PAGE | 26PAGE | 22Talal Samhouri is Amwal's Asset Management Head

BUSINESSBUSINESSQFCRA signs

MoU with Kuwait's CMA

Monday 7 November 2016

Dow & Brent before going to press

Al Sada for industrial coordination in GCCThe Peninsula

The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada yesterday stressed on the need

for industrial coordination among the GCC countries in the field of manufacturing industries, especially in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Speaking on the sidelines of ‘Made in Qatar Exhibition’ in Riy-adh, he said the contribution of the industrial sector in the Gulf GDP is 10 percent which is very low compared to the developed countries. The majority of these investments is focused on energy-intensive industries like

petrochemicals and fertilizers which are government-owned industries.

“If we seek a genuine and sustainable development in the GCC countries, we must attach a great attention to industry - and let me use the slogan adopted by “Made in Qatar” expo which is " Industry is the locomotive (engine) of development,” he added. He added the GCC union is an active economic power not only in the regional level, but also at the global one. Gulf region is replete with potentials and pow-ers that will enable it to be a gateway to all kinds of investments.

“The International develop-ments in oil prices fall and the political instability situation in

our region posed on us to fore-see the future in a much more realistic look. Oil will not be futuristically the active and mobilising power in the gulf economy,” he said.

Gulf outside investments – estimated $248bn except for sovereign funds – will not achieve the sustainable devel-opment we seek unless they are balanced by productive foreign investments for the next gener-ations, Al Sada added.

The Minister said there is lot of space for cooperation between businessmen from the two sides and both sides are ready for fur-ther investments in many sectors. Commenting about the exhibition, Al Sada said 'Made in Qatar' expo represents a good

opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and display products and capabilities.

QP President joins global energy leaders at ADIPEC

The Peninsula

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, President & CEO of Qatar Petroleum arrived in the

United Arab Emirates capital to take part in a series of events and meetings held as part of the Abu Dhabi International Petro-leum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC), which formally opens today.

Al-Kaabi joined more than 20 of the world’s leading oil industry chief executives yes-terday for a CEO Roundtable to discuss the new energy land-scape. The roundtable, was hosted by E. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, UAE Minister of State member of the cabinet and ADNOC CEO, was designed to provide a high-level forum for dialogue between the key deci-sion makers in the oil and gas industry.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Dep-uty Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces attended part of the round table, where welcomed the participants and wished their talks success in supporting the progress, growth and development of the oil and gas industry. Sheikh Mohammed also highlighted the importance such discussions in the conclu-sion of a future strategic partnerships.

The CEO roundtable was also attended by Amin H. Al-Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi ARAMCO; Nizar Al-Adsani, Deputy Chairman and CEO of KPC; Bob Dudley, Group CEO of BP; Rex Tillerson, Chair-man, President, and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation; Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of Total; Claudio

Descalzi, CEO of ENI; Vicki A Hollub, President and CEO of Occidental; Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell; Eldar Saetre, President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil; Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Management Committee and Director General of Gazprom; Steve Suellentrop, President of HOC Energy Corp; B. Ashok, Chairman of Indian Oil Co.; Toshiaki Kitamura, Chief Exec-utive Officer and President, of Inpex Corporation; Jung Rae Kim, CEO, KNOC; Mark Garrett, Chairman and CEO of Borealis; Paal Kibsgaard, Chairman & CEO of Schlumberger; Ant�nio Costa Silva, Chairman of Partex, and Pedro Miro Roig, CEO of CEPSA.

The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Confer-ence (ADIPEC) will be formally opened today

Currency fluctuation by Fed rate hike to benefit expatriatesSachin Kumar The Peninsula

Expatriates in Qatar are likely to benefit from US Federal Reserve’s widely

expected move to hike inter-est rates. The hike in interest rates, which is expected to be around 25 basis points or 0.25 percentage points, will make major currencies around to the world to depreciate.

A depreciating currency benefits expatriates because they get additional income due to decline. When a currency appreciates or rise against Qatari riyal, expatriates get less from their currency.

Most of the currencies have remained stable in the last six months. Indian rupee is trad-ing in the range of 18.24 – 18.30 per Qatari riyal since May this year. Europe’s common currency

Euro has traded in the range of 4.10- 4.04, Philippine peso is in 12.97 to 13.30 range while Pakistani rupee is in 28.74-28.78 range.

Egyptian pound has traded around 2.44 per riyal, Sri Lankan rupee in 40.01-40.55 range and Nepalese rupee has stuck to 29.07-29.33 range against local currency in the last six months.

“US Central Bank did not touch interest rates this week because of the Presidential Election tomorrow. But it is now widely expected that the

Fed will hike interest rates in its next meeting in December because data shows that US economy is now on stronger footing,” Zuber Abdul Rahman, Operations Manager, Al Zaman Exchange told the Peninsula.

“The likely hike in the interest rates will strengthen US dollar which in turn will weaken major currencies,” he added.

The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday in its last pol-icy decision before the US election, but signalled it could go for a hike in December as the economy gathers momen-tum and inflation picks up.

The US central bank said the economy had gained steam and job gains remained solid. Policymakers also expressed more optimism that inflation was moving toward their 2 percent target.

The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Commit-tee of US Federal Reserve is on December 14. Traders have assigned about a 76 percent probability of a rate hike by year-end, according to futures d a t a c o m p i l e d b y Bloomberg.

"All in all, the (inflation) data fits perfectly with a Fed hike in December, and does nothing to detract from a view that the market has under-priced Fed tightening risks for 2017." said Alan Ruskin, global head of G10 FX strategy at Deutsche Bank, in a note.

QP President and CEO Saad Sherida Al Kaabi with global energy leaders in Abu Dhabi, yesterday

Minister of Energy and Industry H E Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada and Saudi Minister of Energy, Industrial and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih (second left) during the opening ceremony of the Qatari and Saudi Economic Forum in Riyadh yesterday.

China launches $11bn fund to support CEE projectsReuters

CHINA has set up a $11.15 bn investment fund to finance projects in Central and Eastern Europe, Industrial and Com-mercial Bank of China said in a statement issued on Sunday.

