Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Thursday, August 29, 2019Dhul-Hijja 28, 1440 AH
BUSINESSGULF TIMES
Fighting Amazon wildfi res with the SuperTanker
Toyota pulls Suzuki fi rmly into its orbit
AVIATION SPECIAL | Page 12STAKE DEAL | Page 3
NEW MILESTONES: Page 11
21% rise in number of new fi rms registered at QFC during H1 2019
QFZA okays QR1bn-plus investments ahead of free zones offi cial launchThe Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) has ap-
proved “investment applications” from major international and local companies valued at more
than QR1bn. The QFZA is the authority that develops free zones
in Qatar and sets the strategic direction as well as for-mulates and governs policies for businesses operating in the free zones.
“The value of the approved investments totalled more than QR1bn, in the fi rst six months alone, of ac-cepting investment applications,” the QFZA said yes-terday.
The QFZA has directed the funds towards signifi cant economic, industrial, and technological projects in the free zones, having briefed the Supreme Council for Eco-nomic Aff airs and Investment on the progress report of the QFZA and the projects it works on.
The QFZA also revealed that it has approved a range of partnerships between private sector and global compa-nies across diff erent fi elds.
HE Minister of State and Chairman of the Qatar Free Zones Authority, Ahmad bin Mohamed al-Sayed said, “Prior to the offi cial launch of the free zones, QFZA was
able to attract and approve investment applications and register a group of major international companies in various fi elds, refl ecting the confi dence investors have in Qatar.”
He stressed that the investments in the free zones will directly contribute to positioning Qatar as an attractive destination for investors from around the world, and a platform to attract international companies that want to maintain a base in Qatar and build partnerships with national companies in the private sector and with other international companies.
Al-Sayed said the move comes in line with the QFZA’s commitment to supporting the national economy in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.
“We encourage the private sector to leverage the facil-ities our free zones provide to attract their international partners and create value for the national economy through joint ventures,” al-Sayed added.
The QFZA also announced that it is in the process of fi nalising the infrastructure of its free zones, which will be ready for inauguration soon. Investors from Qatar and abroad can apply to invest and register in the free zones through the QFZA.
The QFZA is the authority that develops free zones in Qatar and sets the strategic direction as well as formulates and governs policies for businesses operating in the free zones
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Thursday, August 29, 20192
S Africa sees coal-plant sales, visa reforms boosting GDPBloombergJohannesburg
South Africa’s National Treasury out-lined its vision to bolster economic growth and tackle a 29% unemploy-
ment rate, proposing a range of reforms in-cluding cutting red tape for businesses and easing visa rules to boost tourism.
The reforms could lift the average eco-nomic growth rate by 2 to 3 percentage points and create more than 1mn jobs over a decade, the Treasury said in a policy paper released on Tuesday.
While proposals such as easing visa rules and releasing broadband spectrum could be low-hanging fruit and have also been sug-gested by the Reserve Bank and International Monetary Fund, others, such as selling off power plants owned by state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and introducing new rules that will let households and companies sell excess electricity they produce back to the national grid, may be more diffi cult to push through.
The policy paper is an attempt to circum-vent obstacles to structural reform in both the cabinet and the ruling African National Con-gress and is likely to trigger an angry reaction from within the government and parts of the party, according to Frans Cronje, chief execu-tive offi cer of the Johannesburg-based South African Institute of Race Relations.
It “is likely to be welcomed in analyst and investor circles but not suffi ciently to change investor sentiment, and will rather be read as further evidence of the contradictions and confusions that continue to bedevil govern-ment policy in South Africa,” he said.
Weak growth has exacerbated social pres-sures in Africa’s most-advanced economy and failure to create jobs and reduce income inequality could spark unrest. The economy contracted an annualised 3.2% in the fi rst quarter, the most in a decade, as power short-ages curbed output.
The Reserve Bank projects growth of 0.6% for the year. That’s well short of the more than 5% rate the government says is needed to halve the unemployment rate.
The Treasury described the current eco-nomic trajectory as unsustainable and said it could only be turned around through “delib-
erate and concrete action.” The country also needs “a stable macroeconomic policy frame-work underpinned by a fl exible exchange rate, infl ation targeting, and credible and sustain-able fi scal policy,” the Treasury said.
These are some of the other proposals in the paper: Allocate broadband spectrum to private
companies through an auction, with a small set-aside for a government-controlled net-work. Competition should be allowed in Tel-kom SA SOC Ltd’s infrastructure. Visa regulations should be amended
to ensure a better balance between security concerns and the growth of tourism. The tightening of visa regulations is out of step
with a global move and while other countries are typically making it easier for tourists to travel, South Africa risks falling behind, the Treasury said. Grant third-party access to the rail net-
work to promote private-sector participation. All infrastructure projects of strategic
importance should be developed in coordina-tion with government, the private sector and state-owned companies to alleviate pressure on the balance sheets of these fi rms. Water demand will exceed supply by
2030, so the country needs a strategy for in-vestment in water-resource development, bulk-water supply, and waste-water man-agement and should apply lessons from the
renewable energy independent power pro-ducers program. Small businesses should receive full or
partial exemptions from certain regulations, including labour laws, to lower the startup costs and reduce the regulatory burden. Conditions for banking licences should
be made less onerous and banking regulations should be more fl exible to new developments, such as the growth of mobile money Fuel-price regulation should be re-
viewed, particularly in terms of spot price benchmarks and where regulation has sup-ported incumbents such as Sasol Ltd.
The paper is out for public comment until September 15.
Global wildlife pact imperilled by backlash from southern Africa
BloombergBotswana
Southern African nations, where the
bulk of the continent’s wildlife lives,
are reconsidering their participation
in a global pact to protect endangered
species.
The 16-member Southern African
Development Community objects to
rulings against applications made by
its member states to ease restrictions
on the trade of ivory and white rhinoc-
eros products as well as the banning of
exports of wild African elephants. The
decisions were taken at a meeting of
the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora, or CITES, in Geneva.
“The time has come to seriously recon-
sider whether there are any meaning-
ful benefits from our membership to
CITES,” said George Simbachawene,
Tanzania’s environment minister, in
a statement released yesterday on
behalf of SADC.
The group argues in the letter that
decisions approved by CITES are
increasingly driven by “protectionist
ideology” upheld by largely western
non-government organizations rather
than by conservation models based on
science.
“Foremost amongst these motifs now
dominating CITES is the unfounded
belief that all trade fuels illegal, unsus-
tainable trade, ignoring clear evidence
to the contrary,” Simbachawene said.
Zimbabwe, which has the world’s
second-largest population of elephants
and will no longer be able to ship
the pachyderms to China under new
CITES rules, said earlier this year it was
considering withdrawing its member-
ship. Together with three other nations,
the cash-strapped country had lobbied
for the suspension of a ban on the ivory
trade so that it could earn millions of dol-
lars from the sale of its ivory stockpile.
Botswana, the southern African nation
with the world’s largest elephant popu-
lation, has also repeatedly expressed
its frustration over what it sees as
foreign interference with its domestic
conservation policy.
Nigeria fears fi scal crisis as debts take big slice of revenueBloombergLagos
Africa’s largest oil producer could run out of money if it doesn’t boost revenues urgently.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari warned that the country could struggle to fund its expenses unless it’s able to raise the tax take after querying the revenue chief over poor collections. That could complicate Buhari’s eff orts to turn around the economy, a mandate on which he was re-elected in Febru-ary.
Zainab Ahmed, who was reappoint-ed fi nance minister, echoed these con-cerns when she was sworn in last week.
Fiscal revenues in Africa’s most-populous nation undershot targets by at least 45% a year since 2015, accord-ing to the budget offi ce. Expenditure
has doubled to more than 7tn naira ($19bn). The government’s income shortfall was 51.9% in May due to lower oil and non-oil infl ows, according to the central bank.
There has been an urgent need for accelerated fi scal reform in Nigeria for some time and the fact that it is gaining attention from the country’s leader-ship is positive, said Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank Plc.
Spending has been largely supported by borrowing both from the domestic and international markets. Total debt was at $81.2bn at the end of March, from about $65bn in 2015. Debt owed to non-Nigerian lenders was $25.2bn.
Total borrowing as a proportion of gross domestic product is about 21%, compared with almost 60% for South Africa, which vies with Nigeria as the continent’s biggest economy. Debt
service costs consume more than half of actual revenues, leaving little to build badly needed infrastructure and grow the economy. Nigeria spent 2.2tn naira on servicing outstanding loans in 2018 compared to 1.68tn naira on infrastruc-ture, according to the central bank.
Without major revenue reforms, debt could rise to almost 36% of GDP by 2024 and interest payments could make up 74.6% of revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund.
At about 7% of GDP, Nigeria has one of the lowest tax collection ratios in the world. Eff orts to boost tax revenues in recent years have not yielded the de-sired results. An oil price crash, a 2016 contraction and subsequent slow eco-nomic growth have reduced tax earn-ings, Babatunde Fowler, chief execu-tive of the country’s revenue agency, said in response to a query from the presidency.
The country’s low tax revenues hamper its ability to invest in infra-structure, social welfare and human capital development, all necessary for robust growth, Amaka Anku, Eurasia Group’s Africa head, said by email.
“Nigeria’s government expenditure is roughly the same as Kenya’s, despite a population that is nearly three times as big,” she said.
Ahmed has plans to increase con-sumption tax to 7.5% from 5% to boost revenues.
The most viable option is for the government to increase taxes, Olu-wasegun Akinwale, a banking analyst at Lagos-based Asset & Resource Man-agement, said by phone. “If they can do that in the next few months, that can add some income,” he said. “They also have to diversify the revenue base from oil and add manufacturing. There are no short-term solutions.”
Mboweni draws battle lines with new growth planBloombergJohannesburg
South African Finance Minister Tito Mbowe-ni’s plan to pull the economy out of its longest downward cycle since 1945 may have put him
on a collision course with cabinet colleagues, fellow ruling-party members and labour unions.
The minister envisions the state relinquishing its near monopoly of electricity, port and rail services, relaxing rules to make it easier to do business and privatising assets to stabilise its fi nances. He also fa-vours maintaining a fl exible exchange rate, infl ation targeting and sustainable fi scal policy, according to a policy paper released by the National Treasury on Tuesday.
Some of the proposals confl ict with recent calls from within the African National Congress and its union allies for the government to play a more inter-ventionist role in tackling rampant poverty and a 29% unemployment rate. Offi cial policy positions, which have been adopted by the party but have yet to be im-plemented, include nationalising the central bank, land seizures and implementing a costly national health insurance system.
The Treasury paper hasn’t been presented to the cabinet and its adoption isn’t assured. While Mbo-weni may be unsuccessful in implementing all the proposed reforms, by putting them all on the table a compromise could mean at least some of them fi nd easier passage.
“There will be tension, there will be diff erences,” said Roland Henwood, a political science lecturer at the University of Pretoria. “I think what Mboweni has done now is to underline the crisis. Government can-not go on talking about the crisis of unemployment and lack of economic growth and we are not seeing any action.”
South Africa’s economic woes stem from policy missteps and rampant graft that characterized the nine-year rule of former President Jacob Zuma, who quit under pressure from the ANC 18 months ago and was replaced with his deputy, Cyril Ram-aphosa.
The problems have been compounded by a melt-down at state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd – it’s needed a multibillion rand bailout to remain solvent and its failure to supply sufficient electricity helped cause the economy to contract an annualised 3.2% in the first quarter, the most in a decade.
The Treasury’s plan seeks to lift the average annual economic growth rate by 2 to 3 percentage points and create more than 1mn jobs over a decade. Its most contentious suggestion is to sell some of Eskom’s plants, subject to power off -take agreements.
What to know about recessions, including the next oneBy Reade PickertWashington
Economists now see a one-in-three chance that the US economy is headed into recession in the next year, following its longest expansion in history. Germany, the biggest economic engine in the European Union, is on the brink. Worries are growing even in Australia, which has gone a remarkable 28 years without a downturn. So much time has passed since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 that many adults haven’t experienced an economy that’s contracting rather than growing in their working lives. But slowing global growth and the US-China trade war, among other strains, have flamed fears that the next recession is around the corner.
1. Is a recession inevitable?
Eventually, yes – recessions follow expansions, and vice versa. The real
questions are when the recession hits, how long it lasts and how severe it is.
2. Does a US recession mean a global recession too?
Not necessarily. The US has experienced 11 recessions since the end of World War II, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. The International Monetary Fund counts only four global recessions, tracing back to 1960. Neither organisation uses the dictionary definition of a recession, a period when economic output contracts for two straight quarters. NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, which makes the off icial US determination, considers such additional factors as employment, industrial production and income and typically takes about a year to make the call. The IMF, in labelling global recessions, looks for a decline in inflation-adjusted per-capita GDP that’s backed up by weakness in industrial production, trade,
capital flows, oil consumption and unemployment.
3. What triggers recessions?
Before World War I, “relatively frequent” recessions “stemmed from a wide range of private-sector-induced fluctuations in spending, such as investment busts and financial panics,” according to a paper by Christina Romer, who led former US President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. The so-called Great Moderation, a roughly 25-year period of relative stability around the globe beginning in the mid-1980s, spawned the view that modern-day recessions don’t happen without “an unexpected shock to the economy that has lasting consequences, such as a sharp increase in oil prices” – a cause of US downturns of the 1970s and 1980s – or “accumulated imbalances that can no longer be ignored.”
4. What constitutes an imbalance?
The dot-com bubble that grew in the
late 1990s and burst before the 2001 recession was one example. So was the massive buildup in the subprime-lending industry that preceded the so-called Great Recession of 2007-2009. Many Americans took on mortgages they couldn’t aff ord, which were packaged to investors as top-quality securities.
5. What makes a recession mild or severe?
Its duration, for one thing. The 2007-2009 recession lasted 18 months, making it the longest since the Great Depression. The recession of 1980, by contrast, lasted just six months. Other measures of a recession’s severity are how much the economy contracts and how bad unemployment gets. The worst recessions tend to be those paired with some sort of collapse in the financial system, as happened in the US in 2007 and 1929. Researchers have considered whether the duration of an expansion influences how bad the subsequent
recession is. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland researchers found little evidence of that, but they did find reason to think severe recessions (like the one that ended in 2009) spawn strong expansions. Another driver of a recession’s severity is how broadly the economy suffers a contraction. The relatively short and mild 2001 recession, for instance, was largely confined to the tech sector, with modest fallout to the rest of the economy.
6. So will the next recession will be a bad one?
It’s impossible to know. On the positive side, American households are carrying less debt, and an increase in mortgage refinancing has put more cash in consumers’ pockets. Also, as in 2001, the current strains are (so far) mostly confined to one sector – manufacturing. Pessimists would note that interest rates are already low, meaning the Fed has less conventional ammunition to combat
a downturn, and the US budget deficit is expected to hit a dizzying $1tn next year, which could hamper how much fiscal stimulus the government could provide. On the global level, the World Economic Forum warned at the start of the year that the “global debt burden,” at around 225% of GDP, “is significantly higher than before the global financial crisis.”
7. Can anything be done now to ease the next recession?
Countries around the globe are weighing monetary and fiscal stimulus options. In Germany, which already has had one quarter of shrinking GDP, there are signs that a rigid adherence to balanced budgets may give way to bonus-like incentives to encourage home improvements, short-term hiring and social-welfare programmes. Even Australia and New Zealand, holdouts from the extreme monetary policies spawned by the financial crisis a decade ago, are thinking of jumping in.
Bloomberg QuickTake Q&A
A kite surfer rides the waves on the waterfront near Table Mountain in Cape Town (file). South Africa’s National Treasury has outlined its vision to bolster economic growth and tackle a 29% unemployment rate, proposing a range of reforms including cutting red tape for businesses and easing visa rules to boost tourism.
BUSINESS3Gulf Times
Thursday, August 29, 2019
ReutersTokyo
Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp will take small equity stakes in each other, the Japanese
car makers said yesterday, as they seek to develop newer technologies and meet sweeping changes upending the global auto industry.
The tie-up is the latest example of automakers chasing scale to manage costs and boost development.
Car makers – especially smaller ones like Suzuki – are struggling to meet the breakneck growth of an industry trans-formed by the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), ride-hailing and autonomous driving.
Toyota will pay around ¥96bn ($910mn) for a 4.94% stake in Suzuki, while Suzuki will acquire in the mar-ket around ¥48bn worth of shares in Toyota.
