Wednesday, May 10, 2017Sha’baan 14, 1438 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

US soft ens its Basel stance in rules talks

Good times on hold as fi rms feel pain

BANK CAPITAL | Page 15DUBAI REALTY | Page 2

Mideast energy use set to jump by 49% by ’35: Al-Attiyah FoundationBy Pratap JohnChief Business Reporter

Energy consumption in the Middle East is expected to climb by 49% by 2035, a research note by The Abdullah bin

Hamad Al-Attiyah International Founda-tion for Energy & Sustainable Development has shown.

In the Energy Elders – Outlook 2020+ re-port released in Doha yesterday, the founda-tion said “the need for energy security in the Middle East will only intensify” in future.

“Balancing the books for the Gulf’s en-ergy companies is not getting any easier. Turbulent oil prices, soaring energy de-mand, green regulations and competition from energy producers in the US, Iran, Russia and many others is only going to in-tensify. Innovative technologies represent that much-needed pressure value that can

enhance safety, cost and operational ef-fi ciency. To unlock this potential, energy companies must get to grips with the rap-idly evolving lingo and application- quick-ly,” the report said.

The hydrocarbons sector is often described as “conservative, clunky and slow moving” with an internal bureaucratic structure that does little to foster and promote new ideas. It can be extremely risk averse and carries the mantra that there is “everything to lose as opposed to everything to gain.”

“This will no longer suffi ce,” the report said.

While the oil and gas industry helped trail blaze some digital concepts in the 1980s and 1990s, the evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital analytics in recent years, means energy stakeholders must up-date their knowledge. The alternative is to fall behind while competitors widen their profi t margins.

Using IoT – where objects have network connectivity that enables them to send and receive data – can signifi cantly accelerate the pace at which companies build their his-torical and comparative databases, boosting safety and effi ciency.

The IoT market, the foundation report said, is estimated to grow from $157bn in 2016 to $662bn (by 2021) at an annual growth rate of 33.3%. Such technologies enable industry to predict when a process may fail and why, which has the potential to cut the bill down to one hundredth of the initial cost.

Crossover technologies, which are tools from other sectors that can be applied to the energy sector, have long been applied to the energy industry. But squeezed fi nances mean they are increasingly popular strate-gies to hedge against “very expensive” un-expected shutdowns, safety challenges and environmental hazards, the report said.

Examples include automated image anal-

ysis used by security forces for facial recog-nition being applied to determine drill bit damage and using data mining that is typi-cally applied to reducing the drag on a racing car whizzing around a track at 200km/hour by milliseconds to bolster effi ciency in oil and gas operations.

Ultrasound technologies originally devel-oped for medical uses can be used to detect cracks during upstream exploration, which is especially vital for the maturing fi elds’ onshore and deep-sea sites that need special attention.

Low oil prices mean savings are especially popular in today’s penny-pinching industry. Global upstream oil and gas investments fell by more than $300bn in total over 2015 and 2016, which marks the greatest fall in more than 40 years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

“The bearish trend is expected to contin-ue in 2017,” the report noted. Page 16

Doha Bank ETF to carry lowest EM fee of 0.5%Doha Bank will soon fi le ap-

plication for its proposed ex-change traded funds (ETF),

which carries a fee or expense ratio of 0.5%, one of the lowest in emerging markets off erings.

“The bank, as founder, is in the fi nal phase for fi ling its application for listing approval for the proposed launch of the QE Index ETF (QETF),” Doha Bank group chief executive R Seetharaman told the annual Invest-ment Forum in New York organised by the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) and HSBC.

He said Doha Bank has been work-ing closely with the listing committee and the QSE and local regulators in driving the new listing towards grow-ing the investment platform in Qatar via new off erings.

Highlighting that the QETF would invest and replicate the Qatar Index’s largest 20 companies in terms of market capitalisation and liquid list-ings “the crown jewels of Q Inc”; he said the fund would replicate the in-dex in performance, net of fees.

“The fees or ‘total expense ratio’ to be 0.50%; one of the lowest in emerging markets off erings,” he said, adding the fund would pay an annual dividend, net of fees, similar to the index; which currently carries a yield of 3.80%.

The Doha Bank QETF has Amwal and Group Securities as fund manag-er and liquidity provider respectively.

Seetharaman said the off ering would enjoy easy access, as the in-vestor needs only an investor number and broker and the ETF would eas-ily be traded in the secondary market like other current listings.

“The fund enjoys full support from local government and regulators and currently the bank is raising seed

capital to be invested along with the bank pre-listing,” he said.

Stressing that the QSE aims to provide more products this year to encourage investments from global investors, Rashid bin Ali al-Man-soori, QSE chief executive, said the ETF is part of this initiative of the bourse. “This would result in in-crease in infl ows to Qatar economy, both from the region and from globe and thereby promote sustainability,” he added.

Seetharaman had earlier said Qatar has the potential for $10bn to $15bn overseas funds infl ow since its up-grade into emerging market.

On the macroeconomic prospects of Qatar, he said the domestic econ-omy is expected to grow by 3.4% this year and the country continues to

follow its non-hydrocarbon diversifi -cation model and prudent fi scal man-agement amidst low oil prices.

Finding that Qatar’s 2017 budget has allocated 44% of total expendi-ture to key sectors such as health, ed-ucation and infrastructure; Seethara-man said “there is a clear focus on health, education and infrastructure development”.

In the infrastructure space, Qatar is currently witnessing mega infra-structure projects culminating to-wards the FIFA World Cup in 2022, he said, adding Qatar’s diversifi cation has thereby contributed to sustain-able development.

The Qatari government is also taking steps to increase non-oil rev-enues, focusing on indirect taxes and levies, according to him.

ASIA ENGAGEMENT: Page 4

QFC seeks business opportunities with Singapore, HK fi rms

Turkey trade with Gulf below potential: ErdoganTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday his

country’s trade with the Gulf had yet to reach its full potential,

as he visited a region where Ankara aims to strengthen ties.

“We want to develop trade volume with the Gulf states, which

last year reached $17.4bn,” Erdogan said in Kuwait. “Compared

with the potential we have, this size is below the required

level.”

Negotiations between Ankara and the six countries of the

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are under way for a free trade

agreement.

The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

and the UAE. Erdogan, who told reporters he was happy with

his government’s political ties with the GCC, had previously

said he aims to boost cooperation in the economic and

defence sectors.

The Turkish president arrived in Kuwait yesterday to lay the

foundation stone for an airport terminal project awarded to

Turkish firm Limak Holding and a local partner, Al-Kharafi

International.

The expansion of Kuwait International Airport will triple ca-

pacity to 25mn passengers a year and is the largest contract

to date for a Turkish company in the Gulf state.

Al-Mansoori and Seetharaman, along with Abdul Aziz al-Emadi, director of the listing department at the QSE, and David Challinor, chief financial off icer of Doha Bank, at the investment forum in New York.

HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah delivering the opening remarks at the ‘Energy Elders Forum’ at the Sheraton Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, May 10, 20172

Good times on hold as Dubai construction fi rms feel painArabtec, Drake & Scull shrink 80% in market value since 2014; companies are restructuring to boost their balance sheets

BloombergDubai

Investors in UAE construction stocks can remember the good days - when oil above $100 a barrel encouraged a seemingly end-

less stream of lucrative projects. Now, with crude priced at half that, companies are trying to rebuild their balance sheets.

The downturn has translated into pain for investors in two of the largest construction companies in the UAE. Arabtec Holding Co has slumped 90% from its May 2014 record, while Drake & Scull International is down 78% from its June 2014 peak. They took on too much debt as oil earnings prompted Gulf Coopera-tion Council countries to commission devel-opments, said Majd Dola, a senior research analyst at Abu Dhabi-based Al Ramz Capital.

“Both companies stretched their capaci-ties too far when GCC governments were an-nouncing all the projects,” Dola said. “The decline in oil prices has forced most of the region’s governments to cut down or cancel many of these projects.”

Both stocks fell 9% on Sunday following approval by DSI shareholders last week of a further reduction in capital as part of a re-structuring plan that is intended to introduce a strategic investor. Arabtec has a reorganisa-tion strategy of its own in place and is also re-ducing capital.

“If DSI’s proposed capital restructuring doesn’t go through, it might mean that the company shuts down because it will be out of cash, and that’s what we’re seeing increased speculation on at the moment,” Dola said. “Arabtec is in a better situation because it’s backed by the Abu Dhabi government.”

Investors may look to DSI results on May 14 for signs its restructuring plan is working after Arabtec reported its fi rst quarterly profi t since 2014. Technical metrics show that both stocks are trading close to a level that indicates they may have fallen too far too fast.

Jarir Q1 profit up on smartphone sales

Jarir Marketing, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest retailers, reported a 26.5% jump in first-quarter net profit on Monday on rising sales of smartphones.It made a net profit of 221.4mn riyals ($59.04mn) from January to March, up from 175mn riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.Four analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast Jarir would make a quarterly net profit of 179.65mn riyals.The board recommended a quarterly cash dividend of 2.2 riyals per share, it said in a separate statement.The company said the improvement was due to an increase in sales of smartphones as it took a bigger share of the market as well as lower selling and distribution costs.Turnover in the first quarter was 1.7bn riyals, up 20.3% on the same three months of 2016.Like other Saudi companies, Jarir Marketing reported its results under international IFRS accounting standards for the first time, so some of its figures for last year were restated.

Aldar Properties

Aldar Properties, the builder of Abu Dhabi’s Formula One circuit, reported a small drop in first-quarter profit yesterday, and said it is seeing growth opportunities in the middle-income market.The results come against a slowing economy and weak property market in the capital of the UAE.Aldar made a net profit attributable to shareholders of 637.0mn dirhams ($174.0mn) in the three months to March 31 compared with 649.05mn dirhams in the prior-year period, the company said.SICO Bahrain and EFG Hermes had forecast Aldar would make a quarterly profit of 509.07mn dirhams and 600mn dirhams, respectively.Aldar’s first-quarter revenue grew 28% to 1.58bn dirhams, the company said in a statement, with 1bn dirhams of that coming from development sales and 402mn dirhams from recurring revenue.Despite higher revenue in the quarter, profit fell as deliveries of completed government projects was “minimal” in the first three months of 2017 compared with the same period last year, chief financial off icer Greg Fewer said on a conference call.Aldar, which sees growth in the middle-income market for homes, has awarded 2.3bn dirhams of construction contracts so far this year.In April, it launched a six-tower mid-market project including 1,272 units, three of which have sold out.“We have a significant land bank for more mid-market launches and we are fully committed to our 3bn-dirham investment programme by 2020,” Fewer said.

3ISLAMIC FINANCEGULF TIMESWednesday, May 10, 2017

Continued rise of Islamic REITs as issuances surgeBy Arno MaierbruggerGulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are continuously gaining traction as can be seen by

a number of new issuances in the re-cent past. Readers of this special focus page might remember that we forecast two years ago that the demand for this kind of investment vehicle is high and the formation of REITs in and outside their main playing ground Malaysia will likely pick up momentum.

And it did. At the end of last year, Emirates REIT, which was launched in Dubai in 2011 as the fi rst of its kind in the UAE and listed at Nasdaq Dubai in April 2014, last November offi cially became the world’s largest Islamic REIT. The trust reported total assets of $773mn and a market capitalisation of $333mn by which it overtook now sec-ond-ranked Singapore-based Sabana Shariah-Compliant Industrial REIT.

Meanwhile, Emirates REIT has been expanding by building up a portfolio in Abu Dhabi, and its managing fi rm, Equitativa, in February 2017 launched a new private REIT called The Residen-tial REIT, a trust that comprises about 500 homes in Dubai and Ras Al Khaim-ah, including Motor City and Al Hamra Village and is the fi rst REIT focused on residential property only in the UAE.

Equitavia also set up The Logistics REIT and The Hospitality Property Fund, two other specialised REITs.

And it doesn’t stop here. Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, listed its own Islamic REIT called ENBD REIT on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange on March 23, 2017, raising about $100mn from the off ering to fund acquisitions of new property. It was the fi rst initial public off ering in Dubai since end-2014.

In a next step, Abu Dhabi Financial Group, an alternative investment com-pany with assets under management of around $5bn, is preparing to fl oat an Islamic REIT it calls Etihad REIT by the end of this year, comprising ten in-come-producing properties across four emirates and in a variety of real estate subsectors including residential, retail, warehousing and staff accommoda-tion at a total worth close to $820mn. It would be the sixth REIT in the UAE.

Adding to that, Arcapita Investment Management, a Bahrain-based Islamic investment fi rm, recently acquired a portfolio of logistics assets in Dubai for about $150mn adding to its existing logistics stock in the emirate and said that it could bundle all together into a another new logistics REIT to be listed at one of the regional exchanges.

The UAE is clearly playing a pioneer-ing role in the establishments of REITs for the entire Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. While the fi rst REIT in the GCC was actually launched in Ku-wait in 2007 as Al Mahrab Tower REIT, it remained a closed and non-listed REIT invested in residential and hotel properties in Makkah.

In Bahrain, the private Inovest REIT was launched in 2009, followed by the Al Salam Asia REIT in 2014, but the fi rst public REIT in Bahrain, Eskan Bank REIT, was only listed in January 2017.

In Saudi Arabia, the fi rst REIT laws were introduced last October, which triggered the listing of two new RE-ITs, Riyadh REIT and Al Jazira Mawten REIT. Another one, the Jadwa REIT Alharamain Fund, just saw its IPO this April.

Qatar is the next country that could see an upswing in REITs. While the fi rst

(private) REIT, Regency REIT, was es-tablished already back in 2009, a clear regulation for REIT listings only fol-lowed in 2016. It says that a company may act as a REIT after obtaining ap-proval of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, which means is has to be listed already as an investment fi rm.

While this is a positive development, the total number of (listed) Islamic RE-ITs available globally is still low in rela-tion to demand from Muslim investors, including takaful companies which tra-ditionally show a great interest in REIT investments. This means that despite

high returns of between 6% and 8% annually, investors might shy away ow-ing to the low liquidity of Islamic REITs as compared to the conventional REIT market.

Apart from the above mentioned real estate trusts, including Singapore’s only Islamic REIT Sabana, there are only four out of 17 REITs in Malaysia Shariah-compliant, namely Al Aqar Healthcare REIT, KLCC REIT, Axis REIT and the latest one, Al Salam REIT, which was listed at the end of 2015. Another, Al Hadharah Boustead REIT which was invested in palm oil planta-tions, was delisted in 2014.

Interestingly, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim economy as per nomi-nal GDP, does not have specifi c regula-tions for Islamic REITS, let alone clear REIT rules yet but rather a framework for property investment funds. This has not encouraged the launch of domestic

REITs in the past, although some exiled REIT companies have property hold-ings in the country, namely Singapore-listed (non-Islamic) REITs Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust and First Real Estate Investment Trust. But with the government now off ering incentives and working on stronger regulations for REITs, Lippo Group is shifting back some of its trusts and plans to establish fi rst home-grown REITs, possibly also Islamic REITs.

“Because of the government policy, we think that Indonesia has very good potential for REITs,” Lippo Group CEO James Riady said.

Indonesia’ s Financial Services Au-thority is considering providing a framework for Islamic REITs possibly as early as this year, which could open the avenues for this asset type in the country for both domestic and Middle East investors.

EDUCATION/FAQ on Murabaha

A client approaches a bank to purchase goods under Murabaha. However, the client has a previous contract of purchase with the owner of the goods. May such a contract be unilaterally terminated by the client in order to proceed with the Murabaha contract?Dealing with a client who has a previous contract with the owner of the goods depends on the nature of such a previous contract. If the contract is a general agreement and does not cover a specific transaction, then a Murabaha may be entered into. If, however, the contract is for a specific transaction, then this contract should be terminated before entering into a Murabaha transaction. As proof of termination, the client should provide the bank written evidence indicating that the client and owner of the

goods have terminated their previous contract.

