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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 Rabia I 23, 1441 AH

GULF TIMES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION : Page 12 Ooredoo sees strong demand for BUSINESS its ICT solutions

Australia LNG hub ambitions ARTIC opens ‘Sheraton boosted by Woodside-BHP Istanbul City Center Hotel’ agreement Bloomberg The hotel, ARTIC’s first in strengthen strategic relations be- Sydney Istanbul, is a ‘distinctive tween Qatar and Turkey, as well addition’ to company’s as our growing relationship with investment portfolio, says its Marriott International, allowing us The development of Australia’s biggest lique- chairman HE Sheikh Faisal to provide exceptional experiences fied natural gas export hub came a step closer in the cities where we operate.” after Woodside Petroleum Ltd agreed on the Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal al- cost to process gas from an off shore field it l Rayyan Tourism Invest- Thani, vice-chairman, ARTIC, shares with BHP Group Plc. ment Company (ARTIC) has said, “ARTIC’s acquisition of Sher- The deal announced on Monday removes a Aannounced the opening of aton Istanbul City Center fi ts per- stumbling block in protracted talks between the Sheraton Istanbul City Center fectly with our investment strategy the two companies and increases the pos- Hotel, the “latest addition to the in terms of location and commer- sibility of an investment decision on the company’s growing” investment cial strength, and I am confi dent Scarborough field in the first half of next year. portfolio. that this new addition will add That resource forms an integral part of the Located in the vibrant Beyo- value to both our existing portfolio multibillion-dollar Burrup Hub development in glu district in the European side of and to the local community. We are northwest Australia. Istanbul, Sheraton Istanbul City pleased to further strengthen our Woodside plans to produce as much as Center Hotel features some 254 spa- relationship with Marriott Inter- 40tn cubic feet of gas from the Burrup Hub, cious guestrooms, a restaurant and a national and we expect to be able to enough to meet almost a decade of Japanese lobby lounge, as well as seven meet- soon announce another collabora- demand. It has already secured long-term sales ing rooms, including a 702 sq m ball- tion in the Turkish market.” contracts for more than half of the gas from room, and a Sheraton Club Lounge. Tarek el-Sayed, chief executive the Scarborough field it shares with BHP and is Facilities also include a gym, an offi cer and managing director, AR- targeting its first shipment in 2024 to meet an indoor swimming pool and spa, and TIC said, “We are delighted to an- expected supply gap in the global LNG market a Turkish Hammam. The Hotel has nounce the opening of Sheraton Is- HE Sheikh Faisal and Sheikh Mohamed among other dignitaries during the ribbon cutting ceremony marking ARTIC’s from the early-to-mid 2020s. been awarded the “LEED or New tanbul City Center Hotel. The hotel first acquisition in Istanbul. “Our vision for an integrated seven-train LNG Construction” Gold certifi cate by was operating under a local brand processing centre on the Burrup Hub is taking the US Green Building Council. and was classifi ed as four stars. Af- shape,” Woodside chief executive off icer Peter HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al- ter ARTIC acquired it during the Coleman said on Tuesday on an investor brief- Thani, chairman, ARTIC, said, “It second quarter of 2019, we success- ing. He has previously touted 2020 as being is my great pleasure today to an- fully completed a complete renova- the group’s “year of the deal” while developing nounce the opening of Sheraton tion process which led to the hotel the new fields will cost in excess of $16bn, ac- Istanbul City Center Hotel. This is achieving a fi ve-star classifi cation cording to a company investor presentation. ARTIC’s fi rst acquisition in Istan- and operating under the Shera- The The tolling fee is more than $3 per million bul, one of the world’s prominent ton brand, one of the most trusted Sheraton British thermal units, Coleman said on Tuesday cities which also enjoys a distinc- brands in the hospitality industry. Istanbul on an investor call. The BHP deal may also tive investment climate for foreign “Increasing operational effi cien- City Center facilitate an agreement to develop Browse, investment. This wonderful hotel cy in our assets with continuous Hotel is Australia’s largest untapped conventional gas is a distinctive addition to ARTIC’s investment through development ARTIC’s deposit. investment portfolio and an im- and refurbishment works, as well latest Scarborough gas will be processed via an portant milestone in our develop- as our commitment to a prudent addition to expanded Pluto onshore facility. That means ment and expansion.” investment strategy that focuses its growing Browse can feed into existing infrastructure at Qatar and Turkey enjoy strong on location and asset quality, are investment the North West Shelf project once a 900-kilo- economic ties based on trade ex- some of the factors that make AR- portfolio metre (560-mile) pipeline is built between the change. These ties have lately seen TIC a preferred partner amongst two Woodside-operated projects. BHP is also a great prosperity in various fi elds the world’s leading operators. We partner in NWS and there had been specula- of economic activities, including will continue to seek opportunities tion it would prefer to see Scarborough gas manufacturing, food and bever- which support our growth strate- processed there to save on the capital costs of age products, military equipment gies and create added value for all building out Pluto. and tourism. We are proud to help our stakeholders.” Al-Kaabi meets with senior Chinese energy official Qatar’s industrial production rises 1% y-o-y in September

By Santhosh V Perumal leum and natural gas, even as other mining and quar- Business Reporter rying soared 2%. The manufacturing index, with a relative weight of 15.2%, showed a 1.7% year-on-year jump in Septem- atar’s industrial production rose more than ber 2019 on a 22.8% jump in the manufacture of ba- 1% year-on-year in September 2019, fuelled sic metals, 1.9% in rubber and plastics products and Qby the mining and manufacturing sectors, ac- 0.7% in printing and reproduction of recorded me- cording to offi cial statistics. dia; whereas there was a 1.3% plunge in manufacture The country’s Industrial Production Index (IPI), of cement and other non-metallic mineral products, however, showed a 1.1% decline on a monthly basis 0.9% in chemicals and chemical products and 0.5% this September, according to fi gures released by the in refi ned petroleum products. Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA). On a monthly basis, the manufacturing index wit- The PSA introduced IPI, a short-term quantita- nessed a 2.2% rise on a 2.1% escalation in the manu- tive index that measures the changes in the volume of facture of cement and other non-metallic mineral production of a selected basket of industrial products products, 1.9% in basic metals; while there was a over a given period with respect to a base period 2013. 4.3% decline in the manufacture of chemicals and The mining and quarrying index, which has a rela- chemical products, 1.5% in rubber and plastics prod- tive weight of 83.6%, saw a robust 1.1% expansion ucts and 0.7% in refi ned petroleum products. year-on-year owing to a 1.1% jump in the extraction Electricity, which has a 0.7% weight in the IPI bas- of crude petroleum and natural gas, even as there was ket, saw its index plummet 8.6% and 7% on yearly HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi met with Zhang Jianhua, director of China’s National Energy a huge 8.5% fall in other mining and quarrying sec- and monthly basis respectively in September 2019. Administration in Beijing yesterday. Discussions during the meeting dealt with various aspects of co-operation between China tors. In the case of water, which has a 0.5% weight, there and Qatar in the energy field in general, and LNG in particular. Page 3 On a monthly basis, the index showed a 0.6% fall was a 0.9% and 2.7% decrease year-on-year and owing to a 0.6% decline in extraction of crude petro- month-on-month respectively this September. Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, November 20, 2019 BUSINESS

Bloomberg QuickTake Q&A Why Eskom’s power crisis is South Africa’s top risk

By Mike Cohen and Paul Burkhardt the government didn’t foresee how has experienced intermittent power Increasing numbers of businesses of tainted senior executives and staff has added to state debt and caused Cape Town/Johannesburg sharply demand would surge as the outages since late 2005. On July 30, and middle-class consumers have have left the company. South Africa’s budget deficit to soar, economy expanded and previously Eskom reported a record annual loss of moved off the grid as the price of 6. What’s happening next? placing the country’s sole remaining neglected black areas were connected $1.38bn. renewable energy drops. Meanwhile, investment-grade credit rating at risk. A crisis at South Africa’s dominant to the grid. Eskom announced a series 3. Where was management? near-bankrupt municipalities are The government intends to split Eskom Eskom also plans to trim its workforce. electricity supplier, Eskom Holdings SOC of multibillion-dollar investments after falling behind in paying their bills as into separate generation, distribution That proposition is likely to meet with Ltd, threatens the nation’s economy. the authorities awoke to the severity The utility went through repeated customers in impoverished townships and transmission businesses under fierce resistance from labour unions, The state-owned utility can’t cover of the problem in the mid-2000s, but board and leadership changes during default on their debts or steal power a state holding company by the end which also oppose the plan to break its costs and make the huge interest the projects came too late and took too the almost nine years Jacob Zuma was through illegal connections. of 2021, a reorganisation it says will Eskom into three parts. payments on its mountain of debt. Its long to build. The Medupi and Kusile South Africa’s president. Investigations 5. What’s been done to fi x it? permit each unit to manage costs more 8. What happens if the rescue poorly maintained power plants are coal-fired plants, two of the world’s by lawmakers and the nation’s graft eff ectively and make it easier for them to fails? struggling to meet demand, and it has biggest, were supposed to be fully ombudsman suggest that the upheaval Eskom’s board and management were raise funding. Freeman Nomvalo, head gone through 10 chief executive off icers operational in 2015, but are still years was an orchestrated attempt by Zuma’s replaced in January 2018, the month of South Africa’s chartered-accountants The total collapse of Eskom isn’t on the in a decade. Goldman Sachs Group away from completion and running allies to raid Eskom’s coff ers with his after Cyril Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma institute, was named Eskom’s chief immediate horizon, and Ramaphosa has Inc describes Eskom as the country’s way over budget. tacit consent. Accusations that the as head of the ruling party, the African restructuring off icer on July 30 and is said the government won’t allow it to biggest financial risk. The government 2. What’s the problem now? utility had been looted are now being National Congress. Phakamani Hadebe considering how to reorganise its debt. happen. If it were to cease operating or has increased and accelerated a bailout investigated by a judicial commission. was named CEO, but quit as of July 7. What about a fi nancial the grid were to collapse, South Africa’s for the utility while planning to split it A lack of money forced the utility, which Zuma and his allies deny wrongdoing. 2019 because his health was suff ering lifeline? economy would grind to a halt and into three entities in the hope of reviving provides about 95% of the nation’s 4. How precarious are due to the “unimaginable demands” many businesses would be driven into its fortunes. power, to cut back on maintenance and Eskom’s fi nances? of the job. Andre de Ruyter, currently The budget announced in February bankruptcy, triggering investor flight 1. Why is Eskom in such bad repairs to other plants, and it lacks key the CEO of packaging firm Nampak included a $4.6bn cash injection over and multiple downgrades to the nation’s shape? technical skills needed to do the work, Very. By its own admission, it’s in a Ltd, will take over the post – which has the next three years to help Eskom fragile credit rating – as well as potential despite having a bloated workforce. “death spiral.” It was saddled with been temporarily filled by chairman service its debt and free up money for social unrest. Power cuts have already South Africa was able to produce Plants that produce more than half $30bn of debt at the end of March and Jabu Mabuza – in early 2020. Eskom’s operations. The government has since weighed on South Africa’s rand and bonds, more electricity than it needed when Eskom’s power are at, or nearing, their its solvency is at risk. Sales are near a management has made a concerted announced a rescue plan for the utility and present a huge risk to smelters, mines white-minority rule ended in 1994, but ideal retirement age. The country decade low as the economy stagnates. eff ort to stamp out graft, and a number and doubled the bailout. The support and other energy-intensive businesses.

IMF’s chief Eskom CEO appointment met concerned about rising with surprise and scepticism Africa debt

Bloomberg CEO, including former LNG Canada South Africa, stranded cash in Ango- Bloomberg Cape Town/Johannesburg CEO Andy Calitz and Jacob Maroga, la, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, and delays London/New York who was Eskom CEO from 2007 to selling its glass business. 2009. Media speculation about who Over the fi ve years, De Ruyter fter months of speculation the third person was didn’t include pocketed 21.5mn rand of bonuses, ac- he International Monetary Fund is and delays, South Africa has De Ruyter, who may face push back cording to data compiled by Bloomb- worried about rising debt in Africa, Anamed Andre de Ruyter as from labour unions that would have erg. His compensation last year came Twith about 40% of countries on the chief executive offi cer of its debt- preferred a black candidate. to 16.5mn rand, including an 8.8mn continent at distressed levels, managing di- crippled state power utility, surpris- “It is a surprise to me, his name rand bonus, even as the company’s rector Kristalina Georgieva said. ing investors with an unexpected was never mentioned,” said David share price sank 15%. “In some cases we are concerned, in others choice and angering a key union. Shapiro, deputy chairman of Sas- Given Eskom’s fi nancial diffi cul- we see that investing is going to pay off over De Ruyter, 51, has considerable fi n Securities Ltd in Johannesburg. ties, De Ruyter has accepted a com- time,” Georgieva said in an interview with corporate experience in the country, “Let’s hope he has the courage to do pensation package that is lower than Bloomberg TV from Berlin. though not at state-owned compa- what he has to at Eskom.” “what the position currently pays,” Debt levels in the region have been ris- nies. His appointment comes at a De Ruyter has served as Nampak the department said, without giving ing as governments struggle to collect and time when Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd CEO since 2014. His role overlapped details. grow revenue while increasing their budgets. is undergoing a transformation that with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s De Ruyter has “signifi cant” mana- South Africa’s ratio is projected to reach 81% will require technical and fi nancial chairmanship of the company, which gerial experience in the industrial of gross domestic product by 2028 and Kenya knowledge as well as an ability to began in 2010 and ended in 2018. and energy sectors, as well as famili- recently doubled its debt ceiling to match the deal with the government and labour Prior to his role at Nampak, De arity with managing labour unions, size of the entire economy. unions. Ruyter spent more than two decades another challenge the head of the “We do advise Kenya to be somewhat more The appointee, currently CEO of at petrochemical giant Sasol Ltd in utility will face, according to Darias cautious in building debt, but we have seen packaging fi rm Nampak Ltd, will a number of senior management Jonker, a London-based director at good macroeconomic policies in Kenya,” she take up the post on January 15, the roles. He’s overseen work in the US, Eurasia Group Ltd. said. “Our programme with the country, our Department of Public Enterprises Germany, China and African nations “His lack of experience at Eskom engagement with the country, by and large, said in a statement on Monday. The including Nigeria and Angola, the itself puts him on a steep learning are just as positive.” state-owned power company has De Ruyter: Investors surprised. department said. curve, while the absence of political In Zambia, government debt, including been looking for a new CEO since “I would like to thank Mr. De Ru- allegiances means he is unlikely to publicly-guaranteed obligations, is set to in- Phakamani Hadebe in July became slated candidates. At least now we The loss-making utility has 450bn yter for not only accepting this posi- be expected to fi ght any of the tough crease to 92% of GDP this year, and 96% in the 10th person to vacate the post in can possibly move on to the substan- rand ($30bn) of debt and is strug- tion at a diffi cult time for Eskom, but, political battles the position also 2020, according to the IMF. as many years. tive issues.” gling to fi x ageing power stations and given Eskom’s current fi nancial situ- demands,” Jonker said in a reply to “Debt on its own is not bad, it is bad when “The market is going to have to The 2028 yields climbed fi ve ba- correct defects at new ones. Saving ation, also agreeing to a lower com- questions. “It is clear that the Ram- it goes for the wrong things, and when it goes know him better and understand sis points on Tuesday to 7.09%, the business is a key goal of the gov- pensation package than the position aphosa administration wants AdR to with a speed that the economy cannot han- what qualities he is to bring to the the highest on a closing basis since ernment, which is sustaining it with currently pays,” the department said. focus on management, not politics.” dle,” Georgieva said. “In cases where debt is table,” said Jones Gondo, a credit re- September 12, after rising nine ba- 138bn rand of bailouts over the next During De Ruyter’s time at Nam- The utility’s biggest labour union dangerous – take Zambia – we do say, you search analyst at Nedbank Group Ltd sis points yesterday. Its 2021 debt three years alone. pak, the value of the company said it wasn’t aware that De Ruyter need to really get a handle on your debt. In in Johannesburg. “The market had jumped 20 basis points to 5.35% on The government had shortlisted dropped 82% to 5.07bn rand as it had was a candidate and didn’t approve other cases, like Ethiopia, we say you do need not anticipated him to be one of the Tuesday morning. three candidates for the position of to contend with weaker growth in of the appointment. to renegotiate some of your debt.” Germany’s coal exit talks founder on dispute over compensation

