PAGE | 22PAGE | 21London Metal Exchange CEO Steps down

BUSINESSBUSINESSBritain free to

discuss free trade deals: EU

Tuesday 24 January 2017

Dow & Brent before going to press

Industrial sector PPI inches up 0.4% in NovemberThe Peninsula

The overall Monthly Producer Price Index (PPI) of the Industrial sector for November was estimated at 50.1

points, showing an increase of 0.4 percent compared to Octo-ber 2016 due to increase in “Manufacturing”, and “Electric-ity & Water” sectors, data released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Sta-tistics (MDPS) show.

However, when compared on year-on-year basis(Y-o-Y), the PPI of November 2016 showed a fall of 5.3 percent com-pared to the PPI of corresponding

month in 2015. The PPI covers goods relating to “Mining” hav-ing a weightage of 72.7 percent, “Manufacturing” with a weight-age of 26.8 percent and “Electricity & Water” weightage of 0.5 percent.

The PPI of November 2016 for Mining sector showed a decrease of 1.1 percent when compared with PPI of October 2016 (for the same sector), pri-marily due to the decrease in prices of “Crude petroleum and natural gas”. PPI of November 2016, when compared with its counterpart in the previous year, there has been a significant fall of 6 percent. In the Manufactur-ing sector PPI, an increase of 3.5

percent has been recorded in November, 2016, when com-pared with the previous month’s (October 2016) Manufacturing index. The prices increase were seen in: “Refined Petroleum Products” by 5.1 percent, “Basic Chemicals” by 2.8 percent, "Other Chemical products” by 1.9 percent, “Juices” by 1.7 percent, “Rubber and Plastics products” by 1.2 percent, “Cement and other Non-metallic products” by 0.5 percent, and “Beverages” by 0.3 percent.

However, decrease in prices, with varying degrees, were noticed in “Dairy Product” by 1.8 percent, “Basic Metals” by 1.6 percent, and “Grain mill and

Other products” by 0.1 percent. No change noticed in “Paper and Paper Products”.

When compared on y-o-y basis, the “Manufacturing” sec-tor’s PPI of November 2016 showed a decline of 3.8 percent against the PPI of November 2015. The fall in the index was attributed to decline in the prices of major groups: “Basic Chemi-cals” by 11.7 percent, ”Basic Metals” by 10.7 percent, “Cement and other Non-metallic prod-ucts” by 1.1 percent, “Refined Petroleum Products” by 0.3 per-cent. However, surge in prices were also noticed in “Other Chemical products” by 18.2 per-cent, “Juices” by 14.0 percent,

“Rubber and Plastic product” by 10.4 percent, and “Beverages” by 2.1 percent, “Dairy products” by 1.8 percent, and Grain Product” by 0.8 percent, No change noticed in “Paper and Paper Products”. The PPI of

Electricity and Water showed an increase of 1.3 percent compared to October 2016, resulting from the increasing price noticed in “Electricity” by 3.9 percent, and decreasing in “Water” by 1.6 percent.

$52.71 $52.71 -0.51-0.51

BRENT7,151.18-47.26 0.66%

19,755.92-71.33 0.36%

10,950.34-9.48

0.09%

FTSE100DOWQE

18 TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2017BUSINESS

19TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2017 BUSINESS

20 TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2017BUSINESS

QIC official insurer of golf tournament CEO of QSE toparticipate in WFE meetingsThe Peninsula

Rashid bin Ali Al Man-soori, CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE)

will participate in the Work-ing Committee Meetings of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).

The meetings will take place today in Frankfurt, Ger-many. Al Mansoori will also participate in the roundtable in London to discuss Enhanc-ing Emerging Market Liquidity, where the WFE and Oliver Wyman will bring together exchanges and the buy side.

This event builds on the recent joint WFE-Oliver Wyman paper on the issue, and a very successful initial roundtable discussion held in Cartagena, Colombia with the World Bank and emerging market regulators at the WFE’s General Assembly & Annual Meeting in November 2016.