The China-Central East-ern Europe fund will be run by Sino-CEE Financial Hold-ings Ltd, a company established by the bank ear-lier this year.The company was formally launched by Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Riga on Saturday. The fund is aiming to raise €50bn in project finance for sectors such as infrastructure, high-tech manufacturing and consumer goods, the bank said.

While targetting Central and Eastern Europe, it could extend to the rest of Europe and other regions if relevant to China-Central and Eastern Europe co-operation, it said.

The fund will be government-backed but will operate under business principles and be guided by the market, it added.Central and Eastern Europe are part of China's modern Silk Road where Beijing is hoping to carve out new export markets for its companies as the domestic economy slows.

China's Vice Commerce Minister Gao Yan said last y e a r t h a t C h i n e s e companies have already invested more than $5bn in CEE countries.

OpportunitiesThere is lot of space for cooperation between businessmen from the two sides and both sides are ready for further investments in many sectors.

'Made in Qatar' expo represents a good opportunity to exchange ideas.

17,888.28 -42.39 PTS

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FTSE100 BRENT9,948.74-7.25 PTS

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QE

THE Qatar General Elec-tricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) will host the GCC POWER 2016, a GCC Cigre’s leading Elec-tric Power Conference & Exhibition with the theme ‘Toward Energy Efficiency’ in Doha from November 8-10 at Doha Sheraton.

The 12th GCC CIGRE International conference & 21st exhibition for Elec-trical Equipment will bring together policy makers, transmission and distribu-tion industry professionals, technology leaders, dele-gate, exhibitors, and experts among others offering a good opportunity for util-ity industry professionals to discuss and share their views and experiences con-cerning relevant aspects of research, manufacturing and utility management.

The conference will have a number of panel discussions, presentations, plenary sessions, tutorials and research- related activ-ities among others.

Siemens brings digital solutions to GCC PowerSIEMENS will share its innovative and comprehen-sive technology portfolio for economical, reliable, and intelligent transmission and distribution of power at the 12th GCC – CIGRE International Conference sscheduled to open in Doha on Tuesday.

The company will also highlight its existing and potential contributions to the power sector inQatar and the wider Middle East region in six high-level papers. The papers will shed light on the company’s successful imple-mentation of advanced technology solutions in the area of transmission and distribution region-ally and globally.

IN BRIEF

GCC Power Conference to open tomorrow

22 MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

Gulf Air wins three IT awards

The Peninsula

Gulf Air, the national car-rier of Bahrain, recently took home 3 awards for

its Information Technology achievements: “Technology Innovation of the Year” at the Aviation Business Awards 2016, “Hospitality and Tour-ism Deployment of the Year” at the seventh annual Compu-ter News Middle East (CNME) ICT Achievement Awards and “Best Airline in Technology - Middle East” at the Global Enterprise Connect (GEC) Awards 2016.

The awards were accepted by Dr Jassim Haji, Gulf Air Director Information Technol-ogy, on behalf of the airline. Commenting on the wins, Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Maher Salman Al Musallam said, “Gulf Air’s IT achieve-ments are many and I am delighted to see them recog-nized yet again.

Information Technology is a critical aspect of any airline and, at Gulf Air, our IT depart-ment continually strives for innovation while remaining on the cusp of latest developments.

AXA Insurance Gulf opens shop at The PearlThe Peninsula

AX A I n s u r a n c e Gulf,one of the lead-ing international insurers in the region, recently

announced the opening of its new AXA Shop at The Pearl in Qatar.

The new shop, located in Building 4 at Medina Centrale is perfectly situated to AXA cus-tomers and offers a multitude of individual products; including home, motor, travel, personal accidents, motorcycle, reloca-tion and healthcare as well as yacht insurance solutions.

Salim Mansour, Country Manager of AXA in Qatar, said: “Over the last few months, we have solidifiedour presence by opening new shops across stra-tegic locations in Qatar. This expansion process is part of our strategy to have a robust net-work of shops accessible to our customers. Our new shop at the Pearl will help customers choose their preferred insurance prod-ucts with added ease and convenience.”

“We highly value our cus-tomers, and ensure that they receive timely advice, assistance

and care at all times. We are confident that the new shop, with its prime location and avail-ability of its staff all week, will effectively cater to all their insurance needs,” added Salim

AXA Gulf is expanding aggressively its distribution model, notably with AXA Shops. “We now have over forty four shops in the region including four shops in Qatar that were

recently opened,” Saim said.The new shop will welcome

customers seven days a week from 10 am to 10 pm except Fri-days, from 3 pm to 10 pm.

With a workforce of over 1,000 employees, 44 branches & retail shops region-wide, more than 1 million customers and 2015 gross written premium of over $ 963m, AXA Gulf is one of the largest international player

in the GCC. Present in the region for more than 65 years, AXA in the Gulf offers a wide range of insurance products and services for corporate, SME and individ-ual customers.

The company has been awarded General Insurance Company of the Year for second consecutive year and Health Insurance Company of the Year 2015.

ibq thanq programme partners with QAThe Peninsula

International Bank of Qatar (ibq)is joining forces with Qatar Airways to combi-

netheiraward winning loyalty programmes for the benefit of their customers. ibq customers enrolled in the Bank’s rewards programme, can now exchange their thanq points for Qmiles, ibq credit cardholders can now get 2,500 Qmiles for every 5,000 thanqpoints converted.

Hassan Al Mulla, Head of Retail Banking at ibq stated: “This partnership with Qatar Airways is another testament of our commitment to deliver pioneering offers to our cus-tomers and to make thanq the Rewards Programme of Choice in Qatar, where every banking transaction matters. thanq is our way of saying thank you to our customers and showing them how much we value their loyalty.”

Qatar AirwaysVice Presi-dent CRM & Loyalty, Ian Di Tullio said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to welcome ibq to our Privilege Club partners programme.

By collaborating with ibqwe are able to offer

customers additional exclusive benefits, and the opportunity to exchange ibq’s thanq rewards for Qmiles to enjoy when they travel with Qatar Airways.”

