SLOWER PACE | Page 4 Fed shift ing to more cautious rate path Sunday, December 9, 2018 Rabia II 2, 1440 AH OPEN FORUM FOR EMPLOYEES : Page 20 Qatargas holds 1st GULF TIMES post-integration BUSINESS Town Hall session Industry development off ers many ‘opportunities to Qataris, residents’ By Peter Alagos continued thrust on off ering qual- training programme as an incubator Business Reporter ity education to youngsters has for the next generation of business tremendously helped in retaining leaders and decision-makers in Qatari talent to the land of oppor- Qatar’s emerging fi nancial services atar is strategically invest- tunities. The fact that Qatari econ- industry. ing “massive resources” to omy is witnessing boost from all the Moreover, the Qatar Institute for Qdevelop all its industries as a quarters has also substantiated this Public Finance (QIPF) is a Mena- key source of “opportunities esca- very situation,” he continued. wide initiative aimed at actively lation” for all its citizens and resi- Al-Horr stressed that “‘brain tackling knowledge gaps and shar- dents as the country strives to build drain’ is not an issue in Qatar.” Nev- ing expertise and best practice in a knowledge-based economy, Qa- ertheless, the QFBA has designed the public fi nance fi eld, al-Horr tar Finance and Business Academy its curriculum in such a way that it noted. CEO Dr Khalid al-Horr has said. prepares the youth to take right de- “Expanding our reach to include “Qatar recognises that a highly- cisions and paves the way for their higher education platforms, we skilled human capital is the foun- growth in Qatar specifi cally, he have joined forces with Northum- dation by which steady growth can stressed. bria University Newcastle to off er be attained. In order to support this “Our various programmes are Qataris and residents of Qatar the growth, we have been making ef- designed around the critical issues unique opportunity of enrolling in forts to raise the fi nancial services facing the business environment specialised international business industry standards and help organ- today and into the future,” al-Horr degrees from Northumbria. isations and professionals achieve emphasised. “Bringing Northumbria Univer- their learning and business objec- Al-Horr pointed out that the sity on board, alongside our spe- tives, thus aligned with Qatar 2030 QFBA’s programmes address the cialised programmes, provide us vision,” al-Horr told Gulf Times. challenges and opportunities for a great impetus to strengthen the “While there is no denying the professionals in the fi nancial serv- fi nancial development and educa- fact that immigration of highly- ices industry. Additionally, QFBA tion landscape of Qatar and make trained or qualifi ed people has has partnered with the Qatar Fi- youngsters future-ready to invest become a growing global concern nancial Centre Authority to launch in a better future for Qatar,” al-Horr today, but the Qatari government’s ‘Kawader’ – the academy’s unique added. Al-Horr: Focus on highly-skilled human capital. Gulf Times 2 Sunday, December 9, 2018 BUSINESS QNB Group strategy conference dwells on expansion plans NB Group has recently held its ‘Strategy Confer- ence’ in Qatar with the attendance of its execu- Qtive management, general managers, and CEOs from across the group’s international network. During the two-day event, the attendees discussed a number of major topics, including the group’s busi- ness plans, remarkable performance, and the progress achieved throughout the year. Additionally, the conference also discoursed strategies to be implemented across the group’s international net- work to increase and sustain growth to achieve its vision of becoming a leading bank in the Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia by 2020. The conference showcased the group’s key strategic priorities, as well as the identifi cation of potential op- portunities available for QNB across its growing net- work. QNB Group is present through its subsidiaries and associate companies in 31 countries across three conti- nents providing a comprehensive range of products and services. QNB Group staff exceeds 28,000 operating through 1,200 locations, with a network of more than 4,300 ATMs. The conference showcased the group’s key strategic priorities as well as the identifi cation of potential opportunities available for QNB across its growing network Commercial Bank closes $750mn syndicated senior Sasol renews membership unsecured term loan facility Commercial Bank has successfully closed a three- year $750mn syndicated senior unsecured term with Al-Attiyah Foundation loan facility. The mandate was led by Bank of America Merrill nternational integrated chemi- Lynch and Mizuho Bank as joint co-ordinators and cals and energy company, Sasol, mandated lead arrangers. Iannounced yesterday the re- The syndication was launched at an initial newal of its membership with the value of $750mn. The transaction received Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah strong interest from the market and closed International Foundation for En- significantly oversubscribed at a value of $975mn, ergy