BUSINESSPAGE | 16 PAGE | 18

15THURSDAY 30 JULY 2020

Vodafone Qatar celebrates Eid Al Adha with Sidra Medicine's young patients

QC reviews proposals to

regulate waste recycling industry

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UDC posts net profit of QR101m in H1 2020

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

United Development Company (UDC), a leading Qatari public shareholding company and the master developer of The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Island announced its financial results for the first half of 2020, reporting net profit of QR101m over revenues of QR563m. The net profit attributable to the equity shareholders was QR87m. UDC’s basic earnings per share stood at QR 0.025.

In spite of the current dif-ficult circumstances, UDC was able to maintain residential and commercial occupancy rates on The Pearl-Qatar while carrying out construction works safely at The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Island and achieving development mile-stones according to the Com-pany’s Business Plan. UDC’s strategy was therefore proven effective in weathering the economic repercussions of the pandemic and will ensure UDC’s sustainable growth and the creation of new opportu-nities and revenue sources over the long term. In this

context, UDC continued exe-cuting the construction activ-ities in Gewan Island, following the awarding of contracts worth QR1.5bn for the Island’s mixed-use buildings, land-scape and infrastructure works.

UDC is a leading Qatari public shareholding company with a mission to identify and invest in long-term projects contributing to Qatar’s growth and providing shareholder

value. Established in 1999, the Company was first listed on the Qatar Exchange in June 2003. It has an authorised share capital of QR3.5bn and total assets of QR18.4bn as at 30 June 2020.

UDC activities cover a mul-titude of vital investment sectors including real estate development, property man-agement, infrastructure and utilities, maritime and hospi-tality related businesses.

Turki bin Mohammed Al Khater, UDC Chairman

Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, UDC President and Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board

Aamal reports gross H1 profit of QR154.8mTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Aamal Company (Aamal), one of the leading diversified com-panies in the region, announced yesterday its half-yearly financial results for the current year reporting a gross profit of QR154.8m,, down 31.6 percent compared to QR 226.2m for the same period last year.

Total revenue of the Aamal Group for the period stood at QR634.0m, which has decreased marginally by 0.3 percent compared QR 636.1m in H1 2019.

Net Profit before fair value loss and share in results of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method amounted to QR65.6m in H1 2020 against QR141.2m in H1 2019. It has reported a net profit of QR19.7m for the six months against QR183.1m for the same period previous years (H1 2019).

Net loss before share in results of associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method (net

underlying profit) amounted to QR8.8m compared to QR141.2m for the same period last years

Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of Aamal, said: “The COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve and to impact, in different ways, the many sectors across which Aamal operates. Our priority remains the health and safety of our employees and cus-tomers, as well as continuing

to take whatever action we can to help support the national economy through the pandemic in line with our national and corporate responsibilities.

“To support our valued retail tenants during these hugely challenging times, Aamal approved the waiver of rents for our retail units during the second quarter of 2020. �P16

Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of Aamal

Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Al Thani, CEO and Managing Director of Aamal

16 THURSDAY 30 JULY 2020BUSINESS

QC reviews proposals to regulate waste recycling industryTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Chamber’s Environment Committee, a subsidiary of Food Security and Envi-ronment Committee, held a webinar to discuss decisions proposed by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment on the regulation, recycling and waste treatment, and the appropriate time to implement the proposed recycling proce-dures.

The meeting was chaired by Head of Food Security and Environment Committee Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli in the presence of the Committee’s Vice Chairman Abdulrahman bin Abdulla Al Ansari, Dr Saif Al Hajari and Nasser Ahmed Al Khalaf.

During the meeting, attendees called for allowing factories to qualify them-selves to be able to implement these decisions,

stressing the importance of providing economic and environmental studies and working on establishing mechanisms to bear the expected cost in cases such as legislation is applied between all parties, whether the consumer, the producer

or the relevant governmental authorities.

The meeting also stressed the importance of listening to the views of manufacturers, recycling specialists and con-sumer representatives on this regard.

Attendees also stressed the

importance of organising awareness programmes to the business community and con-sumers on the proposed deci-sions, noting that the recycling industry requires financial facilities, praising the role payed by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in providing facil-ities to support these industries.

The meeting recom-mended inviting the represent-atives from the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and owners of factories to attend the upcoming meeting in order to review these pro-posals and identify the field or economic studies on which the concerned parties depended on when formulating these proposals.

During the meeting, it was also recommended to allow enough time before issuing a legislation that regulates the recycling process.

