Qatar startups to drive job creation for tech

Wednesday, November 23, 2016Safar 23, 1438 AH

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Qatar tops Mena region in average wealth per adult, says Credit SuisseBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

Qatar recorded the highest average wealth per adult of $161,700 in the Mid-

dle East and North Africa (Mena) in mid-2016, which is far higher than the region’s as well as glo-bal average, according to Credit Suisse.

The average wealth per adult in Qatar is much higher than the $13,300 average for the Mena re-gion and $52,800 globally during the review period, Credit Suisse said in its Global Wealth Report 2016.

In the Mena region, the UAE’s average wealth per adult amounted to $151,100. However, both the countries saw a small drop of 0.4% and 0.3% respec-tively from mid last year.

Kuwait stood third in the re-gion with an average wealth per adult of $119,000, which was up 0.2 % since last year. The aver-age wealth per adult in Bahrain fell by 1.1% from mid last year to $50,600.

The average wealth per adult in Saudi Arabia, the largest econ-omy in the region, also fell 0.6%, to $40,600, while Egypt’s wealth per adult saw a massive drop of 13% to $6,300.

It found that the average

wealth in Mena declined 2.6% in the 12 months to mid-2016 to $13,300. However, measured in local currency, wealth increased 2.5%.

The Mena region currently accounts for 5.9% of the world’s adults but just 1.4% of global wealth. The number of adults

has expanded 56% since 2000, the highest rate among regions in the report.

The lower segment of the wealth pyramid, adults with net wealth up to $10,000, accounts for 83% of the population. The size of this segment has increased by 49% since 2000 (below popu-

lation growth), which indicates that the region is gradually be-coming more prosperous.

In contrast, the number of adults belonging to the global middle class, with net wealth between $10,000 and $100,000 grew 90% over the same period.

By far the fastest growing

segments of the wealth pyra-mid were the top tiers, as the number of adults with net wealth between $100,000 and $1mn jumped 278% during 2000-16, and the number of millionaires grew by an estimated 330%.

Total household wealth in the Mena region stood at $3.75tn, which was down 0.5% year-on-year compared to 1.4% growth globally.

Saudi Arabia ranked fi rst with an estimated total wealth of $725bn, closely followed by the UAE with $597bn.

Qatar and Kuwait’s total wealth is estimated to be $210bn and $288bn respectively, while Bahrain’s net household wealth is estimated at $31bn and Egypt’s total wealth declined to $351bn this year, having peaked at $511bn in 2010.

Finding that total wealth in the Mena region grew 162% since 2000, well above the global av-erage 119%, Credit Suisse said, “In the next fi ve years household net wealth in the Mena region is expected to increase by a further 53%, or nearly 9% annually.”

Among the global regions, total household wealth in Asia-Pacifi c recorded the maximum growth of 8.3% and North Amer-ica by 2%; while Africa witnessed 5% decline, Latin America (4.1%) and Europe (1.7%)

Qatar entrepreneurs eye gains in lifestyle, technology businesses

Qatar startups to drive job creation for tech entrepreneurs: MoTC

By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

An increasing number of Qatari entrepreneurs are looking at lifestyle and technology businesses, particularly the food and beverage sector, a senior off icial at the Bedaya Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development has said.Speaking to Gulf Times, entrepreneurship manager Yasmeen Hasan cited a growing interest of small Qatari businesses to expand and connect with major franchises in the country.“When I say lifestyle I’m really focusing on things that support healthy living, anything with sports and nutrition,” Hasan said. “I’ve seen a rise on those kinds of businesses.”The demographic of these Qatari entrepreneurs is a mixture of diff erent people: From university students and graduates to working professionals, she noted.In the past few years, according to Hasan,

Qatari entrepreneurs have seen a gap for such kind of businesses in the country, a window of opportunity for them to take. “Let’s say for healthy living, healthy food, or using traditional food in a modern way, people have seen the gap and started opening these businesses,” she said. Hasan also saw an interest among Qatari entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, mostly restaurants, in the hospitality sector such as hotels.Bedaya Centre, a joint venture Qatar Development Bank and Silatech established in 2011, aims to provide Qatari youth with access to a wide range of services, including career guidance, self-assessment, employability skills development, entrepreneurship, mentoring opportunities, volunteering, practical training, networking activities, and lectures programmes.To further support startups and entrepreneurs, the centre also provides training programmes covering a multitude of topics that support their development.

Hasan believes the increasing number of small businesses in the food and beverage sector will help cater to Qatar’s tourism industry.“It is a national directive that we have in the Qatar National Vision 2030 and things will fall under that, and so Qatar is attracting more tourists,” she said.Many young Qatari entrepreneurs, who want to pursue their passion for business, have taken part in events organised in various locations by Bedaya Centre, in coordination with other government and non-government agencies. Such endeavours served as a platform to showcase their products to visitors and an opportunity to network with groups and other businesses as well, Hasan said.She added that Qatari entrepreneurs are also looking into technology, especially in the health sector, which is becoming popular in several countries. “It is catching up here in Qatar and it is great to see people focusing on technology projects,” the Bedaya off icial noted.

Qatari startups will drive the country’s digital economy and boost job creation in the field of technology, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) announced recently at SAP’s first ‘Start-up Focus’ event in Qatar.The MoTC and its Digital Incubation Centre (DIC) is supporting the launch of the global SAP ‘Start-up Focus’ programme in Qatar. Launched in the Middle East in 2015, the initiative is now debuting in Qatar to help eligible

startups, whose product ideas are based on areas such as big data or predictive real-time analytics, to accelerate the development of their innovations and assist in bringing them to market. With startups helping to drive nationwide digital transformation, Qatar could increase its GDP by $8bn by 2020, according to the recent Accenture report “Digital Disruption: The Growth Multiplier.”“The Qatar Ministry of Transport and

Communication’s Digital Incubation Centre is committed to supporting Qatari entrepreneurs to transform their innovative ideas into viable businesses, and drive job creation for entrepreneurs. Startup Focus shows how public-private partnerships can improve Qatar’s capacity for innovation and global economic competitiveness, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Reem al-Mansoori, assistant undersecretary for Digital Society

Development Sector.Participating startups have access to a community network of entrepreneurs, partners, investors, thought leaders, and industry experts. Once validated, start-ups can pitch to SAP’s ecosystem of more than 320,000 customers worldwide. “Qatar has the vision, strong educational foundation, and robust ICT infrastructure to develop the next generation of digital economy

startups. SAP is committed to providing mentorship to startups to help them avoid pitfalls, exchange best practices with fellow startup leaders, and bring Qatari innovations to a global scale,” said Marita Mitschein, senior vice president and managing director, SAP Training and Development Institute.Worldwide, Startup Focus has engaged with more than 3,750 startups across 59 countries and 22 industries, bringing more than 225 of their validated

solutions to market since 2013.“Qatari start-ups in Internet of Things and big data analytics, from transportation to sports, will drive Qatar’s nationwide digital transformation, to 2022 FIFA World Cup and Qatar National Vision 2030 and beyond. Startup Focus leverages global best practices and Qatari government vision to support entrepreneurs in creating successful start-ups,” said Gergi Abboud, managing director-Gulf, SAP.

Siemens wins QR45mn contract to help power Hamad Port

Siemens has won a QR45.2mn contract to help power Qa-tar’s new Hamad Port, a megaproject, with a sizeable en-ergy management package.

The contract is the fi rst for Siemens within the project and in-cludes the supply of fully-integrated E-House substations that will signifi cantly reduce on-site civil works and installation.

Siemens will also provide 22kV switchgears, 22kV transform-ers, low voltage switchgears, protection and power management systems, supervision of installation, testing and commission-ing. The contract was awarded to Siemens by the project’s main contractor, a joint venture between Teyseer Contracting Com-pany and Consolidated Contractors Group.

“This deal for the Hamad Port in Qatar is a signifi cant con-tinuation of our strong relationship with Qatar. Once completed later this year, the megaproject will bring considerable economic benefi ts to the country,” said Wolfgang Braun, senior executive vice president (Energy Management) Siemens Middle East. “We are proud to be a part of this prestigious project that will use our comprehensive E-House solution and advanced technologies to help it run smoothly.”

Siemens’ E-Houses are customised, fully-equipped modu-lar power substations for a fast and reliable power supply. They accommodate a comprehensive portfolio of medium-voltage switchgear, low-voltage switchboards, power management and auxiliary systems. This allows for fast and easy installation and can be upgraded, using available space optimally. They off er a time-effi cient and cost-eff ective alternative to conventional site-built substations for a wide range of applications.

“At the Hamad Port, we are pleased to work with Siemens and to implement the company’s cutting-edge technology that will help us signifi cantly reduce the required civil works and instal-lation on site,” said New Port Project executive director, Maisar Jamil al-Qutami. Strategically located south of Doha, the QR27bn megaproject includes a new port, a new base for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces and the canal for Qatar’s Economic Zone 3.

It will span an area of 28.5sq km and will serve the country’s expanding trade needs. Developed in multiple phases, Hamad Port will comprise three container terminals with an eventual combined annual capacity in excess of 6mn containers.

Siemens is a global technology company, which is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrifi ca-tion, automation and digitalisation.

One of the world’s largest producers of energy-effi cient, re-source-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of ef-fi cient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry.

Women walking past a Nike store in the Villaggio Mall in this file photo dated March 17, 2012. Qatar recorded the highest average wealth per adult of $161,700 in the Middle East and North Africa in mid-2016, which is far higher than the region’s as well as global average, according to Credit Suisse.

Bedaya Centre, a joint venture Qatar Development Bank and Silatech established in 2011, aims to provide Qatari youth with access to a wide range of services, including career guidance, self-assessment, employability skills development, entrepreneurship, mentoring opportunities, volunteering, practical training, networking activities, and lectures programmes

Hasan: Small Qatari businesses looking to spread wings.

2 ISLAMIC FINANCE GULF TIMESWednesday, November 23, 2016

Islamic gold standard to debut in December; price jump expectedBy Arno MaierbruggerGulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

The long-awaited new Shariah Gold Standard is now set to be launched before the end of 2016 and expected

to become the next big catalyst to push the precious metal to new highs – some analysts say even up to $3,000 an ounce in the medium-term, more than 2.5-fold of where the price currently stands.

Islamic scholars at the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Finan-cial Institutions in Bahrain are reportedly in the fi nal phase of creating an accept-able standard for Muslims to trade in gold, a regulation set to become eff ective next month that will allow Muslims to trade physical gold and gold-related fi nancial instruments. The council is working with London-based World Gold Council on all technical and ethical issues.

The basic challenge to create a Shariah Gold Standard is that gold has been treated mostly as a currency in Islamic fi nance, limiting its use to spot transactions. Under Shariah law, gold is one of six items (ribawi items, the others being barley, dates, salt, silver and wheat), which are forbidden from being held onto with the intention of trading at a later date for an expected higher value. This means that, until now, Muslims could not trade gold for a profi t, neither use gold-related investment vehi-cles such as gold index funds, futures and even mining stocks.

Muslims have always been allowed to own gold jewellery, though, but consumer demand for gold in the Middle East region has actually fallen in recent years.

This is highly likely to change quickly. The key of the new Shariah Gold Standard is that gold is no longer seen as a currency, but as a commodity, and any transaction would be allowed under this circumstance as long as it is backed by real gold as an asset. The standard now also delivers a consensus on gold trading in fi nancial instruments such as exchange traded funds or futures, which are halal as long as physical gold is delivered at the end of a transaction, ending the con-

fusion and hesitation that was always part of gold deals in Islamic fi nance. It provides guidance from a Shariah perspective on the usage of gold in fi nancial and investment transactions for Islamic fi nancial institu-tions and participants.

According to the World Gold Council, the new standard will also serve as an in-ternationally recognised consensus on regular gold savings plans, gold certifi cates and gold mining equities.

“The Shariah Gold Standard will highly likely bring a boost to the gold market and spur a new wave of product innovation in Islamic fi nance,” says World Gold Coun-cil CEO Aram Shishmanian, pointing out that until now, money managers within Islamic fi nancial markets were limited to a few Shariah-compliant assets such as eq-uities, real estate and sukuk as there were virtually no offi cial Shariah-compliant gold products on the market.

Thus, gold investments will now allow Islamic investors to diversify their assets more broadly, stabilising the Islamic fi -nancial market in the process.

Once the Shariah Gold Standard is in-troduced, many market observers expect the gold price to take off since an additional 1.6bn Muslims, dozens of central banks and hundreds of Arab ultra-high-net worth in-dividuals will be eligible to invest in gold.

In addition, Muslim countries with weak currencies such as Malaysia, Indo-nesia and Pakistan, are expected to build up gold reserves to fl atten exchange rate volatilities. Younger middle-class Mus-lims, who are looking for greater fi nancial sophistication, might fi nd it in Shariah-compliant gold options such as compliant gold exchange traded funds.

According to a Standard & Poor’s esti-mate, up to a whopping $3tn could fl ood into the gold market after the Shariah Gold Standard is introduced, propelling Islamic assets globally to $5tn by 2020.

EDUCATION/FAQ on Insurance

Is it permissible for the bank to seek indemnity insurance policy covering risks such as theft, cash in transit, fraud, forged documents, valuables and the like?It is permissible for the bank to seek Takaful against the types of losses mentioned so long as the amount of repayment does not exceed the amount of actual loss or damage.

Is it permissible for the client in a Murabaha to determine the sort of Takaful coverage the goods are to receive, particularly when he wants to exclude coverage that raises the price of the premiums when such coverage might be important to the bank?The client is not in a position to determine the type of coverage that

will be sought for Murabaha goods purchased through the bank.

What does Islam say about copyright?It is obligatory to abide by the laws of copyright and intellectual property unless doing so compels one to do something impermissible or refrain from something obligatory according to the standards of Islamic Sacred Law. It is permissible to store printed or electronic copyrighted material for oneself or to share it with others in a limited manner that does not financially or otherwise harm the copyright owner.

Is it permissible for a person to receive benefits for the value of his car that has been destroyed in an

accident even though he is in the process of making some remaining payments for the price of the car?It is lawful for the person to receive benefits for the value of the destroyed car since ownership was transferred to him without his putting up any collateral. However, in the event that the person who purchased the car previously granted the bank the right to reserve any amount coming into its possession, then the amount of benefit transferred from the Takaful company to the bank falls under the ruling of a guarantee in which the remaining payments are to be made on time unless a new agreement is concluded.

What is the Shariah ruling with regard to automobile insurance?Automobile Takaful is lawful provided

the benefit paid out to the insured is equivalent to the amount of actual damage and not more.

When the goods for a Murabaha deal are completely damaged or lost the Takaful company pays the bank a benefit equal to the value of the goods plus 10%. Is it permissible to accept this excess and may it be used to pay for legal expenses?It is lawful for the bank to use the benefits paid out to it by the Takaful company to make a direct payment for expenses associated with the insured goods or through its client as an agent on its behalf. The remaining amount if any must be returned to the Takaful company.

Is it lawful for the bank to insure

valuable property, like sums of cash, cheques and trade bills against fire, theft, loss or destruction?It is permissible to insure such items on the condition that the amount of Takaful coverage is commensurate with the amounts of the trade bills and cheques etc, actually maintained in the safes of the bank so that the benefit payments to be made by the Takaful company are kept in proportion to the actual amount of loss and no more.

Is it permissible to accept insurance benefits greater than the amount of actual losses incurred based on the annual payment of premium covering a greater loss than the one experienced?It is not lawful to accept benefits

greater than the amount of actual losses incurred based on the annual payment of premium that insures a greater loss than the one suff ered. According to Islamic law, insurance benefits received must be commensurate to the amount of actual loss undergone.

Is it permissible to seek Takaful insurance for the value of goods plus 10% in order to include shipping expenses in addition to the cost of premiums?Takaful coverage is not lawful for an amount greater than the actual value of goods. It should be a sum that represents actual value, inclusive of expenses.

Source: Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance via Bloomberg

Gulf TimesExclusive

Maybank challenges CIMB reign as top sukuk arrangerLender grabbed 27% of ringgit sukuk market versus 22% for CIMB; ‘pipeline is there’ and funds flush with cash, Maybank says

BloombergKuala Lumpur

Malayan Banking Bhd is challenging CIMB Group Holdings

Bhd’s nine-year reign as the top arranger in the world’s largest Islamic bond market.

Malaysia’s biggest lender has managed 15.3bn ringgit ($3.5bn) of sukuk off erings in the nation in 2016, data com-piled by Bloomberg show. It had a 27% market share ver-sus 22% for CIMB. Maybank last arranged the most such securities 17 years ago. Issu-ance of Shariah-compliant debt climbed 50% to 60.3bn

ringgit this year, after drop-ping 14% to $56.2bn in 2015, the least since 2011.

Maybank helped man-age larger off erings such as those from subway fi nan-cier DanaInfra Nasional Bhd and power producer Sarawak Hidro Sdn, Michael Oh-Lau, regional head of debt mar-kets, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Of-ferings in 2017 will match this year’s levels, driven by refi -nancing and fundraising for highways, railways and power plants, he said.

“The pipeline is there,” Oh-Lau said. “Demand for Malaysian sukuk will be sup-ported by local institutional funds as they are still fl ush with cash.”

Maybank, which has to-tal assets of 722.7bn ringgit, is second so far this year to CIMB in global sukuk sales. CIMB said it had led the glo-

bal table for seven of the past nine years.

“We are seeing stiff er com-petition in the ringgit sukuk space this year, which bodes well for the Shariah-compli-ant debt market as a whole,” Mohamad Safri Shahul Ha-mid, deputy chief executive offi cer at its Islamic bank-ing unit, said in an e-mailed statement. “CIMB has been active in both ringgit and glo-bal fronts and will continue to do so in our eff orts to help bridge the demand-supply gap.”

Malaysia, which pioneered Islamic fi nance more than 30 years ago, held 31% of the $58bn Shariah-compliant assets under management globally at the end of 2015, according to the Securities Commission. Banking assets that comply with Shariah tenets climbed to a record 715.6bn ringgit, or 28% of

the nation’s total, as of July 30, a Finance Ministry report shows.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is undertaking a multibillion ringgit programme to trans-form Malaysia into a devel-oped economy by 2020. Da-naInfra issued 9bn ringgit of state-backed Islamic debt via two off erings, while Sarawak Hidro sold 5.5bn ringgit of sukuk without a government guarantee, part of a drive to ease the nation’s fi scal liabili-ties. The power producer’s 2026 debt last yielded 4.31% on October 27, 12 basis points lower than its coupon rate of 4.43%.

CIMB expects the glo-bal sukuk market to remain buoyant with sustained deal pipelines in the near-to-medium term and the ringgit Islamic debt to continue to dominate primary issuance in 2017, Mohamad Safri said.

Etihad Airways sets guidance for planned 5-year sukukEtihad Airways has set final pricing guidance of around 215 basis points above midswaps for its planned sukuk, expected to be at least $500mn in size, according to one of the banks arranging the transaction.The Islamic bond, which once completed will be Etihad’s debut US dollar debt sale, received orders of up to $1.3bn, the bank said yesterday. Order books are expected to close as early as later in the day, it added.Initial guidance, released on Monday, was in the low-to-mid 200 basis points range over midswaps.HSBC, JP Morgan and National Bank of Abu Dhabi are the sukuk arrangers.They are joined by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and First Gulf Bank as bookrunners.The bond is expected to price this week, as reported by Reuters on Monday.

UNB setting up new Islamic insurance JVAbu Dhabi’s Union National Bank (UNB) said yesterday it was setting up an Islamic insurance firm through a joint venture with Orient Insurance Company, off ering 30% of shares through an initial public off ering (IPO).The pair will hold a 70% stake in the new company, Orient UNB Takaful, while the remaining 30% will be off ered through an IPO, UNB said, adding the new company will be listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).No timeline was given about the public off ering or listing.UNB, 50% owned by the Abu Dhabi government, said the new company had got initial approval from the UAE Insurance Authority, the Securities & Commodities Authority and Dubai’s Department of Economic Development.

