Tuesday, November 5, 2019Rabia I 8, 1441 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

Merkel cheers VW’s electric vehicles push

CEO roundtable discusses race to reduce CO2

PARADIGM SHIFT | Page 11FOUNDATION EVENT | Page 3

PRIVATE SECTOR FOCUS : Page 12

Chamber highlights investment potential in Qatar to Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece delegations

Asian businesses looking at Qatar for opportunities: QFCAsian business are increasingly looking at Qa-

tar for business opportunities in view of the strong macro fundamentals of the country

and its open economy policy, according to the feed-back received from the recent roadshows of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).

Having successfully concluding its roadshow in Asia, which included Taipei and Tokyo, the QFC said it is eager to see the new alliances with Taiwan and Japan and is looking forward to welcoming them to its platform.

The Taiwan roadshow witnessed the signing of agreements, panel discussions, numerous B2B meet-ings and networking events with professionals from distinguished Taiwanese corporations.

It also included a seminar ‘Business and Invest-ment Opportunities in Qatar through the QFC’, where senior offi cials provided an overview of the multi-billion-dollar investment opportunities available to businesses in Qatar, as well as the unique benefi ts of setting up a business at the QFC platform.

During the roadshow, a memorandum of under-standing (MoU) was signed between the QFC and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAI-TRA), to promote future collaboration and further enhance business relations between Qatar and Tai-wan.

The event was attended by senior representatives from the QFC; Bureau of Foreign Trade of the Minis-try of Economic Aff airs (MOEA); TAITRA; Financial Supervisory Commission, Executive Yuan; Institute for Information Industry; and Startup Terrace (SME Administration, MOEA).

The Japan Roadshow featured B2B meetings and a seminar ‘Invest in Qatar’. Participants included representatives from the Japan External Trade Or-ganisation (JETRO), Japan Co-operation Center for the Middle East, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and MUFG Bank.

The 2019 Taiwan and Japan roadshows come as

part of the QFC’s eff orts to further highlight the solid economic and trade relationship that exist between Qatar and the two nations, and to support Taiwan-ese and Japanese companies looking to expand their business in Qatar and Middle East and North Africa.

Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad al-Thani, manag-ing director (Business Development), QFC Authority, said Qatar’s economy is recognised as one of the fast-est growing economies in the world, and while this off ers an abundance of investment opportunities, the QFC provides a competitive business framework to facilitate market access to businesses wishing to ex-pand to the region.

Highlighting that the QFC is at present home to over 760 businesses from around the globe, she said more than 70 of these fi rms are Asian companies and

Asia remains an important market to Qatar and home to the country’s top fi ve trading partners.

“We are eager to see the new alliances with Taiwan and Japan arising from these roadshows and look for-ward to welcoming them to our platform,” she added.

Finding immense potential in Qatar, Venessa Chang, deputy executive director of TAITRA, said, “We expect that through the MoU signed by QFC and TAITRA, the bilateral co-operation between Qatar and Taiwan in the trade and industry fi elds could be further facilitated.”

Observing that Qatar is aggressively promoting business in sports sector in various ways, Masaru Nishiura, director of Middle East Africa Division, JETRO, said, “We expect more collaborations be-tween Qatar and Japan”.

Muntajat plays ‘prominent’ role in Qatar’s energy sector development, says al-Kaabi

HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs, Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, also the Presi-dent and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, has

acknowledged the prominent role Muntajat plays in the development of Qatar’s energy sector.

During a visit to Muntajat, the marketing arm of Qatar Petroleum, he also acknowledged its contribution to national growth and sustainabil-ity in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

In particular, al-Kaabi spoke about the new major expansions and projects within the petro-chemical sector, emphasising the strategic role Muntajat will play utilising its expertise, know-how and network to market, sell and distribute the additional volumes to the domestic and inter-national markets.

During the visit, the minister was mostly in-

terested in meeting Muntajat’s people, getting to know them and sharing experiences. After a short meeting with the management team, he took the time to converse with the young talents and na-tional professionals and took a tour of the offi ces to personally shake hands with all the employees thanking them for their continuous dedication and commitment to the company, as well as, to the growth and development of Qatar.

On the minister’s visit, Abdulrahman Ali Ab-dulla, CEO, Muntajat said, “Receiving the Min-ister of State for Energy Aff airs at Muntajat has been a true honour. His Excellency’s continu-ous support and trust encourages us to continue moving forward into the future, taking Muntajat to the next level with pride and optimism”.

He also expressed his gratitude to Muntajat’s

team of professionals, for their loyal dedication, confi rming Muntajat’s readiness to take on new challenges and achieve its mission to become a world leader in the marketing and distribution of Qatar’s downstream products.

Muntajat has rapidly accumulated a number of key milestones on its extraordinary journey to-wards recognition today as a global leader within the downstream industry and is strongly commit-ted to continue delivering high quality products and excellence in customer service while expand-ing its reach and building on its strong partnering strategy with key players in the industry.

Evidently, the synergy between the QP compa-nies and the Qatar energy sector has successfully contributed to the diversifi cation of the Country’s economy.

Baladna outlines its vision for contributing to secure, sustainable food supply in QatarBaladna’s subsidiary, Baladna Food Industries (BFI), Qatar’s largest dairy and beverage producer, has outlined its vision for contributing to a secure and sustainable food supply in Qatar. The vision comes as Baladna announced an IPO to enable Qatari citizens to share in BFI’s success and support its transformative role in sustainability. Following the blockade in June 2017, Baladna embarked on an extensive programme of significant investment in infrastructure, plant, and machinery to increase its production capacity. As a result, the company has been celebrating its significant contribution to Qatar achieving 100% self-suff iciency in dairy products. With the population of Qatar expected to grow, Baladna has now outlined its vision for how the company will contribute to improving sustainability and food security in the country. The company is a key supporter of the government’s Qatar National Food Security Programme.Baladna has placed the health and wellness of the population at the heart of its vision for contributing to food security and sustainability. The company’s brand mission has been updated to focus on products which improve and maintain a healthy population, in which dairy products play a critical role.The company has been exploring partnerships with public and private sector organisations, including universities, to support research into improving sustainable production which will contribute to a secure food supply. These research projects are focused on identifying new and better ways to improve sustainability, such as animal husbandry to improve animal health and productivity, as well as

work with the community on diet and habits to support wellness. Baladna CEO Dr Kamel Abdallah said, “Baladna has played a major role in helping Qatar achieve self-suff iciency in dairy products, and as a key supporter of the National Food Security Programme, we know there is more we can do to help support food security and sustainability in Qatar.”He added: “Our research partnerships – from improving animal health and productivity to supporting consumers to make healthy choices – will make a major contribution to achieving the aims of the Food Security Programme.“And as we explore how to integrate the stages of production to support fresher and healthier products for consumers, there will be massive opportunities for both Baladna as a company and for our shared vision to support the wellness of ordinary Qataris.”The company has also outlined its intention to ensure sustainability in food security by examining the opportunities for integrating the stages of production. “From the blade of grass to the consumers’ fork, integrating production presents both a commercial opportunity for Baladna and for its stated purpose to improve freshness and support the wellness of the population.”The company has announced its intention to float on the Qatar Stock Exchange, which will see Baladna incorporated as a public shareholding company, which will hold 100% of the shares of BFI. From October 27, 2019 to November 7, 2019, eligible investors will be able to subscribe to shares in the off ering, the proceeds of which are intended to finance the company’s recent expansion.

HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi met in Doha yesterday with Omar Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Power and Petroleum. Discussions during the meeting focused on a number of topics of mutual interest, foremost of which was co-operation in the field of energy between Qatar and Pakistan. Qatar has a long-term agreement to supply Pakistan with 3.75mn tonnes per year of Qatari LNG.

Al-Kaabi meets Pakistan Minister for Power and Petroleum

HE al-Kaabi with Abdulla and the Muntajat team in Doha.

The QFC-Japan roadshow has showcased the increasing business potential in Qatar

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Tuesday, November 5, 20192

Rand gains with bonds as S Africa dodges downgradeBloombergJohannesburg

South Africa’s rand and bonds rose af-ter the country clung to its last invest-ment-grade credit rating.

The currency gained 1.7% to 14.7853 per dollar by 11.37am in Johannesburg, the most on a closing basis in more than three weeks, and paring its loss since the end of June to 4.7%. The yield on rand-denominated gov-ernment bonds fell the most since early 2018 and stocks advanced.

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday held back from downgrading the government’s debt to junk, although it did lower the out-look to negative. This came even after the country released budget forecasts last week that showed its fi nancial situation deterio-rating rapidly.

Moody’s kept the nation’s foreign- and local-currency readings at Baa3, one step above speculative grade. South Africa is al-ready rated junk by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, both of which shifted to non-investment grade in 2017.

The yield on bonds due December 2026 declined 15 basis points to 8.41% and the FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index climbed 0.2%, with banking stocks among the big-gest contributors to the move. The rand’s one-week implied volatility versus the dol-lar dropped 288 basis points to 12.9%, in-dicating that options traders are expecting price swings to moderate.

If Moody’s does cut, South Africa will be excluded for the FTSE World Government Bond Index. That would trigger outfl ows of as much as $15bn from the rand-bond mar-ket, according to Bank of New York Mel-lon Corp, at a time when the nation needs portfolio investment to fi nance its current-

account defi cit, one of the largest among major emerging markets.

A downgrade would also raise borrowing costs and make it tougher for the govern-ment to balance the budget.

Bank of America Corp expects a down-grade after a budget statement in February, though it says outfl ows from funds tracking the WGBI may total just $1.5bn.

South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni responded to the Moody’s an-nouncement by saying the country needed tough reforms to fi x its fi scal problems and debt-laden state companies such as Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.

“It is now or never,” he said. “Govern-ment, labour, business and civil society, we need each other more than ever before.”

The country is spending 138bn rand ($9.2bn) to bail out Eskom, the power util-ity that is saddled with 450bn rand of debt. Regular blackouts caused economic output to contract the most in a decade in the fi rst quarter and prompted the Treasury to slash its growth forecast for this year to 0.5%.

“South Africa has been a car crash in slow motion,” Cristian Maggio, London-based head of emerging-market strategy at TD Securities, said ahead of the market open. “We’re still at a point where that car has not hit that wall, but you can defi nitely see that’s where they’re going.”

Still, Moody’s decision to change South Africa’s outlook but not its rating was what most participants in a Bloomberg survey expected.

World Bank ready to spend $5bn in Congo, but with conditionsBloombergKinshasa

The World Bank could provide as much as $5bn to Democratic Republic of Congo over the

next fi ve years if its new government commits to raising more revenue, fi ghting corruption and opening up its economy.

The fi nancing would be a welcome boost for Congo’s new president, Felix Tshisekedi, who has promised a bold series of costly social programmes, including free primary-school edu-cation for more than 20mn children. Last month, the International Mon-etary Fund said it’s considering re-suming lending to the country after a seven-year hiatus.

The World Bank is off ering to support parts of the government’s agenda, “but not at any price,” Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank country director for Congo, said in an October 30 interview in Kinshasa, the capital. “We will help if they are credible in their will to reform a lot of things in the economy.”

Aid from the Washington-based lender will be conditioned on govern-ment commitments to increase reve-nue and improve management of eve-rything from health and education to Congo’s burgeoning mining industry, Carret said. The World Bank is also

pushing the government to reduce the number of tax exemptions it gives to various businesses, he said.

Congo is the world’s largest cobalt producer and Africa’s biggest miner of copper and tin. It’s also rich in de-posits of gold, oil and other natural resources.

Despite its immense mineral wealth, Congo’s 81mn people are among the poorest in the world. The nation annually ranks near the bot-tom of the most diffi cult places to do business. Some of the World Bank’s demands will focus on liberalising the economy, particularly in opening up the supply of water, electricity and Internet coverage, Carret said.

“The private sector needs to want to invest,” he said. “That is the only condition under which we can bring the population out of poverty as quickly as possible.”

A new IMF loan programme would also open the door to $1.5bn of budget support from the World Bank over three years, Carret said. The IMF halted its last programme with Congo in 2012 amid worries about corrup-tion in the mining industry.

Any new fi nancing for Congo must fi rst be approved by the World Bank’s board of directors, which already agreed to a $500mn programme to fi ght child-hood malnutrition in May. The bank has about $1bn left in its most recent programme that ends June 30.

Part of that money is destined for Tshisekedi’s free primary-school initiative, which should cost about $1.1bn per year, Carret said. The Bank will contribute about $400mn a year for three years if the government takes steps to make the programme sustainable.

“It’s a governance programme for the education sector,” Carret said. Congo’s constitution guarantees free primary education, but mismanage-ment and the country’s tiny budget, with only about $5bn in revenue, have never allowed it. One quarter of Con-go’s population is primary-school age.

World Bank results have been mixed in Congo, which is still recov-ering from years of war.

Carret called a World Bank plan to fi x the country’s bankrupt national rail system “a failure” after it spent $380mn through last year. In 2016, the lender pulled $73mn in funding for Congo’s Inga III hydropower plant over worries about transparency.

Development of the $14bn project has stalled, as the country has yet to fi nd a way to fi nance feasibility stud-ies. The World Bank has no more interest in Inga III, Carret said. It will instead focus any new funding on smaller energy projects that are quicker to launch, like micro-hydro plants and solar power, he said. Only about 10% of Congolese have access to power.

Shoprite may consider Africa exits as sales fall away from home

Shoprite Holdings Ltd started a review of supermarket operations outside South Africa and would consider exiting certain countries if that would help reverse regional sales declines, according to Bloomberg.Africa’s biggest grocer reported a 4.9% fall in third-quarter revenue when its main market is excluded, the Cape Town-based company said at the start of its annual general meeting yesterday. Weaker currencies weighed on performance and the Nigerian business was aff ected by xenophobic attacks – a response to violence in South Africa against immigrants from elsewhere on the continent.“We are not scared to take the hard decisions,” chief executive off icer Pieter Engelbrecht told investors, adding that leaving certain markets would be considered. Other measures including cost reductions are underway, he said.The performance contrasted sharply with improved trading in South Africa, where quarterly sales jumped by 10% even as Shoprite’s main lower-income customers

battle with the impact of an economic showdown. Chains including Checkers and U-Save are benefiting from a new IT system and the revamp and opening of new stores, the retailer said.The shares rose 0.6% to 139.04 rand as of 11.50am in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 82bn rand ($5.6bn). The stock has fallen 27% this year.Shoprite reported the update at the start of its annual general meeting, where former billionaire Christo Wiese was re-elected as a non-executive director despite some investor pressure over his three decades as chairman. Shareholder All Weather Capital had last week nominated former Pepkor Ltd head Jan le Roux as a director to try and reduce Wiese’s influence, though he received just 16% support.The makeup of the board will change over the next year, Wiese said at the AGM, while more attention will be given to succession planning.