Bloomberg all of the country’s emissions from Berlin/Frankfurt energy facilities in 2018, according to the Federal Environment Ministry. The figures underscore the pressure Discussions are faltering about on the government to reach an how to shut down Germany’s coal agreement quickly and the utilities industry as company executives to get an acceptable return for their and government ministers struggle assets. to agree on the politically charged Highlighting Germany’s increasingly issue of how to compensate strained government budget, industry. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Ten months after Germany set administration has earmarked just out a road map to exit coal by €1bn ($1.1bn) to pay for closing 2038, officials and the main capacity to 2023, according to a utilities remain at loggerheads government off icial who asked not over setting a price for closing to be identified because the figures down operations, according to aren’t yet public. at least five people with direct To soften the blow on workers knowledge of the deliberations. aff ected by closures, the The government already missed Air pollution rises from cooling towers at night from a lignite fired power government is putting up €40bn a self-imposed target to have plant in Germany (file). Ten months after Germany set out a road map to ($44.2bn) in labour training legislation ready in October and exit coal by 2038, off icials and the main utilities remain at loggerheads programmes, infrastructure is unlikely to settle the matter over setting a price for closing down operations, according to at least five and research and development before the end of this year, the people with direct knowledge of the deliberations. investments. Much of that money people said. will feed into four regions where A timely agreement on winding The government wants to cut lignite financial off icer Markus Krebber the industry is concentrated. In the down coal plants is a crucial link and hard coal capacity by some said the firm’s workers had been government’s thinking, that aid in the government’s moves to 5 gigawatts each by 2023. Hard disconcerted by the slow progress, figures in its compensation plans. speed up reducing greenhouse gas coal plants are required to enter adding that moral in the coal The utilities are looking for a direct emissions. It’s also a key variable in auctions to win compensation, region around the Rhine River was payment for the assets they will the outlook for utilities led by RWE while lignite plants and the mines “anything but good.” have to retire early. AG, Uniper SE and LEAG Holding that feed them are, according to Most of Germany’s lignite capacity For anti-trust reasons, the talks A.S. draft legislation, due to be closed is concentrated in just two hands: are being conducted between the None of the companies or off icials in separate agreements with RWE has 6.5 gigawatts in western Economy and Energy Ministry and involved in the talks were willing operators. Germany, and Lausitz Energie the utilities on a one-on-one basis. to speak publicly because of the The discussions are snagging on Kraftwerke AG’s owns operations in A faltering German economy has sensitivity of the discussions. the price that the government will the eastern part of the country with prompted downward revisions to Germany is shutting down both pay to compensate for shutting some 8 gigawatts. the government budget forecasts, its nuclear and coal power plants, down coal operations. Discussing That capacity is bundled into seven meaning the off icials negotiating which together generate about half the progress of lignite talks on a coal plants that are Germany’s are driving a harder bargain, the the nation’s electricity. press call last week, RWE chief dirtiest. They push out about 47% of people said. Gulf Times Wednesday, November 20, 2019 3 BUSINESS

Al-Kaabi meets top executives of major Chinese energy companies

HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, met with Dai Houliang, chairman, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Wang Dongjin, chairman, China National Off shore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Wang Yilin, chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), and Lei Fanpei, chairman, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) in Beijing yesterday. Discussions during the meetings dealt with various aspects of co-operation between China and Qatar in the energy field in general, and LNG in particular. All meetings centred on enhancing co-operation in the field of energy.

Nasdaq reveals 50% spike in SEC chief cites fi shy letters paid research triggered by MiFID II in support of policy change Bloomberg Stockholm Bloomberg appear to have ties to 60 Plus, a New York member of the Main Street Investors Coalition. While the nonprofi t group When it comes to equity research, good inten- calls itself an advocate for senior citi- tions have gone awry. Nordic companies are hen Securities and Ex- zens’ issues, it routinely takes money increasingly bankrolling analysts now that change Commission from Corps and advocates for their banks are barred from folding research costs Wchairman Jay Clayton causes on issues as varied as sugar into trading fees. handed a policy win to corporate ex- subsidies and Alabama utility com- Almost half, or about 450, of the 1,000 com- ecutives this month, he pointed to a missioners. panies that are listed on Nasdaq Inc’s main surprising source of support: A mail- The group didn’t cast a wide net market and alternative First North market in bag full of encouragement from ordi- in recruiting letter-writers. Names Sweden, Denmark and Finland are now cov- nary Americans. included those of a woman who used ered by such pay-to-play analysis, according To hear Clayton tell it, these folks to work at 60 Plus’s accounting fi rm; to Nasdaq. That’s up 50% over the past two are really focused on the intricacies a former secretary at 60 Plus; and years. of the corporate shareholder-voting various friends and relatives of Saul “This new conflict of interest – that a com- process. “Some of the letters that Anuzis, the 60 Plus president. None pany pays for an analyst to cover it and the struck me the most,” he said at a mentioned a connection to the or- potential eff ect it has on the analyst’s opinion commission meeting in Washington, ganisation. and recommendation – is clearly a bigger con- “came from long-term Main Street One letter bore the name of flict than a broker doing so-called independent investors, including an Army veteran Chad Connelly. In an e-mail, Con- research with commission paid from an insti- and a Marine veteran, a police offi cer, nelly acknowledged being friends tution,” Lauri Rosendahl, the head of Nasdaq a retired teacher, a public servant, a with Anuzis but disavowed the let- Stockholm AB, said in an interview. single mom, a couple of retirees who ter. “Someone apparently used my It’s an unintended consequence of Europe- saved for retirement.” Each bolstered name,” he wrote. “That’s not a letter an rules introduced in 2018 known as MiFID II Clayton’s case for limiting the power I’ve ever even seen.” that were designed to crack down on research of dissenting shareholders. Even Scott Hogenson, a contractor conflicts by forcing equity analysts to specify But a close look at the seven letters for 60 Plus who has appeared in the a charge for their work; previously, costs were Clayton highlighted, and about two press as its spokesman, submitted a incorporated into trading commissions. With dozen others submitted to the SEC comment. the revised rules, banks and brokerages have by supposedly regular people, shows The letter gives his name as S. Alan had to unbundle the fees they charge for they are the product of a mislead- Hogenson and doesn’t mention his research and trading. ing – and laughably clumsy – public Clayton: Considering changes to the rules. relationship to the group. In an in- As a result, research commissioned by and relations campaign by corporate in- terview, Hogenson said he wrote the paid for by the companies being analysed is terests. this.” The SEC declined to comment pay or mismanagement, or a small as Exxon Mobil Corp and Chev- letter and stands by it. starting to become the norm. By the end of That retired teacher? Pauline Yee on any irregularities with the let- investor forces a vote on an issue that ron Corp. NAM said in a statement Anuzis, the 60 Plus president, ac- 2019, brokers’ revenue from European equity said she never wrote a letter, al- ters. The proposal was “informed by management doesn’t endorse. that it didn’t fund 60 Plus or direct knowledged that his group recruited research will drop by 20% as a result of MiFID though the signature was hers. Those a variety of inputs,” it said in a state- In recent years, more small share- any advocacy eff orts on the SEC is- submitters, provided drafts and, in II, according to consulting firm Greenwich military vets? It turns out they’re the ment to Bloomberg News. “The vari- holders have been proposing resolu- sue. Chevron wouldn’t comment on two cases, sent letters on members’ Associates. brother and cousin of the chairman ous letters we received on the proxy tions about social or environmental the coalition but acknowledged in a behalf. He also acknowledged get- The European Securities and Markets Au- of 60 Plus Association, a Virginia- process highlighted the importance issues such as climate change. And statement that it sometimes works ting money from members of the thority – an EU authority whose tasks include based advocacy group paid by corpo- of these issues. investment managers that con- with trade associations to “help in- coalition. “We don’t get paid for spe- ensuring investors’ rights are protected – de- rate supporters of the SEC initiative. We welcome all interested parties, trol large numbers of votes, such as form their understanding of issues.” cifi c projects,” he said in an interview. clined to comment, through a spokeswoman. That single mom? Data embedded particularly our Main Street inves- BlackRock Inc, have begun prioritis- Exxon Mobil said it had no immedi- “We get contributions from mem- Not everyone agrees that paid research, in the electronically submitted let- tors, to comment on our proposals.” ing these topics as well, arguing that ate comment. bers who are part of the coalition. which is marked as “sponsored” or “commis- ter says someone at 60 Plus wrote it. Even a casual reading of the letters they’re relevant to the long-term Last year, Clayton signalled he was We’re not getting paid for a specifi c sioned” for investors to see, entails a conflict of That retired couple? Their son-in- shows something amiss. Four of the sustainability of business models. considering changes to the rules and letter.” interest. At Inderes Oy, an independent equity law runs 60 Plus. seven bear the same unusual error – That’s an unwelcome change for issued a call for public comments. Anuzis said the project aligns with research firm in Finland, head of research, “I never wrote a letter,” said one an out-of-context phrase inserted some corporate boards, especially in Letters poured in. 60 Plus’s policy goals and that no Sauli Vilen, says the model means that some of the retirees, Vytautas Alksninis, into the SEC’s mailing address. the fossil-fuel industry. Most were from investment fi rms, names were used without permis- companies that were being ignored in the past reached by phone at his home in Con- The same mistake turns up in at Last year, the National Associa- Corps, trade groups and other inter- sion. Those who said they hadn’t are now getting noticed. necticut. “What’s this all about?” least 20 other letters submitted by tion of Manufacturers helped form ested parties that openly identifi ed agreed, such as his in-laws, were It “gives companies in Finland a voice in Then there’s the public servant Clay- supposedly ordinary Americans in the Main Street Investors Coalition themselves. Many fund managers mistaken. “They are 80-some- capital markets,” Vilen said. He argues that ton mentioned. Marie Reed’s letter support of the change. It’s an inad- to oppose what it calls the “politi- wrote to say some of the changes un- years old,” he said. “This happened commissioned research actually makes “the has sharp words for proxy advisers, vertent digital fi ngerprint revealing cisation” of the investment process der consideration would be counter- months ago. I’m sure it’s not top of analyst more independent” as the analysis isn’t fi rms that counsel fund companies the scope of the campaign. and to argue that fund managers and productive. their minds.” Two letters point to aff ected by corporate finance considerations on how to vote at shareholder meet- More than two dozen ostensibly boards should focus on maximising The National Association of another source of clandestine aid for or trading needs. ings. But when reached by phone in unrelated letters contained the same profi ts. One of its priorities is chang- Manufacturers, Exxon Mobil and the coalition. Meanwhile, companies traded on the main California, the retired state worker unusual error. ing shareholder voting rules. Chevron all called for new limits Reed, the retired state worker Stockholm index for large caps– OMXS30 said she wasn’t familiar with the At issue is the proxy process, the Although the coalition has other on shareholders’ proposals. So did from California whose letter was – have seen a 12% drop in analyst coverage term. She said the letter originated rules for how Corps conduct share- members, NAM provided most of its two ordinary citizens who identi- cited by Clayton, said the man who since the beginning of 2017, according to with a public-aff airs fi rm that con- holder votes, such as when directors initial funding, according to a person fi ed themselves as members of Main provided her with a letter worked Bloomberg data. The decline is steeper than tacted her out of the blue. stand for re-election at annual meet- with knowledge of the arrangement Street Investors. at FSB Core Strategies, a California in Europe in general, where the coverage of “They wrote it, and I allowed them ings. Most of the time, management who spoke on condition of anonym- Other letters were ostensibly writ- public-aff airs shop, and said he was companies in the Euro Stoxx 600 index is to use my name after I read it,” she wins in a landslide. But sharehold- ity. The manufacturers’ association ten by regular folks. working on behalf of a group called down just 5% over the same period. said. “I didn’t go digging into all of ers occasionally revolt over excessive represents corporate giants such But more than two dozen of them Protect Our Pensions. China’s record crude imports keep storage flows strong

By Clyde Russell Chinese refiners processed 12.90mn 90 days of import cover. This could be 52.75mn tonnes, up 9.3% from the same Launceston, Australia bpd, up 6.4% from the same period in sooner than the market may currently period in 2018. A breakdown by product 2018. anticipate, given the National Energy isn’t yet available for October, but data China doesn’t provide regular data on Administration said in September it has for September showed that in the first China’s record crude imports in October the flow of crude into strategic and about 80 days of oil in storage, both three quarters of the year exports of were matched by healthy processing commercial storage, but an estimation commercial and strategic. gasoline were up 7.2%, diesel by 14.5% rates at refineries, but even so the can be made by looking at the total On that basis, a target of 90 days and jet kerosene by 20.2%. country still seemed to be stockpiling amount of crude available from storage could be reached in the first It’s possible the strong crude imports oil at a blistering pace. imports and domestic output, and then quarter of 2020, although Beijing has and refinery runs in October will show China imported 10.72mn barrels per subtracting the amount processed by yet to definitively say at what level it up in higher exports of refined fuels day (bpd) last month, up 11.5% from refiners. would stop adding to reserves. this month and in December as Chinese the same month in 2018 and eclipsing Domestic crude production in October Given that China is currently accounting refiners seek to use up export quotas the previous high of 10.64mn bpd from was the equivalent of 3.79mn bpd, for almost 90% of the IEA’s forecast amid soft domestic fuel demand April. which together with imports gives a total expected growth in global crude growth. The world’s largest crude importer total of 14.51mn bpd of available oil. demand in 2019 of 1mn bpd, a scaling Certainly refining margins in Asia are brought in 9.95mn bpd in the first 10 Taking away the refinery throughput of back of imports for storage may have coming under pressure, with a typical months of the year, up 10.5% from the 13.62mn bpd leaves about 890,000 bpd serious consequences for the strength Singapore refinery currently making same period in 2018. of crude that most likely flowed into of world demand. just 47 US cents per barrel of profit, But the strong growth in crude imports commercial and strategic storage. Another factor worth noting is that the compared to the moving 365-day has largely been matched by record For the first 10 months of the year, Coincidentally, China’s increase in when China starts to pare back its rise in refinery runs has led to higher average of $4.18 a barrel. refinery runs, with 13.62mn bpd being total available crude was 13.78mn bpd, crude imports for the first 10 months crude purchases for the strategic exports of refined products, albeit at a processed in October, just below and refinery runs were 12.90mn bpd, of the year from the same period in petroleum reserve as it closes in on somewhat slower pace than the gain „ Clyde Russell is a columnist for September’s record 13.75mn bpd. leaving a gap of 880,000 bpd available 2018 is about 898,000 bpd. The flow reaching the International Energy in processing. Exports of refined fuels Reuters. The views expressed are those For the first 10 months of the year, for stockpiling. into storage only becomes important Agency (IEA) recommended level of in the first 10 months of the year were of the author. Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, November 20, 2019 BUSINESS