Saudi Investment Bank closes 500mn riyals sukukSaudi Investment Bank closed a 500mn riyals ($133.3mn) Tier 1 sukuk sale, the bank said yesterday.The subordinated Islamic bond, or sukuk, was sold privately, it added.The debt transaction, which was completed on Monday, will boost the Riyadh-headquartered bank’s capital base and its capital adequacy ratio, in addition to diversifying the Saudi bank’s funding sources and its maturity profile, the bank said. Alistithmar for Financial Securities and Brokerage Company and JP Morgan Saudi Arabia Company were the joint lead managers, it added.

An employee arranges jewellery at a window display in a shop at the Gold Souq in Dubai. According to the World Gold Council, the new standard will also serve as an internationally recognised consensus on regular gold savings plans, gold certificates and mining equities.

BUSINESS3Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Air Berlin to seek funding via Etihad stake in Niki armBloombergFrankfurt

Air Berlin is seeking a much-needed cash injection from in-vestor Etihad Airways as the

Gulf carrier draws up plans to buy a stake in the German company’s Aus-trian leisure arm Niki, which is being spun off and merged with a peer, peo-ple familiar with the plan said.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad will take a holding in Niki as a prelude to combin-ing it with TUI’s German airline unit, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public.

The valuation will be closely watched, since an infl ated price could suggest Etihad is seeking to fund Air Berlin while circumventing rules lim-iting foreign ownership of European Union airlines.

While talks on the Niki transaction are underway there’s no assurance that agreement will be reached. Air Berlin spokesman Tobias Spaeing declined

to say whether the company will be reducing its holding in the Austrian business. Etihad and TUI also declined to comment. Etihad has been trying to shore up Air Berlin since a 2011 deal aimed at feeding more passengers into its global network.

The partnership has failed to turn around Germany’s second- largest airline, which has racked up €1.27bn ($1.35bn) in losses over three years, and the latest plan involves halving the fl eet and creating a leisure airline with some of the surplus jets.

Under the revised strategy, Vienna-based Niki would contribute 19 aircraft to the new carrier, alongside about 30 from TUIfl y and 14 that Air Berlin leas-es from the holiday specialist. Air Ber-lin separately plans to operate a further 40 planes on behalf of long-time rival Deutsche Lufthansa.

Etihad’s room for maneuver in fund-ing Air Berlin is limited, with the Mi-deast group already owning 29.9% of the German company, and by exten-sion an equal stake in Niki. EU rules cap outside operators’ holdings in the

bloc’s airlines at 49.9%. Exceeding a 30% stake would also trigger a manda-tory takeover off er under German law.

The people didn’t say why an invest-ment in Niki is favoured over a direct deal with its parent, though Etihad has been creative in bailing out Air Berlin before.

In 2010, the Abu Dhabi carrier bought a stake in its ally’s frequent fl yer programme for €184.4mn, a price analysts said was infl ated, and in 2014 it purchased a convertible bond is-sued by the German company. Then in April, Air Berlin obtained €260mn in Etihad-guaranteed loans. The meas-ures provided vital funds without lift-ing Etihad’s ownership.

The TUI board is scheduled to meet today, so that the plans involving Niki could be progressed as early as this week.

Etihad separately aims to raise at least $500mn from a sale of fi ve-year Islamic bonds or sukuk this week, a person with knowledge of the deal said yesterday. The securities may be priced at about 215 basis points, or 2.15

percentage points, over the benchmark midswap rate, the person said.

To be sure, selling Niki won’t solve Air Berlin’s balance-sheet issues. The German carrier said this month that cash and equivalents stood at 260.5mn euros as of September 30, down almost 20% from a year earlier, while Stefan Pichler, its chief executive offi cer, has pledged to spell out plans for delivering a “signifi cant improvement” in group fi nances in the near future.

Niki was founded in 2003 when former Formula 1 motor racing cham-pion Niki Lauda acquired Aero Lloyd Austria. Air Berlin began cooperating with the carrier in 2004 and bought it out in 2011. The Austrian unit operates a fl eet of Airbus Group SE A320-series short-haul jets.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported earli-er that Niki and TUIfl y will be grouped under a new holding company based in Austria and 51% owned by a founda-tion there.

Etihad would own 25% and TUI 24%, making the deal compliant with the EU cap on outside ownership.

Etihad Airways headquarters is seen in Abu Dhabi. Etihad will take a holding in Niki as a prelude to combining it with TUI’s German airline unit, according to reports.

UAE may take US to WTO over steel pipes dumping chargesReutersDubai

The United Arab Emirates could refer the United States to the World Trade Organisation over anti-dumping charges levied on steel pipes, a senior off icial said on Monday. The US International Trade Commission announced on Friday it was taking measures against the UAE, Oman and Pakistan in relation to circular welded carbon-quality steel pipes, after a Department of Commerce investigation

found them to be sold in the United States for less than fair value.The pipes are used in sprinklers, fences and plumbing systems.“We are trying to solve it in consultation, bilaterally, with the US administration and we’ll try to solve it in consultation,” Abdulla al-Saleh, undersecretary for foreign trade and industry at the UAE ministry of economy, told reporters on the sidelines of a construction event.“If that doesn’t work, we may — and we haven’t decided yet — have another option to go through the

WTO channel. It depends on the case and the evidence that we have.But we believe we don’t practice any measure that (results in) dumping in the US market or harming the US market.”Saleh said the industry doesn’t receive any subsidies from the government, which supported its claim that it didn’t pursue any unfair international trade practices.There are already similar tensions between US airlines and Gulf carriers including Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways.

The US investigation began in October 2015 and follows a complaint from four American firms — two in Missouri, and one each in Illinois and California.Saleh added the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries were continuing to study whether to raise import duty on steel.Global steel prices have slumped as Chinese producers, which account for about half of worldwide steel supply, have flooded export markets, sparking protests and anti-dumping complaints by the United States and

the European Union among others. The GCC Secretariat was studying raising the level of duty imposed by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to help protect local steel producers from cheap imports, according to local media reports earlier this year.“There is a proposal on the table and GCC members are studying it. Hopefully, they will reach the agreement which is not about protecting the market but it’s protecting the fair competition in the market,” Saleh said.

He declined to give details, but said some Gulf countries have a band which allows duty to rise to 15% and the UAE was open to raising it to that level from its current 5%.He added “soon”, when asked when a decision was expected.Gulf nations have traditionally kept steel tariff s low to facilitate local building booms, although the construction sector — in particular in Saudi Arabia — has struggled since oil prices began to fall in mid-2014, which crimped state budgets for large infrastructure projects.

Mideast aluminium producers fi lling gap after US plants closedBloombergDubai

Middle East aluminium producers are boosting metal shipments to the

US to fi ll a supply gap left from plant closings.

Electricity costs give Mid-dle East producers the advan-tage, Jorge Vazquez, managing director of Austin, Texas-based Harbor Intelligence, said in an interview yesterday in Dubai.

Since 1980, US output has dropped from 4.6mn metric tonnes by 32 smelters to about 700,000 tonnes by 5 smelters this year, he said.

The last US smelter to open was in 1985, he said.

“Demand in the US is growing but at the same time production is declining, and declining in a signifi cant way,” Vazquez said. “It’s opening an interesting op-portunity for vendors outside the US”.

Middle East shipments of value-added aluminium parts to the US in the fi rst nine months of this year rose 50% to about

734,000 metric tonnes, or 60% of the total, Vazquez said. The cash cost of production in the Middle East was $1,200 a tonne in the third quarter, compared with $1,670 a ton in the US, he said.

The Middle East alumini-um industry started from one smelter in Bahrain in 1971 pro-ducing 120,000 metric tonnes a year to today’s six smelters in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar with output of about 5.2mn tonnes last year, accord-ing to Emirates Global Alumin-ium.

Alcoa Inc split into two com-panies as of November 1 after shutting unprofi table smelters and cutting production.

North American demand is now about 7.5mn tonnes a year, against US output of 750,000 tonnes and Canadian produc-tion of 3mn tonnes, Tim Mur-ray, chief executive offi cer of Aluminium Bahrain, told an aluminium conference in Dubai. “Production has to come from somewhere, and I believe it’s go-ing to continue to come from the Middle East.”

Saudi builder Khodari puts value of delayed work at $96.6mn

ReutersDubai

Saudi Arabian construction firm Abdullah Abdul Mohsin al-Khodari and Sons said yesterday that projects worth 362.2mn riyals ($97mn) had been delayed due to factors ranging from clients’ funding shortages to slow visa issuance.The pace of construction in Saudi Arabia has cooled in the past two years as lower oil prices stall project funding and slow government payments, tightening banking liquidity and squeezing contractors.Khodari, which last month reported a wider third-quarter net loss, said its total project backlog was 3.01bn riyals by September 30.That compared to 4.67bn riyals at the same point of 2015.The firm, a builder of housing and infrastructure, said its total contract value was 7.78bn riyals.Delays built up when issuing

visas, appointing consultants and making changes to designs, it said.Delays in the review and processing of invoices and work stoppages due to lack of money were also to blame.Signs that the backlog of payments owed to contractors might be easing have emerged, with Arab News quoting Fahad al-Hammadi, chief of the National Contractors’ Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers, as saying that by Sunday construction firms had received 40bn riyals in the past two weeks, representing 25% of money owed to them by various government agencies.Fawwaz al-Khodari, chief executive of Khodari, told Al Arabiya television the same day that 10 to 15% of the 500mn riyals it was owed by the government had been paid.He expressed optimism that the company would receive 40 to 45 % of the total outstanding dues by the end of the year in the best case scenario.

Opec to debate output cut next week, butIraq and Iran hesitateAlgeria proposes cut of 4.0-4.5% except Nigeria, Libya; Opec experts make recommendation but full deal still elusive; Iraq says would be unfair for Opec to ask it to cut; Iran still insists on production targets above 4mn bpd

ReutersVienna/Dubai

Opec will debate an oil output cut of 4.0-4.5% for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next

week but the deal’s success hinges on an agreement from Iraq and Iran, which are far from certain to give full backing.

Three Opec sources told Reuters a gathering of experts from the oil produc-er group in Vienna had decided yesterday to recommend that a ministerial meeting on November 30 debate a proposal from member Algeria to reduce output by that

amount. Such a cut would bring Opec’s current output down by more than 1.2mn barrels per day (bpd), according to Reu-ters calculations based on the group’s October production, and is towards the upper end of market expectations.

But sources also said the representa-tives of Iran, Iraq and Indonesia had expressed reservations about their level of participation in what would be the group’s fi rst supply-limiting deal since 2008.

Brent oil futures were trading fl at at around $49 per barrel, paring earlier gains of around $1 a barrel.

In September, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to reduce production to between 32.5mn and 33.0mn bpd — an eff ort to prop up prices — from Opec’s own latest produc-tion estimates of 33.64mn bpd.

Opec’s deal faces potential setbacks from Iraq’s call for it to be exempt and from Iran, which wants to increase

supply as its output has been hit by sanctions.

Iraq’s foreign minister said on Tues-day in Budapest that Opec should allow Iraq to continue raising output with no restrictions.

Iran and Iraq raised certain conditions for participating in the deal, according to sources, who were not allowed to speak on the record because the experts were meeting behind closed doors.

Sources said Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have signalled they were prepared to cut as much as 1mn bpd of their out-put.

The Algerian proposal would see all member countries, except Nigeria and Libya, cutting 4-4.5% from Opec’s esti-mates of their October production with the aim of reaching a total output target of 32.5mn bpd, Opec sources have said.

That would mean Saudi Arabia alone could cut up to 500,000bpd, sources said. Opec’s own estimates, based on so-

called “secondary sources”, are usually lower than countries’ direct submissions to the organisation.

Under the Algerian proposal, Iran was asked to cut 4.5% from almost 4mn bpd, according to sources.

But Tehran is signalling it wants to cut from higher levels of 4.1-4.2mn bpd, one of the sources said.

Iraq was asked to cut about 200,000 bpd. Baghdad is also still debating whether it should cut from the levels of Opec’s estimates or its own, higher, pro-duction fi gures.

“Around 85% of proposed Opec cuts are from Gulf countries but Iran is still not in favour,” one source said.

Non-Opec producer Russia was also still not agreeing to cut production but favouring a freeze, a senior Opec delegate said.

“This will make it diffi cult for Opec alone to rebalance the market and bring prices up,” the source said.

A view of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries building in Vienna. Opec will debate an oil output cut of 4.0% to 4.5% for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week but the deal’s success hinges on an agreement from Iraq and Iran, which are far from certain to give full backing.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 23, 20164

Emerging assets rise as Treasury selloff pausesReutersLondon

Emerging market equities rose

more than 1% to 11-day highs

yesterday, helped by a broad

commodity and equity rally and a

pause in the rise of US bond yields

and the dollar.

Expectations of inflation stem-

ming from President-elect Donald

Trump’s future fiscal policies have

fed through to US bond yields and

pushed the dollar to near 14-year

highs.

That in turn has weighed heav-

ily on emerging markets. But with

10-year bond yields some 10 basis

points off highs hit earlier in the

week, there was some relief for

riskier assets.

At the same time, Trump’s

plans to boost infrastructure and

defence spending are lifting com-

modity prices, helping producers.

“This morning we are seeing a

bit of a relief, emerging markets

are recouping some of the losses

seen after the US election,” said

Guillaume Tresca, senior emerg-

ing markets strategist at Credit

Agricole. “Risk appetite is improv-

ing as equity markets are up but

the biggest factor is a decline in

the long-term (US) rates.”

MSCI’s benchmark emerging

stocks index posted its biggest

one-day gain since before the

November 8 US election.

Commodity producers made

some of the biggest advances,

after copper rose 2% to one-week

highs and palladium hit its strong-

est in over three months.

Oil prices also surged to three-

week highs on growing conviction

that major producers, including

Russia, will reach a deal on output.

South African shares rose 1.2% to

10-day highs and Russian dollar-

denominated stocks climbed

around 1%.

Their currencies also gained,

with the Russian rouble firming

0.7% against the dollar, the Kazakh

tenge up 1% to three-week highs

and the South African rand firming

1.3%. Although Trump reiterated

his intention to withdraw from the

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),

an Asia-Pacific free trade accord,

this failed to dent enthusiasm

for Asian equities, with Hong

Kong stocks up 1.4% and Chinese

mainland shares up just under 1%

to 10-month highs.

Emerging Europe also made

strong gains, with Polish stocks

rising 1.2% and Czech shares up

0.6%. With the dollar index slip-

ping 0.3%, even non-commodity

related currencies were able to

make gains.

The Chinese yuan rebounded

from the near 8-1/2 year low hit

on Monday after the central bank

set a higher off icial fix for the first

time in nearly three weeks.

The Mexican peso, which has

borne the brunt of selling in the

wake of Trump’s victory given his

campaign rhetoric on trade tariff s,

immigration and border walls,

strengthened as much as 0.8%.

Even the Turkish lira, which has

been pounded in recent days as

a crackdown in the wake of July’s

failed coup continues, gained

0.2%. Economists are divided over

the possibility of a lira-supportive

rate rise at the central bank’s

Thursday meeting, with almost

half of those surveyed by Reuters

predicting a 25 basis point rise in

one-week repo rates to 7.75%.

Tokyo stocks hit 10-month highAFPHong Kong

Asian markets rose yesterday with energy stocks tracking a surge in oil prices, while To-

kyo hit a fresh 10-month high after an early sell-off prompted by a huge earthquake off the northeast coast.

The quake struck around dawn in the same region as the deadly 2011 tremor, sparking fears of another tragedy.

But while it caused some tsuna-mis they were not as high as fi ve years ago.

The yen strengthened against the dollar after the quake as inves-tors sought out safe-haven assets, but gave up most of the gains as it emerged there was no major dam-age.

The dollar fell to as low as ¥110.27 before bouncing back to sit at ¥111.00 in the afternoon, with ex-pectations it will extend gains on bets for higher US interest rates un-der Donald Trump’s presidency.

Japan’s Nikkei rebounded to end up 0.3% at its highest mark since January.

Hopes that the Opec oil cartel and Russia will be able to hammer out an agreement to cut production have lit a fi re under crude prices and in turn energy stocks.

With Opec’s twice-yearly gath-ering set for November 30, specu-lation is mounting that offi cials are close to a deal to tackle a global sup-ply glut.

“Market players are positioning

themselves for higher prices, and oil will be in the $50 to $55 range if there is a deal,” Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zu-rich, told Bloomberg News.

“Opec members are building a lot of expectations and taking too much exposure to let a deal fail.”

Both main contracts surged more than 4% on Monday and gained nearly 1% in Asian trade, providing a springboard for regional energy fi rms. Hong Kong-listed CNOOC soared more than 5% and PetroChi-

na jumped 3.8%, while in Tokyo In-pex put on 1.7%. Woodside Petro-leum advanced 2.4% in Sydney.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed 1.4% higher and Shanghai ended up 0.9%.

Sydney added 1.2%, Seoul 0.9% and Singapore 0.6%.

Taipei rallied more than 1% while Jakarta, Manila and Kuala Lumpur also gained after recent losses.

But traders remain on edge about Trump’s plans for global trade, fearing possible huge tariff s to ac-

cess the US economy. The uplift tracked a record close on Wall Street for all three main indexes thanks to the energy rally and expectations for a rate rise.

In early European trade London and Paris each rose 0.7% and Frank-furt put on 0.6%.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 up 0.3% at 18,162.94 points; Hong Kong – Hang Seng up 1.4% at 22,678.07 points and Shanghai – Composite up 0.9% at 3,248.35 points at the close yesterday.

Sensex rebounds; rupee fallsBloombergMumbai

Indian stocks rebounded from the biggest los-

ing streak in a year as some investors deemed

the benchmark gauge’s decline to a six-month

low to be excessive.

Tata Motors, owner of Jaguar Land Rover, Ba-

jaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki India climbed from

four-month lows. National Aluminium Co and

Hindalco Industries, India’s top producers of the

light metal, surged at least 6%. A gauge of metal

shares fell to a two-month low on Monday as

concerns about the economic impact of the

government’s anti-corruption steps and capital

outflows from local assets sparked a selloff in

Indian equities.

The Sensex has erased this year’s gains

after retreating 6% since the government’s

November 8 decision to scrap 86% of the

currency notes in circulation. There’s concern

the cash crunch arising out of the move will

cool demand at a time when a good monsoon

after back-to-back droughts had led investors

to bet on company profit growth accelerating.

The currency recall will pull down economic

expansion for the year to March by 0.5 percent-

age points, Citigroup said in a report on the

weekend.

“The best time to build portfolios is when

there’s fear as the concentrated selling is in

shock rather than based on ground realities,”

Sanjiv Bhasin, executive vice president at

Mumbai-based brokerage India Infoline, said by

phone. “The double whammy of the unexpect-

ed Trump victory and demonetisation in India

has played havoc with sentiment.”

The anti-corruption measures have com-

bined with capital outflows from emerging mar-

kets in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprise US

election victory. Global funds have withdrawn

$1.6bn from local shares this month, the highest

in Asia after Taiwan, data compiled by Bloomb-

erg show. Domestic institutional investors have

bought a net $1.7bn of shares so far this month,

the data show.

The Sensex trades at 15.1 times projected

12-month earnings, near the cheapest level

since May. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index

is valued at a multiple of 12. Oil & Natural Gas

Corp, the largest explorer, capped a fourth day

of gain, the longest in two months. Crude prices

have risen for three days amid signs Opec mem-

bers have made progress towards finalising a

deal to cut output. Escorts, a tractor producer,

rose 3% after saying it expects to expand profit

margins for agri-machinery business to 13%

to 15%. The stock fell to a three-month low on

Monday. IRB Infrastructure Developer declined

3.8% after second-quarter profit and revenue

missed estimates.

