QBA MEETING | Page 3 Qatari businesses seek investments in Australia Thursday, December 12, 2019 Rabia II 15, 1441 AH AVIATION FOCUS : Page 12 Aviation industry GULF TIMES joins global eff orts against rogue lithium BUSINESS battery shipments Fed holds rates steady, expects Qatar Airways among moderate growth next year Reuters Washington The US Federal Reserve yesterday held interest airlines committed to rates steady and signalled borrowing costs are likely to remain unchanged indefinitely, with moderate economic growth and low unemploy- ment expected to continue through next year’s presidential election. The decision by the US central bank’s rate-setting committee left the benchmark overnight lending rate in its current target range between 1.50% ‘25by2025’ campaign and 1.75%. New economic projections showed a solid By Pratap John dustry itself does not represent the majority of 13 of 17 Fed policy makers foresee no Business Editor diverse world we live in today. We change in interest rates until at least 2021. Geneva know this needs to change. I wel- The other four saw only one rate hike next year. come the 59 airlines that have com- Notably, no policymakers suggested lower rates mitted to 25by2025. It’s an encour- would be appropriate next year, a sign the Fed atar Airways and fi ve other aging step forward in this important feels it has engineered a “soft landing” after a Middle Eastern and African journey and I look forward to many volatile year in which recession risks rose, the Qairlines have already com- more joining the campaign,” said US bond yield curve inverted, and trade policy mitted to the ‘25by2025’ campaign, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director disrupted markets. which seeks to address gender bal- general and CEO. “The Committee judges the current stance ance in civil aviation. The next phase of the campaign of monetary policy is appropriate to support Globally, some 59 airlines have will focus on collecting data on the sustained expansion of economic activity, strong committed to the ‘25by2025’ cam- key areas signatories have com- labour market conditions, and inflation near the... paign, the International Air Trans- mitted to: The number of women symmetric 2% objective,” the Fed said in a policy port Association (IATA) said here in senior positions (as defined by statement after the end of a two-day meeting. yesterday. the airline); the number of women There were no dissents to the policy statement, “We have had incredible response in underrepresented areas within the first without opposition since the April 30- from Qatar Airways when we dis- the airline (e.g., pilots, mainte- May 1 meeting. cussed the campaign with them,” nance and engineering), and the In the midst of an ongoing US-China trade war, said IATA director (Learning and number of nominations and ap- Fed policymakers said they would continue Development) Jane Hoskisson at a Qatar Airways and five other Middle Eastern and African airlines have already committed to pointments to IATA governance monitoring “global developments” in deciding presentation during the Global Me- the ‘25by2025’ campaign, which seeks to address gender balance in civil aviation groups. whether interest rates need to change. dia Day yesterday. IATA is also measuring and re- They also said they would keep an eye on The 25by2025 campaign was or to a minimum representation of Report annually on key diver- around the globe, with signatories porting on the number of women “muted inflation pressures,” a reflection of con- launched in September this year 25% by 2025. sity metrics. coming from all continents: Europe in senior positions, and the number cern that the pace of price increases has failed to with participating airlines making a Increase the number of women Collectively, the 59 airlines (36), followed by Asia-Pacifi c (10), of women represented in industry hit the central bank’s target. voluntary commitment to: in under-represented jobs (e.g., pi- that have currently committed to the Americas (seven) and Africa & meetings. After the Fed’s October policy meeting, Fed Increase the number of women lots and operations) by either 25% 25by2025 represent 30.24% of pas- Middle East (six). The fi ndings will be shared during chairman Jerome Powell said it would take a in senior positions (to be defi ned by against currently reported metrics, senger traffi c, covering both tradi- “Our passengers come from all IATA’s Annual General Meeting and “material” change in the economic outlook for the member airlines) by either 25% or to a minimum representation of tional and low-cost airlines. walks of life, represent diff erent Air Transport Summit in Amster- the Fed to change rates again. against currently reported metrics, 25% by 2025. The initiative has resonated cultures and genders and yet, the in- dam in June 2020. Page 12 