QNB expects a slowdown in the global economy to 3.6 percent in 2018.

BUSINESSSunday 29 April 2018

PAGE | 25PAGE | 24Pak-Qatar Takaful

Group records solid net profit for 2017

Macron’s digital tax plan faces EU rebuff

IMF forecast of accelerating global growth is too optimistic: QNBTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast of an accelerating global growth is too optimistic, according to QNB. QNB expects a slowdown in the global economy to 3.6 percent in 2018.

In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast an acceleration in global growth for 2018 to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent in 2017. The IMF has his-torically held a bias for optimistic growth forecasts.

The IMF has repeatedly revised down its forecasts with each release of the WEO until very recently. “We regard the IMF forecasts as too optimistic

and expect a slowdown in the global economy to 3.6 percent in 2018. QNB Economics has therefore developed its own forecasts and we lay out below the four main reasons we expect the global economy to slow in 2018”, QNB noted in its weekly ‘economic commentary’ yesterday.

Listing out the reasons for a possible global slowdown, QNB

analysts said: “First, recent eco-nomic data suggests that the global economy has already begun to slow. The latest global Purchasing Managers Index

( P M I ) s u r v e y , released at the beginning of April, was the weakest in 16 months. While the reading of 53.3 is still in expansion territory (above 50), it is below the average reading in 2017 of 53.8. Addi-tionally, recent indi-cators of growth in the world’s largest economy, the US also suggest a slowdown.

The Atlanta Fed produces an estimate of GDP in the US,

based on the latest data, which points to growth of 2.0 percent in the first quarter of 2018, down from 2.9 percent in Q4 2017 and

2.3 percent for 2017 as whole.” Second, the Chinese economy is expected to slow in 2018 due to continued policy tightening.

The authorities aim to cool the property market, reign in leverage in the shadow banking sector, and further cut capacity in old indus-tries. Q1 GDP was steady compared to the previous quarter at 6.8 percent, but marginally down from full-year 2017 growth of 6.9 percent. Additionally, slower credit growth points to further cooling of the economy during the remainder of 2018. Credit growth slowed to 10.5 percent year on year in March 2018, down from a recent peak of 13.2 percent in July 2017.

China is the largest contributor to global growth and a slowdown in China is also likely to have

knock-on effects in a number of other economies, particularly in Asia.

Third, global monetary policy is likely to become less accommodative in 2018. The Fed is expected to press ahead with planned rate hikes and the European Central Bank has halved monthly asset purchases since 1st January and is expected to wind down the programme further from September. Both the Bank of Japan and Bank of England are also expected to tighten policy. As a result, global financial conditions are likely to tighten and long-term bond yields are rising, which is likely to restrain growth.

→CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

22 SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018BUSINESS

In anticipation of the inaugural Qatar Airways flight to Cardiff next month, a marketing partnership agreement has been signed between Welsh Government and Qatar Airways which will increase Wales’ visibility in key markets as a holiday and business destination.

23SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018 BUSINESS

QA flight to Cardiff to boost global profile of WalesSATISH KANADY THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The inaugural Qatar Airways flight to Wales’ capital Cardiff in May is expected to enhance the global profile of Wales. The direct service between Doha and Cardiff will also help further boost Qatar-Wales bilateral trade relations.

The new route provides an unprecedented opportunity to enhance global tourism and trade links and showcase Wales internationally. In anticipation of the inaugural Qatar Airways flight to Cardiff next month, a market ing partnership agreement has been signed between Welsh Government and Qatar Airways which will increase Wales’ visibility in key markets as a holiday and business destination, Lord Elis-Thomas, Welsh Government Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, told The Peninsula.

The direct service between Cardiff and Doha is a huge boost for Wales. From the construction and energy supply chain to food and drink, there are already a

number of Wales based com-panies active in Qatar, while Qatar Petroleum is the major shareholder in South Hook, one of the largest liquefied natural gas terminals in Europe, in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

“We have over 600 castles, three national parks, two inter-national dark sky reserves and

some of the world’s coolest music festivals. And all these experiences are packed into a country that’s just 140 miles from top to bottom,” Lord Elis-Thomas said.

Welsh Government Economy Secretary, Ken Skates said a direct route into the world’s fastest growing hub airport, Hamad International, provides further opportunities for both nations to build on these links and act as a catalyst to deliver new economic, leisure and travel opportunities as well as facilitating further co-oper-ation in areas of mutual interest including healthcare, security, education and finance.