Meanwhile the rupee yesterday closed fresh

nine month low against the US dollar on market

volatility. This was the seven out of eight ses-

sions when the rupee closed lower.

The rupee closed at 68.26 a dollar – a level

last seen on February 29, down 0.13% from its

previous close of 68.17. The home currency

opened at 68.11 against the US dollar and

touched a low of 68.27 a dollar – a level last

seen on 1 March. So far this year, it fell 2%.

Since 9 to September 18, FIIs sold $1.52bn in

equity and from 11 to September 18, FIIs sold

$2.06bn in debt. FIIs have sold $2.34bn in debt

and bought $5.30bn in equity till date this year.

The benchmark 10-year government bond

yield closed at 6.31%, compared to Monday’s

close of 6.311%. Bond yields and prices move in

opposite directions.

South Korea’s won outperforms in Asia as

rally in local stocks help reverse three days

of losses. Early yen gains on earthquake in

Fukushima proved short-lived as US yields

recovered. Most Asian currencies are mixed to

lower, according to Bloomberg report.

South Korean won was up 0.89%, Taiwan dol-

lar 0.25%, Thai Baht 0.25%, China renminbi 0.1%.

However, Indonesian rupiah was down 0.28%,

Philippines peso 0.12%, China Off shore 0.08%.

A man cycles past the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 closed up 0.3% to 18,162.94 points yesterday.

Iron ore awakens to hangover as portstockpiles surgeBloombergSingapore

For iron ore it is the morning after the night before. Prices have giv-en up most of the gains inspired

by Donald Trump’s surprise win and a speculative frenzy in China, with a surge in port stockpiles in the top user reminding investors that fundamentals still count.

“The speed of the recent rally leaves it open to the charge that price action has been too much, too fast,” Dane Davis, an analyst at Barclays in New York, said in a note that asked “After the party....the hangover?”

The balance of risk for iron as well as copper is skewed to the downside as the dollar strengthens and the eff ects of Trump’s win wear off , according to Davis.

Iron ore barrelled to a two-year high this month as investors celebrated Trump’s victory on the outlook for in-frastructure spending at the same time

commodities futures volumes surged in China.

The rally has reversed after mainland exchanges raised charges to quell the fer-vour, and the US currency rose on pros-pects for higher interest rates. The port data have added to the bearish mix, rein-forcing signs of ample supply, and come as mining giant Rio Tinto Group cut jobs across West Australia, citing a challeng-ing outlook.

“As it did earlier this year, China has cracked down on speculation in the iron ore market,” Davis said. “With these stricter standards in place, the iron ore price should continue to ease off recent highs, though it may fi nd support from continued highs in other steel raw ma-terials, such as met coal, and a domes-tic steel market that looks to set to grow production in 2016.”

Benchmark spot with 62% content at Qingdao fell 8.8% last week, capping the fi rst weekly drop in almost two months, according to Metal Bulletin.

Prices, which fell 3.4% to $70.34 a dry ton on Monday, may average $58 this

quarter and $50 next year, according to Barclays.

Earlier in Asia, the SGX AsiaClear contract fell as much as 2.3% to $65.30 a tonne.

That follows a 15% drop last week, and puts prices a little above the $64.78 close on November 8, the last day of trade of before Trump’s win.

On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, futures were at 552.5 yuan ($80) a tonne, compared with the 519 yuan close on No-vember 8, and the November 14 high of 627 yuan.

As prices sank last week, port invento-ries in China climbed to the highest since September 2014, according to Shang-hai Steelhome Information Technology Co. The holdings rose 2.6% to 110.58mn tonnes, the biggest percentage increase in more than a year. They’re up 19% in 2016.

Rio Tinto, the world’s No 2 producer, is planning to cut jobs across its iron ore di-vision in Western Australia, according to Melbourne-based spokesman Bruce To-bin, who wouldn’t confi rm the number

to Bloomberg News. The comments fol-lowed local media reports that about 500 jobs are to go.

The market outlook remains challeng-ing, and the miner has 1,000 initiatives under way to reduce costs and improve productivity, Tobin said on Monday. Last week, Rio announced it will suspend mining at one of its local operations for the fi rst time since the global fi nancial crisis to cut costs.

Miners’ shares have been whipsawed by iron ore’s sudden surge and slump. In Sydney, Fortescue Metals Group, Aus-tralia’s No 3 shipper, dropped 7.8% last week after a 19% advance the week be-fore, while in Brazil Vale gained 15% in the period to November 11, then lost 6% last week. In London, Rio dropped 4.4% last week.

The recent surge in prices “has to do with speculation, and trading has since become more rational,” said Dang Man, an analyst at Maike Futures Co in Xi’an, China. “Iron ore’s fundamentals have never been great. The huge increase in port stockpiles doesn’t bode well.”

Labourers work on a pile of iron ore at a steel factory in Tangshan, China. Iron ore prices have given up most of the gains inspired by Donald Trump’s surprise win and a speculative frenzy in China, with a surge in port stockpiles in the top user reminding investors that fundamentals still count.

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 Cinema & Film Distrib

Qatar Insurance CoOoredoo Qsc

National LeasingMazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev

Mesaieed Petrochemical HoldiAl Meera Consumer Goods Co

Medicare GroupMannai Corporation Qsc

Masraf Al RayanAl Khalij Commercial Bank

Industries QatarIslamic Holding Group

Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services

Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co

Doha Bank QscDlala Holding

Commercial Bank QscBarwa Real Estate Co

Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAamal Co

76.00

61.50

9.13

18.31

10.80

9.60

85.80

84.00

151.90

48.20

43.95

60.50

54.50

100.30

22.70

46.00

9.51

140.10

9.72

208.00

28.05

81.20

90.50

13.95

11.95

15.17

159.00

61.10

76.50

33.70

17.28

104.00

54.00

50.00

29.80

14.85

18.49

33.20

20.52

33.40

29.80

20.10

13.06

-1.04

1.15

-1.30

-2.09

0.09

-2.74

0.82

0.00

-0.78

-0.31

1.74

-0.82

1.87

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.55

-0.78

-2.80

0.24

0.00

0.25

0.11

-1.06

0.00

-0.33

-1.24

0.00

0.00

0.75

0.00

-0.95

0.00

-6.37

1.53

-1.00

0.00

-0.30

0.00

-4.02

0.00

3.08

-1.66

224

1,556

2,485,425

110,141

138,468

11,571

21,156

7,277

675,751

2,240

7,327

10,978

11,429

38,080

124,943

-

13,942

5,615

571,809

14,722

-

23,987

126,718

27,684

80,120

215,863

75,046

-

-

171,307

4,833

126,214

-

190,853

158,401

368,050

-

198,780

12,138

231,975

387,329

10

2,224

QATAR

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

United Wire Factories CompanEtihad Etisalat Co

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate DevSaudi Hollandi Bank

Rabigh Refining And PetrocheBanque Saudi Fransi

Saudi Enaya Cooperative InsuMediterranean & Gulf Insuran

Saudi British BankMohammad Al Mojil Group Co

Red Sea Housing Services CoTakween Advanced Industries

Sabb TakafulSaudi Arabian Fertilizer Co

National GypsumSaudi Ceramic Co

National Gas & IndustrializaSaudi Pharmaceutical Industr

ThimarNational Industrialization C

Saudi Transport And InvestmeSaudi Electricity Co

Saudi Arabia Refineries CoArriyadh Development Company

Al-Baha Development & InvestSaudi Research And MarketingAldrees Petroleum And Transp

Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe CoJarir Marketing Co

Arab National BankYanbu National Petrochemical

Arabian CementMiddle East Specialized Cabl

Al Khaleej Training And EducAl Sagr Co-Operative Insuran

Trade Union Cooperative InsuArabia Insurance Cooperative

Saudi Chemical CompanyFawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C

Bupa Arabia For CooperativeWafa Insurance

Jabal Omar Development CoSaudi Basic Industries Corp

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical CoEtihad Atheeb Telecommunicat

Co For Cooperative InsuranceNational Petrochemical Co

Gulf Union Cooperative InsurGulf General Cooperative Ins

Basic Chemical IndustriesSaudi Steel Pipe Co

Buruj Cooperative InsuranceMouwasat Medical Services Co

Southern Province Cement CoMaadaniyah

Yamama Cement CoJazan Development Co

Zamil Industrial InvestmentAlujain Corporation (Alco)

Tabuk Agricultural DevelopmeUnited Co-Operative Assuranc

Qassim Cement/TheSaudi Advanced Industries

Kingdom Holding CoSaudi Arabian Amiantit Co

Al Jouf Agriculture DevelopmSaudi Industrial Development

Bishah AgricultureRiyad Bank

The National Agriculture DevHalwani Bros Co

Arabian Pipes CoEastern Province Cement Co

Al Qassim Agricultural CoFiling & Packing Materials M

Saudi Cable CoTihama Advertising & Public

Saudi Investment Bank/TheAstra Industrial Group

Saudi Public Transport CoTaiba Holding Co

Saudi Industrial Export CoSaudi Real Estate Co

Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff CoNational Shipping Co Of/The

Methanol Chemicals CoAce Arabia Cooperative Insur

Mobile Telecommunications CoSaudi Arabian Coop Ins Co

Axa Cooperative InsuranceAlsorayai Group

Weqaya For Takaful InsuranceBank Albilad

Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker CoWataniya Insurance Co

Abdullah Al Othaim MarketsHail Cement

23.59

22.74

5.67

12.15

10.20

25.53

13.20

20.79

22.59

12.55

25.66

12.14

23.17

70.65

11.31

30.36

29.94

34.31

29.45

16.26

46.29

18.04

34.23

19.28

13.50

30.04

35.90

70.58

107.75

20.05

49.98

44.15

6.96

16.90

33.55

14.11

9.71

35.58

30.82

125.94

14.39

66.19

86.45

8.05

3.09

92.23

19.17

9.47

13.53

24.58

15.33

18.30

127.20

68.75

21.27

19.30

9.77

24.72

17.57

10.04

12.75

58.00

9.94

10.65

6.76

30.54

8.99

69.75

11.15

22.76

54.56

14.74

27.99

8.37

33.20

5.44

25.67

13.10

14.96

13.19

37.27

30.90

21.18

125.41

40.04

6.45

34.68

8.09

15.07

13.64

9.24

19.39

18.55

14.67

21.32

82.98

10.90

2.12

1.25

5.00

2.10

0.69

1.47

-3.23

-1.24

0.58

0.00

1.62

-0.25

2.34

1.89

2.35

3.58

0.81

2.91

0.58

1.63

1.30

0.50

1.84

0.68

0.00

-1.18

8.39

3.78

1.78

1.26

4.56

2.32

-1.97

1.38

2.35

3.22

-2.31

3.76

2.77

0.05

-4.00

2.46

0.55

-0.25

-0.64

2.17

3.06

-6.52

-2.45

0.86

0.86

-1.03

1.52

0.90

2.11

1.58

0.72

2.53

7.53

1.72

-1.77

1.75

4.85

1.43

4.00

1.50

2.16

0.00

0.90

0.49

-0.67

-0.07

2.04

-4.23

0.85

-1.81

0.00

2.50

0.40

1.46

6.85

0.32

4.03

0.93

4.84

1.74

0.76

-1.82

2.73

0.00

3.70

0.00

1.64

0.55

-1.75

2.42

1.40

381,243

619,588

88,197,687

1,140,003

5,467,866

446,991

625,857

1,003,755

666,394

-

237,473

2,863,144

1,409,651

232,368

1,280,690

255,662

72,899

225,373

886,375

883,771

1,044,761

1,148,928

2,428,871

430,391

-

741,789

790,340

140,303

184,627

352,703

822,211

193,612

1,727,801

351,154

1,794,569

1,212,031

996,359

356,607

1,044,163

637,554

2,508,982

3,512,519

3,205,134

9,536,370

1,144,168

177,251

191,225

2,674,802

1,228,339

675,258

186,688

577,515

55,830

24,372

770,230

226,364

1,699,034

282,458

2,123,398

3,386,873

1,018,866

41,321

3,030,645

215,181

1,359,724

396,855

1,504,976

-

1,202,503

665,386

123,635

478,217

110,215

4,132,080

212,401

1,829,069

-

684,527

363,138

3,887,777

242,182

920,746

554,785

48,868

2,023,780

2,462,026

233,507

6,410,880

1,852,080

1,185,658

1,521,642

-

564,060

669,978

456,045

138,516

646,049

SAUDI ARABIA


Saudi Re For Cooperative ReiSolidarity Saudi Takaful Co

Amana Cooperative InsuranceAlabdullatif Industrial Inv

Saudi Printing & Packaging CSanad Cooperative Insurance

Saudi Paper Manufacturing CoAlinma Bank

Almarai CoFalcom Saudi Equity Etf

United International TranspoHsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf

Saudi International PetrocheFalcom Petrochemical Etf

Saudi United Cooperative InsBank Al-Jazira

Al Rajhi BankSamba Financial Group

United Electronics CoAllied Cooperative Insurance

Malath Cooperative & ReinsurAlinma Tokio Marine

Arabian Shield CooperativeSavola

Wafrah For Industry And DeveFitaihi Holding Group

Tourism Enterprise Co/ ShamsSahara Petrochemical Co

Herfy Food Services Co

5.38

8.03

7.77

14.15

16.88

15.23

9.06

14.07

62.55

25.80

30.39

26.20

15.20

23.40

17.92

13.11

63.10

22.08

21.21

13.41

8.16

16.20

26.90

35.17

19.08

11.69

29.15

11.37

74.26

-3.06

-5.53

-5.36

5.05

-0.24

0.00

0.67

0.79

0.48

-0.39

2.19

0.00

2.08

0.00

4.07

2.10

1.11

0.78

3.11

-3.87

-4.11

-4.71

9.93

3.62

-0.93

2.54

0.10

4.03

5.33

2,537,962

4,975,516

2,149,126

1,828,214

1,229,781

-

2,129,067

24,212,352

46,112,847

296,326

359,056

-

580,150

-

1,654,708

2,462,860

1,884,502

940,502

2,032,009

1,135,365

1,465,992

2,478,549

1,461,905

623,230

746,476

634,223

832,554

9,254,276

138,718

SAUDI ARABIA


Securities Group CoSultan Center Food Products

Kuwait Foundry Co SakKuwait Financial Centre Sak

Ajial Real Estate EntmtGulf Glass Manuf Co -Kscc

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

Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment

Mabanee Co SakcCity Group

Inovest Co BscKuwait Gypsum Manufacturing

Al-Deera Holding CoAlshamel International Hold

Mena Real Estate CoNational Slaughter House

Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation

National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International Investme

Jeeran HoldingsEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C

Nafais HoldingSafwan Trading & Contracting

Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc

Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Slaughter House Co

Kuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co K

National Ranges CompanyAl-Themar Real International

Al-Ahleia Insurance Co SakpWethaq Takaful Insurance Co

Salbookh Trading Co KscpAqar Real Estate Investments

Hayat CommunicationsKuwait Packing Materials Mfg

Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscAlargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling

Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co

Palms Agro Production CoIkarus Petroleum Industries

Mubarrad Transport CoAl Mowasat Health Care Co

Shuaiba Industrial CoHits Telecom Holding

First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co

National Cleaning CompanyEyas For High & Technical EdUnited Real Estate Company

AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv

Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng

International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold

Marine Services Co KscWarba Insurance Co

Kuwait United Poultry CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve

Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak

Mobile Telecommunications CoAl Safat 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 CompanKuwait Medical Services Co

Injazzat Real State CompanyKuwait Cable Vision Sak

Sanam Real Estate Co KsccIthmaar Bank Bsc

Aviation Lease And Finance CArzan Financial Group For Fi

Ajwan Gulf Real Estate CoKuwait Business Town Real Es

Future Kid Entertainment AndSpecialities Group Holding C

Abyaar Real Eastate DevelopmDar Al Thuraya Real Estate C

Al-Dar National Real EstateKgl Logistics Company Kscc

Combined Group ContractingZima Holding Co Ksc

Qurain Holding Co

85.00

55.00

174.00

80.00

156.00

310.00

34.00

206.00

23.00

43.00

465.00

300.00

405.00

660.00

420.00

202.00

234.00

37.00

28.00

46.50

590.00

64.00

20.50

116.00

0.00

41.00

840.00

0.00

72.00

100.00

32.50

0.00

19.50

0.00

54.00

690.00

0.00

19.50

56.00

43.50

192.00

390.00

75.00

150.00

42.50

140.00

160.00

0.00

28.50

0.00

435.00

31.00

56.00

0.00

49.00

0.00

114.00

152.00

96.00

74.00

114.00

90.00

36.00

52.00

230.00

285.00

43.50

49.50

26.50

42.00

0.00

95.00

520.00

22.50

83.00

214.00

26.50

118.00

86.00

100.00

176.00

55.00

48.50

265.00

405.00

0.00

475.00

33.50

405.00

79.00

940.00

0.00

0.00

32.00

85.00

320.00

510.00

43.00

230.00

45.00

30.50

46.50

18.00

32.00

172.00

38.00

43.00

0.00

72.00

0.00

29.00

39.00

214.00

31.50

40.00

41.00

114.00

79.00

19.50

0.00

0.00

69.00

630.00

42.00

0.00

0.00

-1.79

1.16

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.10

-2.13

4.88

0.00

-1.64

2.53

3.13

0.00

1.00

-0.85

7.25

1.82

-1.06

0.00

1.59

-2.38

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.86

0.00

-1.52

0.00

2.63

0.00

0.00

1.47

0.00

-2.50

0.00

2.35

0.00

0.00

0.00

-6.25

0.00

7.69

-1.23

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-4.62

1.82

0.00

-1.01

0.00

0.00

-5.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.41

0.00

0.00

9.62

6.10

0.00

-3.64

3.70

0.00

-2.06

-1.89

2.27

-1.19

0.00

-1.85

0.00

0.00

1.01

0.00

-3.51

2.11

0.00

-1.22

0.00

0.00

1.52

0.00

0.00

-1.05

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.19

0.00

0.00

4.88

0.00

3.45

-1.61

1.09

-2.70

0.00

3.61

-1.30

-1.15

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.33

4.00

0.00

-1.56

0.00

-1.20

0.00

1.28

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.47

0.00

2.44

0.00

68

10,000

20,000

46,460

10,000

54,058

298,613

2,550

28,500

12,596,319

303,224

280,156

9,505

3,638,844

19,000

720,000

559,380

19,000

255,750

686,346

215,210

30,600

506,467

159,390

-

1,037,837

769,424

-

1

19,550

322,500

-

148,300

-

20,000

11,378

-

78,800

400

1,263,221

70,000

40,000

13,000

10,578,394

500

2,000

15,200

-

677,392

-

8,515

553,500

212,152

-

500

-

8,011

1,365,000

2,240

49,900

10,582

800

90,000

51,000

14,000

100

10,693,157

500

183,447

282,100

-

1,666

131,629

500

390,000

41,000

541,260

126,140

100

2,385

10,000

944,000

10,500

1,000

3,207,728

-

6,300

923,000

100

292,500

10,000

-

-

6,279

1,089

25,209

225,000

2,410,278

1,000

15,000

2,572,671

1,547,038

1,870,521

300,000

180,040

702,060

283,205

-

284,487

-

250

16,023,480

189,783

566,500

100

1,529,338

3,938

1,000

3,535,259

-

-

323,075

16,500

600,297

-

KUWAIT


Voltamp Energy SaogUnited Power/Energy Co- Pref

United Power Co SaogUnited Finance Co

Ubar Hotels & ResortsTakaful Oman

Taageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co

Sohar PoultrySmn 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

Port Service CorporationPhoenix Power Co Saoc

Packaging Co LtdOoredoo

OminvestOman United Insurance Co

Oman Textile Holding Co SaogOman Telecommunications Co

Oman Refreshment CoOman Packaging

Oman Orix Leasing Co.Oman Oil Marketing Company

Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance

Oman Intl MarketingOman Hotels & Tourism CoOman Foods International

Oman Flour MillsOman Fisheries CoOman Fiber Optics

Oman Europe Foods IndustriesOman Education & Training In

Oman ChromiteOman Chlorine

Oman Ceramic ComOman Cement Co

Oman Cables IndustryOman Agricultural Dev

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

National SecuritiesNational Real Estate Develop

National PharmaceuticalNational Mineral Water

National Hospitality InstituNational Gas Co

National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog

National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog

Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat National Holding

Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance

Majan Glass CompanyMajan College

Hsbc Bank OmanHotels Management Co Interna

Gulf StoneGulf Plastic Industries Co

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 UniversityDhofar Tourism

Dhofar PoultryDhofar Intl Development

Dhofar InsuranceDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu

Dhofar Cattlefeed

0.45

1.00

3.25

0.16

0.13

0.18

0.12

1.34

0.26

0.21

0.71

1.05

1.96

4.50

0.23

0.65

1.48

1.38

2.50

0.23

1.53

0.24

0.14

2.01

0.62

0.48

0.31

0.31

1.47

2.15

0.30

0.13

1.88

0.16

0.19

0.52

0.40

0.00

0.70

0.06

4.57

1.00

0.15

3.64

0.49

0.40

0.45

1.51

0.00

0.12

0.20

0.17

5.00

0.11

0.05

0.00

0.61

0.13

0.70

3.75

0.24

0.11

1.79

0.62

0.12

0.19

0.52

0.11

1.25

0.11

0.00

0.34

0.12

0.11

0.27

10.50

0.18

0.09

0.39

0.17

0.11

1.49

0.49

0.18

0.39

0.21

1.28

0.22

0.00

0.00

-4.27

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.74

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.43

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.18

1.32

0.43

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.67

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.27

1.06

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.17

-1.64

0.00

0.00

-1.94

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.81

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.28

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.77

0.00

1.92

0.00

0.00

1.11

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

25,552

-

34,941

-

-

100

14,250

-

-

-

-

-

7,520

-

76,300

-

-

-

-

106,500

17,200

17,750

200,430

-

442,300

24,000

250,591

-

181,405

-

-

3,110

-

35,000

141,195

-

-

-

8,000

278,909

-

-

76,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

105,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,679,390

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,633,781

-

-

-

-

18,000

-

218,605

-

-

286,549

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

OMAN


Dhofar Beverages CoConstruction Materials Ind

Computer Stationery IndsBankmuscat Saog

Bank SoharBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar SaogAreej Vegetable Oils

Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service

Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co

Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power

Al Shurooq Inv SerAl Sharqiya Invest Holding

Al Maha Petroleum Products MAl 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

Ahli BankAcwa Power Barka Saog

Abrasives Manufacturing Co SA’saff a Foods Saog

0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref

0.26

0.03

0.26

0.42

0.14

0.08

0.21

4.05

0.53

0.28

0.06

0.75

0.17

0.19

1.04

0.13

1.44

0.47

0.07

0.06

0.31

0.55

0.22

0.20

0.07

0.88

0.20

1.13

0.09

0.17

0.19

0.70

0.05

0.82

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.96

0.70

1.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.59

0.00

0.00

3.13

0.00

-0.85

0.00

1.85

0.00

0.00

0.45

0.51

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.30

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

779,997

-

1,194,413

405,311

1,410,321

-

-

-

-

22,507

-

524,050

-

-

335,648

7,500

19,584

271,794

45,000

-

-

10,000

10,000

147,000

-

-

-

10,000

320,827

-

-

-

-

-

OMAN


Waha Capital PjscUnited Insurance Company

United Arab Bank PjscUnion National Bank/Abu Dhab

Union Insurance CoUnion Cement Co

Umm Al Qaiwain Cement IndustSharjah Islamic Bank

Sharjah Insurance CompanySharjah Group

Sharjah Cement & Indus DevelRas Al-Khaimah National Insu

Ras Al Khaimah White CementRas Al Khaimah Ceramics

Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co PscRas Al Khaima Poultry

Rak PropertiesOoredoo Qsc

Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50%Nbad Oneshare Msci Uae Ucits

National Takaful CompanyNational Marine Dredging Co

National Investor Co/TheNational Corp Tourism & Hote

National Bank Of Umm Al QaiwNational Bank Of Ras Al-Khai

National Bank Of FujairahNational Bank Of Abu Dhabi

Methaq Takaful InsuranceManazel Real Estate Pjsc

Invest BankIntl Fish Farming Co Pjsc

Insurance HouseGulf Pharmaceutical Ind Psc

Gulf Medical ProjectsGulf Cement Co

Fujairah Cement IndustriesFujairah Building Industries

Foodco Holding PjscFirst Gulf BankFinance House

Eshraq Properties Co PjscEmirates Telecom Group Co

Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc)Emirates Driving Company

Dana GasCommercial Bank Internationa

Bank Of SharjahAxa Green Crescent Insurance

Arkan Building Materials CoAlkhaleej InvestmentAldar Properties Pjsc

Al Wathba National InsuranceAl Khazna Insurance Co

Al Fujairah National InsuranAl Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S.

Al Buhaira National InsurancAl Ain Ahlia Ins. Co.

Agthia Group PjscAbu Dhabi Ship Building Co

Abu Dhabi Natl Co For BuildiAbu Dhabi National Takaful C

Abu Dhabi National InsuranceAbu Dhabi National Hotels

Abu Dhabi National Energy CoAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank

1.80

2.00

1.70

4.39

1.86

1.05

0.90

1.46

3.85

1.50

0.97

4.10

1.12

2.44

0.76

2.27

0.66

85.50

1.18

6.26

0.89

4.40

0.52

2.97

3.00

5.00

4.78

9.06

0.85

0.51

2.20

1.43

0.75

2.14

2.50

0.91

0.89

1.56

4.60

11.50

1.75

1.11

17.50

5.75

7.00

0.57

1.99

1.35

0.59

0.94

1.25

2.48

4.40

0.38

300.00

5.00

2.35

60.00

6.20

2.65

0.53

4.25

2.41

3.20

0.52

3.50

-2.17

0.00

0.00

3.05

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.90

-1.61

0.00

0.00

-1.49

-0.12

0.00

0.00

-9.18

-4.35

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.67

-3.41

-1.92

0.00

2.88

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.71

0.00

-7.50

0.57

0.00

0.00

5.56

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.44

-7.41

-2.36

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.59

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.54

4.00

-1.96

2,129,979

-

-

919,495

-

-

-

169,699

-

-

-

-

2,907

386,082

-

-

3,770,980

477

-

-

7,000

104,602

-

-

-

-

-

1,538,548

8,578,359

24,021,235

-

28,554

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

3,318,357

60,000

176,789,223

1,653,969

-

-

38,447,406

-

106,483

-

2,500

1,438

10,901,044

-

-

-

-

-

-

158,601

-

14,000

-

-

30,419

2,464,601

559,389

UAE


Zain Bahrain BsccUnited Paper Industries Bsc

United Gulf Investment CorpUnited Gulf BankTrafco Group Bsc

Takaful International CoTaib Bank -$Us

Seef PropertiesSecurities & Investment Co

National Hotels CoNational Bank Of Bahrain Bsc

Nass Corp BscKhaleeji Commercial Bank

Ithmaar Bank BscInvestcorp Bank -$Us

Inovest Co BscGulf Monetary Group

Gulf Hotel Group B.S.CGfh Financial Group Bsc

Esterad Investment Co B.S.C.Delmon Poultry Co

Bmmi BscBmb Investment Bank

Bbk BscBankmuscat Saog

Banader Hotels CoBahrain Tourism CoBahrain Telecom Co

Bahrain Ship Repair & EnginBahrain National Holding

Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceBahrain Islamic Bank

Bahrain Flour Mills CoBahrain Family Leisure Co

Bahrain Duty Free ComplexBahrain Commercial Facilitie

Bahrain Cinema CoBahrain Car Park Co

Arab Insurance Group(Bsc)-$Arab Banking Corp Bsc-$Us

Aluminium Bahrain BscAlbaraka Banking Group

Al-Salam BankAl-Ahlia Insurance Co

Ahli United Bank B.S.C

0.11

0.00

0.00

0.38

0.23

0.00

0.00

0.20

0.00

0.00

0.69

0.11

0.06

0.13

8.10

0.18

0.00

0.63

0.49

0.00

0.00

0.83

0.00

0.36

0.00

0.00

`

0.28

1.60

0.00

0.00

0.12

0.39

0.00

0.77

0.66

1.25

0.00

0.33

0.00

0.32

0.44

0.10

0.26

0.64

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.13

0.00

7.14

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.80

-5.77

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.64

0.00

0.00

2.67

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.13

0.00

-0.78

1,000,000

-

-

4,000

20,000

-

-

109,495

-

-

65,000

179,286

1,017,091

621,490

20,000

37,000

-

29,410

36,300

-

-

5,000

-

75,000

-

-

-

161,770

2,013

-

-

80,000

23,562

-

38,000

150,000

3,920

-

40,000

-

50,000

40,000

455,168

60,575

50,000

BAHRAIN


Boubyan Intl Industries HoldGulf Investment House Ksc

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

Osos Holding Group CoAl-Eid Food Ksc

Qurain Petrochemical IndustrAdvanced Technology Co

Ekttitab Holding Co SakKout Food Group Ksc

Real Estate Trade Centers CoAcico Industries Co Kscc

Kipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum ServicesAlimtiaz Investment Co Kscc

Ras Al Khaimah White CementKuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc

Kuwait & Gulf Link TransportHuman Soft Holding Co Ksc

Automated Systems Co KsccMetal & Recycling Co

Gulf Franchising Holding CoAl-Enma’a Real Estate Co

National Mobile TelecommuniAl Bareeq Holding Co Kscc

Housing Finance Co SakAl Salam Group Holding Co

United Foodstuff IndustriesAl Aman Investment Company

Mashaer Holdings Co KscManazel Holding

Mushrif Trading & ContractinTijara And Real Estate Inves

Kuwait Building MaterialsJazeera Airways Co Ksc

Commercial Real Estate CoFuture Communications Co

National International CoTaameer Real Estate Invest C

Gulf Cement CoHeavy Engineering And Ship B

Refrigeration Industries & SNational 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 IndAl Nawadi Holding Co Ksc

Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co

Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc

Gulf Insurance Group KscKuwait Food Co (Americana)

Umm Al Qaiwain Cement IndustAayan Leasing & Investment

Alrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities Co

Taiba Kuwaiti Holding Co KscAfaq Educational Services Co

Strategia Investment Co KscYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C

21.00

26.00

395.00

192.00

260.00

0.00

212.00

0.00

38.50

0.00

34.00

265.00

114.00

790.00

82.00

87.00

186.00

51.00

1,860.00

270.00

52.00

30.50

39.50

1,100.00

0.00

44.50

45.50

0.00

49.50

0.00

27.50

56.00

39.50

0.00

810.00

80.00

95.00

62.00

20.00

74.00

154.00

310.00

86.00

36.00

950.00

90.00

355.00

55.00

365.00

375.00

0.00

520.00

33.50

118.00

47.50

620.00

2,620.00

0.00

27.00

140.00

102.00

156.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

365.00

0.00

-1.89

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.93

0.00

2.67

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.20

-4.40

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-21.21

-7.58

-1.25

-3.51

0.00

3.49

1.11

0.00

-1.00

0.00

3.77

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.25

-1.23

0.00

-1.59

2.56

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.15

-6.49

1.06

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.56

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.92

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

7.35

1,008,500

1,047,302

56,715

161,235

24,140

-

131,304

-

526,300

-

1

13,564

1,000

4,102

443,644

614

4,673

712,100

250

126,020

89,300

2,150

162,945

1,240

-

135,300

7,538,989

-

424,000

-

7,165,679

257,489

120,000

-

55,448

551,196

64,827

277,500

922,001

43,600

115,000

9,422

1,346,200

5,403,019

344

20,050

112

376,005

15,000

250,871

-

740,364

209,609

3,659

613,893

275

25,200

-

4,388,010

336,421

202,840

93,000

-

-

-

21,050

KUWAIT


LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

BUSINESS5Gulf Times


CURRENCIESDOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI

DINARKUWAITI

DINAR

Europe markets climb as sentiment turns positiveAFPLondon

Stocks across the globe forged higher yesterday, with Wall Street setting new records as ris-

ing metals and oil prices bolstered sen-timent in the mining and energy sec-tors, dealers said.

At the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow jumped above 19,000 for the fi rst time, extending its post-election rally, climbing as high as 19,013.12 be-fore pulling back a bit.

London stocks climbed 0.6% on the eve of a budget update from the British government, while Frankfurt and Paris also posted gains.

“Equities are positive across the board as European trading closely ech-oes both the US and Asian sessions that preceded it,” said Henry Croft, re-search analyst at trading fi rm Accendo Markets.

All three major US stock indices had closed at records Monday in antici-pation of pro-growth policies under president-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

“The crude oil price rally shows no signs of letting up...while continued optimism that president-elect (Donald) Trump will implement an infrastruc-ture-based fi scal stimulus behemoth is

helping metals, and subsequently min-ers, to also rally,” said Croft.

British sentiment was also buoyed by news of smaller-than-expected government borrowing, one day before fi nance minister Philip Hammond’s budget statement – his fi rst since June’s Brexit referendum.

The government’s public sector net borrowing, excluding bank bailouts, sank by more than expected to £4.8bn ($5.9bn, €5.6bn) in October from a year earlier, offi cial data showed.

The news, which came on the back of strong taxation revenues, gave Hammond a boost on the eve of his so-called Autumn statement.

Nevertheless, the fi nance chief is ex-pected to hike his borrowing forecasts on Wednesday owing to weaker-than-anticipated economic growth with Brexit looming.

“Today’s borrowing fi gures are a bit of good news.

The question is...whether the chan-cellor will seek to borrow more,” noted ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson.

In Asia, markets rose with energy stocks also tracking rising oil prices, while Tokyo hit a fresh 10-month high after an early sell-off prompted by a huge earthquake off the northeast coast.

The quake struck around dawn in the same region as the deadly 2011 tremor, sparking fears of another tragedy.

But while it caused some tsunamis they were not as high as fi ve years ago.

The yen strengthened against the dollar after the quake as investors sought out safe-haven assets, but gave up most of the gains as it emerged there was no major damage.

Hopes that the Opec oil cartel and Russia will be able to hammer out an agreement to cut production have lit a fi re under crude prices and in turn en-ergy stocks.

Crude futures had surged more than 4% on Monday, although gains tailed off yesterday, as Opec’s twice-yearly gath-ering on November 30 approaches.

“A growing number of oil analysts seem to agree with the markets that the Opec will be able to agree on some sort of a deal with Russia to curb crude produc-tion,” said market analyst Fawad Razaq-zada at online trading group Forex.com.

While oil prices remain generally supported, he said it is within “a mar-ket structure that is characterised by lots of false moves and indecisive price action.

I am expecting to see further chop-py price action until at least after the Opec meeting.”

In London, the FTSE 100 up 0.6% at 6,819.72 points; Frankfurt – DAX 30 up 0.3% at 10,713.85 points and Paris – CAC 40 up 0.4% at 4,548.35 points at the close yesterday.

Pedestrians pass the entrance to the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.6% to 6,819.72 points yesterday.

Apple IncMicrosoft Corp

Exxon Mobil CorpJohnson & JohnsonGeneral Electric Co

Jpmorgan Chase & CoProcter & Gamble Co/The

Wal-Mart Stores IncVerizon Communications Inc

Pfizer IncVisa Inc-Class A Shares

Chevron CorpCoca-Cola Co/The

Intel CorpMerck & Co. Inc.

Cisco Systems IncHome Depot Inc

Intl Business Machines CorpWalt Disney Co/The

Unitedhealth Group Inc3M Co

Mcdonald’s CorpNike Inc -Cl B

United Technologies CorpBoeing Co/The

Goldman Sachs Group IncAmerican Express Co

Du Pont (E.I.) De NemoursCaterpillar Inc

Travelers Cos Inc/The

111.48

60.97

86.40

112.32

31.09

78.05

82.76

70.33

49.25

31.30

79.89

110.43

41.31

35.32

61.63

29.95

130.02

162.32

97.72

152.18

171.61

119.87

51.49

107.04

148.78

210.92

71.32

70.07

93.07

112.55

-0.22

0.18

-0.10

-2.33

0.71

0.00

0.15

1.38

1.94

-0.84

-2.20

0.23

-0.13

0.96

-1.08

-0.33

1.40

-0.28

0.09

1.17

0.05

0.31

0.41

0.17

1.20

-0.08

-0.31

0.00

0.18

0.63

7,557,010

5,432,173

2,267,893

3,569,428

8,874,536

4,211,097

1,664,213

4,055,840

6,144,632

7,684,030

4,026,755

1,992,810

4,428,111

5,191,303

2,439,463

5,558,319

1,435,813

761,491

1,611,202

1,466,888

379,890

1,007,313

1,113,209

478,477

1,292,996

746,319

1,062,914

716,542

881,735

367,296

DJIA


Wpp PlcWorldpay Group Plc

Wolseley PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets

Whitbread PlcVodafone Group Plc

United Utilities Group PlcUnilever Plc

Tui Ag-DiTravis Perkins Plc

Tesco PlcTaylor Wimpey Plc

Standard Life PlcStandard Chartered Plc

St James’s Place PlcSse Plc

Smith & Nephew PlcSky Plc

Shire PlcSevern Trent Plc

Schroders PlcSainsbury (J) Plc

Sage Group Plc/TheSabmiller Plc

Rsa Insurance Group PlcRoyal Mail Plc

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

Royal Bank Of Scotland GroupRolls-Royce Holdings Plc

Rio Tinto PlcRexam Plc

Relx PlcReckitt Benckiser Group Plc

Randgold Resources LtdPrudential Plc

Provident Financial PlcPersimmon Plc

Pearson PlcPaddy Power Betfair Plc

Old Mutual PlcNext Plc

National Grid PlcMondi Plc

Merlin EntertainmentMediclinic International Plc

Marks & Spencer Group PlcLondon Stock Exchange Group

Lloyds Banking Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLand Securities Group Plc