Jump in Japan’s bond yields Asia markets end higher after gives BoJ some relief

Bloomberg record close on Wall Street Tokyo

AFP wei provided support. While US offi - he surge in Japanese gov- Hong Kong cials initially said the row over the tech ernment bond yields is fi rm — which they warn is a danger to Thelping to correct some national security — was not related to distortions in the market and sian markets mostly rose yes- the trade row, Trump has suggested a provides a measure of relief to terday following another record resolution to the standoff could involve Bank of Japan policy makers. Aclose on Wall Street as investors reaching some common ground con- The 10-year yield is eyeing a bet on China and the US reaching a mini cerning Huawei. break out of negative territory trade deal despite a report saying Bei- Hong Kong rose 1.6%, having jumped for the fi rst time since March, jing was concerned about the chances 1.4% on Monday, as traders shift back approaching the key 0% level of an agreement. into buying following last week’s losses around which the BoJ has built Hong Kong extended Monday’s rally of around 5%. its yield curve control policy. with another surge but continuing pro- The gains come as the widespread The benchmark yield rose to as tests in parts of the city — particularly protests that hammered the city’s high as minus 0.03%, after fall- a violent standoff at a university — re- transport network last week have been ing to near a record low of minus mained a source of worry. less disruptive over the past two days. 0.295% early in September. Regional traders were given another However, eyes were on a university The move has eased pres- strong lead from Wall Street, where campus where demonstrators have sure on the central bank to ta- all three main indexes ended at new been holed up for three days, with fears per bond purchases to prevent a records on hopes for a good holiday of a violent crackdown by police. downward spiral in yields. After shopping season with the key Black Fri- On currency markets, the pound a fl urry of cuts in August and day sales day coming next week. extended gains on expectations Prime September, the BoJ has kept pur- World equities have broadly been on Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Con- chases in the key 5-10 year zone the rise in recent weeks on optimism servative party will win the upcoming unchanged in its regular opera- that the world’s top two economies will general election with a healthy major- tions, including on Monday. eventually hammer out a mini trade ity that will help him push through his “It won’t boost purchases, and deal as part of a wider agreement. Brexit deal. because the yield is near zero, it However, there have been bumps in The pound was also helped by sell- won’t taper buying,” said Tak- the road and the latest came Monday ing in the dollar, which came after Fed- enobu Nakashima, senior rates when CNBC reported that China was eral Reserve boss Jerome Powell met his strategist at Nomura Securities pessimistic about the chances of a pact arch-critic Trump to discuss monetary Co in Tokyo. “Yields around cur- because Donald Trump is not in favour policy, including interest rates and for- rent levels will not prompt the of rolling back tariff s. eign exchange. BoJ to do much at its operations.” Trump last week denied claims by Powell said he reasserted the Fed’s Meanwhile, the two-year ver- Beijing that the two sides had put in independence during White House sus fi ve-year yield curve came place a plan to remove levies as the talks talks but the president, who has for out of inversion for the fi rst time progress. The report again highlighted years berated the bank’s rate policy, since April. That made the fi ve- the fragile nature of the negotiations. tweeted that he had protested about year note look less expensive, “Investors have little option but to the “fact that our Fed rate is set too high which raised hopes of solid de- keep pace with the rapid shifts on the An external view of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange building. The Hang Seng index closed up 1.6% to 27,093.80 points yesterday. relative to the interest rates of other mand in an auction of the ma- US-China phase-one deal, attempting competitor countries”. turity, according to Kasutoshi to make sense of the many comments tors) are starting to take trade headlines gains. But Tokyo ended 0.5% lower, ly than not, but as usual the devil will be In early trade London rose 0.2%, Inadome, senior fi xed-income — offi cial and from press ‘sources’ — with a barrel of salt”. Singapore lost 0.6% and Seoul shed in the detail,” he said in a commentary. Frankfurt added 0.3% and Paris edged strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ on whether a rollback was now genu- In early trade, regional markets 0.3%, while Bangkok was slightly lower. “The more tariff rollbacks we get, the 0.1% higher. Morgan Stanley Securities in To- inely on the table,” said Stephen Innes swung in and out of positive territory. National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo better for market sentiment and global In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down kyo. The auction did see an in- at AxiTrader. “Ultimately they remain Shanghai jumped 0.9%, Sydney piled Catril said he was still betting on an growth outlook.” 0.5% to 23,292.65 points; Hong Kong — crease in investor interest, which hostage to these developments.” on 0.7% and Taipei rallied 0.5%, while agreement being reached. A decision by Washington to delay Hang Seng ended up 1.6% to 27,093.80 pushed the yield down 1.5 basis However, he said the broad gains Wellington and Manila were both up “The negotiations remain ongoing by another 90 days a ban of US fi rms points and Shanghai Composite closed points to minus 0.195%. yesterday meant “it looks like (inves- 0.2%. Jakarta and Mumbai also enjoyed (and) a phase-one deal looks more like- from doing business with China’s Hua- up 0.9% to 2,933.99 points yesterday. Yuan slips to Sensex rises; rupee strengthens 2-week low Bloomberg, Reuters Reliance Industries Ltd contributed the most to the benchmark index’s Emerging currencies on edge Mumbai Reuters advance and Bharti Airtel Ltd posted Shanghai the largest gain, rising 7.4%. Reuters India’s key indexes rose, bolstered by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd was London a surge in telecommunication stocks the biggest drag on the Sensex, while China’s yuan hit a two-week low after leading operators said they will Yes Bank Ltd dropped the most, against the dollar yesterday, later hike tariff s in the face of high debt falling 2.7%. merging-market currencies paring losses, as sentiment grew and low prices. Meanwhile the rupee strengthened weakened in subdued trading cautious over signs that a roll- The S&P BSE Sensex Index added against the US dollar yesterday as Eyesterday, amid growing doubts back in tariff s remained a sticking 0.5% at the close in Mumbai. The NSE the government said it has no plan about a resolution to the US-China point in Sino-US trade talks. Nifty 50 Index also climbed 0.5%. to revise its fiscal deficit target on trade war that has slowed global growth A CNBC report saying the Vodafone Idea Ltd and Bharti Airtel account of slowing economic growth. and rankled fi nancial markets this year. mood in Beijing was pessimistic Ltd announced plans to raise tariff s The rupee closed at 71.72 to a dollar, Investor sentiment turned dour after a about the prospects of sealing from December, the first increase up 0.17% from its previous close of report that Beijing was pessimistic about an agreement dented sentiment. since the entry of billionaire 71.84. The currency had opened at striking a trade deal with Washington. De- Chinese off icials were troubled Mukesh Ambani into India’s 71.95 a dollar, and touched a high of clines were limited when the United States by President Donald Trump’s telecommunications market in 2016 71.68 and a low of 72.01. extended by 90 days permission for US comment that there was no triggered a price war. Bharti Airtel The yield on the 10-year bond closed companies to do business with China’s agreement on phasing out tariff s, topped gains in the Sensex, while its at 6.47% from its Monday’s close of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. An index of a government source told CNBC. unit Bharti Infratel Ltd led the Nifty. 6.48%. So far this year, the rupee has developing world currencies fell 0.2% after But news of the US govern- Reliance Industries Ltd’s shares lost 2.71%, while foreign investors trading near fl at in the previous session. ment granting China’s Huawei a rose more than 3% to a record on bought $11.80bn and $5.13bn in “Overall, we think the chance of a licence extension helped check optimism Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd equity and debt markets respectively. complete breakdown in (US-China) the losses. The Trump adminis- will also benefit from higher tariff s. On Monday, they sold Rs599 crores talks is now lower and the chance of a tration on Monday issued a new “The key will be Jio’s response to the of sovereign bonds under limits positive resolution — potentially includ- meeting are due on Wednesday, while second half of every month by exporters 90-day extension allowing US price hike. We think Jio could likely available to foreign investors, and ing a rollback of tariff s — is higher,” said ECB chief Christine Lagarde delivers buying the currency to meet local duties. companies to continue doing follow,” Jeff eries analysts wrote in withdrew Rs323 crore of corporate Mark Haefele, chief investment offi cer her fi rst major speech on Friday. Turkey’s lira gained 0.2%, while cur- business with Huawei Technolo- a note. Reliance has potential to debt. State-run banks sold Rs331 at UBS Global Wealth Management. The Hungarian forint was trading rencies in central and eastern European gies Co Ltd as US regulators gain from already above average crore worth of sovereign bonds, Currencies in the developing world about fl at to the euro ahead of the cen- economies including Poland, Czech continue crafting rules on valuation, thanks to the possibility according to data from Clearing Corp have weakened this month on confl ict- tral bank’s monthly policy meeting, Republic and Romania were trading in telecommunications firms that of higher telecom tariff s and its debt of India Limited. ing headlines about resolving the tariff which is expected to leave interest rates a narrow range. A basket of emerging- pose a threat to national secu- reduction plans, Morgan Stanley Other Asian currencies were weak dispute that has now gone on for a year unchanged and signal that the economy market stocks was up for the third rity. “The opening lower in early analysts wrote. yesterday. The South Korean won and a half. Financial markets are now is not overheating. straight session, led by Chinese shares, morning trade was mainly due Eleven of 19 sector sub-indexes and Philippines peso lost nearly looking to major central banks for fur- The South African rand and Russian which posted their best day in two to overnight news, but the yuan compiled by BSE Ltd advanced, led 0.37% and 0.29% respectively and ther hints on monetary policy to stem rouble gained against a weaker dollar weeks as a surprise cut in a key lend- stabilised soon later,” a Beijing- by a gauge of telecom companies. Indonesia rupiah fell 0.09%. a global slowdown. The minutes from after easing in the previous session. The ing rate on Monday bolstered hopes for based Chinese trade said. the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy rouble is also typically supported in the more government stimulus. China’s overstretched LGFVs guarantee $842bn of credit

Bloomberg who themselves face a giant wall of terprise has signifi cance to the local Beijing placed restrictions on debt is- Shanghai debt. Around 2,000 of these funding economy and a large workforce, it is suance by LGFVs in 2014 to cut fi nan- platforms have off ered a total of 5.9tn natural for the government to provide cial risk, only to ease those later as the yuan ($842bn) worth of credit guar- support,” said Owen Gallimore, head of economy started slowing. ocal government investment antees to domestic fi rms, represent- credit strategy at Australia & New Zea- Analysts say investors shouldn’t arms in China were once consid- ing nearly a quarter of their combined land Banking Group. ignore the risk that credit guarantees Lered one of the country’s riskiest net assets, said Liu Yu, an analyst According to a research note by Liu carry for LGFVs, pointing to growing groups of borrowers and a time bomb from Guosheng Securities Co. It also from Guosheng Securities, so far 11 signs of trouble. in a creaky fi nancial system. amounts to around 70% of the LGFVs’ private fi rms and 9 state-owned en- “Such guarantees may hurt these But in recent years, a growing total onshore bonds outstanding. terprises with guarantees from LGFVs funding platforms’ own debt repay- number of these heavily-indebted The pledges help private fi rms se- have defaulted on their debt. While the ment capability, especially when de- entities, known as local government cure fi nancing as they suff er from guarantors have fully or partially re- faults among private fi rms jumped in fi nancial vehicles, have emerged as limited access to a banking sector that paid the souring loans or bonds on be- the past two years,” said Yang Hao, a white knights of a troubled private prefers lending to politically infl uen- half of over half of the private borrow- fi xed income analyst at Nanjing Secu- sector, off ering guarantees to loans and tial state-owned companies While the ers, none of the state-owned debtors rities Co. bonds from garment makers to con- bulk of these guarantees have gone to have received any material help. In April, Kunming Industrial Devel- struction fi rms. fellow LGFVs, a sizeable amount is tied The diff erent treatment not only re- opment & Investment Co, an LGFV in The shifting role of the LGFVs, to borrowings from the private sector veals Beijing’s policy priority but also the southwestern Yunnan province, re- which build roads, bridges and air- that has seen a majority of the bond LGFVs’ own confi nes: 231.8bn yuan paid 115.49mn yuan on behalf of two lo- ports across China, highlights Beijing’s defaults, analysts say. tion Investment Co not only agreed to erg. An ailing private sector, which in onshore bonds sold by LGFVs will ma- cal private fi rms on a 400mn yuan bond growing reliance on an ever-bulging One recent example is Shandong buy a 26% stake in Ruyi but also off ered good times generates at least 8 out of 10 ture in the rest of this year, followed by jointly issued by six companies. In Sep- state sector to engineer stability in tur- Ruyi Technology Group Co, a clothing to guarantee a 2bn yuan 5-year bond new jobs in the country, has prompted 1.3tn yuan worth in 2020, according to tember, the LGFV recovered only 72.5mn bulent times. The credit guarantees are giant aspiring to become the Chinese issued by the private fi rm in 2015. Beijing to mobilise resources within the Bloomberg-compiled data. yuan of overdue debt from one of the two part of a broader nationwide campaign equivalent of LVMH. Chinese companies have failed to state sector for a bailout. In the past Regional governments in China have fi rms with its debt guarantees. to alleviate pain for private businesses After Moody’s Investors Service cut make good on repayments on a com- year, regional authorities and state- long used LGFVs to raise funds via off - “We are cautious toward debt guar- hit hard by trade tensions and a weak- the cash-strapped company’s credit bined 110bn yuan worth of domestic linked entities have formed “relief balance-sheet debt. Without formal antees to private fi rms that have no clear ening economy. rating last month, an LGFV from the bonds so far this year, not far from last funds” and used stake purchases to of- state backing, Beijing’s shifting atti- connections with LGFVs,” said Lu Cong- But the added responsibility may city where Ruyi is based came to the year’s full-year record of 122bn yuan, fer a fresh lifeline to private businesses. tude over the years has dictated their fan, portfolio manager from HFT Invest- prove to be unbearable for the LGFVs rescue: Jining City Urban Construc- according to data compiled by Bloomb- “When the privately owned en- fortunes: after years of lax oversight, ment Management Co. Gulf Times Wednesday, November 20, 2019 5 BUSINESS

Pakistan’s current China electronics fi rm account rises into surplus

Internews exports of goods increased to struggles as defaults $8.22bn compared to $7.9bn in Karachi the last fi scal year. Subsequently, trade defi cit fell to $6.4bn com- akistan posted $99mn pared to $11bn during the period current account surplus under review. However, trade of Pin October after a gap of services during the period under more than four years indica- review did not show any signifi - vex private sector tive of the recovery from long- cant change when compared to prevailing defi cits but the four- same period last fi scal year. Bloomberg month current account position Exports of services during Shanghai still showed a defi cit of $1.5bn. the four months clocked in at The latest data released by $1.749bn compared to $1.709bn the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during last fi scal year. Imports hinese technology conglomerate showed the government has of services, on the other hand, Tunghsu Group Co is looking to succeeded in bringing down the reached to $3.117bn compared Cextend its bond payment dead- current account defi cit. to $3.076bn in FY18. The trade lines after failing to settle its obligations The country’s current account defi cit in services clocked in at this week, in the latest sign that the na- defi cit, in the last fi scal year, $1.368bn compared to $1.367bn tion’s private-sector fi rms are struggling clocked in at $12.75bn, down in the same period last fi scal year. to ease their debt load amid an economic 36% from record-high $19.9bn During the current fi scal year, slowdown. in FY18. rising infl ows have helping the What’s the company: Beijing-based The data for October showed government improve its for- Tunghsu Group mainly produces pho- the current account was posi- eign accounts. In the fi rst four toelectric display components, but also tive 99mn against a net defi cit months, the FDI jumped by operates new energy, real estate and oth- of $1.28bn in the same month of 238pc. The equity market is also er businesses. Its three listed companies previous fi scal year. During the receiving foreign investment – Tunghsu Optoelectronic Technology cumulative July-Oct period, the while the government’s security Co, Tunghsu Azure Renewable Energy current account defi cit reached papers have received investment Co and Shanghai Challenge Textile Co – to $1.474bn compared to $5.6bn of around $800m. have a combined market capitalisation of last year. The surplus in October and 35.7bn yuan ($5.1bn). The defi cit sharply reduced in narrowing of four-month cur- Tunghsu Group had 50.9bn yuan cash the last four months refl ecting rent account defi cit was mainly and cash-equivalent assets as of the end signifi cant improvement on the achieved due to a massive cut in of June, and a total liability of 129.1bn economy’s external front. the imports’ bill. The govern- yuan, according to its interim fi nancial The details showed the defi cit ment is facing criticism that the results. It has total off shore and onshore fell drastically due to sharp de- massive decline in imports have debt of 31.8bn yuan, while Tunghsu Op- crease in imports, which fell to slowdown overall economic ac- toelectronic Technology has 5.7bn yuan $14.65bn from $19bn in the same tivities which would ultimately of onshore notes, Bloomberg-compiled period last fi scal year. However, hit the GDP growth rate. data show. What’s happening: Tunghsu Group is in talks with bond investors about ex- Foreign investment into tending the repayment deadline on a 7.48% local note, after its Shenzhen-list- ed unit Tunghsu Optoelectronic Tech- Pakistan jumps 238% nology failed to repay the 1.97bn yuan principal and interest. Holders of that Internews exploration and power sectors. note had exercised a put option to get an Karachi On the other hand, the electrical early repayment. machinery sector also attracted The company is also seeking to extend $72mn in FDI. The oil and gas ex- the coupon repayment deadline on a sep- The foreign direct investment ploration, during the period under arate 5.09% local bond. Chinese technology conglomerate Tunghsu Group Co is looking to extend its bond payment deadlines after (FDI) in the first four months of review, attracted investment worth Tunghsu Group’s parent company failing to settle its obligations this week, in the latest sign that the nation’s private-sector firms are struggling current fiscal year jumped by 238% $40mn against $120mn in the same Dongxu Optoelectronic Investment Co to ease their debt load amid an economic slowdown. to $650mn from $192mn during period of last fiscal. is planning to sell its 51.46% stake in the the same period last fiscal year, Moreover, foreign investment in fi rm to State-owned Assets Supervi- Predominantly led by private-sector extend the coupon repayment deadline company will begin mass production af- reported the State Bank of Pakistan both equity market and govern- sion and Administration of Shijiazhuang fi rms, onshore defaults in China exclud- on the 5.09% bond by a period longer ter a costly expansion into building new (SBP). The government is struggling ment security debts has also seen Municipal Government. Trading in the ing Tunghsu are at 110bn yuan, close to than six months. product assemblies. to increase foreign investment in significant increase during the shares of two of the group’s listed units last year’s full-year record of 122bn yuan, Bondholders have yet to reach an Fitch withdrew its B- rating in May af- the country but the size of inflows period under review. were halted on Tuesday. according to Bloomberg-compiled data. agreement on the deadline extensions, ter the company chose to stop participat- continues to remain low. The latest data released by the The company’s struggles to repay its Tunghsu Group’s missed local bond according to the company offi cial and ing in the rating process. The foreign private investment, SBP showed that foreigners in- onshore debt saw Tunghsu Group’s dol- payments threaten to trigger a cross de- bond underwriter. What are traders watching next: In- which includes portfolio invest- vested over $800mn in the market lar bond drop to about 44 cents on the fault in its US dollar bond, an increasing- What do ratings companies say: S&P vestors are waiting to see if Tunghsu ments, reached to $665.7mn treasury bills. For the first time, dollar yesterday, according to credit ly familiar scenario as China’s onshore downgraded Tunghsu Group’s rating to Group can negotiate a debt payment de- compared to net outflow during the the market treasury bills attracted traders. The bond price was around 67 defaults spill over to the off shore market. CCC- from B- on Tuesday, highlighting lay from its creditors. Its parent Dongxu corresponding period last year. such a huge amount and set a new cents at the end of last week. Its dollar bond off ering memorandum the increasing liquidity stress the fi rm Optoelectronic’s ability to complete the The highest inflows during the record. Why does it matter: Tunghsu Group’s states that a cross default will be trig- faces following the missed payments. A stake sale is also a key area of focus, in period came from Norway reaching High interest rates have also fi nancial woes are indicative of China’s gered on the note if the fi rm’s parent default or distressed exchange is highly addition to other fund-raising methods $263.7mn, followed by $122mn pulled foreign investors to invest sluggish manufacturing sector, which guarantor or any restricted subsidiary likely within the next six months if the that may be used to shore up cash. from China the biggest investor in in to government debts. The yield saw spending only barely above the fails to repay principal amount of $10mn group’s circumstances do not improve A potential cross default on Tunghsu the country particularly due to the on government backed papers is record low level hit in September. or more when due. signifi cantly, S&P said. Group’s dollar bond would also be on ongoing China-Pakistan Economic about 13pc which is very high as It also highlights the payment strug- What does the company say: A Tungh- Tunghsu Optoelectronic Technology the radar of off shore bond investors. Im- Corridor. Telecommunications the dollar depositors get below 3pc gles faced by the nation’s private fi rms, su Group offi cial and an underwriter of faces a debt maturity wall from 2020 to minent bond maturities include Dongxu sector emerged as investors’ pick world over. Analysts and researches which are being hit harder by the eco- the defaulted yuan bond said that the 2021, and most of its repayment pressure Optoelectronic’s 1.7bn yuan medium- attracting investments worth wrote in their reports that improve- nomic slowdown. Their access to the company is asking bondholders to de- comes from short-term debt, according term notes due December 2021, which $267mn. The sector has been a ment in ease of doing business has banking sector remains limited as lend- fer the early repayment deadline on the to a rating report in June by United Credit are puttable on December 2, as well as prime attraction for foreign inves- increased the foreign investors’ ers focus more on politically infl uential 7.48% note by six months. The company Ratings Co, which rates the fi rm at AA+. Tunghsu Group’s 700mn yuan private tors along with the oil and gas confidence. state-owned companies. offi cial also said the fi rm was looking to It points to uncertainty over when the bond due December 26, according to S&P. Japan considers issuing 50-year bonds to support yields Tata Steel to cut 3,000 jobs as

