BUSINESSBUSINESSWednesday 8 November 2017

PAGE | 28PAGE | 22VEXATEC unveils

data tracking sportwear

Commercial Bank launches National Day offer

Dow & Brent before going to press

Qatar Chamber hails amended free zones lawThe Peninsula

Qatar Chamber (QC) has urged the private sec-tor to take advantage of the amended law on Investment Free

Zones. The QC Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Moham-med Al Thani (pictured) yesterday hailed the amended law on the free zones and said the law would help bringing more local and foreign invest-ments to Qatar.

Sheikh Khalifa urged Qatari businessmen and foreign inves-tors to benefit from the incentives and advantages the

free zones provide in light of the amendments related to the law on these areas.

Qatar Chamber chairman

said the advantages include direct link with the outside world, the privacy of dealing with the customs, import and monetary aspects as well as other advantages related to the flow of goods entering and exit-ing, which allows a great deal of freedom in transactions.

He said that the private sec-tor values these amendments that included many important incentives such as the exemp-tion of assets, production requirements, exports and imports of taxes and duties, waiving restrictions on the ori-gin of the capital and the

freedom of choosing the project’s legal form. In addition, the amendments include the free-dom of setting product prices and profit, exemption of capital assets, product requirements, imports and exports from taxes and fees, as well as advantages for the investor in the logistical services or communication fields, the QC chairman added.

Sheikh Khalifa said the amendments on the free zones law removes all barriers or restrictions to capital and pro-vides incentives and advantages related to the projects that work on increasing the proportion of

local components in its products and the projects that invest in the logistical services or communi-cations fields. The amendments also include full exemption of local components from customs duties in case of selling to the local market, the chairman added.

Qatar’s Investment Free Zones include the economic zones and Hamad International airport with capital and assets worth QR50bn. The amendment is aimed at enhancing the cred-ibility of the state institutions’ mandate to realise Qatar’s ambi-tious Qatar National Vision 2030.

Easy transactionsThe advantages include direct link with outside world, privacy of dealing with customs, import and monetary aspects and other advantages related to flow of goods entering and exiting, which allows a great deal of transactions freedom.

$57.15 $57.15 -0.20-0.20

BRENT7,930.78

-83.931.05%

7,513.11-49.170.65%

23,511.45-36.970.16%

QE FTSE100 DOW

22 WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017BUSINESS

QFMA to host ‘Corporate Governance’ conference Mohammad Shoeb The Peninsula

Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA), the regulator of Qatari capital market, yester-day announced the

launch of Qatar’s first conference on corporate governance. The event is scheduled to be held on November 13 at Four Seasons Hotel-Doha.

The first edition of confer-ence will witness the launch of the ‘Corporate Governance Report’ at the opening session of the event.

The report include five chap-ters highlighting the evolution of the corporate governance sys-tem in Qatar, country’s financial markets as well as the progress made in the world in terms of corporate governance laws in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

It also highlights the princi-ples and standards issued by international organisations as guidelines for countries to adhere to governance, and a spe-cial chapter on reports issued by public shareholding companies in 2017.

The upcoming conference is part of QFMA’s efforts towards developing the Qatari capital

market and achieving its strate-gic objectives aimed at positioning Qatar as a regional benchmark of financial services in accordance with international standards and practices.

The event will discuss the procedures and practices of cor-porate governance at the local and international levels. The opening session will be attended by H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Cen-tral Bank, Chairman of QFMA and Nasser Ahmed Al Shaibi, Executive Director of the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).

The conference is being organised by QFMA in

cooperation with Hawkama Center, a local non-profit organ-isation, in collaboration with QSE.

Mansour Al Saadi, Chairman of the Hawkama Center, said: “The presence of the sponsors the conference on corporate gov-ernance represents a great importance for companies as it contributes to spreading the cul-ture of good governance in the business community which is an essential element for achieving growth and economic development.”

Salem Al Nuaimi, Assistant

General Manager at QNB Group, said: “Our participation in spon-soring this event comes in our belief that good governance is the key factor in enhancing the image of state institutions inter-nally and externally. QNB Group aspires to become the leading institution in implementing the latest requirements and best practices. In the area of corpo-rate governance through the adoption of a strategic vision based on a culture of compliance with laws and legislation, which is the basis for good governance.”

“We are fully committed to providing support and sponsor-ship to all important events that highlight the status of our beloved country and the QNB Group’s reputation as a financial institution that is primarily present and enduring in such local and external events and activities,” Al Nuaimi said.

Mohamed Mubarak Al Rumaihi, Disclosures Manager, at QSE’s Market Operations Department, appreciated the efforts of all the organisations which are instrumental in hold-ing the conference.

Al Rumaihi said: “The partic-ipation of QSE in organising this event is intended to highlight the role of the Qatari bourse as the backbone of capital movement which is a key factor in the development of the economy.”

He added that QSE also intends to play other important roles at the macroeconomic level, and to participate actively in the process of economic growth, such as the provision of capital and liquidity in the com-position and allocation of capital and create an attractive environ-ment for investment.

Commercial Bank launches National Day offerThe Peninsula

Commercial Bank, has launched a one-off special promotion for new savers

with 36 exclusive prizes to be won for customers to enjoy Qatar National Day in style and luxury.

To celebrate Qatar National

Day on the 18 December, Com-mercial Bank is giving away 18 hotel room stays for two nights from the 17 to the 19 December 2017 at the iconic Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel. Commercial Bank custom-ers who open a new Fixed Deposit with a minimum of QR5m during

the promotion period of 2 Novem-ber to 30 November 2017, gain 5 chances to win one of the 18 exclusive rooms, with every addi-tional QR1m deposited, one extra chance is awarded in the draw.

In addition to the exclusive range of hotel rooms eligible cus-tomers also have a chance to win

one of 18 yacht trips, when open-ing a new Fixed Deposit with a minimum of QR100,000 during the promotion period. Each win-ner can enjoy a luxury yacht trip with family members and friends, valid until June 2018.

“Commercial Bank’s strives to be the ‘Qatari bank of choice’

and we are aligned to the vision of Qatar. Commercial Bank is delighted to be able to provide exceptional experiences for our customers and to help them cel-ebrate National Day on 18th December in the style and spirit it deserves,”said Joseph Abraham Commercial Bank Group CEO

Qatar’s banking CIOs line up for Ooredoo security solutionsThe Peninsula

Ooredoo, one of the region’s leading ICT pro-viders, is seeing strong

demand in security solutions for the banking and finance sector, on the back of the recent Infor-mation Security Conference for the Financial Sector.

During the event, organised by Qatar Central Bank, Oore-doo, as a Platinum sponsor, saw strong interest on the Managed Security Services to enhance organisation-wide security. Solutions include managed security operations centre, managed firewall, malware protection, vulnerability man-agement, cloud web and email security, and DDoS mitigation.

“Thanks to strong invest-ment in digital technologies, Qatar is ideally-positioned to enhance its standing as a global hub for banking and finance innovation. In a world with cyber-threats more prevalent than ever, Ooredoo is Qatar’s only complete managed secu-rity services provider, with innovative solutions and global partners that meet the security needs of banking and finance firms,” said Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi, Chief Operating Officer, Ooredoo.

Ooredoo’s Managed Secu-rity Operations Centre also provides comprehensive secu-rity monitoring, incident detection and response across supported systems, and moni-toring firewalls, servers, routers, databases, and antivirus systems.

Using Ooredoo Security solutions, organisations can

simplify network infrastructure, reduce service interruptions that can negatively impact busi-ness, and allow professionals to maintain and control the cor-porate network and free up IT staff to focus on innovation.

Customers can deploy advanced security solutions running in the Ooredoo data centres, allowing for opex rather than capex investment, and bringing in highly-qualified security staff.

Al Kubaisi added: “Online security is a top priority for Ooredoo. The Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector proved to be a key event for Ooredoo to show-case how our state-of-the-art cyber security solutions can help our banking and finance customers optimise costs, enhance security and compli-ance, and close the skills gap.”

Qatar’s business customers can leverage the Ooredoo Advantage, with Ooredoo’s breadth and depth of talent, best fixed and mobile networks, broadest portfolio of ICT serv-ices and solutions, and trusted partner for Qatari businesses for 60 years.

The two-day Information ssecurity conference, held under the theme “Cyber-hack-ing and its Impact on the Economy”, discussed global cybercrimes and cyber threats facing the financial sector. High-level speakers and cyber security experts from Qatar and worldwide met to shed light on information security challenges facing financial institutions, and proposed strategies of preven-tion and protection

Australia’s central bank keeps rates on holdSydney

AFP

Australia’s central bank left interest rates at a record low yesterday

after mixed signals from the domestic economy in recent weeks.