Starting today, Privilege Club Members who are ibq cus-tomers and have registered to thanq can visit the rewards dedicated website to exchangetheir thanq points forQmiles. thanq is ibq’s inno-vative rewards programme that allows customers to accumu-late points on purchases, as well as banking products and services and then redeem them at various service outlets.

Opec will stick to Algiers output dealAlgiers

Reuters

ALGERIA'S Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa said yes-terday he was confident opec members would stick to a deal made in Algiers in Septem-ber to cut output, saying the group's technical committee was working on applying the deal. "There will be no return on the Algiers agreement. Now, we are in application of this agree-ment.

The high-level technical committee is working on it. The Algiers agreement has not been called into question," Bouterfa said, according to state news agency APS. Opec officials met in Vienna last month to work out the details of the Algiers plan to reduce oil production, but failed to reach agreement.

The High Level Commit-tee of experts will meet again in Vienna on November 25 ahead of the next meeting of OPEC ministers on November 30. Opec warned “industry observers” against being “too quick to judge or criticise the organisation or its members.”

Talal Samhouri is Amwal's Asset Management HeadThe Peninsula

Amwal, Qatar’s leading independent asset man-agement firm yesterday

announced that Talal Samhouri (pictured)has joined as the new Head of Asset Management at the company.

Celebrated for his firm understanding of the regional business environment, Sam-houri has extensive regional and international expertise in asset management and invest-ment banking.

In his current role at Amwal, Talal Samhouri is responsible of developing and implementing the real estate investment management strat-egy, as well as designing and implementing cross segment initiatives for all other asset classes.

Talal will also develop and implement winning asset man-agement strategies and deliver high, risk-adjusted investment returns. He will lead the Asset Management Division and activities geared toward excel-lence, efficiency and improvement of its portfolio and related processes to

maximize and protect return on investments.

Fahmi Alghussein, Chief Executive Officer at Amwal said, “We are pleased to have an expert such as Talal, who brings in his experience and knowledge to develop our asset management strategies and lead the business to the next level.”

Talal Samhouri has over 22 years of asset management and investment banking experience in the Mena region and the USA.

Prior to his current posi-tion at Amwal, Talal was the head of Private Equity and Cor-porate Finance at Dar Al Mal

Qatar Cool and QIMC sign agreementThe Peninsula

Qatar District Cool-ing Company, also known as Qatar Cool has signed a district cooling

service agreement with Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Com-pany (QIMC).

The signed agreement includes the provision of district cooling services with a capacity of 3,650 Tons of Refrigeration (TR), along with regular mainte-nance to onsite equipment, water pumps and other related services to cover 120,000 square meters of tower space.

Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul-lah Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of QIMC comments on the occasion: “we made an informed decision to opt for

district cooling for our new tower in West Bay based on the various benefits it offers over conventional cooling methods. District cooling not only helps us reduce construction and

maintenance costs, but also serves the environment by reducing the energy required to cool our tower by 40-45per-cent thus reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere

– that, in turn, supports the environmental pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030.”

Furthermore, Yasser Salah Al-Jaidah, Chief Executive Officer at Qatar Cool expressed

his appreciation to partner with QIMC, he commented: “District cooling offers tower owners and developers a variety of benefits in the long run; reduced con-struction and maintenance costs and more leasable space are principal among them. We pride ourselves on our ability to offer such economical and environ-mentally-friendly cooling service to our partners in Qatar.”

“I would like to share some statistics to illustrate the envi-ronmental benefit of our district cooling operations: the cooling energy used over the past six years has saved over 1 billion Kilo Watts of electricity which translates to reducing over 600 million kilograms of CO2 from the atmosphere, this is equiva-lent to the environmental effect of removing 120 thousand cars off the roads.” Al Jaidah added.

Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Al Ansari and Yasser Salah Al-Jaidah at the signing ceremony

Gulf Air official receiving award.

AXA Insurance Gulf officials at the event

Rewardsthanq is ibq’s innovative rewards programme that allows customers to accumulate points on purchases.

An opportunity to exchange ibq's thanq rewards for Qmiles when they travel with Qatar Airways

23MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

The Peninsula

The persistence of pro-ductivity slowdown could result in steeper rises in interest rates than previously

thought, an issue that the US may have to face soon, suggests a lat-est QNB Economic Commentary examining the factors responsi-ble for global productivity slowdown.

One of the most important problems facing the global econ-omy today is the decline in productivity growth. Productiv-ity is the main determinant of long-term living standards and its slowdown has been an issue for some time, pre-dating the global financial crisis and impacting a wide range of coun-tries. Part of the problem is due to statistical mis-measurement issues, especially in relation to the difficulty of measuring qual-ity improvements in services and

the impact of new technologies. But part of the slowdown is real and may persist into the future. The decline in productivity growth implies slower global economic growth in the future. From a policy perspective, the persistence of productivity slow-down could mean a faster tightening of monetary policy, especially in the US, which is embarking on its own

tightening cycle. Productivity growth has been on a downward trend since 1970s. In the US, it fell from an average annual growth of 2.5 percent over 1996-2004 to merely 1.1 percent in 2004-14. More recently, produc-tivity has disappointed even more, with its growth averaging

merely 0.5 percent over the last three years. The problem is not confined to the US, but has also impacted most of the large econ-omies (see chart). Among the G7 countries, productivity growth has slowed from 2.4 percent in 1970-96 to only 0.9 percent in 2004-14.

There are three theories explaining this slowdown in pro-ductivity. The optimistic theory argues that the productivity slow-down is a result of increased statistical mis-measurement. According to this theory, it is harder to measure productivity improvement in services than in manufacturing. The second the-ory acknowledges the mis-measurement problem, but argues that it cannot explain the full extent of the slowdown in productivity witnessed in recent decades. Part of the slowdown in productivity is real and the fac-tors driving it could persist into the future. These factors include the slowdown in global trade and increased protectionism, which has shielded less-productive firms from international compe-tition. Another factor is slower investment growth, which has reduced the capital and machines available to each worker, leading to slower productivity gains.