Reuters anonymity because they are not authorised to Tokyo speak to the media. Long bonds have drawn global attention as crisis rips through Europe countries try to use super-low rates to lock in Japanese policymakers are considering issuing debt. Some European countries have sold 100- a 50-year government bond as a long-term way year bonds, a move Treasury Secretary Steven Bloomberg Corus Group Plc for about $13bn to put a floor under super-long interest rates, Mnuchin said the United States might also Mumbai in 2007, has been closing and sources say. consider. selling plants in the UK since the Selling such bonds — a hot topic after Bank of Japan, too, has fans of long bonds among 2008 fi nancial crisis to make the Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda commented politicians eager to boost spending. ata Steel plans to cut as business more profi table. on the idea this month — would allow the A slowing economy is drawing calls from many as 3,000 jobs across The company is focusing on government to lock in cheap long-term funding lawmakers for a big stimulus package. Tits European operations to growing in India, where Chair- and give yield-starved investors higher returns. Ruling party heavyweight Toshiro Nikai cut costs in the latest blow to the man N Chandrasekaran aims to It could also off er the Bank of Japan a new tool yesterday urged the government to spend ¥10tn region’s industry, with the move ramp up capacity as the nation’s for its “yield-curve control” policy by helping to ($92bn) in a supplementary budget for the coming amid a heated general demand is set to expand as much prevent excessive declines in super-long bond current fiscal year. election campaign in the UK. as 7% in the coming years. yields, which hurt returns of pension funds. BoJ governor Kuroda caused a stir by saying this About two-thirds of the re- Tata Steel Europe’s Ebitda Japan has no immediate plans to issue the bonds, month that issuing 50-year bonds would help ductions would be offi ce-based sank 90% to £31mn ($40mn) in but the Ministry of Finance has long considered prevent excessive declines in super-long yields. staff , the company said in a the fi rst six months of the cur- the idea, holding hearings with market Finance Minister Taro Aso said days later that statement. rent fi nancial year from April on participants three years ago, a finance ministry Japan may consider issuing such bonds. While the steelmaker didn’t revenue of £3.25bn, according to off icial told Reuters. Liquidity for 40-year government bonds — the give a detailed breakdown, Tata Tata Steel plans to cut as many as 3,000 jobs across its the statement. The job cuts and That plan was turned down because investor longest maturity sold in Japan — remains low, Steel Works Council said more European operations to cut costs in the latest blow to the other moves target positive cash demand was scarce, finance ministry off icials say. making up just 2.4% of the outstanding balance than half of the planned cuts region’s industry, with the move coming amid a heated fl ow by the end of the year to “It has not been ruled out completely and could of Japan’s government bond market. would be in the Netherlands. general election campaign in the UK March 2021. be an issue to consider in the long run,” another And some BoJ off icials doubt 50-year bonds The company also has facilities “Europe remains a diffi cult ministry off icial said. would help steepen the yield curve, the sources in the UK. uidation in May, and has been man of both the European and market but this is how they can Adding 50-year bonds might drain liquidity from familiar with the central bank’s thinking say. “Stagnant EU steel demand taken over China’s Jingye Group Netherlands’ Tata Steel Works deal with the challenges there,” markets of other super-long bonds, making As super-long bonds are traded among a handful and global overcapacity have Co. Apparent demand in the Eu- Council. He expects the move to Amit A. Dixit, an analyst at Edel- yields vulnerable to wild swings, MoF off icials say. of insurers and pension funds, issuing 50-year been compounded by trade con- ropean Union will contract 3.1% lead to a confl ict after an accord weiss Financial Services Ltd, It is also unclear whether 50-year bonds would bonds may simply drain money from other fl icts, which have turned the this year, lobby group Eurofer last year that no jobs would be said from Mumbai, citing prob- be traded much, as investors could suff er huge maturities and distort the curve in the wrong European market into a dump- warned last month. cut until 2021. lems also faced by peers includ- losses if yields spike. direction, they say. ing ground for the world’s excess The steelmaker’s European Voters in the UK go to the polls ing ArcelorMittal. “The market The Bank of Japan is also scrutinising how If demand for 50-year bonds proves steel capacity,” Mumbai-based operations are facing conditions next month in a rare winter gen- will likely react to this proposal issuing more long bonds could aff ect its yield- unexpectedly strong, the government could Tata Steel said. that are “unprecedented,” said eral election, and Tata Steel’s in a hugely positive way.” curve policy, which aims to control the shape issue them at very low yields. The European steel industry Henrik Adam, chief executive of- move is likely to feature as an is- Earlier, Tata Steel had tried to of the yield curve, say sources familiar with its That could push down yields for other super-long has faced growing headwinds fi cer of Tata Steel in Europe. Oth- sue in the showdown, which has address its position in Europe thinking. bonds. this year amid declining de- er steps to improve performance been dominated by the Brexit through a proposed venture with “If the government issues more super-long bonds The BoJ may have few other tools to set a floor mand, slowing economic growth include boosting sales of higher- crisis. German rival Thyssenkrupp. or starts selling 50-year debt, that could help under yields beyond slowing bond purchases. and the consistent threat of value steels, aiding effi ciency and In the contest, Conservative But that initiative was blocked steepen the yield curve,” one of the sources said. It is already tapering its bond buying steadily, overseas supplies, including ex- cutting procurement costs. Prime Minister Boris Johnson by the EU’s antitrust offi cials, The ministry off icials and sources familiar with though analysts wonder how long it can keep 10- ports from Turkey, Russia and The company plans to cut is squaring off against Labour who said allowing the deal would the central bank’s thinking spoke on condition of year yields from sliding well below its 0% target. China. British Steel Ltd, the UK’s 1,650 jobs in the Netherlands, leader Jeremy Corbyn. have reduced the number of No 2 steelmaker was put into liq- said Frits van Wieringen, chair- Tata Steel, which bought suppliers and increased prices. Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, November 20, 2019 BUSINESS