The Reserve Bank slashed rates by 300 basis points since November 2011 to 1.50 per-cent, but has left them on hold since August last year.

Stagnant wage growth and a weak consumer price index continue to be issues prevent-ing the bank from lifting rates.

“The low level of interest rates is continuing to support the Australian economy,” said Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe.

“Taking account of the available information, the board judged that holding the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sus-tainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time.”

The board met after con-flicting data in recent weeks.

On the positive side, the global economy and infra-structure outlook remain positive while rampant house price growth has been slow-ing in line with a “soft landing”.

The unemployment rate has also fallen to 5.5 percent. But third quarter inflation data was slightly below expecta-tions and September retail sales came in weak. A pick-up in wage growth also remains elusive.

“Wage growth remains low in most countries, as does core inflation,” admitted Lowe.

“Headline inflation rates are generally lower than at the start of the year, largely reflecting the earlier decline in oil prices.”

Many economists see no rate hike until the second half of next year with some even forecasting that the wait could last until 2019.

The Australian dollar jumped following the rate announcement, trading at 76.92 US cents after falling ahead of the decision.

FROM LEFT: Samir Ghandour, Head of Compliance at QIB; Mohamed Mubarak Al Rumaihi, Disclosures Manager Market Operation Department, QSE; Salem Al Nuaimi from QNB Group; and other officials during the press conference in Doha, yesterday.Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula

Governance reportThe ‘Corporate Governance Report’ will highlight the evolution of the corporate governance system in Qatar, country’s financial markets as well as the progress made in the world in terms of corporate governance laws in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

23WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017 BUSINESS

British embassy encourages investment in UKThe Peninsula

The British embassy yesterday held an ‘Invest in GREAT Brit-ain and Northern Ireland’ event to cele-

brate the launch of the UK Government’s largest interna-tional trade and investment campaign as part as part of the continued drive to be the desti-nation of choice for investment. The event showcased informa-tion from seven sectors, from technology to food and drink, to help international businesses navigate the UK market and make an informed decision about the best investment oppor-tunities. UK company, Marshmallow Laser Feast, delighted the audience deliver-ing a highly innovative virtual reality experience.

Aimed at international busi-nesses and governments, the campaign showcases the UK’s trade and investment opportu-nities to a global marketplace.

This is the latest initiative in the successful longstanding GREAT Britain campaign to

promote the best of what the UK has to offer the world. This cam-paign positions the UK as the home of impressive and surpris-ing creativity, expertise, innovation, quality and world leading capabilities.

Declaring to global investors that the UK is open for business, this multi-channel campaign showcases the strength of the UK as a leading investment and business destination, in sectors including financial services, life

science sector and sustainable energy industry. The home to cutting-edge innovators, a place that nurtures talent and creates exceptional products and services.

The British Ambassador, Ajay Sharma, said:

“The UK has always been open and ready for business, and the launch of our largest inter-national trade campaign today in Doha is an important step in showcasing the very best of what the UK has to offer to the world. I encourage anyone interested in doing business with the UK to visit the online platform at www.great.gov.uk. It provides prac-tical advice to businesses ready to take the next step and invest in the UK or international buy-ers and sellers who may not know what is in the UK market or how to buy British. This also includes a new searchable exporter directory, ‘Find a Sup-plier’ which will help international businesses to find their perfect trade partner in the UK’. I and the rest of the Embassy team will do whatever we can to support increased trade and

greater investment between the UK and Qatar in both directions. This is so clearly in our mutual interest’.

Marshmallow Laser Feast’s Creative Director, Robin McNi-cholas, said: “As creatives that explore the liminal space between technology, art and sci-ence, it’s great to be part of an initiative like ‘Invest in Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ because it gives us a chance to celebrate the strength of the

British creative and tech sectors, and the large scale growth opportunities that we’re lucky enough to have access to. The crossover between UK creative excellence and technology part-nerships is absolutely flourishing and we are delighted to have given the people of Qatar a taste of how to push the boundaries of this crossover to create vir-tual reality experiences that amaze audiences like never before.”

The British Ambassador, Ajay Sharma, addresses the ‘Invest in GREAT Britain’ campaign, yesterday.

Launch of campaignAimed at international businesses & governments, the campaign showcases the UK’s trade & investment opportunities to a global marketplace.

This is the latest initiative in the GREAT Britain campaign to promote the best of what the UK has to offer the world.

EBRD ramps up economic forecastsLondon

AFP

Europe’s development bank yesterday upgraded the growth forecasts for

the 37 different countries it invests in, with a particularly favourable outlook for Turkey. The European Bank for Recon-struction and Development (EBRD) said in a statement that growth was “accelerating” in most of the countries it covers in central, southern and east-ern Europe, as well as in the central Asian and Mediterra-nean regions.

While Russia and Central Asia were benefitting from higher oil prices, all of the regions were getting a boost from higher exports, invest-ment and wage growth, helping to put growth on a broader footing. In the first half of this year, three quar-ters of EBRD countries saw a surge in annualised growth, the highest such proportion of countries since 2010.

The average rate of growth was 3.3 percent in the period from January to June, up from 1.9 percent in 2016. And the countries are expected to grow again by 3.6 percent in H1 of 2017, the EBRD said. The highest forecast was for Turkey, with the EBRD pre-dicting growth there of 5.1 percent for 2017, nearly dou-ble the previous forecast of 2.6 percent in May.

A $71bn government stim-ulus package introduced towards the end of 2016 and the start of 2017 was seen as the main factor behind the acceleration. Nevertheless, the short-term nature of the measures meant that the pick-up may not last, with the economy projected to expand by just 2.5 percent in 2018.

Russia is expected to return to growth of 1.8 percent in 2017 on the back of a grad-ual recovery in oil prices, but growth was projected to slow slightly to 1.7 percent in 2018.

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop (left) shakes hands with Japan’s Foreign Minister, Taro Kono ahead of their bilateral meeting before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, yesterday.

Dollar sags as US yields slip and Aussie takes RBA hold in strideTokyo

Reuters

The dollar sagged yester-day, knocked away from an eight-month highs

versus the yen down as Treas-ury yields slipped on uncertainty over whether the Republicans can pass their tax bill in a timely manner.

The Australian dollar held steady, showing little response to the Reserve Bank of Austral-ia’s (RBA) well-anticipated decision to stand pat on mon-etary policy. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was a shade lower at 94.729, slipping slightly from a 10-day peak of 95.077 reached on Monday.

Against the yen, the dollar nudged up 0.15 percent to 113.870 yen, but still some dis-tance from 114.735 struck the previous day, its highest since mid-March. The euro was steady at $1.1613 following its descent to a 10-day trough of $1.1580 overnight.

The greenback had been solid after strong US services and factory data issued before the weekend backed expecta-tions for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month and tighten further in 2018.

But the currency sagged as such expectations failed to lift Treasury yields. The bench-mark 10-year yield has slipped steadily towards 2.30 percent after peaking at a seven-month high of 2.47 percent in late October.

Doubts over whether US Republicans could pass their tax

plan have helped bring down long-term Treasury yields. The uncertainty dims hopes for faster economic growth, and there are worries about the scale of borrowing needed to finance the tax plan.

Australia’s central bank yesterday left its cash rate at a record low 1.5 percent, and signs indicated it would stay sidelined for months in the face of stubbornly low inflation and caution among debt-laden consumers.

The RBA eased twice last year but has since held steady as it balances the risk of fuel-ling further borrowing in the country’s red-hot property market against tepid inflation.

The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7692 after gaining about 0.5 percent the previous day against the broadly weaker dollar.

Other commodity curren-cies also performed well with oil prices climbing to 2-1/2-year highs this week amid political purges in Saudi Arabia.

The Canadian dollar stood at C$1.2713 per dollar following an overnight rally to a two-week high of C$1.2701.

The Norwegian crown added to gains from the previ-ous day, when it rose 0.5 percent, to trade at 8.13 per dollar.

The New Zealand dollar was nearly flat at $0.6938 after gaining nearly 0.6 percent overnight to pull further away from a five-month low of $0.6818 reached at the end of October on polit ical uncertainty.

GWC delivers equestrian logistics for LGCTThe Peninsula

GWC, the leading logistics provider of Qatar, has successfully delivered the

equestrian logistics operations for the Longines Global Cham-pions Tour (LGCT) – Doha Final Tour in November 2017, organ-ized by AL SHAQAB; Member of the Qatar Foundation. The serv-ices provided by GWC Equestrian included the trans-port of a total of 91 world-class show horses con-solidated in Liege, Belgium, over two charter flights that arrived on November 6 and 7, 2017. GWC Chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Fahad bin Jas-sem bin Jabor Al Thani stated: “We are proud to be handling

such an international project which positions Qatar as an international host destination for the international sports and equestrian events earnestly.”