Kingfisher PlcJohnson Matthey Plc

Itv PlcIntu Properties Plc

Intl Consolidated Airline-DiIntertek Group Plc

Intercontinental Hotels GrouInmarsat Plc

Informa PlcImperial Brands Plc

Hsbc Holdings PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc

Hammerson PlcGlencore Plc

Glaxosmithkline PlcGkn Plc

Fresnillo PlcExperian Plc

Easyjet PlcDixons Carphone Plc

Direct Line Insurance GroupDiageo Plc

Dcc PlcCrh Plc

Compass Group PlcCoca-Cola Hbc Ag-Di

Centrica PlcCarnival Plc

Capita PlcBurberry Group Plc

Bunzl PlcBt Group Plc

British Land Co PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc

Bp PlcBhp Billiton Plc

Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBarratt Developments Plc

Barclays PlcBae Systems Plc

Babcock Intl Group PlcAviva Plc

Astrazeneca PlcAssociated British Foods Plc

Ashtead Group PlcArm Holdings Plc

Antofagasta PlcAnglo American Plc

Admiral Group Plc3I Group Plc

#N/A

1,704.00

272.20

4,619.00

220.20

3,505.00

203.00

901.00

3,131.50

1,060.00

1,437.00

217.70

152.30

354.30

649.30

945.00

1,469.00

1,098.00

765.50

4,640.00

2,230.00

2,865.00

237.40

693.00

0.00

537.50

457.50

2,121.00

2,034.00

209.90

661.50

3,060.00

0.00

1,377.00

6,860.00

5,825.00

1,540.50

2,944.00

1,780.00

775.50

8,675.00

192.30

5,085.00

942.00

1,636.00

435.80

735.00

338.10

2,851.00

59.90

235.00

988.00

359.50

3,237.00

166.40

270.30

454.50

3,199.00

3,255.00

746.50

651.50

3,496.00

639.80

1,234.00

552.00

282.90

1,511.50

309.40

1,287.00

1,454.00

1,068.00

339.30

356.20

2,007.50

6,255.00

2,710.00

1,328.00

1,679.00

202.30

4,070.00

582.50

1,436.00

2,010.00

366.85

598.50

4,369.00

457.75

1,329.50

2,547.00

488.30

212.75

596.50

946.00

457.20

4,242.00

2,633.00

1,449.00

0.00

699.00

1,197.00

1,966.00

655.50

0.00

0.47

-0.62

0.98

0.96

-0.17

0.42

0.90

0.79

1.73

1.48

2.06

1.33

3.35

2.25

1.34

2.23

0.18

2.00

-1.53

0.54

1.67

0.51

0.95

0.00

2.58

-1.12

1.00

1.02

3.09

0.68

3.05

0.00

1.47

-0.09

-3.00

1.85

1.66

1.83

-1.21

0.75

3.11

1.50

0.88

3.02

1.02

-1.61

1.26

0.74

1.34

2.22

0.82

-2.76

0.68

0.48

0.56

2.53

-1.39

1.18

6.49

1.64

0.97

1.25

1.56

0.91

5.50

-0.26

0.10

-3.23

0.35

0.09

1.59

2.80

0.12

0.48

-0.04

-4.53

-0.47

3.64

0.99

1.66

1.48

0.15

1.47

0.59

0.26

0.33

4.56

1.39

1.81

1.02

-0.17

-4.54

1.74

-1.93

2.25

2.04

0.00

2.57

6.64

3.80

1.24

0.00

2,432,187

2,043,281

445,193

5,322,182

356,224

102,182,433

1,220,648

1,315,419

469,242

521,074

10,693,243

6,604,174

2,573,854

4,865,916

551,086

1,792,584

4,252,423

3,385,627

1,326,838

341,514

125,732

3,894,889

1,186,819

-

1,509,023

3,086,925

3,365,117

5,298,081

14,151,206

4,774,946

3,003,959

-

2,519,745

1,438,651

657,831

3,909,396

50,943

627,507

2,339,721

73,655

5,529,537

301,158

13,857,127

1,097,024

1,185,160

1,014,780

3,197,054

129,308

106,100,532

9,059,219

921,680

12,142,076

463,637

10,610,285

1,139,057

11,012,452

555,141

325,601

2,903,268

1,128,494

1,452,212

13,139,151

310,367

926,761

41,064,255

5,800,774

4,559,287

945,758

1,792,041

1,509,215

1,462,775

1,445,137

4,562,063

208,193

945,583

7,196,372

138,830

11,705,315

200,616

1,422,430

944,015

355,030

4,978,352

1,720,618

1,745,197

20,047,374

6,611,207

484,924

3,604,333

23,742,665

3,900,223

2,784,209

3,582,864

1,793,861

850,421

1,328,166

-

1,925,798

5,424,603

373,371

1,037,774

-

FTSE 100


East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp

Fujifilm Holdings CorpYamato Holdings Co Ltd

Chubu Electric Power Co IncMitsubishi Estate Co Ltd

Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesToshiba Corp

Shiseido Co LtdShionogi & Co Ltd

Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd

Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd

Central Japan Railway CoT&D Holdings Inc

Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp

Nitto Denko Corp

9,749.00

1,520.50

4,221.00

2,314.00

1,555.50

2,214.00

492.90

397.00

2,960.50

5,446.00

467.60

10,100.00

1,035.00

653.80

18,170.00

1,439.00

6,287.00

2,920.50

7,920.00

0.44

0.83

1.47

0.13

-0.29

0.50

1.05

2.14

-0.37

1.08

-0.32

-0.20

-0.38

-0.05

0.41

0.00

-1.13

1.81

0.58

877,600

7,497,300

1,835,900

915,500

1,444,600

5,250,000

15,653,000

42,665,000

1,819,400

1,110,000

10,484,000

580,200

7,598,200

8,308,000

353,300

2,327,800

8,503,600

8,871,100

646,000

TOKYO


Rakuten IncKyocera Corp

Nissan Motor Co LtdHitachi Ltd

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings Inc

Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial GrHonda Motor Co Ltd

Fast Retailing Co LtdMs&Ad Insurance Group Holdin

Kubota CorpSeven & I Holdings Co Ltd

Inpex CorpResona Holdings Inc

Asahi Kasei CorpKirin Holdings Co Ltd

Marubeni CorpMitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro

Mitsubishi Chemical HoldingsFanuc Corp

Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd

Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd

Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc

Aeon Co LtdMitsui & Co Ltd

Kao CorpDai-Ichi Life Holdings Inc

Mazda Motor CorpKomatsu Ltd

West Japan Railway CoMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd

Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp

Sompo Holdings IncDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd

Jx Holdings IncNippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta

Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone

Ajinomoto Co IncMitsui Fudosan Co Ltd

Ono Pharmaceutical Co LtdDaikin Industries Ltd

Bank Of Yokohama Ltd/TheToray Industries IncAstellas Pharma Inc

Bridgestone CorpSony CorpHoya Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust HoldinJapan Tobacco Inc

Osaka Gas Co LtdSumitomo Electric Industries

Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp

Mizuho Financial Group IncNomura Holdings Inc

Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdFuji Heavy Industries Ltd

Ntt Docomo IncSumitomo Realty & Developmen

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp

Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp

Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd

Unicharm CorpShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd

Smc CorpMitsubishi CorpNintendo Co Ltd

Eisai Co LtdSumitomo Corp

Canon IncJapan Airlines Co Ltd

1,143.00

5,405.00

1,025.00

603.50

4,738.00

1,653.50

311.10

1,560.00

4,215.00

3,154.00

40,360.00

3,514.00

1,701.50

4,402.00

1,098.00

554.90

971.90

1,828.50

608.90

682.00

724.00

19,410.00

17,000.00

4,745.00

6,075.00

1,774.50

8,116.00

4,752.00

1,524.00

1,510.50

5,112.00

1,869.50

1,746.00

2,508.50

6,642.00

14,955.00

1,066.00

4,789.00

3,599.00

3,070.00

445.20

2,431.50

3,788.00

4,490.00

2,182.00

2,709.50

2,647.50

10,545.00

0.00

931.70

1,595.50

4,225.00

3,355.00

4,486.00

4,189.00

3,833.00

418.90

1,574.50

667.60

6,895.00

201.30

601.60

2,471.00

4,439.00

2,553.00

3,074.00

1,544.50

1,758.50

3,710.00

77,010.00

10,195.00

1,266.00

2,369.00

8,237.00

31,480.00

2,472.50

27,855.00

7,067.00

1,316.50

3,130.00

3,397.00

-0.04

-0.72

-1.39

-1.63

0.87

-0.03

0.03

-2.32

0.36

-1.00

0.98

0.80

1.34

0.94

1.71

1.80

0.72

-0.19

0.81

0.50

1.32

-1.07

0.06

0.17

0.36

-0.48

0.15

-0.21

0.89

0.80

0.24

0.24

-2.18

-0.40

0.36

-0.43

-0.51

-0.97

0.81

-0.71

1.34

2.64

-2.37

2.37

-0.21

0.93

1.75

0.52

0.00

0.51

0.44

-0.45

1.67

0.25

0.70

0.79

-0.07

0.57

-0.22

0.60

0.05

-0.63

0.10

-0.43

1.71

1.29

1.98

0.17

-0.05

-0.22

-1.21

0.44

-1.00

-0.46

-0.44

1.27

0.74

-0.42

1.23

0.19

-0.03

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-HBank Of East Asia Ltd

Bank Of China Ltd-HBank Of Communications Co-H

Belle International HoldingsBoc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd

Cathay Pacific AirwaysCk Hutchison Holdings Ltd

China Coal Energy Co-HChina Construction Bank-H

China Life Insurance Co-HChina Merchants Port Holding

China Mobile LtdChina Overseas Land & Invest

China Petroleum & Chemical-HChina Resources Beer Holdin

China Resources Land LtdChina Resources Power Holdin

China Shenhua Energy Co-HChina Unicom Hong Kong Ltd

Citic LtdClp Holdings Ltd

Cnooc LtdCosco Shipping Ports Ltd

Esprit Holdings LtdFih Mobile Ltd

Hang Lung Properties LtdHang Seng Bank Ltd

Henderson Land Development

3.40

32.00

3.43

6.03

4.45

28.60

10.58

96.50

4.18

5.62

21.55

19.56

84.40

22.45

5.44

16.96

19.06

12.92

16.28

9.06

11.96

74.05

10.24

7.61

6.34

2.42

17.38

146.30

42.65

1.80

0.79

2.08

2.03

0.45

2.14

0.57

0.78

2.45

2.18

2.86

1.45

0.24

1.81

2.84

2.42

2.58

2.38

3.69

0.55

1.36

0.82

5.24

0.13

-3.79

-0.41

2.00

0.90

1.43

39,964,086

2,587,840

276,087,442

30,918,376

10,965,671

15,043,947

3,536,000

3,567,071

19,554,000

320,124,029

107,186,960

4,368,886

17,760,351

24,695,878

100,068,519

4,282,589

16,783,899

3,417,938

35,319,130

58,408,078

10,964,752

3,841,772

92,377,371

3,605,977

3,899,088

4,321,399

3,235,000

1,104,847

2,264,990

HONG KONG


Hong Kong & China GasHong Kong Exchanges & Clear

Hsbc Holdings PlcHutchison Whampoa Ltd

Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HLi & Fung Ltd

Mtr CorpNew World Development

Petrochina Co Ltd-HPing An Insurance Group Co-H

Power Assets Holdings LtdSino Land Co

Sun Hung Kai PropertiesSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl ATencent Holdings Ltd

Wharf Holdings Ltd

14.36

203.80

61.70

0.00

4.60

3.36

39.10

8.88

5.40

42.65

73.00

11.56

102.00

77.60

195.80

55.65

0.00

0.69

1.48

0.00

2.45

0.00

1.16

0.57

3.85

2.03

0.83

1.76

1.59

0.71

1.14

0.54

16,001,074

3,625,069

22,773,350

-

206,659,937

31,429,142

6,555,761

22,455,279

170,244,165

53,519,688

4,401,855

6,393,592

4,501,631

1,403,074

13,007,935

3,355,043

HONG KONG


Zee Entertainment EnterpriseYes Bank Ltd

Wipro LtdVedanta Ltd

Ultratech Cement LtdTech Mahindra Ltd

Tata Steel LtdTata Power Co Ltd

Tata Motors LtdTata Consultancy Svcs Ltd

Sun Pharmaceutical IndusState Bank Of India

Reliance Industries LtdPunjab National Bank

Power Grid Corp Of India LtdOil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

Ntpc LtdMaruti Suzuki India Ltd

Mahindra & Mahindra LtdLupin Ltd

Larsen & Toubro LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Itc LtdInfosys Ltd

Indusind Bank LtdIdea Cellular Ltd

Icici Bank LtdHousing Development Finance

Hindustan Unilever LtdHindalco Industries Ltd

Hero Motocorp LtdHdfc Bank Limited

Hcl Technologies LtdGrasim Industries Ltd

Gail India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Coal India LtdCipla Ltd

Cairn India LtdBosch Ltd

Bharti Airtel LtdBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd

Bharat Heavy ElectricalsBank Of Baroda

Bajaj Auto LtdAxis Bank Ltd

Asian Paints LtdAmbuja Cements Ltd

Adani Ports And Special EconAcc Ltd

449.40

1,131.65

450.40

206.90

3,422.75

453.40

378.05

68.95

464.85

2,135.00

689.90

257.35

1,001.45

137.40

183.75

277.90

154.10

4,934.55

1,219.10

1,412.85

1,329.55

769.60

226.10

914.20

1,071.55

70.95

262.70

1,249.70

819.90

166.55

2,997.70

1,198.05

762.10

805.45

414.55

3,121.65

303.40

550.50

231.50

18,523.80

303.95

640.90

124.40

163.20

2,599.50

470.75

907.75

195.45

260.80

1,293.00

3.55

1.72

1.95

5.16

3.02

1.40

1.78

0.51

1.73

0.10

-0.07

0.00

1.00

0.70

-0.70

0.67

-0.52

3.07

1.64

1.04

-1.36

0.90

0.85

0.34

1.18

-0.21

0.57

2.27

2.78

5.85

2.46

-0.05

0.49

2.29

-1.50

-0.41

0.88

0.99

4.70

0.63

1.49

1.11

-3.49

1.30

2.97

1.08

0.86

0.96

1.99

1.63

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

18,980.80

2,198.89

5,377.53

15,081.60

44,792.67

62,001.76

6,836.12

4,561.90

10,733.90

8,672.00

18,162.94

1,447.50

22,678.07

5,480.60

1,274.46

25,960.78

8,002.30

2,822.20

29,441.90

5,204.67

+24.11

+0.71

+8.67

+41.73

+428.50

+931.49

+58.16

+32.32

+48.77

+57.40

+56.92

+4.57

+320.29

+61.25

-5.59

+195.64

+73.20

+5.53

+202.87

+56.36

Doha Securities MarketSaudi Tadawul

Kuwait Stocks ExchangeBahrain Stock Exchage

Oman Stock MarketAbudhabi Stock MarketDubai Financial Market

9,740.80

6,601.59

5,515.41

1,184.42

5,521.29

4,218.72

3,290.76

-42.03

+104.85

-2.34

-7.70

+25.78

-10.93

-15.43

“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.”

5,904,300

973,600

13,301,400

17,274,000

2,381,900

4,016,700

9,449,000

9,384,900

8,643,500

3,594,800

500,200

1,932,200

3,612,700

1,623,800

8,596,900

20,142,300

4,031,000

2,216,000

8,536,600

124,485,100

4,800,100

764,300

323,700

703,400

696,600

2,338,900

601,600

2,203,000

2,148,200

6,575,800

1,930,200

5,363,200

7,960,900

3,655,000

556,600

739,700

1,406,400

1,685,800

1,324,200

1,554,600

17,785,100

4,322,400

3,368,700

4,899,800

3,569,100

6,896,000

2,790,200

746,300

-

6,698,000

6,653,500

1,990,100

7,928,900

1,140,200

1,757,300

5,668,700

5,167,000

2,539,100

8,007,000

4,479,100

156,995,600

27,380,200

1,541,200

2,855,900

5,675,900

3,082,000

4,072,000

4,015,400

1,270,800

133,600

831,800

4,487,200

1,240,200

1,819,800

201,300

5,471,800

2,230,100

741,500

5,323,100

3,223,900

1,822,600

2,424,489

4,064,976

1,172,436

13,835,624

557,835

2,515,962

4,630,204

3,903,939

7,050,946

699,775

3,642,049

28,081,795

4,166,686

18,927,188

6,879,912

6,242,021

8,930,463

922,105

696,489

1,005,263

2,273,250

2,261,585

9,538,645

2,845,011

1,491,999

9,848,921

22,910,326

2,685,408

1,276,430

16,822,966

607,488

2,578,456

1,056,077

862,987

2,392,579

228,540

2,611,820

1,390,226

4,338,715

23,554

3,163,871

2,910,438

13,284,963

16,318,226

322,862

7,878,066

1,781,319

2,060,948

4,957,101

289,452


BUSINESS6

BUSINESS


Fitch sees ‘weak’ Q4 as India cash crunch bitesNew DelhiAFP

Ratings agency Fitch said yesterday it would revise down its India growth forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2016 after the country’s shock

move to pull most of its currency out of circulation.Fitch Ratings said the move, aimed at forcing In-

dians to declare their untaxed money, had created a cash crunch that “seems to be holding back economic activity”, with consumers unable to make purchases, supply chains disrupted and farmers unable to buy seeds. “Time spent queueing in banks is also likely to have aff ected general productivity,” Fitch said in a statement.

“The impact on GDP growth will increase the longer the disruption continues, but we will already need to revise down our forecasts to refl ect what will almost certainly be a weak 4Q in 2016.”

India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, operates largely on cash and huge queues have formed outside banks and ATMs in cities across India as peo-ple try to swap their old notes for new ones. The gov-ernment has said the move will bring billions of un-accounted money into the formal banking system and ultimately boost the economy.

But Fitch said there were “considerable uncertain-ties” about the potential benefi ts, particularly as new, higher-denomination notes are introduced to replace the banned 1,000 and 500-rupee bills.

“There are no new incentives for people to avoid cash transactions. The informal sector could soon go back to business as usual,” it said.

Responses to the move have been mixed.Many poor Indians have said they support it de-

spite the disruption if it forces the rich to pay their taxes, but some economists say the impact on the wealthiest will likely be limited.

“We strongly suspect that those with the largest amount of ill-gotten gains do not hold their wealth in cash but instead have long since converted it into foreign exchange, gold, bitcoin or some other store of value,” wrote the former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who has called for a moratorium on print-ing high-value notes, in a blog post on Monday. “So it is petty fortunes, not the hugest and most problematic ones, that are being targeted.”

Only six people earning over Rs500mn (now equiv-alent to $7.3mn) fi led tax returns in 2012-2013, the latest fi gures available, even though an estimated 2,100 Indians have a net worth that exceeds $50mn.

KKR to buy Nissan-backed supplier Calsonic for up to $4.5bnReutersTokyo

US buyout firm KKR & Co is buying Nissan

Motor-backed auto parts maker Calsonic

Kansei Corp for up to ¥498.3bn ($4.5bn)

in its biggest deal in Japan, seizing on

a rare chance there to do a multi-billion

dollar purchase.

KKR announced yesterday it will pay

1,860 yen per Calsonic share, or a 28.3%

premium over the stock’s last closing

price, for the 41% stake held by Nissan

and for the rest of the shares from the

market through a tender offer.

It beat out rival private equity firms

Bain Capital and MBK Partners, which,

according to Thomson Reuters LPC, had

bid to buy Nissan’s stake.

Japan’s second-biggest automaker

opened the auction to sell the stake in

June.

Calsonic provided private equity firms

a rare opportunity to conduct a multi-

billion dollar deal in a country where large

companies are still reluctant to sell their

units through drastic restructuring.

Japan’s private equity industry has

been held back by decades of pitiful

economic growth and a hostile corporate

culture.

But, encouraged by governance

reforms and demographic shifts, the

industry could see a flurry of activity.

The KKR deal comes as Nissan is seek-

ing to invest in areas such as develop-

ment of new technologies, including

in next generation electric cars and

automated driving functions.

Nissan also bought a controlling stake

in embattled Mitsubishi Motors Corp

earlier this year.

Calsonic Kansei, which specialises in

traditional auto parts, including interiors,

electronics, air conditioning units and

compressors, relies for about 80% of its

global sales on Nissan.

KKR said it would help Calsonic expand

internationally amid a shrinking home

market for the Japanese company.

“As a partner to Calsonic Kansei’s

management team, we aim to assist the

company in achieving its growth ambi-

tions and make available our international

network and industry expertise to con-

tinue Calsonic Kansei’s success globally,”

Hiro Hirano, head of KKR Japan, said in a

statement.

The company expects the tender off er

to be launched in February 2017.

Some private equity firms that did

not bid to buy Calsonic had concerns

about its excessive reliance on Nissan

for revenue, and limited growth potential

for the auto parts it makes, according to

sources.

But as more Japanese automakers

dismantle their supplier groups, Calsonic

has been trying to grow its client base

away from Nissan.

It now counts Renault SA – which owns

44% of Nissan – Isuzu Motors and other

automakers as clients.

In Japan, KKR has done some sizeable

deals.

These include the 2013 purchase of Pa-

nasonic Healthcare from Panasonic Corp

in a deal worth $1.67bn and the acquisi-

tion of Pioneer DJ from Pioneer Corp in

2014 for $550mn.

And KKR agreed to sell Intelligence

Holdings for ¥68bn in 2013, almost dou-

ble what it initially paid for the temporary

staff ing agency three years ago.