Is it permissible for the bank to defer payment to the seller of the goods until such goods have been delivered to the buyer?It is permissible for the bank to defer payment until goods have been received and approved by the buyer. However, this is contingent upon the fact that the sale contract between the bank and the seller has been concluded.

In case goods imported in a Murabaha contract are delivered in instalments, is one Murabaha contract suff icient for the arrival of each instalment?In such a case, separate Murabaha contracts should be drafted for each instalment date.

Is it permissible to share in the business profits of a client who has been sold goods under a Murabaha which are essential in running that particular business?It is impermissible to receive any share of the profits of a Murabaha client and it is not permissible to add any such clause in a Murabaha contract.

Is it permissible to increase one’s profit rate on Murabaha transactions when dealing with past defaulters?It is permissible in the Shariah to charge diff erent profit rates from diff erent customers. The profit rate is a matter of mutual consent between the parties and may be decided and changed on a case-by-case basis.

Is it necessary for the seller in

a Murabaha contract to have personally seen or received the goods, or have them stored at a location other than the site of sale?It is a necessary condition that the seller has legally enforceable possession of the goods, even if it is constructive possession.

Is it permissible to sell goods under a Murabaha that were damaged in transit, considering such damage is disclosed to the promising buyer?It is permissible to sell all permissible goods under Murabaha, provided that both parties to the contract agree upon the terms and the contract is lawful in the Shariah.

Is it permissible for a bank to import goods under Murabaha agreement based on a quotation issued under

the name of the client?It is permissible for the bank to import goods under a Murabaha agreement based on a quotation issued under the name of the client. However, it is preferable that the quotation be addressed to the bank.

What factors should the seller consider in determining the price of a Murabaha contract?The Murabaha price is mutually agreed upon between the parties to the contract. The seller should honestly state the cost incurred in purchasing and acquiring the goods and should propose a fair profit margin that the buyer agrees to.

Is it permissible to sell under Murabaha goods that were bought for one’s own use?

It is permissible to sell such goods under a Murabaha. The intention at the time of purchase does not aff ect the validity of the Murabaha contract.

Is it permissible for a lessor to buy goods from a lessee under a Murabaha, with a bank as an intermediary?Such a transaction is permissible in principle. However, it should be verified that the lessee is the actual owner of the goods being sold and that the actual transfer of goods takes place. Due to the sensitivity of such a transaction, it is strongly recommended that a Shariah opinion be sought on the actual contract in question.

Source: Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance via Bloomberg

Maybank Islamic aims to double assets by 2020, says CEOLender’s asset and financing growth outpaced industry average; Islamic finance outgrowing conventional by 2 to 1: CEO Rafique

BloombergKuala Lumpur

Malaysia’s biggest Shariah bank aims

to double its assets by 2020 as part

of a five-year plan to strengthen its

presence in the region and as it seeks

to expand in Indonesia.

Maybank Islamic Bank Bhd, a unit of

the country’s biggest lender, is confi-

dent of increasing its assets and loan

books because there’s still growth

potential in the business, chief execu-

tive off icer Rafique Merican said in an

interview in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Assets climbed 16% to 181.8bn ringgit

($42bn) as of end-2016, outpacing the

Shariah industry’s growth of 8.3%,

Rafique said. In the past five years,

Maybank Islamic’s assets increased

at a compounded annual growth rate

of 19% versus the industry’s average

13%. Total banking assets including

Islamic rose at average 7.5% a year

over the same period, according to

information published on the central

bank’s website.

“Based on what we have seen over

the last five years, there is no reason

why we shouldn’t be able to continue

this growth momentum,” he said. “Is-

lamic is still outgrowing conventional

by a ratio of at least two to one.”

Rafique said based on forecasts

available, Islamic assets in Malaysia

will more than double to $300bn by

2020 from 2015, while financing that

complies with the religion’s ban on

interest will increase an average of

18% a year to $223bn over the same

period.

Malaysia, which pioneered Shariah

finance in the 1980s, aims to have

40% of its banking assets comply-

ing with the religion by 2020, from

28%, or a record 742bn ringgit at

the end of last year. A global Islamic

population that’s expanding faster

than non-Muslims is driving growth

in Shariah-compliant finance, with

Ernst & Young predicting the indus-

try’s worldwide assets will double to

$3.4tn by 2018 from 2013.

Over the next five years, Maybank

Islamic strives to be a global leader

in terms of financials and to have a

presence when it comes to develop-

ment of new products, Rafique said.

Indonesia, home to the largest Mus-

lim population, has strong growth po-

tential given the government’s plans

to raise Islamic assets in the banking

industry to 15% by 2023 from 5% in

2015, he said.

Rising Asean trade also off ers oppor-

tunities for further growth in Islamic

financing, Rafique said.

“The size that we have now and the

footprint that we have across the

region, I think it makes sense for us to

start thinking about how else we can

contribute to the industry and create

and an environment where Shariah

banking can really grow,” he said.

“There’s a premium to be listed as a

Shariah-compliant counter as it will

have a bigger pool of investors.”

Malaysia’s BIMB said to consider insurance stake sale

BloombergKuala Lumpur

BIMB Holdings Bhd, the parent of Malaysia’s oldest Islamic bank, is consider-

ing a sale of a stake in its listed insurance unit amid a strategic review of its businesses, accord-ing to people with knowledge of the matter.

The lender has reached out to banks to advise on its 60% hold-ing in Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd, which has a market value of about $755mn, said the people, who asked not to be identifi ed be-cause the process is private. The Kuala Lumpur-based company could pick an adviser as soon as this month, the people said.

Proceeds from any disposal would help BIMB strengthen its balance sheet and comply with new capital-adequacy rules for fi nancial holding companies in Malaysia, said one of the peo-ple. Any deal would add to the $11.5bn of announced mergers and acquisitions involving com-panies based in the Southeast Asian nation over the past 12 months, according to data com-piled by Bloomberg.

Deliberations on a sale are at an early stage and there is no certain-ty a transaction will take place, the people said. A spokeswoman for BIMB declined to comment, while a representative for Syari-kat Takaful didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Malaysia’s central bank is re-viewing caps on foreign own-ership of insurers as it seeks to boost local participation in the industry, people familiar with the matter said last month. Strict application of existing policy would require overseas fi rms owning 100% of local in-surers to cut their stakes to no more than 70%.

Foreign companies, includ-ing Sumitomo Life Insurance Co and FWD Group, have recently been drawn to Southeast Asian insurance as a way to capitalize on rising incomes in the region. FWD is among foreign bidders for the life insurance operations of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, people familiar with the matter said earlier.

BIMB controls Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd and BIMB Securi-ties Sdn, in addition to Syarikat Takaful, its website shows.

Structure of an Islamic REIT. Source: Securities Commission Malaysia

Gulf TimesExclusive

An employee serves a customer at the information counter inside a combined Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Maybank Islamic Bhd bank branch in Kuala Lumpur (file). Malaysia, which pioneered Shariah finance in the 1980s, aims to have 40% of its banking assets complying with the religion by 2020, from 28%, or a record 742bn ringgit at the end of 2016.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, May 10, 20174

QDB, Qatar Chamber launch ‘Made at Home’ expo to be held in OctQatar Development Bank (QDB), in cooperation with Qatar Chamber, announced the launch of the first ‘Made at Home’ exhibition slated in October to promote a diverse range of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).The upcoming exhibition is part of a broader SME outreach initiative – the Home-based Business National Programme (HBBNP), which was launched by QDB in 2015 to stimulate the private sector through facilitating the entry of a greater variety of SMEs into the local economy. With the launch of the ‘Made at Home’ expo, QDB aims to develop the capabilities of Qatari home entrepreneurs by off ering them a unique opportunity to display and sell their products, create new marketing windows, exchange experiences with other home-based entrepreneurs involved in a wide range of specialised fields, promote local products, and encourage new entrepreneurial pursuits.QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said: “Through our latest exhibition for home-based businesses, we now reach a more diverse range of

SMEs than ever before. Our ‘Made at Home’ exhibition introduces the public to an important group of businesses – the home-based business industry – with whom they previously may have had only limited contact.”He added: “Around the world, home-based businesses are active contributors to economies and we

believe that QDB can help Qatari home-based businesses overcome the typical challenges entrepreneurs face while entering the market by arranging promotional exhibitions that highlight their products and services. We are confident that our maiden home-based industry exhibition signals the beginning of a new era of prosperity for

local home-based businesses in Qatar.” Exhibition organisers, QDB and Qatar Chamber, encourage exhibitory participation by local home-based businesses operating across all sectors, provided that they conform to the regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC).Qatar Chamber director general Saleh

Hamad al-Sharqi said: “The cooperation between Qatar Chamber and Qatar Development Bank is a testament of our commitment to support home-based businesses and their products. At Qatar Chamber, it is part of our strategy to support hard-working, productive families, who wish to make the most of their natural talents and contribute

positively to the national economy. “Through this exhibition, we help home-based business owners introduce their products to the local market. In the past, we have successfully helped many other SMEs participate in a number of exhibitions, such as Made in Qatar, Made in China and Expo Turkey.” He added: “The idea of this exhibition stems from the successful participation of home-based business owners in the last edition of Made in Qatar. Productive families are an important part of the national economy and a true starting point and nucleus for the indigenous SME industry that we aim to develop.”QDB said participation in the ‘Made at Home’ expo “is subject to certain controls.” The home-based business owner should be a Qatari national and has a valid business license or commercial registration, QDB said.Furthermore, the products exhibited must meet the quality criteria and packaging standards set by the exhibition organisers. Also, all products must be locally-produced, as exported products are not within the scope of this exhibition.

Al-Sharqi (left) and al-Khalifa: Unique opportunity for Qatari home entrepreneurs. PICTURES: Ram Chand

QSE gains for the second day to inch near 10,000 levelsBy Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

Qatar Stock Exchange yesterday gained for the second day to inch near 10,000 levels, despite

losers outnumbering gainers.A sustained higher net buying by

domestic institutions rather led the 20-stock Qatar Index gain 0.14% to 9,865.78 points.

“The recent relief is natural as the daily RSI (relative strength index) in-dicator has reached the oversold terri-tory but no signs of reversal have been spotted yet, knowing that the next support level comes at 9,500 points before 9,270 points,” Kamco said in its technical analysis.

On the counter side, a close above 10,000 points would enhance further advance towards 10,225 points but only above last month high at 10,560 points would decrease the downside risk, it said, adding weekly RSI indicator is currently looking “negative”.

Telecom, industrials and transport

counters witnessed higher demand in the bourse, which also witnessed weakened net selling by foreign insti-tutions as well as Gulf individuals.

Islamic stocks were seen outper-forming the main index and other in-dices in the market, which however saw local retail investors turn bearish and increase net profi t booking by Gulf institutions.

Buying was skewed towards large and small cap stocks in the bourse, which also saw lower buying support from non-Qatari individuals.

Trade turnover rose amidst lower volumes in the market, where banking, telecom and real estate sectors togeth-er accounted for more than 74% of the total volumes.

Market capitalisation was up QR16mn or 0.03% to QR527.46bn as large and small cap scrips gained 0.18% and 0.11%, while mid and microcaps fell 0.31% and 0.24% respectively.

The Total Return Index rose 0.14% to 16,544.32 points, All Share In-dex by 0.01% to 2,799.58 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.21% to

3,956.29 points. The telecom sector’s index added 1.16%, industrials (0.74%) and transport (0.37%); whereas con-sumer goods declined 0.7%, insurance (0.53%), realty (0.38%) and banks and fi nancial services (0.17%).

Major gainers included Ooredoo, In-dustries Qatar, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Electricity and Water, Qatari Investors Group, Nakilat, Qatar Islamic Bank, Islamic Holding Group, Zad Holding,

Gulf International Services and Mi-laha.

Nevertheless, QNB, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Qatar First Bank, Woqod, Qatar Insurance, Qatar Islamic Insurance, United Development Com-pany, Barwa, Mazaya Qatar, Ezdan, Vodafone Qatar and Alijarah Holding were among the losers.

Domestic institutions’ net buy-ing strengthened perceptibly to

QR36.01mn compared to QR32.45mn the previous day.

Non-Qatari institutions’ net profi t booking declined substantially to QR11.95mn against QR48.89mn on May 8. The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) retail investors’ net selling fell to QR1.74mn compared to QR4.62mn on Monday.

However, local retail inves-tors turned net sellers to the tune of QR13.92mn against net buyers of QR22.39mn the previous day.

The GCC funds’ net profi t book-ing strengthened considerably to QR10.41mn compared to QR4.83mn on May 8. Non-Qatari retail investors’ net buying declined perceptibly to QR2.02mn against QR3.5mn on Mon-day. Total trade volumes fell 11% to 7.77mn shares, while value rose 6% to QR252.17mn and deals by 7% to 3,088.

There was 52% plunge in the insur-ance sector’s trade volume to 0.11mn equities but on 28% rise in value to QR7.69mn and more than doubled transactions to 97.

The telecom sector’s trade volume

plummeted 29% to 1.87mn stocks and value by 16% to QR22.33mn, while deals were fl at at 237.

The banks and fi nancial services sector saw 21% shrinkage in trade vol-ume to 2.16mn shares, 6% in value to QR74.64mn and 7% in transactions to 986.

The industrials sector’s trade vol-ume was down 4% to 0.7mn equities, value by 34% to QR38.52mn and deals by 34% to 522.

However, the transport sector re-ported 93% surge in trade volume to 0.83mn stocks and 78% in value to QR40.81mn on more than doubled transactions to 444.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume soared 13% to 0.36mn shares, value by 92% to QR34.74mn and deals by 44% to 384. The market witnessed 9% expansion in the real estate sec-tor’s trade volume to 1.75mn equities, 26% in value to QR33.44mn and 46% in transactions to 418.

In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and govern-ment bonds.

Mena records 84 M&A deals valued at $18.2bnin the fi rst quarter: EY

The merger and ac-quisitions (M&A) in the Middle East and

North Africa (Mena) saw 84 deals in the fi rst quar-ter (Q1) of 2017 against 115 a year-ago period, but deal values remained largely stable, reaching $18.2bn, according to Ernst and Young (EY).

The outbound deal value grew more than seven-fold year-on-year (y-o-y) to $9.3bn in Q1 2017 and the inbound deal value by more than 11-fold to $5.7bn.

However, the deal activity value for domestic transac-tions plunged 81% y-o-y in Q1 2017. Within the region, the overall top ten deals con-tributed over 90% to the to-tal deal value in the period.

“As oil prices continue to stabilise, and government initiatives foster greater economic certainty, Mena executives are feeling more optimistic that the eco-nomic conditions are right to return to deal making… Furthermore, we expect the recent reversal of cer-tain austerity measures in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) to result in more confi dence in deal making,” Phil Gandier, Mena Trans-action Advisory Services Leader, EY, said.

Saudi Aramco’s acquisi-tion of a 50% stake in Ma-laysian state-owned ener-gy entity Petronas’ RAPID project for $7bn was the largest deal of the quarter. The biggest technology deal was the acquisition of Souq.com by Amazon for about $650mn.

EY said executives in the region are feeling more positive about the glo-bal economy, with 47% expecting deal activity to increase in the next 12 months, according to its latest Capital Confi dence Barometer (CCB). Fur-

thermore, 41% indicate they have fi ve or more deals in the pipeline, with 54% of Mena companies looking to close deals over the next year.

Highlighting that Mena executives consider grow-ing market share as the main strategic driver for pursuing an acquisition, EY said 24% of the CCB re-spondents place the great-est attention and resources on organic growth as one of the largest capital man-agement issues.