GWC Equestrian has done the consultation services for the transportation of the horses according to the international safety standards. All logistical operations has been executed according to a fully integrated plan to ensure the focused trans-portation of horses, equipment, and equestrian related assets. Additionally, the team has pro-vided value added services such as reservations arrangements, health permits for participating horses, customs clearance at both ends of the journey, tarmac supervision, and. Each of the

flights transporting the horses included a veterinarian and 10 groomsmen to ensure the horses safety comfort as they rode in the flights “air stables”. GWC has recently announced its financial results for the third quarter of

2017, achieving QR157.26m dur-ing this period, in its net profits. The company’s gross revenues registered QR695,13m at the end of the period, while earnings per share increased to QR2.68 in the first three quarters of 2017.

GWC Equestrian team seen handling one of the horses.

China has a plan that could hand Trump a win on the deficitBeijing

Bloomberg

When Donald Trump lands in Beijing this week intent on tack-

ling one of his biggest irritations—the trade deficit—he could get help from an unlikely source: his hosts.

In response to questions from Bloomberg News, China’s Commerce Minister Zhong Shan laid out a list of measures being undertaken that could help nar-row the $327bn gap, America’s

largest with any nation. China will host its first-ever import fair in November next year, and will roll out tax, fiscal and adminis-trative initiatives aimed at helping foreign firms sell more into what is becoming a big and sophisticated consumer market, Zhong wrote.

Slated for Shanghai in November 2018, the China Inter-national Import Expo (CIIE) reflects China’s “sincere wish to open its market to the world and its sense of responsibility as a big country to push for an open

world economy,” he said. The deficit between the US and China, which has almost quad-rupled since the latter joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, has provided much fodder for Trump.

The US president regularly lambasted the imbalance during his campaign and returned to the theme in Japan on Monday, when he devoted part of his press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to talking tough on trade with China, vow-ing to take “very, very strong

action” on the issue. US and European trade officials have complained for years that despite China’s promises to open up, tariffs, intellectual property theft, forced transfers of tech-nology and other rules that target foreign companies make doing business there difficult.

The access afforded Chinese companies into their own mar-kets provides a further rub. The deficit “has to come down,” Trump said Monday.

“And that has to do really with free trade, fair trade, or

reciprocal trade. And frankly I like reciprocal the best of the group.”

Still, the countries remain at odds over the causes and impact of the trade imbalance. China blames a “surplus transfer,” which Zhong says is the result of how global trade is organized.

China frequently acts as the final link in a manufacturing chain where parts are made in multiple countries before being f inally assembled—and exported—from there.

UK Brexit assessments will be released soonTHE British government will release documents setting out its assessment of the impact that Brexit will have on the economy to a parliamentary committee in the next three weeks, junior Brexit minister Steve Baker said yesterday. “We will provide this informa-tion to the committee as soon as is possible, we have made plain to the house authorities that we expect this to be three weeks,” Baker told parliament.

APEC Summit

24 WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017BUSINESS

Opec sees slower growth in demand for its oilLondon

Reuters

Global demand for Opec’s crude will rise in the next two years more slowly than expected, the group

forecast, as a recovery in prices resulting from an Opec-led sup-ply cut stimulates renewed out put g r ow t h f ro m non-members.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also said in its 2017 World Oil Outlook that rapid adoption of electric vehicles could cause oil demand to plateau in the second half of the 2030s, denting Opec’s longer-term prospects.

Opec and rivals including Russia have been cutting output

in 2017 to get rid of a glut. A resulting price rise is spurring a rebound in non-Opec supply, the

report shows, but Opec still expects its market share to increase further down the line.

“It is evident that this major commitment to production adjustments has been central to the rebalancing process that the market has undergone this year,” Opec Secretary-General Moham-mad Barkindo wrote in a foreword to the report.

“The long-term focus for additional liquids demand remains on Opec.”

Demand for Opec crude will reach 33.10 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019, the report said. While up from 32.70 million b/d in 2016, the 2019 figure is down from 33.70 million b/d forecast in last year’s report.

Opec raised its forecast for the supply of tight oil, which

includes US shale. It said a rise in prices in 2017, plus sustained demand growth, had resulted in a higher forecast for supplies outside Opec. “The medium-term outlook for non-Opec liquids growth has changed quite considerably,” Opec said in the report, referring to its 2016 fore-casts. “Most strikingly, US tight oil production has exceeded pre-vious growth expectations.”

Oil prices hit their highest since July 2015 on Monday, trad-ing above $62 a barrel.

This year’s report did not mention the oil price it assumes. Last year’s report assumed Opec’s basket of crude oils would reach $65 in 2021.

Global output of tight oil will reach 7.0 million b/d by 2020 and 9.22 million b/d in 2030, the

report said, as Argentina and Russia join North America as producers. Last year’s estimates were 4.55 million b/d by 2020 and 6.73 million b/d by 2030.

Years of high prices - sup-ported by Opec output restraint –helped boost non-Opec supply and make non-conventional oil, such as shale, viable.

This exacerbated a glut, lead-ing to the 2014 price collapse that the Opec-led cut was designed to tackle. Opec also increased its medium-term world oil demand forecast, expecting oil use to reach 102.3 million b/d by 2022 - 2.24 million b/d more than in last year’s report.

Demand is seen at 111.1 mil-lion b/d in 2040, up from 109.4 million b/d expected last year, with Opec’s share of the world

oil market expected to rise to 46 percent from 40 percent in 2016.

Still, Opec, which normally forecasts ever-increasing oil demand, said more widespread use of electric vehicles (EVs) than assumed in the report’s main scenario could trim this figure.

“In just a few years, EVs have gone from being completely unaffordable, impractical and not particularly nice, to repre-senting a valid option for a niche pool of customers,” Opec said.

The 2040 oil demand fore-cast could be curbed to 108.60 million b/d if electric vehicles are adopted more widely than assumed in the report’s reference case. “Moreover, global oil demand is estimated to plateau around this level in the second half of the 2030s,” Opec said.

Global output of tight oil will reach 7.0 million b/d by 2020 & 9.22 million b/d in 2030.

Oil forecastOpec raised forecast for the supply of tight oil, which includes US shale. It said a rise in prices in 2017, plus sustained demand growth, had resulted in a higher forecast for supplies outside Opec.

New Zealand’s Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (left) shakes hands with Acting Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Grant Spencer in Wellington, New Zealand, yesterday. New Zealand launched a review of its central bank mandate yesterday with an eye on lifting employment as a monetary policy goal.

Central bank mandate review Eurozone bank supervisors would like to see more mergersFrankfurt

AFP

The eurozone’s top bank supervisor, Daniele Nouy, yesterday urged

the sector to press ahead with cross-border mergers, argu-ing tie-ups would help forge a stronger European finance industry.

“We definitely need more... cross-border consol-idations, in particular,” Nouy—who heads the Euro-pean Central Bank’s supervisory arm—told a Frankfurt banking confer-ence, adding that as an “optimistic person” she hoped to see some within 12 months.

Nouy, head of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) since it began work in 2014, has long encouraged banks to tie the knot across the borders between the eurozone’s 19 members.

While the SSM is formally part of the ECB, it acts inde-pendently from it in order to avoid any conflicts of inter-est. Her latest remarks come as takeover rumours have been swirling around Germa-ny’s second-biggest lender, Commerzbank, for weeks.

Its yellow-triangle logo is reportedly in the sights of peers like France’s BNP Pari-bas and Credit Agricole or Italy’s Unicredit.

Recently, most tie-ups in the sector have seen more solid lenders take over shaky smaller banks within the same country, such as Santander’s purchase of Banco Popular in Spain.

Toyota’s profits increase in H1, raises full-year forecastTokyo

AFP

Japanese car giant Toyota yesterday reported a rise in first-half net profit and raised

its forecast for the whole year, citing a cheaper yen and cost-cutting efforts.

Japan’s number-one car-maker said its net profit rose 13.2 percent to 1.07trillion yen ($9.4bn) for the six months to September on sales of 14.2tril-lion yen, up 8.6 percent.

The Prius maker now expects to bank a net profit of 1.95trillion yen for the fiscal year to March 2018, up from an earlier estimate of 1.75trillion yen.

During the previous fiscal year, Toyota suffered its first drop in annual profit for five years, which it blamed on the cost of customer incentives in the key US market.

Toyota said operating profit from its domestic and European markets showed moderate gains for the first half. But oper-ating profit from North America fell by more than half due to a decline in sales and swelling incentives.

“Toyota has benefited from a weak yen, but growing incen-tives in North America have pressured its profit,” said Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and con-sulting firm.

“Foreign exchange will remain a decisive factor for the second half,” Takada told AFP before the announcement.