The US buyout firm had also been

interested in buying Takata Corp, the

Japanese parts maker at the centre of the

world’s biggest auto recall, but the buyout

firm was no longer in the bidding, sources

told Reuters earlier this month.

Calsonic shares were untraded earlier

yesterday after the company said it would

discuss Nissan’s stake sale at its board

meeting.

The shares closed at ¥1,450 yen, up

9.7%.

Nissan shares closed down 1.4%.

KKR was advised by Morgan Stanley

Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co on the Cal-

sonic deal, while Bank of America Merrill

Lynch advised Nissan.

People crowd the entrance of the State Bank of India branch to deposit or exchange their old high denomination banknotes in Beawar city in Rajasthan. Ratings agency Fitch said yesterday it would revise down its India growth forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2016 after the country’s shock move to pull most of its currency out of circulation.

Hong Kong Disneyland gets Frozen in $1.4bn upgrade

AFPHong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland announced yesterday a $1.4bn expansion fea-

turing popular characters from the Frozen and Marvel mov-ies, despite competition from a massive Disney resort in Shanghai.

The upgrade at the world’s smallest Disney resort comes after Shanghai’s theme park opened in mid-June, pulling in nearly a million visitors within its fi rst month of operation.

The Hong Kong expan-sion will start in 2018, ending in 2023, with new attractions opening almost every year dur-ing that period.

New attractions will also in-clude a transformed castle, the central landmark in all of Dis-ney’s six global resorts.

Animated mega-hit Frozen raked in nearly $1.3bn in glo-bal ticket sales, while Marvel has had a string of blockbuster successes based on its roster of superheroes including Iron Man and Captain America.

“This would attract more high-spending and overnight visitors from more diversi-fied market sources,” the city’s commerce and economic de-velopment minister Gregory So said.

Hong Kong Disneyland has had three years of profi tability since 2012, but attendance took a hit in 2015 after mass pro-de-mocracy rallies rocked the city a year previously.

In April the resort fi red scores of staff after reporting an an-nual loss, the fi rst large-scale sacking since its opening, re-ports said.

Hong Kong Disneyland is 52 percent-owned by the city’s government.

Trump’s business partner will be Manila’s man in WashingtonBloombergLondon, New York

Among the conflict-of-interest questions

swirling around US president-elect Don-

ald Trump’s global business interests,

Trump Tower at Century City in Manila’s

financial district stands out.

Century Properties Group of Manila,

the company behind the $150mn tower

that’s set to open next year, paid as much

as $5mn to use the Trump name, in a

licensing agreement that’s common for

the president-elect. Trump has at least 10

similar licensing deals around the world,

each of which might complicate his

administration’s international diplomacy,

according to ethics

specialists.

But in Manila, there’s an extra con-

nection: Century Properties’ chief

executive and controlling stakeholder,

Jose EB Antonio, was appointed last

month to serve as a special govern-

ment envoy to the US for Philippine

President Rodrigo Duterte, who has

vowed to expel American troops from

his country and ranted against Presi-

dent Barack Obama. Antonio says he

sees no conflict between his public role

and private partnership.

“My role is to enlarge the relationship

between the two countries,” he said in an

interview. Of his business tie to Trump,

he said: “I guess it would be an asset.”

Antonio told Bloomberg News that he

visited Trump Tower in New York days

after the US election; he didn’t speak to

the president-elect, Antonio said, but

he saw Trump talking with potential ap-

pointees. Asked about his account, Hope

Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman said: “They

did not meet.”

Regardless, Antonio’s dual roles as

private business partner and off icial gov-

ernment envoy underscore the global

scale of the potential conflicts facing

Trump and his family even before he’s

sworn in as the 45th president. Questions

have been raised in two instances: Trump

took a break from transition discussions

to meet with three business partners

who are building Trump-branded towers

in India, according to media reports. And

a spokesman for Argentine President

Mauricio Macri on Monday denied a re-

port in La Nacion newspaper that Trump

had asked for help with permits for a

Buenos Aires real-estate project during a

post-election call with Macri.

Trump rejected concerns about his

potential conflicts of interest. “Prior to

the election it was well known that I

have interests in properties all over the

world,” he posted on Twitter on Monday.

“Only the crooked media makes this a

big deal!”

Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump aide,

told reporters that while Trump’s wide-

spread business interests mean “we’re

in unprecedented times,” he’s getting

advice from “various lawyers, account-

ants and advisers telling him what he can

and can’t do.”

“I’m very confident he is not breaking

any laws,” Conway said.

Few laws govern how US presidents

must conduct their personal business

aff airs. Presidents are exempt from

the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, an

exception crafted out of the belief that

presidents shouldn’t have to worry about

triggering ethics probes when making

hard decisions. The US Constitution bars

government off icials, including presi-

dents, from taking payments or gifts

from foreign governments or profiting

from a company tied to a foreign gov-

ernment - but it’s unlikely that Trump’s

arrangement with Antonio would violate

that provision, said Robert Kelner, chair-

man of the election and political law

practice at Covington & Burling LLP in

Washington.

“Unless the foreign government was

passing funds through that company to

Donald Trump, I don’t think the emolu-

ments clause would be implicated – it’s

extremely remote,” he said.

There’s nothing illegal about Trump in-

teracting with Antonio as a special envoy

to the US on trade and economic policy

while also being his business partner –

but it creates unnecessary complications

for US diplomacy, according to Richard

Painter, a University of Minnesota law

professor who was President George W

Bush’s chief ethics lawyer. The arrange-

ment means that as president, Trump

may have to respond to requests from a

business partner who has paid him mil-

lions, he said.

“We have a president in the Philip-

pines who is clearly volatile,” Painter said

of Duterte. “We don’t want a situation

where the US president is financially

involved with a whole bunch of his sup-

porters. That will have an adverse impact

on our policy and our ability to figure out

how to deal with Duterte and try to put

back together our relationship with the

Philippines.”

US-Philippine relations have soured

since Duterte won the presidency in May.

A key US ally in Asia since World War II,

the Philippines under Duterte has sought

rapprochement with China and tried to

pivot away from the US. In an October

visit to Beijing, Duterte announced his

“separation” from the US and vowed to

resolve his country’s dispute with China

over the South China Sea through talks

and closer commercial links. “America

has lost,” Duterte told a gathering of

business leaders in the Great Hall of the

People.

Earlier that month, Duterte had told

Obama to “go to hell” after US criticism

of his war on drugs, which has resulted

in more than 3,000 people being killed

since he took off ice.

Trump spent much of his campaign

promising to counter China’s growing

economic power, but also railed against

US protection of overseas allies in Asia

and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade

deal, which was designed in part to stem

China’s influence.

Some analysts have compared

Duterte to Trump, a comparison Duterte

rejected. “He’s a bigot, I am not,” Duterte

was quoted as saying earlier this year. He

changed his tone after Trump’s victory,

saying: “Long live Trump! We both curse

at the slightest reason. We are alike.”

The Trump Organisation’s interests

in the Philippines “might do something

to smooth relationships” between the

two countries, said Joshua Kurlantzick,

senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the

Council on Foreign Aff airs.

Those interests may expand. An-

tonio said he’s discussing additional

projects with the Trump family in the

Philippine resort and leisure sector. For

now, though, Trump and Antonio are

partnered in Trump Tower at Century

City in Makati, Manila’s financial district.

At 280 metres, it will be one of the city’s

tallest structures. Antonio said the tower

will open in the second quarter of 2017; it

has already sold all its 250 condo units,

he said.

Trump has said he’ll avoid conflicts

of interest by having his oldest children,

Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, take over the

management of his businesses. But eth-

ics specialists have questioned whether

that move would be eff ective in walling

off his private interests from his public

duties. And his children’s involvement in

his transition planning has raised further

questions about the plan.

Antonio said that he visited New York

days after Trump’s November 8 victory.

He said he went to Trump Tower, where

he saw the president-elect talking with

several “cabinet contenders,” including

Michael Flynn, his eventual choice to

become national security adviser.

While he didn’t speak directly to the

president-elect during that visit, he did

talk with members of Trump’s family,

Antonio said. Hicks and Trump’s oldest

son, Donald Trump Jr, didn’t respond to

e-mail requests for comment, sent after

normal business hours on Monday, about

discussions with family members.

Antonio said he first met Trump

in 1990 in New York, introduced by a

mutual friend. Their children know each

other, he said. Antonio’s 39-year-old son,

Robbie, is listed as a resident of Trump

Tower New York and is a real-estate

investor and art collector. A feature in

Vanity Fair magazine in 2013 titled “The

Museum of Me” detailed how he com-

missioned a series of portraits of himself

by renowned artists, including Julian

Schnabel. Robbie Antonio didn’t respond

to requests for comment.

Century Properties is known for

branding deals with global names,

including American socialite Paris Hilton

and Versace; it commissioned French de-

signer Philippe Starck to design high-rise

developments in Manila. Ivanka Trump

markets her jewellery on the company

website that promotes the Trump-brand-

ed tower. Antonio said he hopes to see

one of the Trump children at the opening

ceremony for the tower next year.

The company may not be immune

from softening in the luxury residential

real-estate market. Vacancies in luxury

apartments in the Makati central busi-

ness district rose to about 13% in the

three months ending September from

9.8% in the second quarter, broker Col-

liers International estimates. Century’s

real estate sales fell to 4.19bn pesos

($84mn) in the nine months through

September from 6.62bn a year ago. The

decline “is attributable to a significant

portion of revenue recognised in 2015

and prior years from completed projects,

as well as less pre-sales and less new

project launches,” according to Century

Properties.

Antonio said owners of the Trump-

branded units in Manila are “probably

very happy” Trump won the election and

that the skyscraper now bears the name

of the incoming US president. He hopes

Trump will still make time for him once

he takes off ice, Antonio said, but either

way he expects to remain close to the

rest of the family.

“We interact with everyone – Donald,

the kids,” he said. “I guess he’ll be very

busy now in his new job.”

BUSINESS13Gulf Times


BloombergDubai

Pakistan International Airlines Corp is seeking to cut as many as 3,500 jobs in a year as the government tries to turn

around the loss-making national fl ag-carri-er, even after violent protests earlier this year against such attempts.

The cuts would be made in different phases during next 12 months, Raheel Ahmed, executive director of the airline’s human resource department, told report-ers in Dubai yesterday. The government majority-owned airline will be turned into four separate business units, he said. Later, Danyal Gilani, the company’s Ka-rachi-based spokesman, denied Ahmed’s comments.

“It may be noted that rightsizing is des-perately needed in PIA and the management is working on the feasibility of various pos-sible models to revive the airline,” Gilani said in an e-mailed statement. “It is too early to comment on any fi gure or give any time-frame in this regard.”

Any such move is expected to attract a strong outcry from staff , who number about 17,000 and have previously protested any job cuts as the government attempted to par-tially privatise the entity. The management of the airline is trying to turn around PIA, which has been hobbled by the frequent la-bour strife and hasn’t made an annual profi t in the past decade.

The sale of a 26% stake in the national carrier was stalled by violent protests and strikes in February. The government owns a 92% stake in PIA and the employees own 3.9%. The airline’s employees also have the backing of political parties including the main opposition Pakistan People’s Party, which has long been warning of political agitation against any such move.

Pakistan’s Privatisation Commission and PIA’s management are in the process of

splitting the airline into core and non-core businesses to attract buyers and may of-fer the chairman or chief executive offi cer’s post in each unit to investors, Privatisation

Minister Mohammad Zubair, who is also the commission’s chairman, said in an interview yesterday in Islamabad.

The airline is also evaluating orders for

Boeing Co and Airbus Group planes and is mulling the 777X, A330s and A350s, Ahmed said, adding that PIA is considering both sale-leaseback and dry lease options.

PIA to cut 3,500 jobs in a year, says offi cial

Pakistan’s Privatisation Commission and Pakistan International Airlines’ management are in the process of splitting the airline into core and non-core businesses to attract buyers and may off er the chairman or chief executive off icer’s post in each unit to investors, Privatisation Minister Mohammad Zubair, who is also the commission’s chairman, said in an interview yesterday in Islamabad.

ReutersShanghai

The new way China fi xes the yuan exchange rate “en-courages” capital fl ight and

has led to a gradual depreciation of the currency, a former member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said yesterday.

Yu Yongding wrote in the Shang-hai Securities News that the new mechanism adopted by the Peo-ple’s Bank of China to set the yuan’s midpoint rate did not allow for “true two-way volatility” in the exchange rate, and had hurt foreign exchange reserves as a result.

“Preventing the yuan from reaching market equilibrium is ob-jectively a rejection of raising the cost of capital fl ight,” wrote Yu, a former adviser to the PBoC and one-time member of its monetary policy committee.

“It even encourages capital fl ight.”

Before the changes adopted in August, the PBoC set the daily

fi xing by asking currency market makers for price quotations.

The new mechanism to fi x the yuan midpoint is based on the clos-ing price from a day earlier and by reference to a basket of currencies.

International Monetary Fund deputy managing director David Lipton said at a forum in Beijing yesterday that over the past sev-eral years the PBoC decided to give more weight to the basket rather than think about yuan parity just with the dollar.

“The main point is that more and more the PBoC is allowing fl ex-ibility and market forces to be the determining factor and what we’re seeing is that the RMB tends to move more with the basket rather than any particular currency,” said Lipton.

The yuan, also known as the ren-minbi, has fallen 6.1% against the dollar so far this year, and hovered near an 8-1/2-year low yesterday.

So far this month it has lost around 1.6% against the greenback.

Reuters reported last week that Chinese policymakers were pre-

pared to slow the yuan’s decline because they feared rapid capital fl ight if the currency fell too quick-ly, and especially if it fell through the psychologically important 7-per-dollar level.

A commentary yesterday in the offi cial Economic Daily newspaper said that China must rely on struc-tural reforms to reverse expecta-tions for yuan depreciation.

The yuan was trading around 6.89 per dollar yesterday.

Yu, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences state think tank, wrote yesterday that the independence of monetary policy had been aff ected by the new yuan fi xing mechanism and it had wors-ened the market distortions caused by capital controls.

However, Yu also noted that Chi-nese economic fundamentals did not support a sharp depreciation in the yuan. “We have capital controls as the last line of defence.

It is not necessary for us to worry too much about the short-term and volatile depreciation in the yuan,” Yu said.

Duterte to ask central bank governor to stay in offi ce

‘New yuan fi x encourages capital fl ight from China’

BloombergManila

Philippine President Rodri-go Duterte will ask central bank governor Amando

Tetangco to stay in offi ce for a third term and will seek to amend laws to allow that.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez confi rmed a Philip-pine Daily Inquirer report that he had been authorised by Duterte to ask Tetangco to stay after his second term ends in July 2017. Dominguez didn’t provide more details in his e-mail reply yes-terday. Tetangco didn’t respond to mobile-phone messages from Bloomberg News.

Duterte, the fi rebrand leader who has stoked investor concern since taking offi ce in June, thinks Tetangco is still the best man

for the job, the Inquirer cited an unidentifi ed cabinet offi cial as saying. The president’s allies in Congress will probably amend the law limiting the central bank governor’s tenure to two, six-year terms, the offi cial said.

A veteran of the central bank for more than four decades, Tetangco, 64, has kept infl a-tion below 5% in the past fi ve years, allowing the bank to lower its benchmark interest rate to a record low. He started at the bank as statistician in 1974, fi rst becoming governor under Presi-dent Gloria Arroyo and reap-pointed by Benigno Aquino in 2011.

Tetangco is also the chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, an agency that Duterte had criticised for allegedly not cooperating with his justice de-partment on drug investigations.

China firm Jin Jiang eyeing more luxury hotels in EuropeReutersParis

China’s Jin Jiang International, is looking to buy hotels in major European cities, including Paris, to expand its luxury portfolio, the chief executive of its Louvre Hotels Pierre-Frederic Roulot told Reuters yesterday.Roulot, who oversees state-owned Jin Jiang’s expansion in Europe, said the close ties with China enjoyed by Louvre Hotels had helped it to weather an overall decline in Chinese visitors to France in 2016 due to security fears.Jin Jiang’s strength as a powerful tour operator is also helping when foreign tourists, notably from China, have avoided France after a wave of militant Islamist attacks and repeated robberies against Asian tourists, Roulot said.“There were 2.2mn Chinese visitors in France in 2015, this could fall to 1.8mn this year but we are seeing a rise of between 8% and 10% in nightly Chinese stay...We are less impacted than others,” he said.China has been the world’s largest outbound tourism market since 2012, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with spending on travel abroad growing double-digits in the first nine months of 2016.Louvre Hotels, which is the number two for budget hotels in Europe after France’s AccorHotels, will also use its alliance with China’s biggest bank card provider UnionPay to reach more of the growing number of Chinese travellers abroad.Its hotels in France will now accept China UnionPay credit cards, further boosting its profile and responding to concerns many Chinese tourists have about not carrying too much cash in French streets due to safety fears.Jin Jiang, one of China’s biggest hotel groups, bought Louvre Hotels in March 2015 for €1.3bn ($1.4bn) as an “expansion platform” outside China, Roulot said, although he declined to comment on its push to increase its 12.6% stake in France’s AccorHotels.Jin Jiang is among a growing number of Chinese firms investing in European tourism, including Fosun which controls French holiday group Club Med and gave Louvre Hotels a €2.5bn three-year credit line to speed up expansion.With a 2016 turnover of €1.6bn, seen reaching €1.7bn by 2017, Louvre Hotels operates 1,200 hotels, including 850 in France, ranging from one to five stars – Première Classe, Campanile, Kyriad, Tulip Inn, Golden Tulip, Royal Tulip, in 51 countries.Louvre Hotels, which inaugurated its first Campanile hotel in Shanghai in October, plans to open 250 hotels by 2020 in China with the help of Jin Jiang.

Singapore, Japan exchangesto develop Asian LNG marketReutersSingapore

Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Japan’s Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) said yesterday they have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop Asia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, as well as electricity futures.As part of the accord, the exchanges plan to explore opportunities like co-listing LNG derivatives, as well as synergies between the pair’s market distribution networks.SGX, which listed Asia’s first electricity futures in 2015, will also share its experience with its Japanese counterpart, Loh Boon Chye, SGX’s chief executive off icer, said in a statement.“We also look forward to drawing on SGX’s experience in electricity futures, as a liquid electricity market is closely linked to the development of the LNG market,” said Takamichi Hamada, president and chief executive off icer of TOCOM.SGX began pricing LNG in October 2015 when it launched its Singapore Sling index, assessing cargoes on a free-on-board Singapore basis.

In September this year it launched a second index, the North Asia Sling.The latter index, which will price the super-cooled fuel for the Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese and Chinese markets, was seen by market participants as a signal that the market continues to take pricing signals from traditional buyers in North Asia.Singapore, already Asia’s main trading location for oil and refined fuel products, and Japan, the world’s biggest consumer of LNG, had previously been in competition to establish Asia’s main liquefied natural gas hub.The city-state of Singapore has so far been seen to lack a big enough consumer base to warrant a real trading hub, although investors and market participants appreciate Singapore’s well established trading regulations, as well as the fact that English is its operating language.On the other hand, Japan’s status as the world’s biggest consumer was seen by LNG producers as creating a market that was too importer-biased.With the two now cooperating, these concerns may be addressed, making it harder for other aspirant trading hubs – including Seoul and Shanghai – to succeed.

Tetangco: Likely to get a third term.

Yuan banknotes at a vendor’s cash box at a market in Beijing. The Chinese currency has fallen 6.1% against the dollar so far this year, and hovered near an 8-1/2-year low yesterday.

BUSINESS


Monte dei Paschi bid for $5.3bn capital in doubtReutersFrankfurt/Milan

Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s move to swap debt for shares, pushing losses onto in-vestors, could help Rome resurrect a bid

to help the troubled Italian bank, European offi -cials believe.