“Given the new taxes that the Gulf countries will impose, and the diffi culty in bringing skilled labour into the country, many companies are turning to automation. They are not looking to reduce their workforce — 16% expect to maintain the current workforce domestically; 20% anticipate doing the same internationally,” Anil Menon, Mena M&A and Equity Capital Markets Leader, said.

Stressing that improv-ing economic conditions are a contributing factor to the positive outlook of Mena executives, Gandier said “the pipelines remain robust and companies are feeling good about the quality of the deals in the market. We expect to see a signifi cant uptick in deal activity over the next 12 months.”

The initial public off er-ing (IPO) activity in Mena picked up in Q1 2017 with the region raising nine IPOs as compared to two in Q1 2016. However, the capital raised declined 39% y-o-y to $0.4bn in Q1 2017, it said, adding in the private equity, as many as 13 sov-ereign wealth funds and private equity deals were announced in Q1 2017, with January having the most activity of six deals.

QFC seeks business ties with Singapore andHong Kong-based fi rmsQatar Financial Center

(QFC) is exploring busi-ness opportunities with

Singapore and Hong Kong-based fi rms as part of its eff orts to strengthen its engagement with Asian region.

In this regard, senior offi cials from QFC had face-to-face con-sultations and networking events with professionals from Asian corporations and private fi rms in Singapore and Hong Kong as part of the QFC Asia roadshow 2017.

As part of its ongoing collabora-tion with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), QFC representatives invit-ed attendees to explore the invest-ment opportunities in Qatar’s tourism sector, and learn about the support provided to inves-tors by QTA’s Tourism Investment Promotion Unit, which works to facilitate access among investors, local and international talent, and government authorities.

The event came as part of QFC’s eff orts to address the burgeoning trend of Singaporean, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies looking to grow their businesses in the Middle East.

Relations between Singapore/Hong Kong and Qatar have con-tinued to strengthen over the years. Bilateral trade between Sin-gapore and Qatar stood at 45.1bn Singapore dollars in 2015.

Qatar and Hong Kong are both situated in the ‘One Belt, One Road’ region, which has helped strength-en ties between both countries, bilateral trade between both coun-tries stood at $150mn in 2015.

“Our roadshows in both Sin-gapore and Hong Kong provided the ideal opportunity for Asian investors and businesses to dis-

cuss investment opportunities in Qatar and get acquainted with the support we provide our fi rms to expand globally.

Our discussions have been very productive and we are confi dent that they will positively contrib-ute in further enhancing the rela-tions between Qatar and Singa-pore/Hong Kong,” QFC Authority chief executive Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida said.

The roadshows saw presenta-tions from senior QFC represent-atives as well as case studies by Hong Kong and Singapore com-panies that currently have opera-tions in Qatar.

Participants also engaged in one-on-one consultation ses-sions with the QFC’s leading ex-perts, enabling them to gain a bet-ter understanding of the business landscape and advantages of do-ing businesses in Qatar.

Singapore and Qatar have an outstanding bilateral relation-ship, reinforced by high-level joint committee meetings and a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council - the fi rst country outside of the Middle East to be a signatory.

This bilateral cooperation is ev-idenced by a number of major in-frastructure projects already un-derway in Doha and elsewhere in Qatar, said Abdullah bin Ibrahim Abdulrahman Sultan al-Hamer, ambassador of Qatar in Singapore.

“As preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup pick up pace, I am confi dent that there will be many more opportunities for Singapo-rean businesses in Qatar, across urban planning, architecture, en-gineering, information communi-cations technology and other areas

in which Singapore excels,” he said. Sultan bin Ali Yousif al-Khater, Consul General of Qatar in Hong Kong, said Qatar is home to one of the most stable and fastest grow-ing economies in the world, off er-ing many attractive opportunities

for investors around the world. Highlighting that Hong Kong and Qatar have a historical friendly relationship, he said “we are com-mitted to continue working with our friends and partners in Hong Kong to continue to develop the

Qatari economy and to strength-en the growing ties between the two regions. With the One Road, One Belt initiative I am confi dent that there will be many more op-portunities for Hong Kong busi-nesses in Qatar.”

QFC off icials in Singapore.

QFC off icials in Hong Kong.

Middle East markets creep higher in thin trade

Shares of companies that beat quarterly

earnings estimates outperformed yes-

terday with electronics and bookstore

retailer Jarir helping lift the mood on the

Saudi Arabian exchange.

Markets across the region rose modest-

ly in thin trade. The Saudi index rose 0.8%.

Supermarket operator Al Othaim rose 1%

after it reported a 29% rise in net profit

on the back of sales growth at existing

branches and the opening of new outlets.

In Dubai, the index rose 0.5% as shares

of Dubai Financial Market, the only listed

stock exchange in the Gulf, rose 1.7%

after its first quarter net profit jumped by

almost a fifth.

In Abu Dhabi, shares of the largest

listed developer Aldar Properties rose

1.8%. Cairo’s main index rose 0.8% to

12,934 points in above 10-day average

volume, suggesting fresh inflows to the

market after a lull.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait index

fell 0.4% to 6,599 points; Bahrain index

fell 0.5% to 1,316 points and Oman index

declined 0.3% to 5,423 points yesterday.

BUSINESS5Gulf Times

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Sensex ends fl at; rupee weakensAgenciesMumbai

Equities ended fl at in thin trade yesterday, with benchmark Sensex fi n-

ishing below the 30,000-mark on lack of positive cues amid a mixed trend overseas.

The 30-share index opened in green and advanced to 30,017.82, but later succumbed to prof-it-booking to hit the day’s low of 29,911.44. It fi nally ended at 29,933.25, up 7.10 points, or 0.02%.

The broader Nifty, however, defended the psychologically- key 9,300-level. It ended the day at 9,316.85, up 2.80 points, or 0.03%, after shuttling between 9,338.95 and 9,307.70 Investors preferred to book profi ts and waited for the next trigger post French elections, brokers said.

Foreign portfolio investors continued their selling spree and offl oaded stocks worth Rs 542.47 crore on Monday, as per provi-sional data.

In the cement space, Ambuja Cements and ACC, which had been rising in the previous few sessions on talks of a merger, fell by up to 1.27%. However, the broader markets outperformed the Sensex, with the small-cap index rising 0.53% and the mid-cap index gaining 0.19%. L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 2%, followed by Adani Ports (1.56%).

Other major gainers were

Wipro (1.21%), Axis Bank (1.21%), Tata Motors (0.82%), GAIL (0.73%), RIL (0.65%), M&M (0.51%), TCS (0.46%), NTPC (0.44%), Tata Steel (0.34%), and Sun Pharma (0.27%).

Shares of Hero MotoCorp, Lupin, SBI, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Dr Reddy’s and ITC dropped by up to 3.07%. Bharti Airtel fell 1.75% as inves-tors trimmed their positions ahead of its results. Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, capital market rose 1.90%, in-dustrials 1.27%, power 0.99%, metal 0.76%, oil&gas 0.76%, energy 0.61% and realty 0.52%.

However, telecom fell 0.76%, consumer durables 0.63%, bankex 0.19%, fi nance 0.18% and healthcare 0.11%.

Meanwhile the rupee yester-day weakened against the US dollar, tracking the losses in Asian currencies markets push-ing the currency to its biggest loss for the calendar year.

Rupee closed at 64.63 a dollar, down 0.50% from its Monday’s close of 64.31. The rupee opened at 64.42 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.42 and 64.70, respectively.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 5.1%, while foreign inves-tors bought $6.14bn and $8.19bn in local equity and debt markets, respectively. The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.943% compared to its previous close of 6.93%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Wealth investments paying offfor Singapore’s three big banksBloombergHong Kong

Singapore’s big three banks have invested heavily in their wealth-management businesses over the past year and the results are starting to show.Higher income from servicing Asia’s more well-heeled individuals helped DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank off set bad-loan provisions and weaker loan margins to post better-than-expected first-quarter profits. OCBC’s wealth-management revenue surged 70% from a year earlier, the firm reported.The banks have expanded their wealth operations to take advantage of growing aff luence in the Asia-Pacific region, where individual wealth surpassed North America for the first time in 2015, according to Cap Gemini. Last year, OCBC purchased Barclays’ wealth units in Hong Kong and Singapore, while DBS bought Australia & New Zealand Banking Group’s retail and wealth operations in five markets.In wealth management, “we will continue to grow organically,” OCBC Chief Executive Off icer Samuel Tsien told reporters at a briefing for his bank’s first-quarter results. “We will continue to deepen. And should there be opportunities that fit into our culture, then we will look at those.”OCBC, Southeast Asia’s second-largest lender, reported a surprise 14% jump in profit for the period as higher wealth and insurance income off set a decline in net interest income at a time of low Singapore benchmark rates.The bank’s shares rose 1.1% to S$10.41 yesterday in Singapore, the highest intraday level since July 27, 2015. The stock gained 17% this year, while DBS jumped 19% and

UOB rose 15%. The Barclays acquisition helped OCBC’s private-banking unit, Bank of Singapore, climb four places to rank seventh among Asia’s 20 largest private banks in terms of assets under management last year, according to data compiled by Asian Private Banker. DBS was sixth on the list, unchanged from a year earlier. UOB entered the APB list for the first time at 14th.“Wealth formation in Asia is very strong,” DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said May 2 after his bank’s results. “If you are one of the top 10 players in the market, you will get a degree of growth just by being in the market.”DBS, Southeast Asia’s biggest lender, reported a 1% gain in first-quarter profit from a year earlier. UOB posted a 5.4% profit increase on April 28.Rising wealth revenue helped boost fee income for all three banks: DBS’s fee and commission income gained 16% to S$665mn; OCBC’s fee and commission income grew 29% to S$481mn; UOB’s fee and commission income rose 18% to S$508mn.One lingering concern for the banks: the possibility of more bad debts from regional oil services firms, which have been hit by low energy prices. DBS and OCBC are among the major lenders to Singapore-based Ezra Holdings, which is among companies in the sector that have sought protection from their creditors.While he said the oil and gas situation had “stabilised,” OCBC’s Tsien couldn’t predict whether there would be any downward movement in the bank’s specific provisions. DBS remained “vigilant to continued headwinds” in the sector, Gupta said.“OCBC has been warning for some time that these oil and gas issues are not yet over,” Hugh Young, Aberdeen Asset Management’s Asia managing director, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.

Oil and dollar again stall EM gainsReutersLondon

Emerging markets retreated yesterday as oil prices stayed under $50 per barrel and the dollar fi rmed, with the Russian rou-

ble trading near two-month lows and emerging stocks posting their fourth loss in fi ve days.

After Monday’s French election-inspired bounce, emerging stocks tracked world mar-kets lower, though they stand half a per cent off recent two-year highs.

Chinese shares meanwhile posted a sixth day of losses as the central bank’s decision to hold off conducting open market operations for the third day stoked concerns about a shift to a tightening policy bias.

“The biggest driver in EM has been and continues to be commodity prices,” Unicredit strategist Kiran Kowshik said. “Chinese data are still stronger than they were last year but they are coming off a bit.

There are concerns that the credit stimulus that the authorities put in place is coming off as well.

That paints a negative picture for commod-ity prices and by extension many emerging markets.”

The focus in Asia was on South Korea’s pres-idential election, which is expected to be won by liberal Moon Jae-in.

The Seoul stock market, which fi nished at a record high on Monday, was shut but the won slipped half a per cent against the dollar.

Currencies were dominated by a 0.2% rise in the dollar index as well as oil’s retreat.

The rouble slipped in off shore trade, with Moscow shut for a holiday, having lost 5% in the past 10 days in line with crude.

The lira fell 0.4% to a two-week low, while central European currencies eased off multi-month highs hit on Monday in the wake of the

French election. However, emerging currencies could benefi t from the recent tumble in volatil-ity to 23-year lows as measured by the VIX in-dex, analysts at Societe Generale noted.

“Collapsing vol is bad for the yen and good for yieldier currencies generally.

It’s an invitation to add risk and yield to a portfolio if volatility-adjusted returns are ex-

pected to be higher as a result of the low vol,” they told clients.

In Nigeria, investors are awaiting further moves in the naira which has fallen past 400 per dollar in the special trading window for investors, although its offi cial rate remains around 305. The stock market has surged to 3-1/2-month highs.

Asia bourses show mixed trend

The dollar extended gains in

Asian trade yesterday as investors

swung their attention to expecta-

tions of another US interest rate

hike next month, but equities

struggled under the weight of

profit-taking following the previ-

ous day’s rally.

Tokyo’s Nikkei ended 0.3%

lower a day after jumping more

than 2% to a 17-month high, while

Sydney dropped 0.5%, Wellington

shed 0.2% and Taipei retreated

0.2%. Manila, Jakarta and Bang-

kok also turned lower.

But Shanghai recovered from

recent selling pressure to close

0.1% higher, while Hong Kong

jumped 1.3%. Singapore was also

slightly up.

Seoul, which ended at a record

high on Monday, was closed as

South Korea held its presidential

election.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed

down 0.3% to 19,843.00 points;

Hong Kong — Hang Seng ended

up 1.3% to 24,889.03 points and

Shanghai — Composite rose 0.1%

to 3,080.53 points yesterday.

Regional markets surged on

Monday, with Tokyo and Seoul

leading the way, following centrist

Emmanuel Macron’s victory in

France’s presidential election

and last week’s solid US jobs

report that reinforced views of a

strengthening economy.

The better-than-expected

reading on US payrolls preceded

a record close on Wall Street and

helped send Wall Street’s VIX

index of volatility in New York’s

markets to its lowest level since

1993.

It also had investors betting

the Federal Reserve will stick to

its plan to raise borrowing costs

twice more this year — includ-

ing once next month — having

lifted rates in December and

March.

The likelihood of further tight-

ening has seen the dollar rally

more than 4% since hitting a low

around ¥108.30 in mid-April.

Analysts say it could push fur-

ther following the release of sales

and consumer price index figures

this week.

“While we think the Fed

will be resolute on its course

towards at least two rate hikes,

the market is underpricing the

risk that (the central bank) will

tighten rates more quickly than

expected, so a robust retail

sales print and a stronger-than-

expected CPI print will be a call

to action for dollar bulls,” said

Stephen Innes, senior trader at

OANDA, in a note.

Indonesia strives to build fi nancial market to match its mightBloombergJakarta

Indonesia has the largest economy in Southeast Asia, but you can’t tell from its fi nancial markets, which are

a fraction the size of some of its neigh-bours.

The nation’s regulators have tried to change that, and progress is being made. The rupiah’s daily trading volume has climbed more than 40% in four years. There’s also greater activity in hedging and the central bank has allowed a wider scope of derivatives.

The value of money market transac-tions in the fi rst quarter was nearly dou-ble the volume seen in all of 2013.

“While I’m happy about what we’ve accomplished, it’s still not in line with expectations when compared with our peers,” said Nanang Hendarsah, who last year took charge of a new central bank unit to develop the country’s markets. “We still have a lot of homework.”

The goal: a market where investors can be confi dent of getting competitive prices and executing trades in a timely fashion – unlike during the 2013 “taper tantrum” when some had to wait days for foreign-exchange deals to go through. Greater size and liquidity in stocks and bonds would off er new channels of fund-ing for Indonesian companies seeking to benefi t from the nation’s swelling middle class.

“More developed markets predomi-nantly rely on stock- and debt-based funding rather than bank loans as they’re more effi cient, but our capital markets aren’t big enough for this,” Hendarsah said.

Indonesia’s bureaucrats have been overhauling long-held customs. Years ago, offi cials would call traders chastis-ing them for setting the rupiah at levels authorities didn’t like. Hendarsah, then assistant to the central bank governor, vowed to let market forces play a greater role and to put a stop to the phone calls.