Islamic microfinance a crucial developmental tool for AfricaBy Arno MaierbruggerGulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

The growth of Islamic finance in

Africa is unabated, and the poten-

tial of the industry is increas-

ingly being acknowledged by

stakeholders and investors. That

said, the scope of Islamic finance,

particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa,

diff ers substantially from other

regions such as the Middle East

or Muslim countries in Southeast

Asia. While the latter both have

developed fully-fledged Islamic

banking and finance industries

with a great variety of products

and services, Islamic finance in

Africa is much more focused on

financial inclusion and develop-

mental eff ects of Shariah-compli-

ant and ethical financing.

This has become clear at the

African International Confer-

ence on Islamic Finance (AICIF),

a pioneering annual industry

conference held for the fourth

time this year from November

4 to 5 in Lagos, Nigeria. Apart

from infrastructure financing

and sustainable investment, the

conference focused decidedly on

Islamic microfinance, seen as a

crucial tool to increase financial

inclusion and community devel-

opment on the continent, and the

necessary regulations for it.

“With the focus on Islamic mi-

crofinance as a tool for financial

inclusion, poverty alleviation and

promoting economic growth, the

AICIF conference hopes to moti-

vate financial institutions to push

for more defined regulations on

Islamic finance,” said Ummahani

Ahmed Amin, a lawyer focusing

on Islamic finance and Islamic law

based in Nigeria’s capital Abuja

and AICIF’s conference chair.

“The fundamental goals of the

conference are to establish a

community of practice in support

of Islamic finance and to create

a platform for financial institu-

tions and other key eco-system

players to demonstrate their

commitment and support for the

development of Islamic finance

in Africa,” she added.

So, what can Islamic microfi-

nance deliver in this context?

First of all, it brings the advantag-

es of Islamic finance to the grass-

roots level which provides the

best preconditions and impulses

to alleviate poverty and trigger

self-engaged development. Keep-

ing in mind that Islamic finance

is an equity-based, asset-backed,

ethical, sustainable, environmen-

tally and socially responsible

type of financing which promotes

risk sharing, it connects commu-

nities with the real economy and

emphasises financial inclusion

and social welfare. Once estab-

lished, it is a pillar of sustainable

growth, development and wealth

sharing in society.

Paired with microfinance, the

greatest benefit is economic

progress in deprived communi-

ties and the empowerment and

self-employment it generates

with the creation of small and

micro-entrepreneurships in lieu of

wage-based employment. It has

the power to advance entrepre-

neurship and generate productive

employment and income pros-

pects for poorer communities.

Particularly, financing small and

micro businesses through Islamic

microfinance, as well as develop-

ing entrepreneurship, are the two

main agents in the progress of

economic development.

At the conference, experts

acknowledged a large unmet

demand for interest-free micro-

finance products in Africa given

the large number of Muslims of

about 250mn in Sub-Saharan

Africa alone, as well as weak

financial inclusion and the limited

number of Islamic microfinance

providers as such. However, they

noted that assessing the state

of the industry in Africa was

difficult because of limited data

and research, but it is known

that most of the providers are

rural banks, co-operatives and

non-governmental organizations,

while the share of commercial

banks is vanishingly low.

According to the International

Monetary Fund, Botswana,

Kenya, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia,

Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Mau-

ritius, Senegal, Sudan and Tan-

zania have the most advanced

Islamic finance operations in Sub-

Saharan Africa, and there is sig-

nificant scope for development in

Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, Ghana

and Ethiopia. Frontrunners in the

development of Islamic microfi-

nance in Sub-Saharan Africa have

been identified as Sudan, Kenya,

Somalia, Ethiopia and Nigeria,

with the largest players in Sudan

being Irada Microfinance, a divi-

sion of Bank of Karthoum, which

offers profit-sharing Islamic

microfinancing models to reach

small farmers, as well as Islamic

Development Bank-funded Ebdaa

Bank. In Kenya, Equity Bank and

Kenya Women Microfinance Bank

have the largest market share,

while in Somalia the Somali

Development and Reconstruc-

tion Bank and privately funded

Kaah International Microfinance

Services play an important role in

Islamic microfinance.

In Ethiopia, Somali Microfinance

Institution, a microfinance

provider backed by the regional

government of Ethiopia’s east-

ernmost Somali Region and US

aid agency Mercy Corps, was

launched in 2018 and is now

the only institutional Islamic

player among Ethiopia’s three

dozen microfinance institutions.

Al-Barakah Microfinance Bank,

launched in 2010, is the oldest

and most popular Islamic microfi-

nance provider in Nigeria.

Gulf TimesExclusive

A logo sits on a glass door in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in the Sandton district of Johannesburg, South Africa (file). Moody’s Investors Service on Friday held back from downgrading the government’s debt to junk, although it did lower the outlook to negative.

BUSINESS3Gulf Times

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Al-Attiyah Foundation CEO Roundtable discusses heavy industry’s opportunities and challenges to reduce CO2 emissions

The Al-Attiyah Foundation hosted world-renowned experts to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by heavy industry in the race to reduce CO2 emissions. Four international guest speakers shared their knowledge and opinions at the Foundation’s 3rd CEO Roundtable discussion of 2019, held in Doha last month.Hosted by HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman and founder of the Al-Attiyah Foundation, the CEO Roundtable quarterly series allows leaders from Qatar’s key industries to gain direct access to the latest thinking on the chosen energy and sustainable development theme. The thought-provoking conversations get to the very heart of the issues and explore potential solutions as the world transitions to a sustainable energy future.“From my experience, many governments are more concerned about being re-elected than they are about tackling climate change issues. I hope to see greater collaboration and partnership between government, industry and academia to ensure the very best technologies and stronger alliances are utilised to support a sustainable energy future” said HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman, Al-Attiyah Foundation.Reducing CO2 emissions from heavy industry whilst meeting the goals of the United Nation’s Paris Agreement is one of the biggest challenges facing governments and industry today. Paradoxically, as the world strives to achieve growth and prosperity for all, it needs to reduce the environmental impact of the very industries that are at the centre of supporting this growth.The CEO Roundtable focused on three key heavy industries – cement, iron and steel and non-ferrous metal production – since approximately 50% of heavy industry’s global greenhouse gas emissions comes from these three sectors.

Liv Rathe, director (Corporate Climate Off ice) Norske Hydro, and Board Member of the International Emission Trading Association (IETA), was the first speaker to address the CEO Roundtable attendees. Rathe focused her attention on the production and distribution of aluminium, which is the second most widely used metal in the world. Demand for aluminium is growing since it is strong, light-weight, and infinitely recyclable - making it a great contribution to a society based on low carbon products such as lighter cars and energy eff icient buildings. However, the carbon footprint of primary aluminium production comes largely from electricity consumption that depends on the energy source. In order for aluminium to become a longer-term low carbon option however, the energy source used to produce it, must be sustainable.The second sector to be addressed during the roundtable was the iron and steel industry. This industry is considered to be vital for a country, particularly for its economic development, and is often protected by government tariff s, which has led to an overcapacity in global supply. The largest economies of today, the USA, China, and Russia, have vast stores of both iron ore and coal. Today, the majority of global steel produced from iron ore is largely dependent on coal.A number of solutions have already been proposed to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry. Firstly, new business models that support the growth of a circular economy – such as the recycling and repurposing of products - are being suggested. Secondly, a great understanding of the role of off sets and natural climate solutions to achieve net zero outcomes is being encouraged. Thirdly, strategies are being devised to shape low-carbon growth solutions

for resource-rich countries. However, developing initiatives to reduce Scope 3 emissions has been the most challenging for the steel industry. This has been particularly true for mining companies and those that produce the iron ore or coking coal required for steel production. Scope 3 emissions relates to all indirect emissions from activities of a company occurring from sources that they do not own or control and often account for the greatest share of the carbon footprint. If the objectives of the Paris Agreement are to be achieved, Scope 3 emissions, in particular, need to be reduced and companies can no longer ignore the expectation for them to show accountabilityMatthew Bateson, Former Senior Environmental and Corporate Aff airs Executive, Rio Tinto, and second speaker at the CEO Roundtable meeting, addressed the CO2 reduction challenges in the mining and metals sector and concluded: “In my experience working in the mining and metals sector, leaders have come to terms with the need to manage their own emissions created by the production of raw and processed materials, but the idea that there is a level of responsibility for the use of their products, is a much harder concept for them to frame and understand.”The cement industry was the third sector to be focused on during the roundtable meeting. Cement is the second most consumed commodity worldwide, after water. It is vital for infrastructure development and is usually produced regionally due to high transportation costs. Today, most cement is manufactured in developing countries where new infrastructure is being built and urbanisation is taking place. Dr Patrick Linke, professor (Chemical Engineering Programme) at the Texas A&M University, shared his views on

the cement industry and the current challenges: “around half the world’s cement production is based in China; consequently, China emits about half of the world’s cement emissions!”Cement is the main ingredient of concrete and its production currently generates approximately 7% of man-made CO2 emissions. At present, a research project is underway in Europe, known as CEMCAP, which has the objective to implement CO2 capture in the European cement industry on a large scale. The CEMCAP project is testing and analysing four diff erent technologies for separating CO2 from the cement

production process. Successful results could lead to a portfolio of technologies that could create pathways for future climate-friendly cement production with drastically reduced CO2 emissions.John Drexhage, Energy and Extractives Global Practice Consultant, World Bank, concluded the session by highlighting how it is not possible for a single source renewable energy to replace the energy that is currently derived from non-renewable sources. A combination of various sources of energy will be necessary to combat the adverse eff ects of climate change. This will have to be combined with increased eff iciency driven by

government regulations, subsidies and taxation. In addition, the quantity of raw materials necessary to produce renewable energy needs to be factored into the equation. For all industries, there are a number of benefits associated with measuring Scope 3 emissions. For many companies, the majority of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and cost reduction opportunities lie outside of their own operations. To meet the United Nation’s target of keeping CO2 emissions beneath a two-degree centigrade rise, changes should happen immediately across the whole value chain of heavy industry.

Al-Attiyah receives Japanese ambassador

HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman and founder of the Al-Attiyah Foundation addresses the foundation’s 3rd CEO Roundtable discussion of 2019, held in Doha last month. Four international guest speakers shared their knowledge and opinions at the event.

HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry, received Kazuo Sunaga, new Japanese ambassador. During the meeting, topics of mutual interest were discussed.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Tuesday, November 5, 20194

Emerging currencies and equities riseReutersLondon

South Africa’s markets ral-lied yesterday, on relief that Moody’s had only

downgraded its outlook for the country’s debt and not cut it to junk as some had feared, while improving prospects of a US-China trade deal sent emerging market currencies to 3-month highs.

The rand jumped nearly 2%

to 14.75 per dollar, leading gains

among developing world curren-

cies. Moody’s on Friday reduced

the outlook on South Africa’s

rating to negative, but maintained

its sovereign rating at Baa3 — the

lowest rung of investment grade.

Markets had anticipated such

a move after a bleak mid-term

budget statement last week

slashed 2019 growth forecast to

0.5% and showed government

debt racing to more than 70% of

gross domestic product by 2023.

The rand shed about 3% last

week. Johannesburg-listed shares

rose 0.3% in its fourth session of

gains, while yield on the 10-year

local bonds dropped about 2.1%.

“Although SA was spared a

downgrade to junk (at least for

now)...the uphill battle is far from

over.

The 2020 Budget will play a

crucial role in Moody’s next step,”

Daria Parkhomenko, an FX strate-

gist at RBC wrote in a client note.

The negative outlook means

there is a window of 12-18 months

in which a downgrade could

be delivered, but it could come

sooner if Moody’s isn’t impressed

by the fiscal picture presented

at the next budget statement in

February.

“A downgrade would exclude

local currency SAGB bonds from

the World Government Bond

Index with a detrimental knock-on

eff ect on portfolio flows and the

government’s borrowing costs,”

ING’s Trieu Pham wrote.

Among other currencies, the

South Korean won jumped 0.3%

after President Moon Jae-in sug-

gested high-level talks to resolve a

deepening political and trade row

with Japan during a meeting with

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Russian rouble gained 0.3%

despite lower oil prices, while the

Turkish lira was steady after con-

sumer price index fell to 8.55% in

October, its lowest level in nearly

three years due to temporary

measurement “base eff ects” from

last year.

The Chinese yuan rose 0.2% in

off shore trading to near 11-week

highs after the United States and

China said on Friday they made

progress in talks aimed at defus-

ing a nearly 16-month-long trade

war that has harmed the global

economy, and US off icials said a

deal could be signed this month.

The trade headlines, tied to

a better-than-expected US job

growth, helped ease worries about

a global slowdown, driving the

MSCI index of emerging market

stocks up 1.1%. Chinese stocks

jumped more than half a %, while

Hong Kong shares shot up 1.7%

to touch a three-month high as

investors shrugged off another

weekend of chaotic clashes with

anti-government protesters that

led China to call for a tougher

stance.

Lebanon also saw fresh upris-

ings over the weekend demanding

the overthrow of their country’s

elite, days after Saad al-Hariri

resigned as prime minister.

The head of the banking

association said last week that

Lebanon’s banks did not see “any

extraordinary movement” of

money on Friday or Saturday, the

first two days they reopened to

the public after a two-week clo-

sure due to nationwide protests.

Sensex climbs to record high as earnings charm investorsBloomberg, ReutersMumbai

India’s benchmark stock index advanced to a record yesterday as better-than-expected company earnings continued to attract investors.The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.3% to 40,301.96 points at close in Mumbai, ending above the previous peak on June 3. The gauge rose for a seventh straight session, to score its longest winning run since March. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also rose 0.4%.Foreign funds bought more than $2bn of shares in October, the most in a month since March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nineteen out of 29 Nifty firms that have reported quarterly earnings have beaten or matched the average analyst estimate, while one didn’t have enough projections.“Indian equities have seen a good rally recently, powered by improved global equity flows” amid better than expected results, Citigroup Inc strategists led by Surendra Goyal wrote in a note on Sunday. “We see limited upside given valuations post the rally and the continued uncertainty over growth outlook,” the note added.“India is probably one of the few economies where growth will re-accelerate next calendar year, it stands very well among its peers,” said David Gaud, chief investment officer for Asia at Pictet Wealth Management in Singapore.Twelve of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd advanced, led by a gauge of metal companies.Housing Development Finance Corp,

Infosys Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd contributed most to the index advance. Vedanta Ltd was among the top gainers on the benchmark index, while Yes Bank Ltd dropped after reporting a quarterly loss.Meanwhile the rupee yesterday ended marginally higher against the US dollar as foreign investors continue to buy in local equities and debt market. Gains in Asian currencies amid optimism that China and US are moving closer towards an interim trade deal also improved sentiment.The domestic currency closed at 70.77 a dollar, up 0.06% from Friday’s close of 70.81. The Indian unit opened at 70.61 a dollar and touched a high of 70.56 - a level last seen on 30 September.The yield on the 10-year Indian government bond was at 6.475% compared with its previous close of 6.443%.Foreign investors have bought a combined over $2.06bn in the last three sessions in domestic and bond markets. In the year so far, the rupee has weakened 1.18%, while foreign investors have bought nearly $10.22bn in Indian equities and $4.69bn in debt.Asian currencies ended higher after US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he was optimistic an initial trade deal would be signed with China in November.South Korean won ended 0.54% higher, Malaysian ringgit rose 0.357%, Indonesian rupiah 0.178%, Philippines peso 0.168%, China Offshore 0.156%, Taiwan dollar 0.125%, China renminbi 0.058%, and Singapore dollar 0.044%.The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 97.309, up 0.07% from its previous close of 97.239.

