profi t on virus woes - gulf times
TRANSCRIPT
Friday, August 7, 2020Dhul-Hijjah 17, 1441 AH
BUSINESSGULF TIMES
Toyota warns of 64% drop in full-year net profi t on virus woes
EARNINGS SLUMP | Page 6
VIRUS RESURGENCE : Page 8
US weekly jobless claims fall; labour market struggling as Covid-19 spreads
Baladna posts 7-month profi t of QR84mn; revenue hits QR442mnBy continually focusing on “driv-
ing business effi ciency through actively streamlining all aspects
of the value chain”, Baladna posted a nearly seven-month net profi t of QR83.9mn, equivalent to 19% of its revenue.
The company earned a total revenue of QR441.9mn during the seven-month period, Baladna’s interim results for the period that ended in June showed.
In terms of second quarter (Q2) performance, net profi t stood at QR44.2mn, corresponding to 22% of the revenue.
The Q2 results have shown a growth of 55% compared to Q1.
For the seven months from the es-tablishment date (December 2, 2019) to June 30, earnings per share (weighted average) equate to QR0.046.
Retained earnings balance (on June
30) is QR74.2mn after distributing the fi rst interim dividend of QR40mn in April 2020.
“These fi gures confi rm the strong fi nancial and commercial performance of the company,” Baladna said.
According to Baladna, the “macro-trading conditions during the second quarter rapidly deteriorated with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Despite the “challenging” external
environment, Baladna revenue growth is up 13% versus the fi rst quarter.
The “robust” performance is driven by several key factors – implementa-tion of eff ective business continu-ity measures to protect employees and consumers to ensure uninterrupted production and supply to market, pos-itive Ramadan seasonal impact driving increased household consumption and ongoing portfolio expansion with in-
novation. Baladna said its productiv-ity gains within the farming division warrant specifi c mention. With a herd size now exceeding 20,000, the aver-age daily milk yield per cow has “sig-nifi cantly” improved to 37.9 litres, up from 31.1 litres for the same period a year ago.
“Improving productivity is posi-tively strengthening margin delivery”, the company said.
As of June 30, Baladna had a total of 210 products.
Baladna’s subsidiary, Baladna Food Industries (BFI) is Qatar’s largest dairy and beverage producer.
The company’s fact sheet shows it has several production lines of fresh milk, yoghurt, laban, long-life milk, cheese, labneh, fresh cream, desserts, ghee and non- dairy products, namely juices, meat and organic fertilizers.
Insurance, industrials and banking buoyancy help QSE cross 9,400 levelBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter
Higher-than-average demand at the insurance, indus-trials and banking counters yesterday lifted the Qatar Stock Exchange as much as 90 points to comfortably
place its key barometer above 9,400 levels.Foreign funds were seen bullish as the 20-stock Qatar Index
gained 0.96% to 9,411.23 points.Islamic stocks were seen gaining slower than the other in-
dices in the bourse, whose year-to-date losses were at 9.72%.Market capitalisation saw about QR5bn, or 0.89%, increase
to QR550.76bn, mainly owing to large cap segments.A total of 7,075 exchange traded funds (both QATR and
QETF) valued at QR15,131 changed hands across six transac-tions; while in the debt market, there was no trading of sover-eign bonds and treasury bills.
Trade turnover declined amidst higher volumes in the mar-ket, where the banking, industrials and consumer goods sectors together accounted for about 74% of the total trading volume.
The Total Return Index gained 0.96% to 18,093.93 points, the All Share Index by 0.96% to 2,942.12 points and the Al Ray-an Islamic Index (Price) by 0.9% to 2,123.77 points.
The insurance index soared 1.95%, industrials (1.83%), banks and fi nancial services (1.07%), consumer goods and services (0.54%) and realty (0.09%); while transport and telecom de-clined 1.06% and 0.72% respectively.
About 73% of the traded constituents extended gains with major gainers being Industries Qatar, QNB, Qatar Electric-ity and Water, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Qa-tar Oman Investment, Baladna, Qatari Investors Group, Doha Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank and Qamco; whereas Qatar German Medical Devices Company, Milaha, Vodafone Qatar, Mazaya Qatar and Gulf Warehousing were among the losers.
Foreign institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR14.1mn compared with net sellers of QR87.54mn on August 5.
However, local retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR30.76mn against net buyers of QR17.28mn on Wednesday.
Arab individuals turned net sellers to the tune of QR4.59mn compared with net buyers of QR10.38mn the previous day.
Gulf institutions’ net profi t booking increased considerably to QR4.18mn against QR1.46mn on August 6.
Foreign individuals were net sellers to the extent of QR1.3mn compared with net buyers of QR0.76mn on Wednesday.
Gulf individuals turned net sellers to the tune of QR1.11mn against net buyers of QR0.81mn the previous day.
Arab institutions were net profi t takers to the extent of QR0.13mn compared with no exposure on August 6.
Domestic funds’ net buying weakened signifi cantly to QR27.97mn against QR59.79mn on Wednesday.
Total trade volumes grew 26% to 255.45mn shares, while val-ue fell 8% to QR463.89mn and transactions by 38% to 8,234.
The insurance sector’s trade volume almost quadrupled to 20.97mn equities and value more than tripled to QR40.51mn on a 36% increase in deals to 355.
The banks and fi nancial services sector saw a 68% surge in trade volume to 96.76mn stocks but on a 1% fall in value to QR203.07mn and 46% in transactions to 2,928.
The telecom sector’s trade volume soared 62% to 13.24mn shares, while value shrank 1% to QR20.89mn and deals by 59% to 368.
There was a a 1% rise in the industrials sector’s trade vol-ume to 51.12mn equities but on a 29% shrinkage in value to QR59.95mn and 37% in transactions to 1,632.
However, the transport sector’s trade volume plummeted 52% to 6.62mn stocks, value by 49% to QR27.94mn and deals by 41% to 481.
The consumer goods and services sector reported less than 1% fall in trade volume to 40.3mn shares, 13% in value to QR76.77mn and 18% in transactions to 1,586.
The real estate sector’s trade volume was down less than 1% to 26.45mn equities, value by 9% to QR34.77mn and deals by 39% to 884.
Gulf countries to lead H2 rally in sukuk issuance: Moody’sBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will lead a rally in the issuance of Islamic debt or sukuk in the second half (H2) of 2020, according to Moody’s, an international credit rating agency.Volumes are likely to rebound in H2 of 2020, as governments raise money to finance their responses to the coronavirus crisis, the rating agency said.“We expect issuance will rally in H2 of the year to around $90bn, led by sovereigns in the Gulf,” said Nitish Bhojnagarwala, vice president-senior credit off icer at Moody’s.Sukuk market volumes are usually lower in H2 of the year, but the sharp decline in crude prices and persistent uncertainty regarding the length of the coronavirus pandemic will force sovereigns to raise funding to support their economies.Persistently low oil prices could also increase deficits and financing needs among oil-exporting issuers, primarily in Gulf countries, it added.“We therefore expect borrowing requirements of the GCC sovereigns to be higher in 2020 than in 2019,” it said.In addition, Moody’s expects the GCC sovereigns to continue diversifying their funding mix in favour of sukuk instruments in order to develop their Islamic debt markets and that several issuers will also need to refinance sukuk listed after 2015 that will begin to mature in the coming years.Although the GCC issuance held up well, it found that
the issuance in Qatar fell to $0.8bn from $2.9bn from H1, 2019 with zero issuance from the Qatari government in the sukuk format and lower volume from Qatari financial institutions.The issuance by banks was subdued due to liquidity provided by the Qatar Central Bank to relieve domestic funding pressures following the pandemic, Moody’s said.Sukuk issuance is set to fall 5% overall this year to about $170bn because of the coronavirus crisis, after four years of rapid growth, Moody’s said, adding the decline will be partly limited by the financing needs of the GCC countries because of lower oil prices and the pandemic.Despite the decline, 2020 will still see the second highest sukuk issuance total ever, following a 36% increase in 2019.Total issuance in the first six months of 2020 dropped to $77bn, down 12% from the same period last year, as activity in Malaysia and Indonesia flagged.The issuance in Southeast Asia dropped by 25%, while volumes in the Middle East rose 7%, the report said.An earlier report of Moody’s had said global sovereign long-term sukuk issuance will grow modestly in 2020, continuing the expansionary trend of the past few years.“Though the green sukuk market is in its infancy, issuance is likely to accelerate as eff orts to combat climate change gain traction,” according to Bhojnagarwala.A recent joint report of the Qatar Financial Center and Refinitiv said regulators in Qatar should supplement the sustainable investment strategy with regulatory frameworks based on best practices, especially for green bonds.
Baladna’s subsidiary, Baladna Food Industries (BFI) is Qatar’s largest dairy and beverage producer
GWC calls off proposal to indirectly acquire Spick and Span Cleaning Services
Gulf Warehousing Company (GWC), the leading provider of logistics and supply chain solutions in Qatar, has called off a proposal to indirectly acquire Spick and Span Cleaning Services.The acquisition process “has not been completed and it has been cancelled after the study and assessments made by GWC on terms of acquisition,” GWC said in a regulatory filing with the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).In March this year, the QSE-listed GWC had proposed to initially acquire 76% stake in in Spick and Span
Cleaning Services, a limited liability entity with a capital of QR200,000.GWC, which proposed the indirect acquisition through its wholly-owned subsidiary GWC Chemicals, had said the amount of acquisition was small and there were no expected risks to the shareholders of the listed company as well as its subsidiary (GWC Chemicals).The GWC made a net profit of QR109.5mn net profit and its earnings-per-share was QR0.19 at the end of June 30, 2020.
Foreign funds were seen bullish as the 20-stock Qatar Index gained 0.96% to 9,411.23 points yesterday.
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Friday, August 7, 20202
Kuwait’s $112bn fund has cash to spend after revampBloombergKuwait
Kuwait’s $112bn pension fund plans to boost investments in private equity and infrastructure following an overhaul that left it sitting on too much cash.A new management team was brought in during 2017 to transform the state-owned institution after a corruption scandal involving a previous manager. The fund has since exited more than $20bn in questionable deals in a “major clean-up” of its portfolio, according to Raed al-Nisf, deputy general
manager for investments and operations. “It’s no longer a one-man show, and will never be again,” he said in an interview. “In the past, it was a sleeping giant, and no one wanted to wake it.”The revamp is paying off . The Public Institution for Social Security, also known as PIFSS, had a record investment profit of $7.3bn in the three months through June, an almost fourfold increase from a year earlier.The fund aims to have 12% to 17% of its portfolio in real estate, followed by private equity at between 8% and 13%, and infrastructure at 3% to 10%, he said, without detailing current holdings.
“This is a moving target, but it’s a range we’re normally in,” al-Nisf said. “We’re long-term investors by definition, we don’t have a need for cash on a yearly basis.”Cash accounts for about 11.5% of its investments, which the fund aims to cut to 4% over the next seven months, he said. At one stage the fund had a “catastrophic” 41% of cash available for investments, al-Nisf said, instead of being deployed into asset classes that could make higher returns.PIFSS hired Cambridge Associates LLC in 2016 to advise it on an asset-allocation strategy, and when completed in March 2021, the fund will start with US-based consultancy Mercer LLC.
Since 2017, the fund has implemented policies to improve disclosure, avoid conflicts of interest and introduced whistle-blowing processes. It decentralised investment decision-making to a four-member committee.Employee numbers in the investment division were increased to over 100 – more than that of the two biggest asset managers in the oil-rich country combined – while the unit was split into eight departments from three.Former Finance Minister Anas al-Saleh triggered the restructuring process, and two years later his successor, Nayef al-Hajraf, placed Meshaal al-Othman at the helm, appointing him director general after two
years as chief investment off icer. Between 40% and 60% of the fund’s portfolio is in stocks and fixed income. PIFSS is the second-largest investor in the local market after Kuwait Investment Authority, the world’s fourth-largest sovereign wealth fund. It has holdings in more than 40% of the stocks on the domestic exchange although most of its portfolio is off shore.It has a diff erent mandate to the sovereign wealth fund because it handles pensioners’ savings, al-Nisf said.“We aim to have the best stocks and best-performing managers, it’s not a political role,” he said. “We follow opportunity.”
EBRD, IFC to boost lira loans after Turkey eases swap rulesBloombergIstanbul
The European Bank for Recon-struction and Development and the International Finance
Corp will likely extend more lira loans to Turkish companies after the gov-ernment exempted such institutions from restrictions on swapping foreign exchange for the local currency.
The banking regulator’s decision to allow international development banks to conduct lira swaps may decrease
their cost of funding because rates in the local market have been below those in London since the introduction of the swap restrictions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The transactions are allowed on condition the lenders invest in Turk-ish assets and extend credit to local fi rms. The move will likely increase the share of lira loans for the two de-velopment banks, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We welcome the banking regula-tor announcement to allow interna-tional development banks such as
the EBRD to access lira liquidity,” said Arvid Tuerkner, head of the lender’s operations in Istanbul. “We look for-ward to testing the new mechanism, which we hope will provide the EBRD with reliable on-shore access to Turkish lira.”
The IFC, the private-lending arm of the World Bank, declined to com-ment.
The regulator’s decision, published late July, gave the green light to glo-bal development banks to buy liras in the Borsa Istanbul foreign-exchange swap market, conduct repurchase and
reverse repo transactions, and engage in lira deposit operations with local banks.
To deter short sellers, foreign in-vestors have essentially been barred from borrowing from local banks and don’t have access to the Turkish cen-tral bank’s funding. That means those without liras on hand have to borrow the currency in the off shore market – where supply is limited – driving up the cost of money.