The third, and most pessimis-tic, theory on productivity growth argues that technological progress is over and that we have picked all the low-hanging fruit of major productivity gains.

QNB suggests the second the-ory is the most plausible. It believes that part of the slow-down is due to statistical mis-measurement but part of the slowdown is real and could per-sist into the medium term, without being overly pessimistic about the long term. The produc-tivity slowdown implies a lower rate of economic growth, espe-cially when combined with declines in population growth. In addition, a slower rate of produc-tivity growth means that firms must hire more workers to meet rising demand, because it cannot make existing workers more pro-ductive. The resulting lower unemployment and tighter labour market typically leads to higher wages and inflation.

Productivity slowdown could raise rates in US: QNBProductivity matters

One of the most important problems facing the global economy today is the decline in productivity growth.

It has been on a downward trend since 1970s. It implies slower global growth in the future.

The Peninsula

Ooredoo Group and Ericsson have agreed a five-year contract to implement an innovative reve-

nue management system across the Group’s footprint in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.

By deploying the next generation charging and billing solution, Ooredoo will be able to offer customers the prod-ucts they need more quickly and be able to tailor pricing, packages and services according to customer demand in each market.

“Across our footprint, Ooredoo is aiming for data experience leadership, and placing renewed emphasis on

empowering our customers and giving them the services they need when they need them. Through this agreement with Ericsson, we will enable every Ooredoo operation to deliver fast, customer-ori-ented offers and launch new data products and services that support our growing portfolio of digital services and enables the growth of the ‘Internet of Things’,” said Waleed Al Sayed, Deputy CEO, Ooredoo Group.

Ericsson Revenue Manager is a cloud-ready convergent charging and billing system that redefines the role of business support systems (BSS). It makes innovation fast and efficient, and opens the door to easier digital services crea-tion that spans beyond telecom and

integrates partners from different indus-tries. Ooredoo Group companies will enjoy a single, converged platform that enables them to handle all their users and services, regardless of payment option or access method.

The solution will be gradually deployed across all Ooredoo operations

and will enable them to bring new offers for telecommunication services to mar-ket in minutes, rather than months.

Deploying Ericsson's software and cloud technologies will also support Ooredoo’s ongoing Digital Business Transformation.

"We are proud to collaborate once

again with Ooredoo Group in their stra-tegic digital transformation journey. This collaboration recognises the innovative Ericsson Revenue Manager product and its capabilities to deliver a differenti-ated customer experience,” said Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Region Mid-dle East and East Africa.

Ooredoo implements Ericsson solution for next generation charging & billing

Ooredoo and Ericsson officials at the event.

24 MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

London

Reuters

British businesses reported stronger activity in the three months to October after an initial slow-

down following June’s vote to leave the European Union, the Confederation of British Indus-try said yesterday.

The CBI said its monthly growth indicator - which is based on surveys of how com-panies’ output has changed over the previous three months - rose to +8 in October from a six-month low of +3 in September.

“Manufacturing exports are riding high on the back of weaker sterling and consum-ers are continuing to spend on the high street, but activity is more modest in the services sector,” CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said.

However the CBI said there were likely to be tougher times ahead, as uncertainty about the terms on which Britain would leave the EU had led to a “sharp deterioration” in planned investment.

“Although growth will be robust for the remainder of this year, we expect uncertainty ... to dampen business investment in 2017, along with a rise in inflation which will knock household spending,” Newton-Smith said.

The forward-looking com-ponent of the CBI growth survey fell to +13 in October from a one-year high of +22 in September, though this was still above its long-run average.

Last week the CBI said it expected growth to slow to 1.3 percent next year from 2.0 per-cent in 2016, and to 1.1 percent in 2019.

This is a slightly darker out-look than the Bank of England, which revised up its 2017 growth forecast last week on the back of a fall in sterling and unexpectedly strong growth of 0.5 percent in the three months to September.

The CBI growth indicator is based on a combination of its surveys of manufacturers, retail and distribution companies and business and professional serv-ices firms, which it says covers about three quarters of the pri-vate-sector economy.

UK businesses see stronger trade activity

CBI forecasts There were likely to be tougher times ahead, as uncertainty about the terms on Brexit led to a sharp deterioration in planned investment.

CBI growth survey fell to +13 in October from a one-year high of +22 in September.

Vietnam

AFP

At the top of Vietnam's Fan-sipan Mountain, throngs of giddy tourists wielding

selfie sticks jostle for a photo op on the once-remote peak in the Sapa region, famed for its breathtaking views across undu-lating rice terraces.

Getting to the top tradition-ally takes a two-day trek but these days most visitors opt for a 20-minute ride by cable car instead -- the latest flashy tour-ist attraction to heighten concerns over rapid develop-ment destroying Sapa's natural beauty.

Known by some as the Tonk-inese Alps, the former French outpost has seen a tourism boom in recent years with a new

highway from the capital and hotels popping up at breakneck pace.

"If more and more building (happens), then one day we will lose Sapa, we won't have any more mountain," said guide Giang Thi Lang, from the Black Hmong ethnic group.

Vietnam's tourism industry has taken off in recent years, especially among domestic vis-itors with growing appetites and budgets for travel.

The country has also become a draw for foreign visitors turn-ing their backs on better-known Southeast Asian destinations such as Thailand's Chiang Mai, seeking instead a road less travelled.

But some lament the com-mercialisation of Vietnamese treasures, with reports of locals complaining about multi-course

meals served in Ha Long Bay's famous caves, or trash-strewn beaches in the resort town of Phu Quoc. In Sapa town, where heaps of rubble mark hotel sites under construction, the number of rooms has surged from 2,500 in 2010 to 4,000 last year, according to official figures.

Visitor numbers have snow-balled too, reaching around 700,000 last year, and revenues have more than tripled since 2010 to $50 million.

Part of that growth is thanks to the cable car -- the longest of its kind in the world according to operators -- which opened in February with the capacity to ferry 2,000 people to the top of the mountain daily.

