comment on synergies to €10bn by 2022 from 2016. France remains a shareholder. He also tween the companies and marry them as Tokyo. “The concern has always prima- Getting a deal done could prove very rumors and speculation, while a spokes- In April, Mitsubishi Motors Corp — in said he isn’t trying to convince the French one Corp, said the people, who asked not rily been the French government, and diff icult, the people said. The French gov- man for the French finance ministry which Nissan is the largest shareholder state to reduce its stake in Renault. to be identified as the details aren’t pub- somewhat Japan, because both France ernment owns 15% of Renault and may declined to comment. Representatives — will further integrate with the alliance “They decide to be here or to get out,” lic. Renault currently owns 43% of Nissan and Japan like to keep their national be reluctant to relinquish control over its for Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan and by joining a shared parts-purchasing he said. “Frankly, I don’t even open this while the Japanese car maker has a 15% champions.” stake or have its position watered down. Renault also declined to comment. organisation. subject. I just consider that I have the stake in its French counterpart. Carlos The parties are discussing a transac- Both the French and Japanese govern- Reuters reported earlier this month The alliance forecasts unit sales of 14mn shareholders that I have and I try to Ghosn, the chairman of both companies, tion in which Nissan would essentially ments would also have to approve a deal that Nissan was in talks to buy the bulk units by 2022, compared with 10.6mn satisfy them in the best way possible and is driving the negotiations and would run give Renault shareholders stock in the and may have strong opinions on where of the French government’s stake in last year. Volkswagen, the world’s largest as much as possible make sure that they the combined entity, the people said. new company, the people said. Nissan the combined company is domiciled, the Renault, citing unidentified people. The car maker, sold 10.7mn vehicles last year, understand our strategy and appreciate A merged giant would be a more formi- shareholders would also receive shares people said. Renault-Nissan alliance said at the time while Toyota sold 10.4mn. our results.”

UK current account deficit narrows, Consumer spending up helped by global recovery

Current account gap below all Reuters poll forecasts; Q4 slightly in US; jobless GDP stays at +0.4%; ONS hikes 2017 GDP to +1.8%; savings ratio in 2017 hits new record low; separate data shows weak picture for housing market

Reuters claims at 45-year low London Britain’s current account deficit fell sharply last year, off icial data Consumer spending showed yesterday, potentially easing concerns about its reliance increases 0.2 in February; on foreign investors to fund itself as Brexit nears. personal income rises 0.4%; The Off ice for National Statistics also said Britain’s economy grew saving rate up; weekly at its slowest pace in five years in 2017, leaving it the weakest jobless claims drop 12,000 among Group of Seven countries as the decision to leave the European Union pushed up inflation and weighed on consumer Reuters spending. Washington However, there were some more promising signs for 2018 as the dominant services sector picked up a bit in January and economists said they expected that an inflation hit to consumers S consumer spending would ease this year. rose marginally for a sec- The current account deficit stood at £18.4bn ($25.9bn) in Uond straight month in the fourth quarter, below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of February as households boosted economists, and the shortfall in the third quarter was revised savings, the latest indication down sharply. that the economy lost momen- That left the 2017 deficit at 4.1% of GDP, the smallest since tum in the fi rst quarter. 2011 and much lower than a record 5.8% in 2016 as the global But the economy’s funda- economic recovery, and the weak value of the pound, boosted mentals remain strong, with earnings on British investment abroad. other data yesterday showing “While still too high for comfort, this is a very welcome the number of Americans fi l- reduction given that the elevated deficit is a potential source ing for unemployment benefi ts of vulnerability for the UK economy — particularly if there dropping to more than a 45-year was any major loss of investor confidence in the UK,” Howard low last week. Archer, an economist with EY Item Club, a forecasting group, A tightening labour market is said. expected to start driving up wag- Victoria Clarke, at Investec, said it was too early to say the deficit es by the second half of this year. would improve steadily. Consumer spending has been Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said Britain’s tepid this year despite strong balance of payments shortfall leaves it reliant on the “kindness consumer confi dence, which has of strangers”. The country’s off icial budget forecasters expect been bolstered by income tax the gap to fall only slowly