Economy & Business Sunday, October 4, 2020 09 QNB ECONOMIC WEEKLy REPORT sells UK’s US election is key for £6.8 billion for the country’s Asda has the third biggest market share among supermarket chains in the UK

AFP economic agenda London US retail giant Walmart has Tribune news network agreed to sell its British su- doha permarket chain Asda to bil- lionaire brothers and a private November 3 will be an im- equity group for £6.8 billion portant day this year for the ($8.7 billion, 7.4 billion eu- United States of America. It ros), they announced on Fri- will be the US Election Day; day. a momentous time in which The Issa brothers, who run Americans are going to select petrol stations and food out- their key leaders, including lets worldwide, have joined all 435 seats in the US House with private equity firm TDR of Representatives, 35 of the Capital to purchase Asda, 100 seats in the US Senate, which last year regulators and the US President. blocked from merging with While the constellation British supermarket group of political forces is key for Sainsbury’s. the direction of the country, While the brothers and the selection of the presiden- TDR are acquiring a majority tial candidate is “at the core” stake in Asda, Walmart will re- of the direction the country tain an investment and have a will take. Hence, attention seat on the new board, a state- and emotions are naturally 2017, which lowered income driver for his election cam- ment said. drawn to the presidential taxes, he proposes to now paign. Biden hence suggests “I’m delighted that race, especially under the reduce the capital gains tax to follow a similar direction Walmart will retain a signifi- current conditions of elevat- rate and launch measures of movements that have re- cant financial stake... and will Customers are seen at an Asda supremarket store in Ashford, south east England on Friday. (AFP) ed political polarisation and that would allow companies cently dominated political continue as a strategic part- tensions in the country. to deduct more investment decisions in Europe which ner,” said Judith McKenna, country’s supermarket sector tinue to work from home more The current US president costs from taxes. Moreover, are of second priority to the CEO of Walmart Internation- has embarked on a huge re- in future, then grocers with Donald Trump is leading on the expenditure front, Republicans. al. cruitment drive to meet surg- a bigger local store presence the Republicans in his quest while Trump supports emer- Last but not least, Trump Mohsin and ing demand for online food could benefit.” for a second term, while Jo- gency funding for citizens and Biden have also pre- said “Asda’s performance shopping. Born in the town of Black- seph (“Joe”) Biden is leading in need due to the Covid-19 sented different agendas on through the Covid-19 pan- “Considering the Issa burn, northwest England, the ticket for the Democrats shock, his longer-term plans foreign policy. Trump is keen demic has demonstrated the Pandemic spurs brothers and TDR Capital are the Issas began their careers against the incumbent. Biden tilt more towards bigger pub- to continue with his transac- fundamental strength and re- already present in forecourt working in their father’s local is a political veteran who lic investments in US infra- tional “America First” policy, silience of the business”. online shopping retail through Euro Garages, petrol station, Friday’s state- worked as vice president un- structure. focusing on trade negotia- The transaction, subject While the UK has shed tens we would expect them to try to ment said. der Barack Obama and who Biden’s fiscal policy pro- tions that would contribute to regulatory approvals, is ex- of thousands of jobs during achieve synergies by bringing They bought their first pet- served as Senator for Dela- posals on the other hand to re-shore economic activi- pected to complete in the first the coronavirus pandemic, the the Asda brand and products rol station in 2001, which was ware for decades. pledges to substantially in- ties in the US as well as on half of next year. into their forecourts,” said re- the start of Euro Garages and Trump and Biden have crease the expenditure side, unilaterally using the coun- “We are proud to be invest- country’s supermarket sector search group Euromonitor. which has grown into an inter- different views, opinions and particularly social invest- try’s economic resources to ing alongside Mohsin and Zu- has embarked on a huge “This also fits with the cur- national group running 6,000 policy proposals for the US ments associated with en- achieve foreign policy goals. ber, who have built EG Group recruitment drive to meet rent consumer trend towards sites across three continents. on a number of issues. Our titlements, education and Biden is pointing to a re- into a global convenience re- surging demand for online more top-up shopping in Founded in 1965, Asda has analysis delves into their dif- healthcare. Funding is set to turn towards a more tradi- tailer,” said Gary Lindsay, a food shopping smaller outlets.” the third biggest market share ferences, particularly the key be partially provided by ad- tional foreign policy stance. partner at TDR Capital. Fraser McKevitt, head of among supermarket chains in topics of fiscal policy, busi- ditional taxation, as Biden He aims to return to more Walmart bought Asda in retail and and consumer in- the UK, behind Sainsbury’s ness regulation