The level of Japan’s

currency against the dollar and other units is a key factor in Toyota’s competitiveness abroad and in the value of prof-its it earns abroad.

The yen has moved sharply in recent years, surging after Britain’s shock vote to exit the European Union boosted demand for the safe-haven cur-rency. The trend briefly reversed course after Donald Trump’s November US presi-dential election victory boosted the dollar against the yen and other currencies.

Without forex tailwinds, Toyota could have seen its operation profits fall further, said Osamu Nagata (pictured), Toyota executive vice president.

North American motorists continue flocking to buy pick-up trucks and SUVs, while the prices of used sedans continue to slip, he said.

“There are many things we must do,” such as reducing incentives in the US market, he said, but added the business environment stayed “tough” as raw materials were also at high levels.

Fashion label Lanvin to get a makeoverParis

AFP

Troubled French fashion house Lanvin is to be relaunched before the end

of the year, with plans to expand into accessories and other lux-ury goods.

The oldest Paris couture house, which has been in tur-moil since the shock sacking of popular designer Alber Elbaz two years ago, said its owner, the Taiwanese media magnate Shaw-Lan Wang, who will fund the turnaround with a fresh cash injection. The news comes amid renewed speculation about the future of the label, which sank into the red to the tune of ¤18.3m ($21.2m) last year, its

first loss for a decade. But its new designer Olivier Lapidus—who replaced Bouchra Jarrar in July after only 10 months at the helm—told AFP that he was helping to prepare a major shift for the brand, which was founded in 1889.

“Madame Wang very much believes in the label,” said Lap-idus, who had only a month to put together his first women’s collection for Paris fashion week in September.

“We are not at all worried about paying the bills,” its finance chief Nicolas Druz told AFP. “We want to bring the house into the modern era, and develop a high-tech, lifestyle ‘art de vivre’ side to the business,” Druz added, floating the idea of

Lanvin-linked hotels and spas as well as an expanded acces-sory range.

Druz paid tribute to Lapidus for the “miracle” of managing to turn around a collection “in August in France”, when most of the country traditionally heads to the beaches.

The collection had a mixed reception when it hit the run-ways, but Lapidus said he was cheered by the warm reaction of Vogue and Elle magazines.

“It was not a very profound collection. Unfortunately we had very little time to do it in, but we have some incredibly talented people in our studios and work-shops, and I will stay and support this label to the death if I have to,” he said.

Gold slips after Monday rally as oil retreatsLondon

Reuters

Gold fell yesterday as investors locked in gains from the metal’s biggest

one-day rally in six weeks, posted after a string of high-profile arrests in Saudi Arabia sent oil to a 2-1/2 year high, and the dollar and US Treasury yields sank. Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,276.61 an ounce at 1300 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery were $4.10 an ounce lower at $1,277.50.

The metal rallied in New York trading on Monday to end the day up nearly 1 percent, erasing losses made in earlier trading and throughout

the previous session. The Saudi-led jump in the oil price, a drop in the US dollar and jit-ters linked to US President Donald Trump’s trip to the Far East all conspired to push gold prices higher, MKS’ head of trading Afshin Nabavi said.

However, it was struggling to maintain those gains, he added and stuck broadly within the $20 range of the past two weeks. “Gold is not providing any reason to be bought,”he said.

The dollar rose 0.4 percent versus the euro yesterday on buoyant risk appetite, and as investors added bets that mon-etary policy would continue to diverge between the US and the euro zone.

ECB buying remained skewed towards FranceLondon

Reuters

Southern Europe led a fall in bond yields in the single currency bloc yesterday

after latest ECB data highlighted that central bank buying will provide considerable support to regional bond markets over the coming year.

Italy’s 10-year yield fell to a 10-month low, Portuguese yields tumbled to their lowest level since April 2015, while Germa-ny’s benchmark Bund yield remained within striking dis-tance of 2-month lows hit on Monday.

The European Central Bank’s decision last month to extend its massive asset purchase scheme until September next year, albeit at a reduced monthly pace of ¤30bn from January, has helped

drive down bond yields in recent weeks.

New data released late on Monday suggests those monthly flows will be closer to ¤40bn once the ECB reinvests funds from maturing bonds it has acquired under its asset-pur-chase scheme.

Redemptions will average ¤10.8bn a month in the 12 months from November.

“Leaving any smoothing aside for now, this (redemption data)implies that purely from a flow perspective the latest QE extension is closer to ‘9 times ¤41bn”, said ING senior rate strategist Benjamin Schroeder.

Germany is expected to receive the largest reinvestment flows because the ECB buys bonds in line with the size of a country’s economy in what is known as the capital key. It is

the bloc’s biggest economy and its benchmark bond issuer.

The redemption data adds weight to the price gains in bond markets seen in the wake of the ECB’s October meeting, at which the central bank unveiled its extension in asset purchases. When a bond’s price rises, its yield falls.

In addition, Monday’s ECB data showed that bond pur-chases in October remained skewed towards countries such as France and Italy.

That may help explain the fall in bond yields this session, analysts said.

In a note, Jefferies senior European economist Marchel Alexandrovich said that redemp-tions next year would also favour France, Italy and Spain.

Italy’s 10-year bond yield tumbled 5 basis points to 1.72

percent, its lowest level since early January.

That squeezed the gap over German Bund yields to 139 bps, its narrowest since October 2016.

Portuguese bond yields fell 4 bps to below 2 percent for the first time since April 2015, while Germany’s 10-year bond yield held near Monday’s 2-month low of 0.33 percent.

Other euro zone bond yields were slightly lower on the day.

“Many investors that had expected tapering to be nega-tive for bonds are reassessing that outlook,” said Peter Chat-well, head of euro rates strategy at Mizuho.

Speaking yesterday, ECB chief Mario Draghi said tackling soured credit weighing on the balance sheets of euro zone banks is a top priority.

25WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017 BUSINESS

Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra (right) is welcomed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, yesterday.

US-China economic ties face many key issuesNew York

Reuters

China is the United States’ largest trading partner, but the rela-tionship has long been plagued by accusa-

tions of unfair practices and a large US trade in goods deficit that last year reached $347bn.

Here are the most pressing commercial issues between the world’s two-biggest economies as Trump visits Beijing this week.

President Donald Trump’s Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has launched a “Sec-tion 301” investigation into China’s alleged theft of US intel-lectual property.

Rarely used in recent dec-ades, the probe looks at claims China ignores patent and copy-right protections, and forces US companies to turn over technol-ogy or enter into joint ventures with Chinese partners. Any con-clusion is likely months away, and would be challenged at the World Trade Organization by Beijing.

Despite pledges to open up after China joined the WTO in 2001, Xi has consolidated gov-ernment control over the economy. The United States uses standards for non-market econ-omies to determine anti-dumping duties against Chi-nese companies, given the extent

of the government’s control over price and output decisions.

The designation deeply angers Beijing, which argues that Washington is using an expired clause in China’s 2001 WTO accession deal in assessing whether China is dumping goods on the international market.

New national security and cyber security regulations require companies to store cru-cial data within China and pass security reviews, which foreign tech firms say could put business secrets at risk.

US companies also complain they face discriminatory Chinese industrial plans, such as the “Made in China 2025” initiative, which offers government back-ing to domestic companies in sectors the Chinese government deems strategic.

Foreign companies are pro-hibited from investment and majority ownership in strategic sectors, including the automo-tive, securities, healthcare services, insurance and cloud computing industries. Chinese firms, however, can operate freely in these sectors in the United States.

China promised this year it would allow US payment card companies to run fully-owned units in China, but they still face pressure to form local joint ventures.

Lawmakers in Congress aim to introduce legislation broadening the review pow-ers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), unnerved by Chinese efforts to acquire sensitive US technol-ogy. Beijing complains CFIUS reviews are protectionist. Talks on a bilateral investment treaty have sputtered. Washington wants China to cut a “negative list” of sectors where US investment is prohibited, from f inancia l services to telecommunications.

South Africa to begin inquiry on tax service after Zuma gives nodJohannesburg

Reuters

South Africa will launch an inquiry into weak tax col-lection by the revenue

service after receiving the approval of President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba (pictured) said yesterday.

Gigaba shocked financial markets last month by flagging wider deficits and rising govern-ment debt in a closely watched budget speech, attributing the dismal forecasts to sluggish growth and low tax receipts.

On Tuesday he told a news conference that Zuma had granted his request for an inquiry by a judge into the administration and governance of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

He added that the inquiry would be set up soon.

“It is critical for government to determine the cause of the tax revenue under-collection in order to enable government to take urgent remedial steps to ensure that SARS is able to meet its revenue targets,” Gigaba told reporters. South Africa’s strained public finances are in the spot-light ahead of ratings reviews scheduled by major international agencies Moody’s and S&P Glo-bal later this month. If Moody’s

and S&P downgrade South Afri-ca’s local-currency rating one notch to sub-investment grade, or “junk” status, that could trig-ger forced selling of up to $12bn of the country’s bonds.

