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QIIB wins 'Best Islamic Bank' Award

BUSINESSBUSINESSArabtec pins

turnaround hopes on industry veteran

Thursday 1 December 2016

Dow & Brent before going to press

Prime Minister awards 50 top SMEs at QDB eventSachin Kumar The Peninsula

Prime Minister and Inte-rior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani honoured top 50

Small and Medium Enterprises at the SME Excellence Awards Cer-emony held yesterday. The award ceremony of SME Excellence List 2016 was organised by Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Chamber at Four Seasons Hotel.

The initiative was designed to provide a valuable platform for exceptional local SMEs, as it showcased their achievements in front of ministers of the state, heads of diplomatic missions, and distinguished private and public sector leaders in attendance at the ceremony. Addressing the gathering, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), QDB, Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said: "We are delighted to stand before you today with yet another proactive initiative: SME Excellence List 2016.

To this end, QDB has short-listed 50 outstanding performers of the local private sector from amongst a collection of more than 800 SMEs. Our team distin-guished these finalists on the basis of stringent criteria – a testament of their success is that the total income achieved by these 50 SMEs amounts to nearly QR1bn."

Computer Station Company, Specialised Qatar Window and Door System, Kaafe Chocolatier, Qatar International Consolidated Company, Saad and Majed for Technical Solutio and Green Energy and Environmental Serv-ices were the top five companies to win the award.

The QDB CEO added:“It is

our firm belief that these com-panies have taken tremendous strides to unlock their potentials. In the days to come, we urge them to continue focusing on development and innovation in all aspects of their work, so that they may compete locally, regionally and globally with the very best in their respective

industries, as envisioned in Qatar National Vision 2030. Further-more, in future, we encourage all SMEs operating in the coun-try and registered in Qatar to seize the opportunity and join our SME rating initiative.”

The SME ranking programme sheds light on the growing matu-rity within the private sector and

the ability of the budding SME sec-tor to generate large incomes. A key objective of the ranking pro-gram is to foster a culture of and competition in the economic sys-tem by ranking top SME performers on a clearly estab-lished set of criteria and providing a roadmap to success for other SMEs to follow.

Doha to emerge as regional food grain hubMohammad ShoebThe Peninsula

With the completion of the multi-billion dol-lar Hamad Port

project, Doha and Moscow are now working closely to trans-form Qatar as a regional hub for food grain supply-chain in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, said a top official of Qatari Chamber (QC) here yesterday.

Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Tawar Al Kuwari, Vice-Chairman of QC, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with high level Russian trade mission, said: “We are organizing a company for Russian and Qatari business-men, as part of a strategic proposal, to expand and deepen bilateral trade and cooperation in a wide range of areas, which include ensuring food security in Qatar and the entire region.”

Al Kuwari, who is also a prominent businessman, added: “Under the strategic proposal we intend to be a major hub for food grain importing from Russia, which is very strong in grains production, both for human and livestock consumption. The huge facilities at Hamad Port, will be used to import, storage and re-export grains to other countries in the Mena region.”

Both the energy-rich coun-tries are exploring areas for mutual cooperation to further expanding and deepening the level of trade and investment.

The visit of the Emir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Russia in January this year, is being considered as a major breakthrough with regard to enhancing bilateral relations.

The visiting Minister of Mos-cow Government and Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow, Cheremin Sergey Yevgenievich, who is here with a 14-member delega-tion consisting of senior government officials and busi-ness executives, gave a detailed presentation to the Qatari busi-nessmen at the QC headquarters.

During his detailed presen-tation, he highlighted the huge investment opportunities in Moocow’s promising sectors, including real estate,

infrastructure development, transport, healthcare, hospital-ity, insurance, finance, banking and equity market.

“Moscow is one of the best destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI). Nearly 50 per-cent of Russia’s total FDI comes to Moscow. We pay high atten-tion to the development and maintenance of infrastructure, transport, and technological parks, which may be of the great importance for the Qatari inves-tors,” said Minister Cheremin.

Cheremin further said: “Mos-cow’s budget is stable, we do not have deficit. Recently it paid the highest dividend across the Europe… We have earmarked a budget of nearly $27bn for health-care related activities. We are reconstructing all the clinics and replacing medical equipment. We

have huge network of subways and over 100km of Metro line with 48 new stations under construc-tion. In addition, we also have 170 major transport hubs planned to be build.”

The Qatar-Russia bilateral trade volume witnessed a steady growth over the past several years to reach $137.4m in 2014, the highest since 2011 when the trade volume stood at $70.04m. However, the two-way trade in 2015 declined to $111.3m, under-standably due to economic slowdown and decline in the prices of traded items. The trade balance has been traditionally in favour of Russia, which was $90.1m in 2015. Russia’s trade surplus with Qatar peaked to $100m in 2013 when the bilat-eral trade volume stood at $131.8m.

Cheremin Sergey, (third right), Minister of Moscow Government, Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relation of Moscow with his accompanying delegates at Qatar Chamber yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and other dignitaries with SME Excellence Award winners at the QDB event, yesterday. Pic: Kammuty V P / The Peninsula

Opec agrees first output cut since 2008Vienna Reuters

Opec has agreed its first limit on oil output since 2008, sources in the pro-

ducer group told Reuters, with Saudi Arabia accepting "a big hit" on its production and agree-ing to arch-rival Iran freezing output at pre-sanctions levels.

Opec President and Qatar's Minister of Energy and Indus-try H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada (pictured) said key non-Opec members had agreed to cuts of 600,000 bpd, of which Russia had commit-ted to 300,000 bpd.

Brent crude futures jumped 8 percent to more than $50 a barrel after Riyadh signalled it had finally reached a compro-mise with Iran after insisting in recent weeks that Tehran fully participate in any cut.

The source said the Organ-isation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had on Wednesday agreed on a pro-posal by member Algeria to reduce production by around 4.5 percent, or about 1.2 million barrels per day.

Saudi Arabia would con-tribute around 0.5 million bpd by reducing output to 10.06 million bpd, the source said, while Iran would freeze output at close to current levels of 3.797 million bpd and other

members would also cut production.

The source added that OPEC had also suspended Indo-nesia from Opec and hence the exact combined reduction was yet to be calculated. The meet-ing was still ongoing after around six hours of debate.