Abdulrahman bin Abdulla Al Ansari, Vice-Chairman, Food Security and Environment Committee

Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli, Head of Food Security and Environment Committee

QFZA Chairman meets with Chinese Ambassador THE PENINSULA — DOHA

H E Ahmad bin Mohammed Al Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Qatar Zhou Jian at his office in Doha recently. The two sides agreed during the meeting to strengthen the cordial rela-tions between their two countries, especially enhancing bilateral ties in trade in addition to attracting investment to the Free Zones in Qatar.

FROM PAGE 15

While this decision nega-tively impacted Aamal’s financial results for the period, we believe that supporting our tenants in this way is the right thing to do.”

He added: “As we reported in the first quarter, companies in the Trading and Distribution segment have acted swiftly and effectively to support Qatar’s communities during the pan-demic, including launching services for the home delivery of medicines. As the pandemic peaked in Qatar during the second quarter, Ebn Sina Medical and Aamal Medical in particular continued to work tirelessly to ensure that customers continued to receive a reliable supply of critical medicines and medical equipment.”

Sheikh Faisal noted that in addition to enduring the enforced operational sus-pension of a number of the company’s Managed Services and Trading and Distribution businesses, the impact of the pandemic has exacerbated the intense competition and major project postponements experi-enced across the industrial manufacturing segments in which it operates. “In response to these, we have instigated a wide-ranging review of these operations that will better ensure that they perform as effi-ciently, as effectively and as competitively as possible going forward.”

“We are pleased to report that from May 2020 Aamal has been included in the MSCI Qatar

Small Cap Index. The MSCI is a leading provider of research-based indexes and analytics, and its indexes are often used as benchmarks by the global investment community to m e a s u r e p o r t f o l i o performances.

“Looking ahead, 2020 will continue to be a challenging year as companies around the world deal with the impact of COVID-19. However, Aamal’s Board of Directors and management team remain confident in the Group’s ability to navigate effectively through these challenges and to return to growth in 2021, sup-ported by Qatar’s robust economy, the resilience provided by Aamal’s diverse business model and the Group’s financial strength. I look forward to updating shareholders regarding future developments in due course.”

Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal Al Thani, CEO and Managing Director of Aamal, said: “The global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty around its progression, severity and duration will continue to be felt throughout the remainder of 2020. However, continued cost control and working capital management, and the resilience provided by our diverse business model will enable Aamal to continue our progress in delivering our long-term strategy as the pandemic subsides.”

A conference call to discuss the results will be held on August 6, 2020 at 2pm (local time).

Aamal reports H1gross profit of QR154.8m

Strong sales deals lift Real Estate Price Index, says Ezdan ReportTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The real estate market continues to rally up backed by a large volume of property sales executed during the past week.

A number of substantial sale deals in some municipalities contributed to the continuing rise of the real estate price index, coupled with positive senti-ments in the market as the country embarks on the third stage of easing down lockdown restrictions to contain COVID19 outbreak in Qatar, Ezdan Real Estate weekly report noted.

The bulletin released by the Real Estate Registration Department for the period from

July 23 to 23, 2020, showed a total volume of 141 property sales deals, worth QR513.8m. The operations were distributed over 8 municipalities: Umm Salal, Al Khor, Al Thakhira, Doha, Al Rayan, North, Shehaniya, Al Daayen and Al Wakrah. The transactions included the sale of vacant land lots, residential units, multi-use buildings, multi-use land lots, and residential buildings. Umm Salal ranked first in terms of deal value that accounted for QR 56.6m.

The deal entailed the sale of an extensive land lot spanning over 26,303 square meters. It was sold at QR200 per square

foot.Umm Salal also registered the second highest deal in terms of value by selling a piece of vacant land lot in Al Kharaitiyat

spreading over 12,507 square meters and was sold at QR282 per square foot, bringing the total deal at QR38mn.

17THURSDAY 30 JULY 2020 BUSINESS

18 THURSDAY 30 JULY 2020BUSINESS

As lawmakers spar, Federal Reserve aims to buoy economyAFP - WASHINGTON

Facing the second recession in just over a decade and with Con-gress locked in debate over a new emergency spending package, the Federal Reserve yesterday will seek a way to put some guardrails on the US economy.

The central bank policy com-mittee opened the second day of a two-day meeting yesterday, with the COVID-19 case count resurging and the death toll approaching 150,000 as econo-mists project a shocking 35 percent collapse of American GDP in the April-June quarter.

As hopes dim that businesses can reopen and allow life to return to normal with the virus still rife, fears are mounting of a lasting recession, which would

jeopardize the rebound in employment in the past month and erode gains in consumer confidence.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is not expected to announce major changes when it wraps up its two-day meeting, but could offer new guarantees that it will keep the stimulus in place for an extended period.