Bank Indonesia has eased trading re-

strictions in other ways, including allow-ing cross-currency swaps and expanding the scope for foreign funds’ participa-tion, and it has given the market a boost by ordering companies to hedge currency exposure.

Alongside the deepening in money markets, the central bank chose the seven-day reverse repurchase rate as its policy benchmark, tying monetary deci-sions more closely to actual borrowing costs.

Priorities now include tightening rules on trader conduct, rolling out more com-plex instruments, and setting up a clear-ing house and electronic trading plat-form for currency and money-market transactions.

A bigger market can withstand shifts in capital fl ows and lead to more ef-fi cient pricing, lowering cross-border risks for foreign investors and attract-ing much-needed funding, Hendarsah said. That would be a boon for President Joko Widodo’s infrastructure-invest-ment plans, which cover construction

projects from ports to railways. The central bank’s goal is to grow Indone-sia’s foreign-exchange market to the equivalent of about 3% of the value of the country’s trade by 2020, around the level found in Thailand and Malaysia now, Hendarsah said. Indonesia’s cur-rent ratio is only 1.8%.

“Measures by Indonesia to move up the export value chain, open up sectors to foreign investment and deepen its fi nan-cial markets all help to make the FX mar-ket more robust,” said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

Credibility is important, as well as the assurance that investors can enter and exit freely, said Ikhwani Fauzana, head of rates trading at PT Bank Negara Indone-sia in Jakarta.

“Now we’re in a virtuous cycle of more people hedging, meaning more market participants creating a more stable mar-ket that can attract infl ows,” Fauzana said. “The hope is this continues and slowly rebuilds trust.”

A general view of Bank Indonesia’s headquarters in Jakarta. The central bank has eased trading restrictions including allowing cross-currency swaps and expanding the scope for foreign funds’ participation, and it has given the market a boost by ordering companies to hedge currency exposure.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, May 10, 20176

As China’s battle with leverage begins to bite, risk bites backReutersShanghai

A Chinese government campaign to cut leverage in the banking system and limit some risky ac-

tivities appears to be working, but it is also pushing borrowers back towards alternative funding sources that carry similar risks to the fi nancial system.

First-quarter offi cial data shows banks cut the amount they lent to and borrowed from other fi nancial insti-tutions by 1.4tn yuan and 1.9tn yuan, respectively, to 21.7tn yuan and 30.3tn yuan.

The growth in bank wealth manage-ment products (WMPs), a key compo-nent of shadow banking credit, slowed to 19% year-on-year, down 35 per-centage points.

Bankers said the slowdown came

as the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) tightened liquidity conditions, which pushed up the cost of borrowing, and included off -balance-sheet WMPs in its macro-prudential assessment of banks’ risk levels for the fi rst time.

As deleveraging accelerates, rates rise in the interbank market, and lend-ers’ interest margins are taking a hit.

The yuan’s seven day repo rate, an indicator of market interest rates, has risen to its highest level since early 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data.

China’s central leadership has iden-tifi ed curtailing fi nancial risks as a top priority this year after overall leverage rose sharply, and fi nancial regulators have been instructed to keep on top of the task.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has been target-ing interbank activities and WMPs to

determine whether banks are using those channels to disguise credit to loss-making “zombie fi rms” or busi-nesses in restricted areas, such as real estate, according to an internal docu-ment dated March 28 and reviewed by Reuters.

CBRC also required banks to under-take self-assessments to report if their interbank liabilities exceeded a third of total liabilities, the document showed.

Lenders are under pressure to con-strain the size of their interbank and WMPs business to avoid CBRC pun-ishment, said an executive at a national bank’s interbank department.

It has stirred up a fl urry of activ-ity in banks eager to keep on the right side of the regulator, which handed out 190mn yuan in fi nes involving 485 in-vestigations in the fi rst quarter.

“We are holding meetings, learning the spirit of the regulations, prepar-

ing materials for self-assessment and regulatory reviews,” said a banker at a regional lender.

Smaller banks tend to be more reli-ant on interbank activity and WMPs to grow their assets and profi ts, so they are likely to be most aff ected by the changes.

Industrial Bank Co, a mid-tier bank with large exposure to shadow banking and known in China’s fi nancial com-munity as “the king of the interbank”, has already blamed “signifi cantly in-creased” cost of interbank liabilities for a squeeze on its margins in the fi rst quarter.

The bank shrank its interbank in-vestment by 115.6bn yuan and inter-bank liabilities by nearly 170bn yuan, it said. While such fi gures show govern-ment policies are changing behaviour, not all the changes will be welcome.

Central bank data shows that trust

loans, entrusted loans and undis-counted banker’s acceptances, which are common forms of shadow banking activity in China, jumped more than 2tn yuan in the fi rst quarter, more than four times the year-earlier increase.

“There are indications that regula-tory measures to curb system-wide leverage show unintended conse-quences specifi cally, in reviving ‘core’ shadow banking activities that had previously been constrained by regula-tion,” said George Xu, Associate Ana-lyst at Moody’s Investors Service.

Moody’s said borrowers in sectors such as property, local government fi -nancing vehicles and industries strug-gling with overcapacity faced reduced access to traditional bank loans and were being driven to trust loans.

Even as the crackdown began last year, a Reuters review of listed banks shows aggressive lenders like China

Minsheng Bank and China Zheshang Bank continued to pile up loan-like as-sets categorised as asset management plans and trust benefi ciary rights.

The CBRC has responded with a storm of at least eight new directives since late March.

The regulatory changes could fur-ther tighten domestic liquidity in the next six to 12 months, said Chen Long, China economist at Gavekal Dragon-omics.

That also posed short-term risks for domestic stock and bond markets, he said. Shadow banking had grown so large after years of rampant growth, Chen said, that policymakers had to tread carefully in case over-strenuous attempts to rein it in caused a fi nancial crisis.

“They cannot not regulate it, but they also cannot come down too hard on it,” he said.

$1.3tn housing boom set to be India’s next growth driverBloombergNew Delhi

India’s unhoused may soon become a more potent economic growth driver. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to bring homes to the country’s 1.3bn people, rising incomes and the best aff ordability in two decades will unleash a $1.3tn wave of investment in housing over the next seven years, according to CLSA India.The firm expects 60mn new homes to be built between 2018 and 2024, creating about 2mn jobs annually and giving a tailwind of as much as 75 basis points to India’s gross domestic product. The volume of social and aff ordable housing will rise almost 70% to 10.5mn annually by 2024, exceeding the 33% increase in the premium market.“The housing sector is at a tipping point and will be the economy’s next big growth driver,” Mumbai-based analyst Mahesh Nandurkar and his colleagues wrote in a note last week. “The catalyst is the government’s big push for an ambitious housing program.” Modi

has been on a mission to expand aff ordable housing in Asia’s third-largest economy. In February, the government granted aff ordable-housing builders “infrastructure status,” making them eligible for state incentives, subsidies, tax benefits and institutional funding.In June 2015, it announced a “Housing

for All” programme which aims to construct 20mn homes across the country and in December it announced rebates and interest waivers for home loans under the programme. That’s not all that’s expected to fan demand. In the past five years, mortgage rates have dropped about

275 basis points to about 8.5%. Prices have remained stable while per-capita incomes have posted a compound annual growth rate of about 10%, according to the CLSA note. While India’s real estate industry extended a slump after Modi’s sudden decision to ban 86% of the nation’s cash

in November, aff ordable housing was growing the fastest before demonetisation and the whole market has shown signs of snapping back. Home sales, which slumped in the wake of the cash ban, have since shown signs of a recovery, according to PropTiger.com, an Indian real estate advisory firm.

Sales across nine cities rose 19% in the March quarter, rebounding from a 20% slump in the previous three months, the data showed.The report predates the latest reform to regulate India’s property developers. Under laws that came into force from May 1, construction companies will have to use at least 70% of sale proceeds to complete residential projects, rather than funnel money to other jobs. Developers will also no longer be allowed to start pre-selling apartments before all building approvals are obtained. Those who don’t comply could face as many as three years in jail. CLSA expects volume growth in new home construction to jump to a compound annual growth rate of about 8% over the next seven years from zero over the past five years. So while luxury residences like 27-story “Antilia” owned by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh D Ambani, and reported to worth anywhere from more than $400mn to over a $1bn, have hogged Mumbai’s skyline, more aff ordable options may soon be springing up.

Philippines’ new central bank chief signals continuityReutersManila

Incoming Philippine cen-tral bank governor Nestor Espenilla vowed yesterday

to strengthen oversight of the fi nancial system to protect it from criminals even as he as-sured the market he would continue and build on his predecessor’s policies and re-forms.

Espenilla, who now heads banking supervision, said he would also work with other agencies to develop the debt market to support Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s multi-billion dollar infra-structure plan.

“It’s all about continuing what we have been doing in our constant surveillance of the monetary and fi nancial system to make sure that it is resilient and stable,” Espenilla said at his fi rst news confer-ence since he was named cen-tral bank chief on Monday.

Espenilla, who will take over from Amando Tetangco in July, plans to work with Congress to relax bank se-crecy rules, include casinos in the anti-money laundering law and strengthen the central bank’s charter to “increase the eff ectiveness of our oversight over the fi nancial system.”

“We are deeply committed to protecting the integrity of the fi nancial system against criminal elements,” Espenilla said.

“It is the BSP’s job to make sure that the banking system prevents the entry of illegal funds into the system.

And also, if they enter the system, they should be detect-ed by the system,” the 36-year veteran central banker said.

The exclusion of casinos from the current scope of the anti-money laundering laws and a strict bank secrecy law have made it diffi cult for au-thorities to track the money from the Bangladesh bank he-ist last year and identify the perpetrators.

The Philippines is also

struggling to control the fl ow of money that funds Islamic militant attacks in the south.

The selection of Espenilla as central bank chief comes ahead of a policy meeting on Thursday, and ends months of speculation about what could be the most important appointment of Duterte’s presidency.

Duterte’s choice off ers a de-gree of comfort to investors and fi nancial markets as Espe-nilla has pledged to continue his predecessor’s policies that have kept the economy hum-ming and infl ation in check.

“I’d like to look at it as a continuity ‘plus plus’,” he said earlier on Tuesday in an inter-view with news channel ANC. “To me, the plus element re-ally is to fi nd innovative ways to make our fi nancial system even more responsive to the broader Philippine commu-nity.”

Overseen by Tetangco, monetary policy and reforms kept the Philippines’ banks sound, the peso and infl a-tion stable and sustained the country’s strong economic growth.

Analysts have largely praised the appointment of 58-year-old Espenilla whose many years with the central bank they say would help him to hit the ground run-ning when he starts work on July 2.

Espenilla has driven many of the country’s recent bank-ing reforms, including raising minimum capital require-ments, improving fi nancial transparency, and overhauling mismanaged banks.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez told Reuters on Tuesday Espenilla would pro-vide the “continuity of good macroeconomic and mon-etary policies” that should support Duterte’s economic agenda.

On the conduct of monetary policy, Espenilla said there would be no signifi cant depar-ture from the current process, adding that the interest rate corridor system will continue.

China stock shakeout creates most divided market in 15 yearsBloombergHong Kong

All Chinese stock indexes are not equal. As Beijing intensifi es a cam-paign to clean up markets and re-

duce leverage, state-owned enterprises that dominate old growth industries, such as banks and commodity producers, have been among the worst hit, while new-economy shares remain in favour among overseas investors. That’s led to a yawn-ing gap between the nation’s two main off shore gauges - the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index and the MSCI China Index.

The 40-member Hang Seng measure has fallen 1.4% over the past month, as the MSCI China advanced 2.2%. That’s caused the index of so-called H shares to trade at its biggest discount against its MSCI rival in 15 years - a split that inves-tors see diverging further.

“The stocks that are listed in the H-share market are typically the more ma-ture, less high growth companies which you would expect to trade at low multi-ples,” said Richard Titherington, chief investment offi cer for emerging markets and Asia-Pacifi c equities at JPMorgan As-set Management in Hong Kong. “I would expect that gap to widen.”

While a lot of the crackdown-moti-vated selling has hit China’s mainland stock markets, Hong Kong-listed shares succumbed last week, with the H-share measure sliding the most this year.

The declines further exacerbated the split between the H-share index and the MSCI China, a gap that developed as Chi-na re-engineered its economy away from heavy industry toward higher-end tech-nologies and the creation of a sustainable domestic consumer base.

Over the past fi ve years, the diff eren-tiation in performance between the two indexes has been stark: The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index - which is almost 90% weighted toward fi nancial, energy and industrial shares - has declined 2.2%, while the MSCI China is up 20%. Both

gauges rallied yesterday, with China said to be boosting scrutiny of stock traders ahead of a summit of international leaders in Beijing May 14-15.

Both indexes were introduced in the mid-1990s, but the 149-stock measure run by MSCI has diversifi ed its member-ship beyond Hong Kong listings to in-clude US-traded Chinese shares and is looking at ways to bring mainland-listed stocks into its ranks. Tech has the highest weighting in the MSCI China, at 35%.

The divergence is rattling Hang Seng Indexes Co, Hong Kong’s index compil-er, which said in March that the H-share gauge had become less representative of China’s market.

They proposed widening the scope of member companies, and are consulting market players ahead of an announcement

expected in August, said Daniel Wong, head of research at Hang Seng Indexes.

Amid gains of more than 28%, con-sumer-discretionary shares and tech companies have driven the MSCI China’s 16% jump in 2017. Internet giant Ten-cent Holdings - owner of the ubiquitous WeChat mobile messaging and payment app - rose to a record on May 2, just as last week’s decline in H shares and mainland stocks was getting under way.

Even if the H-share gauge opens up to more constituents, it will likely still ex-clude US-listed shares - a key driver for the MSCI China, said Philip Li, a Hong Kong-based senior fund manager at Value Partners. Alibaba Group Holding is a big gainer that is included in the MSCI Chi-na but not in the H-share gauge because it is US listed. China’s top e-commerce

company has jumped 33% this year, while Hong Kong-traded shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the big-gest bank and the H-share gauge’s largest weighting, are up just 8.4%.

The MSCI China gauge is “heavily geared towards the service and high-tech industry which is fast growing in China,” said Jing Ulrich, vice chairman of Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase & Co in Hong Kong. “Investors have a very strong preference for large new-econ-omy companies which are in the MSCI China Index. The valuation gap will likely remain.”

First-quarter data pointed to further re-balancing away from the old indus-trial drivers, with the share of econom-ic growth coming from consumption on the increase.

People walk outside the Hong Kong Stock Exchange building. While a lot of the crackdown-motivated selling has hit China’s mainland stock markets, Hong Kong-listed shares succumbed last week, with the H-share measure sliding the most this year.