The report, published in October 2016, identified three key areas that exchanges and regulators can focus on to grow liquidity.

These areas are the devel-opment of a diverse investor base, increasing the pool of securities and associated financial products, and the creation of an attractive mar-ket environment.

The roundtable will include participants from exchanges from developed and emerging markets along with senior executives from the world’s leading buy-side institutions. QSE has joined WFE in 2013 and has been an active member ever since.

The Peninsula

Qatar Insurance, the largest insurer in the MENA region, has partnered with Com-mercial Bank Qatar

Masters to be the official tour-nament insurer for the region’s premier Golf tournament.

QIC, along with its subsidi-aries Qatar Re and Antares, is proud to support the tournament now for the tenth consecutive year. The tournament will be held at the Doha Golf Club from January 26 to 29.

Founded in 1964, Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) was the first domestic insurer of Qatar. Today QIC is a dominant insurer in the region and is regarded as the largest insurer in terms of profitability

and market capitalisation. QIC’s consistent rating of A/Stable from Standard & Poor’s and A (Excellent) from A M Best affirms QIC’s core strength and sustain-able performance.

Taking its well thought-out

strategy beyond the borders of Qatar, QIC Group has been suc-cessful in establishing its underwriting footprint across the globe.

Besides having a branch in the UAE and subsidiaries in Oman and Kuwait, the Group owns two reinsurance subsidi-aries, namely, Qatar Re in Bermuda and Antares operating in the Lloyd’s market.

Commenting on the Group’s strategic partnership, Salem Al Mannai (pictured), Deputy Group President and CEO of QIC – MENA region remarked, “As the official insurer of this year’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters golf tournament, QIC Group has once again demonstrated its continued commitment to local sporting events".

"The Group with its

subsidiaries Qatar Re and Antares’ are delighted to renew this long-term partnership and raise Qatar’s global profile in support of Qatar National Vision 2030,” he said.

Qatar Re is a global

multi-line reinsurer writing all major property and casualty, and specialty lines of business.

Headquartered in Bermuda, Qatar Re operates from offices in Dubai, Singapore, London, Zurich and Doha. Backed by a parental guarantee from QIC, Qatar Re benefits from QIC’s substantial and growing capital base. In 2015 Qatar Re was ranked amongst global top 35 non-life reinsurers by A M Best.

Antares is a specialist insurer and reinsurer operating in Lloyd’s - the leading global mar-ketplace for insurance and reinsurance business. Antares delivers a diversified range of Property, Casualty, Terrorism, Political, Accident and Health, Energy, Marine and Aviation, and Reinsurance underwriting services.

The Peninsula

Gulf Air, the national car-rier of Bahrain, has rolled out the airline’s revamped

Falcon Corporate Programmes: Falcon Corporate Plus and Fal-con Corporate Loyalty – tailored offerings that will benefit both employers and employees in companies, making business trips more profitable for all parties.

Designed exclusively for the corporate traveler, Falcon Cor-porate Plus offers competitive flight fares, discounted rates and exclusive benefits for corporate – giving them a dedicated account manager and support team alongside customisable privileges and employee incen-tives. Falcon Corporate Loyalty

is a frequent flyer programme created to reward both compa-nies and employees every time they travel with Gulf Air, giving members enhanced savings and rewards.

Gulf Air Chief Commercial Officer, Ahmed Janahi com-m e n t e d : “ G u l f A i r ’ s high-frequency regional strat-egy gives passengers the flexibility of same day return travel, making business travel much easier".

"With the revamped corpo-rate offering we are now going one step further and addressing the needs of companies across the Gulf Air network – making travel even more rewarding to both individual employees and corporate entities as a whole. It’s never been easier to plan

business or holiday travel with Gulf Air and, as we continue to enhance our products and serv-ices, it is equally important to reward our loyal customers with a tailored corporate incentive program that appeals to corpo-rates and small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” he added.