KUWAIT KUWAIT OMAN

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

Al-Eid Food Ksc 57.00 3.64 25,000 Oman Packaging 0.27 0.00 - Al-Madar Finance & Invt Co 123.00 -2.38 1,909,990 Qurain Petrochemical Industr 311.00 -2.81 3,957,376 Oman Oil Marketing Company 0.98 0.00 - Gulf Petroleum Investment 18.40 -0.54 5,389,902 Advanced Technology Co 900.00 0.00 - Oman National Engineering An 0.12 -6.92 39,999 Mabanee Co Sakc 816.00 2.38 1,089,672 Ekttitab Holding Co Sak 15.30 2.68 110,172 Oman Investment & Finance 0.12 0.00 112,000 Inovest Co Bsc 60.00 5.26 59,871 Real Estate Trade Centers Co 22.10 -14.67 20,000 Oman Intl Marketing 0.52 0.00 - Al-Deera Holding Co 12.60 3.28 2,398,275 Acico Industries Co Kscc 127.00 4.10 10,005 Oman Flour Mills 0.68 0.00 - Mena Real Estate Co 38.40 2.13 1,887,664 Kipco Asset Management Co 88.80 0.00 110 Oman Fisheries Co 0.08 0.00 124,400 Amar Finance & Leasing Co 40.10 9.86 50,000 National Petroleum Services 1,150.00 0.00 - Oman Europe Foods Industries 1.00 0.00 - United Projects For Aviation 385.00 -9.84 7,827 Alimtiaz Investment Group 127.00 1.60 2,245,523 Oman Education & Training In 0.24 0.00 - National Consumer Holding Co 20.00 0.00 - Ras Al Khaimah White Cement 70.00 -3.98 1,060 Oman Chromite 3.64 0.00 - QATAR Amwal International Investme 40.00 -2.44 200 Kuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc 158.00 0.00 - Oman Chlorine 0.38 0.00 - Equipment Holding Co K.S.C.C 22.00 -3.93 4,230,325 Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport 68.80 9.21 188,852 Oman Ceramic Company 0.42 0.00 - Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Arkan Al Kuwait Real Estate 84.50 0.00 - Humansoft Holding Co Ksc 3,060.00 0.29 118,951 Oman Cement Co 0.24 -0.42 89,890 Gfh Financial Group Bsc 70.50 2.32 87,884 Automated Systems Co Kscc 70.20 0.00 - Oman Cables Industry 0.65 0.00 - Energy House Holding Co Kscp 21.50 0.00 200 Metal & Recycling Co 0.00 - Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50% -2.90 5,495 Zad Holding Co 14.00 0.00 - 52.00 0.07 Kuwait Co For Process Plant 230.00 0.00 112,944 Gulf Franchising Holding Co 825.00 50 Natl Aluminium Products 0.00 - Widam Food Co 6.70 -0.89 260,911 148.00 0.17 Al Maidan Dental Clinic Co K 1,220.00 0.00 - Al-Enma’a Real Estate Co 8.54 8,836,923 National Real Estate Develop 0.00 - Vodafone Qatar 1.22 -0.81 5,021,228 62.30 5.00 National Shooting Company 9.30 0.00 108,026 National Mobile Telecommuni 1.35 28,075 National Mineral Water 0.00 - United Development Co 1.45 0.00 1,686,581 750.00 0.09 Al-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp 432.00 0.47 17,500 Sanad Holding Co Kscc 0.00 - National Life & General Insu 0.00 - Salam International Investme 0.41 -0.97 655,811 0.00 0.32 Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co 28.50 0.00 - Unicap Investment And Financ 0.81 375,262 National Gas Co -0.90 16,603 Qatar & Oman Investment Co 0.50 -0.40 50,180 37.20 0.22 Salbookh Trading Co Kscp 39.40 -0.25 302,805 Al Salam Group Holding Co -1.39 1,035,515 National Finance Co 0.00 - Qatar Navigation 6.08 -0.33 158,363 28.30 0.14 Aqar Real Estate Investments 75.00 0.00 - Al Aman Investment Company -0.54 661 National Detergent Co Saog 0.00 - Qatar National Cement Co 5.86 -2.17 119,224 54.90 0.70 Hayat Communications 35.00 0.00 - Mashaer Holding Co Ksc -0.75 2,825,139 National Biscuit Industries 0.00 - Qatar National Bank 19.49 0.00 2,748,375 79.00 3.92 Soor Fuel Marketing Co Ksc 118.00 0.00 34,002 Manazel Holding 0.00 120,464 National Bank Of Oman Saog -0.53 300,000 Qatar Islamic Insurance 6.86 -2.00 25,721 32.10 0.19 Tamkeen Holding Co 5.20 0.00 - Tijara And Real Estate Inves 14.39 5,180,866 Muscat Thread Mills Co 0.00 - Qatar Industrial Manufactur 3.29 0.30 4,240 45.30 0.08 Alargan International Real 97.00 -9.35 390 Jazeera Airways Co Ksc 0.00 18,172 Muscat Insurance Co Saog 0.00 - Qatar International Islamic 9.74 -1.12 3,655,619 1,060.00 0.78 Burgan Co For Well Drilling 94.00 9.94 4,220 Commercial Real Estate Co -0.11 26,614 Muscat Gases Company Saog 0.00 - Qatari Investors Group 1.70 -1.16 104,671 92.00 0.18 Kuwait Resorts Co Kscc 55.30 2.03 49,776 National International Co -2.42 444 Muscat Finance -1.64 150,500 Qatar Islamic Bank 15.39 1.25 420,428 60.50 0.06 Oula Fuel Marketing Co 119.00 0.85 74,890 Taameer Real Estate Invest C 2.29 1,301,799 Muscat City Desalination Co 2.83 211,019 Qatar Gas Transport(Nakilat) 2.49 1.22 1,311,307 26.80 0.11 Palms Agro Production Co 59.00 0.00 - Gulf Cement Co -3.46 574,900 Majan Glass Company 0.00 - Qatar General Insurance & Re 2.57 1.18 332,803 53.00 0.18 Mubarrad Holding Co Ksc 60.00 1.69 131,956 Heavy Engineering And Ship B 0.24 188,009 Majan College 0.00 4,047 Qatar German Co For Medical 0.61 -0.81 150,292 411.00 0.18 Shuaiba Industrial Co 145.00 0.00 - National Real Estate Co -0.13 1,224,244 Hsbc Bank Oman 0.00 305 Qatar Fuel Qsc 23.19 0.35 474,051 79.40 0.13 Aan Digital Services Co 16.10 -1.23 737,495 Al Safat Energy Holding Comp -5.47 58,208 Hotels Management Co Interna 0.00 - Qatar First Bank 0.31 -0.32 9,906,571 19.00 1.25 First Takaful Insurance Co 40.00 0.00 - Kuwait National Cinema Co 0.00 - Gulf Stone 0.00 - Qatar Electricity & Water Co 16.40 1.42 208,621 840.00 0.12 Kuwaiti Syrian Holding Co 28.50 -1.72 103,003 Danah Alsafat Foodstuff Co 0.63 2,118,601 Gulf Mushroom Company 0.00 - Qatar Exchange Index Etf 10.16 -0.24 2,115 16.00 0.31 National Cleaning Company 58.50 0.86 232,174 Independent Petroleum Group 0.00 - Gulf Investments Services 0.00 - Qatar Cinema & Film Distrib 2.21 -7.92 370 445.00 0.07 United Real Estate Company 60.50 -0.82 1,056,560 Kuwait Real Estate Co Ksc -0.20 156,143 Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-Shar 0.00 - Al Rayan Qatar Etf 2.36 0.99 15,989 97.70 0.11 Agility 746.00 0.27 977,178 Salhia Real Estate Co Ksc 0.00 152,500 Gulf International Chemicals 10.00 5,500 Qatar Insurance Co 3.14 0.64 510,959 343.00 0.13 Kuwait & Middle East Fin Inv 90.00 -0.66 374,320 Gulf Cable & Electrical Ind 5.60 8,602,725 Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co Ltd 0.00 - Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing 0.81 -0.49 1,659,330 490.00 6.80 Fujairah Cement Industries 48.00 0.00 - Kuwait Finance House 0.58 6,420,264 Global Fin Investment 0.00 - Ooredoo Qpsc 7.31 0.55 876,676 689.00 0.08 Livestock Transport & Tradng 180.00 0.00 - Gulf North Africa Holding Co 0.00 - Galfar Engineering&Contract 1.28 845,371 National Leasing 0.68 -0.87 355,832 57.80 0.08 International Resorts Co 10.90 -4.39 40,000 Hilal Cement Co -5.00 5,000 Galfar Engineering -Prefer 0.00 - Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev 0.72 -0.83 283,381 95.10 0.39 National Industries Grp Hold 225.00 0.90 6,018,280 Osoul Investment Kscc 2.78 77,421 Financial Services Co. 0.00 - Mesaieed Petrochemical Holdi 2.58 0.39 1,207,629 74.00 0.06 Warba Insurance Co 63.00 -5.69 106,141 Gulf Insurance Group Ksc 0.00 - Financial Corp/The 0.00 - Al Meera Consumer Goods Co 15.55 -0.26 231,022 615.00 0.10 First Dubai Real Estate Deve 31.80 0.32 100 Umm Al Qaiwain General Inves -0.44 282 Dhofar Tourism 0.00 - Medicare Group 8.63 0.35 122,472 68.00 0.49 Al Arabi Group Holding Co 255.00 0.39 1,902,784 Aayan Leasing & Investment 0.47 8,100,212 Dhofar Poultry 0.00 - Mannai Corporation Qsc 3.17 0.63 269,288 63.50 0.18 Kuwait Hotels Sak 100.00 0.00 - Alrai Media Group Co Ksc 0.00 361 Dhofar Intl Development 0.00 - Masraf Al Rayan 3.89 0.78 1,545,093 39.80 0.30 Mobile Telecommunications Co 566.00 0.35 3,840,708 National Investments Co -0.80 253,647 Dhofar Insurance 0.00 - Al Khalij Commercial Bank 1.22 0.83 491,921 124.00 0.17 Eff ect Real Estate Co 20.50 0.00 - Commercial Facilities Co 0.50 811,100 Dhofar Generating Co Saoc 1.03 8,400 Industries Qatar 10.20 0.39 554,777 201.00 0.20 Tamdeen Real Estate Co Ksc 275.00 -1.79 11,576 Yiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C 0.00 - Dhofar Fisheries & Food Indu 0.00 - Islamic Holding Group 2.08 0.48 959,525 66.50 1.28 Al Mudon Intl Real Estate Co 25.00 -5.66 4,031,272 Dulaqan Real Estate Co 0.00 - Dhofar Cattlefeed 0.00 1,860 Investment Holding Group 0.54 0.19 108,539 350.00 0.17 Kuwait Cement Co Ksc 242.00 0.83 8,343 Real Estate Asset Management 0.00 - Dhofar Beverages Co 0.00 - Gulf Warehousing Company 5.09 0.79 180,000 85.90 0.26 Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel 52.00 0.00 - Construction Materials Ind 0.00 - Gulf International Services 1.83 -1.61 183,436 0.04 Kuwait Portland Cement Co 991.00 0.10 22,403 Computer Stationery Inds 0.00 - Ezdan Holding Group 0.64 -1.08 6,162,171 0.26 Educational Holding Group 438.00 -0.23 7,495 Bankmuscat Saog 0.00 278,999 Doha Insurance Co 1.03 0.98 1,294 0.44 Bahrain Kuwait Insurance 200.00 0.00 - Bank Nizwa 0.00 70,447 Doha Bank Qpsc 2.53 0.00 3,509,939 0.09 Asiya Capital Investments Co 33.90 0.59 326,154 OMAN Bank Dhofar Saog 0.00 - Dlala Holding 0.64 -0.78 173,105 0.13 Kuwait Investment Co 135.00 0.00 78,500 Arabia Falcon Insurance Co 0.00 - Commercial Bank Psqc 4.50 0.90 4,092,427 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume 0.10 Burgan Bank 309.00 0.00 4,214,313 Aloula Co 0.00 - Barwa Real Estate Co 3.44 0.58 839,887 0.53 Kuwait Projects Co Holdings 219.00 -0.90 789,364 Al-Omaniya Financial Service 0.10 -1.96 463,063 Al Khaleej Takaful Group 2.22 -0.45 675,092 Voltamp Energy Saog 0.18 0.00 50,000 Al Madina For Finance And In 16.00 4.58 2,883,440 Al-Hassan Engineering Co 0.02 0.00 - Al Ahli Bank 0.75 0.27 4,681,323 Vision Insurance Saoc 0.11 0.00 - Kuwait Insurance Co 330.00 0.00 9,141 Al-Fajar Al-Alamia Co 0.75 0.00 - United Power/Energy Co- Pref 1.00 0.00 - Al Masaken Intl Real Estate 74.00 0.00 - Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co 0.15 0.00 168,300 United Power Co Saog 2.40 0.00 - Intl Financial Advisors 56.50 -0.53 416,362 Al Suwadi Power 0.07 0.00 320,447 United Finance Co 0.07 0.00 - KUWAIT First Investment Co Kscc 29.10 1.04 5,643,274 Al Sharqiya Invest Holding 0.09 0.00 5,980 Ubar Hotels & Resorts 0.13 0.00 - Al Mal Investment Company 8.00 3.90 289,800 Al Maha Petroleum Products M 0.78 0.00 - Takaful Oman 0.12 0.00 - Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Bayan Investment Co Kscc 36.20 -5.73 4,982 Al Maha Ceramics Co Saoc 0.20 -0.49 40,500 Taageer Finance 0.11 0.00 50,000 Egypt Kuwait Holding Co Sae 445.00 0.00 - Al Madina Takaful Co Saoc 0.08 -1.22 357,200 Sultan Center Food Products 50.60 -0.78 438,964 Sweets Of Oman 0.55 0.00 - Coast Investment Development 31.80 0.32 355,221 Al Madina Investment Co 0.02 0.00 - Kuwait Foundry Co Sak 374.00 3.60 30,010 Sohar Power Co 0.06 0.00 2,800 Privatization Holding Compan 50.60 -1.17 178,001 Al Kamil Power Co 0.29 0.00 - Kuwait Financial Centre Sak 95.00 3.83 250,672 Sohar International Bank 0.11 0.00 - Injazzat Real State Company 79.00 -1.13 126,810 Al Jazerah Services -Pfd 0.55 0.00 - Ajial Real Estate Entmt 191.00 1.06 239,300 Smn Power Holding Saog 0.07 -1.35 55,000 Kuwait Cable Vision Sak 15.00 0.00 3,252 Al Jazeera Steel Products Co 0.14 0.74 359,681 Kuwait Finance & Investment 50.00 -3.85 403,505 Shell Oman Marketing - Pref 1.05 0.00 - Sanam Real Estate Co Kscc 42.10 9.92 1 Al Jazeera Services 0.15 -1.95 282,500 National Industries Co Ksc 162.00 0.00 643 Shell Oman Marketing 1.19 0.00 300,000 Ithmaar Holding Bsc 22.30 0.00 - Al Izz Islamic Bank 0.06 0.00 3,000 Kuwait Real Estate Holding C 25.50 -3.41 150,993 Sharqiyah Desalination Co Sa 0.29 0.00 - Aviation Lease And Finance C 264.00 0.00 135,582 Al Buraimi Hotel 0.88 0.00 - Securities House/The 40.20 -0.50 663,792 Sembcorp Salalah Power & Wat 0.12 0.00 - Arzan Financial Group For Fi 23.80 0.42 6,004,535 Al Batinah Power 0.07 0.00 101,049 Boubyan Petrochemicals Co 750.00 0.67 288,403 Salalah Port Services 0.60 0.00 - Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co 14.20 1.43 637,844 Al Batinah Hotels 1.13 0.00 - Al Ahli Bank Of Kuwait 290.00 0.35 125,029 Salalah Mills Co 0.50 0.00 - Kuwait Business Town Real Es 41.00 0.00 59,500 Al Batinah Dev & Inv 0.07 0.00 - Ahli United Bank (Almutahed) 314.00 0.64 428,815 Salalah Beach Resort Saog 1.38 0.00 - Future Kid Entertainment And 91.00 0.00 - Al Anwar Holdings Saog 0.09 -1.15 34,000 National Bank Of Kuwait 981.00 0.41 7,364,462 Sahara Hospitality 3.15 0.00 - Specialities Group Holding C 73.00 0.69 176,795 Al Ahlia Insurance Co Saoc 0.36 0.00 - Commercial Bank Of Kuwait 500.00 0.00 - Renaissance Services Saog 0.30 2.36 781,254 Abyaar Real Eastate Developm 9.50 1.06 11,128,893 Ahli Bank 0.13 0.00 - Kuwait International Bank 264.00 0.00 3,173,037 Raysut Cement Co 0.42 -1.41 185,500 Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate C 120.00 0.00 - Acwa Power Barka Saog 0.66 0.00 - Gulf Bank 276.00 0.36 3,277,655 Phoenix Power Co Saoc 0.07 0.00 19,016 Kgl Logistics Company Kscc 35.50 1.43 67,385 Abrasives Manufacturing Co S 0.05 0.00 - Al-Massaleh Real Estate Co 40.00 0.00 - Packaging Co Ltd 2.21 0.00 - Combined Group Contracting 243.00 0.41 919,550 A’saff a Foods Saog 0.60 0.00 - Al Arabiya Real Estate Co 25.80 0.78 281,920 Ooredoo 0.54 0.00 - Jiyad Holding Co Ksc 43.70 0.00 - 0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref 0.25 0.00 - Kuwait Remal Real Estate Co 24.70 0.00 309,985 Ominvest 0.34 0.00 - Warba Capital Holding Co 67.00 0.00 8,321 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Alkout Industrial Projects C 850.00 0.00 - Oman United Insurance Co 0.30 -1.30 486,108 Gulf Investment House Ksc 62.80 2.11 2,909,414 #N/A Invalid Security 0.00 0.00 - Oman Telecommunications Co 0.62 0.65 479,212 A’ayan Real Estate Co Sak 69.00 2.07 350,807 Boubyan Bank K.S.C 560.00 1.08 791,455 Oman Refreshment Co 1.25 0.00 - Investors Holding Group Co.K 8.20 6.49 1,697,961 Ahli United Bank B.S.C 265.00 0.38 5,946,329 Oman Qatar Insurance Co 0.10 0.00 - Al-Mazaya Holding Co 53.60 -0.19 1,111,488 Osos Holding Group Co 100.10 0.00 - LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

Euro may end 2019 in comeback as fading Dollar roadblock from Fed carry adds to tailwinds

Bloomberg balance sheet sets up euro rally Athens/London he evidence for a euro comeback into the Bloomberg year-end is mounting. London TThe common currency has already recovered from a two-year low in October, along with a pick-up in euro-area bond yields, given t doesn’t look good for the dollar. Mor- optimism that Europe is heading for a more gan Stanley sees a glut looming, while robust recovery. Sentiment in options markets IStandard Chartered Plc says the growing has improved, technical charts are looking more US monetary base will undercut the green- positive, strategists are talking it up, and hedge back. funds are starting to bet on gains. There’s a rising tide of supply as the Feder- A rebound would stem a decline of more than al Reserve pumps dollars into bank-funding 3% against the dollar in 2019, a year in which markets in the wake of September’s upheaval. strategists were expecting it to climb. The drop That has the potential to dent the yield ad- saw it become a funding currency of choice for vantage that US markets off er just as a change investors who turned to emerging markets in of management at the European Central Bank search of yields, though any rally will also mean could draw a line under monetary easing in that this selling pressure from carry trading is the euro’s home region. likely to fade. “So far, the Fed’s liquidity-add has been Of 21 potential developing-nation carry trades absorbed by commercial banks’ year-end- funded in the common currency tracked by related liquidity demand,” say Morgan Bloomberg, 19 have made money this year, but Stanley strategists including Hans Redeker. only five have performed in the past five days. “Once the year-end turn has passed, dollar “The whole carry trade idea is not something scarcity may turn into a dollar glut.” that really makes sense any more,” said Glenn That, coupled with stronger global growth Stevens, chief executive off icer at Gain Capital outside of the US and dwindling portfolio Holdings Inc “At least for now it’s a moot point – infl ows, makes a decline in the value of the it’s an antique.” dollar one of Morgan Stanley’s top trends to The euro traded around $1.1070 early yesterday, watch next year. While the world’s gross do- having recovered from a dip in mid-November mestic product growth may slow to 3.1% this to take it 1.8% higher than its year-to-date low year, that’s around a percentage point higher on October 1. In the options market, one-month than the US, according to estimates compiled risk reversals, a barometer of sentiment and by Bloomberg. positioning, show investors are the most bullish Research from Standard Chartered analysts on the common currency in a month. including Steve Englander shows that since An employee places a bundle of twenty euro banknotes into a cashier’s tray in this arranged photograph taken inside a Travelex store in However, they are not betting on extreme gains. 2011, a rapidly growing US monetary base has London (file). Research from Standard Chartered analysts including Steve Englander shows that since 2011, a rapidly growing US monetary Demand for out-of-the money options compared been a good indicator of euro strength. base has been a good indicator of euro strength. to at-the-money ones has dropped steadily, Meanwhile, the uncertainty posed by a suggesting traders expect a relatively tight public impeachment inquiry into US Presi- ly yesterday, after Monday’s gain of 0.2% That makes euro-area purchasing manag- lus from Germany and uncertainty over the range for the euro-dollar pair. There’s no sign of dent Donald Trump’s actions involving trimmed its 2019 decline to 3.5%. ers’ indexes due Friday all the more impor- ECB’s path are also wild cards for the euro. catalysts for a higher volatility environment. Ukraine and the 2020 American elections Credit Agricole SA says the worst may be tant. A confi rmation that the region’s econo- Growth that continues to muddle along risks Still, hedge funds have added exposure to a rally could hurt the dollar’s appeal, which may over for the euro-dollar cross because the mies aren’t as pressured as previously feared keeping calls for a fi scal boost in check and in the common currency this week, according dim relative to the euro. The White House’s economic downturn in the euro area may could boost the common currency. ECB accommodation in limbo, sapping sup- to a trader familiar with the transactions, who criticism of the Fed’s monetary policy re- have bottomed out. Morgan Stanley sees the The caveat that most analysts point to is port for the currency. asked not to be identified because they are turned to the fore in Washington, when euro rallying in the fi rst quarter because of potential progress in trade talks between the “With the ECB racked by internal disagree- not authorised to speak publicly. Speculators Trump said he “protested” to Chairman “narrowing US-Europe growth diff erentials” US and China. If there’s no deal, and more ment on monetary policy as the Christine La- trimmed net short positions on the euro in Jerome Powell about interest rates, which and improving political factors, while Deut- tariff s are imposed, then the dollar could win garde era commences, policy in the eurozone the week ending November 12, according to the president considers to be too high rela- sche Bank AG’s euro-area data-surprise in- out and risks to global economic growth may is as stalled and unclear as ever,” according data from the Commodity Futures Trading tive to other developed countries. The dicator turned positive for the fi rst time in 20 ramp up. to John Velis, a foreign exchange and macro Commission. shared currency held steady at $1.1070 ear- months. Questions over possible fi scal stimu- strategist at Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Gulf Times Wednesday, November 20, 2019 7 BUSINESS