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 QscBarwa Real Estate Co

Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAamal Co

Al Ahli Bank

76.10

62.00

9.01

18.77

10.25

9.22

67.30

69.90

137.10

60.00

42.80

60.30

56.90

98.70

19.10

38.00

9.05

120.00

8.35

206.00

32.35

70.50

103.30

16.40

12.17

14.21

153.00

95.40

77.10

41.85

14.89

101.80

62.50

50.50

24.07

15.25

16.70

30.40

25.35

28.80

32.50

19.49

13.04

34.00

2.84

0.00

-0.44

-1.16

0.29

0.66

0.30

-0.14

-0.80

-2.91

0.23

0.50

0.71

0.41

0.53

0.00

0.00

-1.48

-0.60

1.23

0.00

-0.56

1.47

-0.61

-0.57

0.07

0.00

-0.10

-0.90

1.09

-0.67

0.99

1.96

0.00

0.50

-0.13

0.66

-0.65

-0.20

-1.20

-0.76

-0.05

0.00

0.00

1,547

2,108

1,807,762

32,190

77,352

17,138

490,423

9,800

115,355

1,022

2,702

44,980

18,512

129,426

294,263

-

5,624

231,558

621,673

28,132

-

107,840

57,550

47,090

190,370

93,254

22,533

22,033

1,611

208,212

260

236,352

36,785

42,544

137,553

1,112,271

5

85,864

271,961

578,682

414,020

1,400

170,830

1,910

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

19.73

21.08

6.11

0.00

14.94

26.00

16.38

22.21

21.97

12.55

25.60

12.12

27.50

67.00

13.27

28.50

34.03

34.68

32.73

16.47

0.00

23.38

33.98

20.20

22.50

27.81

24.92

56.74

141.00

19.34

54.19

35.50

6.93

17.82

33.80

18.68

13.57

33.10

35.11

119.85

13.46

67.25

97.11

8.70

8.81

97.00

18.82

12.78

17.83

25.18

15.90

32.89

146.63

54.91

22.18

17.75

13.49

28.68

23.47

11.99

12.89

49.54

13.44

10.35

6.30

30.46

11.22

69.75

10.20

29.33

50.75

15.72

26.60

0.00

33.70

5.75

38.02

12.55

16.70

14.62

42.94

30.65

20.49

126.53

35.96

7.04

49.11

10.14

22.56

23.92

8.50

19.39

18.35

15.24

30.11

104.00

10.37

0.10

0.86

-0.49

0.00

0.88

0.78

-0.79

0.27

1.67

0.00

1.59

0.58

0.15

0.03

0.53

0.18

0.53

-0.86

0.52

0.61

0.00

1.83

1.28

-0.74

0.00

-0.32

-1.03

1.32

5.92

-0.57

-1.28

0.00

-1.56

-0.45

-9.87

-3.31

1.04

0.61

0.40

-0.04

1.58

0.37

1.79

0.58

-2.33

1.19

-1.57

4.33

-0.50

0.40

1.66

0.03

-0.25

-2.26

-1.20

0.00

-1.53

-0.55

-0.21

0.08

3.12

0.20

0.30

0.88

-3.23

1.50

0.45

0.00

0.00

2.95

0.00

0.58

-0.75

0.00

1.08

0.00

-0.83

0.00

2.77

-1.68

-2.05

1.86

0.84

0.68

-0.11

0.57

-0.59

0.00

0.40

0.93

0.83

0.00

-1.50

-0.20

1.48

1.01

1.17

773,303

473,362

54,174,608

-

7,768,192

125,351

548,695

506,263

347,131

-

29,998

318,364

115,453

222,366

63,157

17,919

128,947

118,556

103,021

658,897

-

977,456

532,352

144,612

-

47,113

301,324

29,158

247,697

353,359

334,302

73,852

462,389

103,643

1,197,879

736,442

1,239,718

57,368

291,889

21,812

1,039,381

70,614

3,660,370

4,568,914

1,433,250

25,731

313,054

1,839,606

572,780

356,581

128,953

1,674,756

5,501

93,623

252,239

109,920

165,481

91,150

377,644

594,684

772,473

28,110

106,298

80,635

928,816

58,779

265,828

-

1,101,698

1,642,537

15,868

212,452

20,012

-

38,380

-

138,846

19,555

368,395

1,171,013

104,172

124,714

71,461

55,722

694,027

1,082,346

165,586

1,736,717

405,700

497,807

238,913

-

482,321

192,544

437,961

28,310

415,159

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

Saudi United Cooperative InsBank 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

7.80

17.94

18.36

13.75

16.44

15.23

7.85

14.29

74.31

27.60

22.50

27.70

17.12

26.70

28.43

11.57

63.10

20.95

37.39

12.92

21.91

17.30

50.02

42.47

22.45

12.50

29.48

14.05

77.36

2.09

1.70

-1.18

0.44

0.18

0.00

0.38

1.06

0.76

0.36

0.22

0.00

-0.41

0.00

-2.74

0.70

1.74

1.21

3.12

5.64

0.09

-0.80

-2.76

3.31

0.45

0.64

-1.44

1.01

1.80

1,767,790

446,626

397,753

30,274

120,640

-

222,453

22,695,252

169,427

241,148

264,575

30

594,641

14

961,554

1,358,166

1,805,674

533,062

544,455

996,258

345,087

69,245

189,110

250,397

95,052

90,399

86,772

827,042

93,331

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 CoHits Telecom Holding

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 ContractingZima Holding Co Ksc

Qurain Holding Co

99.00

0.00

295.00

99.00

168.00

0.00

41.00

212.00

33.00

42.50

560.00

305.00

410.00

660.00

385.00

242.00

244.00

42.00

32.00

61.00

690.00

78.00

23.50

110.00

0.00

39.50

800.00

0.00

96.00

0.00

30.50

260.00

0.00

40.00

0.00

810.00

90.00

62.00

49.50

59.00

140.00

0.00

83.00

192.00

42.00

184.00

168.00

0.00

26.00

80.00

490.00

53.00

60.00

82.00

86.00

0.00

118.00

186.00

88.00

79.00

120.00

110.00

0.00

78.00

335.00

295.00

39.50

61.00

32.50

44.50

420.00

88.00

610.00

28.50

86.00

234.00

31.50

114.00

62.00

91.00

0.00

51.00

96.00

0.00

425.00

0.00

420.00

41.00

495.00

91.00

970.00

295.00

0.00

37.00

92.00

330.00

375.00

45.50

250.00

73.00

39.00

44.00

18.50

47.00

198.00

40.50

49.50

0.00

93.00

0.00

47.50

43.50

265.00

36.00

96.00

50.00

118.00

88.00

23.00

204.00

0.00

55.00

550.00

54.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-7.04

-1.16

0.00

-1.61

0.00

-1.49

0.00

0.00

0.00

-5.62

-1.54

-1.61

0.00

-1.27

0.00

1.85

0.00

0.00

2.44

0.00

-2.04

0.00

-7.58

-8.77

0.00

0.00

0.00

6.58

0.00

-1.59

3.13

-1.67

0.00

0.00

1.22

2.13

-5.62

0.00

2.44

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.01

0.00

1.69

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.28

-1.06

0.00

-1.25

-3.23

10.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.67

-2.47

0.00

-4.41

-4.30

6.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.38

3.54

-1.56

-1.72

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.19

0.00

0.00

-2.38

0.00

1.11

0.00

-1.67

0.00

-1.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.11

-3.85

0.00

2.63

-1.12

2.78

-4.08

0.00

-3.57

-2.94

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.25

1.92

0.00

4.35

-1.96

1.72

4.76

-2.13

0.00

0.00

-5.17

-1.79

-3.57

0.00

30

-

2

25

4

-

5,100

2

913,426

4,888,690

298,791

20,001

14,080

879,281

4,696

1,242,201

771,503

1,261

1,351,494

743,554

2

58,800

4,361,387

1,194,952

-

2,106,952

167,163

-

393,972

-

647,213

1

-

6,404

-

5

2

83,267

190,199

5,272,055

1,000

-

8

660,337

210,638

1

5,006

-

1,972,895

400,000

10,002

80,000

115,388

10,000

80,359

-

140,487

3,006

781

354,319

119,961

15

-

140,000

24,001

55,004

1,890,277

98,766

2,294,572

60,523

2

30

9,043

346

9

937,500

233,019

1,588,815

11

5,023

-

1,716,360

60,070

-

816,234

-

2

3,177,234

2

8

2

2,000

-

150,015

34,050

21,518

311,127

1,582,606

1

14

2,270,185

967,183

3,351,971

1,650,109

2,000

1,932,396

916,191

-

5,000

-

211

11,445,615

1,533,417

492,552

138,331

627,046

6

20,462

4,978,297

10

-

2,220,056

1,980,644

743,897

-

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 Cattlefeed

0.45

1.00

3.25

0.13

0.13

0.17

0.12

1.34

0.16

0.21

0.70

1.05

1.88

4.35

0.24

0.63

1.39

1.38

2.50

0.22

1.12

0.23

0.13

2.21

0.51

0.51

0.36

0.68

1.29

2.06

0.28

0.12

1.66

0.15

0.21

0.52

0.40

0.00

0.92

0.15

0.00

1.00

0.16

3.64

0.49

0.42

0.45

1.62

0.00

0.12

0.16

0.05

5.00

0.11

0.05

0.00

0.39

0.14

0.68

3.75

0.22

0.08

0.86

0.56

0.12

0.19

0.49

0.14

1.25

0.12

0.00

0.31

0.11

0.11

0.24

10.50

0.16

0.08

0.39

0.11

0.10

1.49

0.49

0.18

0.29

0.20

1.28

0.19

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-6.47

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-4.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.70

0.00

-0.77

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.49

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

9.66

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

0.52

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.64

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

0.42

0.00

-1.23

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2,805

-

-

-

-

50

-

-

16,042

-

-

-

-

-

114,000

50

-

-

-

5,000

2,370

-

533,112

-

186,286

561,565

100,000

-

99,865

-

-

-

24

-

167,000

-

-

-

110

737,300

-

-

5,200

-

-

-

-

-

-

322,977

-

-

-

490

-

-

7,000

-

-

-

37,052

-

-

10

-

-

2,000

51,000

-

-

-

-

180,325

-

345,000

-

40,000

582,157

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Dhofar Beverages CoConstruction Materials Ind

Computer Stationery IndsBankmuscat Saog

Bank SoharBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar SaogAreej Vegetable Oils Saoc

Aloula CoAl-Omaniya Financial Service

Al-Hassan Engineering CoAl-Fajar Al-Alamia Co

Al-Anwar Ceramic Tiles CoAl Suwadi Power

Al Shurooq Inv SerAl Sharqiya Invest Holding

Al Maha Petroleum Products MAl 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

0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref

0.26

0.03

0.26

0.40

0.15

0.09

0.23

0.00

0.53

0.28

0.05

0.75

0.14

0.18

0.00

0.11

1.44

0.37

0.10

0.07

0.31

0.55

0.27

0.16

0.07

0.88

0.17

1.13

0.09

0.20

0.18

0.74

0.05

0.59

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.44

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.70

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.49

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.55

-6.09

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

-

-

1,073,639

210,000

547,565

100,051

-

-

-

30,000

-

371,481

223,425

-

32,610

30

1,000

1,398,254

1,153,513

-

-

2,000

4,750

225,686

-

100,075

-

5,000

836,619

125,000

76,980

-

-

-

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

1.81

2.00

1.56

5.00

1.86

1.30

1.78

1.43

3.85

1.49

1.10

4.10

1.08

2.40

0.81

3.70

0.61

100.00

0.78

6.20

0.58

4.50

0.52

2.45

2.99

4.55

2.90

0.00

0.82

0.55

2.40

1.62

0.78

2.35

3.45

0.98

0.91

1.56

5.99

0.00

1.60

1.08

17.75

5.98

9.00

0.43

1.58

1.44

0.66

0.69

1.20

2.23

12.75

0.40

300.00

3.84

2.20

50.00

6.20

2.63

0.57

5.15

3.00

3.20

0.58

3.58

1.12

0.00

0.00

-1.38

0.00

0.78

0.00

4.38

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.23

0.00

0.00

3.39

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.11

0.00

0.00

1.23

1.85

0.00

-0.61

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-7.85

0.00

0.00

-1.82

0.28

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.83

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.64

0.00

3.64

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.57

0.00

498,712

-

-

657,481

-

100,000

-

100,000

-

-

-

-

-

431,914

-

-

4,915,931

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

160,000

-

-

200,020

2,655,892

-

152,615

-

-

5,000

-

-

-

427,220

-

200,000

11,755,197

1,331,455

-

-

1,036,907

-

-

-

923,163

-

15,657,177

-

-

-

-

-

-

163,195

-

15,789

-

-

-

351,867

899,419

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

0.10

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.24

0.00

0.00

0.67

0.14

0.12

0.15

8.50

0.30

0.00

0.55

0.65

0.12

0.00

0.82

0.05

0.39

0.00

0.07

`

0.26

0.00

0.39

0.54

0.14

0.00

0.08

0.78

0.69

1.30

0.14

0.45

0.31

0.41

0.44

0.10

0.00

0.68

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

-6.45

0.00

-9.09

0.00

-0.91

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.49

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.71

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.74

40,000

-

-

-

10,000

-

-

10,000

-

-

11,000

65,000

326,511

189,000

9,500

15,000

-

593,000

28,000

18,915

-

5,000

61,091,823

29,388

-

57,832

-

36,035

-

6,384

24,022

36,741

-

150,000

20,000

37,500

28,442

17,892

17,791

17,000

57,400

30,000

34,500

-

1,401,456

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

Alrai Media Group Co KscNational Investments CoCommercial Facilities Co

Taiba Kuwaiti Holding Co KscAfaq Educational Services Co

Kuwait Pillars For FinancialYiaco Medical Co. K.S.C.C

Dulaqan Real Estate Co

21.50

38.50

395.00

208.00

130.00

88.00

320.00

1,100.00

34.00

0.00

43.50

290.00

87.00

1,460.00

154.00

99.00

188.00

57.00

3,860.00

280.00

76.00

61.00

38.50

1,240.00

0.00

0.00

47.00

0.00

48.50

0.00

48.00

0.00

57.00

136.00

500.00

74.00

0.00

60.00

35.00

77.00

216.00

0.00

99.00

37.50

1,320.00

84.00

395.00

54.00

370.00

420.00

0.00

485.00

34.50

0.00

58.00

550.00

2,440.00

0.00

44.00

126.00

97.00

160.00

0.00

150.00

0.00

218.00

0.00

0.00

-4.94

-1.25

0.97

0.00

0.00

-1.54

0.00

0.00

0.00

-5.43

0.00

-3.33

2.82

-3.75

0.00

-3.09

0.00

-1.53

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.32

3.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.02

0.00

-5.88

0.00

1.79

0.00

0.00

-1.33

0.00

-1.64

-2.78

0.00

-1.82

0.00

-2.94

-6.25

0.00

1.20

-3.66

0.00

1.37

-3.45

0.00

1.04

0.00

0.00

1.75

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.22

-4.55

-3.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.81

0.00

1,000,850

2,791,058

702,658

2,256,083

1,070

9

129,495

1,015

1,867,592

-

107,500

40,013

22,000

5,100

6,026,479

415

10,000

90,010

198,237

5

250

154,136

933,662

4,889

-

-

2,348,283

-

10

-

4,755,644

-

200,007

295

32,871

155,015

-

137,588

9,274,354

29,989

30,022

-

546,028

524,852

10,609

98,952

470

1,319,250

12,504

34,701

-

2,859,087

617,653

-

47,011

5

25,006

-

5,982,471

202,710

1,964,425

48,259

-

1

-

14,011

-

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

BUSINESS7Gulf Times

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

CURRENCIESDOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI

DINARKUWAITI

DINAR

Earnings and resources stocks help Europe shares hold at 21-mth highsReutersLondon

A raft of well-received updates and a recovery in resources stocks helped European shares

rebound yesterday from the previous session’s slight losses, ending at fresh 21-month highs.

The pan-European STOXX 600 in-dex rose 0.45% while France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.3%, recouping some of its losses from Monday following cen-trist Emmanuel Macron’s French pres-idential election victory.

“Yesterday (Monday) was almost a realisation that, OK, we’ve cleared one hurdle but it’s not like it’s plain sailing from here...

But today it’s looking good — the weak euro vs the dollar is helping the DAX,” Mike van Dulken, head of re-search at Accendo Markets, said, re-ferring to Germany’s index, which rose 0.4% to a record high.

Company results were in focus, with

shares in Italy’s David Campari jump-ing 4.4% after the spirits maker re-ported fi rst-quarter earnings boosted by high-margin brands.

Denmark’s payment services pro-vider Nets rose 2.9% following its fi rst-quarter earnings, which saw strong or-ganic growth.