and they warned this month that the cuts. confidence of overseas investors could be damaged without a Some economists said the tax smooth Brexit. cuts, which came into eff ect in The ONS confirmed gross domestic product grew 0.4% on the January, only refl ected on most Pedestrians pass in front of the Tiff any & Co flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. The Commerce Department said consumer spending, quarter — slowing from 0.5% in the third quarter — and 1.4% workers’ paychecks in late Feb- which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, increased 0.2% last month after a similar gain in January. compared with the last three months of 2016. ruary. For 2017, the ONS edged up its economic growth estimate to 1.8% They also believed that de- spending in February was in line last week and forecast at least alised rate in the fourth quarter. a six-month high of 3.4% from but that was still the slowest since 2012. lays in processing tax refunds with economists’ expectations. two more rate hikes this year. The tepid consumer spending 3.2% in January. The ONS said disposable household incomes, adjusted for had contributed to holding back There was also a moderation “Policymakers can be confi - added to data on trade, housing Income growth could pick up inflation, only inched up 0.1% in the fourth quarter and household spending. in monthly infl ation readings dent about the infl ation outlook and business spending on equip- as the labour market tightens spending in 2017 grew at the weakest pace since 2011. “The outlook for spending on after prices pushed higher in and will likely keep with the ment that have left economists further, which should help to Last year’s savings ratio was the lowest on record at 4.9% of discretionary categories is ob- January. plan to raise rates a couple more anticipating moderate economic support consumer spending. gross disposable income. viously more uncertain, though The personal consumption times this year,” said Chris Rup- growth in the fi rst quarter. In a separate report yesterday, The ONS said households were net borrowers for the first time there are some plausible reasons expenditures (PCE) price index key, chief economist at MUFG in Data forecasting fi rm Macr- the Labour Department said ini- since records began in 1987. to expect better consumption excluding the volatile food and New York.”Infl ation is not heat- oeconomic Advisers cut its fi rst- tial claims for state unemploy- But there are signs the squeeze on households is easing. outcomes ahead,” said Michael energy components rose 0.2% ing up, but pressures are build- quarter GDP growth estimate ment benefi ts dropped 12,000 to Inflation appears to have peaked and wage growth has picked Feroli, an economist at JPMor- last month after advancing 0.3% ing. by three-tenths of a percentage a seasonally adjusted 215,000 for up, helping a consumer confidence survey by opinion poll firm gan in New York. in January. The dollar was little changed point to a 1.5% rate. the week ended March 24, the GfK to hit a 10-month high in March. “Relative to years past, tax re- That lifted the year-on-year against a basket of currencies Economists at Barclays low- lowest level since January 1973. “The GfK survey suggests that consumers see some light funds were paid out slower at the increase in the so-called core while stocks on Wall Street were ered their forecast to a 1.7% rate The labour market is consid- appearing at the end of the tunnel in the form of a revival in start of this year.” PCE price index to 1.6%, the trading higher. from 1.8%. The economy grew at ered to be near or at full employ- spending power,” Andrew Goodwin, an economist at Oxford The Commerce Department biggest gain since February 2017, Prices of US government a 2.9% pace in the fourth quarter. ment. Economics, said. said consumer spending, which from 1.5% in January. bonds rose. In February, personal in- The jobless rate is at a 17-year The BoE has signalled it intends to raise interest rates again soon, accounts for more than two- The core PCE index is the Fed- The steady rise in infl ation come rose 0.4%, matching the low of 4.1%, not too far from the having increased them for the first time in a decade in November. thirds of US economic activity, eral Reserve’s preferred infl a- last month also helped curb increase of the previous two Fed’s forecast of 3.8% by the end It believes Britain’s economy, with its weak productivity growth increased 0.2% last month after tion measure. It has been below consumer spending. months. of this year. “These data contin- record, will generate excessive inflation pressure with only a similar gain in January. the US central bank’s 2% target When adjusted for infl ation, Wages increased 0.5% last ue to fl ash further tightening in modest growth. It was supported by a re- since mid-2012. consumer spending was un- month after climbing 0.6% in labour market conditions with Separate data showed Britain’s housing market remained soft, bound in spending on long- Economists believe the annual changed in February after falling January. fi rms unwilling to fi re existing reflecting