Asia bourses rally on trade optimismAFPHong Kong

Asian markets rallied yester-day following a forecast-busting US jobs report, and

on growing optimism that China and the United States will fi nally sign off on a mini trade pact.

Investors took their lead from an-other record-breaking close on Wall Street, which came at the end of a strong week for equities thanks to strong earnings and another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

The Labor Department said the US created 128,000 net new jobs in October, surpassing the 80,000 ex-pected, while the fi gure for the pre-vious two months was also revised upwards.

Friday’s reading came days after data showed the world’s top econo-my slowed slightly in July-Septem-ber but not as much as projected, suggesting it is stabilising.

The fi gures helped the S&P 500 to a new all-time high, while the Dow moved to within a whisker of its own record. Asian investors took up the mantle yesterday, with Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei each piling on more than 1%, while Shanghai jumped 0.6%. Sydney was 0.3% up, Singapore added 0.1%, Bang-kok jumped more than 1%, Mum-bai edged up 0.2% and Wellington climbed 0.4%. There were also healthy gains in Manila.

Tokyo was closed for a public holiday. The upbeat mood was en-hanced by comments from Chinese Vice Premier Liu He that indicated trade talks with Washington were

on track. Liu said he had spoken on Friday to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, with both sides saying the talks were “constructive”. “Everyone is kind of upbeat around the prospect of at least a partial China-US trade deal,” Peter Dragicevich, a strategist at Suncorp Corporate Services, told Bloomberg TV.

“It’s going to keep equities pretty supported.” Progress on the discus-sions has provided support to eq-uities for the past few weeks, with speculation that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet this month to sign off on the mini pact.

While the agreement would only be the fi rst part of a wider deal, it would be a major step after more than a year of a trade war that has dealt a blow to the world economy. However, National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril warned there were still important issues to address.

“Importantly, as much as the US-China trade updates continue to point to a phase one deal looking like a certainty, the contentious is-sues on whether the US will cancel the planned December tariff s and remove some of the current tariff s in line with China’s demands remains an unknown and if the issue is not resolved then a deal could easily

collapse,” he said in a note. The good news on Friday helped push oil pric-es up more than 3%, though profi t-taking saw both main contracts fall in Asian business.

But OANDA senior market ana-lyst Jeff rey Halley sounded a note of caution, warning: “Friday’s mega-rally (for oil) was built on a com-bination of not-as-bad-as-feared data and optimism on a trade deal that really, only keeps the lights on.

It does not increase the bright-ness of the world economy.”

In Hong Kong — Hang Seng closed up 1.5% to 27,496.44 points and Shanghai Composite ended up 0.6% to 2,975.49 points yesterday.

China markets feelthe pain of stalledderivatives rolloutReutersShanghai/Hong Kong

A long list of stock and currency de-rivatives has been lying in wait for regulatory approval at the China

Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX), some for nearly a decade. The exchange is hoping foreign asset managers will help vouch for these products and smooth the way forward for their eventual launch.

“You need to tell the public that not every fund manager coming to China is George Soros, that you use derivatives to manage long positions, not to short Chi-na,” the exchange’s vice president Zhang Xiaogang told a seminar in Shanghai.

Zhang told his audience of mostly China-based executives of global money managers to speak up for the benefi ts of derivatives in investments, as “bad public perception makes it diffi cult for new products to be approved”. Options, futures and other derivatives are in dis-repute in China, particularly since 2015 when speculation in stock index futures was blamed for the violent market crash.

Billionaire investor George Soros, for example, is well-known in China for his attack on the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US currency during the Asian fi nan-cial crisis, and often the face of the deep distrust. Unlike many other countries,

China manages a highly centralised ap-proval process for fi nancial derivative launches, which explains why many products are stranded at CFFEX.

Delays in approvals are costing China.A dearth of tools for managing risk has

become a major source of concern for global investors, even aff ecting the coun-try’s inclusion in global indexes managed by the likes of MSCI and FTSE Russell.

It hinders Beijing’s eff orts to attract foreign portfolio investment at a time when its long-running trade war with the United States has sapped export rev-enues. Shanghai is losing market share in derivatives to other fi nancial centres such as Singapore and Hong Kong, where rival exchanges that are subject to less government interference are rushing in with China-related products.

Liu Wencai, a former CFFEX offi cial who helped design China’s index futures, seeks reform in the way exchange prod-ucts are vetted for approval.

“As foreign money rapidly fl ows into China’s capital markets, our exchanges need to accelerate the rollout of fi nan-cial futures and options,” said Liu, who founded risk-management consultancy D-Union after quitting CFFEX in 2015, when index futures were nearly killed by regulators.

Liu feels index futures were made the scapegoat in a politically-charged blame

game during that crisis, and suggests the decision to launch new products be left to exchanges, rather than the securities regulator and the State Council.

China’s securities regulator and CFFEX did not return emailed requests for comment. At present, only six fi nan-cial products — three stock index futures contracts and three bond futures con-tracts — trade on the 13-year-old CFFEX.

The list of products CFFEX has devel-oped include futures based on the MSCI China A-share index and small-cap in-dexes such as ChiNext, sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

Also being tested are 30-year bond futures, short-term interest rate futures and forex derivatives including dollar-yuan futures.

Foreign investors say they desperately need such tools to manage China risks.

MSCI, which added Chinese A shares into its emerging markets benchmark in 2018, decided in March to quadru-ple China’s inclusion factor to 20% — a process that will be completed later this month.

But any proposal by MSCI to increase that ratio further may be denounced by global investors who fret over the lack of effi cient hedging tools in China, said Wei Zhen, head of China Research at MSCI, who predicted huge appetite for MSCI China A index futures. The limited access

to derivatives also contributed to FTSE Russell deciding not to add China to its widely-tracked government bond index in September.

“If I want to be able to trade inter-est rates and manage my exposure, I need to be able to trade China govern-ment bond futures,” said David Camp-bell, head of fi xed income at lobby group ASIFMA.”And right now, that’s not avail-able to the vast majority of foreign inves-tors investing in China.”

While eff orts to launch derivatives stall on the Chinese mainland, overseas exchanges are competing to off er deriva-tive products to fi ll the vacuum.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is ag-gressively promoting an “all-China en-velope” of risk management tools that include MSCI China futures, USD/CNH futures and iron ore futures and options.

Greater participation outside Asia pushed trading volumes in SGX’s listed yuan futures to record highs this year.

The Hong Kong stock exchange has also seen rapid growth in yuan futures trading and is planning new products, including MSCI China A-share index futures. “This is the number one prod-uct that people want in the world right now,” said Alex Siu, co-head of equities product development at HKEX.” China is not fully open yet. That’s the power of Hong Kong.”

Investors look at computer screens showing stock information at a brokerage house in China. Shanghai is losing market share in derivatives to other financial centres such as Singapore and Hong Kong, where rival exchanges that are subject to less government interference are rushing in with China-related products.

An external view of the the Hong Kong Stock Exchange building. The Hang Seng index closed up 1.5% to 27,496.44 points yesterday.

BloombergLondon

The S&P 500 may be trading at record highs, but Goldman Sachs Group Inc is telling its

rich clients that US stocks still reign supreme among assets.

“The main returns in our view still come from having an overweight to US equities,” Silvia Ardagna, manag-ing director in the investment strategy group within Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, said in an in-terview in London. “The US has the prominence over others.”

The reason is simple, according to the Goldman unit, which manages about $500bn. With global growth slowing and Germany slipping into a technical recession, the US economy is looking more robust in the medi-um-term compared to other coun-tries. And this may just be the case as US payrolls on Friday showed surpris-ing resilience in October, validating the Federal Reserve’s signal to pause rate cuts.

The progress in US-China trade talks is making high-net-worth cli-ents keener to put their cash to work, Ardagna said. And the facts back this up as risk assets are becoming more popular, with $6.1bn going into global stock funds in the week through Oc-tober 30. That was after weeks of re-demptions when US equity funds lost about $58bn since the start of the year, according to Bank of America Corp and EPFR Global data.

“The de-escalation of trade ten-sions between the US and China has triggered the question whether inves-tors have been too negative and there could be some positive surprises,” said Ardagna, a former associate professor at Harvard University. “If we get bet-ter economic data and there’s a stabi-lisation in the manufacturing and the services sector remains robust, this rally can clearly extend.”

Many fund managers have chosen to sit out this year’s rally in equi-ties and hide in cash or bonds amid fears that global growth is stalling and the decade-long bull market is nearing its end. Whereas Friday’s jobs data were reassuring, trade ten-sions can re-emerge at any moment. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials were casting doubts about reaching a compre-hensive long-term trade deal with the US.

Yet, yesterday, stocks around the world rallied after the two nations signalled further progress toward a breakthrough in discussions.

Goldman Private Wealth Man-agement’s preference for US eq-uities also comes amid an array of challenges haunting European stocks, including Germany’s re-cession. The team is neutral on UK assets because of political uncer-tainty, and Ardagna says that even Brexit’s resolution wouldn’t be enough for investors to stop being sceptical about Europe unless eco-nomic growth picks up.

But there are a few exceptions to the asset manager’s wariness of European equities. Eurozone bank stocks make the cut because of low valuations and improved fundamen-tals and it’s overweight on Spanish stocks because of their pricing and as domestic growth outpaces the re-gion.

Still, although European and emerging-market equities trade at a discount to the US, Goldman Private Wealth Management doesn’t antici-pate lower valuations will deliver sub-sequent outperformance.

“We expect the data to hold up well in the US,” Ardagna said. “If the 2% growth in the US gets validated by high-frequency data for the fourth quarter, the market will digest well the Fed’s message that they’ll be less aggressive in their rate cuts going for-ward.”

Zad Holding CoWidam Food CoVodafone Qatar

United Development CoSalam International Investme

Qatar & Oman Investment CoQatar Navigation

Qatar National Cement CoQatar National Bank

Qatar Islamic InsuranceQatar Industrial Manufactur

Qatar International IslamicQatari Investors Group

Qatar Islamic BankQatar Gas Transport(Nakilat)Qatar General Insurance & ReQatar German Co For Medical

Qatar Fuel QscQatar First Bank

Qatar Electricity & Water CoQatar Exchange Index Etf

Qatar Cinema & Film DistribAl Rayan Qatar Etf

Qatar Insurance CoQatar Aluminum Manufacturing

Ooredoo QpscNational Leasing

Mazaya Qatar Real Estate DevMesaieed Petrochemical Holdi

Al Meera Consumer Goods CoMedicare Group

Mannai Corporation QscMasraf Al Rayan

Al Khalij Commercial BankIndustries Qatar

Islamic Holding GroupInvestment Holding Group

Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services

Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co

Doha Bank QpscDlala Holding

Commercial Bank PsqcBarwa Real Estate Co

Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAl Ahli Bank

13.70

6.38

1.20

1.36

0.40

0.52

6.34

5.78

19.23

6.89

3.36

9.44

1.65

15.34

2.49

2.38

0.67

22.22

0.31

16.00

10.03

2.20

2.30

3.09

0.81

7.30

0.66

0.70

2.49

15.73

8.70

3.10

3.81

1.18

10.39

1.91

0.53

4.91

1.72

0.65

1.05

2.54

0.64

4.35

3.39

2.10

0.70

0.00

-0.16

-0.83

-1.45

0.50

2.79

-0.31

0.70

0.42

-0.58

-5.35

-0.53

0.00

0.59

1.22

-8.46

1.52

-0.76

-5.45

0.00

-0.67

0.00

0.00

0.65

-0.12

0.27

0.46

0.43

1.22

-0.76

-0.23

0.00

1.06

-1.67

-1.98

0.00

-0.38

-1.41

1.18

-2.12

0.00

-0.39

-1.99

1.16

0.00

1.45

-0.14

-

85,800

1,806,134

2,381,345

595,382

149,863

1,098,133

221,839

2,263,615

18,000

31,133

816,827

1,088,028

329,466

1,325,868

1,080,822

1,515,812

657,430

25,599,964

156,145

6,093

-

-

819,753

3,252,609

340,526

810,403

615,269

2,445,559

72,882

395,659

153,979

2,829,263

920,757

583,028

9,871

474,282

96,505

1,225,818

22,555,631

1,000

327,702

99,619

793,079

1,024,003

2,792,529

4,962,822

QATAR

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Oman PackagingOman Oil Marketing Company

Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance

Oman Intl MarketingOman Flour Mills

Oman Fisheries CoOman Europe Foods Industries

Oman Education & Training InOman Chromite

Oman ChlorineOman Ceramic Company

Oman Cement CoOman Cables Industry

Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50%Natl Aluminium Products

National Real Estate DevelopNational Mineral Water

National Life & General InsuNational Gas Co

National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog

National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog

Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat Insurance Co Saog

Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance

Muscat City Desalination CoMajan Glass Company

Majan CollegeHsbc Bank Oman

Hotels Management Co InternaGulf Stone

Gulf Mushroom CompanyGulf Investments Services

Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-SharGulf International Chemicals

Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co LtdGlobal Fin Investment

Galfar Engineering&ContractGalfar Engineering -Prefer

Financial Services Co.Financial Corp/The

Dhofar TourismDhofar Poultry

Dhofar Intl DevelopmentDhofar Insurance

Dhofar Generating Co SaocDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu

Dhofar CattlefeedDhofar Beverages Co

Construction Materials IndComputer Stationery Inds

Bankmuscat SaogBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar SaogArabia Falcon Insurance Co

Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service

Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co

Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power

Al Sharqiya Invest HoldingAl Maha Petroleum Products M

Al Maha Ceramics Co SaocAl Madina Takaful Co Saoc

Al Madina Investment CoAl Kamil Power Co

Al Jazerah Services -PfdAl Jazeera Steel Products Co

Al Jazeera ServicesAl Izz Islamic Bank

Al Buraimi HotelAl Batinah PowerAl Batinah Hotels

Al Batinah Dev & InvAl Anwar Holdings Saog

Al Ahlia Insurance Co SaocAhli Bank

Acwa Power Barka SaogAbrasives Manufacturing Co S

A’saff a Foods Saog0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref

#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security

0.27

0.98

0.13

0.12

0.52

0.68

0.08

1.00

0.24

3.64

0.38

0.42

0.23

0.81

0.07

0.17

5.00

0.09

0.31

0.21

0.14

0.70

3.92

0.19

0.08

0.78

0.16

0.06

0.10

0.18

0.17

0.13

1.25

0.12

0.31

0.07

0.11

0.11

6.80

0.08

0.08

0.39

0.06

0.10

0.49

0.18

0.30

0.17

0.19

1.28

0.17

0.26

0.04

0.26

0.45

0.10

0.13

0.10

0.53

0.09

0.02

0.75

0.12

0.07

0.09

0.79

0.18

0.08

0.02

0.30

0.55

0.19

0.14

0.07

0.88

0.07

1.13

0.07

0.09

0.36

0.13

0.66

0.05

0.60

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.48

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.69

0.00

4.62

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.67

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.76

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.45

0.00

-3.45

0.00

0.00

1.30

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.17

0.00

0.00

9.43

0.00

3.53

0.00

3.53

1.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.05

0.00

0.00

1.43

0.00

0.00

2.38

0.00

0.80

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

200

-

1,900,291

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

105,770

-

258,773

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

502,000

-

-

-

20,000

2,000

-

-

8,303

-

-

-

278,785

-

12,000

-

-

946,330

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2,458

-

-

-

-

-

259,130

120,000

100

-

-

20,000

-

-

2,464,595

177,095

15,000

5,000

616,403

430,365

-

-

-

-

2,026,528

31,640

-

115,000

-

-

464,939

-

5,459

-

-

-

-

-

-

Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment

Mabanee Co SakcInovest Co Bsc

Al-Deera Holding CoMena Real Estate Co

Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation

National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International InvestmeEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C

Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc

Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co KNational Shooting CompanyAl-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp

Wethaq Takaful Insurance CoSalbookh Trading Co Kscp

Aqar Real Estate InvestmentsHayat Communications

Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscTamkeen Holding Co

Alargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling

Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co

Palms Agro Production CoMubarrad Holding Co Ksc

Shuaiba Industrial CoAan Digital Services Co

First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co

National Cleaning CompanyUnited Real Estate Company

AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv

Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng

International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold

Warba Insurance CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve

Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak

Mobile Telecommunications CoEff ect Real Estate Co

Tamdeen Real Estate Co KscAl Mudon Intl Real Estate Co

Kuwait Cement Co KscSharjah Cement & Indus Devel

Kuwait Portland Cement CoEducational Holding Group

Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceAsiya Capital Investments Co

Kuwait Investment CoBurgan Bank

Kuwait Projects Co HoldingsAl Madina For Finance And In

Kuwait Insurance CoAl Masaken Intl Real Estate

Intl Financial AdvisorsFirst Investment Co Kscc

Al Mal Investment CompanyBayan Investment Co Kscc

Egypt Kuwait Holding Co SaeCoast Investment Development

Privatization Holding CompanInjazzat Real State Company

Kuwait Cable Vision SakSanam Real Estate Co Kscc

Ithmaar Holding BscAviation Lease And Finance C

Arzan Financial Group For FiAjwan Gulf Real Estate Co

Kuwait Business Town Real EsFuture Kid Entertainment And

Specialities Group Holding CAbyaar Real Eastate Developm

Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate CKgl Logistics Company Kscc

Combined Group ContractingJiyad Holding Co Ksc

Warba Capital Holding CoGulf Investment House Ksc

Boubyan Bank K.S.CAhli United Bank B.S.C

Osos Holding Group Co

142.00

17.10

775.00

63.00

11.80

38.30

39.50

433.00

10.30

43.00

18.70

83.00

72.00

17.40

212.00

1,220.00

9.00

429.00

27.00

39.00

77.00

88.90

120.00

5.20

135.00

70.80

56.20

117.00

59.00

60.00

146.00

16.30

40.00

29.10

60.90

61.90

738.00

91.50

47.50

180.00

11.80

221.00

67.00

30.90

195.00

100.00

556.00

20.50

280.00

26.00

249.00

55.00

1,100.00

434.00

200.00

34.50

135.00

305.00

218.00

14.60

320.00

74.00

57.00

29.00

8.40

37.00

494.00

32.00

53.10

83.00

21.00

40.00

22.30

265.00

27.90

13.60

41.90

94.50

79.30

10.20

128.00

34.70

250.00

43.70

63.90

56.00

555.00

269.00

100.10

1.43

-2.84

0.00

3.28

0.00

-0.52

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.08

0.00

-1.77

-0.57

0.00

0.00

-4.26

0.00

0.00

-0.26

-1.91

0.00

2.56

0.00

0.00

-19.73

3.12

0.00

0.00

-0.83

0.00

1.88

0.00

-11.82

5.91

1.48

-1.07

0.00

-1.04

1.12

0.00

-0.90

0.00

-0.32

-5.80

0.00

-0.18

0.00

0.00

5.69

1.63

0.00

0.00

3.58

0.00

0.58

0.00

-2.56

-0.91

0.69

0.00

0.00

1.60

0.35

0.00

-2.37

0.00

0.63

0.19

0.00

-17.65

0.00

0.00

-1.85

-0.71

-2.16

0.00

0.00

3.12

7.37

0.00

-0.29

2.04

0.00

0.00

-3.45

0.00

0.00

0.00

5,821,577

694,260

-

60

42,100

475,005

-

-

-

-

25,000

-

459,830

150,150

12,589

-

53,807

-

-

350,700

1,571,866

-

59,079

-

-

15,360

1

19,906

-

116,550

-

229,400

-

1,680,750

65

91,715

1,152,170

6,146,555

60,560

45,000

-

2,123,989

-

514,114

2,006,114

-

2,624,925

-

-

4,635,989

41,941

797,929

15,750

392,072

-

104,863

170,379

2,801,139

41,157

47,158

-

-

6,031,661

920,732

359,850

45,174

-

1,353,670

1,503,250

-

2,042

-

-

262,954

3,791,401

467,500

-

-

1,444,697

4,330,521

-

290,771

2,652,940

-

5,048

10

248,612

2,348,916

-

Al-Eid Food KscQurain Petrochemical Industr

Advanced Technology CoEkttitab Holding Co Sak

Real Estate Trade Centers CoAcico Industries Co Kscc

Kipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum Services

Alimtiaz Investment GroupRas Al Khaimah White Cement

Kuwait Reinsurance Co KscKuwait & Gulf Link Transport

Humansoft Holding Co KscAutomated Systems Co Kscc

Metal & Recycling CoGulf Franchising Holding Co

Al-Enma’a Real Estate CoNational Mobile Telecommuni

Sanad Holding Co KsccUnicap Investment And Financ

Al Salam Group Holding CoAl Aman Investment Company

Mashaer Holding Co KscManazel Holding

Tijara And Real Estate InvesJazeera Airways Co Ksc

Commercial Real Estate CoNational International Co

Taameer Real Estate Invest CGulf Cement Co

Heavy Engineering And Ship BNational Real Estate Co

Al Safat Energy Holding CompKuwait National Cinema CoDanah Alsafat Foodstuff Co

Independent Petroleum GroupKuwait Real Estate Co Ksc

Salhia Real Estate Co KscGulf Cable & Electrical Ind

Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co

Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc

Gulf Insurance Group KscUmm Al Qaiwain General Inves

Aayan Leasing & InvestmentAlrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities CoYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C

Dulaqan Real Estate CoReal Estate Asset Management

57.40

307.00

900.00

14.00

23.00

127.00

99.00

1,085.00

126.00

61.60

158.00

68.00

3,150.00

65.00

52.00

55.00

51.10

752.00

0.00

40.20

26.30

55.50

73.20

31.00

37.00

980.00

92.00

63.70

27.00

58.00

406.00

81.60

18.70

850.00

17.00

469.00

95.90

337.00

478.00

678.00

57.60

90.00

77.10

615.00

69.00

58.20

40.40

123.00

201.00

66.50

350.00

95.40

-5.90

0.00

0.00

0.72

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.98

0.00

-1.45

1.91

-9.72

0.00

0.00

-0.78

1.08

0.00

-4.06

-1.13

-0.36

0.27

0.32

-7.96

-6.58

1.88

4.43

0.00

0.00

-0.49

-0.12

13.33

0.00

-2.30

0.00

0.74

-0.88

0.21

-0.29

0.00

0.00

-8.30

0.00

11.47

1.75

-0.25

-0.81

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

321,000

817,126

-

51,346

-

14,000

-

-

330,809

12,710

-

605,018

215,568

500

-

-

706,662

44,308

-

777,729

1,476,779

228,174

813,800

137,000

100,500

624,483

983,095

20,226

1,595,702

-

957,220

1,136,677

3,361

-

677,768

-

283,509

110

2,216,327

2,538,589

-

-

-

-

95,333

17,542,936

156,300

599,986

96,236

-

-

-

OMAN

Company Name % Chg Volume

Voltamp Energy SaogVision Insurance Saoc

United Power/Energy Co- PrefUnited Power Co Saog

United Finance CoUbar Hotels & Resorts

Takaful OmanTaageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co

Sohar International BankSmn Power Holding Saog

Shell Oman Marketing - PrefShell Oman Marketing

Sharqiyah Desalination Co SaSembcorp Salalah Power & Wat

Salalah Port ServicesSalalah Mills Co

Salalah Beach Resort SaogSahara Hospitality

Renaissance Services SaogRaysut Cement Co

Phoenix Power Co SaocPackaging Co Ltd

OoredooOminvest

Oman United Insurance CoOman Telecommunications Co

Oman Refreshment CoOman Qatar Insurance Co

0.17

0.11

1.00

2.40

0.08

0.13

0.12

0.11

0.55

0.07

0.11

0.07

1.05

1.19

0.29

0.12

0.60

0.50

1.38

3.15

0.28

0.40

0.07

2.21

0.52

0.34

0.29

0.58

1.25

0.09

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.45

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.35

4.76

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.35

0.00

0.00

0.00

50,000

-

-

-

-

-

448

3,500

-

-

1,627

25,500

-

-

-

223,000

-

-

-

-

166,500

157,736

22,539

-

-

-

254,989

33,534

-

-

Sultan Center Food ProductsKuwait Foundry Co Sak

Kuwait Financial Centre SakAjial Real Estate Entmt

Kuwait Finance & InvestmentNational Industries Co Ksc

Kuwait Real Estate Holding CSecurities House/The

Boubyan Petrochemicals CoAl Ahli Bank Of Kuwait

Ahli United Bank (Almutahed)National Bank Of Kuwait

Commercial Bank Of KuwaitKuwait International Bank

Gulf BankAl-Massaleh Real Estate Co

Al Arabiya Real Estate CoKuwait Remal Real Estate Co

Alkout Industrial Projects CA’ayan Real Estate Co Sak

Investors Holding Group Co.KAl-Mazaya Holding Co

0.96

2.31

0.00

-0.46

0.00

-0.62

-4.90

1.66

0.00

-2.07

0.00

-0.21

0.00

0.00

-1.13

0.00

1.53

0.40

0.00

0.15

-5.26

0.91

329,414

120

-

581,868

271,403

15,500

32,859

500

575,841

403,566

94,665

1,433,584

-

497,122

2,498,994

-

37,001

577,995

-

339,570

304,605

788,006

42.00

398.00

88.50

218.00

53.40

160.00

23.30

42.80

750.00

284.00

312.00

937.00

505.00

268.00

262.00

40.00

26.50

25.40

850.00

67.00

7.20

55.50

Lt Price

LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

BUSINESS5Gulf Times

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. The S&P 500 may be trading at record highs, but Goldman Sachs Group is telling its rich clients that US stocks still reign supreme among assets.

US stocks rule as wealthy clients turn gutsy: Goldman

Stock markets rallyas jobs optimismlingers in the USAFPLondon

Global stock markets rallied yesterday as optimism from a forecast-busting US jobs re-

port lingered and confi dence grew that China and the United States will fi nally sign off on a mini trade pact.

Investor sentiment was also lifted by British Airways owner IAG, which agreed to buy Spain’s Air Europa for €1.0bn ($1.2bn), sending its share price up 1.2% in London.

European markets were “starting off the week in positive fashion, with stocks following their Asian counter-parts higher amid optimism over an upside surprise to Friday’s jobs report and US-China talks,” said IG analyst Joshua Mahoney.

London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.9% up at 7,369.69 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 ended 1.4% higher at 13,136.28 points and Paris’ CAC 40 fi nished adding 1.1% at 5,824.30 points, while the EURO STOXX 50 gained 1.1% at 3,662.81 points.

Wall Street stocks also pushed high-er, striking new records, building on a strong performance on Friday after the Labour Department said the US creat-ed 128,000 net new jobs in October, far surpassing the 80,000 expected, while the fi gure for the previous two months was also revised upwards.

The reading came days after data showed the world’s top economy slowed slightly in July-September but not as much as projected, which sug-gested it is stabilising.

“The bullish sentiment on Wall Street has been underlined by the fresh all-time highs achieved in the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100,” said market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets UK.

“The US-China trading relationship is heading in the right direction, which is driving the rally,” he added.

Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok and Taipei each piled on more than 1% while Shanghai jumped 0.6%.

In Europe, Frankfurt, Paris and Mi-lan enjoyed gains of more than 1%.

The upbeat mood was enhanced by comments from Chinese Vice Premier

Liu He that indicated trade talks with Washington were on track.

Liu said he had spoken on Friday to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, with both sides saying the talks were “con-structive”. Progress on the discussions has provided support to equities for the past few weeks, with speculation that Don-ald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet this month to sign off on the mini pact.

While the agreement would only be the fi rst part of a wider deal, it would be a major step after more than a year of a trade war that has undermined the world economy.

However, National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril warned there were still important issues to address.

“As much as the US-China trade up-dates continue to point to a phase one deal looking like a certainty, the con-tentious issues on whether the US will cancel the planned December tariff s and remove some of the current tariff s in line with China’s demands remains an unknown and if the issue is not resolved then a deal could easily col-lapse,” he said in a note.

Apple IncAmerican Express Co

Boeing Co/TheCaterpillar Inc

Cisco Systems IncChevron Corp

Walt Disney Co/TheDow Inc

Goldman Sachs Group IncHome Depot Inc

Intl Business Machines CorpIntel Corp

Johnson & JohnsonJpmorgan Chase & Co

Coca-Cola Co/TheMcdonald’s Corp

3M CoMerck & Co. Inc.