More than halfway into the fi rst-quarter results season, earnings for European fi rms have been strong over-all, with major eurozone blue chip fi rms seeing average earnings growth of around 20%, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.

Elsewhere a rebound in basic re-sources stocks and gains among energy fi rms also helped support the market, with miners up after a rise in the un-derlying price of copper.

Shares in Belgian materials group Umicore rose 3.3%, supported by a positive broker note from Berenberg whose analysts also upped their target price for the stock.

Likewise Henderson’s shares gained 2.3% after UBS upgraded the asset

management fi rm to “buy” from “neu-tral”, citing its planned merger with US fund fi rm Janus Capital.

“Signifi cantly enhanced scale, dis-tribution and diversifi cation see (Hend-erson) better equipped to deal with on-going headwinds from a gradual global shift to passive and rising regulatory costs,” analysts at UBS said in a note.

Shares in jewellery maker Pandora gave up early gains to end down 6.6% lower after its update, while Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor re-treated 0.2% with analysts pointing to the chipmaker’s weaker guidance for the second quarter in which it expects to see a dip in revenues.

Britain’s Micro Focus slumped 5.6% after saying that revenue at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, the US company it is buying, dropped around 10% in the last quarter.

British utility Centrica came under pressure after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to cap energy prices if she is re-elected in June’s general election. Centrica’s shares fell 1.2%.

A television screen displays an image of France’s president-elect Emmanuel Macron, as traders works on the trading floor of ETX Capital in London on Monday. More than halfway into the first-quarter results season, earnings for European firms have been strong overall, with major eurozone blue chip firms seeing average earnings growth of around 20%, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.

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

153.97

69.02

82.47

122.96

28.97

87.45

86.39

76.95

46.56

33.39

91.93

105.76

43.65

36.49

63.52

34.06

157.30

152.07

111.48

173.85

198.66

144.62

54.82

121.93

187.04

225.13

78.36

79.77

99.78

120.84

0.62

0.11

-0.51

-0.24

-0.34

0.40

-0.19

1.09

-0.16

-0.18

0.01

-0.86

-0.55

-0.15

-0.77

-0.66

0.26

-0.63

0.05

-0.34

0.01

0.26

0.96

0.70

0.55

0.04

0.26

-0.61

0.41

-0.14

20,148,338

7,690,963

3,183,486

1,279,348

6,427,362

3,765,009

1,808,927

2,740,406

6,161,387

5,729,620

1,365,571

1,389,618

3,117,615

5,987,585

2,780,840

7,144,829

973,306

3,000,414

2,903,908

458,891

396,844

1,177,197

2,852,949

740,863

964,596

848,680

740,357

713,722

1,574,061

576,683

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/TheSabmiller Plc

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

#N/A

1,701.00

316.00

5,050.00

241.00

4,074.00

205.15

1,012.00

4,046.00

1,176.00

1,630.00

181.05

199.40

381.00

720.90

1,174.00

1,431.00

1,301.00

995.00

4,663.50

2,402.00

3,254.00

269.80

698.50

0.00

622.00

417.10

2,141.00

2,091.00

263.30

890.00

2,968.50

0.00

1,607.00

7,280.00

6,845.00

1,750.00

3,243.00

2,402.00

734.00

8,375.00

194.00

4,329.00

1,032.00

2,023.00

508.50

820.50

380.00

3,386.00

69.02

253.10

1,133.00

342.70

3,139.00

200.80

276.80

609.50

4,176.00

4,234.00

768.50

656.00

3,698.50

664.90

1,408.00

593.50

290.90

1,600.00

352.80

1,426.00

1,689.00

1,301.00

325.20

357.90

2,291.00

7,345.00

2,887.00

1,595.00

2,195.00

200.00

4,829.00

574.50

1,602.00

2,434.00

306.00

669.50

5,310.00

455.75

1,150.00

3,335.00

596.50

205.30

643.00

902.50

535.50

4,710.50

2,810.00

1,600.00

0.00

761.00

1,020.50

2,120.00

821.50

0.00

1.19

0.32

0.70

0.67

-0.39

0.00

0.60

-0.10

-0.51

-3.89

0.86

0.71

0.40

1.66

0.95

-1.24

0.77

0.05

1.71

0.54

0.49

0.11

0.14

0.00

-0.08

0.92

0.45

0.43

-1.24

4.64

1.14

0.00

1.26

1.45

0.59

0.40

-0.28

-0.46

0.89

1.52

1.25

0.39

0.34

0.75

0.49

1.48

-0.16

-0.15

-0.62

0.68

0.35

0.00

1.62

0.00

0.47

0.41

0.02

1.90

1.79

-0.53

1.15

0.65

0.86

0.08

2.27

0.60

-1.73

1.78

0.54

1.17

-0.21

0.34

0.09

0.20

0.52

0.95

1.48

-1.19

-0.10

-1.12

-0.19

1.12

-0.20

0.37

-0.19

0.29

2.22

-0.12

0.42

0.20

0.55

-0.44

1.04

2.28

0.36

0.57

0.00

1.00

1.09

0.57

0.31

0.00

5,073,913

11,048,649

400,688

8,620,305

281,047

41,695,226

1,125,000

2,394,216

1,166,036

1,613,092

13,063,519

13,524,222

3,078,550

6,956,468

930,828

5,957,752

4,795,745

2,291,769

2,207,673

698,931

231,716

7,974,239

3,317,745

-

2,845,908

3,353,867

6,540,057

4,376,264

8,942,433

9,890,504

3,787,332

-

3,488,657

896,135

605,557

4,491,427

182,766

1,337,305

3,387,383

278,930

9,435,822

876,883

5,064,821

1,213,698

1,398,760

1,056,609

7,621,194

1,520,171

134,844,654

11,549,595

1,535,815

9,630,947

936,849

16,997,506

2,419,047

8,369,041

253,106

920,607

2,038,445

3,048,345

2,168,871

19,465,217

555,205

3,168,024

40,595,469

7,007,539

5,888,512

1,126,244

932,948

3,264,361

4,208,831

5,034,378

2,952,500

142,459

832,220

4,075,791

756,677

46,853,467

413,837

2,339,034

1,182,931

661,097

16,897,207

4,536,745

2,548,113

21,941,096

8,920,803

476,184

3,127,507

28,868,575

6,208,526

1,327,865

6,696,619

1,708,696

674,844

1,098,892

-

2,434,087

5,511,253

936,498

1,342,016

-

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

10,300.00

1,645.00

4,273.00

2,451.00

1,467.50

2,248.00

458.00

251.70

3,165.00

6,045.00

535.80

14,730.00

1,366.50

787.50

18,815.00

1,718.00

6,135.00

3,012.00

9,189.00

-0.10

0.27

0.12

-1.98

-1.01

-1.34

0.46

4.53

0.00

-0.56

-0.35

-2.42

-0.73

-0.62

-1.03

-0.23

-1.60

-0.10

-0.53

1,015,500

6,385,000

1,476,700

2,276,000

2,099,100

4,641,000

26,302,000

199,714,000

1,545,200

1,254,700

9,443,000

1,853,700

8,035,200

13,285,000

530,200

2,766,600

7,563,000

5,052,000

1,090,900

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

1,168.00

6,640.00

1,079.00

633.40

5,510.00

1,857.50

342.30

1,637.50

4,218.00

3,205.00

37,770.00

3,757.00

1,775.50

4,871.00

1,089.50

615.70

1,104.00

2,234.00

701.00

728.40

902.10

23,095.00

16,825.00

5,157.00

6,741.00

1,904.00

8,433.00

4,914.00

1,705.50

1,605.50

6,500.00

1,986.00

1,600.50

2,832.50

7,641.00

16,155.00

1,520.50

4,987.00

4,466.00

3,544.00

513.90

2,473.50

4,856.00

5,008.00

2,214.00

2,590.00

2,440.50

11,200.00

0.00

994.40

1,443.00

4,780.00

4,024.00

5,558.00

4,011.00

3,776.00

419.70

1,882.50

687.80

8,577.00

209.40

702.90

2,584.00

4,099.00

2,716.50

3,168.00

1,477.00

1,758.00

4,385.00

47,470.00

10,500.00

1,532.50

2,805.00

9,903.00

31,940.00

2,409.00

28,735.00

5,958.00

1,567.00

3,847.00

3,424.00

1.57

0.62

-0.55

-0.33

0.25

-1.67

1.21

-1.62

-0.54

-1.72

0.48

-0.56

-0.81

0.12

-0.91

-0.10

-0.23

0.40

-0.09

-0.80

-1.68

-0.71

1.26

1.40

0.64

0.87

-0.61

0.90

0.12

-0.71

0.87

-0.77

-2.05

-1.72

0.29

0.37

-0.69

-0.14

0.90

0.48

-0.19

-1.81

-1.34

0.56

-0.18

-0.54

2.07

-0.22

0.00

-0.47

-0.10

-0.08

0.88

-1.91

-0.10

-0.11

0.05

-0.97

-0.92

-0.50

-0.24

-0.82

0.84

-3.69

0.33

-0.09

-0.81

0.06

0.21

-0.25

-0.76

-1.51

-0.34

-0.44

-1.27

-2.17

-0.26

-0.02

1.59

1.40

0.50

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

3.63

32.40

3.74

5.87

6.07

32.75

11.14

98.45

3.59

6.27

23.65

21.70

84.80

22.05

6.23

18.34

20.65

14.30

18.20

10.04

11.26

84.00

8.91

8.73

5.89

2.67

19.36

162.70

49.20

2.54

0.31

1.08

1.03

0.50

0.46

0.36

0.82

0.84

0.97

2.60

0.46

0.59

1.61

2.47

0.11

2.48

5.46

0.66

0.60

1.81

1.45

0.91

2.59

1.38

0.75

0.31

0.06

0.92

11,765,529

841,401

160,988,410

25,227,842

69,397,409

10,050,409

3,807,933

6,147,893

9,561,995

223,122,774

33,398,844

3,793,707

10,305,095

23,078,557

83,178,081

5,142,555

14,381,432

18,985,218

19,435,228

37,111,131

7,611,316

3,945,236

49,843,501

3,394,408

1,412,077

7,443,397

6,948,977

938,646

2,084,925

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

15.66

194.40

67.15

0.00

5.04

3.28

46.40

9.68

5.32

43.85

71.75

13.40

117.50

74.35

250.80

67.00

1.03

2.53

0.52

0.00

0.60

0.92

1.75

1.89

1.33

1.74

0.77

1.67

0.86

0.75

2.45

0.68

7,675,370

6,850,849

22,729,716

-

190,216,878

29,781,666

6,118,640

15,802,767

81,980,670

22,904,116

3,531,045

4,064,705

3,077,014

1,761,322

19,679,502

2,443,463

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

495.65

1,602.50

508.90

225.40

4,432.90

426.20

433.50

83.10

426.80

2,352.55

640.30

296.50

1,330.35

173.60

208.35

186.10

161.25

6,629.30

1,343.65

1,250.15

1,744.65

906.85

271.50

946.65

1,420.90

87.00

300.60

1,523.50

952.05

186.40

3,282.35

1,535.75

849.75

1,167.60

421.80

2,581.15

278.15

552.95

285.35

23,336.50

345.25

721.40

176.85

186.75

2,873.15

518.20

1,165.30

257.55

347.50

1,701.20

-1.20

-0.80

1.31

1.60

0.15

1.20

0.37

0.00

0.98

0.43

0.49

-0.97

0.68

-1.42

-0.79

0.08

0.40

-0.02

0.77

-2.32

2.05

-0.06

-0.53

0.12

-0.28

-0.68

-0.78

-0.39

-0.29

1.19

-3.50

0.06

1.14

-1.44

0.87

-0.74

-0.34

0.25

0.00

-0.24

-1.72

0.81

0.68

-1.11

0.57

1.37

-0.18

-1.23

2.06

-0.59

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

21,018.85

2,400.18

6,123.03

15,556.82

50,005.63

66,422.85

7,342.21

5,398.01

12,749.12

11,049.20

19,843.00

1,581.77

24,889.03

5,874.53

1,361.86

29,933.25

9,316.85

3,249.97

34,924.00

5,697.06

+6.57

+0.80

+20.37

-95.26

+499.77

+896.81

+41.35

+15.06

+54.57

-47.10

-52.70

-4.09

+311.12

-23.30

-2.13

+7.10

+2.80

+12.99

+116.81

-10.81

Doha Securities MarketSaudi Tadawul

Kuwait Stocks ExchangeBahrain Stock Exchage

Oman Stock MarketAbudhabi Stock MarketDubai Financial Market

9,865.78

6,918.82

6,598.97

1,315.74

5,423.26

4,584.65

3,408.44

+14.01

+54.28

-28.60

-6.34

-17.67

+6.43

+16.77

“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.”

9,584,700

1,668,500

10,936,900

17,318,000

2,540,800

5,333,100

14,309,000

7,169,900

4,987,400

8,117,900

677,900

1,956,400

2,736,000

2,500,600

5,244,000

8,325,800

4,088,000

2,332,700

9,218,600

50,580,300

8,255,400

849,000

630,400

1,862,500

974,400

3,862,300

816,700

2,712,900

1,911,400

10,591,700

2,511,900

5,775,300

7,808,500

8,908,400

587,300

767,900

4,066,600

1,655,300

1,576,900

2,652,300

13,610,100

4,244,500

2,013,000

3,585,400

2,582,100

2,994,000

4,774,100

1,273,900

-

4,813,500

9,077,100

2,019,500

10,807,300

1,206,900

2,045,300

3,259,300

8,093,000

3,409,700

8,674,000

4,669,600

80,558,700

18,683,500

1,725,500

10,004,400

4,135,000

2,077,000

4,181,000

4,217,100

1,199,700

259,900

766,100

3,777,000

976,200

1,210,500

266,700

8,455,400

1,417,300

764,900

8,712,000

5,742,900

2,006,300

1,960,151

1,056,981

1,535,225

15,137,495

219,545

14,084,438

5,421,070

1,832,941

3,176,749

936,849

1,740,560

8,928,418

5,008,275

12,677,343

2,737,628

5,975,341

3,402,075

230,170

764,642

1,950,451

1,367,384

715,608

7,277,562

3,025,999

793,131

9,730,383

14,675,845

2,093,640

1,376,514

12,236,718

525,242

882,061

996,263

988,864

831,402

125,809

2,652,191

705,595

26,579,537

7,294

2,966,886

1,380,284

4,504,831

6,524,567

442,580

8,439,582

912,700

5,267,329

3,779,049

591,018

Volume

Volume

Gulf Times Wednesday, May 10, 2017

BUSINESS8

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, May 10, 201714

JPMorgan tells banks to partner up as US deposit drain loomsBloombergNew York

JPMorgan Chase & Co has some ad-vice for regional banks: A deposit drain is coming, so merge while you

can.The company’s investment bank-

ers are warning depository clients that they may begin feeling the crunch in December, thanks to a byproduct of how the US Federal Reserve propped up the economy after the fi nancial crisis, according to a copy of a confi dential presentation obtained by Bloomberg News and confi rmed by a JPMorgan spokesman.

JPMorgan argues that some midsize US banks — those with $50bn in assets or less — could face a funding problem in coming years as the Fed goes about shrinking its massive balance sheet, ac-cording to the 19-page report the New York-based bank has begun sharing with clients.

The Fed’s bond-buying spree from 2009 to 2014, dubbed quantitative

easing, inadvertently left the indus-try flush with deposits. Investors took money they got selling mortgage-backed bonds and Treasury securities to the Fed and parked it in US retail and commercial bank accounts.

This created some $2.5tn in excess bank deposits, according to JPMorgan. It estimates that 60%, or $1.5tn, of that money will trickle out of banks in the next four to fi ve years if the Fed fol-lows through with recent guidance and begins reversing quantitative easing in December.