and Sustainable Development. demonstrating investor confidence in Commercial The renewal is part of Sasol’s in- Bank’s financial performance and management, as ternational eff orts to support sus- well the strength of the Qatari economy. tainable development. It cements Ultimately, the bank decided to close the facility at the strong relations and long- its original value of $750mn, reflecting its strong standing partnership between the liquidity position. two organisations as they look to- The proceeds from the facility paid a margin wards a sustainable future. of 100 basis points over Libor and will be used In line with the vision of the to replace a pre-existing facility and used for foundation’s chairman, HE Ab- Commercial Bank’s general funding requirements. dullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, the Commercial Bank Group CEO Joseph Abraham foundation’s ongoing relation- said, “The oversubscription by over 25% and ship with Sasol helps to contrib- the top name banks as lead participants in ute to a greater understanding of the syndication shows the confidence of the energy sustainability and energy international banking and investor community in markets. the strength of Qatar’s banking system. The Al-Attiyah Foundation is “Commercial Bank is executing well on its the leading independent energy strategic plan, which is recognised by the market and sustainable development and has a strong track record of international fund think-thank in Qatar and has be- and debt issuance, reflected in the quality and come highly-respected by energy geographical diversity of the participating banks. leaders both internationally and in I would like to thank our joint co-ordinating banks Qatar. and other partners for their support in making this Dr Ibrahim Ibrahim, the vice transaction such as success.” chairman of the Al-Attiyah Foun- Other than the joint co-ordinating banks, dation, said, “We thank Sasol for its Australia and New Zealand Banking Group continued support for energy sus- The membership renewal is part of Sasol’s international eff orts to support sustainable development Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Citibank NA, tainability and its involvement in Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, and Standard the Qatari and global community. president at Sasol, said, “HE Ab- world energy sector. We thank Al- sustainable development sector in by its initiative Accessible Qatar Chartered Bank joined the syndicate as “We look forward to a contin- dullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah’s Attiyah Foundation and look for- Qatar and the world. (AQ). The training helps partici- mandated lead arrangers. ued partnership as we endeavour achievements in the area of inter- ward to further co-operation in the Sasol has also worked with Al- pants understand international HSBC Bank Middle East Limited acted as lead to provide knowledge and insights national energy and sustainable future.” Attiyah Foundation to off er oil and accessibility standards, key ac- arranger, UniCredit Bank AG as Arranger and into global energy and sustainable development extend for more than As an international integrated gas companies in Qatar a training cessibility factors that should be Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd, Doha Bank, development issues for the ben- 40 years. chemicals and energy company and workshop on accessibility aware- addressed when carrying out an Morgan Stanley, Erste Group Bank AG as lead efi t of members and the society at “Sasol is proud to carry on this a partner with Qatar Petroleum in ness and accessibility auditing accessibility audit, potential chal- managers. large.” legacy and to contribute to the de- the Oryx GTL venture, Sasol turns through the use of the auditing lenges the disabled might face, and Maurice Radebe, executive vice velopment of the society and the special attention to the energy and smartphone application launched the technical aspects of the audit. G20 ‘ever more important’ for global economic governance, says QNB As large emerging market (EM) economies equal partners or part of the solution to the catch up and continue to grow faster than crisis originated in the advanced economies major advanced economies, the G20 dynamics rather than sources of financial problems. evolve, making it an ever more important The change in the status of the EM economies arrangement for global economic governance, within the G20 was and still is mostly QNB has said in an economic commentary. associated with their economic performance The recent detente in bilateral trade between and growing influence in both global the US and China, agreed last week during the activity and finance. While the G7 countries G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, is just the latest represented 73% of the nominal GDP of the expression of both the new dynamics and G20 (in dollar terms) when the forum was overall importance of the forum. created, this number has shrunk to 60% during “The G20 has indeed gone a long way from the peak of the GFC and now hovers around its origins in the late 1990s and is set to 50%.