"Opec has proved to the sceptics that it is not dead. The move will speed up market rebalancing and erosion of the global oil glut," said OPEC watcher Amrita Sen from Energy Aspects.

Before the meeting, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Opec was indeed focusing on significant cuts and hoped Russia and other non-OPEC producers would contribute a reduction of another 0.6 mil-lion bpd. "It will mean that we (Saudi) take a big cut and a big hit from our current production and from our forecast for 2017," Falih said.

6,783.79 + 11.79 PTS

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19,190.76 + 69.16 PTS

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$49.06$49.06+3.83+3.83

9,793.83+157.43 PTS

1.63%FTSE100DOW BRENTQE

22 THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

QIIB wins 'Best Islamic Bank' AwardThe Peninsula

Cambridge IF Analyt-ica, leading financial services intelligence house, has chosen QIIB as the “Best

Islamic Bank in Qatar” in Retail Services for 2016. The announce-ment was made at an event held in Dubai recently, and attended by high level financial and bank-ing institutions, both regionally and internationally,

Cambridge IF Analytica is considered a renowned institu-tion in financial services. It offers studies and consultations for the development and use of analyt-ical tools in the evaluation of business data and the assess-ment of the micro-economy indicators while understanding the market trends, determining the leadership positions, and developing the trademarks for the development of the industry

of financial services at world level. Jamal Al Jamal, QIIB Dep-uty CEO received the award during the ceremony and stated

on the occasion:“Leadership is considered

one of the pillars of QIIB busi-ness throughout its journey. We

are happy to receive such an award from this well-established institution, which declares its awards based on international standards and proper market research”.

He said, “We consider this award as a recognition to QIIB and its efforts in value-driven Shariah-based banking.

To tell you the truth, this can be considered an award for Islamic banking in general, which has gained the trust of its customers and fulfilled their needs based on the best interna-tional standards, even as it is attracting more customers every year”.

The distinguished journey of QIIB in different banking portfolios, including retail services will continue. QIIB will further enhance the performance bar. “ This will help us to meet the increasing needs of our growing customer base, whether

individuals or companies. We sincerely believe that the strides we make in Islamic banking, will contribute to the success of the Qatari banking sector in particular and the national economy in general”, Jamal added.

On the selection of QIIB as the “Best Islamic Bank in Qatar” in Retail Services for 2016, Cambridge IF Analytica said, “During evaluation, we have relied on a set of standards, including quantitative factors such as profitability, geographic prevalence and business development, in addition to the bank’s reputation and its customers’ satisfaction level”.

Cambridge IF Analytica also confirmed that “QIIB contributed to the growth of Islamic financing, and succeeded in fulfilling the needs of its customers by offering Shariah-compliant products.

QIIB Deputy CEO Jamal Al Jamal (left) receiving the award at the event held in Dubai.

IIA holds risk management seminarThe Peninsula

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Qatar recently conducted a full

day training program titled "Everything you wanted to know about Risk Management" and an evening seminar on "Innovate & Be Great or Stagnate & Termi-nate" at Oryx Rotana Hotel. Adil Buhariwalla is Managing Part-ner of MASC International, UAE, was the trainer.

“Although risk management is not a new subject, Internal Auditors worldwide still face challenges in understanding var-ious concepts and models and often implementation creates it's unique challenges. The objective was to bring out needed clarity in concepts and implementation aspects from real life experience and in-depth knowledge” said Sundaresan Rajeswar, the IIA Board member.

Adil started by playing a video on risk management that got everyone in the right frame of mind for the full-day intense course. “There are various mod-els used for Risk Management, including many home grown o n e s . H o w e v e r , t h e

most common models used by internal auditors were the COSO and ISO 31000 models” said Adil.

He explained the meaning of risk, and how risk was defined by COSO 2103 and by ISO 31000. As risk has a direct correlation to corporate objectives, various types of Business Objectives were elucidated.

“ While Governance is the overall system implemented by the Board/Senior management to direct and oversee the activi-ties of the organization, ERM is a vital component of governance, and internal control is a vital component of ERM” Adil

clarified. There are variations in ERM

roles played by the Board, Man-agement and Internal Auditors. In response to questions raised about Internal Auditors being asked by management to take-on the Risk Management function in some organizations, Adil displayed the “Risk Manage-ment Fan” chart that clarifies what IA’s should do, should do with caution and should not do.

The training covered the nine principles of risk management, steps for implementing risk man-agement such as Mandate & Commitment, Design of the RM Framework, Risk Assessment, Risk Treatment, Monitoring & Reporting on Risk Management and Continual Improvement. Two sets of quizzes were con-ducted and case studies individually, and in groups.

The speaker provided insights into innovation and how Internal Auditors can help enhance and protect organiza-tional value. Hassan Al Mulla, President of the IIA opened the meeting. Board members Fahad al Marri, Murali krishna, Kurien Kuriakose, Murtaza, Felix and Christian Adonis were present.

Commercial Bank begins mortgage campaignCOMMERCIAL Bank has launched a highly competi-tive mortgage loan campaign to help customers manage their existing mortgage obligations with other banks.

Until the end of the year, customers can enjoy a very competitive mortgage inter-est rate starting from 3.75 percent per annum (2.02 per-cent flat),with the flexibility to merge loan obligations-from other banks under one loan from Commercial Bank, with just one monthly instalment.

Martin Leong,AGM Retail & Consumer Banking said: “Commercial Bank’s mort-gage offeris one of the best currently available. It is a lim-ited offer, so customers should act fast to see how we can help them take advantage of this great deal, save them money, and make their com-bined repayments easier to manage.”

Commercial Bank puts its customers firstwith innova-tive products and services to meet their needs.

Doha Bank card delivery centre at City CenterDOHA Bank yesterday took another step forward in expanding its service delivery network and bringing greater banking convenience to cus-tomers with the opening of a dedicated Card Delivery Cen-tre at its City Centre branch.

Located adjacent to the City Centre main gate, the new centre will serve as a one-stop destination for card-related services.