The Fed is currently holding about $4.5tn of securities. The way it will get rid of them is by letting them mature and not buying new ones.

JPMorgan’s presentation, titled “Core Deposits Strike Back” illustrates how this process will sap bank depos-its using the example of a couple who pays off a mortgage that was bundled with other mortgages and sold to the Fed. Right now, when that couple takes that money out of their bank account for that payment, the Fed uses that cash to buy another mortgage bond,

recycling it back into the banking sys-tem. A “deposit is destroyed” if the “Fed does not reinvest,” the presenta-tion states. JPMorgan estimates that a quantitative easing-related depos-it- drain could result in loan growth lagging deposit growth by $200bn to $300bn a year.

That could be particularly prob-lematic for banks that rely on deposit products that tend to roll over swiftly, such as brokered accounts bought from third parties, large commercial banking accounts and high-interest savings ac-counts for wealthy customers.

It may also set off a dash for retail deposits, a classifi cation that includes bread-and-butter checking accounts, which banks love because they are es-pecially cheap and stable.

Midsize banks will have an especially hard time growing retail deposits by ramping up advertising and investing in branches, according to JPMorgan’s presentation. That’s because they lack the marketing muscle of mega banks such as JPMorgan itself, as well as Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup, and Bank

of America Corp JPMorgan, like some other banks, off ers depositors cash in-centives for opening new checking and savings accounts with fi ve-fi gure bal-ances.

About 42%, or $1.6tn, of the new deposits that US banks have amassed since late 2009 have gone to lenders with at least $1tn in assets, according to data JPMorgan compiled from regula-tory fi lings and SNL Financial.

“Large banks are making sizeable investments in brand, customer ac-quisition and technology leading to market share gains,” according to the report.

Since big banks have the wherewithal to hold onto those gains, smaller ones may have to consider selling or buying rivals to bulk up on retail deposits, JP-Morgan argues.

“The need for retail deposits to fund loan growth, the challenge of organi-cally originating new relationships and the scale required to support technol-ogy and brand investments will drive consolidation,” the report states.

A looming push for retail customers

may already be spurring dealmaking, JPMorgan says, noting that a hand-ful of bank mergers have involved targets with heavy concentrations of deposits purchased from brokers or acquired through listing services such as QwickRate, both of which are more expensive funding sources than retail accounts.

The examples include BNC Ban-corp’s $2bn sale to Pinnacle Financial Partners and PrivateBancorp’s roughly $5bn agreement to sell to Canadian Im-perial Bank of Commerce.

The median for deposits in the form of brokered and listing-service ac-counts for US banks with at lease $1bn in assets was 2.5% at the end of 2016, according to data from SNL Finan-cial. Those types of funds accounted for more than 20% of deposits at BNC Bancorp and PrivateBancorp, accord-ing to regulatory fi lings.

Deposit needs factored into both banks decision’ to seek a partner.

Selling to Pinnacle is “an excellent opportunity to really drive some re-ally, serious, dynamic deposit growth

to fund this machine over the next several years,” BNC Bancorp chief ex-ecutive officer Richard Callicutt said in a conference call with analysts in January.

PrivateBancorp urged investors to vote in favour of its deal with CIBC in a shareholder presentation last month to help “address standalone funding con-straints” by giving it access to a large retail deposit base.

Selling to CIBC will help Private-Bancorp when interest rates rise, Terry McEvoy, a Stephens Inc bank analyst, said Monday in a research note to cli-ents.

“We have long felt the company needed to improve their funding base to support loan growth,” McEvoy said in the note. “To do so on a standalone basis would be expensive and diffi -cult.”

Proxy fi rm Institutional Sharehold-ers Services has advised PrivateBan-corp stockholders to reject the deal because it undervalues the Chicago-based lender. A shareholder vote is schedule for Friday.

The headquarters of Akzo Nobel in Amsterdam. Akzo Nobel reiterated its support for chairman Antony Burgmans and said he has played a crucial role in evaluating and rejecting PPG’s latest bid. The company doesn’t see how the dismissal of the chairman would benefit Akzo Nobel or its shareholders in any way, a spokesman said.

Elliott takes Akzo to court to oust chairman in PPG battleBloombergAmsterdam

The takeover battle for paint-maker Akzo Nobel escalated after activist investor Elliott

Advisors petitioned a Dutch court to back its bid to oust the chairman over his refusal to negotiate with US suitor PPG Industries.

Elliott asked the Enterprise Chamber of the Netherlands to en-force its request for a sharehold-ers’ vote on fi ring chairman Antony Burgmans, who the New York-based hedge fund said in a statement yes-terday is in “fl agrant breach” of his duties to investors for rebuff -ing PPG’s third off er worth about $29.5bn.

In response, the Amsterdam-based company reiterated its sup-port for Burgmans and said he has played a crucial role in evaluating and rejecting PPG’s latest bid. The company doesn’t see how the dis-missal of the chairman would ben-efi t Akzo Nobel or its shareholders in any way, a spokesman said by phone.

The move by Elliott comes a day after Akzo Nobel rejected PPG’s latest takeover bid in favour of its own breakup strategy, raising the prospect that the US rival will go hostile with its offer for the coat-

ing and chemical company. After taking two weeks to evaluate the sweetened proposal, Akzo No-bel said it’s flawed and riddled with risk, defying pressure from shareholders including Elliott and Causeway Capital Management to negotiate.

A spokesman for the Enterprise Chamber confirmed it received Elliott’s petition on Monday. The court in central Amsterdam han-dles corporate disputes and its rul-ings are binding. A hearing could come as early as May 18 or before

if the court deems the case more urgent.

In taking legal action, corporate lawyer Martijn Kesler said Elliott may be going down the route of oth-er foreign companies in underesti-mating the power of Dutch company boards.

“The Enterprise Chamber tends to rule against activist sharehold-ers as long as the board acted in the corporate interest,” said Kesler, an attorney at law firm AMS Advo-caten, which isn’t involved in this case. “Based on some earlier key

rulings by the Enterprise Chamber, Dutch company directors simply have a huge discretionary power to act.”

Elliott is leading a campaign to push Akzo Nobel to enter talks with PPG, a move the fi ercely independ-ent Dutch company has rejected with the backing of the government in the Netherlands as well as labour unions. Elliott contends that under Dutch law, Akzo Nobel investors have the right to request for a vote on the chairman’s dismissal at a special meeting. For its part, Akzo Nobel has said such as move would go against the spirit of the law and would be “irresponsible, disproportionate, damaging and not in the best inter-ests of the company.”

The paintmaker has said Dutch law allows its board to refuse to put a motion before shareholders for a vote for a number of reasons in-cluding that the motion is aimed at changing strategy or goes against “reasonableness and fairness.”

“Akzo Nobel’s boards continue to demonstrate a disturbing and in-explicable tendency to act in their own, self-entrenching interests and against the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders,” Elliott said in the statement.

The reasons for declining PPG’s third proposal are “unconvincing and unsupported by any available evi-

dence,” it added. Akzo’s supervisory board under Burgmans has “failed to fulfi l its corporate governance duties by refusing to obtain, through con-structive engagement with a credible bidder, the necessary information required to fully evaluate a bona fi de proposal.”

PPG, which has threatened to take the off er directly to inves-tors, is reviewing the response, the Pittsburgh-based company said in a statement on Monday followed Akzo’s rebuff . A fruitless face-to-face meeting in the Netherlands on Saturday between Akzo Nobel chief executive offi cer Ton Buechner and his counterpart Michael McGarry lasted less than 90 minutes, with PPG aggrieved at Akzo Nobel’s un-willingness to negotiate. The Dutch company said it wants to carry out a breakup strategy to create two com-panies focused on chemicals and coatings.

Having left the meeting empty handed, the focus is on the next move of McGarry and Hugh Grant, PPG’s lead independent director who is also the CEO of Monsanto Co McGarry has said he plans to make a hostile takeover bid if his reluctant target doesn’t come to the negotiat-ing table and hammer out an agree-ment by June 1.

Akzo shares rose 1.3% to €77.82 at 12:50pm in Amsterdam.

Burgmans: Key role.

Citigroup trader fi red over 5-word message amid FX scandal

BloombergLondon

A fi ve-word message to a rival banker was enough to cost former Citigroup trad-er David Madaras his job as the bank

fought to appease regulators probing the for-eign-exchange scandal engulfi ng the industry.

Timothy Gately, Citigroup’s EMEA head of equities, disclosed the message on the fi rst day of Madaras’s employment lawsuit in London yesterday. The executive said the April 2011 chat constituted gross misconduct and fi ring Madaras was the only appropriate sanction.

“he’s a seller/fking a,” Madaras told a rival trader who had just disclosed the identity of a client, Gately said in a fi ling prepared ahead of the hearing. That chatroom message “vali-dated an external trader’s disclosure of a client name,” Gately said in the fi ling.

Madaras is one of fi ve London-based FX currency traders and salespeople to sue Citi-group for wrongful dismissal in the aftermath of the market-manipulation scandal that cost banks about $10bn in fi nes. At least three other banks were also sued by traders fi red amid the fallout.

They’ve had mixed results, often winning unfair dismissal rulings because banks were too hasty to dismiss staff as a result regulatory scrutiny. Judges have been reluctant to award substantial winnings because in most cases they would have been justifi ed in making the fi rings if the lenders had taken more time to follow proper procedures.

Winnings at London’s employment courts are capped at about £80,000 ($103,000) un-less claimants can prove they were victims of discrimination or were punished for disclosing corporate misconduct.

The bank probed Madaras’s conduct in three chat sessions between 2010 and 2012. He was cleared of misconduct in two. He will give evidence later this week during the hearing, which is scheduled to last fi ve days.

His former colleagues, including Perry Stimpson and Baris Ozkaptan, have testifi ed that the bank retroactively condemned infor-mation sharing that before the scandal had been encouraged and rewarded.

While Madaras’s conduct “had come to the respondent’s attention as a result of height-ened regulatory scrutiny, it is in any event my fi rm opinion that the standards regarding confi dentiality were the same at the time of his conduct as they are now, and had I been asked to opine on his conduct at the time, my deci-sion would have been the same,” Gately said.

The review of Madaras’s messages came as part of the bank’s own probe into the foreign-exchange scandal, a spokeswoman said.

“Citi terminated employees who Citi found to have engaged in misconduct, including David Madaras,” a bank spokeswoman said. “Individual accountability continues to be im-portant to Citi and for that reason we are de-fending David Madaras’s case at the employ-ment tribunal.”

Madaras: Misconduct alleged.

BUSINESS15Gulf Times

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Australia hits banks with higher taxes to bring budget back into blackBudget forecasts surplus of A$7.4bn in 2020/21; forecasts deficit for 2017/18 of A$29.4bn; banks slugged with new tax to help balance budget; government off ers sweeteners for home buyers

ReutersCanberra

The Australian government pledged to

deliver a small budget surplus in 2020/21,

slapping big banks with new taxes to end

more than a decade of deficits that have

threatened its prized triple-A credit rating.

Flagging in the polls, the Liberal Party-

led coalition conservative government,

also promised to fast track major rail and

road projects and delivered some sweet-

eners for home buyers in an overheated

property market in its annual budget

yesterday.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the

country’s profitable banks, which have

been under fire in recent months amid

a series of misconduct scandals, would

bear the brunt of a budget “re-set” as he

abandoned so-called “zombie savings”

worth some A$13bn.

Those savings, including welfare re-

forms, had artificially reduced the red ink

in the budget after they were blocked by

opposition lawmakers in a hostile Senate

where the government has a wafer-thin

majority.

The backflip resulted in a bigger

A$29.4bn deficit for 2017/18 than the

A$28.7bn forecast at the mid-year review

in December.

But the budget forecast a A$7.4bn

surplus in 2020/21, an improvement on

A$1.08bn at the mid-year review.

Australia’s A$1.7tn economy has out-

performed many of its rich world peers

since the global financial crisis, but it has

in more recent years struggled to manage

the end of a mining investment boom that

underpinned much of its wealth. “We must

live within our means and this is an honest

budget,” Morrison said, adding that a new

six-basis point levy on big banks’ liabilities,

to kick in on July 1, would raise A$6.2bn

over the next four years.

Morrison described the measure, along

with a A$8.2bn income tax increase on

workers, as “basically a Senate tax” to

get the budget back into balance as de-

manded by ratings agencies or risk losing

its triple-A credit rating.

Marie Diron, associate managing direc-

tor of Moody’s Investors Service, said the

agency assessed Australia’s fiscal strength

as “very high, a key support to the govern-

ment’s triple-A rating and stable outlook”

after the budget.

Diron added that the removal of

the zombie measures “enhances the

transparency and predictability of budget

outcomes, a credit positive.”

Mervyn Tang, director of Asia-Pacific

sovereigns at Fitch Ratings, said the new

revenue measures in the budget implied a

faster reduction in the government deficit.

He said Fitch would look closer at new

policy measures on the economy and

housing market, “factors we have identi-

fied as rating sensitivities in our previous

review.”

Standard & Poor’s did not immediately

comment on the budget.

But Australian Bankers’ Association

chief executive Anna Bligh criticised the

new tax, which Morrison warned banks

against passing on to consumers.

“Contrary to the government’s claim

that the tax will only be levied on banking

liabilities, the reality is that it will aff ect

the entire banking system,” Bligh said in

a statement.”This new tax is not a well

thought out policy response to a public

interest issue, it is a political tax grab to

cover a budget black hole.”

With the latest Newspoll showing

the government trailing the opposition

Labor Party at 52 points to 48 points, the

budget contained measures to appease an

electorate angry that a surging property

market means they are unlikely to achieve

the great Australian dream of owning their

home.

Morrison said the government will

establish a A$1bn National Housing

Infrastructure Facility and allow first time

home buyers to save extra funds into their

pension accounts to use for a purchase

deposit.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)

last week held interest rates at a record

low 1.50%, citing concern about fuelling

more borrowing in the country’s red-hot

property market.

Another A$1.2bn will be raised over

the next four years by imposing a levy on

foreign workers, another issue that has

been heavily debated publicly, with Prime

Minister Malcolm Turnbull promising

earlier this year “Australian jobs for Aus-

tralians.” Another A$4bn will come from

taxes on multinationals as the govern-

ment expands its anti-tax avoidance laws

to include trusts and foreign partnerships.

The budget forecast real GDP at 2.75%

in 2017/18, strengthening to 3% through

to 2020/21.

That compares with the RBA’s estimates

of 2.75-3.75% by mid-2018 through to June

2019.

It sees the unemployment rate at 5.75%

in 2017/18, easing from a 13-month high

of 5.9% currently while it pegged the con-

sumer price index (CPI) at 2%, climbing to

2.5% by 2020/21.

Underlying inflation is stuck below

the RBA’s target band of 2-3% with

wages crawling at their slowest pace on

record.

Morrison outlined plans to deliver

A$75bn in infrastructure funding and

financing over the next years as the base

of Australia’s next growth wave.

The flagship project is an A$8.4bn Mel-

bourne to Brisbane inland railway to begin

construction next financial year.

European banks warn of London exodus if told to convert branches to subsidiariesCapital demands for EU branches could top €40bn; big EU banks currently operate as branches in London; some European banks have bulk of investment banking in London

ReutersParis/London

European banks are privately warning they will have to shift thousands of people out of Brit-

ain if Brexit negotiations push the Bank of England to demand that they rein-force London operations with fresh capital, executives have told Reuters.

These capital demands, which could amount to an estimated €40bn ($43.73bn), threaten to accelerate an exodus of bankers from the City of London that has been triggered by Brit-ain’s vote to leave the European Union.