Companies wishing to enroll in Falcon Corporate Plus or Fal-con Corporate Loyalty and/or receive more information can visit corporate.gulfair.com, email b2b.support@gulfair.com or corporate.loyalty@gulfair.com, or contact any Gulf Air sales offices.

Additionally, the airline has launched dedicated corporate contact centres in each GCC country which can be reached 7 days a week.

The Peninsula

Informa Exhibitions and Elan, the organisers of Cityscape Qatar 2017, the largest real

estate development and invest-ment event in Qatar, have confirmed that a number of leading local, regional and international construction, development and real estate companies will be participat-ing in the upcoming exhibition.

Now in its sixth year, City-scape Qatar 2017 will be held from March 13-15, 2017 at the Doha Exhibition and Conven-tion Center. The 2016 edition of Cityscape Qatar ended on a high note and saw more than one third of last year’s exhibi-tors reconfirm their participation in the 2017 edi-tion with Qatar-based Al Bandary being among them. Cityscape Qatar 2016 attracted 92 of the world’s leading real estate companies exhibiting along with 6,633 participants over the course of the three day event.

The high profile event will showcase a wide range of real estate opportunities to global real estate investors and finan-ciers, developers across all asset classes, architects and urban planners, consultants, along with representatives from investment and economic agencies and cities. Local

companies who will join Al Bandaryin the exhibition include Ibhar Enterprises, Ezdan Real Estate,Retaj Real Estate and John Taylor, as well as esteemed regional and inter-national heavyweights including Al Qaseer Investment And Property Development, Copperstones, Economic Group, Green Valley Real Estate, Her-ald Land, Paradise Cont& Real Estate, Taylor Wimpey, Gulf Kingdom Real Estate, among others.

Al Bandary will once again be exhibiting a number of its upcoming properties and developments. Speaking ahead of Cityscape Qatar 2017, Al Bandary Real Estate, said: “Al Bandary Real Estate is pleased to announce that we will be participating in the upcoming Cityscape Qatar Exhibition for 2017. We will be exhibiting a number of fantastic property developments in Doha, Lusail, Al Khor, Al Kheesa, and more".

"We have a wide variety of properties for sale, from stan-dalone villas with spacious spaces to luxury serviced apart-ments overlooking the sea. We will offer a special promotion during the exhibition and offer properties at very competitive prices. Also, we have partnered up with international compa-nies to showcase our properties using the latest and greatest exhibition technology," he said.

The Peninsula

The 11th International Con-ference on Corporate Social Responsibility &

Presentation of Golden Peacock Awards was organised by Insti-tute of Directors (IOD) under the theme “Embedding Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) in Corporate Strategy for Respon-sible Growth” on January 20-21 at Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru, India.

Doha Bank won the “Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Glo-bal Category” at this event. Dr R Seetharaman, Group CEO of

Doha Bank gave the keynote address on 20th January 2017.

He gave insight on CSR and said “Corporate Social Respon-sibility (CSR) contributes to sustainable development in the areas such as Economic Growth, Social Development and Envi-ronmental consideration. The corporate competitiveness needs to be integrated with social development. There is an inev-itable link between business and society. A healthy business depends on a healthy commu-nity to create demand for its products and provide a support-ive business environment. CSR activities have the potential to

create several distinct forms of value for customers. It is the cus-tomer perception of this value that mediates the relationship between CSR activities and sub-sequent financial performance.” Seetharaman highlighted how Green Banking can contribute to CSR and sustainable development.

He said “Banks as responsi-ble corporate citizens adopt Green Banking in their strategy to promote Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) and Sustain-able development. Green Banking will blend customers’ financial interests with the inter-ests of the environment. Green

Banking will also enable envi-ronmental sensibility to pay off for clients and for the planet. Green Banking promotes envi-ronmental-friendly practices and reducing carbon footprint from the banking activities. Green Banking is an innovative solution for sustainable devel-opment. ” Giving insight on CSR initiatives of the Bank, Dr Seetharaman said “Paperless Banking, free Access to do all the Banking transactions through Internet Banking, SMS Banking, Phone Banking, ATM Banking as well as online channels such as Doha Souq, E-Remittances and Online Bill Payments".