The threat of political and market turmoil from a December 4 referendum on constitutional reform, expected to go against Italian Prime Minister Mat-teo Renzi, has cast further doubt over the world’s oldest bank and its bid for €5bn ($5.3bn) of fresh capital. The wider threat to Italy’s banks and econ-omy, the eurozone’s third largest, has prompted It-aly and European regulators to prepare a fall-back plan – possibly taking a softer stance on imposing losses on all bondholders, allowing the state to help, said the sources.

“There is fl exibility in the rules,” said one offi cial of the procedure of asking for European Union ap-proval for state support, which fi rst requires such bondholders to take losses.

Earlier this year, Rome sought approval from Brussels to support Monte dei Paschi, but the EU’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager wanted inves-tors to share the cost, in keeping with stricter post fi nancial crisis rules known as ‘bail-in’.

Rome refused, arguing that Italian pensioners would be hit and investors would shun the coun-try’s debt, and Monte dei Paschi was forced to launch its third recapitalisation in as many years – planned for immediately after the referendum.

Italy’s third biggest bank, which emerged as Eu-rope’s weakest lender in regional stress tests this summer, is trying to fi ll a €5bn capital hole.

That begins with a ‘voluntary’ debt swap, which analysts estimate could raise €1bn to €1.5bn, and continues with a share sale.

In practice, with the bank in a fragile state, they have little choice but to accept. Now European of-fi cials believe the debt-for-equity swap later this month could unlock the earlier impasse over state aid, if the bid for investor cash fails. Uncertainties remain, including whether Italy would off er guar-antees to underpin the bank or inject capital.

It is unclear what would happen to retail in-vestors who are the main owners of €2.1bn of the bank’s subordinated bonds and whose vulnerabil-ity is a key concern for the Italian government.

“If Monte dei Paschi needs state aid, its junior

bondholders will be hit before the state puts public funds in the bank,” said one offi cial with knowl-edge of the bank’s plans. “The hit will surely target institutional bondholders, while there is a chance that retail bondholders could be spared to avoid

perverse eff ects on the other banks and shield small investors,” the offi cial added.

Italy, the European Commission, and Germany, which has argued for strict enforcement of bank rescue rules, may ultimately fail to agree.

Nevertheless, the debt-for-shares swap off ers a fi rst route to a rapprochement and one of the po-tential “answers” that Bank of Italy Governor Ig-nazio Visco said yesterday would be found if banks struggled to raise fresh capital.

The Monte dei Paschi bank headquarters in Siena. Italy’s third biggest bank, which emerged as Europe’s weakest lender in regional stress tests this summer, is trying to fill a €5bn capital hole.

UK Finance Minister Hammond gets boost from October borrowing dataReutersLondon

British Finance Minister Philip Hammond got some rare good news about the country’s fi nances

yesterday as he fi nalises his fi rst budget statement, which is still likely to forecast a surge in borrowing as Britain prepares to leave the EU.

Breaking with a pattern of borrowing overshoots earlier in the fi nancial year, offi cial fi gures yesterday showed public borrowing in October was 25% less than a year earlier at £4.8bn ($6bn), its lowest since 2008 and beating all economists’ forecasts.

But Hammond still stands little chance of meeting the budget defi cit reduc-tion target for the current fi nancial year which his predecessor, George Osborne, set out in March.

He has already abandoned Osborne’s goal of reaching a budget surplus by 2020.

Instead, economists predict Ham-mond could announce more than £100bn of extra borrowing, as Britain’s inde-pendent budget offi ce is likely to forecast slower growth, weaker tax revenues and higher social security costs in the wake of June’s vote to leave the European Union.

“To put it bluntly, Brexit will be as-sumed to make the UK poorer which means the government must eventually lower spending, raise taxes, or perma-nently borrow more,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Robert Wood said.

Hammond played down expectations

of much extra spending on public servic-es or infrastructure to cushion the eff ect of years of uncertainty as Britain negoti-ates to leave the EU on Sunday, and de-scribed debt levels as “eye-wateringly” high.

Bank of America’s Wood said he ex-pected Hammond to announce extra

discretionary stimulus that amounted to just 0.5% of gross domestic product, in part because he may want to keep his powder dry in case of a sharper economic slowdown.

This could include freezes to taxes on vehicle fuel and air travel, and mod-est further investment in infrastructure

such as roads and broadband Internet connections.

Britain’s economy has slowed much less than most economists forecast since the Brexit referendum, and yesterday the Confederation of British Industry re-ported the fastest growth in factory or-ders since the June 23 vote.

But analysts see tougher times ahead for households as a 15% fall in the value of sterling against the dollar feeds into higher prices.

The public fi nances were underper-forming even before the Brexit vote.

Borrowing since the start of the tax year in April is 10% lower than in the same period of 2015 at £48.6bn, the Of-fi ce for National Statistics said, versus a 27% fall needed to meet Osborne’s £55bn target for the whole tax year.

“The government is committed to fi s-cal discipline and will return the budget to balance over a sensible period of time, in a way that allows space to support the economy as needed,” a fi nance ministry spokesman said after yesterday’s data.

Britain’s budget defi cit was 4% of GDP last year, down from 10% at the height of the fi nancial crisis but still more than al-most all other big economies.

The ONS said net public debt rose to a record £1.642tn in October, equivalent to 83.8% of gross domestic product.

October’s improvement in the public fi nances was driven by faster growth in tax revenues.

Overall these were up 6.8% on the year, with particularly strong growth in corporation tax.

The ONS was not able to say if the trend was likely to last.

What now for the TPP?AFPNew York/Tokyo

After Donald Trump vowed

to abandon the Trans-Pacific

Partnership, here are some key

questions about a huge trade

pact that supporters said would

write the rules for 21st century

commerce – but which might now

be doomed.

What is the TPP? The Trans-Pacific Partnership is

one of the most ambitious free

trade pacts ever negotiated.

It brings together some of

the diverse economies that abut

the Pacific Ocean – Australia,

Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan,

Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand,

Peru, Singapore, the United States

and Vietnam – and accounts for

a whopping 40% of the global

economy. Under US President

Barack Obama it has been sold

to American allies as a unique

opportunity to seize the initiative

on worldwide trade – and ensure

China, with its surging economy

and growing global importance –

doesn’t get to dictate the terms.

So why does Trump want to junk it? Critics say the TPP was ham-

mered out during secretive meet-

ings in luxury hotels and will do

little other than benefit the usual

suspects – big businesses.

Trump’s insurgent presidential

bid was built, in part, on a pledge

to overturn the trade deals that

many of his supporters blame

for what they see as a drain of US

jobs. They say the TPP would be

another bad deal for America’s

industrial heartlands, allowing

foreign manufacturers and food

producers tariff -free access to the

US market, meaning US firms and

farms, whose production costs

are higher, could not compete.

What’s going to happen to the TPP now?

A lot of leaders have invested

a lot of political capital in the TPP,

selling it to reluctant electorates

as a way to yoke America closer

to the like-minded democracies of

the Pacific Rim.

Some will be hoping that Trump

changes his mind before taking

off ice. If that doesn’t work and he

sticks to his guns, a sized-down

11-member bloc could press ahead

and get the agreement up and

running, leaving the door open

for a future US administration to

join up if the political tide changes.

Option three is to re-open negotia-

tions on the whole thing, which

would off er Trump the chance

to sell an “improved” deal to his

electorate. Finally, they could just

abandon it and look elsewhere for

a 21st century trade deal.

Are there any other options for a free trade pact?

Yes – the Chinese-backed Re-

gional Comprehensive Economic

Partnership (RCEP), which brings

together the 10 Southeast Asian

countries of Asean, as well as

China, India, Japan, South Korea,

Australia and New Zealand. Some-

thing of a mirror image to TPP, it

includes six of the Washington-

led grouping’s 12 members – but

not the US, and would encompass

more than 3bn people.

Novo, Sanofi go head to head as FDA clears new drugsReutersNew York

Diabetes rivals Novo Nordisk and Sanofi have both won US ap-proval for new combination

drugs to treat the disease, sparking a fresh battle for sales in a fi ercely com-petitive market.

Novo’s Xultophy and Sanofi ’s Soli-qua both combine a long-lasting in-sulin with a so-called GLP-1 medicine

that stimulates insulin production in the pancreas.

The combination products are viewed by analysts as having substan-tial sales potential and the two drug-makers are hoping they will boost rev-enue at a time when prices for standard insulin drugs are under intense pres-sure in the key US market.

The timing of the approvals is broad-ly in line with expectations for Sanofi but a few weeks ahead of the scheduled decision date for Novo.

Following the green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Sanofi said it planned to launch Soliqua in January 2017, while Novo intends to launch Xultophy in the fi rst half of next year. Industry analysts expect Xultophy to generate annual sales of around $1.20bn in 2021, while Soliqua is forecast to reach $550mn by then, according to consensus esti-mates compiled by Thomson Reuters. Xultophy, approved in Europe since 2014, combines Novo’s insulin drug

Tresiba with its GLP-1 agonist Victo-za. Soliqua is a mix of Sanofi ’s Lantus and the GLP-1 Lyxumia.

Both new drugs are given as once-daily injections and are designed to im-prove glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Jeff eries analysts said the most no-table aspect of the FDA decisions was that Sanofi had only been granted ap-proval for a single pen device, with one fi xed ratio between insulin and GLP-1.

The French drugmaker had originally

fi led for two devices with diff erent ra-tios but FDA advisers considered this could cause confusion.

Shares in Sanofi ’s small biotech part-ner Zealand Pharma, which is entitled to royalties on Soliqua sales, jumped 12% in early trade yesterday.

Sanofi stock was up 0.8%, while Novo was little changed.

There are nearly 400mn people worldwide suff ering from diabetes, with type 2 accounting for more than 90% of the total.

AIG may move European HQ from BritainReutersLondon

US insurer AIG may move its European headquar-ters from London to an-

other European Union country because of Britain’s vote to leave the EU, the head of the AIG’s Eu-ropean and UK operations said at an industry conference yes-terday.

AIG joins a growing list of fi -nance industry companies that have said they may have to shift operations to continental Europe to maintain links to customers after Brexit.

Speaking at the same confer-ence, trade minister Mark Gar-nier said the government was listening to the fi nancial indus-try’s concerns over Brexit. “We will aim to limit uncertainty surrounding business,” Garnier said.

“The government fully under-stands the implications of Brexit for the fi nancial services indus-try,” Garnier told insurance trade body ABI’s annual conference.

Banks, insurers and asset managers in Britain fear losing access to the EU’s single market, and a damaging “cliff edge” ef-fect of leaving the bloc if there are no transitional arrangements ahead of any new trading terms agreed with the EU.

Anthony Baldwin, chief ex-ecutive of AIG’s European and UK arms, said the group might decide in the coming year to move its European head offi ce from London to an EU country after Brexit, though it would still maintain a big London hub.

AIG has around 2,500 staff in Britain. Baldwin told reporters on the sidelines of the confer-ence he was looking at half a dozen locations, including Dub-lin, though the impact on staff -ing would not be material if the headquarters moved out of Lon-don.

“At a certain point in time you have to pull the trigger in the absence of any clarity on where negotiations are going with the transition period,” Baldwin told the conference.

“We will always continue to have a big London hub but we might have a European head-quarters elsewhere,” he said.

The Lloyd’s of London in-surance market, underwriters Hiscox and Beazley, and motor insurer Admiral have also said they might shift operations from London to centres like Dublin.

Hammond: Playing down expectations of much extra spending on public services or infrastructure.

BUSINESSGULF BUSINESS15Gulf Times


VW goes on American SUV, e-car off ensivein crisis pushbackBloombergFrankfurt

Volkswagen is going on the off ensive in North America, challenging the

likes of General Motors and Ford Motor with a wave of new sport utility vehicles and battery-powered cars.

VW’s namesake marque will expand its range of SUVs and sedans and start making elec-tric autos in North America in 2021 in a bid to “evolve from a niche supplier” into a success-ful mainstream car maker in the region, the company said yester-day.

“We will be signifi cantly step-ping up our activities in the USA,” VW brand chief Herbert Diess said. “Our goals are high and our strategy is very ambi-tious.”

Even before the diesel scan-dal, Volkswagen struggled to extend its dominance in Europe and China to the US, misreading American tastes for large, af-fordable cars.

VW’s rollout of SUVs that appeal to American consum-ers came late, and the company was slow to follow up a bigger, cheaper version of the Passat sedan with other models. Now, VW plans to increase its global SUV lineup to 19 by 2020 from two currently and become prof-itable in North and South Amer-ica by then.

The VW brand’s market share in the US is less than 2% com-pared with about 14% for Toyota Motor Corp and 17% for General Motors, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data.

The North American push is part of a sweeping overhaul to improve profi tability at VW, one of the auto industry’s least ef-fi cient brands. Under the new strategy, the German car mak-er’s biggest unit plans to more

than triple its profi t margin to 6% and increase sales of electric cars to 1mn vehicles per year by 2025. Eff orts to boost the margin are critical as Volkswagen faces at least €18.2bn of fi nes and re-pairs in the wake of the emis-sions crisis.

To help cover those damages and the cost of developing bat-tery-powered and self-driving technologies, VW reached a landmark agreement with work-ers last week, to cut as many as 30,000 jobs worldwide and

slash €3.7bn of expenses. The electric-car transition will be funded in part by eliminat-ing more than €2.5bn of costs by scrapping underperforming conventional models, while the annual investment budget will remain stable at about €4.5bn, the company said.

Volkswagen shares were little changed at €120.40 at 1:11pm in Frankfurt trading, bringing the loss since the emissions cheat-ing was revealed in September of last year to about 25%.

VW’s main marque, which accounts for nearly half of the group’s sales, was already strug-gling with bloated production costs and convoluted manage-ment before the diesel scandal came to light. Burdened by its free-spending past, productiv-ity at VW is 30% below its peers and the car maker spent 60% more per vehicle than Toyota Motor Corp over the past three years, Exane BNP Paribas esti-mates.

VW currently assembles the

Jetta sedan, the Golf hatch-back and the Beetle in a factory in Puebla, Mexico Its only fac-tory in the US is in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Globally, Volkswa-gen plans to sell as many as 3mn electric vehicles per year across all its divisions.

“Over the next few years, Volkswagen will change radi-cally. Very few things will stay as they are,” Diess said.

“The electric car will become the strategic core of the VW brand.”

Fed minutes seen setting up December even before election bumpBloombergWashington

Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Novem-

ber policy meeting are likely to confirm

that off icials were creeping closer to their

first interest-rate increase in a year before

the November 8 election, and develop-

ments since have only served to bolster

the case for a hike.

The record of the November 1-2 meet-

ing, during which policy makers left the

federal funds rate target in a range of

0.25% to 0.5%, is scheduled to be released

at 2pm in Washington today.

Inflation was firming and the job market

continued to post gains in the run-up to

the meeting, but the US presidential elec-

tion loomed as a potential risk. Republican

Donald Trump won the contest and his

party retained control of Congress, which

markets have taken as paving the way

for more fiscal policy action that will lift

inflation. Since Trump’s victory, federal

funds futures have almost entirely priced

in an increase.

“They were primed for a move, but cer-

tainly the election results, as interpreted

by people in the marketplace, solidified

the Fed’s ability to raise rates,” said John

Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Se-

curities in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The

Fed has really got an open path.”

Sentiment for a rate increase was

clearly percolating at the Federal Open

Market Committee meeting earlier this

month. Even with the election just days

away, members Esther George and

Loretta Mester dissented in favour of

increasing rates.

The committee also described the

economy in positive language in its

post-meeting statement, saying that the

labour market “continued to strengthen,”

economic activity “picked up” from the

first half of the year, and inflation had

“increased somewhat.”

While headline inflation remains below

the committee’s 2% target, it has acceler-

ated in recent months. The Fed’s preferred

price index climbed by 1.2% on a year-

over-year basis in September, up from 1%

the prior month.

Wages are also rising amid labour

market tightening, which might have

generated some discussion in the Fed’s

minutes.

“What I’m looking for is a sense of: what

are they seeing, what are they interpret-

ing, in the inflation data?” said Nariman

Behravesh, chief economist at IHS in

Lexington, Massachusetts.

“It’s baked in the cake that they’re going

to raise rates in December, so I would look

to see how they react to the data on infla-

tion more than anything else.”

While markets have taken Trump’s elec-

tion as a signal that growth will pick up,

Fed off icials are likely to take a more cau-

tious view when they meet in December.

Any fiscal package will still have to pass

Congress, and even once implemented

could take time to feed through to the

economy.

That said, off icials have signalled that

properly targeted fiscal activism would be

a welcome change.

“Unease with the economy reflects a

number of longer-term challenges, chal-

lenges that will require a diff erent set of

policy tools than those used to address

nearer-term cyclical shortfalls in growth,”

Vice Chair Stanley Fischer told the Council

on Foreign Relations in New York on Mon-

day. He said monetary policy is “the only

game in town because the other guys

didn’t want to play.”

The November minutes and Chair Janet

Yellen’s November 17 testimony to Con-

gress’ Joint Economic Committee were

probably being drafted at the same time,

said Vincent Reinhart, chief economist

at Standish Mellon Asset Management in

Boston. Yellen struck an optimistic tone in

the testimony.

“I expect to read that most members

preferred action soon, so as to justify

Yellen’s shift from the negative in the

statement language about tightening

being deferred for ‘for the time being’

to the positive in the JEC statement that

action could take place ‘relatively soon,’”

Reinhart said.

The committee next meets on Decem-

ber 13-14 and will receive this month’s US

payroll report plus another read on infla-

tion before its decision day.

Credit Suisse said to face tax probe over undeclared accountsBloombergNewark, New Jersey

When Credit Suisse pleaded guilty in 2014 to helping Americans cheat on their

taxes, it promised to help the US root out suspicious accounts. Now, US in-vestigators want to know why the Swiss bank neglected to tell them about $200mn in undeclared assets owned by an American client, according to people familiar with the matter.

The client, Dan Horsky, a citizen of the US, UK and Israel, pleaded guilty November 4 to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. He has been cooperating for more than a year with investigators examining whether the bank helped clients with ties to Israel evade US taxes, said fi ve people who weren’t authorised to discuss the case publicly.

The Horsky accounts were consid-ered “toxic” on the bank’s Israel desk because they were hidden from the IRS using methods like those that led to Credit Suisse’s guilty plea, the people said. The US learned about Horsky’s accounts independent of Credit Suisse

and after the bank had entered its guilty plea, they said. Credit Suisse could face a new civil or criminal case based on the Horsky probe, the people said.

“If they didn’t provide information about this account when they had it in their fi les, there was either gross negli-gence or more likely some kind of con-spiracy at the bank to avoid disclosing this account,” said Larry Campagna, a Houston tax attorney, when told by Bloomberg News about the new Credit Suisse inquiry.

Anna Sexton, a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse Group, the parent of the unit that pleaded guilty, declined to comment when asked about the US investigation into the bank’s handling of Horsky’s accounts. The bank has set aside more than 2bn Swiss francs ($2bn) in general litigation reserves. Horsky’s lawyers declined to comment.

Prosecutors, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the IRS are probing whether the bank’s failure to reveal Horsky’s accounts – before its guilty plea – was a lapse in internal controls or a crime involving bankers who acted with approval of manag-ers, the people said. The bank, which wasn’t identifi ed in Horsky’s guilty

plea, is Credit Suisse, the people said.In February 2014, a US Senate com-

mittee found that Credit Suisse helped American customers hide as much as $10bn in assets from the IRS. At the time, Credit Suisse executives told sceptical lawmakers that only a small group of bankers helped US clients cheat on their taxes.

Credit Suisse pleaded guilty that May, saying hundreds of employees handled American accounts, both declared and undeclared to the IRS. Its $2.6bn fi ne was a record among 85 Swiss banks that admitted helping Americans evade tax-es. In its plea agreement, Credit Suisse pledged to help fl ush out US accounts not declared to the IRS.