and foreign proposes to raise taxes and engaging position in inter- 1999. tional opportunities to drive sight at data group Kantar, and the UK’s largest retailer relations. reduce benefits of upper-in- national organizations and “In a constantly changing growth,” said Asda chief ex- said there had been “substan- . Starting with fiscal pol- come taxpayers. a less transactional (more retailing environment, our ecutive Roger Burnley. tial growth in convenience Recent data showed that icy, both Trump and Biden With regards to business “value-based”) partnerships new ownership will further While the UK has shed tens (store) sales during the pan- Asda’s online sales doubled in are strong proponents of regulation, partisan differ- with key Western allies. enhance our resilience, whilst of thousands of jobs during demic”. the second quarter when Brit- additional stimulus and ac- ences also abound. Trump Despite the differences creating significant, addi- the coronavirus pandemic, the He added: “If people con- ain was in lockdown. commodative budget meas- and the Republicans tend to in style or even approaches ures. In fact, the exhaus- follow a pro-business laissez- between Trump and Biden, tion of traditional monetary faire, laissez-passer (“to let the strategic US-China ri- policy tools (policy rates and do, let pass”) agenda of limit- valry will likely continue ir- to some extent even quanti- ed government intervention, respectively of the future US tative easing) transformed aiming to spur efficiency, administration. This “super- ECB asks citizens to weigh in on digital euro fiscal policy into the main economic activity and jobs. power competition” is driven driver of aggregate demand, Whereas, Biden and the more by secular or long-term AFP “Our role is to secure trust directly with a central bank, Governments in Europe especially since the outbreak Democrats tend to support changes in both American Frankfurt am Main in money... We should be pre- potentially safer than with have insisted that any digital of the Covid-19 pandemic. more strict government reg- and Chinese societies than pared to issue a digital euro, commercial banks, which currency would require care- Republicans and Democrats ulation of “big business,” fa- by particular personalities, The European Central bank should the need arise,” La- could go bust, or cash that ful supervision. alike are conscious that the vouring consumer rights, an- leaders or short-term politi- “should be prepared” to pos- garde said in a statement. could be stolen. “A digital euro would recession created by the pan- ti-monopoly principles and cal agendas. Biden however sibly launch a digital curren- This digital currency The ECB’s deliberations support Europe’s drive to- demic requires large doses of environmental concerns over plans to withdraw from the cy, president Christine La- would “complement cash, echo those of the US Federal wards continued innovation. fiscal stimulus. corporate interests. While political trade related ten- garde said on Friday, adding not replace it”, the statement Reserve, which has been re- It would also contribute to However, their plans for philosophical or ideological sions between the US and that the public will be asked added. searching a digital dollar. its financial sovereignty and such stimulus are significant- in nature, such differences Europe. to weigh in on the issue. The move comes as con- The Chinese central bank strengthen the international ly different. President Trump have consequences in real All in all, the US election The Frankfurt institution sumers increasingly pivot started experimenting with role of the euro,” ECB ex- is a supporter of “trickle- life, particularly in sectors is set to mark one of the most will carry out a series of ex- towards cashless payments, digital currency in four cities ecutive board member Fabio down economics”; the idea such as technology and en- important political events periments with a digital euro and the ECB is wary of fall- in April. Panetta said. that lower taxes on business- ergy with regards to environ- of the year. No matter the over the next six months and ing behind so-called crypto- Proponents of cryptocur- He warned that many hur- es and individuals will spill mental, social and govern- results of the election, we launch a three-month public currencies issued by private rencies say they allow for dles remained, including con- over to the rest of the econ- ance (ESG) related matters. believe that the US is set to consultation from October 12. players like Bitcoin and Fa- faster and cheaper payments, cerns about privacy and the omy. Consequently, Trump ESG related matters with continue being an economic A decision on whether to cebook’s yet-to-be-launched especially across borders, as impact on traditional banking is defending new rounds of regards to addressing long- powerhouse that spurs tech- move ahead with a virtual Libra. they cut out the staff, admin- and financial stability. stimulus via tax-cuts. After term material sustainabil- nology and innovation across currency project is expected A digital currency would istration and the high costs “But a properly designed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of ity efforts are a substantial the globe. around mid-2021, the ECB allow individuals as well as needed in traditional banking digital euro could address said. companies to have deposits and investment. these risks,” Panetta said.