DJIA WORLD INDICES Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Indices Lt Price Change Dow Jones Indus. Avg 27,926.62 -109.60 Apple Inc 266.42 -0.25 1,992,721 S&P 500 Index 3,121.12 -0.91 American Express Co 120.12 0.38 103,810 Nasdaq Composite Index 8,570.40 +20.46 Boeing Co/The 366.01 -0.93 527,830 S&P/Tsx Composite Index 16,982.75 -42.36 Caterpillar Inc 143.43 -0.11 199,308 Mexico Bolsa Index 43,529.85 +137.49 Cisco Systems Inc 45.32 0.38 1,566,549 Brazil Bovespa Stock Idx 105,508.50 -760.80 Chevron Corp 117.48 -0.90 438,826 Ftse 100 Index 7,323.80 +16.10 Walt Disney Co/The 148.46 0.55 821,069 Cac 40 Index 5,909.05 -20.74 Dow Inc 53.11 -2.23 574,688 Dax Index 13,221.12 +14.11 Goldman Sachs Group Inc 219.59 -0.06 138,343 Ibex 35 Tr 9,259.20 +1.20 Home Depot Inc 226.62 -5.12 1,281,241 Nikkei 225 23,292.65 -124.11 Intl Business Machines Corp 135.16 0.63 185,266 Japan Topix 1,696.73 -3.99 Intel Corp 57.98 -0.46 1,515,868 Hang Seng Index 27,093.80 +412.71 Johnson & Johnson 134.27 -0.42 387,175 All Ordinaries Indx 6,914.09 +42.36 Jpmorgan Chase & Co 130.59 -0.02 603,594 Nzx All Index 1,827.95 +3.04 Coca-Cola Co/The 52.90 -0.25 550,704 Bse Sensex 30 Index 40,469.70 +185.51 Mcdonald’s Corp 193.78 -0.26 309,693 Nse S&P Cnx Nifty Index 11,940.10 +55.60 3M Co 170.05 -0.29 111,371 Straits Times Index 3,238.87 -19.79 Merck & Co. Inc. 84.02 -0.14 773,447 Karachi All Share Index 27,226.93 -21.46 Microsoft Corp 151.10 0.51 2,675,460 Jakarta Composite Index 6,152.09 +29.47 Nike Inc -Cl B 93.42 -0.81 528,484 Pfizer Inc 37.41 0.51 1,277,015 Procter & Gamble Co/The 121.75 -0.11 398,127 Travelers Cos Inc/The 135.26 0.72 100,628 TOKYO Unitedhealth Group Inc 273.38 0.16 286,974 United Technologies Corp 148.70 -0.27 121,039 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Visa Inc-Class A Shares 181.96 1.28 559,768 Nidec Corp 15,975.00 0.09 390,500 Verizon Communications Inc 59.50 0.10 612,507 Isuzu Motors Ltd 1,287.50 -1.11 2,397,400 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc 61.54 -0.65 410,657 Unicharm Corp 3,406.00 -0.76 1,444,900 Walmart Inc 119.96 -0.24 311,669 Nomura Holdings Inc 540.20 1.29 17,121,400 Exxon Mobil Corp 68.12 -0.58 920,559 Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 6,822.00 2.57 1,477,300 Subaru Corp 2,915.00 -0.34 1,995,000 Sumitomo Realty & Developmen 3,837.00 0.58 1,074,500 FTSE 100 Ntt Docomo Inc 3,002.00 -0.10 2,648,000 Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd 3,301.00 -2.05 1,450,200 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Orix Corp 1,742.50 0.23 2,349,200 Asahi Group Holdings Ltd 5,275.00 0.13 599,800 Anglo American Plc 2,045.50 0.91 2,492,776 Keyence Corp 36,560.00 -1.48 386,500 Associated British Foods Plc 2,436.00 -1.18 590,873 Mizuho Financial Group Inc 170.10 -0.35 64,164,600 Admiral Group Plc 2,064.00 -0.72 501,250 Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin 4,291.00 2.70 1,595,000 Ashtead Group Plc 2,350.00 0.13 795,991 Japan Tobacco Inc 2,488.50 -0.20 4,603,100 Antofagasta Plc 895.80 1.82 1,594,285 Sumitomo Electric Industries 1,538.50 -1.03 1,567,000 Auto Trader Group Plc 536.20 -0.45 1,513,528 Daiwa Securities Group Inc 525.00 1.00 5,945,400 Aviva Plc 418.30 0.92 10,625,772 Softbank Group Corp 4,272.00 -1.34 14,605,100 Astrazeneca Plc 7,312.00 -0.96 1,463,834 Panasonic Corp 1,001.50 1.12 6,188,900 Bae Systems Plc 578.60 0.45 3,393,793 Fujitsu Ltd 9,809.00 0.71 1,045,900 Barclays Plc 170.42 0.06 25,050,512 Central Japan Railway Co 22,400.00 -0.58 190,300 British American Tobacco Plc 2,889.50 0.40 2,108,735 Nitori Holdings Co Ltd 16,820.00 0.09 198,600 Barratt Developments Plc 652.20 -0.49 2,765,872 Ajinomoto Co Inc 1,828.00 -0.05 1,478,800 Bhp Group Plc 1,704.20 1.07 4,200,340 Daikin Industries Ltd 15,490.00 -0.35 349,700 Berkeley Group Holdings/The 4,529.00 -1.16 419,170 Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd 2,784.50 0.96 2,458,400 British Land Co Plc 564.80 0.50 2,900,828 Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 2,407.00 3.55 5,422,800 Bunzl Plc 2,055.00 0.59 519,571 Toray Industries Inc 738.20 -0.86 9,103,400 Bp Plc 501.90 0.02 29,058,938 Bridgestone Corp 4,349.00 -1.20 1,436,300 Burberry Group Plc 2,078.00 -0.24 1,312,605 Sony Corp 6,755.00 -1.30 5,103,000 Bt Group Plc 190.16 -1.24 15,462,569 Astellas Pharma Inc 1,832.50 -0.24 4,313,800 Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-Di 2,428.00 -1.06 739,866 Hoya Corp 9,724.00 -0.90 1,640,100 Carnival Plc 3,220.00 -0.03 381,980 Nippon Steel Corp 1,580.50 -0.60 2,338,000 Centrica Plc 73.56 -1.31 18,172,539 Suzuki Motor Corp 4,946.00 0.24 1,171,700 Compass Group Plc 2,025.00 0.50 2,133,379 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone 5,468.00 -0.64 1,775,400 Croda International Plc 4,800.00 1.69 347,300 Jxtg Holdings Inc 492.60 -0.85 12,484,800 Crh Plc 2,880.00 0.21 1,283,547 Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd 6,172.00 -0.61 2,075,700 Dcc Plc 6,656.00 0.48 202,044 Kansai Electric Power Co Inc 1,226.50 -0.73 2,554,500 Diageo Plc 3,118.50 0.37 2,715,387 Denso Corp 4,940.00 -1.02 793,300 Direct Line Insurance Group 276.10 0.88 3,002,735 A pair of EasyJet passenger aircraft taxi at Tegel airport in Berlin (file). Macro-driven travel and leisure led sub-sector gains Sompo Holdings Inc 4,342.00 -0.71 1,556,400 Evraz Plc 360.50 0.70 1,749,020 Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd 3,362.00 -0.74 1,901,700 were powered by a 5% jump in shares of Britain’s easyJet after it posted full-year profit towards the top end of expectations. Experian Plc 2,480.00 2.18 1,410,744 Dai-Ichi Life Holdings Inc 1,804.50 -0.25 2,853,200 Easyjet Plc 1,344.50 5.33 2,806,340 Mazda Motor Corp 969.00 -0.62 2,845,100 Ferguson Plc 6,740.00 -2.12 520,877 Komatsu Ltd 2,602.00 -0.25 3,092,800 Fresnillo Plc 627.00 0.38 2,049,064 West Japan Railway Co 9,770.00 0.61 438,500 Glencore Plc 240.95 0.61 20,301,810 Kao Corp 8,424.00 -0.51 902,500 Glaxosmithkline Plc 1,716.40 0.13 4,832,796 Mitsui & Co Ltd 1,925.00 0.18 3,125,200 Gvc Holdings Plc 857.40 2.36 1,815,069 Daito Trust Construct Co Ltd 13,685.00 0.85 196,800 Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc 1,905.00 0.16 213,395 European markets take a Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd 4,851.00 0.56 818,700 Hargreaves Lansdown Plc 1,817.50 2.34 1,024,338 Oriental Land Co Ltd 15,300.00 1.36 863,900 Halma Plc 2,059.00 8.45 1,489,304 Sekisui House Ltd 2,358.00 0.66 1,529,800 Hsbc Holdings Plc 580.70 0.99 17,104,822 Secom Co Ltd 9,569.00 -0.58 527,900 Hiscox Ltd 1,261.00 2.11 1,358,875 Tokio Marine Holdings Inc 5,875.00 -0.15 2,206,600 Intl Consolidated Airline-Di 553.80 0.95 4,160,942 breather, ease off four-year Aeon Co Ltd 2,262.50 -0.55 1,080,000 Intercontinental Hotels Grou 4,807.00 0.45 407,768 Asahi Kasei Corp 1,201.50 0.08 2,962,400 3I Group Plc 1,055.00 1.15 2,233,962 Kirin Holdings Co Ltd 2,481.50 -1.06 2,196,000 Imperial Brands Plc 1,775.00 1.28 2,798,121 Marubeni Corp 805.00 -0.69 4,210,900 Informa Plc 787.00 -0.18 1,574,661 Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro 580.10 -0.34 28,899,400 Intertek Group Plc 5,502.00 3.69 435,347 peak amid trade deal doubts Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings 835.10 -3.38 10,812,500 Itv Plc 136.50 1.00 10,462,218 Fanuc Corp 20,820.00 -1.49 556,800 Johnson Matthey Plc 3,200.00 1.11 360,510 Fast Retailing Co Ltd 66,920.00 -1.39 413,700 Kingfisher Plc 208.80 -0.43 8,161,071 a bone of contention in the trade saga. worst session in more than a month as Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdin 3,535.00 1.43 1,741,300 Reuters Land Securities Group Plc 922.60 0.57 1,400,315 “There is a lot of trade optimism data showed passenger car registra- Kubota Corp 1,687.50 0.51 1,941,500 London Legal & General Group Plc 279.20 -0.53 13,217,766 Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd 4,092.00 -1.68 2,635,000 priced in despite the mixed signals,” tions in Europe rose to their highest Lloyds Banking Group Plc 59.48 -0.44 135,181,569 Inpex Corp 1,020.50 -1.26 3,357,300 said Craig Erlam, market analyst at since 2009 in October. London Stock Exchange Group 6,896.00 0.82 436,135 Resona Holdings Inc 477.80 0.59 11,232,900 uropean stocks reversed course Oanda, London. “It’s just some con- Miners and industrials gained 0.4% Micro Focus International 1,041.60 -0.34 816,025 Fujifilm Holdings Corp 5,178.00 0.17 1,180,900 Marks & Spencer Group Plc 186.00 2.48 9,301,757 to close lower in a choppy ses- solidation of gains at this point as we each. Yamato Holdings Co Ltd 1,825.00 1.33 1,379,200 Mondi Plc 1,670.00 0.30 1,229,267 Esion yesterday as lack of clarity have had a very strong run.” Among individual movers, Halma Chubu Electric Power Co Inc 1,506.00 -0.23 1,823,100 Melrose Industries Plc 224.00 0.72 10,189,234 on the progress of trade talks between Strength in defensive plays like utili- Plc led gains on the STOXX 600 as well Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd 2,025.50 0.57 4,303,400 Wm Morrison Supermarkets 200.00 0.35 8,206,990 Washington and Beijing kept investors ties and telecoms that investors had as the FTSE 100 after the British safety Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 4,273.00 -1.25 1,011,400 National Grid Plc 898.80 -0.88 5,176,065 Sysmex Corp 7,764.00 1.89 609,200 from making bold bets. taken refuge in through the previous equipment maker posted upbeat fi rst- Nmc Health Plc 2,594.00 3.59 719,864 Shiseido Co Ltd 8,040.00 2.06 2,184,300 The pan-European STOXX 600 in- session, started to wear out with both half results. Next Plc 6,640.00 -1.28 227,497 Shionogi & Co Ltd 6,363.00 -0.09 668,400 dex rose 0.5% to its highest level since sectors down between 0.4% and 0.9%. A recent rally that has pushed the Ocado Group Plc 1,166.50 0.21 1,080,677 Terumo Corp 3,822.00 -1.19 1,144,100 Paddy Power Betfair Plc 0.00 0.00 - July 2015 in morning trade but pared The media sector was among the index to its four-year peak has been led Tokyo Gas Co Ltd 2,581.00 -0.04 1,003,200 Prudential Plc 1,318.50 1.27 4,429,355 gains to closer marginally lower track- weak spots due to a 23% slide for Lux- in part by positive cues on US-China Tokyo Electron Ltd 22,870.00 -1.25 966,800 Persimmon Plc 2,474.00 -1.51 1,313,917 ing Wall Street’s retreat from record emburg-based satellite provider SES trade talks and better-than-feared East Japan Railway Co 10,115.00 0.70 664,400 Pearson Plc 667.20 -0.66 1,661,055 highs in early US session. after the Federal Communications third quarter corporate results. Itochu Corp 2,420.50 0.10 2,431,500 Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc 5,923.00 0.14 748,937 Ana Holdings Inc 3,717.00 -0.75 547,200 Reports indicated on Monday that Commission chairman backed a pub- The STOXX 600 is about 2% away Royal Bank Of Scotland Group 222.70 -0.98 13,134,025 Mitsubishi Electric Corp 1,519.00 -0.52 3,287,400 Beijing was pessimistic about the lic, rather than private auction of spec- from reclaiming its all-time highs, hit Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs 2,286.00 -0.33 4,889,625 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr 4,015.00 0.58 3,380,600 prospects of sealing a trade pact with trum for next-generation 5G wireless last in April 2015. Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs 2,267.50 -0.37 3,763,146 Relx Plc 1,872.00 0.92 2,411,454 Washington sending markets in a tizzy. networks. However, analysts suggest cau- Rio Tinto Plc 4,214.50 1.15 2,358,895 Some relief however, came after the Macro-driven travel and leisure led tion as previously when the European Rightmove Plc 606.40 0.26 1,181,186 SENSEX Trump administration issued a new sub-sector gains were powered by a 5% benchmark surged in 2000, 2007 and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc 729.20 0.08 2,024,885 90-day extension allowing US com- jump in shares of Britain’s easyJet after 2015 to record levels above the 400 Rsa Insurance Group Plc 541.20 0.33 1,644,560 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume panies to continue doing business with it posted full-year profi t towards the points threshold, a signifi cant correc- Rentokil Initial Plc 445.30 0.84 3,497,853 Adani Ports And Special Econ 364.05 -0.44 2,758,083 China’s Huawei Technologies, whose top end of expectations. tion took place in the following several Sainsbury (J) Plc 212.30 1.29 9,000,550 Asian Paints Ltd 1,721.35 -1.01 1,187,377 Schroders Plc 3,252.00 1.34 282,732 blacklisting by Washington has been Automakers rebounded from their weeks. Axis Bank Ltd 747.80 3.44 14,424,251 Sage Group Plc/The 742.00 0.16 1,982,881 Bajaj Finance Ltd 4,135.75 -0.46 829,535 Segro Plc 868.00 -0.12 1,861,196 Bharti Airtel Ltd 439.35 7.37 62,786,851 Smurfit Kappa Group Plc 2,696.00 -1.17 366,099 Bharti Infratel Ltd 250.55 10.47 25,783,702 HONG KONG HONG KONG Standard Life Aberdeen Plc 314.60 1.32 5,935,058 Bajaj Auto Ltd 3,161.05 0.13 285,669 Ds Smith Plc 379.20 -0.97 2,916,283 Bajaj Finserv Ltd 9,152.80 0.53 237,653 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Smiths Group Plc 1,658.50 2.85 1,048,197 Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd 518.95 -0.54 3,549,931 Scottish Mortgage Inv Tr Plc 510.50 -0.29 1,856,363 Ck Hutchison Holdings Ltd 3,813,926 Cipla Ltd 472.10 2.50 5,080,106 73.15 4,833,053 Hong Kong & China Gas 15.18 12,788,640 16,050,778 Smith & Nephew Plc 1,663.00 -0.63 1,139,028 Hang Lung Properties Ltd 4,032,723 Coal India Ltd 199.60 -0.35 3,836,452 16.54 3,971,985 Bank Of Communications Co-H 5.28 13,414,716 12,429,279 Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc 8,550.00 2.58 162,224 Ck Infrastructure Holdings L 1,984,652 Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories 2,743.00 0.22 476,925 55.30 1,278,273 China Petroleum & Chemical-H 4.45 124,013,381 89,948,971 Sse Plc 1,316.00 -1.53 2,302,013 Hengan Intl Group Co Ltd 2,181,198 Eicher Motors Ltd 21,747.35 1.26 90,606 51.20 4,640,012 Hong Kong Exchanges & Clear 251.80 7,284,067 3,368,170 Standard Chartered Plc 696.60 -0.14 5,243,923 China Shenhua Energy Co-H 36,714,551 Gail India Ltd 125.10 0.24 7,848,669 15.26 20,867,189 Bank Of China Ltd-H 3.25 198,371,356 138,097,946 St James’s Place Plc 1,061.50 -0.61 1,477,645 Cspc Pharmaceutical Group Lt 54,950,983 Grasim Industries Ltd 786.15 2.16 3,857,258 21.30 46,338,899 Hsbc Holdings Plc 58.85 12,713,228 16,292,630 Severn Trent Plc 2,352.00 -0.42 513,008 Hang Seng Bank Ltd 2,276,579 Hcl Technologies Ltd 1,134.65 -0.57 1,182,510 163.80 1,784,547 Power Assets Holdings Ltd 55.45 2,613,009 2,651,767 Tesco Plc 235.10 -0.08 13,727,103 China Resources Land Ltd 14,502,365 Housing Development Finance 2,212.10 -1.08 2,916,866 34.25 11,599,869 Mtr Corp 43.85 3,474,556 2,979,948 Tui Ag-Di 1,062.50 0.90 966,292 Ck Asset Holdings Ltd 7,310,309 Hdfc Bank Limited 1,271.90 0.78 5,285,289 53.90 3,846,301 China Overseas Land & Invest 26.50 7,110,118 10,930,473 Taylor Wimpey Plc 173.95 -0.26 10,291,195 Sino Biopharmaceutical 42,360,258 Hero Motocorp Ltd 2,468.95 -1.36 1,011,599 11.68 30,745,353 Tencent Holdings Ltd 336.60 24,637,015 25,786,661 Unilever Plc 4,557.50 -0.21 1,231,367 Henderson Land Development 5,058,590 Hindalco Industries Ltd 192.35 -0.65 3,476,640 38.25 3,049,889 China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd 7.38 44,367,504 20,043,661 United Utilities Group Plc 877.20 -1.04 1,473,516 Aia Group Ltd 24,966,164 Hindustan Petroleum Corp 290.20 0.02 2,036,661 79.50 21,106,315 Link Reit 81.60 7,394,923 5,644,051 Vodafone Group Plc 153.24 0.74 54,241,477 Ind & Comm Bk Of China-H 177,949,708 Hindustan Unilever Ltd 2,037.75 -0.90 1,413,218 5.80 172,951,011 Sino Land Co 11.66 4,913,807 4,434,435 John Wood Group Plc 351.30 -1.84 2,468,475 Want Want China Holdings Ltd 28,876,795 Icici Bank Ltd 493.50 -0.97 27,939,336 6.68 11,837,762 China Resources Power Holdin 10.14 2,377,245 4,314,160 Wpp Plc 978.40 0.37 1,689,839 Sun Hung Kai Properties 12,109,708 Indiabulls Housing Finance L 212.70 1.92 28,626,369 110.80 5,455,850 Petrochina Co Ltd-H 3.72 59,310,231 69,721,639 Whitbread Plc 4,437.00 -0.74 382,218 New World Development 18,865,417 Indusind Bank Ltd 1,392.75 1.34 4,880,427 10.78 21,716,118 Cnooc Ltd 12.02 47,368,410 39,660,446 Geely Automobile Holdings Lt 25,597,323 Infosys Ltd 712.85 1.08 6,495,885 15.46 46,811,221 China Construction Bank-H 6.42 288,730,98 377,764,329 Swire Pacific Ltd - Cl A 2,542,250 Indian Oil Corp Ltd 133.00 0.34 5,956,180 70.15 2,470,856 China Mobile Ltd 62.20 11,504,340 10,244,870 Sands China Ltd 14,462,721 Itc Ltd 249.30 -0.58 12,152,981 38.30 13,440,200 TOKYO Wharf Real Estate Investment 3,710,355 Jsw Steel Ltd 247.90 -0.68 4,461,546 44.55 3,026,907 Clp Holdings Ltd 2,933,221 Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd 1,623.80 -0.21 1,596,482 81.35 1,954,733 Country Garden Holdings Co 18,937,808 Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume Larsen & Toubro Ltd 1,365.75 0.09 2,396,206 11.18 14,842,538 Aac Technologies Holdings In 22,124,433 Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd 560.65 -2.27 3,208,662 56.50 13,433,436 GCC INDICES Japan Airlines Co Ltd 3,320.00 -0.39 1,229,500 Shenzhou International Group 1,798,799 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd 7,045.45 -0.75 755,114 107.00 1,698,476 Indices Lt Price Change Recruit Holdings Co Ltd 3,879.00 0.15 5,713,100 Ping An Insurance Group Co-H 19,134,365 Ntpc Ltd 117.35 -0.09 7,577,320 92.35 17,074,126 Softbank Corp 1,494.00 -0.60 4,499,700 China Mengniu Dairy Co 30.00 7,420,856 8,752,866 Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd 133.25 -0.49 5,821,375 Doha Securities Market 10,340.45 +43.81 Kyocera Corp 7,039.00 -0.89 596,100 Sunny Optical Tech 6,407,288 Power Grid Corp Of India Ltd 195.45 2.52 12,498,147 129.80 3,149,918 Nissan Motor Co Ltd 680.30 -0.06 8,395,700 Boc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd 27.10 8,818,497 9,614,195 Reliance Industries Ltd 1,509.75 3.46 13,795,569 Kuwait Stocks Exchange 4,720.84 +8.56 T&D Holdings Inc 1,319.00 -0.08 1,790,000 China Life Insurance Co-H 31,083,739 State Bank Of India 330.40 1.63 41,372,145 20.95 28,827,021 Toyota Motor Corp 7,754.00 -1.05 4,246,900 Citic Ltd 10.26 8,687,060 9,739,207 Sun Pharmaceutical Indus 425.90 0.32 4,163,853 Oman Stock Market 4,087.10 +1.17 Kddi Corp 3,167.00 -1.40 6,552,600 Galaxy Entertainment Group L 11,817,607 Tata Steel Ltd 401.75 -2.02 14,265,083 53.65 8,067,622 Nitto Denko Corp 6,180.00 -0.80 498,800 Wh Group Ltd 8.58 44,731,679 28,664,320 Hitachi Ltd 4,093.00 -0.53 1,775,600 Tata Consultancy Svcs Ltd 2,108.80 -2.03 2,975,313 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 4,562.00 1.18 7,828,200 Tech Mahindra Ltd 763.15 1.51 2,725,437 Jfe Holdings Inc 1,300.00 -0.23 2,184,000 Titan Co Ltd 1,163.20 0.38 1,109,428 Sumitomo Corp 1,671.50 -0.24 2,673,600 Tata Motors Ltd 167.75 -1.38 19,599,195 Canon Inc 3,023.00 -0.26 2,055,000 Upl Ltd 551.25 0.41 4,602,774 “Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The Eisai Co Ltd 7,686.00 3.31 2,121,000 Ultratech Cement Ltd 4,100.15 -0.63 561,897 accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended Nintendo Co Ltd 42,330.00 0.62 958,300 Vedanta Ltd 141.70 -1.19 11,847,416 as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd 11,725.00 -2.82 1,303,900 Wipro Ltd 250.40 0.38 2,030,656 or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on Mitsubishi Corp 2,850.00 -0.12 2,592,600 Yes Bank Ltd 64.15 -2.58 239,228,500 this data.” Smc Corp 48,440.00 -2.87 336,100 Zee Entertainment Enterprise 285.85 -2.82 11,267,424 Gulf Times Wednesday, November 20, 2019 11 BUSINESS SEB says it ended business with most clients named in report

Bloomberg terminated while the remaining clients the money laundering scandal that’s Baltic country’s financial supervisor had activities have been detected, the by criminals to launder money, he can’t Stockholm meet the bank’s screening criteria, SEB enveloped Nordic peers Danske Bank reprimanded the bank back in 2006 for bank has reported them to relevant rule out there have been incidences. said. The shares rose as much as 3% and Swedbank were stoked on Friday its handling of non-resident customers, authorities. A few clients still have The bank reiterated that statement and were up 0.9% as of 10:08am in when SEB said SVT’s program Uppdrag leading SEB to tighten its monitoring engagements with SEB, it said. yesterday and said it’s stepped up its SEB AB said it’s terminated business Stockholm. Granskning contacted it in connection and terminate “several customer “Those remaining customers meet the investments against financial crime. with the vast majority of customers “SEB has compared the names with with an upcoming report about relations.” bank’s criteria, and with the information “Although SEB historically has lived up identified by Swedish public the bank’s internal analysis, which has suspected laundering in the Baltics. “This morning’s press release was that SEB has about the customers to the regulatory requirements, we can broadcaster SVT in an investigative served as the basis for the assessment That sent SEB shares down 12% on the reassuring,” Sean George, CIO of today, there has been no reason to with today’s knowledge conclude that piece on money laundering. and the comments that the bank has day. A similar investigation by SVT into Strukturinvest Fondkommission, which terminate the customer relations,” the neither regulations nor the banking The bank has compared the 194 made concerning the Baltic operations,” Swedbank earlier this year had led to owns SEB’s CoCo bonds through its bank said. “SEB works continuously to system’s ability have been suff iciently names provided by SVT with its own it said. The names “are, in all material the departure of its top management Hamiltonian GCO hedge fund, said in an make sure that SEB’s customers live up eff icient to handle risks of money analysis and found that the clients had respects, covered by the bank’s own and multiple probes. email. “We fully expect the new issue to the bank’s requirements.” laundering before 2008,” SEB said. “previously been handled,” the bank analysis and do not change the bank’s SEB said yesterday that the majority of AT1’s that we own to migrate back to Chief executive off icer Johan Torgeby “Since then, SEB’s ability to prevent, said in a statement yesterday. About fundamental assessment.” the names on the list were “historical par.” has said that while the bank has no detect and report suspected financial 95% of the accounts have already been Worries that SEB would be dragged into customer relations from Estonia.” The The bank said that when suspected evidence that it was systematically used crime increased over time.”

Aroundtown agrees to buy Frankfurt offi ce of ABN Amro TLG Immobilien in $3.4bn deal raided over cum-ex tax scandal Bloomberg Berlin

Bloomberg ecessor of ABN AMRO, Fortis Berlin Bank (the Netherlands) N.V., ABN Aroundtown SA agreed to buy TLG AMRO and some former subsidi- Immobilien AG for €3.1bn ($3.4bn) in aries have been directly or indi- stock to create Germany’s biggest BN Amro NV became the rectly involved in a number of commercial landlord. latest bank to have its of- these transactions.” The deal values TLG shares at €27.66 Afi ces raided by German au- Running until 2011, the banks each, 3.2% more than Monday’s closing thorities over a widening tax scan- involved in off ering the contro- price, Luxembourg-based Aroundtown dal, adding to the lender’s woes versial strategy helped investors said in a statement. A tie-up would after it was recently the subject of exploit a loophole on dividend create a company with more than a money-laundering probe in the payments, allowing multiple par- €25bn of assets, bringing together the Netherlands. ties to claim the same tax refund, deal-making acumen of Aroundtown ABN Amro’s Frankfurt unit was according to authorities. Lawmak- with the development expertise and searched yesterday as part of a ers say the deals eventually cost prized Berlin portfolio of TLG. sweeping raid carried out by about the government 10bn euros in lost Key advantages of the merger will 100 German law enforcement of- revenue. include cost savings, the execution of fi cials, according to prosecutors ABN Amro’s share price a “decent” development pipeline and and a spokesman for the bank. dropped as much 0.5% on the the firm’s size as a listed company, The offi cers searched more than a news before reversing losses. It “which could lead to the possibility of dozen private homes and offi ces in was up 0.1% at 2:11pm local time. becoming a DAX candidate,” Baader Germany along with a home in the The lender’s stock has fallen 21% Bank AG analyst Andre Remke wrote in Netherlands, Frankfurt prosecu- this year, making it the third- a note to clients Tuesday. tors said. worst performer in the Euro Stoxx Intense competition for assets has ABN Amro joins a long list of Banks index. pushed German commercial real estate companies whose offi ces have German Finance Minister Olaf prices to record highs, prompting been raided over the scandal in- Scholz is now setting up a task public landlords to turn to mergers cluding BlackRock Inc, Com- force fi ghting tax fraud in re- and acquisitions as a route to growth. merzbank AG, Deutsche Bank sponse to the scandal. The unit’s The country is set to surpass the UK as AG, Deutsche Boerse AG, M.M. main responsibilities will be to Europe’s most active property market, Warburg and the law fi rm Fresh- help local authorities coordinate as investors bet the region’s traditional fi elds. The tax probe focuses on a federal eff orts and help agencies growth engine will bounce back from its strategy known as “Cum-Ex” has with open cases such as the Cum- current economic malaise. ensnared dozens of banks and fi n- Ex probes. “The transaction with Aroundtown anciers. ABN Amro in September dis- is a unique opportunity for TLG to “The German authorities have closed a criminal probe by Dutch strengthen our presence in key cities been investigating stock transac- prosecutors over alleged failures in Germany as well as access new tions of a large number of fi nan- to check on clients and report sus- markets,” TLG said in the statement. The cial institutions for several years. picious transactions, prompting firm will be able to “attain a financial These transactions were carried shares of the state-controlled bank The company logo sits on the exterior of the headquarters of ABN Amro Group in Amsterdam. ABN Amro’s Frankfurt unit profile that would have been hard to out before 2012,” ABN Amro said to slump the most on the day since was searched yesterday as part of a sweeping raid carried out by about 100 German law enforcement off icials, according to achieve on our own.” on its web site. “The legal pred- its 2015 initial public off ering. prosecutors and a spokesman for the bank. The deal will enable the firms to exploit more of the potential development opportunities in TLG’s Berlin-heavy portfolio without saddling the company with excessive debt, TLG chief financial Medicines Co is said to attract suitors including Novartis off icer Gerald Klinck said in an interview last month. The German capital has one of the Bloomberg reached, the people said. Shares of Medicines Co spun off the Alcon Inc eye-care division and the US in the fourth quarter and in Europe in lowest off ice vacancies and fastest New York have more than tripled in New York trading this ditched a stake in a consumer-health venture. the first quarter of 2020. The data bolstered growing rents in Europe. It’s on track for year, giving it a market value of about $4.7bn. Medicines Co’s injectable drug inclisiran the treatment’s prospects to compete with a vacancy rate of just 1.8% by the end The stock surged 23% in trading before cleared a key hurdle this summer as a late- older therapies from Amgen Inc and partners of the year, according to broker Jones Medicines Co, the developer of a promising US exchanges opened. Novartis showed stage study showed it cut bad cholesterol Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Incand Sanofi. Lang LaSalle Inc, spurring landlords cholesterol drug, has attracted takeover little change in Zurich, rising less than 1% levels in half over 18 months. High levels of Two years ago, Medicines Co announced with older buildings to push ahead with interest from suitors including Novartis AG, to 89.67 Swiss francs, valuing the company the substance are a leading cause of heart it would lay off most of its workers as it redevelopment plans and seek higher people familiar with the matter said. at 227bn francs ($229bn). Representatives attacks. restructured to focus on developing inclisiran. rents. Novartis has been holding talks about a for Medicines Co and Novartis declined to “Novartis currently has a rapidly growing At Novartis, the medicine would join a TLG climbed 2.8% to €27.55 at potential acquisition of Parsippany, New comment. heart failure drug, so the addition of stable of therapies that includes Entresto, a 11:10am yesterday in Frankfurt, while Jersey-based Medicines Co, according to the Novartis chief executive off icer Vas another cardiovascular medicine would fit,” treatment for heart failure. Aroundtown was little changed. The people. The Swiss drug maker is conducting Narasimhan has relied on deals to sharpen said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sam Novartis is betting on cutting-edge drugs, merger talks started in September. due diligence on the company, one of the the company’s focus on innovative drugs Fazeli. rolling out products like gene therapy Ouram Holding SA, TLG’s largest people said, asking not to be identified for cancer and rare diseases. The Basel, The company said on Monday that the Zolgensma aimed at a devastating muscle shareholder with a 28% stake, has because the information is private. Switzerland-based company has announced treatment achieved all of its goals in the latest disease. The company gained Zolgensma by accepted the bid. The combined Other potential acquirers have also expressed close to $16bn of acquisitions since he took study, showing durable and potent results acquiring drugmaker AveXis Inc for $8.7bn in company will be renamed, but continue interest in a purchase of Medicines Co, and over as CEO in February 2018, according to in lowering patients’ cholesterol. Medicines 2018. Last year, it also bought Endocyte Inc to have its German headquarters in there’s no certainty an agreement will be data compiled by Bloomberg. He has also Co plans to submit the drug to regulators in for $2.1bn. Berlin.