The Peninsula

In line with growing influence of South Asian countries in global affairs and on account

of having some of the fastest growing economies in the world, the Forum has this year formu-lated a senior advisory board called the South Asia Regional Strategy Group (RSG) comprised of senior government officials, business leaders, academics and experts.

With the theme of “Respon-sive and Responsible Leadership”, the annual meet of World Economic Forum (WEF) got underway at Davos recently. The annual meeting in Davos remains a global platform unmatched in engaging leaders from across business, govern-m e n t , i n t e r n a t i o n a l organisations, academia and civil society in peer-to-peer working sessions. The invitation only flagship group and its members are committed to the

shared mission of accelerating the regional transforma-tion of South Asia through public-pri-vate cooperation.

The RSG provides strategic guidance on the Forum’s regional agenda, and is the highest-level deci-sion making body for the Forum’s activities in South Asia. The South Asia RSG is chaired by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog who will be supported by two Vice-Chairs, Ajay Khanna, Chief, Strategic and Public Affairs, Jubilant Bhartia Group and Srivatsan Rajan, Chairman, Bain & Company.

The multi-stakeholder group also comprises of big names in government, business and aca-demics including Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunications

and Digital Infrastructure, Sri Lanka; Adeeb Ahamed, Manag-ing Director, Lulu Financial Group ; Gita Gopinath, Professor of Eco-nomics, Harvard University, Nikhil Meswani, Executive Direc-tor, Reliance Industries and Shamina Singh, President, Mas-tercard Center for Inclusive

Growth, among others.“The World Economic

Forum has been at the helm of creating a better tomorrow, through its engagement with local and global leaders across continents. I believe that the new South Asia Regional Strat-egy Group will be able to create

changes on ground in key areas across the region and will allow greater private and public co-operation that enhances community development,” said Mr. Adeeb Ahamed. The RSG is expected to identify critical issues, challenges and opportu-nities in South Asia and debate

on how to address them. They would also be engaged in ongo-ing initiatives, provide guidance and advice to develop regional projects while helping mobilise action. The projects will be con-stantly monitored by the group and ensure value delivery and impact in the region.

Gulf Air revamps corporate offering

Doha Bank wins coveted award for CSR

WEF launches new senior advisory board for South Asia at Davos

Official insurer QIC, along with its subsidiaries Qatar Re and Antares, is proud to support tournament now for the tenth consecutive year.

The tournament will be held at the Doha Golf Club from January 26 to 29.

From left- Amitabh Kant, Ajay Khanna, Srivatsan Rajan, Adeeb Ahamed and Gita Gopinath – some of the key members of the South Asia Regional Strategy Group.

Major firms confirm participation in Cityscape Qatar

21TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2017 BUSINESS

Most European and Asian Bourses fallLondonReuters

European stocks and bond yields edged lower yesterday and the dollar briefly hit a six-week low after US

President Donald Trump began his term in office with a protec-tionist speech that drove a nervous market into safe-haven assets.

Wall Street was set to open slightly lower, tracking stock markets in Europe and parts of Asia, having hit multi-year highs earlier this month on expecta-tions Trump would boost growth and inflation with extraordinary fiscal spending measures.

However, his inaugural address on Friday, signalling an isolationist stance on trade and other issues, led investors to retreat to the safety of higher-rated government bonds. Trump also made it clear that he plans to hold talks with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin renegotiating the North Ameri-can Free Trade Agreement.

US stock futures were down 0.2 percent, pointing to a lower open after European stocks touched their lowest levels this year in early trades. By midday, the broad STOXX index had come off the day's lows but was still down 0.3 percent.