PRIVACY BREACH Germany fines H&M $41 mn for ‘surveillance’ of workers AFP and diagnoses” were also recorded incompatible with H&M’s policies ant’s use of targeted advertising. Frankfurt am Main and stored digitally, the authorities and instructions.” Meanwhile in July last year, said in a statement. “After the incident was discov- British Airways was fined 183 mil- German data protection author- “The present case documents ered and reported, H&M immedi- lion pounds (201 million euros, ities said that they fined Swedish a serious disregard for employee ately initiated far-reaching meas- $236 million), by the UK’s data fashion chain H&M more than 35 data protection at the H&M site in ures at the Nuremberg service authorities after computer hackers million euros ($41 million) over il- Nuremberg,” said Johannes Cas- centre,” the company said. stole bank details from hundreds legal “surveillance” of its employ- par, the Commissioner for Data “H&M takes full responsibility of thousands of passengers. ees. Protection in Hamburg, where and would like to express an un- Germans hold privacy in high The amount is the highest fine H&M’s German arm is based. conditional apology to the Nurem- regard, as manifested in their con- for such breaches in Germany since “The level of the fine imposed is berg employees.” tinued high usage of banknotes its latest data-protection legislation therefore appropriate and suitable The fine is one of the highest and coins rather than credit cards. came into force two years ago, a to deter companies from violating in Europe linked to the European It is often considered to be a re- spokesman for Germany’s watch- the privacy of their employees.” Union’s data protection rules, action to oppressive surveillance dog for the issue told AFP, in a The watchdog said managers at known as GDPR. under the Nazis and East German country known for jealously guard- the service centre conducted “wel- The law, implemented in 2018, Stasi. ing the right to privacy. come back” talks with employees says that individuals must explic- Separately, H&M announced Company bosses at the group’s after their return from illnesses or itly grant permission for their data on Thursday it will close 350 out service centre in Nuremberg were holidays. to be used, and can impose fines of its 5,000 stores worldwide as found to have delved too deeply The symptoms and diagnoses of ing recording of the activities they formation became accessible com- on companies worth four percent the coronavirus pandemic pushes into the private lives of their em- illnesses as well as holiday experi- were engaged in led to a particular- pany-wide for a few hours in Octo- of their worldwide annual revenue. more shoppers online. The fash- ployees, acquiring information ences were documented, and were ly intrusive violation of the rights of ber 2019 due to a computing error. France fined Google 50 mil- ion chain returned to profit in its “ranging from rather harmless de- made accessible to up to 50 manag- those affected,” the authority said. H&M said they would “care- lion euros ($59 million) in January June-August quarter, having tum- tails to family problems and reli- ers. The data collection had been fully examine the decision”, adding 2019 for failing to provide accessi- bled into loss the previous three gious beliefs”. “The combination of research- ongoing since at least 2014, and that “practices in the processing of ble information on its data-consent months at the worst of coronavirus Detailed “symptoms of illness ing their private lives and the ongo- only became known when the in- employee data in Nuremberg were policies, calling out the internet gi- lockdowns.