That is equivalent to 0.2% of Toyota’s shares as of yesterday’s closing price, before the announcement.
The companies said in a joint state-ment they intended to overcome chal-lenges facing the industry by “building and deepening co-operative relation-ships in new fi elds while continuing to be competitors”. They said they would strengthen technologies and products in which each of them specialise in.
The fi rms had said in 2016 they were exploring a partnership, citing techno-logical challenges and the need to keep up with industry consolidation.
Earlier this year they said they would produce EVs and compact cars for each other.
Automakers around the globe have been joining forces to slash develop-ment and manufacturing costs of new technology.
Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG have said they will spend billions of dol-lars to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles.
Shares of Toyota and Suzuki closed little changed before the announce-
ment. The deal brings Suzuki fi rmly into Toyota’ orbit, alongside Daihatsu Motor Co, Hino Motors Ltd, Subaru Corp, Mazda Motor Corp and Yamaha Motor Co.
Rival Nissan Motor Co has an alliance with France’s Renault, although that has been shaken following the ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn, and
with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Honda Motor Co has a tie-up with General Motors Co.
Toyota has been looking to expand scale in next-generation technology and said this year it would off er free ac-cess to patents for EV motors and power control units.
It believes that move would help it
cut by as much as half the outlays for expanded electric and hybrid vehicle components in the United States, China and Japan.
Supplying rivals would greatly ex-pand the scale of production for hard-ware.
Suzuki, which specialises in aff ord-able compact cars, had been struggling
to keep pace with the huge costs of in-vesting in research and development for automated driving functions.
Toyota said in June it aims to get half of its global sales from electrifi ed vehi-cles by 2025, fi ve years ahead of sched-ule, and will tap Chinese battery makers to meet the accelerated shift to electric-ity-powered cars.
Toyota pulls Suzuki fi rmly into its orbit via stake deal
Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp (left), gestures as he speaks as Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki Motor Corp, looks on during a news conference in Tokyo. The Japanese car makers will take small equity stakes in each other, the companies said yesterday, as they seek to develop newer technologies and meet sweeping changes upending the global auto industry.
Hyundai agrees wage deal; avoids strike for fi rst time in 8 yearsReutersSeoul
Hyundai Motor Co and its South Korean workers’ union have reached a tentative wage deal
and averted strike action for the fi rst time in eight years, sending the auto-maker’s shares up by more than 4%.
The union said it took into account “the uncertain political and economic situation” stemming from a diplo-matic spat with Japan as well as a US-China trade dispute.
Hyundai’s unionised workers in South Korea have staged strikes in all but four years since the union was cre-ated in 1987.
But the union has faced growing public and media criticism for walk-ing out of wage talks despite workers’ relatively high pay and at a time of economic slowdown.
“We have focused on escaping social isolation,” the union said in a state-ment.
The deal is subject to approval from union members in a vote on Monday.
South Korea has been dropped from Japan’s “white list” of countries with fast-track trade status, eff ective yesterday, deepening a decades-old dispute over the countries’ wartime history and dimming South Korea’s economic outlook.
The US-China trade war meanwhile is playing havoc with global supply lines and markets vital to South Ko-rea’s major exporters including auto-makers.
Hyundai and the union reached their deal “to survive in the future” amid the uncertain business environment and rapidly changing auto industry bent on electrifi cation and autonomous vehi-cles, the carmaker said in a statement.
Under the latest wage agreement, each unionised worker will receive a one-off payment of up to 9mn won ($7,414), an additional payment equiv-alent to one and a half months’ salary, 15 Hyundai Motor shares, and a basic salary increase of 1.74%.
The basic salary increase is the low-est since at least the 2009 global eco-nomic downturn.
After the agreement, Hyundai
shares rose as much as 4.4% in morn-ing trade as worries eased about any production disruption damping its earnings recovery.
“It is a good deal. It will reduce risks to Hyundai’s earnings,” said analyst Lee Jae-il at Eugene Investment & Securities, adding the rise is less than expected.
“The union staged a strike to get a better wage deal from the company. But as profi t is sagging, it’s having a reality check,” Lee said.
After six consecutive years’ of profi t decline, earnings have been recovering this year as favourable currency ex-change and new sport-utility vehicles (SUV) off set a sales slump in China.
A consumer boycott of Japanese cars brought about by the diplomatic spat is also likely to help Hyundai’s do-mestic sales, particularly of its higher-margin premium brand Genesis, ana-lysts said.
The wage agreement will help Hy-undai avert production losses as it tries to regain ground in the US mar-ket with its new Palisade SUV, shipped from South Korea.
Burger King’s China franchisee hires Citi for stake sale
ReutersHong Kong
Tab Food Investments (TFI),
the biggest worldwide
franchisee of Burger King,
has asked Citigroup to help
to sell a minority stake in the
business in China and Turkey, a
deal which could fetch at least
$200mn, two sources familiar
with the matter said.
Istanbul-based TFI, founded
by the Kurdoglu family, oper-
ates nearly 1,700 Burger King
outlets in Turkey and China.
TFI began investing in China
in 2012 and now has a network
of more than 1,000 Burger
King restaurants in more than
150 Chinese cities, according to
its website.
The company, also a
franchisee of fast-food chicken
chain Popeyes Louisiana
Kitchen and pizza brand
Sbarro, last year postponed
https://reut.rs/2UaQJGU plans
for a $220mn initial public
off ering in New York amid
market jitters.
TFI wants the value of the
potential stake sale to imply an
enterprise value of about $1bn,
the sources said.
First-round indicative bids
will be due by the end of
next week, one source, who
declined to be named as the
information was not public,
said.
TFI is seeking new partners
to help speed up growth in
China through new restaurant
openings, food-delivery serv-
ices and digital transformation,
the source said.
The source also said TFI was
considering listing its business-
es in China and Turkey, or only
the China franchise, in Hong
Kong as early as next year.
TFI made about $70mn in
earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation
last year.
Its 2019 EBITDA is expected
to be about $90mn, one of the
sources said. TFI said its China
and Turkey operations con-
tinue to attract the attention of
potential investors.
“In the current period, there
is an increasing investor inter-
est in our company,” Burcu
Bati, TFI’s chief financial off icer,
told Reuters in an emailed
statement.”TFI is always open
to evaluate strategic options
that would be in the best inter-
est of the company.”
Citigroup declined to com-
ment. Burger King’s major
rivals include KFC, Pizza Hut
and Taco Bell brands in China,
for which exclusive licences
are held by Yum China, a Yum
Brands spin-off .
McDonald’s Corp sold the
bulk of its China business to
state-backed conglomerate
CITIC Ltd and private equity
giant Carlyle Group in 2017.
TFI’s China business is also
part-owned by private equity
firm Cartesian Capital Group
and Restaurant Brands Inter-
national, the owner of Burger
King itself.
Musk to join China AI summit despite Trump ordering firms ‘out’BloombergBeijing
From Jack Ma to Pony Ma, the leading lights of China’s Internet industry gather in Shanghai this week to showcase the country’s latest advances in artificial intelligence.But the real headliner could be American entrepreneur Elon Musk.The Tesla Inc and SpaceX impresario features prominently on the opening-day card of the World AI Conference, which kicks off today in Shanghai as a rallying cry of sorts for China’s burgeoning AI industry – one of the few arenas in which the race for supremacy remains wide open and Chinese achievements have both stunned and spooked Washington.Elon Musk Musk’s presence at the important Beijing-endorsed AI symposium lends credence to China’s vision of becoming the world leader in the technology by 2030 and
comes as Donald Trump wages a campaign to rein in the world’s No 2 economy.Musk is scheduled to kick things off by engaging Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma in what’s expected to be a free-wheeling debate with one of China’s most lionised corporate chieftains.Zhang Hongtao, one of the event’s organisers, said Musk’s attendance had been secured “quite early,” and that Musk would share more on the future development of Tesla’s Shanghai investment with conference delegates.A Tesla spokeswoman confirmed Musk’s attendance Tuesday.Musk tweeted this month he’s in Shanghai to take the wraps off the China chapter of his Boring Co passion project, though he’s expected to tout his other interests while in the financial capital.Tesla, which spent years haggling before it became the first foreign automaker to own a Chinese car-manufacturing facility, views the
country as an increasingly important market as US incentives for electric vehicles dwindle.The Tesla chief executive is doubling down at a time of near-unprecedented uncertainty for American businesses struggling to tap the vast market.At home, Trump’s threatening to try and oust US corporations from China – though it’s unclear whether he has the legal wherewithal to do so – and has criticised companies with huge Chinese footprints.Within the Asian nation, Beijing is exhibiting an increasing willingness to clamp down on foreign corporations that don’t play by its rules. Both superpowers are exchanging fire via punitive trade tariffs, exacerbating the global tumult. Into the fray steps one of corporate America’s most prominent – and controversial – figures.Musk is personally championing Tesla’s self-driving technology, an “Autopilot” function he hopes to
make more capable over time.It’s unclear why the billionaire is risking his home government’s wrath by granting the Shanghai conference his stamp of authority, but it may have something to do with the fact that Tesla relies on China for about 11% of revenue.It’s erecting a multi-billion dollar gigafactory in Shanghai that will produce batteries as well as cars for the local market.“It’s a bit political when Trump’s big concern is that China has the aspiration to be the leader in AI, and the ramifications that has in military, tech and industrial leadership,” said Mark Tanner, founder of Shanghai-based research and marketing company China Skinny.“One interesting area to watch will be the values that China may incorporate into AI algorithms, which could be quite different to those in the West.”Broadly defined as anything from autonomous driving and robot waiters to facial recognition systems,
names like Megvii Technology Ltd and Sensetime Group Ltd, both backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, are showing the way for the nascent industry.Megvii, backed by some of the nation’s most prominent state firms and tech corporations, filed in the last week for an IPO that could raise as much as $1bn, in what’s regarded as the industry’s de facto coming-out party.Apart from Ma, the heads of other important technology innovators from Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Pony Ma to Didi Chuxing’s Cheng Wei will also take the stage to champion their country’s AI ambitions.They’re unlikely to pull their punches.Tencent, Alibaba and other established technology companies are not just at the forefront of the industry’s developments, they’re also handing billions to the likes of Sensetime and Megvii.To Beijing, what’s at stake is no less than China’s deserved place at the
nexus of the modern global economy.State-run media have become less vocal in stating the goal of AI supremacy as America begins to go after its champions.His administration has levied potentially life-threatening sanctions on the sale of American technology to Huawei Technologies Co, the company at the heart of US-Chinese tensions.It’s said to be considering adding the likes of Megvii to the unreliable entity list alongside Huawei.Washington is also taking more direct action, tightening scrutiny over research and researchers via actions the academic community has decried as stifling vital scientific exchanges.“As President Xi said, the conference is all about mutual promotion, security safeguarding and outcome sharing,” said Zhang Ying, an official with the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization. “We hope to take the chance to make more friends.”
A Hyundai Motor Genesis G90 sedan stands on display at the company’s Motorstudio showroom in Goyang, South Korea. The auto maker and its South Korean workers’ union have reached a tentative wage deal and averted strike action for the first time in eight years, sending the automaker’s shares up by more than 4%.
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Thursday, August 29, 20194
ReutersLondon
British travel operator Thomas Cook Group said yesterday it had agreed the main terms of a res-
cue package that will see China’s Fosun Tourism take over its tour operations and creditor banks and bondholders ac-quire its airline.
The world’s oldest travel company and pioneer of the package tour, has strug-gled with intense competition in popu-lar destinations, high debt levels and an unusually hot summer in 2018 which re-duced its last-minute bookings.
The debt burden meant the company had to sell 3mn holidays a year just to pay the interest, it said last month.
Thomas Cook also said in July that it was working to secure new investment from shareholder Fosun Tourism which would see the Chinese group take con-trol of the business, along with Thomas Cook’s lenders whose debt would be converted into equity.
The terms announced yesterday will see Fosun – whose Chinese parent owns all-inclusive holiday fi rm Club Med – contribute £450mn ($552mn) of new money in return for at least 75% of the tour operator business and 25% of the group’s airline.
Thomas Cook’s lending banks and bondholders will stump up a further £450mn and convert their existing debt to equity, giving them in total about 75% of the airline and up to 25% in the tour operator business, the group said.
The recapitalisation plan, which is subject to a legally binding agreement between the parties, will result in a signifi cant dilution in existing Tho-mas Cook shareholders’ interests, the company said, but it had decided it was the best way to secure the future of the group for all its stakeholders.
Shares in Thomas Cook, which were trading at 150 pence in May 2018, were down 12% at just above 6 pence yesterday.
Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said shareholders in the troubled travel company may have to accept that their investment could be worthless. “Investors are simply trying to cash out and crystallise any value left
in their investment before the refi nanc-ing, for fear there could be nothing left if they wait,” he said.
Thomas Cook, founded by its name-sake in 1841, said it intended to main-tain the company’s listing on the Lon-don Stock Exchange if possible.
British trade union TSSA welcomed the plan. “This appears to be good news for our members as Thomas Cook’s
presence on our high streets looks to have been saved,” said leader Manuel Cortes.
Earlier this year, Thomas Cook said it was exploring a sale of its airline busi-ness, which consists of German carrier Condor and UK, Spanish and Scandi-navian operations, but a further profi t warning in May left management seek-ing a more radical solution to save the
business. Analyst Mark Irvine-Fortes-cue at Stifel said the airline was likely to be put up for sale again in due course, making for an uncertain relationship with the tour operator.
Fosun Tourism’s parent Fosun Inter-national was co-founded by billionaire Guo Guangchang and is one of China’s biggest conglomerates. It has spent bil-lions of dollars over the past decade on
healthcare, tourism and fashion com-panies in the United States and Europe.
As well as Club Med, Fosun Inter-national also owns English Premier League soccer team Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Fosun said earlier this year it would adopt an asset-light strat-egy and run Club Med resorts it plans to launch in China and other countries under management contracts.
China’s Fosun set to save UKtravel operator Thomas Cook
Pedestrians pass a Thomas Cook Group travel agency store in Three Bridges, UK. The British travel operator said yesterday it had agreed the main terms of a rescue package that will see China’s Fosun Tourism take over its tour operations and creditor banks and bondholders acquire its airline.
Pakistan govt sees record high 8.9% fiscal deficitInternewsIslamabad
The first year of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)
government concluded with a record 8.9% fiscal defi-
cit, perhaps the highest in the country’s history, as
revenues plummeted while expenditures remained
at the same level they were at the previous year,
when expressed as a percentage of GDP.
In absolute terms, however, expenditures broke
previous records while revenues were stagnant.
As a result, the fiscal deficit, which is the diff erence
between revenues and expenditures of the federal
government, came in at a record 8.9% of GDP.
As late as June 2019 the government had an-
nounced that it intended to keep the deficit at 7.1% of
GDP, whereas its target at the start of the year was
set at 4.9%.
Since the country’s GDP is Rs38.6tn at current
market prices, each percentage point increase in the
deficit numbers denotes significant slippage.
The details of fiscal operations released by the
ministry of finance put the country’s full year fiscal
deficit at Rs3.445tn or 8.9% of GDP the highest since
1979-80 as per past Pakistan Economic Surveys.
The deficit stood at Rs2.26tn or 6.6% of GDP in the
previous year.
All major fiscal indicators both on expenditure and
revenue sides showed deterioration over the outgo-
ing fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2019.
The numbers show that whatever eff orts were
made to control a blow-out on expenditures ended
in grief, even though sharp revenue shortfalls had
begun to surface much earlier in first three quarters
of the year.
Much of the increase in the deficit came in the last
quarter, it seems.
The deficit stood at 5% of GDP by March 31 of this
year, but leapt by a staggering 80% (or Rs1.523tn)
in the last quarter of the fiscal year that runs from
March to June.
“I have never seen such a high fiscal deficit in my
career,” said Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan, the former
economic adviser and now dean of the business
school at National University of Science and Technol-
ogy (Nust), adding that the ministry of finance never
focused on expenditure control while revenues were
heading to historic shortfalls.
He contends the increase in discount rate under
the IMF programme contributed about Rs1,110bn
to the interest payments, including Rs1,020bn on
domestic debt and around Rs90bn on external debt,
claiming what he said were “rules of thumb” followed
by economists when drawing these calculations.
Secondly, he attributed the devaluation of ex-
change rate to the problem, claiming “it also added
about Rs3.2tn to the public debt.
When interest payments go up, so does current
expenditure and total expenditure”.
The deficit jumped despite a steep 45% lower de-
velopment spending during fiscal year 2018-19 when
compared to a year before.
Pakistan to okay e-commercepolicy framework next weekInternewsKarachi
The federal cabinet of Pakistan is likely to approve the country’s fi rst e-commerce policy frame-
work next week with the commerce ministry currently gathering feedback from the stakeholders on the policy’s draft that envisages new regulations and consumer protection laws in the Rs40bn online shopping market.
The ministry of commerce is seeking comments on the draft of the e-com-merce policy framework from stake-holders, industry offi cials said. “They want our fi nal comments before they present to the cabinet on September 3,” an e-commerce business executive said.
The policy covers and provides guide-lines on key components for promotion of e-commerce, including regulatory environment, fi nancial inclusion and digitisation through payment infra-structure, empowering youth and small and medium enterprises, consumer pro-tection, taxation, information and com-munication technology infrastructure,
logistics, data sovereignty and engage-ment in multilateral negotiations.
Sales of local and foreign e-commerce sites surged 93.7% to Rs40.1bn last year.
The e-commerce value didn’t include cash-on-delivery transactions that ac-count for 60% of all the e-retail trans-actions. Number of online merchants has exceeded 1,242.
The commerce ministry expect the complete abolition of cash-on-delivery transactions within 10 years of imple-menting the new policy framework.
The commerce ministry said Pakistan has more than 2,000 IT companies and call centres and the number is growing every year.
There are more than 300,000 Eng-lish-speaking IT professionals with ex-pertise in current and emerging IT prod-ucts and technologies and 13 software technology parks.
More than 20,000 IT graduates and engineers are produced each year.
Enabling tech environment is cata-lysing growth in number of online mer-chants and preferences of consumers towards Internet shopping.
Mobile phone subscribers exceeded
161mn, while there are 69mn 3G/4G subscribers with the modern mobile technology having 32.72% penetration, according to the Pakistan Telecommu-nication Authority.
Ministry of commerce said the coun-try’s basic laws concerning information technology extend legal recognition to transactions carried out in the digital environment and electronic payments.
“At present, there is no mechanism/registry for e-commerce businesses,” it said in the new draft of the policy. “Generally e-commerce is regulated un-der the statutes concerning traditional commerce.
This gives rise to various concerns for the industry and the concerned authori-ties.”
The policy framework proposes a simplifi ed online registration of e-com-merce businesses with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and making it mandatory for them to maintain a physical address in Pakistan.
Measures for protection against coun-terfeit goods and a code of conduct are proposed under the policy framework to enhance consumers’ trust. It was
proposed that banking services should be improved for promoting use of lo-cal online merchant accounts by online businesses and exploring the possibility of establishing an international payment gateway in the country.
E-commerce business facilitation hubs and a national B-to-C marketplace were proposed to improve access to fi -nance for small and medium enterprises for digitisation and skill development.
It was proposed that online busi-nesses should be bound to provide ef-fi cient customer support and dispute resolution mechanisms and federal and provincial governments should make ar-rangements for establishing independ-ent alternate dispute resolution centres for expeditious settlement of disputes.
The policy framework further recom-mended that online businesses should be treated at par with other businesses in terms of provincial sales tax.
The commerce ministry said the pace of increase in e-commerce adoption in Pakistan has been encouraging over the past few years, but the country still lags behind the regional and comparable economies in terms of e-commerce.
Pakistani one thousand rupee banknotes and coins are seen at a bank in Islamabad. The first year of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government concluded with a record 8.9% fiscal deficit, perhaps the highest in the country’s history, as revenues plummeted while expenditures remained at the same level they were at the previous year, when expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product.
PBoC to issue cryptocurrency as soon as Nov
ReutersBeijing
China plans to issue its own
crytocurrency as early as No-
vember 11, the country’s busiest
shopping day for online sales,
US financial magazine Forbes
said, citing two sources familiar
with the matter. The People’s
Bank of China (PBoC) has been
exploring the possibility of
launching its own digital curren-
cy since 2014 to cut the costs
of circulating traditional paper
money and boost policymakers’
control of money supply.
Some analysts say China ap-
pears to have accelerated the
push to digital money after US
social media giant Facebook
announced plans in June to
launch digital coin Libra – the
most high-profile proposed
digital currency so far – within a
year, a move that has shocked
global policymakers and raised
regulatory concerns.
The PBoC plans to distribute
its cryptocurrency through at
least seven institutions in the
initial stage, including Chinese
tech giants Alibaba and Tencent,
China’s largest payments card
issuer China UnionPay, and four
Chinese state-owned banks,
the report said, citing a source
involved in the development of
the cryptocurrency and a former
employee of one of the institu-
tions who is now an independent
researcher.
Paul Schulte, who worked as
global head of financial strategy
for China Construction Bank until
2012, was reported saying the
banks include China’s biggest
lender the Industrial and Com-
mercial Bank of China, China Con-
struction Bank, Bank of China and
the Agricultural Bank of China.
The PBoC did not immediately
reply to Reuters’ faxed request
for comment. Alibaba declined
to comment, while the other six
institutions did not immediately
provide any comment. Earlier
this month, Mu Changchun,
deputy director of PBoC’s pay-
ments department, told a forum
the PBoC is “almost ready” to
launch China’s own sovereign
digital currency.
Amazon in talks to invest in Indonesia’s Gojek
BloombergWashington
Amazon.com Inc is in talks to
make an investment in Indonesian
ride-hailing giant Gojek, people
familiar with the negotiations said,
a move that could bolster the US
company’s presence in Southeast
Asia.
Amazon is one of the firms that
have been negotiating with Gojek
to join its ongoing funding round,
according to the people, who asked
not to be identified as the discus-
sions are private.
Under one scenario that has
been considered, Amazon may
make a meaningful investment for
a slice of Indonesia’s most valuable
startup, said one of the people. The
talks may still fall apart or the terms
may change. A Gojek representa-
tive declined to comment. Amazon
couldn’t immediately be reached
for comment outside of normal
business hours.
The Wall Street Journal earlier
reported on the discussions.
The move could mark Amazon’s
most significant investment in
Indonesia, one of the last frontiers
of e-commerce. The Seattle-based
retail giant took its first step into
the region in 2017 when it entered
Singapore with Amazon Prime
Now. But in Indonesia, by far the re-
gion’s biggest and most promising
market with 260mn people, it has
no presence. By contrast, Chinese
tech titans have made inroads into
the region recently.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
spent billions of dollars to acquire
online shopping company Lazada
Group and invested in homegrown
Indonesian e-commerce compa-
nies Tokopedia PT and Bukalapak.
Tencent Holdings Ltd has backed
Sea Ltd, whose mobile shopping
unit Shopee is battling fiercely with
Lazada. Gojek debuted its app for
hailing motorbike taxis in Jakarta
in 2015. Since then, the company
has evolved into a “super app”
– part ride-sharing service, part
food-delivery business and part
digital-wallet provider.
It also off ers a dozen other on-
demand services such as booking a
cleaner and medicine delivery.
As part of the ongoing Series F
funding round, Gojek – valued at
$10bn, according to CB Insights –
has secured investments from Visa
Inc, Thailand’s Siam Commercial
Bank Plc, Mitsubishi Motors Corp,
Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ
Lease & Finance Co this year.
BUSINESS5Gulf Times
Thursday, August 29, 2019
AFPHong Kong
Asian markets swung yesterday, gripped by uncertainty over the China-US trade talks, with warn-
ings that Donald Trump’s unpredictabil-ity could be harming the chances of an eventual agreement.
Trading has been volatile this week after the US president’s weekend out-burst against Beijing and announcement of more tariff s on $550bn of goods were followed Monday by him saying the two sides had spoken by phone, and negotia-tions would resume soon.
China, however, has not confi rmed any calls took place, while media in the coun-try have played down the chances of more talks or the leadership’s need for a deal.
The developments are the latest in a series of moves by the White House that have seen it slam China before holding out an olive branch.
Analysts say traders are growing un-easy with the strategy.
Stephen Innes at Valour Markets said: “There remains a high degree of scepti-cism regarding the sincerity of Trump’s comments or even if the Chinese are will-ing to recommence negotiations.”
He pointed out that an infl ammatory tweet on Friday in which Trump labelled Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell and China’s Xi Jinping enemies of the US had resonated among traders.
“Risk-off remains in vogue as trade disputes continue to fl are, suggesting any risk assets recovery will remain extremely fragile.”
Michael Hewson, chief market ana-lyst at CMC Markets UK, added: “Quite simply last Friday’s events appear to have done signifi cant damage to investor ap-petite towards risk, and as such the bar to a turnaround is likely to be on the high side.
“It’s not diffi cult to understand inves-tor reticence in this regard, with the fre-quent Twitter interventions by President Trump going a long way to undermine
confi dence in the reliability of the US po-sition on trade, with Friday’s events likely to have been a tipping point for some.”
The editor of the state-run Global Times said in a tweet that Beijing was “not putting so much emphasis on trade talks”, instead focusing on boosting the econo-my, and it was becoming tougher for the US to apply pressure.
“A four-word disclaimer, ‘large grain of salt’, on any presidential pronouncements
would probably do wonders for reducing the whipsaw volatility of the last week,” said Jeff rey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Worries about the outlook continue to dim, with the yield on two-year Treas-ury notes rising above those for 10-year notes, which is a widely accepted sign a recession is likely.
Tokyo ended 0.1% higher at 20,479.42, Seoul was 0.9% up and Sydney rose 0.5%,
with gains also in Taipei, Wellington, Ma-nila and Jakarta.
But Shanghai ended down 0.3% at 2,893.76 and Hong Kong slipped 0.2% at 25,615.48 – a third straight loss.
Singapore also shed 0.2% in the after-noon and Mumbai dropped 0.4%.
China’s yuan edged up slightly after its latest sharp sell-off , but remains lodged around 11-year lows.
Oil prices climbed more than 1% to
build on Tuesday’s surge that came in re-sponse to fi gures showing US stockpiles dived more than 11mn barrels last week, lifting hopes for demand and off setting worries about the impact of the trade war. Also providing support was Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s call for the United States to lift all sanctions against it before he would meet Trump, after the US leader had said he would be open to talks.
Asian markets mixed as trade dispute continues
Women talk in front of a screen showing stock prices at a securities company in Beijing. The Shanghai bourse ended down 0.3% at 2,893.76 points yesterday.
Recession signals keep EM currencies subduedReutersLondon
Fresh signals from the US bond market about a possible recession yesterday kept emerging market
investors on edge, with Chinese stocks failing to get a boost from stimulus measures unveiled to off set the impact of US trade pressures.
Beijing shares closed about 0.3% low-er even as the government took steps on Tuesday to boost consumption, includ-ing possible removal of restrictions on auto purchases.
The MSCI’s index for EM stocks was largely fl at, with stock markets in India, Turkey and South Africa all in the red.
A downbeat mood hit risk assets after a key part of the US yield curve, a closely watched recession indicator, inverted further as a deepening US-China trade row raised fears of a global slowdown.
China’s off shore yuan steadied at 7.1693 per dollar after a 10-day losing steak as the central bank set its offi cial
midpoint fi rmer than market expecta-tions, seen as an attempt to slow the pace of depreciation.
“Calculating the amount of RMB de-preciation needed to off set tariff -related price changes shows that it has been mostly reactive and defensive, and Bei-jing has not allowed the RMB to weaken more than justifi ed by tariff s – either implemented or threatened,” Societe Generale’s Wei Yao wrote in a note.
“The USD-RMB would ‘need’ to rise to 7.26 on October 1 and to 7.51 on De-cember 15 to off set the tariff s currently planned.”
Among other currencies, the Turk-ish lira gained 0.4%, recovering from a two-month low as latest data showed the country’s economic confi dence in-dex rose to 87.1 points in August, a jump of 7.9% from a month earlier.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who spoke to President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, said both countries had agreed steps to tackle militants in north-west Syria and “normalise” the situation there after a Syrian army off ensive encir-
cled rebel fi ghters and a Turkish military post. However, the gains in the lira were limited as oil prices rose, and currencies of other net oil importers including the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah weakened.
South Africa’s rand, among the worst performing emerging currencies this quarter amid worries over domestic growth and its fi scal budget, was fl at.
The South African government may be forced to inject more money into state power fi rm Eskom by the end of March next year, should the struggling utility fail to meet its borrowing plan, accord-ing to a National Treasury presentation.
The Saudi stock index dropped over 0.5% after a second batch of Saudi shares was added to the MSCI emerging markets index following its fi rst inclu-sion in May.
The inclusion of Saudi stocks in the MSCI and FTSE indexes has attracted billions of dollars from foreign investors, who have been net buyers every month this year, sending the Saudi index up nearly 20% at its peak in May.
Russian stocks likely to falterthis year, reboundin 2020ReutersMoscow
Russia’s stock market is likely
to struggle to climb higher by
the end of this year, along with
its global peers, but a Reuters
poll of market experts foresees
it gaining again in 2020.
Risks of more Western
sanctions against Moscow,
particularly on its sovereign
debt, have partly materialised
without causing a sell-off in
the stock market. Now, global
economic risks are expected to
play a more important role for
Russian stocks.
After posting solid gains
in the first seven months of
2019, Russian stock indexes
slipped in August and are likely
to finish this year near current
levels, before rising again by
the end of 2020, a consensus
forecast of around 12 analysts
showed.
The rouble-based MOEX in-
dex is forecast to decline more
than 2% by the end of this year
from 2659.35 on August 27.
Forecasts in the poll ranged
from 2,400 to 2,900. “The
probability of a significant cor-
rection in equity markets this
year looks low,” said Konstan-
tin Bushuev, head of research
at Otkritie Brokerage.
The MOEX is seen staying
around the year-end level in
mid-2020 and then rising to
2,800 by the end of next year,
according to the poll, which
was conducted in the second
half of August. “Monetary eas-
ing is the main supportive fac-
tor for equities at the moment
besides fiscal stimulus,” said
Iskander Lutsko, chief invest-
ment strategist at ITI Capital.
The US Federal Reserve and
the European Central Bank are
expected to cut interest rates
amid threats of an economic
slowdown in the United States
and Germany.
Risks are skewed more to
the downside, as the S&P 500
index may fall to 2,400 to
2,500 next year amid stagna-
tion in the United States, said
Evgeny Loktyukhov, chief
analyst at Promsvyazbank.
The S&P 500 index was last
at 2876.47. “We consider our
look at the global economy
and markets as a conservative
one,” Loktyukhov said.
The Russian central bank,
contemplating sluggish
economic growth and slowing
inflation, is also seen lowering
the cost of lending by the end
of 2019. Trade wars, particularly
the one between the United
States and China, are set to re-
main the key downside risk for
markets and could overshadow
easier monetary policy.
“If the Fed doesn’t
deliver enough, (the) trade
war becomes uglier and the
recession fears realise, we
could see a longer period of
‘risk-off ’ across the globe,” said
Vladimir Miklashevsky, senior
economist and trading desk
strategist at Danske Bank.
Indian equities declineBloombergMumbai
Indian equities fell after a gauge showed investment and consumption worsened last month, sparking concerns about the prospect of economic growth recovering from a five-year low.The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.5% to 37,451.84 at the 3:30pm close in Mumbai, snapping a three-day rally. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also retreated 0.5%.Investors are assessing a spate of measures aimed at boosting India’s slowing economy, while global financial market volatility is heightened by the US-China trade dispute. A gauge measuring “animal spirits” showed car sales slumped the most in almost two decades and infrastructure output grew at the slowest pace in more than four years.The government last week pledged more steps to boost the economy, especially the property sector. A report Friday may show Asia’s third-biggest economy expanded 5.7% from a year
earlier, slower than the 5.8% pace reported in the previous quarter, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey.“Even if the government has started with some measures to boost the economy, broader concerns about the slowdown still linger,” said Sushant Kumar, an equity fund manager at Raay Global Investments Pvt in Mumbai.Sixteen of the 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, with a gauge of metal stocks dropping most.Twenty-four of the 31 Sensex members and 36 of the 50 Nifty companies fell. Yes Bank Ltd. slid 7.8%, the most among Sensex and Nifty members, after Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its debt score.Rival RBL Bank Ltd. slumped 12% to its lowest closing since October 2016. The lender recovered from a fall of as much as 20% after it said that a sale of 34.6 million shares was by its staff , who held the stock options, and not from the management.IDBI Bank Ltd. dropped 9.5% after S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to negative from stable.
Gold prices hit six-year peakReutersBengaluru
Gold held close to a more than six-year high yesterday, after rising more than 1% in the previous ses-
sion, as fears of a possible recession and the trade confl ict between China and the United States drove investors to safe haven assets.
Spot gold was fl at at $1,542.33 per ounce as of 1222 GMT.
On Monday it touched $1,554.56, its highest since April 2013.
US gold futures were up 0.2% at $1,555.“There is some kind of consolidation at
these price levels (around $1,550) and the market is assessing the next development in the US-China trade saga,” said SP Angel analyst Sergey Raevskiy.
While there are expectations for mon-etary policy easing in the euro zone, inver-sion in US Treasury yield curve increased
hopes for further rates cuts by the US cen-tral bank, he added.
Gold rose more than 1% on Tuesday as an inversion in the US yield curve and disap-pointing US economic data rekindled fears of a recession amid uncertainties around the trade dispute.
“People are beginning to think that the economy is not doing that well, there could be a possible recession, or more likely, a slowing economy, which means the Federal Reserve will have to cut rates and that sup-ports gold,” said John Sharma, an econo-mist with National Australia Bank.
Federal funds futures implied traders saw a 91% chance of a 25 basis-point rate cut by the US central bank next month.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday predicted a trade deal with China but optimism wilted after China’s foreign ministry spokesperson dismissed claims of phone calls between the two sides.
However, “if there are some sort of tan-
gible signs that the (trade) talks are going to restart, or at least that they are getting there, it would be a risk-on outcome and we can see yields go higher and push gold a bit lower,” said Ilya Spivak, senior currency strategist with DailyFx.
On the technical front, bullion’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) was around 70, indicating that the commodity was ap-proaching overbought territory.
“Gold has become a crowded trade, rais-ing the possibility of a short-term correc-tion,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
Elsewhere, spot silver jumped 1.5% to $18.44 an ounce, having touched $18.50, its highest level since April 2017.
“There is not much at present to suggest that the demand for gold and silver might abate,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note.
Spot platinum climbed 0.7% to $871.60 an ounce, after touching its highest in nearly a month, while palladium slipped 0.8% to $1,469.51.
Zad Holding CoWidam Food CoVodafone Qatar
United Development CoSalam International Investme
Qatar & Oman Investment CoQatar Navigation
Qatar National Cement CoQatar National Bank
Qatar Islamic InsuranceQatar Industrial Manufactur
Qatar International IslamicQatari Investors Group
Qatar Islamic BankQatar Gas Transport(Nakilat)Qatar General Insurance & ReQatar German Co For Medical
Qatar Fuel QscQatar First Bank
Qatar Electricity & Water CoQatar Exchange Index Etf
Qatar Cinema & Film DistribAl Rayan Qatar Etf
Qatar Insurance CoQatar Aluminum Manufacturing
Ooredoo QpscNational Leasing
Mazaya Qatar Real Estate DevMesaieed Petrochemical Holdi
Al Meera Consumer Goods CoMedicare Group
Mannai Corporation QscMasraf Al Rayan
Al Khalij Commercial BankIndustries Qatar
Islamic Holding GroupInvestment Holding Group
Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services
Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co
Doha Bank QpscDlala Holding
Commercial Bank PsqcBarwa Real Estate Co
Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAl Ahli Bank
13.45
6.15
1.22
1.36
0.39
0.51
6.00
5.62
18.52
5.99
3.02
7.69
1.91
15.60
2.31
3.50
0.63
21.41
0.30
15.30
9.92
2.15
2.27
3.13
0.77
6.83
0.65
0.73
2.70
14.88
7.64
3.43
3.55
1.15
10.59
2.00
0.51
4.77
1.57
0.61
1.06
2.60
0.69
4.53
3.40
1.69
0.74
-0.37
0.16
-0.81
-2.86
0.52
4.48
-2.76
1.26
-0.22
-1.80
0.33
0.00
-1.04
0.65
0.43
5.74
0.32
-0.88
1.35
0.13
2.30
0.00
1.12
2.29
-1.54
0.44
0.46
-0.54
-0.37
1.16
0.00
0.88
-0.28
-1.71
-0.19
-0.99
0.40
0.85
0.00
0.00
0.00
3.59
0.00
-0.66
0.00
0.00
-0.81
35,289
172,063
1,126,785
2,070,838
6,154,495
149,605
3,138
246,894
1,369,365
4,591
238,088
1,501,174
105,519
916,599
6,038,388
46,287
955,862
1,751,905
8,987,240
614,749
29,330
-
887
483,947
1,575,994
1,209,267
278,000
399,701
5,001,196
432,930
97,987
26,143
3,286,647
178,020
827,477
37,585
1,436,412
34,878
955,240
12,031,581
-
2,631,223
137,257
558,586
1,411,145
96,119
739,848
QATAR
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
KUWAIT
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
OMAN
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
KUWAIT
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
KUWAIT
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES
Oman PackagingOman Oil Marketing Company
Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance
Oman Intl MarketingOman Flour Mills
Oman Fisheries CoOman Europe Foods Industries
Oman Education & Training InOman Chromite
Oman ChlorineOman Ceramic Company
Oman Cement CoOman Cables Industry
Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50%Natl Aluminium Products
National Real Estate DevelopNational Mineral Water
National Life & General InsuNational Gas Co
National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog
National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog
Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat Insurance Co Saog
Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance
Muscat City Desalination CoMajan Glass Company
Majan CollegeHsbc Bank Oman
Hotels Management Co InternaGulf Stone
Gulf Mushroom CompanyGulf Investments Services
Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-SharGulf International Chemicals
Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co LtdGlobal Fin Investment
Galfar Engineering&ContractGalfar Engineering -Prefer
Financial Services Co.Financial Corp/The
Dhofar TourismDhofar Poultry
Dhofar Intl DevelopmentDhofar Insurance
Dhofar Generating Co SaocDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu
Dhofar CattlefeedDhofar Beverages Co
Construction Materials IndComputer Stationery Inds
Bankmuscat SaogBank Nizwa
Bank Dhofar SaogArabia Falcon Insurance Co
Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service
Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co
Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power
Al Sharqiya Invest HoldingAl Maha Petroleum Products M
Al Maha Ceramics Co SaocAl Madina Takaful Co Saoc
Al Madina Investment CoAl Kamil Power Co
Al Jazerah Services -PfdAl Jazeera Steel Products Co
Al Jazeera ServicesAl Izz Islamic Bank
Al Buraimi HotelAl Batinah PowerAl Batinah Hotels
Al Batinah Dev & InvAl Anwar Holdings Saog
Al Ahlia Insurance Co SaocAhli Bank
Acwa Power Barka SaogAbrasives Manufacturing Co S
A’saff a Foods Saog0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref
#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security
0.27
1.07
0.12
0.11
0.52
0.65
0.08
1.00
0.23
3.64
0.38
0.42
0.21
0.81
0.07
0.25
5.00
0.09
0.31
0.16
0.14
0.70
3.92
0.18
0.08
0.78
0.14
0.06
0.11
0.18
0.17
0.13
1.25
0.12
0.31
0.08
0.11
0.14
9.50
0.07
0.08
0.39
0.18
0.10
0.49
0.18
0.30
0.17
0.19
1.28
0.13
0.26
0.04
0.26
0.44
0.09
0.14
0.10
0.53
0.09
0.02
0.75
0.10
0.07
0.08
0.80
0.17
0.08
0.02
0.38
0.55
0.23
0.13
0.07
0.88
0.07
1.13
0.08
0.09
0.32
0.12
0.66
0.05
0.60
0.25
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-4.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
3.33
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.57
0.00
0.00
0.00
-1.56
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.59
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.25
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.53
0.00
0.00
0.00
-2.56
0.00
0.00
0.00
-1.41
0.00
0.00
-3.41
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-4.17
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-4.05
0.00
1.45
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.56
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-
-
-
1,204,922
-
12,520
565,832
-
-
-
-
-
23,726
391
-
-
-
-
20,000
-
-
-
-
42,407
-
-
-
187,840
-
-
-
2,328,079
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,149,539
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
25,000
-
-
-
31,500
-
1,156,391
1,398,831
368,300
-
-
300,000
-
-
1,284,192
274,830
-
-
-
201,859
50,000
-
-
-
3,000
77,361
-
61,115
-
-
395,453
-
133,333
-
-
-
-
-
-
Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment
Mabanee Co SakcInovest Co Bsc
Al-Deera Holding CoMena Real Estate Co
Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation
National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International InvestmeEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C
Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc
Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co KNational Shooting CompanyAl-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp
Wethaq Takaful Insurance CoSalbookh Trading Co Kscp
Aqar Real Estate InvestmentsHayat Communications
Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscTamkeen Holding Co
Alargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling
Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co
Palms Agro Production CoMubarrad Holding Co Ksc
Shuaiba Industrial CoAan Digital Services Co
First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co
National Cleaning CompanyUnited Real Estate Company
AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv
Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng
International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold
Warba Insurance CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve
Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak
Mobile Telecommunications CoEff ect Real Estate Co
Tamdeen Real Estate Co KscAl Mudon Intl Real Estate Co
Kuwait Cement Co KscSharjah Cement & Indus Devel
Kuwait Portland Cement CoEducational Holding Group
Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceAsiya Capital Investments Co
Kuwait Investment CoBurgan Bank
Kuwait Projects Co HoldingsAl Madina For Finance And In
Kuwait Insurance CoAl Masaken Intl Real Estate
Intl Financial AdvisorsFirst Investment Co Kscc
Al Mal Investment CompanyBayan Investment Co Kscc
Egypt Kuwait Holding Co SaeCoast Investment Development
Privatization Holding CompanInjazzat Real State Company
Kuwait Cable Vision SakSanam Real Estate Co Kscc
Ithmaar Holding BscAviation Lease And Finance C
Arzan Financial Group For FiAjwan Gulf Real Estate Co
Kuwait Business Town Real EsFuture Kid Entertainment And
Specialities Group Holding CAbyaar Real Eastate Developm
Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate CKgl Logistics Company Kscc
Combined Group ContractingJiyad Holding Co Ksc
Warba Capital Holding CoGulf Investment House Ksc
Boubyan Bank K.S.CAhli United Bank B.S.C
Osos Holding Group Co
106.00
23.50
770.00
66.50
12.50
37.20
43.40
440.00
55.00
55.00
18.60
79.00
73.00
21.70
200.00
1,240.00
12.50
429.00
28.00
39.30
79.00
60.00
120.00
5.20
143.00
85.00
58.50
120.00
59.00
61.50
150.00
17.50
42.50
40.10
58.90
62.00
761.00
58.00
51.00
190.00
13.20
239.00
69.00
26.60
77.10
100.00
567.00
20.30
308.00
19.00
274.00
67.40
1,210.00
320.00
200.00
34.30
140.00
351.00
223.00
17.40
340.00
52.20
42.00
33.20
12.80
42.40
450.00
32.00
53.90
82.00
20.00
41.00
22.30
263.00
26.60
13.20
41.50
86.50
75.00
14.70
179.00
39.40
238.00
43.70
66.10
50.10
573.00
282.00
101.00
3.92
0.00
1.32
-0.75
5.93
-0.80
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.82
0.93
0.00
0.00
-0.79
0.00
0.00
-1.75
0.00
0.00
0.00
-1.89
0.00
-1.62
-2.17
0.84
0.00
-0.65
0.00
-0.57
0.00
-2.20
0.00
0.00
0.40
0.00
0.00
3.26
0.76
-0.42
0.00
1.14
0.13
0.00
-0.18
1.50
0.00
-1.55
3.40
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.86
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.30
0.00
6.00
0.00
-2.74
-2.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-0.38
-0.37
0.76
0.00
0.00
-1.32
0.00
0.00
0.25
1.71
1.63
-0.90
0.20
0.70
0.00
-0.98
360,492
1,580,934
736,807
40,000
355,126
2,724,084
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,594,768
10,000
-
-
5,010
-
-
709,035
-
-
133,988
12,598
-
90,665
167,325
18,105
-
60,055
-
1,660,271
-
10,000
-
513,760
1,466,366
174,105
18,650
10
89,000
3,992,113
-
217,205
102,734
-
1,047,171
171,774
-
115,537
35
-
-
-
-
4,375
486,250
4,952,858
1,467,132
74,051
-
-
296,546
514,964
176,506
185
-
1,098,055
61,680
-
-
-
-
521,315
3,308,501
4,123,828
-
-
270,232
7,517,642
-
341,445
1,299,299
60,250
197,320
20,254
354,220
7,206,684
189,980
Al-Eid Food KscQurain Petrochemical Industr
Advanced Technology CoEkttitab Holding Co Sak
Real Estate Trade Centers CoAcico Industries Co Kscc
Kipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum Services
Alimtiaz Investment GroupRas Al Khaimah White Cement
Kuwait Reinsurance Co KscKuwait & Gulf Link Transport
Humansoft Holding Co KscAutomated Systems Co Kscc
Metal & Recycling CoGulf Franchising Holding Co
Al-Enma’a Real Estate CoNational Mobile Telecommuni
Sanad Holding Co KsccUnicap Investment And Financ
Al Salam Group Holding CoAl Aman Investment Company
Mashaer Holding Co KscManazel Holding
Tijara And Real Estate InvesJazeera Airways Co Ksc
Commercial Real Estate CoNational International Co
Taameer Real Estate Invest CGulf Cement Co
Heavy Engineering And Ship BNational Real Estate Co
Al Safat Energy Holding CompKuwait National Cinema CoDanah Alsafat Foodstuff Co
Independent Petroleum GroupKuwait Real Estate Co Ksc
Salhia Real Estate Co KscGulf Cable & Electrical Ind
Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co
Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc
Gulf Insurance Group KscUmm Al Qaiwain General Inves
Aayan Leasing & InvestmentAlrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities CoYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C
Dulaqan Real Estate CoReal Estate Asset Management
61.20
340.00
930.00
16.10
24.20
139.00
92.00
1,099.00
131.00
66.40
158.00
71.00
3,165.00
80.00
20.00
160.00
47.80
718.00
0.00
44.00
37.80
57.70
69.90
28.10
42.00
970.00
93.00
65.00
18.90
58.00
405.00
83.00
20.50
810.00
28.00
441.00
83.00
332.00
447.00
749.00
59.00
96.00
70.00
622.00
78.90
56.70
31.00
134.00
194.00
66.50
350.00
95.40
0.00
0.00
0.00
-4.73
-10.70
0.00
0.00
0.00
-0.76
0.00
0.00
-1.25
0.16
0.00
-71.01
0.00
-1.24
-0.14
0.00
-3.93
0.80
-0.35
-0.14
0.72
0.00
0.00
-0.96
0.00
-4.06
0.00
-0.98
0.00
0.00
0.00
3.70
0.00
3.11
-0.60
3.47
-0.13
0.00
0.00
1.45
0.00
0.00
2.16
-9.88
0.75
-3.00
0.00
0.00
-10.00
-
203,383
-
35,532
36,400
165,000
-
-
1,593,606
-
-
165,050
102,079
-
303,032
-
513,874
1,603
-
101,236
341,740
20,000
605,071
2,650
-
213,066
215,003
-
394,612
-
1,322,688
797,248
-
-
50,005
-
6,239,886
1,000
2,710,989
3,036,835
-
-
551,996
-
-
11,322,338
10,000
519,555
30,000
-
-
1,000
OMAN
Company Name % Chg Volume
Voltamp Energy SaogVision Insurance Saoc
United Power/Energy Co- PrefUnited Power Co Saog
United Finance CoUbar Hotels & Resorts
Takaful OmanTaageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co
Sohar International BankSmn Power Holding Saog
Shell Oman Marketing - PrefShell Oman Marketing
Sharqiyah Desalination Co SaSembcorp Salalah Power & Wat
Salalah Port ServicesSalalah Mills Co
Salalah Beach Resort SaogSahara Hospitality
Renaissance Services SaogRaysut Cement Co
Phoenix Power Co SaocPackaging Co Ltd
OoredooOminvest
Oman United Insurance CoOman Telecommunications Co
Oman Refreshment CoOman Qatar Insurance Co
0.18
0.12
1.00
2.50
0.06
0.13
0.12
0.10
0.55
0.10
0.11
0.08
1.05
1.06
0.29
0.12
0.60
0.57
1.38
3.09
0.28
0.35
0.08
2.21
0.51
0.34
0.16
0.59
1.35
0.09
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.89
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.59
0.00
1.25
0.00
1.20
0.00
0.00
0.34
0.00
0.00
1,631
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
100
592,402
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
111,465
-
224,542
-
58,153
-
845,139
574,105
212
-
Sultan Center Food ProductsKuwait Foundry Co Sak
Kuwait Financial Centre SakAjial Real Estate Entmt
Kuwait Finance & InvestmentNational Industries Co Ksc
Kuwait Real Estate Holding CSecurities House/The
Boubyan Petrochemicals CoAl Ahli Bank Of Kuwait
Ahli United Bank (Almutahed)National Bank Of Kuwait
Commercial Bank Of KuwaitKuwait International Bank
Gulf BankAl-Massaleh Real Estate Co
Al Arabiya Real Estate CoKuwait Remal Real Estate Co
Alkout Industrial Projects CA’ayan Real Estate Co Sak
Investors Holding Group Co.KAl-Mazaya Holding Co
2.95
-1.92
0.41
-7.41
-0.24
1.72
0.00
1.10
0.13
1.29
-0.30
0.30
0.00
0.74
0.68
0.00
3.19
1.13
0.00
0.16
2.04
1.52
15,082
12,000
360,987
590
158,804
1,320
-
42,530
143,804
330,000
23,655
2,668,097
208,260
582,418
9,807,914
-
1,313,753
115,100
-
180,000
1,347,540
3,908,601
45.30
255.00
98.30
125.00
41.10
177.00
28.00
46.00
774.00
314.00
335.00
993.00
501.00
274.00
298.00
38.10
25.90
26.80
840.00
63.60
10.00
53.60
Lt Price
Gold bulls rejoice as negative real rates pave way for rallyBloombergSingapore
Gold investors are finding that the growing list of negatives in financial markets this year adds up to a very positive outlook. Among the most potent are negative real interest rates, which strengthen the case for holding the precious metal and underpin expectations for further gains.Bullion has hit the highest level in more than six years as the Federal Reserve and other central banks cut interest rates amid the trade war, while inflation remains stable. With bond prices on the rise as investors seek havens, that means the yields they now pay are lower than the pace of consumer price gains. That’s a tremendous boon for gold, which doesn’t pay interest.“The real rate represents the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset like gold,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity-markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA. “A lower real-rate environment reinforces the current safe-haven demand for gold generated by downside risks to the economic outlook tied to Sino-US trade relations.”Gold has rallied more than 20% in 2019, topping $1,500 an ounce, on a surge in demand being fanned by festering global trade tensions, slowing economic growth and investors seeking alternatives to risk assets, including equities. The troubled backdrop has prompted the Fed to reduce US borrowing costs for the first time in more than a decade. And around the world, the pile of debt that’s negative-yielding climbed to more than $16tn this month.“Expectations for central-bank policy easing notably by the Fed are building, and if realized, we could expect to see even lower nominal yields ahead,” said Tchilinguirian. “Assuming inflation remains level, then real rates will continue to fall, further making the case for holding gold.”The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 1.4711% on Tuesday, the lowest since mid-2016 and less than the pace of inflation. That means US real yields – taken as the diff erence between the two – are negative. The figure fell below zero earlier this month and it’s still dropping, according to a Bloomberg gauge.Real rates, which were last in negative territory
for a brief spell in 2018, spent a sustained period below zero from mid-2011 to mid-2012. During that period, gold surged, hitting a record above $1,900 an ounce in September 2011 as investors pushed up holdings in exchange-traded funds.UBS Group AG just boosted its price forecasts for gold and the bank sees the metal surging to $1,650 over 12 months as slowing economic growth and central-bank easing leave room for more inflows into ETFs. That bullish stance is founded, in part, on its
outlook for further declines in real rates.“We expect real rates in the US to fall further over the next 12 months,” the bank said in an August 26 report on commodity markets. The view is based on expectations for the Fed cutting rates by a further 75 basis points, equity markets remaining volatile, and a weakening of the dollar, it said.Fed policy makers meet next in September and investors expect another reduction in borrowing costs as the trade war drags on. Fed chairman Jerome Powell said this month
that while the US economy is in a favourable place it faces “significant risks,” stoking bets on another cut.“I don’t think we are out of the woods at all and Fed policy is ultimately too tight,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne. As central banks profile lower rates, as well as possible unconventional policy, real rates have further downside, according to Weston.Supported by that outlook, holdings in bullion-backed ETFs have surged this year, with the
latest 15.2 tonne influx on Tuesday taking them to highest since 2013. Spot gold traded 0.2% lower $1,539.52 an ounce yesterday.“We think that gold prices move in response to moves in real rates,” said Nicholas Johnson, managing director and portfolio manager for commodities at Pacific Investment Management Co “As real interest rates on US Treasuries fall, the real-rate spread between Treasuries and gold falls, which increases the relative attractiveness of holding gold, pushing up gold prices.”
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Thursday, August 29, 20196
Granulated gold is seen at a plant of gold refiner and bar manufacturer Valcambi SA in the southern Swiss town of Balerna (file). Gold has rallied more than 20% in 2019, topping $1,500 an ounce, on a surge in demand being fanned by festering global trade tensions, slowing economic growth and investors seeking alternatives to risk assets, including equities.
Pound dives on increased no-deal Brexit prospect amid extension of suspension of parliamentAFPLondon
The pound fell versus the dollar and euro yesterday as Britain’s government moved to extend
the suspension of parliament, increas-ing the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit.
Britain’s currency slid by more than 1% against both currencies in early business, before paring the loss to nearer 0.6% — still down some 3.7% over three months.
“The pace of sterling’s drop dem-onstrates yet again the currency’s sus-ceptibility to Brexit fears,” said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM trading group.
The pound’s plunge helped Lon-don’s benchmark FTSE 100 index out-perform as it features many multina-tionals with most of their earnings in dollars — whereas construction com-panies notably saw their shares take a tumble.
Across Europe, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to close at 7,114.71; Frankfurt’s DAX 30 was down 0.3% at 11,701.02, while Paris’ CAC 40 lost 0.3% at 5,368.80.
British Prime Minister Boris John-
son yesterday announced that the an-nual suspension of parliament would be extended until October 14 — just two weeks before the UK is set to leave the European Union.
“Such an event would curtail at-tempts to block a no-deal Brexit within the UK parliament,” Tan added.
Anti-Brexit MPs said Johnson’s move amounted to a coup and a decla-ration of war, branding the prime min-ister a dictator.
The extension “certainly caught markets off -guard and came at a time when the pound had been recouping some of its (previous Brexit-fuelled) losses”, noted Craig Erlam, senior mar-ket analyst at Oanda.
Fiona Cincotta at Cityindex said there was still more downside for sterling.
“Any bad news from Brussels regard-ing Irish backstop alternatives as talks kick off over there could send the pound tanking back towards the key psycho-logical support of $1.20,” she said.
Although the Dow Jones was in positive territory mid-session, euro-zone stock markets lost ground on a stronger euro, and uncertainty over China-US trade talks that weighed also on Asian equities.
A poll yesterday showed German
consumer sentiment is stabilising af-ter three months of decline and despite fears of a looming recession in Europe’s biggest economy.
Pollsters GfK said their forward-looking consumer barometer stood at 9.7 points, unchanged from August when it had fallen to its April 2017 level.
In commodities trading, oil prices extended Tuesday’s surge that came in response to fi gures showing US stock-piles dived more than 11mn barrels last week, lifting hopes for demand and off setting worries about the impact of a trade war.
Also providing support was Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s call for the United States to lift all sanctions against his country before he would meet Trump, after the US leader had said he would be open to talks.
The Islamic republic’s foreign min-ister has said the chances of a face-to-face were “unimaginable”, meaning there was little chance of a thawing of tensions that would see the return of Iranian oil onto markets.
In government bond markets, Italian bond yields fell below 1%, their lowest level ever, on hopes that a new gov-ernment can be formed without fresh elections.
Apple IncAmerican Express Co
Boeing Co/TheCaterpillar Inc
Cisco Systems IncChevron Corp
Walt Disney Co/TheDow Inc
Goldman Sachs Group IncHome Depot Inc
Intl Business Machines CorpIntel Corp
Johnson & JohnsonJpmorgan Chase & Co
Coca-Cola Co/TheMcdonald’s Corp
3M CoMerck & Co. Inc.
Microsoft CorpNike Inc -Cl B
Pfizer IncProcter & Gamble Co/The
Travelers Cos Inc/TheUnitedhealth Group Inc
United Technologies CorpVisa Inc-Class A Shares
Verizon Communications IncWalgreens Boots Alliance Inc
Walmart IncExxon Mobil Corp
205.21
118.66
358.21
114.51
46.87
116.85
136.12
42.45
200.32
220.65
132.80
45.84
127.34
106.42
54.69
217.04
156.64
86.05
135.19
83.49
34.95
120.55
147.16
228.23
126.03
177.94
57.87
49.87
112.77
67.61
0.51
0.77
0.98
1.00
0.17
0.88
1.21
3.11
1.14
1.12
1.24
0.11
-1.77
0.64
-0.05
0.46
0.57
0.62
-0.41
1.78
1.78
0.00
0.04
2.38
1.17
-0.25
1.21
0.85
0.31
0.63
2,103,055
132,282
169,961
246,265
1,259,109
353,781
460,739
760,000
85,785
183,971
163,605
1,762,170
874,805
726,371
632,330
159,083
142,718
512,423
2,178,055
275,676
1,664,452
359,113
63,509
351,097
116,726
343,881
744,536
369,937
332,657
902,335
DJIA
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Anglo American PlcAssociated British Foods Plc
Admiral Group PlcAshtead Group Plc
Antofagasta PlcAuto Trader Group Plc
Aviva PlcAstrazeneca PlcBae Systems Plc
Barclays PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc
Barratt Developments PlcBhp Group Plc
Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBritish Land Co Plc
Bunzl PlcBp Plc
Burberry Group PlcBt Group Plc
Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-DiCarnival PlcCentrica Plc
Compass Group PlcCroda International Plc
Crh PlcDcc Plc
Diageo PlcDirect Line Insurance Group
Evraz PlcExperian Plc
Easyjet PlcFerguson Plc
Fresnillo PlcGlencore Plc
Glaxosmithkline PlcGvc Holdings Plc
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc
Halma PlcHsbc Holdings Plc
Hiscox LtdIntl Consolidated Airline-Di
Intercontinental Hotels Grou3I Group Plc
Imperial Brands PlcInforma Plc
Intertek Group PlcItv Plc
Johnson Matthey PlcKingfisher Plc
Land Securities Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLloyds Banking Group Plc
London Stock Exchange GroupMicro Focus International
Marks & Spencer Group PlcMondi Plc
Melrose Industries PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets
National Grid PlcNmc Health Plc
Next PlcOcado Group Plc
Paddy Power Betfair PlcPrudential Plc
Persimmon PlcPearson Plc
Reckitt Benckiser Group PlcRoyal Bank Of Scotland Group
Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A ShsRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs
Relx PlcRio Tinto Plc
Rightmove PlcRolls-Royce Holdings PlcRsa Insurance Group Plc
Rentokil Initial PlcSainsbury (J) Plc
Schroders PlcSage Group Plc/The
Segro PlcSmurfit Kappa Group Plc
Standard Life Aberdeen PlcDs Smith Plc
Smiths Group PlcScottish Mortgage Inv Tr Plc
Smith & Nephew PlcSpirax-Sarco Engineering Plc
Sse PlcStandard Chartered Plc
St James’s Place PlcSevern Trent Plc
Tesco PlcTui Ag-Di
Taylor Wimpey PlcUnilever Plc
United Utilities Group PlcVodafone Group Plc
John Wood Group PlcWpp Plc
Whitbread Plc
1,717.60
2,260.00
2,124.00
2,133.00
821.40
526.00
353.50
7,266.00
536.80
136.16
2,830.00
625.00
1,712.00
3,775.00
509.80
1,978.50
498.75
2,115.00
162.60
2,700.00
3,366.00
67.52
2,081.00
4,564.00
2,646.00
6,834.00
3,454.50
286.30
485.40
2,508.00
944.80
5,820.00
728.00
225.20
1,692.40
618.00
2,023.00
1,861.00
1,924.00
581.80
1,553.00
416.70
5,092.00
1,081.00
2,061.00
862.60
5,330.00
114.85
2,831.00
194.15
771.80
216.70
49.52
6,880.00
1,555.40
188.75
1,554.50
170.50
184.20
854.60
2,371.00
5,840.00
1,228.00
0.00
1,326.00
1,875.00
822.80
6,365.00
182.60
2,280.50
2,270.50
1,958.50
3,989.00
529.00
745.00
520.40
445.60
197.25
2,690.00
689.40
772.20
2,452.00
246.40
327.30
1,558.50
513.50
1,967.00
7,740.00
1,119.00
610.60
930.40
2,057.00
218.80
821.80
143.10
5,136.00
806.00
152.78
364.90
950.80
4,342.00
1.61
-0.31
-1.89
-0.93
1.36
-1.72
-1.39
0.36
-0.78
-0.38
-0.07
-3.43
2.36
-4.84
-1.43
-2.39
2.19
0.28
1.63
0.41
-1.20
1.29
0.29
0.00
-0.53
-0.87
0.29
-0.93
0.48
-1.07
-2.70
-1.09
4.36
0.63
0.31
1.18
-0.88
-2.51
-1.41
0.15
-2.02
-1.42
0.12
0.19
-0.02
-0.19
-0.04
0.75
-0.07
0.60
-1.63
-1.37
-0.49
0.58
-0.73
-0.45
-2.60
1.58
1.10
0.06
3.18
-0.71
-0.65
0.00
-1.63
-2.85
1.71
1.77
-0.84
1.45
1.23
0.49
1.39
-0.32
-0.48
-1.55
-0.49
0.51
0.71
-0.52
-0.57
-1.53
-1.72
-1.33
-0.89
1.08
1.52
-0.71
-0.84
0.63
-0.85
0.24
2.39
-0.46
-3.57
0.80
1.38
0.99
-6.46
0.38
0.84
3,485,244
761,891
680,549
1,338,413
2,200,827
3,042,232
10,696,842
1,499,603
5,827,217
24,854,888
4,272,426
3,772,883
5,396,239
472,494
4,546,058
1,870,345
52,861,943
828,919
23,894,327
374,898
713,507
21,775,700
2,393,974
274,226
1,100,354
237,436
3,081,084
3,906,615
2,787,264
1,377,185
2,013,612
638,117
2,812,843
29,142,268
4,305,796
2,690,520
321,454
687,750
801,316
27,808,004
556,267
5,461,943
599,883
1,244,842
2,255,355
1,718,165
300,113
11,344,320
332,210
16,801,514
2,321,259
17,197,002
123,280,192
348,664
1,955,131
8,585,727
2,323,454
9,821,264
8,749,517
4,899,997
665,901
363,536
771,331
-
10,914,076
1,637,872
1,847,100
1,279,895
12,112,851
5,954,114
3,560,566
2,962,054
2,291,297
1,774,056
3,603,464
2,075,989
4,201,500
8,224,202
384,167
1,574,813
1,604,048
217,330
8,484,756
2,415,626
778,295
2,511,805
2,601,188
217,964
2,648,063
5,388,008
1,440,537
492,187
22,645,174
2,063,471
14,887,799
1,943,284
1,440,428
43,623,619
5,503,076
2,143,324
474,331
FTSE 100
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Japan Airlines Co LtdRecruit Holdings Co Ltd
Softbank CorpKyocera Corp
Nissan Motor Co LtdT&D Holdings Inc
Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp
Nitto Denko CorpHitachi Ltd
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings IncSumitomo Corp
Canon IncEisai Co Ltd
Nintendo Co LtdShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd
Mitsubishi CorpSmc Corp
3,266.00
3,313.00
1,494.50
6,300.00
648.40
1,011.50
6,889.00
2,868.00
4,850.00
3,569.00
3,450.00
1,199.50
1,560.00
2,738.50
5,305.00
40,350.00
10,475.00
2,541.50
39,020.00
-0.27
0.18
-0.70
1.76
0.17
0.25
-0.43
2.45
-0.59
0.17
-0.35
-1.24
0.32
-0.25
-0.32
0.25
0.10
-0.51
-2.62
1,033,100
2,815,000
9,331,500
1,345,000
12,113,400
1,606,600
3,273,100
5,835,800
635,600
2,022,100
3,931,200
2,585,900
2,846,700
2,187,600
761,000
1,029,700
715,900
4,447,300
186,300
TOKYO
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd
Unicharm CorpNomura Holdings Inc
Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdSubaru Corp
Sumitomo Realty & DevelopmenNtt Docomo Inc
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp
Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp
Mizuho Financial Group IncSumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin
Japan Tobacco IncSumitomo Electric Industries
Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp
Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd
Central Japan Railway CoNitori Holdings Co Ltd
Ajinomoto Co IncDaikin Industries Ltd
Mitsui Fudosan Co LtdOno Pharmaceutical Co Ltd
Toray Industries IncBridgestone Corp
Sony CorpAstellas Pharma Inc
Hoya CorpNippon Steel Corp
Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone
Jxtg Holdings IncMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd
Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp
Sompo Holdings IncDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd
Dai-Ichi Life Holdings IncMazda Motor Corp
Komatsu LtdWest Japan Railway Co
Kao CorpMitsui & Co Ltd
Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd
Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd
Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc
Aeon Co LtdAsahi Kasei Corp
Kirin Holdings Co LtdMarubeni Corp
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial GroMitsubishi Chemical Holdings
Fanuc CorpFast Retailing Co Ltd
Ms&Ad Insurance Group HoldinKubota Corp
Seven & I Holdings Co LtdInpex Corp
Resona Holdings IncFujifilm Holdings Corp
Yamato Holdings Co LtdChubu Electric Power Co Inc
Mitsubishi Estate Co LtdMitsubishi Heavy Industries
Sysmex CorpShiseido Co Ltd
Shionogi & Co LtdTerumo Corp
Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd
East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp
Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr
13,590.00
1,112.50
3,203.00
416.10
6,906.00
2,868.50
4,044.00
2,664.00
2,915.00
1,528.50
4,915.00
61,400.00
152.80
3,403.00
2,230.50
1,213.50
445.40
4,656.00
816.20
8,258.00
20,890.00
15,675.00
1,933.50
13,365.00
2,528.00
1,975.00
753.50
3,977.00
5,893.00
1,443.50
8,585.00
1,446.00
4,085.00
5,064.00
424.70
4,357.00
1,266.00
4,386.00
4,188.00
3,332.00
1,421.00
880.50
2,212.00
8,887.00
7,708.00
1,627.00
13,670.00
4,373.00
15,295.00
1,869.00
9,090.00
5,418.00
1,842.00
943.10
2,061.50
664.30
498.40
716.80
17,845.00
62,450.00
3,330.00
1,498.00
3,751.00
898.00
403.40
4,506.00
1,809.00
1,542.00
2,048.00
3,923.00
6,577.00
8,770.00
5,708.00
3,094.00
2,664.00
18,855.00
10,155.00
2,083.00
3,611.00
1,253.00
3,427.00
-0.80
0.27
3.32
1.31
-1.31
-0.19
1.68
1.93
0.05
0.76
0.14
0.39
-0.07
-0.21
-0.84
-0.61
-0.04
0.19
0.89
0.10
0.75
-0.10
0.83
-0.04
2.24
0.20
0.69
-0.62
0.19
-0.17
0.14
-0.65
-0.61
2.57
-0.31
-0.30
1.61
-0.68
0.41
0.70
-0.21
1.16
-0.45
0.91
0.34
1.12
-0.18
0.46
0.59
0.19
0.66
0.58
-2.10
0.30
-0.19
-0.27
0.24
0.67
-0.08
0.19
-0.15
-0.20
1.52
1.29
-0.02
0.11
-0.14
0.95
2.58
-0.18
-0.14
2.10
-0.19
-1.34
0.81
-1.33
0.54
0.07
0.45
-0.48
-0.23
TOKYO
Company Name Lt Price % Chg
Ck Hutchison Holdings LtdHang Lung Properties Ltd
Ck Infrastructure Holdings LHengan Intl Group Co Ltd
China Shenhua Energy Co-HCspc Pharmaceutical Group Lt
Hang Seng Bank LtdChina Resources Land Ltd
Ck Asset Holdings LtdSino Biopharmaceutical
Henderson Land DevelopmentAia Group Ltd
Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HWant Want China Holdings Ltd
Sun Hung Kai PropertiesNew World Development
Geely Automobile Holdings LtSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl A
Sands China LtdWharf Real Estate Investment
Clp Holdings LtdCountry Garden Holdings Co
Aac Technologies Holdings InShenzhou International GroupPing An Insurance Group Co-H
China Mengniu Dairy CoSunny Optical Tech
Boc Hong Kong Holdings LtdChina Life Insurance Co-H
Citic LtdGalaxy Entertainment Group L
Wh Group Ltd
68.55
17.68
54.30
50.35
15.28
15.50
165.60
32.05
55.00
10.62
36.90
75.35
4.89
5.97
113.20
10.00
12.04
77.90
35.45
43.05
79.55
9.89
33.55
102.40
89.70
33.45
102.40
26.85
18.40
9.09
49.75
6.32
-1.08
1.26
0.09
2.03
0.92
-4.91
-0.78
0.94
1.29
-3.45
0.14
0.00
0.41
0.17
0.62
1.42
-0.50
-0.70
-0.14
0.35
-0.38
-2.08
-1.61
-2.48
-0.55
1.06
-0.39
1.51
0.66
1.11
2.05
-1.56
8,973,397
5,398,404
905,319
8,462,559
11,332,980
71,386,283
1,662,829
4,553,812
6,372,493
59,603,031
5,344,583
16,901,421
171,350,556
9,768,600
3,971,780
16,484,244
64,930,257
1,801,702
7,569,934
2,880,131
2,788,854
38,057,439
4,894,590
4,261,745
15,066,448
14,775,131
6,572,565
15,963,455
25,415,989
6,010,000
10,049,046
46,854,551
HONG KONG
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Hong Kong & China GasBank Of Communications Co-HChina Petroleum & Chemical-HHong Kong Exchanges & Clear
Bank Of China Ltd-HHsbc Holdings Plc
Power Assets Holdings LtdMtr Corp
China Overseas Land & InvestTencent Holdings Ltd
China Unicom Hong Kong LtdLink Reit
Sino Land CoChina Resources Power Holdin
Petrochina Co Ltd-HCnooc Ltd
China Construction Bank-HChina Mobile Ltd
15.30
5.09
4.51
241.60
2.96
56.05
53.70
47.10
24.90
319.00
7.79
89.90
11.48
10.20
3.73
11.04
5.80
66.00
-0.91
-1.74
0.00
0.08
0.34
0.00
0.37
0.96
1.22
-2.21
0.00
0.39
1.06
0.20
0.00
0.91
0.35
0.92
21,723,363
53,157,615
80,721,386
2,653,818
166,899,692
15,584,955
1,831,811
3,987,722
9,989,179
22,634,739
35,240,376
3,613,349
5,977,747
5,643,600
47,713,322
39,725,938
263,561,280
12,778,539
HONG KONG
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Adani Ports And Special EconAsian Paints Ltd
Axis Bank LtdBajaj Finance Ltd
Bharti Airtel LtdBharti Infratel Ltd
Bajaj Auto LtdBajaj Finserv Ltd
Bharat Petroleum Corp LtdCipla Ltd
Coal India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories
Eicher Motors LtdGail India Ltd
Grasim Industries LtdHcl Technologies Ltd
Housing Development FinanceHdfc Bank Limited
Hero Motocorp LtdHindalco Industries Ltd
Hindustan Petroleum CorpHindustan Unilever Ltd
Icici Bank LtdIndiabulls Housing Finance L
Indusind Bank LtdInfosys Ltd
Indian Oil Corp LtdItc Ltd
Jsw Steel LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
Larsen & Toubro LtdMahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Maruti Suzuki India LtdNtpc Ltd
Oil & Natural Gas Corp LtdPower Grid Corp Of India Ltd
Reliance Industries LtdState Bank Of India
Sun Pharmaceutical IndusTata Steel Ltd
Tata Consultancy Svcs LtdTech Mahindra Ltd
Titan Co LtdTata Motors Ltd
Upl LtdUltratech Cement Ltd
Vedanta LtdWipro Ltd
Yes Bank LtdZee Entertainment Enterprise
365.95
1,603.15
678.20
3,326.35
345.80
248.80
2,766.75
7,035.95
350.55
464.25
185.05
2,512.10
16,297.45
128.05
713.50
1,123.95
2,187.15
2,247.50
2,568.50
178.40
265.05
1,828.10
412.95
457.25
1,365.85
802.50
122.90
245.95
205.75
1,483.65
1,344.65
539.70
6,103.40
119.90
121.20
205.75
1,263.30
284.90
413.10
336.95
2,239.25
690.20
1,110.95
116.35
557.00
4,119.80
132.35
249.25
59.50
364.20
-1.64
0.23
-0.70
-0.94
-0.72
1.53
0.01
-1.27
2.41
-0.24
-3.54
-1.13
1.89
-1.65
-1.44
2.82
0.59
-0.55
-1.76
-1.55
2.04
-1.79
-1.35
-3.02
-1.46
2.27
-2.27
0.18
-3.58
-1.19
-0.91
-2.59
-2.78
-2.68
-3.50
-0.39
-0.91
-0.28
-0.88
-3.98
0.12
2.05
-1.13
-3.32
0.18
-0.38
-4.16
-0.34
-7.75
0.12
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
25,965.79
2,885.93
7,854.37
16,266.61
40,828.23
97,652.87
7,114.71
5,368.80
11,701.02
8,747.10
20,479.42
1,490.35
25,615.48
6,600.77
1,797.51
37,451.84
11,046.10
3,056.47
22,541.10
6,281.65
+187.89
+16.77
+27.43
+83.02
+179.26
+376.68
+25.13
-18.29
-29.00
+18.20
+23.34
+0.66
-48.59
+35.14
+13.66
-189.43
-59.25
-11.05
+13.43
+3.48
Doha Securities Market
Kuwait Stocks Exchange
Oman Stock Market
10,025.47
4,787.44
3,972.56
-4.28
+5.13
+18.10
“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.”
393,900
1,311,700
1,476,900
17,902,200
1,391,100
2,668,500
1,402,600
4,807,300
943,800
3,529,300
838,800
255,500
59,652,200
845,100
5,017,700
1,758,200
5,083,700
8,818,900
7,115,500
797,700
208,600
211,600
1,572,800
594,800
4,787,000
1,310,200
3,252,300
2,110,500
2,802,000
4,358,500
590,500
3,589,400
2,687,700
2,665,400
14,033,000
2,150,700
1,551,100
1,232,100
1,060,900
1,111,500
3,257,900
4,275,500
2,733,600
402,500
901,400
3,481,900
211,800
751,200
413,500
1,501,400
596,700
1,228,600
5,555,800
2,758,700
2,303,800
5,291,000
27,569,000
3,807,800
909,100
445,500
1,066,000
1,870,800
2,558,300
4,320,200
5,694,800
903,200
836,100
1,322,700
4,416,200
731,300
414,200
2,475,200
660,800
1,732,300
1,173,300
903,300
659,300
1,924,400
616,900
2,996,900
3,241,800
2,186,454
565,676
5,677,087
1,250,915
5,524,473
1,090,082
479,960
392,626
5,017,700
2,193,022
10,791,130
423,228
193,318
11,370,702
1,394,469
3,492,642
3,291,574
3,415,647
631,760
5,851,491
4,926,503
2,519,453
12,154,347
19,588,825
8,031,108
5,881,134
12,405,115
8,894,489
9,056,214
2,291,006
2,272,465
3,322,911
1,242,304
11,905,383
11,763,326
8,863,308
5,305,639
18,979,998
3,441,725
12,641,716
1,294,621
2,749,273
1,599,333
74,245,952
3,747,446
547,969
8,697,082
2,681,657
223,167,624
4,279,391
Volume
Volume
A journalist poses while looking at a computer screen with the Bloomberg display showing the movement of the value of the pound sterling against the US dollar in London yesterday. The pound slumped almost 1% versus the dollar and euro on reports that Britain will seek to extend the suspension of parliament, making a no-deal Brexit more likely.
BUSINESS7Gulf Times
Thursday, August 29, 2019
BUSINESS9Gulf Times
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Rupee loses mojo in another ugly August for India’s currencyBloombergMumbai
The rupee’s resilience in the face economic headwinds has come to an end, with India’s currency losing its year-to-date gains in the space of just one month.The country’s massive domestic market is now dragging on the rupee as growth at home slows, foreigners pull cash from local equities and the currency increasingly tracks moves in the yuan as the trade war heats up.“Even though India is directly less vulnerable to US-China tensions, it can’t remain completely insulated to the wider risk aversion,” said Dushyant Padmanabhan, a forex strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc in Singapore. The economic slowdown and capital outflows don’t bode well for the rupee, he said.The rupee is set for its worst monthly loss in six years and some analysts warn of more pain to come. JPMorgan Chase & Co expects it to approach the record low hit last October by year-end, while Nomura forecasts the currency to finish 2019 at 72.5 per dollar. That’s weaker than the median estimate of 71 in a Bloomberg survey. The currency fell 0.4% to 71.77 yesterday.Here are some of the reasons behind the currency’s rapid reversal:
Growth slowdown
Demand for everything from cars to cookies has waned as India’s lingering shadow-banking crisis weighs on private consumption, which accounts for almost 60% of the gross domestic product. And the increasingly bitter trade war has complicated the government’s task of re-igniting Asia’s third-largest economy. Not surprisingly, data due tomorrow will likely to show that gross domestic product slowed in the June quarter, to 5.7% from a year earlier.
“Fundamentals remain challenging for the rupee, and it will keep depreciating given the global and local headwinds,” said Ashish Vaidya, head of trading at DBS Bank Ltd in Mumbai. India no longer enjoys “a premium” over other emerging markets, he said.
Equity outfl ows
Foreigners have pulled $3.8bn from local shares since July, as a tax on the super-rich announced in the budget last month combined with the risk-off mood triggered by the trade conflict.While the government scrapped the levy last Friday to prevent a vicious cycle of capital outflows and a weakening currency, the withdrawals have persisted this week.Large outflows have fuelled the rupee’s weakness and the size of the drop “has caught a lot of people by surprise,” said Mitul Kotecha, senior emerging-markets strategist at TD Securities in Singapore.
China angle
Rupee’s fortunes are also getting linked to the moves in the yuan, according to JPMorgan, which has moved away from its call of rupee outperformance against the more-trade oriented currencies like the Korean won.“If the CNY continues to depreciate against the USD, as we expect, we believe the rupee will depreciate virtually lockstep with the CNY,” analysts including Sajid Chinoy and Jonathan Cavenagh wrote in a recent note.
August wall
Weak fundamentals aside, the currency is also in a seasonally weak month. The rupee has slid an average 2.3% in August over the past nine years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Yet this time, the losses are much larger than usual and have erased gains accumulated in June and July.
The rupee is set for its worst monthly loss in six years and some analysts warn of more pain to come. JPMorgan Chase & Co expects it to approach the record low hit last October by year-end, while Nomura forecasts the currency to fi nish 2019 at 72.5 per dollar
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Thursday, August 29, 201910
Qualcomm won’t have to renegotiate licences during FTC appealBloombergWashington
Qualcomm Inc won’t have to renegotiate its patent licences while appealing an antitrust ruling won by the US Federal Trade Commission, a federal appeals court ruled.Qualcomm has raised “serious questions” about the merits of the trial court’s ruling, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said, in an order putting the May 21 decision on hold.Forcing the chip maker to enter into new contracts imposes changes that “cannot be easily undone should Qualcomm prevail on appeal,” the three-judge panel in San Francisco said in a seven-page order that was unusually detailed. There’s no guarantee the three judges who considered Qualcomm’s request will
be on the panel hearing the appeal in January.US District Judge Lucy Koh found in May that Qualcomm’s “no licence, no chips” policy unfairly leveraged the company’s market position to force customers to pay inflated prices for chips and royalties for their technology. She ordered the company to end the policy and renegotiate some of its contracts.Qualcomm has argued that Koh’s order would undermine its entire business. Under the original ruling, the company would be forced to renegotiate patent-licensing contracts with phone makers, a process that could slash its largest source of profit. It would create binding arrangements that wouldn’t be reversed, even if Qualcomm got the ruling overturned on appeal.The San Diego-based chip maker is unusual in the chip industry because it gets the majority of its profit from fees
on patents that cover the fundamentals of how modern phone systems work. Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and all of the world’s biggest phone makers have to pay whether or not they use its chips. That arrangement has caused intense legal fights and regulatory scrutiny around the world for Qualcomm.The case has split the US government, especially the two agencies charged with antitrust matters. While the FTC — an independent agency — argued that Qualcomm harmed competition, the US Justice Department said Koh’s ruling harmed consumers.Qualcomm also got the backing of other areas of the Trump administration, as both the Defence Department and Department of Energy said the order threatens national security and America’s lead role in 5G, the next-generation of wireless technology that promises to transform
everything from robotic surgery to autonomous vehicles.“Whether the district court’s order and injunction represent a trailblazing application of the antitrust laws, or instead an improper excursion beyond the outer limits of the Sherman Act, is a matter for another day,” the appeals panel said, referring to the federal antitrust law.The language of the ruling has improved Qualcomm’s chance of winning the appeal or reaching a settlement with the agency, said Jennifer Rie, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.Ankur Kapoor, an antitrust lawyer with Constantine Cannon in New York who’s not involved in the case, said the panel’s detailed ruling may be an attempt to “explain their thinking” in a case with high stakes for the company. He said the court wanted to maintain the status quo, especially considering
the potential impact to Qualcomm’s long-term business and the fact that the appeal is being expedited, with a decision expected shortly after January arguments.In some ways, Qualcomm’s licensing program “appears significantly impaired regardless” because of the legal strains on the company and the slowdown in the “horrendous” chip market, said Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with Bernstein Research.FTC Bureau of Competition Director Bruce Hoff man said he was disappointed in the court’s ruling and noted that only part of the court’s ruling was put on hold. Qualcomm still can’t enter into exclusive deals on modem chips, can’t interfere with any customer’s ability to communicate with government agencies and must submit to monitoring, which the FTC said promotes competition. Qualcomm didn’t ask the appeals court to put
those aspects on hold. “The Bureau of Competition will monitor Qualcomm’s conduct relating to the on-going injunctive provisions, and we stand ready to evaluate any information from industry participants relating to whether Qualcomm is complying with its obligations,” Hoff man said.The court order previews some of the arguments that Qualcomm is expected to make when it files its written arguments with the Ninth Circuit. Qualcomm will argue that Koh stretched the definition of antitrust rules under US law and ignored evidence that showed there was competition.Koh had no right to decide that Qualcomm’s rates were unreasonable, order the company to give licences to its competitors or decide whether or not it has to supply chips to handset makers, the San Diego-based company contends.
After blacklisting, US said to receive 130-plus licence requests to sell to HuaweiReutersWashington
The US Commerce Department has received more than 130 ap-plications from companies for
licences to sell US goods to China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, three sources said, nearly two months after President Donald Trump said some sales would be allowed.
But the Trump administration has not yet granted any licences for sales to the blacklisted company, said the people familiar with the process who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
The standstill coincides with mixed messages from Trump in the US-China trade war, which have dimmed hopes for prompt decisions on licence applications to sell to Huawei, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment.
That has raised the spectre of billions of dollars of lost sales for chipmakers, software companies and others in Huawei’s US supply chain.
“Nobody in the executive branch knows what (Trump) wants and they’re all afraid to make a decision without knowing that,” said William Reinsch, a former Commerce de-partment offi cial.
Last week, Trump vowed to raise tariff s on $550bn in Chinese imports, hours after China imposed new lev-ies on $75bn in US goods.
Then he softened his tone towards China at the G7 leaders’ meeting over the weekend, saying he thought the world’s two largest economies would reach a deal to end the tit-for-tat trade war that has roiled markets and hammered growth.
The current number of licence applications, not previously report-ed, far exceeds the 50 or so that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross disclosed receiving in July.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department said: “The interagency process, weighing licence requests concerning Huawei and its non-US affiliates, is currently ongoing.”
Huawei did not immediately re-spond to a request for comment but has called for the United States to remove the company from the so-called entity list and put an end to what it called “unjust treat-ment.”
Huawei, the world’s No 2 smart-phone maker, was placed on the list because of US national security con-cerns in May, when trade talks with China broke down.
Sales of US goods are mostly banned to companies on the list, un-less suppliers obtain special licences, which must overcome tough scru-tiny.
The United States says the com-pany can spy on customers and has sought to convince allies to exclude it from 5G networks.
Huawei denies the allegations.Seeking to lure China back to
the negotiating table in late June, Trump promised President Xi Jin-ping that US companies would be allowed to make some sales to
Huawei, a gesture welcomed by US chipmakers and software com-panies. Huawei spent $11bn on US components from US fi rms such as Intel Corp, Qualcomm and Micron Technology last year.
Government offi cials urged US companies to apply for licences fol-lowing Trump’s pledge of relief, say-ing exports to Huawei of non-sen-sitive items that are readily replaced by foreign competitors would be permitted.
Ross and Trump in July promised timely responses.
One of the sources noted that the review process was not delayed, pointing to the complexities of in-teragency consultation.
But the only relief seen by Huawei
thus far was the extension in August of the temporary general licence, which gives US companies a small exception to repair and maintain Huawei’s existing handsets and net-works.
China expert Derek Scissors of the American Enterprise Institute said a breakthrough in US-China trade talks could spur licence ap-provals for Huawei as soon as next month.
The two trade teams are due to meet in September in Washington, but no specifi c dates have been dis-closed.
According to three Commerce department offi cials, many of the li-cences requests have been reviewed by other agencies such as the De-
partments of State and Defence. However, no standards have yet been set and no responses have been is-sued as offi cials await a green light from Ross and the White House, ac-cording to three people familiar with the process.
The United States has a case pend-ing against Huawei over allegations Huawei violated US sanctions on Iran.
Huawei chief fi nancial offi cer Meng Wanzhou has been detained in Vancouver since December on US bank fraud charges for mislead-ing banks about the company’s Iran business.
Trump has at times asserted that Huawei and Meng could be included in a grand US-China trade deal.
An attendee uses a Huawei Technologies Co VR2 virtual reality (VR) headset during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 11, 2018. Huawei spent $11bn on US components from US firms such as Intel Corp, Qualcomm and Micron Technology last year.
Former HSBC banker beats charges in $1.8bn tax case in France
BloombergParis
A former executive at HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private bank was cleared in a probe where his boss pleaded guilty to helping wealthy clients hide assets worth at least €1.6bn ($1.8bn).Judah Elmaleh, 60, had been charged three years ago over allegations he approached French residents to encourage them to move funds to Switzerland and helped clients evade taxes, but Paris judges decided the case should be dropped. HSBC fired Elmaleh in 2012 after saying it had lost faith in him amid a separate money-laundering probe targeting his three brothers.The investigative judges considered there wasn’t clear evidence of the involvement in 2006 and 2007 of Elmaleh, who was in charge of the Mediterranean-Israel department as well as “Diamonds and Jewelry” at the time. The previously unreported non-public decision dated January 4 also notes that Elmaleh’s testimony was useful in building the larger case against the lender.The same month Elmaleh was cleared, the chief executive off icer of HSBC’s Swiss private bank pleaded guilty to similar charges and was fined €500,000. That came more than a year after HSBC paid €300mn to resolve allegations it faced in the same case.The HSBC case is part of a French crackdown on tax fraud and money laundering operated through Switzerland that’s seen the conviction of a former minister and UBS Group AG ordered in February to pay a record €4.5bn fine.An off icial at France’s financial prosecutor, the Parquet National Financier, said after looking at all the evidence, the charges against Elmaleh were dropped. Thierry Marembert, a lawyer for Elmaleh, said the dismissal of charges against his client is an acknowledgement of his good faith and innocence.
Love the smell of gasoline? It’s now at a museum in Stockholm
BloombergLondon
From the roar of a combustion engine to
the sensation of filling up a gas-guzzling
car — these are experiences immortalised
at the world’s first museum for fossil fuels in
Stockholm.
The shift to a cleaner energy is well under
way in the transport industry, one of the
main sources of carbon dioxide pollution that
contributes to global warming.
The number of electric passenger cars almost
doubled to 2mn last year and will account
for 57% of global sales by 2040, according to
BloombergNEF.
Trucks, buses and ships are also increasingly
shifting away from running on fuels that have
been the backbone of the global economy for
centuries.
“At The Museum of Fossil Fuels, you will
be able to experience the sounds, smells,
culture and phenomena that will have disap-
peared,” said Susanna Hurtig, Nordic Head of
E-Mobility at Vattenfall AB, the Swedish utility
that came up with the idea.
The museum displays objects and informs
about humanity’s use of fossil fuels from the
19th century through today with a focus on
transportation. It’s housed at the Museum of
Photography in the Sodermalm area and is
free to enter.
Norway’s $1tn wealth fund renews private equity bidBloombergOslo
Norway’s wealth fund proposed changes to its mandate to allow it to buy stakes in unlisted companies after missing out on investments in such companies as Spotify Technology SA.The advice comes after Norway’s government has repeatedly declined to let the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund in on the global private equity market, citing concerns over transparency and management costs. The fund has said it can manage those issues, and its chief executive warned earlier this year that a growing number of companies are opting to
stay off exchanges, posing a challenge for investors of its size. In a letter published on Wednesday, the $1tn fund asked the Finance Ministry to allow it to invest in unlisted shares in “large companies” that aren’t yet listed, with a potential limit of 1% of its portfolio.“Companies of this type will often already have other institutional investors as shareholders,” the fund said in the letter. “This, in turn, can help generate some liquidity in the shares. Based on experience, it is reasonable to expect some of these companies to go public at a later date.”The fund is currently only allowed to invest in unlisted companies that have clearly stated they are pursuing an initial public off ering. Since board resolutions on IPOs usually come
at a late stage, that restriction has prevented a number of investments that would have made sense for the fund, chief executive off icer Yngve Slyngstad and central bank Governor Oystein Olsen said in the letter.The fund also said that its 2012 investment in Formula One owner Delta Topco, which was later probed and much debated in Norway, showed that a company’s intention to list shares is no guarantee it will happen.In addition to a limit of 1% of the fund’s equity portfolio, the bank said its Executive Board should also issue limits on the companies’ minimum size and maximum ownership stakes, as well as guidance on which markets the fund should target.The Finance Ministry will now consider the
central bank’s proposal, it said in an email.The fund’s latest bid to broaden its mandate comes after it was cleared this year to invest in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure in a series of big and smaller changes voted by Parliament.Yet the investor has itself acknowledged that adding new asset classes is becoming less and less of a hot topic after the fund soared in size over the past decade and won permission to increase its share of stocks to 70% from 60% of the portfolio. In an interview in 2017, as the fund was nearing $1tn in size, CEO Slyngstad said that “realistically speaking, whether we should invest in infrastructure, private equity or the likes isn’t a very important question.”
BUSINESS11Gulf Times
Thursday, August 29, 2019
21% rise in number of new fi rms registered at QFC during H1 2019The Qatar Financial Cen-
tre (QFC), one of the world’s leading and
fastest-growing onshore busi-ness and fi nancial centres, has witnessed a 21% year-on-year increase in the number of new fi rms registered during January to June (H1) 2019.
This represents nearly 90 new companies joining the platform against 71 last year over the same period. The to-tal number of fi rms on the QFC platform has exceeded 700 (as of July 2019).
The newly registered compa-nies hail from a diverse sectors spanning IT services, advisory and consulting, marketing and brand management, as well as engineering.
The holding companies and foreign business councils were also registered with the QFC. In addition to Qatari fi rms, a great deal of new fi rms joining the QFC platform have come from Europe and India, and a number of fi rms have joined from the US, Australia, Asia and the Middle East and North Af-rica region.
The QFC has experienced a rapid rise in the number of fi rms joining its platform. In addition, the QFC has seen a marked increase in global fi rms looking to establish their opera-tions in Qatar and the region, a testament to the stability and attractiveness of Qatar’s thriv-ing economy.
“The QFC continues to mark new milestones in terms of fi rms joining our platform... As one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Qatar off ers an array of business opportunities in di-verse service industries such as digital, media, sports, fi nancial services and more,” said Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida, QFC Au-thority (QFCA) chief executive.
Qatar’s economy is prosper-ing and this upward trajectory is expected to continue well into
the future. Over the next year, Qatar’s growth is expected to rise to 2.6% from 1.6% in 2018, he highlighted.
The QFC is continually work-ing towards supporting Qatar’s economic diversifi cation by
committing eff orts to license leading businesses in their fi elds and enable them to access unique opportunities that the Qatari market has to off er, ac-cording to Raed al-Emadi, chief commercial offi cer, QFCA.
According to the 2018 World Economic Forum Global Com-petitiveness Report, Qatar ranked fi rst regionally in the Global Entrepreneurship Index. Furthermore, the World Bank’s 2018 Gulf Economic Monitor
ranked Qatar as fi rst for year-on-year gross domestic prod-uct growth, making the coun-try a prime business-friendly and investment destination for companies interested in setting up in the region.
Al-Jaida: New milestones. Al-Emadi: Unique opportunities.
Oil rises more than 1% on steep drop in US crude inventoriesBrent, WTI both rise more than $1/bbl; US weekly crude production hits record 12.5mn bpd — EIA
ReutersNew York
Oil prices were up more than 1% yesterday after data showing a steep fall in US crude stockpiles helped ease worries about weakening oil demand caused by the trade war between Washington and Beijing.Brent crude futures gained $1.09, or 1.8%, at $60.60 a barrel by 1:27pm EDT (1727 GMT). West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.02, or 1.9%, to $55.95 a barrel.US crude oil inventories fell last week by 10mn barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 2.1mn barrels, as imports slowed, the Energy Information Administration said.“The ongoing trend of narrowing net imports has yielded a massive draw to crude stocks, with imports dropping below 6mn barrels per day, and exports jumping above 3mn barrels per day,” said Matt Smith, director of Commodity Research at ClipperData.Gasoline stocks fell by 2.1mn barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 388,000-barrel drop.“It was an incredibly bullish report, one of the more bullish we’ve had in a while, with draws
across the board and of course the massive crude oil drop, which was generated by another drop in imports,” said John Kilduff , a partner at Again Capital in New York.That draw down was likely due to a drop in Saudi exports to the US, Kilduff said.A stronger US dollar, which generally moves inversely with oil prices, limited gains in crude futures, Kilduff said.Concerns about the impact of the US-China tariff s war on demand also kept oil prices from rising more.US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he believed China was sincere about wanting to reach a trade deal, while Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said China was willing to resolve the dispute through “calm” negotiations.On Tuesday, however, concerns resurfaced after China’s foreign ministry said it had not heard of any recent telephone call between the United States and China on trade, and that it hoped Washington could create conditions for talks.Crude prices have fallen about a fifth from 2019 highs hit in April, partly because of worries that the trade war is hurting the global economy and could dent oil demand.Morgan Stanley on Wednesday lowered its price outlook for the rest of the year for Brent to around $60 per barrel from $65 and for US crude to $55 per barrel from $58 as it downgraded its demand growth forecast for this year and next.
July earnings of oil and natural gas producers increase in QatarBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter
Oil and natural gas producers in Qatar saw about 1% month-on-month increase in their earnings in July; even as the country’s producers’ price index (PPI) fell marginally, according to the off icial estimates.Qatar’s PPI — a measure of the average selling prices received by the domestic producers for their output — reported a
0.2% dip compared to that in June this year, said the figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA). On a yearly basis, the index had seen an 11.8% plunge.The PSA had released a new PPI series in late 2015. With a base of 2013, it draws on an updated sampling frame and new weights. The previous sampling frame dates from 2006, when the Qatari economy was much smaller than today and the range of products made domestically much narrower.
The mining PPI, which carries the maximum weight of 72.7%, was up 0.9% on a monthly basis as crude petroleum and natural gas prices also grew in a similar proportion, while that of stone, sand and clay was unchanged in the review period.The PPI for mining saw a 12.4% shrinkage year-on-year in July 2019 on the back of 12.5% decrease in the price of crude petroleum and natural gas; even as there was a marginal 0.5% rise in that of stone, sand and clay.
The manufacturing sector, which has a weight of 26.8% in the PPI basket, witnessed a 10.5% yearly plunge this July on a 12% decline in the price of refined petroleum products, 11.1% in basic metals, 8.1% in basic chemicals, 5.1% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products, 1% in paper and paper products and 0.7% in grain mill and other products.Nevertheless, there was a 5.6% increase in the price of juices, 5% in rubber and plastics products, 4.8% in dairy
products, 3.8% in other chemical products and fibres and 0.8% in beverages.The manufacturing sector PPI had seen a monthly 2.1% contraction in July 2019 as the price of paper and paper products shrank 3.5%, refined petroleum products (2.8%), basic metals (2%), beverages (1.3%), other chemical products and fibres (1%) and basic chemicals (0.4%). However, there was 1.2% jump in the price of dairy products, 0.7% in rubber and plastics
products, 0.2% in grain mill and other products and 0.1% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products.The utilities group, which has a mere 0.5% weightage in the PPI basket, saw its index tank 8.1% on yearly basis in July this year as electricity and water prices had fallen 8.4% and 7.7% respectively. The index had seen a 6% decline month-on-month this July with the price of electricity plunging 13.7%; whereas that of water witnessed 3.2% jump.
Qatar bourse weakensmarginally as foreign funds turn bearish
By Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter
The Qatar Stock Exchange weakened marginally yesterday, but remained above 10,000 points, on the back of selling, especially within transport, consumer goods and real estate sectors, a day after it made huge gains.Foreign funds were seen bearish as the 20-stock Qatar Index settled a mere 0.04% lower at 10,025.47 points.Both Gulf institutions and non-Qatari individuals were also net sellers on the market, whose key benchmark closed 2.66% lower year-to-date.Market capitalisation was down 0.12% to QR551.09bn mainly owing to microcap segments.Islamic equities were seen declining faster than the main index on the market, where domestic funds were increasingly bullish and there was lower selling pressure from local retail investors.Trade turnover and volumes were on the decline on the bourse, where banking, realty and industrials sectors together accounted for about 72% of the total volume.The Total Return Index was down 0.04% to 18,447.72 points, Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.17% to 2,268.37 points and All Share Index by 0.07% to 2,943.3 points.The transport index shrank 0.46%, consumer goods (0.43%), real estate (0.42%) and industrials (0.17%); whereas insurance gained 1.78%, telecom (0.03%) and banks and financial services (0.01%).Major decliners included Milaha, United Development Company, Qatari Investors Group, Woqod, QNB, Commercial Bank, Ahlibank Qatar and Al Khaliji; while Qatar Oman Investment, Doha Bank, Qatar First Bank, Qatar National Cement, Qatar Insurance, Nakilat and Gulf Warehousing were among the gainers.Non-Qatari institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR15.92mn against net buyers of QR29.84mn on Tuesday.
The Gulf funds were also net sellers to the extent of QR0.37mn compared with net buyers of QR1.44mn on August 27.Non-Qataris were net profit takers to the tune of QR0.08mn against net buyers of QR1.77mn the previous day.However, domestic institutions’ net buying increased influentially to QR49.99mn compared to QR47.22mn on Tuesday.Local retail investors’ net selling weakened considerably to QR19.5mn against QR45.58mn on August 27.The Gulf individual investors’ net profit booking fell significantly to QR9.08mn compared to QR34.76mn the previous day.Total trade volume fell 47% to 66.39mn shares, value by 69% to QR203.57mn and transactions by 46% to 5,894.The insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 66% to 0.63mn equities, value by 66% to QR1.83mn and deals by 39% to 99.The banks and financial services sector saw 64% plunge in trade volume to 20.06mn stocks, 80% in value to QR75.34mn and 42% in transactions to 2,005.The telecom sector’s trade volume tanked 64% to 2.34mn shares, value by 68% to QR9.6mn and deals by 64% to 401.The industrials sector reported 59% shrinkage in trade volume to 11.74mn equities, 67% in value to QR38.08mn and 30% in transactions to 1,469.The real estate sector’s trade volume shrank 37% to 15.91mn stocks, value by 56% to QR15.27mn and deals by 67% to 954.However, there was 80% surge in the consumer goods sector’s trade volume to 9.63mn shares but on 46% decline in value to QR49.37mn and 21% in transactions to 726.The transport sector’s trade volume soared 70% to 6.08mn equities and value by 25% to QR14.08mn, while deals contracted 30% to 240.In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and sovereign bonds.
Fighting Amazon wildfireswith a new SuperTankerBy Pratap John
Air transport accounts for roughly 2.5%
of global man-made carbon dioxide
emissions and is often the target of
environmentalists around the world for
being “massive polluters”.
The aviation industry, however, says it is shrinking its carbon footprint and its sustainability plan is among the “most ambitious and globally focused” of any industry.As debate continues on the industry’s role in the global carbon footprint and initiatives aimed at reducing harmful emissions and overall pollution, a mammoth task to safeguard the environment and involving some airlines, is being undertaken in South America, where wildfires are raging through the Amazon, the largest rainforest in the world.The Amazon spans eight countries, including Bolivia, though the majority of the forest is in Brazil. Often called “the planet’s lungs,” the Amazon forest produces about 20% of the world’s oxygen.The Amazon rainforest has been on fire for the past month, with Brazil declaring a state of emergency in the region.The number of fires in Brazil this year is the highest on record since 2013 and is up by 85% from last year alone, international broadcaster CNN reported. So far this year, more than 80,000 fires in the country have been detected by Brazil’s space research centre — INPE.There are so many fires burning right now, that the smoke is visible even from space. A European Space Agency astronaut captured images of the smoke from the International Space Station a few days ago.The astronaut said the haze is so widespread; it resembles clouds in some of the photos.A Boeing ‘SuperTanker’ and many other aeroplanes and helicopters have been deployed to extinguish the raging wildfires in the region, one of the largest such aerial operations undertaken anywhere in the world so far.Recently, Bolivia took delivery of the SuperTanker, said to be the world’s largest firefighting plane to help fight wildfires that have devastated vast swathes of forest and agricultural land.
The government hired the Boeing 747-400 plane after failing to extinguish fires that have already destroyed around 7,770 square kilometres (3,000 square miles) of the eastern province of Santa Cruz in just a month alone.The Boeing aircraft, leased from a US company, can carry 150,000 litres (40,000 gallons) of water or fire retardant.The B747-400 SuperTanker is in the category of Very Large Airtankers
(VLAT) used for fighting fires. It is capable of dropping around 19,000 gallons of retardant per trip, according to the company’s website.Dan Reese, president of Global SuperTanker, travelled to South America as part of a 14-person team to battle the fires in Bolivia. He told CNN there are “an unbelievable number of fires” in the Amazon and his company is part of the response.The company recently said it
had completed three sorties and was preparing for a fourth. “The SuperTanker and our helicopters work to put out the fire,” he said. “I appreciate the eff orts of so many compatriots, men and women, who work on this hard task. We face this battle against fire together.”Air Force planes also began reconnaissance flights to determine where the Boeing aircraft can most eff ectively drop its huge payload.“Four aircraft left to survey six
places” in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, said a senior Bolivian off icial.Recently, the G7 countries after their summit in France off ered Brazil $20mn, mainly to step up aerial firefighting. However, Brazil had rejected the off er.But given the enormous task at hand, it remains to be seen whether the aerial firefighting will help totally contain the raging wildfires
in Amazon, which geographically, is even bigger than Europe and restore the world’s largest rainforest, which is dubbed the “planet’s lungs”.Firefighters say that only heavy rains, which are forecast to lash the aff ected Amazon region, can eff ectively douse the rapidly spreading fire.The Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming. It is known as the “lungs of the world” and is home to about three million species of plants and animals, and one million indigenous people.In respect of the aviation’s “environment commitments”, its leaders are saying they are making huge eff orts to reduce the industry’s 2.5% share of global carbon emissions. In 2009 it has set tough CO2 targets, including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and to cut emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2050. Achieving these aims will bring aviation in line with the Paris climate target.
Pratap John is Business Editor at Gulf Times.
Korea-Japan diplomatic rift hits air travel
By Alex Macheras
Korean Air Lines will suspend seven routes to Japan under measures as bilateral frictions slash passenger numbers. The fall in demand follows a worsening in the diplomatic and economic row between the two countries. Last month, Japan tightened controls of exports of hi-tech materials to South Korea, in apparent retaliation for a South Korean court ruling over forced labour. The disputes have prompted a widespread boycott of Japanese products and services — hitting air travel in the region. Korean Air is also considering reducing the number of flights between the two countries or operating flights by smaller aircraft from mid-August, a spokesman confirmed.Koreans were the second-biggest travellers to Japan only after China, accounting for 24.2% of visits last
year, according to data from Japan National Tourism Organisation. The number had tripled over the past five years, data showed. However, the number of Korean tourists to Japan dropped between January and May, even before the diplomatic row had started. “If the anti-Japan sentiment continues and aff ects our reservation rates, then we cannot rule out the possibility of rearranging our Japan routes,” said a spokesman at Jin Air, a budget aff iliate airline of Korean Air.Three routes from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport will be grounded temporarily, and flights to Komatsu and Kagoshima will also be suspended. Furthermore, there will be no service to Asahikawa from September 29 to October 26.Korean Air Lines has been considering axing unprofitable routes between the two countries since mid-August because of rising supply and slowing demand faced even before the row, a company spokeswoman said. South Korean budget airlines T’way Air and Easter Jet will temporarily halt some of its Japan routes from September. In fact, the price competition for Japan routes among domestic low-cost carriers have become too intense lately, making some routes unprofitable — even before the rift. Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second-largest airline, has suspended travel between Busan and Okinawa from Friday to late October. On the low-cost side, the country’s biggest budget carrier Jeju Air do not hold plans to discontinue any routes to Japan, but are “closely watching the situation.”
The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
A SuperTanker aircraft releases water over Ipias, an area where wildfires have destroyed hectares of forest, near Robore, Bolivia. The B747-400 SuperTanker is in the category of Very Large Airtankers (VLAT), capable of dropping around 19,000 gallons of retardant per trip, according to the company’s website. Recently, Bolivia took delivery of the SuperTanker, said to be the world’s largest firefighting plane.
AVIATIONBUSINESS
Gulf Times Thursday, August 29, 201912
Beyond the Tarmacac
Russia aims high with new passenger planeAFPZhukovsky, Russia
Russia yesterday unveiled to clients its new passen-
ger plane MC-21, billed as a competitor to Boeing and
Airbus even as the project is overshadowed by sanc-
tions and setbacks with its predecessor, the Superjet.
President Vladimir Putin formally opened the MAKS
air salon outside Moscow on Tuesday with Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was enticed
with Sukhoi fighter jets and treated to ice-cream as
demonstration squadrons roared overhead.
The showpiece of this year’s MAKS is the new
civilian aircraft, which was showcased to potential
customers after more than a decade in the making
and multiple delays.
The MC-21’s catalogue price will be “on average 20%
cheaper than its direct competitors” in the medium-
haul range, news agency Interfax quoted Ravil Khaki-
mov, head of its manufacturer Irkut, as saying.
Putin lauded Russia’s aircraft builders and their
“unique traditions” which permit the country to
“remain among the flagships of the global aerospace
industry” and produce “breakthrough projects” such
as the MC-21 and Mi-38 and Ka-62 helicopters.
The salon is the first since Russia’s United Aircraft
Corp (UAC), a conglomerate of civilian and military
aircraft makers including Irkut, was put in the hands
of state-owned corporation Rostec last year.
The medium-haul MC-21, which is produced by
Siberian-based Irkut and seats up to 211 passengers,
is the industry’s big hope after setbacks with the
regional Sukhoi Superjet 100 liner, launched in 2011
as the first post-Soviet civilian airplane.
“MC-21 is a modern, improved mid-range plane,
which is set to compete on the market with Airbus
320 and Boeing 737,” said Oleg Panteleyev, an avia-
tion analyst who heads industry website Aviaport.ru.
An MC-21 prototype made its maiden flight in 2017
but serial manufacturing has been delayed, in part
due to US sanctions aff ecting the production of its
carbon composite wings.
Though it was supposed to be put in service at the
end of 2018, Rostec chief Sergei Chemezov said this
year the first MC-21 planes will be delivered to Rus-
sian state-owned Aeroflot airline only in 2021.
The domestically made composite material needed
to go through testing, but “in the nearest future
we will start making the wing and testing it on the
plane”, Chemezov said in May.
The first batch of MC-21 aircraft were also to be
equipped with US-made Pratt & Whitney engines,
according to a contract signed before the sanctions
blocked further deliveries.
The three variants that were on show at yesterday’s
salon use the American engines, while future produc-
tion will use Russian-made PD-14 engines.
Sanctions against Moscow, gradually introduced
since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from
Ukraine, have hit several Russian industries, and
Rostec and Chemezov were put on the US Treasury’s
sectoral sanctions blacklists.
While military aircraft makers are financially sup-
ported by the Russian airforce, which has been
ordering new planes in recent years, the main hurdle
for Russia-made civilian aircraft has to do with find-
ing foreign clients, said Panteleyev.
“They have to compete with foreign manufacturers
which have much larger scope for promoting their
planes,” he said.
Russia’s previous, much-lauded Superjet was initially
well-received but many clients later backed out due
to diff iculty in servicing it and getting parts replaced.
Several accidents also contributed to a poor image
for the plane, most recently in May, when 41 people
died in a fire after crash landing with full fuel tanks
in Moscow.
The investigation into the accident is ongoing.
The Superjet had minor problems that could be
fixed by continued investment, but “because so few
planes were sold, they can’t get enough money from
turnover for these works”, Panteleyev said.
Boeing 737 MAX’s certification flight likely to occur in OctoberBloombergChicago
The Federal Aviation Administration is likely to conduct its certification flight for Boeing Co’s 737 MAX in October, a key milestone towards returning the grounded jetliner to the skies, said people briefed on the matter.That timing would be broadly consistent with Boeing’s estimate that the MAX will return to service early in the fourth quarter, but may push the submission of a final certification package slightly beyond September, as the company previously estimated.The US plane maker is testing changes to the flight-control software architecture of its best-selling jetliner, which suff ered two fatal crashes in a five-month span. Boeing engineers have almost worked their way through hundreds of queries fielded by the FAA from colleagues around the world, with few new concerns being raised at this point in the process, the people said.The Chicago-based company is also
briefing customers on its plans for unwinding an unprecedented global grounding that has already surpassed five months, with about 600 planes temporarily mothballed.“We continue to support the FAA and global regulators on the safe return of the MAX to service,” Boeing said in a statement.The FAA is focused on ensuring that the revamped 737 MAX systems meet safety requirements, and doesn’t have a timeline for returning the plane to service, according to a statement by the agency. FAA employees have already spent 110,000 hours working on the project, it said.“The FAA’s certification of the Boeing 737 MAX is the subject of several independent reviews and investigations that will examine all aspects of the five-year eff ort,” the agency said. “While the agency’s certification processes are well established and have consistently produced safe aircraft designs, we welcome the scrutiny from these experts and look forward to their findings.”There are still numerous tasks to be
accomplished before Boeing can complete its submission to recertify the plane, said another person familiar with the process. The person wasn’t aware of a specific projection that the FAA test flight would occur in October, but said it was a possibility.A certification flight with FAA test pilots is one of the final steps that must be conducted before Boeing’s submission is finalised, and based on the timing, the final paperwork may not be completed until the fourth quarter.If the plane behaves as expected, the results become part of the package for certification. Even though FAA engineers have worked closely with Boeing for months, the agency must perform a series of checks after the submission is made before granting approval.Another step in the process is a review by the FAA’s Flight Standardization Board, which must recommend training requirements for the plane. In April, it made a preliminary conclusion that pilots wouldn’t need simulator training before flights resume. But the body hasn’t issued its final conclusions.
American Airlines Group Boeing 737 MAX planes sit parked outside of a maintenance hangar at Tulsa International Airport (TUL) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Boeing has had to divert resources to the 737 MAX from across the company as it works to win approval from aviation regulators for its software upgrade.
Korean Air Lines has been considering axing unprofi table routes between South Korea and Japan since mid-August because of rising supply and slowing demand, a company spokeswoman says
An Irkut Corp MC-21-300 passenger aircraft stands beyond police off icers at the MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon at Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday. The MC-21’s catalogue price will be “on average 20% cheaper than its direct competitors” in the medium-haul range, news agency Interfax quoted Ravil Khakimov, head of its manufacturer Irkut, as saying.