The gloom is compounded by allegations of influence-ped-dling in government that have hurt investor confidence, as well as infighting in the ruling Afri-can National Congress as it prepares to elect a new leader to succeed Zuma in December.

Zuma’s two terms as presi-dent have seen growth slow to a near-standstill and have been marred by a series of corrup-tion scandals, including over spending of state money on upgrading his private Nkandla home.

Gigaba also addressed con-cerns about struggling state-owned South African Air-ways (SAA) yesterday, saying liquidity issues at the national

Drop in German industrial output masks robust outlookBerlin

Reuters

German industrial produc-tion fell in September after surging a month earlier,

but output still grew by 0.8 per-cent in the third quarter as a whole and should increase fur-ther in the months ahead, the Economy Ministry said.

Industrial output fell by 1.6 percent in September after ris-ing by 2.6 in August, the biggest gain in more than six years, data from the Economy Ministry showed yesterday. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast a drop of 0.8 percent.

A breakdown of the data showed a sharp drop in produc-tion of capital goods.

But industrial activity remained “very lively” and pro-duction rose by 0.8 percent in the third quarter as a whole, the ministry said, adding: “Overall, industrial production should expand further in the coming months.”

Figures from the ministry on Monday showed industrial orders rose unexpectedly in September, driven by demand from other euro zone countries for capital goods. That suggests the economy will extend its expansion in the coming months.

“Despite today’s setback, all ingredients are in place to see a resurgence of industrial activ-ity in the coming months,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski said.

Despite protracted talks on forming a new German coali-tion government, Brzeski said, “spending more money in our view remains the easiest-to-agree-on common denominator for any next German govern-ment. Therefore, keep your seat belts fastened, the fast ride of the German economy should con-tinue soon.”

Despite weeks of exploratory discussions, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens remain far apart on a

range of issues as they try to form a three-way coalition. Helping the coalition negotiators is the strong economy, which is gen-erating a budget surplus that leaves room to satisfy all sides, to some degree, by paying for both tax cuts and investment in areas such as upgrading infra-structure.Germany’s DIHK

Chambers of Industry and Com-merce last month raised its growth forecast for Europe’s big-gest economy to 2.0 percent for this year from its previous esti-mate of 1.8 percent and sees an even stronger expansion next year.

Gross domestic product growth data for the third

quarter will be published on November 14. Underlining the health of the economy, carmaker BMW on yesterday raised its out-look for pretax profit this year, although third-quarter earnings fell on upfront costs for new technologies and models. It is counting on record sales of lux-ury cars.

Trump lambasts free-trade agreement with South KoreaSeoul

AFP

US President Donald Trump yesterday demanded a “free, fair,

and reciprocal” trade deal with security ally South Korea, call-ing their existing agreement “quite unsuccessful and not very good for the United States” on a visit to Seoul.

Trump has slammed the five-year-old US-Korea free trade agreement (FTA), known as KORUS, as a “horrible deal” and a “job killer”.

He has threatened to pull out of KORUS, which could push the South closer into the economic orbit of China, already its big-gest trading partner. Washington

has initiated talks to revise the agreement, but they show no sign of progress.

“Currently we are looking at ways of improving our economic relationship,” Trump said after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-In.

“I feel confident we’ll be able to reach a free, fair and recipro-cal trade deal.”

The current agreement “quite frankly has been quite unsuccessful and not very good for the United States”, he said.

Moon said the two leaders reaffirmed that economic coop-eration and sustainable trade were an “important pillar” of their alliance and they had agreed to “expedite talks” on the issue. The US trade deficit with

the South has more than dou-bled since the pact took effect in 2012, from $13.2bn in 2011 to $27.6bn last year, according to US data. But the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), the biggest foreign business group in South Korea, said in September that it sup-ported the deal, warning withdrawing from the pact will have a “severe damaging effect on the economy” and lead to a “deterioration” of ties between the allies.

Trump is pushing to cut his nation’s trade deficits with a number of countries, but AMCHAM said US exports to South Korea rose more than 20 percent in the first half of this year.

Singapore Airlines reports big jump in profitsSingapore

AFP

Singapore Airlines said yesterday second-quar-ter net profit almost

tripled due to passenger growth and improvements in its cargo business, but warned of challenges ahead.

The flag carrier said it earned Sg$190m ($139m) in the three months to the end of September compared to Sg$65m in the same period last year.

The airline, seen as a benchmark for Asian pre-mium carriers, has been battling strong competition from Asian low-cost carriers and Middle Eastern airlines, which now boast modern fleets and top-quality inflight services.

It has launched a wide-ranging review and in August offered cabin crew unpaid leave as a cost-cutting measure.

Announcing the results, the company said in a state-ment that “headwinds remain as competitors mount signif-icant capacity in key markets. Yields continue to be under pressure, despite some sta-bilisation in recent months.”

Singapore Airlines also includes regional carrier Silk-Air and low-cost airline Scoot.

State interferenceDespite pledges to open up after China joined the WTO in 2001, Xi has consolidated government control over the economy.

The United States uses standards for non-market economies to determine anti-dumping duties against Chinese companies, given the extent of the government’s control over price and output decisions.

A file photo of engineers working at BMW’s main plant in Munich, Germany.

EU’s Vestager seeks details on Apple’s recent tax set-upEU regulators have asked iPhone maker Apple for details of its recent tax structure fol-lowing last year’s order to pay back taxes of up to $15bn to Ireland, Europe’s anti-trust chief said yesterday.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who issued the record back-tax bill against Apple in August 2016, said she wanted to make sure the company now complies with the bloc’s rules which ban unfair state aid.

“I have been asking for an update on the arrangement made by Apple, the recent way they have been organ-ised, in order to get the feeling whether or not this is in accordance with our Euro-pean rules but that remains to be seen,” Vestager said.

Dutch Finance Minister at EU Commission

26 WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017BUSINESS

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 7,930.78 1.05 %

QE Total Return Index 13,299.46 1.05 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,029.83 2.59 %

QE All Share Index 2,198.20 1.45 %

QE All Share Banks &

Financial Services 2,511.98 0.61 %

QE All Share Industrials 2,421.94 1.90 %

QE All Share Transportation 1,552.16 2.56 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,513.46 2.81 %

QE All Share Insurance 2,820.31 0.20 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,012.15 0.78 %

QE All Share Consumer

Goods & Services 4,382.79 3.86 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

07-11-2017Index 7,930.78

Change 83.93

% 1.05

YTD% 24.01

Volume 8,543,891

Value (QAR) 273,043,394.32

Trades 3,969

Up 02 | Down 36 | Unchanged 106-11-2017Index 8,014.71

Change 112.18

% 1.38

YTD% 23.21

Volume 9,351,661

Value (QAR) 999,967,281.83

Trades 3,032

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR149.8554 per grammeSILVER QR2.0046 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low