"It's good for Sapa when they can attract more tourists... and we have a big number of the local people that can find jobs,"

said Nguyen Van Manh, deputy director of Sapa's Tourist Infor-mation Center, adding that the sector provided employment to thousands.

But some locals tell a differ-ent story. "Before the cable car, there were more porters from the village with regular work," said Hmong trekking guide Ma A Tro from Fansipan's summit, where he had just led a two-day trip.

"Now with the cable car there, village residents no longer have jobs, mostly becoming free-lance construction workers."

The government ignored opposition to the cable car, he said, lamenting that business has dwindled since its construction with fewer people climbing the mountain. "We talked to them, but they didn't listen. The cen-tral government came and said

they had to do it, so they did it," he added. Some tourists also say Sapa is losing its appeal, with

Fansipan's picturesque summit replaced by concrete steps, sou-venir shops.

Hubert de Murard, manager of Topas Ecolodge, speaking during an interview at his resort on the outskirts of northern Sapa tourist town.

Tourism boom threatens Vietnam's 'Tonkinese Alps'

The Peninsula

Sweden aims to increase cooperation and launch partnerships with Qatar

regarding internationalisation strategies, fintech develop-ment, and strengthening of Stockholm’s and Doha’s star-tup sectors.

In its continued mission to foster dialogue, mutual coop-eration and trade between Qatar and Sweden, the Embassy of Sweden in Qatar has arranged for a visiting pro-gramme today of the Stockholm Chamber of Com-merce and a delegation of startup and business representatives.

The Stockholm Chamber was represented by CEO Maria Rankka and Chief Economist Andreas Hatzigeorgiou. Yester-day morning the programme started with a meeting with Omar Hussain Alfardan, Pres-ident and CEO of the Alfardan Group. During the two day visit on November 6-7 meetings were also held with Tarik Yousef, Director of Brookings Doha Center, Youssef Al Jaidah, CEO of Qatar Financial Centre,

and with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Later on in the evening a large working dinner was held with Mr. Abdulla Al-Mehshadi, CEO of Msheireb Properties, and Mr. Egbert Shillings, CEO of the World Innovation Sum-mit on Health, among others.

The purpose of the Cham-ber's visit is to create strategic partnerships between the two countries in two key areas. First, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has followed and been strongly impressed by Qatar’s internationalization strategy.

Qatar’s successes in educa-tion, mega events, and elsewhere have made it an international role model with which the Chamber wishes to cooperate. Stockholm is cur-rently making a concise effort to develop such an internation-alization strategy, and see Qatar as a future partner for knowledge sharing in these areas. Secondly, the Chamber would like to make connections with local decision makers to find areas of potential future cooperation, especially within the fintech and start up sectors,

but also on sustainable urban development.

The Ambassador of Swe-den to Qatar Ms. Ewa Polano expressed satisfaction with the strong focus and timing of the visit: "Qatar’s paradigm shift away from oil and gas depend-ency, into a diversified economy and a knowledge based society, relies on a triple helix approach between the government, education, and private sectors. This is the same triple helix approach that has been successful in launching Sweden from the depths of poverty one hundred years ago, to the top of economic and social indexes today, with a progressive, diversified and knowledge based economy."

"I am thoroughly impressed by the great strides Qatar has made towards this goal already, and by the high ambi-tions of the great Qatari leadership, so excellently laid out in the Qatar National Vision 2030. Because of our shared reliance on this triple helix approach, Qatar and Sweden are natural partners for the road ahead" Ambassador Polano added.

Maria Rankka (right), CEO of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, and Andreas Hatzigeorgiou, Chief Economist of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

Seoul

Bloomberg

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to equip its next Gal-axy S smartphones with a

Siri-like digital assistant, seek-ing to make a strong comeback after the global debacle that pre-cipitated the death of its flawed Note 7 lineup.

Samsung, which last month acquired US-based artificial-intelligence software company Viv Labs Inc., said the Galaxy S8 slated for next year will come with AI-enabled features “sig-nificantly differentiated” from those of Apple Inc.’s Siri or Google, executive vice president Rhee In-jong told reporters. Those services now offer up potentially useful information

from the weather to flight times based on user activity.

The flagship Galaxy S line will prove crucial to salvaging

Samsung’s reputation in the wake of the fiasco surrounding a Note 7 device prone to burst-ing into flame. The recall and eventual cessation of the line is estimated to cost upwards of $6 billion and pushed profits at its mobile division to a record low in the September quarter. The company is now investigating the root cause behind the fires, but wouldn’t comment on progress so far.

“It will be significantly dif-ferentiated from the current services we see in the market now,” Rhee said of the S8’s fea-tures. He said last month the company plans to embed Viv’s technology in other electronics and home appliances beyond phones.

Global technology players are vying to build devices

attuned to users’ lifestyles and daily behavior. Amazon is trying to sign up more developers for its Alexa voice technology, while Apple has recently touted more Siri capabilities and opened the technology to other developers. Google, considered the leader in artificial intelligence, is making its own push.

Samsung is now getting into the game. It releases new ver-sions of its top-tier Galaxy S series sometime in the first quar-ter of every year, typically during the Mobile World Congress in Spain. With the Note 7 line now defunct, the S8 will become its de facto showcase smartphone. The company is keen to put the Note 7 behind it and resuscitate its business. Samsung reported a sharp decline in profit as the Note 7 recall took its toll.

Egypt

Bloomberg

EGYPTIAN banks are wading into uncharted territory as they start trading currency with-out central bank restrictions for the first time. Local lend-ers traded on the interbank market between 10.30am and 1.30pm local time yesterday, registering a total volume of $15.8m, according to Reuters. The weakest rate quoted for the pound was 16.55 per dol-lar, compared with 16 quoted by the Commercial Interna-tional Bank late on Thursday and 8.88 before the restric-tions were lifted.