Credit Suisse is separately in settle-ment talks with the Justice Department and US states over abuses in residential mortgage-backed securities. The bank is also under the scrutiny of a monitor appointed by the New York Department of Financial Services after the 2014 tax plea. The monitor, Neil Barofsky, de-clined to comment on the new investi-gation.

Horsky, 71, went to great lengths to shield his money, according to plea pa-pers in federal court in Alexandria, Vir-

ginia, and interviews with three people familiar with the matter.

He worked from 1989 to 2015 as a business professor at the University of Rochester in upstate New York, spe-cialising in marketing and game theory.

In 1995, Horsky bought shares in startup businesses through Credit Suisse accounts. He joined two other game-theory experts in investing, the people said.

Horsky invested in as many as 18 companies, but most were bad bets, ac-cording to court papers. He ran up more than $350,000 in credit-card debt, forcing him to take a second mortgage.

He fi nally struck it rich in 2008, when a company identifi ed in court papers as Company A was bought for $1.8bn. Horsky had invested in the fi rm using his money, funds from his father and sister, and margin loans from his bank.

He reaped $80mn in net proceeds, but only reported a gain of $7mn to the IRS, he said. He also admitted fi ling false returns from 2009 to 2015.

After his windfall, Horsky bought stock in a second company, identifi ed as Company B, which had acquired Company A. His assets rose to $200mn by 2013. His holdings were among un-

disclosed accounts serviced by Credit Suisse bankers in Zurich who helped people with Israeli citizenship, accord-ing to three people familiar with the matter.

Horsky’s accounts were considered “toxic” on Credit Suisse’s Israel desk as Swiss banks came under increasing pressure after 2009 to jettison unde-clared US assets, the people said. That year, UBS Group, Switzerland’s largest bank, admitted that it helped Ameri-cans evade taxes.

Horsky used various accounts at Credit Suisse, including one under the name of Horsky Holdings, according to court papers. He put assets in the names of others to hide them from the IRS even as bank employees sent him e-mails denoting his US residence, ac-cording to court papers.

In 2011, he gave signatory author-ity over accounts to a person identifi ed in court papers as Individual A. At the suggestion of Credit Suisse bankers, Individual A agreed in 2012 to replace Horsky as a director of several off shore shell entities even as Horsky retained control, court papers said.

In 2013, Individual A renounced his US citizenship and moved abroad, in

part to ensure that Horsky’s control of accounts wouldn’t be reported to the IRS, Horsky said as part of his guilty plea. Individual A also fi led a false ex-patriation statement with the IRS that failed to disclose his net worth and ownership of foreign assets, according to court papers.

“Despite his extraordinary wealth, Mr Horsky concealed funds off shore, failed to report substantial income, conspired to submit false expatriation documents to cover up his fraudu-lent scheme, and evaded paying his fair share of tax,” Caroline Ciraolo, the prosecutor who oversees the Justice Department’s tax division, said in a statement when he pleaded guilty.

In his plea, Horsky admitted that he failed to fi le Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, known as FBARs, until 2011, and that he fi led false reports in 2012 and 2013. He will pay a FBAR penalty of $100mn, which is the largest in a publicly fi led case.

The Simon Business School at Uni-versity of Rochester said Horsky re-tired last December. He resigned his honorary title of professor emeritus on November 7, three days after his guilty plea.

The Volkswagen Atlas sports utility vehicle (SUV) is displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17. VW’s namesake marque will expand its range of SUVs and sedans and start making electric autos in North America in 2021 in a bid to “evolve from a niche supplier” into a successful mainstream car maker in the region, the company said yesterday.

Boeing taps GE exec to head airplanes unitReutersNew York

Boeing Co on Monday named a senior General Electric Co executive to

head its commercial airplanes division and announced a new services unit, in moves to cap-ture more of the profi table market for parts and repairs af-ter a jet is sold.

The changes are “a big and important step” toward Boe-ing’s goal of increasing annual services revenue to about $50bn in 10 years from about $15bn currently, Boeing chief execu-tive offi cer Dennis Muilenburg said on a call with journalists.

The changes do not alter plans for developing aircraft, but put a new “emphasis on generating life-cycle value,” Muilenburg said, referring to building an air-craft with an eye to gaining rev-enue from servicing the plane during its decades-long life.

“We’ve always said growing services is a core part of our strategy, and now you see us emphasising and investing ac-cordingly,” Muilenburg said.

Boeing tapped Kevin McAl-lister, 53, to lead its $66bn commercial airplane business, succeeding Ray Conner, 61, ef-fective immediately.

Conner, who started as a Boeing mechanic nearly 40 years ago, will serve as vice chairman through 2017 to help with the transition, the world’s biggest plane maker said.

McAllister has been with GE’s aviation unit for nearly 30 years and knows Boeing and its cus-tomers well, Muilenburg said.

Boeing named Stanley Deal, 52, to head the new services unit, to be known as Global Services.

Deal had been senior vice president of Boeing’s Commer-cial Aviation Services business.

The Global Services business is due to begin operating in the third quarter of 2017.

McAllister has been chief ex-ecutive of GE’s $8bn aviation services business, a unit that earns much of its revenue from contracts servicing GE aircraft engines.

Airlines generally pay a fee for every hour they run the en-gines, which covers service and maintenance.

“Muilenburg is shaking up BCA with a surprise outside appointment which is likely a healthy move given that fresh leadership eyes can create posi-tive movement,” said analyst Peter Arment from Baird Equity Research.

Last year, Muilenburg named Leanne Caret head of the de-fence business.

She had run Boeing’s defence services business.

Now, Muilenburg said, “the leaders of all three of our busi-ness all have depth of under-standing of services.”

Muilenburg said the new di-vision headed by Deal would combine about 20,000 em-ployees from the customer services groups within the company’s existing commercial airplanes and defence, space and security businesses.

It will have a small head-quarters near Dallas, but most of the work will remain where it is, he added.

Since Muilenburg took over as CEO in July 2015, Boeing has been steadily building up its services business, moves that have irked some of its partners.

Earlier this year it ended an agreement with one of its largest suppliers, Spirit Aer-oSystems Holdings, eff ectively taking away manufacturing of profi table spare parts used in aircraft repairs. It also began bringing some parts produc-tion in-house to gain control over repairs, and sifting its da-tabases to help airlines predict when planes will need service.

Engine repairs make up near-ly half of the service market, but those are largely beyond the reach of Boeing or Airbus. En-gine makers such as GE and Pratt & Whitney locked up their after-market more than a decade ago.

Still Boeing’s aftermarket sales growth is outpacing the 4.5% growth of the broad af-termarket, Dennis Floyd, vice president of services strategy and business development at Boeing, told Reuters recently.

BUSINESSWednesday, November 23, 2016

GULF TIMES

Doha Bank holds ‘Al-Dhameen’ camp for Qatari SMEsDoha Bank has organised a “one-of-a-kind”

camp for Qatari small and medium-sized

enterprises (SMEs) at its West Bay branch

inside The Gate Mall, in collaboration with

Qatar Development Bank (QDB).

The bank said the activity demon-

strates Doha Bank’s “special relation-

ship” with QDB as a “preferred partner”

for the ‘Al Dhameen’ programme. The

camp was organised by Doha Bank’s

SME officials and “well supported” by

QDB staff and branch officials, the bank

said.

Through the camp, Doha Bank said

it showcased its support for the entre-

preneurs and SME owners by providing

information on financing through the

‘Al-Dhameen’ programme.

Doha Bank said it plans to take the

programme to the country’s “young and

vibrant population,” which is thriving

on youthful and innovative business

ideas by organising more camps at other

prominent locations in the next one to

two months. The bank said it expects

to generate a healthy portfolio of ‘Al-

Dhameen’ customers in the next two to

three years.

Doha Bank Group CEO Dr R Seethara-

man stressed that the camps are an

“innovative method” being adopted to

reach out to the Qatari business owners.

He also underscored the importance of

‘Al-Dhameen’ programme in supporting

Qatari SMEs to overcome various obsta-

cles due to lack of collateral security or

short credit history.

Seetharaman said the programme

aims at encouraging commercial banks

to extend credit to key sectors such as

manufacturing, education, healthcare, and

important services.

Doha Bank said it has demonstrated

its long-term commitment to the suc-

cess of SMEs by supporting diverse

and new projects under the Qatar

Development Bank’s ‘Al-Dhameen’ credit

guarantee programme such as setting

up a state-of-the-art battery factory,

which will help Qatar meet its require-

ment for industrial batteries; estab-

lishing a dental clinic employing the

most advanced equipment or modified

bitumen processing factory; and a weld-

ing electrodes manufacturing facility,

among others.

All these projects will not only generate

local employment but will also enable do-

mestic consumers to meet their demands

from these locally made products, the

bank said.

Doha Bank said the projects will

help the entrepreneurs to realise their

goals and also contribute to the Qatari

economy by helping it diversify and

reduce reliance on oil and gas based in-

dustries, and to bring the best know-how

to the country. The projects under the

‘Al-Dhameen’ programme “will go a long

way in import substitution,” Doha Bank

said. Doha Bank said it aims to provide

the best of financial services to its cus-

tomers, and recognises the importance

of SME units in the Qatar economy, which

is rapidly expanding.

The bank said it is committed to

continue meeting financial requirements

of SME sector in Qatar and also through

its off ices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah,

Kuwait, and India. Doha Bank said it already

enjoys a “sizeable” SME customer base,

“strong” corporate and retail business, and

has branch presence across the country

to meet customers growing requirements.

Doha Bank off ers complete range of SME

products like working capital, term lending,

and contract financing products, it said.

Apart from lending products, Doha

Bank also off ers specialised services like

cash management, payroll products, trade

services, customised forex solutions, and

insurance solutions, among others.

Qatar Executive to exhibit its latest Gulfstream G650ER at Dubai business aviation showQatar Executive will wel-

come partners and visi-tors on board its latest

Gulfstream G650ER — one of the world’s fastest business jets — during its participation in the Middle East Business Aviation Association show 2016 taking place at Dubai World Central from December 6 to 8.

Qatar Executive will be show-casing the “popular” business jet, the third addition to its fl eet of Gulfstream G650ERs, and give visitors the opportunity to experience the aircraft’s luxuri-ous interior, which off ers cus-tomers the widest and most spa-cious cabin available among all super-large business jets fl ying today.

Qatar Executive is the private

jet division of the Qatar Air-ways Group, and is the leading provider of jet aircraft charter services together with premier aircraft management, mainte-nance and handling services in the Middle East and around the world.

Qatar Executive executive vice-president Ettore Rodaro commented on the upcoming participation at the exhibition. “We look forward to meeting our partners and guests at the Mid-dle East Business Aviation As-sociation show, one of the lead-ing aviation exhibitions in the world, and presenting our Gulf-stream G650ER to thousands of professionals from across the global business aviation indus-try.

“The G650ER is one of the world’s most technologically advanced next-generation air-craft. For Qatar Executive and our customers it truly represents the future of private air travel, off ering a superior fl ying expe-rience with unrivalled design, comfort and class.”

Qatar Airways announced an order for a further three Gulf-stream G650ERs earlier this year at the Farnborough Airshow, in-creasing Qatar Executive’s total aircraft on order to 30, which will position Qatar Executive as the largest Gulfstream operator in the Middle East.

The Qatar Executive G650ER aircraft can easily fl y non-stop from the Middle East to North America or from destinations

in Asia to Africa — faster than any other jet of its kind. Qatar Executive’s G650ER aircraft fea-tures a two-cabin confi guration, which seats up to 13 passengers. Seats convert into fully-fl at beds, so that seven guests can easily sleep on board.

The aircraft interior features a classic-contemporary style, combining modest luxury and timeless elegance through a natural colour palette rang-ing from earthy tones of wal-nut brown wooden veneers to china-white leather seating and fi nest woollen Loro Piana fab-rics with soft brown fi shbone patterns.

The Gulfstream G650ER’s cabin is not only comfortable but contains the most advanced

technology including satellite communications, high-speed internet, wireless local area net-work and Gulfstream’s Cabin Management System, which al-lows passengers to use their own personal electronic devices to control audio, video, lighting, temperature, window shades and other cabin functions.

The G650ER has the longest range at the fastest speed, travel-ling 7,500nm/13,890km at Mach 0.85 and 6,400nm/11,853km at Mach 0.90.

The aircraft has the largest purpose-built business-jet cab-in and off ers passengers wider seats, more aisle room, 16 pano-ramic windows, the lowest cabin altitude of any business jet and quiet cabin sound levels.

The interior of Qatar Executive’s Gulfstream G650ER. Qatar Executive will give visitors the opportunity to experience the aircraft’s luxurious interior, at the Middle East Business Aviation Association show 2016 in Dubai from December 6 to 8.

Saudia’s al-Bakri to lead IATA in Africa, Mideast

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced

the appointment of Mohamed Ali al-Bakri as its regional vice-president, Africa and the Mid-dle East (AME).

Al-Bakri’s appointment is with eff ect from January 1 next year and he will be based at the IATA regional offi ce in Amman, Jordan.

“Mohamed Ali al-Bakri is stepping into a critical role at IATA. Africa and the Mid-dle East are among the fast-est growing markets for air transport. While the region has tremendous potential, it also faces some big challeng-es. Infrastructure, regulation and taxation must align to support the social and eco-nomic benefits of a successful aviation sector. I am confident that Muhammad’s solid avia-tion background will deliver great value to our members and aviation in general across AME,” said Alexandre de Ju-niac, IATA’s director-general and CEO.

Al-Bakri is a Saudi national and aviation veteran. Since the beginning of this year, he served as executive vice-pres-ident (Strategic Projects and Transformation) at Saudi Ara-bian Airlines. In that role, he was charged with delivering various initiatives as part of a broad transformation strategy devised to strengthen the com-petitiveness of the airline as it aims to double its size by 2020.

Under Al-Bakri’s leadership,

Saudia successfully moved its second largest domestic hub operation into the new Terminal 5 at Riyadh’s King Khalid Inter-national Airport in May. He is also leading similar relocations of the airline’s operations to new facilities in Jeddah and Cairo.

Al-Bakri’s career at Saudia spanned some 26 years. He rose through the ranks of the air-line’s IT Division, eventually being appointed as vice-pres-ident, Information Technol-ogy concurrent to holding the responsibility of chief fi nancial offi cer.

“I am tremendously excited to take-up this challenging role. IATA has made critical con-tributions to the development of aviation around the world. That work is especially evident in Africa and the Middle East where the industry is rapidly changing. I have seen fi rst-hand the transformational power of IATA’s global standards such as Fast Travel, e-freight and New Distribution Capability. These boost competitiveness and please customers at the same time. In my new role, I am ex-cited to be responsible for the full suite of IATA’s activities and shall be a tireless advocate for aviation’s success in the AME region,” said al-Bakri.

Albakri will lead IATA’s Re-gional Offi ce for AME where a total of 124 employees are re-sponsible for its operations across 68 countries. This in-cludes the operation of IATA’s settlement systems, which ef-fi ciently handle some $23bn of industry money annually across 38 countries.

The fast growing AME re-gion is home to 58 of IATA’s 265 member airlines and accounts for 11.6% and 15.5% of global traffi c in terms of RPKs and FTK, respectively.

Aviation support some 9mn jobs and $130bn of GDP across Africa and the Middle East.

Al-Bakri: Key position.

Qatar bourse falls 42 points on profi t bookingBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

Profi t booking by local retail in-vestors and foreign institutions yesterday led the Qatar Stock

Exchange fall 42 points, after remain-ing almost fl at for the previous two ses-sions.

Realty, banks, transport and con-sumer goods counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure, result-ing in the 20-stock Qatar Index shrink 0.43% to 9,740.8 points, although trade turnover and volumes were on the rise. The market’s year-to-date losses are seen at 6.6%.

The bearish sentiments come amidst rally in the global energy market where prices rose to a month’s high on expecta-tions of production cut deal in the meet-ing of oil producers on November 30.

Non-Qatari individuals’ buying sup-port was seen weakening in the market,

where Islamic stocks fell faster than the conventional ones.

However, domestic institutions’ net buying strengthened in the bourse, where telecom and banking stocks to-gether constituted about 69% of the

total trade volume. Market capitalisa-tion eroded about QR3bn or 0.52% to QR526.52bn mainly on 1.16% and 0.4% fall in small and large cap equities; even as microcaps rose 0.26%.

The Total Return Index shed 0.43%

to 15,759.97 points, All Share Index fell 0.46% to 2,690.6 points and Al Rayan Is-lamic Index by 0.65% to 3,584.84 points.

Real estate sector saw its index de-cline 0.9%, banks and fi nancial services (0.54%), transport (0.52%), consumer goods (0.51%), industrials (0.25%) and telecom (0.15%); while insurance rose 0.23%.

Among the major losers were Com-mercial Bank, Qatar First Bank, Voda-fone Qatar, Gulf Warehousing, QNB, QIIB, Industries Qatar, Mesaieed Pet-rochemical Holding, United Develop-ment Company and Ezdan.

Nevertheless, Gulf International Services, Qatar Insurance and Qatari Investors Group saw their stocks make modest gains.

Local retail investors’ net sell-ing strengthened considerably to QR70.61mn compared to QR21.59mn on Monday.

Non-Qatari institutions’ net prof-it booking increased to QR10.99mn

against QR3.57mn the previous day.Non-Qatari individual investors’ net

buying weakened to QR3.16mn com-pared to QR6.77mn on November 21.

However, domestic institutions’ net buying strengthened substantially to QR64.5mn against QR12.29mn on Monday.

The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions’ net buying strengthened to QR12.98mn compared to QR5.77mn the previous day.

The GCC individual investors’ net buying increased to QR0.93mn against QR0.32mn on November 21.

Total trade volume rose 6% to 6.65mn shares and value by 55% to QR245.33mn, while deals fell 2% to 3,046.

The transport sector’s trade volume more than tripled to 0.34mn equities and value more than quadrupled to QR14.22mn on 58% rise in transactions to 169.

There was 64% surge in the indus-

trials sector’s trade volume to 0.54mn stocks, 5% in value to QR25.89mn and 21% in deals to 524.

The telecom sector’s trade volume expanded 24% to 2.61mn shares and value by 31% to QR34.52mn; whereas transactions shrank 20% to 650.

However, the insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 50% to 0.03mn eq-uities, value by 49% to QR2.06mn and deals by 32% to 67.

The real estate sector reported 21% plunge in trade volume to 0.95mn stocks, 7% in value to QR20.1mn and 8% in transactions to 363.

The banks and fi nancial services sector’s trade volume tanked 13% to 1.95mn stocks but value soared 94% to QR134.01mn. Deals were down 5% to 994.

The market witnessed 4% decline in the consumer goods sector’s trade vol-ume to 0.23mn equities but on 47% in-crease in value to QR14.54mn and 27% in transactions to 279.

Saudi shares rebound, outperform rest of Gulf

ReutersDubai

Saudi Arabian stocks rebounded yester-

day as oil prices hit a one-month high,

outperforming other stock markets in

the Gulf where traders booked profits.

Saudi Arabia’s general market index

rose 1.6% to 6,602 points, heading back

towards technical resistance at the July

peak of 6,703 points. The index has now

gained 13.9% over the past four weeks,

despite slight losses in recent days.

Dubai’s main index fell 0.5% but trad-

ing volume spiked to its highest level

since March.

Abu Dhabi’s index failed to hold onto

small gains earlier in the session and fell

back 0.3%.

Egypt’s blue chip index slipped 0.2% to

11,520 points, ending a four-day winning

streak although it is still holding near an

eight-year high.

Elsewhere, the Kuwait index edged

down 0.04% to 5,515 points, the Oman

index added 0.5% to 5,521 points and the

Bahrain index fell 0.7% to 1,184 points.

Dignitaries from Doha Bank and QDB during the SME camp.

Documents

Qatar startups to drive job creation for tech