Dr R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank, said, “The new Card Delivery Centre will add more value to Doha Bank’s branch network and is a fur-ther demonstration of our commitment to providing greater convenience to our customers." The centre’s strategic location and gener-ous opening hours are designed to ensure maximum convenience for customers

The Card Delivery Centre at Doha Bank City Centre branch will be open six days a week – Saturday through Thursday – from 9am to 8pm. The centre will issue all types of Doha Bank cards to cus-tomers except the D-pay payroll card.

'Digital Qatar' offers huge opportunties The Peninsula

Qatar’s efforts to digitise its economy and pro-vide more services

online is opening a huge range of opportunities for citizens, businesses and the wider region, according to experts set to attend the Euromoney Qatar Conference 2016.

Qatar has announced a multi-government agency ini-tiative to digitise services and build a strong network foun-dation as part of the plans to promote the knowledge-based economy in support of the Qatar National Vision 2030. The push for digital has seen the majority of govern-ment services be made available online, as well as the launch of dedicated pro-grammes to tackle social issues, such as electronic pay-ments for workers, which has ensured that 85 percent of Qatar’s 2.1 million workers are now paid by bank transfer. Most recently, the Ministry of Transport and Communica-tions (MoTC) has announced plans to expand “digital cul-ture” across the community and achieve 100 percnet dig-ital comprehensiveness for all demographic segments, including temporary workers, the elderly, and people with disabilities, to raise awareness of the benefits of ICT. Next steps under consideration include measures to

encourage more businesses to move their service offerings online, particularly small and medium businesses. A recent report by Trading Economics suggests that digitising Qatar’s economy could result in GDP growth of 3.4 percent – or QR 38.2bn– by 2020.

A special panel at the upcoming Euromoney Qatar Conference 2016 will look at the steps taken to date to digitise the economy, and examine the necessary strategic priorities, including infrastructure investment and regulatory change.

Featuring speakers from Qatar Central Bank, SAP, Vodafone Qatar and PayFort, the panel discussion will pay particular attention to the potential impact of digitalisation on the financial sector.

Laurence Leyden, General Manager, Financial Services, EMEA, SAP, said: “The move towards digitalisation in Qatar, led by government ministries and the leadership of Qatar, has already delivered significant results for the people and for the economy.

The next stage, which will see large-scale digitalisation of business services, should provide significant stimulus for diversifying the economy, offering new employment opportunities and boosting innovation across Qatar.”

The trainers and participants at the training programme in Doha

Domasco announces launch of premium sedan Volvo S90 The Peninsula

Al-Futtaim’s Doha Mar-k e t i n g S e r v i c e s Company (Domasco),

the distributor for Volvo cars in Qatar, has announced that the game changer premium sedan, Volvo S90, is now avail-able in the Volvo showroom.

The S90 marks a giant step forward for Volvo Cars. The Swedish car maker is better known for its SUVs, but with the launch of the S90 Volvo is clearly intent on shaking up the premium sedan segment with its distinctive executive class sedan.

Equipped with a host of new technologies ranging from cutting edge safety to cloud-based apps and services, the S90 is further proof of the

Swedish brand’s continuing transformation.

The S90 has taken a big stride forwards in terms of driving dynamics, performance and ride. Completely rede-signed the Volvo driving experience from the ground up to deliver a sense of precision, engaging control and comfort.

Commenting on the launch of Volvo’s premium four-door, five-seat flagship sedan, Faisal Sharif, the Managing Director at DOMASCO said, “The S90 brings something entirely new to this rather conservative pre-mium sedan segment and delivers a visual expression that exudes leadership and confidence on the exterior.

On the inside the S90 is taken to the next level,

delivering a high-end luxury experience that promises com-fort and control.” He added, “We are delighted to offer this innovative new model to our customers here in Qatar.”

The S90 carries the proud and confident face of Volvo’s new design language, along with classic Volvo styling cues. Key features include the iconic “Thor’s Hammer” LED head-light design, the new grille, and the expressive use of the Volvo word mark on the rear.

In the cabin, Volvo has taken cues from the success of its XC90 model and raised the bar with new details on the dashboard and instrument panel, including new air blades that stand vertically on each side of the Sensus user interface.

“It is classy and cool. The exterior is exceptionally well surfaced with a fantastic stance and the sort of clean lines that are singularly appropriate of a Scandinavian design.

The interior masters the art of blending innovative technol-ogy and natural materials into an elegant, welcoming and tasteful ambience.” said Andrew Parrott, Head of Sales and Marketing for Volvo at Domasco.

“The S90 provides luxuri-o u s c o m f o r t a n d confidence-inspiring handling and braking performance, while also offering class-leading driv-ability and safety performance. We are inviting Volvo enthusi-asts to indulge themselves in a test drive in this game changer premium sedan.”

Challenges

Internal Auditors worldwide still face challenges in understanding various concepts and models .

The training covered the nine principles of risk management and steps for implementing risk .

23THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

Guangzhou Reuters

Carmakers Ford and General Motors are aiming the pick-up truck, an iconic staple in the United States, at

upmarket buyers in China, where most associate trucks with farmers and con-struction workers. “The Chinese call it pika, pika - a very low-end worker’s (vehi-cle). But the (Ford F-150) Raptor is totally different,” said Wesley Liu, Ford’s Asia-Pacific sales director, ahead of this month’s Guangzhou autoshow.

Trucks are largely restricted to over-night driving in most Chinese cities, but four provinces - Yunnan, Liaoning, Hebei and Henan - have this year launched trial

programmes allowing them into urban zones in an attempt to stimulate produc-tion as economic growth, and car sales, slow. With those looser restrictions, US pick-up makers aim to distance their trucks from local models made by Great Wall Motor, Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC) and others and appeal to Chinese premium buyers, like Meng Shuo.

The 32-year-old founder of an invest-ment consultancy, who already owned a Chevrolet Camaro when he bought an F-150 pick-up truck five years ago through an unofficial grey market importer. He has since traded it in for a Toyota Tundra, and also owns a Mercedes luxury sedan and Porsche and Mitsubishi sports cars.