Earlier, Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.1 percent while shares in Australia fell 0.8 percent after Trump's administration also declared its intention to

withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade pact that Japan and Aus-tralia have both signed.

Other Asian shares were more resilient, however, in part due to dollar weakness, and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent.

"The focus this morning is on the protectionist rhetoric and the lack of detail on economic stim-ulus, so it's a nervous start (to the presidency)," said Investec econ-omist Victoria Clarke.

"The other concern is how the Fed interprets Trump's stance, the worry being the less he does on fiscal stimulus the more nervous they may get on pushing the rate hikes through."

The US Federal Reserve,

which has indicated it expects to raise its benchmark interest rate three times this year, is due to hold its next meeting on January 31 and February 1. Rabobank analyst Michael Avery said a more protectionist United States could lead to a US dollar liquid-ity squeeze, with Mexico and Asia likely the most badly hit.

"We would see outright con-fusion over what currency to invoice, trade, and borrow in: a

19th century world of compet-ing reserve currencies in different geographic zones, but without the underpinning of gold," Avery said in a note.

The problem would be exac-erbated if China tightens capital controls further, he said.

The US dollar was down 0.4 percent against a basket of six major currencies. The nervous start yesterday saw safe-haven assets in demand. The yield on

Germany's 10-year government bond , the benchmark for the region, led most euro zone bonds lower and was down 2 basis points to 0.34 percent.

This followed 10-year US Treasuries yields, which fell to 2.43 percent, after having risen briefly on Friday to 2.513 percent, their highest since January 3.

Spot gold prices, meanwhile, rose yesterday to their highest in two months.

Inaguration effectTrump's inaugural address signalled an isolationist stance on trade which led investors to retreat to the safety of higher-rated government bonds.

Japan's Nikkei and shares in Australia fell after Trump's administration declared its intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

A businessman walks past an electric quotation board flashing the Nikkei key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in front of a securities company in Tokyo, Japan yesterday.

Signs of US oil output rise overshadow Opec-led cutsLondonReuters

Oil prices fell one percent yesterday as signs of a

strong recovery in US oil drilling activity out-weighed news that Opec and non-Opec produc-ers were on track to meet output reduction goals set in December.

Global benchmark Brent crude prices were down 49 cents at $55 a barrel at 12:21 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $52.57 a barrel, down 65 cents, or 1.2 percent, on Friday's close.

Ministers represent-ing members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-Opec producers said at a meet-ing in Vienna on Sunday that of almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) they had agreed to be taken out of the market, 1.5 million bpd had already gone.

"A lot of this is already priced in and the US rig count keeps rising and gathering pace," said Carsten Fritsch, com-modities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

US drillers added most rigs in nearly four years last week, data from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday.

This extends an eight-month drilling recovery and is sup-porting signs that US production will con-tinue to rise strongly just as other producers are cutting output.

"Baker Hughes said that 35 new rigs were acti-vated last week, fuelling fears of a significant rise in US production which would offset the reduction by OPEC," said Ashley Kelty, research analyst at Cenkos Securities.

US oil production has risen more than 6 percent since mid-2016, although it remains 7 percent below a historic high in 2015. It is back to levels of late 2014.

Restructuring slows down Emirates airline growthDubaiReuters

Emirates, the world's biggest long-haul airline, said yesterday it was in the process of only a "modest

restructuring," two months after it reported a 75 percent decline in half-year profits due to slower growth and increased competition.

Gulf carriers who spent years rapidly expanding into markets from South Amer-ica to Africa are under pressure to adapt to weaker markets, overcapacity and a stronger dollar.

The restructuring at Dubai-based Emirates involves moving employees into new positions that has seen staff both pro-moted and demoted, a spokeswoman said, adding that a "very small number" of staff had been affected.

"Where roles were impacted, full sup-port has been given to explore redeployment opportunities within the organisation," the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in Decem-ber Emirates had offered redundancies to staff working in its head-office in Dubai as part of a review of its workforce.