Three big European banks — Deustche Bank, BNP Paribas and Soci-ete Generale — currently operate some

of their sizeable activities in Britain through a branch structure, which re-quires lower capital requirements.

British regulators have been com-fortable with this situation with Brit-ain as part of the EU, but once Britain leaves they will want these banks have enough capital to support their busi-ness and ensure that British taxpayers are not left footing the bill in a crisis.

The regulators have said European banks should be ready to set up full-blown subsidiaries in Britain and sub-mit to Bank of England regulation if Britain and the EU cannot reach a Brexit deal.

A report from Boston Consult-ing has estimated the switch to a full subsidiary structure could cost Euro-pean banks around 40bn euros in extra capital.

Several European banks base the bulk of their investment banking activities, such as sales and trading, in London, which Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has dubbed the “investment banker of Europe.”

Deutsche Bank has 9,000 staff based in Britain, bnP Paribas has around 6,500 staff in the country, where it bases the bulk of its investment bank-ing business and Societe Generale has some 4,000 staff in Britain.

US banks have until now been at the centre of speculation about the impact of Brexit.

Many of them have already warned of the need to potentially move thousands of staff out of London to maintain EU access after Britain leaves the EU.

But attention has shifted to the Eu-ropean banks following comments in April by British regulators that Euro-pean banks which operate in London using EU “passports”, which give EU-wide market access, should set up sep-arately capitalised subsidiaries in Brit-ain if Britain and the EU cannot reach a deal on fi nancial services.

EU passports enable banks to operate throughout the bloc but be regulated mainly by just one member country.

But passporting between the rest of the EU and Britain may be lost once

Britain leaves EU in two years’ time.“If Carney (BoE governor) decides

to make EU banks create subsidiaries... I will buy a one way train ticket out of London and take everyone with me,” one senior executive at a European bank told Reuters, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the topic.

Germany’s fl agship bank Deutsche Bank has already said it is considering whether it needs to move thousands of staff from London to Frankfurt follow-ing Britain’s decision to leave the Eu-ropean Union, if it can no longer access the single market from London.

A senior executive at another Eu-ropean bank said: “We would have to reassess our options here in London in that case,” referring to the potential de-mand to set up a subsidiary.

“In the US, the Federal Reserve takes a lot more ownership over branch structures, it’s a lot more intrusive.

It’s therefore natural for the PRA (Prudential Regulatory Authority) to become more intrusive.

Maybe they would have to force

more supervision.” Investment bank-ing activities in particular carry a lot of risk and large balance sheets, meaning regulators will want to supervise the banks’ trading models closely.

Deutsche Bank’s London operations, for example, would rank among the world’s top banks in their own right, but Britain’s PRA has little say over them, a senior banking offi cial said.

This is because Deutsche Bank’s main regulator is BaFin in Germany.

Carney has called for Britain and the EU to reach a deal to recognise each others’ bank rules after Brexit, or risk a potentially damaging hit to fi nancial services across Europe.

But such recognition of fi nancial rules across borders has not been tried before on the scale envisaged by Car-ney, which could make negotiations tricky.

The EU may also be reluctant to forgo the jurisdiction of the bloc’s highest court in policing rule breaches.

Also in the mix are EU plans to force foreign banks in the bloc to convert

themselves into holding companies. This would potentially require tough-er capital and liquidity requirements which could bump up costs for British banks wanting to do business across Europe after Brexit.

Britain is lobbying to stop this meas-ure while it is still an EU member.

For now, EU banks are trying to keep their options as open as possible as they try to gauge the scale of their future ac-tivities in London.

“We hope it’s a warning and that it will not translate into anything,” a sen-ior executive at an EU banking lobby said.

“The transformation to a subsidiary has a lot of consequences, on the li-quidity side, capital.

It will create more costs for banks.We are sure that London will remain

an important fi nancial market and it (requirements to set up subsidiary) will not probably lead banks to leave Lon-don.

But it’s not an incentive to expand business there.”

US softens its Basel stance in push for deal on capital rulesBloombergVienna

The US has softened its po-sition in talks on global bank-capital rules, easing

a months-long deadlock with the European Union and boost-ing the chances of a deal.

The Federal Reserve, which leads the US delegation in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, is ready to compro-mise on the level of a disputed output fl oor, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. The fl oor is a blunt check on fi rms’ use of their own sta-tistical models to measure asset risk, part of the process for de-

termining their capital require-ments.

A wide gap still remains be-tween the US, which has long been sceptical of banks’ inter-nal models, and Europe, which insists the models provide more accurate assessments in many cases.

Yesterday, Raimund Roeseler, an executive director at BaFin, Germany’s banking supervisor, told reporters that a deal at the Basel Committee’s next sched-uled meeting in mid-June is un-likely because “we’re still too far apart.”

“The status has improved from not talking at all to talk-ing,” BaFin President Fe-lix Hufeld said at the same

press conference in Frankfurt. “That’s not the same thing as a solution.”

The US and Europe have been at loggerheads since late last year over the output fl oor. In the intervening months, EU regula-tors said the talks were on hold while President Donald Trump installed new faces at the four US institutions in the Basel Committee.

The Basel Committee floated a compromise in December under which banks’ measure-ments of asset risk using in-ternal models can’t drop be-low 75% of the result yielded by standard formulas set by regulators. Efforts to complete an agreement collapsed later

that month, as the EU dug in its heels to oppose rules it said would penalize the bloc’s banks and stifle lending.

In the aftermath, the US and EU backed away from the 75% figure, but US negotia-tors are once again prepared to continue talks at this level, as other countries have also signalled their support, one of the people said, declining to be identified because the talks are private.

The Basel Committee is try-ing to rein in abuse of the mod-els while living up to a pledge that overall capital requirements won’t increase signifi cantly as a result of the revised rules.

A Fed spokesman declined to

comment on the negotiations.Eric Litvack, chairman of the

International Swaps and Deriva-tives Association, said in Lis-bon yesterday that a 75% out-put fl oor “would probably start to be a binding constraint for a number of fi rms worldwide, not just in Europe.”

“Supervisors have been en-couraging banks to develop risk- based models in order to allocate capital appropriately according to the risk of their assets,” he said. “If you make the output fl oor a binding con-straint, you’re eff ectively mak-ing decisions about how capital is allocated and how we fi nance the economy. And I’m not sure that’s the appropriate way to go.”

The Federal Reserve building in Washington. The Fed, which leads the US delegation in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, is ready to compromise on the level of a disputed output floor, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.

SAP’s management faces questions on succession planningBloombergLondon

German software maker SAP is facing questions on two fronts heading

into its annual meeting today: the future of its co-founder and chairman Hasso Plattner, and the pay packet of chief execu-tive offi cer Bill McDermott.

Plattner, who built the com-pany into a corporate comput-ing power, is 73 — two years short of SAP’s suggested retire-ment date for directors — and an essential fi gure without a clear replacement.

At the beginning of the year, former co-CEO Jim Hage-mann-Snabe, a respected Danish executive who ran the company with current CEO Bill McDermott for four years and now sits on the supervisory board, seemed poised to inherit the job. In addition to 27 years at SAP, Snabe is on the board of the World Economic Forum, and has advised German chan-cellor Angela Merkel and other business and government lead-ers on technology policy.

But in February Siemens an-nounced Snabe, 51, as its next chairman. He is poised to leave SAP’s supervisory board no later than July 13, according to proxy materials released May 3 by insurer Allianz, where he also sits as a director. “He would have been the born suc-cessor and we would have wel-comed that,” said Ingo Speich, a portfolio manager at Union Investment in Frankfurt, a top-20 shareholder. “Now this hole isn’t fi lled yet. The suc-cession question is completely open.”

Plattner, like his rival Larry Ellison at Oracle Corp owns a big chunk of SAP’s shares and still exerts an outsize infl uence in his seventies. His term ends in 2019, and SAP’s governance policy says supervisory board members should “shouldn’t be older than 75 as a general rule.”

A spokeswoman from SAP declined to comment on Plat-tner’s succession.

“Hasso’s thumb print is on everything SAP does,” said

Ross MacMillan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “Tech companies usually thrive when founder-owners are running them. The same will be said when Larry Ellison is no longer at Oracle.”

Shareholders are also pre-paring to vote Wednesday at the company’s annual meeting and are expected to deliver SAP a rebuke over Chief Executive Offi cer Bill McDermott’s $15mn compensation, which made him corporate Germany’s best paid CEO.

Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis both recommend an “against” vote on the supervi-sory board’s 2016 actions be-cause SAP hasn’t responded to concerns about executive pay, despite a slap from sharehold-ers on the issue a year ago.

“The supervisory board’s unwillingness to acknowledge any need for improvement,” ISS said in an April report to shareholders, “shows a serious lack of good governance prac-tice at the supervisory board level.”

In response to the pressure, McDermott said the company’s long-term executive pay sys-tem is tied to “audacious” goals including tripling of its share price, out-performance of its peer group by 25% and market cap of over €250bn ($273bn), according to a copy of a memo he sent to global staff on Mon-day and obtained by Bloomb-erg. SAP’s current market cap is about €116bn.

SAP’s sales have grown every year since the fi nancial crisis and are on track for an esti-mated $26bn this year. Its stock is up 40% over the past year in the midst of a major upgrade cycle that’s off ering customers choices between running its software themselves or out-sourcing the job to SAP’s cloud.

“Let’s just tell it like it is: we have a pay for performance culture,” McDermott wrote in the email. Yet SAP’s profi t mar-gins have been up and down the past six years. A tepid operating margin took some of the wind out of SAP’s fi rst-quarter re-port April 25.

By Pratap JohnChief Business Reporter

Investment in renewable power and energy eff iciency could add about 0.8% to global GDP by 2050, boosting the world economy by $19tn, said HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, citing an International Renewable Energy Agency report. “The Paris Agreement (on climate change) signals that real transformation of the energy sector is the will and undertaking of all world governments,” al-Attiyah said in the ‘Energy Elders — Outlook 2020+’ report.He said the Paris Agreement recognises the need for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and the participation of all sectors of the society, including the diff erent tiers of government. “The agreement is indeed a game-changing outcome, as it represents a paradigm shift from the Kyoto Protocol era, where big industry — particularly energy was largely seen as the culprit, to a new era where the sector could now become part of the solution,” al-Attiyah said.He said, “Nobody understands what it would take to transform the energy sector more than the players within it. The prognosis of the Paris Agreement

becoming an eff ective global tool for addressing the climate change is very high.“I am delighted that the energy industry is stepping up to be counted among the leading actors. The Al-Attiyah Foundation is ready to be a committed partner on this important mission.”According to al-Attiyah, Paris was the “most successful” climate change conference ever, but it was a culmination of a very long evolutionary process of painstaking bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and negotiations at national, regional and international levels. The “painstaking” journey from Durban to Paris passed through Doha at COP18, of which al-Attiyah said, “I was privileged to serve as the president.”The process, he said, allowed for the involvement of all governments and all sectors of the economy and the civil society. It enabled the concerns and interests of all countries to be adequately considered.The Paris Agreement succinctly captures the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by emphasising the need to address the urgent threat of climate change through commitment to aggregate

emission pathways that are consistent with holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industry levels. There is recognition that the required response needs to be eff ective, progressive and based on the best available scientific knowledge. “The purpose is underpinned by recognition in the Paris Agreement that climate actions, responses and impacts have an intrinsic relationship with equitable access to sustainable development and eradication of poverty,” al-Attiyah noted.

BUSINESSWednesday, May 10, 2017

GULF TIMES

Dignitaries at the event at the Sheraton yesterday. PICTURES: Jayan Orma

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in a “Middle East feature interview” with Gulf Intelligence’s Sean Evers.

Next generation ‘ready’ to take on oil and gas industry, experts sayBy Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

Despite the challenges in the energy

industry, experts and stakeholders have

expressed optimism on the readiness of the

younger generation to take on a leadership

position in the oil and gas sector.

The competency of a younger breed

taking the reins of the energy industry

was raised yesterday at a forum entitled

‘Are Millennials Ready to Takeover the Oil

& Gas Industry from the Baby Boomers?’

It was part of the ‘The Forum of

Energy Elders — Harvesting Solutions for

Tomorrow from the Wisdom of Yesterday’

organised by The Abdullah bin Hamad

Al-Attiyah International Foundation for

Energy & Sustainable Development.

Speaking at the forum, Total Research

Centre at Qatar deputy director Yousef al-

Jaber dispelled the idea of an abrupt transi-

tion, citing the energy sector’s “long history”

and “recorded progression.”

“We have cumulative knowledge of the

energy sector so, when the younger genera-

tion starts in the industry, they come to the

workplace well-equipped with experiences

such as on-the-job training and develop-

ment programmes.

“There is also a handover period from

the more experienced experts in the

industry. In fact, the idea or concept of

handing over the industry to the next

generation was tackled since the past

decade,” said al-Jaber, who was a recipient

of the 3rd Oryx GTL Student Awards for

Advancement of Post Graduate Educa-

tion. Texas A&M at Qatar dean and CEO Dr

Cesar Malave said the cycles in the energy

sector have deterred some students from

pursuing their goals.

“Some students are discouraged by the

cycles in the energy sector. They think

that when they earn their college degree,

they will not have a job. We have to help

them understand how these cycles work.

Five or six years ago, many students

wanted to be a petroleum engineer but

today, they have changed their minds,”

Malave said.

However, Malave pointed out that veter-

ans in the energy sector have learned from

years of experience and that industry cycles

change over time.

“But for those who have been in the

industry for a long time, they remember

those cycles as adjustments…so, if they

stay in the industry long enough, the cycle

just makes the industry stronger,” he

stressed.

This was reiterated by HE Abdullah bin

Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman, Al-Attiyah

Foundation, who said the forum aims to dis-

cuss the existing challenges in the energy

sector and identify their implications and

the means to overcome them.

Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines

of the forum, al-Attiyah said: “I share the

optimism that the industry always recovers

from these cycles. Even other non-oil sec-

tors also experience these changes. We be-

lieve that in the energy sector, the industry

can be sick, but it will never die. We always

come back to our business.”

Investment in renewable power and energy efficiency may boost world economy by $19tn by 2050: Al-Attiyah

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman, Global Compact Foundation and former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell delivering the gala dinner lecture “NOCs in transformation- destination?” at the Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah International Energy Awards ceremony on Monday night.

Today’s quest to utilise solar, other renewable forms of energy, says al-NaimiSaudi Arabia’s former oil minister Ali al-Naimi said the energy quest today is to utilise solar and other renewable forms of energy.Delivering the ‘forum lecture’ at the ‘Forum of Energy Elders’ at the Sheraton yesterday, al-Naimi, who is now Advisor to the Royal Court, Saudi Arabia, said, “according to scientists, planet earth is 4.5bn years old. That’s older than some of the elders here today.“All this time, the planet has run quite eff ectively — on solar power. It is the only reason we are all here today. It is constant, reliable, and free.”Al-Naimi said he has no doubt fossil fuels will “retain a vital place, but all forms of energy will be required as we go forward.” “I have seen tremendous progress in my lifetime. And I know all the elders and others here today will agree. But of course much more hard work is needed.” He cited some challenges

facing the global energy industry. “First, there is a real need for investment in new technology. Second, it’s a question of ensuring that the investment is utilised eff ectively and productively.”Al-Naimi continued, “That is why I am proud of my involvement with the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology. The brightest and the best young men and women from around the world are all working hard on the energy challenges of today and tomorrow — applying their knowledge, looking at new technology and developing solutions.“It is heartening for me to see this sort of investment, in the education of our young men and women, taking place in Saudi Arabia but also throughout the GCC region.”The one-day ‘Forum of Energy Elders’ was organised by the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development.

Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister Ali al-Naimi delivering the forum lecture at the ‘Energy Elders Forum’ hosted by the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.