The central bank said last week it expects short-term volatility in the exchange rate. Bankers huddled on Friday to lay out guidelines that would regulate trading and will share the suggestions and recommendations with the central bank, according to four people who either attended the meeting or were briefed on the discussion. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

The pound weakened 45 percent against the dollar on Thursday after policy mak-ers decided to float the currency to ease a dollar crunch and attract invest-ment. The float is intended to help Egypt secure a $12 billion loan from the Inter-national Monetary Fund, which officials say will help restore investor confidence in an economy battered by years of turmoil. Finance Minister Amr El-Gahry said the government will ask the IMF’s executive board within a day or two to convene to consider the loan bid.

“The market is currently undergoing a phase of price discovery, and it is positive that the central bank said it would not to intervene dur-ing that initial phase,” said Hany Farahat, the Cairo-based senior economist at CI Capital.

Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 index soared 6.1 percent to 9,349.9, its highest since March 2015, at close in Cairo.

The central bank had maintained a tight grip on the official exchange rate after the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Officials now say they won’t use the country’s foreign reserves to defend the pound. The new system aims at ending a black mar-ket that has flourished over the past year.

Samsung seeks redemption with AI-infused Galaxy S8

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Sweden for closer ties with Qatar

Banks freed in currency trade after Egypt floats pound

Kuwait’s Gulf Bank Q3 net profit risesDubai

Reuters

GULF BANK, Kuwait’s fourth-largest lender by assets, reported a 10 per-cent rise in third-quarter net profit yesterday.

Net profit for the three months to Sep-tember 30 was 12.1m dinars ($40.1m), com-pared to 11.0m dinars in the same period of last year, a bourse filing said. Net interest income rose to 29.1m dinars in the third quarter of 2016 from 28.4m dinars a year earlier. Fees and commis-sions rose to 7.8m dinars from 7.0m dinars in the year earlier period.

Dividend payouts of 100 firms jump Seoul

Reuters

THE dividend payouts by South Korea's top 100 firms in terms of mar-ket capitalisation, surged last year in the face of growing pressure from shareholders and the government to deliver more cash, South Korean industry data showed yesterday, QNA reported.

The firms such as top market cap Sam-sung Electronics Co. paid a combined 17.42 trillion won (US$15.2bn) in dividends to share-holders last year, up 33.3% or 13.07 trillion won from the previous year, according to the data compiled by indus-try tracker Chaebul.com.

Samsung Electronics delivered a total of 3.07 trillion won in cash to shareholders last year, up 2.3% from a year earlier. The second-most val-ued firm, Korea Electric Power Corp., paid 1.99 trillion won, followed by Hyundai Motor Co. with 1.08 trillion won, SK Tel-ecom Co. with 708 billion won, POSCO with 640 billion won and Shin-han Financial Group with 631 billion won, the data showed.

The surge in dividend payouts came as local firms have adopted the shareholders-friendly measure to attract more investors amid the gov-ernment's pressure to raise dividend payouts.

NEWS BYTES

25MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

The Hague

AFP

Dutch activists said yesterday they have garnered nearly two-thirds of the signatures needed

to force the government to hold a referendum on the new EU-Canada trade pact, in what may prove a fresh setback to the deal.

The controversial accord, seven years in the making, was finally signed last weekend in Brussels after it was held up by last-minute resistance from a Belgian region.

But the agreement now has to go back to most member states of the European Union for

ratification.Grassroots groups in The

Netherlands are calling for a ref-erendum on whether parliament here should ratify the giant Com-prehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), as well as a Transatlantic deal with the United States known as TTIP.

A petition launched in Octo-ber 2015 has collected more than 190,400 signatures out of the 300,000 needed to compel the government to organise a refer-endum on the issue.

"We want to make it clear to politicians that TTIP and CETA are in our view agreements and treaties that should be more openly discussed and should be

drastically changed," Niesco Dubbelboer, from the Meer Democratie (More Democracy) movement, said.Such treaties are "old-fashioned, post-colonial agreements where the interests of big investors and companies" dominate, he said, arguing the interests of "climate and sustain-ability should be more in the forefront" in negotiations.

His group has joined forces with the Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie, a group called Foodwatch, and another non-profit organisation called the Transnational Institute.

The news comes only months after voters in April rejected a key EU-Ukraine cooperation

pact in a similar referendum.The Netherlands is now the

only country yet to ratify the deal with Kiev in a major embarrassment to the 28-member EU which has left Prime Minister Mark Rutte struggling to find a compromise. April's vote, which just scraped the turnout level needed to be valid, was organised by Dutch eurosceptic groups and widely seen as a blow to the European Union, pummelled a few months later by the Brexit vote in Britain.

But the organisers of the CETA petition say they are not anti-Europe. "I am pro-EU, not anti-EU," Dubbelboer told AFP.

"But I do think that Europe should be more democratic."

"A lot of people already feel that decision-making is far away from them, because of Europe and accords such as CETA and TTIP actually put the decision making even further away."

However, any referendum on the trade deals remains many months away and would likely only come, if the 300,000 signatures are reached, after March general elections in The Netherlands. The CETA deal will remove 99 percent of customs duties between the two sides, linking the single EU market of 28 nations with the world's 10th largest economy.

Dutch referendum targets EU-Canada deal What's next The accord has to go back to members of EU for ratification & Dutch activists have garnered nearly two-thirds of signs needed for referendum.

The Netherlands is now the only country yet to ratify the deal with Kiev in a major embarrassment to EU.

Germany

Reuters

For more than 130 years, Knipex, a family-owned company in western Ger-

many, has made pliers for craftsmen around the world. Recently it has developed a dif-ferent set of tools to help it cope with an ageing workforce and skilled labour shortage.

The management toolkit includes above inflation wage rises, subsidised meals and an on-site nursery, as well as train-ing for older workers to operate machines doing work they used to do and flexible working con-ditions beyond the statutory minimum.

It shows how companies in Europe’s biggest economy are increasing their efforts to adapt to a long-heralded shortage of people of working age now that an economic upturn has driven

employment and vacancies to record highs. Low birth rates and increased life expectancy are affecting many advanced econ-omies, but a survey by staffing firm ManpowerGroup found German companies were far

more worried about attracting and retaining talent than their peers in the United States, France, Italy or Britain.

