Thursday, August 24, 2017Dhul-Hijja 2, 1438 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

UK banks set to close 762 branches

CUTTING COSTS | Page 3

Investors want former CEO back

INFOSYS BOARD | Page 5

Qatargas’ Operations Group completes 2 years without LTI

WORLD CLASS SAFETY MILESTONE: Page 16

Qatar Airways Cargo enhances its ‘pharma’ products off eringAirline signs deal with DoKaSch for lease of temperature-controlled active containers for pharmaceutical transportation

Qatar Airways Cargo has signed an agreement with DoKaSch Tem-perature Solutions to off er its ‘Op-

ticooler’ range of temperature-controlled containers, providing Qatar Airways Cargo customers the choice of a range of active containers to transport their phar-maceuticals across the cargo carrier’s ex-tensive global network.

Qatar Airways’ chief offi cer (Cargo) Ulrich Ogiermann said, “We understand the intricacies of a seamless cool chain and always aim to provide value to our customers. Through this agreement with DoKaSch, we have now expanded our active container off ering for customers, presenting our business partners with more options to transport their pharma-ceuticals globally.”

Andreas Seitz, managing director, DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, said, “We are very pleased to make our Opti-cooler containers available through one of the world’s largest international cargo carriers. We are convinced that with Qatar Airways Cargo’s extensive and rapidly-growing network and our joint commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, this partnership will provide a great solution for the global Pharma cool chain.”

The Active Cool Containers RAP and RKN Opticooler are equipped with elec-tric, battery-powered cooling compres-sors and heaters and require no dry ice. This high-end packaging solution safe-guards the effi cacy of vital pharmaceuti-cals throughout the transportation chain.

Valued for their exceptional reliabil-ity and performance in any climate, these active containers keep the cargo within a

temperature range of two to eight degrees Celsius or 15 to 25 degrees Celsius. The system features a straightforward touch-screen interface, making the temperature setting extremely dependable.

Qatar Airways Cargo recently an-nounced the launch of its brand new Climate Control Centre, a 2,470 square metre airside transit facility for tempera-ture-sensitive cargo.

The facility features two temperature-controlled zones operating at both two to eight and 15 to 25 degrees Celsius with a

capacity to hold a total of 156 ULDs (unit load devices) at a time.

Segregated sections within the facility enable storage of pharmaceutical prod-ucts in compliance with Good Distribu-tion Practice (GDP) guidelines.

To ensure complete temperature integ-rity, the facility is equipped with six truck docks, each with infl ated curtains and an anteroom as a staging area.

QR Pharma is Qatar Airways Cargo’s specialist product developed for phar-maceuticals and healthcare cargo. It of-

fers both active solutions to maintain a consistent temperature throughout the transportation chain, as well as passive solutions that handle products within a desired temperature band during all stag-es of the journey.

As an industry leader, the cargo car-rier ensures the fastest transfer at Doha through its unique Quick Ramp Transfer (QRT). It is the only cargo carrier in the Middle East to off er refrigerated or ‘reef-er’ truck services for ramp transfers at its home hub.

Qatar Airways Cargo has invested considerably in “quality” handling, in-frastructure, facilities, people and pro-cedures at each of its pharma stations, underpinning the need for high operating standards for transporting pharmaceuti-cals and healthcare products.

Expertly-trained staff at every pharma destination ensure the cool chain is un-broken. Plans are underway to add IoT devices on board the aircraft that will provide real-time temperature updates, enhancing and completing the end-to-end track and trace service.

The signifi cant investments in the cool chain and expansion of its Pharma net-work is part of the cargo carrier’s strat-egy and commitment to improve and en-hance its product off ering for the benefi t of the pharmaceutical industry globally. The cargo carrier’s QR Pharma volumes have grown by 42% in 2016-17 over 2015-16.

Qatar Airways Cargo’s expanding phar-ma network spans 73 stations, with the recent addition of Colombo on May 15 and Dublin on June 12.

It pioneered industry-leading Pharma Express fl ights from the key pharmaceu-tical hubs of Basel, Brussels, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, supporting the huge pharmaceutical exports from these destinations.

Philippine healthcare CEOs to explore Qatar investment climate

By Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

Executives from a Philippine-based medical organisation are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a local business group in Qatar for a medical facility project in Doha.

Dr Jose Tiongco, CEO of Medical Mission Group Hospitals and Healthcare Cooperative (MMG Hospital group), said the MoU signing will be witnessed by doctors, most of whom are CEOs from the Philippines’ healthcare industry, who will visit Qatar to explore the country’s investment climate.Tiongco said the doctors will be inspecting the site of the proposed medical facility during the visit. Philippine Business Council-Qatar (PBC-Q) adviser Robert Lepon also confirmed that a series of meetings with other potential investors and partners have been arranged during the visit.While in Qatar, 30 CEOs and board members of MMG Hospital group, as well as select members of the Filipino community in Qatar, will also

participate in the two-day ‘CEO Conference and Collegial Meeting’ on Friday (August 25) hosted by PBC-Q.Speaking to Gulf Times yesterday, PBC-Q chairman Greg Loayon said the conference “recognises the ripe potential of Qatar’s business climate.” Loayon said Doha was chosen

as the venue for the conference “to give the CEOs an introduction into Qatar,” where the MMG Hospital group has planned to set up polyclinics and a Filipino hospital.This, according to Loayon, follows a meeting earlier this year between MMG Hospital group and HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, with the Philippine’s Secretary of the Department of Health, Dr Jean Rossell-Ubial, where the group’s

business plans were discussed. “The addition of more medical facilities in Qatar further bolsters the country’s capacity to meet the needs of its population, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030,” Lepon stressed further. In 2015, Tiongco and other executives from MMG Hospital group, under the auspices of the PBC-Q, first held talks with prominent members of the Qatar business community to explore the prospects of a Filipino hospital in Qatar.Earlier, Loayon said Qatar’s government “wants to raise the level of its health industry, hence the country’s expansion of medical facilities, and its focus on the national health insurance system to bring health into the forefront of Qatar.”

Qatar Airways Cargo has invested considerably in “quality” handling, infrastructure, facilities, people and procedures at each of its pharma stations.

Tiongco: Exploring new markets.

IHG to distribute 3% cash dividendsBy Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

Investment Holding Group’s (IHG) general assembly has approved the board’s recommendation to dis-

tribute cash dividends to shareholders at a rate of 3% (for 2016) of the nomi-nal value of the share equivalent to 30 dirhams per share.

The meeting, held at St Regis Ho-tel Doha yesterday, was presided over by Investment Holding Group deputy CEO Mohamed Ghanim al-Hodaifi .

Al-Hodaifi said IHG “is continu-ing to pursue its approach to assert-ing the private sector’s presence in the national economy as a true partner to keep pace with the government’s ef-forts to achieve sustainable social and economic development in line with the priorities of Qatar’s 2030 vision.”

IHG was listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) on August 14.

Al-Hodaifi said the listing of the shares “has enabled all individuals and legal persons to purchase shares on the Qatar Stock Exchange, in accordance with the rules of dealing in the stock ex-change and the laws in force in the State of Qatar.”

“Shares may be freely traded and transferred in accordance with the com-pany’s Articles of Association, the Qatar Financial Market Authority regulations, and the Qatar Stock Exchange rules,” he added. During the listing ceremony of

IHG, QSE CEO Rashid bin Ali al-Man-soori said family companies in Qatar have expressed “a great deal of interest” to list on the QSE. He added that the listing of IHG “would stimulate other

family companies to go public on the QSE.”

“We are pleased to welcome Invest-ment Holding Group into the family of listed companies on the exchange. In-

vestment Holding Group is a company that will increase exchange depth and brings new opportunities to the invest-ing public,” al-Mansoori said during IHG’s listing ceremony.

GCC corporate earnings set to grow in 2017: MarkazGCC corporate earnings are expected to grow by 8.1% for the full year 2017 based on “stabilising oil prices and resilience in margins”, Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) has said in a report.In H1, 2017, GCC corporates posted a negative 1% growth compared to the same period last year, Markaz said. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait were three countries to put up positive earnings performance growing by 7%, 6% and 2% respectively. Saudi Arabia’s earnings growth was largely helped by the positive momentum in its non-oil private sector while Kuwait was largely helped by the positive performance in the commodities sector and its real estate sector. Lower oil prices continued to persist, despite the humongous eff orts taken by the Opec to reduce the supply glut. Brent crude declined by 9.3% in Q2, 2017 closing at $47.92 compared to $52.83 at the end of Q1, 2017. Overall, IPE Brent crude has tumbled 15.7% from the start of 2017 making it the “worst performing” first half for oil since 1998. Lower oil prices results in lower deposits being made into the banks and as result lowers credit being pumped into the economy, Markaz said. As a result of this, it said the banking sector earnings have declined by

1% during H1, 2017 compared to the same period last year. All of the Qatar’s sectors with the exception of banking witnessed declines in their earnings during the first half of this year, Markaz said. Telecom, commodities and financials witnessed a decline of 26%, 32% and 17% respectively. Banking sector witnessed a 1% increase in earnings driven by good performances in QNB and QIB.Qatar’s telecom sector was the “worst performing” sector as Ooredoo witnessed a 26% decline in net profits while Vodafone Qatar is yet to turn profit since its inception, Markaz said.Kuwait’s banking sector suff ered a 2% decline in its earnings during H1, 2017 owing to diff icult credit situations and subdued growth in its local market. National bank of Kuwait, Boubyan Bank and Burgan Bank posted double positive earnings growth of 9%, 15% and 23% respectively. Among the telecom players, Zain posted a negative growth of 8% owing to one-off extraordinary currency devaluation in Sudan. Ooredoo Kuwait witnessed a 21% increase in earnings driven by customer addition and cost-cutting eff orts. Kuwait’s commodities sector performed well driven by increasing commodity prices and posted a 20% increase in its earnings, Markaz said.

IHG deputy CEO Mohamed Ghanim al-Hodaifi presides over the company’s ordinary general assembly meeting in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Anas al-Samaraee

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Thursday, August 24, 20172

Germany’s economy has a troubled industry in the driver’s seatBloombergFrankfurt

Germany’s lingering automaker scandal is taking its toll.In many ways, Europe’s largest economy is looking pretty solid with record-low unemployment and booming exports telling the story of seemingly effortless expansion for most of the past three years. Yet a survey published on Tuesday showing a bigger-than-expected drop in investor confidence specifically cited car manufacturers’ woes — rigging of emissions software and allegations of cartel-building — as a major factor.The industry’s crisis may go well beyond besmirching the reputations of stalwarts such as Volkswagen and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and attracting the ire of Chancellor Angela Merkel. While Germany is famed for the small and medium-sized enterprises dotting its heartland, its economy still relies greatly on the fate of a few large firms, according to Goldman Sachs economist Pierre Vernet.Vernet’s calculations show that individual movements in activity by Germany’s top 35 firms typically

account for roughly 30% of variations in the country’s gross domestic product. Moreover, a large chunk of those are in the automobile sector, which steers about 15% of German GDP fluctuations, compared with about 10% of total gross value added.“The disproportionate impact of these firms on output growth likely reflects important spillover eff ects from German carmakers to a wide range of suppliers, as well as to more domestically oriented activities in locations where these industries are based,” Vernet wrote in a research note last week.“Pinning down Germany’s macroeconomic outlook will require keeping a close eye on the auto sector and the impact of recent large idiosyncratic shocks to it.” What matters for Germany’s economy also matters for the 19- nation euro area, with any slowdown hindering the European Central Bank’s efforts to revive the currency bloc’s consumer-price growth. Policy makers will meet in Frankfurt on September 7 to decide whether they can start signalling the tapering of their bond-buying programme in the first step towards ending monetary stimulus. The

gauge of German investor confidence published by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research can’t have eased worries that the regional recovery isn’t yet quite strong enough. The reading dropped for a third month in August, by a greater magnitude than economists had forecast, and is now the weakest since October. While the impact of a strengthening euro is part of the

concern, automakers can share the blame, said ZEW President Achim Wambach.“The significant decrease of the ZEW economic sentiment indicator reflects the high degree of nervousness over the future path of growth in Germany. Both weaker than expected German exports as well as the widening scandal in the German automobile sector in particular have helped

contribute to this situation.” The emissions-cheating scandal at VW was uncovered nearly two years ago, but the fallout continues to plague the industry. Extra regulatory scrutiny has been imposed and some 5mn diesel cars were recently recalled in Germany. In addition, a lawsuit filed in San Francisco last month alleges that BMW, Daimler, VW and its Audi and Porsche brands shared

competitive information about vehicle technologies with one another from 1996 through at least 2015 in violation of antitrust laws. In conjunction with Germany’s regulator, the European Union’s antitrust overseer has said it’s studying possible collusion among auto manufacturers.Sales have slowed. Germany’s 3.1% car-market growth in the first half of this year lagged behind a Europe-wide gain of 4.6%, and VW has said that it sees intensifying headwinds ahead.Vernet isn’t the only one watching the auto sector as a potential culprit for future economic weakness. The Bundesbank on Monday inserted a line in its monthly report about the impact of potentially phasing out diesel cars through quotas or by introducing bans in certain cities.“The discussion over driving prohibitions for older diesel vehicles in some German cities has so far barely left marks on sentiment among companies in the motor vehicle industry. Further developments remain to be seen.”While that line doesn’t ring alarm bells just yet, it does show that the German central bank, at least, is keeping its eyes on the road ahead.

World’s biggest wealth fund looks beyond risk in stock splurgeBloombergOslo

As many investors ques-tion a global stock-mar-ket rally that’s now in

its eighth year, the world’s big-gest wealth fund is prepared to splurge.

Norway’s $970bn wealth fund has been ordered to raise its stock holdings to 70% from 60% in an eff ort to boost returns and safeguard the country’s oil rich-es for future generations. Any short-term view on growing risks will play little part, accord-ing to Trond Grande, the fund’s deputy chief executive.

“We don’t have any views on whether the market is priced high or low, whether bonds and stocks are expensive or cheap,” he said in an interview after presenting second-quarter re-turns in Oslo yesterday. The decision to add stocks “was made at a strategic level, on a long-term expected excess re-turn that we’re willing to take risk to achieve. And parliament has said that they wish to spend some time to phase in that in-crease.”

The fund has doubled in value over the past fi ve years and is continually adding risk to its portfolio. It returned 202bn ($26bn) kroner in the second quarter, and 499bn kroner in the fi rst half, the best on record for the period.

Owning 1.3% of global stocks, the Norwegian fund largely fol-lows indexes but is allowed some active management of its portfolio. It has been expanding more into emerging markets and recently got permission to raise its stock holdings after Norway last year started withdrawing cash from the fund for the fi rst time.

While the investor can look beyond short-term, or even me-dium-term volatility, it does see potential risks. Chief executive offi cer Yngve Slyngstad in April said that the fund had turned a bit “cautious” on stocks. But in

practical terms, that means very little. “It doesn’t lead to any-thing in concrete terms, other than the fact that we’re keeping a close eye on the indicators that could indicate whether there’s a risk there, and what they’re say-ing,” Grande said. “Some risk in-dicators have actually not shown underlying risk — take growth for example. So you should be a

little cautious when the skies are all blue.” The fund held 65.1% in stocks in the quarter, 32.4% in bonds and 2.5% in proper-ties. Its mandate is now to keep about 70% in stocks, 30% in bonds, with about 7% in real es-tate that’s now separate from the main portfolio.

The Finance Ministry is cur-rently working on a plan on how

to move the portfolio to 70% and the fund will stick to that, Grande said.

The fund also indicated it can withstand pressure on its bal-ance sheet from government withdrawals. Norway started taking money out of the fund last year for the fi rst time to cover budget shortfalls after oil revenue slumped. The govern-

ment withdrew 16bn kroner in the second quarter, reaching about 36bn kroner so far. It has fl agged it will take out just a little bit above 70bn kroner.

Norges Bank deputy governor Egil Matsen, who’s in charge of oversight of the fund, says it’s liquid and can fi nance new real estate purchases from a steady income stream.w

PM says time for govt spending to ‘take a step back’ReutersOslo

Norway’s economic growth will exceed its historical average in 2018, and the government should “take a step back” on fiscal spending, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said yesterday.The economy of western Europe’s top producer of oil and gas was hit by a sharp fall in the price of crude from 2014 to 2016, but growth has since picked up along with a partial recovery in oil prices.“It was right to spend more money when that was needed, but now

it’s time to take a step back,” Solberg told a news conference ahead of a two-day government budget conference.“Next year we expect the mainland economy to grow more rapidly than its historical average,” she added.The annual spending of cash from the country’s $975bn sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, should stay at 3% or below, Solberg said.With less than three weeks to go before parliamentary elections, opinion polls show the minority right-wing government and its centrist backers are locked in a too-close-to-call race with the centre-left opposition.

Central bank brings home gold reserves ahead of scheduleReutersFrankfurt

Germany’s central bank has brought much of its gold reserve back to Frankfurt, the Bundesbank said yesterday, restoring a bulwark of economic stability the country had stashed away at the height of the Cold War.Guarded well out of Moscow’s reach in safe havens like New York, London and Paris, the 3,378-tonne, €140bn gold stockpile had been a symbol of Germany’s ascent, insulating the economy even when others struggled.But as the rest of the eurozone stumbled from crisis to crisis over the past decade, the German public grew uneasy about keeping the gold abroad. Some even questioned whether the gold is still there.

In secretive operation spanning five years, the Bundesbank moved 674 tonnes of gold back from the Banque de France in Paris and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.Just over half of all Bundesbank gold is now stored in its own vaults in Frankfurt.Most of the rest — 1,236 tonnes — will remain in New York indefinitely.A smaller portion, 432 tonnes, will be held at the Bank of England in London.Hoping to soothe the public and ease speculation about the existence of the gold, the Bundesbank released a 2,300-page list of gold bars in 2015, promising increased transparency to calm wary Germans.During the Cold War, 98% of the gold was stored abroad.The biggest chunk moved so far, some 931 tonnes, was brought back from the Bank of England in 2000.

“It was right to spend more money when that was needed, but now it’s time to take a step back,” says Solberg.

Google and Walmart team up to take on AmazonAFPSan Francisco

Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, and Google, the Inter-

net’s predominant search en-gine, are teaming up in an at-tempt to challenge Amazon’s growing dominance in online shopping.

The deal will make the re-tailer’s products available on Google Express, and follows Amazon’s announcement that it plans to acquire supermarket chain Whole Foods.

“Starting in late September, we’ll be working with Google to off er hundreds of thousands of items for voice shopping via Google Assistant — the larg-est number of items currently off ered by a retailer through the platform,” Marc Lore, Wal-mart’s head of e-commerce, said in a blog post late on Tues-day.

Walmart will integrate Google Express, which already lets people purchase products from a large range of brands, such as Costco and the phar-macy Walgreen’s, into its own platform.

“If you’re an existing Wal-mart customer, you can choose to link your Walmart account to Google and receive personal-ised shopping results based on your online and in-store Wal-mart purchases,” Google said in a statement.

Walmart’s third-quarter re-sults, released this month, once again highlighted its persistent lag behind Amazon, even if the numbers were better than ex-pected.

Walmart US, the biggest division at Wal-Mart Stores, posted a 1.8% rise in compara-ble sales in the second quarter from the year earlier, with rev-enues rising 2.1% to $123.4bn.

But net income fell 23.2% to $2.9bn, refl ecting more aggres-sive spending on e-commerce and a willingness to compete by lower prices, as well as costs of $788mn connected to a debt payment.

Walmart holds the biggest share of the US grocery market

of any retailer, with a network of nearly 4,700 stores that the company says are located with-in 10 miles of about 90% of the US population.

But it has faced increasingly stiff competition from Ama-zon, which is set to ramp up to a new level with the tech giant’s impending purchase of Whole Foods Market.

According to Internet Re-tailer, citing fi gures from the Department of Commerce, Amazon accounted for 38% of all online sales in the second quarter and contributed to half of all growth in US Internet commerce over the period.

But it remains behind Wal-mart when it comes to US dis-tribution as a whole, with the two companies accounting for 2.8% and 6.3% of the market respectively last year.

Walmart has made several acquisitions in recent years to try to catch up, including the purchase of Jet.com last year for about $3bn. It has also started to deliver groceries in some cities via partnerships with Uber and Lyft.

Google is also looking to ex-pand its activities in online shopping, grouped together under its Google Home brand.

Under the new partnership, shoppers can make purchas-es via voice-enabled Google Home devices, as Amazon does with its Alexa-enabled Echo devices.

Falling Irish jobless rate still some way from stoking wage pressureReutersDublin

Ireland’s labour market has more spare capacity than offi cial jobless numbers indicate, a study by two

central bank economists showed yes-terday, suggesting potential for a fur-ther fall before major wage pressures emerge.

Ireland’s economy has grown faster

than any other in the European Union for the last three years and is showing few signs of slowing down, prompt-ing policymakers to warn that it could overheat in the coming years. It did this to devastating eff ect in the lead up to the fi nancial crash around 2008.

But if wage pressure holds off , the risk of such overheating diminishes.

Overall infl ation was minus 0.2% at the end of July.

The government, central bank and

independent fi scal watchdog all agree that although unemployment has fallen sharply to 6.4%, the economy is not overheating at present with infl a-tion fl at and annual wages growing at a steady 1.4%.