the financial squeeze on many households. lasting goods, such as motor core PCE price index could ac- 0.2% in the prior month. Savings increased to $497.4bn workers, presumably because of The BoE said the number of mortgages approved for house vehicles, as was a rise in finan- celerate to 1.9% in March as last That suggests a sharp slow- in February, the highest lev- the diffi culty of fi nding replace- purchase fell more than expected in February. cial services and insurance ex- year’s weak readings drop out of down in consumer spending in el since August 2017, from ments,” said John Ryding, chief Mortgage lender Nationwide said house prices in Britain rose at penditures. the calculation. the fi rst quarter after it surged $471.3bn in the prior month. economist at RDQ Economics in the slowest pace in seven months in March. The increase in consumer The Fed raised interest rates at an eye-popping 4.0% annu- That lifted the saving rate to New York. Gun maker gets loan from JPMorgan, Franklin after others said no

Bloomberg from its 2007 acquisition by Cerberus Remington sought a $100mn term loan mous. Their names are redacted from edged the eff ect of media attention on New York Capital Management, fi led for Chapter from outside investors to provide a large court documents. They’re supposed to its business. “Negative attention will 11 on March 25, a day after throngs en- chunk of the cash. It had no takers. be repaid through stock in a new, reor- likely have a negative infl uence on pub- ergised by student survivors of a Feb- “The vast majority of lenders con- ganised company. lic opinion” and “may impact the long- or Remington Outdoor Co, one of ruary mass shooting in Florida rallied tacted, however, indicated that they Spokesmen for Franklin, JPMorgan run demand for Remington’s products,” the oldest fi rearms makers in the for the passage of tighter gun laws. The were reluctant to provide fi nancing to and Cerberus declined to comment. A it said. The company also talked about FUS, not even going bankrupt is skittishness of Remington’s potential fi rearms manufacturers,” according to Remington representative didn’t re- its litigation risk. easy these days. lenders could be the fi rst sign that Wall a court fi ling. The company’s adviser, spond to requests for comment. Madison, North Carolina-based At a time when gun-control demon- A person holds a Remington Outdoor Street is listening to them. Lazard Freres & Co, said it approached Remington appears to have had an Remington is involved in a lawsuit con- strations have unfolded across the na- Model 700 rifle at a gun store in Orem, Remington, to speed through Chap- 30 potential lenders — not just banks easier time negotiating with parties to cerning the 2012 mass shooting that tion and the world, 30 lenders declined Utah. Remington, burdened by debt ter 11, needed three new forms of fi - but hedge funds specialising in dis- an asset-backed loan, which will be re- left 26 dead at Sandy Hook Elemen- to provide bankruptcy fi nancing for the from its 2007 acquisition by Cerberus nancing to help it stay afl oat through tressed debt who are usually hungry for paid in cash and not stock when Rem- tary School in Newtown, Connecticut. company, according to court fi lings. In Capital Management, filed for Chapter the bankruptcy process. such opportunities — and found no ap- ington exits bankruptcy. Eventually, Bushmaster, owned by Remington, the end, two prominent fi nancial com- 11 on March 25. The company was able to secure a petite among them. After eight parties the lenders provided $193mn. Their manufactured the fi rearm used in those panies — Franklin Resources Inc and a $45mn bridge loan from its parent, agreed to further talks, most declined, names are disclosed in the court fi l- killings. The company is also entangled unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co — end- times. An expected jump in sales stem- which is owned by Cerberus, to give citing timing factors as well as “con- ings. Among them are Bank of America in litigation over trigger defects on guns ed up giving Remington the bulk of a ming from the expected election of Hil- it enough cash to make it to the bank- cerns about investing in the fi rearms Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, Regions Fi- such as its iconic Model 700 rifl e. $100mn loan. The names of other lend- lary Clinton never materialised due to ruptcy in the fi rst place. industry.” nancial Corp, Synovus Financial Corp, The AR-15 assault rifl e used in the ers that agreed to provide fi nancing were her defeat, and retailers such as Dick’s The company also had to negotiate Finally, existing term-loan lenders Fifth Third Bank Bancorp and Deutsche Florida school killings was made by blacked out from court documents. Sporting Goods Inc have restricted debtor-in-possession loans to fi nance agreed to extend the $100mn loan — Bank AG. another gun maker, Smith & Wesson, a Gun makers have fallen on hard sales. Remington, burdened by debt operations through the Chapter 11. but their identities remained anony- In a fi ling, Remington acknowl- unit of American Outdoor Brands Corp.