Meinhardt to set up three specialist Baladna debuts on QSE, accounts for firms in Qatar expansion plan more than 60% of total trade volume Global engineering firm Meinhardt Group will set “We are here to reaff irm our continued commitment up in Qatar three specialist firms: Engineering to Qatar and our desire to contribute to the contin- By Santhosh V Perumal Procurement Construction Management (EPCM), ued development of Qatar by leveraging our local Business Reporter BIM Studios (MBS) and MGI Capital under the Qatar and international experience,” said Meinhardt group Financial Centre. The expansion, which is part of chief executive Omar Shahzad. the group’s global strategy to establish key hubs for MBS will undertake BIM Services for Meinhardt’s aladna, the holding entity of Qatar’s specialist capabilities, was announced by Singapore- projects in Qatar and will also support Meinhardt dairy major, yesterday made its debut headquartered Meinhardt at an event in conjunction Group’s international projects by operating as a Bon the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) with its year-end global board meeting in Doha. centre of excellence (COE) for BIM services. with its equities accounting for more than The event was attended by industry captains The use of BIM augments productivity by removing 60% of total trade volume. including Badr Mohamed al-Meer, chief operating the elements of uncertainty and saves up to 25% in Baladna, listed under the consumer goods off icer of Hamad International Airport, developers, construction time and in costs. and services sector, thus became the 47th financiers and contractors. BIM solutions, together with IoTs (Internet of Things) constituent on the bourse, which is seeking “This is a reflection of the long-term relationship and Artificial Intelligence can be a powerful tool to to be the regional hub for capital markets. between Qatar and Meinhardt to continue the trans- digitally transform facilities management/opera- The listing ceremony was held at the formation of our physical space,” said Qatar Airways tions and predictive maintenance. QSE headquarters in the presence of inves- group chief executive HE Akbar al-Baker. MGI Capital seeks to work with project owners to tors and members of the QSE and members As Qatar is rapidly expanding with the region, there provide feasibility studies, project financing strate- of Baladna’s board of directors. The new is a growing demand for complex projects to be gies to help structure and fund bankable infrastruc- company’s entry into the trading ring was delivered on a fast-track basis. Meinhardt EPCM ture and real estate projects. marked by a ceremonial ringing of the bell in focuses on large scale and multi-site rollout of indus- “These three entities will meet the growing needs the presence of QSE chief executive Rashid trial, infrastructure and building projects. of clients who want to engage a firm that can off er bin Ali al-Mansoori. The group also specialises in new construction a full range of services across a project’s life-cycle. Baladna was listed with the code “BLDN”. Baladna marks its debut on the QSE with the customary ringing of bell. techniques, such as modular construction, Design The new companies will employ a total of 250 highly The opening price on the fi rst day of trading for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA). qualified staff in Qatar by 2020” Shahzad said. was QR1.02, the last traded price was QR1, 23% to the existing institutional stakehold- port would provide cushion for the new en- while the highest price was QR1.07 and the ers such as the Qatar General Retirement trant on the QSE. “The earnings graph looks lowest price was QR0.99. Authority, Al Meera, Mwani Qatar and Has- positive” (in the short-to-medium term), The bourse saw as many as 67.34mn sad Food. one of them said. shares valued at QR67.7mn change hands Baladna subscribers’ data have been avail- On the basis of developments in the fi scal across 5,528 transactions. able at the brokerage fi rms since December period ended June 30, 2019, the founders and From today, the price fl uctuation for 8, to allow investors to submit their buy/sell senior management currently expect higher Baladna will be allowed by 10%, up and orders directly to the brokers. revenue growth to be in the range of 150%- down, as the case for all other listed compa- Baladna was established on December 2, 170% for the fi scal year ending December 31, nies. 2019 with an authorised capital of QR1.9bn, 2019 compared to the previous fi scal year, Baladna’s QR1.43bn initial public off ering which is 100% paid in full. The company’s according to Baladna’s IPO prospectus. (IPO), which off ered 75% stake to public, was primary objective is to manage, supervise The expected EBITDA (earnings before successful and it reported oversubscription.