The research yesterday calculated that there was a higher level of labour underu-tilisation than suggested by the standard unemployment rate which only includes individuals who are actively looking for work and are available to start imminent-

ly. When part time workers willing to work more hours and all non-employed individuals, such as those who stopped searching for work following Ireland eco-nomic crisis a decade ago, are added the central bank economists said Ireland had a non-employment rate of 9.4% at the end of 2016.

“Our analysis suggests that there may be some scope for the unemploy-ment rate to fall further before signifi -cant wage pressures emerge, but labour

supply conditions are tightening as a strong recovery continues,” the study said.

“A high degree of labour underu-tilisation indicates that the economy could continue to grow strongly with-out an immediate risk of overheating.”

Similar research from the European Central Bank (ECB) in May suggested that labour market slack across the eu-rozone stood at around 15% at the time, well above the offi cial 9.5% unemploy-

ment rate and explaining why wage growth has been unexpectedly weak.

Irish Central Bank Governor Philip Lane said last month that Ireland may need to cool parts of its economy in a couple of years time, potentially by raising taxes, if the fast-growing econ-omy reaches full employment.

Full employment means that just about everyone who wants a job has one, a situation which leads to work-force shortages and wage infl ation.

The deal will make Walmart’s products available on Google Express, and follows Amazon’s announcement that it plans to acquire supermarket chain Whole Foods

BUSINESS3Gulf Times

Thursday, August 24, 2017

British banks set to close 762 branches this yearClosures accelerate as lenders cut costs; rural communities vulnerable as banks favour cities; post off ice, smaller banks off er some relief

ReutersLondon

Banks in Britain are set to close a record 762 branches this year, depriving more customers of ac-

cess to in-person fi nancial services as lenders cut costs by pushing business online.

The number of branches shut or ear-marked for closure so far this year is more than the 583 closed in 2016 and is the most on record, according to a Reuters analysis of bank announce-ments, academic studies and govern-ment data.

Banks and building societies in Brit-ain have been shutting branches at a rate of around 300 per year since 1989, a trend which has accelerated in recent years as lenders respond to pressure on profi ts by slashing costly brick-and-mortar outlets.

Royal Bank of Scotland is set to close 244 branches this year, Lloyds Banking Group will shut 195, while HSBC and Barclays will close 117 and 90 to 100 respectively.

That will leave Britain with around 8,000 bank branches by the end of the year, according to a Reuters calcula-tion of the bank’s statements, com-pared with 17,831 in 1989, according to data from the University of Not-tingham.

The accelerating pace of closures has caused concern among lawmakers and campaigners, who say it is often the most vulnerable customers and busi-nesses that bear the brunt as banks consolidate branches in big cities.

Reuters reported in June last year that Britain’s largest banks are dispro-portionately closing branches in the lowest-income areas.

Politicians in a subsequent par-liamentary debate said the fi ndings showed the “quiet scandal” of branch closures, which research has showed can also halve lending to small busi-

nesses in impacted areas.Bank executives say they are re-

sponding to changing patterns of cus-tomer behaviour and that they are pro-viding alternatives for those who can’t or won’t bank online.

A spokeswoman for Co-Operative Bank, set to shut 10 branches this year, said for example its customers can do

everyday transactions in any of 11,500 Post Offi ce branches in Britain. Bar-clays also said it provides banking ac-cess via some Post Offi ce outlets, as well as off ering some pop-up branches and video banking services, while a spokeswoman for banking industry body UK Finance said banks are in-vesting in new ATMs and mobile bank

branches to reach more rural commu-nities. Some newer competitors are also bucking the trend by growing their branch network.

Swedish lender Handelsbanken, which operates more than 200 branch-es in Britain, said in February it will keep expanding to take advantage as rivals scale back.

Metro Bank has opened 48 outlets since it started in July 2010 and plans to open a further eight to 10 this year, with a goal of growing to 110 by 2020, a spokeswoman said.

The bank’s strategy, however, in common with most rivals, is to target major towns and cities, meaning gaps left in rural areas by the retreat of major lenders are unlikely to be plugged in the near future.

Nationwide in April this year of-fered a crumb of comfort to such ar-eas, opening a community-supported branch in the Somerset town of Glas-tonbury which last year lost its remain-ing bank branches.

It said it may open more such out-lets, depending on the support of local communities.

Despite such measures, campaign-ers have been wondering how many bank branches will be left given the UK has around 25 per 100,000 adults, ac-cording to data from the World Bank and Citigroup, compared with just 17 in the Nordic countries which are seen as pioneers in the transition to mobile and digital banking.

Derek French, a former banker who founded the Campaign for Commu-nity Banking Services, said last August the campaign would close because he did not want to mislead the public into thinking they could do anything about bank branch closures.

“There’s no hope of changing any-thing,” French told British newspapers. “We’re realists.”

Chevron CEO Watson to step down, Wirth likely successor: SourceReutersHouston

Chevron Corp chief executive John Watson will step down by the end of next month and likely

be replaced by vice chairman Mike Wirth, a source familiar with the mat-ter told Reuters yesterday.

The unexpected shake-up at one of the world’s largest oil and natural gas producers comes as pressure grows on the industry to further cut costs and control spending.

In Wirth, Chevron would pivot to a leader with experience in refi ning, where costs are regularly scrutinised down to the fraction of a penny.

The move would copy rival Exxon Mobil Corp, which earlier this year named refi ning expert Darren Woods as its own CEO, a step widely seen as prioritising cash generation to protect payouts to shareholders above pricey exploration projects.

The CEOs of rivals Total and Royal Dutch Shell also have experience in re-fi ning.

Chevron’s shares are up about 35% since Watson took over as CEO in Jan-uary 2010, but the Dow Jones indus-trial average has more than doubled in that time.

The company’s shares are trading at the same level they were in early 2011.

Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson declined to comment.

Neither Watson nor Wirth respond-ed to requests for comment.

The California-based company is emerging from a global commodity price slump and is beginning to reap the fruits of a multibillion-dollar ex-pansion spree.

The exit is not acrimonious and Watson sees it as an opportunity to hand over the reins of a growing enter-prise to Wirth, according to the source.

“He may see it as a good time to step down and allow fresh management to take Chevron further,” said Brendan Warn, an equity analyst with BMO Capital Markets, which advises clients to buy Chevron’s stock.

The company’s growth under Watson has not been painless.

Chevron has struggled with cost overruns at two Australian liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) projects, faced ma-

jor engineering challenges at its US Gulf of Mexico expansions, and is now contending with growing uncertainty about its operations in strife-torn Ven-ezuela, where it is the only remaining major US oil producer.

One of the Australian LNG projects has now come online, and the other is expected to by next month.

Combined, the two are expected to fund half the company’s dividend by 2019.

Watson made no major acquisitions during his leadership, ceding growth opportunities to rivals.

Former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, for example, bought natural gas producer XTO Energy during his tenure and rap-idly expanded into Qatar’s LNG sector.

Watson, who has fi ve years remain-ing before he hits Chevron’s manda-tory retirement age of 65, stuck to projects already in the planning stages when he became CEO in January 2010, rather than coming up with new deal or expansion ideas.

Watson’s predecessor, David O’Reilly, retired at 62.

The change at the top of the com-pany, fi rst reported by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, did not shake mar-kets.

Shares of Chevron rose less than 1% to close at $106.36.

Watson is expected to stay on the company’s board of directors for a pe-riod of time as Wirth grows into the

CEO role, according to the source. Like many of the company’s execu-tives, Watson has worked at Chevron his entire career and is the product of an internal talent development pro-gramme.

“It would be hard to sit there and say that John Watson did a bad job as CEO,” said Oliver Pursche of wealth manager Bruderman Brothers LLC, which holds shares in the company.”When we think about how Chevron has run its diff er-ent business lines during the oil price slump, they’ve managed very well.”

Wirth, 56, has been vice chairman since February and runs the company’s pipeline division.

He previously ran Chevron’s refi ning unit, which has grown rapidly in re-cent years, with the company investing heavily in expansion and renovations.

Chevron last month posted higher-than-expected second-quarter profi ts on higher production and oil prices and lower spending on large projects.

Under Watson the company has been shifting additional resources to shale oil projects that promise quicker returns, but nearly all of that shale acreage has been in the company’s portfolio since the 1930s.

Watson, an economist by training, rose through the company’s ranks, served as its chief fi nancial offi cer, and earlier oversaw the integration of Texaco operations following the 2000 acquisition.

A view of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s headquarters in London. RBS is set to close 244 branches this year, according to a Reuters analysis of bank announcements, academic studies and government data.

Air Berlin creditors meet as bidders jockey for positionReutersBerlin

Air Berlin’s creditors were meet-

ing yesterday for the first time

as bidders jostle for position for

the insolvent carrier’s assets,

although major progress is not

expected yet, sources said.

Air Berlin, which is being kept

in the air thanks to a €150mn

($177mn) government loan, has

been in talks with parties in-

terested in its assets since last

week, when it filed for insolven-

cy after major shareholder, Gulf

carrier Etihad, said it would no

longer provide funding.

Chief executive Thomas Winkel-

mann has said time is of the es-

sence and wants a deal before

the end of September.

Lufthansa, which was first in

line for talks, is interested in

taking on dozens of planes and

Austrian unit Niki, sources fa-

miliar with the matter have told

Reuters. Thomas Cook, which

owns German airline Condor,

has expressed interest in the

process, while easyJet is also

said to be weighing up assets.

TUI is involved as it seeks a

solution for 14 crewed planes

that its TUIfly unit rents to Air

Berlin.

Ryanair said it would be inter-

ested in a bid but complained it

hadn’t been invited to join the

process, which it sees as heavily

favoured to Lufthansa.

Media reports have sug-

gested initial results could be

announced on Wednesday,

perhaps with a deal for Niki.

But a source familiar with

the matter told Reuters said

that that was unlikely and the

meeting would deal more with

formalities.

Watson: Cost-cutting?

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Thursday, August 24, 20174

China’s trade with North Korea slows in July as coal ban bitesReutersBeijing

China’s trade with North Korea fell in July from a month ear-lier, data showed yesterday, as a

ban on coal purchases from its isolated neighbour slowed imports amid grow-ing pressure from the United States to rein in Pyongyang’s missile programme.

The world’s second-largest economy imported and exported goods worth $456mn in July, down from $489mn in June, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.

It was up from $426mn in July last year, according to data on the customs website.

Year-to-date, trade was up 10.2% at $3.01bn.

The data indicates that China’s move to halt North Korean coal imports in February has crimped Pyongyang’s ability to raise hard currency through exports. Iron ore arrivals from North Korea in July also sank to their weakest since February, while China’s gasoline exports to the isolated state hit their lowest since January 2016.

China’s imports from North Ko-rea were $156mn, down 3% from last month and a third lower than a year ago, based on data on the customs website.

For January-July, imports were $1.04bn, down 16.3%.

Exports were $300mn, down from $327mn in June, but up from $194mn in July last year.

Year-to-date, they were up a third at $1.97bn.

On August 6, the United Nations Se-curity Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea banning exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood, in a bid to choke off a third of Pyongyang’s $3bn in annual ex-port revenue.

The crackdown on major commod-ity exports was aimed as punishment for intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in July and is due to take eff ect in early September.

Last week, Beijing issued an offi cial

ban on the imports eff ective from Au-gust 15 as it moved to implement the sanctions.

Sources told Reuters China was also pressuring its iron ore traders to stop buying the commodity from North Ko-

rea, tightening the screws on Pyongyang even before sanctions.

The data also comes after state-owned China National Petroleum Corp suspended sales of fuel to North Korea in June over concerns it wouldn’t get

paid, cutting off crucial supplies.The suspension is still in place.These kinds of actions have been

at the centre of US President Donald Trump’s calls for Beijing to exert more economic and diplomatic pressure on

North Korea to help rein in its nuclear and missile programmes. On Tuesday, the United States imposed new sanc-tions, targeting Chinese and Russian fi rms and individuals for supporting Pyongyang’s weapons programmes.

India to speed up state-run banks’ mergers for broader economic revivalCabinet approves mechanism to oversee state bank mergers; finance minister says proposals to come from bank boards; state-run banks hold lion’s share of $150bn in sour assets

ReutersNew Delhi

India approved a proposal yesterday to

set up a ministerial panel to speed up

consolidation of state-run banks as part of

its eff orts to revive credit and economic

growth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will

name the members of the panel, which

will oversee proposals for mergers from

the boards of the banks, Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley said after a meeting of the

federal cabinet.

New Delhi owns majority stakes in 21

lenders, which account for more than

two-thirds of banking assets in Asia’s

third-biggest economy.

But these banks also account for the

lion’s share of more than $150bn in sour

assets plaguing the sector, and need

billions of dollars in new capital in the

next two years to meet global Basel III

capital norms. Banking sector reforms are

a major plank of Modi’s administration to

revive credit growth, which has slowed to

multi-decade lows as banks struggle with

bad loans.

After top lender State Bank of India

merged with its five subsidiary banks and

also took over a niche state-run lender for

women earlier this year, off icials have said

that more deals are being planned.

“The object is to create strong banks,”

Jaitley told reporters, adding decisions

would be solely based on “commercial

considerations”.

The minister also said the onus of

initiating such merger proposals would be

on the boards of the banks.

Local ratings agency CRISIL, a unit of

Standard & Poor’s, said the new mecha-

nism was an important first step towards

kick-starting the consolidation process.

While analysts and investors have

hailed the government’s plan to have few-

er but nimbler banks, they are sceptical of

the benefits of merging two or more weak

banks or a weak bank with a stronger

bank that could strain the stronger entity.

Bank employee unions have also op-

posed merger proposals over concerns

they could lead to job losses.

A million bank workers observed a

one-day strike on Tuesday opposing bank

mergers. Nine of the 21 state-run banks

reported a net loss for the last financial

year ended March. Thirteen had posted

losses the previous financial year.

Non-performing loans in the state

banking sector have more than doubled

in the past two years and were 12.5% of

their total loans at the end of March.

Including restructured loans, total

stressed assets were more than 15%,

central bank data shows.

State-run banks as a group had a nega-

tive return on assets at the end of March,

the central bank said.

State lenders’ shares rose after the

cabinet approval with the Nifty state bank

index closing 2.1% higher in the Mumbai

market that gained 0.9%. Punjab National

Bank, the second-biggest government-

owned lender by assets, gained 3.4%,

while No 3 Bank of Baroda added 1.2%.

Canara Bank rose 2.9%.

Containers are seen unloaded from the Maersk’s Triple-E giant ship at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai. China’s imports from North Korea were $156mn, down 3% from last month and a third lower than a year ago, based on data on the customs website.

BHP Billiton to replace 2 directorsin board shake-up

ReutersSydney

Global miner BHP Billiton yesterday unveiled a board shakeup that will

see controversial director Grant King step down six months af-ter joining the company amid concerns among investors over oil investments.

King, a former chief execu-tive of Origin Energy, was once tipped to succeed Jac Nasser as chairman of the world’s big-gest mining company, but was passed over earlier this year for fellow board member Ken Mac-Kenzie.

“Owing to concerns ex-pressed by some investors, Grant King has decided that he will not stand for election at the 2017 annual general meet-ings of BHP, and will retire from the board on August 31, 2017,” Nasser said in a statement.

BHP’s stock was trading about a half-per cent higher at A$26.55 a share at 0400 GMT, in a weaker overall market, having also risen on Tuesday after its full-year results.

BHP is under pressure from investors led by hedge funds Elliott Management and Tribe-ca Investment Partners to re-think its investment in oil and boost shareholder returns.

The company said on Tues-day it would exit its underper-forming US shale oil and gas assets.

Tribeca, which in May called for a sale of BHP’s shale assets, a return of capital, and a board and management revamp, wel-comed the board changes.

“We would like to see more of it for this company in com-ing quarters,” said Craig Evans, the co-portfolio manager of the Tribeca Natural Resources Fund.

Elliott declined a request for comment.

King oversaw dramatic growth at energy retailer Origin during a 16-year stint as man-aging director.

However, a decision to build an A$25bn ($19.7bn) liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant led to a plunge in the company’s share price in 2015 when oil prices plunged just as its debt peaked.

BHP unveiled the board changes a day after reporting a surge in underlying annual profit to $6.7bn.

At the same time it sought to reassure investors it would al-locate future capital with cau-tion and use excess cash to cut debt and reward shareholders.

Another director, Malcolm Brinded will not to stand for re-election as a non-executive director, BHP said.

BHP named two new inde-pendent non-executive direc-tors, Terry Bowen, a finance director for Australian retail and mining conglomerate Wes-farmers Ltd and John Mogford, a former BP Plc executive.

The pair will take up their roles on October 1.

MacKenzie has spent the past two months sounding out shareholders ahead of his Sep-tember1 start date, BHP has said.

“It generally starts at the board level for a good company and I think BHP’s was under-experienced in the space and not focused enough on the job of being board members for a company of this size and com-plexity,” Tribeca’s Evans said.

“One of the reasons we sup-ported Ken (MacKenzie) with-out hesitation is that he has very few obligations outside of this role.”

Superblock to invest $600mn yearlyReutersBangkok

Thailand’s Superblock PCL, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest renewable energy

producers, plans to spend up to 20bn baht ($602mn) per year on expansion at home and abroad to tap rising demand for green en-ergy, its chairman said.

As part of plans to more than double power generation capac-ity by 2021 from 845 megawatts (MW) currently, Jormsup Lo-chaya told Reuters in an inter-view his company signed a deal to develop new wind power projects in Vietnam last week with com-bined capacity of 700 MW.

“Over the next three-four years, we want to have more than 2,000 MW, which will come

from investment in Thailand and overseas,” the executive said, speaking in an interview late on Tuesday.

Jormsup said Superblock also plans massive expansion in Chi-na – raising its solar capacity there from just 30 MW to 1,000 MW over the next three years.

Superblock, which previ-ously made building materials, is among Thai fi rms shifting to renewables like solar and wind to benefi t from a government drive to promote renewable energy.

Thailand is leading a nascent boom in Southeast Asian renew-able power generation, which has already taken off in countries from China to India and Japan.

Combined global wind and solar power capacity has soared from just 18,600 MW in 2000 to 763,000 MW in 2016, according

to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), outpac-ing expansion in other fuels.

Superblock plans to invest 15bn to 20bn baht per year, large-ly in renewables.

“We are looking at several power deals but expect to fi nalise one later this year,” he said.

Sources of fi nance will include a 10bn baht infrastructure fund the fi rm plans to launch late this year, he added.

The fi rm aims to grow quickly, targeting revenue of 9bn baht to 10bn baht this year, more than double the 3.8bn baht it booked last year, he said.

As part of its expansion, Jorm-sup said that Superblock plans to list a subsidiary, Super Solar Energy, on the Thai bourse next year.

Jormsup said demand for re-

newables was strong in Vietnam, where the deal signed last week covers the development of six wind power projects.

“Foreign direct investment is fl owing into Vietnam... so demand for electricity will in-crease,” he said. “Nuclear is banned there and people don’t like coal, so they will turn to re-newable energy more.”

The company also plans to in-vest in solar power in Vietnam, he said.

Vietnam is struggling to meet its soaring electricity demand growth of around 11% a year and wants to boost its renewable en-ergy output amid rising resourc-es scarcity and environmental concerns. As well as Vietnam and China, Superblock also plans to invest in Japan, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, the executive said.

Beijing’s July gasoline exports to N Korea almost wiped outReutersBeijing

China’s gasoline exports to North Korea

evaporated to a dribble in July, according

to customs data, the strongest sign yet

that the suspension of sales of the fuel

by state oil major CNPC has cut critical

supplies to its isolated neighbour.

Beijing’s General Administration of

Customs said yesterday Chinese ship-

ments of gasoline dropped 97% from a

year ago to just 120 tonnes of the fuel –

worth little more than $100,000.

The number was down from 8,262

tonnes in June. Monthly fluctuations in

the data are not unusual, but this was the

fourth-lowest volume on Reuters’ records

of customs data going back to January

2010.

Customs data also showed China’s

trade with North Korea fell last month as

a ban on coal purchases from its isolated

neighbour slowed imports amid growing

pressure from the United States to rein in

Pyongyang’s missile programme.

A prolonged supply cut would threat-

en critical supplies of fuel and could

force North Korea to find alternatives to

its main supplier amid international pres-

sure on Pyongyang to curb its nuclear

and missile programmes. At the end of

June, Reuters reported China National

Petroleum Corp (CNPC) suspended sales

of gasoline and fuel to North Korea over

concerns CNPC would not get paid for

its goods.

Fuel prices in the country surged

following the cut and the measure is

still in place, people familiar with the

matter say. “This confirms that CNPC

has truly stopped supplies,” said one

Beijing-based trading source familiar

with China’s oil transactions with

North Korea. “The amount is so small,

it’s what would typically be lost during

transportation.” Gasoline typically

accounts for the bulk of fuel exports

to North Korea, but July data showed

the biofuel, ethanol, took the top spot

with shipments of 4,137 cubic metres,

worth $1.9mn.

Meanwhile China’s iron ore imports

from North Korea fell sharply in July, the

month before the United Nations passed

a vote to impose tougher sanctions on

Pyongyang.

The United Nations Security Council

unanimously imposed new sanctions

on North Korea targeting its exports of

coal, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood

in sanctions to take eff ect in early Sep-

tember.