All Ordinaries 6087.359 60.171 1 6038 5635.1

Cac 40 Index/D 5505.68 -1.57 -0.03 5536.4 4733.82

Dj Indu Average 23548.42 9.23 0.04 23574.86 17994.64

Hang Seng Inde/D 28994.34 397.54 1.39 28798.78 21883.82

Iseq Overall/D 6953.6 -13.87 -0.2 7157.43 6369.05

Kse 100 Inx/D 41049.22 18.45 0.04 53127.24 39478.05

S&P 500 Index/D 2591.13 3.29 0.127133 2588.42 2245.13

Currency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.7581 QR 4.8249

Euro QR 4.1858 QR 4.2440

CA$ QR 2.8296 QR 2.8849

Swiss Fr QR 3.6189 QR 3.6693

Yen QR 0.03161 QR 0.03222

Aus$ QR 2.7638 QR 2.8181

Ind Re QR 0.0555 QR 0.0566

Pak Re QR 0.0342 QR 0.0350

Peso QR 0.0702 QR 0.0716

SL Re QR 0.0235 QR 0.0240

Taka QR 0.0446 QR 0.0455

Nep Re QR 0.0347 QR 0.0354

SA Rand QR 0.2543 QR 0.2593

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD

A C C-A/D 1783.1 -13.75 21443

Aban Offs-A/D 220.5 1.2 1247447

Ador Welding-B/D 566.9 -43.05 24860

Aegis Logis-A/D 228.65 -4.05 22741

Alembic-B/D 40.85 -1.75 162919

Alok Indus-B/D 4.4 -0.23 17092872

Apollo Tyre-A/D 234.15 -8.75 221394

Asahi I Glass-/D 387.15 -8.15 11509

Ashok Leyland-/D 122 -3.9 751561

Ballarpur In-B/D 13.61 -0.55 455258

Banaras Bead-B/D 61.25 -2 1722

Bata India-A/D 783.1 -27.5 57401

Bayer Crop-A/D 3905 42.65 3924

Beml Ltd-A/D 1747.85 -38.1 69754

Bhansali Eng-B/D 134.15 -1.75 470855

Bharat Bijle-B/D 992 -17.3 2133

Bharat Ele-A/D 180.2 -4.8 538025

Bharatgears-B/D 172.2 -5.55 22021

Bhartiya Int-B/D 601.9 -14.65 18694

Bhel-A/D 93.15 -5.75 4468325

Bom.Burmah-A/D 1591.3 -36.3 25112

Bombay Dyeing-/D 204.8 0.7 608807

Camph.& All-Xc/D 960 -57.05 6744

Canfin Homes-A/D 456.8 0.45 160557

Caprihans-Xc/D 117.85 -3.95 17377

Castrol India-/D 412.25 -8.1 559844

Century Enka-B/D 353.5 -32.5 75838

Century Text-A/D 1333.25 -37.35 68975

Chambal Fert-B/D 142.2 -5.9 63365

Chola Invest-A/D 1263 -0.8 15052

Cimmco-B/D 100 -5.15 19283

Cipla-A/D 608.35 -47.05 699331

City Union Bk-/D 164.1 1.85 36113

Colgate-A/D 1034.9 -9.05 21343

Container Cor-/D 1330.15 -62.3 27826

Dai-Xc/D 410 -7.5 6560

Dcm Financia-B/D 3.46 0.16 5150

Dcm Shram Ind-/D 343 -9.8 18500

Dhampur Sugar-/D 295.3 -13.45 89683

Dr. Reddy-A/D 2376.2 -18.55 44493

E I H-B/D 151 0 14463

E.I.D Parry-A/D 364.8 -5.7 40572

Eicher Motor-A/D 31250 152.15 1674

Eimco Elecon-B/D 530.8 -76.4 11026

Electrosteel-B/D 33.95 -0.25 291617

Emco-T/D 20.45 -0.35 117913

Escorts Fin-Xt/D 5.67 0.27 10030

Escorts-A/D 705.25 -10.5 187541

Eveready Indu-/D 351.2 2.65 73638

F D C-B/D 199.9 -1.65 17470

Federal Bank-A/D 113.95 -2.65 970711

Ferro Alloys-X/D 19.6 -0.7 822420

Finolex-A/D 713.9 2.65 3476

Forbes-B/D 2050 -77.65 3484

Gail-A/D 464 -2.1 178227

Gammon India-Z/D 8.5 -0.03 469729

Garden P -B/D 34.7 -2.45 67258

Godfrey Phil-A/D 997.5 -19.2 12543

Goodricke-Xc/D 276.3 -3.6 18437

Goodyear I -B/D 800.75 -13.35 9293

Hcl Infosys-A/D 48.1 0.4 1151362

Him.Fut.Comm-B/D 31.8 1.5 5997495

Himat Seide-B/D 362.2 -6.95 10843

Hind Motors-B/D 7.8 -0.18 53449

Hind Org Chem-/D 23.45 1.4 618448

Hind Unilever-/D 1242.4 2.25 70129

Hind.Petrol-A/D 444.45 9.9 937078

Hindalco-A/D 267.2 -5.6 913825

Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1764.25 -20.05 46839

I F C I-A/D 24.6 -0.9 1222356

Idbi-A/D 62.75 -1.8 512292

Ifb Agro-B/D 668 15.75 3454

Ifb Ind.Ltd.-B/D 951.85 27 8056

India Cement-A/D 174.65 -7.75 863539

India Glycol-B/D 394.55 -10.55 245070

Indian Hotel-A/D 112.2 -2.1 137626

Indo-A/D 110.25 -2.4 159387

Indusind-A/D 1649.7 2.05 35252

J.B.Chemical-B/D 297.25 -5.1 59686

Jagson Phar-B/D 37.65 0.3 3521

Jamnaauto-B/D 63.75 -1.45 148107

Jbf Indu-B/D 242.2 -0.7 77096

Jct Ltd-Xc/D 3.37 -0.12 489755

Jenson&Nich.-T/D 8.5 0.79 183238

Jindal Drill-B/D 169 1.95 134212

Jktyre&Ind-A/D 147.6 -5.4 233084

Jmc Projects-B/D 459 -22.25 6259

Kabra Extr-B/D 133.5 -3.15 2139

Kajaria Cer-A/D 681 -15.65 29757

Kakatiya Cem-B/D 378 -10.6 10126

Kalpat Power-B/D 399.7 -3.7 8525

Kalyani Stel-B/D 411.6 -8.85 18219

Kanoria Chem-B/D 85.4 -2 30983

Kg Denim-Xc/D 64.85 2.05 55097

Kilburnengg-Xd/D 83.05 -3.15 17740

Kinetic Eng-Xc/D 63.65 -3.3 15491

Kopran-B/D 68.45 -2.25 48705

Lakshmi Elec-X/D 751 -16.4 4616

Lakshmi Mach-A/D 6055.75 58.45 2390

Laxmi Prcisn-B/D 38.85 1.3 21181

Lgb Broth-B/D 925.85 -3.5 3683

Lloyd Metal-Xd/D 21.15 -1 54032

Lumax Ind-B/D 1765.55 -69.1 1680

Lupin-A/D 860.5 -174.2 2891924

Lyka Labs-B/D 63.3 -2.75 222020

Mafatlal Ind-X/D 326 0.85 14753

Mah.Seamless-B/D 484.9 -15.45 9935

Mangalam Cem-B/D 377.35 -7.55 4901

Maral Overs-B/D 40.7 -1.55 4707

Mastek-B/D 362.65 11.3 211771

Max Financial-/D 551.9 -15.45 34051

Mrpl-A/D 131.2 -2.45 243316

Nagreeka Ex-B/D 36.35 2.05 8970

Nahar Spg.-B/D 122.5 -1.2 43161

Nation Alum -A/D 91.3 -3.2 707905

Navneet Edu-B/D 168.85 -4.35 7294

Neuland Lab-B/D 1165.5 -26.35 1503

Nrb Bearings-B/D 143.15 -0.2 49981

O N G C-A/D 193.85 -4.8 1559614

Ocl India-B/D 1441.2 -15.8 2504

Oil Country-B/D 55.85 -2.4 22440

Onward Tech-B/D 131.4 1.05 62630

Orchid Pharm-T/D 18.15 -0.4 58685

Orient Hotel-B/D 39.5 -0.2 35589

Orient.Carb.-B/D 1318.5 -26.9 5811

Patspin India-/D 34.05 2.45 202676

Punjab Chem.-B/D 386.6 -14.95 2276

Radico Khait-B/D 204.55 -8.5 104066

Rallis India-A/D 236.65 -0.8 29491

Rallis India-A/D 236.65 -0.8 29491

Reliance Indus/D 509.65 -19.5 127672

Ruchi Soya-B/D 25.1 -2.4 410339

Saur.Cem-Xc/D 90.3 -0.8 145978

Sterling Tool-/D 265 -4.35 3559

Tanfac Indu-Xd/D 133.7 -9.5 40951

Tanfac Indu-Xd/D 133.7 -9.5 40951

Thirumalai-B/D 2074.85 -132.7 79997

Til Ltd.-B/D 534.55 -13.55 4117

Tinplate-B/D 251.7 -8.8 327140

Ucal Fuel-B/D 194.75 -3.15 7579

Ucal Fuel-B/D 194.75 -3.15 7579

Ultramarine-Xc/D 280.35 -6.25 16726

Unitech P -A/D 6.46 -0.36 3861602

Univcable-B/D 175.5 10.2 195772

3I Group/D 954.5 -4.5 229049

Assoc.Br.Foods/D 3231 -114 648443

Barclays/D 181.7 -0.3 9973412

Bp/D 527.79 6.7 13158076

Brit Am Tobacc/D 4921.5 -37.5 840315

Bt Group/D 249.3 -3 5252330

Centrica/D 168.4 -1.5 3885054

Gkn/D 321.3 -2.1 726700

Hsbc Holdings/D 734.5 1.6 5829693

Kingfisher/D 309.9 -6.7 3033683

Land Secs./D 954 -6 669417

Legal & Genera/D 270.7 -0.4 2099633

Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 67.124 -0.68 25648860

Marks & Sp./D 328.9 -2.2 1767807

Next/D 4400.2 -14 102591

Pearson/D 695.5 -1.5 754936

Prudential/D 1862 6 778323

Rank Group/D 233.5 0.6 1402375

Rentokil Initi/D 325.1 0.1 771304

Rolls Royce Pl/D 976 -5 940332

Rsa Insrance G/D 607.5 0 466321

Sainsbury(J)/D 232.6 -1.7 1547321

Schroders/D 3472 -8 23929

Severn Trent/D 2173 -12 237685

Smith&Nephew/D 1398 -8 750329

Smiths Group/D 1551.33 -19 164903

Standrd Chart /D 717.1 -1.4 1341031

Tate & Lyle/D 687.5 -13.5 936251

Tesco/D 176.8 0.3 5759700

Unilever/D 4256.5 0.5 685174

United Util Gr/D 837 -3 279279

Vodafone Group/D 218.35 -0.5 12873701

Whitbread/D 3662 -22 145244

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

BMW AG lost ground to global luxury-car leader Mercedes-Benz as profits from carmaking fell while the euro’s gains prompted the manufac-turer to reduce its forecast for automotive revenue.