Ford said in April it would bring a

high-performance version of its F-series - the best-selling vehicle in the US for 34 years - to China, the world’s biggest auto market. A spokesman said the company is studying whether to also bring a mass-market model such as the F-150 or Ranger pick-up to China, depending on demand and future regulations. “The people who buy the Raptor maybe own some other premium vehicle already. This is another toy,” Liu said. The truck is aimed at four types of buyers, he said - the wealthy, who want to stand out from the crowd; busi-ness owners, who want more than a traditional commercial vehicle; drivers who want a single car for all situations; and “gearheads”, who just like the mechanics.

London AFP

While the prospect of Brexit is weighing on much of the British

economy, tourism and luxury goods businesses are cashing in on bargain-hungry visitors lured by the slide in the pound.

London’s tourism agency says sales of goods eligible for sales-tax exemption have gone up by a third since the Brexit vote in June, which sent the pound sterling plunging against the euro and dollar.

“We calculated that over the last four months it’s been about 12 percent cheaper for Europe-ans to come and shop here,” said Chris Gottlieb, head of leisure marketing at the agency Lon-don & Partners.

The pound is now at €1.17 compared with €1.3 before the shock vote to leave the Euro-pean Union, while it has also fallen to $1.25 from $1.49. The

result is that London has become the cheapest city for luxury goods shopping in the world in dollar terms, according to a study by Deloitte.

In tourist areas, the effects are evident. “We’re going to spend much more money than we planned to,” said Radostina Nonova, a Bulgarian tourist, laughing as she lugged her bags on Carnaby Street—in the heart of London’s shopping district.

“We didn’t plan to shop too much but it’s obvious that the prices are very good for us. “So we shop and we can afford to eat and drink outside. That was not possible years ago,” she said.

French tourist Christophe Disic said he did not come just because the pound was low but “when we changed our money we realised we had a few more pounds for fewer euros”. When speaking to US tourists, shop-keepers are quick to take out their calculators. “We’re an American brand. Our products

are designed and assembled in the States. But with the weak-ening of the pound it actually happens to be cheaper for the American tourists to buy an American product in London,” said Denis Sagajevs, who works in Shinola, a shop selling watches and leather accessories. “It’s affected by the fact that they can claim VAT on their way back. We pretty much on a day to day basis explain that to cus-tomers from the States. It happens to be quite a strong sales driver,” he said.

Some shops are adapting their advertising and sales tac-tics to the new consumer behaviour. “Before the vote, European tourists were couples who came to be together and maybe bought a couple of things,” said James, the manager of a luxury men’s clothes shop on Carnaby Street. “Now, there are groups of friends who rush in. They grab everything they can carry.”

Abu Dhabi Reuters

Dubai construction company Arabtec Holding said that it appointed Hamish Tyrwhitt (pictured)

as its Chief Executive, hoping the industry veteran can help turn around its fortunes as Gulf con-tractors battle a severe downturn.

Loss-making Arabtec has been struggling for more than two years in a depressed mar-ket for infrastructure projects, its problems exacerbated by internal strife among sharehold-ers and a number of senior management changes. The last

reshuffle saw acting CEO Mohamed Al Fahim step down and replaced by board member Saeed Al Mehairbi on an interim basis in November 2015.

Tyrwhitt, who served as chief executive of Australian contrac-tor Leighton Holdings, since rebranded CIMIC Group ,

between 2011 and 2014, joined Arabtec on Nov. 28, the company said in a statement.

Mehairbi will continue to serve on Arabtec’s board. Arabtec shareholders responded positively to the move, with the stock ending Tuesday 2.3 per-cent higher.

Tyrwhitt, who began work-ing in construction 30 years ago, will retain his position as group CEO of Dubai-based interior contractor Depa Group, which he has held since April.

While such a move would be considered unusual in other parts of the world, most major Gulf business figures hold mul-tiple roles, often within the same sector. There are also existing links between the pair: Arabtec

is Depa’s largest shareholder with 24.33 percent, while Fahim served as Depa chairman until May. His replacement, Ibrahim Belselah, served as Arabtec chairman between September 2011 and May 2012.

Both companies, in their statements, said the move will have no impact on their opera-tions. In its filing, Depa said the duo had signed a “settlement and cooperation agreement”, which positioned Depa as one of Arabtec’s preferred partners

“My role with Arabtec com-plements my current role with Depa and a closer working rela-tionship between the two companies can only benefit both,” said Tyrwhitt in the Depa statement. Arabtec has reported

eight successive quarterly losses and, in April, hired restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners to help it strengthen its capital structure and reform its business.

“The regional contracting industry remains challenged for the next few years, so anybody coming to Arabtec has legacy problems,” said Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, head of research at NBAD Securities, adding it would be tough to turn the firm around. Gulf contractors are bat-tling a downturn caused by reduced spending on infrastruc-ture projects by the state in the wake of the drop in oil prices, which has put schemes on hold and delayed payments to contractors.

Arabtec pins turnaround hopes on industry veteran

Brussels AFP

Eurozone inflation rose to a two-and-half year high in November as

Europe moved further away from the low consumer prices that have put a fragile eco-nomic recovery under threat.

The Eurostat statistics agency yesterday said con-sumer prices in the 19-country currency bloc rose by 0.6 percent this month, the first time it has hit that level since April 2014. The level matched forecasts by analysts and will come as a relief to the European Central Bank which has embarked on a highly controversial and mas-sive stimulus programme to boost inflation.

The eurozone’s ultra-low inflation is a huge worry for the ECB, where the goal is to keep inflation near 2.0 per-cent. Inflation reflects underlying consumer demand in the economy and while still edging higher this month, 0.6 percent means Europe is still short of a full-fledged recovery. “The muted November core inflation data highlight that the ECB cannot relax on the inflation front yet, even if the headline rate looks primed to rise appreci-ably over the next few months,” Archer of IHS Glo-bal Insight wrote.

Moscow AFP

Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot said yesterday its net profit had grown

nearly seven-fold in the third quarter despite an economic crisis that has battered the Russian aviation industry.

The majority state-con-trolled company said it had earned a net profit of 41.2bn rubles ($630m) between July and September. Total reve-nue rose 18 percent to 157.5bn rubles.

Russia’s aviation industry has struggled in the face of the country’s economic crisis caused by falling oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, hitting travellers’ wallets.

Aeroflot is emerging strong from the economic cri-sis that is now showing signs of stabilisation, capitalising on the bankrupcy of its main competitor Transaero last year.

Ramallah AFP

At first glance, Mashvisor is just one of thousands of websites specialising

in US real estate. But it has a unique feature, undetectable to customers: Its designers created it in the West Bank and it is run from the Israel-occupied Pal-estinian territory.

“The great thing about a start-up is you can work on it anywhere in the world. You can be in Palestine, you can be in Cambodia, Vietnam, China. It doesn’t matter,” explains Peter Abu Al Zolof, who founded Mashvisor more than a year ago with a friend.

Last week, Mashvisor became the first Palestinian company to get the support of the influential American 500 Startups venture capital fund. It is one of a number of Pales-tinian start-ups in the occupied Palestinian territories, long overshadowed by Israel’s so-called “Start-up Nation”.

The online platform auto-mates and analyses US real estate data nationwide to find investors the best property deals. As in Silicon Valley, the staff dress casually, drink cof-fee from state-of-the-art machines in garish colours, and pad through the office wearing US-made headphones around their necks.

But working in the West Bank brings unique challenges. In October 2015, a wave of vio-lence broke out across Israel and the Palestinian territories. Abu Al Zolof’s friend and found-ing partner Mohamed Jebrini, who lives in Hebron, found himself stranded in the city as roads were closed, 45km from their Ramallah offices. “He was stuck in Hebron and I was stuck in Ramallah and we were still working on our company,” explains Abu al-Zolof.

And the American-Pales-tinian says the online nature of what they do means they can

avoid many of the frustrations for other companies in the West Bank, where the Israeli army checkpoints often present very physical challenges to commerce.

“There are no walls, there are no challenges, there is noth-ing that can stop this kind of thing,” he says. “It’s a virtual market, so there are no check-points where they tell you: ‘You can’t sell this. You can’t take this out of the country.’” The com-pany benefited from the support of the Ramallah-based Leaders, an organisation that helps nurture start-ups.

Shadi Atshan, Leader’s director general, said that in the start-up scene there was “no unemployment — unlike almost all other industries and eco-nomic sectors in Palestine which have high unemploy-ment”. “Those with good skills can earn a very high income.”

The unemployment rate in the occupied Palestinian terri-tories is 27 percent, according to figures from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The Ibtikar investment fund has invested around $800,000 (€750,000) in 10 start-ups so far, according to its executive director Ambar Amleh. She stresses their work is not charity.

“This isn’t work that should be funded by donors or grants. The expectations of making money should be there from the beginning because we are cre-ating companies,” she said.

Palestinians are still a long way behind Israel, where com-panies in Tel Aviv’s start-up scene regularly sell for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2013, Google bought the Israeli traffic app Waze for more than $1bn, a figure unim-aginable in the Palestinian scene.

But Amleh points out the huge government support for Israeli start-ups, which don’t exist in the Palestinian territories.

Pinning hopes

Loss-making Arabtec has been struggling for more than two years in a depressed market for infrastructure projects.

Arabtec has reported eight successive quarterly losses and, in April, hired restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners to help it strengthen its capital structure and reform its business.

Pedestrians carrying shopping bags in Oxford Street in central London.

Luxury shoppers crowd London for Brexit deals

All-American pick-up trucks aim to lure China’s wealthy

Aeroflot profits climb seven-foldin third quarter

Eurozone inflation hits 31-month high

Palestinian start-ups show the way ahead

Jim Farley, CEO and Chairman of Ford Europe, in Cologne, western Germany,yesterday.

24 THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

25THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

A new model Ford GT of manufacturer Ford is presented in Cologne, western Germany, yesterday.

New Ford GT

Dubai Reuters

Middle East funds have become more bullish towards equities in the

region but are cautious towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt after spectacular rebounds in those stock markets, a monthly Reu-ters poll found.

The poll of 14 leading fund managers, conducted over the last week, found 43 percent expect to increase their alloca-tion to Middle East equities over the next three months and 7 per-cent to reduce them.

This is the most bullish bal-ance towards equities since January, and compares to ratios of 14 percent and 7 percent in last month’s survey.

“The next three months

coincide with the annual results of the public companies, and more importantly their dividend distributions for 2016 profits,” said Mohammed Ali Yassin, head of asset management at Abu Dhabi’s NBAD Securities.

“This will prove to be a pos-itive catalyst for those companies whose cash dividend distribu-tion could yield 4 percent or more.”

The United Arab Emirates is the most favoured country among equity investors, with 57 percent of participants saying they expect to raise allocations there while only 7 percent expect to reduce them. That compares with ratios of 29 percent and 7 percent last month.

“The UAE market is getting attractive in terms of valuations, so it seems a good time to

increase allocations. The only thing missing is a catalyst news item that would drive prices up,” said Talal Samhouri, head of asset management at Qatar’s Amwal.

Qatari shares, which in last month’s survey drew the most bearish balance since the survey was launched in September 2013, are back in some manag-ers’ good graces, with 29 percent saying they expect to increase allocations there and 21 percent anticipating reductions. Last month, only 7 percent said they would increase and 50 percent said they would cut back.

“Historically, Qatari compa-nies have paid healthy dividends with the entire distribution made during Q1 2017. Combined with the second half of Qatar’s inclu-sion in the FTSE emerging

market index in March 2017, this provides opportunities in a number of stocks,” said Akber Khan, head of asset management at Doha-based Al Rayan Investment.

Fund managers are cautious, however, on two equity markets that have soared in the last sev-eral weeks. Saudi Arabia’s index has jumped over 25 percent since the government’s $17.5bn international bond issue in late October eased fears about its ability to cope with an era of cheap oil, and helped it begin making delayed payments to set-tle its debts to private companies.

Managers have turned less bullish towards Saudi equities, however; 29 percent said they expect to increase allocations there and 21 percent to reduce

them, compared to ratios of 36 percent and 14 percent last month. “Saudi market valuations have come up in the past two weeks so much that any nega-tive news coming from the potential OPEC deal (to cut oil output) would mean a major pull-back for the stock market,” said Samhouri at Amwal.

Similarly, Egypt’s index jumped 37 percent after the November 3 float of the Egyp-tian pound, but the rally has begun to make valuations less attractive, particularly given continued headwinds for the Egyptian economy.

Twenty-one percent of man-agers now expect to increase allocations to Egyptian equities and 29 percent to reduce them, compared to 21 percent and 43 percent last month.

London Reuters

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will cut costs and sell assets to boost capital levels, it said yesterday after

failing this year’s Bank of Eng-land stress test, which warned of a “challenging” outlook for Britain’s financial system.

State-backed RBS rushed out a statement after the result announcement to say it would take a range of actions to make up the capital shortfall identified by the tests of around £2bn ($2.49bn). The bank’s shares were down 2.3 percent at 192 pence by 0901 GMT.

The unexpected result underlines the litany of problems with which RBS is grappling, including a mounting legal bill for misconduct before the 2008 financial crisis and difficulties selling off assets such as its Wil-liams & Glyn banking business.

Analysts said the result would further delay RBS’s abil-ity to start returning capital to shareholders. “We expect RBS will announce further restruc-turing at its full-year results, likely dashing any hopes for excess capital returns,” Jefferies analyst Joseph Dickerson said in a note.

The lender said it had agreed a plan of action with the Pruden-tial Regulation Authority (PRA), the Bank of England’s enforce-ment arm, that should mean it does not have to tap markets to

raise the money.“RBS has agreed a revised

capital plan with the PRA to improve its stress resilience in light of the various challenges and uncertainties facing both the bank and the wider economy,” the bank said. RBS is expected to settle soon with US authorities over its alleged mis-selling of mortgage backed securities in the run-up to the financial cri-sis. Barclays also fell short by some measures but will not have to submit a new capital-raising plan because it has already announced steps to strengthen its defences, the BoE Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said.

Standard Chartered missed the test’s minimum Tier 1

capital target but also escapes the need for new capital-raising measures because of steps already being taken.

The performance of the seven lenders tested was worse than many market participants had expected.

“This is the highest average fall in CET1 (a measure of capital) and leverage ratios we’ve seen in the history of a UK concurrent stress test,” said Steven Hall, banking partner at KPMG.

This year’s health check, the

third so far by the Bank of England since the 2007-09 financial crisis forced taxpayers to bail out lenders such as RBS, was the toughest yet, with scenarios combining shocks to both global and domestic economies.

Britain’s financial system faces elevated risks from leaving the European Union and market volatility after the US election, the Bank of England said.

HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and

Santander UK did not reveal any capital inadequacies in the test, the central bank said.

Britain’s banking system underwent a severe real-life test in June when markets and sterling plummeted in response to Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. RBS said that it needs an extra percentage point of capital, equating to about 2bn pounds, which could be achieved by further asset sales rather than tapping markets.

London Reuters

The dollar edged up yes-terday as US Treasury yields resumed their

rise after three down days, with the greenback on track for its strongest performance against the yen in seven years.

The dollar hit its highest level against a basket of major currencies for almost 14 years last week, after a boost from Donald Trump’s shock US election win that drove debt yields higher on expectations of more fiscal spending, higher inflation and a faster pace of monetary tightening.

The US currency has ral-lied almost 8 percent versus the yen since the start of November, its strongest month since December 2009, and more than 3 percent against the euro , its best month in a year.

This week, however, the dollar has stalled somewhat, trading below last week’s peak, but the index was up 0.2 percent on Wednesday.

It was helped by data on Tuesday that saw the US third quarter GDP revised up and November consumer confi-dence come in stronger than expected. Friday will see the most-watched set-piece data point of the month: the non-farm payrolls report.

“The market is a little bit more cautious - dollar strength has mainly been driven by expectations, so these can only carry you so far,” Commerzbank currency strategist Esther Reichelt said.

“In the end we want to see some facts to show these changed expectations are jus-tified, and it’s still too early for that. I would expect for this reason the upcoming data to be quite important.”

Against the yen - which Reichelt said has also been pushed down this month by the Bank of Japan’s decision to implement a new mone-tary policy tool, targeting the yield curve - the dollar was up a third of a percent at 112.78 yen as US Treasury yields ticked higher, some way off last week’s highs of 113.90 yen. The dollar was up 0.1 percent against the euro at $1.0641, ahead of euro zone flash inflation data due at 1000 GMT.

Dubai Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power is expected to offer a hefty spread on its planned $1bn

bond offer, partly because of market volatility since the US elections and a narrowing issu-ance window, bankers and investors said.

ACWA, in which Saudi sov-ereign entities hold a combined 16.3 percent stake, is set to be the first international bond from the kingdom since the govern-ment’s mammoth $17.5bn debt sale in October, Riyadh’s first issue. The huge success of the sovereign issue showed there is strong demand for Saudi debt, especially from Asian and US investors. But market volatility, and the complexity and long maturity of ACWA’s proposed bond structure, mean it may not issue cheaply. The company, which operates and has

interests in power generation and desalinated water produc-tion plants, will on Thursday end a series of investor meetings across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

The bond offer, comprising senior secured fixed-rate con-ventional notes and trust certificates, would have a total size of about $1bn, according to a document issued by the firm to investors and seen by Reu-ters. The amortising bond would mature in 2039, with the prin-cipal repaid over 13-1/2 years. For many investors, the timing of the issue is not ideal. “Given that they’re issuing at the end of the year, when people have almost closed their books, they’ll have to offer a high margin to get people’s interest. Everyone made money this year; nobody wants to risk losing money now,” said a local investor. A possible US interest rate hike in December is another risk. So

ACWA will have to count on opportunistic investors; in par-ticular, it is likely to tap into the long-term liquidity pool offered by the US and Asian investors who bought heavily into the 30-year tranche of the Saudi sovereign issue.

A portfolio manager said the ACWA deal could be launched at a premium of between 100 and 120 basis points over the sovereign’s 30-year notes, which are currently trading at around 230 bps over mid-swaps. Some investors are also comparing the ACWA bond to the $825m, 2036 project bond issued in 2013 by the UAE’s Ruwais Power Co (Shuweihat 2), an affiliate of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

The Ruwais paper is not very liquid; it is now trading at around 230 bps over mid-swaps but would be at around 280 bps if liquidity was better, two fund managers said.

RBS fails this year's BoE stress test

A woman shelters under an umbrella as she walks past a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the City of London.