Arrivals of iron ore fell 24.5% in July

from the same month a year earlier to

175,980 tonnes.

That’s down 21% from June and the

lowest since February, according to

customs’ records.

Beijing had pressed traders to stop

buying from the country even before the

United Nations Security Council vote on

further sanctions to rein in Pyongyang’s

missile and nuclear programme, a

sign of China tightening the screws on

Pyongyang.

In July, China bought no coal from

North Korea, the fifth month after Beijing

halted coal shipments in February.

A view of a solar power plant by Superblock in Phetchaburi province, Thailand. The company is among Thai firms shifting to renewables like solar and wind to benefit from a government drive to promote renewable energy.

BUSINESS5Gulf Times

Thursday, August 24, 2017

ReutersMumbai

A group of 12 major institutional investors in Infosys Ltd has asked the Indian IT services company

to bring former CEO Nandan Nilekani back on to its board to try to resolve a feud with the company’s founders.

The Infosys board has been locked in a public dispute since February with the founders, led by former chairman Narayana Murthy, who have accused the directors of governance lapses.

The diff erences prompted its chief executive Vishal Sikka to resign on Fri-day, sparking a sell-off that has wiped over $4.5bn from Infosys’ market capi-talisation over the last four trading ses-sions.

“The recent developments are very concerning to each one of us,” the in-vestors, comprising large mutual funds and insurance companies, said in their letter, adding Infosys should consider inviting Nilekani to the board in a “suit-able capacity.”

Nilekani, one of the company’s co-founders, who served as its CEO from 2002 to 2007, could not be reached for comment.

The investors, which include HDFC Asset Management, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and Birla SunLife Asset Management, among others, added that Nilekani’s return would be welcomed as he enjoys the confi dence of clients, shareholders and employees.

“Given his credentials, we feel, that his joining the board at this stage, will restore confi dence of stakeholders in the company and also facilitate resolu-tion of the contentious issues that In-fosys is facing presently,” said the funds in a letter, the contents of which were reviewed by Reuters.

The group of institutions, who have signed the letter to the Infosys board, together own roughly 10% of the com-pany’s shares, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Separately, local business news chan-nel CNBC TV18 citing unnamed sourc-es, reported yesterday that Nilekani was set to return to Infosys, without provid-ing specifi c details.

Shares in Infosys which had fallen nearly 15% in the fi rst two days follow-ing Sikka’s exit rallied 2% yesterday fol-lowing news that Nilekani may return – a move that could well bring the acri-monious dispute to a close.

The retired founder executives and their families together own about 12.75% of Infosys’ shares.

On an investor call last week, Infosys repeatedly assured shareholders and analysts that it would work to end the dispute soon and ensure that its new permanent CEO, when named, would not be distracted by the issue.

“It cannot continue in this fashion.I’m always an optimist, and I believe

that in the coming weeks we’ll have to fi nd ways to put this decisively to bed,” said Infosys Co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan on Friday’s call.

Investors want Nilekani to return to Infosys board

Nilekani: Enjoying the confidence of clients, shareholders and employees.

Reliance to boost profi t, naphtha exports by using ethaneReutersMumbai/Singapore

India’s Reliance Industries Ltd expects to increase operating profi t and naphtha exports as

it switches to cheaper ethane at its petrochemical projects, a company executive said yesterday.

Reliance’s annual naphtha exports will rise by 500,000 tonnes this fi s-cal year, said Vipul Shah, chief op-erating offi cer for petrochemicals at Reliance.

Asia is structurally short of naph-tha and relies on the West and Mid-dle East to fi ll most of the gaps.

Reliance, owner of the world’s biggest refi ning complex and also a leading petrochemicals player, on average exports more than 200,000 tonnes of naphtha in a month.

Reliance aims to import 1.4mn tonnes of ethane from North Amer-ica in 2017/18, rising to 1.6mn tonnes from the next fi scal year, said Shah at

a conference. The conglomerate will use ethane at its crackers at Dahej, Hazira and Nagothane in western India.

Previously, the Dahej and Nagoth-ane plants were running on gas, while Hazira was using naphtha as feedstock.

“Since we will be able to bring in 1.4mn tonnes of ethane our operat-ing profi t can go up by $300mn this fi scal year,” Shah said.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance has been posting robust petchem operating profi t margins.

They hit at an all-time high of 15.8% in the June quarter, it said last month.

Shah expects the company’s oper-ating profi t to rise by up to $400mn in the 2018-19 fi scal year if market dynamics do not change signifi cant-ly. To cut its operating costs, Reli-ance has bought six very large ethane carriers.

Reliance has no plans to convert its

naphtha-based cracker at Vadodra in western Gujarat state to ethane, Shah added.

Additional naphtha exports from Reliance are expected to have little impact on the market, trade sources said, although it depends on cargoes arriving in Asia from the Middle East and the West, including Europe.

“The impact should not be that bad. It works out to an addition of one to two medium range (MR) size tankers of naphtha more (in a month),” said a Singapore-based trader.

One MR cargo is about 30,000 tonnes.

South Korea alone, which is Asia’s top naphtha importer by country, imports more than 1.2mn tonnes of naphtha a month.

Naphtha prices have been recover-ing due to strong demand, as the high cost of liquefi ed petroleum gas (LPG) prices prompted buyers to use more naphtha. LPG can replace at least 5% of naphtha in some Asian crackers.

China’s COFCO plans sale of Nidera in divestment effortReutersHong Kong

After paying hundreds of

millions of dollars for Dutch-

based grains trader Nidera in a

three-year takeover completed

just months ago, Chinese state-

owned food group COFCO is

considering selling the troubled

business, according to people

familiar with its plans.

Aiming to become a stronger

global player, COFCO had

hoped to combine Nidera with

Noble Agri, a unit of Singapore-

listed trading house Noble

Group, which it also began

buying in 2014.

Any sale would mark an

abrupt change in strategy, as

COFCO looks to restructure

its business as part of wide-

ranging reforms of China’s

state-owned companies.

Two sources say COFCO

has tapped investment bank

Morgan Stanley to work on

plans to sell.

Unforeseen losses racked up

by Nidera, and accounting ir-

regularities unearthed last year

in its Latin American operations

have helped persuade COFCO’s

management to look at ways

to divest.

“Nidera’s continued

losses have been worse than

COFCO’s expectation,” said

one of the sources. “And the

accounting issue in Nidera’s

Brazil business helped acceler-

ate the sale.”

It is unclear how much the

business would be valued at, as

the process is at an early stage,

said one source.

While another said COFCO

could opt for either an outright

or partial sale, and it is unknown

whether COFCO would sell the

physical assets that helped

build a global grains supply

chain. The sources declined to

be named as COFCO has not

made public that it is consider-

ing selling Nidera.

Neither COFCO or Morgan

Stanley off ered any immediate

response to Reuters’ requests

for comment.

COFCO International, the unit

now running Nidera, did not im-

mediately respond to requests

for comment either.

COFCO’s buying binge over

the past few years had estab-

lished the firm as a significant

rival to the so-called “ABCD”

quartet of global agricultural

trading giants – Archer Daniels

Midland, Bunge, Cargill and

Louis Dreyfus Company.

Reliance Industries aims to import 1.4mn tonnes of ethane from North America in 2017-18, rising to 1.6mn tonnes from the next fiscal year, said Vipul Shah, chief operating off icer for petrochemicals at Reliance, at a press conference yesterday.

Verdict for Samsung heir weighs on telecom giantAFPSeoul

The heir to the Samsung empire faces the verdict in his cor-ruption trial tomorrow, which

threatens to leave the world’s biggest smartphone maker rudderless for more than a decade.

Lee Jae-Yong, vice chairman of Sam-sung Electronics and the son of Sam-sung group chairman Lee Kun-Hee, has been groomed all his life to take over the giant conglomerate founded by his grandfather in 1938.

It is by far the largest of the chaebols, the family-controlled fi rms that domi-nate Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which some South Koreans self-mock-ingly dub the “Republic of Samsung”.

Its turnover is equivalent to a fi fth of the national GDP and it has long had close, opaque connections with politi-cal authorities.

But now prosecutors have demand-ed a 12-year sentence for Samsung’s 49-year-old “crown prince” if he is convicted of charges including bribery and embezzlement in connection with the corruption scandal that brought down president Park Geun-hye.

Park, dismissed from offi ce in March after public fury, is on trial separately accused of off ering policy favours to ty-coons including Lee who enriched her secret confi dante Choi Soon-Sil, with Samsung handing over around $40mn.

Lee has been detained during his trial, and the prospect of his being im-prisoned for years has sent shockwaves through Samsung, where the founding family’s rule has been taken for granted for decades.

The Lee clan directly owns about 5% of Samsung Electronics shares, but

maintains its grip on the wider group through a byzantine web of cross-ownership stakes involving dozens of companies.

Although Samsung’s day-to-day business is maintained by the elite CEOs at each unit, analysts say they

would be unwilling to make – and take responsibility for – costly decisions over large-scale acquisitions or invest-ments without family approval.

“In South Korea, such decisions are often endorsed by the patriarch of a ruling family,” said Chung Sun-Sup,

the head of corporate analysis fi rm chaebul.com.

Lee Jae-Yong’s sister Boo-Jin, who is in charge of the group’s fast-growing hotel business, was once touted as a potential stand-in.

But many dismiss the possibility,

saying she has few allies and little man-agement experience at Samsung Elec-tronics – the crown jewel of the group.

Despite Lee’s absence Samsung Elec-tronics has reported stellar profi ts in recent months, sending its share price soaring, thanks to booming demand for its memory chips used in computers, servers and mobile gadgets.

Analysts say it is reaping the benefi t of radical decisions made years ago un-der the senior Lee’s rule, including the construction of new chip factories that cost billions of dollars.

“With so much uncertainty at its leadership, Samsung may move more slowly than before to make the kind of bold, large-scale investments that made it so successful today,” Chung told AFP.

Since the senior Lee was left bedrid-den by a heart attack in 2014, Samsung has stepped up attempts to streamline itself, selling off marginal or less prof-itable businesses, while also enhancing Lee Jae-Yong’s authority.

Those eff orts would be suspended if Lee receives a lengthy jail term, Chung said, which could force the group into “an unprecedented experiment” of op-erating without direct Lee family con-trol.

But Geoff rey Cain, the author of a forthcoming book on Samsung, point-ed out Samsung Electronics had been able to make strategic moves despite Lee’s detention in custody.

“The leader being in jail is a familiar story for chaebol groups, and one they can get around,” he said.

“Samsung will not be doomed with-out Jay Lee.

Even if he gets a prison sentence, Samsung will be just fi ne.

It’s up to the specialists to make their own decisions.”

After the scandal sparked nationwide calls to reform “corrupt” chaebols, Samsung earlier this year disbanded its Future Strategy Offi ce – a small, se-cretive group of top company veterans who directly served the Lees – vowing to give the board of directors a bigger role in decision-making.

New President Moon Jae-in won a sweeping election victory in May with promises of weeding out deep-rooted, corrupt ties between chaebols and reg-ulators.

Prosecutors accuse Lee of seeking state approval for a controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung units seen as a key step to ensuring his accession.

He pleaded not guilty, saying he was not involved in decisions over the do-nations and not even aware of Choi’s existence.

During his trial, his lawyers and ex-members of the Future Strategy Offi ce tried to portray him as an inexperi-enced, naive heir not even allowed to “meddle with” decisions made by the veteran executives chosen by his father.

As a legal strategy it is undoubtedly embarrassing, but it remains to be seen whether the three judges hearing the case, in which four other top Samsung executives are also accused, are con-vinced.

“If he is found innocent and walks away, it would be a huge setback against the court and the current administra-tion,” said Shim Jung-Taik, an author of several books on Samsung and its his-tory.

He warned of “huge public outcry” in the event of an acquittal, telling AFP: “In South Korea, the Lee case is not just a legal case but a social and political one whose result is seen as a verdict on wider chaebol culture and corruption.”

Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, arrives for his trial at the Seoul Central District Court (file). Lee has been detained during his trial, and the prospect of his being imprisoned for years has sent shockwaves through Samsung, where the founding family’s rule has been taken for granted for decades.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Thursday, August 24, 20176

Toshiba prioritises talks with Western Digital on unit saleReutersTokyo

Japan’s Toshiba Corp is prioritising talks with Western Digital to sell its memory chip business, as negotia-

tions with a previously preferred bidder have stalled, the Nikkei business daily reported yesterday.

Shares in the conglomerate, which is scrambling to sell its fl ash memory unit for around $18bn to cover losses from its bankrupt US nuclear business Westing-house, rose 4.6% to ¥316 by the end of morning trade as the report lifted hopes of an imminent deal.

In June, Toshiba picked a consor-tium including Japanese government-backed funds, private equity fi rm Bain Capital and South Korean chip maker SK Hynix as the preferred bidder for the prized unit.

But the talks stalled after Western Digital, a partner in Toshiba’s main chip plant, took Toshiba to court, arguing it needs to consent to a sale. A subsequent legal battle between the two compa-nies unnerved the state-backed funds, which demanded that Toshiba resolve the confl ict before the sale.

Sources previously told Reuters that Toshiba had begun talks with Western Digital as well as Taiwan’s Foxconn, whose offi cial name is Hon Hai Preci-sion Industry Co, in an attempt to re-vive the stalled auction process.

The Nikkei, without citing sources, said Toshiba CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa told lenders that it would focus on ne-gotiating with Western Digital with the aim of agreeing to a deal by the end of the month.

A Toshiba spokesman declined to comment on the Nikkei report.

Sources have said Western Digital was off ering around ¥2tn ($18bn) and would form an alliance with US

private equity fi rm KKR & Co as well as the two Japanese government funds that are part of the preferred bidder group.

Western Digital plans to initially in-

vest in the chip unit through debt fi -nancing and eventually take a stake of less than 20%, the sources said, re-questing anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with media.

The sources have also said a deal could be diffi cult, however, as Toshiba’s

chips business executives were wary of a deal with the US company given the animosity between the two groups.

Ties between the two companies soured quickly after Western Digital bought SanDisk, Toshiba’s memory chip business partner for 17 years, in May last

year as they failed to agree on terms of a new joint venture contract.

Toshiba wants to close the sale by the end of the fi scal year in March to ensure it does not report negative net worth – li-abilities exceeding assets – for a second year running. Back-to-back years of neg-

ative net worth would result in a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Given regulatory approvals could take over six months, the company has been hoping to reach a deal by the end of the month to ensure it can close the sale by end-March.

China automaker Chery won’t take M&A route for planned overseas growth: CEOReutersShanghai

Chinese state-owned Chery Automobile Co

aims to rely only on organic means to grow its

international sales, its CEO said, underlining a

strategy that is diff erent from its private sector

rivals who have either made or are considering

acquisitions.

CEO Chen Anning told Reuters in an inter-

view yesterday that Chery, best known at home

for its Arrizo sedans, plans to raise the share of

overseas sales to a third of total sales from a

quarter now.

And while the company was open to forms

of cooperation such as joint ventures, it was not

actively looking for mergers and acquisitions in

its bid to crack markets such as Western Europe,

Chen said.

“We’re today not active in the merger and

acquisitions market, in the big deals so to speak.

We are open for cooperation as always, but

fundamentally, we have consistently organically

grown our markets by our own capability and

sometimes with cooperation,” he said.

Chen’s comments come as the industry has

been riveted by a direct overture made this

week by Chery’s local rival Great Wall Motor

Co to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) this

week, with an off icial saying the company was

interested in all or part of FCA, owner of the

Jeep and Ram vehicle brands.

Automaker Geely group bought Swedish car

maker Volvo in 2010, and is reaping the gains of

that deal, with Geely Automobile Holdings scor-

ing its fastest earnings growth in eight years in

the first half of 2017.

“Down the road, if there’s a feasible and valu-

able opportunity that exists, we may look into

it, but that’s not the fundamental motivation

of us going to the international market, we’ve

been doing this through dealers in over 16-18

markets,” Chen said.

He did not give a time-frame or the invest-

ments needed to attain his overseas growth

target.

Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based con-

sultancy Automotive Foresight, said growing

through organic means was less risky than ac-

quisitions but slower and could make it harder

for Chery to enter developed markets.

With respect to Chery’s stance on mergers or

acquisitions, “risk is possibly one consideration

for them but they are a mid-sized state-owned

enterprise, so I feel that they may not have suf-

ficient funds,” he said.

Chery sells electric and gasoline vehicles and

also has joint ventures with Jaguar Land Rover

Ltd and Kenon Holdings.

It says on its website that it is the most popu-

lar Chinese automobile brand overseas, having

exported 88,081 units in 2016.

Chen said that its aim was to enter “more sta-

ble, more important” markets such as Western

Europe where he said customers were open

to new brands and demand was high for clean

energy products.

At next month’s Frankfurt Auto Show, the

company plans to launch a line-up of vehi-

cles with a new name plate that will be more

premium and priced higher than its current

product portfolio but will remain aff ordable and

contain connectivity features, he said.

Chery currently has a global distribution

network of over 1,100 outlets with showrooms

in countries such as Turkey, Morocco, Brazil and

Argentina.

It also has 14 manufacturing bases abroad,

including in Brazil, Iran and Venezuela.

Chen said that the company was cautious on

North America, citing uncertain political and

economic policy winds.

“I think we will have to wait a few years to

see stabilisation in the economic policies and

political strategies.

And we may decide to start in North America

but today is too early and we’re cautious.”

A logo of Toshiba is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo. Sources told Reuters that Toshiba had begun talks with Western Digital as well as Taiwan’s Foxconn in an attempt to revive the stalled auction process.

Australian state looks to lock in renewable energy targetReutersSydney

Australia’s second most populous state has pro-posed passing laws to

lock in a renewable power target of 40% by 2025, looking to spur investment in solar and wind farms even as the national gov-ernment wrangles over energy policy beyond 2020.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews will introduce legisla-tion to the state parliament this week to cement renewable en-ergy targets, including 25% by 2020.

The eastern state, with a population of 6.24mn, suff ered a sharp jump in wholesale elec-tricity prices earlier this year after one of its largest coal-fi red power plants closed.

The 1,600 megawatt Ha-zelwood plant had provided a quarter of Victoria’s power sup-ply, and its closure has raised demand for gas-fi red power at a time when east coast gas supply has been strained, fuelling rises in gas and power prices.

The federal government, con-trolled by the Liberal Party, has no renewable energy target be-yond 2020 and has said it wants to take a more technology-neu-tral approach to ensure stable and aff ordable power supply.

States led by the opposing La-bor party have long pushed their own green power targets due to a decade of energy and climate policy uncertainty at the federal level.

Victoria, a Labor-controlled state, will hold renewable energy auctions in which companies will bid to supply the market, the fi rst of which is for 650 mega-watts, which the government said it hopes will bring up to A$1.3bn ($1bn) worth of invest-ment into the sector.

However, big energy us-ers and major power producers cautioned against a state-by-state approach to setting renew-able energy targets, following the Victorian government’s an-nouncement.

“We desperately need a coor-dinated national approach and we are not sure this latest initiative helps achieve that goal,” Energy Users Association of Australia chief executive Andrew Richards said in a statement yesterday.

The Victorian government also announced two fi rms had won tenders to build solar farms to power Melbourne’s tram net-work.

Foresight Solar Australia, part of the Britain-based private eq-uity fund Foresight Group, will provide 100 megawatts at Ban-nerton Solar Park.

Privately-owned French re-newable energy fi rm Neoen will produce 38 megawatts at Nu-murkah Solar Farm.

Law fi rm threatens to fi le class action suit against CBAReutersSydney

A law fi rm threatened yesterday to fi le a class action suit against Commonwealth Bank of Aus-

tralia for allegedly failing to disclose that it was facing money-laundering charges, in the latest headache for Aus-tralia’s biggest listed company.

Without revealing its potential claim, top class action law fi rm Maurice Black-burn Lawyers and litigation funder IMF Bentham said their proposed lawsuit would be the largest of its kind ever seen in Australia.

The claim could amount to billions of dollars based on the A$7.9bn ($6.23bn) wiped from CBA’s market value in im-mediate response to the money-laun-dering charges, fi led by a government watchdog on August 3, IFM said.

That would easily surpass the A$200mn ($157.82mn) shopping centre owner Centro settled for in 2012.

On top of the billions of dollars in fi nes that CBA is already facing for the alleged breaches of money-laundering and terror-fi nancing laws, the lawsuit is another risk shareholders could do without.

“If history is any guide the bank will settle to avoid any embarrassments of discovery,” Australian Shareholders’ Association director Stephen Mayne told Reuters, referring to the “formi-dable” legal team behind the potential claim.

CBA shares were down 0.5% in early

afternoon trade, slightly weaker than rival banks and the broader market, which was fl at.

Andrew Watson, national head of class actions at Maurice Blackburn, said it was “astounding” that CBA had not advised the market of the allegedly illicit transactions that occurred on its systems until the day after fi nancial intelligence agency AUSTRAC fi led its civil case against the bank.

“The AUSTRAC allegations, if prov-en, show an abject failure of corporate governance and risk management.

The failure to make proper disclosure to the market regarding those failures adds insult to injury for shareholders,” he said in a statement.

The CBA board was aware of the breaches in the second half of 2015, he said.

CBA said in a statement that it had not been served with any legal proceed-ings. The bank has said it will defend itself against the AUSTRAC claims and has blamed a coding-error for most of the more than 53,000 suspect transac-tions it is alleged to have processed.

The suit could go ahead as soon as seven or more people sign up.

Maurice Blackburn has extracted over A$1bn in class action settlements from Australian public companies, in-cluding National Australia Bank.

If launched, the class action would involve shareholders who bought and held shares in the period from August 17 2015, until 1:00 pm on August 3, 2017, IFM executive director Hugh McLernon said.

Victoria will hold renewable energy auctions in which companies will bid to supply the market, the fi rst of which is for 650 megawatts, which the government said it hopes will bring up to A$1.3bn ($1bn) worth of investment into the sector

Chery Automobile CEO Chen Anning gives an interview to Reuters in Shanghai. Anning said Chery, best known at home for its Arrizo sedans, plans to raise the share ofoverseas sales to a third of total sales from a quarter now.

LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

Zad Holding CoWidam Food CoVodafone Qatar

United Development CoSalam International Investme

Qatar & Oman Investment CoQatar Navigation

Qatar National Cement CoQatar National Bank

Qatar Islamic InsuranceQatar 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 Cinema & Film Distrib

Qatar Insurance CoOoredoo Qsc

National LeasingMazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev

Mesaieed Petrochemical HoldiAl Meera Consumer Goods Co

Medicare GroupMannai Corporation Qsc

Masraf Al RayanAl Khalij Commercial Bank

Industries QatarIslamic Holding Group

Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services

Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co

Doha Bank QscDlala Holding

Commercial Bank PqscBarwa Real Estate Co

Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAamal Co

Al Ahli Bank

75.00

64.20

8.65

15.66

8.75

8.32

64.40

66.90

134.00

57.30

43.30

55.20

46.00

97.20

16.99

34.00

8.25

104.90

7.13

190.00

25.00

68.10

89.50

13.00

10.09

13.10

151.60

72.70

78.50

39.95

12.60

93.90

48.50

46.50

19.74

11.19

14.00

30.35

17.70

29.90

33.05

15.50

10.45

30.00

0.00

-1.68

-1.70

-0.25

1.16

-0.48

-0.16

0.60

0.00

0.70

-0.57

-1.95

-1.71

0.73

-0.99

3.03

0.73

0.77

-1.25

-1.96

0.00

1.79

1.13

-2.26

-0.10

0.00

0.66

-0.68

5.23

-0.37

-0.47

0.75

3.85

0.00

-0.80

-1.84

-2.71

-0.82

0.40

-1.64

-0.30

-0.32

-1.14

0.00

-

80,494

4,235,004

105,184

16,670

8,453

43,705

21,672

249,399

10

400

57,915

9,015

5,708

67,264

50

22,764

5,126

219,087

82,920

-

14,899

25,634

69,015

275,894

34,383

17,349

5,159

290

111,855

53,913

148,949

137,284

5,000

851,292

140,200

6,500

233,681

255,511

22,876

434,732

4,950

105

-

QATAR

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

United Wire Factories CompanEtihad Etisalat Co

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate DevSaudi Hollandi Bank

Rabigh Refining And PetrocheBanque Saudi Fransi

Saudi Enaya Cooperative InsuMediterranean & Gulf Insuran

Saudi British BankMohammad Al Mojil Group Co

Red Sea International CoTakween Advanced Industries

Sabb TakafulSaudi Arabian Fertilizer Co

National GypsumSaudi Ceramic Co

National Gas & IndustrializaSaudi Pharmaceutical Industr

ThimarNational Industrialization C

Saudi Transport And InvestmeSaudi Electricity Co

Saudi Arabia Refineries CoArriyadh Development Company

Al-Baha Development & InvestSaudi Research And MarketingAldrees Petroleum And Transp

Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe CoJarir Marketing Co

Arab National BankYanbu National Petrochemical

Arabian CementMiddle East Specialized Cabl

Al Khaleej Training And EducAl Sagr Co-Operative Insuran

Trade Union Cooperative InsuArabia Insurance Cooperative

Saudi Chemical CompanyFawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C

Bupa Arabia For CooperativeWafa Insurance

Jabal Omar Development CoSaudi Basic Industries Corp

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical CoEtihad Atheeb Telecommunicat

Co For Cooperative InsuranceNational Petrochemical Co

Gulf Union Cooperative InsurGulf General Cooperative Ins

Basic Chemical IndustriesSaudi Steel Pipe Co

Buruj Cooperative InsuranceMouwasat Medical Services Co

Southern Province Cement CoMaadaniyah

Yamama Cement CoJazan Development Co

Zamil Industrial InvestmentAlujain Corporation (Alco)

Tabuk Agricultural DevelopmeUnited Co-Operative Assuranc

Qassim Cement/TheSaudi Advanced Industries

Kingdom Holding CoSaudi Arabian Amiantit Co

Al Jouf Agriculture DevelopmSaudi Industrial Development

Bishah AgricultureRiyad Bank

The National Agriculture DevHalwani Bros Co

Arabian Pipes CoEastern Province Cement Co

Al Gassim Investment HoldingFiling & Packing Materials M

Saudi Cable CoTihama Advertising & Public

Saudi Investment Bank/TheAstra Industrial Group

Saudi Public Transport CoTaiba Holding Co

Saudi Industrial Export CoSaudi Real Estate Co

Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff CoNational Shipping Co Of/The

Methanol Chemicals CoAce Arabia Cooperative Insur

Mobile Telecommunications CoSaudi Arabian Coop Ins Co

Axa Cooperative InsuranceAlsorayai Group

Weqaya For Takaful InsuranceBank Albilad

Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker CoWataniya Insurance Co

Abdullah Al Othaim MarketsHail Cement

17.96

17.79

6.37

0.00

12.80

30.70

20.57

12.78

26.01

0.00

18.50

11.74

28.11

62.50

12.31

27.23

32.64

33.60

35.84

14.11

0.00

23.50

33.84

19.02

26.52

66.86

25.79

46.46

151.40

24.96

56.00

31.70

8.47

19.35

27.10

20.43

15.90

35.62

40.79

119.20

23.73

66.48

98.41

8.51

8.01

93.23

16.74

18.41

18.61

20.97

16.98

35.73

161.60

50.90

21.90

16.30

16.88

26.98

22.05

13.48

15.62

45.69

13.25

10.29

6.69

29.08

11.10

0.00

11.17

27.98

47.50

13.49

23.97

0.00

34.16

10.81

46.34

14.90

16.33

14.17

41.70

31.99

20.64

120.00

32.82

6.75

48.96

8.73

19.93

20.72

8.20

0.00

18.99

12.58

33.70

125.25

9.34

-0.39

-0.78

0.47

0.00

-0.85

-0.32

7.02

-0.16

-0.50

0.00

-0.59

-1.26

-1.02

-0.59

-0.73

0.11

-1.18

-1.03

-0.36

-0.42

0.00

-0.42

0.18

0.00

-1.89

1.18

-1.60

0.06

-0.09

-0.12

-0.36

0.19

2.05

-0.92

-0.37

-0.10

-2.57

-0.56

-4.70

-0.74

1.58

-0.34

-0.07

-0.47

-1.11

-2.19

-0.77

-0.81

3.50

0.33

-0.18

0.17

-0.22

0.55

0.09

-0.06

0.66

-1.46

0.00

1.89

0.00

-0.87

-1.19

-0.10

-0.30

-1.62

-0.63

0.00

0.27

-0.21

0.02

-1.10

0.29

0.00

0.74

0.00

0.22

-0.67

-0.31

-0.49

-0.36

-0.16

-0.10

0.00

-0.97

0.00

1.64

-0.11

-0.15

0.34

-1.91

0.00

1.44

0.08

2.15

-1.08

-0.21

214,286

606,764

8,726,216

-

1,189,447

440,897

2,686,920

233,678

575,394

-

110,052

526,837

279,015

100,191

47,362

50,151

75,578

229,208

383,816

851,116

-

838,102

144,565

92,240

546,226

835,195

119,346

27,674

58,427

204,294

173,365

77,354

3,652,391

236,908

457,249

303,286

394,209

62,408

652,621

25,968

1,026,964

149,154

2,629,319

2,816,925

325,665

57,653

213,831

276,036

1,385,257

173,812

65,499

904,994

53,529

6,339

74,564

18,378

503,915

252,686

-

1,752,062

1,144,270

20,622

439,233

38,076

1,006,827

52,319

367,671

-

1,318,270

210,754

12,767

308,076

24,932

-

129,967

-

555,842

57,674

97,364

425,816

14,716

101,041

105,001

22,828

279,422

436,451

790,007

518,312

236,919

210,174

611,166

-

773,399

209,228

892,618

30,826

44,428

SAUDI ARABIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Saudi Re For Cooperative ReiSolidarity Saudi Takaful Co

Amana Cooperative InsuranceAlabdullatif Industrial Inv

Saudi Printing & Packaging CSanad Cooperative Insurance

Saudi Paper Manufacturing CoAlinma Bank

Almarai CoFalcom Saudi Equity Etf

United International TranspoHsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf

Saudi International PetrocheFalcom Petrochemical Etf

Walaa Cooperative InsuranceBank Al-Jazira

Al Rajhi BankSamba Financial Group

United Electronics CoAllied Cooperative Insurance

Malath InsuranceAlinma Tokio Marine

Arabian Shield CooperativeSavola

Wafrah For Industry And DeveFitaihi Holding Group

Tourism Enterprise Co/ ShamsSahara Petrochemical Co

Herfy Food Services Co

6.84

19.21

27.06

13.66

22.32

0.00

7.97

16.96

80.59

28.60

21.33

29.00

14.26

26.70

27.19

12.60

66.56

24.59

46.16

14.93

21.84

24.90

42.99

47.35

22.42

13.27

30.77

13.33

50.67

0.15

0.26

2.31

0.15

0.50

0.00

-0.99

2.60

1.24

0.35

-0.47

-0.34

-0.90

0.00

-0.62

0.00

1.53

0.70

0.61

-1.39

1.49

-0.52

0.09

-2.31

0.31

-0.38

-0.93

-0.74

0.12

2,262,407

814,183

4,493,559

196,738

1,436,944

-

616,965

27,280,718

200,434

190,160

177,373

1,978

1,202,065

-

335,802

3,149,598

4,385,326

1,663,729

464,277

355,425

227,609

162,537

96,195

180,179

874,580

267,540

242,982

1,437,173

42,774

SAUDI ARABIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Securities Group CoSultan Center Food Products

Kuwait Foundry Co SakKuwait Financial Centre Sak

Ajial Real Estate EntmtGulf Glass Manuf Co -Kscc

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

Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment

Mabanee Co SakcCity Group

Inovest Co BscKuwait Gypsum Manufacturing

Al-Deera Holding CoAlshamel International Hold

Mena Real Estate CoNational Slaughter House

Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects For Aviation

National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International Investme

Jeeran HoldingsEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C

Nafais HoldingSafwan Trading & Contracting

Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc

Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Slaughter House Co

Kuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co K

National Ranges CompanyAl-Themar Real International

Al-Ahleia Insurance Co SakpWethaq Takaful Insurance Co

Salbookh Trading Co KscpAqar Real Estate Investments

Hayat CommunicationsKuwait Packing Materials Mfg

Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscAlargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling

Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co

Palms Agro Production CoIkarus Petroleum Industries

Mubarrad Transport CoAl Mowasat Health Care Co

Shuaiba Industrial CoAan Digital Services Co

First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co

National Cleaning CompanyEyas For High & Technical EdUnited Real Estate Company

AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv

Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng

International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold

Marine Services Co KscWarba Insurance Co

Kuwait United Poultry CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve

Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak

Mobile Telecommunications CoAl Safat 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 CompanKuwait Medical Services Co

Injazzat Real State CompanyKuwait Cable Vision Sak

Sanam Real Estate Co KsccIthmaar Holding Bsc

Aviation Lease And Finance CArzan Financial Group For Fi

Ajwan Gulf Real Estate CoKuwait Business Town Real Es

Future Kid Entertainment AndSpecialities Group Holding C

Abyaar Real Eastate DevelopmDar Al Thuraya Real Estate C

Al-Dar National Real EstateKgl Logistics Company Kscc

Combined Group ContractingJiyad Holding Co Ksc

Qurain Holding Co

0.00

0.00

309.00

109.00

153.00

0.00

45.00

185.00

40.50

50.10

578.00

310.00

417.00

745.00

398.00

246.00

241.00

44.50

36.80

68.00

600.00

80.20

24.30

114.00

18.00

39.00

799.00

0.00

125.00

0.00

34.20

0.00

20.30

0.00

47.40

715.00

90.00

44.50

0.00

48.00

200.00

0.00

85.00

155.00

34.70

0.00

165.00

0.00

28.50

70.00

448.00

51.00

62.00

72.00

89.80

0.00

125.00

180.00

84.00

76.00

124.00

89.90

0.00

70.00

450.00

280.00

0.00

58.00

35.70

49.20

870.00

91.00

865.00

28.60

78.00

295.00

31.30

147.00

0.00

95.90

0.00

49.80

87.70

0.00

497.00

0.00

400.00

41.40

420.00

82.30

970.00

335.00

0.00

45.60

107.00

373.00

370.00

45.00

265.00

73.00

37.00

46.40

15.40

48.50

176.00

46.00

52.90

0.00

89.00

35.00

42.00

41.70

382.00

36.40

63.10

49.00

123.00

98.90

27.00

0.00

0.00

54.00

550.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.39

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.27

-6.09

1.25

0.20

1.05

0.00

0.00

0.27

0.76

0.41

-0.82

0.00

0.00

-1.31

0.00

0.00

0.41

0.00

-6.74

0.26

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.04

0.00

0.00

4.95

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.73

-1.90

-4.67

0.00

17.02

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.98

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.18

-2.56

-1.59

0.00

0.00

-1.96

-6.64

0.00

0.00

-0.17

0.00

0.61

0.00

3.41

0.00

-1.04

0.00

1.72

-0.63

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.20

-0.34

0.00

-1.00

0.00

3.90

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.15

-2.73

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.67

0.00

-1.28

0.00

0.62

0.00

0.66

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.42

0.53

-0.82

0.00

1.03

0.00

3.02

-1.82

0.00

0.00

2.08

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

-

45,350

35,800

1,500

-

5,000

20,891

100

1,140,601

414,640

2,000

9,000

1,087,962

182,197

206,554

746,662

50

515,400

1

100,000

245,867

377,800

683,466

1,132,353

436,000

33,050

-

170,000

-

243

-

3,401,512

-

25,200

3,637

20,011

125,800

-

138,080

17,500

-

35,250

214,965

468,100

-

50

-

52,110

3,506

53,010

102,400

189,050

10,001

29,055

-

18,629

250

2,000

348,000

149,709

100

-

810,000

20,000

1,014

-

47,899

411,428

448,550

8,658

2,447

480,776

9,500

245,822

1,000

121,765

1,475,935

-

43,386

-

121,320

15

-

9,245,812

-

50,000

749,070

23,500

135,000

1,000

57,100

-

162,130

615,086

165,214

55,000

279,596

30,165

250

162,500

629,576

508,100

725,010

1,268,245

658,000

738,558

-

106,000

1,300

3

1,617,906

33,620

347,605

136,761

419,576

10,000

429,800

3,117,205

-

-

282,000

50

-

-

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Voltamp Energy SaogUnited Power/Energy Co- Pref

United Power Co SaogUnited Finance Co

Ubar Hotels & ResortsTakaful Oman

Taageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co

Sohar PoultrySmn 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

Port Service CorporationPhoenix Power Co Saoc

Packaging Co LtdOoredoo

OminvestOman United Insurance Co

Oman Textile Holding Co SaogOman Telecommunications Co

Oman Refreshment CoOman Packaging

Oman Orix Leasing Co.Oman Oil Marketing Company

Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance

Oman Intl MarketingOman Hotels & Tourism CoOman Foods International

Oman Flour MillsOman Fisheries CoOman Fiber Optics

Oman Europe Foods IndustriesOman Education & Training In

Oman ChromiteOman Chlorine

Oman Ceramic CompanyOman Cement Co

Oman Cables IndustryOman Agricultural Dev

Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50%Natl Aluminium Products

National SecuritiesNational Real Estate Develop

National PharmaceuticalNational Mineral Water

National Hospitality InstituNational Gas Co

National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog

National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog

Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat National Holding

Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance

Majan Glass CompanyMajan College

Hsbc Bank OmanHotels Management Co Interna

Gulf StoneGulf Plastic Industries Co

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 UniversityDhofar Tourism

Dhofar PoultryDhofar Intl Development

Dhofar InsuranceDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu

Dhofar CattlefeedDhofar Beverages Co

Construction Materials IndComputer Stationery Inds

Bankmuscat SaogBank SoharBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar Saog

0.51

1.00

3.55

0.11

0.13

0.17

0.11

1.34

0.16

0.21

0.69

1.05

1.88

4.35

0.23

0.60

1.33

1.38

2.50

0.17

0.89

0.18

0.12

2.21

0.43

0.48

0.34

0.00

1.18

1.91

0.28

0.17

1.66

0.16

0.16

0.52

0.40

0.00

0.84

0.10

0.00

1.00

0.16

3.64

0.49

0.42

0.42

1.57

0.00

0.10

0.15

0.04

5.00

0.11

0.05

0.00

0.29

0.14

0.69

3.75

0.21

0.08

0.86

0.56

0.12

0.18

0.49

0.11

1.25

0.12

0.00

0.31

0.08

0.11

0.20

10.50

0.16

0.07

0.39

0.11

0.10

0.00

0.49

0.18

0.32

0.20

1.28

0.19

0.26

0.03

0.26

0.37

0.15

0.09

0.21

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.88

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

-1.11

0.84

0.00

-2.29

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.67

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.94

-0.98

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

-1.70

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.80

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

1.09

0.00

-1.09

0.00

-

-

-

205,128

-

200

-

-

-

-

-

-

30

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

132,530

253,061

-

249,000

-

-

-

33,700

-

-

-

-

-

630,696

-

-

-

50,542

188,215

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

6,754

-

-

-

10,750

-

-

-

20,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

176,600

-

45,530

-

-

125,500

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

818,150

-

560,963

-

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Areej Vegetable Oils SaocAloula Co

Al-Omaniya Financial ServiceAl-Hassan Engineering Co

Al-Fajar Al-Alamia CoAl-Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co

Al Suwadi PowerAl Shurooq Inv Ser

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

Ahli BankAcwa Power Barka Saog

Abrasives Manufacturing Co SA’saff a Foods Saog

Oman Oil Marketing Co-Pref

0.00

0.53

0.28

0.05

0.75

0.12

0.15

0.00

0.11

1.30

0.30

0.10

0.06

0.31

0.55

0.25

0.14

0.07

0.88

0.14

1.13

0.09

0.16

0.16

0.79

0.05

0.59

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.88

-1.82

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

-

-

-

-

11,123

-

-

-

-

-

415,189

607,244

-

-

-

14,228

105,000

-

10,000

-

-

1,870,702

210,000

-

-

-

-

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Waha Capital PjscUnited Insurance Company

United Arab Bank PjscUnion National Bank/Abu Dhab

Union Insurance CoUnion Cement Co

Umm Al Qaiwain Cement IndustSharjah Islamic Bank

Sharjah Insurance CompanySharjah Group

Sharjah Cement & Indus DevelRas Al-Khaimah National Insu

Ras Al Khaimah White CementRas Al Khaimah Ceramics

Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co PscRas Al Khaima Poultry

Rak PropertiesOoredoo Qsc

Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50%Nbad Oneshare Msci Uae Ucits

National Takaful CompanyNational Marine Dredging Co

National Investor Co/TheNational Corp Tourism & Hote

National Bank Of Umm Al QaiwNational Bank Of Ras Al-Khai

National Bank Of FujairahFirst Abu Dhabi Bank Pjsc

Methaq Takaful InsuranceManazel Real Estate Pjsc

Invest BankIntl Fish Farming Co Pjsc

Insurance HouseGulf Pharmaceutical Ind Psc

Gulf Medical ProjectsGulf Cement Co

Fujairah Cement IndustriesFujairah Building Industries

Foodco Holding PjscFirst Gulf BankFinance House

Eshraq Properties Co PjscEmirates Telecom Group Co

Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc)Emirates Driving Company

Dana GasCommercial Bank Internationa

Bank Of SharjahAxa Green Crescent Insurance

Arkan Building Materials CoAlkhaleej InvestmentAldar Properties Pjsc

Al Wathba National InsuranceAl Khazna Insurance Co

Al Fujairah National InsuranAl Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S.

Al Buhaira National InsurancAl Ain Ahlia Ins. Co.

Agthia Group PjscAbu Dhabi Ship Building Co

Abu Dhabi Natl Co For BuildiAbu Dhabi National Takaful C

Abu Dhabi National InsuranceAbu Dhabi National Hotels

Abu Dhabi National Energy CoAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank

1.77

2.00

1.45

4.28

1.86

1.30

1.45

1.35

3.85

1.50

1.15

4.10

1.02

2.58

0.76

3.70

0.69

90.00

0.58

6.20

0.70

4.20

0.54

2.46

2.95

4.60

3.00

0.00

0.88

0.53

2.51

1.51

0.83

2.45

1.98

1.07

1.15

1.56

6.00

0.00

1.60

0.84

17.95

6.00

7.50

0.63

1.06

1.23

0.62

0.63

1.31

2.34

12.75

0.32

300.00

3.84

2.20

47.00

5.58

2.07

0.48

5.00

3.59

3.09

0.60

3.63

-1.12

0.00

0.00

-0.47

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

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.12

-3.64

-0.40

0.00

0.00

0.00

-8.33

4.90

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.18

0.28

0.00

2.74

-1.56

0.00

0.82

0.00

-3.08

0.00

0.86

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.28

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.46

-1.64

0.00

342,573

-

-

352,693

-

-

-

-

-

-

329,784

-

-

463

57,326

-

1,443,288

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,539,164

6,260,647

382

-

-

193,517

30,000

236,230

-

-

-

-

-

10,408,063

841,914

-

11,000

4,493,244

-

120,959

-

31,121

-

4,216,601

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,644

-

-

-

-

32,641

125,604

295,076

UAE

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Zain Bahrain BsccUnited Paper Industries Bsc

United Gulf Investment CorpUnited Gulf BankTrafco Group Bsc

Takaful International CoTaib Bank -$Us

Seef PropertiesSecurities & Investment Co

National Hotels CoNational Bank Of Bahrain Bsc

Nass Corp BscKhaleeji Commercial Bank

Ithmaar Holding BscInvestcorp Bank -$Us

Inovest Co BscGulf Monetary Group

Gulf Hotel Group B.S.CGfh Financial Group Bsc

Esterad Investment Co B.S.C.Delmon Poultry Co

Bmmi BscBmb Investment Bank

Bbk BscBankmuscat Saog

Banader Hotels CoBahrain Tourism CoBahrain Telecom Co

Bahrain Ship Repair & EnginBahrain National Holding

Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceBahrain Islamic Bank

Bahrain Flour Mills CoBahrain Family Leisure Co

Bahrain Duty Free ComplexBahrain Commercial Facilitie

Bahrain Cinema CoBahrain Car Park Co

Arab Insurance Group(Bsc)-$Arab Banking Corp Bsc-$Us

Aluminium Bahrain BscAlbaraka Banking Group

Al-Salam BankAl-Ahlia Insurance Co

Ahli United Bank B.S.C

0.00

0.32

0.00

0.00

0.28

0.00

0.00

0.26

0.00

0.00

0.65

0.13

0.11

0.13

8.65

0.43

0.00

0.52

0.49

0.11

0.00

0.77

0.00

0.40

0.00

0.06

`

0.20

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.14

0.38

0.00

0.75

0.72

1.50

0.00

0.51

0.29

0.50

0.42

0.09

0.00

0.72

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.88

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.01

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.92

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

-

300,000

-

-

30,700

-

-

50,000

-

-

10,115

239,140

20,000

800,000

62,300

54,654

-

10,000

144,733

33,060

-

5,000

-

30,000

-

1,810,669

-

422,000

-

-

-

15,000

8,950

-

63,145

5,000

30,000

-

1,918,520

160,000

74,200

20,000

79,000

-

1,046,936

BAHRAIN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Boubyan Intl Industries HoldGulf Investment House Ksc

Boubyan Bank K.S.CAhli United Bank B.S.C

Osos Holding Group CoAl-Eid Food Ksc

Qurain Petrochemical IndustrAdvanced Technology Co

Ekttitab Holding Co SakKout Food Group Ksc

Real Estate Trade Centers CoAcico Industries Co Kscc

Kipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum ServicesAlimtiaz Investment Co Kscc

Ras Al Khaimah White CementKuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc

Kuwait & Gulf Link TransportHuman Soft Holding Co Ksc

Automated Systems Co KsccMetal & Recycling Co

Gulf Franchising Holding CoAl-Enma’a Real Estate Co

National Mobile TelecommuniAl Bareeq Holding Co Kscc

Housing Finance Co SakAl Salam Group Holding Co

United Foodstuff IndustriesAl Aman Investment Company

Mashaer Holdings Co KscManazel Holding

Mushrif Trading & ContractinTijara And Real Estate Inves

Kuwait Building MaterialsJazeera Airways Co Ksc

Commercial Real Estate CoFuture Communications Co

National International CoTaameer Real Estate Invest C

Gulf Cement CoHeavy Engineering And Ship B

Refrigeration Industries & SNational 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 IndAl Nawadi Holding Co Ksc

Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co

Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc

Gulf Insurance Group KscKuwait Food Co (Americana)

Umm Al Qaiwain Cement IndustAayan Leasing & Investment

46.80

34.00

431.00

219.00

120.00

0.00

339.00

0.00

35.80

0.00

44.90

265.00

79.90

840.00

170.00

85.00

187.00

59.90

4,300.00

165.00

94.00

60.10

41.50

1,165.00

0.00

0.00

52.40

0.00

50.00

0.00

43.00

0.00

56.00

0.00

545.00

92.60

0.00

72.00

36.70

80.00

217.00

0.00

121.00

40.40

1,400.00

71.50

390.00

64.50

365.00

514.00

0.00

585.00

36.00

0.00

59.00

950.00

1,850.00

0.00

46.00

-1.27

-0.58

0.47

0.46

0.00

0.00

1.19

0.00

-1.92

0.00

0.00

1.53

0.50

-0.59

-0.58

0.00

0.00

3.81

-1.13

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.72

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.77

0.00

0.81

0.00

0.94

0.00

0.00

0.00

-4.22

0.33

0.00

1.41

-3.42

2.56

0.46

0.00

-0.82

6.88

0.00

-0.14

0.00

-0.62

1.39

1.38

0.00

-0.17

-1.91

0.00

0.00

1.06

0.00

0.00

-1.71

180,001

195,799

257,377

5,152,111

4,372

-

83,287

-

100,000

-

16,710

80,000

5,557

1,229

8,294,705

25

960

250,010

6,624

18,000

4,510

20

488,104

1,473

-

-

90,574

-

115,000

-

552,670

-

5,650

-

153,480

1,899,670

-

43,427

2,145,037

22,720

477,000

-

292,618

496,465

1,212

118,768

12,500

565,060

1,778

960,820

-

2,442,318

546,652

-

4,338

24,209

10,000

-

2,463,501

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

BUSINESS7Gulf Times

Thursday, August 24, 2017

CURRENCIESDOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI

DINARKUWAITI

DINAR

Europe stocks slip as Trumpthreatens to shut governmentAFPLondon

European and US stocks slid yes-terday after President Donald Trump suggested he could shut

down the US government if Congress did not fund building a Mexico border wall and threatened to pull out of a ma-jor trade agreement.

Investors also looked ahead to a meeting of central bankers that be-gins today for insights on monetary policy.

Stocks had staged a solid rally on Tuesday, in part refl ecting optimism that Trump-related controversies were receding and that long-awaited tax overhauls could take centre stage.

But in a speech late in the day Trump vowed to build the border wall even “if we have to close down our govern-ment” and to pull out of the Nafta trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

But market analyst Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group downplayed the risk of a shutdown.

“We think this is basically a bluff by Trump to get his ‘Great Wall’ back on the agenda and show some political rebellion following his foreign policy capitulation in Afghanistan,” he said in a note to clients.

Investors were also looking ahead to getting fresh clues from US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen about plans to reduce its huge bond holdings, and from ECB chief Mario Draghi about its cutting back of bond purchases.

“Equity markets in Europe are mar-ginally lower on the day as traders are in wait-and-see mode ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium that starts tomorrow,” where both Yellen and Draghi are scheduled to speak, said CMC markets UK analyst David Mad-den.

Paris shed 0.3% at 5,115.39 and Frankfurt lost 0.5% at 12,174.30, while London bucked the trend to end the day fl at at 7,382.65 points yesterday.

The Dow was down 0.2% nearing midday.

“US stocks are lower in early action following yesterday’s solid advance,

with global trade concerns and tomor-row’s looming speeches from Fed Chair Yellen and ECB President Draghi likely keeping conviction in check,” said ana-lysts at Charles Schwab.

The euro gained against the dollar following well-received eurozone data, analysts said.

“Manufacturing and services PMIs from the eurozone, Germany and France were all very strong and well above the level that separates growth from contraction, suggesting that the recovery is continuing to gain trac-tion,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.

In London, British advertising giant WPP saw its shares slump nearly 11% after the company cut its full-year rev-enue forecast.

“WPP is very much seen as the bell-wether of the advertising industry and as such is widely regarded as a global economic barometer and so it is un-surprising the shares have reacted,” Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said in a note to clients.

A company plaque is cleaned outside the off ices of WPP in London. The British advertising giant has downgraded its growth forecast for 2017 because of a slowdown in the market, causing a fall of over 10% in the company’s stock price yesterday.

Apple IncMicrosoft Corp

Exxon Mobil CorpJohnson & JohnsonGeneral Electric Co

Jpmorgan Chase & CoProcter & Gamble Co/The

Wal-Mart Stores IncVerizon Communications Inc

Pfizer IncVisa Inc-Class A Shares

Chevron CorpCoca-Cola Co/The

Intel CorpMerck & Co. Inc.

Cisco Systems IncHome Depot Inc

Intl Business Machines CorpWalt Disney Co/The

Unitedhealth Group Inc3M Co

Mcdonald’s CorpNike Inc -Cl B

United Technologies CorpBoeing Co/The

Goldman Sachs Group IncAmerican Express Co

Du Pont (E.I.) De NemoursCaterpillar Inc

Travelers Cos Inc/The

160.06

72.75

76.99

133.20

24.38

92.23

92.53

80.18

48.45

33.32

103.53

107.05

45.52

34.71

62.44

31.30

147.72

142.46

102.17

194.33

202.66

158.98

53.55

117.91

238.15

223.84

85.49

83.20

114.99

127.58

0.18

-0.56

0.33

-1.11

-0.88

0.73

-0.28

0.19

0.21

0.51

-0.52

0.64

-0.19

0.17

0.03

0.10

-1.46

1.03

-0.58

-0.24

-1.36

-0.41

-1.07

1.92

-0.67

0.12

0.22

0.23

-0.72

-0.15

7,692,980

4,479,800

2,491,637

1,633,156

15,379,756

3,381,847

1,193,985

2,886,693

3,006,527

4,713,468

1,769,785

1,022,522

2,392,309

7,475,258

1,673,979

7,015,903

2,400,629

1,638,235

2,351,076

562,112

449,542

734,802

2,508,712

2,686,881

989,999

976,494

758,245

773,516

836,006

264,970

DJIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Wpp PlcWorldpay Group Plc

Wolseley PlcWm Morrison Supermarkets

Whitbread PlcVodafone Group Plc

United Utilities Group PlcUnilever Plc

Tui Ag-DiTravis Perkins Plc

Tesco PlcTaylor Wimpey Plc

Standard Life PlcStandard Chartered Plc

St James’s Place PlcSse Plc

Smith & Nephew PlcSky Plc

Shire PlcSevern Trent Plc

Schroders PlcSainsbury (J) Plc

Sage Group Plc/TheAbi Sab Group Holding Ltd

Rsa Insurance Group PlcRoyal Mail Plc

Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B ShsRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs

Royal Bank Of Scotland GroupRolls-Royce Holdings Plc

Rio Tinto PlcRexam Ltd

Relx PlcReckitt Benckiser Group Plc

Randgold Resources LtdPrudential Plc

Provident Financial PlcPersimmon Plc

Pearson PlcPaddy Power Betfair Plc

Old Mutual PlcNext Plc

National Grid PlcMondi Plc

Merlin EntertainmentMediclinic International Plc

Marks & Spencer Group PlcLondon Stock Exchange Group

Lloyds Banking Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLand Securities Group Plc

Kingfisher PlcJohnson Matthey Plc

Itv PlcIntu Properties Plc

Intl Consolidated Airline-DiIntertek Group Plc

Intercontinental Hotels GrouInmarsat Plc

Informa PlcImperial Brands Plc

Hsbc Holdings PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc

Hammerson PlcGlencore Plc

Glaxosmithkline PlcGkn Plc

Fresnillo PlcExperian Plc

Easyjet PlcDixons Carphone Plc

Direct Line Insurance GroupDiageo Plc

Dcc PlcCrh Plc

Compass Group PlcCoca-Cola Hbc Ag-Di

Centrica PlcCarnival Plc

Capita PlcBurberry Group Plc

Bunzl PlcBt Group Plc

British Land Co PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc

Bp PlcBhp Billiton Plc

Berkeley Group Holdings/TheBarratt Developments Plc

Barclays PlcBae Systems Plc

Babcock Intl Group PlcAviva Plc

Astrazeneca PlcAssociated British Foods Plc

Ashtead Group PlcArm Holdings Plc

Antofagasta PlcAnglo American Plc

Admiral Group Plc3I Group Plc

1,420.00

430.40

0.00

252.90

3,801.00

220.25

910.50

4,514.50

1,330.00

1,471.00

187.10

194.30

0.00

767.00

1,178.00

1,435.00

1,384.00

954.00

3,741.00

2,248.00

3,370.00

236.90

698.00

0.00

657.50

397.50

2,166.50

2,139.50

256.00

917.00

3,615.00

0.00

1,683.00

7,353.00

7,565.00

1,811.00

661.00

2,580.00

613.00

7,000.00

205.90

4,156.00

970.50

2,098.00

460.40

736.00

322.60

3,973.00

65.40

263.20

1,005.00

298.80

2,824.00

162.60

245.60

612.00

4,920.00

3,877.00

731.50

691.00

3,198.00

740.90

1,350.00

563.50

353.10

1,517.00

321.90

1,564.00

1,522.00

1,270.00

235.30

384.90

2,578.50

6,965.00

2,690.00

1,639.00

2,606.00

200.00

5,345.00

646.50

1,771.00

2,329.00

293.00

605.00

4,728.50

444.50

1,410.50

3,686.00

606.50

192.85

592.00

816.00

518.50

4,495.00

3,190.00

1,592.00

0.00

996.00

1,324.00

1,963.00

949.50

-10.92

1.13

0.00

1.53

-1.30

-0.41

-0.27

-0.02

-0.75

-0.81

1.57

-0.97

0.00

0.24

-0.08

-0.42

-0.14

-0.21

0.43

-0.40

-0.65

-0.34

-0.36

0.00

-0.90

0.23

0.74

0.85

0.79

0.00

2.13

0.00

-0.30

0.29

0.20

-0.36

12.13

-0.81

-1.37

-2.71

-0.10

-0.46

-0.16

-0.05

-1.24

0.68

1.07

-0.25

0.55

-0.38

-0.79

0.44

0.53

-1.87

-0.69

-0.41

0.06

-0.67

0.07

-1.29

0.03

-0.09

0.75

-0.27

1.29

0.86

0.59

1.56

-0.13

-1.78

-2.73

-0.05

-0.06

-0.14

-0.33

-0.91

0.35

-0.45

-0.37

0.00

-0.90

-0.51

0.02

-0.90

-0.93

0.52

1.15

-0.89

-1.54

-0.23

-0.59

0.31

-0.58

1.38

0.31

-0.19

0.00

2.31

1.38

-0.36

0.32

22,795,779

4,191,449

-

11,232,965

349,013

19,416,319

945,274

1,430,159

689,568

586,441

40,446,277

9,033,763

-

3,778,422

433,682

2,552,441

2,761,371

1,002,283

2,558,764

361,430

257,232

4,644,381

1,611,521

-

1,794,774

1,785,925

3,465,725

5,404,777

8,748,074

1,895,866

4,313,158

-

1,632,286

1,002,137

314,684

2,924,341

10,333,631

1,136,240

1,939,439

272,849

6,112,428

348,157

4,387,498

877,589

983,714

903,041

4,926,533

268,676

107,449,733

17,393,935

1,398,206

5,224,210

424,860

19,391,236

1,731,388

6,774,853

223,949

593,210

632,945

1,027,177

1,242,005

14,318,841

649,629

2,015,756

48,614,348

6,892,113

4,198,730

629,011

1,097,130

1,274,556

6,300,152

3,155,148

3,407,529

93,056

1,366,454

1,711,279

331,887

8,570,995

271,598

814,049

644,512

481,222

8,139,695

2,437,672

3,052,732

20,301,997

6,688,373

484,677

3,215,591

22,558,234

6,572,558

966,310

5,587,402

1,562,474

469,813

739,736

-

2,850,322

3,333,874

646,869

946,768

FTSE 100

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp

Fujifilm Holdings CorpYamato Holdings Co Ltd

Chubu Electric Power Co IncMitsubishi Estate Co Ltd

Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesToshiba Corp

Shiseido Co LtdShionogi & Co Ltd

Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd

Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd

Central Japan Railway CoT&D Holdings Inc

Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp

Nitto Denko Corp

10,105.00

1,741.00

4,164.00

2,204.00

1,437.50

1,914.00

418.40

315.00

4,512.00

5,632.00

570.40

15,245.00

1,459.50

815.10

18,160.00

1,519.50

6,173.00

2,950.50

9,588.00

0.10

-0.37

-0.24

-0.09

-0.45

-0.10

0.26

4.30

-1.46

0.70

-1.59

0.93

0.14

0.52

0.28

-0.65

0.57

1.08

-0.45

580,500

3,107,300

1,342,800

1,096,000

1,120,100

2,032,800

11,800,000

49,435,000

1,281,700

1,030,400

8,270,000

889,800

5,447,800

5,434,000

287,700

1,684,300

5,812,200

4,639,900

455,200

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Rakuten IncKyocera Corp

Nissan Motor Co LtdHitachi Ltd

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings Inc

Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial GrHonda Motor Co Ltd

Fast Retailing Co LtdMs&Ad Insurance Group Holdin

Kubota CorpSeven & I Holdings Co Ltd

Inpex CorpResona Holdings Inc

Asahi Kasei CorpKirin Holdings Co Ltd

Marubeni CorpMitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro

Mitsubishi Chemical HoldingsFanuc Corp

Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd

Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd

Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc

Aeon Co LtdMitsui & Co Ltd

Kao CorpDai-Ichi Life Holdings Inc

Mazda Motor CorpKomatsu Ltd

West Japan Railway CoMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd

Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp

Sompo Holdings IncDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd

Jxtg Holdings IncNippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta

Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone

Ajinomoto Co IncMitsui Fudosan Co Ltd

Ono Pharmaceutical Co LtdDaikin Industries Ltd

Bank Of Yokohama Ltd/TheToray Industries IncAstellas Pharma Inc

Bridgestone CorpSony CorpHoya Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust HoldinJapan Tobacco Inc

Osaka Gas Co LtdSumitomo Electric Industries

Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp

Mizuho Financial Group IncNomura Holdings Inc

Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdSubaru Corp

Ntt Docomo IncSumitomo Realty & Developmen

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp

Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp

Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd

Unicharm CorpShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd

Smc CorpMitsubishi CorpNintendo Co Ltd

Eisai Co LtdSumitomo Corp

Canon IncJapan Airlines Co Ltd

1,318.00

6,663.00

1,090.00

726.30

5,892.00

2,153.00

403.80

1,646.50

4,046.00

3,027.00

31,380.00

3,735.00

1,884.00

4,409.00

1,050.50

546.40

1,245.50

2,475.00

697.00

665.30

967.90

21,220.00

19,095.00

4,457.00

8,050.00

1,878.00

8,055.00

4,425.00

1,667.00

1,605.00

6,718.00

1,779.50

1,592.50

2,820.00

7,948.00

17,030.00

1,523.50

5,282.00

4,145.00

3,777.00

540.30

2,620.00

5,490.00

5,383.00

2,160.50

2,360.00

2,217.00

10,895.00

0.00

1,024.50

1,385.00

4,683.00

4,237.00

6,262.00

3,806.00

3,741.00

422.30

1,721.00

606.40

8,799.00

187.20

623.60

2,291.00

3,887.00

2,576.00

3,222.00

1,882.50

1,759.00

4,650.00

57,050.00

12,500.00

1,422.50

2,621.00

9,531.00

37,590.00

2,488.00

35,980.00

5,555.00

1,531.50

3,802.00

3,814.00

0.73

0.71

-0.18

0.64

0.75

-3.50

0.02

0.27

-0.10

0.17

1.52

-0.16

-0.66

0.36

0.57

-0.07

-0.44

1.33

-0.04

-0.42

0.57

-0.33

0.00

0.11

1.13

-0.08

-0.06

0.57

0.09

-0.62

0.19

-0.25

-0.34

-0.49

0.03

-0.18

-0.39

-0.84

-0.93

0.16

1.29

-1.63

0.66

1.03

-0.07

-0.51

0.14

0.37

0.00

3.98

0.14

0.54

1.10

-0.29

-0.68

0.03

-0.54

0.29

0.07

1.34

-0.05

0.06

0.02

0.23

1.50

0.41

0.64

-0.11

0.58

4.51

0.12

0.74

-0.29

0.12

1.43

-0.68

-0.28

0.14

0.03

0.66

-0.42

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg

Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-HBank Of East Asia Ltd

Bank Of China Ltd-HBank Of Communications Co-H

Belle International HoldingsBoc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd

Cathay Pacific AirwaysCk Hutchison Holdings Ltd

China Coal Energy Co-HChina Construction Bank-H

China Life Insurance Co-HChina Merchants Port Holding

China Mobile LtdChina Overseas Land & Invest

China Petroleum & Chemical-HChina Resources Beer Holdin

China Resources Land LtdChina Resources Power Holdin

China Shenhua Energy Co-HChina Unicom Hong Kong Ltd

Citic LtdClp Holdings Ltd

Cnooc LtdCosco Shipping Ports Ltd

Esprit Holdings LtdFih Mobile Ltd

Hang Lung Properties LtdHang Seng Bank Ltd

Henderson Land Development

5.42

33.40

3.91

5.66

0.00

38.65

11.78

102.70

3.87

6.62

23.85

23.95

87.45

26.45

5.72

19.88

23.65

14.88

19.20

12.04

11.76

81.95

9.08

9.26

4.48

2.41

19.30

174.70

48.30

0.93

0.15

1.30

0.53

0.00

1.98

-0.84

1.38

1.04

1.38

2.58

0.42

0.29

3.73

0.53

1.74

2.83

0.13

1.80

-2.59

3.34

0.18

0.89

0.11

-0.67

0.00

-0.41

-0.29

0.31

53,951,357

522,477

296,441,746

19,489,088

-

11,730,600

6,361,000

4,078,855

23,835,050

299,423,270

65,112,541

2,696,022

15,237,582

55,743,640

98,837,756

9,206,284

18,588,907

3,869,255

22,161,485

130,985,597

15,586,552

2,113,130

113,114,146

1,395,987

5,751,260

5,082,598

1,954,678

914,144

3,309,434

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Hong Kong & China GasHong Kong Exchanges & Clear

Hsbc Holdings PlcHutchison Whampoa Ltd

Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HLi & Fung Ltd

Mtr CorpNew World Development

Petrochina Co Ltd-HPing An Insurance Group Co-H

Power Assets Holdings LtdSino Land Co

Sun Hung Kai PropertiesSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl ATencent Holdings Ltd

Wharf Holdings Ltd

14.68

207.20

74.50

0.00

5.62

2.85

45.40

10.38

4.86

63.20

67.80

12.98

122.90

78.80

324.00

72.95

-1.21

-0.77

1.02

0.00

2.55

0.71

0.11

0.78

0.00

4.20

-0.37

0.78

0.41

0.45

-0.61

2.75

24,986,803

4,460,002

14,162,691

-

377,132,607

18,396,702

3,291,213

9,158,877

80,090,951

92,213,106

2,256,048

1,902,064

2,614,236

726,766

14,711,626

6,694,061

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Zee Entertainment EnterpriseYes Bank Ltd

Wipro LtdVedanta Ltd

Ultratech Cement LtdTech Mahindra Ltd

Tata Steel LtdTata Power Co Ltd

Tata Motors LtdTata Consultancy Svcs Ltd

Sun Pharmaceutical IndusState Bank Of India

Reliance Industries LtdPunjab National Bank

Power Grid Corp Of India LtdOil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

Ntpc LtdMaruti Suzuki India Ltd

Mahindra & Mahindra LtdLupin Ltd

Larsen & Toubro LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Itc LtdInfosys Ltd

Indusind Bank LtdIdea Cellular Ltd

Icici Bank LtdHousing Development Finance

Hindustan Unilever LtdHindalco Industries Ltd

Hero Motocorp LtdHdfc Bank Limited

Hcl Technologies LtdGrasim Industries Ltd

Gail India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Coal India LtdCipla Ltd

Cairn India LtdBosch Ltd

Bharti Airtel LtdBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd

Bharat Heavy ElectricalsBank Of Baroda

Bajaj Auto LtdAxis Bank Ltd

Asian Paints LtdAmbuja Cements Ltd

Adani Ports And Special EconAcc Ltd

514.90

1,723.25

290.00

299.60

3,951.55

430.20

634.60

78.75

379.95

2,489.45

469.20

279.00

1,582.05

142.65

219.75

159.70

170.25

7,573.05

1,374.20

955.85

1,124.15

980.10

282.55

892.80

1,660.90

90.50

298.60

1,765.25

1,188.15

230.90

3,888.90

1,772.45

880.00

1,119.05

385.45

2,030.95

241.10

559.15

0.00

21,882.40

431.90

509.70

127.55

140.95

2,754.65

502.65

1,141.30

276.65

385.00

1,801.90

-0.30

0.60

-0.09

2.24

-0.60

-2.08

2.42

-1.62

1.70

-0.32

-0.27

1.86

1.41

3.37

0.11

0.16

1.52

1.03

-0.03

1.21

0.58

0.96

-0.12

1.99

2.13

2.90

1.58

0.85

-0.95

0.87

0.02

1.46

0.47

0.43

2.04

2.36

0.23

-0.02

0.00

-0.07

2.32

-0.13

1.51

1.15

0.51

0.69

1.05

1.28

2.49

0.70

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

21,859.62

2,446.56

6,289.39

15,060.70

51,188.90

70,333.84

7,382.65

5,115.39

12,174.30

10,333.80

19,434.64

1,600.05

27,401.67

5,792.69

1,438.16

31,568.01

9,852.50

3,260.05

30,449.35

5,914.02

-40.27

-5.95

-8.09

+75.74

-144.08

+322.59

+0.91

-16.47

-55.04

-76.00

+50.80

+3.93

+246.99

-12.08

+2.02

+276.16

+86.95

-3.74

+551.68

+33.73

Doha Securities MarketSaudi Tadawul

Kuwait Stocks ExchangeBahrain Stock Exchage

Oman Stock MarketAbudhabi Stock MarketDubai Financial Market

9,053.60

7,263.75

6,922.48

1,305.25

4,955.27

4,487.41

3,624.85

-11.74

+10.23

-9.53

-2.40

-17.03

+13.34

+13.63

“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.”

4,653,000

903,300

8,857,800

13,022,000

1,392,100

4,350,100

8,630,000

3,989,400

5,180,700

4,634,900

586,200

989,600

3,653,900

1,264,300

4,874,100

6,813,100

4,006,000

2,791,400

4,546,800

81,061,500

4,416,800

692,800

250,500

1,046,100

536,100

1,908,200

390,500

2,675,400

1,710,100

3,822,800

1,071,600

5,390,300

3,794,200

2,752,000

500,400

463,900

1,839,300

1,430,600

1,335,900

1,482,700

15,669,000

2,793,100

1,269,100

2,639,400

2,487,500

2,444,800

1,355,300

687,700

-

10,033,700

5,278,100

1,685,700

4,953,900

1,126,800

1,282,100

3,226,300

3,986,000

2,620,200

5,383,000

4,291,900

97,398,000

20,553,600

1,558,400

2,125,400

3,943,700

1,099,000

7,493,000

2,813,300

855,400

703,400

657,300

2,724,200

814,500

866,700

274,700

4,148,700

1,478,400

547,000

2,660,800

2,680,300

1,126,700

1,349,752

2,337,415

2,556,540

11,304,703

148,134

1,742,680

4,288,516

2,246,795

4,917,258

793,906

4,003,287

11,991,253

2,093,282

10,203,141

4,085,899

2,531,825

5,597,488

272,246

805,357

1,531,836

2,003,301

2,427,302

9,097,528

32,763,563

1,255,611

8,523,906

9,745,753

2,899,481

879,609

7,781,139

421,684

878,756

1,095,916

552,444

4,234,097

864,942

4,565,615

893,121

-

13,855

4,540,500

3,252,962

3,266,975

20,374,351

120,506

3,439,051

547,586

1,060,981

3,161,408

234,692

Volume

Volume

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Thursday, August 24, 20178

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Thursday, August 24, 201712

Varde is said to hire Credit Suisse forSpanish developer IPOBloombergLondon

Varde Partners has hired

Credit Suisse Group as joint

global coordinator for a

planned initial public off er-

ing of Spanish homebuilder

Via Celere SL, according to

two people with knowledge

of the matter.

The US private-equity

firm aims to sell shares in

Via Celere in the first half of

next year, said the people,

asking not to be identified

because the information is

private.

Varde hired BNP

Paribas, Jeff eries Group

and Barcelona-based

CaixaBank to act as joint

book-runners, and plans to

name a second global co-

ordinator alongside Credit

Suisse before year-end, the

people said.

Off icials for Varde,

Credit Suisse, Jeff eries and

CaixaBank declined to com-

ment. BNP Paribas didn’t

return phone calls seeking

comment.

Varde is seeking to take

advantage of a three-year

economic recovery in

Spain that has boosted

home sales to pre-crisis

levels, with half a million

properties being exchanged

this year, according to an

estimate by Banco Bilbao

Vizcaya Argentaria. Via

Celere would be the second

IPO of a Spanish developer

since the real estate crisis

began in 2008.

Varde paid €90mn

($105.8mn) in February

to acquire Via Celere and

merge it with Dos Puntos,

the firm’s existing Madrid-

based developer, with the

intention of floating the

combined company.

About half of Spain’s

60,000 developers have

gone out of business since

the real estate market

crashed in 2008, leaving

few builders in a position

to capitalise on renewed

appetite for homes. Neinor

Homes, owned by Lone Star

Funds, sold shares worth

about €780mn in its IPO in

March this year.

Via Celere will be led by

Juan Antonio Gomez Pin-

tado, Via Celere’s founder

and president of the Span-

ish national association of

developers. It owns more

than 1mn square metres

(10.8mn square feet) of land

that could be used for con-

struction, according to the

people, an area equivalent

to roughly 140 soccer fields.

Varde, which has $12bn

under management, takes

control of troubled com-

panies by purchasing their

debt and then selling or

floating them.

Strong euro leads major bond buyers into govt debt rethinkReutersLondon

The euro’s double-digit gains this year are prompting some of the world’s biggest money managers to view Eu-

ropean government debt more favourably just as the central bank is planning to with-draw its support from the bond market.

Eurozone government bond yields have risen steadily since September 2016, when speculation over a reduction in the Europe-an Central Bank’s €2tn ($2.35tn) plus bond-purchase programme began.

Investors worried a drop in offi cial bond purchases would send yields soaring.

But some investors are considering an-other push into the market thanks to the currency’s strength.

They say further euro gains could push back the ECB’s plans to remove post-crisis monetary stimulus and make government bonds more attractive due to a combination of currency gains and policy support.

“Mainly because of the euro rebound, we couldn’t aff ord to be short duration in gov-ernment bonds, so we changed our stance in June,” said Patrick Barbe, who heads the sovereign team at BNP Paribas Asset Man-agement.

The fund manager, with €566bn of assets under management, is one of the biggest investors in eurozone government debt and has shifted from a “negative” to a “neutral” stance on government bonds with longer duration.

Investors tend to buy longer-dated bonds if they expect interest rates to trend lower or remain on hold for an extended period.

The euro has gained more than 12% this year against the dollar and is the best per-forming currency in developed markets, with most of the gain coming in the last three months.

A strong euro reduces import prices and therefore keeps infl ation lower in the bloc, making it harder for the ECB to tighten monetary policy and encouraging bond in-vestors.

Analysts say a 1% rise in the euro’s trade-weighted index shaves 0.3 to 0.5% off head-line infl ation. While the ECB’s target is to

boost infl ation to “just below 2%”, data for July shows infl ation at just 1.3%. Yields on German 10-year debt have fallen 20 basis points to 0.4% over the last four weeks as the euro’s rally gained momentum.

“The euro’s strength against the dol-lar over the last couple of months, since (ECB chief Mario) Draghi fl agged a possible change to policy, will bring down the un-derlying infl ation forecasts,” said Brendan Lardner, a portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisor.

Draghi opened the door to tweaks in the bank’s aggressive stimulus policy in a speech in Sintra, Portugal on June 27, fuel-ling expectations that the ECB will an-

nounce a reduction of stimulus this year.In recent years, eurozone government

bond yields have been compressed by ex-traordinary measures deployed by the ECB to boost an economy crippled by debt crises in 2010 and 2011, including deep rate cuts and aggressive bond purchases.

The ECB has bought more than €2tn of mainly government bonds and is nearing self-imposed limits in most bond markets.

Total outstanding eurozone government debt stands at €7tn. But with the eurozone economy recovering and a looming short-age of government bonds for the ECB to buy — expectations were for the central bank to begin winding down these measures.

Market expectations were for the bank to announce the end of its bond-buying scheme in September and to hike rates twice in 2018. In this environment, it looked like government debt, especially longer-dated bonds, would be the last place investors would park their money.

But the euro’s rise has disrupted those expectations, particularly after the latest policy minutes from the ECB’s last meeting in July showed policymakers were worried about a possible overshoot in the currency.

“If we see a rapid move up to $1.20-$1.22 area against the dollar, we would have more confi dence in going tactically long dura-tion, most likely in the 10-year eurozone government bond space,” State Street’s Lardner said. Money market futures sug-gest investors anticipate roughly a 60% chance of one quarter point rate hike from the ECB by the end of 2018.

The euro’s double-digit gains this year are prompting some of the world’s biggest money managers to view European government debt more favourably just as the central bank is planning to withdraw its support from the bond market

BUSINESS13Gulf Times

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Thinking the unthinkable in Japan: Stocks free of yen’s gripBloombergSingapore

It’s still early, but there are signs Ja-pan’s equity market is approaching escape velocity when it comes to a

force that has entranced it for years.It’s the yen, whose level against

the dollar has generally been all you needed to know to tell where exporter-heavy indexes like the Nikkei 225 Stock Average were trading.

Suddenly the link is loosening as the economy shows signs of stability and corporate earnings rise.

Even with the yen trading near a four-month high, Japan’s benchmark Topix index has risen more than 6% since the start of the second quarter. Correlation between the two assets has fallen to -0.18, the lowest level since 2012, based on their weekly changes.

“Companies are doing well in Ja-pan,” Nicholas Weindling, a Tokyo-

based money manager at JPMorgan Asset Management said by phone. “Net profi ts are growing at over 20% so even without the follow-in of a weak-ening yen, companies are doing well and ultimately everything should come back to company fundamentals in the long-term.”

Topix members beat analyst profi t estimates by an average of about 16% in the latest quarter. A slew of positive macroeconomic data, including the longest expansion in more than a dec-ade and a pickup in household spend-ing in June, is also boosting investor sentiment. The Bank of Japan con-tinues to purchase exchange-traded funds.

The 13-week correlation between stocks and the yen reached high of 0.83 this year in February, ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s fi rst meeting with US President Donald Trump. Its recent downtrend started in May, as the Topix index continued to trend higher, albeit in a narrow range of less

than 100 points. “If you say that you think the yen is going to strengthen, and you’re bullish on the stock market, peo-ple think you’re mad,” said Jonathan Al-lum, a strategist at SMBC Nikko Capital Markets in London. But “the evidence from the economy and the corporate data is that Japan is not as vulnerable to a strong yen as people think.”

Not everyone buys that theory. Ac-cording to the head of Japanese eq-uities at UBS’s wealth management unit, Toru Ibayashi, the yen should be the “single biggest factor” impacting Japanese corporate earnings as many companies derive most of their earn-ings from overseas.

More than 1,800 out of 2,015 com-panies on the Topix index derive over 50% of their revenues outside of Japan, Bloomberg data show.

The strength in the yen isn’t quite pronounced either when measured by the currency’s value against a basket of its peers.

The nominal eff ective exchange rate

has risen a mere 1.6% this year, com-pared with a 6.7% advance against the dollar.

The yen has weakened to 109.66 per dollar since touching 108.60 on Au-gust 18, the strongest since April 19. Economists forecast Japan’s currency will depreciate further to 114 in the fi rst quarter of 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Earnings per share in the Topix have risen 27% year- on-year this quarter as the yen traded between the range of 108 to 114 per dollar.

The benchmark gauge has a price-to-earnings ratio of around 15, below S&P 500 Index’s 19 times level and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index level of 16 times.

Earnings growth has been very strong in Japan but the market hasn’t become any more expensive like that in the US, JPMorgan’s Weindling said. “That’s a powerful reason to look at Japan more seriously” because com-panies earnings have delivered, he said.

Economists forecast Japan’s currency will depreciate further to 114 in the fi rst quarter of 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg

Sensex surges; rupee remains unchanged

AgenciesMumbai

A late surge in banking stocks

pulled Indian markets higher

yesterday as the Sensex closed

up 276 points, in line with a firm-

ing global trend. The broader

Nifty ended on top of 9,850.

The government yesterday

decided to set up an alternative

mechanism to oversee propos-

als for consolidation of public

sector banks (PSBs) with a view

to creating fewer but stronger

lenders.

State-run Punjab National

Bank, Bank of Baroda, Allahabad

Bank, Union Bank of India and

Bank of India were at the centre

of investors’ attention, which

recorded moderate to sizeable

gains.

The 30-share Sensex stayed

in the positive zone all through-

out and hit a high of 31,593.39

before settling up 276.16 points,

or 0.88%, at 31,568.01.

The gauge had gained 33

points on Tuesday. The 50-share

Nifty too rose 86.95 points, or

0.89%, to close at 9,852.50 after

scaling a high of 9,857.90. It hit

a low of 9,786.75.

Infosys stock made a signifi-

cant rally by climbing 1.98% to

Rs894.50 on value-buying amid

speculation that Nandan Nile-

kani might make a comeback as

the company’s head.

“The market suddenly spiked

towards the last hour of trade,

supported by renewed buying

in beaten-down stocks. Banking

stocks grabbed investors’ atten-

tion on account of the Cabinet

nod to oversee PSU banks’

consolidation,” said Vinod Nair,

Head of Research, Geojit Finan-

cial Services.

“Global market remains sup-

portive ahead of Jackson Hole

meeting tomorrow which may

hold the market direction in

the absence of major domestic

cues.” Adani Ports made it to the

lead, surging 2.79% at Rs384.95,

followed by Bharti Airtel.

Dr Reddy’s went up for the

second day, this time 2.25%. In

the realty space, DLF climbed

6.10% to Rs186 on the news that

it will hold a board meet on Au-

gust 25 to decide on promoters’

proposal to sell their 40% stake

in its rental arm to investment

firm GIC in a deal estimated at

around Rs13,000 crore

There is a bit of short cover-

ing ahead of the expiry week,

especially in infrastructure

stocks, which suff ered badly

recently over the government

action against shell companies.

Meanwhile the rupee

yesterday closed little changed

against the US dollar, as traders

avoided long positions ahead

of a meeting of central bankers

later this week.

The rupee closed at 64.11

a dollar, down 0.01% from its

Tuesday’s close of 64.11. The

rupee opened at 64.05 a dollar.

The 10-year bond yield

closed at 6.538%, compared

to its previous close of 6.535%.

Bond yields and prices move in

opposite directions.

So far this year, the rupee

gained 6%, while foreign insti-

tutional investors (FIIs) bought

$7.37bn and $19.29bn in equity

and debt markets, respec-

tively. Asian currencies were

trading mixed. South Korean

won was up 0.17%, Japanese

yen 0.16%, Taiwan dollar

0.05%. However, Thai baht

was down 0.39%, Indonesian

rupiah 0.05%.

EM stocks lose momentumReutersLondon

Mexico’s peso fell and emerging market stocks lost some traction yesterday, after US President Donald Trump revived threats to build a border wall and terminate the Nafta trade treaty.Suggesting that scrapping Nafta might jumpstart current renegotiations, Trump said at a political rally in Arizona 150 miles (240 km) from the Mexican border: “I personally don’t think you can make a deal without a termination.”It sent the peso, which has rallied 17% this year on hopes that Trump’s threats will not materialise, down 0.6% against the dollar, even as the greenback itself fell against the major FX pairs.Turkey’s lira, Russia rouble and South Africa’s rand dropped between 0.1 and 0.3% too.MSCI’s widely-tracked EM stocks index lost momentum too, though a 0.4% rise in Indonesia after an interest rate cut and a 6-year overnight high for Brazilian shares kept the index just about positive.“For the peso, the market had largely priced out any risk of trade protectionism, which is why you have seen a very strong rally (this year),” said UniCredit EM FX strategist Kiran Kowshik.

“But with Trump up against the wall, finding it tough to do anything on the likes of tax reform, he is looking for other things to do.So you’ve seen sanctions against companies in Russia, and now there is more hardline rhetoric on the trade side.”“So this could see the peso come under a bit of pressure as the market assumed there would be no trade frictions.”Traders were also waiting for Thursday’s start of the Jackson Hole conference of top central bankers, which includes Fed head Janet Yellen and ECB President Mario Draghi and could provide clues on where global interest rates are heading.Emerging market stocks, bonds and currencies have been many of this year’s top global performers as borrowing costs and the dollar have stayed low, so any sign a change is on the horizon could unnerve investors.For now, though, things look rosy.The average yield on EM local currency denominated debt was at a more than 2-1/2 year low of just above 6% yesterday.EM stocks are up almost 25% for the year and government bonds have made almost 8%. Overnight Asia moves saw the Thai baht edge lower after its custom-cleared annual exports fell short of expectations.

Bank Indonesia rate cut shows comfort with rupiah outlookBloombergJakarta

Indonesia’s central bank surprised most economists on Tuesday by lowering interest rates, refl ecting its

relative comfort with the currency and infl ation outlook.

The benchmark rate was cut by a quarter point to 4.5%, with all but six of the 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting it would stay on hold. Bank Indonesia reduced borrow-ing costs six times last year, making it Asia’s biggest rate cutter.

Governor Agus Martowardojo and his board had put policy easing on hold until now, concerned that tightening US monetary policy may spur outfl ows from emerging markets and undermine the currency. With the Federal Reserve sticking to gradual rate hikes in the face of subdued infl ation, the rupiah has been relatively stable this year, gaining about 1% against the dollar.

“The central bank probably thinks the fi nancial system is now stronger and the impact of federal fund rate hikes would be marginal or could be managed by improving fundamental conditions in the Indonesian econo-my,” said Josua Pardede, an economist at PT Bank Permata in Jakarta.

Bank Indonesia said the move was mo-tivated by an improving infl ation outlook and expectations of only one more US rate increase, delayed to later this year. Of-fi cials also cited the rupiah and current-account defi cit remaining “manageable.”

Indonesia follows central banks in India and Vietnam in easing monetary policy in recent months as low infl a-tion gives policy makers in Asia room to provide stimulus to their economies. Six rate cuts last year in Indonesia had failed to spur economic growth above 5%, while credit demand is still lack-lustre, enabling the central bank to re-start its easing cycle.

Bank Indonesia may follow through with more easing. Weiwen Ng, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, said the bank may cut once more, while ING Group NV’s

Prakash Sakpal is forecasting a 25 ba-sis-point reduction by the end of 2017 and two more cuts in 2018.

Bloomberg Intelligence’s econo-mist Tamara Henderson is also fore-casting more reductions. Mohamed Faiz Nagutha, an economist at Merrill Lynch Asia Pacifi c in Hong Kong, sees no further easing.

“The rate cut from BI is a measured move, as it is coming on expectations

of lower infl ation, and reasonable growth,” said Rahul Bajoria, an econo-mist at Barclays in Singapore, who had correctly predicted the decision. “We believe the central bank remains fo-cused on maintaining fi nancial stabil-ity, and any further easing will be done keeping that in mind.”

The rate cut may spur consumer spending and help to boost sentiment for property and automotive stocks,

said Jeff rosenberg Tan, head of strat-egy at Sinarmas Sekuritas. The Jakarta Composite Index, the nation’s bench-mark stock index, rallied 0.6% to a record at close yesterday, taking its gain this year to almost 12%.

The rupiah retreated 0.1% to 13,359 per dollar in Jakarta.

The yield on 10-year government bonds fell two basis points to 6.85%, its lowest level since July 6, according

to data compiled by Bloomberg. Oth-er key points from Bank Indonesia’s statement are inflation forecast to average about 4% this year and below 3.5% in 2018; forecast for loan growth for this year lowered to 8-10% from 10-12% previously and GDP growth is estimated to be 5.1% to 5.5% in 2018. President Joko Widodo set a growth goal of 7% when he came to office three years ago.

A general view of Bank Indonesia’s headquarters in Jakarta. The central bank surprised most economists on Tuesday by lowering interest rates, reflecting its relative comfort with the currency and inflation outlook.

Most Asia markets edge higherAFPTokyo

Most Asian markets edged higher yesterday after a global equities rally driven

by optimism over a US tax reform plan, but President Donald Trump’s comments about terminating the North American Free Trade Agree-ment capped gains.

Markets have chalked up a comeback after struggling in re-cent weeks due to the continu-ing standoff between the US and North Korea, which has been com-pounded by Thursday’s attack in Barcelona.

The US president’s woes have fuelled speculation he will strug-gle to push through his market-friendly economy-boosting poli-cies that fanned a global market rally in the months after his No-vember election.

Despite ongoing chaos at the White House, markets have been heartened by reports suggesting that the Trump administration was making headway on a tax re-form plan.

“Some of the US political un-certainty may have been removed by a report on the Trump admin-istration making progress on tax reform, but a wait-and-see mood is strong ahead of Jackson Hole and tensions in North Korea still in place,” Tsutomu Nakamura, strategist at Ueda Harlow Corp in Tokyo, said in a commentary, re-ferring to a central bankers meet-ing on Friday.

The Japanese yen rose as in-vestors pushed into safer invest-ments after Trump said in a US speech that he may end Nafta, and vowed to pressure Congress to fund a border wall with Mexico that was at the centre of his elec-tion campaign.

“The Nafta hot air may be as much an excuse to take a step back after Wall Street’s surge yesterday, as it is a legitimate concern about the president not appreciating nuances of inter-dependence embedded in trade deals,” Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mi-zuho Bank in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.

The stronger yen pared some

gains in Tokyo where the bench-mark Nikkei 225 index ended 0.3% higher, while Seoul and Tai-pei edged up 0.1% and Singapore was flat.

But Shanghai ended 0.1% lower and Sydney slipped 0.2%. Hong Kong’s stock market was closed as powerful Typhoon Hato brought the southern Chinese city to a standstill.

All eyes are on the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming at the end of the week, which brings together the world’s top central bank chiefs.

Much of the attention will be on Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen, with hopes for some clues about the bank’s plans to wind in its huge bond holdings.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi’s speech will also be closely watched as Frankfurt-based policymakers consider cutting back their own balance sheet.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed up 0.3% at 19,434.64 points; Hong Kong was closed and Shanghai — Composite closed down 0.1% at 3,287.71 points yesterday.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Thursday, August 24, 201714

US monopoly power and market boomBy James SaftNew York

Monopoly pricing power may be keeping

US corporate earnings margins high and

may justify even higher equity prices but

the economy is increasingly less competi-

tive and vibrant as a result.

A new study charts a strange phenom-

enon — the markups firms charge custom-

ers above their marginal costs have gone

up and up in recent years, from 18% in

1980 to 67% by 2014.

“Markups are reaching heights multiple

times higher than ever seen, at least since

the second world war when our data

start,” economists Jan De Loecker and Jan

Eeckhout write in a paper released this

month.”It is open to speculation whether

this trend will continue, but for now there

are no signs that markups will decrease

substantially any time soon.”

That’s created the conditions to sup-

port today’s extremely high stock market

valuations. Not only are companies rolling

in cash thanks to high markups, but their

need to share the benefits with lower

skilled workers is diminished.

To make a good, or depending on your

point of view, bad situation worse, all this

is retarding economic growth, lowering

labour force participation, and lowering

both skilled wages and the demand for

capital.

All of these factors have been in part

behind the Federal Reserve’s decision

to provide ample, cheap money, money

which in turn has helped to drive up asset

price valuations.

Whatever the reasons behind the

phenomenon, the rise of market pricing

power has been integral to the rise of the

stock market.

What the paper describes is a rise in

market power, or monopoly power, in

the US since 1980, meaning the rise in

the relative ability of firms to set prices

above the level which would happen if an

advantage were competed away.

All this has not gone unnoticed by

equity investors.

While the S&P 500 stock index in

1980 traded on a multiple of only about

nine times the earnings of the previous

10 years, today it trades at a multiple of

almost 30.

That’s a richer market than at all times

in history save just before the 1929 crash

and the dotcom debacle at the turn of

the millennium. “If investors believe that

the current profit level that is four times

higher than in 1980 is permanent, then

we would expect that the stock market

capitalisation would be four time higher

than under perfect competition,” the

authors write.

To be sure, equity prices reflect a com-

plex, often muddled blend of factors, not

just the ability of firms to extract profits

from sales but also interest rates and the

prospects for future growth, both in firms’

market share and in the economy as a

whole.

The study used firm level data from

publicly traded companies allowing them

to compare output and input prices and

derive profit margin data.

The paper makes no attempt to explain

why margins have gone up, though the

authors suggest a few alternatives, most

of which include the role of technology.

The data show that there isn’t a strong

pattern across industries, but that most

of the margin increase happens within in-

dustries, with the top firms moving further

and further away from the rest in terms of

how much they can charge.

One surprising implication is that infla-

tion, low as it has been, is actually higher

than it would be if we still had the levels of

competition and margins which prevailed

in the post-World War II period up until

1980. Rising monopoly power in the US is

one factor that has also encouraged the

Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.

Wage growth at the low end has been

poor, output growth lower than it would

have been, and labour force participation

suppressed. For margins to fall and stock

prices to go with them, several things

would need to happen, none of which

seem imminent or terribly likely.

Firstly, government could, as it has in

other eras, take a more activist approach

to anti-trust policy and law, working out

and eradicating bars to competition.

That would be good for just about eve-

ryone but share owners and executives at

high-margin earning firms, but given the

current run of events, it is understandable

that investors don’t expect it.

The Fed could also decide that the

costs of supporting employment, output

and inflation resulting from the monopoly

power is not worth the risk and then hike

interest rates.

James Saft is a columnist for Reuters. The

views expressed are those of the author.

RWE to sell Innogy shares to boost stakes in fossil plants

BloombergDusseldorf

RWE AG plans to reduce its ma-jority stake in its grid, renewa-bles and retail arm Innogy SE

over the next few years to allow Ger-many’s biggest power producer to expand in conventional generation and energy storage in some of its Eu-ropean markets.

“It makes sense to diversify our portfolio,” chief fi nancial offi cer Markus Krebber said in an interview at his offi ce in Essen. “That has two aspects: technological, that would mean more gas; and geographical as we are most of all concentrated in Germany’s northwest.”

The company is ready to invest in energy assets in the rest of Germa-ny, Austria, Switzerland, the Ben-elux countries and the UK.

Krebber also praised Britain’s “clear framework,” including its capacity market that boosts secu-rity of supply and pays traditional plants to be on standby.

This year’s best performer on Germany’s DAX benchmark index is recovering from two years of losses caused by the collapse in electric-ity prices to the lowest level in more than a decade.

That prompted a revamp, includ-ing the sale of part of Innogy SE last year. German year-ahead power prices rose 25% on average in the fi rst

half compared with the same period in 2016.

The company was also refunded €1.7bn ($2bn) after a June ruling that the nation’s nuclear nuclear fuel tax was unlawful.

RWE was little changed after gain-ing for fi ve days, trading at €20.57 in Frankfurt. Innogy slid 0.8% to €37.355.

RWE is interested in expanding in both conventional generation as well as in procurement of raw materials, especially gas.

With the fi nancial scope the com-pany has already regained, it may buy power plants or a group of as-sets, Krebber said.

RWE has previously said it won’t buy nuclear reactors outside Ger-many, while the purchase of minor-ity stakes also doesn’t make sense to Krebber.

He would prefer to buy and own power plants over just managing them on behalf of others.

The utility is satisfi ed with the economic development of Innogy, in which it holds 77%, he said.

The company has delivered profi t and dividends along the lines of what was promised ahead of the initial public off ering, Krebber said.

Still, while there is no real need to sell down its stake in Innogy, RWE is likely to reduce its holding because it doesn’t want to “put all our eggs in one basket in relation to a fi nancial investment,” he said.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. While the S&P 500 stock index in 1980 traded on a multiple of only about nine times the earnings of the previous 10 years, today it trades at a multiple of almost 30.

UK gilt yields hit two-month low as risk appetite faltersReutersLondon

British government bond prices rallied yesterday, pushing two-year gilt

yields to their lowest in two months, bolstered by strong de-mand at a sale of fi ve-year debt and bearish sentiment in equity markets.

Two-year gilt yields dropped 3 basis points on the day to 0.187%, a level last seen on June 22, and longer-dated maturities recorded similar price gains.

Ten-year yields dropped al-most 4 basis points to 1.051%, their lowest since August 11. “We are moving up in line with the trends we are seeing else-where in Treasuries and Bunds, and equities are looking a bit soggy today,” ADM Investor Services strategist Marc Ost-wald said.

Gilts suff ered a weak start to the day as eurozone debt fell on the back of much stronger than expected eurozone manufactur-ing purchasing managers’ data.

But prices later steadily rose as European share prices shed 0.5% on the day.

US shares fell when trading opened on concern that Presi-dent Donald Trump had said he might force a government shut-down in order to build a wall on the United States’ border with Mexico, and scrap a trade deal with Canada and Mexico. “The leopard has not changed

his spots,” Ostwald said. Ear-lier yesterday investors bid strongly for £2.75bn ($3.52bn) of 0.75% 2023 gilts, which drew the strongest demand in seven years when they were fi rst sold a month ago.

The gilt sold at an average yield 0.635%, down from 0.769% at its launch, but well above the 0.47% yield on the current fi ve-year benchmark which matures in July 2022.

The higher yield refl ects the reduced liquidity of the gilt, but investors are keen to pile in in expectation that there will be several further sales later this year, and that the bond will be-come the next fi ve-year bench-mark, Ostwald said.

Second-quarter gross domes-tic product data due on Thurs-day is unlikely to shift markets much, unless there is an unex-pected revision to the earlier 0.3% estimate.

Instead, there is greater in-terest in an annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole in the United States which starts on Friday and will be attended by the heads of the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.”A few people are a bit wor-ried that either Yellen or Draghi will be a bit more hawkish, but I think they are over-anticipat-ing,” Ostwald said.

Reuters reported last week that sources familiar with the situation did not expect Draghi to deliver a new message at Jackson Hole.

Europe’s top coking-coal miner seeks long-term financing

BloombergWarsaw

Europe’s biggest coking-coal pro-

ducer is seeking to gain long-term

financing to prepare for the next

downturn in global commodity

prices.

In 2014, Polish government-

controlled JSW SA had to shelve

plans to sell its first Eurobonds

as it sought to boost liquidity

amid sinking prices of the fuel

used in steel production. With

coking coal in demand and fewer

regional competitors, the miner

has restored profitability and its

shares have jumped tenfold since

bottoming out at the start of 2016.

Valued at 10.8bn zloty ($3bn),

JSW is in talks with international

lenders such as the European

Investment Bank, the European

Bank for Reconstruction and

Development and the World Bank,

according to acting Chief Executive

Off icer Daniel Ozon. The company

is also looking at foreign bond

markets and will consider local

financing sources when it takes

a final decision on raising debt

in the fourth quarter, he said. “A

commodity company such as JSW

needs to have access to long-term

financing to have a cushion when

prices drop,” Ozon told reporters in

Warsaw on Friday. “The bond mar-

ket has been good recently but we

don’t know what will happen in the

future as there’s more talk about

the European Central Bank ending

its asset-purchase programme.”

Jastrzebie Zdroj, Poland-based

JSW is rated Ba2 by Moody’s Inves-

tors Service, the second-highest

non-investment grade. Spot metal-

lurgical coal has fallen 38% from

this year’s peak of $314 a ton in

April, according to The Steel Index.

It fell as low as $73.40 in 2015.

Poland’s state-run power pro-

ducers Tauron Polska Energia

SA and Energa SA sold a total of

€800mn ($939mn) in foreign-

currency bonds this year, taking

advantage of appetite for high-

er-yielding emerging-market

assets. Tauron’s offering was a

“success story” as margins were

tight amid “ample demand,” ac-

cording to Ozon.

A cure for Wall Street’s MiFID migraine issaid in works at SECBloombergWashington

Wall Street has been urging Washington for months to blunt the fallout from new Eu-

ropean rules that banks say will upend their research businesses. The industry’s top US regulator now appears poised to help.

In recent weeks, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pri-vately signalled to fi nancial fi rms that it wants to disarm a tripwire that would make it diffi cult for US brokerages to sell their market analysis to European money managers, according to industry repre-sentatives.

After seeming hesitant earlier this year, SEC staff ers are engaging more with fi rms and have intensifi ed eff orts to fi nd a solution before Europe’s rules take eff ect in January, the industry offi cials said.

At issue are regulations in the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Direc-tive, a sweeping update to a European Union fi nancial law known as MiFID.

One of the thorniest provisions is a re-quirement that brokerages charge money managers for research, rather than off er-ing it as free perk along with other serv-ices. Wall Street’s main sticking point: the change confl icts with US rules.

“The brokers and investment manag-ers are all down in Washington saying, ‘hey, look we need a solution,’” said Larry Tabb, whose New York-based research fi rm – Tabb Group – recently expanded its London offi ce in preparation for the new rules. SEC staff would be “actually hurting US banks and fi rms if they don’t create a carve-out policy,” he said.

SEC spokeswoman Judy Burns de-clined to comment.

The reason why the impending Euro-pean regulations are problematic in the US is that under American rules, com-panies that charge their clients money for analysis can deem to be providing investment advice. If US brokers have to register as investment advisers, they would have to comply with an additional set of costly restrictions that could shake up their business models, industry trade groups have argued.

At the same time, banks and money managers want to avoid having to oper-ate under diff erent sets of rules for Eu-rope and the US, which would be costly and increase legal risks.

Europe’s ban on free research is already expected to cost hundreds of employees their jobs, with banks expected to reduce by 30% the $4bn they spend producing analysis, according to a June McKinsey & Co report.

Washington lobbyists are pressing the SEC to come up with a solution in the next two months so that firms have enough time to make business adjust-ments before the European rules take effect.

The narrow window means the SEC doesn’t have time to issue new regu-lations, so its staff will probably issue guidance that provide assurances that fi rms won’t be sanctioned for complying with the EU rules, said one of the indus-try offi cials, who like others asked not to be named because the discussions with regulators aren’t public.

Meanwhile, asset managers want the SEC to clarify that they can pay for re-

search the same way in the US that they will have to in Europe. “The industry is seeking SEC confi rmation that global asset managers’ MiFID II compliance plans are consistent with US securities law provisions – and to do so by the early fall, so that fi rms have adequate time to prepare,” said Jennifer Choi, an associ-ate general counsel at the Investment Company Institute, a mutual fund trade group. “Confi rmation would help global fi rms continue running effi cient global trading and research programmes for the benefi t of their investors.”

SEC chairman Jay Clayton told law-makers in June that his agency was ex-amining the “potential adverse impacts” on US fi rms and working with European authorities. Since the former Wall Street lawyer took over the SEC in May, the regulator has become more focused on fi nding a solution, the industry repre-sentatives said.

“Clearly this will be one of his fi rst major initiatives,” said Tabb, who runs the consulting group with offi ces in New York and London. “This needs to be done certainly by the end of the year.”’

The headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. The SEC has privately signalled to financial firms that it wants to disarm a tripwire that would make it diff icult for US brokerages to sell their market analysis to European money managers.

BUSINESS15Gulf Times

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Europe fi rms seek help dealing with activist investor threatReutersLondon

European companies are being told by their advisers to open up and engage more with existing

shareholders to fend off the increas-ing threat from activist investors, who force strategy changes to push up a tar-get’s share price.

Activist investors are mostly hedge funds managing tens of billions of dollars of capital. The largest ones are from the US and, having had success in North America and benefi ting from a stronger dollar, they are fl ush with cash and looking for opportunities further afi eld.

According to JP Morgan, activist in-vestors have launched 119 campaigns in Europe in the 12 months to June 2017, compared to 100 a year earlier and 62 fi ve years ago. That has pushed corpo-rate management teams across Europe to ask investment bankers for help

preparing defences in case an activist crops up on their shareholder register.

“We have seen a signifi cant increase in calls from clients seeking our advice on how to prepare for when these in-vestors knock on the door, especially after the activists’ stakes in Nestle and Clariant-Huntsman became public,” said Hernan Cristerna, co-head of glo-bal M&A at JP Morgan.

New York-based fund Corvex is pushing for Swiss chemicals com-pany Clariant to abandon its proposed merger with US peer Huntsman.

Third Point, led by billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, took a $3.5bn stake in Nestle in July and has started calling for an overhaul. Though there are several well-known European ac-tivists, such as TCI Fund Management and Cevian, most of the world’s largest funds such as Third Point, Elliott Man-agement and ValueAct are American.

Their success has crowded the US market.

Europe is seen as tempting as fi nan-

cial and political uncertainties have diminished.

UK companies are thought to be particularly attractive targets due to corporate governance rules which give shareholders more infl uence, and the often large number of minority inves-tors. Anglo-Australian miner BHP Bil-liton has spent the past fi ve months trying to fend off demands for a shake-up by Elliot Management.

On Tuesday, BHP said it was looking at options to exit its US onshore shale business, conceding to one of Elliott’s demands. Often activist investors ini-tially engage with target companies quietly, discussing possibly strategy changes with them.

Some fi rms welcome them, as they can help secure wider support from shareholders or insiders for major change. But mostly the funds are seen as a threat, especially when they start publicly calling for changes and criti-cising companies who will not adopt their recommendations. “More com-

panies in Europe feel the need to have a discussion with their advisers on ac-tivism — no one wants to fend off an activist attack in the public eye,” JPM’s Cristerna added.

Bankers said they advise clients to engage with existing shareholders to potentially dissuade them from sup-porting an activist attack. They also look at companies’ assets and advise them if any could be sold to improve shareholder returns.

These pre-emptive moves might ex-plain why the success rate of activist campaigns in Europe has been falling since 2014. According to data from in-dustry tracker Activist Insight in 2017 just 32.8% of campaigns have been “at least partially successful”, compared to 43.2% in 2016.

Among those that emerged as clear victors this year in Europe is Nordic hedge fund Accendo Capital Managers, which became the largest shareholder in fi bre optic manufacturer Hexatronic Group and whose stock has risen al-

most 80% since the initial investment.Others have achieved a more com-

plicated victory, such as British hedge fund TCI, which became embroiled in aero engine maker Safran’s off er for Zodiac Aerospace.”We got most of what we asked for,” TCI partner Jonathan Amouyal told Reuters in May after Safran cut its off er.

At the same time, TCI has yet to make any tangible impact at Volkswa-gen where it is pushing for change.

Volkswagen stock has fallen 2.14% since the hedge fund launched its ac-tivist campaign. bankers said that as campaigns targeting European fi rms increase, they are looking to cash in on advisory work.