Amid increased spending to refresh and expand its car lineup, BMW is now predicting a “slight” gain in 2017 auto revenue, compared with its previous forecast for a “solid” increase, the Munich-based company said Tues-day in a statement. Alongside the outlook for a lackluster end to the year, third-quarter the automotive profit mar-gin slipped to 8.3 percent of revenue, below the 9.2 percent at Mercedes, where charges for air-bag recalls and die-sel-model fixes held back profitability.

Once the biggest maker of luxury cars, BMW is strug-gling to regain momentum in its tussle with Mercedes. Its styling has become conservative, while it straddles the dual demands of refreshing its conventional lineup to make money and develop new technology for the loom-ing shift to self-driving, electric cars.

“BMW is like a bloke settling into middle age,” Max Warburton, a London-based analyst at Sanford C. Bern-stein Ltd., said in a note. “Getting older, slower and duller is not a pleasant experience.”

BMW shares fell 2.3 percent to 87.95 euros at 11.10 am in Frankfurt. That pushed the stock to a 0.9 percent decline this year, while Mercedes parent Daimler AG has gained 3 percent.

In addition to developing upscale models like the 8-Series coupe and full-size X7 sport utility vehicle, BMW is investing to accelerate a rollout of at least 12 battery-powered vehicles by 2025 in a race with Mercedes’s 10 billion-euro ($11.6bn) electric-car push. BMW’s spending on research and development rose 22 percent to €4.06 bn in the first nine months of 2017, and the pace is set to continue for at least the next three years amid the biggest product offensive in the company’s history, Chief Finan-cial Officer Nicolas Peter said on a conference call.

“Significant upfront investment on research and devel-opment is necessary, both now and in the coming years,” Peter said in a statement. “Due to currency-translation effects, especially the strong euro, we now expect a slight, rather than solid increase in automotive -segment revenues.”

Despite the spending pressure, BMW raised its full-year forecast for group earnings and now expects to post a “solid” increase in pretax profit, compared with its ear-lier prediction of a “slight” gain. Third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes fell 3.2 percent from a year ear-lier to lag behind analyst estimates.

“BMW’s quarterly performance was weakish, and the boost to the overall guidance largely feeds from a strong first-half of the year,” said Juergen Pieper, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler in Frankfurt. “Compared to its key com-petitors, the result was less strong.”

German automakers are battling with the disruptive shift sweeping the auto industry alongside dealing with the ongoing fallout from Volkswagen AG’s cheating on diesel emissions. Since the scandal erupted more than two years ago, diesel technology, which makes up about half of car sales in Europe, has come under scrutiny about excessive pollution in real-life conditions, raising the threat of driving bans and depressing demand for the lucrative models.

BMW is responding with an enlarged suite of high-end cars and SUVs to shore up profitability while the threat of new competitors such as Tesla Inc. looms. Next year, the manufacturer will add the new X2 compact SUV and start production of the three-row X7.

China plans to allow global banks to take a stake of up to 51 percent in their onshore securities ven-tures for the first time and tie up with local non-financial firms,

people familiar with the matter said.The move, if implemented, would form

a key part of China’s pledge to ease foreign ownership curbs and would allow banks including Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), JPMorgan (JPM.N) and UBS (UBSG.S) to bolster their presence in secu-rities business – from underwriting to trading - in the world’s second-largest economy.

Currently, Western banks can only own up to 49 percent of their Chinese brokerage joint ventures. That lack of control and lim-ited contribution to revenue have long been a source of frustration.

The plan to ease ownership restrictions comes as Beijing faces mounting pressure from Western governments and business lob-bies to remove investment barriers and onerous regulations that hobble foreign firms from operating in its markets.

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) officials have informally allowed some foreign banks to work on their onshore strat-egies with the planned easing of equity holding restrictions in mind, two of the people said.

The details of the plan to give majority control to foreign banks are expected to be finalised and announced once approved by the state council, they said, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

News of Beijing’s possible easing of own-ership restrictions in the securities sector comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit China as part of his five-nation Asia trip.

Trump’s visit to China, which starts on Wednesday, comes amid frustration in parts of the U.S. business community, including finance, over discriminatory Chinese poli-cies and market access restrictions in various sectors.

The CSRC, which has been encourag-ing foreign investment in its bond and stock markets as part of broader efforts to dereg-ulate capital markets, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for com-ment on Tuesday.

“We continue to evaluate viable options to strengthen our position in China in order to better serve our clients,” said a spokes-woman for JPMorgan, which in December sold its 33 percent holding in a China secu-rities venture to its local partner. JPMorgan, whose other financial services in China include corporate banking and asset man-agement, is in talks to set up a new partnership in China, people with knowl-edge of the matter have previously told Reuters.

It is still possible the proposal could be altered or even shelved following feedback from senior government officials, one of the people said, adding the regulator could also take a bank-specific approach in deciding on the ownership issue.

Despite the current ownership curbs, most global banks have waited patiently for the sector to open up more - given its potential. Brokerage revenues in China reached a high of $41bn in 2015, according to a report by Quinlan & Associates.

Assuming institutional broking reve-nue is 10-15 percent of the total, a 1 percent market share would produce up to $60 mil-lion in annual revenue for an equities house, the financial sector consultancy noted.

Any lifting of the cap on foreign stakes beyond 49 percent would allow Western banks to buy more shares from their part-ners in existing ventures or enter into new

partnerships, the people said.Management control would allow for-

eign banks to offer more services through their joint ventures and potentially lever-age their global networks to win China market share.

Separately, allowing non-financial Chi-nese firms, including government entities, to enter into partnerships with foreign banks would help Western firms to better control the business, industry insiders said.

So far, Beijing has allowed only HSBC (HSBA.L) to set up a majority-owned secu-rities joint venture in China, taking advantage of Chinese rules that favor Hong Kong-established banks over their foreign peers.

In January, Morgan Stanley (MS.N) became the first foreign bank to receive China securities regulator’s approval to boost its stake in its securities venture to 49 percent, up from a third.

Steven Arons and Donal Griffin Bloomberg

As John Cryan mulls steps to restore growth at Deutsche Bank AG, he’s counting on US companies’ appetite

for ever more debt to help lead the charge.

The Frankfurt-based lender added 24 managing directors and directors at its US corporate finance business this year, a record hiring pace, according to Mark Fedorcik, co-head of Deutsche Bank’s global

capital markets unit. Among the goals: to become a top arranger of leveraged loans again, the risky debt that has surged amid low interest rates and the prospect of a rollback of post-crisis regulations.

“Next year will be a robust one for US leveraged finance and we’re going to capitalize on this,” Fedorcik said in an interview. “It’s an area that we’re going to continue to invest in and regain a top-five position.”

Deutsche Bank has slid to ninth place among arrangers of US leveraged loans this year, a lucrative business where it used to be among the top five before the financial crisis, as Cryan, the bank’s chief executive officer, reduced risk and expenses. With pressure rising on the 56-year-old Briton to reverse three straight quarters of declining revenue and deploy fresh capital, he is encouraging employees to take more risk again.

Cryan, who is favoring client-focused businesses such as

corporate finance to reduce reliance on volatile trading, said last month that he has yet to put to work a single cent of the 8 billion euros ($9.3bn) Deutsche Bank got from investors in April.

“Deutsche Bank had a premiere leveraged loan business pre-crisis and before they had issues with their balance sheet,” said David Knutson, head of credit research for Americas at Schroder Investment Management, which oversees more than $500bn. “The market looks attractive to them and I’m not surprised they’re ramping up.”

Deutsche Bank shares rose 0.9 percent to €14.64 at 9.13 am yesterday, paring losses this year to 4.9 percent.

Banks arrange leveraged loans for companies that are already indebted, and which use the money to finance things like buyouts, pay shareholder dividends and refinance borrowings. The lenders typically seek to sell the debts on

to investors, who are attracted by the more lucrative repayment rates.