The rate of borrowing Turkish liras overnight in the off shore market jumped as much as 1,020 percentage
points to 1,050% on Tuesday as dol-lar sales executed by state banks, de-signed to prop up the lira, drained the supply of local currency. As a result, several international banks failed to close their lira positions with Turkish counterparts, according to people fa-miliar with the matter.
“In diffi cult times, the right fi nanc-ing mix, including the local currency, is critical for Turkish businesses,” Tuerkner said. “In the past three years, about one-third of EBRD an-nual fi nancing for Turkish companies was provided in lira.”
Lebanon central bank asks lenders to make cheap dollar loans to those hit by blastReutersBeirut
Lebanon’s central bank yesterday instructed
banks and financial institutions to extend excep-
tional dollar loans at zero interest to individuals
and firms impacted by the Beirut port explosion
that caused huge damage across the capital.
The explosion on Tuesday was the most power-
ful in years in Lebanon, which is already reeling
from an economic meltdown that has seen the
Lebanese pound weaken by nearly 80% since
last year, due to a lack of dollars, from an off icial
peg of 1,507.5 — a rate now only available for
vital imports.
Banks have since October frozen people out
of their own savings accounts and blocked
transfers abroad.
Under an April central bank circular, they now
pay depositors with dollar accounts in cash in
the local currency at a “market rate” well below
that of the parallel market.
The central bank said the exceptional loans
should be made, regardless of customer ac-
count limits, to individuals, private businesses,
small and medium-sized enterprises and
corporations — with the exception of real estate
developers — to carry out essential repairs to
homes and businesses. The loans should carry
no interest and be repaid over five years, it said,
adding that they could be repaid in Lebanese
pounds based on an interbank rate of 1,515
pounds to the dollar. The central bank would in
turn provide dollar loans at zero interest to the
banks and financial institutions granting the
exceptional loans, it said.
The central bank, in a separate statement, also
instructed money transfer houses to distribute
transfers from abroad to Lebanon in dollars.
The economic crisis is rooted in decades of
state corruption and waste.
The government entered talks with the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund in May after defaulting on
its foreign currency debt.
But the talks have stalled in the absence of
reforms and amid a row between the govern-
ment, banks and politicians over the scale of the
country’s vast financial losses.
The Lebanese state and central bank have
“very limited” financial capacity to confront
the impact of the port warehouse explosion
that devastated Beirut without foreign aid, its
economy minister said separately yesterday.
“The capacity of the state is very limited, and so
is that of the central bank and the banks. We’re
not swimming in dollars,” Raoul Nehme said in
TV comments.
Lira blows through record lows, raising pressure on Turkey to actReutersIstanbul
Turkey’s lira tumbled to record lows yesterday, capping two weeks of volatility and growing concerns
that the eff orts to stabilise the currency could fi zzle and spark problems for the Middle East’s largest economy.
Two years after the currency crisis that brought on a recession and spurred an outfl ow of foreign investment, the lira was close to halving in value from the be-ginning of 2018.
As the currency blew through records against both the dollar and euro, Turks worried about diminished earning and spending power.
The lira fell as much as 3.2% to a his-toric low of 7.29 against the dollar before trading at 7.2550 at 1142 GMT. Among the worst emerging-market performers this year, it has lost 18% despite the dollar’s weakness in recent weeks.
As Istanbul’s main share index dropped as much as 4.8%, the currency also touched a record of 8.6370 versus the euro and has shed 13% since the start of June against that currency.
Non-commodity imports are often eu-ro-denominated, raising an infl ation risk for Turkey after a year of aggressive mon-etary easing that drove real interest rates deeply negative. The policy rate is 8.25% while annual infl ation is 11.8%.
Money market traders raised bets the central bank would soon hike rates.
Raising the stakes, data and the cal-culations of traders show that the cen-tral bank and state banks have sold some $110bn in dollars since last year, including an acceleration in recent weeks, to stabi-lise the lira.
Some analysts say such interventions could lose steam as the central bank’s re-serves continue to run thin, prompting further lira depreciation and a ballooning current account defi cit.
Implied volatility gauges climbed and the one-week measure hit a three-month high, while sovereign dollar bonds ex-tended losses yesterday.
Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, reported that Turkish authorities may soon publish a plan to exempt global in-vestment banks from some curbs on FX swap transactions.
A destroyed Bank Audi branch stands in Beirut on Wednesday. The massive explosion at Lebanon’s main port rocked Beirut, overwhelming hospitals dealing with the injured and dying. One immediate consequence is of the explosions is becoming clear to analysts: It will ratchet up pressure on Lebanon’s policymakers to make meaningful progress in talks with international lenders and investors. For some observers, that means quickly addressing the internal divisions and foot-dragging that have stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund about a $10bn loan programme following the country’s March Eurobond default. But that assumes the government can even hold together, which is far from assured, some analysts say.
Pressure mounting on Lebanon to make progress in talks with global lenders
A currency exchange off ice worker counts Turkish lira banknotes in front of the electronic panel displaying currency exchange rates in Istanbul yesterday. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corp will likely extend more lira loans to Turkish companies after the government exempted such institutions from restrictions on swapping foreign exchange for the local currency.
BUSINESS3Gulf Times
Friday, August 7, 2020
Banks empowered to revamp India loans with bad debt surgingBloombergMumbai
India’s banking regulator gave lenders power to restructure certain loans, as authorities look to support an economy hit by the pandemic while ensuring the stability of a financial sector where bad-debt is set to swell to a two-decade high.Ahead of the expiry of a blanket loan moratorium later this month, the Reserve Bank of India said it will permit banks to strike rescheduling agreements with borrowers that were on track to repay their loans on March 1, in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. The measures were announced in the RBI’s policy statement yesterday, where it left
interest rates unchanged.The underlying theme of the plan “is the preservation of the soundness of the Indian banking sector,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said yesterday.Indian banks are struggling to accelerate credit growth to revive the economy, which is set for its first annual contraction in more than four decades, while reining in bad debt that was high even before the pandemic. The decision to slow forbearance diff ers from Australia — where policy makers granted hard-pressed borrowers a further four months before they must repay their loans — and China, which extended some relief through March 2021.“It is good that the RBI didn’t extend the moratorium because it was purely
kicking the can down the road,” said Ananth Narayan, a professor of finance at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and regional head of financial markets for South Asia at Standard Chartered Plc. “With restructuring, disclosures from banks and financial institutions will improve dramatically. The RBI is trying to give relief, at the same time make sure the package is credible and is not seen as dilution of norms.”Some analysts said there are limits to the assistance the plan will give to Indian companies.“The one-time debt restructuring will ease cash flow for companies to meet their day-to-day expenses, but is unlikely to translate into a pick up in productive capacity given that the economy is still under stress,” said
Karthik Srinivasan, the group head of financial sector ratings at ICRA Ltd, the local arm of Moody’s Investors Service.Still, India’s financial markets welcomed the announcement, amid relief about the selective nature of the restructuring plan. The benchmark banking index rose 0.7% and the broader Sensex gained 1%.”The market is cheering the fact that the RBI hasn’t granted banks blanket approval to extend the moratorium but has laid down a format — and conditions — that they will have to follow to recast loans,” said Deven Choksey, who oversees investment and research at KR Choksey Investment Managers Pvt.The banks’ gross bad loan ratio could rise to 12.5% by March 2021, the
highest in over two decades, from 8.5% a year earlier, the RBI predicted in a report last month.Banks will be allowed to restructure companies’ outstanding debt provided the borrower was not in default for more than 30 days on March 1, 2020.Lenders can grant loan extensions of as long as two years with or without a freeze on repayments.They will need to set aside higher provisioning for such a recast worth 10% of the post-recast debt.The resolution plan may be invoked any time within 2020 and will have to be implemented within 180 days from the date of invocation.“The critical diff erence is that the restructuring is at the bank’s discretion, the moratorium was at
the borrower’s discretion. So this is an improvement,” said Seshadri Sen, head of research at Alchemy Capital Management Pvt. in Mumbai. “It would, however, have been preferable for provisioning to be at 20%” instead of 10% so that banks decide based on the borrowers’ capability and are agnostic between restructuring a delinquent loan or marking it as bad debt, he said.The RBI will also tweak mandated priority-sector lending rules to ensure credit flows to the right areas, the RBI said. And it increased the extent to which individuals can borrow against gold jewelery until March 31.The central bank said it set up a committee led by veteran banker K V Kamath to decide on the specific parameters of the resolution plan.
Australia ismaking wage subsidies easier asCovid surges
ReutersSydney
Australia will make it easier to qualify for wage subsidies, the centrepiece of its response to the coronavirus crisis, following a surge in infections that has forced Melbourne into strict lockdown, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say today.The capital of Victoria state, and the country’s second largest city, began a six-week total lockdown yesterday, requiring its five million people to stay home and shuttering shops and businesses.Australia last month said it would spend A$16.8bn to extend its wage subsidy scheme until March 2021, a programme that has been widely credited with propping up economy on course to post its first recession in nearly three decades.Morrison said yesterday that the latest restrictions would swell jobless numbers, and today he will announce steps to help firms retain workers by making it easier for them to qualify for a wage subsidy of A$1,500 per employee every two weeks.“We’re doing whatever it takes to save lives and save livelihoods,” Morrison will say.Businesses disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic will now have to demonstrate that revenues between June 1 and September 30 fell from levels recorded one year earlier.Previously, businesses needed to show revenues fell for two consecutive quarters to September 30 compared to the corresponding 2019 levels.The relaxation of the criteria and an expected surge in the number of people out of work will swell the size of the subsidy package by a further A$15.6bn this financial year, Morrison will say.On Thursday, he said unemployment was forecast to peak at 10%. But, counting those workers in the wage subsidy scheme, Morrison said eff ective unemployment would be closer to 14%. Victoria reported yesterday 471 new Covid-19 cases and eight deaths in the past 24 hours.Australia has 20,000 reported cases, of which Victoria accounts for 13,000.Nationwide, deaths total 255, still far fewer than many other developed nations.
Markets in Asia mostly up as traders hope for US stimulusAFPHong Kong
Asian markets mostly rose yes-terday building on a two-day rally, with nervous investors
keeping an eye on stimulus talks in Washington, while China-US ten-sions continued to weigh on confi -dence.
And while there were hopes over the development of a coronavirus vaccine, the rapid spread of the contagion around the world and fresh flare-ups that have caused renewed lockdowns were keep-ing a lid on buying sentiment and sending safe-haven gold soaring to record highs.
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended with gains Wednesday — the Nasdaq at another record — on bets US lawmakers will eventu-ally reach a deal on another much-needed stimulus for the world’s top economy.
The two parties remain far apart on their proposals with Democrats’ $3.5tn plan more than three times bigger than the Republicans’ off er with a key sticking point the supple-mentary jobless benefi ts, which ran out last week.
“I feel optimistic that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi told re-porters. “But how long the tunnel is remains to be seen.”
Still, there is agreement that they will eventually have to compromise at some point and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said next week’s recess could be put off so a deal can be reached.
Analysts said there are broad ex-pectations that upcoming elections will push Congress to eventually reach a deal, while Donald Trump has raised the prospect of using an executive order to push through tax cuts and a ban on evictions.
“For now our sense is that no poli-tician in the US wants to be blamed for a failure to deliver a new round of stimulus ahead of the elections in November,” said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.
“US Treasury Secretary (Steve)mnuchin remarked that while diff er-ences remain, at least there was an agreement to set a timeline.
So the story continues to be about when the deal will be agreed, rather than if.”
The need for an agreement was laid bare with data showing the US added a below-forecast 167,000 private-sector jobs in July, while a broadly positive report on business activity was clouded by a weak em-ployment component.
The China-US stand-off con-tinues to jar nerves, with Beijing on Wednesday warning that a planned visit by US health secretary Alex Azar to Taiwan was a threat to “peace
and stability”. The trip to the island, which China claims as its own ter-ritory, would further sour relations between the powers, which have already clashed over several issues including Hong Kong, the virus and Huawei.
And there are worries the rows could lead to a renewal of their eco-nomically painful trade war.
“China will likely interpret the trip as a provocative move ahead of planned US-China trade talks on August 15,” said Stephen Innes at Ax-iCorp, adding that the US move was
seen as part of Trump’s anti-China drive leading into the election.
“Even if trade-war risk fades, President Trump will be rushing the podium with his latest technol-ogy beef in hand, and the non-stop barrage of China browbeating will likely extend into the November election.”
Asian markets were mostly high-er, with Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai and Jakarta more than 1% up, while Shanghai gained 0.3% and Sydney put on 0.7%.
Taipei, Bangkok and Wellington
were also up. Manila climbed more than 1% as traders looked past data showing the Philippines economy contracted 16.5% in the second quar-ter, the worst quarter on records dat-ing back to 1981 and putting it into recession.
Observers said there was an expec-tation that the economy has suff ered the worst and would begin picking up in the second half of the year.
However, Hong Kong slipped more than 1% at 24,831.18 points and To-kyo ended down 0.4% at 22,418.15 points.
Pedestrians wearing protective masks and holding umbrellas wait to cross a road in front of an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225 Stock Average outside a securities firm in Tokyo (file). Nikkei 225 ended 0.4% down at 22,418.15 points yesterday.
TikTok’s price is a giant question mark in already complex dealBloombergNew York
Microsoft Corp has six weeks to hash out
details of a proposal to buy the US opera-
tions of TikTok that satisfies the Trump
administration and shareholders in Chi-
nese parent company ByteDance Ltd Of
all the tricky questions that still need to be
resolved for the deal to move forward, one
stands out: How much is the video-sharing
app’s business worth?
Analysts and bankers have pegged the val-
ue of TikTok’s US business anywhere from
$20bn to $50bn, a wide range that reflects
the complexity involved in separating
TikTok’s American and global businesses,
in determining a reliable number of users,
and how revenue breaks out just for the
markets at stake in the deal. Microsoft’s
discussions also include TikTok’s business
in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
TikTok’s parent is a closely held Chinese
Internet giant that operates a family of hit
entertainment applications.
ByteDance generated more than $3bn of
net profit on $17bn in revenue last year,
helping lead to a private-market valuation
of more than $100bn, making it the world’s
most valuable startup, Bloomberg News
reported in May. But venture capital inves-
tors’ stakes are in ByteDance as a whole,
not in TikTok, so there hasn’t been a clear
valuation for a standalone TikTok.
On top of that, because Microsoft is con-
sidering buying only the app’s operations
in four countries, a further carving out
from the broader TikTok business would
be necessary.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securi-
ties, estimates that TikTok’s US operations
account for about 40% of ByteDance’s
valuation, or about $40bn.
If navigated well, Microsoft could turn
the app into a $200bn business, based
on Ives’s estimates that TikTok has about
100mn active users in the US and is bring-
ing in around $2bn in revenue already.
The app could follow a similar path to Face-
book Inc, which went public before it had
fully revved up its advertising business.
While TikTok has started displaying
advertising on its app, the monetisation
of America’s fastest-growing social media
platform is still in nascent stages.
Microsoft didn’t comment on a potential
price in its blog post about its discussions
to buy TikTok’s assets, and TikTok declined
to comment on its valuation. One person
familiar with the White House’s discussions
of TikTok said its global business would be
worth about $50bn, with its US operations
valued at less than that.
The 5.6% increase in Microsoft’s shares
on Monday on news of the discussion —
which added $87bn to its market capitali-
sation — would be enough on its own to
finance the transaction, said the person,
who asked not to be identified because the
discussions were private.
Several analysts use Snap Inc, which owns
rival app Snapchat, as a basis of compari-
son for TikTok. In its latest earnings report,
Snap reported daily active users grew
17% to 238mn, and the company reported
revenue of $1.72bn in 2019.
One banker said TikTok should be worth
more than Snap, which has a market
valuation of about $32bn, because TikTok
has more popular influencers and a more
engaged community.
TikTok’s valuation could be based on its
rate of user growth, but that measure also
off ers no definitive answers.
Bankers, venture capital investors and
analysts are grappling with a gap between
what research firm Sensor Tower esti-
mates are 165mn downloads of the app in
the US, and how many active users remain
on the platform.
By comparison, Snap had 161mn daily active
users right before its IPO in 2017. Facebook
had 526mn in March 2012, prior to its IPO.
That translated to $138 in market cap per
user for Snap, compared to $198 per user
for Facebook, according to Bloomberg
Intelligence analyst Jitendra Waral.
Using Facebook’s market cap per user
before its IPO as a proxy, and assuming
TikTok has 100mn users, that would imply
a $20bn valuation for TikTok.
“The biggest unknown here is the
language around ‘users’ is vague,” Waral
said. “But the diff erence between Snap and
TikTok is user growth is faster than what
Snap had in the US” at the time of its IPO,
he said. “So they might get away with a
higher valuation.” Based on the number
of TikTok users and projections for $1bn
to $2bn in 2020 sales, Waral said, the app
could probably fetch around $20bn.
A $50bn valuation would be almost double
that of Snap’s at the time of its initial public
off ering, based on a multiple of about 25
times revenue, Waral says.
There are other hurdles Microsoft will have
to overcome. The Redmond, Washington-
based software maker is unpopular as a
potential TikTok buyer with some China
hawks in the Trump administration, includ-
ing White House adviser Peter Navarro,
who say the software maker is too close
to Beijing.
TikTok to set up European hub in Ireland
DublinDPA
Video-sharing app TikTok will invest
€420mn ($500mn) in a European data
storage centre in Ireland, the company
announced yesterday.
The proposed hub will house European
user data, according to Roland Cloutier,
TikTok’s global chief information
security off icer, who said the move will
strengthen “safeguarding and protec-
tion of TikTok user data” in a “state of
the art physical and network security
defence system.”
Cloutier said “hundreds” of jobs will be
created — an announcement welcomed
by IDA Ireland, the state investment
promotion agency, as “good news.”
IDA Ireland chief executive off icer
Martin Shanahan said IikTok’s state-
ment “postions Ireland as an important
location in the company’s global opera-
tions.”
US online giants Facebook, Google and
Twitter — which are banned in China —
have substantial operations in low-tax
Ireland.
The US, Ireland’s biggest investment
source, aims to force TikTok to sell its
US business, possibly to Microsoft.
Washington contends that Chinese tech
companies are security risks,
citing rules that could force companies
to pass data to Beijing.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said on Wednesday, “We want to see
untrusted Chinese apps removed from
US app stores.” He cited “significant
threats to the personal data of Ameri-
can citizens.”
The US is also pressing allies to block
Chinese manufacturer Huawei from the
roll-out 5G mobile phone networks.
Tensions between the US and China
have soared over issues including trade,
the South China Sea, Hong Kong and
Taiwan — and the coronavirus pan-
demic, which originated in China but
has left the US with the world’s highest
death toll.
BloombergMumbai/Singapore
Of all the countries in the world, the disconnect be-tween rallying global stocks
and deteriorating data is probably the most pronounced in India.
The nation’s shares have logged the one of the best rebounds from the March lows globally while bat-tling some of the world’s worst eco-nomic data. The surge has pushed up valuations to a record as investors look past the grim reality and the world’s third-highest tally in coro-navirus cases.
The conundrum doesn’t bode well for Asia’s third-largest economy that’s set for its first contraction in more than four decades. Further negative surprises from macro data or virus cases can unravel a rally that’s added $605bn in market val-ue from the depths of the swoon to outstrip the government’s stimulus package.
“Any market activity without supporting fundamentals will not sustain,” said CJ George, chief ex-ecutive officer at Geojit Financial Services Ltd, a brokerage backed by BNP Paribas SA. “We are yet to see the fundamentals improving in the country.”
There’s a the contrast between In-dia’s $1.9tn stock market and the real economy.
Just months into the new fis-cal year, the fiscal deficit is close to touching its annual target, deplet-ing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government firepower to add to the 21tn rupee ($280bn) stimulus an-nounced in May.
Adding salt to injury is India’s bad loan ratio, which is expected to swell to the highest level in more than two decades in 2021 following the world’s strictest lockdown measures, the cen-tral bank said last month.
In fact, the outlook for Indian businesses is the worst in the world, IHS Markit said last month. The data provider’s survey on sentiment turned negative in June for the first time in more than a decade, and
many respondents were uncertain about how activity would develop over the coming year.
A separate analysis done by Bloomberg shows that while cor-porate executives in most sectors
expect operations to recover to pre-Covid 19 levels by the end of year, estimates from analysts and the performance of some economic indicators still paint a gloomy pic-ture.
That raises the stakes for the rapid improvement in business ac-tivity that has been priced in, es-pecially with the virus still running riot. The country has one of the world’s fastest growing epidemics,
adding about 50,000 cases every day.
Economic activity remains in a limbo even after the gradual lifting of curbs on businesses and move-ment of people. While most of the large Asian economies, except Chi-na, are set to contract this year, In-dia is set to shrink the most in that group, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Exports and business activity did improve in June, signaling the worst may have passed, though the pace of the recovery has been slow. The latest manufacturing purchas-ing managers’ index showed activity remained in contraction territory in July and was worse than June, ac-cording to IHS Markit.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 45% from its March 23 low, thanks to the rising interest of first-time investors and three straight months of purchases by foreigners. The rebound is ranked eighth best among major global equity indexes for the period.
The optimism has had the usual side effect: Stocks have become ex-pensive. The Sensex trades at 24 times one-year forward earnings, more than two standard devia-tions above its 10-year average. The NSE Nifty 50 Index is valued at 23.5 times.
“Market mood notwithstanding, demand aggregates appear chal-lenging and that makes us cautious on the market,” Edelweiss Finan-cial Services Ltd’s analysts includ-ing Aditya Narain wrote in a note last week. The brokerage sees Nifty dropping to 10,800 by June next year, or about 3% lower from Tues-day’s close.
The tougher it gets for India’s economy, the more investors expect from the Reserve Bank of India. That explains why the Sensex can keep rising even as the virus figures reach alarming levels.
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Friday, August 7, 20204
Zad Holding CoWidam Food CoVodafone Qatar
United Development CoSalam International Investme
Qatar & Oman Investment CoQatar Navigation
Qatar National Cement CoQatar National Bank
Qatar Islamic Insurance GrouQatar Industrial Manufactur
Qatar International IslamicQatari Investors Group
Qatar Islamic BankQatar Gas Transport(Nakilat)Qatar General Insurance & ReQatar German Co For Medical
Qatar Fuel QscQatar First Bank
Qatar Electricity & Water CoQatar Exchange Index Etf
Qatar Cinema & Film DistribAl Rayan Qatar Etf
Qatar Insurance CoQatar Aluminum Manufacturing
Ooredoo QpscNational Leasing
Mazaya Qatar Real Estate DevMesaieed Petrochemical Holdi
Al Meera Consumer Goods CoMedicare Group
Mannai Corporation QscMasraf Al Rayan
Al Khalij Commercial BankIndustries Qatar
Inma Holding CompanyInvestment Holding Group
Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services
Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co
Doha Bank QpscDlala Holding
Commercial Bank PsqcBarwa Real Estate Co
BaladnaAl Khaleej Takaful Group
Aamal CoAl Ahli Bank
15.10
6.75
1.25
1.16
0.46
0.88
5.81
3.73
18.18
6.30
2.72
8.30
2.38
16.17
2.80
2.20
2.25
16.10
1.48
16.58
9.17
3.31
2.12
2.01
0.86
6.52
0.91
0.86
2.08
19.48
7.56
2.86
3.94
1.60
8.05
3.96
0.52
4.95
1.69
1.40
1.05
2.43
1.97
4.12
3.24
1.88
1.88
0.74
3.30
0.67
-0.50
-1.50
0.00
-0.65
4.16
-3.89
0.30
1.00
0.75
0.63
1.10
2.72
1.63
0.76
9.51
-3.94
0.63
0.07
1.16
-0.48
0.00
0.09
0.50
1.05
-0.44
0.00
-1.37
0.48
0.93
0.73
0.00
0.66
0.13
3.21
0.35
2.17
-1.02
-0.24
-0.64
0.38
2.53
1.24
0.51
0.53
4.16
1.57
0.27
0.00
7,642
228,790
12,429,343
9,202,553
6,830,505
35,249,193
2,750,486
392,311
2,569,297
7,580
42,738
518,081
4,605,289
663,830
3,315,037
2,551
8,825,109
228,788
25,524,697
243,531
24
-
7,051
13,102,160
13,085,266
814,745
6,674,589
7,063,693
1,540,010
94,016
325,685
-
6,492,463
9,606,358
1,377,797
1,875,128
24,737,200
553,027
1,651,972
8,132,519
805
2,743,902
3,619,985
1,218,668
2,048,792
23,762,914
7,854,116
3,440,667
-
QATAR
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
KUWAIT
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
OMAN
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
KUWAIT
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
KUWAIT
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Oman PackagingOman Oil Marketing Company
Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance
Oman Intl MarketingOman Flour Mills
Oman Fisheries CoOman Europe Foods Industries
Oman Education & Training InOman Chromite
Oman ChlorineOman Ceramic Company
Oman Cement CoOman Cables Industry
Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50%Natl Aluminium Products
National Real Estate DevelopNational Mineral Water
National Life & General InsuNational Gas Co
National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog
National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog
Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat Insurance Co Saog
Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance
Muscat City Desalination CoMajan Glass Company
Majan CollegeHsbc Bank Oman
Hotels Management Co InternaGulf Stone
Gulf Mushroom CompanyGulf Investments Services
Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-SharGulf International Chemicals
Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co LtdGlobal Fin Investment
Galfar Engineering&ContractGalfar Engineering -Prefer
Financial Services Co.Financial Corp/The
Dhofar TourismDhofar Poultry
Dhofar Intl DevelopmentDhofar Insurance
Dhofar Generating Co SaocDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu
Dhofar CattlefeedDhofar Beverages Co
Construction Materials IndComputer Stationery Inds
Bankmuscat SaogBank Nizwa
Bank Dhofar SaogArabia Falcon Insurance Co
Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service
Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co
Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power
Al Sharqiya Invest HoldingAl Maha Petroleum Products M
Al Maha Ceramics Co SaocAl Madina Takaful Co Saoc
Al Madina Investment CoAl Kamil Power Co
Al Jazerah Services -PfdAl Jazeera Steel Products Co
Al Jazeera ServicesAl Izz Islamic Bank
Al Buraimi HotelAl Batinah PowerAl Batinah Hotels
Al Batinah Dev & InvAl Anwar Holdings Saog
Al Ahlia Insurance Co SaocAhli Bank
Acwa Power Barka SaogAbrasives Manufacturing Co S
A’saff a Foods Saog0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref
#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security
0.28
0.61
0.11
0.08
0.52
0.79
0.09
1.00
0.19
3.64
0.28
0.42
0.23
0.47
0.04
0.11
5.00
0.09
0.32
0.17
0.15
0.60
3.92
0.17
0.07
0.35
0.21
0.05
0.11
0.18
0.19
0.09
1.25
0.12
0.31
0.07
0.11
0.10
3.88
0.06
0.05
0.39
0.18
0.08
0.49
0.18
0.27
0.17
0.18
1.28
0.12
0.26
0.03
0.26
0.35
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.08
0.07
0.01
0.75
0.16
0.05
0.07
0.50
0.20
0.08
0.02
0.34
0.55
0.09
0.17
0.07
0.88
0.05
1.13
0.07
0.07
0.36
0.13
0.60
0.05
0.60
0.25
0.00
0.00
-6.67
0.00
-1.74
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.70
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.13
-1.79
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.49
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-1.10
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.58
0.00
1.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.30
-1.85
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.18
0.00
0.00
-1.89
0.00
0.00
1.49
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
7,000
-
28,508
117,400
-
-
4,000
-
-
-
-
-
100
-
585,800
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
25,000
5,533
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,711,224
-
-
-
-
219,581
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
30,000
-
-
-
-
-
1,086,753
55,340
634,500
-
-
278,276
-
1,860
919,032
220,758
364,957
500
103,565
308,850
195,000
-
-
5,000
20,000
-
-
55,238
-
-
220,400
-
310,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment
Mabanee Co SakcInovest Co Bsc
Al-Deera Holding CoMena Real Estate Co
Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation
National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International InvestmeEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C
Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc
Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co KNational Shooting CompanyAl-Ahleia Insurance Co Sakp
Wethaq Takaful Insurance CoSalbookh Trading Co Kscp
Aqar Real Estate InvestmentsHayat Communications
Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscTamkeen Holding Co
Alargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling
Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co
Palms Agro Production CoMubarrad Holding Co Ksc
Shuaiba Industrial CoAan Digital Services Co
First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co
National Cleaning CompanyUnited Real Estate Company
AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv
Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng
International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold
Warba Insurance CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve
Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak
Mobile Telecommunications CoEff ect Real Estate Co
Tamdeen Real Estate Co KscAl Mudon Intl Real Estate Co
Kuwait Cement Co KscSharjah Cement & Indus Devel
Kuwait Portland Cement CoEducational Holding Group
Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceAsiya Capital Investments Co
Kuwait Investment CoBurgan Bank
Kuwait Projects Co HoldingsAl Madina For Finance And In
Kuwait Insurance CoAl Masaken Intl Real Estate
Intl Financial AdvisorsFirst Investment Co Kscc
Al Mal Investment CompanyBayan Investment Co Kscc
Egypt Kuwait Holding Co SaeCoast Investment Development
Privatization Holding CompanInjazzat Real State Company
Kuwait Cable Vision SakSanam Real Estate Co Kscc
Ithmaar Holding BscAviation Lease And Finance C
Arzan Financial Group For FiAjwan Gulf Real Estate Co
Kuwait Business Town Real EsFuture Kid Entertainment And
Specialities Group Holding CAbyaar Real Eastate Developm
Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate CKgl Logistics Company Kscc
Combined Group ContractingJiyad Holding Co Ksc
Warba Capital Holding CoGulf Investment House Ksc
Boubyan Bank K.S.CAhli United Bank B.S.C
Osos Holding Group Co
77.70
17.10
635.00
58.00
16.00
24.80
45.00
465.00
54.80
38.00
13.50
83.50
47.90
21.00
293.00
1,220.00
16.50
415.00
24.30
29.50
63.50
45.00
107.00
5.20
81.50
70.00
47.80
107.00
60.00
56.20
124.00
11.10
40.00
33.60
51.00
49.70
644.00
95.00
30.00
182.00
0.00
155.00
79.40
35.70
198.00
96.00
554.00
20.50
260.00
15.90
165.00
42.20
735.00
290.00
200.00
31.00
106.00
186.00
149.00
11.50
345.00
38.30
30.00
27.90
9.10
48.50
357.00
30.10
40.00
79.90
14.00
28.40
22.30
154.00
39.00
11.40
27.70
89.00
66.00
6.60
131.00
24.60
167.00
32.00
47.00
59.00
538.00
193.00
97.60
-0.38
6.21
-0.47
-0.85
-5.33
0.00
-4.86
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.21
0.00
1.03
0.00
1.85
0.00
0.00
-4.84
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.24
0.00
3.24
0.00
0.00
3.88
0.00
8.82
0.00
-1.47
0.00
0.00
-0.16
2.15
0.00
0.55
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.71
0.00
-4.95
-0.18
0.00
3.59
0.00
-0.60
0.00
0.14
0.00
0.00
2.31
0.95
2.20
-0.67
5.50
0.88
0.00
-0.66
-1.41
-2.15
0.00
0.00
-4.14
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-0.26
0.88
0.73
0.00
-1.05
0.00
11.97
-1.60
-0.60
0.31
0.00
4.98
0.00
1.05
1.67
58,370
38,149,971
538,988
52,200
44,250
92,000
15,000
-
-
-
-
-
323,535
-
63,995
-
118,500
-
-
70,000
-
-
51,941
-
500
-
1,111,545
151,307
-
100
-
14,710,874
-
1,677
50,000
100
1,231,023
3,113,894
-
10,000
-
1,576,617
-
40,500
-
100
2,842,968
-
108,950
-
78,885
-
780
9
-
16,920
1,496
2,167,817
978,830
7,876,028
34,061
-
4,454
4,174,192
133,020
-
-
88,162
22,000
-
-
-
-
1,794,612
353,021
1,213,632
169,494
-
35,100
2,223,462
5
590,756
188,496
32,000
-
1,385,035
881,759
14,296,985
1,187
Al-Eid Food KscQurain Petrochemical Industr
Advanced Technology CoEkttitab Holding Co Sak
Real Estate Trade Centers CoAcico Industries Co Kscc
Kipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum Services
Alimtiaz Investment GroupRas Al Khaimah White Cement
Kuwait Reinsurance Co KscKuwait & Gulf Link Transport
Humansoft Holding Co KscAutomated Systems Co Kscc
Metal & Recycling CoGulf Franchising Holding Co
Al-Enma’a Real Estate CoNational Mobile Telecommuni
Sanad Holding Co KsccUnicap Investment And Financ
Al Salam Group Holding CoAl Aman Investment Company
Mashaer Holding Co KscManazel Holding
Tijara And Real Estate InvesJazeera Airways Co Ksc
Commercial Real Estate CoNational International Co
Taameer Real Estate Invest CGulf Cement Co
Heavy Engineering And Ship BNational Real Estate Co
Al Safat Energy Holding CompKuwait National Cinema CoDanah Alsafat Foodstuff Co
Independent Petroleum GroupKuwait Real Estate Co Ksc
Salhia Real Estate Co KscGulf Cable & Electrical Ind
Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co
Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc
Gulf Insurance Group KscUmm Al Qaiwain General Inves
Aayan Leasing & InvestmentAlrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities CoYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C
Dulaqan Real Estate CoReal Estate Asset Management
85.00
272.00
660.00
13.60
24.70
97.00
71.50
1,020.00
87.70
65.00
188.00
46.90
2,590.00
64.00
43.30
64.60
38.00
585.00
0.00
37.90
22.20
0.00
58.20
28.80
41.00
602.00
92.00
68.40
17.70
38.00
350.00
73.00
16.10
750.00
11.80
380.00
81.90
400.00
579.00
588.00
56.50
68.40
83.00
600.00
66.70
44.10
36.90
101.00
186.00
707.00
350.00
64.50
0.00
0.37
0.00
-2.86
-5.00
0.00
2.14
0.00
-0.45
0.00
0.00
0.64
-3.03
0.00
0.00
0.00
-2.56
0.86
0.00
0.26
6.73
0.00
-2.18
0.70
0.00
0.17
1.10
0.00
0.00
0.00
-0.57
-0.68
-0.62
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-0.25
0.17
0.00
1.80
0.00
0.00
7.91
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-1.59
0.00
0.00
0.00
-
102,457
-
1,339,816
500
-
75,000
-
236,600
-
-
237,250
580,173
-
-
-
116,000
98,473
-
5,649
6,668,379
-
169
266,883
-
76,797
92,675
700
173,142
-
82,564
361,190
438,069
-
-
-
21,000
5,164
168,658
15,171,479
49,732
-
-
14,861
-
94,046
-
35,488
2,500
-
-
-
OMAN
Company Name % Chg Volume
Voltamp Energy SaogVision Insurance Saoc
United Power/Energy Co- PrefUnited Power Co Saog
United Finance CoUbar Hotels & Resorts
Takaful OmanTaageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co
Sohar International BankSmn Power Holding Saog
Shell Oman Marketing - PrefShell Oman Marketing
Sharqiyah Desalination Co SaSembcorp Salalah Power & Wat
Salalah Port ServicesSalalah Mills Co
Salalah Beach Resort SaogSahara Hospitality
Renaissance Services SaogRaysut Cement Co
Phoenix Power Co SaocPackaging Co Ltd
OoredooOminvest
Oman United Insurance CoOman Telecommunications Co
Oman Refreshment CoOman Qatar Insurance Co
0.14
0.10
0.90
1.10
0.06
0.13
0.11
0.09
0.55
0.04
0.09
0.07
1.05
0.84
0.20
0.11
0.60
0.57
1.38
3.12
0.38
0.30
0.05
2.21
0.40
0.34
0.36
0.61
0.96
0.08
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.70
-1.31
0.00
0.00
0.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
-4.00
0.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
146,974
-
-
1,038,143
16,807
-
-
1,000
-
-
-
-
-
85,225
23,523
57,000
-
1,053,997
57,984
107,348
62,261
6,000
-
Sultan Center Food ProductsKuwait Foundry Co Sak
Kuwait Financial Centre SakAjial Real Estate Entmt
Kuwait Finance & InvestmentNational Industries Co Ksc
Kuwait Real Estate Holding CSecurities House/The
Boubyan Petrochemicals CoAl Ahli Bank Of Kuwait
Ahli United Bank (Almutahed)National Bank Of Kuwait
Commercial Bank Of KuwaitKuwait International Bank
Gulf BankAl-Massaleh Real Estate Co
Al Arabiya Real Estate CoKuwait Remal Real Estate Co
Alkout Industrial Projects CA’ayan Real Estate Co Sak
Investors Holding Group Co.KAl-Mazaya Holding Co
0.00
-2.13
-0.41
-0.75
-3.19
0.00
0.00
0.77
-2.52
-0.60
0.41
-0.63
0.00
-0.60
1.01
0.00
-3.48
4.44
0.00
0.00
1.56
-2.00
-
500
70,727
191,000
3,000
-
-
422,264
620,841
787,974
156,672
3,349,326
5,000
2,407,691
8,706,650
-
380,400
298,240
-
-
1,096,103
22,972
53.10
230.00
72.90
133.00
42.50
162.00
27.00
39.10
541.00
165.00
247.00
791.00
500.00
166.00
200.00
29.50
22.20
14.10
769.00
51.50
13.00
49.00
Lt Price
LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES
India has biggest disconnect between stock rally, economic gloom
Indian off ice goers walk past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai (file). Indians shares have logged one of the best rebounds from the March lows globally while battling some of the world’s worst economic data. The surge has pushed up valuations to a record as investors look past the grim reality and the world’s third-highest tally in coronavirus cases.
Europe stocks pause as US stimulus showdown weighsAFP, ReutersLondon
Stock markets took a breather yes-terday after several stronger ses-sions as nervous investors kept
an eye on stimulus talks in Washington and China-US tensions.
In key European markets, London did worst as the pound rallied on the back of a less pessimistic outlook by the Bank of England, hurting the earn-ings prospects of exporters in the FTSE 100 index.
The FTSE 100 closed 1.3% down at 6,026.94 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 closed 0.5% down at 12,591.68 points and Paris’ CAC 40 ended 1.0% down at 4,885.13 points, while the EURO STOXX 50 fi nished 0.9% down at 3,240.39 points.
British interest rates were left un-changed.
“The FTSE 100 gave up a good portion of its recent gains... as investors weighed the latest decision on interest rates from the Bank of England,” said AJ Bell invest-ment director Russ Mould.
“We already know from the experi-ence of Japan and Europe the damage negative rates does to the banking sys-tem,...
and (they) could weaken the UK fi nancial sector even further, thus destabilising the economy even more,” said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
French insurer AXA fell 3.4% af-ter it dropped its 2020 earnings target and said it would not make additional payouts to shareholders in the fourth quarter.
Of the 65% of the STOXX 600 com-panies that have reported results so far, nearly 60% have topped dramatically lowered estimates, according to Ref-initiv data.
In a typical quarter, 50% beat esti-mates.
On the bright side, Adidas gained 3.1% as it forecast a rebound in profits in the third quarter and Lufthansa jumped 3.2% even as it said it does not expect air travel de-mand to return to pre-crisis levels before 2024.
The German DAX got a boost from engineering group Siemens, which posted better-than-expected indus-trial profi t for its third quarter.
Meanwhile, data showed orders for German-made goods rose sharply in June in the latest sign that Europe’s largest economy is starting to shrug off the eff ects of months of lockdown,
but volumes were still far below pre-pandemic levels.
On Wall Street, the Dow was steady in the late morning in New York, hav-ing booked four straight sessions of gains fuelled by bets that US law-makers will eventually reach a deal on more stimulus for the world’s top economy.
While the two parties remain far apart on their proposals — with Dem-ocrats’ $3.5tn plan more than three times bigger than the Republicans’ of-fer — there was hope for a deal.
“For now our sense is that no politi-cian in the US wants to be blamed for a failure to deliver a new round of stimu-lus ahead of the elections in Novem-ber,” said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.
A smaller number of US weekly job-less claims than analysts had expect-ed was welcomed, and prepared the ground for Friday’s key employment report for July, analysts said.
The China-US standoff meanwhile continued to jar nerves, with a planned visit by US Health Secretary Alex Azar to Taiwan sparking a spat.
“China will likely interpret the trip as a provocative move ahead of planned US-China trade talks on August 15,” said Stephen Innes at AxiCorp.
Apple IncAmerican Express Co
Boeing Co/TheCaterpillar Inc
Cisco Systems IncChevron Corp
Walt Disney Co/TheDow Inc
Goldman Sachs Group IncHome Depot Inc
Intl Business Machines CorpIntel Corp
Johnson & JohnsonJpmorgan Chase & Co
Coca-Cola Co/TheMcdonald’s Corp
3M CoMerck & Co. Inc.
Microsoft CorpNike Inc -Cl B
Pfizer IncProcter & Gamble Co/The
Raytheon Technologies CorpTravelers Cos Inc/The
Unitedhealth Group IncVisa Inc-Class A Shares
Verizon Communications IncWalgreens Boots Alliance Inc
Walmart IncExxon Mobil Corp
445.63
95.22
173.26
134.30
47.67
87.35
128.05
41.95
205.21
268.45
125.42
48.20
146.74
97.23
47.07
202.63
155.68
80.82
213.17
100.37
38.38
132.43
59.87
114.17
312.73
195.15
57.56
40.84
129.37
43.69
1.22
-0.18
-0.59
-0.50
0.72
0.17
0.34
-0.10
0.34
0.36
-0.02
-1.48
-1.12
0.02
-0.32
1.69
0.21
-1.00
0.11
-0.56
-0.18
-0.76
-0.27
-0.79
0.08
-0.48
0.03
0.07
-0.34
-0.36
3,333,943
132,929
1,464,296
148,125
1,392,802
279,184
1,384,402
150,927
128,589
126,699
209,371
2,324,710
389,927
492,708
907,154
241,046
190,048
434,310
3,423,715
294,558
1,917,309
492,093
378,813
52,934
290,096
422,965
448,521
452,361
403,478
1,339,605
DJIA
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Anglo American PlcAssociated British Foods Plc
Admiral Group PlcAshtead Group Plc
Antofagasta PlcAuto Trader Group Plc
Aviva PlcAstrazeneca PlcBae Systems Plc
Barclays PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc
Barratt Developments PlcBhp Group Plc
Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBritish Land Co Plc
Bunzl PlcBp Plc
Burberry Group PlcBt Group Plc
Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-DiCarnival PlcCentrica Plc
Compass Group PlcCroda International Plc
Crh PlcDcc Plc
Diageo PlcDirect Line Insurance Group
Evraz PlcExperian Plc
Easyjet PlcFerguson Plc
Fresnillo PlcGlencore Plc
Glaxosmithkline PlcGvc Holdings Plc
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc
Halma PlcHsbc Holdings Plc
Hiscox LtdIntl Consolidated Airline-Di
Intercontinental Hotels Grou3I Group Plc
Imperial Brands PlcInforma Plc
Intertek Group PlcItv Plc
Johnson Matthey PlcKingfisher Plc
Land Securities Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLloyds Banking Group Plc
London Stock Exchange GroupMicro Focus International
Marks & Spencer Group PlcMondi Plc
Melrose Industries PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets
National Grid PlcNmc Health Plc
Next PlcOcado Group Plc
#N/A Invalid SecurityPrudential Plc
Persimmon PlcPearson Plc
Reckitt Benckiser Group PlcRoyal Bank Of Scotland Group
Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A ShsRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs
Relx PlcRio Tinto Plc
Rightmove PlcRolls-Royce Holdings PlcRsa Insurance Group Plc
Rentokil Initial PlcSainsbury (J) Plc
Schroders PlcSage Group Plc/The
Segro PlcSmurfit Kappa Group Plc
Standard Life Aberdeen PlcDs Smith Plc
Smiths Group PlcScottish Mortgage Inv Tr Plc
Smith & Nephew PlcSpirax-Sarco Engineering Plc
Sse PlcStandard Chartered Plc
St James’s Place PlcSevern Trent Plc
Tesco PlcTui Ag-Di
Taylor Wimpey PlcUnilever Plc
United Utilities Group PlcVodafone Group Plc
John Wood Group PlcWpp Plc
Whitbread Plc
1,929.60
1,877.50
2,485.00
2,587.00
1,090.50
550.20
297.50
8,419.00
507.80
105.84
2,515.00
500.00
1,779.20
4,388.00
370.00
2,303.00
295.25
1,315.50
103.60
2,172.00
883.00
47.17
1,169.50
5,778.00
2,917.00
6,926.00
2,575.00
329.70
313.70
2,726.00
591.00
7,002.00
1,330.50
180.34
1,550.00
724.00
2,157.00
1,825.00
2,218.00
324.95
789.00
186.10
3,848.00
918.20
1,262.50
387.10
5,644.00
63.30
2,349.00
260.20
579.80
224.70
28.16
8,578.00
309.10
101.25
1,469.50
97.76
191.20
898.00
0.00
5,620.00
2,204.00
0.00
1,183.50
2,364.00
605.00
7,628.00
0.00
1,175.80
1,136.60
1,679.00
4,720.00
577.80
253.10
447.00
534.40
189.00
2,991.00
751.20
977.20
2,646.00
263.50
267.80
1,436.00
903.00
1,535.50
10,445.00
1,322.50
395.80
983.20
2,449.00
222.60
316.00
118.35
4,577.00
901.60
116.00
207.70
610.00
2,353.00
-1.94
1.13
-0.28
0.19
-1.18
-0.61
4.64
-0.95
-3.24
-1.40
-1.31
-3.88
-0.26
-1.50
-2.68
-0.43
-3.72
-0.64
-1.52
-1.18
1.28
-1.71
1.08
-0.55
-0.55
-1.34
-1.83
-1.23
-2.55
-0.22
0.65
-1.88
-0.71
-8.08
-1.47
2.87
-0.78
-1.30
0.73
-2.55
-1.35
-3.97
0.10
-0.82
-2.13
0.03
0.53
3.94
-2.04
-0.69
-4.95
0.76
-0.05
-0.12
0.68
-1.32
3.12
-0.57
-0.68
-1.04
0.00
-0.11
0.41
0.00
-1.25
-3.75
7.84
-1.06
0.00
-1.90
-1.86
0.54
-4.80
0.56
-2.09
-1.15
-0.60
-1.18
-0.57
-0.53
-1.05
0.15
-0.49
-1.90
-0.90
-0.06
-0.87
0.05
-0.19
-1.88
0.12
0.33
0.41
-3.36
-4.32
-1.84
-0.02
-1.02
-2.35
-0.36
-1.63
2,246,659
818,939
315,259
440,830
1,385,051
1,274,155
31,403,616
1,163,787
4,778,075
26,255,224
2,817,625
2,645,194
3,791,730
218,660
2,492,174
322,776
31,171,130
874,723
24,165,776
763,562
1,846,016
26,850,923
2,716,209
140,662
385,437
86,059
4,131,407
3,804,665
2,528,334
837,385
3,223,583
243,528
1,281,527
42,524,899
4,692,799
1,719,456
656,866
1,106,558
367,122
26,428,456
666,997
22,430,588
320,681
1,134,863
1,756,756
2,998,924
130,884
33,938,946
485,295
3,282,155
2,935,941
16,162,447
123,681,511
246,070
1,449,430
6,943,665
1,585,321
7,288,229
3,855,259
5,336,580
-
194,123
756,374
-
2,162,759
762,515
3,435,485
745,619
-
2,889,215
3,314,958
3,024,614
1,975,112
1,362,985
6,639,130
1,511,766
2,156,295
4,558,447
143,900
1,374,919
3,679,908
133,563
4,159,143
3,216,612
365,979
1,818,041
922,641
82,738
1,487,470
3,448,746
767,396
356,164
15,207,603
1,680,357
17,058,994
2,508,043
1,096,808
37,483,976
1,223,364
1,617,986
571,779
-
FTSE 100
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Japan Airlines Co LtdRecruit Holdings Co Ltd
Softbank CorpKyocera Corp
Nissan Motor Co LtdT&D Holdings Inc
Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp
Nitto Denko CorpHitachi Ltd
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings IncSumitomo Corp
Canon IncEisai Co Ltd
Nintendo Co LtdShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd
Mitsubishi CorpSmc Corp
1,786.50
3,596.00
1,457.50
6,031.00
379.90
922.00
6,800.00
3,217.00
6,140.00
3,391.00
3,857.00
766.00
1,278.50
1,770.50
8,538.00
49,190.00
12,690.00
2,201.00
55,680.00
1.51
-0.33
0.59
0.27
-2.14
0.99
2.29
-0.86
0.66
0.18
-1.31
1.19
0.63
-0.56
-1.44
0.18
-0.20
0.18
0.60
3,557,500
1,850,200
5,100,400
694,000
17,093,000
2,842,100
11,371,000
3,267,600
579,400
2,378,000
2,265,200
3,893,200
2,344,100
3,705,100
523,600
1,113,100
658,300
3,950,300
102,500
TOKYO
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd
Unicharm CorpNomura Holdings Inc
Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdSubaru Corp
Sumitomo Realty & DevelopmenNtt Docomo Inc
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp
Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp
Mizuho Financial Group IncSumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin
Japan Tobacco IncSumitomo Electric Industries
Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp
Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd
Central Japan Railway CoNitori Holdings Co Ltd
Ajinomoto Co IncDaikin Industries Ltd
Mitsui Fudosan Co LtdOno Pharmaceutical Co Ltd
Toray Industries IncBridgestone Corp
Sony CorpAstellas Pharma Inc
Hoya CorpNippon Steel Corp
Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone
Eneos Holdings IncMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd
Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp
Sompo Holdings IncDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd
Dai-Ichi Life Holdings IncMazda Motor Corp
Komatsu LtdWest Japan Railway Co
Kao CorpMitsui & Co Ltd
Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd
Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd
Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc
Aeon Co LtdAsahi Kasei Corp
Kirin Holdings Co LtdMarubeni Corp
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial GroMitsubishi Chemical Holdings
Fanuc CorpFast Retailing Co Ltd
Ms&Ad Insurance Group HoldinKubota Corp
Seven & I Holdings Co LtdInpex Corp
Resona Holdings IncFujifilm Holdings Corp
Yamato Holdings Co LtdChubu Electric Power Co Inc
Mitsubishi Estate Co LtdMitsubishi Heavy Industries
Sysmex CorpShiseido Co Ltd
Shionogi & Co LtdTerumo Corp
Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd
East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp
Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr
8,598.00
993.50
4,462.00
515.10
9,209.00
2,016.00
2,807.50
3,003.00
3,481.00
1,273.50
3,474.00
42,860.00
131.90
2,844.50
1,956.00
1,233.50
462.20
6,548.00
907.00
14,120.00
13,420.00
22,895.00
1,900.50
18,820.00
1,732.50
3,028.00
494.30
3,170.00
8,468.00
1,660.50
10,475.00
985.40
3,957.00
2,509.50
385.90
6,591.00
1,005.50
4,064.00
3,667.00
2,462.50
1,306.50
603.00
2,086.00
4,658.00
7,863.00
1,684.00
8,160.00
4,509.00
12,940.00
2,003.00
9,368.00
4,692.00
2,561.50
877.10
2,033.00
568.90
412.80
611.10
18,295.00
58,810.00
2,789.00
1,614.50
3,300.00
636.00
353.90
4,845.00
2,798.00
1,231.00
1,570.50
2,393.50
7,685.00
6,064.00
6,076.00
4,074.00
2,148.50
28,565.00
6,129.00
2,462.00
2,229.00
1,386.00
2,899.50
0.73
5.69
-5.57
0.02
0.30
-1.83
-0.88
-0.23
2.68
3.87
-3.42
1.56
-1.71
0.16
-1.73
-0.40
0.04
-0.68
0.19
-1.02
-0.37
-0.11
-1.93
0.37
0.99
-0.23
-0.42
0.41
-0.91
-2.29
-0.99
-0.38
0.58
0.00
1.50
-0.68
-0.69
1.47
2.23
0.33
0.08
-3.05
0.51
-1.92
-1.77
1.63
0.89
-0.66
-1.97
-0.22
-0.57
1.01
-0.81
-0.53
-3.17
-0.11
0.27
-1.10
-1.96
0.26
1.90
0.59
0.49
1.29
-0.23
0.64
-1.79
0.20
-1.84
-0.48
-6.44
-1.17
-1.20
-0.34
-1.56
-2.12
-2.47
1.80
-0.96
-0.93
0.26
TOKYO
Company Name Lt Price % Chg
Ck Hutchison Holdings LtdHang Lung Properties Ltd
Ck Infrastructure Holdings LHengan Intl Group Co Ltd
China Shenhua Energy Co-HCspc Pharmaceutical Group Lt
Hang Seng Bank LtdChina Resources Land Ltd
Ck Asset Holdings LtdSino Biopharmaceutical
Henderson Land DevelopmentAia Group Ltd
Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HWant Want China Holdings Ltd
Sun Hung Kai PropertiesNew World Development
Geely Automobile Holdings LtSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl A
Sands China LtdWharf Real Estate Investment
Clp Holdings LtdCountry Garden Holdings Co
Aac Technologies Holdings InShenzhou International GroupPing An Insurance Group Co-H
China Mengniu Dairy CoSunny Optical Tech
Boc Hong Kong Holdings LtdChina Life Insurance Co-H
Citic LtdGalaxy Entertainment Group L
Wh Group Ltd
50.90
19.50
39.70
66.60
12.90
16.16
119.40
33.00
44.55
9.91
29.30
71.60
4.60
5.83
96.10
39.00
17.12
39.05
29.55
29.20
73.80
9.95
62.50
96.45
82.55
36.10
147.50
21.50
18.50
7.37
53.10
7.13
-0.68
-0.51
-2.93
0.23
-1.53
-0.25
0.34
0.30
-1.11
-0.60
-0.17
-0.49
-0.65
-0.51
-0.26
-0.26
-0.81
-1.88
-0.67
1.21
-0.40
-0.70
-0.71
0.10
-0.24
-1.63
-1.34
-1.83
0.22
-0.94
0.00
-0.14
5,395,197
4,207,304
4,528,430
1,995,806
17,852,167
29,610,566
2,563,719
6,839,259
4,703,997
72,398,819
2,011,328
17,372,722
148,337,281
11,212,573
1,726,550
1,696,282
49,058,878
1,463,883
11,951,339
4,818,218
2,137,248
13,993,579
9,513,390
3,359,912
21,845,846
9,446,532
7,134,188
16,877,864
37,336,059
9,617,888
5,852,920
25,951,259
HONG KONG
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Hong Kong & China GasBank Of Communications Co-HChina Petroleum & Chemical-HHong Kong Exchanges & Clear
Bank Of China Ltd-HHsbc Holdings Plc
Power Assets Holdings LtdMtr Corp
China Overseas Land & InvestTencent Holdings Ltd
China Unicom Hong Kong LtdLink Reit
Sino Land CoChina Resources Power Holdin
Petrochina Co Ltd-HCnooc Ltd
China Construction Bank-HChina Mobile Ltd
11.04
4.28
3.48
385.00
2.61
33.50
42.80
39.40
23.10
555.50
4.40
60.95
9.38
9.78
2.78
8.64
5.76
54.05
-0.72
0.00
1.46
-0.26
-0.76
-1.33
-1.50
-0.25
-1.07
-0.98
-1.79
-0.65
-1.78
-1.01
-0.36
1.41
-0.52
-2.61
15,640,616
27,535,263
179,417,069
5,717,924
213,575,454
31,763,955
4,400,948
3,128,411
19,230,992
20,568,693
38,444,508
4,746,207
1,806,427
5,431,507
167,129,505
95,291,331
180,907,797
22,722,660
HONG KONG
Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume
Adani Ports And Special EconAsian Paints Ltd
Axis Bank LtdBajaj Finance Ltd
Bharti Airtel LtdBharti Infratel Ltd
Bajaj Auto LtdBajaj Finserv Ltd
Bharat Petroleum Corp LtdCipla Ltd
Coal India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories
Eicher Motors LtdGail India Ltd
Grasim Industries LtdHcl Technologies Ltd
Housing Development FinanceHdfc Bank Limited
Hero Motocorp LtdHindalco Industries Ltd
Hindustan Petroleum CorpHindustan Unilever Ltd
Icici Bank LtdIndiabulls Housing Finance L
Indusind Bank LtdInfosys Ltd
Indian Oil Corp LtdItc Ltd
Jsw Steel LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
Larsen & Toubro LtdMahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Maruti Suzuki India LtdNtpc Ltd
Oil & Natural Gas Corp LtdPower Grid Corp Of India Ltd
Reliance Industries LtdState Bank Of India
Sun Pharmaceutical IndusTata Steel Ltd
Tata Consultancy Svcs LtdTech Mahindra Ltd
Titan Co LtdTata Motors Ltd
Upl LtdUltratech Cement Ltd
Vedanta LtdWipro Ltd
Yes Bank LtdZee Entertainment Enterprise
323.80
1,727.55
433.00
3,345.20
555.30
191.55
2,991.80
6,295.70
409.55
731.10
128.85
4,583.05
21,681.30
95.65
634.20
704.90
1,783.75
1,040.70
2,704.45
178.00
216.10
2,220.45
358.75
190.85
494.90
970.85
87.20
195.35
239.50
1,340.10
922.15
609.65
6,555.75
86.15
78.05
175.90
2,134.10
190.95
532.25
400.45
2,308.10
660.35
1,120.15
116.80
463.90
4,028.35
122.75
279.65
13.45
148.75
-1.01
0.66
-0.45
2.55
-0.65
0.26
-0.57
0.86
-0.22
1.24
0.31
-0.39
-1.26
2.52
0.12
2.40
0.40
1.28
0.32
1.28
1.48
1.18
1.86
0.26
0.44
2.77
0.69
1.32
1.85
0.44
-0.39
-0.75
0.45
0.29
1.43
-0.03
0.36
-0.26
0.64
1.17
2.15
1.82
1.33
1.21
2.27
-0.31
0.66
0.52
4.67
2.20
SENSEX
Company Name Lt Price % Chg
WORLD INDICESIndices Lt Price Change
GCC INDICESIndices Lt Price Change
Dow Jones Indus. AvgS&P 500 Index
Nasdaq Composite IndexS&P/Tsx Composite Index
Mexico Bolsa IndexBrazil Bovespa Stock Idx
Ftse 100 IndexCac 40 Index
Dax IndexIbex 35 Tr
Nikkei 225Japan Topix
Hang Seng IndexAll Ordinaries Indx
Nzx All IndexBse Sensex 30 Index
Nse S&P Cnx Nifty IndexStraits Times Index
Karachi All Share IndexJakarta Composite Index
27,224.68
3,321.22
10,998.34
16,519.16
38,000.49
103,894.00
6,026.94
4,885.13
12,591.68
6,957.90
22,418.15
1,549.88
24,930.58
6,180.26
1,944.99
38,025.45
11,200.15
2,559.10
28,073.68
5,178.27
+23.16
-6.55
-0.06
+17.55
+98.53
+1,092.20
-77.78
-48.21
-68.57
-81.80
-96.70
-4.83
-171.96
+44.38
+1.04
+362.12
+98.50
+26.41
+260.17
+51.22
Doha Securities Market
Kuwait Stocks Exchange
Oman Stock Market
9,411.83
4,072.77
3,568.10
+89.87
+6.57
+9.79
“Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on this data.”
1,866,400
6,152,000
2,687,100
10,850,900
654,700
2,592,500
1,871,300
2,048,600
2,005,400
12,271,200
1,717,600
508,900
70,320,700
738,400
3,726,700
1,553,200
2,605,500
17,155,100
6,767,200
545,300
417,600
194,900
1,185,400
506,900
4,540,700
806,800
4,513,600
1,140,400
4,710,600
3,117,300
637,100
5,244,600
1,295,900
4,613,700
18,067,100
1,389,800
1,359,800
1,054,100
716,000
967,500
2,162,800
8,330,600
2,953,900
918,300
1,155,600
5,135,100
470,500
548,500
677,000
875,700
317,100
927,600
1,102,200
3,857,200
1,976,600
8,960,900
39,291,400
4,992,800
612,400
364,900
2,207,500
2,095,900
2,623,400
7,613,800
4,932,300
1,631,800
2,104,400
2,063,900
4,924,300
1,857,700
1,169,700
1,788,600
798,800
1,163,100
1,612,000
973,900
1,619,600
5,003,300
2,113,200
2,924,000
3,505,500
3,282,020
1,914,542
33,465,332
8,172,921
10,425,489
5,503,299
853,222
626,113
12,567,310
9,663,912
7,905,921
917,421
203,524
21,775,128
2,303,382
5,133,012
6,004,624
16,823,558
859,485
23,198,187
9,372,453
1,824,540
48,022,799
15,270,276
16,624,836
10,976,523
19,663,459
17,886,231
10,772,820
3,677,840
2,188,238
3,857,563
1,233,253
12,209,723
26,386,804
4,817,284
22,762,726
59,740,299
10,920,296
22,123,358
4,748,348
8,644,011
4,499,103
60,093,689
4,177,616
378,473
20,522,259
10,152,605
426,044,874
36,848,846
Volume
Volume
Visitors pass through the main entrance of the London Stock Exchange Group’s headquarters. The FTSE 100 closed 1.3% down at 6,026.94 points yesterday.
BUSINESS5Gulf Times
Friday, August 7, 2020
BUSINESS
Gulf Times Friday, August 7, 20206
Toyota warns of 64% drop in full-year net profitCORPORATE RESULTS
Toyota yesterday warned of a 64 % drop in full-year net profit and reported a slump in quarterly earnings, as the coronavirus pandemic shreds the global auto market.Japan’s top car maker, which had previously declined to give a bottom-line forecast because of ongoing uncertainty, now projects net profit at ¥730bn ($6.9bn) for the fiscal year to March, down from ¥2.07tn the previous year.Its forecast of annual operating profit remained unchanged at €500bn, down nearly 80 % from the previous year.“The impact of Covid-19 is wide-ranging, significant and serious, and it is expected that weakness will continue for the time being,” Toyota said in a statement.The warning came as Toyota reported a 74.3% plunge in net profit for the three months to June, with quarterly revenue down more than 40%.By region, operating profit in Japan dropped more than 80 % in April-June, while it logged losses in North America and Europe.Carmakers around the world have been battered by the pandemic, with many relying on government help, as it slams the global economy into reverse and forces people to stay at home.
“It was a tough quarter for all Japanese automakers. Toyota was no exception,” said Satoru Takada, auto analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm.“Production is recovering from the pandemic impact, after hitting rock bottom in April and May, but sales are expected to remain stagnant for now,” Takada told AFP ahead of the results.General Motors fell into the red in the second quarter with a $758mn loss, reversing a quarterly net profit a year ago.Toyota’s smaller domestic rival Nissan warned of a massive $6.4bn net loss for the current fiscal year, while Honda reported a net loss for the quarter and forecast a much-reduced full-year profit.
Munich Re
German reinsurance giant Munich Re said yesterday it took huge charges related to the coronavirus pandemic which cut deeply into its second-quarter profits.Covid-19 related losses totalled around €700mn ($830mn) during the quarter, Munich Re said, and around €1.5bn for the six months to the end of June.Of that amount, €1.4bn were attributed to “property-casualty reinsurance” and around
€100mn to health and life insurance. The German reinsurer said consolidated profit was €579mn for the quarter, a fall of 42 % compared with the same period of 2019, when profit was €993mn.The Bavaria-based company did not issue profit guidance for 2020 due to a “high level of uncertainty regarding the further economic and financial consequences of Covid-19”“Munich Re will emerge from this crisis economically stronger,” chief executive Joachim Wenning said. “We are growing profitably, while taking steps to benefit from the significantly improved market conditions for reinsurers.”Munich Re says it expects premium income of around €54bn in 2020, a record for the company, according to the CEO.
Nintendo
Nintendo made a $1bn net profit in the first quarter, it said yesterday, with gamers stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic driving extraordinary demand for the industry.The global health crisis has had devastating economic consequences across a broad range of industries but the gaming sector has been a rare beneficiary of lockdowns that kept people indoors around the world.Nintendo said it raked in ¥106.5bn for the three months to June, a more than six-fold increase from ¥16.6bn a year earlier.Sales more than doubled to ¥358bn as demand for its popular Switch console showed no sign of dying down, even as the device entered the crucial fourth year since its launch.“Sales for the entire Nintendo Switch family rose 166.6 % year-on-year to 5.68mn units,” the firm said, referring to both the original Switch and the stripped-back Switch Lite.
Adidas
German sports manufacturer Adidas yesterday posted a significant second-quarter loss, but said it expected a rebound in the summer as coronavirus restrictions are lifted and online sales boom.Adidas reported a net loss of €295mn ($349mn) in the three months to the end of June, compared with a profit of €531mn in the same period the previous year.Revenue plummeted 35 % to €3.6bn, from €5.5bn the same period of the previous year.But the Bavaria-based company boasted of almost doubling its e-commerce sales, as direct-to-consumer revenue increased slightly.
At its most severe point, the pandemic closed 70 % of Adidas stores worldwide.As of its earnings announcement, 92 % of stores are operational, it said. “We are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as the normalisation in the physical business continues,” Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted said.The world’s second-largest sportswear maker said that business has recovered since the end of June and that it anticipates a third-quarter operating profit of €600mn to €700mn — an improvement of around €1bn on the second quarter — barring any major further lockdowns.
Glencore
Mining and commodities trading giant Glencore posted yesterday a net loss of $2.6bn for the first half of the year and suspended dividend payments to shareholders as it took massive coronavirus-related charges.While the Swiss-based firm remained profitable on an operating basis — $1.5bn in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes — it booked impairment charges of $3.2bn.Companies must reevaluate the value of their assets regularly in light developments, and many firms have posted huge impairment charges as a result of lockdowns imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus.Glencore said it booked the charge as “a result of lower commodity prices related to the economic uncertainty arising from the Covid-19 pandemic”.It said the crisis pushed down the value of the thermal coal, oil and zinc it produces as well
as expectations concerning their long-term operations. During the first half of last year Glencore posted a net profit of $226mn.“The outlook remains uncertain in the short term,” chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said in a statement.
Luft hansa
Lufthansa does not expect air travel demand to return to pre-coronavirus crisis levels until at least 2024, as the German airline posted a €1.7bn quarterly operating loss.The collapse in demand for air travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic meant the airline carried 96% fewer passengers between April and June than a year earlier, leading to an 80% decline in second-quarter revenue to €1.9bn ($2.25bn).Tentative signs of a European recovery now appear threatened by new localised outbreaks and restrictions, while long-haul flights such as to the US — which are important for Lufthansa — remain largely grounded due to rising infections.“We do not expect demand to return to pre-crisis levels before 2024,” chief executive Carsten Spohr said yesterday.Lufthansa’s pessimistic view echoed a forecast last month by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that it would take a year longer than previously expected for passenger traff ic to return to pre-crisis levels.Last month Lufthansa said it would cut 20% of its leadership positions and 1,000 administrative jobs as it seeks to repay a €9bn state bailout and navigate deepening losses in the face of the pandemic.
BUSINESS7Gulf Times
Friday, August 7, 2020
Intesa’s UBI takeover may stir dormant Italian banking M&ABloombergMilan
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA’s Carlo Messina is
set to pull off Europe’s biggest banking
merger in a decade, reshaping the Italian
market and possibly giving life to long-
stalled consolidation across the country’s
financial industry.
Intesa overcame regulatory hurdles and
resistance from the bank’s management
and shareholders to take over smaller
rival Unione di Banche Italiane SpA in a
deal that will make the Milan-based bank
Italy’s biggest lender by assets. Messina,
the chief executive off icer, said the move is
part of a bigger ambition to play a part in
Europe-wide dealmaking.
The bank’s move to reinforce its leading
role in the country has sparked a wave of
behind-the-scenes talks about other pos-
sible Italian combinations. With the Italian
Treasury committed to exiting Banca
Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA by next
year, mid-sized lenders struggling to scale
up, and UniCredit SpA losing ground in its
home market, banking M&A in Italy may
get busy soon.
A number of Italian bank executives, includ-
ing those at UniCredit, Banco BPM SpA and
Monte Paschi were tapped by UBI’s advis-
ers in recent months to explore possible
alternatives to Intesa’s hostile approach,
people with knowledge of the matter said.
UBI chief executive off icer Victor Massiah
was willing to combine with Banco BPM,
but contacts didn’t progress, they said.
“I expect that the Intesa eff ect will be to
put pressure on bank executives, leading
to an intensification of merger talks,
something that is already happening,”
Mediobanca SpA chief executive off icer
Alberto Nagel said on a conference call.
“We will see an increasing consolidation in
Italian banking system, and Mediobanca
will play a role as adviser and by off ering
capital market activities.”
A less stringent approach by the European
Central Bank may also favor more deals.
The ECB has said recently that it won’t
block the kind of bank mergers that could
help Europe’s beleaguered industry and
that lenders don’t automatically face
higher capital requirements in a merger
deal. It also said that certain accounting
gains can be used to to boost capital.
UniCredit CEO Jean Pierre Mustier
discussed a joint bid with Banco BPM for
UBI, Il Messaggero reported. The initiative
was aborted after the European Central
Bank indicated that it would probably
not approve it, the newspaper said. While
Mustier last week reiterated that the bank
is not interested in M&A, some analysts
highlight that the pressure is mounting on
UniCredit after Intesa’s action.
“UniCredit should catch M&A opportuni-
ties that can arise after Intesa’s deal,” said
Stefano Girola, a portfolio manager at
Alicanto Capital SGR in Milan. With Intesa
CEO Carlo Messina “breathing down on his
neck, Mustier may reconsider his positions
on M&A and start review options In Italy,
the most compelling target would be
Banco BPM.”
Intesa is seeking to be in a stronger posi-
tion for cross-border M&A when European
consolidation in the banking sector will
start, the bank said when it proposed
the UBI takeover in February. At current
prices, UBI has a market value of €4.2bn
($4.9bn).
European bankers are trying to dig them-
selves out of a hole after years of strategic
reboots failed in the face of negative
interest rates, sluggish economic growth
and now the consequences of the Covid-19
pandemic. The ECB has suggested that
mergers are one answer because they
could remove some of the intense com-
petition between banks and them address
persistent high costs.
Monte Paschi has hired Mediobanca SpA
to review alternatives, and Finance Minis-
ter Roberto Gualtieri says he’s confident
that the Treasury will exit the lender by the
2021 deadline.
Banco BPM and BPER Banca SpA have
often been described as potential candi-
dates for a tie-up with Monte Paschi, with
investment banks pitching proposals on
possible combinations among them.
Any possible deal may take time, as Monte
Paschi has to complete the transfer of bad
loans and its still stuck with about €5bn
of legal risks that raise concerns among
peers for a possible combination, said
people with knowledge of the matter.
BPER is ready to play an “active role”
in Italian banking consolidation, CEO
Alessandro Vandelli said in an interview
with Il Sole 24 Ore. Intesa’s pursuit of UBI
“triggered the start of a process of new ag-
gregations” and every bank is making “the
necessary reflections,” he said.
Representatives for UniCredit, Banco
BPM, Monte Paschi and BPER declined to
comment on the topic beyond the off icial
remarks of their executives.
WeWork gives members globalaccess duringpandemic woes
Shale driller Devon to pay biggest dividend in company’s history
BloombergNew York
WeWork, the co-working company backed by SoftBank
Group Corp, is giving members access to its more than 800
global locations for no additional charge amid the disruptions
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We know you’ve had to make a number of unexpected
decisions over the last few months,” the company wrote in an
email to customers seen by Bloomberg News. “Whether you
need access to a clean, productive workspace closer to home
or to change up your routine, our doors are open for you
wherever you are.”
The company, led by CEO Sandeep Mathrani, said it has
implemented enhanced cleaning measures and redesigned
off ices to allow for physical distancing. Shared off ices around
the world emptied out as the number of coronavirus cases
skyrocketed earlier this year. It’s unclear when or if tenants
will return as many companies adapt to working from home.
In Japan, WeWork is set to lose a major tenant, and its short-
term leases make it vulnerable to budget cuts. Still, it has
signed new tenants, including Microsoft Corp in Tel Aviv and
Merck & Co in New Jersey.
WeWork is on track to have positive cash flow in 2021, Execu-
tive Chairman Marcelo Claure told the Financial Times last
month, without providing specifics.
The company had previously targeted becoming cash-flow
positive by 2023 and positive adjusted earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by 2021. The
company’s bonds maturing in 2025 last traded at 67.25 cents
on the dollar, according to Trace pricing data.
BloombergHouston
Devon Energy Corp said it will pay a $100mn special dividend
and buy back as much as $1.5bn in debt as the shale driller
funnels more cash to investors and trims expenses.
The surprise payout coincides with plans to close the sale of
natural gas fields in the Barnett Shale region of North Texas
about three months ahead of schedule, the Oklahoma City-
based explorer said in a statement on Tuesday. At 26 cents a
share, it would be larger than any quarterly dividend the com-
pany ever has paid, according to data compiled by Bloomb-
erg. Devon also plans to trim $300mn in annual overhead and
other costs, and lowered its 2020 capital budget by another
$25mn. The company said it will “better align the workforce
with go-forward activity levels,” which is often shorthand for
cutting jobs.
SocGen’s Oudea ousts top deputies afterworst loss in decadeBloombergParis
Societe Generale SA’s Fre-deric Oudea ousted two of his top deputies as the
embattled chief executive offi cer seeks more time to turn around the trading business following the lender’s worst loss since the fi nancial crisis.
Severin Cabannes, the deputy CEO in charge of investment banking, will leave his post at the end of this year, while Philippe Heim, who oversaw interna-tional retail banking, is stepping down immediately, the bank said.
Both were named to the roles only two years ago in a reshuf-fl e that bought Oudea, one of the longest-serving bank executives in Europe, another four-year term following the exit of heir ap-parent Didier Valet.
The CEO, under pressure from the board, is overhauling the top ranks and cutting trading risk af-ter the bank’s worst quarter since rogue trader Jerome Kerviel’s record loss more than 12 years ago.
SocGen was forced to write down the value of its trading business following heavy losses on the complex structured prod-ucts that it and its French peers are known for.
Natixis SA, which had similar losses in its trading business, on Monday replaced CEO Francois Riahi after just two years, citing diff erences over strategy.
Both lenders indicated they would adjust the business with structured products, which be-came increasingly diffi cult to hedge when corporations began canceling dividend payments to shareholders as a result of the
pandemic, Bloomberg has re-ported. The stock has lost 57% this year, one of the worst per-formers among the large Euro-pean banks.
Oudea had come under pres-sure before.
The bank late last year initiated a formal search for a successor, Bloomberg has reported.
The plan then was to have a
candidate ready when the CEO’s term ends in 2023, though the replacement could happen be-fore that, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
The latest management chang-es do away with two of the four deputy CEOs appointed in 2018, after Valet, who was in charge of the investment bank and was seen as a potential CEO candi-
date, left to help to resolve US le-gal issues. SocGen will now have only two deputy CEOs, while it created a new role of deputy gen-eral manager for a new generation of “high-potential leaders,” the bank said.
Unlike Riahi at Natixis, who had a relatively short tenure, Oudea has been in charge for more than a decade.
He spent part of the time in the dual role of CEO and chairman.
In 2015, SocGen separated the two positions and named former European Central Bank board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghito oversee the board.
The decision to reorganise management again was proposed by Oudea and approved by the board, the bank said.
“These decisions taken by the board of directors aim at renew-ing the management team around Frederic Oudéa, drawing on in-house talents, in order to better support the in-depth changes needed to build the bank of to-morrow,” Bini Smaghi said in the statement.
SocGen on Monday posted a €1.26bn net loss for the second quarter, after €1.33bn in one-off costs following a review of the global markets and investor serv-ices business.
Equities trading, a traditional strength of the lender, declined 80% as structured products were hit for a second straight quarter by the cancellation of dividends during the pandemic.
The bank vowed to stop pro-ducing the structured products that went awry and develop al-ternatives that will be less sensi-tive to market swings.
The losses at SocGen and Natixis were particularly pain-ful after their biggest rival, BNP Paribas SA, rebounded from a trading hit with a standout per-formance in fi xed-income.
Revenue from trading fi xed-income securities, currencies and commodities jumped 154% in the second quarter from a year ear-lier, off setting a more than 53% decline in equities trading.
It said there was only a “re-sidual impact” from the dividend cancellations.
Frederic Oudea, CEO of Societe Generale, listens during the Euronext conference in Paris on January 14. Oudea, under pressure from the board, is overhauling the top ranks and cutting trading risk after the bank’s worst quarter since rogue trader Jerome Kerviel’s record loss more than 12 years ago.
Climate hawks urge Biden to shun Obama-era energy moderatesBloombergWashington
Climate-change activists are pressuring
Joe Biden to distance himself from former
Obama administration advisers they view
as either too moderate or too cozy with
the fossil fuel industry, a sign of disunity
on the eve of the Democratic convention.
Groups such as Data for Progress and
the Revolving Door Project are building
a case against some people advising the
Democratic presidential nominee, such
as former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
and Obama environment aide Heather
Zichal. Both have served on the boards of
companies linked to fossil fuels since leav-
ing government.
The eff ort reflects simmering tension be-
tween the party’s moderate nominee and
progressives whose votes he needs to win.
Polls show a lack of enthusiasm for Biden
among young voters, something that
could be exacerbated by open divisions
within the environmental movement. But
if climate activists succeed in pulling him
to the left it could cost him mainstream
support.
Joe Biden speaks during a campaign
event.
The environmental activists are collecting
information on the advisers and formulat-
ing a strategy that could include a letter
writing campaign and petitions, similar
to what has been employed to pressure
Biden to sever ties with Obama’s one-time
National Economic Council Director Larry
Summers. Summers is a contributor to
Bloomberg Television.
Former President Barack Obama’s record
on cutting greenhouse gas emissions was
widely regarded as ambitious at the time.
But activists say now there’s no time left
for anything other than a no-holds barred
approach.
“If you want to maximise the eff ectiveness
of a Biden administration on climate you
need climate warriors,” said Jeff Hauser,
founder and director of the Revolving Door
Project, which is assembling critical dossi-
ers on the Biden advisers. “If you are going
to take the climate crisis seriously you can’t
be seeking a middle-road solution.”
Not everyone’s on board with the activists’
approach, especially so close to the elec-
tion. Biden is close to naming a running
mate as the party prepares for a trimmed
down, four-day nominating convention in
Milwaukee set to begin Aug. 17.
Some environmentalists prefer to focus
on helping Biden defeat President Donald
Trump and stop his rollback of envi-
ronmental regulations. Trump, who is
withdrawing the US from the Paris climate
treaty, has repeatedly called climate
change a “hoax.” By contrast, Biden’s $2
tn plan for combating climate change
won robust praise last month from across
the spectrum of environmental advocacy
groups.
Others worry that a climate purity test
means muzzling some of the nation’s top
energy experts.
“It’s OK right now that he’s relying on
those people, because he’s got to focus on
the primary objective, which is stopping
the catastrophe we are in right now,” said
Brett Hartl, chief political strategist for
the Center for Biological Diversity Action
Fund.
But critics say Biden’s reliance on a stable
of former Obama energy off icials is al-
ready limiting the Democratic presidential
candidate’s climate ambition.
“The people who built the system and are
profiting from it are not going to want to
tear it down,” said Collin Rees, a senior
campaigner with Oil Change US, an envi-
ronmental group that advocates shifting
away from fossil fuels.
Other aides to Obama who have drawn
the ire of climate activists include one-
time White House energy adviser Jason
Bordoff , State Department off icial Amos
Hochstein and economic adviser Brian
Deese.
None of the targeted off icials are em-
ployed by the Biden campaign, though
Zichal, Bordoff and Moniz have informally
advised it, according to people familiar
with the matter who asked not to be
identified. And the campaign is widely
consulting outsiders; senior campaign
off icials said they conferred with scientists
and leaders of the environmental justice
movement in developing Biden’s $2 tn
climate plan.
The activists point to signs of caution,
including language in a Biden-Sanders
unity task force report that rules out
public financing of overseas coal projects
but leaves the door open for supporting
natural gas ventures.
Some environmental activists are advanc-
ing an array of choices deemed accept-
able as possible cabinet members — from
Washington Governor Jay Inslee for Inte-
rior secretary to California Air Resources
Board Chair Mary Nichols as Environmen-
tal Protection Agency administrator.
Biden is naturally relying on advice from
some of Obama’s old hands, having
worked with many of the same advisers
during his eight years as vice president,
Hartl said.
Activists say they are most concerned
by what Biden’s team has done in recent
years — not the policies they pushed as
part of the Obama administration.
“We are gearing up,” said RL Miller, chair
of California Democratic Party’s environ-
mental caucus and a member-elect to the
Democratic National Committee. “We will
be exposing the flaws in these people’s
records as climate peacocks and we will be
making it toxic for Joe Biden to be taking
advice on matters of energy from them.”
Zichal has served on the board of
Cheniere Energy Inc, which became the
first major US exporter of shale gas in
2016, and has stressed the need to find
a “middle ground” environmental policy.
She also continues to promote marine pro-
tections and sustainability as head of the
Blue Prosperity Coalition, has discouraged
new off shore drilling off South Africa and
previously was vice president of corporate
engagement for the Nature Conservancy.
Zichal declined to comment.
Bordoff is the founder and head of Colum-
bia University’s Center on Global Energy
Policy, which has drawn funding from an
Exxon Mobil Corp foundation.
Like Summers, Bordoff has praised energy
exports, noting earlier this year that
increased exports of liquefied natural gas
help lower the price of the fossil fuel that
can displace dirtier-burning coal in gener-
ating electricity. Bordoff also warned that
a collapse in US oil and gas output would
weaken the country.
Bordoff has served on the National
Petroleum Council, an Energy Department
advisory group that includes oil company
executives. He didn’t respond to a request
for comment.
Moniz, an informal adviser to the Biden
campaign, has joined the board of South-
ern Co, a utility that generates power from
natural gas, coal, nuclear and renewables.
He also proposed a “Green Real Deal”
alternative to the “Green New Deal”
backed by progressives. He’s drawn fire
for forming a partnership with the AFL-CIO
that endorses an “all-of-the-above” climate
change strategy.
David Ellis, a spokesman for the Energy
Future Initiative, a think tank led by Moniz,
declined to comment. But he pointed
to testimony Moniz gave earlier this
year saying he “endorses a focus on the
simultaneous needs for achieving deep
decarbonisation and ensuring that social
equity issues are central in the clean
energy transition.”
BUSINESSFriday, August 7, 2020
GULF TIMES
Virgin Atlantic seeks rescue signoff to avoid September collapseBloombergLondon
Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd told a London court that it
will collapse next month unless it secures approval for a
£1.2bn ($1.6bn) rescue package announced in July.
Without the funds, available cash will drop to about
£49mn by late September, below the £75mn speci-
fied in bondholder contracts, Virgin told a judge on
Tuesday. That would require the sale of Heathrow
airport slots against which the bonds are secured,
forcing the carrier to fold. Virgin Atlantic is asking the
court for permission to hold four creditor meetings to
vote on the restructuring plan as part of a so-called
cram-down process that will bind all debt classes to
the rescue plan. The carrier said that creditors in three
of the groups have agreed to back it.
The restructuring must be approved at a hearing
scheduled for September 2, after the creditor meet-
ings, or will be placed into administration mid-month
with any assets sold, David Allison, a lawyer for the
company, told the court.
Virgin Atlantic unveiled the rescue plan on July 14
after the coronavirus crisis shut down flights and the
carrier was told that its credit ratings disqualified it
from support through a state-backed loans program.
Under the proposals, US hedge fund Davidson Kempner
Capital Management will provide about £170mn in se-
cured financing, while Branson will contribute £200mn
after raising money from Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.
Bank of England sees slower economic recovery from Covid hitBoE holds rates at 0.1%, keeps £745bn QE target; economy not expected to return to pre-Covid level until Q4 2021; unemployment seen peaking at 7.5%, lower than forecast before; Sterling rises to 5-month high against dollar, yields up
ReutersLondon
The Bank of England said Britain’s
economy would probably take longer to
get back to its pre-pandemic size than it
previously thought, but it was still weigh-
ing up the risks of cutting interest rates
below zero to jump-start growth.
As it announced unanimous votes by its
policymakers to keep its key interest rate
at just 0.1% and make no changes to its
huge bond-buying programme, the BoE
said the economy would not recover its
pre-pandemic size until the end of 2021.
In May, it had said it thought it might
get back to its pre-crisis size during the
second half of 2021.
“There are some very hard yards, to bor-
row a rugby phrase, to come.
And frankly, we are ready to act, should
that be needed,” Bank of England Gover-
nor Andrew Bailey told reporters.
On negative rates, Bailey said: “They are
part of our toolbox. But at the moment we
do not have a plan to use them.”
The BoE’s protections for 2020 are less
grim than in May.
Unemployment is expected to peak at
7.5% at the end of this year, almost double
the most recent rate but lower than the
BoE’s previous estimate of just under 10%.
The overall economy now looks on course
for a 9.5% drop this year.
That would be the worst performance in
99 years but less severe than a 14% plunge
in the BoE’s May scenario, which would
have been the worst in more than three
centuries.
British government bond yields also rose,
as the BoE confirmed a further slowdown
in the pace of bond purchases.
However, the recovery would be slower,
reflecting the more drawn-out impact of
Covid-19 on people’s willingness to spend
on social activities and the chance of fur-
ther local lockdowns, among other factors.
“With unemployment set to rise as fur-
lough unwinds and double trouble from
Brexit and Covid, we expect a change of
course and further easing in the end,”
Morgan Stanley economists Jacob Nell
and Bruna Skarica said.
The projections showed the BoE’s Mon-
etary Policy Committee thought inflation
was likely to fall below zero this month
before returning to around the BoE’s 2%
target over the next couple of years and
rising to 2.2% in 2023.
When inflation is forecast to rise above 2%,
that is typically a signal the BoE does not
expect to loosen policy more.
Bailey and his fellow policymakers sig-
nalled they would not be in a rush to raise
borrowing costs when inflation does rise,
saying they would want to see significant
progress in eroding slack in the economy.
The BoE also said its review of whether
to take rates into negative territory was
ongoing and there were factors that could
change its previous view that their floor
was just above zero.
However it said other countries showed
that banks were often unable in practice
to cut deposit rates below zero, limiting
their ability to pass on lower interest rates
to lenders.
Banks also feared negative rates would
erode their capital — especially at a time
like now when they risked heavy losses on
some lending.
“As a result, negative policy rates at this
time could be less eff ective as a tool to
stimulate the economy,” the BoE said.
Economists mostly described the BoE’s
tone on negative rates as cautious.
“The MPR’s discussion on negative rates
was lukewarm at best,” said ING econo-
mist James Smith.
Analysts at Citi, however, said the BoE’s
announcement laid the ground for a nega-
tive Bank Rate by mid-2021.
Meanwhile, Sterling strengthened to a new
five-month high against the dollar and
headed for the $1.32 mark after the Bank
of England struck a less pessimistic tone
on the outlook for the British economy.
Much of the gain in the pound came
shortly after the BoE announcement.
The currency rose as much as 0.5%
extending its run to a high of $1.3184, its
highest since March 9, before easing a
touch to $1.3112, up 0.3% on the day.
Against the euro, it rose 0.4% at 90.14
pence, having earlier risen to a high of
90.10 pence. “Overall, the BoE’s economic
outlook is relatively less dovish than ex-
pected and the absence of a strong signal
in favour of negative rates opens the door
for further pound gains in the near-term,”
MUFG analysts told clients.
Sterling has risen 8% against the US dollar
since July, with short positions reducing
in the Brexit-battered currency as traders
shifted their negative outlook to the dollar.
The pound has reversed nearly all the
losses sustained against the dollar follow-
ing the selloff in March and April fuelled
by the pandemic though its gains have
been more laboured against the euro and
the yen.
“Today’s update from the BoE has no
doubt triggered a little more short-cover-
ing,” said Chris Turner, ING’s global head
of markets.”Cable may have some more
upside on the back of a powerful dollar
bear-trend — especially if the 1.3200 level
breaks.”
US weekly jobless claims fall, labour market struggling as Covid-19 pandemic spreadsReutersWashington
The number of Americans seeking jobless benefi ts fell last week, but a staggering 31.3mn people were re-
ceiving unemployment checks in mid-July, suggesting the labour market was stalling as the country battles a resurgence in new Covid-19 cases that is threatening a budding economic recovery.
Other data yesterday showed a 54% surge in job cuts announced by employers in July.
The reports followed on the heels of news this week of a sharp step-down in private pay-rolls in July and continued declines in employ-ment at manufacturing and services industries.
“Repeated shutdowns for virus contain-ment remain a threat to the labour market, which is already weak,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Eco-nomics in White Plains, New York.”Without eff ective virus containment the recovery re-mains at risk from ongoing job losses that could further restrain incomes and spending.”
Initial claims for state unemployment ben-efi ts fell 249,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.186mn for the week ended August 1, the La-bour Department said.
That was the lowest since mid-March.Claims remain well above the peak of
695,000 during the 2007-2009 Great Reces-sion. Economists polled by Reuters had fore-cast 1.415mn applications in the latest week.
Coronavirus cases soared across the coun-try last month, forcing authorities in some of the hard-hit areas in the West and South to either shut down businesses again or pause reopenings, sending workers back home.
Though infections have eased about 5% nationally, they jumped last week in Okla-homa, Montana, Missouri and 17 other states.
The public health crisis is hurting demand for goods and services, broadening layoff s to sectors of the economy that were not initially impacted when nonessential businesses like restaurants and bars were shuttered in mid-March to slow the spread of the respiratory ill-ness. Businesses are also cautious about hiring.
Claims topped out at a record 6.867mn in late March. Some economists attributed last week’s drop in claims to the end of a $600 weekly unemployment benefi ts supplement last Friday. They expected further declines in
the weeks ahead. Industry groups had com-plained the supplement was discouraging furloughed and unemployed workers from re-turning to their jobs. “The expiration of these benefi ts last week may have discouraged some job losers from applying, clouding the signal from the claims data,” said Bill Adams, senior economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Last week, 655,707 applications were fi led under the government-funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for gig workers and the self-employed among oth-ers, who do not qualify for regular state un-employment insurance. That was down 253,093 from the prior week.
Other economists, however, expected claims to remain elevated because of weak demand and the expiration of the US govern-ment’s Paycheck Protection Program that gave businesses loans that can be partially forgiven if used for employee pay.
Stocks on Wall Street dipped as inves-tors awaited the government’s new stimulus package to prop up the economy. The dollar
was steady against a basket of currencies. US Treasury prices rose.
Yesterday’s claims report also showed the number of people receiving benefi ts after an initial week of aid totaled 16.107mn in the week ending July 25, from 16.951mn in the prior week.
A total 31.3mn people were receiving un-employment benefi ts under all programmes in the week ending July 18, up 492,816 from the prior week.
Economists said the tens of millions of un-employed workers underscored the need for another aid package.
The White House and Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress are working on the next wave of relief.
“Today’s jobless claims are an ominous sign that many Americans are unable to get back to work after the coronavirus lockdown of the economy earlier this year,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “There aren’t enough dollars fl owing through the economy to help keep it growing if the government stops its support.”
The claims report has no bearing on July’s employment report, which is scheduled for release today, as it falls outside the period during which the government surveyed busi-nesses and households for the nonfarm pay-rolls tally and unemployment rate.
According to a Reuters survey of econo-mists, nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 1.58mn in July, down sharply from the record 4.8mn jobs created in June.
The jobless rate is forecast to fall to 10.5% from 11.1% in June. But July job growth could surprise on the downside.
Data from Homebase, a payroll scheduling and tracking company, showed the small busi-ness recovery stalling in July, with activity de-clining in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus.
The Census Bureau’s Household Pulse sur-vey implied job losses.
A report yesterday from global outplace-ment fi rm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed job cuts announced by US employers surged 54% to 262,649 in July.
Hiring announcements totaled 246,507 last month.
A pedestrian walks past the New York State Department of Labour building in the Queens borough of New York. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 249,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.186mn for the week ended August 1, the Labour Department said yesterday.
AstraZeneca in first Covid-19 vaccine deal with Chinese companyReutersBeijing/Frankfurt
Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products will produce AstraZeneca Plc’s potential Covid-19 vaccine in mainland China, the British drug maker said yesterday, its first deal to supply one of the world’s most populous countries.The deal underscores Astra’s frontrunner position in a global race to deliver an eff ective vaccine, given that Chinese ventures are leading at least eight of the 26 global vaccine development projects currently testing on humans.Under the agreement Shenzhen Kangtai, one of China’s top vaccine makers, will ensure it has annual production capacity of at least 100mn doses of the experimental shot AZD1222, which AstraZeneca co-developed with researchers at Oxford University, by the end of this year, AstraZeneca said.The Shenzhen-based company must have capacity to produce at least 200mn doses by the end of next year as part of the exclusive framework agreement, its statement on the Chinese social media site WeChat said.The two companies will also explore the possibility of co-operation on the vaccine candidate in other markets, AstraZeneca said.They did not respond to requests for further comment. There are no approved vaccines for Covid-19, the highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.AstraZeneca has signed manufacturing deals globally including the United States, Britain, South Korea and Brazil, resulting in a target to make more than 2bn doses of the vaccine.For China, this marks another major deal to secure access to a Covid-19 vaccine developed by a foreign company as the country’s other potential shots under development enter late stage of human trials.Other collaborations between Chinese and Western players include a tie-up between Germany’s BioNTech and Fosun, as well as one between Inovio Pharma and Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology.The scramble for treatments and vaccines to curb the pandemic has boosted global pharmaceutical companies’ shares, particularly those in China.Shenzhen Kangtai’s market value has surged almost 90% to about $20bn over the past month, with shares hitting all-time highs on Tuesday.The Shenzhen-listed stock was down 10% yesterday.In 2019, the company, whose main products are vaccines for Hepatitis B, flu and measles and rubella, reported net profits of 259.8mn yuan ($37.4mn) on revenue of 1.94bn.
Virgin Atlantic logos are seen on the tailfins of aircraft, along with other carriers, at Manchester airport. Without funds, available cash will drop to about £49mn by late September, below the £75mn specified in bondholder contracts, Virgin told a judge on Tuesday.