“Our strategy to avert a shortage of skilled labour can be summarised like this: We

simply want to be seen as the best employer in the region, by our own employees and by out-side candidates,” Knipex’s head of personnel Kai Wiedemann said.

While globalisation and dig-italisation have eroded wages and benefits in many developed countries, Holger Schaefer, labour market expert at the Cologne Institute for Economic Research noted the demographic time bomb was ticking else-where too. “It’s somewhat like a look into the future if you look at what German companies are doing,” he said.

Pay rises are the most noticeable shift. Last year, wages rose in real terms by 2.5 percent, the most in over two decades.

As a non-listed company, Knipex does not face instant pressure from shareholders if profits come in lower for a year or two. The building of

the kindergarten, unusual for a company of 1,200 workers, was financed with savings built up over years. Many of Germany’s DAX-listed companies are tak-ing their own measures, however, and even household names like Siemens or BMW, who still attract plenty of appli-cants, have trouble in some areas. Siemens reintroduced a scheme this year to pay up to 3,000 euros to employees who refer candidates that it success-fully places in jobs.

“The problem is not leaving us unscathed,” said a company spokesman, adding that the tal-ent pool was getting smaller, especially in software develop-ment and engineering.

Car maker BMW has turned to the United States, creating a 200-strong digital innovation hub in Chicago and hiring soft-ware engineers who worked for mobile phone pioneer Nokia.

Frankfurt

AFP

German prosecutors prob-ing whether Volkswagen executives manipulated

the markets in the wake of the "dieselgate" scandal have wid-ened their investigation to include the chairman of the group's supervisory board, the auto giant said yesterday.

"The proceedings refer to the period during which (chair-man) Hans Dieter Poetsch (Pictured) served as the group chief financial officer," VW said in a statement.

The announcement is a fresh blow to VW's efforts to move on from the worst crisis in its history, which erupted in September last year after the group admitted to installing software in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide that could dupe emissions tests.

Prosecutors in the German city of Brunswick are already investigating former CEO Mar-tin Winterkorn and another former board member for allegedly holding back infor-mation from investors in the days after the scandal erupted.

By law, listed companies are required to disclose infor-mation that could affect market prices immediately.

VW said it would stand by Poetsch, who was named supervisory board chief a month after the scandal broke.

"Based on careful examina-tion by internal and external legal experts, the company

reaffirms its belief that the Volkswagen board of manage-ment duly fulfilled its disclosure obligation under German cap-ital markets law," VW said.

"The company and Hans Dieter Poetsch will continue to give the inquiries by the public prosecutor's office their full support." More than a year since the "dieselgate" scandal rocked the industry, VW con-tinues to be mired in legal and financial woes. In a rare spot of bright news, the group last month won approval for a mas-sive $14.7bn (¤13bn) settlement in the United States that includes compensation for nearly half a million owners of the polluting vehicles.

But the company still faces criminal allegations over the cheating in the US, as well as a string of other legal cases including myriad lawsuits in Europe.

VW says it has so far set aside ¤18bn to pay for legal costs and the refits and buy-backs of affected vehicles, but experts believe the final bill will be far higher.

Prosecutors towiden VW'dieselgate' probe

German firms hone tools to defuse demographic time bomb

Kai Wiedemann, head of personnel of Knipex, in Wuppertal, western Germany.

Oslo

Bloomberg

Donald Trump as US pres-ident will shake global markets less than Brexit

did. A victory for Trump may only create short-term volatil-ity since the impact of the election has been analysed to a greater extent by the markets, according to Dagfin Norum, chief investment officer fixed income and investment strat-egy at Storebrand Asset Management in Oslo.

“There will initially be noise and then markets will gradually calm down,” he said in an inter-view in Oslo on Thursday. “We don’t think the effects of that are so big that it will lead to a glo-bal or US recession.”

For now, markets are mostly reflecting fear. Over the past week, global stocks fell the most

since before Britain’s June vote to leave the European Union as opinion polls showed a dwin-dling lead for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The race has tightened since the FBI announced it was once again looking into more of Clinton’s e-mails.

While a Trump win on November 8 could lead to more protectionism and reduced growth, the question is how much he will be able to imple-ment, said Norum, who oversees 420bn kroner ($51bn). Storebrand’s view is that Clin-ton will win, making the election a non-event.

The 50-year-old investor supervises tactical asset allo-cation at the life insurer. Tactical mandates were reduced to neutral in stocks before the U.K. Brexit vote. His bond portfolios are overweight

credit, or holding more in cor-porate debt than the indexes they’re measured against. The portfolio is also underweight duration, meaning it stands to outperform, comparatively, when rates rise.

“If we compare credit in the US and Europe we have a slight preference for the US because you get a bigger pick up,” he said. While there’s still some upside in credit, the bottom in interest rates is probably behind us, Norum said.The big risk now is in how central banks move and communicate as they get closer to raising rates. Any moves must be grad-ual because markets won’t withstand rapid shocks, he said.

“It’s hard to see that hap-pen without any market impact,” Norum said. “You must be prepared be for more vola-tility going forward.”

Brexit scarier than Trump: Official

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US.

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

26 MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

QE Index 9,948.74 0.07 %

QE Total Return Index 16,096.39 0.07 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,665.76 1.39 %

QE All Share Index 2,747.9 0.08 %

QE All Share Banks & F

inancial Services 2,802.09 0.56 %

QE All Share Industrials 2,979.77 0.72 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,409.73 0.23 %

QE All Share Real Estate 2,256.82 0.19 %

QE All Share Insurance 4,455.72 0.48 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,131.37 0.12 %

QE All Share Consumer

Goods & Services 5,761.1 2.55 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

06-11-2016 Index 9,948.74

Change 7.25

% 0.07

YTD% 4.61

Volume 7,283,260

Value (QAR) 216,440,928.18

Trades 3,133

Up 26 | Down 12 | Unchanged 0103-11-2016 Index 9,955.99

Change 117.04

% 1.16

YTD% 4.54

Volume 8,502,354

Value (QAR) 304,974,394.24

Trades 3,639

GOLD QR152.1182 per grammeSILVER QR2.1736 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year LowAll Ordinaries 5311 -64.222 -1.19 5691.8 4762.1