That attraction has grown as central banks around the world keep interest rates near record lows. Investment banks have arranged $1.2trillion of US leveraged loans for clients so far this year, more than any other year since at least 2006 and already 18 percent more than all of 2016, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Adding to the frenzy is the US Treasury Department, which has proposed loosening restrictions imposed on Wall Street banks after the 2008 financial crisis. Some analysts fear this could mean a return to the kinds of high-risk loan deals that saddled lenders -- including Deutsche Bank -- with billions of dollars of debts they couldn’t sell during the crash.

“The risks of this debt binge are significant,” analysts at Standard & Poor’s wrote in an October 10 report. “Excessive leverage can

bring down a company as fast as prudent borrowing built it up.”

Deutsche Bank partly missed out on this year’s boom, slipping to ninth place among arrangers of US leveraged loans, from sixth last year and fifth in 2015, the year Cryan took over. The German lender’s 5.4 percent share of the market is its lowest since 2012. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have dominated the market for years.

The decline was caused by “a little bit of bad luck,” said Fedorcik. The firm has also been “more selective” on taking risks “in some cases,” further reducing the amount of completed deals, he said.

Deutsche Bank has arranged more than 300 US leveraged loans so far this year, helping clients including software giant Dell Technologies Inc. and hotel chain Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. borrow about $61 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg..

BMW loses ground to Mercedes as auto profitability narrows Elisabeth Behrmann Bloomberg

China plans easing foreign ownership restrictions

President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping arrives in Russia ahead of G20 Summit in this file picture.

Sumeet Chatterjee Bloomberg

The plan to ease ownership restrictions comes as Beijing faces mounting pressure from Western governments and business lobbies to remove investment barriers and onerous regulations that hobble foreign firms from operating in its markets.

Deutsche Bank has slid to ninth place among arrangers of US leveraged loans this year, a lucrative business where it used to be among the top five before the financial crisis, as Cryan, the bank’s chief executive officer, reduced risk and expenses.

Deutsche Bank doubles down on leveraged loans in growth push

BUSINESS VIEWS 27WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017

28 WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2017BUSINESS

BACK TO BUSINESS

Credit Suisse embraces digital money despite bubble fears

sight

Bloomberg

Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Execu-t ive Off icer Tidjane Thiam said last week that

bitcoin speculation is the “very definition of a bubble.” Even so, he can’t avoid it or the technology behind it.

A Credit Suisse confer-ence on digital money and blockchain last month in New York was “epic,” said Lou Kerner, a former equity analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who invests in digital coins as a partner at Flight VC. He estimated there were about 300 people in attendance. “To me, it was the best single day I’ve spent in crypto.”

Credit Suisse has employ-ees who focus on the technology -- or at least help clients who do. Emmanuel Aidoo heads blockchain and cryptocurrency strategy, and Brian Wirtz leads blockchain efforts for the tech invest-ment-banking unit, according to the conference agenda. Paul Condra, an equity research analyst, has written about bit-coin and blockchain, the shared digital ledger that records transactions made with digital tokens.

The Zurich-based bank declined to comment.

Skepticism abounds in C-suites, where many heads of big banks are reluctant to get involved in an asset that guarantees no transparency, is largely unregulated and can

be created by individuals rather than central banks or governments.

Thiam said Credit Suisse is interested in blockchain and is working with other banks to develop the technology. But he joins CEOs including Axel Weber of UBS Group AG and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in criticizing dig-ital money. In September, Dimon threatened to fire any JPMorgan trader foolish enough to bet on it, and last month Weber said that bitcoin has no intrinsic value because nothing backs it.

Thiam, addressing jour-nalists in Zurich last week, cited regulation as a key concern.

“Most banks in the current state of regulation have little or no appetite to get involved in a currency which has such anti-money-laundering chal-lenges,” he said.

Thiam added: “From what we can identify, the only rea-son today to buy or sell bitcoin is to make money, which is the very definition of speculation and the very definition of a bubble.”

At its October conference and in notes to investors, Credit Suisse has struck a more optimistic tone on dig-ital currency. “The investment infrastructure is emerging,” analysts led by Condra said in an October 10 note to clients. They said clearer regulatory guidelines for cryptocurren-cies could “catalyze more broad-based investment in the space.”

Capital Comment

If New Zealand is seen as a champion of issues around gender pay gap and pay equity, I would be proud of that. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand

Prime Minister.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL & ENERGY ACCESS

Market Talk Demographics: Get ready for great bond bust of 2020 Tokyo

Bloomberg

The “global savings glut” is perhaps the most famous theory behind the three-

decade slump in bond yields. That glut has stopped growing, and will start shrinking in a few years, in a potential game changer for markets, Gavekal Research Ltd. analysis indicates.

What propelled the glut was demographic patterns in big economies that saw a surge in the share of people aged 35 to 64, which tend to be years of high savings, Will Denyer, an economist at Hong Kong-based Gavekal, wrote in a report this month. When those demo-graphic patterns reverse, the implication will be potentially “big rate rises” and the risk of a “major fall” in global equity val-uations, he wrote.

A simple calculation of the outlook for the “capital provider ratio,” -- measuring the number of 35-to-64 year olds divided

by the number of people out-side that bracket -- suggests that the world’s saving propen-sity will drop in a decade’s time, according to Denyer. A more refined measure looks at weights for narrower cohorts of people -- just five years -- which would capture the implication of a greater number of 60-to-64 year olds (who are saving less) than 46-to-50 year olds (who save “a lot”), the study showed.

In the more refined analy-sis, saving propensity falls rapidly after 2020.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields have averaged 3.74 percent over the past two decades, compared with 8.97 percent over the previous 20-year period. “In the next few years, demographics will be neutral for interest rates and asset prices,” Denyer wrote. “Hence a balanced portfolio should still do well. But manag-ers should reduce the duration of bond holdings, to avoid risk from rising rates in the 2020s.”

Satish Kanady The Peninsula

The first agility shirt in the world with live data tracking was unveiled in Doha yes-terday. The Senscomp

Technologies shirt is the first smartwear fitness agility tracker system that, apart from trained sports-specific skills, can support, control and monitor specific agil-ity training.

“What started as an ambitious high-tech project over a year ago is ready for the market”, the Swedish company Vexatec’s Chairman Salvatore Gandolfo said yesterday.

The data will track not just the strength and endurance that count. It will count the changes of direction, movements, which take s place simultaneously in different directions of motion, must be trained accordingly.

Conventional activity trackers have so far not been able to record the agility of the athlete, he said.

VEXATEC combines compression clothing with high quality textile sensors, high-end microchips and state-of-the-art software solutions to create the best and most intelligent clothing. In Europe, Switzerland is a leader in the development of technical textiles and smartwear.

The Swiss company has already done intensive tests with professional athletes such as Tommy Haas (tennis), Pascal Wehrlein (Formula 1), Leon Draisaitl (NHL – ice hockey) Torsten Frings and Lothar Matthäus (both soccer) – with quite inspiring results.

The shirt’s 3D-A-CLUSTER collects, saves, calculates and transmits a range of precise live data (electrocardiogram, heart rate variability, breathing rate,

body posture, rotational dynamic/gyroscope, physical acceleration (Gforce) and calorie consumption), enabling athletes to accurately evaluate their performance during and after training for optimized results.

“‘The 3D-A-Cluster’ can measure precise live data every 20 milliseconds and transmits it directly to the mobile device. The total is 50 measurements per second. Current wearable companies have to interpolate or assume information between the measuring time points. VEXATEC, however, is the only company with real life data measuring,” Gandolfo said.

The 3D-A-Cluster records, stores, calculates and transmits athletes’’ measured values including electrocardiogram, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, posture and body position, rotational dynamics and gyroscope, physical acceleration,

calorie consumption and performance feedback.

All of it can be monitored in real-time, e.g. by coaches, using an app for smartphones and tablets. This way, the detailed analysis of the athlete’s movement can be used immediately to adjust his or her individual training.

The program is used as an app on mobile devices or com-puters. Information is transmitted directly from 3D-A-CLUSTER via Bluetooth, providing live streaming of the physical state of the athlete. Multi-data evaluation and cal-culations of values such as speed and heart rate are visualized directly to the app. This allows targeted training by matching the data available personal information.

The shirts have been designed for everyday use and can be washed up to 150 times.

VEXATEC unveils data tracking sportwear

The Chairman of Vexatec, Salvatore Gandolfo (fourth left); Roland Bischof (second right), Board Member, Vexatec; and Ulirch Hartmann (second left), Consultant, Vexatec; with Ziyad Rahim (left), an adventure runner from Pakistan; and Tee Morgan, Nigerian female marathon runner; pose after a press conference held in Doha yesterday.Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula