• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

BUYING LIFT | Page 2 BEIJING IRE | Page 14 Qatar shares Cathay remains extend gains under scrutiny to scale 9,800 as CEO takes fall Tuesday, August 20, 2019 Dhul-Hijja 19, 1440 AH TRADE WAR: Page 16 GULF TIMES Trump says US is talking with China but BUSINESS not ready for a deal Qatar financial resources to remain strong, public finances solid: Euler Hermes By Pratap John said Qatar’s current account rebounded expects a similar outcome for the year as “Thanks to a huge stock of assets in prices from mid-2014 to 2017 pushed to remain above that threshold in 2019- Business Editor to a surplus as early as 2017 (+3.8% of a whole. Mining and quarrying continued its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar the annual fiscal account into deficit in 2020. GDP) from a deficit in 2016 (-5.5% of to contract in Q1-Q3 2018, by -2% y-o-y, Investment Authority, Qatar has been 2016-2017, it noted. However, Qatar will remain a large net GDP) after 17 years of continued large although the decline narrowed to just able to avoid an economic crisis. A As the oil price recovered in 2018 to an external creditor thanks to the huge Qatar’s financial resources will remain surpluses. -0.1% y-o-y in third quarter last year, swift diversification of foreign trade average $72 for a barrel (for benchmark foreign-asset position in the QIA, it said. strong, insurance major and researcher For 2018-2020, Euler Hermes has thanks to “increased” oil output. relationships and trade routes was Brent), well above Qatar’s fiscal Qatar’s inflation has been forecast to Euler Hermes said and noted that forecast annual surpluses between 5% Meanwhile, the non-mining and also helpful. Shipments of natural breakeven point estimated at $60, the rise from an average 0.2% in 2018 to the combined foreign exchange (FX) and 10% of GDP. quarrying activities rose by +5.7% y-o-y gas and oil, accounting for almost fiscal account moved back into a small a still moderate 1.5% or so in 2019. It reserves of the Qatar Central Bank The researcher has forecast full-year between Q1 and Q3 of 2018, thanks to 85% of Qatar’s exports, have broadly surplus. should accelerate further to about 3% and the Qatar Investment Authority GDP growth of 2.7% in 2019. The healthy growth in the manufacturing continued despite some neighbouring “We expect similar surpluses in 2019- on average in 2020 provided a 5% VAT represent well over 150% of the tentative forecast for 2020 is 2.5%. (+10%) and construction (+14%) sectors. countrys’ ban on Qatari-linked vessels 2020,” Euler Hermes said. is imposed that year. country’s annual GDP and cover more In 2018, Qatar’s GDP growth recovered On the blockade on Qatar, Euler Hermes from its waters,” Euler Hermes said. Meanwhile, the country’s public debt Euler Hermes expects the riyal peg to than 50 months of its imports. to an average 2% year-on-year (y-o-y) in said it “had an immediate but short-lived After 16 years of continued large has risen from 25% of GDP in 2014 to the dollar to hold as the QCB has large In an economic update, Euler Hermes the first three quarters and Euler Hermes impact” on the Qatari economy. surpluses, persistent low oil and gas more than 50% in 2018 and is forecast FX reserves to support the currency. US set to ease Huawei sanctions Robust private sector for another 90 days, says Ross Bloomberg credit off take boosts Tokyo/New York/Washington he US will extend for another 90 days a narrow set of exemptions that had protected rural networks and Tother US customers from a ban on doing business with China’s Huawei Technologies Co, Commerce Secre- tary Wilbur Ross said yesterday. Qatar banking assets Some telecom companies in the US are “dependent” on Huawei, and thus a 90-day reprieve was deemed appro- By Santhosh V Perumal ued into the fi rst quarter of this priate, Ross said in an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Business Reporter year. Moreover, the normalisation Bartiromo. of the US Fed rates, announced in “We’re giving them a little more time to wean themselves December 2015, increased volatil- off ,” he added. Ross said the next deadline will be around he impact of lower oil ity across global equity markets. November 19. He added that Commerce decided to place 46 prices on Qatar’s economy Following the US rate hike, Saudi more Huawei subsidiaries on its entity list. Tis likely to be “amelio- Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Ku- The announcement doesn’t address the wider nation- rated” as non-hydrocarbons now wait also hiked their policy rates. al-security concerns about Huawei and answer the bigger constitute more than 65% of the “The Qatari market, which was question of whether US chip companies and other major economy, according to Qatar In- the best performing market in the suppliers will be allowed to sell parts to China. vestment Fund (QIF), the London GCC last year, clocked in a dismal US President Donald Trump over the weekend indicated Stock Exchange listed fund. performance, with losses only the US was “doing very well with China, and talking” but “With the non-hydrocarbon behind the Saudi market, which also suggested he wasn’t ready to sign a trade deal. sector now accounting for over was the worst performing market Stock futures extended gains in New York as investors in- 65% of real GDP (gross domes- in the region,” it said. terpreted the Huawei news as incremental progress toward tic product), the impact of lower During the fi rst half of 2016, the easing a trade war between the world’s two largest econo- hydrocarbon prices is likely to be performance of GCC markets was mies. ameliorated,” QIF chairman Nick mixed as Bahrain posted an 8% Huawei, China’s largest technology company by sales, Wilson said, adding Qatar’s non- decline, followed by Saudi Ara- has been at the heart of worsening tensions and been called hydrocarbon sector’s share is ex- bia (6%) and Qatar (5.2%); while a bargaining chip in thorny trade negotiations between pected to rise to 69% by 2017. Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi Washington and Beijing. Trump had said he anticipated Highlighting that during the 12 gained 6.9%, 5.1% and 4.4% re- talking with Chinese President Xi Jinping “very soon” and months, the entire GCC (Gulf Co- spectively. the Huawei move may sweeten the tone of those discus- operation Council) region was Despite reporting dismal per- sions. hit by lower oil prices and bear- formance last year, the Qatar Huawei, for its part, has been trying to carry on opera- ish sentiment and Qatar was no market has shown resilience tions in face of US sanctions on the sale of the vital tech- exception, he said despite these The credit portfolio growth led the total assets of commercial banks in Qatar to register about 5% increase to compared to other GCC peers nology. The company this month announced its in-house headwinds, Qatar has not only QR1.44tn at the end of June, according to QCB figures. PICTURE: Nasar K Moidheen over a two-year time frame, ac- HarmonyOS, an open-source operating system that could grown its economy but continued cording to QIF. one day serve as a replacement for Google Inc’s Android if to make remarkable progress in QIF’s investment adviser be- ing scheduled ahead of the 2022 The GCC index fell 20.2%, For the period ending 24 its access to that software is curtailed. diversifying. lieves that the underperform- FIFA World Cup, said QIF, which weighed down by lower oil prices, months till June 2016, the Qa- Without Android or the numerous American silicon, Expecting Qatar to continue ance of the Qatari market over has invested in 23 companies, in- continued regional geopolitical tari market fell 14% and was the technology and consultancy suppliers that Huawei does to grow at around 3.7% in 2016 2015-16 is “overdone” and will cluding 19 in Qatar and four in the tensions and concerns about glo- second best performer after Abu business with, many of its most promising product lines and 2017, the near to long-term bounce back to perform well in UAE. bal economic growth, said QIF, Dhabi (down 1.2%). would either cease their rapid growth or be thwarted en- growth prospects should remain the medium-to-long term, driven In the 12 months to June 30, whose net asset value fell 20.8%. During this period, the price of tirely. healthy driven by a strong infra- by “strong macroeconomic fun- 2016, returns from all the GCC In the latter half of (calendar a barrel of Brent crude fell 55.8%. The US Commerce Department previously granted a structure pipeline, fi scal spend- damentals and superior growth markets were negative, charac- year) 2015, global equity markets Over the same period, Saudi Ara- three-month temporary licence to Huawei’s US customers ing and supportive demographics, prospects”. terised by steep market volatil- received a twin blow from sur- bian market fell 31.7%, Kuwait shortly after the Trump administration blacklisted the Chi- he said, quoting a report of its in- Qatar is committed to diversi- ity, said QIF, which posted a net prise devaluation of the Chinese 23%, and Bahrain and Dubai mar- nese company. That allowed telecom carriers in rural areas vestment adviser, which is Qatar fying the economy with $200bn loss of $37.9mn for the year ended currency and an extended slump kets dropped 21.7% and 16%, re- to continue using Huawei equipment and Google to provide Insurance Company.

Load more

  12

Copy Link