Microsoft CorpNike Inc -Cl B

Pfizer IncProcter & Gamble Co/The

Travelers Cos Inc/TheUnitedhealth Group Inc

United Technologies CorpVisa Inc-Class A Shares

Verizon Communications IncWalgreens Boots Alliance Inc

Walmart IncExxon Mobil Corp

256.70

119.87

348.66

146.21

47.73

120.71

133.35

53.44

219.70

235.12

137.21

57.47

131.46

128.92

53.53

189.02

172.96

85.33

144.53

90.04

38.37

121.31

131.06

251.76

147.49

180.36

60.36

59.23

118.28

71.04

0.34

0.61

1.01

1.19

1.48

3.87

0.45

2.16

1.06

-0.94

1.24

1.70

0.20

0.88

-0.69

-2.54

1.69

0.46

0.56

0.96

-0.07

-2.07

0.26

-0.18

0.55

-0.32

-0.02

3.22

0.56

2.07

2,440,795

98,641

156,403

413,453

1,191,298

665,569

517,751

256,109

178,444

128,614

170,901

1,294,467

219,859

625,052

410,735

1,407,894

172,291

315,375

1,484,141

404,617

872,842

356,714

74,209

291,538

153,012

455,428

676,894

936,454

246,044

980,643

DJIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Anglo American PlcAssociated British Foods Plc

Admiral Group PlcAshtead Group Plc

Antofagasta PlcAuto Trader Group Plc

Aviva PlcAstrazeneca PlcBae Systems Plc

Barclays PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc

Barratt Developments PlcBhp Group Plc

Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBritish Land Co Plc

Bunzl PlcBp Plc

Burberry Group PlcBt Group Plc

Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-DiCarnival PlcCentrica Plc

Compass Group PlcCroda International Plc

Crh PlcDcc Plc

Diageo PlcDirect Line Insurance Group

Evraz PlcExperian Plc

Easyjet PlcFerguson Plc

Fresnillo PlcGlencore Plc

Glaxosmithkline PlcGvc Holdings Plc

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc

Halma PlcHsbc Holdings Plc

Hiscox LtdIntl Consolidated Airline-Di

Intercontinental Hotels Grou3I Group Plc

Imperial Brands PlcInforma Plc

Intertek Group PlcItv Plc

Johnson Matthey PlcKingfisher Plc

Land Securities Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLloyds Banking Group Plc

London Stock Exchange GroupMicro Focus International

Marks & Spencer Group PlcMondi Plc

Melrose Industries PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets

National Grid PlcNmc Health Plc

Next PlcOcado Group Plc

Paddy Power Betfair PlcPrudential Plc

Persimmon PlcPearson Plc

Reckitt Benckiser Group PlcRoyal Bank Of Scotland Group

Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A ShsRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs

Relx PlcRio Tinto Plc

Rightmove PlcRolls-Royce Holdings PlcRsa Insurance Group Plc

Rentokil Initial PlcSainsbury (J) Plc

Schroders PlcSage Group Plc/The

Segro PlcSmurfit Kappa Group Plc

Standard Life Aberdeen PlcDs Smith Plc

Smiths Group PlcScottish Mortgage Inv Tr Plc

Smith & Nephew PlcSpirax-Sarco Engineering Plc

Sse PlcStandard Chartered Plc

St James’s Place PlcSevern Trent Plc

Tesco PlcTui Ag-Di

Taylor Wimpey PlcUnilever Plc

United Utilities Group PlcVodafone Group Plc

John Wood Group PlcWpp Plc

Whitbread Plc

2,097.50

2,252.00

2,041.00

2,401.00

898.20

548.60

422.30

7,463.00

583.60

168.86

2,788.00

629.20

1,727.80

4,442.00

604.20

2,026.00

510.80

2,064.00

205.45

2,347.00

3,181.00

71.78

2,018.00

4,854.00

2,878.00

7,342.00

3,145.50

275.50

380.10

2,423.00

1,306.00

6,574.00

724.60

255.00

1,755.60

811.20

2,004.00

1,751.00

1,900.00

597.60

1,435.00

550.60

4,715.00

1,146.00

1,745.40

782.40

5,376.00

133.30

3,203.00

215.00

919.80

268.30

58.25

7,060.00

1,029.20

184.35

1,678.50

221.60

200.10

898.20

2,370.00

6,584.00

1,344.50

0.00

1,387.00

2,274.00

699.60

5,906.00

217.00

2,311.00

2,306.00

1,848.00

4,327.00

592.80

735.40

534.40

446.80

207.00

3,113.00

720.20

845.40

2,754.00

310.00

372.10

1,656.50

513.00

1,661.00

8,210.00

1,283.00

718.20

1,066.00

2,258.00

239.20

1,041.50

168.20

4,602.50

864.00

160.30

365.40

983.20

4,179.00

2.64

0.09

0.99

0.88

0.90

0.81

0.62

-0.03

0.38

1.00

1.70

-0.76

3.25

-0.69

-1.21

0.70

2.76

1.43

1.03

-0.34

1.69

0.70

-0.93

0.29

0.91

0.44

-0.27

1.10

0.13

0.12

3.49

0.09

0.64

5.83

-0.31

-9.61

-0.30

0.81

0.11

1.49

-2.71

1.47

0.07

1.51

2.83

0.31

0.34

0.19

0.98

2.82

-1.33

0.90

1.64

0.31

0.67

2.56

2.72

1.65

0.78

-0.24

6.52

-0.69

0.41

0.00

2.14

-0.66

2.13

-0.25

1.07

2.23

2.33

-0.59

3.81

0.75

1.49

1.37

-1.41

1.17

0.26

-0.41

0.64

4.48

1.54

2.54

1.01

1.48

-0.18

1.61

-0.58

1.73

2.65

0.36

0.55

1.02

0.12

-0.21

-0.51

1.14

8.27

1.84

1.33

1,637,369

414,897

212,001

1,082,764

1,589,691

2,299,890

3,341,776

640,796

2,368,274

25,167,747

1,167,875

774,021

4,109,675

181,519

1,317,174

242,090

24,681,900

383,512

5,897,997

232,325

280,503

7,289,815

1,239,296

110,440

446,157

84,867

1,326,080

862,303

1,760,586

472,213

1,375,636

174,897

882,283

28,053,901

2,375,827

5,700,989

170,018

424,513

265,513

9,722,855

588,172

5,182,886

159,861

349,199

1,523,413

711,165

94,154

3,250,632

248,910

3,629,489

1,203,588

5,317,377

66,227,576

179,716

467,813

3,747,879

654,111

3,445,136

1,669,677

2,468,527

457,093

188,590

483,430

-

3,274,666

412,518

845,297

303,233

6,290,391

3,444,318

1,917,342

1,047,235

2,107,597

750,931

1,763,707

741,816

1,309,613

2,224,785

321,566

576,757

628,803

265,533

2,281,865

2,751,763

383,118

1,613,335

1,095,488

91,198

1,050,796

2,189,997

422,060

339,636

6,768,584

514,801

4,456,814

1,069,129

499,752

18,945,882

1,507,538

844,736

143,437

-

FTSE 100

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Japan Airlines Co LtdRecruit Holdings Co Ltd

Softbank CorpKyocera Corp

Nissan Motor Co LtdT&D Holdings Inc

Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp

Nitto Denko CorpHitachi Ltd

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings IncSumitomo Corp

Canon IncEisai Co Ltd

Nintendo Co LtdShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd

Mitsubishi CorpSmc Corp

3,376.00

3,622.00

1,501.00

6,945.00

696.40

1,202.00

7,551.00

3,039.00

5,930.00

4,104.00

4,000.00

1,350.00

1,663.50

2,961.00

7,621.00

41,500.00

12,030.00

2,731.50

48,340.00

0.06

0.30

1.08

-2.76

1.02

-1.48

0.12

1.33

-1.82

0.86

1.83

-1.24

-5.64

-0.03

-3.37

7.46

-1.07

-1.18

2.44

3,293,800

3,018,500

6,956,100

1,534,500

14,692,800

2,694,900

3,228,500

3,779,500

529,500

4,522,000

7,995,500

2,164,800

8,571,700

2,518,700

2,254,600

4,238,300

881,700

4,695,200

244,400

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd

Unicharm CorpNomura Holdings Inc

Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdSubaru Corp

Sumitomo Realty & DevelopmenNtt Docomo Inc

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp

Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp

Mizuho Financial Group IncSumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin

Japan Tobacco IncSumitomo Electric Industries

Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp

Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd

Central Japan Railway CoNitori Holdings Co Ltd

Ajinomoto Co IncDaikin Industries Ltd

Mitsui Fudosan Co LtdOno Pharmaceutical Co Ltd

Toray Industries IncBridgestone Corp

Sony CorpAstellas Pharma Inc

Hoya CorpNippon Steel Corp

Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone

Jxtg Holdings IncMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd

Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp

Sompo Holdings IncDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd

Dai-Ichi Life Holdings IncMazda Motor Corp

Komatsu LtdWest Japan Railway Co

Kao CorpMitsui & Co Ltd

Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd

Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd

Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc

Aeon Co LtdAsahi Kasei Corp

Kirin Holdings Co LtdMarubeni Corp

Mitsubishi Ufj Financial GroMitsubishi Chemical Holdings

Fanuc CorpFast Retailing Co Ltd

Ms&Ad Insurance Group HoldinKubota Corp

Seven & I Holdings Co LtdInpex Corp

Resona Holdings IncFujifilm Holdings Corp

Yamato Holdings Co LtdChubu Electric Power Co Inc

Mitsubishi Estate Co LtdMitsubishi Heavy Industries

Sysmex CorpShiseido Co Ltd

Shionogi & Co LtdTerumo Corp

Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd

East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp

Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr

16,090.00

1,253.00

3,685.00

494.90

6,861.00

3,122.00

3,939.00

3,014.00

3,592.00

1,718.50

5,428.00

74,470.00

169.20

3,981.00

2,427.50

1,480.00

502.90

4,192.00

980.80

9,518.00

22,280.00

16,300.00

2,073.00

15,170.00

2,794.50

2,071.00

772.20

4,500.00

6,619.00

1,840.50

9,408.00

1,591.50

5,271.00

5,369.00

505.60

6,053.00

1,274.50

4,912.00

4,298.00

3,750.00

1,734.50

993.00

2,495.50

9,482.00

8,740.00

1,852.00

14,430.00

4,462.00

15,890.00

2,347.00

9,905.00

5,833.00

2,176.50

1,206.50

2,305.50

756.10

565.90

826.60

21,185.00

67,670.00

3,498.00

1,697.50

4,046.00

983.10

471.70

4,746.00

1,798.00

1,608.00

2,131.00

4,300.00

7,220.00

8,907.00

6,342.00

3,545.00

2,635.00

22,245.00

9,937.00

2,284.00

3,706.00

1,561.00

3,861.00

0.03

-1.14

-0.11

-0.08

-3.91

-0.03

-0.10

1.31

-1.75

0.70

-0.04

8.21

0.24

0.13

-1.16

-1.10

2.70

0.05

6.97

-1.07

-0.07

-1.27

0.66

-0.39

0.49

1.17

0.19

-0.51

-0.09

-0.97

-2.03

0.00

2.61

-0.13

-0.75

3.24

0.79

-2.96

0.56

0.40

-2.86

-1.19

-2.48

0.69

-0.05

-0.83

0.42

-1.67

0.03

0.21

-1.59

-0.60

-0.39

-0.41

0.02

-1.27

-0.68

-0.48

-1.92

0.92

-0.31

-1.99

-1.32

-2.52

-0.72

-0.71

-1.43

-1.08

1.12

-2.32

1.88

-0.68

-2.70

-0.14

-0.42

0.77

0.89

0.57

-0.43

0.29

-0.49

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

Ck Hutchison Holdings LtdHang Lung Properties Ltd

Ck Infrastructure Holdings LHengan Intl Group Co Ltd

China Shenhua Energy Co-HCspc Pharmaceutical Group Lt

Hang Seng Bank LtdChina Resources Land Ltd

Ck Asset Holdings LtdSino Biopharmaceutical

Henderson Land DevelopmentAia Group Ltd

Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HWant Want China Holdings Ltd

Sun Hung Kai PropertiesNew World Development

Geely Automobile Holdings LtSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl A

Sands China LtdWharf Real Estate Investment

Clp Holdings LtdCountry Garden Holdings Co

Aac Technologies Holdings InShenzhou International GroupPing An Insurance Group Co-H

China Mengniu Dairy CoSunny Optical Tech

Boc Hong Kong Holdings LtdChina Life Insurance Co-H

Citic LtdGalaxy Entertainment Group L

Wh Group Ltd

73.55

17.38

57.35

56.00

15.78

20.80

167.80

34.55

55.75

12.16

39.65

82.15

5.82

6.83

119.70

11.32

15.20

75.90

39.85

46.55

83.30

11.50

51.50

109.00

93.25

32.25

132.50

27.70

20.80

10.50

55.10

8.64

1.03

0.70

1.24

3.70

0.38

4.94

1.64

1.92

1.83

3.75

0.63

3.33

1.93

3.17

0.93

0.89

2.29

0.73

1.92

0.11

1.03

3.23

0.00

0.55

1.63

1.42

2.40

2.03

1.22

1.35

1.75

1.77

4,254,929

3,523,003

2,553,884

2,508,633

16,150,933

52,092,302

1,438,133

20,207,120

5,695,645

43,436,922

4,790,176

29,586,750

218,933,146

13,125,695

3,330,780

14,126,075

45,596,340

1,002,979

11,343,202

4,947,066

4,134,114

38,630,451

9,246,845

2,197,321

22,638,897

12,344,138

5,226,218

14,883,465

56,917,293

12,333,706

9,385,367

34,996,797

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Hong Kong & China GasBank Of Communications Co-HChina Petroleum & Chemical-HHong Kong Exchanges & Clear

Bank Of China Ltd-HHsbc Holdings Plc

Power Assets Holdings LtdMtr Corp

China Overseas Land & InvestTencent Holdings Ltd

China Unicom Hong Kong LtdLink Reit

Sino Land CoChina Resources Power Holdin

Petrochina Co Ltd-HCnooc Ltd

China Construction Bank-HChina Mobile Ltd

15.50

5.49

4.57

250.00

3.31

60.10

56.60

45.95

26.05

327.60

7.86

85.75

12.06

9.95

3.88

12.26

6.48

64.20

0.52

1.10

1.33

1.05

1.85

0.84

0.62

0.88

2.96

1.87

1.03

-0.87

1.86

-0.40

1.84

2.51

1.89

-0.08

18,713,572

16,104,519

126,279,786

3,910,008

249,498,500

21,465,219

3,038,867

4,928,252

17,143,396

14,776,025

41,155,034

5,834,352

4,760,775

3,930,176

109,043,474

40,696,977

347,007,015

27,504,720

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Adani Ports And Special EconAsian Paints Ltd