The Fed dropped the key lending rate to zero in the early days of the pandemic, and has made it clear it will stay there until the recovery is firmly in place.

It also flooded the financial system with cash and constructed a web of loan programmes to support every size of business and corporate borrower as well

as state and local governments. Economists expect policy-

makers to change the Fed’s “forward guidance” to make it clear they could allow inflation to rise higher and unemployment to go lower before it taps the brakes on the economy with an interest rate increase -- but they are divided on the timing of the change.

Many expect the committee to hold off on any explicit changes until the next meeting in Sep-tember, but some say the deteri-oration in the pandemic and the economy argue for more rapid action.

“Why now instead of in Sep-tember as most are expecting? The resurgence in hospitaliza-tions and deaths due to COVID-19 is taking a toll on growth.

Consumer spending has, at best, hit a plateau. Employment may have actually contracted in recent weeks,” Grant Thornton chief economist Diane Swonk said in an analysis.

“This is at the same time that Congress has stalled in debate over a new aid package,” she

said. But Ian Shepherdson of Pan-

theon Macroeconomics said the Fed may not want to get ahead of Congress, and is likely to wait until after the fiscal package is settled and after the release of a policy review discussing the shift to an average inflation policy rather than the current two percent target.

“Clearly, we can’t rule out an announcement of inflation-based forward guidance,” he said.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell (pictured), who will hold a press conference following the meeting, has tried to stay far away from advising Congress, but has made it plain that the central bank’s options are limited and the federal government will need to provide more cash to support

households and businesses. As expanded unemployment

payments and a moratorium on evictions are set to expire, Senate Republicans late Monday unveiled a $1 trillion support package that slashes additional weekly jobless benefits to $200 a week from $600, but also would offer a second round of $1,200 payments to individuals and give funding to schools, pro-vided they reopen.

That sets the stage for a showdown with Democrats who are pushing their own $3 trillion plan that retains the higher unemployment payments.

The gulf between the plans could lead to a delay in a new round of spending that most economists say is critical to support the economy.

GE sees lengthy recovery aheadBLOOMBERG

General Electric Co (GE) pre-dicted slow gains in operations this year and next after the coro-navirus pandemic battered results in the second quarter. The jet-engine division has tracked “early signs of improvement” in flight departures on the path to a lengthy recovery, GE said in a presentation yesterday as it reported results. The company burned through $2.1bn in indus-trial free cash in the second quarter, less than the $3.3bn drain expected by analysts.

“It’s really about sequential improvement from here,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp said on a call with analysts. “The envi-ronment remains challenging. But with respect to those things that are within our control, we think health care is well-posi-tioned to lead, the turnarounds in power and renewables con-tinue, and we’re expecting a mul-tiyear recovery in aviation.”

Vodafone Qatar celebrates Eid Al Adha with Sidra Medicine’s young patientsTHE PENINSULA - DOHA

With Eid al-Adha approaching, Vodafone Qatar is bringing joy and smiles to the faces of 200 young inpatients currently being cared for at Sidra Med-icine, Qatar’s specialist women and children’s hospital, with a timely delivery of toys.

Given the current situation, and to keep in line with strict health and safety precautions, the gifts were handed over by Vodafone Qatar’s Senior CSR Specialist, Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad Al Thani, and accepted by Dr Ahmed Al Hammadi, Division Chief of General Pae-diatrics at Sidra Medicine. The toys were later distributed among the children to help create a memorable occasion.

Commenting on the initi-ative, Khames Mohammed Al Naimi, Vodafone Qatar’s Chief Human Resources Officer, said: “Eid al-Adha is a festive time

traditionally shared with family so it’s heart-warming to help the young patients at Sidra Medicine to enjoy the cele-bration. We are always humbled, at Vodafone Qatar, to be able to give back to society as part of our corporate social responsibility and we hope these moments of joy will encourage each of the young patients to stay positive.”

Al Hammadi added: “Children usually do not spend Eid in the hospital. They are here for specific health conditions. Therefore, we are grateful to Vodafone Qatar for these won-derful gifts and the cheer they have brought to our young patients. The gesture is all the more meaningful as this year has been an especially difficult time for those who cannot be with their family and friends to cele-brate Eid.”

This is the second time Vodafone Qatar and Sidra

Medicine have teamed up. In late 2019, Vodafone Qatar gifted the hospital with electric toy cars that allow their young patients

to drive themselves from their rooms to the surgery room. This has already helped support the hospital’s world-class child life

and patient experience pro-gramme, by preparing the children for surgery as part of a positive journey of care.

Dr Ahmed Al Hammadi (left) with Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad Al Thani during the presentation of gifts for Sidra Medicine’s young patients recently.