Counter actions

$2.49bn

2.3%

State-backed RBS said that it would take a range of actions to make up the capital shortfall identified by the tests of around £2bn ($2.49bn).

The bank’s shares were down 2.3% at 192 pence The unexpected result underlines the litany of problems with which RBS is grappling.

Mideast funds more bullish on equities: Poll

Dollar records best month against yen

Saudi’s ACWA to offer hefty spread on $1bn bond offer

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

26 THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016 BUSINESS

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD

A C C-A/D 1342.6 20.05 52755

Aarti Drugs-B/D 645.25 8.25 1301

Aban Offs-A/D 237.05 19.85 1155794

Ador Welding-B/D 294.7 5.85 1343

Aegis Logis-B/D 149 4.75 36201

Alembic-B/D 35.9 -0.05 54976

Alok Indus-A/D 2.68 -0.09 3885175

Apollo Tyre-A/D 191.05 7.3 453364

Asahi I Glass-/D 176.5 -1.5 3219

Ashok Leyland-/D 79.55 -0.45 639684

Ballarpur In-B/D 16.83 0.45 1126805

Banaras Bead-B/D 44.6 1.6 2694

Bata India-A/D 415.5 2.35 52035

Bayer Crop-A/D 4080 137.6 5899

Beml Ltd-A/D 841 6.35 13693

Bh Electronic-/D 1437.9 34.6 93004

Bhansali Eng-T/D 23.05 0.45 211476

Bharat Bijle-B/D 792.6 24.55 9880

Bharatgears-B/D 113.85 5.4 30237

Bhartiya Int-B/D 505.5 18.5 59262

Bhel-A/D 130.35 0.9 537197

Bom.Burmah-B/D 510 -0.95 6684

Bombay Dyeing-/D 46.25 0.35 211196

Camph.& All-B/D 689.95 -0.8 1730

Canfin Homes-B/D 1687.1 29.15 18180

Castrol India-/D 407.5 6.05 80136

Century Enka-B/D 285.45 2.15 9066

Century Text-A/D 807.65 29.15 328068

Chambal Fert-B/D 63.2 1.75 88228

Chola Invest-A/D 970.05 -10 14337

Cimmco-B/D 65.9 0.5 1747

Cipla-A/D 566.55 -2.55 41793

City Union Bk-/D 134.85 0.8 25179

Colgate-A/D 934.15 -5.25 7217

Container Cor-/D 1172.55 3.6 4356

Dai-Tichi Kar-/D 514 28 2692

Dcm Financia-T/D 5.91 0.28 125839

Dcm Shram Ind-/D 240.5 -2.15 5363

Dhampur Sugar-/D 113 -0.05 57698

Dr. Reddy-A/D 3197.1 6.2 9538

E I H-B/D 102 2.7 3712

E.I.D Parry-A/D 248.7 -1.2 8042

Eicher Motor-A/D 21715 371.6 5581

Electrosteel-B/D 23.5 0.1 37860

Emco-B/D 27.15 1 94328

Escorts Fin-B/D 11.11 -0.03 8785

Escorts-A/D 321.8 2 260533

Eveready Indu-/D 217 2.25 1776

F D C-B/D 218.8 4.6 6222

Federal Bank-A/D 70.65 1.05 523490

Ferro Alloys-B/D 6.9 -0.1 33185

Finolex-A/D 440.2 15.05 12376

Forbes-B/D 2174.15 31.35 456

Gail-A/D 424.8 -3.15 330073

Gammon India-T/D 12.3 -0.15 91911

Garden P -B/D 28.6 -0.55 5105

Godfrey Phil-B/D 927.7 5.15 14449

Goodricke-B/D 185.1 -2.9 14948

Goodyear I -B/D 750.05 17.25 17421

Hcl Infosys-B/D 54.1 4.45 2511273

Him.Fut.Comm-T/D 12.65 0.05 267883

Himat Seide-B/D 282.7 -0.65 8739

Hind Unilever-/D 844.3 10.3 51287

Hind Motors-T/D 6.99 0.05 150427

Hind Org Chem-/D 19.25 0.65 38707

Hind.Petrol-A/D 469.95 -5.35 448737

Hindalco-A/D 175.9 0.45 1541365

Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1265 9.5 52986

I F C I-A/D 23.3 0.25 2179435

Idbi-A/D 69.35 1.3 281744

Ifb Agro-B/D 376.05 -6.15 6522

India Cement-A/D 119.5 2.55 586928

India Glycol-B/D 130.7 3.3 37037

Indian Hotel-A/D 101.8 -2.85 110490

Indo-Tcount-T/D 156.35 1.5 38580

Indusind-A/D 1089.4 29.45 62260

J.B.Chemical-B/D 352.55 5.2 22778

Jagatjit Ind-X/D 70.05 1 1200

Jagson Phar-B/D 34.8 -0.15 12042

Jamnaauto-B/D 177.65 0.15 35105

Jbf Indu-B/D 206.65 1.85 6771

Jct Ltd-B/D 5.67 0.18 324260

Jenson&Nich.-B/D 8.06 0.04 8221

Jik Indust-T/D 0.7 -0.02 1000

Jindal Drill-B/D 178.65 10.8 16195

Jktyre&Ind-A/D 121.85 4.6 459047

Jmc Projects-T/D 209 3 1218

Kabra Extr-B/D 112.8 -3.15 4137

Kajaria Cer-A/D 533.15 0.05 69718

Kakatiya Cem-B/D 251.9 2.15 10108

Kalpat Power-B/D 242.8 5.8 5006

Kalyani Stel-T/D 302.85 4.8 102311

Kanoria Chem-B/D 72.25 -5.3 78770

Kg Denim-B/D 83.25 -0.45 45787

Kilburnengg-Xd/D 53.9 2.05 6944

Kinetic Eng-Xc/D 82 0.9 10950

Kopran-B/D 52.6 3.4 88850

Lakshmi Elec-B/D 469.4 -4.4 7435

Lakshmi Mach-A/D 3902.55 30.05 1044

Laxmi Prcisn-B/D 39 1 4750

Lgb Broth-B/D 611.8 29.15 4839

Lloyd Metal-Xc/D 14.64 -0.36 77792

Lumax Ind-B/D 781.55 5.5 1810

Lupin-A/D 1503.2 -13.85 82094

Lyka Labs-T/D 61.55 0.7 21803

Mafatlal Ind-B/D 279 7.5 2198