“European institutional investors are less comfortable with the concept of activism from a cultural perspec-tive, particularly when it’s a US hedge fund coming over,” said Chris Young, head of contested situations at Credit Suisse in New York. “In the US, activ-ists are often treated like rock stars,

they get a lot of favourable press cover-age and that’s not the case in Europe,” he added.

Citigroup this week announced it had hired Muir Paterson to head the bank’s global team of bankers advising companies on activist shareholders.

“We had teams in the US dealing with activist issues and we also have now people in Europe, working closely with their US colleagues because more often than not, these activists are the same,” Severin Brizay, head of EMEA M&A at UBS said.

For the funds themselves, this can also bring benefi ts. Harlan Zimmerman, a senior partner at Anglo-Swedish activist fi rm Cevian Capital, said some European companies are becoming more willing to engage with activist investors.

“With the proliferation of activ-ism, companies and their advisers have gained a much better under-standing of the spectrum of activism and how to engage with activists of all sorts,” he said.

COMEX copper stocks are at 13-year highs, and risingBy Andy HomeLondon

COMEX copper stocks rose by a net 271

tonnes on Monday. There was some light

two-way action at New Orleans and arriv-

als at both Tucson and Salt Lake City. So

what, you might ask.

Who cares how much copper is sit-

ting in the small handful of US locations

registered as good delivery points for

what is now the CME’s high-grade copper

contract?

COMEX stocks are the third, often

forgotten component of the global copper

inventory picture.

For years the copper market narrative

has been woven around the interaction

between inventory registered with the

London Metal Exchange (LME) and the

Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE). You

could even argue that Shanghai bonded

warehouse stocks, although statistically

obscure, attract more attention than the

stuff sitting in what is a purely domestic

US delivery system.

But that may be about to change.

Because Monday’s increase in COMEX

stocks was but the latest small step higher

in a bigger trend that has been running

since November last year.

COMEX stocks currently total 180,121

tonnes. That’s the highest they’ve been

since 2004, when the US economy was

still recovering from the bursting of the

dot.com bubble.

Even during the dark days of the global

manufacturing meltdown that followed

the financial crisis of 2008, they topped

out at a little over 105,000 tonnes.

But equivalent to 163,405 tonnes,

COMEX stocks now eclipse the 113,600

tonnes of “live” warrants registered with

the LME. If they carry on rising like this,

they may soon represent the largest single

component of the global exchange stocks

picture.

How did that happen? And what does it

mean for the copper price?

COMEX stocks have nearly tripled in

size since the start of November 2016,

when they totalled just 71,961 tonnes.

The timing is significant.

It was in November last year that

Donald Trump unexpectedly won the US

elections. And with Trump came the pos-

sibility of a US border tax on commodities

such as refined copper.

The arbitrage between LME and

COMEX copper prices responded accord-

ingly, flexing out to multi-year levels.

Things have calmed down a bit since

then as the prospect of President Trump

delivering on this particular campaign

pledge has receded.

In March this year the COMEX contract

for December 2018 was trading at a 2%

premium to the equivalent LME contract.

That diff erential has nearly halved in

the interim. But the arbitrage gap, on a for-

ward basis at least, is still there and is still

widely believed to be the primary reason

behind the rise in US copper stocks.

The only problem with that explanation

is the location of the stock increases.

COMEX has just seven delivery points,

only five of which hold any copper at

all and only three of which have been

recently active.

And only one of those, New Orleans, is

a physical arbitrage point. Not only is it

a major international transit port but the

city is also host to LME warehouses, albeit

sitting in duty-free zones.

If the Trump Eff ect has stimulated

physical flows from international market

to US domestic market, New Orleans is

where you’d expect to see the impact.

There was a noticeable rise in New Or-

leans stocks in the first quarter of this year.

But the inflow has since fizzled out and

the port has, on a net basis, accounted

for only 11,091 tonnes of the overall

108,160-tonne increase since November.

Rather, most of the inflows have taken

place at Tucson in Arizona, where stocks

have risen by 34,820 tonnes, and Salt Lake

City in Utah, where they are up by 62,313

tonnes.

Both are not only land-locked but also

bereft of any LME warehouses, suggest-

ing that arbitrage, even by displacement,

is not the only reason for higher COMEX

stocks.

Another displacement eff ect may be at

work in what appears to be a chronically

over-supplied regional market, namely

copper scrap.

The sharp price rally of late 2016 gener-

ated a surge in scrap availability this year,

including in the United States.

US discounts for all types of copper

scrap blew wider as higher prices incen-

tivised dealers to release material that had

been loss-making at lower prices.

The price of higher-grade “bare bright”

scrap, for example, flexed out from flat

with CME copper in June 2016 to a 10-cent

per lb discount in February 2017, accord-

ing to S&P Global Platts.

Just when the scrap pricing structure

appeared to be normalising, this month’s

sharp rise in copper prices has caused

renewed widening in discounts.

Andy Home is a columnist for Reuters.

The views expressed are those of the author.

US top debt rating in doubt, warns FitchAFPWashington

The top ‘AAA’ long-term debt rating of the United States will be in danger

if lawmakers do not raise bor-rowing limits in a timely fash-ion, ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday.

Congress faces looming dead-lines to approve spending for 2018 and raise legal limits on the amount the United States can borrow in order to meet immedi-ate funding obligations — raising the prospect that the US could default on its sovereign debt for the fi rst time ever and cause hav-oc on global markets.

The non-partisan Congres-sional Budget Offi ce estimates that the US Treasury has until October before exhausting the “extraordinary measures” it put in place in March, when the US reached its current $19.8tn bor-rowing limit.

Lawmakers return from Au-gust recess on September 5, making the winDow for action even tighter.

“If the debt limit is not raised in a timely manner prior to the so-called ‘x date,’ Fitch would review the US sovereign rating, with potentially negative im-

plications,” the agency said in a statement.

The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s in 2011 Downgraded the US debt rating to AA+, a notch below its highest level, following battles among lawmakers over whether to lift the cap on bor-rowing.

In the event the limit is not raised, prioritising some pay-ments over others, as some have suggested Washington may be forced to do, “may not be com-patible with ‘AAA’ status,” Fitch said. The Trump administration has called on lawmakers to raise the debt limit “as soon as pos-sible.”

Failure to adopt spending leg-islation, resulting in a govern-ment shutdown, would not di-rectly aff ect the US debt rating, “but it would highlight how po-litical divisions pose challenges to the budgetary process,” Fitch said.

President Donald Trump’s insistence that Congress fund his proposed Wall along the Mexican border, a key campaign pledge, could upset delicate ne-gotiations on Capitol Hill.

Speaking in Phoenix, Arizo-na on Tuesday, Trump threat-ened a government shutdown if Democrats continued to op-pose the plan.

Rosneft wins huge damages over Bashneft deal

A Russian court yesterday

ordered private company Sistema

to pay huge damages to state-

controlled oil giant Rosneft over

its controversial deal to acquire

oil company Bashneft.

The regional court of Bashko-

rtostan in southern Russia ruled

in favour of Rosneft which was

suing Bashneft’s previous owner,

private firm Sistema — owned by

tycoon Vladimir Yevtushenkov.

It ordered Sistema to pay Ros-

neft 136bn roubles ($2.3bn).

Rosneft — headed by Igor

Sechin, a powerful ally of Presi-

dent Vladimir Putin — had asked

for a higher sum of 171bn roubles

but if the amount is upheld, it

will be one of the largest ever

awarded by a Russian court.

Bashneft, an oil producer

based in the central city of Ufa,

was privatised in the early 2000s.

In 2014, a Moscow court

ordered the nationalisation of a

stake held by Sistema.

The billionaire Yevtushenkov

spent several months under

house arrest from December 2013

on money laundering charges.

His case was likened to that of

former Yukos chief Mikhail Kho-

dorkovsky — whose company was

also snapped up by Rosneft.

Observers said Yevtushenkov’s

arrest marked a watershed for

Russian business as it signalled

that even tycoons loyal to the

Kremlin were no longer immune

from prosecution.

Yevtushenkov was released

two months after Bashneft’s

nationalisation.

US new home sales hit 7-month low in JulyReutersWashington

New US single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in July, drop-ping to their lowest in seven

months amid a surge in prices, raising concerns of a slowdown in the housing market recovery.

Coming on the heels of data this month showing a tumble in home building and permits in July, the weak sales pace sug-gests that housing could remain a drag on economic growth in the third quarter.

“The third-quarter sales data are starting out signifi cantly below the sec-ond-quarter average, and many other housing reports have also shown some recent weakening in their respective trends,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. “Today’s re-port strengthens our conviction that real residential investment will decline in the third quarter.”

The Commerce Department said yes-terday new home sales declined 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units last month, the lowest lev-el since December 2016.

The percentage drop was the larg-est since August 2016 and confounded economists’ expectations for a 0.3% gain. June’s sales pace was revised up to 630,000 units from the previously re-ported 610,000 units.

Home sales in May also were not as weak as previously reported, taking some of the sting from July’s report.

New home sales, which account for 9.4% of overall housing sales, are volatile month-to-month and are drawn from building permits.

Still, sales declined 8.9% on a year-on-year basis, the fi rst annual drop since February 2016.

July’s sales pace was below the sec-ond-quarter average of 613,000 units.

Sales fell in the Northeast, South and West, but rose in the Midwest.

In a separate report on Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for loans to buy a house de-creased last week to a six-month low.

A survey last month by Fannie Mae, the largest US mortgage guarantor, showed a drop in the share of respondents saying now is a good time to buy a home as well

as a surge in the number of those who be-lieve this is a bad time to buy.

Housing subtracted nearly three-tenths of a percentage point from gross domestic product in the second quarter.

US fi nancial markets were little moved by the data as investors worried over comments by President Donald Trump threatening a government shutdown to secure funding for a border wall with Mexico, raising the spectre of a tough budget battle.

Trump also said late on Tuesday he might terminate the Nafta trade treaty with Mexico and Canada after three-way talks failed to bridge deep diff erences.

The PHLX index of housing stocks fell in line with a broadly weaker US stock market.

Shares in the nation’s largest home-builder, DR Horton, slipped 0.22% and Lennar Corp fell 0.28%. Pultegroup

stock declined 0.43%. The dollar was trading lower against a basket of curren-cies, while prices for US Treasuries rose.

Despite the drop in new home sales, the housing market remains under-pinned by a strong labour market, which is near full employment.

But it is being hampered by a shortage of homes, which is driving up prices.

Contributing to the dearth of homes on the market, some homeowners are re-modelling their houses rather than trad-ing up. Those renovations are boosting business for home improvement retailers like Lowe’s Companies, which yesterday reported a 6.8% increase in net sales in the quarter ended August 4. The median price of a new home increased 6.3% in July from a year ago to $313,700.

In contrast, annual wage growth has struggled to break above 2.5%. Despite the acute housing shortage, builders are

struggling to fi ll the void, citing supply constraints, including labour, land and fi nance.

Last month, 70% of the new single family homes sold were either yet to be built or under construction in July.

“New home sales are still concen-trated in the higher end of the market,” said Matthew Pointon, an economist at Capital Economics in New York. “Until builders switch their eff orts to cheaper starter homes that will limit to degree to which sales can grow.” The inventory of new homes on the market rose 1.5% to 276,000 units last month, the highest level since June 2009. Still, new housing stock is less than half of what it was at its zenith during the housing bubble.

At July’s sales pace it would take 5.8 months to clear the supply of houses on the market, almost a two-year high and up from 5.2 months in June.

A sign is posted in front of a home for sale in San Francisco, California. New US single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in July, dropping to their lowest in seven months amid a surge in prices, raising concerns of a slowdown in the housing market recovery.

BUSINESSThursday, August 24, 2017

GULF TIMES

Maturing ‘branch footprint’ poses new challenges for banks globallyBANKING ON KNOWLEDGE

By John R Wright

Driving into Edinburgh from our borders

abode the other afternoon, I came to the

lights at Leith Walk and noticed on the

corner of Leith Walk and MacDonald Road

the now-defunct Leith Walk branch of

Clydesdale Bank, which suddenly seems

to have vanished in recent weeks.

It caused me to reflect on the malaise

that pervades UK Banking, through

the wholesale slaughter of the ‘branch

network’. I say this advisedly, as almost

no credible defence has been put forward

to prevent this from happening, thus

disenfranchising hundreds of thousands

of bank customers across the UK, who ac-

tually still like to have access to a branch;

this includes many of my own age, who

are not yet users of Internet banking and

arguably never will be (I exclude myself

from this particular category!)

Interestingly, any time that I go into

RBS or Bank of Scotland Branches in Kelso

on The Square, I find them to be busy

with a pretty high degree of footfall and

a good blend of young and old. At the

same time, I find them resolutely shut at

hours, which could be more convenient

to many, ie. those who have to work for a

living with set hours daily and those for

whom an evening or a weekend would be

much more “convenient”. I then wonder

why this potential need has been utterly

ignored.

Many moons ago, in a bank I ran, we

engaged in a piece of market research,

which examined the behavioural pro-

pensities and switching likelihood of our

customer base – this was in 1993!

The results of the research were

powerful, indicating a variety of customer

preferences in respect of opening hours

and service levels depending on locations,

ie. the suburban customer demonstrated

quite diff erent propensities and needs

compared with either the rural or the city

centre customer – it became very clear

that a generic proposition in terms of

opening hours simply didn’t cut it!

Accordingly, we started to experi-

ment with different opening hour mod-

els, including Saturdays for branches

in malls (where you were paying top

dollar anyway for retail space!) to town

centres and also took a look at early

morning opening on market days in

rural towns, where there was a strong

farming preference! The differentiation

was immediate!

Obviously, staff had to be consulted

and had to acquiesce in terms of agreeing

to work diff erent shift patterns etc. In

the main this was achieved although not

without a certain amount of opposition

from the Union.

This dissipated over time when it

became very clear that customer prefer-

ences were really being met. One of the

criteria that was expressed in the research

by customers was that if we were to open

on Saturdays, they expected full service

banking ie. not simply peddling home

loans and personal loans. This we dealt

with.

Given the tragedy in UK banking fol-

lowing the crisis of 2008/09 where our

reputations were dragged through the

gutter, one would imagine that banks’

managements would have taken real care

to ensure that they would rebuild the

trust that previously prevailed with the

customers.

However, it seems that the “bean

counters” are alive and well and that the

concept of using a branch presence (not

necessarily the existing bricks and mor-

tar) as a pivotal piece in a bank’s distribu-

tion strategy along with online/mobile/

telephone/etc is either misunderstood

or totally disregarded. One suspects that

the current crop of bank chief executives

who have little or no experience of “the

customer” cannot comprehend what this

is doing to their business.

Challenger banks will gradually erode

the existing top heavy franchises and

hopefully we can see some genuine com-

petition coming back, which will benefit

customers as a whole.

Glasgow-based John R Wright is an

academic, veteran banker and a former

CEO of Oman International Bank and Gulf

Bank, Kuwait.

Qatargas’ Operations Group completes two years and 30mn man-hours without LTIQatargas recently achieved a

world-class safety milestone when its Operations Group

completed two years, and 30mn man-hours, without a lost time injury (LTI) in the company’s onshore and off shore assets.

On the achievement, Qatargas chief executive offi cer Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said, “This world-class achievement is testament to the dedication and focus of our em-ployees and contractors to operating Qatargas’ assets safely, effi ciently and reliably. I would like to congratulate the entire Qatargas Operations Team for this notable accomplishment and extend my appreciation for their de-votion to safety. This feat once again underscores our commitment to an Incident and Injury Free (IIF) culture.”

“At Qatargas, safety is a key pillar, and a core value shared by employees and contractors alike. The company’s management has spared no eff ort in providing systems, tools and a sup-portive environment to reinforce the importance of safety. In addition, strong leadership and compliance with the Qatargas Life Saving Rules make such accomplishments possi-ble,” a company release said.

Established in 1984, Qatargas pioneered the liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) industry in Qatar and today is the largest producer of LNG in the world with an annual production ca-pacity of 42mn tonnes per year from its world-class facilities in Ras Laff an Industrial City.

Since fi rst production in 1996, Qatargas has successfully delivered cargos to as many as 28 countries and is committed to meeting the world’s demand for safe, reliable and clean energy. Through its operational ex-cellence Qatargas is adding value to

its production chain, contributing to the Qatari economy and Qatar’s Na-tional Vision to ensure effi cient ener-

gy supplies for the country, creating new markets and contributing to the local community. In addition to the

LNG facilities, Qatargas operates the Jetty Boil-Off Gas facility, the Laff an Refi nery (one of the largest conden-

sate refi neries in the world), and the Ras Laff an Terminal on behalf of its stakeholders.

An aerial view of the LNG liquefaction facilities of Qatargas 2 at Ras Laff an. Established in 1984, Qatargas pioneered the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in Qatar and today is the largest producer of LNG in the world.

El Al counts on new Boeing 787s to lure back customersInvests $1.25bn on 16 Boeing 787 aircraft; to receive all 787 aircraft by 2020; CEO sees winning back business class passengers

ReutersBen Gurion Airport

El Al Israel Airlines took de-livery of its fi rst Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft yes-

terday in a $1.25bn investment aimed at renewing its long-range fl eet, halting a drop in its market share and winning back business customers.

In all, Israel’s fl ag carrier will receive 16 787-8 and 787-9 planes — both bought and leased — by 2020.

It expects one more 787 by year-end, a total of seven by the end of 2018 and 14 by the end of 2019.

They will initially fl y from Tel Aviv to Newark starting on Octo-ber 17 and then Hong Kong, Lon-don and New York’s JFK airport.

At a ceremony on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International

Airport following the airplane’s fl ight from Seattle, CEO David Maimon said the fl eet renewal was new era for El Al, helping it better compete in a fi ercely com-petitive market.

El Al was once the go-to air-line for most Israelis thanks to the kind of stringent security that equips planes with missile de-fence systems.

But it has frustrated customers — particularly business travellers — over the past decade with an ageing fl eet that compares poorly with competitors off ering newer jets fi tted with the latest in hi-tech entertainment and comfort.

Last week, it reported a 53% drop in second-quarter net profi t due to higher salary and jet fuel costs.

Its market share at Ben Gurion Airport fell to 29.5% from 34.2% a year ago.

“I am sure (because of) this air-craft, most of our passengers will be back, especially the business segment,” Maimon told Reuters yesterday.

The average age of El Al’s 19-strong long-haul fl eet of Boe-

ing 767s, 747s and 777s is about 19 years, and 14 of them are more than 21 years old.

El Al in recent years has re-newed its short-haul fl eet with 23 Boeing 737 aircraft.

“We have old aircraft. But in two years from now we will have a new fl eet. The average age will be about fi ve, six years,” Maimon said, noting the 747s and 767s will be retired.

The new aircraft are expected to cut fuel costs by at least 20%.

El Al, which is expanding into North America with nonstop fl ights to Miami starting in No-vember, retains an all Boeing fl eet.

In a tender, it opted for the 787s over the Airbus A350s.

Towards the back of the new aircraft is inscribed “Proudly all Boeing”.

“This relationship is almost 70 years old and we don’t have a lot of all-Boeing customers any-more,” said Ray Conner, Boeing’s vice chairman. “The relationship between our company, Israel and El Al is one of the more precious ones we have.”

Egypt stocks fall amid US aid denialReutersDubai

Egypt’s stock index lost 0.9% to 12,996 points

yesterday, making it the worst performer in

the region. All but one of the 30 most valuable

shares fell, with investment bank EFG Hermes

dropping 2.1% to a fresh closing low for this

year.

US sources familiar with the matter told

Reuters on Tuesday that Washington had

decided to deny Egypt $95.7mn in aid and to

delay a further $195mn because of its failure

to make progress on respecting human rights

and democratic norms.

The Egyptian index has been technically

bearish since last week, when breaks below

its July low of 13,261 points and its 100-day

average triggered a head and shoulders pat-

tern formed by the highs and lows since June,

which points down to about 12,650 points.

Markets in the region were mixed yesterday

with Saudi Arabia finding support from smaller

companies while property developers were

strong in Dubai. The Riyadh index edged up

0.1% to 7,264 points.

Nine-tenths of the top 20 gainers were small

to mid-sized stocks including Saudi Indian Co

for Cooperative Insurance (Wafa), which added

1.6% after saying it had received “temporary

and conditional” approval from the central

bank to sell some of its professional liability

insurance policies.

Al Maather REIT, which listed on Tuesday,

surged its 10% daily limit for a second straight

day, while Al Jazira Mawten REIT gained 3.3%.

Real estate investment trusts have been

heavily traded this week as local investors

have been lured by the sudden surge in activ-

ity. “The trend is your friend — retail investors

are just piling into shares because of headline

news, as there is a lack of news in any other

sector,” said a Jeddah-based broker.

Al Rajhi added 1.7% to 66.90 riyals.

In Abu Dhabi, the index edged up 0.3% to

4,487 points in very thin trade as three of the

five most valuable companies rose; developer

Aldar Properties advanced 0.9%.

Qatar’s index edged down 0.1% to 9,054

points as most banking shares declined; Com-

mercial Bank fell 1.6% to 29.90 riyals.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Kuwait index de-

clined 0.1% at 6,922 points, the Bahrain index

fell 0.2% to 1,305 points and the Oman index

lost 0.3% to 4,955 points.