This is an opportunity the Welsh trade, business and tourism communities are ready and keen to grasp with both hands, Ken said.

“As a Government we are equally keen to make the most of this unprecedented oppor-tunity to enhance the tourism and trade links between Wales, Qatar and beyond. Our mar-keting partnership agreement with Qatar Airways is testament to this in addition to our regular visits to Qatar, with both myself and the First Minister having visited Doha in the last 12 months. Next month will see a further multi-sector delegation

to Doha, with a specific food and drink trade development visit planned for later in the year.

“This link is a fantastic opportunity for Wales to showcase exactly what we have to offer a key market and I look forward to us doing just that.” Cardiff, Wales’ capital and one of the largest cities in the UK, is a welcoming, safe and compact city with excellent shopping, great food and quality accom-modation. Transport connections from the city also make it a perfect base for exploring other areas of the UK. London is a 2 hour train journey away, while Bath, Bristol and the Cotswolds can be reached in under one and half hours.

Elsewhere in Wales, luxury countryside hotels provide a quiet base for Qatari tourists who want to experience the rolling hills, green landscapes and fresh air. Visiting our beautiful coastline is a must; wherever you are in Wales, you’re never more than just over an hour from the sea. Experience the breath-taking views from the clifftops, visit the classic harbour towns

or spot the seals, porpoises and Britain’s largest population of bottlenose dolphins.

Qatar is the second largest market in the Middle East for Welsh exports and is one of the top 20 markets overall. The value of goods exports from Wales to Qatar in 2017 was over £158m.

The Welsh government hope to see more food and drink products reaching Qatar from Wales, particularly its world famous Welsh Lamb and dairy products but also our excellent range of healthy and organic produce. Welsh producers such as Rachel’s Dairy and Ty Nant Water are already exporting to Qatar, with Rachel’s Dairy’s range of organic Lactose-free Yoghurts is now available at Lulu Hypermarket outlets in Qatar following discussions made during the Welsh Government trade mission to Doha in Sep-tember 2017.

A high-level Welsh trade del-egation is scheduled to arrive in Doha in the first week of May. The multi-sector delegation will represent less than a dozen companies.

Lord Elis-Thomas Ken Skates

Fosun launches $1.74bn Atlantis Sanya resortREUTERS

SANYA: China’s Fosun International Ltd yesterday launched its Atlantis Sanya luxury resort in a $1.74bn bet that the sail-shaped development will become an icon in Hainan — China’s Hawaii — and a beacon to tourists domestic and abroad.

The conglomerate’s 11bn yuan ($1.74bn) investment in China’s south-ernmost province is in line with the central government’s desire to further boost tourism in Hainan, already popular among Chinese holidaymakers.

Fosun, co-founded by Chinese bil-lionaire Guo Guangchang, has been one of the country’s most acquisitive overseas dealmakers.

But like peers including Dalian Wanda Group and HNA Group, Fosun — China’s largest privately held conglomerate — has faced increased scrutiny by Beijing for debt-fuelled, big-ticket foreign deals and is now pursuing a development path more closely aligned with Beijing’s priorities.

Tourism is viewed as key to China’s shift towards a more consumption-driven model of economic growth from an investment and export-led one. Beijing aims to raise the country’s tourism market revenue to 7 trillion yuan by 2020, from 5.3 trillion yuan last year.

Located on Haitang Bay, one of the major bays in Sanya and known for its 22km strip of white, sandy beaches, Atlantis Sanya was inspired by The Palm.

The integrated resort offers hotel suites with views of underwater marine life, as well as a water park and a shopping mall.

“Atlantis Sanya is not only a fore-runner of the supply-side reform of the tourism industry, but is also becoming a new landmark of Hainan tourism,” Xu Zhenling, vice mayor of Sanya said at a news conference on Saturday ahead of the resort’s grand opening scheduled for the evening.

She said the resort will also raise Hainan’s profile overseas, as the island province — China’s largest economic development zone — seeks to further open up its economy and focus on developing modern tourism, services and high-tech-nology industries.

Fireworks explode at Atlantis Sanya hotel during its opening ceremony in Sanya, Hainan province, China, yesterday.

Pak-Qatar Takaful Group, which comprises of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited and Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited posted a net profit after tax of Pakistan Rs133m during the year ended December 31, 2017.