Around 1,000 employees have left Emirates in the past three months "for various reasons and largely through nat-ural attrition," the spokeswoman said in a separate statement.

"This is no different from previous years. Role and structure reviews in some areas impacted less than 40 staff during this same period, and a number of these were on a voluntary basis," the spokes-woman said, adding the company continues to hire new staff.

Emirates, including associated com-panies under the Emirates Group, employs 103,000 staff, which means the 1,000 jobs gone represent about 1 percent of its workforce.

Other recent changes at Emirates include removing an additional allow-ance offered to cabin crew who want to live outside company accommodation.

The airline froze its housing allow-ance policy for cabin crew on December 21 last year, telling staff excess company accommodation is available, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

Emirates did not address questions regarding changes to its cabin crew accommodation policy. The sources said

the freeze will be reviewed in March and does not affect employees who already receive the allowance. Married cabin crew are also exempt from the freeze.

Whilst Emirates has also said that it could cut routes, it has recently announced that it is expanding its network with flights to Zagreb and Newark due to start this year.

London Metal Exchange CEO Steps downLondonBloomberg

The London Metal Exchange’s Garry Jones (pictured) stepped down

as chief executive officer after a three-year stint steering the world’s biggest metals bourse.

Jones, 58, will retire from his position at the exchange and serve as an adviser until the end of this year, according to a state-ment from Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd, which owns the London bourse. Chief Operating Officer Matthew Chamberlain, 34, will become interim CEO.

Jones is the second senior LME executive to leave in two months, and his departure comes as the 139-year-old exchange faces broker com-plaints over higher fees and a slump in trading volumes. He spearheaded efforts to modern-ize the exchange and transform

it into a commercial operation, attracting new types of users such as high frequency traders.

Before the takeover by Hong Kong in 2012, the exchange was owned by its members and the business strategy was to ben-efit them, rather than maximize profits. The LME is the center of the world’s metals trade, set-ting benchmark prices for copper and aluminum. The

LME has suffered recent set-backs in two major outages in the past six months. On Jan. 12, electronic trading was delayed by five hours during the Asian trading day due to a connec-tivity issue.

The next CEO needs to tackle issues such as rising volatility that’s problematic for industrial hedgers using the exchange, and soothe broker concerns over the rise of algorithmic trading, according to Malcolm Freeman, a director at Kingdom Futures and broker on the LME.

“The general consensus is that they’ve got to get someone out of the industry who already under-stands the way the LME works,” Freeman said from London.

Chamberlain was named COO in December, succeeding Stuart Sloan, who left the exchange. Chamberlain was pre-viously head of business development at the LME.

Michael Farmer, co-founder

of Red Kite Group, told attend-ees at the LME’s annual dinner last year that high-frequency trading, excessive fees and reg-ulation were damaging the marketplace. LME executives have responded to criticism, say-ing traders are blaming the exchange after a tough year for the entire industry.

Average daily volume in 2016 was down 7.7 percent from the previous year. In its latest earnings statement, the bourse said commodity revenue in the first nine months of 2016 fell 11 percent compared to a year ear-lier. Still, Jones presided over rising profits during his time at the LME as higher trading and clearing fees benefited the exchange.

In December, the LME said it would freeze its main clearing charges for 2017 and offer con-cessions to producers and consumers, such as granting traders free access to data.

An A380 aircraft operated by Emirates.

Abu DhabiBloomberg

Abu Dhabi, holder of about 6 percent of the world’s oil reserves,

will hold fixed-income inves-tor meetings in Asia this week, a person familiar with the matter said.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates will meet investors in Hong Kong, Tai-pei and Singapore, the person said, asking not to be identi-fied because he wasn’t authorized to speak pub-licly.

The meetings are arranged by HSBC Holdings Plc and it isn’t clear if the emirate plans to sell bonds after the road-show, said the person.