Axis Bank LtdBajaj Finance Ltd

Bharti Airtel LtdBharti Infratel Ltd

Bajaj Auto LtdBajaj Finserv Ltd

Bharat Petroleum Corp LtdCipla Ltd

Coal India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Eicher Motors LtdGail India Ltd

Grasim Industries LtdHcl Technologies Ltd

Housing Development FinanceHdfc Bank Limited

Hero Motocorp LtdHindalco Industries Ltd

Hindustan Petroleum CorpHindustan Unilever Ltd

Icici Bank LtdIndiabulls Housing Finance L

Indusind Bank LtdInfosys Ltd

Indian Oil Corp LtdItc Ltd

Jsw Steel LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Larsen & Toubro LtdMahindra & Mahindra Ltd

Maruti Suzuki India LtdNtpc Ltd

Oil & Natural Gas Corp LtdPower Grid Corp Of India Ltd

Reliance Industries LtdState Bank Of India

Sun Pharmaceutical IndusTata Steel Ltd

Tata Consultancy Svcs LtdTech Mahindra Ltd

Titan Co LtdTata Motors Ltd

Upl LtdUltratech Cement Ltd

Vedanta LtdWipro Ltd

Yes Bank LtdZee Entertainment Enterprise

391.00

1,785.90

742.60

4,113.00

378.00

214.85

3,212.05

8,706.60

522.20

468.30

215.00

2,797.80

21,740.70

137.05

783.80

1,155.90

2,181.30

1,236.85

2,643.50

197.95

319.10

2,158.15

470.50

218.80

1,352.30

709.00

138.70

260.75

250.20

1,571.05

1,452.20

586.40

7,424.00

120.55

147.40

194.75

1,457.65

314.30

437.95

409.15

2,193.95

769.50

1,298.80

172.20

594.25

4,238.70

157.60

256.60

66.15

296.10

0.32

1.11

-0.76

1.06

1.33

6.12

-0.64

3.84

0.54

-0.19

3.81

1.49

-1.07

1.41

1.04

0.34

2.48

-0.26

-2.35

2.17

-0.58

-0.97

1.78

0.09

-2.00

3.07

-2.77

-0.21

5.30

-0.56

0.19

-0.57

-2.55

-0.78

2.25

-1.29

0.05

0.24

0.09

2.42

-0.32

1.19

-0.24

-1.63

0.97

1.82

2.97

-0.77

-0.68

-4.33

SENSEX

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

WORLD INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

GCC INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

Dow Jones Indus. AvgS&P 500 Index

Nasdaq Composite IndexS&P/Tsx Composite Index

Mexico Bolsa IndexBrazil Bovespa Stock Idx

Ftse 100 IndexCac 40 Index

Dax IndexIbex 35 Tr

Nikkei 225Japan Topix

Hang Seng IndexAll Ordinaries Indx

Nzx All IndexBse Sensex 30 Index

Nse S&P Cnx Nifty IndexStraits Times Index

Karachi All Share IndexJakarta Composite Index

+129.47

+14.09

+38.69

+55.42

+384.43

+522.90

+80.94

+57.52

+167.80

+87.10

-76.27

-0.51

+446.54

+20.69

+6.73

+136.93

+50.70

+6.97

+462.07

-26.85

+129.47

+14.09

+38.69

+55.42

+384.43

+522.90

+80.94

+57.52

+167.80

+87.10

-76.27

-0.51

+446.54

+20.69

+6.73

+136.93

+50.70

+6.97

+462.07

-26.85

Doha Securities Market

Kuwait Stocks Exchange

Oman Stock Market

10,200.98

4,750.44

4,020.88

+4.85

-14.83

+13.41

“Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on this data.”

981,100

2,152,000

1,184,400

15,236,100

1,692,600

1,188,400

951,800

5,485,600

1,141,200

5,496,200

493,700

925,200

65,799,500

600,300

4,705,600

2,696,100

6,913,900

12,020,600

19,440,700

1,095,800

242,200

242,600

927,100

425,800

2,193,100

1,478,300

5,439,100

978,500

5,817,800

8,765,900

1,185,200

2,665,200

1,748,700

1,648,500

9,442,400

9,905,600

3,805,500

3,050,200

829,700

1,808,700

6,736,700

3,875,400

6,538,400

314,800

1,692,000

7,307,400

302,500

1,026,500

718,900

1,441,200

489,800

1,584,600

1,476,400

2,360,600

1,410,500

7,630,200

40,595,400

7,168,500

711,000

395,500

775,400

3,519,500

3,003,100

4,289,700

8,615,400

1,033,400

2,436,100

1,552,800

2,384,600

1,855,100

671,200

1,697,600

1,164,400

847,800

1,402,600

1,183,500

716,600

4,417,900

906,900

4,250,300

3,493,300

3,146,855

821,893

7,851,370

1,863,158

7,620,719

16,966,469

330,025

552,812

4,681,345

2,393,325

8,489,492

808,849

157,014

7,028,979

2,504,708

1,511,084

6,580,464

4,967,588

760,461

15,421,372

2,979,670

1,523,698

16,254,715

42,777,294

3,641,707

29,381,982

11,549,826

7,895,272

17,613,567

1,434,393

1,459,894

3,128,961

824,953

7,894,331

11,733,406

8,536,355

6,429,329

31,535,656

4,646,694

28,934,434

2,646,411

4,936,914

1,706,003

40,641,411

1,912,912

875,545

26,458,173

1,920,535

420,997,681

31,754,992

Volume

Volume

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Tuesday, November 5, 20196

The bull statue outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX 30 ended 1.4% higher at 13,136.28 points yesterday.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Tuesday, November 5, 201910

Zinc and lead supply hits push expected surpluses into 2020By Andy HomeLondon

Zinc and lead are both in short supply

on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

Headline zinc stocks of 53,875 tonnes are

back at April levels, while “live” tonnage of

27,800 tonnes is the lowest it’s been in at

least 20 years.

Lead stocks are a little higher at 70,075

tonnes but have failed significantly to

rebuild from July’s decade low of 55,475

tonnes.

Unsurprisingly, both LME contracts are

experiencing time-spread tightness.

Zinc closed last week with cash metal

commanding a $61-per tonne premium

over metal for three-month delivery.

Lead’s front-month curve structure is

also in backwardation to the tune of $7.25

at Friday’s close.

The sister metals have defied expec-

tations of a shift into supply surplus

throughout this year and they continue

to do so.

Even though both are seeing flagging

demand, particularly from the automotive

sector, supply bottlenecks have kept each

market in supply deficit this year, accord-

ing to the International Lead and Zinc

Study Group.

Indeed, ILZSG has just widened its ex-

pected 2019 zinc supply deficit to 178,000

tonnes from an assessment of 121,000

tonnes at the Group’s last meeting in May.

That’s despite a downgrade to demand,

which is now expected to decline by 0.1%,

largely due to weakness in Europe, where

usage is forecast to contract by 3.7% this

year.

Supply, though, just hasn’t come

through in the way anticipated at the

start of the year. Back in May the Group

was looking for world mine production

to surge by 6.2% this year, laying the

ground for a 3.6% increase in refined

metal output.

Those forecasts have been slashed to

just 2.0% and 2.5% respectively.

Mine supply has increased as expected

in Australia, but the impact has been off set

by sharp declines of 6.4% in Peru and 7.8%

in the United States.

The anticipated rise in refined produc-

tion has only really played out in China,

where output is expected to lift by 7.1%

this year.

Outside of China, smelter hits have

caused a bottleneck in the supply chain.

European production will fall by 3.5%

this year due to lower output at Nyrstar’s

plants in France and the Netherlands,

while the permanent closure of the

100,000-tonne per year Vladikavkaz

smelter in Russia has blown a lasting hole

in regional capacity.

A string of smaller smelter outages

will also depress output in Australia, India

and Canada, the ILZSG said. The Group’s

revisions to its May forecasts for the lead

market are even more dramatic.

The global refined market was expected

to register a supply-usage surplus of

71,000 tonnes this year but that has just

been revised to a shortfall of 46,000

tonnes. Lead too is expected to see a fall

in demand this year, led by a 1.1% decline

in China, which is seeing weakness in

automotive production and “increased use

of lithium-ion batteries in both the motor-

cycle and e-bike sectors and for Uninter-

ruptable Power Supply (UPS) stationary

backup systems,” according to ILZSG.

However, lead supply has misfired

even more than zinc with the Group now

forecasting global refined production

to contract by 0.3% this year, compared

with an expectation in May that it would

grow by 2.5%.

The main culprit is Nyrstar’s Port Pirie

lead smelter in Australia.

The plant went down in May and fol-

lowing a restart was out of action again in

August. Canada’s Belledune smelter has

also seen production hit by industrial ac-

tion, while Glencore’s permanent closure

of its Palpala plant in Argentina last year

has served to reduce Latin American treat-

ment capacity.

While events this year confounded a

market narrative of zinc and lead tran-

sitioning from supply deficit to surplus,

ILZSG’s forecasts suggest the shift has

simply been delayed not cancelled.

The Group is forecasting a zinc market

surplus of 192,000 tonnes and a lead mar-

ket surplus of 55,000 tonnes in 2020.

This year’s demand weakness is ex-

pected to fade with expectations that zinc

usage will increase by 0.9% and lead by

0.8% next year.

But the delayed supply surge is

expected finally to arrive with full impact

next year. Zinc mined and refined supply

are forecast to rise by 4.7% and 3.7% re-

spectively with lead mine supply up 3.9%

and refined output up 1.7%.

This year’s smelter bottlenecks are ex-

pected largely to clear next year, although

Port Pirie’s technical travails remain a key

variable for lead’s supply chain.

Both zinc and lead prices have spent

much of 2019 on the back foot with the

market trading the elusive surplus story.

It’s only in the last couple of weeks that

there’s been something of a collective

double-take, primarily because visible

exchange stocks have shown no sign of re-

building. LME three-month lead last week

hit a year-to-date high of $2,265 per tonne,

although it has since been knocked back

to a current $2,160.

Andy Home is a columnist for Reuters.

The views expressed are those of the author.

China reviews Xi’s options to visit US to ink Trump trade dealBloombergBeijing

China is reviewing locations in the US where President Xi Jin-ping would be willing to meet

with Donald Trump to sign the fi rst phase of a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies, people familiar with the plans said.

Offi cials in Beijing had hoped that if Xi travelled to the US to sign stage one of the agreement it would be as part of a state visit, but they’re open to having him go even if it isn’t, people familiar with the matter said. No fi nal decision has been made, said a Chinese offi cial, who asked not to be named discussing the private negotiations.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang yester-day met a US delegation that includ-ed National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at a regional summit in Bangkok.

Before meeting Li, Ross told a morn-ing business forum that the US was “very far along” with “phase one” of a trade deal with China. Earlier, Trump told reporters that a trade agreement, if completed, would be signed some-

where in the US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross signals the US and China are on track to sign the fi rst phase one of a trade deal.

“We’re relatively close to an agree-ment,” O’Brien told reporters in Bang-kok yesterday, adding that Trump in-vited Xi to the US if the two sides are ready to sign the phase one agreement. “I’m cautiously optimistic about it.”

In an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday, Ross expressed optimism the US would conclude an initial agree-ment with China this month before working on additional phases. He also said licenses would be coming “very shortly” for US fi rms to sell compo-nents to China’s Huawei Technologies Company.

US equity futures advanced along with stocks worldwide on signs that trade tensions are easing. China’s off -shore strengthened as much as 0.27% to 7.0227 per dollar on Monday, at one point breaking through its 100-day moving average for the fi rst time since May.

Ross called the phase one agreement “particularly complicated” and said the US was “making sure that each side has a very correct and clear, detailed understanding of what each side has

agreed to.” Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii and locations in China were all possible places for Trump and President Xi Jin-pingto sign the deal after the cancella-tion of this month’s Asia-Pacifi c Eco-nomic Co-operation summit in Chile.

“We’re in good shape, we’re making good progress, and there’s no natural reason why it couldn’t be,” Ross said. “But whether it will slip a little bit, who knows. It’s always possible.”

Ross and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien are leading a down-graded American delegation to meet-ings hosted by the 10-member Asso-ciation of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand. Ross said yesterday that the Trump administration remained “fully committed” to the Indo-Pacifi c re-gion, amid questions over US strategy fuelled by the president’s absence.

Asian leaders were separately ex-pected to announce a breakthrough on another trade pact, the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, at the end of the meet-ings. It remained uncertain whether the pact would include India, which jeopardised it with last-minute re-quests.

Ross in the interview downplayed the signifi cance of RCEP, which would

lower tariff s in an area that represents roughly a third of the global economy, and defended US engagement in Asia after Trump skipped the Asean meet-ings for a second straight year.

Contentious issues remain and the terms aren’t yet known, but RCEP would at least partly fi ll a trade gap left by Trump’s 2017 withdrawal from the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership.

Southeast Asia collectively has the world’s fifth largest economy and has struggled to wade through the economic fallout of US-China trade tensions.

Top American and Chinese negotia-tors both spoke on the phone on Friday and described the talks as “construc-tive” as they look to lower tensions in a trade war that has roiled global growth. On Saturday, after the call, Chinese state media reiterated the nation’s core demands, including the removal of all punitive tariff s.

The deal would see China increase purchases of US agriculture products, keep its currency stable and open fi -nancial services markets to American fi rms. In return, Beijing wants the US to do away with new import taxes due to take eff ect December 15 on goods in-cluding smart-phones.

Ross remained non-committal on whether the Trump administration would suspend the December tariff hike. He also said further phases of the deal would depend on things involving legislation on the part of China and an enforcement mechanism.

Asked about a potential meeting be-tween Xi and Trump, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang re-peated that the two are in “in touch by various means” at a regular briefi ng in Beijing yesterday.

Chinese offi cials have cast doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade deal even as the two sides close in on the phase one agreement, Bloomberg reported last week. China has stated for months that a fi nal deal must include the removal of all puni-tive tariff s, and has baulked at reforms in areas such as state-run enterprises that could jeopardise the Communist Party’s grip on power.

Trump has placed dozens of Chinese fi rms on the Commerce Department’s “entity list,” hampering their abil-ity to purchase American software and components. It fi rst targeted Huawei in May for national security reasons, and last month added 28 more companies including artifi cial intelligence giants

SenseTime Group Ltd, Megvii Tech-nology Ltd and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company.

Entities on the list are prohibited from doing business with American companies without being granted a US government license, although some have maintained relationships with banned companies through interna-tional subsidiaries. China’s govern-ment has signalled it will hit back over the blacklist, and the companies have denied wrongdoing.

The blacklist is also hurting Ameri-can companies that do business with China, and particularly Huawei. Trump said in June after meeting with Xi in Japan that he’d “easily” agreed to allow American fi rms to continue cer-tain exports to Huawei, and weeks later Trump said he’d accelerate the approv-al process for licences.