Cac 40 Index/D 4442.31 -27.97 -0.63 4607.69 3892.46

Dj Indu Average 18037.1 -105.32 -0.58 18668.4 15450.6

Hang Seng Inde/D 22810.5 -336.57 -1.45 24364 18278.8

Iseq Overall/D 5914.45 48.11 0.82 6791.68 5286.65

Karachi 100 In/D 41742.75 442.88 1.07 41688.57 29785

Nikkei 225 Ind/D 17134.68 -307.72 -1.76 18951.12 14864.01

S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 2193.81 1810.1

EXCHANGE RATECurrency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.5239 QR 4.6153

Euro QR 4.0229 QR 4.1165

CA$ QR 2.6911 QR 2.7565

Swiss Fr QR 3.7218 QR 3.8160

Yen QR 0.0349 QR 0.0356

Aus$ QR 2.7631 QR 2.8375

Ind Re QR 0.0539 QR 0.0551

Pak Re QR 0.0350 QR 0.0349

Peso QR 0.0737 QR 0.0761

SL Re QR 0.0243 QR 0.0249

Taka QR 0.0460 QR 0.0469

Nep Re QR 0338 QR 0.0345

SA Rand QR 0.2642 QR 0.2800

Dubai

Reuters

Egyptian blue chips jumped for a second straight day yesterday after the cen-tral bank floated its currency last week, rais-

ing hopes for new inflows of funds, while Saudi Arabia gained as last month’s successful international bond issue continued to spur buying.

Qatar’s index slipped 0.1 percent to 9,949 points, a four-month low, but closed 72 points off its intra-day low. Commodities producer Indus-tries Qatar dropped 1.3 percent but mobile telephone operator Voda-fone Qatar closed up 1.1 percent.

The Egyptian blue chip index added 6.1 percent in heavy trade to reach its highest level since April 2015. It was the index’s biggest rise since March this year. The broader EGX100 index gained 3.8 percent.

Commercial International Bank (CIB) soared its 10 percent daily limit. As the country’s largest listed bank, CIB is expected to benefit from an increase in trade and finan-cial flows if the currency devaluation succeeds and foreign exchange business returns to banks from the black market.

The index gained 3.4 percent on Thursday, when the central bank abandoned the Egyptian pound’s peg of 8.8 to the US dollar and let it drop to around 15.50. On Sunday, the pound fell further to around 16, but the decline was much less than many bankers had expected, which reassured some investors.

“Today the market performance surpassed Thursday’s because trad-ers have a better knowledge of how the market is pricing the currency after years of it being artificially constrained,” said Ibrahim Nimr, technical analyst at Cairo’s Naeem Brokerage.

Nimr noted that the liberalisa-tion of the currency meant Egypt was closer to securing a $12bn Inter-national Monetary Fund loan, which he thought would keep the market optimistic for a few months.

He predicted the index, which closed on Sunday at 9,350 points, would probably break 10,000 points in its current rally.

Credit Agricole rocketed 17 per-cent after reporting that nine-month consolidated net profit climbed to 956.7m Egyptian pounds ($59.8m) from 748.3m pounds a year earlier.

Global Telecom Holding surged 7.5 percent to 5.48. Egyptian pounds. EFG Hermes said in a note that the

stock should benefit from the deval-uation as it reprices to reflect the U.S dollar value of its London-listed global depositary receipts

Saudi Arabia’s main index rose 0.8 percent taking its gains since the bond issue to 11.8 percent. Banks continued to firm, with Saudi Hol-landi Bank adding 1.6 percent.

Petrochemical shares traded lower early in the day but then rebounded and Saudi Kayan jumped 4.5 percent.

Domestic-demand oriented shares were also strong, with apparel retailer Fawaz Alhokair gaining 5.2 percent.

Dubai’s index was the worst per-former in the region, falling 0.6 percent. DXB Entertainments pulled back 2.6 percent.Qatar’s index slipped 0.1 percent to 9,949 points, a four-month low, but closed 72 points off its intra-day low.

In Saudi Arabia, the index rose 0.8 percent to 6,106 points.

In Dubai, the index fell 0.6 per-cent to 3,278 points. In Abu Dhabi, The index edged up 0.2 percent to 4,292 points. In Egypt, the index jumped 6.1 percent to 9,350 points. In Kuwait, the index rose 0.6 per-cent to 5,439 points. In Oman, the index edged up 0.1 percent to 5,465 points. In Bahrain, the index rose 0.4 percent to 1,149 points.

Egyptian shares up for second day on currency float; Qatar index slips

The Peninsula

The Qatar Financial Centre Regula-tory Authority (QFC Regulatory Authority) has signed a Memoran-

dum of Understanding (MoU) with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kuwait. The signing ceremony was held at the QFC Regulatory Authority’s office in Doha.

The MoU was signed by Michael Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of the QFC Regu-latory Authority and Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf, Chairman, Board of Commissioners and Managing Director of the Capital Markets Authority.

By entering into this MoU, the QFC Regulatory Authority and the CMA have established a formal basis for cooperation on information sharing, operational and

capacity development. The signing of the MoU highlights the

QFC Regulatory Authority’s continuing commitment to foster greater regulatory cooperation.

Ryan welcomed the signing of the MoU, saying: “We are pleased to enter into this MoU with the CMA. The QFC Regula-tory Authority seeks to work and build partnerships with other regional regula-tors to promote cross-border information sharing and cooperation on matters relat-ing to financial services. We look forward to future collaboration with the CMA.”

Dr Al-Hajraf said: “The Capital Mar-kets Authority is pleased to sign the MoU with the QFC Regulatory Authority. This is an important first step in what we see as a long and cooperative relationship.”

Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf, Chairman, Board of Commissioners and Managing Director of the Capital Markets Authority – Kuwait (left) shaking hands with Michael Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of the QFC Regulatory Authority, following the signing of the MoU.

QFCRA signs MoU with Kuwait's CMA