24 SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018BUSINESS

Pak-Qatar Takaful Group records solid net profit for 2017THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Pak-Qatar Takaful Group, which comprises of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited and Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited, has registered a solid growth in 2017 with an aggregate turnover of around Pakistani Rs9bn. The Group posted a net profit after tax of Pakistan Rs133m during the year ended December 31, 2017.

The Group reviewed and approved the financial state-ments of both the Companies for the year ended December 31, 2017 during the Group’s Board of Directors meeting held recently at the Serena Hotel, Islamabad. Pak-Qatar Takaful is Pakistan’s Pioneer and largest Takaful Group operating for more than a decade with the largest branch network nationwide.

The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani. Other Board members

present in the meeting included Said Gul; Dr. Abdul Basit Ahmad Al Shaibei; Ali Ibrahim Al Abdul Ghani; Zahid Hussein Awan; Owais Ansari and Furrukh Vaqaruddin Junaidy.

Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited (PQFTL),is the first and largest dedicated Family Takaful Company in Islamic

Finance industry. PQFTL is a progressive and a technology-driven Shari’a-compliant company providing innovative Takaful solutions in Pakistan since 2007.

PQFTL is one of the fastest growing Family Takaful operators in the country with more than 70 branches in over 41 cities, in addition to over 3,500 bank branches in over 200 cities that provide Banca Takaful products.

The Company is chaired by Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani and sponsored by some of the strongest financial institutions from the State of Qatar. An inde-pendent Shari’a Advisory Board comprised of world renowned Shari’a scholars and chaired by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani certifies all products and opera-tions for Shari’a compliance.

The Company’s paid-up capital is in excess of Pak-Rs1.250bn, with credit rating of ‘A’ (Positive Outlook) by JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited.

The company is the recipient of “Best Takaful Operator Award” from the International Takaful Summit, London, as well as from IFN Redmoney, Malaysia and the Best Takaful Company Award by the President of Pakistan from RTC, Islamabad.

Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited offers a comprehensive products’ portfolio for the national General (non-life) Takaful market. The Company is chaired by Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani and spon-sored by some of the strongest financial institutions from the State of Qatar.

The Company’s paid-up capital is in excess of Pakistan Rs509m, with credit rating of ‘A-’ (Stable Outlook) by the JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited and ‘A’ Rating with Stable Outlook by Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited. The company continues to be the recipient of several domestic and international awards.

Officials posing for a group picture.

IMF forecast of accelerating global growth is too optimistic

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Fourth, higher oil prices could also be a drag on growth as they reduce the disposable income of consumers in oil importing countries. Low oil prices during 2014-16 were not fully passed on to the consumer as a number of countries took the opportunity to cut subsidies. However, since oil prices have started rising, subsidies have not been reinstated, so the cost of higher prices is likely to be more fully passed on to con-sumers. Oil prices averaged $55/barrel in 2017 and we expect them to average $63 in 2018 for the full year.

As a result, rising oil prices pose another headwind for global growth in 2018. The main positive driver of global growth this year is likely to be fiscal

stimulus in the US, which intro-duced a number of tax reforms, including a reduction in the cor-porate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

The IMF stated in its latest WEO that it expects the US fiscal stimulus to add around 0.1 per-centage points to global GDP growth in 2018. The various drags on growth that we have outlined above will more than offset the boost to growth from the US fiscal stimulus.

The expected slowdown in China alone is sufficient to subtract around 0.1 percentage points from global growth, before the knock-on effects on other economies are taken into consideration.

In conclusion, QNB expects global growth to slow from 3.8 percent in 2017 to around 3.6 percent in 2018.

Commercial Bank turns spotlight on Qatari entrepreneursTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Commercial Bank is giving Qatari entrepreneurs a boost with a new initiative that puts their startup busi-nesses in the spotlight.

Commercial Bank is pro-viding a space at C o m m e r c i a l Bank Plaza building in West Bay for Qatari entrepreneurs, startups, and SME businesses to display their products to a wider audience and help bring them closer to new and potential customers.

A new business is chosen each month to go on display.The Bank started this initiative in March and the choice was “Market Café”,a Qatari business that has over 30 local suppliers providing organic coffee and a selection of sweet treats. Zodiac Café was also a guest of Com-mercial Bank in April, they had just started their business the Bank’s calendar is full of cafes waiting to be featured in the upcoming months, such as “Plus café, Maison Du Pain, Mastiha Shop, Dose café, and many others...”

Commercial Bank’s initi-ative to support Qatari entre-preneurs follows the Qatar National Vision 2030, in which SMEs play a vital role in cre-ating a strong and diversified private sector. Promotion of locally made Qatari products is also an important part of Com-mercial Bank’s initiative given their contribution to the economy in the context of the

economic blockade and Qatar’s strategic priority of self-suffi-ciency under the leadership of A m i r

H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Commercial Bank Group CEO Joseph Abraham said: “This new initiative has been very well received by staff and members of the public, and we hope that that Market Café is the first of many Qatari businesses to benefit from Commercial Bank’s support for Qatari entrepreneurship and local products in line with the State’s national priorities.”

As part of its normal business operations, Commercial Bank provides a tailored proposition to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of Qataris called “Sanaduk” that combines the Bank’s expertise of Enterprise (SME) Banking and Sadara Priv-ileged Banking. Through Sanaduk, Qataris can benefit from Sadara membership, access to working capital finance at reduced rates, special rates for Merchant Acquiring Services and Point of Sale Services, access to Qatar Development Bank’s Port-folio Indirect Lending program, and other premium privileges.

QP hosts HEC Paris students and facultyTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: A delegation repre-senting the Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program at ‘Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales’ (HEC Paris) visited Qatar Petroleum’s headquarters on Wednesday as part of their visit to Qatar.

The visit by the HEC Paris faculty and students specialized in energy studies, was designed to get first hand understanding of Qatar’s energy sector and to discuss the various aspects of Qatar’s oil and gas sector through the success story of QP.

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Pres-ident and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, welcomed the dele-gation and provided an overview of Qatar Petroleum’s swift trans-formation and its efforts to implement an ambitious growth program designed to set it firmly on the road to becoming one of the best national oil companies in the world.

Al-Kaabi highlighted Qatar Petroleum’s major milestones as it develops a global business and enhances its competitive position as a global energy player. He

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, with the HEC Paris delegation.

wished the HEC EMBA students the best of success in their edu-cational journey as well as in dis-covering more success stories that are shaping the State of Qatar.

The HEC Paris delegation were later briefed by a number of Qatar Petroleum senior executives on the various aspects of the cor-

poration’s business and facilities.HEC Paris specializes in edu-

cation and research in man-agement, and offers a complete and unique range of educational programs for the leaders of tomorrow, including Masters Programs, MBA, PhD, Executive MBA, TRIUM Global Executive MBA and Executive Education

open-enrolment and custom programs.

Founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and founding member of Université Paris-Saclay, HEC Paris has a permanent faculty, more than 4,400 students and over 8,000 managers and exec-utives in training every year

Commercial Bank Group CEO Joseph Abraham visiting one of the counters.

Robust quarterly earnings push Indian equity indices higherIANS

MUMBAI: Healthy earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 lifted the benchmark equity indices during the week ended Friday. Indices logged gains in four of the five trading sessions as both — the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 — settled at their highest closing levels in over three months.

On a weekly basis, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE rose by 554.12 points or 1.61 per cent to close at 34,969.70 points. The wider Nifty50 of the

National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed trade at 10,692.30 points — up 128.25 points or 1.21 per cent from its previous week’s close.

“Markets surged higher extending winning streak to fifth consecutive week on positive sentiment...,” said Prateek Jain, Director, Hem Securities. “Good roll-over of long-position in the May Series of derivative contract, continuous buying by domestic institutional investors also boosted sen-timent,” Jain said.

On the currency front, the rupee weakened by 54 paise to close at 66.67 against the dollar

from its previous week’s close at 66.13. On the investment front, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that foreign institu-tional investors sold scrips worth Rs3,060.41 crore, while the domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs2,649.61 crore during the week.

The top weekly Sensex gainers were: Yes Bank (up 12.97% at Rs348.45); Mahindra and Mahindra (up 7.61% at Rs861.45); Reliance Industries (up 7.19 % at Rs994.75); Axis Bank (up 6.53 % at Rs538.90); and Adani Ports (up 5.30% at Rs 401.45).

US dollar falls amid GDP reportIANS

NEW YORK: The US dollar index decreased against most other major currencies after wavering between gains and losses, as investors digested the country’s newly-released economic growth report for the first quarter of 2018. In late New York trading on Friday, the euro rose to $1.2123 from $1.2107 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to $1.3784 from $1.3923 in the previous session. The Australian dollar increased to $0.7581 from $0.7552, Xinua reported. The US dollar bought 109.03 Japanese yen, lower than 109.37 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar fell to 0.9879 Swiss franc from 0.9893 Swiss franc, and it dipped to 1.2834 Canadian dollars from 1.2872 Canadian dollars.

9,088.01 -21.63 PTS0.24%

QSE FTSE100 DOW BRENT7,502.21 +80.78 PTS1.09%

24,307.74 -14.60 PTS0.60% Dow & Brent before going to press

$67.98 -0.21

MarketWatch

Brussels has vowed to retaliate if it faces tariffs by putting punitive duties on American products ranging from industrial and agricultural items to flagship products such as jeans, motorbikes and peanut butter.

25SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018 BUSINESS

Deadline looms on US steel tariff exemptionsAFP

WASHINGTON: Key US trading partners face a looming deadline on Tuesday when crippling tariffs on steel and aluminum are set to take effect — and they are urging the White House to exempt them permanently.

The major suppliers, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the European Union, were granted a temporary reprieve when Pres-ident Donald Trump imposed the tariffs in March.

The measures were largely aimed at overcapacity in China but the scattershot approach hit many allies and key suppliers and governments in those coun-tries have threatened to retaliate if they are not exempted.

That threat of escalating trade war has halted the steady upswing in global stock markets while companies around the United States are reporting that rising costs are already hitting their bottom line.

And many economists say the tactics are likely to be coun-terproductive and undermine cooperation at a time when allied Asian and Western nations seek a united front on Iran, North Korea and China’s violations of intellectual property rights.

They worry that Trump will focus on a short-term win, rather than more important longer-term changes. That is especially true if Trump continues to con-centrate on forcing a reduction in the US trade deficit, which economists agree is not the right way to gauge a healthy trading relationship.

“If that’s the sole metric and that’s done by purchasing a few more Boeings...that doesn’t actually get at more medium term structural issues in China that will make a difference in the long run,” said economist Stephanie Segal of the Center for Strategic and Inter-national Studies.

“I fear if we declare victory with a one-off from China, we’ve

broken a lot of eggs and without actually making the omelet,” she said.

Trump met last week with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel but he gave no indication of whether he would extend or make permanent the

tariff exemption for the EU, which exported over $7.7bn of steel and aluminum to the US market last year.

Macron in an address to the US Congress urged Washington to reject protectionism. “We need a free and fair trade, for sure,” Macron said. “A commercial war opposing allies is not consistent with our mission, with our history, with our current com-mitments for global security.” Merkel, whose visit was briefer and who has had more chilly relations with Trump, steered clear of any tough talk.

“We had an exchange of views on the current state of affairs on the negotiations...and the decision lies with the pres-ident,” she said at a White House press conference.

But Brussels has vowed to retaliate if it faces tariffs by putting punitive duties on American products ranging from industrial and agricultural items to flagship products such as jeans

and motorbikes and peanut butter.

Meanwhile, trade ministers from the US, Canada and Mexico met during the week to advance talks on revising the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement and made enough progress that they have set their next ministerial meeting for May 7.

That would seem to bode well for continued tariff exemp-tions for the two NAFTA partners. Canada exported over $12bn of steel and aluminum to the US in 2017, with another $3bn from Mexico.

What is not clear is what concessions would be enough to satisfy Washington. The tariffs were imposed on the grounds that the glut of steel imports hurt US industry and therefore threatened national security.

But White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow suggested last week that EU concessions on auto imports might be sufficient

to win an exemption — though that has no links to national security concerns.

And economists warn that using national security as a jus-tification for trade measures opens the door for other coun-tries to do the same.

“This is a really slippery slope in a bazillion ways,” said Mary Lovely, professor of economics at Syracuse University. “This could be a blank check for using these kinds of tools.” Segal agreed: “Once you’ve let the genie out of the bottle, it’s hard to complain about other coun-tries.” Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics said if the exemptions were not extended, tariffs would move from hitting just 30 percent of US imports to the main US suppliers.

“The risk is that we could see a major supply chain shock with negative spillovers to financial markets,” which dropped pre-cipitously when the tariffs were announced, he said.

A file picture of customers at a branch of Asda supermarket in south London.

Sainsbury’s, Walmart’s Asda in talks to create grocery leaderREUTERS

LONDON: Sainsbury’s and Walmart’s Asda are in talks to create Britain’s biggest super-market group, overtaking Tesco by market share in a combi-nation of their UK businesses worth up to £15bn ($20.7bn).

Sainsbury’s confirmed yes-terday that it and Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, were in advanced discussions regarding a combination of the Sainsbury’s and Asda businesses and would make a further announcement at 0600 GMT on Monday.

It gave no details of the structure of any deal but a source with knowledge of the situation said the holding company of the combined group would retain the Sainsbury’s name and Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe would lead it.

The source described the planned deal — which would further consolidate Britain’s fiercely contested grocery market and help Walmart address its underperforming UK business — as a “merger”.

Three sources with knowledge of the situation said Walmart would take a minority stake in the combined business. Two said Walmart would be the biggest shareholder, with a stake of around 40 percent. The Qatar Investment Authority, which in the past has tried to buy Sains-bury’s, is currently the super-market group’s biggest share-holder with a 22 percent stake.

Sainsbury’s invited media and analysts to presentations scheduled for Monday. Walmart declined to comment. Asda did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sky News, which first reported the news, said the deal could be worth over £10bn.

One of the sources who spoke to Reuters said the com-bined company would have an enterprise value, including debt, of around £15bn and would remain listed in London. Sains-bury’s shares closed Friday at 269 pence, giving the company an equity value of £6bn.

Asda, which Walmart bought in 1999 for £6.7bn , is one

of the retail giant’s largest and worst-performing international businesses. In January, Walmart appointed Chief Operating Officer Judith Mckenna to run its international unit with a focus on fixing its ailing UK operations.

McKenna is a Briton and a veteran of Asda, where she served as both COO and finance chief, helping the chain increase its online sales amid fierce competition.

Roger Burnley, who took over as Asda CEO in January, is a former Sainsbury’s executive, working under Coupe. One of the sources said he would stay at the combined group.

All of Britain’s big four grocers, including the No. 4 player, Morrisons, have been losing share to German dis-counters Aldi and Lidl and also have to deal with growing demand for internet grocery shopping. Tesco last month moved to strengthen its grip on the UK food sector with the £4bn purchase of wholesaler Booker.

Macron’s digital tax plan faces EU rebuffAFP

SOFIA: French President Emmanuel Macron’s (pictured) ambitious plans for an EU digital tax targeting US tech giants such as Google or Facebook faced strong head-winds yesterday, provoking anger from Paris.

Finance ministers from the EU’s 28 member states dis-cussed a controversial proposal aimed at claiming a bigger share of billions of euros from mainly US multinationals that shift earnings around Europe so as to pay lower tax rates.

Many of the countries expressed caution out of fear of scaring off high tech investment, but also of pro-voking US President Donald Trump while the threat of a EU-US trade war still looms.

“We are not putting on the brakes, but we do not want a stand alone solution that will not work,” said Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna as he arrived for talks in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“I will insist that we talk to the Americans quickly and con-structively otherwise it could lead to an escalation with America, knowing that we already have trade war rhetoric,” he added.

Luxembourg hosts the EU headquarters for Amazon and along with Facebook and Apple hub Ireland, is loathe to see US tech giants head for the exit.

A European source said the lukewarm response, which also included a muted Germany, drew the “cold fury” of French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire who asked ministers if Europe would “be strong or not”.

“One thing I learnt from my week in the USA with President Macron: the Americans will only respect a show of strength,” Le Maire said in the closed-door session, according

to the source. Getting all coun-tries on board is crucial as tax reforms in the EU require una-nimity and the backing of Berlin is especially key.

But Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was reported to have stayed mum during the heated debate, although he said Germany was behind the prin-ciple of the digital tax.

Taxing the likes of Facebook was “a big moral question”, Scholz told a joint news confer ence with Le Maire after the talks. “There is no country that could accept what we see today that big companies are not (taxed),” Scholz said.

The special tax is the latest measure by the European Union to rein in Silicon Valley giants and France would like a deal by the end of the year.

“It is not an anti (US tech giant) tax, it is not an anti US tax, it is not a protectionist approach, it is something which it is in interest of all Europeans wherever they live,” said EU Economic Affairs Commis-sioner Pierre Moscovici, who is driving the plan.

The transatlantic shot across the bow has been championed by Macron who believes the measure would be a popular accomplishment for the EU ahead of European elections next year, in which anti-Brussels pop-ulists could do well.

France and Germany vow joint eurozone reform planAFP

SOFIA: Germany and France yesterday pledged to deliver a joint proposal to reform the eurozone in time for a leaders summit in June, despite their big differences on the future of the bloc.

“We strongly believe that we should be able to find a com-promise between France and Germany for the next council of June,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at a joint

press conference with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz.

“It is absolutely important that France and Germany agree on questions,” said Scholz as he confirmed the joint plan for reforms despite widespread talk that divisions between the EU powerhouses were too great.

Le Maire “will visit me in Berlin and this will be a very hard working meeting,” the former mayor of Hamburg said after talks in the Bulgarian capital.

He added: “If you look at the

schedule you see that (the meeting) is desperately needed to get this success in the end.” Under the impetus of French President Emmanuel Macron, EU leaders have pledged to table a set of reforms at the summit in June that France says are nec-essary to reboot Europe after the setbacks of Brexit.

The renewed promise of a Franco-German plan comes despite resistance by Germany to follow through on Macron’s ideas amid resistance by political

allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Eurozone finance ministers have for months discussed the proposals, but discussions have gone nowhere.

Macron’s grand ambitions for the single currency bloc have already been significantly watered down, with ideas for the creation of a eurozone finance minister or joint borrowing by member states dropped.

Instead officials are mainly focused on deepening the bloc’s

banking union, with hopes to formally launch a European-wide deposit-insurance scheme that would be implemented over the long-term.

Negotiators are also trying to draw up a plan for an EU rainy day fund as well as aid to help countries adopt economic reforms. “The truth is, we are starting to run out of time,” European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said yesterday, urging for compromise.

Brexit woes: S&P and Fitch stay negative on British debtAFP

NEW YORK: Worries about a messy Brexit continue to dog Britain’s economy, warranting keeping the “negative” outlook on its sovereign debt, ratings agencies S&P and Fitch said.

The agencies affirmed their ‘AA’ high-grade rating on the government’s long-term sovereign debt but pointed to lingering uncer-tainty about the split from the European Union.

While Britain and the EU have reached a transition deal, its implementation is conditioned on resolving thorny questions on the Irish border, the framework for a future commercial rela-tionship and other matters, said S&P Global Ratings.

“In our opinion, uncer-tainty persists for businesses given that there is still a chance that the transition agreement may not come into force,” S&P said.

WEAKNESS“The negative outlook

reflects the risk of sustained economic weakness should merchandise and services exports from the UK lose access to key European markets, or should external financing diminish due to a loss of confidence in the economy’s prospects.”

While the British economy has proven “fairly resilient” since the June 2016 referendum on Brexit, “we project that the UK economy is likely underperform many of its advanced economy peers,” S&P said.

Fitch said the draft Brexit agreement in March meant that while the probability of a “disruptive exit from the EU has decreased markedly, it has not been removed com-pletely.” “Moreover, we believe that no single post-Brexit relationship model with the EU commands either majority parliamentary or popular support,” Fitch added.

“This injects further uncertainty about the final outcome of the withdrawal negotiations.” Fitch noted that the British economy grew more than expected in 2017 in spite of Brexit uncertainty, but predicted growth would slow in the short-term before picking up again in 2019 “on the assumption of the tran-sition agreement being finalised.”

26 SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018BUSINESS

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Under the patronage ofH E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi,

Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs

The Fifth Labour and Workers Conference And launch of the book “Partners of Development”to build a country of pride and prosperity

Dar Al Sharq is pleased to invite you to attend the The Fifth Labour and Workers Conference under a theme “building a country of pride and prosperity”

It is an annual conference to discuss issues related to work and workers and observe social experiences in several fields

Dar Al Sharq aims at raising community awareness about the importance of moral and legal commitment in dealing with Qatari and expatriate workforce. We also seek to promote state initiatives and efforts under the framework of protecting labour rights as per the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Partners of Development is a book published every year by Dar Al Sharq. The book’s contents are modern standards and practices to protect the workers in Qatar. It also includes research and reports of government, local and international organisations. The book also highlights Qatari companies with good names in the field of human rights.

Time: 9:00am

Date: May 1, 2018

Venue: Marsa Malaz Kempinski The Pearl-Doha

Day:Tuesday

Strategic Partner Gold Sponsor Bronze Sponsor Organiser

For participatio

n or enquiry

Sponsor of the Book of Partners of Development Sponsor of the Supplement on Labour and Worker