New face of Boeing jets Stanley Deal tries to win back 737 MAX buyers

Bloomberg years leading sales and services at General like McAllister, who was ousted October prompt a megamerger between United to evaluate us in the same way. Southwest Chicago Electric Co’s aviation division before join- 22 after a tense boardroom session. “The Technologies Corp and Raytheon Co. Airlines Co CEO Gary Kelly, typically loath ing Boeing in 2017. good news is he’s very much the right Before that, he was a close adviser to to badmouth partners, has questioned the The new leader made his trade-expo debut person for the job,” said Richard Aboulafia, Ray Conner, McAllister’s predecessor at way Boeing treated McAllister. The pilots Days after Stanley Deal took the helm of as chief of Boeing’s $61bn jetliner business a consultant at Teal Group. “The problem Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Deal’s roles union for Southwest is suing Boeing for lost Boeing Co’s jetliner business last month, on Saturday, fielding questions from report- is that if things go wrong, it could still po- overseeing suppliers and then customer pay. The carrier, the largest MAX customer he was winging across the globe to meet ers about the MAX and the planned 777x tentially have a bad outcome, especially if services didn’t give him a prominent role and operator of an all-737 fleet, has said with the airline bosses most shaken by wide-body, which has been hit by delays. folks at the top are determined to insulate as the 737 MAX was developed. it will explore adding Airbus models — a the deadly crashes that have plunged the He struck a contrite tone, apologising to themselves with another purge.” Now he’s trying to repair customer relation- move also endorsed by pilots. manufacturer into crisis. families of crash victims and pledging to Deal was a contender for the top post ships shaken by the MAX as Boeing faces “Boeing will never, and should not ever, Deal spent the October 29 anniversary work through issues created for suppli- at the jetliner division in 2016 when billions of dollars in reimbursement claims be given the benefit of the doubt again,” of the first of two 737 MAX crashes with ers and customers — including financial Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg turned from airlines and lessors. With MAX-related Jon Weaks, head of Southwest’s aviators Rusdi Kirana, founder of Indonesia’s Lion impacts — by the MAX’s unprecedented to McAllister, the first outsider to run the costs at $9bn and rising at Boeing, the plane- union, wrote in a November 13 letter to Air. And Deal apologised in person to global flying ban, which is now entering its company’s biggest business. The fit was maker can’t be overly generous to custom- members. Ethiopian Airlines chief executive off icer Deal: Humbling first week. ninth month. awkward at times for the GE veteran, who ers. But employing bare-knuckle negotiating Kirana, Lion Air’s founder, was enraged Tewolde GebreMariam in Addis Ababa, “We continue to work diligently around had never run an operation the size of tactics risks driving more of them to Airbus. after Boeing issued a lengthy statement the site of the second disaster. The ac- shaping how Boeing emerges from a long the changes necessary to the airplane,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Deal wouldn’t comment on the potential last year highlighting the budget carrier’s cidents killed 346 people, prompting a nightmare that has shaken confidence in Deal said. “We’re interacting daily with the “It’s just a hard place to come into as an for tightened regulatory scrutiny to drag miscues flagged in a preliminary report worldwide grounding of the MAX and its most important product and disrupted FAA, but also regulators around the globe, outsider,” said consultant Michaels, author out the larger plane’s certification in the on the 2018 crash. Lion, the third-largest raising troubling questions about Boe- operations for dozens of airlines. and we continue to make progress.” of “Aerodynamic: Inside the High-Stakes wake of the MAX crisis. MAX customer, publicly threatened to ing’s design and testing of new aircraft. “Customer skills are going to be critical as Deal has already jumped into the mael- Global Jetliner Ecosystem.” “Long term the 777X’s value remains scrap hundreds of orders. Kirana privately “It has been a humbling and inspiring Boeing works with the airlines to bring the strom around the jet. The regulatory McAllister had never sought the spotlight, intact,” Deal said. hurled expletives at Muilenburg, Bloomb- first week at Commercial Airplanes,” aircraft back into service,” said aerospace environment is tense, with the US Federal and he shunned it after the crashes, break- Elsewhere, the chorus of complaints about erg News reported earlier this year. Deal wrote to employees in a Novemer 1 consultant Kevin Michaels. Deal is the rare Aviation Administration under pressure for ing with precedent. Muilenburg bore the Boeing is growing louder. Ed Sims, CEO Ahead of a luncheon meeting with Deal memo seen by Bloomberg. “The past few senior aerospace leader with “emotional having certified the plane and members of brunt of questions and criticisms, while of Canada’s WestJet Airlines Ltd, recently and a teary gathering with crash victims’ days have also been filled with emotion intelligence,” he added. Congress continuing to flay Boeing after senior engineers fielded technical queries. criticised Boeing’s overly optimistic esti- relatives last month, the Lion Air boss and a heavy heart.” Deal, previously known to suppliers for his tumultuous hearings last month. Squeezing Suppliers mates of when the revamped MAX would brushed off a question about whether Trying to make amends isn’t just good eff orts to handle some of their business The crisis has thrown the company’s Deal, in his previous job as head of Boeing be cleared to fly and its slowness in ac- Boeing was taking steps to compensate customer relations for Deal, a genial in house at Boeing, will see his people product strategy into disarray while Airbus Global Services, helped meld a sprawling knowledging its own lapses. “I would grade the carrier. It’s too early for commercial aerospace engineer who worked his skills put to the test. His next task is to SE racks up sales in the crucial market for collection of product off erings into a division it no higher than a B,” Sims said of Boeing’s discussions, said Kirana. way up the ranks at Boeing and the rival soothe airlines and lessors dismayed at workhorse single-aisle jets. And if Boeing’s with $17bn in sales. That meant wresting outreach, speaking to BNN Bloomberg. “I Deal described the encounter in his later it acquired in 1997, McDonnell Douglas the abrupt exit of his predecessor, Kevin plight worsens — a plausible scenario — high-margin sales from suppliers, which expect A-plus service from every supplier memo to Boeing staff : “I also appreciated Corp His outreach will play a key role in McAllister. He was well-regarded for his Deal could end up shouldering the blame roiled longstanding relationships and helped to WestJet, just as we expect our customers our conversations about the road ahead.” Wednesday, November 20, 2019 GULF TIMES BUSINESS

Across the board buying lifts Qatar Stock Exchange above 10,300 levels

By Santhosh V Perumal 0.4% year-to-date. Market capitalisation insurance (0.5%), banks and financial to the tune of QR3.73mn against net compared to QR33.19mn on Monday. 1.65mn equities, 42% in value to Business Reporter saw more than QR1bn or 0.25% jump to services (0.31%), industrials (0.28%), sellers of QR5.63mn on November 18. Total trade volume fell 21% to 56.97mn QR5.12mn and 57% in transactions to QR570.03bn mainly owing to microcap telecom (0.22%), real estate (0.18%) and Domestic funds’ net profit booking shares, value by 23% to QR202.75mn 133. segments. consumer goods (0.15%). declined noticeably to QR24.47mn and transactions by 31% to 4,987. The real estate sector’s trade volume An across the board buying, Islamic equities were seen gaining Major gainers included Nakilat, Qatar compared to QR27.82mn the previous The telecom sector’s trade volume declined 13% to 8.97mn stocks, value particularly within transport and slower than the other indices on the Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Qatar day. plummeted 55% to 5.9mn equities, by 31% to QR9.47mn and deals by 40% insurance counters, yesterday lifted market, where local retail investors Electricity and Water, Industries Qatar, Non-Qatari individuals’ net selling value by 45% to QR12.58mn and deals to 263. the Qatar Stock Exchange above were increasingly net profit takers. Ooredoo, Qatar General Insurance weakened marginally to QR0.14mn by 47% to 493. The insurance sector saw 5% fall in 10,300 levels. Trade turnover and volumes were and Reinsurance and Barwa; whereas against QR0.34mn on Monday. The industrials’ sector reported 53% trade volume to 1.55mn shares, 3% The bullish outlook of Gulf funds on the decline in the bourse, where QIIB, Dlala, Qatari German Company However, local retail investors’ net plunge in trade volume to 8.83mn in value to QR4.09mn and 30% in and weakened net selling by their banking sector alone accounted for for Medical Devices, Qatar National selling grew perceptibly to QR2.88mn stocks, 50% in value to QR18.26mn and transactions to 144. domestic counterparts led the about 49% of the total volume. Cement, Salam International compared to QR1.26mn on November 42% in transactions to 888. However, the banks and financial 20-stock index settle 0.43% higher at The Total Return Index rose 0.43% to Investment, Qatari Investors Group, 18. The consumer goods sector’s trade services sector’s trade volume soared 10,340.45 points, amidst weakened 19,027.31 points, All Share Index by 0.3% Gulf International Services, Qatar The Gulf individuals were net sellers volume tanked 47% to 2.16mn shares, 27% to 27.91mn equities, while value trading. to 3,049.1 points and Al Rayan Islamic Islamic Insurance, Ezdan and to the extent of QR1.36mn against net value by 35% to QR18.59mn and deals was down 8% to QR134.63mn and deals Foreign institutions continued to be net Index (Price) by 0.17% to 2,325.04 Vodafone Qatar were among the buyers of QR1.91mn the previous day. by 51% to 468. by 9% to 2,598. buyers but with lesser intensity on the points. losers. Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying There was 32% shrinkage in the In the debt market, there was no trading market, whose key benchmark is up The transport index gained 0.58%, The Gulf institutions turned net buyers declined substantially to QR25.12mn transport sector’s trade volume to of treasury bills and sovereign bonds. Ooredoo sees strong

demand for innovative The QFC legal team was presented with the ‘Legal Department of the Year – Large Team’ award, and in further acknowledgement of the legal expertise at QFC, its senior legal counsel, Lauren Djedid, was also named ‘Legal Counsel of the Year’. QFC legal team honoured ICT solutions at annual Qatar Business

oredoo announced yes- Business Collaboration Solution, Law Forum and Awards terday that it is seeing which enables organisations to Ostrong demand on its benefi t from high-quality video The Qatar Financial Centre’s Commerce and Industry, Qatar portfolio of ICT solutions that conferencing, instant messag- (QFC) legal team was recognised University’s College of Law, Qa- can advance the digital trans- ing, and intelligent voicemail for at the recently held fourth an- tar Chamber, the Association of formation of Qatar’s organisa- enhanced employee effi ciency, nual Qatar Business Law Forum Corporate Counsel (ACC) — Mid- tions. among additional features. and Awards. dle East Chapter, and the Qatar Ooredoo has received strong Al-Kubaisi added: “We’re The QFC legal team was pre- International Court and Dispute feedback from its business cus- providing organisations with an sented with the ‘Legal Depart- Resolution Centre. tomers across its ICT product unbeatable combination of ICT ment of the Year – Large Team’ “The awards are a testament to platforms: IoT, data centre and solutions based on global plat- award, and in further acknowl- the world-class expertise of our cloud services, managed secu- forms and supported by top glo- edgement of the legal expertise legal team, and the instrumen- rity services, and collaboration. “Thanks to our fully digitised agement, Connecting Things, is on-hand for 24/7 support for bal partners. Real-life use cases at QFC, its senior legal counsel, tal role it plays in making the These ICT solutions leverage ICT portfolio, organisations Smart Waste Management, and organisations. can drive digital transformation Lauren Djedid, was also named QFC an attractive platform for Ooredoo’s industry-leading Su- can enhance their services, and Industrial Metering. Organisations adopting man- with new business models and ‘Legal Counsel of the Year’. businesses to grow in line with pernet, including ultra-fast 5G transform their customer expe- The data centre and cloud aged security services can lever- generate new digital revenue. Djedid, in particular, was praised Qatar’s long-term economic ob- mobile network services, supe- riences. As Qatar’s leading ICT services portfolio includes a age a team of security experts to Ooredoo continues to be Qatar’s for developing an ultimate ben- jectives,” said Yousuf Mohamed rior fi bre footprint and broad- provider, we are supporting Qa- wide range of solutions, such manage the solutions, including ICT market leader and a trusted eficial ownership regime at the al-Jaida, QFC Authority (QFCA) band access, and a wide range tar National Vision 2030’s eco- as colocation, infrastructure as Security Operations Centre, se- and recognised ICT partner for QFC, the first of its kind in Qatar, chief executive. of new and enhanced business nomic transformation goals.” a service, cloud backup, man- curity monitoring and advanced organisations of all sizes and in- resulting in higher standards of The reputation of the team is connectivity solutions. Ooredoo’s IoT portfolio can aged software services, disaster security services, Distributed dustry verticals to transform.” transparency in the global fight evident from the positive client Ooredoo Qatar chief op- provide its business customers recovery, Azure Stack Public Denial of Service (DDoS) pro- Business customers can lever- against money laundering and feedback received by the team, erations offi cer Yousuf Abdulla with the tools that they need to Cloud, and WallPost ERP. tection, cloud, web, and email age the Ooredoo Advantage, mak- terrorism financing, increasing Nasser al-Taweel, chief legal al-Kubaisi said: “We are see- enhance performance and op- Organisations can rest as- security, and Web Application ing Ooredoo “Best for Business”, awareness of the QFC, amongst off icer, QFCA said, adding these ing strong demand for our wide erational effi ciency, track as- sured that these advanced solu- Firewall. thanks to its breadth and depth international peers. accolades will continue to en- range of complete ICT solu- sets, and optimise costs. Among tions are off ered locally on Oore- As organisations switch from of talent, best fi xed and mobile The event was hosted by courage the high standards and tions, which can enable Qatar’s the numerous solutions in our doo’s Tier 3-certifi ed Qatar Data capex to opex business models, networks, broadest portfolio of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, in technical acumen demonstrated organisations to thrive in the IoT portfolio are IoT Connect, Centre, with data remaining in Ooredoo’s collaboration port- ICT services and solutions, and partnership with the Ministry of by the QFC legal team. digital world. Fleet Management, Asset Man- Qatar. Ooredoo’s team of experts folio is led by the cloud-based trusted partner for 60 years.

The ‘Turkey-Qatar Trade and Investment Opportunities’ seminar in Istanbul was attended by more than 90 executives from Turkey-based businesses. KPMG in Qatar launches ‘Turkish desk’; holds investment seminar in Istanbul

In response to the growing number of businesses in the region through our financial centre and free operating between Turkey and Qatar, KPMG in Qatar zones. Turkish companies can now easily benefit recently launched its ‘Turkish desk’ to provide tai- from the investment friendly policies. We are proud lored services to clients from both the countries. to see an increase in the number of Turkish compa- Last week, they held their first major event in nies operating in our country.” Istanbul. Barbara Henzen, partner and head (Tax & Corporate The ‘Turkey-Qatar Trade and Investment Opportuni- Services) at KPMG Qatar, said, “New regulations have ties’ seminar took place at Fairmont Quasar Hotel in made it possible to establish a company in Qatar Istanbul, and covered a number of topics relating to with 100% foreign capital, which is an advantage for the ease of doing business in Qatar as well as the op- investors. portunities for Qatari companies investing in Turkey. “Qatar continues to off er attractive opportunities for “Qatar’s economy has a stable growth and with many sectors, with targets set in line with their 2030 its world-class infrastructure and human capital vision. In particular, the companies operating in the Dignitaries from Barwa Real Estate Group and Al Bader Construction and Steel Works at the project site. development, it continues to off er new opportunities construction, technology and manufacturing sectors to investors,” said Venkat Krishnaswamy, advisory are off ered various investment opportunities. Turkish partner at KPMG Qatar. companies will certainly keep Qatar on their radar.” Al Khor Recreation Extension project achieves Fahad al-Kuwari, Middle East & Tukey Market head at The seminar was attended by more than 90 execu- Qatar Free Zones Authority, who attended the semi- tives from Turkey-based businesses that are inter- nar representing the Qatari businesses perspective, ested to invest or expand to Qatar and to strengthen 3.2mn safe man hours without lost time injury commented, “We have established strong business their own businesses by finding new and innovative partnerships and relationships with many countries suppliers and partnerships. Barwa Real Estate Group, the developer of Al Bader chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed as all the necessary services such as Al Khor Recreation Extension project; and al-Emadi said, “We have invested great water, electricity, sewerage, irrigation, Al Bader Construction and Steel Works, time and resources to create awareness communications, surveillance cameras, the project’s contractor; have recently around safety and security among the parking lots, and pump rooms with water, completed 3.2mn safe man hours without teams working in our projects, which has fire and gas tanks. HSBC holds ‘Economist Roadshow’ in Qatar lost time injury. its positive impact when it comes to saving Barwa said the project focuses on Both the companies have celebrated lives and avoiding the wasted resources as elevating the standard of living of More than 200 clients and shocks, and is well-placed to deal drivers of the foreign exchange this high standard of safety and security well.” workers in Al Khor City, offering them partners attended the ‘2019 HSBC with oil price weakness. We ex- markets.” measures applied throughout the project Al-Mohannadi, along with projects integrated recreational and sports Economist Roadshow’ held in pect growth to slow, however, and Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, CEO, phases, Barwa said in a statement. managers of Barwa Real Estate, conducted facilities that serve residents there. The Doha yesterday. as domestic demand weakens, ex- HSBC in Qatar said, “It is always Engineer Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi, a tour to check the facilities of Al Khor Al Khor Recreation Extension project is Simon Williams, HSBC’s chief cesses in the economy will weigh a highlight to receive our econo- vice chairman & managing director Recreation Extension project, which is part of Al Khor Workers Sports Complex, economist (Central & Eastern on asset prices and sentiment.” mists in Doha for the Economist of Barwa, said: “We are pleased to be located in Al Khor Industrial Area and built which opened its doors to workers in Europe, Middle East and Africa Bloom discussed the impact of a Roadshow, which has featured on celebrating such an achievement in the on a 69,757sq m area, which off ers 516 2014, aiming to serve more than 160,000 - CEEMEA), and David Bloom weaker global economy on major our annual events calendar for safety and security standards being residential units with a total construction workers in Al Khor, Al Dhakira, and HSBC’s Global head (FX Research) currencies around the world, com- more than two decades. David implemented within Barwa real estate area of 53,639sq m. surrounding areas. made presentations to the at- menting, “The dollar is still king, but and Simon once again shared developments and within Al Khor Recreation In addition, the project has a hypermarket, The project is built on a 245,000sq m tendees. we are living in a new world order. thought-provoking content that Extension project precisely. Barwa teams which covers 8,000sq m and a multi-use area, including four football courts, four Williams explored the economic The rules are changing and the is very valuable in shaping our along with Al Bader Construction and Steel hall of up to 300sq m. The infrastructure basketball courts, three volleyball courts, prospects for the Middle East, way we look at markets has to be thoughts about the macro eco- Works have proved their competence and works of the project off er one electrical and three kabaddi stadiums, in addition to saying, “Qatar has fully ad- reformed as well. Trade relation- nomic outlook. We look forward achieved a milestone.” substation and internal roads, as well 35 shops. justed to the region’s geopolitical ships and politics are now the big to their return again next year.”