Still, none have been granted so far. The president as recently as this month green-lit the approval of licenses in a meeting with advisers, according to people familiar with the matter, but an announcement has yet to be made.

Ross on Sunday said the licences “will be forthcoming very shortly,” noting that the government received 260 requests.

TSMC to keep supplying Huawei, quashes talk of US pressureBloombergTaipei

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co will continue making chips for

Huawei Technologies Company, after Taiwan’s government de-nied a report that Washington asked it to lean on the semicon-ductor giant to suspend business with its No 2 customer.

The Trump administration hasn’t asked the island’s gov-ernment to freeze the fl ow of chips to Huawei, Taiwan Cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka told Bloomberg News by telephone. “Our government has not re-ceived any request from the US government to stop TSMC from supplying Huawei,” she said, re-sponding to a Financial Times report about pressure from the White House.

TSMC said it wasn’t aware of any American request to cut off Huawei, which Washington blacklisted in May citing threats to US national security. Hua-wei has denied those claims. Its shares gained as much as 3% in Taipei yesterday to an intraday record high.

On Saturday, chairman Mark Liu told reporters the company will grow signifi cantly in 2020, when top client Apple Inc trots out its fi rst fi fth-generation-capable iPhones.

TSMC is the largest producer of made-to-order chips for most of the world’s biggest tech Corps from Apple to Qualcomm Inc. It plays a crucial role, as the most advanced manufacturer, in driv-ing global electronics and for Huawei in particular, given the Chinese giant hasn’t ramped up its own in-house chip-making but needs semiconductors for its smartphones and network-ing gear. Freezing out Huawei could disrupt more than 10% of TSMC’s annual revenue.

Months after the Trump ad-ministration blacklisted China’s Huawei, its business continues to thrive while global technology fi rms remain unsure whether they can work with the Chi-nese company or not. TSMC’s Liu discussed Huawei with of-fi cials from the US Department of Commerce during a trip to the US earlier this year, compa-ny spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun told Bloomberg News by phone, without elaborating on what they discussed.

The commerce department in May added Huawei to what’s known as the entity list in an ef-fort to block US companies from selling components to China’s largest technology company. Several of the largest US Corps, like Intel Corp and Micron Technology Inc, have resumed some business with the Chinese fi rm.

After a closer look at the rules, they determined they could continue supplying some products based on an export control law. The rule doesn’t subject a product or service to the entity listing’s constraints if a company can prove that a piece of technology owes less than 25% of its origins to US-based activities.

Taiwan and the US had been “in close communication” over information technology security issues, Taiwanese presidential spokesman Ernesto Ting said in a text message. “We believe TSMC and other Taiwanese companies will co-operate with the US and other major countries to ensure tech security,” he said.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed opti-mism over the weekend that the US would reach a “Phase One” trade deal with China this month, and said licenses would be coming “very short-ly” for American companies to sell components to Huawei.

India exits China-backed trade agreement as 15 nations ready to signBloombergBangkok

India pulled out of a trade pact cover-ing much of Asia, paving the way for 15 other countries to sign the China-

backed regional trade deal next year.India conveyed its decision to pull out

of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, foreign ministry offi cial Vijay Thakur Singh told reporters in Bangkok yesterday. The government took the decision in the national interest, she said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided not to join the deal in order to protect service workers and farmers, an offi cial told reporters in New Delhi yester-day. India had pushed the other 15 nations to address its concern over defi cits and open their markets to Indian services and investments, the offi cial said.

“India has signifi cant outstanding is-sues, which remain unresolved,” RCEP countries said in a joint statement yes-terday. “All RCEP Participating Coun-tries will work together to resolve these outstanding issues in a mutually satis-factory way.

India’s fi nal decision will depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues.” India is welcome to join RCEP whenever it’s ready, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told reporters in Bangkok yesterday. Asian leaders had hoped to an-nounce a breakthrough on the trade pact this week. “It’s the 15 nations that have decided to move forward fi rst,” Le said, adding that a few issues won’t be com-pleted before the end of the year.

“There won’t be any problem for the 15 nations to sign RCEP next year,” he added. “We are taking an open attitude - when-ever India is ready, it’s welcome to get onboard.” China has sought to acceler-ate the pact covering a third of the global

economy as it faces slowing growth from a trade war with the US, which withdrew from the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership after Donald Trump took offi ce in 2017.

A deal would further integrate Asia’s economies with China just as the Trump administration urges Asian nations to shun Chinese infrastructure loans and 5G technology. India has long been the main holdout on due to domestic opposition over worries it would be fl ooded by cheap

goods from China. It made last-minute demands in the run-up to the Bangkok meetings that ended up derailing the talks. The Philippines said on Saturday that negotiations wouldn’t be completed until February.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is leading a downgraded US delegation to Asean, downplayed the signifi cance of RCEP in an interview on Sunday. Most Southeast Asian leaders skipped a sum-

mit yesterday with US representatives after Trump decided to avoid the annual meetings for a second straight year.

“RCEP is not much of an agreement,” Ross told Bloomberg. “It’s not a free trade agreement, it’s not anything remotely like TPP, nor anything remotely like our separate arrangements with Japan and with South Korea. So I don’t think you want to blow that out of proportion. It’s a very low-grade treaty.”

Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha speaks at the closing ceremony of the 35th Asean Summit and related summits in Bangkok yesterday. India pulled out of a trade pact covering much of Asia, paving the way for 15 other countries to sign the China-backed regional trade deal next year.

Merkel cheers VW’s electric push amid growing climate critiqueBloombergZwickau

Angela Merkel’s visit to a re-vamped Volkswagen AGelec-tric-car plant in Zwickau yes-

terday is a stark reminder of what’s at stake both for the German chan-cellor and VW boss Herbert Diess.

Merkel — who critics say has long been soft on the auto industry — has come under fi re for failing to make more progress in curbing green-house-gas emissions, while Diess is attempting to manage the expen-sive shift to electric vehicles for the masses without ruining the world’s biggest carmaker.

“This will mean a paradigm shift in mobility that has never been re-alised in automotive history,” Merkel told a crowd of VW employees and grandees from Saxony yesterday. German government is prepared to undertake “great eff ort” to incen-tivise purchases of electric autos, including making them aff ordable to regular drivers. “It’s important that we establish the policy framework anew.”

Merkel’s visit to the factory in the eastern state of Saxony marks the production start for the VW brand’s fi rst mass-market vehicle based on a technology developed solely for bat-tery-powered cars. Customers have placed deposits for more than 35,000 ID.3 cars. Success for the model, which starts at just under €30,000 ($33,500) and will hit showrooms across Europe next summer, is vital for the massive investment to pay off and safeguard jobs.

“There is a lot of talk about the de-cline of the German auto industry at the moment,” Diess said at the event. “If that’s going to happen, depends on us.”

The chancellor’s foray into eastern Germany comes just days after her Christian Democrat party slumped to a disastrous result in an election in the neighbouring state of Thur-ingia, stoking fresh doubts about the stability of her ruling coalition in Berlin. Voters have deserted her Christian Democrat-led bloc and her junior coalition partner, the So-cial Democrats, in droves amid gains for the far-right and environmental-ist Greens.

For VW, the ID. 3 represents a fi rst stage in its attempt to manage a tran-sition away from the combustion engine without infl icting too much damage on its balance sheet, some-thing no automaker has yet accom-plished. The company targets selling 22mn electric models through 2028.

Robotic arms sit on the produc-

tion line for the all-electric ID. car range at the Volkswagen AG automo-bile manufacturing plant in Zwickau.

The Zwickau plant, which had been making Golfs and Passats, marks the traditional automaking industry’s fi rst site being switched directly to all-electric cars from combustion-powered models. The company plans to produce 100,000 vehicles at the plant next year.

“The production start of the ID.3 ushers in a new era for Volkswagen — one comparable to the fi rst Beetle or the fi rst Golf,” Thomas Ulbrich, VW brand board member responsible for electric mobility, said in a statement. The factory is going “from 100% in-ternal combustion engines to 100% electric drives.”

Construction work to convert the Zwickau factory into Europe’s larg-est plant exclusively making fully-electric vehicles is on track to fi nish in 2021, VW said. Upon completion, it will churn out as many as 330,000 cars per year, slightly less than Tesla Inc’s targeted global deliveries for 2019.

An employee holds a charger for a VW E-Golf at an electric charging station in front of the Volkswagen AG plant in Zwickau.

It’s unclear, though, how many German customers will switch to electric cars in a country with a rich automotive heritage centred on combustion engines. Charging infrastructure in Europe’s largest economy remains patchy. Adoption

has been tepid and forced Merkel to push back a target of 1mn electric cars on German roads by two years to 2022.

VW has earmarked about €30bn to develop the industry’s largest fl eet of electric cars, more than any other company. Zwickau is leading the push with plans to produce six diff erent models for the group’s VW, Audi and Seat brands. The company will have a total of eight factories worldwide by 2022 that make elec-tric vehicles.

Top offi cials from German auto-makers, parts suppliers and labour unions are due to meet Merkel and key regional leaders in Berlin yes-terday evening for their latest dis-cussion about electric mobility,

including plans to boost charging infrastructure.

Merkel said in a podcast on Sun-day previewing the meeting that the government’s focus is on pro-moting electric vehicles but that it’s also open to hydrogen technology. It wants 1mn charging stations to be in place by 2030, she said.

Encouraging consumers to buy electric cars via a so-called “En-vironment Bonus” funded by the government and automakers is one option under consideration, Merkel added.

“It’s not a question if the electric car will prevail, but how fast the adoption will be in diff erent mar-kets,” Diess said in Zwickau.

“Germany must drive the change.”

Fiat deal would leave Peugeot CEO with a European headacheBloombergParis

PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

NV’s plan to combine into the world’s

fourth-largest automaker will face a

laundry list of challenges, with the bleak

outlook for Europe near the top.

The Peugeot car manufacturer and Fiat

mapped out an accord on Thursday for a

50-50 Netherlands-based holding com-

pany to be headed by PSA chief executive

off icer Carlos Tavares. They said the deal

would lead to €3.7bn ($4.1bn) in annual

synergies without factory closures.

Investors sent PSA shares tumbling as

much as 14% after digesting the details,

which show the French carmaker paying a

premium of around 32%. Fiat shares rose

as much as 11%.

The combination would create a global

powerhouse and leave Tavares, who has

successfully turned around PSA and the

loss-making Opel brand it acquired, to figure

out how to integrate Fiat’s struggling opera-

tions in Europe. The Italian-American manu-

facturer published earnings on Thursday

that showed a widening loss in the region.

“Fiat-Chrysler is in a very bad situation” in

Europe, said Jean-Pierre Corniou, a partner

at SIA consultancy in Paris. Only the Ameri-

can brands, RAM and Jeep are attractive,

and the Fiat plant utilisation rate is around

50% in some parts of Italy, he said.

The contrast with PSA is striking. Sales of

Fiat Chrysler branded cars including Fiat,

Jeep, Lancia, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and

Maserati, fell 10% in Europe during the first

nine months of 2019, based on data from

the European Automobile Manufacturers

Association. At the French carmaker, the

second-largest in sales in the region, they

were little changed, against an industry

decline of 1.6%.

The plan for their tie-up is unfolding at

an exacting time for global car manufac-

turers who are having to grapple with a

deepening industry slump and a wall of

investment required for new technologies.

The deal would bring together the billion-

aire Agnelli clan in Italy and the Peugeot

family of France. Yet their deep national

roots, along with the French government’s

12% stake in PSA, will make slimming down

all the more diff icult. France is one of the

biggest shareholders of PSA, and while the

government has signalled support for a

deal, it has also warned it would scrutinise

the jobs impact and governance struc-

ture of the new company. Italian Industry

Minister Stefano Patuanelli also said the

government would make sure the deal and

expected cost cuts don’t aff ect jobs in Italy.

The combination makes economic and

strategic sense, but “there are significant

hurdles to overcome and execution risks

if the deal goes through,” Oddo BHF

analysts wrote in a note. These include

headcount and under-utilised plants in

Europe as well as the challenge of gaining

antitrust clearance for a combined com-

pany that would have a strong presence in

France, Italy and Spain, they said.

Looming large over operations in Europe

are tougher rules on emissions that kick

in next year. Carmakers’ fleets will have

to comply with stricter caps, leaving Fiat

vulnerable to future fines. The Italian-

American company is a laggard on low-

emissions technology whereas PSA plans

to introduce 7 electric vehicles by 2021

and to make available all of its model in

either electric or hybrid versions by 2025.

Still, Fiat brings PSA a long-sought presence

in North America, a market that’s traditional-

ly been more profitable for the car industry.

Tavares also has a track record of turning

around European automotive operations.

“Tavares’ playbook has been to take on loss

making businesses and fix them, rapidly,”

Bernstein analyst Max Warburton wrote in a

note. “We believe he can achieve something

similar at Fiat in Europe.”

PSA and Fiat said they aim to reach a bind-

ing memorandum of understanding in the

coming weeks. Goldman Sachs, D’Angelin

& Co and Sullivan & Cromwell are advising

Fiat Chrysler. Perella Weinberg and Me-

diobanca’s Messier Maris are advising PSA.

The Peugeot family is advised by Zaoui &

Co and Lazard is advising Exor.