Gulf Arab monarchies are selling bonds to shore up pub-lic finances after the slump in oil prices put a strain on gov-ernment budgets. Kuwait picked six banks to advise on its first international debt sale, people familiar with the matter said this week. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi raised more than $30bn from global bond markets last year to finance their budget deficits.

Abu Dhabi, whose debt carries the third-highest investment grade at Stand-ard & Poor’s Global Rating, raised $5bn last April in its first bond sale in seven years. Fitch Ratings affirmed its third-highest grade for the sheikdom yesterday.

The emirate’s key credit strengths are "its strong fis-cal and external metrics and high GDP per capita, balanced by high dependence on hydrocarbons, a relatively weak policy framework, and weak data availability com-pared with peers," Fitch said. The agency expects Abu Dhabi to post a deficit of 5.9 percent of GDP this year and a surplus of 1.5 percent next year.

Abu Dhabi to meet Asia fixed-income investors

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

22 TUESDAY 24 JANUARY 2017BUSINESS

QE Index 10,950.34 0.09 %

QE Total Return Index 17,716.92 0.09 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 4,079.57 0.08 %

QE All Share Index 2,999.96 0.09 %

QE All Share Banks & 3,072.09 0.07 %

Financial Services

QE All Share Industrials 3,400.53 0.53 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,601.00 0.07 %

QE All Share Real Estate 2,374.24 0.24 %

QE All Share Insurance 4,505.13 0.54 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,253.20 0.53 %

QE All Share Consumer 6,369.20 0.31 %

Goods & Services

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

23-01-2017Index 10,950.34

Change 9.48

% 0.09

YTD% 4.92

Volume 7,245,497

Value (QAR) 242,424,509.40

Trades 3,337

Up 16 | Down 20 | Unchanged 0122-01-2017Index 10,959.82

Change 18.39

% 0.17

YTD% 5.01

Volume 12,640,132

Value (QAR) 310,170,325.13

Trades 3,193

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR141.1576 per grammeSILVER QR1.9897 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year LowAll Ordinaries 5745.396 11.662 0.2 5876.8 5714.5

Cac 40 Index/D 4848.04 -5.36 -0.11 4929.6 4827.11

Dj Indu Average 19804.72 -22.05 -0.11 19999.6 15450.6

Hang Seng Inde/D 23049.96 -48.3 -0.21 23151.75 21883.82

Iseq Overall/D 6566.16 24.58 0.38 6658.95 6506.79

Karachi 100 In/D 49013.82 371.61 0.76 49804.55 47878.33

S&P 500 Index/D 2271.89 4 0.176375 2282.1 2245.13

Currency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.4584 QR 4.5211

Euro QR 3.8564 QR 3.9108

CA$ QR 2.7155 QR 2.7686

Swiss Fr QR 3.5945 QR 3.6456

Yen QR 0.0314 QR 0.0320

Aus$ QR 2.7252 QR 2.7788

Ind Re QR 0.0530 QR 0.0540

Pak Re QR 0.0344 QR 0.0351

Peso QR 0.0720 QR 0.0735

SL Re QR 0.0240 QR 0.0246

Taka QR 0.0453 QR 0.0464

Nep Re QR 0.0331 QR 0.0338

SA Rand QR 0.2652 QR 0.2708

Saudi market shines in Gulf; QSE drops 0.09% Britain free to discussfree trade deals: EUQNA/Reuters

Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) benchmark index dropped 9.48 points, or 0.09 per-

cent, when the bourse closed trading at 10,950.34 points yesterday.

The volume of shares traded decreased to 7,245,497 from 12,640,132 on Sunday and the value of shares decreased to QR242.42m from QR310.17m Sunday.

Of the 44 companies listed on QSE, shares of 37 saw trad-ing yesterday. Of these 16 gained and 20 companies closed lower, and one remained unchanged.

Indices of four sectors ended in green and remaining three sectors ended red today.

QSE Total Return Index decreased 0.9 to 17,716.92 points. QSE Al Rayan Islamic Index down -0.08 percent to 4,079.57 points and QSE All Share Index lost 0.09 percent to 2,999.96 points, reports QNA.

While the Qatari bourse wit-nessed a marginal decline but Doha Bank rose 2.5 percent. The bank reported an 84.8 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profit to QR35m ($9.6m); three analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average the bank would make a quarterly net profit of QR215.58m. But Doha Bank also said its board was

recommending a cash dividend of QR3 per share for 2016, the same level as in 2015.

Saudi Arabia outperformed other Gulf stock markets yester-day as several major stocks bounced after poor earnings ear-lier this week, while a bull run in Kuwait slowed and Egypt rebounded sharply from a slide triggered by tax fears.

The Saudi index rose 1.7 per-cent in the highest trading volume since January 2. Food maker Savola, which had dropped 2 percent on Sunday after reporting a shock fourth-quarter loss, jumped 5.4

percent.The company's earnings

were squeezed in part by tough price competition in a slowing Saudi economy, but the stock's rebound suggested many inves-tors were looking forward to a stronger non-oil economy this year as Riyadh delays new aus-terity steps.

Banks also gained after some dropped this week on dis-appointing fourth-quarter earnings. Saudi British Bank surged 6.5 percent.

The Kuwaiti index, which rose 15.6 percent between the end of last year and Sunday,

added a further 0.6 percent on Monday in the highest trading volume since mid-2013.

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the biggest bank, climbed 2.9 percent; it extended its gains in the final minutes of trade after posting a 40 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit to 75.9 million dinars ($248.9m). EFG Hermes had forecast a profit of 69.2 million dinars.

Logistics giant Agility, which has yet to report quarterly earn-ings, surged 5.8 percent.

Eight of the 10 most heavily traded Kuwaiti stocks fell and none rose, however, a sign of increasing profit-taking pres-sure that could conceivably bring the bull run to an end. In Dubai, the index fell 0.3 percent as Shuaa Capital pulled back 9.8 percent after a two-week rally. Trading volume in the stock was the highest since last September.

Abu Dhabi dropped 0.9 per-cent as banks slipped. Egypt's share market index rebounded 2.2 percent after dropping 4.6 percent in the two previous days, after Reuters reported authorities were considering temporarily reintroducing a stamp duty charge on stock market transactions. Commer-cial International Bank, the largest bank, climbed 3.5 percent.

Brussels Bloomberg

The UK is allowed to dis-cuss trade agreements with other countries as

long as it doesn’t formally nego-tiate with them before it leaves the European Union, a spokes-man for the bloc said.

“There’s nothing in the trea-ties that prohibits you from discussing trade,” European Commission spokesman Mar-garitis Schinas (pictured) said yesterday. But he reiterated previous remarks that EU coun-tries can’t hold official talks on future deals while still a member.

His comments underscore the delicate balance UK Prime Minister Theresa May and her government face as she pre-pares to meet President Donald Trump on Friday.

The Trump administration will lay the groundwork this week for a trade pact between the US and the UK that would take effect after Britain departs the EU, a White House aide said on condition of anonym-ity. With countries in the EU ceding their right to strike trade deals to the Brussels-based Commission, the UK is

prohibited from pursuing its own agreements until its with-drawal, scheduled for the first half of 2019.

While it’s unclear what sanction the EU would have if the UK breached the rules, any flagrant attempt to strike a free-trade agreement early could make it more difficult for May to get a favorable exit deal from the rest of the bloc.

The bloc’s chief negotiator “Michel Barnier and his team have been very clear” that from the moment Britain exits the EU “there will be some sort of tran-sition period” and in that period, trade talks will take place, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in Davos last week. “When you leave the European Union you leave the trade agreements,” Schinas said.

A file photo of Qatar Stock Exchange located in West Bay.