Mah.Seamless-B/D 225.45 -6.25 5318

Maha Scooter-B/D 1652.75 24.7 4033

Mangalam Cem-B/D 270.55 6.35 2125

Mastek-B/D 138.1 -0.3 8966

Max Financial-/D 533.55 -24.75 31816

Mrpl-A/D 98.8 0.65 256326

Nahar Spg.-B/D 120.75 3.25 17193

Nation Alum -A/D 56.9 -0.65 231204

Navneet Edu-B/D 111.3 3.25 41371

Nepc India-T/D 1.58 0.07 8560

Neuland Lab-B/D 1017.7 13.5 8892

Nrb Bearings-B/D 112.5 3.2 1441

O N G C-A/D 287.45 2.75 320253

Oil Country-B/D 34.15 1.05 21055

Onward Tech-B/D 60.25 1.1 6091

Orchid Pharm-B/D 29.85 1.7 240829

Oudh Sugar-B/D 107.6 -0.2 28607

Patspin India-/D 10.5 0.45 3606

Punjab Chem.-B/D 193.4 11 21096

Radico Khait-B/D 119.55 2.65 84746

Rallis India-A/D 204.7 -1.5 10058

Reliance Indus/D 402.6 8.8 193419

Ruchi Soya-B/D 20.6 0.65 111775

S Bk Bikaner-B/D 709.95 15.7 2248

Salora Inter-B/D 73.75 6.7 41652

Saur.Cem-B/D 63.95 2.7 17347

Tanfac Indust-/D 67.25 0.05 31062

Thirumalai-B/D 792.75 37.75 55589

Til Ltd.-T/D 272.15 0.3 2418

Timexgroup-T/D 56.6 5.25 345444

Tinplate-B/D 79.65 -1.65 55138

Ucal Fuel-B/D 183.8 4.05 52280

Ultramarine-B/D 173.5 2.65 8217

Unitech P -A/D 5.04 0.09 3025459

Univcable-B/D 72.5 -0.6 7332

Uppergsugar-T/D 303 3.2 154850

3i Group/D 681.5 9 616795

Assoc.Br.Foods/D 2588 31 188757

Barclays/D 214.35 0.1 13053527

Bp/D 458.15 15.6 10616199

Brit Am Tobacc/D 4512.5 58 1186436

Bt Group/D 362.4 8.05 9812421

Centrica/D 212.9 3.1 4782809

Gkn/D 309 0.6 922154

Hsbc Holdings/D 634.9 3.1 7508355

Kingfisher/D 358 0.5 1202697

Land Secs Grou/D 977.8049 2.5 527927

Legal & Genera/D 235.6 -3.3 4856530

Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 58.22 0.51 63828155

Marks & Sp./D 331.1 2.8 1689084

Next/D 4915 -24 123371

Pearson/D 796.5 18 733185

Prudential/D 1551.5 5 1313514

Rank Group/D 201.8 -1.2 58070

Rentokil Initi/D 215 0.5 639493

Rolls Royce Pl/D 679 6 592196

Rsa Insrance G/D 548 9.5 766218

Sainsbury(J)/D 232.1 -1.1 1940511

Schroders/D 2785 -3 61396

Severn Trent/D 2222 1 129997

Smith&Nephew/D 1138 10 1009895

Smiths Group/D 1409 9 338891

Standrd Chart /D 634.16 2.7 2910074

Tate & Lyle/D 689.5 5.5 408869

Tesco/D 210.4 1.55 4112991

Unilever/D 3240 110 1875878

United Util Gr/D 904.3287 1 414152

Vodafone Group/D 197.05 2.8 31815598

Whitbread/D 3463.64 -18 178927

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

LONDON

QE Index 9,793.83 1.63 %

QE Total Return Index 15,845.76 1.63 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,594.06 0.90 %

QE All Share Index 2,698.07 1.50 %

QE All Share Banks & 2,715.35 1.76 %

Financial Services

QE All Share Industrials 3,051.16 0.81 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,426.01 0.71 %

QE All Share Real Estate 2,143.17 1.36 %

QE All Share Insurance 4,447.68 4.89 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,106.95 0.12 %

QE All Share Consumer 5,608.74 0.65 %

Goods & Services

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

30-11-2016 Index 9,793.83

Change 157.43

% 1.63

YTD% 6.09

Volume 36,436,382

Value (QAR) 652,409,857.26

Trades 5,892

Up 25 | Down 14 | Unchanged 0229-11-2016 Index 9,636.40

Change 52.67

% 0.54

YTD% 7.6

Volume 5,876,844

Value (QAR) 188,698,088.91

Trades 2,805

GOLD QR139.0638 per grammeSILVER QR1.9555 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year LowAll Ordinaries 5502.381 -18.076 -0.33 5691.8 4762.1

Cac 40 Index/D 4581.33 29.87 0.66 4607.69 3892.46

Dj Indu Average 19121.6 23.7 0.12 19152.1 15450.6

Hang Seng Inde/D 22789.77 52.7 0.23 24364 18278.8

Iseq Overall/D 6235.88 11.69 0.19 6791.68 5286.65

Karachi 100 In/D 42622.37 -188.9 -0.44 43297.41 29785

Nikkei 225 Ind/D 18308.48 1.44 0.01 18951.12 14864.01

S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 2213.35 1810.1

EXCHANGE RATECurrency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.5069 QR 4.5699

Euro QR 3.8502 QR 3.9038

CA$ QR 2.7015 QR 2.7547

Swiss Fr QR 3.5616 QR 3.6126

Yen QR 0.0318 QR 0.0324

Aus$ QR 2.6855 QR 2.7390

Ind Re QR 0.0527 QR 0.0537

Pak Re QR 0.0344 QR 0.0351

Peso QR 0.0725 QR 0.0739

SL Re QR 0.0242 QR 0.0248

Taka QR 0.0454 QR 0.0464

Nep Re QR 0.0330 QR 0.0336

SA Rand QR 0.2578 QR 0.2630