Some employees chafe as Google’s new internal rules take holdBloombergEdinburgh

A controversial new hire at Google has provided a test of the company’s new community guidelines, which it says are an eff ort to curb increased incivility at work. But some employees say the new rules smack of censorship.Tensions at the company have flared over the hiring of Miles Taylor, who previously served as chief of staff to former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, as a government aff airs and public policy manager. Some employees have accused Taylor of helping to support the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies.Karan Bhatia, Google’s global policy chief, told employees in a staff meeting last week that Taylor wasn’t involved in the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the US southern border. But on October 28, BuzzFeed News published

emails showing that Taylor had in fact shaped talking points for Nielsen on the administration’s detention of migrant children.On an internal Google message board on October 29 and October 30, employees posted memes that cited parts of the BuzzFeed News report and accused Bhatia of misleading employees, according to three Google employees and messages seen by Bloomberg News.At least two of those memes were deleted by company moderators, according to the three Google employees, who requested anonymity because they aren’t authorised to talk to the press. The action was considered unusual because Google has historically encouraged open debate, including on its widely used internal message boards.“It’s censorship. It can’t be described as anything else,” said a Google software engineer who has worked for the company for more than five years. “They are trying to shut down any

criticism of him and his work with the DHS.”The incident is the second case in about a week in which Google has reportedly acted to shut down criticism of Taylor’s hiring. On October 24, ahead of an all-staff meeting, the company removed questions about his appointment from Dory, an internal website on which employees vote on topics that they want management to address, BuzzFeed News reported.Alphabet Inc’s Google confirmed that it had removed several memes and a question from Dory that had violated the new guidelines, which were introduced in August. The company said it continues to welcome debate but not if it involves attacking or trolling colleagues, or calling them names.As part of the guidelines, all Google message boards now have an employee who serves as a moderator, but the company said shutting down or deleting threads is a last resort.Taylor declined to comment. He was

hired as Google continues to try to build stronger ties with Republicans after being criticised for pulling out of a military cloud contract and being accused of bias against conservatives in search results.The moderator who deleted the memes defended the decision. “We don’t allow personal attacks on individuals, including memes that exist to humiliate or make Google unwelcoming for a co-worker,” the person wrote in a post on Thursday, which was reviewed by Bloomberg News.The moderator’s actions attracted widespread discussion inside Google, with one employee arguing that it was wrong to attack a new colleague while others insisted that hiring Taylor was itself a violation of Google’s guidelines on diversity and inclusion, according to one of the workers.One meme, which wasn’t removed and was viewed by Bloomberg News, featured an image from the “The Matrix” in which Keanu Reeves’ character, Thomas Anderson, has

his mouth sealed up during an interrogation so that he can’t make a phone call. The image contained the caption: “Tell me, Mr Anderson: What good is it to expose your company’s connection to child imprisonment when your community is ‘moderated’?”The latest clash between rank-and-file employees and Google executives comes after more than 18 months of worker discontent at the company. Employees last year organised a global walkout over the company’s handling of sexual harassment complaints and launched internal campaigns against some Google projects, including a censored search engine in China and a contract with the Pentagon to analyse drone footage.In another recent example, some employees raised concerns over a mandatory new tool that was added to the Chrome browser on their work computers. An internal employee memo said the tool would automatically report staff ers who

create a calendar event with more than 10 rooms or 100 participants, which it alleged was “an attempt of leadership to immediately learn about any workers organisation attempts.” Google said the tool was merely a “pop-up reminder that asks people to be mindful before auto-adding a meeting to the calendars of large numbers of employees.”A meme that has circulated within the company in recent weeks, viewed by Bloomberg News, had summed up the current atmosphere at the company, according to one employee. It depicts an organisational chart of Google from 2014, in which workers at the bottom of the hierarchical ladder are connected directly to their bosses and there is no division between them. Next to that image there is an organisational chart from 2019, in which the connections between rank-and-file and leadership have all been severed — and both sides are pointing pistols at each other. “This is where we’re at,” the employee said. “It’s bad.”

Eurozone factories stuck in a slump as trade war still biting

ReutersLondon

Factory activity across the eurozone con-

tracted sharply last month as demand was

again stifled by the US trade war with China

and the persistent lack of clarity over Britain’s

departure from the European Union, a survey

showed.

Worryingly for policymakers at the European

Central Bank, who have restarted a €2.6tn

bond-buying programme after cutting interest

rates on deposits in September, the malaise

appears to be spread across the region.

New ECB president Christine Lagarde will have to

heal a rift between representatives of cash-rich

countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and

France, who opposed the decision to resume

bond purchases, and the struggling periphery.

But those struggles appear widespread and

manufacturing activity in Germany, Europe’s

largest economy, remained stuck in reces-

sion last month as new orders fell for the 13th

month running and factories slashed jobs at

the fastest pace in almost 10 years.

Italian manufacturing activity declined for the

13th month running while in Spain it contracted

for a fifth month as political turmoil at home

and abroad took their toll. However, the other

of the bloc’s four biggest economies, France,

bucked the trend and factory growth increased

modestly, likely supported by billions of euros

of stimulus from the government.

IHS Markit’s final manufacturing Purchasing

Managers’ Index (PMI) for the eurozone was

45.9, barely above September’s seven-year low

reading of 45.7 and its ninth month below the

50 mark separating growth from contraction.

“It was better than anticipated but it was still

heavily in negative territory.

It basically is telling us that the eurozone

manufacturing sector is in recession,” said

Peter Dixon at Commerzbank.

“To a large extent, it is because the eurozone

is being hammered by the US-China trade

dispute which is hampering world trade.”

An index measuring output, which feeds into a

composite PMI due tomorrow that is seen as a

good barometer of economic health, rose to 46.6

from September’s near seven-year low of 46.1.

New orders across the eurozone also fell, with

the related index spending its 13th straight

month below the breakeven mark, although it

did rise to 45.3 from 43.4, IHS Markit said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday sug-

gested he could sign a long-awaited trade

agreement with China that negotiations about

a “phase one” agreement were going well.

But last month he also began slapping tariff s

on EU imports such as French wine and Span-

ish olives.

Meanwhile, Britain had been due to leave the

European Union on October 31 but has now

had that delayed for the third time this year

after Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to get

an exit deal through parliament in time.

Other forward-looking indicators in the survey

suggest there won’t be any turnaround soon

in the eurozone, despite factories cutting their

prices for a fourth month in October.

Still, morale among investors in the bloc

jumped in November to its highest level since

June on signs of an economic upswing in Asia

and resilience in the US economy, another

survey showed yesterday.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) poses for photographs while holding a sketch of a Volkswagen ID.3 electric automobile with Herbert Diess, CEO of VW (second right), in Zwickau, Germany, yesterday. Merkel’s visit to the factory in the eastern state of Saxony marks the production start for the VW brand’s first mass-market vehicle based on a technology developed solely for battery-powered cars.

BUSINESS11Gulf Times

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

BUSINESSTuesday, November 5, 2019

GULF TIMES

HE the Governor of the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud al-Thani met with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and his accompanying delegation, in Doha. During the meeting, they stressed the importance of the Qatari-US strategic partnership, and reviewed bilateral relations between the State of Qatar and the United States in various financial and banking sectors.

QCB Governor meets US Secretary of Treasury QIC ranked again as top investment house from Mena regionQatar Insurance Company (QIC) has again been recognised as the ‘Top Investment House’ in a survey conducted by The Asset magazine, in collaboration with Benchmark Research. The survey ranked top investment houses in Asian G3 bonds (issued by Asian issuers in USD, EUR, and JPY) based on the number of votes won by their investors. More than 377 diff erent institutions, including asset managers, hedge funds, private banks, banks, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds were evaluated and shortlisted during the survey. The ranking methodology used for the survey was based on the number of votes received from top-rated analysts, economists and strategists, sales teams, and traders in these institutions. In addition, the ranking score was also subject to a weighting methodology, which was determined by the rating of the individual

casting the vote for the investors. Khalifa Turki A al-Subaey, Group President & CEO of QIC Group, stated: “We are honoured to be named as the ‘Top Investment House’ from the Mena region. The prestigious ranking serves as a testament to the resounding success of our business strategy built along a customer-centric and technologically-progressive

approach, ably backed by the investments team.”He added: “Investments are a cornerstone for the success of our business. Not only does this showcase the goodwill and reputation that QIC has built over the years of its operation, but also brings to the fore our passion and commitment in maintaining our status as a market leader in the insurance and investment management space.”

Al-Subaey: Resounding success.

Chamber highlights investment opportunities in Qatar to Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece delegationsQatar Chamber held a meeting in

Doha yesterday with representa-tives of the Greece-Qatar Busi-

ness Council and a group of journalists and bloggers from Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece.

The Chamber highlighted the features of the Qatari economy and the country’s investment climate, as well as its role in revitalising the private sector and max-imising its contributions to Qatar’s eco-nomic development.

The meeting reviewed efforts exerted by the private sector to overcome the consequences of the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar for more than two years, and it also highlighted the most important aspects of development un-der the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Qatar Chamber second vice-chair-man Rashid bin Hamad al-Athba un-derlined the importance of relations between the Qatari private sector and

its counterparts in Balkan countries, pointing out that the trade exchange between Qatar and Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece “is still below expectations and inconsistent with the great potential available in both sides.”

He said the total value of trade between Qatar and Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria amounted to about QR417mn last year (QR84mn, Bulgaria), (QR26mn, Serbia), and (QR307mn, Greece).

Al-Athba stressed that Qatar has cre-ated “one of the most attractive invest-ment climates in the world” by devel-oping a stable legislative environment and issuing new laws that protect and encourage domestic and foreign invest-ments.

He added that the Qatari economy, “one of the fastest growing and dynam-ic economies in the world,” witnessed strong performance in the past two years, “driven by the wise policies adopted by

the State” to stimulate various sectors, even as Qatar’s GDP stood at $225bn in 2018.

Citing international forecasts, al-Athba said the country’s economy will grow by 2.7% in 2019 and 3% in 2020, partly because of foreign direct invest-ment. “Expectations suggest the coun-try’s economy will grow by 3.4% by 2021, driven by higher growth in the services sector,” he said.

On Qatar’s investment climate, al-Athba said Qatar has developed mod-ern legislation governing the business environment, including the law on non-Qatari capital investment in eco-nomic activity, which allows foreign investors to own up to 100% in all sec-tors. He noted that Qatar’s free zones attract more foreign investments, while the single window facilitates the procedures of establishing companies and businesses.

Greece-Qatar Business Council chair-man Panagiotis Mihalos lauded the de-velopment of the Qatari economy, as well as its business environment, which attracts foreign investments and the record growth achieved by the State in the past two years, especially in achiev-ing self-suffi ciency in certain goods and products.

Mihalos described Qatar as “a fast and attractive market” for international busi-nesses, adding that many companies from Balkan countries hope to enter the Qatari market and open branches here.

He said the delegation seeks to learn about the progress achieved by Qatar in all fi elds, and to open new channels of communication that contribute to the promotion of trade and economic co-operation between Qatar and Balkan countries, in addition to developing the relationship of the Qatari private sector with its counterparts.

QSE index gains for second day to scale 10,200 levelsBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

The Qatar Stock Exchange made marginal gains for the second consecutive day to scale 10,200

levels, mainly on the back of buying in the banking and transport counters.

Foreign and Gulf institutions turned bullish as the 20-stock Qatar Index settled 0.05% higher at 10,200.98 points.

Local retail investors were increas-ingly net buyers on the market, whose key benchmark is down 0.95% year-to-date.

Market capitalisation however saw 0.06% or QR33mn decline to

QR563.37bn mainly owing to microcap segments.

Islamic equities were seen declin-ing vis-à-vis gains in the main index on the market, where domestic funds and the Gulf individuals turned bear-ish.

Trade turnover rose amidst lower volumes on the bourse, where bank-ing and realty sectors together ac-counted for more than 69% of the total volume.

The Total Return Index was up 0.05% to 18,770.67 points, while All Share In-dex was down 0.01% to 3,006.39 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.38% to 2,286.47 points.

The banks and fi nancial services sector index gained 0.44%, transport

(0.39%) and telecom (0.02%); while industrials declined 0.81%, insurance (0.72%), real estate (0.66%) and con-sumer goods (0.6%).

Major gainers included Commer-cial Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Oman Investment, Qatari German Company for Medical Devices, Gulf International Services, Mesaieed Pet-rochemical Holding, Al Khaleej Taka-ful and Nakilat; even as Industries Qatar, Ezdan, United Development Company, Vodafone Qatar and Gulf Warehousing were among the losers.

Non-Qatari funds turned net buy-ers to the tune of QR34.9mn compared with net sellers of QR1.66mn on No-vember 3.

Local retail investors’ net buying

increased significantly to QR11.95mn against QR2.66mn the previous day.

The Gulf institutions were net buyers to the extent of QR3.17mn compared with net sellers of QR4.14mn on Sun-day.

However, domestic institu-tions turned net sellers to the tune of QR40.4mn against net buyers of QR3.29mn on November 3.

The Gulf individuals were also net sellers to the extent of QR8.05mn com-pared with net buyers of QR0.24mn the previous day.

Non-Qatari individuals’ net profi t booking strengthened noticeably to QR1.56mn against QR0.38mn on Sun-day.

Total trade volume fell 32% to

88.82mn shares, while value rose 49% to QR177.25mn and transactions by 36% to 4,389.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume shrank 78% to3.48mn equities, whereas value grew 15% to QR21.5mn and deals by 48% to 580.

The telecom sector reported 69% plunge in trade volume to 2.15mn stocks, 59% in value to QR4.64mn and 21% in transactions to 195.

The banks and fi nancial services sector’s trade volume tanked 48% to 34.95mn shares, while value increased 68% to QR80.97mn and deals by 38% to 1,583.

There was 4% fall in the real es-tate sector’s trade volume to 26.58mn equities but on 19% jump in value to

QR22.14mn and 11% in transactions to 565.

However, the insurance sector’s trade volume grew more than fi ve-fold to 4.71mn stocks and value also by more than fi ve-fold to QR11.13mn on more than tripled deals to 290.

The transport sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 2.52mn shares and value also more than doubled to QR10.68mn on almost doubled trans-actions to 174.

The industrials sector saw 27% surge in trade volume to 14.44mn equities, 78% in value to QR26.2mn and 33% in deals to 1,002.

In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and sovereign bonds.

Huawei appointsVP for enterprise networking for Mideast expansionHuawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, has announced the appointment of Ala’a Bawab as vice president for Enter-prise Networking Business for Huawei Middle East. Based in Dubai, Bawab will be responsi-ble for driving business growth for Huawei’s Enterprise Net-working business division.As a seasoned busi-ness leader, Bawab brings a wealth of ICT expertise to Huawei. He has more than 24 years of experience covering custom-ers across various business segments like government, oil & gas, banking and telecom. Prior to joining Huawei, Bawab has worked with technology firms such as HP, EMC2, Cisco and DarkMatter, with specialisation in sales, business development and management.“We are pleased to welcome Ala’a Ba-wab to the Huawei leadership team,” said Terry He, presi-dent of Huawei Enterprise Middle East. “Huawei’s rapid growth in the Middle East region fuelled by the demand for intelligent ICT solutions in the enterprise network-ing domain, especially those powered by AI, calls for strong local talent and expertise, which Ala’a will bring with his industry background.”“Huawei is experiencing tremendous growth thanks to its customer-centricity and commitment to developing

AI-enabled ICT solutions,” said Bawab. “I am excited to be part of this phenomenal organisa-tion that has established itself as a global ICT leader.” Huawei’s Enterprise Network-ing division provides organisa-tions with solutions tailored specifically to scenarios such as campus, data centre, WAN, branch interconnection, and network security, helping them

stride towards a fully connect-ed, intelligent world.More broadly, Huawei’s enterprise business division continues to grow rapidly in the Middle East, a strategic market for Huawei worldwide. During the first three quarters of this year, Huawei’s global revenues increasing by 24.4% year-on-year. By the end of Q3 2019, more than 700 cities, 228 Fortune Global 500 companies, and 58 Fortune Global 100 companies had selected Hua-wei as their partner for digital transformation.

Qatar Chamber second vice-chairman Rashid bin Hamad al-Athba in a meeting with the Greece-Qatar Business Council and a group of journalists and bloggers from Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece, in Doha yesterday.

Bawab: Exciting role.